Sandberg not in running as Cubs manager
Baseball: Mike Quade is out as Chicago Cubs manager with one year remaining on his two-year deal, and Ryne Sandberg won’t be considered as his replacement.
Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein flew to Florida on Wednesday to personally give Quade the news.
The shocking news was that Sandberg (North Central High) would not be considered. In a statement, Epstein said the next Cubs manager “must have managerial or coaching experience at the major league level.”
That would leave Sandberg out of the picture. The highest level he’s managed at is Triple-A, and he’s never been a major league coach. The speculation was that if the Cubs did not rule Sandberg out immediately, the groundswell to name him from fans would be deafening.
Almost immediately, Sandberg’s name was leaked as a candidate for the St. Louis Cardinals’ opening. Foxsports.com columnist Ken Rosenthal reported on Twitter the Cardinals received permission from Philadelphia to interview Sandberg.
• Process begins for finding new Dodgers owner: Maybe a “For Sale” sign should be erected outside Dodger Stadium.
Team, ballpark, land and television rights available. Price: $1 billion and up.
The process of finding a new owner for the Los Angeles Dodgers began early Wednesday when current boss Frank McCourt and Major League Baseball released a joint statement saying they had agreed to a court-supervised sale of the once-glamorous and now bankrupt franchise.
The price likely will break the record for a baseball franchise, topping the $845 million paid by the Ricketts family for the Cubs in 2009.
When the bidding opens, the list of potential buyers could include a sentimental favorite, with former owner Peter O’Malley saying he wants to return as the team’s chief executive and will work on forming an ownership group.
“I want to reconnect the team and the community,” O’Malley said.
The O’Malley family owned the Dodgers for nearly half a century. Peter’s father, Walter, moved them from Brooklyn to Los Angeles. Many Dodgers fans connect O’Malley’s sale of the team to Fox in 1998 with the start of the franchise’s decline.
Sporting Kansas City moves on to finals
MLS: C.J. Sapong and Aurelien Collin scored in a cold, driving rainstorm, giving Sporting Kansas City a 2-0 victory over the injury-depleted Colorado Rapids at Kansas City, Kan., and sending them on to the Eastern Conference finals.
Flyers pepper All-Star goalie Miller
NHL: Ilya Bryzgalov made 29 saves and the Philadelphia Flyers scored three times in the first period to chase All-Star goalie Ryan Miller in a 3-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres at Buffalo, N.Y.
It was the first meeting between the teams since the Flyers eliminated the Sabres in seven games during their Eastern Conference quarterfinal last season.
• Coyotes roll past Avalanche: Mike Smith stopped 39 shots and Radim Vrbata had two goals, lifting the Phoenix Coyotes to a 4-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche at Denver.
Ohio takes over first in Mid-American
College football: Tyler Tettleton threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Donte Foster with 1:41 left in Ohio’s 35-31 victory over Temple at Athens, Ohio.
Ohio (6-3, 3-2 Mid- American) took the lead from Temple (5-4, 3-3) in the conference’s East Division and became bowl eligible for the third straight year.
Northern State shocks Butler
Men’s basketball: Northern State’s Alex Thomas made his only 3-pointer at the buzzer, beating Butler 53-50 in an exhibition game at Indianapolis.
Butler, the national runner-up each of the past two seasons, shot 3 of 18 on 3s.