Following the Indiana Fever’s loss in the WNBA playoffs, star guard Caitlin Clark wasted no time telling the world what she would be getting up to in the offseason. ‘I’ll become a professional golfer,’ she said.

However, despite making a few appearances at pro-am events over the years, she hadn’t had a tremendous shot that really established herself as a potential pro on the links.

Golf is notoriously one of the most unforgiving sports in the world, so surely, it would be some time before Clark would wow fans with her stroke. Well, in typical Caitlin Clark fashion, she’s already done it.

Clark posts near hole-in-one to TikTok page

Clark posted the video above to her TikTok page. She and her golfing partners filmed this hole specifically, likely due to it being a short par 3. The potential for aces on such holes are still astronomically low, but much higher than on tougher holes.

Of course, the tee shot doesn’t matter if you can’t sink your putt. Clark, immune to pressure, sank her birdie putt with ease, letting out a loud ‘YES!’ following the shot.

When will Clark play in a golf tournament?

Clark recently announced that she will participate in the LPGA’s upcoming pro-am event, ‘The Annika’, scheduled for November 13. Clark has impressed fans with her golf game before, but this was perhaps the greatest shot she’s ever hit.

Following the Indiana Fever’s loss in the WNBA playoffs, star guard Caitlin Clark wasted no time telling the world what she would be getting up to in the offseason. ‘I’ll become a professional golfer,’ she said.

However, despite making a few appearances at pro-am events over the years, she hadn’t had a tremendous shot that really established herself as a potential pro on the links.

Golf is notoriously one of the most unforgiving sports in the world, so surely, it would be some time before Clark would wow fans with her stroke. Well, in typical Caitlin Clark fashion, she’s already done it.

Clark posts near hole-in-one to TikTok page

Clark posted the video above to her TikTok page. She and her golfing partners filmed this hole specifically, likely due to it being a short par 3. The potential for aces on such holes are still astronomically low, but much higher than on tougher holes.

Of course, the tee shot doesn’t matter if you can’t sink your putt. Clark, immune to pressure, sank her birdie putt with ease, letting out a loud ‘YES!’ following the shot.

When will Clark play in a golf tournament?

Clark recently announced that she will participate in the LPGA’s upcoming pro-am event, ‘The Annika’, scheduled for November 13. Clark has impressed fans with her golf game before, but this was perhaps the greatest shot she’s ever hit.

Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said he’s feeling good after he consulted with a cardiologist Monday after his heart condition caused him to temporarily leave Sunday’s 23-16 win over the Denver Broncos.

“Got it checked out this morning and it is what I thought it was. It was an atrial flutter,” Harbaugh said. “So, getting it addressed and back at it.”

Harbaugh revealed he will be wearing a heart monitor for two weeks and will take medication that will keep his heart rate from spiking.

The Chargers coach said he spoke with his family, including his older brother, John, the Baltimore Ravens head coach, about the concerning incident.

“They know how deeply committed I am,” Harbaugh said. “It would take my heart stopping for me not to be out there on the sideline.”

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Harbaugh and the Chargers travel to Arizona to take on the Cardinals on Monday night in Week 7.

‘Pretty confident on this one that I know what it is (and) how to deal with it,’ Harbaugh said. ‘But as always, we’ll trust the doctors. They’ll tell me what to do.’

What happened to Jim Harbaugh?

Harbaugh experienced an atrial flutter episode during the first quarter of Sunday’s Week 6 game versus Denver.

The Chargers head coach was escorted to the locker room by the medical staff during the team’s initial offensive series early in the first quarter.

The 60-year-old coach said doctors gave him an IV and performed tests in the locker room to ensure his heart returned to normal rhythm. He came back to the contest with a little more than seven minutes remaining in the first quarter and was able to finish the game.

“I said I feel good, so I got back there on the field,” Harbaugh said Sunday.

Harbaugh told reporters Sunday that he has experienced arrhythmia issues before, including in 1999 and in 2012 when he was the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers.

What is an atrial flutter?

An atrial flutter is a type of a type of arrhythmia that causes the heart to beat at an abnormally high rate.

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The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Mertz, a transfer from Wisconsin, returned to the Gators for his final year of eligibility after passing for 2,903 yards with 20 TDs to three interceptions in 11 starts in 2023. Mertz missed one game with a concussion in 2024 but started five games, passing for 791 yards with six TDs and a pair of interceptions.

Mertz went 7-9 as a starter over two seasons at Florida.

‘I’m just thankful to all that he has brought to the table for our team,’ Florida coach Billy Napier said Monday. ‘Not only his production on the field but also just his impact on the team as a whole, his leadership, his work ethic, the example, the self-discipline.’

Mertz posted a message on social media after the injury was announced.

‘During my recovery, I will remain a part of the program and do whatever I can in meeting rooms and from the sideline to help my teammates win,’ Mertz wrote in the post. ‘I want to thank everyone for the outpouring of support during this time.’

Florida will move on with five-star freshman DJ Lagway as its starting quarterback for the remainder of the season, which continues on Saturday when Florida hosts Kentucky at The Swamp. Lagway, the 2023 Gatorade high school player of the year, has appeared in all six games this season with one start. He’s passed for 765 yards on the season with five TDs to four interceptions.

‘I would say there’s some excitement in terms of DJ and what he’s been able to accomplish thus far,’ Napier said. ‘And I think he’ll be much more prepared not just having started a game, but also having played in each game this season. We’ll be a little bit further along because of that investment and I think he will benefit from taking the first team reps this week.

‘DJ has innate ability to kind of rise to the occasion and step up in big moments. I’m confident he will do that in this situation. I also think it’s a great opportunity for the team as a whole to kind of raise their level, every position group, unit, we need to do that.’

Napier also he doesn’t anticipate a long-term issue for Florida starting running back Montrell Johnson Jr., who left the Tennessee game with a knee injury

Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is expected to play again this season, coach Mike McDaniel said Monday.

It was McDaniel’s first acknowledgment of Tagovailoa’s playing future since the Dolphins star suffered at least his third NFL concussion on Sept. 12.

Tagovailoa will spend the last of his four-week stint on injured reserve this week as the Dolphins travel to play the Indianapolis Colts this Sunday.

The earliest Tagovailoa can return is in Week 8, when the Dolphins host the Arizona Cardinals on Oct. 27.

‘There’s still information he’s seeking this week. As far as timelines go, I know he’s not playing this week. And I do expect to see him playing football in 2024,’ McDaniel told reporters. ‘But where that is exactly, we’ll let that process continue since we still have time before he could even entertain anything.

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‘We’ll make sure he’s diligent this week and assess after that.’

The Dolphins are 2-3 this season, and 1-2 without Tagovailoa as starter. Miami has relied on backups Skyler Thompson, Tim Boyle and Tyler Huntley at quarterback during his absence.

Tagovailoa suffered his latest concussion after a head-first collision into Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin during a Thursday Night Football game to begin Week 2.

The hit caused Tagovailoa to display the ‘fencing’ response he also displayed during his first reported concussion during a Thursday game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 29, 2022.

Tagovailoa also suffered a concussion during a Christmas Day game against the Green Bay Packers in 2022.

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LOS ANGELES — Clayton Kershaw won’t pitch for the Los Angeles Dodgers this postseason, but he plans to return to the mound in 2025.

Ahead of the Dodgers’ matchup against the New York Mets in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series, Kershaw joined the Fox pregame coverage and confirmed this season won’t be the end of his storied career.

“Mentally, I feel great. I had shoulder surgery last offseason, and my shoulder and elbow, everything, my arm, feels great,” he said. “Obviously, I had some tough luck with my foot this year, but I want to make use of this surgery. I don’t want to have surgery and shut it down. So I’m gonna come back next year and give it a go and see how it goes.”

Kershaw has a player option with Los Angeles for 2025 and Monday’s announcement all but guarantees that he will pick up that option.

Just before the start of the playoffs, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced Kershaw would be out for the remainder of the season due to a toe injury. He last pitched on Aug. 30 when he lasted only one inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks before he left the game due to a bone spur in his left big toe. 

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The 36-year-old veteran had been throwing and trying to stay active so he could become available for the postseason, but the team ultimately decided to shut him down. Roberts said the injury was “actually getting worse.” Kershaw previously said surgery is ‘definitely in the conversation’ but no plans have been announced.

It was an injury-riddled season for the three-time Cy Young winner who signed a one-year contract prior to the season with the team he’s spent his entire big league career with. He underwent surgery to repair a torn capsule in his left shoulder in November and didn’t make his first appearance of the season until July 25. This season, he pitched 30 innings in seven starts with a 2-2 record and a 4.50 ERA, the highest of his 17-year career.

The future Hall of Famer has spent his entire big league career in Los Angeles, first appearing for the Dodgers in 2008. The 2014 NL MVP and a 10-time All-Star, Kershaw’s 2.50 career ERA is the active leader in MLB.

Next season, he also has a chance to reach 3,000 career strikeouts, which would make him the 20th player to do so.

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Texas holds on at No. 1 ahead of Oregon in the USA TODAY Sports NCAA Re-Rank 1-134 after the Ducks scored a mammoth Big Ten win against Ohio State.

The win stands as the most impressive by any team this season, trumping Alabama’s win earlier this month against Georgia. But the Longhorns took care of business in the rivalry against Oklahoma, helping the stay on top of the re-rank for another week as the only unbeaten team in the SEC.

Oregon and Ohio State simply trade spots after Saturday night’s classic. The Ducks are up one to No. 2 while the Buckeyes drop one spot to No. 3, ahead of No. 4 Penn State and No. 5 Georgia. Iowa State steps up to No. 6 after winning at West Virginia, pushing Miami back one to No. 7.

HIGHS AND LOWS: Winners and losers from Week 7 in college football

MISERY INDEX: Lincoln Riley’s project at USC getting worse and worse

LSU is a big mover after scoring an overtime win against Mississippi. The Tigers move up six spots to No. 8 while the Crimson Tide and Tennessee drop following way-too-close wins against South Carolina and Florida, respectively. Alabama is down two to No. 11 and the Volunteers drop five rungs to No. 13.

It was a good weekend for the Big 12. In addition to Iowa State’s slight bump, Kansas State moves ahead of the Crimson Tide to No. 10 after winning a close one at Colorado, undefeated Brigham Young leaps seven spots to No. 14 and Arizona State climbs 11 spots to No. 19 after beating Utah on Friday night.

Jim Harbaugh endured a concerning moment on the sidelines early during the Los Angeles Chargers’ 23-16 Week 6 win over the Denver Broncos.

Harbaugh began the Week 6 game coaching the Chargers on the sideline before heading to the medical tent without explanation. He briefly left the field and went back to the locker room in the first quarter, leaving many to wonder whether the 60-year-old was OK.

Eventually, Harbaugh emerged from the locker room and took back the coaching reins from the interim coach, defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, with just over 7 minutes remaining in the first quarter. Harbaugh finished the victory with no further issues.

What happened to Harbaugh? The veteran coach explained his medical situation during his postgame news conference.

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What is Jim Harbaugh’s heart condition?

Harbaugh explained to reporters that he has a heart condition that acted up during the Chargers’ Week 6 game against the Broncos.

‘It’s called atrial flutter,’ Harbaugh said after the game. ‘I got into an episode [Sunday].’

That episode prompted Los Angeles’ medical staff to examine Harbaugh and eventually take him back to the locker room. There, they gave him intravenous (IV) fluids and performed tests to ensure that the coach was healthy.

‘Did an [electrocardiogram], and they said it was back to the sinus rhythm,’ Harbaugh told reporters. ‘And I said I feel good, so I got back there on the field.’

Harbaugh reiterated he was feeling good during his postgame news conference. He also revealed he planned to follow up with a cardiologist on Monday after his episode.

‘Trust the doctors,’ Harbaugh said. ‘It’s the heart, so you take it seriously, right? Trust the doctors.’

Monday Ravens coach John Harbaugh said his younger brother was feeling better and had dealt with the issue before.

What is atrial flutter?

Atrial flutter is a type of heart rhythm disorder during which the heart’s upper chambers beat faster than its lower chambers. This causes the heart to beat in a sped-up but consistent pattern, as the Cleveland Clinic details.

‘A normal heart rate is 60 to 100 beats a minute when you’re at rest,’ reads the Cleveland Clinic website. ‘Atrial flutter can make your heart’s upper chambers beat 250 to 350 times a minute. This causes your lower chambers to beat fast as a response, commonly as fast as 150 beats a minute or more.’

Atrial flutter is caused by abnormal electrical signals in the heart. There is no cure for the condition but it can be treated with medicines and surgical procedures meant to correct the heartbeat.

Atrial flutter symptoms

Atrial flutter causes the heart not to work as efficiently as it should and can lead to symptoms including:

Dizziness
Shortness of breath
Lack of energy
Heart palpitations
Fast pulse
Lightheadedness
Chest pain
Passing out

It can also weaken the heart muscle, create blood clots, and cause blood pressure drops that can lead to heart failure, per the Cleveland Clinic. Thus, it is a serious condition that must be monitored.

AFib vs. atrial flutter

Atrial flutter is similar to atrial fibrillation, more commonly known as ‘AFib,’ but there is a key difference. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, AFib does not have an organized rhythm, as the upper ventricles beat rapidly and chaotically, often more than 400 times per minute.

Atrial flutter sees the heart beat rapidly but in a consistent pattern.

The Detroit Lions earned an impressive 47-9 win over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 6, but it came at cost. Aidan Hutchinson, the team’s top defensive player, suffered a gruesome leg injury and had to be carted off because of it.

The play occurred when Hutchinson sacked Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott in the third quarter of the game. Hutchinson quickly beat right tackle Terence Steele, but the Lions pass rusher’s left leg whipped into the leg of his teammate Alim McNeill as he rounded the corner.

Hutchinson’s leg buckled at is hit McNeill. While the 2023 Pro Bowler was somehow able to finish the sack, he remained down in pain after the play, immediately reaching for his injured left leg.

Medical personnel from both teams tended to Hutchinson on the field as members of both the Lions and Cowboys looked on. His leg was eventually placed into an air cast before he was carted off the field, receiving well wishes from members of both teams as he departed.

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The Lions later revealed that Hutchinson broke both his left tibia and fibula. That injury is expected to keep him out long-term, so the Lions will need to find a way to replace him in their lineup.

How long is Aidan Hutchinson out?

The Lions announced on Monday that Hutchinson had undergone surgery to repair his leg injury. They declined to provide a timetable for his return to action as part of that statement. However, head coach Dan Campbell told reporters on Monday that Hutchinson’s recovery timeline is 4-6 months.

A report indicated there’s a chance Hutchinson could be back for the Super Bowl if the Lions reached the game, and head coach Dan Campbell said at the Monday press conference that the team will keep the door open. ‘We move forward, but let me say this. It’s 4-6 months; I would never count Hutch out. Ever.’ Campbell said. ‘Long road, but I would never count him out. If anyone can make it back, it’s him.’

While the team has yet to provide a specific timeline, Campbell isn’t ruling anything out at this point.

‘Aidan Hutchinson underwent successful surgery to repair a fractured tibia and fibula at Baylor White Medical Center in Irving, Texas last night,’ the Lions wrote in a statement shared to the team’s social media accounts. ‘Hutchinson will return to Detroit this week and is expected to make a full recovery. There is no timeline for his return to play at this time.’

The silver lining for Lions fans? Rapoport also reports that Hutchinson ‘should be fine for 2025 based on the initial diagnosis.’

The Lions will monitor Hutchinson’s progress closely and play it safe with a player who was the early 2024 Defensive Player of the Year favorite. In the meantime, Detroit fans can at least circle Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season as a date to watch in Hutchinson’s recovery.

Aidan Hutchinson stats

Hutchinson racked up 7.5 sacks in the five games he played during the 2024 NFL season. That made him the NFL’s sack leader and put him on pace to beat his career-high mark of 11.5, which he set during the 2023 season.

Below is a look at his full stats through five games in 2024:

Tackles: 19
TFL: 7
Sacks: 7.5
Force fumbles: 1

In 39 career games, Hutchinson has 28.5 sacks. The 2022 first-round pick racked up 122 tackles and 30 TFL over his first two-plus seasons in the NFL.

Lions DE depth chart

The Lions are thin at the edge defender position with Hutchinson out of action. They already lost free-agent acquisition Marcus Davenport to a torn triceps and John Cominsky to a torn MCL in the summer, so they are now down three of their top four edge defenders.

At present, the Lions have just three players on their 53-man roster who typically play on the defensive edge, and one hybrid defensive lineman who plays inside and outside. They are as follows:

Levi Onwuzurike
Josh Paschal
Isaac Ukwu
James Houston

The Lions elevated Ukwu from the practice squad for the first time ahead of Week 6. The undrafted rookie played in front of Houston, who was a healthy scratch for the second time in five games this season. Those two figure to join the rotation which will now be headlined by Paschal, a 2022 second-round pick who has three career sacks in 27 games, and Onwuzurike, a 6-3, 304-pound lineman who splits his time at defensive tackle and end.

The Lions figure to shore-up their depth by signing a player from free agency or their practice squad. They have veteran Al-Quadin Muhammad, who has 12 sacks in 84 games (34 starts) on the latter unit along with Mitchell Agude and Cam Gill, two other ends with NFL experience.

Either way, the Lions are merely piecing together a defensive end rotation, as they have been for most of the season. Losing Hutchinson will only make that task more difficult.