After LeBron James' scoring record celebrations last weekend, it is fellow NBA legend Michael Jordan's turn to party in the coming days.
The former Chicago Bulls (and Washington Wizards) superstar turned 60 on Friday.
Stats Perform has marked the occasion by recapping some of the most remarkable numbers of his career – from one to 60.
1 – Since the ABA–NBA merger, Jordan is the only player to have scored 60 or more points in a playoff game, finishing with 63 in a double overtime defeat to the Boston Celtics in 1986.
2 – As if dominating in the games that mattered was not enough, Jordan twice won the Slam Dunk Contest in 1987 and 1988. At the time, he was the only player to have won it back-to-back.
3 – Jordan was the All-Star Game MVP on three occasions, beaten only by Kobe Bryant, who the award is now named after, and Bob Pettit.
4 – In the regular season, Jordan scored 60 or more points in four different games. Bryant (six) is the sole player to have topped that feat since the merger.
5 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (six) alone has won more MVP awards in the regular season than Jordan's five.
6 – Jordan boasts a remarkable 6-0 Finals record and was named Finals MVP on each occasion. No player can match his six such awards.
7 – In leading the league in scoring between 1986-87 and 1992-93, Jordan tied Wilt Chamberlain's record by doing so in seven straight seasons. They are the only two players to lead the league in scoring in any seven seasons.
8 – Jordan scored 50 or more points in eight different playoff games, a dominant record. Allen Iverson is his nearest challenger with three such performances since the merger.
9 – As well as being a legendary scorer, Jordan was named to the All-Defensive First Team on nine occasions. He was the Defensive Player of the Year in 1988.
10 – Jordan led the league in scoring in a record 10 seasons across his career, following up his streak of seven in a row by doing so in 1995-96 to 1997-98.
11 – In his rookie season, Jordan led the league in total points (2,313), although Bernard King and Larry Bird were ahead in scoring average. Along with his 10 seasons as NBA scoring champion, Jordan led the league in total points 11 times.
12 – Jordan needed only 12 games of his rookie season to reach 300 points, the fewest since the merger.
13 – Led by Jordan, the Bulls lost only 13 games across the regular season and postseason in 1995-96. Their combined 87-13 record remains the best of all time.
14 – Jordan was a 14-time All-Star. In a 15-season career, he was not selected only in the 1994-95 season when he came out of retirement after the All-Star Game. He missed the 1986 game through injury.
15 – Jordan is one of 15 players to have made more than 10,000 field goals in the regular season. He ranks fifth on 12,192.
16 – The NBA named Jordan its Player of the Month on 16 occasions, with all of those wins coming before the award was split by conference from the 2001-02 season.
17 – Jordan made 17 field goals in the 1988 All-Star Game, tying a Chamberlain record. It stood for a further 26 years before being broken by Blake Griffin.
18 – An early highlight of Jordan's career saw him score the Bulls' final 18 points in a win against the New York Knicks. No player in the NBA had previously scored 18 points in a row, although he broke his own record by scoring 23 straight in a 61-point game against the Atlanta Hawks.
19 – Of the 119 playoff wins Jordan played in, 19 were by at least a 20-point margin.
20 – Jordan's scoring average of 20.0 in his final season in 2002-03 was comfortably the lowest of his career. Only LeBron James (20 – including 2022-23), Abdul Jabbar and Karl Malone (both 17) have averaged 20 or more points in more than Jordan's 15 seasons.
21 – Jordan was 21 at the start of his rookie season, but he averaged 27.7 points before his birthday. That is the best average of any player before their 22nd birthday since the merger.
22 – At the end of his rookie season, Jordan, aged 22, became the youngest player ever to score 30 points in consecutive playoff games. That record was later broken by Bryant.
23 – The number Jordan wore is forever associated with his remarkable career. It was retired by the Bulls but also by the Miami Heat ahead of their final game against him.
24 – Jordan made a move to point guard for the final 24 games of the 1988-89 regular season and dominated in a whole new way. He had 12 triple-doubles over that stretch – he only had 28 across his entire career – as he averaged 30.4 points, 10.7 assists and 9.2 rebounds.
25 – Jordan won his first Player of the Week award in January 1985 and his last 18 years later in January 2003, just three months before he retired for good. That was his 25th win.
26 – In the 1997 All-Star Game, Jordan recorded the event's first ever triple-double. He had 14 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds in 26 minutes.
27 – Jordan played more playoff games against the Knicks than against any other team, averaging 33.1 points across those 27 games.
28 – A sign of what was to come saw Jordan score 28.2 points per game in his rookie season, a record since the merger.
29 – Of Jordan's 32,292 regular season career points, 29,277 came playing for the Bulls. Discounting his points for the Wizards, Jordan still ranks above Shaquille O'Neal, who is eighth on the all-time NBA scoring list.
30 – Jordan's 30.1 career points per game in the regular season rank him first all time. Only Chamberlain (also 30.1) is also above 30.
31 – Since the merger, no player can match Jordan's 31 50-point games in the regular season. Modern greats like James (14) and Stephen Curry (11) have less than half as many such performances.
32 – Jordan scored 246 points in the 1993 NBA Finals against the Phoenix Suns, just 32 fewer than Jerry West's 278 against the Baltimore Bullets in the 1965 playoffs – the most ever by a winning player in a single series.
33 – A career playoff scoring average of 33.4 remains unmatched, although Luka Doncic (32.5), Jordan's nearest rival, is still going strong.
34 – The Portland Trail Blazers were Jordan's favourite regular season opponents as he averaged 34.0 points in such matchups, although he averaged 34.8 against the Utah Jazz when counting only games as a starter.
35 – Jordan scored 20 or more points in a record 35 straight Finals games between 1991 and 1998. That sequence included scoring a benchmark 35 in a single half against the 1992 Trail Blazers.
36 – Jordan played in 37 playoff series for the Bulls and was the leading scorer in 36 of those, beaten only by the Milwaukee Bucks' Terry Cummings during his rookie year.
37 – The best scoring season of Jordan's career saw him average 37.1 points per game in 1986-87, a mark only beaten by Chamberlain (four times) and Elgin Baylor.
38 – Jordan's final 50-point game came in the 2001-02 season, aged 38. He was the oldest player to have such a performance until Jamal Crawford in 2019.
39 – Although later known as a legendary postseason winner, Jordan did not come out on top in a playoff series until his fourth attempt. His 39 points in Game 5 against the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1988 took the Bulls beyond the first round.
40 – In scoring 43 points in 43 minutes against the New Jersey Nets four days after his 40th birthday, Jordan became the first and only player to score 40 points in a game aged 40 or older.
41 – Jordan still boasts the best scoring average for a Finals series with his 41.0 against the Suns in 1993.
42 – Even in his final season, Jordan scored 20 points or more in 42 games. He did so in at least 70 regular season games in 10 separate seasons and in 926 games over the course of his career.
43 – Across three playoff games in 1986, Jordan averaged 43.7 points – an NBA high for a single postseason.
44 – The 1988-89 season that included 15 Jordan triple-doubles also unsurprisingly saw a career-high for double-doubles. He had 44 in the regular season as he averaged highs in both assists and rebounds (both 8.0).
45 – Jordan played his final playoff game in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals against the Jazz and scored 45 points in a one-point win.
46 – MJ played four games on his birthday, with his best performance on February 17 seeing him score 46 points against the Cavaliers in 1992.
47 – Jordan ended his career having scored 20 or more points in each of his final 47 playoff games, albeit he later played two more seasons with the Wizards without making the postseason.
48 – Jordan finished having played 48,485 minutes across the regular season and postseason for his career.
49 – MJ attempted a career-high 49 field goals in a 64-point performance against the Orlando Magic in 1993. Only Bryant (50 against the Jazz in 2016) has since attempted more in either the regular season or postseason.
50 – The Bulls relied on Jordan to score more than 50 per cent of their points in four different playoff games, including his last with the team. The Bulls won each time.
51 – Jordan shot 51.5 per cent from the field in his rookie season. No guard has made more field goals in a rookie season (837).
52 – Before Jordan returned with 17 games remaining of the 1994-95 regular season, seeing the Bulls go 13-4 to finish, the team had a middling 52.3 per cent win percentage.
53 – Jordan is the only guard in NBA history to attempt 1,750 field goals in a regular season and make at least 53 per cent – he did so three times.
54 – Jordan scored 54 points in the first game of the 1989-90 season. No player since the merger has scored more in the first game of a new season.
55 – Game 4 of the 1993 Finals saw Jordan score 55 points, his most in a championship series and behind only Baylor's 61 against the Celtics in 1962 all-time.
56 – Jordan's biggest playoff performance in a game that did not go to overtime saw him put up 56 in a 1992 win against the Heat. Legend has it he played a full round of golf on the morning of that game, too.
57 – Jordan had a 24-11 record in the NBA Finals, but one defeat in the championship series was the longest game of his career. He played 57 minutes in a triple overtime loss to the Suns in Game 3 in 1993.
58 – In a 1987 game against the Nets, Jordan outscored his opponents' entire starting five. The Nets' starters scored 54 to Jordan's 58.
59 – Jordan's great team-mate Scottie Pippen won 73.5 per cent of the 859 career games he played alongside MJ across the regular season and postseason. Pippen won only 59.8 per cent of 527 games when not playing with Jordan.
60 – Jordan scored at least 20 points in a record 60 consecutive playoff games between 1989 and 1993.
Kevin De Bruyne served up a reminder of his match-winning brilliance as Manchester City usurped Arsenal at the top of the Premier League, so Nottingham Forest will be on high alert.
City go to Forest on Saturday, looking to stay at the summit, and their Belgian playmaker is set to be a key figure once more, and potentially a big points winner when it comes to fantasy leagues.
In an unlikely top-seven battle, Brighton and Hove Albion will look to in-form left-back Pervis Estupinan to contribute at both ends of the pitch against Fulham, while Wolves and Brentford will be hoping for big contributions from Ruben Neves and Ivan Toney as they tackle Bournemouth and Crystal Palace respectively.
Stats Perform, using Opta data, has chosen these four players for your selection consideration ahead of the weekend games.
Pervis Estupinan (Brighton v Fulham)
With three assists in his last three Premier League appearances, including last time out against Palace, Ecuadorian Estupinan is making a huge impact for the Seagulls.
Only three defenders have provided more assists than him in the competition this season, while Estupinan is one of only four such players to create at least 20 chances from open play (21).
Head coach Roberto De Zerbi has welcomed the efforts of the former Villarreal player, saying: "He's very important in build-up, but he's becoming a complete player now."
Kevin De Bruyne (Nottingham Forest v Manchester City)
Dropped to the bench at Tottenham recently, De Bruyne has responded by showing his value to City.
After scoring the opener, De Bruyne assisted for Erling Haaland's clincher in the 3-1 win at Arsenal, meaning the Belgian has been involved in 16 Premier League goals this season (4 goals, 12 assists), bettered by only three players.
Since the start of the 2019-20 season, only Liverpool's Mohamed Salah (14) has both scored and assisted in more games in the competition than De Bruyne (13).
Forest beware: De Bruyne has assisted Haaland six times in the Premier League this season, more than any other player has assisted another.
Ruben Neves (Wolves v Bournemouth)
Wolves midfielder Neves has scored five goals in this Premier League season, equalling his best tally from the 2020-21 campaign.
Four of those five goals have come at Molineux, including in his last such appearance against Liverpool, so he will fancy his prospects of adding to that haul and setting an outright personal best for goals when second-bottom Bournemouth visit.
He is Wolves' joint top scorer in the league, matching Daniel Podence's total, and Neves brings abundant creativity too.
Ivan Toney (Brentford v Crystal Palace)
The visit of Palace should bring the best out of Toney, given he has scored in his last three London derby appearances (against Arsenal, West Ham and Tottenham), helping Brentford to a healthy five points.
Only Haaland (30) and Harry Kane (18) have been involved in more Premier League goals this season than Toney (17 – 14 goals, 3 assists).
Another factor in his favour is that among players with 30-plus shots this term, only Haaland (33.3 per cent) has a better shot conversion rate than him (23.7 per cent).
Bradley Beal and the Washington Wizards recovered from a horrific start to storm back and defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 114-106 away from home on Thursday.
The Wizards trailed 30-10 in the first quarter, and after trimming the margin to eight points at half-time, the Timberwolves again extended their lead to 87-69 with two minutes remaining in the third period.
Washington put together a 17-2 run over the next four-and-a-half minutes, bringing themselves right back into the contest, and they would end up winning the final period 38-19.
Beal had 15 of his game-high 35 points in the final 5:14, finishing with shooting figures of 14-of-28 from the field and four-of-eight from deep, while adding six rebounds, five assists and three steals.
No other Wizard scored more than 16 points, while Timberwolves young gun Anthony Edwards went toe-to-toe with Beal.
Edwards scored a team-high 34 points on 11-of-26 shooting with three steals, although his six turnovers hurt. Rudy Gobert was also solid for Minnesota, grabbing 19 rebounds to go with his 17 points and three blocks.
The win is the Wizards' fourth from their past five outings, improving to 28-30 to have them sitting ninth in the Eastern Conference, while the Timberwolves dropped to eighth in the West at 31-30.
Clippers leapfrog the Suns into top-four
The Los Angeles Clippers won an enticing Western Conference showdown against the Phoenix Suns 116-107 despite a rough shooting performance from star Kawhi Leonard.
Leonard, who has been boasting blistering shooting splits of 51/45/92 since the beginning of the new year, finished just five-of-18 from the field on the road against the Suns for 16 points, although he salvaged a decent outing with 10 rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal.
Paul George picked up the slack with 26 points (nine-of-19 shooting), six rebounds and five assists, while Terance Mann matched him with 26 points on 10-of-12 shooting.
With the win, the Clippers (33-28) moved up to fourth in the West, taking the place of the Suns (32-28).
No Giannis, no worries for Lopez and the Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks lost their two-time MVP after suffering a game-ending wrist injury, but Brook Lopez did his best Giannis Antetokounmpo impression during a 112-100 road win against the Chicago Bulls.
Antetokounmpo played only nine minutes, scoring two points before crashing into the basket support while attempting a chasedown block, but Lopez responded with a season-high 33 points (13-of-18 shooting), seven rebounds and four blocks.
Jevon Carter also impressed with 22 points (nine-of-13 shooting), six rebounds and six assists, while undrafted rookie A.J. Green hit five three-pointers off the bench.
Tiger Woods was battling a combination of overflowing adrenaline and rust as he made his return to the course for Thursday's opening round of the Genesis Invitational.
Woods birdied his first hole, but struggled with some makeable putts soon after, dropping to one over by the time he reached the 15th hole.
From that point on it was like the Tiger of old, collecting a two on the par-three 16th, drilling a long birdie putt on the par-five 17th, and placing a beautiful approach on the 18th to set-up his third birdie in a row to finish.
Reflecting on his performance afterwards, Woods said he felt the pressure to sink the final birdie.
"I didn't want to be the idiot host to miss it right in front of everybody after I just went birdie-birdie," he said with a smile. "It was a great round."
Playing alongside two-time major champion Justin Thomas and renowned long-driver Rory McIlroy, Woods said he even surprised himself as he out-drove his partners on a few occasions.
"There's nothing like come game time, just the feeling of the butterflies and trying to calm all that stuff down," he said. "Even though it's cold out here, [the ball] was going even further than we expected. I had to dial all that back in.
"I was trying to calm myself down all day, trying to figure out what the hell I'm doing out here, because I haven't played."
The 15-time major champion gave some insight into his ever-changing physical condition, saying he never knows what to expect out of his damaged ankle.
"My ankle's a lot smaller than it has been," he said. "I've had so many surgeries that the ankle just keeps changing, the leg keeps changing, yes, the shoes keep changing, the socks keep changing.
"Everything's a moving target. How much I'm on my feet, how much I'm not, how active I am, how not active, the muscles that are on, they're off. It's a moving target all the time."
While the high quality of play was a joy to behold, so was the camaraderie between the featured group, and Woods said that is something he has missed.
"The ebb and flow of needling each other, encouraging each other and telling stories," he said. "I hadn't been out here, so I've missed some of the things that have transpired on tour, which is kind of fun."
It was fun for McIlroy as well, who finished the day tied for seventh at four under, although he admitted he did not enjoy seeing Woods' drives travel past his.
"I'm going to work on the range," McIlroy said. "I don't like him hitting it by me."
Lorenzo Musetti won his opening match at the Argentina Open in comfortable fashion, defeating hometown hero Pedro Cachin 6-2 6-3 on Thursday.
World number 20 Musetti is still just 20 years old, making him the third-youngest player inside the top-40. The only younger players are 19-year-olds Carlos Alcaraz (world number two) and Holger Rune (world number nine).
The talented Italian has two ATP Tour titles to his name, but none outside of Europe, and he will hope to change that after he advanced to the quarter-finals in Buenos Aires.
Musetti will play Peru's Juan Pablo Varillas next after he prevailed 6-4 6-4 against former world number three Dominic Thiem.
Fifth seed Francisco Cerundolo did his part to set up an all-Argentine quarter-final clash after dominating Jaume Munar 6-2 6-1, but compatriot Diego Schwartzman could not hold up his end of the deal, falling 6-1 6-3 to Spain's Bernabe Zapata Miralles.
Meanwhile, world number seven Taylor Fritz made a winning start to his Delray Beach Open campaign, defeating Ecuador's Emilio Gomez 6-4 6-3.
Fritz will play France's Adrian Mannarino in the quarter-final after the 34-year-old veteran eliminated 24-year-old American J.J. Wolf 7-5 6-2.
Second seed Tommy Paul was too strong for Denis Kudla in a 6-3 6-4 triumph, and he will play Radu Albot for a place in the semi-final after the Romanian emerged the 6-4 6-4 victor against Australia's Aleksandar Vukic.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will begin life without Tom Brady next season and will look to former Seattle Seahawks quarterbacks coach Dave Canales to get the offense back on track as the team’s new offensive coordinator.
Canales was hired Thursday to replace Byron Leftwich, who was fired last month after four seasons – the last three working with the now retired Brady.
Canales has spent 13 seasons on Pete Carroll’s staff in Seattle, working with receivers and quarterbacks from 2010-2019 and serving as the passing game coordinator in 2020 and 2021.
He was the team’s quarterbacks coach again last season, helping Geno Smith to a breakout season that earned him NFL Comeback Player of the Year honours.
"Dave has done a great job in a variety of roles with Seattle the past 13 years, and he brings a passion for coaching and an energy level that players just seem to respond to," Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles said in a statement. "He has played a significant part in the development and growth of many Seahawks players who have contributed to their offensive success over the past decade, and I look forward to seeing what he will do with our players on offense."
The 41-year-old Canales was among 10 candidates interviewed for the position that opened when Leftwich and five other members of Bowles' staff were fired on January 19. Three other assistants announced their retirements in a major shakeup that followed a lopsided playoff loss to Dallas in the wild card round.
While Brady ranked third in the NFL last season with 4,643 passing yards, Tampa Bay scored 198 fewer points than the previous season while averaging 18.4 points per game – down from over 30 in both 2020 and 2021.
Kyle Trask is the only quarterback the Buccaneers have on their roster under contract for next season, but he has yet to appear in a regular-season game.
Australia are set to welcome back Travis Head for the second Test against India starting Friday, while also handing a debut to left-arm spinner Matt Kuhnemann.
Head, currently ranked as the fourth-best Test batsman in the world, was questionably dropped for the series opener in Nagpur despite an outstanding Australian summer.
He will come back into the side to replace Matt Renshaw after disappointing with two combined runs from his two innings in Nagpur.
Head will bat at number five, slotting in behind Steve Smith and in front of Peter Handscomb.
Meanwhile, fast bowler Scott Boland was replaced by Kuhnemann, leaving captain Pat Cummins as the only quick in the Australian team.
Kuhnemann brings a different aspect to the Australian spin attack as the only left-armer, earning his Test debut after four appearances in the One Day side.
India announced only one change to their team that ran away with a comfortable victory in the series opener, with Shreyas Iyer slotting in at number five in place of Suryakumar Yadav.
Australia XI: D Warner, U Khawaja, S Smith, M Labuschagne, T Head, P Handscomb, A Carey (wk), P Cummins (c), T Murphy, N Lyon, M Kuhnemann.
India XI: KL Rahul, R Sharma (c), C Pujara, V Kohli, S Iyer, S Bharat (wk), A Patel, R Ashwin, R Jadeja, M Shami, M Siraj.
Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo was ruled out of the Milwaukee Bucks' clash with the Chicago Bulls on Thursday in the second quarter after suffering a wrist injury.
The injury occurred as Antetokounmpo raced back and attempted to block a fast-break lay-up, crashing into the stanchion underneath the ring hands-first.
He immediately began feeling for his wrist, and after exiting the game and heading back to the locker room, the Bucks confirmed he would not return.
Antetokounmpo finished with two points, seven rebounds and three assists, and was plus nine in his nine minutes.
The 40-17 Bucks came into the game with the league's second-best record, trailing only the Boston Celtics (42-17).
Max Homa and Keith Mitchell are tied for the lead after Thursday at the Genesis Invitational, but all eyes were on Tiger Woods as he finished his opening round with three consecutive birdies.
In his first non-major PGA Tour start since October 2020, Woods displayed impressive physical capabilities, often out-driving his playing partners Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas.
The 15-time major champion birdied his first hole – to a raucous ovation – but he had three bogeys and one birdie over his next 11, reaching the 15th at one over.
He proceeded to electrify the audience with a birdie after a beautiful approach on the par-three 16th, before following it with a long-range birdie putt on the par-five 17th, and another picture-perfect approach on the last set him up for his third birdie in a row to finish at two under.
Playing partners McIlroy (four under) and Thomas (three under) both also birdied the 18th in a thrilling finale for the featured group.
Homa and Mitchell were the only players to shoot seven-under 64s during their first trip around Riviera Country Club, while the red-hot Jon Rahm is alone in third at six under.
Collin Morikawa is part of the three-man group at five under, McIlroy headlines the group at four under, and Thomas is joined by Patrick Cantlay and Rickie Fowler at three under.
There is a loaded group with Woods at two under, including Viktor Hovland, Will Zalatoris, Xander Schauffele and Im Sung-jae.
Simone Edwards, Jamaica and former Seattle Storm player in the WNBA, has died after a prolonged fight with ovarian cancer. She was 49 years old.
Edwards, who was diagnosed with aggressive ovarian cancer in early 2021, passed away at her home in Florida on Thursday.
Her passing was announced by the Seattle Storm on Thursday night.
“We are saddened by the passing of our very own Simone Forbes,” the franchise posted on Twitter.
“Our Jamaican Hurricane was a warrior on and off the court. With her indefatigable energy and optimism, she brought happiness to so many.
“Our thoughts and condolences are with Simone’s family and loved ones at this time.”
Forbes was the first Jamaican female player to play in the WNBA, playing for the New York Liberty and the Seattle Storm, winning the WNBA title in 2004.
She retired from the WNBA in 2006.
On August 5, 2007, she was hired as an assistant coach at Radford University and she was an assistant at George Mason University from 2008-2011.
Edwards coached the Jamaican women's national basketball team and led them to a 2014 Caribbean Championship.
On August 6, 2017, the Government of Jamaica conferred the national award, the Order of Distinction which is bestowed on citizens of Jamaica who have rendered outstanding and important service to Jamaica in their field.
President of Jamaica Basketball Association, Paulton Gordon was shock and saddened by the news.
“We heard this afternoon that she has passed. I spoke with her about three weeks ago and she was upbeat,” he said.
“We are really saddened at her passing. She was the national coordinator for our youth teams and we were looking to working closely with her to prepare the U17 team for the regional competition this year.
“Condolences to her immediate family, her friends and the broader basketball family. I will certainly miss her technical guidance and support for Jamaica Basketball.”
Zinedine Zidane has partnered with Formula One team Alpine as a brand ambassador for their equal opportunities programmes.
The announcement was made at the French team's 2023 car launch in London on Thursday, where their new A523 car was unveiled.
Former Juventus, Real Madrid and France midfielder Zidane, who also managed Madrid for two spells, was pictured visiting the Alpine garage at last season's Monaco Grand Prix.
"I am very happy to be here today and happy to be part of the Alpine team," Zidane said. "I had the opportunity to meet Laurent [Rossi, Alpine's CEO] with the whole team for a Grand Prix.
"We had a good exchange, and they had a project to give the opportunities to young people, to have their opportunities for all the young talent. I was interested in this project."
Two-time Olympic boxing champion Nicola Adams was also confirmed to have teamed up with Alpine.
The team's programmes include Rac(H)er, aimed at promoting equal opportunities for men and women in racing, and Alpine CEO Rossi said: "Rac(H)er is key in our continuous quest for performance, to build the future of our industry by driving real change and creating equal and fair opportunities across a range of human talents."
Alpine finished fourth in the constructors' standings in 2022, 342 points behind Mercedes in third.
Elite starting pitcher Corbin Burnes feels his relationship with the Milwaukee Brewers has been seriously damaged after his salary arbitration hearing.
Players with between three and six years of service time in the majors are eligible for salary arbitration, which is where both the individual and the team submit a salary figure to an independent arbitrator that they feel is fair.
Burnes, the 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner as the National League's best pitcher, submitted a figure of $10.75million, while the Brewers offered $10.01m.
During such a process there is a hearing, where each side presents their case, and oftentimes the scenario whereby a team tries to diminish the value of a star player does not go down well.
That was again the case this time around, with Burnes acknowledging he was disappointed to hear the team disparage his efforts after emerging as one of the best young arms in the sport.
"Obviously, it's tough to hear," he said. "It's tough to take. They're trying to do what they can to win a hearing.
"There's no denying that the relationship is definitely hurt from what [transpired] over the last couple weeks. There's really no way of getting around that.
"You kind of find out your true value. You think you work hard for seven years in the organisation, and five years with the big-league team, and you get in there and basically they value you much different than what you thought you'd contributed to the organisation.
"They won it [the arbitration]. But when it came down to winning or losing the hearing, it was more than that for me.''
He felt the Brewers crossed a line by implying he was the reason the team did not reach the playoffs in 2022, despite leading the National League with a career-high 243 strikeouts.
"That's something that probably doesn't need to be said,'' explained Burnes. "We can go about a hearing without having to do that.
"There was no attacking of character or the person who I was, but just some of the stuff that was said, that definitely didn't need to be said, is something that I think kind of disappointed everyone."
In damage control, Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold put out a statement trying to reiterate the franchise's commitment to their top starter.
"The arbitration process always presents uncomfortable situations for both the club and player involved," he said. "It is never easy to present a case against a member of the Brewers family.
"I'd like to reiterate that we view Corbin as one of the leaders of our franchise and value him as an elite talent in the game. Corbin is a major contributor to the organisation both on and off the field, and we look forward to another outstanding season from him in 2023."
Burnes will be eligible for arbitration again next offseason if the two parties do not strike a long-term extension beforehand, while a trade is now also on the table if Burnes suggests he has no intention of remaining in Milwaukee.
Massimiliano Allegri warned Juventus cannot afford "to feel sorry for ourselves" after the Bianconeri were denied a late penalty and failed to make their dominance pay against Nantes.
Juve were held to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Europa League play-off tie on Thursday after Ludovic Blas' second-half strike cancelled out a simple Dusan Vlahovic opener.
Allegri's side dominated for large parts at Allianz Stadium and were left aggrieved after seeing a late penalty appeal turned down when Andrei Girotto appeared to handle inside the area.
The VAR sent referee Joao Pinheiro to the touchline monitor in the final minutes, but he instead awarded a free-kick for a Bremer push on the Nantes defender, much to Allegri's annoyance.
"I saw it now. Needless to say it was a hand, a penalty, it should have been a second yellow card," the Juve coach told Sky Sport Italia.
While Juve were left furious with the late decision, the Bianconeri should have sealed the play-off advantage earlier after pinning their visitors back throughout.
Allegri's side managed 64.2 per cent possession in the second half, registered double their opponents' seven shots over the full game and hit the target with six of those compared to Nantes' one.
The stalemate left it all to play for at Beaujoire Stadium on February 23 as Allegri was left to rue a missed chance.
"We could have done better with our ball speed. After 1-0 we stopped, we played too much in slow motion," the Italian added.
"It went to 1-1 and then we got back to playing, we had the chance to go 2-1 up on several occasions. We have to carry on [when on top], especially in these matches where you need to score more goals.
"It's useless to feel sorry for ourselves, we have to secure qualification in France. But now we have to think about Spezia [on Sunday]."
Allegri was also left frustrated with the nature of Blas' equaliser after Nantes raced away on a counterattack that started on the edge of their own area, with Mostafa Mohamed playing through his strike partner to equalise.
He continued: "[Angel] Di Maria could shoot, he tried to dribble, it can happen. You can't let a counterattack happen from the other end of the pitch and not make a foul.
"It happened because at that moment we were a bit out of the game."
Juventus are "not afraid" of being hit with a ban from European competition despite their Serie A points deduction.
That was the defiant message from Juve's chief football officer Francesco Calvo, who was appointed in January just days after the Bianconeri were hit with a 15-point punishment.
Those charges for the Turin side followed investigations into financial violations from past transfer dealings, with former Juve president Andrea Agnelli and ex-sporting director Fabio Paratici handed bans.
While Massimiliano Allegri's side aim to battle back on the pitch, there are suggestions a second investigation by UEFA could result in Juve being banned from playing in Europe.
But Calvo insisted Juve have no reason for concern with European football's governing body.
"We are not afraid that what's happening in Italy will have consequences in Europe," CalcioMercato quoted Calvo as saying before Juve's 1-1 draw with Nantes in the Europa League on Thursday.
"We are in constant contact with UEFA, we are not afraid, and the proceedings in Italy aren't over yet."
Allegri's men face an uphill battle to qualify for the Champions League next season, trailing fourth-placed Roma by 12 points after the punishment last month.
Matters have not been made easier by the absence of Paul Pogba, who is yet to make his second debut for Juve after re-joining from Manchester United ahead of the 2022-23 season.
The France international was first sidelined by knee surgery, with Allegri suggesting on Saturday Pogba could be three weeks away from returning after further fitness issues.
Calvo remains content to wait for the return of Pogba, who was not considered by Juve to just be a quick fix.
"He is a long-term investment. We are waiting for him and I am sure he will return soon," Calvo added. "Massimiliano Allegri is a reference point in such a difficult season.
"Our ideas are in line, also regarding the future. As a team, we've always been united."
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