Less than 20% of the way into the MLB season, two high-profile teams have fired their managers. The Boston Red Sox, in last place in the American League East, let go of Alex Cora, and then the Philadelphia Phillies axed Rob Thomson. The Phillies are tied with the New York Mets for last in the National League East. Will this be the wake-up call these teams need?
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In the NBA playoffs last night, Joel Embiid had a vintage performance to extend the Philadelphia 76ers' season. Also, a sports league might have figured out how to curtail tanking.
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Firing Season
Baseball, famously, is described as a game of failure. But too much failure in the season's first month has already cost two managers their jobs.
After starting the season with the sixth-best odds to win the World Series, the Red Sox had stumbled out of the gate to a 10-17 record. Following Saturday's 17-1 win in Baltimore, Red Sox coaches were reportedly about to go to dinner when Cora and five other coaches learned they had been fired.
Since the Red Sox won the 2018 World Series title under Cora, they have gone to the playoffs just twice. Making matters more awkward, they were driven out of Baltimore by the unfortunately named van service Coaches4Hire, as many pointed out online.
Yet one team's scapegoat can be another's preferred candidate. Only a day after Cora was fired, Philadelphia fired its manager, Thomson, and offered Cora the job to lead the Phillies. Cora declined, however.
It was only four years ago that Thomson had been the beneficiary of a midseason manager change, leading Philadelphia to a World Series berth in 2022 after taking over for Joe Girardi early that season. Now, he was the victim of a floundering start that had seen the Phillies go 9-19, their worst start since 2002, despite a payroll in the neighborhood of $300 million.
Nine teams changed managers entering this season, which means more firings are likely. For now, all eyes turn to the skidding Mets, who own one of baseball's most expensive payrolls and worst records.
Vintage Embiid
Perhaps no modern superstar has been as snakebitten as Embiid.
The Philadelphia 76ers center has dealt with a shocking amount of bad luck during his playoff career in particular, suffering injuries ranging from illnesses to an orbital fracture to Bell's palsy. The common thread, no matter the severity of the injury, is that Embiid almost always tries to play through the pain.
That's what made his performance last night so inspiring. Only 19 days removed from an emergency surgery for appendicitis, with his team on the brink of elimination, Embiid scored 33 points and dished eight assists and led the No. 7 Philadelphia 76ers to a 113-97 win over the No. 2 Boston Celtics. Embiid also played through a knee injury he suffered during the game. The series will now move back to Philly with the Sixers trailing 3-2.
After starting the game shooting 1-for-6 from the field, Embiid made 11 of his last 17 shots. He didn't attempt a single 3-pointer in the second half, choosing instead to dominate inside. His gutsy (no pun intended) performance not only kept Philadelphia's season alive, it was a statement of the lengths Embiid is still willing to go to taste playoff success.
“Obviously you don't want to go home, so you do whatever it takes,†Embiid said after.
His running mate, guard Tyrese Maxey, said: “He was dominant. Especially the second half, he was extremely dominant. He did a really good job of just inserting himself. I was proud of him tonight, man. That's the dominance that you go into a playoff game with. He did that.â€
The series will resume tomorrow, with another chance for Embiid to add to his playoff legend.
Tanking Solution?
How do you keep a team from tanking to get a good draft selection? The NBA is discussing ways to prevent teams from sabotaging themselves once it's clear their season is a wash, in order to secure a higher draft pick.
The Professional Women's Hockey League may have a solution. The league uses a system called the Gold Plan, as a way to keep fans and players invested even after their teams have lost any chance at the playoffs.
A team enters the Gold Plan phase as soon as they are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. Once that happens, they have to keep winning to accumulate points to determine the draft order, with the No.1 draft pick going to the team with the most points.
The Vancouver Goldeneyes, one of this season's two expansion teams, secured the first pick with a nail-biter overtime win against the Minnesota Frost on Saturday. Olympic gold medalist and NCAA champion Caroline Harvey is expected to be the No. 1 pick, after being named Team USA's MVP at the Milan Cortina Games.
In the still relatively young league, this year's draft class is one of the most anticipated yet. College seniors Laila Edwards, Lacey Eden and Kirsten Simms are coming into the draft fresh off Wisconsin's Frozen Four championship this spring. All three have had Team USA experience like Harvey.
The PWHL playoffs start tomorrow, with the Ottawa Charge taking on the Boston Fleet, then continue Saturday with top-seeded Montreal Victoire facing off against the Minnesota Frost, who have won back-to-back Walter Cups.
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What We’re Reading
At the World Cup this summer, players will get red cards for covering their mouths during disputes.
The NCAA is on track to expand to a 76-team March Madness bracket for next season.
Tyran Stokes, the expected top pick in next year's NBA draft, is going to Kansas.
World champion sprinter Abby Steiner is suing Puma and the Mercedes Formula 1 team over “defective†shoes.
Silent Tactic is out of the Kentucky Derby with a foot injury, the horse's trainer said.
What We’re Watching
The top-seed Detroit Pistons face elimination tonight against No. 8 Orlando Magic. Will Detroit's star Cade Cunningham rise to the occasion? Or will the Pistons' 60-win season end earlier than expected?
Also, some experts predicted the Cleveland Cavaliers could be real contenders. But the Toronto Raptors have been putting up a fight. That series is tied 2-2, with Game 5 tonight.
All times are Eastern:
- 7 p.m.: No. 1 Detroit Pistons vs. No. 8 Orlando Magic, on Amazon Prime
- 7:30 p.m.: No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. No. 5 Toronto Raptors, on ESPN
- 10 p.m.: No. 4 Los Angeles Lakers vs. No. 5 Houston Rockets, on ESPN
