Oleksandr Usyk has told "greedy belly" Tyson Fury he will accept a 70-30 split for a heavyweight unification fight if the WBC champion donates £1million to Ukraine straight after the bout.

An eagerly awaited battle between Fury and Usyk is in doubt as the two parties have been unable to strike a deal.

Usyk's promoter Alex Krassyuk this week revealed that Fury had rejected a 60-40 purse split in favour of the winner for a bout on April 29.

WBA-Super, IBF, WBO and IBO champion Usyk on Friday put the ball firmly in Fury's court by agreeing to take a smaller slice of the cake, provided the Englishman supports war-torn Ukraine.

He stated on social media: "Hey greedy #Belly I accept your offer seventy/thirty split to fight on April 29th at Wembley.

"But you will promise to donate 1 mln pounds to Ukraine immediately after the fight. And for every day of your delay you will pay 1 per cent from your purse to Ukrainian people.
Deal???? @tysonfury"

Should a fight against Fury not materialise, Usyk has a three-man waiting list of mandatory opponents – with WBA mandatory Daniel Dubois at the front due to the nature of the governing bodies' rotation system.

If the Brit was ruled out by the injury he sustained in his last fight, IBF mandatory Filip Hrgovic is next in line, followed by WBO mandatory Joe Joyce.

Pep Guardiola wants to see Kyle Walker and everyone at Manchester City behaving like adults but insisted he should not have to police their off-duty business like a strict father.

The City manager passed no public judgement on Walker's behaviour in a bar that led to negative headlines this week, other than to say it had been dealt with internally.

The England international was shown on CCTV footage, published by The Sun, with friends at a venue where he apparently pulled down his trousers.

It was alleged by the newspaper that Walker indecently exposed himself, with the incident said to have happened last Sunday. Cheshire Police is looking into the matter.

Guardiola said Walker can count on his support after a week in the spotlight and stressed he was available for selection for Saturday's Premier League game at Crystal Palace.

"We have to adapt to the reality," Guardiola said at a press conference. "Everybody knows it, and today they are exposed 24 hours for everything. Private life doesn't exist any more out of their home."

Guardiola was asked whether he had called Walker in to remind him of his responsibilities.

The 32-year-old full-back is among the most senior of City's players, and this is not his first brush with off-field controversy. He was accused of breaching lockdown during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, with City taking a dim view of his first alleged breach when he was said to have held a party at his home.

Guardiola said of the latest incident: "I spoke with him, but we're adults. I'm not a father. I'm a friend of him. I know in the past many things happen. He and everyone can count on me with the personal issues.

"I don't have to tell him that you don't have to behave in that way. He's an adult. The club is there all the time. I like to feel they can count on us in the good and bad moments."

Guardiola stressed: "Everybody knows that the only place I think is safe is inside at home, lock the door. The moment you unlock the door, you are exposed.

"Today it's completely different to 15, 20 years ago. Now you have to adapt, the players know it."

Simone Inzaghi warned Inter must show more "conviction and malice" after they slumped to a 2-1 Serie A defeat at relegation-threatened Spezia on Friday.

Bartlomiej Dragowski saved an early Lautaro Martinez penalty to set the tone for a miserable night for Nerazzurri, who failed to reduce runaway leaders Napoli's 15-point lead.

Daniel Maldini stunned Inter when the on-loan Milan attacking midfielder put Spezia in front just 10 minutes after being introduced as a half-time substitute.

Romelu Lukaku showed Martinez how it's done by equalising with a spot-kick after 83 minutes, but M'Bala Nzola gave Spezia a first win over Inter when he scored a penalty of his own four minutes later after Denzel Dumfries barged Viktor Kovalenko over.

Inter had 28 shots as they dominated much of the game, but slumped to an eighth Serie A defeat of the season as they prepare to take a 1-0 lead to Porto for a huge Champions League round-of-16 second leg on Tuesday.

Head coach Inzaghi knows the Nerazzurri only have themselves to blame.

He told DAZN: "It hurts, the defeat came in a different way than the others. We put everything on the field, perhaps we needed a little more malice.

"We have a duty to go ahead and I take responsibility for the defeat. We should have been more cynical, we come out stronger from defeats even if there have been more this year."

Six of Inter's eight Serie A defeat this season have come on their travels and Inzaghi says that must be addressed.

"It's a path that doesn't satisfy us away from San Siro, tonight we had to have more conviction and malice," he said.

"I don't believe in luck in football, luck must be sought,"

Rocco Lopez and Aman Dhiman are joint leaders in the Boys 18 and Under category of the Jamaica Golf Association' junior trials at the end of the first day at the Caymanas Golf Club in St. Catherine on Friday.

Both golfers posted scores of two over par 74 but in contrasting fashion. Lopez, who is in his final year as a junior player, carded a birdie and two bogeys resulting in one over par 37 on the front and back nine. Dhiman, at 17, has another year as a junior. He shot three birdies and five bogeys and also posted one over par 37 on his front and back nines, respectively.

The next three golfers – Ryan Lue, Tenny Davis and Jerone Thomas -are tied for third on 10 over par 82s, eight shots behind the joint leaders.

Meanwhile, 16-year-old Noah Azan, scored 15 over par 87. Trey Williams, 16, who made the team in 2019, was just one stroke back on 16 over par 88.

Joshua Melville had a rough day on the course, scoring 45 over par 117 and is not likely to recover enough to get one of the four available spots on the team.

Vying to represent Jamaica in the upcoming Caribbean Junior Amateur Golf Championship in the Cayman Islands between July 3-8, the young golfers will tee off on Saturday at 9:00 am for the second of three rounds in the trials in the hot, windy conditions at the Caymanas Golf Course.

This year's junior trials are being conducted in two separate sessions.

The Boys 18 & Under will run from Friday, March 10 to Sunday, March 12 while the other age groups will take to the same course from March 24-26. This is due to the availability of the players as most of them are at school overseas.

Antonio Conte believes Tottenham are willing to be patient with him but unrealistic Spurs fans are not.

Pressure is building on Conte following a poor run that ended Tottenham's hopes of winning silverware for another season.

Spurs exited the FA Cup to Sheffield United and the Champions League to Milan, while Liverpool and Newcastle United have games in hand in the Premier League top-four chase.

Conte remains in his post for now, but supporter sentiment appears to have turned – something the coach has noted.

"Here, the patience has finished for the fans," Conte said. "The fans want to win a trophy. Stop.

"And then you have to find the right solution to make the fans happy and to win a trophy. Because the patience of the fans has finished. And we feel this. I feel this. The players feel this. For sure, this [does] not help the situation.

"There are many players, also young players, that need to go step by step to grow. We are trying to build something important but if you don't have patience, it is not useful."

He added: "We are far from being competitive to fight to win. I say we need time, we need patience.

"I see that here the environment has no patience, or maybe the environment doesn't want to understand the reality.

"The club has the patience. But the problem is the club also has to make happy the fans, because the fans for many, many years are waiting to win something.

"I understand that it's not easy for the club, not easy to invest a lot of money, and you are [not] sure to win. Maybe your probability improves, but we know we have to fight against top, top teams.

"You have to create the right atmosphere, the right unity, the right spirit, to be solid, for everybody to have the same idea. Or you have to believe in a miracle, and there is a big, big job to do here.

"I can put it all on myself, but I don't want to kill myself. I have to take all the considerations, also for myself. If I have to put the stress and pressure only to myself, it is not right.

"It's difficult for me to realise this situation because I am putting everything, me and the staff. At the same time, I understand that maybe it's not enough.

"If I have to become [someone for] the people to take as a target? No. I am not this person."

The Carolina Panthers have agreed a blockbuster trade with the Chicago Bears to put them in position to take a leading quarterback with the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

It had already been reported the Bears would be open to offers for the number one pick.

And ESPN's Adam Schefter said on Friday an agreement had been reached with the Panthers.

In return, the Bears are set to receive two first-round picks – number nine this year and a first-round selection next year – along with this year's 61st pick, a further second-round pick in 2025 and wide receiver DJ Moore.

The Bears look to already have their QB of the future in Justin Fields but will now have the opportunity to build around him.

Meanwhile, the Panthers will likely look at either Bryce Young of Alabama or C.J. Stroud of Ohio State.

Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold and P.J. Walker each had opportunities as the Panthers' starter in 2022, yet none of the trio impressed.

Whoever Carolina take with the first pick will head into their rookie season without the team's top target from last year as Moore instead links up with Fields.

Moore led the team in receptions (63), receiving yards (888) and receiving touchdowns (seven). No Bears receiver topped any of those marks.

Those seven TDs were a career high, although Moore had topped 1,100 receiving yards in each of the previous three seasons.

Saturday's Match of the Day will have a new format without a host or studio pundits after Ian Wright, Alan Shearer and other leading names backed presenter Gary Lineker.

The BBC announced on Friday that Lineker would not be involved in this week's edition of the hugely popular British football show after he became involved in a political row following a Twitter post.

Lineker would be absent from Match of the Day "until we've got an agreed and clear position on his use of social media", the BBC said, but it soon became clear he had the support of a number of colleagues.

Wright and Shearer, the show's two leading pundits who were due to feature on Saturday, announced they had told the BBC they would not be appearing.

As Micah Richards, Jermaine Jenas and Alex Scott joined the pair in standing by Lineker, the BBC's options for an alternative line-up became increasingly thin.

Ultimately, a statement from the broadcaster appeared to acknowledge it had not been possible to put a studio team together.

"Some of our pundits have said that they don't wish to appear while we seek to resolve the situation with Gary," it read.

"We understand their position and have decided that the programme will focus on match action without studio presentation or punditry."

Lineker had criticised the UK government's new asylum policy, comparing language being used by current politicians to the voices expressed in Nazi Germany.

Condemning the policy, the former England striker posted: "There is no huge influx. We take far fewer refugees than other major European countries. This is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s, and I'm out of order?"

Devin McCourty has announced his retirement from the NFL after 13 seasons and three titles.

McCourty spent his entire professional career with the New England Patriots, having been selected in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft.

The two-time Pro Bowler, who was a second-team All-Pro on three occasions, was part of the Patriots' Super Bowl-winning teams following the 2014, 2016 and 2018 seasons.

Safety McCourty spent three seasons playing alongside his twin brother Jason, winning Super Bowl LIII together.

The cornerback retired after the 2021 season and took up a position with NFL Network, and he played a role in announcing his brother's retirement on Friday.

Devin McCourty joined Jason in a social media video and said: "I'm officially retiring from the NFL. It has been a great ride.

"I think it's always tough to come to the end. This whole offseason has been so much back and forth for me mentally, but ultimately I think this is the best decision for me, for my family and my career."

M'Bala Nzola's late penalty punished wasteful Inter and gave Serie A strugglers Spezia a shock 2-1 victory on Friday.

The Nerazzurri's slim title hopes are surely over after they were beaten by relegation-threatened Spezia for the first time at Stadio Alberto Picco.

Bartlomiej Dragowski saved an early Lautaro Martinez penalty, and that was a sign of things to come as toothless second-placed Inter dominated the majority of the game but lacked a cutting edge.

Daniel Maldini, on loan from Inter's fierce rivals Milan, put Spezia in front just under 10 minutes after coming on as a substitute at half-time, but Romelu Lukaku's late spot-kick looked to have salvaged a point.

Nzola had the final say by slotting home from 12 yards out after Denzel Dumfries barged Viktor Kovalenko over, ensuring Inter remain 15 points behind runaway leaders Napoli.

 

 

 

 

Trinidad and Tobago’s Christopher Richards Jr is atop the leaderboard after shooting a 74 for a combined score of 147 at the end of the second round of the Trinidad and Tobago Open at the Magdalena Grand Beach & Golf Resort on Friday.

Meanwhile, Wayne Baptiste also of Trinidad & Tobago leads the Men’s Senior Category with scores of 78 and 79 for a score of 157.

Jamaica’s amateur golf champion Oshae Haye was the best of four Jamaicans having shot a five-over-par 77 for a two-day total of 162 to be tied in 14th spot. He rose from 23rd after shooting 13 over par 85 on the opening day.

Haye was 15 shots behind Richards.

The other Jamaican in the championship category, Zandre Roye carded 11 over par 83 in the second round on top of 80 in round one for a total score of 163 after two rounds, and sits in 17th place along with three other golfers.

Among the seniors, Dr. Mark Newnham is second after his second-round score of 78, an improvement on the 81 he shot on opening day.

Cameron remained his eighth place with scores of 91 and 93 for a combined total of 184.

Ireland travel to Scotland with their Grand Slam fate in their own hands in the penultimate round of Six Nations action, while Wales and Italy battle it out in a possible wooden spoon clash in Rome.

Andy Farrell's Ireland have defeated Wales, France and Italy in this year's edition – each secured with a bonus point – and are now two wins away from completing a clean sweep for a third time in the six team format.

Scotland, beaten by reigning champions France last time out, can get their own championship hopes back on track with victory over the leaders at Murrayfield in Sunday's standalone fixture.

That comes a day after Wales lock horns with Italy at Stadio Olimpico seeking their first victory since Warren Gatland returned as head coach. The Azzurri are themselves winless this tournament, but they are above Wales by virtue of collecting a losing bonus point.

England and France face off in this weekend's other fixture locked on 10 points apiece, with the winner still having a shot of finishing top of the pile heading into the final weekend of action.

Stats Perform previews the three games with the help of some standout Opta data.


ITALY V WALES 

FORM

Italy have finished bottom of the standings seven years running, but there is real hope of stopping the rot at Wales' expense.

Kieran Crowley's side won their most recent meeting with Wales, coming out on top 22-21 in Cardiff last year to snap a seven-year winless sequence in the tournament.

However, they have not beaten Wales at home since 2007 and are winless on their own patch in the competition in 24 outings since defeating Ireland in March 2013.

Gatland has again shuffled his pack in the hope of ending Wales' six-match losing run in the Six Nations – their worst run since losing seven on the spin between 2002 and 2003.

 

ONES TO WATCH

Ange Capuozzo was Player of the Match in this fixture last year, but he will miss Italy's remaining two matches through injury.

That opens a space for Harlequins fly-half Tommaso Allan, who ranked second for passes across Italy's first two games prior to being overlooked against Ireland.

Gatland has made six changes from the loss to England, with Rhys Webb coming into the side for his first Six Nations start since 2017.

Experienced figure Webb is back in the number nine jersey with a point to prove and a chance to hold down a place in the side ahead of the Rugby World Cup.


ENGLAND V FRANCE

FORM

England have defeated Wales and Italy, both by margins of 10-plus points, since losing to Scotland in Steve Borthwick's first game in charge.

The Red Rose are seeking a third straight win in the championship for the first time since 2020, while not since 2009-2010 have they won three in a row by double-figure margins.

France tasted defeat in their most recent away outing, going down 32-19 in a pivotal showdown with Ireland, but they have won their seven Six Nations games either side of that.

However, the home team on the day has won each of the past six tournament meetings between these sides, with France's most recent victory at Twickenham coming in 2005.

 

ONES TO WATCH

Borthwick has made a big decision in leaving out captain Owen Farrell – the first time he has been dropped for England since the 2015 World Cup – with Marcus Smith recalled.

Smith starred for Harlequins in their rout of Exeter last weekend after being released by Borthwick and he will be looking to transfer that club form onto the international stage.

Jonathan Danty comes in for his first start of the tournament for France as one of three changes, but it is Thibaud Flament who will have England's attention.

The 25-year-old, who has previously spent time living in England, has made the most tackles of any player in this year's Six Nations with 58 to his name.


SCOTLAND V IRELAND

FORM

Ireland have lived up to their pre-tournament favourites tag with three wins from three in 2023, while going further back they have won 10 of their past 11 Six Nations games.

Farrell's side have also won each of their last five games at Murrayfield, preventing their opponents from scoring more than one try in four of those five victories.

But Scotland have performed well this year, the only blemish coming in defeat to France last time out, and they have won three of their past four home games in the tournament.

Ireland may have had the better of this fixture in recent times, but seven of the last eight matches between the sides in Edinburgh have been decided by single-figure margins.

ONES TO WATCH

Stuart Hogg has been handed another start in a Scotland side showing two changes – Jonny Gray and Jack Dempsey coming in – for what will be his 100th Test appearance.

That makes the full-back, who is also his country's record try-scorer, one of four men to reach triple figures in a Scotland shirt after Ross Ford, Chris Paterson and Sean Lamont.

It could also be a milestone day for Johnny Sexton, who has recovered from a knock to return to an Ireland side that also contains fit-again Garry Ringrose and Tadhg Furlong.

Ireland captain Sexton requires eight points to overtake former team-mate Ronan O'Gara (557) as the top scorer in the history of the Six Nations.

Tua Tagovailoa's fifth-year option with the Miami Dolphins has been picked up by the team.

The 25-year-old quarterback saw his 2022 season derailed by numerous concussions, but the Dolphins remain committed to the 2020 fifth overall pick.

Tagovailoa's fifth year will guarantee him $23.2million in 2023.

In 13 games in 2022, Tagovailoa threw for 3,548 yards and 25 touchdowns, both career-highs for the former Alabama star.

The Dolphins went 8-1 in the first nine games started by Tagovailoa last season, however, they lost four in a row between Weeks 13 and 16 before he missed the final two games of the regular season and the playoff defeat to the Buffalo Bills with a concussion.

Tagovailoa's overall record as a starter for Miami stands at 21-13.

Brock Purdy has undergone successful surgery to repair a torn elbow ligament, the San Francisco 49ers have announced.

Purdy suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) on the first offensive series of San Francisco's NFC Championship Game defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles. That injury, followed by the concussion suffered by backup Josh Johnson, left the Niners without a recognised quarterback for the second half of a 31-7 loss.

Prior to that, Purdy had improbably emerged as a star for the Niners.

The last pick in the 2022 draft, Purdy took over from the injured Jimmy Garoppolo – who had previously stepped in after Trey Lance suffered a season-ending ankle injury – in the Week 13 win over the Miami Dolphins and subsequently led the 49ers to further five wins as starter to end the regular season before helping them prevail in a pair of playoff games as the second seed in the NFC.

His surgery had been delayed because of inflammation, but he underwent the procedure on Friday and is expected to resume throwing in three months.

A brief statement from the 49ers read: "San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy underwent successful surgery with renowned specialist Dr. Keith Meister this morning.

"Dr. Meister conducted an internal brace repair to Purdy's right elbow. Purdy is anticipated to start a throwing progression program in three months."

Purdy's timeline sets the stage for a potential training camp battle with Lance, the third overall pick in 2021. San Francisco traded three first-round picks to the Miami Dolphins for the right to move up and acquire Lance.

Robbed of his first season as the starter by injury, Lance has started just four games as an NFL quarterback, having only had one full season of experience in college with North Dakota State at the FCS level, college football's second tier below the FBS.

Purdy, by contrast, started 48 FBS games for Iowa State and, after completing 67.1 per cent of his passes for 13 touchdowns and four interceptions as a rookie, will likely be seen as the favourite to win the starting job if his recovery goes to plan.

Neymar underwent successful surgery on his season-ending ankle injury on Friday, Paris Saint-Germain announced.

The Brazilian has been out of action since being carried off in a thrilling 4-3 Ligue 1 victory over Lille last month.

The 31-year-old had been enjoying his most productive season for PSG since the 2018-19 campaign, equalling a tally of 34 direct goal involvements (18 goals, 16 assists) in all competitions – joint second-highest in his PSG career, behind the 44 in his debut season.

PSG have won both of their Ligue 1 games in Neymar's absence to move eight points clear at the top of the table, though they were eliminated from the Champions League following a 2-0 defeat at Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

Head coach Christophe Galtier confirmed earlier this week that Neymar would miss the remainder of the season, with the forward expected to be sidelined for three to four months.

A club statement issued on Friday read: "Neymar underwent surgery late Friday morning at ASPETAR Hospital in Doha, by Professors Pieter D'Hooghe, James Calder and Rodrigo Lasmar.

"The intervention went very well. The player will now follow a rest and care protocol."

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