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• Texans sign Schultz and Singletary

  The Houston Texans are still over a month away from picking their quarterback of the future, but they are continuing to build around him.

  On Monday, the Texans added a starting tight end to their roster, signing Dalton Schultz to a one-year deal worth up to $9million, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

  Schultz did not have the market he might have anticipated after his contract with the Dallas Cowboys expired, but he will have the chance to cash in next offseason if he can thrive in Houston playing with the quarterback whom the Texans will almost certainly select with the second overall pick in the NFL Draft.

  Last season, Schultz finished with 577 receiving yards and five touchdowns, having racked up 808 yards and eight touchdowns in 2021.

  His 13 receiving touchdowns over the last two seasons rank fifth among tight ends.

  Houston also added to their backfield, signing former Buffalo Bills running back Devin Singletary.

  Singletary is unlikely to be the starter following the emergence of Dameon Pierce, who had 939 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground as a rookie.

  Also arriving on a one-year deal, according to multiple reports, Singletary gives the Texans versatile depth at running back.

  He has produced over 1,000 yards from scrimmage in each of the last two seasons. In 2022, he finished with 819 yards rushing and five touchdowns, as well as 280 yards receiving and a further touchdown through the air.

  Singletary has 2,197 scrimmage yards since 2021, putting him 20th among running backs across that span.

• Italy-England fixture has become a classic – Mancini

  Roberto Mancini believes Italy's rivalry with England has become a "classic" as they prepare to do battle in their opening Euro 2024 qualifier on Thursday.

  The Azzurri won the last European Championship by beating Gareth Southgate's side on penalties in the final at Wembley in 2021.

  Italy and the Three Lions then played out a goalless draw in the Nations League last June, before Giacomo Raspadori secured a 1-0 victory for Mancini's men in their last meeting three months later.

  England will get another chance to gain a measure of revenge in a Group C clash at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona this week and Mancini is expecting an almighty challenge in Naples.

  He said: "For me, it's become a classic. England and Italy seem to meet a lot, a bit like Italy and Germany in the past.

  "For a long time now they've become a fantastic team, full of talented players, with strength and technique. It'll be a tough game just like all the others have been. 

  "They have more choice than us for many reasons, but in Naples we want to play a good match, play well and start these qualifiers well."

  Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar last year and head coach Mancini says they are in a rebuilding process. 

  "Unfortunately there was the difficult interlude of the World Cup, but apart from a few games, the team has always done well," Mancini continued.

  "We arrived twice in the Nations League finals [they face Spain in a semi-final in June], this means that there is value [in the team]. We have to rebuild something important because to win there must be solid foundations. There have been some good things in the Nations League."

  Mancini expects his players to do Gianluca Vialli – who was Italy's head of delegation when they won the rearranged Euro 2020 two years ago – proud after he died at the age of 58 in January.

  He added: "I've already talked about it with the boys, it will be important for us to remember him, as if he were here with us. He had his space and it's not easy for us, we have to try to do well for him."

• NBA Game of the Week: Slumping Nets try to win rebound challenge against Cavs

  The Brooklyn Nets will attempt to arrest their slide in the Eastern Conference when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday.

  Brooklyn and the Cavs square off twice in New York this week, the second meeting coming on Thursday.

  And the Nets head into the first game of the doubleheader on the back of a three-game losing streak.

  The Nets, sixth in the East, are now 39-32, just two games in the loss column ahead of the Miami Heat at 39-34.

  As such, they are at risk of slipping into the play-in tournament places, and the Nets understand they must get better at rebounding if they are to return to winning ways.

  The Nets are last in total rebounds in home games and were outrebounded 40-33 by the Denver Nuggets in Sunday's loss to the Western Conference leaders.

  Cleveland represent formidable opposition, with the Cavs sitting at 45-28, fourth in the East. They have won seven of their last 10 games.

  But this is a matchup in which the Nets may actually have an edge on the boards to help them end their losing run.

  PIVOTAL PLAYERS

  Brooklyn Nets – Mikal Bridges

  Bridges has quickly become the Nets' talisman having been acquired in the trade that sent Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns, and he has been one of the most prolific scorers in the NBA in March.

  He is averaging 27.1 points per game this month, putting him 10th in league. No other Brooklyn player is averaging 20.

  Cleveland Cavaliers – Jarrett Allen

  The player who will bear much of the responsibility for ensuring the Nets continue to struggle on the boards is a former Brooklyn player.

  Cavs center Allen has thrived on the glass this season, averaging 9.8 rebounds per game, the 11th-most in the NBA.

  KEY BATTLE – Can Nets win the rebound challenge?

  After their struggles on the boards against the Nuggets, head coach Jacque Vaughn was asked about how the Nets need to go about improving their rebounding.

  "We have to accept it, it's truth, it's staring us in the face," he said. "The scouting report says try to go to offensive rebound versus the Nets, and we have to understand that and really do a diligent job of trying to do it together. We can't do it with two people or three people.

  "We're trying to be systematic in how we embrace this problem, but I just want our guys to embrace it and realise that it is really a big difference from us being a pretty good defensive team, and that challenge we have to take on, and we have to win it. We have to win that challenge."

  Winning that challenge may be easier against the Cavs who, despite Allen's prowess on the glass, are 25th in the NBA in rebounds per game with 41.4, just 1.2 more than the Nets.

  HEAD TO HEAD

  The Nets were victorious over the Cavs in their previous meeting in Cleveland on December 26 and have won five of the last six games between the teams.