Dundee United have trolled their next-door neighbours after Dundee blamed climate change for a raft of postponements.

Dundee club secretary Eric Drysdale pointed to the impact of global weather issues after their cinch Premiership encounter with Rangers was postponed on Wednesday night for a second time.

United used their official X account to take a light-hearted dig at their city rivals as they posted photographs of Jim Goodwin and his squad training on their pitch ahead of their cinch Championship encounter with Morton at a sunny Tannadice.

The caption read: “The perfect climate for #MORUTD fine-tuning”, and was followed by a sunshine emoji.

The two clubs’ grounds are about 200 yards apart.

United recently advertised for a new head groundsperson with the previous incumbent, Paul Murray, set to move to Dundee in the summer, with the Premiership club relying on contractors in recent weeks.

Dundee have had five postponements this season due to a waterlogged pitch and Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell claimed parts of the surface were unplayable after his side’s win at Dens Park on Saturday, which only went ahead after a second, late inspection.

Speaking after Wednesday’s postponement, Drysdale pointed to bad luck with home fixtures coinciding with storms.

And he added on Sky Sports News: “I can understand that people are annoyed and are looking at this as being Dundee’s fault.

“What I would say is that, from the research that we’ve done in the last few days, we note that this year’s rainfall is 35 per cent higher than the last 10 years’ average.

“That shows the effects that climate change is having on it and it appears we need to urgently do more work on the Dens Park pitch and we are absolutely up for doing that in the summer.”

Another Dundee-based team had a cheeky dig at the Premiership club, whose ground is sponsored by Scot Foam.

Writing on Facebook ahead of a cup tie at the Riverside playing fields in the city on Wednesday evening, the Tayside Fire Brigade AFC, who play in the Dundee Saturday Morning Football League, said: “Fortunately for us the game is not at the Scot Foam tonight therefore, the game goes ahead.”

Kyrie Irving declared the red-hot Dallas Mavericks are "just getting started" after Wednesday's 111-92 win over the Miami Heat saw them wrap up the Southwest Division title.

Irving had 25 points in support of Luka Doncic, who fell just short of his 22nd triple-double of the season by finishing with 29 points, nine rebounds and nine assists at Kaseya Center.

Dallas have hit 50 wins for the season with two games remaining, having won 16 times in their last 18 games, their only defeats in that span coming on the road against the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Golden State Warriors. 

After they pulled clear of the New Orleans Pelicans to become Southwest champions for the first time since 2020-21, Irving told his team-mates to celebrate, but also to stay focused on the bigger prizes.

"We just know that the job isn't finished and we're just getting started," Irving said after Wednesday's game. "But we do have to celebrate the small wins.

"Tonight was a step in that direction of celebrating a small win, just to get to 50 wins. Some guys in that locker room haven't experienced 50 wins. It's a total organizational effort, top to bottom."

The Mavs have won five in a row since last dropping a game against the Warriors, and they are now within one game of the Los Angeles Clippers for the Western Conference's fourth seed.

Head coach Jason Kidd said: "It sounds great. We've checked the box on one goal."

The Heat, meanwhile, saw their hopes of avoiding the Play-In Tournament take a blow as Jimmy Butler was held to just 12 points, Tyler Herro leading the hosts with 21.

Miami are now two games back of the Indiana Pacers, who occupy the Eastern Conference's sixth seed, and one behind the Philadelphia 76ers in seventh.

Head coach Erik Spoelstra is confident they will bounce back quickly, saying: "We have a great group. We have a very competitive locker room. We all want the same thing.

"Sometimes, this league can just really humble you, and that's what happened tonight."

Sean Dyche has called on Everton to show the same positive reaction to their second points deduction of the season as the first.

Having seen November’s 10-point penalty for breaching spending rules reduced to six on appeal, the Toffees were penalised a further two points this week, dropping them back to within two points of the Premier League relegation zone.

Everton’s best spell of the season came shortly after the initial sanction, with the Toffees’ four-match winning run including a 2-0 success against Monday’s opponents Chelsea.

Manager Dyche said: “The last time we got a knock everyone pulled together, and I think that’s important to remind yourself. The fans were terrific in a new reality. There’s another one now.

“Everyone went, ‘hang on a minute, the badge is more important than anything’, and I still feel the same. Myself, the players, the staff all pulling together, and the fans as well to make sure we look after ourselves and we look after the club.

“The restart is Chelsea. A reaction to the news is important, a positive reaction. The time for fault and blame is gone. It’s the way society works, everyone wants fault and blame for everything but we’ve got to park it.

“What’s done is done. We’ve just got to stay in line, stay connected, and take on the next challenge. The club’s had a few knocks recently, let’s all pull together and get it done.”

Everton will appeal against the latest sanction and, while Dyche does not want to dwell on what has happened, a sense of injustice remains.

A perceived lack of consistency has frustrated club and fans alike, and Dyche said: “I think it’s difficult because of the confusion.

“I don’t think it’s just Evertonians. I travel a lot and football fans generally come up to me and say, ‘What’s that all about?’ They’re confused by it, we’re a bit confused by it, I think that’s fair to say.

“But, whether we are or we’re not, there’s still a job in hand and the focus has to go back to the current situation.

“Therefore our focus is on the next round of games coming up. I spoke to the players after it, reminded the staff about it, the truth of the moment, which is to stay focused on the job in hand.”

Ongoing doubt, meanwhile, surrounds the club’s proposed takeover by 777 Partners, with a further delay reported this week.

Dyche sees no reason to panic, saying: “I’m certainly not in that world but I can only imagine buying a football club’s not an easy business. There must be so many different things to go through and so many checks that have to be done.

“It’s taking more time, that’s the way it goes. I certainly am not involved in that level of what we do here. The rest is just a wait-and-see situation.”

The points deduction made last weekend’s win over Burnley, their first in the league since December, look even more important, with goal-shy Dominic Calvert-Lewin netting his second in as many games.

There is a fitness doubt over the striker for Monday’s game after he missed training on Thursday with a hamstring issue.

But Dyche expects him to be fit, saying: “He’s just got a minor niggly hamstring, which we’re just being ultra careful with. But he thinks he’s on top of it and the medical team are as well.”

Sir Gino preserved his flawless record with a neat victory in the Boodles Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle at Aintree.

Nicky Henderson’s gelding missed the Cheltenham Festival as the stable was under a cloud and looked to claim his first Grade One in Liverpool instead.

Under Nico de Boinville, he did so with little fuss, winning comfortably as the 11-10 favourite after a good jump at the last.

Nikola Jokic said he is not the only player deserving of MVP honours after strengthening his case by putting up 41 points in the Denver Nuggets' crucial victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.  

Jokic is favoured to see off competition from Luka Doncic and be crowned MVP for the third time in four seasons, and he did his hopes no harm in what was arguably the game of the year to date.

The Timberwolves entered the game top of the West due to holding the tiebreaker over the Nuggets, but the reigning NBA champions leapfrogged them with a crucial 116-107 win at Ball Arena.

Jokic added 11 rebounds and seven assists in the 20th 40-point game of his career, shooting 16-of-20 from the field as a big second half carried the Nuggets home in front of a capacity crowd.

Asked what the performance meant for his hopes of landing the league's top individual prize, Jokic said: "I think I'm playing good basketball. The team is playing good basketball,

"I think there is a lot of guys playing really good basketball in the league and a couple of guys deserve to have that award."

The 2021 and 2022 MVP instead preferred to focus on the role of Denver's closers Peyton Watson and Christian Braun, saying: "They were great. 

"P-Wat, it seemed like he was all over the place. He was just full of energy. C.B., with that sequence of two minutes, it was really amazing. 

"I was happy for those guys. They don't get enough credit for what they are doing on the floor, and they're helping us energy-wise, effort-wise. We need them."

Jokic's huge performance came despite him being guarded by the league's top defender in Rudy Gobert, leading Denver coach Michael Malone to describe the Serbian as unstoppable.

"Nikola always embraces the physicality. He never shies away from it," Malone said. "Rudy Gobert is going to be a Hall of Fame player one day. 

"Rudy Gobert is going to be regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation. It just speaks to how great Nikola is. I don't think anybody in the NBA can guard Nikola one-on-one."

Minnesota now need the Nuggets to slip up in one of their final two games, at the San Antonio Spurs and the Memphis Grizzlies, to allow them back into the race for the top seed. 

Guard Anthony Edwards, who put up a team-high 25 points, said: "We knew what this game was going to determine.

"If we won it, we knew we were going to possibly be the number one seed. If we lost it, we knew they'd possibly be the number one seed. 

"I think we cared before but now that we lost, we can't do nothing about it."

The first EFL promotion places could be confirmed this Saturday, with Portsmouth, Stockport and Wrexham all looking for the results to rubber-stamp their elevation.

Here, the PA news agency looks at what is required in each division.

Championship

Rotherham are down and nothing else will be decided this weekend at either end of the table, though Southampton will secure a play-off place unless they lose and Coventry and Preston both win.

League One

Portsmouth will be confirmed as a Championship team for next season if they beat third-placed Bolton.

Should Pompey drop points, they can still be promoted on Saturday if they at least match the results of both second-placed Derby and fourth-placed Peterborough, who face Leyton Orient and Oxford respectively.

At the bottom, Carlisle are already relegated and the other three places will remain in contest at least until midweek, though Fleetwood could end Saturday nine points adrift of safety with only nine to play for.

League Two

Stockport need only a point against Morecambe to secure their promotion.

Wrexham could join them with victory over bottom club Forest Green, if MK Dons do not beat Mansfield in the battle of fourth against third – that would also send Stockport up even if they lose. The top three are already secure in the play-offs as a minimum and could be joined by MK Dons.

Relegation issues will not be confirmed, but Forest Green could be left six points adrift with two games remaining.

The Premier League will use semi-automated offside technology before the end of the year.

Clubs unanimously agreed to introduce the technology next season at a meeting of top-flight teams on Thursday, which sources say is expected to cut the average length of a VAR check for offside by 31 seconds.

The Premier League said the intention was to introduce the technology after one of the autumn international breaks – so as early as September or as late as November.

“The technology will provide quicker and consistent placement of the virtual offside line, based on optical player tracking, and will produce high-quality broadcast graphics to ensure an enhanced in-stadium and broadcast experience for supporters,” a league statement said.

Football’s global governing body FIFA first used semi-automated offside technology at the 2022 men’s World Cup in Qatar.

Il Etait Temps cruised to success in the Close Brothers Manifesto Novices’ Chase as the Grand National meeting got underway at Aintree.

Willie Mullins’ grey was ridden by Paul Townend and travelled patiently at the rear of the field of five.

He was always in touch, however, and was able to pick off each of his rivals to take up the lead ahead of the last fence and went on to prevail comfortably at 3-1.

Tyson Fury has emphasised facing Anthony Joshua is part of the plan for his next few fights if his fellow Briton “keeps going and keeps winning”.

Since being beaten twice by Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 and 2022, former world heavyweight champion Joshua has recorded four victories, most recently a second-round knockout win over ex-UFC fighter Francis Ngannou in Riyadh last month.

WBC title-holder Fury is currently preparing for a May 18 clash at the same venue with Usyk, who has the WBA, IBF and WBO belts, to crown the first undisputed world heavyweight champion of the century.

And on Joshua being part of the equation for what lies beyond that, Fury told the PA news agency: “Yeah, for sure – if he keeps going and keeps winning, like I’m going to keep doing.”

He added: “Either way, me and AJ could still fight at Wembley if we were 50 years old and still make a s**t ton of money. I think that’s facts for sure.”

In February, just after the meeting with Usyk had been rescheduled for May, Fury spoke about five fights he had in mind – two with Usyk, then facing Joshua “maybe twice” before a rematch against Ngannou, who he beat via split decision in October.

Fury said that was “just the start…five fights for you to whet your appetite”.

At a press conference in Morecambe on Wednesday, the talk was of 10 fights, with Turki Alalshikh, a Saudi adviser who has helped put on major boxing events, saying via a phonecall that was played out over a top-table microphone: “We want Tyson for five, seven, 10 fights more.”

And Fury told PA: “Ten-fight plan. Ten fights for over a billion dollars – doesn’t sound bad does it?”

Fury, who said he felt Joshua “did really well” against Ngannou, was knocked down by the mixed martial artist in the third round when they fought in October last year.

Regarding that contest, he said: “Just a fight. I had a good training camp, had a good night.

“I go to a place, do my job, get paid, get out of there, come home and that’s how it’s always been, and I’ve been successful at doing that all my career.”

The clash between Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs) and fellow unbeaten fighter Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs) had originally been scheduled for February 17, but was postponed 15 days prior to that after the former suffered a cut above his right eye in sparring.

Fury at Wednesday’s press conference described himself as being in “fantastic shape” and expressed his confidence he will defeat Usyk, the former undisputed cruiserweight champion who made his heavyweight debut in 2019, stressing that “size really matters”.

The 35-year-old added that it was “my time, my destiny, my era and my generation”.

And when asked if the fight was an opportunity to prove a point to people, he told PA: “I don’t really have to prove much to anybody to be honest. My bank balance alone proves I’m a success, and all the titles I’ve won along the way.

“I’m not really proving anybody wrong or right any more, I’m just doing it for the fun and love of the game really.

“I could have retired maybe 10 years ago and lived a very nice life. However, I do it because, let’s face facts, I don’t really have much else to do other than taking the kids to school, emptying the bins and picking up dog s**t.

“But other than that, boxing is my love. I’ll continue to do it until I can’t do any more.”

Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter wants his team to take the experience of winning in France into their tough Champions Cup meeting with Toulouse on Sunday.

The Chiefs fought back to beat Bath 21-15 last week to book their spot in the quarter-finals but now have the challenge of facing five-time champions Toulouse at the Stade Ernest-Wallon.

Exeter are underdogs heading into the clash but are familiar with the feeling of winning in France, having kicked off their Champions Cup campaign with a thrilling 19-18 victory over Toulon in December.

Baxter knows the size of the task ahead of his team but thinks the result earlier in the season has instilled the belief to do something similar this weekend.

Speaking at a press conference, Baxter said: “The Toulon game was something that created an element of belief of ‘we are doing the right things and heading in the right direction’ amongst the players and you need that.

“I think it gives the players an element of belief that we can do it, go over there and play the big sides, but I also think it gives them a level of looking forward to it because, without doubt when you go and experience the atmosphere, the noise level at the end of the game was incredible for anyone who was there.

“That’s created the excitement and nervous anticipation around the squad this week in training which is exactly what you want to be.”

Exeter responded well to beat Bath on Saturday after they were thrashed 41-5 at the hands of Sale the week before.

Baxter revealed the players had clear-the-air discussions prior to their win last week, but the Chiefs boss now wants his side to back up the result with another good performance.

He added: “As a team the lads have got to do the hardest thing to do in sport and get to a really competitive level for two weeks running.

“At the same time that’s how you win trophies, winning trophies or big games is when you put back-to-back big performances in semi-final to final or last-16 to quarter-final, that’s how things have to happen if you want to win.”

France’s key man Antoine Dupont will be in action for Toulouse and will undoubtedly be highlighted as a key threat for Baxter’s men to deal with.

Baxter said: “If you know the opposition nine is a particular threat in the team, the focus isn’t necessarily on the nine it’s the things that allow him to be a threat.

“Dealing with Dupont will be very difficult if we don’t deal with the other platforms but that goes for any decent player.

“If we can challenge them in that way, that’s how you potentially limit his opportunities. You can create an environment which is harder for him to show it, that’s how we have to approach the game.”

The start of the 88th Masters was delayed by two and a half hours on Thursday due to bad weather at Augusta National.

South Africa’s Erik van Rooyen had been due to hit the opening tee shot at 8am local time (1300BST) but rain was already falling when tournament officials announced at 5am that play would not get under way on time.

Play was initially delayed by at least an hour and, although most of the worst thunderstorms looked to have skirted the area, it was subsequently announced that play would start at 1030 local time (1530GMT).

Honorary starters Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson were scheduled to kick off proceedings by each hitting a tee shot on the first hole 20 minutes earlier.

The delay meant the first round would not be completed on schedule, with the last group of Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa and Tommy Fleetwood not teeing off until 1630 local time.

Fleetwood, who had been drawn in the final group in round one for the second successive year, had taken on weather monitoring duties in the absence of long-time caddie Ian Finnis, who is recovering from illness back in England.

“I generally wake up and take the weather for what it is, just go out and play with the conditions we get, but I’ve heard the forecast is pretty bad,” Fleetwood said.

“The conditions are going to play a part in how the golf course plays and what happens there, so we’ll see.”

Pre-tournament favourite Scottie Scheffler will partner Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele in the first two rounds, with the star trio now due to tee off at 1312 local time (1812BST).

Defending champion Jon Rahm gets his attempt to join Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Nick Faldo in winning back-to-back Masters titles under way in the preceding group alongside Matt Fitzpatrick and Nick Dunlap.

Burnley boss Vincent Kompany has been handed a two-match touchline suspension after his red card against Chelsea at the back end of last month.

Kompany was sent off from the dugout during the Clarets’ 2-2 draw at Chelsea on March 30 for his protests against a penalty decision which also led to defender Lorenz Assignon seeing red.

The Football Association confirmed in a statement Kompany must serve a one-game ban straight away with the other suspended until the end of the year, while the Belgian was also handed a £10,000 fine.

“Burnley FC’s Vincent Kompany has been fined £10,000 and suspended from the touchline for two matches following misconduct at their Premier League game against Chelsea FC on Saturday 30 March,” the FA statement said.

“One match is to be served immediately and one match suspended until 31 December 2024. The manager admitted that his language and/or behaviour in the 40th minute of the fixture was improper and/or abusive and/or insulting towards a match official and/or questioned the integrity of a match official.

“An independent regulatory commission imposed his sanctions following a subsequent hearing.”

Relegation-threatened Burnley, who sit second bottom in the Premier League and six points adrift of safety, welcome Brighton to Turf Moor on Saturday, when Kompany will be in the stands.

Kompany, who had 11 seasons as a player for Manchester City, revealed he spoke to referee Darren England after his dismissal at Stamford Bridge to apologise for his choice of words at the time.

But Kompany insisted last week that the standards of refereeing in the top-flight have dropped in this campaign.

“I’m not shying away from it and I’ve said it to the referees themselves, the officials, refereeing hasn’t been good enough this season,” he said.

“I think the addition of VAR and more opinions and more officials doesn’t make it easy for them to do their jobs.

“You make a mistake and we all have a laugh about it and usually the traditional view is that it all evens itself out over the course of a season.

“This year, I haven’t felt like this. Where we are in the league doesn’t really matter for me, it’s not in that conversation.”

Meanwhile Wolves boss Gary O’Neil is facing an FA charge over his behaviour after the match against West Ham on Saturday.

An FA statement said O’Neil’s ‘language and/or behaviour in and around the match officials’ changing rooms was improper and/or threatening.” He has until Monday (April 15) to respond to the charge.

Jack Tudor is keen to repay Christian Williams’ faith after the well-fancied Kitty’s Light snuck into the final line-up for the 2024 Randox Grand National.

Bidding to be the first Welsh-trained winner of the race since 1905, connections faced an anxious wait after Kitty’s Light was one of a trio of National candidates sweating after Monday’s confirmation stage.

Eklat De Rire, Chambard and Kitty’s Light were among a plethora of runners allotted a rating of 146 for the big race but with that trio seeing their official handicap mark dropped to a figure of 145 since the weights were unveiled in February, a random ballot would have been required to determine which two of the three would take their chance in the world’s most famous steeplechase.

However, the Melling Chase-bound Conflated came out of the race as expected on Thursday, meaning no ballot is required and all three will face the starter on Saturday afternoon.

“You hear rumours and different things and we were quite confident, but in the end it ended up being tighter than we thought it might have been,” said Tudor.

“In the end, we’re in and we’re really looking forward to it now and excited for Saturday.”

Kitty’s Light has been a star performer in Tudor’s short career in the saddle, with the 21-year-old aboard the gelding when he won the Eider, Scottish Grand National and Sandown’s season-ending bet365 Gold Cup in succession last year.

Despite being installed as David Pipe’s Pond House number one following the retirement of Tom Scudamore, Tudor has continued to link up with Williams when arrangements allow, with it somewhat fitting the Ogmore-By-Sea handler provides him with the chance to dream of Grand National glory.

“I suppose in racing you get the odd freak and Kitty’s Light is one of them. He’s not really bred to be doing what he’s doing but he’s just a freak,” continued Tudor.

“It’s a great race to be involved in and I can’t thank Christian enough for his support and what he has done for me and putting me in the position where I’m able to ride horses like Kitty’s Light in the biggest races.

“A lot of where I have got to is down to Christian and it’s great to be riding in the race for him.

“First and foremost, we hope the horse gets round safe but if he could run a massive race, then it will be a brilliant day. All of Christian’s family will be there to enjoy it on Saturday and hopefully a dream can come true.”

Conflated was the only absentee from the previous top 34 in the race, meaning 2022 winner Noble Yeats will carry top weight in Saturday’s race, with Gary Moore’s Welsh Grand National winner Nassalam next in, as he provides a first ride in the race for leading conditional Caoilin Quinn.

Defending champion Corach Rambler heads the betting as Lucinda Russell and jockey Derek Fox both seek a third win in the Aintree showpiece and the Cheltenham Gold Cup third bids to join the likes of Red Rum and Tiger Roll as a back-to-back Grand National winner.

Last year’s runner-up Vanillier is one of two in the race for Gavin Cromwell, who will also saddle Cheltenham Festival scorer Limerick Lace, the chosen mount of JP McManus’ retained rider Mark Walsh.

The Irish challenge is boosted by Willie Mullins’ eight contenders, with McManus-owned pair I Am Maximus and Meetingofthewaters both high up in the betting and bringing strong form claims.

Capodanno is another Closutton contender wearing green and gold, with Mr Incredible also among the market leaders for the perennial Irish champion trainer.

Panda Boy has the chance to give Martin Brassil a second victory in the race, while John McConnell will saddle his first National contender in Coral Gold Cup second Mahler Mission.

Delta Work – third in 2022 – is the leading name amongst Gordon Elliott’s eight runners, with Henry de Bromhead’s Gold Cup winner Minella Indo set to be Rachael Blackmore’s mount.

As well as the previously mentioned Eklat De Rire, De Bromhead will also be represented by Ain’t That A Shame, the mount of amateur David Maxwell.

Former French champion jockey James Reveley will return to the Aintree fold aboard James Griffin’s Roi Mage, who was seventh in the race 12 months ago.

Dan Skelton’s game mare Galia Des Liteaux forms part of the small British challenge and is one of those towards the bottom of the weights with strong form on testing ground to her name.

Skelton also oversaw the preparations of Latenightpass on behalf of good friend Tom Ellis this season, with the 11-year-old set to be Ellis’ first runner as a licensed trainer after hastily joining the professional ranks for the chance to saddle his Aintree specialist.

Eldorado Allen (Joe Tizzard) and Mac Tottie (Peter Bowen) are the other British-trained contenders.