When you think of teams with multiple All-Stars, you think of dominance -- the Jazz, the Lakers, the Nets. The Celtics have two All-Stars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, but after Wednesday night's blowout loss to the Hawks, Boston is in last place in the Atlantic Division.

Team president Danny Ainge isn't ready to throw his star tandem under the bus, however.

"I wish I had answers for you. I don't," Ainge said on 98.5 The Sports Hub Thursday. "I do believe in my players. I like them all individually. I think they have good futures. I just think right now our team is in a major funk."

Funk might not be a strong enough word to describe Wednesday's game. Coming off a heartbreaking loss to the Mavericks, the Celtics were down 13 after one quarter and 23 at the half. They allowed the most 3-pointers in team history.

Brown had 17 points for the Celtics and missed all six of his 3-point attempts. Tatum was held to 13 points on 4-of-20 shooting and was just 1-of-8 from long range.

The Celtics have now lost three in a row to fall two games below .500. They've dropped eight of 11 games overall and are on the outside looking in at the playoffs.

"Here's what the biggest thing about Jaylen and Jayson is," Ainge said. "They've been shielded before because they've had other really good players, veterans around them as they developed -- and went to three out of four Eastern Conference (finals).

"Now, it's on them. Now, they're the stars. And they've got the big contracts. And they got the All-Star nods. So the microscope is on them."

Kemba Walker is one of those veteran All-Stars. Coming off a career-year in Charlotte, Boston signed him to a four-year, $141 million deal before last season. He put up solid numbers and took some heat off Brown and Tatum.

This year, a knee injury has limited him to 16 games. His scoring average is his worst in five years and he's shooting just 37.5 percent from the floor. The Celtics held him out of Wednesday's game to avoid a back-to-back, and Boston got throttled.

Like he did last week, Ainge is saying that the issues with the Celtics are on him more than his young stars or coach Brad Stevens.

"This is a me problem," Ainge said. "I'm saying that I love my two young guys, they're not perfect, and they're learning, and this adversity is part of their growth and development - not intentionally, it's just the nature of the beast."

But Ainge said he's not trying to make excuses.

"We're playing terribly," he said. "We don't have a good enough team -- in my opinion."

He added that he's not looking to make a change for change's sake, "but I am looking to do something that will make a difference on our team."

The Celtics' first chance to get back on track comes Friday at home against a struggling Pacers team. Then it's the resurgent Wizards in town Sunday before games against the Clippers, Raptors and Nets.

Bradley Beal, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, James Harden, Kyrie Irving -- the Celtics will face plenty of All-Stars and will quickly find out if their duo measures up.

"I think they both hold themselves accountable," Ainge said of Brown and Tatum. "You're talking about two hard-working kids that are trying to get better. And this is a very frustrating time for them."

Francisco Lindor continues to endear himself to the fan base of his new team, rocking a replica of the New York Mets jacket worn by Eddie Murphy in the classic movie "Coming to America" while making his entrance at the team's spring training facility Thursday morning.

Francisco Lindor wearing the jacket from Coming to America at spring training https://t.co/rqwsyw3HtI pic.twitter.com/gpfAfZRTTX

— joon (@joonlee) February 25, 2021

"Good morning, my neighbors," Lindor says in a video tweeted by the Mets, repeating the iconic line Murphy's character, Prince Akeem Joffer, yells from the balcony of his Queens apartment in the 1988 comedy.

The sequel to "Coming to America" -- called "Coming 2 America" -- is scheduled for digital release on March 5 via Amazon.

The four-time All-Star shortstop came to New York this offseason, along with starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco, after the Mets traded infielders Amed Rosario and Andres Gimenez, along with minor leaguers Isaiah Greene and Josh Wolf, to the Cleveland Indians.

New Balance recently made Lindor a rare baseball player with a signature sneaker, announcing on Monday the release of the Lindor 1, part of the brand's first-ever MLB sneaker and apparel collection.

Lindor has embraced Mets culture so far, rocking blue hair, but his contract status with the team remains a question, with the shortstop scheduled to hit free agency after the season.

"We haven't found the time [to negotiate], and I obviously have to get to know the organization, get to know the people, and they have to get to know me," Lindor said Monday about a potential extension with the Mets. "If something comes up, we'll see in the future; that is between my agent and Sandy [Alderson, team president] and the rest of the staff. It's been nonexistent, the conversations. It's too early, I think."

PINELLAS PARK, Fla. – Defending Dave Steele World Non-Wing Sprint Car Championship 125 winner Kody Swanson will participate in this weekend’s 125-lap, $5,000-to-win event.

Until Thursday, it was uncertain if Swanson would attempt to defend his event title.

Swanson has been busy lately, to say the least. He competed in super and pro late model events at New Smyrna Speedway as part of its annual World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing. Swanson picked up a pro late model feature victory and captured the Pro Late Model World Series championship.

Swanson wasn’t sure if he would be able to participate in this weekend’s event. He and his Doran Racing team, however, have been thrashing to get the car ready to head to Florida.

“The winter always goes by faster than you’d like,” explained Swanson. “Getting some parts back and things like that, that maybe didn’t fit quite like you planned, or just little things that snowball, set us behind. Hopefully by now we have all that addressed and get down there and have a good weekend.”

With getting a late start on this year’s event, Swanson knows track time for him will be limited until racing begins Friday night.

“It would be great to have more track time, but with the way things unfolded, we didn’t have a chance to get down there like maybe we would have liked to do,” Swanson noted. “What is nice is we have good notes from last year. We have a little bit of experience from last year. It seems like the track down there can fluctuate a little bit. Hopefully, we’ll have a decent starting spot.”

On Monday night, veteran Florida car owner Mac Steele, the late Dave Steele’s father, announced that he and his wife Carol will award a $500 bonus to the fast qualifier for Saturday’s 125-lap finale.

“Dave is somebody obviously I looked up to as a competitor. We were friends and teammates at one point in time. Its great to have support from Mac and Carol for an event like this and speaks volumes about them,” noted Swanson. “They continue to make efforts to give back to the racers. That’s really cool. I’m really looking forward to coming down and being a part of the event.”

Swanson will pilot the potent Doran Racing No. 77 Beast chassis powered by a Bill Tranter built V-6 engine. To date, it marks the only V-6 entered in this year’s event and is the same car Swanson captured last year’s event with.

The event kicks off with a preliminary event Friday night that will include eight-lap heat races and a 30-lap feature.

Showtime Speedway officials have amended one item from last year’s Little 500 rules that this weekend’s event is being governed by.

The current rule of offset on the right side of the car, measured from the cent of the rear end to the outside of the right rear tire, is 43 inches.

Showtime Speedway will give an additional inch, making the rule for the weekend 44 inches of offset.

The ten-wicket win, well inside two days, in the pink-ball Test in Ahmedabad has not only given India an unassailable 2-1 lead in the four-Test series, it's given them a clear shot at qualifying for the inaugural World Test Championship final, to be played at Lord's from June 18. The result in the third Test also means that it's now a two-horse race to meet New Zealand in the final - Australia vs India - with England's hopes lying in tatters.

The target for both India and England, before the series, was to top Australia's points percentage of 69.17. England, having slipped to 64.1 after the latest reversal, cannot get there, but India can, unless England spoil their party in the final exchange.

What India need to do to reach the final

As things stand, India are actually ahead of New Zealand on points percentage. India have 71.0 (490 overall) compared to New Zealand's 70.0 (420). In terms of the WTC final, India's target, even before the series had started, was to earn 70 points - having come into the third Test with 30 points for a win and a loss, they needed to win the series 2-1 or 3-1.

They are now at 2-1, but…

What if India lose the final Test?

There, that's the only way they can't make the WTC final, which means that though they are out of the hunt themselves, Joe Root's boys can be killjoys for Virat Kohli's team, and make Tim Paine and Co very happy. A 2-1 (with a draw in the final Test) or 3-1 scoreline does the job for India, while 2-2, the only other possibility, isn't good enough for them.

What about the possibility of points being docked…?

A 3-1 series win will be perfect for India, and they don't have to worry about being docked points for slow over-rates or anything else. Australia might have avoided a lot of the uncertainty had they not dropped four points because of a slow over-rate against India in the Boxing Day Test. Had that not happened, Australia would have been level with New Zealand on 70, which would then have brought the runs-per-wicket ratio into play (that is the ratio of the runs scored per wicket lost, and the runs conceded per wicket taken). Australia's ratio is currently 1.39 while New Zealand's is 1.28.

This means Australia would have stayed ahead of New Zealand, and would have been certain of qualification. Now, they will need England to help them out, if they can.

Importantly for India, the WTC rules state that even if the Ahmedabad stadium gets an unfavourable rating from the ICC - the Test got over in under two days, with spinners running amok - the team, India, will not be affected.

Welcome to day two of our live report of the third India-England Test from Ahmedabad. Join us for updates, analysis and colour. You can find our traditional ball-by-ball commentary here

*Most recent entry will appear at the top, please refresh your page for the latest updates. All times are local

7.55pm: All over!

India 145 (Rohit 66, Root 5-8) and 49 for 0 (Rohit 25*, Gill 15*) beat England 112 (Crawley 53, Patel 6-38) and 81 (Patel 5-32) by 10 wickets
Well, who would have thought? The result looked likely last night but the time frame? India run away with victory by 10 wickets late on the second day of this third Test to take a 2-1 series lead and a step closer to a berth in the WTC final, in the process ruining any chance of England featuring in that showcase against New Zealand at Lord's. On a day when 17 wickets fell, India resumed on 99 for 3 but were bowled out for 145, a first-innings lead of just 33. But then England managed just 81 in their second innings, even worse than their paltry 112 from the first as Axar Patel claimed another five-for and 11 for the match and R Aswhin passed 400 Test wickets with his seventh for the match. That left the hosts needing just 49 runs in their second innings and they got there with ease, Rohit bringing up the winning runs with a six off Root.

7.30pm: Poor pitch would not cost India WTC points, say ICC

Nagraj Gollapudi is on the case for the race...

In case the Ahmedabad pitch is rated poor by the ICC, it will not hurt India's standing in the World Test Championship.

Currently India are in the race for the second finalist spot in the WTC final, along with England and Australia. In 2019 the ICC had cautioned member boards from doctoring pitches to the home team's advantage in the WTC, saying points could be at stake.

However ESPNcricinfo has confirmed that India would not be docked any points even in the case of the Ahmedabad pitch were to be rated poor.

The WTC playing conditions states: "If a match is abandoned and the pitch and/or outfield is ultimately rated as 'Unfit' under the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process, points for that match shall be distributed on the basis that the visiting team won the match and the home team lost the match. Any abandoned match will be classified as a drawn match for statistical purposes."

6.53pm: A costly first foray for England, India need 38

A tricky two-over spell at the top of India's innings before the dinner break, but they'll be happy enough with their start. England hand the new ball to Jack Leach and Joe Root, unsurprisingly, but it's James Anderson who makes the main mark by misfielding at point to gift Rohit two runs to get off the mark. Root then turns one down the leg side, and not even Foakes can intercept that. Eleven precious runs squandered in the blink of an eye.

6.35pm: Pitch battle in prospect as India are set 49 to win

Whatever happens from here, this Test is destined to be done and dusted in two days. And Nagraj Gollapudi isn't entirely impressed, with the batting as much as the conditions.

Three days before the pink ball Test Rohit Sharma said it was time to move away from the pitch debate that followed the first two matches of the England series, played in Chennai. However, another dry turner in Ahmedabad is now threatening to get over in two days. Two days, yes. And just two wickets have been taken so far by the fast bowlers of the 30 to fall overall.

So, whether Rohit and India like it or not, the pitch debate is not going away. The ball has been turning from ball one, literally, with both of India's primary spinners - R Ashwin and Axar Patel - taking a wicket off the first ball of England's innings this Test. The first time in over 100 years such a feat has been achieved.

On social media and elsewhere, especially outside India, the chatter is about whether the pitch in Ahmedabad is a poor one. The jury is not out yet. Primarily because the bounce at Motera has remained true on the red-soil pitch where cloud bursts of dust have been captured vividly on the TV. Stark images, yes, but the other key question that cricketing pundits have been discussing is the manner in which batsmen of both teams have poorly handled spin bowling.

The backbone of playing spin has always been good defence which involves reading the length of the spinner, moving close to it to smother it or drive it, and committing to moving your feet so that you can play on the front as well as back. Barring Rohit to an extent, none of the other batsmen did that with any command so far this match.

But the question will be asked: is the Ahmedabad pitch poor? It definitely is average to say the least, how can it not be if a five-day Test is done in two? For the second time this series, ICC match referee Javagal Srinath has to make that difficult call as he is the adjudicator. It is not an easy job, clearly. Whatever call Srinath will take is not going to be universally liked.

The question of home match officials during the pandemic has been a difficult call for the ICC, but the global body might want to rethink appointing neutral match referees for such marquee series to remove any perception of bias.

6.30pm: Drop everything, right this minute

6.05pm: 400 for Ashwin! England are down and mostly out

Another flurry from India's master spinner. Pope plays round a straight one for the second time in the match, poking down the wrong line from round the wicket once again, then Archer unfurls the sweep to a ball that's far too full for the shot. Nailed on the shin, and sent on his way. It's down to Stuart Broad's long handle and Ben Foakes' understated nous to salvage this scenario ... or should I say Jack Leach, who has just pounded only the second six of the match, clean over long-on. The other six was hit by ... Ishant Sharma!

5.47pm: Root and Stokes are gone, are England sunk?

Another flurry of massive moments in this match - how many more can we accommodate today? First, Joe Root survives a huge appeal for lbw on 16, as Axar thumps his pad with another slider, on the line of off stump. He's pushing forward, bat and pad together, but seems to indicate to Stokes that he hasn't hit it before reluctantly opting to review. Just as well he did, because the third umpire reckons there's a small spike on Snicko, and a slight deviation of the ball into the pad before it strikes. It's the sort of marginal call that tends to stay on-field, but who knows, perhaps Root's grumping to the match referee last night has done the trick. Shamsudeen certainly assesses all the angles.

Minutes later, however, Stokes has no such recourse. He had just begun to up the ante, unfurling his range of sweeps, slogs and reverses to give England some precious momentum. But then, on 25, he's done in by that man Ashwin again, pressing forward, trying to smother the spin, but stuffed as the ball skids on yet again. It's his 11th dismissal to Ashwin, no-one's been done in more. And a similar mode of dismissal pins Root to the crease too, on 19, as Axar's slider finds his knee-roll to seal the first ten-wicket haul by an Indian spinner for five years. Ben Foakes and Ollie Pope have the challenge of piecing together a defendable lead. Their current advantage of 23 isn't going to cut it.

5.15pm: This is the game, right here, right now

England have clawed their way to parity, but they've lost a third wicket in getting there. Dom Sibley had played within himself while the mayhem was taking place at the other end - assuming that's not a tautology. But then, suddenly and without warning, he too planted that front dog for a massive wipe across the line at Ashwin. The shot was arguably the correct one - the ball was outside the line of off so lbw wasn't on. Unfortunately, this was not one that skidded, it bit violently for Pant to cling onto a blinder behind the stumps. Sibley thought he hadn't hit it, but there was a lot of grumbling on Snicko as the ball passed bat, and he has to walk. Which brings Ben Stokes out to join Joe Root. England's two best batsmen, united in a bid to post something, anything, defendable. Don't blink!

4.30pm: Just stop right now, this is nonsense!

Axar Patel with the hard, shiny new ball. Tight line, tight length, unplayable mind-games for England's recently pumped-up cricketers. First ball, to Zak Crawley. Skitters through a back-foot block, smashing the top of middle as he pokes hopelessly along any old line, not knowing whether to cover the one that turns or the one that skids. And manages neither. One ball later, Jonny Bairstow, on a pair, plants the front dog for a monstrous slog sweep and misses everything. The finger is straight up, Axar has a Test hat-trick after his final wicket in the first innings! But no! Bairstow reviews, and somehow the ball is shown to be skimming over the bails. No matter... cos one ball later, Bairstow pokes feebly onto the front foot, this time covering the spin and losing his leg stump as the ball skids once more! Just for good measure, Joe Root is beaten by a ripper in the same over. This is unconscionable japes. Who has any idea where this one goes next...

Sampath, meanwhile, has snuffled out a splendid factoid about poor old Bairstow.

Most ducks for England vs India in Tests:

5 - Jonny Bairstow
4 - Stuart Broad, Matthew Hoggard, Andrew Flintoff

Bairstow's last 7 Test innings against India: 0, 0, 18, 0, 0, 6, 0

3.30pm: I can't make sense of this, so I've called in the brains trust

Wild goings-on in the first session today, as India collapse from 98 for 2 last night to 145 all out, with Joe Root taking the first five-for by an England captain since Bob Willis in 1983. Here are our resident prognosticators, George and Karthik, to read the runes of a remarkable collapse.

Andrew Miller: So gentlemen. What on earth are we witnessing, and what does it mean for all our first-day projections?

George Dobell: A weekend off.

Karthik Krishnaswamy Joe Root is doing a Michael Clarke at Mumbai here

AM: Indeed. When wickets offer excessive movement, seam or spin alike, they tend to reduce the gap between the best exponents and the rest. But can we ever have imagined this scenario after England's first-day traumas?

GD: Look, I don't know what a match-defining first-innings lead would have been. 100 would have been. Maybe as few as 50. But 30-35? No way. The game - the series - is still alive.

AM: Karthik, you mentioned the ball that didn't turn as being the secret of Axar's success, which it has been for Leach this morning. But Root, he's served up two snorters. What's going on?

KK: Root bowled a few of these in Chennai too. I thought he underbowled himself in the second innings. I'm still trying to process everything, but it feels like the skiddiness of the surface (or, as Axar Patel suggested yesterday, the pink ball) is taking out a lot of shots, so scoring runs is as hard as staying in. It's become a bit of a lottery as to whether the ball is going to turn or skid. It's very much alive, especially with India batting last.

GD: Batting last will, no doubt, be difficult. So India won't want to be chasing even 150. Zak Crawley's comments last night seem spot on. India struggling to get 200 was possible. But this is pretty extreme...

KK: The range of what is a good length is wider on this pitch than in Chennai, where there was more bounce and consequently less risk of lbw/bowled.

AM: Is that why we've seen fewer sweeps in this Test than the first two? It does seem batsmen are getting bogged down more (Crawley and Rohit aside)

KK: Yeah, you can't sweep from the line of the stumps here, as Rohit Sharma found out. Crawley and Rohit scored most of their runs against the quicker bowlers too.

AM: So, what does a surface like this look in the fourth innings? What does this much-vaunted red soil do once it's been pounded for a few days?

KK: From what sketchy knowledge I have, red soil tends to crumble rather than crack.

AM: Does that take the edge off the turn? Sounds like cracks would lend more to uneven bounce?

KK: Depends on how evenly it crumbles, if that makes any sense. But at this ground, the deteriorating red soil has often tended to slow the pitch down.

AM: So, all bets are off as to what happens from here. Sounds about right for a pink-ball Test!

GD: It could be one innings defines things from here. And that one innings could be someone chancing their arm for an hour. It's tough out there, for sure, but as tough as the scorecard shows? I'm not sure.

KK: I think Ashwin using his feet a couple of times briefly unsettled the bowlers. Batsman can't afford to keep getting stuck in their crease.

And against Axar, I think Ben Foakes showed there's a way to play by playing inside the line and assuming the ball will go on straight, and hope that if it turns, it beats you by a distance and misses the stumps too. Easier said than done, but it's broadly what they'll have to try to do.

AM: Ben Stokes hasn't used his feet for a few weeks. Maybe it will goad him into a response...

GD: England have to bat better in their second innings. Can they do that?

3.16pm: Did I say England were flat...?

Autocorrect was clearly kicking in ... because Joe Root has just bowled Washington Sundar for a duck with another utter snorter. Round the wicket, oodles of undercut from his round-arm action, pitching off, kicking and straightening, flicking the top of the stump. England are ecstatic, and suddenly India's innings is taking on very similar proportions to England's ... 74 for 2 to 112 all out; 98 for 2 to 125 for 7 ... MAKE THAT EIGHT! Because Axar Patel has just mashed his first delivery straight at short cover! Root has three without conceding a run. There's pink-ball magic happening right here, right now!

3.11pm: Rootin' tootin'! This has turned on a dime!

Extraordinary scenes in Ahmedabad. One comes Joe Root for his first bowl of the match, and he serves up an absolute snorter to the left-handed Rishabh Pant - a huge ripper out of the rough, that flicks the edge and nestles in Ben Foakes' ninja-quick gloves. England have three wickets in the blink of an eye, and this lead isn't looking quite so insurmountable now ... what can Ashwin and Washington Sundar marshall from the rest of the innings? Even a 50-run lead could prove to be priceless.

3.04pm: Leach at the double and now it's game on!

Well now things have got interesting... Rohit Sharma yawns into a sweep-shot, but is deceived once again by the ball that doesn't bite. The ball skids under his bat, thumping him almost on the hip as he gets low into his stroke, and up goes the finger once more. He reviews, but to no avail... that's smashing off stump, and though Ashwin scored a century in his last Test outing, England know they have a sniff now.

2.53pm: Leach skids one through, Rahane goes!

There's the moment that England so desperately needed. The persevering Jack Leach bags his third of the innings, and it's a familiar mode of dismissal for the match so far - the one that doesn't turn does the trick, as Rahane shapes to cut and is slammed on the knee-roll in front of off stump. Rishabh Pant arrives - never one to stand on ceremony, especially when Leach is in his sights. Buckle up!

2.45pm: India take the lead without alarm

Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane are into their day's work, with the morning's first objective chalked up without fuss. They've rumbled into the lead, with a brace of fours through the covers off James Anderson lifting Rohit into the sixties, while Rahane picked off Jack Leach with a sweep behind square - the sort of shot that England were unable to produce against Axar Patel's more brisk offerings. It's a hot afternoon, and England look pretty flat already. Ominous signs.

1.50pm: Can England claw their way back from here?

Morning/afternoon all. Welcome back to Ahmedabad where Zak Crawley, for one, insists England are still fighting for this title. But they've got to go to Motera and get something, which is going to be easier said than done after the debacle of a first day that they endured on Wednesday. India have all but over-run their first-innings total of 112, with seven wickets in hand and with Rohit Sharma looking ominously poised once more. Can they pull off a mini-blinder and keep the deficit to within 150 runs? Their hopes of making history may rest on it. Sit tight!

One observer who isn't anticipating any miracles, however, is our very own prophet of doom, George Dobell, who believes England have reaped what they have sown in their feckless display against spin bowling. As for winning the toss and getting rumbled inside 50 overs after batting first, that's a rare achievement - although not so rare in England's recent experience, as S Rajesh notes.

Six athletes have been added to the British team for the European Indoor Championships but 800m star Giles will no longer compete

Elliot Giles has pulled out of the European Indoor Championships to focus on training for the summer season. However, the British team for the March 4-7 event in Toruń, Poland, has increased after half a dozen additional field events entries were accepted by European Athletics.

They include long jumper Jazmin Sawyers (pictured), who jumped 6.50m in Belgrade on Wednesday – her best indoor mark for four years.

High jumpers Morgan Lake, Joel Khan and Emily Borthwick also join the team. Lake jumped 1.96m in Belgrade this week to go equal third in the European rankings this season, while Borthwick and Khan jumped PBs of 1.87m and 2.23m respectively at the British trials this month to earn their first senior GB call-ups.

In addition, pole vaulter Charlie Myers and shot putter Amelia Strickler have been rewarded for their good form lately. An attempt to get shot putter Scott Lincoln into the team was not accepted, though.

The full GB team for Torun is as follows.

Men

60m: Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, Oliver Bromby, Andrew Robertson. 400m: Joe Brier, Lee Thompson, James Williams. 800m:  Guy Learmonth, Jamie Webb. 1500m: Piers Copeland, Archie Davis, Neil Gourley. 3000m: Andrew Butchart, Jack Rowe, Marc Scott. 4x400m: Brier, Efe Okoro, Tom Somers, Owen Smith, Thompson, Williams. 60m hurdles: Andrew Pozzi. High jump: Joel Khan. Long jump: Jacob Fincham-Dukes. Pole vault: Charlie Myers

Women

400m: Jessie Knight, Ama Pipi, Jodie Williams. 800m: Ellie Baker, Isabelle Boffey, Keely Hodgkinson. 1500m: Holly Archer, Katie Snowden. 3000m: Amy-Eloise Markovc, Verity Ockenden, Amelia Quirk. 4x400m: Zoey Clark, Beth Dobbin, Yasmin Liverpool, Knight, Pipi, Williams. 60m hurdles: Emma Nwofor, Tiffany Porter, Cindy Sember. High jump: Emily Borthwick, Morgan Lake.  Pole vault: Holly Bradshaw. Long jump: Abigail Irozuru, Jazmin Sawyers. Shot put: Sophie McKinna, Amelia Strickler. Pentathlon: Holly Mills

Johnny Sexton returns to captain Ireland in Saturday's Six Nations game in Rome as Andy Farrell's side shows seven changes from the France defeat.

Jordan Larmour replaces Keith Earls on the wing.

Dave Kilcoyne, Ronan Kelleher and Tadhg Furlong form a new front row with fit-again James Ryan and Will Connors also drafted into the pack.

Lock Ryan's inclusion sees Tadhg Beirne switching to the back row as Rhys Ruddock and Josh van der Flier drop out of the match day 23 after starting against France.

Kilcoyne, Kelleher and Furlong take over from Cian Healy, Rob Herring and Andrew Porter who are named on the bench.

Sexton's regular half-back partner Murray remains unavailable because of the hamstring injury picked up in training during the week of the France game.

Skipper Sexton, now 35, appeared to hint earlier this week that he might not continue playing up to the 2023 World Cup in France but later said that his utterance had just been a "throwaway comment".

Ireland coach Farrell said he believes Sexton's appetitive "is as strong as ever" after selecting the Leinster veteran for his 97th cap.

"As long as Johnny keeps on giving to Irish rugby, he'll keep putting his foot forward to be in the equation, won't he? He feels good at this moment in time," said the Ireland coach.

Sexton said earlier in the week that he had "nearly" agreed a one-year contract extension with the IRFU and Farrell said "both sides are happy with those conversations".

Ulster fly-half Billy Burns edges out Leinster's Ross Byrne for the fly-half replacement berth while Munster scrum-half Craig Casey and Leinster lock Ryan Baird are in line for first caps after being named on a bench which also includes wing Earls.

Casey was in the replacements for the France game but did not come on.

Robbie Henshaw will earn his 50th cap after being retained at centre alongside his Leinster team-mate Garry Ringrose.

Italy earned Rome win over Irish in 2013

Ireland go into Saturday's game badly in need of a win after losing their first two opening games for the first time since the tournament became the Six Nations with the addition of the Italians.

Coach Farrell denied that there was any sense of risk in picking a totally changed front row.

"The three that come in have been working together in training the last few weeks so there some continuity in that regard," Farrell said.

"Ronan [Kelleher] deserves a start. His attitude has been first class in training."

Italy, who last beat Ireland in 2013, will be aiming to avoid a 30th straight Six Nations defeat but Farrell insisted they are an improving outfit.

"I certainly feel they're good enough to stay in the competition long term. I can see the progress Franco [Smith] is making with them. They are certainly heading in the right direction."

Line-up

Ireland: Keenan; Larmour, Ringrose, Henshaw, Lowe; Sexton, Gibson-Park; Kilcoyne, Kelleher, Furlong; Henderson, Ryan (capt); Beirne, Connors, Stander.

Replacements: Herring, Healy, Porter, Baird, Conan, Casey, Burns, Earls.

George North will win his 100th cap for Wales as he returns from injury as one of five changes for Saturday's Six Nations match against England.

Scrum-half Kieran Hardy gets a first Six Nations start, with Gareth Davies on the bench.

Wing Josh Adams returns from suspension on the wing as Liam Williams moves to full-back.

There is also a return from injury for Josh Navidi, who replaces Aaron Wainwright at blindside flanker, while the back-row cover on the bench is provided by James Botham.

Also among the replacements is Botham's Cardiff Blues team-mate Willis Halaholo, who made an impressive debut in the away win against Scotland earlier this month.

That means the starting centres at Murrayfield, Owen Watkin and Nick Tompkins, are left out of the match-day squad.

Full-back Leigh Halfpenny also misses out having suffered concussion during the victory in Edinburgh while Cory Hill takes over as lock cover on the bench from Will Rowlands.

There are a total of 902 caps in the starting Wales XV, making it the most experienced in the country's history.

Wales, who beat Ireland on the opening weekend, will clinch the Triple Crown on Saturday if they beat an England side with one defeat and one win from their two fixtures to date.

"We've had a great two weeks leading into this game and we are looking forward to Saturday," said Wales head coach Wayne Pivac.

"We continue to build and we know there is plenty left in us in terms of improvements from the opening two rounds. We are two from two but we want to continue to improve performance-wise.

"Saturday is a great milestone for George. It is a huge achievement at his age and we are looking forward to seeing him in action."

North will become the youngest player in the world to win 100 caps for his country, beating Australia flanker Michael Hooper's record by 28 days.

Wales team to face England

Liam Williams; Louis Rees-Zammit, George North, Jonathan Davies, Josh Adams; Dan Biggar, Kieran Hardy; Wyn Jones, Ken Owens, Tomas Francis, Adam Beard, Alun Wyn Jones (capt), Josh Navidi, Justin Tipuric, Taulupe Faletau.

Replacements: Elliot Dee, Rhodri Jones, Leon Brown, Cory Hill, James Botham, Gareth Davies, Callum Sheedy, Willis Halaholo.

Scotland's Six Nations match with France is unlikely to take place next weekend after a further Covid case in the home squad forced its postponement.

But it was announced an 11th player had the virus earlier on Thursday.

It had been expected the game would be pushed to the fallow week, but the whole France squad are now isolating and would not be available by then.

Organisers say a new date will be announced "in due course" and they are currently considering several options, including a midweek game in the week commencing 8 March, or the weekend of 27 March.

However, if the game takes place outside World Rugby's international window, Scotland could be missing more than 10 players as they will have to return to their clubs in England and France.

Gregor Townsend's men sit fourth in the Six Nations table, having followed their historic victory against England at Twickenham with a one-point home loss to Wales, while unbeaten France top the standings.

France captain Charles Ollivon and star scrum-half Antoine Dupont are among those isolating after positive tests, along with head coach Fabien Galthie.

Galthie and another staff member were the first to test positive on 16 February and the virus has spread through the camp since.

Dupont tested positive a few days later, followed by wing Gabin Villiere and prop Mohamed Haouas.

Arthur Vincent, Julien Marchand, Ollivon, Brice Dulin, Cyril Baille, Romain Taofifenua, Peato Mauvaka and one other unnamed player have since contracted the virus.

Following this weekend's round of matches, the Six Nations is scheduled to take a two-week break before returning on 13 March.

CONCORD, N.C. – Spire Motorsports announced Wednesday night that Marwin Sports will increase its support of the team in a multi-year agreement covering both the No. 7 and No. 77 Chevrolets in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Marwin will serve as the primary sponsor of Corey LaJoie’s No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE in Sunday’s Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The Los Angeles-based apparel manufacturer returns to Spire Motorsports following a two-race stint as the primary sponsor of the No. 77 Chevy last year, and will also serve as the Concord, N.C., operation’s official apparel provider.

Marwin Sports was founded in Sweden in 1980 and since its inception, the organization’s mission has been to design and build reliable, innovative apparel, fit for life on the job, on the mountain top, in the office or at the race track.

“Marwin Sports is eager to continue building our marketing platform with Spire Motorsports,” said Marwin Sports U.S. co-founder and director of business development Brian Rock. “This quickly rising NASCAR Cup Series team has tremendous momentum building and we are excited to be a part of it. At Marwin we believe in doing it better or don’t bother doing it at all.  We’ve watched Spire Motorsports’ progression over the years and we feel that they are the perfect partner to integrate our smart apparel into an environment which will put it to the test.

“Spire leadership has assembled an exciting group of talented individuals and the future is very bright. We’re thrilled with the association and to partner with a team who embodies the same values, vision, and eagerness to always innovate and improve.”

In 2019, Marwin Sports was launched in the United States to identify apparel opportunities and bring tangible solutions to a diverse group of industries. The U.S. founders have backgrounds in professional sports ranging from basketball to auto racing.

“It’s always exciting to introduce a partner to the sport and show them the potential for creating programs that move the needle,” commented Spire Motorsports co-owner T.J. Puchyr. “We’re thrilled to see a program grow from a two-race partnership in 2020 to a relationship that encompasses our entire team over multiple years. We’re proud that Marwin Sports entrusted our team to be the focal point of their marketing efforts.

“Marwin Sports is a performance brand and I can’t think of a more perfect fit for our team and all of our fans.”