Shay Given sees no reason why high-flying Newcastle United cannot dream of Premier League glory following their victory over Leicester City.
The Magpies climbed to second in the table – four points behind leaders Arsenal – after a commanding 3-0 win at the King Power Stadium thanks to goals from Chris Wood, Miguel Almiron and Joelinton.
Newcastle have now recorded six successive Premier League victories for the first time since doing so on the way to a fifth-placed finish under Alan Pardew 10 years ago.
With one game remaining in 2022, Newcastle have won 21 matches this calendar year, their most since 23 wins in 1995. They finished second in 1995-96.
Former goalkeeper Given, who racked up 462 appearances at St James' Park between 1997 and 2009, believes his former club can genuinely challenge for a first top-flight title since 1927, highlighting opponents Leicester's fairytale success in 2016 as an example.
The 46-year-old told Amazon Prime Video: "Can Newcastle compete to win the league? Leicester did it a few years back, why can't Newcastle dream of it? Why not?"
Eddie Howe became the third English manager to win more than 20 Premier League matches in a single year after Kevin Keegan (24 in 1994, 23 in 1995) and Roy Evans (22 in 1996).
But the Magpies coach is eager to keep his players focused on the short term.
"Internally, it's [about keeping] expectations in check, not putting unnecessary pressure on ourselves," he said. "Let's just go into the next game and try to win it, try to execute our game plan as well as we have in previous games.
"Everyone else no doubt will talk and build things up. We can't control it. Let people do it, as long as we're internally focused on what we have to do to perform well.
Wood, who opened the scoring from the penalty spot, concurred: "It's way too early to even think about that, but [the fans] can go on and dream.
"They're enjoying it, and we just want to put on a show for them and show what we can do. It's a great start."
Joelinton, who sealed the points, added to BBC Sport: "We have to go game by game, and let's see what we can achieve at the end of the season."
The Philadelphia Eagles are reportedly hopeful right tackle Lane Johnson will be fit for the playoffs after being ruled out for the remainder of the regular season with an abdominal injury.
Johnson was replaced by Jack Driscoll after suffering the injury in the fourth quarter of Saturday's 40-32 defeat against the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia's second loss of the campaign.
A report from ESPN's Adam Schefter said Johnson had undergone an MRI scan that revealed a torn tendon in the abdominal area, and he is not expected to play any further part in the Eagles' final two regular season games.
However, with Philadelphia having clinched a playoff spot, the NFC East leaders hope to have the four-time Pro Bowl OT available for a postseason run.
With Johnson starting all 15 of the Eagles' games this season, his setback represents another concern for a side already nursing an injury to starting quarterback and MVP candidate Jalen Hurts.
The Eagles boast the NFL's best record at 13-2, and another victory would be enough for them to clinch the NFC East, the conference's top seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Wales lock Will Rowlands confirmed he will miss the Six Nations with a shoulder injury.
The Dragons second row is set to return in April after undergoing surgery on the injury sustained during Wales' Autumn Nations clash with Argentina last month.
Rowlands will be a big miss for his nation, who begin their campaign against Ireland on February 4 before concluding against France six weeks later.
A string of impressive performances in 2022 saw the 31-year-old named player of the year by the Welsh Rugby Writers Association (WRWA).
"The shoulder is OK, It is frustrating, but [the recovery] is just slow and steady," he told the Scrum V Live programme. "Hopefully, I will be involved back in rugby in April time."
Rowlands, who is reportedly set to join French side Racing 92 after leaving the Dragons at the end of this season, is also doubtful for the World Cup in September due to not fulfilling the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) selection criteria.
The policy states players playing their domestic club rugby outside Wales must have earned 60 or more caps to remain eligible for selection, thus rendering the 23-cap lock unavailable to Warren Gatland.
Antonio Conte knows Tottenham must tighten up at the back if they are to remain in the upper reaches of the Premier League table.
Harry Kane and Pierre-Emile Hjobjerg scored in the space of six second-half minutes to seal a 2-2 draw against Brentford on Monday after they had fallen behind to goals from Vitaly Janelt and Ivan Toney.
Janelt's goal meant Spurs have conceded the opening strike in each of their past six Premier League matches – their longest run of conceding first in the competition since April 2014 under Tim Sherwood (also six).
Indeed, they have conceded two or more goals in six consecutive Premier League games for the first time since May 2003.
The result left them in fourth, four points clear of Manchester United, and Conte accepted they need to improve in defence if they are to secure a Champions League qualification place.
"For the people that watched the game that don't watch Tottenham a lot it was another exciting game," he said.
"On one side I have to be happy because of the way we played in the second half – the energy, desire and intensity, and when you play like this you create problems.
"On the other side this is now six Premier League games in a row we have conceded the first goal. It's important to be stable for a team that wants to try to stay in a good position in the table.
"We have to find solutions to stop us conceding the first and second goals so many times.
"This is the first time in my career to concede first in so many games in a row. They showed great character but we have to start in this way."
In the absence of Cristian Romero, who has been afforded extra time off following Argentina's World Cup win, Conte handed a first Premier League start of the season to defender Japhet Tanganga.
However, the 23-year-old was given a torrid time by Toney and was put out of his misery in the 67th minute when Conte replaced him with Davinson Sanchez.
Asked if he would dip into the transfer market in January to strengthen his defence, Conte responded: "With central defenders we are good, we have to continue to work.
"Now we have Tanganga back, who played his first game of the season. He needs a bit of time to get into the game. I'm pleased for him to play a game today. Romero comes back to training tomorrow.
"On one side I'm a bit disappointed, and in the other we're scoring a lot of goals and creating a lot."
Tottenham return to action on Monday when they host Aston Villa.
Leonard Fournette revealed he has been playing through a Lisfranc injury as he sent a message – which he later deleted – to his critics.
Fournette is one of a number of players whose performances have been scrutinised in a season in which the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a disappointing 7-8.
But that record crucially has the Bucs top of the NFC South after the running back led his team to a vital overtime win over the Arizona Cardinals on Christmas Day.
Fournette contributed 162 yards from scrimmage, leading Tampa Bay in both carries (20 for 72 yards) and receptions (nine for 90 yards).
And the 27-year-old revealed his commitment to the Bucs in a Twitter post on Monday, although he soon deleted the message.
"I hate when people be on here just talking, saying I'm out of shape etc," he wrote.
"Do y'all understand I'm playing with a Lisfranc in my foot every week? Can barely push off my foot but through the Grace of God I'm going to keep proving y'all wrong."
Fournette has the backing of quarterback Tom Brady, who said after the 19-16 win: "He ran really hard and was on a mission.
"He ran through arm tackles, ran hard, caught the ball well, pass protected well.
"This team has a lot of resiliency. We fight hard. 7-8 is not where we want to be, but got a chance at a championship game next week."
Manchester City must make a flying start on their return to Premier League action after falling behind Arsenal in the title race, says winger Riyad Mahrez.
City travel to Leeds United for their first league game since the World Cup on Wednesday, trailing leaders Arsenal by five points ahead of the Gunners' clash with West Ham on Monday.
Pep Guardiola's team lost 2-1 to Brentford in their last game in the competition, and are looking to avoid suffering consecutive league defeats for the first time since December 2018.
Mahrez, who was on target as City eliminated Liverpool from the EFL Cup with a 3-2 win on Thursday, is aware of the importance of Wednesday's trip to Elland Road.
"We have to hit the ground running," Mahrez told the club's website. "We are not currently top of the Premier League and that is where we want to be.
"We will take it game by game but our aim is to try to win another title.
"There are lots of strong teams in England who could still win the league so we are not just focused on Arsenal, although they have been very good so far.
"If we want to win the league, we will have to be ready as soon as the league starts again.
"Leeds are a big club and it's a hard place to go, but we know what to expect from them. We will be prepared for it and hopefully we can come away with the three points."
City won their two Premier League fixtures against Leeds last season by an aggregate score of 11-0 – including a 4-0 triumph at Elland Road. The champions are looking to win on consecutive trips to Leeds for the first time since September 2000.
Harry Kane and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg scored in the space of six second-half minutes as Tottenham fought back from 2-0 down to claim a draw against Brentford in the first Premier League game following the World Cup on Monday.
Spurs, boasting a line-up including a host of players who featured at Qatar 2022, were dismal in the opening hour in west London and deservedly found themselves two goals behind courtesy of efforts from Vitaly Janelt and Ivan Toney.
Kane, playing for the first time since his vital penalty miss in England's quarter-final defeat to France, pulled one back for Antonio Conte's side with 25 minutes remaining.
And the visitors claimed a share of the spoils soon after when Hojbjerg coolly slotted home his fourth league goal of the season.
Brentford were rewarded for a bright start in the 15th minute when Janelt prodded in his second goal of the season from close range after Fraser Forster had kept out Mathias Jensen's deflected strike.
Spurs scarcely improved after that, with only the outstretched leg of Forster preventing Mathias Jorgensen putting the hosts 2-0 up 10 minutes before the interval, while Toney saw an effort ruled out for offside on the stroke of half-time.
A Spurs improvement failed to materialise after the break, with Brentford doubling their advantage in the 54th minute when Toney poked home Christian Norgaard's knockdown from a corner.
Conte's men halved the deficit against the run of play after 65 minutes when Kane superbly headed home Clement Lenglet's cross from eight yards.
The away side sealed a point soon after when Hojbjerg sent a composed finish past David Raya from the middle of the penalty area following good work from Dejan Kulusevski.
Late Spurs pressure failed to yield a winner, although Kane came close when his header hit the crossbar.
Harry Kane broke the Premier League's goalscoring record on Boxing Day with his strike during Tottenham's clash with Brentford.
The England captain netted his 10th goal on the day when he headed home Ivan Perisic's 65th-minute cross at Gtech Community Stadium.
Kane, who surpassed the previous record set by Robbie Fowler (nine), also maintained his record of scoring in all seven of his Premier League appearances on Boxing Day.
Antonio Conte's side fell 2-0 behind as Brentford took control with goals from Vitaly Janelt and Ivan Toney, but goals from Kane and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg dragged the visitors level.
Kane's appearance for Spurs came 16 days after a crushing defeat in the World Cup in Qatar, where England lost to France in the quarter-finals and Kane missed a late penalty.
He showed no signs of that hindering his performances back at club level, however, with the strike against Brentford being his 12th in the Premier League this season.
Anthony Martial thinks Manchester United have plenty of reason for optimism ahead of the second half of the season, praising the "great dynamic" instilled by Erik ten Hag.
The Red Devils have enjoyed something of a resurgence under the Dutchman following a dismal 2021-22 campaign, mounting a charge for the top four once again.
With a quarter-final berth in the EFL Cup secured, United next face Nottingham Forest on Tuesday as they resume their Premier League season following the break for the World Cup in Qatar.
Martial, who has been limited by injury so far but nevertheless has picked up four goals in eight games, certainly believes there is cause to believe the club can succeed this term under Ten Hag.
"Why not?" he told MUTV. "We've [got] a very good team of players, with a great dynamic about us and lots of victories under our belt.
"We now just to have keep on [with] those winning ways we have shown in these recent matches.
"There has been some time for rest, so we hope we will return in good shape for the challenges ahead, and to win all the matches we can."
While several members of United's squad - including the central defensive trio of Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez and Harry Maguire - enjoyed deep World Cup runs, Martial was absent after France passed him over.
But the forward feels those left behind have used their time wisely to ensure they can hit the ground running as 2023 comes around the corner.
"We've put in a lot of good work, and it has been a bit like a pre-season for us," he added. "We've worked on fitness training and getting into top shape physically, and I've benefited a lot from that personally."
Russell Wilson conceded his inaugural season with the Denver Broncos has not been what he hoped for, though he made it clear that the necessary team improvements start with himself.
The quarterback threw three interceptions as the Los Angeles Rams ran out 51-14 victors on Christmas Day, leaving the Broncos 4-11 this year – the joint-third worst record across the NFL.
Wilson has struggled to perform following his mega trade from the Seattle Seahawks, with a pass completion of 60.1 per cent standing as the lowest-ever mark of his career.
Meanwhile, he has thrown a touchdown in just 2.9 per cent of his throws – again the worst record of his career.
Though the 34-year-old is not the only player to have disappointed this season, Wilson has vowed to "keep fighting" and remains confident of better displays in future campaigns.
"A lot needs to happen. I have to play to the standards that I know how to play to," he said, via Mike Klis of KUSA. "And I've been playing to my whole career. I'll never let a moment like tonight define me.
"We're at a low moment right now. I don't fear low moments because I know every time, I've always come out the other side. All I know how to do is keep fighting, keep battling.
"The reality is, it's been a storm. It's been a storm all year. It's not what we hoped for, not what we dreamed for. But it doesn't mean it's going to end that way for years to come. We got to change it, and it starts with me."
The Broncos travel to face the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, before concluding their season at home to the Los Angeles Chargers.
Kathy Whitworth, the record-breaking former LPGA Tour player, has died at the age of 83.
Whitworth, who passed away suddenly on Christmas Eve, won 88 LPGA titles during her career – the most on any professional tour.
The six-time major winner was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1976, a year after winning the last of her three Women's PGA Championship crowns.
Five years later, Whitworth became the first woman to reach career earnings of $1million on the LPGA Tour and, in 1990, was the United States' first Solheim Cup captain.
"The golf world and the world in general lost one of its most incredible women with the passing of Kathy Whitworth," LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan said in a statement.
"Kathy was a champion in the truest sense of the word, both on the golf course and off."
Her partner Bettye Odle added: "It is with a heart full of love that we let everyone know of the passing of the winningest golf professional ever, Kathy Whitworth.
"Kathy passed suddenly Saturday night celebrating Christmas Eve with family and friends. Kathy left this world the way she lived her life, loving, laughing and creating memories."
Harry Kane hoped to put his World Cup heartbreak behind him as he was named in Tottenham's starting line-up for Monday's trip to Brentford.
Kane missed a late penalty for England in their 2-1 quarter-final defeat to France in Qatar earlier this month.
With Tottenham and Brentford set to play the first Premier League game since the World Cup ended with Lionel Messi and Argentina beating Les Bleus in last week's final, it had been speculated that Spurs boss Antonio Conte would rest players who had featured in the latter stages of the tournament.
However, Kane was included in the team to face the Bees, along with other World Cup participants Son Heung-min, Ivan Perisic, Eric Dier and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
Captain Hugo Lloris was named on the bench, with Fraser Forster getting the nod in goal, and World Cup winner Cristian Romero was left out altogether.
Brentford head coach Thomas Frank – fresh from signing a new deal until 2027 – named Ivan Toney in his starting line-up, despite the striker recently being charged with 262 alleged misconduct offences related to betting rules that took place over a four-year period.
The 26-year-old has until January 4 to respond.
England Test captain Ben Stokes believes the quality of international cricket has been damaged by the sport's packed schedule.
Stokes, who led his country to a historic 3-0 series win over Pakistan last week, retired from one-day internationals earlier this year, stating it was "unsustainable" for him to play in all three formats of the game.
And the 31-year-old thinks the intense schedule needs to be addressed to give players the best chance of performing at their highest level.
"It really has an impact on the multi-format players and people who want to play all three forms," he told the Today programme on BBC Radio Four.
"Obviously you want international cricket to be at the highest standard whenever you possibly can but over the last few years I think you've seen a lot of different squads being picked, a lot of different players coming in, coming out, being rested.
"And I don't think that's the way for international cricket to go. The scheduling and everything like that I think just doesn't get as much attention given to it as it should."
Stokes took a six-month break from the sport last year to prioritise his mental health – a decision he looks back on with pride.
"I felt I needed to obviously take a break, and I felt I needed some help to get me back to where I am today, and to get me back on the field from after I took the break," he added.
"I didn't ever really have an issue with coming out and expressing my feelings and opening up about it, because obviously I went into detail a lot in my documentary that I did about my break and how I was feeling, and the steps I took to get me back to a certain place.
"Out of all of that I can't tell you how much pride that I felt in myself in doing that, and some of the messages I received from people I don't know who have never met me.
"But that's why I took huge pride out of it, putting myself in the public eye, and that it's actually really helped a lot of people.
"I feel as if men in particular, because that's where the stigma is, the more men that can do it, great, because I feel if you do, you're going to help a lot more people around the world who are in a similar situation to you."
Cameron Green has credited his Australia team-mates with keeping him grounded after a maiden Test five-wicket haul followed his record-breaking IPL payday.
The all-rounder became the most expensive Australian player in competition history when he was sold for 17.5 crore (£1.75million) to Mumbai Indians, trailing only England's Sam Curran (18.5 crore, £1.85m) overall.
Green followed up his giant fee with a blockbuster red-ball performance to reinforce his credentials on Monday as well, with a five-for on the first day of the second Test against South Africa at the MCG.
But Green acknowledged he was yet to feel as if he had lived up to his price-tag, while thanking his team-mates for ensuring his feet stay earthbound.
"To be fair, I think I didn't do much to kind of earn that," he said. "I just put my name into the auction, and it just happened.
"It doesn't change who I am or how I think and all the confidence I have in my cricket. Hopefully, I didn't change too much.
"The players [here] can bring you back down pretty quickly. It's a good group that we've got at the moment. Everyone gets around you when they need to and can bring you back pretty quickly when they want to.
"I think everyone was focused on Boxing Day. It's a fixture that you point out at the start of the year, and you look forward to, so now that takes your focus 100 per cent."
Green's effort with the ball could be essential for Australia going forward, after Mitchell Starc suffered a finger injury while fielding on day one.
The fast bowler faces a wait to discover if he will be able to take part in the rest of the Test match against the Proteas.
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