The Memphis Grizzlies got career-best scoring performances from Vince Williams Jr. and GG Jackson to overcome a slew of injured players and spoil Draymond Green's return to the Golden State Warriors' lineup in Monday's 116-107 win.
Williams amassed 24 points and seven rebounds and Jackson contributed 23 points off the bench on a night Memphis was without three of its top four scorers for the season in Ja Morant, Desmond Bane and Marcus Smart.
Both players recorded eight fourth-quarter points as the Grizzlies pulled away late to halt a two-game losing streak and hand the reeling Warriors an eighth loss in 11 games.
Green had seven points and seven rebounds in 24 minutes in his first appearance in just over a month. The former NBA Defensive Player of the Year had just completed serving an indefinite NBA suspension for striking Phoenix Suns centre Jusuf Nurkic in the face on Dec. 12.
The Warriors owned a 91-90 lead following Stephen Curry's go-ahead 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter, but Memphis responded with a 16-5 run to break the game open.
Jackson, who finished 5 of 8 from 3-point range, had two triples during the surge, which Luke Kennard capped with a 3-pointer to give the Grizzlies a 106-96 advantage with 7:20 left.
Golden State never got closer than seven points behind the rest of the way.
Curry led the Warriors with 26 points and Jonathan Kuminga delivered 20 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.
Mavericks down rival Pelicans behind big games from Irving, Hardaway
Kyrie Irving and Tim Hardaway Jr. each eclipsed the 40-point mark while rallying the Dallas Mavericks to a 125-120 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans, a win that created a two-way tie atop the Southwest Division between the teams.
The Mavericks overcame a 10-point deficit late in the third quarter and another absence from superstar Luka Dončić to avenge Saturday’s 118-110 home loss to the Pelicans.
Irving and Hardaway more than made up for Doncic missing a third straight game with a sprained ankle. Irving scored 24 of his 42 points in the second half, while Hardaway had 11 of his season-high 41 points during a fourth quarter in which Dallas outscored New Orleans by a 33-21 margin.
The Pelicans held a 111-104 lead with seven minutes left before Dallas took control with a 17-4 run. Hardaway hit back-to-back 3-pointers during the pivotal spurt, the second of which gave the Mavericks a 112-111 edge with 4:16 remaining.
Jalen Green’s 3-pointer with 1:27 left to play extended Dallas’ advantage to 121-115, though New Orleans answered with five straight points to cut its deficit to one with 17.7 seconds remaining.
Irving then hit two free throws on the ensuing possession, and after the Pelicans’ Brandon Ingram missed a potential game-tying 3-point attempt, Maxi Kleber made two foul shots to seal the win and pull Dallas even with New Orleans in the standings.
Zion Williamson led the Pelicans with 30 points and CJ McCollum had 23 in the loss, though Ingram went just 3 of 14 from the field while finishing with 12 points.
Jazz extend winning streak with rout of Pacers
Lauri Markkanen put up 32 points and 10 rebounds as the resurgent Utah Jazz continued their recent winning ways with a 132-105 rout of the short-handed Indiana Pacers.
The Jazz cruised to their sixth consecutive victory behind the hot shooting of Markkanen and Collin Sexton, who went 11 of 17 from the field while scoring a season-high 30 points to go along with five assists. Markkanen made 10 of 15 field goal attempts and was a perfect 10 for 10 from the foul line.
After getting off to a 7-16 start, Utah has won 15 of its last 19 games to move up to ninth place in the Western Conference.
The Pacers lost their second in a row while playing a fourth straight game without star point guard Tyrese Haliburton, out with a hamstring injury. Indiana was also without two other key contributors in guard Bruce Brown and 3-point specialist Aaron Nesmith due to injuries.
Indiana's depleted lineup proved to be no match, as the Jazz took a 33-26 lead after one quarter and increased it to 64-50 at half-time behind 17 points from Sexton and 15 from Markkanen.
Utah maintained a double-digit advantage the rest of the way, with its lead swelling to 29 points in the final stages.
Buddy Hield and Andrew Nembhard each had 14 points to lead Indiana.
Iga Swiatek won the battle of the grand slam champions against Sofia Kenin to reach the second round of the Australian Open.
Kenin lifted her first major title here in 2020 before losing to Swiatek in the French Open final the same year but has struggled since with injuries and a loss of form.
The American remains a dangerous player, though, and knocked Coco Gauff out in the first round of Wimbledon last year.
She served for the opening set before Swiatek fought back to take it in a
tie-break, and the Pole was the steadier in the second to claim a 7-6 (2) 6-2
victory.
“For sure, it wasn’t the easiest first round,” said the world number one. “She played really well. I tried to find my rhythm, especially in the first set. I’m happy at the end of the set I could win the most important points.
“I’m happy that I am through and I could play a little bit better in the second set.”
Remarkably, Swiatek was the only player in her initial section of the draw not to have made an Australian Open final.
Next she will take on another American in Danielle Collins, who ended Swiatek’s best run in Melbourne so far by beating her in the semi-finals two years ago before losing to Ashleigh Barty.
That is Collins’ only victory in five meetings with Swiatek, who won their most recent match 6-1 6-0 in Cincinnati last summer.
“I can’t say that I have an easy draw here,” said Swiatek. “I’ll try to do my best. Danielle is a really good player. We played really tight matches. On the other hand, our last match, from the score, I had it under control.
“Every match is different. I’m not going to anticipate anything. I’m just going to be ready and we’ll see.”
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Collins was a 6-2 3-6 6-1 winner over former Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open champion Angelique Kerber.
The German is part of a quartet of mothers making their Melbourne returns along with Caroline Wozniacki, Naomi Osaka and Elina Svitolina having given birth to daughter Liana last February.
“It is for sure different to be back like this,” said the 35-year-old. “I think I’m open more than before, and also the other players are. I’m also more relaxed so I feel that they appreciate it and I think it’s nice to see so many moms are back on tour.
“It is a long way to be back and to play on a high level again. But, on the other side, I have the experience, I know how it is. I played so many grand slams over the years. So I’m more trying to find my rhythm, to being on court and feeling good again.”
There were also victories for two other former grand slam winners, with 18th seed Victoria Azarenka beating Camila Giorgi 6-1 4-6 6-3 and Sloane Stephens seeing off Olivia Gadecki 6-3 6-1.
Marc-Andre Fleury took sole possession of second place on the NHL's all-time wins list for a goaltender by posting a 21-save shutout and leading the Minnesota Wild to a 5-0 victory over the New York Islanders on Monday.
Fleury broke a tie with Hall of Famer Patrick Roy with his 552nd career victory, and did so in style with his 74th career shutout and the 39-year-old's first this season.
Joel Eriksson Ek scored both short-handed and on a power play to help Fleury achieve the feat and end a four-game losing streak for Minnesota. Mats Zuccarello and Marcus Foligno contributed a goal and an assist each.
The Wild took control early by forcing an Islanders' penalty just over a minute in, and Zuccarello scored on the resulting power play for a quick 1-0 lead.
Connor Dewar scored off a New York turnover 2:18 into the second to extend Minnesota's advantage, and Eriksson Ek got his first of the night with the Wild on a 5-on-4 later in the period to increase the margin to 3-0.
Eriksson's short-handed goal came with 3:51 remaining and Foligno completed the rout by tipping in a pass from Frederick Gaudreau in the final minute.
Fleury needed to make just three saves during the Wild's dominant second period before recording eight more in the third to finish off his historic shutout.
The Islanders were dealt a fourth loss in five games and pulled star goaltender Ilya Sorokin following the second intermission after he allowed three goals on 32 shots.
Crosby, Jarry star as Penguins end Kraken's nine-game winning streak
Sidney Crosby scored two goals to support a 22-save shutout from Tristan Jarry as the Pittsburgh Penguins stopped the Seattle Kraken’s franchise-record nine-game winning streak with a 3-0 victory.
Drew O’Connor added a goal and Rickard Rakell finished with two assists to help Pittsburgh bounce back from overtime defeats in its previous two games and hand the Kraken their first loss since Dec. 18.
Seattle also had a 13-game point streak (11-0-2) halted despite a solid effort from goaltender Joey Daccord, who turned aside 30 of 32 shots.
Daccord made 12 saves in the first period to keep the game scoreless, but the Penguins broke through just 49 seconds into the second when O’Connor converted a backhand feed from Bryan Rust.
Crosby made it a 2-0 lead just 2:43 later before capping his two-goal day with an empty-net strike with 2:21 left to play.
Jarry’s shutout was his fifth of the season, tied with the Arizona Coyotes’ Connor Ingram for tops in the NHL.
Kings snap eight-game skid behind big third period
Trevor Moore had two goals and the Los Angeles Kings scored four times in the third period to come through with a 5-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes and end an eight-game losing streak.
Moore, Phillip Danault, Alex Laferriere and Pierre Luc-Dubois all had goals in the final 19 minutes to send the Kings to their first victory of 2024. Los Angeles had gone 0-4-4 since its most recent victory on Dec. 27.
The Hurricanes, meanwhile, had gone 7-0-1 over their previous eight games.
Danault added two assists and David Rittich recorded 30 saves for the Kings, who struck three times in the first 5:20 of the third to break a 1-1 deadlock after two periods.
Danault put Los Angeles ahead by knocking in the carom of teammate Vladislav Garikov’s off-target shot 61 seconds into the third. Laferriere sent a wrist shot past Carolina goaltender Antti Raanta just 1:20 later to extend the lead, and Dubois’ one-timer with 14:40 remaining increased the margin to 4-1.
The Hurricanes got closer on Jack Drury’s goal with 11:02 left to play, but failed to close the gap further before Moore put the game away with a short-handed empty-net tally with 1:16 remaining.
Moore scored the game’s lone goal of the first period before Jordan Martinook answered for Carolina 5:38 into the second to extend his goal streak to three games.
Raanta stopped just 20 of 24 shots before being pulled after allowing Dubois’ goal.
Cameron Norrie dispelled injury worries to ease into the second round of the Australian Open.
The British number one pulled out of the ASB Classic in Auckland, the city where he grew up, last week ahead of his quarter-final because of a left wrist problem.
Norrie admitted he was concerned with so little time to recover but there were no causes for alarm in a 6-4 6-4 6-2 victory over Peru’s Juan Pablo Varillas as he became the first British winner of the fortnight.
It was a kind draw for Norrie, although 81st-ranked Varillas did push Alexander Zverev to five sets in the first round here last year before going on to make the fourth round of the French Open.
Norrie looked a little tentative to start with but settled into a rhythm of lengthy baseline rallies and finally took his sixth opportunity to break serve in the fifth game.
The 19th seed took full control of the contest in the second set, finding more penetration on his groundstrokes and opening up a 5-1 lead.
Varillas fought back with three games in a row but Norrie served it out at the second time of asking and was untroubled in the third.
Josh Allen’s three touchdown passes and a 57-yard running touchdown of his own led the Buffalo Bills to a 31-17 playoff victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The 27-year-old quarterback threw two touchdown passes in the first quarter to tight end Dawson Knox to give the Bills an early 14-0 lead.
He then produced a scintillating run through the midfield to the end zone to make it a 21-0 lead in the second quarter and make the game seemingly out of reach for Pittsburgh.
A touchdown before half-time and another in the fourth quarter gave Pittsburgh some hope, but the dagger came in the fourth quarter when Allen found Khalil Shakir and he dodged several would-be tackles to make it a two-touchdown game with six minutes left.
The win for the Bills sets up a mouth-watering match against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC divisional round in Buffalo. The number one seed Baltimore Ravens will host the Houston Texans in the other AFC clash.
Finn Russell insisted he had been revitalised by his move to Bath as he plots Scotland’s attacking strategy for the Six Nations with Gregor Townsend.
Russell helped Bath qualify for the knockout phase of the Investec Champions Cup by directing a 29-25 victory over Top 14 leaders Racing 92 on Sunday, their third win in as many group matches.
The 31-year-old Scot left the Parisians for the Recreation Ground over the summer and the change of scenery has been an unqualified success, with his new club enjoying a revival in the Gallagher Premiership and Europe.
He hopes to enter the Six Nations with the same brio and has been in frequent contact with Scotland head coach Townsend ahead of the opener against Wales on February 3.
“Coming and changing teams with Bath has given me, not a new lease of life, but it has energised me,” Russell said.
“It has been a new challenge and I’ve worked with new players in a slightly different structure and with a new gameplan, which has been good fun.
“I have grown again since I have been here. It is good for me as a 10, the more experience I get, the better.
“I have spoken to Gregor quite a lot. He texted me on Saturday and every week we have been chatting.
“I have got a call with him on Monday to chat about a few options with the attack through the Six Nations.”
While the move to Bath has put a spring in Russell’s step and provided the Premiership with a new poster boy, it also helped the fly-half come to terms with Scotland’s recent group exit from the World Cup.
“Physically I was all right. I played three games out of four at the World Cup but every game I had a week off after so physically I was fine,” he said.
“It was more disappointment. I wanted to get straight back in here so I almost didn’t have time to dwell on what had happened.
“I took a week off, three or four weeks after I came back in, got away and had a proper holiday and switched off a bit, but coming back in here and getting something fresh has been really good to get over it.
“Potentially, if I had stayed at Racing I would have gone back there and it would have been the same again and dwelling on the World Cup.
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“Coming into a new team with new coaches and a new environment and starting from scratch helped me get over that World Cup.”
Russell’s immediate assignment is Bath’s trip to Toulouse on Sunday with the winners finishing top of Pool 2 and guaranteed home advantage in the round of 16.
“Toulouse will be really tough but we are going there to try and win that game. They have got 40 points every game so it’s going to be a challenge, but we have got the confidence and belief to go and do that,” Russell added.
Anthony Joshua expects an “explosive” encounter when he takes on Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia on March 8.
The Briton will go head to head with the MMA star following his impressive fifth-round stoppage of Sweden’s Otto Wallin in December.
Ex-UFC fighter Ngannou, who is now contracted to the Professional Fighters League, made his professional boxing debut against Tyson Fury in October and only narrowly missed out on an unlikely victory, dropping the WBC heavyweight champion in the third round.
“He brings two arms, a body, but his mind is different to everyone else. In terms of his frame and make-up I’ve seen people like him many times before,” Joshua said at a press conference on Monday evening to announce the ‘Knockout Chaos’ show in Riyadh.
On his thoughts when the Ngannou fight was offered, Joshua added: “No problem. Every fight leads to somewhere, so this fight is my everything and we will see where it leads me.
“My main focus is Ngannou and getting through an intense training camp.
“I have got to take his mind and his spirit, it will be explosive. We can both trade and it will be a good fight.”
Joshua won all three of his fights in 2023 as he bids to return to the top of the heavyweight division, but Ngannou is determined to derail that ambition.
Ngannou said: “I’m going to come as an underdog to win the fight. I will get this done, I’m just a beginner.
“I will come out better and that’s how I see things. I prepared for a hard fight. The Fury fight is in the past and I will take this more serious than before because there’s more on the line, the undisputed.
“I will do something nobody has done before and I have the tools to do that. It will not be an easy fight, but a possible one (to win).”
The Joshua-Ngannou fight will take place three weeks after Fury fights Oleksandr Usyk in the same city for the undisputed world heavyweight title.
Promoter Frank Warren said: “This is what boxing fans have been crying out for for years. We are in the golden age of boxing.
“Francis brought something to the ring that I never expected. He can be a handful on the inside, he put Tyson through his toughest fight for a long time.
“I take my hat off to AJ (Joshua) for taking this fight. I think he’s in a tough fight and it will be knockout chaos.”
Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn added: “If you can imagine the winner of this fight against the winner of Fury v Usyk, it’s been a long dream of Anthony and his team to be undisputed.”
Last year’s Dubai World Cup runner-up Algiers has been retired from racing.
Trained by Simon and Ed Crisford, he improved from winning a handicap at York in October 2022 to be beaten only by the Japanese winner Ushba Tesoro just six months later in one of the richest races in the world.
The Shamardal gelding excelled on dirt, winning two rounds of the Maktoum Challenge before his World Cup effort.
Just touched off in a Grade Three at Woodbine on his only outing since, he had been thought to be all set for another Dubai Carnival.
But in a statement on X (formerly Twitter), Simon Crisford said: “Unfortunately, Algiers is not showing the same sparkle in his work and we have decided to retire him.
“He was a very consistent horse who loved Meydan. He showed his brilliance in Rounds 1 and 2 of the Maktoum Challenge before running a close second in the Dubai World Cup.
“He will now enjoy a happy retirement and I would like to thank his owners Sultan Ali and Hamdan bin Sultan Ali Alsabousi for their support.”
Former New England Patriots safety Duron Harmon has credited Bill Belichick with helping Tom Brady become the greatest player in NFL history, saying the legendary duo "needed each other".
Belichick and the Patriots parted ways last week, bringing an end to one of the most remarkable coaching tenures in league history.
The 71-year-old led the Patriots for 24 seasons, overseeing 18 playoff visits and taking the team to nine Super Bowls, winning six of those showpiece games with the most recent coming in 2019.
However, New England missed the playoffs in three of their last four seasons under Belichick, prompting team owner Robert Kraft to replace his long-serving coach with former linebackers coach Jerod Mayo.
Some have suggested Belichick's failure to win a Super Bowl without Brady diminishes his achievements somewhat, with the coach's overall NFL record without the quarterback standing at 85-102, but Harmon does not subscribe to that view.
"I think both those guys are motivated by one thing; being the best they can each and every day," Harmon – who played for Belichick's Patriots between 2013 and 2019 – told Stats Perform.
"Tom's job would be to be the best quarterback and rally his team. Bill's job was to be the best head coach and rally his team as well, and to make sure the coaches understand his vision so they can pass it to the players and put the best product on the field.
"It's easy to try to put those two against each other, but I think at the end of the day, they needed each other.
"They understand that they couldn't have accomplished what they accomplished in New England without each other.
"I think there's a great amount of respect that they have for each other. I'm still grateful and appreciative that I got to be around the greatest quarterback and the greatest head coach of all time."
Brady did manage to win one more title after he and Belichick parted ways in 2020, collecting his seventh ring by leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to glory at Super Bowl LV.
Harmon does not believe Brady was motivated by a desire to prove he could succeed without Belichick, saying: "I truly don't believe he needs any extra motivation.
"This guy wanted to be the best player that he can be every day, whether it was with the Buccaneers, whether it was with the Patriots, he just wants to get the best out of himself every day.
"I don't think it was, 'I want to prove I could do this without Bill', I think more so it was just him going to Tampa and doing what he does.
"The thing that people don't realise, and I know Tom was always a great competitor, but the cultural style that came from Bill to him is what I believe gave him that extra motivation, that extra push to make Tom truly who he is.
"As a young player, when he first took from Drew Bledsoe [in 2001], it was a very veteran-based team, so he wanted to gain the respect of not only the players, but also Bill Belichick.
"Bill pushed him as best he could to be the best that he could be, and in the end, he became the best ever."
Having won three Super Bowls in six years in New England, Harmon is uniquely placed to offer an insight into the relationship between Belichick and Brady at the height of the Patriots' dominance.
"It was like yin and yang. It was Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson. Kobe Bryant, Phil Jackson," he recalled.
"I was fortunate enough to be captain one year with the Patriots and saw how they interacted in the captains' meeting and how they were always on the same page.
"There were times when Bill got on Tom in front of everybody, and it wasn't to demean Tom, but it was to let everybody know that there is a standard in this organisation, it doesn't matter who you are, whether you're the best player or you're the last guy on the practice squad.
"Seeing those guys work together allowed me to see what that head coach-quarterback partnership is supposed to look like at the highest level."
Maughreen – a mare out of a half-sister to the brilliant 2015 Champion Hurdle winner Faugheen – made a most impressive racecourse debut at Punchestown.
Trained like Faugheen by Willie Mullins, the five-year-old was sent off the 1-2 favourite in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Mares Flat Race and the result was never in any doubt.
Kept wide throughout by Patrick Mullins, it was not until the field straightened up for home that Maughreen gave an inkling of what she could do.
The moment she was asked she immediately picked up and without any real effort from the saddle, she had shot 11 lengths clear of Harrys Annie.
Maughreen was swiftly cut in the Champion Bumper market by Paddy Power to 10-1 from 20s.
Patrick Mullins said: “She was very impressive. She was very professional, settled great and quickened up lovely. She handled the ground well.
“Her work was good, but that is probably even better than what she was doing at home. With that pedigree the owners are entitled to get more than a bit excited.
“We’ll go for black-type bumpers and everything is on the table. The DRF (Dublin Racing Festival) might come a bit soon and there is Fairyhouse, Punchestown and Aintree. I think she is entitled to take her chance.”
Maughreen completed a double on the day for the champion trainer, who also took the opening Bet Victor Proud To Support Irish Racing Maiden Hurdle with Highwind.
The juvenile effectively had to win the race twice, as with the race seemingly in the bag he made a hash of the final flight.
It was to his credit that when Sean O’Keeffe asked him again he still had plenty left and the 6-4 favourite beat Pigeon House by two and three-quarter lengths.
The winner was cut to 16-1 from 25s for the Triumph Hurdle by Betfair.
“It wasn’t without a scare, but he has a nice engine and a bit of class. He did it nicely at the finish,” said O’Keeffe.
“He knuckled at the back of the second-last and the same at the last. He went and won his race before doing that at the last but once they came to him, he picked up well again.
“He’s a laid-back horse and stays well. He’s a horse with a nice future and there will be plenty of improvement in him.”
Owner Andy Edwards feels the intermediate distance of Sunday’s Fleur De Lys Chase at Lingfield is perfect for the returning L’Homme Presse.
Venetia Williams’ 2022 Brown Advisory winner has not been seen since parting company with Charlie Deutsch at the final fence in that year’s King George VI Chase when booked for second.
Injury has kept him off the course for over a year, but he is one of nine entries in the £165,000 contest over two miles and six furlongs on the final day of the track’s Winter Million weekend.
Edwards, who owns L’Homme Presse in partnership with Peter Pink, said: “I think they are very confident of Sunday being on.
“He’s obviously been off a long time and it’s not as if we picked this race out months ago, we were trying to get him out before Christmas but without panic because we never thought Kempton (King George) was going to be the best place for him. So then we felt we may as well wait for this race.
“He has been given lots and lots of time and 99 per cent of them come back fine, but we’ll just have to wait and see. It’s exciting to be back after 13 months of concerns and waiting. There’s been lots of effort put in to get him back.
“I think this is the perfect comeback trip and it looks the perfect preparation race for any three-miler, I think, that intermediate distance.
“You’ve got to remember after he won the Scilly Isles a few years ago it looked as if he was going for the Turners and not the Brown Advisory, but it was me that pushed towards the three-mile race.”
Dan Skelton’s Protektorat, December Gold Cup winner Fugitif and Sam Thomas’ Iwilldoit look like providing the main opposition, along with Gavin Cromwell’s Limerick Lace.
Cromwell has plenty of entries over the Winter Million weekend and Limerick Lace has finished second in the Troytown and won a Doncaster Listed race easily in her last two outings.
Cromwell’s Only By Night could clash with Nicky Henderson’s Pawapuri and the improving Manimole in the Weatherbys Digital Solutions Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle, while Master Chewy, First Flow and Triple Trade are among 14 in the Godstone Handicap Chase.
Saturday’s all-weather Flat card at Lingfield features the £100,000 BetMGM Winter Oaks Fillies’ Handicap.
George Boughey’s progressive Storymaker, Simon and Ed Crisford’s Twirling and stablemate Oh So Grand are among 10 possibles.
Colonel Harry has options at Sandown and Warwick for his next outing, with Jamie Snowden weighing up the Scilly Isles Novices’ Chase and the Kingmaker.
While he clearly handled the step up to two and a half miles in winning the Grade Two Towton Novices’ Chase at Wetherby on Saturday, Snowden would not be put off dropping back down in trip if the ground is soft.
He will have entries for the Arkle and the Turners Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham, and how he fares in his next run will go a long way to deciding which race he goes for at the big meeting in March.
While he was no doubt helped by Kim Bailey’s Trelawne hanging badly right-handed at Wetherby, it was nevertheless a pretty smooth performance and backed up his second to Le Patron in the Henry VIII at Sandown.
“I thought the step up in trip really seemed to suit him and he did it nicely,” said Snowden.
“The Scilly Isles would definitely have to come into consideration now.
“He’s not short of speed by any means, it depends on the ground at the time because there is still the Kingmaker as an option at Warwick the following week.
“I think we’ll be looking at those two races. He does love it soft and depending on the ground I would not be averse to dropping him back to two miles at Warwick, but the Scilly Isles does look the obvious race.
“The Cheltenham entries close tomorrow (Tuesday) and I’ll put him in both the Arkle and the Turners and we’ll just have to see how he gets on in his next race, whether it be Warwick or Sandown, and that will determine where he goes for the rest of the season.”
The same GD Partnership silks were carried to victory in the Coral Gold Cup in November by Datsalrightgino, and Snowden has now decided where his next outing will be.
“He’s on target for the Cotswold at Cheltenham at the end of this month,” said Snowden.
“He wouldn’t want the ground too deep so we’ll just have to bear that in mind when it comes to that race.
“If it came up soft or heavy at Cheltenham then we might reroute for the Denman at Newbury, but as things stand he’s on target for the Cotswold all being well.”
Snowden’s Cheltenham Festival winner You Wear It Well has a couple of options this weekend and is in at Lingfield on Friday and Ascot Saturday. But with question marks over both meetings, no plans have been made.
“The ideal race for her was the one at Sandown a couple of weeks back, but they didn’t reschedule it so we’ll have to go for something which is perhaps less ideal now. We’ll just see what happens with the frost before we make a plan, she’s got the options anyway,” said Snowden.
Charlie Longsdon’s promising hurdler Rare Edition has a step up in trip booked after a comfortable Kempton success.
The seven-year-old had some respectable point-to-point form and won on his sole bumper start before embarking on a novice hurdling career last season.
He won his first three starts – with no rival able to get within seven lengths of him – after which he finished second in the Listed Sidney Banks before seeming to lose his way when pulled up in the Supreme and well beaten in the Top Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree.
This year he returned to action at Doncaster to make his handicap debut in a competitive race, finishing third by only three-quarters of a length when the final three hurdles were omitted due to the low sun.
At Kempton on Saturday he lined up again for handicap duty under top-weight and made light work of it when prevailing under Harry Cobden as the 11-8 favourite.
The performance has confirmed suspicions the gelding will be well suited by an extended trip, a step he is now set to take after his victory replaced a prior plan to head to Lingfield for the Winter Million fixture.
“Initially our plan was to go to Lingfield on Friday, but with the forecast we thought we’d take our chances and go to Kempton,” said Longsdon.
“He’s won round there before, he was giving a lot of weight and he won comfortably enough.
“What we definitely learned is that he needs to step up in trip. We will see what the handicapper does but he won’t be running over two miles again.
“All he was doing that day at Doncaster was staying on and that’s all he did at Kempton as well.”
Both Longsdon and Cobden are agreed the bay is a chaser in the making but before that stage of his career, he is likely to finish off the season in good quality two-and-a-half-mile hurdles.
“Harry Cobden rode him and gave us some interesting feedback, it was very much that when he’s a year older and with a step up in trip he will end up being a three-mile chaser, but it’ll be two and a half (miles) over hurdles for the rest of the season,” the trainer said.
“There’s a race at Ascot on the Reynoldstown day, a race at Kempton on the old Racing Post Chase (Coral Trophy Handicap Chase) day – there’s a two-and-a-half-mile hurdle on both of those tracks.
“I’d love to look at a Coral Cup or Martin Pipe but it strikes me that Aintree might suit him better, we’ll see.
“It’s just nice to see him back to his form after his form tailed off last season.”
Andy Murray admitted he may well have played his last Australian Open match after a tame defeat by Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the first round.
The former world number one was beaten 6-4 6-2 6-2 by the 30th seed and was left mulling over his future in the sport.
Naomi Osaka’s grand slam comeback lasted only one match, the two-time champion beaten by an impressive Caroline Garcia, while Wimbledon winner Marketa Vondrousova is also out.
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There will be a familiar name in the boys’ singles at Melbourne Park. Fifteen-year-old Cruz Hewitt, son of former world number one Lleyton, has been awarded a wild card.
Drinking it all in
The Australian Open is known for its innovations, which this year include a bar overlooking Court Six.
Dubbed the ‘party court’, it is likely to meet with mixed reviews from players.
France’s Arthur Rinderknech said it was like “playing in a nightclub” after his five-set loss to Pavel Kotov.
Fan friction
Another change is the decision to let fans into stadiums at the end of each game rather than only at changes of ends.
Novak Djokovic was left in two minds after being distracted during his win over Dino Prizmic, while learning of the new rule bizarrely led Australian Jordan Thompson to decry the event as the “wokest tournament ever”.
Fallen seeds
Women: Marketa Vondrousova (7), Ekaterina Alexandrova (17), Donna Vekic (21), Anastasia Potapova (23), Anhelina Kalinina (24), Marie Bouzkova (31)
Men: Nicolas Jarry (18)
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Emma Raducanu makes her grand slam return against American Shelby Rogers on Tuesday evening.
The remaining four British players in the singles draws – 19th seed Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans, Jack Draper and Katie Boulter – also begin their campaigns.
Iga Swiatek plays former champion Sofia Kenin in the first match on Rod Laver Arena while Carlos Alcaraz takes on veteran Richard Gasquet in the night session.
Constitution Hill will not line up at Cheltenham’s Trials day at the end of the month after returning an unsatisfactory scope.
The reigning champion hurdler made a successful reappearance in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton on Boxing Day, when he extended his unbeaten run to eight with the minimum of fuss.
Trainer Nicky Henderson had raised the prospect of a second outing before his Cheltenham Festival date in March, with the Unibet International Hurdle – rescheduled from the December meeting to Trials day on January 27 – an option.
However, a minor issue has put paid to that possibility, with the Seven Barrows trainer now plotting a direct course to his Champion Hurdle defence on March 12, for which he is the long odds-on favourite.
In a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, he said: “We have reluctantly decided that Constitution Hill won’t be able to run in the Unibet Hurdle at Cheltenham at the end of next week.
“A routine scope last week wasn’t entirely satisfactory and a follow up this morning shows the issue hasn’t resolved and therefore there would not be time to get him ready for next week.
“In the meantime he will continue with light exercise, be rescoped in a fortnight’s time and then start his preparation for March.
“Both Michael (Buckley, owner) and I and all the team had very much hoped for a better result this morning so that we could run on Saturday week but in the horse’s and indeed everyone’s interests, it would be foolish to do so and this does not affect any future plans.”
Injuries and a new captain look set to take centre stage when Wales boss Warren Gatland names his Guinness Six Nations squad on Tuesday.
Flanker Jac Morgan, who led Wales impressively during the World Cup in France, could miss the whole tournament due to a knee injury.
His World Cup co-captain Dewi Lake, meanwhile, went off injured during Ospreys’ European Challenge Cup victory over Perpignan, adding to a casualty count that also includes the likes of Taulupe Faletau, Christ Tshiunza, Taine Plumtree and Nicky Smith.
Captaincy contenders would potentially include Lake, Adam Beard, flanker Tommy Reffell and Beard’s fellow lock Dafydd Jenkins, who has led Exeter impressively on domestic and European fronts this season.
The more pressing issue is injuries, though, with number eight Faletau not having played since breaking his arm during the World Cup and Exeter forward Tshiunza recently suffering a setback during his recovery from a broken foot.
Wales kick off their Six Nations campaign against Scotland on February 3, and latest estimates on Faletau are that he could return to action some time next month.
Prop Smith and hooker Elliot Dee have also had injury issues, while Bristol fly-half Callum Sheedy, who has been tipped for a squad recall, is currently sidelined due to a knee problem.
Four players who were part of Gatland’s World Cup squad will not be involved, with Dan Biggar and Leigh Halfpenny having retired from Test rugby, Liam Williams now being based in Japan and Gareth Anscombe injured.
And centre Johnny Williams is facing a ban after he was sent off during the Scarlets’ Challenge Cup defeat against Clermont Auvergne.
Elsewhere, uncapped Cardiff trio Cam Winnett, Liam Belcher and Mackenzie Martin have their admirers, with selection speculation also having focused on back-row pair Rhys Ruddock and Cameron Hanekom.
Ruddock, son of former Wales head coach Mike Ruddock, won 27 caps for Ireland, but he has not represented them since mid-February 2021.
The 33-year-old, who has a Welsh-born father and grandparents, would qualify for Wales after their opening Six Nations games against Scotland and England.
World Rugby rules allow a player to switch countries as long as a minimum three years have elapsed since their last international appearance, and they are suitably qualified to represent any new nation.
Uncapped South African Hanekom, who is 12 years Ruddock’s junior, has a Welsh grandparent.
He has produced outstanding form for the Pretoria-based Bulls in the Investec Champions Cup and United Rugby Championship.
Asked about any link with Wales over the weekend, Bulls head coach Jake White said: “I’ve spoken to him about it. I think his grandmother is Welsh.
“He has been playing really well. He is a talent.
“At this point, I would think it is highly unlikely that he has had any contact (with Wales) because I think he would have told me.”
Paul Nicholls has high hopes for his two recent winning juveniles Kalif Du Berlais and Kabral Du Mathan.
Both had won previously in France which meant the pair had to carry penalties on their British debuts, but they proved a cut above their respective opposition.
Kabral Du Mathan won the Chatteris Fen at Huntingdon on Friday, while Kalif Du Berlais lived up to his lofty reputation at Kempton on Saturday.
“They both won well and both were carrying penalties in two different types of races,” Nicholls told his Betfair Ditcheat Diary.
“They are two totally different horses. Kabral Du Mathan is more a hurdling type at the moment, he was impressive at Huntingdon and he will probably go to Musselburgh or more than likely the Victor Ludorum at Haydock, which is a race we’ve had good success in. I dare say he will have an entry in the Boodles.
“Kalif, nothing is set in stone yet. I will give him an entry in the Triumph because you want to be in, but I’d say he’s possibly unlikely to run in that.
“I’d say he’s not that type, he’s a chaser, but he’s a good horse and he may well go for the Adonis at Kempton and I assume that will be his next run.
“They are two nice horses, as is Tutti Quanti who was second at Taunton, so we do have some nice juveniles coming along, but headed up by those two.”
Duron Harmon's defining memory of playing for Bill Belichick is not one of their three Super Bowl triumphs together, but the coach using a jar of marshmallows to motivate him in preseason.
Belichick's remarkable 24-year stint in charge of the New England Patriots came to an end last week after he oversaw a career-worst 4-13 season in 2023, with former linebackers coach Jerod Mayo taking charge.
The 71-year-old led New England to nine Super Bowls throughout his 24 seasons at the helm, winning six of those with the most recent coming against the Los Angeles Rams at Super Bowl LIII.
Safety Harmon was present for that triumph, as well as wins at Super Bowls XLIX and LI, as a regular fixture in a dominant Patriots side led by legendary quarterback Tom Brady.
Harmon remembers his time under Belichick fondly, but it is the coach's personable side, rather than his tactical acumen, which stood out most prominently.
Asked for his defining memory of Belichick while speaking to Stats Perform, Harmon said: "It's crazy. It's not even a football field memory. It was a training camp. I can't remember what year it was. It had to be 2016.
"We still had Logan [Ryan], it was me, Logan, Devin [McCourty], and I think at the time we were all maybe dealing with something, like little injuries. I don't think we were practicing.
"Bill came up to us. Logan, Dev, and I were stretching. I look up and he says, 'you Rutgers guys, you know what? You guys are soft like marshmallows'.
"We're like, 'what are you talking about?' He was like, 'not even practicing'. He goes on his spiel.
"The next day, when we go into the meeting room, there's three big jars of marshmallows at our seats. We just start dying, laughing, because a lot of people don't see that side of Bill, but for us, that's the side that we've seen all the time.
"Then that preseason game against the Panthers, all three of us got interceptions and he came up to us at the end of the game and said, 'maybe I need to put marshmallows by your seats weekly'.
"His great coaching style that I really appreciated was one thing, but having memories like that, where we can have a personable connection, will always go a long way for me."
Harmon believes Belichick's incredible work ethic is the secret to his success, saying: "When we won the Super Bowls, he let himself loose a little bit. I will tell you that. That's when you see him really just take a step back and enjoy it.
"I've been very privileged to be in this league for 11 years, and I can honestly say I've never been around anybody who works as hard as him each day.
"That is the reason why the Patriots organisation has been successful for as long as it has been. He believes that if you want to have a championship team, there has to be a standard of excellence no matter what you're doing."
The consistency Belichick instilled in the Patriots was perhaps his most impressive accomplishment, with the team enjoying 19 consecutive winning seasons from 2001 to 2019.
Harmon hailed his ability to motivate players to go again, saying: "When we came back after winning the Super Bowl, he'd let us know that it's over, we don't talk about previous years.
"There were even times when he wouldn't let us wear the Super Bowl gear that we got in the building anymore, because he wanted us to realise this is a new year.
"He does a tremendous job of letting us know we've got to put that year to bed. Now it's time to get working on the new one. Everybody buys in, because we know what happens when we do."
Bill Belichick's exploits with the New England Patriots will never be replicated and mark him out as the best coach in NFL history, according to the team's former safety Duron Harmon.
Last week, team owner Robert Kraft announced the end of Belichick's remarkable 24-year stint in charge of the Patriots, who he led to six Super Bowl titles – the most of any coach in the league's history.
Belichick led New England to 18 playoff trips after taking charge in 2000, but the team missed the postseason in three of his final four campaigns at the helm.
Their 4-13 record throughout the 2023 season was their worst under Belichick, whose last playoff win came back in 2019 as the Patriots beat the Los Angeles Rams at Super Bowl LIII.
Despite a less-than-stellar end to his distinguished run in New England, Harmon – who won three Super Bowls throughout a six-year stint with the team between 2013 and 2019 – says Belichick's place in the history books is secure.
Asked what Belichick's Patriots legacy amounted to, Harmon told Stats Perform: "In my opinion, he's just the best coach who ever graced the NFL.
"What he was able to accomplish over those 20-plus years as a Patriots coach, we've never seen it before. It will never be duplicated.
"He set the standard extremely high for when people try to talk about dynasties. I'm just forever grateful that he chose me to be a part of his team and to be a part of his legacy."
While Belichick will turn 72 in April, it has been suggested that he may stay in the league as he chases down Don Shula's all-time record of 347 wins (regular season and playoffs), a tally he is currently 14 shy of.
The Los Angeles Chargers have been touted as a potential destination for Belichick, but Harmon cannot see the Patriots legend coaching elsewhere.
"I just can't see it," he said. "He and Tom Brady are the Patriots. They're what the Patriots stand for, to do your job, hard-nosed gritty football, those two together built the Patriots organisation.
"So to see him go somewhere else... me personally, I can't see it, but the beauty about sports is you just never know. In due time, we will figure out whether he'll be somewhere else."
For the Patriots, attention quickly turned to the search for Belichick's successor, and 37-year-old former linebackers coach Jerod Mayo became the league's youngest head coach when his promotion was made official on Friday.
Having shared a locker room with Mayo throughout his first three seasons with the Patriots, Harmon believes he has all the attributes required to be a success.
"My time there with him… he's a tremendous, tremendous leader. A leader of men, an intelligent person," Harmon said of Mayo.
"Most people say he's just a smart football player, but he's just an intelligent person. Straight out of retirement, he went and worked for a company, a big Fortune 500 company.
"It shows who he is as a person and as a leader, that as soon as he gets done playing, somebody wants to hire him to lead this division of their company.
"If I had to put my hat on or give my blessing to anybody, it would be Jerod Mayo."
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