MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- A judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a teenager who accused two-time NBA All-Star Ja Morant of punching him during a pickup game at the home of the Memphis Grizzlies guard's parents in 2022.

Shelby County Circuit Judge Carol Chumney issued an order Monday dismissing the lawsuit, saying in her ruling that Morant acted in self-defense and was immune from civil liability in the suit filed by Joshua Holloway, who plays basketball for Samford University and just completed his sophomore season.

Holloway was 17 and in high school when he was invited to play pickup basketball with other people at the home of Morant's parents in July 2022. The daylong series of games ended when Morant punched Holloway once in the face. Holloway then sued Morant, alleging the NBA player had assaulted him.

Morant claimed he acted in self-defense after Holloway aggressively threw the basketball at him with a one-handed, baseball-style pass that hit him in the face during a check-ball situation. A "check" is a common practice in pickup games in which two opposing players pass the ball to each other to see if their teammates are ready, often before starting a game or after a foul.

Morant testified during a December 2023 hearing that he was worried about getting hurt after the teen hit him in the face with the ball, bumped him in the chest, balled his fists and got into a fighting stance before Morant punched Holloway.

Chumney ruled in April 2024 that Morant "enjoys a presumption of civil immunity" from liability under Tennessee law.

The NBA player's lawyers had argued Morant was protected under Tennessee's "stand your ground" law, allowing people who feel threatened at their homes to act with force in certain situations. The law is used in criminal cases, but the judge cleared the way for Morant's lawyers to apply it in this civil case.

After the April 2024 presumption of immunity ruling, it was Holloway's turn to prove that Morant was not free from liability under the self-defense claim. Holloway testified during a hearing in January that Morant was actually the aggressor and used disproportionate force by punching Holloway.

In her Monday ruling, Chumney said Holloway's testimony about the incident was not credible and contradicts testimony from other witnesses. Among those was former NBA player Mike Miller, who was at the house when the fight occurred. Miller testified that Holloway hitting Morant "in the face with a basketball 'kind of started everything,'" the judge wrote in her April 2024 ruling.

Chumney also noted in Monday's ruling that both Morant and Holloway hold roles as leaders in the respective basketball arenas, "and in the limelight, each have unique opportunities to inspire youth and demonstrate mature leadership."

"This Court sincerely hopes that moving forward they each will be able to spend more of their time on the 'court' and less at the 'courthouse,'" the judge wrote.

NEW YORK -- Edwin Diaz left the New York Mets' 4-3, extra-innings win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday with left hip discomfort, splashing a bit of cold water on an otherwise festive conclusion to the club's three-game sweep of its division rival and a perfect 7-0 homestand at Citi Field.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Diaz was dealing with a cramp and, as of postgame Wednesday, the closer wasn't scheduled for further testing. The Mets are off Thursday before beginning a four-game series against the Washington Nationals on Friday.

Diaz said he underwent strength tests with a doctor Wednesday and "everything was good."

"As of right now, let's see how I feel tomorrow," Diaz said when asked whether he would be available to pitch Friday. "I feel strong. ...We did some work on my hip and it was feeling better after. Let's see how it feels on Friday."

The Mets' bullpen emerged Wednesday with a 2.34 ERA, the lowest in the majors. Diaz, however, has been a weak link in the young season with a 4.91 ERA in 11 innings across appearances.

On Wednesday, the two-time All-Star entered to record a clean ninth inning before he was summoned to pitch the 10th, marking the first time he was tasked to take down more than one inning this season.

He said the discomfort surfaced upon throwing a first-pitch fastball to J.T. Realmuto after giving up a go-ahead RBI single to Nick Castellanos. Diaz said he couldn't lift his left leg when he came set in his delivery, which prompted him to step off to attempt to loosen up. He then stepped off two more times to surpass the mound disengagement limitation -- pitchers are allowed to disengage twice and only a third time if it results in picking off a runner -- and was called for a balk to move Castellanos to second base. With that, he signaled to the dugout and was pulled from the game.

"I was feeling great," Diaz said. "I was throwing the ball really good today. I was commanding my pitches the way I want to."

His exit pushed the umpires, citing injury, to reverse the balk ruling, which drew the ire of Phillies manager Rob Thomson. Ultimately, the Phillies stranded the bases loaded against Max Kranick, setting the stage for the Mets to score two runs and win the game on Starling Marte's walk-off single.

WASHINGTON -- Baltimore Orioles right-hander Grayson Rodriguez, who has been rehabbing from elbow inflammation, has a strained lat muscle and is a "couple of weeks" from resuming his throwing program, manager Brandon Hyde said Wednesday.

Rodriguez started the season on the injured list because of the elbow issue, and a bullpen session scheduled for last week was canceled when he developed a sore shoulder. A second medical opinion sought after an MRI revealed the mild lat strain, Hyde said.

It's a familiar injury for the 25-year-old Rodriguez. In 2022 while in the minors, Rodriguez missed three months with a lat strain, which delayed his major league debut until April 2023. In 2024, he was placed on the IL with a lat strain in August, finishing with 20 starts. He has made only 43 starts in two seasons, going 20-8 with a 4.11 ERA.

"I'm trying to stay optimistic about it," Hyde said. "He's had a tough time staying healthy the last few years with lat strains. We were hoping that he starts throwing in a couple of weeks and (in) his progression that he stays healthy."

Right-hander Zach Eflin, the O's opening day starter, also has been dealing with a lat strain. Eflin, who hasn't pitched since April 7, has been cleared to return to the mound and will throw a side session Friday or Saturday, Hyde said.

Coming off consecutive postseason appearances, Baltimore has had numerous injuries to starting pitchers: Kyle Braddish (Tommy John surgery) and Tyler Wells (UCL repair surgery) also started the season on the injured list and were joined by Albert Suarez (right shoulder).

CHICAGO -- Los Angeles Dodgers starter Blake Snell will back off his throwing program as he continues to recover from left shoulder inflammation, according to manager Dave Roberts.

"As he was playing catch, he just didn't feel great," Roberts said Wednesday afternoon before the Dodgers played the Chicago Cubs. "Right now, we're going to slow play the throwing. Will probably get it looked at again when we get back home."

Snell, 32, has been on the injured list since early April after making just two starts for the Dodgers. He signed a five-year, $182 million contract this past offseason.

Snell, who was set to throw a bullpen session Wednesday, felt discomfort in the shoulder while playing catch Tuesday. Roberts was asked how concerning the latest setback was.

"I wouldn't say concerning because part of the messaging from us to Blake is, it's about later on in the season and if there's any type of discomfort, let's not try to fight through it," Roberts responded.

Snell is one of several Dodgers pitchers on the mend, including left-hander Clayton Kershaw, who pitched three innings in a minor league start Tuesday, his second rehab outing this spring.

"Velocity was good," Roberts said. "Got into the fourth inning. He'll make a start next week. Really positive stuff."

The Dodgers also received positive news about right-hander Tyler Glasnow after he left his last start with leg cramps. His latest bullpen session went well, according to Roberts.

Meanwhile, Shohei Ohtani is throwing again after missing time on the paternity list. He'll have another bullpen session Saturday as he recovers from elbow surgery, though the team still doesn't have a timetable for his return to major league action.

The team was also without catcher Will Smith on Wednesday after he injured his wrist on a play at the plate in Tuesday's loss to the Cubs.

"As he made the tag, his [left] wrist turned in and so there's some residual soreness," Roberts said.

Smith could get imaging done when the team returns to Los Angeles, but Roberts wasn't overly concerned about the injury.

During her Miami run, Raducanu spoke regularly about showing "resilience" to win matches and needed to demonstrate that quality again in her first clay-court match in a year.

Lamens, ranked 73rd in the world, is a combative player who has improved sharply over the past year and is more than comfortable on the surface.

Earlier this month, she beat British number one Katie Boulter in the Billie Jean King Cup tie that Raducanu missed to "rest" her body after a packed start to the season.

Raducanu was often unable to cope with Lamens' thumping forehand in the opening set but recovered from a break down - and saved three more break points in the ninth game - to drag her opponent into a tie-break.

Another measure of the 2021 US Open champion's improved mentality has been her impressive recent record in these situations - and showed it again.

Petchey was sat in her box alongside Raducanu's long-time ally Jane O'Donoghue, regularly offering praise and encouragement at crucial junctures.

Raducanu played more aggressively in the second set but also had to dig deep as Lamens tried to pin her back behind the baseline.

There were flashes of brilliance from the Briton, too, after she had adjusted to the fast clay conditions created by Madrid's altitude.

A running forehand down the line and another thunderous winner piled on the pressure as Lamens failed to hold serve in a lengthy seventh game.

However, it was not a straightforward path to victory. Raducanu shakily lost serve for 4-4 before a frustrated Lamens wobbled again and allowed the Briton to secure another confidence-boosting victory.

"I needed to fight and pull through some really difficult moments," Raducanu added.

"When your opponent is hitting great shots it is easy to get frustrated and think 'oh my God, they've hit the line so many times'.

"But I had to reset and accept that she's good, here for a reason and playing amazing tennis."

With Youngs amassing a record amount of England caps over 13 years, Tigers boss Cheika spent a lot of time analysing the scrum-half's game as an opposition coach while at the helm of both Australia and Argentina.

It was against Cheika's Argentina in 2023 that Youngs ended his international career, as England beat the Pumas in the third-place World Cup play-off in Paris.

The Australian coach could not help but laugh when asked what instructions he would give his players when trying to contain Youngs.

"Get him, bash him up, rip his head off and all those things," Cheika chuckled when listing what sort of tactics it would take to try to nullify Youngs.

"You have to be alert because he can hurt you with his pass, he could hurt you with his running and hurt you with his kick. And he can still do that."

Cheika described having one-club man Youngs on his side for the past 10 months as "a pleasure", with the playmaker a valued figure in the dressing room as well as out on the pitch.

"He gives that bit of advice that he feels from around the group," Cheika said.

"He has been great for us whenever he has either started or come off the bench. He has been super competitive, which has been great.

"I have a lot of respect for him as a player and now as a person after I've got to know him. And I hope we can keep that friendship into the future."

Baxter said Ikitau was one of the "top centres" in world rugby.

"He's playing very well, he's very keen to experience something else," Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter told BBC Radio Devon.

"He's talked a lot with the Australians who have been here at Exeter, they've all said that if he gets over here and throws himself into it, then he'll have a great time, and that's very much what we want him to experience next season."

Ikitau is set to make the move to Devon over the summer following the conclusion of the Super Rugby season and the British and Irish Lions' series against Australia - where he will be likely to play for the Wallabies.

He also comes in to fill a gap in Exeter's midfield with Wales centre Joe Hawkins joining Scarlets when his contract expires at the end of the season.

Ikitau is the third Australian international to sign for the Chiefs for next season, following hooker Julian Heaven and back row Tom Hooper.

Baxter said he believed Ikitau could be a "special" player for the club.

"I'm very positive about the impact he can have, and our job is to create a team and an environment that lets all the individuals shine and what they're good at," Baxter said.

"And if we can do that with Len, we could see something very special."

England vice-captain Megan Jones has signed for Trailfinders Women for the 2025-26 Premiership Women's Rugby season from Leicester Tigers.

Jones, who can play as centre and fly-half, has spent the past two seasons with the Tigers and has also previously represented Bristol Bears and Wasps.

The 28-year-old has been capped 24 times by the Red Roses and has scored three tries in three games during the Six Nations as England close in on another Grand Slam.

Jones says she is looking forward to "challenging" herself in a new environment at the Ealing-based club.

"The club has that community feel which I love, and there's a passion and ambition to push on that really excites me. I really like the way the team play, and I can't wait to join up with the group and get going," she said.

Bath were the powerhouses in the early days of English league rugby, winning the title six times out of the first nine editions in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

But they have not been champions since 1996. In the era of the Premiership play-offs, they have reached the Twickenham final on three occasions but have lost every time.

The most recent was last year's 25-21 loss to Northampton Saints but Johann van Graan's side have come back even stronger.

Bath have been financially backed by millionaire owner Bruce Craig since 2010, with last month's Premiership Rugby Cup their first trophy for 17 years.

Diamond, who takes his bottom-of-the-table Falcons to face them on Saturday, believes domestic rugby could be heading for an era of dominance for the men from the Rec, similar to Saracens and their six titles between 2011 and 2023.

"A lot of the other clubs spend the same as Bath but they seem to have got their act together," he added.

"They've got their recruitment right and they've not done that in memory. I don't think they've ever been in the shape they are now and it's taken years of Bruce's ownership.

"It just shows you can't buy a team. Bath have been ever present in the league for 25, 30 years and they've not won it. The money is important but it's your actual recruitment and they seem to have got that spot on.

"With the way they spend their money and work their cap, they have put together a team for many years, not just a one-off hit. That's what Saracens were able to do."