Zinedine Zidane has not ruled out taking over as head coach at Paris Saint-Germain or following Didier Deschamps as France's national team coach, amid growing speculation over his future.

Mauricio Pochettino's departure from PSG has not yet been finalised, but reports have linked both Zidane and Nice boss Christophe Galtier to the job, with club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi even confirming talks with the latter.

Stepping down in 2021 as a two-time LaLiga and three-time Champions League winner with Real Madrid, Zidane would assume either role as a highly-decorated coach, having also enjoyed an exceptional playing career.

In an interview with L'Equipe to mark his 50th birthday, the Marseille native indicated he would not turn down the opportunity to coach the fiercest rivals of the club he supported as a child, citing a lack of realistic options in both personal and logistical senses.

"Never say never," he said. "Especially when you are a coach today, but the question is moot. This is absolutely irrelevant. When I was a player, I had a choice, almost every club.

"As a coach, there are not 50 clubs where I can go. There are two or three possibilities. This is the current reality. As coaches, we have much less choice than players. If I go back to a club, it's to win. I say this with all modesty. That's why I can't go anywhere. For other reasons, too, I might not be able to go everywhere.

"The language, for example. Some conditions make things more difficult. When I'm asked: 'Do you want to go to Manchester?' I understand English but I don't fully master it. I know there are coaches who go to clubs without speaking the language, but I work differently. To win, many elements come into play."

From leading France to the World Cup in 1998 as a player – propelling him to his sole Ballon d'Or award in the process – to his straight red card in the 2006 World Cup final after headbutting Italy's Marco Materazzi, Zidane experienced both the highs and lows with Les Bleus.

Punctuating his stellar international career with that sending off in Berlin leaves him with unfinished business at international level, but Zidane insisted his ambition will be with respect to current France boss Deschamps and his preparations for this year's World Cup in Qatar.

"I want to [be head coach of France], of course. I will be, I hope, one day," Zidane said. "When? It's not up to me, but I want to come full circle with the France team. I knew this French team as a player, and it's the most beautiful thing that's ever happened to me.

"But really, this is the pinnacle. And so, as I experienced that and today I am a coach, the France team is firmly rooted in my head.

"When I say that I want to take the France team one day, I assume it. Today, a team is in place, with its goals. But if the opportunity comes next, then I'll be there.

"Again, it's not up to me. My deep desire is there. The France team is the most beautiful thing there is."

Shohei Ohtani’s dominance both on the mound and at the plate have become so commonplace that it has almost become a daily occurrence.

One night after he homered twice and drove in a career-high eight runs in a wild extra-inning loss, Ohtani struck out 13 over eight dominant innings in a 5-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night.

On Tuesday, the reigning American League MVP set the single-game record for RBIs by a Japanese-born player when he hit a pair of three-run homers and added two sacrifice flies.

Not surprisingly, Ohtani is the first player in history to drive in at least eight runs and strike out at least 10 batters in consecutive games.

Tony Cloninger is the only other player to ever have eight RBIs and at least 10 strikeouts in a game in a season or a career. He accomplished the feat in 1966 for the Atlanta Braves, striking out 12 batters on April 12 and knocking in nine runs with two grand slams on July 3.

The Japanese sensation toyed with the Royals, allowing consecutive singles to Whit Merrifield and Andrew Benintendi to open the game before retiring 16 in a row – a stretch during which he struck out the side twice.

Ohtani set down 23 of the final 24 batters he faced, walked one and threw a season-high 108 pitches in matching the longest outing of his MLB career. He also singled and walked twice in his latest electrifying two-way performance.

The unprecedented talent is 3-0 with a 0.43 ERA in his last three starts with five walks and 25 strikeouts.

The Colorado Avalanche are now one game away from winning the Stanley Cup after a 3-2 overtime win on the road against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Wednesday's Game 4.

Tampa Bay were riding high after working their way back into the series with a dominant 6-2 showing in Game 3, but they now trail 3-1 in the series in their quest for three consecutive championships, with Game 5 headed back to Denver.

The Lightning were in control early as Anthony Cirelli scored the opening period's only goal, just 36 seconds into the action, dominating the opening period to force Avalanche goaltender Darcy Kuemper into 16 first-period saves. The visitors could only muster four shots on goal in comparison.

The Avalanche fought back into the contest in the second period, restoring parity thanks to Nathan MacKinnon's power-play goal, before Victor Hedman put the Lightning back in front heading into the third.

An early goal from Colorado's Andrew Cogliano put things even again at 2-2, which would hold through regulation and eight minutes of overtime until Nazem Kadri was slipped through by Artturi Lehkonen.

Kadri's shot deflected off Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy's stick and nestled into the top of the net in a hard-to-view position, with the Colorado bench eventually exploding into celebrations once they realised it was in the goal.

After the game, Kadri was asked if he knew he had scored with his winning shot.

"Not really," he admitted. "I just tried to make a little move there and go far-side, and I'm assuming that's where it went. 

"I don't know if it found a hole, but it was a bit of a delayed reaction. I thought he made the save for a second, and the next thing you know people are sprinting towards me – it's a good feeling."

Playing in his first career Stanley Cup Final game in his return from thumb surgery, Kadri said he was determined to make it count.

"I've been waiting for this my whole life, so I figured I'd stop waiting and just try to join the party," he said.

"I'm just grateful I'm able to be in this position, and with this group of guys – you couldn't have written a better story.

"[Closing out the series] is going to be tough – the last one is the hardest one to win, everybody will tell you that.

"They're a great team over there, so we're expecting a good effort from them."

Avalanche star MacKinnon was complimentary of the efforts of Vasilevskiy – who denied a number of great chances in overtime before eventually conceding – but said he feels the right team won.

"[Vasilevskiy] was awesome – but it just felt like a matter of time, we really tilted the ice," he said.

"It just felt like we deserved it, we really outplayed them in overtime. We had a shaky first period, but other than that we were very solid.

"Obviously thrilled with the win, but short memory, we've got to move on and get ready for Friday night."

Acknowledging the extra fanfare that comes with a potential close-out game at home, MacKinnon said the key would be to not get caught up in the commotion.

"It starts with blocking out all the 'BS' that comes along with it," he said.

"Obviously we've got family and friends in town, we know what's going to be in the building, but have to stick to what's got us to this point.

"That's our great process – we put that before anything and we feel like the result will get done.

"Nothing changes, we have to stick to our game plan that we've been doing all season. I know it's cliche, but it's true.

"We're feeling good, we're going to be coming in attacking and aggressive, and hopefully get that win."

An explosive first inning and some big hitting from Yordan Alvarez lifted the Houston Astros to a 5-3 home win against the New York Mets on Wednesday.

It was a clash between two of the best teams in baseball, with the Mets entering the contest leading the National League at 45-25, and the Astros second in the American League at 42-25.

In a rough start for Mets pitcher Carlos Carrasco, the Astros started the game with a walk to Jose Altuve, followed by an RBI double to Michael Brantley, and then home runs to both Alex Bregman and Alvarez to lead 4-0 after the first four batters.

The Mets were able to pull one run back in the third, when Dominic Smith was brought home by a Brandon Nimmo sacrifice-fly, but Alvarez took that run straight back in the next inning when he crushed the longest hit of the game with a 412-foot homer to right-field.

Starling Marte's RBI double in the sixth inning cut the margin to 5-2, and Pete Alonso's sacrifice-fly brought home Marte for one more run, but that would be the last run of the game as both bullpens held out down the stretch.

Alonso's RBI was his league-leading 66th of the season – only Jose Ramirez (62 RBIs) and Paul Goldschmidt (58) have more than 52 this season as Alonso continues to put a gap on the field.

Astros starting pitcher Luis Garcia was credited with the win after giving up three runs in five innings, striking out five, and Ryan Pressly collected his 14th save of the season to close it out.

Wacha wins it for Boston

The Boston Red Sox rode a quality start from pitcher Michael Wacha to a 6-2 home win against the Detroit Tigers.

Wacha pitched six full innings as the Red Sox moved to an 8-2 record over the past 10 games, giving up two runs from hits and two walks, striking out seven in a terrific 98-pitch outing.

After giving up a two-run homer to Javier Baez in the first inning, the Boston pitching staff held the Tigers scoreless the rest of the way.

With the bat, exciting youngster Jarren Duran tied the game in the third inning with a two-run double, before Rob Refsnyder scored another two with his home run in the next at-bat.

Hays hits for the cycle

Baltimore Orioles centre-fielder Austin Hays hit for the cycle in his side's 7-0 home win against the Washington Nationals.

Batting lead-off, Hays opened the game with an infield single, and connected on a 405-foot home run in his next plate appearance in the third inning.

An inning later, he collected the toughest leg of the cycle when the right-hander sliced a drive into the right-field corner for a triple, and he completed the feat in his fourth at-bat with a two-run double to deep centre-field.

This all took place before the game was called off in the seventh inning due to persistent rain.

The Portland Trail Blazers are reportedly hoping to trade the seventh overall pick in Thursday's NBA Draft to the Toronto Raptors for starting wing O.G. Anunoby.

Chris Haynes' report came just an hour after it was announced that the Trail Blazers had acquired Jerami Grant in a trade from the Detroit Pistons in exchange for a Milwaukee Bucks first-round draft pick in 2025, which Portland received from the New Orleans Pelicans this past season in the C.J. McCollum trade.

Haynes is known to have a close connection to Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard, and has often been accurate in his reporting on the team.

While it is likely the Trail Blazers are interested in such a trade, it remains to be seen if the Raptors have any interest in moving the ascending 24-year-old, who is one of the best wing defenders in the entire league and averaged 17.1 points per game, 5.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.5 steals per game this past season.

Anunoby is young enough to still fit with the Raptors' timeline if they are in fact opting to reset and build around Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes, so for this trade to realistically go ahead, the Trail Blazers would need to give up more than just one pick.

Fresh off their fourth NBA championship in eight seasons, the Golden State Warriors are planning to continue that run of success by bringing all their players back for a run at yet another title. 

Championship teams rarely return exactly the same roster the following season and payroll issues need to be considered, but Warriors general manager Bob Myers would like to see the same team on the floor in 2022-23.  

With seven free agents and the team already $24.6 million over the tax, Golden State has plenty of work to do this offseason.  

The unrestricted free agents are Kevon Looney, Otto Porter Jr., Nemanja Bjelica, Andre Iguodala, Damion Lee, Gary Payton II and Juan Toscano-Anderson. Looney, Porter and Payton are the key pieces of that group, with Iguodala possibly retiring. 

"Our goal, our hope is to bring all those guys back and try to do it again," Myers said. "They were all great in different ways and all fill different needs for us. A lot of our free agents had big moments in the NBA Finals, which means they’re pretty important."

Also on Myers’ extensive to-do list is contract extensions for Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole, though they might not be settled for a while. Poole had a breakout third season with 18.5 points per game and is up for a rookie extension. Wiggins, meanwhile, is entering the final year of his five-year contract from the Minnesota Timberwolves.  

"All these negotiations take on a life of their own," Myers said. "They’re all different. But I know with a guy like Jordan, usually, those things come down to kind of training camp and end-of-the-line deadline. We’re a long way from figuring out what Andrew wants, but I do know what we want. We want to keep him, and we’re going to make every effort to keep both those guys. They were huge for us."

One key contributor that is sure to be back for the Warriors is assistant coach Kenny Atkinson, who backed out of the head coaching position with the Charlotte Hornets to stay with Golden State.  

The Portland Trail Blazers have traded a 2025 first-round pick to the Detroit Pistons for 28-year-old forward Jerami Grant.

Grant, entering his ninth NBA season, will play for his fifth team after starting out his career with the Philadelphia 76ers, before more than two years with the Oklahoma City Thunder, one season with the Denver Nuggets, and finally signing with the Detroit Pistons for the past two seasons.

The pick Portland are trading is a Milwaukee Bucks first-rounder, acquired by the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for Jrue Holiday, and then shipped to the Trail Blazers in the C.J. McCollum deal.

It is reportedly protected from picks one-through-four, which will only come into play if the Bucks finish as one of the worst teams in the league in the 2024-25 season.

As part of the deal, the Pistons also swapped second-round picks with the Trail Blazers, moving up from 46 to 36 in Thursday's NBA Draft.

Grant set new career-highs in both points and assists per game during his first year with the Pistons with 22.3 points and 2.8 assists, but both numbers dipped slightly this past season with the arrival of number one overall pick in the 2021 draft, Cade Cunningham.

The Trail Blazers have also reportedly been testing the waters to see what they could get in return for the seventh pick in this week's draft, and may have more moves up their sleeves in coming days.

Manchester United overlooking Antonio Conte hurt Patrice Evra, who has no doubt his former Juventus boss could have turned things around at Old Trafford. 

Conte was linked with United ahead of the dismissal of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer last November, but Ralf Rangnick was given the nod as an interim boss with a view to changing the club from the top down as a consultant at the end of the 2021-22 season. 

Rangnick averaged 1.5 points per game and a win percentage of 42 in the Premier League – both of which were record lows in the competition for a Red Devils manager – as United failed to qualify for the Champions League. 

Conte ended up at Tottenham instead and steered them from ninth to a top-four finish, leaving Evra to wonder what might have been. 

"It hurts my heart because I think Conte, [Jurgen] Klopp, [Pep] Guardiola – all those managers are the best in the world right now and we could have had him at Manchester United," Evra told The Mirror. 

"But some people at the club, they said: 'It's not our style, it's not what we’re looking for.' 

"So let's see, now we have Erik ten Hag. Let's see what he's going to do. He has my support. But then, even if you brought a chef in, as the manager of Man United, he'd have my full support." 

Evra added: "It's a massive disappointment because he [Conte] could have done something at Man United. 

"And you can see with Tottenham, he helped them to qualify for the Champions League spot. They have the same players, so that's why this manager is a genius. 

"When I arrived at Juventus, every player told me: 'Patrice, this guy is a genius. He's addicted, he's so passionate about football. So you're going to run really hard. He's going to make you sweat.' 

"But if you look at the Tottenham fans, they are so happy because when they see the players now, win or lose, they give everything. That's the mentality of Antonio Conte. 

"That's why I say it hurts. Not because it's Tottenham – I love every team – but it's just because Conte could have done something." 

Nick Kyrgios has lamented the ATP Tour trialling off-court coaching, warning tennis will lose one of the "unique traits that no other sport had".

The ATP announced on Tuesday that off-court coaching will be tested in the second half of the season, with coaching permitted by a designated person in qualifying and main draw matches.

Verbal coaching will be permitted when players are at the same side of the court as their coach, with non-verbal instructions – for example hand signals – allowed at any time.

Patrick Mouratoglou coached former world number one Serena Williams and now works with Simona Halep, and was quick to welcome the introduction.

Mouratoglou suggested the coaching methods have been used at "almost every match for decades".

While Mouratoglou was a vocal supporter of the ATP decision, Kyrgios – who pulled out of the Mallorca Championships with injury – hit back and slammed the proposed changes.

"Completely disagree. Loses one of the only unique traits that no other sport had," Kyrgios responded to Mouratoglou's post on Twitter.

"The player had to figure out things on his own. That was the beauty of it. What happens if a high-profile player versus a low-ranked player who doesn't have or [cannot] afford a coach?"

The trial commences on July 11 and will be evaluated at the end of the 2022 season, to assess the potential inclusion of off-court coaching in subsequent seasons.

Serena Williams lauded her doubles partner Ons Jabeur after they advanced to the semi-finals of the Eastbourne International on Wednesday. 

Playing in her first tournament since retiring from the opening round of Wimbledon injured last year, Williams acknowledged she was particularly reliant on Jabeur during their 6-2 6-4 success over Shuko Aoyama and Chan Hao-ching. 

The 23-time grand slam singles champion opted to only play doubles on the south coast as she gears up for a return to the All England Club. 

"I think we played together much better," said Williams. "Although I thought we played really good together [against Maria Bouzkova and Sara Sorribes Tormo on Tuesday] too. 

"But Ons really held me up. She was really playing so good. I was looking at her and was like, 'Wow, this is great.' It's good." 

Williams and Jabeur will take on Aleksandra Krunic and Magda Linette for a place in the final. 

Jabeur playfully asked the 40-year-old if she would like to play together at the US Open, to which the former world number one responded: "Sign me up!" 

The Tunisian added: "I'm getting used to this. It was really great to play here and I didn't know we are in the semi-finals. It's super fast, but it's great for us." 

Former NFL defensive tackle and TV analyst Tony Siragusa has died at 55 years old.  

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay confirmed the death on Wednesday. 

A member of the Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl championship team from the 2000 season, Siragusa was a fan favourite during his 12 professional seasons due to his jovial, larger-than-life personality that matched his massive frame.

Undrafted out of Pittsburgh, Siragusa signed with the Colts in 1990 and spent his first seven seasons in Indianapolis before joining the Ravens in 1997. He finished his career with 564 total tackles, 22 sacks and nine fumble recoveries in 169 games.

Following his retirement after the 2001 season, Siragusa spent more than a decade as a sideline reporter and analyst for NFL games on Fox. He was known for providing his commentary from the sidelines during game broadcasts as opposed to the traditional analyst role in a TV booth.  

Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti said in a statement: "Renee and I are stunned and heartbroken to learn about the sudden passing of Tony Siragusa.

"He was a special person and clearly one of the most popular players in Ravens history.

"Tony's larger-than-life personality made an enormous impact on our organisation and throughout the Baltimore community.

"On the football field, Goose was a difference-maker who contributed immeasurably to the success of many great Ravens defenses, including the record-setting 2000 Super Bowl team.

"Our deepest prayers and sympathies go out to Kathy, their three children and the rest of the Siragusa family."

A native of New Jersey, Siragusa also dabbled in acting following his NFL career, playing a recurring character on the TV series 'The Sopranos'.

The announcement of Siragusa's passing comes on the same day the Ravens confirmed the death of linebacker Jaylon Ferguson at the age of 26.

"This is a tremendously sad day for the Baltimore Ravens," Bisciotti added. "We appreciate everyone who has expressed an outpouring of support for our players, coaches and staff."

Mario Gotze has all the qualities to return to the Germany squad ahead of the World Cup in Qatar, according to former Die Mannschaft coach Joachim Low.

Gotze has won 63 caps for his country and scored an extra-time winner against Argentina in the 2014 World Cup final as Germany lifted the trophy for a fourth time.

The creative midfielder has not appeared for the national side since November 2017, though, when he appeared as a second-half substitute in a friendly against France.

That is due to a lack of club success for the former Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich star, who has traded PSV for Eintracht Frankfurt in a reported €4million move to the Europa League winners.

Appearing in the Champions League for Eintracht, alongside returning to the Bundesliga, the 30-year-old will be hopeful of making his way back into the fold for Germany.

Low, who guided Germany to that World Cup triumph in the crowning achievement of his 15-year tenure, says Gotze has the talent to earn a place in Hansi Flick's Die Mannschaft team before the 2022 tournament in Qatar in November.

"He has all the qualities for it," Low told Sky in Germany. "He will play in the Champions League again, he is the focus here in the Bundesliga and wants to impress for the World Cup."

Gotze scored 12 goals and added 11 assists across all competitions for PSV in the 2021-22 season, playing in 52 games, with reports linking him to Serie A champions Milan.

Eintracht swooped in as Oliver Glasner looked to bolster his squad to compete in Europe, but the Germany international's arrival came as a surprise to Low.

"Of course I didn't expect Mario to return to Germany, not at this point in time," he added.

"But I'm very happy for Mario and Eintracht. Mario is an exceptional player, very professional and with his great playing intelligence, he fits in very well with Eintracht."

Hakan Calhanoglu believes Inter are a stronger team than Milan despite the latter's Scudetto success, while he questioned the behaviour of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. 

Calhanoglu watched on as Inter lifted the Serie A title in the 2020-21 season, when he was playing for fierce rivals Milan. 

The Turkey international switched city allegiances by joining Inter for the following campaign, which finished with Milan winning the Scudetto and ending a 1,976-day wait for a trophy. 

That also marked the first time that Inter and Milan finished in Serie A's top two in consecutive seasons, but Calhanoglu says Simone Inzaghi's side are far stronger than their neighbours. 

"Inter are a much stronger team than Milan. We lost a derby that suddenly changed in the 75th minute after [Ivan] Perisic and I were substituted," the midfielder told Tivibu Spor.  

"We were leading 1-0, then we lost 2-1. The coach [Inzaghi] also contributed to that defeat, I told him. In the cup, however, we beat them 3-0. The team is very ambitious." 

Ibrahimovic could be seen smoking a cigar at Milan's title celebrations, where he took the microphone and told supporters: "Hey, send a message to Hakan." 

Calhanoglu insists he would not have behaved like Ibrahimovic, questioning his actions at 40 years old. 

"He's a 40-year-old man, I wouldn't do a thing like that if I was that age. He's not 18. He likes to be the centre of attention," he added.  

"This year he didn't contribute to the Scudetto, he hardly ever played. But he does everything to attract the attention of the fans. 

"I don't care at all. It's not right because he's someone who always calls me when I'm in Milan, who wants to go out for dinner and ride a motorcycle with me. 

"I respected him. He also wrote about me in his book, he had to write these things or his book would be empty. I won't answer him, it's better not to answer."