Latest news with #ChrisAntonetti
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
MLB Team Refuses To Comply With President Trump's Demand
MLB Team Refuses To Comply With President Trump's Demand originally appeared on The Spun. President Donald Trump kicked off this week by putting a pair of sports teams on notice. For starters, Trump wants the Washington Commanders do ditch their current name and bring the Redskins brand back. He even said he's willing to hold up the franchise's deal for a new stadium if they don't go back to their old name. The 47th president of the United States also took aim at the Cleveland Guardians. As you'd suspect, he wants them to be referred to as the Cleveland Indians once again. "The Washington 'Whatever's' should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team. There is a big clamoring for this," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Likewise, the Cleveland Indians, one of the six original baseball teams, with a storied past. Our great Indian people, in massive numbers, want this to happen. Their heritage and prestige is systematically being taken away from them. Times are different now than they were three or four years ago. We are a Country of passion and common sense. OWNERS, GET IT DONE!!!" Chris Antonetti, the president of baseball operations for the Guardians, made it clear this week that a name change won't be happening anytime soon. The team is hell-bent on building the Guardians brand over the next few years. "Not something I'm tracking or have been paying a lot of attention to, but I would say generally I understand that there are very different perspectives on the decision we made a few years ago," Antonetti said. "But obviously it's a decision we've made and we've gotten the opportunity to build the brand as the Guardians over the last four years and are excited about the future." Cleveland's baseball team changed its name back in 2021. Additionally, the Guardians got rid of the "Chief Wahoo" logo. We'll see if Trump calls out the Guardians later this Team Refuses To Comply With President Trump's Demand first appeared on The Spun on Jul 21, 2025 This story was originally reported by The Spun on Jul 21, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
'A period of high significance': Cleveland Guardians continue winning ways over Athletics
CLEVELAND — Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti and general manager Mike Chernoff are always evaluating their players and the team. So is manager Stephen Vogt. The Guardians looked like a playoff team July 18 in an 8-6 win over the Athletics before a crowd of 34,691 at Progressive Field. Johnathan Rodriguez hit a solo home run and David Fry hit a two-run home run as the Guardians won their opening game out of the all-star break with all-star Steven Kwan sidelined with a wrist injury. All-star José Ramírez continued to flash his brilliance at the plate, on the basepaths and with his glove. Angel Martínez, Brayan Rocchio and Nolan Jones delivered big hits, and Slade Cecconi was solid for eight innings on the mound. "It was fun," Fry said. "A really cool night. Scored a bunch of runs. Obviously, Slade was awesome and Acho [Rodriguez] got his first career homer." Cecconi pitched a career-high 8⅓ innings, struck out two and allowed eight hits, six earned runs and no walks. His stat line was better before the ninth, when he allowed two runs after Nick Kurtz and Brent Rooker smacked triples and Shea Langeliers hit a double. "Outstanding," Vogt said of Cecconi, who retired the first 12 batters he faced. "Unbelievable how efficient he was. Quick outs. I loved it. He didn't get his first punchout until the [seventh]. That is a beautifully pitched game using all pitches. He hung a couple of sliders. Outside of that, you can't say anything bad. He earned the ninth. "Obviously, the offense gave us some cushion. … Great job by our guys coming out hot in the second half." The Guardians entered the all-star break hot after sweeping the host Houston Astros in a three-game series July 7-9 and winning three out of four games in Chicago over the White Sox from July 11-13. The six wins in seven games followed a 10-game losing streak from June 26-July 6 during which Cleveland was shut out five times. The Guardians lost a game to the Toronto Blue Jays to start the streak that also included three losses apiece to the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs and Detroit Tigers. "This is a period of high significance and importance for the team," Chernoff said before the game. "We have to see where we come out of the break. Our schedule was one of the hardest up through that point, up through that 10-game losing streak, unfortunately, and then it starts to get easier hopefully, at least in terms of the records of the teams that we play. I know our guys remain hungry and this will be a hugely important couple of weeks for us. "... It's been an emotional 2½ weeks with the ups and downs of our season. I think we're going to have to take it up to the last minute [of the trade deadline] and see where we are. It's our job to prepare on all sides of this and know every single opportunity we have to improve our team or on the flip side to take advantage of a moment if we are not in contention for a spot. "So, I'm hopeful we can pull ourselves back into closer contention. I do think there are a lot of teams that are in the mix right now in the AL, but I think our team is good enough to contend. So, the question really just comes down to how we do over the next couple of weeks and the assessment that we make as we head into the deadline." The trade deadline wasn't on Cecconi's mind as he threw 107 pitches. "I felt good [going into the ninth]," Cecconi said. "I felt like I still had some gas in the tank, some tough luck there with some balls just that close, but last game went through the eighth [in a win against the Astros], struggled a little bit, learned from it. Got through the eighth today, went into the ninth, struggled a little bit, going to learn from it, be better next time. "I've been wanting to throw a complete game my whole career. It's been something I've dreamed about doing, something I know I will do one day. Thought it was going to be today, but the lessons I learned from today are going to help me next time I get the chance. "... That parasympathetic nervous system kind of just knows you're doing something you've never done before. So, you can try to control it as much as you want, but as soon as you do it for the first time and get it over with and your body kind of knows what that feels like, it is going to be smooth sailing from then on." Cecconi used his defense behind him to navigate through his start, which did include allowing solo home runs to Rooker and Langeliers in the fifth and seventh innings, respectively, and a double to Denzel Clarke and a RBI single by Kurtz in the sixth. "Slider was coming and going," Cecconi said. "I threw a couple good ones, hung a couple. Those two homers were hung sliders in two-strike counts that need to be executed better, but curveball felt pretty good. We were kind of using a similar game plan to last time. It was funny, we got an early lead, started mixing fours and twos, getting early contact, a lot of ground balls and the game plan held pretty true to that." Rodriguez gave the Guardians a 1-0 lead with a home run off JP Sears in the second inning and Fry hit a two-run homer off Sears in a four-run third to give Cecconi a nice cushion. "J-Rod getting us on board with his first career homer, that was so cool," Vogt said. "A really cool moment for him. Obviously, with Rocchy and Angel at the top, really keeping the line moving, and Joséy being Joséy. Jonesy with a base hit. It was up and down the order. Fry hits a homer. What a great team win that was getting contributions all over and great defense." Ramírez scored twice after hitting a triple and a double. Rocchio hit two doubles, had two RBIs and scored a run and Martínez contributed an RBI single, a double and a run. "We rode the road trip offense right into tonight," Vogt said. "… It would be great to score eight runs every night, but to me it was the way we grinded out at-bats. We made Sears come into the [strike] zone. We didn't chase him. We stuck to our plan." Michael Beaven can be reached by email at mbeaven@ This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Slade Cecconia, Jose Ramirez lead Guardians in second-half opener
Daily Mail
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Guardians respond to Trump's call to restore former name
The Cleveland Guardians have no intention of reverting to their former 'Indians' name, despite passionate calls from Donald Trump on Sunday to do just that. Trump fired out messages on Truth Social aimed at the Guardians and Washington Commanders, threatening to block to NFL team's stadium move if they didn't return to their old 'Redskins' name. But despite the President's demands, the baseball side will apparently be staying with their new name. 'I understand there are very different perspectives on the decision we made a few years ago,' Guardians president Chris Antonetti said in a statement. 'But it's a decision we've made and we've gotten the opportunity to build the brand as the Guardians over the last four years and we're excited about the future that's in front of us.' Cleveland announced in December 2020 that the team would drop its 'Indians' nickname, announcing the switch to 'Guardians' the following year. The comments from Antonetti risk upsetting the President, given the passion with which he outlined his case. 'The Owner of the Cleveland Baseball Team, Matt Dolan, who is very political, has lost three Elections in a row because of that ridiculous name change,' Trump wrote on Truth Social. Matt Dolan is actually no longer involved in the running of the Guardians franchise but was twice a candidate in the Ohio Senate elections in 2022 and 2024, losing on both occasions. After venting about the NFL team in DC, Trump had earlier said of the baseball team: 'Likewise, the Cleveland Indians, one of the six original baseball teams, with a storied past. Our great Indian people, in massive numbers, want this to happen. 'Their heritage and prestige is systematically being taken away from them. Times are different now than they were three or four years ago. We are a Country of passion and common sense. OWNERS, GET IT DONE!' But while the Guardians are resisting the calls from Trump, he might have more leverage over the Washington Commanders. In a later post Sunday, Trump said he may veto their stadium move back towards DC if the organization wants to continue with their present name. 'My statement on the Washington Redskins has totally blown up, but only in a very positive way,' Trump wrote.
The Guardian
a day ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Trump news at a glance: president goes on offensive over NFL and MLB team names
Donald Trump has weighed into a new fight – this time with two sports teams. The president wants Washington's football franchise the Commanders and Cleveland baseball team the Guardians to revert to their former names, which were abandoned in recent years due to being racially insensitive to Native Americans. Trump said on Sunday on Truth Social that: 'The Washington 'Whatever's' should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team …. Likewise, the Cleveland Indians, one of the six original baseball teams, with a storied past.' Josh Harris, whose group bought the Commanders in 2023, said earlier this year the name was here to stay. The Guardians' president of baseball operations, Chris Antonetti, indicated before Sunday's game against the Athletics that there weren't any plans to revisit the name change. Here is more on this and other key Trump stories of the day: Donald Trump has said that he would move to block the Commanders' plans to build a new stadium at the old RFK Stadium site in Washington DC unless they changed their name. It is unclear if Trump would be able to do so. The RFK Stadium site was once on federal land but Joe Biden signed a bill earlier this year – one of his final acts in office – transferring control to the DC city government for a 99-year term. Trump also posted that the call to change names applied to Cleveland's baseball team, which he called 'one of the six original baseball teams'. Read the full story An 82-year-old man in Pennsylvania was secretly deported to Guatemala after visiting an immigration office last month to replace his lost green card, according to his family, who have not heard from him since and were initially told he was dead. According to Morning Call, which first reported the story, longtime Allentown resident Luis Leon – who was granted political asylum in the US in 1987 after being tortured under the regime of the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet – lost his wallet containing the physical card that confirmed his legal residency. He and his wife booked an appointment to get it replaced and when he arrived at the office on 20 June he was handcuffed by two Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) officers, who led him away from his wife without explanation, she said. The family said they made efforts to find any information on his whereabouts but learned nothing. Read the full story The head of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) said on Sunday he would keep allowing the controversial practice of his officers wearing masks over their faces during their arrest raids. As Trump has ramped up his unprecedented effort to deport immigrants around the country, Ice officers have become notorious for wearing masks to approach and detain people, often with force. Legal advocates and attorneys general have argued that it poses accountability issues and contributes to a climate of fear. Read the full story Scores of scientists conducting vital research across a range of fields from infectious diseases, robotics and education to computer science and the climate crisis have responded to a Guardian online callout to share their experiences about the impact of the Trump administration's cuts to science funding. Many said they had already had funding slashed or programs terminated, while others feared that cuts were inevitable and were beginning to search for alternative work, either overseas or outside science. So far the cuts have led to a 60% reduction in Johnson's team, and fear is mounting over the future of 30 years of climate data and expertise as communities across the US are battered by increasingly destructive extreme weather events. Read the full story Ever since Donald Trump began his second presidency, he has used an 'invented' national energy emergency to help justify expanding oil, gas and coal while slashing green energy – despite years of scientific evidence that burning fossil fuels has contributed significantly to climate change, say scholars and watchdogs. It's an agenda that in only its first six months has put back environmental progress by decades, they say. Read the full story Trump said he would help Afghans detained in the United Arab Emirates for years after fleeing their country when the US pulled out and the Taliban took power. Polls released on Sunday showed falling support among Americans for Trump's hardline measures against illegal immigration, as the Republican president celebrated six months back in power. Polls from CNN and CBS show Trump has lost majority support for his deportation approach. A growing group of African Americans are ditching corporate big-box retail stores that rolled back their DEI programs and instead are shopping at small, minority- and women-owned businesses they believe value their dollars more. Catching up? Here's what happened on 19 July.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
President Trump calls for Commanders to go back to old nickname, threatens to block D.C. stadium deal if they don't
President Donald Trump is using the bully pulpit again in the NFL, this time to get a franchise to revert to its former nickname that was changed after decades of controversy. Trump made multiple long posts on Truth Social on Sunday calling for the Washington Commanders to switch back to their old "Washington Redskins" team name. He even threatened to block the Commanders' impending move back to D.C. and their new stadium if they fail to do so. Trump also called for MLB's Cleveland Guardians to go back to their former "Indians" nickname. While not mentioning Trump by name, Guardians president Chris Antonetti made it clear the team isn't interested in going back Sunday. 'I understand there are very different perspectives on the decision we made a few years ago, but it's a decision we made and we've gotten the opportunity to build the brand as the Guardians over the last four years and we're excited about the future that's in front of us,' he said, via The Athletic. The Commanders have not addressed Trump's post. The Guardians officially changed their team name ahead of the 2022 season, shortly after they stopped using the 'Chief Wahoo' logo, which many saw as racist and offensive toward Native Americans. The Commanders retired their old 'Redskins' nickname in 2020. They went by the Washington Football Team briefly before landing on the Commanders. Their old nickname, which had been in use since 1933, was widely seen as an offensive slur and drew plenty of criticism in its final years of use. 'For obvious reasons,' Commanders owner Josh Harris said in August, that can't return. 'I think [Commanders] is now embraced by our team, by our culture, by our coaching staff,' he said earlier this year, via ESPN. 'So we're going with that.' Though it's unclear if the threat of blocking their stadium deal, real or not, will sway the Commanders, both Harris and Antonetti seem very content with their franchises' new names. As for the validity of Trump's stadium threat, the Associated Press wrote: The Commanders and the District of Columbia government announced a deal earlier this year to build a new home for the football team at the site the old RFK Stadium, the place the franchise called home for more than three decades. Trump's ability to hold up the deal remains to be seen. President Joe Biden signed a bill in January that transferred the land from the federal government to the District of Columbia. The provision was part of a short-term spending bill passed by Congress in December. While D.C. residents elect a mayor, a city council and commissioners to run day-to-day operations, Congress maintains control of the city's budget.
