BOSTON -- Say this for the Boston Red Sox: Theyre going for it in David Ortizs final season.With the finish line in sight for their retiring franchise icon, the Red Sox didnt wait for the Aug. 1 trade deadline to get help for an inadequate rotation. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski didnt spare all of the organizations top prospects either, acquiring All-Star left-hander Drew Pomeranz from the San Diego Padres for touted 18-year-old right-hander Anderson Espinoza on Thursday night in an old-fashioned, one-for-one trade between clubs with vastly different timelines for contending.The Red Sox, who return from the All-Star break in a three-way fight for the American League East crown, get a pitcher who appears to be coming into his own at age 27 but has already reached his big league career high in innings pitched this season at 102. Meanwhile, the 38-51 Padres get an elite prospect who has been compared to a young Pedro Martinez but probably wont sniff the big leagues until at least 2019.Id rather trade three [lesser]-type guys than Anderson, but that wasnt appealing to San Diego, Dombrowski said. They really wanted more of the focus of the premium guy. Theres always risk with pitchers, no matter how old they are. We know that Drew hasnt thrown this many innings. We think he can handle it. We also know theres a risk in Anderson, a young pitcher that we like a great deal.Dombrowski said Pomeranz is scheduled to make his Red Sox debut Wednesday at Fenway Park against the San Francisco Giants.To make room for Pomeranz on the 40-man roster, infielder Josh Rutledge, who is out with an injured left knee, was transferred to the 60-day disabled list.Espinoza, ranked No. 14 on ESPN Insider Keith Laws midseason top 50 prospects list, was one of the most gifted arms in a Boston farm system that hasnt produced a homegrown starter since Clay Buchholz in 2007. But with the demand for pitching far outweighing the supply of available starters -- and the Baltimore Orioles and Texas Rangers,?fellow AL contenders, equally desperate for pitching -- the cost was always going to be exorbitant. Dombrowski had little choice but to act quickly and pay a steep price.Sometimes if you have more supply than demand, youre in a position; if you wait [until the trade deadline], sometimes it can be beneficial, Dombrowski said during a conference call. But in a case where the demand exceeds the supply, which is definitely the case in this situation, Im not sure you dont take a greater risk by waiting, because demand continues to build. I dont think theres a lot more guys becoming available. We had a pretty good pulse of that.Pomeranzs value has been built almost entirely over the past three months. A first-round draft pick of the Cleveland Indians in 2010, he earned his first All-Star selection this season after posting a 2.47 ERA and allowing 67 hits and 41 walks in a career-high 102 innings over 17 starts for the Padres. He ranks second in the majors in both opponents batting average (.184) and opponents OPS (.555).Before this season, though, Pomeranz bounced between the rotation and the bullpen for the Colorado Rockies and the Oakland Athletics, posting a 4.60 ERA and allowing 240 hits and 106 walks in 228? innings as a starter. The lefty has now been traded four times.But the Red Sox are betting on Pomeranz being a late bloomer because he has started throwing a cutter this season. They believe Pomeranzs cutter has made his fastball more effective because he doesnt have to throw it as frequently. In the past, he was primarily a fastball-curveball pitcher.Pomeranz will join a rotation that includes ace lefty David Price, upstart knuckleballer Steven Wright and right-hander Rick Porcello. Red Sox starters have posted a 4.72 ERA in the first half, which ranks 19th in the majors.The final two spots in the rotation have been a black hole, with six pitchers combining for a 7.22 ERA. The Red Sox are hoping lefty Eduardo Rodriguez, 23, has corrected mechanical flaws that contributed to an 8.59 ERA in six starts since he came off the disabled list in late May, but they also cant bank on a significant improvement from him.We have four guys, and were hopeful Eduardo steps up at this point when he pitches on Saturday [in New York against the Yankees], Dombrowski said. And well see what else happens beyond that.Hired in August with a win-now mandate from owner John Henry, Dombrowski has lived up to his reputation as an aggressive wheeler-dealer. In November, he acquired closer Craig Kimbrel from the Padres for four minor leaguers, including touted outfielder Manuel Margot and infielder Javier Guerra. He also signed Price and veteran outfielder Chris Young?and traded for reliever Carson Smith in a span of about three weeks during the offseason. Within the past week, he has made four trades, acquiring veteran infielder Aaron Hill, utility man Michael Martinez, reliever Brad Ziegler and now Pomeranz.Espinoza was widely regarded as the Red Soxs top pitching prospect and third-best prospect overall, behind second baseman Yoan Moncada and center fielder Andrew Benintendi, both of whom are playing at the Double-A level and could reach the big leagues later this season before Ortiz exits the stage.Espinoza is still years away from the majors. And after dominating the rookie-level Gulf Coast League with a 0.68 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 40 innings last season, he has struggled against older competition in the low-Class A South Atlantic League. In 17 starts for Greenville, he has notched a 4.38 ERA and given up 77 hits and 27 walks in 76 innings.The Padres were able to pry away Espinoza because Pomeranz isnt eligible for free agency until after the 2018 season. Pomeranz is making only $1.35 million this season, his first year of arbitration eligibility.Dombrowski noted the comfort of knowing Price, Wright, Porcello and Pomeranz would be locked up beyond this season.We found we were being asked for the same people no matter what the amount of service time left was, Dombrowski said. Even though somebody was in the last year [until] free agency versus somebody that had a couple of years to go, the same names that kept coming up, the players that we were being asked to trade.Trading Espinoza was also slightly more palatable for the Red Sox because of the re-emergence of right-hander Michael Kopech, who has returned from last years drug suspension and a broken hand in spring training. One Red Sox official said last week that Kopech has the best arm Ive ever seen, and in a start for Class A Salem on Wednesday night, Kopech threw a pitch that was clocked at 105 mph.The Red Sox were also on the verge Thursday night of signing first-round draft pick Jason Groome, a touted high school left-hander who figures to take Espinozas place as a prized pitching prospect. Tarik Cohen Jersey . Now tied for second in the league in shootout goals, the 24-year-old likes to see what the opposing goaltender has in store before he ultimately lands on a move. Charles Tillman Jersey . "Were just throwing s--- at the wall hoping something sticks," said Tortorella about the possible line combinations for Fridays game against Columbus. 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OLYMPICSDOHA, Qatar -- Los Angeles sought to allay concerns over Donald Trumps election, Paris played up its glamorous venues and Budapest set itself apart as a mid-sized alternative as the three cities made their first public pitches in the race to host the 2024 Olympics.With 10 months before the vote, the three candidates had a chance to deliver their message in 20-minute presentations to the general assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees, a gathering of more than 1,000 delegates from around the world.The meeting occurred exactly after a week after Trumps victory over Hillary Clinton in the American presidential election, a result that could have an impact on Los Angeles hopes of bringing the Summer Olympics back to the U.S. for the first time since Atlanta hosted in 1996.Trumps comments during the divisive campaign about Muslims and Mexicans and some of his foreign policy views may not help the California citys chances with some of the IOCs 98 members, who represent a range of nationalities, cultures and religions.PRO FOOTBALLFRISCO, Texas -- Tony Romo said Dak Prescott has earned the right to take his job as starting quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys.In a five-minute prepared statement, a solemn Romo described the difficulty of dealing with the news of the latest back injury to sideline him, and the 36-year-old reflected on his early days as an unheralded free agent trying to earn a job.Romo quickly left the brief news conference after saying he wouldnt take questions following his statement.With Prescott leading the way, the Cowboys (8-1) have the best record in the NFL after tying a franchise season record with eight straight wins. Romo broke a bone in his back in a preseason game.Romo is expected to be Prescotts backup Sunday at home against Baltimore (5-4). It would be the first time Romo is active for a game since Thanksgiving last year.SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Colin Kaepernick is standing behind his decision not to vote in the presidential election or even register to take part in the democratic process, saying he can effect change in other ways besides through a ballot.The San Francisco 49ers quarterback has knelt through the national anthem all season to protest police brutality and the treatment of minorities, drawing criticism and acclaim alike. He took more heat for not voting last week.I thought a lot of different things about the process and what I could and couldnt do, he said. Once again, the system of oppression is what I have an issue with. ... I dont agree with the system of oppression and thats something that I will continue to not agree with.COLLEGE FOOTBALLOhio State moved into second in the College Football Playoff rankings behind Alabama, with Michigan and Clemson still in the top four after losing for the first time this season.Louisville was fifth and Washington dropped from fourth to sixth after its first loss.The margin of separation between teams two and six was very small, selection committee chairman Kirby Hocutt, who is also the athletic director at Texas Tech, said.Clemson, Michigan and Washington -- the Nos. 2, 3 and 4 teams in last wweeks rankings -- all lost to unranked teams on Saturday.ddddddddddddThe Wolverines, who have three victories against teams in the selection committees top 10, did not move after losing to Iowa. The Tigers ended up dropping two spots to No. 4 after losing to Pittsburgh.Wisconsin was seventh and Penn State eighth, giving the Big Ten four teams in the top 10. Oklahoma was the highest rated Big 12 team at nine and Colorado was 10thBASEBALLNEW YORK -- Dave Roberts of the Los Angeles Dodgers has won the National League Manager of the Year award and Terry Francona of the Cleveland Indians has earned the AL honor.Roberts won in his first year as a manager. A former backup outfielder, his highlight as a player was a key stolen base in the 2004 playoffs for a Boston team guided by Francona.Members of the Baseball Writers Association of America voted at the end of the regular season.Roberts beat out Joe Maddon, who led the Chicago Cubs to the World Series championship, and Washingtons Dusty Baker.Roberts led Los Angeles to the NL West title despite the Dodgers putting 28 different players on the disabled list, more than any team in the last 30 years.Francona guided a club beset by injuries and drug suspensions to a surprising first-place finish. The Indians had a 3-1 lead in the World Series before the Cubs rallied.Texas Jeff Banister was second and Baltimores Buck Showalter was third.COLLEGE BASKETBALLSOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The NCAA says 77 percent of black mens Division I basketball players who entered college in 2009 earned a degree within six years, up five points from a year earlier and a record high.The NCAA said improvement helped the Graduation Success Rates of all student-athletes match last years record high of 86 percent graduating within six years. Of all black Division I athletes, 74 percent graduated within six years. NCAA President Mark Emmert called the improved rates hugely significant.The statistics show graduation rate for black basketball players is up 31 percentage points over the past 15 years.B. David Ridpath, an associate professor and sports business and president of The Drake Group, an NCAA watchdog, said the GSR provides only a partial picture.PRO BASKETBALLINDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- LeBron James said he lost respect for Phil Jackson after the famed NBA coach used the word posse to describe the Cleveland stars business partners.James responded harshly to Jacksons use of the term in a recent interview. James says such comments underscore the difficulties young African-Americans have in gaining respect, especially in the business world.The Cavaliers superstar says he had no previous relationship with Jackson, the current New York Knicks president who won 11 titles with the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers. James adds that he respected what Jackson did with those teams, but Ive got nothing for him.The three-time champion was criticized for surrounding himself with friends as business associates, but the group has built a highly successful enterprise. ' ' '