Texas
Ron Washington Says ‘Heart is Broken’ Over Rangers’ Lost World Series
![Ron Washington Says ‘Heart is Broken’ Over Rangers’ Lost World Series](https://www.si.com/.image/t_share/MTg5MTM3MjIzMDIxNTA0NDAz/usatsi_5655682.jpg)
ARLINGTON, Texas — Ron Washington by no means received the ring he was in search of in Texas. Even so, the winningest supervisor in Rangers historical past additionally stays probably the most beloved by the followers.
It is a large cause why the Atlanta Braves turned the de facto staff to cheer for within the World Sequence final yr—that and beating the Houston Astros. There was a big sect of baseball followers in Dallas-Fort Price that wished to see “Wash”, now the third base coach of the Braves, lastly get the championship that eluded him in 2010 and 2011.
And we all know how the story ends now. The Braves beat the Astros in final yr’s World Sequence and Washington lastly climbed to the highest of the mountain.
“I really feel tremendously fulfilled as a result of not solely me, however each person who performs the sport of baseball desires to get to the purpose the place they’ll get a World Sequence ring,” Washington mentioned previous to Friday’s Rangers-Braves sport.
“That is what they play for. They play for a World Sequence ring. I had three alternatives within the World Sequence, and I lastly received one. So it’s totally particular.”
Friday can also be fairly particular. Not solely is it Washington’s seventieth birthday, however with the Braves visiting the Rangers, he will get to return to a spot the place he made numerous reminiscences.
Washington was the supervisor of the membership throughout its most profitable run, profitable the one two American League pennants in franchise historical past throughout his tenure. And though the World Sequence demons have been exorcized, these 2010 and 2011 groups nonetheless maintain a particular place in his coronary heart.
“My coronary heart is damaged that I have not been in a position to get one right here in Texas,” Washington mentioned. “And we had two alternatives at it. My coronary heart is damaged for that. However you understand, when issues do not work out the best way you need them to work out, you bought to choose up the items and you bought to maneuver on.”
Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports activities
![Ron Washington](https://www.si.com/.image/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_700/MTg5MTM3MTg1OTc3NDExMzUy/img_1200.jpg)
Chris Halicke – SI/FanNation
![Jun. 18, 2008; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington against the Atlanta Braves at the Rangers Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports](https://www.si.com/.image/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_700/MTg1MDk1MjA3NTU1OTY2MjMz/usatsi_2974741_168388671_lowres.jpg)
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports activities
After he stepped down as supervisor in 2014, Washington returned to the sport as infield coach of the Oakland Athletics in 2015 and third base coach in 2016. Throughout that point, Washington helped rework present Texas Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien right into a premier defender.
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Semien known as Washington “probably the most influential baseball man” in his life, and consulted with him earlier than signing his seven-year, $175 million contract with the Rangers.
“After I received to satisfy Marcus … he was dedicated to grow to be the most effective that he could possibly be,” Washington mentioned. “He had an amazing angle. He had an excellent work ethic. And he by no means took sooner or later into the subsequent. He tried to take what went fallacious the day earlier than and enhance it going into the subsequent day. And that is what’s particular about Marcus Semien.”
Washington has been the third base coach of the Braves since 2017, so it is not typically that he will get to return to Arlington anymore. So when a go to to Texas appeared on the schedule this season, it stood out. Washington is perpetually engrained in Rangers historical past, and that is not simply forgotten on both facet.
“There’s not a day that I do not take a look at the field scores and see what Texas is doing as a result of I need them to achieve success,” Washington mentioned. “I do know the individuals up prime. I do know them effectively. I understand how they go about their enterprise and so they wish to achieve success. And I simply hope they will achieve success, you understand? They tried to show to the followers this yr by going out and getting some profitable ballplayers and attempt to put one thing collectively. And I feel in the long run, they most likely will.”
Washington has seen the Rangers’ early struggles from afar. Because the three-game collection begins this weekend, he is gotten a more in-depth look because the Braves put together for this weekend’s collection. Whereas followers may be skeptical of the Rangers’ 6-13 begin, Washington believes the strikes made by the entrance workplace will ultimately pan out.
Or, as he so eloquently mentioned whereas supervisor of the Rangers, that is the best way baseball go.
“Proper now everyone seems to be looking for themselves,” Washington mentioned. “[It was a] quick spring coaching. Everyone seems to be looking for themselves. I feel after 100 at bats arrive, and the consistency begins to kick in, I feel you may see a distinct scenario between these strains.”
As treasured because the reminiscences in Texas may be for Washington, his focus stays with the Braves. They’re the defending World Sequence champions and simply welcomed again their famous person, Ronald Acuña Jr., after an extended restoration from a knee damage. The Braves reloaded within the offseason and, regardless of a September 11 begin to the season, are primed for one more run.
“It needs to be a really thrilling ballgame,” Washington mentioned. “So I am trying ahead to it. I am right here with Atlanta Braves and I actually wish to beat the Texas Rangers.”
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Texas
Texas woman credits program for her sobriety after fentanyl overdose
![Texas woman credits program for her sobriety after fentanyl overdose](https://images.foxtv.com/c107833-mcdn.mp.lura.live/expiretime=2082787200/be7357ebdc0b830f2affc2e746d49675c57b3e549c74afce5f77f47cd212a599/iupl/D0C/10A/1280/720/D0C10AFB9032D571F5BB5ED5C16263C0.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Woman credits program for sobriety
In April 2023, a Hays County woman survived a fentanyl overdose. She was in the throes of an addiction that nearly killed her. Today, she credits a program called Neighborhood Defender Service for her sobriety.
HAYS COUNTY, Texas – In April 2023, a Hays County woman survived a fentanyl overdose. She was in the throes of an addiction that nearly killed her. Today, she credits a program called Neighborhood Defender Service for her sobriety.
Meaghan Callahan said April 26, 2023, is the day that changed her life forever.
“I don’t remember anything except for waking up to the first responders around me and I really had no idea what had happened,” Callahan said.
Callahan had overdosed on fentanyl. EMS administered four doses of Narcan and saved her life.
“When I came to, and I really just got my senses about me, in that jail cell, I was grateful to even be in a jail cell, it gave me a new lease on life,” Callahan said.
Accidental drug overdoses in Travis County
The Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office released its 2023 annual report revealing 279 people died from a fentanyl overdose.
Callahan was in jail and charged with multiple felonies for possession. Police said marijuana was in plain view, and they also found several other types of drugs. Two kids, both under the age of five, were just feet away and were being taken care of by a roommate.
“Children do not deserve to be wrapped up in that world,” Callahan said.
Callahan said she had relapsed. She is a recovering alcoholic and blamed herself, at the time, for trying to get sober alone.
“Even though it was self-medicating, I was trying to treat my alcoholism with the studies that have been done by microdosing ketamine and mushrooms and I felt like that would help me as well as the CBD and cannabis that was found, I thought that that would help me with my postpartum depression to be honest,” Callahan said.
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It almost cost her her life.
“You can’t really fix yourself; you’ve got to go outside yourself to the community and the professionals to get help,” Callahan said.
Callahan was given that opportunity. She was represented by an attorney with the Neighborhood Defender Service, specifically for Hays County.
“We try to help the client instead of just trying to help the case,” Neighborhood Defender Service Texas Meenu Walters said.
Fentanyl deaths growing in Travis Co.: report
The number of fentanyl-related deaths continues to grow in Travis County, according to the 2023 Medical Examiner’s Report.
NDS staff have been handling about 25 percent of all Hays County cases since 2023. Walters said they use a holistic, team-based model of defense, which includes not only lawyers, but social workers, client advocates, and investigators.
“Something that we can try to work on is building out and identifying community-based options for people so that if we can get in and get people the help that they need outside the system, maybe the system is not what they rely on for help,” Walters said.
“I had a whole team around me to really help me just get better,” Callahan said.
A judge gave her a second chance. All of Callahan’s charges were dropped. She’s now in recovery and wants to help others.
“I want to give hope to the people out there that are in active addiction or love people that know there is a solution and there’s a huge team of us waiting to help,” Callahan said.
She encourages people to ask for help because she said a wonderful life is on the other side.
Texas
Texas man dies while hiking to Phantom Ranch on Grand Canyon River Trail
![Texas man dies while hiking to Phantom Ranch on Grand Canyon River Trail](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2024/06/27/PPHX/74239707007-635666860803347185-point-sublime.jpg?auto=webp&crop=1799,1012,x0,y187&format=pjpg&width=1200)
Going hiking? Three tips to stay safe on the trail
If you’re planning on going hiking, it’s important to keep some tips in mind before hitting the trails.
A Texas man died while hiking the Grand Canyon’s River Trail on Saturday, National Park Service officials said.
Park officials received a report of a semiconscious hiker on the River Trail halfway between Silver Bridge and Black Bridge near Phantom Ranch around 7 p.m. Saturday. The hiker, identified as 69-year-old Scott Sims from Austin, Texas, became unresponsive shortly after.
Bystanders attempted CPR before three park service paramedics from Phantom Ranch responded to the scene and took over. CPR attempts were unsuccessful.
Sims was hiking to Phantom Ranch for an overnight stay, park officials said.
The Coconino County Medical Examiner and the National Park Service were investigating the incident.
Texas
A Letter to Texas and Oklahoma: Goodbye and Good Luck
![A Letter to Texas and Oklahoma: Goodbye and Good Luck](https://www.heartlandcollegesports.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/USATSI_15049254.jpg)
Monday, July 1, 2024, is going to end up being a day to remember in Big 12 history. It is the day that Texas and Oklahoma are officially out of the Big 12 and into the SEC. Is it the biggest day in Big 12 history? Only time will tell.
While Monday is a huge day for everyone involved, I can’t help but go back to Big 12 media days three years ago. Former Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby cracked a joke about being glad he didn’t have to answer realignment questions and said that everything was fine within the conference.
Less than two weeks after that statement, the news heard around the world broke. Texas and Oklahoma were heading to the SEC after the 2024 season. Of course, we all knew that they would get out earlier, and they did. Instead of having to wait another four years, they got out in three after forking up millions of dollars.
I may not be a true Big 12 historian, but I am not stupid enough to realize what these two schools have done for the conference. Like it or not, Oklahoma and Texas have combined for 18 Big 12 titles in the last 25 years. Fourteen of those titles have come from the Sooners, while the Longhorns have had four. They have brought name recognition to the conference along with a pair of national titles and countless title game appearances.
The success they have had here (especially Oklahoma) has been off the charts. The Sooners had a run of six Big 12 titles in a row before the streak ended in 2021. And as someone who has covered the conference since 2016, I have seen plenty of championships won by Oklahoma. In fact, I have covered just two conference championship games that haven’t featured either Oklahoma or Texas since the game was brought back in 2017.
Both schools have had their fair share of superstars over the years. Jason White, Sam Bradford, Baker Mayfield, and Kyler Murray all won Heisman trophies while playing in the Big 12, while Texas has had a few close calls between Vince Young and Colt McCoy. I could go on and on about all the greats that have suited up for these two since the conference came together in 1996, but that would take up too much time here.
Whether or not you will be shedding a tear or jumping for joy is up to you, but there is no doubt in my mind that the conference will not be the same without these two schools. The SEC is saying that it’s a new era, and you know what? It’s also a new era in the Big 12, too.
We are bringing in four new schools and have brought in a total of eight new schools in the last couple of years. Without Texas or Oklahoma leaving, I am not sure if that would have happened, but I am glad it did. Am I going to miss that first Saturday in October at the Cotton Bowl? Sure, but I am also excited to see what the future holds in the Big 12 because it is going to be the most exciting football conference in America from top to bottom. So goodbye, Texas and Oklahoma.
Maybe we will meet again, but until then, enjoy the SEC. Sometimes, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.
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