The Red Sox search for a new head of baseball operations appears to be edging closer to the finish line.

According to multiple reports the Red Sox have narrowed their pool of targets and informed candidates whether or not they’ll move on to the second round of interviews. It is unknown how many candidates are still under consideration or if there will be additional rounds after the next one, but according to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, Chicago Cubs assistant general manager and former Red Sox pitcher Craig Breslow is considered a frontrunner for the job.

If Breslow ends up landing the position, it will cap off a rapid ascent through the front office ranks since his retirement from baseball.

After 12 seasons pitching in the big leagues, including five with the Red Sox, Breslow joined the Cubs front office in 2019 and became deeply involved in the organization’s pitching development efforts. The 43-year-old Yale graduate was promoted to director of pitching and then to his current role as assistant GM/vice president of pitching, and under his leadership the Cubs have produced numerous homegrown arms who are already making an impact on the big league staff.

Breslow is also a Connecticut native who lives locally in Newton, and he still has close ties to the organization from his days as a player.

How Craig Breslow became a top candidate for Red Sox GM job

One candidate who reportedly won’t advance in the process is Minnesota Twins general manager Thad Levine. Initially believed to be a top candidate, Levine was reportedly informed on Monday he is no longer being considered for the role. Levine has served as the No. 2 man in the Twins front office under president of baseball operations Derek Falvey since November of 2016 and has helped lead the club to four playoff berths in seven seasons.

Others known to have interviewed for the job include Red Sox assistant general managers Eddie Romero and Mike Groopman, Red Sox VP of amateur scouting and player development Paul Toboni, former Pittsburgh Pirates GM Neal Huntington, San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler and former Houston Astros GM James Click, who reportedly removed himself from consideration after interviewing.

The Red Sox have also faced a number of setbacks throughout their search process, with several targets reportedly turning down the chance to interview. That list reportedly includes Philadelphia Phillies GM Sam Fuld, Los Angeles Dodgers GM Brandon Gomes, former Miami Marlins executives Michael Hill and Kim Ng, former Texas Rangers GM Jon Daniels, Arizona Diamondbacks executives Mike Hazen and Amiel Sawdaye, Twins president Falvey and Red Sox assistant GM Raquel Ferreira.

Many of those would-be candidates reportedly cited family considerations as their reason for declining to pursue the role, though the frequent turnover among top Red Sox executives and the inability to hire their own manager and top lieutenants has been cited as a reason for concern as well.

The prospect of a five-mile elevated bikeway running along Summit Avenue — the longest continuous stretch of Victorian homes in the nation — has prompted more than a third of the 30 candidates for St. Paul City Council to speak out against the plans, which were approved by the council in May despite opponents’ concerns about potential impacts to trees, parking and aesthetics.

Seven candidates from across the city’s seven political wards gathered Wednesday at Cochran Park by Western and Summit avenues for a speak-out. The candidates pledged that, if they win office, their first act would be to repeal the Summit Avenue regional trail project, which has yet to be funded.

“It’s one of the most beautiful streets in the country,” said Ward 1 candidate Travis Helkamp, noting the avenue has longstanding in-street bike lanes. “We don’t need to tear it up for a bike lane that it already has.”

The event was organized by Robert Bushard, a candidate for the Ward 4 office currently held by Council Member Mitra Jalali.

In addition to Bushard and Helkamp, speakers at the event included Ward 2 candidate Peter Butler, Ward 3 candidate Patty Hartmann, Ward 3 candidate Troy Barksdale, Ward 5 candidate Pam Tollefson and Ward 6 candidate Gary Unger.

Several other candidates — Ward 2 candidate Bill Hosko, Ward 1 candidate James Lo, Ward 5 candidate David Greenwood-Sanchez and Ward 7 candidate Dino Guerin — said they were unable to attend but sent statements of support, according to Bushard.

St. Paul Public Works officials have estimated that installing a protected bikeway raised to be level with the sidewalk could lead to the removal of some 220 trees from the avenue, which is overdue for a full reconstruction in any event. Opponents believe tree impacts could be four or five times that number.

“The Summit Ave Regional Trail Plan is predicated on the false assumption that ‘Summit Ave needs to be reconstructed anyway, because the infrastructure is 100 years old,’” said Bushard, in a written statement. “The infrastructure is not broken and does not need repair or replacement that requires destroying the avenue and up to 950 trees.”

He noted that storm sewers were separated from waste sewers in the 1990s. Electrical upgrades could, in theory, be accomplished by driving 20-foot pipes carrying electrical wire underground for the entire block, like a raceway, as has been done along Cleveland Avenue, he said.

City officials have called a regional trail an important east-west connection linking existing bike trails along the Mississippi River to trails closer to downtown, and noted that a protected bikeway would invite all ages to enjoy the avenue.

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NFL star Patrick Mahomes announced news of Texas Tech University’s impending jump from Baltimore-based Under Armour to rival Adidas on his pregame outfit Sunday.

A video the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback posted to Instagram shows him wearing a white T-shirt bearing his alma mater’s logo and the Adidas name, hand scrawled on what appears to be packing tape.

Under Armour confirmed Tuesday that its nearly two decade-long partnership with Texas Tech will end next year. The sports apparel and footwear maker signed a deal to outfit the university’s athletes in 2006. In 2020, the university extended the contract another four years, through next June.

“We are proud to have been partners with Texas Tech since 2006 and an official apparel outfitter since 2009,” an Under Armour spokesperson said in a email to The Baltimore Sun. “We wish the Red Raiders all the best after many successful years together.”

An Instagram post shows the reigning NFL MVP revealing the T-shirt before Sunday afternoon’s Chiefs game against the Los Angeles Chargers. Mahomes, an Adidas athlete and Texas alumnus, said only “Coming July 2024.”

Neither Adidas nor a Texas Tech spokesperson respond Tuesday morning to requests for comment on the upcoming deal.

News of Under Armour losing the collegiate partnership with Texas Tech came two months after the brand reportedly beat out Adidas and Nike on a deal with University of Notre Dame, one of the nation’s most popular college football programs. Under Armour said in August it extended a deal to design uniforms, footwear and apparel for Notre Dame’s 26 varsity teams for another 10 years.

At the time, Yahoo Sports reported that the deal is one of the biggest in college sports, with Under Armour committing to about $10 million a year in cash and products.

Under Armour had been pulling back on some of its endorsement and marketing deals after struggling through periods of declining sales and stock price and COVID-related store closures during the pandemic.

Most notably, the brand backed out of a record $280 million contract to outfit UCLA athletes, which led to a drawn out legal dispute and ended last year with the sports apparel maker agreeing to pay the university more than $67 million.

Under Armour currently has its biggest collegiate deals with the University of Maryland, the University of Utah, the University of Wisconsin and Auburn University. It also has partnerships as well with the University of South Carolina, Northwestern University and the U.S. Naval Academy.

The Under Armour spokesperson said Tuesday thatt the brand continues to “believe in the power of our many long-standing collegiate partnerships, which put Under Armour at the center of performance and lifestyle for young athletes.”

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