The Las Vegas Aces, whose championship run ended in a semifinals loss to the New York Liberty, cut ties with general manager Natalie Williams on Saturday.

Williams was hired in 2022 as part of a new regime that included Becky Hammon becoming the coach, but the club announced her contract would not be renewed as part of a restructuring of the front office.

"It has been a joy and honor to serve as General Manager of the Las Vegas Aces," Williams said in a statement. "Winning two WNBA Championships with this incredible group of players and staff has been a dream come true. I want to thank [owner] Mark Davis and the Aces Organization for the incredible opportunity to help lead this franchise. I love the WNBA, and it has been wonderful watching the growth of the game. I'm looking forward to what lies ahead."

The Aces won titles in 2022 and 2023 to become the first WNBA team to claim back-to-back championships since the Los Angeles Sparks in 2001-02. They hoped to become the first club since the Houston Comets in 1997 to 2000 to win at least three consecutive titles but lost in four games to the eventual champion Liberty.

Williams' tenure wasn't without controversy. The Aces are being sued by former player Dearica Hamby and are under a league-directed investigation regarding potential salary-cap circumvention.

The next general manager will inherit a team with most of its core players intact, including reigning MVP A'ja Wilson. However, Kelsey Plum is a key pending free agent. The Aces also could be affected by the coming expansion draft.

"We are incredibly grateful for Natalie's invaluable efforts in helping build the Aces into the premier franchise in the WNBA," Aces president Nikki Fargas said in a statement. "Her time with the organization extends back to the league's formative years in Utah, and she will forever be a part of our history, having left an indelible mark as both a player and an executive. We wish the best for Natalie and her family."

Hamby, an All-Star for Los Angeles, filed a federal lawsuit in August that alleges discrimination and retaliation for becoming pregnant, which resulted in a trade to the Sparks. The WNBA and Aces filed motions last month to dismiss the suit.

Hammon said in May 2023 that Hamby was traded for strategic reasons, namely putting the team in position to sign star Candace Parker.

The WNBA investigated the matter and suspended Hammon for two games without pay in May 2023. The Aces were docked their 2025 first-round pick for providing impermissible player benefits involving Hamby.

Also, the WNBA hired an outside law firm to investigate whether the Aces circumvented the salary cap when the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority announced May 18 that it made $100,000 annual sponsorship offers to players this season and in 2025.

Williams, 53, was a four-time All-Star during a seven-year WNBA career with the Utah Starzz and Indiana Fever. An All-American in basketball and volleyball at UCLA, Williams was on the gold medal winning 2000 U.S. Olympic team and was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.

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

SAN FRANCISCO -- At long last, running back Dalvin Cook will make his Dallas Cowboys debut Sunday against the 49ers.

Signed to the practice squad a week before the season started, Cook has waited patiently as the Cowboys' running game has sputtered. The Cowboys are averaging 77.2 rushing yards per game, lowest in the NFL, and have gone a franchise-record 20 games without a 100-yard rusher.

On Friday, coach Mike McCarthy said Cook was ready for the opportunity.

In the past few weeks, Cook has seen his snaps with the first team increase. A four-time 1,000-yard rusher with the Minnesota Vikings, his career has stalled recently after gaining 214 yards in 15 games with the New York Jets last year. He appeared in a playoff game for the Baltimore Ravens and had 23 yards.

The elevation from the practice squad brings questions about how the Cowboys will fill out their running back position on game day.

Rico Dowdle leads the Cowboys with 246 yards and Ezekiel Elliott is second with 115 yards, but can the Cowboys dress three running backs who do not play special teams?

They have dressed three running backs in four games, but Deuce Vaughn has been inactive the past two games. Fullback Hunter Luepke has been a staple of the offense and special teams.

Elliott has been a healthy scratch in his career only when he was rested in regular-season finales with the playoffs upcoming.

The Cowboys also placed tight end John Stephens Jr. on injured reserve Saturday after he tore the ACL in his left knee in Wednesday's practice. Cornerback Amani Oruwariye was signed from the practice squad. He was out of elevations after playing in the past three games.

Ilia Topuria promised he would knock out Max Holloway, and he fulfilled that pledge with a stunning third-round KO in the main event of UFC 308 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

For weeks, the featherweight champion boasted that he would be the first fighter to finish Holloway and beckoned for the Hawaiian to meet him in the center of the Octagon for a brawl. Holloway relented, and the two engaged in a high-stakes boxing match where Holloway's volume was matched by Topuria's pressure and power.

It was a nip-and-tuck affair through two rounds as Holloway's jab punctured the Spaniard's defense. But Topuria's speed allowed him to roll in with power shots that got the BMF champion's attention.

In the third round, Topuria (16-0) finally got through and blasted Holloway (26-8) with a right hand that put the former champion on skates. Topuria gave chase and fired a blistering left hand that put Holloway on the canvas. A few follow-up strikes later and Topuria secured his first successful title defense against one of the greatest featherweights of all time.

"I don't know what to say beating a legend like Max Hollway," Topuria said. "I couldn't believe it. He is the old generation and I represent the new generation. I hope I will be a small portion of the example he set for me."

Topuria has now knocked out Alexander Volkanovski and Holloway in consecutive fights.

"He just landed a shot and I guess it hurt much more than I thought it did," Holloway said. "Hats off to him. No excuses. I went out here and did my thing. He was just the better man tonight."

LOS ANGELES -- THE MOMENT met Shohei Ohtani on Friday night, as it so often has this month -- eighth inning, down a run, Game 1 of a much-hyped World Series teeming with intensity. Ohtani scorched a line drive off the right-field fence, popped up from a slide at second base and yelled toward his teammates. Realizing the baseball had scooted away, he sprinted to third, placing the tying run within 90 feet. Ohtani roared again and implored a sold-out Dodger Stadium crowd to join him. A pitching change followed, at which point Ohtani returned to his dugout to hug and high-five as many teammates as he could before resuming the task at hand.

So much was still uncertain at that point. Ohtani hadn't yet motored home on Mookie Betts' sac fly; Freddie Freeman hadn't yet delivered the walk-off grand slam in the 10th, sealing the Los Angeles Dodgers' 6-3 victory over the New York Yankees. And yet, to Ohtani, it didn't seem to matter. He was once again embracing his moment -- the type of moment he'd spent his whole life longing for.

"Simply put," Ohtani said recently, "I'm grateful to be in this environment."

Ohtani came to the United States seven years ago with a desire to compete for championships and become a legendary figure within his sport, two pursuits intrinsically linked. He then spent his first six seasons in Anaheim, California, without playing so much as a September game that mattered. Near the end of his run as an Angel, a video surfaced of Ohtani seemingly on the verge of tears after a heart-wrenching loss on Aug. 3, 2023. Losing pained him in ways he would not let on publicly, but many of those around him noticed.

Winning has seemed to unlock the best version of Ohtani. In the run-up to this postseason and now during it, Ohtani's performance has often elevated, but so has his emotion -- to a pure, unadulterated joy that has transcended language, diverged from his stoic persona and made him seem, well, human.

"He's a regular dude, just like you and me," Betts said. "He just has a superpower."

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL commissioner Rob Manfred describes Ohtani as having a "regal bearing." The cameras are always on him, but his demeanor remains positive. His singular popularity is a product of his ability to take on a two-way role and his propensity for shattering records, but also, Manfred said, "There's a charisma, an appeal about him that draws people."

October has brought out something else: swagger. Ohtani is sauntering after home runs, booing himself in opposing ballparks, screaming into the ears of unsuspecting teammates, quipping to questions about his nervousness and yelling at umpires who interrupt balls in play, revealing an authenticity that has often been elusive.

It's an added layer MLB hopes to capitalize on.

"The competitiveness, the desire to win, beyond individual accolades, really has come out," Manfred said in a phone conversation. "I think it's added a dimension to him that's really appealing."

MLB displayed 113 pieces of outdoor advertising in Tokyo ahead of the playoffs. Ohtani's first postseason series then triggered record-setting viewership in his home country. Game 5 of the National League Division Series -- pitting Yu Darvish against Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the first ever postseason matchup of Japanese-born starting pitchers -- became the most-watched MLB postseason game ever in Japan, with 12.9 million viewers. Another 7.5 million watched domestically, according to data provided by MLB. Game 1 of the NL Championship Series drew 20.6 million average viewers in the U.S. and Japan combined, with Ohtani's home country providing 12.1 million.

Japan viewership numbers for the remainder of the NLCS are not yet available because the games aired on cable, rather than over the air. But it was the most watched LCS round in seven years by U.S. averages alone. Ohtani -- the subject of an oft-used Fox graphic that showed when he might take his turn again and was memed all over X -- drove that.

Manfred sees this World Series -- featuring not just Ohtani, but Betts, Freeman, Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Gerrit Cole playing on two of the sport's most prominent franchises -- as "an opportunity for us to grow both nationally and internationally." His hope is that its star power will transcend regions.

"I think the most important effort we have going right now is to try to make our game more national," Manfred said. "The way our game has been covered, particularly on the broadcast side, it's regional sports networks -- local, local, local. And I think the combination of two iconic franchises, great players ... provide us with an opportunity to break out of this, 'They're interested in New York,' and, 'They're interested in L.A.' and getting to a mode where they're interested all across the United States."

THE DODGERS SIGNED Ohtani with the thought that coupling his fame with their brand would be a boon for their business, the type that might make a $700 million guarantee seem practical. But their projections, CEO Stan Kasten said, "turned out to be woefully conservative." The Dodgers have announced sponsorship agreements with 11 different Japanese companies this year. Two Ohtani bobblehead giveaways prompted fans to line up outside their ballpark up to 10 hours before the first pitch. Japanese-guided tours through Dodger Stadium -- a twice-a-day, four-day-a-week addition this season -- never relented.

They underestimated all those elements. They couldn't fathom another.

"One thing that helped us that I couldn't have predicted," Kasten said, "was the wall that came down once we got through that first day or two in Korea."

What began with ESPN and The Los Angeles Times inquiring about wire transfers sent from Ohtani's bank account to an offshore bookmaker while the Dodgers opened their season in South Korea in March ended with his longtime interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, admitting to stealing nearly $17 million to pay off a string of gambling debts. In the wake of firing Mizuhara, who has since pleaded guilty to bank- and tax-fraud charges, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts talked about how removing such an ever-present "buffer" would open up the lines of communication with Ohtani and perhaps help him become more engaging.

The next seven months bore that out.

"We didn't quite get to experience and take advantage of the personality that he was, the fun-loving character that he was -- that didn't come out until after we got through that awful first day in Korea," Kasten said. "Once that came out, and once we understood better who he is, and he understood better who we are, and that we were all pulling for each other, I think that just opened him up."

Early on, though, there were growing pains.

They manifested in higher leverage. Ohtani finished April with seven hits in 38 at-bats with runners in scoring position. And despite posting mythical numbers, his performance in run-scoring situations noticeably paled in comparison over the season's first five months. By the end of August, Ohtani's OPS with runners in scoring position, .682, was more than 300 points lower than it was overall.

"In the beginning of the season, I think I had a very strong desire to fit in with the team as soon as possible," Ohtani, speaking through an interpreter, explained. "And I think that was kind of leaking into my at-bats. As the season progressed and as we got into the second half, I felt like I had more of my at-bats."

AS THE STAKES ratcheted up in a late-season division race, those who share a clubhouse with Ohtani believe the approach of playoff baseball enlivened him.

On the night he clinched his first postseason appearance and became the charter member of the 50/50 club, Ohtani put together one of history's greatest single-game performances, going 6-for-6 with 3 home runs, 10 RBIs and 2 stolen bases in Miami on Sept. 19. It marked the beginning of a 10-game stretch in which he went 12-for-14 with runners in scoring position.

Ohtani finished his regular season four batting-average points shy of a Triple Crown, batting .310 with 54 homers, 130 RBIs and 59 stolen bases, all but ensuring the first-ever MVP for a full-time designated hitter. And once October came around, any concerns about how Ohtani might handle the pressure of his first postseason quickly ceased.

"It never feels like there's no moment too big, no moment too small," Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy said. "When he steps in the box, you feel like he's going to do something special. More often than not, he doesn't disappoint. He's incredible."

Ohtani's second postseason at-bat, early in Game 1 of the National League Division Series, shook Dodger Stadium. His 31st, late in Game 3 of the following round, left a packed Citi Field stunned. The time between those two instances -- a heat-seeking missile over the right-center-field fence in Los Angeles and a towering drive that sailed way above the right-field foul pole in New York -- provided a bizarre juxtaposition.

Ohtani had spent much of the summer fending off concerns over his ability to produce at a game's most important moments. Now the opposite was occurring. The latter home run made him the first expansion-era player to compile as many as 17 hits in a 20-at-bat stretch with runners in scoring position. By that point, remarkably, he was also hitless in 22 postseason at-bats with nobody on base.

Ohtani continually stated that his approach -- designed to exert as much damage as possible, regardless of the situation -- had not wavered. At one point he chalked it up to an anomaly. But Freeman gave him grief nonetheless. And so, the following afternoon, in Game 4 of the NL Championship Series, Ohtani hit a leadoff home run -- naturally, with nobody on base -- and pointed in Freeman's direction before beginning his trot around the bases.

Some of the Dodgers' players howled.

"He's got a lot bigger personality than what any of us expected," Dodgers utility man Enrique Hernández said. "He likes to joke around a lot. He likes to have a good time. He has this childish energy to him, which is great. I think that allows him to disconnect from the fact that there's this huge pressure on his shoulders because that's what comes with not only being the greatest player in the game but potentially, possibly, the best ever."

Throughout this week, in the vacant space between a pennant-clinching victory and the start of a highly anticipated World Series, clips of Ohtani in revelry have continually populated digital platforms. And whether it's getting doused in champagne by Jack Flaherty, trading beer pours with Roberts or playfully chastising others for their sobriety, Ohtani's jubilance has been striking. They reveal a man not only enjoying his first taste of the postseason, but basking in it.

"We've seen his emotions grow over the year," Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia said. "It's just him becoming more and more himself, and being comfortable showing it."

Perhaps it is now -- on a high-profile team of stars, within the intensity of late October baseball, at a time when MLB is salivating over the potential of its biggest headliner on its grandest stage -- that Ohtani's truest self has emerged.

"He's become, over the course of the season, I think, who he intrinsically is," Roberts said. "He's very isolated, very quiet, stays to himself, private. But I do think that naturally he is a goofy person. He's fun-loving. He's a crazy good competitor. So I think that when he sees people having fun, enjoying themselves in moments, I think we've seen more of that over the course of the season. I think that's a good thing for him because it's honest. And I think that's a good thing for our players to see that, 'Man, this guy is not just a robot. He's like a real person who has emotions.'"

Munster were heavily beaten by the Sharks in Durban but took a point from the United Rugby Championship contest thanks to Tadhg Beirne's 81st minute try.

The 41-22 reverse means that Munster go into the international break with three consecutive defeats and having lost four of their six URC games this season.

The Sharks, boasting a large contingent of Rassie Erasmus' Springbok squad for November, had their four-try bonus wrapped up by the half-time interval.

Aphelele Fassi had opened the scoring for the hosts with less than a minute on the clock and he was followed across the whitewash by Makazole Mapimpi, Grant Williams and Andre Esterhuizen in the opening 37 minutes.

Overpowered in the scrum and struggling with the Sharks pace out wide, Munster did respond through Tom Ahern and Mike Haley before the break.

The four-try bonus will certainly have been the goal for Graham Rowntree's men after the turn but they would concede the first ten points of the second half thanks to a Jordan Hendrikse penalty and Vincent Tshituka's chargedown score.

Calvin Nash's try off a Billy Burns kick-pass brought Munster within a score of the consolation bonus-point and it was left to captain Beirne to provide it from close range in the last play of the game.

Bath: De Glanville; Cokanasiga, Hennessey, Butt, Muir; Russell, Schreuder; Reid, Pepper, Hill, Molony, Roux, du Toit, Dunn, Obano.

Replacements: Annett, Van Wyk, Sela, Bayliss, Staddon, Carr-Smith, Bailey, Coetzee

Red card: Will Butt (51 mins)

Sale: Carpenter; Addison, James, Bedlow, Reed; R. du Preez, Warr; McIntyre, McElroy, Harper, Bamber, Andrews, van Rhyn, Dugdale, D. du Preez.

Replacements: Caine, Onasanya, Opoku-Fordjour, Roets, Beaumont, Thomas, Curtis, JL du Preez

Red card: Nye Thomas (61 mins)

Referee: Karl Dickson

Wayne Rooney's Plymouth Argyle side fought back from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 with Preston North End in the Championship on Saturday.

Morgan Whittaker scored in stoppage time to salvage an important point for Plymouth who are struggling one place outside of the relegation zone following just three wins in their opening 12 games of the season.

Preston led 2-0 at the break through goals from Sam Greenwood and Mads Frøkjær-Jensen before Brad Potts added a third in the 48th minute to give the visitors a commanding lead.

Freddie Issaka pulled one back for Plymouth on 55 minutes before Andre Gray's 82nd minute strike made it 3-2 and gave the hosts hope.

That set the stage for Whittaker's dramatic late goal, something which is becoming the norm for Plymouth who have now scored in added time at the end of their last four home fixtures.

Wrexham saw a last-gasp penalty decision go against them as Charlton Athletic earned a 2-2 draw on Saturday to leave the Hollywood-owned side outside of League One's automatic promotion places.

Wrexham took the lead in the 16th minute after Charlton failed to deal with Tom O'Connor's free-kick from the right hand side, before it bounced in off Connor Coventry much to the delight of the travelling fans.

Coventry almost make immediate amends, forcing Wrexham goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo into a fine save, but Charlton didn't need to wait long for their goal as Macauley Gillesphey looped a header over the ailing Okonkwo from the resulting corner.

With Charlton in the ascendancy and Okonkwo forced to make several good saves, the Welsh club's manager Phil Parkinson turned to Andy Cannon on his bench and the midfielder delivered almost instantly.

Paul Mullin's shot was blocked in the area by some resolute Charlton defending, only for Cannon to react first and fire home.

That looked to be enough to secure all three points and close the gap on league leaders Birmingham City, who were held by Mansfield Town

However, in the 97th minute, the referee blew for a Charlton penalty for a handball, with the spot-kick expertly finished by Matty Godden to leave Wrexham below both Tom Brady's Birmingham and Wycombe Wanderers having played a game more than both.

Birmingham have 29 points, four more than the team owned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, while Wycombe have 26.

Charlton are 11th on 19 points.

Manchester City's Erling Haaland scored an early goal to take the champions provisionally top of the Premier League with a 1-0 victory over lowly Southampton at the Etihad on Saturday.

Pep Guardiola's team have 23 points after nine games, two ahead of Liverpool, who visit Arsenal on Sunday.

Southampton are still without a win in their first season back in the top flight after a season away and are bottom on one point.

"Important thing is being there," Guardiola said. "We created chances. As always Erling had two or three clear ones. But I'm not concerned, it's important to have 23 points now."

While Haaland scored a stunner in Wednesday's 5-0 Champions League thrashing of Sparta Prague, he had gone three Premier League games without a goal but ended that drought in the fifth minute on Saturday.

Wrestling with defender Jan Bednarek, the 24-year-old Norway international, a master of scoring from difficult angles, stabbed the ball into the roof of the net with a toe while falling onto his backside.

Southampton had a terrific chance to level right before the break when Cameron Archer was one-on-one with keeper Éderson -- with Saints boss Russell Martin already raising his hands in celebration -- but the forward smashed his shot against the bar.

Haaland, whose 11 goals top the league scoring chart, had a flurry of near-misses in the second half, including a sitter from close range that he poked just wide and then buried his head in his hands in disbelief.

"Today it was how good [Southampton] played with the ball, with the keeper [Aaron Ramsdale] and the movement," Guardiola said. "It's a good game to learn as a manager.

"I am going to learn a lot with Russell [Martin, Southampton boss] because they did really well. We were humble and accepted that they did really well."

The afternoon was a tale of teams heading in opposite directions, with City stretching their unbeaten streak in the Premier League to 32 games. They have not lost a league game at the Etihad since a defeat by Brentford in November 2022. Southampton have not won at City since 2004.

The win for Guardiola's side was not particularly pretty.

They did just enough to beat a Southampton team who were pinned back in their own half for much of the afternoon. Russell Martin's side will have to take comfort from conceding just one goal after allowing 18 in their previous eight league matches.

"We're used to that when teams defend deep against us which makes it more difficult, we have to be patient," City midfielder Bernardo Silva said.

"We had our chances to score three or four goals to make it, but [Southampton] deserve a lot of credit for what they did here today."

City hammered the visitors with 22 shots to Saints' five.

Martin said Guardiola and City forward Phil Foden approached him with kind words after the whistle.

"I think they felt we were really brave with the ball and did some stuff to them that not many teams do," Martin said.

"Pep congratulated us with the way the team looks and the way it plays. It's not easy to play that way and I think Pep understands that more than anyone."