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What's life like in the Scotland Six Nations camp?
Legendary Scotland and Lions coach Jim Telfer famously used to flog his players in training to get them battle-hardened for the demands of Test match rugby.
The days of endless scrummaging practice and ferocious rucking sessions leading up to a game are a thing of the past, so what does a training week look like for a modern-day player ahead of a Six Nations opener?
"Monday's usually quite light, and then Tuesday and Wednesday will be heavy days," Brown explained. "Then it's just nice and light towards the end of the week.
"But from a psychological point of view, it will completely switch. There'll be lots of learning at the start of the week. Then as you taper down your training and you get more time off your feet, then the anticipation towards gameday builds."
Whereas those outside the inner sanctum only discover the matchday squad later in the week, players get a sense of who has got the nod days before.
"Normally on a Monday, there'd be a walkthrough and you tend to get bibs handed out to those that are in the team," Brown said. "So you can kind of figure it out then.
"Officially on a Tuesday morning, there's usually a team presentation. Then at the end of that, there'll be a little video that goes up with the 23 on it and then a little round of applause, some handshakes and pats on the back.
"In every team, most people call it Test Match Tuesday. So normally after the team has been announced, there's then a bit of full contact through either units or rugby sessions and Test Match Tuesday comes out.
"That's your opportunity to lay a marker down, say that you should have been picked, or have a cheap dig. There's always a little bit of friction."
CONCORD, N.C. Zach Blurton learned a lot during his rookie season with the American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) National Tour. 2025 will be all about improvements in his second year on the road.
Just be competitive, a lot more competitive than we were last year, Blurton said of his goals for 2025. Consistency and just building our team. Being a team that people respect and know that [we] can be a contender, night-in and night-out.
Blurton, 30, of Quinter, Kan., is back on the full-time ASCS National Tour roster, piloting his own Summit Automotive Group, Don Ott Racing Engines-powered Maxim Chassis No. 2J. A graduate of the regional 305 and 360 Sprint Car ranks, Blurton made the decision to start traveling last year and finished 2024 ranked eighth in the Tour points standings.
However, Blurton said eighth place was a bit humbling, despite his rookie status. His lone National Tour victory came in July 2022 at his home track WaKeeney Speedway in WaKeeney, KS which highlighted his potential against the traveling stars of the national 360 Sprint Car ranks.
Though he carried that confidence into his rookie season, Bluton said his results fell short of his expectations totaling three top-five finishes and 10 top-10s in 29 starts.
I was going into it thinking we knew quite a bit, with winning an ASCS National show a few years ago, I thought our program was a lot closer than what I was expecting, Blurton said. I knew it was gonna be tough, for sure, but I know we can do better than that.
But for their home-grown operation racing with traveling stars, Blurton has reasons to be proud. He posted his best finish of the season at Big Sky Speedway (Billings, MT) in August, running second to Jake Bubak, putting his upward-trending skills on display.
Were a family team, Blurton said. My dad and I have one crew guy from here in town that goes with us. I do this for a hobby. A lot of guys are out here doing it for a living. I have a day job, and that comes first.
We try to put as much into it as we can. Weve made a lot of improvements. My dad and I learned a bunch, and it showed, for sure.
More improvements are on his wish list for 2025, but he wants none more than to improve his results early in the race program.
Ive got to qualify better, Blurton said. I feel like our Qualifying kills us, and [Qualifying] makes your whole night a lot easier. Every night we qualified good, we had decent runs. The qualifying is so important, and going out there and knowing that your car is right and being able to run two perfect laps is big. It sets up your whole night, and thats where we have to be on it.
Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty will make his season debut in Wednesday night's road game against the Florida Panthers.
Doughty, 35, underwent surgery in early October to repair a fractured left ankle. The injury occurred during a preseason game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Sept. 25.
Beginning his 17th season with the Kings, Doughty won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman in 2015-16 and helped Los Angeles capture the Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2014.
The five-time All-Star appeared in all 82 games last season -- the seventh time he has accomplished that feat -- and finished with 50 points (15 goals, 35 assists).
Doughty has tallied 669 points (156 goals, 513 assists) in 1,177 career games since being selected by the Kings with the second overall pick of the 2008 NHL draft.
Devils leading goal scorer Hischier week-to-week
New Jersey Devils captain Nico Hischier is week-to-week with an upper-body injury, coach Sheldon Keefe announced Wednesday.
Hischier was injured after taking a cross check up high by Montreal captain Nick Suzuki during the second period of the Devils' 4-3 overtime win Saturday. The forward returned to the ice for one shift in the third before retreating to the locker room.
He missed Monday's 4-2 loss to the Flyers.
"It's something I think they'll evaluate again next week and then take it from there," Keefe said. "But he won't be available this week for sure."
Hischier will miss Wednesday's game against the Flyers and figures to miss games at Buffalo (Sunday) and at Pittsburgh (Tuesday).
Hischier, 26, leads the team in goals (24) to go along with 19 assists in 51 games this season. He is second among forwards with an average ice time of 20:21. He has 396 points (160 goals, 236 assists) in 503 career games since being selected by the Devils with the first overall pick of the 2017 NHL draft.
New Jersey is already without top goaltender Jacob Markstrom, who is in the middle of missing 4-6 weeks with a lower-body injury. Hischier, Markstrom and Keefe helped the Devils start 28-18-6 to get into a playoff spot after failing to qualify last season.
Field Level Media and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Philadelphia Flyers' goaltender Samuel Ersson will replace the injured Jacob Markstrom on Team Sweden for the upcoming 4 Nations tournament.
Tuesday's announcement came days after New Jersey Devils' netminder Markstrom was placed on injured reserve by the team with an MCL sprain he suffered in a collision with Boston forward Justin Brazeau in last Wednesday's game. The timeline for Markstrom's recovery was set around 4-6 weeks and a source told ESPN's Emily Kaplan that Markstrom's participation in the 4 Nations event would be "a challenge."
Now it's official that Markstrom won't be participating and instead it'll be Ersson getting the call. Philadelphia's starter has been impressive of late, posting an 8-2 record with a .930 save percentage in his last 10 starts, and he's 15-8-2 on the season. The 25-year-old has represented Sweden on five other occasions internationally, including the 2024 World Championships where Sweden took home a bronze medal.
Ersson may not be the only replacement goaltender Sweden needs for 4 Nations, either. Linus Ullmark -- who was named along with Markstrom to Sweden's roster in December -- hasn't suited up for Ottawa since a back injury sidelined him in late December. He's been skating again but whether he's available to Sweden in next month's event is still to be determined.
As it is, Markstrom is the second player to be removed from a team's roster due to injury. Canadian defenseman Alex Pietrangleo also will not be participating; no replacement has been named as of yet for him.
The 4 Nations Face-Off will feature teams from Canada, the United States, Sweden and Finland. It will take place from February 12-20 with round-robin action between the Bell Centre in Montreal and TD Garden in Boston.
Kansas City Current's star striker Temwa Chawinga has penned a three-year contract extension, the NWSL side confirmed in a statement on Wednesday.
The extension comes as a reward for the Malawi international's stellar debut campaign in the NWSL, where her record-breaking 20 goals in the 2024 season saw her win the Golden Boot and Most Valuable Player award.
"This year, we hope to bring the trophy home for the fans, for KC," Chawinga said. "My team has been good to me and they treated me well last season. My teammates are kind, my coach is amazing, and my KC community has been incredible. All the support, it feels like home here, that's why I decided to extend my contract with the KC Current."
Chawinga wasn't able to add a winner's medal to her collection last season, with Current losing 3-2 in the playoff semifinal to eventual winners Orlando Pride.
"Securing Temwa's long-term future in Kansas City was a significant priority this offseason," general manager Caitlin Carducci said.
"She had anamazing debut season, but both Temwa and our club feel that we are just getting started in reaching our potential together. We're excited to see her wearing the Current crest for years to come."
A fire on the perimeter of Etihad Stadium was extinguished on Wednesday as fans arrived for Manchester City's decisive Champions League clash against Club Brugge.
The fire broke out near the entrance to the Colin Bell West Stand when City were unveiling their new January signings nearby.
City confimed the fire would not delay kick-off.
"Emergency services are present at the scene and the fire has now been extinguished," City said in a statement.
"The safety of all attending the match tonight is our top priority, and as such all events planned for West Stand reception have been cancelled, including the welcome event for new players, and the first team arrival."
No casualties were immediately reported to police.
A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service told ESPN in a statement: "Just before 6pm this evening, two fire engines from Blackley and Philips Park fire station were called to reports of a building fire involving an outbuilding on the car park of the football ground on Rowsley Street, Manchester.
"Crews arrived quickly at the scene. Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus used two hose reels to extinguish the fire, they are currently dampening down any hotspots and making the area safe.
"Firefighters have been in attendance for around thirty minutes and are still at the scene."
City, who are 25th in the Champions League table ahead of the final group fixture, must beat Brugge to make the knockout playoffs.
Information from Reuters and ESPN's Rob Dawson contributed to this report.
Farhan Ahmed five-for but England U19s thwarted in victory push
England U19s 299 (Farhan 90, Home 63, Mokoena 5-61, Daniels 4-49) and 336 for 9 dec (Rew 71, Home 60*, Vaughan 44, Fonseka 43, Mason 5-111) drew with South Africa U19s 319 (Rowles 90, Bulbulia 88, Farhan 4-78) and 295 for 9 (Bulbulia 114, Farhan 5-103)
Ahmed completed a dominant display with both bat and ball - returning match figures of nine for 181 after his first-innings 90 - only for the home side to snatch a draw chasing 317 to win.
Ali eventually broke a stubborn 84-ball ninth-wicket stand when Raeeq Daniels edged to Archie Vaughan at first slip, but with just eight balls left the home side saw it through to the close - albeit in unconventional style.
Last man Nqobani Mokoena opted to attack the final over from Ahmed, who had eight fielders around the bat, finding the rope twice including smashing the final ball through cover.
Bulbulia fell victim to Ahmed, spooning back a return catch, and the Nottinghamshire 16-year-old all-rounder had his five-wicket haul in the same over when Divan de Villiers was bowled attempting a big shot.
The second Youth Test begins at Western Province Cricket Club in Cape Town on Monday.
Khawaja reflects on subcontinental career of two halves: 'Everyone sees only the good stuff'
But he'd had a message from coach Andrew McDonald: 'Get on the Sri Lanka tour'. Now, Khawaja has struck 147 not out on the first day of that series, top-scoring for Australia as they strode to 330 for 2 on a rain-curtailed day one. This was also Khawaja's first Test century since mid 2023, and the 16th of his Test career.
"It's been a tough summer - I had a lot of people telling me how I should go about my career and what I should do from here on in," said Khawaja, who turned 38 in December. "But Andrew McDonald, even last year, said to me: 'I don't care what happens, just make sure you're on the Sri Lankan tour. I want you on the Sri Lankan tour.'
"I'm not here for anyone but the team. I'm not just playing cricket because I've got a gluttony to score lots of runs. Century No. 16, 17, 18 is not going to make a difference to my life. I'm going to finish this game, and I've got a beautiful family. I'll try to give back to the community as much as I can. Hopefully I can score runs and contribute to the team."
"It's a contrast of two halves - my career in the subcontinent," Khawaja said. "There's pre-Dubai, post-Dubai. There were some low times - my wife Rachel was here with me [in 2016, when he'd been dropped mid-series in Sri Lanka], and we had so many of those tough times. No one ever sees that. Everyone sees the good stuff."
Khawaja wasn't the only Australia batter to get to triple figures on Wednesday. Steven Smith scored his 35th Test hundred as well.
"But you have to take the good stuff when you get it. It doesn't come around very much. We had one of the greatest players to play the game - Steven Smith - get to, what was that, 35 Test hundreds? As great as he is, he's only done it 35 times. That puts things into perspective."
Ronaldo: My own son told me 'Mbappé is better'
Cristiano Ronaldo might be the "GOAT" to many fans across the football world, but not everyone in his household agrees, with the Portugal star admitting that his own son prefers Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappé.
Ronaldo scored twice in Al Nassr's comfortable Saudi Pro League win at the weekend to move to the top of the division's goal-scoring charts, but that was not enough to impress his five-year-old child, Mateo.
In an extract from an upcoming interview with Spanish outlet La Sexta, Ronaldo admitted the France captain has surpassed him in his son's eyes.
"Mateo, he really likes Mbappé," Ronaldo said. "He sometimes tells me: 'Hey dad, Mbappé is better than you,' and I reply by saying: 'No, I am better than him, I have scored more goals."
Mbappé, who is known to have idolised Ronaldo in his youth, has started to emulate some of his feats at the Bernabéu in recent weeks after his high-profile move from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer.
After his hat trick against Real Valladolid on Saturday, Mbappé now has 15 goals in LaLiga, second in the Pichichi race behind Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski. Ronaldo scored a club-record 450 goals for Los Blancos between 2009 and 2018.
Mbappé has the chance to continue his recent hot streak later on Wednesday against Brest, while Ronaldo is next in action against Al Raed on Thursday.
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