Drew Lock is relishing the chance of a "fresh start" with the Seattle Seahawks and is aware of the size of the task that awaits him after replacing Russell Wilson.
The 25-year-old has been acquired by the Seahawks as part of a deal that saw Wilson head the opposite way to the Denver Broncos.
Lock appeared in just six games for the Broncos last season, starting only half of those, but he is hopeful of getting his career back on track in a new chapter in his career.
"I was ready for something to happen, and then when I found out that this is what happened, I was really, really excited," he said.
"I'm excited for a fresh start, excited to come in and compete for a starting job and do everything I can to show this organisation and show this league what I'm capable of doing.
"I've got new team-mates, new coaching staff, new energy, new this, new that, new feel, whatever it may be, a new practice field, it's just the true definition of a fresh start.
"You get to make a new identity for everything, you get to come in and show these people how hard you want to work, how bad you want it, how bad you want to win games.
"There's just a lot of good that can come from a new chair in a meeting room. There's a lot that goes into all this, and a fresh start for me is really, really exciting."
Lock is competing for a starting spot with Jacob Eason, the only other QB on the Seahawks' roster, and is confident of adapting to Shane Waldron's offensive system.
"I obviously know a little bit about coach Waldron's system, which is similar to the one I ran my rookie year when I first got in the league," Lock said.
"We won four of the five games, and I played efficient football, took care of the ball, scored in the red zone, hit the deep shots when they were there.
"When we start talking and getting into the deep details of his offense, we'll put it all together and end up being able to put a good offense together that makes my skill set shine.
"I can throw the deep ball, I can move around in the pocket, I can play-action. Whatever you might need me to do, I'll be able to do it."
Lock will wear the number two jersey with the Hawks as a sign of respect for the departing Wilson, who spent nine years with Seattle.
Wilson threw for 37,059 passing yards, 292 touchdowns and 87 interceptions during his Seahawks career and he averaged 7.83 pass yards per attempt.
That is a tally only Deshaun Watson (8.32), Patrick Mahomes (8.10) and Peyton Manning (7.89) bettered among quarterbacks across that period.
He also ranked fourth in touchdown percentage (6.2) and third in passing plays of 25 yards or more (323), leaving a massive void to be filled in the 2022 season.
But while Lock is full of respect for what Wilson achieved with the Seahawks, he is out to write his own chapter at Lumen Field.
"As long as football goes on, Russell Wilson will be very special to this place, very special to Seattle," he said.
"I know what it takes to, kind of build a legacy. You wouldn't go wear 18 in Indianapolis, you wouldn't go wear 12 in Green Bay. It's a sign of respect for him from me.
"But also at the same time, I want to write my own story here. I want to see what two does for us. I want to make that me.
"I don't want to fight against Russell, he's done so many great things for this place and so many great things for the city of Seattle and the state of Washington.
"I want two to be Drew, and that's just kind of been my mindset on it.
"I have the utmost respect for him and that was a move in showing that."
Eddie Hearn thinks a world heavyweight title rematch between Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk will take place at the end of June.
Usyk outclassed Joshua to claim the WBA, WBO and IBF titles at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last September.
Plans for a second bout have been up in the air after Usyk returned to Ukraine to defend his homeland following the Russian invasion.
Hearn, Joshua's promoter, believes Usyk will be allowed to leave his country in order to step into the ring with Briton Joshua again.
Asked whether Joshua will face Usyk next, Hearn told The DAZN Boxing Show: "I think that's the most likely scenario.
"We had those conversations about a week ago and I had my doubts as to whether Usyk would be ready, but I believe now that there’s been some kind of conversations with Usyk and even [Vasily] Lomachenko as well with the government to say 'look, how do we sit in terms of competing in major sporting events'.
"I don't think Usyk's going to want to wait, once you start waiting anything can happen, so we actually had some talks this morning."
Hearn says Joshua could take an interim fight if he is made to wait for another bout with Usyk.
He added: "I do think Usyk will take that fight next, we're looking at the end of June for that fight and that’s when the fight has got to take place by.
"If he's not ready, we'll push for an interim fight, but my gut feeling right now, and this could change is that you will be seeing Anthony Joshua v Oleksandr Usyk for the unified world heavyweight championship next."
Rafael Nadal has been ruled out of action for up to six weeks with a cracked rib suffered during last week's Indian Wells Masters.
The Australian Open champion sustained the injury in his semi-final win against Carlos Alcaraz and visibly struggled to breath during his defeat to Taylor Fritz in the final.
Nadal told reporters that he was "all good" when returning to Spain on Tuesday, but it has now been revealed he has a stress fracture in the third left costal arch.
The timeframe for the Spaniard's recovery is between four and six weeks, which could have a major impact on his preparations for the 2022 French Open.
The second grand slam of the year is scheduled to begin at Roland-Garros on May 22 – around eight weeks' time.
Nadal had won each of his opening 20 matches this calendar year, a run that took him to his second title at Melbourne Park, prior to tasting a shock defeat against Fritz.
And the record 21-time major winner, who endured an injury-plagued 2021, is now facing a battle to be back at peak fitness in time for the French Open.
Providing an update on his personal Twitter page on Tuesday, Nadal posted: "As it turns out, I have a stress crack in one of my ribs and will be out for 4-6 weeks.
"This is not good news and I did not expect this. I am sunk and sad because after the start of the season I have had such a good time.
"I reached a very important part of the year with very good feelings and good results.
"But hey, I've always had that fighting and overcoming spirit and what I will do is be patient and work hard after my recovery. Once again thank everyone for the support."
Nadal has won the French Open a record 13 times, with his most recent success in Paris coming in 2020.
He was beaten by eventual champion Novak Djokovic in last year's semi-finals – only his third defeat in 108 matches in the event.
Leonard Fournette has become the latest player to re-sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, according to reports.
After Tom Brady made a sensational U-turn on his decision to retire, Chris Godwin also agreed to a three-year deal worth $60million with the Bucs after being franchise tagged by the team who won Super Bowl LV at the end of the 2020 season.
Fournette is understood to be signing a new three-year deal in Tampa Bay worth $21million, potentially rising to $24m.
The 27-year-old running back reportedly visited the New England Patriots, who had also shown interest in him when he left the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2020, on Monday.
However, like then, Fournette looks to have decided on the Bucs, where he enjoyed a productive 2021 season.
His 1,266 total yards from scrimmage ranked sixth in the NFL, as he rushed for 812 yards, caught 69 passes for 454 yards and scored a total of 10 touchdowns.
Fournette's 4.5 yards per carry average last season was a career-high.
His best game of the season came in the 38-31 win at the Indianapolis Colts in Week 12, scoring four TDs, making eight first downs and racking up a total of 131 yards from 24 touches.
Fournette was placed on injured reserve after suffering a hamstring issue following Week 15, but returned for the divisional round defeat to eventual Super Bowl LVI winners, the Los Angeles Rams.
The man nicknamed "Lombardi Lenny", or "Playoff Lenny", had previously put in a 135-yard performance as the Bucs won Super Bowl LV, beating the Kansas City Chiefs.
Chris Hoy has labelled Mark Cavendish's spectacular Tour de France comeback as "one of the greatest" in sporting history.
Cavendish, a silver medallist on the track for Great Britain at the 2016 Olympic Games, made a stunning return to Le Tour in 2021.
Having not featured in the race since 2018, Cavendish came in as a late replacement for Deceuninck-QuickStep and landed four stage wins, seeing him match the great Eddy Merckx's career record of 34 stage victories that had stood since 1975.
Indeed, Cavendish went into the final stage with the opportunity to surpass Merckx, though he could only finish third in a sprint finish on the Champs-Elysees. He nevertheless took the green jersey for the second time in his career.
It was an unlikely road back for 36-year-old Cavendish, who just last week became the oldest winner of the Milano-Torino.
"Oh, I think Mark Cavendish's comeback last year was one of the greatest in sport we've ever seen," Hoy, one of Great Britain's greatest Olympians, told Stats Perform.
"It was, I don't think even he had really thought that he was gonna have such an impact, and to be called in so late in the year. He had a really solid year, started winning again, he got his confidence back.
"But I don't think that he even envisaged that he would be competing in the Tour de France, let alone winning multiple stages and equalling the greatest of all time in many people's eyes.
"He's having a fantastic year this year as well, but regardless of what he does from now on he is a legend of the sport and that will not change. An extra Tour de France stage win is what he wants, but it wouldn't make him any more of a legend in my eyes.
"I'm sure for most of the cycling community his place is already cemented forever. He is a proper legend of the sport."
For Hoy, Cavendish's legacy is secured around the globe.
"I think Mark has real global appeal," Hoy said. "He's well known in the UK and has a huge following over here, but equally wherever he goes, wherever he competes, because of the way he raced, because he's so exciting, because there's always drama surrounding him.
"He either wins or there's always some controversy or something. It is great for the sport. I think the best thing about his comeback is seeing how much it means to him and the emotion, because sport is nothing without emotion.
"If somebody wins just routinely, and it becomes almost easy looking, even if it's not, but if it appears to be easy and there's no emotion, then it's hard for the public to get behind that. But for Cav, he's always had that emotion, people love to see how much it means to him.
"We've never seen Cav quite as emotional as when he won his first stage of the Tour last year, it was incredible."
Marc Marquez revealed he has been suffering from double vision again after a huge crash that ruled him out of the Indonesian Grand Prix on Sunday.
The six-time MotoGP champion hit the ground hard in a massive highside at Turn 7 during the warm-up for the race at the Pertamina Mandalika Circuit.
Marquez was left dazed after landing heavily and was taken to hospital for a check-up.
The Repsol Honda rider suffered concussion and was unable to start the first grand prix in Indonesia since 1997.
Marquez was diagnosed with diplopia following a crash in practice at the Portuguese Grand Prix last year and the Spaniard has been troubled by the same issue following his latest accident.
The 29-year-old revealed he has not suffered as badly as he did previously and did not state whether he will be able to get back on his bike for the next race in Argentina on April 3.
He tweeted on Tuesday: "It seems that I am experiencing deja vu... During the trip back to Spain, I began to have discomfort with my vision, and we decided to visit Dr. Sanchez Dalmau, who confirmed that I have a new episode of diplopia.
"Fortunately, it is less severe than the injury I had at the end of last year. But now it's time to rest and wait to see how the injury evolves."
Chris Hoy believes "fierce competitor" Egan Bernal can return to full strength despite the injuries he suffered in a horror crash earlier this year.
Bernal, who won the Tour de France in 2019 and the Giro d'Italia in 2021, was treated in intensive care following the accident in Colombia in January.
The 25-year-old underwent multiple operations after sustaining a fractured vertebra, a fractured right femur, a fractured right patella, chest trauma, a punctured lung and several fractured ribs.
Bernal subsequently revealed in a social media post that there was a "95 per cent chance" of him being paralysed or losing his life.
However, after leaving hospital, Bernal is now on the road to recovery and this month shared a photo of him training on a static bike at home.
Hoy, speaking to Stats Perform to mark 500 days until the start of the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow, said he is hoping Bernal will be back competing at the highest level after a long road to recovery.
"I guess it's always hard to tell just how bad an injury or how bad mentally a big crash can affect athletes and with social media, you're always trying to portray the best possible side and the positive side all the time," said Hoy, who is one of Great Britain's most successful Olympians with six gold medals.
"But there is no doubt that no matter how well he's doing now, it will have been a huge struggle to get past the physical injuries and the psychological scars as well from such a horrible accident.
"He is a fierce competitor, all the other team-mates who know him say that if anyone can, he can, and I think the cycling community is hoping that he will get back to his very best and be able to compete on the biggest stage. But, you know, it's not a small challenge that he's facing, but we'll have to wait and see."
Four-time Tour de France winner and Bernal's former INEOS Grenadiers team-mate Chris Froome also suffered a horrendous crash in 2019, which put him out of action for almost a year.
Froome was 34 when that accident occurred, and Hoy says Bernal at least has age on his side.
"I think Bernal’s age will help, that the chances on getting back and competing at the highest level, are definitely improved by the fact that he is still relatively young," Hoy said.
"But until you get back into that real cauldron of competition you just don't know what it's going to be like and I guess the longer you're away from competing, the more that fire burns and the more you want to get back and taste that victory again."
Lonzo Ball's recovery from a left knee injury will be slowed with Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan revealing they will "pull back" on the guard's rehabilitation process.
Ball, who is averaging 13.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists this season, has not played since January 14 when he sustained a slight meniscus tear, which required arthroscopic surgery.
The Bulls have been without Alex Caruso in recent weeks too, coinciding with their slide down the Eastern Conference standings to fifth with a 42-29 record.
Donovan said the Bulls would pause Ball's recovery for 10 days, taking him up to April 1, leaving only five regular-season games for him to return prior to the playoffs.
"The feeling was, let's really pull back on what he's doing and let's let him, I don't want to use the word rest because it's not like he's sitting around doing nothing – he'll do strength training and those kind of things – but take a break on the running and trying to ramp him up," Donovan told reporters prior to Monday's 113-99 win over the Toronto Raptors.
He added: "We'll have a better feel of that once they get through this next 10 days. Obviously, it's coming to the end of the season.
"I think that they felt like, OK if he can, over this 10-day period, really get back to the ramp-up period, because he has been out for quite some time, that would enable him to get back into contact relatively soon.
"But we can't even get him into that until he gets over that hump, so I don't want to speculate what may or may not happen after 10 days."
LeBron James hopes former teammate Kevin Love harbours no resentment after a brutal dunk in the Los Angeles Lakers' 130-121 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
James' return to Cleveland saw him put up a triple-double of 38 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds, along with the dunk on his championship-winning teammate Love.
Attacking off an Austin Reaves dish inside, the 37-year-old launched to the basket with Love underneath, and the knee in the chest only served as a punctuation mark to what was a ferocious dunk.
Afterwards, James joked he hopes the invitation to the wedding of Love - whom he played with at the Cavs from 2014 to 2018 - is not rescinded.
"It was after the offensive rebound so I was diving down the middle, and once I got the bounce pass and put my left leg down on the ground, that's when I looked up," James said at the post-game news conference.
"To be completely honest, I hate that it had to be him. He's my guy, that's my brother and I hope I'm still invited to the wedding.
"That's not even in my all-time dunks so take it out. Kevin Love, I love you. I wish I could take those two points back and we'd still win by nine."
After last Sunday's demolition at the hands of the Phoenix Suns, the Lakers have regrouped on this road trip and if not for a fourth-quarter collapse against the Washington Wizards on Saturday, would be coming back home with a three-game win streak.
James believes performances have nevertheless been encouraging, with the Western Conference play-in on the horizon.
"For about 11 quarters, we've played some good basketball," he said. "Aside from the fourth quarter in the last game, we've played some good basketball and want to continue that trend.
"Obviously we want to defend a lot better, but this team is making a lot of shots, making a lot of plays and scoring a lot of points versus everybody.
"To come into this building, where [they] have played some exceptional basketball all year, on the last game of a road trip before we head back west, it was a big game from us."
Brooklyn Nets' All-Star Kevin Durant has showered praise on upcoming opponent Ja Morant comparing him to Hall of Famers Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson.
The Nets take on Morant's Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday, with Durant describing the first-time All-Star as a combination of Jordan, Iverson, Russell Westbrook and Derrick Rose.
Morant has enjoyed a breakout year after being pick two in the 2019 NBA Draft and leading the Grizzlies to the playoffs last season.
The 22-year-old Memphis guard is averaging 27.6 points up from 19.1 points in the 2020-21 season along with 5.7 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 1.2 steals this season for the playoffs-bound Grizzlies who have a 49-23 record.
"He's a combination of players, I feel," Durant told reporters after the Nets' 114-106 win over the Utah Jazz on Monday.
"I think the greatest players in our game can transform into anybody at any given point, and I think Ja is on the way to that. I mean when he's playing I see like two or three or four different hall-of-famers in his game.
"From Iverson, he might make a Jordan-like lay-up, he might run down the court like a Westbrook or a D-Rose. His float game is up there with some of the best that's ever played.
"I don't wanna gas him up too much since we're playing against him, but I think the sky is the limit for him. His future is obviously bright, and he makes everybody better playing against him."
On the Grizzlies, Durant added: "When you got a future Hall of Famer at the head of the snake, it just makes everybody better."
Durant scored 37 points with nine rebounds and eight assists in Monday's win as the Nets improved to 38-34.
The Nets forward surpassed close friend Jerry West (25,192 points) into 22nd on the NBA's all-time scoring charts with his 37-point haul on Monday.
"Winning the championship with Jerry, having conversations with him, knowing the history of who he is, he helped kickstart the NBA basically, it's an honour," Durant said.
"He's a legend in the game. He's almost like the godfather of our sport. Good to see him back around our game but it's even better to pass him. He's one of the all-time great players in this league."
Durant moves to 25,213 points, with Indiana Pacers legend Reggie Miller next above him on 25,279 points.
LeBron James scored 38 points and notched up another triple-double upon his return to Cleveland, leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a 131-120 win over the Cavaliers on Monday.
Other than this season's All-Star Game, it was Akron-born James' only home visit. Having played 11 seasons in two stints with the Cavs, he was warmly received as he added 10 rebounds and 12 assists to those 38 points.
Russell Westbrook and D.J. Augustin added 20 points each for the Lakers, who moved three games clear of the 10th-placed San Antonio Spurs for Western Conference play-in calculations.
Meanwhile, the Cavs only just remain in sixth in the Eastern Conference at 41-31, one game clear of the Toronto Raptors in the first play-in spot.
Durant gives Jazz the business in Brooklyn
Kevin Durant was at his talismanic best, as the Brooklyn Nets won 114-106 at home to the Utah Jazz.
Durant had 37 points on 15-of-23 shooting, including four-of-seven from beyond the arc, as well as coming up with nine rebounds and eight assists.
Brooklyn look set to secure an Eastern Conference play-in spot at 38-34 in eighth, and despite 30 points for the Jazz, Donovan Mitchell couldn't stop the Nets from snapping their three-game win streak.
Maxey catches fire in Heat win
Tyrese Maxey scored 13 of his game-high 28 points in the fourth quarter, propelling the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers to a 113-106 victory over the Eastern Conference-leading Miami Heat.
Without Joel Embiid and James Harden, Shake Milton and Furkan Korkmaz added 20 and 18 points respectively, while Maxey made critical buckets down the stretch.
In a game that was tight throughout, the 21-year-old came up big in the clutch, scoring on a drive plus the foul to give the Sixers a 106-101 lead with 2:18 remaining.
Chris Godwin has revealed his uncertainty over his Tampa Bay Buccaneers future before a message from Tom Brady helped him decide to re-commit to the side.
Godwin recently agreed to a three-year deal worth $60million with the Bucs after being franchise tagged with the Super Bowl LV champions.
Had the Buccaneers failed to agree a long-term deal with the wide receiver before the July 15 deadline, he would have played under a one-year, $19.18m franchise tender.
Godwin, who suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament injury in Week 15 of the 2021-22 season, agreed to the deal after superstar quarterback Brady confirmed he would come out of retirement to keep playing with the Bucs.
"It was a definitely a whirlwind of emotions," Godwin told reporters. "It was a lot of uncertainty at different points and sometimes it leaves you questioning just like why things happen.
"But you can't control what happens to you. You can just control your personal response to it and how you choose to go about it."
He added: "This last week has been a whirlwind for a lot of people. I think it just restores faith in the Bucs' fan base. 'We're back, man, and we're not laying down for nobody. We're coming back to try to make it to the top of the mountain, and you need great players and great people to do that, and obviously Tom coming back was a huge piece."
The 26-year-old wide receiver admitted his decision on his future was crystallised once Brady declared his intentions to come out of retirement and revealed their text exchange in a group chat with the QB and teammate Mike Evans.
Brady wrote: "Yo...just letting y'all know...I'm coming back and I'm excited for another year."
Godwin said: "Me and Mike were so gassed up, like, 'Yo, what are you talking about? You just retired?! It's hard to walk away from the game when you're as dedicated as Tom is."
Though his 2021 campaign was ended prematurely by his ACL injury, Godwin still finished the year with 98 receptions for 1,103 yards - both career highs - and five touchdowns.
According to Stats Perform data, Godwin registered a burn, which is when a receiver wins his matchup with a defender on a play where he is targeted, on 70.4 per cent of his targets.
That ratio was third-best in the NFL among wideouts with at least 100 targets behind team-mate Mike Evans (72.7) and Tyreek Hill (70.8).
Super Bowl-winning quarterback Matthew Stafford has indicated his long-term future is with the Los Angeles Rams stating it is where he wants to "put some roots down".
Stafford recently agreed to a four-year extension with the Super Bowl champions, with the deal worth $160million according to ESPN.
The 34-year-old QB spent 12 seasons with the Detroit Lions where he never won a postseason game before joining the Rams last year.
Stafford led the Rams to the Super Bowl LVI title over the Cincinnati Bengals, with the new deal reward for that, yet he said there was never any doubt for him.
"I just had so much fun playing for this team this year, playing for this organisation, this coaching staff, and I wanted to make sure I was able to do this for a long time," Stafford told reporters.
"I obviously wanted to say thanks to the Rams for giving me that opportunity. It was a lot of hard work getting to this point.
"I'm just happy where we are and to know what the future looks like for me and for our team. It's an exciting thing as a player to kind of know where you are going to be and be able to put some roots down and really go try to make something really special for a while.
"I was just trying to find something that felt good for both sides where we are able to continue to add players and pieces around me.''
Stafford completed 404 of 601 passes at a 67.2 completion rate for 41 touchdowns last season with 17 interceptions.
The Rams have bolstered their ranks with the addition of free agent wide receiver Allen Robinson II from the Chicago Bears.
"I'm eager to get out there and get to work with him and see what it's like throwing to him," Stafford said.
Formula One chief executive Stefano Domenicali is buoyed by Ferrari's resurgence, saying it is ultimately good for the sport.
Charles Leclerc's win in the 2022 season opener in Bahrain on Sunday was Ferrari's first since 2019, and the last time Ferrari claimed a win from pole position in the season opener was with Kimi Raikkonen in 2007, who went on to win that year's driver's championship.
Along with passing on his congratulations to the team, Domenicali - a former team principal with Ferrari - believes it will invigorate interest in the sport.
"Next week there will be another race, then there is Melbourne and then Imola," he told Sky Sport. "I am convinced that we will find the [stands at the] Tosa and Rivazza corners as full as in the good old days.
"The satisfaction for the new regulations lay in seeing a beautiful, intense and interesting race for everyone.
"Then seeing Ferrari so competitive is an extraordinary sign. I say this with caution, but I am very happy. I was certainly pleased for Mattia [Binotto, the current team principal], for the drivers and for everyone who works there."
Ferrari's return to the top step on the podium has come with changes to Formula One regulations, which Domenicali and managing director Ross Brawn were tasked with implementing.
The 56-year-old believes technical regulations have allowed for unprecedented variety in design and engineering, which will positively impact the championship.
"The new F1 brings the technological challenge back to the centre. Last year I remember how many people said F1 would flatten out and talked about the cars all the same," he said.
"I have been in F1 since 1991 and there has never been such a great diversity between the cars, from a technical and technological point of view. This will also affect the competitiveness of the championship. There will be faster cars on some tracks and some faster cars on others."
Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash remains optimistic that Ben Simmons will play at some point this season but has revealed the new signing has a herniated disk in his back.
Simmons is yet to debut for the Nets following his February trade from the Philadelphia 76ers, whom he fell out with over the off-season. The Australian guard has subsequently not played all season.
The former All-Star had an epidural last week to alleviate pressure in his back as he struggles to build his conditioning up to a level fit enough to see him return to action.
The Nets, who appear headed for the Play-In Tournament with a 37-34 record sitting eighth in the east, have only 11 regular-season games remaining, meaning the clock is ticking on Simmons.
"He's had this [herniated disks] a couple years ago, so he's had them throughout his career at some points," Nash told reporters prior to Sunday's game against the Utah Jazz.
"I guess there was a flare-up. I'm not sure when they recognised it was beyond a back flare-up and a herniated disc or what not, but somewhere along the line there, that was the reason for the epidural."
He added: "From what I know, he trained pretty hard for five, six months. He was in a great place. Unfortunately, I think there was a little flare-up at some point in there and it's just never quite turned the corner since.
"I think he had months of five, six days a week on court and was doing very well, so just unfortunate, but we stay the course. Hopefully a good resolution to this in the near future."
Simmons is yet to be cleared to return to practice although Nash said surgery had not yet been discussed.
"We still have high hopes that he can come back," Nash said. "He's had moments during his rehab where he's on the court doing some things and it looks like he's about to turn a corner, and then there's a little setback so I still feel optimistic that he can play for us."
Phil Mickelson will not be competing in this year's Masters tournament, according to the organisers' official website.
The 51-year-old had been among the list of participants until Monday, but he has now been moved to a section listed as "past champions not playing".
A three-time Masters winner, this would have been Mickelson's 30th appearance at the major event.
Mickelson has been the subject of criticism since he claimed a proposed Saudi Arabia-backed Super Golf League could give players "leverage" as a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" to "reshape how the PGA Tour operates".
The American suggested he and others had paid lawyers to construct the proposed breakaway competition's agreement, despite acknowledging Saudi Arabia has "a horrible record on human rights".
Mickelson later apologised for what he described as "reckless" comments following huge criticism and is now taking a break from the sport.
The six-time major champion was also a notable absentee from The Players Championship.
The Philadelphia 76ers confirmed star pair Joel Embiid and James Harden were sitting out Monday's game with the Eastern Conference-leading Miami Heat.
Embiid was out with back soreness and Harden was missing as part of his right hamstring recovery amid the 76ers' sequence of three games in four nights.
Philadelphia head coach Doc Rovers had replied "possibly" when asked on Friday if either of the pair could be rested during their busy run of games.
However, Harden said after Sunday's 93-88 loss to the Toronto Raptors he was expecting to face the Heat.
The Heat lead the East with a 47-24 record, with the 76ers third ahead of Monday's games at 43-27.
Embiid is in MVP contention this season, averaging a league-high 29.8 points, 11.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists.
Harden, who switched to the 76ers from the Brooklyn Nets in February, is averaging 22.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 10.2 assists across the season.
The Atlanta Falcons have moved quickly to replace the outgoing Matt Ryan by signing quarterback Marcus Mariota in free agency.
The Falcons confirmed Ryan's departure to the Indianapolis Colts on Monday, with the 36-year-old traded for a third-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Mariota – who was the second overall draft pick in 2015 – signs on a two-year contract in Atlanta having left the Las Vegas Raiders, where he was back-up to Derek Carr.
The 28-year-old is already familiar with Falcons head coach Arthur Smith, with whom he worked when Smith was tight ends coach and then offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans.
Mariota mostly acted as an alternative rushing option for the Raiders in 2021, with his last significant game time coming in Week 15 of the 2020 season when he threw for 226 yards, one touchdown and one interception against the Los Angeles Chargers. He also had nine carries for 88 yards and a touchdown in a 30-27 Raiders defeat.
It is expected the Falcons will still bring in another QB, so it remains to be seen whether Mariota is Ryan's long-term replacement or merely a stopgap. Atlanta have the eighth pick in this year's draft.
The Falcons previously had been interested in Deshaun Watson, who instead joined the Cleveland Browns in a trade with the Houston Texans.
It is widely thought negotiations for Watson played a role in Ryan leaving the team, although Falcons owner Arthur Blank released a statement following confirmation of his trade to the Colts, thanking the player and explaining the decision.
"Matt Ryan has been the epitome of a franchise quarterback during his time here in Atlanta," Blank wrote.
"He has represented this organisation with great class, professionalism and leadership, both on and off the field, over the past 14 years.
"It is difficult to overstate what he has meant to me personally, our organisation, his team-mates and our fans. From his first day in the building, Matt has given his all in the pursuit of winning a championship for Atlanta.
"This business is not without its difficult decisions, and while this is one of the most difficult decisions we have faced as a club, we feel it is in the best long-term interests of both the Atlanta Falcons and Matt Ryan.
"On behalf of the entire Falcons organisation, I wish him success as he continues his career and know that he will bring the same dedication and professionalism to his next club."
Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard will miss the remainder of the NBA season, the team confirmed on Monday.
This news comes despite Lillard progressing well through the reconditioning phase of his rehabilitation, following successful surgery in January to repair a lingering abdominal injury.
Lillard has met "several key performance benchmarks" and will continue end-stage rehabilitation over the next few weeks, the team added.
The 31-year-old first missed a game this season due to the injury in November and also missed game time in December as a consequence. The team officially called it lower abdominal tendinopathy.
In 29 games this season, Lillard averaged 24.0 points, 7.3 assists and 4.1 rebounds while shooting 40.2 per cent from the floor.
Three and a half games outside a play-in place in the Western Conference, the 12th-placed Trail Blazers are 26-44 on the year and 14-27 without Lillard.
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