The Bo Nix era in Denver will begin right away.

Broncos head coach Sean Payton announced Wednesday that the rookie has won the team's starting quarterback job and will be under center for the season opener at the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 8.

Nix, the 12th overall pick in this year's draft, beat out veterans Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson for the starting job following a pair of impressive showings in Denver's first two preseason games. The former Oregon and Auburn standout will be the first rookie to start a Broncos season opener since Hall of Famer and franchise icon John Elway in 1983.

"He's been outstanding," Payton told reporters following Wednesday's practice.

Nix seized the starter's role with a strong preseason debut against the Indianapolis Colts on Aug. 11 and an even better performance against the Green Bay Packers one week later. The 24-year-old completed 15 of 21 passes for 125 yards and a touchdown against the Colts, then followed up with 80 yards and a touchdown on 8-of-9 passing against Green Bay. 

The Broncos scored points on six of seven drives led by Nix over those two games.

"The past few weeks I've felt really comfortable," Nix said. "Getting to a different defence, playing these preseason games have really helped me a lot. I think that's helped in the growth process.

"I feel really comfortable where I'm at now, and excited to get to the last week of preseason and then get to the full season."

Nix arrived in Denver as one of the most accurate and experienced quarterbacks in college football history. His 61 career starts are the most by any Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) quarterback, and he set a new FBS record for completion percentage in a single season after connecting on 77.4 per cent of his throws with Oregon in 2023.

The 2023 Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year, Nix also won the William Campbell trophy - considered the "Academic Heisman" - as the American college football player with the best combination of academics, community service and on-field performance.

Nix was the last of six quarterbacks taken in the first 12 selections of this year's draft, and the third to be officially declared his his team's starter going into the season. Top overall choice Caleb Williams will start for the Chicago Bears in Week 1, as will No. 2 pick Jayden Daniels for the Washington Commanders.

"We feel like [this] offseason, at such an important position, we made some really good decisions," Payton said. "And we're going to have a chance to see them unfold at the season goes on."

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Chris Woakes is eyeing a place on England's tours of Pakistan and New Zealand before the end of the year, having led their attack impressively on day one of the first Test against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford.

Woakes finished with figures of 3-32 on Wednesday as England bowled Sri Lanka out for 236, with the hosts – captained by Ollie Pope with Ben Stokes out injured – reaching 22-0 by stumps.

He took on the role of attack leader after England chose to move on from their all-time leading wicket-taker James Anderson, taking his tally to 14 wickets in four matches this summer.

However, Woakes has not played an away Test in over two years and is not considered a shoo-in to tour Pakistan in October or New Zealand in December.

The seamer enjoyed taking up a new role on Wednesday, though, and is positive regarding his prospects, telling BBC's Test Match Special: "I'll play for England where I'm picked to play for England. I certainly wouldn't rule myself out.

"The selectors will have their plans, but I'm certainly not going to turn down a tour if selected. We shall see.

"The more Test cricket you play, you pick up new skills and have more experience to fall back on. 

"I haven't played an away Test for a little while, but that might be a good thing because it can give you a fresh look on things. I wouldn't shy away from it."

Woakes also heaped praise upon stand-in captain Pope, adding: "Obviously it feels different not having Ben out there.

"I thought Ollie was good. He probably found himself having to switch on a little bit more than he would normally.

"He communicated with the bowlers well, talking about options and field settings. For an inexperienced captain, I thought he did a great job.

"I firmly feel we've had a great day. To bowl a team out on day one and then be none down at the close, that's always really pleasing."

Carlos Alcaraz is determined to put his emotional outburst during the Cincinnati Open behind him as he prepares for the start of the US Open next week.

The Spaniard has enjoyed an unforgettable three months, winning the French Open and Wimbledon back-to-back before earning the silver medal at the Olympics.

However, his return to hard court has not been so smooth as he suffered a shock defeat to Gael Monfils in the second round in Cincinnati last week.

After cruising through the first set, Alcaraz's match was delayed by rain with the second set tied at 6-6, and the Frenchman rallied to win the tie-break and the decider.

The world number three's frustration was evident during the match as he smashed his racquet on the court four times midway through the third set.

Alcaraz admitted he struggled to adapt to the court's surface but is ready to step up his preparation for the US Open to avoid the same issues.

"I couldn't play. Honestly, I'd been practising really well," Alcaraz said.

"The previous days, I was feeling great, hitting the ball clear, moving well. I don't know what happened.

"I don't know how I felt like this. I couldn't control myself.

"It's really difficult to find some good stuff from this match. So, I want to forget it and try to move on. I'll go to New York and try to practise well, get used to those courts."

Alcaraz won the first of his four grand slams at Flushing Meadows as a teenager during his breakout tournament.

While a third grand slam title of 2024 may be on his mind, Alcaraz is also targeting a different goal for the end of the year, as he aims to leapfrog Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic to become the world number one.

"I'm focused on going to every tournament, thinking about playing great tennis, doing a good result to get better in the race," Alcaraz added.

"Ending the year as number one is one of my main goals."

Ange Postecoglou is aiming to improve Tottenham's clinical edge as they chase their first win of the Premier League season against Everton on Saturday.

Spurs dominated the first half against Leicester City in their opener on Monday, but only left the King Power Stadium with a point after Jamie Vardy's equaliser in the 1-1 draw.

Postecoglou's side had 15 shots in that game, with seven of those on target, but only created 1.18 expected goals.

With Spurs aiming to challenge for a Champions League place this season, the Australian is keen to finetune their play in the final third sooner rather than later.

"Just really disappointed we lacked a little cutting edge in the front third, made some poor decisions, lacked some composure and didn't get the reward our football deserved," Postecoglou said.

"Everyone performed well, but ultimately that defeats the purpose of what we're trying to achieve and that's winning games of football and bridging the gap to the top teams.

"And the performance of the players in general was very, very good, but we need to turn those good performances into outcomes."

Meanwhile, Everton prop up the early standings in the league after a heavy 3-0 defeat to Brighton last weekend.

Ashley Young's red card compounded their misery as they struggled to test the Seagulls in the final third, but James Tarkowski is confident they can stamp out the mistakes to kick-start their season this weekend.

"It's not a reality check. We know the level of this league and how difficult it is," Tarkowski said. "You'll get punished if you make mistakes.

"The foundation which we build on – and we will continue to do – a lot of it was on show. Minor details will cost you in this league and we’ll see that."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Tottenham – James Maddison

Against no side does James Maddison have more Premier League assists than he does against Everton (four), with each of his four against the Toffees coming in his last three appearances.

He is also off the mark for the season, having assisted Pedro Porro's opener in their 1-1 draw with Leicester last time out.

Everton – Jack Harrison

Despite Everton suffering a heavy defeat to Brighton in their Premier League opener, Jack Harrison was a bright spark for the Toffees.

He had the most shots (three), the most touches in the box (six) and completed the most successful dribbles (three) of anyone in the Everton side.

MATCH PREDICTION: TOTTENHAM WIN

Tottenham have won their first Premier League home match in five of the last six seasons, with the only exception being a 1-0 defeat to Everton in 2020-21.

However, Spurs have scored more Premier League goals against Everton both overall (102) and at home (63) than they have versus any other opponent.

After drawing their Premier League opener with Leicester, Spurs are looking to avoid not winning either of their first two games in a single campaign since 2015-16 (drew one, lost one).

Meanwhile, Everton have not won a Premier League game in the month of August in any of the last three seasons (drawn three, lost six), losing each of their last four such games without scoring. Their last such victory was in 2021 at Brighton (2-0).

Sean Dyche's side do not have the best record against teams from the capital, winning just three of their last 20 such top-flight matches (drawn six, lost 11), though those three wins all came consecutively between September and November last season.

After winning four consecutive Premier League away games between October and December last season, Everton are now winless in their last 11 on the road (drawn four, lost seven). Nine of those have come in 2024, leaving the Toffees as the only ever-present side over the two campaigns without an away win this calendar year.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Tottenham – 55.3%

Draw – 23%

Everton – 21.6%

World number one Jannik Sinner has been "worn down physically and mentally" by an investigation into his positive tests for a banned substance, says his coach Darren Cahill.

In March, Australian Open champion Sinner twice tested positive for clostebol – a banned substance that can be used to build muscle mass.

However, an independent tribunal last week found he was inadvertently given the substance in an over-the-counter spray by his physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi.

Sinner has won ATP-level titles at Halle and Cincinnati since the positive tests, but he was eliminated from the French Open at the semi-final stage and only reached the last eight at Wimbledon.

He then missed the Paris Olympic Games after being diagnosed with tonsillitis, and Cahill feels it was no coincidence that he failed to hit top form while the probe was ongoing.

"I guess if you are not a Jannik fan, you may not see too much difference in what he has been doing the last few months because he has still been playing quite well," Cahill told ESPN.

"But if you are a Jannik fan, you would have seen a big change in his body language, his physicality on the court, his excitement to be on the court.

"He's struggled and I think it's worn him down physically and mentally. He got tonsillitis, which is the reason why he missed the Olympics."

Some have been critical of the decision to clear Sinner of any wrongdoing, with 2022 Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios particularly vocal in his reaction.

Kyrgios wrote on X it was "ridiculous" that Sinner had escaped a ban, saying the Italian deserved to be hit with a two-year suspension.

Former Wimbledon semi-finalist Denis Shapovalov also suggested the decision was at odds with other players receiving bans over similar incidents.

Cahill, however, is of the belief Sinner would never intentionally take a banned substance, adding: "I just want to stress that he's maybe the most professional young man that I have ever had the chance to work with. 

"He would never ever intentionally do anything, and he's in a situation that is incredibly unfortunate."

Chris Woakes led the way as England took control on day one of their first Test against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford.

The tourists showed some fight as the day drew to a close before being bowled out for 236, but England's turn with the bat was cut short due to bad light.

Sri Lanka got off to the worst possible start as England ripped through them 6-3 in the first seven overs, with Woakes (3-32) getting a double-wicket maiden, dismissing Nishan Madushka and Angelo Mathews.

Shoaib Bashir (3-56) kept up the pace after lunch, as Sri Lanka slumped to 113-7, but they soon found their footing.

Captain Dhananjaya de Silva dug deep, racing to 74 off 84 balls, while Milan Rathnayake added 72 before Bashir dismissed them both. Stand-in captain Ollie Pope then ran out Vishwa Fernando to end Sri Lanka's innings.

With the light already poor, Sri Lanka were forced to open the bowling with spin - Ben Duckett and Dan Lawrence moved to 22-0 before the umpires intervened, leaving 12 overs unbowled. 

Data Debrief: Pope makes strong start

Pope is the 82nd man to captain England in Test cricket, and the 12th this century. Despite losing the coin toss, he could not have asked for a better start after taking over from the injured Ben Stokes.

For Sri Lanka, Rathnayake impressed on his debut after helping to drag Sri Lanka towards the 200 mark - his tally of 72 is the highest score ever made by a number nine on Test debut. 

Sven-Goran Eriksson has delivered an emotional farewell message following his terminal cancer diagnosis, telling fans: "Take care of your life, and live it."

Former England manager Eriksson was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer earlier this year, saying in January he had "at best, a year left to live".

Eriksson, who won league titles in charge of Benfica and Lazio as well as leading Roma and Sampdoria to Coppa Italia triumphs, has since been the subject of an Amazon Prime documentary.

In a preview of the documentary, Eriksson delivered a poignant message to fans, saying: "I had a good life.

"I think we are all scared of the day when we die, but life is about death as well. You have to learn to accept it for what it is. 

"Hopefully, at the end, people will say, 'yeah, he was a good man', but not everyone will say that.

"I hope you will remember me as a positive guy, trying to do everything he could do. 

"Don't be sorry, smile. Thank you for everything, coaches, players, the crowds. It's been fantastic. Take care of yourself and take care of your life, and live it."

Eriksson became the first foreign manager to lead England when he took charge in 2001, overseeing runs to the quarter-finals at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, also reaching the same stage of Euro 2004.

In March, Eriksson coached a Liverpool legends team to a 4-2 victory over a side made up of former Ajax players in a charity match at Anfield, having revealed it was his lifelong dream to manage the Reds.

Having received a standing ovation from a capacity crowd, Eriksson described the occasion as "absolutely beautiful", adding: "That will be a huge memory in my life."

He was also invited to attend Lazio's final game of the 2023-24 season at the Stadio Olimpico, receiving a rapturous ovation from supporters of the team he led between 1997 and 2001.

Julen Lopetegui is eyeing improvements from West Ham as they target their first win of the season against Crystal Palace on Saturday.

The Spaniard's first game in charge ended in disappointment, as the Hammers conceded a late goal in a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa last weekend.

Though West Ham have brought in a whole host of new signings, few featured at the London Stadium, but Lopetegui could choose to ring in the changes in an attempt to get their first points on the board under his charge.

"The Premier League is the most demanding competition around the world, so the little details are key," he said.

"It's true that we lost against one of the best teams in the Premier League in the last season.

"We have to keep the good things that we showed, and we did, and we have to improve the bad things to be more competitive."

Meanwhile, Palace also lost their opening game, going down 2-1 to Brentford after they had an early Eberechi Eze goal chalked out when the referee blew his whistle before the ball crossed the line.

Oliver Glasner has seen the Eagles go from strength to strength under his leadership, with only Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea earning more points than them since he took over in February.

The German was left frustrated by the manner of their defeat to the Bees and admitted there is still work for Palace to do to get back to the level they showed last season.

"We feel disappointed of losing the season opener," he told the BBC.

"It feels like we shouldn't lose the game. There were many situations where we did okay but know we can do better.

"In decisive situations, we were not on our top level."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Crystal Palace – Eberechi Eze

Eberechi Eze had more shots on matchday one than any other Premier League player (seven). It is the third time he has had 7+ shots in a Premier League game without scoring, the most of any Crystal Palace player on record (since 2004-05).

West Ham – Tomas Soucek

Despite losing to Aston Villa, West Ham had the second-highest expected goals total of any Premier League side on the opening weekend (2.5 behind Liverpool's 2.7).

Tomas Soucek was responsible for 1.1 of those with his five shots, though he failed to hit the target with any of them.

MATCH PREDICTION: CRYSTAL PALACE WIN

Palace have won their last two Premier League home games against West Ham, having won just one of their previous eight against them at Selhurst Park (drew two, lost five).

In fact, Palace's recent home form is impressive after they won their final four Premier League games of 2023-24 at Selhurst Park by an aggregate score of 16-2. The Eagles have not won five consecutive such games since October 2001 (a run of six), while they have never done so in the top-flight.

However, Palace have won just five of their last 25 Premier League games in August (drawn seven, lost 13). Indeed, in all months they have played at least 10 games in the competition, they have fewer wins (11) and their lowest win rate (21%) in August.

Meanwhile, West Ham lost 2-1 against Aston Villa in their opening Premier League match this season – no side has lost both of their opening two games in a single campaign more often than the Hammers (eight, level with Southampton).

The Hammers lost their last three Premier League games against fellow London sides in 2023-24, with the last two seeing them lose 5-2 at Crystal Palace and 5-0 at Chelsea. No team in English Football League history has ever conceded 5+ goals in three consecutive London derby matches before.

The last four Premier League meetings between Palace and West Ham at Selhurst Park have produced a total of 24 goals, an average of six per game (13 for Palace, 11 for West Ham). Both teams have scored at least twice in each of these four matches.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Crystal Palace – 43.6%

Draw – 25.4%

West Ham – 31%

David Neres has completed a permanent move from Benfica to Napoli, the Serie A club confirmed on Wednesday. 

Neres, who scored 17 times across a two-year spell with the Portuguese side, has signed for a reported £23.8m fee with add-ons potentially increasing that to £25.5m.

The Brazilian registered 15 goal involvements (five goals and 10 assists) for Benfica last year as they finished second in the Primeira Liga and won the Portuguese Super Cup. 

He created 31 chances in the league last season, while also completing 34 dribbles, a total only bettered by Joao Neves (41), Rafa (51) and Angel Di Maria (55). 

Neres has been brought in to provide creativity and goals from the wide positions alongside Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, with Napoli netting 55 times in Serie A last season, 34 less than champions Inter. 

The 27-year-old becomes Gli Azzurri's third signing of the transfer window following the arrivals of Alessandro Buongiorno and Rafa Marin, with it expected they will complete a deal for Chelsea's Romelu Lukaku in the coming days.

After failing to defend their Serie A crown last season, Napoli welcome Bologna to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona this Sunday in their opening league game. 

Enzo Maresca has confirmed both Raheem Sterling and Ben Chilwell are not training with the Chelsea first-team amid reports linking them with a move away. 

Sterling and Chilwell, who have 187 Blues appearances between them, were not in the Chelsea squad for their opening day defeat to Manchester City on Sunday. 

The pair are among a group of 15 players that are training away from the first team as the club seeks to resolve their futures before the transfer window shuts. 

Maresca's side face Swiss side Servette on Thursday in a Europa Conference League play-off tie, and revealed the situation to reporters on Wednesday. 

"In this moment, they are training apart," Maresca told reporters ahead of Thursday's Europa Conference League play-off tie against Swiss side Servette.

"We have a big squad, for me it's impossible to give everyone minutes. So if they're looking for minutes, probably it is better to leave."

Prior to their 2-0 defeat to the Premier League champions, Maresca had informed Sterling he would not be part of his squad to face his former employers. 

Ahead of kick-off at Stamford Bridge, the 29-year-old's representatives released a statement asking for clarity on his future at the club. 

Despite Sterling's 45 completed dribbles only bettered by Cole Palmer (52) and Nicolas Jackson (54) in the Premier League, Maresca said he was not the kind of winger that he wanted for the upcoming season. 

"I'm not saying he's not a good player, but I prefer different kinds of wingers," the Italian said. 

"I spoke with Raheem before Manchester City, I said that he is going to struggle to get minutes with us.

"With (Chilwell), I said he is a lovely guy but with his position, he's going to struggle with us. It's not brutal, it's honest."

"It's not a comfortable situation. I think it is good to know that if you want to stay, you will struggle to get minutes. 

"But in a few days or weeks it can be a better situation because you move and you join a club where you will get more minutes."

Saim Ayub and Saud Shakeel bailed out Pakistan after a slow start to day one of their Test against Bangladesh.

Rain limited play to just one session at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, but Pakistan eventually made their time with the bat count as they reached 158-4 on Wednesday.

It was a poor start as Abdullah Shafique was dismissed for just two runs before Shoriful Islam (2-30) took both Shan Masood (6) and Babar Azam (0) as Pakistan fell to 16-3.

However, Ayub and Shakeel soon found their footing, adding 98 runs as a partnership before the former was finally caught for 56.

Shakeel reached 57 not out and Mohammad Rizwan reached 24 not out as Pakistan dragged themselves into a much stronger position before bad light brought play to a close for the day. 

Data Debrief: Slow and steady

Since making his debut in October 2016, Azam has been dismissed for a duck eight times in men's Tests; only Azhar Ali (11) among Pakistani batters has been dismissed more often for a duck during the same period.

However, Shakeel's introduction soon turned the tide, and he became their joint-quickest batter to reach 1000 Test runs, getting there in his 20th innings and matching Saeed Ahmed's record from 1959. 

Manuel Neuer has confirmed his retirement from international football with Germany following a 15-year career with Die Mannschaft. 

Neuer, who made 124 appearances for his country, follows Toni Kroos, Thomas Muller and Ilkay Gundogan in hanging up their boots on the international stage. 

The Bayern Munich captain played 39 times across eight major tournaments, with his final outing for his country coming in a 2-1 defeat to eventual winners Spain in the quarter-finals of Euro 2024. 

Neuer was also part of Joachim Low's World Cup winning squad in 2014, keeping four clean sheets and scooping the tournament's Golden Glove award. 

Across his 124 appearances, Neuer managed 51 shutouts and conceded 118 times, playing 11,100 minutes for his nation and winning 81 of those matches. 

Neuer finishes his international career as Germany's fifth-highest appearance maker, with only Lukas Podolski (130), Muller (131), Miroslav Klose (137) and Lothar Matthaus (150) managing more caps for their country. 

"Looking back today, I am filled with pride and gratitude! Not least because we met on 13th July 2014, we were able to fulfil our big dream and together became world champions in Brazil," Neuer wrote.

"For a total of 7 years and 61 games, I was allowed - up to my injury - to lead the German national team as captain on the field. An honour that I appreciate every time.

"This year's home European Championship was another highlight, even if it unfortunately wasn't enough for the title. Because, in every second, I felt a very special euphoria and cohesion all over the country. Let's keep that in mind!

"Many thanks to all the staff, supervisors, coaches and also fellow players who have supported me since my debut in the national team on 02. Joined June 2009!

"And I especially want to thank you, dear fans, for supporting me all these years! I loved wearing the national team jersey."

His retirement clears the way for long-time back-up Marc Andre ter Stegen of Barcelona, who is expected to take over from the Bayern captain as Germany's number one.