The LPGA and Ladies European Tour have renewed talks that could lead to “a true partnership” between the two organizations.

LET Board Chair Marta Figueras-Dotti sent a letter to LET players this week informing them of the discussions. She told players that a dialogue was “in full swing” to create a “50-50 joint venture” between the tours.

LPGA and LET officials said in a joint statement Wednesday that while it’s too early to publicly discuss specifics, they are working to complete terms of a new agreement in time to present it to LET players at their annual meeting on Nov. 26 in Spain.

The joint statement included a portion of Figueras-Dotti’s communication to her tour members: “This summer, the LPGA and LET began discussions about a true partnership, where we would work together to build stronger tour schedules, create more financial stability, and deliver a Ladies European Tour that could offer its members significantly more opportunities to compete, earn an income and advance their professional career.”

The statement said discussions began at the Solheim Cup last month.

The tours began talking in 2016 about the possibility of the LPGA taking control of the struggling LET, with the LPGA seeking an ownership stake that could also have included a partnership with the European Tour and the R&A.

Those talks broke off early last year with the LET deciding it would continue to try to rebuild on its own.

The joint LPGA-LET statement focuses strongly on the aim of a joint partnership.

The LET has been struggling for the last four years, with tournaments and sponsorships falling away. Two years ago, the LET ended the four-year reign of its embattled CEO, Ivan Khodabakhsh, a former World Boxing Series CEO with no golf experience. Seven LET tournaments folded up under his reign in 2017.

The LET featured just 15 tournaments last year for roughly $14 million in total prize money. The most lucrative events on that schedule were the AIG Women’s British Open and Evian Championship, majors co-sanctioned with the LPGA. In fact, those two events made up about half the prize money on the LET schedule.

“A lot of my friends who have been on tour for 12 years have had to get part-time jobs,” England’s Mel Reid said last year. “Golf is supposed to be the second highest paid women’s sport.”

The LPGA played 33 events for $66 million last year.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- As his San Francisco 49ers prepare to play the Washington Redskins on Sunday, coach Kyle Shanahan isn't exactly nostalgic about returning to the nation's capital.

Shanahan served as Washington's offensive coordinator from 2010 to 2013, working with his father, Mike, who was the head coach at the time.

On Wednesday, Shanahan was asked what his favorite part of his time in Washington was.

"Being able to work with my dad and be around some other good coaches," Shanahan said.

And the worst part?

"Everything else," Shanahan said.

After a brief pause, Shanahan added that he did like working with "a lot of the players," too. While it's clear Shanahan has not forgotten his tumultuous time in Washington, he insists that there's no added motivation this weekend against the Redskins other than trying to get his team to its first 6-0 start since 1990.

"No, not at all," Shanahan said. "That was a while ago. I've been in three different buildings since. My dad retired. He's good. We've accepted what we had to deal with there and moved on. We'll watch other people deal with it."

Aside from an NFC East division title in 2012, Kyle Shanahan's time in Washington was mostly marked by controversy surrounding the team. The Redskins did not have a winning record in any of the other three seasons Shanahan was on staff, and Shanahan has previously made it clear that he didn't care for the how the organization was run or the trade for and subsequent handling of quarterback Robert Griffin III, among a variety of other issues.

Shanahan took over as the Niners' head coach in 2017 after serving as the Atlanta Falcons' offensive coordinator the previous two seasons. Sunday's game will be the 49ers' second trip to Washington since Shanahan became the head coach.

The 49ers lost 26-24 to Washington in Week 6 of the 2017 season at FedEx Field. This time, the Niners head into Sunday's game at 5-0, while Washington is 1-5 and recently fired head coach Jay Gruden. San Francisco enters the matchup as a 10-point favorite.

Junior middleweight Patrick Day, who suffered a 10th-round knockout loss on Saturday night, died from brain injuries on Wednesday at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, promoter Lou DiBella said. Day was 27.

"On behalf of Patrick's family, team, and those closest to him, we are grateful for the prayers, expressions of support and outpouring of love for Pat that have been so obvious since his injury," DiBella said in a statement. "He was a son, brother, and good friend to many. Pat's kindness, positivity, and generosity of spirit made a lasting impression with everyone he met."

Day was knocked down by right hands in the fourth and eighth rounds by unbeaten Charles Conwell, a 2016 U.S. Olympian, during the scheduled 10-round fight on the Oleksandr Usyk-Chazz Witherspoon undercard at Wintrust Arena.

Although Conwell was clearly winning the fight, Day was competitive in many of the rounds. However, in the 10th round, Conwell landed two rights and a left hook that knocked out Day. When Day went down, the back of his head slammed onto the canvas, and referee Celestino Ruiz immediately stopped the bout without a count at 1 minute, 46 seconds.

Day was immediately surrounded by medical personnel and within minutes was taken out of the ring on a stretcher and to an ambulance.

Day never regained consciousness. At one point he had a seizure and then lapsed into a coma before undergoing emergency brain surgery.

Members of Day's family flew to Chicago on Sunday morning to join manager/trainer Joe Higgins and Alex Dombroff, who works for DiBella, in keeping vigil, but the situation was dire and doctors gave Day little chance for survival.

On Wednesday, surrounded ny his parents, other family members, Higgins and close friends, Day was disconnected from the machines that had been keeping him alive.

The bout was streamed live on DAZN, which offered its condolences on Day's passing.

"DAZN is incredibly saddened to learn about the passing of Patrick Day," a company spokesman said in a statement. "Our heartfelt thoughts are with his family and friends during this difficult time."

Two days before Day's death, Conwell, struggling with what had happened, posted an emotional letter to Day on social media.

"I never meant for this to happen to you," Conwell wrote. "All I ever wanted to do was win. If I could take it all back I would. No one deserves for this to happen to them. I replay the fight over and over in my head thinking what if this never happened and why did it happen to you. I can't stop thinking about it myself. I prayed for you so many times and shedded so many tears because I couldn't even imagine how my family and friends would feel. I see you everywhere I go and all I hear is wonderful things about you."

Day (17-4-1, 6 KOs), of Freeport, New York, came into the fight having lost a 10-round decision to emerging junior middleweight contender Carlos Adames on June 28, but he posed by far the stiffest test so far in Conwell's career.

"During his short life, boxing allowed Patrick to impact many communities, both big and small," DiBella said in his statement. "In his hometown of Freeport, Long Island, he was a beacon of light and the star pupil at the Freeport PAL, the gym he trained in from the moment he began boxing until the last bout of his career. He was recognized as one of Long Island's finest professional fighters for years. He was a fixture in the boxing community throughout New York City. Patrick was even known in Japan, which he visited to spar with his friend and colleague, world champion Ryota Murata."

Before the back-to-back losses, Day had won six fights in a row dating to 2015 and was a standout amateur.

"Before establishing himself as a world-class professional fighter, Pat was a highly decorated amateur," DiBella said. "He won two nationals titles, the New York Golden Gloves tournament and was an Olympic team alternate, all in 2012. Day turned pro in 2013 and overcame early career struggles to become a world-rated [junior middleweight] contender. He captured the WBC Continental Americas championship in 2017 and the IBF Intercontinental championship in 2019. In June 2019, he was rated in the top 10 by both the WBC and IBF.

"He was also a dedicated college student, having earned an associate's degree in food and nutrition from Nassau Community College and, subsequently, a bachelor's degree in health and wellness from Kaplan University."

Unlike many who turn to boxing as a means to escape poverty, Day came from a middle-class family.

"Patrick Day didn't need to box," DiBella said. "He came from a good family, he was smart, educated, had good values and had other avenues available to him to earn a living. He chose to box, knowing the inherent risks that every fighter faces when he or she walks into a boxing ring. Boxing is what Pat loved to do. It's how he inspired people and it was something that made him feel alive."

DiBella said he hopes Day's death will lead to finding a way to make boxing a safer sport.

"It becomes very difficult to explain away or justify the dangers of boxing at a time like this," DiBella said. "This is not a time where edicts or pronouncements are appropriate, or the answers are readily available. It is, however, a time for a call to action. While we don't have the answers, we certainly know many of the questions, have the means to answer them, and have the opportunity to respond responsibly and accordingly and make boxing safer for all who participate.

"This is a way we can honor the legacy of Pat Day. Many people live much longer than Patrick's 27 years, wondering if they made a difference or positively affected their world. This was not the case for Patrick Day when he left us. Rest in peace and power, Pat, with the angels."

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Kentucky coach John Calipari came out strongly against the idea that the NBA would consider expanding beyond its current draft format of two rounds.

Speaking at the SEC Tipoff event on Wednesday, Calipari argued that additional rounds wouldn't be for the NBA but rather to stock its developmental arm, the G League.

"If anybody supports more rounds in the draft, those more rounds are to get kids to go to the G League, you do not care about college basketball or you're trying to ruin college basketball," Calipari said.

Calipari's comments come a day after Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski suggested more rounds in the NBA draft were a potential likelihood with the G League's increasing impact on the league.

Calipari, who signed a 10-year, $85 million extension with Kentucky this summer, said he supports players' ability to go directly to the NBA out of high school but is nonetheless wary of the G League. He said the developmental league's current setup helps those who are playing "their way back into the league" as opposed to those who are trying to enter it for the first time.

"After two years they don't perform, what? The NBA is going to take care of them and hire them? No. It's entertainment. You're done," Calipari said.

Calipari stressed college as a more stable option.

"If they're not going to the NBA, if we're really about young people, we should encourage them to go to college," he said. "And the reason is their way out is through education. Their way to break through to the American dream is education."

Calipari also addressed the new California law that will allow college athletes in the state to collect money for endorsements beginning in 2023. He challenged a room full of reporters on whether they'd read the law line by line before saying that he hadn't, either.

"But I do know that now there's a law in New York, there's one in Florida. How about this: Kentucky's going to have a law," he said. "That tells me there's going to be 40 laws in 40 different states. Then the tea leaves tell me there's one place this is going to get solved and it's Congress. It's not by the NCAA and it's not by the states."

While Calipari has long positioned himself as a supporter of college athletes having ownership of their name and likeness, he said he was worried about the next steps.

"There are all kinds of consequences that have to be addressed, and I'm coaching my team," he said. "That's what I'm doing, so I'm not spending much time on it."

ALTAMAHAW, N.C. – There’s nothing like home cooking to close out a racing season, and Bobby Komisarski is hoping to convert that local familiarity into a strong performance at Ace Speedway.

Komisarski, who has traveled many hours from North Carolina to compete this season with the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series presented by Engine Pro, will close his first full-time season on tour with this weekend’s two-day event held as part of the sixth annual Rodney Cook Classic.

With full features on tap both Friday, Oct. 18 and Saturday, Oct. 19, Komisarski knows that every opportunity to collect points is critical, considering he’s just inside the top 15 in points coming into the event and would like to end up even higher in the final standings.

But perhaps equally as important is racing close to home in front of family and friends. Komisarski hails from Charlotte, N.C., just two hours from Ace Speedway and the closest haul he’ll have all year long.

“Man, it sure feels nice to be able to finish off our year on the pavement with a ‘home race,’” Komisarski said. “We don’t get to race on asphalt down south very often, so in times like this our team wants to take advantage of that and come out with the best performance we possibly can.

“We’ve got a little added motivation with some of the extra supporters who will be able to come out and watch our No. 17 this weekend that don’t normally get to see us in action, so hopefully we can give them something to smile about when it’s all said and done.”

Komisarski was actually looking forward to the recent Must See event at Rockford (Ill.) Speedway last month, but that race on the Illinois quarter-mile oval was lost to Mother Nature via a rainy weekend.

“That was a bummer,” noted Komisarski. “I was really hoping for a good day there, because I felt like some of the dirt skills and it being a short track and possibly being a little bit loose setup-wise there would kind of help us out. I love the short tracks and I’ve always been a big fan of beating and banging on them, and I feel like we’ll have some of that at Ace too.

“We’ll just have to see how it all shakes out.”

Though he likely won’t be in reach to steal away the MSR Rookie of the Year Award from Rick Holley or Todd McQuillen – the two drivers ahead of Komisarski in points in that category – the driver nicknamed Kamikaze is pleased with how his first full season has gone overall in a winged asphalt 410ci sprint car.

“It has been crazy, but it has been so much fun, too,” explained Komisarski. “We had no idea how anything was going to turn out this year. We got the car; we got the motor last minute … which is why unfortunately we missed Anderson at the start of the year, but my dad’s background is mainly big-block modifieds. He ran a little bit of asphalt; I’ve run very limited asphalt, so we kind of just tried to learn as much as we could with the car while basically flying blind. We had Bronzie (Lawson IV, former MSR winner) helping us. We had Tony Grams helping us. But all that advice has really paid off.

“I’m really looking forward to the 2020 season now,” he added. “We really just were using 2019 as a learning curve, to try to get where we need to be for 2020. I’m really ecstatic with the way we’ve been going, so I’m really looking forward to next year and getting back at it, while also finishing strong.”

Open practice for all divisions at Ace takes place on Thursday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., with Friday’s pit gates opening at 9 a.m. Practice for the opening day show begins at 11 a.m., with qualifying following at 6 p.m. and racing firing off at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday’s schedule sees the pit gates again swinging open at 9 a.m. and practice kicking off at 11 a.m., with qualifying beginning at 4 p.m. and feature racing to follow.

The Saturday program will be co-headlined by a 140-lap late model stock car feature, in addition to the championship race for the Must See Racing sprint cars.

SOUTH BOSTON, Va. – As a racer, Peyton Sellers knows it’s best not to become overly satisfied.

But a month after clinching a record third-straight South Boston Speedway late model stock championship, he feels pretty good about the season, even if there was a little disappointment down the stretch.

“Honestly, we ran 35 regular season races (including 18 at South Boston), won eight (overall), and got a track title at our home track,” said Sellers. “In a perfect world we would have won the national title, but in the real world, we had as good a year as we could hope for.”

In 18 starts at South Boston Speedway Sellers had six wins, 15 top fives, never finished out of the top 10 and led 368 laps to win his fifth overall South Boston title.

The fifth track championship leaves him two behind all-time championship leader David Blankenship. Sellers is the only driver to win three consecutive titles.

Blankenship won two in a row on two occasions (1989-1990 and 1997-1998), Justin Johnson won back-to-back in 2009 and 2010 and Matt Bowling doubled up in 2015 and 2016.

The downside to 2019 for Sellers? Missing out on a second NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national championship and a third Virginia Late Model Triple Crown title.

After leading the national championship race all season, Sellers fell behind with a month remaining and never could catch up. He wound up sixth, 20 points behind winner Jacob Goede, who races in the Midwest.

Sellers finished second to fellow South Boston driver Lee Pulliam in the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown standings, coming up one position short at Martinsville earlier this month.

“We had a good year. A few things didn’t play out exactly right, but we were as competitive as we’ve ever been and it paid off,” said Sellers, who is sponsored by Clarence’s Steakhouse, Danville Toyota, St. Lawrence Radiology, Liquid Performance, Riverside Exxon and C&L Machine. “We led the national points from our home track until four races to go. We all got our hopes up for a national title, but we came up short on that and the triple crown. But we did win the track title.”

Sellers believes an average second half of the season proved costly to his national title hopes. After winning the midseason Thunder Road Harley-Davidson presented by Grand Atlantic Ocean Resort 200 on June 29 for his fourth South Boston victory, he won only twice more all season, sweeping twin 75-lappers on July 13.

“I’m convinced that what kept me from winning the national title was that we cooled off after the Fourth of July and Lee got hot,” said Sellers, nodding to Pulliam’s five victories after the halfway point of the season.

But that’s all in Sellers’ rear-view mirror.

“I’ll be honest, in this racing world, you’d better be able to put things behind you,” he said.

Sellers is most proud of the level of competition he bested for his back-to-back-to-back South Boston Speedway championships.

“I look back at who I’ve raced against to win these championships. (Bobby) McCarty in ’17, (Philip) Morris in ’18 and Pulliam this year,” said Sellers. McCarty is the reigning CARS Tour champion and Morris and Pulliam have nine national championships between them.

“Three in a row … it’s hard to win one championship. All three had challenges throughout the year. We had an unbelievable year this year and an unbelievable year last year.”

Free-agent quarterback Brock Osweiler says he is retiring from the NFL.

The former Denver Broncos, Houston Texans and Miami Dolphins quarterback told 9News in Denver in a telephone interview that he was "extremely grateful for the time I did receive playing in the National Football League."

"The experiences I did have, people I did meet, relationships I did make -- I'm not going to dwell on the things that didn't happen in my career.

"Being a kid from Kalispell, Montana, playing for the Denver Broncos, winning a Super Bowl, having the opportunity to sign a second contract -- when you look back on it, I couldn't be more appreciative. It was great."

Osweiler, who is 28, went 2-3 as a fill-in starter for the Dolphins last season when Ryan Tannehill was injured. He gave the fan base hope in a period dubbed "Brocktober," which began with him throwing for a career-high 380 yards in an upset overtime victory against the Chicago Bears, but his play leveled off in the following games.

What Osweiler did do, however, is reestablish his career from disappointing starter to reliable backup quarterback. He signed a one-year, $880,000 contract with Miami and competed to make the roster as a backup. Despite a rough training camp, the Dolphins kept Osweiler as their No. 2 QB, and he kept them afloat when Tannehill got hurt early in the season.

In 2018, Osweiler completed 63.5 percent of his passes for 1,247 yards, 6 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.

Osweiler's biggest NFL contribution came in a similar role. He went 5-2 as a starter in place of an injured Peyton Manning for the 2015 Denver Broncos, helping them earn the AFC's top seed en route to a victory in Super Bowl 50.

"That 2015 season is something that is very special,'' Osweiler told 9News. "The coaches, the players, they mean the world to me. I was thankful to have had the opportunity to play the role I did, but that was the ultimate team deal. There was a ton of talent on that football team, but I would say we were the closest of all teams in the National Football league. Our culture was beyond anything that can ever be created. It was so genuine, so real that I think any coach or player on that team would have done anything for anybody in that building that year."

That season led to a $72 million contract with the Texans, who traded him to the Cleveland Browns after one difficult season as the Texans' starter. The Browns then released Osweiler just before the 2017 season, when he was again picked up by the Broncos.

Osweiler, who played seven seasons in the NFL, was drafted by the Broncos in the second round (57th overall) of the 2012 draft.

"I have my health. I have the ring. There's a lot of things I still wanted to accomplish. And I have a lot more left in the tank. But, hey, sometimes you don't get that opportunity. And given that, it's all good," he told 9News.

ESPN's Cameron Wolfe contributed to this report.

Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett said Wednesday on Twitter that he was "punched" in the face by a fan.

Garrett wrote that he was driving when a fan flagged him down to take a picture and then gave him "a pillow tap" [in the face].

A "fan" hopped out his car to take a picture with me and then punched me in my face. Hm, put your legs into it might have actually made me flinch. ??

— Myles "Flash" Garrett ⚡️ (@MylesLGarrett) October 16, 2019

Was in my car, flagged me down for a picture and I cracked the window enough for the camera to get my face. Took the pic and gave me a pillow tap

— Myles "Flash" Garrett ⚡️ (@MylesLGarrett) October 16, 2019

The Browns, which completed their final bye week practice Wednesday, said the "team is aware and the appropriate law enforcement authorities have been notified."

Garrett is tied for the NFL lead with nine sacks.

The Browns next play Oct. 27 at the New England Patriots.

NEW YORK -- Sleepy-eyed Brooklyn Nets players, still recovering from the 12-hour time difference, practiced Wednesday for the first time since returning from their preseason trip to China.

Four days removed from their second and final game there against the Los Angeles Lakers, Nets players said they were ready to put the trip behind them.

"It's tough to block everything out," Caris LeVert said. "But at the end of the day we're human and we see those things. We just try to stick together as much as we could and focus our sights on the game."

The trip wasn't what players expected.

While the Nets flew to Shanghai, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey sent out a tweet supporting protestors in Hong Kong that created turmoil between China and the NBA. Community events there were canceled, posters promoting the Nets-Lakers games were stripped from the sides of buildings, the league went into crisis PR mode, and there was talk of the games being canceled.

LaVert said he never saw Morey's tweet, but heard about it upon landing.

The Nets have a unique tie to all of this; owner Joe Tsai lives in Hong Kong. Harris said the team spent time with Tsai on the trip and attended dinners at restaurants he recommended.

Tsai released a statement on Facebook reacting to Morey's tweet. It read, in part, "When I bought controlling interest in the Brooklyn Nets in September, I didn't expect my first public communication with our fans would be to comment on something as politically charged and grossly misunderstood as the way hundreds of millions of Chinese NBA fans feel about what just happened."

"Supporting a separatist movement in a Chinese territory is one of those third-rail issues, not only for the Chinese government, but also for all citizens in China."

Joe Harris said on Wednesday that Tsai suggested players "read the post and take it from there." Harris declined to get into specifics of the private meetings.

"Joe had a lot of stuff planned," Harris said. "We had great dinners. The team bonding. There was a lot of good opportunities to hang out. We weren't caught up with a lot of the stuff going on."

While players have returned to the states, the long-term implications of Morey's tweet and the NBA's relationship with China remains in question. If permanently damaged, players could lose money as China has been a hot spot for shoe sales.

Harris, who signed a two-year, $16 million deal with the Nets before last season, said he isn't concerned.

"Personally, I already get paid way too much to play a game. I'm not too worried about it," he said.

Sources told ESPN's Dave McMenamin that Nets point guard Kyrie Irving was among those who spoke with commissioner Adam Silver in China amid the fallout from Morey's tweet. Irving, sources told McMenamin, said he was there to play basketball games, and if a requirement for those games was dealing with the fallout that Morey's tweet created, he would rather not play at all.

Irving declined to speak to reporters Wednesday, but did participate in practice.

"We're just focused on the season now," LeVert said. "That's kind of behind us. We're back here, our first regular-season game is next week. So that's kind of what we're focused on right now."

LOS ANGELES -- The bat used by Babe Ruth to slug his 500th career home run in 1929 is going up for auction, nearly 75 years after he gave it to a friend whose family has kept it ever since.

Ruth became the first player to reach the coveted plateau on Aug. 11, 1929, hitting a solo shot for the New York Yankees off Willis Hudlin at League Park in Cleveland.

In the mid-1940s, Ruth gave the bat to his friend Jim Rice, who was mayor of Suffern, New York. Ruth and Rice enjoyed golfing, bowling and dining together, and Ruth was a regular visitor to the Rice household, where he came to know Jim's wife, Ethyl, and their children. Rice once beat Ruth in five straight games of bowling.

Terry Rice, an attorney in Suffern and Jim's only son, is selling the bat. Born two years after Ruth died in 1948, Rice more closely associates Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra with the Yankees of his youth, but he remembers Ruth's bat sat in the corner behind the television in the family's den.

"It was always there. It was part of life," Rice told The Associated Press by phone on Wednesday. "No one said I couldn't touch it. I never took it out and played baseball with it."

Good thing, too, since the bat was recently authenticated and received the highest grade given.

"For an inanimate object, it's beautiful," Rice said. "It's in perfect condition."

The dark-colored Louisville Slugger shows marks on the upper barrel where Ruth knocked mud off his cleats. The left barrel has impressions where the bat made contact with the ball. There's also a bit of green paint from where the bat rested in the dugout between uses.

"Babe Ruth is the king of the sports collectibles marketplace," SCP Auctions President David Kohler said. "When a fresh Ruth item of such quality and historical importance as this one surfaces, it generates tremendous excitement throughout our industry."

Ruth's 500th homer cleared the right field wall in Cleveland, sailed out of the park and rolled down Lexington Avenue where it was plucked by an Indians fan. After the game, the ball was returned to Ruth in exchange for $20 and his autograph.

It would be another 16 years before Mel Ott became the second player to reach 500 homers in 1945.

After Jim Rice died in 1983, his wife kept possession of the bat until her death in 1997. Then it passed to Terry Rice and was stashed in a closet.

"You couldn't leave it out," Rice said. "I wasn't enjoying it. I got to the point where we were worried about it."

Rice, 69, talked to his two older sisters before deciding to sell. They plan to split the proceeds.

Officials from SCP Auctions in Laguna Niguel, California, estimate the bat could sell for over $1 million.

"He'd be absolutely flabbergasted," Terry Rice said of his father's reaction.

SCP sold Ruth's bat used to homer on opening day of the 1923 season at Yankee Stadium for $1.26 million in 2004.

Rice pulled the 500th-homer bat out of the closet so it could see daylight before the authenticator arrived, and that's when it hit him.

"This is a piece of history," he said.

The Rice siblings are holding on to other mementos associated with Ruth. His oldest sister has a personally autographed photo, his middle sister has a paper Ruth signed, and Terry Rice has a signed baseball that Ruth inscribed to his father: To my pal Jim.

Oldest sister Pat has the strongest recollection of Ruth visiting the family home.

"He came in one time and picked her up into the air and hit her head on the chandelier," Terry Rice recalled. "She said, `I don't like you anymore."

Rice said he hopes the Yankees or the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, would be interested in the bat.

Online bidding begins Nov. 27 and ends Dec. 14 at scpauctions.com.