The New York Jets do not need Zach Wilson to be their "Superman", head coach Robert Saleh said, after they bounced back from their quarterback's Week 8 horror show to stun the Buffalo Bills in Week 9.
Saleh's Jets welcomed the Bills to MetLife Stadium on Sunday having suffered a 22-17 loss to the New England Patriots a week prior, one in which 2021 second overall pick Wilson threw three terrible interceptions.
Yet against sterner opposition he made no such mistakes, the Jets leaning on their run game and a tremendous effort from their defense to claim a shock 20-17 win.
The win means the Jets are 6-3, just half a game back of the Bills in an ultra-competitive AFC East. New York sit second behind Buffalo, with the Jets owning a tiebreaking win over the 6-3 Miami Dolphins. The Patriots are very much still in the mix at 5-4.
Asked about Wilson's low-key performance, which saw him complete 72 per cent of his passes for 154 yards, a touchdown and zero interceptions, Saleh told Peter King for Football Morning in America: "He had a great throwaway. One of the great things about Zach is how he takes coaching.
"We told him: 'Trust that throwing the ball away is a positive play.' We're not asking Zach to be our Superman yet.
"One day we will. And there will be times we need him to be, but now's not that time."
In the immediate future for the Jets is an extremely imposing run of games. They have a bye in Week 10 but then visit New England before hosting an improving Chicago Bears team and then heading back on the road to face the 7-1 Minnesota Vikings and the Bills.
Saleh added of that stretch: "Every game's a championship game. Like today, Buffalo's incredibly well-coached. Incredibly talented. The quarterback's ridiculous.
"We can’t let the narrative of this Goliath coming into our building be the story, and we won't in the coming weeks either."
Finn Russell has been called up to the Scotland squad ahead of Sunday's Test against New Zealand after Adam Hastings suffered a head injury.
Fly-half Hastings has returned to Gloucester after suffering a heavy knock in a tackle from Ratu Leone Rotuisolia early in the second half of a 28-12 win over Fiji on Saturday.
Russell was dropped for the Autumn Nations Series, but the mercurial Racing 92 number 10 is back in the fold in the absence of Hastings.
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend had omitted playmaker Russell due to question marks over his "form and consistency".
Blair Kinghorn came on to replace Hastings at Murrayfield last weekend, while Ross Thompson is another fly-half option for Townsend.
The All Blacks will face Scotland on the back of a resounding 55-23 win over Wales at the Principality Stadium on Saturday.
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen calmed fears over an arm injury suffered during Sunday's shock 20-17 defeat to the New York Jets.
Allen, who had been considered a leading contender for the MVP award, appeared to be in pain towards the end of the game as he grabbed his right elbow.
It seemed to have stemmed from Allen being sacked by Jets rusher Bryce Hall in one of the last plays of the game at MetLife Stadium.
Afterwards, however, Allen was fairly relaxed about his condition even if he acknowledged he did receive a knock.
"There's some slight pain," he said. "I'll get through it."
Generally, though, Allen's demeanour in the post-game press conference was by no means upbeat.
Defeat saw the Bills lose two games in a row after beginning the season with six wins on the bounce, and Allen's own performance came under intense scrutiny.
It has even been suggested his display was poor enough to take him out of the MVP running after the 26-year-old was 18-of-34 for 205 yards – a season low – and two interceptions.
Allen was also sacked five times, and he seemingly believed responsibility for the defeat was on him.
"It's tough to win in this league when you're playing a good team and your quarterback plays like s***.
"[I] made some bad decisions tonight that really hurt our team. [There's] a lot to learn from, lot to grow from.
"But that's not the standard we hold ourselves to, that's not the ball we play. Lots to look at, lots to learn from."
The 6-2 Bills remain top of the AFC East despite the defeat and will hope to avoid a third consecutive loss when they face the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
Cincinnati Bengals coach Zac Taylor praised Joe Mixon for seizing his chance after he scored a franchise-record five touchdowns in Sunday's 42-21 win over the Carolina Panthers.
The running back banished his early season inefficiency with a searing performance at Paul Brown Stadium to move last season's Super Bowl finalists to 5-4 for the campaign.
With four on the ground and one in the air, Mixon moved to six TDs for the campaign, having previously only finished against the Atlanta Falcons in October.
Taylor stressed that he knew the 26-year-old's time would come thanks to his dedication to the game, suggesting it was only a matter of time before he returned to his best.
"Great players want the ball," he said. "He's a captain. He's handled this thing really well.
"A lot of these guys know that sometimes their number isn't called as a much and then there's a game that's going to smack them right in the face like this one."
The Bengals famously sat 5-4 last term before going on to post another five wins to top the AFC North and set them on their path to the Super Bowl.
Asked what the difference is between such a feat this season compared to last year, Taylor was bullish, adding: "It's a very similar situation. You're in the mix, and you've just got to take it one game at a time.
"There's still a long season yet to go. I know it's at the halfway point now. But again, we've just got to be very narrowly focused on our next opponent which is Pittsburgh.
"[It's a] big divisional game, obviously. We haven't taken care of business in the division, which is always key, so it's a great opportunity to get that on the right track."
Aaron Rodgers urged the Green Bay Packers to embrace their new-found status as underdogs following a fifth loss in a row.
The Packers' troubles deepened in an upset defeat to NFC North rivals the Detroit Lions, who triumphed 15-9 on Sunday.
Green Bay had not lost five on the bounce since 2008 – Rodgers' first year as a starter – but they are a team devoid of confidence at present.
Rodgers' own display summed up the fortunes of his team as he threw three interceptions in a game for only the fifth time in his career and for the first time against NFC North opponents.
Two of those came with the game still scoreless, giving the lowly Lions a foothold they fought hard to protect.
"I had some s***** throws, for sure," said Rodgers. "I played s*****, but I never gave up.
"We moved the ball well in the first half, and I threw a couple picks in the end zone, took points off the board. That, obviously, came back to hurt us down the stretch.
"I've been counted out many times in my life as have many of my team-mates, and I hope we just dig deep and find a way.
"We will truly be underdogs for many games moving forward. Hopefully we can embrace that. We have two games at home. We've got to go win those two games in a week, and then this thing looks a little different."
Packers coach Matt LaFleur conceded the going was tough but wants to see Rodgers and his team-mates channel their frustration more productively.
"I'm sure he's extremely frustrated, as we all are," LaFleur said.
"I don't think we've been in this [situation]. I know in my time here, we haven't been in this situation and I don't think he's been in this situation too many times in his career, obviously.
"It's disappointing and frustrating. But I think that we all probably need to do a little bit better job of controlling that frustration."
Tom Brady made more NFL history in Sunday's thrilling 16-13 Tampa Bay Buccaneers' win over the Los Angeles Rams but he says it was all about the win and not personal records.
Brady became the first player in NFL history to throw more than 100,000 career yards on a 15-yard fourth-quarter completion to Leonard Fournette.
That was before Brady took over to win the game for the Bucs who were down 13-9 with 44 seconds remaining, going five-of-six for 60 yards on the game-winning drive, the record 55th of his career.
Not only did Brady achieve those new feats, but he notched his 43rd career fourth-quarter comeback, tying Peyton Manning for the most by an NFL starting quarterback.
Brady declared "that was awesome, that was f****** awesome" to open his post-game press conference, referring to the come-from-behind win, not the records.
"It's all about the win," Brady added. "It's all about the win, man. I never cared about the [records]. All about the win."
Bucs head coach Todd Bowles was full of praise for 45-year-old Brady who completed 36 of 58 passes for 280 yards and one TD.
"We always have a chance with [Brady]," Bowles said. "We're grateful to have him. He got over 100,000 yards - that's a long-playing career for anybody. He's still playing at a high level. We love the guy to death.
"You run out of things to say about him. I'm sure I can't say anything different than the 50 million people that [have] already commented things on him. He's a great player.
"He's one of the best, if not the best to ever play the game, and he continues to do that."
The win improved the Bucs' record to 4-5 to regain top spot in the NFC South after the Atlanta Falcons lost 20-17 to the Los Angeles Chargers.
Tom Brady made more NFL history in Sunday's thrilling 16-13 Tampa Bay Buccaneers' win over the Los Angeles Rams but he says it was all about the win and not personal records.
Brady became the first player in NFL history to throw more than 100,000 career yards on a 15-yard fourth-quarter completion to Leonard Fournette.
That was before Brady took over to win the game for the Bucs who were down 13-9 with 44 seconds remaining, going five-of-six for 60 yards on the game-winning drive, the record 55th of his career.
Not only did Brady achieve those new feats, but he notched his 43rd career fourth-quarter comeback, tying Peyton Manning for the most by an NFL starting quarterback.
Brady declared "that was awesome, that was f****** awesome" to open his post-game press conference, referring to the come-from-behind win, not the records.
"It's all about the win," Brady added. "It's all about the win, man. I never cared about the [records]. All about the win."
Bucs head coach Todd Bowles was full of praise for 45-year-old Brady who completed 36 of 58 passes for 280 yards and one TD.
"We always have a chance with [Brady]," Bowles said. "We're grateful to have him. He got over 100,000 yards - that's a long-playing career for anybody. He's still playing at a high level. We love the guy to death.
"You run out of things to say about him. I'm sure I can't say anything different than the 50 million people that [have] already commented things on him. He's a great player.
"He's one of the best, if not the best to ever play the game, and he continues to do that."
The win improved the Bucs' record to 4-5 to regain top spot in the NFC South after the Atlanta Falcons lost 20-17 to the Los Angeles Chargers.
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr referenced last season's late-season turnaround to offer confidence the reigning champions can remedy their slow 3-7 start.
The Warriors have an 0-6 road record this season after five-game losing run ended with Friday's 114-105 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. Klay Thompson described that run as the "road trip from hell".
Golden State are the first defending champion to ever start the next season 0-6 on the road.
Kerr, whose side return to action on Monday at Chase Center against the Sacramento Kings, is bullish they can turn around their slow start, pointing to last season when endured two poor streaks before going on to win the NBA title.
The Warriors lost nine of 11 games in February and March, along with another stretch where they lost eight of nine games, before winning five in a row on the eve of their successful playoffs campaign.
"It's all part of the NBA," Kerr told reporters about their 3-7 start. "A year ago, we lost 9 out of 11 games in March and won the championship a couple of months later
"So there are times in the NBA season when things can go off the rails a little bit. A big part of being a great team, being a solid organisation, is just understanding how to work through that."
He added: "You come off a bad stretch, you watch a bunch of film, figure out what you can do better, coaching staff makes a few adjustments, give players the instructions and the advice an then everybody is all in together and then you bounce back. That's the plan. I'm really confident that we can do that."
Four of the Warriors' five most recent losses were by single figures which Kerr acknowledged offered some positives but remained focused on the detail to reverse their fortunes.
"It's a matter of focusing on why we lost five close games," he said. "You can show some of the positive things that happened during that stretch but then you've really got to lock in on the detail and the small mistakes that are just killers, not boxing out, fouling, all the stuff we've been talking about."
Kerr indicated Jonathan Kuminga will likely earn more on-court time in coming games after a season-high 38 minutes in the Pelicans loss, while he backed former NBA Draft second overall pick James Wiseman but acknowledged his struggles.
"He's got plenty to learn, but he's a willing learner and we're gonna take our time with him, and I have no doubt long-term he's gonna be a really good player," Kerr said about Wiseman.
"I see a really talented young guy who's eager to learn, who's committed to the team, who's overcome an awful lot to get to this point dealing with his injury for over a year."
The Kansas City Chiefs came from behind to defeat the Tennessee Titans 20-17 in overtime on Sunday thanks to more Patrick Mahomes' heroics.
Despite Mahomes proving to be the difference late, he was bottled up early by a sharp Titans defense, holding the Chiefs to just nine points in the first three quarters.
On the back of their strong defense, the Titans built a 14-9 lead at half-time as superstar running back Derrick Henry bulled his way into the endzone for two touchdowns.
Mahomes completed a first-half touchdown pass to Mecole Hardman, but a third-quarter field goal from the Titans had them trailing 17-9 heading into the fourth period.
With the game on the line, needing a touchdown and a two-point conversion to tie, Mahomes manufactured a 13-play, 93-yard drive, culminating in a 14-yard rushing touchdown from the Chiefs quarterback to convert on third-and-nine. He then also ran in the two-point conversion.
Mahomes completed passes to four different players in his one overtime drive, highlighted by a 27-yard jump-ball to Noah Gray to convert a third-and-inches and move into the redzone, before also converting a fourth-and-one to JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Ultimately they settled for a field goal, forcing Titans rookie quarterback Malik Willis to at least mount his own field-goal drive to keep the game alive, but the Chiefs defense rose to the occasion for the game-winning stop.
Mahomes ended up completing 43 of his 68 pass attempts for 446 yards, one touchdown and one interception, while also leading the Chiefs in rushing with six carries for 63 yards and a score to tie the game at 17-17.
That was in stark contrast to what the Titans asked Willis to do, as he finished five-of-16 for 80 yards. Henry was the star for Tennessee, rushing 17 times for 115 yards and two touchdowns, giving him nine touchdowns from eight games this season.
Los Angeles Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue says there is no timeframe for Kawhi Leonard's return to play as he continues to struggle with stiffness in his surgically repaired right knee.
Leonard has only played twice this season and not since October 24, having missed all of last season after rupturing his ACL during the 2021 playoffs.
The two-time NBA Finals MVP missed a seventh straight game on Sunday when the Clippers took on the Utah Jazz, with Lue offering an update prior to tip-off amid ongoing uncertainty about Leonard's return.
"There's really not a timeframe of when he is going to be back," Lue told reporters.
"The biggest thing is just the testing that he has to go through with the medical and the slow progression of just getting better every single day. So we're just taking it day by day right now, not really a timetable."
Lue insisted that five-time All-Star Leonard was making progress, having been managed with 21 minutes off the bench in each of his two games early in the season.
"He is progressing well," Lue said. "We knew coming off an ACL, it wasn't going to be a straight line. We talked about it before the season.
"The biggest thing is he's progressing well. We are going to follow the lead of our medical staff, we got to be smart about the situation, but he is progressing.
"He is in a good place, he is progressing and he is getting better so that is the most important thing."
Chicago Bears emerging star Justin Fields set an NFL single-game record for rushing yards by a quarterback with a 178-yard performance in Sunday’s contest against the Miami Dolphins.
Fields eclipsed the previous high mark of 173 yards set by Atlanta’s Michael Vick in 2002. Former San Francisco 49er Colin Kaepernick still has the most rushing yards by a quarterback in any NFL game when he ran for 181 in a playoff victory over Green Bay in January 2013.
The 2021 first-round pick also set a franchise record for the longest run by a quarterback when he eluded a rush and scrambled for a 61-yard touchdown in the third quarter of Chicago’s 35-32 loss.
Fields' continued development as a passer was also on display, as he threw for a career-high three touchdowns and finished with a quarterback rating over 100 for a second straight game.
"I think I’m just growing and getting better each and every week," he said afterward. "My main goal is just to continue to do that, continue to trend up. Each and every day I practice, just keep getting better and better. That’s really all you can do."
After recording a 71.8 passer rating with a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 9-to-13 through his first 14 NFL starts, the 23-year-old has posted a 99.7 rating with eight touchdown passes and just two interceptions over his last five outings.
"Obviously, start of the season [he’s] feeling his way, and now the last three games he’s really taken off," Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said. "We are excited about that as a group and we are excited about that for the Chicago Bears and the franchise."
Sunday’s effort gave Fields 602 rushing yards in 2022, making him the fifth quarterback since 1960 with 600 or more rushing yards through nine games in a season. The former Ohio State star joined a list that includes Vick, former Bear Bobby Douglass and two active players, Lamar Jackson and Kyler Murray.
"He’s as fast as any skill position runner," Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel remarked. "He is really, really fast and he can cut and break tackles.
"There are a lot of running quarterbacks. This one in particular I think is very elite and adept at that."
Aryna Sabalenka eliminated world number one Iga Swiatek 6-2 2-6 6-1 on Sunday to advance to the decider of the WTA Finals.
Swiatek had not lost a set during her week in Fort Worth entering the contest, earning her spot in the semi-final after straight-sets wins against Coco Gauff, Caroline Garcia and Daria Kasatkina.
Needing to start well to give herself a chance against the in-form Polish star, Sabalenka did just that, breaking Swiatek in her first service game.
Swiatek broke back instantly, but she had no response when the BelaruSsian secured two more breaks of serve in the opening frame to wrap it up in 40 minutes.
After winning only 43 per cent (12-of-28) of her service points in the first set, Swiatek seemed to figure things out in the second, raising that number to 61 per cent (17-of-28) to win the first four games and run away with it and send the match to a decider.
But Swiatek's uncharacteristic errors came back to bite her, committing two double faults in each of the three sets, and after posting a combined 21 winners with 17 unforced errors in the first two frames, she mustered only five winners with nine unforced errors in the last.
Sabalenka rattled off five consecutive games to close out the match, utilising her imposing serve to get the job done, serving 12 aces to Swiatek's one.
She will now face Caroline Garcia in the final after the Frenchwoman proved too strong for Maria Sakkari in a 6-3 6-2 victory earlier in the day.
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Sabalenka - 12/9
Swiatek - 1/6
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Sabalenka - 23/19
Swiatek - 26/26
BREAK POINTS WON
Sabalenka - 6/13
Swiatek - 4/10
Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill made history in his side's 35-32 road win against the Chicago Bears on Sunday, and gave plenty of credit to his quarterback.
Hill caught seven passes for 143 yards and a touchdown, and in doing so, broke Hall-of-Famer Calvin Johnson's record for the most receiving yards through a team's first nine games in a season.
It was the fifth time this campaign Hill has eclipsed 140 receiving yards in a game, and he now has 1104 yards for the season, surpassing Johnson's record of 1083 in his first nine games for the Detroit Lions in 2013.
Hill, who is a four-time All-Pro, is only 375 yards away from his career-high total of 1479 from his 16 games in the 2018 season.
Speaking to NFL Network before leaving the field, Hill was grateful for the position he is in.
"For me, man, just to touch the paint – I haven't scored since Week 2, I believe," he said. "To be able to get into the endzone, I just want to thank God for blessing me with this amazing opportunity.
"Blessing me with this chance to play with this special group of young guys – Tua [Tagovailoa] and Jaylen [Waddle] – and just the whole offense.
"Also, you add coach McDaniel and Wes Welker – they're legends – I'm extremely blessed and I'm looking forward to playing more football this season.
"I don't even know what to say [about breaking the record]... I tell people all the time, keep faith in whatever goals you've got, just believe in yourself and always put God first.
"You never know when it's your time, and I feel like this is my time."
When asked his thoughts on Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, Hill doubled-down on his preseason comments calling him the most accurate quarterback in the game.
"He's the best in the league," he said. "He's the most accurate quarterback in the league. Know that."
The Miami Dolphins are now 6-3 in the stacked AFC East, trailing the 6-2 Buffalo Bills and the 6-3 New York Jets, while the fourth-placed New England Patriots (5-4) are also above .500.
Donovan Mitchell's spectacular start to life with the Cleveland Cavaliers continued against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, scoring 33 points in a 114-100 win.
Mitchell's 33 points was a game-high, and he delivered his production efficiently, hitting 10-of-17 from the field and 12-of-13 from the free throw line.
Through his first eight games with the Cavs since being acquired from the Utah Jazz in an offseason trade, Mitchell is averaging 31.1 points and 7.1 assists per game – both comfortably above his career-highs (26.4 points and 5.3 assists).
He was supported strongly by fellow All-Star Darius Garland, who chipped in 24 points (seven-of-18) and seven assists, while Kevin Love contributed a double-double (10 points and 10 rebounds) in 20 minutes off the bench.
For the Lakers, LeBron James was strong with 27 points on 13-of-23 shooting, adding seven rebounds and four assists, and Russell Westbrook posted 19 points (six-of-13) with 10 assists as he continues to produce well in a sixth-man role.
Cleveland are now 8-1, and are one of only two teams, along with the 9-0 Milwaukee Bucks, who are yet to record their second loss.
VanVleet steps up in Siakam's absence
With the Toronto Raptors' top option Pascal Siakam out for at least the next two weeks, Fred VanVleet stepped up and led his team to a 113-104 victory against the Chicago Bulls.
VanVleet finished with 30 points on nine-of-22 shooting, and also added 11 assists in an offensive masterclass from the diminutive point guard, posting a plus/minus of plus 27 in his 39 minutes. That means in the nine minutes VanVleet was on the bench, the Raptors were outscored by 18.
Starting in the place of Siakam was rookie Christian Koloko, and he made a big impression as he blocked six shots with his 11 points and seven rebounds.
Alex Caruso produced a noteworthy performance for the Bulls, finishing with an unconventional double-double as he collected 11 rebounds and 11 assists, while shooting one-of-11 for four points.
Bane, Morant carry the Grizzlies
Desmond Bane and Ja Morant combined for nearly half of the Memphis Grizzlies' points in their 103-97 win against the Washington Wizards.
While Morant struggled with his efficiency, only hitting nine of his 27 shots on his way to 23 points, Bane was terrific, scoring 28 on nine-of-16 shooting.
The Grizzlies are now 7-3, and Bane has been at the centre of their early success, elevating himself to potentially an All-Star level in his third season as he is averaging 24.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists while shooting 46 per cent from long-range.
Tom Brady showed once again why he is considered the greatest player in the history of the NFL after another miraculous game-winning drive to lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 16-13 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
It was not a good offensive game from either team, with the only touchdown from the first 59 minutes of action coming from a 69-yard pass by Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford to reigning Offensive Player of the Year Cooper Kupp in the second quarter.
But after a fourth-quarter field goal trimmed the margin to 13-9 with eight minutes on the clock, all eyes turned to Brady as he looked to break the all-time record for game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime.
His first attempt saw Brady lead the Bucs 53 yards, before failing to convert a fourth-down at the seven-yard line. Luckily for Tampa Bay, they would get another chance after a quick stop forced the Rams to punt the ball with 50 seconds remaining.
In just 35 seconds, Brady completed four passes and drew a pass-interference penalty to take the ball to the one-yard line with 15 seconds to play.
Brady then swung a quick pass out to tight end Cade Otton, slipping past a potential tackler for the score with nine seconds on the clock.
It was Brady's 55th game-winning drive, breaking his tie with Peyton Manning to take sole possession of the all-time lead.
With the win, the Buccaneers move to 4-5, and now lead the NFC South as they own the tiebreaker against the 4-5 Atlanta Falcons.
Walker carries the Seahawks
Rookie running back Kenneth Walker III was the star of the show in the Seattle Seahawks' 31-21 road win against the Arizona Cardinals.
Walker carried the ball 26 times for 109 yards and two touchdowns, making it five consecutive games where he has found the endzone after also tallying 167 yards and two touchdowns in Week 7 against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Both of the Seahawks' starting receivers also scored, with quarterback Geno Smith completing a four-yard touchdown pass to D.K. Metcalf and a nine-yarder to Tyler Lockett.
Seattle are now 6-3, while Arizona fall to 3-6.
Tom Brady became the first player in NFL history to reach 100,000 passing yards during the first/second/third/fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback was always likely to hit the landmark in the 2022 season, and the 45-year-old did exactly that against the Rams, achieving a feat that may never be matched.
Brady entered the Week 9 clash with 86,787 passing yards in the regular season, adding 13,049 yards in the postseason.
He stands more than 14,000 yards ahead of the second-placed quarterback all-time in that regard, Drew Brees.
Only once in the past 12 seasons has Brady failed to rack up more than 4,000 passing yards for the campaign, finishing with 3,554 in the 2016 season for the New England Patriots after missing the first four games due to his Deflategate suspension. Brady ended that season by leading the Patriots back from a 28-3 deficit to defeat the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI.
Despite the Bucs struggling mightily on offense in 2022, Brady is on pace to hit the 4,000 mark again this season, having entered Week 9 with 2,267 to his name.
Last season, Brady became the first player to throw 700 career touchdown passes, and when he does retire for good after swiftly reversing his decision to hang up the cleats this past offseason, he will undoubtedly do so as the greatest of all time.
One of the top free agents is no longer on the market on the first day of the offseason, with the New York Mets reportedly bringing back closer Edwin Diaz on a five-year, $102million contract, which was agreed to on Sunday.
The deal – which is pending a physical – includes an opt-out clause, a full no-trade clause and a sixth-year option.
It is being reported as the largest contract in baseball history for a reliever, making Diaz the first at his position ever with a nine-figure deal and first to make $20million annually.
The 28-year-old Diaz secured the massive contract after a phenomenal 2022 season, in which he posted a 1.31 ERA and 0.84 WHIP while converting 32 of 35 save opportunities – his second straight season with 32 saves.
Armed with a vicious slider and an overpowering fastball, the shutdown closer earned his second All-Star team selection while proving to be one of the most difficult pitchers to hit, racking up 118 strikeouts in just 62 innings. That rate of 17.13 strikeouts per nine innings is the second-best in MLB history among pitchers with a minimum of 50 innings, trailing only Aroldis Chapman’s rate of 17.67 for the Cincinnati Reds in 2014.
Diaz made his first All-Star team with the Seattle Mariners in 2018, when he compiled 57 saves – tied for second most in a season in baseball history. His 205 career saves are the sixth most by an active pitcher.
Caroline Garcia produced a dominant performance to overcome Maria Sakkari 6-3 6-2 in the last four of the WTA Finals in Fort Worth on Sunday.
Garcia emerged as the victor of a topsy-turvy tussle with Daria Kasatkina on Saturday, but enjoyed a far more routine outing as she sealed her first final appearance at the competition.
Sakkari had cruised through the Nancy Richey Group with three straight-sets victories, but fell some way short of those lofty standards as she failed to force a single break-point in the opener.
Garcia took 80 per cent of points on her first serve in the opening set, breaking in the fourth game and dictating proceedings from the baseline in impressive fashion.
The match resembled something of a procession after Garcia claimed consecutive breaks to seize the initiative in the second set, and the French Open champion sealed the victory when Sakkari's weak return clipped the net.
Garcia has now won seven matches against top-10 opponents in 2022, becoming the first French player to post seven such victories in a calendar year since Amelie Mauresmo in 2009.
The world number six is also the first player to reach the title match at the WTA Finals after turning 29 years old since Venus Williams did so in 2017, and will now bid to cap a tremendous year with victory over either Iga Swiatek or Aryna Sabalenka.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Garcia – 21/17
Sakkari – 8/19
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Garcia – 6/1
Sakkari – 0/1
BREAK POINTS WON
Garcia – 4/5
Sakkari – 1/3
Russell Henley sealed a four-shot victory in the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba as he cruised to a fourth PGA Tour title.
It was Henley's first win since the 2017 Shell Houston Open, and he tied the tournament low-scoring record – set by Viktor Hovland last season. Henley's final aggregate of 23 under was secured by rounds of 63, 63, 65 and a 70 on Sunday.
He finished four shots clear of the field, but after going bogey-free for his first 58 holes, Henley's first blemish for the week came with a six at the par-five fifth, adding another bogey on 16 to go with his three birdies.
Speaking to NBC after stepping off the final green at the event in Mexico, Henley said he was guided by experience of previous occasions where he has not been able to convert 54-hole leads into wins.
"Just tried to learn from my past, and my screw-ups," he said. "That's kind of what I took from the last two events this season – what am I doing wrong, and how can I get better with it.
"All those events that I haven't closed out [five times he has held the 54-hole lead and not won], they hurt. You don't know if you'll ever get to win another one, it's so hard out here.
"To come down 18 with a four-shot lead, it's really cool. I don't even know what to say. I felt very nervous this weekend, I slept on the lead both nights – I've never slept on a six-shot lead.
"You just don't feel the same as when you're practising at home, you can't create that environment that you get out here when you're leading at a PGA Tour event.
"I guess all the times I didn't get it done, I learned from it, and here we are."
Alone in second place at 19 under was Brian Harman, who posted rounds of 66, 66, 67 and 66 in an incredibly consistent week which included a hole-in-one on Friday.
Scottie Scheffler was two strokes better than anyone else in the final trip around El Camaleon Golf Club, shooting a nine-under 62 to fly up the leaderboard into a tie for third at 18 under.
Joining Scheffler at 18 under were fellow Americans Joel Dahmen, Troy Merritt and Will Gordon, as well as last week's winner of the Bermuda Championship, Ireland's Seamus Power.
Sweden's David Lingmerth joined Sam Ryder at 17 under in a tie for eighth, while defending back-to-back champion of this event Hovland was one further back, tied for 10th.
Collin Morikawa finished the week at 15 under, and former world number one Jason Day was joined by former Masters champion Danny Willett at 14 under.
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