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Auburn fires Hugh Freeze following Kentucky loss and fan backlash on the plains: sources

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Auburn fires Hugh Freeze following Kentucky loss and fan backlash on the plains: sources

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Hugh Freeze made one final walk off the field on Saturday night following the loss to Kentucky, as the student section loudly chanted ‘Fire Freeze.’’ The students got their wish, Auburn has fired its head coach, according to multiple sources. 

The embarrassing loss to Kentucky, where Auburn scored just three points in the 10-3 loss, was the final straw for Freeze. He left the athletic department and boosters with no other option, as the Tigers fell to 1-5 in the SEC.

Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze walks off the field after a loss to Kentucky in an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, in Auburn, Alabama. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

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Defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin will serve as the Tigers’ interim head coach, as Auburn travels to Vanderbilt on Saturday, before playing Mercer and Alabama to close out the 2025 season. 

Auburn will owe Hugh Freeze roughly $15.5 million for the remaining years on his contract, according to sources. There were no negotiations regarding the buyout. 

For a coach that promised big things for the Auburn program, Freeze ended up sounding like a used-car salesman over the past four years on the Plains. After every loss, for some reason, he’d keep coming back to the “We’re close” phrase that would send Auburn fans into a full-blown frenzy. 

In the end, the offensive guru has put Auburn in a worse position than when it started. Most would think the Bryan Harsin era was bad, but the Tigers have been stuck in neutral for years, with hope fading after every loss suffered in excruciating fashion. 

Auburn coach Hugh Freeze reacts on the sidelines after his team scored a touchdown against Arkansas during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, in Fayetteville, Arkansas. (AP Photo/Michael Woods)

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DEION SANDERS BLOCKS PLAYERS INTERVIEWS AFTER COLORADO’S LATEST BLOWOUT DEFEAT

Whether it was the Georgia game, or the close loss to Missouri, the 2025 season has been a disaster. And when the fans turn on you, it’s over. So, one would question why it took John Cohen so long to make a decision. Did the administration actually think a win over Arkansas was going to turn things around? 

No, it just bought them more time to make a decision that should’ve been taken care of two weeks ago. 

If you thought about heading to Nashville next weekend to play Vanderbilt against the unofficial ‘Governor’ of Auburn in Diego Pavia was a smart move, I’d imagine fans are relieved to know that the decision was made in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Time To Join Coaching Carousel. Who Could Tigers Hunt? 

This entire situation was beyond repair, and no amount of NIL funding was going to fix it. Auburn boosters had given enough, with a return on investment non-existent.

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Now, Auburn joins the likes of LSU, Florida and Arkansas in looking for a new head coach. There will be plenty of questions centered around which job is better, but the Tigers are realistically third on that list right now. 

Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops talks with Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze before an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, in Auburn, Alabama. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

The support is there, along with plenty of influential ‘money folks’ ready to throw NIL funding at the next head coach to keep players from leaving, along with finding quick-fixes in the transfer portal. There was no way Auburn could wait until the end of the season to make this move. Sure, fans will continue showing up, and you can bet the Tigers will have a strong showing at Vanderbilt next week in terms of fan support. 

But, Freeze looked like a coach who was lost for words, knowing that it was the final time he’d be sitting at a podium with the Auburn logo flanking him. 

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Now, we wait to see where the Tigers turn next, and they have plenty of company across college football.

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‘Quad God’ Ilia Malinin avenges Olympic disappointment with backflip for third straight world title

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‘Quad God’ Ilia Malinin avenges Olympic disappointment with backflip for third straight world title

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It seems like Ilia Malinin, the “Quad God,” has done a nice job of moving on from his Olympic heartbreak.

Last month, the 21-year-old Team USA star was the overwhelming favorite to bring home the gold in the men’s free skate. But the unimaginable happened as he fell twice and dropped all the way to eighth place.

However, he has begun to avenge the loss and is now a three-time world champion.

 

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Ilia Malinin from the United States competes during the men free skating at the Figure Skating World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic, Saturday, March 28, 2026.  (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Malinin shouted and punched the air with relief after finishing a skate that showed he had achieved his desire to “move on” from the Olympics after days of being tormented by his mistakes.

Malinin scored 218.11 in the free skate for a total of 329.40, far ahead of silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama of Japan on 306.67. Another Japanese skater, Shun Sato, was third on 288.54.

Malinin was blunt about his Olympic performance when speaking to NBC afterward, saying simply, “I blew it,” and said it was a clear mental hurdle from start to finish.

“I just had so many thoughts and memories flood right before I got into my starting pose, and almost, I think, it maybe overwhelmed me a little bit. I’ve been through a lot in my life, a lot of bad and good experiences,” Malinin told reporters. 

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Gold medalist Ilia Malinin from the United States waves to spectators after the medal ceremony after the men’s free skating at the Figure Skating World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

LINDSEY VONN KEEPING RETURN TO SKIING ON TABLE DESPITE INJURIES: ‘I DON’T LIKE TO CLOSE THE DOOR ON ANYTHING’

“So, I just feel like it’s the pressure of especially being that Olympic gold medal hopeful. It was just something I can’t control now. The pressure of the Olympics, it’s really something different, and I think not a lot of people understand that. They only understand that from the inside and going into this competition, especially today, I felt really confident, really good,” he added. “But it really just went by so fast I did not have time to process.” 

But with some pressure off, Malinin was able to show who he truly is on the ice.

Gold medalist, Ilia Malinin from the United States waves before the medal ceremony after the men’s free skating at the Figure Skating World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

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Malinin becomes the first skater to win three consecutive men’s world titles since fellow American Nathan Chen, who achieved the feat in 2018, 2019 and 2021 after the 2020 event was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fox News’ Jackson Thompson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.  

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Ilia Malinin bounces back from Olympic nightmare to win third straight world figure skating title

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Ilia Malinin bounces back from Olympic nightmare to win third straight world figure skating title

Ilia Malinin is back on the top step of the podium.

Six weeks after a disastrous skate knocked the Olympic gold-medal favorite off the podium, the “quad god” reeled off one huge jump after another, and a backflip for good measure, to retain his world championship title for the third year running.

Malinin shouted and punched the air with relief after finishing a skate that showed he had achieved his desire to “move on” from the Olympics after days tormented by his mistakes.

He praised the crowd’s support, saying: “It was really challenging, really hard but with you guys I was able to make it through.” His aim, he added, had simply been to get through the free skate “in one piece.”

Skating last after leading the short program, just as he did in Milan, Malinin landed five high-scoring quadruple jumps but not his pioneering quad axel, a jump he didn’t attempt at the Olympics.

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Malinin scored 218.11 in the free skate for a total 329.40, far ahead of silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama of Japan on 306.67. Another Japanese skater, Shun Sato, was third on 288.54.

Ilia Malinin performs a backflip during his free skate at the World Figure Skating Championships on Saturday in Prague.

(Petr David Josek / Associated Press)

Kagiyama beat his personal-best free skate score but still had to make do with a fourth career world championship silver in a career which includes four Olympic silvers and five total worlds medals, but no gold from either event. He still embraced Malinin after his skate and they jumped together in celebration.

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In a showcase of top-level skating, there was no podium spot for France’s Adam Siao Him Fa, who had been in second after the short program but dropped to fifth overall after a fall. Estonia’s Aleksandr Selevko also fell dropped from third to sixth.

Malinin had no rematch with Mikhail Shaidorov, the skater from Kazakhstan who won the Olympic gold, because he opted against competing again this season.

That’s relatively common in figure skating for gold medal winners who face a rush of media and commercial opportunities after a grueling four-year Olympic buildup.

Malinin becomes the first skater to win three consecutive men’s world titles since fellow American Nathan Chen, who achieved the feat in 2018, 2019 and 2021 after the 2020 event was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The last competition of the championships is the free dance portion of the ice dance event later Saturday. France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron are in the lead after Friday’s rhythm dance.

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Tiger Woods released from jail after DUI arrest; eyes appear bloodshot in booking photo

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Tiger Woods released from jail after DUI arrest; eyes appear bloodshot in booking photo

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Tiger Woods was released from jail Friday night after he was arrested earlier in the day on a DUI charge following a car crash in Florida.

In a mugshot released hours after his arrest, Woods’ eyes appeared bloodshot, as he donned a blue polo inside the Martin County Jail in Florida.

Woods was seen leaving the jail in the passenger seat of a black SUV after his release on bail late Friday, according to The Associated Press.

Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek confirmed in a news conference that Woods was traveling at “a high rate of speed” when his vehicle collided with another car, resulting in his vehicle rolling over onto the driver’s side. 

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Tiger Woods was booked into Martin County, Florida, jail on March 27, 2026. (AP)

Authorities said Woods “exemplified signs of impairment.” He blew “triple-zeroes” for alcohol but refused a urine test.

“DUI investigators came to the scene here, and Mr. Woods did exemplify signs of impairment. They did several tests on him. Of course, he did explain the injuries and the surgeries that he had. We did take that into account, but they did do some in-depth roadside tests,” Budensiek added. 

“We really weren’t suspicious of alcohol being involved in this case, and that proved to be true at the jail. … But when it came time for us to ask for a urinalysis test, he refused. And, so, he’s been charged with DUI, with property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test.”

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Woods was spotted on the phone after the crash, wearing navy blue shorts.

Woods was charged with DUI, property damage and refusal to submit to a test, all misdemeanor charges. No one was injured, authorities said. Woods was alone in the car and crawled out of the passenger door after the crash.

Tiger Woods was driven from the Martin County Jail after being arrested for driving under the influence following a car crash on March 27, 2026, in Stuart, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

VANESSA, KAI TRUMP TAKE IN TIGER WOODS’ RETURN TO GOLF AT TGL FINALS

“This could’ve been a lot worse,” Budensiek noted. 

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President Donald Trump commented on the arrest of his “very close friend.”

“I feel so badly. He’s got some difficulty,” Trump said. “There was an accident, and that’s all I know. Very close friend of mine. He’s an amazing person, an amazing man, but some difficulty.”

Woods has not commented on the arrest.

Tiger Woods was arrested on a DUI charge after getting into a car crash on Friday. (Associated Press)

Woods currently is dating Trump’s ex-daughter-in-law, Vanessa, whose daughter, Kai, is set to play college golf in Miami next week.

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This is Woods’ second DUI arrest within the last decade. In 2017, he was taken into custody, also in Jupiter Island, after taking prescription drugs and being asleep behind the wheel of a running car at 3 a.m. 

In 2021, he got into a wreck that resulted in serious leg injuries that kept him off the golf course for the entire year.

Golfer Tiger Woods stands by his overturned vehicle in Jupiter Island, Fla., Friday, March 27, 2026.  (Jason Oteri/AP)

Woods made his return to competitive golf earlier this week in the TGL championship after rupturing his Achilles just before last year’s Masters (this year’s tournament is in less than two weeks). Woods has not appeared on the links since the 2024 PGA Championship, in which he missed the cut.

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