Drew Lock is relishing the chance of a "fresh start" with the Seattle Seahawks and is aware of the size of the task that awaits him after replacing Russell Wilson.
The 25-year-old has been acquired by the Seahawks as part of a deal that saw Wilson head the opposite way to the Denver Broncos.
Lock appeared in just six games for the Broncos last season, starting only half of those, but he is hopeful of getting his career back on track in a new chapter in his career.
"I was ready for something to happen, and then when I found out that this is what happened, I was really, really excited," he said.
"I'm excited for a fresh start, excited to come in and compete for a starting job and do everything I can to show this organisation and show this league what I'm capable of doing.
"I've got new team-mates, new coaching staff, new energy, new this, new that, new feel, whatever it may be, a new practice field, it's just the true definition of a fresh start.
"You get to make a new identity for everything, you get to come in and show these people how hard you want to work, how bad you want it, how bad you want to win games.
"There's just a lot of good that can come from a new chair in a meeting room. There's a lot that goes into all this, and a fresh start for me is really, really exciting."
Lock is competing for a starting spot with Jacob Eason, the only other QB on the Seahawks' roster, and is confident of adapting to Shane Waldron's offensive system.
"I obviously know a little bit about coach Waldron's system, which is similar to the one I ran my rookie year when I first got in the league," Lock said.
"We won four of the five games, and I played efficient football, took care of the ball, scored in the red zone, hit the deep shots when they were there.
"When we start talking and getting into the deep details of his offense, we'll put it all together and end up being able to put a good offense together that makes my skill set shine.
"I can throw the deep ball, I can move around in the pocket, I can play-action. Whatever you might need me to do, I'll be able to do it."
Lock will wear the number two jersey with the Hawks as a sign of respect for the departing Wilson, who spent nine years with Seattle.
Wilson threw for 37,059 passing yards, 292 touchdowns and 87 interceptions during his Seahawks career and he averaged 7.83 pass yards per attempt.
That is a tally only Deshaun Watson (8.32), Patrick Mahomes (8.10) and Peyton Manning (7.89) bettered among quarterbacks across that period.
He also ranked fourth in touchdown percentage (6.2) and third in passing plays of 25 yards or more (323), leaving a massive void to be filled in the 2022 season.
But while Lock is full of respect for what Wilson achieved with the Seahawks, he is out to write his own chapter at Lumen Field.
"As long as football goes on, Russell Wilson will be very special to this place, very special to Seattle," he said.
"I know what it takes to, kind of build a legacy. You wouldn't go wear 18 in Indianapolis, you wouldn't go wear 12 in Green Bay. It's a sign of respect for him from me.
"But also at the same time, I want to write my own story here. I want to see what two does for us. I want to make that me.
"I don't want to fight against Russell, he's done so many great things for this place and so many great things for the city of Seattle and the state of Washington.
"I want two to be Drew, and that's just kind of been my mindset on it.
"I have the utmost respect for him and that was a move in showing that."
UEFA has confirmed that the game between Italy and Argentina to be played on Wednesday, June 1 in the first "Finalissima" in 29 years, will take place at Wembley Stadium.
The match was initially announced in September, with confirmation in December that a "renewed and extended Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) lasting until 30 June 2028" had been signed between UEFA and CONMEBOL, leading to a game to be played in London on June 1.
The original iteration, pitting the winner of the most recent European Championship against the winner of the most recent Copa America, was previously known as the Artemio Franchi Trophy and was held in 1985 and 1993.
France beat Uruguay 2-0 in the inaugural edition in 1985, while the 1993 game saw Argentina – led by Diego Maradona – beat Denmark in a penalty shoot-out.
As had been expected, the venue for this year's encounter has now been confirmed as Wembley, where the capacity will be 86,000 and tickets sold on a "first-come, first-served basis".
A statement from UEFA on Tuesday confirmed that: "[It] will give fans the chance to watch the current champions of the world's two best footballing continents contest the coveted CONMEBOL-UEFA Cup of Champions.
"Twenty-nine years after its last edition, the relaunch of this legendary footballing encounter is the result of the long-standing partnership between UEFA and CONMEBOL and will serve as a catalyst for the global development of football – uniting countries, continents, and cultures, while also demonstrating to fans around the globe that football can be a force of good in turbulent times."
Wembley holds fond memories for Italy as the venue of their Euro 2020 final victory over England last year.
Manuel Neuer does not know whether he can hang on as Germany's number one goalkeeper until Euro 2024 – but he is not ruling it out.
The Bayern Munich captain will have turned 38 by the time Germany host the European Championship in two years' time.
Laying his gloves on that trophy would mean Neuer landing one of the few honours that has eluded him in a remarkable career.
Speaking in a Germany news conference on Tuesday, Neuer was cagey about his future prospects and suggested only his form would dictate prospects of playing on for Die Mannschaft in future years.
"I don't have the target for 2024 and beyond to play in goal for the German national team," he said. "I've always said that for as long as I can help, and as long as I feel good, remain needed and have fun, I want to be involved."
Germany strode through to the World Cup with nine wins from 10 qualifiers, and Neuer is set to be their leader going into that tournament in November.
He skippers both club and national team, and will reach 110 caps for his country if he features in the friendlies against Israel and Netherlands over the coming week.
After recovering from a recent knee injury, Neuer has returned to the Bayern side who are chasing a Bundesliga and Champions League double this season.
Going away with Germany is an escape from such pressures, and a reminder of the satisfaction of playing for his country.
"I'm really happy to be here with the national team," Neuer said. "It's still a great honour for me, even if I've been here many years and played many games.
"I'm happy to be part of the squad. For as long as that remains the case, I want to keep playing. For that to happen, of course my performance has to match up."
Germany were World Cup winners in 2014 and that is the goal again this time around, with Neuer believing Hansi Flick's team can challenge.
"We will be measured by trophies," he said of this year's objectives. "That's why there's only one goal for me – to win the World Cup."
Neuer joined Bayern from Schalke in 2011 and holds the record for the most clean sheets in the Bundesliga (210), having surpassed Oliver Kahn (196) in 2021.
Neuer's contract is due to expire at the end of next season, when he will be 37, leading to speculation over his future with Julian Nagelsmann's team. He said on Tuesday there was "no news" on a fresh deal with Bayern.
Marco Verratti has come to the defence of his Paris Saint-Germain and Italy team-mate Gianluigi Donnarumma.
The goalkeeper came in for criticism following PSG's recent Champions League elimination at the hands of Real Madrid, in particular for his error that led to Karim Benzema scoring the Spanish side's first goal at the Santiago Bernabeu in an eventual 3-2 aggregate loss for the Parisians.
Donnarumma has conceded six goals in his last two club appearances, but ahead of Italy's World Cup qualifying play-off against North Macedonia, Verratti wants Azzurri fans to remember his performances during the run to winning Euro 2020.
"We need to be confident. Thursday will be an important match against a team that deserves to be here," Verratti told a news conference.
"As we did during the Euros, we have to go far with enthusiasm and desire.
"Each of us has different stories with our clubs, then here, we have to give everything. With the national team we have always managed to move forward."
It was put to the 29-year-old midfielder that players from PSG and Juventus who were knocked out of the Champions League could bring their dented confidence with them, and he was specifically asked about Donnarumma's mood.
"When you walk into Coverciano [Italy's training complex], you forget everything that happened before, the defeats with our clubs, and you remember what we did last year," Verratti retorted. "We are back to talking about the victory of the European Championship, it's different.
"He [Donnarumma] is sorry for his error against Real Madrid, but Gigio is a special guy. He was already back working the next day with the same enthusiasm.
"Let us not forget what he did for Italy during the Euros. He is one of the best goalkeepers in the world."
Donnarumma played seven games at the rescheduled tournament last year, making 10 stops at a save percentage of 71.43, conceding four goals and making key penalty saves from Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka in the final shoot-out against England to clinch the trophy at Wembley Stadium.
Italy are looking to make amends having failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, and Verratti insists they will "give everything" to get to Qatar.
"We are accustomed to playing under this kind of pressure," he said. "We know it's a very important moment and we cannot afford to be out of the World Cup, but the only thing I know is to work, give my best and do everything there is.
"When Roberto Mancini arrived [in 2018], we were a broken team and he took us to win the European Championship. He worked on our minds above all, now we are a completely different side and we will do everything to go to Qatar."
Eddie Hearn thinks a world heavyweight title rematch between Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk will take place at the end of June.
Usyk outclassed Joshua to claim the WBA, WBO and IBF titles at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last September.
Plans for a second bout have been up in the air after Usyk returned to Ukraine to defend his homeland following the Russian invasion.
Hearn, Joshua's promoter, believes Usyk will be allowed to leave his country in order to step into the ring with Briton Joshua again.
Asked whether Joshua will face Usyk next, Hearn told The DAZN Boxing Show: "I think that's the most likely scenario.
"We had those conversations about a week ago and I had my doubts as to whether Usyk would be ready, but I believe now that there’s been some kind of conversations with Usyk and even [Vasily] Lomachenko as well with the government to say 'look, how do we sit in terms of competing in major sporting events'.
"I don't think Usyk's going to want to wait, once you start waiting anything can happen, so we actually had some talks this morning."
Hearn says Joshua could take an interim fight if he is made to wait for another bout with Usyk.
He added: "I do think Usyk will take that fight next, we're looking at the end of June for that fight and that’s when the fight has got to take place by.
"If he's not ready, we'll push for an interim fight, but my gut feeling right now, and this could change is that you will be seeing Anthony Joshua v Oleksandr Usyk for the unified world heavyweight championship next."
Rafael Nadal has been ruled out of action for up to six weeks with a cracked rib suffered during last week's Indian Wells Masters.
The Australian Open champion sustained the injury in his semi-final win against Carlos Alcaraz and visibly struggled to breath during his defeat to Taylor Fritz in the final.
Nadal told reporters that he was "all good" when returning to Spain on Tuesday, but it has now been revealed he has a stress fracture in the third left costal arch.
The timeframe for the Spaniard's recovery is between four and six weeks, which could have a major impact on his preparations for the 2022 French Open.
The second grand slam of the year is scheduled to begin at Roland-Garros on May 22 – around eight weeks' time.
Nadal had won each of his opening 20 matches this calendar year, a run that took him to his second title at Melbourne Park, prior to tasting a shock defeat against Fritz.
And the record 21-time major winner, who endured an injury-plagued 2021, is now facing a battle to be back at peak fitness in time for the French Open.
Providing an update on his personal Twitter page on Tuesday, Nadal posted: "As it turns out, I have a stress crack in one of my ribs and will be out for 4-6 weeks.
"This is not good news and I did not expect this. I am sunk and sad because after the start of the season I have had such a good time.
"I reached a very important part of the year with very good feelings and good results.
"But hey, I've always had that fighting and overcoming spirit and what I will do is be patient and work hard after my recovery. Once again thank everyone for the support."
Nadal has won the French Open a record 13 times, with his most recent success in Paris coming in 2020.
He was beaten by eventual champion Novak Djokovic in last year's semi-finals – only his third defeat in 108 matches in the event.
Lionel Messi made a getaway from Paris to bolster Argentina ahead of their final World Cup qualifiers on Tuesday.
Rumours surround the future of Messi at club level, with Barcelona appearing to hold the door open in case he fancies a return to Camp Nou, having left in tears last August.
The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner's first season at Paris Saint-Germain is almost certain to end with a Ligue 1 title, but exits from the Champions League and Coupe de France have dampened spirits.
Messi was booed by PSG supporters in the recent 3-0 home win over Bordeaux, with that March 13 game following in the wake of defeat to Real Madrid in Europe.
He has another year left on his PSG contract after this season.
The national team captain was assured of a warm welcome with Argentina, having made the trip out later than planned after missing PSG's 3-0 weekend defeat at Monaco due to what coach Mauricio Pochettino said was a bout of flu.
The 34-year-old travelled by private jet with PSG team-mates Angel Di Maria and Leandro Paredes, ahead of a home game against Venezuela on Friday and a trip to face Ecuador four days later. Local media showed the pair arriving on Tuesday morning.
Argentina began their preparations for the games on Monday, ahead of the trio arriving from France.
Although Argentina have already qualified for the Qatar 2022 finals, Messi's availability comes as a boost to head coach Lionel Scaloni.
A host of injuries means Argentina's squad has been significantly weakened, and Inter striker Lautaro Martinez has pulled out after a positive COVID-19 test.
According to former national team defender Roberto Ayala, who is now Scaloni's assistant, Argentina have no worries about Messi.
Ayala told La Red earlier this month: "We see Messi well. He is a boy who is transformed when he comes to the national team. He is very contained by the group and also wants them to see him as part of the group."
Leonard Fournette has become the latest player to re-sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, according to reports.
After Tom Brady made a sensational U-turn on his decision to retire, Chris Godwin also agreed to a three-year deal worth $60million with the Bucs after being franchise tagged by the team who won Super Bowl LV at the end of the 2020 season.
Fournette is understood to be signing a new three-year deal in Tampa Bay worth $21million, potentially rising to $24m.
The 27-year-old running back reportedly visited the New England Patriots, who had also shown interest in him when he left the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2020, on Monday.
However, like then, Fournette looks to have decided on the Bucs, where he enjoyed a productive 2021 season.
His 1,266 total yards from scrimmage ranked sixth in the NFL, as he rushed for 812 yards, caught 69 passes for 454 yards and scored a total of 10 touchdowns.
Fournette's 4.5 yards per carry average last season was a career-high.
His best game of the season came in the 38-31 win at the Indianapolis Colts in Week 12, scoring four TDs, making eight first downs and racking up a total of 131 yards from 24 touches.
Fournette was placed on injured reserve after suffering a hamstring issue following Week 15, but returned for the divisional round defeat to eventual Super Bowl LVI winners, the Los Angeles Rams.
The man nicknamed "Lombardi Lenny", or "Playoff Lenny", had previously put in a 135-yard performance as the Bucs won Super Bowl LV, beating the Kansas City Chiefs.
Abdullah Shafique was closing in on another half-century at stumps on day two of the deciding Test as Pakistan made a strong start in reply to Australia's 391 all out at Gaddafi Stadium.
Cameron Green (79) and Alex Carey (67) frustrated Pakistan in the heat on Tuesday before Naseem Shah (4-58) and Shaheen Shah Afridi (4-79) prevented the tourists from going beyond 400 in Lahore.
Pat Cummins dismissed Imam-ul-Haq cheaply, but an unbroken stand of 70 between Shafique (45 not out) and Azhar Ali (30no) took Pakistan on to 90-1 at the close - trailing by 301 runs.
Carey and Green took Australia from 232-5 at the start of play to 320-5 at lunch, bringing up their half-centuries as the Pakistan attack toiled.
Nauman Ali ended a sixth-wicket stand of 135 by trapping Carey bang in front and Naseem cleaned Green up with an excellent delivery.
Australia lost five wickets for 50 runs, with Afridi removing Mitchell Starc and making a mess of Mitchell Swepson's stumps after the impressive Naseem bowled Nathan Lyon.
Imam (11) was snared lbw by Cummins off balance in the 12th over of Pakistan's reply to end an opening stand of 20, while Shafique was fortunate to edge between Carey and Steve Smith in the slips.
Azhar clattered Lyon down the ground for six and Shafique ticked along nicely in great batting conditions.
Cummins wasted a review for an lbw shout against Azhar as Pakistan put a frustrating start to the day behind them.
Pakistan's young pace duo fire after Carey and Green stand
Green and Carey gave Australia just the start they were looking for, but Pakistan's young pacemen fired in the afternoon session.
Teenager Naseem and 21-year-old Afridi bowled with a combination of pace and reverse swing as they cleaned up the tail in quick time.
Naseem was not selected for the second Test but he will surely be a mainstay for years to come, while Afridi has already proven he is a class act time and again.
Rock-solid Shafique
The composed Shafique has been a revelation for Pakistan at the top of the order and the opener laid solid foundations once again.
Having made a 134 and 44 in the opening match of the series in Rawalpindi before falling four short of a century in the first innings in Karachi, Shafique will be eyeing three figures again.
Chris Hoy has labelled Mark Cavendish's spectacular Tour de France comeback as "one of the greatest" in sporting history.
Cavendish, a silver medallist on the track for Great Britain at the 2016 Olympic Games, made a stunning return to Le Tour in 2021.
Having not featured in the race since 2018, Cavendish came in as a late replacement for Deceuninck-QuickStep and landed four stage wins, seeing him match the great Eddy Merckx's career record of 34 stage victories that had stood since 1975.
Indeed, Cavendish went into the final stage with the opportunity to surpass Merckx, though he could only finish third in a sprint finish on the Champs-Elysees. He nevertheless took the green jersey for the second time in his career.
It was an unlikely road back for 36-year-old Cavendish, who just last week became the oldest winner of the Milano-Torino.
"Oh, I think Mark Cavendish's comeback last year was one of the greatest in sport we've ever seen," Hoy, one of Great Britain's greatest Olympians, told Stats Perform.
"It was, I don't think even he had really thought that he was gonna have such an impact, and to be called in so late in the year. He had a really solid year, started winning again, he got his confidence back.
"But I don't think that he even envisaged that he would be competing in the Tour de France, let alone winning multiple stages and equalling the greatest of all time in many people's eyes.
"He's having a fantastic year this year as well, but regardless of what he does from now on he is a legend of the sport and that will not change. An extra Tour de France stage win is what he wants, but it wouldn't make him any more of a legend in my eyes.
"I'm sure for most of the cycling community his place is already cemented forever. He is a proper legend of the sport."
For Hoy, Cavendish's legacy is secured around the globe.
"I think Mark has real global appeal," Hoy said. "He's well known in the UK and has a huge following over here, but equally wherever he goes, wherever he competes, because of the way he raced, because he's so exciting, because there's always drama surrounding him.
"He either wins or there's always some controversy or something. It is great for the sport. I think the best thing about his comeback is seeing how much it means to him and the emotion, because sport is nothing without emotion.
"If somebody wins just routinely, and it becomes almost easy looking, even if it's not, but if it appears to be easy and there's no emotion, then it's hard for the public to get behind that. But for Cav, he's always had that emotion, people love to see how much it means to him.
"We've never seen Cav quite as emotional as when he won his first stage of the Tour last year, it was incredible."
Marc Marquez revealed he has been suffering from double vision again after a huge crash that ruled him out of the Indonesian Grand Prix on Sunday.
The six-time MotoGP champion hit the ground hard in a massive highside at Turn 7 during the warm-up for the race at the Pertamina Mandalika Circuit.
Marquez was left dazed after landing heavily and was taken to hospital for a check-up.
The Repsol Honda rider suffered concussion and was unable to start the first grand prix in Indonesia since 1997.
Marquez was diagnosed with diplopia following a crash in practice at the Portuguese Grand Prix last year and the Spaniard has been troubled by the same issue following his latest accident.
The 29-year-old revealed he has not suffered as badly as he did previously and did not state whether he will be able to get back on his bike for the next race in Argentina on April 3.
He tweeted on Tuesday: "It seems that I am experiencing deja vu... During the trip back to Spain, I began to have discomfort with my vision, and we decided to visit Dr. Sanchez Dalmau, who confirmed that I have a new episode of diplopia.
"Fortunately, it is less severe than the injury I had at the end of last year. But now it's time to rest and wait to see how the injury evolves."
Liverpool never had any doubts that Luis Diaz would fit in immediately, with Jurgen Klopp explaining he wants the winger to play his "natural" game.
Diaz joined Liverpool in January in a big-money move from Porto, for whom he had already scored 16 goals across all competitions this season.
Everton wanted to sign the attacker in August 2021 while Tottenham were thought to be frontrunners in January, only for the Reds to pip them to the post.
Since Diaz made his debut as a substitute in the FA Cup win over Cardiff City at the start of February, the Colombia international has featured 12 times, with no other Liverpool player playing on more occasions in that time.
He has scored twice, with those goals coming in Premier League wins over Norwich City and Brighton and Hove Albion, creating 11 chances for team-mates, the fifth-most in Liverpool's squad.
Only Mohamed Salah (95) has had more touches in the opposition box than Diaz (69), whose energetic and aggressive pressing has seen him settle in quickly to Klopp's set-up.
Of Liverpool attackers, just Roberto Firmino (12) has attempted more tackles than Diaz's eight, with the winger having a 100 per cent success rate. Indeed, his 113 duels is also a team-high, with only Fabinho having won more (58 compared to 51).
Klopp and his staff had no concerns over Diaz's ability, but the Liverpool manager has stressed the importance of allowing the 25-year-old to play his own game.
"Every coach would say the same about a January signing. You do it, but if you could, you would do it in the summer," he told Sky Sports.
"There is a reason why you sign a player. The reason is the quality that he has. The reason is the way that he is playing the game.
"With Luis, where it has been really special is that when we saw him we knew that he would fit in immediately. That is really difficult usually but because he did not have to change, that is why we have a really confident boy here.
"He was in a really good moment with Porto, playing good for Colombia, and so he came here full of confidence. But what we tried to make sure is that he does not lose that because of the playbook as we tell him that he has to do this and he has to do that.
"We want him to be natural. It was clear from the first moment that we saw him that he would be a player who could play immediately, on a specific level, if he could deal with it mentally."
It has been a superb start to life at Anfield for Diaz, who has already helped seal an EFL Cup triumph.
"Nothing has happened yet," warned Klopp. "Yes, the start has been really good. But he is a long-term project for us and we are a long-term project for him.
"There is loads more to come."
Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal has tested positive for coronavirus ahead of the friendlies against Denmark and Germany.
Van Gaal is isolating in Woudschoten after returning a positive test on Monday.
Danny Blind, Henk Fraser and Frans Hoek will take on Van Gaal's duties until the Oranje boss is able to link up with the squad again.
Netherlands face Denmark at the Johan Cruijff ArenA on Saturday and take on Germany in Amsterdam three days later.
PSV defender Jordan Teze was last week called up for the upcoming friendlies and is poised to make his debut.
The Oranje qualified for the World Cup in Qatar this year by winning Group G with a 2-0 win over Norway in November.
Blaise Matuidi believes Juventus will struggle to replace Paulo Dybala when he departs at the end of the season.
Juve chief executive Maurizio Arrivabene confirmed on Monday that Dybala's contract will not be renewed.
The Argentina forward's deal expires at the end of June and the Bianconeri have opted against offering him an extension.
Dybala has scored 113 goals for the Serie A giants, ranking him third all-time among the club's non-Italian scorers, behind only David Trezeguet (171) and John Hansen (124).
He joined Juve from Palermo in a deal worth up to €40million in June 2015 and has proved to be a shrewd acquisition, finding the back of the net 80 times in 202 Serie A appearances.
Matuidi is surprised the Turin giants have allowed his former team-mate to move on and says he will leave a big void.
The ex-France international told La Gazzetta dello Sport: "I have an excellent relationship with him, I heard the news, but I have not yet had the opportunity to speak to him.
"He is a great man, as well as a great player. I am very surprised because I think that it will not be easy for Juventus to replace him and find a new player at his level.
"He has done fantastic things in recent years, the fans love him and they will never forget him. I am sure he will find a club that will allow him to continue to grow and do well.
"The only explanation is that Juventus have decided to renew the team. I know it's difficult to accept, but in these situations you have to know how to turn the page."
Juve have been linked with Roma's Nicolo Zaniolo as they prepare for life without Dybala.
Arrivabene explained the reasoning behind Dybala's impending departure, telling Tuttomercatoweb.com: "The most important change is that Juventus has not renewed Paulo Dybala's contract.
"With the transfer market, I reiterated it: the approach was sincere. With the signings made in January, with the arrival of [Dusan] Vlahovic, Paulo's position is not what it was anymore at the centre of the project.
"That is why we preferred to make this kind of decision."
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