Sports
Gary Player rips round snub with grandsons: 'We made Augusta'
Honorary starter Gary Player reacts on the first tee during the first round of the 2025 Masters. (Michael Madrid-Imagn Images) Gary Player lashed out at the current leadership of Augusta National after the three-time Masters champion was denied of his request to play a fourball round with his grandsons.
Player, 90, is one of three honorary starters for the first major of the year, which he became the first non-American to win in 1961.
“I have been an ambassador for Augusta for all these years, yet they won’t let me have one round of golf in my life with my three grandsons,” Player told Golf Monthly. “All the courses that have hosted the Open (Championship), the U.S. Open and the PGA (Championship) would oblige, but they won’t do it at Augusta.
“My grandsons are dying to know about their grandfather’s episodes on that golf course. It is just this current management there.
“But these are the times we live in, and I accept it, but I accept it with sadness. When I go there, I feel like I am walking on to a golf course in heaven. I tread very carefully and I love Augusta so much — but I don’t like all the rules.”
Player’s 52 Masters appearances are more than any other player in history, and he began serving as an honorary starter in 2012. During his playing career, the World Golf Hall of Fame member was part of the “Big Three” along with Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.
He added two more green jackets in 1974 and 1978, with the Masters serving as the site of three of his nine career majors. As a past champion, Palmer has playing privileges at the course. However, unlike Palmer and Nicklaus, Player was never granted membership at Augusta National that would enable him to bring guests to play alongside him.
He previously has criticized his lack of playing privileges at Augusta, saying in 2023 that he was “disillusioned” about the difficulty of playing the course with a guest. At the time, he ranked the Masters last among the four majors.
Player’s son, Wayne, reportedly also received a lifetime ban from Augusta after holding up a pack of golf balls in a marketing stunt during a 2021 ceremony honoring Lee Elder.
“There are a lot of things that have made Augusta what it is, but the part we played was a prevalent part of my career,” Player told Golf Monthly. “(Co-founder) Bobby Jones was a wonderful man and a wonderful asset to a wonderful tournament, as was (member) President (Dwight D.) Eisenhower as was (co-founder) Clifford Roberts. Those three people, they basically made Augusta.
“Then Arnold, Jack and I came along, and we fought it out every year, and then we made Augusta thanks to the coverage and publicity we generated around the Masters, whether the club likes to admit it or not. They won’t admit it, but we made Augusta.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Reports: Dolphins hiring Mississippi State's Bush Hamdan as QB coach
New Kentucky offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan coaches during practice Friday. August 2, 2024, in Lexington. Hamdan came from Boise State; he’s also coached at Missouri, the Atlanta Falcons and Florida as well. The Miami Dolphins are hiring Mississippi State associate head coach Bush Hamdan as the team’s quarterbacks coach, according to multiple reports Friday.
Hamdan only landed the Mississippi State position in December and also was to coach the team’s wide receivers.
The 40-year-old has 17 years of coaching experience, largely in the college ranks. Most recently, he was the quarterbacks coach at Missouri from 2020-22 and the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at his alma mater, Boise State, in 2023 and moved to Kentucky as OC in 2024.
Hamdan has one year of coaching experience in the NFL, having served as the QBs coach for the Atlanta Falcons in 2017 when Matt Ryan threw for 4,095 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.
The Hamdan hire was not the Dolphins’ first attempt to fill the quarterbacks coach position.
Miami originally hired former Broncos head coach and Packers offensive assistant Nathaniel Hackett before he took the offensive coordinator position under new Arizona Cardinals’ head coach Mike LaFluer.
The Dolphins also wanted to interview Detroit Lions offensive assistant Bruce Gradkowski for quarterbacks coach position, but the Lions blocked the interview, according to multiple reports.
Hamdan faces an uncertain quarterbacks’ room in Miami, where the future of starter Tua Tagovailoa is still up in the air. Miami general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan said Thursday at a fan event that the Dolphins are “getting close to a decision” on Tagovailoa and that the team would be looking at other quarterbacks in this year’s draft.
Quinn Ewers, a seventh-round pick in last year’s draft, is the other quarterback currently under contract in Miami.
Regardless of the Tagovailoa decision, Sullivan said he expects significant competition among quarterbacks.
“I don’t know what the future holds right now, and I told Tua that. We’re working through some things,” Sullivan said. “What I can tell you is that we’re going to infuse competition into that room, whether Tua is part of the room, whether he’s not part of the room. We’re going to infuse competition into that room, like we will do in every other position,” Sullivan said.
“… You can rest assured that we will add competition to that room, one way or the other, to make it the best that we can.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Anthony Alfredo disqualified from Daytona 500 after car inspection
Feb 11, 2026; Daytona Beach, Florida, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Anthony Alfredo (62) during qualifying for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Anthony Alfredo will not drive in the Daytona 500 on Sunday after being disqualified because of a technical violation with his No. 62 car.
NASCAR officials announced the decision late Thursday after the qualifying race in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Alfredo, 26, was in tears after qualifying for the Daytona 500, then heartbroken a bit later when he was told he had been disqualified following the post-race inspection.
“I was on top of the world, and now it feels like I’m at the bottom of it,” Alfredo told The Athletic. “It feels like I’m drowning.”
NASCAR officials said they found, upon inspection, a loose transaxle cooling hose and an improperly attached driver cooling hose.
“These parts have to be fastened properly,” NASCAR Cup Series director Brad Moran said. “Unfortunately, this one piece wasn’t on the right side, and there was also another hose disconnected for driver cooling.”
The No. 62 car is owned by Beard Motorsports, which issued a statement Friday morning.
“We are proud of our team and the work they put into this NASCAR program,” the statement began.
“Our intent is to make races, contend for wins and race with integrity. We will review what happened and work to make sure we do not have these issues in the future. We are heartbroken for our entire team, our wonderful partners and Anthony and his sweet family.”
With Alfredo’s disqualification, driver B.J. McLeod was elevated to the Daytona 500 field.
Alfredo finished 24th in the Xfinity Series — now called the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series — in 2025. In limited NASCAR Cup Series appearances since 2021, he has two top-10 finishes.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Blue Jays, Astros swap outfielders Joey Loperfido and Jesus Sanchez
Oct 23, 2025; Toronto, ON, Canada; Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Joey Loperfido (10) answers a question during media day before game one of the World Series at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images The Astros and Blue Jays exchanged outfielders on Friday, with Houston acquiring Joey Loperfido from Toronto for Jesus Sanchez.
This is a return to Houston for Loperfido, who was a seventh-round pick by the Astros in the 2021 MLB Draft. He hit .333 with four home runs, 14 RBIs and an .879 OPS in 41 regular-season games for Toronto in 2025.
In 91 games at Triple-A Buffalo, Loperfido batted .264 with seven homers and 44 RBIs.
The 26-year-old was traded from Houston to Toronto in July 2024, along with pitcher Jake Bloss and infielder Will Wagner, for pitcher Yusei Kikuchi. Before the trade he appeared in 38 games with the Astros in 2024, his first season in the major leagues, batting .236 with two home runs and 16 RBIs.
Sanchez, 28, appeared in 134 games between the Miami Marlins and the Astros in 2025, combining to slash .237/.304/.395 with 14 home runs, 48 RBIs and 13 stolen bases.
Sanchez is a career .239 hitter with 73 home runs and 238 RBIs in 580 games with the Astros (2020-25) and Marlins.
–Field Level Media
Reports: Dolphins hiring Mississippi State's Bush Hamdan as QB coach
Anthony Alfredo disqualified from Daytona 500 after car inspection
