SHENZHEN, China -- Back in July when Jerry Colangelo and Gregg Popovich started to realize just what sort of challenge they had in assembling a Team USA roster after a string of withdrawals, Jaylen Brown got an invitation to training camp with no promise that he'd make the final World Cup roster.

Now deep into this run in China, it's hard to imagine Brown not being a part of the team. He's ended up filling a badly needed multipurpose role and been a savior of sorts of the last week when his Boston Celtics teammate Jayson Tatum went down with an ankle injury.

There's a direct correlation between the Americans' improved play in their past three performances -- which included an 89-73 win over Brazil on Monday -- and Brown taking on a larger role. Playing significant minutes at power forward in Tatum's place and even playing occasionally at center, Brown's flexibility and intensity have been a needed injection.

"I feel like I'm not a position player, I'm a basketball player. 4-3-2, whatever coach needs me to do, I will make the adjustment," Brown said. "Obviously with Jayson out, there's a little more opportunity and maybe it was a little more visible. But every time I take the floor, I want to be aggressive."

Brown had 11 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals in eliminating the Brazilians and helping set up the U.S. with a top seed going into Wednesday's quarterfinals against France (ESPNews, ESPN+, 7 a.m. ET). Over the past three games he's averaging 13 points and 6.3 rebounds on 51 percent shooting.

But those raw numbers aren't really illustrative of his contribution. Seeing his versatility on defense, how Popovich can use him on a variety of different players combined with the energy he brings when he comes off the bench tells a more complete picture. Simply, he's just been making plays all over the floor and he just stands out.

"Well he's a strong player," Popovich said. "For his size and strength he moves well, and he will penetrate. He can catch and pull it. Get to the rim. And he's unselfish and finding other people. He's just kind of an all-around player. He has stepped in and given us good minutes at both ends of the floor for sure."

Popovich rejects single-game plus/minus as a reliable statistic and that's fine. Everything on Team USA has sample size issues. But in this case, mentioning that the Americans have outscored their opponents by 34 points over the past three games with Brown on the floor feels fairly relevant.

Putting the data aside, there's also a certain toughness that Brown brings. This has been in his profile since he was at Cal and certainly has shown up in Boston. It was not a random happenstance that it was Brown who got into the face of Giannis and Thanasis Antetokounmpo last weekend after a perceived cheap shot foul.

Brown was one of the few Celtics who wasn't afraid to push back against Kyrie Irving last season when the former Boston point guard took some shots at the younger players on the roster. Brown is sometimes quiet, but he's not meek. That attitude has been positive this summer.

"Chemistry is built when you hit adversity together and you've got to push through it," Brown said. "We've been challenged multiple times on this trip. We started Aug. 4 and now it's Sept. 10. We've seen a lot together."

Monday night he wore a Waffle House T-shirt as he departed the Shenzhen Bay Sports Arena. He's had the same order, by the way, since he was a kid: "All-Star special, grits instead of hash browns, no meat. Scrambled eggs hard with an extra waffle, maybe blueberry depending how I'm feeling and a sweet tea. I get the same thing every time."

That's when you are reminded that Brown is a bright guy from the Atlanta area, who loves back-and-forth conversation and a good Waffle House breakfast. Like his play, there's always some edge.

"You say I've played my best in the last three games is subjective, whatever opportunity I get I try to take advantage of it," he said. "This what I've been doing all my life."

Los Angeles Angels slugger Mike Trout underwent a procedure Monday morning to address a neuroma, or pinched nerve, in his right toe and is considered day-to-day, the team announced.

Trout had a cryoablation procedure, which uses extreme cold to destroy tissue.

Trout, 28, was out of the Angels' lineup again Monday for their game against the visiting Cleveland Indians as he continues to deal with discomfort in his right toe.

The two-time MVP was also out of the lineup for Saturday's and Sunday's games against the White Sox, but did pinch hit in the ninth inning Saturday night.

Trout has 45 home runs this season, second-most in the majors next to the New York Mets' Pete Alonso, who has 46.

Trout left in the fifth inning of Friday's game after experiencing soreness in the toe.

The outfielder has been bothered by the toe for a few weeks and missed a game against the Texas Rangers on Aug. 28.

BOSTON -- Just as the New York Yankees were beginning to dig themselves out of the barrage of injuries they have endured this season, they suffered yet another blow, with outfielder Mike Tauchman being diagnosed with a Grade 2 calf strain with which he'll miss the rest of the season.

Tauchman left Sunday night's game at the bottom of the fourth inning with what the Yankees called "calf tightness" and traveled to New York to undergo an MRI, after which he was diagnosed with the strain, which will require between four and six weeks to heal, effectively ending his season.

The team has been affected by a myriad of injuries all season.

"I hurt for him," manager Aaron Boone said Monday before the final game of the Yankees' four-game wraparound series against the Boston Red Sox. "Obviously he's been such an important player for us. I'm trying to support him and I look forward to seeing him when he does get back with us. I know he's a big part of us moving forward even though obviously it's not going to be on the playing field for a while. Right now I'm just bummed out for him, but we've got to keep moving."

Tauchman, 28, became the second Yankees outfielder out for the season, joining Aaron Hicks, who has had several setbacks on his rehab from a flexor strain near his right elbow, and who Boone said will probably not have enough time to go get healthy before the end of the season. Before heading to New York, Tauchman, who was hitting .315 (46-for-146) since the All-Star break, called his injury "incredibly disheartening.''

Boone said that even though losing Tauchman is a blow for the Yankees, the team has enough options in his absence to finish out the season without putting more pressure on the possible return of Giancarlo Stanton, whom Boone expects to rejoin the team during its next homestand.

"With our roster now and how we're built up, in the short term, we're very much covered between [Cameron] Maybin, between Tyler Wade being able to go out there. Breyvic Valera can go out there and play," Boone said. "It doesn't speed [Stanton] up. When Giancarlo is ready, he'll be here. We believe that's getting close but we won't speed that up as a result of this."

According to Boone, Stanton has been ramping up his rehab and is now expected to rejoin the team for its final homestand of the regular season, which starts Sept. 17.

"I did hear that [Stanton] hit and everything went well and he's continuing to do well and things are moving as we hope," Boone said. "He's ramping up pretty good and he's getting close to where it's full baserunning. He's doing his full defense already. We're going to have him slide and kind of do everything, and hopefully he'll be back in the mix with us sometime in the next week."

Mets ace Noah Syndergaard was "livid" when he found out he would be throwing to catcher Wilson Ramos during his start on Sunday and confronted manager Mickey Callaway and general manager Brodie Van Wagenen over the decision, according to a report in the New York Post.

Syndergaard has a 5.09 ERA with Ramos in 18 games and a 2.45 ERA with Tomas Nido in 10 games.

Nido is slashing .200/.232/.317 with three home runs and 13 RBIs in 126 plate appearances while Ramos is hitting .298 with 14 home runs and 71 RBIs in 470 plate appearances.

"Noah understands that I'm going to make the lineup and he's going to go out there and compete for the team," Callaway told SNY on Monday. "He understands that we're trying to do something special here and get to the playoffs and that everything else is separated from that.

David Ortiz made a surprise appearance at Fenway Park on Monday night for the first time since he was shot in a botched assassination attempt in his native Dominican Republic in June.

Ortiz, a beloved figure among the Boston Red Sox faithful, got a standing ovation before throwing out the first pitch before the game against the New York Yankees.

Ortiz, introduced on the public-address system as a symbol of "resilience, strength, triumph and love," ran up the steps from the dugout to the field, appearing strong and healthy, before throwing a pitch to former teammate Jason Varitek.

"I want to thank God for giving me a second opportunity in my life to be here with all of you," Ortiz said to the crowd. "I want to thank the Red Sox, my real family. They always have been there for me, supporting me. ... They were the first ones there supporting me."

Ortiz, 43, was shot in the back by a gunman while sitting and talking with a friend at a nightclub in Santo Domingo the night of June 9. He was flown back to Boston aboard a jet sent by the Red Sox the next day and spent seven weeks in a hospital, undergoing three surgeries for life-threatening injuries.

"I want to thank you for all for your prayers, all of them came home," he told the crowd.

Ortiz also thanked his former Red Sox teammates for their visits and support, as well as some players on the Yankees who had come to see him as he was convalescing.

Ortiz, known as Big Papi, was a 10-time All-Star and three-time World Series winner with the Red Sox from 2003 through 2016, thrilling fans with late-game dramatics in the postseason. A street across from Fenway Park has been named for the slugger.

He further endeared himself to the fans with his heartfelt and profane speech at Fenway Park days after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, urging the city to be "Boston Strong."

Ortiz's appearance came on the same day the Red Sox announced that they had fired president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski on Sunday amid a disappointing season, less than a year after winning the 2018 World Series.

Brits help Europe gain overnight lead against United States in Ryder Cup-style ‘Match’ at Dinamo Stadium

Alex Bell was among the winners as the British middle-distance runner took the 800m victory at The Match in Minsk to help give Europe a 331 to 304 lead over the United States at the end of the first day.

Bell (pictured) enjoyed the race of her life to clock 2:04.81 after out-lasting fellow European team-mate Olha Lyakhova in the final metres of an exciting race.

“I’m very happy to win this race,” said Bell. “It was kind of a technical race, I don’t race too much and this was a great opportunity to practice for the World Championships. My season has been very good, my results are rising.

“The atmosphere is really great, I’ve never experienced anything like that before. It’s nice to be a part of the team and feel the support.”

Bell was not the only British athlete to win, though. British sprinter Daryll Neita 11.29 (-0.8) finished first in the women’s 100m in one of the earliest events of the night as she finished one hundredth of a second ahead of America’s Dezerea Bryant with a strong finish.

“I’m running the 100m in Doha so I’m happy that went well,” said Neita. “This was a good stepping stone for that and it’s amazing to be here and represent Europe. I love wearing the orange for my continent.”

Europe is traditionally strong in field events and high jumper Maksim Nedasekau of Belarus produced the performance of the meeting so far with a world lead of 2.35m.

Another top performance came from Poland’s Pawel Fajdek as he won the hammer for Europe with 80.71m as Britain’s Nick Miller is third with a fine 77.89m as his strong late-season form continues.

The pole vault was also a high standard with Anzhelika Sidorova clearing 4.85m to win from Katerina Stefanidi’s 4.70m.

Two days after competing in the Great North CityGames over 150m in North East England, Allyson Felix continued her comeback by placing runner-up to fellow American Wadeline Jonathas in the 400m – the duo clocking 51.01 and 51.36 as Jodie Williams of Britain was fourth in 51.83.

Elise Cranny of the US took the women’s 3000m in 9:00.69 as Eilish McColgan was close behind in third place for Europe.

One of the most exciting events of the first day saw Jake Wightman edged into second by Josh Thompson of the US in the men’s 1500m in 3:38.89. Wightman made a strong burst on the last lap and held a good lead into the home straight but Thompson ran him down as Ben Blankenship, Charlie Da’Vall Grice and Kevin Lopez followed in third to fifth.

Mike Rodgers won the men’s 100m for the United States in 10.20 (-1.1) as British champion Ojie Edoburun ran 10.31 in fifth.

Elsewhere, Sandra Perkovic of Croatia won the women’s discus with 67.65m and Darrell Hill of the United States won the men’s shot with 22.35m, while Damarcus Simpson of the United States won the men’s long jump with an 8.17m leap that runner-up Miltiadis Tentoglou and third-placed Eusebio Caceres also shared.

The Match continues on Tuesday in Minsk with the final day of competition.

Brazilian tennis player Diego Matos has been banned from professional tennis for life and fined $125,000 (£100,600) after being convicted of multiple match-fixing offences.

Matos has also been ordered to repay $12,000 (£9,650) received in winnings in tournaments played in Ecuador.

An independent anti-corruption hearing found that 31-year-old Matos had contrived the outcome of 10 tennis matches played during 2018 at ITF level tournaments in Brazil, Sri Lanka, Ecuador, Portugal and Spain.

In addition to the match-fixing charges, the player was also found guilty of not co-operating with a Tennis Integrity Unit investigation as he refused to comply fully with requests to provide his mobile phone for forensic examination, and failed to supply financial records.

Mato, who had been provisionally suspended from tennis since 6 December, 2018 was ranked 373rd in doubles, with a highest singles ranking of 580th in April 2012.

“Squash à la Franglaise”: Nantes Open builds on Anglo-French “Squash Twinning”
By JAMES ROBERTS – Squash Mad Reporter

France and Britain: two great nations so close geographically and yet so different. We may take the mickey out of each other, with our “Frogs” and “Rosbif” jibes, but despite past conflicts, cultural differences and superficial disdain, there is more that unites us than divides us and deep down lies a lot of mutual admiration and respect.

This is why driving into many British towns and cities, you often see French places on the ‘Welcome To’ road sign mentioned as the Twin Town. The reverse is obviously true for French town and city ‘Bienvenu à’ signs.

I think this is particularly evident in the world of squash. On our side of the Channel, we have long admired the skill, artistry and determination of their top players. The likes of Gregory Gaultier, Thierry Lincou and Camille Serme have regularly been quoted amongst British squash fans’ lists of favourite players.

French squash fans I’ve spoken to also love and admire our players, with the tenacity of Nick Matthew, the accuracy of James Willstrop and the flair of Daryl Selby coming in for particular French admiration.

British and French fans are also united in their total delight that, after a long period of fasting, the diet of live squash on their screens is about to be resumed with the 5th edition of the Open International de Squash de Nantes, now deservedly rebranded the Open de France.

This unique and innovative tournament, with its changing iconic locations and fusion of art with sport, has fast become one of the most eagerly anticipated tournaments on the Tour.

Many people draw comparisons with the ever-popular Canary Wharf Classic held in London, which although never changes location, nevertheless offers a spectacular backdrop and generates a similar buzzing atmosphere, which the players feed off.

This is no complete coincidence as both organising teams have liaised closely and visited each other’s tournaments. In some ways, you could say that, like many town and city twinning arrangements, these are ‘Twin Tournaments’.

The increasing popularity and profile of the Nantes Open has also lead to a steady increase in the number of British squash fans hopping over the channel to watch the action in person. Squash Travel, the agency that assists many of the current professional players and the sport’s associations with worldwide travel arrangements, last year organised a package trip to Nantes, including flights, hotel and tickets to the semi-finals and finals. The trip was so successful that Mel and Ian have reorganised a similar tour for this year – I know as I’m part of it!

In addition, increasing numbers of British squash fans have organised their own trips, either with club mates or individually. One such club is Lings Squash Club in Northampton. Since 2014, Lings has organised a trip to North-western France each September to play squash and enjoy a bit of French culture, usually in the La Rochelle area.

Northamptonshire County has long links with this area, with the former county junior coach, Sam Willis, having run squash holiday camps there previously. Indeed, Lings has now forged close links with local club Squash La Rochelle, with their coaches and players having also organised a return visit to Northampton just last year.

This year and given their admiration of the Nantes Open, the Lings Club has decided to stay in Nantes so they can build in watching the Open de France semis into their busy schedule of squash, tourism and general merriment. I will be joining them for a lot of their itinerary, especially the squash playing, tourism and merriment!

This is without doubt the squash trip I have most looked forward to as it is combining so many amazing elements: top squash action presented innovatively in an iconic location, in a region of France I love where I have many friends (whom I will also be visiting) and also sharing it with squash friends I have made at home.

I arrive in Nantes this Wednesday and after making a short initial visit to the Château des Ducs de Bretagne to get my bearings, I will firstly be visiting local friends near Nantes and in the neighbouring city of Angers.

On Friday, I return to Nantes, initially heading to La Maison du Squash to watch the inaugural Amateur Open de France, before then linking up with the Lings Club for some squash, in advance of returning to the Château to take in the Open de France semi-finals.

More squash playing, some tourism and the Finals will follow on the Saturday, with a barbecue planned on the Sunday at the large house Lings have rented in Nantes, which will be attended by their friends from Squash La Rochelle.

I look forward to bringing you a short daily blog to provide a squash fan’s perspective on this innovative tournament. As a member of the organising team for World Squash Day, which will be taking place on Saturday 12th October, also look out for a bit of promotional activity planned during the tournament.

Perhaps more squash clubs across Britain and France should follow the example of Lings and La Rochelle and forge twinning arrangements? Vive le Squash à la Franglaise!

Pictures courtesy of : Open de France, Lings Squash Club and Squash Travel