Boston Bruins winger Brad Marchand says they could not "care less about any regular-season records" as hype swirls about breaking the long-standing NHL points record.
The NHL-leading Bruins possess a 43-8-5 record through 56 games, putting them on track for 133 points which would eclipse the record during an 80-game season of 132 points set by the Montreal Canadiens in 1976-77.
Boston are also on pace for 63 wins which would surpass the single-season record of 62 victories held by both the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings and the 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning.
But Marchand downplayed the significance of those milestones within the playing group who were focused on bigger targets.
"People have talked a lot about some of these records, that we could potentially hit or we have hit," Marchand told ESPN.
"Nobody cares about those in this room. We couldn't care less about any of these regular-season records because they really don't mean anything.
"Before we were going through this season, if you asked any of the guys on this team who owned any of those records, nobody would know, because nobody cares, because it's not about the regular season.
"As soon as somebody brings it up, it's in one ear and out the other."
Marchand added that lifting the Stanley Cup was the goal, rather than records or finishing atop the standings after the regular season.
"If you win the Presidents' Trophy but you don't win the Cup, nobody cares," he said. "That's what we know on this team."
LeBron James spoke during the All-Star break of the Los Angeles Lakers' ability to "compete versus anyone in the Western Conference", buoyed by their prior results.
The Lakers won two of their final three games before the break, including a victory on the road against defending champions the Golden State Warriors.
Now, as the season resumes, the two teams meet again in LA, each needing a win.
Even with that minor upturn in form, the Lakers were left 2.5 games outside the play-in places. The Warriors, the ninth seeds, are little better off.
Missing out on the playoffs again is "just not part of my DNA", James added, meaning progress must now be swift.
The Lakers will hope then the "precautionary" decision to remove James from the All-Star Game due to injury is just that.
Although their previous win against the Warriors came without the all-time NBA scoring leader, it was on his return against the New Orleans Pelicans that the Lakers really impressed.
James appeared for the first time alongside new recruit D'Angelo Russell, while Anthony Davis joined the four-time Finals MVP in the starting lineup for only the 24th time this season.
Getting all three men on the floor together consistently will be key to any unlikely success story.
Against a Warriors team still missing Stephen Curry, a show of strength could set up a big second half to the season.
PIVOTAL PERFORMERS
Los Angeles Lakers – D'Angelo Russell
Whether Russell can make the difference for the Lakers is another matter. But the team need that to be the case. His arrival, with Russell Westbrook departing, is the big change most likely to alter the course of the season.
The early signs are at least promising – he has averaged 17.3 points but only 1.7 turnovers through his first three games.
That is a level of efficiency not seen before in Russell's career – including in the half-season he spent with the Warriors – but should be enough to keep James happy, which is more than can be said for Westbrook, whose 3.5 turnovers per game were actually down on his career average.
Golden State Warriors – Jordan Poole
While Curry remains out, the Warriors will have to rely on Poole to provide their scoring threat.
More than half of his 35 starts this year (20) have come when Curry has been out of the lineup, in which games Poole has averaged 27.6 points per game.
It figures that Poole should be more influential when team-mates do not have Curry to instead look to, with the 23-year-old attempting 10.1 threes per game without the superstar alongside him.
Taking the ball and the shots counts for little, however, if Poole cannot get the Warriors enough wins to stay competitive. They are 9-11 this year when Poole starts but Curry does not.
KEY BATTLE – Lakers at the crunch?
Not helped by having a key man missing, the Warriors have repeatedly been frustrated by the way they have ended games of late.
The previous Lakers game was the source of some frustration as Golden State appeared set to recover from a tough third quarter before another wobble in the fourth.
In fact, across their past eight games that have been late and close – within four points in the last two minutes of the final quarter – the Warriors have been outscored in those scenarios in six.
If the Lakers can stick with the Warriors, they look the better bet to come through late on.
HEAD TO HEAD
The teams have split the series so far this year, with the Warriors' win on opening night followed by that home defeat. All time, the Lakers have a 259-173 lead over the Warriors in the regular season.
Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham says the team's goal is to reach the playoffs rather than falling into a play-in situation as they look to revive their season after the All-Star break.
The Lakers are currently 13th in the Western Conference with a 27-32 record ahead of their resumption against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday.
Despite the Lakers' lowly rank in the west, they are only 2.0 games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder as the 10th seed, which earns a play-in berth.
But LA are also only 3.5 games behind the sixth-placed Dallas Mavericks, for the final of the guaranteed playoffs spots, offering hope for a side which drastically changed its roster prior to the break.
Russell Westbrook has departed, while they acquired D'Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt to bolster their squad.
The Lakers also have LeBron James and Anthony Davis fit again and ready to team up as they look for a charge, with the four-time NBA MVP earlier this week labelling their final 23 regular-season games as "the most important" games of his career.
"The goal is for us to come out and try to be the best version of ourselves each game, but definitely, if we can go and secure a spot, that is our goal right there," Ham told reporters.
"If we fall into a play-in situation, so be it. But our number one goal is to go secure a spot, not just throw games off here or there and just wish for a play-in. We want to go secure a spot."
The Lakers face two of their main rivals for those final Western Conference playoffs spots in their next two games, with the Warriors sitting ninth with a 29-29 record but they will be without star Stephen Curry to injury.
The Mavericks, who acquired Kyrie Irving prior to the Trade Deadline, are next on Sunday after Golden State.
"I mean we have to help ourselves first and foremost, and we only do that by winning games," Ham said.
"We've already put ourselves behind the eight ball enough, we don't want to get into a further situation where we're depending on teams in front of us to lose games and all the while we're dropping games.
"Winning is the focus. It's the only way we can help ourselves and take care of what we can control."
All-Star Davis said the Lakers needed to treat every remaining game as a "must-win" and play them like Game 7 of a series.
Carlos Alcaraz finished the job against Brazilian wild card Mateus Alves to set up a second-round meeting with Fabio Fognini at the Rio Open.
Alcaraz's first-round meeting with Alves was halted on Tuesday due to heavy rain with the 2022 US Open champion leading 6-4 5-3, but the Spaniard clinched victory on Wednesday 6-4 6-4.
The top seed will take on 35-year-old Italian Fognini, who also was made to wait to secure his progress due to the Tuesday rain, eventually triumphing 6-2 6-3 over Chilean qualifier Tomas Barrios Vera.
Second seed Cameron Norrie endured a tough second-round tussle with local Thiago Monteiro, needing two hours and 30 minutes to triumph 7-5 7-5.
The Briton prevailed in one hour and 25 minutes in the first set against the 83rd-ranked Brazilian, while he was broken when serving for the match at 5-4 in the second frame.
Norrie, however, rallied to break straight back before securing victory after successfully serving the match out on the second attempt.
Fifth seed Diego Schwartzman was the major casualty of the day's play, going down 6-1 6-4 to Serbia's Dusan Lajovic in one hour and 29 minutes.
Brazilian veteran Thomaz Bellucci farewelled the ATP Tour after losing 6-3 6-2 to sixth seed Sebastian Baez.
Albert Ramos Vinolas, Bernabe Zapata Miralles and Hugo Dellien were also winners on Wednesday, with the latter progressing into the quarter-finals to face Norrie.
Former Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder is among the candidates to take over at the Atlanta Hawks following Nate McMillan's firing.
Snyder has been linked with the vacant job since McMillan was fired on Tuesday and Hawks general manager Landry Fields confirmed he was being considered among a pool of options.
The 56-year-old led the Jazz from 2014 to 2022, guiding the side to six straight playoffs appearances, before parting ways at the end of last season with an overall 372-264 regular-season record.
"Quin is a part of that pool," Fields told reporters on Wednesday. "That's something that we will consider, for sure."
Snyder has an association with the Hawks, having worked there as an assistant coach in the 2013-14 season before taking up the Jazz gig.
The Hawks are hoping for a playoffs push, sitting eighth in the west with a 29-30 record at the All-Star break.
Fields said he could make a hire this season, with Snyder available having been out of a job since exiting the Jazz.
"It's a factor in the sense that I feel comfortable mentioning his name," Fields said when asked about Snyder's availability.
"But there are other candidates I don't want to mention because they are a part of other teams. I want to make sure I'm respectful of other teams."
The Hawks have confirmed assistant coach Joe Prunty will serve as interim coach at practice this week before their season resumes on Friday against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Stephen Curry will not return from injury for at least another week, the Golden State Warriors confirmed on Wednesday.
Curry has missed the defending champions' past five games after injuring his left leg against the Dallas Mavericks.
He collided with McKinley Wright IV and suffered tears to his superior tibiofibular ligaments and interosseous membrane that were revealed by scans, as well as a contusion to his lower left leg.
Curry had planned a return "after the All-Star break", albeit without "a specific date".
The Warriors' superstar also ruled out playing against the Los Angeles Lakers in the team's first game back on Thursday, but his lay-off will extend beyond that.
An update from the Warriors read: "Stephen Curry, who has missed the last five games due to injury, was recently re-evaluated.
"The re-evaluation indicated that Stephen is making good progress. He has started various individual on-court workouts and will be re-evaluated in one week."
The Warriors are 29-29 for the season, sitting ninth in the Western Conference ahead of the season's resumption.
Andrey Rublev and Andy Murray battled to outlast their opponents at the Qatar Open, while Daniil Medvedev breezed into the quarter-finals.
Top seed Rublev, who won this tournament in 2020, responded to a first-set setback to rally to a 1-6 6-1 7-6 (8-6) win over Tallon Griekspoor on Wednesday.
The world number five was staring at a fourth opening-round defeat in five appearances this year but saved three match points en route to fighting back from 5-2 down in the decider.
Murray and fourth seed Alexander Zverev played out another three-set thriller in the Middle East, with the former world number one triumphing 7-6 (7-5) 2-6 7-5.
That clash lasted three hours and three minutes in another marathon match for Murray after defeating Italian Lorenzo Sonego in a final-set tie-break in the first round.
Medvedev (3) had no such difficulty in a comfortable 6-4 6-3 victory over world number 147 Liam Broady.
Second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime had to regain his composure during his debut in Doha, but ultimately prevailed 4-6 6-1 6-4 against Jason Kubler.
World number eight Auger-Aliassime had lost his only previous meeting with Kubler, and an upset was on the cards after the Canadian was broken in the third game and was unable to recover.
Yet he found his form with a blistering second set, reeling off five straight games to restore parity and keeping his cool in the decider.
That victory teed up a last-eight meeting with seventh seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who downed Kwon Soon-woo 6-3 6-2.
Jiri Lehecka will meet favourite Rublev after beating Emil Ruusuvuori 6-2 7-6 (7-2), while Botic Van De Zandschulp was shocked by world number 170 Alexandre Muller in a straight-sets defeat.
Elsewhere at the Open 13 Provence, fifth seed Maxime Cressy fell to a surprise second-round elimination after a 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-3 loss to home favourite Benjamin Bonzi.
There was no such luck for the other Frenchmen in Marseille as Alexander Bublik eased past Gregoire Barrere, while Stan Wawrinka beat Richard Gasquet 4-6 7-5 6-2 to reach the last eight.
Wales' Six Nations clash with England will go ahead this weekend after strike action was avoided following crunch talks on Wednesday.
Professional Rugby Board (PRB) chair Malcolm Wall confirmed an agreement had been reached with Welsh Rugby Players' Association (WRPA) chief executive officer Gareth Lewis over a series of key issues that had led to a realistic threat of the fixture not taking place.
The settlement of a significant contract dispute came after the PRB agreed a reduction to the 60-cap rule that governs international selection and revised the fixed-and-variable contract offer for players.
Only 25 international caps will be required for players before being able to play freely outside of Wales, and still be available for the national side, while Lewis will attend all PRB meetings.
A new contract agreement, under the newly proposed new Professional Rugby Agreement (PRA), will contain a fixed-only option, as well as a fixed-variable deal that Wales' professional sides will work under.
"We have listened to our players and have been able to resolve the three issues presented, quickly and efficiently," said Wall after the announcement.
"The six-year framework we have agreed has always had the players' best interests at heart and we have been happy to allay their understandable concerns with the adjustments described.
"Negotiations at PRB will continue in earnest as we seek to sign our new six-year PRA as soon as possible and we continue to be grateful to our professional players for their understanding and patience at this most critical time for the game in Wales."
Warren Gatland delayed his squad announcement on Tuesday amid ongoing discussions, with Wales players reportedly keen to have matters sorted by the following day.
Those plans came to fruition after negotiations between the four Wales professional sides and WRPA representatives at Principality Stadium, and a further meeting among international and club players.
"I'm grateful to PRB members for the meaningful consultation that has taken place over the past days and weeks and for the compromises they have made in getting to this point," said WRPA's Lewis.
"The impasse that was reached this week is of course regrettable for all parties but, having now been granted a place within PRB, the players' voices can now be heard which will avoid any repeat of situations like this in the future.
"The players are now keen to put this matter behind them and concentrate on preparations for one of the biggest matches in the international sporting calendar in Cardiff on Saturday."
Welsh Rugby Union interim chief executive officer Nigel Walker added: "The PRB has been agile and receptive to the players' requests and the players have, equally, been responsible and reasonable in their dealings with the PRB which is a credit to all parties.
"We will all now put this matter behind us and I know the nation will also unite as one behind the team when they face England.
"The game is on and, whilst there is still some detail to discuss and some fine tuning to be done in our negotiations at PRB, this is undoubtedly been a linchpin moment from which we can build."
Wales are bottom of the table after losing to Ireland and Scotland at the start of Gatland's second spell as head coach.
Conor Benn will be reinstated to the WBC rankings after the organisation accepted his explanation that "highly-elevated" egg consumption could have been behind his failed drugs test.
The Briton was due to fight Chris Eurbank Jr in a high-profile contest last October, only for the bout to be pulled at short notice after he tested positive for the banned substance clomiphene.
A fight between the two was prohibited by the British Boxing Board of Control and eventually cancelled by promoters, with Benn subsequently struck from the WBC rankings.
But following an appeal, the WBC confirmed he would be reinstated on Wednesday after they did not find enough data to further support his suspension.
"The WBC found that there was no conclusive evidence that Mr. Benn engaged in intentional or knowing ingestion of clomiphene," said an official statement.
"[In addition,] there were no failures in the procedures related to sample collection, sample analysis, or violations of Mr. Benn’s B Sample rights that would justify questioning or invalidating the adverse finding.
"[Furthermore,] Mr. Benn’s documented and highly-elevated consumption of eggs during the times relevant to the sample collection, raised a reasonable explanation for the adverse finding."
Though Benn will return to the WBC rankings, he remains under investigation by the BBFoC and UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) and therefore is not licensed to box in the UK while those processes are ongoing.
However, he could now seek another country and a different jurisdiction in which to fight if he so chooses.
Eubank Jr suffered a third career loss last month in Manchester against Liam Smith, following the cancellation of his match with Benn.
Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka fought back from a set down to end the title defence of Jelena Ostapenko at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Sabalenka, playing in her first event since claiming a maiden grand slam title in Melbourne, recovered from falling behind in style to win 2-6 6-1 6-1 on Wednesday.
Ostapenko won the tournament last year and looked to be in with a chance of extending her winning streak in Dubai to seven matches.
But Sabalenka launched a strong recovery to reach the quarter-finals and extend a stunning run to start the season to 13 consecutive wins.
The second seed tightened up her game in the second and third sets and will face either Petra Kvitova or Barbora Krejcikova in the last eight.
Sabalenka had been broken three times by Ostapenko in the opening set, but she only had to fend off one break point from there.
"In the first set, she played unbelievable tennis and I couldn't do anything," Sabalenka said.
"I was looking at my team asking like, 'What can I do?', but somehow, I turned around this game and started playing really incredible tennis.
"She plays really fast, deep balls, and I tried to stay super low, stay focused, and try to put more balls in than she did. I'm so happy that I did it."
A lower back injury for Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina robbed supporters of what had looked like being a thrilling matchup against Coco Gauff.
The withdrawal of Rybakina meant Gauff progressed via a walkover and will face fellow American Madison Keys next.
Keys and Gauff have played twice before, winning one match apiece.
It was Gauff who won their most recent encounter in the third round of the US Open last year.
Top seed Iga Swiatek had earlier booked her place in the last eight, with the Pole's latest dominant showing in Dubai earning praise on social media from Andy Murray.
And news followed that Karolina Pliskova, her semi-final opponent, had been forced to withdraw.
Swiatek benefited from a walkover in the quarter-finals en route to winning the Qatar Open last week and is now only two wins away from another title.
Tom Curry will not return before the end of the Six Nations due to another hamstring injury.
Curry had been in line to return for England against Wales this week after missing time with a tear to his right hamstring.
But after making his comeback for Sale Sharks on Saturday, he injured the same muscle in his left leg.
On Tuesday, England confirmed Curry would be replaced in the squad by brother Ben.
An update followed from Sale director of rugby Alex Sanderson, who ruled the back rower out for the remainder of the tournament.
"It's a grade 2c hamstring injury on the opposite side to the one that he did six weeks ago," Sanderson said.
"It's a soft muscle injury that extends into the tendon. It's four to six weeks."
Sanderson explained the injury had been sustained after linking up with England this week rather than in the club match against Northampton Saints.
He attributed the setback to "something to do with the loading and the physical demands of an international camp compared to your club".
Defending the decision to involve Curry against Northampton, Sanderson said: "Tom knows his body and his mind better.
"This is not a guy who needs two or three games to warm up. He can just go straight in and be at the top of his game."
Ireland second row James Ryan will captain the side in the absence of Johnny Sexton when they face Italy in the Six Nations on Saturday.
Andy Farrell's team head to Rome looking to preserve their perfect start to this year's championship, having so far picked up wins over Wales and France.
Fly-half and regular skipper Sexton suffered a groin injury against Les Bleus in week two however and has been ruled out of the trip to Stadio Olimpico.
In his place, Leinster forward Ryan will take charge for the visitors, with the 26-year-old acknowledging he must live up to the responsibility.
"It's obviously a huge honour," he said. "It’s very cool. It’s a great moment for me and my family to captain my country this week. It still hasn’t sunk in.
"We've got a good group, a core leadership group that has been there for the last couple of years. I have big shoes to fill.
"Being named captain is a huge honour, but I've still got to bring the best version of myself."
Ireland are favourites to take the championship crown after defeating France last time out, with the world number one side looking to push on in a World Cup year.
A much-improved Italy are still winless in 2023, but Ryan expects a sterner test than in encounters gone by from the Azzurri.
"They are at home, so they will play with plenty of emotion," he added.
"They are obviously an improved team, particularly in attack. They seem to be playing with a lot of ambition.
"They've got some genuinely world-class players there. They are a very dangerous side with ball in hand. They are also strong up front.
"We saw them drive the England pack back a few times, which is no easy task. I think it will be a big challenge for us."
Novak Djokovic says his participation at the Indian Wells Open and Miami Open is "out of his control".
Djokovic, who last month won the Australian Open to move level with Rafael Nadal on 22 grand slam titles, has not played since claiming the title in Melbourne.
The world number one was nursing a hamstring issue throughout the season's first major, but he confirmed at a press conference in Belgrade on Wednesday that he will return to action at the Dubai Tennis Championships next week.
Djokovic could not compete in the United States last season due to his COVID-19 vaccination status, though his brother Djordje has claimed the 35-year-old has applied for a "special permit" to enter the country.
He has received clearance from the tournament organisers to play at the two Masters 1000 events at Indian Wells and in Miami but now faces a wait to find out if the U.S. government will grant him entry.
"The process for that has started. It is out of my control now," Djokovic said.
"I'd love to play and I'm glad I received the approval of directors in Miami and Indian Wells. I hope the decision makers will give the approval."
On his progress on the injury front, Djokovic explained: "As for the injury I sustained at the Australian Open, it's healed, but I'm not 100 per cent yet.
"Things are looking very good. As a team, we made the decision to go to Dubai."
Djokovic has won the Dubai Tennis Championships five times, though the last of those titles came in 2020.
He was knocked out by Jiri Vesely in the quarter-finals last year.
Djokovic this week tied Steffi Graf on 377 weeks spent as world number one.
The outright record is set to become his next week, with Carlos Alcaraz unable to surpass him even if the young Spaniard wins the Rio Open.
Iga Swiatek stormed into the last eight at the Dubai Tennis Championships with an emphatic victory over Liudmila Samsonova.
It only took 76 minutes for the number one seed to record a 6-1 6-0 triumph on Wednesday, continuing a fine run after her triumph in Qatar last week.
Swiatek had only narrowly beaten Samsonova in an epic three-set encounter in the Stuttgart semi-finals last year, but was completely dominant this time around at the WTA 1000 event.
Samsonova struggled in recording a first-serve percentage of just 58.5, and Swiatek was ruthless in winning 19 of 22 points on the Russian's second serve.
Swiatek did not even have to fend off a break point in cruising to victory and will play Karolina Pliskova in the quarters.
Pliskova, the two-time grand slam finalist, battled to a 7-5 6-7 (6-8) 6-2 win over Anhelina Kalinina to reach the last eight in Dubai for the fifth time in her career.
There were also two American successes, with Madison Keys needing only 57 minutes to beat Victoria Azarenka, who appeared to be struggling with her movement.
Keys had lost all of her previous four meetings with Azarenka but triumphed 6-2 6-1 in routine fashion.
And Jessica Pegula joined her compatriot in progressing, winning her first career meeting with Ana Bogdan in straight sets.
Elsewhere, 2019 winner Belinda Bencic crashed out, with Karolina Muchova, who also knocked out Maria Sakkari this week, triumphing 6-1 6-4 to book a quarter-final date with Pegula.
Former Australia assistant coach Dan McKellar has departed the Wallabies to take charge of Leicester Tigers from next season.
The former Brumbies boss will become the permanent successor to England coach Steve Borthwick at the Premiership Rugby club.
McKellar exits the backroom staff of new Australia boss Eddie Jones, who returned to the top job at the Wallabies following his own exit at Twickenham.
The 46-year-old's arrival at Welford Road signals the end of a coaching reshuffle between the club and the two nations, just months ahead of the Rugby World Cup.
"We are delighted to be able to confirm Dan McKellar's appointment to the head coach role at Leicester Tigers from next season," club chief executive officer Andrea Pinchen said.
"This has been a rigorous process, over a period of almost six months, and always been about ensuring that we found the very best coach to lead this club into the future.
"His style of coaching, his interactions and passion for wanting to improve players, his interest in developing Tigers-made players and our connection with our community has shown he understands the uniqueness of this club.
"Dan is committed to long-term success at Leicester Tigers, and we are looking forward to welcoming him and his family in the summer, before getting to work together."
McKellar will not take charge until the end of the 2022-23 campaign at Leicester, with the Tigers set to continue under interim boss Richard Wigglesworth.
The former scrum-half is then set to link up with former coach Borthwick and fellow assistant Kevin Sinfield as part of the national set-up ahead of the World Cup.
After losing their opening Six Nations game to Scotland, England bounced back to give their new boss a maiden victory against Italy earlier this month.
They next play Wales on Saturday, before games with holders France and championship favourites Ireland in March.
Charlotte Hornets wing Miles Bridges hopes to return to the NBA next month, having not played all season while under an NBA investigation.
The 24-year-old was arrested in June for felony domestic violence and in November pleaded no contest to the charge. He was sentenced to three years of probation and no jail time.
Bridges was accused of assaulting his then-girlfriend in front of their two children. Two other charges were dismissed, but he has remained under NBA investigation with the threat of disciplinary action.
"It's been a long process," Bridges told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "I might be back in March."
Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak said earlier this month that they were letting the investigation take its course before making any decisions on Bridges' future.
"I don’t know when the investigation is going to end," Kupchak said. "When the investigation ends, we will have more information and we’ll go from there."
Bridges averaged career highs of 20.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists in the 2021-22 season before the arrest, coming just days before he entered restricted free agency.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy will have to wait for elbow surgery after reportedly being advised that the inflammation is still lingering.
Purdy was the most impressive rookie quarterback in the league this past season after injuries to Week 1 starter Trey Lance and backup Jimmy Garoppolo pushed him to the top of the depth chart.
The very last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft went on to win his first eight starts for the 49ers, guiding them through to the NFC Championship Game, where he would suffer a serious elbow injury.
It occurred when he was hit on his throwing arm, overextending his elbow and ultimately producing an injury – a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) – usually seen in baseball pitchers.
The timeline for a typical UCL repair is six months, so it was scheduled for February 22 to give him a chance to recover in time for preseason camp in early August.
But Purdy was given bad news on the eve of that date, with NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reporting that the doctor recommended postponing the surgery because of persistent inflammation in the elbow.
The report states the parties will reconvene in March to re-assess the situation, and while he is still expected to make a full recovery in time for Week 1, any further delays would begin to eat into his preseason.
New Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken says he is not worried if quarterback Lamar Jackson skips offseason workouts if he receives their franchise tag.
Jackson's contractual situation with the Ravens remains unresolved, after Baltimore opted against handing the 2019 MVP a new five-year contract in 2022, with the QB playing out the fifth-year option of his rookie deal in 2022.
The Ravens were previously public in their confidence that they would secure Jackson to a new long-term deal, but nothing has been forthcoming, with no talks taking place since last offseason.
Jackson is understood to want a fully guaranteed five-year contract – similar to the outlier deal handed to Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson – which the Ravens are not willing to meet, meaning one of the parties will need to budge to agree to a new deal.
The NFL's franchise tag window opened on Tuesday running until March 7, with the Ravens expected to place the tag on their QB to prevent Jackson from becoming an unrestricted free agent should they be unable to agree to a new deal in the next fortnight.
That scenario may lead to Jackson, who represents himself in negotiations without an agent, opting to skip Ravens' offseason workouts and training camp and only report to practice in the week prior to the regular season.
"Sure, he'll be behind, but it's still just football," Monken told reporters. "Sometimes we make this out to be way too much. We'll cater to what he knows and play."
Monken was speaking at his introductory press conference, having only been appointed to the role last week replacing Greg Roman.
The new offensive coordinator would naturally need time to build rapport with Jackson, which that hypothetical scenario would not afford him.
"I mean it's like any player, the more time you spend with them, the more comfortable they get with any system," Monken said. "That's more relationship, and that's part of it.
"There's a big part of that relationship from a quarterback, coordinator, playcaller, position coach where they're comfortable and there's a trust. And that's built over time."
Jackson's past two seasons have ended prematurely due to injuries, with the Ravens missing the playoffs in 2021 following a late slump, while they lost to the Cincinnati Bengals in the Wild Card round in 2022.
The Ravens QB threw a career-best 36 touchdowns with a 66.1 per cent completion rate in his MVP-winning 2019 season from 15 starts, but only managed 16 and 17 TDs from 12 and 12 starts in his past two seasons respectively.
"He's got an elite skill set," Monken said. "I think he's underrated as a passer in terms of his ability to make plays and throw it down the field."
Sunday's Argentina Open champion Carlos Alcaraz was one game away from victory against Mateus Alves before heavy rain halted play at the Rio Open first round on Tuesday.
Alcaraz led 6-4 5-3 over the Brazilian wildcard, but was denied a shot at victory as rain interrupted play, which ultimately suspended for the day. Alcaraz's match is scheduled to resume on Wednesday afternoon local time.
The 2022 US Open champion had triumphed last week in Buenos Aires in his first tournament since November following injuries that kept him out of the 2023 Australian Open. Alcaraz is the reigning Rio Open champion.
Cameron Norrie, who Alcaraz beat in the Argentina Open final, progressed with a 7-5 6-1 win over Juan Manuel Cerundolo in one hour and 29 minutes.
Norrie had rallied from a 5-3 deficit in the first set to claim the opening frame, winning 10 of the final 11 games for victory.
Italian veteran Fabio Fognini's charge into the second round was also delayed on the brink of triumph, leading 6-2 5-2 against Chilean qualifier Tomas Barrios Vera when rain intervened.
Fourth seed Francisco Cerundolo won 4-6 6-3 6-3 over Roberto Carbellas Baena while Colombia's Daniel Galan and Peru's Juan Pablo Varillas were also winners on Tuesday.
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