Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden said it is a weight off everyone's shoulders to finally get their first win of the season on the board with a 120-106 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night.
After an 0-3 start following losses to the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks and the San Antonio Spurs, the 76ers began to right the ship with an explosive first half.
Led by former MVP Harden with 11 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in the first two quarters, the 76ers ran out to a 64-46 halftime lead.
Back-to-back MVP runner-up Joel Embiid worked his way to the free throw line in the second half, hitting all nine of his attempts to finish with 26 points (eight-of-13 shooting), five rebounds and three blocks, while Harden posted 29 points (10-of-18 shooting) with nine rebounds and 11 assists.
Speaking to the media after the game, Harden said it's a good start, but there is still plenty of work to do if they want to be real contenders this season.
"That felt good, man," he said. "It felt like we were 0-82. It felt good, but it's a work in progress.
"As much as we want things to happen overnight, and for us to be 4-0, we're 1-3. We just have to continue to work, continue to build really good habits, and live with the results.
"We have to hang our hats on the defensive end, and I think we had some really good spurts, and then some where we let them back in the game. We have to continue to build and continue to hang our hats on the defensive end."
Meanwhile, head coach Doc Rivers praised Embiid for his patience and playing within the structure of the offense.
"I liked his patience," he said. "This was one of those game where you haven't won a game, and they're trapping him every time – literally every time he touched it early – and he just kept moving it.
"He was in no rush, and eventually it opened up because they were tired of us making threes, so then they left Joel one-on-one – which is not going to work either.
"I just liked how he approached the game – he had great patience, he let the game come to him."
Rivers added that if the 76ers want to play faster – which they do – the Pacers are a great team to do it against.
"They play really fast – because they have to," he said. "They're very similar to San Antonio, and I've coached teams like this. When you don't have the one guy you can just give it to, you better run, if you have any chance.
"We really focused on [our pace] this morning – our goal was to get the ball across halfcourt by 20 [on the shot clock]. I don't think we accomplished that goal a lot, but we did get it up there a lot earlier.
"That allows us – especially against trapping teams, because they were switching and trapping Joel [Embiid] – having those four or five extra seconds to make the extra pass, guys get rhythm shots."
Harden also touched on that point, shouldering the blame for some of their lack of pace in the opening games as they entered this contest with the fewest possessions-per-game at 98.3, whereas the league-leading Golden State Warriors are averaging 113.4 possessions.
"It gives us more time to create a better shot," he said. "When you're walking the ball up, you're limited, so we want our pace to pick up a little more.
"The first couple games I put that on myself – just because I've played against some really good individual defensive players – but even me, when they're on me, I've got to push the ball up and push the tempo.
"That's just going to give us more opportunities on the back-end when the shot clock is winding down. Tonight was a good start, and we just need to keep improving."
In the wake of a season-ending ACL injury to rookie running back Breece Hall, the New York Jets have traded a late-round draft pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars for 24-year-old running back James Robinson.
Robinson, who went undrafted in 2020, burst onto the scene as a rookie with 1070 rushing yards and 49 catches for 344 receiving yards, totaling 10 touchdowns.
Despite his success, the Jaguars opted to draft running back Travis Etienne Jr in the first round of the 2021 draft, but his rookie season ended before it began after a Lisfranc injury to his foot in the preseason.
Robinson's follow-up to his terrific rookie season was less spectacular, and ended abruptly with a torn Achilles in Week 16 late in December. Through two seasons, he carried the ball 404 times at 4.54 yards per carry.
Robinson opened this season as the starter, but slowly began to cede work to the former college teammate of star quarterback Trevor Lawrence, and that culminated in Week 7 where an even split turned into the Etienne show.
Etienne took full advantage, turning 14 carries into 114 rushing yards and his first career touchdown, marking the third consecutive game he has totaled at least 100 yards from scrimmage. Robinson did not receive a single carry in their loss to the New York Giants.
Meanwhile, the Jets have been one of the most surprising teams in the NFL this season, boasting a 5-2 record despite beginning the season without starting quarterback Zach Wilson, winning four games in a row since his return in Week 4.
A big part of the Jets' success has been the breakout performances of Hall, who quickly emerged as the star of this year's rookie running back class and had a real chance of winning Offensive Rookie of the Year.
The Jets still have Michael Carter II in the backfield, who has been sharing the workload with Hall, but lack any real depth behind him, prompting a proactive move for the now out-of-favour Robinson.
It was a small price to pay, with ESPN's Adam Schefter reporting the Jets only sent the Jaguars a sixth-round draft pick, with a chance it becomes a fifth-rounder if certain benchmarks are met.
The Los Angeles Chargers lost two strong players at important positions in Sunday's disappointing 37-23 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, with All-Pro cornerback J.C. Jackson and starting wide receiver Mike Williams both suffering injuries.
While still not great, the news is better for Williams, who was diagnosed with a high-ankle sprain that will keep him out of action for "a matter of weeks, not days", according to Chargers head coach Brandon Staley.
Unfortunately for Jackson – who had not missed a game for the past three seasons – his campaign is over after rupturing his patella tendon. The Chargers signed Jackson to a five-year, $82.5million deal in free agency after he played four seasons with the New England Patriots and led the NFL over that span with a league-high 25 interceptions.
It adds to a troubling injured list for the Chargers, who are already without stars Rashawn Slater at left tackle and pass-rusher Joey Bosa after the pair were placed on the injured reserve at the end of Week 3, and five-time Pro Bowl receiver Keenan Allen was only able to return to the field in Week 7 in a limited fashion.
Speaking to the media on Monday, Staley said the Chargers would weigh up whether they need to make any significant moves before the rapidly approaching trade deadline on November 1.
"I think in the next couple days, we'll be able to assess our team a lot better," he said. "We'll take the next couple days and... make those types of discussions happen, and we'll see.
"We're always going to look for avenues to enhance our team and make it better."
On Bosa, Staley said he is "making progress" without providing any timetable for his return, while he also added that he limited Allen's work in his first game back from injury due to a visible lack of "burst".
"I just didn't feel like he could really burst the way that he wanted to and didn't want to risk anything happening," he said. "So no setback yesterday, but just didn't want to push it."
New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram suffered a concussion on Sunday, the team announced Monday, and the 2019-20 All-Star is in the NBA’s concussion protocol.
The injury occurred in the first quarter of the Pelicans’ 122-121 overtime loss to the Utah Jazz Sunday when Ingram took a blow to the face from teammate Naji Marshall while reaching for a steal.
Ingram was removed from the game and evaluated. He returned to the court midway through the second quarter but exited less than a minute later and did not return.
Ingram is now subject to the NBA’s return-to-participation process, which cannot begin until 24 hours after the injury. There is no timetable for Ingram’s return, but the Pelicans have already ruled him out for Tuesday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks.
Zion Williamson was also unable to finish Sunday’s game after suffering a posterior hip contusion during a fall to the floor. He is listed as questionable ahead of Tuesday’s game, as is Herb Jones, who is dealing with knee soreness.
"Z's fall could've been much worse and doesn't seem like it is. Sore. Bruises," New Orleans coach Willie Green told reporters on Monday. "Brandon gets hit in the face. Herb's knee. Nothing catastrophic, but something we have to monitor over the next few days."
Ingram, Williamson and Jones are part of a Pelicans core that entered the season with lofty expectations and appears ready to challenge some of the established powers in the Western Conference.
New Orleans won its first two games of the season – at Brooklyn and at Charlotte – and dropped its home opener Sunday only after losing the team’s two best players.
The Pelicans are third in scoring in this young NBA season at 125 points per game.
Williamson is averaging 22 points and 6.7 rebounds after missing all last season with a fractured right foot.
By stunningly trading Tyreek Hill in the offseason, the Kansas City Chiefs parted with a player whose unparalleled speed consistently served as their easiest avenue to explosive plays.
Juju Smith-Schuster may have initially seemed a curious fit as his replacement but, after back-to-back 100-yard receiving performances, he is proving to be the ideal number one wideout for the Chiefs to attack how defenses are attempting to defend them in 2022.
While tight end Travis Kelce is Patrick Mahomes' unquestioned top target in the post-Hill era, Smith-Schuster is rapidly developing an increasingly potent rapport with a quarterback who is in a seemingly ceaseless battle with Josh Allen for the title of the league's most frightening signal-caller.
The San Francisco 49ers will spend the early part of the week before Halloween trying to learn the lessons from their previously top-ranked defense's nightmare showing against the Chiefs, one in which Smith-Schuster produced another demonstration of his increasing comfort level in an offense that has designs on overcoming the loss of Hill to right the wrongs of their playoff disappointments in the previous two seasons.
A serial separator
Having caught all five of his targets for 113 yards and a touchdown in the Chiefs' narrow defeat to the Buffalo Bills last week, Smith-Schuster enjoyed another sensational display at Levi's Stadium.
He finished with seven catches on eight targets for 124 yards and a touchdown that was the knockout blow in the Chiefs' 44-23 win over the 49ers.
Smith-Schuster produced a burn, which is when a receiver wins his matchup on a play where he is targeted, on seven of his eight targets against San Francisco and averaged 15.5 burn yards per target. Among receivers targeted at least five times in Week 7, only Jaylen Waddle and Tyler Boyd averaged more as of Sunday.
Those numbers are a continuation of a theme from the Week 6 meeting with the Bills, in which Smith-Schuster registered a burn on each of his targets and averaged 22.6 burn yards per target.
For the season, Smith-Schuster now has a burn rate of 72.3 per cent, which is third among wide receivers with at least 25 targets.
In other words, he is creating separation at an elite level and, as he displayed versus the 49ers, he is doing so regardless of the coverage he is facing.
An answer for all coverageSmith-Schuster was outstanding in Week 7 when attacking both man and zone coverage.
Against man, he used his physicality and his 215-pound frame to win his matchups with the 49ers' cornerbacks.
He ran a pivot route on third down and relied on his superior bulk to get free of Deommodore Lenoir and convert with a five-yard gain to set up the Chiefs' first touchdown to Mecole Hardman.
Smith-Schuster then converted on second down on a six-yard slant, getting physical with former Chief Charvarius Ward to keep Kansas City out of a third down situation on a drive that ended with another touchdown for Hardman.
The former Pittsburgh Steeler ended the first half with a 19-yard reception on a back shoulder throw, which he brought in by easily beating backup corner Ambry Thomas at the catch point.
In the second half, though, Smith-Schuster thrived through his ability to exploit zone coverage.
The Chiefs proved near-unstoppable on third down, and Smith-Schuster came up with a key conversion on 3rd-and-2 that eventually culminated with a Mahomes strike to Justin Watson to put them up 28-16.
San Francisco rotated to a two-deep safety zone coverage at the snap, but it was they who were fooled by Mahomes, who never turned his eyes to Smith-Schuster until the last second, the Chiefs quarterback and a route by tight end Travis Kelce holding nickel defender Jimmie Ward and creating a big hole in the zone into which Smith-Schuster ran an out-breaking route.
Smith-Schuster broke his route to the outside at the perfect depth to ensure safety Tashaun Gipson had too much ground to make up, with Mahomes putting the ball high where only his receiver could get it as they connected for a 15-yard gain.
Mahomes was able to hold the defense with his eyes because of obvious faith Smith-Schuster would be in the right spot to make the play, and that confidence in the Chiefs' new top wideout will keep blossoming if he continues to make plays after the catch, on which he has racked up 210 yards so far this season -- 13th most in the NFL.
He did so on the drive that set up Hardman's third and final touchdown, Mahomes settling for a short throw to Smith-Schuster on an underneath crosser against the 49ers' Cover 6 look protecting the endzone. Smith-Schuster broke one-tackle and gained 20 yards to put the Chiefs on the three-yard line.
The final scoring drive was dominated by Smith-Schuster, who on a second-and-20 got the Chiefs in position to convert on third down, gaining more yards after the catch on a 14-yard completion from Mahomes on a stop route. Corner Charvarius Ward was again playing zone, but dropped deep to guard against a corner route from Hardman, giving Smith-Schuster an easy reception.
His defining contribution came on the next play on another routine catch that Smith-Schuster turned into a long touchdown, capitalising on a zone coverage bust to surge 47 yards into the endzone. Smith-Schuster was left alone to settle into a huge void in the middle of the field. That space should have been occupied by All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner, but he had vacated the area to cover Kelce, leaving Smith-Schuster free to cap a dominant day for the Chiefs' offense in style.
Hardman's three touchdowns and Mahomes' 423-yard day may have attracted more attention, but it is the astute acquisition of Smith-Schuster that is unlocking this latest version of Andy Reid's offense.
Smith-Schuster offers Mahomes a receiver who excels attacking zone coverage and who can consistently turn short throws into plays that wear down a defense even when it has succeeded in forcing him to take the underneath option through the use of the two-high zones that have become the default reply to the Chiefs' attack.
Despite not having top-end speed, Smith-Schuster can critically also win against man when defenses take a more aggressive approach to the persistently infuriating challenge of trying to stop Mahomes. He could scarcely be a more different receiver to what Mahomes had when Hill was his number one wideout, but Smith-Schuster's skill set is one that gives the Chiefs answers to the variety of tests defenses are throwing at them.
And, as the burgeoning chemistry between Mahomes and Smith-Schuster grows, it will once again be defenses who are left desperately searching for a solution.
Carlos Alcaraz reached the last-16 stage of the Swiss Indoors Basel by beating Jack Draper in three sets on Monday.
The number one seed lost the opening set but responded to take the following two and win 3-6 6-2 7-5.
Alcaraz dominated at the net, winning 30 of 39 points to edge out his opponent after more than two hours.
Elsewhere, at the Vienna Open, fourth seed Taylor Fritz overcame Yoshihito Nishioka in another three-set thriller.
Nishioka took the opener, and Fritz was staring down the barrel in a second-set tie-break before trailing by a break in the decider.
However, the American won the final five games to advance 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (9-7) 6-3.
The comeback boosted Fritz's chances of making the ATP Finals, trailing Felix Auger-Aliassime by 315 points in the Race to Turin.
Third seed Andrey Rublev found life far easier as he beat Diego Schwartzman 6-4 6-1.
The New York Jets have lost two key members of their offense to season-ending injuries, head coach Robert Saleh announced on Monday.
Rookie running back Breece Hall and offensive lineman Alijah Vera-Tucker will not take to the field again in the 2022 season, having suffered injuries in Sunday's victory over the Denver Broncos.
"Breece is out; he's torn his ACL," Saleh told reporters. "AVT is gone; he has a tricep that requires surgery, so he is done for the year."
Second-round pick Hall had rushed for 463 yards and four touchdowns this year, adding 218 yards and a score from 19 catches.
Hall only started for the first time against the Green Bay Packers in Week 6, finishing with 116 rushing yards in a shock win, and he was influential again against the Broncos prior to his injury as the Jets improved to 5-2.
A 62-yard run gave Hall a rushing TD in a fourth straight game – the first Jet to do that since Thomas Jones in 2009 – but he soon went down.
Meanwhile, Vera-Tucker has been a mainstay of the Jets' O-line since being taken with the 14th overall pick in 2021. He has allowed just 1.5 sacks in 23 starts.
The Indianapolis Colts have seen enough of Matt Ryan and are making a change at quarterback.
The Colts are benching Ryan and will start Sam Ehlinger for Sunday's game against the Washington Commanders.
Ryan has a Grade 2 shoulder strain, but his demotion has nothing to do with the injury, as coach Frank Reich said turning the offense over to Ehlinger would have happened anyway regardless of Ryan's health.
"Right now the move is for Sam to be the starter for the rest of the season," Reich said, via the Colts' website.
Acquired from the Atlanta Falcons in the offseason, Ryan surpassed Hall of Famer Dan Marino for the seventh-most passing yards in NFL history earlier this season, but the 15-year veteran leads the NFL with 11 fumbles and nine interceptions.
He threw a pair of interceptions – one of which was returned 76 yards for a touchdown – in Sunday's 19-10 loss to Tennessee, which dropped the Colts to 3-3-1 and 1.5 games behind the Titans for first place in the AFC South.
On the season, Ryan ranks fourth in the NFL in passing yards (2,008) but 20th in QB rating (84.7) and 22nd in yards per attempt (6.76).
A sixth-round pick by the Colts in the 2021 draft, Ehlinger has yet to take a snap this season and has yet to throw a pass in the NFL. As a backup last season, he appeared on just three offensive plays.
The 24-year-old takes over an offense that ranks 17th in total yards (341.6 per game) and 29th in scoring (16.1 points per game).
Trinidad and Tobago’s Dylan Carter won his third gold medal at the opening leg of the FINA Swimming World Cup in Berlin, Germany on Sunday.
The New York Giants continue to have their doubters despite improving their record to 6-1.
But rookie pass rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux has a clear message for those who are still not taking the Giants seriously following their 23-17 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
"F*** 'em, f*** all the people around the league," said Thibodeaux to NJ Advance Media.
"The only people that matter are the people in this room. The only people that are going to dictate what happens on Sunday are the people in this room. Excuse my French.
"I mean, listen, I think the greatest thing we do is we fight for respect in the locker room. When you're on that battlefield, I want you to not respect me."
The Giants came from 17-13 down to see off the Jaguars, who narrowly missed out on claiming a game-winning touchdown as wide receiver Christian Kirk was stopped a yard short of the endzone in the final seconds.
The unconvincing nature of the victory will likely do little to quiet those questioning the Giants' legitimacy. New York have trailed in all seven games this year, with this victory marking their sixth comeback of a remarkable season.
But safety Xavier McKinney echoed the sentiments of team-mate Thibodeaux.
"I really don't even care for that question anymore," McKinney said. "I'm kind of tired of answering it because it's the same thing every week.
"Obviously, we know that. I really don't care. We don't care as a team. The only thing we can do is keep focusing on what we can do and keep getting better."
Forty shooters from across the Caribbean are in Jamaica for the 2022 West Indies Full Bore Shooting Council Championships set to run from October 24 - 29 at the Twickenham Park range in St Catherine following a two-year hiatus because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The best shooters from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Canada, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago will be vying to claim the title held by Trinidad and Tobago when the tournament was last held in 2019. However, there will likely be a new champion as the twin-island republic has sent only one shooter to the tournament this year. Barbados, too, has sent a single shooter.
The six-country championship will feature shooters aiming at targets from a minimum of 300 to a maximum of a 1000 yards.
Guyanese Lennox Braithwaite, Wogarth Cup champion, is back to defend his title having had the highest score in the short-range team match last time out. However, he admitted to Sportsmax.TV that his confidence is not where it should be going into competition.
“As a sportsman we try our best to prepare ourselves but there were two years of not shooting and so the kind of preparation that we would have liked we have not been able to on the outdoors but on the indoors, we would have done some of the exercises that would keep the muscle memory,” he said, but in terms of reading the weather conditions and so on for two years we would have been off.
“I am not so confident because I would guess that all the other teams maybe going through similar or had a better position in preparing. In Guyana, we hadn’t had the use of the ranges until about a month ago, so we had some challenges there.”
Notwithstanding the challenges, Brathwaite said he plans to offer a stern defense of his title.
“I would want to defend that position but at the same time I have to realistic because there are people who want to win also.”
He pointed out the shooters from Antigua and the host country as those he has to be wary of. “Nobody wants to lose at home,” he said laughingly.
Indeed, Jamaica would not want to lose at home and as such have fielded a strong team led by Phillip Scott and that includes national champion Dwayne Forde, who has been deemed a ‘definite contender’ for the individual title.
The team also comprises Karen Anderson, Denis John Nelson, David Rickman, Denis Lee, Claude Russell, Nicola Guy, Jose Nunez and Canute CC Coley.
The Kansas City Chiefs' offense fired on all cylinders against a vaunted San Francisco 49ers defense on Sunday, and Juju Smith-Schuster had an interesting explanation for their success.
Kansas City recovered from an early 10-0 hole to prevail in Week 7, the Chiefs exploding and pulling away in the fourth quarter in a 44-23 triumph.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes shredded the Niners for 423 yards and three touchdowns, bouncing back in emphatic fashion after his interception on the Chiefs' first drive set up San Francisco's opening touchdown.
Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling both went over 100 yards receiving and tight end Travis Kelce had 98, while Mecole Hardman found the endzone three times, twice as a rusher and once as a receiver.
San Francisco entered the game as the NFL's top defense, allowing only 255.8 yards per game, and the Chiefs were coming off a Week 6 game in which they were frustrated and held to 20 points in a loss to the Buffalo Bills.
But instead of those point-scoring issues carrying into another tough matchup, the Chiefs found the explosiveness they needed, with Smith-Schuster crediting an online gaming session between Mahomes and his pass-catchers for their devastating display.
"I'm gonna tell you what got us the chemistry when we needed this game," Smith-Schuster told a press conference.
"So, I think it was Friday night. It was me, Pat, Travis and MVS. We were playing Call of Duty together, we were playing Warzone, and we played three games, and we won three games, back-to-back.
"We got off, and we were like, 'damn'. It's really hard to win a game in Warzone.
"You could just... the communication between all of us, and then the chemistry? It was like we were in the game. It kind of just led into this game, and it kind of just showed on the field."
Geno Smith believes he can play even better after leading the Seattle Seahawks to a victory that lifted them to the top of the NFC West.
Unfancied and seen as a rebuilding team after the decision to trade nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos in the offseason, the Seahawks are now 4-3 after the latest success authored by Smith.
The former first-round pick of the New York Jets is penning a remarkable comeback story having beaten Drew Lock to the starting quarterback job in Seattle.
Smith went 8-8 as a rookie with the Jets in 2013 but saw his career fall apart from there as poor play, a fractious relationship with former coach Rex Ryan and a now infamous locker room fight in 2015 derailed his hopes of being the long-term answer in New York.
He spent seasons with the New York Giants and Los Angeles Chargers before eventually landing in Seattle as Wilson's backup in 2019, playing three games in relief of the injured starter last season.
The Seahawks won only one of those starts, and there was little to suggest he could lead them to playoff contention in 2022. However, they have now won three of their last four games, with Smith leading the NFL with a completion percentage of 73.5.
Sunday saw him complete 20 of his 27 passes for 210 yards, two touchdowns and one interception as the Seahawks saw off the Chargers 37-23.
Asked by Peter King for his Football Morning in America column what surprises him most about his and Seattle's success, Smith replied: "Nothing. Nothing has surprised me. In fact, I know I can play a lot better.
"In my rookie year playing with the Jets, we went 8-8 and missed the playoffs by one game. The reality is it's hard to win the NFL with a young quarterback. That's just the reality of the NFL.
"So much goes on that you have to know in order to be successful. Quarterbacking is a skill more than just a talent. I'm just happy I've just continued to develop.
"I know I might've struggled out the gate in pro football. That's just the reality of the NFL. Sometimes they give up on you fast.
"The numbers at the beginning of my career are kind of skewed, if you ask me. If you look at Peyton Manning, if you just judge his rookie season, you'd never think Peyton Manning would've become what he became. Steve Young, too. Troy Aikman. The list goes on and on and on.
"[You have] just got to have patience with young quarterbacks. You have got to find the right young quarterbacks with the right mentality who are going to continue to work and have a great attitude about the game and the struggle.
"Over the years, not playing was heartbreaking. I’m so competitive, and I love playing so much that I really wanted to be out there every single game. But what's that cliche? 'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger'?
"I know I’m better for all those years. Coming into this year, I wasn't sure what would happen [after the trade of Wilson to Denver].
"When [Seahawks coach] Pete Carroll hit me up and was like, 'Hey I'm giving you opportunity to compete for the job,' I mean, that’s all you have to say to me. That was awesome. He's shown faith in me. That's just what I need.
"You ask me: what am I focused on during the week? Playing hard, doing what I'm coached to do. It's that simple. I don't think about failure.
"My thought process is I need to run on the field with my linemen and play just as hard as they're playing and do exactly what I'm coached to do and then let my talent take over after that. It's that simple in my mind.
"Our success so far starts with the trust and belief of our head coach. Not many coaches would start two rookies on the offensive line, a rookie running back, two rookie cornerbacks.
"Not many coaches would be comfortable starting a quarterback who hasn't played in many years. But Pete does it because he knows what he's looking at. He's played young guys before, lots of times. He's taken chances on players, lots of time. He knows how to coach ball. You can see that this year.
"I think we're built to last for this season and many seasons. But ultimately, it comes down to what we do, not what we say. It's about the work we put in. It's about the consistency. And our preparation and consistency and our togetherness. That's all that matters.
"As long as we continue to build together, the sky's the limit. It takes work. It takes hard work. We have got to embrace that part of it."
World champions South Africa will face New Zealand in a 2023 Rugby World Cup warm-up at Twickenham in August next year, two weeks before the tournament in France kicks off.
The pair will meet at England's national rugby union stadium for just the second time as teams begin to firm up their preparations for the tournament, with the Springboks also booking a clash against Wales a week prior.
Having faltered in the semi-finals to England at Japan 2019, the All Blacks will be out to chase a first world title since 2015, when they defeated rivals Australia - with their last Twickenham meeting with South Africa coming in the last four of that tournament.
"The Springboks and All Blacks share one of the greatest rivalries in rugby, and to face them at Twickenham will be an exciting experience for the players and our fans," said Springboks director of rugby Rassie Erasmus.
"The match will take place shortly before we kick off our World Cup campaign, and both this encounter and the Test against Wales will be vital for us to measure ourselves before the competition and to put the final building in blocks in place so that we can enter the showpiece in the desired form."
South Africa will compete in Pool B alongside Ireland, Scotland, Tonga and Romania at next year's tournament, while New Zealand will fight it out in Pool A with hosts France alongside Italy, Uruguay and Namibia.
Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson hailed Bryce Harper's big-game mentality after he took the team to their first World Series since 2009.
2021 National League MVP Harper smashed a game-winning home run to left-field as the Phillies overcame the San Diego Padres 4-3 in Game 5 of the NLCS on Sunday, clinching a 4-1 series victory.
Harper's homer, which came at a crucial point of the contest after Padres pitcher Yu Darvish helped the visitors back into contention, means the Phillies will contest their eighth World Series, having previously won it all in 1980 and 2008.
Thomson compared Harper to New York Yankees legend and Baseball Hall of Famer Derek Jeter after the win, describing the 30-year-old as a "superstar".
"The superstar came and he played and that's why he's the MVP," Thomson said. "Incredible. A lot of times you don't see that. The stars just don't hit. But he hit.
"He's physically and mentally tough and he wants to win. When the moment hits, he doesn't get caught up in it. He just goes out and does his job.
"I saw it a lot in my years with Jeter doing the same thing. Their heart doesn't speed up as much as the guy who's throwing to them. They're even-keeled. They stay in the zone."
Harper, meanwhile, was simply relieved to have avoided another trip to San Diego as he dedicated his series-clinching hit to Philadelphia's fans.
"I just looked at my dugout," Harper said. "It's for all of them. It's for this whole team. It's for this whole organisation. We haven't been here for a long time. It's for every single fan that's here.
"I said it to K-Long [hitting coach Kevin Long], 'let's give them something to remember'. It could have been anybody. I don't care. I just wanted the moment for everybody.
"I was not getting on that flight back. I was not getting on that flight to San Diego. Five and a half hours. No chance."
Philadelphia will face the Houston Astros in the World Series, who are bidding to win it all for the second time after completing a 4-0 series sweep of the Yankees on Sunday.
New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone says being subjected to a clean sweep by the Houston Astros "stings" after they suffered an "awful ending" to their season.
The Astros will face the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series after beating the Yankees 6-5 to win the American League on Sunday.
Houston remain unbeaten in the MLB postseason, having seen off the Yankees 4-0 to pile the pressure on Boone.
The Yankees were missing DJ LeMahieu due to a toe injury and Andrew Benintendi, who is recovering from wrist surgery.
Boone reflected on a painful conclusion to the campaign and was left to rue the absence of key men.
"It's an awful day, just an awful ending. It stings. It hurts," Boone said. "Obviously we had some key contributors missing that I think would have been difference-makers for us potentially."
Aaron Judge may have played his last game for the Yankees, having turned down a seven-year contract to stay eligible for free agency.
Judge failed to deliver in the postseason, but Boone defended the outfielder.
He said: "It's baseball, man. I mean, it happens all the time where the greatest of greats go through a struggle. It's a game of failure. You’re going to have some ups and downs."
The Astros and the Phillies start the World Series at Minute Maid Park on Friday.
Chris Paul felt "privileged" to have played with some of the NBA's best shooters in his career after becoming just the third player to reach 11,000 assists in the league on Sunday.
Devin Booker's 35-point haul helped the Phoenix Suns beat the Los Angeles Clippers 112-95, with Paul bringing up the landmark against his former team by teeing up Deandre Ayton to dunk.
In doing so, Paul joined John Stockton and Jason Kidd in an exclusive club of players with 11,000 NBA assists, also becoming the first man to amass that many assists as well as 20,000 points in NBA history.
Speaking after the Suns' win, Paul credited the quality of his teammates and said he was unaware of his achievement until after the game.
"I've been fortunate to play for a while now with a lot of great shooters, great players in general,'' he said. "I'm privileged.
"There's been a lot of firsts here at the Staples Center, well, Crypto Arena. I honestly didn't have a clue until I checked out of the game."
Suns coach Monty Williams added: "It's amazing. I look at him and I'm like, 'holy smokes, I get to coach Chris Paul'.''
Paul, who also has the most assists for the Clippers in the franchise's history, finished with seven points, 11 assists and eight rebounds.
The 12-time NBA All-Star has some way to go to top the league's assist charts, however, with his tally of 11,009 some way short of Stockton's record of 15,806.
Aaron Rodgers is "not worried" about the Green Bay Packers' slump after they were consigned to a 23-21 defeat by the Washington Commanders.
The Packers suffered a third consecutive defeat on Sunday and are 3-4 after the loss at FedEx Field.
Quarterback Rodgers was defiant after Green Bay fell short in the capital and believes they can stop the rot when they face the Buffalo Bills next weekend.
Asked if making the playoffs still seemed possible, he replied: "You're god damn right it does.
"I'm not worried about this squad. In fact, this might be the best thing for us. This week, nobody is going to give us a chance, going to Buffalo on Sunday Night Football, with a chance to get exposed. Shoot, this might be the best thing for us."
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur is backing his team to arrest their slide.
"I don't think anybody thought we'd be in this spot that we're in right now," said LaFleur. "We're going to find out what we're made of in terms of just how we attack Monday, how we attack Tuesday, Wednesday and every day in practice.
"I do believe that we've got the right kind of guys that will continue to battle."
LaFleur says it is not only down to Rodgers to step up and get Green Bay back on track.
He said: "I think it takes everybody. It takes everybody around him. You've got to have the protection in front of you to be able to hold up.
"You've got to have the guys making plays, too. I feel like we had a ton of drops. We had a lot of penalties that put us back behind the sticks."
Christian McCaffrey was disappointed to suffer defeat on his San Francisco 49ers debut after a "weird week", but wants to focus on what he can control.
McCaffrey only joined the 49ers at the end of last week in a trade from the Carolina Panthers, and was thrown straight into the action against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
The Chiefs ran out 44-23 winners at Levi's Stadium, with McCaffrey only involved in 21 snaps, making 38 yards from eight carries.
The 26-year-old All-Pro was clearly still getting used to the idea of swapping Carolina for San Francisco, but said after the game he wants to get up to speed quickly.
"This was a weird week for me and for [the team]," he told reporters. "I didn't know what to expect. I know I had a certain list of plays that were up.
"For me, mentally, this was just 'focus on everything I can control and get rolling'. Obviously losing's frustrating, but I'm still getting to know these guys, I gotta do my job, I gotta make a few more plays here and just learn the offense as quick as possible.
"I'm just trying to control what I can control right now and get going."
The Niners are 3-4, having lost their last two games, and tight end George Kittle warned that McCaffrey cannot be expected to "be the saviour".
"He's not going to be the saviour, but he's definitely going to help us out," Kittle said. "I think these next two weeks are going to be huge for Christian to understand our offense and be comfortable out there not to think at all, just go out and run because that's what he's really good at.
"Like I said, penalties, turnovers, giving up big plays on defense, we've got to be better than that. We weren't today. That's how you lose football games."
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