Bobby Wagner has returned to the Seattle Seahawks one year after he was cut from the team.

The eight-time Pro Bowl linebacker spent last season with the Los Angeles Rams but has now returned to the Pacific Northwest after mutually agreeing to end his five-year contract with the Rams earlier this year.

Wagner was one of the top defensive players available in free agency, with murmurs of a return to the Seahawks being ever present since the period began.

Quandre Diggs, who had campaigned on social media for a reunion, broke the news of Wagner's return before it was later confirmed by the franchise.

"According to my sources future hall of famer LB Bobby Wagner has agreed to terms to return home to the Seattle Seahawks," he posted on Twitter.

"Seahawks fill a huge need in the middle of their defense. 12's rejoice!"

A Super Bowl winner with the Seahawks in his second year in the NFL, Wagner amassed nearly 1400 tackles and 23.5 sacks over 10 seasons.

His return continues a strong free agency period for the Seahawks, who had already bolstered their defense with the additions of defensive ends Dre-Mont Jones and Jarran Reed, LB Devin Bush and safety Julian Love.

The Vegas Golden Knights remained one of the hottest teams in the NHL with Saturday's 4-3 overtime win on the road, despite dealing with a string of injuries.

Vegas' victory over the Edmonton Oilers was their eighth win in nine, pulling them clear atop the Pacific Division in the process.

The close-fought battle saw the Oilers equalise on three separate occasions after falling behind to goals from Jack Eichel, Pavel Dorofeyev and Jonathan Marchessault, before Nicholas Roy put home the winner 2:26 into overtime.

Vegas were missing goaltender Logan Thompson and veteran winger Reilly Smith through recent injuries, adding to a longer list of unavailable players, but they figured out how to keep getting it done, becoming the first team in NHL history to win four games in a row with four different goaltenders.

Head coach Bruce Cassidy pointed to his team's "next man up" mentality, calling it a "good road win", while veteran defenseman Brayden McNabb added it was even better to get it done against a close division rival.

"It's a big win, a big road trip. They were sneaking up on us [in the standings]," he said, with the Oilers having won their previous five games.

"It felt a little bit like a playoff game, for sure. They're a great team, they've got a lot of dangerous skill, for sure, but for the most part we played pretty well and buried some chances.

"We've had injuries throughout the year, but guys are prepared and ready to step in. We've got great depth and great goaltending, and it showed tonight."

The result leaves Vegas on 98 points for the season, also leading the Western Conference ahead of the Los Angeles Kings (94), the Minnesota Wild (93), the Dallas Stars (92) and the Oilers (91) with nine games remaining.

In a highly anticipated clash between winners of the past four MVPs it was Nikola Jokic's Denver Nuggets comfortably handling Giannis Antetokounmpo's Milwaukee Bucks 129-106.

Played in Denver, the reigning back-to-back MVP winner put on a show for his home fans with 31 points (10-of-20 shooting), 11 assists and six rebounds. 

Jokic was supported in style by Jamal Murray, who chipped in 26 points (nine-of-19), nine assists and six rebounds, and kick-started the Nuggets with four triples in the first quarter.

Antetokounmpo, winner of the 2019 and 2020 MVP trophies, was far from the reason his side went down, posting a strong 31 points (13-of-22), nine rebounds, four assists and four steals. He led Milwaukee to a 66-63 half-time lead, before they put up just 40 points as a team in the second half.

After a mini-slump with four losses from of five games, the Nuggets have now rattled off three wins in a row, improving their home record to 31-6 in the process, which trails only the Memphis Grizzlies (32-5) for the league's best mark.

Despite the loss, Milwaukee (53-21) are still two games clear in the race for the league's best record, while the Nuggets are 3.5 games clear atop the West.

Hawks prevail despite Trae ejection

Atlanta Hawks franchise player Trae Young was ejected for throwing the ball at an official, but his side still came away with a 143-130 home win against the visiting Indiana Pacers.

Young was kicked out in the second quarter after the incident, but eight Hawks players ended up scoring double-figures to pick up the slack.

John Collins led the way with 21 points (nine-of-12 shooting), Dejounte Murray added 20 points (eight-of-20) and 12 assists, and Clint Capela snatched down 17 rebounds to go with his 17 points (five-of-five).

The win pulled the Hawks' record even at 37-37, now a game clear of the ninth-seeded Toronto Raptors (36-38) as they battle for play-in tournament positioning.

Pelicans muddy the waters in the West

The New Orleans Pelicans kept their season alive with a 131-110 road win over the Los Angeles Clippers, creating a logjam in the Western Conference's play-in placings.

Second-year Pelicans wing Trey Murphy was spectacular as he hit 10-of-12 three-pointers for an equal team-high 32 points. He was joined on 32 points by Brandon Ingram, and after Ingram's first career triple-double on Thursday, he followed it with a career-high 13 assists against the Clippers.

The win means the Pelicans are in a three-way tie for the seventh-best record in the West, joining the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Los Angeles Lakers at 37-37 with eight games to play.

Last week's Indian Wells Open champion Elena Rybakina has extended her winning streak to 10 matches after defeating Paula Badosa 3-6 7-5 6-3 in Saturday's Miami Open third round.

Kazakhstan's Rybakina, who is also the reigning Wimbledon Champion and Australian Open finalist, got the better of Badosa for the second time during her current run, also eliminating her from Indian Wells. 

The 23-year-old has to be considered one of the favourites to go all the way, having knocked off world number one Iga Swiatek and world number two Aryna Sabalenka to lift the trophy in California.

Rybakina will meet Belgium's Elise Mertens in the fourth round after she beat Croatia's Petra Martic 6-4 6-3.

Meanwhile, the biggest upset of the day was delivered by Russia's Anastasia Potapova, bouncing sixth seed Coco Gauff 6-7 (8-10) 7-5 6-2.

Potapova, who has never won a tournament above the WTA 250 level, will face China's Zheng Qinwen for a spot in the quarter-finals after her three-hour 5-7 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 triumph over Liudmila Samsonova.

Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko, the 24th seed, eliminated Brazilian 13th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-2 4-6 6-3, while 20th seed Magda Linette of Poland knocked out Belarusian 14th seed Victoria Azarenka 7-6 (7-3) 2-6 6-4.

Unseeded American Clare Liu went down 4-6 7-5 6-4 against Italy's Martina Trevisan, but third seed Jessica Pegula will continue to fly the flag for the United States after advancing 6-1 7-6 (7-0) in her all-American showdown with Danielle Collins.

Hubert Hurkacz prevailed 6-7 (10-12) 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (8-6) in a thrilling three-and-a-half hour battle against Thanasi Kokkinakis during Saturday's second round of the Miami Open.

It was Hurkacz's first match of the tournament after the eighth seed received a bye through the first round, and he came up against a match-fit Kokkinakis after the Australian went three sets in his opening victory.

The world number nine had to save five Kokkinakis match points before sealing the win with his first chance, three hours and 34 minutes after the contest began.

Kokkinakis was not the only Australian on the day to go down in a gruelling three-setter as 15th seed Alex De Minaur fell 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (10-8) to Quentin Halys in three hours and 20 minutes.

It was far smoother sailing for fourth seed Daniil Medvedev in his 6-1 6-2 triumph over Roberto Carballes Baena, giving the Russian his first win since his 19-match unbeaten streak was ended at the hands of Carlos Alcaraz in the Indian Wells Open final.

The biggest upset of the day came from France's Gregoire Barrere as he eliminated 11th seed Cameron Norrie 6-3 6-2, before Adrian Mannarino ensured a great day for the French contingent with a 6-4 3-6 6-1 result against Ben Shelton in the late window.

Fifth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime needed a pair of tiebreakers to dispatch Brazil's Thiago Monteiro 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (10-8), while big-serving 19th seed Matteo Berrettini came out on the wrong side of some tiebreakers in his 7-6 (10-8) 7-6 (7-5) loss to Mackenzie McDonald.

The skid from 18th seed Lorenzo Musetti continued as the 21-year-old went down 6-4 6-4 to Jiri Lehecka, giving the Italian seven losses from his past eight matches.

Karen Khachanov fought off the challenge of recent Chile Open finalist Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-1 3-6 6-3, and second seed Stefanos Tsisipas received a walkover as Richard Gasquet withdrew.

The unlikely March Madness run from the Florida Atlantic Owls continued on Saturday as they defeated the Kansas State Wildcats 79-76 to punch their ticket to the first Final Four in school history.

It is not just the first Final Four the Owls have ever reached, as they had never won a game in the NCAA Tournament prior to this season, with their only previous appearance being a first-round exit in 2002.

After knocking out eight-seed Memphis, 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson and four-seed Tennessee, Florida Atlantic won the East region and cut down the nets by eliminating the third-seed Wildcats.

The Owls had to deal with another spectacular performance from Kansas State talisman Markquis Nowell as the five-foot-eight point guard put up 30 points (eight-of-21 shooting), 12 assists and five steals.

But while the Wildcats leaned on their star, Florida Atlantic spread it around, with four players scoring at least 13 points, led by Bryan Greenlee's 16 on four-of-seven shooting. Seven-foot-one Russian center Vladislav Goldin controlled the interior with 14 points (six-of-11), 13 rebounds and two blocks.

The win means Florida Atlantic will play the winner between Creighton and San Diego State for a spot in the National Championship game.

It was far smoother sailing on the other side of the bracket as the four-seed Connecticut Huskies pummelled the three-seed Gonzaga Bulldogs 82-54 in a statement-making effort.

UConn's top draft prospect Jordan Hawkins drained six triples for his 20 points and six rebounds, while do-it-all wing Andre Jackson Jr flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 10 assists, nine rebounds and eight points.

It is the first time in NCAA Tournament history a team seeded fourth or lower won four consecutive games by double digits.

With it, Connecticut earned their sixth Final Four trip in program history, and first since 2014. They will meet the winner between five-seed Miami and two-seed Texas for a spot in the final game of the season.

LeBron James is not yet ready to return from a right foot injury, but there are now signs that he is getting closer.

James has been upgraded from 'out' to 'doubtful' for Sunday's game against the Chicago Bulls, the Los Angeles Lakers announced Saturday.

The superstar has been sidelined since February 28 and has missed the Lakers' past 13 games, with Los Angeles going 8-5 during that span to reach .500 for the first time this season.

"Progressing as normal," Lakers coach Darvin Ham said Friday when asked about James’ rehabilitation process. "Just doing the work that needs to be done to get his foot all the way together."

While still unlikely that James suits up Sunday, there seems to be a chance that he could play Wednesday when the Lakers visit the Bulls in the opener of a five-game road trip.

The 38-year-old James, who has missed 27 games this season, is averaging 29.5 points per game and would rank among the league-leaders if he had enough games to qualify.

His return comes at a crucial point for the Lakers, who are currently tied for the seventh-best record in the Western Conference at 37-37 after their current three-game win streak. They still have the time to climb out of the play-in tournament spots, while they are also only one game ahead of the 11th-ranked Dallas Mavericks.

Nicolai Hojgaard and Sam Stevens are tied for the lead at 14 under after three rounds of the Corales Puntacana Championship, although it is wide open going into Sunday.

Only two players shot better than Hojgaard's six-under 66 on Saturday, and it came after a terrific 65 on Friday as the 22-year-old two-time European Tour winner looks to break through.

Stevens, 26, is also winless on the PGA Tour, and he blew an opportunity to head into the final round in the outright lead as he bogeyed the 18th.

There is a four-man chasing group on their tail at 13 under, with Americans Wyndham Clark and Tyler Duncan joined by Belgium's Thomas Detry and England's Matt Wallace.

Detry's seven-under 65 was tied for the round of the day with France's Martin Trainer, who used it to fly up into the top-10, now tied for seventh at 12 under.

The 2018 champion at this event Brice Garnett is alone in 10th at 10 under, and last year's runner-up Ben Martin is one further back at nine under.

Germany coach Hansi Flick credited Niclas Fullkrug with having the ability to "pull the team along" after the striker's double against Peru.

Fullkrug's two first-half goals ensured Euro 2024 hosts Germany claimed a routine 2-0 victory in their opening match of 2023.

Germany dominated Saturday's friendly in Mainz, and only a twist of the rules prevented Kai Havertz making it 3-0 in the second half, with the Chelsea forward's first-time finish on the rebound after he hit the post with a penalty disallowed as no other player had touched the ball.

Flick reserved special praise for Fullkrug, who has netted five goals in as many international games, and became the first Werder Bremen player to start for Germany since Serge Gnabry in 2016.

"Niclas is a player who is special, he is very confident, he wants to win and can pull the team along. He also gives the team a lot of positive energy," Flick told Sky Sport.

Sandro Wagner is the only other player this century to have scored five goals across his first five appearances for Germany.

However, there are elements for Fullkrug to work on, with Flick noting: "There were a few situations that I wasn’t happy with today.

"If we play forward, we have to have a certain seriousness about it.

"Niclas has also had one or two situations where he can be better, but he's still there for goals and he scored them."

Germany's game was their first since their disappointing showing at the World Cup, where they suffered a group-stage exit.

However, Germany are on a 13-game unbeaten run in friendlies (W8 D5) equalling their record, which was set between 1994 and 1996.

"I think you could see that the team played with a lot of dynamism, especially when it came to attacking," Flick said.

"A lot of things were good, but not yet at 100 per cent, although you couldn't expect because we didn't train very much.

"The team has never played together in this formation, but there were still a few situations that we played out well, where the last pass was missing.

"We scored two nice goals and kept a clean sheet, which was a focus for us this week."

Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy are one win away from meeting in the WGC Match Play final after both advancing into the last four on Saturday.

In the first of four elimination rounds among the 16 group winners, Scheffler was matched up with J.T. Poston, and after trailing throughout the back-nine he won both the 17th and 18th to sneak by with a 1up victory.

He would meet the in-form Jason Day for a spot in the semi-finals after Day took a 1up win over Matt Kuchar, and after Day went 3up on the front-nine, Scheffler won five of the next eight holes to secure a 2 and 1 win.

Meanwhile, McIlroy started his day with a 2up triumph over Lucas Herbert, leading all the way, and he followed it with a hard-fought 1up win against Xander Schauffele, where he did not take his first lead until the final hole.

Scheffler will meet Sam Burns in the final four after Burns upset Patrick Cantlay 2 and 1, and then proved too good for Mackenzie Hughes in a 3 and 2 result.

McIlroy will have to navigate the challenge of Cameron Young to reach the final after his dominant 5 and 4 win over 2021 champion Billy Horschel, following it up with a 1up result against recent Arnold Palmer Invitational champion Kurt Kitayama.

With one more win Scheffler can become the first player in the history of the event – dating back to 1999 – to reach the final in three consecutive seasons, after winning in 2022 and finishing runner-up in 2021.

Brazil's first game under interim boss Ramon Menezes ended in defeat as Morocco claimed a 2-1 win in Tangier.

Menezes is in temporary charge after Tite's reign ended in the quarter-finals of last year's World Cup.

And his debut in the Selecao dugout proved a frustrating one against the surprise World Cup semi-finalists, as Brazil saw several chances go begging and were ultimately undone by Abdelhamid Sabiri's 79th-minute winner.

Sofiane Boufal had initially put Morocco ahead, with Casemiro levelling for Brazil courtesy of Yassine Bounou's dismal error before Sabiri delighted the home crowd

Brazil wasted a gilt-edged chance in the 13th minute when Rony fired over from point-blank range and was again frustrated as, after Noussair Mazraoui fired narrowly wide from the edge of the box at the other end, Yassine Bounou pulled off a remarkable double save.

Having inexplicably passed the ball straight to Rony, Bounou denied him and Andrey Santos in quick succession, and his flushes were spared again when he sliced an attempted clearance straight to Vinicius Junior to lob home, only for the Real Madrid man to be denied by the offside flag.

That reprieve was made all the more important when Boufal tucked into the bottom left corner on the turn after linking up superbly with Bilal El Khannouss. 

A Rodrygo volley drew an eye-catching Bounou save three minutes after the restart but the Morocco keeper was finally left red-faced in the 67th minute when he allowed Casemiro's tame long-range effort to squirm under his body.

Sabiri would not allow Bounou's error to be decisive, though, and he lashed a volley in off the underside of the crossbar to seal victory with an emphatic finish.

What does it mean? - New-look Brazil misfire

Menezes picked a much-changed squad for this game featuring a host of uncapped players, but the mix of inexperience and established stars like Casemiro and Vinicius did not pay off as the Selecao paid the price for failing to take their chances.

For Morocco, this victory was another demonstration of the fortitude and international pedigree that was on show at the World Cup.

Profligacy punished

Brazil finished the game with an xG of 1.42 compared to 0.63 for Morocco. The better openings consistently fell the way of Brazil, but Morocco were rewarded for cutting edge the Selecao lacked.

Bounou's eventful evening

Bounou committed one error leading to a goal and was fortunate not to be the cause of at least one more for Brazil, but he recovered brilliantly to atone for his misplaced pass in the first half and his horror show for Brazil's equaliser eventually proved immaterial.

What's next?

Morocco host Peru on Tuesday. Brazil are not in action again in this international window.

Joselu was in dreamland after scoring twice on his Spain debut to help La Roja beat Norway 3-0 in Malaga on Saturday.

New head coach Luis de la Fuente named a somewhat unfamiliar squad ahead of their two opening Euro 2024 qualifiers as he began his tenure after replacing Luis Enrique.

Joselu's call-up was long overdue in the eyes of many, given he had reached double figures for LaLiga goals in each of the previous three seasons.

He was introduced at La Rosaleda in the second half with Spain stuttering unconvincingly towards a 1-0 win, but he scored twice to put the game to bed.

As such, he became the oldest debutant to score for Spain since September 2006, two days before his 33rd birthday, and he was left in disbelief.

"The truth is that I still don't believe it," he told TVE. "This is everything a player can have and in the end, the daily work has had its reward.

"I think I would especially like to thank my wife and my children, and my mother, who have come here today.

"The truth is that I am not believing it."

Joselu was also Spain's oldest debutant since 2006, with De la Fuente opting to pick a few somewhat unfashionable options who were largely neglected by his predecessor.

The striker subsequently paid tribute to De la Fuente for giving him the opportunity.

"I thank him for everything, being here, trusting me, being on the first list," he said.

"I think I have responded more than enough.

"Age doesn't matter to me because I feel like a kid, I feel like an 18-year-old kid. I want to enjoy this; I want to hug my family because today is an incredible day."

Joselu may feel he has done enough to earn a maiden start next time out, when Spain are set to face Scotland at Hampden Park on Tuesday.

"Knowing the players and giving them confidence is our job, but all the credit belongs to him," De la Fuente said of Joselu. 

"We have recognised the great work he does every day at his club and I am happy for him and for everyone else."

Joselu scored two late goals on his international debut as Spain opened Euro 2024 qualification with a 3-0 win over Norway at La Rosaleda in Luis de la Fuente's first game in charge.

Spain were by no means impressive, with the Erling Haaland-less visitors wasting several fine opportunities, but Joselu repaid De la Fuente's faith towards the end.

De la Fuente – appointed Luis Enrique's successor after World Cup elimination – named an unfamiliar-looking starting XI yet saw his side take an early lead through Dani Olmo.

They held Norway at bay through some excellent Kepa Arrizabalaga saves and a big miss from Alexander Sorloth, and substitute Joselu punished them with two goals in as many minutes.

It took Spain just 13 minutes to get the first goal of their new era, Alejandro Balde's cross-cum-shot flicked home by Olmo.

They needed a brilliant save from Kepa just before the half-hour to remain ahead, however, the goalkeeper turning Fredrik Aursnes' blistering close-range volley over.

Mikel Merino went close in similar circumstances a minute later, only for Orjan Nyland to tip the ball around the post.

Chances aside, Spain were second best for significant periods and had another fortunate escape early in the second half.

Marcus Pedersen's goal-bound effort was crucially deflected by Nacho Fernandez, and Kepa got back to hook the careering ball off the line.

Sorloth then volleyed off target in the 80th minute and Spain duly capitalised.

Joselu nodded in Fabian Ruiz's cross from deep, before smashing home from close range when Mikel Oyarzabal's shot was deflected into his path, capping a memorable night for the Espanyol striker.