Wrestler Gable Steveson is ready to get back in the game. The Olympic gold medalist will return to competition at the University of Minnesota as he puts his retirement on pause.

Steveson plans to exercise his fifth and final season of college wrestling eligibility. The COVID-19 pandemic granted NCAA athletics an additional year of eligibility.

Steveson won his second national title at Minnesota in 2022 before announcing his retirement. The 24-year-old will look to extend his 52-match win streak when he resumes competitive wrestling in the collegiate ranks. 

“Minnesota has given me everything, and now it’s my turn to give it right back to them: to put my feet back on the wrestling mat, to be the champ, one more time,” Steveson said in a video posted to social media.

Minnesota said he is expected to make his season debut on Nov. 24. “Gable has the burning desire to compete for the Maroon and Gold one last time,” Minnesota wrestling head coach Brandon Eggum said.

US WRESTLER GABLE STEVESON WINS GOLD MEDAL IN DRAMATIC FASHION AT TOKYO OLYMPICS

“We are thankful he has chosen the opportunity to add to his historic legacy with our program. He is one of the best to ever compete in the sport of wrestling, and we are grateful for the impact has had at our program.”

Gold medalist USA’s Gable Dan Steveson celebrates the golden medal after the men’s freestyle 125kg wrestling competition during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Makuhari Messe in Tokyo on August 6, 2021. (Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Steveson had a stint with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). During his time with the professional wrestling promotion, Steveson competed at the NXT level — the organization’s developmental brand.

Mar 19, 2022; Detroit, MI, USA; Minnesota wrestler Gable Steveson raises his arm as he leaves the mat after defeating Arizona State wrestler Cohlton Schultz (not pictured) in the 285 pound weight class final match during the NCAA Wrestling Championships at Little Cesars Arena.  (Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports)

The Buffalo Bills signed Steveson in May, despite his lack of experience with football. He was projected to be a defensive lineman. However, Steveson’s first attempt at organized football ended in August when he was released by the Bills.

He has continued to train with Eggum, and considered making a run at qualifying for the Paris Olympics before ultimately deciding against it.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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With her hair dyed red, her shoes red and her gloves pink, Julianna Sarabia is all in on bleeding Verdugo Hills High red.

A standout for the school’s soccer team, she also has gained fame in flag football. She was at her best Wednesday in an opening game of the City Section Open Division playoffs, using her speed and instincts to make an interception and run 60 yards for a touchdown.

No. 4-seed Verdugo Hills made history by handing defending City champion Birmingham its first defeat in two years of its flag football program with a 12-0 victory, sending the Dons into next Wednesday’s semifinals against top-seeded San Pedro.

Sarabia has nine interceptions returned for touchdowns. She didn’t return the one against the Patriots for a score, but it did set up a touchdown pass from Emily Wagner to Meadow Moore in the first half that put Birmingham on the defensive.

Verdugo Hills certainly knows something about causing the Patriots problems, because it also held Birmingham scoreless in a 0-0 tie to open the season.

Verdugo Hills’ coach, Darren Fitzgerald, is a former 11-man head coach for the Dons. He has brought together a collection of multi-sport athletes to perform well in flag football.

There’s a toughness in them, as several showed off scabs on their arms. Sarabia briefly went down after a run but immediately got back up. She plays free safety and it’s tough for any big plays to happen with her defending the field.

The other semifinal will match Banning at Eagle Rock. Banning upset No. 2-seeded Marshall 19-7. Eagle Rock knocked off Garfield 38-12. Halyee Weatherspoon had two touchdowns, including returning an interception for a score, and MarySol Jernigan passed for four touchdowns.

San Pedro defeated Crenshaw 34-12. The winners next Wednesday will advance to the championship game at Crenshaw on Nov. 23.

The New York Jets’ playoff hopes likely died in the Sonoran Desert. Owner Woody Johnson’s big swings — firing head coach Robert Saleh, replacing him with Jeff Ulbrich, trading for wide receiver Davante Adams — didn’t work.

Johnson envisioned this season ending in the land of milk and honey. Instead, the Jets are 3-7 after their latest embarrassing loss. Johnson might not even be around for the aftermath.

In the lead up to the Presidential election, there was an expectation around the Jets’ facility that, if Donald Trump won, Johnson would leave to join his administration, as he did in 2016 when Johnson was appointed the ambassador to the United Kingdom. During the 2024 campaign, Johnson made a handful of appearances on Fox News stumping for Trump, his friend, and hosted Trump in his box at the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday night road game a couple weeks ago, which took place a day after a Trump rally in Latrobe, Pa. If Johnson is heading back to work for the White House, that news will likely drop in the coming weeks. Last time, Trump picked Johnson on Jan. 19, 2017, and Johnson was confirmed in June. He wouldn’t have to go through the confirmation process again if he’s appointed to the same position — ambassador to the U.K. — though Johnson would have to be confirmed if he was appointed to a different position.

Last time, Johnson’s brother, vice chairman Christopher Johnson, ran the franchise for three and a half years until Woody Johnson returned in 2021. Christopher Johnson wasn’t around the team much in 2022 or ’23, but was back into the fold in ’24, possibly in preparation to take over if his brother leaves again. And if Woody Johnson does leave, it would carry plenty of implications for the Jets’ immediate future, and beyond.

There’s a good chance the Jets will be looking for a new head coach and general manager this winter. Ulbrich, previously the team’s defensive coordinator, hasn’t shown enough to earn the full time job since replacing Saleh in the interim, especially since the defense has taken a step back. The Jets rank last in the NFL in defensive EPA since Ulbrich became interim head coach, as well as 25th in rushing defense, 26th in red-zone defense and 25th in scoring defense. In the Week 10 loss to the Cardinals, they missed 20 tackles, per NextGen. As for general manager Joe Douglas, he’s felt like a dead man walking since Johnson started to enact his will without involving Douglas, who was not consulted before the decision to fire Saleh. Johnson also pushed for the Adams trade and to get Haason Reddick in the building with a restructured contract after a prolonged holdout.

“Woody and I talk every day,” Douglas said recently, sounding defeated. “I serve at the pleasure of the owner.”

Douglas is in the last year of a six-year contract and his best season record-wise — 7-9 in 2019 — came with a roster that he didn’t even build, hired in June that year after free agency and the NFL Draft. He’s never made the playoffs and has a worse career winning percentage as Jets GM than predecessors John Idzik and Mike Maccagnan.

Everyone in the league watched from afar as Johnson fired Saleh in Week 5 and took power away from Douglas. Then, they saw the results on the field. There will be interest if the jobs come open — there are only 32 NFL head coach and general manager positions, after all — but this isn’t exactly looking like an appealing organization for any prospective coach or GM. Candidates with options might think twice.

So that raises the question: How involved Woody Johnson will be when it comes to the next steps, which could also impact the Jets’ ability to lure quality candidates. He will most likely be involved in both searches (if Ulbrich and Douglas are gone), along with Christopher, before he joins Trump’s administration (if he does leave).

There’s also the question of how this impacts the future of Rodgers, who was supposed to be the franchise’s savior but instead looks like a shell of his former self. In the Cardinals loss he had 151 passing yards on 35 pass attempts, the second-fewest yards he’s ever had on 30 or more attempts in a single game.

Some in the organization wonder if, should the season continue down this path and Rodgers keeps playing the way he has, he might opt to retire. He’s turning 41 in December. There’s also the question of what coach would want to join a Rodgers-led team as his skills decline, considering all that comes with coaching Rodgers, from the off-the-field circus to the on-the-field control he demands.

Rodgers currently only carries a $23.5 million cap hit next year, but if he was cut or retired the Jets would incur a $49 million dead-cap charge. If the Jets declared him a post-June 1 cut (or retirement), they could split the $49 million hit over two seasons, with $14 million of it coming in 2025 and $35 million in 2026.

There is still an avenue to Rodgers returning in 2025, though, and it actually starts with the Woody and Christopher Johnson dynamic. Rodgers has a close relationship with Christoper Johnson. When the Jets contingent (the Johnsons, Saleh, Douglas, Nathaniel Hackett and team president Hymie Elhai) visited Rodgers at his Malibu home last year to try and convince him to join their team, Christopher Johnson actually arrived first and spent time with the quarterback before the others arrived. Rodgers has a closer relationship with Christopher than with Woody, according to team sources, and some think Christopher Johnson’s presence might help convince Rodgers to stick around.

If Woody Johnson is making the calls, though, it wouldn’t be shocking if he wanted to move on from Rodgers considering the lack of success the team has had relative to expectations. After firing Saleh, Johnson called this Jets roster the most talented in his 25 years as owner.

Regardless of whether Rodgers returns, though, the roster will likely look a whole lot different in 2025. Some notable players set to become free agents: cornerback D.J. Reed, tight end Tyler Conklin, tackles Tyron Smith and Morgan Moses, defensive end Haason Reddick, linebacker Jamien Sherwood, safety Tony Adams, defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw and safety Isaiah Oliver. The Jets will also have decisions to make on wide receivers Davante Adams and Allen Lazard. Star 2022 draft picks Sauce Gardner, Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall are eligible for extensions for the first time.

Christopher Johnson made some questionable decisions in his time running the team, namely hiring Adam Gase in 2019, and waiting until after free agency and the draft to fire Maccagnan later that year. But some around the team feel that Christopher Johnson learned a lot from his first go-around and that he’s more likely to allow whomever the Jets hire as general manager the autonomy to run the team without much interference. That’s less likely to be true if Woody Johnson remains in the building.

(Photo: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)