DURHAM, N.C. -- Joe Girardi has quit as the manager of the U.S. baseball team trying to qualify for the Olympics before it played a single game.

Girardi said Wednesday that he is leaving to pursue a major league managing job. There are seven current openings.

He will be replaced by Scott Brosius, who had been slated to be Girardi's bench coach. Brosius, the MVP of the 1998 World Series with the New York Yankees, became the senior director of baseball development for USA Baseball earlier this year.

Willie Randolph will shift from third base coach to bench coach, and Ernie Young from the first base coaching box to third.

The U.S. will train Oct. 21-28 at the Kansas City Royals' complex in Surprise, Arizona, then start competing Nov. 2-4 at Guadalajara, Mexico, as part of a group that includes the Dominican Republic, Mexico and the Netherlands.

The top two teams advance to a qualifying round in Tokyo from Nov. 11-16. The winner of that group advances to the six-nation Olympic field, which already includes host Japan and Israel, and the second- and third-place teams advance to another qualifying event.

Baseball is returning to the Olympics after being dropped for 2012 and 2016. Cuba won the gold medal in 1992, 1996 and 2004, the United States in 2000 and South Korea in 2008. Next year's Olympic baseball tournament is to be played from July 29 to Aug. 8 at Fukushima and Yokohama, Japan, as part of the Tokyo Games.

Players on MLB 40-man rosters are not eligible to play for the U.S. in qualifiers. The 28-man U.S. roster includes several top prospects, including Los Angeles Angels outfielder Joe Adell, Chicago White Sox infielder Andrew Vaughn and Atlanta Braves outfielder Drew Waters.

Vaughn was the third overall pick in this year's amateur draft.

NEW YORK -- The biggest story this year in Major League Baseball wasn't a player, a manager, a general manager, an incredible play or a historic game. It was a five-ounce-heavy, nine-inch-round orb that birthed conspiracy theories, broke records, spurred incessant conversation and happened to be part of all 732,472 pitches thrown in the 2019 regular season.

The ball -- the rocket ball, the juiced ball, the super ball, whatever you want to call it -- changed the game's calculus this season. Home runs left the park at never-before-seen rates, to the point that teams across the game tweaked their internal algorithms to account for it in future projections and specifically game-planned around it for this season. Nobody was quite sure why this year's ball was so different from balls of previous years. Nobody could say for certain how it happened. Nobody definitely knew whom to blame. Everyone simply agreed: The ball was behaving differently than it had in years past.

Which makes this October that much more curious -- and might have had a demonstrable effect on the Houston Astros' 4-1 victory over the New York Yankees in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series on Tuesday. The postseason ball is dead. It's not just the colder weather or superior pitching, either. Baseball Prospectus' Rob Arthur studied the drag coeffiecient, which helps determine how far balls fly, and said it is significantly greater, with a "one-in-a-million chance" the balls are the same as used in the regular season.

St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said his team's analytics department believes the balls are traveling 4½ feet less than they did during the regular season. Officials from two other teams, who requested anonymity to not run afoul of the commissioner's office, concurred that whatever batch of balls has been used during October is not performing the way the ones in the regular-season did.

And that leaves us here, in the fifth inning of Game 3, Didi Gregorius at the plate, two on, two out and the Astros clinging to a 2-0 lead. Gerrit Cole, the Astros' starter, unspooled a middle-in 99 mph fastball to Gregorius. He turned on it and drove it 101.4 mph toward Yankee Stadium's short porch in right field. Astros outfielder Josh Reddick backpedaled, tracking the ball at its 41-degree launch angle, going back, back some more, back some more yet. And then, as if some force field commanded the ball to stop, it fell into Reddick's glove with his back against the fence.

This brought about varied reactions. A quick oral history of those 6.3 seconds Gregorius' ball hung in the air:

Cole: "The emotions kind of followed the fly ball, right? So it was kind of like low ... "

Reddick: "Panic. Immediate panic. Anything that goes up in the air in here as we all know has a good chance of getting out of here."

AJ Hinch, Astros manager: "I think every fly ball in 2019 is a homer. In season, regular season, postseason. I don't care. It's kind of been conditioned that way."

Cole: " ... to freaking out ... "

James Paxton, Yankees starter: "I thought it was gonna be really close. I knew it was gonna be one of those ones that was either a couple rows deep or right at the wall kind of thing. I thought it had a chance."

Gregorius: "I had the barrel, but I missed it. I was checking to see if maybe something's going to happen, but I know I didn't have all of it."

Hinch: "I immediately watched the hitter. The hitter tells you the most. And he didn't respond right away with the sort of pure excitement. He kind of watched it for a minute and then I looked up and saw Reddick getting back, settling underneath it. I watched Didi again, then I felt a little bit better."

Cole: " ... to not so worried anymore."

Chad Green, Yankees reliever: "There's obviously been some balls that have been hit well that haven't left the ballpark, so everybody starts to question it."

And that right there, what Green said, is really at the heart of the story about the balls. It comes down to consistency and credibility. The former breeds the latter. The same standard applies to umpires. You might not like the strike zone, but if it is called dependably, it is difficult to quibble. At least you know what you're dealing with.

The ball right now is a wild card. In a statement, MLB said: "Balls that are used in the postseason are pulled from the same batches as balls used in the regular season. Regular season and postseason balls are manufactured with the same materials and under the same processes." Let's take that statement at face value, simply for the sake of argument.

If true, it is a stunning indictment on the process used to manufacture the balls. MLB last year acknowledged that the balls were behaving differently. It started in the second half of the 2015 season, amped up in 2016, drank a keg of Red Bull in 2017, detoxed in 2018 and returned in 2019 as if it had spent the entire winter on a Stanozolol drip. The game changes. That's part of its beauty. But 60 feet, 6 inches between the mound and plate doesn't. Ninety feet between the bases doesn't. Some elements remain consistent to allow the game to rebalance itself amid the deluge of new knowledge gained annually. The ball is expected to be one of them.

MLB argues that the manufacturing process -- the ball is handmade -- allows for those differences, which seem wholly unnecessary. If the ball is going to have a stark effect on the game, and the game is different from month to month based on the ball, shouldn't streamlining the manufacturing process to better ensure uniformity among the balls be some sort of a priority? Certainly MLB doesn't like the constant talk, not just from the media but among players, about the one ubiquitous object on every play.

Going from the regular-season ball to whatever this ball is -- the normal ball? -- has been jarring. Gregorius' drive was one example. Before it, there had been no fly balls to right field from left-handed hitters at Yankee Stadium against four-seam fastballs with 100 to 105 mph exit velocities and launch angles of 38 to 50 degrees in 2019. Of the eight in previous seasons, all were home runs, according to Statcast. Expanding the search to all pitches but tightening the launch angle to between 38 and 43 degrees, there were a dozen (though still none in 2019). Ten of those 12 went for home runs.

There were also two balls hit by Astros catcher Martin Maldonado that looked home run-ish, which is admittedly nonscientific on an issue that is very scientific but speaks to how this season's ball skewed expectations. When you see hitters think they've hit lazy fly balls and those balls land over the fence, it bends reality. Postseason baseball is a different game than it was in the regular season, and not just because the teams are better.

Gregorius, for whatever it's worth, responded to a question about different balls by saying: "Are you serious?" To which anyone else would respond: "Are you serious?" Arthur's story about the balls was the talk of the game. Players heard. Discussed it. Rolled their eyes that the ball was changing. Again. To not know about it, Gregorius would have to actively avoid it. Which, hey, if he's that locked in, good for him. Because all of this talk about the ball is not great for baseball. Any time spent discussing the ball is not spent discussing the players hitting it and throwing it -- the ones who should be the focus of every single conversation during October.

Instead, here we are again, our tinfoil hats on, our black helicopters gassed up, wondering what's real and what isn't. MLB bought Rawlings, which manufactures the ball! (Yes. The league invested in the company last year. And this has been going on for almost half a decade.) Baseball wants more offense! (Sure. Pace of game is a much more pressing issue, and offense only extends it.) The league is doing it, man!

The last one is the most interesting, and plenty of players believe it. But here? Now? When the world is watching? If there's any time to pump up the balls, wouldn't it be now? Even amid the record 6,776 home runs hit this season, a universal truth remained: People love home runs. To shut off that spigot now, intentionally, would be comically stupid.

(Puts tinfoil hat back on)

Or exactly what they want to get you off the scent!

ST. LOUIS – Following the conclusion of the POWRi Lucas Oil WAR Sprint Car League season, the Shuman family will step away from the series in a full-time capacity.

“I would like to personally thank both Casey and Brooke for their hard work, dedication, and all their contributions to POWRi WAR,” said POWRi owner Kenny Brown. “We’re proud to have partnered with them in the early stages of developing our Non-Wing Sprint League. They have served as great ambassadors for our organization, through working to increase the annual race schedule and raising the purses for the driver.

“I’m glad to say this announcement is mutually beneficial and I want to thank them for their commitment to POWRi.”

Both Casey and Brooke Shuman have been a part of the sprint car league since the series came under the POWRi banner in 2017. Casey will continue to assist with scheduling and will remain on in an advisory role.

“Brooke and I have put our very best effort into this series since purchasing it in 2015. We have been fortunate enough to meet and work with some great teams and families. The Lucas Oil POWRi WAR Sprint League and its racers have grown so much in a fairly short amount of time. I am extremely proud and grateful to everyone that has been part of it,” said Casey Shuman. “Brooke & I look forward to watching the league continue to grow in the future and seeing all those familiar faces at the track when our schedule allows.”

The 2020 POWRi WAR schedule is roughly in place, as POWRi officials have already reached out to several tracks and secured dates. The majority of the 2020 races will again be centered on the Kansas City area to help reduce traveling.

Illinois will still host races, in a similar fashion to the Wild Card Series from 2018. The official schedule release will be around or shortly after the New Year.

Rolex world No. 1 Jin Young Ko returns to the LPGA this week looking to continue her march toward sweeping all the tour’s major awards.

She will tee it up in Thursday’s start of the Buick Shanghai, the beginning of the tour’s fall Asian swing.

The LPGA will go from China to South Korea, Taiwan and Japan before taking a week off before the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Fla.

“I’ll try my best and show good finishes to all the golf fans,” Ko said.

Ko’s four LPGA titles this year include two major championships (the ANA Inspiration and Evian Championship). They have helped her build substantial leads in the races for the Rolex Player of the Year Award, Vare Trophy (scoring average) and money-winning title. She has already clinched the Rolex Annika Major Award for the best overall performance in the majors this season.

Ariya Jutanugarn swept all four of those awards a year ago.

Ko’s 68.851 scoring average gives her a chance to join Annika Sorenstam as the only players in LPGA history to average better than 69 strokes for an entire season. Sorenstam did it twice. She holds the all-time mark at 68.696, setting it in 2004, though she came up just short of having enough starts to be eligible to win the Vare Trophy that year. She also averaged 69.697 in 2002, winning one of her six Vare trophies.

Though Ko hasn’t played an LPGA event since the Cambia Portland Classic six weeks ago, she’s amid a busy fall schedule. She played in Korean LPGA events the last two weeks, winning a KLPGA major last weekend for her fifth worldwide title this year. Now, she’s committed to a run of three consecutive LPGA starts.

“A little tired,” Ko said when asked about her energy level coming off last weekend’s KLPGA major championship victory. “The difference in score seems to be how well you use your concentration on the course. It's not easy, but I'll try to manage well, both my physical and mental health, before the tournament, so I can use my concentration effectively.”

Here’s how the major award races shape up:

Rolex Player of the Year points race:

1. Jin Young Ko, 237

2.  Jeongeun Lee6, 123

3. Sung Hyun Park, 117

- A victory is worth 30 points in each of the final five events this season.

Vare Trophy (scoring average):

1. Jin Young Ko, 68.851

2. Hyo Joo Kim, 69.246

3. Sung Hyun Park, 69.493

Money winning list:

1. Jin Young Ko, $2,632,412

2. Jeongeun Lee6, $1,913,357

3. Sung Hyun Park, $1,500,237

Sourav Ganguly, who will take charge as BCCI's next president on October 23, has said that resumption of bilateral cricket with Pakistan is subject to the permission of the Indian government. Ganguly said that the decision could only be taken by the prime ministers of the two countries: Narendra Modi and Imran Khan, who also happens to be the patron of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

"You have to ask that question to Modi ji and the Pakistan Prime Minister," Ganguly said at a media briefing in Kolkata on Tuesday. "Of course we have (to take permission), because international exposure (tours) is all through governments. So we don't have an answer to that question."

Ganguly had led India on the historic tour of Pakistan in 2004, the first bilateral series since the Kargil war in 1999 and India's first visit to Pakistan since 1989.

The last time both neighbours featured in a bilateral series was in late 2012, when India hosted Pakistan for a limited-overs series comprising two T20Is and three ODIs.

In February, the BCCI asked the ICC in an e-mail letter "to sever ties with countries from which terrorism emanates". That letter was sent at the behest of the three-member Committee of Administrators (CoA), which was appointed as the supervisory authority of the board till fresh elections were held. The previous day the CoA had mulled over asking the ICC to boycott Pakistan from the World Cup.

At the time the BCCI and CoA were reacting to the terror strikes in Pulwama in the northern Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir in which more than 40 paramilitary troops were killed.

James Pamment, the 51-year-old former Auckland batsman, has taken the role of USA head coach on an interim basis through to the end of 2019. This comes after the contracts of USA director of cricket Kiran More and a string of other assistant coaches were not renewed following an initial three-month period. Pamment's appointment had been rumoured since the start of the month but has since been confirmed to ESPNcricinfo by multiple USA Cricket sources.

More had been appointed in July by USA Cricket to oversee their quest to qualify for the 2020 T20 World Cup in Australia, serving as a "senior operations consultant" according to a USA Cricket press release. But his arrival sparked a power struggle with USA head coach Pubudu Dassanayake, who had been in place since September 2016 and had led USA to ODI status in April at WCL Division Two. After mounting tension at a USA squad camp at Los Angeles in June, Dassanayake resigned, citing a "loss of freedom" in selection decisions.

More did not to travel with the USA squad to Bermuda in August for the Americas Regional Final for the T20 World Cup Qualifier. Sunil Joshi was notified by email after the team arrived on tour that he would be the stand-in head coach in More's place. Though USA headed into the four-team event as favourites after winning the sub-regional qualifier over Canada in North Carolina in September 2018, the team finished third after losing all four of their matches to Canada and Bermuda, who wound up advancing instead of USA to the T20 World Cup Qualifier in the UAE.

A tentative plan had been discussed to extend More's consultant contract through to the 2020 T20 World Cup had USA qualified, but once they failed in Bermuda, that became a non-starter. He oversaw USA's ODI tri-series performances in Florida last month, where they went 3-1 in their opening round of Cricket World Cup League Two matches against Namibia and Papua New Guinea. Those were his last matches in charge. David Saker had left as fast bowling consultant coach to go back to Australia immediately after the Bermuda tour while batting consultant coaches Pravin Amre and Kieran Powell were not present in Bermuda nor Florida.

Pamment had initially been contracted as fielding coach for USA when More came on board. However, he has been asked to remain to help oversee a transition period for USA's next two tours - the CWI Super50 in Trinidad next month and a CWC League Two ODI tri-series against UAE and Scotland in Dubai in December - until a full-time appointment can be made in January 2020. Pamment is not expected to apply for the full-time role because, like More, he has a multi-year contract with Mumbai Indians in the IPL, having replaced Jonty Rhodes as their fielding coach in 2018.

USA Cricket is seeking a full-time commitment after the failed strategy of hiring short-term consultants to replace Dassanayake for T20 World Cup Qualifier.

Originally from Yorkshire, Pamment migrated to New Zealand early in his career and played 14 first-class and 33 List A games from 1993 to 1996. Aside from his stint with Mumbai Indians in the IPL, Pamment previously coached Northern Districts in New Zealand from 2013 to 2017.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota was far from pleased when he was told that Ryan Tannehill would be the starting quarterback against the Chargers.

He accepted responsibility for the result but made it clear the current setback doesn't mean his career is over.

"Until the day that I die, I'm going to believe I gave it all I got. No matter what, I can learn and grow from this situation. This isn't going to bring me down. This isn't going to end my career," Mariota said. "I had an opportunity to play but I didn't make the most of it. I am going to learn and grow from it."

While it is likely that his time with the Titans will come to an end after this season, there are still 10 games left. Coach Mike Vrabel said he wouldn't rule anything out regarding Mariota, stressing that his decision to start Tannehill is for this week. Vrabel added that Mariota, 25, will be needed in some form at some point.

The decision to start Tannehill, 31, is a turnaround from the beginning of the season when the Titans placed emphasis on Mariota being the starter to quiet any noise about a quarterback controversy. Now the team finds itself in the middle of one after posting a 2-4 record and scoring one touchdown in the past two games.

If the time comes when Mariota is called on to go back under center, he vows to make the most of it.

"You have to be ready at any point in time. No matter what, I will prepare just as I have and I'll be ready to go," Mariota said.

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- Jalen Ramsey says he's "overjoyed" to have been traded from the Jacksonville Jaguars to the Los Angeles Rams.

"Big, big day for me," Ramsey told Uninterrupted's '17 Weeks' Podcast on SiriusXM. "I'm currently just walking outside right now, I'm filled with joy, I'm overjoyed right now. God is the greatest, God makes no mistakes at all. No mistakes at all. I've been so blessed."

On Tuesday, the Rams sent their 2020 and 2021 first-round draft picks, as well as a 2021 fourth-round pick, to the Jaguars in exchange for the two-time Pro Bowl and All-Pro cornerback, who was selected fifth overall by the Jaguars in 2016.

"I was so blessed to be drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars," Ramsey said, adding, "But now I've got a new chapter starting in my life, going out to LA and going to be a part of the LA Rams."

Ramsey requested to be traded from the Jaguars following a Week 2 loss to the Houston Texans, after Ramsey was scolded by Jaguars vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin for engaging in a sideline shouting match with Jaguars coach Doug Marrone.

Ramsey has been inactive the past three games, citing a back issue, and causing him to snap a streak of 51 consecutive starts that dated to when the Jaguars selected him in 2016.

However, Ramsey is expected to pass his physical Wednesday with the Rams and could be available as soon as Sunday against the 1-5 Atlanta Falcons.

He joins a secondary in flux and a defense that has allowed the second-highest Total QBR (81.6) during a 3-3 run.

Rams cornerback Aqib Talib and safety John Johnson have been placed on injured reserve, and before trading for Ramsey, the Rams sent cornerback Marcus Peters to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for linebacker Kenny Young and a 2020 fifth-round draft pick.

"Excited to be a part of that defense," said Ramsey, who, in 51 starts, has nine interceptions and 45 pass breakups. "Coach Wade Phillips, coach Sean McVay, coach Aubrey Pleasant, and I'm excited to get out there and do my thing for the LA Rams and show them that they've got the best corner in the whole NFL for years and years to come."

Ramsey remains on his rookie contract, which is scheduled to pay him $13.7 million in 2020, and the Rams intend to eventually sign him to a long-term extension.

With the Rams, Ramsey reunites with former Jaguars teammates Blake Bortles and Dante Fowler Jr.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The NFL is not sending the tanking problem to a think tank.

Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league is enjoying peak competitiveness, despite five teams winning one game or fewer through the first six weeks of the season.

"I don't think the league has ever been more competitive than it is today," said Goodell from the NFL fall meetings at the Ritz-Carlton Fort Lauderdale. "You see that in teams going from last to first in dramatic fashion. I think that's unique to the National Football League.

"... For us, the competitiveness of our game is obviously critical. I don't think that is solved with a [draft] lottery, I think that is solved by all the issues we try to deal with on a regular basis through the competition committee and the league in trying to make sure our league is competitive."

The concept of tanking has gained traction with teams such as the Cleveland Browns (one win from 2016 to '17) and the Miami Dolphins (0-6) trading several prime assets in exchange for draft capital and long-term hope.

The Cincinnati Bengals (0-6) and Washington Redskins (1-5) face major rebuilding efforts over the next few years.

But games are still close leaguewide. Atlanta Falcons president Rich McKay, who's a leader on the competition committee, said 51 games have been decided by seven or fewer points, the most in NFL history during the same span.

The San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers combined for a 10-21 record a year ago; they sit atop their divisions at 5-0 and 5-1, respectively.

"We've got a lot of good trends from a numbers standpoint," McKay said.

As bad teams position themselves for a No. 1 pick to get a top quarterback, the league won't be changing its draft format to a lottery any time soon.

"From our standpoint, we find a draft to be successful on many fronts," Goodell said. "One, the competitive side. But also the event itself has grown dramatically. It's not under active consideration. It hasn't been raised by either the committees or the clubs at this stage."

In other NFL news, owners discussed a 17-game season as part of negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement. Though Steelers president Art Rooney II said he'll keep details at the table, he pointed out that he's old enough to remember 12-game seasons.

"You have to adjust and do what's best for the game," Rooney said.

A 17-game season would still begin the weekend after Labor Day but would go one week longer.