Bill Zito has come a long way since his days as bat boy for the Milwaukee Brewers.

From a World Series appearance as a teenage bat boy to the Stanley Cup Final as an NHL general manager, it’s a life lived indeed.

The Florida Panthers took a chance on Zito in September 2020, handing him his first NHL GM job after the former player agent turned AGM with the Columbus Blue Jackets took several swings at GM jobs elsewhere.

Zito interviewed for GM openings with the Buffalo Sabres (Jason Botterill was hired), Minnesota Wild (Paul Fenton was hired), Wild again (Bill Guerin got it), Carolina Hurricanes (owner Tom Dundon ended up not hiring a GM after interviewing several candidates, naming team president Don Waddell GM instead), Philadelphia Flyers (Chuck Fletcher got it), Edmonton Oilers (Ken Holland got it) and New Jersey Devils (where ownership interviewed several people, including Zito, before ultimately promoting interim GM Tom Fitzgerald to the full-time job).

All of which to say, Zito hasn’t taken the easy road to where he is today. He’s had to be patient. For starters, he took a risk leaving his player agency business. Acme World Sports, a firm he established in 1995, had represented the likes of Tim Thomas, Tuukka Rask, John Madden, Kimmo Timonen and Brian Rafalski. He jumped into a whole new world as AGM of the Blue Jackets in 2013.

So when the Panthers announced this week that they had signed Zito to a multiyear extension (his previous deal was expiring after next season) plus promoted him to the title of president of hockey operations, one had to sit back and consider the path traveled.

“You feel very fortunate, blessed and humbled,” were Zito’s first words when we connected over the phone Monday night. “I feel so grateful to the Violas (the owners of the team) for the opportunity.

“And for the opportunity to be part of something. You know, we’ve been fortunate enough to have the chance to get a real good bunch of people together here who are like-minded. To be able to be part of it is a privilege.”

It’s been quite a journey. One still missing a Stanley Cup, but Zito’s built a team in Florida that can take swings at it not just this year but for multiple years.

“One of the blessings here is the core group,” Zito said. “They’re not just good players, they’re great people.

“And the group of people that I get to work with every day, and learn from and interact with and get challenged by, it’s so extraordinary.”

Team USA Olympic GM Bill Guerin has gotten to know Zito well, and they now will work together as part of the country’s management group for 4 Nations and the Olympics.

“Honestly I love Billy,” Guerin said Tuesday. “No. 1, as a person, him and I have become closer over the past 10 years or so when we were both assistant GMs. He’s one of the smartest people I know. He thinks differently. I really respect that. He thinks out of the box, he’s aggressive.

“There’s always something going on upstairs. I just think the world of him.”

The Panthers have just four players left on their NHL roster from when Zito was named GM on Sept. 2, 2020: captain Aleksander Barkov, Aaron Ekblad, Sergei Bobrovsky and Eetu Luostarinen. The first three are big-time, key veterans to be sure.

Zito makes a point to tip the hat to former Panthers GM Dale Tallon for leaving behind a strong core and good assets to inherit.

“I showed up to some pretty good players here,” Zito said. “A little bit of a testament to Dale, right?”

But Zito has been as aggressive as any GM in the league in adding to his core, trading for the likes of Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Matthew Tkachuk and Brandon Montour. There was also his low-key signing of Carter Verhaeghe, his waiver claim of Gustav Forsling, etc.

“Billy has done an outstanding job reshaping the Panthers,” Waddell said Tuesday.

“Going back to his days as an agent, I have always found Bill to be a creative, out-of-the-box thinker,” Tampa Bay Lightning GM Julien BriseBois said. “It served him well then and it continued to serve him well once he got into team management. He has proven himself to be a thoughtful and bold GM, and his leadership has contributed to the Panthers becoming a top team in the League since his hiring.”

Some first-time GMs sit on their hands too much, reluctant to get beat in a trade. That was not Zito.

Not every first-time GM gets to their second contract. That’s just a fact of life in the fast lane. And some of those first-time GMs never get another shot.

One thing I’ve heard repeatedly over the years from veteran GMs is how, over time, they have to learn to delegate more. When one becomes GM, you realize your butt is on the line with every decision. The buck stops with you. That’s an overwhelming feeling and often what you see with first-time GMs is that they feel the need to check in on every single facet every single day. GMs have to learn to grow into a place where they know they have people taking care of certain things and must learn to let go a little.

To this, Zito took a deep breath before answering.

“Everything you said is accurate and spot on,” he said. “It’s a little different for me because I did have a sports agency, so running a business is something I had experience with.”

“With the knowledge of the interaction you just referenced and my own personal experience, I still don’t get it right,” he added with a laugh. “It’s still hard to delegate. I struggle.”

Bill Zito and Panthers coach Paul Maurice address the media before the 2023 Stanley Cup Final. (Lucas Peltier / USA Today)

Zito can laugh at himself about it because he hopes it’s something he will get better at over time. But it all comes from a place of caring so much about every little detail in the day-to-day operation of the hockey side of the franchise.

He truly lives and dies with every win or loss.

In the meantime, Zito has tried to absorb as much knowledge as possible from people around the league.

He points to a Board of Governors call during the pandemic when Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs made a comment to the group at large that really stuck with him.

“He said, ‘Somebody smart once told me no one ever listens themselves into trouble,’” Zito said. “I thought that was real interesting. I know I need to do a better job of it. And I think probably everybody could.”

Right now, it’s all about the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Panthers are hoping for another deep run.

The offseason will be busy as always, Reinhart is a pending unrestricted free agent having a career season. One of the things I found interesting a couple of weeks ago talking to Reinhart about his impending contract decision, is that he mentioned his comfort level with Zito as a factor as to why he’s not stressed out about not having signed an extension yet.

“I think the relationship that we have, me and Billy, me and the organization, it’s all positive, all mutual,” Reinhart said. “I’m very comfortable with it being ongoing. We’ve got bigger things in mind the next couple of months, hopefully. But I’m not losing sleep over it by any means.”

That feeling is mutual.

“I have nothing but respect for Sam and it’ll get done at the right time,” Zito reiterated Monday night.

If Reinhart stays, no doubt it will be for less than what his market demand would be on July 1. But who can blame him if he’s willing to take less?

They’ve built something special in South Florida. And everyone wants a piece of it.

(Top photo of Bill Zito: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)

After ESPN published a report about Bill Belichick’s failed job search this offseason, one of the network’s top personalities, Pat McAfee, took issue with the story.

The report said the Atlanta Falcons didn’t have Belichick in their top three of head coaching potential candidates, and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft allegedly advised Arthur Blank not to trust the eight-time Super Bowl winner.

It also cited a source that said Belichick would never coach again in the NFL unless it were with Jerry Jones in Dallas.

Pat McAfee and his co-hosts weren’t fans of the story.

Boston Connor said there was context from the story that “didn’t make sense,” while McAfee mentioned the “bulls—” Belichick has been surrounded by, according to Awful Announcing.

Connor said it was “hard to believe” Belichick was “blindsided” by not getting the Falcons job and questioned the anonymous quotes and “bland statements” throughout the piece.

“None of the quotes — they don’t really say where they’re from,” Connor said, adding it was “interesting” the piece possibly referenced the show.

“If they’re burying Bill, I’m glad we’re not a part of it,” McAfee said. “It sounds like it’s a lot of alluding to, anonymous quotes and things like that.”

Then McAfee announced Belichick was joining the program’s Draft Spectacular next week.

Pat McAfee hosts his show “The Pat McAfee Show” on Radio Row at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center ahead of the Super Bowl Feb. 8, 2024, in Las Vegas.  (Candice Ward/Getty Images)

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This isn’t the first time McAfee was critical of members of his own network. He’s previously aimed much higher.

McAfee called out Norby Williamson, the network’s executive senior vice president of studio and event production at the time, saying he was “attempting to sabotage our program” and called him a rat.

Last week, Williamson left ESPN after 40 years.

Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick addressed the media at Gillette Stadium about his departure. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Belichick will not be employed by an NFL team for the first time since 1974. He had been the head coach of the New England Patriots for 24 seasons, winning six Super Bowls.

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Caitlin Clark already heard her name called once this week, but the most heralded No. 1 draft pick in WNBA history is still in contention to make an even more exclusive roster this summer.

Before even playing a WNBA game, Clark has already become a key figure in the U.S. Olympic roster discussion as the United States goes for its eighth consecutive Olympic gold medal this summer in Paris. The Iowa star was invited to participate in the senior national team’s training camp in April, but could not attend as the Hawkeyes advanced to the Final Four on the same weekend.

A six-person committee, which is led by U.S. 3×3 head coach Jennifer Rizzotti and South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley and includes former star player Seimone Augustus, will make the final decision. Cheryl Reeve, who is taking over national tem head coach duties from Staley, will not play a significant role in the selection process. The Minnesota Lynx coach and president of basketball operations is happy to sit this one out.

“Thank goodness,” Reeve said with a hearty chuckle during the U.S. Olympic media summit Wednesday.

While the men’s team announced its Olympic roster Wednesday, the women’s team likely won’t reveal its final group until the summer. In 2021, USA Basketball didn’t name its women’s roster until about one month before the Tokyo Games opened. The WNBA season, which begins May 14, will break from July 21 to Aug. 14 for the Olympic Games. The Paris Games open on July 26.

“I just know that it’s a struggle,” Reeve said of cutting the roster down. “Every time they’re making a decision — this time it’s Caitlin, last time it was Nneka [Ogwumike], before that it was Candace Parker. … No matter what you do, you’ve left someone off that someone really thinks you should have brought. And that’s a great problem for the U.S., right?”

Breanna Stewart was the last WNBA rookie to make the U.S. Olympic team, in 2016. The New York Liberty star and reigning WNBA most valuable player knows the difficult path ahead if Clark makes the cut.

Stewart remembers how relentless the transition from college to the pros was. She felt like she was sprinting on a hamster wheel going from winning her fourth national championship with Connecticut on April 5, being drafted first overall by the Seattle Storm on April 14, being named to the Olympic team on April 27 and playing in her first WNBA game on May 15.

“I was just trying to be a sponge,” Stewart said. “I knew I was the youngest one on this Olympic team by far, so my advice would be to be a sponge and really just to take it all in. It’s a lot. A lot’s going to be thrown at Caitlin, just in her rookie year anyways.”

Stewart leaned on former WNBA and Olympic teammate Sue Bird for support through her professional transition. The five-time Olympic gold medalist retired in 2022.

Bird’s departure marks a new era at point guard for the United States. While Las Vegas Aces star Chelsea Gray will likely return for her second Olympics, Reeve acknowledged the relative lack of depth at that position compared to a loaded frontcourt that includes Stewart, two-time WNBA champion A’ja Wilson and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner.

New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu and forwards Aliyah Boston (Indiana Fever), Rhyne Howard (Atlanta Dream) and Shakira Austin (Washington Mystics) are vying for their first Olympic teams. Las Vegas Aces guards Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young also attended April’s 5×5 team training camp after helping the United States win 3×3 gold in Tokyo. The competition will be stiff, even for Clark, whose record-setting NCAA career made her a crossover star who helped propel women’s basketball into the mainstream.

“Obviously she’s a great player and what she’s been able to accomplish in college, and now she’s taking it to the next level in the WNBA, and we’ll see how things go,” Stewart said. “Obviously what I want to do is play alongside the other players that are named on this roster. I don’t know what that’s going to be, but I’m sure Caitlin has played USA Basketball before and I don’t think her time with USA Basketball is going to be done anytime soon.”

Clark does have experience on the international stage, but only on the junior level, winning gold medals at the 2019 and 2021 FIBA U19 World Cups and the 2017 FIBA U16 Americas Championship. She did not play in the AmeriCup tournament last summer on a team that included fellow recent WNBA draft picks Rickea Jackson, Angel Reese and Charisma Osborne.

Although Stewart made her Olympic debut as a WNBA rookie, she was already a regular on the senior national team. She was the only college athlete among 32 players considered for the 2014 FIBA World Championship and she made the final cut as a rising junior at UConn.

She was “a baby” when the U.S. team won gold in Rio, Stewart recalled with a wistful smile. She was learning from stars like Bird, Taurasi, Tamika Catchings, Sylvia Fowles, Maya Moore and Lindsay Whalen. Every Olympic team could easily feature 12 WNBA veterans, but the organizing committee’s intentional roster construction that emphasizes a mix of experience and youth has been critical in sustaining the dynasty across generations.

“We come together and we have this sense of selflessness and pride because of the culture that when we were young, we were kind of thrown into,” Stewart said. “Now for the next generation of people … now they know. We’re coming together to represent our country.”