LeBron James has outlined his desire to finish his storied career with the Los Angeles Lakers, despite recent reports linking him with a trade.
While James' average of 24.8 points per game this season is down on last term's 28.9, the NBA's all-time leading scorer has continued to impress while playing through a niggling ankle injury in his 21st season in the league.
He has only missed seven of Los Angeles' 56 games thus far in 2023-24, helping the team win the inaugural NBA in-season tournament in December.
James has a $51.4million player option for 2024-25 with the Lakers, but he recently said he was undecided on whether to take up that option.
That led to speculation that he could be available, with his current team fielding calls from the Golden State Warriors and the Philadelphia 76ers ahead of the trade deadline earlier this month.
However, the 39-year-old stayed put, and speaking before his record-extending 20th appearance in the NBA's All-Star Game on Sunday, he gave his clearest indication yet that he sees his future in Los Angeles.
"I am a Laker and I'm happy. I have been very happy being a Laker for the last six years and hopefully it stays that way," James said.
"I don't have the answer to how long it is or which uniform I'll be in, but hopefully it is with the Lakers. It's a great organisation with so many greats, but we'll see."
Warriors forward Draymond Green reportedly lobbied team owner Joe Lacob to enquire about a blockbuster trade for James, but he says he played no part in any talks with Golden State.
"I actually heard about it when everybody else heard about it," James told TNT Sports of their interest.
"Sometimes there's conversations that happen behind closed doors that you don't even know about, I guess until it's real or not, then they'll bring it to you. It never even got to me."
Looking further ahead, James knows the curtain will soon come down on his glittering career, but he is yet to make any decisions regarding the nature of his NBA farewell.
Asked whether he would announce his retirement in advance in order to receive a proper send-off, as opposed to quitting in the offseason, James said: "I'm 50-50, to be honest.
"I was asked this question a couple of days ago; 'Will you take the farewell tour, or will you just Tim Duncan it?'
"There's times when I feel like I owe it to my fans that have been on this journey with me for two decades, to be able to give them that moment where it's every city and they give you flowers or whatever the case may be. That seems cool.
"But on the other side, I've never been that great with accepting praise. It's a weird feeling for me. I don't know how it's going to end, but it's coming. It's coming, for sure."
LeBron James said the All-Star game is "something we need to figure out" as NBA commissioner Adam Silver hit out at the players.
Silver had promised a competitive All-Star game after a damp squib last year.
And although Sunday's game proved to be the highest-scoring All-Star encounter in NBA history, with the East beating the West 211-186, Silver was unimpressed with the level of competitiveness on show.
Rather flatly, Silver said: "To the Eastern Conference All-Stars, you scored the most points. Well ... congratulations."
James only played in the first half of his record 20th All-Star appearance, as he manages an ankle issue.
And while seeing Silver's side of the argument, James said it is a "deeper conversation".
"I think it's something we need to figure out," said James, who scored eight points for the West.
"Obviously from a player's perspective, it's fun to get up and down. But at the end of the day, our competitive nature don't like to have free-flowing scoring like that.
"But I think the good thing that came out of tonight was none of the players were injured, and everybody came out unscathed or how they were before the game started. So it's a deeper conversation."
James' Los Angeles Lakers teammate Anthony Davis said: "Obviously the fans and the league and everybody wants to be competitive, but then you also as players think about trying not to get hurt. Obviously injuries are a part of the game, and no one wants to get hurt in the All-Star Game.
"All these guys here are very valuable to their teams. So it's some mixed emotions about it.
"You try to go out there and compete a little bit and not just be a highlight show. But at the same time, do you guys really want to see somebody going down for a dunk and somebody going to contest it and, God forbid, something happens in the All-Star Game when it could have been avoided?"
However, Anthony Edwards, of the Minnesota Timberwolves, suggested he has no interest in playing too fiercely in an exhibition match.
"For me, it's an All-Star Game, so I will never look at it as being super competitive," he said.
"It's always fun. I don't know what they can do to make it more competitive. I don't know. I think everyone looks at it [like] it's a break, so I don't think everyone wants to come here and compete."
Chris Waller has paid tribute to Australian champion Verry Elleegant after the mare died due to foaling complications.
Waller handled the New Zealand-bred runner for the majority of her superstar career, saddling the daughter of Zed to win 11 Group One contests, including the 2020 Caulfield Cup and the 2021 Melbourne Cup.
Following that Flemington victory, Verry Elleegant was sent to race in Europe in the summer of 2022, joining Francis-Henri Graffard in France.
She had four starts for Graffard, with her best effort coming when third in the Prix Foy and she signed off with an unplaced effort on Champions Day at Ascot in October 2022.
The eight-year-old remained in Europe following her career swansong and was covered by Sea The Stars last year.
“It is incredibly sad that we pass on the news on behalf of the ownership group that Verry Elleegant has passed away due to complications giving birth to her foal,” Waller said in a statement on social media.
“The news is just filtering through to stable staff now and other close connections who are coming to terms with this tragic news. She was in fantastic hands on a farm who did all they could for her, and we would like to thank them for their efforts which we will be forever grateful for.
“We all saw the courage she had on the racetrack over many seasons, and she will never be forgotten by those close to her as well as the wider racing public who followed her career and loved her so much.”
Kell Brook channelled years of frustration into one of the most polished performances of his career as he stopped bitter rival Amir Khan inside six rounds, on this day in 2022.
Brook had courted a showdown against an opponent he had come to despise for several years only to be constantly rebuffed.
But, after being given an opportunity at Manchester’s AO Arena, the then 35-year-old grasped it with both hands in a long-awaited 149lb catchweight bout.
The Sheffield fighter shrugged off being vociferously jeered to the ring by a crowd largely in support of Bolton-born Khan and repeatedly left his foe on rubbery legs with countless punishing shots to the head.
Khan refused to buckle and stayed upright throughout but he absorbed some vicious blows and his face was heavily marked when referee Victor Loughlin stepped in to wave off the fight 51 seconds into the sixth round.
“This grudge match is the icing on the cake for me, I can live at peace with myself and my career,” said Brook.
“You could see on my face that I was absolutely over the moon with the win. I’ll be remembered for this fight now forever.”
Khan, fighting at the venue where he first won a world title in 2009, only showed flashes of the form which saw him become a unified light welterweight champion more than a decade ago.
While Brook improved his record to 40 wins from 43 fights, the decorated Khan’s future in the sport was left up in the air after the sixth defeat of his professional career in what was his first outing since July 2019.
“I’ll sit down with my family but I think it could be,” Khan replied when asked whether it may be his last fight.
“I’ve always said I never want boxing to retire me, I want to retire from boxing and punishment like that sometimes in boxing, too much of that can be sometimes harmful in the future.”
Damian Lillard scored 39 points to earn game MVP honours as the Eastern Conference won the highest-scoring All-Star Game in NBA history with a resounding 211-186 victory over the Western Conference in Indianapolis on Sunday.
The East became the first team to surpass the 200-point mark in a defence-deficient event that also shattered the previous All-Star Game high of 374 combined points, set by the West in their 192-182 win over the East in New Orleans in 2017. The West also held the previous team high for points when they recorded 196 in the 2016 edition held in Toronto.
One night after successfully defending his title in the 3-point contest during Saturday's skills competition, Lillard teamed with Indiana Pacers home-town hero Tyrese Haliburton for a prolific display from beyond the arc. The duo combined for 21 of the East's 42 3-pointers, also an All-Star Game record for one team.
Lillard, a seven-time All-Star with the Portland Trail Blazers who was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks during the offseason, finished 11 of 23 from 3-point range and Halliburton went 10 for 14.
Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics chipped in 36 points and eight rebounds to help the East overcome a dominant performance from the West's Karl-Anthony Towns. The Minnesota Timberwolves forward amassed 50 points to become the fourth player to reach that mark in an All-Star Game, joining Boston's Jayson Tatum (55 in 2023), then-New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (52 in 2017) and Golden State Warriors icon Stephen Curry (50 in 2022).
LeBron James, participating in his record 20th All-Star Game, played just 14 minutes while scoring eight points.
The East never trailed after Lillard knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers in the first quarter that gave his team a 35-29 advantage, while Haliburton hit five triples in the opening period to help the East take a 53-47 lead into the second quarter.
Lillard scored 13 more points in the second quarter as the East extended the margin to 104-89 at half-time, with the 193 combined first-half points also the most in a single All-Star Game.
Towns had just 19 points through three quarters before putting up an incredible 31 while playing the entire fourth, though the game was out of hand by that point as the East took a commanding 160-136 lead into the final period.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the West's lone other player with more than 18 points, as the Oklahoma City Thunder guard finished with 31 on 12-of-16 shooting.
Artemi Panarin scored 10 seconds into overtime to cap a furious rally for the New York Rangers, who extended their winning streak to seven games with Sunday's 6-5 victory over the New York Islanders in an NHL Stadium Series matchup.
The Rangers trailed 4-1 early in the second period before scoring five of the final six goals in front of a near-capacity crowd of 79,690 at MetLife Stadium, the home of the NFL's New York Giants and Jets.
Vincent Trocheck had two of those goals and added an assist, while Panarin had two assists in addition to his game-winner.
Noah Dobson collected three assists for the Islanders, but his turnover deep in his own end led to Panarin's close-range shot which trickled past Isles goaltender Ilya Sorokin to give the Rangers the first comeback win from a three-goal deficit in the 41 regular-season outdoor games held by the NHL.
It only took Artemi Panarin 10 seconds into overtime to help the @NYRangers become the first team in NHL history to post a three-goal comeback win in an outdoor game. #StadiumSeries #NHLStats: https://t.co/y6npR84NBs pic.twitter.com/aVpYib1ueJ
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 19, 2024
Trocheck began the rally with a power-play goal 5:36 into the second period, and he later poked in a rebound to send the Rangers into the third intermission down 4-3.
Alexander Romanov restored the Islanders' two-goal advantage 1:53 into the third, but the Rangers got power-play goals from Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad in the final 4:08 of regulation to force overtime. Zibanejad's score came with 1:29 left to play.
After Erik Gustafsson blasted a shot past Sorokin 1:28 into the contest to give the Rangers an early lead, the Islanders struck three times before the end of the first period to move ahead.
Brock Nelson tied it less than three minutes after Gustafsson's goal, and Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal scored 16 seconds apart shortly afterward to stake the Islanders to a 3-1 edge.
The Islanders increased the margin further when Anders Lee converted a power play 1:03 into the second.
Sorokin finished with 32 saves in the Islanders' third consecutive loss (0-1-2), while Igor Shesterkin had 36 for the Rangers.
Kings rally late to spoil Penguins' celebration of Jagr
Adrian Kempe scored two goals in the final 6:11 of regulation to lift the visiting Los Angeles Kings to a 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on a night the home team retired the jersey of franchise legend Jaromir Jagr.
Kempe's second goal came with the Kings short-handed and the game tied at 1-1 with 3:10 left to play. Anže Kopitar forced a Penguins' turnover in the neutral zone before relaying the puck to his teammate, who ripped a shot past Pittsburgh goaltender Tristan Jarry with Los Angeles on a 2-on-1.
Cam Talbot aided the comeback by making 11 of his 29 saves in the third period to help the Kings to their third straight victory and fifth in six games.
Pittsburgh took a 1-0 advantage on Sidney Crosby's power-play goal with 1:17 left in the first period, and Jarry made the lead hold up by coming up with 23 saves through the first two frames.
Kempe ended the shutout bid, however, when he one-timed a Drew Doughty feed into the Penguins' net with 6:11 to go.
Jarry recorded 31 saves in the Penguins' fourth loss in five games.
Prior to the game, the Penguins hung Jagr's iconic No. 68 jersey to the rafters in honour of the 52-year-old, whose 1,921 career points trails only Wayne Gretzky for the most in NHL history. Jagr spent the first 11 of his 24 NHL seasons with Pittsburgh from 1990-2001 and was a part of two Stanley Cup champion teams with the Penguins.
MacKinnon extends home point streak as Avalanche continue Coyotes' woes
Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and an assist for his 26th consecutive home game with at least one point, which helped the Colorado Avalanche extend the Arizona Coyotes' losing streak to nine games with a 4-3 come-from-behind win.
After MacKinnon tied the game at 3-3 midway through the second period with his 33rd goal of the season, Devon Toews put Colorado ahead when his wrist shot with 6:35 remaining got past a screened Arizona goaltender Karel Vejmelka.
The Avalanche then killed off an Arizona power play in the final 1:21 to earn their second win in three games since ending a season-high four-game losing streak from Feb. 5-10.
MacKinnon's home point streak is now the second-longest to begin a season in NHL history, behind only Wayne Gretzky's 40-game run with the Los Angeles Kings in 1988-89. The Colorado All-Star entered the game in a tie with Hall of Famer Bobby Orr for second place.
Arizona, now 0-8-1 in its last nine games, trailed early when the Avalanche's Ross Colton scored 4:10 into the contest, but moved ahead on first-period goals from Matt Dumba and Lawson Crouse.
Colorado's Jack Johnson tied the game at 2-2 with 5:20 elapsed in the second, but Logan Cooley briefly put the Coyotes back in front when he scored on a 4-on-2 rush with 10:08 left in the period.
Vejmelka registered 33 saves in the loss, while Colorado's Alexandar Georgiev had 27 stops.
Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama fired a stunning final round of 62 to win the Genesis Invitational and secure his ninth PGA Tour title.
Matsuyama carded nine birdies at Riviera Country Club to finish 17 under par, overturning a six-shot deficit to overnight leader Patrick Cantlay to claim his first win in two years.
The former Masters champion birdied his first three holes in a front nine of 32 and started the back nine with another hat-trick of gains to move into a five-way tie for the lead.
But the best was yet to come as the former world number two – who had slipped to 55th in the rankings – hit his approach to the 15th to eight inches, his tee shot on the next even closer and also birdied the 17th to effectively seal victory with several groups still out on the course.
“I wasn’t striking the ball really well but my chipping and putting was working a lot this week, especially the second shot on 15 was one of the best I had. That really helped,” Matsuyama said through an interpreter.
“I think it’s really important for me to keep this momentum, especially going to Augusta, so hopefully I can keep that.”
Will Zalatoris and Luke List shared second place on 14 under par, List having held a two-shot lead on 16 under after racing to the turn in 30, only to struggle home in 38.
Zalatoris carded four birdies and two bogeys in his closing 69, while 54-hole leader Cantlay could only manage a final round of 72, which included a birdie from 50 feet on the 18th.
England’s Tommy Fleetwood finished in a tie for 10th after a closing 67, with Rory McIlroy joint 24th following a final round of 70.
“I think that I’m close. I’m not quite where I want to be,” McIlroy told CBS.
“It’s one of these courses where you know that precision is so important and putting your ball in the right areas and if you’re just slightly off your weaknesses sort of get magnified this week.”
Fraser McConnell's ACCIONA | SAINZ XE Team clinched its maiden win of the year in Saudi Arabia’s Desert X Prix, where Laia Sanz and Fraser McConnell put together a perfect performance that confirmed that the team is a real contender for the rest of the Extreme E calendar.
After coming first and third in the qualifying heats, the Grand Final commenced with an optimum start by Fraser, who jumped up to first. He remained in the lead from then on. Laia got behind the wheel for the final laps and defended herself from the attacks of their rivals, ultimately crossing the finish line in the first place to secure the first victory of the year for the team.
After narrowly missing the 2023 title, this triumph is made even more special by the fact that it confirms the team’s potential for the remainder of the 2024 season.
Fraser is happy with the team's performance,
"Happy for the team, happy for Laia and everybody back in Jamaica. This is a big, big win. Stepping into this team was such a huge step for me. So many other people could have had the opportunity, but I was chosen by Carlos and the team to be here. They saw something in me, they believed in me, and this gave me so much confidence to dig as deep as I could."
"I am living this opportunity as if it is my last, making sure I can make a name for myself and the team. Carlos has been a hero of mine growing up, so racing for him is such a feeling. It has been a very good first weekend."
ACCIONA | SAINZ XE Team is now second in the Championship standings with 39 points, trailing the leader by 2 points. Beyond the 25 points from the race victory, today the team scored an additional point for winning Qualifying 2.
The Extreme E Championship leaves Saudi Arabia and heads to Europe, where the competition will resume on July 13 and 14.
Formula One has called for Christian Horner’s Red Bull future to be “clarified at the earliest opportunity”.
Horner’s role as Red Bull team principal remains in the balance following a claim of “inappropriate behaviour” by a female colleague.
Speaking at Red Bull Racing’s car launch in Milton Keynes last Thursday, the 50-year old continued to emphatically deny the allegations made against him, and insisted he would be in Bahrain for the opening race of the season on March 2.
An F1 spokesperson said on Sunday evening: “We have noted that Red Bull has instigated an independent investigation into internal allegations at Red Bull Racing.
“We hope that the matter will be clarified at the earliest opportunity, after a fair and thorough process, and we will not comment further at this time.”
Horner said he was unable to provide a timeline as to when the investigation by the racing team’s parent company, Red Bull GmBH, will be completed.
Testing for the new campaign gets under way in Bahrain on Wednesday.
Last season, Red Bull won all but one of the 22 races, with Max Verstappen taking his third world championship in as many years.
England’s prospects of reclaiming the Calcutta Cup from Scotland have been dealt a blow after scrum-half Alex Mitchell was ruled out of the Murrayfield showdown with a knee problem.
The Rugby Football Union confirmed that Mitchell will miss the pivotal Guinness Six Nations round three game because of an injury that requires further investigation before a date for his return can be set.
Harry Randall has been named as the replacement in Steve Borthwick’s 36-man training squad with Danny Care and Ben Spencer competing to fill the void in the number nine jersey in Edinburgh.
Craig Kieswetter is excited for one last crack at the Cheltenham Festival with Echoes In Rain, who will head to Prestbury Park for her racecourse swansong next month bidding to bring the curtain down on her career with a fairytale success.
Former England cricket star Kieswetter is a key figure in his family’s Barnane Stud alongside brother Ross and stud manager Patrick Wynn-Jones, with Echoes In Rain proving to be the star performer of their jumps string over the years.
Trained by Willie Mullins, she has won nine of her 30 career starts across both codes, with her finest hours coming at the Punchestown Festival where she won Grade Ones both as a novice in 2021 and then two years later against her fellow mares.
However, she has found success at the Cheltenham Festival harder to come by and will be given one final chance to conquer the Cotswolds before moving on to be a part of Barnane’s broodmare band.
“She’s going to head to Cheltenham and it will probably be her final hurrah before we take her back to Barnane Stud to start her career as a broodmare,” said Kieswetter.
“She’s a real fighter and every time we ask a question of her, she goes for it. For a mare who tries her hardest every single time, she’s had to come up against the likes of Honeysuckle and State Man all the way through her career.
“We’ve had some fantastic fun with her. I was there when she got pipped on the line in the Irish Cesarewitch, Rachael (Blackmore) jumped off and was devastated, but she has given us some fantastic times.
“We are looking forward to one final outing with her and then she can start her new career.”
Last year Echoes In Rain had to settle for a minor role as regular adversary Honeysuckle bowed out in style in the Mares’ Hurdle and Kieswetter feels that race is the most likely for Echoes In Rain’s final appearance, rather than stepping up to face the might of Constitution Hill in the Champion Hurdle.
He continued: “We’ll have a discussion with Willie and his team and see which direction they want to go. I’m suspecting it will probably be the Mares’ Hurdle, but you never know.
“Willie won all the Grade Ones at Leopardstown and is operating at a ridiculous strike-rate and is the best, we are more than happy to just follow the advice of where he wants to go.”
Owner Kenny Alexander is set to unleash a two-pronged assault on the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle, with both Gala Marceau and Telmesomethinggirl attempting to add to Honeysuckle’s two famous victories in the Cheltenham Festival contest.
Trained by Willie Mullins, Gala Marceau has just stablemates Lossiemouth and Ashroe Diamond ahead of her in the ante-post betting for the Grade One event and was runner-up in the Triumph Hurdle at Prestbury Park 12 months ago.
She finished third when making her seasonal return at Doncaster recently, but tasted top level success over two and a half miles in Auteuil’s Prix Alain du Breil last May and connections feel a return to further can see her improve on her Town Moor reappearance.
“We were very happy with her and Danny (Mullins, jockey) said she took a bit of a blow after the last,” said Alexander’s racing manager Peter Molony.
“He thought he would definitely have been second and closer to the winner without that and he wasn’t overly hard on her to try to get second as the big day is in a few weeks time.
“The step up in trip is going to help her, she stayed the extra distance well last year in Auteuil and we really think that will play to her strengths.”
Telmesomethinggirl may be as big as 25-1 in the betting, but Molony has been encouraged by reports from trainer Henry de Bromhead since she finished second at Naas last month.
The nine-year-old is already a Cheltenham Festival winner having been part of De Bromhead and Rachael Blackmore’s respective six-timers at the showpiece meeting in 2021, winning the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle.
She was also in the process of running a huge race the following year in the Mares’ Hurdle before being brought down two out and having spent a year struggling over the larger obstacles, is back at the discipline in which she is most proficient.
“We were over the moon with her performance at Naas. The first day she ran (at Leopardstown) she was still rather gross and I think as she has got older, Henry has found it harder to get her fit,” added Molony.
“Last year was a complete waste of a year and she just didn’t take to the fences, that is a year that can be scratched.
“Henry and his team are very happy with her and I think if she is back to her best, she is going to give all the other ladies something to think about. She’s a very high-class mare in her own right at her best.
“Rachael came in and said it was a case of how far, not if (when she ran in the race previously) and if she gets back to that level she could take a lot of beating – she is certainly a wonderful each-way price.”
Laura Muir will snub home comforts to ensure she is in the right frame of mind to win gold at the World Indoor Championships.
The 30-year-old claimed the 3000m title at the UKA Indoor Championships on Sunday after running eight minutes 58.80 seconds to seal victory in Birmingham.
Muir is planning her assault on the 3000m at the World Indoors in Glasgow next month, with the British squad announced on Monday.
The Scot, who is based in Glasgow, will race at her home track but intends to remain with the team rather than stay at home during the Championships.
Muir, who won 1500m and 3000m gold at the European Indoors in Glasgow in 2019, said: “I’m going to stay in the team hotel. I think it’d be hard to get myself in the mindset that I’m going to compete at a World Championships final.
“It’s better when it’s a straight final to not be coming from my sofa. So I’m going to go into the team hotel.
“I never really took it in because I didn’t know if I was definitely going quite yet. I don’t want to do anything until I’m definitely going but it’s really nice.
“I’ve got a lot of fond memories from that track from competing there before. So I’m just going to go there and I’m going to enjoy it and that’s the most important thing for me.”
Katarina Johnson-Thompson threw 13.29m to come ninth in the shot put, won by Amelia Campbell, as she continues her Olympic preparations.
The world heptathlon champion is focusing on this summer’s Paris Games and will not be at the World Indoors.
She said: “I am gutted because I did European indoors in Glasgow in 2018 and I’ve got really good memories of it. The whole family came to watch me. It’s just a decision to throw everything into Paris.
“I’m feeling good. I’ve had a great time since Budapest, everything’s been going really well. So I feel good. I’m feeling in a strong position but I’m just taking it week by week.
“The plan was just some competition practice. Training has been going really well so I wanted to come out and see where I am under competition conditions.
“Of course these specialist athletes throw much further and it is tough not to have a reference to where you’re throwing – with the first line set at 16m – which is way further than I am throwing. But on the other hand I can gain some knowledge and learn from the specialists so it is always beneficial.
“I am confident now I have found a good training set-up so I am very happy with my training so far and I am enjoying my preparations going towards Paris this year. ”
Jemma Reekie won in the 800m as she looks for a maiden senior title in Glasgow next month.
Tullyhill could be bound for Cheltenham after making light work of the Madigan Group Irish EBF Sheila Bourke Novice Hurdle at Punchestown.
The six-year-old finished second in the Champion Bumper at the Festival last season, a result that followed a prior bumper success and a point to point win.
He was beaten by a significant margin on his hurdling debut in November but his jumping was much improved on his next start when he took a Naas maiden by seven lengths in January.
He started as the 6-5 favourite under Paul Townend at Listed level at Punchestown and made all the of the running, cruising to a nine-length victory having barely seen another rival.
Following the run, Tullyhill is as low as 5-1 for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle with Paddy Power, but Mullins will consult with owners Cheveley Park Stud before deciding on a Cheltenham bid.
He said: “He has a fair engine and we just needed to give him confidence jumping. David Casey was deputised with that job and has done a right job.
“He’s entitled to go anywhere after a performance like that.
“I thought he’d be an out-an-out stayer but he has plenty of speed, a great cruising speed, and now his jumping is starting to match his cruising speed.
“He’s in the Supreme and I’ll have a word with connections and see what they would like to do.”
Where It All Began got off the mark over fences in the QuinnBet Grand National Trial Handicap Chase at Punchestown.
Gordon Elliott’s eight-year-old had performed with credit in seven previous starts over fences but was yet to taste success in the discipline and was last seen winning in a maiden hurdle in January 2022.
Under Jack Kennedy, he stepped up to a staying trip of three miles and three furlongs for the first time at Punchestown and started as a 10-1 chance in a field of 15.
The gelding always looked comfortable but it was on the turn for home that the race became a test of stamina and it looked as though favourite We’llhavewan had the upper hand.
However, Where It All Began started to pick off his rivals, clearly relishing the extra distance as galloped home to take the Listed contest by an easy 16 lengths.
“He jumped great and never missed a beat the whole way,” Kennedy said.
“It probably looked turning in that I was going to finish third but stamina really kicked in when we straightened up. I’m delighted with him.
“He’s not reliant on heavy ground, just a test of stamina is what he wants.
“He’d been running well and threatened to do something like that.
As a result of the performance Paddy Power and Betfair slashed his price for the Grand National from 200-1 to 50-1, with weights for the Aintree contest revealed on Tuesday.
Mister Policeman looked to get his career back on track with victory in the Concept Colours Rated Novice Chase at Punchestown.
The Willie Mullins-trained chestnut was purchased by Rich Ricci after hurdles success in France as a four-year-old and got off the mark for new connections at the first time of asking.
His first Irish run was in a two-mile Cork hurdle last April, a race he won comfortably before graduating to fences at the start of this term.
His first attempt at Fairyhouse in November was a success and the gelding then headed to Naas in January and started as the favourite in a two-mile novice.
He was comprehensively beaten on that occasion as Quilixios came home in front with Sa Fureur behind him and Mister Policeman over eight lengths away from the winner in third.
At Punchestown the five-year-old looked to make amends for a sticky round of jumping last time and under Paul Townend he was much improved, travelling well as the 1-2 favourite in a field of five.
Rounding the final bend he was galloping along comfortably and was able to produce a neat jump at the last to pull away to a six-length victory.
Mullins said of the success: “He’s still learning to jump and he’ll probably be better going out in trip at some stage, but this race fitted nicely into his schedule. It will leave him nicely set up for the spring.
“I’d imagine he’ll stay at home and there are plenty of good races to be won. He could go for a novice handicap.”
Rachael Blackmore coaxed home Senior Chief to take the QuinnBet Beginners Chase over two miles and seven furlongs.
The 2-9 favourite had placed in two runs over fences so far and seemed to require a little persuasion throughout the race but scraped home to prevail by three-quarters of a length.
“Rachael said once she turned in she knew it was OK but I’m not so sure,” winning trainer Henry De Bromhead said.
“He’s done little wrong in fairness to him, and the handicapper might reassess him from a mark of 142.
“He looked laboured and Rachael said it’s tough old ground. We’ll look for a handicap now and see where we go from there.
“I’m delighted for the lads (Lucky In Life Syndicate) who are great supporters and a lot of them work at Regeneron in Limerick.”
Adam Silver will not "anoint" any player to be the next LeBron James when he eventually retires.
Four-time MVP James is set to play in his 20th All-Star game on Sunday at the age of 39, averaging 24.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 7.8 assists so far this season for the 30-26 Los Angeles Lakers.
Though James is still performing well, he is in the latter stages of his career and the talk over who could potentially fill his place as the league's most recognisable player has been growing.
NBA commissioner Silver, though, compared James' potential retirement to that of Michael Jordan, saying players must earn the mantle of James' replacement.
"I would never anoint another player to be the next LeBron James just in the same way when Michael [Jordan] retired," Silver told reporters.
"I remember at the time David Stern [former NBA commissioner] was saying whoever demonstrates on the court that they should be.
"These new players aren't anointed. They demonstrate to the world, they demonstrate to the league that they deserve to be viewed in that same rare position as players like Michael and Kobe [Bryant] and LeBron and others."
Silver pointed to the rise of international talent in the NBA as potentially being able to somewhat fill the boots of James, stating the league is in "fantastic hands".
"Just look at the All-Stars that we're going to be seeing competing [Sunday] night," Silver added.
"Look at the magnitude of the pool of international players coming into this league. Look at the amount of basketball that's being played on a global basis."
Bam Adebayo will start in Sunday's All-Star game for the first time having replaced the injured Joel Embiid.
Reigning MVP Embiid was originally slated to start at center for the Eastern Conference All-Star team, but the Philadelphia 76ers man will miss the game because of a knee injury.
Adebayo initially made the reserve team having averaged 20.2 points and 10.6 rebounds per game for the Miami Heat so far this season, but has now been chosen as Embiid's deputee by Eastern Conference coach Doc Rivers.
Adebayo was also selected as a reserve team member in 2020, winning the skills competition that year, but this will be the first time he has made the starting line-up.
The former Kentucky Wildcat will become the seventh Heat player to be an All-Star starter and the first since Dwyane Wade eight years ago.
Adebayo's Heat currently sit at 30-25, in the play-in spots at seventh in the East having reached the NBA finals from the play-in positions last season.
Three-time Olympic medallist Shane Rose has been stood down from competition after wearing a mankini during a showjumping event.
The 50-year-old Australian, who hopes to represent his country at the Paris Games later this year, has apologised for any offence caused by his outfit choice at Wallaby Hill near Sydney last weekend.
Equestrian Australia is reviewing the matter after concerns were raised about Rose’s attire, but insisted he has not been suspended.
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Riders were encouraged to wear fancy dress for the event.
Rose sported three outfits – a gorilla suit, a Duffman outfit from the Simpsons and the mankini, a skimpy swimwear item popularised by Sacha Baron Cohen’s comedy character Borat.
“I took part in this fancy dress competition with the aim of providing light-hearted entertainment for those in attendance,” Rose wrote in a Facebook post, which was later deleted.
“If my costume/s offended anyone I am truly sorry as this was never my intention. I would like to apologise to anyone that I offended.”
Rose won team eventing silver at the 2008 and 2020 Olympics and bronze in 2016.
He said he hoped the incident would not affect his Olympic preparation, while expressing a desire for the situation to be resolved quickly.
“With a bit of luck this will all be a bit of a laugh in a few days and we can all move on,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“I wore a costume which you could see at a theme park or a beach. Potentially no-one has done it on (a) horse, but there you go.
“I think I am a good person and I do a lot for the sport, and for people in different situations. I don’t feel like I have done anything particularly bad.
“In hindsight, I should have re-thought what I did but, at the time, I thought it was just a bit of fun.”
Equestrian Australia chief executive Darren Gocher said a complaint was made about how Rose was dressed and that there were children at the event.
“Whether it is one (complaint) or 1,000, we have an obligation to review it,” he said.
“He hasn’t been sanctioned, he hasn’t been suspended. He has been stood down from competition while we review and we have committed to getting the review done this week.”
Many members of the equestrian community were not impressed with Rose being stood down, with some changing their Facebook profile pictures to Borat in a show of solidarity.
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