NBA Commissioner Adam Silver revealed the league was exploring alterations to the rules on All-NBA team selections.

The NBA's tactical transformation since the implementation of the defensive three-second rule has created a recruiting need for skill over true size, translating into a more fluid style of basketball.

Meanwhile, with Joel Embiid finishing second in MVP voting but missing out on All-NBA First Team selection, due to both being centers.

In his annual news conference before the start of the NBA Finals, Silver said the league was looking at adapting to transforming circumstances.

"I think we're a league that has moved increasingly towards positionless basketball," Silver said Thursday in San Francisco, in his annual press conference at the start of the NBA Finals. "The current system may result in some inequities just based on the happenstance of what your position is.

"It's something that we will discuss with the players' association because it has an impact on incentives in players’ contracts."

The NBA allowed 100 media members to vote for Jokic or Embiid as forwards, but it failed to remedy given neither could be considered as such in the traditional sense.

New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor has been ruled out of Thursday's primetime matchup against the Los Angeles Dodgers after reportedly jamming his finger while closing a door.

Lindor is the Mets' hottest batter, driving in a run in a career-high 10 consecutive games, hitting .365 during that stretch.

The Mets (35-17) are currently one game behind crosstown rivals the New York Yankees (35-15) in the race for the best record in baseball, while the Dodgers (33-17) are third, one game behind the Mets. 

Lindor's absence puts the Mets' six-game winning streak in danger, and he told reporters he is disappointed to miss out after his finger quickly swelled up and his nail turned black.

"The last time I pinched a finger, I was 12 years old," he said.

"I ran around the room for like three minutes. I didn't want to look at it. I felt like I had my heart in that finger.

"It's frustrating to not be out there with the boys – I want to be out there every day and do whatever it takes to help the team win."

Lindor is not expected to miss more than a day or two.

American Mina Harigae is the outright leader after the first round of the U.S. Women's Open with a seven-under 64, but she was arguably outshone by Swedish amateur Ingrid Lindblad.

Harigae had nine birdies with two bogeys – becoming the sixth player to shoot 64 in tournament history – but leads by just one stroke from Lindblad, who shot the best score by an amateur in U.S. Women's Open history with her 65.

Lindblad was spectacular, particularly on the front-nine, where she birdied the first three holes, as well as the eigthth and ninth, before finally registering her only bogey of the round on the 10th. She responded to that adversity in fine fashion, collecting birdies on 12 and 13.

The chasing pack sits two back from Lindblad, with Swedish compatriot Anna Nordqvist tied at four under with Australia's Minjee Lee and America's Ryann O'Toole.

Keeping with the Swedish theme, Lindblad was partnered with legendary three-time U.S. Women's Open champion Annika Sorenstam, who gave the 22-year-old some glowing praise after their round.

"She's authentic," she said. "She's got a special look, but she's a fearless player.

"She's confident in her own game. I know she doesn't shy away from the limelight that maybe I did as a young girl."

American duo Lexi Thompson and Ally Ewing are tied for sixth at three under, and there is an 11-woman logjam sitting inside the top-10, tied for eighth at two under.

World number three Cameron Smith headlines a six-way tie atop the Memorial Tournament leaderboard after Thursday's first round at Muirfield Village.

Smith is joined by American trio Luke List, Cameron Young and Davis Riley, as well as Canada's Mackenzie Hughes and South Korea's Lee Kyoung-hoon.

It is the largest leading group after the first round in tournament history, but they all got to their five-under 67 in different ways. 

Young finished the day second in average driving distance (316.8 yards), behind only Jon Rahm, while Lee, Hughes and Smith finished top-six in putts-per-green-in-regulation.

List was the only member of the leading group to finish with less than two bogeys, and Riley played an all-round game; top-15 in driving distance while being dialled in with his putter down the back-nine, going five-under from the 11th hole to the 17th.

US PGA Championship runner-up Will Zalatoris is part of the three-man group one stroke off the lead, while Max Homa and Canada's Corey Conners are in the logjam at three under.

A star-studded group finished with a two-under 70, including Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele and Im Sung-jae, while Chile's Joaquin Neimann is with Collin Morikawa and Jason Day at one under.

Patrick Cantlay and Rahm were even-par, Mito Pereira will need a solid second round to make the cut after a one-over finish, and Hideki Matsuyama was handed his first career disqualification for using a wood with paint on its face – deemed illegal. He was three over at the time of the incident.

Paul Pogba would be welcomed back at Juventus with open arms after leaving Manchester United, according to Bianconeri goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, who says the midfielder remains one of the world's finest players.

United announced on Wednesday that Pogba is to depart Old Trafford when his contract expires this month, 10 years after originally leaving the Red Devils to join Juventus.

Since then, Pogba has been strongly linked with another return to a former club, with Juve looking to add dynamism to their midfield after finishing fourth in consecutive Serie A seasons.

Pogba won four league titles with the Turin giants between 2012 and 2016, the latter two under Massimiliano Allegri, excelling alongside the likes of Andrea Pirlo and Claudio Marchisio in the Juventus engine room.

And Szczesny claims the midfielder, who recorded more assists (38) and created more chances (231) in the Premier League than any other United player during his second spell at the club, remains an elite talent and would be an excellent signing.

"Yes, we'd welcome him back. He did brilliantly in his previous time at Juventus so he would be a great addition to the squad," he said, as reported by the Daily Mirror.

"He is a player with good calibre and experience, and he has good memories from Turin.

"Maybe over the last couple of years the consistency of his game and the injuries didn't help at United. But when he is fit, he is still one of the best in the world."

Having made a strong start to the 2021-22 season by registering four assists in a 6-1 Premier League thrashing of Leeds United, Pogba went on to endure a frustrating campaign as United struggled to a sixth-placed finish under interim boss Ralf Rangnick.

Meanwhile, Juve legend Alessandro Del Piero believes Pogba would be the ideal player to spearhead a Bianconeri rebuild under Allegri, insisting the World Cup winner would contribute at both ends of the pitch.

10 Serie A teams scored more than the 57 league goals recorded by Juve this year, with only the departing Paulo Dybala hitting double figures, who have also lost defensive stalwart Giorgio Chiellini.

"Paul is the right player to assist Vlahovic in attack, but also to protect the defence, which will lose a column like Chiellini," Del Piero told ESPN.

"Everything will depend on what Paul wants to do. If he wants to return to a club where he is loved by the fans and the whole environment, Juve is the right choice. If he wants to fight immediately to win the Champions League, he will have to choose another team. 

"The context will be very different, because in the first cycle at Juve he was young and protected by players like Pirlo and Marchisio, this time it would be the opposite and it would be up to Paul to take the responsibility of making his team-mates grow.

"However, I believe that at United he has grown from this point of view, as a man and as a player."

Fernando Santos insists he had no problem in leaving Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench as Portugal played out an "interesting result" in their Nations League opener with Spain.

Alvaro Morata fired Spain into a 25th-minute lead with his 26th strike in all competitions for his country, becoming the joint-seventh highest scorer in La Roja's history alongside Emilio Butragueno.

Ronaldo was introduced after the hour mark but it was fellow substitute Ricardo Horta who made the difference.

Horta popped up at the back post with eight minutes remaining to coolly convert Joao Cancelo's low, whipped cross from the right flank, snatching a 1-1 draw for Portugal in Seville.

Santos, speaking after the game, was quick to defend his decision to name Ronaldo among the substitutes, while he hailed the performance of his side on the road.

"There is no management at all. Management will be done in every game. Here too. It seemed to me that this was the best solution for the start of the game," Santos told Sport TV.

"A different team [Portugal], in terms of work and positioning of field, with different things. This seemed to be a good solution and I had Cristiano whenever I needed to get him on the field.

"I already knew that. It's a normal structure."

He added to RTP3: "Thank God. I'm very happy, despite being sad about the result, I'm very happy because a Portugal draw with Spain is just an interesting result.

"Of course, it's not a good result for us, but still good for us, for the working of this group, which leads people to believe that we can do more."

Portugal host Switzerland on Sunday in their next Group A2 game, while Spain visit Czech Republic on the same day.

Spain head coach Luis Enrique was quick to praise the team spirit and support in Seville as he suggested he will rotate following the 1-1 Nations League draw with Portugal.

Alvaro Morata opened the scoring after 25 minutes on Thursday, becoming La Roja's joint-seventh highest scorer in history alongside Emilio Butragueno with 26 goals.

Spain dominated for large parts of the proceedings in their Group A2 opener, but substitute Ricardo Horta scored with eight minutes remaining to ensure the spoils were shared.

Czech Republic are the next opponents for Luis Enrique's side on Sunday and the Spain boss vowed to rotate to evaluate all members of his squad ahead of the World Cup in Qatar.

"I have suffered more than usual," he told reporters after the game. "I was seeing that it was difficult to keep up with the rhythm of the 90 minutes and that the victory could escape us.

"But I think the team has been good. The players have coped with the heat and fatigue of the season with great determination. We are going to use all the players [in the upcoming games].

"The atmosphere, the public was superb and the attitude of my players as well. I like the team spirit. Now it's time to recover and we'll see what we can improve on.

"The idea of ​​competing throughout the game penalised us. It's difficult to keep up with the pressure for 90 minutes, but in general I'm satisfied.

"In fact, overall, I'm more than satisfied and I'm sure when I see it, I'll be even happier."

Luis Enrique was quick to hail the influence of Morata, while he defended his decision to leave Ansu Fati as an unused substitute.

"We could have won and we could have lost," he continued. "He is good in this team and everywhere, he is a player who has a goal and although he is not a player with stratospheric figures, everything he gives us is very good.

"Ansu is coming to help us in the long term, I like what I see in training but he still doesn't have the rhythm to help us in everything he wants, and it's normal.

"But I'm the coach and you have to trust me there."

Coco Gauff sees Iga Swiatek as the favourite in the French Open final but promised to play with freedom as the outcome at Roland Garros will not change her life either way.

The teenager breezed past Martina Trevisan in straight sets in Paris on Thursday, with the 18-year-old reaching the showpiece on Saturday without dropping a set.

In the Open era, she is just the sixth American to reach the final two at Roland Garros without losing a set, while she also became the third-youngest grand slam finalist this century.

The achievements continued to come in for Gauff, who is the youngest American female finalist in Paris since Monica Seles in 1991 and the youngest overall since Kim Clijsters in 2001.

However, the in-form Swiatek stands in her way of a first major title, with the world number one heading into the contest on a remarkable 34-match winning run.

The Pole is the first player to reach six or more finals on the WTA Tour in the first six months of the year since Serena Williams in 2013 (seven), and Gauff feels she has nothing to lose against Swiatek.

"It definitely means a lot. I'm so happy, and definitely – I wasn't expecting it," she said after defeating Trevisan. 

"I'm going to be honest. This year I hadn't had the best results going into this. So it wasn't expected at all, really.

"Playing Iga, she's on a streak right now obviously, and I think going in I have nothing to lose and she's definitely the favourite going into the match on paper.

"But I think that going in, I'm just going to play free and play my best tennis. I think in a grand slam final anything can happen. If I do lift the trophy, honestly, I don't think my life is going to change really.

"I know it sounds kind of bad to say that, but the people who love me are still going to love me regardless if I lift the trophy or not.

"It will probably get me more attention from the people around the world. But in general, I'm not worried about how my life is going to change because I really don't think it's going to change."

Victory for Gauff would make her the seventh player to win the girls' and women's singles titles in Paris, after lifting the junior title just four years ago.

Swiatek subsequently won the Wimbledon junior title the same season, and Gauff is delighted the pair's paths will cross again at senior level.

"I knew her from juniors, but we never spoke really until we both got on tour," she added. "I remember here specifically I was actually preparing to play her in the final, and then she had a match point against my – well, not my doubles partner this tournament, but normally Caty McNally, and Caty saved a match point against her and I ended up playing Caty in the final.

"I just remember that from the juniors. Obviously going on the tour, we spoke and she's super nice. I think that's something I really admire about her.

"I have known Iga – I don't know her well-well, but I have known her since she was probably ranked lower, and now that she's [world] number one, and I will say that nothing has really changed other than her tennis.

"But behind the scenes, she's as nice as I think you guys see in the press conferences. I think that's really important and rare to see, so I definitely congratulate her on that aspect."

Junior memories aside, Gauff believes she is more than ready to win a grand slam but insists she will not put pressure on herself.

"I think that version was ready to win a slam, but I think she almost wanted it too much, that she put way too much pressure on herself," she said of her comments previously about winning a major.

"Now I'm definitely ready to win one but I'm not putting pressure on myself to win one. I think there's a fine line between believing in yourself and almost pushing yourself too much.

"I think at that moment I was pushing myself too much to do the results, whereas when I was in the quarter-final, I didn't even enjoy the moment. I didn't even care really.

"Now, being in the final, I'm enjoying it. I think there is definitely a difference between [being] ready and almost wanting it too much. I think at that moment I wanted it too much, whereas now I definitely want it.

"But also, it's not going to be the end of the world if it doesn't happen for me."

French Open director Amelie Mauresmo has apologised for suggesting women's tennis lacks the "appeal" of the men's game after drawing the ire of world number one Iga Swiatek.

Mauresmo – herself a former two-time grand slam winner who made the French Open quarter-finals on two occasions – made the comments while discussing the lack of women's matches played during the night sessions at Roland Garros.

This is the first edition of the French Open to feature night sessions – but women's matches under the floodlights have been few and far between to date.

On Wednesday, Mauresmo suggested this was down to the men's game being more popular with spectators, saying: "In this era that we are in right now, I don't feel – and as a woman and former player, I don't feel bad or unfair saying that right now you have more attraction. Can you say that? Appeal? For the men's matches."

Those comments were labelled "disappointing and surprising" by top seed Swiatek, who will play teenager Coco Gauff in Saturday's final.

But Mauresmo has now apologised for the comment, telling the Tennis Channel: "I want to say sorry to the players that really felt bad about what I said.

"The comments that I made were taken out of the wider picture, out of the context. Because we have one match only, I feel that it's really tougher to schedule a women's match because we have to take into consideration the length [of the match]. I feel it's the fair kind of thing to do for the ticket holders.

"I think the people who know me, who've known me on and off the court, throughout my career, throughout everything that I've done, know that I'm a big fighter for equal rights and women's tennis, women in general."

The scheduling of night matches in the French capital has attracted other criticisms since the tournament began, with 13-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal claiming "it is too late, without a doubt" after his five-set quarter-final win over Novak Djokovic ended at 1:15am local time on Wednesday.

While the sessions will stay on the agenda at future editions, Mauresmo insists concerns over late finishing times, as well as the balance between men's and women's matches being showcased at favourable broadcast times, must be reviewed after the tournament.

"I feel that next year, in order to be able to be more fair to the women players, as well as to both categories actually, it would be good to maybe have the possibility to put two matches or maybe a women's match plus a doubles match," Mauresmo added.

"[We will] try to find a better solution to be fair to everyone. We tried to modernise the event. We tried to move forward, and I can see that there are some adjustments to be made, that's for sure. We're going to talk about it after the tournament."

Hideki Matsuyama was disqualified from the Memorial Tournament midway through his first round on Thursday after breaching PGA Tour equipment regulations – the first disqualification of his career.

The 2021 Masters champion had just finished the ninth hole of a thus-far disappointing outing in Ohio, and would have made the turn at three-over after making three early bogeys. 

But Matsuyama, who won his first PGA Tour title at the 2014 edition of the tournament, was informed on the 10th tee that markings on the face of his three-wood breached equipment regulations.

Images showed what appeared to be white paint on the club face, which he used throughout his short outing on the course, leading chief referee Steve Rintoul to describe the club as "non-conforming".

Rintoul grouped with other officials to deem the three-wood in breach of equipment rule 4.1a, which states "a substance or any treatment can't be applied to the face of a club which could influence the flight of the ball, the spin, the loft or anything on the ball, how the ball performs".

The 30-year-old, who had never previously been disqualified in his nine-year professional career, refused to comment after being barred from completing his round.

Matsuyama tied for 14th in his unsuccessful defence of hi Masters title, having recovered from a neck injury to feature in Augusta, and will look to bounce back at the Canadian Open, which starts next Tuesday.

Coco Gauff cited LeBron James, Serena Williams, Colin Kaepernick and Naomi Osaka as her inspirations after the tennis star wrote "Peace, end gun violence" on a camera at the French Open.

The 18-year-old overcame Martina Trevisan in the semi-final at Roland Garros with ease, recording a 6-3 6-1 victory to book her maiden single's grand slam final appearance.

That made the world number 23 the youngest American female finalist in Paris since Monica Seles in 1991 and the youngest overall since Kim Clijsters in 2001.

Gauff has not dropped a set en route to the final, where she faces the in-form Iga Swiatek on Saturday, but much of her post-match focus was on the ongoings back in the United States.

The USA is still reeling from a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas just over a week ago in which 19 children and two teachers were killed.

In the wake of the tragedy, multiple high-profile sportspeople, including Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, have called for changes to gun laws in the USA, and Gauff joined that list on Thursday.

"It's important, just as a person in the world, regardless of tennis player or not," the teenage tennis star said. "I think for me it was just especially important just being in Europe and being where I know people globally around the world are for sure watching.

"I think that this is a problem in other parts of the world, but especially in America it's a problem that's, frankly, been happening over some years but obviously now it's getting more attention.

"But it's been an issue for years. For me, it's kind of close to home. I had some friends that were a part of the Parkland shooting [in 2018].

"I remember watching that whole experience like pretty much firsthand, seeing and having friends go through that whole experience. Luckily they were able to make it out of it. I just think it's crazy, I think I was maybe 14 or 13 when that happened, and still nothing has changed.

"I think that was just a message for the people back at home to watch and for people who are all around the world to watch. I know that it's probably not [going to] – hopefully it gets into the heads of people in office to change things."

Gauff suggested her post-match scribble on the television camera was not pre-meditated and instead came after seeing reports of four people being shot by a gunman in an Oklahoma hospital on Wednesday.

"I really didn't know what I was going to write even moments walking to the camera, and it just felt right in that moment and to write that," she added. "I woke up this morning and I saw there was another shooting, and I think it's just crazy.

"I know that it's getting more attention now. I definitely think there needs to be some reform put into place. I think now especially being 18 I've really been trying to educate myself around certain situations, because now I have the right to vote and I want to use that wisely."

Gauff joins a long list of athletes that are proactively using their platform and audiences to speak on matters they feel passionately about.

As for her inspirations, Gauff listed the likes of NBA star James, fellow tennis players Williams and Osaka, and NFL's Kaepernick, who popularised taking the knee to stand against police brutality and racism.

"I would say LeBron James, Serena, Billie Jean, Colin, the list goes on, Naomi, it goes on really about those issues," Gauff continued. "I think now athletes are more fine with speaking out about stuff like this.

"I feel like a lot of times we're put in a box that people always say, 'Oh, sports and politics should stay separate' and all this. And I say yes, but also at the same time I'm a human first before I'm a tennis player.

"If I'm interested in this, I wouldn't even consider gun violence politics; I think that's just life in general. I don't think that's political at all.

"So of course I'm going to care about these issues and speak out about these issues. When people make those comments, I'm not going to be an athlete forever.

"There is going to be a time when I retire and all this, and I'm still going to be a human. So of course I care about these topics. Sport gives you the platform to maybe make that message reach more people."

Kevin De Bruyne says he is excited to work with "top striker" Erling Haaland at Manchester City, admitting the arrival of the 21-year-old might enable him to build on his already impressive assist figures.

De Bruyne was named Premier League Player of the Season as City won their fourth top-flight title in five seasons last month, with the midfielder top-scoring for Pep Guardiola's men with 15 league goals during the 2021-22 campaign, also adding eight assists.

Despite his impressive goalscoring return, the Belgian fell some way short of his tally of 20 Premier League assists in the 2019 -20 campaign (a joint single-season record in the competition, along with Thierry Henry in 2002-03) – but De Bruyne's attempts to record similar figures in the future could be aided by the presence of Haaland.

The striker scored 86 goals in 89 appearances for Borussia Dortmund after joining from RB Salzburg in January 2020, and is expected to thrive with De Bruyne providing him with service after agreeing a move to the Etihad Stadium.

Speaking to Belgian outlet HLN, De Bruyne said City's acquisition of Haaland was good news for both the team and himself.

"Erling Haaland is a top striker. His move should help us to grow as a team," he said.

"Everybody expects a lot. They [the club] have always been looking for a number nine, but I think it'll be good to have that striker that maybe scores 20 to 25 goals a season."

Asked whether the Norwegian's arrival would help him to up his own already outstanding creative numbers, De Bruyne added: "Maybe. There have been years that I have more assists.

"But my chance creation and other things have remained consistent. Numbers are a part of football but they never tell you the full story."

No other City player came close to the 87 chances De Bruyne created in the Premier League in 2021-22, with fellow midfielder Bernardo Silva second on 59.

Meanwhile, De Bruyne, who will turn 31 later this month, was also asked whether the upcoming World Cup in Qatar – at which Belgium will face Canada, Morocco, and Croatia in Group F – could be his last.

The midfielder, who says the Red Devils are "slightly more of an outsider" to win the tournament than they were in 2018 when they reached the semi-finals in Russia, plans on playing international football until at least Euro 2024 but will not give any assurances beyond that date.

"I will continue with the national team," he added. "I don't know how long. In any case, until the European Championship in 2024 – if bad things don't happen. 

"We'll see how I feel. Quality trumps quantity for me. 

"It is also difficult to find the perfect balance between the family and the life we lead. My wife understands that, the children occasionally. They sometimes regret that daddy cannot be there. Later they will understand."

Ricardo Horta scored a late equaliser as Portugal and Spain opened their Nations League campaigns with a 1-1 draw on Thursday.

Spain were defeated in the final by France in last year's competition, but entered the 2022 edition after four straight wins.

Morata fired Spain into a first-half lead as he became the joint-seventh highest scorer in La Roja's history with his 26th strike in all competitions.

Portugal offered little in response until Horta popped up with eight minutes remaining to steal a draw in the Group A2 opener.

Gavi whipped narrowly wide in the opening exchanges, while Rafael Leao – making his first start for Portugal – blasted over at the other end.

Morata opened the scoring after 23 minutes when Gavi surged forward to find Pablo Sarabia, who unselfishly squared for the forward to tap in.

Carlos Soler almost doubled Spain's lead shortly after but was denied by Diogo Costa before blazing the rebound over, while Andre Silva drilled just wide of Unai Simon's right post.

Fernando Santos responded by sending on Ruben Neves at half-time but the second-half proceedings continued in similar vein, with Spain in control.

Leao spurned a presentable opportunity by firing into the onrushing Simons' legs, before Morata prodded wastefully wide in an attempt to chip Costa.

Cristiano Ronaldo was introduced just after the hour, but it was another substitute, Horta, who equalised as he converted Joao Cancelo's whipped cross, before Jordi Alba headed agonisingly wide with the goal gaping in the closing stages.

United-Kingdom-based Formula Woman Driver Sara Misir has been signed as NCB Capital Market's newest brand ambassador.

Misir, 24, is Jamaica's first and only Formula Woman driver, after successfully earning a seat in the GT Cup Championships by winning the Formula Woman qualifying competition in March from a field of over 10,000 applicants.

"It's official. I'm NCB's newest Brand Ambassador!" Misir posted on Instagram Thursday.

"I'd like to thank NCB Capital Markets for choosing me to represent such an iconic brand with such a long history in Jamaica. As I pursue my passions and continue to race towards my dreams, I'm happy to be on the journey with NCB Capital Markets,”

NCB Capital Markets expressed delight about having Sara on board in a statement.
"Sara has made an indelible mark in the world of motorsport, becoming the first Caribbean Formula Woman driver. Together we will go further, go faster, chart new roads and shatter expectations".

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