With less than five weeks until the start of the NFL season, Cincinnati Bengals coach Zac Taylor isn't worried about when quarterback Joe Burrow will be back on the practice field. 

Burrow, the 2020 top overall draft pick, underwent surgery last month to remove his appendix. While he has been seen on the sidelines at Bengals practices, Burrow has yet to resume football activities. 

"He's starting to get better every single day," Taylor said of his star signal-caller. "Again, I don't want to put a timeline on when he gets out here and starts throwing and stuff, but it's been encouraging. He's back to himself in meetings so — looking good."

The Bengals' 2022 season opens on September 11 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, although Burrow is still expected to be healthy enough to start under center. 

"He knows himself way better than we do," Taylor said. "I trust the communications with him when we're going to get him back out here.

"We've got plenty of time before the opener and I trust that we'll have a good process in place."

Burrow cemented his place among the game's best young quarterbacks last season, bouncing back from the knee injury that ended his rookie campaign to lead the Bengals to a 10-6 record as a starter in 2021. 

The Bengals played in the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1988 season but lost to the Los Angeles Rams. 

Over his last eight games of 2021, including four playoff games, Burrow threw for 16 touchdowns and two interceptions while completing 72 percent of his passes. 

Virat Kohli and KL Rahul are back in the India squad for the Asia Cup, but Jasprit Bumrah misses out due to injury.

Kohli, who has been so short of runs, has not played since the tour of England last month as he was given a rest.

The former captain will return in the Asia Cup, which will be staged from August 27 to September 11 in the United Arab Emirates with a Twenty20 format rather than the ODI for the 15th edition of the tournament.

Rahul has been sidelined by injuries and COVID-19, but will be vice-captain for the four-team competition. 

Paceman Bumrah will play no part after reportedly suffering a back injury, while Harshal Patel unavailable due to a rib injury.

Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel and Deepak Chahar will be on standby.

India face fierce rivals Pakistan and a qualifying team in Group A, with Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan in Group B.

India squad for the Asia Cup: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan.

Kevin Durant has doubled down on his stance that he won't play for the Brooklyn Nets, at least as the organisation is currently constituted. 

In a meeting with franchise owner Joe Tsai, Durant demanded that either he be traded to another team or that the Nets fire the pairing of general manager Sean Marks and head coach Steve Nash, The Athletic reported Monday. 

Durant and Tsai spoke in London over the weekend, and The Athletic reported that the tone of the meeting was professional. 

Durant has four years and $198 million left on the contract extension he signed last summer but made his trade demands public over a month ago on June 30. 

The 12-time All-Star set the NBA world ablaze by demanding a trade, but no team has been able to pull off the massive deal to bring Durant to a new contender. 

Earlier this summer, Durant said that he wanted to end up either with the Miami Heat or the Phoenix Suns, but the Nets now have some hope of keeping the two-time Finals MVP. 

That is, if Tsai is willing to upend the franchise's leadership structure. 

Durant, who will turn 34 before the start of next season, has played a total of 90 regular season games since signing with Brooklyn in 2019. 

The much-anticipated trio of Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden played only 10 games together.

Harden was traded for massive question mark Ben Simmons, Irving's future is unclear, and now the Nets are now at a massive organisational crossroads. 

Gary Player has accused his son and former manager, Marc Player, of putting "several" of the nine-time major champion's trophies and valuable golfing memorabilia up for auction without his permission.

In a social media post, Player alerted the public to the fact that he has not authorised any sales of his belongings and has taken action to recover them.

"I would like to draw the public's attention to the fact that several trophies and other pieces of memorabilia that form part of my legacy have been put up for sale by my son and ex-manager, Marc," he wrote.

"These items belong to me and I have taken action to recover them. I have placed no items for sale – whether by auction or otherwise."

The legendary South Africa had trophies from all four of the majors he won listed on the Golden Age Auctions website in 2020 without his permission. They eventually sold for just under £450,000.

Between 1959 and 1978, Player won The Masters three times, The Open three times, the PGA Championship twice, and the U.S. Open once.

While most established starters typically sit out the NFL's Hall of Fame Game, Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs saw plenty of action last Thursday night.

Jacobs touched the ball on seven of the Raiders' first 12 plays – rushing five times for 30 yards and catching two passes for 14 yards – leading some to believe the team was deliberately giving him a larger workload so there would be more tape on him for a potential trade.

Las Vegas coach Josh McDaniels quashed those rumours on Monday, dismissing the idea of the team looking for a trade.

"We have a lot of confidence in J.J. And, you know, he did well with his opportunities, which we hoped he would," McDaniels said. "But no, we have no desire to do that at all."

Some of the speculation that the Raiders want to trade Jacobs stems from the fact he is entering the final year of his rookie contract after the team decided not to pick up his fifth-year option this past offseason.

He was one of the bigger names on the Raiders not to get a contract extension under the new regime led by McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler after quarterback Derek Carr, edge rusher Maxx Crosby and wide receiver Hunter Renfrow all received big paydays.

Jacobs has led the Raiders in rushing each of his first three seasons in the league with his 3,087 rushing yards ranking fifth in the NFL since his 2019 rookie season.

He is expected to be Las Vegas' starting running back again this season, though the team did draft Zamir White out of Georgia in the fourth round of April’s draft, signed veteran free agent Brandon Bolden and will get Kenyan Drake back from a broken right ankle that cut short his 2021 season.

White led the Raiders with 75 all-purpose yards in Thursday’s 27-11 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, while Drake ran five times for nine yards. 

"As I said after the game, I really do believe that the backs, don't really get to simulate what's going to happen during the course of the regular season," McDaniels said. "And so, giving them an opportunity to actually get tackled, take care of the football and get acclimated to a new system, quite honestly, I think is the goal. Each man's different.

"We'll try to do what's best for the team. We felt like that was a good thing, a good opportunity for all our backs that played."

A quarterback facing a suspension amid an NFL disciplinary case over sexual misconduct allegations and a running back demanding a trade after the team nixed his request for a long-term contract extension is all part of a normal training camp, as far as Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski is concerned.

After the Browns opened camp with QB Deshaun Watson being suspended for six games – which the NFL is appealing to seek a harsher penalty – running back Kareem Hunt sat out practices over the weekend while wanting a new deal. That request was denied, prompting Hunt to ask to be traded.

There is no shortage of drama at the Browns' camp, but Stefanski believes it is par for the course.

''We are working, there is no distraction,'' Stefanski said on Sunday. ''I understand there are things that happen that certainly get attention, and that's OK... This is normal. This is NFL football, as far as I know.''

Hunt, who is in the final year of a two-year, $13.25million extension, did return to practice on Sunday, while Watson continues to train and is currently available to play in Cleveland's pre-season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Friday.

"I would tell you, respectfully, we really do focus on what we can control,” Stefanski added. “I understand that there are things that happen that certainly get attention, and that is OK.

"This is a great game. I know our fans love this game and follow every step along the way.

"For us, we really are focused on trying to get better. We are not where we need to be, and we have a lot of work to do. That is what we are focusing on."

Limited to just eight games in 2021 due to calf and ankle injuries, Hunt had 1,145 scrimmage yards and 11 total touchdowns for the Browns in 2020, while appearing in all 16 games.

Cleveland made the playoffs that season with Hunt and Pro Bowl running back Nick Chubb forming a solid one-two punch.

The NFL's rushing leader in 2017 with Kansas City, Hunt joined the Browns in 2019 but sat out the first eight games that season after being suspended for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy while playing for the Chiefs.

Watson, who was acquired by Cleveland in March, was suspended for the first six games of the upcoming season for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy.

The league, however, is seeking a longer penalty after two dozen women accused him of sexual misconduct during massage treatments while he played for the Houston Texans.

New Zealand have dropped to an all-time low of fifth in the world rankings after losing to South Africa in their Rugby Championship opener on Saturday.

The All Blacks started the defence of their title with a 26-10 defeat at the hands of the world champions at Mbombela Stadium.

It was a third consecutive loss for New Zealand, representing their worst run since they were beaten five times in a row back in 1998.

The Springboks piled more pressure on under-fire All Blacks head coach Steve Foster, who vowed to fight on after a first ever home series loss to Ireland.

Another setback in Nelspruit has dropped New Zealand below England just over a year before the Rugby World Cup starts in France.

It is now five defeats in six Tests for the All Blacks, who face South Africa once again at Ellis Park this weekend with Foster's job seemingly on the line.

Ireland are top of the rankings ahead of France, with the Springboks third.

MotoGP title hopeful Aleix Espargaro is confirmed to have fractured his heel during a highside at Silverstone.

The Aprilia rider suffered the injury during the final free practice session at the British MotoGP on Saturday and was stretchered away from the scene before hobbling to the medical tent.

Espargaro returned for Saturday's qualifying session and secured sixth place, taking his place on the second row on Sunday following doubts over whether he would be fit to race.

The 33-year-old was unable to compete for the win but secured a ninth-placed finish, picking up seven points and coming in just behind title rival Fabio Quartararo – who he trails by 22 points in the standings.

Espargaro has now been prescribed a week of rest, during which time he will have to use crutches, but the Spaniard does not require surgery.

With Espargaro carrying an injury and Quartararo having to serve a long-lap penalty, Francesco Bagnaia took the victory at Silverstone for the second race in a row to boost his title hopes.

The MotoGP season continues from August 19-21 in Austria.

A great launch from @FabioQ20 saw Maverick squeezed into a gap that was closing quickly! #BritishGP ?? pic.twitter.com/i9kiaQHJ3o

Tom Brady's return made complete sense to Tampa Bay Buccaneers team-mate Scotty Miller, who was stunned the legendary quarterback briefly retired in the first place.

That Brady's decision to quit ahead of his 45th birthday could have come as a surprise to anyone says a great deal for his enduring quality.

Indeed, Brady, who finished the 2020 season celebrating his seventh Super Bowl success, was still setting career highs in 2021.

In no previous season had the veteran thrown (719) or completed (485) more passes for more yards (5,316) – albeit with an extra game on the slate.

Only in his 50-touchdown season of 2011 had Brady completed a greater share of his passes (67.5 per cent) or tossed more TDs (43). Brady only has three 40-touchdown seasons, with the other his first year in Tampa in 2020.

Three of his TD passes in that time have picked out wide receiver Miller, as did a 39-yard throw for a score in the NFC Championship Game in January 2021.

Injury has subsequently hindered Miller's young career, but he is delighted to get the opportunity to again link up with a quarterback who had a transformative impact after joining the Bucs at the end of the wideout's rookie season.

"[Brady's return] was awesome," Miller said. "I have so much appreciation for Tom, as we all do, and just what he has done for my career and helping me become a better player – just watching him work and how he goes about his business each and every day...

"I wasn't really expecting him to retire in the first place; that kind of shocked me, just because I know he had so much left in the tank, and he was playing at such a high level.

"And I know how competitive he is, and it would be tough for him to walk away when he's playing that well.

"When he came back, I was just super excited, super stoked to play alongside him again."

Lewis Hamilton has opened up on his emotions following the controversial end to the 2021 Formula One season, admitting his "worst fears came alive" in Abu Dhabi.

The Mercedes driver was at the tail-end of a fierce battle with Red Bull's Max Verstappen for the championship in last year's finale, knowing a record eighth world title would be clinched if he finished ahead of his rival.

On lap 53, Hamilton led but drama would soon erupt as Williams' Nicholas Latifi crashed into the barrier at the exit of turn 14 and the safety car was deployed.

Under FIA guidelines, lapped cars are allowed to overtake behind the safety car but that guidance was not followed by race director Michael Masi, who instead only allowed the cars between Verstappen and Hamilton to move through.

Verstappen, having pitted, then completed an overtake of a defenceless Hamilton at the restart to clinch his maiden title.

The controversy that followed rumbled on for months, with Masi departing his role prior to the start of the 2022 season, and Hamilton has now spoken about his feelings regarding the incident.

"You see things start to unfold and my worst fears came alive," he told Vanity Fair.

"I was like, there's no way they're going to cheat me out of this. There's no way. That won't happen. Surely not.

"I don't know if I can really put into words the feeling that I had. I do remember just sitting there just in disbelief. 

"And realizing I've got to undo my belts, I've got to get out of there, I've got to climb out of this thing, I've got to find the strength. I had no strength.  And it was one of the toughest moments, I would say, that I've had in a long, long time.

"I knew what had happened. I knew what decisions had been made and why. Yes, I knew that something wasn't right."

Ahead of the 2022 season, questions were raised whether Hamilton would return to the grid, and he admits that he considered retirement.

"I, for sure, considered whether I wanted to continue," he confirmed.

Hamilton did return, racing alongside new teammate George Russell, but has not been able to compete for the crown, instead encountering numerous issues with Mercedes unable to compete with Red Bull and Ferrari at the start of the season.

Better fortune was found ahead of F1's summer break, with back-to-back podium finishes for both drivers, but Hamilton remains 112 points adrift of Verstappen in the standings.