Inverness manager Billy Dodds has argued the traditional Scottish Cup final kick-off time should not be moved to suit anyone else.
Both Caley Thistle and Celtic expressed major disappointment after it was announced their Hampden meeting on June 3 would kick off at 5.30pm in a break with a long-standing convention.
The evening kick-off for the game, which will be shown live on the BBC and Viaplay, appears to have been moved so as not to clash with the Manchester derby FA Cup final, which kicks off at 3pm and will be screened in Scotland by both the BBC and STV.
Celtic criticised a lack of consultation after the Scottish Football Association made the announcement and Dodds feels the situation is unfair.
In a clip shown by BBC Scotland, the former Rangers striker said: “Any time I have been involved in Scottish Cup finals as a player and a coach, you can’t beat three o’clock on a Saturday for your showpiece but suddenly it’s gone to 5.30 which is a shame for our game up here because, for me, others are getting looked after better.
“It’s not ideal. I don’t think we should ever move our showpiece final to suit anybody.
“I can only imagine it’s for TV rights or something and we don’t want to clash.
“It’s not ideal for me but I’m just glad we’re there. I would rather, like everybody else, 3pm on Saturday should be your showpiece final.”
From a players’ perspective, Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley was not too concerned but expressed sympathy with Inverness fans, the majority of whom are set to spend their post-match Saturday night out on buses.
O’Riley said: “I don’t mind. I suppose because it’s a bit later we get to sleep a bit more, so that’s one positive.
“It’s another game, a different time of day and if you win it you win a trophy, that’s the main thing.”
Asked about the possible problems Inverness fans could have in getting back home after the game, he said: “I didn’t really think about that but I’m sure that’s quite brutal, but they can probably make the most of a night out in Glasgow if they chose to.”
Explosive West Indies batsman Johnson Charles has been called up by Kolkata Knight Riders for the remaining matches of the 2023 IPL season.
In what will be his first stint in the IPL, the 34-year-old Charles joins KKR as a replacement for Litton Das, who departs to represent Bangladesh in a three-match ODI series against Ireland from May 9-14. He was contracted by KKR at a cost of USD$60,000.
Charles returned to the West Indies set up in October 2022 after a six-year absence from the team. In March 2023, he exploded scoring a 39-ball ton against South Africa and is expected to provide some stability to the KKR line-up that has struggled this season. KKR with only three wins from their nine matches so far this season are currently eighth in the 10-team league.
He will team up with former West Indies players Andre Russell and Sunil Narine in the KKR line-up
Matt O’Riley returns to the scene of his fast-track Celtic debut on Sunday hoping to clinch a second successive cinch Premiership title.
The 22-year-old midfielder signed from MK Dons in January 2022 and went straight into Ange Postecoglou’s side for the trip to Hearts where he set up Giorgos Giakoumakis for the visitors’ second goal in the 2-1 win.
With five post-split fixtures remaining, the reigning champions are 13 points clear of Rangers at the top of the table and will retain the title with a win over the Jambos while taking a giant step towards the domestic treble.
Speaking at Toryglen Regional Football Centre where he was publicising a new walking football initiative supporting those affected by Parkinson’s, O’Riley said: “My first game was at Tynecastle. It was a good night.
“It was a few days after I signed so I was thrown straight in which is probably the best way and it is quite a hostile atmosphere as well so it is probably the kind of game that you want to be involved in.
“Two games later I was playing against Rangers as well so it was quite an introduction.
“Nothing is officially done so we will train as we always do.
“We would rather win than draw or lose, naturally. So that will be the aim but saying that, it is definitely a hard place to go.
“It won’t be easy. Our frame of mind has to be right before the game and hopefully we can get the job done.
“It (possible treble) is obviously exciting. One more trophy than last year so that would be great.
“We haven’t done anything yet. We have one trophy, we are in a very good position to do something special but there is still a lot of work to be done.”
With the ViaPlay Cup already won and the Scottish Cup final against Championship side Inverness at Hampden Park on June 3, the Hoops are eyeing a clean sweep of trophies.
Celtic are away to Hearts then Rangers in their first two post-split fixtures and have been only allocated 1,264 tickets for Tynecastle and none at all for Ibrox.
O’Riley said: “Personally I would rather win the league in front of our fans but if we can win it there (Tynecastle) it would be great.
“They (fans) will all be watching on television. I am sure there will be fans outside Tynecastle hoping we get the job done on that day and I am sure that later on in the season when we play home games we will be able to, hopefully, celebrate with them if we get the job done.”
Celtic FC Foundation is teaming up with Parkinson’s UK and Glasgow Life to help deliver free weekly walking football in Glasgow.
The project will be free for people with Parkinson’s and will hopefully appeal to a greater number of people living with the disease, particularly those not currently engaged in physical activity.
Celtic FC Foundation coaches will assist Glasgow Life, the charity that delivers culture and sport in Glasgow, and will also undertake Parkinson’s awareness training.
O’Riley said: “It is a very important initiative. We have a really good Foundation.
“This is my first time doing anything with Parkinson’s but the idea of giving back is a really good thing.”
Lewis Hamilton said it is a “dream” to be in Miami ahead of the city’s second Formula One race this weekend.
The sport is back in the Sunshine State for the fifth round of the new campaign, which marks the first of three races to be staged in the United States this year.
A debut event on the Las Vegas strip will take place in November, while Austin’s grand prix at the Circuit of the Americas has been a permanent fixture on the F1 schedule since 2012.
“It is a dream for us to be in Miami and in the United States,” said seven-time world champion Hamilton.
“They have the Miami Heat and the Miami Dolphins, too.
“They are massive sporting fans here so to be in such an important city like Miami where sport is huge – and now Formula One is part of that – it is great to see.
“For such a huge country, it is amazing that we finally have three races here. The difficult thing with Formula One is that you usually visit a country once a year. But the growth has been huge and it is such a big market for the sport.”
Hamilton finished sixth at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix last weekend and he is already 45 points behind championship leader Max Verstappen.
The 38-year-old’s contract with Mercedes expires at the end of the season.
But the noise coming out from both camps is that Hamilton will agree a new deal.
Hamilton’s former McLaren team-mate, and 2009 world champion Jenson Button, said this week that he cannot envisage his compatriot walking away from the sport.
“I just want to get back to the front,” continued Hamilton, who was speaking at an IWC sponsorship event in Miami.
“That is what I am working on – trying to get this team back to the front.”
Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson remains wary of the threat posed by Harry Kane and his Tottenham team-mates, despite their London rivals’ recent struggles.
Spurs, under interim boss Ryan Mason, host Palace on Saturday looking to end a four-match winless run which has included three defeats.
Hodgson in contrast has won four of his six games since returning to Palace, including a thrilling 4-3 win over West Ham last time out.
Tottenham were on the wrong end of the same scoreline against Liverpool in their last game, conceding a stoppage-time winner moments after equalising, but Hodgson, who gave Kane his England debut in 2015, is not reading too much into their poor form.
“I think the danger for all teams that go to (Tottenham Hotspur Stadium) is that you’re up against a good team with very good players,” he said. “I think Harry Kane is very close to world class, if not in my opinion fully deserving of it.
“There’s a lot of players in their team as well who have got incredible ability. They’re still vying for a Champions League place, we know how difficult a game it will be.
“Crystal Palace when I was at the club didn’t go to Tottenham and win matches, so if we do that it will probably be a first for me I should think.”
Palace’s win over West Ham saw his team hit the 40-point mark and Hodgson wants his players to maintain their drive and ambition.
“I’m hoping more from my point of view to finish the season well,” he said. “I think it’s been a very good six games and 13 points is an excellent reward from six games, but I’d like that to be a good reward now after 10 games and that would be dependent on how much drive and ambition players have.
“I can’t guarantee the players will maintain their desire, but they’ll be given every opportunity
“We need to keep winning and to win you need the lot. You need the desire, the attitude, focus, preparation, quality of attacking play, quality of defending play. You need to be switched on at all times over the course of the game, you need to defend set-plays well, you need to use your own set-plays very well and then you need that little bit of luck.”
Hodgson was full of praise for his side’s attacking players.
The four goals against the Hammers meant Palace have now scored 13 times in his six games at the helm.
“The attacking talent we have in that front six is good without a shadow of a doubt,” he said.
“We’re talking about playing at the highest level (in the Premier League). I am full of praise and admiration for them and I can only hope that they will go on for even more success as the seasons go by.”
New Zealander John Mitchell has been named as the new head coach of the England women’s team.
Mitchell, who has had two spells on the coaching team with England’s men’s side in a lengthy career, is currently defence coach for the Japan men’s side and will take up his new role after the Rugby World Cup later this year.
Mitchell succeeds Simon Middleton, whose trophy-laden eight-year spell ended with another Six Nations Grand Slam last weekend.
He said on englandrugby.com: “The Red Roses have set an incredible standard and foundation for women’s rugby, being the most successful team in the Six Nations, which is a tremendous achievement.
“We now have the opportunity to build on this, mature in key areas and become a truly champion side that can rightfully contest for the World Cup in 2025.
“I would like to honour the hugely supportive Red Roses fans with successful performances as we work towards winning and selling out Twickenham Stadium for the Rugby World Cup in 2025.”
The black mark on Middleton’s reign was two World Cup final defeats to New Zealand and Mitchell’s main target will be to claim the prize on home soil in two years’ time.
Louis Deacon will keep his role as forwards coach and will be acting head coach until Mitchell joins while England’s most capped player and former captain, Sarah Hunter, has been appointed to the role of transition coach, working with the senior team and upcoming players.
Lou Meadows has been promoted from her role as under-20s head coach to attack coach for the senior team, with Charlie Hayter becoming head of women’s performance.
Executive director of performance rugby, Conor O’Shea, said: “We are thrilled to be welcoming John back to England Rugby together with Louis, Charlie, Sarah and Lou.
“This will be a formidable coaching team to take the Red Roses to the next stage in their development.”
Record-breaking sharpshooter Erling Haaland says treble-chasing Manchester City are attacking the run-in with momentum and the right mindset.
Pep Guardiola’s men kicked off a manic May with a comprehensive 3-0 victory against West Ham at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night.
Second-half efforts from Nathan Ake and Phil Foden came either side of Haaland’s 51st goal of the season as City secured a ninth straight Premier League win.
The result saw Guardiola’s men move back ahead of Arsenal at the summit as they eye a fifth title triumph in six seasons, with talk of a treble continuing in the background.
“It was not easy,” Haaland said after beating West Ham. “It’s not easy when they come and play like that but we scored with Nath and then it kind of opened up more. In the end (it was) a so important three points.
“We are in good shape, the mentality’s right. The only thing we can do is focus on the next game and try to win the next game.
“Now it’s Leeds, we have to focus on the game, we have to only think of that game and to try to win it.”
Saturday’s league match at home to Leeds is followed by the first leg of their mouth-watering Champions League semi-final at Real Madrid on Tuesday.
City are looking to reach the European showpiece for the second time in the club’s history, with AC Milan or Inter Milan lying in wait in Istanbul on June 10.
A week earlier comes a fascinating all-Manchester FA Cup final against rivals United, providing Haaland with the chance to end a fine first season in unforgettable fashion.
“Potentially nine games left and I’m enjoying it,” he said. “To have games all the time, this is something I love so we will see.”
Such occasions are why Haaland join City, whose lofty expectations he has somehow surpassed since joining from Borussia Dortmund last summer.
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The 22-year-old has plundered goals aplenty this season and took his Premier League haul to 35 on Wednesday, breaking the competition’s single-season record.
“It’s a bit unreal,” Haaland said. “I am really proud and I’m happy. I just have to thank all my team-mates and the staff for making it possible.”
Haaland got a guard of honour from staff and team-mates as he left the pitch after surpassing Andy Cole and Alan Shearer’s previous record.
“It was a nice moment,” he told club media. “It was really painful to get hit in the back by everyone but it was a nice moment.”
Not only did Haaland make history on Wednesday but there was a significant landmark for Guardiola, with Foden’s deflected volley City’s 1,000th goal in all competitions under him.
“I am enjoying it every single game,” Haaland said of life as a striker under the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss.
“It’s hard, he demands a lot, but I try to do my best to develop and do my best on the pitch. That’s what you have to do – nothing more to do than do your best.
“It’s a pleasure and I love to play under Pep. I’m really happy to have him as a coach.”
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City are not the only English team going for continental glory as West Ham have a Europa Conference League semi-final date against AZ Alkmaar looming large.
Lifting that trophy would be huge for the east London club but Premier League survival has yet to be assured and Manchester United arrive on Sunday evening.
West Ham defender Aaron Cresswell told WHTV: “It’s a four-game season now and we’re four points clear of the bottom three.
“So, three or four points or whatever it might take to keep us up, we just want to get it sooner rather than later.
“We’ve also got a European semi-final which are going to be two massive games, but obviously every game between now and the end of the season is going to be vital.
“Once the lads are back, I’m sure they’ll be back by Sunday and be raring to go, so as I say every game from now is massive.
“It’s Man United in the late game on a Sunday night and the crowd will be up for it and we want to get the three points.”
London Irish’s game against Exeter looks set to go ahead on Saturday despite the club’s failure to pay staff, with director of rugby Declan Kidney vowing to “keep the flag flying”.
Talks are ongoing between the current ownership and prospective new buyers but, with those negotiations taking place behind the scenes, the April payroll has not been met by either party.
There have been suggestions of a potential boycott of the fixture by players, but Kidney indicated that the team’s desire to end their Gallagher Premiership season on a high remains undimmed.
“I can confirm no employee here – players or staff – has been paid as of yet, but we have been given a lot of assurances from the prospective new ownership that it will happen over the coming days,” he said.
“Preparations (for the match) are in full swing, everything is going ahead. Training has taken place fully. As far as we are concerned we are ploughing ahead to the match on Saturday.
“We are the professional arm of a club that is 124 years old. We know our responsibilities. It is our duty to keep the flag flying here and that is what we are doing.”
Kidney confirmed that all insurance premiums had been covered, removing one possible roadblock to the fixture taking place, but he was unable to shine a light on when things could be expected to reach a conclusion.
While insisting credible promises had been made, the former Ireland coach said no date had been forthcoming for delivery of overdue wages and he had not been made aware of a clear timeline for completion of the sale.
At the end of a season that has seen Worcester and Wasps go bust, such lack of clarity is an obvious worry for all associated with the club, but Kidney has been overwhelmed by the commitment his squad have shown under adversity.
“Obviously there are concerns around it, but they’re not in our control,” he said.
“We’re not the first company to have delayed payments in terms of our salaries but we can only control what we can control. You can draw too many comparisons between us and other teams but I think it would be wrong to do that.
“I can’t speak highly enough of the quality of players I’ve been working with, in terms of application and positiveness.
“These lads are about way more than money. They are just the salt of the earth, fantastic people to work with. Nobody is looking for their hand to be held, everybody is looking forward to getting on with the job.
“All I can say is what happened to date, I cannot guess the future but I can say for certain the quality of people here is so strong. We entrust in the owners and prospective owners will come to a positive resolution here.”
Erling Haaland must consistently deliver over the coming years to be considered a Premier League great, so says Les Ferdinand.
Haaland scored City's second goal in a 3-0 win over West Ham on Wednesday, taking his total for the season to 51 across all competitions.
In the top flight alone, Haaland has now netted 35 times, seeing him break the Premier League record of 34, which had been held by Alan Shearer and Andrew Cole, albeit that duo hit those tallies over the course of a 42-game season.
According to Opta, Haaland's league goals have come from an xG of 26, showing the brilliance of his finishing. Essentially, he has scored nine more goals than would have been anticipated given the quality of chances he has been provided with and the position from which he has been shooting.
According to Ferdinand, the next challenge for Haaland will be replicating his extraordinary form in seasons to come.
"It's a bit early to say as these guys did it consistently over the years," Ferdinand told Stats Perform.
"Haaland has done it this season and he's been phenomenal this season, but he'll get judged over what he does over the next X amount of years.
"I think a lot of strikers will say, you can have an exceptional year but can you repeat it, can you repeat it and can you repeat it?
"It looks like he can but until he's done it, it's hard to put him in that category of those great strikers. Although he's having an absolutely phenomenal season this year."
Asked what makes Haaland so special, Ferdinand said: "His pace, his power, his ability to score off his left foot, right foot, and head.
"You know, I always used to say Harry Kane, and so sorry to keep going back to Harry Kane but he's current. I used to say he's the complete centre-forward and Haaland is fast becoming that."
And while Ferdinand is wary of labelling the Norwegian a Premier League great just yet, he sees no reason why the 22-year-old will not fulfil his potential.
"I think in the side that he's playing in, if you looked at him from his [Borussia] Dortmund days, do you think he's improved from there? I think he has," Ferdinand added.
"I think with the manager and the coaching staff that they've got at Man City and the players that he's playing with at the moment, you can't not improve. I think the better quality of the player you play with, the better you become.
"It'll certainly raise the bar for him. Because, as a centre-forward, once you've scored 20 goals the next season, you want to score 22, 24 or 25.
"You want to score as many as you can so [now] he's broken the record of 34 he'll be looking to beat the record that he sets. Then that's the benchmark for people to try and get to."
Indeed, Ferdinand does not feel Haaland will find matters more difficult next season.
"Looking at the way he plays, his attributes, and the team that he's playing for, no. I really don't," he said.
When it came to offering advice on how defenders might stop Haaland, Ferdinand only had one idea.
"Kick him early doors, that's what used to happen," he quipped. "I mean, you can't do that anymore.
"You’ve got to find a way, but like I said it's so difficult because you're playing against a City side where, okay Haaland is scoring all of these goals but there are goals throughout that team. So you say, 'Right let's go man-to-man on him.' Then you're leaving the door open for someone else to get in too, so he's going to be so, so hard to stop."
The next target in Haaland's sights is Ron Davies' 37-goal haul from the 1966-67 campaign.
Davies was the last player to net more than Haaland in a single season in the English top flight.
Exeter winger Jodie Ounsley will swap Premier 15s rugby for life as ‘Fury’ on the TV series Gladiators.
The Dewsbury-born 22-year-old, the first deaf player to represent England’s sevens side, has been cast on the BBC’s rebooted version of the show, which will be screened later this summer.
Former Loughborough University student Ounsley, who had a cochlear implant as a young child, is also a former British Brazilian jiu-jitsu title-holder and a five-time World Coal Carrying champion.
She told BBC Sport: “I’m buzzing. Watching Gladiators growing up, I was always in awe of their strength and power and now I am one.
“I hope contenders are ready to feel the ‘Fury’.”
Ounsley was unveiled as one of the first two Gladiators on the BBC’s The One Show on Wednesday night alongside ‘Steel’, CrossFit athlete Zack George, who won the title of the UK’s Fittest Man in 2020.
The series was first screened in Britain in 1992 on ITV, with contestants from the general public competing against Gladiators in a series of events that test speed, stamina and strength.
Gladiators ran on ITV until early 2000 and was revised by Sky for two series in 2008 and 2009.
The BBC’s revamped version will be hosted by Bradley and Barney Walsh and filming is scheduled to begin in Sheffield in June.
Ounsley was voted Deaf Sports Personality of the Year in 2018 and was included in the GB Women rugby sevens provisional squad for the 2020 Olympics.
She has scored two tries in six appearances for the Chiefs, who are top of the Premier 15s table, making her debut in November last year after joining from Sale the previous summer.
Her father Phil, a former professional mixed martial artist, appeared as a contestant on Gladiators in 2008.
Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell has assured supporters the club have done all they can to keep out-of-contract players such as Max Johnston and Dean Cornelius – and is comfortable with waiting for answers.
Kettlewell insists there has been no negative impact of working without a chief executive and he has also made offers to other players outside the club.
Academy players Johnston and Cornelius have been an integral part of Kettlewell’s team since he took over in February but have both been linked with moves under freedom of contract, although Motherwell would be entitled to compensation.
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s cinch Premiership match against Kilmarnock, Kettlewell said: “We have been really proactive, as much as we possibly can, in a number of situations and I have always been a person who is very, very calm in these situations.
“I hear people start to worry and panic and all the rest of it. When you as a football club and a manager have taken every step you possibly can, make it known what players you want, put offers down in front of them, try to make that as lucrative as you can in relation to what your club can offer, then I think there comes a point where you have to step back and just be calm about it and allow players to make their decisions and take advice from the relevant people.
“I believe in development, I believe in trying to hit milestones as a player, being on the park, becoming a better player and a better person as well. If you think Motherwell is the place where you will become both a better player and a better person, then this is the right place for you.
“If it’s not, then it’s not, so I don’t ever get too caught up in it.
“There has to be a point where we take a step back. We have done absolutely everything we possibly can.
“I am really comfortable with that, and we will find out what the decisions are through time.”
Kettlewell earlier stated that he had spent Wednesday “covering absolutely everything across the football club”.
Motherwell have gone through March and April without a chief executive since Alan Burrows left for Aberdeen, and potential appointments have fallen through but Kettlewell declared that had not been a problem for him.
“We have an interim process and I am working very, very closely with one of the board members that has a wealth of experience in a number of different fields,” he said.
“So that has been a terrific support to me and that’s been a terrific support to the football club.
“That is going to be a shorter-term process which allows the club to make the correct appointment at the end of it.
“There is no point in us elaborating on it too much because it is that interim, short-term process, but it is 100 per cent being done for the right reasons and there is no stone being unturned off the back of it.
“But there will be a process that hopefully we have that longer-term plan.”
Harry Kane may struggle to resist the temptation to leave Tottenham in search of major honours at the end of the season, believes former Spurs striker Frederic Kanoute.
While Kane has hit 25 Premier League goals during another fine individual campaign, his quest to win a first major trophy never looked likely to end during a frustrating season for Spurs.
Tottenham sit nine points adrift of the top four after Sunday's dramatic 4-3 defeat at Liverpool, and chairman Daniel Levy has already sacked two head coaches in the form of Antonio Conte and his interim replacement Cristian Stellini.
With Kane about to enter the final 12 months of his contract, reports have suggested he could be targeted by Manchester United in the upcoming transfer window, while Paris Saint-Germain are also said to hold an interest in the 29-year-old.
Kane wanted to leave Tottenham for Manchester City in 2021, and Kanoute believes the England captain could be enticed by the prospect of an exit this time around.
Speaking to Stats Perform at LaLiga x Bloomsbury Football League event, Kanoute said: "I can't speak on his behalf but, obviously, the fans would be really, really disappointed if he leaves the club because he's been fantastic.
"At the same time, I think they understand as well that it could be a good opportunity, a huge opportunity for him to win trophies.
"I think he will be a little bit conflicted in the next choice he is going to have to make."
Tottenham are yet to name Conte's permanent successor, with Ryan Mason taking the reins as acting head coach following Stellini's exit.
With the likes of Julian Nagelsmann, Xabi Alonso and Vincent Kompany linked with the role, Kanoute has urged Spurs to look to the future with their next appointment.
"I wish all the best for Mason and I hope he's going to do a great job, but we all think it's going to be temporary," he said.
"Obviously the next appointment is going to be super important as I think it should be a long-term appointment, but as we know nowadays in football, there's not much patience.
"I just hope the new coach will start with a few wins that will bring some positive momentum for the club.
"It's obvious that they're missing silverware and that's all the Tottenham fans are hoping that Tottenham can finally win a trophy, but I think there's a kind of unsettlement in the team.
"If you want a trophy, you have to build it up, to have a certain stability with the coach, with the philosophy of what kind of football you want to deliver to the fans.
"I think they're still to reach that stability, so they can finally thrive in their football."
Joel Embiid conceded he has not fully recovered from injury, but is determined to help the Philadelphia 76ers overcome the Boston Celtics.
Embiid was named the new NBA MVP on Tuesday but his comeback from a sprained ligament did not go according to plan a day later as he scored just 15 points in a 121-87 defeat to Boston.
Celtics' win tied the series at 1-1 heading into Game 3 in Philadelphia on Friday.
And while Embiid acknowledged he was never going to be at 100 per cent, he did not feel another few days of rest would have made much of a difference.
"The way I saw it, what I have, I'm supposed to be out for four-to-six weeks or something like that," Embiid said.
"I'm not gonna be 100 per cent for that whole time. I'm not gonna be fully healed for that whole time. I felt pretty good to play and I feel like I can help the team defensively and offensively.
"Obviously, offensively, I wasn't as aggressive. I was just trying to let the game come to me. Then defensively, just protecting the rim. I think I did a fine job when it comes to that. So I just felt like being up 1-0 and having a chance to go up 2-0 against this type of team.
"I felt like just get this [comeback] out of the way. Disappointed by the loss but that's a step towards getting back to myself.
"I have a lot of work to do to make sure I'm ready for Friday."
For Embiid, there is nothing that will now stop him from trying to push the Sixers to glory.
"I play through a lot. Last year, broken face, fingers, played through it all," he said.
"Even with the concern that I could lose my vision if I got hit. So I'll keep playing through anything.
"We've got a big chance [to win an NBA title], so we've got to take advantage of it and make sure we're all ready for Game 3."
Lee Westwood has accused the DP World Tour of being “fully in bed” with the PGA Tour after announcing his resignation from the European circuit.
Westwood and fellow Ryder Cup stars Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia have resigned their membership and are therefore no longer eligible for the biennial contest against the United States.
The trio were among the players fined £100,000 and suspended for two tournaments after playing the first LIV Golf event last year without permission.
Westwood and Poulter were also among the 12 members of the Saudi-funded breakaway who lost an appeal against the sanctions last month and were deemed to have committed “serious breaches” of the DP World Tour’s code of behaviour by a three-man arbitration panel.
Westwood confirmed he has paid the fine and is keen to “move on”, but reiterated his criticism of the way the PGA Tour and DP World Tour have reacted to the emergence of LIV Golf.
“I’ve been a dual member of the European Tour and PGA Tour, but always said I was a European Tour member first and foremost and that I had fears about the US circuit basically being bullies and doing everything it could to secure global dominance,” Westwood told The Telegraph.
“Check my old quotes, it’s all there.
“But now, in my opinion, the European Tour has jumped fully in bed with the PGA Tour and even though Keith (Pelley, the chief executive) says he hates to hear it, it is now a feeder tour for the PGA Tour.
“The top 10 players on the tour, not already exempt this year, have a pathway to the PGA Tour – that’s giving our talent away. That was never the tour’s policy before this ‘strategic alliance’.
“Sorry, I don’t want to play under that sort of regime.
“I mulled it over and just didn’t like the thought of the tour continuously hitting us with more fines and bans that would have been hanging over me.
“I’ve paid my fine out of respect for the arbitration panel and have then taken the decisions out of the tour’s hands. I honestly want to move on.”
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