Christmas must be around the corner as the PDC World Darts Championship starts at Alexandra Palace on Friday.
Two-and-a-half weeks of darts await before the champion is crowned on January 3.
Here, the PA news agency looks at five competitors to keep an eye on during the tournament.
Michael van Gerwen
The Dutchman has not had the best year by his impeccable standards, with the Premier League his only major title, but he must still be considered the man to beat at Alexandra Palace.
When he fires few can keep the pace with him and Van Gerwen has the bit between his teeth as he hunts a fourth title.
He has lost twice in the final since his last victory in 2019 so is due a return to the winner’s circle.
Luke Humphries
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The 28-year-old will arrive at Ally Pally as favourite after a remarkable run of form in 2023.
‘Coolhand’ has won three of the last four majors as he followed the World Grand Prix title in October with wins at the Grand Slam of Darts and the Players Championship.
No one is playing more consistently than Humphries at the minute and if he can handle the pressure of expectation, he could go all the way.
Michael Smith
Smith is the defending champion and earned himself a place in folklore last year when he beat Van Gerwen in one of the greatest finals of all time, throwing a nine-finish in a memorable leg.
‘Bully Boy’ has taken a step away from the game this year, but has not really performed to his usual standard when he has played in the major tournaments.
But coming back to defend the title is sure to spur him on and if he can find his range over the coming weeks, he will be difficult to stop.
Fallon Sherrock
The ‘Queen of the Palace’ is back at the place where life changed for her in 2020 when she became the first woman to win a match at the PDC World Championship.
The 29-year-old has not won a game in her two appearances since then, but will be a good bet to get some more wins under her belt after a good year.
She became the first woman to hit a nine-dart finish in PDC history in March and then repeated the feat in front of the television cameras at August’s Modus Super Series.
Luke Littler
Few will have heard of Luke Littler but he is definitely a name for the future.
Just 16, Littler is causing waves in the game and his victory in the World Youth Championship made people sit up and take notice.
Winning the tournament this year may be a stretch too far but he will be hoping to take a few scalps and no one will want to play him.
Michael Smith is not ready to stop at winning just one World Championship title and wants to become a multiple champion.
The 33-year-old lifted the Sid Waddell Trophy for the first time in January after a stunning performance against Michael van Gerwen in the final, hitting a nine-dart finish in the greatest leg in the history of the sport.
He begins the defence of his crown on Friday night, playing against either Kevin Doets or Stowe Buntz, and is dreaming of joining Gary Anderson, Adrian Lewis, John Part and Peter Wright on two titles.
“I always wanted to be a world champion, now I have done it the dream is to be a multiple,” Smith told the PA news agency.
“I don’t want to finish my career with just one star on my chest, I don’t know how many I can get, but the minimum is two now. When I get to two the minimum will be three.
“I don’t feel the pressure but it is going to be like that. Everyone wants to take it off me, everyone playing wants to be world champion so I am going to have a target on my back.
“But whoever I am playing they are going to see a picture of me holding the trophy on the wall. It could either put them off or spur them on. But I know I can look at it and be spurred on.
“This is the one, you have got to bring your A-game, it is about bringing it on stage now. Once it clicks like it does in practice who knows what can happen. I can’t wait to get my hands on it again.”
Smith’s victory in the final contained the greatest leg in the history of the sport when ‘Bully Boy’ completed a nine-dart finish seconds after Van Gerwen had missed.
It produced some mesmeric television footage, with Sky Sports’ Wayne Mardle’s commentary going viral.
And Smith spent most of the early part of 2023 watching the leg back.
“That night I won it, I must have watched it 200 times,” he added. “Even the full match replay I have watched a couple of times. I’m trying to leave it in the past, I’m trying to focus on winning it again and then I can watch it all again. It has been good, weird, has been good.
“I lived my childhood dream but if I hadn’t have won it, it wouldn’t define my life. I am proud of winning it, but I am not going through life where I am thinking if I had never won it I wouldn’t have been successful.”
Gerwyn Price is also aiming for a second world title, but if he was to win, it would feel like a first.
His 2021 crown came behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic, so he is yet to taste the authentic experience.
“This is what we play all year for. We all want to win titles, but this is the main one,” he told the PA news agency.
“It’s a big tournament, everyone is looking forward to it, no-one wants to go out before Christmas so it is about getting that first round under your belt.
“Winning it behind closed doors, there was no atmosphere, lifting the trophy with no-one there, no friends, family or loved ones.
“Taking the trophy home and it sitting on the kitchen table for six months doesn’t really do it justice. It would be nice to win it again and be able to do it properly. It is something I want to do.”
Today’s National Hunt meeting at Warwick has been abandoned but the jumps card at Newcastle survived an early-morning inspection.
Clerk of the course Tom Ryall had expressed concerns about waterlogging at Warwick after persistent rain had put the whole town on flood alert.
His fears proved warranted, with this afternoon’s fixture called off due to unsafe ground on parts of the course.
There was better news at Newcastle, where racing is scheduled to go ahead following a second inspection this morning.
Officials took a look at the track yesterday afternoon due to areas of standing water earlier in the week but it was deemed raceable.
The same view was taken this morning, although “conditions will continue to be closely monitored”.
Having lost their Fighting Fifth Hurdle card at the start of the month due to snow, today’s going is described as heavy, with a low risk of early showers before the weather should brighten up.
There will also be jumps racing at Taunton, where the ground is soft, good to soft in places, plus an all-weather Flat card at Chelmsford this evening.
c scored his league-leading fourth short-handed goal with 1:33 remaining and the red-hot New York Islanders rallied for a 4-3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday.
Mathew Barzal, Kyle Palmieri and Casey Cizikas also scored for the Islanders, who won their fourth straight and improved to 6-0-1 in their last seven games.
Troy Terry, Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick tallied for Anaheim, which dropped its fourth in a row and 12th in 13 games.
Carrick scored the Ducks’ third straight goal at 5:07 of the third period for a 3-2 lead, but Barzal tied it on the power play 2 ½ minutes later.
Holmstrom has scored half of his eight goals this season while short-handed.
Penguins beat Canadiens in lengthy shootout
Sidney Crosby had two goals and an assist and Jansen Harkins scored in the 12th round of the shootout to lift the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 4-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens.
Crosby’s three points moved him past Paul Coffey and into a tie with former teammate Mark Recchi for 13th place on the NHL scoring list with 1,533.
Montreal’s Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield and Pittsburgh’s Kris Letang and Crosby all scored on the first four attempts of the shootout. The next eight skaters failed to convert until Sean Monahan scored for the Canadiens and Lars Eller for the Penguins in the seventh round.
Another nine skaters went before Harkins, who had only 4 ½ minutes of ice time during the game, ended it.
Jack Hughes keeps Devils surging
Jack Hughes scored midway through overtime and the New Jersey Devils rallied for a 2-1 win over the Boston Bruins.
Dawson Mercer scored the tying goal early in the third period and Vitek Vanecek stopped 24 shots to help New Jersey win for the seventh time in nine games.
Morgan Geekie had the lone tally for the Bruins, who have at least a point in five of six (4-1-1).
England will be hoping that 2024 is finally the year men’s football comes home as they go for European Championship glory.
Boss Gareth Southgate probably has one final shot at becoming the first manager since Sir Alf Ramsay to win a major trophy after several near misses over the last few years.
The scars are still there from the last Euros, where England lost the final to Italy on penalties, but the team has grown since then and head to Germany among the favourites to win.
It could be a coming-of-age tournament for Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden, while Harry Kane will want a winner’s medal to go along with all of the personal accolades he has won.
Scotland are also competing in their second successive Euros, while Wales must attempt to qualify in the early part of the year.
The Olympics are back on European soil for the first time since 2012 when they head to Paris in August and hopes are high for another strong showing for Team GB.
Great Britain has been one of the leading countries in the last three Olympics and is again tipped to do well, with several realistic medal hopes in the French capital.
Skateboarder Sky Brown, runner Keely Hodgkinson, Bethany Shriever in the BMX, Jessica Gadirova and Bryony Page in gymnastics and Bradly Sinden in the taekwondo are all hopeful of topping the podium, with the likes of Jake Wightman, Dina Asher-Smith and Laura Muir also hoping it is their time.
The Paralympics follow a few weeks later and Team GB are again expected to bring home a significant medal haul.
The Olympics could also be the end point for Rafael Nadal’s tennis career.
The Spanish great has hinted that he would call time on his magnificent career in 2024 and there seems no better place than Roland Garros, where he has won an incredible 14 titles.
While Nadal’s time may be coming to an end, British star Emma Raducanu will hope that 2024 is the year her career comes back to life.
Injury has plagued Raducanu since her US Open triumph in 2021 but she is ready to return to tour in a make-or-break year to see how her career will pan out.
She will have especially high hopes on a good run at Wimbledon, which is where she burst on to the scene three years ago.
In boxing, there is a blockbusting bout between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia in February.
Fury is hoping to unify the heavyweight division in a money-spinning fight with the Ukrainian. If he wins, then there will be more clamour for a bout with Anthony Joshua.
Europe will be aiming to keep hold of the Solheim Cup for a fourth successive time when they take on the United States in Virginia in September.
Manchester City will remember 2023 as the year they finally conquered Europe and all before them but there was heartbreak on the world stage for two England teams.
A fifth Premier League title in six years and a derby victory in the FA Cup final cemented Pep Guardiola’s side’s dominance of domestic football and, led by the unstoppable Erling Haaland, a first Champions League crown followed.
There could be no argument that City deserved it, with European giants Bayern Munich and Real Madrid comprehensively beaten before Rodri scored the only goal of a final victory over Inter Milan in Istanbul.
City have found backing up their treble a little tricky so far, with the Premier League shaping up to be a more even playing field, but Guardiola’s men have no more questions left to answer.
England’s women were attempting to follow their brilliant European Championship triumph by winning the World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand.
Sarina Wiegman’s team overcame Lauren James’ red card to edge past Nigeria on penalties before seeing off Colombia and hosts Australia but, despite the heroics of Mary Earps in goal, Spain proved too strong, with Olga Carmona scoring the only goal in the final.
The biggest moment in Spanish women’s football history was soured, though, by the behaviour of then federation president Luis Rubiales, who eventually resigned after he was widely criticised for kissing midfielder Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the presentation ceremony.
England did not appear to be among the favourites heading into the Rugby World Cup but came agonisingly close to a second successive final appearance, suffering a last-gasp semi-final loss against South Africa.
The Springboks then held off New Zealand for a historic successful title defence, with Wales and Six Nations Grand Slam winners Ireland both seeing their hopes end in the last eight.
England’s defence of their Cricket World Cup crown, meanwhile, could scarcely have gone any worse, with only three wins from nine games in India.
The hosts were virtually flawless until the final but the hopes of a nation were dashed by a brilliant performance from Australia.
Australia also retained the Ashes after a close series, with England facing questions over their gung-ho style of play but fighting back to draw 2-2 after losing the first two matches.
Politics remained an ever-present bedfellow, with Saudi Arabia continuing their push into the sporting landscape.
LIV Golf impacted the Ryder Cup, with several familiar faces missing, but Luke Donald’s Europe stole the show over three brilliant days in Rome, defeating the US 16.5-11.5 to reclaim the trophy.
The Solheim Cup also provided plenty of drama, with Europe recovering from 4-0 down to clinch a 14-14 draw and keep hold of the trophy.
The issue of whether to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete amid the ongoing war in Ukraine saw Wimbledon and the Lawn Tennis Association reverse their ban from 2022, which had resulted in strong sanctions from the ATP and WTA.
With ranking points restored, 20-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz stunned Novak Djokovic over five sets in one of the great Wimbledon finals.
It was the only real blip in another astonishing season from Djokovic, though, who won the other three grand slam titles to move clear as the most successful male player in history.
Coco Gauff won her first slam title at the US Open, joining Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Marketa Vondrousova in lifting the sport’s most prestigious trophies on the women’s side.
Formula One was again the Max Verstappen show, the Dutchman winning a record 19 of the 22 grands prix.
With thoughts turning to next summer’s Olympic Games, there were encouraging signs for Britain at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, where Katarina Johnson-Thompson in the heptathlon and 1500 metres runner Josh Kerr took gold.
It will also be remembered as a good year for Celtic, who won the league and cup double in Scotland, Chelsea Women, who achieved the same feat in England, Gallagher Premiership champions Saracens, Super League winners Wigan, and Leigh, who claimed a brilliant Challenge Cup victory.
Erling Haaland, Max Verstappen and Novak Djokovic were among the male stars to produce historic statistics in a memorable year of sport.
Marketa Vondrousova also made history as the first unseeded winner of the Wimbledon women’s single title, while Europe retained the Solheim Cup with an unprecedented draw against the United States.
Here, the PA news agency looks back at the standout numbers from 2023.
36 – Erling Haaland’s Premier League-record goal tally as he won last season’s Golden Boot.
280 and 62 – Harry Kane set new goalscoring records for both Tottenham and England, passing Jimmy Greaves’ 266 for Spurs in February and Wayne Rooney’s 53 for his country the following month. He also joined Rooney and Alan Shearer as only the third player with 200 Premier League goals, reaching 213 before leaving for Bayern Munich in the summer.
£106.8million – the British record transfer fee paid by Chelsea for Enzo Fernandez in January as part of Todd Boehly’s £1billion spending spree. Team-mate Moises Caicedo’s move from Brighton could break the record with add-ons potentially taking his price to £115m.
77,390 – A crowd of 77,390 watched Chelsea beat Manchester United 1-0 in the Women’s FA Cup final, breaking the world record for a women’s domestic club fixture previously set when Atletico Madrid hosted Barcelona in 2019.
10 – points deducted from Everton for breaching Premier League financial regulations.
3 – Number of clean sheets kept by Mary Earps, who was awarded the Golden Glove after helping England reach the Women’s World Cup final, where she also saved a penalty in the 1-0 defeat to Spain.
19 – Max Verstappen won 19 of the 22 races as he took his third successive Formula One world title.
575 – Verstappen’s record points tally was more than double Sergio Perez’s second-placed 285.
24 – Novak Djokovic’s tally of grand slam titles after winning the Australian, French and US Opens this year – the most by a male player and tying Margaret Court’s all-time record.
1 – Marketa Vondrousova beat sixth seed Ons Jabeur 6-4 6-4 to become the first unseeded player to win the Wimbledon women’s singles title.
81 – Frankie Dettori retired from racing in Britain with an 81st Ascot winner aboard King of Steel in the Qipco Champion Stakes. That total includes nine Gold Cups as well as his unforgettable seven-timer in 1996 when he rode every winner on the card.
600 – Stuart Broad became only the fifth man to take 600 Test wickets, finishing his career with 604 as he retired after the Ashes.
26,643 – career first-class runs for former England captain Sir Alastair Cook, who retired in October.
89 – Australia won the only Test in the Women’s Ashes by 89 runs and went on to retain the urn after the series ended 8-8.
229 – England’s losing margin against South Africa during their dreadful Cricket World Cup defence was their highest by runs in a one-day international.
4 – South Africa won a record fourth Rugby World Cup, moving clear of final opponents New Zealand with their 12-11 win in Saint-Denis.
58,498 – The record crowd at Twickenham as England completed the Grand Slam in the Women’s Six Nations with a 38-33 victory over France.
16.5-11.5 – the score as Europe won the Ryder Cup in Rome.
14-14 – Europe retained the Solheim Cup after the first draw in the history of the contest in Spain.
37 – Simone Biles’ record tally of Olympic and World Championship medals after winning four golds and a silver in Antwerp in October. Her total includes four Olympic and 23 world golds.
47 – Ronnie O’Sullivan became snooker’s oldest UK champion aged 47, 30 years after his win aged 17 which still makes him the youngest. It was his eighth win in the event and his 22nd triple crown title.
20 – Katarina Johnson-Thompson won her second world heptathlon title by just 20 points in Budapest.
61-45 – The score as England lost to Australia in the Netball World Cup final in Cape Town.
It has been another eventful year of sporting action.
Manchester City completed the treble, Europe regained the Ryder Cup and Max Verstappen was once again a dominant winner of the Formula One world championship.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at the last 12 months through a selection of sporting pictures.
Manchester City achieved their holy grail of winning the Champions League in 2023 but did it against the backdrop of being hit with an unprecedented number of charges for alleged breaches of Premier League financial rules.
It was that kind of year in many ways. Spain made history by winning the Women’s World Cup, but immediately found themselves embroiled in a sexism scandal, while the unexpected success of England’s rugby team came with major setbacks for the cricketers.
Here the PA news agency looks at 10 things we learned in 2023.
Manchester City get the one they wanted
For all the Premier League titles won and records set, Pep Guardiola had openly acknowledged he needed to bring the Champions League trophy to Manchester City for his time at the Etihad Stadium to be considered a success.
And in June they did just that as Rodri’s second-half goal was enough to secure a 1-0 win over Inter Milan in Istanbul and see City emulate neighbours United by securing a treble, adding the Champions League to the Premier League and FA Cup trophies they had already lifted.
It was the trophy City had wanted more than any other during the more than decade-long overhaul under Sheikh Mansour’s ownership, and it was finally theirs.
Governance battles
City’s success came only a few months after they were hit with a stunning 115 charges by the Premier League for alleged breaches of financial regulations – a case that is expected to rumble on long into next year and beyond.
But when the Premier League imposed a 10-point penalty on Everton for a much lesser offence, many in football were shocked and there are now serious questions about how the Premier League handles not only City’s case but also possible charges against Chelsea, who self-reported their own breaches.
At a time when the Premier League is trying to show it does not need an independent regulator, the ramifications of how these cases play out could be huge.
LIV continues to rock golf
Jon Rahm’s December announcement that he was joining the LIV circuit showed that golf is still yet to figure out how to deal with the Saudi-backed start-up.
The joint announcement in June which saw the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV announce a framework for a merger to form a unified commercial entity was far from the end of the dispute and – as some players have said – might even make it easier for players to feel they can jump ship.
Rahm has been a critic of LIV in the past, but, following his Masters triumph and Europe’s Ryder Cup success, made the timing right for him. Where it leaves the rest of golf is unclear as we await further progress on talks between the rival tours.
World Cup woes leave questions for the ECB
England’s defence of their Cricket World Cup title could barely have gone much worse as they won only three of nine games in India, prompting yet more soul-searching.
The ECB’s decision to sideline its domestic 50-over competition in favour of The Hundred does not look good in this context, although how much impact it might actually have is unclear.
The bigger focus is perhaps on the ever-scrutinised schedule. England played half as many ODIs in the build-up to this World Cup than they did before winning in 2019, and most were against weak opposition.
Bitter disappointment for England Women
After the highs of their European Championship triumph, England went to the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand among the favourites but it was not to be.
Sarina Wiegman’s team overcame Lauren James’ red card to edge past Nigeria on penalties before seeing off Colombia and hosts Australia but, despite the heroics of Mary Earps in goal, Spain proved too strong in the final, with Olga Carmona scoring the only goal.
This month a 6-0 rout of Scotland was not enough for England to top their Nations League group as the Netherlands scored late to beat Belgium 4-0, denying Team GB a place at next summer’s Olympics in Paris.
A World Cup final overshadowed
Spain made history by beating England in the final in Sydney, lifting the World Cup trophy for the first time.
But their big moment became mired in controversy after Luis Rubiales, then president of the Spanish federation, kissed Jennifer Hermoso on the lips during the celebrations despite her obvious discomfort, and was also seen making obscene gestures.
Rubiales then refused to resign for several weeks as the controversy enveloped Spanish football, showing just how much more work lies ahead in changing attitudes.
Red Bull’s dominance is unprecedented
Red Bull completed the most dominant season ever seen in the history of Formula One in 2023 as Max Verstappen won 19 of the 22 races to leave everyone else in a separate competition.
While there is hope that a fresh season will offer fresh opportunities to their rivals, the sheer scale of their dominance brings its own issues.
With titles effectively secured long ago, Red Bull have already been able to work on the development of next year’s car – leaving everyone else to play catch up once more.
Bright spots for Borthwick
England went to the Rugby World Cup amid relatively low expectations on the back of home defeats to Scotland, France and Fiji during the course of 2023.
It was therefore a welcome surprise to see them not only get out of their group but see off Fiji in the quarter-final before pushing eventual champions South Africa all the way as they lost the semi-final 16-15.
While some experienced players will be retiring, it was a performance that offered hope for the future as exciting youngsters such as Henry Arundell emerged.
Sport continues to grapple with war
The International Olympic Committee has announced that Russian and Belarusian athletes who qualify for Paris 2024 will be allowed to compete as individuals next summer.
The IOC said the decision, quickly condemned by Ukraine following Russia’s invasion of the country, was about “respecting human rights”.
However, although the IOC has given the green light, many individual sporting governing bodies – not least World Athletics – have not changed their positions, meaning athletes in those events will remain ineligible.
The glacial pace of change at Old Trafford
It is more than a year since the Glazer family announced they would consider a sale or minority investment at Manchester United, offering fans hope that years of neglect could soon be coming to an end.
The deal for Sir Jim Ratcliffe to take a 25 per cent stake – one that would come with considerable control – is not the clean break most wanted, but it does at least offer hope of change, albeit one that is taking longer than expected with mooted timetables for completion having come and gone.
In the meantime, the team continues to lurch from mini-crisis to mini-crisis on the pitch, with Erik ten Hag’s side having been unable to build on the encouragement of last season. Will 2024 be the year real change finally comes to Old Trafford?
It has been another astonishing year of sporting drama, featuring triumphs for Europe’s Ryder Cup team, a near-miss for England’s women footballers and a nightmare title defence for the men’s cricketers.
Here, the PA news agency looks back on five of the best and worst sporting moments of 2023.
Best momentsDarting perfection in World Championship final
Michael Smith fired a stunning nine-dart finish in one of the greatest legs in the history of the World Championship during the early stages of the final with Michael Van Gerwen. In the third leg of the second set it was Van Gerwen who had the first chance at perfection, only to miss double 12. Smith, throwing second, was right behind him though, and made no mistake, following seven-successive treble 20s with a treble 19 and the prized double 12 to send the Alexandra Palace crowd wild. Smith’s perfect leg was the just the second in a World Championship final and he went on to complete a 7-4 victory.
Unseeded Vondrousova wins Wimbledon
Marketa Vondrousova defeated favourite Ons Jabeur in straight sets to make history as the first unseeded women’s singles champion at Wimbledon. The Czech player took advantage of a nervous performance from Jabeur to claim a 6-4 6-4 victory, just eight months after being ranked outside the world’s top 100 and winning a somewhat less prestigious tournament at The Shrewsbury Club in Shropshire. With the Princess of Wales and tennis royalty Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King watching from the front row of the Royal Box, Vondrousova recovered from 4-2 down in the opening set and 3-1 behind in the second to secure a first grand slam title.
Europe retain Solheim Cup after thrilling tie in Spain
Home favourite Carlota Ciganda played a starring role as Europe retained the Solheim Cup after a thrilling 14-14 draw with the United States, the first in the biennial contest’s history. Trailing 4-0 after the opening foursomes, Suzann Pettersen’s side rallied magnificently at Finca Cortesin and it fittingly fell to Spanish star Ciganda to ensure the trophy would remain in Europe with her fourth win from four matches. Pettersen, who will also captain the side in Virginia next year, said: “This is one of the best things I’ve been a part of and this is what makes Solheim Cups so special. It’s going to be one pretty good party tonight.”
Double gold for Britain in World Athletics Championship
Katarina Johnson-Thompson completed a stunning comeback to reclaim her world heptathlon title, edging out American favourite Anna Hall by just 20 points in Budapest. It represented a remarkable return to the top for the 30-year-old after a ruptured Achilles in 2020 and a calf injury at the Tokyo Olympics which forced her to quit after day one. Three days later, Josh Kerr succeeded compatriot Jake Wightman as world champion over 1,500m as he outsprinted odds-on favourite Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the home straight.
Europe regain Ryder Cup in Rome
Two years after suffering a humiliating defeat by a record 19-9 margin at Whistling Straits, Europe regained the Ryder Cup from the United States in impressive fashion at Marco Simone. Captained superbly by Luke Donald, who had inherited the role when Henrik Stenson was sacked for joining LIV Golf, the home side made the ideal start with an unprecedented 4-0 whitewash in the opening foursomes and never loosened their grip, with Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Viktor Hovland living up to their star billing.
Worst momentsAdam Johnson dies after accident in ice hockey game
Ice hockey and the wider sporting world was shocked by the death of Nottingham Panthers player Adam Johnson in what the club described as a freak accident. The 29-year-old American died on October 28 after being hit in the neck by an opposition player’s skate during a match at Sheffield’s Utilita Arena. Minnesota-born Johnson played for Pittsburgh Penguins in the National Hockey League before spending the 2020-21 season in Sweden with the Malmo Redhawks.
WTA Finals leaves top players feeling ‘disrespected’
For the third year in succession a late decision was made about the venue for the season-ending showpiece, with Cancun in hurricane season unsurprisingly proving a poor choice. World number two Aryna Sabalenka easily won her opening match but then took to social media to criticise the arrangements for players, who were only able to practise in the temporary arena for the first time the day before matches got under way. “I am very disappointed with the WTA and the experience so far at the WTA Finals,” Sabalenka wrote. “As a player, I feel really disrespected by the WTA. I think most of us do. To be honest, I don’t feel safe moving on this court a lot of the time.”
Sir Bobby Charlton dies
Tributes flooded in from the world of football following the death of Sir Bobby Charlton in October at the age of 86. He was a key member of England’s victorious 1966 World Cup team and also enjoyed great success at club level with Manchester United, who became the first English club to win the European Cup in 1968. That triumph came 10 years after the Munich air disaster, which Charlton and team manager Sir Matt Busby survived but which claimed the lives of eight of Charlton’s team-mates. Charlton played in the World Cup final alongside his brother Jack – who died in 2020 – and won 106 caps for England, scoring 49 goals. His death means Sir Geoff Hurst is the only surviving member of the side from the World Cup win.
Luis Rubiales overshadows Spain’s World Cup triumph
Spain’s victory over England in the Women’s World Cup final in Sydney was overshadowed by the actions of Spanish Football Association president Luis Rubiales, who celebrated his nation’s victory by grabbing his crotch while standing alongside Spain’s Queen Letizia and 16-year-old Princess Infanta Sofia in a VIP box and then kissed Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the trophy presentation ceremony. Hermoso said the kiss was not consensual and, after a long-running saga which included his mother staging a brief hunger strike, Rubiales eventually resigned and was banned by FIFA from all football-related activity for three years.
England’s Cricket World Cup defence
England arrived in India as reigning champions and well fancied to cement their legacy as the premier white-ball side of their generation. They departed after six long and chastening weeks with tails planted firmly between their legs, having conjured a calamitous cocktail of muddled selection, tactical naivety and rank bad form in the middle. Captain Jos Buttler personified their struggles as they endured their worst-ever sequence of results at the tournament, unable to make a dent with the bat as his side were humbled by Jonathan Trott’s Afghanistan and a Sri Lanka side helmed by sacked England coach Chris Silverwood. A seventh-placed finish somehow flattered them.
Giannis Antetokounmpo poured in a franchise-record 64 points on Wednesday in the Milwaukee Bucks’ 140-126 win over the Indiana Pacers.
Antetokounmpo surpassed the team record of 57 points set by Michael Redd in 2006 in a loss to the Utah Jazz. The previous career high for the Milwaukee superstar was 55 points in a victory over the Washington Wizards on Jan. 3.
He was 20 of 28 from the field in this one, 24 of 32 on free throws and had 14 rebounds.
Damian Lillard added 21 points and Bobby Portis had 13 for the Bucks, who lost to the Pacers in the semifinals of the In-Season Tournament on Thursday.
Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner each scored 22 points for Indiana, which had won four in a row, excluding a loss to the Lakers in the championship game of the tournament on Saturday.
Antetokounmpo was tackled by Aaron Nesmith on a play underneath with 10:10 left, setting off a brief exchange involving several players. Nesmith was called for a flagrant-1, and Nesmith and Portis were assessed technical fouls.
Embiid, 76ers deal Pistons 21st straight loss
Joel Embiid scored 30 of his 41 points in the first half as the Philadelphia 76ers sent the Detroit Pistons to their 21st straight loss, 129-11 on Wednesday to open a home-and-home series.
The Pistons, who haven’t won since Oct. 28, matched the longest losing streak in franchise history, set at the end of the 1979-80 season and the start of 1980-81. It is the sixth-longest single-season losing streak in NBA history.
Only the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers and the 2013-14 76ers (26 in a row), along with the 1995-96 Vancouver Grizzlies, the 1997-98 Denver Nuggets and the 2010-11 Charlotte Bobcats (23 straight) have lost more consecutive games in a season.
Philadelphia holds the overall mark of 28, set at the end of 2014-15 and start of 2015-16.
Bojan Bogdanovic led Detroit with a season-high 33 points on 11-of-19 shooting.
Former Piston Tobias Harris had 21 points and Kelly Oubre Jr. added 17 for the 76ers, winners of four straight.
Davis, Lakers hold off Wembanyama, Spurs
Anthony Davis scored 37 points and the Los Angeles Lakers overcame Victor Wembanyama’s big night in a 122-119 victory, extending the Spurs’ franchise-record losing streak to 18.
Davis rolled his left ankle in the opening seconds but refused to exit and went on to shoot 10 for 15 from the field and score 24 points in the first half.
Taurean Prince had 17 points and Austin Reaves added 15 to help the Lakers win for the fifth time in six games despite missing LeBron James, who sat out the first of two straight games in San Antonio because of a left calf injury.
Wembanyama had 30 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks, but the Spurs have remained winless since Nov. 2. He became the first rookie with 30 points, 10 boards and six blocks in a game since Spurs superstar Tim Duncan in 1998.
The NBA has suspended Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green indefinitely.
The league announced the suspension on Wednesday, saying Green "will be required to meet certain league and team conditions before he returns to play."
The penalty comes less than 24 hours after Green was ejected for hitting Jusuf Nurkic in the Warriors' 119-116 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday. The incident occurred in the third quarter when the two got tangled up, and Green struck Nurkic in the face. He received a Flagrant 2 foul on the play, and was promptly ejected for the 18th time in his career.
This marks Green's second suspension of the season after he was given a five-game ban by the NBA for putting Minnesota Timberwolves Rudy Gobert in a headlock on November 14.
Operations chief Joe Dumars said Green's "repeated history of unsportsmanlike acts" were considered in determining the severity of the penalty.
The suspension begins immediately.
Excitement continues to build for the last fight night of 2023 in the Wray & Nephew Fight Nights series, which will be held at Breezy Castle downtown, Kingston on Saturday.
Fight time is 7:00 pm.
Details of the fight card, which boasts six amateur bouts, including one female match-up and two professional fights, were revealed at a press briefing at Tracks & Records on Constant Spring Road, on Wednesday.
The card is dominated by Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) boxers - four in the amateur section and one professional boxer.
Debutante Chevelle Davidson promised to give of his best.
"You can expect me to show all my boxing skills. All the things my coach has taught me during training for preparation for fight night," Davidson said.
Her bout will be the second female fight of the series, following the Shanika Gordon and Sherekee Moore bout in Ebony Vale, in October.
Professional boxer Jermain 'Breezy' Richards, who won his two previous fights in the series, promised another positive outcome.
"Just come out. Expect the best of Breezy because with each fight I evolve a bit and I grow more talented, so I have more work to put in because I know what's out there waiting for me or what is expected of me," Breezy shared.
Richards, who will battle Colombian Francisco Cordero, dedicated the fight to the memory of his brother, who recently passed away, and whose birthday would have been December 16, the day of the fight.
The night will close with the very popular local professional Ian 'Impact' Darby of the JDF, who predicted a second-round knockout in his favour. He is set to oppose the other Colombian Julio Feria Jose Augustine.
"The 'Impact' always presents a blast. I am just coming out to do a bomb wrecking for my fans. This time I am representing Jamaica at its flag itself. There is a message I need to send so the 'Impact' will be sending a serious message that listen 'no matter what the denomination, no matter the culture, no matter country you are from, the 'Impact', the Jamaica flag will be raising high," said Darby, who won his first professional fight on local soil when he bettered Fabian 'Truck' Tucker, in October.
Meanwhile, Stephen Bomber Jones, president of the JBA said that the fight night series has surpassed all expectations.
"It is a thrill to see, and a moment of pride for not just the boxing board, but the boxing fraternity and the fans themselves. Because the shows have been perfect right around in terms of the setup, in terms of the platforms the boxers are given, and in terms of the way Wray & Nephew has put their weight behind the production so that we can have first class events where the boxers feel that they can aspire to world class level boxing, and then the boxing itself has been improving each and every show," Jones noted.
Amateur matchups
Khamoi Barrett, JDF vs Sanjae Hudson, Hybrid Athletics, MoBay (Heavyweight)
Chevon Gordon, Suga Olympic vs Kevon McKenzie, Hunter Gym, MoBay (Welterweight)
Daniel Williams, GC Foster vs Cayman Taffrel, Suga Olympic (Middleweight)
Delano McLaughin, JDF vs Kirk Patrick Keron, Port Antonio Boxing Club (Welterweight)
Garvan Garrison, JDF vs Mark Cunningham, Funrobics, Portmore (Lightweight)
Britney McFarlane, Stanley Couch vs Chevelle Davidson, JDF (Middleweight)
Professional matchups
Jermaine 'Breezy' Richards, I-Fight vs Francisco Cordero, Barranquilla, Colombia (Heavyweight)
Ian 'Impact' Darby, JDF vs Julio Feria Jose Augustine, Fundacion, Colombia (Cruiserweight)
Los Angeles Chargers coach Brandon Staley is expecting backup quarterback Easton Stick to prove his worth after Justin Herbert was ruled out for the season, describing the 28-year-old as a winner.
The Chargers will play the rest of the season without their franchise quarterback after Herbert underwent surgery to repair a fracture to his right index finger on Tuesday.
Herbert sustained the injury during the first half of the Chargers' 24-7 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday, with Stick coming in to throw 13-of-24 for 179 yards but no touchdowns.
Stick had only played two snaps in five seasons in the NFL before replacing Herbert, who has started 62 of the team's 63 games since being drafted sixth overall in 2020.
He will suit up for the 5-8 Chargers when they go on the road to face the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday, and Staley is backing his team to adapt.
"When you lose any player of that calibre, it's tough," Staley said on Tuesday. "But that's why you have a team, to be able to support that position and put a good plan together moving forward.
"One of the reasons why I was so excited to team up with [offensive coordinator] Kellen [Moore] was the work that he did with Cooper Rush. Dak Prescott went down and the Cowboys went on a really good run with Rush as their backup quarterback.
"The way that they had to play with Rush was different than the way that they were playing with Dak, but that's what you have to do, you have to make adjustments.
"Then, the rest of your team has to come alive and you have to play the game the way that it needs to be played in order to win. That's what we're going to try and do on Thursday."
Staley took plenty of positives from Stick's first meaningful taste of NFL action, adding: "I thought that there was a lot to build off from that last game.
"I think the way he played in that second half does give us confidence going into this game. He is a winner. You look at his track record at North Dakota State, all he has ever done is win.
"He knows how to run a team, lead a team. He has been great for our team since I've been here. We're excited for him.
"He's a commander out there. People believe in him because of how hard he works. Since I've been here, him and Justin have set a very high bar for everybody else, in terms of how to work.
"I think he has gotten better every single year and I think that his team-mates have seen that. He has improved every year as a quarterback. Now, he gets to show what he can do."
Herbert finishes his season with a 93.2 QB rating – the same as he registered in 2022 – but his average passing yards per game dropped from 278.8 – the third-best in the NFL last season – to 241.1, putting him 13th.
LeBron James says watching his son Bronny make his college debut just five months after he suffered a cardiac arrest meant "everything" to him and his family.
Bronny James was found to have a congenital heart defect after suffering a cardiac arrest during a workout at the University of Southern California in July.
Having recently been cleared for full-contact practice, the 19-year-old made his debut for the Trojans on Sunday, collecting four points, three rebounds and two assists in an 84-79 overtime loss to Long Beach State.
After helping the Los Angeles Lakers win the inaugural NBA in-season tournament on Saturday, LeBron James returned home to take in his son's debut, later describing it as a special moment.
"It was everything for my family," the NBA's all-time leading scorer said. "It was just an emotional, draining day, from the time we all woke up to the time the buzzer hit zeros.
"That moment was everything for us. To be there, to see the first person out of our family, out of the James gang, grace a college campus and a college floor… that was pretty cool.
"I think the most important thing, who cares about the win or the loss, the kid was standing tall and standing strong at the end of the game.
"That is a blessing in its own right, and that is a win. He's won at life, and everything else at this point is extra credit."
James senior was back on the court himself on Tuesday, with his 33-point haul not enough for the Lakers as they returned to regular-season action with a 127-125 road loss against the Dallas Mavericks.
The Lakers have two more road games this week, facing the struggling San Antonio Spurs in a double header before returning home to take on the New York Knicks next Monday.
The NFL will expand its International Series of games to South America for the first time in 2024, as the league announced it will hold a regular-season contest in São Paulo, Brazil next season.
NFL owners approved the decision to hold a game at the Corinthians Arena, a near-50,000 seat venue that previously hosted events at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics, at Wednesday's league meetings in Dallas. The date and participating teams will be announced at a later date.
The game will be one of five the NFL will hold internationally next season, with three to be played in London and another in Munich, Germany.
"Bringing the NFL to new continents, countries and cities around the world is a critical element of our plan to continue to grow the game globally," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. "Brazil has established itself as a key market for the NFL, and we are excited to be playing in Brazil and São Paulo for the first time in 2024. We look forward to working with the city of São Paulo, SP Turis and Corinthians Arena to deliver a world-class game day experience for this passionate and growing fan base."
Five NFL games were held in Europe this season, three in London and two in Frankfurt, Germany. The league also conducted regular-season games in Mexico City as recently as 2022.
São Paulo mayor Ricardo Nunes joined Goodell in Dallas for the announcement.
"The National Football League's decision to bring a regular-season game to São Paulo is significant and exciting for the city, consolidating São Paulo and Brazil at the center of the global sporting stage," said Nunes. "Through our hard work, we will now be able to welcome the NFL to our city, hosting this historic game that will have a positive impact on tourism, employment and the city's economy."
The number of NFL games held outside the United States will double in 2025 after owners voted to increase the league’s international offering at the December League Meeting in Dallas.
A first regular-season game to be held in South America was also approved and is set to be played in Brazil in 2024 at the home of Corinthians, taking the NFL to its fifth continent for a pre- or regular-season contest.
Wednesday’s vote ensures the NFL will have the right to schedule up to eight regular-season games per season internationally in 2025, up from four currently, with London once again set to host three next season with a third trip to Munich rounding out the global fixtures.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said: “Becoming a global sport is a major strategic priority for the league and 32 teams.
“Increasing international game inventory allows us to grow our global presence and share our game with exciting new markets to connect with more fans around the world.”
Manchester United executive co-chairman Joel Glazer, who also owns the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and chairs the NFL’s International Committee, added: “International games have been a huge success, and we are excited for the opportunity to share the sport of American football with more fans from around the world in the future.”
As part of the updated resolution approved by NFL ownership, no club would be required to play more than one regular-season game outside of North America in the same season unless they specifically choose to.
Each team designated to play in an international regular-season game will be permitted to select two of their regular-season opponents that will not be eligible to be scheduled as their opponent in an international game, and international games may not be scheduled after Week 14 of the NFL season.
An NFL release stated that “new markets and host cities/stadiums for future seasons will be announced at later dates.”
Nikola Jokic accepted he "crossed the line" after being ejected from the Denver Nuggets' road win over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday, a decision which prompted boos from the opposing fans.
Jokic was ejected with just over a minute remaining in the second quarter, but Reggie Jackson stepped up with a team-high 25 points as Denver rallied in his absence for a 114-106 win.
The two-time NBA MVP was tossed after yelling at official Mousa Dagher while asking for a foul call, with ESPN reporting that he told Dagher: "Call the foul, mother******".
The pool report said Jokic was thrown out for "profane language that warranted an ejection", and while Jokic accepted he was in the wrong, he said other officials would not have called a technical for that offence.
"Sometimes it's not even a technical," Jokic said after the game. "I crossed the line, I understand, but sometimes that word doesn't cross the line. It is what it is."
Jokic's ejection led to boos from the Chicago crowd, and the Bulls were expecting a large contingent of Serbian fans to be in attendance on Jokic's only visit to United Center this regular season.
"It's the second-biggest Serbian population here," Jokic pointed out. "Belgrade is the first, and Chicago is the second. So, maybe they came to see me!"
While Denver coach Michael Malone was pleased to see Jokic's team-mates step up, he said the team must ensure that he stays in games for the duration.
"I think everybody was surprised it was a one-tech toss," Malone said. "Maybe I have to do a better job because if he's getting fouled or he thinks he's getting fouled, let me take the tech.
"That's my job as a head coach because I don't want him being put in that position where he is getting thrown out. It's not good for him and more importantly it's not good for the team.
"We can talk about how great our bench was tonight, but in the big picture, we need Nikola available. He knows that, and we just have to work on how we engage and how we communicate with the referees."
Jokic was not the subject of the only high-profile ejection across the NBA on Tuesday, with Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green tossed for the third time this season in a 119-116 loss to the Phoenix Suns.
Green was ejected in the third quarter after receiving a Flagrant 2 foul for hitting Jusuf Nurkic in the face, with the incident coming less than a month after he was banned for five games for putting the Minnesota Timberwolves' Rudy Gobert in a headlock.
Green must now wait on a league review to discover whether he will face another suspension, and he apologised for catching Nurkic in the aftermath of Golden State's loss.
"I am not one to apologise for things I do, but I do apologise to Jusuf because I didn't intend to hit him," Green said. "I sell calls with my arms. I was selling the call, I swung and unfortunately I hit him."
While Suns coach Frank Vogel called Green's behaviour "reckless" and "dangerous", the 33-year-old insisted he didn't intend to strike Nurkic.
"If I intended to do that, then I would feel awful about not being there," Green added. "But my intentions were just to sell the foul.
"You guys have known me long enough, if I intended to do something, I am not apologising. But I did make contact with him, so I do apologise. It's a hard hit."
Anthony Joshua says British rival Tyson Fury looked like a “flat slob” in his recent fight with former mixed martial arts champion Francis Ngannou.
Fury, who will fight to become undisputed world heavyweight champion early next year, narrowly avoided an upset when he beat the Cameroonian in a split decision in October.
Joshua, who has given up hope of ever getting the chance to fight for all four heavyweight titles himself, was unimpressed by Fury’s performance.
The 34-year-old told TNT Sports Boxing YouTube Channel: “He just looked like a flat slob that just can’t fight. He says that bodybuilders can’t fight, but he got smacked up by one.
“I’ve always wanted to get in the ring with him. He does a lot of talking, calls me a bodybuilder and stuff, but I want to marvel at the African power – he’s a bodybuilder, steps in and smacks him up for me.”
Joshua, a former holder of the IBF, WBC and WBO titles, previously targeted unification fights against Fury and Deontay Wilder when he was champion, but neither came to fruition.
Fury, the current WBC champion, will get the opportunity to fight for all four major belts when he takes on Oleksandr Usyk in February.
Joshua returns to the ring against Sweden’s Otto Wallin in Saudi Arabia later this month and fears the belts will be separated again before he has the get the chance to fight the victor.
He said: “It won’t happen anymore. I think it’s just the reality.
“What will happen is that Usyk and Fury are now in position to compete for the undisputed, and once they compete for the undisputed, the belts will get split up again.
“And I feel probably it would take me about five to six years to go through and get all the belts, beat all the independent champions. That will probably take me on to being 40-41, so it’s probably not in my timeframe.”
:: Watch the full interview on the TNT Sports Boxing YouTube Channel. ‘Day of Reckoning’, Saturday December 23, as part of Riyadh season, will be available live on TNT Sports Box Office and DAZN. For info on how to watch visit www.dayofreckoning.co.uk.
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