Damar Hamlin had the American sporting community rooting for him after the Buffalo Bills safety suffered an on-field cardiac arrest, as team-mate Josh Allen pleaded: "Please pray for our brother."
Hamlin was in a critical condition at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, having collapsed during Monday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Hamlin made a tackle on Bengals receiver Tee Higgins in the first quarter, and after briefly returning to his feet, he slumped to the ground.
He was administered CPR on the field, before being loaded into a waiting ambulance and rushed away.
Amid harrowing scenes, the game was suspended while the Bengals were leading 7-3 with 5:58 remaining in the first period.
Allen led the call for prayer for Hamlin, with well-wishers from across sport, entertainment and politics also sending thoughts and best wishes.
Former Chargers and Saints quarterback Drew Brees wrote on Twitter: "Damar Hamlin represents every one of us and every team-mate we've ever had.
"I've never met him, but I know him as a member of our brotherhood. My family and I pray for him and his family as he recovers. God be with him."
Michael Vick and Patrick Mahomes also said they were praying for Hamlin, the latter adding: "Please be okay man."
Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill added: "Praying for Damar Hamlin, his family and everyone in Buffalo... no words for a situation like this."
The NFL said: "Our thoughts and prayers are with Damar, his family and the Buffalo Bills."
Arizona Cardinals defensive end J.J. Watt said: "The game is not important. Damar Hamlin’s life is important. Please be ok. Please."
From basketball, the NBA said: "The entire NBA family's thoughts and prayers are with Damar Hamlin, his family and the NFL community."
That was reflected in post-game comments from a number of leading stars after Monday's NBA action, with Lakers superstar LeBron James saying: "My thoughts and super prayers goes up to the skies above for that kid's family, for him, for that brotherhood of the NFL and everybody a part of the NFL family."
James said it was "definitely the right call" to abandon the game for the night.
He said of the incident: "It was a terrible thing to see and I wish nothing but the best for that kid, for the city of Buffalo, for the franchise of the Bills and like I said, for the rest of the NFL as well and also the Bengals that was there and playing in that game."
Klay Thompson, from the Golden State Warriors, added: "As athletes, sometimes the game can overshadow us as individuals or people.
"On behalf of the organisation, we wish him the best. We're keeping him in our prayers and hoping for the best possible outcome. He's a tremendous person and it's bigger than the sport."
Hollywood actor Ben Stiller, a big sports fan, wrote: "Sending good thoughts and prayers to Damar Hamlin and his family."
Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani said: "Our prayers are with Damar Hamlin."
Amid the focus on Hamlin's plight, there was a surge in donations to a Christmas fundraiser the Bills star organised in 2020, to raise money to buy toys for children hit hard by the pandemic.
The fundraiser's target had been $2,500, but its running tally passed $3million by the early hours of Tuesday.
Randle happy to 'feel wanted' despite 'shock' trade to Timberwolves
Julius Randle says he is happy to be at the Minnesota Timberwolves where he "feels wanted" but admitted feeling shocked by the New York Knicks trade.
He was part of a blockbuster trade, joining the Timberwolves with Donte DiVincenzo, as Karl-Anthony Towns headed the other way in a deal that was completed earlier this week.
Randle was a three-time All-Star with the Knicks as their starting power forward, a Most Improved Player winner and a two-time All-NBA selection.
Last season, he averaged 24.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game, though he did not play in the playoffs after dislocating his shoulder on January 27 and opted to undergo surgery in April after two months of rehab.
Although he had initially been looking forward to another shot at the playoffs with the Knicks, he is now invigorated about joining another championship contender.
"It was a lot of emotion," Randle said. "You spend a lot of time living in one place, you know, New York, going there five years ago... A lot of blood, sweat, and tears put into that organization and uniform. Initially, it's always going to be a shock.
"You want to be somewhere where you feel wanted. I feel wanted here. At this point in my career, I've accomplished a lot of great things on an individual level, but I want to win a championship. This is a perfect opportunity to do that.
"[The trade] was a breath of fresh air. I'm excited to bring everything I've learned here over the past five years and help these guys out. My only thing here is I just want to help.
"I want to help [Anthony Edwards]. I want to help Rudy [Gobert], Naz [Reid] - all those guys. I want to help win a championship, and that's the only thing that matters."
The Timberwolves start their season against the Los Angeles Lakers on October 22, with their preseason beginning against the same opponent on Friday.
Cousins throws for 509 yards, 4 touchdowns in Falcons' OT win over Buccaneers
Kirk Cousins passed for a career-high 509 yards and four touchdowns, the last of them a 45-yard scoring pass to KhaDarel Hodge in overtime that gave the Atlanta Falcons an improbable 36-30 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night.
After a wild fourth quarter that featured a blocked field goal, a fumble and an interception, Cousins and the Falcons (3-2) got the ball back at their own 20 with 1:14 remaining in regulation and no timeouts, trailing 30-27.
Cousins completed five passes to push Atlanta to the Buccaneers 29, then hustled to the line to spike the ball with a single second on the clock. In all the confusion, the Falcons were called for delay of game as they lined up for a tying field goal, but it didn't cost them.
Younghoe Koo knocked it through from 52 yards to force overtime, one week after he made a 58-yarder with 2 seconds left to beat the New Orleans Saints.
The Falcons won the coin toss in overtime and made sure Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers (3-2) didn't get their hands on the ball again. Cousins connected with Drake London on a couple of passes before throwing one over the middle to Hodge, who split the secondary and raced untouched to the end zone to end the game.
Chiefs place top wide receiver Rice on injured reserve
Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid told the media Thursday the team was waiting for swelling to go down on Rashee Rice's knee before performing additional tests.
Three hours later, the Chiefs had enough information to know he'll be side-lined for at least one month.
The Chiefs placed Rice on injured reserve later Thursday, meaning he will out for a minimum of four weeks.
Rice was injured in last Sunday's 17-10 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, and it was reported he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
There has been no update on the extent of the injury, but a torn ACL would side-line him for the rest of the season.
The second-year receiver was injured on a bizarre play when he collided with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who inadvertently dove into Rice's knee as the two team-mates were attempting to tackle Chargers cornerback Kristian Fulton on an interception return.
Rice was carted off to the locker room shortly after leaving the field and eventually ruled out of the game.
His injury is the latest blow to a Kansas City team that is already without leading rusher Isiah Pacheco, who is recovering from a fractured fibula he sustained in Week 2.
It also leaves Mahomes without his top target, as Rice led the NFL with 24 receptions through this season's first three weeks.
No other Kansas City player had double-digit receptions entering Week 4, though Travis Kelce finally took on a larger role in the offence.
The veteran tight end had seven receptions for 89 yards against the Chargers after catching eight passes for 69 yards in the first three games.
Despite losing two of their top play-makers, the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs are 4-0 heading into their Week 5 Monday night game against the New Orleans Saints.
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