A stunning 49-point outburst from Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant carried his side back from a 16-point first-half deficit to defeat the Houston Rockets 129-122 on Friday.
Morant had 18 points and six assists in the first half, but the rest of the Grizzlies were struggling, falling into a 42-26 hole early in the second quarter before trimming the margin to 70-62 at halftime.
The second pick from the 2021 NBA Draft, Jalen Green, showed why Rockets fans are so excited as he piled up 33 points on 13-of-21 shooting while going four-of-five from long range, but Morant was matching him step-for-step before running away late.
Memphis won the fourth quarter 34-22 as the Rockets ran out of gas, with Morant finishing 17-of-26 from the field, and five-of-six from long range, while adding eight assists, four rebounds, two blocks and a steal. He had 31 in the second half, and only a missed free throw in the fourth quarter kept him from scoring 50.
In an eye-catching performance, second-year center Alperen Sengun tallied 23 points (nine-of-13 shooting) with 12 rebounds in 27 minutes off the Houston bench.
Beal wins it for the Wizards
The Washington Wizards are now 2-0 after a Bradley Beal game-winner with seven seconds remaining handed his side a 102-100 win over the Chicago Bulls.
Chicago trailed by nine points with less than five minutes to play, but from that point on DeMar DeRozan dropped 11 of his 32 points (11-of-23 shooting), tying things up at 98-98 with a minute remaining after a pair of free throws.
Beal answered back with a layup, and DeRozan leveled the score again with a dunk, before Beal sank the dagger to finish with 19 points (nine-of-14 shooting) and eight assists. DeRozan had a chance to win it with a three-pointer on the buzzer, but could not deliver.
Brown and Tatum carry the Celtics
The combination of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum proved too much for the Miami Heat to overcome, with the duo combining for 57 points in the Boston Celtics' 111-104 triumph.
Tatum finished with 29 points on 10-of-22 shooting, getting to the line and hitting all seven of his free throws, while Brown was more efficient from the field, hitting 12-of-18 shots for 28 points after they scored 35 each in Boston's season opener.
The Heat could not survive in the minutes center Bam Adebayo had to sit down, as the big man posted 19 points (eight-of-11 shooting) with eight rebounds, five assists, two steals and a plus/minus of plus 20 in his 35 minutes. Unfortunately for Miami, they were minus 26 in the 12 minutes he was on the bench.
Simmons banks first win as a Net
The Brooklyn Nets won their first game with Ben Simmons as they defeated the Toronto Raptors 109-105 at home.
Simmons was solid without contributing much on the scoreboard, finishing with six points (three-of-five shooting), but he grabbed 10 rebounds, dished eight assists and blocked two shots.
Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant carried the scoring load, as Irving top-scored, producing 30 points on 11-of-24 shooting while adding seven assists, while Durant hit eight-of-18 shots for 27 points and six assists.
The Philadelphia Phillies rode an explosive start from slugger Kyle Schwarber to a 4-2 home victory in Game 3 of the NLCS on Friday, taking a 2-1 lead.
Only Aaron Judge (62) hit more home runs in the regular season than Schwarber (46), and he continued his spectacular season with his second of the postseason to snatch a 1-0 lead for the Phillies with a 405-foot bomb as their very first batter.
That lead would hold until the fourth inning, when Jake Cronenworth was able to bring Juan Soto home from third with a groundout to shortstop, but the Phillies wasted no time retaking the advantage.
In the bottom of the fourth, Jean Segura came through with a big two-run single to jump ahead 3-1, with Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott coming around to score.
Schwarber, Stott and Bohm were the three Phillies to collect multiple hits on the day, and Bohm's second was crucial, ripping a double to right-field in the sixth inning to again restore their buffer to 4-2, which their bullpen protected beautifully.
Zach Eflin and Jose Alvarado pitched the sixth and seventh inning, before Seranthony Dominguez saw out the final two frames, giving up just one baserunner while striking out three batters for a six-out save.
Phillies starter Ranger Suarez did enough to earn the win on the mound, getting through five innings for two earned runs in 68 pitches while only giving up two hits and no walks.
Game 4 and Game 5 will remain in Philadelphia, before the best-of-seven series heads back to San Diego for Game 6 and Game 7 if necessary.
Christian McCaffrey officially joined the San Francisco 49ers on Friday and expressed excitement about joining the Kyle Shanahan-led offense.
Acquired from the Carolina Panthers on Thursday for a haul of draft picks, McCaffrey met with the media after taking part in his first practice with the 49ers.
"In my opinion, the best run game and one of the most explosive offenses in the league. How could you not want to play here as an offensive weapon," McCaffrey said. "I couldn’t be more fired up to be here. Obviously, I have a little bit of a history with coach Shanahan. I can’t express how happy I am to be here."
The trade sends McCaffrey back to the Bay Area where he starred in college at Stanford.
McCaffrey’s father, former NFL wild receiver Ed McCaffrey, won a Super with the 49ers in 1994 and won two more titles in Denver with Shanahan’s father, Mike, as his head coach.
"I don’t think there’s anybody better at putting guys in position to have success and tailoring to what they’re good at," McCaffrey said of Kyle Shanahan. "I’ve watched him to do some unbelievable things with some great running backs, even the guys in the room right now. I’m just excited to learn from them."
The 49ers will add McCaffrey to a group of playmakers that includes versatile receiver Deebo Samuel, star tight end George Kittle and receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
Samuel has thrived under Shanahan in becoming one of the league’s most productive players and McCaffrey should be able to do many of the similar things, whether lining up in the backfield or in the slot as a receiver.
"It’s an honour to be compared to him [Samuel]," McCaffrey said. "I’m happy to share the locker room with him and I think we can do some exciting things."
While clearly one of the best running backs in the league, McCaffrey has had trouble staying healthy in recent seasons. He missed 23 games over the previous two seasons due to injuries but has played in all six games in 2022.
"I think you’re always adapting every offseason," McCaffrey said regarding injuries. "It’s a constant change in figuring out what’s the best thing to do, so I made some tweaks here and there, talked to some different guys. Every year I’ve made certain changes and at the end of the day, it’s an ongoing process. Just take it day by day."
McCaffrey ranks fourth in the NFL in yards from scrimmage (607) despite playing for the league’s 32nd-ranked offense. He and Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb are the only players in the league to have five games this year with at least 100 yards from scrimmage.
Jon Rahm was the star of the show on Friday at the CJ Cup, shooting a nine-under 62 to jump all the way up into a share for first place at 11 under with Kurt Kitayama.
Rahm's 62 came after an opening 69, raising his birdie count from six to 10, while cutting his bogeys from four to one as he figured out the Congaree Golf Club course.
Kitayama has been a much steadier presence this week, posting rounds of 66 and 65, with his second round highlighted by an impressive eagle on the par-five 12th hole.
Those two players lead the pack by one stroke, with Australia's Cam Davis and America's Aaron Wise tied for third at 10 under with back-to-back 66s.
Rory McIlroy is alone in fifth at nine under after following a front-nine score of 37 with an impressive 30 on the back-nine, and he is two strokes clear of a logjam tied for sixth at seven under.
The group includes young phenom Tom Kim, as well as former major champion Shane Lowry and England's Tyrrell Hatton, while Masters champion Danny Willett is a further shot back at six under.
Presidents Cup representatives Max Homa and Im Sung-jae enter the weekend six strokes off the pace at five under, with former world number one Jason Day at four under and current world number one Scottie Scheffler at three under.
Being an invitational event with no cut, Collin Morikawa (three under), Rickie Fowler (two under), Justin Thomas (one under) and Hideki Matsuyama (even par) will all get to stick around and play two more rounds.
The Texas Rangers have lured former San Francisco Giants skipper Bruce Bochy out of a brief retirement to take over as manager.
Bochy stepped away from managing after the 2019 season following a successful 13-year run in San Francisco in which he guided the Giants to three World Series titles between 2010 and 2014.
The 67-year-old previously spent 12 seasons as the San Diego Padres' manager from 1995-2006, a period that saw them make four postseason appearances and reached the World Series in 1998.
One of 12 managers to achieve 2,000 victories, Bochy sports an overall record of 2,003-2,029 in regular-season play and 44-33 in postseason games.
The 1996 National League Manager of the Year also has ties to Rangers general manager Chris Young, who pitched for the Padres during Bochy's final season there in 2006.
"In his 25 years with San Diego and San Francisco, Bruce was one of the most successful and respected managers in Major League Baseball," Young said in a statement.
"With a calm and steady presence, he has a remarkable ability to connect and communicate with players, coaches and staff, and his teams have always played with maximum effort. His knowledge of the game, as well as his integrity, is unmatched.
"As we went through the interview process, Bruce's passion and excitement about returning to the dugout was very evident. It became clear he was the ideal individual to lead our club as we continue to build a championship culture here in Arlington."
Bochy takes over a Texas team that has been mired in six straight losing seasons and failed to meet heightened expectations in 2022.
The Rangers were big spenders in free agency this past offseason, handing out big contracts to land ex-Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager and former Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Marcus Semien, but finished second-last in the American League West at 68-94.
The Rangers fired manager Chris Woodward in August and went just 17-31 after third base coach Tony Beasley was promoted to interim manager.
Dominic Thiem saved three match points before beating Hubert Hurkacz for the first time to reach the semi-finals of the European Open on Friday.
Thiem was on the brink of being knocked out by the top seed in Antwerp, but fought back to win 3-6 7-6 (11-9) 7-6 (7-4).
The 2020 US Open champion fended off all three match points in a second-set tie-break to take a thrilling quarter-final the distance and then came out on top in another breaker to advance.
Thiem will do battle with Sebastian Korda for a place in the final after the American emphatically defeated eighth seed Yoshihito Nishioka 6-0 6-2.
Richard Gasquet moved into the last four at the expense of David Goffin and will face Felix Auger-Aliassime, who came from a set down to beat Dan Evans.
Matteo Berrettini remains in the hunt to win the Tennis Napoli Cup on home soil after a 6-2 6-3 quarter-final triumph over Taro Daniel.
Top seed Pablo Carreno Busta crashed out in Italy, losing 7-5 6-2 to Miomir Kecmanovic, who will face Lorenzo Musetti after he got the better of Daniel Elahi Galan. Mackenzie McDonald will come up against Berrettini after getting past Zhang Zhizhen.
Stefanos Tsitsipas sealed a Stockholm Open semi-final spot with a 7-5 6-3 win over Mikael Ymer and will take on Emil Ruusuvuori, who eliminated Frances Tiafoe.
Holger Rune and Alex de Minaur meet in the other last-four match in the Swedish capital following wins over Cameron Norrie and Denis Shapovalov respectively.
Josh Addo-Carr scored four tries and Campbell Graham claimed a hat-trick as Australia dished out an 84-0 Rugby League World Cup thrashing to Scotland.
The rampant holders made it two Group B wins out of two, running in 15 tries to claim victory by their second-biggest margin ever on a miserable Friday in Coventry for Scotland.
Australia showed no mercy on the Bravehearts as they equalled their own record of 14 consecutive World Cup wins, Addo-Carr following up his double in the win over Fiji with an early score before Jack Wighton, Angus Crichton and Graham crossed.
Fragile Scotland were unable to live with the relentless Kangaroos, who had 44 points on the board at half-time after the rapid Addo-Carr raced from his own half to score, Wighton touched down again and Nathan Cleary helped himself to a debut try.
There was no let-up from the tournament favourites after the break, Addo-Carr and Graham completing their trebles after Ben Hunt and James Tedesco went over.
Matt Burton also scored a debut try and set up Addo-Carr for the try of the night in the closing stages with an incredible pass, while Isaah Yeo got in on the act with a score and the excellent Cleary finished with a 28-point haul in a ruthless rout.
Trinidad & Tobago’s Calypso Girls defeated the Barbados Gems 50-40 in a top-of-the-table clash on day five of the Netball Americas World Cup Qualifiers at the national Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston on Thursday.
Entering the game, the Calypso Girls had already booked their spot in next year’s World Cup on the back of a perfect record after six games while the Gems were also unbeaten after five games and would’ve sealed their trip to Cape Town next year with a win.
The end of the first quarter saw Trinidad & Tobago build a 12-7 lead before Barbados outscored them 14-10 in the second to trail 21-22 at half-time. T&T then outscored them by four in the third quarter to lead 35-30 before eventually winning 50-40.
T&T was led by goal shooter Afeisha Noel’s 33 goals from 35 attempts while goal attack Joelisa Cooper had 17 goals from 21 attempts. Bajan goal shooters Faye Agard and Shonica Wharton had 14 goals from 16 attempts and 15 goals from 20 attempts, respectively.
“I am ecstatic about that performance. I think we went out there and executed exactly what the coach wanted and I can’t ask for anything else from the girls,” said Trinidad & Tobago captain Shaquanda Greene-Noel.
Barbados captain Shonette Azore-Bruce praised her team’s fighting spirit despite the result not going their way.
“It’s not the outcome that we wanted but I must say that I am proud of my girls for fighting to the end. We did not score the goals we should have but I’m still proud of my girls for fighting. At least we had that fight in us.”
The Gems will have another chance to confirm their spot at the World Cup when they take on Antigua and Barbuda on Saturday’s seventh and final day.
Other Thursday results saw Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls get by St. Lucia 85-30, St. Vincent beat Antigua & Barbuda 66-30 and the USA getting a 44-35 win over the Cayman Islands.
On Friday, Antigua and Barbuda will play St. Lucia, the USA will battle Grenada, Jamaica will play Barbados and St. Vincent & the Grenadines will play the Cayman Islands.
The New York Jets travel to face the Denver Broncos on the back of a three-game winning streak on Sunday, though their recent record in this contest suggests it could be a struggle for their offense.
Denver's defense has recorded a shutout in each of the Broncos' last two home games with the Jets.
The Broncos might have expected to enter this Week 7 contest with a winning record, but it is the Jets who are in much better shape in the AFC after six weeks.
Having started the season 1-2, the Jets have claimed three wins in a row since Zach Wilson returned from injury and face a Broncos team now 2-4 after two consecutive overtime defeats and with questions lingering over the performances of Russell Wilson.
The Broncos' blockbuster trade with the Seattle Seahawks for the nine-time Pro Bowl QB has not worked out as intended so far. Wilson has a completion percentage of 58.6 this season. In 10 seasons with the Seahawks, his lowest single-season completion percentage was 61.3 in 2017.
His Week 6 performance in overtime defeat to the Los Angeles Chargers was particularly poor as Wilson completed just 15 of his 28 passes (53.6 per cent), with Wilson's former Seahawks team-mate Michael Robinson warning there could be a 'mutiny' in the locker room due to his 'robot' approach.
A yards per game average of 240.3 is only enough to rank 14th in the NFL and Wilson's well-thrown rate, a Stats Perform metric that measures how often a pass is accurate and well-thrown, stands at 72.6 per cent. Of players with over 100 passing attempts this season, only the Chicago Bears' Justin Fields has a lower percentage (72.1).
In contrast to the Broncos' woes, the Jets come into the matchup on a high after securing their first three-game win streak since 2019, with last week's victory at the Green Bay Packers also marking their first three-game road winning run in a single season since 2010.
That year, the Jets season ended with a trip to the AFC Championship game. They have not been back to the playoffs since and recorded a winning record just once in that time (10-6 in 2015).
Only once since 2018 have the Jets had more wins in a single season (seven in 2019) than the four they have amassed so far yet, while the feeling is positive, it is no secret Zach Wilson still has work to do.
In his three games since returning from injury, all of which have been victories, he has thrown 572 yards with a completion percentage of 56. He has thrown only one touchdown completion while tossing two interceptions.
The No.2 pick from the 2021 draft has seen general manager Joe Douglas vastly improving Wilson's supporting cast, but their recent surge has been in spite of Wilson rather than because of him.
A well-thrown rate of 72.5 is a concern on its own but is especially concerning given 82.6 percent of his throws have been to an open target, the fifth-highest rate among quarterbacks with at least 50 attempts.
No player in the NFL with at least 50 pass attempts this season has a higher pickable pass percentage than Wilson's 10.14, while he is continuing to hold the ball for far too long.
Indeed, his average time of 2.94 seconds from the snap of the ball to the throw is the longest of any player to have a passing attempt in 2022.
Clearly, both Wilsons have significant strides to make, but the difference is Denver is locked into Russell Wilson for the long-term on an extremely lucrative contract. Zach Wilson is still on his rookie deal and the Jets could soon start to have conversations about whether to activate his fifth-year option or look to move on to a new potential answer at the game's most important position. Breaking their scoreless streak in Denver against a vaunted Bronco defense will at least improve the case of the player the Jets hope will blossom into their franchise quarterback.
LeBron James was encouraged by the Los Angeles Lakers' ability to limit the Los Angeles Clippers scoring on Thursday, despite ultimately losing the game.
The Clippers ran out 103-97 victors at Crypto.com Arena in Kawhi Leonard's first outing in 16 months.
It was another frustrating game for the Lakers as they failed to land enough of their shots, especially from three-point range, which was also an issue in their season-opening loss to the Golden State Warriors.
Having only hit 10 from 40 from beyond the arc on Tuesday, the Lakers were successful with just nine from 45 attempts against the Clippers, who scored as many from 16 fewer shots.
Speaking after the defeat, LeBron was in no mood to focus on the negatives, instead praising his team-mates for putting pressure on the visitors at the other end of the court, limiting them to just 80 shots in the contest.
"I'm definitely not going to sit here and harp on [about] what we can't do every single game," he said. "That's not a leader.
"What I know we can do? We can defend our ass off. We did that tonight, which gave us an opportunity to win and we just couldn't make it happen. But I'm OK with that."
On his team's inefficient shooting, James added: "If we're reliant on [that] every single game, then we're in trouble.
"So, I'm not worried about that or thinking about that. It's how hard we play, how aggressive we play, how determined we are to go out and compete every night.
"And we've got to defend. When we defend, we're going to give ourselves a good chance to win."
Courtney Lawes will miss England’s pre-Autumn Nations Series training camp next week as he continues to work through his return to play protocols.
Lawes was initially named in a 36-man squad by Eddie Jones this week, but the lock will not travel to Jersey.
Captain of his country in the series win over Australia in July, Lawes has been suffering with concussion issues after taking a blow to the head during Northampton Saints’ derby defeat to Leicester Tigers last month.
The absence of Lawes will cast doubt on whether he will be fit for the Red Rose's first November Test against Argentina at Twickenham on November 6.
London Irish's Tom Pearson has been added to the squad and will join up for a five-day camp on Monday.
Head coach Jones would face a decision over who would lead his side if Lawes is unable to play, with Owen Farrell among the contenders to have the honour once again.
England will face Japan, New Zealand and world champions South Africa next month after taking on the Pumas.
Simona Halep said she felt "confused and betrayed" after being handed a provisional suspension for failing a drug test.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency announced on Friday the 31-year-old had tested positive for roxadustat, a prohibited substance, after providing two samples while competing at the US Open in August.
She was notified of a rule violation on October 7 and now faces a fight to avoid a ban from the sport.
In a statement, the ITIA said: "While provisionally suspended, the player is ineligible to compete in or attend any sanctioned tennis event organised by the governing bodies of the sport."
Swiftly responding, former French Open and Wimbledon champion Halep denied all knowledge of taking the substance and said the sanction was the "biggest shock" of her life.
"Today begins the hardest match of my life: a fight for the truth," she posted on social media.
"I have been notified that I tested positive for a substance called roxadustat in an extremely low quantity, which came as the biggest shock of my life.
"Throughout my whole career, the idea of cheating never even crossed my mind once, as it is totally against all the values I have been educated with. Facing such an unfair situation, I feel completely confused and betrayed.
"I will fight until the end to prove that I never knowingly took any prohibited substance and I have faith that sooner or later, the truth will come out.
"It's not about the titles or the money. It's about honour, and the love story I have developed with the game of tennis over the last 25 years."
The 31-year-old former world number one announced in September she would miss the rest of the season after undergoing nose surgery, with it unclear how long her recovery would take.
It is too early to read anything into the new NBA season. After all, the 2022-23 campaign is only getting started.
Then again, premature assumptions are all part of the fun of following sport, especially basketball.
Things began well for the Golden State Warriors as the defending champions beat the Los Angeles Lakers on opening night.
Hauls of 33 points from Stephen Curry, 20 from Andrew Wiggins and 18 from Klay Thompson were enough to see the Warriors beat LeBron James and the Lakers 123-109 on Tuesday, though they will likely expect a sterner test from the Denver Nuggets on Friday.
The visitors have two-time MVP Nikola Jokic to call on, with the Serbian showing off his abilities with a strong opening performance against the Utah Jazz on Wednesday.
Jokic recorded 27 points, four rebounds and six assists, though it was not enough to stop his team suffering defeat.
The Jazz ran out 123-102 victors, with the Nuggets defense unable to stop their opponents from scoring 75 points in the first half at Vivint Arena.
Coach Michael Malone was pleased with his team's response in the second half, but acknowledged the league will not allow you to "pick and choose".
''In that first half [the Jazz] outworked us and I think to a man everyone in [our] locker room would agree,'' Malone said. ''We looked like a different team, felt like a different team [in the second half]. But in this league you can't pick and choose when you play.''
Against a Warriors team capable of taking a game away in an instant, that has to be the main area of focus for Denver at Chase Center.
Following the Draymond Green-Jordan Poole incident that Steve Kerr described as "the biggest crisis we've had since I've been coach here", the Warriors will be hoping to further put that behind them with another home win.
Repeat their impressive showing from their opening game, and you would be a fool to bet against that happening.
PIVOTAL PERFORMERS
Golden State Warriors – Stephen Curry
I mean… who else?
Curry continued his inspired form from last season's Finals to top-score against the Lakers, recording six rebounds and seven assists on top of his 33 points, though he only shot four from 13 three-point attempts.
If he can find his range against the Nuggets, who knows how many points he could put up? Which will take pressure off his teammates and allow them to focus on stopping Jokic.
Denver Nuggets – Aaron Gordon
In reality, it's Jokic, but his high levels are almost there to be taken for granted right now.
In addition, Wednesday showed that even a brilliant outing from him does not lead to a win for Denver without others helping him, which Gordon at least did, and will likely need to do again.
His 22 points, 10 rebounds and two assists provided some support, but those points scored and rebound numbers were way up on his average for last season (15.0 and 5.9 per game) so the test will be to repeat it.
KEY BATTLES – Nuggets have to tighten it up
Although the Nuggets leaked points like a sieve in Utah, it was not due to one particular opponent running riot.
Utah's top scorer was Collin Sexton with 20, but seven Jazz players reached double figures on the night, showing that Denver did not seem capable of stopping anyone from finding the hoop.
They averaged 110.4 points against in the league last season, the 14th best in the NBA, and will surely need to keep the champions down there or below if they are to stand a chance.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
The Nuggets actually enjoyed a productive time against the Warriors last season, winning the first three meetings against them, before Golden State took the fourth. Since the start of the 2014-15 campaign, the Warriors have won 16 of their 27 clashes (Denver winning the other 11).
The PGA Tour has filed a federal civil lawsuit against LIV Golf's financial backers, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and governor Yasir Othman Al-Rumayyan, per filings in Manhattan.
The complaint, filed under seal in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, is the latest move in the bitter war between golf's leading organisation and its breakaway opponent.
It follows the PGA Tour filing a counter-suit against LIV Golf last month, levelling accusations of interference in player contracts.
More than 30 players have been suspended from competing on the tour since their defection, while US players have been excluded from Ryder Cup consideration.
A number of players previously filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour, though several – including six-time major champion Phil Mickelson – have been asked to be removed from that action.
Al-Rumayyan is also the chairman of Premier League outfit Newcastle United and heads up Saudi-owned petroleum company Saudi Aramco.
Former England and Harlequins rugby union captain Chris Robshaw has announced his retirement from the game at 36.
The back-rower, who traditionally played flanker for club and country, has brought the curtain down on a career stretching back to 2005.
Robshaw, who won 66 international caps, made his Test debut in 2009 against Argentina, and took the armband for the national team in 2012, leading them through the 2015 Rugby World Cup on home soil.
Injuries restricted chances after he was replaced as skipper by Dylan Hartley, and he was phased out before the 2019 World Cup in Japan, and finished his club career in Major League Rugby with San Diego Legion.
"After 18 years of professional rugby and a career I could only have dreamt of, I am officially announcing my retirement from the great game," Robshaw wrote in a statement posted on Twitter.
"Following three dislocated shoulders in quick succession, my body has told me to blow the final whistle.
"No words can do justice to how fortunate and privileged I am to have enjoyed a career in the sport I am most passionate about.
"Playing for and captaining England has been the greatest honour of my life and there is no comparable feeling to representing and leading your country.
"It was a responsibility I approached with respect, optimism and determination and I hope in the coming years I can use my experience and knowledge gained to support other players on their journeys."
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray and head coach Kliff Kingsbury have played down their heated exchange during a win over the New Orleans Saints.
The Cardinals snapped an eight-game home losing streak with a 42-34 victory on Thursday, as the visitors' stand-in QB Andy Dalton threw three interceptions.
For Arizona, Murray completed 20 of his 29 passes for 204 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions, but he also made headlines through his second-quarter row with Kingsbury.
Murray appeared to shout, "calm the f*** down" at his coach on two occasions, but insisted there was no ill feeling between the pair after the win.
"The clock was running down and we couldn't get off the play that we were trying to run," Murray said. "So, it was... I guess it's my fault. I'll take it.
"We're good. We're going to make it right. We ended up scoring so that was good. But, yes, that's all I was saying, just chill out.
"It doesn't faze me, and I don't think it fazes him. We're just trying to win. [It was an] in the moment type of thing. After that, we're good."
Kingsbury shared Murray's view of the incident, adding he liked to see such levels of competitiveness from his QB.
"I mean, it's good," Kingsbury said. "I think we are working through, as an offense, where we want to be and what we want to do.
"When you have competitors that have a level of intensity like that, I think it will keep pushing us forward."
The Cardinals' win represented their first 40-plus-point game since January 1, 2017, breaking the longest streak in the NFL of 87 games, and took them to 3-0-4 for the season.
Heading into Week 7 of the NFL season, the picture is still delicately poised as the race for the playoffs begins to heat up.
The Philadelphia Eagles (6-0), Buffalo Bills (5-1) and Minnesota Vikings (5-1) are all on a bye this week, along with the Los Angeles Rams (3-3), which provides an opportunity for the chasing pack to close the gap.
Both New York franchises are on the road as they look to extend their winning records, the Giants in Jacksonville to face the Jaguars while the Jets tussle with the Denver Broncos, and elsewhere, the Kansas City Chiefs have a stern test in San Francisco against the 49ers.
With all that and more on the cards, Stats Perform has delved into the numbers to preview this weekend's action.
New York Giants (5-1) @ Jacksonville Jaguars (2-4)
The Giants may have season form on their side against the Jaguars but they are the only team to never win a road game in Jacksonville (0-3), who are one of two franchises the Giants have not won against away from home alongside the Baltimore Ravens.
Victory against the Ravens in Week 6, coming on home soil, saw the Giants secure a fifth win of the season and become the first NFL team this term to surpass their win total from last year (four). Their largest wins increase in the Super Bowl era was from one in 1966 to seven in 1967.
Daniel Jones' form has been key to that improvement, completing at least 70 per cent of his passes in back-to-back games for the first time in his career. He has the opportunity to become only the second Giants QB in the Super Bowl era to do so in three straight games, alongside Eli Manning in September 2018 (minimum 20 attempts each game).
The Jaguars' 2-4 record does not paint the full picture of their season, though, with a +24 point differential standing as the sixth best in the NFL and the best for a team with a losing record through six games since the 2010 Los Angelese Chargers (+31, 2-4).
In last week's defeat to the Indianapolis Colts, Trevor Lawrence completed 20 of 22 passes (90.9 per cent) to become the youngest player (23 years, 10 days) to ever record 90 per cent accuracy from at least 20 passing attempts in a game.
Kansas City Chiefs (4-2) @ San Francisco 49ers (3-3)
Kansas City face the 49ers boasting victories in four of the last five matchups, including a 31-20 triumph in Super Bowl LIV, but are 1-5 in San Francisco – with their only win there coming in the teams' first-ever clash in 1971.
The Chiefs have not been strong defensively, allowing at least 20 points in all six games to begin the season and stand as one of four teams who are yet to allow fewer than 20 in any game this season.
That bodes well for the 49ers, who are 2-0 at home this season and have allowed fewer than 10 points in both of those games, though they have never held their opponent to fewer than 10 points in the team's first three home games of any season.
The potential return of Nick Bosa will be of concern for Patrick Mahomes, after he missed last week due to a groin injury, as the 49ers are pressuring quarterbacks in 48.4 per cent of passing plays with Bosa on the field (122 plays) compared to 34.9 per cent without him (86 plays).
New York Jets (4-2) @ Denver Broncos (2-4)
The Denver Broncos are in need of a major improvement in performance and hosting the Jets will provide encouragement, having shut them out in two straight home games, including 26-0 last year.
The Jets have reason to be optimistic themselves, however, with last week's 27-10 victory against the Green Bay Packers securing their first three-game winning streak since 2019 and their first three-game road winning streak in a single season since 2010.
Meanwhile, the Broncos fell to a 19-16 overtime defeat to the Chargers in Week 6 and suffered their second straight overtime loss, with no team ever having played three straight overtime games in NFL history.
Russell Wilson found himself under scrutiny again last week, completing only 15 of his 28 pass attempts for a completion percentage of 53.6. In total this season, he has a 58.6 completion percentage, having entered the year with a lowest single-season completion percentage of 61.3 in 2017.
Elsewhere…
The Pittsburgh Steelers lost their first six road games as a franchise against the Miami Dolphins but head to Florida in Week 7 with a 6-3 record in the past nine meetings. However, they have not had a quarterback start at the Dolphins other than Ben Roethlisberger since Kordell Stewart in 1998.
Each of the last 11 games between the Seattle Seahawks and the Chargers have been decided by a single-digit margin, with the only longer streak in NFL history being a 14-game stretch between the Colts and Houston Texans from 2014 to 2020.
Aaron Rodgers stands 0-3 in road games against the Washington Commanders, with the Green Bay Packers 2-8 in their last 10 games in Washington – their victories coming in 1968 and 2004.
Tom Brady faces the Carolina Panthers with 15 completions in each of his last 39 games for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, tying Brady's career-best streak with 39 straight games for the New England Patriots from 2011 to 2013.
Kawhi Leonard said he feels good physically after making his return from injury in the Los Angeles Clippers' victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Having missed the entirety of last season with an ACL injury suffered in the 2021 playoffs, Leonard came off the bench to play 21 minutes, scoring 14 points with seven rebounds in the Clippers' 103-97 triumph.
Leonard's return after a 16-month layoff provides a significant boost for the Clippers this season and the two-time NBA champion praised the atmosphere across the roster that helped to push him through his recovery.
"I feel good. We did an amazing job, the Clippers staff, putting together a team to get me out here quickly," he said on court after the game, "I just give it all to them, they match my motivation of getting back so that is all that you can ask for from them as a group."
Leonard added that the start off the bench was the best option, stating: "Like I told [coach Tyronn] Lue, whatever way with his subs and what he thinks how it should go without me affecting the game and causing people to get out of rhythm, I'm for it. I just want to win.
"Starting I would have been sitting like 35 minutes real time, so that's way too long, so I just felt that this was the best situation."
The Clippers boast an impressive amount of depth this year, with Leonard, Norman Powell, Luke Kennard, Robert Covington and Terence Mann all providing options at small forward, which Leonard says helps to balance responsibility across the team.
"It's amazing, we've seen it tonight, everyone is out there contributing on defense and on offense, as a leader, we've got to know who is on our team and that we don't have to do it every night," he added.
"We just have to show up in the big moments in the fourth quarter. We're just trying to all be stars in our roles and I think that is going to help us moving forward."
The Clippers will continue to be patient with Leonard, however, with the priority being that he is able to play at his best level come the spring, with head coach Tyronn Lue pressing caution.
"There's going to be some times when he looks like Kawhi Leonard and some times where he’s just trying to get a feel and not playing well," he explained.
"He has to understand that as great as he is, it's not going to come overnight. We've got to be patient with him in that regard and he has to be patient with himself as well."
Lewis Hamilton says the future of the budget cap in Formula One is dependent on the punishment that is dished out to Red Bull for their breach in 2021.
The FIA confirmed Red Bull had committed a "minor" breach of the $145million (£114m) cap last year and has submitted an "accepted breach agreement" to the team.
That proposal, which is confidential, outlines the penalty that the FIA will hand to Red Bull if they accept the cap, although they could fight the judgement and send the matter to an adjudication panel.
With 2021 having been the first season of the budget cap's implementation, there is uncertainty over what action the FIA will take and Hamilton believes the regulations will be pointless if no serious consequences result.
"If they are relaxed with these rules, all the teams will just go over," he told the BBC.
"Spending millions more and only having a slap on the wrist is not going to be great for the sport. They might as well not have a cost cap in the future."
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