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Tanner Thorson Friday Winner Interview

The 2016 USAC National Midget Series champion, Tanner Thorson, took the checkers in Friday night’s Chili Bowl Nationals qualifying race, locking him into Saturday’s A-main.

After the exciting victory, SPEED SPORT’s Jacob Seelman was there to talk to him!

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SPEED SPORT’s Chili Bowl coverage is presented by MyRacePass, the official timing and scoring app of the 2020 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals. Fans can download the MyRacePass app on their phones to follow all the action during the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals. For more information on MyRacePass, visit www.myracepass.com and use the hashtag #GetTheApp on Twitter!

Mo back at No.1 as Camille beats Egypt 5-0
By SEAN REUTHE – Squash Mad Correspondent

Egypt’s Mohamed ElShorbagy and France’s Camille Serme lifted the 2020 J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions titles as they overcame World Champions Tarek Momen and Nour El Sherbini in New York’s iconic Grand Central Terminal to win the first PSA World Tour Platinum event of the New Year.

ElShorbagy will overtake compatriot Ali Farag as the men’s World No.1 in the PSA World Rankings for February after he came back from a game down to overcome World No.3 Momen, winning 9-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-5 to capture his third Tournament of Champions trophy after wins in 2015 and 2016.

The 29-year-old was a runner-up in Grand Central 12 months ago as he lost the final – and his World No.1 spot – to Farag. However, ElShorbagy cut a determined figure on court although he struggled at times with his right knee and needed treatment from the physio when 8-5 up in the fourth game.

However, he fought through the pain barrier to close out the win and collect his 40th PSA Tour title, a tally which puts him joint fifth on the all-time men’s PSA World Tour title winners list, level with fellow Egyptian Ramy Ashour and former World No.1 Gregory Gaultier.

“To win the trophy for the third time is an honour,” said ElShorbagy. “To have your name beside all the great champions that have won the event, it’s the kind of moment that I live for. I said before the season started that my main goal was to get back to World No.1 and to achieve this on the same court that I lost the World No.1 last year is a great feeling.

“There is no better venue than here that I would have wanted it to happen and I’m really proud.”

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In the women’s final, World No.5 Serme got her hands on her second Tournament of Champions title after a breathtaking performance from the 30-year-old saw her end a four-match losing streak to El Sherbini. 

Serme played some of the best squash of her career in New York this week as she defeated World No.1 Raneem El Welily and World No.3 Nouran Gohar en route to the final, before completing the set with an 11-8, 11-6, 11-7 win over World No.2 El Sherbini. Serme was drawn against an Egyptian in each of her five matches here in New York. 

El Sherbini was appearing in just her second PSA event of the season after her fourth World Championship triumph in November and sported knee strapping throughout the match. She never quite found her range as Serme played accurate, composed squash, and the French player closed out the win in 40 minutes to capture her first major title since her 2017 Tournament of Champions win.

“All the titles are special and different, but this one is special because the last tournament I lost in the quarter final of the World Championship against a very strong Hania El Hammamy and that was a tough one,” said Serme after winning her 15th PSA title.

“I know Nour was not 100%, I think everyone could see it. She was not moving very well on court but it’s not easy to play someone you know is not 100%. I was just trying to not think about it, but it’s not easy and all credit to her.

“If I could have all of my team at every tournament then I would do it. It’s so nice and so important to me to have them with me. To prepare all those matches, to analyse every match, usually we analyse when I lose but this week we have been analysing when I have won, so it was very interesting. I wish they could come every time.”

ElShorbagy and Serme take home over $25,000 each in prize money and also qualify for the season-ending PSA World Tour Finals. The PSA World Tour Finals take place in June and feature all seven PSA World Tour Platinum title winners and reigning World Champions, with the other spots being made up of the highest-ranked players on the Road to Egypt Standings. 

2020 J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions, Grand Central Terminal, New York, USA..

Men’s Final:
[2] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) bt [4] Tarek Momen (EGY) 3-1: 9-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-5 (76m)

Women’s Final:
[5] Camille Serme (FRA) bt [2] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) 3-0: 11-8, 11-6, 11-7 (40m) 

Report by SEAN REUTHE (PSA). Edited by ALAN THATCHER.

Pictures courtesy of PSA

KA'UPULEHI-KONA, Hawaii – Woody Austin scrambled for birdie on the par-4 18th Friday to take the lead into the final round of the PGA Tour Champions' season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship, while Ernie Els had the best round of the day to get into contention in his senior debut.

After the wind carried Austin's drive far right, he hit a low 4-iron out of the rough to 12 feet to set up the closing birdie at windy Hualalai. He had a 4-under 68 to get to 11-under 133, a stroke ahead of Bernhard Langer.

"I don't think you're supposed to have 4-iron in on the 18th hole, but I hit a beautiful little low little runner and gave myself a birdie putt that I made," Austin said.

The 55-year-old Austin won the 2016 event for the second of his four senior titles. He also won four times on the PGA Tour.

"I've got to sharpen up the putter," Austin said. "I three-putted three times in the two days, so I need to sharpen that up."

Langer, tied for the first-round lead with Miguel Angel Jimenez, followed an opening 64 with a 70.

"It's a much tougher wind for this course," Langer said. "It was southwest, so it played almost the opposite. The par 5s are a lot harder today than yesterday. I reached all the par 5s yesterday. Today, I only reached one. Just a harder wind for some reason the way the holes lay out."

The 62-year-old German star won the event in 2009, 2014 and 2017. He has 40 Champions victories.

Jimenez, the 2015 winner, had three front-nine bogeys in a 71 to fall into a tie for third with Fred Couples at 9 under. The 60-year-old Couples had a 68.

"If it's this hard of a wind, someone could shoot 4 or 5 under and win," Couples said. "If it's calmer, it might take 6 or 7 under. It's like that every year."

Els followed a 72 with a 65 to get to 7 under. He birdied four of the first six holes and eagled the par-5 seventh. He bogeyed the par-4 ninth and added birdies on Nos. 12 and 13.

"I just felt a bit more comfortable," said Els, the four-time major winner from South Africa who turned 50 in October. "Believe it or not, after all these years, I felt like a rookie yesterday and I felt a little out of place."

He changed putters to try to get better roll.

"I left everything short and didn't quite get it to the hole yesterday, so it was a little better," Els said.

John Daly also was 7 under after a 68.

Davis Love III shot 66 after an opening 74 left him tied for last in the 38-player field.

January 18: Sydney Thunder v Sydney Sixers

Our XI

Josh Philippe, Alex Hales (capt), Daniel Hughes, Alex Ross, Callum Ferguson, Moises Henriques, Chris Morris, Daniel Sams, Tom Curran (vice-capt), Lloyd Pope, Liam Bowe

NOTE: We might not always be able to tip you off about late injury (or other relevant updates)

Captain: Alex Hales

Hales is Thunder's second-highest run-getter so far, but as much as his 254 runs, it is his strike rate of 138.79 that should get you interested. He's coming off a run of solid starts (31, 55 and 26 in his last three innings), and Thunder need him to make it big and lift them out of near-bottom of the table with time running out.

Vice-captain: Tom Curran

Curran has blown hot and cold at times this season, but on days he has come good, his performances have been cause of instant regret for fantasy players who have not made him captain or vice-captain. A 3 for 32 and 2 for 30 have been followed by a 0 for 52, and a four-wicket haul against Adelaide Strikers was followed by 1 for 58 against Marcus Stoinis' boundary barrage in Melbourne.

You'd be brave to punt on him as your vice-captain, but what's fantasy sport without a bit of that?

PS: A safer bet might be to go with Callum Ferguson.

Hot Picks

Callum Ferguson

Ferguson has been the one island of consistency in a Thunder middle order sorely lacking in runs. He has held the Golden Cap for the tournament's highest run-getter at different points early in the season, and as 302 runs at an average of 37.75 prove, is your banker with the bat.

Alex Ross

Ross hasn't been dismissed for less than 40 in five BBL games in 2020 so far, and strikes at a brisk 137.4 (this season), ideal for someone batting at No. 5 closer to the tail end of the innings. Made his highest score of the season in his last innings, and is worth getting into your XI.

Josh Philippe

While 277 runs suggest that it has been a good Big Bash season so far, Philippe's strike rate stands at an uncharacteristic 127.64, an indication of how he's often been tied down in the Powerplay. However, he's an impact player who has that match-winning knock in him just around the corner - you don't need to look beyond his 44-ball 81* and 52-ball 83* for proof.

Value Picks

Lloyd Pope

From an U-19 World Cup star in 2018, Pope is having the kind of season that could signal his rise from being a hot prospect for the future to a dependable weapon with the ball. An economy rate of 7.14 is creditable for a leggie, and given that he's managed 10 wickets from eight games to go with it, should be one of the first names on your team sheet at this point.

Liam Bowe

Left-arm wristspinners are a shoo-in to most fantasy XI just for sheer novelty, and Bowe has impressed in his first two games of the season over the past week. His T20 career-best 2 for 23 came in Thunder's last game, and at his price, he's worth punting on.

Points to note

• The Sydney Showground has been marginally better for spinners when compared to pace bowlers, most specifically for wristspinners, who have 49 wickets since the 2016-17 season at an incredible economy rate of 6.64. It could be the day Pope and Bowe come good for their sides

• Nathan Lyon is in contention for a Big Bash return, subject to recovering from a finger injury. So watch out for team news before you finalise your XI - he could potentially replace Bowe or one of the seamers. Our backup picks include Ben Dwarshuis and Jackson Bird [both Sixers]

When trying to finalise the best batting line-up in the ongoing series, India were wondering how to squeeze three openers in the XI and also fix a fragile-looking middle order with decent options but nobody really outshining the other. What do you do then? Simple, move an opener to the middle order.

The team management's intention to move KL Rahul to No. 4 or 5 may not originally have been to solve the middle-order issues but the way the in-form batsman went about his innings on Friday, it has given them an option of playing him there for some more time and killing two birds with one stone. India can now easily continue to open with Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, have Virat Kohli at his original No. 3 spot, bat Shreyas Iyer and Rahul interchangeably at Nos. 4 and 5 depending on the situation, and Rishabh Pant at 6.

With a quickfire innings laden with classic and innovative strokes for 80 runs off just 52 balls, Rahul first became Kohli's stable ally for nearly 11 overs and then went on to play the finisher's role to ensure India put on a challenging 340. After Kohli's one-game experiment of batting at No. 4 by playing the three openers in the top order in Mumbai, the captain returned to his original position in Rajkot and Rahul came out to bat at a tricky score of 198 for 3 in the 33rd over. The issue then was not the scoring rate but how India would get to a strong total by avoiding the kind of middle-order collapse - 4 for 30 - they suffered in the first ODI.

ALSO READ: KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav the gamechangers as India go level

After dot-ball pressure got the better of Iyer, Rahul started with one of his trademark drives against Mitchell Starc and barely let his strike rate dip below 100 from there, mixing his innings with the odd boundary and plenty of singles. One of his best shots, that also shot up his strike rate, was against Ashton Agar - a classical straight six that rammed into the sightscreen. In order to become this steady hand in the middle order, Rahul said he didn't change his technique but watched a lot of videos of world-class batsmen.

"I just spoke a lot more to middle-order batsmen and watched a lot of videos," Rahul said. "I spoke a lot to Virat and watched a lot of videos of AB [de Villiers] or Steve Smith and how they build their innings. Kane Williamson is somebody I've tried to go back and watch some of his videos and see how they build their innings and how they play in certain situations. The only thing I'm trying to learn is how I can use my game and be better at a certain situation. Reading of the game has got a lot better for me now that I've played in different positions and batting becomes a lot more enjoyable."

How opener KL Rahul went about preparing for his new role in India's middle order #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/dYhRyMAJL7

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) January 17, 2020

Despite being 1-0 down in a short series, India could take the risk of batting an opener out of his position because of the kind of form he is in. Since the beginning of November, Rahul has batted 13 times in ODIs and T20Is to score 650 runs at a strike rate of 116.27, including a one-day hundred against West Indies and six other half-centuries at an average of 54.16. Rahul had batted eight other times at No. 4 or lower in one-dayers previously, including domestic List A matches, but never scored a fifty in them.

"It's a great challenge [in the middle order] and the last couple of months have been good, I have been in decent form and pretty confident about my skill," he said. "So coming up to every game and having a new responsibility and a new role is also a blessing. I don't think a lot of batsmen get that so that is how I look at this and I am enjoying my batting.

"I have always opened the batting so that's the position I am most comfortable in and I know how to build my innings. But I get to learn so much about my own self and about my batting and batting as an art when I get to bat at No. 3 or 4 or 5, and I am kind of enjoying it and finding new ways to counter bowlers, new ways to handle situation. I don't look at it as pressure, it's something like an opportunity and I will try to play it the best I can."

When Kohli fell for 78 at the score of 276 at the start of the 44th over, Rahul, at 42 off 32, then seamlessly switched his role to that of a finisher even though Manish Pandey fell quickly at the other end. Rahul took on an off-colour Starc by following a four with a magnificent inside-out drive over the covers. It was the 46th over and Rahul showed that just like Kohli and Sharma, he could rely on technically-correct shots and not slogs to collect boundaries in the death overs. Rahul gave similar treatment to Pat Cummins in the penultimate over - a six and a four - taking the two menacing fast bowlers for a collective 41 runs off 22 balls.

By the time he got out, Rahul had become the first India batsman at No. 5 or lower to score a fifty at a strike rate of over 150 when batting first since November 2013. Now in Rahul, India have a solid option for No. 4 if Kohli gets out early, or let him play second-fiddle to Kohli when the need arises, and even polish off the innings with lusty blows like he did on Friday at No. 5.

Not to forget he can keep wicket well, skills he exhibited with the quick stumping of Aaron Finch off Ravindra Jadeja, which can also make him India's back-up keeper for Pant when India tour overseas for limited-overs matches, such as the T20 World Cup later this year. Just don't compare him with the other Rahul from Karnataka who also once kept wicket for India, because it makes this Rahul awkward in press conferences.

Rajshahi Royals captain Andre Russell has credited Mohammad Nawaz for taking the pressure off him and helping the side to the BPL title on Friday. The pair plundered 71 off 34 balls, with Nawaz surprisingly dominating the partnership with an unbeaten 41 off 20 balls. The stand lifted Rajshahi to 170 for 4, which proved 21 too many for Khulna Tigers.

ALSO READ: Nawaz, Russell fire Rajshahi to BPL title

Russell also praised wicketkeeper-batsman Irfan Sukkur for his fifty under pressure in the first half of Rajshahi's innings. Sukkur became the first uncapped Bangladesh player to hit a half-century in the BPL final.

"Once I was there until the end, we could definitely be more aggressive," Russell said. "[Khulna] bowl well in the death but when two good batters [are] swinging from the hips, anything can happen. Well played to [Mohammad] Nawaz. He took a lot of pressure off me. He gave us the punch that we needed going into bowling. Irfan Sukkur is big-hearted guy. I have been telling him to believe in himself, you can hit the ball. Just be positive. When a big player speaks to these guys, they can move mountains."

Russell, who became the first overseas captain to lift the BPL title, said that he didn't find it too difficult to deal with domestic cricketers.

"It wasn't that difficult [to be a foreign captain]," he said. "The first week, a few practice sessions and the first two games, was the time to know what each player is about - whether a bowler was better with the new ball, in the middle overs or at the death. It took me a few games but everyone really pulled through when I called on them. Rabbi bowled well tonight. Irfan has been doing well."

Russell said that he wanted to make sure that the domestic cricketers and the helpers around the team get paid, even though there was no prize money in this tournament. In the last BPL, the champions received BDT 2 crore (USD 250,000) while the runners-up side got BDT 85 lakh (USD 106,250).

"In franchise cricket, every player looks forward to the prize money," he said. "But for me, winning the tournament is everything. It might sound like I don't like money. "I just want to make sure that these local guys who helps us with our bags and always around the team, is taken care of. They get some bonus. I am happy once they and the local players are taken care of. This is what matters the most."

Russell also said that he enjoyed his stint with Rajshahi with whom he had won his first T20 tournament as a captain. "It is actually a good feeling," he said. "I didn't really notice [that I was the first foreign captain to win the BPL]. They trusted my ability. I believe in myself as well, to get the job done. I contributed as much as I could. We had a very good unit. Everyone showed up tonight.

"My first championship as a captain is really special to me. As a captain, you don't want to be selfish. At the same time, you have to believe in other bowlers. Everyone answered and came to the party tonight."

Cleveland Cavaliers forward Tristan Thompson became the second Cleveland athlete this week to get in hot water for a butt slap.

Thompson was ejected in the third quarter of Friday night's 113-109 loss to Memphis Grizzlies after drawing his second technical attempting to give Jae Crowder a smack on the butt.

Thompson was at the free throw line when Crowder passed by as he was attempting to sub out. Thompson reached down to give Crowder a smack while the Grizzlies forward attempted to fend off his hand.

Thompson was quickly T'd up for a "slap to the backside," crew chief Kenny Mauer said after the game.

Crowder and Thompson had drawn double-technicals earlier in the game.

"A lot of barking and no bite we will leave it at that," Crowder said after the game.

The two were teammates in Cleveland during the 2017-18 season, before Crowder was traded to Utah.

"So, we have a history, and it was just a little competitive spirit,'' Thompson said. "(The officials) might have taken it the wrong way because they may have forgotten we were teammates.''

Mauer said the second technical foul was not for anything either player said, "just simply the butt slap."

Thompson said he is "definitely calling (the Players Association) to appeal that.''

On Thursday, New Orleans police issued an arrest warrant for Browns star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. after video surfaced of him slapping the butt of a Superdome security guard in the LSU locker room after the Tigers' national championship victory over Clemson on Monday.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- It felt like he was doing it again.

A reclining midrange jumper over the fingertips of a very tall defender, a pull-up 3 that hit all net, a clutch rebound in traffic, a heady strip-save that erased an easy layup.

Chris Paul has been the NBA's clutch-time master this season, leading the league in points and field goals made in the final five minutes of regulation and overtimes of games within five points. He's found the right time to assert himself, to flip his own personal takeover switch.

But on Friday against the Miami Heat, the hill was too steep and the time too short, even for him.

The Heat won 115-108, building a 22-point lead and holding off a late charge by the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Heat hit the halfway point of the season 29-12, second in the East, and continue to validate themselves as a capable contender. The Heat have a reputation for stability and were always seen to be a solid, playoff-caliber team.

But even after adding small forward Jimmy Butler in the summer, the Heat are better than even some of the loftier expectations for them. Most thought they were missing something: a second star, a secondary scorer, a playmaking point guard to engineer an offense.

There was a time where that player was thought, very obviously, to be Paul.

Instead, Paul stood across the hall in the Thunder locker room, a room filled with rare frustration fueled by another slow defensive start and a swollen deficit to try to overcome. Short answers, hushed conversations, bland "gotta figure it out" platitudes serving as explanations.

Regardless, it has been an uplifting season for OKC, one of exceeded expectations where a home loss to a high-caliber team playing .700 basketball qualifies as disappointing. There was an assumption after they dismantled the top rung of a star-driven roster that the Thunder would struggle to crawl out of the cellar of the West, but they are a capable winner themselves at 23-19.

Trades are supposed to work for both sides. That's the idea, anyway; it does not always work out like that. But in this scenario, at least at present, it's a trade that didn't happen that has become a win for everyone.

When the Thunder and Houston Rockets swapped Russell Westbrook for Paul (plus up to four first-round draft picks) in July, the Heat were lurking as either a mystery third-team suitor, or possibly even as a thief to interrupt negotiations altogether with a head-to-head offer.

As Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated reported in December, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey had "hoped the Thunder would add a third team, preferably the Miami Heat, where Paul could land on a playoff contender."

Turns out, Paul did land on a playoff contender.

It was assumed that the Thunder wanted to build the transaction into a three-team deal to move Paul along to Miami. But in reality, outside of the Heat sweetening the pot with high-value young talent, the Thunder always wanted to keep Paul. They valued his veteran presence on a young roster, his intelligence and, above all, his still-elite skill set. They had no reason to rush a trade. They felt Paul still had good basketball to play, and alongside winning them some games, could increase his market at the same time. That has happened.

Even as recently as September, the Paul-to-Miami talks were said to be simmering, with the Heat still interested. Ahead of the season, the Heat were tempted by the idea of adding Paul to pair with Butler, but not at the expense of their emerging young talent such as power forward Bam Adebayo or lottery rookie shooting guard Tyler Herro. But they also could see where the season took them before acting impulsively on a deal. If it went bad, they could revisit and the Thunder would listen.

Miami was 13-5 entering December, boosted by the revelation of former G Leaguer Kendrick Nunn, by former All-Star Goran Dragic surging as a Sixth Man of the Year candidate, by youngsters Adebayo, Herro and starting shooting guard Duncan Robinson energizing the roster.

"Everybody is comfortable, man. Everybody is whipping the ball around, sharing the basketball," Butler said. "It's so fun to play like that. So fun to play like that. But we're a talented group. We've got some young guys, some older guys, that love playing with one another."

And it was Nunn on Friday who played the inverted role of closer for the Heat, finishing with a team-high 22 points, 14 coming in the second half. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra confessed he would've liked the ball to find Butler a little more down the stretch, but Nunn is steady and hit an early dagger after Butler tipped out a rebound for an open 3 with 5 minutes, 41 seconds left to play.

"He just works," Butler said of Nunn. "I feel like that's where your confidence comes from, whether that's on the defensive end when you're working on schemes of everything, or it's offensive end, getting in your bag, you're working on shooting the ball, he's constantly working on his game. He'll be in this league for a while."

Nunn has been an influential part of the Heat avoiding any regrets on passing up a deal, but trading for Paul didn't make a lot of sense anyway for Miami's future. It basically would have removed the Heat from the 2021 Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes. Team president Pat Riley is always eager to at least have a seat at the table -- unless, and the word "unless" is doing a lot of work here, Paul agreed to decline his $44.2 million player option in 2021-22. Maybe Paul would if it meant landing a marquee star to chase a title alongside. But someone actively deciding not to make $44 million is a hard thing to plan for.

Paul has revitalized himself as one of the elite floor generals in the game, but it's been more about the change in scenery than a second career wind. He's back to running the game, controlling an offense and bending a team to his democratic offensive identity. The Heat play a motion-heavy game and Paul would've undoubtedly fit -- because by nature, he inherently fits -- but it would've come with concessions in other areas.

He has been sensational for the Thunder in a variety of ways beyond the ridiculous clutch play and general shepherding of the team. Paul is effectively an extra assistant coach, and is said to be invested and connected with his teammates and the coaching staff. He's embraced a mentorship role and played the part of good citizen.

Paul is a game-changer. He might be 34, he might be owed a dump truck of money still; but he also is an excellent, winning player. Put him on a number of teams, Eastern Conference specifically, and he could swing the playoff pendulum. The Heat are happy with the core and their season -- which they should be -- but it's not as if Paul wouldn't make them better in a vacuum.

That's the catch: There was always more than that to consider for the Heat then, and still now.

CEO Sam Kennedy said the Boston Red Sox haven't made any notable progress in the search for a new manager as of late Friday but would like to have one in place for the start of spring training in mid-February.

"It's got to be someone who fits the culture of this team and has a knowledge of what it's going to take to put a championship team on the field in 2020," Kennedy said during the team's winter festival Friday in Springfield, Massachusetts. "It's a tall task to get someone in place, but Chaim [Bloom, the chief baseball officer] and [general manager Brian O'Halloran] will get it done for sure."

If it was up to the fans, the answer would be easy: Jason Varitek.

Supporters in Springfield pleaded for Boston's front office to hire the former catcher and team captain as a replacement for Alex Cora, with whom the team parted ways Wednesday due to his involvement in a cheating scandal while he was bench coach for the Houston Astros in 2017.

Members of the team's leadership group were hit with "Hire Tek!" chants throughout Friday night, and principal owner John Henry was interrupted several times by fans voicing their support. Henry paused and nodded in acknowledgement, and Bloom used the opportunity to appease the crowd.

"I think if you poll the audience, they would just get this done right now," Bloom said to big applause.

Fans also peppered retired Red Sox legends David Ortiz and Pedro Martinez with questions about the managerial vacancy during a separate panel.

Ortiz was asked if he would accept a managerial or front-office job with the team but said that he wasn't at a good point in his life to do so.

The 44-year-old former designated hitter is still recovering after being shot last June in what authorities called a case of mistaken identity in his native Dominican Republic.

"One day I will be [ready]," Ortiz said.

Martinez said that whomever the Red Sox settle on will be the right choice.

"I guarantee you whoever comes over to manage this great team that we have, it's probably gonna be the closest to the perfect person that we could ever get," Martinez said.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

CHICAGO -- In the aftermath of the Astros' cheating scandal, Yu Darvish has been left wondering: Was he tipping pitches during the 2017 World Series, or were Houston players stealing signs?

In the two-plus years that Series, the right-hander had thought it was the former. He was rocked by the Astros that postseason while a member of the Dodgers, and Houston players told him afterward that he was tipping pitches.

But now, after a Major League Baseball investigation found that the Astros illegally stole signs that year, Darvish isn't so sure.

"That's what I want to know," he said Friday at the Chicago Cubs' winter fan convention.

"A couple of Astros players told me I was tipping pitches, but now it comes out they were stealing signs. Was I tipping, or were they stealing?"

Such questions have mounted around baseball since MLB commissioner Rob Manfred unveiled the league's report on the Astros on Monday.

For Darvish, it hit especially close to home. While with the Dodgers, he had a combined 1.59 ERA in the 2017 NL division and championship series. But against Houston in the World Series, his ERA ballooned to 21.60. He gave up four runs in 1.2 innings in Game 3 in Houston and got hit hard again in Game 7 in Los Angeles, taking the loss as the Astros captured their first World Series title.

That sequence of events left Darvish with more questions than answers.

"I know they were stealing signs, but at the same time, I was not good during the World Series," he said.

His World Series struggles likely had long-term results as well. He was a free agent after that season, and the Cubs later admitted that teams might been scared off by Darvish's performance against the Astros, giving Chicago an easier path to signing him to a six-year, $126 million contract.

It also took Darvish time to mentally recover from the two losses. Coupled with arm issues that ended his 2018 season prematurely, his first season in Chicago wasn't exactly the best stretch of his career, and he's still wondering if what Houston did contributed.

"I'm better for what I went through," Darvish said. "But, yeah, everyone is wondering about pitching against them.

"It's tough to pitch. We're losing the strike zone. It's getting smaller. They want [us] to [pitch] quicker. And the hitters are stealing signs."

Cubs pitchers hope the playing field will be level after the league completes its investigations. MLB also is probing whether the Boston Red Sox used video to decode opponents' sign sequences and passed the information to their players in 2018, as alleged in a report by The Athletic.

Cubs players echoed what many others in the game have said: The Astros aren't the only ones cheating.

"You just don't know to what extent," right-hander Kyle Hendricks said. "Is it legal sign stealing or illegal? Hopefully, this offseason will eliminate that stuff."

Cubs president Theo Epstein praised the league's beefed-up investigation arm for its due diligence in the scandal. Both Epstein and star first baseman Anthony Rizzo are adamant that the Cubs have never gained an edge by using technology in that manner.

The goal is for no team to be able to do it.

"We applaud Major League Baseball's efforts to step up in this situation and make sure the games are played with integrity," Epstein said.