Blackpool moved to within a point of the League One play-offs with a 1-0 victory at Northampton on Tuesday.

Matt Pennington’s scrappy second-half strike was the difference as the Seasiders closed the gap on the teams above them.

The Cobblers were first to threaten at Sixfields when Kieron Bowie set his sights from the edge of the box but his shot was straight down the throat of Dan Grimshaw.

Chances were at a premium in the first half but Blackpool thought they had opened the scoring through Marvin Ekpiteta, whose effort hit the underside of the crossbar and seemingly bounced over the line only for the officials not to award a goal.

Pennington headed another chance over for the visitors but it was not until the second half when the game opened up.

After Jordan Rhodes shot into the side-netting, Blackpool made the breakthrough 10 minutes after the restart when Karamoko Dembele’s free-kick led to an almighty scramble in the box with Pennington stabbing in the loose ball.

Northampton had struggled to create anything of note all game and that continued after the goal, with the visitors comfortably seeing out victory.

Jaylen Brown is counting his lucky stars as the Boston Celtics man feels blessed with another chance at achieving "something special".

Brown posted 27 points, one more than teammate Jayson Tatum, as the Celtics overcame the Portland Trail Blazers 121-99, despite the absence of injured stars Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis.

That victory over Portland marked the Eastern Conference-leading Boston's 50th of the season for a third straight campaign.

"All the guys laugh because, around this time of year, I say the same thing – how much of an honor it is to be on this team," Brown said.

"I'm grateful to be on a team that's winning, that's been playing the right way, has another opportunity to do something special. That's a blessing."

With a mammoth 18 games remaining, the Celtics have already secured a playoff spot after becoming the first team to hit the 50-win mark this year.

Boston lost the NBA Finals to the Golden State Warriors in 2022 before Conference Finals defeat against the Miami Heat the following year, though Tatum remains buoyant.

"At this point of the season, to have 50 wins, it means we're doing something right," Tatum added. "The scary part is, we can get better."

Sam Hauser also finished with a season-high six 3-pointers and 22 points for Boston, who have won an NBA-leading 21 games on the road this season.

"We don't really look at a team's record," Hauser said. "It's the NBA, everybody has talented players.

"You can lose any given night, so we just try to take it one day at a time, once game at a time, and find things that we can get better at each and every day."

The Celtics will hope to keep up their winning run on the road when they visit the Utah Jazz on Tuesday.

World number one Scottie Scheffler believes he faces a “very tall task” to enjoy a sustained period of dominance despite seemingly finding the solution to his sole weakness.

Scheffler compiled one of the best ball-striking seasons ever seen in 2023, his adjusted scoring average of 68.63 being the seventh-lowest in PGA Tour history and the best by anyone not named Tiger Woods.

In total Scheffler was ranked first in nine different categories, including greens in regulation and strokes gained off the tee, but was ranked 162nd out of 193 players in putting.

World number two Rory McIlroy recently suggested that Scheffler should change to a mallet putter to cure his problems on the greens and the former Masters champion duly did so before strolling to a five-shot victory in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

That has given rise to speculation that Scheffler could be on his way to dominating the game for a number of years as he prepares to attempt to become the first player to successfully defend the Players Championship in its 50-year history.

“I think it would be good for the game,” Scheffler told a pre-tournament press conference at Sawgrass.

“I think anytime you have a figure that kind of dominates… like I think of the NBA, you look at Steph Curry for those years where the [Golden State] Warriors were winning a bunch, people would say they got tired of it but at the end of the day, people were still showing up and watching because he was incredible to watch, and you want to watch greatness when you’re out there.

“So I think it would be good for the game of golf, and we’ll see what happens with the sport in the next few years.

“It’s a pretty challenging game and we’ve got a lot of talent out here, so being that dominant figure I think is a very tall task to ask of anybody, but we’ve got some guys out here that I think can definitely pull it off.”

Asked to name a player, other than Woods, who had dominated the game recently, Scheffler added: “Well, you kind of put me in a little corner here by taking Tiger away.

“As far as I’m concerned and in my lifetime, Tiger’s really been the guy that’s dominated basically since 1997 up until about 2020, whenever he really got hurt. I don’t know if we’ll ever see anything like that again in the game of golf.

“As far as who else has been dominant, I think you’ve had a lot of guys that go through stretches where they are. You had Jordan [Spieth] go through his stretch, you had a year where JT [Justin Thomas] won five times, you had those years where Rory was winning majors by a bunch of shots.

“Nobody’s really been able to have the longevity that Tiger had.”

Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola's honesty has been hugely refreshing for the Premier League, so says David James.

In what is set to be the final Premier League meeting between the great managerial rivals, Liverpool and Manchester City served up a thrilling 1-1 draw at Anfield on Sunday.

For the second time in the last three seasons, Liverpool and City have drawn both of their meetings in a Premier League campaign (2021-22 and 2023-24). Four of the last six meetings between the two in the top flight have ended level, as many as in the previous 17 combined (four).

Guardiola, meanwhile, is the manager to have beaten Klopp the most in the German's career, with 10 wins. But it is the same the other way around, with Klopp having overcome Guardiola's sides on 11 occasions.

With Klopp leaving Liverpool at the end of the season, the only way he and Guardiola can go head-to-head again in English football will be if the Reds and City were to meet in the FA Cup, should they progress beyond their respective quarter-final ties, and former England goalkeeper James believes the honesty that both men have provided during their stints in the top tier has been hugely impressive.

"There's one thing about these two and I think it's their honesty," he told Stats Perform.

"Right from the get go when Pep turned up [in 2016], the way that he talked about his football. I think you can see in how his teams are playing games.

"After matches, win, lose or draw, he would tell people how he thought the performance went. I think that was refreshing because a lot of managers still avoid the hard questions when people talk about performances, whether it was good or bad.

"Pep honestly responded. I think with Jurgen, [it's] the honesty just in general. In terms of him announcing that he's going to step down as Liverpool manager. I think that the way he comes over, you just believe everything he says.

"That is not to suggest he isn't telling the truth, but that's what I love about it. I think what they've done is move the benchmark for other managers coming in.

"In regards to a rivalry, I think they love each other and hate each other at the same time. They're so good and they've kept this league so honest, it's been amazing."

Asked for his thoughts on how Liverpool go about replacing Klopp, who has been in post since 2015, James added: "Obviously with Jurgen having to be replaced for next season, it'll be interesting what type of manager Liverpool get.

"Because football-wise you can get a manager that has more influence on the pitch that Jurgen has but off the field it will be difficult to replace him."

Liverpool have been heavily linked with Xabi Alonso, though Bayern Munich are also in the hunt for the Bayer Leverkusen coach.

Luka Doncic was unable to continue his record-breaking NBA run of six straight 30-point triple-doubles but winning is the priority over individual statistics for the Dallas Mavericks star.

That was the message from Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd after Dallas cruised past the Chicago Bulls 127-92 on Monday.

Doncic had 27 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds, posting yet another triple-double but this time without scoring 30 for the first time in seven games.

"It's about winning to him," Kidd said. "Numbers, I don't know if they really mean anything to him today.

"But when he does retire, he'll look back to see the game that he was playing was at a different level than anybody else."

Doncic exited the rout midway through the fourth quarter but still boasts seven straight 20-point triple-doubles, joining Michael Jordan (1989) and Oscar Robertson (1961) for the longest such streak in NBA history.

Former Bulls center Daniel Gafford also converted all nine field goals, extending his run of consecutive shots without missing to 28, just seven shy of the NBA record.

"My philosophy for sure is just being consistent, having a mindset of just going to finish everything no matter if there's somebody in front of you or if there isn't somebody in front of you," Gafford said.

"At the end of the day, either dunking it or putting it in the rim."

Onuralp Bitim was a rare bright Chicago spark with a career-high 17 points, while DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic each scored 13, though that did not stop Dallas from winning a third straight game.

"We gave up a lot of rolls to the basket and offensive rebounds," Bulls coach Billy Donovan said.

"We've got to be more pulled in than we were. ... We kind of were too worried with getting back out to that 3-point line instead of saying, 'Hey, we're going to take away the roll.'"

Inter Milan defender Federico Dimarco is wary of Atletico Madrid’s Champions League pedigree ahead of their blockbuster last-16 second leg.

The Italian side lead 1-0 from the first leg at San Siro and are in fine form compared to their opponents.

The runaway Serie A leaders, 16 points clear at the top of the table, have won each of their 13 games in all competitions so far in 2024 while Atletico, fourth in LaLiga, go into the match with victories from only two of their last nine outings.

However, Dimarco said at the pre-match press conference: “We know Atletico’s strength, they are a strong team and we know their history in the Champions League.

“We will take to the pitch to play our game like we did in the first leg. It will be a difficult match but we had the advantage of our crowd at San Siro, they will have it here.

“We know their strength and we know that they know how to give their best at home.

“It will be difficult like all matches in the Champions League, we have the minimum advantage of 1-0 – tomorrow we must not make a mistake in our approach.”

Diego Simeone’s men have, though, been formidable at home, with February’s 1-0 loss to Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey ending an unbeaten run at the Metropolitano stretching back to January 2023 that featured only two games they did not win.

Simeone told a press conference: “Tomorrow we will face probably one of the best teams in Europe.

“But I trust in my players and my team and I know they are going to have a good game against a great opponent. It will be a match that requires very high concentration and whoever has it will win.”

Midfielder Axel Witsel added: “The first leg was bad for us but tomorrow we can put it right in our stadium. We have been playing very well at home, so it’s different.

“Inter are a very strong team in every area and it won’t be easy for us. But if we match their intensity and aggression we can do something great tomorrow.”

Steve Tandy revealed Scotland have held a “hard-hitting” review into Saturday’s damaging Guinness Six Nations defeat by Italy as they bid to summon a response away to title-chasing Ireland this weekend.

The Scots’ championship hopes went up in smoke in Rome as they squandered a 22-10 lead to lose 31-29 against an Azzurri side who, for all their perceived improvement, had not previously won a match in the tournament since 2022.

Defence coach Tandy revealed the players and coaches had a frank debrief on Monday as they attempt to iron out the issues that cost them so dearly at Stadio Olimpico.

“Obviously huge frustration and disappointment, a lot of looking at ourselves and what we did,” he said on Tuesday afternoon as he gave an insight into the mood in the Scottish camp since their collapse in the Eternal City.

“Italy are a good team, but when you look back at it, there are definitely things we could and should have done better so there’s been a lot of looking inwards.

“It was a pretty quiet place after the game and then coming in on Monday, the review was hard-hitting. The boys have reflected, they’ve looked at the footage, they’ve fed back themselves.

“We had a pretty good meeting – as much as it could be good after a loss.”

Tandy felt Scotland were uncharacteristically “soft” defensively in Italy, but he refuted the suggestion they lack the mental strength to deal with periods of adversity.

“We’ve shown moments of regathering ourselves, such as in Wales when we got that momentum back at the back end of the game to get the win,” he pointed out.

“Against England we were 10-0 down after the disappointment of the previous game against France, where everyone said we should have won the game, so getting over that to beat England shows we’ve got the mental capacity to do those things.

“But it’s always a work in progress, there’s always space to learn and grow. These losses hurt and they make us ask questions around certain things, but at the end of the day we’ve got a huge game on Saturday so we can’t dwell on it for too long.

“We’re going to lose momentum in Ireland. No team goes there and dominates. We’re going to be under pressure for a lot of the game and we’ve got to deal with that.

“In a lot of the competition we’ve dealt with it. There are moments when we haven’t dealt with it, but we’re learning all the time to try and deal with those situations more consistently.”

Scotland’s defeat in Italy effectively cost them the chance of a title decider against Ireland in Dublin, but they still have the chance to claim a Triple Crown for the first time since 1990 if they can defeat the side that dismantled them 36-14 at the World Cup in October.

“I forgot about that (the Triple Crown) after Saturday night, to be honest,” said Tandy. “But we’re playing for a trophy – I don’t know how many years it is since we have been playing for a trophy.

“That’s the beauty of sport, the fact you can be down at the lowest of lows, but now we have the potential to be at the highest of highs, which is exciting for us.

“We know we’re going to have to play really well to get what we want, but it’s a game, anything can happen.”

Fergal O’Brien said the only comfort he could take from Highland Hunter’s sad death at Cheltenham on Tuesday was that he was now with Keagan Kirkby.

Kirkby had looked after Highland Hunter during his time spent with champion trainer Paul Nicholls and become very attached to the grey chaser.

Kirkby, 25, tragically died in a point-to-point fall in February and Highland Hunter led his funeral procession through the village of Ditcheat last week.

Highland Hunter, who had recently won a valuable prize at Newbury, bowled along at the head of affairs in the Ultima Chase on the opening day of the Festival, putting in some extravagant leaps under Paddy Brennan.

He weakened quickly after jumping the third-last, however, and the 11-year-old was unable to be saved despite the swift attention of racecourse veterinary staff.

“It’s obviously a tremendously sad day for the yard, especially for Scott (Sainsbury) and Sophie (Kelly) who looked after Highland Hunter,” said O’Brien, who trains locally to the Prestbury Park track.

“I suppose the only comfort we can take is that he is with Keagan now. It’s a very sad day.”

Martin Brassil’s Ose Partir also died due to injuries sustained in a fall in the Boodles Juvenile Hurdle.

A spokesperson for the course said: “Highland Hunter was immediately attended by expert veterinary professionals in the concluding stages of our third race but sadly passed away.

“In the sixth race, Ose Partir sustained an injury and was humanely put to sleep. Our heartfelt condolences are with the connections of both horses.”

Bookmakers were left reeling on the ropes following a Willie Mullins blitz on day one of the Cheltenham Festival – and they fear the Irish maestro will go on to deliver a knockout blow.

Gaelic Warrior got the ball rolling for Mullins and Paul Townend when a well-backed 2-1 winner of the My Pension Expert Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices’ Chase.

The pair then teamed up again for Unibet Champion Hurdle glory with State Man and a Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle success with Lossiemouth, both rated odds-on bankers by many punters.

“It didn’t take Willie Mullins long to get on the scoresheet at this year’s Cheltenham Festival, his Gaelic Warrior was by far the best-backed Arkle contender and his many supporters had few concerns throughout the race as the 2-1 favourite strolled home in glorious isolation,” said Coral’s David Stevens.

“Odds-on shots State Man and Lossiemouth were in many Mullins-based multiples, and neither let their backers down, meaning we head into day two already knowing victories for their stablemates Ballyburn, Fact To File and El Fabiolo will make it another costly day for the layers.”

Lawrence Lyons, spokesperson for BoyleSports, said: “Results on Tuesday didn’t go our way and Willie Mullins will be the toast of punters up and down the land. The punters certainly have the advantage heading into day two and we can only hope a few unfancied outsiders bail us out later in the week.”

There was little relief for the layers in the other races, with no outsiders popping up at big prices to save the day.

The Rachael Blackmore-ridden Slade Steel was popular with punters at 7-2 in the opening Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and even the sole British success was far from a surprise, with Kim Bailey’s Chianti Classico well supported at 6-1 in the Ultima Handicap Chase.

Joseph O’Brien’s Lark In The Mornin was the biggest-priced winner of the day at just 9-1 in the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle and Corbetts Cross rounded things off in the Maureen Mullins National Hunt Chase when romping home by a wide margin at 15-8 for Emmet Mullins.

That last result at least saved Paddy Power from a huge pay-out to a Chelmsford-based punter, who had picked out the first six winners in a £20 each-way accumulator and a £1 Super Heinz, but sided with runner-up Embassy Gardens in the finale.

The online customer did manage to cash out the accumulator for £36,000 and scooped up more than £14,000 in multiple bets on his other wager.

Paddy Power spokesperson Paul Binfield said: “It’s not been an ideal start to the week for the bookies and we’ve lost on the day.

“But it was nice to see one shrewd punter from Essex trouser £50k and we’re happy that our customers have full wallets for the rest of the action with everything to play for.”

Attentions are already turning towards next year’s Champion Hurdle, when Constitution Hill will hopefully be back in a bid to regain his crown and Lossiemouth could also be let loose against the opposite sex.

William Hill’s Lee Phelps said: “After what we’ve seen today, Lossiemouth could have the edge over State Man in next year’s Champion Hurdle. The grey mare was very impressive and is into 7-2 for next year’s renewal, with State Man available at 4-1.

“Constitution Hill is still obviously the one they’d all have to beat at 6-4, but he could have been backed at evens before we saw the performance of Lossiemouth, who don’t forget would be in receipt of 7lb in a Champion Hurdle.”

Trainer Emmet Mullins took the race named in honour of his late grandmother as Corbetts Cross was much the best in the Maureen Mullins National Hunt Challenge Cup Amateur Jockeys’ Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham.

A 15-8 chance under Derek O’Connor, the chestnut travelled well throughout and let Mr Vango and Gina Andrews make the running.

As the race wore on Corbetts Cross advanced, and up the hill he pulled effortlessly clear of Patrick Mullins and Embassy Gardens (7-4 favourite) to secure a 17-length triumph.

Mullins – the son of renowned horse transporter George Mullins – said: “It was a great honour from the Jockey Club to name the race after granny and it’s extra special that we were able to win it.

“We were always very hopeful, I suppose he had the form in the book to be second in the Arkle today and he was able to show the same turn of foot over this longer trip. Derek got him into a great rhythm and he showed his true colours today, I think.

“The trip was probably a little worry with ground being so heavy, even though he has plenty form on heavy ground. I think having Derek on board was the main reason we decided to run in this race, to have his expertise is a big advantage.

“That race is a special test, so we’ll take it one day at a time and see how he is after it.”

O’Connor said: “It was a super performance, Emmet has done a wonderful job, he had him trained to perfection and he turned up in great shape.

“He had a very pleasing schooling session last Thursday morning in the hood. It’s not for me to say where he’ll go, but that was a very good performance.

“I have a nice book of rides for the week, but today was important to get us off to a good note.”

Derrick Henry has a new home.

The four-time Pro Bowl running back has agreed to a two-year, $16million contract with the Baltimore Ravens, multiple media outlets reported on Tuesday.

The deal includes $9million in guaranteed money and can be worth up to $20million, according to reports.

Henry, a two-time NFL rushing champion and the 2020 AP Offensive Player of the Year, now joins a Ravens team that reached the AFC conference championship game this past season behind two-time league MVP Lamar Jackson.

The 30-year-old Henry, who had spent each of his first eight pro seasons with the Tennessee Titans, is coming off somewhat of a down year by his standards with 1,167 rushing yards and an average of 4.2 yards per attempt in 2023. However, he still led the NFL with 280 carries and was tied for seventh in the league with 12 rushing touchdowns.

The bruising back led the league in rushing in 2019 with 1,540 yards and became just the eighth player in NFL history to eclipse the 2,000-yard rushing mark the following year when he ran for 2,027 yards - the fifth-highest total in a season - with a career-high 17 rushing touchdowns.

Henry’s 9,502 rushing yards and 90 rushing touchdowns are the most in the NFL since the Titans selected the 2015 Heisman Trophy winner in the second round of the 2016 draft.

Baltimore finished with the AFC's best record in 2023 despite being unsettled at running back with season-ending injuries to J.K. Dobbins and Keaton Mitchell.

Jackson has led Baltimore in rushing each of the last five seasons and the Ravens have only had one running back rush for 1,000 yards in the last 10 years.

Henry, meanwhile, has five 1,000-yard seasons, including each of the last two.