Manchester United have announced that interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy has left the club after the arrival of permanent head coach Rúben Amorim on Monday.

Van Nistelrooy oversaw four games in the aftermath of Erik ten Hag's sacking, winning three and drawing one. The team scored 11 goals during his short tenure.

The former Netherlands international and club legend departs along with others from Ten Hag's pre-existing backroom staff.

"Manchester United can confirm that Ruud van Nistelrooy has left the club. Ruud rejoined in the summer and has taken charge of the team for the past four matches as interim head coach.," the club statement said.

"Ruud is, and always will be, a Manchester United legend. We are grateful for his contribution and the way in which he has approached his role throughout his time with the club.

"He will always be very welcome at Old Trafford. Rene Hake, Jelle ten Rouwelaar and Pieter Morel have also departed and we wish them all well for the future.

"We will confirm the full men's first team coaching composition in due course."

Van Nistelrooy was a fan favourite as a player at Old Trafford, scoring 150 goals in 219 appearances over a five-year period.

He was previously head coach at Dutch side PSV Eindhoven, resigning ahead of the final day of the 2022-23 season amid concerns that the team's hierarchy were not backing him.

Meanwhile, Matthijs de Ligt says the biggest challenge facing Amorim is to get everyone "on the same wavelength" ahead of a potential tactical switch at Old Trafford.

Amorim is set to implement his 3-4-3 formation when his reign gets underway against Ipswich Town on November 24. He would be the first United boss to regularly play with a three-man defence since Louis van Gaal in 2014.

De Ligt said the squad can adapt to the change if Amorim and his staff can get the players "on the same page."

"I think a back three or a back four, it's in general the same, the only thing of importance is how the team is set up," he said.

"You can play in a back three but if everything is not compact and everybody is doing their own job then it's going to be really difficult, the same in a back four. That's going to be the biggest challenge for the trainers, to get everyone on the same wavelength and same page to improve as a team and improve as players."

Amorim has officially started his new job after flying in from Portugal following his final game in charge of Sporting CP on Sunday.

With most players on international duty or on holiday during the international break, he will have to wait to meet the majority of his squad. Casemiro is among the players who is yet to speak to Amorim, but the Brazilian is backing the appointment.

"We have not spoken, but everyone speaks so well of him," Casemiro said.

"Above all he is very true, very loyal. We cannot ignore how he has changed Sporting. We know that Sporting won many titles, changed the club with titles, with trophies. He has already proved that and has won a lot.

"I think there is going to be a good template that everyone wants to grow, everyone wants to learn. I think that is the way to first help us grow to be at the top of the table."

Information from ESPN's Rob Dawson contributed to this report.

Before we head into the final two-week international break of 2024, the European soccer weekend gave us plenty to talk about! For the first time in his coaching career, Pep Guardiola has lost four straight games in all competitions: what does that say about Manchester City? We also got an emphatic Real Madrid bounce-back win, albeit one that feels like a loss given the serious injury suffered by defender Éder Militão.

Plus, there's plenty to write when it comes to Bayern Munich (who looked better than their 1-0 win over St. Pauli suggests), Liverpool (who won again), Borussia Dortmund (who hurt themselves in defeat to Mainz), Man United (who said goodbye to interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy with a victory) and Roma (who fired their third manager of 2024).

It's Monday, and here is Gab Marcotti reacting to the biggest moments in the world of soccer.

It took him nearly 16 seasons and 940 games, but Pep Guardiola has finally lost four straight games. What does it mean?

As I see it, the four defeats in and of themselves don't mean that much. Losing to Tottenham was in the League Cup and yes, both teams played a bunch of regular starters, but Erling Haaland traveled and was an unused sub. Bournemouth was a bad defeat and a bad performance. Yes, they lost 4-1 at Sporting, but they could easily have scored three in the first half alone. As for Saturday against Brighton? Again, there was potentially a hat trick for Haaland in the first half, and a collapse at both ends late on: defensive errors at the back and 0.29 second-half xG.

In other words, City weren't great in any of these four games, but at least two of them could very well have gone the other way because individual superstars can paper over collective cracks. Then, we wouldn't be having this conversation. That's why performance matters more than results in assessing a team and their prospects, and the reality is that for much of the year, City have been several notches below the standard they set in years past.

After 11 league games and four Champions League outings last season, they had conceded 11 goals. This year, they're up to 17. You can't help but point fingers at the defence, especially since his decision to play with four de facto center-backs is calculated to give his front men more freedom to operate.

Everybody has heard the Rodri stats and yes, his absence looms very large. But let's not overstate it either. It's not as if Rodri goes out and he's replaced by traffic cones. Mateo Kovacic, Rico Lewis and Ilkay Gündogan are quality footballers. There's a scheme in which they can do a better job of filling Rodri's shoes, and Guardiola hasn't found it yet.

Further up the pitch, injuries have played a part too. Phil Foden, the league's Player of the Year last season, has started less than half City's 15 league and Champions League games. Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish, the 100m man, just five; Jérémy Doku, just six. Oskar Bobb, who may not be a superstar, but at least might have eaten up some minutes, has been out all year. And so it feels like the burden falls on the usual shoulders: Bernardo Silva, who is now 30, and Haaland, who has played 96.8% of City's league and European minutes this season.

The upshot is a City side that, especially recently, has looked more jaded, less sharp and less intense. And one that has endured second-half collapses.

Haaland himself is another issue. He's scoring a goal a game this season and nobody is going to argue with that. But we're also accustomed to him overachieving his xG, because that's what superstars do, only this year, he's just under that.

More broadly, it feels like the end of a cycle. Sporting director Txiki Begiristain is leaving in June. Until he signs a new deal -- and so far, he hasn't wanted to commit -- so too will Guardiola. There's the 115 charges hanging over the club: we don't know how they'll go, but the worst case scenario (from a City perspective) is terrifying. The summer transfer window brought Savinho (from another City Football Group club) and the return of Gundogan (for one year, on a free, at 34): hardly the stuff of long-term planning, which, given the circumstances, is understandable.

All this can engender a sense of drift, and it's exactly what Guardiola needs to stave off because the story of City's 2024-25 season has yet to be written. City are second in the Premier League. They're two points out of the top eight in the Champions League and, once they're in the knockouts, nobody will want to face them. After the break, it's Tottenham at home and, especially, Liverpool away on Dec. 1. That's when you can reboot your season.

Éder Militão's injury overshadows Real Madrid's bounce-back win

Real Madrid took out all their frustration following defeats in the Clasico to Barcelona and the Champions League to Milan with a comprehensive 4-0 win over Osasuna.

Vinicius Jr. brought his seasonal goal total to 12 and reminded you why he's always worth having around, despite what the pressing/analytics nerds say. Jude Bellingham also scored and Madridristas will hope it jump-starts his season. It's easy to be critical of the strutting, and he hasn't been near last season's level. It's also worth reminding ourselves that he only turned 21 in the summer and unlike last year, when he played in the hole with the team revolving around him, this year he's being shuffled around the pitch in Carlo Ancelotti's search of balance.

All of this, however, is overshadowed by Éder Militão's ACL injury, coming just seven months after his return from the previous one. There's an individual dimension to this -- first and foremost, you feel for the guy -- and there's a real-world impact on the team too. With Rodrigo and Lucas Vázquez suffering lesser injuries (plus Dani Carvajal and David Alaba already sidelined), Ancelotti ended the game with a back four of Fede Valverde, Antonio Rüdiger, Raúl Asencio and Fran García. Raul who? Yeah, this guy.

It's evident Real Madrid need to go back into the transfer market in January. Going into the season with Rudiger and Eder Militao as the only fit senior central defenders was already a stretch. (Alaba is expected to return later this month, but who knows what condition he'll be in.) That part is non-negotiable, because the only other options here are the aforementioned Asencio and Jesús Vallejo, who has started five games in four years and feels like a guy counting down the days to free agency. They'll also need cover at right-back and a passer in midfield, which is why I still like my Joshua Kimmich idea, but obviously that's subordinate to live bodies on the pitch.

Oh, and for those keeping score at home, yes, Thibaut Courtois and Aurélien Tchouaméni are also injured (though hopefully they'll be back after the break or shortly thereafter).

Antonio Conte rages, but Napoli get a very good point away to Inter to stay top of Serie A

Actually, the Napoli manager wasn't raging about the game, but about the penalty awarded to Inter, which Hakan Çalhanoğlu smacked against the post -- his first missed spot kick in Serie A after converting 19 straight. Çalhanoğlu's mistake meant it had no impact on the game, but it did raise a philosophical VAR-related point: there was contact between Franck Zambo-Anguissa and Denzel Dumfries as the former tried to shield the ball, but to Conte (and me) it seemed incidental and certainly not enough to be a foul.

The referee, who was nearby, gave it and VAR did not order an on-field review. Why? Because the match official saw it clearly, because it wasn't a clear and obvious mistake and because in Serie A and elsewhere, one of the guidelines given to VAR officials is that if the referee has a clear view, you should only intervene based on whether contact exists, not on the nature or severity of the contact. The guideline exists to avoid endless re-refereeing and because, as we've all heard before, things look worse in slow motion replays.

I think most of us would agree the penalty shouldn't have been given. Whether VAR should have intervened or not is a different matter and it comes down to whether you want to minimize it or see technology used as often as possible.

I can see both sides. In a perfect world, there would be trust and chemistry between the VAR and the referee and the VAR would say: "Hey, that contact looked kinda light to me ... are you confident in your decision?" And the referee would trust the VAR enough to say yes or no. But hey, the world is an imperfect place.

As for the game itself, Napoli set up very well. Take the penalty out of the mix and Inter's expected goals were 0.76 -- they were only beaten by a Çalhanoğlu worldie. Napoli didn't produce much on the attacking end (just two shots on target), but they didn't need to. Simone Inzaghi served up something different -- when is the last time you saw him make his first sub with only eight minutes to go? -- but with Lautaro Martínez having an off day, it was always going to be a struggle.

Why Chelsea will be happier with Sunday's 1-1 draw than Arsenal

Mikel Arteta was decidedly more grumpy after Arsenal's 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge, possibly because of the late chance that should have fallen to Kai Havertz (but that Leandro Trossard somehow took). Recency bias is only human, after all, and Arsenal could have used the three points, which is why after the game he talked about his team needing to "bare their teeth" and stepping up when "it gets dark and difficult."

This is a bit over the top -- not to mention it's unclear how much of an effect it's going to have heading into an international break. Declan Rice played with a broken toe, Bukayo Saka didn't look particularly fit either and Havertz ran around with a bandaged head. This doesn't feel like a team that's "soft."

In fact, for Arsenal this was more of a "can't lose" than a "must win." Defeat would have meant three losses on the spin in all competitions and dropping down to seventh place alongside Fulham (no disrespect). The draw -- and Martin Odegaard's return from injury -- means you're third and with a different narrative heading into the break.

As for Chelsea, they're also third, albeit with the places behind the top two so tight right now, they could also find themselves 10th after the next round. (So, too, could Arsenal.) More telling, perhaps, is that they have four points more than at the same stage last season and they look more cohesive. On a day when Nico Jackson and Cole Palmer were both subdued, they held their own against Arsenal, who are much further along in their development.

Quick hits

10. Jamal Musiala shines as Bayern hardly break a sweat in St. Pauli win: Yeah, manager Vincent Kompany described it as "tricky", their xG was just 0.80 and they won by a single goal, a gorgeous effort from Musiala. But then, Bayern conceded just three shots (none on target) for an xG of 0.08, with both Harry Kane and Musiala missing gilded chances. It wasn't domination; it was control. That shouldn't be a concern. If you're going to find fault, do it with Leon Goretzka, who had little impact in his first start of the season, or Leroy Sané (also in his first start), who offered even less other than two improbable long range hit-and-hopes. Not sure how often we'll see those two again in the starting lineup.

9. Liverpool aren't perfect, but they're tough and ruthless with room to grow: Saturday's 2-0 win over Aston Villa was far from routine, but a bit like the resounding Bayer Leverkusen victory in midweek (with the visitors' line of three defensive midfielders), it proved Arne Slot could overcome a savvy manager tailoring his set-up to stop the Reds ... and failing. Villa actually had only a couple shots less than Liverpool and according to OPTA, they created more "big chances." Villa boss Unai Emery would not have been displeased at how things were panning out on the pitch and yet, Liverpool hung in there, turning two Villa attacking corners into devastating counterattacks, converted by Darwin Núñez and Mohamed Salah, and that was that. Somehow, they never really looked flustered. It feels like they can get even better, too. Alexis Mac Allister is not yet on last season's level and the chemistry in the attacking third can improve too. On the flip side, Ryan Gravenberch has played every minute of every league and Champions League game this season. He's done it very well and in an entirely new role. Can he sustain this level? If he goes down, can Slot find a solution? Judging by how resourceful their new manager has been, you wouldn't bet against it.

8. Koopmeiners pulls his weight as Juve win derby: Tim Weah and Kenan Yildiz will get the headlines (especially the latter with his ode to Ale Del Piero's 50th birthday celebration), but it's hard to overstate the impact Teun Koopmeiners had on this game. The Dutchman was their big summer signing (from Atalanta) and while there's more to come, he gives Juve calm, quality and physicality. The inconsistency that has marked them all season long? There's less of it when he's on the pitch. Juventus took the lead, battered Torino in the first half (limiting them to 0.02 xG) and then managed the lead after the break, while adding the second goal: just like grown-up teams are supposed to do.

7. Ruud van Nistelrooy says goodbye with a win, and Alejandro Garnacho is grumpy: Two different emotions were on show at Old Trafford this weekend. First, interim manager Van Nistelrooy leaves with humility and with his resume somewhat burnished. His stint felt Hippocratic in nature: "Above all, do no harm," and he didn't: he tightened things up and let the fact that United have better players than most of their opponents make the difference. Let Ruben Amorim do the heavy lift of philosophy and tactics and being the Messiah. Garnacho came on as a substitute and scored a tremendous goal, but did not celebrate. According to Bruno Fernandes, he was annoyed at the criticism he received from some of the Old Trafford crowd. It's weird to see, but to me it's not a big deal. He's not paid to celebrate; he's paid to perform and if acting like this helps him channel his emotions, go ahead. It's not disrespectful to the fans though in the long run, the "chip-on-your-shoulder" schtick gets a little old.

6. Xabi Alonso isn't a one-season wonder, but how he bounces back will say a lot about him: This weekend's draw against Bochum and newly installed coach Dieter Hecking makes it one win in eight league and Champions League games for Xabi Alonso and Bayer Leverkusen. Coming on the heels of the 4-0 spanking at Anfield, this performance was arguably worse. Bochum had one point and nine eight defeats going into this game. Their equalizer came later, but it was not undeserved, as evidenced by the xG (0.51 to 0.61) and the fact that they outshot the defending champions. A furious Lukas Hradecky said it "felt like a defeat," while Xabi Alonso said he felt "a sense of deja vu." Last year, everything went their way. This season is a sterner test, because coaches will have periods like this, when little works. He can embrace this situation because you often learn more in adversity than in periods where you get all the breaks. The many clubs who are tracking him will learn more about him, too.

5. Fonseca's game of whack-a-mole continues as Milan held as Cagliari: It was set up nicely. Ride the momentum of the Real Madrid win into victory away to Cagliari, who were coming off three straight defeats. Give the 16-year-old phenom Francesco Camarda his first start in place of the unavailable Álvaro Morata and, now that he was off the naughty step, unleash Rafael Leão. The latter two came to fruition (Leao scored twice and was, at times, unplayable: his return to the fold is a major coup... if it lasts). The first did not, as Milan paid a hefty price for poor defending and individual mistakes (like Youssouf Fofana's back pass). And now, just as he gets to grip with the attack (3.20 xG on the road is a lot), he has another riddle to solve: tightening up a back line that suddenly looks leaky.

4. Roberto De Zerbi is very close to jumping the shark: His brand of football is fun to watch and effective and in his early Brighton days, he came across as passionate, but humble. With Pep Guardiola's endorsement he looked like a rising star in the coaching ranks. He's still a hugely gifted coach, but he may want to work on his PR. The sulky way things ended at Brighton -- not a club where coaches often fall out -- did him no favours, but he's taken it up a notch at Marseille. L'Equipe reported that upon arriving at the club, he showed his players a photo of a contract offer he received from Manchester United, one he turned down to work with them instead. And after losing at home to Auxerre, 3-1, he said: "If I'm the problem, I'm ready to leave. I'll leave the money and hand back my contract." Here's the thing. A-list clubs, like the ones he presumably wants to manage one day, generally don't like it when you make confidential contract offers public; they like it even less when you throw hissy fits and threaten to quit in post-game press conferences. Marseille are third in Ligue 1 and with no European football, he has plenty of time to work and chase Paris Saint-Germain. Get on with that and everything will be fine. But if you act unhinged, you won't be helping yourself.

3. Trust your eyes, or trust the machines? Unpacking Barcelona's loss at Real Sociedad: Without Lamine Yamal, Barcelona looked flat away to Real Sociedad, which is more than understandable. Most of the starters have played a ton of football thus far, and la Real deserve a ton of credit, both defensively and in transition, as evidenced by the number (2.02 xG to 0.64, 14 to 11 in the shot count and Barca with zero shots on target). But the game was also notable for Robert Lewandowski's goal that was struck off by VAR for offside. In real time -- and on the video replay -- Lewandowski's foot appears to be ahead of Nayef Aguerd, but in the semi-automatic offside recreation, you just sort of see a black mass of feet. Given the positioning of the players' limbs, it looks as if Lewandowski would need to have massive feet to be beyond Aguerd. Either that or he was playing in clown shoes. Maybe it's the camera angles, who knows? The odd thing is many of us have come to have blind faith in semi-automatic offside, but machines have margins for error too. Incidents like this sow doubt.

2. Emre Can's bad decision changed the game, but Dortmund's horror show not just down to him: Sure, you can't have your veteran captain stand-in center-back getting sent off 27 minutes into the game. That's obvious. But, with Niklas Süle and Waldemar Anton unavailable, Nuri Sahin compounded matters by dropping Felix Nmecha -- who had never played there -- into the back four, rather than trusting one of the young defenders he had on the bench. Nmecha was responsible for two of Mainz's goals in the 3-1 defeat, but more than that, he was put under pressure by the total futility of the front men, who managed just one shot from open play despite having the bulk of the possession. Whatever optimism was generated by their win over Leipzig is dissipating quickly.

1. Not much in the way of clear-eyed thinking at Roma as Juric gets the boot too: A 3-2 defeat at home to Bologna cost Ivan Juric his job this weekend after just 53 days (and 12 games) in charge. The writing was on the wall, though with this ownership, you wonder if a resounding win would have changed the Friedkins' minds. The list of potential successors runs the gamut from Roberto Mancini (fresh off his sacking by Saudi Arabia, though his Lazio past would make it feel weird) to Claudio Ranieri (Roma-born and bred, but the guy is 73 years old) to solutions abroad like Edin Terzic and Frank Lampard. Roma said the search has been underway for the past few days, though you wonder who's doing the searching given the club have no chief executive since Lina Souloukou quit in September and a director of football, Florent Ghisolfi, who speaks no Italian and nobody seems to like (or listen to). What should infuriate fans most though -- other than the constant hiring and firing -- is the lack of direction. In 2024 alone, the club has gone from Jose Mourinho to Daniele De Rossi to Ivan Juric: three totally different profiles who have totally different approaches to the game of football. And now, some other poor soul will come in, presumably going in another direction entirely.

South Carolina was the unanimous No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 women's basketball poll Monday after a pair of victories to kick off its national championship repeat bid while Kansas State joined the top 10 and Stanford and Oregon cracked the first regular-season rankings of the season.

The Gamecocks earned a hard-fought six-point win over Michigan in Las Vegas to open the season and beat then-No. 9 NC State on Sunday by 14. The two victories made the defending champions a unanimous choice from the 31-member national media panel. In the preseason poll, No. 2 UConn got two first-place votes and No. 3 USC one.

The top eight teams in the rankings remained unchanged with Texas and UCLA rounding out the top five. Notre Dame, LSU and Iowa State were next, with Oklahoma ninth and Kansas State 10th. NC State dropped to 13th.

Former Pac-12 schools Stanford and Oregon entered the rankings after impressive starts to their season. The No. 24 Cardinal, under new coach Kate Paye, went 3-0 last week, winning by an average of 41 points. They had been ranked in the preseason poll every year since 2000 until this season.

The No. 25 Ducks come into the poll on the strength of a two-point home win over then-No. 12 Baylor. The victory snapped a 13-game losing streak to ranked opponents for Oregon. The Bears dropped to 17th.

Moving on up

Maryland climbed seven spots to No. 11 after an impressive 85-80 victory over then-No. 11 Duke. This was the Terrapins' first matchup against the Blue Devils since they defeated their former ACC rival 65-55 in the Sweet 16 in 2015. The victory came nearly a year after the Terrapins saw their 13-year run in the poll end last season. Duke fell to 16th.

Falling out

Creighton, Indiana and Florida State all fell out of the poll after early losses. The Bluejays lost at South Dakota State, the Hoosiers at home to Harvard and the Seminoles at Illinois. The Illini joined the poll at No. 23.

Tying greatness

UConn coach Geno Auriemma is one victory behind retired Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer for most career wins with 1,216. He could tie VanDerveer when the Huskies play No. 15 North Carolina on Friday night. If they win then, the potential record-breaking win could come at home Nov. 20 against Fairleigh Dickinson. The Stanford court was named in VanDerveer's honor Sunday.

Game of the week

No. 16 Duke at South Dakota State, Sunday. Coach Kara Lawson is challenging her team early with three of the Blue Devils' first four games on the road. Duke opened at Liberty before playing at Maryland.

Chicago Bears coach Matt Eberflus said Monday that he is still in the process of deciding changes to help the team's struggling offense but made it clear that rookie Caleb Williams will remain the starting quarterback.

"Caleb is our starter," Eberflus said.

Besides the quarterback position, however, "everything is on the table," Eberflus said.

He wasn't ready to disclose those changes on Monday, however.

The Bears coach had acknowledged Sunday after the team's 19-3 loss to the New England Patriots -- its third straight defeat -- that who calls the offensive plays was one of the changes he was considering.

Six days after declaring that Shane Waldron would continue in his role as offensive coordinator after Chicago lost 29-9 at Arizona, Eberflus did not rule out making a change at offensive playcaller after the Bears' struggles were magnified by the Patriots.

Chicago has not reached the end zone in back-to-back games and has gone 23 straight offensive drives without a touchdown, which marks the longest active streak in the NFL. The Bears' last touchdown was Roschon Johnson's 1-yard go-ahead score in Chicago's 18-15 loss to Washington on a last-second Hail Mary in Week 8.

Williams was sacked nine times by the Patriots, which brings his total from the past three games to 18. During Chicago's recent losing streak, Williams has logged his three highest-pressure-percentage games of his career.

Williams, the first overall pick in this year's NFL draft, completed 16 of his 30 pass attempts for 120 yards, his lowest passing output since throwing for 93 yards in his NFL debut against the Titans. Collectively, Chicago's offense was 1-of-14 on third down (7%), its worst mark since 2012.

Williams is backed up by veteran Tyson Bagent.

Waldron was hired in January 2024 after the Bears fired former offensive coordinator Luke Getsy after two seasons. Getsy, who was hired by the Raiders shortly thereafter, was fired last week amid Las Vegas' 2-7 start.

Waldron served in the same role for the Seattle Seahawks from 2021 to '23, which coincided with quarterback Geno Smith's career resurgence in 2022, when he was named the league's Comeback Player of the Year.

ESPN's Courtney Cronin contributed to his report.

Kansas remained atop the first Associated Press Top 25 men's college basketball poll of the regular season after winning a matchup of basketball bluebloods, while Gonzaga and Auburn cracked the top five after impressive opening-week wins and St. John's joined the rankings.

The Jayhawks received 44 of 62 first-place votes after a home win against North Carolina, a game that saw Kansas blow a 20-point lead but hold on for a 92-89 win. That kept them ahead of Alabama and two-time reigning national champion UConn in an unchanged 1-2-3 lineup in the poll, with the Crimson Tide getting six first-place votes and the Huskies getting seven.

Mark Few's Zags moved up two spots to No. 4 after blowing out then-No. 8 Baylor to open the season, then pushing past Arizona State. Next came Bruce Pearl's Tigers, who jumped six spots to No. 5 for the week's biggest leap after beating then-No. 4 Houston. The Zags and Tigers earned the remaining five first-place votes.

Auburn was the only new arrival in a largely reshuffled top 10, with Duke rising one spot to No. 6 to lead the next group. Iowa State was seventh, followed by Houston, Arizona and North Carolina, which fell one spot after the loss at KU's Allen Fieldhouse.

WELCOME BACK

St. John's jumping in at No. 22 marked a notable return for two reasons. It marks the Red Storm's first appearance since spending a week at No. 24 in January 2019, but it also marks a return for Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino.

This is the first time a Pitino-coached team has appeared in the AP Top 25 since the final poll of the 2016-17 season when he was at Louisville. Pitino was fired shortly before the next season amid a federal corruption investigation into college basketball, which had entangled the Cardinals and multiple other programs.

Pitino spent three seasons at Iona (2020-23) before taking over at St. John's before last season.

WHO'S IN; WHO'S OUT

No. 21 Ohio State joined St. John's as the week's new arrivals, marking the Buckeyes' first appearance since January 2023.

Texas (No. 19) and UCLA (No. 22) fell out from the preseason poll.

RISING UP

After Auburn, Kentucky had the week's next-biggest jump by rising four spots to No. 19 to start Mark Pope's tenure, while No. 15 Marquette and No. 17 Cincinnati were next by climbing three spots.

In all, 13 teams climbed from their preseason-poll position.

FALLING DOWN

Texas A&M took the week's biggest tumble, falling 10 spots to No. 23 after losing at UCF to open the season. Houston joined No. 12 Baylor by falling four spots after losses against ranked opponents.

In all, seven teams slid from the previous poll.

CONFERENCE WATCH

The Southeastern Conference led with eight ranked teams, including No. 11 Tennessee, No. 18 Arkansas under new coach John Calipari, No. 20 Florida and No. 25 Ole Miss.

The Big 12 is next with six teams, followed by the Big East and Big Ten with four each. The Atlantic Coast Conference has two, while the West Coast Conference has one.

NEW YORK -- Now that Aaron Boone knows he's returning to the New York Yankees as manager for the 2025 season, his focus will be on convincing Juan Soto to join him.

Boone on Monday confirmed he will join the Yankees' delegation -- led by owner Hal Steinbrenner -- traveling to California next week for a meeting with Soto, the top free agent in this winter's class. Soto is also scheduled to meet with a New York Mets contingent that includes owner Steve Cohen.

"Obviously, what Juan did for us between the lines this year was pretty special," said Boone, whose club option for the 2025 season was exercised last week. "But, equally, I was just impressed with the person. Really getting to know him and getting to manage him was a pleasure. So, I will be there next week. I certainly would love to have him back. Obviously, I want him in pinstripes moving forward."

Soto's combination of age, he turned 26 during the World Series, and hitting prowess make him arguably the most coveted position player in free agency since Alex Rodriguez in 2000. He is expected to sign a contract north of $500 million, perhaps surpassing Shohei Ohtani's heavily deferred $700 million deal in deferral-adjusted AAV and present-day total value.

The Toronto Blue Jays, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies are among other potential landing spots, but the Mets and Yankees are widely considered the favorites, sources told ESPN.

"Who knows where it ends up," Boone said. "All I know is that we'll try and put our best foot forward with it and hope that Juan's back. But also know that whatever happens, I'm confident that the Steinbrenner family and the front office are going to do everything possible to put us in a position to have another strong team, another team that has a chance to compete for a championship."

Soto thrived in his one season in New York. Traded with Trent Grisham from the San Diego Padres to the Yankees for five players last December, Soto authored a dream platform year. The right fielder belted a career-high 41 home runs while finishing second in the majors behind teammate Aaron Judge in on-base percentage, third in OPS, third in wRC+ and fourth in fWAR during the regular season.

He continued his excellence in October. His go-ahead, three-run home run in the 10th inning of Game 5 of the American League Championship Series sent the Yankees to the World Series for the first time since 2009. He then went 5-for-16 with seven walks and a home run in the World Series, which the Dodgers won in five games. Overall, he batted .327 with four home runs and a 1.102 OPS in 14 postseason games.

Combined with his everyday theatrics, Soto became a beloved figure in the Bronx. Next week, the Yankees will make a pitch to continue the partnership for years to come.

"I think let it be organic and let the meeting go where it needs to go," Boone said. "I'm sure maybe he'll have questions now that he is a free agent [or wants] to address certain things. But I'm just going to go in there and be myself and confident in my relationship with Juan and certainly, hopefully, cement the point of how valuable and how much we think of him -- not only as a player, but as a person."

Whether Soto returns or not, Boone will lead the Yankees in 2025. Beyond that, however, is unknown. The manager said he has not discussed a contract extension with the organization.

"We'll see if there's any more dialogue that goes on," Boone said. "We'll see in that regard. But, regardless, I'm excited to be back and excited to get to lead this crew again."

Boone acknowledged there will be one change to his coaching staff "for sure" and possibly more, though he declined to share details.

THIRTY-FIVE YEARS AGO, a single sentence from baseball commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti still reverberates: "The matter of Mr. Rose is now closed." Those words, which cemented Pete Rose's lifetime ban for gambling on the team he managed, landed like a gavel in August 1989: authoritative, unambiguous, final -- and yet wholly untrue.

Rose was 83 years old when he died on Sept. 30. On Sunday, he was laid to rest after a 14-hour public viewing at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. For the final three and a half decades of his life, the matter of Mr. Rose was never closed. He stood as an avatar; like so many celebrities, the public believed he reflected something important inside of them. Rose was akin to being the 536th member of Congress, representing no single district but rather all of them. By the end, he had symbolized every shading of the myths of American exceptionalism, the traits this country has always believed make it different -- and better -- than everyone else.

Ulster prop Tom O'Toole will miss Ireland's Test against Argentina at the Aviva Stadium on Friday night.

The 26-year-old replaced Finlay Bealham after 58 minutes in the 23-13 loss to the All Blacks last week, but lasted only two minutes before a head injury forced him off.

With Tadhg Furlong, who missed out against New Zealand with a hamstring injury, still a doubt to face the Pumas, Leinster's Tom Clarkson could be in line for an Ireland debut.

The 24-year-old has played 47 times for his province and was initially included in the squad for the November as a 'training panellist'.

Andy Farrell's side have fallen to third in the world rankings after their latest defeat, a third in their past five games dating back to the Six Nations.

I think it's only natural that theres a bit of hurt, but theres no anger, said Aled Walters, the side's head of athletic performance.

Its a group that doesnt seem to be used to losing all that much, its probably an environment thats been immediately down in the changing room but as I understand, Faz [Farrell] is pretty good at getting things back on track fairly quickly, and the coaches and leaders the same. They were pretty good today.

"It's how quickly you can summarise and understand what went wrong. We came in yesterday and got started, a lot of that was understanding what didn't work.

"It's pretty clear what we need to get right in order to function and be at our best."

The Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward Kevin Hayes on injured reserve Monday with an upper-body injury.

The move is retroactive to his last appearance on Nov. 5, meaning he could return Wednesday against Detroit.

Coach Mike Sullivan told reporters Sunday, however, that Hayes is considered week-to-week.

Hayes, 32, has three goals and one assist through 14 games in his first season with the Penguins.

He has 419 points (171 goals, 248 assists) in 727 games with five teams since being drafted in the first round in 2010.

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Max Pacioretty is considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury and was placed on injured reserve Monday, the team announced.

TSN reported Monday that Pacioretty will be sidelined "for a while."

Pacioretty, 35, sustained the injury in the first period of Saturday's game against the Montreal Canadiens. He grabbed his left thigh after taking a cross-check to the back from Habs defenseman Mike Matheson. Pacioretty had to be helped off the ice and to the locker room.

Pacioretty has six points (two goals, four assists) in 13 games this season, his first in Toronto.

He has 674 points (332 goals, 342 assists) across 17 seasons with five teams, most notably the Canadiens from 2008 to 2018. Montreal drafted him in the first round in 2007.

The Leafs also announced that forwards Max Domi and William Nylander were absent from practice Monday due to maintenance.