Brock Purdy has undergone successful surgery to repair a torn elbow ligament, the San Francisco 49ers have announced.

Purdy suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) on the first offensive series of San Francisco's NFC Championship Game defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles. That injury, followed by the concussion suffered by backup Josh Johnson, left the Niners without a recognised quarterback for the second half of a 31-7 loss.

Prior to that, Purdy had improbably emerged as a star for the Niners.

The last pick in the 2022 draft, Purdy took over from the injured Jimmy Garoppolo – who had previously stepped in after Trey Lance suffered a season-ending ankle injury – in the Week 13 win over the Miami Dolphins and subsequently led the 49ers to further five wins as starter to end the regular season before helping them prevail in a pair of playoff games as the second seed in the NFC.

His surgery had been delayed because of inflammation, but he underwent the procedure on Friday and is expected to resume throwing in three months.

A brief statement from the 49ers read: "San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy underwent successful surgery with renowned specialist Dr. Keith Meister this morning.

"Dr. Meister conducted an internal brace repair to Purdy's right elbow. Purdy is anticipated to start a throwing progression program in three months."

Purdy's timeline sets the stage for a potential training camp battle with Lance, the third overall pick in 2021. San Francisco traded three first-round picks to the Miami Dolphins for the right to move up and acquire Lance.

Robbed of his first season as the starter by injury, Lance has started just four games as an NFL quarterback, having only had one full season of experience in college with North Dakota State at the FCS level, college football's second tier below the FBS.

Purdy, by contrast, started 48 FBS games for Iowa State and, after completing 67.1 per cent of his passes for 13 touchdowns and four interceptions as a rookie, will likely be seen as the favourite to win the starting job if his recovery goes to plan.

World number one Jon Rahm withdrew from The Players Championship ahead of his second round due to illness.

Rahm carded a one-under 71 in the opening round, leaving him seven strokes behind overnight leader Chad Ramey, but he was unable to compete on Friday.

Confirmation of Rahm's withdrawal from the PGA Tour's flagship event came less than an hour before he was scheduled to tee off at TPC Sawgrass.

The 28-year-old, who previously won The Players Championship in 2020, had been chasing a sixth victory in 11 worldwide starts.

He had been due to play in a marquee group alongside Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler for the second straight day.

Brandon Graham has agreed a one-year extension with the Philadelphia Eagles, turning down the chance to enter free agency.

The veteran defensive end posted a career-best 11 sacks in the 2022 season, and has reportedly signed a deal worth up to $6million.

According to a report from ESPN, the Cleveland Browns had been interested in acquiring Graham, but the 34-year-old ultimately chose to stay in Philadelphia for another year.

"I definitely don't want to miss out on this championship that we're about to make a run for," he told ESPN.

"I pretty much directed [my agent] Joel [Segal] just to get a deal done before free agency so I wouldn't have to go through that part. I'm just so happy everything came to fruition.

"It wasn't even about no money. It was more about wanting to be an Eagle as long as I could still play at a high level, and of course I still have a sour taste in my mouth on how things ended this last year [losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl]."

Graham also recorded 16 quarterback hits in his 17 regular season outings, a total he has only ever bettered twice in his 13-year career.

The Minnesota Vikings are releasing wide receiver Adam Thielen, according to multiple media reports, ending his decade-long tenure with the team.

The move is expected to save the Vikings $6.4million towards the 2023 salary cap, but the franchise will absorb Thielen's scheduled salary of $13.5m as dead money.

Thielen and the Vikings had discussed a renegotiated contact that would have kept the 32-year-old receiver in Minnesota, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, but the sides were unable to come to an agreement.

A native of Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, Thielen starred for Division II Minnesota State-Mankato and earned a spot on the Vikings' practice squad after going undrafted in 2013.

Thielen broke out in 2016 and went on to become a local hero, ending his stint in Minnesota third in franchise history in receptions (534) and receiving touchdowns (55), trailing only Hall of Famers Cris Carter and Randy Moss.

Thielen was voted to two Pro Bowls in his time with Minnesota and was an All-Pro Second Team selection in 2017.

Starting all 17 games last season, Thielen finished with 70 catches for 716 yards and six touchdowns, but his role in the offense dwindled down the stretch, catching just seven passes in the Vikings’ final four games.

Thielen had previously said he hoped to play his entire career in Minnesota, but the Vikings' offense has shifted towards younger players like T.J. Hockenson and K.J. Osborn to support All-Pro Justin Jefferson.

"When you have the receiver that leads the league in yards and receptions and have three other guys with 60-plus, you feel really strong about that group," Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell told reporters last week at the NFL Scouting Combine. "Adam is one of those leaders that I speak of. His team-mates voted him as a captain, [for] what he means not only to our organisation but the Twin Cities.

"I think there's a conversation to be had to really see what that looks like: playing time and roles and responsibilities so that all of our players feel like not only it's a fair compensation for them, but we've got the kind of players where they care a lot about their role and their responsibilities and how they help us win."

Thielen has developed a friendship with Aaron Rodgers in recent years, playing together in numerous celebrity golf events, and some have speculated that the pair may try to team up wherever Rodgers ends up playing in 2023.

Captain Johnny Sexton is one of a number of key players to return to Ireland's starting line-up for Sunday's Six Nations showdown with Scotland at Murrayfield.

Sexton sat out Ireland's 34-20 victory away to Italy two weeks ago with a knock sustained in the win against France in the previous round.

The Leinster fly-half requires just eight more points to overtake former team-mate Ronan O'Gara (557) as the top scorer in Six Nations history.

Ireland also welcome back Garry Ringrose and Tadhg Furlong from injury, while Conor Murray, Dan Sheehan and Peter O'Mahony are recalled as Andy Farrell makes six changes.

Centre Robbie Henshaw and scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park are fit enough to be named among the replacements.

Farrell's side have won 10 of their past 11 games in the competition and are on for a first Grand Slam since 2018, having so far overcome Wales, France and Italy.

Scotland's title hopes were damaged in a 32-21 loss to reigning champions France last time out, coming on the back of wins over England and Wales in the first two rounds.

Gregor Townsend has made two changes from the defeat in Paris, with Jack Dempsey and Jonny Gray named in the XV.

Gray joins his brother Richie in an experienced second row, with Grant Gilchrist unavailable through suspension after being sent off against France. 

Hamish Watson is the other player to make way for Scotland, who have won three of their past four home games in the Six Nations.

Sunday's contest in Edinburgh will be a special occasion for Stuart Hogg, as he is set to become only the fourth Scotland player to make a century of appearances.

"We had to make a change with Grant banned, and with the back row we feel Jack has done really well off the bench and been training at a really high level," Townsend said.

"Jack has been very consistent in his play, and integrated well with the group, and we feel it is the right time and the right opposition for him to start.

"Scott Cummings and Hamish can add real speed off the bench."

Ireland have won 19 of their 23 matches against Scotland in the Six Nations (L4), including each of their past five in a row.

Teams:

Scotland: Stuart Hogg, Kyle Steyn, Huw Jones, Sione Tuipulotu, Duhan van der Merwe, Finn Russell, Ben White; Pierre Schoeman, George Turner, Zander Fagerson, Richie Gray, Jonny Gray, Matt Fagerson, Jamie Ritchie (c), Jack Dempsey.

Replacements: Fraser Brown, Jamie Bhatti, Simon Berghan, Scott Cummings, Hamish Watson, Ali Price, Blair Kinghorn, Chris Harris.

Ireland: Hugo Keenan, Mack Hansen, Garry Ringrose, Bundee Aki, James Lowe, Johnny Sexton (c), Conor Murray; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong, Iain Henderson, James Ryan, Peter O'Mahony, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris.

Replacements: Ronan Kelleher, Cian Healy, Tom O'Toole, Ryan Baird, Jack Conan, Jamison Gibson-Park, Ross Byrne, Robbie Henshaw.

Oleksandr Usyk is unlikely to face Tyson Fury in a unification bout in his return to the ring, the Ukrainian's promoter Alex Krassyuk admitted.

Negotiations for a clash that would determine the first unified heavyweight champion since 2000 have been ongoing for months but are now on the brink of collapse.

Krassyuk revealed this week that Fury had rejected a 60-40 purse split in favour of the winner, with the WBC champ seeking a much higher fee.

That leaves a proposed April bout between Usyk and Fury looking extremely unlikely, with Krassyuk conceding he does not expect the fight to be scheduled.

"It doesn't look likely that we're going to have a fight on April 29, that's my anticipation," he told iD Boxing.

"I can tell you only from the words that I hear from my negotiation partners – Frank Warren and George Warren – according to their reports, Tyson Fury was asking for too much money.

"Even if Usyk would get zero for the fight, it would still not be sufficient for Tyson to cover his wants. But that's actually the point. Normally when a fighter doesn't want a fight, he asks for something impossible and then it's not happening."

Should a fight against Fury not materialise, Usyk has a three-man waiting list of mandatory opponents – with WBA mandatory Daniel Dubois at the front due to the nature of the governing bodies' rotation system.

If the Brit was ruled out by the injury he sustained in his last fight, IBF mandatory Filip Hrgovic is next in line, followed by WBO mandatory Joe Joyce.

Krassyuk expects a mandatory fight to be Usyk's next bout, with the prospect of a clash against Dubois appealing.

"If a Fury fight doesn't happen, which it's not really likely to happen, I think Usyk will have to fight the mandatory. This [Dubois] is actually the next step for Usyk, we have to comply with it," he added.

"It's not the worst fight for the UK. Dubois is English, Usyk fought a couple of times here so he's probably a bit known in the UK. And this is a fight where an Englishman is fighting for three belts at heavyweight. It's a bit more than just a normal heavyweight fight.

"It's still huge. Dubois went through some hell in his last fight, so probably he's recovered, we expect that he did, but we have to see the medicals. It's something to be disclosed within the next couple of days.

"We're still expecting the official decision from Fury. Once we know from Fury officially that the fight is off, then we start working on the mandatory."

Mikaela Shiffrin tied the all-time record for Alpine Skiing World Cup wins with a dominant victory in Friday's giant slalom race in Are.

Shiffrin levelled the mark set by the great Ingemar Stenmark, the American doing so in Stenmark's home country of Sweden.

She led the way by 0.58 seconds after the first run and was faultless on the second to claim triumph ahead of Federica Brignone and Sweden's Sara Hector.

The win sees her add the giant slalom globe to her overall and slalom globes for this season and puts her in position to break Stenmark's record in Saturday's slalom at the same venue.

Speaking after her historic win at the scene of her first World Cup success, Shiffrin said: "It was just a spectacular day.

"I knew the GS globe was locked in [her only challenger Lara Gut-Behrami failed to finish her first run] before I raced, I just wanted to push and fight for it. That's amazing.

"After the overall and the slalom globe, the biggest real dream the rest of the season was the GS globe. I just tried to earn it."

Shiffrin's 86th win came from her 245th start. Her 246th could see her solidified as the greatest World Cup skier of all time.

Fred VanVleet has been fined $30,000 for his criticism of a referee following the Toronto Raptors' loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

Toronto went down 108-100 to the Clippers in Los Angeles on Wednesday after the hosts had more than twice as many free-throws awarded (31-14), and VanVleet – who was called for a technical foul in the third quarter – aimed strong criticism in particular at referee Ben Taylor after the game.

Although the Raptors point guard admitted his comments had been "unfortunate" he also claimed to have felt he had run out of other options.

"Speaking for a lot of guys, obviously I was frustrated, emotional," VanVleet said on Thursday. "But there are a lot of people that feel that way. Hopefully going forward we see some change for the better, the betterment of the game. It was a little emotional, a tough loss, things not going our way, [I] got caught up in the moment a little bit.

"You live and you learn and you move on. It came out authentic, it came out in real time. I wouldn't have done that if I felt like I had another option or outlet. I felt like I've exhausted my options this season, many different occasions. It is just one of those things, I am human.

"You will see me make mistakes in real time and make things that are not always perfect. A little unprofessional for my standard, so it was unfortunate."

Boston Celtics point guard Marcus Smart has also been critical of officiating in the past, and referred to VanVleet's comments when speaking to reporters on Thursday.

"I don't know if you saw Fred VanVleet's interview, that is all I am going to say," Smart said. "Obviously, it lets you know that I am not speaking out of my butt and I am not the only one that feels that way. I am going to let Fred do all the talking."

Jenson Button will enter three NASCAR Cup Series races in 2023, debuting at Circuit of the Americas on March 26.

Button won the 2009 Formula One world championship with Brawn, later driving for Mercedes before leaving the series in 2017.

The Briton has since tried his hand at rival series but had not until now raced in NASCAR.

Button will drive Rick Ware Racing's No. 15 Ford Mustang in three races, following up his Austin, Texas bow with entries in the inaugural Chicago Street Race on July 2 and at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course on August 13.

"Obviously, racing a Cup car is very different than what I'm used to," Button said.

"It's a lot heavier, with a lot less power and, basically, no downforce. It's got a sequential gearbox where you need to blip the throttle, so there's lots of stuff to learn in a very short space of time.

"But I just get excited about that new challenge, and when I throw myself into something, I am 100 per cent in.

"I'm not just doing it for fun in some one-off. I want to be competitive, and I know that to be competitive, it's going to take a bit of time. That's why doing these three races works very well this season."

Draymond Green and Dillon Brooks continued their feud following a well-timed matchup between the Golden State Warriors and the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday.

The days before the game had been dominated by the two players trading barbs, most notably on Green's podcast as he responded to criticism from Brooks.

Green's rant concluded: "Next time you speak up on me, I hope you're in a better situation than you're in now, where the guys you play with actually enjoy playing with you, because they actually think you're contributing to winning.

"Because it ain't happening right now, champ. Ah – you're not a champ. You're a clown. It ain't happening for you."

Brooks was able to respond on the court on Thursday as he led a Grizzlies team still missing Ja Morant to a 131-110 victory over the Warriors.

But Green again had a riposte, saying: "Anybody can win in March. Anybody can win in March. What does that mean? I have a hard time getting out of my bed in March. What's a game in March mean?"

There was a flash point late in the second quarter when the pair bumped chests, yet Green said he would not be "baited" by Brooks.

In the eyes of the Warriors man, this is still not a game that means more than any other.

"One team has to win [a championship] and then another team has to win," Green said. "That's what creates a rivalry.

"Not because one team gets up for you and talks like they can beat you and then not. That doesn't create a rivalry.

"Rivalries are created by you win, I win. Clearly, we've won four times, and I think their organisation has zero championships, so I can't consider that a rivalry."

Still, Brooks disagreed, adding: "They don't ever forget. When they won the championship, they were talking about us.

"They don't ever forget who the Memphis Grizzlies are. They get up and they can't wait to play us."

Domantas Sabonis recorded a second straight triple-double as the Sacramento Kings held off the New York Knicks 122-117 to move another step closer to ending their 16-year playoffs wait.

The Knicks erased a 21-point deficit to tie the game at 96-96 in the fourth quarter but the Kings held their nerve, claiming the win at Golden 1 Center on Thursday to restore second seed in the Western Conference.

Sabonis scored a team-high 24 points with 13 rebounds and 10 assists, while De'Aaron Fox came alive in the fourth quarter to finish with 23 points and seven assists.

Fox scored 15 of his 23 points in the fourth. The Kings guard has scored 10 or more points in the fourth quarter 23 times this season, which is tied for the most in the NBA with Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The Knicks were not helped by losing Jalen Brunson in the third quarter to injury, with a repeat of the foot injury that had kept him out of the previous two games.

Brunson scored 19 points with three-of-five three-point shooting from 19 minutes with the Knicks missing him down the stretch, giving up three turnovers in the final two-and-a-half minutes.

Julius Randle was guilty of one of those turnovers, mishandling the ball at 119-115 with 13.1 seconds to go. Randle finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds, while R.J. Barrett had 25 points.

The defeat means the Knicks have lost two in a row after going on a nine-game winning streak, leaving them fifth in the East at 39-29.

Ja-less Grizzlies down Warriors

The Golden State Warriors' road woes worsened as the Memphis Grizzlies downed the reigning champions 131-110 in the continued absence of Ja Morant.

Grizzlies point guard Tyus Jones scored a team-high 22 points with 11 assists, while Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr both added 21 points.

Stephen Curry finished with a game-high 29 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the field, but the Warriors shot 15-of-45 from beyond the arc as a team.

Memphis put up a massive 48 points in the first quarter, but held only a six-point three-quarter time lead before racing away with a comprehensive victory, improving to 39-26.

Lopez sets blocks record in Bucks win

Brook Lopez recorded an NBA season-high nine blocks as the league-best Milwaukee Bucks got past the short-handed Brooklyn Nets 118-113.

Lopez scored 24 points with 10 rebounds and a career-high nine blocks for the Bucks, who were without Giannis Antetokounmpo due to a sore right hand. Bobby Portis scored a game-high 28 points with 13 rebounds.

The Nets were without a host of players due to injuries, including Nic Claxton, Royce O'Neale, Spencer Dinwiddie and Ben Simmons, with Patty Mills top scoring off the bench with 23 points, making five-of-nine triples.

The Colorado Avalanche failed another test against an NHL playoff contender, losing 5-2 to the Los Angeles Kings to leave head coach Jared Bednar frustrated.

The Kings recorded their fifth straight win, improving their record to 38-20-8 to sit second in the Pacific Division.

But the Avs are third in the Central Division with a 35-21-6 record, having lost four of their past five games, all against sides in the playoffs contention.

"There's another level of determination and passion that we can play with, if we want to win against the good teams," Bednar told reporters.

"It's deflating, because you feel like you're right there and you know they're a difficult team to score against."

Adrian Kempe opened the scoring in the first period and Gabriel Vilardi doubled their advantage at 17:10.

Evan Rodrigues halved the deficit, deflecting in Samuel Girard's point shot at 14:59 of the second period. But Kempe restored the Kings' two-goal lead early in the third.

Nathan MacKinnon made it 3-2 with a snap shot at 4:24 on the power play, only for Phillip Danault to score twice to seal victory for the Kings, the latter into an empty net.

Avs defenseman Cale Makar reiterated Bednar's sentiment, with Colorado's postseason hopes getting tight.

"We should have approached this like a playoff game tonight," Makar said. "Felt like we knew the type of team they are.

"We know that they're so systematically sound that it tends to frustrate teams when they sit back and don't allow you to get in their zone."

Andy Murray pulled out another narrow win on Thursday as he collected an opening round 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 6-4 comeback against Tomas Martin Etcheverry at the Indian Wells Masters.

It is the latest in a string of hard-fought wins for Murray, who has played the maximum number of sets in each of his past 10 victories dating back to the Gijon Open in October, including a pair of five-setters at the Australian Open.

Etcheverry started strong, fresh off his first ever ATP final at the Chile Open, but committed more unforced errors (21) than winners (17) in the second and third sets combined.

Fellow Great Britain representative Jack Draper was far more comfortable in his 6-1 6-1 demolition of Switzerland's Leandro Riedi, booking an all-English clash against Daniel Evans in the second round.

Former world number three Stan Wawrinka prevailed 6-4 1-6 6-1 against Aleksandar Vukic, but Vukic's Australian compatriot Thanasi Kokkanakis flew the flag with a 6-4 6-1 triumph over hometown talent Brandon Holt.

In a better result for the Americans, Mackenzie McDonald breezed past Filip Krajinovic 6-3 6-0 in just 63 minutes, and rising 20-year-old Ben Shelton had no problems in his 6-4 6-1 win over Fabio Fognini in 72 minutes.

Argentina's Guido Pella ground out 3-6 7-5 6-2 comeback in his South American clash against Brazil's Thiago Monteiro, and Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff did the same in his European showdown against France's Quentin Halys, taking it 1-6 6-3 6-3.