Obviously, I was very tearful coming up 18. Ive been out her

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BOSTON -- Players eating fried chicken and drinking beer in the clubhouse during games. If it didnt bother Bobby Valentine as a baseball lifer, it would certainly offend his sensibilities as a self-proclaimed gourmet chef. "He wont let that happen. Theres no way hes going to let that happen," said Tommy Lasorda, Valentines manager in the minor leagues and a mentor who encouraged him to try for the Red Sox job. "Theres times -- in all phases of life -- when youve got to kick them in the (rear) when they need it, and theres times when you need to hug them if they need it. Your livelihood depends on those guys. Youve got to have them in the right frame of mind, to be loyal to the organization, to put forth all the effort that they have." Boston announced Valentine as its new manager Wednesday, and he will be introduced by the Red Sox at a Fenway Park news conference on Thursday evening. The 61-year-old replaces Terry Francona, who left after eight years in which he guided the Red Sox to two World Series titles but also the biggest September collapse in baseball history. The first job for the former Mets and Rangers manager: reversing a culture in which players ate takeout fried chicken and drank beer in the clubhouse during games instead of sitting on the bench with their teammates. "You give loyalty, youll get it back. You give love, youll get it back," Lasorda said Wednesday in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "And thats the way it has to be." At a news conference the day he formally interviewed for the job, Valentine said he learned a lot about discipline while managing in Japan. Although the players there are more respectful of authority and less likely to step out of line, he said, they also appreciated having clearly defined rules so they knew where their limits were. "Discipline is not 30 whacks with a whip these days," Valentine said. "I think everyone likes discipline. I think everyone likes structure. Everyone likes to be acknowledged when they do things properly. Discipline and rules and things like that -- its just about right and wrong." Francona admitted he lost his players near the end of a tenure during which he counted on them to police themselves and never said anything negative about them in public. When Valentine was in New York, he did not hesitate to criticize his players and bickered with them, his boss and the media. Former Mets general manager Omar Minaya said Valentine is every bit a players manager but one who insists on accountability. "Bobby is not going to be the guy whos cracking the whip. I can tell you that right now," said Minaya, who was in the Rangers and Mets front offices when Valentine managed there. "Hes going to be a players manager, but hes going to command respect. ... I think what Bobbys going to try to do is demand that players be professional." The Red Sox topped the AL East for much of the summer and had a nine-game lead in the wild-card race that they squandered by going 7-20 in September, missing the playoffs for the second straight season. Francona left before he could be fired, saying the clubhouse needed a different voice. And, boy, is Valentine ever different. A restaurateur who claims to have invented the wrap sandwich; a high school star in football and baseball; a two-time minor-league MVP; the son-in-law of former major leaguer Ralph Branca; the manager of the NL pennant-winning New York Mets and Japanese champion Chiba Lotte Marines; the director of health and public safety in Stamford, Conn.; purveyor of an athletic training facility; a successful TV analyst. And he might even be most famous for returning to the dugout wearing a fake moustache and sunglasses after being ejected from a game in 1999; Major League Baseball fined him $5,000 and suspended him for three games. Valentines personality certainly is large. And his resume is long. But it has one major gap: Hes never won a World Series. "It drives all of us that do this for a living," Minaya said. "If you dont win a World Series and youre a competitor, it drives you." Valentine managed the Texas Rangers from 1985-92, when he was fired by then-owner and future U.S. President George W. Bush. His last big league managerial job was with the Mets, from 1996-02, where he guided the Mets to consecutive wild-card berths and a trip to the 2000 World Series. Two years later, they finished last and Valentine was fired, leaving him with a 1,117-1,072 record. He has never finished in first place in 15 major league seasons. But Valentine went to Japan and managed Chiba Lotte to a championship in 2005. He has been working as an analyst for ESPN, where he has said Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett should work faster and left-fielder Carl Crawford should close his stance. "These last two years have been good for Bobby. It gave him a chance to get back and become familiar with all the players in the major leagues. That will help him," Branca said. "Boston is a challenge, but when has he not liked challenges?" A native of Connecticut and a former roommate of Bill Buckners, Valentine was the most intriguing candidate for the Red Sox job on a list that included Gene Lamont, Dale Sveum, Torey Lovullo, Pete Mackanin and Sandy Alomar Jr. After his name surfaced, he was endorsed for the job not only by Lasorda but by Steve Phillips, the Mets GM who bickered with Valentine and eventually fired him; Bush has also expressed a fondness for his former skipper. Minaya said Valentines outsized personality will be a plus in Boston, where fans still are stewing over last years collapse. "All year theyre going to be reminded of what happened in 11, and Bobby will be able to take the attention on himself," said Minaya, whose Mets missed the playoffs on the last day of the season after leading the division in both 2007 and 08. "We lived it. Theres no doubt that all year long the Red Sox are going to be reminded of last year. I think Bobbys going to be a positive force in getting people to focus on 12." The Red Sox certainly hope so. At about the same time Valentine was landing in New York on his way back from a goodwill trip to Japan, the Red Sox sent reporters an advisory that select tickets for 2012 will go on sale next week. Ryan Callahan Jersey . Behind every great team is a great coach. And the NHL has more than its fair share of distinguished bench bosses this season. 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WILLIAMSBURG, Va. -- Jiyai Shin followed her tournament-record 9-under 62 with a 68 on Friday to take a one-stroke lead in the LPGA Tours Kingsmill Championship. The South Korean player had four birdies and a bogey -- her first of the week -- to finish two rounds at 12 under on Kingsmills River Course. She won the last of her eight LPGA Tour titles in November 2010. Shin kept a close eye on the scoreboard. "I have to know my position, and I keep changing my plan each hole after I check the positions," Shin said. "I saw a lot of players play good today, so I think it will make for fun competition the next two days." "I really like when Im on the top, but it also can come with a pressure, a little bit of pressure. But its also other players saying they get the pressure, too, so I just keep focused on my game." American Danielle Kang was second after a 64, the best score in the second round. The 19-year-old Kang won the U.S. Womens Amateur in 2010 and 2011. Kang, who missed the cut in her last two tournaments, started the round on 10th hole, and had six birdies for a 6-under 29. Her lone bogey came on the par-5 third, but she bounced back with birdies on the fifth and seventh holes. "I started off the day thinking just take it shot by shot. Ive been approaching shots differently this whole week," Kang said. "I just am trying to see what works, and my brother taught me how to putt." She had 26 putts the second round after taking 32 in the first. She says her brother wants 5 per cent of what she wins this week. Kang says shell go to 20 per cent "if he can get me to shoot under par and go low." Paula Creamer and Dewi Claire Schreefel were 10 under. Schreefel, the first Dutch player to qualify for the LPGA Tour and a foormer NCAA individual champion at Southern California, shot her second straight 66, and Creamer had a 67.dddddddddddd Schreefel was one of 33 players who returned to the course Friday morning to complete the first round after play was suspended Thursday. She had two holes to play, and her day got off on the wrong foot when she was penalized two strokes for a rules infraction on the green of her first hole -- the par-4 eighth. Schreefels ball moved after she marked it, but instead of playing it from the new spot, she incorrectly moved it back to the mark -- which was still in place. "Things like that just kind of fuel me up," Schreefel said. "You know, its a little bit upsetting in the moment and youre losing two shots while youre in the hunt to make a really good score. Its unfortunate but we live and learn." Lexi Thompson (66) and Azahara Munoz (68) were 9 under, and second-ranked Stacy Lewis had a 65 to join Maria Hjorth (69) at 8 under. Cristie Kerr, the winner in 2009 when the tour last played at Kingsmill, missed the cut with rounds of 72 and 74 -- managing only three birdies in the two days. She also once in 2005 at Kingsmill. Michelle Wie also dropped out, shooting 75-71. She has missed nine cuts this season and has only one top-10 finish. Leta Lindley played her final round on the tour Friday. The 40-year-old Lindley, retiring to become a full-time mom, shot 73-71. "Ive had a mix of emotions, obviously very bittersweet, but knowing that its the right time for me," Lindley said. "Obviously, I was very tearful coming up 18. Ive been out here for 18 years and Ive grown up out here and this has been my family for so long and its been a big chunk of my life. I know that its time, but it doesnt make it any less sad." ' ' '