Kyle Whittingham is the next head coach of the Michigan Wolverines football program with a reported deal coming weeks after the university fired Sherrone Moore for what officials described as an “inappropriate relationship” with a staffer. Moore was later arrested.

Whittingham and Michigan agreed to a five-year contract, ESPN reported Friday. 

He will take over for Biff Poggi, who was named the interim head coach after Moore was dismissed. Poggi made his case to take over the job in the last week.

Whittingham will be the fifth head coach since Lloyd Carr retired after the 2007 season.

Whittingham announced earlier this year he would step down as the head coach of the Utah Utes after 20 seasons. He expressed interest in continuing his coaching career and quickly became one of the handful of coaches who were possible Moore successors.

Whittingham, 66, served under Ron McBride and Urban Meyer at Utah. He had been with the program since 1994, when he first started out as a defensive line coach. Michigan will be the second head coaching stop for him. He is 177-88 all time.

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Michigan is considered one of the top football jobs in the country despite the scandals that have plagued the school in recent years. One of the biggest included a sign-stealing scandal that led to the suspension of Jim Harbaugh. Moore also served a suspension as part of an NCAA investigation.

Through it all, Michigan won the national championship behind J.J. McCarthy in 2023. The Wolverines were 15-0 that season, going undefeated for the first time since 1997 under Carr. The Wolverines won the national championship that year as well.

Whittingham will be called upon to right the ship that has been rocking for the last few weeks.

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The Wolverines will play in the Citrus Bowl Dec. 31 against the Texas Longhorns.

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Lakers guard Austin Reaves will miss at least a month with a grade 2 strain in his left calf, the team announced Friday, one day after he left the game against the Houston Rockets at halftime.

Reaves, averaging career highs in points (26.6), assists (6.3) and rebounds (5.2), had already missed three games with what the team called a “mild” calf strain. He returned off the bench while playing on a minutes restriction against Phoenix on Dec. 23 and reprised his starting role on Christmas Day in a loss to the Rockets. But after scoring 12 points in 15 minutes in the first half, he was ruled out for the second half with “left calf soreness.”

Calf injuries have been major concerns across the NBA since three stars — Tyrese Haliburton, Damian Lillard and Jayson Tatum — suffered Achilles tears during last year’s playoffs. Haliburton and Lillard have previously dealt with calf injuries.

Lakers star guard Luka Doncic suffered a calf injury on Christmas Day last year while with the Dallas Mavericks and missed two months, during which he was traded to the Lakers.

“I know how it is to go to a calf injury. It’s not fun at all,” Doncic said Thursday after the game. “[I’ll] just be there to support him. Take your time. Calves are dangerous so take your time.”

The Lakers (19-10) are losing their second-leading scorer at a critical time of the season. They have lost three consecutive games, their only losing streak of the season, and their defense in the last 15 games has been among the worst in the league.

After the third consecutive blowout loss, coach JJ Redick questioned how much his players cared. He promised an “uncomfortable” film session and team meeting at practice on Saturday before the Lakers face Sacramento at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday.

After a difficult stretch of the schedule that included eight out of 10 games against teams with winning records, the Lakers have four of their next five against teams in the bottom of the Western Conference standings. Outside of a home game against the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons on Tuesday, the Lakers play the Sacramento Kings, the Memphis Grizzlies (on Jan. 2 and 4) and at New Orleans on Jan. 6.

Reaves’ absence could extend until the beginning of the Lakers’ Grammy road trip that begins on Jan. 20 against Denver.

The Baltimore Ravens are in must-win mode for the remainder of the season if they wish to make the playoffs, but it’s likely their star quarterback won’t be able to help them achieve that goal.

Lamar Jackson was listed as doubtful on the Ravens’ injury report for their game against the Green Bay Packers this Saturday after suffering a back injury that knocked him out of the contest against the New England Patriots in Week 16.

Jackson hasn’t practiced all week for Baltimore, and it couldn’t be worse timing considering the playoff implications the team faces in the final two weeks.

The Ravens, 7-8 on the year, cannot lose their last two games, or they will miss the playoffs. They have made it in each of the last three seasons as well as six of the past seven.

But it appears head coach John Harbaugh and the rest of the organization will have to lean on Tyler “Snoop” Huntley once more, as Jackson’s backup is likely to be thrust into this critical situation as the team’s starting quarterback.

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Huntley took over for Jackson when he was injured in the second quarter last Sunday in the 28-24 loss, when the Patriots stormed back in the fourth quarter to clinch their own playoff berth.

Huntley was 9-of-10 passing, but only for 65 yards as he failed to keep drives going with what some fans believed was questionable play-calling, considering running back Derrick Henry was rarely used in the quarter despite his second touchdown early on putting the Ravens up by 11. Henry finished the game with 128 yards on 18 carries.

Huntley spoke to reporters earlier this week, where he understood the stakes.

“A lot of our games have been must-win, and every week we must win, so we have to focus on going 1-0 this week,” Huntley said, via ESPN. “If we’re doing everything that we need to do, we’ll get that.”

Henry also believes in Huntley.

“He goes out like he’s the starter,” the star back said. “He practices that way, and he prepares that way. So yes, if Snoop is going to go out there, he’s going to roll and do what he has to do.”

Huntley, who has 15 career starts under his NFL belt, one coming earlier this season for Baltimore, has gone 6-9 in games where he needs to start for either the Ravens or Miami Dolphins, whom he played for in 2024. He is 1-0 this season in a spot start for Jackson, which came against the Chicago Bears on the road.

It will be another road start for Huntley, but in a very hostile Lambeau Field environment on Saturday night. The Packers are also looking to secure a playoff spot at 9-5-1 on the year.

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