Sports
Winning vibes vault Collin Morikawa into Riviera, Genesis Open
Collin Morikawa celebrates after winning on the 18th hole during the final round of the Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament at Pebble Beach Golf Links. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — The PGA Tour and Tiger Woods return to stage the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club starting Thursday, ending the event’s hiatus due to wildfires in the region.
Woods’ first ever appearance with tour competition came in the tournament as a teenage amateur in 1992. This week, he will preside over the tournament’s 100th anniversary as host but not as a player.
“Playing the 100th championship here is pretty amazing,” said Woods, who is from nearby Orange County. “For me as a SoCal kid who grew up coming here, L.A. Open, coming here to Riv, it’s an iconic site. … For a 16-year-old kid just to be able to start here and then now host his own tournament at the same golf course is pretty special.”
Last year’s tournament moved to the San Diego area one month after the devastating Palisades Fire destroyed much of the adjacent community. The Riviera course and clubhouse were spared. Empty residential lots just down Sunset Blvd. sit as a reminder of the destruction.
“We come to make an impact on local communities,” said defending U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun, who is from the Los Angeles area. “At the end of the day, that’s what this tournament does, and that’s what we hope to do: Provide some warmth, some entertainment, kind of make this area a lot more what we’re used to seeing and try to erase the bad memories and move forward.”
Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg is the defending champion, claiming the trophy on Torrey Pines’ South Course. The last event winner at Riviera was Hideki Matsuyama in 2024.
California’s Collin Morikawa will step on the course 30 miles from where he grew up in La Canada with an abundance of confidence. He won last week’s Pebble Beach Pro-Am to end a 29-month victory drought.
The Cal alum has made his mark in the northern part of the state with a decorated college career at Cal and three tournament titles. In addition to Pebble, he also won the Barracuda Championship at Lake Tahoe in 2019 and the PGA Championship at San Francisco in 2020.
He hasn’t won in the southern part of the state, but that has not eliminated the thrill.
“Having a lot of friends, family come out, it just makes the week that much more exciting,” Morikawa said. “It’s a long week for me, but everything is worth it whether you play great or not. But the goal is to kind of continue this momentum or whatever I had Saturday, Sunday last week, into the rest of the season.”
Rainy weather could impact Thursday’s opening round before giving way to clear skies through the weekend. Riviera’s 7,383-yard, par-71 course is average in length on the PGA Tour, but the thick Kikuyu fairways and rough, with undulating Poa annua greens, make it as challenging as they come.
“I think you have a lot of history here, and it’s a golf course that’s stood the test of time,” said world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who has never finished better than a tie for seventh at Riviera. “… I think it’s evolved for the better and it still challenges us to this day, which is pretty cool.”
Scheffler highlights a star-studded field in a second consecutive signature event. There will be 27 of the top 30 players in the world on hand, including every player in the top 10.
“I don’t know why I was surprised but some of the movement and some of how much break you have to play on a lot of the putts out here. It’s like ‘Wow,'” said world No. 2 Rory McIlroy, whose best finish at the Genesis Invitational was tied for fourth in 2019.
–Doug Padilla, Field Level Media
Sports
Cincinnati hires Utah State's Jerrod Calhoun as head coach
Mar 19, 2026; San Diego, CA, USA; Utah State Aggies head coach Jerrod Calhoun at press conference ahead of the first round of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Viejas Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Jerrod Calhoun has agreed to a six-year contract to return to his alma mater Cincinnati as head basketball coach, the university announced Tuesday.
The contract, pending board approval, will pay him $3.7 million in the first year with an annual raise of $100,000, per the school. Calhoun, who graduated from Cincinnati in 2004, is leaving Utah State, which will be owed nearly $3.9 million per his contract, ESPN reported.
The 44-year-old Ohio native leaves behind a Utah State program that he coached to an impressive 55-15 record over two seasons. The Aggies made the NCAA Tournament and held an AP Top 25 ranking for at least one week in each season under Calhoun.
No. 9 seed Utah State (29-7) defeated No. 8 Villanova in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday before falling to top seed Arizona 78-66 on Sunday.
Calhoun replaces Wes Miller, whom Cincinnati bought out after five years as its head coach with no trips to the NCAA Tournament. Miller was hired Monday as Charlotte’s new coach.
“It is a tremendous honor to have the opportunity to lead the Bearcats’ program — one that I know intimately as an alum and hold in the highest regard,” Calhoun said in a statement. “I am deeply grateful to (athletic director) John Cunningham and President Neville Pinto for their trust and confidence in me to elevate this program and guide our student-athletes as we pursue championships. Our goal is to build a program that consistently makes Bearcats fans proud, both on and off the court. Sarah, our children and I are excited to get to work at a place that means so much to our family.”
He served as a student assistant at Cincinnati under Bob Huggins in 2003-04. Calhoun worked under Huggins again on the staff at West Virginia (2007-12) before becoming a head coach for the first time. He has held the main job at Division II Fairmont State (2012-17), Youngstown State (2017-24) and Utah State.
Calhoun was the 2026 Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year after the team won the regular-season and tournament championships. Also the 2023 Horizon League Coach of the Year, Calhoun has nine 20-win seasons as a head coach and has been a conference champion in three different leagues on his way to a 297-159 career record, including 173-121 in Division I.
“Jerrod is a tireless worker, has an incredible passion and talent for developing not just players, but people, and has won at every stop along the way,” Cunningham said. “He’s one of the best offensive minds in college basketball and has the pedigree to take Cincinnati basketball to the next level in the Big 12 and nationally. I’m looking forward to welcoming his wife, Sarah, and children, Jordan, Kennedy, Kendall and Quinn to the Cincinnati family.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Brewers acquire RHP Jake Woodford from Rays
Feb 27, 2026; Port Charlotte, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Jake Woodford (41) throws a pitch during the third inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Charlotte Sports Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images The Milwaukee Brewers acquired right-hander Jake Woodford from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for a minor league pitcher and cash on Tuesday.
Right-hander K.C. Hunt, 25, heads to the Rays after three seasons in the Brewers’ farm system.
Woodford, 29, was a non-roster invite to Tampa Bay’s spring training. He made four appearances (two starts) this spring and allowed one run on four hits in 7 1/3 innings, striking out five and walking two batters.
Woodford spent the 2025 season with the Arizona Diamondbacks, finishing 0-4 with a 6.44 ERA and three saves in 22 relief appearances.
He is 10-17 with a 5.10 ERA in 111 career games (25 starts) with the St. Louis Cardinals (2020-23), Chicago White Sox (2024), Pittsburgh Pirates (2024) and Diamondbacks.
Hunt went 7-9 with a 4.45 ERA in 121 1/3 innings with 43 walks and 122 strikeouts over 26 starts last season at Double-A Biloxi.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Tua Tagovailoa embraces 'fresh start,' competition with Falcons
Dec 15, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Payton Wilson (41) sacks Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) in the third quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images Tua Tagovailoa said he welcomes the chance to compete for the starting quarterback job in a new NFL city and reboot his career.
The Miami Dolphins selected Tagovailoa with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, signed him to a massive contract extension and then released him last month. He signed a one-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons, where he’s expected to compete with Michael Penix Jr. for the starting job.
“Last year wasn’t the best year for me, and I’m looking for a fresh start in the sense of being able to compete, go back out and play good football,” Tagovailoa said Tuesday, speaking in public for the first time about his career change of course.
The Falcons signed him to a one-year, $1.2 million deal — the veteran minimum — while the Falcons will pay him the more than $50 million he is still owed from the four-year, $212.4 million extension he signed in July 2024.
“The best thing for me right now is making the best of this opportunity that I have with the team in terms of the relationships I make with these guys,” he said. “I get to freaking play football. This is what I dreamed of my entire life. I am going to be present. I’m going to be in the moment. I’m going to be where my feet are.”
Penix, who began the 2025 season as the Falcons’ starter, tore an ACL in Week 11 and missed the rest of the season.
“Everybody, not just those two, is coming in to compete. There are no starters right now,” general manager Ian Cunningham said on March 10, when Tagovailoa joined the Falcons. “We are excited to have Tua, but we’re excited to have all the players we were able to get (via free agency).”
Tagovailoa, 28, said he is OK with competing with Penix.
“Competition is just a thing in the NFL. I am no stranger to competition — had it in college,” Tagovailoa said. “I would say competition is just going to be there, and competition enhances the play of everyone. I don’t think the mindset changes at all. … I embrace the competition. I am excited to work alongside Mike.”
The NFL’s leading passer and a Pro Bowl selection in 2023, Tagovailoa compiled a 44-32 record in six seasons in Miami. He has completed 68.0% of his throws for 18,166 yards with 120 touchdowns and 59 interceptions.
The 2023 season is the only one of his six campaigns in which he appeared in every game. His career has been interrupted by a variety of injuries, including at least three known concussions while in the NFL.
Penix, 25, is 4-8 as a starter, completing 59.6% of his passes for 2,757 yards with 12 touchdowns and six interceptions. Atlanta selected him No. 8 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The agent for veteran quarterback Trevor Siemian confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday that Siemian, 34, also is joining the Falcons’ QB room.
Terms weren’t disclosed for Siemian, who last appeared in an NFL regular-season game in 2023 with the New York Jets. He spent most of the 2024 and 2025 campaigns on the Tennessee Titans’ practice squad.
–Field Level Media
Cincinnati hires Utah State's Jerrod Calhoun as head coach
Brewers acquire RHP Jake Woodford from Rays
