Dani Alves is ready to begin "the most important challenge" of his career when he makes his second debut for Barcelona in Tuesday's exhibition match with Boca Juniors.
The 38-year-old re-joined the club on a free transfer last month following his departure from Sao Paulo in September over a contractual dispute.
Alves, who played 391 times for Barca in his first trophy-laden spell at Camp Nou, cannot be officially registered for the Catalan giants until the January transfer window opens.
However, the Brazil international is in line to represent Blaugrana on Tuesday when they face Argentine giants Boca Juniors in the Maradona Cup in Riyadh.
Speaking at a pre-match news conference on the eve of the friendly, Alves said: "I'm feeling nervous after not being able to play and represent the club for so long.
"The most important challenge of my career has come, because of how the situation happened and the position the club is in.
"But challenges are for those who do not fear them. We will all do our best for this club and for this badge."
Alves won 23 trophies in eight seasons with Barca before departing in 2016 for spells with Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and Sao Paulo, where he spent two years.
The club the veteran full-back has returned to five years on is a long way off competing for major honours.
Barca exited the Champions League at the group stage last week and are eighth in LaLiga after 16 matches, but Alves is hopeful he can help the Catalans return to the top.
"We're used to seeing Barcelona at the top but we know there's a problem," he said. "We cannot hide from it, but instead look for a solution as soon as possible.
"When I arrived the first time a transformation had to be made. The situation is different but it's done and we will write a new chapter to get Barca where they are used to.
"We have to recover the winning feeling because we live for winning. We have to change the streak. In football, there are good and bad streaks, though this is lasting a bit longer."
Barca have named a 28-man group for the meeting against Boca, with Alves joined by the likes of Gerard Pique, Ousmane Dembele, Philippe Coutinho and other first-team stars.
The timing of the game, with league matches against Elche and Sevilla to come over the next eight days, has raised questions.
But while Xavi accepts the distance travelled is not ideal, he believes it is important to respect Maradona, who died from a heart attack aged 60 last November.
"These are club circumstances and is something that was previously agreed," he told reporters in Saudi Arabia. "For us it's an honour to be here representing Barcelona.
"We are paying homage to one of the best players in history. It's an honour and a privilege and it will be an emotional occasion."
Hinting at changes to the side that started the 2-2 draw with Osasuna on Sunday, Xavi added: "It will be a test for the players that don't usually play and a chance to see players that haven't played so much. We want to be at our best."
The Chicago Bulls' next two NBA games have been postponed due to a coronavirus outbreak.
It was announced by the Bulls on Monday that 10 of their players and additional members of staff are in the league's health and safety protocols.
The NBA confirmed Chicago will not face the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday or the Toronto Raptors two days later.
Ayo Dosunmu and Stanley Johnson took the list of Bulls players unavailable due to entering the protocols to seven for a 118-9 defeat to the Miami Heat on Saturday.
The games against the Pistons and the Raptors will be rearranged.
Katherine Wynter was delighted to be national women’s badminton champion once again after she defeated Breanna Bisnott in the final of the All Jamaica National Badminton Championships that concluded at GC Foster in Spanish Town, St Catherine on Sunday.
Ex-Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has accused Mercedes of looking like bad losers in the aftermath of the controversial ending to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that saw Lewis Hamilton pipped to the title by Max Verstappen.
An immense battle for the drivers' championship concluded in the most dramatic of circumstances on Sunday with Verstappen passing Hamilton on the final lap after the safety car had been deployed.
With the two neck-and-neck heading into the season finale, it looked as though Hamilton would retain his title having built up a healthy advantage over his rival.
However, there was a late twist when the Williams of Nicholas Latifi crashed into the barriers four laps from the end, with Verstappen pitting for fresh tyres as the wreckage was cleared in order to try to get a shot at Hamilton.
Such an opportunity presented itself when race director Michael Masi controversially ruled lapped cars could overtake the safety car before it headed in to leave one last lap of racing between the contenders.
It was Verstappen who proved triumphant, with Mercedes left furious with Masi, who told Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff: "We went car racing."
Amid Red Bull's celebrations, Mercedes lodged two complaints, claiming Verstappen had overtaken Hamilton before the safety car had pitted and opposing Masi's decision to allow the lapped cars to pass.
Ruling body the FIA dismissed both challenges, but Mercedes could yet appeal against the second of those.
Ecclestone said Mercedes ought to let the issue rest.
Speaking to Stats Perform, he said: "It's always been the same. The funny thing is the winners laugh and the losers have to make their own arrangements, and that's how it is.
"It's no good being a bad loser. I'm sorry to say, the problem at the moment is Mercedes look a little bit like that, which is not what they are like and they shouldn't even make it look as if they are bad losers.
"In the end what happened, if you really want to analyse it properly, you can say the world championship came down to one lap. It was the last lap of the race where two guys were on the track with nobody there. In fact, Lewis was a little bit lucky as he started that lap before Max, but in the mean, they were there racing each other, and Max came out in front.
"Nobody should really, really complain. I don't know whether people did complain at the beginning where Lewis got a little bit of an advantage when he went past Max not on the track, and Max was actually on the track. I thought there was going to be some sort of a reprimand about that.
"Nothing happened, which is okay. They should get rid of all the silly regulations in Formula One. 'Don't go over the white line, don't do this and don't do that', and when the lights go off, the guys are racing on their own, and they're racing."
Ecclestone added that he had no issue with the decision made by Masi.
"A couple of times this year I've thought that the race director was a bit stupid with one or two things he did, when he had plenty of time to think," he said.
"But in this case, I would have no complaints at all because he was there with a few seconds to make up his mind what to do and it took four hours of Mercedes' team with a lawyer to decide who was right and who was wrong.
"It's difficult to say that the race director should take four hours to do the same thing. Even then, they haven't come back with the right decision, according to the stewards, so we'll have to wait and see.
"You need a race director and you need one person to be in charge, and if the person isn't doing a good job over a period of six months or whatever, then get rid of him.
"But that's not the case in his case. He hasn't done a bad job throughout the year. He's made one or two which look like mistakes, but probably if you closely analyse them they probably wouldn't have been mistakes anyway."
Bayern Munich head coach Julian Nagelsmann is hopeful Joshua Kimmich's declaration that he is ready to take a COVID-19 vaccine will draw a line under the matter.
Kimmich made headlines in October when he explained he was not willing to receive his first dose due to what he perceived as a lack of research into possible long-term effects.
The 26-year-old has not featured for Bayern since November 6 after twice being forced to isolate due to being a close contact of someone who tested positive for coronavirus.
He was then infected with COVID-19 himself and was last week ruled out until 2022 due to an issue with his lungs.
Kimmich confirmed in an interview with ZDF on Sunday that he is now in a position where he feels ready to get vaccinated.
Nagelsmann, who was himself struck down by the illness, is pleased with Kimmich's announcement but insisted he did not sway the midfielder's decision.
"I think it's good that he faced the media. A lot has been reported about him in the last few weeks," Nagelsmann said on Monday.
"I gave him my opinion, but in the end his conviction was a result of talks with other people at the club. I rather try to work on the pitch."
Nagelsmann, who has been regularly questioned on the topic over the past two months, added: "I think it's funny I'm still being asked!
"When the year 2021 comes to an end, I hope that we will be able to deal with the pandemic subject more briefly because we can master the situation."
Bayern will be without Kimmich for their final two Bundesliga games of the year, while Jamal Musiala is also doubtful to face Stuttgart on Tuesday and Wolfsburg next weekend.
Musiala has scored in Bayern's last two games, including the decisive strike to see off Mainz 2-1 on Saturday, but a broken hand could keep him out of action until 2022.
"That depends on the pain," Nagelsmann said ahead of the trip to Stuttgart. "He has a splint and could theoretically play, but it's a pain issue.
"We'll see how he moves today. We'll have to wait a few days and take another X-ray to see how to proceed with the treatment, whether it will be surgical or conservative."
Nagelsmann confirmed Leon Goretzka and Corentin Tolisso are also fitness doubts for Tuesday, but Marcel Sabitzer has returned to training and may be part of the squad.
Bayern have won 66 of their 104 Bundesliga matches against Stuttgart – no other team in Bundesliga history has won so often against a single opponent.
The Bavarian giants have won 17 of their last 18 league meetings with Stuttgart, with the only exception being a 4-1 loss in May 2018.
Pellegrino Matarazzo's side have taken seven points from their last three games, however, and Nagelsmann is not anticipating an easy game in midweek.
"In terms of the table, they are not quite as good as they were last year," he said. "But it is incredibly difficult to prepare to face them.
"Their coach, who I know well, is a mathematician and that's how he approaches games. You cannot prepare for the way they will set up."
A draw for Bayern at Mercedes-Benz-Arena will ensure they sit top of the Bundesliga at the halfway point for the 15th time in the 16 seasons since the introduction of three points for a win.
The Calgary Flames' next three NHL games have been postponed amid a coronavirus outbreak in the team.
A total of six players and one staff member have entered NHL COVID-19 protocol, the league confirmed on Monday.
Forwards Elias Lindholm, Andrew Mangiapane, Brad Richardson and Adam Ruzicka, defensemen Christopher Tanev and Nikita Zadorov all entered protocol, along with a staff member.
The NHL suggested there may be further cases confirmed in the days ahead, with the team's training facilities closed until further notice.
The Flames (15-7-6) had been set to face the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday, but that game and the subsequent fixtures with the Nashville Predators and the Toronto Maple Leafs will be rescheduled.
Saturday's game at home to the Columbus Blue Jackets is still set to take place.
US Open champion Emma Raducanu will miss this week's Mubadala World Tennis Championship after testing positive for coronavirus.
The 19-year-old had been due to take on Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Belinda Bencic in the exhibition event in Abu Dhabi.
However, Raducanu announced on Monday that she will not be able to take part in the tournament as she is now self-isolating.
"I was very much looking forward to playing in front of the fans here in Abu Dhabi, but unfortunately after testing positive for Covid-19, I will have to postpone until the next opportunity," Raducanu said.
"I'm isolating as per rules and hopefully will be able to get back on court soon."
Raducanu became the first qualifier to win a grand slam title with victory at Flushing Meadows in September, but she has won just two of her five matches since then.
The British teenager, who recently appointed Torben Beltz as her new coach after parting company with Andrew Richardson, will next be in action at the Melbourne Summer Set early in the new year as preparation for the Australian Open.
Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos will come up against Real Madrid after Paris Saint-Germain were paired with Los Blancos in the Champions League round of 16, which had to undergo a re-draw.
PSG were initially drawn against Manchester United on Monday, throwing up a tantalising encounter between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
However, a technical error meant the draw had to take place again and while Messi will not meet Ronaldo just yet, the Barcelona great will go up against his former club's Clasico rivals.
Having finished second in Group A behind Manchester City, who were handed a favourable tie against Sporting CP, PSG will host Madrid in the first leg in February before visiting the Santiago Bernabeu in March.
That means Mbappe, who is a high-profile target for Madrid and could well have already signed a pre-contract agreement with Los Blancos by the time these fixtures roll around, will go up against his suitors.
It also sees Madrid legend Ramos go up against his old club, and it is the same story for Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti, who coached PSG from 2011 to 2013.
United, on the other hand, will face Atletico Madrid, who had initially been due to play Bayern Munich. The Bundesliga giants have been drawn against Salzburg.
Liverpool may well lament their luck. Salzburg had been their original opponents, but Jurgen Klopp's team now have to prepare for a tie against Serie A champions Inter - albeit they made light work of the Nerazzurri's rivals Milan in the group stage.
Coincidentally, holders Chelsea were again drawn against Lille, having been set a tie with the Ligue 1 champions during the initial draw.
Villarreal will take on Juventus and Ajax go up against Benfica.
Champions League last 16 draw in full:
Salzburg v Bayern Munich
Sporting CP v Manchester City
Benfica v Ajax
Chelsea v Lille
Atletico Madrid v Manchester United
Villarreal v Juventus
Inter v Liverpool
PSG v Real Madrid
Tottenham could face Rapid Vienna in the Europa Conference League knockout round play-off with the result of their postponed final group match with Rennes still to be decided.
Spurs' Group G finale, which was due to take place last Thursday, was postponed due to a coronavirus outbreak at the club.
They sit third in the group behind Dutch club Vitesse and it is UEFA's Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body that will decide which team progresses after the governing body ruled the match with Rennes would not be rescheduled after failing to find a pre-December 31 date that works for both sides.
Vitesse will progress to face the Austrian club if the game is ruled a Rennes win or a draw.
Meanwhile, Tottenham's Premier League rivals Leicester City, who crashed out of the Europa League, were pitted against Randers of Denmark.
Celtic suffered the same fate as the Foxes and the Glasgow giants will take on Bodo/Glimt for a place in the last 16.
They are not the only former European champions in the draw, with Ligue 1 side Marseille drawn against Qarabag and PSV set to face Maccabi Tel-Aviv.
The first legs will take place on February 17 and the return legs a week later.
Conference League knockout round play-off draw in full:
Marseille v Qarabag
PSV v Maccabi Tel-Aviv
Fenerbahce v Slavia Prague
Midtjylland v PAOK
Leicester City v Randers
Celtic v Bodo/Glimt
Sparta Prague v Partizan Belgrade
Rapid Vienna v Vitesse or Tottenham
Colorado Avalanche Jacob MacDonald was alert and responsive after being taken off the ice on a stretcher following a hit from Ryan Lomberg in their win over the Florida Panthers on Sunday.
MacDonald was sent crashing to the ice by Lomberg in the second period, prompting an immediate stoppage in play and a fight between Lomberg and MacDonald's furious team-mate Nicolas Aube-Kubel.
A statement from the Avalanche shortly after said MacDonald had full movement following the second incident in less than a week that has seen an NHL player taken off on a stretcher.
Jujhar Khaira was also carried off in the Chicago Blackhawks' loss to the New York Rangers after a hit from Jacob Trouba.
"Scary moment, but apparently he's seen our trainers and everything's good," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. "I think [the hit] might have been clean, yeah. I only got the one angle on it. They kept showing it over and over, and it looks clean from there.
"Physicality's part of the game. I don't like seeing guys go down, especially when they can't get up, but I don't think you can take it out of the game."
Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson added: "Just tough to see from probably either team. It's a fast game out there, you move upwards of 20 mph. It's physical and things move fast.
"It's an unfortunate play, super scary for Jacob. It's tough, you just never want to see that and hopefully he's OK.
"That's the stuff that makes you sick to your stomach when it happens to any team-mate or opponent.
"Unfortunately those hits are still part of our game. ... What is that now, two in a week that you've seen guys stretchered off? That's not good for our game."
UEFA has confirmed the Champions League last-16 draw will have to be re-done after a technical error with the initial procedure.
Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain were set to face each other in the knockout stage, but that headline fixture and the other ties will have to be redrawn after what UEFA labelled as a "technical problem with the software of an external service provider that instructs the officials as to which teams are eligible to play each other."
United were initially drawn to face Villarreal, but the sides were unable to play each other as they had previously featured in the same group.
After complaints from affected clubs, including Atletico Madrid, UEFA later announced the draw would take place again at 1500 CET (1400 GMT).
UEFA has confirmed the Champions League last-16 draw will have to be re-done after a technical error with the initial procedure.
Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain were set to face each other in the knockout stage, but that headline fixture and the other ties will have to be redrawn after what UEFA labelled as a "technical problem with the software of an external service provider that instructs the officials as to which teams are eligible to play each other."
United were initially drawn to face Villarreal, but the sides were unable to play each other as they had previously featured in the same group.
After complaints from affected clubs, including Atletico Madrid, UEFA later announced the draw would take place again at 1500 CET (1400 GMT).
UEFA's deputy general secretary, Giorgio Marchetti, spotted the mistake involving United's ball and ordered the tie to be drawn again. Manchester City were instead picked to go against Villarreal.
Yet United, due to the technical error, were subsequently blocked from being selected as one of the teams eligible to play the next team, which was LaLiga champions Atleti.
Bayern Munich were ultimately picked to face Atleti, while United were drawn in the glamour tie of the round against PSG – a game that would have seen Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi meet in the knockout stages of the Champions League for the first time since the 2010-11 semi-finals.
The re-draw could well benefit United, given the challenge of facing PSG. However, holders Chelsea and Liverpool were handed favourable draws against Lille and Salzburg respectively.
Inter had been due to face Ajax, while Sporting CP were up against Juventus. Real Madrid had been drawn against Benfica.
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James believes he is "getting better and better" after he set yet another NBA record.
James became the oldest player in league history, at the age of 36 years and 346 days, to register a 30-point triple-double as the Lakers beat the Orlando Magic 106-94.
According to ESPN, James overtook the late Kobe Bryant, another Lakers great, who was aged 36 years and 99 days when he accumulated 31 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists in a win over the Toronto Raptors in 2014.
James had 30 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists on Sunday. He missed a chunk of games through injury at the start of the season, but still ranks third in the Lakers' roster for points (420), behind Russell Westbrook (546) and Anthony Davis (600).
"Who me? How do I continue how I'm playing? Been doing it for 19 years," James told reporters when asked how long he can maintain his recent form.
"Just do what I've been doing. I feel like I'm getting better and better each and every day. I'm getting healthier and healthier.
"That's just my mindset. Don't get involved in how many minutes I played, how many days off.
"I don't confine to that. I think you think negative thoughts or negative energy, it just creeps into your mind. So, I'm as young as I've ever been."
James played both road games in a double-header against the Memphis Grizzlies and Oklahoma City Thunder last week, collecting 53 points, 15 rebounds and 17 assists across those appearances.
His performance on Sunday was put down to getting plenty of rest upon his return to Los Angeles, though that only came after a trip to Phoenix to see his son in action.
"I slept last night from 12 [a.m.] to 8 [a.m.], I got up, ate breakfast and went back to sleep from 8:30 [a.m.] to 12:30 [p.m.]," James explained.
"Sleep. Sleep and inspiration from my son and his team."
Westbrook, who scored 19 points and had seven rebounds against the Magic, added of James: "When he's just being aggressive, he's aggressive in making the right plays and reads, our team's different.
"Tonight was another night where he imposed his will."
The Green Bay Packers and Aaron Rodgers made light work of the Chicago Bears, yet the quarterback is concerned about an ongoing toe problem.
Rodgers threw for four touchdowns and no interceptions as the Packers came from behind to claim a 45-30 win over their rivals on Sunday.
Green Bay (10-3) are the third team in the NFL this season to hit 10 wins, while the Packers have now won six straight games against the Bears.
Rodgers extended his run to 23-5 when starting against Chicago, while he has now enjoyed seven four-touchdown, no interception games against the Bears – the most in NFL history against a single opponent.
Indeed, Rodgers is the only quarterback who also has six such games, having achieved the feat against the Minnesota Vikings. Tom Brady, with five such games against the Buffalo Bills, is the closest to matching Green Bay's talisman in that regard.
His final touchdown pass of the game took Rodgers to 61 career TDs against the Bears, taking him clear of Brett Favre (60) for the most against Chicago.
Rodgers aggravated Chicago after the clash with Green Bay in October, with a taunt of "I own you."
While team-mate Allen Lazard wore a shirt with the slogan "I still own you" to his post-game media conference, Rodgers said he does not need to reiterate the point.
"I've already said what I've said," he explained. "I don't need to double and triple down. I'll let those words stand for themselves."
However, it was not all positive for Rodgers, who conceded the toe injury he has been carrying has not improved.
The reigning NFL MVP sustained the fracture to his pinky toe during his COVID-19 quarantine earlier in the season. Despite allowing the injury time to heal over the Packers' bye week, the 38-year-old revealed he was suffering throughout Sunday's game.
"It feels worse," Rodgers told reporters.
"I don't know what kind of setback that I had tonight but we'll look at it tomorrow. Definitely took a step back tonight."
Rodgers has previously confirmed that surgery is an option, though he is hoping to avoid a procedure if possible. Further scans, set to take place on Monday, will determine the next course of action.
"That would be last resort, for sure," Rodgers added when asked about the possibility of surgery. "But I've got to see what kind of setback it was tonight."
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