Wales head coach Warren Gatland has added Alex King and Mike Forshaw to his backroom staff ahead of the Six Nations.

Former England fly-half King has been appointed as attack coach, with Forshaw named defence coach by Gatland.

King was Wales' attack coach during the 2017 Six Nations while Gatland was on secondment with the British and Irish Lions. He was most recently working with Premiership side Gloucester.

Forshaw arrives from Sale Sharks, with the duo joining forwards coach Jonathan Humphreys and skills coach Neil Jenkins on Gatland's team.

They have replaced Stephen Jones and Gethin Jenkins at the start of Gatland's second tenure after the New Zealander replaced sacked compatriot Wayne Pivac last month.

Wales face Ireland in the opening game of the Six Nations at the Principality Stadium on February 4.

"I'm delighted that Alex and Mike are joining the Wales coaching team," said Gatland.

"They both have plenty of experience as players and coaches, which will be hugely important to the development of the squad through the Six Nations and beyond. I'd like to thank Sale Sharks for their cooperation in the process and allowing Mike to take up this position with Wales.

"We have less than a month to our first Six Nations match against the number one side in the world which, as I've said before, is a great challenge to have first up and one that we are very excited about as a coaching group.

"Having our first match this championship at home will be very special and I'm really looking forward to getting back out at Principality Stadium in front of the best fans in rugby."

Nick Kyrgios believes only "a clown" would give Novak Djokovic a hard time at the Australian Open as the Serbian chases a major slice of tennis history.

It was Kyrgios who prominently came to Djokovic's defence when the nine-time champion at Melbourne Park was detained in an immigration facility and then deported ahead of last year's Australian Open due to his COVID-19 vaccination status.

The previously testy relationship between the pair has become increasingly friendly, to the point they will meet in a practice match at Rod Laver Arena on Friday, ahead of the season's first grand slam. That match sold out in a flash, reflecting the popularity of both men.

Kyrgios described their growing closeness as a "bromance" at Wimbledon last year, although Djokovic laughed off that label.

Djokovic, who has refused to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, will have many on his side over the coming fortnight as he chases a 10th grand slam in Australia and a 22nd overall, which would match Rafael Nadal's men's singles record.

Tournament director Craig Tiley has said anyone that boos Djokovic would risk being thrown out, while Kyrgios called for "respect" to be shown to the 35-year-old superstar.

Kyrgios described Djokovic as "the best that we've got", adding: "I would say, Novak's here and he hasn't made any rules. He's abided by them for the last two years or whatever.

"He's here and all he wants to do is put on a show. He's chasing things that athletes rarely are able to chase. He's one of the greatest athletes of all time, not just in the tennis court.

"I think as fans we should be appreciating that. I know there's going to be fans who are not wanting him to win, but I think they can't cross that line as fans.

"You guys have paid money to watch a guy play, it's a bit contradictory if you're going to go there and be a clown about it.

"You've got to respect him a little bit at the end of the day because he's one of the best who's ever done it."

Kyrgios has a 2-1 record against Djokovic, though both of his wins came back in 2017 and Djokovic won in four sets in their last meeting: the 2022 Wimbledon final.

Should they both win through the early rounds in the season's first grand slam, the draw is such that they could go head to head again in the quarter-finals.

Already, Kyrgios is talking about possibly abandoning doubles duty with Thanasi Kokkinakis in order to focus on singles.

He and Kokkinakis took the doubles title last year, but Kyrgios said on Thursday: "We're singles players at heart and the doubles grand slam last year was a flash in the pan.

"We haven't had one conversation about doubles yet. If we play, we play; if we don't, we don't."

Julian Nagelsmann expects to be without Sadio Mane for the first leg of Bayern Munich's Champions League tie against Paris Saint-Germain but says there is a chance he could feature in the second.

Mane was ruled out of the World Cup in Qatar after suffering a fibula injury in November.

The Senegal forward, who joined Bundesliga champions Bayern from Liverpool last June, underwent surgery and is on the road to recovery.

Bayern head coach Nagelsmann does not envisage Mane playing a part in the clash against PSG at the Parc des Princes on February 14.

However, if Mane does not suffer any setbacks, Nagelsmann hopes he may be able to call upon the 30-year-old for the showdown with the Ligue 1 champions at the Allianz Arena on March 8.

Nagelsmann said during a press conference in Doha on Thursday: "He's [Mane] an important player. If everything goes well, then it could be the case that he returns in time for PSG.

"We will see how he reacts to the workload. Personally, I'm not yet considering him for the first leg."

Bayern will face Salzburg on Friday in a friendly before resuming the Bundesliga season with a trip to RB Leipzig next Friday.

Matthijs de Ligt will not face the Austrian side due to an ankle injury, but new signing Daley Blind will be included after joining the Bavarian giants following his release by Ajax.

Nagelsmann said of the Netherlands full-back: "He will play tomorrow. He still needs some time, because the intensity in training is a bit higher.

"You can tell that he has a lot of experience and he looks confident on the ball. He will be the player that we imagined he'd be."

Harry Redknapp has backed Graham Potter to be a success at Chelsea once the former Brighton and Hove Albion boss has his best players available.

Potter is enduring a difficult time at Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea having lost six of their past eight games.

The Blues have won just once during that poor run, beating Premier League strugglers Bournemouth 2-0 at home on December 27.

Sunday's 4-0 defeat to Manchester City in the FA Cup served up a stark example of the gulf between 10th-placed Chelsea and teams battling for the title, yet Redknapp insists Potter, who replaced Thomas Tuchel in September, simply needs time to get to work.

Chelsea's injury list is a long one, with Reece James, Ben Chilwell, Wesley Fofana, Christian Pulisic, N'Golo Kante, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Edouard Mendy the first-team regulars out of action.

"You can't sack the lad can you, he's not been there 10 minutes – he's got a million injuries you know, you've got injuries galore, both his full-backs, Chilwell, James, important players, Fofana came in unfit, they've got lots of injuries," Redknapp told Stats Perform.

"They have still got a very, very strong squad. They've spent money like it's going out of fashion but he needs time. He's only as good as your players at the moment – it's not rocket science. People seem to think you go in and show them how to play football. It doesn't work like that.

"At the moment, he's got his best players missing and they're struggling to win. When they get back in the team, you'll see a massive improvement."

Chelsea have been active in the January transfer window, signing four players already, while they are also eager to land Benfica's World Cup star Enzo Fernandez.

While that transfer appears to be on ice for now, the Blues confirmed the loan signing of Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.

Redknapp does not think more signings are necessarily a silver bullet, however.

He said: "They've got enough players, they just need those back from injury – they need James back, they need Chilwell back. There's no reason they can't go on a run."

Potter has won eight of his 18 games in charge at Chelsea (44.4 per cent), and Redknapp says it would be foolish for the club to show him the door.

"Five years – you just gave him a five-year contract, you can't very well bring him in, give him a five-year contract and then sack him, surely to God," Redknapp said.

"I know they've done it before, Chelsea, that is the way they've worked. Managers who've won the Champions League and then they've been sacked a couple of games later, it happens. But I don't see that happening this time."

Ja Morant "felt terrible" and knew he needed to act after a young Memphis Grizzlies fan had her signed basketball stolen.

Morant came good on Wednesday when he presented 11-year-old Ellie Hughes with a signed shirt and as of yet unreleased Nike Ja 1 shoes, saying he hoped it offset the pain she felt after the "unacceptable" swiping of her ball.

Youngster Hughes, who reports said has not missed a Grizzlies home game in six years, had been collecting signatures on a team ball.

It was taken during Monday's win over the San Antonio Spurs, which prompted Morant to act, knowing he could make the situation better.

He said: "Obviously I feel like I come from a good home with great parents, and it's pretty much something I love to do.

"You've touched a mighty heart like that, a big fan of the Grizzlies for years. It's moments like that, that mean the most to them, something they'll never forget, something they'll remember the rest of their life.

"It's not a lot of people who've got a game-worn signed Ja jersey and there's definitely not a lot of people who have signed Ja 1s.

"After seeing what happened to them on social media, I just felt terrible. Obviously it's been years she had that ball, and had the opportunity to get autographs of great players, and to have that taken away from her, I feel it was unacceptable.

"I tried to get in contact with the family, I reached out and offered them two of my courtside seats and told them after the game I would give them my jersey and shoes, so definitely a good feeling to have them there supporting us and see the smile on their face out there."

Morant was on top form as the Grizzlies toppled the Spurs again on Wednesday, scoring 38 points in a 135-129 win.

The Grizzlies are flying high, sitting second in the Western Conference with the same 28-13 record as leaders the Denver Nuggets.

Despite their strong season, Morant says there remains room for improvement, pointing to occasional "mental lapses" and saying Memphis "need to be a little more locked in and paying attention to detail".

"Fatigue can play a part," the 23-year-old added, demanding constant focus. "I feel like if we want to be a great team, no matter what, we have to do that day in and day out, for 48 minutes.

"That's pretty much really just the area I think we can get better."

Bones Hyland spoke of building "championship habits" and hailed the latest Nikola Jokic masterclass after the Denver Nuggets savaged the Phoenix Suns at Ball Arena.

A 12th straight home victory for Denver, and a fourth successive win overall, kept the team top of the Western Conference, with the 126-97 margin reflecting a strong night's work.

Jokic fell just short of a 12th triple-double of the season, finishing with 21 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists.

Jamal Murray added 16 points, with Hyland contributing 21 for the Nuggets.

Hyland said of Jokic, who is making a strong case for a third MVP in a row: "Everybody in the world knows when he gets the ball and you go for a rebound, he's the greatest passer in the world, so when he gets the ball we just run.

"Ninety per cent of the time he's gonna make the right pass so when he's got it we run."

Hyland added after Wednesday's rout, according to the Denver Post: "I was really just feeling it. The basket felt like it was really wide. It was like shooting a rock into the ocean."

Speaking to Altitude TV in an on-court interview, Hyland said: "It's a night when we're playing our game.

"We've got a lot of dynamic players on our team, a lot of good shooters, so it's proving it in the season. We've got to focus on what we've got to focus on, build championship habits and just come out here and get a win."

Guard Murray suffered a left ankle problem late in the game, but coach Michael Malone does not expect him to miss any games.

Malone was impressed with the team's efforts and called for them to sustain a high level.

"Your home court has to have an advantage," Malone said. "Our fans have been terrific, and I just love how we’re playing. Once again, a good defensive performance that leads to our offense.

"We had 24 fast break points tonight to their six, we had 30 assists to only 11 turnovers. But the beginning of that is when we defend, and everything just flows from there.

"So hopefully we can continue to protect this home court at a high level through the regular season and into the playoffs."

The Miami Heat suspended Dewayne Dedmon for one game without pay after the outburst where he swatted a massage gun on to the court in Tuesday's 112-111 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Dedmon reacted angrily after being subbed out of the game, exchanging words with coaches, before storming off and flinging a massage gun back on to the court during play. The reserve center was ejected by officials for that act.

The Heat announced on Wednesday that in consultation with the NBA they had decided Dedmon would be banned for one game for "conduct detrimental to the team".

Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra had labelled the outburst as "unacceptable" after Tuesday's game.

"It's the Miami Heat. We're all a bunch of gnarly personalities," Spoelstra said.

"That part was unfortunate. Everything before that, that's the Miami Heat. That part was unacceptable."

Jaylen Brown scored a season-high 41 points and Jayson Tatum added 31 as the Boston Celtics claimed their fourth successive win with a 125-114 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday.

Brown recorded his first double-double in a half in his career with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while he added another 18 points in the third quarter.

The Celtics guard shot 15-of-21 from the field with three-of-six from three-point range along with 12 rebounds for the game.

Tatum went 10-of-22 from the field with 10 rebounds and four assists, with Malcolm Brogdon adding 20 points off the bench.

The game marked the seventh time this season that Brown and Tatum have scored at least 30 points each, which is joint for the most before February by two players from the same team in the last 40 seasons.

The other duos to have managed that are Golden State's Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant in 2018-19 and Denver's Alex English and Kiki Vandeweghe in 1983-84.

The result improves the Celtics to 30-12 overall and 17-5 at the TD Garden, while the Pelicans lose ground on the top two in the west, falling to 25-17.

C.J. McCollum scored 38 points for the Pels, marking the first time in his career he had 20-plus points in a first half in consecutive games.

Jokic falls short of triple-double as Nuggets triumph

Nikola Jokic fell one assist short of a 12th triple-double of the season as the Western Conference-leading Denver Nuggets claimed their fourth straight win, 126-97 over the Phoenix Suns.

The reigning back-to-back NBA MVP Jokic finished with 21 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists, including a brilliant first-quarter look-away fling to Aaron Gordon.

Jamal Murray added 16 points, although he picked up an ankle complaint, while Bones Hyland contributed 21 for the Nuggets, who have claimed 11 wins in a row at home, along with winning 14 of their past 17.

Grizzlies secure eighth straight win

Ja Morant led the way as the Memphis Grizzlies secured an eighth consecutive victory to keep pressure on the Nuggets at the top of the west with a 135-129 win over the San Antonio Spurs.

Morant scored 21 points in the first half, finishing the game with 38 along with five rebounds and four assists.

The Grizzlies guard also produced a big dunk over Jakob Poeltl in the third quarter, while his put-back with 24.1 seconds left in the fourth sealed the victory.

Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy says his side are "not living in" last year's premature playoffs exit ahead of their Wild Card game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday.

The Cowboys crashed out of last year's postseason with a 23-17 Wild Card game loss to the San Francisco 49ers after topping the NFC East and finishing as the conference third seed.

McCarthy, who was assured of his job irrespective of Sunday's result earlier this week by owner Jerry Jones, is also seeking his first playoff win in three seasons with the Cowboys.

"We're not living in it, that's for sure," McCarthy told reporters when asked if last year's Wild Card exit had been discussed in the lead-up to Monday's game. "We've acknowledged it.

"The thing that we're really focused on is what we've done, who we are and making sure we have our plan as tight as possible going into this game to do what we need to do to win this game.

"We've had time for the theme speeches, they've been good triggers to talk about, as far as secret wound of losing a playoff game. We've definitely experienced that.

"We talked about the buffalos running through the storm and resiliency. That has served us well, all those experiences are the gold in our concierge. That's really who we are.

"The reality is we're not getting super philosophical, it's a ridiculously long answer here. The reality of it is we need to make sure our focus is tight and we're going into Tampa to win a game on the road against an outstanding football team."

The Cowboys finished the 2022 regular season with a 12-5 record, although they lost two of their final four games, including an uninspiring 26-6 defeat to the Washington Commanders last Sunday.

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has thrown an interception in each of the past seven games, including eight in their past five.

"Like how we function internally, we're evaluating everything we do," McCarthy said about Prescott. "Every walk-through, if there's a correction, every practice, you're always correcting to improve.

"That's part of your application and evaluation process. The things that haven’t gone well are the things you learn most from and that's life. That is our gold… We'll be ready to go."

The Baltimore Ravens appear increasingly likely to be without star quarterback Lamar Jackson for Sunday's AFC Wild Card game against the Cincinnati Bengals after he missed practice again.

Jackson has been absent for 16 straight practice sessions due to a sprained PCL in his left knee that has seen him not play since Week 13.

The 2019 NFL MVP has missed the Ravens' past five games, where they have gone 2-3 and scored 13 points per game, which is the second-worst record in the NFL.

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh has been reluctant to discuss Jackson's status over the past fortnight and simply replied "no updates at this time" when asked on Wednesday.

The situation is further complicated by top backup Tyler Huntley dealing with tendonitis in his right throwing shoulder. Huntley did not throw during the media portion at practice on Wednesday.

"He's doing a lot better," Harbaugh told reporters about Huntley. "He was out there in practice today and took a bunch of plays. I'd say he's on schedule, hopefully, and we'll see where it goes."

If Jackson and Huntley are both unavailable then undrafted rookie Anthony Brown, who has one career NFL start, would step in.

Ravens tight end Mark Andrews added: "You look at the two other guys [Huntley and Brown], there is so much trust in both of them.

"We know with whoever we put out there – Lamar, Snoop [Huntley] or AB – we'll be all right and ready to go."

Pep Guardiola says Manchester City "don't have a chance" of beating rivals Manchester United at the weekend if they repeat the performance that saw them eliminated from the EFL Cup.

City started with the likes of Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne and Ederson among their substitutes for Wednesday's quarter-final tie at Southampton and were made to pay in a 2-0 defeat.

Sekou Mara put the Saints ahead when beating Kyle Walker to a cross, before Moussa Djenepo profited from Stefan Ortega's poor positioning to add a second before half-time.

De Bruyne was introduced as part of a triple substitution at the interval, while Haaland followed soon after, but City failed to register a shot on target for the first time this term.

Next up for City is a trip to in-form United in the league on Saturday, and Guardiola accepts a big improvement is needed from his side at Old Trafford.

"It's a different competition, but of course if we perform in this way we don't have a chance," he said in his post-match press conference. "I know the momentum they have. 

"For many years they're looking forward to being in this position. We know exactly what to do to play better and we're going to try to do it."

Asked about his decision to leave out Haaland and De Bruyne for a second game running, Guardiola said: "Who knows if with Erling and Kevin it would have been different? 

"But when you play for four competitions it's important to use every player in the squad."

City suffered defeat inside 90 minutes of an EFL Cup tie for just the third time in 30 matches under Guardiola, who has won the competition four times in seven seasons.

The loss – City's fourth in 28 games this campaign – came just three days on from a superb performance in seeing off Chelsea 4-0 in third round of the FA Cup.

And Guardiola accepts there could be no complaints with his side's two-goal reverse at St Mary's Stadium.

"It was a bad night. I know them quite well. We didn't get close to what we are," he said. "Three days after facing Chelsea... I've nothing to say. 

"They were better, we congratulate them and accept it. We have to be prepared every single game when you play for Manchester City. Today we were not."

City defeated United 6-3 when the sides last met in October and are seeking a Premier League double over the Red Devils in a single season for the sixth time ever.

Ilkay Gundogan, who played the full 90 minutes against Southampton, is hoping the cup setback can spark some life into City heading into the derby.

"There's no room for any mistakes [against United], or for any poor performances like today," he told the club's official website.

"Hopefully, if there is something good we can take out of this game today, it was something like a wake-up call at the right time.

"Even though it is sad and disappointing to be out of this cup, hopefully, at the end, in a few weeks we can at least look back and take something good out of this game."

Kevin Durant's absence cannot be used as an excuse by the Brooklyn Nets, insists head coach Jacque Vaughn.

Durant sprained the medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his right knee in the third quarter of the Nets' 102-101 win over the Miami Heat on Sunday, with reports suggesting he could be sidelined for around a month.

Brooklyn confirmed the result of scans a day later, saying the 12-time NBA All-Star would be "reevaluated in two weeks."

Durant is averaging 29.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists this season.

Vaughn does not want his players to dwell on being without their star player, though, as they look to build on a fine record of 27-13, including a run of 18 wins from their last 20 games that sees them sit second in the Eastern Conference.

"That's the biggest thing. I'm not giving this group a chance to make excuses," he said on Wednesday.

"Here to play. Here to win. Here to compete. It doesn't change. Love them."

Brooklyn host the only team in the league with a better record than them, the Boston Celtics, on Thursday.