The Knoxville News-Sentinel from Knoxville, Tennessee • 19

knoxiwwscom Wednesday June 28 2017 5B MLB continue to rise MLB game times the home team which means the bottom of the ninth inning was not played Still the slate averaged 3 hours 16 minutes headed by the Chicago Cubs-Washington Nationals affair that lasted 3:54 and featured 11 pitching changes like Cubs outfielder Albert Almora said Tuesday throwing hitters are going deep into counts that all takes into effect You take that away from the game so I mean I think it was just a well-played intense baseball Improving the pace of play has been a key initiative for Commissioner Rob Manfred who hinted at unilateral action if an agreement to move games along be reached with the players association Efforts this year to stem the tide such as the automatic intentional walk and imposing a limit on manager deliberation for replay challenges apparently had a significant effect on inaction problem A pitch clock exists in minor league games and figures to be on the table at the major league level perhaps as soon as 2018 GABE LACQUES USA TOOAY SPOUTS Mjor League Baseball games are still getting longer slow dry) that figures to increase the likelihood strong action will be taken to curtail the trend After another slate of nine-inning odysseys Monday the average time of game hit 3 hours minutes which would be an all-time high by three minutes for a full season and a 3 percent increase from average nine-inning game an even three hours Including extra-inning games the average game time is 3:09 Both numbers trump all-time highs of 3:02 and 3:07 both set in 2014 according to data gathered by Baseball-Referencecom As the weather warms and home runs also headed for an all-time high continue flying out of the park games are getting longer Since June 6 the time of a game has ticked up a minute in a sample of 1133 games small sample of eight games help All wore nine-inning affairs and six of the eight were won by NKXWASSAP Nationals starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez delivers against the Gibs on Monday in Washington The game ran three hours 54 minutes and featured 11 pitching changes BASEBALL JASENVINLOVE USA TODAY SPORTS St Lucie Mets outfielder Tim Tbbow takes batting practice prior to his Class High-A debut against the Palm Beach Cardinals on Tuesday at First Data Field in Port St Lucie Fla Tebow knows he has long way to ready for next step 29-year-old OF hit 222 in Single A ball COLLEGE FOOTBALL 2 Vandy players shot in retrieval of phone Police say plan was NATALIE NEYSA ALUND USA TOO AY NETWORK -TENNESSEE NASHVILLE Tenn Two Vanderbilt football players were shot in what police are calling an to recover a stolen cellphone The Daley 18 suffered a noncritical gunshot wound to his leg and Frank Cop-pet 18 received noncritical birdshot wounds to his arms Nashville police said Tuesday in a statement Detectives were working to identify and arrest the shooters According to police 19-yearoId Do-naven Tennyson had offered his phone for sale on an internet site and met with a prospective buyer at a parking lot at 5 pm Monday Tennyson told police his phone was stolen during the meeting and later that night was offered for sale on the same internet site Tennyson said he arranged a meeting with the seller in a Target parking lot and arrived with Daley and Coppet Police said the three players brought a pellet pistol which one of them said was help get the phone Police said Coppet got out of Tbyota with the pellet pistol in his hand when a man who pulled up next to them in a Buick got out and shot at the three players with an actual pistol Police said another man in the Buick fired a shotgun at them Police said one gunman fled in the Buick and another left in the Tbyota after the shots were fired They did not say if or when Daley and Tennyson got out of the Tbyota Daley is a freshman from Warner Robins Georgia Coppet is a redshirt freshman from Fort Lauderdale Florida Both are defensive backs Tennyson a sophomore receiver from Richmond Virginia played eight games last season He catch a pass but had four carries for 28 yards foremost concern is the well-being of our students but it appears their injuries are not Vanderbilt said in a statement university is monitoring the situation and will determine if any action on the part of the university is appropriate" cws FINALS Father of LSU star pitcher revives man with no pulse ERIC OLSON ASSOCIATED PRESS OMAHA Neb The father of LSU pitcher Jared Pochd helped revive an 87-year-old man who was slumped on the TD Ameritrade Park Omaha concourse with no pulse during Game 1 of the College World Series finals Dr Jerry Pochd of Lutcher Louisiana was in Section 117 when he was summoned by another LSU fan in the sixth inning of the Ti- game against Florida on Monday see an older gen-tleman being held up by jvVwsUJ his family and they PocM said Pochd said Tuesday weak He have a pulse and he had (laboring) respirations He was Pochd said he began doing chest compressions and Jimmy Roy a firefighter who is the father of LSU strength and conditioning coach Travis Roy performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation for five to seven minutes until medics arrived started breathing on his own a little and his pulse came back and we were fortunate we were able to revive Pochd said LSU spokesman Bill Franques said the man was a Florida fan who had an apparent heart attack Nebraska Medical Center spokesman Taylor Wilson said the man who was not identified was in good condition He did not want to speak with the media Wilson said but his family was very appreciative of the effort to help save him The Advocate newspaper of Baton Rouge Louisiana first reported the medical emergency Pochd a family doctor who has been in private practice for 25 years said he has tended to three other people during this CWS: A 6-year-old boy who was hit in the forehead by a foul ball a fan with a bug in his ear and a man who passed out from apparent dehydration just watching the game and someone comes up and says man we need you Pochd said laughing I do what I got to think it feels good thankful for the TIM TEBOW ST LUCIE METS OUTFIELDER JON SANTUCCI USA TODAY SPORTS PORT ST LUCIE Fla -Tim Tebow is ready for the next step in his baseball career but still realizes a long way from the big leagues The former Heisman Thiphy winner was promoted to the Florida State League St Lucie Mets on Sunday and was scheduled to play his first game 1iesday against the Palm Beach Cardinals The game was postponed after a deluge hit just before the scheduled first pitch A doubleheader was set for Wednesday think it feels good thankful for the opportunity" Tebow said before batting practice Tuesday afternoon always good to be in Florida dose to home and playing with a lot of guys I played in spring with forward to this opportunity starting tonight and just try to make the most of it Also understanding I have a long way to go and just try to get a little better every day and keep working on the Tebow hit 222311340 with three home runs 23 RBI and 69 strikeouts with the Columbia Fireflies The 29-yearold maintained that trying to focus on improving as a baseball player and not allowing himself to think about next or even dream about being called up to New York not something I focus on not something I think he said a great question because that would be a great headline But not something I focus on Although you root for the Mets and watch their games and got to be friends with a lot of guys on their team playing for the St Lucie Mets right now and where my focus has to NFL Titans executive will talk to Chiefs for 6M back Jackson with the 18th pick Blake Beddingfield the director of college scouting for five years was fired last month after 18 seasons with the franchise College scout Tim Ruskell chose to leave the organization after five seasons He was the GM from 2005-09 Jon Salge entering his 12th season with the team was promoted from college scout to director of college scouting Brandon Taylor entering his 11th season with the team was promoted from college scout to national scout Reach Jason Wolf at and follow him on Twitter Ja-sonWolfand on Instagram and Snapchat at TitansBeat tion that previously exist The Titans posted a Si-7 record last season after going 3-13 the previous year the six-win difference representing the largest single-season turnaround in franchise history Cowden wasn't hired until after initial draft in which the GM traded the No 1 overall pick then moved back into the top 10 to select All-Pro right tackle Jack Conklin eighth overall This offseason the Titans overhauled their wide receiver corps secondary and special teams with former Patriots comerback Logan Ryan the top acquisition in free agency Tennessee also drafted Western Michigan wide receiver Corey Davis fifth overall and USC corner- JASON WOLF USA TODAY NETWORK TENNESSEE Titans general manager Jon Robinson has been on the job for only 18 months and his front office is already drawing attention from other clubs The Chief plan to interview Titans director of player personnel Ryan Cowden on Wednesday for their vacant general manager position according to NFL com The Chiefs fired John Dorsey last week after four years as GM Cowden has spent just over a year in his current role after 16 seasons with the Panthers Robinson hired Cowden as the No 2 person in the scouting department in May 2016 creating a posi GEORGE WALKER IVTHE TENNESSEAN Titans general manager Jon Robinson could lose director of player personnel Ryan Cowden to the Kansas Ply Chiefs.