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AUBURN, Ala. — “Whoa nellie! Whoa nellie!”

Alabama analyst Dean Altobelli shouted so loud in celebration that his words could be heard through the metal door and cinder block walls that separated the visitors locker room from the awaiting media next door.

A few moments later, Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban walked in as his wife, Terry, clapped from her seat in the back row and yelped, “Yay!”

Saban then sat down and tried to explain a win that few could have seen coming.

“So, do I really need to say anything?” Saban asked facetiously.

Yes and no. Because what can you say after what happened here, on the road, against an archrival in a series that has had more than its fair share of miraculous finishes? The Tide looked to be toast, down 24-20 with under a minute left to play, facing an impossible fourth-and-goal from Auburn‘s 31-yard line to save their season and keep their playoff hopes alive.

Then Jalen Milroe took the snap, danced around the pocket and surveyed the field. He waited … and waited … and waited some more, as the Tigers only rushed two defenders.

“I guess if you’re in this long enough,” Saban said, “sometimes it goes against you in the last play of the game, and sometimes you’re fortunate and it goes for you.”

Ten years ago, inside this same cramped makeshift media room, Saban walked through how a would-be game-winning field goal with one second left turned into a 100-plus-yard return and a walk-off win for Auburn. All this time later, he rattled off the mistakes that led to one of the most heartbreaking losses of his career: a blocked kick, a dead ball foul, getting the ball five times inside the opponent’s 25-yard line in the third and fourth quarters and not scoring a single point.

Call what Milroe and Alabama did luck — and Saban did, in part — but like the Kick-Six, there’s more to what happened here on Saturday night.

“I got to admit we had good fortune,” Saban said, “but it still comes down to ability to execute. Somebody had an opportunity to make a play, whether it was their punt returner or [Isaiah Bond] in the end zone and whoever was guarding him.

“So that’s why you play the game.”

Here’s how the play and the game came together:

Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold: I feel like that went all the way back to the summer. Coach Saban, before we started fall camp, he replayed the play [last season] where Tennessee scored on the kick and the play when LSU scored on the last play. So that was just going through our mind and being cognizant and just focusing and keying in on what we had to do. Honestly, we never lost faith. We prepared for moments like this.

Saban: Believe it or not, we actually practice that play every Friday when we do walk-through and we do special situations. We get in that formation [five receivers and no backs], and everybody runs down the field and runs varying routes in the end zone.

Arnold: Oftentimes when we do it in practice, we don’t want to get guys hurt. So, I mean, we don’t ever really try to make a play on the ball. We let him catch it. And that came into fruition.

Alabama defensive back Malachi Moore: It might’ve paid off.

Saban: You tell [Milroe] they’re only going to rush three guys and sometimes two. … He’s going to have plenty of time. He’s got to pick the guy that he thinks has got the best chance to catch it.

Moore: [Bond] has all the confidence in himself to make a play. He thinks he’s the best wide receiver on the field, and that’s how you should be.

Arnold: Milroe steps up in the pocket. Kool-Aid [McKinstry] is sitting right here. We were like, dang, this kind of reminds me of [two years ago].

Moore: I really didn’t want to watch the play at all. I just looked at our fans [for their reaction].

Arnold: Truth be told, before J-Mil threw the ball, I said a prayer. So in my head, I’m thinking we went to church before the games, so God give us a blessing. It’s kind of like games like this, you always know so much wrong is going to happen. They had a couple of dirty plays like hitting our punter and stuff didn’t go our way. The one with Jermaine [Burton] when I believe his foot was in bounds, and I feel like everybody saw that. So something had to go right.

Offensive lineman JC Latham: My guy gave me a bull rush right at me and then shortly after I got knocked off or something, so I was able to kind of just turn and see where [Milroe] was. He was all the way on the left side of the field and at that point I’m pretty much useless in that situation. I can try to run down the play, but I can’t really do too much. And yeah, so I just kind of saw it all on unfold. And, yeah, it was insane.

Milroe: I saw IB one-on-one. I was like, we going to score.

Saban: IB really kind of got himself in position where there was some room to throw it. He pushed inside, and the DB was inside of him — and then he came back out and Jalen threw it back out to him, and it was a great catch, a great throw.

Bond: I kind of set him up. I saw the ball. He was trailing, so I was sort of leaning into him and then faded — and then just made the play, as y’all saw.

Moore: Once I saw our fans cheering, I knew we did something good.

Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne: He caught it right? Please be in bounds.

Terry Saban (jokingly): I thought touchdown when it was in the air. I called that play.

Alabama linebacker Deontae Lawson: I came in with Jalen and always knew he was a poised guy. That’s how you got to be playing the position he plays, and I’m just so happy for him.

Latham: I said it at media day: [Milroe is] one of the best quarterbacks in the country. He has to potentially be the best quarterback in the country, and he’s just overcome all adversity and done what he has to do. So that’s who he is. He got the chance to show it. I never doubted him for a second.

Milroe: It’s all about never giving up. That was the biggest thing throughout the game and with that play, it was just all about trust. … I’ll never forget this game ever in my life.

Bond: I ain’t going to lie, making that play meant a lot. That’s going to be a part of Alabama history.

Saban: I thought [Milroe] played great in the game. And his progress has transformed our team and our offense — because he is a point guard, and because he is involving everybody in the game. That’s the thing I think he had to learn this year. He’s now become extremely effective at the quarterback position.

Auburn coach Hugh Freeze on the decision not to pressure Milroe: You can second-guess it. You’ve just got to play with vision. We’ve got nine guys back there. Just play with vision, make a play on the ball and knock it down. He felt like he was shoved off, but I couldn’t tell. You can pressure him, and then you’ve got one-on-ones, and they throw it up. You can do that if you want. I like the call. I think we just have to sit back there with vision and knock the ball down.

Auburn linebacker Jalen McLeod: D.J. [James] had a hell of a game. With corners, people just look at that one play. I told him, ‘Look D.J., I would take you again. If you throw that ball up one more time, I’d give you another chance. You had three PBUs [pass breakups] this game. I would take that risk again with you.’ He’s an NFL talent. Sometimes you live with stuff like that.

Auburn got the ball back with 26 seconds left, but an interception by Arnold sealed the win.

Arnold: They had the Kick-Six. I wanted the Pick-Six. But it’s all right.

Saban: I can’t tell you how proud I am of the guys and how good I feel about winning the game. But as a coach, you always look at things like, how did you play? Because we’re going to have to play at a higher level on a more consistent basis if we’re going to have success in the future. And that’s what you always evaluate. That’s the reality check that we all have to make.”


As Alabama loaded onto buses to go home to Tuscaloosa, Crimson Tide director of football operations Ellis Ponder puffed on a victory cigar. Next week, the Tide will play Georgia for the SEC championship.

But that was a matter for another day as members of the equipment staff gathered around a reporter who shot a video of the Milroe-to-Bond touchdown.

“Can I send this to myself?” one of the staffers said, taking the phone and texting it to himself.

But what should he call the video?

Saban was asked what the touchdown play was called, but he couldn’t give it up.

“If the play had a name,” he said. “I wouldn’t tell you what it was.”

But Bond later coughed it up.

“Gravedigger,” he said.

Milroe wasn’t sure about that.

“I don’t know what it’s called,” he said. “But I like it.”

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Cindric wins at Talladega, dons victory wreath

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Cindric wins at Talladega, dons victory wreath

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Austin Cindric celebrated his first win of the season by wearing Talladega’s Superspeedway traditional victory wreath all around the track.

A wreath like he just won the Indianapolis 500.

He thought so, too.

“Feels like I just won the Indy 500,” he said of Sunday’s NASCAR race. “I’m trying to walk on the plane with this.”

Cindric wasn’t even concerned how such a gesture might be received by Team Penske teammate Joey Logano, who raged on his radio after the second stage when Cindric didn’t push him and it allowed Bubba Wallace in a Toyota to win the segment and its valuable bonus points.

“Way to go Austin,” seethed Logano, who used multiple expletives in his anger over his Penske radio. “You just gave it to him. Gave a Toyota a stage win. Nice job. Way to go … put that in the book.”

Cindric was unconcerned by the idea Logano might take issue with the wreath on the Penske plane.

“I think that would be very immature,” Cindric said. “I don’t see him doing that. We’ll see.”

It was a celebratory day for Cindric, who gave Team Penske its first NASCAR victory of the season by holding off a huge pack of challengers over the closing lap in a rare drama-free day at Talladega Superspeedway.

“Rock on, guys,” Cindric said over his radio. “Rock and roll. Let’s go!”

Ford drivers went 1-2, with Ryan Preece finishing second. But Preece and Logano were disqualified following postrace inspections because of spoiler infractions. Logano had crossed the finish line in fifth.

After the DQ’s, Kyle Larson moved up to second and William Byron third for Hendrick Motorsports. The two Chevrolet drivers pushed Cindric and Preece from the second row rather than pull out of line on the final lap and make a third lane in an attempt to win.

It was Larson’s best career finish at Talladega, where drafting and pack racing is required and neither suits his style. He said he wanted to make a move to try to take the win from Cindric but there was never any room.

“I wanted to take it but I felt like the gap was too big,” Larson said. “I was just stuck inside and just doing everything I could to advance our lane and maybe open it up to where I then could get to the outside. But we were all just pushing so equally that it kept the lanes jammed up.”

Noah Gragson ended up fourth in a Ford, while Hendrick driver Chase Elliott was fifth – two spots ahead of teammate Alex Bowman, with Carson Hocevar of Spire Motorsports sandwiched in between them. Wallace was the highest-finishing Toyota driver in eighth.

Cindric led five times but for only seven of the 188 laps in an unusually calm race for chaotic Talladega. The track last fall recorded the largest crash in the NASCAR history when 28 cars were collected in a demolition derby with four laps remaining.

On Sunday, there were only four cautions — two for stage breaks — totaling 22 laps. It was the fourth consecutive Talladega race with only four cautions, the two for stage breaks and the two for natural cautions.

But, Sunday featured season-highs in lead changes (67) among different drivers (23). Only five cars failed to finish from the 40-car field, and a whopping 30 drivers finished on the lead lap.

Cindric marked the 10th consecutive different winner at Talladega, extending the track record of no repeat winners. And, by the time it was over, Logano seemed to have calmed down.

“About time one of us wins these things,” Logano said of the Penske trio. “When you think about the amount of laps led by Team Penske and Ford in general, just haven’t been able to close. To see a couple of Fords on the front row duking it out, I wish one of them was me, in a selfish way. But it’s good to see those guys running up there and being able to click one off.”

Larson sets NASCAR record for stage wins

When he won the first stage at Talladega, it was the 67th of Larson’s career and made him NASCAR’s all-time stage winner. He broke a tie with Martin Truex Jr. with the stage win.

Stages were introduced in 2017 as a way to ensure natural breaks during races that allowed fans to rush to the bathroom or concession stand without missing any action. Cars typically make a pit stop during a stage break.

Teammate-on-teammate collision

Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin, who combined to win five of the first nine races this season, had a collision on a restart that ensured Bell would not win his fourth race of the season.

It happened in the first stage of the race with Bell on the front row next to Chris Buescher on his inside, and with Hamlin behind him. As the cars revved to get up to speed at the green flag, Hamlin ran into the back of Bell, which caused him to turn into Buescher and create the second caution of the race.

Bell went to the garage, where he joined Ryan Blaney, Buescher and Brad Keselowski, all betting favorites who were done for the day before the end of the first stage.

“What in the hell? Man, apologies if that’s on me,” Hamlin radioed. “We weren’t even up to speed yet. I don’t know why that would have wrecked him. When he shot down to the bottom, I wasn’t even sure I was actually on him.”

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NASCAR races next week at Texas Motor Speedway, where Elliott scored his only win of the 2024 season last April.

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Fan ejected after taunting Red Sox OF Duran

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Fan ejected after taunting Red Sox OF Duran

CLEVELAND — Jarren Duran has found plenty of support from his Boston Red Sox teammates and others since he revealed in a Netflix documentary that he attempted suicide three years ago.

However, Duran said Sunday that a fan in the front row near the Red Sox dugout in Cleveland said “something inappropriate” to him after the All-Star left fielder flied out in the seventh inning of a 13-3 victory over the Guardians.

Duran stayed on the top step of the dugout and glared at the fan as the inning played out. During the seventh-inning stretch, before the singing of “God Bless America,” Red Sox teammates and coaches kept Duran away from the area as umpires and Progressive Field security personnel gathered to handle the situation.

The fan tried to run up the aisle but was caught by security and taken out of the stadium.

“The fan just said something inappropriate. I’m just happy that the security handled it and the umpires were aware of it and they took care of it for me,” Duran said.

After the game, the Guardians released a statement apologizing to the Red Sox and Duran. The team said it had identified the fan and was working with Major League Baseball on next steps.

Duran said it was the first time he was taunted by a fan about his suicide attempt and mental health struggles since the Netflix series “The Clubhouse: A Year With the Red Sox” was released April 8.

“When you open yourself up like that, you also open yourself up to the enemies. But I have a good support staff around me, teammates, coaches. There were fans that were supporting me, so that was awesome,” he said.

Boston manager Alex Cora was in the opposite corner of the Red Sox dugout but lauded security for how the incident was handled.

Cora was even prouder of Duran’s restraint. Duran was suspended for two games last season when he directed an anti-gay slur at a heckling fan at Fenway Park when the fan shouted that Duran needed a tennis racket to hit.

“There’s a two-way street. That’s something I said last year. We made a mistake last year, and we learned from it. We grew up, you know, as an individual and as a group,” Cora said.

Sunday’s incident dampened what had been a solid game and series for Duran. He went 4-for-6 with an RBI and had at least three hits in consecutive games for the second time in his career.

In Saturday’s doubleheader nightcap, Duran had Boston’s first straight steal of home plate in 16 years.

Duran went 7-for-15 with three RBIs as Boston took two of three games in the weekend series. Six of his hits in the series came against lefties after Duran was just 3-for-31 against southpaws coming into the weekend.

“I’ve been getting some good swings on lefties lately, just hitting it right at guys. I’m trying to stay with my process, and it just happened to work good for me this series. So, I’m just going to keep at it,” said Duran, who has hit safely in 13 of his past 14 games and is batting .323 (20-for-62) with eight extra-base hits, including a home run, and six RBIs during that span.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Sources: Tkachuk dodges discipline, will play G4

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Sources: Tkachuk dodges discipline, will play G4

Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk will not receive supplemental discipline for his hit on Tampa Bay Lightning forward Jake Geuntzel in Game 3, sources told ESPN on Sunday.

Tkachuk’s hit, in the third period of his team’s 5-1 loss, received a five-minute major. According to sources, the NHL Department of Player Safety determined that was enough, considering Guentzel had recently touched the puck and Tkachuk didn’t make contact with Guentzel’s head.

The department also believed that the force in which Tkachuk hit Guentzel was far lesser than the hit Tampa’s Brandon Hagel made on Florida captain Aleksander Barkov in Game 2, which earned Hagel a one game suspension.

The plays led both coaches to trade jabs in the media. After Barkov went down in Game 2, Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice said: “The only players we hit are the one with pucks.”

Barkov missed the end of the third period, but played in Game 3. Game 4 is Monday at Amerant Bank Arena.

At his postgame press conference, following Tkachuk’s hit on Guentzel, Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper deadpanned the exact same line as Maurice.

Tkachuk leads the series in scoring with three goals and an assist through three games. Guentzel has two goals and two assists for Tampa Bay.

The Battle of Florida is living up to the billing as one of the most contentious rivalries in hockey; either Tampa or Florida has made it to the Stanley Cup Final in each of the last five seasons.

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