Former Premier League referee David Coote has insisted that his drug use had no influence on his on-pitch decisions as he opened up on his sacking and why he said he is ashamed of his actions.

Coote was fired by England's referee body PGMOL last month after being suspended in November for being "in serious breach of the provisions of his employment contract." It followed a video circulating on social media showing the official allegedly making disparaging remarks about Liverpool and their ex-manager Jürgen Klopp.

The investigation also covered a second video appearing to show Coote snorting a white powder, purportedly during the 2024 European Championship where he was one of the assistant VARs. European football's governing body UEFA has appointed an ethics investigator to look into the matter.

Coote, who apologised for his actions earlier this week and said a fear of abuse due to his sexuality triggered his behaviour, spoke in detail about his sacking in an interview with Sky Sports News, where he was asked if his drug use affected his ability to make "clear and concise decisions during matches."

"I can understand why [people] may think that way," Coote, 42, said. "However, I do want to make it clear that this was really personal for me.

"It was around my responses to coping with pressure and it was postgame without an implication on my work. I don't condone it for one instance of course. I regret taking those actions. I made really poor choices at that time.

"There were times when I escaped to a place that I really don't want to go back to."

Coote was suspended by PGMOL on Nov. 11. The controversy escalated a few days later when UK newspaper The Sun released a second video allegedly showing the drug use.

"In the first instances, it was a real shock and then as things gathered pace in terms of other stories that came to light, it was really, really hard," Coote said.

"In that moment and in those first days, they were really dark because I felt embarrassed and ashamed at what I've done over the course of time. The situation that I found myself in meant that I really had to rely on people's support to get me through.

"Otherwise, genuinely, I don't know that I'd be here."

Asked what he meant by that, Coote explained: "In that first week, I had suicidal thoughts and I didn't get close to acting on those, but at that time, that was really tough and a lot of people reached out to me on a frequent basis because they were concerned about my welfare.

"A lot of things that I really regret either doing or saying all came to light in the space of a week or so, when in fact, a lot of them were over the course of four or five years ago. In my head, I'd put them to bed and forgotten they even existed.

"To then find myself facing what they were just reignited some really difficult times and some really tough thoughts."

Coote also spoke about his regret over his comments referencing Klopp's German nationality in the video, and said he understands if he never referees again.

"I accepted my fate immediately, with the PGMOL as well," he said.

"I want to take ownership of my actions. I think that's important. I want to apologise to those who are offended by what I said and were offended but I want to now try and live my life to the values that are truly me and to the best of my ability moving forward."

The first season of the new 36-team, single-league table UEFA Champions League built to a crescendo on Wednesday night with all the final games kicking off at the same time -- and it delivered the drama and chaos we crave.

Much of the focus, naturally, fell on the varying fortunes of the big guns: Manchester City squeezed into top 24, Paris Saint-Germain needed a win to be certain of qualifying, while AC Milan fell unceremoniously out of the top eight with a 2-1 loss to Dinamo Zagreb.

But for every top team underperforming, there's an underdog seizing their moment and taking their place. And during this phase, Aston Villa, Lille, Brest, Celtic and Club Brugge certainly rose to the occasion as they all secured unexpected placings in the next round.

There are some common themes among the teams who exceed expectations: They all benefited from the new format's more egalitarian outlook on fixtures, they all had one particularly spectacular result that changed their outlook, and almost all of them can thank their goalkeepers for some truly sensational performances.

LILLE

Finished Top 8

What drove their success: Brilliant goalkeeping, young stars flourishing and Jonathan David penalties

Lille fought tooth and nail to even get into the Champions League group phase, counting on a 118th-minute penalty from Jonathan David to beat Fenerbahce in the third qualifying round then squeezing past Slavia Prague 3-2 on aggregate to make the league phase. The range of emotions these players and fans had experienced before they'd even confirmed their place in the competition proper was remarkable.

Lille started poorly, falling 2-0 to Sporting CP in a run of four straight losses across all competitions. It was a surprise to everyone, therefore, when they tightened up and deservedly beat Real Madrid 1-0 in the second game; then came a downright shock when a heavily rotated and young XI sent to play Atlético Madrid returned with a 3-1 win.

David scored a penalty in each of those games, which became a clear theme of their Champions League campaign, but it's important that doesn't distract from another important theme: Bruno Génésio's bold decision to trust youngsters on the biggest stage. Ayyoub Bouaddi played against Real Madrid on his 17th birthday, three of the starters away to Atleti were aged 20 or younger, and 20-year-old Ngal'Ayel Mukau was the man of the match with two goals in the win over Bologna. Underpinning all of this was Lucas Chevalier's excellence between the sticks. The 23-year-old is one of Europe's finest young goalkeepers and delivered fine performances.

Opta gave Lille just a 33% chance of reaching the top eight heading into the final night, but beating Feyenoord 6-1 in a bizarre game that featured two own-goals by the same player, Gernot Trauner, allowed them to edge past AC Milan and Atalanta.

ASTON VILLA

Finished Top 8

What drove their success: A famous Bayern win, Jhon Durán wondergoals and Morgan Rogers' breakout season

This is Aston Villa's first Champions League campaign for 42 years and while Premier League teams are expected to perform strongly in Europe, a top-eight finish wasn't ever seriously talked about before the competition began. But three straight wins to begin, including a famous 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich, changed expectations and paved the path to success.

Those first three performances were very different to the following five -- they came at a time where Villa were playing confident football, so Young Boys and Bologna were dismantled, while Bayern were seen off thanks to incredible grit, determination and a wondergoal from Jhon Durán. Morgan Rogers also exploded onto the European scene, as his direct dribbling style took teams apart.

From there, things got stickier, and in the end Villa did just enough, overcoming some bizarre moments to qualify. In their trips to Monaco and Club Brugge they struggled. And in Brugge, Tyrone Mings picked the ball up in his own box from a goal kick (resulting in the penalty that won the game). On the penultimate day in Leipzig, they played exhilarating-but-fragile football to win 3-2.

That left a must-win home bout with Celtic on a final matchday which ended up a carnival of emotion. They went 2-0 up, were pegged back to 2-2, hit the post, had a shot cleared off the line and missed a penalty en route to an eventual 4-2 win, with Rogers completing a hat trick late on to seal it.

BREST

A comfortable top-24 finish

What drove their success: Overcoming injuries, counter-attacking masterclasses and goalkeeping heroics

Brest finished 14th in Ligue 1 in 2022-23, so for them to find themselves in the Champions League just over a year later is a remarkable achievement in itself. The conservative target going into the competition was to simply be competitive, yet they ended up comfortably qualifying for the playoffs and were even in contention to finish in the top eight going into the final gameweek.

They did this despite not being able to strengthen considerably during the summer window (Ligue 1's broadcasting revenue situation affected all teams bar Paris Saint-Germain), not playing home games at their own stadium (it's not up to UEFA standard) and they also lost two of last season's shining stars -- Pierre Lees-Melou and Bradley Locko -- to injury.

Brest could, and probably should, have collapsed, but their ability to overcome those setbacks and collectively step up was immense. Their gameplan was to weather attacking storms and counterpunch with pace -- an age-old tactic that worked perfectly. The man who made that possible was goalkeeper Marco Bizot, who put in a handful of exceptional performances to keep them in games and allow the strategy to play out (if you watch the highlights, you can hear the crowd chanting "Bizot Bizot! Bizot!" after big saves.)

CELTIC

A comfortable top-24 finish

What drove their success: Peak Kasper Schmeichel, beating Pot 4 teams and THAT night against RB Leipzig

Celtic are a household European name with more historical success at this level than the vast majority of clubs, but this past decade has represented slim pickings for them in the Champions League. The last time they reached the latter stages of the competition was 2013; since then it has been a lot of fourth-placed group finishes or qualifying stage eliminations. So although the goalposts have been moved a little -- widened, you might say, given eight more teams qualify now than before -- accruing 12 points is proof they've turned up and changed the narrative this year, regardless of the format.

Celtic's start to the tournament was wild: They beat Slovan Bratislava 5-1, then lost to Borussia Dortmund 7-1. From there, though, they settled into a groove of being hard to beat, relying on goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, who hit top form on the big nights.

Then came a magical night against RB Leipzig, when Celtic winger Nicolas Gerrit Kühn scored twice in a 3-1 win, prompting newspaper German Bild into an existential crisis, running the stunned headline: "German no-name embarrasses Leipzig!" (which is odd, considering he spent three years at Leipzig from 2015-18.)

Schmeichel had time for one more tremendous night, at Villa Park, where he pulled off a host of magnificent saves to make things nervy for Aston Villa, completing an incredible individual league phase.

CLUB BRUGGE

Squeezed into the playoffs

What drove their success: Consistency of selection, a bit of luck and Hans Vanaken's calm control

Make no mistake, Club Brugge are no strangers to the Champions League; they've played over 100 games in this tournament and have been a fairly consistent presence since 2015. But rarely have they looked this competitive and difficult to handle.

The secret to their power lies in the consistency of their team selection: Six players started all eight league phase fixtures, while four more started all but one. But for a red card to Raphael Onyedika and a January transfer exit for Andreas Skov Olsen, they would have come mightily close to a full 100% record with the same 11 players.

So perhaps it's no surprise that Brugge were able to dig in and defend like a well-drilled army unit, then spring away on the counter and do some damage. Hans Vanaken, their captain and midfield heartbeat, played brilliantly, consistently picking the right pass at the right time to ensure chances were created.

His focus was on bringing forward Christos Tzolis into the game as often as possible and though he may have only scored once in eight games, he was a lively presence in the absence of a proper goal-scoring No. 9 striker.

Finally, it would be remiss to talk about Club Brugge's journey without accepting they benefited from a little luck along the way. They beat Villa 1-0 thanks to that incredibly strange penalty; and Celtic's Cameron Carter-Vickers scored the oddest own goal of the league phase, attempting a simple pass back to Schmeichel but instead guiding into his own net, in a game that finished 1-1.

After eight matches played across four months, we finally know the 24 teams that will continue in the new UEFA Champions League format through to the knockout rounds.

It's been a big departure from the old way, with those eight four-team groups having become like a trusted old friend over more than 20 years.

Top-level football in Europe had never seen anything like this before: 36 teams in one massive league table, playing only eight opponents and not on a mirrored home-and-away basis.

But has it delivered a better competition? Our writers assess its impact.

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Did you love or hate the new-look Champions League?

Gabriele Marcotti: I thought it was really good. Maybe in a few years the novelty wears off and we'll hate it. But for now, I really enjoyed it. I like the fact that smaller teams actually have winnable games. And we have more games among big teams. I think it's silly to call it "a slog" (Is the Premier League "a slog"?) or to say all those big-budget clubs who didn't make the top eight mailed it in (how about some credit to those who beat them?) As for the jeopardy aspect, we won't really know until we know how the seeds play out in the sense that it's not clear now that being 20th is much worse than being 13th.

Mark Ogden: It's been great on matchday 7 and 8, but that's the problem -- it shouldn't have taken so long to become exciting. The early matchdays lacked intensity and jeopardy because the bigger clubs were coasting. The likes of Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich all made the mistake of thinking they could take it easy and cruise through, but they won't repeat that mis-judgement next season. Credit to Celtic, Feyenoord and Aston Villa, though, for taking it seriously from day one. Qualification was their reward.

James Olley: It's a money grab by UEFA that diluted the group-stage jeopardy to the point it was hard to know what any of it really meant until near the end. That obviously made for a more uncertain climax, and the idea of having all final-round matches kick off at the same time is a good one, but those positives were outweighed by two extra matches making this stage a painfully slow burner, which ultimately contributes to widespread and valid concerns about player welfare.

Rob Dawson: Personally, I am not a fan. There's nothing wrong with trying to revamp the format, but I'm not sure adding loads more games was the answer. More statement matches are welcome because fans want to see Manchester City against Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool against Real Madrid. The flip side, though, has been a gruelling league phase with lots of meaningless games and very little jeopardy. The excitement around all the final league phase games kicking off at the same time is one positive. It's just a shame there wasn't more at stake to make it a really blockbuster night.

Beth Lindop: The new format has been a little bit of a slog, with even players and managers admitting to being unsure of the permutations of various results. That said, I think the Champions League was in need of a shakeup, and there have been some more exciting matchups thanks to the new format, even if the level of jeopardy going into the final night was perhaps not as high as it it might have been.

Dale Johnson: It's still early days, but I reckon it's fair to say its only the bigger clubs who didn't really enjoy the slog. For a lot of the clubs it has been a joy to experience a successful campaign in the Champions League, rather than simply expect to finish bottom of a four-team group with your European adventure over before Christmas. A lot of supporters didn't really understand what was going on this season, and they're still confused now by the knockout bracket ahead of Friday's draw. But like all competitions, fans will come to know how it works and how important positions can be amid the drama of the final round of fixtures.

Did you prefer the new format to the old?

Johnson: For all the comments of a slog made up of meaningless games, people maybe forget how much of a ceremonial formality most of the four-team groups were. Most were effectively done and dusted by the time Matchday 4 kicked off. And by Matchday 6, you might have only a couple of positions in a couple of groups with real jeopardy. The old format had just as many, if not more, pointless matches, they were just hidden a little. At least this format has a final day where almost every match matters. That said, I think "more big games" is a false argument, as they are quite ceremonial due to the long nature of the league phase -- ergo, what does one win really mean? And it's definitely a good thing there's now no safety net to drop into the Europa League.

Olley: No. The old format wasn't ideal but don't let the pursuit of the perfect be the enemy of the good. UEFA is keen to point out the rollercoaster nature of the league table but it is ridiculous that a team like Manchester City, for example, can still be in the competition after the campaign they've had. Only two of Wednesday night's matches had no bearing on qualification, which, taken in isolation, is an obvious selling point for this format, but the price was too high: weeks of matches with minimal risk is not worth the one-night payoff.

Marcotti: 100%. If you're a top seed, in the old format, you might stomp a bottom seed, win and lose against the third seed and -- presto! -- you have nine points and all you need is one point from two games against the second seed. That's not exciting. Also, with the old format, the focus in each nation used to be on whatever groups had teams from that country in it. Now, it's more spread out. You see more teams. It feels more like a league. Not to mention the seeding pots give you less of an advantage than they did before. And that's a good thing.

Ogden: No, because there are too many games that feel like they don't matter and it enables clubs to qualify by doing the bare minimum. I accept we are never going back to the jeopardy of knockout games from the first round, or when we had mega groups such as Bayern, Barcelona and Manchester United in the same four-team group in 1998-99, but the new format was sadly a non-event until January.

Dawson: Not particularly. The general principal of the new format -- having more big teams playing each other -- is the right idea. You wouldn't have had top seeds playing each other this early in the old format and they're the games that generate the most excitement. The problem is that to increase the number quality of matches without significantly expanding the schedule, you have to reduce the number of participants. UEFA is never going to do that because it means fewer games and less money. Regardless of whether UEFA wants to admit it, the driving force behind the switch in format was the increased revenue.

Lindop: I do think the old format had become a little bit tired. There are definite drawbacks to the new format, chiefly that teams who have performed poorly in the league phase have been able to seal a place in the top 24 relatively comfortably. However, the group stage always felt like something of a formality for many of the top clubs, so I'm not convinced that was a better model.

Who have been the biggest winners and losers of the new format?

Ogden: The biggest winners have been the clubs because they have made a lot more money from the format and that, ultimately, was the reason for the change. On a less cynical note, it's been good for the teams who struggled to get out of the old group stage, such as Celtic, but it wasn't designed for the mid-ranking teams to have more fun. The biggest losers? Probably the fans who have to pay for more games, most of which felt insignificant in the early stages.

Marcotti: Damn, Ogden is grumpy. Fans don't "have to pay more" for more games, Mark. They can choose to pay more to watch the team they love two more times. Or they can choose not to. It certainly feels like mid-sized and smaller clubs have more of a shot than they did under the old format. And, of course, we have more knockout football. Which is what the traditionalists want, right?

Johnson: Let's take a look at Pot 4 of this year's draw. Three teams -- Aston Villa, Brest and AS Monaco -- have made it through to the UCL knockouts. Under the old format, only three teams made it in the last four editions. But this isn't only about progress, it's about being competitive too. Look at Celtic, who won one match in 12 in the last two editions and finished bottom of their group. This year, they won two of their first four matches. Sort of like the UEFA Nations League, giving teams more matches against teams of their own level (Pot 3 and 4) increases general competitiveness. Lille and Aston Villa are straight through to the round of 16, which would have been extremely difficult before, while the likes of Brest and AS Monaco were able to be competitive to the very last matchday.

The losers? Definitely those big clubs who missed out on the top eight and must now play two extra matches. Under the old format, with the round of 16 spread across four weeks, all UCL teams would get two midweeks of rest. But with the new knockout playoff round, AC Milan, Bayern, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Man City, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid have to play all four midweeks. Let's see how they approach the league phase next season.

Olley: One interesting losing group from this format is the club analysts. One high-placed source rightly pointed out to me a couple of months ago that the analysts' workload has almost trebled, because instead of working on three group-stage opponents, they now face eight. That may have been a contributing factor in the number of upsets and high-scoring games in the group stage.

Dawson: Manchester City are the biggest winners. They've won three games in the Champions League against Sparta Prague, Slovan Bratislava and Club Brugge and still qualified for the next round. Slovan Bratislava finished 35th in the table, Sparta Prague finished 31st and Club Brugge scraped into the playoffs by finishing 24th. The way City played in the competition, they probably deserve to be out. But UEFA has built in a safety net for the big clubs with the sheer volume of games and City managed to save themselves at the crucial moment.

Lindop: In terms of winners, it's nice to see some clubs who previously struggled to get out of the group stage, like Celtic and Feyenoord, have a chance to get through to the round of 16. For Champions League debutants Brest, too, the new format will surely be viewed as a big success. The biggest losers are probably the players, many of whom have had to play two extra games for very little payoff.

What would you change to make it better?

Marcotti: I think the only people who like what I'm about to say are me and Theo Theodoridis, the UEFA general secretary. But if we want to make the seeds really relevant, we should let the top seed pick whatever opponent they like (and whether they want to play home or away first.) Second seed gets next pick and so on. Not only would it enhance the narrative, but it would also avoid freak situations where a team does well and then get stuck playing Manchester City or someone like that who happen to have underachieved and drawn a lower seed.

Lindop: The playoff concept could yet throw up some interesting matchups, but the fact a team could finish 24th and end up qualifying for the round of 16 at the expense of one that finished ninth doesn't sit quite right. It won't happen but I would prefer it if the top 16 just went through automatically.

Ogden: Maybe find a way to cram all the games into the calendar before Christmas so that it gives the competition more momentum. I know that will cause havoc for some countries with too many games and cup competitions -- hello, England! -- but by making it more intense, it would help grab the attention better. The knockout stage looks great, so the tennis-draw model has worked, but it's the journey before that which needs a tweak.

Olley: Reduce the group stage to 24 teams. Then, top eight go through, middle eight face a playoff and bottom eight are relegated. More jeopardy, higher quality, better product. Except of course that will never happen because the television revenue from more matches is too great to pass up. Which is the entire point of the change.

Dawson: The number of teams should be reduced and all the league-phase games played before Christmas. Matchday eight was an exciting night but it took too long to get there. It has felt like the Champions League has ambled along for months only to speed up at the last minute. The problem is that if it's money UEFA is after then it is going to want more and more games. That dilutes the product and serves up just as many poor games as good ones.

Johnson: I'd remove the safety net that UEFA gives to the big teams by avoiding any marquee games on Matchday 8. It appeared to give all those teams an extra insurance policy to get through. Why couldn't we have PSG vs. Man City on the final day?

Sussex have announced the additional overseas signing of Gurinder Sandhu for the 2025 season.

Sandhu, who has represented Australia in two ODIs, will join the squad for June and July, and will be available for four games in the County Championship as well as the T20 Vitality Blast if required.

The 31-year-old has not played first class cricket since March 2024 for Queensland against Western Australia but will plug a gap for the county following a change to the availability of Jaydev Unadkat. The India left-armer had signed a two-year deal with Sussex in October, but will now only be available for the final three red ball fixtures in September.

Sandhu has 151 dismissals across 55 first-class matches, and recently turned out for Melbourne Renegades at the end of their Big Bash League campaign. He will join fellow Australians Daniel Hughes and Nathan McAndrew, who will both return to Hove this summer.

"We are delighted that Gurinder has decided to join us for the four County Championship matches in June and July," head coach Paul Farbrace told the club website. "He will add real skill and experience to our bowling attack for those games.

"He is a vastly experienced performer and is very skillful with the ball. The fact that all four games are being played with a Kookaburra ball means he will be very comfortable with that type of ball.

Sandhu added: "I'm incredibly excited to be joining Sussex Cricket Club and can't wait to step out onto the field at Hove.

"I'm looking forward to contributing to the team in both the red and white ball formats and experiencing the rich cricketing traditions Sussex is known for."

Tamil Nadu's stunning collapse
Tamil Nadu came into their game against Jharkhand knowing even a draw would be enough to make the knockouts, but even that is shaping towards being a herculean task after a frenetic opening day in which 20 wickets fell in Jamshedpur. TN handed the advantage to Jharkhand after being bowled out for 106 to conceding a 79-run lead. Their misery was further compounded by a calf injury to Baba Indrajith that has ruled him out of the rest of the fixture. The day began well as the left-arm spinning duo of Sai Kishore and Ajith Ram picked up is wickets between them to skittle Jharkhand for 185, but there was a major collapse in store as TN lost 8 for 40. Late in the day, they managed to pick up one wicket in the second innings as Jharkhand effectively ended on 84 for 1.

West Ham United have had a 25 million ($26m) initial bid rejected for PSV and United States forward Ricardo Pepi, sources have told ESPN.

A source said West Ham could return with another offer.

The Premier League club are in the market for a striker ahead of the January transfer deadline following injuries to Jarrod Bowen, Michail Antonio and Niclas Füllkrug.

Sources have told ESPN that West Ham's offer was a loan with an obligation to make the deal permanent, although PSV turned it down.

Pepi has 18 goals in 25 games in all competitions this season, including scoring what would turn out to be the winner in a 3-2 victory over a rotated Liverpool side in the Champions League on Wednesday.

He also has 13 goals in 33 games for the USMNT, where he has been a regular fixture ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

Figure skaters, their coaches and family members were passengers on an American Airlines jet that collided with an Army helicopter near Ronald Reagan National Airport and crashed into the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.

U.S. Figure Skating said the skaters were returning from a developmental camp that followed the U.S. Figure Skating Championships over the weekend in Wichita, Kansas.

"U.S. Figure Skating can confirm that several members of our skating community were sadly aboard American Airlines Flight 5342, which collided with a helicopter yesterday evening in Washington, D.C.," U.S. Figure Skating said in a statement. "We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims' families closely in our hearts."

U.S. Figure Skating did not identify any of the members of its team that were aboard the flight.

The flight carried 60 passengers and four crew members, while an Army official said three soldiers were onboard the helicopter. The airplane collided with the helicopter while attempting to land, prompting a large search-and-rescue operation in the Potomac River.

Washington fire chief John Donnelly said Thursday morning that it is not believed that there are any survivors and that efforts have shifted to a recovery operation. Donnelly said 27 bodies had been recovered from the airplane and one from the helicopter.

Two coaches who were on the flight were identified by the Kremlin as Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who won the pairs title at the 1994 world championships and competed twice in the Olympics. The Skating Club of Boston lists them as coaches, and their son, Maxim Naumov, is a competitive figure skater for the U.S.

"There were other of our fellow citizens there. Bad news from Washington today," Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday morning.

Russia's figure skating federation expressed its condolences to those who had lost loved ones in the crash but said it was unable to comment further.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the midair crash occurred before 9 p.m. ET when a regional jet that had departed from Wichita collided with a military helicopter on a training flight while on approach to an airport runway.

There was no immediate word on the cause of the collision, but all takeoffs and landings at the airport were halted as dive teams scoured the site and helicopters from law enforcement agencies across the region flew over the scene in methodical search for bodies. Flights were expected to resume at Reagan at 11 a.m. Thursday.

Images from the river showed boats around the partly submerged wing and what appeared to be the mangled wreckage of the plane's fuselage.

President Donald Trump said he had been "fully briefed on this terrible accident" and, referring to the passengers, added, "may God bless their souls."

The International Skating Union said it was "deeply shocked by the tragic accident."

"We are heartbroken to learn that figure skaters, along with their families, friends, and coaches, are understood to be among those on board," the global governing body said in a statement. "Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this tragedy. Figure skating is more than a sport -- it's a close-knit family -- and we stand together. We remain in close contact with U.S. Figure Skating and offer our full support during this incredibly difficult time."

The crash occurred in some of the most tightly controlled and monitored airspace in the world, just over 3 miles south of the White House and the Capitol.

Investigators will try to piece together the aircrafts' final moments before their collision, including contact with air traffic controllers and the loss of altitude by the passenger jet.

Less than 30 seconds before the crash, an air traffic controller asked the helicopter if it had the arriving plane in sight. The controller made another radio call to the helicopter moments later: "PAT 25 pass behind the CRJ." Seconds after that, the two aircraft collided.

Some 300 first responders were on scene. Inflatable rescue boats were launched into the Potomac River from a point along the George Washington Parkway, just north of the airport, and first responders set up light towers from the shore to illuminate the area near the collision site. At least a half-dozen boats were scanning the water using searchlights.

The last fatal crash involving a U.S. commercial airline occurred in 2009 near Buffalo, New York. Everyone aboard the Bombardier DHC-8 propeller plane was killed, including 45 passengers, two pilots and two flight attendants. Another person on the ground also died, bringing the total death toll to 50.

In 1961, the 18-member U.S. figure skating team died in a plane crash en route to the world championships in Prague.

Wednesday's collision also recalled the crash of an Air Florida flight that plummeted into the Potomac on Jan. 13, 1982, that killed 78 people.

Reuters contributed to this report.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's second career 50-point game -- and second in the span of four games -- was not a cause for celebration.

That's because it occurred in a rare loss for the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder, who fell to the Golden State Warriors 116-109 on Wednesday night despite Gilgeous-Alexander pouring in 52 points.

"It sucks. Me personally, I play to win," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "Winning comes first and foremost, and if I don't win, I am not satisfied. So maybe my 52 points tonight wasn't in the best interest of the team."

Gilgeous-Alexander became the first player in the league with multiple 50-point performances this season; he scored a career-high 54 points in the Thunder's Jan. 22 home win over the Utah Jazz. He joined Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook as the only players in franchise history with multiple 50-point performances in a season.

Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA's scoring leader at 32.5 points per game, finished 16-of-29 from the floor and 18-of-21 from the line, the most free throw attempts of his career.

"He's cold," Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins said. "He's tough. He can score at all three levels; he gets to the foul line and he doesn't stop. The whole game he's at you. ... We did the best we can."

Gilgeous-Alexander got off to a blistering start at Chase Center as the Thunder (37-9) jumped to a 14-point lead in the first quarter, when he had 21 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the floor. It was a spectacular display of ballhandling, body control and shot-making as Gilgeous-Alexander carved up a Golden State defense that frequently committed a second defender to him.

"Sometimes, even when you're out there, you kind of get caught watching," said Thunder forward Jalen Williams, who scored 26 points on 12-of-26 shooting. "Because he's getting to places on the floor that you shouldn't be able to with how the defense is guarding him. And it's kind of just one of those things that you got to snap out of it a little bit and not get caught watching and be ready to be an outlet for him or cut or still be engaged in the offense."

It was the second time in two weeks that Gilgeous-Alexander has single-handedly outscored the opposing team in the first quarter, which no other player in the league has done more than once this season, according to ESPN Research.

In the first instance, the Thunder cruised to a blowout win over the East-leading Cleveland Cavaliers on Jan. 16. On Wednesday, Oklahoma City players other than Gilgeous-Alexander struggled to find a rhythm in the final few quarters, when the Thunder were held to 75 points on 37.3% shooting as the Warriors rallied.

"There's probably a tendency in those situations where he's just humming [to get caught watching Gilgeous-Alexander]." Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "But we also have an identity as a team. We have a bunch of guys that have confidence. We have to be that team regardless of context. Whether he's having an off night, which doesn't happen often, or whether he's having a night like tonight."

With the Thunder struggling to generate offense from others, Daigneault adjusted his rotation in the fourth quarter to cut his superstar's rest short. Gilgeous-Alexander checked back in with the score tied and 9:55 remaining, about three minutes earlier than usual.

"I don't know what to do with Shai," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "I asked Mark to just leave him on the bench for a couple of more minutes, and he did not comply. I Iooked down to Mark and said, 'You can't give him like two more minutes. That would be really helpful for us.' And Mark just laughed."

But the Warriors (24-23) pulled away down the stretch. Gilgeous-Alexander's last two buckets came in the final minute when the Warriors were up by three-possession margins.

"I'll watch the game over, see where I could have been better and trying to win the game is most important for me," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "I'm not satisfied. This doesn't feel nearly as good as the other [50-point performance] did because of the L."

ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk contributed to this report.

The NBA is set to announce the 14 All-Star reserves tonight. And while the game itself has a new format -- All-Stars will be split up into three teams, with Friday night's Rising Stars champion becoming the fourth entry to the three-game mini tournament -- the debate about who should be headed to San Francisco isn't going away.

To settle that debate, let's break down our 24 selections, including new picks for the 10 starters announced last week.

Should Kevin Durant and LeBron James be starters -- or on the team at all? Will perennial stars Devin Booker and Damian Lillard make the cut? And where does Victor Wembanyama land?

To make our choices, we followed the same rubric that the NBA does -- two guards and three frontcourt players for the starters and two guards, three frontcourt players and two wild cards for the reserves. No shoehorning players into positions for which they aren't eligible. Rules are rules, after all. (As a reminder: If you say, "Player X is an All-Star!" you have to say which player they would replace.)

Our star-studded field is filled with snubs and agonizing decisions and is ripe for debate. Let's get to the picks.

My starters

G: Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
G: Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers
F: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
F: Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
F: Karl-Anthony Towns, New York Knicks

My reserves

G: Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers
G: Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons
F: Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers
F: Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
F: Pascal Siakam, Indiana Pacers
WC: Damian Lillard, Milwaukee Bucks
WC: Tyler Herro, Miami Heat

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Why the East presents roster battles everywhere

Three East starting spots are locks. Antetokounmpo and Tatum should be consensus choices and both should appear on the vast majority of ballots in ESPN's second MVP straw poll of the season next month. Ditto for Brunson, and the driver of everything Tom Thibodeau's club does. That leaves the second guard and third frontcourt spots. And the debate, not surprisingly, includes three Cavaliers: Garland and Mitchell for the guard spot, and Mobley alongside Towns for the frontcourt spot.

Let's start with guard and the debate between Garland and Mitchell. By stats, Garland has a very strong case. Cleveland has an absurd 125 offensive rating when Garland is on the court this season, and he's having a more efficient season than Mitchell across the board while also generating more assists.

Ultimately, this is about a bit more than numbers. Spend any time around the East-best Cavaliers and you'll see Mitchell is the player everyone takes their cues from. That is why, ultimately, he gets the second backcourt spot alongside Brunson. Garland slots into our first reserve spot.

Towns against Mobley for the final frontcourt spot is also an interesting debate. Towns has had a fantastic season as the other half of New York's offensive engine and taking on massive minutes -- many out of position as the Knicks await the return of the injured center Mitchell Robinson.

Towns sits at 25.1 points and 13.9 rebounds per game with incredibly efficient shooting numbers (54.5% overall and 43.4% from 3). His defense, while improved, remains a weakness.

Mobley, meanwhile, is one of the most impactful defensive players in the league and is taking significant strides offensively this year (increases in points, 3-point attempts and percentage, free throw attempts and percentage) while also having impressive advanced metrics buttressing his case.

In the end, the spot went to Towns because he has to carry a heavier burden for the Knicks than Mobley does for the Cavaliers. That doesn't diminish Mobley's impact one bit, as his ascension this season has not only played a massive role in Cleveland's rise, it gives the franchise hope of a sustained run in the league's upper echelon.

Both are deserving choices. But for now, Mitchell and Garland are the Cavs' offensive focal points, and Mobley has another excellent defensive big next to him in Allen. The Knicks, on the other hand, are almost 11 points per 100 possessions worse with Towns off the court, and their offense craters without him.

The fourth guard spot was also a relatively simple choice, with Cunningham getting the nod. Between Detroit's rise into playoff contention and his putting up massive numbers as the driver of the team's offense (24.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 9.3 assists on 45/37/81 splits), this is as much recognition of the Pistons as it is Cunningham's achievements, but he has more than earned this spot.

The East frontcourt was filled with difficult decisions. (I don't particularly understand why the NBA uses a format of two guards, three frontcourt players and two wild cards to fill out the reserves. If it was up to me, I would simply say to pick the seven most deserving players who weren't voted in as starters.)

For example, I considered several guards for the final two wild-card spots, and there were no frontcourt players who made it under consideration. This team easily could've had seven or eight guards on it, but instead there had to be a couple of extra frontcourt players who aren't quite as deserving.

Both Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner would have been clear options at different points this season, but oblique injuries have knocked each out of contention. Before the season, both Joel Embiid and Paul George would have been expected to be in the running for a spot on this team, and neither is within a hundred miles of it. Bam Adebayo's numbers have taken a significant dip, leaving him nowhere near consideration for a spot, either. (Jimmy Butler, too, for a multitude of reasons.) Another All-Star last year, Scottie Barnes, also doesn't have a strong case. Josh Hart would get a spot if he was a frontcourt option.

So, with Mobley locked into the first frontcourt reserve spot, and those seven players off the board, it would be great to have the plethora of guards as options. Instead, the choice came down to the following guys: Brown, Siakam and Jarrett Allen (OG Anunoby and Jalen Johnson have had nice seasons but didn't make my cut).

Brown has been part of Boston's confusing malaise in recent weeks (8-6 since Jan. 1). However, he has taken on the challenge every night of guarding the best perimeter offensive threat, and he carries a significant burden alongside Tatum as the two offensive engines of one of the NBA's best teams, so he gets one of the spots basically by default.

That leaves a very interesting choice between Siakam, who has been the most consistent force on the resurgent Pacers this season, and Allen, who has been a key cog in the NBA's most surprising team.

Allen is durable (he has played every game this season) and productive (14 points, 10 boards, 70% shooting) and Cleveland has an argument for getting four players in. Siakam has also played every game this season, scoring over 20 points on 52% shooting with a career-best 41% from deep for an Indiana team that is 9-2 in 2025.

I went back and forth but ultimately settled on Siakam for essentially the same reason I went with Towns over Mobley: default to the player who carries the greater burden on a nightly basis. That has clearly been Siakam.

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Seven players for two spots? Wild-card chaos among reserves

Now we get to the two East wild cards, where several guards -- LaMelo Ball, Tyrese Haliburton, Tyler Herro, Zach LaVine, Damian Lillard, Tyrese Maxey and Trae Young -- all have cases to be considered for final roster spots.

Maxey was the first to be eliminated. Yes, he's averaging a career-high 26.4 points, but as his usage has expanded for the injury-riddled Sixers, his shooting percentages have plummeted. (Even the most die-hard 76ers fans wouldn't argue this team deserves a representative in San Francisco.)

A lot of the all-in-one numbers would argue Haliburton deserves one of these two spots, and he has certainly come on after an extremely rough start, but his overall résumé falls a bit short of his competitors here, making him the next one to go.

Ball has one of the more interesting All-Star candidacies in recent memory. His numbers are eye-popping: He's averaging 29 points and 7.5 assists and has a staggering usage rate of 35.7% (including a league-leading 24 shots per game and 12 3-point attempts per night), the highest of any qualified player this season. But the rebuilding Hornets are nowhere near a playoff berth, and Ball having the ball in his hands so much of the time is, by nature, boosting his stats. A similar narrative follows NBA assists leader Young, who is helming a young Hawks team into a potential playoff spot, but he also falls a bit short of making my final cut.

LaVine's and Herro's numbers, across the board, are virtually identical. Both are averaging 24 points per game, and Herro has slightly higher assist numbers while LaVine has been the more efficient scorer. Chicago's offense is a staggering 12 points per 100 worse when LaVine is on the bench, while Miami's is 10 points worse when Herro sits.

Two weeks ago, I might have chosen LaVine. But given Chicago's fall over that span -- including losses to the Pelicans, Hornets, Trail Blazers, 76ers and shorthanded Hawks, among others -- the nod for one spot goes to Herro, Miami's one consistent perimeter shot creator during the ongoing Butler saga.

That leaves Lillard for the final spot. He isn't quite the dominant backcourt force he once was, but he's still averaging 25 and 7 while shooting close to 40% from 3 on high volume. He and Antetokounmpo are regularly the only reliable scoring threats for Milwaukee.

Western Conference picks

Starters

G: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
G: Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
FC: Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
FC: Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs
FC: Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis Grizzlies

Reserves

G: Kyrie Irving, Dallas Mavericks
G: Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves
FC: Jalen Williams, Oklahoma City Thunder
FC: Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers
FC: Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings
WC: Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns
WC: LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers

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A starting lineup shuffle, plus major frontcourt competition

Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander will go down to the wire in the MVP race and are automatic choices here. Curry is, too, once Luka Doncic was knocked off the ballot because of a calf injury. (Doncic's injury knocked him off the ballot entirely, easing an already complicated decision for the back end of the roster.)

While James and Durant were lined up alongside Jokic in the league's official starting lineup unveiled last week, both Wembanyama and Jackson have better cases than both.

Wembanyama's rocket ship to stardom has been as obvious as it has been expected. But while the numbers are eye-popping -- 24 points, 10 rebounds and a league-leading 3.9 blocks per game with improving scoring efficiency on all three levels -- what truly stands out is that San Antonio is 13.9 points per 100 possessions better when Wembanyama is on the court this season.

Jackson is having a wildly underrated season in Memphis. For a Grizzlies team that has exceeded expectations despite Ja Morant already missing 19 games, Jackson has played in 45 of Memphis' 47 games this season. Jackson has built on his developmental time last year as the fulcrum of the Grizzlies' offense amid many injuries to post a career high in points per game (22.8) while playing almost three minutes fewer per night than he did last year.

With Doncic's injury knocking him out of the picture, Irving and Edwards were easy choices as the reserve guards. Irving has been efficient, durable and available for Dallas, while Edwards has shown massive increases in his 3-point attempt rate and volume en route to posting a career-high 26.3 points per game.

Some might be surprised to see Williams get the first frontcourt reserve spot, but he has had an impressive season in OKC as the team's secondary shot creator and distributor behind Gilgeous-Alexander. Williams is in the league's top 15 in estimated plus-minus, continues to take on significant defensive assignments and is a big part of why this team has continued racking up wins while Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso have all missed significant time with injuries.

While Davis will not be the Defensive Player of the Year, Lakers coach J.J. Redick has followed through on his preseason pledge to make Davis the focal point of the Lakers offense. The big man has delivered. He has been an impact player at both ends of the court and is producing at a higher rate on increased volume, more than he has during any of his six seasons in Los Angeles.

Sabonis might be considered a questionable pick as the third and final frontcourt selection, but he shouldn't be. Sacramento's offense is a full 10 points worse per 100 possessions with him on the bench, and his numbers across the board -- 21 points, a league-leading 14.6 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 60.9% shooting and 48.1% from 3 -- are eye-popping.

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Why LeBron and KD aren't starting -- and who they narrowly beat out

Now, the fun part: We are 10 players in, and still haven't found spots for Durant or James.

James, in particular, has had a confusing season. He remains an excellent individual offensive player -- he's averaging nearly 24 points per game on over 50% shooting, hitting nearly 40% from 3 and getting 9 assists per game. But the Lakers are a significantly worse defensive team with him on the court: 8.6 points per 100 possessions across the whole season, and even 6 points per 100 possessions over the past several weeks since James took a two-game, mid-December break to recharge.

Durant is having another metronomically efficient season: 27.1 points per game shooting over 50% for a 14th consecutive season. Those numbers have come with his worst plus-minus since his first two seasons in the league as the Suns fight to stay in the play-in mix.

But is there anyone who should overtake either legend? The most notable name missing so far is Durant's teammate, Devin Booker, who obviously is one of the 12 best players in the Western Conference on pure talent. But Booker's first two months were far below his usual standard from an efficiency standpoint, and even after some recent improvements he is still shooting his lowest percentage since his third season in the league.

After consistently pushing Phoenix to elite offenses whenever he was on the court in the past, he hasn't this year. The Suns have an offensive rating of 114.3 when he's on the court, his lowest since 2018-19 when Phoenix finished 19-63.

The most glaring omission from this team is any representation from the second-place Houston Rockets. Amen Thompson would be on this team if the résumés were contained to just this month's play, though center Alperen Sengun has the best argument over the course of the season. Houston's offense is seven points per 100 possessions better with him on the court, but his stats lag a bit behind Sabonis and aren't strong enough to lift him over James or Durant.

James Harden and Norman Powell have both had underrated seasons for the LA Clippers, one of the biggest surprises in the league. Powell, in particular, is having a career year at 31 years old, with LA's offense over 11 points per 100 better with him on the court. And Powell's scoring average has jumped a full 10 points (23.9 from 13.9) year-over-year.

Ultimately, no one could quite make the case to unseat James or Durant for the final two spots. They aren't starting for this team like they are in next month's game(s), but the two future Hall of Famers still very much belong.