This year's NFL conference championships have provided a fascinating line-up of potential Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks.
In the AFC Championship Game, Patrick Mahomes is hosting Joe Burrow in a repeat of last year's matchup, with both men having already been to the big game.
Meanwhile, in the NFC, Jalen Hurts and Brock Purdy have each played just two postseason games, green enough both to provoke excitement and concern in equal measure.
Three of these QBs were confirmed as MVP candidates this week, with Purdy the obvious exception as 'Mr Irrelevant', enjoying a fairytale story that would surpass just about any other.
So, which of the four is best placed heading into this weekend, and who can expect to be playing in Arizona in two weeks' time?
Brock Purdy, 49ers @ Eagles
It is safe to say Purdy did not expect to be playing in this game when he was selected with the final pick of the 2022 draft.
Injuries to Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo have catapulted the rookie into the spotlight, and he has not disappointed, winning his first seven starts to extend the 49ers' streak to 12 straight victories – a team's longest sequence entering a conference championship since the undefeated New England Patriots in 2007.
Purdy, at 22, will become the youngest QB to start a game at this stage of the season since Ben Roethlisberger in 2004, while he is only the fourth to do so having started five or fewer regular season games.
But given this inexperience, Purdy is the one remaining QB who likely will not be handed complete control of the offense, instead asked simply to consistently put the ball in the hands of the 49ers' outstanding skill players.
Christian McCaffrey, like Purdy, has won every start since joining the 49ers in a mid-season trade from the Carolina Panthers, scoring an offensive touchdown in each of his past eight – one shy of both Ezekiel Elliott's 2022-best streak of nine.
Since his first start, McCaffrey ranks third in the NFL for offensive touches (234); since Purdy's first start, he ranks first (136).
Even with McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel each highly effective targets through the air, the 49ers have shifted their focus to the run game with Purdy under center.
They have run the ball on 50.1 per cent of plays since Purdy's first start, the fifth-highest rate in the NFL and the highest of any team who made the playoffs. Prior to Week 14, that figure was 43.2 per cent.
It is unlikely the 49ers move away from that now against an elite defense that leads the league by a considerable margin in sacks (75), sack yards (517) and sack rate (10.7 per cent).
Purdy may need McCaffrey and Co. to carry him through this round, but a Super Bowl appearance would only encourage those Tom Brady 2001 comparisons.
Jalen Hurts, Eagles vs 49ers
Hurts' appearance on this stage is clearly not as surprising as Purdy's, but few could have foreseen the Eagles QB as the Goliath to his opponent's David back when the season began.
The third-year star has delivered on his potential in 2022.
Hurts' ability to run with the ball was never in question, and this year his 14 rushing TDs rank third among all players, with Josh Allen his nearest rival at QB on a comparatively meagre eight.
But there has crucially been progress in the passing game as Hurts posted career-best marks by just about every metric in the regular season – 66.5 completion percentage, 3,701 passing yards, 22 passing TDs, 1.3 interception percentage and a passer rating of 101.5.
Last week, in the Eagles' playoff opener against the New York Giants, he threw two TD passes and zero picks for a rating of 112.2.
Having missed two games and two Eagles defeats, Hurts heads into the NFC Championship Game with a 15-1 record as a starter this year, no doubt confident of improving that mark further against the 49ers.
In an intriguing battle that pits the league's best run offense (47.0 per cent success rate) versus its second-best run defense (32.1 per cent), Hurts can provide the X-factor.
The 49ers have shown few signs of weakness this year but did so against Marcus Mariota, another running QB, whose Atlanta Falcons ran the ball on 69.6 per cent of plays in Week 6 and were successful 43.6 per cent of the time.
The Eagles will have been watching the tape from that matchup to give Hurts the best possible chance to find joy against an otherwise fearsome defense.
Joe Burrow, Bengals @ Chiefs
Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton dubbed the Chiefs' home stadium, so terrifying for so many visiting teams, "Burrowhead" as Cincinnati prepared for their return in the AFC Championship Game.
Burrow went into Arrowhead last year and got the better of Mahomes, leading the Bengals to a third conference championship win in three attempts all-time.
Although the Los Angeles Rams then defeated the Bengals in the Super Bowl, Burrow has continued to show himself to be the man for the big occasion, taking down the much-fancied Buffalo Bills last week.
He has won five of his first six playoff starts, with only Brady (7-0), Russell Wilson (6-1) and Mahomes (6-1) winning six of their first seven since 1995.
So calm and composed, Burrow is an outstanding passer, ranking second in the league with his 68.2 completion percentage this year and third with his 85.9 well-thrown percentage.
His problem has long been a lack of protection from the Bengals' offensive line, with Burrow taking a league-leading 148 sacks since his debut season in 2020 – a campaign that was cut short by ACL and MCL tears sustained in one hit.
But Burrow took just one sack against the Bills, and the Bengals are consistently doing a better job in giving their QB time to make the pass – albeit with his help.
The Bengals have allowed a pressure rate of just 32.4 per cent this year, the fourth-best in the NFL, as Burrow has taken just 2.46 seconds to release the ball, the fifth-fastest average among QBs with 100 attempts.
It is Burrow's ability to work this quickly while maintaining a league-low pickable pass percentage of 1.53 that cuts him out as a star capable of again going to Kansas City and withstanding all they throw at him.
Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs vs Bengals
Mahomes is the one man who cannot be planned for. If he is on his game, there is surely no stopping the Chiefs superstar.
Happily for the Bengals, he was a long way from the Mahomes everyone knows in the second half of last year's AFC Championship Game, and his hopes of performing at peak level will be limited by injury this week.
A high ankle sprain would rule out just about any other QB, but Mahomes, no doubt determined to put right what went so wrong last year, is set to play.
Mahomes completed only eight of 18 passes after halftime in the Chiefs' 2021 defeat, throwing two interceptions for a remarkable passer rating of 12.3.
That was the sixth-lowest rating in the second half of a playoff game this century – not the sort of company the best QB in football is used to keeping.
But that passer rating in the second half against the Jacksonville Jaguars last week, when Mahomes was playing with an injury, was up at 110.7.
Even as he hobbled around the field, Mahomes was able to finish a fourth postseason game with a completion percentage above 70.0 (72.3) and multiple TD passes.
Only four players – Brady (six), Drew Brees (six), Troy Aikman (five) and Joe Montana (five) – have had more such performances. Mahomes has played just 12 playoff games in his career.
If that is the sort of form the Bengals can expect to find Mahomes in this week, with revenge on his mind, all the focus on that ankle might count for very little.
Aryna Sabalenka claimed her first grand slam title after fighting back to down Elena Rybakina at the Australian Open on Saturday.
Sabalenka has won all 11 of her matches in 2023 after battling to a thrilling 4-6 6-3 6-4 victory over the Wimbledon champion.
Dropping the opener against Rybakina was the first time Sabalenka had lost a set this year.
After moving in front, Rybakina seemed on course to back up last year's major success with a hard-court victory in Melbourne, but fifth seed Sabalenka regained composure after a nervy start to win a gripping encounter.
Both players were impacted by the wind in the early stages with the roof open at the Rod Laver Arena, though Rybakina adapted the quicker to break and go 2-1 up as Sabalenka skewed a forehand wide.
Despite the Belarusian levelling at 4-4 with a powerful backhand, Sabalenka's errant serving proved costly as five double faults allowed Rybakina move ahead and serve out to take the lead.
The match sprung to life as Sabalenka's serve clicked into gear. Rybakina saved two set points but had no answer on the third as an emphatic ace ensured a decider would be required.
World number 25 Rybakina was then overpowered by Sabalenka's heavy-hitting forehand and, despite saving three break points prior, the latter snatched a vital opportunity to go 4-3 up and then move a game away from glory.
That break ultimately proved the difference but Sabalenka had to hold her nerve, with Rybakina making her serve it out.
Despite a double fault on her first championship point and then being unable to convert her next two, Sabalenka claimed the title on her fourth match point as her opponent's forehand went long, with the relief and emotion pouring out as she dropped to the ground.
Data slam: Sabalenka rewarded for grand slam consistency
Sabalenka became the 58th different female player in the Open Era to secure a grand slam title after overcoming the 57th major champion Rybakina, who lifted the Wimbledon trophy in 2022.
In the last two seasons, only Iga Swiatek (24) and Jessica Pegula (18) have won more grand slam main-draw matches than Sabalenka (17) as the 24-year-old tasted her first major success, having made it as far as the semi-finals in three previous majors.
Stephen Curry hopes the Golden State Warriors can now move well clear of .500 after improving to a winning record for the first time in three weeks.
The Warriors won five straight games over Christmas and New Year to seemingly get their title defence back on track, only for consecutive losses to return them to .500.
Curry returned from injury in their next game, another loss, but the Warriors had not been able to celebrate back-to-back victories since.
They finally did so this week as a win over the Memphis Grizzlies was followed by Friday's 129-117 victory against the Toronto Raptors, which lifted the Warriors to 25-24.
Now, the plan is to go on a run, Curry says.
"We just need wins in general, however we can get them," he said. "It's just the next one up and we've got to figure out the way to win.
"We've been teetering on either side of .500 for a very long time. I'm kind of sick of it at this point.
"We've got to figure out how to keep moving in the right direction and stack wins, no matter how we can get them."
Curry led the team with 35 points and 11 assists, and Steve Kerr saw evidence of his fit-again superstar returning to his best.
"It feels like we took better care of the ball," the coach said. "When Steph plays like that, the whole game opens up, the whole floor opens up."
But Curry, who scored 34 against the Grizzlies and 41 against the Washington Wizards early last week, felt he had already found his rhythm.
The point guard just hopes Kerr keeps leaving him out on the court, playing just shy of 39 minutes in this game – his third-most this season.
"I felt good, moving well, but I've felt like I've been doing that for a couple of games now," Curry said.
"It's just everything being in sync in terms of what I want to get to on the offensive end.
"Don't tell [Kerr], but I played a lot of minutes, and I felt really good for all 39, so I want to keep that up.
"I haven't got that question that much this season, which is nice. Just to say I felt great; keep it going."
Atlanta Braves general manager Brian Snitker has signed a three-year contract extension through the 2025 season with the 2021 World Series champions.
Snitker, who has been in the role since 2016, has guided the Braves to five consecutive National League (NL) East titles, highlighted by their 2021 World Series.
The 67-year-old Braves boss led the side to a 101-61 regular-season record in 2022, before bowing out to the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL Division Series.
Snitker has a 542-451 managerial record, but is the first manager in franchise history to lead the Braves to five post seasons in his first six seasons. He won the 2018 NL Manager of the Year.
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is still in concussion protocol and will miss next week's Pro Bowl Games, according to ESPN.
The 24-year-old QB entered the protocol for the second time this season on December 26 after suffering a concussion in the Dolphins' loss to the Green Bay Packers the day prior.
Tagovailoa remained in protocol for Miami's final three games including their Wild Card Game defeat to the Buffalo Bills. Five weeks on, he will also miss the upcoming Pro Bowl Games in Las Vegas on February 5.
The third-year quarterback had been named as a first alternate for the AFC team for the Pro Bowl Games, with either Patrick Mahomes or Joe Burrow to miss due to their participation in Super Bowl LVII.
The quarterback also suffered a concussion in Week 4, prompting a joint NFL and NFLPA review and an alteration of the league's concussion protocol.
Tagovailoa missed five games throughout the season due to concussion, but impressed when available, with a regular-season completion rate of 64.8 per cent for 25 touchdowns with only eight interceptions. The Fins went 8-5 in games Tagovailoa started.
The QB's repeated concussions prompted speculation Tagovailoa may retire, but that has been shut down, including by his father Galu.
"That's [the Dolphins'] guy. They love him," Galu told KHON2 News. "We love them and what they're doing and how they are helping with his recovery and trying to get him back."
The Splash Brothers found their range as Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combined for 64 points including 10 three-pointers in the Golden State Warriors' 129-117 win over the Toronto Raptors on Friday.
Curry top scored with 35 points on 13-of-21 shooting from the field, making four-of-eight from beyond the arc, with seven rebounds, 11 assists and two steals at Chase Center.
Thompson finished with 29 points but nailed six-of-14 three-point attempts, along with eight rebounds.
Donte DiVincenzo made another strong impression off the bench, playing 33 minutes for 12 points with two-of-five three-pointers and 11 assists.
As a team, Golden State shot at 55.6 per cent from the field (50-of-90), while they had 40 assists compared to Toronto's 24.
The win improves the Warriors' home record to 19-6, while they nudge over .500 with a 25-24 overall record to move up seventh in the Western Conference.
Raptors guard Fred VanVleet scored a team-high 28 points on five-of-10 three-point shooting with 10 assists, while Scottie Barnes chipped in with 24 points.
Giannis dominates as Middleton comeback continues
Giannis Antetokounmpo held off another Indiana Pacers' late charge as the Milwaukee Bucks won 141-131 fuelled by the Greek's 41 points, 12 rebounds and six assists.
Antetokounmpo made five-of-eight free-throws in the final four minutes as the Bucks held on. Jrue Holiday contributed 20 points with nine rebounds and nine assists.
Khris Middleton continued his gradual return to full fitness, scoring 17 points in 15 minutes off the bench, while Myles Turner top scored for Indiana with 24 points.
SGA racks them up again for OKC
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander recorded his fourth straight 30-point game as the Oklahoma City Thunder down the Cleveland Cavaliers 112-100 after scores were locked at three-quarter time.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 35 points, with eight assists and five rebounds for OKC, who won for the sixth time in eight games to improve to 24-25.
The Cavs were without Donovan Mitchell due to a groin injury, with Darius Garland starring for them with 31 points and 13 assists.
Meanwhile, Ja Morant recorded his fourth triple-double of the season with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in the Memphis Grizzlies' 111-100 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Cincinnati Bengals tight end Hayden Hurst has been cleared to play in Sunday's AFC Championship Game against the Kansas City Chiefs after overcoming a calf injury.
Hurst had been limited at Bengals practice on Thursday but was a full participant on Friday before not being listed in their injury report.
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor indicated Hurst was available, having been limited for precautionary reasons. Hurst had missed three games with a right calf injury which he tweaked in Week 13 against the Chiefs.
"I thought he had a good practice today," Taylor told reporters on Friday.
The Bengals tight end had 52 receptions for 414 yards for two touchdowns during the regular season, adding nine receptions for 104 yards and one TD in their two playoffs games.
"He brings a lot of energy, always knows what he's doing, brings physicality, reliable in the pass game," Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow said on Thursday.
"Just a trustworthy, reliable, explosive player. Love to have him."
Stephen Curry and Joel Embiid have both been fined $25,000 in separate on-court incidents from Wednesday's game, the NBA announced on Friday.
Reigning NBA Finals MVP Curry was fined for "throwing his mouthpiece into the spectator stands" during Wednesday's 122-120 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Curry was ejected for the act, which came out of frustration after not receiving a pass from Golden State Warriors team-mate Jordan Poole, occurring with 1:14 remaining in the fourth quarter.
It was the third ejection of Curry's career, all involving his mouthpiece, having thrown it at a referee in 2017.
"He knows he can't make that mistake again," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after the game.
Philadelphia 76ers center Embiid was fined for "making an obscene gesture on the playing court" during their 137-133 win over the Brooklyn Nets, where Ben Simmons returned to face his former side at a wound-up Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday.
The incident occurred when Embiid celebrated making a layup and earning a foul shot by emulating a gesture made by WWE wrestlers Shawn Michaels and Triple H.
Nets forward Kevin Durant, who was watching from afar due to an MCL sprain, described the act as a "trash celebration" on Twitter at the time.
In-form Jon Rahm surged into contention at the Farmers Insurance Open on Moving Day at Torrey Pines but Sam Ryder remains two shots clear ahead of the final round.
The Spaniard, who started the day at four-under overall, carded an impressive six-under-par 66 on Friday to fly up the leaderboard to 10 under and be within two strokes of Ryder (12 under).
Ryder had held a three-stroke advantage at the halfway point and maintained his lead despite an even round that included one birdie, where he made a great save after hitting the cart path, and one bogey as the event switched to the South Course for the final two days.
World number three Rahm seemed to relish the conditions in an ominous sign ahead of the final round, with the second-best round of the day underlining his surge, that included a run of three straight birdies before an eagle on the ninth.
Rahm moved into outright second with the eagle, with an excellent approach on to the green followed by an 11-foot putt. The 28-year-old claimed his first PGA Tour victory in 2017 at Torrey Pines.
Tony Finau enjoyed the best round of the day, carding an eight-under-par 64 to move into outright third at eight-under overall.
Finau, who was the only player to go bogey-free, had six birdies plus an eagle on the par-four first hole when he holed out from 138 yards on his approach.
A group of four players are tied for fourth at seven-under overall, in Sungjae Im, Collin Morikawa, Max Homa and Sahith Theegala.
LeBron James' jersey from Game 7 of the Miami Heat's triumphant 2013 NBA Finals has been bought in New York for $3.68million, making it the third most expensive game-worn jersey ever sold by Sotheby's.
The figure comes in behind Michael Jordan's 1998 NBA Finals Chicago Bulls jersey at $10.91m and Diego Maradona's Argentina jersey from the 1986 World Cup game where he scored the 'Hand of God' goal against England, at $9.28m.
The highest previous figure for a game-worn James jersey was $630,000 from the 2020 All-Star Game.
The Heat clinched the 2013 NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs 95-88 with James scoring 37 points with 12 rebounds and four assists.
James won his fourth NBA MVP crown during the 2012-13 season along with the 2013 NBA Finals MVP, the second of four in his career.
"Today's tremendous result comes at a pivotal time in LeBron James' career, where he is in arm's reach of clinching the all-time points record," Sotheby's expert Brahm Wachter said.
James (38,210) is on track to pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's NBA all-time points scoring record (38,387) in the next fortnight.
The Kansas City Chiefs will have Patrick Mahomes under center for Sunday’s AFC Championship game – not that there has been much doubt this week.
Despite suffering a high ankle sprain in last weekend's 27-20 Divisional-round win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, Mahomes was able to practice three times this week and declared "I'm ready to go” on Wednesday.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has confirmed that Mahomes would play in the AFC title game for the fifth year in a row on Sunday when the Chiefs host the Cincinnati Bengals.
"He looks good," Reid said on Friday. "I mean, he's moving around good. He's going to go out and play."
After Mahomes said on Wednesday that he would be fit, the quarterback began fielding questions about how much a sprained ankle might change his effectiveness or style of play.
"I feel like I can still do a lot of things," he said. "We'll see as we get closer and closer, and we'll see during the game.
"You can't fully do exactly what you're going to be doing in those moments in the game [in practice], but all I can do is prepare myself the best way possible and then when we get in the game, you hope adrenaline kind of takes over."
Mahomes returned to last Saturday’s game to help lead the Chiefs over the Jaguars, but he was clearly limping and was unable to pull off some of his signature improvisation due to his injury.
After a week of rehabilitation, neither Mahomes nor Reid are willing to say publicly if the 2018 NFL MVP will be able to run the entire playbook.
"We have enough in the game plan where you can kind of pick and choose where you want to go with it," he said. "You have a variety of things that you can go to. Obviously, you don't use all the plays in the game plan, but they're available and so if you have to go a certain direction, you can go that direction with the calls."
Meanwhile, the Bengals are not expecting Mahomes to be any less potent.
Cincinnati pass rusher Sam Hubbard said: "We're preparing for Patrick Mahomes like he's 100 per cent, because I'm sure he's going to be playing 100 per cent. That's all you can do."
Conor McGregor avoided major injury when he was hit by a car while out cycling and the UFC superstar said it was his sporting expertise that saved his life.
The former featherweight and lightweight champion, who has not fought since a July 2021 loss to Dustin Poirier, posted a picture and videos on Instagram after the incident.
It appeared to have occurred on a country road, but it was not specified where the incident happened. McGregor has a home in Straffan, County Kildare.
The 34-year-old Irishman wrote: "Got a bang of [sic] a car just now from behind. A sun trap, the driver couldn't see me. Full speed straight thru me.
"Thank you God, it wasn't my time. Thank you wrestling and judo also. Having an awareness on the landing saved my life."
In a video, a panting McGregor tells the driver of the vehicle, who came to check on his wellbeing: "I could have been dead there mate."
The driver responds by saying: "I'm so sorry."
McGregor, who showed his trousers were torn, looked to brush off the incident and accepted the driver's apology before taking the offer of a lift home with his damaged bike.
In a video filmed while being driven back to his house, McGregor said: "I'm still here, thank God. That's all that matters."
Bernard Laporte resigned as president of the French Rugby Federation on Friday as his hopes of returning to power in time for the Rugby World Cup crumbled.
The former France head coach stepped back from his latest position with the federation (FFR) in December after being given a two-year suspended prison sentence and a €75,000 fine for corruption.
He denied wrongdoing and intends to appeal against his court punishments, which meant the FFR did not immediately oust Laporte and instead decided to render him effectively powerless pending the attempt to clear his name.
Sports minister Amelie Oudea-Castera called for Laporte to go in December, however, and he chose to permanently step down in the wake of clubs this week voting against his choice of president-delegate, Patrick Buisson.
Around 2,000 clubs took part in the vote, with 51.06 per cent saying they did not approve of Laporte proposing Buisson for the interim role.
The Rugby World Cup gets under way in France in September, and Laporte, president since 2016, had appeared eager to be back in charge of the FFR by then.
Les Bleus won the Grand Slam last year, and Laporte departs just eight days before the 2023 Six Nations begins.
Reports said Laporte delivered news of his resignation to the FFR executive committee on Friday morning at a meeting in Marcoussis, on the outskirts of Paris.
Oudea-Castera later told reporters: "I can give you confirmation of the resignation of Bernard Laporte. I welcome this decision, it was necessary at the end of this consultation in which the clubs were massively mobilised.
"The ethics committee played its role of supervision in this time of consultation which went well with dignified debates. Bernard Laporte drew the conclusions, which is a good thing for French rugby, its values and the future."
Laporte stepped down from his role as vice-chairman of World Rugby within hours of his conviction in December, which also saw him banned from rugby involvement for two years pending the outcome of any appeal.
Laporte was released without charge on Tuesday of this week after being detained as part of a tax fraud investigation.
His lawyer, Jean-Pierre Versini-Campinchi, told the AFP news agency that Laporte had "neither been accused of having defrauded nor of having received any money".
Rory McIlroy put himself firmly in the mix at the Dubai Desert Classic after a flourish that disguised the "rusty" golf he feared would put him way down the leaderboard.
The lucrative DP World Tour event was again hit by wet weather on Friday, after a six-hour delay on Thursday, and with McIlroy among many in the field yet to begin the second round, organisers decided it would be extended to finish on Monday rather than Sunday.
McIlroy got his work for the day done in the morning at Emirates Golf Club, polishing off an opening round he left in a promising place overnight, having reached two under through 15 holes and given himself a short-range putt at the next that he elected to leave for Friday.
The world number one made that putt, then holed out from 107 yards for eagle at the eighth hole, his 17th, and finished with another birdie to complete a six-under 66 for what was a share of the lead at the time.
McIlroy summed up his performance on Thursday as "honestly not very good", so he was thankful to shoot such a low score.
"I struggled out there most of yesterday," McIlroy said. "I thought did I well to be under par by the end of the day. I fought back after some very sloppy rusty golf over the first 14 holes.
"And then today I came out and I don't really know if anything clicked because I don't think I hit enough shots to know. But it was definitely needed. I would have been happy with anything around 70 the way I played, and then to come in and shoot 66 is quite the bonus."
American Patrick Reed, involved in a pre-tournament spat with McIlroy and alleged to have thrown a tee at his rival, joined the Northern Irishman on six under through the opening 18 holes thanks to a 15-foot eagle putt at the last.
Reed, who missed the cut in Abu Dhabi last week, said: "I'm obviously really happy with the way I played. I felt like last week wasn't really a reflection of all the hard work I've been doing in the off-season.
"To come out this week and feel like I was able to put everything together and to have my mind right on game planning and course management was definitely a plus. I feel like I had full control of the golf ball and made a couple of putts."
Reed and McIlroy will play their second rounds on Saturday, but others began their second circuits before darkness brought an end to Friday's play.
The first-round joint lead was snatched away from Reed and McIlroy by Swedish amateur Ludvig Aberg and Englishman Ian Poulter, who both carded seven-under 65s.
Aberg then stumbled in the early stages of his second round, slipping back to five under through seven holes, but Poulter had a share of the overnight lead on eight under after making birdie at the third, the last hole he completed.
Alongside Poulter was fellow English veteran Richard Bland, who followed a 67 by picking up three shots in the opening four holes of his second round.
Spain's Angel Hidalgo held third place on seven under after he followed a 66 with an early birdie in round two, while South African Louis de Jager joined McIlroy and Reed in a share of fourth position.
Steve Wilks was left "disappointed but not defeated" after the Carolina Panthers appointed Frank Reich as head coach.
Wilks missed out on landing the job on a permanent basis after guiding the team to a 6-6 record following Matt Rhule's firing in October.
Reich was installed on Thursday, but Wilks took the blow of being overlooked on the chin.
"The sun rose this morning and by the grace of God so did I," Wilks tweeted on Friday. "I'm disappointed but not defeated.
"Many people aren't built for this but I know what it means to persevere and see it through.
"It was an honour for me to coach those men in the Carolina Panthers locker room as the interim head coach.
"I do wish Frank Reich all the best. I will always be a fan of the Carolina Panthers Football Team."
Wilks took over after the Panthers fired Rhule following a 1-4 start to the season.
He was Carolina's defensive pass game coordinator and secondary coach at the time.
Wilks went 3-13 in 2018 with the Arizona Cardinals in his only previous head coaching experience in the NFL.
Novak Djokovic insists his father did not intend to pose for pictures with supporters of Vladimir Putin and is hoping he will be able to attend Sunday's Australian Open final.
Srdjan Djokovic was not present at Rod Laver Arena for his son's 7-5 6-1 6-2 win over Tommy Paul on Friday, which set up a final against Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The 62-year-old announced in a statement ahead of the match that he was staying away to avoid creating any "disruption for my son or for the other player".
It comes on the back of Srdjan being pictured standing next to a Russian flag with Putin's face on it, and a man whose t-shirt indicated support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
But Novak, who is chasing a 10th grand slam title in Australia and a record-equalling 22nd men's singles major overall, believes the situation has been taken out of context.
"There was no intention," Djokovic said after beating Paul. "You're basically asking me a question like he did it intentionally, like he's not being careful about what he's doing.
"It can happen to many people what happened to him. He was passing through, made a photo, it has escalated. He was misused in this situation by this group of people.
"That's what happened. I can't be angry with him or upset because I can say it was not his fault. He went out to celebrate with my fans, and that's it. That's all that happened.
"After that, of course he felt bad because of me and he knew how that's going to reflect on me, the whole media pressure and everything that's happened in the last 48 hours.
"But it is what it is. You accept it and you move on."
Elaborating on the incident, he said: "The photo that he made, he was passing through. I heard what he said in the video. He said 'cheers'.
"Unfortunately some of the media has interpreted that in a really wrong way. I'm sorry that that has escalated so much.
"But I hope people understand that there was absolutely no intention whatsoever to support any kind of war initiatives or anything like that.
"There was a lot of Serbian flags around. That's what he thought. He thought he was making photo with somebody from Serbia. That's it. He moved on."
Asked if he expects his father to be back in the stadium for Sunday's final, Djokovic said: "Let's see. It wasn't pleasant not to have him in the box today.
"It's a decision that we made together. We just didn't know how things would play out, I guess.
"But yeah, I hope to have him [there for the final]. I hope he's going to be feeling okay to be in the courts because I would like to have him there for the final."
Djokovic argued with the umpire and appeared to completely lose focus as he let a 5-1 lead slip in the opening set, but he responded well en route to a straight-sets victory.
And the Serbian, who has still never lost either a semi-final or a final at the first major of the season, admitted the controversy surrounding his father impacted his performance.
"I saw, as everybody else saw, what happened yesterday," he said. "It was unfortunate that the misinterpretation of what happened yesterday has escalated to such a high level.
"There was, I would say, a lot of conversations with tournament director, with media and everyone else. It has got to me, of course, as well. I was not aware of it until last night.
"My father, my whole family, and myself, have been through several wars during the 90s. As my father said, we are against the war, we never will support any violence or any war.
"We know how devastating that is for the family, for people in any country that is going through the war."
Patrick Mahomes acknowledges he will be relying on "adrenaline" to carry him through an AFC Championship Game in which the Kansas City Chiefs will be thirsty for revenge against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Mahomes sustained a high ankle sprain last week, an injury that could have ruled the Chiefs quarterback out for the rest of the postseason.
But the MVP frontrunner is set for a swift recovery after his return to practice this week went "better than I expected".
Mahomes is still restricted in his movement, however, as he said on Thursday: "I feel like I can still do a lot of things, but we'll see as we get closer and closer.
"We'll see during the game. You can't fully do exactly what it's going to be like in those moments in the game.
"All I can do is prepare myself the best way possible, and then when we get in the game, you hope adrenaline takes over and you can make those throws when you need to."
The concern for the Chiefs is the Bengals won this game last year, again at Arrowhead Stadium, when Mahomes was fully fit.
This is the first time a conference championship has been repeated in consecutive years since the New England Patriots and the Baltimore Ravens played back-to-back AFC Championship Games in 2011 and 2012, with both of those in Foxborough.
However, the teams split those games. The Steelers, against the Houston Oilers in Pittsburgh in 1978 and 1979, are the only team to have beaten the same opposition at the same venue in successive conference championships.
The Bengals will be confident of joining that company, however, as they have won all three of their conference championship appearances, a record only bettered by the 5-0 New York Giants.
Cincy are also 3-0 in their past three games against the Chiefs, although the margin of victory has been just three points on each occasion. No team have ever won four consecutive games against a single opponent by exactly three points.
If nothing else, this is familiar territory for the Chiefs, who will have hosted five AFC Championship Games in a row.
No other team in either conference have hosted more than three straight championships, although Kansas City are 2-2 over the first four.
Jamaican Davis Cup Coach/Captain Mel Spence is confident that home-court advantage will be enough for his team to see off a tough challenge from Estonia in their group two qualifying fixture at the Eric Bell National Tennis Centre from February 4-5.
Estonia are currently ranked 59th in the world, ten spots ahead of the Jamaicans.
“The Estonia team is very good. On paper they have some rankings that are higher than us but that’s just on paper,” Spence said at a press conference on Thursday.
"We have the home court advantage and I think that’s going to push us through,” he added.
Spence noted that the Jamaican team comprising Blaise Bicknell, Jacob Bicknell, Daniel Azar, Randy Phillips and John Chin has been performing well for a while.
“I’m very confident in them. They’ve been playing very good tennis over the last six months to a year and they’ve gelled well. It’s basically the same team that we’ve had before. We have a tough opponent ahead of us but we’ve played tough opponents before and come out on top,” he said.
While the team can’t be together until a few days before the tie, Spence noted the amount of preparation that some members of the team are getting by competing for their universities overseas.
“Within their respective teams they’ll play matches against their other teammates but they just started the season so I’d say they play an average of two matches a week against other schools. That’s plenty of preparation for them.”
21-year-old Blaise Bicknell currently represents the University of Tennessee while Chin, 19, represents Boise State University. Bicknell is currently the highest ranked Jamaican on the ATP Tour at 764.
The San Francisco 49ers know all about playing on this stage, but Brock Purdy most definitely does not.
The Niners visit the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday, their record 18th appearance in the conference championship in the Super Bowl era.
Yet they will do so with the youngest starting quarterback in a conference championship since Ben Roethlisberger in 2004.
And 22-year-old Purdy – 'Mr Irrelevant' in the 2022 draft – might have feared the prospect of facing a fierce Eagles defense this week as key team-mates Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel managed injuries.
Losing either player would represent a huge blow to Purdy and the 49ers; losing both is unthinkable.
Fortunately, coach Kyle Shanahan has continued to speak with optimism of their chances of playing in Philadelphia, while McCaffrey added on Thursday there was "zero" chance of him missing this game.
On the other side of the field, the Eagles, who go into the game rated as narrow favourites, know a thing or two about playing without their leading stars.
QB Jalen Hurts missed two weeks towards the end of the season with a shoulder injury but was able to return in time to hit the ground running in the postseason.
The number one seeds in the NFC showed exactly why they are that by beating the New York Giants 38-7 in the Divisional round last week.
That tied the Eagles' biggest ever playoff win, which had come by the same scoreline in their previous NFC Championship Game appearance against the Minnesota Vikings. After that victory, they defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII.
Given the strength of the two defenses, this matchup should be a little closer – although perhaps not as close as the last time Hurts met Purdy.
Hurts' Oklahoma held off a comeback from Purdy's Iowa State for a 42-41 win in the 2019 college season.
That remains the only game in the past 10 seasons between Power 5 QBs in which both threw for 250 yards and three touchdowns while also rushing for 50 yards and a TD.
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