“The surgery went smoothly,” Woods said in the statement posted to X (formerly Twitter). “I’m hopeful this will help alleviate the back spasms and pain I was experiencing throughout most of the 2024 season. I look forward to tackling this rehab and preparing myself to get back to normal life activities, including golf.”

Dr. Sheeraz Qureshi at the Hospital for Special Surgery in West Palm Beach, Florida, performed the microdecompression surgery of the lumbar spine for nerve impingement in Woods’ lower back. 

Woods is no stranger to injuries. This surgery was Woods’ first back surgery since shortly before he was involved in a car accident that seriously injured his legs in February 2021. He required further surgeries in the aftermath of his crash, and his 2023 season was disrupted by another surgery to his right ankle.

Woods has struggled to perform this season, missing the cut at the PGA Championship, U.S. Open and British Open, withdrawing from the Genesis Invitational due to illness and placing 60th at the Masters.

We’ve seen this picture before with Tua Tagovailoa. This frightening, scary picture. Him on the ground. Appearing unconscious. Players frantically waving for the medical staff to come onto the field. Players taking a knee around him. A stadium shocked. People praying. Announcers speaking in hushed tones. Everyone wondering the same thing…

Is he okay? Is he gonna get up? Again? It happened to him again? He’s in that horrific position on the ground again?

Dolphins offensive lineman Austin Jackson told the media after the game that he was one of the players closest to Tagovailoa and could see in Tagovailoa’s eyes that he ‘wasn’t there all the way.’ Jackson said he almost immediately took a knee. Skylar Thompson, the Dolphins’ backup quarterback, said what many of us were thinking after watching Tagovailoa go down. “It makes me sick,’ he said. ‘Everybody in the organization would say the same thing. So just really praying for Tua and hopefully everything will come out all right.” 

We all hope that. But there is obviously a deeper conversation to be had here. It’s not an easy one. It’s immensely thorny and complicated. It centers on love and care and culpability. The NFL’s. Ours. His family. All of us need to take a moment and digest this: carefully, with decency and respect, but also a harsh eye.

Talk about all of it. Every piece like the fencing response, a sign of severe neurological trauma. Don’t look away. Don’t compartmentalize. Don’t minimize.

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Most of all, this is what all of us, but especially Tagovailoa and his family, need to think about. I’m not in the business of telling people what to do with their own lives. But I don’t ignore what I see with my own eyes and you don’t need to be a brain expert to understand that what Tagovailoa is going through is extremely dangerous. You do not need to be an expert to know that repeated concussions aren’t good for his long-term, well, existence.

Talk about it all. The conclusion that he and his family might come to is that it’s worth the risk. Tagovailoa may think he’s creating generational wealth, so he needs to play. But maybe someone in his family can point out that Tagovailoa’s last deal paid him close to $100 million in guaranteed money at signing.

There’s complicity from all of us in watching this beautiful but violent game. Football can be so brutal that the person Tagovailoa collided with was Damar Hamlin, who had to be brought back to life on the field.

We cover it, are obsessed with it, roster our fantasy teams, posit ourselves on the couch with our popcorn. Yet while the NFL can sometimes forget what it means to be human, we don’t have to feel that way. We can remember and pause and see what’s happening to Tagovailoa and think about him as a person.

This is Tagovailoa’s third diagnosed concussion in the NFL. The way the others happened were so horrific, so remarkably mishandled, that the NFL changed how concussions were dealt with. No league has mishandled the issue of head trauma as poorly as the NFL. The league has dragged its feet for decades on even acknowledging the long-term effects of head trauma like CTE. So for them to take that type of drastic action, so quickly, tells you how bad the situation was.

In 2022, he hit the back of his head on the ground in a game against Buffalo. He attempted to walk but stumbled back to the Dolphins’ huddle. He briefly left the game with what was incredibly described as a back issue.

The NFL and NFLPA opened a joint investigation into the incident. The union used its collectively bargained right to fire the unaffiliated neurological consultant who cleared Tagovailoa to return to the game. The league altered its concussion policy to include a spotter who has the power to remove a player from a contest if a player exhibits concussion symptoms.

Four days later against Cincinnati, Tagovailoa hit the back of his head on the ground and fell unconscious. He was taken to a local hospital and diagnosed with a concussion. He sustained another concussion later in the season against Green Bay.

Also, remember, Tagovailoa had a concussion as a player at Alabama.

This is the Tagovailoa story. His story. His family’s story.

Tagovailoa said during an interview with ‘The Dan Le Batard Show’ in August that his mother asked him to reconsider playing football.

Hopefully, conversations like that are happening again.

The Minnesota Twins released minor leaguer Derek Bender on Thursday after the Single-A catcher tipped pitches to opposing hitters, an official with direct knowledge of the situation confirmed to USA TODAY Sports.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation after ESPN was first to report on the affair.

According to the ESPN report, Bender, playing for the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, told multiple hitters on the Lakeland Flying Tigers what kind of pitches were coming from starter Ross Dunn on Sept. 6.

Lakeland’s win clinched a Florida State League division title and eliminated Fort Myers from playoff contention.

Lakeland coaches brought Bender’s tipping to the attention of the Fort Myers staff after the game, according to ESPN.

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Bender was a sixth-round pick in July’s draft out of Coastal Carolina and hit .200 in 19 minor-league games.

Bender’s  college teammate Payton Eeles − currently on Minnesota’s Triple-A team − posted on social media Thursday night that Bender was “one of my favorite teammates” and said the catcher “made a mistake in life that many 21 year olds do,” while offering his love and support. 

The Detroit Tigers nearly threw a combined no-hitter amid the pressure of a postseason push.

Four pitchers — Beau Brieske, Brant Hurter, Brenan Hanifee and Tyler Holton — allowed just one hit in Friday’s 1-0 win over the Baltimore Orioles at Comerica Park. The quartet faced 29 batters across nine innings, two above the minimum.

Catcher Dillon Dingler worked behind the plate in the 21st game of his MLB career.

The no-hitter was broken up by Gunnar Henderson with two outs in the ninth inning. He ripped a triple off Holton’s first-pitch sweeper down the first-base line. Five pitches later, Holton ended the game with a swinging strikeout.

Brieske, a right-hander, faced four batters as an opener. Hurter, a left-hander, faced 18 batters as a bulk reliever. Hanifee, a righty, faced three batters as a traditional reliever and Holton, a lefty, faced four batters as a traditional reliever.

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The Tigers (76-72) — in the hunt for the third and final spot in the American League wild-card race — had a perfect game intact until Hurter walked Adley Rutschman on eight pitches to open the eighth inning. After that, Hanifee took over and retired the next three batters to keep the no-hitter intact, and preserve the one-run lead.

Hanifee struck out Colton Cowser swinging — winning a nine-pitch battle — to complete the eighth.

In the ninth inning, Holton matched up with Emmanuel Rivera, pinch-hitter Coby Mayo and Henderson. Rivera flew out to right field on a fourth-pitch cutter, then Mayo struck out looking on a ninth-pitch cutter. After that, Henderson ripped the triple to put the tying run at third base.

But Holton struck out Anthony Santander to end the game.

Hurter, a 26-year-old in his eighth MLB appearance, took down 5⅔ innings of the combined one-hitter, sandwiched between the first 1⅓ innings from Brieske and the final two innings from Hanifee and Holton. He registered eight strikeouts — four swinging, four looking — while throwing 53 of 71 pitches for strikes.

Hurter, who had a 5.80 ERA at Triple-A Toledo, delivered first-pitch strikes to 17 of 18 batters, including first-pitch strikes to each of his first 14 batters.

He dominated the Orioles with his sinker and sweeper.

Hurter owns a 2.56 ERA in 38⅔ innings in his MLB career.

From the heavily favored Cincinnati Bengals falling to the New England Patriots and the Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins engineering big comebacks, the opening week of the 2024 NFL regular season featured a handful of surprises.

While the Week 2 schedule looks decidedly tamer, the lack of marquee matchups could be setting the table for a few more major twists.

Consensus is back in a big way this week, with USA TODAY Sports’ six experts unanimous in their picks for 11 of the 16 games on tap. But we asked writers to get daring for one major prognostication in this week’s games.

Here are USA TODAY Sports’ bold predictions for Week 2 in the NFL:

Caleb Williams will have to wait until Week 3 to find the end zone

Although he began his NFL career 1-0, Caleb Williams’ debut with the Chicago Bears was not a statistical beauty. He completed less than half of his passes (48.3%), had less than 100 passing yards (93) and averaged 3.2 yards per attempt. The Bears still defeated the Tennessee Titans despite not scoring an offensive touchdown. They won’t be so lucky against the Houston Texans on “Sunday Night Football.”

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Houston did allow 27 points in a Week 1 win over the Indianapolis Colts. But they were effective against the run and held Jonathan Taylor to 3.0 yards per carry and largely held quarterback Anthony Richardson in check on the ground. What felled the Texans was explosives at the expense of Richardson’s arm and a pair of touchdown plays that went more than 50 yards.

Williams and the Bears offense doesn’t pose that type of threat – at least not at this stage. Chicago’s run game won’t bail Williams out. Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans will have his defense flying around the field and confuse him. And the rookie will have to wait until Week 3 for his first career touchdown.

— Chris Bumbaca

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Jordan Mason will surpass 100 rushing yards again

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, who’s dealing with calf and Achilles injuries, won’t play on Sunday, coach Kyle Shanahan announced. With McCaffrey still recovering, the 49ers will dial up Mason’s number, and the reserve running back will deliver for the second straight week. Mason will eclipse 100 rushing yards again after a breakout performance in which he posted career bests in both carries (28) and rushing yards (147) in Week 1. The 49ers have advantages up front against the Minnesota Vikings, especially on the edges. Expect Shanahan to have plenty of zone runs in his game plan. Mason will seize the opportunity and run with confidence and authority. Mason had five runs of 10 or more yards in Week 1. He could match that amount in Minnesota.

— Tyler Dragon

Bucs will make major statement with win at Lions

The Lions beat Todd Bowles’ team twice last season – in a Week 6 encounter at Tampa and in the divisional playoffs at Detroit. That’s why the Bucs, winners of three straight NFC South titles, should be highly motivated to avoid losing three in a row to the Leos since the start of 2023. Bad for Tampa Bay: All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield is expected to miss the game due to a foot injury, leaving an already thin secondary even harder pressed to match up against receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams and tight end Sam LaPorta. Good for the Bucs: Baker Mayfield has started the season with a bang – he passed for 289 yards and 4 TDs and had the league’s best passer rating (146.4) in Week 1 – and he has one of the NFL’s best 1-2 receiver combos in two with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Dan Campbell’s gritty team won a trip to the NFC title game in January by eliminating the Bucs as they broke open a game that was tied 17-17 early in the fourth quarter. Now the Bucs come back to raucous Ford Field with another chance to prove whether they can measure up.

— Jarrett Bell

Seahawks will notch six sacks in win against Patriots

Malcolm Butler’s return to Foxborough for ‘Keeper of the Light’ duties is an immaculate troll job by New England – and a reminder that both teams are a far cry from their Super Bowl 49 form. But while Mike Macdonald’s defense can’t be mentioned in the same breath as the Legion of Boom, there’s plenty of reason to believe the unit could create some serious problems for the Patriots on Sunday. Jacoby Brissett only took one sack in the Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals, but he faced the highest pressure rate (48.3%) of any quarterback, according to Next Gen Stats. That speaks to Brissett’s pocket presence and poise, but a significantly more difficult challenge could be awaiting with the Seahawks. With major threats both on the interior in Leonard Williams and rookie Byron Murphy as well as the edge in Boye Mafe, Macdonald’s complex scheme has a variety of ways to generate heat without blitzing frequently. Six sacks is a high bar – the Dallas Cowboys were the only team to reach that total in Week 1, and they did so against a Cleveland Browns team missing its top two offensive tackles – but the Seahawks can clear it against a team that looks significantly undermanned up front.

— Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz

It’s easy to see why U.S. Soccer was willing to break the bank for Mauricio Pochettino.

This isn’t just about getting the best coach to prepare the U.S. men’s national team for a home World Cup in 2026, though that will be Pochettino’s primary responsibility and his resume speaks for itself.

This is about creating enthusiasm for what is arguably the most important moment yet for soccer in the United States, a tournament that could supercharge interest in the game and forever transform the player pool. It’s about winning hearts and minds in a country where almost every kid starts out playing soccer but few stick with it past grade school and the domestic league remains a niche interest.

It’s about showing everyone, home and abroad, that the United States is as serious about soccer as it is the NFL, the NBA and college football.

“It’s about creating something special,” Pochettino said Friday at his introductory news conference in New York City. “We are here because we want to win. We are a winner. We are successful, a very successful coaching staff. … But I think the most important is to create something special.”

It’s been 30 years since the United States hosted the men’s World Cup, and the country has made great strides. The USMNT not qualifying for a World Cup, as they didn’t in 2018, now merits blaring headlines and alarm bells rather than the indifference that occurred throughout the 1960s. And the 1970s. And the 1980s.

There are U.S. men at some of the top clubs in Europe. And not just riding the bench. Playing.

There’s also now a soccer culture that didn’t exist in 1994. Major League Soccer is more successful in some cities than others, but the league itself is on firm footing in its fourth decade. It’s often easier to watch the Premier League in the United States than it is in England.

But soccer has also grown stagnant here.

A country this size should be producing top-tier players in abundance. Instead, the best male athletes are still gravitating toward football, basketball and baseball once they reach middle school or high school. (The pay-to-play structure of youth soccer in America doesn’t help.) MLS is closer to the second- and third-tier European leagues than it is the EPL, the Bundesliga, La Liga, Ligue 1 or Serie A.

A deep run in 2026, when the United States will host an expanded World Cup along with Canada and Mexico, can give soccer a caffeine-like boost in the U.S. sporting conscience. That, in turn, will have a trickle-down effect. On participation. On attendance and TV ratings. On everything.

If the USMNT falls on its face, however, it could consign soccer to permanent niche status. And a series of abysmal results this summer, despite having what is considered the golden generation of the USMNT, gave no confidence the Americans were going to be up to the task in 2026.

By hiring Pochettino, U.S. Soccer puts everyone on notice.

The Argentine is known as a gifted motivator and a smart tactician. Even more critical is the automatic respect he’ll command. Much like when Emma Hayes took over the USWNT this spring, the players are no longer going to have the best resumes in the locker room.

Playing in Europe? Playing in the Champions League? Pochettino has been there, done that, taking Tottenham to the Champions League final and winning a French league title with Paris Saint-Germaine. If the likes of Lionel Messi, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappé can set aside their egos and take instruction from Pochettino, so can every single player on the USMNT.

“The potential is there. The talent is there,” Pochettino said Friday. “(My job) is only to create the best platform for them to express this.”

There are less than two years until the World Cup begins, and competitive matches before then are going to be scarce. As a co-host, the USMNT is already qualified. But Pochettino is undaunted by the challenge.

There is enough time to implement his style of play and for the players to adjust to the system. There’s enough time to change a culture in which some players have grown entitled and lackadaisical. There’s enough time to get the American public enthused in a way they’ve never been before.

“We need to really believe in seeing big things,” Pochettino said. “We need to believe that we can win. That we can win not only a game, we can win the World Cup.

“Belief for me is a word that is so powerful. You can have an enormous talent and you can be clever. But in football, you need to believe. Believe in all these possibilities. If we find the way to believe together, then I think we can, for sure, achieve what we want.”

And if that happens, Pochettino will be worth every penny.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.