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ORLANDO, Fla. – As one of the original architects of the tournaments now know as “signature events,’’ Rory McIlroy is indifferent about the fact that some of them—including the Arnold Palmer Invitational—have a 36-hole cut despite such a small field.
But he’s got no issue with the smaller fields in general.
“No, I mean, I’m all for making it more cutthroat, more competitive,’’ he said Friday at the Bay Hill Club, where he finds himself six shots behind the leaders after two days.

Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts has played just 16 career games at shortstop.
That number appears likely to grow very soon.
Betts will move to shortstop and Gavin Lux will take over at second base, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced Friday afternoon.
Roberts characterized the move oxymoronically as “permanent, for now.”
The Boston Red Sox originally drafted Betts as a shortstop out of John Overton High School in Oak Hill, Tenn. in June 2011. After a protracted stint at second base, Betts eventually migrated to the outfield, where he has played 1,172 career games.

In a mild surprise, Tiger Woods will not be competing in The Players next week, meaning the next time he plays will likely be the Masters.

Tiger Woods reacts to a shot during the second round of the 2024 Genesis Invitational. | Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
Tiger Woods, who won The Players Championship in 2001 and 2013, will not tee it up at TPC Sawgrass next week.
Golf fans will likely have to wait a few more weeks to see Tiger Woods tee it up again.
The 15-time major champion will not play at TPC Sawgrass next week, the site of the 50th Players Championship.
Woods last played at Riviera Country Club for the Genesis Invitational but withdrew midway through the second round due to illness.

Ryan Clark is a coddled hack. Just look at how he continues to handle his employment at ESPN.
Earlier this month, Clark posted several self-pity videos on X bemoaning that ESPN didn’t offer him as much money as he thought he deserved. Clark let his contract with ESPN expire for a few days, referred to himself as #FreeAgent, and tried to drum up sympathy from Black Twitter. 
Clark knew he had leverage by way of racial tensions within ESPN.

Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty
Could Kisner be the permanent answer to replace Paul Azinger on NBC Sports? He returns to the booth for a fourth tournament in 2024.
NBC Sports may finally have their permanent replacement for Paul Azinger.
Kevin Kisner will be back in the booth for the Players Championship next week at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., and the network may offer him the role full-time, per Golfweek.
Sources suggest that Kisner will share lead analyst duties for NBC’s four-wide setup, which consists of two anchors and two analysts.

A second mid-Atlantic men’s basketball program is in the crosshairs of a gambling investigation. The Maryland Lottery & Gaming Control Agency confirms to Sports Illustrated on Friday that the Loyola (Md.) Greyhounds are subjects of an inquiry into unusual wagering activity.
“We are aware of the investigation, and based on the scope of this investigation the Agency’s role is limited to providing licensee contact information,” agency spokesman Seth Elkin writes in an email to SI.
Loyola’s season ended Tuesday with a loss to the Navy Midshipmen in the Patriot League tournament.

Noelvi Marte, one of the top prospects in all of baseball, won’t be in the Cincinnati Reds’ lineup on Opening Day as anticipated.
MLB announced Friday that Marte was suspended 80 games without pay after testing positive for Boldenone, a performance-enhancing substance. The suspension will begin on Opening Day, meaning Marte can’t play until late June at the earliest.
“The Reds fully support Major League Baseball’s drug policy and its penalties,” the team said in a statement. “We will have no further comment.”
Marte, 22, debuted last season and batted .284/.351/.

Check out where our fantasy analysts have the top catchers ranked going into the 2024 season.

Washington appears set to begin life in the Big Ten with a new men’s basketball coach.
The Huskies are dismissing coach Mike Hopkins, according to a Friday afternoon report from Pete Thamel of ESPN.
Hopkins, 54, has served as Washington’s coach since the 2017-18 season.
Under the former Syracuse guard, the Huskies went 122–110 and made the NCAA tournament in 2019. However, Washington is 17–14 this season.
Per Thamel, Hopkins will coach the Huskies in the Pac-12 tournament—scheduled to be played March 13-16 in Las Vegas—and any postseason tournament.