s triggered by Jos Buttler (54) and Morgan (38) falling f

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. -- Like it or not, Boston Red Sox fans, you will have manager John Farrell to kick around for two more years.The Red Sox opened the winter meetings here on Monday by announcing they will pick up the 2018 option for Farrell, a target of unrelenting scrutiny for fans on social media and sports-talk radio over the past year.The team didnt have to make a decision on Farrell until 10 days after the end of the 2017 season, but in settling his future now, the Red Sox will avoid having him go through an entire year as a lame duck.It puts stability with our staff going into spring training, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said.But by providing Farrell with security beyond next season, Dombrowski and Red Sox ownership sent a clear message: Regardless of the dissenting opinions of outsiders, they believe Farrell is a good manager.Dombrowski inherited Farrell when he took over the Red Soxs baseball operations in August 2015, at which time the 54-year-old skipper had just begun undergoing chemotherapy treatment for non-Hodgkins Burkitt lymphoma. The Red Sox were on their way to a second consecutive last-place finish, and cynics believed Farrell kept his job only because of the potential public-relations fallout from firing him while he was sick.But Dombrowski had a full season to evaluate Farrell, and the Red Sox won the American League East for the second time in four years before getting swept out of the division series by the Cleveland Indians. Dombrowski said he was impressed by Farrells solid presence and the players response to his leadership, qualities that outweigh in the mind of the teams decision-makers the in-game strategy blunders that tend to get so much attention.John has done a real fine job for us, Dombrowski said. We had a very good year last year. Thought he did a good job in handling the club, being in a position where we had a good working relationship. I find him very open-minded when we have conversations, the give-and-take people talk about. I think hes done a very fine job.Farrell insisted he wouldnt have managed differently had he entered the season without a guarantee for 2018. And there is precedent for the Red Sox going through a year with a lame-duck manager. Terry Francona managed all of 2011 without having his 2012 option picked up.Having already committed to Farrell in 2017, it only made sense to pick up his option, especially after bench coach Torey Lovullo, always perceived as a manager-in-waiting, left last month to manage the Arizona Diamondbacks.Dombrowski declined to address Farrells option after the Red Sox were eliminated from the postseason. He explained away his hesitation, claiming the club had other pressing matters, including general manager Mike Hazens defection to the Diamondbacks and Lovullos ensuing departure.But Dombrowski finally met with Farrell on Sunday in Maryland and told him face-to-face of the teams decision.I appreciate his confidence, Farrell said. We had a conversation [Sunday], where it got a little personal [about] where he walks in and hes inheriting a manager and a chemo plan. It has a chance to work itself out, where we win a division title. We addressed and faced a lot of challenges throughout the course of the season, whether it was injury, whether its a little bit of a dry spell that the team went through from a performance standpoint, and we all came out of it in a better place. Custom Toronto Blue Jays . With the short-handed Warriors needing help from someone -- anyone -- to stop a three-game skid, ONeal returned from right knee and groin injuries that had sidelined him for four games and put up season highs with 18 points and eight rebounds. It was just enough to help lift Golden State to a 102-101 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. Ken Giles Blue Jays Jersey . 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The Lightning are 2-0 so far on a four-game road trip, giving the club five straight wins as the guest and improving Tampas away record this season to 11-8-2.Eoin Morgan has backed England to respond strongly to their mini slump in form in white-ball cricket ahead of Marchs World T20. England were thumped by South Africa in the second T20I in Johannesburg on Sunday to lose the series 2-0, having been beaten 3-2 in the preceding ODI series despite taking a 2-0 lead.The tourists shipped their final seven wickets for a paltry 14 runs at the Wanderers during a fifth straight limited-overs defeat, but Morgan insists his side have the hunger to bounce back. We are a very young and exciting team who on our day can beat any side in the world but we might also have a blip along the way with inexperience we have. Eoin Morgan We have to take the good with the bad, he said. We are a very young and exciting team who on our day can beat any side in the world but we might also have a blip along the way with inexperience we have.When you are winning all the time you dont always appreciate it but now we are being tested so it is a good stage for us - how we come back from it is more important than anything. Watch a pick of the action from Englands innings during the second T20 of the series against South Africa We were so far behind the eight ball at the previous World Cup that we have so much ground to make up as we try and play a brutal way, like South Africa do with bat and ball, and win a world tournament.ddddddddddddWe just havent been good enough over the last few games and havent deserved to win but we talk about it all the time and guys are hungry to learn, which is a good sign, so we are optimistic ahead of the World T20.Reflecting on Englands batting collapse, which was triggered by Jos Buttler (54) and Morgan (38) falling from successive balls in the 17th over with the scores on 157, the captain added: It was a pretty brutal day. Ben Stokes slumps after Morgan is run out at the non-strikers end It started pretty well, we were in a commanding position and it looked like we could get 180, 190 or even 200 if Buttler hit his straps but then it fell away - our strategy was right but the execution of our skills was poor.Morgan also defended Englands decision to draft in batsman Sam Billings in place of left-arm seamer David Willey as South Africa surpassed his teams total of 171 with 32 balls to spare, thanks chiefly to AB de Villiers (71 from 29) and Hashim Amla (69no from 38).We wanted to bat deep but also wanted to put it in the bowlers hands with just five of them and Joe Root as the sixth, he added.I dont think it would have made much difference unless we had a chinaman or a leg-spinner to give us variations on such a good wicket.Watch the ICC World T20, live on Sky Sports from March 8. Also See: South Africa crush England WATCH: Story of second T20I Fixtures/results Live cricket on Sky Get Sky Sports Cricket videos ' ' '