New Zealand could contest Brodie Retallick's red card in the win over Japan on Saturday as he faces the prospect of being banned for their tour of Europe.
The towering lock was dismissed for a dangerous clean-out on loose forward Kazuki Himeno in the 65th minute of the All Blacks' 38-31 victory.
New Zealand held on to avoid an upset, but they were far from convincing at the National Stadium in Tokyo.
The Rugby Championship winners will now travel to face Wales, Scotland and England next month, with a Test against Wayne Pivac's side first up at the Principality Stadium next Saturday.
Head coach Ian Foster says the All Blacks will consider whether to lodge an appeal in a bid to prevent Retallick from being ruled out of those encounters.
He said: "We're going to have a good look at it. I certainly didn't see any intention apart from trying to move a body. That's a process we’ll have to go through."
Retallick scored the first of five All Blacks tries, while 13 points came from the boot of Richie Mo'unga.
Foster was content with the way New Zealand dug in to see off the Brave Blossoms.
"I thought it was a day where we could have panicked a little bit," he said.
"But I thought they hung in there well and did what they needed to do at the right time."
Japan will now prepare to do battle with England at Twickenham on November 12 and head coach Jamie Joseph is relishing what he expects to be a bigger challenge.
He said: "The key for us really is to go to England now and replicate that performance against a better side."
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has praised the FIA for their "robust" decision to punish Red Ball for breaching the Formula One cost cap.
The constructor have been fined $7million and handed a 10 per cent reduction in permitted aerodynamic allowance for the next year after they were found guilty of breaching the sport's budget cap.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner called the punishments "Draconian", but acknowledged the team would accept them, having protested their innocence over the past few months.
Wolff was satisfied to see the sport's governing body come down on their rival for their offence, though he suggested sanctions could perhaps have been even tougher.
"I think the most important thing for me is there is a robust governance," Wolff told Sky Sports.
"They didn't bat an eyelid, they just followed the process.
"I know how rigorous they were with us, all throughout the year - that was a difficult process. It is good to see that there is a penalty, whether we deem it too low or too high."
Wolff shut down any suggestion that a lenient penalty could tempt Mercedes to commit their own breaches though, stating the whole affair had tarnished Red Bull's brand.
"I think what you see beyond the sporting penalty and financial fine, there is also a reputational damage," he added.
"In a world of transparency and good governance, that is just not on any more.
"Compliance-wise, whatever team you are, you are responsible for representing your brand, your employees, your partners. That's why, for us, it wouldn't be a business case."
J.T. Realmuto was "ecstatic" to seal a remarkable comeback for the Philadelphia Phillies after his extra-innings home run delivered a 6-5 win against the Houston Astros in the World Series opener.
The catcher struck in the 10th to cap a fine individual performance, as the Phillies drew first blood at Minute Maid Park, having trailing by five at the end of the third.
Realmuto had already been a standout for the Phillies, with a two-run double in the fifth to level things up.
But his 346-foot line-drive home run was the sort of moment the 31-year-old had been dreaming of since he was a child.
"[I'm] just ecstatic to put a good swing on that pitch, be able to give our team the lead," he said. "We did such a good job fighting back there.
"I mean, ball games in the backyard, the whole 3-2, bases-loaded, two-out situation - I probably had 7,000 at-bats in that situation growing up."
Realmuto is the first catcher to score an extra-inning home run in the World Series since Carlton Fisk achieved the feat in 1975.
Nick Castellanos says the Astros will not dwell on their first loss of the postseason.
"Let's go to work," he said. "We've been there before. I think that's what this team does so well.
"We know there's no quit, really. We really respect all 27 outs, and we take that seriously, and we take it [pretty] personal."
Kyrie Irving is being met with severe backlash, including from owner of the Brooklyn Nets Joe Tsai, after sharing a link on social media to a movie "full of anti-Semitic disinformation".
On Thursday, Irving tweeted out a link to a movie on Amazon Prime called 'Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America' – his tweet remains up as of Saturday - and he also shared the same image to his Instagram story.
The 2018 movie is based on a 2015 book of the same name, and includes troubling assertions.
In a team statement, the Nets said: "The Brooklyn Nets strongly condemn and have no tolerance for the promotion of any form of hate speech.
"We believe that in these situations, our first action must be open, honest dialogue.
"We thank those, including the ADL [Anti-Defamation League], who have been supportive during this time."
Tsai also released his own statement that he posted on his personal Twitter account.
"I’m disappointed that Kyrie appears to support a film based on a book full of anti-semitic disinformation," he said.
"I want to sit down and make sure he understands this is hurtful to all of us, and as a man of faith, it is wrong to promote hate based on race, ethnicity or religion."
He then posted a follow-up tweet saying "this is bigger than basketball".
Irving is yet to comment on the situation, which is sure to dominate the lead-up to the Nets' home game against the Indiana Pacers on Saturday.
With Joel Embiid out of the line-up for the Philadelphia 76ers' trip to take on the Toronto Raptors, it was third-year guard Tyrese Maxey rising to the challenge to set a new career-high points total in the 112-90 win.
Maxey, who prior to Friday had only ever scored more than 33 points once – a 39-point effort against the Denver Nuggets as a rookie – set a new personal-best with 44 points against the Raptors.
He was incredibly efficient, hitting 15-of-20 from the field and nine-of-12 from three-point range, while also leading the 76ers with eight rebounds and chipping in four assists.
Former league MVP James Harden was happy to cede the responsibility to his less-experienced running-mate, finishing with just 11 points, four rebounds and four assists as he assumed a supporting role.
It was also a breakout performance for De'Anthony Melton, who was given his first start in a 76ers uniform after being acquired in the offseason and made his presence felt defensively, snatching five steals to go with his 13 points, six assists and five rebounds.
Speaking to the media after the game, Maxey said his big night was simply the product of the offense running smoothly.
"It was [about] getting good looks," he said. "We got to the paint, sprayed off for threes, got in transition, and once you get stops, the game becomes way easier honestly, for not just myself, but for all of us.
"We were getting to the paint and driving and kicking, creating, generating offense for everybody. That’s why I got open threes, why [Melton] got open threes, Tobias [Harris] got open threes.
"I just know how good we can be, I know how talented we are, but we’ve got to match our talent with the energy that we play with, and defensive tenacity.
"Tonight we knew it was going to be extremely hard without Joel. That made guys step up, that made guys do things they don’t normally do."
Teammate Matisse Thybulle was thrilled to see Maxey shine, but he said it was no surprise.
"Every time he gets an opportunity, he does something big with it," he said. "You could even take it back to the COVID games we were looking at our bench, like who’s gonna be the one to step up?
"Tyrese Maxey did – and it’s like, time after time – Tyrese is the one that steps up, shows up big and he does it, obviously, as an individual, but for the team, and we all benefit from it."
Head coach Doc Rivers also enjoyed the show, and he pointed to it as an indicator of how well the 76ers adjusted without their star center.
"I just think he’s a heck of a basketball player," he said. "We came into the game knowing Joel wasn’t gonna play… we talked to [the rest of the team] this morning about trying to find matchups and then spacing the floor and attacking.
"They are a great help-defensive team and they can’t stop it. Us getting into the paint sucked everybody in, and that’s where we got shots. I thought we were ready for that and I thought we did a good job."
After starting the season with three consecutive losses, the 76ers have now won two of their past three to take a 2-4 record into their road trip against the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night.
The Philadelphia Phillies needed extra innings to complete a comeback victory in a thrilling opening game of the World Series, defeating the Houston Astros 6-5 after J.T. Realmuto's 10th-inning home run.
Despite the close finish, the Astros looked like they were going to run away with Game 1 early, jumping out to a 5-0 lead after Kyle Tucker hit a solo home run in the second inning, and then followed it with a three-run homer an inning later.
The Phillies had to respond, and they did so quickly, rallying with two outs in the fourth inning to string together three consecutive hits off Astros ace Justin Verlander, with a two-run double from Alec Bohm trimming the margin to 5-3.
With two runners on base in the fifth inning, Realmuto tied things up with a two-run double of his own to left-center, and from that point, the bullpens would take over.
Both starting pitchers had rough outings, and they posted nearly identical stat-lines. Verlander made it through five innings, giving up five runs from six hits and two walks, while Aaron Nola also gave up five runs from six hits and two walks, but could only survive four-and-a-third innings. Both starters also finished with five strikeouts.
Neither team scored in the final four innings of regulation, and after Phillies closer Seranthony Dominguez successfully navigated the ninth inning, Realmuto led off the 10th with a 346-foot line-drive home run.
Realmuto and two-time MVP Bryce Harper were the only two Phillies to register multiple hits, both finishing two-for-four with a walk.
David Robertson was tasked with closing the show for the Phillies, and he after his sharp curveball delivered two quick strikeouts, a double to Alex Bregman was followed by a walk and a wild pitch, putting runners on second and third.
But pinch-hitter Aledmys Diaz was unable to be the hero for the Astros, grounding out to third base after he was denied a free pass to first earlier in the at-bat when the umpire ruled he leaned too far into a pitch that grazed his elbow.
Paolo Banchero showed exactly why the Orlando Magic took him with the first overall pick in this year's NBA Draft, nearly posting his first career triple-double as his side defeated the Charlotte Hornets 113-93 on Friday.
With last year's fifth overall pick Jalen Suggs and starting point guard Cole Anthony both missing through injuries, Orlando opted to not start a traditional point guard and instead let their new star run the show.
He looked right at home as the focal point of the Magic's offense, scoring 21 points on eight-of-14 shooting while adding 12 rebounds and seven assists to deliver their first win of the season.
Even more impressive was the fact that almost all of that production came in the first three quarters, as Orlando built an 82-53 lead heading into the fourth and Banchero sat out the final nine minutes.
Through six career games, Banchero is averaging 24 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game, and is yet to score less than 20 points in a contest.
Lakers lose again despite James' best efforts
LeBron James' 28 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals were not enough to bring an end to the Los Angeles Lakers' winless start to the season, falling to 0-5 after a 111-102 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
James shot 10-of-24 from the field and one-of-six from deep, and in his first game off the bench since his rookie season, Russell Westbrook was plagued by similar issues.
Westbrook shot six-of-17 for his 18 points, while also missing half of his 10 free throws and committing five turnovers.
For the Wolves, Anthony Edwards led the scoring with 29 points on 11-of-22 shooting, while Rudy Gobert was seven-of-11 for 22 points and 21 rebounds to lift their record to 4-2.
Antetokounmpo mounts case for third MVP
With two MVP trophies already in his display case, Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo made it clear why he is one of the favourites yet again this season with a powerhouse performance in a 119-108 win against the New York Knicks.
Antetokounmpo led the Bucks in made field goals (11), made free throws (seven), points (30), rebounds (14) and assists (nine) in a true virtuoso showing. He was supported well, with six teammates making their way into double figures, including 12 points and 12 rebounds off the bench from Bobby Portis.
With the win, the Bucks are now 4-0, and the only remaining unbeaten team.
LeVert and Mitchell drop 41 each in overtime Cavaliers win
Caris LeVert and Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers went head-to-head with star Boston Celtics duo Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and emerged 132-123 winners in overtime.
While Brown and Tatum had 32 each at a combined 22-of-41 from the field (54 per cent), the Cavs pairing played even better, scoring 41 each off a combined 27-of-47 (57 per cent).
Second-year phenom Evan Mobley also had a big hand in the win, chipping in 19 points (seven-of-12 shooting) with 10 rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
Just two weeks after they exercised his third-year option, the San Antonio Spurs on Friday surprisingly waived second-year shooting guard Joshua Primo.
In a statement from Spurs Sports & Entertainment CEO R.C. Buford, he said: "It is our hope that, in the long run, the decision will serve the best interest of both the organization and Joshua."
The 19-year-old Primo was the 12th overall selection in the 2021 NBA Draft and averaged 5.8 points in 50 games – mostly off the bench – during his rookie season. He appeared in the Spurs' first four games this season and averaged 7.0 points, 4.5 assists and 3.3 rebounds as his role began to expand.
Primo’s release was particularly curious because the team picked up his third-year option two weeks ago, meaning his contract has been guaranteed for $4.1million this season and $4.3m next season. He can now be claimed on waivers, and if he clears, he can become an unrestricted free agent.
San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich was asked about the decision to waive Primo before the team’s game against the Chicago Bulls on Friday, but he declined to answer, stating the organization will not be commenting any further.
Ben Crane shot Friday's round of the day at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, with his nine-under 62 propelling him to the top of the leaderboard heading into the weekend at 14 under.
In his second trip around Bermuda's Port Royal Golf Course, Crane collected nine birdies and one eagle with his two bogeys to sit alone atop the leaderboard as the 46-year-old seeks his first PGA Tour win since the 2014 FedEx St Jude Classic.
He is one stroke clear of a five-man group at 13 under, including joint first-round leader Austin Smotherman, as well as rising talent Robby Shelton and Australia's Aaron Baddeley.
A strong international contingent is tied for seventh at 12 under, headlined by Ireland's Seamus Power, and he is joined by Taiwan's Kevin Yu, China's Zecheng Dou and Colombia's Nico Echavarria.
Belgium's Thomas Detry and Argentina's Fabian Gomez are at 11 under, while Harrison Endycott – who was tied with Smotherman for the first-round lead – followed his opening 62 with a disappointing 70 to enter the weekend four strokes off the pace.
Caleb Surratt is the top amateur in the field at seven under after enjoying a strong seven-under 64 in his second round, shaking off the nerves following his 71 on Thursday to sit well inside the projected cut-line.
Outstanding shooting from their eight-man Long Range Team team helped Guyana land the Milex Cup at the 2022 West Indies Full Bore Championships currently underway at Twickenham Park in Jamaica on Friday.
The shooters from South America aiming at targets at 900 yards were the only team to score over 700 out of a possible 800, with a total of 715.35 to take the title over Canada (682.32), Antigua & Barbuda (655.22). Hosts Jamaica finished fourth with a combined score of 652.16.
Four of their shooters score higher than 90 points during the competition - Sherwin Felicien shot 93.3, Roberto Tewari, 92.7, Peter Persaud, 91.5 and Dylan Fields 90.6 – as Guyana dominated the competition.
However, the best shooter on the day was Antigua & Barbuda’s Anderson Perry who scored 49.1 on the first detail and 48.2 on the second for a combined score of 97.3 out of a possible 100. His teammate Christopher Joseph was also excellent with a score of 96.6.
Karen Anderson was Jamaica’s top shooter with her score of 88.3.
Guyana will go for the sweep on Saturday in the Short Range Match at 300/500/600 yards in which Lennox Brathwaite is defending champion in the Wogarth Cup.
In the headline matchup from the first day of the LIV Golf Team Championship, Cameron Smith finished 1up against Phil Mickelson to help Punch GC advance past Hy Flyers GC in Friday's quarter-finals.
The format for the Team Championship has the top-four teams automatically advancing to Saturday's semi-finals, while teams five-through-12 battled it out on the opening day.
With teams of four, it meant there would be two one-on-one match play rounds, as well as a two-on-two foursomes played with alternate shot rules, with the team who wins two-out-of-three getting to advance.
For Punch GC, Smith was matched up with Mickelson, and they went onto the 18th hole tied, before Mickelson left the door open with a bogey to finish his round, allowing Smith to secure one win for his team with a par.
Smith's Australian teammate Marc Leishman enjoyed a much more dominant victory, working his way to a 4up lead through seven holes on his way to a 4 and 2 win against J.J. Wolf. Hy Flyers did salvage one point despite getting eliminated, with the duo of Bernd Wiesberger and Cameron Tringale beating Wade Ormsby and Matt Jones 3 and 2.
It was a three-to-zero clean sweep for Majesticks GC, with Ian Poulter beating Kevin Na 4 and 2, Lee Westwood defeating Sihwan Kim 4 and 3, and the team of Sam Horsfield with Henrik Stenson collecting a 4 and 2 victory over Sadom Kaewkanjana and Phachara Khongwatmai.
For Smash GC it was Chase pulling through for the Koepka clan as Brooks Koepka fell convincingly in a 4 and 3 loss to Niblicks GC's Harold Varner III.
But Smash GC will move on to the semi-finals after Chase Koepka and Jason Kokrak beat Turk Petit and Hudson Swafford 2 and 1, while Peter Uihlein hammered James Piot 5 and 3.
In the last quarter-final, Cleeks GC booked their semi-final matchup against Dustin Johnson and the top-seeded 4 Aces GC after winning two-out-of-three against Torque GC.
Joaquinn Niemann did all he could for Torque GC, cruising past Shergo Al Kurdi 5 and 3 after Al Kurdi stepped in for Cleeks GC captain Martin Kaymer, who was a late withdrawal.
But Laurie Canter kept his team in it with a narrow 1up win over Jediah Morgan, before Graeme McDowell and Richard Bland put Torque GC through to the next round with a 2up victory against Scott Vincent and Adrian Otaegui.
The eight remaining teams will compete in the same format in the semi-finals, with Cameron Smith against Fireballs GC captain Sergio Garcia shaping up as the main event.
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel will miss Sunday’s game against NFC West rivals the Los Angeles Rams with a hamstring injury.
Samuel, a first team All-Pro selection in 2021, was injured in the 49ers’ 44-23 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs last week. The dynamic playmaker played through the issue during the game, but did not practice at all this week.
Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan on Friday said he is hopeful Samuel can return for San Francisco’s November 13 game against the Los Angeles Chargers following a Week 9 bye.
"He's not good enough to go," Shanahan said. "The fact that he even had a chance hopefully means he'll be good with the week off and be ready for the next game."
Samuel has compiled 387 receiving yards and two touchdowns on 32 catches so far this season, while adding 138 rushing yards and a touchdown on 24 attempts.
His best performance in 2022 came against the Rams in Week 4, when the fourth-year pro had six receptions for 115 yards and contributed a 57-yard touchdown catch to the 49ers' 24-9 victory.
Including the 2021 NFC Championship Game, Samuel has amassed 621 yards from scrimmage with five total touchdowns in five meetings with the Rams dating back to Week 12 of the 2020 campaign. The 49ers won all four of the regular-season matchups between the teams during that stretch.
Shanahan added that fellow wide receiver Jauan Jennings will be listed as questionable for Sunday’s game due to a hamstring injury of his own.
Jennings ranks fourth among San Francisco players with 14 catches and 180 receiving yards in seven games this season.
Christian Horner says Red Bull "begrudgingly accept" their "Draconian" punishments for breaking budget cap regulations but feels some rival Formula One teams owe them an apology.
Red Bull were on Friday fined $7million (£6.1m) and hit with a 10 per cent reduction in permitted aerodynamic research for overspending last year after coming to an 'accepted breach agreement' (ABA) with the FIA.
Motorsport's world governing body the FIA revealed that Red Bull were guilty of spending €2.2m (£1.9m) more than they were permitted to last season, which ended dramatically when Max Verstappen won his first world title.
Along with being slapped with a significant fine, the constructors' champions have also had the amount of time they can spend using their wind tunnel or computational fluid dynamics cut by 10 per cent for a one-year period.
"We could have been looking at a 12-month period to have this situation closed [if they had not accepted the ABA]," Horner said during a press conference at the Mexican Grand Prix.
"The amount of speculation, commenting and sniping that has been going on in the paddock, we felt that it was in everybody's interest – our interest, the FIA's interest, in F1's interest – to say, 'we close the book', and we close the book here and today.
"We accept the penalties, begrudgingly, but we accept them."
Horner says Red Bull will be significantly impacted by the punishment imposed next season.
"The more Draconian part is the sporting penalty, which is a 10 per cent reduction in our ability to utilise our wind tunnel and aerodynamic tools," he added.
"I've heard people reporting today that it's an insignificant amount. Let me tell you now, that is an enormous amount. That represents anywhere between a quarter and half a second of a lap.
"That 10 per cent will have an impact on our ability to perform on track."
McLaren chief executive Zak Brown last week stated that breaches of the budget cap amounted to "cheating", a claim which Red Bull principal Horner labelled "fictitious".
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, who was denied a record-breaking eighth world title when Verstappen claimed a dramatic and controversial win at the season-ending race in Abu Dhabi, warned a "slap on the wrist" for Red Bull would simply encourage further breaches.
Horner does not believe it is Red Bull that should be apologising.
"I think that we're probably due an apology from some of our rivals for some of the claims that they've made," he said.
"We make no apology for the way that we've performed, the way that we've acted. We do take on the chin that there are lessons to be learned, and potentially mistakes have been made in our submission, which with the benefit of hindsight and 20-20 vision, everybody can be a specialist.
"But there was no intent, there was nothing dishonest, and there was certainly no cheating involved, which has been alleged in certain corners. So I don't feel that we need to apologise.
"We've taken our pounding in public, we've taken a very public pounding through the accusations that have been made by other teams. We've had our drivers booed at circuits, and the reputational damage that's been made by allegations has been significant. The time is now for that to stop and move on."
World number one Carlos Alcaraz is through to the semi-finals of the Swiss Indoors Basel after easing past Pablo Carreno-Busta in straight sets.
Alcaraz took just under an hour and 40 minutes to overcome his fellow Spaniard and friend 6-3 6-4, getting 67 per cent of his first serves in and winning 77 per cent of those.
Carreno-Busta struggled to keep the US Open champion at bay, facing 12 break points in all, and although he saved nine of them, his defiance was ultimately in vain.
"It is difficult to play against a friend like Pablo," Alcaraz said on-court after his win on Friday. "Every day we go and have dinner, lunch, together. Every week and we train together, so it is difficult to play against him.
"I also support him and want him to win every match. On court, there are no friends. You have to be focused and go for the match and that is what I did."
Alcaraz will face third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final four after the Canadian defeated Alexander Bublik 6-2 6-3.
The other semi-final will see Roberto Bautista Agut play Holger Rune after the Spaniard beat Stan Wawrinka 7-5 7-6 (7-5) and the Danish teenager defeated Arthur Rinderknech 7-6 (7-0) 6-2.
In Austria, top seed at the Vienna Open Daniil Medvedev beat Jannik Sinner 6-4 6-2 to advance to the last four, where he will play Grigor Dimitrov after the Bulgarian overcame Marcos Giron 6-3 4-6 6-4.
The winner of that contest will face either Denis Shapovalov, who beat Dan Evans 6-3 6-3, or Borna Coric after the Croatian came through against Hubert Hurkacz 6-4 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-5).
The San Francisco 49ers are looking to continue their regular-season dominance over the Los Angeles Rams, and may need to lean on new running back Christian McCaffrey to help them do so.
San Francisco's trip to SoFi Stadium marks a critical game for these NFC West rivals, who have both struggled to produce their best this season.
After a bye week, the defending Super Bowl champion Rams are 3-3, while the 49ers are coming off back-to-back losses, which have dropped them to 3-4.
However, the 49ers have plenty of reason for confidence of getting back on track before their bye week against an opponent they defeated 24-9 in Week 4.
That victory made it seven straight regular-season wins over the Rams for the Niners, their second-longest streak against Los Angeles all-time (17 straight from December 1990 – December 1998).
But the 49ers will not have happy memories from their previous visit to Los Angeles, the Rams having prevailed 20-17 in last season's NFC Championship Game to book their place in the Super Bowl.
Wide receiver Deebo Samuel played a critical role in that game and has been a key feature in the 49ers' success against the Rams.
Samuel has accounted for seven regular-season touchdowns in his career against the Rams (three receiving, three rushing, one passing) but will be unavailable for San Francisco this weekend due to a hamstring injury.
The loss of the best running wide receiver in the NFL may see greater onus placed on arguably the best receiving running back, with McCaffrey sure to be an integral part of the gameplan after the 49ers traded four draft picks to acquire him from the Carolina Panthers.
McCaffrey averaged 6.2 yards on his 10 touches in his debut against the Kansas City Chiefs and, though the 49ers will look for him to boost a run game that has a disappointing success rate of 33.7 per cent through seven weeks, the absence of Samuel and their underwhelming ground game could see San Francisco feature the former Panther heavily in the passing game.
San Francisco's 44-23 loss to the Chiefs last week marked the first time they have lost back-to-back games by at least 14 points since Weeks 9-10, 2020. They followed those games up with a 23-20 win against the Rams in Los Angeles.
The 49ers will look for a defensive upturn after their struggles against Kansas City, though defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans' group is still battling injuries in the front seven.
Holding the Rams in check will be critical to San Francisco's hopes of overcoming their absences. Los Angeles have scored at least 20 points in all three of their wins this season and 10 or fewer points in all three losses.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford's record against the 49ers should also offer optimism to Kyle Shanahan's team. Stafford is 1-6 in his regular-season career against the 49ers, his worst record against any NFC opponent.
Stafford has thrown four touchdown passes and five interceptions in his three games against them since joining the Rams, losing each one. Whether he improves on Sunday is likely to have a huge say in which teams emerge from the NFC West.
Jahrome Hughes put on a show as New Zealand won Rugby League World Cup Group C by hammering Ireland 48-10 at Headingley on Friday.
Hughes scored two and set up three of the Kiwis' 10 tries as they ended the group stage with a perfect record and are expected to face Fiji at the quarter-final stage.
Slippery halfback Hughes, making his World Cup debut after recovering from a thigh strain, ghosted in for an opening solo try after Ed Chamberlain's penalty put Ireland in front and his pinpoint kick put one of a plate for Jordan Rapana.
Peta Hiku's quickfire double extended the Kiwis' advantage following a Louis Senior intercept try at the other end and Ronaldo Mulitalo's four-pointer made it 24-6 at half-time.
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves was perhaps lucky to avoid a red card for a high tackle on James Bentley late in that frantic first half.
New Zealand were not at their brilliant best, but Rapana and Hughes helped themselves to doubles, with James Fisher-Harris, Kenny Bromwich and Joseph Manu also crossing in the second half.
Senior pounced on a mistake to become the joint-leading try-scorer in the tournament with six as Ireland showed plenty of fight, but are on the brink of elimination with Lebanon poised to move into the last eight.
After a four-year wait to receive monetary damages from the Trinidad and Tobago Gymnastics Federation (TTGF), gymnast Thema Williams received payment on Thursday afternoon, following a ruling from a High Court judge.
High Court judge Frank Seepersad ruled on Thursday that Republic Bank at which the TTGF held an account, make out a cheque payable to Williams for $223,800.19. The amount includes interest accrued on the original judgement in 2018 of TT$200.000.00. According to the Newsday publication, the bank complied with the order about two hours before the 4:00 pm deadline set by the judge.
Her lawyer Martin Daly SC, meanwhile, has expressed concern over how the athlete was treated by the federation while it was collecting funds from the Trinidadian government mirroring comments made by Judge Seepersad in his ruling.
In his written judgement the judge stated; "Transparency of conduct, strict compliance with the law and accountability must define the way in which persons, organizations and entities operate. It is difficult to comprehend why the Judgment Debtor has continued to be in receipt of State funding and donations when it stands in violation of a court order."
In 2018, Williams won a court battle against the TTGF that was deemed to have discriminated against the gymnast when they withdrew her from the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio Brazil. In her place, the TTGF selected Canadian-born gymnast Marisa Dick.
Williams had sought to recover damages of TT$11 million but the court ordered that she receive TT$150,000 in exemplary damages and a further TT$50,000 in lost earnings.
At the time of Thursday’s order, the amount in the TTGF’s account was just over TT$257,000.
Daly told Sportsmax.TV that he was delighted at the outcome but expressed concerns over how the state had treated the athlete who had to wait as long to be compensated after being egregiously wronged.
"I am pleased that she has finally got her money," he said while highlighting comments from Judge Seepersad during his ruling on Thursday.
"I think the most important comments in the judgement yesterday is the criticism of the state for continuing to provide funds for a federation that had behaved in the way that it did."
It brings into question the accountability of sporting bodies and why would a government continue to provide subvention to a body that had behaved in that way. One of the things that had greatly upset me was that as few as 14 days after the original judgement there was a picture in the newspaper of officials from sporting bodies receiving money from the state and included in that was the TTGF and I just could not understand why they couldn't have, as we say colloquially, 'mash brakes and think about what they were doing.
"So I think there is a very important long-term outcome of this which is the judge's criticism of the state being blind to egregious acts by sporting bodies. That is the long-term message we should take from this."
Emma Raducanu has pulled out of next month's Billie Jean King Cup, citing a wrist injury.
The former US Open champion had been named as part of Great Britain's team for the tournament, which will take place at Emirates Arena in Glasgow between November 8-13.
Raducanu was selected alongside Harriet Dart, Katie Boulter and Heather Watson, with a fifth member to be added at a later date, and made her Billie Jean King Cup debut in April's qualifier against Czech Republic.
However, after pulling out of the Transylvania Open earlier this month with the same right-wrist issue, the 19-year-old confirmed on Friday she had been told by doctors she will not recover in time.
"It's disappointing to get the news from the doctors that I won't be ready in time, particularly with it being on home soil," Raducanu said.
"I tried to do everything possible to get it ready in time.
"Since my last tournament I've been working every day on physical training and rehab. I've got confidence in my team-mates and look forward to playing next year."
Great Britain will be one of 12 teams participating in Scotland, and have been drawn in a group with Kazakhstan and Spain.
Aston Martin have been fined €450,000 (£388,830) after being found in breach of Formula One financial regulations for the 2021 season.
Motorsport's world governing body the FIA announced earlier this month that an audit determined Aston Martin and Red Bull – who were hit with a €7million (£6.1m) fine on Friday – broke the rules during the 2021 reporting period.
Aston Martin's financial documentation claimed their costs were under the budget cap, but the team was found to have misrepresented their outgoings.
In a statement, the FIA revealed Aston Martin "incorrectly excluded and/or adjusted costs" relating to the construction of their "new headquarters, new F1 simulator, wind tunnel fees, R&D tax credit, a signing bonus cost, use of transferable components, used inventories, service desk costs, cost of catering services at their headquarters, costs of desks and chairs, sponsor services and outsourced personnel services".
Aston Martin subsequently entered into an Accepted Breach Agreement (ABA) with the FIA, meaning they must pay a fine within 30 days and reimburse costs incurred by the administrators who conducted the financial review.
Announcing the ABA, the FIA said: "The Cost Cap Administration recognised that AMR [Aston Martin] has acted cooperatively and in good faith throughout the review process and has sought to provide additional information and evidence when requested in a timely manner, that this is the first year of the full application of the Financial Regulations and that there is no accusation or evidence that AMR has sought or obtained any undue advantage as a result of the breach."
With Aston Martin entering an ABA, there is no possibility for the team to appeal their fine and the matter is now closed.
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