MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Memphis Grizzlies starters Desmond Bane and Marcus Smart will sit out multiple games because of injuries, the team said Friday.

Bane has a right oblique strain, and Smart has a sprained right ankle. The Grizzlies said both are week-to-week.

Both were hurt in Wednesday night's 119-106 loss to visiting Brooklyn. Smart was injured in the first quarter and Bane in the third. Neither played in the Grizzlies' 122-99 win over visiting Milwaukee on Thursday.

Smart played only 20 games last season after dealing with a sprained left foot and an injured finger.

Bane is second on the Grizzlies in scoring at 18.8 points.

Memphis (3-3) plays at Philadelphia on Saturday.

Harlequins moved up to third in the Premiership Women's Rugby table with a 34-19 win at Bristol Bears.

After Millie David's try had given the hosts an early lead, Harlequins battled back to lead 20-19 at the end of a tight first half with tries from Lauren Torley and Ellie Kildunne.

There was little to separate the two sides after the break until the visitors finally broke down the Bristol defence with a Carys Phillips try.

It moved Quins 27-19 up and they wrapped up the win when Alex Callender crossed and Lagi Tuima added the conversion.

The victory was Harlequins' third in the early stages of this season and moved them above Bristol Bears.

It was the one time England have been on the high side of those small margins and a giddy Twickenham crowd drank deep, ratcheting up the decibels and washing away memories of ugly losses to France, Fiji and Scotland.

If that same heady feeling is in the air come the business end on Saturday, it will be easier to peel another big scalp.

Joe Marler has certainly provided the warm-up act.

The England prop's social media post suggesting the haka was "ridiculous" and should be "binned", kicked off the expected chain reaction of comment and condemnation.

The All Blacks are keeping their counsel until kick-off. "The boys are aware of it," said New Zealand coach Scott Robertson ominously.

"We will discuss it and decide how we deal with it."

England captain Jamie George's assessment that Marler has "poked the bear" seems accurate.

How do England ensure then that, come Saturday night, they are mounting big-game trophies on the wall, rather than be stuffed themselves?

The absence of the All Blacks' first-choice loosehead prop Ethan de Groot for failing to meet "internal standards" is big. He gave England's Will Stuart a working over in some scrums in the summer.

The hosts can't afford for that platform to be undermined again.

Ben Spencer's dead-eyed box-kicking is a weapon that will have been sharpened in training. In for the injured Alex Mitchell, the scrum-half will have aerial ace Tommy Freeman to chase his bombs.

Northampton wing Freeman climbed high above Mark Telea to claim a try in the second Test in July. The pair are up against each other once more, and World Rugby's guidance to officials this week has favoured the pursuers, putting the spotlight on any lazy-running blocking by the receiving team .

Sunday's NWSL regular-season finale between San Diego Wave FC and Racing Louisville FC has been moved to Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky, due to an unplayable field at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego.

Snapdragon Stadium was scheduled to host the match on Sunday, the NWSL's final day of the regular season.

Wave leadership evaluated the surface earlier this week and players walked the field Thursday morning before sharing their feelings that the conditions would be unsafe, according to a Wave spokesperson. The club alerted the NWSL and the NWSL Players Association, and a FIFA representative flew to San Diego Friday morning to further evaluate the field.

Racing Louisville were not made aware of the issue with the field conditions until Friday morning, a team source said.

A spokesperson for the Wave said the team exhausted all options for closer alternative venues, including the 6,000-seat Torero Stadium in San Diego, where the Wave initially played as an expansion team in 2022 while construction of Snapdragon Stadium finished. BMO Stadium in Los Angeles and Titan Stadium in Fullerton, California, were also considered before the decision to move the game to Louisville.

In a statement, the team said they were not responsible for the condition of the field.

"San Diego Wave FC has made the difficult decision to relocate our upcoming home match to Louisville, KY due to ongoing player and field safety concerns at Snapdragon Stadium," the statement read.

"The safety and well-being of all players is our top priority, and the current field conditions at Snapdragon Stadium, which are the responsibility of a third party, have not met the standards required for a safe playing environment. A thorough review of the field was conducted and all alternative options within Southern California were exhausted; however, the league ultimately determined that moving the game to Louisville was the best solution."

In response, Snapdragon Stadium authorities said they were "disappointed" with the league's decision and contended that the field was safe for play.

"We are disappointed with the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) decision to move Sunday's match from Snapdragon Stadium. Although we recognize the aesthetics of the field do not meet our desired expectations, we are confident in our readiness to play a match in safe conditions," read a statement on X.

The statement added that they would be investing resources to improve the condition of the field moving forward.

Racing Louisville sits in ninth place, three points off the final playoff place. Racing must defeat San Diego on Sunday and have other results go its way to qualify for the postseason for the first time.

The game, which will be shown live on ESPN, will still kick off at 5:30 p.m. ET.

"To see this game move home is a major opportunity for the club, and we're aiming to rally as much support as possible on short notice," Racing's general manager, Ryan Dell, said in a statement. "Tickets are low-cost, the weather forecast looks great, and some club history could be on the line.

"We invite the community to join us Sunday at Lynn Family Stadium and show out for an ESPN audience."

Snapdragon Stadium's field has been an eyesore for the Wave for several seasons and was a source of criticism around the venue hosting last year's NWSL Championship. It has often been dry, sandy and noticeably discolored, in addition to frequently visible American football markings.

The Wave have incurred multiple fines this year for the poor quality of the playing surface, a source confirmed to ESPN.

The stadium was also the venue for March's controversial Concacaf W Gold Cup semifinal between the United States and Canada, which was completed despite a heavily waterlogged field.

San Diego State football, the current primary tenant, played there last Saturday on a field that had sand kicking up as players ran.

San Diego FC will begin playing at Snapdragon Stadium in 2025 as an MLS expansion team, and the new team's CEO, Tom Penn, has previously stated that the team's lease guarantees it first pick at dates on the schedule.

The relocation of Sunday's game to Louisville comes with some irony. Former Wave head coach Casey Stoney criticized Louisville's field last year as a "notoriously" poor surface when asked why Alex Morgan wasn't in the lineup for a game.

The relocation of the match also brings an end to a tumultuous year for the Wave. San Diego can still finish last with a loss and a Houston Dash victory. If that happens, it will mark the first time in NWSL history the Shield winners from the previous season finished last.

Stoney was controversially fired in June despite leading the team to that NWSL Shield last season, and to the best expansion season in NWSL history in 2022.

Five former Wave employees also recently alleged multiple forms of discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation and wrongful termination by the club in a recent lawsuit against the Wave and the NWSL.

Wave players and staff will fly to Louisville on Saturday morning.

The team said that details for fans who had purchased tickets to attend the match at Snapdragon Stadium would be provided as soon as possible.

"We apologize to our fans, who have shown unwavering support, and assure you that we are actively working with stadium management to resolve this issue," San Diego's statement added. "Our players, fans, and community deserve a safe and top-quality environment for every game."

Erik ten Hag has thanked Manchester United fans for their support in his first public comments since he was fired as the Premier League club's manager on Monday.

Ten Hag was dismissed after a little over two seasons in charge of Old Trafford, with United languishing in 14th in the Premier League table after losing four of their first nine games.

The Dutch coach led United to a Carabao Cup and FA Cup triumph but lamented that his dream of bringing more trophies to Man United fans had come to an end.

"Let me start by thanking you. Thank you for always being there for the club," he said in an open letter released through his agency SEG Football.

"Whether it was at a game far away or a tough match at Old Trafford, your support has been unshakeable. The atmosphere at Old Trafford has always been electrifying, thanks to you.

He added: "I want to thank you for giving me this feeling and for your support. I also want to thank the staff in every department of the club for their unwavering support in good times and bad.

"We won two trophies -- achievements that I will cherish for the rest of my life. Of course, my dream was to bring more trophies to the cabinet. Unfortunately, that dream has come to an end.

"I wish all Manchester United fans nothing but success, trophies and glory. Your support and the warmth I received from everyone at the club helped me feel at home. Thank you for this chapter in my life."

Man United confirmed on Friday that Sporting CP coach Rúben Amorim would replace Ten Hag as manager.

He signed a contract at Old Trafford until 2027 with the option of an additional year held by the club. Amorim, 39, will work a notice period with Sporting Lisbon before officially starting work at United on Nov. 11.

In the interim, Man United will be led by Ten Hag's former assistant, Ruud van Nistelrooy.

The University of Washington announced Friday that former Huskies guard Kelsey Plum will have her No. 10 jersey retired when the team hosts Purdue on Jan. 18.

Plum, who played at Washington from 2013 to 2017, will become the first Huskies women's basketball player to have her jersey retired.

She was the consensus national player of the year as a senior, when she passed Jackie Stiles to become the leading scorer in Division I women's basketball history with a school-record 57 points on senior day against Utah. Caitlin Clark passed Plum for that record earlier this year. Plum also led Washington to the first Final Four appearance in program history in 2016, when she was chosen for the AP All-America third team.

After being drafted with the No. 1 pick in 2017 by the WNBA's San Antonio Stars, Plum moved with the team to Las Vegas, and she has been a key starter on Aces teams that won back-to-back championships in 2022 and 2023. A three-time WNBA All-Star, Plum won a gold medal with the U.S. during this summer's Olympics.

The addition of Plum will give Washington six retired jerseys at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. She joins men's basketball stars Bob Houbregs, Brandon Roy and Isaiah Thomas as well as Huskies volleyball's Courtney Thompson and Krista Vansant.

The Huskies enter 2024-25, their first season in the Big Ten, still looking for their first NCAA tournament appearance since reaching the Sweet Sixteen in 2017, Plum's senior year.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey sent a memo Friday to league athletic directors and head football coaches outlining punishment if players continue to fake injuries in games.

"As plainly as it can be stated: Stop any and all activity related to faking injuries to create time-outs," Sankey wrote in the memo, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN.

He ended the memo by writing: "Play football and stop the feigned injury nonsense."

Increasingly over the past few years, coaches have repeatedly accused opposing teams and coaches of faking injuries to disrupt the rhythm and flow of offenses, especially those that are up-tempo and rarely huddle. Broadcasters have pointed out several obvious cases this season when players flopped to the ground near the sideline claiming to be injured just as the opposing offense was about to snap the ball.

Each play where a fake injury might have occurred must be submitted to the SEC for review. Steve Shaw, the national coordinator of football officiating, will determine what constitutes a fake injury. According to Sankey's memo, those guidelines will range from Shaw determining that a feigned injury has occurred, that it is more likely than not that a feigned injury has occurred, that a player attempted to feign an injury or any other general statement from Shaw establishing the probability of a feigned injury.

Sankey wrote that creating injury timeouts, on offense or defense, is "not acceptable and is disrespectful to the game of football."

Punishments laid out in Sankey's memo include the following: for the first offense, a head coach receives a public reprimand and a $50,000 fine; for the second offense, another reprimand and a $100,000 fine; for a third offense, another reprimand and the coach will be suspended for his program's next game.

Any staff member found to be involved in signaling or directing a player to feign an injury will face the same measures, including financial penalties and a suspension. A player cited for feigning an injury also may be subject to a public reprimand.

Sankey told reporters a few weeks ago at the Oklahoma-Texas game that he was concerned about the growing accusations of faking injuries.

"If somebody's injured, we need to take that seriously," Sankey said. "But creating the questions -- and I mean this all across the country -- needs to stop."

Paolo Banchero knew something was wrong. He was surprised to learn the extent.

The Orlando Magic All-Star will miss the next several weeks with a torn right oblique, an injury that happened in his team's loss to Chicago on Wednesday night. The abdominal muscle injury was diagnosed Thursday, causing Banchero to miss the game Friday in Cleveland. The Magic take on the Cavaliers in a rematch of an Eastern Conference first-round series from last season.

"I felt it when it happened," Banchero said Friday, speaking with reporters in Cleveland after Orlando's shootaround. "Didn't know what it was but knew it didn't feel good. Just tried to play through it, wanted to get it looked at after the game, was hoping it wasn't too bad but obviously it was a little worse than I thought."

Banchero was off to a huge start -- his 29 points per game ranked seventh in the league entering Friday. He's one of only three players who started the day averaging that many points along with 8.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists. The others: Denver's Nikola Jokic and Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo.

"It sucks. There's no other way to put it," Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. "It sucks for him, the way in which he started this year, the way in which he was playing, the way he's carrying us in so many ways. And in the same breath, you have to say it's an opportunity -- it's an opportunity for guys to step up, step into their role, opportunity for guys to continue to play to our standard of basketball."

The Magic said Banchero will be evaluated in four to six weeks. He referenced the six-week timeline. If he misses six weeks, that means he'll be sidelined for at least 21 games. It would also mean he'll almost certainly be ineligible for most end-of-season NBA awards voting under the new policies that went into effect last season.

"Hopefully, it's not a multi, three-, four-month injury," Banchero said. "Hopefully, it's just six, something weeks. Just trying to stay engaged as much as I can and stay positive, take it one day at a time and be ready to come back."

Banchero had a career-high 50 points Monday against Indiana, the first -- and entering Friday, still only -- 50-point game in the NBA this season. The Magic said he was hurt in the fourth quarter of Wednesday's game in Chicago. Banchero, who finished that night with 31 points, was still on the floor at the end of that contest.

He intends to travel with the team while sidelined, Mosley said. Banchero will be involved in some coaches' meetings, giving the 2022-23 Rookie of the Year, No. 1 draft pick and first-time All-Star last season a chance to see the game a different way.

"It's another opportunity for his growth," Mosley said. "There won't be as much physical activity going on, but it'll be a mental version of it. His ability to be in some the coaches' meetings, to see the game differently from that side of the floor, it's an opportunity for his growth in that realm."

Warriors guards Stephen Curry and De'Anthony Melton will sit out their third consecutive game when Golden State faces the Houston Rockets on Saturday.

Both have been out since Sunday.

That night, Curry sustained a peroneal strain in his left ankle against the LA Clippers that forced him to exit in the fourth quarter. Melton also left in the fourth because of a back strain.

Melton dealt with multiple back injuries last season, which Warriors coach Steve Kerr said would play a role in how the team approached the current ailment with which Melton is dealing.

Andrew Wiggins is considered probable for Saturday's game at Houston as he deals with a lower back injury.

As anticipated, left-handed pitcher Jordan Montgomery exercised his $22.5 million player option to remain with the Arizona Diamondbacks, according to MLB.com.

A free agent after the 2023 season, Montgomery remained unsigned past the start of spring training but at the end of March, the Diamondbacks signed him to a one-year, $25 million deal with a player option for 2025.

When Montgomery signed the shorter-term deal with the aid of his then-agent Scott Boras, instead of the long-term contract he was initially hoping for, the thinking was that Montgomery would earn a long-term deal by proving his value over the course of the season.

However, the 31-year-old had a tough season, going 8-7 with a 6.23 ERA across 25 games (21 starts). He struck out just 83 batters while walking 44 in 117 innings. He also earned his first career save in September.

After the Diamondbacks were eliminated from playoff contention, Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick said in a radio appearance that he made a "horrible decision" to pursue Montgomery last spring.

"Let me say it the best way I can say it: If anyone wants to blame anyone for Jordan Montgomery being a Diamondback, you're talking to the guy that should be blamed because I brought it to their attention," Kendrick said on "Burns & Gambo."

"I pushed for it. They agreed to it. It wasn't in our game plan when he was signed right at the end of spring training, and looking back in hindsight, (it was) a horrible decision to have invested that money in a guy that performed as poorly as he did. It's our biggest mistake this season from a talent standpoint, and I'm the perpetrator of that."

Later, Arizona general manager Mike Hazen said the ultimate decision to sign Montgomery was his.

"That was a group process, and I understand why we made that decision at the time, and I believe that Jordan Montgomery will have a better year next year," Hazen said, according to MLB.com. "It didn't work out, but I also think next year is going to look a lot different."

Montgomery is expected to compete with veterans Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez, along with younger pitchers Brandon Pfaadt and Ryne Nelson.

A longtime member of the New York Yankees, Montgomery split the 2023 season between the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers and pitched to a 3.20 ERA. He made five starts and one relief appearance for Texas in the playoffs on its run to the World Series title.

Since making the big leagues in 2017, he has career marks of 46-41 with a 4.03 ERA in 166 games (161 starts).

Also on Friday, outfielder Randal Grichuk turned down his $6 million mutual option with the Diamondbacks, triggering a $1.75 million buyout and becoming a free agent.

The 33-year-old hit .291 with 12 homers and 46 RBI after missing the first week of the season while finishing his recovery from right ankle surgery. He played left and right field this year and played in center in previous seasons.

Grichuk agreed in February to a deal with the Diamondbacks that included a $1.5 million salary and the option. The price of buyout escalated based on his 279 plate appearances.

An 11-year major league veteran, Grichuk has a .252 batting average with 203 homers and 602 RBI for St. Louis (2014-17), Toronto (2018-21), Colorado (2022-23), the Los Angeles Angels (2023) and the Diamondbacks.

Field Level Media and The Associated Press contributed to this report.