Tallon Griekspoor clinched his first ATP Tour title by fighting back to beat Benjamin Bonzi 4-6 7-5 6-3 in Saturday's final at the Tata Open Maharashtra in Pune.
Both Griekspoor and Bonzi were taking part in their first Tour-level final after strong campaigns in India, and it was the Frenchman who took the opener, holding firm before clinching the vital break in the 10th game.
The crucial game came at the same point in the second set, with Griekspoor converting his second break point of a back-and-forth game to snatch the momentum before levelling things up.
Griekspoor was on top from there, breaking again in the third game of a tight decider – in which he was forced to save a further two break points – before repeating the trick to finish the job.
Asked how he mustered his response after a disappointing start, the Dutchman said: "I don't know. I think even in the first set I played well, I just played two bad games and made it hard for myself.
"All I did was keep fighting for every point, keep trying to play my best tennis. It worked out well, it was all good in the end.
"There were more nerves than usual, but it wasn't too bad. We both played really well with our service games. The nerves are always there, but I'm pleased with how I handled it today."
New Barbados Netball Association (BNA) President Dr Carmeta Douglin has announced the establishment of a new coaching structure for the national senior team as they get ready for the Netball World Cup in South Africa this summer.
Dr Douglin told the SportsMax Zone Thursday that the BNA is taking applications for an international coaching director who will work with a three-member local coaching staff.
“That person will come and work with our coaches to really help our netball. It’s a whole team, it’s not just a coach and an assistant coach so we are putting a lot of effort in and we do expect to get some results coming out of that,” Dr Douglin said.
The local three-member panel will comprise a shooting coach, mid-court coach and defensive coach, with one of them to be appointed the head coach. That three-member panel is expected to be confirmed by mid-January and the international coaching director should be chosen by month-end.
“So we will have three local coaches supported by the international coaching director, four persons in our coaching arena and they will be working closely together to develop plans going forward,” said Dr Douglin, who was elected new BNA president early last month after topping unseated President Nisha Craigwell 24-19 at the BNA’s annual general meeting.
Barbados qualified for the 2023 Netball World Cup as No.2 behind winners Trinidad and Tobago at the Americas Netball World Cup qualifying series last October in Kingston, Jamaica.
Currently ranked 14th in the world, Barbados are joining automatic qualifiers Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago as the three Caribbean countries set to compete at the July 28 to August 8 Netball World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa.
Barbados will contest Pool B in Cape Town alongside World No.3 England, Malawi and Scotland. Reigning champions, World No.1 and 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medallists Australia are in Pool A with Tonga, Zimbabwe and Fiji, while Pool C has World fourth-ranked Jamaica, South Africa, Wales and Sri Lanka, and Pool D is headed by five-time world champions and World No.2 New Zealand, Uganda, Trinidad and Tobago and Singapore.
Novak Djokovic clinched a 6-3 6-4 win against Daniil Medvedev in the Adelaide International semi-finals on Saturday, overcoming an injury scare to tee up a final meeting with Sebastian Korda.
Djokovic made a fast start by breaking in Medvedev's second service game, though there was concern when the 21-time grand slam winner required a lengthy medical timeout at 5-2 up in the opening set.
With Djokovic's long-awaited return to the Australian Open just over a week away, the sight of the Serbian clutching his left hamstring was an unwelcome one, but he eventually returned to the court to take the opener 6-3.
Having shown his staying power in a low-key start to the second set, Djokovic claimed the vital break following some excellent work at the net in the seventh game, though Medvedev was ultimately the master of his own downfall after producing a double fault at break point.
Djokovic then faced break point in the next game as Medvedev desperately tried to claw his way back into the contest, but a huge second serve eventually saw him hold off the Russian, who was unable to trouble him thereafter.
Speaking court-side after teeing up his 131st ATP Tour final, Djokovic played down concerns over his hamstring issue, saying: "Thankfully, it was nothing too serious.
"If it was, I wouldn't have been able to continue. I just tried with a medical timeout and some anti-inflammatories and I just settled in.
"The more the match went on, the more my hamstring was warmer, I guess, and bothering me less. So hopefully tomorrow it will be okay."
Asked whether he considered retiring in order to save himself for the first grand slam of the year, Djokovic added: "I can't say it didn't cross my mind today on the court.
"But you just can't calculate on the court. At this stage of my career, every match counts, every match is a present in a way, so I just try to give my best and win wherever I am."
Yoshihito Nishioka also struggled with an injury in the day's other semi-final, but the world number 36 was less fortunate than Djokovic as he retired midway through his clash with Korda.
Korda took a close opening set via a tie-break after Nishioka ranted at a second umpire in as many days, raging when a point was replayed following an error from a line judge.
Nishioka saw his serve broken in the first game of the second set before calling a medical timeout after seeming to struggle with a leg injury, and his subsequent retirement ensured Korda advanced to his fifth ATP Tour final.
The Minnesota Vikings will finish the season with at least 12 wins, have arguably the finest receiver in the NFL and produced the largest comeback in NFL history last month.
At worst they will be the third seed in the NFC playoffs, and yet it is hard to think of a double-digit win team heading into the playoffs with so few outside the organisation believing they can contend to lift the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
That will be of no concern to the Vikings, but their 2022 resume emphatically illustrates why they are not being taken seriously as potential Super Bowl champions.
Minnesota's season has been one defined by dramatic finishes in close games. Indeed, 11 of the wins the Vikings have claimed his season have been by a one-score margin, including their comeback from 36-0 down to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 15.
Their sole double-digit win came in Week 1, when the Vikings eased to a 23-7 victory over the Green Bay Packers, a triumph cancelled out by their 41-17 defeat at Lambeau Field last week.
That loss left them with a point differential of minus 19. The current record for worst point differential in a season with at least 12 wins in NFL history is +21 by the 13-7 Frankford Yellow Jackets in 1925.
The 1925 championship was not decided by a playoff system -- only the most avid of NFL historians would know from memory that the Chicago Cardinals were awarded the title after the Pontsville Maroons were suspended from the league -- and there is a more recent comparison that reflects more kindly on the Vikings.
Minnesota's average margin of defeat this season stands at 22.3 points. That would be the largest average margin of defeat for an NFL team since the 1997 San Francisco 49ers (23.7).
San Francisco went 13-3 that season, which the 49ers finished as the NFC's top seed, and progressed to the NFC Championship Game, where they lost to the Green Bay Packers.
Whether the Vikings have what it takes to imitate them and go deep into the playoffs despite the heavy defeats that have served to increase concerns about their viability as contenders remains open for debate.
It is a debate that is unlikely to be settled by their Week 18 regular-season finale with the three-win Chicago Bears, but they do have points in their favour, the most notable of which is a cast of pass-catching weapons that ranks 11th in the NFL in win rate against pass coverage.
Justin Jefferson, who is ninth in the NFL in combined open percentage (49.3) against man and zone coverage (min. 100 matchups), is the headline act. Having a receiver who can get open as frequently as he does is an obvious asset for a playoff team, one which has thrived in large part because of his 27 receptions of 20 yards or more.
He is supported by a true number one tight end in T.J. Hockenson and another excellent route-runner in veteran Adam Thielen.
While the Vikings have a cast of weapons that is the envy of many in the NFL, they also have a defensive front that boasts the pass-rush talent to limit opposing aerial attacks.
Minnesota's defense is sixth in the NFL in pass rush win rate, yet the Vikings' success in that regard has not resulted in defensive solidity. To the contrary, their 33 sacks for negative yardage are tied for 20th in the league and their success rate against the pass of 45.5 per cent is the fourth worst in the NFL.
And, even with the substantial merits of Jefferson and Co, there is reason to worry whether the Vikings can keep up with top-end playoff competition if they cannot stop their opponents.
The Vikings' pass protection took a hit with the loss of right tackle Brian O'Neill to an Achilles injury and at center they are down to third-stringer Chris Reed.
If those injuries prevent Minnesota from adequately protecting Kirk Cousins, then it is unlikely to bode well for the playoff fortunes of a quarterback who has struggled when the defense knows he is passing.
Cousins has averaged minus 0.02 yards over expected in expected passing situations, according to Stats Perform data, which is 16th among quarterbacks with at least 100 such attempts.
In other words, in clear passing situations, Cousins is failing to elevate those around them, and he is getting little support from a run game that many expected to perform at a much higher level than it has displayed this season.
The Vikings' run success rate of 34.6 per cent is comfortably below the average of 37.5, with an O-Line that ranks 23rd in run block win rate struggling to open holes for Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattinson.
There is no doubting Minnesota's talent, especially on the offensive side of the ball, yet the questions that have surrounded Cousins throughout his career persist and there are enough holes elsewhere on the roster to justify the doubts about their prospects as contenders. Football is not played on spreadsheets, but the numbers from an extremely curious campaign will be tough to dispute until the Vikings give the NFL world reason to.
Lucia Bronzetti downed Valentini Grammatikopoulou to seal Italy's place in the final of the inaugural United Cup.
Despite losing to Poland in their City Final in Brisbane, Italy claimed a place in the Sydney play-offs as the best-placed runner-up.
Having led 2-0 overnight, Italy were pegged back by Stefanos Tsitsipas' battling 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 win over Matteo Berrettini.
That put the pressure on Bronzetti's meeting with world number 199 Grammatikopoulou.
Yet despite losing her two previous matches against Grammatikopoulou, world number 54 Bronzetti made no mistake, cruising to a 6-2 6-3 victory.
Italy will now face the United States, who beat Poland 5-0 in their semi-final, in the final on Sunday.
Coco Gauff marched into ASB Classic final with an emphatic defeat of Danka Kovinic, while Linda Noskova upset Ons Jabeur to set up an Adelaide International showdown with Aryna Sabalenka.
Gauff beat Kovinic 6-0 6-2 to move into her first hard-court final since claiming the title in Linz back in October 2019.
The top seed from the United States won the first eight games of a one-sided semi-final, making another statement just over a week before the Australian Open gets under way.
Gauff took only 73 minutes to dispatch seventh seed Kovinic and will face qualifier Rebeka Masarova in the final on Sunday.
Spaniard Masarova reached her first WTA Tour final courtesy of a 6-3 6-3 victory over Ysaline Bonaventure.
The 130-ranked Masarova, a junior French Open singles champion in 2016, served with assurance and struck 16 winners to break new ground.
It was also a memorable Saturday for Czech teenager Noskova, who claimed the scalp of world number two Jabeur with a 6-3 1-6 6-3 victory in Adelaide.
It was the 18-year-old Noskova's second win over a top-10 opponent this week, having also knocked out Daria Kasatkina.
Second seed Sabalenka will be a strong favourite to deny world number 102 Noskova the title on Sunday after she saw off Irina-Camelia Begu 6-3 6-2.
LeBron James claimed it does not feel right to match records when it comes in "a losing effort".
James is averaging 28.9 points per game this season for the Los Angeles Lakers, and amassed 25 points in Friday's 130-114 win over the Atlanta Hawks.
That victory made it four wins on the bounce for the Lakers, who have begun a bounce back from a dismal streak of one win in six.
But the Lakers remain 12th in the Western Conference with an 18-21 record for the season.
James, who turned 38 last month, is closing in on the all-time regular-season points record, held by former Milwaukee Bucks and Lakers great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who accumulated 38,387 across a long career.
Yet James is not interested in achievements if they come when the team are struggling.
"I want to win. [The losing is] not sitting well with me," James told ESPN.
"I don't like having accomplishments, and it don't feel right, when it comes in a losing effort.
"We sit here right now as a franchise and as a team that's below .500. We've been playing some good basketball as of late, but we want to and I want to win at the highest level.
"Breaking records or setting records or passing greats in a losing effort has never been a DNA of mine."
James was instrumental for the Lakers against the Hawks, adding 10 assists and seven rebounds to his tally of points.
Russell Westbrook and Kendrick Nunn also impressed for the Lakers, who were depleted by injuries. Indeed, James himself had only just recovered from illness.
Westbrook said: "There are going to be times where guys go down, unfortunately, and we have a group of guys that have just been preparing themselves for when it's their moment to play and play well.
"[It] seems like we've been hitting a good stride of figuring that out."
Coach Darvin Ham said: "It's motivating them to step their games up. They know I'll put anybody out there, and if they're playing the right way, they'll play a significant amount of minutes."
Kevin Durant hailed Kyrie Irving's ability to handle the pressure like a "walk in the park" after he stepped up when the Brooklyn Nets needed him in a win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Irving was 7-for-22 shooting at Smoothie King Center on Friday, but sunk a mammoth three-pointer with only 43 seconds to play as the Nets secured a 108-102 win on the road.
Star duo Irving and Durant missed 32 shots between them, but Brooklyn made it 13 wins out of 14 on the back of a loss to the Chicago Bulls.
Seven of Irving's 19 points came in the final 72 seconds of the contest and Durant, who scored a game-high 33 points, saluted his team-mate's composure when the game was in the balance.
"He approaches it like it's a minute into the game," Durant said. "That's how calm and relaxed he is.
"Even though the stakes are different at the beginning of the game and the end of the game, I still believe that he's the same regardless of what the time is on the clock.
"He plays that way, calm and cool, under control under pressure in the tight moments. It feels like just a walk in the park for him.
"The great ones understand that each possession is important and if you stay even keeled throughout the whole game, you're usually in solid shape in the fourth."
Irving feels his ability to focus on the job in hand is crucial.
"Basketball's just a very simple art form," Irving said. "So if I don't bring all my extra distractions or anything that I'm going through mentally into the game, then I feel like we have a great chance of winning every ballgame."
The Nets are second in the Eastern Conference at 26-13 behind the 27-12 Boston Celtics.
Venus Williams has withdrawn from the Australian Open due to injury and Iga Swiatek's participation could be in doubt.
The American was given a wildcard for the first grand slam of the year, but suffered an injury setback at the ASB Classic this week.
Williams was beaten by Zhu Lin of China in the second round of the tournament in Auckland on Thursday and it was revealed on Saturday she will not play at Melbourne Park.
The 42-year-old, who has shown incredible longevity in her illustrious career, is a seven-time grand slams singles champion and winner of 14 major doubles titles.
Williams won four of her grand slam doubles crowns at the Australian Open and lost her two singles finals in 2003 and 2017.
Australian Kim Birrell has been awarded Williams' wildcard place nine days before the tournament gets under way.
Meanwhile, world number one Swiatek has withdrawn from the Adelaide International 2 next week due to a shoulder injury.
Swiatek was in tears after she was beaten by Jessica Pegula while representing Poland against the United States in the United Cup on Friday.
Zach Lavine torched the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night to deliver a 126-112 road win for the Chicago Bulls.
Lavine finished two points off his season-high with 41 points on 14-of-19 shooting, and he made history with his marksmanship from long range.
He hit 11 of his 13 three-point attempts (84.6 per cent), joining Stephen Curry as the only players in NBA history to hit at least 11 three-pointers in a game at over 80 per cent efficiency.
Over his past five games, Lavine is averaging 27.6 points while shooting 54.8 per cent from the field, 55.3 per cent from deep and 96.2 per cent at the free throw line.
Against the 76ers, Lavine was supported well by third-year forward and former top-five draft pick Patrick Williams, who scored 18 points on seven-of-11 shooting with six rebounds.
It is the latest impressive sign from Williams, who had his best game of the season on Wednesday with 22 points (six-of-eight shooting), seven rebounds and two steals in an upset win over the Brooklyn Nets.
The 76ers were without franchise centrepiece Joel Embiid, and James Harden put together a poor performance, finishing four-of-17 from the field for his 17 points and 11 assists.
Chicago have won seven of their past 10 to improve their record to 18-21 – two games behind the Eastern Conference's eight seed, currently occupied by the Miami Heat (20-19).
Lakers win fourth on the trot
LeBron James was at his playmaking best in the Los Angeles Lakers' 130-114 victory on the road against the Atlanta Hawks.
James had 17 points and 10 assists at three-quarter time, and after the Hawks cut the margin to 10 points early in the last period, James responded by scoring eight of the Lakers' next 10 points to put the game to bed.
He shot 10-of-19 for his 25 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, while Russell Westbrook flirted with another triple-double off the bench, posting 18 points (seven-of-14), 11 rebounds and nine assists.
Nuggets take top spot in the West
The Denver Nuggets (26-13) are now alone atop the Western Conference standings after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 121-108.
It is the Nuggets' ninth win from their past 11 fixtures, and they were once again carried by reigning back-to-back MVP Nikola Jokic with 28 points (10-of-17 shooting), 15 rebounds and 10 assists.
Jokic averaged 29.2 points, 12.3 rebounds and 10.1 assists during the month of December as he continues to build a case to become the first MVP three-peat since Larry Bird from 1984-86.
Collin Morikawa will head into the weekend leading the Sentry Tournament of Champions by two strokes, sitting at 16 under through 36 holes.
Morikawa has looked right at home on the Kapalua Plantation Course on the island of Maui, following his nine-under 64 with a seven-under 66 on Friday.
He began his second round in blistering form, birdieing four of his first five holes, before going on to finish with his second consecutive bogey-free day.
The two-time major champion has not won a PGA Tour event since The Open Championship in July 2021, while his last win in any event came at the DP World Tour Championship in November 2021.
He will be looking to fend off the challenge of world number two Scottie Scheffler, who is tied for second at 14 under after a pair of 66s.
Scheffler's nine birdies on Friday tied with Luke List for the day's most, and he is joined at 14 under by J.J. Spaun.
Jordan Spieth used a pair of eagles to pull to within striking distance, birdieing the 18th to jump into outright fourth place at 13 under.
Young phenom Tom Kim is alone in fifth at 12 under, while major champions Matt Fitzpatrick and Jon Rahm are tied for sixth at 11 under.
List and Tony Finau are in the group at 10 under, with Hideki Matsuyama headlining those at nine under, and the pair of Will Zalatoris and Adam Scott will still feel they are in with a chance – eight off the pace at eight under.
The Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday cut ties with embattled pitcher Trevor Bauer, designating the right-hander for assignment.
The Dodgers are responsible for the more than $22.5million remaining on Bauer’s contract. He is free to sign with any major league team for the $720,000 minimum and can play immediately after completing a record-long suspension for violating MLB's domestic violence and sexual assault policy.
In a statement, the franchise said: "The Dodgers organization believes that allegations of sexual assault or domestic violence should be thoroughly investigated, with due process gives to the accused. From the beginning we have fully cooperated with Major League Baseball’s investigation and strictly followed the process stipulated under MLB’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy.
"Two extensive reviews of all the available evidence in this case – one by Commissioner Manfred and another by a neutral arbitrator – concluded that Mr. Bauer’s actions warranted the longest ever active player suspension in our sport for violations of this policy. Now that this process has been completed, and after careful consideration, we have decided that he will no longer be part of our organisation."
The Dodgers signed Bauer – the 2020 NL Cy Young Award winner – to a three-year, $102m contract in February 2021. He made 17 starts during the ensuing season before he was placed on administrative leave due to sexual assault allegations brought forth by a woman in San Diego. Two other additional women from Ohio have made similar allegations.
He received an unprecedented two-season suspension without pay by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred for violating the league’s domestic violence and sexual assault policy.
In February 2022, Los Angeles prosecutors decided not to charge Bauer for allegedly beating and sexually abusing the San Diego woman because they said they were unable to prove her accusations beyond a reasonable doubt.
Bauer, 31, has maintained he did nothing wrong, saying that everything that happened between him and the woman was consensual.
The players' association filed a grievance on Bauer's behalf, and a three-person panel headed by independent arbitrator Martin Scheinman started hearing the case last May.
In a ruling on December 22, Scheinman upheld a 194-game suspension rather than Manfred's intended 324-game penalty and reinstated Bauer immediately. Scheinman affirmed that Bauer violated MLB's policy and docked his pay for the first 50 games of 2023, covering part of the period the pitcher was on paid leave in 2021 and 2022.
In 10 major league seasons with the Dodgers, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Arizona, Bauer is 83-69 with a 3.79 ERA in 222 games, including 212 starts.
The San Francisco 49ers are looking to end the regular season in style as they welcome back All-Pro receiver Deebo Samuel and former starting running back Elijah Mitchell from injuries.
Arguably the hottest team in the NFL currently, the 49ers are currently riding a nine-game winning streak, and have done so in spite of some serious injuries.
Their past five wins have come with seventh-round rookie Brock Purdy playing quarterback after starter Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a season-ending injury, while Mitchell has also missed the past five games and Samuel was carted off in Week 14.
Sitting at 12-4 after beginning the campaign 3-4, the 49ers have already punched their ticket to the playoffs, but remain a chance to earn the NFC's top seed along with the Philadelphia Eagles (13-3), Minnesota Vikings (12-4) and the Dallas Cowboys (12-4).
They will enter their season finale against the visiting Arizona Cardinals as heavy favourites, with the road team on a six-game losing streak and without starting quarterback Kyler Murray since tearing his ACL.
The Los Angeles Clippers have opted to rest All-NBA duo Kawhi Leonard and Paul George on the second leg of their back-to-back against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday.
It is a curious decision after neither player eclipsed 18 minutes in Thursday's 122-91 blowout loss against the Denver Nuggets, where they both sat out the entire second half.
Leonard has officially been listed out due to "injury management", while George may have picked up a niggling injury as he is listed out due to his hamstring.
Their absence leaves the Clippers in a difficult situation as they head to Minnesota undermanned and on a four-game losing streak, although they remain in the thick of the playoff picture at 21-19 – currently sixth in the Western Conference.
Leonard has only played in 17 of the Clippers' 40 games so far, but after easing his way back into things in October and November, he began to look like himself in December.
In his 11 games this past month, Leonard averaged 20.6 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists per contest while shooting 49.1 per cent from the field.
Meanwhile, George has made 30 appearances this campaign, averaging 23.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.1 assists, and remains on track for what would be his eighth All-Star selection.
The Cleveland Browns' franchise player Myles Garrett declared his side is looking for "volunteers, not hostages" after fellow pass-rusher Jadeveon Clowney took to the media to complain about his role this week.
In an interview with Cleveland.com on Thursday, Clowney stated he felt the Browns are more concerned about getting Garrett "into the Hall of Fame instead of winning games".
He referenced the roles each of the two former number one overall draft picks were being asked to play, implying Garrett is being placed into the more favourable matchups in order to boost his statistics.
Since entering the league in 2017, Garrett has been one of the top talents at one of the sport's most valuable positions.
He finished with seven sacks as a rookie before rattling off season totals of 13.5, 10, 12, 16 and another 15 this year to bring his career tally to 73.5 – already surpassing the Browns' franchise record (62) at the age of 27.
He is fourth in the league in sacks this season, while Clowney, who has never reached double-digit sacks in any of his nine seasons, has just two in 12 games this campaign.
Speaking to reporters on Friday about Clowney's comments, Garrett said he was disappointed.
"I knew he was frustrated," he said. "We've all been frustrated – we're not winning.
"I wish we could've talked about this man-to-man... I wish he would have handled it a little bit differently."
He also broke down why he believes Clowney's narrative is false, pointing out he receives the most double-team blocks (31.3 per cent of the time) in the entire league.
"If I'm the most double-teamed guy, it's hard to say I'm getting the most favourable matchups," he said. "What I've done speaks for itself.
"Of course they're going to put me in positions to make plays. But they're also going to be positions where I'm going to get double-teamed.
"I move all over the line. [Clowney] has moved, as well. We're both moved to be put in favourable matchups. He's getting those same looks, at least that's what I see, and I wish we could have talked about it."
Garrett said the Browns are looking for "volunteers, not hostages" when asked if he would welcome Clowney back for a third consecutive season.
"If you feel like no one believes in you here, then go where you feel like you're wanted and loved and appreciated," he said.
Clowney, who turns 30 in February, will be a free agent this offseason.
The NFL's one-season rule change could have complicating factors for the Kansas City Chiefs further down the line, but their task for Week 18 is simple: beat the Las Vegas Raiders and earn a bye to the divisional round.
With the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals – both rivals for the first seed in the AFC – to finish the year having played only 16 games, neither will be able to catch the Chiefs should they defeat the Raiders.
That will not necessarily mean an AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium, with a neutral venue potentially coming into play, but it does assure them of a week off and a favourable route through the postseason.
Fans in Buffalo and Cincinnati could reasonably be frustrated, and their hopes of the Chiefs being halted rest with an unlikely Raiders victory.
The Chiefs are 9-1 in their past 10 games against the Raiders, and their most recent nine meetings – including a high-scoring defeat in 2020 – have seen Kansas City score at least 28 points.
Only the Los Angeles Rams against the Green Bay Packers, between 1949 and 1953, have ever scored 28 or more points in 10 straight encounters.
Even in Las Vegas, there is little reason to believe that sequence will end this week, given the Chiefs' dominant road form this year.
They have scored 264 points across eight games away from Arrowhead, meaning the Chiefs will have scored the third-most road points in a season in NFL history if they hit their average of 33.0 again.
MVP frontrunner Patrick Mahomes loves playing the Raiders, too, having thrown more touchdowns in this matchup (26) than in any other.
In 2022, he has passed 5,000 passing yards (5,048) and 250 rushing yards (329) in a season for the second time in his career; only two other quarterbacks in NFL history have ever enjoyed one such campaign (Jameis Winston in 2019 and Justin Herbert in 2021).
Yet the Raiders improbably have their own in-form QB, with former New England Patriots backup Jarrett Stidham last week impressing in his first career start.
Stidham threw for 365 yards and three TDs against the San Francisco 49ers, joining Mike White last season as the second QB in the Super Bowl era to mark his first start with 350 passing yards and three passing TDs.
Repeating that performance against the highly motivated Chiefs is a tough ask, though.
Carlos Alcaraz has pulled out of the Australian Open after suffering a leg muscle injury in training.
The 19-year-old world number one won the US Open last September and would have been among the favourites at Melbourne Park and one of the players capable of challenging nine-time champion Novak Djokovic.
However, Alcaraz announced he would not be fit enough in time to feature, with a problem with a hamstring leaving him sidelined for the tennis season's opening grand slam.
He wrote on Instagram: "When I was at my best in preseason, I picked up an injury through a chance, unnatural movement in training.
"This time it's the semimembranosus muscle in my right leg. I'd worked so hard to get to my best level for Australia but unfortunately I won't be able to play the Care A2+ Kooyong or the Australian Open.
"It's tough, but I have to be optimistic, recover and look forward. See you in 2024 @australianopen."
The Kooyong event is an exhibition tournament ahead of the major, and it is the Australian Open where his presence will be most sorely felt.
Alcaraz has emerged as the pick of the new generation of players, with his high-intensity game winning him a legion of supporters and bringing him a host of titles already.
He earned $7.6million and picked up five singles titles last season, including the first grand slam crown of his career in New York, ending the year with a 57-13 win-loss record and the ATP top ranking.
Alcaraz's compatriot Rafael Nadal is the defending champion in Melbourne, while Djokovic returns this year after being deported from Australia 12 months ago amid a vaccination saga.
Skylar Thompson will start for the Miami Dolphins in a must-win Week 18 game against the New York Jets that could be decided by his ability to produce explosive plays.
The Dolphins are on a five-game losing streak that has dropped them from 8-3 to 8-8 and on the outside of the playoff picture looking in.
Yet Miami will qualify for the postseason if the Dolphins beat the Jets – who were eliminated with last week's loss to the Seattle Seahawks – and the New England Patriots lose to the Buffalo Bills.
The task of achieving that feat has been complicated by the Dolphins' quarterback situation.
Tua Tagovailoa remains out of action having been placed in the concussion protocol following the Dolphins' Christmas Day loss to the Green Bay Packers, and his backup Teddy Bridgewater suffered a finger injury in the defeat to the Patriots last week.
Thompson was subsequently thrown into the fire and never came close to rallying the Dolphins to a key victory, having also looked ill-equipped to lead the attack in a 40-17 loss to the Jets in Week 5, in which Bridgewater was injured on the first offensive play for Miami while filling in for Tagovailoa after he was concussed against the Cincinnati Bengals.
But the Dolphins have no choice but to look to him to thrive throwing the ball for a passing attack that has racked up 60 passing plays of 20 yards or more, a tally that trails only the Philadelphia Eagles (61) and Kansas City Chiefs (71).
The problem is that the Dolphins are facing a defense that has excelled at taking away the big play.
Indeed, the only team to allow fewer 20-yard pass plays than the Jets (36) are the New Orleans Saints (33).
With the Jets coaching staff perhaps coaching for their jobs, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel will expect his opponents, led by his former San Francisco 49ers colleague Robert Saleh, to offer another stern test.
If Thompson and the Dolphins cannot find a way to come through it and miss out on the playoffs, there will be plenty of questions about what went wrong in a season that once looked so promising.
NFL owners voted on Friday to approve a possible change to this year’s playoff format, allowing for a neutral-site AFC championship game if the participants were affected by Monday's cancelled game betweeen the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals.
The ruling comes a day after the proposed changes were approved by the league's competition committee.
Monday's game between the Bills and Bengals was suspended after Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest on the field and needed to be resuscitated, shocking the sporting world and leaving the NFL with questions about how to proceed.
On Thursday, the NFL said it would not finish the game and officially ruled it as a no contest, leaving the Bills and Bengals – both AFC contenders – with one fewer game played than the rest of the league.
If Cincinnati or Buffalo qualify for the AFC Championship game as the road team and could have been the home team with one more win, this new provision would move the game to a neutral site.
The rule also allows for a coin flip to decide the host of a potential Wild Card round game between the Bengals (11-4) and Baltimore Ravens (10-6) if the Ravens win the matchup between the teams in the regular-season finale on Sunday.
The new procedures are not without controversy and have already received some criticism from fans of the Kansas City Chiefs (13-3), who can secure the AFC's top seed and first-round bye with a Week 18 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. There are scenarios, however, in which the Chiefs would lose the right to host an AFC title game at Arrowhead Stadium against the Bills (12-3).
The league's policy manual says that "a team's standing in its division or in its conference” is to be decided by winning percentage in the case of a disparity in games played, but the league deemed Monday's cancellation extraordinary enough to warrant a new ruling.
It is the first time since 1935 that NFL teams will have played different numbers of games in a season, leaving no modern precedent on which the league could lean.
While the NFL has been tweaking its playoff format, Hamlin has gradually made progress during his four days at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
Hamlin, whose heart was re-started twice Monday, is now able to breathe on his own and had his breathing tube removed overnight. The 24-year-old even joined his team-mates briefly on a video call Friday with a simple message: “Love you boys.”
In a Friday statement, the Bills said Hamlin's "neurologic function remains intact and he has been able to talk to his family and care team."
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