Inside: Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence declaring for NFL draft.
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31 ing yards He Wedington career also 106 and receptions returned one games, touchdown. played 25 compil- for kicks 971 in for BAMA’SWADDLE TICING, GAME 685 UNCLEAR yards. STATUS BACK >> FOR Alabama PRAC- TITLE star dle tice. has receiver Now returned the Jaylen question to Wad- prac- is will he be able to play in the title game Monday night against Ohio State?
Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian says Waddle practiced on Tuesday, but he deferred questions on his status to coach Nick Saban, who did not address the media on Wednesday.
Waddle hasn’t played since breaking his right ankle while returning the opening kickoff against Tennessee on Oct. 4. One of the nation’s most dangerous return men, he had surgery after the game.
Soccer
MORGAN TRAINING RULED CAMP OUT >> Megan OF U.S. Rapinoe and Carli Lloyd have returned after missing most of last year as the U.S. women’s national team prepares to open training camp this weekend in Florida.
oachVlatko Andonovski on Wednesday announced the 27-player roster for the Orlando camp, which will be capped by a pair of exhibition matches against Colombia at the end of the month.
Captain Alex Morgan, who said she has contracted the coronavirus, was among the players left off of the roster as the team prepares for the Tokyo Olympics this summer.
Water polo
OLYMPIANS START PETITION DEMANDING USA WATER POLO FIRE LEADERS >> Calls for the removal of USA Water Polo CEO Christopher Ramsey and board chairman Michael Graff were joined by at least 10 Olympians as well as former U.S. national team players and coaches, and ex-USA Water Polo and U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee board members.
Terry Schroeder, member of four Olympic teams and coach of the 2008 and 2012 U.S. men’s Olympic team, is among more than 200 individuals who signed an online petition shortly after it posted Tuesday.
Citing what it characterized as “the alarming history” and “pattern of behavior by the leadership of USAWP,” authors of the petition, who include former U.S. Olympic team captain Christopher Duplanty, requested the USA Water Polo dismiss Ramsey, the organization’s CEO since 2006, and Graff, the Irvine- based national governing body’s longtime board chairman.
Golf
LPGA COMMISSIONER TO STEP DOWN >> Mike Whan is leaving the LPGA Tour after 11 years as commissioner, a surprise announcement that comes just three weeks after he guided the tour through a season cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Whan did not set a date for when he would leave. The announcement was described as the start of a succession plan.
The announcement comes two weeks before the LPGA Tour begins a new season, back to full strength going into the year.
Baseball
LAS OR DA DISCHARGED
FROM HOSPITAL >> Tom Lasorda was discharged from a hospital in Orange County and is “resting comfortably” at his home, the Dodgers announced Tuesday.
Lasorda, 93, was hospitalized and admitted to the intensive care unit in early November for undisclosed, noncoronavirus reasons. The former Dodgers manager attended the franchise’s Game 6, titlesealing win against the Tampa Bay Rays in Arlington, Texas, on Oct. 27.
Lasorda has regularly attended games at Dodger Stadium since retiring from his managerial post in 1996. He remains a special adviser to the chairman. He has been tied to the organization for 70 seasons since he joined the Dodgers as a pitcher in the 1950s.
Tennis
KASATKINA WINS 1ST WOMEN’S TENNIS MATCH OF NEW SEASON >> Daria Kasatkina and Maria Sakkari won their opening matches as the women’s tennis season began at the Abu Dhabi Open in the United Arab Emirates.
The WTA set up the Abu Dhabi tournament last month to give players more time to prepare for the Australian Open, which was postponed from its usual January dates to mid-February amid the coronavirus pandemic. It will be the only warm-up tournament outside Melbourne.
Kasatkina was the first winner of the new season, beating Wang Qiang 6-2, 3- 6, 6-2.