KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Chiefs cornerback Jaylen Watson will undergo surgery for a broken fibula and tibia, sources told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler on Tuesday.

Watson could return late in the season if the Chiefs make the playoffs, but it's also possible he won't return.

He was injured in Sunday's win over the San Francisco 49ers. He had started all six games this season and had six passes broken up.

Watson joined the Chiefs in 2022 as a seventh-round draft pick from Washington State. He played in 32 regular-season games (eight starts) and seven postseason games (three starts) in 2022 and 2023.

Joshua Williams or Nazeeh Johnson, both also drafted by the Chiefs in 2022, are the leading candidates to replace Watson in the starting lineup.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- When the LA Clippers open their new Intuit Dome on Wednesday, they will honor and celebrate Jerry West's legendary life and connection to the franchise with a "JW" court decal and a memorial seat where he sat during Clippers games behind the basket near the team's home bench, sources told ESPN.

The memorial seat -- which will have West's signature accompanied by "The Logo" -- and decal will be at Intuit Dome throughout the 2024-25 season. The Clippers have also prepared a celebration of life video for West when they play their first regular-season game at the Intuit Dome against the Phoenix Suns (10 p.m. ET on ESPN).

West served as a Clippers executive board member and highly respected consultant from 2017 until his death on June 12. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer was very close to West, who was 86.

"Jerry was a lifelong learner and teacher who inspired all of us with his intellect, enthusiasm and love for the game," Ballmer said in a statement. "He gave his whole heart to the NBA. We think about him and we miss him every day."

Under West's Hall of Fame eye, the Clippers did not have a losing season during his tenure with the team, reaching their first Western Conference finals in franchise history in 2021. He loved the NBA draft and discovering talent. Shortly after his death, the Clippers left a chair open with his favorite snacks in the team's war room during the draft in late June.

Earlier this month, West was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for a third time, this time as a contributor for his time in the front offices of the Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors.

One of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History chosen in 1996 to commemorate the league's 50th anniversary, West was inducted into the Hall of Fame previously as a player after making 14 consecutive All-Star appearances and winning the NBA championship in 1972 during his 14-year career.

West also was inducted as a member of the 1960 U.S. team that won the Olympic gold medal.

The Minnesota Twins on Tuesday named Matt Borgschulte as their hitting coach for the 2025 season.

Borgschulte, 33, spent the past three seasons as a co-hitting coach for the Baltimore Orioles.

He previously spent three seasons as a hitting coach in the Twins organization at Triple-A St. Paul (2021), High-A Fort Myers (2019) and the Gulf Coastal League (2018).

In 2024, Borgschulte helped Baltimore finish second in the majors in home runs (235); third in slugging percentage (.435), extra-base hits (530) and total bases (2,424); and fourth in runs scored (786).

The Twins parted ways with hitting coaches Rudy Hernandez and David Popkins and assistant hitting coach Derek Shomon earlier this month following the team's late-season hitting slump.

Minnesota (82-80) had the second-worst batting average in the majors in September at .218 (Kansas City Royals, .203).

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Major League Baseball hopes to find the Tampa Bay Rays a temporary home near their fan base at least for the start of the 2025 season if the damage to Tropicana Field from Hurricane Milton cannot be repaired in time.

The translucent fiberglass dome at the ballpark in St. Petersburg was shredded by Milton's winds, leaving its immediate future in doubt. A number of spring training sites around the Tampa Bay area have been suggested as temporary homes, and MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said the league wants a location in the region if possible.

"We're hopeful that we can figure out something in [the Tampa Bay area] for them and that the repairs can be done in a way that allows them to resume playing," Manfred said on an episode of "The Varsity" podcast published Sunday. "The easiest thing is always to stay in the market where the clubs are anchored, if we can manage it."

The Rays have played at Tropicana Field since their inaugural 1998 season, although the building was constructed in 1990. The hurricane damage comes a few months after the city of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County approved a new $1.3 billion ballpark in an adjacent location that would open in the 2028 season and is part of a much larger downtown revitalization project.

The city has hired the Hennessy/AECOM firm to do a complete analysis of the Tropicana Field damage and contracted with another company to remove the remaining roof material, St. Petersburg spokeswoman Alizza Punzalan-Randle said. The city has also filed a claim with its insurance carrier, she said.

"We will have more information on next steps once the analyses have been completed and the remaining roof has been removed," Punzalan-Randle said.

City Council member Brandi Gabbard said she expected the analysis by the first week of November.

"At that point we will have a better picture of the path forward," Gabbard said.

Suggestions for alternate Rays locations have included local spring training sites used by the Phillies, Blue Jays, Yankees, Pirates and Tigers. A bit further away is the Rays' spring training complex in Port Charlotte, about 85 miles south of St. Petersburg. Another option might be the ballpark at Disney's ESPN Wide World of Sports complex near Orlando.

Most of those ballpark options host minor league teams after spring training ends, which could prompt significant adjustments to minor league schedules. One way around that would be to play at the Orioles' spring training site in Sarasota, which does not have a minor league team.

There has also been talk of the Rays sharing the Miami Marlins' stadium, but that would be a major scheduling challenge and is about a four-hour drive from St. Petersburg. A previous proposal to have the Rays play some home games in Montreal resurfaced, but the stadium there is undergoing renovation and would not be ready for next season.

The Rays declined comment Tuesday and have said only that it could take weeks "to assess the true condition of Tropicana Field." Playing there without a roof is another idea, but the Trop doesn't have the drainage systems necessary in such a rain-prone location.

Another factor to consider is how much money should be spent to repair a facility that will be torn down for the new ballpark in a few years.

The Rays' opening home game against the Colorado Rockies is scheduled for March 27, and Manfred said MLB, the team and other entities will come up with a solution.

"The one thing I can tell you for sure, they're playing next year. We're going to find them someplace to do it," Manfred said on the podcast.

Erasmus is without second rows Salmaan Moerat (knee) and Lood de Jager (shoulder), scrum-half Faf de Klerk (thigh) and prop Steven Kitshoff (neck).

"There's no doubt there are several unlucky players who could easily have made the touring squad, but unfortunately we can only select 34 players," said Erasmus.

"Damian, Andre and RG all returned to action in the United Rugby Championship and have made a strong statement with their performances, and we all know what a work horse Franco is and the quality he adds to the team."

Erasmus' side have lost just two games this season, to Ireland and Argentina, and beat New Zealand twice during their recent Rugby Championship campaign.

"We are under no illusions about the quality of the opposition we will face, and we have experienced first-hand how their home crowds lift them, much like our passionate supporters, so we know what it will take to be successful over there," added Erasmus.

"Fortunately, we have a squad that believes in themselves and their abilities, and that will be vital as we enter these matches.

"Obviously we'll take confidence from winning the Rugby Championship, but the reality is that's now history, and there's no doubt that will motivate the opposition even more to make a strong statement against us."

Montreal Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky will be sidelined at least one week with an upper-body injury, the team announced Tuesday.

Slafkovsky, 20, skated on his own prior to the Canadiens' morning session. Montreal will host the New York Rangers later Tuesday.

Slafkovsky initially sustained an apparent shoulder injury during practice last week. He was able to return to game action and notched two assists during the Canadiens' 4-3 shootout loss to the New York Islanders on Saturday.

Signed to an eight-year, $60.8 million contract extension in July, Slafkovsky has recorded six points (one goal, five assists) in six games this season.

He has totaled 66 points (25 goals, 41 assists) in 127 career games since Montreal selected him with the top overall pick of the 2022 NHL draft.

Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk will end a five-game absence on Tuesday when he takes the ice against the Minnesota Wild in Sunrise, Florida.

Tkachuk reportedly was sidelined because of an illness; however, he told reporters Tuesday after the morning skate that that was not the case.

"I am feeling very good," he said. "I was never really sick, just had to have a little procedure done. I have been good since then, and just had to take a few days to make sure everything was all settled. Ready to get back into the lineup and help."

Florida fared well in his absence, going 3-1-1.

Tkachuk, 26, has notched two assists in two games this season.

A Stanley Cup champion last season, Tkachuk has 581 points (218 goals, 363 assists) in 592 games with the Calgary Flames (2016-22) and Panthers.

St. Louis Blues forward Jake Neighbours signed a two-year contract extension worth $7.5 million Tuesday.

Neighbours, 22, was in line to become a restricted free agent after this season.

He has three points (two goals, one assist) in six games this season after recording a career-high 27 goals in 2023-24.

Neighbours has totaled 53 points (36 goals, 17 assists) in 135 career games since being selected by the Blues with the 26th overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft.

Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis' five-match stadium ban for "improper conduct" came because of him being found guilty of spitting at the feet of referee Josh Smith in the tunnel after their defeat to Fulham.

Marinakis denied the FA charge at his hearing, but was hit with the suspension on Oct. 18, with the full written judgement released on Oct. 22. Forest appealed Marinakis' ban, but he was absent from their 1-0 win over Crystal Palace on Monday at the City Ground.

In the FA charge, a quote attributed to referee Smith said: "As I walked down the tunnel at the end of the match, Mr Evangelos Marinakis, the owner of Nottingham Forest was stood on my left hand side at the end of the tunnel. As I walked past him, he spat on the floor next to my left foot. This was also seen by [assistant referee] James Mainwaring and [fourth official] Tim Robinson."

Marinakis, in his defence, said he coughed. The defence read: "He smokes 2 or 3 cigars a day. He often needs to expectorate and/or coughs. His coughs contain phlegm. If he has to spit, he spits in a tissue if one is available or on the floor if he does not have one available. Sometimes when he coughs spit or phlegm can go to the floor.

"On the day of the incident he was suffering from a hacking cough. He was taking lozenges. As the officials approached he felt a cough coming and he coughed on the floor, down and to his right which was away from the path the officials were taking.

"He did not speak to the officials. He cannot now remember if any spittle left his mouth but if it did [and he does not challenge that some might well have done] it certainly was not aimed at the referee's feet and did not hit anybody.

"He fails to see how coughing [where spit or phlegm can come out from any person] towards the floor in a relatively crowded tunnel is misconduct."

In response, the referee Smith says he did not see Marinakis cough when he was stood at the end of the tunnel. Having reviewed footage, the FA statement said: "We are of the view that the footage does not support the suggestion that Marinakis coughed. Typically, if someone was about to cough, common decency demands that one covers one's mouth.

"We are sure that Marinakis would have covered his mouth if he was about to cough as someone was approaching in the opposite direction. Alternatively, he could have turned away. In our view the footage does not suggest he turned away at all."

Subsequently, the FA issued him with a five-match ban.

The news of Marinakis' ban on Friday last week came the same day as Forest manager Nuno Espírito Santo was hit with a three-match touchline ban and 55,000 fine for misconduct in Forest's 2-2 draw with Brighton in September.

Midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White was also banned for a match and fined 20,000 after acting "in an improper manner and/or used abusive and/or insulting words towards the fourth official after being sent off" in the same match. He sat out Monday's win over Palace.

Boosted by the "Messi effect," Major League Soccer hit record attendance marks and saw expanded sponsorship revenue this season.

With the conclusion of the regular season, MLS on Tuesday reported a 5% increase in attendance over last year with a league-wide total of 11.45 million. That's a 14% increase over 2022.

Two matches exceeded 70,000 fans and five matches exceeded 50,000. In an April match at Arrowhead Stadium, there were 72,610 on hand to watch Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF play Sporting Kansas City.

The average was a league-record 23,234 per match. Ten teams set or exceeded attendance records and there were a record 213 sellouts. Even if Messi's road matches were excluded, the average attendance figures would still be an MLS best.

MLS is expecting that close to 12 million fans will attend this season's games through the playoffs, which start this week.

There's no doubt the league's superstar attraction is Messi, the clear front-runner for the league's MVP award this season. The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner has 20 goals and 10 assists in just 19 matches this season. Inter Miami won the Supporters' Shield for having the best record in the regular season with 74 points, one more than New England Revolution when it set the record in 2021.

"He's definitely helped put us in front of a global audience, and he's definitely piqued the interest of sports fans in our country," said Chris McGowan, head of the club performance and optimization group at MLS. "Our clubs have done an unbelievable job of taking advantage of that and understanding that players don't play forever. We have the best ever playing in our league, so we got to be on our toes to be able to take advantage of it."

But while Messi is certainly a big part of the league's growth after his arrival at Inter Miami last year, McGowan cited other factors as well, including the fan experience at the league's stadiums, spurred by enthusiastic supporters' groups.

"People are now seeing just an awesome environment when they go to our games across the league," McGowan said. "The crowds are energetic. There's a lot of great things happening in the venue. It's just a fun time on a Saturday night and people are really taking notice of that."

The league success this season isn't only at the box office level.

MLS also reported Tuesday that MLS and the league's marketing arm, Soccer United Marketing, have seen a 13% year-to-date rise in sponsorship revenue, which is the same increase at the individual club level. Eighteen new sponsors have joined MLS this year.

The league is also growing its social media reach, with a 26% jump in followers on TikTok, a 21% increase on YouTube and a 10% increase on Instagram.

The postseason opens Tuesday night with a wild-card match between Atlanta United and Montréal - the winner of that game goes on to play Messi and Miami in the first round.

The Portland Timbers host Vancouver in the other wild-card match on Wednesday.