Brian Flores was fired by the Dolphins after three seasons on Monday but owner and Michigan alumnus Stephen Ross says he is not targeting Jim Harbaugh as his new coach.
Brian Flores has been fired by the Miami Dolphins after three seasons, the team announced.
The Vikings have fired coach Mike Zimmer and GM Rick Spielman, signaling a regime overhaul after eight seasons.
RECORD-BREAKING WEEK FOR SMITH AT SENTRY TOC If the PGA TOUR’s 2022-opening Sentry Tournament of Champions is any indication, the ‘offseason rust’ narrative might be a thing of the past. The ‘underdog’ narrative around champion Cameron Smith might not be for long, either. Smith began the final round at the picturesque Plantation Course at Kapalua in a share of the lead, having yet to trail after any round, matched up with none other than world No. 1 Jon Rahm. The soft-spoken Aussie didn’t back down, making birdie at the 72nd hole for a final-round, 8-under 65 and one-shot victory over Rahm at an astounding winning total of 34-under. Not only did Smith set the PGA TOUR’s all-time 72-hole scoring record, but runner-up Rahm (33-under) and third-place Matt Jones (32-under) all surpassed Ernie Els’ previous record total of 31-under, set in 2003 at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Smith, 28, first demonstrated an affinity for the Aloha vibe with a victory at the 2020 Sony Open in Hawaii – his second of now four TOUR titles, the other two coming at the two-man Zurich Classic of New Orleans, alongside fellow Australians Jonas Blixt (2017) and Marc Leishman (2021). He’ll aim to maintain the vibe in Honolulu at next week’s Sony Open, seeking an Aloha Double with the Sentry Tournament of Champions’ ocean-blue, crescent-shaped trophy already in tow. The adopted Jacksonville, Florida-area resident moves to No. 3 in the FedExCup standings – recording 500 points for the win – as the star continues to burn bright for the affable, mullet-sporting pro. ISLAND HOPPING TO SONY OPEN The Sony Open in Hawaii welcomes back the world’s top golfers for four rounds at scenic Waialae Country Club. Twenty-four players who teed it up at the Sentry Tournament of Champions will make the trip from Kapalua to Honolulu, including defending Sony Open champion Kevin Na. Bryson DeChambeau returns to Waialae for the first time since he transformed his body, and the game, to chase speed and distance. The top-ranked amateur in the world, Keita Nakajima, is in the field. Nakajima finished T28 at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP in his home country of Japan last fall. The full field takes on Waialae, a mainstay on the schedule where wind is always a factor on the tight course, as are the iconic “W” trees. There are 500 FedExCup points on hand for the winner plus a spot in THE PLAYERS, multiple majors and a return trip to paradise in 2023. VIDEO OF THE WEEK Jon Rahm shoots a course-record 61 in the third round in Kapalua. MIC CHECK “I really didn’t do anything. I worked out, ate, went to the beach … just had a vacation essentially,” – Viktor Hovland on his preparation in Hawaii while waiting to be reunited with his lost golf clubs. BY THE NUMBERS 48 – Age of Stewart Cink, who turned back the clock last season after gaining distance off the tee. He won twice on TOUR and averaged more than 306 yards off the tee. Go inside his swing and take a closer look at the changes he made. 25 – Pounds Steve Stricker lost while dealing with a “mysterious ailment” in late November. The captain of the victorious U.S. Ryder Cup team and 12-time TOUR winner has his eyes set on a March return at THE PLAYERS. 3rd – Waialae Country Club’s rank as the longest-running host venue (non-major) on the PGA TOUR behind Colonial Country Club and Pebble Beach Golf Links. The Sony Open begins this week in Honolulu. COMCAST BUSINESS TOUR TOP 10 The Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 highlights and rewards the extraordinary level of play required to earn a spot in the TOP 10 at the conclusion of the FedExCup Regular Season as determined by the FedExCup standings. The competition recognizes and awards the most elite in golf.
The Chicago Bears fired coach Matt Nagy on Monday, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
KAPALUA, Hawaii – Cameron Smith led the field in Strokes Gained: Putting en route to his win at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Clearly 2022’s new rule surrounding yardage books – and the banning of the old, in-depth greens books – didn’t impact the Australian. The winners-only event at Kapalua’s Plantation Course was the first TOUR event since the implementation of a local rule on TOUR that limits the information in players’ yardage books. From this week forward, only committee-approved yardage books can be used and players can only add handwritten notes from information they’ve seen with their naked eye or on a broadcast. Measuring instruments cannot be used to gather information for notes added to the book. That eliminates the old greens books that used technology to measure the slightest slopes on a putting surface. “I’ve never really been a big fan of the greens books,” Smith said. “I do AimPoint Express and I like to feel a lot of stuff. I like to see stuff and I like to feel stuff, so the greens books, for me, took away a lot of that. I gave them a crack a couple of times but I was never really a fan.” That seemed to be the overwhelming sentiment from the 38 players who teed it up last week. “I haven’t really consulted the green book too much in the past,” said FedExCup champ Patrick Cantlay. “Every once in a while, I used to ask my caddie to consult it. I don’t think it will make too much of a difference for me.” Last year’s Sony Open in Hawaii champion, Kevin Na, said he might’ve entered the history books if not for a reliance on the books a year ago. “I remember last year at the Sony Open I looked at it one time on 17 when I had a chance to shoot 59 and it didn’t work out too well, so that was the last time I saw it,” Na said. “My caddie used to carry one, and he would look at it here and there. But I don’t feel like it’s a huge change for me because we’ve never really looked at it a lot. So, I actually like that it’s gone. I feel like I am a pretty good green reader out there so it’s an advantage for us.” The changes were player-driven through the TOUR’s Player Advisory Council (PAC). A former chairman of that committee, Jordan Spieth, believes he also will find an edge with the new rule despite the fact he’s used the books extensively in the past. “It will be an adjustment, certainly as we get to the West Coast, and places like Riviera, but there’s three things to putting. There’s reading the putt, there’s stroking it on line and there is hitting it at the right speed,” Spieth said. “I think that two of those were skills that you don’t technically need to have with (arm-lock) putting and the greens books. At least one of them right now is back to where it will become a skill to have to read them.” While Spieth’s caddie, Michael Greller, studied AimPoint in the off-season to broaden his knowledge base, Spieth wasn’t planning to do the same anytime soon. He will rely on his natural feels. “We’ve never had the greens books at Augusta,” Spieth added, “and I seem to find myself in a really good space on the greens there, really feeling putts. My Strokes Gained at Augusta has always been really solid so I like looking at that as a reference point. “I think if anything this could potentially help me in the Strokes Gained area. I’m not saying I’m going to make as many putts as I would with them, … but relative to other people, I would say green reading would be a strength of mine and therefore I feel good about the differences.” Other players who used the books heavily in the past were hopeful it would free up their mind and allow some instinct to come in. “I’m excited for it,” said FedExCup leader Talor Gooch. “I use the green reading books, but I think it was to a detriment at times and I play my best when I think less, I calculate less, I kind of try to be reactive and so having no greens books is great for that.” Joel Dahmen added that it could be good for him to get his head out of the book. “I probably bury my head in them too much as it is,” Dahmen said. “I don’t use them at home and I putt OK, so there’s no real reason to have them out here for me. But it’s a little more work for the caddie on Tuesday and Wednesday for them to get the slopes and the grain out there.”
Golden State’s Splash Brothers are whole again, while Luka and the Mavs are climbing the standings. Where do all 30 teams stand this week?
If Jacob deGrom is healthy, there’s no one better. Who else cracks the list? Buster Olney ranks this year’s aces and firemen.
Wisconsin is knocking on the door of the top 16 thanks to Wooden Award contender Johnny Davis. Who else excelled this week?
Find everything you need to know about the NFL playoffs here.
