Red Bull team principal Christian Horner expects the team's Formula One rivals to close the gap this season.

A superb start to their title defence has already seen Red Bull open a 58-point lead in the constructors' championship over closest competitors Aston Martin.

However, due to the "cultural change" within F1 in recent seasons, referencing the budget cap, Horner believes his team will be unable to maintain their advantage.

As defending champions, Red Bull were allocated the least time in the wind tunnel for this season, with their time reduced further by penalties issued by the FIA for breaching the cap in the 2021 season.

For that reason, Horner is predicting Red Bull's rivals will be hot on their heels later in the season.

"I think it will be very tough for us to develop this car, because when you look at the amount of percentage time less we have compared to some of our rivals, it's significant," he said, quoted on the F1 website.

"But it is what it is. We just have to do the best we can with what we've got, be efficient, effective, and selective in what we choose to develop, and how we apportion our time.

"It's been a total cultural change over the last couple of years. It's a new challenge in Formula 1, how you apply your resources. It used to be a sprint in terms of developing a car as quickly as you could with whatever budget you can rustle up.

"Now it's a question of how and where do you apply your resources, and of course there are so many variables like crash damage, accident damage in there that can have a massive effect on your potential to develop. It's going to be interesting to see how it pans out this year."

The Oakland Athletics have secured land near the Las Vegas strip and intend to move to Nevada by 2027.

Team president Dave Kaval confirmed the development, bringing an end to a tense number of years for the Major League Baseball franchise and seemingly ending prospects of staying in Oakland at a new waterfront home.

Kaval told MLB.com: "We know this is a really difficult day for our fans in Oakland and the Oakland community. We put an incredible six-year effort into trying to get this waterfront vision for a stadium approved.

"At the end of the day, the progress has not been fast enough. We're still maybe seven or eight years away from being even able to open a stadium [in Oakland] with the lawsuits and referendums and timing challenges.

"We have a pact in Las Vegas that we think can work and has the support from the league, so we are really putting all our focus in Las Vegas and the efforts there."

The A's are set to become the first MLB franchise to relocate since the Montreal Expos became the Washington Nationals in 2004.

A move would also bring an end to professional sport in Oakland, who previously lost the NFL's Raiders, also to Las Vegas, in 2020 and saw the Golden State Warriors return to San Francisco three seasons ago.

The news sparked an angry reaction in Oakland, with mayor Sheng Thao saying the city would no longer negotiate with the team.

"The city has gone above and beyond in our attempts to arrive at mutually beneficial terms to keep the A's in Oakland. In the last three months, we've made significant strides to close the deal," she said in a statement.

"Yet, it is clear to me that the A's have no intention of staying in Oakland and have simply been using this process to try to extract a better deal out of Las Vegas.

"I am not interested in continuing to play that game – the fans and our residents deserve better."

The Athletics moved to Oakland in 1968, winning three consecutive World Series from 1972 to 1974, then earning fame in the 2002 season following Billy Beane's 'moneyball' approach that saw the franchise set a record for most consecutive wins.

England wing Jack Nowell has been fined £10,000 for criticising referee Karl Dickson in a tweet during Exeter Chiefs' hammering at Leicester Tigers last Sunday.

Dickson sent Olly Woodburn off and awarded a penalty try for his tackle on Chris Ashton as the flyer attempted to finish in the corner.

Nowell made his feelings about that decision crystal clear as he was forced to watch on as a spectator rather than play at Welford Road.

He posted on social media: "I'm actually in shock, like shock shocked. What the hell is happening? That's one of the worst decisions I've ever seen. EVER."

Nowell later deleted his post, but found himself in front of an independent disciplinary panel on Wednesday, charged with committing conduct prejudicial to the interests of the game.

He accepted his conduct was prejudicial and was fined £10,000, while he was also directed to undertake a referees' course. 

World Rugby confirmed that Dickson had correctly applied the law.

UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) has provisionally suspended and charged Conor Benn for the alleged use of a prohibited substance.

The boxer twice tested positive for the banned substance clomifene last year ahead of a scheduled bout with Chris Eubank Jr in October that was subsequently scrapped.

Benn was reinstated to the WBC rankings in March, but recent reports suggested he had been provisionally suspended since March 15.

That was confirmed by a UKAD spokesperson on Thursday.

"Following reports in the media and comments made by professional boxer Mr Conor Benn on Tuesday, April 18, 2023, and in exceptional circumstances, UKAD confirms that Mr Benn was notified and provisionally suspended by UKAD on March 15, 2023 in accordance with the UK Anti-Doping Rules," a statement read.

"Whilst provisionally suspended, Mr Benn is prohibited from participating in any capacity (or assisting another athlete in any capacity) in a competition, event or activity that is organised, convened, authorised or recognised by the British Boxing Board of Control or any other World Anti-Doping Code-compliant sport. 

"UKAD can also confirm that on April 3, 2023, it charged Mr Benn with an Article 2.2 violation for the alleged use of a prohibited substance (clomifene). The charge against Mr Benn is pending and will now follow the results management process in accordance with the UK Anti-Doping Rules."

Prior to UKAD's confirmation, Benn defended himself on social media earlier in the week, saying he had been in conversation with the anti-doping body but suggested "politics" were to blame.

"I can't comment on anything to do with UKAD other than to say that I am in touch with them," Benn wrote on Twitter.

"Someone at the BBBoC or UKAD obviously wanted to create a headline, unlike the [Amir] Khan case where it was kept quiet for 14 months.

"But this is nothing new. I remain free to fight outside the UK. This isn't even about my innocence anymore, it's all politics. You can't keep a good man down."

Deontay Wilder vowed to deliver Saudi Arabia's first knockout victim if a proposed heavyweight bout against Anthony Joshua goes ahead.

The two former heavyweight champions are widely reported to be in discussions for what would be one of the most fiercely anticipated fights in recent years.

Joshua is on the hunt for a new opponent after responding to back-to-back defeats with victory over Jermaine Franklin earlier this month, while Wilder beat Robert Helenius in October after consecutive losses to Tyson Fury.

Both fighters are keen to work their way up the rankings to earn another shot at the titles and, with the pair having history with Fury and Usyk, a meeting in the ring is a favoured option for many fans.

Should a blockbuster clash in Saudi Arabia occur, Wilder is confident he would see off Joshua with a knockout.

"What we expecting? I'm gonna just put it like this, I'll just keep it sweet, I'm gonna give Saudi their first knockout victim," he told ES News.

Earlier this week, Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn revealed he was travelling to the Far East to discuss the potential fight.

Remarkably, the proposals are to have Wilder and Joshua face off on the same card as a unification bout between Fury and Usyk.

"There have definitely been conversations that have taken place, just of plans, where people would like to host Fury against Usyk and AJ against Wilder on the same night," he told IFL TV.

"It will cost a lot of money, but it would be epic, and we will have those conversations."

Last week, Fury dismissed those rumours on social media but, in his latest update, promised fans of a "monstrous" fight in his return to the ring.

"I've got some massive, massive news coming. An imminent fight date, an absolutely monstrous fight. Keep tuned because the WBC heavyweight king is back in action, coming very, very soon," he said.

Rafael Nadal remains unsure when he will return to action with the French Open looming after being forced to withdraw from the Madrid Open.

The 22-time grand slam champion has been struggling with a left hip issue that contributed to his second-round exit at the Australian Open in January.

Nadal pulled out of the Indian Wells Open and Miami Open, while the troublesome injury has also hampered the start of his favoured clay-court season.

Having withdrawn from the Monte Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open, the Spaniard is still not fit enough to participate in next week's Madrid Open on home soil.

And a concerned Nadal is now facing a race to be fit in time for the French Open, which begins in a little over five weeks' time.

"As you know, I suffered an important injury in Australia of the psoas [muscle]," he said in a video published on social media on Thursday.

"Initially it had to be a six-to-eight-week recovery period and we are now on fourteen. The reality is that the situation is not what we would have expected.

"All medical indications have been followed, but somehow the evolution has not been what they initially told us and we find ourselves in a difficult situation.

"The weeks are passing and I had the illusion of playing in tournaments that are the most important in my career, like Monte Carlo, Barcelona, ​​Madrid, Rome, Roland Garros. 

"For the moment, I have missed Monte Carlo and Barcelona. I will not be able to be in Madrid, unfortunately."

Nadal, who has played just four matches this season, added: "The injury still hasn't healed and I can't work out what I need to to compete. 

"I was training, but now a few days ago we decided to change course a bit, do another treatment and see if things improve to try to get to what comes next.

"I can't give deadlines because if I knew I would tell you but I don't know. This is how things are now."

Nadal won a record-extending 14th French Open title with a straight-sets victory over Casper Ruud in last year's final.

Greg Norman has hinted at a women's series being introduced by LIV Golf.

Norman, chief executive officer of LIV Golf, confirmed he has had discussions with players from various tours to gauge interest, and said there has been plenty of it.

The Saudi Arabia-backed tour began a men's series last year, with the inaugural event taking place in London, with high-profile players such as Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Cameron Smith and Bryson DeChambeau leaving the PGA Tour to take part.

"[A women's tour] is a discussion we have internally on a regular basis," Norman said ahead of LIV Golf's first Australia-based event in Adelaide.

"I have personally had discussions with individual LPGA Tour players, LET Tour players, Ladies European Tour. They love what our product is showcasing. They ask all the time, 'How can we get involved?' We'd love to see a LIV ladies series."

The creation of LIV Golf caused a rivalry to develop in the sport between it and the PGA and DP World Tours, with the latter recently winning a legal battle against members who played in LIV Golf tournaments over a dispute around imposing fines for playing in competing events.

Much of the controversy stems from being backed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, but Norman said it is not his job to question the human rights record of the Saudi government.

"Why not? Because I am the chairman and CEO of LIV Golf Investments, and that's where I focus, I focus on golf, I stay focused on golf," he said.

"My job is to build out LIV and the product and the platform we have on the global front.

"Golf is a force for good. I've built golf courses in third-world countries, in communist countries. So golf is a force for good, it goes everywhere with the right platform."

Steve Kerr said he will continue "to bat" for Draymond Green after being "extremely surprised" by the one-game suspension handed out to the Golden State Warriors star over a stomping incident.

Green was ejected from Game 2 of the Warriors' playoff series against the Sacramento Kings when he was seen lashing out at the ribs of Domantas Sabonis, who appeared to grab at Green's legs when falling to the ground.

Initially it was reported that Green would be unlikely to be banned for the incident but the NBA league office confirmed he will sit out Game 3 of the first-round playoff series, which the Warriors are trailing 2-0 in.

Asked about his initial reaction to the news, head coach Kerr said: "I was extremely surprised and then immediately into 'Alright, what's next? How do we win the game?'

"There's no time to spend worrying about it or thinking about it or complaining about it, it doesn't matter, we know what the league decided to do, we have to respond accordingly and go out there and win the game."

Green's suspension was in part due to his past history when it comes to ill-discipline.

Back in the 2016 Finals, he was suspended after accumulating too many fouls in a Game 4 clash that ended with Green hitting LeBron James in the groin, having already been ejected earlier in the playoffs against the Oklahoma City Thunder. He was also ejected in Game 1 of last season's second-round series versus the Memphis Grizzlies.

In 2018, Green was suspended by the Warriors following an altercation with Kevin Durant, and spent time away from the team earlier this season after punching teammate Jordan Poole.

"He's the ultimate competitor. Everybody knows he's going to occasionally tip over the edge and his emotions get the best of him. That's part of it," Kerr said when asked about Green's past misdemeanours counting against him.

"There's no stopping it. You're not going to be able to put your arm around him and say, 'OK, let's move forward'. It doesn't work that way.

"It's not anything we can control. Draymond is incredibly passionate and competitive and fiery and he's helped us win more championships, I've said it many times – we don't have a single championship without Draymond Green. That's the truth. He crossed the line over the years, but that's part of it. We will go to bat for Draymond."

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James may be the most recognisable figure in the NBA, but the Memphis Grizzlies' Dillon Brooks is enjoying showing his rival no respect.

The Grizzlies beat the Lakers 103-93 on Wednesday in Game 2 of their first-round playoff to tie the series, with Brooks and James competing at close proximity.

Brooks exchanged heated words with James in the third quarter after his fourth foul allowed the NBA's all-time leading scorer to sink a couple of baskets to reduce the Grizzlies' lead to 14.

James apparently called Brooks "dumb" for his antagonistic approach, which the 27-year-old snapped back at.

Brooks, who is regarded as one of the NBA's fieriest wing defenders, suggested James' behaviour showed he was wilting under pressure a little earlier than expected.

Speaking of his confrontation with the 38-year-old James, Brooks said: "I don't care – he's old. You know what I mean? I was waiting for that.

"I was expecting him to do that Game 4, Game 5. He wanted to say something when I got my fourth foul.

"He should have been saying that earlier on. But I poke bears. I don't respect no one until they come and give me 40."

James has never posted 40 points in 13 games against Brooks, reaching 28 on Wednesday as the Lakers fell well short.

But more opportunities will arrive as the series progresses, and Brooks – who managed just 23 minutes on court due to his persistent fouling – is seemingly looking forward to more tussles.

"I said, 'Oh, finally you want to talk,' then we started to get into a conversation," Brooks continued.

"I just let him know that, 'You can't take me one-on-one. You haven't.' You go look at the film; he doesn't really take me one-on-one until that moment.

"Then when he got subbed out, he was tired. So I did my job."

There was a cutting tone to much of what Brooks said about James, though some of his comments were undercut with a hint of respect.

"He's not at the same level that he was when he was on Cleveland winning championships, Miami," Brooks added.

"I wish I got to see that. It would have been a harder task, but I'm playing with what I've got.

"Just wear and tear on him throughout a seven-game series and see if he can take it. See if he wants to play the one-on-one battle or if he wants to be out on the sidelines shooting the basketball."

The Grizzlies and Lakers will contest Game 3 of the series on Saturday at the Crypto.com Arena.

Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said his side learned an important lesson after losing Game 2 of their Stanley Cup first-round series to the Florida Panthers 6-3.

The Panthers split the opening two games in Boston where the Bruins boasted a 34-4-3 record during the regular season, with the series now headed to Florida for Games 3 and 4.

Florida scored four third-period goals to blow the game open after it was locked at 2-2 heading into the final 20 minutes.

The Bruins came into the playoffs fresh from setting NHL records for most wins and points in regular season history.

The defeat marked the Bruins' first in their past 10 games and only their second loss at home this season by more than one goal.

"The number one lesson you learn is how hard it is to win in the playoffs," Montgomery told reporters.

"Florida did a good job. I thought they had a real good gameplan. We got to look at the tape, we've got to get better, we've got to execute better.

"For a team that's been really good in the third period for a long time, it's an opportunity for us to learn from that."

Montgomery labeled the turnovers his side gave away as "catastrophic", while he lamented their inability to regain their composure when they went 4-2 down in the third period.

"I didn’t think we re-grouped and reset," he said. "Most of the year we've been able to reset and go back to our go to our game.

"We didn’t go back to our game at 4-2. I thought we got back to our game in the first two periods."

The win means the Panthers have home-ice advantage ahead of Games 3 and 4 in Florida, although head coach Paul Maurice was not getting carried away.

"You can’t get too far behind anybody. Certainly not a team like the Boston Bruins, the season they’ve had," Maurice said.

"We’d be more than happy to play seven of them, grind it out. Play as long as we can for as hard as we can."

Aaron Judge robbed Shohei Ohtani of a homer before delivering a blast of his own as the New York Yankees downed the Los Angeles Angels 3-2 on Wednesday.

Gleyber Torres hit a walk-off sacrifice fly in the 10th inning, after the Angels had squared the game up following Judge's first-inning two-run shot.

Judge was at the heart of everything early, robbing Ohtani of a first-inning homer with a leaping ricochet catch on the wall at center field after the ball hit the heel of his glove and bobbled into his throwing hand.

The reigning AL MVP then launched a two-run blast into the left-center bullpen at the bottom of the first to open up a 2-0 lead. It was Judge's sixth homer of the 2023 season.

Judge produced another moment of magic in the field in the eighth inning with a diving one-handed grab at right-center field to save a go-ahead run from Brandon Drury.

Ohtani had a frustrating game, going none-for-four and stranding three runners with inning-ending strikeouts in the fifth and seventh innings.

The Angels reeled in the Yankees' early lead with Taylor Ward's fifth-inning RBI, before Gio Urshela's two-out RBI single in the eighth.

In the 10th, Urshela lined out to right with Mike Trout stranded on third with two-out, before Torres' walk-off sac fly to center-right field with bases loaded, driving in Isiah Kiner-Falefa.

Soto shines as Braves' run ended

Juan Soto continued to emerge from his early-season slump with a 431-foot blast to right-center field in the San Diego Padres' 1-0 win over the Atlanta Braves.

The result snapped the Braves' eight-game winning streak, with the Padres improving to a 9-11 record with Fernando Tatis Jr set to return from a long-term suspension on Thursday. Joe Musgrove's return from injury is close too.

Soto, who was hitting .175 with three home runs from 19 games coming in, delivered the decisive blast the fourth inning while Nick Martinez threw six strikeouts across seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits.

More milestones for free-wheeling Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays' outstanding early season form continued with an 8-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds setting more records, having started the year with a 13-game winning streak.

The Rays blasted six first-inning runs with Yandy Diaz setting the tone with a lead-off homer, setting a modern era record for differential after 19 games (+83), having scored 133 runs and allowed 50, beating the previous mark held by the 1905 New York Giants (+79).

Tampa Bay also became the first team n the modern era to have four shutouts of eight-plus runs in their first 19 games of the season, as Drew Rasmussen had seven K's across five scoreless innings. It was the team's sixth shutout in 19 games.

Three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer could face a 10-game suspension after being ejected from the New York Mets' 5-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers after checks for a sticky substance.

The Mets right-hander pleaded his innocence with the umpires checking the pitcher's hand and glove for a sticky substance on three separate occasions, eventually tossing him from the game prior to the fourth inning.

Under MLB rules, if a player is deemed to have violated the rules on sticky substances, they will receive an automatic 10-game ban, which can be appealed.

Scherzer was left bewildered by the decision, yelling "it's rosin" upon umpire Phil Cuzzi's call to eject him from the game, before reluctantly exiting.

"I'd have to be an absolute idiot to try to do anything when I'm coming back out for the fourth," Scherzer told reporters. "He said my hand is too sticky, and I said, 'I swear on my kids' life that I'm not using anything else. This is sweat and rosin, sweat and rosin.'

"I don't get how I get ejected when I'm in front of MLB officials doing exactly - exactly - what you want and being deemed my hands too sticky when I'm using legal substances, I do not understand that."

In the umpires' pool report, plate umpire Dan Bellino said the stickiness of Scherzer's hand worsened from the initial second-inning inspection to the third inspection in the fourth inning when he was ejected.

"As far as stickiness, this was the stickiest it had been since I've been inspecting hands, which goes back three seasons," Bellino said.

Cuzzi added: "I said this to Buck and to Max, it really didn't matter to us what it is. All we know is that it was far stickier than anything that we've felt certainly today and anything this year, and so in that case, we felt as though he had two chances to clean it up, and he didn't."

Scherzer became only the third pitcher to be ejected for violating the updated foreign substance policy, after Seattle's Hector Santiago and Arizona's Caleb Smith, both in 2021. Both copped 10-game bans.