Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy watches during batting practice ahead of Game 1 of baseball's National League Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers on Oct. 12 in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, file)

Murphy gets

a new deal

PHOENIX (AP) — Pat Murphy says he knows he belongs with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Now the two-time NL manager of the year has agreed to a new contract that assures he will remain in Milwaukee for some time to come.

Murphy has led the Brewers to division titles and has been selected as NL manager of the year each of his first two seasons on the job. He had been Milwaukee’s bench coach on Craig Counsell’s staff for eight seasons before taking over as manager.

“I don’t want to be with any other organization,” Murphy told reporters Friday from the Brewers’ spring training complex after the deal was announced. “I feel really connected. This is going on my 11th season. I feel really part of it. I feel like this is where I’m supposed to be.”

Murphy’s contract had been set to expire at the end of the season before he and the Brewers agreed to terms on this new deal. He had taken over as Milwaukee’s manager after Counsell let his contract run out following the 2023 season and then signed a lucrative deal with the rival Chicago Cubs.

Mayweather

eyes return

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Floyd Mayweather says he is ending his nine-year retirement and returning to competitive boxing this summer. He turns 49 on Tuesday.

Mayweather hasn’t fought in a real boxing match since 2017, when he beat Conor McGregor and retired for the third time. The former five-division world champion has still been in the ring regularly throughout his 40s with a series of lucrative exhibition bouts.

Mayweather already has announced yet another exhibition coming up this spring against 59-year-old Mike Tyson, although no location or television partner has been confirmed.

Robots make

the calls

(AP) — Just over half the ball/strike challenges were successful on the first day of spring training games as Major League Baseball prepared for the first regular-season use of the automated ball-strike system — the so-called robot umpires. Thirteen of 23 calls were overturned during the five games, MLB said, which came to 56.5%.

There were an average of 4.6 challenges per game and 2.6 overturned calls per game. Seven challenges were made of plate umpire Alex MacKay’s calls during Arizona’s 3-2 win against Colorado, and six were successful. The Diamondbacks had four of five decisions reversed and the Rockies were 2 for 2 in challenges.

Lopez set

for surgery

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Minnesota right-hander Pablo López will have season-ending Tommy John elbow surgery. The news was expected once the Twins discovered their ace’s torn ulnar collateral ligament. The team says López’s surgery will be next week in Texas. He turns 30 early next month.

It will be the second Tommy John surgery for López. He was a minor leaguer the first time and missed the 2014 season. López ended a bullpen session early during the Twins’ first full-squad workout Monday. The UCL tear was announced the next day.

Hoiberg cites

pacemaker

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg says there were circumstances surrounding his altercation with a court-storming Iowa fan that people viewing viral social media videos might not fully understand. The videos showed Hoiberg making a swiping motion at a person pointing a camera toward him during the handshake line after his ninth-ranked Cornhuskers lost 57-52 to the Hawkeyes on Wednesday night.

In doing so, Hoiberg accidentally struck a member of Iowa’s staff. Hoiberg said Friday he fully relies on a pacemaker. He said his reaction stemmed from awareness that close contact with cell phones can interfere with the heart device.