Rodgers: Decision will come ‘soon enough’

GREEN BAY, WIS. » Aaron Rodgers says he will make a decision on his future “soon enough” as the four-time MVP quarterback ponders whether to play next season and if his future remains with the Green Bay Packers.

Rodgers, 39, discussed his future while speaking on an episode of the “Aubrey Marcus Podcast” that was released Wednesday morning. He spent much of the 1½-hour conversation describing his recent isolation retreat in which he said he spent four days alone in a dark room.

“There’s a finality to the decision,” Rodgers said. “I don’t make it lightly. I don’t want to drag anybody around.”

The podcast was released one day after Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst was asked about Rodgers and said that they “haven’t had the conversations that we need to have yet.” Gutekunst indicated he hoped a decision was made by the start of free agency on March 15.

PGA moves toward elite field

ORLANDO, FLA. » The PGA Tour is moving toward an elite schedule in 2024 with 16 designated events — half of them with no more than 80-man fields and no cuts — along with a chance for players on the outside to play their way in.

Still to be finalized are which events get the $20 million prize funds and details for how players can earn a spot in the field.

Players were apprised of the changes in a memo from PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan in which he wrote, “There is no doubt in my mind that we made decisions that will transform and set the future.”

The part likely to cause the most divide among players is the no-cut policy for the designated events (except for the four majors and The Players Championship). One criticism of Saudi-funded LIV Golf has been its 54-hole events do not have a cut.

Djokovic advances

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES » Topranked Novak Djokovic eased into the quarterfinals at the Dubai Championships, beating Tallon Griekspoor 6-2, 6-3.

Djokovic extended his winning streak to 19 matches in tidy fashion a day after being pushed to a third-set tiebreaker by 130th-ranked Tomas Machac.

Defending champion Andrey Rublev produced a 1-6, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (3) comeback win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

The Russian saved five match points in the second-set tiebreaker.

Flores’ case going to court

NEW YORK » NFL Coach Brian Flores can press discrimination claims against the league and three teams after a federal judge rejected the option of arbitration, presumably before Commissioner Roger Goodell, and offered some stinging observations about the status of racial bias in the sport.

The written decision by Judge Valerie Caproni in Manhattan clearing the way for Flores to bring his claims to trial also required two other coaches who joined the lawsuit to submit to arbitration. The league had tried to move the Flores claims to arbitration, citing contracts that coaches had signed.

Flores sued the league and three teams a year ago, saying the league was “rife with racism,” particularly in its hiring and promotion of Black coaches.

Georgia’s Carter charged

ATLANTA » Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter, projected as one of the top players in next month’s NFL draft, has been charged with reckless driving and racing in conjunction with the crash that killed offensive lineman Devin Willock and a recruiting staff member.

The Athens-Clarke County Police Department has issued an arrest warrant, obtained by The Associated Press, that alleges Carter was racing his 2021 Jeep Trackhawk against the 2021 Ford Expedition driven by the recruiting staffer, 24-year-old Chandler LeCroy, which led to the Jan. 15 wreck.

Carter had been due in Indianapolis for the NFL’s scouting combine, and he is expected to address the arrest warrant when he returns to Athens, according to Lt. Shaun Barnett of the AthensClarke County Police Department.

Cup all-time scorer dies

PARIS » No one could beat Just Fontaine’s World Cup scoring record during his lifetime. His 13 goals in a single tournament was set with France in 1958 and has withstood 16 World Cups since.

Fontaine’s death was confirmed by his former club Reims and the French soccer federation. He was 89.

The closest anyone has come to Fontaine’s tally was Gerd Müller, who scored 10 for West Germany in 1970. Kylian Mbappé scored eight last year.

Iditarod starts with smallest field

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA » The second half-century for the world’s most famous sled dog race is getting off to a rough start.

Only 33 mushers will participate in the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Saturday, the smallest field ever to take their dog teams nearly 1,000 miles over Alaska’s unforgiving wilderness. This year’s lineup is smaller even than that of the 34 mushers who lined up for the very first race in 1973.