Sports
Maverick McNealy, Sepp Straka among 5 tied for The Players lead
Maverick McNealy hits out of the rough on 18 during the first round of The Players Championship golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass, March 12, 2026 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. March 12, 2026. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Maverick McNealy, Lee Hodges, Sahith Theegala and Sepp Straka formed a tie for the lead in Thursday’s weather-hit opening round of The Players Championship when play was suspended in fading light.
Surprise package Austin Smotherman, one of four players yet to complete the opening round, has a chance to seize the outright lead when play resumes on Friday as he faces a 15-foot birdie putt on his final hole — the par-5 ninth.
Smotherman was at 5 under after mixing four birdies with a lone bogey on his back nine, but he regretted playing a chip shot from 40 yards out before deciding to mark his ball on the green and return the following morning to complete his round.
“It was just getting so dark,” said Smotherman, a three-time winner on the Korn Ferry Tour who was a runner-up at last month’s Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches. “Greens are getting — I mean, the rain softened them enough to where spike marks, footprints, all that stuff’s kind of adding up.
“So a 15-, 16-footer, whatever I have. I mean, it’s not worth it right now (and he will) get fresh greens in the morning, which is the benefit of that. Do I wish I hit the chip in the morning as well? Went back and forth. The fact I was even questioning it, I probably should have maybe backed off.”
McNealy, Hodges, Theegala and Straka fired matching 5-under-par 67s on a day of mixed weather conditions at TPC Sawgrass, where the course was relatively firm in the morning before being softened by early afternoon thunderstorms.
Former world No. 1 amateur McNealy, who teed off in the morning wave, reeled off five birdies in his first 12 holes on his way to an early one-shot lead. He was then caught late in the day by fellow American Hodges, who birdied two of his last three holes, and Austrian Straka, who eagled the par-5 16th with a chip-in from 50 feet.
“It was a very straightforward chip,” said Straka, who has won four times on the PGA Tour with his most recent victory coming at last year’s Truist Championship. “It was just off the green, upslope in the first cut. It was about as easy as they come, and I was able to take advantage of it.”
American Theegala made it a four-way tie at the top after covering his back nine in 3 under, highlighted by a hole-out eagle at the par-4 12th where he hit a stunning 99-yard approach from the right fairway, his ball bouncing sharply to the left off the fringe before disappearing into the cup.
“I hit it a little skinny and just came out a little right,” said Theegala, whose only PGA Tour victory came at the 2023 Fortinet Championship. “Got a nice bounce … it was probably going to spin left off that slope, was probably going to go like 20, 25 feet down that slope, just straight left of the hole. So for it to crash into the pin and go in is pretty cool. It’s a nice bonus.”
World No. 6 Russell Henley and fellow American Justin Thomas, who won this event in 2021 and is making his second PGA Tour start of the year after undergoing back surgery in November, were among a group of four players who opened with 68s on a tightly bunched leaderboard.
Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler, bidding for a rare third victory at The Players Championship, produced a mixed bag as he opened with an even-par 72. He birdied his final hole, the par-5 ninth, following consecutive bogeys.
“I did some good things, changing weather out there, but overall I felt like I gave away some shots,” said Scheffler, who clinched his 20th career victory on the PGA Tour at The American Express in January. “Hoping to clean it up a little bit the next few days.
“It can get very challenging when you get some high winds like we had this morning. It can get even more challenging when you’re playing from the rough, which I felt like I was doing a bit too much of today … I struck it better on the back nine. Just made a few mental errors and just need to be a little bit sharper the next few days.”
World No. 2 and defending champion Rory McIlroy, looking to shrug off a back injury that led to his withdrawal from last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, experienced a frustrating day as he battled to a 74. Often wayward off the tee, he mixed three bogeys with a lone birdie to finish seven strokes off the pace.
“I would say the most discomfort was like when the ball was below my feet or with chipping,” McIlroy replied when asked if his back had posed any problems. “Just like getting down a little bit to it. Honestly, overall it was fine. Got a little bit tired at the end of the day, but yeah, it was actually all pretty good.”
The elite Players Championship field is one of the strongest in the game with the top 10 golfers in the world rankings — and 47 of the top 50 — assembled at TPC Sawgrass for the tournament’s 52nd edition.
However, World No. 4 Collin Morikawa withdrew from the tournament due to a back injury after playing just one hole on Thursday. After teeing off on the 10th hole and making a par, he experienced some discomfort while taking a practice swing on the 11th tee box.
–Mark Lamport-Stokes, Field Level Media
Sports
Five NFL Free Agency Predictions That Can Still Happen
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) throws a pass in the first quarter of the NFL game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on Oct. 16, 2025. NFL free agency has been wild ever since the league’s legal tampering window opened on Monday.
Big-named free agents including Malik Willis and Trey Hendrickson switched teams, while others, like Indianapolis Colts superstar wide receiver Alec Pierce, decided to return.
Even after a flurry of moves, there are plenty of remaining free agents out there.
Let’s make some bold predictions about where the top remaining unsigned players will sign.
Aaron Rodgers, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers
This just makes all the sense in the world for both sides at this point. It felt like part of the reason why the Steelers even hired Mike McCarthy was to bring back the 42-year-old quarterback for yet another season.
Rodgers wasn’t the reason why the Steelers flamed out in the postseason. One more go around is probably Pittsburgh admitting that they’re stuck in neutral, but that might be their only move.
Kyler Murray, QB, Minnesota Vikings
Nov 3, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) leaves the field after defeating the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images This is our last “no duh” prediction before we get serious.
Are the Vikings really prepared to give up on J.J. McCarthy? That’s what signing Kyler Murray could potentially signal. Following his release from the Arizona Cardinals, Murray is reportedly also factoring in what his future will look like in 2027.
The Vikings would be silly to waste the stud receiving duo of Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. This feels like it’ll get done.
Tyreek Hill, WR, Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens feel like the big villains of the 2026 offseason after pulling out of the Maxx Crosby trade. So why not lean into it?
The Kansas City Chiefs also make sense for Hill, but they haven’t been overly motivated to make that happen. The Ravens chose Lamar Jackson over John Harbaugh despite the quarterback showing signs of regression last year. Baltimore might as well try to push all your chips into the center of the table – or else that could be a costly decision.
Rasheed Walker, OL, Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry has done significant work to repair the team’s offensive line.
After restructuring Deshaun Watson’s deal, the Browns still have enough cap space to add Walker to their equation. This would give the Browns the ability to draft a No. 1 wide receiver with the No. 6 overall selection in the NFL Draft – which is their other big need offensively.
Stefon Diggs, WR, New England Patriots
Oct 5, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs (8) protects the ball from Buffalo Bills cornerback Taron Johnson (7) after making a catch in the fourth quarter at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images How bizarre would this be?
The Patriots released Diggs before free agency but New England top executive Eliot Wolf “hasn’t shut the door” on reuniting with the veteran wideout.
New England added Romeo Doubs in free agency. But outside of that? They struck out on a few other of the top wide receivers in free agency and would still like to surround Drake Maye with talented pass catchers on his rookie deal.
Sports
No. 23 Wisconsin slips past Washington to reach Big Ten quarters
Mar 12, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Wisconsin Badgers guard Nick Boyd (2) reacts after scoring against the Washington Huskies during the first half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images John Blackwell made six 3-pointers and scored a game-high 34 points as No. 23 Wisconsin eliminated Washington from the Big Ten Conference tournament with an 85-82 victory Thursday at Chicago.
Nick Boyd added 23 points and nine assists for the fifth-seeded Badgers (23-9), who advanced to a quarterfinal matchup on Friday with fourth-seeded Illinois. Wisconsin was 15 of 39 (38.5%) from 3-point range.
Freshman Hannes Steinbach scored 25 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in his 22nd double-double for No. 12-seed Washington (16-17). Zoom Diallo added 21 points and seven assists, while Quimari Peterson chipped in 14 points and made 4 of 10 3-pointers for the Huskies.
The Badgers never trailed and led by as much as 18 points at 66-48 with 13:23 remaining after Blackwell made a 3-pointer. The Huskies used a late 18-6 run to close within 83-82 with 17 seconds left when Diallo drove for a layup.
Andrew Rohde sank both ends of a one-and-one with eight seconds left for Wisconsin, requiring Washington to hunt a game-tying 3-pointer to force overtime. Diallo’s pullup 3-pointer as time expired misfired, enabling the Badgers to avoid the upset.
Playing its third straight game without its top inside player in forward Nolan Winter (ankle), the Badgers got off to a fast start. They established a 20-7 lead with 11:47 remaining in the first half when Hayden Jones converted a three-point play.
The Huskies found some traction in the next seven minutes, whittling the deficit down to 27-23 with 4:55 left in the half when Wesley Yates III made two free throws. Wisconsin expanded the advantage behind Blackwell and Boyd, who combined for 13 straight points.
Aleksas Bieliauskas sent the Badgers to the locker room at halftime with a 43-33 lead after completing a three-point play with a second left before halftime.
–Field Level Media
Sports
BetBoom, Spirit, Yandex, Liquid move on in PGL Wallachia 7 playoffs
YMCA member Austin Manengu works the keyboard as he plays a game of Fortnite during the unveiling of the new gaming lab at the Maplewood Family YMCA in Rochester Thursday, June 20, 2024. YMCA of Greater Rochester in partnership with Metro Sports & Entertainment Group will open two gaming labs for youth and teens this year. BetBoom Team, Team Spirit, Team Yandex and Team Liquid advanced to the upper-bracket semifinals on the first day of the PGL Wallachia Season 7 playoffs on Thursday in Bucharest, Romania.
BetBoom blanked HEROIC 2-0, and Spirit did the same to Vici Gaming. Yandex defeated Aurora Gaming 2-1, and Liquid rallied to beat Tundra Esports 2-1.
The double-elimination playoffs for the $1 million Dota 2 tournament run through Sunday. All matches are best-of-three until Sunday’s best-of-five grand final, with the winning team taking home $300,000.
Eight teams advanced from the 16-team group stage, which concluded Wednesday.
On Thursday, BetBoom prevailed in 37 minutes and 47 minutes on green against HEROIC. Ilya “Kiritych” Ulyanov of Russia averaged 8.5 kills, 2.5 deaths and 10.5 assists over the two maps for BetBoom.
Spirit defeated Vici in 44 minutes and 54 minutes, both on red. Ukraine’s Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk led Team Spirit with an 11.0-3.0-7.0 average kills-deaths-assists ratio.
Yandex sandwiched a 37-minute win and a 40-minute win on red around Aurora’s 60-minute win on green. Alimzhan “watson” Islambekov of Kazakhstan averaged an 11.3-2.0-11.0 K-D-A to guide Yandex.
Tundra opened with a 31-minute win on green, but Liquid tied it with a 30-minute win on red and advanced by winning the third map in 29 minutes on red. On the dominant final map, Michal “Nisha” Jankowski of Poland posted a 16-0-10 K-D-A and Liquid teammate Michael “miCKe” Vu of Sweden put up an 11-0-15.
Play continues Friday with four matches:
–BetBoom Team vs. Team Spirit (upper-bracket semifinals)
–Team Yandex vs. Team Liquid (upper-bracket semifinals)
–HEROIC vs. Vici Gaming (lower-bracket Round 1)
–Aurora Gaming vs. Tundra Esports (lower-bracket Round 1)
PGL Wallachia Season 7 prize pool:
1. $300,000
2. $175,000
3. $120,000
4. $80,000
5-6. $60,000
7-8. $40,000
9-11. $20,000 — Xtreme Gaming, Natus Vincere, PARIVISION
12-14. $15,000 — Team Falcons, Yellow Submarine, OG
15-16. $10,000 — Team Nemesis, MOUZ
–Field Level Media
Five NFL Free Agency Predictions That Can Still Happen
NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for March 13, 2026
