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• Kidd slams 'awful' Mavericks, claims they deserved to be booed

  Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd slammed his side's performance as "awful" and "dogs***" and says they deserved to be booed during their 117-109 loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Friday.

  Despite having star duo Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic available, the Mavericks were brushed aside by the under-manned Hornets who are already out of playoff contention.

  The defeat significantly hurts the Mavs' own playoff aspirations, slipping outside the play-in tournament spots to 11th in the Western Conference with a 36-38 record after three straight losses.

  The home crowd at American Airlines Center made their feelings known, booing the team during a third-quarter timeout when they trailed by 18 points.

  "We probably should have been booed in the first quarter," Kidd told reporters. "The effort in the play. They have a right, they paid to see a better show, it wasn’t there until the second half.

  "It was awful, dogs***. Understanding the talk before the game with what we're playing for, playoffs or championship, to come out in that first quarter and give up 37, the interest level wasn't high. It was just disappointing."

  The Mavs are 7-12 since Irving was traded in from the Brooklyn Nets in February to make them a championship contender. Dallas are 3-7 when Irving and Luka Doncic have played together.

  Doncic scored a game-high 34 points with 10 rebounds and eight assists, while Irving added 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, but the Mavs were undone after their poor first-half showing.

  Irving downplayed the significance of the fans booing the side, despite losing six of their past eight games.

  "So what? Just the way I feel about it," Irving said. "I've been in New York City, so I know what that's like. You obviously want to play well, but it's only five people on the court that can play for the Dallas Mavericks.

  "If the fans want to change places, then hey, be my guest. Got years of work ahead to be great enough to be on this level. But our focus isn't necessarily on the boos.

  "It should be on our performance and just being there for each other."

• World Athletics gets praise and criticism after Coe reveals transgender ruling

  World Athletics was accused of "succumbing to political pressure" after ruling male-to-female transgender competitors who have been through male puberty will be prevented from competing in women's elite events.

  There was also praise for its stance, notably from former Olympians including swimmer Sharron Davies and decathlon great Daley Thompson.

  The global governing body for track and field announced its decision on Thursday, and it will come into force from March 31.

  World Athletics said it had spoken to a wide range of stakeholders before reaching its conclusion, with president Sebastian Coe saying: "Decisions are always difficult when they involve conflicting needs and rights between different groups, but we continue to take the view that we must maintain fairness for female athletes above all other considerations.

  "We will be guided in this by the science around physical performance and male advantage which will inevitably develop over the coming years. As more evidence becomes available, we will review our position, but we believe the integrity of the female category in athletics is paramount."

  Davies responded on Twitter, writing: "Thank you @sebcoe & @WorldAthletics for standing up for female athletes across the world who are worthy of fair sport"

  Thompson added: "@sebcoe & @WorldAthletics have just given me another couple of reasons to love them."

  The LGBTQ+ campaign group Stonewall took a different perspective, stating: "It is so disappointing to see World Athletics announce a unilateral ban on trans women in track and field events. Their own statement recognises that there are no trans women competing at an international level and that they have no specific evidence to justify the ban.

  "We stand with trans people who now have the door closed on their chance to compete in athletic sports at an international level."

  Athlete Ally, a US-based group which states its aim is to "champion LGBTQI+ equality", was also critical of the stance taken by World Athletics.

  Its founder Hudson Taylor said: "We are beyond devastated to see World Athletics succumbing to political pressure instead of core principles of inclusion, fairness and non-discrimination for transgender athletes and athletes with intersex traits.

  "The guidelines announced today go against inclusive guidelines from the International Olympic Committee as well as extensive research showing that transgender women do not have an inherent advantage in sport.

  "Sebastian Coe states that these guidelines are an attempt to protect women's sport, but in fact these guidelines do nothing to address what we know to be the actual, proven threats to women's sports: unequal pay, rampant sexual abuse and harassment, lack of women in leadership and inequities in resources for women athletes.

  "What these guidelines mean on a human level is that a young transgender girl who dreams of one day seeing herself on an Olympic stage will now have those dreams cruelly dashed."

  While World Athletics says it has extensive research on athletes with differences of sexual development (DSD), it says its bank of information regarding transgender athletes is not as great.

  It said: "There are currently no transgender athletes competing internationally in athletics and consequently no athletics-specific evidence of the impact these athletes would have on the fairness of female competition in athletics. In these circumstances, the council decided to prioritise fairness and the integrity of the female competition before inclusion."

• Joshua will not 'sit around and wait' for Fury following collapsed Usyk fight

  Anthony Joshua will not "sit around and wait" to enter discussions with Tyson Fury after the latter's proposed bout with Oleksandr Usyk fell through.

  Usyk's camp confirmed on Wednesday that talks with Fury over a heavyweight unification bout at Wembley on April 29 had collapsed.

  Fury's promoter Eddie Hearn later revealed he is hoping to revive negotiations with Joshua over an all-British showdown later this year.

  But having failed to agree terms on a fight twice before, most recently at the end of last year, Joshua is not interested in more drawn-out discussions.

  "I was supposed to fight him before I fought Usyk, the first time, and he pulled out due to his legal case, the arbitration, with [Deontay] Wilder," Joshua said. 

  "Then we had the one for this December [when talks also broke down]. Will the fight with me and him get made? I don't know. 

  "Look at all the s*** they are going through now with this Usyk stuff. It's just crazy. I don't publicise things, so it's actually good that people are starting to see what goes on.

  "It's good that people can actually see the s*** that people have got to put up with to make a fight. But Me and Usyk got two successful fights done."

  Joshua added: "I cannot say I am just going to sit around and wait for this geezer [Fury]. There are other great fights out there I can have. 

  "Without Fury on my record I will not wake up tomorrow and regret my whole boxing career. If he is on it, I am on it, if he is not, he is not. Whatever."

  Joshua is scheduled to meet Jermaine Franklin in London on April 1 as he looks to respond to back-to-back losses to Usyk.