Former Notre Dame Fighting Irish star Malik Zaire fueled the hype for the national championship game on Saturday with harsh criticism of Ohio State quarterback Will Howard.

Howard led the Buckeyes to a College Football Playoff semifinal victory over the Texas Longhorns, 28-14. Howard was 24-of-33 with 289 passing yards and a touchdown pass. He also had an interception.

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Zaire was unconvinced Howard would be able to do enough to get over the Fighting Irish on Jan. 20.

"All the great QBs Ohio State has had the last 15 yrs and Howard is def the worst one by far and ostate fans are trying to convince me that he’s gonna lead them to the chip?!?! Lmao ok," Zaire wrote on X. "I’d even take the OG Jalin Marshall at QB before Howard!!!!!!!!"

Zaire added that Ohio State’s loss to Michigan before the College Football Playoff started was more questionable than Notre Dame’s early season loss to Northern Illinois.

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"Ok let’s be honest, we got beat by NIU that was embarrassing. But yall got beat by Michigan for the 4th year in a row, at home as a 20+pt favorite, got the flag planted in the middle of yall field and beat up after the game while ya head coach watched….. lmao yall have nothing to tell me about this Ohio state team lmao," he added.

Notre Dame will be looking for its first national championship in the College Football Playoff era, but have to go up against a tough defense and an offense that has the ability to explode for big plays.

The Fighting Irish narrowly defeated Penn State in their semifinal matchup.

Howard has 3,779 passing yards and 33 touchdown passes this season. He transferred to Ohio State from Kansas State.

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The former Oregon teammates hooked up for a 43-yard touchdown on the Broncos' first drive to give Denver an early lead.

Ryan Day is lamenting the "self-inflicted wounds" that Ohio State had on offense vs. Texas, saying, "we've got to do a much better job" in the CFP final vs. Notre Dame.

Joshua Zirkzee scored the winning penalty for 10-man Man United against Arsenal after their hectic FA Cup third round tie finished 1-1 after extra time.

The holders secured their passage through to the next stage with goalkeeper Altay Bayindir the hero.

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The former WWE star known as Melina was reportedly "unreachable" amid the devastating wildfires that left a path of destruction in Southern California over the last week.

A Matter of Pride Wrestling and the Cauliflower Alley Club asked their followers about the location of Melina Perez on Saturday.

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"We’re deeply concerned as WWE Legend Melina has been unresponsive amidst the troubling events unfolding in Los Angeles," A Matter of Pride Wrestling wrote on X. "If anyone has seen or heard from her, please report her safe. Any information helps."

The Cauliflower Alley Club added, "Reading on X that apparently former WWE superstar Melina has reportedly been unreachable amidst the wildfire oubreak in Los Angeles. If anyone knows her whereabouts or can contact her it would be a great relief to everyone concerned about her safely. Please share, Thank you."

Perez, 45, was born in Los Angeles.

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She burst onto the WWE scene when she appeared on "Tough Enough" in 2002 in hopes of earning a roster spot. While she didn’t win the spot, she later was the valet for the MNM tag team of Johnny Nitro and Joey Mercury.

She had a successful singles run as she was the WWE Women’s Champion three times and the WWE Divas Champion twice.

Perez also competed for the National Wrestling Alliance and TNA Wrestling.

She wrestled from 2001 to 2021.

The Los Angeles wildfires have killed more than a dozen people and left thousands of structures and acres of land burned.

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Auburn star Johni Broome will not require surgery on his sprained left ankle, sources told ESPN.

The Australian, called up late after Ronnie O’Sullivan’s withdrawal, fought back from 5-1 down to knock out the Scot

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Notre Dame starting left tackle Anthonie Knapp will miss the College Football Playoff National Championship game after suffering a high ankle sprain in the Irish's Orange Bowl win.

Rex Ryan and Mike Vrabel both interviewed for the Jets' coaching vacancy this offseason.

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The wide receiver's roller-coaster season with the Steelers took one final turn, when the wideout fielded a question about his belief in the offense.

Eze fired Palace in front in the fourth minute and the hosts dominated possession.

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There were 96 places between the clubs at the start of the third-round weekend.

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The two great rivals face off in Jeddah with silverware on the line

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Cameron Congreve had got the visitors off to a dream start at St James’ Park.

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Former New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan expressed hope he would get a chance to face off against Mike Vrabel and the New England Patriots during the 2025 season.

Ryan reacted on ESPN to the Patriots’ decision to hire Vrabel as the team’s head coach on Sunday. It came one week after New England fired Jerod Mayo.

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"Hopefully, I can kick this guy’s a-- twice a year," he said with a smile.

Ryan had interviewed to be the Jets’ head coach and suggested he was the favorite to land the job. He would replace Robert Saleh, who was fired in the middle of the season, and interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich, who replaced Saleh.

"The reason I think I'm going to get it is because I'm the best guy for it. It ain't close," he said, via ESPN. "The thing you have to do is, you have to connect with your football team, you have to connect with your fan base. The way they play, that's the most important thing. It's not just the Xs and Os and all that."

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Aside from showing his confidence, Ryan even offered a pitch – one that took direct aim at quarterback Aaron Rodgers. 

"Clearly, when you have a guy that doesn't show up for mandatory minicamp – and, by the way, he's your quarterback, coming off an injury – I think that's an absolutely ridiculous message you send to the team," Ryan said of Rodgers missing mandatory minicamp over the summer for a trip to Egypt. 

"If he comes back, things would be different. If he's back, it ain't gonna be the country club, show up whenever the hell you want to show up. That ain't gonna happen. I'll just leave it at that."

Ryan was 46-50 as the Jets’ head coach and was the last to lead the Jets to the playoffs.

Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.

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Tennessee Volunteers men’s basketball coach Rick Barnes didn’t mince words when he revealed why he sat the team’s leading scorer, Chaz Lanier, in Saturday’s win over the Texas Longhorns.

Lanier had 10 points in 34 minutes as No. 1 Tennessee won 74-70 over the Longhorns. He’s averaging 19 points per game. Barnes said he removed Lanier after he didn’t shoot the ball on a play designed for him.

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"I took him out the first play of the second half because he didn't shoot the ball," he said, via CBS Sports. "That play is designed for that shot. I told him, 'If you're not going to do what you're getting paid to do, then you're going to sit over here.' Because he is getting paid to do that."

Barnes’ "paid to do" remark raised eyebrows in the name, image and likeness era. No head coach had been as blunt as Barnes was after the win.

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Lanier has a $1.7 million NIL valuation, according to On3 Sports.

"I've told Chaz all along, he doesn't have to score the ball for us to win," Barnes added. "He's going to have to help those guys by learning how to screen, gonna have to learn to cut harder, learn to do his work early coming off screens, because he kind of gallops a little bit."

Tennessee is 15-1 on the year and 2-1 against SEC opponents.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Late NHL star Johnny Gaudreau's No. 8 jersey has been retired by the Dubuque Fighting Saints.