GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Alyssa Francona had several missed calls from her dad. Then her sister texted her.

"Dad's trying to get in touch with you," the message read. "Be supportive. He's really excited."

Alyssa -- the eldest daughter of longtime MLB manager Terry Francona -- wasn't sure what to make of that. Her dad was happily retired and feeling healthy for the first time in years. He was traveling more, his golf game was improving and by all accounts, his time with family and friends was fulfilling.

If Francona, 65, was itching to manage again, he wasn't showing it.

Not surprisingly, his daughters were happy that Francona seemed done with the grind of the game, but they knew their dad better than anyone: He loved being in the dugout and in the clubhouse. And there is "nothing like that ninth inning," Francona would later say.

Alyssa called her sister Leah before calling her dad back.

"She said the Cincinnati guys were out there talking to him," Alyssa recalled recently. "Don't burst his bubble."

KIM BOCHY HAD a similar experience in 2022.

The wife of manager Bruce Bochy was looking forward to her husband's retirement. Bochy, 69, quit baseball after the 2019 season, but the two hadn't fully enjoyed their newfound freedom yet as the COVID-19 pandemic soon shut the world down, and, like Francona, Bochy had various health issues to address. Just as the two were beginning to enjoy the fruits of a lifetime in the game, new Texas Rangers GM Chris Young came calling.

"Once CY came to visit -- once he walked through the door -- I was like, 'Oh my gosh,' I think this is not going to be good," Kim Bochy recalled. "In my perspective, I was very, very content and very happy being done. He was too. I tried to talk him out of it, I did my best to talk him out of taking the job.

"Why do you want to go back? You've won three World Series, you've done everything in this game. Why do you want to go back? And he said, 'I want to win another World Series.'"

Kim eventually came around to the idea of her husband's return and it didn't take long for Bochy to accomplish that goal, leading the Rangers to their first title in 2023. Now Francona has the same desire to restore glory to a franchise as the new manager of the Cincinnati Reds. When Francona left the Cleveland Guardians dugout after the 2023 season, he swore he was done. Baseball disagreed.

"I wasn't planning on coming back," he told ESPN. "I really wasn't."

BY THE TIME Francona left Cleveland, after 10 years, his body was breaking down. Ask him what ailed him the most, and he shakes his head.

"That's the problem, there were about 12 things," Francona said with a smile from his office in spring training. "I got both knees, both hips, my right shoulder. About a week after the season in Cleveland, I had my shoulder replaced and I had three hernias.

"I'm on blood thinners because of the blood clots. So when we fly, f---, my right leg, we take off, my pants fit. When we land, my pants don't fit."

Those issues finally caught up with him. He felt he was relying too much on his coaches and wasn't fulfilling his No.1 rule -- one that possibly impacted his health.

"I think if you're managing correctly, you're putting the players and the organization first and you're putting yourself like a distant last," Francona said. "I needed to be away. When you know you need to be away, you're probably late."

Francona's short retirement consisted of time with his grandkids, golf trips to Mexico, a vacation to Hawaii and taking in some college football.

"I wasn't married to my phone anymore," Francona said. "My biggest decision was should I get another cup of coffee?"

He even offered to watch the grandkids while his daughters vacationed in Europe last summer.

"I almost came back then," Francona quipped.

Watching a 7-year-old and a 9-year-old might have been more taxing than managing, according to his daughter. Shortly after arriving in Europe, Alyssa texted one of the kids, asking what grandpa was doing.

"She's like, 'Grandpa needed a rest day,'" Alyssa said with a laugh. "He's taking a day off and we're like 48 hours into what is a 10-day trip!"

Francona told that story at baseball's winter meetings in December, not long after taking the job in Cincinnati. The Reds had flown down to Tucson to see him about their opening after the team had let David Bell go near the end of the season. Francona was "enjoying some beers" at a football game when he got the call that Cincinnati was interested -- former broadcaster Marty Brennaman first broached it to him -- and soon after, Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall and GM Brad Meador were at his house. A day later, owner Bob Castellini was there, as well.

"I'm sitting in my rocking chair talking to them and I caught myself really early a couple times," Francona recalled. "I said, 'we' could do this or 'we' could do that. I'm like, 'Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down.'"

But he wasn't premature. The job was his if he wanted it -- and on Oct. 4, he accepted it. After four years in the Philadelphia Phillies dugout, eight more in Boston and 10 in Cleveland followed by a one-year sabbatical, Terry "Tito" Francona was back. The news came unexpectedly even to his own family.

"We were making jokes about his golf score," Alyssa said. "If he started shooting over 80 that he may take a job, but from all accounts he was shooting well on the course too. It was a little surprising."

MANY OF FRANCONA'S contemporaries, starting with Bochy, were less surprised. Even after accomplishing his goal of winning another World Series after returning, Bochy is still going, with his 70th birthday coming early in the 2025 season.

"I just went through it," he said. "I know the feeling. You get out. You miss it. You think 'Gosh, I got out too early.' All those thoughts go through your head. You just miss what you love to do."

Like Francona, Bochy didn't seek out a job as much as it sought him out. It's why his wife knew there was trouble brewing once Chris Young walked through that door. A team needs you. It's hard to turn away from that.

"I'm so glad he's back, nor did it surprise me when Bochy came back," Colorado Rockies skipper Bud Black said. "Don't ask me why. I just know those guys and I knew they weren't done."

Black, 67, has been the manager in Colorado since 2017. The Rockies haven't sniffed the postseason since 2018, losing more than 100 games in back-to-back seasons in 2023 and 2024. He has been given little to work with, yet he keeps coming back for more.

"It's not just one thing, it's all of it," Black said. "It's the passion for the game. I don't think it ever leaves you. When you have the desire to stay in it, to stay in the fight, it feels good."

Several managers ESPN spoke with echoed Black's comments. Even those who were a little surprised at Francona's unretirement understand what drives him -- what keeps men who don't need the money or glory from stepping away for good.

"I texted him right away and said, 'Are you crazy?'" San Francisco Giants manager Bob Melvin said. "But there are guys that are just baseball guys. It's in their blood. It's what they have to do. He's one of them.

"He's a legend."

Melvin is looking forward to exchanging lineup cards before Francona's first regular-season game back in the dugout later this month as the Reds will host the Giants on Opening Day. Ahead of the matchup featuring two managers in their 60s, Melvin, 63, was asked why teams are turning back to some of the older guard to lead their clubs after a period when younger skippers were en vogue across the sport.

"Because of the success," Melvin said, citing Dusty Baker and Bochy both winning World Series titles this decade. "Any time there is success, there's a wave that goes in that direction."

Francona is hoping to get caught up in that wave. He has a young, ultratalented team that seemingly underachieved last season when it won just 77 games and finished in fourth place in the NL Central.

Infielder Jeimer Candelario is among the players at Reds camp who think their new manager will provide just what the team needs to change that in the season ahead.

"Leadership," Candelario said. "I think he's a Hall of Famer. He's done this for a long time. When he was named manager, he came to the Dominican Republic to see the guys. That was different. The way I see him is with a lot of respect because we know he's a leader."

After replacing retirement vacations with introductory trips to meet his new players, Francona admits he wasn't sure how he would have filled his free time if he hadn't come back. There's only so much golf and traveling a person can do. Besides, managing is about the only thing he knows.

"Other than taking a real estate course for two weeks, this is all I've ever f---ing done," Francona said. "I'm comfortable here."

As Ons Jabeur continues her quest for further sporting success, there's more on the Tunisian star's mind than just tennis.

Her appointment in 2024 as an ambassador for the World Food Programme (WFP) has given the three-time Grand Slam finalist a chance "to do some good", particularly in the empowerment of women.

"I wanted to be able to use my platform and represent the woman I am and where I come from, to try to make a change in the world," Jabeur told BBC Sport Africa before International Women's Day, which is on Saturday.

While highlighting global food insecurity is part of her work with the WFP, the 30-year-old says the focus on women is also key.

"People think it [the WFP] is only related to food, but it's also education and helping women.

"When you help women, they get the opportunity to work and provide for the whole family, and that's really important."

One of Jabeur's first assignments was attending projects in Cairo where she saw first-hand how women were trying to improve their lives.

"I was preparing bread with one of the women and you have no idea the big heart that they have," she said.

"She almost gave me everything that she made, and I was like, 'No, please, you keep it. You have to sell it!'

"Even though they don't have enough, they were very generous and that is what everyone should stand for."

Education in vulnerable areas is another important issue for Jabeur.

"A woman went to school at a late age. I told her she was very courageous and very proud that she's going with her kid to school, because she never had education before. That was really a great example," said Jabeur.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou said his side did not have the right mindset for their Europa League round-of-16 match at AZ Alkmaar on Thursday and was glad to leave the Netherlands with only a 1-0 deficit to overturn.

An own goal in the first half by 19-year-old midfielder Lucas Bergvall gave AZ Alkmaar a narrow win, and while Spurs enjoyed the lion's share of possession they managed just one shot on target.

Chasing a first trophy since winning the Carabao Cup in 2008, the Europa League is Spurs' only hope of winning silverware this season. They are 13th in the Premier League and have been knocked out the FA Cup and League Cup.

"I don't think it's a matter of effort or attitude. I don't think it is going out there and not trying, but like I said we didn't really come to grips and have the right mindset to tackle an away fixture in Europe," Postecoglou said.

"It is always tough and we obviously conceded the goal, which was a disappointing set of events. But even after that we didn't really settle down into the game at all.

"You are going to face some pressure when you play away from home in Europe and weather the storm and get to grips with it, but we never really did so that was a disappointment.

"It's only 1-0 so I guess that's a positive in that we didn't let the game get away from us."

Striker Dominic Solanke was forced to come off with an injury in added time and Postecoglou was unsure of his availability for Sunday's Premier League game against Bournemouth.

"It looks like a knock but I haven't really seen it. Hopefully nothing too bad," Postecoglou said.

A tearful Nick Kyrgios was forced to retire from his first-round Indian Wells match with a wrist injury as his tennis return suffered another setback.

The Australian, playing his first match since January's Australian Open, trailed Botic van de Zandschulp 7-6 (9-7) 3-0 before ending the match early.

Kyrgios became visibly upset when speaking to the trainer about his right wrist, which he had surgery on in September 2023.

The 29-year-old also struggled with knee and foot injuries over an 18-month period before making his return at the start of the year.

"No-one in the sport has had a wrist reconstruction and tried to play after that," Kyrgios said.

"There's been players that have had wrist surgeries and nowhere near as bad as what I had.

"It's all an experiment at this point. I was told I was arguably maybe not ever playing tennis again.

"I feel I'm like right there, I feel like I can compete."

Archer also addressed the suspension of Stefano Vukov, the former coach of 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.

The Czech has been banned for an undisclosed period by the WTA following an independent investigation into his behaviour towards the player.

Vukov, who is currently unable to access accredited areas at tournaments, has denied any wrongdoing.

Rybakina has said she was never mistreated by the Croat and would like him to be able to resume full coaching duties.

"We are able to offer support and advice to Elena," Archer said.

"Our responsibility is to Elena as well as to the hundreds of other WTA players and it's really important that we keep our environment safe.

"This is the workplace of my staff, our athletes and it is a place where fans come to enjoy our sport.

"That is what is at the forefront of my mind - we have to keep our environment safe.

"In doing so we are certainly providing resources to the affected individuals within our community, like Elena in this case, to the extent that's necessary and desired."

Exeter Chiefs boss Rob Baxter says a Premiership Rugby Cup made up solely of top-flight teams would be better commercially for the country's leading clubs.

Reports have cast doubt on the future participation of Championship clubs in the competition, which plays its semi-finals this weekend.

Second tier sides have been part of the event for two seasons.

Reigning Championship champions Ealing reached the semi-finals last year and face Exeter at Sandy Park on Saturday for a place in the final.

Two Premiership and two Championship sides faced each other home and away in each pool this season - with second-tier sides often having their biggest gates against their Premiership opponents.

But Baxter says Exeter's lowest crowds this season have been in the cup - where they faced Gloucester, Hartpury and Cornish Pirates in the pool stage.

"The game is needing to develop more money not less, and if the key element to that at the moment is revenue through the gate, through people coming and buying tickets, then ultimately that's the one Premiership clubs have to look at," he told BBC Sport.

"I don't need to explain my position on playing Championship rugby, I captained Exeter Chiefs in the Championship for eight years.

"For me, all these grounds we've been going to I've played numerous times at with Exeter, I enjoyed that time doing that, you don't need me to champion Championship clubs, I've done enough of that.

"But that is, at this stage, not the point. The point is making these competitions commercially viable and I think that's what's ruling the way."

Peruse Ireland and France's line-ups for Saturday's potential Six Nations title decider and you'll find no shortage of instantly compelling head-to-head battles.

Caelan Doris v Gregory Alldritt pits two of the world's best number eights against one another, Andrew Porter v Uini Atonio will be an engrossing scrum-time tussle, while powerhouse Irish centre Bundee Aki will meet his match in Yoram Moefana.

But naturally, most eyes are drawn to the battle of the scrum-halves.

In Antoine Dupont, France have a generational talent. A world player of the year in both the 15s and sevens codes, an Olympic gold medallist and a poster boy for his sport, Dupont has gleefully exhausted superlatives in recent years.

His otherworldly gifts even moved his Toulouse team-mates to refer to him as 'the Martian', Emmanuel Meafou revealed last year.

Dupont's worthy adversary on Saturday is Jamison Gibson-Park. 'Jamo' to his team-mates, he is Ireland's unflappable metronome and the frontrunner to wear nine for the British and Irish Lions in Australia this summer.

"Yeah, it will be interesting," said Ireland interim head coach Simon Easterby.

"Two fabulous players at the peak of their game. There are a number of individual battles across the teams, but that one will be pretty special."

This will not be the first time Gibson-Park and Dupont have crossed paths, of course. They have twice met in the Champions Cup, including last year's final when Dupont's Toulouse beat Gibson-Park's Leinster in extra time.

They have met three times in the Six Nations, although not since 2022 (Gibson-Park was injured in 2023 while Dupont skipped last year's championship).

This time, the stakes are suitably sky-high.

The Edmonton Oilers added defenseman Jake Walman to their blueline in a deal with the San Jose Sharks ahead of Friday's NHL trade deadline.

The Sharks get AHL forward Carl Berglund and a conditional 2026 first-round draft pick in the deal with Edmonton.

The pick is top-12 protected. If the selection is in the top 12, Edmonton might choose to transfer its 2027 first-round selection to San Jose instead. Should the Oilers do so before the 2026 NHL trade deadline, their 2026 first-round selection will transfer to San Jose, unconditionally.

Walman is having the most productive season of his six-year NHL career. The defenseman has 6 goals and 26 assists in 50 games for the Sharks, skating to only a minus-1 on the NHL's worst defensive team. He skated a career-high 23 minutes, 11 seconds per game.

Walman is signed through the 2025-26 season with a $3.4 million cap hit.

The trade was a stellar bit of asset management by Sharks general manager Mike Grier. He acquired Walman and a second-round pick from the Detroit Red Wings in 2024 for yet to be defined "future considerations." He has now turned Walman into a first-round pick.

Berglund, a UMass-Lowell product, has played with Bakersfield for the past three seasons. He has 12 points in 45 games this season.

The Sharks have been busy ahead of the deadline, trading goalie Vitek Vanecek and forward Nico Sturm to the Florida Panthers in separate transactions.

The Oilers made a splash this week when they acquired center Trent Frederic from the Boston Bruins, adding another key role player to a team trying to make the Stanley Cup Final for a second straight season.