Former world number one Tiger Woods admits he is not sure if he will return to the PGA Tour this year.
The 15-time major champion said earlier this week that he did not know when he will be able to competitively play golf again following his car accident in February 2021.
Woods said he was a "long way off" and added on Saturday that he could not commit to returning to the PGA Tour this calendar year.
"You'll see me [again] on the PGA Tour, I just don’t know when," Woods said on CBS during coverage of the Genesis International.
"Trust me, I'd love to tell you I'll be playing next week but I don’t know when, which is frustrating in that sense because I've been down this road too before with my back when I didn't know when I'd come back.
"It's hard. It's hard not to have goals out there. OK I want to play this event so I can set myself up for that mentally, physically and emotionally, I don’t have any of those dates in my head. I don’t know yet."
Woods had said during the week that he was still having trouble walking, having suffered significant leg injuries in the car crash.
Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid says the way he has been playing speaks for itself about his credentials to win the coveted NBA MVP this season.
The five-time All-Star has enjoyed a dominant season for the Sixers despite the Ben Simmons trade saga, averaging 29.6 points, 11.2 rebounds and a career-high 4.5 assists.
Powered by Embiid who has been joined by James Harden in Philadelphia, the Sixers sit third in the Eastern Conference with a 35-23 record.
The 27-year-old finished third in MVP voting behind winner Nikola Jokic and Stephen Curry last season.
"I don't want to push for the whole thing, but the way I've been playing speaks for itself," Embiid told reporters on Saturday ahead of Sunday's All-Star Game where he will play for Team Durant.
"Especially with everything we went through, the drama this whole year, obviously missing a big piece and then everything that happened to our team and the way our team is set up.
"I knew had to take my game to another level whether it was offensively, defensively or playmaking and I've got great teammates that are coming in every single day and giving their all on the floor.
"But it always goes back to winning. As long as we win I'll be at that level and have a chance to win it all and win the MVP.
"But to answer your question, the play speaks for itself. Every single night that's what I've been doing offensively and defensively and I don't plan on stopping."
Embiid, who was drafted by the Sixers with pick three in 2014, added that he felt this season was his best to date.
"There's still another level that I can get to, that I believe I can get to and I plan to keep working to reach that level," Embiid said.
"Last year was great [but] this year I really had to take my game to an even higher level than last year. I would say yes, so far, but still another level I can get to."
Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul may need a stint on the sidelines due to the hand injury suffered in his side's final game prior to the All-Star break.
Paul was left clutching the injury and ejected for his reaction in the Suns' 124-121 win over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday after Jae'Sean Tate's arm struck his hand when throwing a pass.
The 36-year-old underwent an MRI on Thursday although the Suns have not released any diagnosis, while Paul has since linked up with Team LeBron for Sunday's All-Star Game.
Paul's hand was wrapped in a cast at Saturday's practise and he did not rule himself out of the All-Star Game, but indicated he may need time out due to the injury.
"I always want to play. When I felt that in my hand, I was mad for all types of reasons," Paul told reporters after practise.
"Obviously we're not going to [rush it]. I'm going to try to heal as fast as physically possible. The second I'm able to play, I guarantee you I will be playing."
Paul's Suns head coach Monty Williams is in charge of Team LeBron but also would not be drawn on the extent of the injury.
The Suns are leading the NBA with a 48-10 record and Paul, who has a history of hand and wrist problems, hinted that position meant he could be afforded time to get the problem right.
"We're 48-10 and if we do miss some time I know the guys are going to hold it down," Paul said.
"There's always going to be a frustration with injury. My hand surgeon is part of my family now."
Chicago Bulls' All-Star Zach LaVine says he is feeling way better after missing his side's past three games to undergo specialist treatment on a knee issue which has been hampering him all season.
LaVine, who will lace up in Sunday's All-Star Game, travelled to Los Angeles last week to have platelet-rich plasma therapy, a cortisone injection and fluid drained from his left knee.
The 26-year-old, who tore the ACL in his left knee in 2017, has missed five games in January due to knee swelling.
LaVine has played 47 of the Bulls' 59 games this season, averaging 24.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game.
"I wanted to go out there and make sure everything was good," LaVine said after Team Durant practice on Saturday. "I've been battling the knee soreness for a little bit, not playing at 100 per cent.
"I want to continue to go out there and try to help us win, so the last three games I had to really just take it upon myself to make sure I was OK for the second half of the season. I feel way better."
The Bulls are firmly in contention for a deep playoffs run, sitting second in the Eastern Conference with a 38-21 record.
LaVine indicated he would likely look into offseason surgery on the knee but wanted to commit to this campaign given the Bulls' position.
"It will get me through the end of the season, and in the offseason I'll be able to take care of it and try to get myself 100 percent," LaVine said.
"The season is important enough for me personally, I'll be able to go out there and play and do what I have to do still."
Joaquin Niemann extended his lead at the Genesis Invitational to three strokes after an eagle on the 10th hole on the third day at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California.
The Chilean, who led after both of the first two days, carded a six-under-round of 68 to be 19-under overall, meaning his 194 across 54 holes is a course record. He leads from Cameron Young who is 16-under.
Young's double bogey on the 16th hole opened up a big gap at the top, with Viktor Hovland moving into third with a six-under-65 but he is six shots behind Niemann at 13-under.
Niemann carded four birdies on the front nine, before the highlight of his day with an eagle on the 10th after an aggressive drive.
The eagle took world number 32 Niemann to 21-under before two bogeys in his final seven holes, although Young was unable to make any major inroads.
Norwegian world number four Hovland was the big mover on Saturday, with five birdies on the front nine, although bogeys on the 14th and 15th slowed his charge.
Former PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas is one stroke behind the Norwegian after a one-under-70, while second-ranked Collin Morikawa is a further shot back after his three-under-68 took him to 11-under overall.
Last week's Arizona Open winner Scottie Scheffler also managed a six-under-round to be tied on 10-under alongside Maverick McNealy, Marc Leishman and Max Homa.
Rory McIlroy carded a four-under-67 to be seven-under and tied in a large group that includes three-time major champion Jordan Spieth who struggled with a two-over-73 with three bogeys and one birdie for the day.
Mike Tomlin said Brian Flores' resume "speaks for itself" after the Pittsburgh Steelers hired the former Miami Dolphins head coach as a senior defensive assistant.
Flores was fired by the Dolphins after a 2021 season in which he led Miami to a winning record for the second successive year.
He has since launched a class action lawsuit against the league, alleging the NFL is rife with racism and has a "disingenuous commitment to social equity".
Flores named the Dolphins along with the New York Giants and Denver Broncos as defendants.
Among the allegations from Flores is that his interview for the Giants head coaching position was essentially a sham, claiming to have inadvertently learned of their decision to hire Brian Daboll before the interview took place.
It is also alleged in the lawsuit that Flores "was interviewed only because of the Rooney Rule" by the Broncos in 2019 and was never intended to be "a legitimate candidate", while also criticising the interview board.
All three teams have denied the accusations against them while the NFL said Flores' claims "are without merit". However, prior to last week's Super Bowl, commissioner Roger Goodell said the league would take nothing off the table in a review of its hiring practices.
Flores interviewed for the head coach role with the Houston Texans and New Orleans Saints and, despite missing out on those jobs, will have a chance to embellish his already impressive CV with the Steelers after being named senior defensive assistant/linebackers.
"I am excited about Brian Flores joining our coaching staff given his history of developing and teaching defensive players during his time in the NFL," Steelers head coach Tomlin said.
"Brian's resume speaks for itself, and I look forward to him adding his expertise to help our team."
Andrey Rublev will hope to gain revenge on Felix Auger Aliassime when they meet in the final of the Open 13 Provence.
Rublev lost in three sets to Auger Aliassime in the semi-finals in Rotterdam this month and they set up a reunion with victories in Marseille on Saturday.
A third successive win over a French opponent booked world number seven Rublev's place in the final as he saw off Benjamin Bonzi in three sets.
Bonzi, playing in his first Tour-level semi-final, threatened an upset, but Rublev raised his game in the final set to secure a 6-3 4-6 6-3 win.
"[Coming into] this week I was really motivated," Rublev said afterwards. "I was so excited to compete, to try to play at a good level, to win some matches and it's my first final of the season so I''m really happy and we will see what happens tomorrow [Sunday].
"It was super tough. Benjamin is playing really great this year, he beat great players this week and I'm happy to be in the final."
Auger Aliassime, fresh off winning his maiden ATP Tour crown in Rotterdam, progressed to another final with a 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-5) defeat of Roman Safiullin.
The Canadian needed two hours and 27 minutes and a pair of tie-breaks to see off the world number 163 but can now look forward to a 10th career final.
Jelena Ostapenko secured the fifth WTA title of her career with a dominant victory against Veronika Kudermetova in the final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Saturday.
Ostapenko eased to a 6-0 6-4 win in just 65 minutes, which is expected to take her up to number 13 in the rankings, the first time the former world number five will have been in the top 20 since October 2018.
An impressive week for the Latvian has seen her beat Sofia Kenin, Iga Swiatek, Petra Kvitova, and Simona Halep on her way to the final, and she never looked like slipping up here.
It was consistency that made the difference, with Ostapenko winning 63.6 per cent of points on her first serve, but also an impressive 58.3 per cent on her second.
She took the first set in just 23 minutes, with her serve allowing her to zip through games with ease as Kudermetova had no answer to it, or indeed her returns.
The Russian recovered well in the second set and earned an early break, but things soon swung back to take Ostapenko to 5-3 and serving for the title. Kudermetova managed to break, only for her opponent to do the same to seal the win.
Roberto Bautista Agut ended his title drought by gaining revenge over Nikoloz Basilashvili in the final of the Qatar Open on Saturday.
Basilashvili beat Bautista Agut in the championship match in Doha last year, but the Spaniard came out on top on this occasion, winning 6-3 6-4.
The experienced second seed had not won a tournament since he was crowned Qatar Open champion in 2019, before repeating that feat with a straight-sets success.
Bautista Agut came from a break down in both sets to win the 10th ATP title of his career at the expense of the third seed from Georgia.
The 33-year-old world number 16 dropped only one set this week en route to getting his hands on another trophy.
He said: "It was a really tough final. This year we played without wind, which was much better for me.
"It was not easy to recover after a really tough battle yesterday [in a semi-final win over Karen Khachanov], but I think I did a good job today.
"It is my 10th ATP Tour title and I am very happy."
Four-time NBA champion Manu Ginobili is among this year's finalists for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
The San Antonio Spurs legend, who retired from the league following the 2017-18 season after 16 years with the franchise, was part of the side that triumphed in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014.
Ginobili also helped Argentina win an Olympic gold medal at Athens 2004.
The 44-year-old, who returned to Spurs as Special Advisor to Basketball Operations in September, was announced at a conference on Friday as one of 11 finalists ahead of the All-Star Weekend.
Former All-Star players Marques Johnson, Tim Hardaway and Michael Cooper are also on the list of nominees, along with coach George Karl and WNBA stars Lindsay Whelan and Swin Cash.
The Hall of Fame's class of 2022 will be announced at the men's Final Four in New Orleans on April 2, with the enshrinement scheduled to take place in September.
The Los Angeles Lakers' tough season continues with All-Star forward Anthony Davis to miss at least four weeks with a mid-foot sprain.
Davis went down writhing in pain after landing awkwardly as he twisted his ankle in the second quarter of the Lakers' come-from-behind 106-101 win over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday.
The eight-time All-Star underwent X-rays which came back negative but he has since been diagnosed with a mid-foot sprain following an MRI which will be re-evaluated in four weeks.
The 28-year-old power forward has only played 37 of the Lakers' 58 games this season, averaging 23.1 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game.
Davis only managed 36 appearances for the Lakers last season and has a long history of missing time in season due to injuries.
The 2012 NBA Draft top pick has had a mix of thumb, knee, wrist and foot/ankle injuries disrupt his 2021-22 season.
"Win games until we get him back," Lakers coach Frank Vogel told reporters on Wednesday. "It's that simple. We can't feel sorry for ourselves. We don't know obviously how long it will be, but we gotta win as many games as we can down the stretch and believe in the group that we have. And hopefully we're able to get whole as quickly as possible."
The Lakers are 27-31 for the season but are still down in ninth in the Western Conference.
Top seed Cameron Norrie is through to the semi-finals of the Delray Beach Open after beating Sebastian Korda in three sets.
Norrie eventually overcame the American fifth-seed after a final set tie-break, winning 6-2 1-6 7-6 (7-4).
The Brit's tenacity was key, saving seven of 10 break points, and he will now face another American, Tommy Paul, in the final four in Florida after he beat qualifier Stefan Kozlov 6-3 6-1.
The other semi-final will be contested between Reilly Opelka and John Millman after they bested Adrian Mannarino and Grigor Dimitrov respectively.
Opelka was taken to a third set by his French opponent before winning 7-6 (7-2) 3-6 6-1, hitting 19 aces on his way to victory.
Millan proved too good for third seed Dimitrov winning 6-4 6-4 in an hour and 34 minutes where the Australian's return was a highlight.
At the Rio Open, rain washed out many of the scheduled matches on Friday, with Diego Schwartzman against Pablo Andujar and Miomir Kecmanovic against Francisco Cerundolo both cancelled.
Matteo Berrettini and Thiago Monteiro were finally able to finish their round of 16 match at 11.35pm local time, with the Italian securing victory 6-4 6-7 (6-8) 6-3.
He will play seventh seed Carlos Alcaraz who overcame Federico Delbonis 6-4 7-6 (7-1) after their match was pushed back, starting not long prior to midnight local time.
The Los Angeles Lakers' tough season continues with All-Star forward Anthony Davis to miss at least four weeks with a mid-foot sprain.
Davis went down writhing in pain after landing awkwardly as he twisted his ankle in the second quarter of the Lakers' come-from-behind 106-101 win over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday.
The eight-time All-Star underwent X-rays which came back negative but he has since been diagnosed with a mid-foot sprain following an MRI which will be re-evaluated in four weeks.
The 28-year-old power forward has only played 37 of the Lakers' 58 games this season, averaging 23.1 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game.
Davis only managed 36 appearances for the Lakers last season and has a long history of missing time in season due to injuries.
The 2012 NBA Draft top pick has had a mix of thumb, knee, wrist and foot/ankle injuries disrupt his 2021-22 season.
"Win games until we get him back," Lakers coach Frank Vogel told reporters on Wednesday. "It's that simple. We can't feel sorry for ourselves. We don't know obviously how long it will be, but we gotta win as many games as we can down the stretch and believe in the group that we have. And hopefully we're able to get whole as quickly as possible."
The Lakers are 27-31 for the season but are still down in ninth in the Western Conference.
Joaquin Niemann followed up his opening 63 at the Genesis Invitational with another one on Friday to lead on 16 under par, though his previous three-shot advantage was cut by one after a 62 from Cameron Young.
Niemann, who hit nine birdies on Thursday, managed seven in his second round as well as an eagle at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California.
However, Young, who had been tied for second with three other Americans, hit nine birdies without dropping a single shot in his round and now sits two shots behind Niemann on 14 under.
Justin Thomas ended the day in third place on 11 under after a round of 64, while Jordan Spieth and Adam Scott are two shots further back in a tie for fourth.
Collin Morikawa is in sixth place on eight under after his second 67 in a row, and one of the biggest climbers of the day, Norway's Viktor Hovland, sits tied for seventh with Russell Knox and Cameron Smith on seven under after his 64 saw him rise 54 places up the leaderboard.
Rory McIlroy is on three under and tied for 31st with a number of other competitors, including Paul Casey, Xander Schauffele and Sergio Garcia, while world number one Jon Rahm only just made the cut after carding a 73 that leaves him on even par.
Meanwhile, American trio Dustin Johnson (two over), Brooks Koepka (three over) and Patrick Reed (six over) all missed the cut.
Roberto Bautista Agut followed two sprints with a gruelling slog as he battled past Karen Khachanov to reach the final of the Qatar Open.
Spanish second seed Bautista Agut had dashed past Andy Murray and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina for the loss of just three games in Doha, but Khachanov proved far more obdurate.
After a slow start, eventually Bautista Agut picked up the pace and emerged a 2-6 6-3 7-5 winner in two hours and 24 minutes of toil, earning a shot at Georgia's Nikoloz Basilashvili in Saturday's final.
Bautista Agut praised Russian Khachanov for making him scrap for the win.
"He was playing very fast," said Bautista Agut, quoted on the ATP website. "He was playing very solidly, he was defending very well and he hit many unbelievable passing shots. I had to play incredibly well tonight. I enjoyed tonight so much."
Third seed Basilashvili is the defending champion this week and made light work of France's Arthur Rinderknech, tying up a 6-4 6-2 victory.
In Marseille, Greek top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was stunned by Russian qualifier Roman Safiullin in the Open 13 quarter-finals. World number 163 Safiullin had a staggering 13 break points against the under-performing Tsitsipas serve, and although 11 of those were saved, the two that were not decided the match.
Safiullin, for his part, faced one break point and saved it on the way to a 6-4 6-4 victory. He made his presence felt at the ATP Cup in Australia at the start of the year and, although results have been disappointing since, the 24-year-old is doing well again in France this week.
Next for Safiullin will be last week's Rotterdam champion Felix Auger-Aliassime, who saw off Belarusian Ilya Ivashka 6-3 6-4 in the last match of the day. After losing his first eight finals on the ATP Tour, Auger-Aliassime may well be closing in on a second title in eight days.
Saturday's other semi-final will see Russian second seed Andrey Rublev tackle Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi, who reached the last four of a main-tour event for the first time by crushing Aslan Karatsev 6-1 6-3.
Rublev dug deep to edge out French wildcard and former top-10 player Lucas Pouille 6-3 1-6 6-2.
Major League Baseball has postponed all spring training games until March 5 at the earliest as negotiations continue to end the lockout.
Games were due to take place from Saturday, February 26, but the lack of a breakthrough in talks with the MLB Players Association (MLBPA) has prompted the delay in getting back on the field.
MLB said in a statement on Friday: "We regret that, without a collective bargaining agreement in place, we must postpone the start of spring training games until no earlier than Saturday, March 5. All 30 clubs are unified in their strong desire to bring players back to the field and fans back to the stands.
"We are committed to reaching an agreement that is fair to each side. On Monday, members of the owners' bargaining committee will join an in-person meeting with the Players Association and remain every day next week to negotiate and work hard toward starting the season on time."
MLB has designated Monday, February 28 as its deadline for a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) deal to be signed off to allow Opening Day to take place on March 31.
The MLBPA said in December that the lockout was a move designed by team owners "to pressure players into relinquishing rights and benefits".
On the part of the MLB, commissioner Rob Manfred claimed the MLBPA "came to the bargaining table with a strategy of confrontation over compromise", describing demands as "the most extreme set of proposals in their history".
Talks have continued in an effort to find agreement on labour terms and the MLBPA made a new offer on Thursday.
A previous strike led by players forced the 1994 World Series to be scrapped, and lasted into 1995.
Jelena Ostapenko will meet Veronika Kudermetova in the Dubai Tennis Championships final after defeating Simona Halep 2-6 7-6 (7-0) 6-0 on Friday.
Ostapenko, who is the world number 21, stunned Halep in their first meeting in the 2017 Roland Garros final to win her first Grand Slam before the Romanian exacted revenge in Beijing later that season.
In their first meeting since that last-four clash, Halep raced out the blocks to wrap the first set in just 27 minutes as she converted both break-point opportunities to take an early lead.
However, Ostapenko responded emphatically in the following set, claiming a 3-0 advantage before eventually levelling things up after a one-sided tie-break separated the pair in the second.
Ostapenko carried her momentum in the deciding set as she made a blistering start, with Halep unable to win a single game as the 24-year-old secured victory in an hour and 36 minutes.
Kudermetova awaits the Latvian in the final after Marketa Vondrousova was forced to withdraw from her last-four match due to a right adductor injury.
The pair have not met before on the WTA Tour but boast identical records at the start of the 2022 season, with both winning eight of their matches and losing three.
Pat Perez insisted Phil Mickelson "doesn't speak for me" after the latter's inflammatory comments over a possible Saudi Arabia-backed Super Golf League.
A number of high-profile players are said to have been targeted by organisers of the lucrative Saudi-backed breakaway, including Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau.
But the most prominent names to have discussed the league publicly – including Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Collin Morikawa – have instead pledged their allegiance to the PGA Tour.
In a remarkable interview with the Fire Pit Collective's Alan Shipnuck, who is releasing a biography on Mickelson in May, the six-time major champion claimed that he and several other golfers paid their lawyers to construct the proposed breakaway competition's operating agreement.
This, as Mickelson put it, would be to "reshape how the PGA Tour operates", even though he stated Saudi Arabia has "a horrible record on human rights" and are "scary m*****f****** to get involved with".
"Knowing all of this, why would I even consider it? Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates," Mickelson explained.
"As nice a guy as [tour commissioner Jay] Monahan comes across as, unless you have leverage, he won't do what's right. And the Saudi money has finally given us that leverage.
"I'm not sure I even want [Super Golf League] to succeed, but just the idea of it is allowing us to get things done with the [PGA] Tour."
Justin Thomas, after his opening round at the Genesis Invitational, branded Mickelson's comments as "egotistical".
Speaking after going round in 70 on day one at the same event, Perez also hit out at the former world number two.
"He's made $800million on the Tour, I don't know what could be so bad about the Tour," Perez said.
"He doesn't speak for me. He's had an amazing career. He obviously thinks there's something else on the other side for him going down the line. If he gets it, great.
"I don't know what Phil's doing. I know Phil's got a lot of stress in life right now, and I don't know what he's doing."
Mickelson also claimed that "if the tour doesn't do the right thing, there is a high likelihood it's going to happen", and that around 20 players had signed up to the proposal.
Lewis Hamilton has denied reports he was considering leaving Formula One, as the seven-time Drivers Champion looks to bounce back from the controversial finale to the 2021 season.
Hamilton was beaten by Red Bull's Max Verstappen in a contentious conclusion to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, after race director Michael Masi elected to allow a series of cars to pass a late safety car, permitting one lap of racing with the Dutchman on new tyres.
Masi has since been removed from his role, while rumours abounded that Hamilton could leave the sport. But, speaking at the launch of Mercedes' new W13 car, Hamilton denied that his return was ever in question.
"I never, ever said that I was going to stop", he said. "I love doing what I do, and it is such a privilege working with this large group of people.
"You really feel like you're part of a team and part of a family, working towards that common goal. There's no feeling quite like it.
"But yeah...it was obviously a difficult time for me, and it was a time where I really needed to take a step back and focus on being present."
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff had previously hinted that Hamilton was left 'disillusioned' by finishing second, but the 37-year-old now claims to be focused on making a successful start to the 2022 season next month.
He also expressed his excitement at working with new teammate George Russell, who has replaced Valtteri Bottas after leaving Williams in the off-season.
"I eventually got to a point where I decided I was going to be attacking, coming into another season working with Toto and George," he added.
"It's exciting seeing George come in and bring his energy. I can already feel that throughout the team. I think it's going to be an exciting season."
The launch of the W13 sees the German constructor return to its classic silver livery after two years using a black colourway, as part of an anti-racism campaign, and the car has been advertised by Mercedes as '98 per cent new' and as 'the product of a complete redesign from top to bottom'.
With the team bidding for a ninth consecutive Constructors' Championship title, Hamilton is keen to ensure standards remain high.
He said: "Naturally, every single individual within this team has worked towards the ultimate goal of winning the world championship, raising the bar and doing something that no one else has done before."
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
