Rory McIlroy is planning to cut down the number of tournaments he enters in 2025 after a congested season that will include 27 events this year.
The Northern Irishman finished tied for ninth place in the Tour Championship in Atlanta last weekend, his 22nd event of the year.
McIlroy started the year strong, winning the Dubai Desert Classic before triumphing at the Wells Fargo Championship in May.
He also came close to ending his decade-long wait for a major title, but agonisingly missed out to Bryson DeChambeau by one shot at the U.S. Open after a late collapse, prompting him to take a short break.
"It's been a long season, and I'm going to just have to think about trying to build in a few extra breaks here and there next year and going forward because I felt like I hit a bit of a wall sort of post-U.S. Open, and still feel a little bit of that hangover," said McIlroy.
"My season is not over, obviously. I've still got five events left to play," he said.
"But yeah, I feel like the tournaments came thick and fast, and obviously, with the Olympics thrown in there, as well, this year, it sort of condensed everything a bit."
Since the U.S. Open, McIlroy has struggled to show his early-season form, missing the cut at The Open Championship and finishing fifth at the Paris Olympics while representing Team Ireland.
The 35-year-old still has five tournaments left this year, including next week's Irish Open at Royal County Down.
Asked how many tournaments is too many in one year, McIlroy replied: "27. I'm usually sort of like a 22 sort of person. But again, that was when I was sort of in my 20s and didn't have the responsibilities that I do now.
"I'm going to try to cut it back to like 18 or 20 a year going forward, I think."
Attorneys representing Jamaican squash player Julian Morrison have filed a formal application requesting that Catherine Minto, Chair of the Independent Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel, recuse herself from the ongoing hearing concerning an alleged anti-doping violation. The application, filed by Dr. Emir Crowne, Mr. Matthew Gayle, and Mr. Sayeed Bernard, on Monday, September 2, argues that Minto’s prior extensive working relationship with Kings Counsel Ian Wilkinson, who is representing the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) in the matter, presents a potential conflict of interest.
The legal team’s concerns are rooted in the principle of impartiality, as outlined in WADA’s International Standard for Results Management. This standard mandates that members of hearing panels must be free from any actual or potential conflicts of interest to ensure a fair and unbiased adjudication process.
According to the standard, “Upon appointment to a hearing panel, each hearing panel member shall sign a declaration that there are no facts or circumstances known to him/her which might call into question their impartiality in the eyes of any of the parties, other than any circumstances disclosed in the declaration…”
Morrison's legal team discovered on August 30, 2024, that Minto had previously served as co-counsel with Wilkinson in several cases, some of which spanned nearly a decade and culminated in an appeal to the Privy Council. Despite the significant duration and nature of this professional relationship, it was not disclosed to Morrison or his representatives at the outset of the hearing. They argue that this omission compromises the perceived impartiality of the Chair and raises questions about the fairness of the proceedings.
Matthew Gayle, one of Morrison’s attorneys, emphasized the seriousness of the situation: “Given that the panel has considered the issue of recusal, substantively for a significant period of time, this ought to have been a matter that was disclosed to the parties so the athlete has no way of knowing but for information in the public domain. This should have been disclosed by the Chair herself and to the parties and give the athlete an opportunity to consider whether or not he wants to raise an objection, and in the circumstances where no disclosure has taken place it does raise a very serious question as to why,” he told Sportsmax.TV.
The application highlights multiple cases, including ones from 2014, 2016, and 2020, where Minto and Wilkinson worked closely together. Morrison’s legal team contends that this omission violates the ethical guidelines that require transparency and impartiality from those presiding over such hearings.
In April, Morrison was provisionally suspended by JADCO after testing positive for trace amounts of the banned anabolic agent Boldenone. Since then, he has been eagerly awaiting the chance to clear his name. His legal team has argued that Morrison unknowingly ingested the substance and is determined to prove his innocence.
The attorneys have requested that Minto either voluntarily recuse herself and be replaced by an alternate who has no recent or extensive professional ties to JADCO's counsel, or that the application for her recusal be decided by other members of the Independent Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel who are free from similar conflicts.
Morrison’s legal team stressed that this application was not made lightly, acknowledging that it could delay the proceedings. However, they assert that the integrity of the hearing and the athlete’s right to a fair trial must take precedence.
The outcome of this recusal application could significantly impact the course of the hearing, as both parties await a decision that will determine the next steps in this high-stakes case. Morrison remains resolute in his fight to prove his innocence and is hopeful that he will be granted a fair opportunity to do so.
Joshua Kimmich has been named as Germany's new captain following Ilkay Gundogan's international retirement last month.
The Bayern Munich player has made 91 appearances for the national team since his debut in May 2016, netting six goals, and has captained the side on 17 previous occasions.
Kimmich played in all five of Germany's games at Euro 2024 as they reached the quarter-finals, with Nagelsmann confirming how key a figure the versatile player is.
Real Madrid's Antonio Rudiger and Arsenal's Kai Havertz, who captained Germany at youth level, have been selected as vice-captains by Julian Nagelsmann.
"The captain places the team's opinion with the coaching team. Kimmich was the logical successor," Nagelsmann said.
"He leads the way with his mentality. We have a very good mix with these three players."
Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Jonathan Tah, Niclas Fullkrug and Pascal Gross have also been selected for Germany's new leadership council.
"The team council is a very good, responsible group," Nagelsmann added. "We selected it well; the players were all very happy and are keen to fill their roles."
Nagelsmann also confirmed that Ter Stegen will be Germany's number one following Manuel Neuer's international retirement in August.
The Barcelona goalkeeper made his debut in a pre-Euro 2012 friendly and has since made 40 appearances, keeping 12 clean sheets, with Neuer's continued presence stopping him from nailing down a starting spot.
"Marc is number one. And deservedly the number one," Nagelsmann said.
"He has performed well for several years. He has been captain at Barcelona for several years and is the undisputed number one with very, very good performances.
"And he will also fulfil that role for us. That's why he's the clear number one."
Germany will begin their Nations League campaign against Hungary on Saturday, before facing the Netherlands next week.
Luciano Spalletti has vowed to improve on Italy's disappointing Euro 2024 showing ahead of the start of their Nations League campaign this week.
The Azzurri needed Mattia Zaccagni's late strike against Croatia to advance to the knockout stages of the competition, but their journey ended the following game.
Hopes of retaining their crown were dashed at the hands of Switzerland, who struck either side of half-time to set up a meeting with England in the quarter-finals.
The defeat marked their first knockout loss at the European Championship finals since the 2012 final against Spain (4-0), ending a run of six such games without defeat.
Switzerland's triumph compounded Italy to their second defeat at the tournament, more than they had managed in any other of their appearances in the competition.
But they will be hoping to get back on track in the Nations League, where they will face France and Israel this month, with Spalletti keen to look beyond their Euro 2024 display.
"When we talk about failure at the Euros, we need to be more precise in our analysis," Spalletti said.
"Because in my opinion, it only relates to the game against Switzerland, which was very bad.
"Now, we turn a new page and from now on, we have to think more about our identity.
"I am going to create a new group, a new team, putting less pressure on them, and hopefully they feel the beauty of the Azzurri shirt even more."
Spalletti was appointed as Italy's new head coach in August 2023 following Roberto Mancini's sudden resignation, giving him less than a year to prepare for Euro 2024.
Ahead of the tournament in Germany, Spalletti had won six of his 10 matches in charge (D3 L1), showing promising signs ahead of aiming to retain their crown.
However, those results did not transpire, with Spalletti accepting the responsibility for Italy's poor showing in the competition.
"I probably put too much pressure on them and did not give them the opportunity to enjoy the experience in an Italy shirt," he said.
"I need to be careful with trying new things or bringing a new message.
"I think this is the time to try something different, which inevitably means excluding some players."
One player not involved in their Nations League fixtures is new Liverpool signing Federico Chiesa, who completed a £12.5million transfer from Juventus last week.
Chiesa was a key part of Italy's success at Euro 2020, scoring two goals in seven appearances on their way to the final.
The 26-year-old featured in all four games at this year's edition, with Spalletti able to detail his omission from the squad.
"Chiesa and I spoke and made a fair assessment, I would have brought him as an extra player, not participating in the games," Spalletti said.
"He told me that he had spoken to his new club and that he needs to do specific preparation work with them."
The Premier League takes its first break for international fixtures over the next two weeks.
But we had plenty of thrills and spills on matchday three.
Everton were 2-0 up in the 87th minute against Bournemouth on Saturday, only for Sean Dyche's team to lose 3-2. Manchester City continued their perfect start, while Arsenal were held by Brighton, with Declan Rice sent off.
On Sunday, Newcastle United overcame Tottenham and Chelsea drew with Crystal Palace, while the headline fixture of the weekend saw Liverpool hammer Manchester United.
But which teams were lucky, and unlucky, on MD3?
Lucky winners: Bournemouth
Andoni Iraola claimed Bournemouth were fortunate to come from behind and beat Everton 3-2 at Goodison Park. The Toffees were leading by 2+ goals until the 87th minute – the latest a team has ever been 2+ goals ahead in a game they've gone on to lose in Premier League history.
The full-time stats perhaps suggest a different version of events to Iraola's take. Bournemouth finished with a higher expected goals (xG) than Everton (2.22 to 1.97) while having 17 shots to the hosts' 18.
But up until late on, Everton had complete control. Indeed, as of the 80th minute, Sean Dyche's team had mustered 18 shots, 11 more than Bournemouth.
And just to hammer that home, 1.79 of Bournemouth's 2.22 xG came from the 81st minute onwards. While the Cherries deserve credit for a smash-and-grab, it is fair to say that Everton, who had five big chances but scored just two of them, will have been left scratching their heads as to how they capitulated.
Unlucky losers: Chelsea
Okay, so technically, Chelsea are not 'losers' - they drew 1-1 with Palace on Sunday.
But, based on the metrics, they were extremely unfortunate not to beat Oliver Glasner's team.
Chelsea had 13 shots and accumulated 2.4 xG, which was the third highest across the weekend's games, behind Brentford (2.78) and Man City (3.0), albeit a huge chunk of it came from Nicolas Jackson's close-range finish.
Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson was in fantastic form, making some excellent saves to deny Noni Madueke and Cole Palmer and coming away with a goals prevented figure of 1.76, and ultimately, Eberechi Eze's stunner, which had an xG of just 0.06, was enough to claim a share of the spoils and frustrate Enzo Maresca.
Lucky winners: Newcastle United
Newcastle beat Spurs 2-1 at St James' Park, and Eddie Howe's team showed how clinical they can be.
They had nine shots, 11 fewer than Tottenham, but actually amassed a higher xG total (1.83 to 1.26), showing that the opportunities they created were quality ones.
Indeed, they converted both of their big chances, meaning they join Leicester City (1/1) as the only other team from the weekend to register a 100% big chance conversion rate.
Unlucky losers: Arsenal
Like Chelsea, Arsenal drew, but based on the underlying metrics, and even though they went down to 10 men when Declan Rice was sent off, they could be considered unfortunate not to have beaten Brighton.
Mikel Arteta's team finished with an xG of 2.14, the fifth-highest total from the weekend, while also creating five big opportunities, from which players would have been anticipated to do better, only for the Gunners to miss four of them.
On the flip side, Arsenal did face 22 shots going the other way, albeit those attempts did not account for a high xG (1.76).
West Indians Shai Hope and Sherfane Rutherford were among a number of players selected by various franchises in the player draft for the 2024-25 edition of Australia’s premier T20 showcase, the Big Bash League, on Sunday.
Hope, picked in the BBL draft for the first time, will represent the Hobart Hurricanes.
He was their pick in the platinum category, with the influence of head coach Ricky Ponting, who was Hope’s coach at the Delhi Capitals in the 2024 IPL.
Rutherford, who will also be experiencing the Big Bash for the first time, was selected by the Sydney Thunder in the silver category.
All-rounder Fabian Allen was snapped up in the silver category by the Adelaide Strikers while Akeal Hosein, who took 15 wickets in 10 games for the Melbourne Renegades last season, will be representing the Sydney Sixers this time around as one of their pre-draft signings.
Barbados-born England all-rounder Jacob Bethell is also set for his first BBL stint after being selected by the Melbourne Renegades.
The 2024-25 Big Bash League will run from December 15 to January 26.
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has dismissed the idea that their meeting with the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday is a "revenge game".
The Ravens kick off the new NFL season against the reigning Super Bowl champions, having lost the AFC Championship game against them in January.
It was a fourth loss in six postseason games with Jackson as their starting quarterback and a fourth defeat against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in his career.
However, the 27-year-old has brushed off any suggestions that Baltimore will be using the AFC Championship game as extra motivation on Thursday.
"Any game I play in, I feel like it's a revenge game," Jackson said, via the team's website. "I'm not just going to look at this game like a revenge game.
"Anybody we play, no matter if we've beaten them or lost to them in previous years, I just want to win."
Jackson has led the Ravens to their best records in the NFL since joining in 2018, going 14-2 in 2019 and 13-4 last year. In the regular season, he has the second-best record at 58-19 (.753).
Jackson, who became the youngest-ever two-time NFL MVP since the AFL merger in February, is keen to make a quick start, though he is not getting too far ahead of himself.
"We have to win regular season games [in order] to get to January," Jackson added.
"We can't just go into the season and go 5-12, because then we're not going to be in the playoffs. Playoffs are on our mind, but at the same time, we have to win this game that's ahead of us."
"I'm ready to go. I've been going against my guys for weeks," Jackson said. "It's time to go against somebody else."
Stale Solbakken has announced he is likely to step down as Norway head coach when his contract expires after the 2026 World Cup campaign.
The former midfielder took over the national side in 2020 with the hopes of returning Norway to a major tournament. However, he has been unable to qualify for one despite having players like Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard among his ranks.
Norway finished third in their qualification group for Euro 2024, six points below Scotland, having only won three of their eight matches.
With the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico coming up in 2026, Solbakken's sights are set on playing on the world stage for the first time since France 1998, but he says his time with the national team will not extend beyond that if they do qualify.
"I'll take this qualification now and then there's a high probability that I'll do something else after that regardless," he told reporters on Monday, adding he will remain in charge if Norway qualify for the World Cup and step down after the finals.
"While I'm still young and virile, I want to do something else too - I've said no to a number of club jobs that really tempted me, but I'm determined to make one last attempt here, and then I think that's it.
"I really enjoy being with the boys, but there are far too few [international] matches. The last seven or eight months have been a nightmare with four friendly games, and the last two leading into the boys' summer holidays."
Solbakken was part of Norway's squad in 1998 when they reached the last 16, and at Euro 2000 in the Netherlands and Belgium, Norway's last appearance at a major finals, as they failed to make it out of the group.
Qualification for the 2026 World Cup begins in either March or June 2025, depending on the upcoming Nations League results, with Norway starting their League B Group 3 campaign against Kazakhstan on Friday.
Zak Brown insisted that McLaren's papaya rules were made to be bent after Monza reignited the debate over whether team orders are needed at the British-based team.
Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris claimed second and third behind Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, with the latter enduring another poor start after securing pole in qualifying.
The Australian was able to make his way past his McLaren team-mate heading into Turn 4, with Piastri ultimately able to finish ahead of Norris at the end of the race.
However, McLaren recorded their fourth-best ever run of having one or both drivers on the podium (12), while also closing the gap in the constructors' championship.
The gap to Red Bull now stands at eight points ahead of Baku in two weeks, with Norris also closing the gap to Max Verstappen to 62 points in the drivers' championship.
But in allowing their drivers to fight, McLaren opened the door for Ferrari to pounce, but Brown defended Piastri's move on his team-mate in the opening exchanges.
“It was aggressive, it was an aggressive move [by Piastri],” Brown told Sky Sports F1 after the race.
“Their start was great and that was what we had discussed, kind of get behind the other and fan out to make sure nobody else could get by.
“I think Lando was caught by surprise with that move, thinking let’s just tuck into a one-two and see if we can pull a bit of a gap, so it’s something we’ll discuss internally.
“Papaya rules are it’s your team mate; race him hard, race him clean, don’t touch, that happened.
"It was an aggressive pass so that’s a conversation we’ll have, that was a bit nerve wracking on pit wall but it’s really just respect your team mate.
"Lando got a bad run out of that corner as well so it would have been nice to see them run one-two a bit longer.
"They didn’t touch, it was an aggressive pass but a clean pass.”
Despite McLaren's recent success, Ferrari's triumph at their home race has brought them back into contention for the constructors' championship and are just 31 points further back.
The British-based team have failed to win the title since 1998 when Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard worked together to deliver their eighth constructors' title.
However, Brown remained firm in his assessment that McLaren would not prioritise one driver over the other for the remaining eight races of the season.
“They are both young drivers who want to win. We have always believed in having two number ones," Brown said.
"That’s always been McLaren’s way, it can be difficult to manage – we’ve seen it with Senna and Prost.
“They get along great, they do race each other clean and it’s philosophical – are you a one-car team or a two-car team?
"The easiest thing would have been for Lando to just run away with it, and then not have to put difficult decisions on the pit wall, but Andrea and I are taking it one race at a time.”
Hasan Mahmud and Nahid Rana took nine wickets between them as Bangladesh bowled out Pakistan for 172 in the second innings of the second Test on Monday.
Given a target of 185 for the victory, the visitors cruised to 42 without loss after seven overs before bad light and subsequent rain halted proceedings at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
After starting the day 9-2, Pakistan saw Saim Ayub removed by Taskin Ahmed (1-40) before Rana ripped through the hosts' batting order, claiming the wickets of Shan Masood (28), Babar Azam (11) and Saud Shakeel (two) in four overs.
Mohammad Rizwan's 43 from 73 deliveries threatened to bring Pakistan back into the contest, only for Mahmud to claim successive wickets in the 36th over before removing Mir Hamza (four) to conclude a dominant session for Bangladesh.
Zakir Hasan and Shadman Islam wasted no time in setting a swift pace in the chase, with the former striking 31 runs from the 23 balls he faced, including two sixes and two fours before the weather closed in.
The pair will return to the crease on Tuesday needing 143 runs for a memorable series victory.
Data Debrief: Rana and Mahmud roar Tigers close
Rana's figures of 4-44 were his best for Bangladesh, with their bowling display the first time in the tourists' Test history that all ten wickets were picked up by fast bowlers.
Mahmud also impressed, claiming his first five-wicket haul in just his third Test outing for Bangladesh.
Kevin De Bruyne has said he has not held any talks over leaving Manchester City.
De Bruyne has helped City make a perfect start in their quest to win a fifth straight Premier League title.
However, the Belgium playmaker was linked with a move away from the club over the summer, amid reported interest from Saudi Arabia.
De Bruyne had previously claimed he was "open to anything" ahead of his 10th season with City.
But speaking to BBC Radio Manchester after City's 3-1 win over West Ham, De Bruyne said: "I haven't spoken to anyone, to be honest.
"There has been a lot of noise and news. I expected a quiet summer and that's actually what happened.
"I went on holiday for four weeks, came back and started training. That was it. Nothing to tell.
"I've not been entertained by anybody or spoken to anybody."
However, De Bruyne is anticipating to hold talks with the club as he is now into the final year of his deal.
"Once the season goes on, I'm sure there will be conversations to be had with City," he said.
"I just want to feel good, play good football and this will come in the upcoming months. I don't really feel the rush for the moment."
De Bruyne has scored one goal and set up another across City's opening three league matches of 2024-25, and leads the top flight for expected assists (xA) with 1.6, while he has also created 11 chances, tied for third in the division along with Cole Palmer.
Brighton's Jan Paul van Hecke has received his first call-up to the Netherlands squad to replace Micky van de Ven for their upcoming Nations League fixtures.
Van de Ven was seen in training with Tottenham Hotspur this week, but Ange Postecoglou did not include him in his squad for their 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United.
A knee injury sustained in Spurs' 4-0 win over Everton last time has forced Van de Ven to withdraw, with the Dutch football association confirming he was not match fit.
But Ronald Koeman has a dependable replacement in Van Hecke, who has impressed for the Seagulls this season under new head coach Fabian Hurzeler.
His 222 successful passes this season is a total only bettered by defensive partner Lewis Dunk (233), while he has also won 15 of his 26 contested duels.
The Netherlands kickstart their Nations League campaign against Bosnia & Herzegovina on Saturday before facing Germany in Amsterdam three days later.
Phil Foden is unlikely to link up with the England squad due to illness, according to Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola.
Foden, who scooped the PFA's Player of the Year last month, has played just 45 minutes this season in City's 2-0 win over Chelsea on the opening day of the campaign.
The 24-year-old had been called up by new England interim boss Lee Carsley for the Nations League matches against the Republic of Ireland and Finland.
But Guardiola believes the midfielder will not be fit enough to link up with his national side, saying after their win over West Ham: “I don’t think so right now.
“I think he will not go but I don’t know. He doesn’t feel well. But national teams, they decide.
“He doesn’t feel good. It’s his stomach, a little virus. But the people said with antibiotics and so on he will be fine.”
Foden’s absence from the England squad will be the second notable name to miss out from their Euro 2024 squad, with Jude Bellingham nursing a calf injury.
The City man enjoyed a stellar season under Guardiola last term, producing 39 goal involvements (27 goals and 12 assists) in all competitions.
But that form failed to transpire during Gareth Southgate's tenure, further highlighted by not registering a goal or an assist for the Three Lions at their most recent tournament.
Foden's best position within the England squad has been the centre of attention in recent seasons, often operating out wide rather than centrally where he has proved to be more effective for his club.
He has made 41 appearances for England but scored just four goals, with his last strike for his country coming in an international friendly against Scotland last year.
Phil Foden is unlikely to link up with the England squad due to illness, according to Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola.
Foden, who scooped the PFA's Player of the Year last month, has played just 45 minutes this season in City's 2-0 win over Chelsea on the opening day of the campaign.
The 24-year-old had been called up by new England interim boss Lee Carsley for the Nations League matches against the Republic of Ireland and Finland.
But Guardiola believes the midfielder will not be fit enough to link up with his national side, saying after their win over West Ham: “I don’t think so right now.
“I think he will not go but I don’t know. He doesn’t feel well. But national teams, they decide.
“He doesn’t feel good. It’s his stomach, a little virus. But the people said with antibiotics and so on he will be fine.”
Foden’s absence from the England squad will be the second notable name to miss out from their Euro 2024 squad, with Jude Bellingham nursing a calf injury.
The City man enjoyed a stellar season under Guardiola last term, producing 39 goal involvements (27 goals and 12 assists) in all competitions.
But that form failed to transpire during Gareth Southgate's tenure, further highlighted by not registering a goal or an assist for the Three Lions at their most recent tournament.
Foden's best position within the England squad has been the centre of attention in recent seasons, often operating out wide rather than centrally where he has proved to be more effective for his club.
He has made 41 appearances for England but scored just four goals, with his last strike for his country coming in an international friendly against Scotland last year.
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