The Washington Post

Smart says Georgia is still under control

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Georgia Coach insists he has not lost control of a program that has produced backto-back national championsh­ips but has been rocked by offseason arrests and a car crash that claimed the lives of a player and a recruiting staffer.

“There’s no lack of control for our program,” Smart said Tuesday before the Bulldogs’ first spring practice. “. . . Our guys do make mistakes. That historical­ly is probably going to happen when you have 18- to 22-year-olds. Our job as coaches is to prevent that from happening, and that starts with me.”

Wednesday’s pro day on campus for NFL general managers and coaches will feature defensive tackle

who is regarded as one of the top picks in the NFL draft April 27. Carter’s draft outlook has been potentiall­y clouded by misdemeano­r charges of racing and reckless driving in relation to the Jan. 15 crash that killed teammate and a recruiting staffer, 24-year-old

The crash occurred hours after the Bulldogs celebrated their second straight national title with a parade in Athens and a ceremony at Sanford Stadium.

Carter is scheduled for arraignmen­t in municipal court in Athens on April 18. He posted a statement on Twitter saying he expects to be “fully exonerated of any criminal wrongdoing.”

Carter is not the only Georgia player facing charges of racing on public roads. Linebacker

the team’s secondlead­ing tackler in 2022, was arrested Feb. 22 on misdemeano­r charges of reckless driving and racing. He is scheduled for arraignmen­t April 17. Meanwhile, quarterbac­k

was arrested in Dallas on Jan. 29 and charged with public intoxicati­on.

Smart said he had police officers speak to players last summer about the dangers of street racing. The deaths of a teammate and staff member may teach far more painful lessons.

“We feel like our players are beginning to acknowledg­e and starting to understand you make mistakes and decisions that are costly and it can cost you your life,” Smart said. “That’s not to be taken lightly, and I think our guys understand that.”

England’s Cheltenham Festival got off to a breathtaki­ng start as

underlined his growing status as one of the best ever horses over hurdles and

ended her brilliant career with an emotional win.

Constituti­on Hill justified his odds as the 4-11 favorite for the Champion Hurdle by finishing nine lengths clear, becoming the shortest-priced winner of Day 1’s marquee race. The 6-year-old horse has won all six of his races and by an aggregate of 86 lengths. Sent off as the 9-4 joint favorite under jockey Honeysuckl­e galloped up the Cheltenham hill one more time and passed in the final furlong to win by 11/ lengths.

2

Blackmore, Envoi MISC. Rachael Coco Gauff Love

rallied from a break down in the third set to beat qualifier

6-3, 1-6, 6-4, and reach the quarterfin­als of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif. The sixth-seeded American next plays No. 2 seed who defeated 16th-seeded

6-3, 2-6, 6-4.

No. 7 also moved on by beating 17th-seeded 6-4, 5-7, 6-3. On the men’s side, defending champion advanced with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over

No. 5 outlasted 12th-seeded 6-7 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5), 7-5; and No. 10 beat sixth-seeded

6-2, 6-4.

Rebecca Peterson,

won the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, bringing his six dogs off the Bering Sea ice to the finish line on main street in Nome, Alaska.

Redington, 40, is the grandson of who helped co-found the arduous race across Alaska that was first held in 1973.

Redington, who is Inupiat, becomes the sixth Alaska Native musher to win the world’s most famous sled dog race. He completed the 1,609-kilometer race in 8 days 21 hours 12 minutes 58 seconds, more than an hour ahead of second-place finisher

...

who made history with five medals in biathlon at the Winter Olympics last year, announced her retirement.

The 32-year-old Norwegian won three gold medals and two bronzes in Beijing. She matched the record for most medals at one Winter Games by any athlete and became the first female biathlete to achieve the feat.

will return to the ring May 6 in his native Guadalajar­a, Mexico, to defend his four super middleweig­ht title belts against Britain’s

promoter Matchroom Boxing announced. . . .

Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion

said he will drive the No. 84 Chevrolet in the March 26 race at the Circuit of the Americas and the May 28 Coca-cola 600 as part of his limited lineup this season. . . .

The doping ban that caused Olympic gymnastics champion

to miss the Tokyo Games was halved at the Court of Arbitratio­n for Sport, freeing him to compete immediatel­y.

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