The Minnesota Vikings acquired tight end T.J. Hockenson from the NFC North rival the Detroit Lions on Tuesday, according to multiple reports. 

Minnesota are sending a 2023 second-round draft pick and a 2024 third-round selection to Detroit, and the Vikings will also receive a 2023 fourth-round pick along with a 2024 conditional fourth-round selection. 

The Vikings lead the NFC North with a 6-1 record, while Detroit is in last place at 1-6. 

It is a move which comes hours before the trade deadline after Minnesota lost tight end Irv Smith Jr. to a high ankle sprain in last week's 34-26 win over the Arizona Cardinals.

Smith is expected to miss eight to 10 weeks. 

The Lions selected Hockenson with the eighth overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. He has 186 catches for 2,068 yards and 15 touchdowns in 47 career games. 

Hockenson was leading the Lions with 395 receiving yards and had a team high-tying three TD grabs this season.

He is under contract through 2023 after the Lions picked up his fifth-year option.

Juan Cuadrado is struggling to sleep because of Juventus' poor Champions League form, but the versatile winger is determined to at least qualify for the Europa League.

Juve were eliminated from UEFA's primary club competition with a game to go – at home to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday – following a 4-3 loss to Benfica last week.

The Italian giants have lost four group matches for the first time in their history and are only above Group H's bottom side Maccabi Haifa on goal difference.

Massimiliano Allegri's men must therefore match or better the Israeli side's result against Benfica if they are to drop into the Europa League via the backdoor.

Either way, it has been a humbling experience for the two-time European champions after missing out on the knockout stages for the first time since the 2013-14 campaign.

"We have played some good matches," Cuadrado said ahead of facing PSG. "When you play well and don't win, there are no questions.

"But there is time to improve further. It's difficult to sleep when certain things happen, but they did happen. We have the strength of a good team here.

"We know this is an important match for us because we are playing for qualification for the Europa League."

Juve are looking to avoid becoming only the second Italian side to lose five Champions League matches in a single group-stage campaign after Roma in the 2004-05 season.

Cuadrado has started 15 games for Juve in all competitions this season, including all five European games – only Danilo (16) has started more regularly.

The Colombia international, who is expected to feature at the World Cup, has spent seven years in Turin but is set to be out of contract at the end of the campaign.

"I'm happy to be here. I feel like this team is my family," he said. "I've almost spent my entire career as a professional here and am grateful to Juventus. 

"As for my future, I try to move forward in order to do the best for the team and then we will see."

Toni Kroos is "calm" about his future and plans to hold contract talks with Real Madrid next year.

The former Germany midfielder's current deal expires at the end of the season and it has been reported he is considering his options.

Kroos has experienced a glorious eight years with Los Blancos following his move from Bayern Munich, winning the Champions League four times, claiming three LaLiga titles and lifting the FIFA Club World Cup on four occasions.

The 32-year-old plans to end his career with Madrid and is happy to wait until 2023 to begin contract negotiations.

He said on the eve of Wednesday's Champions League game against Celtic: "I'm very well physically, I'm feeling in good shape and things are going well on the pitch.

"I'm happy and very calm. Right now I'm very relaxed, I see things printed in the press and I don't know what is going to happen myself. 

"During the break [for the World Cup] I'm going to think about what could happen and then I'll decide. I'm going nowhere, I'm going to retire here, the only thing I don't know is when that will be. 

"It's funny that a lot of people know what I think when I don't even know. There's nothing new, the club and I are very calm."

He added: "We've arranged a talk next year, we're calm, the relationship with the club is very special. I've been here for eight years and I've said before I want to end my career here. We'll talk in January, February, March... Everything will be fine, that's for sure."

Kroos was sent off for the first time in his club career in the closing stages of Sunday's 1-1 LaLiga draw with Girona, but will face Celtic when Madrid attempt to win Group F at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Graham Potter has praised Edouard Mendy's professionalism, with the Chelsea goalkeeper set to reclaim his starting spot against Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League.

Mendy has been kept out of the starting line-up under Potter by Kepa Arrizabalaga, having struggled with an injury following the new coach's arrival from Brighton and Hove Albion.

With an impressive run of form since, Kepa has kept his place, restricting Mendy to no game-time until last weekend, when he replaced his injured team-mate in a 4-1 loss to Potter's former side.

Potter, however, has been impressed by the patience Mendy has shown, and says the Senegal shot-stopper will get his chance to recover his first-choice status while Kepa is out, starting on Wednesday.

"I've had some good chats with him, and he's been great," Potter said in a press conference. "He was injured when I first arrived, so Kepa played and did well.

"He's honest enough to know he had to be patient and support Kepa. He's kept his standards, and now he will have his opportunity."

Asked if an impressive Mendy performance against Zagreb would present difficult decisions going forward, Potter replied: "You'd hope so. You want as many difficult decisions as possible. That can only be beneficial."

Potter suggested Denis Zakaria could be in line for his Chelsea debut, with the Switzerland international yet to appear for the Blues since he joined on loan from Juventus.

"I've mentioned him before," Potter stated. "He's been good, he's trained well and supported his team-mates. He's in the frame, so we'll wait and see."

Raheem Sterling is expected to feature, as the winger looks to reverse his mixed form, but Potter would not be drawn on whether it impacts the England international's selection chances for the upcoming World Cup, with Gareth Southgate set to name his squad by November 10.

"I've not thought about that in terms of the World Cup," he added. "It's too easy to zoom in on the individual."

Stefano Pioli wanted to share the credit around after signing a contract extension to keep him as Milan coach until the end of the 2024-25 season.

Former Inter coach Pioli took over at Milan in 2019, and has overseen a rejuvenation in the Rossoneri's fortunes.

Having finished second in the 2020-21 campaign, Milan clinched their first Serie A title in 11 years last term.

Milan, who sit third in Serie A 12 games into this season, are also on the verge of qualifying for the last 16 of the Champions League for the first time since the 2013-14 campaign. They need only to avoid defeat against Salzburg on Wednesday to join Chelsea in progressing from Group E.

When asked about signing his new deal in Tuesday's pre-match press conference, Pioli said: "The credit belongs to everyone. The club is giving me great confidence.

"I am very happy with the renewal. I thanked the players because without them this renewal would not have been possible.

"We started our three-year journey, now we really care about passing [our objectives for] the season.

"I really appreciated this. The club could have extended my contract by a year, but they did it with a longer time frame. 

"It is a sign of our vision, of our collaboration, to try to make Milan bigger and bigger. I really appreciated the renewal and I can only thank the owners. I have always felt appreciated."

The omens are promising for Milan, seven-time European champions, ahead of their meeting with Salzburg at San Siro, given they are unbeaten in all three of their previous encounters with the Austrian side.

They do come into the match on the back of a 2-1 defeat to Torino in Serie A, however, though Pioli – whose side lost successive matches to Chelsea before bouncing back with a 4-0 thrashing of Dinamo Zagreb – is confident Milan can get the job done.

"We are a strong team, we have values and a lot of motivation," he said. "We know the difficulties of the match. Salzburg have not lost away from home [in this season's Champions League].

"We have strong players and we play this match in front of our fans, I can tell you that we have all the right cards to do well.

"Doing well would mean a lot, we had our first goal clearly in mind. We built this possibility, it was conceivable that if we hadn't won a match with Chelsea the last one would have been decisive. 

"The team now knows how to manage these heavy commitments. We are disappointed, but now it's another game."

The fit-again Cheslin Kolbe will play his first Test at full-back when South Africa face Ireland at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

Kolbe has not featured for the Springboks since July due to a broken jaw, but the versatile back will don the number 15 shirt against the top-ranked side in the world.

Kurt-Lee Arendse and Makazole Mapimpi will start on the wings in an exciting back three for the world champions' opening Test of their tour in Dublin 

Damian Willemse gets the nod at fly-half, with Jaden Hendrikse at scrum-half ahead of Faf de Klerk and Jasper Wiese selected as number eight in a loose trio with Pieter Steph-du Toit and Siya Kolisi

Springboks coach Jacques Nienaber said: "We selected a team we believe contains the best combinations to counter the threats posed by Ireland.

"Damian has done well for us at fly-half, and he is continuing to grow as a player in that role, while we think Cheslin has the potential to add a new dimension to our game at full-back.

"He was sidelined for a while after breaking his jaw against Wales, but he has played four 80-minute matches for Toulon since returning to play, and we are confident that he will step up to the challenge."

 

South Africa team: Cheslin Kolbe, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende, Makazole Mapimpi, Damian Willemse, Jaden Hendrikse; Steven Kitshoff, Malcolm Marx, Frans Malherbe, Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager, Siya Kolisi (captain), Pieter-Steph du Toit, Jasper Wiese.

Replacements: Bongi Mbonambi, Ox Nche, Vincent Koch, Franco Mostert, Deon Fourie, Kwagga Smith, Faf de Klerk, Willie le Roux.

Brodie Retallick has been banned for New Zealand's upcoming Tests against Wales and Scotland, but he is in contention to return against England.

The lock was dismissed for a dangerous clean-out on Kazuki Himeno in the second half of Saturday's 38-31 victory over Japan in Tokyo.

Speaking after that match, New Zealand head coach Ian Foster confirmed his side would look at contesting the red card.

An independent judicial committee handed Retallick a three-game ban on Tuesday, though that will be reduced by one game if he completes a coaching intervention programme.

The 31-year-old will therefore play no part against Wales in Cardiff on Saturday or Scotland in Edinburgh the following week, but he will be eligible to face England on November 19.

New Zealand, who retained their Rugby Championship title in September, have already lost hooker Dane Coles and skipper Sam Cane through injury against Japan.

Sam Whitelock will take over as captain after recovering from an inner ear problem.

Jos Buttler feels England are in a "a really good place" after they kept their T20 World Cup fate in their own hands with a 20-run win over New Zealand.

England really needed a victory at the Gabba on Tuesday to stay in the hunt for a semi-final place and they rose to the occasion, with Buttler leading by example.

The captain top scored with 73 from 47 balls, becoming England's highest T20I run-scorer in his 100th match for his country in the shortest format after being dropped by Kane Williamson on eight and Daryl Mitchell when he had 40 to his name.

Buttler and Alex Hales (52 off 40) set England on their way to posting 179-6 in Brisbane and Group 1 leaders New Zealand fell short on 159-6 in reply.

The in-form Glenn Phillips (62 from 36) and captain Kane Williamson, who scored a run-a-ball 40, had given the Black Caps a good chance of sealing their place in the last four with a third-wicket stand of 91.

England were able to move up to second above Australia and Sri Lanka with a victory due to have a superior net run-rate, though, with Sam Curran (2-26) and Chris Woakes (2-33) the pick of the bowlers 

A win over Sri Lanka at the SCG on Saturday should be enough for England to qualify, although third-placed Australia could significantly improve their net run-rate when they take on Afghanistan on Friday.

Wicketkeeper-batter Buttler said: "I think it's a big relief to be heading to that last game knowing we have a chance at progressing.

"So, yeah, we go there really excited. I think the team is in a really good place after tonight. It showed great character in a must-win match.

"We'll head to Sydney full of confidence and expecting a really tough game against Sri Lanka.

"There is a little bit of a benefit obviously playing that last game to know exactly what is required of us."

Captain Williamson doffed his cap to England after a first defeat of the tournament for New Zealand, who will be expected to seal a semi-final berth when they play Ireland in Adelaide on Friday.

"Credit to the way England played, they played beautifully, put us under pressure from the get-go and were clinical. It was a slightly above-par total," said the batter.

"We tried to take it deep, but credit to the way they bowled. It was a fair surface, we were in it in the second half but needed a few things to go our way. We tried to target certain areas of the ground and take it deep."

Julian Alvarez says it is "a privilege" to play with Erling Haaland at Manchester City, calling the Norway forward "the best in the world".

The two were among the fresh faces at the Etihad Stadium ahead of the 2021-22 campaign, brought in to fill an attacking void left by the departure of Sergio Aguero a year prior.

Despite superb form during his final months at River Plate, Alvarez has found himself playing second fiddle to former Borussia Dortmund attacker Haaland, who has been almost unstoppable.

But the Argentina international believes it is an honour to call the Leeds-born forward his team-mate, and thinks the pair will learn from each other over the course of their partnership at City.

"First and foremost, it’s a privilege playing with him," Alvarez said ahead of Wednesday's Champions League clash with Sevilla. "It is always great to play alongside the best in the world.

"I have played with him and without him and I think we can learn from each other both ways. I like he always wants to bring the best to the team.

"We’re very different players, but people have to adapt to different types of play and different styles when players line up. I like to occupy different positions on the pitch.

"In River I had other players who were big goalscorers so the same thing happened. I'm used to these types of situations.

"I trust in myself and in my own ability and know the other players trust me as well. It’s important that however way we can, we win."

Alvarez has managed just five starts across 16 appearances this term in all competitions, though three of those have come in the Champions League.

Haaland will sit out City's final group-stage game after he missed the Premier League win over Leicester, though he could return for their next top-flight game against Fulham on Saturday.

Massimiliano Allegri says there is no point in dwelling on the absence of Paul Pogba after the Juventus midfielder was ruled out of the World Cup.

It was announced on Monday that Pogba will play no part in France's bid to retain their title in Qatar due to a knee injury.

Pogba has not played a competitive game for Juve since returning to the Serie A club as a free agent in July after his Manchester United contract expired.

The 29-year-old underwent surgery last month and although he recently returned to training, he must now undergo further rehabilitation.

Bianconeri head coach Allegri says Pogba has been sorely missed, but felt it had looked increasingly unlikely he could play in the World Cup.

He said: "It is useless to repeat what has already been said: once the decision was made not to have an operation at the beginning of the season, it was normal for the hopes that he could return with Juventus and France. They were reduced to a flicker.

"He is sorry for Juventus and the World Cup, it is normal, we have been penalised for not having him available."

Juve will also be without Weston McKennie and Dusan Vlahovic when they face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday due to injury.

Allegri revealed he is hopeful striker Vlahovic will return against Inter on Sunday, with Angel Di Maria and Gleison Bremer also set to be back for that Serie A match

The Turin giants will attempt to secure a Europa League spot when they face Group G leaders PSG at Allianz Stadium, while fourth-placed Maccabi Haifa are also in the hunt for third place when they take on Benfica. 

Allegri expects his players to use the anger of being knocked out of the Champions League to drive them up the Serie A table.

He said: "I'm angry, not comparing with the best from March onwards creates anger. It has to give us incentives, it has to create a reaction, but we think about the championship after the matches with Inter, Verona and Lazio.

"It is normal that the matches in the Champions League, as results, they are very bad and this shows the results in the league in a more negative way. But we will think about the championship from the day after tomorrow."

Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola is hopeful of Erling Haaland returning from injury at the weekend and feels optimistic Kalvin Phillips and Kyle Walker will be fit before the World Cup.

Haaland, who has scored 17 goals in 11 Premier League games this season, missed the weekend win over Leicester City due to an ankle ligament problem.

The striker sustained the issue during City's 0-0 Champions League draw at his former club Borussia Dortmund last week, with Haaland withdrawn at half-time.

Guardiola confirmed on Saturday that Haaland would also miss Wednesday's visit of Sevilla, with City's confirmation as group winners meaning there is no need to take risks.

But he is seemingly positive about the prospect of Haaland returning in time to face Fulham at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

"He feels better. Comparing to Saturday, Sunday, Monday, every day he feels better, but he's still not 100 per cent," Guardiola said.

"We don't want to take a risk, there's no sense. Hopefully we have him and he feels better. Hopefully we have him against Fulham."

Fellow pre-season signing Phillips has been a longer-term absentee after hurting his shoulder in a friendly game against Barcelona in August.

The former Leeds United midfielder – who has played just one minute of Premier League football this season – ended up requiring surgery and has been out since mid-September.

He is now getting close to a return to action, though Guardiola was unsure if he will be risked for City before the World Cup.

"I don't know, he's doing really partial training sessions with the team, I would say not contact yet," Guardiola added. "But we'll see, we'll see his evolution and of course the needs.

"I know how important the World Cup is but I don't use a player I don't think is ready, in terms of the physicality or the rhythm or whatever, it depends on the results.

"My feeling now is all the games will be tight, like at the end of the season – many thoughts will be with the World Cup, many things involved, tired for the amount of games in a short period of time, so I don't think against Fulham, just for the quality of the opponent.

"Even Brentford – these aren't games that in the first half are going to be done. They will be tight, similar to the game against Leicester, so we evaluate the conditions of every player."

Guardiola suggested Walker – who had groin surgery early last month – remains a bit behind Phillips on the comeback trail, but despite that and being unwilling to commit to playing the latter in the next few weeks, the Catalan was positive about their chances of featuring in Qatar.

"It's likely [they can be ready], the way they recover," he said. "I don't know the intentions for Gareth [Southgate, England manager], but it's likely.

"I think [Southgate] spoke with them regularly, and with the doctors. They know exactly better than me, but what I hear in the dressing rooms is it's likely they can be ready. [They are desperate] you don't play a World Cup every week."

England begin their World Cup campaign on November 21 against Iran.

Jos Buttler made a blistering half-century in his 100th game for England in the shortest format as they beat New Zealand by 20 runs to stay in the hunt for a T20 World Cup semi-final spot.

Knowing his side needed a victory at the Gabba to have a realistic chance of qualifying from Group 1, Buttler top scored with 73 off 47 balls to become his country's leading T20I run-scorer, with Alex Hales (52 from 40) also making a half-century in England's 179-6.

The England captain was dropped by Kane Williamson on eight and Daryl Mitchell when he had 40 to his name, with his team on course for 200 before a flurry of late wickets, including the brilliant Buttler being run out when he was in full flow as the Black Caps clawed it back.

New Zealand were in trouble on 28-2 after losing Devon Conway and Finn Allen, but Glenn Phillips and Williamson swung the game in their favour with a third-wicket stand of 91.

Moeen Ali dropped a simple chance to get rid of the powerful Phillips, in great touch after a brutal century against Sri Lanka, for 15 but Ben Stokes had Williamson (40) caught by Adil Rashid at short third man for a much-needed breakthrough.

Phillips was dismissed by the excellent Sam Curran (2-26) as England took the upper hand and Chris Woakes (2-33) was also outstanding to restrict the Black Caps to 159-6, sealing a victory that moved England second in Group 1 ahead of Australia with one game to play against Sri Lanka and level on points with leaders New Zealand, who face Ireland on Friday.

 

Buttler serves up a treat

Buttler capitalised on being given two lives to move beyond Eoin Morgan's tally of 2,458, taking his haul to 2,468 with a masterful 18th T20I half-century.

He struck two sixes and seven fours, showing a combination of sheer power and finesse to lead by example at the top of the order along with Hales.

Buttler then took a magnificent diving catch for Woakes to dismiss Conway, rising to the occasion in a must-win landmark game for the skipper.

In-form Curran steps up again

Curran has been outstanding for England in Australia, starring in a pre-tournament series success over the hosts and maintaining his fine form when it matters most.

He struck a six late in England's innings and then bowled four tight overs without conceding a boundary, also claiming the wickets of Allen and the big scalp of Phillips.

Curran also took an important catch in the deep to see the back of the dangerous Neesham as England claimed a measure of revenge for their T20 World Cup semi-final defeat to the Black Caps last year.

Sven Ulreich is enjoying one of those rare spells where everyone at Bayern Munich depends on his safe hands, and the loyal deputy to Manuel Neuer hopes this will not prove to be his final season at the club.

The 34-year-old goalkeeper – two years Neuer's junior – has played second fiddle to the Germany great throughout his time at Bayern.

This is Ulreich's seventh season with the Bundesliga champions, with his Bayern career broken up by one year away at Hamburg in 2020-21, where he spent a campaign as a first-team regular, albeit in Germany's second tier.

Ulreich was a Bayern mainstay in the 2017-18 season, but that was only because Neuer fractured a foot, keeping him out for almost the entire campaign.

The former Stuttgart number one has been a dutiful Bayern stand-in when called upon, as he has been in recent weeks with Neuer sidelined by a shoulder problem. Head coach Julian Nagelsmann last week said he has "a lot of trust" in his second choice.

On Tuesday in Milan, Ulreich was due to face Inter in the Champions League, making an eighth appearance of the season. Given Neuer is back in training and on the comeback trail, Ulreich may not get a ninth game for some time.

With Ulreich entering the final months of his Bayern contract, he is hoping there could be an extension in the offing. Recent first-team exposure should help his cause, with Bayern having won every game where he has featured so far this term, going into the Inter game.

"I've always said that I'm having fun and enjoying myself here," Ulreich told Sky Sport Germany. "I think we'll talk about it at some point. It's still too early, but I can very well imagine staying here.

"I'll be 35 next year. There won't be too much coming. But I'm not thinking about the end of my career just yet. I still plan to play for two years.

"As long as you're healthy and having fun, you should play on and you shouldn't say no. I'm currently healthy and fit."

Stoffel Vandoorne will join Aston Martin as a test and reserve driver for the 2023 Formula One season.

The Formula E champion will share duties along with F2 champion Felipe Drugovich, raising doubts over the future of Nico Hulkenberg.

German Hulkenberg, Aston Martin's current reserve driver, has been linked with a move to Haas.

Vandoorne, who made 41 Grand Prix starts or McLaren from 2016 to 2018, will continue driving for the DS Penske Formula E team for the 2022/23 season.

"It is incredibly exciting to be stepping into a reserve-driver role in Formula One – and I'm delighted to be doing it with Aston Martin,” said 30-year-old Belgian Vandoorne.

"I've watched with great interest how the team has developed and expanded operationally, and I know how incredibly determined it is to make progress in every area.

"Joining Fernando [Alonso], who I already know from my Formula One racing career, and Lance [Stroll], to help them develop and improve next year's car will be a terrific job.

"I'm really looking forward to the challenge – and reward – of working together with the whole organisation at Silverstone."

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