COLUMBUS, Ohio -- PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan met with several agents of tour players at Muirfield Village Golf Club on Wednesday, and his message to them was once again clear, according to sources. Choose the PGA Tour or the LIV Golf Series Invitational, but players won't be allowed to play on both circuits.

After LIV Golf released the names of 42 players who will compete in its first event outside London next week, the PGA Tour released a statement on Wednesday, which reiterated Monahan's warning that players would face discipline for defying the tour's position, including potential fines, suspensions and/or bans.

"As communicated to our entire membership on May 10, PGA Tour members have not been authorized to participate in the Saudi Golf League's London event, under PGA Tour Tournament Regulations," the tour's statement on Wednesday said. "Members who violate the Tournament Regulations are subject to disciplinary action."

The PGA Tour denied conflicting-event releases to players who had requested them on May 10. The first LIV Golf event coincides with the RBC Canadian Open in Ontario next week.

The list of 42 players who were released by LIV Golf on Tuesday night includes two-time major winners Dustin Johnson and Martin Kaymer and five other major winners: Sergio Garcia (2017 Masters), Charl Schwartzel (2011 Masters), Graeme McDowell (2010 U.S. Open) and Louis Oosthuizen (2010 Open Championship).

Rory McIlroy, speaking during a news conference ahead of the Memorial, which begins on Thursday, said there were a couple of surprises, but he wasn't particularly impressed with the strength of the LIV field.

"I certainly don't think the field is anything to jump up and down about," McIlroy said. "Look at the field this week. Look at the field next week in Canada. They are proper golf tournaments."

When ESPN asked McIlroy whether the tour should severely discipline its players who compete in the LIV events to dissuade others from doing it in the future, he took a softer stance on the threat of the breakaway circuit than he had in the past.

"I certainly don't think they should drop the hammer," McIlroy said. "Look, they are well within their rights to enforce the rules and regulations that have been set. But it's going to end up being an argument about what those rules and regulations are. I have some very close friends that are playing in this event in London, and I certainly wouldn't want to stand in their way for them to do what they feel is right for themselves.

"It's not something that I would do personally. But I certainly understand why some of the guys have [decided to play in London], and it's something that we are all just going to keep an eye on and see what happens over these next few weeks."

Australia's Matt Jones, who is among the PGA Tour players in the LIV field, said on Wednesday that "it was a good business opportunity for me and my family."

"I like the concept, the idea of the three-day tournaments [and] the team format aspect of things is great," Jones said.

Jones, a two-time PGA Tour winner, said he hoped the tour doesn't ban players because they compete in the LIV Golf series, which is being fronted by Greg Norman, a two-time Open winner and former No. 1 golfer, and financed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.

"I have thought about that, which is something I had to weigh up," Jones said. "I don't think banning players is a good look for the PGA Tour, or for golf in general. I hope there is a way we can work around it. But I'm very comfortable with my decision and I'm looking forward to it. I think it's going to be good. I'm just excited to go and play golf. I love to compete. And I've always enjoyed playing golf courses all around the world."

In a homage to its namesake, the cover of the Madden NFL 23 video game will have one person on it: John Madden.

Madden, the Hall of Fame coach who died Dec. 28, will be on the cover of all three editions of this year's game, which will be released in August. It's the first time in over two decades that Madden will be the focal point of the cover, which has trended toward using current athletes.

"We were thinking about this year's game and who was going to go on it; it almost became an obvious answer," Seann Graddy, the executive producer of Madden NFL, told ESPN. "I say that because we really wanted to celebrate Coach in the product this year and what he's meant to us for the 30-plus years that we've been using his name in our game."

Madden last was the main cover person for the 2000 edition of the game, which was released in 1999. He appeared in a small box in the next four editions of the game with his signature and the All Madden logo off to the side of the main cover athlete before disappearing from the cover for Madden NFL 06, which featured Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb.

EA then pivoted to using current athletes for each year's cover. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady shared it last year.

Graddy told ESPN that putting Madden on the cover has been discussed only for this year's game, but said, "Anything is possible, to be honest," about putting the former coach on the cover in the future.

The All Madden cover -- one of the three covers this year -- is reminiscent of the original John Madden Football, released on June 1, 1988. That cover had a young, sandy-haired Madden holding a football and making a hole through a diagram of X's and O's on a chalkboard with the game's name across the top of the box.

The cover for the All Madden edition has a similar-looking young Madden holding a football busting through what appears to be a paper full of X's and O's. On the side of the cover, in white lettering, is "Thanks, Coach."

Chuck Styles, a Philadelphia-based artist who has created exclusive trading cards for Topps in its Project70 release as well as many works depicting NBA players, designed the cover for the All Madden edition.

The other two covers, not created by Styles, look at Madden as a coach and a broadcaster. The broadcasting cover has Madden in a blue shirt and tie appearing to draw on a telestrator, which he was famous for in his career. The coaching cover has Madden, who coached the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1978, lifted up by his players after beating the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI.

"The thing that we wanted everyone to take away," Graddy said, "is that we're celebrating all three phases of Coach Madden's kind of legacy."

Madden was immersed in the game from the beginning, demanding it be 11-on-11 and handing over his old playbook to game developers to create more realism. As the game grew, so did its influence on players. Many current NFL players say Madden was part of their upbringing -- Detroit Lions defensive back Jeff Okudah told ESPN in 2020 that he learned football by playing Madden -- and that was always a prideful point for the game's namesake.

"That gives you the satisfaction that you're doing something worthwhile," Madden told ESPN in 2021. "You and everyone involved are putting in the time, and it works and influences people to not only enjoy the game but to be able to play the game.

"It helps them become better players. And I think that's true of high school, college and the pros. There's a real satisfaction that you see when someone brings it up."

While many of the gameplay features for this year's edition haven't been announced, Graddy said the opening experience will have two versions of Madden from the 1970s coaching against each other -- one leading an NFC All Madden team and one an AFC All Madden team -- at the old Oakland Coliseum.

"It's just kind of a fun fantasy experience where it's Coach Madden vs. Coach Madden," Graddy said. "With a callback from the All Madden teams that he used to create and that we used to have in our game, a mix of both legendary players and current-day players.

"Honestly, the thinking of why we wanted Coach vs. Coach is we want Coach to win."

During that experience, Graddy said, there will be lines spoken by Madden interspersed throughout the commentary about some of the players on the All Madden rosters.

As part of the cover announcement, EA announced its $5 million donation to the John Madden Legacy Commitment to Education will be split, with $2.5 million going to nonprofit organizations College Track, Girls Who Code, StreetCode Academy and Mission Bit to support five years of programming in the science, technology, engineering, art and math space. The other $2.5 million will help create the EA Madden Scholarship, which will work with the United Negro College Fund to provide scholarships for students at 12 Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Which team will be this year's NBA champion?

The 2022 Finals features the league's top two defenses throughout the regular season, but the Golden State Warriors-Boston Celtics clash will focus on some of the most dangerous offensive threats in the game.

Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, their Splash Brothers partnership whole again after Thompson missed more than two seasons with ACL and Achilles' injuries, are making nearly eight 3-pointers per game during Golden State's run to the Finals, while Boston's dynamic duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown each have a 40-plus point performance on their 2022 postseason résumé.

This series also presents a host of lineup decisions for coaches Steve Kerr and Ime Udoka. Will the Warriors go heavy on smallball, with Draymond Green at center? Who will be the primary defenders on superstars like Curry and Tatum?

Which side will prevail? Our experts are making their predictions for the Finals winner and which player will be named Finals MVP.

MORE: What to know for the Finals | Schedule and news

NBA FINALS: WARRIORS-CELTICS

Kendra Andrews: Warriors in 7 | MVP: Stephen Curry

Jerry Bembry: Celtics in 6 | MVP: Jayson Tatum

Tim Bontemps: Celtics in 6 | MVP: Tatum

Nick DePaula: Warriors in 6 | MVP: Curry

Nick Friedell: Celtics in 6 | MVP: Tatum

Kirk Goldsberry: Warriors in 7 | MVP: Curry

Israel Gutierrez: Celtics in 6 | MVP: Jaylen Brown

Baxter Holmes: Warriors in 7 | MVP: Curry

Tim Legler: Warriors in 7 | MVP: Curry

Andrew Lopez: Warriors in 6 | MVP: Curry

Tim MacMahon: Warriors in 7 | MVP: Curry

Bobby Marks: Warriors in 5 | MVP: Klay Thompson

Dave McMenamin: Warriors in 7 | MVP: Curry

Kevin Pelton: Warriors in 7 | MVP: Curry

Omar Raja: Warriors in 7 | MVP: Curry

Jorge Sedano: Warriors in 7 | MVP: Curry

Ramona Shelburne: Warriors in 7 | MVP: Thompson

André Snellings: Celtics in 7 | MVP: Tatum

Marc J. Spears: Warriors in 7 | MVP: Curry

Ohm Youngmisuk: Warriors in 6 | MVP: Curry

Finals winner: Warriors 15, Celtics 5

Finals MVP: Stephen Curry 13, Jayson Tatum 4, Klay Thompson 2, Jaylen Brown 1

Mike Rizzo says the Washington Nationals will not trade Juan Soto, insisting instead that the club intends to build around the superstar outfielder.

Rizzo, the Nationals' president of baseball operations and general manager, directly addressed Soto's long-term future in Washington during a radio interview Wednesday morning.

"We are not trading Juan Soto," Rizzo told The Sports Junkies on 106.7 The Fan. "We made it clear to his agent and to the player."

Soto, 23, is eligible to become a free agent after the 2024 season. The former National League batting champion told ESPN earlier this year that he declined a 13-year, $350 million contract offered by the Nationals before this past winter's lockout.

The Nationals have finished last in the NL East each of the past two seasons and once again find themselves in the basement of the division, entering Wednesday at 18-33, leading to widespread speculation that Soto could be traded in a megadeal to help accelerate a rebuild.

But Rizzo said Wednesday that he has told both Soto and his agent, Scott Boras, that the Nationals want to keep the All-Star outfielder as their centerpiece.

"We have every intention of building this team around Juan Soto, and we've spoken to his agent many, many times," Rizzo said. "We recently sat with him when he was in Washington, D.C., and made it clear to him that we're not interested in trading him.

"I guess the rest of the world doesn't believe it, but that's our position."

Soto is off to a slow start this season, batting .232 with nine home runs and just 16 RBIs in 51 games, but he still boasts a .379 on-base percentage thanks to his major-leagues-leading 42 walks. The left-handed slugger also led the majors in on-base percentage (.465) and walks (145) in 2021, one year after winning the NL batting crown with a .351 average in 2020.

Soto's future also could be affected by a potential ownership transition for the Nationals, who have been owned by the Lerner family since 2006. The family is exploring the possibility of selling the Nationals and hired a firm earlier this year to find potential investors to buy part or all of the franchise.

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic agreed their French Open quarter-final started too late after the four-hour match ended at 01:15 in Paris [00:15 BST].

Asked if it was too late to be playing, Nadal said: "It is without a doubt. I understand television pays a lot of money but we need to find a balance."

Djokovic added: "Broadcasters say it's going to be night match, day match. They give the money. They decide."

Spanish fifth seed Nadal, going for a record-extending 14th men's singles title at Roland Garros, won 6-2 4-6 6-2 7-6 (7-4) against Serbia's Djokovic.

Despite the late finish to Nadal's win over Djokovic and temperatures dropping to about 10C, few fans decided to leave Court Philippe-Chatrier and many of those who stayed were wrapped up in blankets.

The clay-court Grand Slam introduced night sessions for the 2021 tournament, although they were not fully open to fans because of coronavirus restrictions in France.

The night matches are shown on Amazon Prime in France and have started at 20:45 local time.

Nadal's win over Djokovic was the second-latest finish in French Open history, falling 11 minutes short of the 2020 quarter-final between the Spaniard and Italy's Jannik Sinner.

"There are difference of opinions about the night sessions," said world number one Djokovic.

"I think they are starting too late. But again, TV decides. That's the world we are living in."

Women's matches 'not as attractive' for TV audience

Former Wimbledon and Australian Open champion Amelie Mauresmo is in her first year as the tournament director of the French Open.

"As far as I'm concerned, night sessions in the stadium are definitely appropriate, because it was always full to the brim every night," she said.

"There was a real enthusiasm. People could actually work during the day and yet watch the match during the evening.

"I'm learning a lot of things regarding the scheduling of the tournament. We will actually have a feedback session on this at the end, but it's just 10 night matches overall."

The late sessions, which have separate ticket sales from the day time, have also drawn criticism for the lack of women's matches.

Only one of the 10 night sessions this year has been a women's match, when France's Alize Cornet beat Latvian 13th seed Jelena Ostapenko in three sets on Thursday.

Mauresmo said it was "more difficult" to put women's matches on late.

"In this era we are in right now - and as a woman, a former woman's player, I don't feel bad or unfair saying this - you have more attraction and appeal, in general, for the men's matches," said the former world number one.

'I am pouring everything I have to play this tournament'

Afterwards, 21-time major champion Nadal thanked the near-15,000 crowd for showing their "love".

He will play third seed Alexander Zverev, who beat Carlos Alcaraz in Tuesday's day session, in the semi-finals on Friday.

"It has been a very emotional night for me," said Nadal. "I'm still playing for nights like this."

Nadal had feared his career was over because of a chronic foot problem which restricted him to only one tournament in the final seven months of 2021.

The problem flared up again during the Italian Open and he said the crowd at Roland Garros "have been amazing since the beginning of the tournament" because they probably "know that I'm not going to be here a lot more times".

He added: "I said in Rome that I am going to have my doctor here with me. Having the doctor here, you can do things that help. It's not the moment to talk about that. We will talk about that when my tournament finishes.

"I am pouring everything that I have to try to play this tournament with the best conditions possible. Honestly, I don't know what can happen after it, but here I think I'm going to be fine.

"I have what I have in the foot. If we are not able to find an improvement or small solution to that then it's becoming super difficult for me. I am just enjoying every day that I have the chance to be here without thinking much about what can happen in the future.

"Of course, I will keep fighting to find a solution but, for the moment, we haven't."

Daria Kasatkina reached her first Grand Slam semi-final with a 6-4 7-6 (7-5) win over Veronika Kudermetova in the French Open quarter-finals.

Both players traded breaks of serve in an edgy second set but 20th seed Kasatkina overcame her nerves to win on her fifth match point with a drop shot.

Kasatkina will face either Iga Swiatek or Jessica Pegula in the last four.

"You could see the match was really nervous and tight, especially the tie-break, but I am happy at the end I won," Kasatkina, the 2014 junior champion, said in her on-court interview.

"It's a very important win for me and I'm happy to be in the semi-final for the first time."

Kasatkina, playing in her third Grand Slam quarter-final but first since 2018, has made the last four without dropping a set.

Kudermetova was in her first Grand Slam quarter-final and made 50 unforced errors as she struggled to adapt to the occasion.

The 25-year-old needed a medical timeout at 5-6 in the second set but battled hard to save four match points in the tie-break.

By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor

Egypt’s Nour El Tayeb has risen 14 places to return to the top 20 of the PSA Women’s World Rankings following her superb run to the semi finals of the CIB PSA World Championships last week in Cairo.

El Tayeb, a former World No.3, ended a 14-month spell away from the action following the birth of her daughter when she returned to the PSA World Tour at the CIB Squash Open Black Ball in December of last year, and the 29-year-old has gone from strength to strength in the intervening five months.

Making her first appearance at the World Championships since the 2019-20 edition, El Tayeb notably beat World No.8 Salma Hany and World No.3 Hania El Hammamy en route to the last four, where she eventually came unstuck against eventual winner and World No.2 Nour El Sherbini.

Her performances at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation have seen El Tayeb rise to No.14.

On the same day, her husband Ali Farag returns to the top of the men’s world rankings, dislodging New Zealand’s Paul Coll after winning the men’s World Championship in Cairo.

Runner-up Nouran Gohar holds on to the world No.1 spot for a third successive month ahead of El Sherbini and El Hammamy, as well as USA’s Amanda Sobhy at No.4 and New Zealand’s Joelle King, who completes the top five.

Sarah-Jane Perry stays at No.6, but there is a move up the rankings for Rowan Elaraby, who moves up one spot to a career-high ranking of No.7, switching places with Hany. Georgina Kennedy (No.9) and Olivia Fiechter (No.10) complete the top 10.

Belgium’s Nele Gilis remains at No.11, while Nada Abbas moves up four places to a career-high ranking of No.12. Camille Serme drops to No.13, with El Tayeb and Tinne Gilis rounding out the top 15.

Next comes Joshna Chinappa, who falls two spots to No.16, ahead of Tesni Evans, who drops two places to No.17. Farida Mohamed and Sivasangari Subramaniam record career-high rankings of No.18 and No.19, respectively, while Hollie Naughton falls three places to No.20.

Malta’s Colette Sultana is the biggest riser on the women’s tour, moving up 149 places to No.276 after reaching the last 16 of the Qscan Sandgate Open.

PSA Women’s World Rankings Top 20 – June 2022.

Picture and graphic courtesy of PSA World Tour

By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor

Egypt’s Ali Farag has overtaken New Zealand’s Paul Coll to reclaim the No.1 spot in the PSA Men’s World Rankings following the capture of his third PSA World Championship title last weekend.

Farag, 30, lost top spot to Coll in the March rankings but enjoyed a successful May which saw him first down Peru’s Diego Elias to win the prestigious J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions inside New York’s famous Grand Central Terminal.

He followed that up with a 3-2 victory over World No.3 Mohamed ElShorbagy in the CIB PSA World Championship final in Cairo to become only the seventh man to lift the sport’s biggest prize on three occasions.

Coll, who lost out to ElShorbagy in the semi-finals at the Egyptian National Museum of Civilization, drops to No.2.

ElShorbagy stays at No.3, while Mostafa Asal (4) and Diego Elias (5) round out the rest of the top five.

Tarek Momen remains at No.6 ahead of Joel Makin (7), Mazen Hesham (8), Marwan ElShorbagy (9) and Fares Dessouky, who stays at No.10.

Youssef Ibrahim moves up to a joint career-high ranking at No.11, while Karim Abdel Gawad and Gregoire Marche sit at 12 and 13, respectively. India’s Saurav Ghosal rises three spots to No.14, while Miguel Rodriguez drops a place to 15.

Nicolas Mueller (16), Youssef Soliman (17), Mohamed Abouelghar (18), Raphael Kandra (19) and Victor Crouin complete the top 20, with the latter moving up three spots to break back into the top 20 for the first time since January, 2022.

England’s Charlie Taylor is the biggest riser on the men’s tour after a last 16 finish at the NTA Squash Classic saw him move up 197 places to a career-high ranking of No.605.

PSA Men’s World Rankings Top 20 – June 2022.

Picture and graphic courtesy of PSA World Tour 

Harlequins forward Fi Fletcher has announced her retirement at the age of 30.

She joined Quins in 2016 and her total of 88 appearances is the second highest in the women's team's history.

Fletcher's versatility has seen her fill a number of roles in the second and back row as an ever-present in the team.

Harlequins finished fourth in the Premier 15s this season.

"I've seen huge progressions in women's rugby but the exciting thing is there's still huge room for growth," she told the club's website.

"I know Quins will want to be at the forefront of positive changes and I'm looking forward to supporting these from the sidelines.

"I step away content in what I've achieved and excited to have a body that feels less broken on a Sunday morning."

South Africa scrum-half Faf de Klerk will join Japanese side Yokohama Canon Eagles after leaving Sale Sharks at the end of the season.

De Klerk reinvigorated his Springboks career during his time with Sale.

He went on to win the Rugby World Cup with South Africa after beating England in the final in Japan in 2019.

"Now it is a reality and I can't wait to get stuck in with my teammates and coaches and hopefully make a big impact," he said in a statement released by the team.

"The Japanese culture is amazing and I look forward to enjoying every moment with my partner, teammates and all the rugby fans of Japan."

De Klerk joins a Yokohama side who finished sixth in Japan Rugby League One and also have Springbok Jesse Kriel in their ranks.

Fellow South Africans Pieter-Steph du Toit, Willie le Roux, Lukhanyo Am and Malcolm Marx all played in the league this season, which concluded on Sunday.