Playing Auburn annually was one of Hines Ward's favorite games while starring at Georgia. Unless the SEC goes to nine games or a 3-6 format, that rivalry will be going away by 2025. This cannot happen for the sake of college football.

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Pep Guardiola admits he does not know if Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish will be fit for next weekend’s FA Cup final. Manchester City’s attacking duo, and defender Ruben Dias, missed the1-0 final-day defeat at Brentford through injury. The champions, who face Manchester United at Wembley on Saturday as they bid to complete the second leg of an historic Treble, were consigned to defeat by Ethan Pinnock’s late goal. With De Bruyne and Grealish missing completely and Erling Haaland left on the bench, it was a scratch City side and those established stars who did play, like Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez, had little impact. But Guardiola said: “Congratulations to Brentford for the victory. It’s difficult to faze them, how quick they play, how aggressive they are in all departments. “I’m pretty sure we would have behaved a little bit different if we needed the points. “I don’t have any complaints of how we behaved, I said to the players just now ‘you won the title, enjoy two days with your families and then we will prepare for the first final’. “The guys who didn’t play who normally play were exhausted yesterday, mentally completely drained. They needed to rest to arrive with the right energy to face United.” When asked if the players who missed out would be fit for Wembley, Guardiola said: “I don’t know right now. Hopefully. “Ruben, Jack and Kevin couldn’t play. It is what it is. I think they will be ready but it’s hard to get ready in training. That’s why I had to see the players who played today.” Pinnock’s 85th-minute strike made Brentford the only team to do the double over City this season, and only the fifth since Guardiola took over in 2016. The Spaniard added: “They are the best team by far at set-pieces, they are exceptional. What Thomas Frank has done for years is amazing and the unity of his squad is there for all to see. “Hopefully we can do better and beat them like we did last season, so we have a target for next season already.” The Bees still needed a double save from goalkeeper David Raya to deny Cole Palmer at the death to end another impressive season on a high. They had a slim chance to qualify for the Europa Conference League, and although victories for Tottenham and Aston Villa ultimately scuppered that dream, they finished a creditable ninth. “Of course beating them twice means something, it means even more for the fans, they like that narrative and hopefully City win the Treble,” said Frank. “Ending ninth in the Premier League, getting 59 points – and maybe deserve to have even more – it’s incredible the journey we have been on. “What advice would I give United and Inter Milan? Well, I think we top performed in those two games. “They are the best offensive team in then world so you need to defend very well and we did, and we were very brave throughout the game. I loved that from my players.”

Callum Wilson has signed a new contract extension with Newcastle that will run until 2025.

Silverstone, 2022. That was the moment a goal within touching distance for so long was finally grasped by Carlos Sainz. Fittingly, his first pole position of his career was duly followed by a first Formula 1 race win, in his 150th grand prix. Ferrari were back among the top contenders and Sainz, this time, was the leading man ahead of his team-mate Charles Leclerc. The Scuderia were a force at the front once more. Or so we thought. Despite producing a race-winning car, Ferrari failed to capitalise last year amid strategy and reliability clangers. Red Bull leapfrogged the calamitous prancing horse – and have not looked back. Now, Ferrari have not won since Austria last year, just a week after Sainz’s inaugural triumph. They are fourth in the Constructors’ Championship at the halfway stage this season. Sainz has not even finished on the podium. “I thought we’d be fighting for more podiums and wins but unfortunately it’s a very competitive team called Red Bull who are dominating,” Sainz tells The Independent. “It’s been a challenging season. All of us at Ferrari expected more from this year’s car and performance. We haven’t done the best job. “I’m happy with my own performance and the way I’m driving. But for one reason or another the results are not coming.” 2023 marks Sainz’s ninth-straight season in a sport he has devoted his life to. You can only wonder his thoughts as Max Verstappen – the driver he entered the sport alongside at Toro Rosso in 2015 – steamrolls to a third consecutive world championship at Red Bull. Via Renault, McLaren and now the scarlet red of Ferrari, Sainz’s progression through the ranks has been steady, if a bit slow. “I saw from very early on [as a junior] when I was winning that I was very good,” the 28-year-old says. “But I was naïve to believe that just by winning I was going to be an winning F1 driver. “I started to understand that everything needed to align. There needed to be a space for me in F1 and then I would need to be good enough to stay on. There’s always challenges.” An initial challenge, no doubt, was coping with the pressure which naturally came with being Carlos Sainz Jr. His father won the World Rally Championship twice and still competes in Extreme E at the age of 61. But Sainz Jr. is quick to point something out: his dad was not a pushy parent throughout his upbringing in Madrid. “My dad never got me into it, it was just me and something inside me that wanted to drive,” he insists. “It was just the genes, I’m not going to lie. “I happened to fall in love with F1 as a sport. It coincided with racing in go-karts and since the age of two, I’ve always been on top of a car.” His adoration for the sport is palpable. Time spent away from the paddock – whether it be golf, eating tapas or time with his family and dogs – is attuned to his return to the racetrack. Despite being the right side of 30, only three current drivers have completed more consecutive seasons in the sport than him. And unlike his first team-mate Verstappen – who despite his success is adamant he will not race deep into his 30s like Fernando Alonso or Lewis Hamilton – Sainz is not interested by other competitions or opportunities at the moment. Not even the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which Ferrari won this year? “Yes I would, one day,” he says. “But I don’t think about it yet. Why? Because I’m so focused on F1.” Instead, while the ultimate dream is still attainable with a contract at Ferrari until the end of the 2024 season, Sainz will continue down the same road. And that road is currently one of recovery, which starts this weekend at the Belgian Grand Prix before the summer break. “I want to be a world champion one day,” he states. “I want to be winning more races. My brain is only thinking about that and I don’t even think about the other possibilities. Now, my target is to help the team to develop the car and go faster. That will allow me to fight for podiums and wins. “And that’s what I’m here at Ferrari for.” Carlos Sainz is a brand ambassador for Estrella Galicia 0.0. Read More Daniel Ricciardo is back - and this time he wants to go out on top F1 Juniors broadcast an admirable idea – but a reminder that all kids want to be is grown up Max Verstappen making Red Bull rivals ‘look like F2 cars’, says Toto Wolff F1 Academy announces radical team change for 2024 season How to win new fans for a growing sport and rival racing championship F1 2023 race schedule: When is the Belgian Grand Prix?

Tony Gonsolin and four relievers combined on a three-hit shutout, Mookie Betts homered and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres 4-0

Former Michigan State receiver Keon Coleman is arguably the biggest fish to catch in the transfer portal, but where would the WR thrive if he landed?The spring transfer portal window in college football was just about to close when Michigan State star wide receiver Keon Coleman announced his dec...