Max Verstappen may not have immediately known he was again Formula One champion on Sunday, but a dominant season made this triumph "more beautiful" than the last for the Dutchman.
Verstappen has won consecutive titles in slightly confusing fashion, even if his 2022 success was long anticipated.
When the Red Bull superstar pipped Lewis Hamilton in 2021, it was after a highly controversial restart in the season finale as both drivers took the fight right down to the wire.
This time, Verstappen headed into the Japanese Grand Prix knowing he was almost certain to be celebrating again at some stage.
He could complete the job at Suzuka by finishing eight points ahead of Charles Leclerc and six ahead of Sergio Perez – an outcome he unknowingly achieved.
Leclerc was given a five-second penalty after the race to finish behind Perez, meaning Verstappen was champion when Red Bull clocked full points would be awarded due to the race resuming after a red flag, despite only half of the grand prix being completed.
It was an odd way to learn of the success, but Verstappen was able to reflect on the year as a whole, having contributed to 12 of Red Bull's team-record 14 wins.
Of his two titles, Verstappen said: "I think the first one is always a little more emotional, but the second one is probably more beautiful with the season we've had – the wins, the great racing, the teamwork, the one-twos.
"Also we're leading the constructors' so we really want to focus on that as well to try to secure that.
"It's been a pretty special year. It's something you really have to remind yourself of, because these kind of years you don't have very often."
Summing up his emotions, Verstappen added: "It's crazy. I have very mixed emotions, of course, winning the race and also, looking back now, winning the championship. What a year we've had so far.
"It's been incredible and something I never could have imagined happening after last year, already fighting to the end and then having such a good car again this year.
"I'm so thankful to everyone who has been contributing to this success. The whole team that is here but also back in the factory room is working flat out, and they're never missing any motivation to try to make the car faster.
"Besides that, the work we've done together with Honda, all the way through, every year, constantly improving rapidly.
"To win now twice is very emotional, especially here [at Honda's home race and with the Japanese fans], with everyone watching.
"It gives you a little bit more pressure, but it's good pressure, positive pressure. I'm very proud that we could do it here."
Max Verstappen learned he had sealed another Formula One world title only after winning a rain-shortened Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday.
It had appeared Verstappen would be made to wait until Austin to confirm a second consecutive championship, as his hopes of getting the job done at Suzuka were rocked by heavy rain.
Even when Verstappen crossed the line in first place with just over half the race completed, title rival Charles Leclerc looked to have clung on to second to delay his title celebrations.
But Leclerc's late move to stay ahead of Sergio Perez landed him a five-second penalty, putting the Ferrari man in third and no longer within reach of Verstappen.
The victory for Verstappen moved him clear of Red Bull team-mate Perez, too, and the Dutchman was informed of his triumph only after his initial parc ferme interview.
It made for a bizarre conclusion to a long and controversial day, with initial attempts to start the race lasting mere minutes.
The safety car was out by the end of a first lap that had seen Leclerc briefly get ahead of pole-sitter Verstappen, only to trail again by Turn 1.
A series of incidents behind them in the awful conditions led to a yellow flag, and proceedings were red-flagged by the third lap.
The delay that followed lasted more than two hours, with Verstappen eventually resuming behind the safety car with only 45 minutes available in the race's three-hour window.
A sprint to the finish was without any drama at the front, though, and the title was instead decided by the battle for second as Leclerc left the track and then forced Perez wide.
Max Verstappen won the Formula One world title on Sunday with victory at the Japanese Grand Prix.
The Red Bull driver claimed his second consecutive drivers' standings triumph when a penalty after the race confirmed his rival Charles Leclerc was demoted to third place.
The Toronto Blue Jays were still in shock as John Schneider and his players sought to reflect on a remarkable defeat to the Seattle Mariners that ended their season.
Toronto, the fourth seed in the American League, had lost their Wild Card opener at home to the Mariners on Friday but appeared on course to level the series the following day.
The Blue Jays led 8-1 at the end of the fifth inning, with Seattle needing to become just the third team to overturn a seven-run deficit in a postseason game.
But that was exactly what they did, with four runs in each of the sixth and eighth innings to win 10-9 and advance to the ALDS.
"Baseball sucks sometimes, and this group will be back in the exact same spot very, very soon," Schneider said.
"Sometimes when you think you have an advantage, you don't win."
The interim Blue Jays manager gathered his thoughts more effectively than Teoscar Hernandez, whose two home runs proved in vain.
Hernandez is only the third Blue Jay to hit two homers in a single postseason game, although all three examples have now come in defeats that saw Toronto eliminated (also Jose Bautista vs the Kansas City Royals in the 2015 ALCS, Danny Jansen vs the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2020 Wild Card).
"Nothing goes through my mind," Hernandez said. "Every little thing that happened in the game, it's just incredible the way it happened.
"I mean, we were winning by seven runs. It sucks, but at the end, it's baseball, and we have to eat it, go home, think about it and get ready for next year."
While heartbreaking for the Blue Jays, the win continued the Mariners' Cinderella story, bringing playoff baseball back home to Seattle for the first time since 2001.
A 21-year postseason drought had been the longest such active run in any of the four major American sports.
"It's a credit to our players not quitting," said manager Scott Servais. "Just keep grinding through it.
"We've talked about doing the little things, just get on base, and that's what you saw. Nobody tried to hit a homer. It was just 'keep the line moving'. And all of a sudden, big things happen."
Pierre Gasly was furious as he suggested he was put in danger by a recovery tractor at the rain-disrupted Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday.
The race at Suzuka lasted less than a lap under a downpour before a safety car was brought out, with a red flag soon following after a number of early incidents.
Among them, AlphaTauri's Gasly – who has just agreed a move to Alpine – made contact with an advertising board, which then became lodged in his front wing, further impacting his already reduced visibility.
But Gasly was still driving behind the safety car when he passed a tractor on the track recovering Carlos Sainz's car.
"I could have f***ing killed myself," Gasly fumed.
The most recent fatal accident in Formula One occurred at Suzuka in 2014 when Jules Bianchi collided with a recovery vehicle in wet conditions.
A widely reported FIA response sought to explain the incident with Gasly, saying the race had been red-flagged by the time he encountered the tractor.
"The safety car had been deployed and the race neutralised," the FIA said. "Car 10, which had collected damage and pitted behind the safety car, was then driving at high speed to catch up to the field.
"As conditions were deteriorating, the red flag was shown before Car 10 passed the location of the incident where it had been damaged the previous lap."
The incident was set to be reviewed again after the race, which still had not restarted an hour after the red flag.
The Seattle Mariners launched the biggest road comeback in playoff history to advance to the ALDS after completing a Wild Card sweep over the Toronto Blue Jays with a 10-9 win.
The Mariners, in their first postseason campaign since 2001, trailed 8-1 at the bottom of the fifth inning before four runs in each of the sixth and eighth.
Down 9-6 in the eighth, J.P. Crawford hit a blooper to center, landing between center-fielder George Springer and shortstop Bo Bichette, who collided, allowing three runners to score and tie the game up.
Adam Frazier came up with the game-winning RBI double in the ninth inning, hitting to right-field to drive in Cal Raleigh.
The comeback was the joint second biggest in MLB postseason history, and the largest rally to clinch a postseason series.
Seattle now progresses to the ALDS where they will face the Houston Astros.
"To go to the World Series, you have to go through Houston,'' Mariners manager Scott Servais said. "They're really good. We understand that. We're really good.''
Phillies floor Cards to end Pujols' career
Albert Pujols' decorated career ended as the St Louis Cardinals bowed out following a 2-0 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies after Bryce Harper's second-inning home run.
Pujols went two-for-four, managing a hit with his final at-bat, but could not produce the heroics to lift the Cardinals, with their leading home-run hitter Paul Goldschmidt struggling throughout. Pujols ends his career with 703 home runs, the fourth most of all-time.
Aaron Nola was excellent for the Phillies on the mound, with six strikeouts across six-and-two-thirds scoreless innings, allowing only four hits.
The Cleveland Guardians completed a sweep over the Tampa Bay Rays with a 1-0 win after Oscar Gonzalez homered in the 15th inning.
Vintage deGrom helps Mets stay alive
The New York Mets stayed alive with a 7-3 victory over the San Diego Padres to square up their Wild Card series.
Jacob deGrom starred with eight strikeouts across six innings, while Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso homered in the first and fifth innings respectively.
With the Mets leading 3-2 in the seventh, Jeff McNeil managed a two-run double. Brandon Nimmo was important too, going three-for-four with one RBI.
Patrick Cantlay carded a joint course record and career low 60 to move to grab a share of the lead with Tom Kim at the Shriners Children's Open with one day to go.
Cantlay, who had shot back-to-back 67s, tied the course record on the third day at Las Vegas' TPC at Summerlin with 11 birdies in his 11-under-par round.
The American world number four just fell shy of the elusive 59, missing with his birdie putt from just under 25 feet on the 18th hole.
Cantlay's 60 was his first on tour as a professional, having achieved the feat in 2011 as a 19-year-old amateur at the Travelers Championship.
Kim and Cantlay are three strokes clear on the leaderboard at 19-under overall, with halfway leader Mito Pereira back with Matthew NeSmith on 16 under.
The South Korean managed six birdies on the back nine to score an impressive nine-under-par 62 on Saturday.
Kim landed his approach on the 18th two feet from the hole to close out his round with birdie and earn the joint lead.
Pereira could only manage four birdies to lose his grip on the lead, while NeSmith had a strong eight-under round fueled by three birdies on the final four holes.
South Korean pair Im Sung-jae and Kim Seong-hyeon are next best on the leaderboard at 15 under.
Behind them is a group of five tied at 14 under, including Kim Si-woo and Aaron Rai, who carded a nine-under 62 on Saturday, with four birdies on his final five holes.
The NFL and NFL Players Association have agreed to modify concussion protocols following an investigation of Tua Tagovailoa's recent injury, saying his return to a game against the Buffalo Bills was "not what was intended when the protocols were drafted".
Although the investigation found the Miami Dolphins to have followed existing protocols "as written", NFLPA president J.C. Tretter believes Tagovailoa's treatment was not a "meaningful application" of the rules.
The Dolphins came under heavy scrutiny for their decision to field Tagovailoa against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 4, a game in which he sustained a concussion.
In Tagovailoa's previous outing against the Bills, he appeared unsteady on his feet after his head slammed against the turf following a heavy collision.
The NFL and NFLPA launched an investigation into the handling of that injury after he returned to the field shortly thereafter, with head coach Mike McDaniel saying he suffered a back injury.
A joint NFL-NFLPA statement released on Saturday read: "The parties have completed their joint review of the application of the NFL's concussion protocol following the injury to Miami Dolphins Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa during their game on September 25, 2022.
"While the investigation determined that the team medical staff and unaffiliated medical professionals followed the steps of the protocol as written, the NFL and NFLPA agree that the outcome in this case is not what was intended when the protocols were drafted.
"As such, as has been done in previous cases, based on the advice of the parties' respective medical experts, the protocol will be modified to enhance the safety of the players.
"Specifically, the term 'ataxia' has been added to the mandatory 'no-go' symptoms. If a player is diagnosed with 'ataxia' by any club or neutral physician involved in the application of the concussion protocol, he will be prohibited from returning to the game.
"The parties remain committed to continuing to evaluate our protocol to ensure it reflects the intended conservative approach to evaluating player-patients for potential head injuries."
Tretter, however, has since taken to social media to criticise the Dolphins' handling of the incident, tweeting: "We do not believe this was a meaningful application of the protocols.
"Nobody, including the NFL, believes he should have been put back in the game. It is problematic that he was cleared for a back injury for which the lead doctors never took the time to examine."
Tagovailoa has been ruled out of the Dolphins' Week 5 fixture against the New York Jets on Sunday.
Filippo Ganna made cycling history by beating the UCI hour world record by over a kilometre with his attempt in Switzerland on Saturday.
The INEOS Grenadiers rider was trying to beat the previous mark of 55.548km set by his team-mate Dan Brigham in August.
Ganna achieved it in style as he finished with a distance of 56.792km, a full 1.244km ahead, achieving his feat at the Tissot Velodrome in Grenchen.
The double world time trial champion, who signed a four-year extension with INEOS in August, said: "To arrive at this amazing goal is fantastic for me, and all the INEOS Grenadiers staff who worked for a long time to arrive at this result. This result is amazing. 56.792 kilometres is not bad!
"Next time maybe I'll try in another part of the season with fresher legs and we can go higher again.
"This result is amazing. Now I'm thinking about recovery and trying to celebrate together with everyone here."
Brigham also congratulated Ganna on taking his record, saying: "A massive kudos to Filippo for that historic ride. I know the commitment, determination and work that's needed to put in a performance like that.
"It's fantastic that this ambitious project came together on the night. Having my record beaten by Filippo was always part of the plan and it's great to have such a deserving team-mate as the new record holder."
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green will step away from the team for a short period after being involved in a physical altercation with team-mate Jordan Poole.
On Wednesday, reports suggested Green could face disciplinary action after becoming involved in a heated interaction with Poole, forcing the team to halt practice.
Subsequent social media footage of the incident appeared to show the players pushing one another before Green escalated the confrontation by throwing a punch.
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, Green apologised to Poole and his family, and professed his hope he could still face the Los Angeles Lakers in Friday's season opener.
"Number one, I was wrong for my actions," Green said. "There's a huge embarrassment that comes with [this].
"Not only for myself, as I was the one who committed the action, but the embarrassment that Jordan has to deal with and that this team has to deal with, this organisation has to deal with.
"But also Jordan's family. His family saw that video. His mother, his father saw that video. If my mother saw that video, I know how my mother would feel.
"I watched the video 15 times, maybe more, because when I watch the video, I'm looking at the video, I'm like; 'this looks awful! This looks even worse than I thought it was'. It's pathetic."
Asked whether he expected to be involved on opening night after spending a short period of time away from the team, Green added: "Yeah, I expect to play. Will I play? That's a different story. It's something we will figure out. What the answer is, is to feel our way through this."
Green's future has been the focus of speculation recently, with the four-time NBA champion stating he does not expect to agree a contract extension in the near future.
But the 32-year-old was adamant any frustrations concerning that situation had nothing to do with Wednesday's incident, adding: "The one thing I can assure you is that that had absolutely nothing to do with anything.
"I am a flawed human being, and the work I've done to correct those flaws – I think – has been tremendous.
"There's a long way to go, that's a constant work in progress. The day that that took place, I was in a very, very bad space mentally, dealing with some things in my personal life."
London could be home to two NFL teams if a European division of American football's premier league gets off the ground.
The NFL first started playing international games in 2007 with the goal of turning the league into a truly worldwide brand. Fifteen years later, commissioner Roger Goodell continues to field questions about the final goal of that effort.
Could the NFL become a trans-Atlantic league with franchises in Europe? It appears the answer is that yes, it could, if not quite yet.
Speaking to fans on a panel with former players Osi Umenyiora, Victor Cruz and Maurice Jones-Drew, Goodell spoke positively about the possibility of an NFL franchise – or two – calling the UK home.
"I think there's no question that London could support not just one franchise, I think two franchises, I really believe that," Goodell said. "That's from a fan perspective, a commercial standpoint, from a media standpoint, I think you [the UK fans] have all proven that."
The Green Bay Packers will become the last of the NFL teams to have played a game in the UK when they face the New York Giants on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the second of three games this year in London.
On October 30, the Denver Broncos and Jacksonville Jaguars will play at Wembley Stadium.
The NFL will also play its first ever game in Germany next month when Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers face the Seattle Seahawks at Allianz Arena in Munich.
The panel's host, Neil Reynolds of Sky Sports, joked that the NFL should have an entire division based in Europe, an idea well received by Goodell.
"That's part of what we're doing, right?" Goodell said. "We're trying to see 'could you have multiple locations in Europe where you could have an NFL franchise?', because it would be easier as a division."
Despite the success of the NFL's International Series, the primary concern with its expansion remains competitive balance.
"The question I think is going to come down to, not so much the logistics about travel, that's clearly a challenge, it really comes down to whether you can do it competitively, where the team here or the teams in the States coming over can continue to be competitive, and that was the challenge when we did the regular-season games," Goodell said.
"There was a lot of concern with ownership when we first introduced it, and frankly it took the guts of the Giants and Dolphins that came out here the first time, they had to prove we could do it competitively.
"This is where it turned around [for the 2007 Giants] and they went and won the Super Bowl that year. That sent a message to everybody in the league – it's not going to damage your ability to make it to the postseason. Competitiveness is the key."
The Los Angeles Rams did not give Sean McVay much reason to be confident they can find their Super Bowl-winning form during their Monday defeat to the San Francisco 49ers.
San Francisco rode a dominant defensive performance to knock off the Rams 24-9, extending the 49ers' regular-season winning streak against their NFC West rivals to seven games.
Matthew Stafford failed to throw a touchdown pass having also drawn a blank in the Week 3 win over the Arizona Cardinals. It marked the fourth time in his career that Stafford had gone without a scoring throw in successive games.
Yet even with their offense misfiring, the Rams and head coach McVay have reason for hope heading into Sunday's clash with the Dallas Cowboys.
Since McVay took over in 2017, the Rams have gone 3-1 against the Cowboys, including a win in the Divisional Round of the playoffs at the end of the 2018 season.
Los Angeles' average margin of victory in those successes has been 16 points and, going against a backup quarterback in Cooper Rush, the Rams would appear to be a strong bet for a two-touchdown win in this matchup.
Yet Rush is proving himself a top-tier backup as Dak Prescott recovers from a thumb injury.
He has helped the Cowboys to three successive victories after they lost the season opener to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Having won his first start against the Minnesota Vikings last year, Rush is the first quarterback in Cowboys history to win his first four starts. The only other NFL players to do so since 2005 are Kyle Allen (5), Patrick Mahomes (6), Jimmy Garoppolo (7) and Trevor Siemian (4).
And Rush and the Cowboys may have a formula for making it five wins for their number two signal-caller.
The Rams' nine-point effort against the 49ers marked the second time they had failed to score more than 10 this season. They were held to 10 by the Buffalo Bills in the season curtain-raiser.
Los Angeles had only failed to surpass 10 points seven times in McVay's first five seasons as head coach and have not done so more than twice in one season since doing so nine times in 2016, the Rams' first year back in their Southern California home following the return from St. Louis.
In the Cowboys, however, the Rams are facing a defense that has the talent to match the destruction the 49ers produced against a banged-up offensive line that allowed Stafford to be sacked seven times and pressured on 21 dropbacks.
Heading into Week 5, the Cowboys ranked second in pass rush win rate and boast three pass rushers in Micah Parsons (4), Demarcus Lawrence (4) and Dorance Armstrong (3) who have combined for 10 sacks so far this season.
With the Rams proving incapable of protecting Stafford as they fell to 2-2 on the season in the loss to San Francisco, that trio has a chance to consistently disrupt the Rams' passing game and allow a Dallas offense that has committed just two giveaways this season to control the ball and the clock.
Should that happen at SoFi Stadium, the Cowboys will be in an excellent position to reduce the Rams' reasons for positivity by dealing another blow to their hopes of retaining the Lombardi Trophy.
World number one Iga Swiatek will face Barbora Krejcikova in the Ostrava Open final after beating Ekaterina Alexandrova on Saturday.
Swiatek continued her stellar season with a 7-6 (7-5) 2-6 6-4 victory over the Russian.
A tie-break was needed to settle the opening set, with Swiatek securing a crucial break of serve when 6-5 up.
The Pole was caught off guard in the second set as Alexandrova took it the distance, before Swiatek claimed the solitary break of the decider to lead 4-3 and did not allow her opponent a way back.
Swiatek, who has 60 wins to her name in 2022, will do battle with Krejcikova in the championship match after she came from a set down to defeat Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4.
Rybakina served 17 aces to Krejciokva's two, but the Czech 26-year-old battled to victory to put herself in the final of her home tournament.
At the Jasmin Open, Alize Cornet knocked out second seed Veronika Kudermetova with a 6-4 6-3 triumph to clinch her place in Sunday's final.
Cornet saved nine of 11 break points to beat the world number 12 and has not dropped a set all week at the tournament in Tunisia.
Elise Mertens awaits Cornet in the final after a 6-4 6-0 success over Claire Liu, who knocked out top seed Ons Jabeur on Friday.
Mertens broke Liu at 5-4 up to take the first set before emphatically sealing victory with a sublime second in which she won 24 of the 29 points.
Novak Djokovic progressed to the Astana Open final after Daniil Medvedev retired from their last-four clash due to injury.
The two played out a thrilling first two sets, with Medvedev taking the lead before Djokovic fought back to level the match via a tie-break.
However, the Russian was unable to continue after sustaining a leg injury, keeping Djokovic in the hunt for back-to-back titles when he competes in the showpiece, where he will face Stefanos Tsitsipas.
"I really hope that his injury is nothing too serious,” said Djokovic. "I know Daniil, he's a great guy, he's a fighter, he's a big competitor.
"He wouldn't retire a match if he didn't feel that he [could] continue or [if it wouldn't] worsen his injury. He told me that he pulled an adductor muscle in his leg.
"It was such a close match, particularly in the second set. I would probably say he was a better player on the court in both sets. I was fighting and trying to find a way.
"I found a way to win the second, but I'm just sad for the tournament and for these people who were enjoying the battle, and for Daniil that it had to end this way."
Third seed Tsitsipas started slowly in the first set against Andrey Rublev but managed to triumph 4-6 6-4 6-3 in Saturday's other semi-final.
"My mentality kind of changed," said Tsitsipas, who will seek his first ATP 500 title at the ninth attempt. "I played with more of an aggressive game style and didn’t have anything by luck."
At the Japan Open, Taylor Fritz battled back from 3-1 down in the deciding set against Denis Shapovalov to claim a 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 semi-final victory and book his place in his third ATP Tour final this season.
Third seed Fritz faces an all-American clash in Sunday's final against Frances Tiafoe, who dropped his first set of the week as Soonwoo Kwon bageled him, but the US Open semi-finalist recorded a 6-2 0-6 6-4 win.
"It was a weird match, but I'm happy to get through," said Tiafoe, who progressed into his second final of the season and fifth overall.
"It's not always going to be pretty, it's not always going to be the best stuff, but a win is what matters."
Max Verstappen believes he needs a "perfect race" to secure victory at the Japanese Grand Prix and with it a second successive Formula One world title, despite qualifying on pole.
Verstappen holds a 96-point lead in the drivers' championship as what once looked like being a fascinating battle with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc has instead turned into a procession.
The Red Bull driver's retention of the title he wrested from Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton last season is now an inevitability.
It is matter of when and not if Verstappen wins the drivers' championship, and he put himself in the box seat to do it at Suzuka by claiming pole for a race being held for the first time since 2019, the coronavirus pandemic having seen the 2020 and 2021 races cancelled.
He set a time of one minute and 29.304 seconds and avoided a grid penalty following an investigation into a Q3 near-miss with McLaren's Lando Norris.
But Verstappen refuses to get complacent even with a second title in touching distance. A win and the fastest lap bonus point will seal the championship and Verstappen would also clinch it if he wins without the fastest lap and Leclerc finishes lower than second.
"I'm not thinking about it too much. What was most important was we had a competitive car," said Verstappen.
"We had that in qualifying and I hope it will be the same in the race because we do need a perfect race to win it. But at least it is a good start."
The weather could dampen Verstappen's hopes of a title party on Sunday, with rain forecast at the end of a weekend that saw Friday's running in practice washed out.
"We're going a little bit into the unknown," said Leclerc as he looks to extend the one-sided title fight to the United States Grand Prix after finishing 0.010 seconds behind Verstappen.
"But it looks like the conditions are also a little bit unpredictable. We don't really know whether it is going to rain or not, or maybe both. We will see."
While the conditions may be tough to judge, it is fair to say Mercedes are unlikely to compete for the win unless inclement weather arrives.
Hamilton qualified sixth while George Russell was down in eighth, the latter over a second off Verstappen's pace.
"The Red Bull is still quicker on the straight with no DRS than we are with DRS," Hamilton said.
"Rain opens up more opportunity. It could be not the most exciting race if it's dry, at least not for us."
The Green Bay Packers have been one of the most consistent teams in the NFL under the leadership of Matt LaFleur.
As a head coach, LaFleur has compiled a 42-11 regular-season record, winning three NFC North titles and guiding the Packers to the NFC Championship Game in two of his three campaigns in charges.
Yet the failure that has contributed to their inability to get to the Super Bowl during LaFleur's tenure has also been consistent.
In the NFC Championship Game at the end of the 2019 season, the Packers were gashed on the ground by Raheem Mostert and the San Francisco 49ers in a 37-20 blowout.
Mostert racked up 220 rushing yards and four touchdowns in a remarkable display, and a year later as the Packers hosted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Lambeau Field at the same stage, they suffered a similar if less statistically dramatic downfall.
Leonard Fournette only had 55 yards rushing in the Buccaneers' 31-26 win, but he had a 20-yard score in the second quarter that gave Tampa Bay a lead they never relinquished, and he averaged four yards after contact, again illustrating the Packers' struggles to stop the run.
The offense and special teams were more at fault last season as the 49ers beat the Packers at Lambeau in the Divisional Round, but a nine-yard run from Deebo Samuel gave the Niners a key third-down conversion on their game-winning drive.
When the Packers have needed to stop the run in critical games, they have come up short, and the signs of that problem being fixed in 2022 are not good.
The Packers are allowing at least four yards on 57.8 per cent of carries by their opponents, the highest rate in the NFL, and giving up 4.91 yards per rush on first down. Green Bay's rush average allowed of 4.97 yards per carry is the 11th-worst in the NFL.
Three of the Packers' first four games have seen them surrender over 100 yards rushing, conceding 167 in allowing a poor New England Patriots team to take them to overtime.
Green Bay's issue is not getting into the backfield, as the Packers rank eighth in run disruption rate, according to Stats Perform data.
So why are the Packers still having issues stopping the run? The short answer is tackling.
Their tackle success rate of 73.6 per cent is tied for the fifth-worst in the NFL, with their problems coming chiefly on the left side of their defense. Left inside linebacker De'Vondre Campbell has missed four tackles and seen a further two broken, while edge rusher Preston Smith – listed as the starting outside backer on the left side – has also had a pair of tackles broken.
It is certainly not fair to pin all the Packers' run defense struggles on Campbell, but it is clear they are not doing enough as a collective to bring ball-carriers down if they evade the disruption Green Bay creates in the backfield.
This week the Packers face the New York Giants in London and meet a running back in Saquon Barkley who is doing an excellent job of racking up yardage on plays where the defense generates a run disruption.
Indeed, Barkley, the NFL's rushing leader through four weeks, is averaging 3.54 yards per carry when faced with a run disruption, above the average of 3.02.
However, his yards after contact per attempt average of 1.96 yards is below the average of 2.01. So while he might be able to evade defenders who get behind the line of scrimmage, tackle-breaking runs from the 2018 second overall pick should be at a premium.
In that sense, he is something of a test case for the Packers. Green Bay has poured plenty of resources into the problems stopping the run but, if Barkley enjoys significant success fighting through contact at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, it could be a sign that run defense and, more specifically, tackling is an issue that could doom a Super Bowl-ready team once more and require more targeted attention next offseason.
Most assumed after Kevin Durant left the Golden State Warriors in 2019 that their time atop the NBA mountain had come to an end.
There appeared to be significant evidence to support that school of thought when the Warriors spent the 2019-20 in the cellar as Stephen Curry joined Klay Thompson in being sidelined through injury, and an Achilles injury suffered by the latter helped leave Golden State ill-equipped to compete in 2020-21.
But after a season in which the Warriors meshed championship experience and difference-making youth, Golden State heads into the 2022-23 campaign back at the summit having seen off the Boston Celtics in six games in last term's NBA Finals.
Curry added the missing component of his Hall of Fame resume, winning Finals MVP for the first time in his illustrious career, and he and the Warriors are the bookmakers' favourites to lift the Larry O'Brien Trophy for the fifth time in nine seasons.
Yet their build-up to the new campaign is a reminder of the many obstacles, including internal ones, that can scupper hopes of sustained success, with Thompson held out of exhibition games in his first preseason since 2018-19 and an altercation between Draymond Green and Jordan Poole in which the former punched his young team-mate, overshadowing Golden State's preparations for a push for a second successive title.
It is an extremely difficult situation to navigate with both Green and Poole looking to receive lucrative contract extensions, and whether the Warriors can overcome the discord between two key players will play a huge role in their ability to successfully defend their crown, but what will be the other key factors, and who will be their primary competition? Stats Perform looks at the Warriors' odds of fending off their rivals and improving their standing among the best dynasties in NBA history.
Staying strong on defense
Though Curry was the obvious centrepiece of the Warriors' championship push, they would not have regained the title without the defensive strength displayed throughout the campaign.
Golden State allowed 105.5 points per game, the third-fewest in the NBA, with opponents shooting just 43.8 per cent against them from the field. Only the Celtics (43.4 per cent) fared better in that regard.
Though those numbers ballooned to 111.9 points per game and a field goal percentage of 48 in the postseason overall, the Warriors' Finals performance was in part defined by four stellar defensive performances.
Indeed, in each of their four Finals wins, the Warriors did not allow the Celtics to score 100 points. Boston's average points total across those games was 92.25. For context, the lowest points per game total in the regular season was the Oklahoma City Thunder's 103.7.
Though his standing is likely at an all-time low after the incident with Poole, Green is still the heartbeat of the defense. His defensive rating of 102.8 was the sixth-best among players to have featured in at least 50 regular-season games last season.
Green never lacks for motivation, but the fact he does not have an extension from Golden State and likely lost a lot of leverage after his fight with Poole may add even more fuel to his eternal fire. Andrew Wiggins (defensive rating - 105.4), whose defense on Jayson Tatum in the Finals drew effusive praise will also be key to the Warriors' success to containing opponents, while Kevon Looney (107.2) and returning veteran Andre Iguodala (97 in 31 games) will be tasked with providing crucial support on the defensive end.
Yet with Gary Payton II (102.2) and Otto Porter Jr. (103.2) departing for pastures new in free agency, the Warriors must replace the impact they had off the bench if they are to remain one of the NBA's premier defensive teams. While the Warriors made a free-agent addition with their defense in mind, there will be a significant onus on recent high-profile draft selections to have a consistent influence on that end of the floor.
The kids are (hopefully) alright
The Warriors did move to address the departures of Payton and Porter by signing Donte DiVincenzo, a member of the Milwaukee Bucks' championship-winning team whose defensive rating of 108.9 since entering the NBA in 2018 is tied for 43rd among players to have featured in at least 200 games in that span.
But the Warriors will also have been comfortable letting Payton and Porter walk because of the faith they have in recent draft picks to contribute on the defensive end.
Jonathan Kuminga finished his rookie year level with Payton for rebounds per 48 minutes with 9.5, and he was fourth on the team with 7.3 defensive boards every 48 minutes. The Warriors will look for him to use his exciting athleticism to harness that same efficiency over a higher number of minutes in 2022-23.
Moses Moody, the second of the Warriors' two 2021 first-rounders, had five defensive rebounds per 48 minutes and is seen as a player who could thrive as a three-and-d player at the highest level.
The three-ball provided significant joy for rookie Patrick Baldwin Jr. in the Warriors' second of two games with the Washington Wizards in Japan, in which he went four of five from deep. Any first-year success for Baldwin would be a luxury for Golden State. By contrast, they will likely view third-year strides from former second overall pick James Wiseman as a necessity.
Wiseman did not feature in the Warriors' championship campaign due to setbacks in his recovery from the torn meniscus that ended his rookie year. He has played only 39 games in the NBA having featured in just three in college, but the flashes he produced in his first year and in this year's Summer League provided evidence he can blossom into a dynamic center at both ends of the court for a team that has long since lacked a definitive answer at the 5 spot.
The Warriors do not lack answers in the frontcourt. The question they face this season is how they will divide the minutes of the three players who produced pivotal play at guard last campaign.
Stick with the Splash Brothers or go to the Poole party?
The Splash Brothers finally reunited last season as Thompson made his long awaited return from injury after over two years on the sideline.
By the time he made his comeback, the Warriors already had a 29-9 record, with their success in large part down to the combination Curry had formed with Poole, the Warriors' 2019 first-round pick who blossomed into a key part of their rotation.
Poole averaged 30 minutes a game in his third season and a career-high 18.5 points per game despite giving his starting role back to Thompson.
Across a much smaller sample size of 32 games compared to Poole's 76, Thompson averaged 20.4 points in his comeback season, though there is a case to be made the Warriors were more effective with Poole on the court.
Poole had a plus-minus per game of 4.3 to Thompson's 2.1 and had a marginally better field goal percentage. Thompson shot 42.9 per cent from the field while Poole converted on 44.8 per cent of field goal attempts.
As Thompson went cold in the NBA Finals, shooting at a 35.6 per cent clip, Poole shot 43.5 per cent against the Celtics and rattled through half of his field goal attempts in the postseason overall.
It is too early, though, to make the judgement that Thompson's best days are behind him and head coach Steve Kerr should lean more towards the energetic Poole. The challenge for Kerr is to find balance between relying on the spot-up ability of arguably the best catch-and-shoot player of the modern era and the young spark-plug with a well-rounded offensive game who can produce dazzling finishes at the basket and confound defenses with deep shooting.
Even if Kerr, who has suggested Thompson could play power forward this season, initially struggles to find that balance, it is unlikely to stop the Warriors from thriving, so long as Curry is available to Golden State. Curry's plus-minus per game of 7.9 was the second-best in the NBA last campaign, one that ended with him silencing any critics questioning his resume by averaging 31.2 points per game in the six games with the Celtics to win his first Finals MVP award.
The need for the right mix of Curry, Thompson and Poole will come if the former endures a drop-off, but having three players of their talents allows Kerr to be more experimental in the regular season and better preserve the two-time MVP for the postseason, when those looking to dethrone the Warriors will face the substantial challenge of trying to stymie his enduring brilliance.
West rivals flawed, but Bucks could set up mouth-watering Finals
The Warriors aren't short of challengers blessed with star power in the Western Conference, but it's tough to pick out many who have an overall roster that looks as strong as the one Kerr has as its disposal.
While the Phoenix Suns have an established but still youthful core that could allow them to push the Warriors, they are coming off an extremely chaotic offseason and will again be relying on 38-year-old Chris Paul as creator-in-chief. Curry's history of success against the 'Point God' suggests that is a matchup stacked firmly in Golden State's favour.
By contrast, Kawhi Leonard has consistently been a thorn in the side of the Warriors and he and Paul George will hope to lead a success-starved Los Angeles Clippers franchise to glory. However, such hopes rely on Leonard returning to his best in the wake of a long lay-off with a partially torn ACL. Similarly, the Denver Nuggets have the back-to-back MVP in Nikola Jokic, but his support comes from players in Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. who are both returning from long spells on the sideline. Without that pair, the Warriors breezed to a 4-1 first-round win over the Nuggets last season.
That was also the margin in the Western Conference Finals as the Warriors beat Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks. Simply put, the Slovenian superstar did not have enough around him, especially on defense, for the Mavs to compete with Golden State, and the Memphis Grizzlies were ill-equipped to upset the Warriors once Ja Morant went out with a knee injury in the previous round.
The problem is the same for so many teams in the West, who do not have the depth to beat the Warriors over seven games. The Los Angeles Lakers possess a star-studded lineup with LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook on the roster, but Darvin Ham has too many problems to fix surrounding their chemistry and even getting that trio on the court at the same time for the Lakers to be considered a legitimate threat to Golden State at this stage.
It is in the Eastern Conference where the teams that have the best shot of dethroning the Warriors reside. For all the drama in Brooklyn, the combination of Durant, Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons is still one that could deliver a title if their respective talents can be harnessed by Steve Nash, and former Net James Harden and Joel Embiid offer the Philadelphia 76ers a duo that could deliver a long-awaited championship.
Erik Spoelstra's coaching, Jimmy Butler's frequently tireless performances and the well-rounded nature of their roster makes the Miami Heat a tough team to rule out but, in terms of top-end talent and depth, it is the Celtics and the non-Miami team they beat in seven games last season, the Milwaukee Bucks, who stand as the Warriors' biggest threats.
The Celtics' offseason was overshadowed by the scandal surrounding suspended head coach Ime Udoka, but they are led by two stars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown who are both 25 or under and should be better for the experience of losing in the Finals.
Yet the argument could be made the Celtics never would have got beyond the second round had the Bucks had Khris Middleton available for Game 7.
Giannis Antetokounmpo's athleticism, length and all-round skill set still makes him the most physically fearsome player in the NBA and, when both Middleton and Jrue Holiday are healthy, the Bucks have a big three to rival any team in scoring, facilitation and defense.
Milwaukee had eight players average at least nine points last year and seven are still on the team. Plenty can and will change over the course of a long season but, heading into a year in which everyone will be desperate to knock them off, the team most likely to prevent the Warriors from retaining the trophy is the team that lifted it before them.
Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra will take a five-stroke lead into the final round at LIV Golf Bangkok after ending a brilliant second day in Thailand at 16 under par.
Lopez-Chacarra was one of a leading trio on seven under after the first round, but Richard Bland was unable to keep up with the Spaniard and Branden Grace withdrew after just three holes on Saturday due to an acute muscle strain.
Bland is one of four five shots off the lead with Sihwan Kim, Patrick Reed and Harold Varner III – while they may not be completely out of the running yet, the chasing pack need Lopez-Chacarra to lose momentum.
If his form from the first two rounds is anything to go by, there is little hope of such a collapse, with no one in the field bettering his respective scores of 65 and 63.
Saturday's 63 was nine under par as the 22-year-old – who was a high-ranked amateur before joining LIV Golf in June – carded seven birdies and an eagle, which was holed from the sand on six, and avoided a single bogey.
Those trailing Lopez-Chacarra will be hoping the Madrid native's inexperience leads to a blip on Sunday.
Four-time major winner Brooks Koepka is one of those who will aim to propel himself into contention as he sits on 10 under for the tournament, though victory will require something special.
Few other big names retain much of a chance of glory, however, with Bryson DeChambeau at seven under and Phil Mickelson another shot back.
Sergio Garcia and Dustin Johnson are among a group on four under, while 2022 Open Championship winner Cameron Smith is way down near the bottom of the standings at two under.
If Lopez-Chacarra can hold his nerve on Sunday, he will have gone from amateur golfer to winner of a $4million purse within four months.
The Washington Commanders are set to hand rookie running back Brian Robinson Jr. his first reps against the Tennessee Titans, completing a remarkable recovery.
The third-rounder was shot twice in an attempted robbery in Washington, D.C. on August 28, where he was fortunate as the bullets passed clean through his lower body.
Robinson has undergone his first week in training after being activated from the team's non-football injury list and will immediately be elevated into the team, Ian Rapoport states.
The rookie will play back-up to starter Antonio Gibson and the plan is for Robinson to receive about 20 snaps in the Week 5 contest.
Offensive coordinator Scott Turner has been impressed by Robinson's displays and said the team is excited for him to take to the field.
"He looked great at practice. He's not going to come in and just carry the ball 30 times," Turner told reporters.
"It's his first time ever playing in the NFL too. He's a rookie, so there's going to be a period of kind of getting him going. But I think we're all excited.
"He's going to give us some juice and that physical presence and just a good all-around back."
The Commanders hold a 1-3 record in 2022 and stand as the only side in the NFC East without a winning record.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
