Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal became the youngest ever winner of the Kopa Trophy at Monday's Ballon d'Or ceremony in Paris, an award which recognises the best under-21 player in men's football.

Yamal also finished No. 8 in the voting for the men's Ballon d'Or.

The 17-year-old has enjoyed a breakout year for club and country, helping Spain win the European Championship last summer and playing a prominent role in a new-look Barça side under Hansi Flick.

It is the third time in four years the trophy has been won by a Barcelona player. Pedri won it 2021 and Gavi in 2022, but it is Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham -- last year's winner -- who Yamal succeeds as the most talented youngster in the game.

Kylian Mbappé and Matthijs de Ligt are the other previous winners of the Kopa Trophy, which was launched in 2018.

Yamal made his senior debut for Barça as a 15-year-old in 2023 and went on to make 50 appearances for the first team last season, scoring seven goals and providing seven assists.

Those performances earned him a place in the Spain squad for Euro 2024 in Germany, where he played a leading role as La Roja won the competition for the first time since 2012.

He set up four goals in seven appearances at the finals, but it was his semifinal goal against France, curled into the top corner from outside the box, which was the standout moment.

That goal was later named Goal of the Tournament, while he was also named the Young Player of the Tournament and included in the Team of the Tournament.

Yamal has taken the form he displayed in the summer into the new campaign under German coach Flick as part of a front three with Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha, which has helped Barça win 10 of their opening 11 games in LaLiga.

The latest victory came against Real Madrid at the weekend, when Yamal scored the third goal in a 4-0 win at the Bernabéu to become the youngest ever scorer in the Clásico.

In 14 appearances in all competitions this season, he has already accounted for six goals and seven assists.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton defended his team's efforts and his own playcalling Monday and denied he was trying to run up the score in Sunday's 28-14 victory against the Carolina Panthers.

The Broncos were ahead 28-7 in the fourth quarter when they attempted a fake field goal -- on what would have been a 60-yard attempt by Wil Lutz. Later in the quarter, Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton completed a fourth-down pass to fullback Michael Burton to keep a drive going.

Carolina cornerback Jaycee Horn approached Payton on the field after the game for a brief, heated exchange, and he could be seen on video telling Payton that the Broncos were trying to "run up the score."

Horn on Monday said the fourth-quarter trick plays were "disrespectful."

"It wasn't necessarily directed at him,'' Horn said about yelling toward the Denver sideline while standing near Payton. "I just felt like personally ... I ain't gonna speak for nobody else -- they had a fake field goal and a double screen pass in the fourth quarter on fourth down -- and they had every right to do that.

"But I'm allowed to have my opinion on that, too. I felt it was disrespectful. So after the game, I was going back and forth with the players and Coach Payton kind of just got in the middle of it. But it was no banter back and forth between us.''

Panthers coach Dave Canales said the fake field goal attempt "was their decision to make" as the Broncos tried to "clock out the game."

Other Carolina players publicly expressed similar frustration with the playcalls as well.

"I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know," Payton said Monday as he was being asked about the Panthers' reactions. "Listen, I said it [Sunday] night; we're trying to finish the game the right way. We're not trying to run up the score on anyone. It's the National Football League. I've been in games with a 28-point lead in the fourth quarter and lost, so we're trying to finish. ... Play better."

With just over 10 minutes remaining in the game, punter Riley Dixon, who is Denver's holder on extra point and field goal attempts, threw a pass on a fake 60-yard field goal attempt to tight end Lucas Krull for a 3-yard gain on fourth-and-8.

Lutz's career-long field goal was a 60-yarder in 2022.

With 4:29 remaining, on a fourth-and-2 at Carolina's 43-yard line, Sutton threw a pass to Burton that ended up being a 28-yard completion to keep the drive going. Three plays later, Sutton fumbled on the Panthers' 1-yard line, ending the drive.

Payton said Monday that the playcalls were part of his attempts to get the Broncos, who have not been to the playoffs since their Super Bowl 50 win, to close out games effectively.

"I want them to take on a winning personality," Payton said. "I want them to understand what wins games in our league. I say this all the time: 'Confidence is born only from demonstrated ability.' Now, do I feel like we're a more confident team today in October than we were when we started the season? Absolutely.

"... That has nothing to do with the earlier question [of] were we trying to score. Has nothing to do with that. ... We're trying to win a football game. We're trying to extend a drive. I'm throwing the ball to my fullback -- Burton -- all right, not necessarily expecting a touchdown. We're trying to close a game out. It wasn't 50, 60 or 70 [points]. I didn't look at that at all; I looked at it as trying to win a football game and trying to learn to close out a game."

Denver (5-3) has its best record after eight games since it was 6-2 in 2016.

Payton has routinely pointed any issues in losses in the Broncos' direction. After a 70-20 loss to the Miami Dolphins last season -- the most points surrendered in a game in franchise history -- Payton called it "embarrassing" and "not acceptable." He deflected any questions about the Dolphins' efforts that day, saying that "we have to watch that tape" and that it "will be tough for a lot of players, tough for us as coaches."

ESPN's David Newton contributed to this report.

CHICAGO -- Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson apologized to his teammates for motioning to the crowd and having his back turned when the Washington Commanders snapped the ball on their winning Hail Mary touchdown pass as time expired and vowed not to do it again.

"I let the moment get too big and it's something that can never happen again and won't ever happen again," he said Monday, a day after a gut-wrenching 18-15 loss.

Stevenson addressed the team without prompting during a meeting Monday. He said he wanted to let the other players know he realized he "let them down."

Coach Matt Eberflus said any discipline would be handled in house. Stevenson sounded like he was prepared for it, though he said he hadn't met with the coaches.

"We've been going over film and doing walk-throughs and trying to get everything corrected. So honestly, I can't give you [any] details on that, but," he said, without finishing the sentence.

The Bears (4-3) came into Sunday's game at Washington looking for their fourth straight win. But after struggling on offense most of the day, they took their first lead with 25 seconds left on Roschon Johnson's 1-yard touchdown run.

The Commanders then moved from the 24 to their 48 before a scrambling Jayden Daniels hit Noah Brown with the winning 52-yard touchdown. Stevenson was late to get to the play and missed the chance to prevent Zach Ertz from tipping the ball up for an uncovered Brown to catch in the end zone.

Video posted on social media showed Stevenson pointing toward the stands and raising his arms in the air with his back to the play -- he said because he was cheering with Bears fans -- when the ball was snapped. When he realized what was happening, he sprinted toward the middle of the field. Eberflus said Stevenson was supposed to block out Brown. But instead, he went up for the pass.

"I think it's a really good lesson for everybody to learn from in terms of how to respect the game," tight end Cole Kmet said.

Stevenson posted an apology following the game on social media, saying: "To Chicago and teammates my apologies for lack of awareness and focus .... The game ain't over until zeros hit the clock. Can't take anything for granted. Notes taken, improvement will happen."

Two-time All-Pro safety Kevin Byard III said the Bears "still love" Stevenson and called it a "lesson learned for him."

"He addressed the team without anybody asking and kind of said his piece and said what he needed to say, and I thought it was a great message just apologizing and saying that he wasn't locked in and things like that," he said. "That just shows proof right there within himself. That's all you can hope for in a situation like that and we'll continue to support him."

Stephanie White is out as head coach of the Connecticut Sun, the team announced Monday.

In her two seasons in Connecticut, White went 55-25 (including 28-12 this season) and led the Sun to two semifinal appearances. She won WNBA coach of the year in 2023.

"We parted on good terms because some of [White's] decision-making process was not just about basketball," Connecticut Sun president Jen Rizzotti told ESPN, adding she assumes White will speak on her decision at a later time.

The WNBA now has seven head coach vacancies. Prior to the Sun's announcement, the Indiana Fever were the latest to move on from their head coach, Christie Sides.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported earlier Monday that the Fever were targeting White to replace Sides as coach. White previously coached the Fever in 2015 and 2016.

White did not confirm what may be next for her, but did say it was a "professional and personal decision" to leave the Sun and thanked Connecticut for what the organization did for her.

"It's not an easy decision to leave Connecticut, but I think the best one for my family and my career," White told ESPN. "It's meant a lot to me -- I'm so grateful to Jen and the organization. It's a top-notch organization. For me to be able to return to coaching -- which I didn't know if it would be possible -- with such a great team and coaching staff, it's meant a lot to me.

"So this has not been easy. But certainly, at the end of the day, it's tough for me being away from my family. So from a professional standpoint and a personal standpoint, I feel like it's the best decision."

The Sun will look to hire White's replacement ideally over the next few weeks, Rizzotti said.

"I think number one is just some stability over an uncertain time in the WNBA," Rizzotti told ESPN about what the franchise is looking for. "I think that there's a likelihood of a lot of turnover in rosters throughout the league, and I want to look for a leader that's ready to lead us into the future, to be able to maintain a level of competitiveness, and if we have to retool our roster a little bit, to be able to grow with that team and grow as an organization."

The Sun -- who have appeared in the semifinals each of the last six seasons -- currently have their entire roster outside of Marina Mabrey, Tyasha Harris and Olivia Nelson-Ododa set to hit free agency heading into 2025. That includes stars All-Stars Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner and Brionna Jones.

"I think we're always going to have the goal of winning a championship, but it might just have to be a different path," Rizzotti said. "And I'd like to give our next coach the time to be able to figure out what that is."

Rizzotti said the organization will be open-minded about the sorts of candidates they consider, but that "having coaches [in-market year-around] to make sure there's continuity around player contact and workouts and facetime, being able to build up what we're doing in the community" is a priority.

"The hard thing is there's been a perception that there's not a lot of job security in the WNBA. I don't think that's the case in Connecticut," Rizzotti said. "I'd like to think that this is a place where you can have some time to build the roster and the program the right way."

The Golden State Warriors announced that an MRI of Stephen Curry's sprained left ankle Monday did not detect any structural damage and described the injury as a left peroneal strain.

He will be reevaluated Friday, meaning he will miss at least two games.

Curry suffered his ankle injury late in the third quarter of Sunday's 112-104 loss to the LA Clippers, tried to return, then exited again and left the court for the locker room.

Curry returned briefly at the 8:08 mark of the fourth quarter before exiting again 13 seconds later after turning the ankle -- it appeared to roll outward -- again during an offensive possession. It happened near the end of Golden State's bench, and he limped into the tunnel that goes to the locker room.

The team said he was done for the night with a sprained left ankle, and coach Steve Kerr said after the game that Curry had described the injury as "mild or moderate." However, there was a level of concern for the veteran, as he has suffered multiple sprains on that ankle.

NEW YORK -- Shohei Ohtani was in the starting lineup as the Los Angeles Dodgers' designated hitter for Game 3 of the World Series on Monday night, two days after the star partially dislocated his left shoulder.

Ohtani got hurt sliding into second base when he was caught stealing to end the seventh inning of Saturday night's 4-2 victory over the New York Yankees in Game 2 at Los Angeles.

Seeking their eighth title and second in five years, the Dodgers lead 2-0 in the best-of-seven series. Walker Buehler will start Game 3 for Los Angeles against Clarke Schmidt.

Ohtani clutched his left forearm after being tagged by shortstop Anthony Volpe for the final out in the seventh on a feetfirst slide Saturday night. He lay near the bag for a couple of minutes before being tended to by athletic trainers and leaving the field.

The likely NL MVP was 0-for-3 with a walk in Game 2. He is 1-for-8 in the first two games of the Fall Classic and is batting .260 with three home runs and 10 RBIs in his first postseason in the majors.

A two-time AL MVP with the Los Angeles Angels, Ohtani joined the Dodgers last December for a record $700 million, 10-year contract.

Ohtani, 30, hit .310 with 54 homers, 130 RBIs and 59 stolen bases, becoming the first player with at least 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in a season. The two-way star did not pitch this season while recovering from elbow surgery on Sept. 19, 2023, and has been limited to designated hitter.

After the Los Angeles Dodgers took the first two games at home, the 2024 World Series shifts to Yankee Stadium for Game 3 on Monday.

Will returning to New York get Aaron Judge and the Yankees going, or will the Dodgers move within one win of a World Series title?

We've got it all covered, from live updates and analysis during the games to takeaways after the final pitch to what's next for each team.

Jump to: Lineups, matchups | Live updates

Los Angeles Dodgers at New York Yankees, 8:08 p.m. ET

Pitching matchup: Walker Buehler (1-6, 5.38 ERA) vs. Clarke Schmidt (5-5, 2.85 ERA)

Starting lineups:

Dodgers

Shohei Ohtani (L) DH
Mookie Betts (R) RF
Freddie Freeman (L) 1B
Teoscar Hernandez (R) LF
Max Muncy (L) 3B
Will Smith (R) C
Gavin Lux (L) 2B
Enrique Hernandez (R) CF
Tommy Edman (S) SS

Yankees

Gleyber Torres (R) 2B
Juan Soto (L) RF
Aaron Judge (R) CF
Giancarlo Stanton (R) DH
Jazz Chisholm Jr. (L) 3B
Anthony Volpe (R) SS
Anthony Rizzo (L) 1B
Jose Trevino (R) C
Alex Verdugo (L) LF

Live updates

Check back at start of Game 3 for live updates, analysis from Yankee Stadium

Flanker Tom Curry says his body is now "head and shoulders" better than it was during England's summer tour.

The 26-year-old underwent hip surgery in February and was a surprise call-up to England's tour of Japan and New Zealand after playing just one game for Sale Sharks following his return from injury.

Curry, who featured off the bench in all three Tests, had described the hip damage as like a "car crash" and said the fear of possibly having to retire from rugby made him "curl up into a ball and cry".

"I am flying and feel like I have learnt a lot about my body from the summer tour to now," Curry told BBC's Rugby Union Weekly before Saturday's opening autumn international against New Zealand.

"It feels head and shoulders like what it was like before and I feel I am genuinely getting better now as a player.

"Getting back for the summer tour was testing, but I have now been able to get back physically."

The 53-cap Curry praised the "amazing" work of England head coach Steve Borthwick and Sale staff in managing him back to full fitness, with the flanker only playing his first full game since the injury this month.

Having been an England regular at the past two Rugby World Cups, Curry featured in the unfamiliar role of replacement in the victory over Japan and back-to-back defeats by New Zealand, playing 29, 30 and 31 minutes across the three games.

"With that sort of injury, you had to get obsessive," the Sale Shark added.

"I'll speak now on behalf of my 80-year-old grandad, but your hip does almost affect your life, if you have a bad one it does take your focus on your thinking.

"This wasn't an injury from anything physical in rugby, it was just wear and tear. I have been looking at biomechanics more than anything in terms of how I can move better.

"It is not about lifting the heaviest weights or lifting the quickest, it is just about being more in touch with your body - it sounds a very deep thought."

The sports equinox is here! This is the rare time when four of the major American sports leagues -- the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL -- all play games on same day. The equinox represents a unique chance to sports fans to experience multiple games across different sports, but it also offers an opportunity for bettors to take advantage of the excitement with some cross-sport parlays.

With all four sports in action Monday, here are our picks for each league.

Odds by ESPN BET

MLB: Juan Soto over 0.5 RBIs, Yankees (-1.5)

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Yankees, 8:08 p.m. ET on FOX

Todd Zola: The series shifts to the Bronx, where cooler temperatures could be a factor. No rain is in the forecast, but it will be in the low 50s, which favors pitching. Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt should be more accustomed to the conditions than Dodgers starter Walker Buehler. Neither hurler has taken the hill for well over a week. Even with the extra rest, it would be surprising if Schmidt or Buehler were to deliver more than five frames. The Yankees' bullpen is better acclimated to warming up under these conditions, which is the tipping point. So much so, in fact that I'll take the Yankees and the -1.5 Run Line (+140).

Batting on an RBI prop from a No. 2 hitter isn't my favorite, but Juan Soto is in scoring position when he's in the batter's box and the payout is too good to fade, so I'm backing Soto to go over 0.5 RBIs. (+190).

NFL: Devin Singletary UNDER 29.5 rushing yards (+105)

New York Giants vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, 8:15 p.m. ET on ABC/ESPN/ESPN+

Ben Solak: The Steelers' defensive front is the most dominant in all of football -- it has stars (Cameron Heyward, T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith) and depth (Keeanu Benton, Larry Ogunjobi). The Giants' front is one of the league's shakiest, especially in the running game -- and star left tackle Andrew Thomas will be out for this game and the rest of the season. I don't expect to see much success for Singletary, nor do I expect to see much volume, as rookie running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. has pushed his way into the starting rotation.

NBA: Derrick White over 16.5 points (-125)

Milwaukee Bucks vs. Boston Celtics, 7:30 p.m. ET on NBA TV

André Snellings: White has averaged 20.0 PPG through the first week of the season, knocking down 52.6% from the field and 43.5% from behind the arc. He made 10 3-pointers through the first two games and managed 17 points in his third game despite going 0-for-6 from behind the arc. White will face a Bucks squad Monday that has struggled defending the shooting guard position, giving up 30.5 PPG (27th in NBA) and 4.2 3PG (20th) to opposing two guards.

NHL: 'What Happens in Vegas' (SGP)

Ivan Barbashev Over 0.5 Goals
Jack Eichel Over 0.5 Assists
Vegas Golden Knights Moneyline (+598)

Calgary Flames vs. Vegas Golden Knights, 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+

Victoria Matiash: After surrendering two goals to the Seattle Kraken a week ago Saturday and three to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday, the Flames allowed four against the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday, then five to the Winnipeg Jets two days later.

This is a relatively alarming defensive pattern as Calgary visits the Golden Knights, who are a perfect 6-0-0 at home. With seven goals on the year, Barbashev has only failed to find the back of the net in consecutive games once. Toss in Eichel's 12 assists in nine contests, and there's good reason to feel optimistic about potential production from that top-line duo.

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland may be one of the best players in the world, but he won't be in the room when the Ballon d'Or is awarded in Paris on Monday, preferring instead a trip to Sweden where his friend Erik Botheim can win the league with Malmö.

The 24-year-old Ballon d'Or nominee was spotted in Malmö early on Monday evening ahead of their game against bitter rivals IFK Gothenburg, where a victory would give them their second straight Allsvenskan title and fourth in five years.

Haaland and Botheim became friends while playing for Norway's junior national team, and they also featured in a rap video together with Erik Sandberg that has been viewed more than 12 million times on YouTube.

Haaland scored 27 goals in 31 matches as City retained their Premier League title last season. At the 2023 Ballon d'Or ceremony he finished as runner-up to Argentina's Lionel Messi.

Botheim, also a striker, has been named in the starting line-up for Malmo on Monday, which kicks off at 1910 CET (1810 GMT), 50 minutes before the Ballon d'Or gala is set to get underway.

Haaland is not the only star avoiding Monday's festivities. Sources have told ESPN that Vinícius Júnior and his Real Madrid teammates will not attend the ceremony in the French capital, because they believe Manchester City midfielder Rodri will receive the award.

Vinícius, 24, was a leading contender to win the 2024 men's prize after leading Madrid to a La Liga and Champions League double last season.

One club source considers it "unfair" and "a disgrace" that Vinícius would not win the award. Not attending the ceremony is a form of protest in order to boycott what another club source considers "a historic robbery."

Information from ESPN's Gustavo Hofman and Rodrigo Faez contributed to this report