Fiona Needham has revelled in the Cheltenham Festival heroics of Sine Nomine – but there will be no shot at the Cheltenham-Aintree double this year for her star mare.
The Catterick clerk of the course was successful in the St. James’s Place Festival Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Chase as a rider in 2002, partnering her father Robin Tate’s Last Option to victory.
And she joined the list of famous names to both ride and train the winner of the ‘amateur Gold Cup’ when saddling bargain buy Sine Nomine, who cost just £2,400 as a three-year-old, to topple the JP McManus-owned Its On The Line in the hands of John Dawson.
Owned by her father, Sine Nomine sported the same colours Needham wore to victory herself 22 years ago, with the joyous scenes seen in the winner’s enclosure carrying on right through the weekend.
“She put in a stellar performance and she’s very full of herself since,” said Needham.
“It was a wonderful day and really was the stuff dreams are made of. Her jockey gave her a brilliant ride and the bit of drama where he had to switch at the last didn’t do a lot for my heartrate at the time, but probably made the race more exciting.
“You would have to say she would have won quite easily but for that, but it really showed she is quite gutsy and determined. She quickened up a lot better than I expected up the hill.”
Dawson received a 14-day ban for using the whip two times more than the permitted seven which will see him on the sidelines while the Randox Foxhunters’ Open Hunters’ Chase takes place during the opening day of Aintree’s Grand National meeting.
However, some relief for Dawson will be Needham deciding against trying to replicate On The Fringe’s achievement of completing the same Aintree-Cheltenham hunter chase double, with a return to Cheltenham for their hunter chase card in early May followed by a crack at Stratford’s Pertemps Network Stratford Foxhunters Champion Hunters’ Chase later that month in the back of the trainer’s mind.
She said: “We debated Aintree but she did just knock a joint a little bit, which is fine and settling down, but I just want to give her a bit longer and she does not have an entry for Aintree.
“She jumps well but she’s quite bold and I’m not sure that’s the best way to be at Aintree.
“It could be straight to Cheltenham for the hunter chase meeting or Stratford and there re one or two options.
“Obviously it might depend on what the handicapper does with her, but we will see. One route could be the Cheltenham evening meeting and then it could be the Horse and Hound Cup (at Stratford), but that would all be ground dependent because it is going to dry up at some stage. If it keeps raining then great!”
Having savoured a second big afternoon at the Cheltenham Festival, Needham’s thoughts also turn to the eight-year-old returning to Prestbury Park in a bid to join the plethora of back-to-back winners.
On The Fringe (2015 and 2016) and Pacha Du Polder (2017 and 2018) were the most recent to win the race in consecutive years and Needham would be keen to give a repeat a chance after Sine Nomine proved with aplomb she can handle the white hot atmosphere of Gold Cup day in the Cotswolds.
“I’m not sure my nerves will stand it, but you do get repeat winners at Cheltenham,” continued Needham.
“One thing you never know until they get there is the occasion, because it is a big occasion for the horses, and she took it well – she thought everyone was coming to look at her, which is the best way to be.”
Despite training one of the most exciting – and valuable – horses for many a season, Aidan O’Brien insists he is not feeling under any extra pressure, as City Of Troy begins to build for the Qipco 2000 Guineas.
It is not unusual for the winter Guineas favourite to be trained at Ballydoyle, in fact it is an almost annual occurrence. But there does appear to be something special about City Of Troy on the evidence to date.
O’Brien’s comments following his winning debut at the Curragh, when he mentioned Ryan Moore had been worried because he could barely pull him up after crossing the line, caused a stir of excitement and that feeling was backed up with a six-and-a-half-length win in the Superlative Stakes at Newmarket.
The winning distance was ‘only’ three and a half lengths in soft ground in the Dewhurst, but what has really caught the imagination is the fact that his sire, Justify, was a Triple Crown winner on the dirt.
“He always looked a bit different, every time we worked him really. Then he ran in his maiden,” said O’Brien.
“All he can do is keep turning up and running and see what is happening, but he does work very different.
“Horses are working in very bad ground at the moment, it’s deep. Horses shouldn’t like that, but he is just powering through it.
“We hope to get him to Naas on Sunday after racing – him, Henry Longfellow, River Tiber, they’ll all go together over seven, seven and a half furlongs and we’ll have a little look and all get together, talk to the lads, but the plan is to go straight to the Guineas.
“If that went well, then he could go for the Derby, and if that went well, there’s a chance he could go to Saratoga for a dirt race, the Travers, and that’s very possible if things go well, it will be interesting.
“I don’t feel pressure, all we can do is our best and whatever will be will be.”
While O’Brien does admit he is not the biggest horse in the world, the colt is deceptive.
“He’s done very well over the winter. He’s a medium-sized horse to look at, but when you stand into him he’s much bigger than you think, which is the sign of a very well-proportioned horse. It will be exciting.
“When John (Magnier) and the lads are thinking like that, they are happy to push him out there and see what he can do. If it went well in the Guineas, we’re happy to step up to a mile and a half in the Derby and then come back to 10 furlongs for the Travers on dirt.
“The thinking is to expose him. Obviously he’s by Justify, which makes Justify very exciting for us because he should be able to do dirt as easily as he does grass, that’s what makes him unique really. It’s going to be very exciting, interesting really.”
With workouts planned for his Classic hopefuls at the weekend, O’Brien will be hoping the current saturated ground dries up.
He said: “I’d imagine if he goes to the Guineas he’ll go himself, but when we go to Naas on Sunday it will be the first time they’ve been put together, so we’ll see what will happen.
“What makes him unusual is that he’s by Justify, he should be at home on the dirt but they seem the same on the grass. They stay very well, they are uncomplicated, you can ride them forward.
“Justify looks like a big Quarter Horse but the unusual thing about all his stock is they are very similar, you can set them out there and you can go, that’s what makes him so easy, he can do his own thing, they don’t over-race and just keep going.”
Olympic champion Xander Schauffele believes the best is yet to come in his career after narrowly missing out on the Players Championship title.
Schauffele took a one-shot lead into the final round at Sawgrass on Sunday and was still in front of the charging Scottie Scheffler when he recorded his fourth birdie of the day on the 12th.
However, Scheffler – who had started the day five shots behind – drew level with a birdie on the 16th and Schauffele then bogeyed the 14th and 15th to leave himself with too much to do over the closing stretch.
“I think I’m always pretty tough on myself, but you kind of put it to rest to a certain extent,” Schauffele told a press conference ahead of the Valspar Championship.
“So I wouldn’t say I was too hard on myself on Sunday night.
“I accepted it, was overall pretty pleased with how I was able to play. I’d not been able to play super well since they moved the Players (from May to March), so just another close call under my belt for now.
“I just stay true to myself. I’m pretty aware of the path that I’ve been on my entire career. It’s been a slower path, I would say.
“Sounds kind of weird, but just always consider myself sort of a slower learner. Even when I was in college, I wasn’t some world beater shooting 60 and playing in Tour events when I was 16 or 17 or 18 years old even.
“There’s tons of guys who have qualified for US Opens when they were 16. That ate me up when I was a kid and it made me grind and push even harder, sort of have that chip on my shoulder.
“I just sort of look back on that, and I’ve had success, but to me I feel like the best is in front of me, and the only way it’s not going to be in front of me is if I let all these things get to my head and not play my game.”
Stefano Cherchi sustained a head injury and internal bleeding following a fall while riding at Canberra in Australia.
The Italian jockey has ridden over 100 winners in the UK, with the majority of his success coming aboard horses trained by fellow countryman Marco Botti, the man who provided his most recent mount in Britain at Chelmsford in November.
The 23-year-old, who switched to Australia earlier in the year, was one of three jockeys to come to grief in the Affinity Electrical Technologies Class 1 Plate, with the fall of Cherchi’s mount Hasime causing both Jeff Penza and Shaun Guymer to also be unseated.
Both Penza and Guymer were relatively unharmed, but Cherchi received medical treatment at the track before being transferred to hospital.
The New South Wales Jockeys Association posted on X, formerly twitter: “Following a fall at Canberra today, Stefano Cherchi has sustained a head injury and internal bleeding.
“Stefano has been transported to Canberra Hospital, where doctors will assess the full extent of the injuries.
“We pray for Stefano.”
Cherchi partnered 38 winners for Botti while in the UK, with the Newmarket handler one of those to take to social media hoping for good news.
He said: “The whole yard is saddened by the news this morning. Stefano has sustained serious injuries in a race fall in Australia.
“Thoughts and prayers are with @SC_Cherchi and his family.”
Those sentiments were echoed by fellow HQ trainer Amy Murphy – who also used Cherchi aboard her string – and she said: “As you can imagine we are shocked to wake up to this news this morning, our hopes and prayers are firmly with @SC_Cherchi.
“We are all thinking of him, Australia has never felt so far away. Stay strong and find the strength I know you have to be ok.”
Excitement is building ahead of the impending arrival of Honeysuckle’s eagerly-awaited first foal.
Owned by Kenny Alexander and trained by Henry de Bromhead, she was one of the most popular and successful National Hunt racemares of any era, winning four times at the Cheltenham Festival, including twice storming up the famous hill for Champion Hurdle glory.
She bowed out when landing a second Grade One Mares’ Hurdle at the showpiece meeting in 2023, lifting the roof off the Cheltenham grandstands as she outbattled Love Envoi for an emotional farewell in the Cotswolds.
Attention soon switched to her broodmare career and after becoming in foal to Walk In The Park, Honeysuckle is nearing her April due date, bringing both excitement and nerves to all associated with her.
“She’s about three weeks off and I’ve been told she is beginning to make a bit of a bag – it’s very exciting and there’s going to start being a few sleepless nights,” said Peter Molony, racing manager to owner Alexander.
Honeysuckle initially spent time at Molony’s Rathmore Stud in County Limerick before switching to Alexander’s New Hall Stud in Ayrshire.
He added: “It’s both a nervous time and exciting, but we’ve been in this game long enough and please God she will foal safely.
“I’ll definitely be on the first plane over to see what she has produced anyway.”
Honeysuckle’s on-track career may be over but Molony may have got his hands on a star of the future, having stretched to a sale-topping £410,000 for impressive point winner Echoing Silence at Cheltenham last Thursday.
Bravemansgame and Gerri Colombe are previous graduates of the sale held after racing on day three of the Festival, while the top two lots from the 2023 auction were Gordon Elliott’s Romeo Coolio and Jalon D’Oudairies, who finished second and third respectively in the Champion Bumper.
A four-length winner at Ballycahane, Echoing Silence will follow in Honeysuckle’s footsteps by joining County Waterford trainer De Bromhead. However, Molony insists it was not him who gave the four-year-old ‘the next Honeysuckle’ moniker.
“I saw that was the headline, but it certainly wasn’t me who said that,” Molony commented on the Honeysuckle comparison.
“It was a lot of money for her but she is the most beautiful-looking thing in the world and we actually sold her half-brother Deafening Silence, so I knew the family well.
“I saw her win her point and she was impressive, and I had been hearing about her beforehand. It’s always nice when you hear about them beforehand and they go on to deliver.
“We had to pull the choke out to get her but hopefully she will be lucky for us.”
Vauban’s big aim is a return to Australia for the Melbourne Cup but Willie Mullins has not definitively ruled out an appearance at the Punchestown Festival.
The Rich and Susannah Ricci-owned six-year-old has not been seen since finishing only 14th of 23 when sent off favourite for last year’s Melbourne Cup.
He has not run over hurdles since chasing home stable companion and current champion hurdler State Man at last season’s Punchestown Festival, after which his attentions were switched to the Flat.
He won the Copper Horse Handicap at Royal Ascot, beating another stablemate in Absurde, who won the County Hurdle last week, and then had little trouble in winning the Group Three Ballyroan Stakes before his trip to Australia.
“Yes (he’s likely to have a Flat campaign), I think that’s more or less the plan,” said Mullins.
“He might get a run in Punchestown if he’s ready but I think I’m going to concentrate on getting him back to Melbourne in ship shape and have another crack at the Melbourne Cup in November.”
Simona Halep has hit back at Caroline Wozniacki after the Dane said she should not have been given a wild card for the Miami Open.
Halep made a quick return to top-level action after the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced her doping ban from four years to nine months two weeks ago.
The two-time former grand-slam champion tested positive for the blood-boosting drug Roxadustat at the US Open in 2022 and was handed the long suspension last September.
However, CAS accepted Halep’s explanation that she had unwittingly ingested the substance in a contaminated supplement, with the ruling coming 17 months after she was first provisionally suspended.
There has been a lot of support for the Romanian, who was defeated by Paula Badosa in her first match in Florida on Tuesday, but Wozniacki took a different view speaking to reporters after a 6-1 6-4 win over Clara Burel.
“I’ve always liked Simona,” said Wozniacki, also a former world number one. “We’ve always had a good relationship.
“If someone has tested positive for doping, I understand why a tournament wants a big star in the tournament, but it’s my personal belief, and it’s not a knock on anyone, that I don’t think people should be awarded wild cards afterwards.
“If you want to come back, and it’s been a mistake, I understand, you should work your way up from the bottom.
“Simona’s situation has obviously dragged on for a long time. She got her suspension reduced. It wasn’t a clearance, it was a reduced sentence.
“I just hope for a clean sport. That’s all I want. I want to have good role models for the young generation. It’s a sport that has a lot of money in it, a lot of competitiveness, a lot of competitors. I want a fair fight.”
Halep was less than impressed by Wozniacki’s comments, responding: “Why did she say that?
“I didn’t do anything wrong. I didn’t cheat. I didn’t dope. Thank you to the tournament for giving me the wild card and have the possibility to play in such a big tournament. It was great to be back.
“Only one person being negative about me is not that important because I have hundreds of people that are giving me love, so I will take that.”
Halep looked like she had never been away as she raced to the first set in just 38 minutes but Spaniard Badosa, who is herself coming back from long-term injury problems, dug in to win 1-6 6-4 6-3.
At her post-match press conference, Halep said: “I missed this. I had emotions, but positive emotions; the crowd supporting me was so nice.
“The level of tennis was pretty good – unexpected for most of the people. I think I did a good job today. I’m happy with my first match coming back. I would rate it as a special day, honestly.”
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The 32-year-old admitted her career would have been over had the four-year ban been upheld but she remained positive the appeal against it would go her way.
“My parents always taught me that good always prevails,” she said.
“I trust it 100 per cent from the first day until the last day that the truth will come out and the decision will be taken in a fair way.
“I knew I’m clean. I knew I didn’t do anything wrong. I believed that it’s impossible to stay four years for something that doesn’t exist.”
Elsewhere, Venus Williams, 43, remains without a win since last August after a 6-3 6-3 defeat by Russian Diana Shnaider, who is 24 years her junior.
Paula Badosa admits it will be “uncomfortable” facing best friend Aryna Sabalenka at the Miami Open following the death of the world number two’s boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov.
Sabalenka was pictured on social media practising on Tuesday a day after 42-year-old former ice hockey player Koltsov died in Miami in what police described as an “apparent suicide”.
Her first match is due to be on Thursday against Spaniard Badosa, who defeated Simona Halep on the Romanian’s return from a doping ban.
Badosa said of Sabalenka: “Yesterday I spoke with her a lot of time. This morning the same. So I know what she’s going through. I know the entire situation, what is happening.
“That for me is a little bit shocking also to go through that because at the end she’s my best friend and I don’t want her to suffer. It’s a very tough situation.
“At the same point, playing against her, it’s also uncomfortable. But I don’t really want to talk about it because I said I’m not going to talk about it. She’s my best friend and I promised that.
“She’s a strong woman. I think she will get the power from somewhere. I hope it’s going to be a battle, a good match.”
Caroline Wozniacki became emotional talking about the situation during her press conference, the Dane saying: “I can’t even imagine what she’s going through right now.
“I’m also tearing up. It’s such a terrible situation. It’s so hard. I reached out to her and I told her that I was here if she needed anything.
“I love Aryna. I think she’s such a great person. She’s always so happy and out there. To see her go through that, it’s heartbreaking.
“Everyone grieves in a different way. She was walking past today. I was giving her her space. I let her know that if she ever needs anything, I’m here, we’re here for her.”
Koltsov, who played in the NHL for the Pittsburgh Penguins, had been a regular presence supporting Sabalenka at tournaments.
The news was announced by Russia ice hockey team Salavat Yulaev Ufa, where Koltsov had been assistant coach.
A statement on the club’s website read: “It is with deep sorrow that we inform you that Salavat Yulaev coach Konstantin Koltsov has passed away. He was a strong and cheerful person, he was loved and respected by players, colleagues, and fans.
“Konstantin Evgenievich forever wrote himself into the history of our club. Koltsov won the Russian Championship and the Gagarin Cup as part of Salavat Yulaev and did a great job on the team’s coaching staff.
“The hockey club Salavat Yulaev expresses its condolences to the family and friends of Konstantin Evgenievich Koltsov.”
It is the second tragedy to hit 25-year-old Sabalenka, whose father Sergey, also a former ice hockey player, died in 2019 at the age of 43.
Michael McCarron scored twice and the Nashville Predators scored seven straight goals to extend their point streak to a franchise record-tying 15 games with an 8-2 rout of the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday.
Roman Josi and Filip Forsberg each had a goal and two assists and Ryan McDonagh and Kiefer Sherwood added three assists apiece for the Predators, who improved to 13-0-2 in their last 15 games since their last regulation loss to Dallas on Feb. 15.
Nashville matched a 14-0-1 run from Feb. 19-March 19, 2018.
Juuse Saros stopped 18 shots and is 10-0-2 in his last 12 starts.
League-worst San Jose has lost five straight and is 1-12-2 in its past 15 games.
Rantanen’s big game powers red-hot Avalanche
Mikko Rantanen completed his hat trick with the tiebreaking goal early in the third period and the Colorado Avalanche won their seventh straight game, 4-3 over the St. Louis Blues.
Casey Mittelstadt had the other goal for the Avalanche, who have outscored opponents 31-13 during the seven-game streak, the longest active run in the NHL.
Nathan Walker, Alexey Toropchenko and Brayden Schenn tallied as St. Louis had a four-game winning streak snapped.
Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon picked up his 75th assist of the season to extend his point streak to 16 games (10 goals, 22 assists).
Jarvis leads Hurricanes over Islanders
Seth Jarvis scored twice and the Carolina Hurricanes started fast in a 4-1 win over the floundering New York Islanders.
Trade-deadline acquisition Jake Guentzel had a goal and two assists and Pytor Kochetkov stopped 30 shots to lead Carolina to its fourth straight victory.
The Hurricanes matched a franchise record with their sixth straight road win and pulled within two points of the Rangers for first place in the Metropolitan Division.
The Islanders have been outscored 20-6 during a five-game losing streak as their playoff hopes continue to dim.
Nikola Jokić had 35 points and 16 rebounds and Michael Porter Jr. scored 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter to lift the Denver Nuggets to a 113-109 win over the undermanned Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday in a matchup of Western Conference heavyweights.
Jamal Murray had 18 points and 11 assists and Aaron Gordon added 14 with 11 rebounds as the Nuggets won for the sixth time in seven games to move within percentage points of idle Oklahoma City for the West lead.
Denver blew an 18-point lead in less than 12 minutes but Jokic hit a 3-pointer with 1:45 remaining and sank a floater with 44 seconds to go for a 109-103 lead.
Mike Conley’s 3 with 12 seconds made it a two-point game, but the Nuggets sank four free throws down the stretch and Anthony Edwards missed a potential tying 3 from the wing at the buzzer.
Edwards had 30 points, eight rebounds and eight assists and Jaden McDaniels contributed 26 points for the Wolves, who had won three straight.
Minnesota played at home for the first time in 15 days and was without its top three big men - Karl-Anthony Towns (knee), Rudy Gobert (ribs) and Naz Reid (head).
Green drops 42 for surging Rockets
Jalen Green matched a career high with 42 points and the Houston Rockets defeated the Washington Wizards, 137-114, for their sixth consecutive win.
Green scored 15 points in the third quarter and finished with 10 rebounds. He previously scored 42 points against Minnesota on Jan. 23, 2023.
Amen Thompson scored 25 points and Jabari Smith Jr. added 18 with 14 rebounds for Houston, which moved within 2 ½ games of Golden State for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference.
Justin Champagnie and Jules Bernard scored 16 points apiece for the league-worst Wizards, who lost their fifth straight.
Magic roll past Hornets
Cole Anthony scored 17 of his 21 points in the second quarter and Jalen Suggs added 19 points to lead the Orlando Magic to their fourth straight win, 112-92 over the Charlotte Hornets.
Paolo Banchero and Moritz Wagner each scored 13 points for the Magic, who led 67-32 at halftime and won their ninth in 11 games to extend their lead over second-place Miami in the Southeast Division.
Orlando clinched at least a play-in berth in the Eastern Conference and secured just its second non-losing season since 2011-12.
Brandon Miller had 21 points and fellow rookie Vasilije Micic added 20 as Charlotte lost its third straight and dropped to 2-10 in its past 12 games.
Simona Halep was beaten on her return from a doping ban, going down in three sets to Paula Badosa at the Miami Open.
The Romanian, a two-time grand slam winner who spent 64 weeks as world number one, was playing her first match since the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced her suspension from four years to nine months.
Halep looked like she had never been away as she raced away with the first set in just 38 minutes.
But Badosa, herself a former world number two, dug in to win 1-6 6-4 6-3.
Halep, who won Wimbledon in 2019, tested positive for the blood-boosting drug Roxadustat at the US Open in 2022 and was handed the lengthy suspension last September.
She appealed to CAS and, following a hearing last month, the court dramatically reduced the 32-year-old’s ban, allowing her to resume her career.
The ring-rust was evident when Halep, playing her first match in 18 months, lost the opening game to love and then double-faulted her first serve.
But an ace helped her to a hold and she promptly reeled off six games in a row to take control.
Yet Badosa broke early in the second and held on despite some fierce pressure to take the match to a decider.
The Spaniard had the momentum and broke to love at the start of the decider, and although Halep hit straight back her energy levels were waning and Badosa wrapped up the victory in just under two hours.
Badosa is scheduled to play second seed Aryna Sabalenka in round two later this week, although there is understandable doubt surrounding the Australian Open champion’s participation after the death of her boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov on Tuesday.
Two more former world number ones were also in action in the first round.
Dane Caroline Wozniacki swept past France’s Clara Burel 6-1 6-4 but Venus Williams, 43, was knocked out by 19-year-old Russian Diana Shnaider 6-3 6-3 in an hour and 19 minutes.
Bayonne have announced the signing of England centre Manu Tuilagi from Sale on a two-year contract.
The 32-year-old will join the French club at the end of the season in a move likely to bring an end to his Test career.
Rugby Football Union regulations dictate any player departing the Gallagher Premiership becomes ineligible for international selection.
A short statement on Bayonne’s website read: “England centre Manu Tuilagi has signed for the next two seasons. Welcome Manu!”
Tuilagi won his 60th – and likely final – England cap in Saturday’s 33-31 Guinness Six Nations defeat by France in Lyon.
Earlier on Tuesday, the former Leicester player outlined ambitions of helping Sale lift the Premiership title as he confirmed his decision to leave Alex Sanderson’s side.
“I’ve absolutely loved my time at Sale,” he told the club website. “It was a really tough conversation with Al, and a tough decision for everyone because my family and I have been really happy here.
“I never thought I’d leave Leicester and it was a big move, but since arriving here I’ve grown a lot as a person. I’ve developed as a player, but more so as a person.
“The environment at Sale is amazing. It’s what makes me want to get out of bed and put the work in, and I genuinely love coming in every day.
“If I’ve helped the young players then that’s great, but they’ve helped me so much too and I’m going to miss them all.
“The mindset from the start of the season was to win the Premiership and that’s what we’re all focused on now. Knowing it’s my last season here will give me an extra push to make sure I leave on a high.”
Tuilagi has been an automatic pick in the midfield for four successive England coaches due to the power he provides on both sides of the ball.
However, his career has been heavily interrupted by a number of serious injuries, including groin, chest, hamstring, knee and a broken hand.
Sale currently sit seventh in the Premiership table.
Sharks director of rugby Sanderson said: “We talked about what was best for the club and what was best for Manu and his family, and we had to make a tough decision. But it’s still a wrench and really tough for me to accept that he’s going.
“He is one of the world’s best players and one of the world’s best blokes. There are very few people who can do what he can on the field. As a player he’s every bit as good as I thought he was before I came here, but as a person he continues to surprise and inspire me to be better.
“We’ll miss him massively on the field, but the void he leaves off it will be harder to fill.
“His smile is the same whether he’s running on to the field ready to smash someone, or sitting opposite you having a glass of wine, and I’m really going to miss that.”
Mike Williams is going from the west coast of the United States to the country's east coast.
Williams is signing a one-year contract with the New York Jets worth up to $15million.
The deal was reported Tuesday by Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network.
The Los Angeles Chargers released Williams last Wednesday to free up $20million in salary cap space.
Going into the final year of a 2022 contract extension that included $40million in guaranteed money, Williams missed most of last season after suffering a torn ACL in his left knee in Week 3.
He'll now be teaming up with a quarterback who missed essentially all of 2023 after Aaron Rodgers ruptured his left Achilles tendon on the Jets' fourth offensive snap of the season.
Rodgers' injury derailed what was hoping to be a promising season for the Jets, as they ended up rotating through three more starting quarterbacks and finished 7-10 to miss the play-offs.
New York has the NFL's longest active streak of missing the play-offs at 13 seasons.
Williams had spent his first seven NFL seasons with the Chargers after being selected seventh overall in the 2017 draft.
His best season came in 2021, when he had career highs of 76 receptions for 1,146 yards, along with nine touchdowns.
In 88 career games, Williams has 309 catches for 4,806 yards with 31 TDs.
Galopin Des Champs was once again welcomed home by an adoring crowd as the dual Cheltenham Gold Cup winner paraded before locals in the village of Leighlinbridge in County Carlow on Tuesday evening.
Victorious in the pinnacle of National Hunt racing last year, this time the Willie Mullins-trained gelding was able to take his career to the next level when becoming one of a select few to retain the title.
The 11-10 favourite under Paul Townend, Galopin Des Champs never looked threatened by any of his rivals and it was only the loose Fastorslow that ever threatened to thwart a repeat of last year’s triumph.
Victorious by three and a half lengths from Gordon Elliott’s Gerri Colombe, the Audrey Turley-owned eight-year-old has put his name among the greats of the race and next year could join the likes of the mighty Arkle and Best Mate as a three-time winner.
Galopin Des Champs was joined by State Man, winner of the Champion Hurdle in a another memorable meeting for Mullins, with his nine-winner haul including his 100th Festival success when Jasmin De Vaux took the Weatherbys Champion Bumper.
The Cleveland Cavaliers will continue their play-off push without one of their top playmakers.
Donovan Mitchell underwent a medical procedure on his nose on Tuesday and will be re-evaluated in about one week.
The injury timeline given by the Cavaliers means he'll likely miss two games against the Miami Heat, as well as contests against the Minnesota Timberwolves and Charlotte Hornets.
Depending on his recovery, the five-time All-Star has a chance to return for the second part of a home-and-home with the Hornets, next Wednesday at Charlotte.
Mitchell suffered a nasal fracture in Saturday's 117-103 loss to the Houston Rockets when he was accidentally hit by team-mate Tristan Thompson, and subsequently sat out Monday's 108-103 win over the Indiana Pacers.
With the victory, the Cavs improved to 10-9 without Mitchell, who has missed time lately with a bone bruise in his left knee.
They are 33-16 in games he plays.
Mitchell, 27, is one of the NBA's top scorers, ranking sixth at 27.4 points per game, while also averaging career highs with 6.1 assists and 5.3 rebounds.
His play is a big reason why Cleveland is in the mix for one of the top seeds in the Eastern Conference.
The Cavs entered play Tuesday in third place in the East, one game behind the Milwaukee Bucks for first place in the Central Division.
They are also just two games ahead of the New York Knicks, and three up on the Orlando Magic.
This is the latest significant injury for Cleveland, which has also seen starters Evan Mobley (ankle) and Max Strus (knee) both miss time lately.
Masters champion Jon Rahm hopes golf can achieve “some type of union” as he set his sights on a Sunday showdown with his PGA Tour rivals at Augusta National.
The Tour’s six player-directors met with officials from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) in the Bahamas on Monday as efforts continue to make a deal to end golf’s civil war.
The PIF bankrolls the breakaway LIV Golf League, which Rahm joined in a stunning move in December, meaning the majors are now the only events which see all of the world’s top players competing against each other.
“I’ve been playing good golf, but I’m definitely looking forward to joining with the rest of the best golfers in the world and teeing it up in the Masters with them,” Rahm said in a teleconference ahead of the year’s first major from April 11-14.
“I’m assuming there will be quite a few that are not happy, but from my side nothing changes. I still respect everybody on both sides and respect the game of golf above all.
“I think there’s a way of co-existing and, if there’s some type of union, I don’t know what that looks like. I just want to see again the best in the world being able to compete against the best in the world, whatever that looks like.
“If there is some type of peace achieved I think it can actually push the game forward.”
Rahm has finished third, eighth, fifth and 14th in his four LIV events to date and will compete in Miami the week before his Masters title defence. On the PGA Tour last year, Rahm won three times in eight starts before claiming his second major title at Augusta.
“I feel like my game is in really good position,” he added. “I have not played my best yet, but I can see it every tournament getting a little bit better and getting to a point where I like where I’m at coming up to the Masters.
“I am looking forward to hopefully having a great week and a great Sunday back-nine showdown with some of those great players because at the end of the day it’s what golf and spectators deserve.
“With that said, I’m hoping I can cruise the last three holes with an eight or nine-shot lead and know I can walk up 18 knowing I can make a nine or a 10 and win it, but it would be really fun also to come down to the wire and make a birdie on 18 to win it.
“That would be quite incredible.”
Rahm used the teleconference to reveal the full details of his Champions Dinner menu, including a lentil stew made to his grandmother’s recipe by chef Jose Andres.
“He called my grandma for the recipe so if somebody doesn’t like it, please don’t tell me,” Rahm joked.
“Don’t tell anyone actually.”
Aryna Sabalenka’s boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov has died at the age of 42.
Koltsov, a former ice hockey player who competed in the NHL for the Pittsburgh Penguins, had been a regular presence supporting Sabalenka at tournaments.
He was in Miami when he died, and the Miami-Dade Police Department said in a statement: “According to investigators, on Monday, March 18, 2024, at approximately 12:39am, Bal Harbour Police and Fire Rescue were dispatched to the St Regis Bal Harbour Resort.
View this post on Instagram“The Miami-Dade Police Department, Homicide Bureau, responded and has taken over the investigation of the apparent suicide of Mr Konstantin Koltsov. No foul play is suspected.”
The world number two frequently referenced Koltsov on social media in pictures and messages.
The news was announced by Russia ice hockey team Salavat Yulaev Ufa, where Koltsov had been assistant coach.
A statement on the club’s website read: “It is with deep sorrow that we inform you that Salavat Yulaev coach Konstantin Koltsov has passed away. He was a strong and cheerful person, he was loved and respected by players, colleagues, and fans.
“Konstantin Evgenievich forever wrote himself into the history of our club. Koltsov won the Russian Championship and the Gagarin Cup as part of Salavat Yulaev and did a great job on the team’s coaching staff.
View this post on Instagram“The hockey club Salavat Yulaev expresses its condolences to the family and friends of Konstantin Evgenievich Koltsov.”
Koltsov represented Belarus at the 2002 and 2010 Winter Olympics and was also a coach of the national team.
A statement on the federation’s website read: “The Belarusian Hockey Federation expresses its deepest condolences to the family, friends and everyone who knew and worked with Konstantin Evgenievich.”
The Pittsburgh Penguins also paid tribute, saying in a statement on their website: “The Penguins extend their deepest condolences to the family and friends of former Penguins forward, Konstantin Koltsov.
“The native of Belarus was the Penguins’ first-round draft choice in 1999 and was with the team from 2003-2006, playing 144 NHL games.”
Pictures showed tributes to Koltsov outside Ufa Arena laid by fans of Salavat Yulaev.
Sabalenka, who won her second grand slam title at the Australian Open in January, is in Miami and is due to play her first match at the Miami Open later this week, although her participation must now be in severe doubt.
It is the second tragedy to hit the 25-year-old Belarusian, whose father Sergey, also a former ice hockey player, died in 2019 at the age of 43.
Sabalenka’s victory at the Australian Open fulfilled the dream she shared with her father of winning two slam titles by the age of 25 and, speaking in Melbourne, she said: “It was really important. Of course he’s my biggest motivation. He’s been everything for me.”
Nicky Henderson has raised the faint possibility of Constitution Hill returning to action at the Punchestown Festival.
Last season’s brilliant Champion Hurdle winner had been a short price to defend his crown at Cheltenham last week, but a fortnight before the Festival a poor workout at Kempton led to the discovery of mucus in his scope.
There was a brief glimmer of hope he would come right in time for Cheltenham, but he was ultimately the first in a host of Henderson big guns to be ruled out of the showpiece meeting.
Henderson ran six horses on the first day of Cheltenham, five of which were pulled up. The only bright spot was Luccia finishing third in the Champion Hurdle, just three and a half lengths behind State Man, arguably making Constitution Hill’s absence even harder to bear.
One by one Henderson’s main chances were withdrawn, with Shishkin not even declared for Friday’s Gold Cup. Jonbon was taken out of the Champion Chase while Sir Gino also missed the Triumph Hurdle.
Henderson was keen to point out that a very trying week was made a fraction more bearable due to the understanding shown by the racing industry as a whole.
“My owners were brilliant, very understanding, as were the media and everyone else in racing and for that I’ll be forever grateful,” he told the PA news agency.
While in hindsight Constitution Hill’s absence might have been a blessing given how Henderson’s week went, there may be green shoots of recovery. He also saddled a winner at Kempton on Saturday through Persian Time.
“He had his blood done yesterday, as he has done every Monday since what happened at Kempton,” said Henderson.
“It has kept on improving to the point where it is as near normal as it could possibly get without being 100 per cent. It is 99 per cent, which is a long way from where it started.
“He is back in routine exercise and has joined in at the back of the team this week.
“What he had and what the others had are two completely different things. He was pretty unwell, whereas all the others are very well but have a problem. I think it’s been well documented we have a problem.
“His blood tests told us he was unwell and given he’s so laid-back at home it was a good job we took him to Kempton.
“Now he’s better and his bloods are almost back to normality he can resume exercise, but he hasn’t galloped yet.
“We’ll tick along, you can take it he won’t be going to Aintree but if he continues and his work progresses with it, there is the possibility he could go to Punchestown which both Michael (Buckley, owner) and I would love to do if possible.
“If you were to ask me his primary objective I would most likely say it’s the Fighting Fifth next autumn, but if we can get to Punchestown then we will.”
He added: “Where we are mystified is that we thought they were well, their work was great but 10 days before Cheltenham they weren’t running well and everyone picked up on that, but we put it down to the ground and not being the ‘A team’.
“All appeared to be fine and all the tests were fine, but then we discovered the horses we were running were running dreadful.
“Every trainer in the country dreads this sort of thing, and for it to happen last week couldn’t have been worse, the timing was horrendous.
“Everybody has been through the mill, but as a team and family we at Seven Barrows would just like to thank everyone for how understanding everyone has been and for that we will be forever grateful. I wasn’t looking for sympathy, just a bit of understanding.
“We’ve been having massive meetings about how we get through this and we’ll take it easy this week and regroup next week and see where we are.
“We’ll see if we can get the main protagonists to Aintree. Sir Gino, Shishkin and Jonbon, they’ve all missed their dance. The next dance is Aintree and the one after that is Punchestown but they’ll only run in one, they would have done anyway.
“I love Punchestown and I love Aintree, they don’t quite have the pressure of Cheltenham but they are still Grade Ones so let’s try to get there.”
Great Britain will play Canada, Finland and Argentina in the group stage of the Davis Cup Finals in Manchester in September.
Leon Smith’s side will hope for a less nail-biting conclusion than in the same city last year, when Dan Evans and Neal Skupski saved match points to beat France in the deciding match in front of a jubilant record crowd, and the draw appears to have been relatively kind.
Canada, led by Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov, were champions in 2022 but lack strength in depth.
Finland were last year’s surprise package, making it through to the semi-finals for the first time, while Argentina boast three top-30 players, but indoor hard courts should favour Britain.
The ties will take place at the AO Arena from September 10 to 15, with the top two teams progressing to November’s Final Eight event.
Having beaten France, Australia and Switzerland last year, Britain fell at the first hurdle in Malaga, losing out to Novak Djokovic’s Serbia.
Defending champions Italy will host a group in Bologna also featuring the Netherlands, Belgium and Brazil, while Australia, Czech Republic, France and Spain will contest a heavyweight Group B in Valencia.
The final group, containing Germany, USA, Slovakia and Chile, will take place in the Chinese city of Zhuhai.
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