Lock Mitch Lees has left Exeter Chiefs after five years at Sandy Park, agreeing a move to French Top 14 side Brive for the 2019-20 season.

The 30-year-old, who joined from London Welsh in the summer of 2014, made 113 appearances for Exeter.

"Mitch didn't get a lot of game time last season due to injuries and the form of others," said Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter.

"We've all agreed to release Mitch from his contract with immediate effect."

The 2019-20 Premiership season will start with Bristol hosting West Country rivals Bath on Friday, 18 October.

Champions Saracens will open the defence of their title the following day at home to Northampton.

Last season's runners-up Exeter welcome Harlequins to Sandy Park, with promoted London Irish at Wasps on the Sunday.

The campaign gets under way about six weeks later than usual because of the Rugby World Cup, which takes place in Japan from 20 September to 2 November.

It will be the second Premiership season running to start at Ashton Gate, with Bristol beating Bath in last year's curtain-raiser after their promotion back to the top flight.

Opening Premiership fixtures

Key dates

While there are no scheduled matches at Twickenham for now, Saracens will take on London rivals Harlequins at Tottenham Hotspur's new stadium during the round of fixtures scheduled for 27-29 March.

It is part of an agreement announced in March, which will see the English and European champions play an annual showpiece game at the 62,062-capacity ground.

The first of the heavyweight Premiership derbies sees Leicester go to Northampton in the fifth round of fixtures, on 30 November.

Worcester head to Kingsholm to face Gloucester in the first Severn derby of the season on 20 December, with Exeter hosting Saracens on 29 December in a repeat of last season's final.

Twickenham will host the Premiership final on Saturday, 20 June - almost three weeks later than in 2018-19.

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CLEVELAND -- Baseball players' union head Tony Clark says a poor job has been done of marketing Boston Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts, the reigning AL MVP.

"Mookie should be a household name," Clark told the Baseball Writers' Association of America on Tuesday. "Mookie should be a one-name guy. You say Ronaldo. You say Messi. You say Mookie. You should know who Mookie is, and outside of the baseball world, I don't know how many do."

Betts earned his fourth straight All-Star selection after helping Boston win the World Series last year.

"In the grand scheme of things with respect to players that should be at the forefront of every conversation and should be in conversations even with non-baseball fans, Mookie is one of them," Clark said. "No doubt about it. And unless or until we fix that, it's going to be difficult for others to be a part of that conversation, too."

Clark said baseball commissioner Rob Manfred probably would be in position to answer what is required to increase Betts' recognition.

"I want to be able to turn on the TV and see players on products with sponsors, licensees, up and down the rows of the streets, whether you're in a big city or a small city, I would like to see them overlap in other sports and other industries and on TV and in commercials promoting movies," Clark said. "I would love to see all of that, so that our guys are mainstream. Promoting our guys on baseball channels is not going to get us there. Baseball fans know who Mookie is. Non-baseball fans deserve to know who Mookie is."

Betts entered the All-Star Game to start the eighth inning but did not have any plate appearances.

"There were other guys that we wanted to play," said AL manager Alex Cora of the Red Sox. "There were a lot of first-timers, and we kind of mapped it out. And he was going to come up in the ninth. It just happened that we won the game."

The Boston Bruins signed restricted free agent winger Danton Heinen to a two-year deal with an annual cap hit of $2.8 million, the team announced Tuesday night.

Playing mostly third-line minutes on a deep team that went to the Stanley Cup Final, Heinen put up 11 goals and 34 points in 77 games. That was a bit of a regression from the season before -- his first full season in the NHL -- when he had 16 goals and 47 points.

Heinen, who last week had filed for salary arbitration, is the first of three key restricted free agents to re-sign with the Bruins.

Boston is still working on deals for defensemen Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo.

Heinen, who turned 23 Friday, just completed a three-year, $2.9875 million entry-level contract.

A native of Langley, British Columbia, Heinen was selected by the Bruins in the fourth round (116th overall) of the 2014 NHL draft.

Former Nashville Predators captain Greg Johnson has died. He was 48.

Tom Laidlaw, his former agent, told USA Today that Johnson died Monday at his home in Michigan. No other details were provided.

Johnson also played for Detroit, Pittsburgh and Chicago during his 12 seasons in the NHL, finishing with 145 goals and 224 assists in 785 games.

Johnson was with Nashville for the franchise's first season in the league. He spent the final seven years of his career with the Predators.

The Predators called Johnson "a consummate professional and terrific teammate" in a statement released Tuesday. The team also said he "was an integral part of our community and in developing the Predators culture that we experience today."

Johnson was selected by Philadelphia in the second round of the 1989 draft. He made his NHL debut Oct. 5, 1993, scoring for the Red Wings in a 6-4 loss at Dallas.

Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford has admitted the controversial video shared by Jesse Lingard on their holiday was "a mistake."

A video accidentally posted by Lingard to his 6.3 million Instagram followers during a holiday with Rashford in Miami featured a friend, Jamal Branker, simulating sex with a pillow.

It prompted criticism from supporters and Rashford has accepted it should not have been made public.

- Solskjaer tells Pogba: United 'don't need to sell'
- Herrera says United did not move fast enough in talks
- Ogden: Pogba saga is the least of Solskjaer's preseason issues

"I haven't spoken to the manager about it," said Rashford.

"From what I saw of it, people have to understand that he was enjoying his holiday and it was a mistake.

"There's not really much I can say about that."

Rashford, 21, has arrived in Australia for the first leg of United's preseason tour a week after committing his future to the club by signing a new five-year deal.

The England international has revealed the squad have been put through their paces by manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer during double sessions at the WACA cricket ground and believes are already fitter than last summer under Jose Mourinho.

"Everyone is positive," said Rashford. "We know last season wasn't good enough but we've put it behind us. We've worked harder than ever to put things right. Going into the season that's what we're looking to do.

"The sessions have been quite tough but I think it's what we need. If we look at this time last year, we're in much better condition."

PERTH, Australia -- Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has told Paul Pogba that Manchester United "do not need to sell players" after the midfielder and his agent publicly said he wants to leave Old Trafford this summer.

Pogba has declared his intention to seek a "new challenge" while agent Mino Raiola has backed up the claims by insisting he hopes to "find a solution" before the close of the transfer window.

The 26-year-old, wanted by Real Madrid and Juventus, is in Australia with the United squad for the first leg of their preseason tour and speaking for the first time this summer, Solskjaer said the club are under no pressure to sell a player who still has three years left on his contract, and in any case are yet to receive a bid.

- Herrera says United did not move fast enough in talks
- Ogden: Pogba saga is the least of Solskjaer's preseason issues

"We're Man United and we don't need to sell our players," Solskjaer told a news conference at the WACA cricket ground.

"We don't have any bids for our players. Paul has never put himself out of the team, he's always given his best and I can't report anything but that.

"There is agent talk all the time and as I said we've not had any bids, that's all I can say for this matter."

Raiola raised the possibility that Pogba may not have travelled with the squad to Australia ahead of games against Perth Glory and Leeds United as he tried to engineer a move.

However, Solskjaer said the World Cup winner had been "professional" since linking with his teammates after a summer off, playing down reports that he had been involved in a spat with Jesse Lingard during a walk through Perth on Monday.

"Paul, it looks like it's going to be a media ... I don't want to call it an agenda against Paul," said Solskjaer.

"He's a great great professional and has a heart of gold. Jesse [Lingard] and Paul yesterday walking around and it's portrayed as a fight between them. I know you're here to sell papers and stories but they're all professional."

Pogba's future is just one of a number of issues facing Solskjaer this summer. Romelu Lukaku is keen to move to Inter Milan while Victor Lindelof's agent, Hasan Cetinkaya, has said the centre-back could be tempted by a move to Barcelona.

The Norwegian is also looking to bolster his squad with at least two new signings before the start of the Premier League season but he had more positive news about David De Gea's new contract and the injury picked up by Alexis Sanchez during the Copa America.

"We're still in the market looking to do some business but we're patient," said Solskjaer.

"We're Man United and we don't have to sell and don't have to overpay. You have to have the right players at the right price and if you look at the squad we've got now there are so many good players.

"I don't think Alexis' injury was too bad. When he's due back in three weeks I would expect him to be fit to train straight away.

"David has had a summer where he's been negotiating and we hope we're going to get it sorted.

"I'm positive. Of course with David I've said many times how lucky I am and happy we are to have him in goal."

The Minnesota Timberwolves have declined to match the three-year, $28 million offer sheet restricted free agent Tyus Jones agreed to with the Memphis Grizzlies earlier this week.

"We sincerely thank Tyus for his contributions on the court and Tyus and the entire Jones family for their genuine impact on the Twin Cities community," Timberwolves president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas said in a statement Tuesday night. "We wish them nothing but the best in Memphis."

Minnesota had two days to match the Grizzlies' offer sheet. Among the reasons for not doing so, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski: The Timberwolves are pursuing max salary-cap space in 2020 free agency.

Memphis, meanwhile, is using most of a $9.3 million midlevel exception on Jones, according to ESPN's Bobby Marks.

With the Grizzlies, the 23-year-old point guard will get a chance to develop behind No. 2 overall pick Ja Morant. De'Anthony Melton, 21, could be a viable third point guard in time.

The 23-year-old Jones averaged 6.9 points and 4.8 assists for the Timberwolves during the 2018-19 season.

Jones was the 24th overall pick in the 2015 draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers, but was traded to the Timberwolves for two second-round picks. During his career in Minnesota, he has averaged 5.1 points and 3.3 assists.

LAS VEGAS -- Commissioner Adam Silver said multiple times during his annual news conference in Las Vegas during summer league that the NBA has "work to do" when it comes to free agency and the rules governing it.

Silver's comments came after a free-agency period in which several star players changed teams through deals that were apparently agreed upon before the official start of free agency at 6 p.m. ET on June 30.

"My sense in the room today was, especially when it comes to free agency and the rules around it, that we've got work to do," Silver said Tuesday evening at the conclusion of the league's annual board of governors meetings. "And as I said, it's still the same principles of fair balance of power and a sense that it's a level playing field. I think that's what teams want to know. I think they're put in difficult situations because when they're sitting across from a player and whether it's conversations that are happening earlier than they should or frankly things are being discussed that don't fall squarely within the collective bargaining agreement, it puts teams in a very difficult position because they are reading or hearing that other teams are doing other things to compete, and at the end of the day, that's what this league is about: competing for championships.

"My job is to enforce a fair set of rules for all our teams and a set of rules that are clear and make sense for everyone. I think right now we're not quite there."

Silver acknowledged that there always have been at least some discussions taking place before the official start of free agency. This year's free-agency period, though, put into stark relief just how much of that business is done ahead of time, with basically only Kawhi Leonard's search for a new team lingering past the first 24 hours in which players could agree to contracts with teams.

The league has only so many ways it can police tampering, particularly when it comes in the form of players talking to one another, something the NBA has no realistic way to combat. And while Silver wasn't directly addressing that topic during his news conference Tuesday, he did repeatedly say that he believes the league needs to look at having "enforceable rules" on its books.

"I think the consensus at both our committee meetings and the board meeting was that we need to revisit and reset those rules, that some of the rules we have in place may not make sense," Silver said. "I think that's what we discussed. I think it's pointless at the end of the day to have rules that we can't enforce. I think it hurts the perception of integrity around the league if people say, 'Well, you have that rule and it's obvious that teams aren't fully complying, so why do you have it?'

"I think the sense in the room was we should revisit those rules, think about what does make sense for our teams so that ultimately we can create a level playing field among the teams and that the partner teams have confidence that their competitors are adhering to the same set of rules they are."

All of the player movement this summer -- coupled with the star players available almost all choosing to sign with teams in either California, New York or Florida -- also led to questions about whether that was a potential long-term problem for the league.

Silver said he wasn't overly concerned by it. But he added that he was cognizant of the fact all 30 teams need to feel they have a chance to compete on a level playing field.

"I think at the end of the day, it's positive for the league," Silver said. "I will say, though, I'm mindful of this notion of balance of power, and I think it applies in many different ways. An appropriate balance of power between the teams and the players, an appropriate balance of power I'd say among all our 30 teams, big markets, small markets, some markets that are perceived as being more attractive than others, tax issues, climate issues. At the end of the day, you want to make sure you have a league where every team is in a position to compete.

"We have work to do. I think some of it is systematic, can only be addressed through collective bargaining. ... I never want to say it's without concern. Certainly we watch everything that happens, but again, having had a long-term perspective in the league, I think we continue to incrementally get better."

One thing Silver said he remains unhappy with is players making public trade demands. After previously decrying the practice, Silver said it continues to be something the league has to address in the wake of Anthony Davis being sent to the Los Angeles Lakers several months after making his trade request public before February's trade deadline, and Paul George going to the LA Clippers after privately making his own trade request last week.

"First of all, you know, of course that's nothing new in the league in terms of trade demands. But it concerns all of us," he said. "I mean, it falls in the same category of issues of the so-called rule of law within a sports league. You have a contract and it needs to be meaningful on both sides. On one hand, there's an expectation if you have a contract and it's guaranteed that the team is going to meet the terms of the contract, and the expectation on the other side is the player is going to meet the terms of the contract.

"I will say, without getting into any specific circumstances, trade demands are disheartening. They're disheartening to the team. They're disheartening to the community and don't serve the player well. The players care about their reputations just as much. And so that's an issue that needs to be addressed."

Silver was also asked about the decline in TV ratings this season, which he said could be attributed to several things, including cord cutting and pirating, but said he wasn't concerned about it overall.

Silver did, however, say that the way the media landscape has changed since the league's current television deal was agreed to five years ago could lead to the NBA attempting to reopen it with its television partners -- ESPN and Turner Sports -- to allow the league to better optimize its business.

"It's amazing to me, again, having been at the league for a long time and having watched change over the years, how much that change is now accelerating," Silver said. "I think even just from the time we negotiated this set of television deals less than five years ago. I think there's a realization with us with our television partners that at the end of the day, even though we have six years left on these deals, there are potentially modifications we should be making so we can do a better job finding those fans.

"So I don't think there's anything endemic to the league. In fact, at our board meeting we discussed the growth in popularity of the sport, the growth in participation, the fact that we have a young, diverse, global audience. All very positive indicators. But at the end of the day, a large component of our revenue come from traditional media. It's not something we can ignore and it's something that we and our television partners need to address."

Silver also added he isn't concerned about the number of rookies either sitting out of summer league completely or being shut down early like No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson, calling it "unique circumstances."