The Las Vegas Raiders have added to Jimmy Garoppolo's weapons by agreeing a deal to sign wide receiver Jakobi Meyers.

News emerged on Monday that Garoppolo was signing with the Raiders following the departure of long-time quarterback Derek Carr, reuniting the former San Francisco 49er with his offensive coordinator from his time with the New England Patriots, Las Vegas head coach Josh McDaniels.

McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler, a former director of player personnel in New England, have brought another ex-Patriot into the fold in Meyers, who is signing on a three-year deal worth $33million with $21m guaranteed.

Meyers had the most prolific season of his career in 2022, scoring six receiving touchdowns, while his 804 receiving yards were only a little down on his tally of 866 from 2021.

According to Stats Perform data, Meyers ranked 15th in combined open percentage (46.2) across man and zone coverages among wide receivers with at least 100 matchups and got open on 59.0 per cent of his man matchups. Only four wideouts with a minimum of 25 man matchups won a higher percentage.

The low point of his season came in a Week 15 loss to the Raiders, costing the Patriots the game when he inexplicably threw the ball back across field in the final seconds on a needless lateral play with the score tied. Chandler Jones plucked the ball out of the air and returned it for the game-winning score for the Raiders.

Meyers will now look to create happier memories of Allegiant Stadium with the Raiders as they attempt to return to the postseason in McDaniels' second year.

The New York Giants are trading for star Las Vegas Raiders tight end Darren Waller.

The move was reported on Tuesday, with the Giants sending a third-round pick to Vegas in the deal.

That 100th overall pick was originally sent to the Giants by the Kansas City Chiefs when they traded for Kadarius Toney last year.

Waller, a Pro Bowler in 2020, had been on the Raiders since he was signed off the Baltimore Ravens' practice squad in 2018.

The tight end established himself as a starter in 2019, the first of two consecutive 1,100-yard seasons.

He had the most catches among all tight ends in 2020 (107), ranked second for receiving yards (1,196) and third for receiving touchdowns (nine).

But Waller was limited to 17 starts over the next two seasons, restricted by knee, back and hamstring injuries.

With two years remaining on the contract that made him the best-paid tight end in the league last year, Waller will take his talents to New York.

He gives Daniel Jones – the quarterback who just signed a four-year, $160million extension – an established receiving target.

Darius Slayton had the most receiving yards among the Giants' pass catchers last year, but the wide receiver could move on in free agency.

Michael Thomas isn't going anywhere.

Thomas is returning to the New Orleans Saints in 2023, agreeing Tuesday to an incentive-laden one-year contract.

The 30-year-old Thomas was slated to be released by the Saints and become a free agent, but will stay with New Orleans after agreeing to a $10million deal that could be worth to up to $15million, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The restructured deal helped give the Saints financial flexibility, resulting in last week's signing of Thomas' new quarterback, Derek Carr.

While Carr is a significant upgrade at quarterback for Thomas over the likes of Jameis Winston, Andy Dalton and Trevor Siemian following the retirement of Drew Brees, the Saints also need Thomas to be healthy for their offense to be firing on all cylinders.

Thomas' 2022 season ended after three weeks because of a toe injury and injuries have limited him to a total of just 10 games since being named the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year in 2019, when he caught 149 passes for 1,725 yards and nine touchdowns.

A second-round draft pick in 2016, Thomas was one of the top playmakers at his position over his first four professional seasons, catching 470 passes for 5,512 yards with 32 TDs over 63 games, but in the three seasons since, he has 56 receptions for 609 yards with three TDs in 10 games.

The Golden State Warriors' NBA title defence has so far been beset by problems – primarily the absences of key personnel.

Even now, there remains no return date for Andrew Wiggins, who has played only 37 of 69 games this season and missed the past 12 for personal reasons.

Stephen Curry is back now but has sat for 26 games this year.

Although the Warriors' most-used lineup in the 2022 playoffs – including both Wiggins and Curry – has again been their most-used lineup in this regular season, it has started just a third of their games.

Yet that does not explain a quite remarkable trend that has developed across this campaign and now causes the Warriors real concern as they go on the road against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.

Golden State have won their past eight home games, the longest active streak in the NBA, yet they have lost their past eight road games, also the league's longest active streak.

This form extends beyond the past month, too.

Ahead of Tuesday's games, the Warriors possess the fourth-best home record at 29-7, actually improving on last year's winning percentage after a 31-10 performance at Chase Center en route to taking the title.

However, on the road, only tanking duo the San Antonio Spurs and the Houston Rockets are worse off than the Warriors, who are an alarming 7-26.

Those contrasting records are still good enough to have the Warriors fifth in the Western Conference, but they are 1.5 games behind the fourth-placed Phoenix Suns, meaning Golden State are set to miss out on home advantage for every round of the playoffs. Clearly, that is an issue.

The Warriors' eight-game losing streak on the road has included each of their prior three games in Los Angeles this season, beaten by the Clippers on Valentine's Day ahead of defeats to the Lakers in consecutive road games. All of their eight straight losses have come against Western Conference rivals.

Now, this latest game at the Clippers – who are sixth in the West with an identical record to the Warriors – marks the start of a five-game road trip, with eight of Golden State's final 13 matchups away from San Francisco.

Their home record may have kept them competitive to this point, but hopes for success in the postseason will require vast improvement on the road moving forward.

PIVOTAL PERFORMERS

Los Angeles Clippers – Kawhi Leonard

As for several Warriors stars, this has been another stop-start season for Leonard, yet he has started seven of the Clippers' eight games since the All-Star break and is finally building momentum again.

Leonard had averaged 22.1 points prior to the All-Star break but has scored 31.0 points per game since then. That is tied for the sixth-best mark in that time, along with Curry.

Golden State Warriors – Klay Thompson

Curry has actually averaged more points on the road this season (30.3) than at home (28.9), but he has lacked support in away games because the same has not been true of team-mate Thompson.

The 33-year-old has scored 24.8 points at home but just 19.0 on the road. However, he has still averaged 24.6 points in those rare road wins.

Golden State will need Curry and Thompson to turn up together to get their road form back on track.

KEY BATTLE – Fast start vital

As much as any Clipper, the Warriors will be battling themselves in the first quarter. Their slow starts in road games have been ever so costly.

Golden State have trailed through the first quarter of 17 games on the road this season. They are an incredible 0-17 in those games.

The Warriors must either make a rapid start or rediscover the sort of championship grit that would allow them to recover when they are up against it on their travels.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

The Warriors are 2-1 against the Clippers this season, although those two wins have of course come in San Francisco.

Since 2019, Golden State have won just one of five road games against the Clippers. They had won eight of nine such matchups prior to that in a series they have dominated 137-94 all-time.

The Houston Texans will likely have a new quarterback in the 2023 season, and he can be hopeful of better protection after they traded for guard Shaq Mason.

Houston, according to multiple reports, agreed a trade with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that will see the teams swap late-round picks.

The Buccaneers will receive a sixth-round pick from Houston, while the Texans will get a seventh-rounder in addition to Mason.

It is an extremely reasonable price for a guard who has been one of the best in the NFL in recent years but has now been traded in successive offseasons.

Tampa Bay acquired him in a trade with the New England Patriots in 2022, reuniting Mason with Tom Brady for what proved the legendary quarterback's final campaign.

Mason's sole year with the Bucs saw him post an aggregate win rate across pass and run blocking of 78.3 per cent, seventh among all guards.

The Texans will hope Mason can maintain that kind of form in 2023 as they build around a new face at the quarterback position.

Houston hold the second overall pick in the draft and the Texans are expected to select one of the top signal-callers in a class featuring four quarterbacks seen as top-10 picks.

The Atlanta Falcons are signing Taylor Heinicke as the former Washington Commanders quarterback returns to his native Georgia.

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Falcons are bringing Heinicke in to compete with Desmond Ridder and add some much-needed experience.

Heinicke – who turns 30 on Wednesday – will arrive in Atlanta from Washington, where he played 27 times since arriving towards the end of the 2020 season.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reports the deal will be for two years and worth up to $20million.

After being released by the Carolina Panthers in 2019, Heinicke joined the St. Louis BattleHawks of the XFL, though did not play a game before the league was suspended in April 2020.

He signed with Washington in December 2020, playing once in the regular season against the Panthers, before also featuring in the Wild Card round defeat to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Heinicke was a near ever-present in the 2021 season, with 20 passing touchdowns and one rushing in 16 appearances (15 starts), while he also started nine times in the 2022 campaign, with 12 passing TDs and one rushing.

England fly-half Marcus Smith believes they have a "free swing" at Ireland, and also thinks Steve Borthwick's side have time to find form before the Rugby World Cup.

After a chastening 53-10 defeat at Twickenham at the hands of France on Saturday – a record home defeat for them – England could be set to win just two of their five Six Nations games for the third tournament running.

Smith – who replaced Owen Farrell in the team for that game – acknowledged England are going through a bad run, but has challenged his team-mates to use it as motivation as they prepare to face an Ireland team in Dublin who can clinch a Grand Slam.

"We're in a tough period at the minute and it's perfect for us," Smith said. "We've got to get better quickly because the challenge doesn't come much greater than Ireland away in Dublin.

"There's only one way to go now and that's to stand up and fight as hard as we can and play as hard as we can for the shirt.

"We've spoken about sticking together because there's going to be a lot of noise and a lot of pressure on us. We've got to become tighter as opposed to splinter.

"This is a big test of our togetherness as a squad and of our resolve. There's no better week for this than a free swing at Ireland."

The Rugby World Cup is less than six months away, and Smith pointed to the "characters" in the team as reason for optimism ahead of the tournament in France.

"I believe we've still got time," he said. "With the characters we've got in the group we can turn things around very quickly.

"We'll look at our individual performances and team performance because, with where we want to go in the next six months and in the years ahead, that wasn't good enough."

There aren't many months on the US sporting calendar that capture the imagination quite like March.

Fans around the country and around the world are furiously filling in brackets as they undertake the futile task of trying to correctly predict every game of the NCAA Tournament.

Spoiler alert. None will succeed. All brackets will eventually be 'busted' as March Madness delivers the chaotic upsets that have come to define it.

There will be top seeds who fail to justify that status and suffer defeats to supposed inferior teams, although the cream consistently rises to the top.

Twelve of the past 15 National Champions have been one seeds, including each of the last five.

Ahead of the first four tipping off in Dayton on Tuesday, Stats Perform looks at three storylines surrounding one seeds looking to keep that streak alive.

Houston eyeing home victory

The Houston Cougars have never tasted glory in the NCAA Tournament, finishing as runners-up in 1983 and 1984, but they are many people's favourites to end that drought in a year that will see the Final Four held in Houston.

Despite losing the AAC Tournament title game to Memphis, the Cougars still earned a one seed as they seek a maiden National Championship.

Top of Stats Perform's TRACR (Team Rating Adjusted for Conference and Roster) rankings, which give Houston the highest chance (13.4 per cent) of winning the title, the big question surrounding the Cougars is the health of power forward Marcus Sasser.

Sasser missed the defeat to Memphis with a groin injury, and Houston will likely need him at full health if the Cougars are to go all the way. He has averaged 17.1 points per game this season and shot 38.3 per cent from the three-point line.

He suggested he likely will be ready for the tournament, saying he "played it safe" by not featuring against Memphis.

Houston shouldn't need Sasser to get past Northern Kentucky in their first-round matchup, but the Cougars can't afford for him to be on the shelf much longer if they are to realise their potential and finally end their wait for a title.

Controversy clouds top-ranked Alabama

The top overall seed belongs to the Alabama Crimson Tide, who will face either Texas A&M-Corpus Christi or Southeast Missouri State in the first round.

But much of the talk around Alabama does not concern their play on the court.

Alabama removed Darius Miles from the team in January after he was charged with capital murder following the shooting death of a 23-year-old woman near the campus.

Police are said to believe that Brandon Miller, the SEC Player of the Year and SEC Freshman of the Year, supplied the firearm to his former team-mate.

Miller has not been charged, nor is he considered a suspect, and according to the university, he has been cooperating with the police as a witness.

Alabama coach Nate Oats has been insistent Miller has done nothing wrong, and he remains on the court as the standout for a team looking to reach the Final Four for the first time.

He will carry much of the burden for Alabama having averaged 19.6 points and 8.3 rebounds and shot 40.1 per cent from beyond the arc.

After easing to an 82-63 win over Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament finale, Alabama look in excellent shape to justify their position as the number one seed in the entire tournament. 

But the further they progress and the larger the spotlight gets, the more questions they will face around Miller's presence and the lack of discipline he has faced after a tragedy that may overshadow their campaign.

Self set to return for Jayhawks repeat bid

The Kansas Jayhawks go into the tournament looking to do what no team has done since Florida in 2007 and claim back-to-back National Championships.

Entering the tournament as the one seed in the West Regional, Kansas' performance in a season that has seen them go 27-7 would appear to indicate they have a strong chance of repeating.

Yet the TRACR rankings give them just a 3.2 per cent of doing so, and history is firmly against them.

Since Florida made it two in a row in 2007, no defending champion has advanced past the Sweet 16, with only two even reaching that stage.

This year, the Jayhawks face a potential Sweet 16 matchup with UConn, a fourth seed with the third-best odds (6.9 per cent) to win it all, according to TRACR.

So, not a great draw then, and Kansas' preparations for the tournament have not exactly been ideal.

They lost the Big 12 Championship Game 76-56 to Texas, having played that tournament without head coach Bill Self after he was admitted to hospital with chest tightness and balance concerns.

With Self expected to return for the tournament and Kansas possessing the Big 12's top scorer in Jalen Wilson (20.1 points per game), there is reason for optimism this powerhouse can replicate the achievements of Billy Donovan's Gators 16 years ago.

Regardless of whether they succeed, the Jayhawks have already fared better than the team they defeated last year, North Carolina, who failed to make the tournament. They became the first preseason number one to miss out on the tournament since 1985.

This season has already seen unwanted history for the Tar Heels. The Jayhawks will look to end it by writing another celebratory chapter in the record books. 

Injured Wales pair Liam Williams and Scott Baldwin are absent from Warren Gatland's 32-man squad for their final Six Nations fixture in France on Saturday.

Full-back Williams sustained a shoulder injury in Saturday's 29-17 win over Italy in Rome – the first victory of a troubled campaign for Wales.

Hooker Baldwin, meanwhile, suffered a pectoral problem in Italy and will join Williams on the sidelines, with his Ospreys team-mate Sam Parry being called up to the squad.

Keiran Williams has also been released from the squad after sustaining a groin injury while featuring for the Ospreys earlier this month.

Wales are training in Nice ahead of their trip to the Stade de France, with the team announcement scheduled for Thursday.

Opponents France retain a slim chance of defending their title, but they need to post a bonus-point victory over Wales before hoping Ireland are on the receiving end of an upset at home to England.

Full Wales squad:

Forwards: Rhys Carre, Wyn Jones, Gareth Thomas, Ken Owens, Sam Parry, Bradley Roberts, Leon Brown, Tomas Francis, Dillon Lewis, Adam Beard, Rhys Davies, Dafydd Jenkins, Alun Wyn Jones, Jac Morgan, Tommy Reffell, Justin Tipuric, Aaron Wainwright, Taulupe Faletau.

Backs: Kieran Hardy, Rhys Webb, Tomos Williams, Dan Biggar, Rhys Patchell, Owen Williams, Mason Grady, Joe Hawkins, George North, Nick Tompkins, Josh Adams, Rio Dyer, Leigh Halfpenny, Louis Rees-Zammit.

Carlos Alcaraz felt "really proud" to complete 100 wins at ATP Tour level while still a teenager as the world number two marched on at the Indian Wells Open.

Only John McEnroe has reached a century of victories in fewer matches, the ATP said, with the American getting there from 131 contests while it took Alcaraz 132 to get to that landmark.

Alcaraz made it 10 wins from 11 matches in 2023 by defeating Tallon Griekspoor 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 on Monday at the California tournament.

The Spanish prodigy last year won the US Open and in doing so became the youngest men's world number one, with Novak Djokovic having since clawed back top spot.

Victory over Griekspoor made Alcaraz the third men's tour player born after 2000 to claim 100 tour wins, after Jannik Sinner and Felix Auger-Aliassime, said OptaAce.

The youngster's first tour-level win came against fellow Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas at the 2020 Rio Open, with the then 16-year-old wrapping up a 7-6 (7-2) 4-6 7-6 (7-2) at 3am local time.

The latest victory was his 24th at ATP 1000 level, going past Djokovic on the all-time ranking for wins at that elite tier by players before turning 20.

Alcaraz trails Denis Shapovalov (25) and Rafael Nadal (49), in that regard, but the chances are he will soon only trail Nadal, whom he cannot catch.

With his 20th birthday coming up in May, Alcaraz can substantially add to his ATP 1000 wins before leaving behind his teenage years. He will be looking to go further at Indian Wells and then rack up more victories in Miami, Monte Carlo and Madrid.

He will turn 20 on May 5, during the Madrid tournament where he is the defending champion.

Reflecting on his time on tour so far, Alcaraz said: "A lot has happened since that first ATP win. I'm really proud of myself to have my 100th win on the tour, in like 132 matches.

"I saw I was the second player in history with less matches to be able to get to 100 wins. I'm really proud of myself about that."

Alcaraz has a win percentage of 70.6 at ATP 1000 events in his fledgling career. Only three players with 10 or more matches in ATP 1000 events as a teenager have a higher percentage of success: Andre Agassi (90.9 per cent), Rafael Nadal (84.5) and Jim Courier (72.7).

Standing in the way of Alcaraz making an immediate improvement to his record is another emerging young talent, the 21-year-old British player Jack Draper.

They will meet in round four at Indian Wells on Tuesday, with Draper having sunk the hopes of compatriot and three-time grand slam winner Andy Murray on Monday to reach that stage.

"I know he's a really good player," said Alcaraz, who won his one previous meeting with Draper, a tight three-setter in Switzerland last year.

"I mean, he's playing well. He has beaten great opponents like [Dan] Evans and Andy. I know that I'm going to have to play my best, give my 100 per cent on court. I played against him in Basle [and won] 7-5 in the third, I think. It's going to be a really tough match and I'm going to enjoy it."

Mike Budenholzer hailed a "really special" game from Khris Middleton and described a scuffle that marred the closing moments as "unfortunate" as the Milwaukee Bucks won 133-124 against the Sacramento Kings.

Three-time All-Star Middleton's 31 points were a season-high, shooting nine-of-15 from the field and adding nine assists. He was the perfect sidekick for Giannis Antetokounmpo, who ended up scoring 46 points on 19-of-28 shooting, with 12 rebounds and four assists.

It was Antetokounmpo's sixth game this season with at least 45 points, while no other player has more than Luka Doncic and Joel Embiid's four.

Sacramento's Domantas Sabonis had 23 points, 17 rebounds and 15 assists, completing his 10th triple-double of the season.

The game's final stages saw tensions boil over as Sacramento's Trey Lyles and Milwaukee's Brook Lopez were ejected after an ugly melee.

That set-to broke out with 15.4 seconds remaining, sparked by a shove on Antetokounmpo by Lyles, with Lopez stepping in and squaring up to the Kings man, leading to a mass grappling match at courtside.

Budenholzer said that moment was "just unfortunate" as he preferred to look at the positives from a fine road win.

"I think it was a great game, a lot of good things happened," Budenholzer said. "I was so impressed by Sacramento and the way they played, and it was good for our guys to fight back in the second half. I'm really not going to say anything about what did or didn't happen. To me, it was unfortunate."

At one point in the game, Lopez needed patching up as blood flowed from a wound on his face. He and the Bucks came back strongly after trailing 49-33 to get the win, improving their NBA-leading record to 49-19 for the season.

While Antetokounmpo was excellent on his return from a three-game hand injury lay-off, Budenholzer saved his highest praise for Middleton.

"Khris was really special," the Bucks coach said. "He had a stretch in the third quarter, he had a stretch in the fourth quarter. Down the stretch the ball was in his hands; the execution, the decision-making, the shot-making was high level, and it's good to see. We've just got to continue to grow, the execution down the stretch was good.

"I think the first half was not our best and down the stretch with the ball in his hands, we do that a lot, and it's like falling into a good old habit. And he and Jrue [Holiday] and Giannis were good. Everybody played together and executed and Khris sometimes is that guy that's at the point of it."

Lopez and Sabonis fought a running battle that Budenholzer likened to a prize fight.

"We were just talking in the locker room. It was like a 15-round heavyweight boxing match," the coach said in his post-game press conference.

"Sabonis was incredibly impressive and I feel the same way about Brook. They're just two great players going at each other. His best stuff against Brook's best stuff. The whole game was a match-up to watch, Brook and Sabonis going against each other, and I think everybody got their money's worth.

Dallas Stars coach Peter DeBoer was thrilled with his team's efforts after Monday's 5-2 victory saw them sweep their two-game road series against the Seattle Kraken.

It took less than six minutes for the Stars to jump ahead by two, with Evgenii Dadonov's early opener followed shortly after by Jamie Benn's power-play goal.

The power-play unit consisting of Benn, Joe Pavelski and Jason Robertson were dynamic, as Pavelski and Robertson assisted Benn's goal, before Benn turned provider for Pavelski early in the second period, and Benn nabbed another assist when he set up Robertson for the third power-play goal of the night to seal things.

Stars center Wyatt Johnson – who assisted the opener and scored his side's fourth goal – highlighted the impact of getting such incredible production from their power-plays.

"It's huge," he said. "Especially when you're on the road – just getting like three goals on the power play, it's always, always a big help."

Coach DeBoer called it "an important four points" as the Stars hold onto a three-point buffer atop the Central division, and sit one point behind the Vegas Golden Knights in the race for the top seed in the Western Conference.

"You look at the standings and we're in a fight for first in the division, first in the conference," he said. "[Seattle are] in a battle for playoff positioning. 

"They've been playing great all year, so this was a real test for us coming in here for two games and I thought our group really responded."

On the other side, the Kraken blew a golden opportunity to establish themselves as one of the West's top sides, getting leapfrogged by Dallas, the Minnesota Wild and the Los Angeles Kings during their current three-game losing streak.

"Bottom line, we didn't get job done," Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. "At the end of the day that's what matters.

"We've been a group that's been able to turn the page and go back to the next job at hand. This group has to be able to do that again."