Georgia star Carter charged with racing in a fatal wreck
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 Wednesday 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 on Wednesday 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 Athens-Clarke County Police Department.
HALL OF FAMER AULT AMONG 3 JOINING CFP SELECTION COMMITTEE >> Hall of Fame coach Chris Ault of Nevada, Washington athletic director Jennifer Cohen and Miami (Ohio) athletic director David Sayler are joining the College Football Playoff's 13-member selection committee next season.
Golf
PGA TOUR MOVES TOWARD ELITE FIELD WITH NO CUTS >> 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.
Hockey
KINGS TRADE QUICK TO BLUE JACKETS >> The Los Angeles Kings achieved their goal of adding a quality defenseman near the trade deadline. It came with a heavy cost.
The Kings acquired defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov and goaltender Joonas Korpisalo in a trade with Columbus Blue Jackets. In return, Los Angeles sent two-time Stanley Cup winning goaltender Jonathan Quick, a conditional 2023 first-round draft pick and a third-rounder in 2024.
RED WINGS SIGN LARKIN TO 8-YEAR, $69.6M DEAL >>
The Detroit Red Wings have signed center Dylan Larkin to an eight-year, $69.6 million contract, banking on their captain being a key player in the next phase of their rebuilding plan.
Tennis
DJOKOVIC ADVANCES, RUBLEV SAVES 5 MATCH POINTS >>
Top-ranked Novak Djokovic eased into the quarterfinals at the Dubai Championships by 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.
NADAL VS. ALCARAZ EXHIBITION MATCH CANCELED >>
An exhibition tennis match that originally was supposed to pit Rafael Nadal against Carlos Alcaraz and was scheduled for Sunday in Las Vegas has been canceled and ticket purchases can be refunded.
Soccer
JUST FONTAINE, WHO SCORED 13 GOALS AT 1958 WORLD CUP, DIES >>
Just Fontaine, the French soccer great who scored a record 13 goals at the 1958 World Cup, has died. He was 89.
Fontaine took six games to achieve his feat at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, when he was a lastminute inclusion on the French squad.
Iditarod
EVENT BEGINS WITH SMALLEST FIELD EVER >>
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.
College athletics
NEW NCAA PRESIDENT SAYS NIL RULES COULD PROTECT ATHLETES >>
As Charlie Baker takes over as NCAA president, he brings a different way of thinking about one of the most important and polarizing issues in college athletics: regulating how studentathletes monetize their fame.
To Baker, athletes such as quarterback recruit Jaden Rashada and Miami basketball players Hanna and Haley Cavinder are consumers who need help in a burgeoning name, image and likeness market. That market currently lacks transparency and uniformity, and the athletes would benefit from legal protections to ward off unqualified, unaccountable and even unscrupulous actors.