Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes has his sights set on a second Super Bowl title on Sunday, and he will go into Sunday's clash with the Philadelphia Eagles as a two-time MVP.
Mahomes and Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts will face off at State Farm Stadium, having long since been seen as the two frontrunners for the MVP award.
A late-season shoulder injury damaged Hurts' hopes, while Mahomes made history with his tremendous production.
Despite seeing star wide receiver Tyreek Hill traded to the Miami Dolphins in the offseason, Mahomes threw for over 5,000 yards and 40 touchdowns in a single season for the second time in his career.
In doing so, he joined Tom Brady and Drew Brees as the third quarterback with multiple seasons with 5,000 or more passing yards, while only he and Brees have more than one season with 5,000 yards and 40-plus touchdowns.
Achieving such a feat made Mahomes the obvious choice for MVP, the 2017 first-round pick reclaiming the award he won in 2018 after his first full season as a starter, in which he threw for 5,097 yards and 50 touchdowns.
But Mahomes winning the MVP may not be a good omen for the Chiefs' Super Bowl prospects.
No NFL MVP has won the Super Bowl in the same season since Kurt Warner in 1999, however, if anybody can end that run, it is Mahomes.
Half the field still need to complete their opening round, but Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin raced around with the early group to take a share of the lead into Friday at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Taylor had a rollercoaster of a round, posting a one-over front-nine after an eagle, a double-bogey and a bogey, before flying home with six birdies on the back-nine to finish at five under.
He is joined by Canadian compatriot Hadwin as the only players to finish rounds of 66, but there is a strong chasing pack who were unable to finish that will look to snatch the round-one lead on Friday morning.
World number six Xander Schauffele is one stroke off the lead at four under, although he has finished his round, while joining him in a tie for third are former world number one Jason Day (through 10) and American Jim Herman (through 13).
The red-hot Jon Rahm will have his sights on the top, sitting at three under with five holes to play, as will both Max Homa and Keegan Bradley who are also at three under with six holes to play.
Major champion Matt Fitzpatrick is joined by Tony Finau, Sam Burns and Im Sung-jae in the group who completed one-under rounds, while Jordan Spieth posted an even-par 71.
Justin Thomas (one over through 12) will have a chance to still finish his first round under par, while Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay and Cameron Young will all be trying to fight their way back into contention after finishing two over.
On January 8, the Brooklyn Nets appeared to have finally found their stride as championship contenders, with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving leading the team to 18 wins in a 20-game span.
A month later, the Nets are now starless and retooling around a collection of young players.
Nets general manager Sean Marks issued a statement Thursday night addressing the franchise-altering decision to trade Kevin Durant, less than 24 hours after dealing him to the Phoenix Suns for Mikal Bridges, Cam Thomas and four first-round picks.
"After thorough evaluation of the best path forward, we believe making this trade now positions the franchise for long-term success," Marks said. "Mikal and Cam are elite, ascending, versatile wings, plus the draft capital provides us additional avenues to continue to acquire talent. We remain steadfast in our commitment to building the team Brooklyn deserves.
"We are excited to welcome Mikal, Cam and their families to Brooklyn and thank Kevin for the moments and memories he delivered our fanbase."
The move ends a brief whirlwind of an era for Brooklyn that began with acquiring Durant and Irving during the 2019 offseason.
Despite great expectations and countless storylines – including the acquisition and departure of James Harden, the firing of coach Steve Nash and multiple trade requests – Durant and Irving won a total of seven playoff games together with the Nets, never advancing past the second round.
Irving was traded to the Dallas Mavericks on Monday for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith and a variety of draft picks.
Late Wednesday night, reports surfaced of the blockbuster deal that sent Durant to Phoenix, one of his preferred destinations included in his trade request before the start of the 2022-23 season.
Durant joins Devin Booker, Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton on a Suns team that is sure to be one of the favourites to win the Western Conference.
"This gives Kevin an opportunity to go in and continue on that quest for a championship in Phoenix as their window opens up," Marks told reporters ahead of the Nets’ game against the Chicago Bulls on Thursday.
"My goal here, and our goal from ownership all the way down, is to put something out on the floor that everybody can be proud of, you can see consistent effort, you can see availability, and you can see competitive spirit."
Nick Bosa had long since been seen as the Defensive Player of the Year-elect, and he was confirmed as the premier player on that side of the ball on Thursday.
The San Francisco 49ers defensive end collected the award at the NFL Honors ceremony on Thursday following a dominant campaign from the Niners' star pass rusher.
Dallas Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons and Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones had been in contention for the prize, but Bosa was the clear frontrunner having led the NFL in sacks.
Bosa racked up 18.5 sacks, also tallying 48 quarterback hits and 19 tackles for loss as the 49ers went 13-4, going on to win two playoff games before their NFC Championship Game defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles.
He becomes the third 49er to win Defensive Player of the Year, following in the footsteps of Deion Sanders (1994) and Dana Stubblefield (1997).
Bosa received 46 of the 50 first-place votes and can now look forward to a contract extension that will almost certainly make him the NFL's highest-paid defensive player.
Justin Jefferson has made an astonishing start to his NFL career, and now has two individual awards to his name in his opening three seasons after being named Offensive Player of the Year on Thursday.
Jefferson claimed the award after reaching new heights in terms of receiving yards, racking up a league-high 1,809 yards and hauling in eight touchdown catches.
It marked his third successive season with at least 1,400 yards, having reached that tally in a record-breaking rookie season, which saw him win Offensive Rookie of the Year.
He followed that with 1,616 receiving yards in 2021, before helping the Vikings return to the playoffs in the 2022 campaign with yet another outstanding year.
The Vikings lost to the New York Giants in the Wild Card round, but Jefferson will have silverware with which to remember his superb season.
Jefferson's 4,825 receiving yards since 2020 are nearly 400 more than his nearest challenger, Davante Adams (4,443), and he will hope that 2023 is the year the Vikings can make sure his production translates into a season that ends with him spending Super Bowl week preparing for the game.
"Oh that's nice."
Avonte Maddox's reaction was one of polite surprise when he was told he was the premier corner in the NFL by Stats Perform's matchup data.
No corner in the NFL can claim to be superior to Maddox in terms of open percentage allowed across both man and zone coverage in 2022.
Maddox allowed opposing receivers to get open on just 18.1 per cent of his matchups this season for the Philadelphia Eagles, excelling for a defense that boasts the premier defensive front in the NFL. With Philadelphia's starting nickel corner playing alongside the likes of Darius Slay and James Bradberry, they also have a strong claim for possessing one of the top secondaries in the league.
His reward for establishing himself as a top-tier slot corner at the highest level in 2022 could come on Sunday, when he will have an integral role to play as the Eagles battle the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII.
So why has it all clicked this season for the fifth-year defender?
Maddox is quick to credit defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon.
"A good coach, he coaches us hard to be the best we can be," Maddox told Stats Perform.
"I've learned a lot of things about offenses and just put myself in the best position to win, just making sure I do everything right from a technique point, detail point, watching film to the point of making sure I be where I have to be at the right time on the field to be the best."
Maddox will be going against the best at State Farm Stadium, where he is sure to spend much of the game lined up across from All-Pro and future Hall of Fame tight end Travis Kelce.
In the 2022 season, Kelce ran 300 routes from the slot, compared to 173 as an outside receiver and 139 from the traditional tight end. Those numbers foreshadow a duel between Kelce and Maddox that will likely be a defining one in what promises to be a captivating contest of two number one seeds.
Kelce has developed a reputation for being "always open". While the numbers – his open percentage across man and zone is 46.73 per cent, well above the 28.16 per cent average for tight ends – suggest there are, in fact, plenty of times when he isn't, but his mind meld with Patrick Mahomes that is often most prevalent on broken plays and scramble drills makes Kelce a formidable challenge for any defender.
Explaining Kelce's remarkable prowess for finding free space, Chiefs coach Andy Reid told Thursday's press conference: "Travis has a good feel for the game, in particular for space, teams have doubled him and banged him around in man coverage, put defensive backs on him, corners and safeties, linebackers – they’ve tried a lot of different things throughout his career.
"Now he’s seen about everything you can put on him, sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.
"He has a great relationship with our QB, those two are on the same page, they see the defenses the same way, they're best friends off the field and on the field, that helps too. If you're a receiver you want to be friendly with the quarterback for sure.
"Travis studies, he comes off like a nice funny guy and happy-go-lucky, but he studies like crazy and he knows defenses and he can see and react to them quickly during the game."
Maddox sees the apparent telepathic understanding between Mahomes and Kelce as the biggest challenge to stopping the latter.
"Him and Mahomes work really well together. Whatever Mahomes is thinking in his mind, Travis hears it, whenever he starts scrambling he starts scrambling, and it's like they're right on the same page," Maddox said.
"It's definitely a good challenge, but you've just got to make sure you plaster, trusting our D-Line to get him [Mahomes] down, if he doesn't then make sure I don't have bad eyes to the point where I'm going to take my eyes off him [Kelce] when he's running to get open, so just have good eyes and be violent and attack.
"Your eyes won't lie to you, if you see him [Kelce] go left and right you're gonna go left and right. You just gotta keep your eyes on him."
Misdirected vision has hardly been a problem for Maddox as he has set the standard for inside and outside cornerbacks in 2022 and, for the Eagles to have a hope of disrupting one of the most prolific quarterback-pass-catcher connections in NFL history, that clarity must be maintained.
Jaylen Brown will likely be out of action until at least the end of the All-Star break after the Boston Celtics confirmed he had suffered a facial fracture.
The injury occurred during the Celtics' home win against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday, when Brown was met with some friendly fire as fellow All-Star Jayson Tatum accidentally nailed him with an elbow to the face while both attacked an offensive rebound.
Brown immediately left the contest holding his face and did not return, and now it has been confirmed that he will miss some time to let it heal.
The 26-year-old wing is enjoying the highest-scoring season of his career, earning his second All-Star selection with averages of 26.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists while shooting a career-best 48.7 per cent from the field.
He will be unable to play in the All-Star Game, creating another opportunity for a reserve to earn selection as Kevin Durant has also been ruled out of the Eastern Conference's Team Giannis.
Brown will miss the four remaining Celtics games before the break, and it is unlikely he will be ready to go when the season resumes on February 23.
However, players have been known to make speedy returns from facial injuries if they are willing to wear a protective mask, and Brown posted to his Instagram story a photo of his facial swelling with the caption "mask coming".
Elena Rybakina roared through to the Abu Dhabi Open quarter-finals following a straight-sets victory over Karolina Pliskova on Thursday.
The Australian Open finalist, who was runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka in Melbourne less than a fortnight ago, wrapped up a 6-4 6-2 win after just 69 minutes.
Looking to build on her momentum after reaching a second major final, the third seed broke the former world number one in the opening game of the first set and twice in the second.
Next up for the Kazakh is a showdown with sixth seed Beatriz Haddad Maia, who edged out Yulia Putintseva 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-4).
Top seed Daria Kasatkina was forced to come from behind before eventually sealing her third victory over Jil Teichmann in as many meetings.
Last season's French Open semi-finalist has endured a mixed start to 2023. A finalist in Adelaide, she suffered a surprise first-round exit at the Australian Open.
It looked like Kasatkina's struggles would continue after losing the opening set 6-1, but she lost just two games thereafter to prevail a commanding 1-6 6-0 6-2 victor.
Elsewhere, Liudmila Samsonova reached her first quarter-final of the year after beating former French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova 7-5 7-6 (8-6).
Over in Linz, Melbourne quarter-finalist Donna Vekic enjoyed a commanding 6-3 6-1 victory over Madison Brengle to book a last-eight clash with top seed Maria Sakkari.
There were also wins for sixth seed Petra Martic and Clara Tauson over Alison Van Uytvanck and Camila Giorgi respectively, but fourth seed Anhelina Kalinina was beaten in straight sets by Anna-Lena Friedsam.
In the NFL, there are some players who simply feel inevitable. You may succeed in containing them, but you won't stop them.
The Chiefs have three of them.
Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce's collective inevitability has powered a run that has seen the Chiefs progress to three Super Bowls in four seasons and helped Kansas City boast the most efficient offense in the NFL – by Stats Perform's Efficiency Versus Expected (EVE) metric – in 2022 despite the loss of Tyreek Hill.
Mahomes and Kelce are card-carrying members of the superstar club, and it is past time for the third member of the Chiefs' band of unstoppables, Chris Jones, to see his application approved.
Defensive tackle Jones has been the embodiment of consistency since he was drafted out of Mississippi State in 2016. His 65 sacks in that period are tied for the seventh-most, while his 471 pressures over that span rank third.
It's no surprise then that Philadelphia Eagles All-Pro right tackle Lane Johnson labelled Jones "the elite of the elite" ahead of a mouth-watering Super Bowl LVII matchup between the Chiefs and the Eagles in Arizona on Sunday.
Johnson's effusive praise is reflected by Jones' performance in both pass rush and run defense win rate.
Indeed, Jones ranks ninth in the NFL in 2022 with a pass rush win rate (min. 50 rushes) of 58.03 per cent and fourth in the league (min. 50 run defensive opportunities) with a 72.73 per cent run defense win rate. His aggregate of those two metrics of 54.79 puts him behind only Derrick Brown and Aaron Donald, the defensive lineman long since considered the elite of the elite.
It is not just the production and the level of the disruption that separates Jones from the majority of his peers, but the timing of the destruction he has so frequently wrought.
While Mahomes' turnaround-sparking third-and-15 connection with Hill stands out as the defining play of the comeback victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV, the Niners might have succeeded in getting off the mat if not for Jones taking over and spiking Jimmy Garoppolo passes as if he was playing volleyball.
Similarly, the Chiefs might not even be in Arizona had Jones not blown past the attempted block of Cincinnati Bengals right tackle Hakeem Adeniji and hauled down Joe Burrow on the Bengals' final offensive series of the game, ending a potentially decisive drive for Cincinnati and giving the ball back to Mahomes to get Kansas City in position for the winning field goal in a thrilling 23-20 triumph.
That pivotal play saw him lined up on the edge and Jones' 23.9 per cent pressure rate when shifted outside in 2022 is 10th among all defenders with at least 50 edge plays.
Jones' success in quenching his insatiable appetite for destruction is not dependent on where he lines up, but why is Jones so consistently impactful in the clutch?
"I think it's opportunity. As the game is played, more opportunities open up for me and I'm able to make a play," Jones said on Wednesday.
"Obviously they have their gameplan in how they want to attack me, double team, or slide [the pass protection] my way or run away from me, so I have to be patient with that.
"I think that's an evolving piece of my game, being patient, realising what's going on, realising how the offense is attacking me, kind of react off it when I can."
Offensive lines have found little success in attacking Jones regardless of the plan. His production in terms of pressures and sacks have come despite him being double-teamed on 93 of his pass rush snaps, accounting for 46.5 per cent of them. Against the run, the double teams have been more effective, with Jones defeating only two of the 45 he has faced when defending the ground game.
That could be considered an avenue to success for an Eagles team that has thrived in large part because of a diverse and devastating run game with quarterback Jalen Hurts at its heart.
But the Eagles' ground attack is built around unpredictability, and that uncertainty does not exist without the threat of a passing game that Jones specialises in taking away.
The Chiefs succeeding in limiting an Eagles aerial attack teeming with talent is obviously in part contingent on their young defensive backfield excelling against the likes of A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, but with Jones up front, their lives are a lot easier.
"You know that the quarterback has to throw the ball, quickly, so as a defensive back, when Chris is on it's like, 'we got about three seconds to cover, ball's coming out, let's do it,'" cornerback Trent McDuffie told Stats Perform. "Even dudes like Derrick Nnadi, Frank Clark, Mike Danna, George [Karlaftis], that defensive line having them has made it so much better for us on the back end."
The assistance Jones and his fellow defensive lineman offer will be badly needed against an offense that racked up 253 plays of 10 yards or more in the regular season, a tally second only to that of the Chiefs (257).
Against an Eagles offensive line that ranks first in pass protection win rate and second in run block win rate, Jones might need to display particularly high levels of patience to get his chance to provide that help to the secondary, and he may be forced to take a less aggressive approach than usual due to the duplicitous nature of Hurts' game, which allows the quarterback to emphatically punish defenders who overplay their hand.
The strength of the Eagles' offensive line and the personalities they have in the trenches have seen the likes of Jason Kelce, Jordan Mailata and Johnson receive substantial attention in the build-up to a fascinating battle.
Despite Jones' exploits and the strides made by his lieutenants up front, the level of hype surrounding the Chiefs' defensive line has been comparatively small.
That is not of any concern to Jones, who said of Kansas City's D-Line: "We're always overlooked so it's all good."
That feeling of being underappreciated may only be furthered at Thursday's NFL Honors ceremony, at which Nick Bosa of the 49ers is expected to be named Defensive Player of the Year ahead of Jones.
But if Jones once again rises to the occasion against the Eagles to reprise his role of closer and ensure the Chiefs complete their rise back to the top of the NFL mountain, the superstar recognition Jones has long since deserved will almost certainly come his way.
Holger Rune made a winning start at Open Sud de France after defeating Marc-Andrea Huesler 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals in Montpellier.
Appearing as the top seed at an ATP event for the first time, Rune had lost both his previous meetings with Huesler, including last season's Sofia Open.
However, the world number nine made it third time lucky to set up a last-eight clash with Gregoire Barrere, who beat Nikoloz Basilashvili in straight sets.
Meanwhile, third seed Borna Coric is now just one win away from securing a return to the top 20 in the ATP rankings. The world number 23 – and reigning Cincinnati champion –saw off Arthur Rinderknech 6-3 7-5.
Although, there was no joy for Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. The fifth seed was ousted 6-3 6-3 by world number 70 Quentin Halys, who claimed only his second top-50 career win in 20 attempts.
Seventh seed Emil Ruusuvuori was also eliminated in straight sets by Maxime Cressy, but Lorenzo Sonego overcame Filip Krajinovic to book a quarter-final date with Jannik Sinner.
Gary Payton II is heading back to the Golden State Warriors less than a year after departing the reigning NBA champions, according to ESPN senior NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski.
The guard signed with the Portland Trail Blazers as a free agent during the offseason after helping the Warriors win their fourth championship in the space of eight years.
However, Payton was sidelined for several months after undergoing core muscle surgery and did not make his Blazers debut until their 135-106 win over the Detroit Pistons last month.
But the 30-year-old was reportedly traded back to the Warriors on a hectic trade deadline day, with the Blazers receiving five future second-round picks.
Kevin Knox was also traded to the Warriors as part of a three-team trade with the Pistons, who received James Wiseman in the opposite direction while also trading Saddiq Bey to the Atlanta Hawks.
Wiseman, the second overall pick from the 2020 NBA Draft, had bounced between the Warriors' active roster and their G League affiliate, but he could not justify the luxury tax expenses that would have been associated with retaining him on the roster. According to The Athletic's John Hollinger, the Warriors will save a combined $51million in salary and luxury tax this season, and $85m next season by cutting their losses.
Elsewhere, the Eastern Conference-leading Boston Celtics bolstered their three-point shooting and depth after agreeing a trade with Oklahoma City Thunder for 10-year NBA veteran Mike Muscala.
According to The Athletic, the Thunder will receive Justin Jackson and two future second-round picks as part of the deal.
There has also been activity involving Western Conference leaders, the Denver Nuggets, who have traded youngster Bones Hyland to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for two future second-round picks.
Earlier in the day, Kevin Durant completed a stunning trade to the Phoenix Suns from the Brooklyn Nets, who have lost two All-Star starters in as many days after also trading Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks this week.
According to ESPN, the Suns gave the Nets three players in Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and Jae Crowder, plus four unprotected first-round picks and a 2028 pick swap.
Reportedly part of the Durant trade, Jae Crowder is heading to the Milwaukee Bucks with the Nets receiving five second-round picks, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Ireland have brought in Rob Herring for injured hooker Dan Sheehan for Saturday's huge Six Nations clash with France, who named an unchanged line-up.
Sheehan started nine of Ireland's past 10 matches, but a hamstring injury sees him drop out for the match at the Aviva Stadium in a possible title and Grand Slam showdown.
Herring will deputise for Sheehan, while Conor Murray has been passed fit to continue his half-back partnership with captain Johnny Sexton, who was himself a fitness doubt.
"It's not nice for Dan," Ireland head coach Andy Farrell said on Thursday. "He's a fantastic player at the top of his game. Anyone would miss a player in that kind of form.
"I sound like a broken record, but it's great because this is exactly what's going to happen down the track in the World Cup.
"International rugby is only going to get bigger and better so it's always going to be about the squad.
"When you get to the World Cup, you've a small squad. There's rightly a 12-day turnaround as far as concussions are concerned, so you're always going to be numbers down."
Jamison Gibson-Park, Tadhg Furlong and Cian Healy all missed Ireland's opening 34-10 win over Wales and remain out of the matchday 23 to face France.
Ireland, who finished second to France in last year's tournament, are ranked number one in the world and have won 21 of their past 22 home games, including each of the past 12.
They host a France side on a 14-match winning run – their best ever streak – most recently overcoming Italy 29-24 in a tight contest last weekend.
Fabien Galthie has stuck with the same XV that started the game in Rome, meaning Romain Ntamack is retained at number 10, despite Matthieu Jalibert's impact from the bench.
Francois Cros returns to the replacements' bench as one of two changes, along with Baptiste Couilloud, with Thomas Lavault and Nolann Le Garrec dropping out.
"Firstly, we have gone with the same personnel due to the performance [against Italy], the victory with a bonus point, which meant they achieved their target," Galthie said.
"Coherence, too, as it is three weeks that we have worked with this group.
"And also confidence because we have confidence in our players who for three years have progressed together; that is why there are no surprises in the starting XV."
France have won each of their past three meetings with Ireland, this after winning just one of their previous nine Test encounters (D2 L6).
Jamaica will face Lebanon in World Group II of the Davis Cup after the draw at the International Tennis Federation (ITF) office in London on Thursday.
The Jamaicans advanced to World Group II after defeating Estonia 3-2 in a playoff tie at the Eric Bell National Tennis Centre in Kingston from February 4-5.
Lebanon fell into World Group II, where they will ne the seventh seed, after losing 3-1 to Ukraine in the Group I playoffs on February 2-3 in Poland.
The tie will be played in September and is a Lebanon home fixture.
Anthony Joshua's biggest motivation is now money as he prepares to revive his career when taking on Jermaine Franklin.
Two-time world heavyweight champion Joshua faces Franklin at London's O2 Arena on April 1 looking to bounce back from successive defeats to Oleksandr Usyk.
Franklin was beaten by Dillian Whyte in his most recent fight in November, that being the American's only defeat in 22 professional bouts.
Joshua is now determined to battle his way back to the top of the heavyweight division, starting with victory over Franklin in his homeland.
Asked at a press conference on Thursday what his biggest motivation is for taking on the fight, Joshua said: "Money, money, money. I like making money, straight up.
"I've been broke, my family's been broke, I know what this s*** means. I always built businesses outside of boxing, out of fear of going back to square one.
"But when I'm said and done, no one will care about me anymore, so I'll make the most of it while I'm here.
"My own expectations are my pressure, but pressure is being broke, worrying about your bills.
"Look what's happening in Syria, Turkey – the earthquake that just happened. Me going to fight is a blessing, no pressure."
Joshua lost the WBA, IBF and WBO belts with his defeat to Usyk in September 2021 and failed to win them back when they met again in Jeddah last August.
Having won each of his first 22 professional bouts, all but one of those by knockout, Joshua has now lost three of his past five fights since June 2019.
However, the Briton insists the pain of losing to Andy Ruiz Jr and twice to Usyk is motivating him to put even more into his boxing between now and retirement.
"I still feel really fresh and young," he said. "I made a conscious decision last year to put my heart into boxing and nothing else.
"It's not just the mind, where your head's at, it's your heart.
"Throughout my career, this is probably the most serious I've taken it. Everything I've been through – positive, negative – I'm using it to fuel my camp now."
Franklin has a 21-1 record following his defeat to Whyte, with 14 of his previous victories coming by way of knockout.
It will be Joshua's first fight with coach Derrick James in his corner, with the 33-year-old spending time in the United States training in preparation for his return to action.
"The world hasn't seen the best of Anthony Joshua," James said. "He's a great fighter. Great athleticism, great foot movement, very intellectual first and foremost.
"He understands this sport and understands what I'm asking him to do."
President of Tennis Jamaica John Azar is pleased with the team’s performance in their recently concluded Davis Cup Group Two playoff match against Estonia at the Eric Bell National Tennis Centre in Kingston from February 4-5.
The Jamaicans won the tie 3-2 to advance to group two of the Davis Cup for the first time in over 25 years.
“I think the team played incredibly well. It’s one thing when we as the national association set the big stage for them but it’s another thing when they actually come out and perform,” Azar told SportsMax.TV.
Rowland “Randy” Phillips got the ball rolling for the hosts with a dominant 6-1, 6-1 victory over Kristjan Tamm, a win that Azar said set the tone for the rest of the tie.
“Randy Phillips played the first match and set the tone for the players that played after him. He was incredible as he always is,” said Azar.
Match two saw Jamaican number one Blaise Bicknell come from a set down to beat Kenneth Raisma 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 and put the Jamaicans 2-0 up.
The Estonians got on the board in match three when Raisma and Jurgen Zopp got the better of John Chin and Daniel Azar in doubles 6-1, 6-2 before Bicknell secured victory for the Jamaicans after Tamm was defaulted after losing a first set tiebreak in match four. Johannes Seeman got a consolation 6-1, 6-0 victory over Jacob Bicknell in the fifth match.
Azar was also elated with the crowd turnout at the tie, the first time Jamaica has hosted a Davis Cup tie since 2007.
“I think it was what we expected and more,” he said.
“The crowd turned out in their numbers, were loud and very supportive and, as I’ve always said, when you have a home tie in any sport, the crowd can tend to be a bit of a deciding factor so we’re definitely grateful for those who came out and showed their support. There were a lot of Tennis fans in attendance but also a lot of sporting fans in general,” he added.
The team will find out their next opponent at the group two draw at the ITF office in London.
“We’re into group two which is a stage we haven’t been for over 25 years so we’ll see when the draw, which is done at the ITF office in London, comes out who our next opponent is. I think the next tie will be in September and we’ll see if it’s a home or away tie. Obviously, we’re hoping it will be a home tie and, if we’re that fortunate, we’ll look into expanding the capacity at the Tennis centre and hope for an even bigger turnout.”
Warren Gatland has left experienced trio Alun Wyn Jones, Taulupe Faletau and Justin Tipuric out of Wales' starting line-up for Saturday's Six Nations clash against Scotland.
Wales were beaten 34-10 on home soil by Ireland in their tournament opener last weekend as Gatland's first game back in charge after replacing Wayne Pivac ended in defeat.
Gatland has rung the changes to his pack ahead of facing Scotland at Murrayfield, with British and Irish Lions veterans Jones, Faletau and Tipuric making way.
Jones and Tipuric have been left out of the matchday squad entirely, while Rhys Davies could make his Test debut from the replacements' bench.
Dafydd Jenkins and Christ Tshiunza will make their first starts for Wales, who have also added Tommy Reffell to their back row.
"We created opportunities last week but weren't clinical enough in terms of finishing them off," said Gatland, who has won all 10 matches against Scotland as Wales head coach.
"We need to start better. We gave away stupid penalties and unforced penalties when we weren't really under a lot of pressure so that's been an area that we've spoken about."
Wales have won 13 of their past 15 matches against Scotland in the Six Nations (L2), including six of their seven matches at Murrayfield during that run (L1).
Scotland also named their 15-man team on Thursday, with Zander Fagerson returning to the front row in the only change from the 29-23 victory over England.
Fagerson, who missed the win at Twickenham having only recently recovered from a hamstring injury, replaces the benched WP Nel.
Last week's Calcutta Cup hero Duhan van der Merwe is joined in the back three by Kyle Steyn and Stuart Hogg, who continues at full-back.
Gregor Townsend has also named an unchanged bench, meaning no place in the squad for Hamish Watson, despite recovering from concussion.
Scotland have won their opening Six Nations fixture in each of the past three years, but they went on to lose to Wales in round two in both 2021 and 2022.
However, since beating Scotland in that most recent meeting 12 months ago, Wales have gone on to win just twice in 11 matches, losing their last three in a row.
Scotland XV: Stuart Hogg, Kyle Steyn, Huw Jones, Sione Tuipulotu, Duhan van der Merwe; Finn Russell, Ben White; Pierre Schoeman, George Turner, Zander Fagerson; Richie Gray, Grant Gilchrist; Jamie Ritchie (c), Luke Crosbie, Matt Fagerson.
Replacements: Fraser Brown, Jamie Bhatti, WP Nel, Jonny Gray, Jack Dempsey, George Horne, Blair Kinghorn, Chris Harris.
Wales XV: Liam Williams; Josh Adams, George North, Joe Hawkins, Rio Dyer; Dan Biggar, Tomos Williams; Wyn Jones, Ken Owens (c), Dillon Lewis, Dafydd Jenkins, Adam Beard, Christ Tshiunza, Tommy Reffell, Jac Morgan.
Replacements: Scott Baldwin, Rhys Carre, Leon Brown, Rhys Davies, Taulupe Faletau, Rhys Webb, Rhys Patchell, Alex Cuthbert.
Josh Hart is heading to the New York Knicks in a deadline-beating trade from the Portland Trail Blazers, and Damian Lillard is going to miss him.
Hart was pulled from Portland's team on Wednesday, despite warming up with colleagues ahead of the clash with the Golden State Warriors.
Portland won without him, Lillard managing 33 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in a 125-122 victory.
The Knicks will give Portland Cam Reddish and a 2023 first-round pick in exchange for 27-year-old Hart, who has previously played in the NBA for the Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans.
Ryan Arcidiacono and Svi Mykhailiuk are also going to Portland before Thursday's deadline, according to reports.
Lillard posted a message on Instagram after his triple-double feat, captioning a picture of himself and Hart: "All love and respect … no extras bra!"
Hart responded: "It's always love my brother ... no one I respect more."
Lillard told reporters it was a blow to see Hart leave, but a part of the game you have to accept.
"It's tough. I think for everybody who's been here, the entire time that I've been here, one of the hardest parts is when you form a friendship or form a bond with somebody," Lillard said.
"Everybody's looking at, what are they doing on the court? What can they do to get better? Everybody else is looking at it from a business standpoint and how to improve and all these things.
"But we get up and spend time with each other every day. We're on the plane together. We're in the practice facility. We're in a training room. We're in the locker room. We're in the cold tub. We're in the steam room."
Quoted by Oregon Live, Lillard said of such relationships: "We spend more time with each other than we do with our family.
"That makes it hard and especially with Josh, because we actually formed a friendship and you just get used to people being around. Anytime that happens, it's tough.
"He wanted to be in Portland. When you get people to come here and know that they want to be here, but the business takes over, it's just unfortunate.
"So, like I said, it's part of the business. It's the thing that I struggle with the most about it, but it's part of it. That's what we sign up for."
Hart is averaging a career-high 8.2 rebounds this season, although his points-per-game tally is down at 9.5, having been 14.9 in the last campaign.
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin appeared in Phoenix on Wednesday to collect an honour for his charitable work just over a month after collapsing against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The 2021 NFL draft pick was rushed to hospital after he suffered a cardiac arrest during the January 2 regular season game, but has since shown remarkable progress in his recovery.
In the wake of his collapse, which led to the cancellation of the game, donations totalling more than $9million (£7.4m) were raised for the Chasing M's Foundation, for which Hamlin had backed a toy drive in 2020.
Taking to the stage at the Phoenix Convention Center with his parents in a surprise appearance during Super Bowl week, he was named the winner of the NFLPA Alan Page Community Award.
The 24-year-old vowed to continue making a difference.
"Giving back to my community has always been a big part of who I am," Hamlin said.
"I'm thankful to my father, who's right here behind me.
"Growing up, just watching him do community days in our community, and I just always was waiting on my time when it came. One of my favourite quotes is that it's a blessing to be a blessing.
"With that being said, I plan to never take this position for granted and always have an urgent approach in making a difference in the community where I come from and also communities across the world."
Hamlin's foundation received a $100,000 donation for his further work.
The Bills saw their season ultimately come to an end in the playoffs against the Bengals after they were eliminated in the Divisional round in a 27-10 loss.
LeBron James deserves to be acknowledged as one of the NBA's all-time greats, according to Kyrie Irving as he paid tribute to his former team-mate's achievements.
The Los Angeles Lakers veteran overhauled Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's all-time scoring record during a 133-130 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder this week.
Having needed 36 to break the figure, the 38-year-old posted 38 to end the game with 38,390 career points to his name, further underlining his status as one of the sport's giants.
Irving, who was recently traded from the Brooklyn Nets to the Dallas Mavericks, played with James at the Cleveland Cavaliers, and was effusive in his admiration for his latest record.
"I just enjoy seeing him celebrate himself, in those moments where a lot of hard work that doesn't necessarily get talked about or seen by others is on full display," he said.
"I got a chance to play three special years with him. It's a celebration to witness history like that, within the game that's so special to all of us.
"We should acknowledge when greatness is in front of us.
"I know we've all [these] superlatives for LeBron. You've got the stans on one side, you've got the real supporters on one side.
"I think it's just great for the game that we can all come together collectively to celebrating somebody and his accomplishments like that."
A four-time NBA champion and four-time MVP pick, James is also a two-time Olympic Gold Medallist after success at Beijing 2008 and London 2012.
Irving made his Mavericks debut during a 110-104 win against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday, scoring a team-high 24 points.
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