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Wisconsin is finalizing a deal to make Luke Fickell the school’s next head coach, sources told ESPN.

While there a few steps remaining — including a Regents meeting this afternoon that’s been formally announced — a deal is expected to become formalized to make Fickell the next Badgers coach within the next 24 hours.

Sources told ESPN that all the candidates for the job, including interim coach Jim Leonhard, have been informed that they’re not getting the job. That sets the stage for one of the most eye-opening moves in the college football carousel this offseason, Wisconsin luring the country’s top Group of Five coach who brings vast experience in the Big Ten’s Midwestern footprint.

Fickell led Cincinnati to the College Football Playoff last season and has gone 57-18 in his six years there. Fickell’s 2021 Bearcats team went 13-0 before losing to Alabama in the College Football Playoff, becoming the first Group of 5 team to reach the CFP.

Fickell has strong roots in the Big Ten, as he was a longtime assistant coach and coordinator at Ohio State and played there collegiately. He’d been picky about jobs over the years as Cincinnati rose to the top of the Group of 5, being selective about the Midwestern footprint.

Fickell would replace Paul Chryst, who was fired in the middle of the season after going 67-26 in eight seasons there. He’d been replaced by Jim Leonhard, who had been the defensive coordinator and was considered a candidate for the head-coaching job.

Fickell’s attraction to the Badgers’ brass, along with his record and roots in the league, is his ability to build a program. Fickell turned Cincinnati into one of the country’s best development programs, taking modest recruits and consistently churning out strong teams.

Last year, Fickell’s Bearcats had nine players picked in the NFL draft, which was third behind only Georgia (15) and LSU (10).

Fickell spent one season as an interim coach in the Big Ten, going 6-7 in 2011 in the wake of the firing of Jim Tressel at Ohio State. He stayed patient from there, working as the Buckeyes’ defensive coordinator under Urban Meyer and winning a national championship in the 2014 season.

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Ohtani opens spring with solo HR in first at-bat

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Ohtani opens spring with solo HR in first at-bat

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Shohei Ohtani put any concerns about his surgically repaired left shoulder to rest with just one at-bat.

Ohtani crushed a full-count fastball from Yusei Kikuchi over the left-field fence in his first plate appearance this spring Friday night, staking the Los Angeles Dodgers a 1-0 advantage against the Los Angeles Angels.

Ohtani batted twice more, popping out to short in the second inning and striking out swinging in the fifth. He left the game after the fifth inning, as planned.

Friday’s home run comes after Ohtani underwent arthroscopic surgery in November to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder suffered when diving into second base during the World Series. The 30-year-old, who won his third Most Valuable Player award to cap a dream first season in which the Dodgers captured their eighth World Series title, had been cautious in his return, hoping to ensure he’s healthy for Los Angeles’ season-opening series against the Chicago Cubs in Japan on March 18.

When Ohtani ascended the dugout steps at 6:08 p.m. local time, fans greeted him with a cheer and watched him take three practice swings before stepping into the batter’s box accompanied by a louder ovation. He started the at-bat from Kikuchi, his countryman who joined the Angels this winter, by staring at a 95 mph fastball for a strike. Ohtani took a curveball for a ball, swung through another for a strike, stared at one more low and didn’t bite on an outside fastball before taking a 94 mph fastball into the Dodgers’ bullpen in left field.

Ohtani, in his second season with the Dodgers, continues to rehabilitate his right arm after a second Tommy John surgery, which caused him to not pitch in 2024. He is targeting a return to the mound in May.

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Tigers’ Vierling (shoulder) to miss Opening Day

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Tigers' Vierling (shoulder) to miss Opening Day

Detroit Tigers outfielder Matt Vierling is nursing a strained right rotator cuff and will not be ready by Opening Day, manager A.J. Hinch said Friday.

The team announced that Vierling, 28, will complete a period of rest before being reevaluated for baseball activities.

Vierling batted .257 with career highs in homers (16), doubles (28), RBIs (57) and runs (80) in 144 games with the Tigers in 2024.

He is a career .259 hitter with 34 homers and 139 RBIs in 429 games with the Philadelphia Phillies (2021-22) and Tigers.

Detroit opens the season with a three-game road series against the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers from March 27 to March 29.

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Phillies’ Harper back in lineup 2 days after HBP

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Phillies' Harper back in lineup 2 days after HBP

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Bryce Harper returned to the Philadelphia Phillies‘ lineup Friday, two days after getting hit on the arm by a pitch.

Harper hit second and went 2-for-3 with a strikeout while playing in his usual spot at first base against the Boston Red Sox in a 7-5 victory.

Harper had a bruise on his right arm after getting hit by a 92 mph pitch from Toronto Blue Jays left-hander Richard Lovelady. Manager Rob Thomson said that Harper had a scheduled day off Thursday and that the team was “not really overconcerned at all.”

Thomson told reporters the team’s initial diagnosis was a bruised right triceps.

The two-time National League MVP had entered play Friday still looking for his first hit of the spring. Harper was 0-for-2 with a walk in his three plate appearances in Grapefruit League play before Friday.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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