Aug 7, 2020 3 min read

Maryland QB opts out

Maryland senior quarterback Josh Jackson has opted out of the upcoming football season, leaving the Terrapins with very little depth and experience at the pivotal position.

Jackson is the most prominent of six Maryland players who have decided not to play in 2020 for reasons related to the COVID-19 pandemic, coach Michael Locksley said during a teleconference Friday.

But Maryland learned later in the day that Alabama transfer Taulia Tagovailoa has been granted immediate eligibility, making the talented sophomore the immediate front-runner to be the starting quarterback.

Jackson played in 10 games last year for Maryland after transferring from Virginia Tech. He went 98 for 207 for 1,274 yards and 12 touchdowns with six interceptions.

His backup was Tyrrell Pigrome, who transferred to Western Kentucky during the offseason.

With Jackson out, Locksley is now counting on big things from Tagovailoa, the younger brother of Tua Tagovailoa, who starred at Alabama and was selected fifth overall by Miami in the 2020 NFL draft.

In golf

On a course with happy memories, Lydia Ko ran off four straight birdies to start her round and finished with birdies on her last two holes for a 6-under 65 and a one-shot lead going into the weekend at the Marathon Classic.

Ko is a two-time winner at Highland Meadows, and this would be a great spot for the former No. 1 player in women’s golf to end a slump that has kept her winless in her last 44 events worldwide and dropped her to No. 55 in the world.

A 36-hole lead is a good start. She got there with short birdie putts on the last two holes, both par 5s, that allowed her to move past Jodi Ewart Shadoff, who had a 63.

Ko was at 13-under 129.

Rachel Rohanna of Waynesburg shot 75 in the sxecond round and missed the cut by two strokes.

In the NBA

Caris LeVert scored 22 points, Jarrett Allen added 17 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists and the patchwork Brooklyn Nets clinched a playoff berth by beating the Sacramento Kings 119-106 on Friday.

The surprising Nets came to the bubble without stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving but continued to display plenty of fight, improving to 3-2 since coming to Florida. Joe Harris added 21 points, shooting 8 of 11 from the field, including 5 of 7 from 3-point range.

The Nets had a 78-62 lead midway through the third quarter but Bogdan Bogdanovic responded with five quick points to spark a Kings rally. Sacramento pulled within 80-76 before Garrett Temple’s 3-pointer got Brooklyn back on track.

• Dillon Brooks scored 22 points, and the Memphis Grizzlies claimed their first win since the restart with a 121-92 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Jonas Valanciunas had 19 points and 11 rebounds and Ja Morant had 19 points and nine assists for the Grizzlies.

• Jakob Poeltl knew the Utah Jazz were going to try to take away the perimeter. So he took advantage of the interior scoring repeatedly on pick-and-roll and interior moves.

Derrick White scored 24 points, Poeltl added 19 points and 10 rebounds and the San Antonio Spurs got a much-needed win over the short-handed Utah Jazz 119-111.