Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka is reportedly facing "a significant suspension" for violating "organisational guidelines", according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

The report is incredibly vague and lacking in any detail about what exactly Udoka did to warrant a significant internal response from his Celtics bosses, however it does say it is believed he is not in danger of getting fired.

Hours later, The Athletic's Shams Charania added that Udoka had "an improper intimate and consensual relationship with a female member of the team staff", which has been deemed a violation of the Celtics' code of conduct.

After Udoka's top assistant, Will Hardy, was hired as the new head coach of the Utah Jazz, Boston's Joe Mazzulla is the favourite to take over in the interim role.

Udoka, 45, became the fifth rookie head coach in the past 25 years to take his team to the NBA Finals this past season when his Celtics emerged as the best defensive team in the league. 

He is also the first rookie head coach to win multiple Game 7s in his first playoff run, taking out both the Miami Heat and the reigning champion Milwaukee Bucks.

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert was limited in practice Wednesday and remains day to day after suffering fractured rib cartilage last Thursday.

Herbert was more of a bystander during the portion of practice open to the media, performing some handoffs to running backs, but did not do any throwing.

Chargers coach Brandon Staley said Herbert is day-to-day as one of three players listed as a limited participant on the team’s practice report. The star quarterback was injured by a hard hit in the fourth quarter of last week’s 27-24 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Herbert only missed one play after taking a hit from Kansas City defensive lineman Michael Danna on a completion to Gerald Everett on Thursday, but was clearly in discomfort for the remainder of the contest.

''He's had a lot of rest since the last game, but I think the nature of the week is truly going to be a case-by-case, day-by-day basis,'' Staley said. ''We're just going to see where his comfort level is, and truly trust him and let him be the guide of where we're at, and make sure that we are prepared either way.''

Staley said the decision to play Herbert Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars begins with the quarterback himself.

"It will start with him and then obviously him feeling good about what the medical team feels like is best, him weighing the options and then us making a good decision," Staley said.

The Chargers have had issues with injured quarterbacks before.

The doctor caring for Herbert is being sued for medical malpractice by former Chargers quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who is seeking at least $5 million in damages.

In 2020, Taylor suffered a rib injury against the Cincinnati Bengals and a team doctor then punctured Taylor’s lung while attempting to give him a pain-killing injection. Taylor was taken to a hospital and Herbert was thrust into his first NFL start less than a minute before kickoff, with Taylor never recapturing his starting role.

The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court in May 2021 and a trial was scheduled to begin in November, but has been moved to June 2023.

Chase Daniel would be in line to start if Herbert could not go. The 13-year veteran has six career starts, most recently in 2019 for the Chicago Bears.

In two games this season, Herbert is 59-of-82 for 613 yards with six touchdowns and one interception.

Marcos Giron was the highest seed in action on Wednesday at the San Diego Open, and he had little trouble dispatching Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-4 6-3.

Giron, the third seed, was a force a from the baseline, collecting 18 winners in the first set, while Etcheverry could only muster six. While he was not as dominant in the second frame, Etcheverry helped him out with 14 unforced errors and five winners.

Giron will meet James Duckworth next after the Australian defeated America's Mitchell Krueger 6-3 7-6 (7-4).

Duckworth has now won six of his past eight matches, and he showed off his impressive serve against Krueger, winning the ace count 11-to-one.

Meanwhile, Mackenzie McDonald has earned a shot against his American compatriot and second seed Jenson Brooksby after hammering Switzerland's Henri Laaksonen 6-0 6-2.

McDonald was strong in all areas, but particularly in limiting his errors, finishing the match with no double faults and six unforced errors with 19 winners.

Rising Chilean talent Alejandro Tabilo used his powerful serve to overwhelm the similarly hard-serving Steve Johnson, winning 7-5 6-2.

Tabilo served 11 aces with no double faults, and won 80 per cent (41-of-51) of his total points on serve, while Johnson had three double faults with his seven aces and could only manage a 60 per cent (34-of-57) success rate on serve.

In an all-Australian matchup, Christopher O'Connell advanced past Jason Kubler after the latter was forced to retire due to injury with the match tied at 4-6 6-3 heading into the last set.

The New York Yankees had three home runs in their big 14-2 home win against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday, but Aaron Judge had to settle for a pair of doubles as he finished two-for-four with a walk.

Judge remains one home run away from tying the Yankees and American League all-time record of 61, set 61 years ago in 1961 by Roger Maris.

While fans in attendance missed out on that history-making moment, they were treated to some early fireworks as the Yankees loaded the bases in the first inning, setting up Oswaldo Cabrera for a grand slam.

Cabrera would end up with five RBIs after another double in the eighth inning, and he would be one of two Yankees players to tally five RBIs in the game as Gleyber Torres joined him.

Torres finished three-for-five at the plate with two home runs – and incredibly, both home runs came in the eighth inning – becoming the sixth Yankee to ever hit two homers in the same inning.

On the mound, Luis Severino was credited with the win after allowing one run in his five innings, striking out six batters.

With the win, the Yankees are now 90-58 with 14 games to go, leading the AL East by six-and-a-half games from the Toronto Blue Jays.

McKenzie strikes out 13 in Guardians win

Cleveland Guardians rising star Triston McKenzie dominated in his side's 8-2 win against the Chicago White Sox, striking out 13 batters.

McKenzie pitched eight full innings in the win, giving up six hits and no walks in an even 100 pitches. With this performance, the six-foot-five 25-year-old now boasts an ERA of 3.04, and the sixth-best WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) in the majors at 0.96.

With the bat, rookie Steven Kwan was three-for-five with a home run, and Josh Naylor also chipped in with a two-run homer.

Marlins waste a great Luzardo start

Miami Marlins pitcher Jesus Luzardo struck out 11 batters, but it was not enough as his team went down 4-3 against the Chicago Cubs.

Luzardo departed the game in the seventh inning, having pitched six-and-two-thirds for one earned run with 11 strikeouts and his team leading 3-1, but the bullpen could not finish the job.

Steven Okert was saddled with the loss after failing to record an out from the three batters he faced, resulting in two walks and an error as he tried to field a sacrifice bunt, but ended up throwing it away.

Kenny Golladay is making an average of $18million per season as part of the four-year, $72m deal he signed with the New York Giants prior to 2021 – and he wants his playing time to reflect it.

Under those terms, the Giants paid him roughly $500,000 for each of the two snaps he played in Sunday’s 19-16 win over the Carolina Panthers.

The Giants' previous ownership paid Golladay like a true number one wide receiver, but he barely saw the field this past week after playing 42 snaps (77 per cent) in Week 1.

Against the Panthers, after head coach Brian Daboll made it clear he plans on rotating his wide receivers based on week-to-week matchups and game-planning, it was David Sills V – who is on a one-year contract, with two career catches and is making $825,000 this season – who assumed Golladay's Week 1 role, 

"I don’t agree with it," he said Wednesday, via video from SNY. "I came here to play. I didn’t like the decision whatsoever."

Golladay said the decision to keep him on the sidelines was particularly perplexing because all the feedback he has been getting from ownership and coaches is that he has a good work ethic, and additionally there hasn’t been any friction between himself and Daboll.

The Giants, who are 2-0 for the first time since 2016, host the Cowboys on Monday night, though it’s uncertain what kind of role will be given to the wide receiver with the highest salary cap hit in the league this season.

"I’m preparing like I’m going to be playing, but who knows," he said. "The GM, head coach, all these coaches keep saying, 'you do everything right; you handle yourself the right way'. It’s a little confusing."

In his first year with the Giants, Golladay led the team with 521 receiving yards on 37 receptions. This year he is tied for fifth on the Giants with two receptions going for 22 yards.

Richie James, who signed a one-year, $1.065million deal over the offseason, leads New York with 10 catches for 110 yards.

"I should be playing regardless," Golladay said. "That’s a fact."

Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball will be sidelined for the next four-to-six weeks after undergoing an arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, the team announced on Wednesday.

Ball, 24, last played in January before he tore his meniscus, and at the time he was given a six-to-eight week recovery time, but the pain persisted and kept him out of the final months of the season.

The former second overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft was in the midst of a career-best shooting season with the Bulls, with his 42.3 per cent shooting from beyond the arc on 7.4 attempts per game marking the first time he has ever posted a three-point percentage above 37.8.

He was also averaging 13 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists and was one of the best defensive guards in the league, tallying 1.8 steals per game.

The Bulls are scheduled to kick off their season on October 19 against the Miami Heat, so his current injury timeline makes it incredibly unlikely that he will be ready for the start of the season, with November a more realistic target.

Ball is entering the second year of a four-year, $80million contract, with the fourth year being a player option that Ball can decide to void if he feels he can secure a larger long-term deal.

Raphael Varane has hailed Ousmane Dembele's "extraordinary qualities" and believes the 25-year-old is finally "blossoming" at Barcelona.

Dembele has been a player reborn since Xavi took charge in November 2021, with his 17 assists in all competitions bettered only by Lionel Messi (22) and Kevin De Bruyne (21) among players in Europe's top five leagues, while his 15 LaLiga assists during that time represent a league high.

The former Borussia Dortmund man also leads Barca's charts for chances created (63), chances created from open play (52) and touches in the opposing box (126) under Xavi in LaLiga.

Dembele signed a new two-year deal with Barca in July, and Varane thinks the best is still to come from his compatriot.

"I'm very happy to see him at this level," he said. "We see him blossoming. He has extraordinary qualities.

"As a person, I always find him with the same joy of living, he brings this freshness to the group.

"He is also more calm, always quiet. He has managed to find the recipe for physical recovery, to feel better, and we are very happy.

"He had some difficult moments with some injuries that followed one another, but now we have the chance to see him having fun and enjoying himself on the field, so we are all very happy."

Varane also praised the impact of France team-mate Aurelien Tchouameni at his former club Real Madrid.

Tchouameni, who joined from Monaco in June for a fee that could rise to €100million, has started the season in impressive form for Carlo Ancelotti's side, and Varane believes he has the maturity to keep on getting better.

"I think we can welcome his lightning adaptation in a club like Real Madrid," the Manchester United defender said.

"I know from experience how difficult it is. He has the maturity and the qualities for it, so hats off to him. He is a very complete player. He has the ability to defend well, protect the defence, and also the ability to organise the game.

"He does not hesitate from his first selections to ask for the ball, to impose the tempo in midfield. For his young age, he is already very mature, and I wish him to stay the course, to continue like this, because what he is doing is already extraordinary."

NBA commissioner Adam Silver says Robert Sarver's decision to sell the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury is "right next step for the organisation and community."

Sarver on Wednesday announced that he intends to sell up after an investigation found him to have engaged in racist and sexist conduct.

The 60-year-old was suspended for one year and fined $10million by the NBA last week after an investigation questioned 320 people over allegations about Sarver's behaviour during his 18 years with the Suns.

Silver believes it is the right move from Sarver to seek buyers for the Suns and Mercury.

He said: "I fully support the decision by Robert Sarver to sell the Phoenix Suns and Mercury. This is the right next step for the organisation and community."

Sarver earlier declared: "Words that I deeply regret now overshadow nearly two decades of building organisations that brought people together – and strengthened the Phoenix area – through the unifying power of professional men's and women's basketball. 

"I expected that the commissioner's one-year suspension would provide the time for me to focus, make amends and remove my personal controversy from the teams that I and so many fans love.

"But in our current unforgiving climate, it has become painfully clear that that is no longer possible – that whatever good I have done, or could still do, is outweighed by things I have said in the past.

"For those reasons, I am beginning the process of seeking buyers for the Suns and Mercury.

"I do not want to be a distraction to these two teams and the fine people who work so hard to bring the joy and excitement of basketball to fans around the world.

"I want what's best for these two organisations, the players, the employees, the fans, the community, my fellow owners, the NBA and the WNBA. This is the best course of action for everyone.

"In the meantime, I will continue to work on becoming a better person, and continuing to support the community in meaningful ways. Thank you for continuing to root for the Suns and the Mercury, embracing the power that sports has to bring us together."

Jack Grealish has questioned what Graeme Souness' "problem" is after the former Liverpool captain criticised his performances for Manchester City.

England international Grealish joined City in a £100million British-record transfer in 2021 but has struggled to hit the heights he did at Aston Villa.

After six goals and 10 assists in 26 Premier League games for Villa in 2020-21, Grealish contributed only three goals and three assists in the same number of appearances in his debut City campaign.

He has started the 2022-23 season slowly, too, although the England winger scored his first goal in Saturday's 3-0 win at Wolves.

Souness said Grealish is "not a great player", takes "too many touches" and "doesn't deliver enough" – criticism that has left the City man baffled.

"I don't know what his problem is; he always says something about me, but I try not to read a lot of it," Grealish said. 

"It is difficult when he is on Sky Sports, though, and it is everywhere around the training ground at times.

"He was obviously a great player and won a lot, but I don't know what it is with what he says about me.

"I know my own ability. I know before that he used to say a lot of stuff about me not moving the ball quicker, but when I am playing for a manager like Pep Guardiola, and he is telling me to keep the ball as much as I can and have balls to take it everywhere, that is what I will try and do.

"I am always going to have people talk if I am not playing well. I always watch my games back, and I am very critical of myself. I know there were games especially in the second half of last season where I wasn't at my best at all.

"I came back fit and had a strong pre-season and got injured in the second game, and that is why I say that from now on I am just going to get my head down and try and get that fitness back, because I know that I am not at 100 per cent yet.

"I think I have only played one 90 minutes this season, but I think I will always have people on the back of me – that means I have to perform."

Grealish is part of the England squad for the upcoming Nations League games against Italy and Germany.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will miss the start of Oklahoma City Thunder's preseason training camp due to a knee injury.

The guard has sustained a grade two MCL sprain in his left knee just under a month before the Thunder start their NBA campaign with a road game at the Minnesota Timberwolves on October 19.

Gilgeous-Alexander will be assessed again in a fortnight to discover when he may be able to return.

The Canadian will play no part in the preseason games against the Denver Nuggets and Dallas Mavericks on October 3 and 5 respectively.

Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 24.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.9 assists in 56 games last season before being sidelined by an ankle injury.

Stan Wawrinka will face Daniil Medvedev in the second round of the Moselle Open after beating Joao Sousa in straight sets.

Wawrinka came through two qualifying matches to take his place in the main draw before defeating Sousa 7-6 (7-1) 6-2 in Metz on Wednesday.

The three-time grand slam champion's victory was only his fourth in a main draw at tour-level this year following a 13-month absence due to a foot injury.

Wawrinka said after setting up a showdown with top seed Medvedev: "It's the first time I won three matches in the same tournament for more than two years, so it's great.

"I'm getting confidence from winning a few matches, so I'm feeling a bit more relaxed, the way I'm moving. I think the level was good from me, and I'm happy with the win."

Dominic Thiem also advanced at the indoor hard-court event, seeing off Richard Gasquet 6-3 7-6 (7-3). 

Sebastian Korda was the first man to seal a quarter-final spot, sending third seed Lorenzo Musetti packing with a 6-3 7-6 (8-6) victory in the last match of the day.

Meanwhile, Alexander Bublik, Gregoire Barrere and Benjamin Bonzi were the other first-round winners.

Conor McGregor is "not interested" in a rematch with Floyd Mayweather despite the American suggesting they were set to fight next year.

Mayweather stopped McGregor in the 10th round of the final fight of his professional career in August 2017.

The 45-year-old has competed in three exhibition bouts since then and will take on Mikuru Asakura in another this weekend.

Mayweather revealed on Wednesday talks were at an advanced stage with McGregor over a fight in 2023, with a decision still to be made on whether it would be an exhibition or "a real fight".

But Irishman McGregor took to social media later in the day, posting an image of their first fight with the caption: "#notinterested".

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Mayweather had said: "I want to go out there this weekend and have fun. Then I have another exhibition Dubai in November [against British YouTube star Deji] and me and Conor McGregor in 2023.

"We don't know if it's going to be an exhibition or a real fight. But there's been talks of both. I would prefer an exhibition.

"I am not into fights where I am going to take any real punishment. 

"So, guys like Conor McGregor and guys that don't really hit hard, such as YouTubers or UFC guys, I don't really mind colliding with those kinds of individuals.

"But nothing where I am going to put myself in a position where I am going to harm myself or hurt myself."

Ousmane Dembele has revealed he told Barcelona coach Xavi he would sign a new contract with the club as far back as December.

France international Dembele looked to be heading out of Barcelona in January when acrimonious wrangling over his future led to him being ordered to find a new club.

At the time, Dembele had refused an extension to his deal, which ran through to the end of June, and Barcelona wanted to recoup some of his value rather than see him leave on a free transfer.

Despite reported interest from Paris Saint-Germain and a number of Premier League clubs, the 25-year-old signed a new two-year deal in July.

Having tallied the most assists (13) and expected assists (9.2 xA) in LaLiga last season, Dembele has recorded four league goal contributions this term (two goals, two assists).

The former Borussia Dortmund man is loving life at Camp Nou and revealed he told Xavi last year he would sign fresh terms with the Catalan giants.

"With Xavi's confidence, I had to stay. I remember a meeting between him and me in December, and I told him that I was going to sign my contract," he told RMC Sport.

"I feel good in the locker room, with all these young people. This whole team is developing well.

"I've always told Xavi that I wanted to stay at the club. There were negotiations and I didn't settle, but I didn't tell myself that I was going to leave the club.

"I've been here for the past five years, and it's better now because everyone is talking about football.

"I've always dreamed of playing for Barcelona. I have realised my dream, and I'm very happy."

Dembele is likely to be in action for France over the next week as Didier Deschamps' side take on Austria and Denmark in the Nations League.