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Source: Sarkisian lands new 7-year deal at Texas

More than a week after its season ended in the College Football Playoff, Texas has agreed to a new contract with coach Steve Sarkisian, a source told ESPN's Pete Thamel on Saturday, confirming a report. The sides came to an agreement Friday night in a deal that includes an extension.
A source told ESPN that it's a seven-year contract for Sarkisian, 50, that adds a year to his deal and makes him one of the highest-paid coaches in college football.
News of the agreement was first reported by The Action Network, which noted that the deal came after Sarkisian declined interviews with two NFL franchises for coaching positions.
The Longhorns, in their first season in the SEC, advanced to the title game and won two CFP playoff games against Clemson and Arizona State before being eliminated by Ohio State on Jan. 10 in the Cotton Bowl.
Texas played Ohio State tight before a late fumble return stretched the Buckeyes' lead to 14 points. Sarkisian said being the last remaining SEC team in the playoff in their first year in the league is something the Longhorns take pride in.
"I really believe this is a premier football conference in America because of the week-in, week-out task that it requires physically and mentally," Sarkisian said. "I know unfortunately for Georgia, they lost their starting quarterback in the SEC championship game, and I'm sure other teams in our conference had to endure things that can take their toll on your team, and that's no excuse. At the end of the day, we have to find a way to navigate our ways through it, but to be here on this stage to be back in the final four wearing that SEC patch on our jersey, we're going to do our best to represent it because this is a heck of a conference."
Sarkisian arrived at Texas in 2021 after serving as Nick Saban's offensive coordinator at Alabama in his previous stop. As head coach previously at Washington and USC, combined with his run at Texas, he is 84-52 overall. With the Longhorns, he is 38-17 and won the Big 12 title last season.
Texas will open next season with a rematch against Ohio State on Aug. 30 in Columbus, Ohio. In that game vs. the Buckeyes, the likely starter under center for Sarkisian will be Arch Manning, who backed up Quinn Ewers for two seasons and will soon get his chance to headline what will be one of the most anticipated quarterback situations in recent memory. The nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning and grandson of Archie Manning came to Texas as ESPN's No. 5 recruit in the 2023 class.
Arch Manning saw more playing time this season as Ewers dealt with injury, and he completed 61 of 90 passes for 939 yards and nine touchdowns. He also showcased big-play ability as a runner, breaking off a 67-yard scamper against UTSA and averaging 4.2 yards per carry.
Inspired by daughter, Rangers 1B to wear No. 21

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Jake Burger will wear No. 21 with the Texas Rangers, a number that has special significance for the first baseman's family after his daughter was born with Down syndrome.
The clinical name for Down syndrome is trisomy 21, a condition in which a person is born with an extra chromosome, causing mild to moderate cognitive disability, developmental delays and physical challenges.
"This is the first time I can pick a number that's not just close to my heart, but close to a lot of people's hearts," Burger said. "For me, it's trying to spread awareness and try and get the word out about Down syndrome and how people can get support. I'm just really proud of this number, and really excited to wear this and represent my daughter, but also so many people out there."
Infant daughter Penelope, who was born Oct. 25, was being held by her mother, Ashlyn, while Burger spoke to reporters before the Rangers' annual awards dinner Friday night. It was the 28-year-old slugger's first public appearance with the team since being acquired in a trade from Miami on Dec. 11. Jake Burger's parents and his 2-year-old son, Brooks, also were there.
Burger credits his wife with the idea of wearing No. 21, and was working to change his number from No. 36 with the Marlins before being traded. The couple got their daughter's diagnosis in April.
He said a foundation is being established to help other families impacted by Down syndrome.
"We're really, really excited to push that forward and help as many families as we can," Burger said. "For us, we call it the lucky few. That's families with Down syndrome, with a kid affected with Down syndrome. And that's how my wife, Ashlyn, and I feel. That's how Brooks feels as her brother."
In an Instagram post soon after Penelope was born, the couple said Burger was the only active MLB player with a child with Down syndrome, and that they knew God was giving them "some really special work to do."
Burger said Friday that his daughter is "doing great" but has something wrong with her heart that will require surgery at some point during spring training. He plans to leave Arizona then to be with his family during the procedure in Nashville.
"She's the strongest little person I know, and I know that she's going to get through that with a breeze," Burger said. "I'm just praying for her every day."
The Rangers also this offseason signed free agent designated hitter Joc Pederson, whose older brother, Champ, has Down syndrome. Burger hoped to catch up with his new teammate while in Texas over the weekend.
"Seemed like fate a little bit with him signing here," Burger said. "I love the way he plays the game and how much fun he brings to the game. But not only that, we're obviously connected way more deeply than that. So I'm really excited to meet Champ. And, you know, he's another person in our circle that's going to be there to support us."
Rangers P deGrom (elbow) throwing, 'feels good'

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Two-time Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom already has thrown off the mound this offseason and said everything felt normal after missing most of his first two seasons with the Texas Rangers because of elbow surgery.
The three starts deGrom got to make in September were significant for him.
"That way I could treat it like a normal offseason and not feel like I was in rehab mode the whole time," he said Saturday during the team's annual Fan Fest. "So that's what this offseason has been, you know, normal throwing. Been off the mound already and everything feels good."
The right-hander said he would usually wait until Feb. 1 before throwing, but he started earlier this week so he could ramp up a bit slower going into spring training.
DeGrom, 36, has started only nine games for the Rangers since signing a $185 million, five-year contract in free agency two winters ago. They won all six starts he made before the end of April during his 2023 debut with the team before the surgery. After rehabbing most of last year, he was 3-0 with a 1.69 ERA and 14 strikeouts over 10 innings in those three September starts.
"One of the things I'm most excited about is a healthy season from Jacob, and for our fans to see what that looks like, and how good he is," Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young said. "It's just electric, and coming to the ballpark every day that he's pitching, knowing that we've got a great chance to win the game, it's an exciting feeling. Our fans truly haven't experienced that over the course of a season. We're excited and hopeful that this is the year they get to see that."
Since his back-to-back Cy Young Awards with the New York Mets in 2018 and 2019, deGrom hasn't made more than 15 starts in a season. He started 12 times during the COVID-19-shortened 60-game season in 2020.
DeGrom had a career-low 1.08 ERA over 92 innings in 2021 before missing the final three months with right forearm tightness and a sprained elbow, then was shut down late during spring training in 2022 because of a stress reaction in his right scapula. He went 5-4 with a 3.08 ERA in 11 starts over the last two months of that season before becoming a free agent.
His fastball touched 98 mph in the last of his three starts last season, when he pitched four innings of one-run ball against the Los Angeles Angels.
"In those games, you know, it's still a thought in the back of your mind, you just came back from a major surgery and you probably don't get another one at my age," he said. "So it was, hey, is everything good? And then like I said, was able to check those boxes off in this offseason, treat it normal."
Now deGrom feels like he can start pitching again without worrying about being injured.
"Just throw the ball to the target and not think about anything," he said. "So, yeah, I think I can get back to where I was."
Fraser-McGurk masterclass sinks Heat and keeps Renegades alive

Melbourne Renegades 199 for 7 (Fraser-McGurk 95, Walter 2-23) beat Brisbane Heat 196 for 4 (Wood 45, Zampa 2-29)
Out-of-form this summer for South Australia and Renegades, Fraser-McGurk smashed 95 from 46 balls to help Renegades pull off the second-highest successful BBL chase at Marvel Stadium.
But Fergus O'Neill finished the job as the Renegades chased down Heat's 196 for 4 with 12 balls to spare. It left Renegades, for a time at least, fourth in the table with a boost to their net run-rate.
Fraser-McGurk, who missed out on selection for Australia's Champions Trophy squad last week, entered the match having made just 93 runs from his first nine BBL games this season.
But he destroyed a star-studded Heat bowling attack containing internationals Spencer Johnson, Xavier Bartlett, Mitchell Swepson and Michael Neser. It was his best BBL score and his third fifty in 45 matches in the competition.
After winning last year's title, Heat needed to defeat the Renegades to be any chance of qualifying for the finals.
During a bizarre innings, Renegades captain Will Sutherland and fellow quick O'Neill were both banned from bowling for the rest of the match following intervention from umpire Donovan Koch for running in the danger area
Sutherland was taken out of the attack with a ball to go in his third over after Donovan spoke to him, while O'Neill still had nine deliveries he could have bowled for the innings. It is rare for one player to be removed from bowling mid-over, but two in the same match is virtually unheard of.
Brown's 2.4 overs went for a whopping 0 for 48, as Heat piled on the highest total at Marvel Stadium this season. But Brown later began Renegades' chase with 32 off 11 balls.
Sutherland had a nightmare start to the match, twice being hit for three-consecutive sixes - first by Wood in the third over, then by Renshaw in the 12th.
Women's U-19 T20 World Cup: Australia begin with huge win against Scotland

Rybakina will need 'magic' after battling injury in third-round win

Elena Rybakina says she will need some "magic" if she is to go deep at the Australian Open after struggling with a back problem in her third-round win.
Sixth seed Rybakina, runner-up at Melbourne Park two years ago, beat Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska 6-3 6-4 but needed a medical timeout after just three games.
The 25-year-old Kazakh was visibly struggling to move and needed seven match points to close out victory.
Asked afterwards if her back was OK, Rybakina replied: "Not really. I will see my physio and hopefully he does some magic.
"It's not so good since it's [my] lower back. Hopefully we can do everything possible.
"But for now it doesn't seem too good, to be honest."
Former Wimbledon champion Rybakina had a number of injury problems in 2024, struggling at various points with fatigue, illness and a back issue.
Against Yastremska, Rybakina tried to shorten the rallies and hit winners in an attempt to speed up the match - helped in part by 37 unforced errors from her opponent.
"I needed to stay there and try to hold my serve," Rybakina said.
"I knew that it would be very difficult for me to stay long in the rally so I was trying sometimes risk a little bit more."
Rybakina will face either Danielle Collins or Madison Keys, who play later on Saturday, in the fourth round on Monday.
Monfils rolls back years to beat fourth seed Fritz

Gael Monfils rolled back the years with a fabulous performance to oust fourth seed Taylor Fritz and reach the Australian Open fourth round.
The 38-year-old Frenchman, known as a showman on the court, thrilled the crowd in a 3-6 7-5 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 win over his 27-year-old opponent.
After serving an ace to see out victory - his 24th of the match - Monfils danced in celebration before pumping his chest and roaring to each stand inside the Margaret Court Arena.
It continues a rich vein of form for Monfils, who became the oldest winner of an ATP Tour singles title with victory at the ASB Classic in Auckland earlier this month.
Victory over US Open runner-up Fritz means Monfils is the second oldest man since 1988 to reach the Australian Open fourth round.
Roger Federer is the oldest, having reached the semi-finals at Melbourne Park in 2020 aged 38 years and five months.
"I have a strong belief I can still do some damage," Monfils said.
"He started strong but I felt I could move great today."
Monfils' victory came before his wife Elina Svitolina's third-round tie against Jasmine Paolini on the same court.
"I think I warmed up the court for her," Monfils joked to the crowd.
"She plays the world number four so it will be tough for her but I hope she will smash this one."
Monfils will play either American 21st seed Ben Shelton or Italian 16th seed Lorenzo Musetti in the fourth round on Monday.

While Raducanu and Swiatek both won Grand Slam titles as teenagers, their careers have followed very different paths since.
Raducanu famously won the 2021 US Open title as an 18-year-old qualifier but struggled with the spotlight on her afterwards.
The rigours of playing full-time on the WTA Tour also took its toll.
A series of injuries culminated in wrist and ankle surgeries in 2023, with Raducanu still finding her way back after dropping out of the world's top 300.
Swiatek, however, continued to thrive after winning the 2020 French Open.
She has become dominant at Roland Garros, having won the title there for the past three years, and also claimed the US Open trophy in 2022.
Swiatek has won all four of her meetings with Raducanu - and the gulf between the pair is stark.
Raducanu was unable to cope with Swiatek's top spin-heavy groundstrokes and athleticism, making a host of errors from the baseline as the pressure told on her backhand in particular.
Losing serve early was a fatal blow against a superb front-runner like Swiatek, who went on to secure the 78th 'bagel' of her tour-level career.
"The scoreline was obviously quite harsh," said Raducanu.
"I'm very clear on what happened out there. If I'm not necessarily able to hold my service games or dictate, I feel like it seeps into the rest of my game.
"On my second serves, how the point is structured from then on, and in the return games, you feel a lot more pressure.
"That was probably a big aspect today."

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. The 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship got underway Friday on a crisp winter day at Daytona Intl Speedway.
Sixty-one competitors took to the 3.56-mile road course under sunny skies for the first of three days of Roar Before the Rolex 24 testing in the lead-up to the 63rd running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona next weekend.
BMW M Team RLL had plenty to celebrate at the end of the first day of the new campaign. Dries Vanthoor set the days benchmark time in the early stages of the two-hour afternoon session, clocking 1 minute, 35.424 seconds (134.306 mph) in the No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8, with Sheldon van der Linde running fourth in the identical No. 25 entry at 1:36.093 (132.936 mph).
Its a shame its not Sunday evening in one weeks time, joked the younger Vanthoor brother (older brother Laurens is in the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963), referring to the finish of the upcoming 24-hour race.
This is not the most important session of the weekend or the race, but its good to know that its looking good and the steps weve done since last year and the evolution we have been working on since we started the project is looking better.
The guys back at the factory have been working flat out since the finish of the last season, he added. We are still far from being there, but its thanks to them that its all improving. Weve been testing a lot a trying to improve our issues, so lets see next week if they pay off or not. That will show if all the work we did was for nothing, or for victory, maybe.
Tom Blomqvist marked his full-time return to IMSA by setting the fastest time in the 75-minute opening session in the No. 60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06 with a lap of 1:35.827 (133.741 mph). The BMWs were impressive from the jump, with the No. 25 and 24 cars ranking second and fourth respectively in the morning.
I think the first session the track was quite green, quite dirty, so grip was not the highest, Vanthoor said. I think we will really feel the grip building up to the race next week. Its always cool to go back on the banking at the beginning of the year, so it was quite fun.
A pair of GTP teams encountered issues that affected their day. The No. 63 Automobili Lamborghini Squadra Corse Lamborghini SC63 completed only five laps in the morning session, while the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 stopped on track less than 10 minutes into the afternoon practice with a hybrid system abnormality and was returned to the garage on a flatbed truck.
Lamborghini rebounded in the afternoon, with Romain Grosjean setting the third best time at 1:36.041 (133.433 mph).
The No. 43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA LMP2 07 competing in the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class also caused a brief red flag late in the afternoon session when Bijoy Garg stalled on the course. Malthe Jakobsen (No. 04 Crowdstrike Racing by APR ORECA LMP2 07) was fastest overall Friday in LMP2, clocking 1:38.673 (129.883 mph) in Session 1.
The new relationship between Lamborghini and Pfaff Motorsports got off to a fast start as Andrea Caldarelli topped the Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class. Caldarellis 1:47.626 (119.079 mph) lap early in the morning session in the No. 9 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 was 0.149 second quicker than the best effort in the afternoon, set by defending GTD PRO champion Laurin Heinrich managed in the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (992).
Pfaff fielded a Porsche to win the 2022 IMSA GTD PRO championship before campaigning a McLaren in 2024.
This was for sure a late program, to come together, but the guys honestly did a really amazing job, said Caldarelli, a Lamborghini factory driver. These are not just words I am saying. I know how hard it is to put together a car, and this is probably not the easiest car to work on at the beginning. We didnt have any major issues, and I was really positively impressed. This is definitely a good start to the year.
Rahel Frey, in the No. 83 Iron Dames Porsche 911 GT3 R (992), was quickest among the 22 GTD class competitors, circulating Daytona in 1:48.084 in Session 1.
The IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge also staged a pair of test sessions Friday. Ford Mustang GT4s set the Grand Sport (GS) class pace in each, with Marco Signoretti (No. 60 KOHR Motorsports) clocking the best lap of the day in the morning at 1:53.191 (113.224 mph) and Jenson Altzman (No. 13 McCumbee McAleer Racing with AEROSPORT) fastest in the afternoon. The No. 93 MMG Honda Civic FL5 TCR led both sessions in Touring Car (TCR), with Karl Wittmer driving in the morning and LP Montour in the afternoon.
Pens' Nedeljkovic 1st NHL goalie with goal, assist

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Alex Nedeljkovic remembers admiring the way Marty Turco and Martin Brodeur handled the puck during his childhood.
On Friday night, he accomplished something neither of them -- nor any other goalie -- had done.
Nedeljkovic became the first goalie in NHL history to have a goal and an assist in a game during the Pittsburgh Penguins' 5-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres.
"I've always enjoyed playing the puck," he said. "Growing up, I watched some of the best guys do it, like Marty Turco, Marty Brodeur were two guys that I watched a lot and really learned a lot from in terms of puck handling. It's been part of my game as long as I can remember.
"Started from just conversations with my dad in the car telling me, like, 'Don't just throw the puck around the boards every time you get it. Try to make a smart play with it, put it on guys' tape. Don't just do it; if you're going to do it, at least try to do something with it.' It's really exciting right now."
Nedeljkovic, who also had 40 saves, had a secondary assist on Glass' goal with 8:17 left in the second period that gave the Penguins a 3-1 lead. His goal came with 2:42 to play after the Sabres pulled goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen for an extra skater. Nedeljkovic gathered the puck behind his own net, fired from behind the goal line and buried the shot from about 180 feet away into the open goal to cap the scoring.
"I'm out there and I see a relatively soft rim," Penguins forward Bryan Rust said. "I'm like, 'He's getting it. We're up by two. I know he's probably shooting it.' So, I kind of just stood there and watched the rest of however many seconds it was. You see him take off for the bench and everyone just mauled him. It was cool."
Nedeljkovic also made history by being the first goalie to score a goal in the ECHL, AHL, and NHL.
The goal was the 19th scored by a goalie in NHL history and Nedeljkovic became the 16th goalie to accomplish the feat. Minnesota's Filip Gustavsson was the last to do it Oct. 15 against St. Louis.
Nedeljkovic is the second Penguins goalie to score after Tristan Jarry -- who was sent to the AHL on Thursday -- was the first to do it Nov. 30, 2023. The only other franchise in NHL history to feature multiple netminders with a goal is Nashville (Pekka Rinne on Jan. 9, 2020, and Chris Mason on April 15, 2006).
Nedeljkovic also became just the fourth goaltender in Penguins history to record two points in a game, joining Tom Barrasso, Wendell Young and Michel Dion, according to ESPN Research.
"It was great," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "The guys were joking with him. They said all he was missing was a fight for the Gordie Howe hat trick."
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.