The Green Bay Packers have moved to ensure they enter 2022 with the same edge-rushing duo who starred last season, re-signing Preston Smith but releasing Za'Darius Smith.
The pair had played together for two years following their 2019 arrivals, before Za'Darius Smith's back injury saw him spend the majority of 2021 on injured reserve.
He played briefly in the Packers' Week 1 loss to the New Orleans Saints and only returned following back surgery in the playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers, in which he recorded his only sack of the year.
In Za'Darius Smith's absence, Rashan Gary stepped up to establish himself alongside Preston Smith.
Gary, who had only four career starts prior to 2021, led the Packers with 9.5 sacks, just ahead of Preston Smith (9.0), who matched his team-mate's two fumbles forced.
That breakout performance from Gary meant there were contrasting fortunes for Za'Darius Smith and Preston Smith three years to the day since they both signed with the team.
Za'Darius Smith, whose 26 sacks across 2019 and 2020 – in which he started 32 games – tied third in the NFL alongside Aaron Donald, had the option to stay with the Packers at this year's owed cash amount, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported, but instead agreed with the team's decision to move on.
Meanwhile, Preston Smith was granted a contract extension, with general manager Brian Gutekunst saying: "We are excited to have Preston continue his career with the Packers.
"Since coming to Green Bay, he has not only contributed with production on the field but has been a great presence in the locker room and a leader for this team."
All-Star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. could be sidelined up to three months with a fractured left wrist that will likely require surgery, San Diego Padres general manager A.J. Preller said on Monday.
The 23-year-old Tatis hurt his wrist earlier in the offseason, according to Preller, and the injury reappeared when he intensified baseball activities leading up to the start of spring training.
The injury is a major let-down for one of the brightest young stars in baseball on a Padres team hoping to make a return to the playoffs in 2022 after collapsing down the stretch last season, finishing 79-83.
Despite missing time in 2021 due to left shoulder inflammation, Tatis still managed to lead the National League with 42 home runs in just 130 games.
He hit .282, stole 25 bases and had the league's third-highest OPS at .975, finishing the year third in the NL in MVP voting.
The Padres are scheduled to begin the season on April 7 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, and will play their home opener a week later against the reigning World Series champion Atlanta Braves.
The Pittsburgh Steelers appear to have settled on Mitchell Trubisky as the successor to Ben Roethlisberger.
According to multiple reports, the second overall pick in the 2017 draft has agreed a two-year contract with the Steelers.
The former Chicago Bears quarterback spent last season as Josh Allen's backup with the Buffalo Bills having failed to live up to his draft status.
Trubisky will now get the chance to reinvigorate his career in Pittsburgh and has significant shoes to fill after future Hall of Famer Roethlisberger retired following his 18th season in the NFL.
The Steelers had been said to be in the mix for San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who is available for trade as the Niners get set to start Trey Lance in 2022.
But they have instead avoided sending draft capital to another team and elected to bet on their ability to harness Trubisky's physical tools, something which the Bears largely failed to do.
The Bears traded up from the third pick to the second in 2017 to land Trubisky but, save for a 2018 season in which he was part of a team that won the NFC North only to lose in the Wild Card round to the Philadelphia Eagles, his time with the team was unsuccessful.
Chicago did get back to the playoffs in 2020, a season in which Trubisky and Nick Foles alternated at quarterback, but they suffered a meek Wild Card exit at the hands of the New Orleans Saints.
In his time with the Bears, Trubisky threw for 10,609 yards, 64 touchdowns and 37 interceptions. He also ran for eight touchdowns.
His final season with Chicago saw him record a pickable pass rate of 5.48 per cent, the fifth-worst among quarterbacks with at least 200 pass attempts.
Free agency was supposed to be the headline act of March in the NFL calendar.
But then a blockbuster Russell Wilson trade, the end (for now) of the Aaron Rodgers saga and the small matter of the unretirement of Tom Brady happened in a whirlwind week for the league.
As such, many of the moves that are reported when the NFL's negotiating window opens may seem insignificant compared to the events of the last seven days.
However, the right acquisition on the open market can have a substantial impact for teams looking to contend for the Lombardi Trophy.
Just look at the Cincinnati Bengals, who were in touching distance of winning the title for the first time thanks in part to the defensive efforts of two free agent signings in edge rusher Trey Hendrickson and cornerback Chidobe Awuzie.
With the salary cap increasing to $208.2million, the first time in league history it has been over $200m, plenty of teams will be ready to loosen the purse strings.
Yet free agency is often not about making the big splash move, it is more a matter of finding the right fit between player and team.
Using advanced metrics, Stats Perform looks at six of the best potential fits for this year's free agency cycle.
J.C. Jackson to New York Jets
Jackson is in for a monster payday after the New England Patriots elected not to place the franchise tag on a cornerback coming off a second-team All-Pro season.
Though they are clearly not ready to contend in 2022, the Jets present the perfect marriage of positional need and cap space, of which they have the second-most in the NFL.
Only four teams allowed more yards per pass play than the Jets (7.11) last season, with the secondary a long-standing problem for New York.
Over the past three seasons, no player in the NFL has record more interceptions than Jackson's 22. His closest challenger is Xavien Howard (16).
Jackson finished 2021 having allowed a big play on 18.9 per cent of his targets, the eighth-best rate among corners with at least 50 targets.
Pairing him with a corner in Bryce Hall who had the best combined open percentage (14.61) across man and zone coverage of any player at his position in the NFL last season (min. 100 coverage matchups) would go a long way to shoring up the Jets' defensive backfield.
Terron Armstead to Cincinnati Bengals
It almost makes too much sense. The Bengals are in obvious need of help on the offensive line and will have the seventh-most cap space of any team in the NFL with which to acquire it, making Armstead an obvious fit.
Though injuries limited him to eight games for the Saints last season, Armstead remains one of the premier left tackles in the NFL.
Armstead's stunt-adjusted pass block win rate of 91.93 per cent was third among tackles with at least 100 pass protection one-on-ones in 2021.
That is exactly the kind of excellence in protection the Bengals need to ensure Joe Burrow can keep them in contention for Super Bowl titles in the coming years.
Tyrann Mathieu to Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers have been mentioned as a potential destination for several free agents, which is unsurprising given they are in the top half of the league in terms of cap space and have a premier quarterback on a rookie deal in Justin Herbert.
They have already shown a desire to be aggressive in striking a trade to pair edge rusher Khalil Mack with Joey Bosa on the defensive line, yet there is no doubt the secondary would also benefit from an infusion of experience and added quality.
Mathieu would bring just that if the Chargers were able to lure him from the division rival Kansas City Chiefs. With free safety Nasir Adderley having so far struggled to live up to his status as a second-round pick, Mathieu's arrival would allow the Chargers to rotate him and former first-round pick Derwin James, who each possess the versatility to play free and strong safety and one on one with wide receivers and tight ends in man coverage.
Last year, Mathieu finished ninth among defensive backs with at least 100 coverage matchups across man and zone with a combined open percentage allowed of 20.3.
With another three interceptions added to a career tally that now stands at 26, there is no doubt Mathieu still has the playmaking ability and coverage skills to be an asset to any defense.
Von Miller to Denver Broncos
Everybody loves a reunion, and this would be a quick one after the Broncos dealt Miller to the Los Angeles Rams last season, with the veteran edge rusher going on to win his second Super Bowl title.
And after the Broncos struck a stunning trade to acquire Wilson from the Seattle Seahawks, bringing back Miller to boost a defense that will be run by former Rams secondary coach Ejiro Evero would be an ideal next move to make for a team clearly eyeing an immediate run at a Lombardi.
Miller ranked fifth among edge rushers with a stunt-adjusted pass rush win rate of 43.4 per cent in 2021, with that ability to generate pressure highly valuable to a defense that was a disappointing 30th in win percentage last year.
The Broncos are set up to contend, and a return to Denver would potentially give Miller the chance to compete for further titles while ending his career where it started.
Cordarrelle Patterson to San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers have a host of more important needs than a wide receiver-turned-running back, and given San Francisco possesses the gold standard in that regard in 'wide back' Deebo Samuel, signing Patterson would be a luxury move rather than a necessity.
Yet the thought of head coach Kyle Shanahan having both Samuel and Patterson to work with is an extremely enticing one.
Among running backs with at least 150 carries in the regular season, only James Conner (22.7) produced a higher percentage of big plays on targets in the passing game than Patterson (22.6).
Putting him with the play-caller who arguably does the best job of getting offensive players in space would be a match made in heaven.
Christian Kirk to Indianapolis Colts
It's not clear who will be playing quarterback for the Colts in 2022 following the Carson Wentz trade to the Washington Commanders, but that signal-caller will need receiving help beyond 2020 second-round pick Michael Pittman Jr.
With T.Y. Hilton on the downswing of his career and injuries preventing Parris Campbell from making any sort of discernible impact, the Colts are light on legitimate pass-catching weapons.
Kirk could stock the cupboard in that regard, giving Indianapolis a legitimate deep threat who fell 18 yards shy of 1,000 receiving last season and has 11 touchdowns over the past two campaigns.
He registered a burn, which is when a receiver wins his matchup with a defender on a play where he is targeted, on 66.4 per cent of targets (the average for receivers with at least 100 targets was 62).
Among receivers to meet that target threshold, Kirk was fourth in the NFL in 2021 with a burn yards per target average of 13.2, with his ability to separate much needed by an offense that heads into the offseason in questionable shape.
Ireland will have to do without James Ryan and Ryan Baird in their crunch Six Nations showdown with Scotland on Saturday.
Ryan was unable to return to the field after he was floored by a dangerous tackle from Charlie Ewels only 82 seconds into Ireland's 32-15 win over England at Twickenham last weekend.
Ewels was shown a red card for clashing heads with Ryan, who failed a subsequent head injury assessment.
Lock Ryan will not be available when Andy Farrell's side do battle with Scotland at the Aviva Stadium on the final day of the tournament.
Fellow second row Baird also missed the encounter in Dublin due to a back injury, so Ross Molony and Joe McCarthy have been called up to train with the squad.
Second-placed Ireland are two points adrift of leaders France and must win to keep their hopes of winning the title alive, with Les Bleus facing England in Paris later in the day.
Lewis Hamilton has revealed he is set to change his name as he prepares for the 2022 Formula One season.
The seven-time F1 world champion will include his mother Carmen's maiden name, Larbalestier, in his name.
Hamilton's parents, Anthony and Carmen, separated when he was only two.
The 37-year-old is not sure when his new name will be confirmed, stating it is a work in progress ahead of the first race of the year in Bahrain this weekend.
"It would mean the world to my family [to win a record eighth F1 title]," the British driver said at the 2022 Dubai Expo.
"It would mean a lot to me knowing that, for example, I'm really proud of my family's name: Hamilton. Actually, none of you might know that my mum's [sur]name is Larbalestier.
"And I'm just about to put that in my name. Because I don't really fully understand the whole idea of why, when people get married, the woman loses her name. I really want her name to continue on with the Hamilton name."
Asked if he will have a different name in the first race of the season, he replied: "It will be soon. No, I don't know if it will be this weekend. But we're working on it."
Jack Willis has been included in England's squad for the first time in over a year for Saturday's Six Nations clash with France.
The flanker suffered a serious knee injury against Italy in February last year and only returned to action for Wasps last month.
With Tom Curry ruled out of the contest at Stade de France with a hamstring problem sustained in the 32-15 defeat to Ireland, Willis has a chance of featuring.
Kyle Sinckler was also part of the 34-player squad named by Eddie Jones on Monday and will follow return-to-play protocols after being concussed against Ireland.
England are out of contention for the Six Nations title ahead of their final match of this year's tournament after winning two and losing two of their first four games.
Opponents France are top of the standings as they seek a first title and first Grand Slam since 2010.
Russia have been replaced by Serbia in the Davis Cup and Australia in the Billie Jean King Cup, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) has confirmed.
Russia, who won both competitions in 2021, have been suspended from competing in international team events following the country's invasion of Ukraine.
As the highest-ranked losing semi-finalist from last year, Serbia will take Russia's place in the Davis Cup Finals.
The wild card previously handed to Serbia will now go to one of the 12 nations knocked out in the qualifiers that took place earlier this month.
Likewise, as the highest-ranked side among the 2021 losing Billie Jean King Cup semi-finalists, Australia will replace Russia in that competition.
Australia were due to take part in April's qualifiers, but opponents Slovakia will now receive a bye and advance directly to the Finals.
Belarus have also been barred from competing in both events, meaning Belgium will receive a walkover in their qualifying match and advance to the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
Emma Raducanu knows she must "get stronger" after losing to Petra Martic in the third round of the Indian Wells Open.
Martic came from a set down to beat US Open champion Raducanu 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 7-5 on Sunday.
Teenager Raducanu has been troubled by a back injury and an issue with her hip.
The Brit says she was hampered at Indian Wells, but is confident she will be fit for the Miami Open next week.
"I think it's just part of not playing and having so much stop start and having five, six days to prepare for matches and then playing at that intensity,” she said.
"It was a tough one not being able to serve full out so I was having to work so hard just to hold.
"I've just got to get stronger. I've had it for the last few days, just a product of training hard and probably the last match was pretty intense too and it didn't settle down.
"When you are crossing your fingers to hold serve every time, it's tough. I couldn't really drive up and I was kind of struggling to turn and reach.
"The margins were so small. I should be good for Miami, for sure."
Andy Murray has expressed his sympathy for Naomi Osaka over the abuse she was subjected to at Indian Wells but says athletes must deal with it.
Osaka was reduced to tears as she crashed out of the Indian Wells Open with a 6-0 6-4 third-round defeat to 21st seed Veronika Kudermetova on Saturday.
A member of the crowd could be heard shouting "Naomi, you suck" after the four-time grand slam champion had been broken in the first game of the match.
Osaka approached the chair umpire to report the incident and held further discussions with the court supervisor after being insulted again.
Murray says there is no place for such conduct, but believes players must be able to ignore it.
He said: “It's a difficult one. I've often thought watching certain sports, I wouldn't say I've often seen it loads in tennis … but if I watch a football or a soccer match and a player's going to take throw-in or a corner kick and the crowd are just hurling insults at those individuals.
"I always think, how is that allowed? Like, you can't do that. If you're doing that to someone when you're walking down the street or in any other sort of work environment, that's obviously not tolerated.
"I've played in certain atmospheres as well myself in tennis, like Davis Cup atmospheres, away from home, especially where the atmosphere's intense, and sometimes things are said and it's not that comfortable.
"The people that come to watch, you want them to be there and supporting the players and not making it more difficult for them. I don't know, but it's also something that's always just kind of been part of sports as well."
He added: "If you go and watch a basketball match, for example, and a player's taking free throws, I would say like almost every basketball match I've been to one of the players has been heckled by the crowd as well
"While it's wrong for those individuals to be doing it, the athletes obviously have to kind of be used to that as well or be able to deal with that too, even though it's not pleasant.
"I feel for Naomi, that obviously it upset her a lot, but it’s always been something that's been part of sport, I guess, as well.
"You have to be prepared for that in some ways and be able to tolerate it because it does happen regularly across all sports."
LeBron James was lost for words after becoming the first player in NBA history to surpass 10,000 points, rebounds and assists.
Four-time MVP James achieved the feat with his six assists in the Los Angeles Lakers' 140-111 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.
The second of those assists against the NBA-leading Suns, alongside his 31 points and seven rebounds, saw James reach five figures in that category.
After managing something nobody else has come close to, the 37-year-old was left to revel in another historic achievement.
"I get lost for words anytime things like this are happening to me because of where I come from," he said.
"I start thinking to my hometown of Akron [Ohio] and my upbringing and where I come from and the dreams that I had of being in this league and playing at the highest level.
"To now sit alone at a statistical category in this league that I've really modelled my game after: being able to score, rebound and assist...
"To sit alone at a stat is pretty, I'd say, 'cool,' but it doesn't quite make sense to me."
James' 10,000th assist arrived in another defeat for the Lakers, who are now 29-38 for the season and down in ninth in the Western Conference.
"It's an honour to be a part of this league. No matter what's going on, you try to take the victories that happen throughout the course of a long marathon," James added.
"Tonight is one that happened not only for myself but for my family and friends."
James now has 1,457 points this season, tied with Luka Doncic for the 11th most, while his average of 29.7 across his 49 games is bettered only by Joel Embiid (29.8).
Only in two previous seasons – 30 in 2007-08 and 31.4 in 2005-06 – has James averaged more points than he is this season for the Lakers.
Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen's long-standing rift has been mended on the day the Boston Celtics raised the All-Star center's number five jersey to the rafters in tribute.
The Celtics celebrated Garnett's career after Sunday's 95-92 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, with the 2004 NBA MVP's jersey officially retired by the franchise.
Allen was among those in attendance, which was significant given the rift that emerged between the pair when he opted to move to the Miami Heat as a free agent in 2012.
"It's good to see Ray Allen here," Garnett said during the ceremony. "Real s***. It's good to see you, man. You next, dog."
The Celtics had won the 2008 NBA title with the pair alongside Paul Pierce, while they were Eastern Conference champions in 2010 during a dominant five-year period before Allen's exit prompted the side to drop off.
"Just because I moved away doesn't mean that relationship, that friendship, ends," Allen said.
"It did center around Kevin and myself because I did get the sense that the people here felt how Kevin felt. Once he accepted me, then the people accepted me. That was the sense.
"I was glad we could do that and people could see, 'We won with this guy in 2008, and that's what matters most'."
Former Celtics head coach Doc Rivers, now with the Philadelphia 76ers, weighed in on the reunion.
"Yeah, that's a big one because that's been a problem, obviously, and the fact that it looks like the fence is finally coming down is really cool," Rivers said. "I'm very, very happy for Kevin, and really cool that Ray came today."
Garnett, who won the 2004 NBA MVP with the Minnesota Timberwolves, finished his 22-year NBA career averaging 17.8 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.
The power forward/center was a 15-time NBA All-Star, one-time NBA champion and one-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year (both 2008).
Third seed Alexander Zverev has been knocked out of the Indian Wells Masters by Tommy Paul in his first game since his expulsion from last month's Mexican Open for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Unseeded American Paul triumphed over the German 6-2 4-6 7-6 (7-2) in two hours and 17 minutes, rallying back from a break down in the final set.
Paul hit less winners, 26-21 to Zverev but made less unforced errors 25-19, while his serve and volley game was a key feature.
"I played a really high level today," Paul said during his on-court post-game interview. "The last time I played him, I played well, I put pressure on him so I knew how i wanted to play so I came out and executed him well.
"I played well when it came down to the breaker, so I'm pretty happy with my performance."
Zverev had not played since being expelled in Acapulco after a stunning outburst where he struck his racquet on the umpire chair several times after a doubles defeat.
Ninth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime was a major casualty, going down to Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp 7-6 (7-4) 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 in three hours and 15 minutes.
The Canadian had 36-27 winners but was let down by 43-26 unforced errors, along with converting only two of his 10 break points.
Van de Zandschulp had failed to take three match points in the second set but showed composure to finish the job in the third.
Wild card Andy Murray was also eliminated in the second round, blowing three set points in the first set before going down to 31st seed Alexander Bublik 7-6 (11-9) 6-3 in two hours and one minute.
Last year's Wimbledon runner-up and Italian sixth seed Matteo Berrettini needed more than two hours to get past world number 86 Holger Rune 6-3 4-6 6-4.
Seventh seed Andrey Rublev defeated Dominik Koepfer 7-5 6-4 to extend his win streak to 10 matches, while 11th seed Hubert Hurkacz beat Oscar Otte 6-3 3-6 6-3.
Other seeds to be eliminated were 22nd seed Aslan Karatsev who went down 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 to American Steve Johnson, while 24th seed Marin Cilic lost 6-7 (7-9) 6-3 7-6 (8-6) to Miomir Kecmanovic.
All-Star forward Anthony Davis is not 100 percent sure he will return for the Los Angeles Lakers this season.
The 29-year-old has not played for the Lakers since sustaining a mid-foot sprain in his right foot on February 16.
Davis has endured another injury-cursed seasons for the Lakers, who are struggling to make the playoffs with a 29-38 record leaving them ninth in the west.
"I'm very optimistic about it," Davis told reporters before the Lakers' 140-111 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.
"I'm trying to get back on the court as soon as possible. As far as a number or something, I would love to say 100 but with only a certain amount of games yet, not 100 percent sure."
The 28-year-old power forward has only played 37 of the Lakers' 67 games this season, averaging 23.1 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game.
Davis only managed 36 appearances for the Lakers last season and has a long history of missing time in season due to injuries.
The 2012 NBA Draft top pick has had a mix of thumb, knee, wrist and foot/ankle injuries disrupt his 2021-22 season.
"The first thing I thought was, 'Not again,'" Davis said when he recalled the incident from February 16. "I just got off of [being sidelined] four-to-six [weeks]. Now I got another four-to-six.
"That's where the anger came from. ... It was a little bit of relief that it wasn't as bad as it could have been, but more so anger of, 'Here we go again.'"
Two-time major winner Simona Halep secured a spot in the Indian Wells Open last 16 with a strong 6-3 6-4 victory over 16th seed Cori Gauff on Sunday.
Halep, who is aiming to rebuild her ranking in 2022 after an injury-hit second half of last year, was excellent with her return, particularly on Gauff's second serve to gain the edge.
The Romanian saved all four break points generated by Gauff, while she converted three of the nine break points that she created.
Halep, who started the year with victory at the Melbourne Summer Set 1 before a last-16 loss to Alize Cornet at the Australian Open, needed only one hour and 16 minutes to seal her progress.
She will next play Romanian compatriot Sorana Cirstea after the 26th seed won 5-7 6-1 6-0 against lucky loser Anna Kalinskaya.
Last year's US Open champion and British 11th seed Emma Raducanu was bundled out by Croatian world number 79 Petra Martic 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 7-5.
Raducanu had served for the match in the final set but the Croatian won the final three games. Martic triumphed in two hours and 46 minutes, reaching the last 16 at Indian Wells for the second time in her career.
Martic will face 28th seed Liudmila Samsonova who triumphed 6-4 7-6 (7-4) over Danka Kovinic.
Third seed Iga Swiatek came from a set down to win 6-7 (3-7) 6-2 6-1 over Clara Tauson in two hours and 18 minutes.
Swiatek has won seven straight matches and is unbeaten at WTA 1000 events this season, having triumphed in Doha last month.
The Pole will take on three-time major winner Angelique Kerber in the last 16 after the German won comfortably over Daria Kasatkina 6-2 6-1.
American 25th seed Madison Keys got past countrywoman Alison Riske 7-6 (7-4) 6-1, setting up a fourth-round meeting with British qualifier Harriet Dart who beat Kaia Kanepi in straight sets.
LeBron James became the first player in NBA history to reach 10,000 points, rebounds and assists respectively, in the Los Angeles Lakers' 140-111 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.
James notched up his 10,000th assist during the second quarter, with a cross-court pass to Carmelo Anthony for an open three.
The Suns were dominant at home to the Lakers, though, putting up 48 points in the first quarter alone on their way to a commanding win.
Having already secured a playoff berth, despite losing at home to the Toronto Raptors on Saturday, Phoenix faced conveniently light work heading into a road back-to-back this week.
Devin Booker continued to shoulder the burden without Chris Paul, putting up 30 points and 10 assists.
With the loss, meanwhile, the Lakers move to 29-38 and teeter dangerously close to touching distance for the San Antonio Spurs and Portland Trailblazers, in the race for the final two Western Conference play-in spots.
Durant leads Nets with Irving in the building
Kevin Durant put up an individual season-high 53 points, including a game-breaking three to give the Brooklyn Nets a 110-107 win over the New York Knicks.
The shorthanded Nets were at least able to have Kyrie Irving in the building for the win, with New York mandates now enabling those unvaccinated for Covid-19 to spectate. However, the mandate still requires the vaccination for people who work there, meaning Irving is still unable to suit up.
At the end of the game, Irving walked off the Barclays Center floor arm-in-arm with Durant, who finished with nine assists and six rebounds to go with the 53 points - one point off his career-high.
Joel Embiid had his 30th 30-point game of the season as the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Orlando Magic 116-114 in over-time. Embiid finished with 35 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists, while Tobias Harris came up with a crucial late three-pointer to finish with 26 points.
Ja Morant had a quiet game by his standards with 17 points, five rebounds and 10 assists as the Memphis Grizzlies improved to 47-22 with a 125-118 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Doncic dagger propels Mavs to road win
The Dallas Mavericks claimed an impressive win on the road, edging the Boston Celtics 95-92 at the TD Garden. Despite leaving the floor with a hamstring scare in the first half, Luka Doncic’s fingerprints were all over the game’s dying moments - he hit the game-tying three-pointer with 1:21, before being called for fouling Marcus Smart on the potential tying three.
It was overturned on review however, and along with the win, Doncic put up 26 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. On a night where Kevin Garnett's No. 5 jersey was to be retired by the Celtics post-match, the Mavs moved to 42-26 for the year, half a game behind the Western Conference’s fourth-placed Utah Jazz.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht says they will "reload" their roster for another championship run following Tom Brady's decision to return from retirement.
The 44-year-old quarterback announced on Sunday that he had made a remarkable U-turn and will play on with the Bucs only 41 days after declaring his retirement from the NFL after 22 seasons.
The Bucs, who won Super Bowl LV, bowed out in the 2021-22 divisional playoffs to eventual champions the Los Angeles Rams.
Licht said he and head coach Bruce Arians had spoken with Brady and felt a return was a "realistic chance" with the Bucs, who used their franchise tag on Chris Godwin last week, ready to chase another Super Bowl title.
"We are thrilled that Tom has decided to come back this season," Licht said. "We said we would leave all options open for him should he reconsider his retirement and today's announcement is something we have been preparing for in recent days.
"Bruce and I have had plenty of conversations with Tom recently that led us to believe there was a realistic chance he would want to come back.
"Tom is the greatest quarterback of all time who is still playing at an elite level. With this decision now made, we will continue to move forward with our offseason plans to reload this roster for another championship run."
Arians reaffirmed Licht's comments around the Bucs being in championship contention and welcomed Brady's decision.
"Tom Brady loves to play football as much as anyone I have ever been around," Arians said. "As Tom said, his place right now is on the football field.
"He is still playing at a championship level and was as productive as anyone in the league last season. We are ecstatic that he decided to continue playing and working toward winning another championship."
Across his career, Brady holds the NFL record for most career quarterback wins (243), passing touchdowns (624) and passing yards (84,520).
Brady is the only player to have won seven Super Bowl titles and will go for an eighth with the Bucs next season.
Several of Brady's Bucs teammates took to social media to celebrate the QB's return, including Nick Leverett, Tristan Werfs and Mike Evans.
Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant has questioned the logic behind New York’s current vaccine mandates, pushing for teammate Kyrie Irving to be eligible to play.
The unvaccinated Irving was able to attend the Barclays Center, but not play, for Brooklyn’s 110-107 win over the New York Knicks, where an imperious Durant scored a season-high 53 points.
Irving was also in attendance at the same building on Saturday, to watch his college team Duke lose the ACC Championship game.
“It [the New York mandate] is ridiculous,” Durant said after the game. “I don’t understand it at all. There’s a few people in our arena that’s unvaxxed, right? They lifted all of that in our arena, right? So I don’t get it. It just feels like at this point now, somebody’s trying to make a statement or a point to flex their authority."
New York’s mandates now allow spectators not to be unvaccinated, but still require employees working in the building to be vaccinated. This prompted Durant to speak in solidarity with Irving, with the 33-year-old specifically calling on New York City Mayor Eric Adams to pull the mandate back.
“Everybody is out here looking for attention and that’s what I feel the mayor wants right now, is some attention. But he’ll figure it out soon. He better,” Durant said.
“It just didn’t make any sense. There’s unvaxxed people in this building already. We got a guy who can come in the building. I guess, are they fearing our safety? I don’t get it.
“We’re all confused. Pretty much everybody in the world is confused at this point. Early on in the season people didn’t understand what was going on, but now it just looks stupid. So hopefully, Eric, you got to figure this out.”
Shane Lowry made the biggest noise at TPC Sawgrass, even though Anirban Lahiri leads The Players Championship after the close of play on Sunday.
The Irishman hit a hole-in-one on the notorious par-three island green 17th hole, using a pitching wedge and getting the ball past the pin, before rolling back and dropping in.
The 2019 Open Championship winner came into the third round at one-under par, and bogeyed the par-five 11th before birdieing the 14th and 16th in a chaotic back nine.
After holing from the tee on the 17th, Lowry celebrated wildly with playing partner and Ryder Cup teammate Ian Poulter, proceeding to throw his ball into the crowd.
It was a stark contrast to the norm on the 17th, made even more treacherous with a stiff headwind, with Brooks Keopka and Collin Morikawa among those to put shots into the water.
On another weather-interrupted day, Lahiri leads the pack, managing to finish 11 holes on nine-under par overall as darkness descended on Sawgrass. The world number 322 bogeyed the first hole of the back nine, but steadied to birdie the par-five 11th.
Stormy weather in the Florida region has wreaked havoc on scheduling and bad light eventually stopped play on Sunday. The third round will finish on Monday, with all players at least managing to finish nine holes.
Tom Hoge and Harold Varner III are currently one shot back from Lahiri on eight-under par. Hoge bounced back from a bogey on the sixth, birdieing on the par-five ninth hole to close out his Sunday.
Sebastian Munoz, Paul Casey and Sam Burns are tied at seven-under overall, with Francesco Molinary, Daniel Berger, Camero Smith and Doug Ghim one further stroke back. at six-under overall.
With the second round finishing early on Sunday, Rory McIlroy only just managed to make the cut at two-over par. Driving into the water on the 16th, pars on the final two holes saved him, as two balls into the water from Scott Piercy on the 17th and missed the cut.
Having also just made the cut after 36 holes, FedExCup leader Scottie Scheffler is at one-over par, birdieing the par-five 16th to finish nine holes for the third round.
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