Texas QB Ewers will enter NFL draft

Texas junior quarterback Quinn Ewers declared for the NFL draft on Wednesday, ending a Longhorns career in which he led the program to a Big 12 championship and twice to the College Football Playoff semifinals but wasn’t always embraced by a fan base eagerly waiting for Arch Manning to take over. Ewers passed for 9,128 yards and 68 TDs in a career that few Texas quarterbacks can match. The Dallas native, who spent one season at Ohio State, had hinted before the season ended that it would be his last in college. Ewers’ 27 career wins rank fourth as a starting quarterback at Texas, and he led the Longhorns to their first Big 12 title in 14 years in 2023 before the program moved to the Southeastern Conference. In their first season in the SEC, the Longhorns rose to their first No. 1 ranking since 2008 and played in the league championship game. Ewers’ departure sets the stage for Manning, the son of Cooper Manning, grandson of former NFL QB Archie Manning and the nephew of Super Bowl-winning QBs Peyton and Eli Manning, to take over in 2025.

Status of Genesis unclear due to fires

Tiger Woods isn’t sure what’s going to happen with next month’s Genesis Invitational, the PGA Tour event that he hosts in the fire-ravaged Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. He’s insisting there should be far bigger concerns. Woods said Tuesday night — after his debut in the TGL indoor golf league that he helped develop — that meetings about what will happen with the tournament are scheduled, but didn’t reveal any decisions or suggest that the event may be moved from Riviera Country Club. “... As of right now, we’re not really focused on the tournament,” the 15-time major champ said. “It’s more about what we can do to help everyone who’s struggling, who’s lost homes and had their lives changed.” Woods, above, — who grew up in Southern California — said he knows “a couple people that have lost everything.” The PGA Tour hasn’t announced any changes to its plans to play the Genesis, scheduled for Feb. 13-16. Riviera — the host site for golf at the 2028 Olympics — sits very close to areas that have been devastated by the fires. The course itself has not been directly affected.

Penguins waive 2-time All-Star goalie

The Penguins ran out of patience waiting for two-time All-Star goaltender Tristan Jarry to emerge from a slump, placing him on waivers Wednesday ahead of a pivotal seven-game road trip that could determine the course of the rest of their season. The 29-year-old Jarry is 8-7-4 with a 3.32 goals against average and a .886 save percentage this season for the Penguins, who are on the fringe of the playoff race in the Eastern Conference due in large part to subpar play in net. The Penguins have allowed an NHL-high 173 goals, with neither Jarry, above, nor Alex Nedeljkovic establishing themselves behind a defense prone to lapses. The Penguins will call up promising rookie Joel Blomqvist to join Nedeljkovic on the road trip, which starts on Friday in Buffalo. It seems unlikely a team would be willing to claim Jarry and pick up his salary, meaning Jarry will be reassigned to the Penguins’ AHL affiliate once he clears waivers. The decision comes 18 months after the team signed Jarry to a five-year deal with an average salary of $5.375 million. Jarry was an All-Star in 2020 and 2022. —AP