Mike Budenholzer admitted he would coach the Phoenix Suns, even if the team "was on the moon".

The two-time NBA Coach of the Year, who guided the Milwaukee Bucks to the title in 2021, was named Frank Vogel's successor at Footprint Center last week.

Arizona-born Budenholzer returns to his hometown after taking the 2023-24 season out, having previously enjoyed five-year stints with the Bucks and Atlanta Hawks.

The 54-year-old has only missed out on the postseason once in his 10 previous NBA campaign, guiding his teams to six division titles and entering the playoffs as top seeds on four occasions.

Budenholzer now hopes to achieve something similar with the Suns, who endured a disappointing season under Vogel, which culminated in a 4-0 first-round series defeat by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

"It's mind-boggling to me, like mind-blowing, to think that I'm going to be the head coach of the Phoenix Suns," he told reporters during his introductory news conference.

"I'm excited about working with this roster and these players. We have great players and, with great players, comes great expectations. I think we embrace that.

"The biggest message I want you to hear is that I would coach this team if it was on the moon. I would coach this team if it was in Alaska, if these players were in Denmark. I would go anywhere to coach this team."

Tiger Woods vowed he would "keep fighting" after missing the cut at this year's PGA Championship.

The four-time champion will be absent from the weekend at the second major of the season, having carded rounds of 72 and 77 in Valhalla.

Woods concluded his opening round with a bogey-bogey finish, while he hit two triple-bogeys in the first four holes of his second round - doing so multiple times in a single round at a major for the first time.

The 48-year-old, who finished seven over par and 19 strokes behind halfway leader Xander Schauffele, was making his first appearance on the PGA Tour since last month's Masters, and knows he needs to improve ahead of the US Open at Pinehurst in four weeks' time.

When asked about his next steps, the 15-time major champion responded: "Just keep fighting. Keep the pedal on, keep fighting, keep grinding, keep working hard at posting the best score that I can possibly post. That's all I can do.

"I got off to a bad start [in the second round] and the rough grabbed me at [the second hole]. I compounded the problem there at [the fourth].

"[I] just kept making mistakes and things you can't do, not just in tournaments but in majors especially. I hung around for most of the day, but unfortunately, the damage was done early.

"I need to play more. Unfortunately, I just haven't played a whole lot of tournaments. Hopefully, everything will somehow come together in my practice sessions at home and be ready for Pinehurst."

Phil Foden has been named the Premier League's Player of the Year, having been sensational for Manchester City this season.

Foden has scored 17 goals and provided a further eight assists in the top flight in 2023-24.

The 23-year-old has been pivotal in City's quest to win an unprecedented fourth Premier League title.

Pep Guaridola's team head into their final game of the season, in which they face West Ham at home, needing a win to guarantee the crown.

Only six players have bettered Foden's goal tally, with the attacker enjoying his most profitable scoring season for City.

Foden's 17 goals have come from an expected goals figure of 10, suggesting his finishing has been way above what would have been anticipated based on the quality of chances he has had.

The England international, meanwhile, has had 99 shots, and leads City's squad for chances created (68).

"To win this award is an achievement that I am extremely proud of," Foden told Man City's official website.

"Overall, I've been very happy with the way I have played this season and really pleased that I have been able to contribute with the goals and assists throughout the season.

"I'd like to thank all of the City staff, coaches and especially my teammates because without them this wouldn’t be possible.

"And I would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who voted for me as the award means a lot."

It is the fifth season in a row that a City player has won the award, with Kevin De Bruyne (2019-20, 2021-22), Ruben Dias (2020-21) and Erling Haaland (2022-23) having scooped it previously.

Rick Carlisle hailed the efforts of his Indiana Pacers players after they forced their playoff series with the New York Knicks to Game 7.

Carlisle challenged his players directly in the wake of their loss in Game 5, which put them 3-2 down in the series.

And the Pacers responded with a fine display in a 116-103 victory, which sees the series go down to the wire, with Game 7 set for Sunday at Madison Square Garden.

"It was just activity. We played harder tonight, which was a must," Carlisle said.

"We moved the ball better and we got more rebounds, and that's obviously a big key to the series.

"We gotta brace for Sunday. And we must be ready."

Tyrese Haliburton had 15 points and nine assists for the Pacers, and said: "Coaches challenged our effort, I think that was the biggest thing.

"We had some boneheaded things happen [in Game 5].

"He [Carlisle] just really challenged our group [players] 1-15 on how can we be better."

Jalen Brunson finished with 31 points for the Knicks, but he was not overly impressed by his own performance. 

"They try to make things difficult," Brunson said. "And I have to adjust as well. Show me different looks and I have to do a better job of reading it."

Mohamed Elneny has confirmed he will be leaving Arsenal after the Gunners' final game of the season.

Elneny is Arsenal's longest-serving player, having joined the Gunners from Swiss side FC Basel in January 2016.

Signed by Arsene Wenger, the Egypt international has played under three managers, having also appeared for Unai Emery and Mikel Arteta.

On Friday, the midfielder confirmed via a video on X (formerly Twitter) that his stint in north London was coming to an end.

"Gooners, I'm here today to send you a message, to say goodbye and thank you for everything you've done for me," Elneny said in a video posted on X on Friday.

"The love, the support and the kindness. I'm really going to miss you so much and you'll be in my heart forever."

Elneny has played 161 times for the Gunners, who face Everton at Emirates Stadium on Sunday. Arteta's team need to win if they are stand a chance of beating Manchester City to the Premier League trophy.

Scottie Scheffler was left "shocked and shaking" after his arrest in Kentucky, though the world number one delivered a superb second round at the PGA Championship.

Scheffler was arrested ahead of play starting at Valhalla Golf Club on Friday.

According to reports from ESPN, Scheffler faces charges of second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic.

The start of Friday's second round in Kentucky was delayed due to a traffic incident outside the course, with it subsequently confirmed that one person had died in the incident, which did not involve Scheffler.

Speaking to reporters after his second round, Scheffler said: "My main focus after getting arrested was wondering if I could be able to come back out here and play, and fortunately I was able to do that," he said.

"I was never angry, just in shock and I was shaking the whole time. It was definitely a new feeling for me.

"The officer that took me to the jail was very kind. He was great. We had a nice chat in the car, that kind of helped calm me down.

"It was a chaotic situation and a big misunderstanding," he said. "It’ll get resolved fairly quickly I think. I was driving in this morning, trying to get to my warm-up time and I don’t really have an understanding what transpired.

"I did numerous apologies but it was dark, it was raining and they had just had an accident. I didn’t know what had happened at the time but my heart goes out to the family.

"At no point did I try to name-drop myself to defuse the situation. I just tried to remain as calm as possible and just follow instructions."

Scheffler posted a five-under-par 66, moving to nine under for the tournament, and closing within three strokes of leader Xander Schauffele.

Having carded a historic 62 on Thursday, Schauffele could only manage a 68 in his second round, allowing his rivals to close the gap.

Collin Morikawa, who followed up his first-round 66 with an excellent 65, is one stroke back on 11 under. Sahith Theegala is third, on 10 under.

Scheffler is then part of a group that also includes Bryson DeChambeau, Thomas Detry and Mark Hubbard.

Reigning champion Brooks Koepka is two back from Scheffler on seven under.

Rory McIlroy, however, endured a disappointing second round, with the Northern Irishman carding 71 to slide seven shots off the lead.

Tiger Woods, meanwhile, missed the cut after a dismal round of 77.

Paul Skenes struck out the first seven batters and finished with 11 as part of six no-hit innings in his second major league start, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 9-3 win over the Chicago Cubs on Friday.

Skenes allowed just one baserunner – Michael Busch’s full-count walk in the fifth – in a dominant performance to earn his first victory. He struck out the side in the first and fanned Mike Tauchman on a 100-mph fastball on his 100th and final pitch – his 12th to reach triple digits.

The No. 1 pick in the 2023 amateur draft became the third rookie with seven strikeouts to start a game, joining Jacob deGrom on Sept. 15, 2014, and Jim Deshaies on Sept. 23, 1986. He also became the first rookie with an outing of at least six no-hit innings and 10-plus strikeouts since Chris Heston threw a no-hitter for San Francisco against the Mets on June 9, 2015.

The Cubs didn’t get their first hit until Christopher Morel singled against Carmen Mlodzinski with two outs in the seventh.

Andrew McCutchen and Jared Triolo homered for the Pirates, who have won the first two games of this series after losing seven of nine.

Kyle Hendricks allowed season highs of eight runs and 11 hits in 4 2/3 innings in his second start since returning from a lower back strain.

Rays’ Alexander flirts with perfection

Tyler Alexander took a perfect game into the 8th inning before Danny Jansen blooped an opposite-field, one-out single and the Tampa Bay Rays held on for a 4-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Alexander retired his first 22 batters, but Jansen dropped a 1-0 changeup between right fielder Josh Lowe and second baseman Richie Palacios.

Davis Schneider homered two pitches later to draw the Blue Jays within 4-2.

Alexander allowed three runs on three hits without a walk and struck out four. He threw 105 pitches, three more than his previous career high.

Pete Fairbanks pitched a perfect ninth for his fourth save in five chances.

Palacios hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning off Chris Bassitt as Tampa Bay won for the 10th time in 14 games.

Streaking Astros edge Brewers

Jake Meyers hit a two-run homer and Jeremy Pena added a three-run shot to lift the Houston Astros to their sixth consecutive win, 5-4 over the Milwaukee Brewers.

It was the eighth win in nine games for the Astros, who moved into third place in the AL West.

Jake Bauers homered and Joey Ortiz added three hits, including a three-run home run for the Brewers, who went 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position.

Pascal Siakam scored 25 points and Myles Turner added 17 as the Indiana Pacers rolled to a 116-103 victory over the New York Knicks to force Game 7 in the Eastern Conference semifinals on Friday.

Andrew Nembhard, Tyrese Haliburton and T.J. McConnell each added 15 points, with Nembhard grabbing six rebounds and handing out six assists. Haliburton had nine assists as the Pacers remained perfect in six home games in this postseason.

The winner of Game 7 in New York on Sunday will advance to face the top-seeded Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals.

Jalen Bruson scored 31 points on 11-of-26 shooting after missing his final 11 shots in the first half. Deuce McBride added 20 points with four 3-pointers as the Knicks fell to 0-3 on the road in this series.

Already decimated by injuries, the Knicks lost starting forward Josh Hart in the fourth quarter due to abdominal soreness.

Hart was seen holding his midsection multiple times during the game and asked to be taken out after he had five points and eight rebounds in 31 minutes.

New York is already without All-Star Julius Randle, OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson and Bojan Bogdanovic.

Indiana used a 14-6 run in the third quarter to take control, turning a 61-56 lead into a 75-62 advantage. The Pacers maintained at least a 10-point edge the rest of the way.

The Toronto Maple Leafs hired Craig Berube as their new head coach on Friday, bringing a Stanley Cup champion to a franchise that holds the longest stretch without a title in NHL history.

Berube, who guided the St. Louis Blues to their lone Stanley Cup title in 2018-19, comes aboard just over a week after the Maple Leafs fired Sheldon Keefe following a first-round exit in this year's play-offs.

The 58-year-old Berube, a former Toronto player known for his hard-nosed and disciplined coaching approach, compiled a 206-132-44 record in six seasons with St. Louis. The Blues reached the play-offs in the first four of those seasons, but missed the post-season in 2022-23 and got off to a 13-14-1 start in 2023-24 before Berube was fired on Dec. 12.

Berube did enjoy instant success after replacing Mike Yeo behind the Blues' bench in November 2018. St. Louis was near the bottom of the Western Conference at the time of the switch, but rebounded to make the post-season before winning three play-off series prior to defeating the Boston Bruins in seven games in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final.

He'll now take over a Toronto team that has won just one play-off series since 2006 and last hoisted the Stanley Cup in 1968, a 56-year drought that stands as the longest in NHL history.

The Maple Leafs reached the play-offs in all five of their seasons under Keefe, but he won just one of six post-season series and was let go on May 9 after Toronto lost to the rival Bruins in seven games in this year's first round.

"We had gotten to a place where just a new voice was needed," Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving said in announcing Keefe's dismissal. "And that's the unfortunate part of this business. I do not believe that you turn coaches and you keep turning coaches. I don't think that is the recipe for success at all. I just felt at the end of the day, when I look at the totality of his time here, a change was required."

Berube, who also spent two seasons as the Philadelphia Flyers' head coach from 2013-15, inherits a talented roster that produced the second-most goals in the NHL this season. Star centre Auston Matthews led the league with 69 goals, the highest individual total by any player in a season since Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux also had 69 for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1995-96.

A rugged forward who spent 17 seasons as an NHL player with five teams, Berube has assembled a 281-190-72 overall record as a head coach and was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award honouring the league's top coach in 2018-19.

Berube's hire leaves four teams - the New Jersey Devils, San Jose Sharks, Seattle Kraken and Winnipeg Jets - still with coaching vacancies. The Buffalo Sabres (Lindy Ruff) and Ottawa Senators (Travis Green) previously hired new head coaches within the last month. 

Nicolas Jarry defeated Tommy Paul in three sets on Friday to set up a showdown with Alexander Zverev in the Italian Open final.

The men's world number 24 prevailed 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 in a little under three hours in Rome to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 final.

Jarry earned the only break of serve in the eighth game of the opening set, but Paul - who dropped just one set in four matches en route to this stage - hit back in the second.

Birthday boy Paul lost serve to trail 4-2 at one stage, but he produced one of the shots of the tournament at the ideal moment and soon dragged it back to 4-4.

A gruelling set concluded with Paul taking the tie-break 7-3, but Jarry was unperturbed and won the deciding set with his fifth match point to see off Paul in a gruelling contest.

Data Debrief: 

Jarry is the third male Chilean in the Open Era to reach the singles final of the Italian Open after Marcelo Rios (1997-98) and Fernando Gonzalez (2007).

The 28-year-old registered 13 aces against Paul to his opponent's seven and hit 35 winners to 19 in a deserved victory.

Dethroned Italian champions Napoli's hopes of playing European football next season are hanging by a thread after they played out a 2-2 draw at Fiorentina in Serie A on Friday.

Napoli took the lead in the eighth minute through defender Amir Rrahmani, who nodded home a corner by Matteo Politano.

Cristiano Biraghi levelled for Fiorentina in the 40th minute from a free-kick, before M'Bala Nzola put the hosts in front two minutes later when he fired a shot into the bottom corner of the net.

Napoli's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia responded with another stunning free-kick early in the second half to rescue a point for his team.

Eighth-placed Fiorentina, on 54 points and with a game in hand, are five points behind Lazio in seventh.

They can still earn a Europa League spot either by leapfrogging the Rome side or by winning the Europa Conference League final in which they face Greece's Olympiakos on May 29.

Ninth-placed Napoli, on 52 points, still have a slim chance of making the Europa Conference League playoffs.

Data Debrief

Fiorentina left-back Biraghi has now scored six goals from direct free-kicks since the start of 2021-22, which is behind only James Ward-Prowse (seven) - now of West Ham and formerly of Southampton - as the most across Europe's top five leagues in that period.

Kvaratskhelia also levelled via a direct free-kick, making this the first Serie A match in which both teams scored via that route since Fiorentina against Lazio in April 2018 (Jordan Veretout and Luis Alberto in that case).

Southampton saw off West Brom 3-1 at St Mary's on Friday to set up a Championship play-off final showdown with Leeds United.

Leeds thumped Norwich City 4-0 at Elland Road 24 hours earlier to book their place at Wembley, where Southampton now await on May 26.

The first leg between the Saints and West Brom finished goalless - just like the other semi-final - but the home side's quality told in the end.

Russell Martin's side dominated the first-half possession, with David Brooks going closest to scoring with a shot that hit the outside of the post.

Southampton made the breakthrough via a powerful Will Smallbone finish four minutes into the second half after Gray Diangana lost possession.

Darnell Furlong had a shot helped over by Alex McCarthy, while David Brooks - who assisted the opener - had a strong penalty appeal rejected.

Southampton remained in control, though, and Adam Armstrong scored a second with a shot through Furlong's legs and past Alex Palmer.

Armstrong's second goal arrived from the penalty spot in the 86th minute after Tom Fellows fouled Ryan Manning in the box, rendering Cedric Kipre's late header a mere consolation.