WASHINGTON, D.C. —Jordan Scott had no shortage of options regarding where he’d play college basketball. A consensus top-100 recruit with offers from across the country, he was looking for a differentiating factor. He found them during his visit to East Lansing for Michigan State Madness in October 2024.
Other programs have preseason fan events and hallowed student sections like the “Izzone.” But Scott found something more.
“[Tom Izzo] being a huge part of the community here, for lack of better words, you don’t see that everywhere — you don’t see that anywhere besides here,” Scott said. “He trusts his community, and his community trusts him. … Just comparing this place to other places, it was like night and day, just how they do things here. It’s a special culture.”
It’s a trust Izzo built over 43 years — 31 as the head coach — and a trust that is becoming increasingly rare. Izzo is the second-longest tenured active head coach at one school, behind only close friend Greg Kampe’s 42 years at Oakland University.
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“I’m not sure anybody will stay in one place 31 years,” Izzo said, mentioning Purdue’s Matt Painter as one he hopes proves him wrong. “I’m fortunate to have the job I have. I am fortunate for the 31 years of success. I do not think people are going to stay in the same place like Jim Boeheim did. Mike Krzyzewski had a long run there.”
In an era when players and coaches change colors more often than not, the on-court bona fides of the four coaches in the nation’s capital for Friday’s Sweet 16 are unimpeachable. Izzo, Rick Pitino, Dan Hurley and Jon Scheyer have combined for 2,026 Division-I wins, five national championships and, including this year, 37 Sweet 16s. For as good as the players are — and in Cameron Boozer, Zuby Ejiofor, Jeremy Fears Jr. and Tarris Reed Jr. and others, they are very good — the coaches are driving the star power for this 2026 NCAA Tournament East Regional site.
Each is a pillar of the sport, each in his own way. And the careers of Izzo and Pitino show the fork in the road that Scheyer and Hurley face as they build their own Hall of Fame résumés.
“I think that’s what makes it exciting, right?” said Scheyer, who is 38 and in his fourth year at the helm of his alma mater. “It’s going to be an exciting atmosphere, high-level basketball, high-level coaching for sure. … I just keep going back [to] having great respect and admiration, at the same time having great confidence when you step on the floor. That’s what I want our players to have, too.”
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The winding backroads to the HOF
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Scheyer’s sideline opponent, Pitino, was a forebearer of this era of movement. He got his head coaching start at Boston University, left for an assistant role with the Knicks, returned to the college ranks as Providence’s coach, left for the Knicks’ head role and then resigned to take the top job at Kentucky — all within a seven-year stretch.
He’d leave for the NBA one more time, taking the Celtics job, but not after lifting a Kentucky program mired in scandal to a 1996 NCAA title and a 1997 runner-up finish. But after four unsuccessful years in Bean Town, he returned to coach Louisville from 2001-2017, when he was fired amid multiple scandals (it was later re-worded to a resignation after a lengthy legal battle). After a brief stint in Greece, he returned to coach Iona and, in 2023, got hired by St. John’s.
“I’ve loved every place I’ve lived,” Pitino said. “I’m a different guy. I’m not a nester. Everybody is different. I don’t want to live in the same place my whole life. I enjoyed Greece probably more than any place I’ve ever lived for those two years, not knowing one person, just exploring all the islands. For me it was great. For Tom, it’s great being in East Lansing. He loves it there. Everybody is different.”
St. John’s is the fourth different program Pitino has led to the Sweet 16. He has mastered the ability to fit into new surroundings while still standing out. After all, beyond the coaching ingenuity, what 73-year-old — let alone a 73-year-old Hall-of-Fame coach — dons an all-white suit for big games, invites Bad Bunny to sit courtside and says his point guard, Dylan Darling, has “balls as big as church bells?”
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“Since he’s 73, you would think that he’s slowing down, but I think he’s only getting better,” Bryce Hopkins said.
“I think that coach still coaching at his age helps keep him young, honestly,” Oziyah Sellers said. “I remember he told me earlier in the year that he wouldn’t know what he would do with his life if he wasn’t coaching.”
Pitino has certainly taken the road less traveled, but perhaps that has given him the edge in identifying and courting players whose careers have taken several turns, too. The Red Storm’s top seven scorers are all former transfers.
“His resume, it speaks for itself,” said Sellers, who started his career at USC and transferred to Stanford before landing with the Johnnies. “He’s succeeded at every school he’s been at, and he’s ‘The Godfather’ in this college basketball world.”
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The open road ahead in youth
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Pitino’s junior by 35 years, Scheyer is his third Sweet 16 in four years as Duke’s head coach. The two are, in some ways, polar opposites. If Pitino is “The Godfather,” Scheyer is the prodigy. They will form the eighth-largest age gap between opposing coaches in any NCAA Tournament game. All Scheyer has known is Duke. He won a national championship as a senior in 2010 and, after a brief pro playing career, returned to Durham to be part of Krzyzewski’s staff before taking over the program in 2022.
Since then? The trajectory has him with the most wins of any head coach in his first four years on the job — and approaching that same record just in March Madness:
Krzyzewski fielded several NBA offers over his 42 seasons leading Duke and declined each. In 2023, Coach K said, “I love Duke, and I love college, especially how it was then. I’m not sure that if it was today, and I was that age, I wouldn’t have gone.”
The “then” Krzyzewski refers to is when top players often spent their entire careers at one program. Christian Laettner, Grant Hill, JJ Redick and Shane Battier stayed for all four years. Jay Williams stayed for three. It’s a long-gone era, and Scheyer knows it. And the transaction-driven nature makes even the offseason more of a grind.
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When asked if he believes coaches will continue into their 70s, as Pitino and Izzo are and Krzyzewski did, Scheyer smiled and shook his head.
“I know from Coach K, initially when you start coaching, you have months, you finish the season, your players aren’t going anywhere, you go to the beach, you go wherever you want for a few months, you come back in the fall, and you’re ready to roll,” Scheyer said. “That’s just not the world we’re in. As you all know, it’s right to recruiting mode the next day, as soon as the season ends.
“But I think it’s incredible what [Izzo and Pitino] have done. … You look at the reflection of both of their teams. They still have the identity of how they’ve always coached: the toughness, the defense, all those things, but they’ve done it a different way.”
After all, the 2020s have been marked by high-profile departures, not just from septuagenarians such as Krzyzewski, Boeheim, Roy Williams and Jim Larrañaga, but from Jay Wright and Tony Bennett, too.
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The exit ramps and left turns not taken
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Hurley could be the best example of the thin line between staying and going — and, as of now, choosing the former. He turned down Kentucky in early 2024 and the Lakers a few months later, though he admits that turning down the Lakers was a difficult decision, one that Izzo, now his Sweet 16 opponent, helped with.
His players were briefly in a lurch. Reed, who had transferred from Michigan just months before the Lakers’ courtship of Hurley, remembers the immense relief of finding out Hurley was staying in Storrs.
“I came to UConn to play for a coach like Coach Hurley,” Reed said. “When Coach said he returned, I remember that first practice when he leaked out to the media, posted it on Twitter, he was ready to go from there.”
Returnees such as Alex Karaban and Solo Ball remember the uncertain few days of that July — long after rosters and coaching searches had formed, leaving them with fewer options if they needed to pack up.
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“Whatever he wanted to do, whatever would make him happy, his family happy, that’s ultimately what we all wanted,” Karaban said. “For him to come back and want to stay at UConn was a blessing for us. We greatly appreciated that. We just want to repay with him with how we play on the basketball court.”
“I thought he was going to be gone, to be honest, when it first came out,” Ball said. “Over time, when you get to know Coach, how he is as a person, all he wants to pour into is college athletes. It’s been great.”
The long road home
Perhaps the difference between staying and going can come down to personalities. Pitino has always wanted to move around. Izzo values the ability to “pump your own gas, wave to a neighbor, be around.” He had the same NBA rumor mill, the same opportunities to jump to marginally bigger college programs.
Or perhaps there’s more. The pressure of one spot can be downright grating. The nationwide monetary arms race gives more programs more opportunities to offer big paydays, better NIL, upgraded facilities and impressive support.
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“It’s nice to be in the same place,” Izzo said. “There’s pressure being in the same place, too. I don’t think most people are going to want to do that. I hope they do. I think it’s good for the university. I think it’s good for the players.”
Future offers will come for Hurley, one of the premier basketball minds at any level, and for Scheyer, who ticks the boxes of youth, smarts and experience coaching NBA players in-waiting. Both acknowledged the immense challenges they face.
“We talked about his opportunity with the Lakers and other places,” Scheyer said of Krzyzewski. “Down the road, that’s something you cross that bridge when you get there. For me, it’s 100% being at Duke, the place I want to be. We have unfinished business. That’s what this is all about for me.”
Hurley admitted it’s been a challenge, that turning down the Lakers two summers ago wasn’t easy and that coaching, period, even as a two-time reigning national champion, wasn’t easy.
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“Listen, I wanted a gap year last year,” Hurley said with a laugh that belied his serious answer. “I don’t know how Coach Izzo has done it. I don’t.
“I hope I’m looked upon when my career’s over, I don’t know that I’ll have his longevity, I can just only hope that people look at me as a coach the way they look at him and the way I look at him.”
Four disparate but remarkably successful coaching paths converge at Capital One Arena on Friday night. By Sunday night, one will continue to the Final Four, and three will return home. Where any of those four paths go — in the short and long terms — could be anyone’s guess.
FORT WORTH, Texas — Hannah Hidalgo had 31 points, 11 rebounds, 10 steals and the assist on the go-ahead bucket in the final minute, leading Notre Dame to a 67-64 victory over higher-seeded Vanderbilt in the Sweet 16 on Friday.
The junior sparkplug made a leaping grab between two defenders and fed a bounce pass to Cassandre Prosper under the basket for a two-point lead with 22 seconds to go.
The sixth-seeded Fighting Irish (25-10) advanced to the Elite Eight in March Madness for the first time since 2019 in a matchup of two of the top three scorers in Division I, Hidalgo and Mikayla Blakes.
Notre Dame will play either top-seeded and undefeated UConn or North Carolina in the Fort Worth Regional 1 final Sunday.
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Blakes, the national scoring leader, rallied from a rough shooting start to finish with 26 points for Vanderbilt, but lost the ball out of bounds on the dribble after Prosper’s go-ahead shot, then missed a 3-pointer as time expired.
The No. 2 seed Commodores (29-5) were in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2009.
In a game full of big plays from Hidalgo as she set an NCAA single-season record for steals, the biggest didn’t have anything to do with the categories in her unusual triple-double, the third of her career. Although it did lead to her team-leading seventh assist.
With a high-arching inbound pass coming down as she ran between two defenders, the 5-foot-6 Hidalgo soared to make the catch, came down and immediately found Prosper all alone at the rim.
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After Blakes lost the ball dribbling toward the basket for what would have been a tying shot, the Commodores had to foul three times just to get Notre Dame to the free-throw line.
Prosper missed the first of two free throws to give Vanderbilt a chance. Standout freshman Aubrey Galvan, who was a big reason the Commodores were even in the game late, missed a 3 but got her own rebound and found Blakes.
The high-scoring sophomore who missed her first eight shots was off target from beyond the arc, completing a 7-of-26 showing for her as Vanderbilt matched its season worst at 35% shooting for the game.
Hidalgo needed four steals to break Chastadie Barrs’ mark of 192 set with Lamar in 2018-19. She got that in the first quarter and ended the game one shy of being the first with 200 in a season.
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She’ll probably hit that milestone in the regional final.
Hidalgo was already just the second player to have at least eight steals in multiple NCAA Tournament games. She had eight in each of Notre Dame’s first two tourney wins, over Fairfield and Ohio State.
Three of Hidalgo’s steals came quickly against Vanderbilt midway through the second quarter.
She grabbed the ball out of Sacha Washington’s hands and went in alone for a layup, then stole a bad pass near midcourt. Her seventh steal soon after led to another easy layup for a 23-11 lead.
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Hidalgo, the third-leading scorer in the country, had 16 points at halftime as the sixth-seeded Irish led No. 2 seed Vanderbilt 31-26.
Vanderbilt was 3-20 from the field and 0-9 on 3-pointers midway through the second quarter when Galvan hit consecutive shots behind the arc after a spectacular layup. She flipped the ball over her head as she turned away from the basket, part of a 12-2 run that erased most of a 12-point deficit.
The Commodores were down six early in the fourth quarter when Blakes converted a three-point play and Galvan hit a tying 3.
France said on Friday the International Olympic Committee’s decision to introduce gender testing to determine eligibility for the female category was a “step backwards”.
“We oppose a generalisation of genetic testing, which raises numerous ethical, legal, and medical questions, particularly in light of French legislation” which does not allow such tests, Sports Minister Marina Ferrari said in a statement.
“These tests, introduced in 1967, were discontinued in 1999 due to strong reservations within the scientific community regarding their relevance. France regrets this step backwards,” Ferrari said.
The IOC announced on Thursday only “biological females” will be allowed to compete in women’s events, preventing transgender women from competing.
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It is re-introducing gender testing from the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics onwards in a move that will also rule out many athletes with differences in sexual development (DSD), previously known as intersex athletes.
Donald Trump takes credit for transgender ban at LA’s 2028 Olympics
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Ferrari said the new IOC policy “defines the female sex without taking into consideration the biological specificities of intersex people whose sexual characteristics present natural variations, which leads to a reductive and potentially stigmatising approach”.
She said France would establish a national observatory bringing together sports bodies, scientists, legal experts and athlete representatives to develop recommendations aimed at ensuring sport is “fair, inclusive and respectful of human rights“.
IOC president Kirsty Coventry said on Thursday that athletes from countries where the gender test was banned would have to be tested in other countries.
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“If it is illegal in a country, athletes will have the possibility when they travel to other competitions to be tested there,” Coventry said.
“This is also why we’re saying the policy comes into effect now, but will be implemented in LA 28. So we have time to walk through this process with everyone.”
Coventry added: “I do feel that this policy is a policy that is supporting equality and fairness and the protection of the safety on the field of play.”
The IOC said there may be “rare exceptions” for DSD athletes who do not benefit from the performance-enhancing effects of testosterone.
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Eligibility for the female category will be decided by genetic testing, which will test athletes to see if they have the SRY gene that determines whether a person is biologically male.
The test will be carried out by a swab of the inside of an athlete’s cheek or blood samples and will only take place once in an athlete’s career.
BENGALURU: Sunrisers Hyderabad will be without their regular skipper and lead pacer Pat Cummins for at least the first two weeks of the IPL, with the Australian currently working his way back to full bowling fitness.Head coach Daniel Vettori moved to allay concerns around Cummins’ condition, stressing that the pacer’s overall fitness is not in question.
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IPL 2026: Ishan Kishan steals the show at captains meet
“His fitness has been exceptional. He’s been out of the game for an extended period, so he’s had time to put in a real block of work around strength and conditioning,” Vettori said at the pre-match press conference on Friday.The challenge, according to the former New Zealand captain, lies in rebuilding Cummins’ bowling workload.“The only issue has been his bowling loads. Once he got the all-clear from Cricket Australia, it’s been a bit of a painstaking process to build him up to where he feels confident and strong about bowling. Over the next couple of weeks, he’ll keep building, and hopefully we’ll have a clearer timeline in 10 to 12 days,” he explained.Vettori was all praise for stand-in skipper Ishan Kishan, who, apart from enjoying a purple patch at the T20 World Cup, also led Jharkhand to their maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 title.“He was added to the group last year, and the leadership that he exuded throughout the season, particularly in the back half when he took over the wicket keeping, really brought energy to the group and set up our back half. When Cummins was unfortunately out of the initial stage of the tournament, we obviously had some decisions to make. His experience with his state team, in particular, had been so impressive, and he was in really good form. So between Abhishek (Sharma) and himself, we feel like we’ve got a really good leadership group to lead us this year.”Vettori also added that three young Indians, led by Karnataka southpaw R Smaran, are in contention for a place in the XI. The other two players are Aniket Verma and Salil Arora.
Amanda Anisimova and her coach, Hendrik Vleeshouwers, have officially gone their separate ways, and now we’ve heard from him.
After Anisimova confirmed the split, Vleeshouwers shared his own message reflecting on their time together:
“All good things come to an end, and today marks the closing of an incredible chapter.”
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“Over the past two years, we’ve reached so many milestones, winning two [WTA] 1000s, making back-to-back Grand Slam finals, and reaching world number three.”
“I’m incredibly proud of what we built, but even more for the journey we shared along the way… the hard work, new experiences, the challenges, the laughs, and the moments that people don’t always see.”
“I will always carry these memories with me.”
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And he ended it on a personal note:
“Amanda, thanks for all the good times and being you.”
“I wish you nothing but success and happiness moving forward, and I’ll always be rooting for you.”
The partnership delivered the best tennis of Anisimova’s career titles, finals, and a rise to world No. 3.
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But 2026 hasn’t quite followed the same path, and now both sides are moving on. What an end to a chapter.
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Félix Aguirre admits he’s been having trouble sleeping these last few months. On the eve of the reopening of the iconic Azteca Stadium, and with some work still to be done, the stadium director won’t be able to relax until kickoff on Saturday night.
After being closed since May 2024 for renovations in preparation for the 2026 World Cup, the stadium where Pelé’s Brazil and Diego Maradona’s Argentina won the World Cup in 1970 and 1986, respectively, will again open its doors to fans for a friendly match between Mexico and Portugal.
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It will be a crucial test for Aguirre and all the workers who have been racing against the clock in recent weeks to get the stadium ready, not just for that match but also for the World Cup opener on June 11, when Mexico plays South Africa.
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‘We’re ready’
“It’s true that I’ve had trouble sleeping thinking about the project and making sure it’s the best it can be,” Aguirre told The Associated Press. “Today I can tell you that we’ve done it and we’re ready.”
The AP was given access to the stadium on Thursday when work appeared to still be underway in various areas, including the new locker rooms, where the smell of paint is noticeable.
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According to Aguirre, there are currently 2,200 workers on the project, working 24 hours a day.
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With the renovations, the stadium, officially renamed Banorte, increased its capacity from 83,000 to 87,500 spectators. In addition, new seats, a new sound system with 250 speakers, two video screens, new locker rooms, and a hybrid pitch were installed, among other improvements.
To increase capacity, a lounge area located in the lower and central part of the stadium was removed.
“At some point we tore down the lower stands to put in boxes and some lounges that weren’t nice, now we’re bringing back those stands and that’s returning to the original Azteca,” Aguirre said.
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The stadium located south of Mexico City will host five World Cup games next summer. Opened in 1966, Azteca has undergone several renovations — the last one to accommodate NFL games in 2016.
“There were many areas for improvement, but some things we were obsessed with were enhancing the fan experience. To achieve this, we improved the audio, video, and internet, but we also improved the restrooms, entrances and exits, and everything related to the overall experience,” Aguirre said.
“It’s somewhat subjective, but I think we achieved it.”
All about soul
Aguirre was given a clear brief to follow.
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“Another thing we wanted was for it not to lose its soul,” Aguirre said. “This is a historic building that is part of the city; we couldn’t disrespect its essence. We simply had to enhance it, preserve its soul, and provide fans with a better experience.”
The exterior remains a familiar sight to fans. Debris can still be seen in some places, and there will be no car parking available for supporters for Saturday’s game. Authorities have asked fans to use public transportation or shuttles that will depart from public locations throughout the capital.
Aguirre’s mission is to hand over the stadium to FIFA a month before the June 11 opener.
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If all goes well, then he’ll be able to sleep soundly.
Jones said she began officiating when she was no longer able to play rugby league with boys after coming to the end of an under-11s season.
“I went over to a girls’ team and back then the opportunities for girls to play rugby were few and far between,” she said.
“It’s much better now but that’s why I went into officiating, because I was a bit stubborn and I was told I couldn’t do something within the sport I love.
“I was like, I will find a different avenue and no one is going to tell me I can’t be involved in this sport at the top level in the boys’ side of it.
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“So I decided to go into officiating and I haven’t looked back.”
As a player, Jones won a Women’s Super League title, two League Leaders’ Shields and four Challenge Cups before retiring in 2024.
She has been refereeing in the men’s game for a year and said the players “just see me as another referee”.
“I think the biggest problem they have, is what do they call me?” she said.
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“I get that question every week and I find it quite funny. I understand they’re used to having male referees and they always address them as ‘sir’.
“They are only trying to be respectful. I just tell them to call me ‘ref’ or ‘Tara’ and if they do call me ‘sir’ because it’s habit, then don’t worry about it.
“I’m not offended because I know they’re trying to be respectful and do the right thing.”
Jones said she hopes she can be a “trailblazer” for young women in rugby league.
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“I try to be and I want to be – I just do what I do and I hope I can inspire young girls,” she added.
“Just this week I’ve had a message from a young girl who has just started refereeing to say that I’ve inspired her to try it and give it a go.
Tiger Woods was involved in a car crash in Florida on Friday, according to multiple reports.
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office told ESPN that the crash happened on Jupiter Island on Friday afternoon. Woods’ condition was not immediately known.
Woods competed in the TGL championship earlier this week with his girlfriend, Vanessa Trump, and her daughter, Kai, in the stands. It was his return to competitive golf after rupturing his Achilles last year, just ahead of the Masters.
Tiger Woods of Jupiter Links Golf Club looks on before the match against the Los Angeles Golf Club at SoFi Center on March 23, 2026, in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. (Adam Glanzman/TGL/TGL Golf via Getty Images)
The 15-time major winner, five of which have come at Augusta, was noncommittal about playing at this year’s Masters. President Donald Trump said on “The Five” on Thursday that he would be at Augusta but not play.
Woods has had trouble behind the wheel in the past. In 2021, he got into a wreck that resulted in serious leg injuries that kept him off the golf course for the entire year. In 2017, he was arrested for driving under the influence, also in Jupiter Island, after taking prescription drugs.
Tiger Woods of the United States lines up a putt on the 12th green during the third round of the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club on May 21, 2022.(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
It has been a tough go since Woods made the ultimate comeback in 2019 and miraculously won the green jacket again. In 14 majors since then, he has failed to muster a top 20 finish. It’s his longest such streak since failing to finish in the top 20 in the first six majors of his career in 1995 and 1996. In his last 26 majors, he has only four top 20 finishes.
Since finishing tied for ninth at the 2020 Farmers Insurance Open, his best finish in his 18 official events since then has been T-37 at the 2020 PGA Championship.
Tiger Woods preparing for the Open Championship in 2022.(Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
He has not competed since 2024, when he competed in just five events: the Genesis Invitational and the four majors. He withdrew from the Genesis, finished dead last in the Masters and missed the cut in the other majors.
Tiger Woods was involved in a rollover car crash in Florida on Friday afternoon, police have confirmed.
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office said the incident took place on Jupiter Island, in the same town where Woods lives, just after 2pm local time.
A photograph has been shared of the scene which shows a vehicle laying on its driver’s side.
Further details on the crash or the golfer’s condition have yet to be disclosed, with it reported that sheriff John Budensiek will share more information at 5pm local time (10pm GMT).
There have been claims from WPEC, the local CBS affiliate, citing a source at Martin County Fire Rescue that there were no injuries to anyone involved in the crash, with one person reported in stable condition, while another declined to be taken to the hospital. This has not yet been verified.
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The Martin County Sheriff’s Office was not immediately available for comment when contacted by The Independent.
Woods was previously involved in a high-profile rollover crash in California in 2021, which left him with serious injuries. Authorities said he was driving at least twice the 45mph speed limit when he SUV struck a tree, causing the vehicle to fly through the air and land on its side.
The American was also arrested for driving under the influence in Florida in 2017, after which he checked himself into a clinic for prescription medication.
Jamie Noble sent a personal message to fans ahead of this week’s episode of WWE SmackDown. Tonight’s edition of the blue brand will air live from the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
WWE producer Jamie Noble took to social media today to share a heartfelt update. He thanked fans for their prayers, and you can check out his message in the Instagram post below.
Thanks for the submission!
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“Thank everyone for their prayers🙏🙏🙏🙏,” he wrote.
Noble hasn’t competed in a wrestling match since the company’s Holiday Tour in 2022. He teamed up with Braun Strowman and The Brawling Brutes to defeat The Bloodline’s Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, Sami Zayn, and Solo Sikoa. The veteran’s last match on television took place on the June 8, 2015, edition of RAW. He teamed up with Joey Mercury to defeat Seth Rollins in a Handicap match.
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The Bella Twins are scheduled to square off against Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair tonight on WWE SmackDown. Jelly Roll will also be in action against Kit Wilson. Women’s United States Champion Giulia will be facing Tiffany Stratton in a non-title match, and Carmelo Hayes will once again be holding an Open Challenge for his United States Championship.
Jamie Noble comments on his final WWE match
Wrestling veteran Jamie Noble discussed his final match in 2022 that took place in his hometown of Charleston, West Virginia.
In an interview with Byron Saxton, Noble shared that he trained with Drew Gulak and William Regal’s son, Charlie Dempsey, ahead of his final wrestling match.
“Good,” Noble said when asked how his body feels. “When I looked at the dates, trying to get everything ready, I was worried about a training camp and how I’d hold up, but it’s been great. It’s obviously rough getting used to going at it. Some of these guys over here, Regal’s kid, and Drew Gulak came in, so it’s been challenging but I feel like I’m there.”
.@WWENoble sits down with @ByronSaxton to discuss returning to the ring for the first time in over 7 years for his final match in his hometown of Charleston, West Virginia.
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It will be interesting to see if WWE has any surprises in store for tonight’s edition of SmackDown on the road to WrestleMania 42.
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