Tua on track to play
Alabama coach Nick Saban told ESPN on Wednesday that quarterback Tua Tagovailoa that “there’s a good chance he will play” Saturday against LSU if he continues to make positive progress in his return from an injury.
Tagovailoa remains day to day, but Saban said the junior Heisman Trophy contender has made positive strides so far this week in practice.
Alabama, No. 3 in the College Football Playoff rankings, hosts No. 2 and fellow unbeaten LSU in a critical game for both teams’ SEC title and playoff aspirations.
Tagovailoa passed for 2,166 yards, 27 TDs and two INTs before undergoing a surgical procedure Oct. 20 after injuring his right ankle against Tennessee. He missed the Crimson Tide’s 48-7 win over Arkansas two weeks ago ahead of the team’s off week.
Baseball: The Cardinals gave manager Mike Shildt a new three-year contract through the 2022 season. Shildt was hired in 2018 and his initial deal ran through 2020. The Cardinals, who won the NL Central title last season, also gave president of baseball operations John Mozeliak a three-year extension through 2023 and exercised their option on GM Mike Girsch for next year and gave him an extension through 2022.
College basketball: Cole Anthony tallied 34 points and 11 rebounds to lead No. 9 UNC past Notre Dame 76-65 in Chapel Hill, N.C. Anthony, the son of former UNLV and NBA guard Greg Anthony, broke Rashad McCants’ 17-year-old scoring record by a UNC freshman in his first game and finished with six 3s. Anthony scored 15 points during a decisive 29-13 second-half run.
Golf: Ernie Els filled out the International team for next month’s Presidents Cup in Melbourne, Australia, selecting Aussie and former world No. 1 Jason Day, Adam Hadwin of Canada, Joaquin Niemann of Chile and Sungjae Im of South Korea as his captain’s picks. U.S. captain Tiger Woods will make his picks Thursday.
Soccer: Rodrygo recorded a hat trick to lift defending champ and host Real Madrid to a 6-0 victory over Galatasaray and into the knockout stage of the Champions League. The 18-year-old player scored twice in the opening seven minutes and added another goal in stoppage time. Seven-time defending Bundesliga champ Bayern Munich, eight-time defending Serie A champ Juventus and two-time defending Ligue 1 champ Paris Saint-Germain also advanced with group-play wins. In its first match under interim manager Hansi Flick, Bayern beat visiting Olympiakos 2-0. The German club fired Niko Kovac on Sunday. Douglas Costa scored in stoppage time to lift Juventus over host Lokomotiv Moscow 2-1. Mauro Icardi scored midway through the first half and goalkeeper Keylor Navas saved a late penalty to lead PSG over visiting Club Brugge 1-0 . ... U.S. women’s star Alex Morgan told USA Today that she plans to play in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo despite the due date of her first child. Morgan, 30, is expecting a baby girl in April, approximately three months before the start of the Games.