Dwight Howard was ejected late in the fourth quarter of a key early-season

CHICAGO -- Robin Ventura has decided the success-starved South Siders need a new leader.Ventura announced Sunday that he will not return as the?Chicago White Sox manager next season. He insisted it was his decision and he wasnt pushed out because of a fourth consecutive losing season. Ventura was in the last year of his contract.I enjoy this place. I love this place, a stoic Ventura said after Chicagos season-ending 6-3 loss to the Minnesota Twins. At the end, it probably needs a new voice.The Chicago Sun-Times reported Saturday that bench coach and former?Cubs?manager Rick Renteria will likely take over, but the team did not immediately announce a replacement. White Sox general manager Rick Hahn is scheduled to address reporters Monday.Ventura said he initiated the departure.You just realize right now is the right time to do it, and you need somebody else, Ventura said.Ventura went 375-435 in five seasons with the White Sox. After an 85-77 debut in 2012 that wasnt good enough for the playoffs, Venturas teams regressed.The White Sox finished 78-84 this year, despite a 23-10 start that gave them a six-game lead in the AL Central on May 9. Thanks to injuries, a slumping offense and a shaky bullpen, the White Sox stumbled to a 55-74 mark the rest of the way and a fourth-place finish amid a couple bizarre off-field incidents.Executive vice president Ken Williams, whose future is also uncertain, banned DH Adam LaRoches son from the clubhouse in spring training. LaRoche responded by abruptly retiring, and ace Chris Sale ripped Williams.In July, Sale was suspended five days for cutting up collared throwback jerseys he didnt want to wear for a start. Sale later criticized Ventura for not sticking up for him in his dispute with the marketing staff.You have moments -- I dont know if theyre disagreements -- but there are some terse conversations that you have, Ventura said. Thats just part of being together and part of a lot of competitive people being in a room. That just happens. But at the end of the day, I know they went out and competed. And thats the biggest thing.Sale allowed an inside-the-park home run to the speedy Byron Buxton on the first pitch Sunday. Miguel Sano added a three-run shot in the third as Sale was denied his career-best 18th win after allowing five runs and six hits in five innings.Sale, who finished with a 3.34 ERA and 233 strikeouts, denied that there was any trouble with his manager.What did we have, a couple things that made it in the news? Sale said. That doesnt mean I dont like him or he didnt like me. We always had the same goal, the same vision, the same passion.You get a bunch of guys in the same room, and the testosterone is pumping. This is a competitive game. Sports are competitive. Things happen, but that doesnt change what I think of him personally. Hes as good as they get.The easygoing, friendly Ventura had fans in the clubhouse. Right-hander James Shields called him one of the better managers Ive been around. Third baseman Todd Frazier said I love him to death, and outfielder Adam Eaton praised the 49-year-olds demeanor and communication skills.He hasnt had an easy road while hes been here, Ill tell you that much, Eaton said. For me, in the three years Ive been here, you put it on the players. Players havent played up to expectations. Its our fault.Ventura was a fan favorite as a slick-fielding third baseman on Chicagos South Side. The 10th overall pick of the 1988 draft won six Gold Gloves and was a two-time All-Star over a 16-year career spent mostly with the White Sox and Mets.Ventura had no managerial experience and was a surprise hire of then-GM Williams after the 2011 season, following Ozzie Guillens messy exit.The White Sox have tried to contend in recent seasons by bringing in high-profile players such as Adam Dunn, Jeff Samardzija, David Robertson, Melky Cabrera, Eaton, Frazier and LaRoche. But the White Sox didnt improve under Ventura, and the teams recent struggles have coincided with the resurgence of the crosstown Cubs, who have the majors best record and have drawn more than 3 million fans. The White Sox drew fewer than 1.75 million this season.You look throughout sports, not only baseball, when teams that are supposed to do well dont do well, changes are made, catcher Alex Avila said. Not only with coaching staffs and personnel off the field but on the field as well.The White Sox might be turning to a former manager of their rivals. Renteria went 73-89 with the Cubs in 2014, only to be let go after one season, when Joe Maddon became available. The 54-year-old Renteria just finished his first season as bench coach with the White Sox.I think hes got a lot of qualities that Robin has. Maybe a little more vocal, Eaton said. He definitely will get his point across a little more, vocally. Not that he has more passion than Robin or anything like that, but hes a little more upbeat, a little more bouncy. Hes kind of a bundle of baseball joy.Renterias bilingual skills and history of working well with younger players would be strengths for a team potentially heading for a rebuild with many Spanish-speaking players.It would be a little bit more comfortable or make communication easier, but I was good with Robin, Cuban slugger Jose Abreu said through an interpreter. I didnt have any kind of trouble with Robin to communicate.Hahn earlier this season called the team mired in mediocrity and hinted at tearing down the roster, something 80-year-old chairman Jerry Reinsdorf has resisted in the past. Since they won the World Series in 2005, the White Sox have just one playoff appearance, in 2008.Sale, who has a team-friendly contract, could bring in a large haul of prospects. So could fellow lefty Jose Quintana.This is sports. Anything can happen, Sale said. I dont anticipate that happening or necessarily really want that to happen, but it could. Jerseys China . Having already announced that the race will start May 9 with three stages in Northern Ireland and Ireland and finish in Trieste on June 1, the rest of the route was unveiled Monday. Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap . Oyama had six birdies and two bogeys at Kintetsu Kashikojima in the event also sanctioned by the Japan LPGA Tour. "I have been having this neck ache thats been affecting my golf recently," Oyama said. http://www.cheapnfljerseyswholesale.com/ . The third-ranked Ivanovic, who won the event in 2008 and 10, served five aces and broke Wickmayer, also a former winner in 2009, five times. "The result looked easier than it really was," Ivanovic said. Football Jerseys Outlet . -- There were a lot of firsts for the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. Stitched Jerseys Wholesale . In taking its goal tally to 99 in all competitions already this season, City delivered another demonstration of its lethal firepower at Etihad Stadium to set up a fourth-round match at home to another second-tier team -- Watford. Hawks center Dwight Howard was ejected late in the fourth quarter of a key early-season Eastern Conference game in Charlotte?after throwing an elbow at the head of Hornets center Cody Zeller.Friday nights game, a 100-96 Hawks loss, turned with 5:38 remaining when Howard delivered an intentional elbow to Zellers face and received a flagrant foul 2.Howard, who had 10 points and 18 rebounds after missing the previous game due to a quad injury, had been a key factor up until that point, but the Hawks seemed to collapse without him. Atlanta led by three at the time of Howards ejection. The Hornets scored the next nine points and went on to snap Atlantas six-game winning streak.Before the possession that ended with the hit on Zeller, Howard appeared to get frustrated with him at the other end of the court when he got boxed out on a free throw.It wasnt like I tried to hit him in the face, Howard said after the game, bbut my job is to protect my house at all costs.ddddddddddddI am making no apologies for it. I cant do nothing but live with it.Asked if he thought the foul was flagrant, Howard responded, Its basketball.Zeller said after the game he didnt think Howards elbow to the face was a dirty play.I have taken a lot of hard hits with two older brothers, Zeller said. I knew it was going to be a physical game. But it was a huge play in the game because they couldnt go to him late in the game and we went on a run.Paul Millsap, who led the Hawks with 22 points and 13 rebounds, said the ejection fueled the home crowd.Plays like that are momentum shifts, Millsap said. It kind of sparked them. They took that and added fuel to the fire.Information from The Associated Press was included in this report. ' ' '