Eovaldi agrees to 2-year deal to join Rangers and deGrom
The Texas Rangers have added another proven veteran to their revamped starting rotation. Eovaldi's addition comes only 3 1/2 weeks after the Rangers signed two-time NL Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom in free agency. “I’m elated that we have added another standout pitcher to our rotation in Nathan Eovaldi,” Rangers general manager Chris Young said in a statement. DeGrom agreed to a $185 million, five-year deal with the Rangers before the winter meetings this month. To make room on the 40-man roster for Eovaldi, right-hander Nick Mears was designated for assignment.
wftv.comTexas Rangers sign Jacob deGrom to $185 million, 5-year deal
ARLINGTON, Texas — (AP) — Free-agent ace Jacob deGrom and the Texas Rangers agreed to a $185 million, five-year contract Friday. After making his first start last season in early August, deGrom went 5-4 with a 3.08 ERA in 11 outings. “We are thrilled that Jacob deGrom has decided to become a Texas Ranger,” executive vice president and general manager Chris Young said in a statement. “Over a number of seasons, Jacob has been a standout major league pitcher, and he gives us a dominant performer at the top of our rotation. Texas went 68-94 last season and then hired Bruce Bochy as its new manager.
wftv.comRangers hire 3-time World Series champion Bochy as manager
The Texas Rangers have hired Bruce Bochy as their manager, bringing the three-time World Series champion out of a short retirement to take over a team that has had six consecutive losing seasons. The 67-year-old Bochy hasn’t managed since 2019, when he stepped away after 13 seasons and those World Series titles with the San Francisco Giants, the first of which was a five-game win over Texas in 2010. Rangers general manager Chris Young played for Bochy with San Diego in 2006. “As we went through the interview process, Bruce’s passion and excitement about returning to the dugout was very evident,” Young said. The Rangers fired fourth-year manager Chris Woodward on Aug. 15, two days before president of baseball operations and former GM Jon Daniels was also let go.
wftv.comInterim Beasley 1st interviewed in Rangers managerial search
ARLINGTON, Texas — (AP) — Interim manager Tony Beasley was the first candidate interviewed in the Texas Rangers' managerial search that general manager Chris Young hopes to wrap up in three to four weeks. Young said Friday that Beasley would be the only internal candidate for the job, but didn't say who else or how many other people would be interviewed in the process. Young declined to comment when asked specifically if the search could proceed without knowing if three-time World Series champion manager Bruce Bochy had interest in the job or not. Texas was 17-31 under Beasley, the longtime Rangers third base coach who was once Young's manager in the minor leagues. “The goal is that when we start to win, we win for a long time.
wftv.comRangers seek momentum, new manager to contend again in '23
Rangers Woodward Fired Baseball Texas Rangers general manager Chris Young, left, and Rangers President of Baseball Operations Jon Daniels listen to a question during a news conference after announcing the firing of manager Chris Woodward, Monday, Aug. 15, 2022, in Arlington, Texas. The next full-time manager will be the fourth for Texas since Jon Daniels, now president of baseball operations, became the team’s general manager in October 2005. The Rangers then hired Woodward, who was coming off back-to-back National League championship seasons as third base coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Rangers split their first two games under Beasley, who had never before managed a big league game but was previously a minor league manager for eight seasons in other organizations. “We didn’t expect to go worst to first this season,” Young said.
wftv.com2-time champ Simona Halep advances to Toronto final
Canada Toronto Tennis Romania's Simona Halep reaches for a return to United States' Jessica Pegula during the women's National Bank Open semifinal tennis match in Toronto, Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP) (Chris Young)TORONTO — (AP) — Two-time champion Simona Halep of Romania advanced to the National Bank Open’s final, beating Jessica Pegula of the United States 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Saturday. The 15th-seeded Halep won the tournament in Montreal in 2016 and 2018. Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia faced 14th-seeded Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic in the night semifinalCopyright 2022 The Associated Press. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
wftv.comFederal judge dismisses ayahuasca church’s request for overturn of DEA decision
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — An action from a federal judge could pave the way for the Drug Enforcement Administration to finally shut down a local church. Investigative Reporter Karla Ray first got the attention of the DEA in 2016, after exposing the Soul Quest Church in Orange County was hosting ayahuasca retreats. Ayahuasca is a tea that contains DMT, a schedule one drug, and the church needs a religious exemption from the DEA to be able to distribute it legally. Soul Quest then challenged that denial in federal court by seeking a declaratory judgment, and a judge just dismissed that challenge. Despite not having the DEA exemption, Soul Quest has continued to host weekend retreats, including one that’s the subject of a wrongful death lawsuit.
wftv.com2022 Academy of Country Music Awards: See the complete winners list
57th ACM Awards - Show Miranda Lambert appears onscreen accepting the award for entertainer of the year remotely at the 57th Academy of Country Music Awards on Monday, March 7, 2022, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher) (John Locher)LAS VEGAS — Country music’s biggest stars shone brightly during the 57th Academy of Country Music Awards, presented Monday night at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. A few of the night’s biggest surprises included Miranda Lambert walked away with the entertainer of the year and Pearce taking female artist of the year, Variety reported. See the complete list of categories and nominees below, with winners noted in bold and italics. (AP Photo/Eric Jamison) (Eric Jamison/AP)©2022 Cox Media Group
wftv.comDolly Parton opens ACM Awards with dedication to Ukraine
57th ACM Awards - Show Host Dolly Parton speaks at the 57th Academy of Country Music Awards on Monday, March 7, 2022, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher) (John Locher)Host Dolly Parton opened the Academy of Country Music Awards on Monday night by dedicating the show to the people of Ukraine amid the Russian invasion. “I don’t want to get political, I’d rather pass a kidney stone than do that,” Parton said from the ACMs stage at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Reigning ACM entertainer of the year Luke Bryan also has double performances including his hit "Buy Dirt" with Jordan Davis and a performance of his ballad "Up." Miranda Lambert earned five nominations, including entertainer of the year, and is now tied with Reba McEntire for her 16th female artist of the year nomination.
wftv.comACM Awards, Amazon aim to give new flow to awards shows
Music ACM Awards FILE - This April 7, 2019 file photo shows host Reba McEntire on stage at the 54th annual Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas. He has been absent from other awards shows since, though has slowly returned to the spotlight. But the Vegas-based ACM Awards have always been more about the presentation than the trophies, and this year's Amazon experiment, a sped-up, concert-like format without commercials, will make that more true than ever. Reigning ACM entertainer of the year Luke Bryan also has double performances including his hit "Buy Dirt" with Jordan Davis and a performance of his ballad "Up." Miranda Lambert earned five nominations, including entertainer of the year, and is now tied with Reba McEntire for her 16th female artist of the year nomination.
wftv.comParton, Gabby Barrett, Jimmie Allen to perform at ACM Awards
Music ACM Awards FILE - This April 7, 2019 file photo shows host Reba McEntire on stage at the 54th annual Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas. Jimmie Allen and Gabby Barrett will share hosting duties with country superstar Dolly Parton during this year's show being live streamed on Prime Video from Las Vegas on March 7. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File) (Chris Pizzello)Dolly Parton, Jimmie Allen and Gabby Barrett will be pulling double duty with special performances on top of their hosting duties at this year's Academy of Country Music Awards. Co-hosts Barrett and Allen will be the first performance of the March 7 awards show with a two-song set. The ACM Awards will be held in Las Vegas and livestreamed on Prime Video.
wftv.comChris Young leads Academy of Country Music nominations
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — (AP) — Country star Chris Young combined his skills as an artist and a producer to earn seven nominations at the Academy of Country Music Awards, including album of the year and single of the year. Chris Stapleton, a five-time nominee, is up for entertainer of the year, alongside Lambert, Eric Church, Luke Combs and Carrie Underwood. Wallen earned nominations for album of the year for "Dangerous: The Double Album," which was the most popular album across all genres last year. He also earned nominations for male artist of the year and song of the year. Co-hosts Allen and Barrett also earned nominations for male and female artist of the year, respectively.
wftv.comChris Stapleton, Eric Church share top CMA nominations
CMA Awards - Entertainer of the Year This combination of photos shows nominees for the CMA Award for entertainer of the year, from left, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton and Carrie Underwood. In nominations announced on Thursday, Stapleton leads with seven nominations including male vocalist, album of the year, single and song of the year, and two additional nominations as a producer both on his album and single. Church, who put out a three-part album in April collectively called “Heart & Soul," earned five nominations. The CMA Awards will air on Nov. 10 on ABC. Despite having a string of multiplatinum country hits, like “What Ifs" and “Heaven," this is the first-ever CMA nominations for Brown.
wftv.comDavis, Leiter, Jobe lead top 10 picks at MLB draft
2 — TEXAS RANGERSJACK LEITER, RHP, VANDERBILT (6-1, 205, 21)The son of former big league All-Star Al Leiter is a right-hander with a mid-90s fastball and two overpowering breaking pitches, a repertoire that could play near the top of a big league rotation. This was the first pick made under Rangers first-year general manager Chris Young, a longtime big league pitcher who came to the organization determined to help the farm system better develop pitching. Jobe tossed two no-hitters — yes, two — as a senior, cementing his spot near the top of teams’ draft boards. His slider and changeup also look like big league pitches, and he's made strides improving his command, too. 10 — NEW YORK METSKUMAR ROCKER, RHP, VANDERBILT, (6-5, 245, 21)Rocker pitched himself into contention to go No.
wftv.comClubhouse Media says it is tied to social media — just not the app confused investors are thinking of
In this photo illustration the stock market graphics of Clubhouse Media Group Inc seen displayed on a smartphone with a Clubhouse Media Group logo in the background. Google searches for "Clubhouse stock" reached a peak on Feb. 1, the day after Musk spoke. Around the same time, the company applied to change its name to Clubhouse Media Group. "It's a weird situation this year because we were so used to last year being the Clubhouse and no one knew about the Clubhouse app. Young said that Clubhouse Media still has enough media value and presence to continue with its Clubhouse name despite the confusion.
cnbc.comNow in Chisox 'pen, Kopech makes debut after 2020 opt-out
TWINS 1, ORIOLES 0 (7 INNINGS)Minnesota ace Kenta Maeda allowed one hit in three innings, striking out four in his second start. Baltimore's Dean Kremer fared better in his second start, allowing a hit and a walk in three scoreless innings. Deivi García pitched three shutout innings in his second start for the Yankees. Nick Pivetta made his second start for Boston, allowing a run on three hits with three strikeouts in three innings. Alex Wood worked two innings in the start for San Francisco and gave up a home run to Omar Narvaez.
Shaw back with Brews; Kennedy, Lamb, Teheran find new teams
With spring training in full swing, third baseman Travis Shaw returned to the Milwaukee Brewers while former All-Star third baseman Jake Lamb and pitchers Ian Kennedy and Julio Teheran found new teams. Shaw signed a minor league contract with the Brewers on Tuesday, giving them one more option for their unsettled situation at third base. The signing adds another veteran bat to an already deep competition for bench spots in spring training. AdThe 30-year-old Teheran got a minor league contract with the Detroit Tigers and will report to big league camp. Kennedy will be in major league spring training with a chance to be compete for a spot in the Rangers’ bullpen.
MLB executive, ex-pitcher Young joins hometown Rangers as GM
ARLINGTON, Texas – The Texas Rangers hired Chris Young as executive vice president and general manager Friday, bringing the Major League Baseball executive home to work under president of baseball operations Jon Daniels, the club's GM since 2005. The return to Texas comes after Young interviewed for the GM opening with the New York Mets, who recently abandoned an effort to hire a president of baseball operations to focus on the GM search. Young was the senior vice president in charge of on-field operations and the umpires with MLB. He worked closely with the Rangers on baseball issues related to construction of Globe Life Field, which opened this past season. “Chris Young’s background and experiences will be a huge asset to our baseball operations group," Daniels said.
Joe Kelly's suspension reduced to 5 games on appeal
Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Joe Kelly (17) looks back at Houston Astros' Carlos Correa (1) after the sixth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, July 28, 2020, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)LOS ANGELES Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly had his suspension for throwing pitches near the heads of Houston hitters reduced to five games on appeal. The Dodgers on Wednesday confirmed the reduced penalty that was first reported by Barstool Sports. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts served his one-game suspension the same day the penalty was handed down. The penalties were imposed by former pitcher Chris Young, MLBs senior vice president of baseball operations, who issued his first ruling since taking over the job from Joe Torre.
Dodgers' Kelly suspended 8 games for buzzing, mocking Astros
Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Joe Kelly (17) talks toward Houston Astros' Carlos Correa (1) after the sixth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, July 28, 2020, in Houston. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was suspended one game and Astros manager Dusty Baker was fined an undisclosed amount. Kelly, a hard thrower with a touch of wildness, has previously been suspended in his career for throwing at a batter. I really dont think there was intent behind that. The Dodgers had harsh words for the Astros during spring training, but Roberts said before the game that he didnt think his team would retaliate.
New MLB rules: shower at home, don't spit, Mr Met stay away
Team personnel will be banned from eating at restaurants on road trips. Even the Phillie Phantic and Mr. Met will be missing, banned from the field along with all other team mascots. Protocols include details on testing for team staff, who are divided into three tiers. All games at spring training facilities in Florida and Arizona, whether exhibition or regular season, must be scheduled for 7-9 p.m. local time unless MLB gives specific consent. Team staff, including players, will be given thermometers for self screening and are to take two tests in quick succession each morning.
Universal Mardi Gras unveils musical headliners for this year including Marshmello, Luis Fonsi, the Roots
For more of the nitty-gritty details, check here. Consider supporting local journalism. Our small but mighty local team works tirelessly to bring you high-quality, uncensored news and cultural coverage of Central Florida. Unlike many newspapers, ours is free and we'd like to keep it that way, because we believe, now more than ever, everyone deserves access to accurate, independent coverage of their community. Whether it's a one-time acknowledgement of this article or an ongoing pledge, your support helps keep Orlandos true free press
orlandoweekly.comKane Brown pays tribute to late drummer Kenny Dixon
Honoree Kane Brown accepts an award onstage during the 2019 CMT Artist of the Year at Schermerhorn Symphony Center on Oct. 16, 2019 in Nashville. (CNN) - Country star Kane Brown choked back tears as he honored his late drummer, Kenny Dixon, as he accepted an award at the CMT Artists of the Year awards show just four days after Dixon's death. "I want to dedicate this to my drummer Kenny," Brown. Country singer Chris Young had presented Brown with the award and also had mentioned Dixon's tragic death. Brown also paid tribute to Dixon with an Instagram message on Sunday.