The Washington Wizards have long been considered one of the worst teams in the league. However, thanks to the new front office regime of general manager Will Dawkins and President of Monumental Basketball Michael Winger, change seems to be on the horizon. Between the team's talented young core filled with high-upside prospects, a head coach in Brian Keefe, who's seemingly built something that players can buy into and the assets accumulated over the years to make bold moves, Washington has slowly but surely rising from the mud.
The Atlanta Falcons hired Kevin Stefanski as their new coach, the club announced on Saturday night. Stefanski, 43, had his second interview with the Falcons on Saturday at the team's facility in Georgia. The former Cleveland Browns coach is a two-time former NFL Coach of the Year. The Falcons fired coach Raheem Morris on Jan. 4 following back-to-back 8-9 seasons. Atlanta has not made the playoffs in eight seasons, the second-longest drought in the NFL.
In a season that Trea Turner won the batting title with a .304 average, Lile finished just five points behind him (albeit in an abbreviated big-league cameo). Lile also scored 51 runs, hit an eye-popping 11 triples, and was performing best of all as the season came to a close. Raw ability took him far, so imagine what's to come in the future.
The Rockies' search for a front office leader will drag into the offseason. Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post reports that the Rox don't intend to announce their baseball operations hire until next week. The World Series will end on Saturday at the latest, but the Rockies are apparently content to go at least a few days into their offseason activity without a GM in place.
