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Red Sox, reliever Ottavino reach minor league deal
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Right-handed reliever Adam Ottavino agreed to a minor league contract with the Boston Red Sox and will report to big league spring training.
Ottavino, 39, pitched for the New York Mets the past three seasons, making a career-high 12 saves in 2023 to go with a 3.21 ERA. He went 2-2 with a save and a 4.34 ERA last season.
This is his second stint in Boston. Ottavino went 7-3 with 11 saves and a 4.21 ERA in 2021 with the Red Sox.
Boulter and Raducanu headline historic Queen's return
British number one Katie Boulter and former US Open champion Emma Raducanu will compete in a historic women's tournament at Queen's Club in June.
Australian Open champion Madison Keys, four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka and last year's Eastbourne champion Daria Kasatkina have also committed to the event, which runs between 7-15 June.
It will be the first women's competition at Queen's Club since 1973 when Olga Morozova claimed the singles title.
"I used to watch the [men's] tournament every year growing up so to be able to compete at such a wonderful, historic, and iconic event to commence the grass court season is an honour," Boulter said.
"We have some of the best women's players in the world competing at Queen's, and it takes the British grass court swing to a whole new level.
"To win that title as a British player would be an absolute dream and I will do everything I can to get myself in that position. Let's make more history this summer."
Organisers announced that a women's tournament would return to the historic venue in May 2024 following discussions with the ATP about the impact on the men's event the week after.
Boulter has reigned as Britain's number one ranked women's player since June 2023 and has won three WTA titles, including taking the crown at her home tournament on grass in Nottingham in 2023 and 2024.
Raducanu, who won the US Open in 2021, made a strong return from long-term injury last year when reaching the semi-finals at Nottingham, quarter-finals at Eastbourne and making it through to the last 16 at Wimbledon.
"I'm thrilled to confirm Katie, Emma, Madison and Naomi will be headlining the HSBC Championships in June," Laura Robson, WTA HSBC Championships tournament director said.
"Fans will see some of the best female players on the planet, and with three Grand Slam champions and the British number one in the mix, it promises to be a spectacular return to The Queen's Club for women's tennis."
Robson 'honoured' to bring women's game back to Queen's
The women's event at Queen's ceased in 1973, with the Eastbourne tournament founded the following year and becoming a fixture of the women's grass court season.
The revived Queen's will run as a WTA 500 tournament and as part of a two-week event with the traditional men's competition.
Unlike Wimbledon, which has awarded prize money equally between its men's and women's draws since 2007, the men's tournament will have a substantially higher prize pot of $2.5m (2.1m), than the $1.1m (0.9m) available to the women.
This is set by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tours and applies to all their 500 level events.
"The LTA (Lawn Tennis Association) definitely would love to hit that marker well before the WTA Tour but to do that we need a successful event, we need people to come and watch and to get excited about it," Robson, who has also worked as tournament director at Nottingham, said.
"It doesn't start at all or nothing. We have to build the way that the tournament's run and eventually get to that marker of equal prize money but it's something I'm all for as a former player."
Djokovic loses in Qatar after Murray coaching announcement
Novak Djokovic confirmed the partnership with Andy Murray as his coach will continue "indefinitely".
Three-time major winner Murray started working with his long-time playing rival on a trial basis at January's Australian Open, where Djokovic reached the semi-finals but was was forced to retire with a hamstring injury.
After his Melbourne exit, the 24-time Grand Slam champion said he and Murray would need to "cool off" before discussing the future.
However, speaking before his defeat by Matteo Berrettini in the first round of the Qatar Open, Djokovic confirmed Murray will return to his coaching team.
"I expressed my desire to continue the collaboration with him so I am really glad he did accept," Djokovic, 37, told the ATP Tour's in-house media channel, external.
"It's indefinite in terms of how long we are going to work together but we agreed we are going to work most likely in the [United] States and then some clay-court tournaments and see how it goes after that."
Murray, who retired in August last year, took a surprise coaching role with Djokovic's team in late November.
Ireland will play New Zealand at Soldier Field in Chicago in November, nine years on from the historic victory which was one of Irish rugby's greatest days.
The match on 1 November is a repeat of the 2016 fixture at the same venue when Ireland ended an 111-year wait for a first men's Test win over the All Blacks.
Ireland have also played Italy at the home of the National Football League's Chicago Bears, winning 54-7 in 2018.
Ireland will play the remainder of their autumn fixtures back in Dublin starting with a visit from Japan on 8 November.
They will welcome Australia to the Aviva Stadium a week later, before finishing off the four-game slate by hosting back-to-back world champions South Africa.
"We are delighted to see international rugby return to Chicago for this historic 'rematch' between Ireland and New Zealand," said Kevin Potts, chief executive of the Irish Rugby Football Union.
"The 2016 encounter at Soldier Field is one of the greatest moments in Irish rugby history, and the rivalry that has grown between our two teams since then is a testament to the quality, passion, and the respect that Ireland and New Zealand have for each other."
The All Blacks fixture will provide a return to the Ireland coaching box for Andy Farrell after he leads the British and Irish Lions in a three-Test tour of Australia this summer.
Assistant coach Simon Easterby is currently in charge of the team for the Six Nations and will be interim head coach again for Test matches in July.
Ireland have not yet confirmed opposition or dates for those games
Saturday, 1 November: Ireland v New Zealand, Soldier Field, Chicago, 20:10 GMT
Saturday, 8 November: Ireland v Japan, Aviva Stadium, 12:40 GMT
Saturday, 15 November: Ireland v Australia, Aviva Stadium, 20:10 GMT
Saturday, 22 November: Ireland v South Africa, Aviva Stadium, 17:40 GMT.
England to face Wallabies and All Blacks in autumn
England will aim to avenge last year's agonising narrow defeats by Australia and New Zealand when they take on both sides in the 2025 Autumn Nations Series.
Steve Borthwick's team led each match before falling to defeat late on during a miserable autumn campaign in 2024, which yielded three defeats by tier-one nations, including world champions South Africa, and a victory over Japan.
George Ford missed a last-gasp drop goal against the All Blacks, who held on to win 24-22, before Australia's Max Jorgensen scored a late try to clinch a 42-37 victory with the final act.
England will begin the Autumn Nations Series against the Wallabies on Saturday, 1 November at Allianz Stadium.
Fiji, who beat England for the first time on their last visit to Twickenham in 2023, return to the home of English rugby the following weekend, before Borthwick's side renew their rivalry with the All Blacks on 15 November.
England have not beaten New Zealand at home since their thrilling 38-21 win over the then world champions in 2012.
The hosts will conclude their four-game campaign at Allianz Stadium against Argentina the following Sunday.
"These four matches offer a valuable opportunity for our squad to face different styles of rugby as we continue to develop," said England head coach Borthwick.
"The atmosphere at Allianz Stadium is always electric, and I know the players truly love every opportunity to represent our country at such a fantastic venue."
BBC News
Getty ImagesFormer rugby union player Alix Popham has said jerseys and medals are the only reminders he has of playing in big matches he has "no recollection of".
The ex-Wales flanker, who had a 14-year professional career, was diagnosed with early onset dementia at the age of 40.
He told Newsnight he believed this diagnosis was due to head injuries he had sustained during his rugby career.
"My neurologist, when he diagnosed me, they worked out I had over 100,000 sub-concussive hits in my brain," he said.
Popham described sub-concussive hits as any contact "when your brain rattles around inside against your skull on every hit", including hits to the body as well as to the head.
He is one of two former rugby professionals diagnosed with early onset dementia who are calling on the sport's governing bodies to end their legal fight with ex-players in the courts.
More than 560 former players are suing the sport's governing bodies for the impact of head collisions during their career.
Popham said that he had jerseys on the wall and medals to show from big games, "but memories, vivid memories of the scoreline, the weather, the stadium, I've got no recollection of that".
He also said he could not recall meeting Nelson Mandela before one game in South Africa in 2003 after suffering a traumatic brain injury and ending up in hospital.
"I've got no recollection of being in that stadium or being in that game and, unfortunately, most of my career is the same," said the former forward.
'Two or three week bans really isn't enough'
Popham is the founder of the Head for Change charity, whose aim is to support those who suffer from sports-related brain injuries.
The Six Nations tournament returns this weekend and a new 20-minute red card punishment is being trialled during the tournament, where a player is removed from the game but the team returns to its full complement once that period is over.
But Dr Willie Stewart, a world-leading expert on brain injury, told Newsnight the new rule "places the spectacle of the game ahead of player's brains".
He said he did not think sending a player off for 20 minutes was sufficient punishment for a potentially dangerous tackle which could cause brain damage.
Popham called for a six-to-eight week punishment for a red card "so you learn and you don't make that same mistake".
"These players are getting two or three week bans which really isn't enough to make them change their habits and, to me, that just shows player welfare isn't their number one priority," he added.
Popham, who played in two World Cups for Wales, told Newsnight his initial symptoms of early onset dementia included "losing my temper over, really, nothing" and being unable to recall "important conversations" with his wife shortly after.
He also suffered from severe headaches and would lose his train of thought in conversations.
Mel Popham said she and her husband had to take the difficult decision not to try for a second baby when he received his diagnosis.
"That was really hard, particularly hard for me, trying to be strong for Al at the time and my stepdaughters and Darcy and the wider family and that was a really difficult personal decision," said Mel.
'It was really frightening'
Reflecting on Popham's diagnosis, Mel said: "We had everything going for us. We'd recently got married, had Darcy, living in a house we loved and our world was just changing.
"It was really frightening."
The couple said they wanted action rather than "empty words" when it came to player welfare.
Reflecting on the impact of injuries sustained during his career, Popham said: "I wish I knew then what I know now because when you were seeing stars you wouldn't carry on.
"You would take yourself off. You would be honest to the coaches, the physios."
Former Wales rugby international Ian Buckett died with dementia last year at the age of 56.
He was found to have had a condition called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) which is linked with repeated blows to the head but can only be diagnosed after death.
Researchers from a number of academic institutions includes Oxford Brookes University said they had found "conclusive evidence" that repetitive head impacts cause CTE.
Former England youth international Chris Simpson-Daniel was diagnosed with early onset dementia at the age of 43 in 2022.
Simpson-Daniel told Newsnight he had attempted to take his own life on two occasions.
The dad-of-six said he "started falling apart", with bouts of depression and memory loss and "suicidal tendencies that would just whack you out of nowhere".
'Player welfare is our number one priority'
World Rugby told the BBC that player welfare was their number one priority, with the 20-minute red card punishment being implemented as a trial.
It asked anyone with concerns to send them evidence as to why they believe it is not safe.
A World Rugby spokesperson said that if the trial were proven to have negative player welfare consequences then they would have no hesitation in halting it and they had done so with other trials in the past.
In a joint statement regarding the legal action, World Rugby, the RFU and WRU said: "Whilst ongoing legal actions prevents us from engaging directly, we are always saddened to hear Alix, Mel and Chris's stories.
"Player welfare has long been World Rugby's number one priority."
It added its medical protocols had always followed scientific consensus.
"We are always continuing to evolve and adapt the game, to make it as safe to play as possible," it added.
Ireland captain Caelan Doris, Ronan Kelleher and Tadhg Furlong have been ruled out of Saturday's Six Nations game against Wales in Cardiff (14:15 GMT).
Leinster back row Doris has picked up a knee injury, while hooker Kelleher is struggling with a neck issue.
Prop Furlong missed Ireland's wins over England and Scotland, and while the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) said he was "making good progress" on Sunday, he remains unavailable.
After facing Wales, there is another down week before Ireland host France at Aviva Stadium on 8 March.
"We're hoping they'll be available for France, they're just going through their processes they do with the physios, but they're all making good progress," said Ireland attack coach Andrew Goodman.
With Ulster's Iain Henderson and Cormac Izuchukwu also ruled out, Ireland called up six players on Sunday, including Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale and Nick Timoney.
Munster forwards Gavin Coombes and John Hodnett and Leinster back row Diarmuid Mangan were also added to interim boss Simon Easterby's panel on Sunday.
"There are some guys who have been playing well for their provinces in those positions that are ready for an opportunity, so it's exciting for them," added Goodman.
When asked who will captain Ireland against Wales in Doris' absence, Goodman said: "There's some good leaders in the squad.
"The leadership group's been growing well over the past couple of years and there's a number of players who have captained their provinces, so we have some good options there."
When pressed for the frontrunners for the captaincy, he added: "You've got guys like Peter O'Mahony and Jack Conan who have captained their provinces, Dan Sheehan, Ringer [Garry Ringrose], JR [James Ryan], Cian Prendergast - there's a number of players with leadership experience."
England make one change as Chessum starts at lock
Chessum has not started for England since he played in the back row during the defeat by France on the final day of last year's Six Nations.
Borthwick has rewarded the Leicester Tigers forward with a starting berth against the Scots following his tireless performance from the bench against Les Bleus earlier this month.
Chessum was also influential in shoring up the line-out, from which England were able to launch an attack which ended with Elliot Daly's match-winning try.
The 24-year-old has endured a torrid time on the sidelines - he was first ruled out of England's summer tour of Japan and New Zealand after shoulder surgery before sustaining a knee injury in the autumn.
Borthwick, who coached Chessum at Leicester before taking charge of England, says the forward's return has boosted the rest of his squad.
"Very early on when I was at Leicester Tigers, he [Chessum] was identified by all the coaches as a guy who was going to grow into a big leadership role," said Borthwick.
"Earlier this season he captained Leicester Tigers for the first time and, from every report I received, did it really well.
"He's grown into a line-out leader and caller which wasn't something he'd done previously. He's applying himself diligently to do that.
"All that points to a guy who wants to improve himself. He has the respect of everybody. He's had a couple of injury setbacks and worked incredibly diligently to get back.
"When he walked back into the squad you could see how happy everyone else was. He has a presence and a positivity about him that rubs off on everyone else."
Meanwhile, former England wing Chris Ashton says Chessum's versatility is a useful tool for Borthwick's side.
"[Chessum] is like an Allen key, he just sorts everything out," Ashton told BBC Rugby Union Daily.
"That ruck needs clearing - 'I'll sort that.' He needs an inside carry - 'I'll get on that.'
"Line-out jump? 'Yeah I'll do that.' Kick-chase? 'I'll go back and get that.'
"He does things that people don't even notice but you need these people that make the team tick by the amount of work he does."
SEBRING, Fla. Pato OWard was quickest overall as the countdown to the NTT IndyCar Series season accelerated Feb. 17 during the first of two days of testing at Sebring Intl Raceway.
OWard led the overall time charts with a top lap of 52.3470 seconds during the morning session in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet on the 1.67-mile short course at the historic circuit in Central Florida.
The 26 participating drivers were separated into morning and afternoon groups, with each receiving four hours of track time.
Oh, man, its the best feeling in the world; its the best job in the world, OWard said. I was so excited to come back to Sebring and get into an IndyCar Series car, getting to work with the engineers again. It definitely feels like home, and its a second family to me. So always excited to get rolling.
Marcus Armstrong was second overall with the quickest time in the afternoon session, 52.3675, in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda of his Meyer Shank Racing teammate Felix Rosenqvist. The Swede was ill with a fever and didnt participate.
In the end, we limited the running on the 60 car to save tires for Felix, but I feel really fresh, Armstrong said. Feel like I havent done anything. Feel like I could do it all again. So happy that Im not tired after doing so many laps.
The time sheets showed there was no clear advantage in track and weather conditions during either of the two sessions. Three of the five quickest times came in the morning, two in the afternoon. The top 10 times overall were split evenly between the two groups.
Two-time defending and three-time series champion Alex Palou was third overall at 52.4948 from the morning session in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Honda. Conor Daly produced a strong afternoon session in the No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet, ending up fourth overall at 52.5931.
We were fast all day in our group, Daly said. So, thats really encouraging. We made a lot of progress with a lot of changes that we wanted to get through. And thats what this testing is for. Its so important. To be fast and at the front, thats our goal every day.
Christian Lundgaard rounded out the top five at 52.6626 in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, as he helped the team put two cars in the top five. Lundgaard joined Arrow McLaren after driving for the last three seasons for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
Arrow McLaren wasnt the only team flexing its muscle in the Florida sunshine. Juncos Hollinger Racing, one of the smaller teams in the series, put two cars in the top six when Sting Ray Robb ended up sixth overall at 52.7761 while running in the morning session in the teams No. 77 Chevrolet. Robb joined Juncos Hollinger after driving last season for A.J. Foyt Racing.
There was one incident with contact. Nolan Siegel was unhurt in the afternoon session after hitting a barrier at the exit of Turn 7 in his No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.
Drivers combined to turn 1,311 laps between the two sessions. But one driver whose track time was limited was six-time series champion Scott Dixon, who turned only two laps in the afternoon in his No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda due to a mechanical problem.
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