BASEBALL
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred hopes the investigation into sign stealing by the Houston Astros will be complete by next season and says he has authority to impose discipline beyond the loss of amateur draft picks.
Oakland pitcher Mike Fiers says that when he was with Houston in 2017, the Astros stole signs during home games by using a camera positioned in center field, The Athletic reported last week.
“Any allegation that relates to a rule violation that could affect the outcome of a game or games is the most serious matter – it relates to the integrity of the sport,” Manfred said Tuesday ahead of an owners’ meeting. “People want the game played consistent with our rules and feel it’s important that we figure out exactly what happened here and take steps to make sure that it doesn’t happen in the future by imposing appropriate discipline.”
Manfred fined the Boston Red Sox in September 2017 for using an Apple Watch to steal signals from New York Yankees catchers. At the time, only weeks before the Astros won their first World Series title, Manfred said “all 30 clubs have been notified that future violations of this type will be subject to more serious sanctions, including the possible loss of draft picks.”
Loss of international signing bonus pool allocation also has been mentioned as a potential penalty.
“I’m not going to speculate on what the appropriate discipline is. That depends on how the facts are established at the end of the investigation,” Manfred said. “The general warning that I issued to the clubs, I stand by. It certainly could be all those things. But my authority under the major league constitution would be broader than those things, as well.”
• The Brewers are bringing back the team’s iconic ball-in-glove logo next year.
Milwaukee unveiled its new uniform designs and logo at Miller Park. Starting in 2020, players will wear a modernized version of the ball-in-glove image first introduced in 1978 and worn until 1993.
A “M” and the “B” are linked above the glove’s webbing. The ball features two vertical seams, making it look more authentic.
• Pitcher Shun Yamaguchi, who led Japan’s Central League in wins, strikeouts and winning percentage this season, says he wants to move to Major League Baseball through the posting system.
Yamaguchi, 32, declared his intention this week. He would become the first player from Tokyo’s Yomiuri Giants to pursue a career in the majors through the posting system, though outfielder Hideki Matsui left as a free agent to sign with the New York Yankees for the 2003 season.
COLLEGES
MEN’S BASKETBALL: Mamadi Diakite scored 19 points and No. 7 Virginia withstood a 3-point shooting display by Anthony Lamb and beat visiting Vermont, 61-55.
The Cavaliers (4-0) trailed before Diakite’s basket gave them a 50-49 lead with 5:12 left and sparked a 9-0 run. Jay Huff scored twice in the spurt and Braxton Key hit a 3-pointer as Virginia held the Catamounts (4-1) scoreless, and forced four turnovers, in a nearly four-minute span.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Megan Walker scored 15 of her 19 points in the first half and No. 4 UConn blew out visiting Virginia, 83-44.
Christyn Williams added 17 points for the Huskies (4-0), who extended their home winning streak to 96 games.
Jocelyn Willoughby scored 13 points for Virginia (2-3).
SOCCER
CONCACAF: Josh Sargent scored the first of his two goals 34 seconds in, Jordan Morris also had two goals and the United States routed Cuba 4-0 at George Town, Cayman Islands, night to reach the semifinals of the first CONCACAF Nations League.
The U.S. finished 3-1 in Group A along with Canada and earned first place because of a better goal difference, plus-12 to plus-six. Cuba was last in the group at 0-4 and was outscored 18-0.
The U.S. likely will play Honduras in the Nations League semifinals in June, with Mexico meeting Costa Rica.
PREMIER LEAGUE: Less than six months after leading Tottenham to the Champions League final, Mauricio Pochettino was fired by the English club after its poor start to the season.
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy said the board was “extremely reluctant” to take the decision but was doing so “in the club’s best interests.”
Pochettino leaves after 5 1/2 years in the job, during which he transformed the London club into a title contender in the Premier League and the Champions League but never managed to win a trophy.
The team has won just six games in the Premier League since February.
SPAIN: Luis Enrique is returning as coach five months after stepping down because of his daughter’s illness.
He is taking over from former assistant Robert Moreno, who coached the team through qualifying for the 2020 European Championship. His last match was on Monday, a 5-0 rout of Romania in Madrid.
Luis Enrique’s 9-year-old daughter, Xana, died of a type of bone cancer less than three months ago.
OLYMPICS
MEDIA: Molly Solomon will lead NBC’s Olympics coverage, becoming the first woman to be an executive producer for a network sports division.
She succeeds Jim Bell, who announced Nov. 4 he was leaving the network.
TENNIS
DAVIS CUP: Two days after clinching the doubles title in the ATP Finals, French duo Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut gave France an opening win in the Davis Cup finals at Madrid.
Herbert and Mahut rallied to defeat Ben McLachlan and Yasutaka Uchiyama of Japan 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-5 in the deciding doubles match in Group A, giving top-ranked France a 2-1 victory.
The teams were tied after Jo-Wilfried Tsonga cruised past Uchiyama 6-2, 6-1 and Yoshihito Nishioka defeated Gael Monfils 7-5, 6-2.
In the new Davis Cup format, teams play only two singles and a doubles in each tie, with the group winners advancing to the knockout stage.
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