The Washington Post - USA (2022-01-19)

D2 EZ SU THE WASHINGTON POST.WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19 , 2022

TELEVISION AND RADIO
NBA
7 p.m. Brooklyn at Washington » NBC Sports Washington, WTEM (980 AM)
7:30 p.m. Charlotte at Boston » ESPN
10 p.m. Los An geles Clippers at Denver » ESPN

MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
6:30 p.m. Mississippi State at Florida » SEC N etwork
7 p.m. LSU at Alabama » ESPN2
7 p.m. George Washington at Saint Joseph’s » ESPN Plus
7 p.m. Wake Forest at Georgia Tech » ESPNU
7 p.m. Virginia Tech at North Carolina State » ACC Network
7 p.m. Boston College at Louisville » MASN
7 p.m. St. John’s at Creighton » Fox Sports 1
8 p.m. Marquette at Villanova » CBS Sports Network
8:30 p.m. Kentucky at Texas A&M » SEC N etwork
8:30 p.m. Iowa at Rutgers » Big Ten Network
9 p.m. Xavier at DePaul » Fox Sports 1
9 p.m. Georgia at Auburn » ESPNU
9 p.m. Virginia at Pittsburgh » ACC Network, WSBN (630 AM)
10 p.m. New Mexico at Colorado State » CBS Sports Network

SOCCER
Noon Turkish Super Lig: Altay at Fenerbahce » beIN Sports
2 p.m. Africa Cup of Nations, Group D: Nigeria at Guinea-Bissau » beIN Sports
2:30 p.m. English Premier League: Tottenham at Leicester City » USA Network

TENNIS
7 a.m. Australian Open, second round » Tennis Channel
9 p.m. Australian Open, second round » ESPN2

GOLF
2 a.m.
(Thursday)

European Tour: Abu Dhabi Championship, first round » Golf Channel

SOCCER

Struggling Chelsea

draws with Brighton

W inning the English Premier
League title is looking more
unlikely for Chelsea each passing
week.
After a 1-1 draw at Brighton on
Tuesday, the European
champions soon might have to
start looking over their shoulder
in the race for Champions
League qualification.
Chelsea’s winless run in the
league stretched to four games
after Brighton defender Adam
Webster’s powerful header from
a corner in the 60th minute
canceled out the opening goal by
Hakim Ziyech in the 29th.
Brighton also came from
behind to draw, 1-1, with Chelsea
at Stamford Bridge three weeks
ago.
Chelsea stayed in third place
and is 12 points behind leader
Manchester City, having played
one game more. Given the form
of City, which has won its past
12 games — most recently
against Chelsea on Saturday, the
champions will take some
stopping in the quest to defend
their title.
The teams behind Chelsea
might be getting renewed hope.
Such as fifth-place Arsenal,
which is nine points behind its
London rival with three games in
hand. Or another London club in
Tottenham, which is in sixth
place and 11 points behind
Chelsea but has played five fewer
games....
Everton promoted Duncan
Ferguson to caretaker manager
while it searches for Rafa
Benitez’s successor.
Ferguson, a former Scotland
and Everton striker, took charge
for three games in 2019 following
the dismissal of Marco Silva,
and he has remained on the
coaching staff.
The club said in a statement
that Ferguson would be in
charge “for the club’s upcoming
games” starting with the visit of
Aston Villa on Saturday.
Wayne Rooney, the former
Manchester United and Everton
forward managing Derby in
the second tier, and former
Chelsea manager Frank
Lampard have been linked with
the Goodison Park job
permanently....
R eal Betis strengthened its
hold on third place in the
Spanish league with a
comfortable 4-0 win over
relegation-threatened Alavés.
The victory moved Manuel
Pellegrini’s team four points
ahead of fourth-place Atlético
Madrid, which won’t play until
the weekend.
Later in the day, Raúl de
Tomás scored six minutes into
stoppage time as Espanyol
salvaged a 2-2 draw at second-to-
last-place Cádiz....
Defending champion Juventus
reached the quarterfinals of the
Italian Cup by beating
Sampdoria, 4-1, to keep alive at
least one chance of winning
silverware this season.
Juventus will face either
Sassuolo or Cagliari in the next
round.
Lazio is also through to the
final eight but needed extra time
to beat Udinese, 1-0....
Second-division leader St.
Pauli knocked defending
champion Borussia Dortmund
out of the German Cup with a 2-1
win in their third-round game.
Dortmund joined Bavarian
powerhouse Bayern Munich as
an early casualty in a
competition both were targeting
to win.
Bayern was knocked out with
a 5-0 loss at Borussia
Mönchengladbach in the second
round....
Four-time champion Ghana
was eliminated in the group

stage at the Africa Cup of Nations with a 3-2 loss to tournament debutant Comoros in a shocker that outweighed a string of surprises in Garoua, Cameroon. Ghana has made at least the semifinals in six of the past seven Africa Cups and was last dumped out in the group stage in 2006. Morocco won Group C after a 2-2 draw with Gabon, and Comoros has a chance to advance to the knockout stages as one of the best third-place teams in its first major tournament. Earlier, Senegal qualified atop Group B but only with a 0-0 draw with Malawi. And Zimbabwe, which had already been eliminated, provided yet another surprise by upsetting Guinea, 2-1, in the other Group B game.... Jesús Ferreira joined his dad, David, as the first father-son combination of higher-priced designated players in the history of Major League Soccer, agreeing to a four-year contract with Dallas.... The Columbus Crew hired Kristin Bernert as president of business operations, the latest woman to move into a prominent executive role in MLS. Bernert previously spent 10 years with Madison Square Garden Sports, leading initiatives for the New York Knicks and Rangers before co- founding KB2 Sports, a sports business consulting firm.

BASEBALL T he Los Angeles Dodgers promoted former major league pitcher Brandon Gomes to general manager, filling a spot that had been vacant since 2018. Gomes had been an assistant GM with the team since 2019. The Dodgers last had a GM in 2018, when Farhan Zaidi quit that November to join the rival San Francisco Giants. In his new role, Gomes will continue working closely with Andrew Friedman, president of baseball operations, as he has since he was promoted to director of player development in 2017. Gomes was named assistant GM in 2019. The 37-year-old former pitcher first joined the team in 2016 as coordinator of pitching performance. He pitched for San Diego, Tampa Bay and the Chicago Cubs from 2007 to 2016. He was first acquired by Friedman in 2011 when Friedman was working for the Rays.

BASKETBALL Lusia Harris, who was the only woman to be drafted by an NBA team and scored the first points in women’s basketball history at the Olympics, died at age 66, her family announced. Harris, who died in her native Mississippi, was officially drafted by the New Orleans Jazz in the seventh round in 1977 but didn’t try out for the team because she was pregnant. She helped Delta State University win three straight national titles in the 1970s and earned a silver medal for the United States at the Montreal Olympics in 1976. Harris was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992 as the first Black woman to earn that honor.

HOCKEY The Premier Hockey Federation is more than doubling each teams’ salary cap to $750,000 and adding two expansion franchises next season in a bid to capitalize on the wave of attention women’s hockey traditionally enjoys following the Winter Olympics. — From news services

DIGEST

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Malik McDowell, who was given a s econd chance b y the team after serving jail time, was arrested Monday in Florida on charges of beating a police officer and public exposure. Police in Deerfield Beach, Fla., said they were responding to a “naked male walking near a school” when an officer ap- proached McDowell, who was sit- ting on a curb, according to the arrest report. The officer said Mc- Dowell stood up, uttered an ob- scenity at him and “charged at me full speed with a closed fist.” The officer said he was unable to avoid McDowell’s attack or use any “de-escalation tactics.” Mc- Dowell slammed into the officer and punched him in the right eye and on the top o f the head, according to the report. McDowell fled before he was stopped using a stun gun and

handcuffed. The officer said his right eye was nearly closed because of swelling from the punch- es he absorbed in the attack and there is a “likelihood that I sus- tained permanent injury to my eye.” McDowell was charged with ag- gravated battery on an officer, re- sisting an officer/obstructing w ith violence and exposure of sex or- gans in public. Bail was posted at $25,000. It was unclear whether he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf. l JAGUARS: Jacksonville defensive end Lerentee McCray made an obscene hand gesture at a police officer, fled a would-be traffic stop and then reached speeds of 100 mph and crossed three lanes of traffic during an ensuing chase, authorities said Tuesday. McCray, 31, was arrested early Sunday, booked in the Lake Coun- ty (Fla.) jail and charged with flee- ing and attempting to elude law

enforcement, according to jail and police records. The charge is a second-degree felony. He was re- leased on a $5,000 bond about seven hours later, according to jail records. l 49ERS: San Francisco quar- terback Jimmy Garoppolo is dealing with injuries to his right thumb and right shoulder as he prepares for Saturday’s division- al-round game at Green Bay. Garoppolo was limited at prac- tice Tuesday for the 49ers (11-7). He played through the thumb injury the p ast two weeks after miss- ing one game and hurt his shoulder in the first half of last week’s 23-17 playoff win over Dallas. “Every throw is impacted,” he said. “It’s a s houlder injury, so any type of throw, you’re going to feel it. It’s going to change things. But it’s similar to when I was first dealing with the thumb. My b ody’s learning, and I have to adapt to it.” l PANTHERS: Carolina ex- panded its offensive coordinator

search to include former Wash- ington Football Team c oach Jay Gruden and three others, according to a person familiar with the situation. Along with Gruden, former New York Giants coach and cur- rent Dallas Cowboys consultant Ben McAdoo, Green Bay Packers quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Luke Getsy and former Houston Texans offensive coordinator Tim Kelly inter- viewed for the position. l VIKINGS: Minnesota added Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris to its can- didate list for head coach. According to a person with knowledge of the process, the Vi- kings requested a meeting with Morris about the vacancy created when Mike Zimmer was fired last week. l SEAHAWKS: Seattle fired defensive coordinator Ken Nor- ton Jr. and passing game coordinator Andre Curtis.

NFL NOTES

Browns’ McDowell arrested, charged with battery

BY JESSE DOUGHERTY

The rebuilding Washington Na- tionals completed the biggest project of their offseason Tuesday, announcing their player development staff for 2022. Constructing it was a major focus for a club that had fewer minor league coaches, coordinators and additional staff- ers than any other organization last season. And it was even more important as the Nationals look to build their next core from the ground up, using the prospects they have and will draft in the coming years. From the beginning o f the process, General Manager Mike Rizzo and De Jon Watson, the team’s new director of player development, made a few promises: grow the staff, add voices from the out- side (bucking Washington’s ten- dency to shuffle the deck chairs instead of seeking external hires) and improve the use of technology and data across the system. On Tuesday, those boxes were checked in various ways. A statement from Watson in the team’s release noted 14 new roles and 20 new staff members. Among those new roles are a nutritionist, Emily Kaley, hired from the New York Mets; a mental skills coach, Dana Sinclair; and a director of player development technology and strategy, David Longley, who comes from the San Diego Padres. Joe Dillon, formerly the Nation- als’ assistant hitting coach under Kevin Long — and a member of the title-winning staff in 2019 — returns as minor league hitting coordinator. Joel Hanrahan, a former Nationals reliever, joins from the Pittsburgh Pirates as a pitching coach for the low-Class A Fred- ericksburg Nationals. Michael Chavez, the Philadelphia Phillies’ director of pitching until last March, will be the pitching coach for the Class AAA Rochester Red Wings. Destin Hood, Washing- ton’s second-round pick in 2008, is now the development coach at the club’s Florida complex. The Nationals added a developmental coach at each affiliate, up- ping the number of coaches and performance staff from five to six at each side. They also added a lower-level hitting coach (Troy Gingrich, previously the organiza-

tion’s hitting coordinator), a low- level pitching coordinator (Mi- chael Tejera, previously the Red Wings’ pitching coach), and a quality control coordinator (Bill Mueller, a former third baseman for the Boston Red Sox who has major league coaching experience with the St. Louis Cardinals, Chi- cago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodg- ers. Below is the full list of the affiliate staffs and coordinators. An asterisk means the person is new to the organization. These chang- es promise to improve resources for the Nationals’ minor leaguers and eliminate the need for coaches to fill multiple r oles throughout the season. Whether the hires and restructuring are effective, though, will be deliberated down the line. Class AAA Rochester Red Wings: Matthew LeCroy (manager), Brian Daubach (hitting coach), Rafael Chaves (pitching coach)*, Eric Montague (athletic trainer), Mike Warren (strength and conditioning), Billy McMillon (developmental coach)* Class AA Harrisburg Sena- tors: Tripp Keister (manager), Mi- cah Franklin (hitting coach)*, Jus- tin Lord (pitching coach), TD Swinford (athletic trainer), RJ Guyer (strength and conditioning), Oscar Salazar (developmental coach)* High-Class A Wilmington Blue Rocks: Mario Lisson (manager), Tim Doherty (hitting

coach)*, Mark DiFelice (pitching coach)*, Don Neidig (athletic trainer), Brandon Pentheny (strength and conditioning), Mark Harris (developmental coach) Low-Class A Fredericksburg Nationals: Jake Lowery (manager), Delwyn Young (hitting coach)*, Joel Hanrahan (pitching coach)*, Kirby Craft (athletic trainer), Ryan Grose (strength and c onditioning), Carmelo Jaime (developmental coach)* Florida Complex League: Luis Ordaz (manager)*, Ender Chávez (hitting coach)*, Franklin Bravo (pitching coach), Jacob Meyer (athletic trainer), Shane Hill (strength and conditioning), Des- tin Hood (developmental coach)* Dominican Summer League: Sandy Martinez (manager/field coordinator), Freddy Guzman (hitting coach), Edwin Hurtado (pitching coach), Feliberto San- chez (assistant hitting coach), Wilson Valdez (infield coach), Emiliano Alcantara (outfield coach), Miguel Cabrera (athletic trainer), Santo Del Rosario (strength and conditioning), Manny Moore (Latin American training coordinator), Anthony Ro sario (tryout assistant) Coordinators/performance staff: David Longley (director, player development technology & strategy)*, Bob Henley (field coordinator), Jeff Garber (assistant field coordinator), Joe Dillon (hitting coordinator)*, Troy Gingrich

(lower-level hitting coordinator), Sam Narron (pitching coordinator), Michael Tejera (lower-level pitching coordinator), Coco Crisp (outfield/base running coordinator)*, José Alguacil (infield coordinator)*, Randy Knorr (catching coordinator), Bill Mueller (quality control coordinator)*, Mark Grat- er (rehab pitching coordinator), Gene Basham (medical rehab coordinator)*, Jeff Allred (assistant medical rehab coordinator), Gabe Torres (strength and conditioning coordinator), Cesar Roman (athletic trainer*), Dana Sinclair (mental skills coordinator)*, Emi- ly Kaley (nutritionist)* Staff: De Jon Watson (director, player development), John Wulf (assistant director, player development), Dave Jauss (senior ad- viser, player development)*, Spin Williams (senior advisor, player development), Ryan Thomas (director, minor league and Florida operations), JJ Estevez (assistant director, minor league operations), Dianne Wiebe (manager, Florida operations), Andrew Scar- lata (player education and cultur- al development coordinator), Car- los Felix (minor league clubhouse and equipment coordinator), Scott Paquin (minor league clubhouse operations), Eduardo Cas- tro (DSL academy administrator), Edniel Rouancourt (DSL clubhouse assistant), Lorena Rosario (DSL academy administrative assistant) [email protected]

Nats set new player development sta≠

JONATHAN NEWTON /THE WASHINGTON POST Deeper minor league staffs should send better prepared players to Manager Dave Martinez, center.

Rizzo meets goals to add new voices and increase technology and data use

BY NICKI JHABVALA

Just 14 months after he joined the Washington Football Team’s remade executive team and be- came an integral part of its push for a n ew stadium, chief legal officer Damon Jones is leaving the organization to become a vice president, assistant general manager and baseball legal counsel for the Los Angeles Dodgers. “Damon has been a key leader on our team and has helped our organization through a period of significant change and transition since j oining u s in 2 020,” Washing- ton said in a statement Tuesday. On Friday, the team’s vice president and deputy general counsel, Mali Friedman, will be promoted to chief legal officer and senior vice president of business affairs. “As an extension o f her previous role... Mali will oversee the Team’s Legal and Business Affairs function and provide organiza-

tion-wide legal and strategic sup- port,” Washington said in its statement. “ Mali a nd Damon have b een working closely together to e nsure a smooth transition.” The move comes just two weeks before Washington plans to reveal its name and rebranded uniforms Feb. 2. Jones, a former Covington & Burling attorney who has degrees from Harvard Law School and the University o f California Santa Bar- bara, joined the Washington Foot- ball Team in November 2020 as one of the first hires under team president Jason Wright. As Wash- ington set out remake its business operations and develop a plan for a new stadium, Jones was tabbed to help in all facets and was appointed the lead of its internal stadium team, which toured multiple venues across the United States and overseas last year as Washington began to form a plan for its next stadium.

Jones spent n early 13 years with the Washington Nationals as their senior vice president and general counsel, handling player con- tracts and collective bargaining issues while also playing a key role in the development of Nationals Park, which opened in 2008. “Damon was brought in not because he’s just a good legal mind but because he’s a great business thinker,” Wright told The Wash- ington Post in an interview last spring. “... It was such a c oup for us to get him. He has a future as a sports C EO. I don’t k now how l ong I’m going to be able to keep him, honestly. He’s going to be a team president one day, probably in [Major League Baseball], but he’ll be a t eam president. I’ll give it no more than 24 months.” Jones is the latest among a hand- ful of Washington business execu- tives to leave in recent months. Julie Andreeff Jensen, its senior vice president of external engage-

ment and communications, and Scott Shepherd, its chief partnership officer, both left in September to “pursue new and exciting oppor- tunities,” according to a statement from Wright at the time. Chris Bloyer, a longtime executive for the team who was most recently its senior vice president of operations and guest experience, also left this month. Ryan Moreland w as hired as t he team’s new chief partnership officer, and Trista Langdon was recently appointed to Bloyer’s former position. Friedman, another Covington & Burling alum with degrees from Princeton University and S tanford Law School, joined the Washing- ton Football Team in 2021 after serving as the vice president of legal and business affairs with the XFL. She previously held roles with the Golden State Warriors and the NHL. [email protected]

WFT executive Jones leaves for job with Dodgers

The Washington Post - USA (2022-01-19)

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