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The Cincinnati Reds, who entered Mondays games with a major league-worst 5.51 ERA, fired pitching coach Mark Riggins.The team said in a statement that Riggins, 59, would be replaced by assistant pitching coach/bullpen coach Mack Jenkins.?Ted Power, the pitching coach at the Reds Triple-A affiliate in Louisville, will fill Jenkins role with the major league team.This was Riggins first season as the Reds pitching coach. He was the organizations minor league pitching coordinator the past four seasons.Mark was a valuable member of this organization for several years. Before he accepted the job with our major league team, he contributed to the development of many of our successful young pitchers in the minor leagues. Unfortunately, the pitching on our big league staff has not improved over the course of the season as we had hoped, and it is time for a new voice, Reds president of baseball operations Walt Jocketty said in a statement.We are not satisfied with the performance so far this season and will continue to look for ways to improve. We felt it was necessary to make a change in order to accomplish our goals of providing our young pitchers with the best possible resources, Jocketty added.Jocketty said he hopes Riggins will remain with the organization in some capacity. He credited Riggins for helping develop young pitchers in the minors but pointed to a lack of improvement at the major league level.We brought some guys up here probably before they were ready because we just didnt have a veteran, Jocketty said.We tried to acquire a veteran or two to stabilize the staff but werent successful. Part of the blame rests with us, the front office. We havent been able to find the right pieces.After dropping 98 games last season, the Reds are threatening the franchise record of 101 losses, set in 1982. They traded two key starters in former 20-game winner Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake last July. They then dealt closer Aroldis Chapman and Home Run Derby champion Todd Frazier during the offseason.The rotation has been hit with injuries this season, and Homer Bailey is recovering from Tommy John surgery last year.The Associated Press contributed to this report.Stitched Mets Jerseys .ca! Hi Kerry, Heres an interesting one. I know its common knowledge that all players are responsible for their sticks. We witnessed that when Zack Kassian hit Edmontons Sam Gagner in the face after a missed check. Mets Jerseys China .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. https://www.cheapmetsjerseys.us/ . 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Despite the loss, it was a remarkable show by the confident Swedish challenger, who had the best of the early rounds and then hung on in the fourth and fifth.Toronto Raptors coach Dwane Casey grew up in Kentucky in the 1960s, a child during the civil rights movement who witnessed the efforts of those in power to disenfranchise people of color and slow their push for equality.So every two years, when election time arrives in the United States, Casey drives home to his players the importance of participating in the voting process.I tell my players `Get your absentee ballots and vote, Casey said. I remember my grandparents talking about when African-Americans couldnt vote. Or they tried to make it hard for them to vote.So that is a privilege a lot of people fought for, you went to jail for. Everyone should vote.Casey has been particularly insistent since he started coaching the NBAs only Canadian team. The Raptors employ a bunch of American players far removed from their local polling place, and Casey encourages them to think ahead so the grind of the NBA season doesnt cost them their say in the election.Thats your way of showing power as an individual, Casey said. We can protest, but the only way you fight stuff like that is through voting. Using your right to vote.Many athletes have to rely on absentee ballots, either because they reside permanently in a different state from their team or because they are on the road during Election Day.Several teams have taken steps to help. The NFLs Minnesota Vikings roll out a voter-education program every two years to ensure players, coaches and staff members understand voting practices in Minnesota.Its a right and everybody needs to exercise their rights, said Lester Bagley, Vikings executive vice president of legal affairs and stadium development. Make it as easy as possible, answer the questions, get themm the resources, connect them.dddddddddddd Its every two years and its a direct message to all staff, all players to participate and heres how to do it.The Vikings also joined with the Minnesota Secretary of States office in a public service announcement to encourage fans to vote Tuesday, a local campaign similar to the national two put out by the NBA Players Association featuring LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and other NBA stars.James has endorsed Hillary Clinton and appeared at a rally for her this week. But the PSA featuring James only encouraged people to exercise their right to vote and didnt advocate for a candidate.Thats the same approach the Vikings take. Executive Director of Player Development Les Pico began the voter education program when he arrived with the franchise in 2005. This year, the team emailed players three times to encourage them to register, placed forms in their lockers reminding them to get an absentee ballot and offered help in assisting them to register in their home states.Retired NBA star Baron Davis wrote a piece for The Players Tribune reminding athletes to vote. He said it can be easy for athletes to skip the practice, believing their votes will not influence the outcome of an election enough to take time away from their hectic schedules.At this time in our country, its easy to feel like things havent been working for us, Davis wrote. But the solution is not to just say, I wont do anything about it. The solution is to take what we know about improving -- whether it be in sports, or in your life -- and apply it to our problems. ' ' '