Chicago Cubs pitcher Justin Steele will undergo season-ending surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his left elbow, manager Craig Counsell told reporters Sunday.

It was unclear whether Steele, who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2017, will need another full ligament-replacement procedure or a Tommy John revision with an internal brace. The 29-year-old left-hander will be sidelined until 2026.

"On a day like this, you feel for Justin," Counsell said before Sunday's series finale against the Los Angeles Dodgers. "It's kind of the life of a major league pitcher, these injuries that make you miss most of seasons.

"But I talked to him this morning, and he has a great attitude about it, as he always does. He knows that it's part of the career he's chosen, and he's going to take it a step at a time and do the best he can to come back even better."

Steele was placed on the injured list last week after feeling discomfort in his elbow following his last start. He threw seven shutout innings against the Texas Rangers on Monday but still felt pain after arriving at the stadium the next day for treatment.

He was 3-1 with a 4.76 ERA in four starts before going down.

Steele has had a history of minor elbow problems over the past couple of seasons, spending time on the injured list in each of them, including late last year before returning for two September outings. He started the second game of the season for the Cubs against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Japan last month.

Overall, Steele is 32-22 with a 3.30 ERA in 91 career starts, all with the Cubs.

The injury opens a huge hole in the team's rotation. Long reliever Colin Rea will take Steele's place in the rotation on Sunday night.

Counsell said right-hander Javier Assad, who will begin a minor league rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday, will be a candidate to fill Steele's spot when he returns from a left oblique strain. The team has several other in-house candidates who could also get a look, including lefty Jordan Wicks and righty Cade Horton.

Horton is one of the Cubs' top prospects but is still working back from an injury that kept him out of action last year. The team could also look to a possible trade, as Miami Marlins righty Sandy Alcantara is likely to be on the market this summer.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks have agreed to terms with Ryan Greene on a three-year contract, adding another top prospect to their roster.

The entry-level deal for Greene runs through the 2026-27 season with a $950,000 salary cap hit. The 21-year-old forward likely will play in Chicago's last two games of the season.

The Blackhawks announced the deal on Sunday, a day after Greene and Boston University lost to Western Michigan in the NCAA championship in St. Louis. Greene had 13 goals and 25 assists in 40 games during his junior season with the Terriers.

The 6-foot-2 Greene was selected by Chicago in the second round of the 2022 draft. Before getting to BU, he played for the Green Bay Gamblers of the United States Hockey League.

The lowly Blackhawks are 3-11-3 in their past 17 games. They visit Montreal on Monday before their season finale at Ottawa on Tuesday night.

But there have been some positive signs for Chicago as some of its top prospects have been added to the team. Defenseman Artyom Levshunov made his NHL debut on March 10, and forward Oliver Moore and defenseman Sam Rinzel played in their first game with Chicago on March 30.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Wolverhampton Wanderers coach Vitor Pereira is happy to swap the wine of his native Portugal for the beer of England's Black Country to celebrate his side's 4-2 home win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Fans at Molineux brandished a banner with the legend "First the points, then the pints" following last week's 2-1 win over Ipswich Town, after which the 56-year-old coach was spotted in a pub in the town celebrating with fans.

Asked if he would be joining them for a beer again following their drubbing of Spurs, Pereira was emphatic.

"Every time! Work is work, but after the work we need to celebrate together. I need to feel the energy of these people and be part of the family," he told the BBC.

Pereira has become a popular figure with fans following his appointment in December when Wolves looked to be in serious danger of relegation.

He has since secured eight wins and two draws in his 16 league games, with four of those victories coming in their last four matches, the first time Wolves have won four in a row in the Premier League.

"This is good for us. We are consistent now. Now we know very well the moments of the game and how to deal with them," Pereira said. "Sometimes we need to wait and sometimes be compact and play on the counter, sometimes we have space to play with the ball, sometimes fast and sometimes slow down.

"In this moment, we have the tactical maturity."

With his team sitting 16th on 35 points, 14 points clear of Ipswich in 18th, Sunday's result means that Wolves will most likely retain their Premier League status for next season, and Pereira is already looking forward.

"I am [an] ambitious guy, I want more and more. This is the image I ask the players to send to the supporters -- we have a team that can reach other targets," he said.

In Year 20, Chris Paul started all 82. And he made some NBA history in the process.

Paul was in the San Antonio Spurs' starting lineup for their season finale Sunday, making him the first player to ever make 82 starts this deep into a career. The previous mark on that front was held by Utah's John Stockton, who started all 82 games in his 19th and final season.

Paul, who turns 40 in less than a month, is one of three players to have a season with 82 appearances at his age. Stockton did it in the seasons in which he turned 39 and 40, and Michael Jordan turned 39 in his final season while playing in all 82 games and starting 67 of them.

"It's crazy," Paul said. "I was talking to my wife about this. When you're sort of in it, you're not really thinking about it. It's like, 'OK, it's Game 30. OK, it's Game 40-something. It's game such and such.'"

It became Game 82. And Paul never missed a beat.

He's one of six players who made 82 starts in this NBA regular season, which ended Sunday. The others: the New York Knicks' Mikal Bridges, Minnesota Timberwolves' Jaden McDaniels, Houston Rockets' Jalen Green, Cleveland Cavaliers' Jarrett Allen and Paul's San Antonio teammate Harrison Barnes.

With Paul, Barnes and Julian Champagnie, the Spurs became the first team since the 2017-18 Minnesota Timberwolves with at least three players to appear in 82 games.

For Barnes, who is in his first year with the Spurs, Sunday's game was his 304th in a row. He and Paul are the first Spurs to play all 82 games since Bryn Forbes and Patty Mills in 2018-19 -- and the first Spurs to start all 82 games since Bruce Bowen in 2006-07.

"Year 20, this is only the second time in my career playing 82 games," Paul said. "And also playing as long as I have, I think I know how hard it is. That's why I have so much respect for Harrison, who is doing this for the third year in a row. And Mikal, who was my teammate, he never misses a game."

Bridges was playing in his 556th consecutive regular-season game Sunday -- out of a possible 556. He hasn't missed any game since his junior year of high school, including 116 at Villanova and 39 NBA playoff games. Add that up, and he has played in 711 consecutive games since entering college.

The Knicks held out four starters for a meaningless game standings-wise Sunday. Bridges was the exception.

"I think he's earned that right," Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. "It's a tribute to him. I think he's worked hard to put himself in that position. I've said this before: He should be commended for it."

Bridges played the first six seconds to extend the streak Sunday, took a foul, got subbed out by Landry Shamet and went to the bench. (He did something similar in the final game of the 2023-24 season, playing four seconds for Brooklyn against Philadelphia on the last day.) It happened elsewhere, too: Allen played 41 seconds for Cleveland on Sunday to get to 82 starts, then was subbed out.

The Sacramento Kings' Jonas Valanciunas appeared in 81 games this season, not 82, with a big caveat: he was inactive for two teams on the same day, which is the only reason why he didn't get to 82 this season. Valanciunas was traded by Washington to the Kings on Feb. 5; he appeared that night as inactive for both of those teams on the official NBA box scores because the trade was pending.

He played on Feb. 6 for the Kings and hasn't missed a game since.

Paul was the 11th player in NBA history to make it to 20 seasons in the league. LeBron James, if he plays next year as would be expected, will then become the first to make it to 23 seasons in the league, breaking the tie with Vince Carter.

Robert Parish, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Willis all played 21 NBA seasons, which Paul will get to next year if he -- again, as expected -- returns. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, Jamal Crawford and Udonis Haslem all played 20 seasons, a club that Kyle Lowry will join next season.

"I know there's stuff still in the tank," Paul said. "You know, I think for me, the summer will just be a really good time to just evaluate everything, the opportunities. But the love for the game is still there."

Bath: Donoghue; De Glanville, Redpath, Butt, Muir; Russell, Spencer (c); Obano, Dunn, Griffin; Roux, Molony, Hill, Staddon, Barbeary.

Replacements: Annett, Van Wyk, Du Toit, Bayliss, Reid, Carr-Smith, Ojomoh, Coetzee.

Sin bin: Hill (27 mins)

Gloucester: Carreras; Wade, Harris (c), Butler, Morris; Anscombe, Englefield; Knight, Singleton, Gotovtsev; Clarke, Jordan, Gwynne, Taylor, Ackermann.

Replacements: Blake, Rapava Ruskin, Fasogbon, Thomas, Ludlow, Clement, Williams, Atkinson.

Referee: Sam Grove-White

Manchester United slipped to their 14th Premier League defeat of the season -- their joint-most losses in a single campaign since 1989-90 --after being beaten 4-1 at Newcastle United on Sunday.

Despite the absence of ailing manager Eddie Howe, Newcastle boosted their chances of securing a place in next season's Champions League as they sit fourth in the standings with 56 points.

With Howe in hospital due to illness, in-form Newcastle did not lose any of their recent momentum, racing into a 24th-minute lead through a fine Sandro Tonali volley.

The visitors responded well, however, scoring a superb goal of their own on the break, finished off by Argentine forward Alejandro Garnacho in the 37th minute, but Harvey Barnes restored Newcastle's lead early in the second half.

Barnes added a third in the 64th minute, before an error from league debutant Altay Bayindir in the away goal gifted Bruno Guimarães a late fourth to send Newcastle above Manchester City, while Manchester United dropped to 14th.

"We know that it's been a tough season, nothing to add to that," Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes told Sky Sports. "Our position in the table is not where this club belongs, but unfortunately we are not getting the results.

"We need to look forward as we have a big game coming up, we need to clear our heads and go for it."

Newcastle came into the contest looking to do the league double over Sunday's opponents for the first time since 1930-31.

However, that accomplishment is not the daunting task it used to be. They have been beaten home and away by four teams this season -- the most times that has happened to Manchester United in a single campaign since 1957-58.

Amorim made five changes to his United side for the trip to the north east with Thursday's Europa League quarterfinal second leg against Lyon in mind.

The visitors did quickly find their feet, with Joshua Zirkzee playing a sublime one-two with Fernandes before bringing a fine save out of Nick Pope in the home goal.

The hosts made their first big chance count, however, with Alexander Isak superbly lofting the ball over the visiting backline before Tonali slammed home for the second successive home match.

Manchester United have now conceded first in 19 league matches this term -- their most in a single season since 2013-14, with six games of the current campaign to go.

A superb stop from stand-in visiting goalkeeper Bayindir, making his Premier League debut with first-choice stopper André Onana left at home, denied Isak a quick-fire second.

That save proved crucial as Garnacho finished well on the counter, after good work from Manuel Ugarte to win the ball back. The 20-year-old Garnacho netted his 15th Premier League goal; the second-most by a South American player aged under 21.

The away side needed a solid start to the second half to really get back into the contest, but were too easily broken down by Newcastle full-back Tino Livramento, before Barnes arrived right on cue.

Barnes could not believe his luck as he was allowed the freedom to run straight through the heart of United's backline to become only the second Newcastle player to score a double against Sunday's opponents in the Premier League era.

The calamitous visitors were not done there, as Bayindir's clearance was intercepted by Joelinton, who squared for Guimaraes to seal a fine fifth successive win in all competitions for Howe's team.

"Me and Eddie have worked together for 17 years, and in that time he's never missed more than a day or two, so he must have found it hard to be missing this week," Newcastle assistant manager Jason Tindall told the BBC.

"We went out and delivered a performance he would be proud of. Hopefully he is back very soon."

Ruben Amorim said he will wait to make a decision on his goalkeeper for Manchester United's crucial Europa League clash with Lyon after omitting André Onana from the defeat to Newcastle United on Sunday.

Onana was left out of Sunday's game after making two costly mistakes in the 2-2 first leg draw with Lyon on Thursday. Altay Bayindir made his Premier League debut against Newcastle, but endured a difficult afternoon as United lost 4-1.

The Turkey international was at fault for Newcastle's fourth goal when his pass was cut out by Joelinton and Bruno Guimarães was left with a simple finish.

"You guys have to wait," said Amorim when asked which of his goalkeepers will start against Lyon. "We are going to start the next week tomorrow [Monday] and I'm going to choose the best starting XI for the next one."

Amorim was critical of United's second-half performance at St James' Park during which Newcastle were gifted three goals. Alejandro Garnacho cancelled out Sandro Tonali's opener just before half-time, but a dire display after the break ruined any chance of earning a result.

"When we suffered the second goal in the beginning of the second half we went down and we need to be better in these moments, we need to control it," said Amorim. "They are already a really, really good team but the mistakes we made during the game helped the team to win confidence and win the game."

Defeat for United was their 14th of the season and means they are now mathematically guaranteed to end the campaign with their lowest ever points total in the Premier League era.

"It's the reflection of our season," said Amorim. "We need to accept that and to move forward and try to do things so much better in the future so we don't have this kind of season again."

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- From the fairway on the 15th hole at Augusta National, Bryson DeChambeau had a clear view of what was going on below.

On the green, Rory McIlroy had landed his second shot like a feather and left himself a mere 6 feet for eagle. Even if he might not have seen the ball go in, the roar of the patrons told DeChambeau all he needed to know: McIlroy had made his second eagle of the day, this one pushing him to 12 under par and five shots ahead of DeChambeau.

With four holes left, catching McIlroy was far-fetched, but this was Saturday at the Masters, so the two-time U.S. Open winner simply had one thought on his mind.

"Get in the final pairing."

DeChambeau answered McIlroy's eagle with a birdie on 15. On the 16th hole, he made a short birdie putt and stopped to look across the pond and ahead to the 17th fairway where McIlroy was walking.

"Rory was kind of moving forward. He was at 12 under, and I was kind of chasing a bit," DeChambeau said. "When I made that, I looked up and I said, kind of as a statement, 'I'm still here. I'm going to keep going. I'm not going to back down.'"

Here we go again.

Nearly 10 months after a thrilling finish in the U.S. Open at Pinehurst placed heartbreak on McIlroy's plate while awarding triumph to DeChambeau, the two will head into Sunday with a major championship in the balance. This time, they're in the final group together. This time, it's the Masters on the line.

"I think I still have to remind myself that there's a long way to go, 18 holes," McIlroy said after shooting the low round of the day to lead DeChambeau by two. "I, just as much as anyone else, know what can happen on the final day here."

There is no battle between good and evil here, no feud between LIV and the PGA Tour, simply two of the best golfers in the world trying to wrest the game's most coveted garment from one another on the sport's biggest stage.

Their games are, at times, similar. Both can bend courses to their will with their driver -- they are 1-2 in the field in distance this week -- and they often rely on the volatility of their approach game or putting to determine their scores. But to say that DeChambeau and McIlroy are polar opposites would be an understatement.

All you had to do to see as much was look at their respective walks off the 18th green. McIlroy made par on his last three holes and, as he was serenaded with cheers and standing ovations for his round, could muster only solemn nods to his constituency. DeChambeau finished his round with an electric shock to the system -- a 48-foot birdie putt on 18 -- and reacted by producing a fist pump before walking down the rope line and high-fiving everyone he could on his way to the scoring area.

"It makes me focus more," DeChambeau said of how he interacts with fans. "It's a fun thing that whenever I feel like I feed into the crowd, especially the patrons here, they give that energy back, and it's a cool feeling."

On the golf course (and the range), DeChambeau chases optimal launch angles and ball speed numbers, while McIlroy continues to harp on the fact that what he's after is not a number or even a score, but a feeling of being in control.

"If I can have that feeling," McIlroy said, "and if I can go home tonight and look in the mirror before I go to bed and be like, 'that's the way I want to feel when I play golf,' that, to me, is a victory."

DeChambeau is a showman who does everything with aplomb and a certain kind of fervor that seems to gloss over what's underneath. McIlroy, for his part, is not afraid to lay bare what's below the surface. He talks of having anxious energy, of writing cliché notes in his yardage books to encourage himself during a round. He decompresses with a John Grisham book, an episode of "Bridgerton," or, like he did on Saturday morning, by watching "Zootopia" with his daughter while trying to stay off his phone. DeChambeau is a movie guy, too; he's going to watch James Bond, however.

"Looking at my phone, I don't have a problem with that," said DeChambeau, who has a YouTube channel with millions of followers.

While DeChambeau talks of feeding off the frenzy of those around him, McIlroy knows how much he'll have to work Sunday to not just win but commit to his approach and demeanor among a crowd of patrons whose energy will inevitably play a role in the proceedings.

"Tomorrow in that final group it's going to be a little rowdy and a little loud," McIlroy said. "I need to stay in my own little bubble, keep my head down."

It's that same energy from the crowds that DeChambeau plans on not eschewing but embracing, at least until he has to hit his next shot.

"It's a lot of, like, reacting and being who I am," DeChambeau said. "Which, you guys can say whatever you want, but I'm just a little different."

Sunday will provide an ample stage for those differences between the two to show themselves. And yet the biggest of those is already written in the script: Since McIlroy won his last major, DeChambeau has won two.

There is almost no need to recount the heartbreaks McIlroy has experienced; they have become as much a part of the fabric of his story as the four majors he won from 2011 to 2014. At the Old Course in 2022, McIlroy was stuck in neutral as Cameron Smith chased him down and won the Claret Jug. In the 2023 U.S. Open at LACC, he couldn't engineer a comeback to outlast Wyndham Clark. Pinehurst last year was the most brutal finish yet. McIlroy missed two short putts and could only watch as DeChambeau got up and down for par on 18 to beat him.

Then there is the 2011 Masters where, at just 21 years old, McIlroy had a four-shot lead heading into the final round before shooting 80 and walking away empty-handed.

"That was 14 years ago," McIlroy said when asked about that tournament. "I'm glad I have a short memory."

On paper, there are 18 holes between McIlroy and his career Grand Slam. In reality, there are 11 years of close calls and heartbreaks and now, the last giant he failed to slay a year ago, standing in his way. A giant who is relishing the chance to step inside the cauldron again, keep his foot on the gas pedal and play spoiler in the encore.

"We both want to win very badly. It's going to be an electric atmosphere," DeChambeau said. "It'll be the grandest stage that we've had in a long time."