New York Jets coach Robert Saleh laid it out bluntly when addressing Zach Wilson's availability for the NFL season-opener against the Baltimore Ravens on September 11.
In his first public comments since Wilson had successful arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday in Los Angeles to repair a torn meniscus, Saleh did not rule out Wilson taking the field against the Ravens.
''If Zach is ready to play, he's going to be the Week 1 starter,'' Saleh said on Thursday. "'If he's not, Joe [Flacco] will. That's no secret."
Wilson was injured while scrambling in the Jets' preseason opener last week against the Philadelphia Eagles, and the original diagnosis was he would be sidelined for two to four weeks.
The timeline remained the same after the surgery, and his availability will come down to if he is healthy enough to take the field.
"It's really going to dictate on how he feels and when he's ready to go," Saleh said. "We're going to make sure we do right by him in terms of making sure that he's 100 per cent healthy. Whenever that is, that's when he'll hit the field."
The Jets plan to be cautious with the 23-year-old, who they selected second overall in last year's draft, as they hope he will be the franchise's long-term answer at quarterback.
When Wilson hurt his knee last Friday, some feared his injury could miss the upcoming season. However, he has already returned to the team facility after a cross-country flight and eager to get back to work.
'"Zach flew back last night and he's here today,'" Saleh said. "'He's already walking. He's in really good spirits. And he's champing at the bit to get to rehab."
Anthony Joshua insists he will not be driven into retirement if he fails to defeat Oleksandr Usyk in his world heavyweight title rematch this Saturday.
Joshua, 32, suffered only the second defeat of his 26-fight professional career when he met Usyk for the first time last September, going down in a convincing unanimous decision to the talented Ukrainian.
While it was considered an upset, Usyk dominated the Brit in a masterclass to claim the IBF, WBA and WBO belts at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Usyk has built a 19-0 professional record, including a perfect 7-0 in cruiserweight world title fights before deciding to move up to heavyweight.
Joshua has shown his ability to respond to adversity before when he successfully reclaimed his belts from Andy Ruiz Jr after the Mexican had pulled off a stunning stoppage victory six months prior, with that rematch also taking place in Saudi Arabia.
The Englishman has dismissed suggestions he may have to quit if he fails to dethrone Usyk this weekend.
"It’s up to me at the end of the day, it’s not up to anyone else what I do with my career," he said. "I don’t have to do this. Why do I do it? It’s because it’s all I know.
"This is also my 12th consecutive world title fight. I’ve been in world title fights back-to-back 12 times.
"It happens – if you’re fighting people at world level, you’re meeting people of world-level quality. I’m not fighting people who are below par."
Madison Keys stunned top seed Iga Swiatek 6-3 6-4 to book her place in the quarter-finals of the Western & Southern Open on Thursday.
Keys arrived in the contest seeking a first career victory over a reigning world number one in six attempts, having failed to win a set in each of the previous five.
The 2019 champion had also lost her previous two showdowns with Swiatek, including a resounding 6-1 6-0 defeat in the Indian Wells Open quarter-finals earlier this year.
After the first games went with serve, Keys went into overdrive; reeling off nine successive games to take full command of the contest at 6-3 5-0.
Swiatek rallied as she rescued match point to avoid the bagel, winning 11 of 12 points to reduce the second-set deficit to 5-3.
The winner of six WTA titles this season, the Pole saved a further match point in the ninth game before claiming what appeared to be another crucial break of serve.
However, former US Open finalist Keys responded magnificently to make it third time lucky against Swiatek, who is now 4-4 since her 37-match winning streak ended with defeat by Alize Cornet at Wimbledon.
Last Thursday, Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles said Tom Brady was taking some planned time off and was scheduled to re-join the team after their preseason game against the Tennessee Titans on Saturday.
A week later, Bowles admitted he didn't know exactly when the future Hall of Fame quarterback would return.
"We'll see. We'll talk about it next week," Bowles said, via The Athletic. "I'm not concerned about it right now. We're trying to practice against Tennessee and play a game. I said sometime after Tennessee. There's no definitive date for me. We'll keep in touch and find out."
That update seemed to contrast what Bowles said a week ago, when he revealed Brady left training camp to "deal with some personal things" and implied everything was worked out.
"This is something we talked about before training camp started," Bowles said last Thursday. "We allotted this time because [Brady] wanted to get in and get chemistry with the guys and go through two weeks of training camp."
Brady was not slated to play in Tampa Bay's first preseason game against Miami last weekend or the Titans matchup, so the absence isn't entirely shocking for a 45-year-old quarterback who has had plenty of practice reps over a pro career that began in 2000.
However, Bowles' uncertainty as to when his first-choice QB will return is somewhat curious.
Brady famously retired briefly this past offseason before announcing in mid-March that he would return for a third season with Tampa Bay and 23rd in the NFL after leading the league with a career-high 5,316 passing yards in 2021, while also ranking first in passing touchdowns with 43.
He led the Buccaneers to a 13-4 regular-season record and NFC South crown last year, but their season ended with a 27-20 loss to the eventual Super Bowl-champion Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round of the playoffs.
Tampa Bay begins this season at Dallas on September 11, and Bowles said last week Brady's absence would not affect the seven-time Super Bowl champion's availability for the opener.
Jamaica Karate will send its first ever delegation to the XXXI U21 Pan-American Karate Championships set to take place in Mexico City from August 25-27.
Twenty-one national sport federations have entered their best youth athletes to compete for the continental title. Amelia Stephenson, Shafan Leslie and Rasandre Evans will compete at their first Junior PKF Championships and the first for the Jamaica Karate Federation. They will face competitors from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, United States, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Following the tournament, they will also participate in an international training camp organized by Panam Sports and the Pan-American Karate Federation – a first of its kind.
They will train for 10 days at the Mexican Olympic Training Centre along with an internationally renowned Coach Salah Mesnaoui of Belgium and some of the best international athletes in their weight and age categories.
“This competition and training camp aligns with our long-term strategic goal to expose our youth athletes to more international tournaments and training in an aim to improve competition readiness for key qualification events preceding the 2026 Youth Olympic Games and the 2028 Olympic Games,” the Jamaica Karate Federation (JKF) said in a statement.
“The Jamaica Karate Federation is working in unison toward a vision aiming to put Jamaican karate on the world map. This initial step would not have been possible without the generous support of the Jamaican Olympic Association, the Sport Development Foundation, McKay Security and CEO Jason McKay.”
The athletes will be supported by senior national team members Khalil Gordon and Valentyna Zolotarova, who attained their international coaching licenses at the Senior Pan-American Championships last year. Zolotarova has also attained a WKF Coaching license at the 2021 World Championships in Dubai and has served in the role of Technical Coordinator since being awarded a Qualification of Distinction in the Post-Graduate Program in International Sport Management at the University of London in June 2022.
This achievement is an excellent testament to the kinds of opportunities that are made available to members of sport federations affiliated with the Jamaican Olympic Association. As a JOA member, Zolotarova received a full scholarship from the Commonwealth Games Federation and the World Academy of Sport.
In addition to the achievements of Jamaican youth karate-ka, Vice-President Keith Edwards will also make history as the first judge to attend a Pan-American Championship on behalf of Jamaica Karate.
“The Jamaica Karate Federation President Tony Robinson has made tremendous efforts to maximize opportunities for our delegation and all members are deeply thankful for his leadership and care. Good luck to our athletes in the initial steps toward our unified long-term goals.”
Stuart Broad reached 100 wickets in Lord's Tests, but it was emphatically South Africa's day at Lord's as England suffered a dose of their own medicine.
On day two of the first Test, South Africa clipped the English tail to turn an overnight 116-6 into 165 all out, before going on to reach 289-7 themselves by stumps.
South Africa's lead of 124 runs came about largely thanks to Sarel Erwee's 73 and a seventh-wicket flurry that came with a hint of 'Bazball' about it.
That is, of course, the nickname that has been afforded to England's vivacious batting approach since Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum became the captain and coach partnership, and the ball repeatedly raced away to the boundary as South Africa showed off their own attacking flair.
On Friday, the hosts must step up, or they will soon slide 1-0 behind in this three-match series.
After Wednesday's play was curtailed by rain, South Africa should have seen the back of England anchorman Ollie Pope in the first over of Thursday's action, but Erwee made a laughably bad attempt to cling to an edge off Kagiso Rabada at first slip, juggling before the ball hit the deck.
Rabada had a stroke of luck in removing Pope soon afterwards, with an inside edge into his stumps accounting for the batsman, whose 73 provided the only substantial home resistance.
Broad also fell to Rabada, fooled by a slower ball, and after Jansen bowled Jack Leach, Rabada completed figures of 5-52 by pinning James Anderson lbw.
Captain Dean Elgar looked sharp with the bat at the outset of South Africa's reply and had reached 47 when Anderson struck in bizarre fashion, the ball trickling onto the stumps after hitting the Proteas skipper on the pad and arm.
Keegan Petersen and Aiden Markram fell for modest scores, the latter prised out by Leach after a snick to Ben Foakes from the first ball after tea.
Stokes then dismissed Erwee with a snorting delivery that might have hurt the batsman's chin had he not put the bat there in self-defence, the ball looping up for Foakes to take safely.
The home skipper had Rassie van der Dussen pegged lbw moments later, and Broad reached his Lord's wickets century when Foakes held on to remove Kyle Verreynne.
Stokes broke up the entertaining 72-run seventh-wicket alliance between Marco Jansen (41 not out) and Keshav Maharaj (41) as the light began to fade, but it was resoundingly South Africa's day.
Broad's 100 puts him in familiar company
Broad is the second member to enter the Lord's 100-wicket club, joining Anderson (117 wickets) in getting to three figures.
It was the sixth instance overall of a bowler taking 100 Test scalps at a single venue, with Sri Lanka great Muttiah Muralitharan responsible for three of those ton-up feats, with centuries of wickets in Kandy, Galle and Colombo.
Muralitharan's compatriot Rangana Herath also managed 100 Test wickets at Galle.
Video Assistant Referee Mike Dean has admitted he "got it wrong" by not encouraging referee Anthony Taylor to go to the pitchside monitor and consider sending off Tottenham defender Cristian Romero in the feisty 2-2 draw with Chelsea.
The hosts led 2-1 going into the dying seconds at Stamford Bridge, before Spurs were awarded a late corner with Argentina international Romero appearing to pull Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella to the ground by his hair during the build-up.
There was a pause in play while Dean took time to review the incident at Stockley Park, but he decided against sending Taylor to the pitchside monitor to consider a red card and play was restarted.
Harry Kane then headed in a dramatic late equaliser before head coaches Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte clashed at full-time, with both receiving red cards after the final whistle.
While Dean acknowledged that he could not have given Chelsea a free-kick through VAR, he accepted that he should have sent Taylor to look at the incident.
In his column with the Daily Mail, Dean said: "Sometimes in hindsight, you realise you could have acted differently. I've now had time to reflect on Sunday's clash at Stamford Bridge.
"I asked referee Anthony Taylor to wait while I looked at the incident involving Tottenham's Cristian Romero and Chelsea's Marc Cucurella. I could not award a free-kick as VAR, but I could recommend to Taylor that he visit the referee review area to consider a possible red card.
"In the few seconds I had to study Romero pulling Cucurella's hair, I didn't deem it a violent act. I've since studied the footage, spoken to other referees and, upon reflection, I should have asked Taylor to visit his pitchside monitor to take a look for himself.
"It goes to show that no matter how experienced you are - and I've spent more than two decades as a Premier League official - you are always learning."
Prior to the injury-time incident, there were also complaints from Chelsea over Spurs' first equaliser in the 68th minute.
A sliding challenge from Rodrigo Bentancur on Kai Havertz was deemed not to be a foul, before there were claims the flag should have gone up with Richarlison stood in an offside position and obstructing goalkeeper Edouard Mendy's view as Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg stroked the ball home.
But Dean believes he was right to let Hojbjerg's goal stand, saying: "This one was relatively straightforward. I can't go back 44 seconds to look at Rodrigo Bentancur's potential foul on Kai Havertz.
"The question was whether Richarlison was interfering from an offside position. When Hojbjerg's shot was struck, Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy had a view of the ball for me. His line of vision wasn't clearly blocked, so it was onside and 1-1."
The prize pot for this year's US Open will top $60million for the first time in the competition's history, event organisers have announced.
The 2022 edition at Flushing Meadows gets under way on August 29 and runs for just under two weeks.
It was revealed on Thursday that $60m will be up for grabs, topping the previous record of $57.5m from last year, with both singles champions to receive $2.6m.
Players will be given $80,000 for making the main draw and $121,000 should they make it to the second round. Runners-up in the singles will pocket $1.3m.
In the doubles, the champions will receive $688,000, the runners-up $344,000 and the semi-finalists $172,000.
Deshaun Watson apologised for "any pain this situation has caused" before the Cleveland Browns quarterback insisted that was not an admission of guilt on any level over the accusations of sexual misconduct made against him.
Watson has received an 11-game suspension and a $5million fine after the NFL and NFL Players Association (NFLPA) reached an agreement over his punishment.
The 26-year-old faced 24 civil lawsuits over sexual assault and misconduct allegations. He was not charged by two grand juries and settled 20 of 24 lawsuits in June, with a further three settlements reported ahead of a hearing verdict early this month.
Watson was given an initial six-game suspension and no further fine after a disciplinary hearing conducted by former US district judge Sue L. Robinson. However, the NFL formally appealed against that ruling in order to seek further punishment, agreeing to the new sanctions with the NFLPA.
Watson's first game back is scheduled to be on December 4, against his former team the Houston Texans.
Having denied any wrongdoing after the accusations were made, Watson last week apologised to "all of the women that I have impacted".
A similar message came on Thursday in a statement from the Browns, in which Watson said he wished to "apologise once again for any pain this situation has caused".
"I take accountability for the decisions I made," Watson's statement added. "My focus going forward is on working to become the best version of myself on and off the field and supporting my team-mates however possible while I’m away from the team."
Just minutes later, Watson faced the press and said he would continue to "stand by my innocence".
Watson said it was important to swallow the punishment, stating: "My whole life has to be able to move forward."
He spoke of needing "to grow as a person", but refused to offer a view on the level of punishment dished out.
"I can't speak on the fairness," Watson said. "The NFL did what they had to do, and the NFLPA communicated with the legal side. I'm going to keep my opinion to myself."
Watson was not mincing his words when he added: "I'm moving on with my career and my life, and I'm continuing to stand on my innocence. Just because a settlement's been paid, it doesn't mean a person is guilty for anything."
When asked about whether he would tell all at some point, Watson said: "That's definitely the plan, that's definitely the goal. I've felt like through this whole process I've been trying to tell my side of the story, but a lot of people didn't really pay much attention to it."
He said he needed "to do what's best for Deshaun Watson" and said he could not control public opinion.
On top of the ban and fine, Watson will be required to commit to an evaluation with behavioural experts while also following a mandatory treatment programme. He says he wants to prove himself to the Cleveland community.
"Counselling is definitely a big part of that," Watson said. "I'll continue to show my face and show people who I really am."
Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam issued a joint statement in which they spoke of "a real opportunity to create meaningful change", saying they were "committed to investing in programmes in Northeast Ohio that will educate our youth regarding awareness, understanding, and most importantly, prevention of sexual misconduct and the many underlying causes of such behaviour".
Facing Liverpool at Old Trafford is the "perfect game" for Manchester United to kick-start their season, Virgil van Dijk has warned.
United followed up a 2-1 home loss against Brighton and Hove Albion in their opening Premier League game of the campaign with a heavy 4-0 defeat at Brentford last weekend.
The Red Devils find themselves bottom for the first time since August 1992, which is the only previous occasion they lost their opening two games in the competition.
Erik ten Hag is the first United manager to lose his opening two games in charge since John Chapman in 1921 and the Dutchman's task does not get any easier.
United face fierce rivals Liverpool on Monday, when Van Dijk expects the home side to be extra motivated to get off the mark in front of their own fans.
"It's massive, but it's not about making a statement. We want to win and do everything that's possible to win there," Van Dijk said.
"This year they've had a difficult start and we've not had the best start that we wanted either, so it will be interesting.
"Obviously they're not in the best situation confidence-wise probably, but it's the perfect game to turn it around for them."
Liverpool finished one point behind champions Manchester City last season, but they have started the 2022-23 campaign with draws against Fulham and Crystal Palace.
That makes Monday's encounter the first time that United and Liverpool have been winless in the Premier League heading into this fixture.
Jurgen Klopp's side have won their past two league games at Old Trafford, including a 5-0 thumping last season, and are looking to make it three in a row for the first time.
"Over the years it’s proven tough for us to win there, though last year was a great result, we can't deny it," Van Dijk said.
"This week we showed a lot of good spirit and fight in training, and we've got to bring that to the game on Monday."
Deshaun Watson has received an 11-game suspension and a $5million fine after the NFL and NFLPA reached an agreement over the Cleveland Browns quarterback's punishment.
The 26-year-old faced 24 civil lawsuits over sexual assault and misconduct allegations. He was not charged by two grand juries and settled 20 of 24 lawsuits in June, with a further three settlements reported ahead of a hearing verdict early this month.
Watson was initially given a six-game suspension and no further fine after a disciplinary hearing conducted by former US district judge Sue L. Robinson.
The NFL formally appealed against that ruling in order to seek further punishment, and they have now agreed an extended suspension and fine with the NFLPA.
Watson will additionally be required to commit to an evaluation with behavioural experts while also following a mandatory treatment program.
The ban means that Watson's first game back is scheduled to be on December 4, against his former team the Houston Texans.
Watson denied any wrongdoing after the accusations were made. He then last week apologised to "all of the women that I have impacted."
The Texans traded the three-time Pro Bowler to Cleveland in March, and the Browns promptly signed Watson to a five-year, $230m extension that is entirely guaranteed.
Elite 1 Horizon and Elite 1 Waves both secured wins on day three of the P.H.A.S.E 1 Elite 1 Caribbean Basketball League at the National Arena in Kingston on Wednesday.
In the first game, the Waves got past the Elite 1 Rivers by a score of 91-75 to close the preliminary round with a 1-2 record and confirm a winless preliminary round for their opponents.
Forward Xander Bowers was named man-of-the-match after leading the way for the Waves with 21 points, four steals, three assists and three blocks. Gemaal Davis also contributed 20 points for the winners.
“Just playing at our pace,” was Bowers’ response when asked what the key to victory was for his team.
“Our coach has been preaching playing at our pace, staying patient and taking care of the ball,” he added.
When asked about his own performance, he felt he could’ve been even better.
“I thought I did okay. I could’ve been a little more aggressive in the second and third quarters. I feel like I started off well and I ended well.”
The same two teams will square off in the third-place playoff on Saturday and Bowers says more of the same should result in a win for the Waves.
“We have the confidence and we know we can beat them now. The key is going to be playing at our pace and being able to take care of the ball and get good shots,” he said.
The second game of the day was a preview of Saturday’s championship game between the unbeaten Horizon and Elite 1 Storm.
What was expected to be a tight encounter proved to be anything but as the Horizon produced a suffocating defensive display to send a message to the Storm ahead of Saturday with a comprehensive 106-84 victory.
Forward Anton Ivey was man-of-the-match with 23 points and eight rebounds while guard Bobby Gray also chipped in with 19 points, 11 assists and six rebounds.
Ivey credited his team’s defense as the catalyst for this statement-making win.
“Our gameplan was defense and we picked it up in the second half,” he said.
He then made no secret of the plan going into Saturday’s finale.
“Same gameplan, defense. We have to do the same things but execute better in the first half,” Ivey said.
The Horizon finished the preliminary round with a perfect 3-0 record while this loss means the Storm finish 2-1.
The Los Angeles Lakers will honour Spanish legend Pau Gasol when they retire his number 16 jersey next year.
A ceremony will take place on March 7, 2023 when the Lakers host the Memphis Grizzlies.
Gasol played for the Lakers between 2008 and 2014, having arrived from Memphis, appearing in three NBA Finals and winning two championships alongside Kobe Bryant.
Three of his six All-Star appearances came during his time in Los Angeles, before he left for the Chicago Bulls in 2014.
After time with the San Antonio Spurs and Milwaukee Bucks, Gasol returned to Europe for a second spell with Barcelona, where his career had begun, before retiring in October last year at the age of 41.
Following the announcement, Gasol took to Twitter to thank his former franchise, writing: "Beyond thankful and honoured!!!"
Gasol had an average of 17.7 points per game during his time with the Lakers, as well 9.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.4 blocks in 429 appearances.
He will join a number of legends, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O'Neal, Bryant and Magic Johnson, in having his jersey retired by the Lakers.
Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has reiterated that defender Wesley Fofana is "not for sale" as Chelsea reportedly remain keen to secure his services.
The 21-year-old centre-back has been strongly linked with a move to Stamford Bridge after missing out on Jules Kounde, who joined Barcelona.
The Foxes are said to have rejected two bids from Chelsea and it has been suggested that a world-record fee for a defender may be required to prise him away from the King Power Stadium.
That record currently stands at £80million, which Leicester received from Manchester United for the signature of Harry Maguire.
Fofana has played in Leicester's opening two league games of the Premier League season, and Rodgers expects him to stay at the club.
"The idea is that he’s still very much a Leicester City player," Rodgers told reporters. "I’ve said a number of times that he’s not for sale.
"The club have made that clear so unless anything changes, I would expect him to be here."
Fofana is one of a number of players linked with a move away from Leicester, with midfielders Youri Tielemans and James Maddison linked with Arsenal and Newcastle United respectively.
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