Sports
No. 17 Wisconsin looks to snap road skid at Northwestern
Jan 29, 2025; College Park, Maryland, USA; Wisconsin Badgers guard John Tonje (9) handles the ball during the first half against the Maryland Terrapins at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images Wisconsin looks to avoid a third consecutive Big Ten road loss when the 17th-ranked Badgers face Northwestern on Saturday in Evanston, Ill.
Wisconsin (16-5, 6-4) lost at Maryland 76-68 on Wednesday. Prior to that, the Badgers trounced Nebraska 83-55 at home last Sunday, coming off an 85-83 loss on the road at UCLA on Jan. 21.
Northwestern (12-9, 3-7) lost to Rutgers 79-72 on Wednesday, only its second loss in 12 home games this season.
“I’m a little bit of a loss for words,” Northwestern coach Chris Collins said afterward. “I can live with losing, but I just didn’t love our energy, our fight and defensive intensity in the first half.”
Wisconsin shot just 37.3 percent against Maryland, missing 18 of its 27 attempts from behind the arc. John Tonje led with 23 points, but no one else contributed more than 10.
The Badgers went into the game as the No. 1 free-throw shooting team in the nation but were just 15 of 21 vs. the Terrapins. Wisconsin also turned it over 10 times.
“Against a really good team on the road, you obviously have to take care of the ball, which I thought we did a must better job the second half, “Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said. “Not as well the first half, and then you’ve got to be able to make some plays and make shots.”
Tonje averages 18.2 points along with a team-high 44 3-pointers and John Blackwell contributes 16.0 points. The inside tandem of Nolan Winter and Steven Crowl average 10.1 and 10.0 points, respectively, and 5.7 boards apiece.
Badgers senior guard Max Klesmit continues to struggle with his shooting. Klesmit shot 43.7 percent last season, including 39.8 percent from 3-point range. This season, those clips are down to 33.3 and 28.3, respectively.
Klesmit was just 1 of 8 from the field against Maryland, including 1 of 6 from long distance.
Wisconsin averages 81.8 points, while allowing 70.6. Dating back to last season, the Badgers are 28-1 when holding opponents to 70 points or fewer.
Northwestern failed to clamp down defensively against Rutgers, which shot 57.1 percent, including 8 of 14 from 3-point range.
Jalen Leach led the Wildcats with 23 points and Nick Martinelli had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds, playing all 40 minutes.
Martinelli averages a team-high 19.6 points, Brooks Barnhizer adds 17.1 points and team-leading 8.8 rebounds, and Leach averages 14.3 points.
The Wildcats average 74.1 points, 16th in the 18-team conference, and allowing 69.4.
“We’re not going to be a team that’s going to score 85, 90, 95 points in a game,” Collins said. “We’re going to work hard to get into the 70s and we’ve got to keep teams in the 60s. When teams are constantly 80, 80-plus, it’s going to be really hard for us.”
Wisconsin has won eight of the last 10 games in the series, including both meetings last season.
“On to the next game,” Gard said. “We’ve got to get ready for Northwestern and they’re going to be a handful. So, it’s making sure we keep getting better.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Caitlin Clark releasing children's book based on life story
Apr 25, 2026; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) during the first half against the New York Liberty at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images Caitlin Clark is releasing a children’s book based on her life story titled “EXTRAordinary! A Little EXTRA to Reach BIG Dreams!”
Clark’s chosen title is a nod to the phrase decorating a wall in her childhood bedroom that read: “The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is the little EXTRA.”
The 32-page rhyming picture book is set to be released on Nov. 3 in time for holiday giving. With a list price of $19.99, the book is available for pre-order from retailers that include Barnes & Noble, Amazon and Target. It also will be sold as an audiobook by publisher Penguin/Random House.
Suggested ages for the book are 4 to 8.
A third-year guard for the Indiana Fever, Clark rose to prominence during a prolific college career at Iowa, chasing down the all-time scoring record in Division I college basketball and leading the Hawkeyes to the Final Four twice. She was the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft in 2024 and has multiple high-paying endorsement deals. As part of her contract with Nike worth $28 million, Clark has a signature shoe and apparel line.
Clark said the book is also a reminder to cherish the ones you love and not to forget to include yourself in that group.
The book reads: “I look in the mirror, and what do I see? A special reminder to be the best me.”
Adriana Predoi illustrated the book. The London-based artist grew up in Romania.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Alex Fitzpatrick's Zurich Win Raises Questions About PGA Tour Rewards
Winning on the PGA Tour changes a player’s life. Just ask Alex Fitzpatrick.
Long a resident of brother Matt’s shadow, Alex has grinded away in Europe trying to put together a playing career of his own. He had no wins to show for it until he clinched the Hero Indian Open last month.
On Sunday, Fitzpatrick was playing in a PGA Tour event, as he does every year now, alongside his major champion brother at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. They won by a single shot – more on how in a minute – and despite it being a team event, the younger Fitzpatrick received all the perks of a PGA Tour win:
- A full PGA Tour card through 2028;
- A berth into the PGA Championship, his second-ever major;
- A berth into The Players championship for the first time next year;
- And berths into the rest of the signature events of 2026.
That’s … a lot for winning one tournament that you didn’t even win on your own.
The PGA Tour’s critics, most of them decked out in LIV Golf team-branded hats and Twitter avatars, pounced on the apparent hypocrisy. PGA Tour defenders love to call LIV’s closed system anti-meritocratic, only to let a star player’s brother walk in and give him what amounts to a job contract for the next two-plus years.
For once, the LIV bots make a good point.
It was, by my count, Alex Fitzpatrick’s 11th start in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event all-time, including things like the Open Championship and the Scottish Open. He and his brother tied for 11th at the Zurich in 2024, but otherwise his game never hinted that he had the potential of a PGA Tour-level player.
To be clear, winning on the PGA Tour is hard. It’s just harder some weeks than others. Matt Fitzpatrick, the former U.S. Open champion and No. 3 player in the world rankings, was far and away the best player in a weak field at TPC Louisiana. He and his little brother fought off the likes of (checks notes) Kristoffer Reitan and Kris Ventura, Ben Martin and Trace Crowe and Alex Smalley and Hayden Springer.
In the first and third rounds, which used a four-ball (best ball) format, Matt Fitzpatrick did the heavy lifting, accounting for six of their nine birdies on Thursday and six birdies plus an eagle on their outlandishly low 15-under 57 Saturday.
On the final hole during alternate shot Sunday, the Fitzpatricks needed to birdie a par-5 to break a tie and win in regulation. Alex hit their second shot from the fairway to a greenside bunker. Matt stepped in and produced a perfect third shot, his ball stopping less than 2 feet from the cup, allowing Alex to tap in for the life-altering win.
It’s a moment that will make for a tearjerking episode of “Full Swing” next season, but the PGA Tour shouldn’t confuse that with it being good for the sport.
The solution that seems obvious to me is to demote or outright scrap the Zurich from future schedules, something I wrote just last week. But if this gimmicky tournament is bound to remain a part of the PGA Tour, and its team format isn’t going anywhere, the next-best thing would be to split these winner’s perks in half. After all, the two winners are only doing half the work.
The tour already acknowledges this by awarding 400 FedEx Cup points to the Zurich winners instead of the standard 500. So when the next Alex Fitzpatrick comes along, let him on tour, but make it for the rest of the current season, or maybe 12 calendar months. Put him in the next major, sure – guys still need a motive to come to this event – but maybe it’s a bit over the top to include all other signature events.
Otherwise, you’re over-rewarding guys who have one nice week, or are lucky enough to be friends – or brothers – with one of the five best players in the world.
Sports
Alex Cora to Red Sox fans: 'Boston, we will miss you'
Feb 22, 2026; Fort Myers, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora (13) looks on during the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at JetBlue Park at Fenway South. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images Fired Red Sox manager Alex Cora sent a short farewell note to Boston via social media on Tuesday.
“Boston, we will miss you,” he wrote.
“Gracias for making us part of you. #RedSoxNation, you are the [heart emoji] of that team, keep believing, you really care and that’s what pushes everyone in the @RedSox to give it all day in and day out.
“With respect and love, AC”
Team officials dismissed Cora and five of coaches on Saturday after the Red Sox staggered out of the gate to start the season at 10-17.
While Cora’s firing has been met with some support among fans, posts on social media show they largely place the blame for the team’s woes on management, especially owner John Henry and Craig Breslow, the chief baseball owner.
After serving as bench coach for the 2017 world champion Houston Astros, Cora was hired as manager in Boston in 2018. He led the Red Sox to a franchise-record 108 victories and a World Series title.
However, after the 2019 campaign, Cora was implicated in an MLB investigation involving sign-stealing by the Astros. MLB undertook an investigation into the Red Sox practices, but Cora and the Red Sox mutually agreed to separate before the 2020 season.
Cora, 50, was suspended for the 2020 season for his role in Houston, but returned to Boston as manager in 2021.
After missing the playoffs from 2022-24, the Red Sox returned last season, but lost a American League wild-card series to the New York Yankees.
Cora posted an eight-year regular-season record of 619-541 and postseason mark of 18-10.
Chad Tracy has been elevated from manager at Triple-A Worcester to serve as interim manager of the Red Sox.
–Field Level Media
Caitlin Clark releasing children's book based on life story
Alex Fitzpatrick's Zurich Win Raises Questions About PGA Tour Rewards
