A 17-32 record as an NFL starter and the threat of being replaced during the offseason first by Deshaun Watson and now possibly by third-round pick Matt Corral hasn't made Carolina Panthers starter Sam Darnold any less confident in his abilities.

"As long as I know what we're doing, what the defense is doing, I'm confident I can be one of the best quarterbacks in the league," Darnold said Tuesday, the first time he has spoken to reporters since offseason workouts began.

Coach Matt Rhule, who hasn't ruled out bringing in a veteran at some point, went so far as to say Darnold is practicing with an "edge" he hasn't seen before.

"What Sam has been through this offseason has been very hard," Rhule said. "Your back's against the wall. Everyone's kind of questioning whether you can do this or not. We've seen a guy who has shown up who has a little more edge to him. He's very, very focused."

But going from focused to one of the best quarterbacks in the league would be a big leap.

Since the New York Jets selected him with the third pick of the 2018 draft, Darnold has consistently ranked as one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL. His total QBR of 33.2 in 2021, his first year with Carolina, ranked 29th among qualified quarterbacks.

He ranked 33rd in 2020 with a 32.9 rating, 25th in 2019 at 45.9 and 28th in 2018 at 45.9.

In four seasons, he has thrown almost as many interceptions (52) as he has touchdown passes (54). He has a 59.8% career completion percentage since 2018 that also ranks among the worst in the league.

Such numbers are why the Panthers were willing to give up three first-round picks and players for Watson, ultimately traded by the Houston Texans to the Cleveland Browns. They are why Carolina remains interested in acquiring a veteran quarterback.

Among those the Panthers are keeping an eye on, according to a league source, is Baker Mayfield, if the Browns agree to pay most of his $18.8 million for 2022 or release him.

"Everyone, including myself, knows the situation," Darnold said. "But with that being said, it doesn't change my mindset. I have a great attitude about myself going into every day."

That mindset is focused on improving his footwork, which has been an issue since he arrived in the NFL.

"There were times last year when my feet got very ... just, loose is a good term ... chaotic," Darnold said. "It's just having confidence in my feet and the system to go out there and put the ball where it needs to be."

Darnold stopped short, agreeing this is a make-or-break year for him as he enters the fifth and final year of his rookie deal.

"If I were to think about it like that, I could get caught up in the wash," Darnold said. "When I'm in the meeting room, I'm focused on learning the system. When I'm on the practice field, I'm focused on executing that play.

"And even in the games, you're not focused on: 'This is a contract year, I better ball out.' As a quarterback, you've got to be constant. You've got to be consistent every single day and every single play. So it's tough to think about what if, or what can happen in the future."

Darnold's future now is with new offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo, the fourth time in his young career that the former Southern California star has had to learn a new system.

"It's really just going out there and playing every play like it's my last," Darnold said. "If I start thinking about that other stuff ... playing quarterback is hard enough."

Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill feels his comments about it not being his job to mentor 2022 third-round NFL draft pick Malik Willis have been blown out of proportion.

"I meant no disrespect to Malik or anything like that," Tannehill said on Tuesday. "We've been in constant communication since he was drafted. I'm disappointed in how things got spun and twisted a little bit. I pride myself on being a great teammate my whole career going back to when I was a kid playing youth sports."

When asked about mentoring Willis earlier this month, Tannehill said he understood the dynamics of a competitive quarterback room, but it isn't his job to mentor the rookie quarterback. Titans coach Mike Vrabel added that Tannehill's "job is to make sure the team is prepared to win games."

Tannehill said Tuesday he reached out to Willis as soon as his comments made headlines. Tannehill made it clear that he and Willis will compete, but he emphasized that he is willing to help Willis and be a great teammate. He also said that as a leader on the team, it's his charge to help the rookie out.

"As soon as it blew up, I reached out to him and said, 'Hey, I'm going to be a great teammate to you, I'm going to support you. They're making this out to something that it's not to be. It's not what it's been made out to be at all,'" he said. "He's been good. He was great with it throughout the whole time. It's been great to have him in the room and build that relationship."

Tannehill said he takes the word mentor "seriously," which might be why his earlier comments were misunderstood.

"There's a few people that I count as mentors. There's hundreds of people that helped me out throughout my career, but there's only a few people that I would consider mentors," he said. "A mentorship is something that both people have to want, both people have to agree to enter into that, and it's going to have to take a lot of time, energy and focus."

Tennessee began to entertain the idea of selecting a quarterback of the future heading into the draft this year. The Titans were the No. 1 seed in the AFC but lost to the Cincinnati Bengals at home in the divisional round of the playoffs last season. Tannehill's three interceptions played a part in the loss.

The Titans took the field as a team for the first time on Monday. So far, the relationship between Tannehill and Willis appears to be headed in the right direction.

"It's been cool," Willis said. "He's a great guy that works super hard and wants everybody to get their work. He's definitely someone that you can look up to."

Two women who have accused Deshaun Watson of inappropriate sexual conduct condemned the Cleveland Browns for giving the quarterback an NFL-record $230 million guaranteed contract after trading for him.

"It's just like a big screw you," Ashley Solis said of the Browns in an interview on HBO's "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel," which is set to air Tuesday night. "That's what it feels like. That we don't care. He can run and throw, and that's what we care about."

Watson is facing 22 civil lawsuits from women who have accused him of inappropriate sexual conduct during massage sessions. Two grand juries in Texas have declined to pursue criminal charges, and Watson has denied all wrongdoing.

The NFL is investigating whether Watson violated its code of conduct policy; the league interviewed Watson in person last week as part of its investigation.

In addition to slamming the Browns, Solis told HBO that she felt threatened by Watson after their massage session.

"He just said, 'I know you have a career to protect,'" she said. "'And I know you don't want anyone messing with it just like I don't want anyone messing with mine.' To me, that's when, that's when I got really scared."

The Browns traded for Watson two months ago, sending the Houston Texans a trade package that included three first-round picks to complete the deal. Cleveland then gave Watson a new five-year contract, worth $80 million more than the previous high set when reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers signed his extension with the Green Bay Packers earlier in the offseason.

Kyla Hayes, who has also accused Watson of inappropriate sexual conduct, called the contract "sick."

"I felt like he's being rewarded for bad behavior," she told HBO.

Leah Graham, one of Watson's attorneys, told HBO that Watson has "no regrets because he did nothing wrong."

"He did nothing wrong in these massages," Graham said. "And although -- to your first question, 'How can he be innocent?' I think the real question is, 'What evidence is there of any guilt?'"

DALLAS -- The Golden State Warriors will try to eliminate the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night without veteran forward Otto Porter Jr.

The Warriors ruled out one of their valued subs because of left foot soreness at the morning shootaround before Game 4. Golden State leads the Western Conference finals 3-0.

"He's still sore," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "We got to make the wise decision here. This gives him a couple of days to prepare for a possible Game 5, and we just don't want to take a chance of harming his future availability."

If Dallas can stay alive by winning Game 4 on Tuesday, there will be a Game 5 in San Francisco on Thursday. However, if the Warriors can sweep the Mavericks, they and Porter will have over a week off before the NBA Finals are scheduled to start on June 2.

Porter left Game 3 midway through the second quarter and was later ruled out because of the soreness. X-rays were negative. The team listed him as questionable on Monday night's injury report.

Porter is averaging 5.5 points and 4.1 rebounds this postseason.

Chicago White Sox outfielder Luis Robert has been placed on the COVID-19 injured list, the team announced Tuesday.

Robert leads the White Sox with six home runs and is batting .285 with 17 RBIs.

In a related roster move, the White Sox recalled infielder Jake Burger from Triple-A Charlotte. He has played 21 games in the majors this season and is batting .239 with two home runs and seven RBIs.

Where is the 'normal water'? Is a pigeon allowed on the court? Will Rafael Nadal get to use his Champions League final ticket?

Where is the 'normal water'?

"It is not normal at a Grand Slam! Is that normal? Do you think it is normal?"

Stan Wawrinka's outburst may have drawn more concern from the umpire, had the former champion not been referring to his bottled water.

Contesting his first-round match against France's Corentin Moutet, the 37-year-old was not happy with the temperature of the water on offer to him.

The Swiss player complained at length to the umpire during a changeover that his water was too cold.

"You call someone. It has been three changeovers, I asked you for some water that is not freezing!" protested Wawrinka, also using some much stronger language than that.

"It is not good. You are at the French Open and you cannot get normal water! You think it is normal?"

There is some reasoning to this - the Guardian pointed out an extract from Novak Djokovic's book where he talks about only drinking warm water on court as cold water slows digestion and "diverts blood away from my muscles".

Warm water or not, Wawrinka ultimately lost 2-6 6-3 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 to Moutet.

What are the rules on pigeons?

Ugo Humbert has a question for tennis' rulemakers - can you play when there is a pigeon on the court?

The Frenchman lost his opening match in five sets but was distracted by a pigeon that took up residence at the beginning of the fourth set.

"I'd like to know what the rule is. Can we play when there is a pigeon on the court?" Humbert asked a news conference.

"I was serving, the pigeon was there, I looked at the umpire so that he would stop. I didn't dare and ask him to stop the match.

"I thought maybe he would say, 'no, the pigeon was not bothering you', but the pigeon was bothering me, close to me.

"I didn't understand why he didn't ask us to stop playing."

This is partly why Wimbledon uses Rufus the hawk during the Grand Slam - he helps chase away the birds to stop them interrupting play.

Will Nadal gets to Champions League final?

Rafael Nadal is a massive Real Madrid fan - he went to their astonishing Champions League semi-final second-leg comeback against Manchester City, which he credited for inspiring his victory over David Goffin at the Madrid Open the next day.

Real will face Liverpool in Saturday's final in Paris, which could be a problem for Nadal, who is bidding for a record-extending 14th French Open crown.

"Well, I am here to play Roland Garros more than anything else, no? But of course, I have my tickets already," he said earlier this week.

Nadal is an iconic figure at Roland Garros, where there is a statue of him in the grounds, and he has been credited by a number of players for inspiring them to take up the sport.

Moutet, who beat Wawrinka, said that he used to sleep with one of Nadal's French Open tank tops as a youngster.

"When you're a kid you need to have idols. I was a lefty, so he was my inspiration," the 23-year-old, who could meet Nadal in the third round, said.

"I even did stupid things, I was sleeping with his French Open tank top. I was a kid, not like I was 14 or 15 years old."

Who is the 'legend' who Raducanu hopes will bring her luck?

Moments after Emma Raducanu clinched a hard-fought win over Czech teenager Linda Noskova, she went to the side-line and high-fived a bloke in the front row.

But it wasn't a member of her team. So who was it? Turns out it was an old friend, of sorts, who supported her throughout the memorable run to US Open glory.

"I don't know him personally, or even his name, but he was there right from the first match in New York," laughed the British number one.

"He always sits in the front row. He gets really pumped, the guy is a legend! It's amazing to have him here, it brings back really happy memories.

"It was really special to see him and hopefully he can be at the next match too."

Will Djokovic use his birthday present?

Defending men's champion Novak Djokovic turned 35 years old in Paris and got a handy gift from the organisers.

Why was McEnroe singing about Nadal?

And finally, John McEnroe penned an ode to Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz on Eurosport's coverage.

It was a version of Green Day's Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life), where McEnroe sings about the trio being "some of the best that I have ever seen".

McEnroe often posts videos of himself playing guitar and singing with his daughter, Emily.

Google it. It's worth it.

Czech eighth seed Karolina Pliskova survived a first-round scare to advance at the French Open.

She is joined in the next round by American Danielle Collins, who recovered from two breaks of serve in the second set to beat Bulgaria's Viktoriya Tomova 6-0 6-4.

Meanwhile, former champion Jelena Ostapenko beat Lucia Bronzetti 6-1 6-4.

World number two Daniil Medvedev reached the French Open second round with a comfortable win but 14th seed Denis Shapovalov made a surprise exit.

The Russian reached his first quarter-final at Roland Garros last year - having lost in the first round the four previous times.

He had been unsure of his participation after a hernia operation in April.

"I love Roland Garros, especially since last year. I hope this year I can go further," said Medvedev, who will meet Serb Laslo Djere or Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis next.

"When I went under the operation I didn't think I was going to play on clay, but I managed with the doctor and physio to get back. Physically, I feel 100 per cent."

Meanwhile, 2021 Wimbledon semi-finalist Shapovalov said he "didn't really show up" in a straight-sets defeat by Danish 19-year-old Holger Rune.

The 23-year-old Canadian, who reached the last eight at the Australian Open earlier this year, made a huge 53 unforced errors as the 2019 junior Roland Garros champion won 6-3 6-1 7-6 (7-4).

Bagnis hampered by injury in Medvedev defeat

Bagnis, 32, immediately responded after seeing his serve broken in the opening game - but that was to prove a rare glimmer of hope for him against Medvedev on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

In a dominant display, second seed Medvedev won nine successive games as he efficiently settled the first set and took a commanding 4-0 lead on his way to clinching the second.

The Russian, unable to compete under his national flag because of the war in Ukraine, saw his progress checked as Bagnis - struggling with a calf issue throughout - broke back to level the third set at 2-2.

But that only served to refocus Medvedev, who rattled through the next four games to end the contest after just one hour and 38 minutes.

Bagnis could be fined his full prize money if it is decided that his injury prevented the Argentine meeting the required professional standard.

"It was a tough first round. I tried to give my best. I didn't have it in my best condition, I had a problem last week in my leg, but I came here to Roland Garros to get ready and try to give 100 percent," Bagnis said.

"But today after the warm-up I felt it again, the problem, so it was tough because I think I couldn't play, but I wanted to continue. I wanted to finish the match, so, I tried to do it, but it was not to easy so that's the reality."