Lionel Messi is "on Olympus" as one of the greatest players in history, and former Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Leonardo cannot believe he brought the star to Ligue 1.

Leonardo departed at the end of the 2021-22 campaign, with former Monaco and Lille transfer guru Luis Campos joining the Ligue 1 champions as a football advisor.

Coach Mauricio Pochettino is also widely expected to be heading for the exit door after failing to deliver in the Champions League, which is the crown jewel in the eyes of PSG owners Qatar Sports Investments (QSI).

However, Pochettino and Leonardo did manage to bring Argentina great Messi to Paris at the start of the season, ending a 17-year spell with Barcelona.

Messi ranked only behind Kylian Mbappe (45) for goal involvements for PSG in Ligue 1, with the former's 20 one more than Neymar, who was the final part of an incredible frontline trio.

Only Mbappe (70) created more chances than Messi (63) as well, but the Blaugrana legend's first year in the French capital was largely viewed as somewhat underwhelming, with just six top-flight goals scored.

Nevertheless, Leonardo reflected gleefully on securing the services of the 34-year-old along with his own achievements with PSG.

"We had thought about it a lot, yes. We had talked about it, but Messi had never thought too much about leaving Barcelona," he told L'Equipe.

"It was the last moments before his arrival that were decisive. Afterwards, everything becomes a bit more normal but, you made Messi's only transfer in his career!

"Chronologically, there is Pele, Maradona, Messi. He is on Olympus.

"So when I take stock of my last three years, I see a Champions League final, a semi-final, the 10th league title, seven national trophies and I signed Messi.

"There are two very significant moments for me, even if I don't like to pick out the best. The first is the signing, on the same day, of [Marco] Verratti and [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic [in 2012].

"It was no coincidence that a youngster from the Italian second division and a world football star arrived at the same time. The second is Messi. These are two huge dates."

Mbappe rejected the advances of Real Madrid to extend his stay with PSG, signing a lucrative three-year agreement.

Reports indicated the World Cup winner was offered assurances relating to matters on and off the pitch.

While Leonardo has departed and Pochettino appears set to follow, the former suggests he did not know whether the Mbappe agreement held such clauses.

"It was the end of the season and maybe it was the time to decide things for the future," he added. "I wasn't told that, but I don't want to get into that kind of thing.

"The fact that they've managed to hold on to that player, a Frenchman and a Parisian, is important for PSG and for Ligue 1.

"Certain things which are said internally should stay that way. It's what I've experienced with the club. When the club wants to get rid of you, there's no nice way to say it's over."

Porto have confirmed they have reached an agreement with Arsenal over the sale of Fabio Vieira.

Vieira arrived in London for a medical on Friday and Porto have subsequently announced a transfer deal has been agreed with the Gunners.

The Portuguese Primeira Liga side confirmed in a brief statement that the transfer had been agreed, with Arsenal paying £30million (€35m) up front with £4.2m (€5m) in add-ons.

Arsenal appeared to be interested in Youri Tielemans and Porto star Vitinha before his team-mate Vieira emerged as a top midfield target for manager Mikel Arteta.

Porto added that while a deal was in place, the move is subject to Vieira agreeing personal terms with the Premier League side.

"It is further informed that the final agreement is still being finalised and is awaiting its completion in the coming days," the statement added.

The 22-year-old enjoyed a productive 2021-22 Primeira Liga season, scoring six times and leading his side with 14 assists.

Bayern Munich will look for a record-extending 11th Bundesliga title in the 2022-23 campaign, with Borussia Dortmund or RB Leipzig the likely challengers to stop them.

Julian Nagelsmann's side sealed the 2021-22 championship with three games left to play after a 3-1 victory over fierce rivals Dortmund in late April.

The Bundesliga champions have to wait until matchday nine for the first Der Klassiker league meeting, with that clash to be played at Dortmund's Signal Iduna Park between October 7 and October 10.

Nagelsmann's side will then hope to have gained an advantage in the league before they head for their first league game against Leipzig, away in January after the World Cup has taken place.

Bayern beat Dortmund three times across the German top flight and DFL-Supercup last season, and the return meeting will take place at Allianz Arena between March 31 and April 3.

The Bavaria giants will again hope to wrap up the title with games to spare, with a potentially tricky task at home to Leipzig their penultimate game before concluding their campaign away to Cologne.

Bayern's 2022-23 Bundesliga fixtures in full:
 

05/08/2022 - Eintracht Frankfurt (a)
12/08/2022 - Wolfsburg (h)
19/08/2022 - Bochum (a)
26/08/2022 - Borussia Monchengladbach (h)
02/09/2022 - Union Berlin (a)
09/09/2022 - Stuttgart (h)
16/09/2022 - Augsburg (a)
30/09/2022 - Bayer Leverkusen (h)
07/10/2022 - Borussia Dortmund (a)
14/10/2022 - Freiburg (h)
21/10/2022- Hoffenheim (a)
28/10/2022 - Mainz (h)
04/11/2022 - Hertha (a)
08/11/2022 - Werder Bremen (h)
11/11/2022 - Schalke (a)
20/01/2023 - RB Leipzig (a)
24/01/2023 - Cologne (h)
27/01/2023 - Eintracht Frankfurt (h)
03/02/2023 - Wolfsburg (a)
10/02/2023 - Bochum (h)
17/02/2023 - Borussia Monchengladbach (a)
24/02/2023 - Union Berlin (h)
03/03/2023 - Stuttgart (a)
10/03/2023 - Augsburg (h)
17/03/2023 - Bayer Leverkusen (a)
31/03/2023 - Borussia Dortmund (h)
08/04/2023 - Freiburg (a)
14/04/2023 - Hoffenheim (h)
21/04/2023 - Mainz (a)
28/04/2023 - Hertha (h)
05/05/2023 - Werder Bremen (a)
12/05/2023 - Schalke (h)
19/05/2023 - RB Leipzig (h)
27/05/2023 - Cologne (a)

Bayern Munich face a tricky early test when they begin their Bundesliga title defence at Eintracht Frankfurt in the season's opening game on August 5.

Whether the champions still have Robert Lewandowski in their ranks come that date remains to be seen, as the prolific Polish striker pushes for a move away, and there could be turbulent times for the Bavarian giants before the game comes around.

Frankfurt won the Europa League in the 2021-22 season, while Bayern have landed 10 consecutive Bundesliga titles, making it a tasty appetiser for the new campaign.

It will be the first time in the history of the Bundesliga that the reigning champions will have come up against the UEFA Cup or Europa League holders on matchday one, Opta said.

Frankfurt finished a modest 11th in last season's German top flight, with their form in Europe offering a striking contrast to their domestic fortunes.

They will hope that home advantage proves significant, and history tells us that Bundesliga champions can struggle early on. Teams beginning the defence of their Bundesliga title have started with an away fixture in 21 league seasons and have lost 10 of them (W6 D5).

While Julian Nagelsmann's Bayern and Oliver Glasner's Frankfurt get the season under way with their Friday night game, the standout fixture on the opening weekend is set to take place at Signal Iduna Park as Borussia Dortmund host Bayer Leverkusen.

That is a clash of the teams that finished second and third respectively last season. Dortmund will be starting life without Erling Haaland, the prolific striker who has elected to move on to Manchester City, with Karim Adeyemi signed from Salzburg as his replacement.

Strong starters in recent seasons, Dortmund have won each of their last seven Bundesliga openers.

RB Leipzig head to Stuttgart on the first weekend of the campaign, while promoted Schalke and Werder Bremen both face away trips as they tackle Cologne and Wolfsburg respectively.

Bayern face further August fixtures against Wolfsburg, Bochum and Borussia Monchengladbach, with the first Klassiker of the season against Dortmund scheduled for the long weekend of October 7-10. Dortmund will have home advantage for that one, with Bayern then hosting BVB over the weekend of March 31 to April 3.

Inter cannot rely on building an attack with Romelu Lukaku, Paulo Dybala and Lautaro Martinez as that would expose Simone Inzaghi's side in defence.

That is the message from Milan legend Arrigo Sacchi, who compared the strategy to the plans of Real Madrid in the early 2000s when they assembled a team of attacking superstars.

The Los Blancos star-studded line-up included the likes of David Beckham, Ronaldo Nazario, Raul, Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane, but they went six straight seasons without winning a Champions League knockout tie between 2004 and 2010.

Inter are looking to knock fierce rivals Milan off the Serie A summit, with Inzaghi attempting to bring Lukaku back on loan from Chelsea, while Dybala seems set to join the Nerazzurri on a free transfer.

Lukaku fired Inter to Scudetto glory in 2020-21 and across his two-year spell, no Nerazzurri player scored more goals (64), provided more assists (17) or created as many chances (133) in all competitions.

Martinez was comfortably Inter's top Serie A scorer in the 2021-22 campaign, with his 21 goals eight ahead of nearest challenger Edin Dzeko, while Dybala scored the most league goals for Juventus (10).

Combining the trio may lead to additional firepower for Inzaghi, but Sacchi insists Inter must focus on balance as opposed to attacking riches.

"You don't make teams with statues," he told Gazzetta dello Sport. "I was at Real Madrid as director of football [in 2004-05] and they asked me to coach. Do you know what the attack was?

"Beckham, Raul, Ronaldo, Zidane, Figo. On the bench, we had [Fernando] Morientes and [Michael] Owen. It wasn't a team, it was a film but it lacked the plot.

"So I thanked the president but said no. To protect the defence we would have needed two defensive players with bullet-proof vests. Teams always need balance."

Sacchi also believes Lukaku, Martinez and Dybala would be unwilling to do the defensive work to help those behind them.

"You need a full team who are always active – in attack and in defence. You need to move, take part in the action, play together," he added.

"Then you can consider winning the ball back quickly when the opposition has it. If you give up three players to the opposition, it means there are only eight in defence rather than 11.

"The willingness and physical characteristics of the player are fundamental. I don't believe, but I could be wrong, that Lukaku, Martinez and Dybala have these qualities."

Stephen Curry did not need to be named MVP in the NBA Finals to cement his reputation as an "all-time great", according to Draymond Green.

However, Curry went out and made sure he could add the honour to his glittering array of accolades anyway, and Golden State Warriors team-mate Green said it had been "a long time in the making".

Curry had 13 points in the fourth quarter in Thursday's 103-90 championship-sealing win over the Boston Celtics, to finish with 34 points (12-of-21 shooting, six-of-11 from three), seven rebounds and seven assists.

Across the six-game series, the 34-year-old Curry averaged 31.2 points, six rebounds and five assists, earning the MVP award that had previously eluded him.

"When you look at a guy like Steph Curry, to have the season and the career that he's had, it is amazing," Green said.

"To stamp that with a Finals MVP – I know he said it doesn't matter, and it doesn't matter... still Steph Curry, still an all-time great. But to add that to your resume as a competitor, you want that.

"For him, well deserved. It's been a long time in the making. But he left no doubt, left no doubt, and he carried us, and we're here as champions."

The Warriors clinched their fourth NBA championship in the past eight years, sealing a 4-2 series success with their Game Six win in Boston.

Asked how many more championships Golden State might add, Green said: "I'm not sure. I don't like to put a number on things and say we can get five, or we can get six.

"We're going to get them until the wheels fall off. And that's our goal, to compete at this level every year."

Green, who had 12 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, commended the Warriors defense for keeping the Celtics at bay.

"We have always spoke about our defense, and it's been a constant for us," Green said.

"But when you have such a sexy offense, and guys shooting the ball like Steph Curry and Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole, it's always going to be sexier, and people are always going to appreciate that more. We beat this team because of our defense. Did they score a hundred points tonight?

"That's four out of six games they didn't score a hundred points? We beat them because of our defense, and that's always been a constant.

"You don't win a championship without a great defense. We know that. We understand that. We pride ourselves on defense and ultimately understanding that our defense will allow our offense to flourish."

Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka declared "the future is bright and we're just getting started" after the NBA Finals series defeat to the Golden State Warriors.

The Celtics led the Warriors 2-1 in the series before relinquishing fourth-quarter leads in both Game 4 and Game 5, and ultimately came unstuck in the penultimate match.

Stephen Curry registered 34 points (12-of-21 shooting, six-of-11 from three), seven rebounds and seven assists as Golden State recorded a 103-90 win in Game 6 to secure an unassailable 4-2 series lead.

That meant the Warriors lifted their fourth NBA Championship in just eight years, and seventh overall, as Boston's 14-year wait for an NBA Finals series win continued.

Udoka guided the Celtics to their first Eastern Conference title in 12 years, though, and he believes Boston have reason to be optimistic in the future.

"We learned a tremendous amount about each other as a staff and them learning what we wanted and vice versa. That's the message to the guys tonight," he said.

"This is just the start. A foundation has been set. We can kind of hit the ground running next year. Let's get healthy and all be on the same page.

"Now it's a matter of taking that next step. What I did say to the group was there are levels. You can see the difference in Golden State, a team that's been there, been together for a long time.

"The core group, it's been 10 years now. We've seen what we can achieve. It hurts we fell short of that.

"But what I did say is the future is bright and we're just getting started, so let's all come back better from this experience."

Udoka has experienced the pain of losing in NBA Finals before after he was an assistant San Antonio Spurs when they succumbed to defeat against the Miami Heat in 2013.

The Nigerian admitted the loss will hurt for a while, but called on Boston to use it is as a learning experience.

"It's going to hurt. It will hurt for a while. Probably that stuff never goes away. I've lost one before," he added. "That was part of the message. Let it propel us forward, the experience.

"Growth and progress that we made this season. Obviously, getting to your ultimate goal and falling a few games short is going to hurt. There are a lot of guys in there, very emotional right now.

"The message was we thanked them for the effort and the growth and everything they allowed us to do coaching-wise this year.

"The biggest message was learn from this, grow from it, take this experience and see there is another level to get to.

"Just don't come back the same as players, coaching staff. Let this fuel you throughout the offseason into next year.

"Let's not be satisfied. It's not guaranteed you're going to be here. The East is getting tougher every year. They'll come back better. We will as a staff as well."

Jayson Tatum was left with a "terrible feeling" after the NBA Finals series defeat as he called on the Boston Celtics to "take it up another level".

The Celtics struggled against Stephen Curry in Game 6, the Golden State Warriors winning 103-90 after he posted 34 points, hitting six-of-11 threes, while adding seven rebounds and seven assists.

That helped the Warriors to an unassailable 4-2 series lead and fourth NBA Championship in just eight years, while Curry claimed his first NBA Finals MVP award.

Golden State were 2-1 down in the series at one point, but a three-game winning run meant Boston's 14-year wait to win the NBA Championships continued.

Tatum expressed his frustrations after the match as he admitted the Celtics fell short of expectations.

"It's hard. It's hard getting to this point. It's even harder getting over it, the hump, and win it. It's been a long journey, a long process," the Boston star said.

"Being with this group, the things we've overcome throughout the season, getting to this point. Just knowing how bad we wanted it, coming up short. It's a terrible feeling.

"That's what I took from it: it's tough. You got to take it up another level to do what we want to do.

"We all could have done things better. I feel like I could have done a lot of things better. But, like we said, we competed, we tried all season, all playoffs."

Marcus Smart was speaking alongside Tatum and vowed that the Celtics will bounce back stronger after the experience of the Golden State defeat.

"For us, it's just hard-nosed, it's who we are," Smart added. "We're a family. We take and accept every challenge head on no matter the outcome, no matter the advantages we have or disadvantages.

"We're going to take it full-heartedly. The guys came out here and competed. We could have [given] up, but we didn't. I think that shows the foundation that we have here.

"We see what we're capable of. We got a taste of it. We want the whole thing. I know for a fact that we're going to be back a different team. We're going to put in the work. But this one's going to hurt."

Steve Kerr admitted he was still in awe of Stephen Curry after his starring role in the Golden State Warriors' NBA Finals success.

The Warriors beat the Boston Celtics 103-90 in Game 6 to seal an unassailable 4-2 series lead and claim a fourth title in eight years.

Kerr, who also won five championships as a player, has been at the helm for all of those successes, but he has not lost the ability to be impressed by the feats of his star players.

And nobody has played a greater role in this season's triumph than league and Finals MVP Curry.

"He does [still inspire awe], because what he does at his size is so different from the traditional greats in this league," Kerr said of the 34-year-old.

"I've said it so many times, Steph reminds me so much of Tim Duncan. Totally different players. But from a humanity standpoint, talent standpoint, humility, confidence, this wonderful combination that just makes everybody want to win for him.

"And I'm obviously thrilled for everyone in that room, and a lot of people had a big hand in this, but I think the thing with Steph is, you know, without him, none of this happens.

"That's not taking anything away from Joe [Lacob] and Peter's [Gruber] ownership, because they have built an incredible organisation.

"Bob Myers, hell of a GM. Our players, we have had so many great players, but Steph ultimately is why this run has happened. Much like Timmy in San Antonio.

"So I'm happy for everybody, but I'm thrilled for Steph. To me this is his crowning achievement in what's already been an incredible career."

Curry averaged 31.2 points, six rebounds and five assists in the Finals to earn the first Finals MVP of his career.

He put up a team-high 34 points in Game 6 on 12-of-21 shooting, hitting six-of-11 threes while adding seven rebounds and seven assists.

Curry also became the first player to ever win a unanimous league MVP and a unanimous Finals MVP.

Asked what distinguished this title from the rest, Kerr added: "They are all unique, they are all special. I think this one may have been the most unlikely just from the standpoint of where we've been the last couple years.

"A lot of unknowns, the injury to Klay [Thompson], Draymond [Green] at the end of the year, Steph at the end of the year. A lot of young guys, a new core, or a new group around our core, I should say.

"But it's really special to see guys like Wiggs [Andrew Wiggins] and Loon [Kevon Looney] and Gary Payton, just how far they have come, the impact they made, Jordan Poole, the same thing.

"I know I'm going to forget people but it takes a full team effort to do this, and we just had a great group who do get it done."

Manchester City just about held off the challenge of Liverpool as they retained their Premier League title in 2021-22.

Pep Guardiola's team have been a relentless machine for much of the last half a decade in English football, and frankly, there appears to be little sign of that stopping.

City won 29 games last season, drawing six and losing just three on their way to 93 points, with a league-high goals scored of 99 and joint-league low goals conceded of 26.

So, what do you do if you are the best? You strengthen further, of course, and City have certainly done that by bringing Erling Haaland to the Etihad Stadium ahead of next season.

The Norwegian striker scored 86 goals in 89 appearances in all competitions during two and a half years at Borussia Dortmund, with only Robert Lewandowski (123 in 108 games) and Kylian Mbappe (93 in 111 games) in Europe's top five leagues scoring more in that time.

What will strike added fear into an already frightened Premier League is the theoretical increase in productivity in front of goal, with City scoring 150 goals in all competitions last season from 1,062 shots, or a goal every 7.1 attempts, while they finished off just 45.4 per cent of their big chances (a chance by which a goal would be expected more often than not).

Haaland scored 29 goals in 30 games in all competitions at a rate of a goal every 3.6 attempts, and put away 65.8 per cent of his big chances, so will presumably only further add to City’s already high goal total, though his presence will mean one fewer attacking midfielder to last year.

Rumoured further additions are likely still to come, with Marc Cucurella and Kalvin Phillips being strongly linked, so can anyone realistically stop City?

With the fixtures announced, the countdown is underway to the new campaign, and Stats Perform has taken a look at the rest of the so-called "big six" to see how their prospects look at the moment.

Reds must learn how to win the big one

Without Jurgen Klopp's team, the Premier League would have basically become another Bundesliga in recent years, with one team winning by a distance each time.

Liverpool have only been able to stop City from taking the title once in the last five seasons, but often at least make Guardiola’s team work for their success, and you would not bet against them doing so again.

Klopp has procured his own big striker with Darwin Nunez arriving from Benfica. If the Uruguayan can get even close to the 34 goals he managed in all competitions last season for Benfica, he will be a firm favourite at Anfield.

One thing that will give Reds fans hope ahead of the new campaign is how well they finished the last one, dropping just six points in the second half of the season (W16, D3, L0).

Their two league defeats all season came at West Ham and Leicester City, while they also drew with Brentford and Brighton and Hove Albion, all in the first half of the campaign.

In truth, it was the inability to beat their main rivals that cost them, drawing home and away with rest of the top four (City, Chelsea and Tottenham). Turn even just a couple of those draws into wins and Liverpool will be in a great position to seriously worry the champions again.

Fresh start for Chelsea, but can they plug the gaps?

What an odd season it was for Chelsea, beginning with so much promise and ending just glad the club still existed.

Of course, there was no way of knowing what would happen around the ownership situation, but now that it is all sorted, how can the Blues get back to being challengers?

There is little doubt Thomas Tuchel has done a good job since arriving in January 2021, but going into last season there was justified talk of a title push, especially having won the Champions League and signed Romelu Lukaku for just shy of £100million.

It started well enough, winning eight of their first 10 games, but then the draws began, totalling 11 by the end of the season, with Chelsea finishing a whopping 19 points behind champions City.

Reports suggest Lukaku is heading back to Inter on loan, and so Tuchel will have to decide whether to try another striker, one that suits his system better at least, or go back to playing Kai Havertz there, which worked well enough in his first half year at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea had comfortably the third-best defensive record in the league (33 conceded) but will have to be careful given the need for a potentially hefty overhaul at the back, with Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen already gone, and rumours that Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso could follow.

Whether the new owners back Tuchel as much as has been reported could be key to whether Chelsea can enjoy a better season next year, but you would imagine they'll be more concerned about keeping others below them rather than craning their necks up at City.

Conte can spur Tottenham on

Spurs actually won their first three league games under Nuno Espirito Santo last season, including an opening day victory against City, but losing five of their next seven meant early curtains for the former Wolves man, and the beginning of the Antonio Conte era.

There were some struggles with consistency, with an incredible run of 14 games in all competitions between early January and late March where they won six and lost eight, only once having the same outcome in consecutive games (back-to-back defeats at home to Southampton and Wolves).

However, eight wins and just one loss in their last 11 saw them overtake rivals Arsenal for a much-needed top four spot and Champions League football.

Conte expressed a desire to be backed in the transfer market, as usual, and so far has been rewarded, with Ivan Perisic and Fraser Forster already through the door, and Yves Bissouma reportedly not far behind.

If he can keep up the momentum from the end of last season, while still getting plenty from last year's joint-golden boot winner Son Heung-min, Conte could yet take Spurs even further up the table next season, especially if Harry Kane can start the campaign well.

The England captain only scored once in his first 13 Premier League games, but then managed 16 in 24 after that.

Young Gunners can't get shot down again

Mikel Arteta's young side always seemed to be in fine form or in crisis last season, with very little in between.

They had worked themselves into pole position in the race for the top four but skidded off at the end, allowing Spurs to edge ahead.

In truth, it hardly seemed like a season worthy of Champions League qualification when you consider Arsenal suffered 13 losses in the league, but that's the great thing about having a young team, they can learn and grow.

Arteta will certainly be hoping that is the case, and is rumoured to be trying to add another talented youngster in Porto's Fabio Vieira. If he's half as good as the last Vieira who played for the Gunners, he'll do well.

Arsenal will still be eyeing a striker, though, having lost Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and now Alexandre Lacazette for nothing, and have been linked with City's Gabriel Jesus, though Eddie Nketiah could yet step up having scored five in his last eight league games, and reportedly being offered a new deal at the Emirates Stadium.

Steady improvement the name of the game for Erik

Fair play to Erik ten Hag, the man clearly relishes a challenge.

And quite the challenge it promises to be at Manchester United, with an immense amount of ground to make up to even get close to thoughts of a title challenge.

United finished the season with a dismal 58 points, despite coming off a second-place finish the season before and signing Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo.

'Winning' the transfer window does not count for much if it is not translated on the pitch, though, and ending the campaign in sixth place and 35 points off top spot outlined just how much Ten Hag has to do.

The Red Devils also failed to end a league campaign with a positive goal difference (zero) for the first time since the 1989-90 season.

United have been linked with Frenkie de Jong and Christian Eriksen among many others, but as last season showed, names coming in does not automatically equate to improvement.

If Ten Hag wants to turn the ship around, he'll need to solve it on the training field, and challenging for the title feels realistically more than a year away.

For the second straight year, Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy was fined by the NFL for having practices that were deemed too physical, with the team being stripped of an organized team activity for 2023. 

After he was fined $50,000 last season, McCarthy was hit with a $100,000 charge this year for violating OTA rules that restrict too much contact during the offseason sessions. Dallas will also lose an OTA practice in 2023 as a result. OTAs with live contact are barred by the collective bargaining agreement. 

Last season, Dallas’ practice was flagged for "live contact violations" after the NFL obtained footage showing ramped-up contact from Cowboys players during 11-on-11 drills.  

They were one of three teams to be fined in 2021 and have an OTA rescinded for practice violations. San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan was fined $50,000 and the organization was fined $100,000, while the Jacksonville Jaguars were fined $200,000 and former coach Urban Meyer was docked $100,000. 

Earlier this month, the Chicago Bears had to cancel an offseason workout because they violated NFL rules by having live contact during a session in May. New coach Matt Eberflus said the contact that occurred was because of overzealous players and not the team's practice structure. He said neither he nor the organization was fined. 

Golden State Warriors icon Stephen Curry took the time to sit back and soak in the journey from Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals to Thursday's Game 6, championship-sealing win against the Boston Celtics.

Curry, who averaged 31.2 points, six rebounds and five assists in the Finals to earn the first Finals MVP of his career, scored a team-high 34 points in Game 6 on 12-of-21 shooting, hitting six-of-11 threes and adding seven rebounds and seven assists.

It is the Warriors' fourth championship in the past eight seasons, with Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala and coach Steve Kerr there for all four.

Speaking to the media while still wearing his goggles from the champagne celebrations in the locker room, Curry pushed back on the first question being about his elusive Finals MVP.

"Forget that, we're champs," he said. "We've got four championships.

"God is great, the ability to be on this stage and play with amazing teammates against a great Boston Celtics team that gave us everything to try to get to the finish line… this one hits different for sure.

"Knowing what the last three years have meant, and what it's been like. From injuries, to a changing of the guard with the roster, 'Wiggs' [Andrew Wiggins] coming through, our young guys. Carrying the belief that we could get back to this stage and win, even if it didn't make sense to anybody when we said it.

"All that stuff matters, and now we've got four championships. Me, Dray, Klay and Andre – and I finally got that bad boy [motioning to Finals MVP trophy] – it's special, man. Special.

"All the work that went into it, all the faith and belief, everybody in that locker room that's getting to spray champagne around the locker room – everybody mattered in that process. I'm proud of everybody."

Curry was superb down the stretch in the close-out win, scoring 13 of the Warriors' 27 fourth-quarter points, and he was overtaken by emotion as the finals seconds ticked down.

Touching on what was going through his head, he said it was thoughts of the long road back to the top after the 2019 Finals ended in devastating fashion, with a loss and serious injuries to Thompson and Kevin Durant.

"These last two months of the playoffs, these last three years, these last 48 hours, every bit of it has been an emotional rollercoaster, on and off the floor," he said.

"You're carrying all of that on a daily basis, trying to realise a dream and a goal like we did tonight – you get goosebumps just thinking about all those snapshots and episodes we went through to get back here.

"That's why I said this championship hits different – that's why I've got so many emotions, and still will – because of what it took to get back here. 

"When we started this season, there was a lot of conversation about who we were as a team, and what we were capable of, and I clearly remember some experts and talking heads putting up the big zero for how many more championships we'd have going forward.

"We hear all of that, we carry it all, and you try to maintain your purpose and not let it distract you, but you carry that weight, and to get here, it all comes out."

He added: "It was definitely overwhelming – it was surreal – just because you know how much you went through to get back to this stage.

"Me personally, my workouts from the offseason last year when we lost the play-in tournament, it's been a year and six days since I started the process of getting ready for this season – and it all paid off.

"I didn't know how it was going to happen, I didn't know what the environment was going to be like, but it hits different.

"Out there on the floor – I mean, I didn't even know [my dad] was down there – and I saw him, and I just lost it… I just wanted to take in the moment."

Curry also became the first player to ever win a unanimous league MVP and a unanimous Finals MVP, further cementing his legacy as one of the greatest players to ever lace them up.

San Diego Padres ace and NL Cy Young Award candidate Joe Musgrove put in another quality start to help his side to a 6-4 away win against the Chicago Cubs.

While Musgrove finished with a great game, it was a rough beginning, with Christopher Morel hitting a home run from the Cubs' first at-bat of the game.

The Padres took the lead in the second inning as Nomar Mazara connected on a two-run home run, before Jake Cronenworth's RBI double a couple of batters later made it 3-1.

Andrelton Simmons pulled one run back with a base hit later in the second inning, and that would be the last run Musgrove gave up, holding the Cubs scoreless for the next five innings.

Musgrove finished with nine strikeouts from seven complete innings, giving up two earned runs from five hits and one walk.

His dominance through the middle innings allowed the Padres to open up some breathing room, with MVP candidate Manny Machado tacking on a run with an RBI single in the fourth, before Austin Nola made it 5-2 with a sacrifice fly an inning later.

Jurickson Profar completed the away side's scoring with a solo home run in the eighth inning, before the Cubs added a pair of consolation runs with RBIs to Frank Schwindel and Ian Happ.

Machado finished with three hits – all singles – from five at-bats, taking his batting average for the season up to .328.

Yankees walk it off

The New York Yankees came out on top in a hard-fought pitching duel, defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 2-1 thanks to a walk-off home run by Anthony Rizzo.

Francisco Mejia finally broke the deadlock with a solo home run to give the Rays a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning, before Rizzo tied things up with an RBI single an inning later.

Yankees starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt only went three innings before he was withdrawn, while Rays starter Jalen Beeks pitched just two innings without allowing a baserunner before he was also pulled, with the two teams trusting their bullpens in long-relief.

With the scores tied in the bottom of the ninth inning, with one out, Rizzo cleared the fence with the game-winning homer, moving the Yankees' league-leading record to 47-16.

Phillies stay hot

It's now 12 wins from their past 14 games for the Philadelphia Phillies after a dominant 10-1 win against the Washington Nationals.

Phillies starting pitcher Zack Wheeler was lights-out on the mound, giving up just one run from four hits and no walks in seven complete innings, while his side were just as impressive with the bat.

Five Phillies drove in at least one run each, with Kyle Schwarber the star, hitting two massive home runs, with both travelling further than 415 feet.