Browsing: embracing

Oct 30, 2025, 06:18 PM ET

SAN FRANCISCO — Tony Vitello fully recognizes he is an unconventional call-up to Major League Baseball, making the leap from the college coaching ranks at Tennessee to the San Francisco Giants while bypassing the minor leagues.

Yet, Vitello hardly seems fazed by the pressures of taking such a daunting path. “This is a challenge that has been presented to me,” he said Thursday at his introductory news conference with the Giants.

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He plans to get into offseason drills immediately, alongside his Giants team, throwing batting practice or hitting fungoes to help improve some fundamentals.

Vitello, 47, made it clear his skills are a far cry from his players’ abilities after landing the job with no professional experience as a player or coach. He plans to lean on the team’s veteran leaders to guide those who might need some extra support.

Vitello has some solid options, too, including veterans Matt Chapman, Willy Adames and Logan Webb.

“I do think we’re reaching this period where fundamentals and the way guys train are completely different,” Vitello said. “You’ve seen growth in velos and power and speed and things like that.

“I think there’s been some things lost when a kid is growing up on just how to slide and how to do things that seem overly simple. If you haven’t practiced it, you haven’t been taught it, how are you going to be good at it? How can you be expected to be good at it? I think [for] some of those younger players, it needs to be emphasized more.”

Along with bringing the Giants back to prominence and playoff success — yes, that topic came up in discussions with president of baseball operations Buster Posey as they try to make some noise in the National League West next season — everybody involved hopes to see some long-term stability at the managerial position after some turnover in recent years.

Posey is also just more than a year into his role after Farhan Zaidi was fired last year.

The Giants dismissed manager Bob Melvin after they went 81-81 in his second season and missed the playoffs for a fourth straight year. San Francisco hasn’t reached the postseason since winning the NL West with a franchise-record 107 victories to edge the rival Dodgers by one game in 2021 under Gabe Kapler.

“We’ll all work together. The whole goal is to create a bond here between everybody at the top all the way down to whatever you consider the bottom of the depth chart,” Vitello said. “We’re in this together now, whether you like me or not.”

Vitello, who is animated and high-energy, acknowledged there will be a steep learning curve and regular adjustments. He also knows that motivating college athletes won’t be the same as finding ways to push professionals who have been doing this for decades.

His approach at Tennessee: “Coach guys as individuals.”

New Giants manager Tony Vitello led the Tennessee Volunteers to the national championship in 2024. Getty Images

“I’m fully aware of the tradition that’s here, the excellence,” said Vitello, who guided the Tennessee Volunteers to the national championship in 2024.

All his life, Vitello watched his father, Greg, coach and rehash games afterward, analyzing what he might have done differently. Vitello acknowledged his mother, Kathy, might prefer her son to tone it down sometimes.

“When we first started talking to Tony, it was abundantly clear he was a natural leader,” Posey said.

He can’t wait to embrace Bay Area life as a music aficionado and self-described foodie. And Vitello has aspirations of jumping in the bay and completing the Alcatraz swim to blow off some steam and burn a few calories.

Giants general manager Zack Minasian first floated the idea to Posey of hiring Vitello.

“As much as this feels out of the box, Tony’s name has been bouncing around Major League Baseball for a while,” Minasian said.

Vitello said he and Posey had a great conversation after Game 7 of the American League Championship Series between Toronto and Seattle, and negotiations progressed. Posey liked Vitello’s common vision.

“The unique thing about this process was, and it’s one thing I’ve really come to appreciate about Tony. and honestly made me feel more confident in this decision, is he was hard to get ahold of because he was on the field all the time or he was bouncing city to city recruiting,” Posey said. “And just because this was on his plate, he was still full go with what his job was at Tennessee, and I have a tremendous amount of respect for that.”

During his various media sessions Thursday, Vitello referenced everyone from Barry Bonds, Willie Mays and Will Clark to Tim Lincecum, Sergio Romo and Brian Wilson.

“The one thing that always got to me was the sense of family that was always part of this organization,” Vitello said.

So, it was only fitting that in the front row to cheer him on were his parents, sisters, nieces and extended family. Afterward, they were all smiles when treated to a lunch that just so happened to feature his name — from San Francisco’s Tony’s Pizza Napoletana.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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For years, Erik van Rooyen‘s bag was a throwback, going from driver to 3-wood (or Apex UW in recent years) and then straight into a driving iron and his iron set.

But over the past year, van Rooyen has taken up some of the Tour’s most popular trends by adding a mini driver, 5-wood and even testing out a 9-wood at the U.S. Open.

Van Rooyen is far from the only pro swapping out utility irons for high-lofted fairway woods and adding a mini driver, but he explained on this week’s episode of GOLF’s Fully Equipped how he went from being a reluctant tester to taking up both trends.

“I’ve never been the guy to test a ton of stuff and to change a ton of stuff. But I think my eyes have opened up to other possibilities,” van Rooyen told Fully Equipped co-host Johnny Wunder. “The Mini came into the bag in Utah of last year, so it’s almost been 12 months. It pretty much hasn’t left the bag. It’s freaking awesome. Off the deck, off the tee, so consistent.”

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When it comes to the fairway woods, which are a big deal for van Rooyen at all as he solely played an Apex Utility Wood as his “3-wood” for several years, the 5-wood and occasional 7-wood have become course-dependent options.

Callaway even gave him a 9-wood to try at the U.S. Open.

“It’s more, I think, coming from a place of curiosity, trying to let the equipment help me instead of me, like trying to figure something out, muscle a three iron through this heavy rough, you know?” van Rooyen said. “It’s taken me a long time to get to this point where you realize, there’s so much you can do to make the club change. If it’s too draw bias, you know, you can do something on the heel or change the setting in the driver.”

For more Wunder and van Rooyen, listen to the full episode of GOLF’s Fully Equipped here, or watch it below.

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VANCOUVER — As theyâ€ve collected momentum during the National Hockey League pre-season, the Vancouver Canucks have also built up their leadership. This second construction project predates the first.

This time last year, the most important Canuck not named Quinn Hughes was still lost deep in injury uncertainty. With his rare and confounding torn popliteus muscle destabilizing his knee, Demko didnâ€t know last September when he would play again. On the darkest days, it was difficult to say if heâ€d play again.

Now fully healthy and fully empowered by new head coach Adam Foote to take a greater role in leadership, Demko starts the Canucks†final pre-season game Friday against the Edmonton Oilers and feels ready to help lead the team into what players plan on making a redemptive season after last yearâ€s upheaval.

“I feel like I’ve kind of checked all the boxes that I’ve needed to in the practices,†Demko told Sportsnet after Thursdayâ€s workout at the University of B.C. “Obviously, when you get into the games, there’s things that feel a little foreign as you’re kind of shaking off the rust. You know, I hadnâ€t played a pre-season game in two years. It’s different hockey this time of year — even different from a week from now. So it has been good to just get into the games, getting a little bit of peace of mind.â€

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In his post-practice press conference, coach Adam Foote was asked about changes he sees in top centre Elias Pettersson.

“What it seems to me,†Foote said, “what I see right now is he’s taken a real hard leadership role, which is very noticeable. You recognize it, and his teammates notice it. And his teammates are with him on it, too. Like, Demmerâ€s with him.â€

That leadership has been recognizable in a lot of Canucks.

From the time Foote was hired last May to replace Rick Tocchet, who left the team amid the rubble of last seasonâ€s dysfunction, the new head coach identified building stronger leadership as a key to rebuilding performance.

Itâ€s worth mentioning again that one of Footeâ€s first acts as coach was to meet in Michigan with Hughes, Demko and Pettersson. This was followed by Zoom meetings over the summer with a broader leadership group that included Tyler Myers and Marcus Pettersson, Brock Boeser and Conor Garland, Filip Hronek and others.

Their buy-in has been evident since training camp began two weeks ago. The best players have been driving the Canucks.

“I think Footy kind of orchestrating everything the way he did in the summer really helped,†Demko said. “It’s (different) when guys get to camp, you know, maybe two weeks early, and then you start having discussions about leadership. But I think this was one of the things that Footy was really passionate about and had a lot of conviction about addressing. And credit to him, he did it.

“He stepped in early — really early in the summer. You know, at times, it felt like: What are we going to get out of meeting this early? But kudos to him. He kind of had the vision before anyone else did. I don’t want to talk like weâ€ve got it all figured out because no one does. I mean, no one does in the world; we’re all clueless here. But yeah, it feels like everyone’s on the same page, the guys that have been here.â€

And how does that feel after last season?

“It’s an interesting feeling just because it’s not a really tangible thing,†Demko, who studied psychology at Boston College, said of the dynamic. “You know, it’s something that is so important, something thatâ€s always preached about with every team and every coach. Weâ€re always trying to accomplish the same things, but sometimes it doesn’t work. Sometimes it’s harder to find, for whatever reason. But, yeah, it feels good right now. It feels like it’s been sharp. I think guys are being accountable.

“You can kind of feel that just the practices have a lot of life. That makes it fun. It won’t be like that every day. You know, the seasonâ€s a grind and some days are a little bit lighter than others. We’re all just human beings trying to figure it out. But definitely there’s a crispness in execution, there’s a willingness to work for other people that, I think, is super important. That’s the biggest thing, you’re not just going out so you don’t get in trouble for not being there. You’re working hard for the guy next to you.

“That’s why we play. I mean, that’s why I play. You want to play for your teammates, you want to be doing what you can for them. It’s a good feeling when you get a collective group of people doing that for one another.â€

The Canucks will have close to their full NHL team on Friday, although Foote and his staff may take final looks at prospects like forwards Braeden Cootes and Jonathan Lekkerimaki, and defencemen Elias Pettersson (Junior) and Tom Willander.

The Canucks reduced their pre-season roster by two wingers on Thursday, sending Joseph LaBate to the American Hockey League and waiving Vitali Kravtsov with the intention of doing the same. But the team still carries 27 players, not including third-string goalie Nikita Tolopilo and winger Nils Hoglander, who is out 8-10 weeks after undergoing ankle surgery.

Foote said depth defenceman Pierre-Olivier Joseph has a groin injury, and veteran blue-liner Derek Forbort will be rested so heâ€s ready for the Canucks†season-opener against the Calgary Flames on Thursday.

Embracing a faster, more aggressive style under Foote, Vancouver is 3-2 in the pre-season and coming off an 8-1 thrashing of the Flames in Alberta on Wednesday.

Friday will be Demkoâ€s second start of the pre-season.

“When it gets to this point, one pre-season game left, it just becomes about being in your team and kind of maintaining the habits that you know are going to get you to where you need to be for opening night,†the 29-year-old goalie said. “Obviously, I’m happy that I’m not in the situation I was last year. I’d probably like to get to a point where we’re not talking about that every time I do media anymore.

“But, you know, I feel good and I think the team looks really good. Thereâ€s a lot of things that we’ve done really well that I think we’re just trying to continue to build. So it’s been good so far.â€

THURSDAYâ€S PRACTICE LINES AND PAIRINGS

DeBrusk-Pettersson-Boeser
Kane-Chytil-Garland
Oâ€Connor-Cootes-Sherwood
Raty-Blueger-Lekkerimaki
Bains-Sasson-Karlsson

Hughes-Hronek
M. Pettersson-Myers
Pettersson (Junior)-Willander
Aman-Mancini

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