Padres’ A.J. Preller on potential extension: ‘We’re either going to do it or not’
We're a week out from spring training games and the Padres still have unanswered questions, Chloe Kim's protege takes gold in Milan, USD's top scorer is kicked off the team, and more.
Almost a year ago, I wrote about why I was so excited for the Opening Day of the last MLB season. I’ll save you some time, it was because our country was (at least metaphorically) on fire and I was dying to lose myself in the distraction of day-to-day baseball.
I feel much the same way this year, I can feel my brain being taken over by thoughts and facts and opinions about the 2026 San Diego Padres as it tries to put out the fires that break out any time I think about anything non-sports related.
That being said, I do feel like it’s much more difficult to be hopeful about this year’s version of the Padres than it was last year’s version. Even if you are an optimist (and I think I generally am!), and you believe that a new owner will come in and take over the team the same way Peter Seidler did, the chances of those long-term positives impacting the 2026 Padres seems minimal.
But, as Buddy Black loved to remind us, this is baseball. Baseball is unpredictable and, yes, sometimes stupid. It would be hilarious, and very “baseball”, if this team that is managed by a manager that has never manager before (and seems to still need a starting 1B and at least one more starting pitcher added to the roster by a GM that might be gone after this year) ends up having a better year than some of the more hyped teams of recent memory.
Now, onto the links!
San Diego Padres
Padres’ A.J. Preller addresses contract extension, which still seems likely - San Diego Union-Tribune
The curiosity and angst over Preller’s contract, which runs through this season, is in contrast to what is being projected by Preller. He was as unfettered as ever Thursday regarding the ongoing discussions with team chairman John Seidler.
“Like anything, when the time is right, the moment is right, hoping to line up on something, (that) I can have something here (and) the focus can be back on the field and go from there,” Preller said. “But we’ll see where it goes in the next couple days.”
Referring to the “next couple” days or weeks is something Preller does often without meaning the timeframe literally. Asked to clarify that remark Thursday, he said: “Read into it whatever you want.”
Padres’ A.J. Preller on potential extension: ‘We’re either going to do it or not’ - The Athletic
The fact that Preller could begin reporting to a new owner later this year might pose another obstacle, though the executive downplayed such uncertainty.
“That’s probably something for myself that’s kind of just a different element that’s been added to the whole conversation,” said Preller, who was hired as general manager by Peter Seidler and then-chairman Ron Fowler in 2014. “I don’t think that’s really going to impact anything. I think, from the beginning, in terms of getting a deal done, it’s been pretty consistent, the conversation.
“Ultimately, I think we’re either going to do it or not. I don’t think it’s going to be, ‘Hey, we may have a new owner here at some point in time in the next few weeks, months, et cetera, so that’s what’s holding this up.’ I don’t feel that at all, honestly.”
Nick Castellanos says bringing beer into dugout, criticizing Phillies manager Rob Thomson led to 2025 benching - Yahoo Sports
”After being taken out of a close ball game in front of my friends and family, I brought a Presidente into the dugout. I then sat right next to [Phillies manager Rob Thomson] and let him know that too much slack in some areas and too tight of restrictions in others are not conducive to us winning. Shoutout to my teammates and [Phillies special assistant to the general manager Howie Kendrick] for taking the beer out of my hands before I could take a sip.”
8 quirky places to stop on your road trip to Padres spring training - San Diego Union-Tribune
This very small town near the Arizona state line heralds itself as the “center of the world,” with a pyramid marking the spot. The Imperial County Board of Supervisors even dubbed it so in 1985 at the request of Felicity’s mayor, skydiver Jacques-André Istel. Strange, yes, but the attraction is worth a stop — not only for the certificate that you get commemorating your trip to the “center of the world,” but more importantly for the sprawling granite displays that tell the history of, well, everything.
Return of the bundle? ESPN’s new baseball play goes local - The Athletic
Starting today, ESPN is newly selling MLB.tv, a longtime league-run subscription package that lets fans watch “out-of-market” MLB games, for $149.99 annually. Then next year, ESPN expects to sell local telecasts — “in-market” broadcasts — for perhaps half of the league’s 30 teams.
2026 Winter Olympics
Olympics Day 7: One more trip to the Pain Cave - Sports!
It’s not going great for USA men’s curling, but their poor performance led to one sweet moment. Down 8-2 against Switzerland, the team was able to sub in their alternate, Rich Ruohonen a 54-year old lawyer who competed close to the top of the world of American curling for decades without ever making the Olympics. Ruohonen had said When he took the ice, he became the oldest American Winter Olympian ever.
See How Gaon Choi Dethroned Chloe Kim in Women’s Halfpipe - New York Times
Choi, 17, slammed the halfpipe hard trying to land her cab 1080 during her first run. She launched out of the gates again on her second run, but fell for a second time after her first hit.
But on her third run, Choi combined back-to-back 900s with clean execution and plenty of amplitude throughout. Despite an injured knee from the hard fall on her first run, she scored 90.25 on the third, enough to vault her to the top of the standings.
Adulterous Norwegian Biathlete’s Appeal Denied - Defector
The immediate details were compelling and strange. Lægreid told Norwegian broadcaster NRK, “There is something I want to share with someone who may not be watching today. Half a year ago, I met the love of my life. The world’s most beautiful and nicest person. Three months ago, I made the mistake of my life and cheated on her, and I told her about that a week ago. This has been the worst week of my life.” Weeping, he went on to explain that “I had the gold medal in life, and I am sure there are many people who will see things differently, but I only have eyes for her. Sport has come second these last few days. Yes, I wish I could share this with her.”
Thanks to a helpful Defector commenter, I learned that this declaration was even more ill-timed than I imagined, given that the gold medalist, fellow Norwegian, Johan-Olav Botn, also dedicated his win to someone no longer with him—their teammate Sivert Guttorm Bakken, who was found dead in his hotel room in December.
Controversy surrounds Olympic ice dance as French duo Beaudry and Cizeron beat US stars Chock and Bates - CNN
Beaudry and Cizeron answered a season-best free dance by Chock and Bates with a season best of their own Wednesday night, giving them 225.82 points and the top step of the podium. Chock and Bates finished with 224.39 and a bittersweet silver medal after having lost just four times in the four years since they finished fourth at the Beijing Games.
There were some who viewed their victory as unbelievable.
Cizeron made several mistakes, including a glaring one during his twizzle sequence, while Chock and Bates were nearly perfect. Yet the French judge favored the French skaters by nearly eight points in the free dance, while five of the nine judges favored the American team. The other three that gave top marks to Beaudry and Cizeron did so by a slim margin.
Odds & Ends
Leading scorer Ty-Laur Johnson no longer with USD basketball team - San Diego Union-Tribune
Lavin did not specify the reasons behind Johnson’s sudden dismissal, but a source close to the program indicated there have been a string of disciplinary issues with the two-time transfer who began his college career at Louisville before spending last season at Wake Forest.
Johnson was averaging a team-high 14.6 points, 4.3 assists and 2.3 steals per game for USD. He had 11 games of 18 or more points, including a career-high 28 in a 96-92 win against Washington State on Jan. 21.
His most memorable moment as a Torero came Dec. 19 at UCSD, when he banked in a 3-pointer with 0.5 seconds left for an improbable 82-80 win.
Trinidad Chambliss ruling just the tip of the iceberg in NCAA’s eligibility crisis - Yahoo Sports
Within a county courthouse, situated in the tiniest of towns in the most rural of areas in north Mississippi, a 23-year-old quarterback’s collegiate eligibility — his Heisman Trophy hopes, his team’s championship aspirations, his more than $5 million in promised compensation — hinged on a decision from a 70-plus-year-old chancery court judge who just so happens to hold a law degree from the school, Ole Miss, that stands to benefit most from his ruling.
This is less than ideal.
Set aside your feelings on the decision from Judge Robert Q. Whitwell to grant quarterback Trinidad Chambliss an extra year of eligibility. Remove the names and school logos. Put away your inherent bias and partiality. Look at the whole.
Is it healthy for college sports to have the eligibility of athletes determined within courtrooms across America?
President Trump pardons Hall of Famer Joe Klecko and four other former NFL players - The Athletic
President Donald Trump pardoned former NFL players Joe Klecko, Nate Newton, Jamal Lewis, Travis Henry and the late Billy Cannon on Thursday, according to White House pardon czar Alice Marie Johnson.
“As football reminds us, excellence is built on grit, grace, and the courage to rise again. So is our nation,” Johnson posted on social media. “Grateful to @POTUS for his continued commitment to second chances. Mercy changes lives.”
Johnson also wrote a special thanks to Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones for personally sharing the news with Newton.
Carlsbad bans e-bikers under 12, among other new regulations - North County Pipeline
Children under 12 will be banned from riding e-bikes and police will gain new authority to impound unsafe riders’ bikes under city code amendments approved by the City Council on Tuesday.
The unanimous vote caps years of rising frustration over unsafe riding and a sharp increase in collisions involving e-bikes. City officials said the new rules, part of a broader pilot program under Assembly Bill 2234, are intended to curb dangerous behavior while allowing responsible e-bike use.
The regulations, which the council is expected to formally adopt on Feb. 25, prohibit anyone under 12 from riding Class 1 or 2 e-bikes, allow police to impound bikes involved in unsafe riding, and ban riding inside Pine and Poinsettia parks. The changes also update several definitions in the city’s municipal code to align with state rules under AB 2234.