Fay Vincent, who took over as Major League Baseball's commissioner in 1989 and navigated the league through the earthquake-disrupted Bay Area World Series, has died at the age of 86, MLB announced Sunday.

Vincent had undergone radiation and chemotherapy for bladder cancer and developed complications that included bleeding, said his wife, Christina. He asked that treatment be stopped, and he died Saturday at a hospital in Vero Beach, Florida.

"Mr. Vincent served the game during a time of many challenges, and he remained proud of his association with our national pastime throughout his life," current commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement.

Vincent unexpectedly became baseball's eighth commissioner following the death of A. Bartlett Giamatti of a heart attack in 1989. Vincent, who was hired as deputy commissioner by Giamatti, a longtime friend, then was forced out three years later by owners intent on a labor confrontation with players.

Vincent's first major test came a month into the job.

Just before first pitch of Game 3 of the 1989 World Series between the Athletics and Giants, a massive earthquake struck the San Francisco area. Vincent was immediately thrust into action, opting to postpone that night's game at Candlestick Park, and later the World Series as whole, for 10 days as the area dealt with the earthquake's aftermath.

"It is becoming very clear to us in Major League Baseball that our concerns, our issue, is a rather modest one," Vincent said then.

The decision wasn't universally praised; some thought the World Series should be canceled given the tragedy. But many saluted Vincent's compassion and decision-making during such a sensitive situation.

"Fay Vincent played a vital role in ensuring that the 1989 Bay Area World Series resumed responsibly following the earthquake prior to Game 3," Manfred said in his statement.

Turmoil followed Vincent during the remainder of his three-plus-year reign. He had a string of what he called "three-cigar days," angering owners by becoming the first management official to admit the collusion among teams against free agents following the 1985, '86 and '87 seasons.

In 1990, baseball endured a 32-day work stoppage as owners and the union battled over free agency, arbitration and revenue sharing. Vincent ultimately announced a basic accord on the CBA, but the lockout wiped out most of spring training and postponed the start of the regular season by a week.

Later that year, Vincent issued a lifetime ban to New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, who had paid a known gambler $40,000 to find dirt on then-New York outfielder Dave Winfield. Steinbrenner was allowed to resume control of the Yankees in 1993.

Vincent issued another lifetime ban in 1992, this time to 1980 NL Rookie of the Year Steve Howe for repeated drug offenses. An arbitrator reinstated Howe a year later.

Under Vincent's watch, baseball expanded to 28 teams, with the Rockies and Marlins gaining approval from major league owners in 1991 and beginning play in 1993. As part of the expansion, Vincent ordered that the National League pay $42 million of $190 million received in expansion revenue to the American League, and that the AL provide players to the two new NL teams in the expansion draft.

Vincent also was a proponent of realignment and sought to have the Cubs and Cardinals move from the NL East to the NL West as part of a reconfiguration that would begin in the 1993 season. But some teams were against the proposed change -- the Cubs fought it through the courts -- and the realignment that Vincent sought never took place.

Vincent ultimately resigned in September 1992 -- two years before his five-year term was due to end. A month earlier, major league owners had issued an 18-9 no-confidence vote in Vincent, whom some were dissatisfied with due to his involvement in the 1990 labor negotiations, his rules on expansion revenue sharing and his thoughts on realignment, among other issues.

"The commissioner has to look out for the fans, and the owners don't want to hear me speak that idea," Vincent said.

Vincent, some owners believed, was too player-friendly.

"I had the conviction that being commissioner was a public trust. I tried to do what I thought was best for the game and the public who cared so much about it," Vincent said in a 2023 interview with The Associated Press. "I had mixed results. Sometimes I'm pleased with what I did.

"The tragedy of baseball is the single biggest thing I left undone was to build a decent relationship between the owners and the players. I thought somebody would take over after me and get that done. If I died tomorrow, that would be the big regret, is that the players and the owners still have to make some commitment to each other to be partners and to build the game."

In one of his lasting acts as commissioner, he chaired an eight-member committee for statistical accuracy, which removed the asterisk that had been next to Roger Maris' entry as the season home run leader and deleted 50 no-hitters. The group defined a no-hitter as games of nine innings or more that ended with no hits.

Milwaukee Brewers owner Bud Selig replaced Vincent as commissioner.

Selig was installed as chairman of the executive council, a new position that made him in effect acting commissioner. He led owners through a 7-month strike in 1994-95, was voted commissioner in 1998 and remained on the job until retiring in 2015.

A Connecticut native, Francis Thomas Vincent remained in baseball after his resignation, and he served as president of the New England Collegiate Baseball League -- a wooden-bat summer league for college stars -- from 1998 to 2004. The winner of the NECBL each summer is awarded the Fay Vincent Sr. Cup.

Earlier in his life, Vincent worked as a lawyer in New York City, served as president/CEO of Columbia Pictures and was an executive vice president of Coca-Cola Co., where he ran its entertainment division.

He recorded interviews with Hall of Fame members and Negro Leagues players for an oral history project that led to three books: "The Only Game in Town" (2006), "We Would Have Played for Nothing" (2009) and "It's What's Inside the Lines That Counts" (2010). In 2024, he made a $2 million gift to Yale to endow the Yale baseball coach's position in the name of his father.

In 2019, Vincent disclosed that he had been diagnosed with leukemia.

"My diagnosis means the game of life is turning serious and the late innings loom," he wrote in a Wall Street Journal Op-ed.

"I cannot let the way my life comes to an end destroy the way I would like to be remembered. Dying is still a part of living, and the way one lives is vital, even in the dying light."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Right-hander Jack Flaherty and the Detroit Tigers are in agreement on a two-year, $35 million contract, sources told ESPN on Sunday, reuniting one of the best remaining free agents and the team with which he resurrected his career last season.

The deal, which is pending a physical, includes an opt-out after this year, in which Detroit will pay Flaherty $25 million. The second year guarantees Flaherty $10 million and can be worth $20 million if he starts at least 15 games.

As free agency entered its fourth month, with the long-term-contract market for the 29-year-old Flaherty never having developed, he went back to a familiar place with the Tigers, who gave him $14 million last winter. The $25 million salary this year is among the 10 highest for starting pitchers in 2025.

Flaherty's numbers warranted a jump into that strata. In Detroit, he started 18 games and posted a 2.95 ERA and nearly a 7-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The Los Angeles Dodgers acquired Flaherty minutes before the trade deadline and saw him throw the most postseason innings of any of their pitchers en route to a World Series win.

The best of Flaherty's playoff performances with the Dodgers earned some attention around the league as he accomplished what he set out to do last offseason: re-establish himself after injuries and ineffectiveness slowed down what looked like a top-of-the-rotation track.

Flaherty threw 151 innings of 3.34 ERA ball as a rookie in 2018 and followed with a fourth-place Cy Young performance when he was the best pitcher in baseball during the second half of 2019. Injuries waylaid Flaherty in 2021 and 2022, and when he returned in 2023, he was still toying with a cutter and figuring out his pitch mix.

Detroit, and Comerica's Park large dimensions, worked well for Flaherty, a flyball pitcher. Although the Tigers surged to a postseason berth after dealing Flaherty, his time with the Tigers and Dodgers was productive, lowering his regular-season ERA from 4.99 in 2023 to 3.17 over 162 innings with 194 strikeouts and 38 walks. In doing so, Flaherty earned a rare dual accomplishment: playoff shares from two different teams.

The deal adds Flaherty to a rotation that already includes American League Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal as well as right-handers Reese Olson, Casey Mize and Alex Cobb, who signed a one-year, $15 million deal this winter. Detroit also has right-handers Matt Manning and Keider Montero as well as right-hander Jackson Jobe, arguably the best pitching prospect in baseball.

Other top free agent pitchers have opted for two-year deals with mixed results. Flaherty's contract guarantees him $10 million more than the one signed by Jordan Montgomery last year, but Montgomery guaranteed himself $22.5 million this year by reaching a games-started threshold. Carlos Rodon's two-year, $44 million contract with San Francisco in 2022 guaranteed more but necessitated 110 innings to opt out -- which Rodon reached before signing with the New York Yankees.

Russia's Daria Kasatkina's management say a flag error could have "strong implications" for the player after she was wrongly listed as representing Spain at a WTA Tour draw ceremony - leading to suggestions she had switched allegiance.

BBC Sport has been told Kasatkina, who has criticised Russia's LGBT rules and opposed the war in Ukraine, has not switched allegiance.

The appearance of the Spanish flag next to the world number 11's name during the Abu Dhabi Open draw attracted attention, sparking online discussion that she had decided to stop representing Russia.

"It is incorrect and we can categorically deny she is switching to Spain," Kasatkina's management told BBC Sport.

Later on Sunday, tournament organisers apologised to 27-year-old Kasatkina for the error.

"This was an entirely administrative mistake and has now been corrected," they said.

Kasatkina, who is one of a few openly gay players on the WTA Tour, publicly came out in a video interview, external with Russian blogger Vitya Kravchenko in July 2022.

In the same video, the 2022 French Open semi-finalist called for an end to Russia's invasion of neighbouring Ukraine. She described the war as "a complete nightmare".

Kasatkina's management said it had been "difficult" for the player since openly discussing her sexuality and opposition to the war.

Kasatkina, who lives in Dubai and sometimes trains in Spain, has not been to Russia in the past two and a half years.

Her management said the Abu Dhabi error was "potentially quite harmful" to her.

They added: "This carries some strong implications for Daria if the Russian authorities feel she is trying to switch - which she is not."

In 2023, Russia's Supreme Court ruled the "international LGBT movement" was an "extremist organisation".

Human rights activists said, external the ruling "jeopardised" LGBT rights and increased the risk of activists being prosecuted.

In the aftermath of Kasatkina's risk-taking interview, one Russian politician unsuccessfully called for her to be listed as a 'foreign agent' - someone deemed by the Russian authorities to be acting against the nation's interests.

Last year, Kasatkina told ESPN, external she was expecting "consequences" following her actions.

Former England scrum-half Matt Dawson and former Ireland wing Tommy Bowe outline how England's decision making cost Steve Borthwick's side during their opening Six Nations defeat in Dublin.

Listen to the latest Rugby Union Weekly podcast on BBC Sounds

Heerenveen boss Robin van Persie was left exasperated after match officials mistakenly allowed Fortuna Sittard to field 12 players against his side on Saturday.

The incident took place in the 88th minute with Heerenveen 2-1 up, when Fortuna made a double-substitution that saw Ryan Fosso and Jasper Dahlhaus come off for Darijo Grujcic and Owen Johnson. However, Dahlhaus didn't step off the pitch and played for nearly a minute.

Van Persie noticed the man advantage to Fortuna and protested on the sidelines before Dahlhaus eventually came off. A minute later, Fortuna equalised through a corner to snatch three points away from Heerenveen.

"I find what preceded that goal very special," Van Persie said post-match. "Fortuna Sittard had 12 men on the field for a minute before that throw-in. Apparently that is allowed and possible. You can't imagine that? That it is simply allowed.

"Normally I never talk to referees and always let them do their job, but it can't be that they play with twelve men. That's unthinkable. So I asked the fourth official: 'Shouldn't you do something about that?'"

When asked what he'd like to see done, Van Persie said: "For example, reverse that goal. You can't play with twelve men against eleven. I really can't understand that. I think this is really scandalous."

The former Manchester United and Arsenal forward took over at Heerenveen in May last year. His side are 10th in the Eredivisie after 21 games.

Information from ESPN Netherlands contributed to this report.

Manchester United are attempting to bolster their attacking options by adding either Mathys Tel or Christopher Nkunku to Ruben Amorim's squad on deadline day, sources have told ESPN.

United are close to completing a deal with Aston Villa for Marcus Rashford to move to Villa Park on loan until the end of the season and the club have already offloaded winger Antony to Real Betis on a six-month loan deal.

With coach Amorim using defensive midfielder Kobbie Mainoo as a centre-forward in Sunday's 2-0 Premier League defeat against Crystal Palace ahead of recognised strikers Rasmus Højlund and Joshua Zirkzee, sources have said that efforts are being made to add a forward before Monday's transfer deadline.

United are in talks with Bayern Munich over a loan deal for France under-21 forward Tel, who rejected a permanent transfer to Tottenham over the weekend.

"We are trying everything to improve the team without repeating the mistakes of the past," Amorim said after the defeat to Palace. "We are trying our best to improve, but this market is really tough. We want so bad to improve."

Arsenal are also in the hunt for the Tel, who has fallen out of favour under coach Vincent Kompany at the Allianz Arena, but United are prioritising a move for the 19-year-old ahead of Chelsea forward Nkunku.

However, if a deal for Tel cannot be struck, France international Nkunku will be United's back-up option and could be part of a deal that takes winger Alejandro Garnacho to Stamford Bridge.

Nkunku, 27, has struggled to make an impact at Chelsea since completing a 52 million ($65.8m) move from RB Leipzig in 2023 and is available for a loan or permanent transfer.

United, meanwhile, are also hoping to offload full-back Tyrell Malacia before the deadline, with Benfica interested in the Netherlands international.

Robert Lewandowski's second-half strike secured a 1-0 win for Barcelona against Alavés on Sunday, as the third-placed hosts reduced their gap with LaLiga leaders Real Madrid to four points.

Barcelona's second league win in a row lifted them to 45 points after 22 matches, while Alavés remained 18th in the standings, two points below safety.

Barça started on a high note when Lamine Yamal snaked his way through a crowd of defenders to the edge of the box and found Raphinha on the left, but the Brazilian's shot was just wide of the far post.

The match was held up for several minutes when Gavi and Tomás Conechny clashed heads during an aerial challenge. Both players were substituted after on-field treatment.

Barcelona dominated possession with Alavés happy to sit back and defend. The hosts almost scored near the half-hour mark when Manu Sánchez's attempt to clear Raphinha's cross went to Lewandowski, but the Polish striker shot wide.

Lewandowski headed wide from Yamal's cross in the 57th minute, but the two combined again four minutes later to put the hosts ahead.

Pedri's lofted ball from the left reached Yamal whose cross took a deflection off Nahuel Tenaglia and found Lewandowski who volleyed home from close range.

Alavés keeper Jesús Owono stopped Yamal from doubling Barça's lead, tipping away his shot to keep the visitors in the game.

As Alavés pushed for an equaliser, Barcelona successfully slowed down the game and kept possession to frustrate the visitors.

Toni Martínez had a chance to level in the 87th minute, but his attempt from Santiago Mouriño's cross went wide and Alavés suffered their second league defeat since coach Eduardo Coudet took over in December.

Barcelona visit Sevilla next Sunday, the same day Alavés host Getafe.

Manchester United's woeful home form this season continued as they slumped to a 2-0 defeat by Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday.

Despite United chasing a fourth successive win in all competitions, Palace were much the better side in the first half at Old Trafford, passing up several chances to capitalise on their superiority.

The visitors did make one count after 64 minutes, Jean-Philippe Mateta reacting first after the ball had come off the crossbar to give his side a deserved lead.

United upped the ante in search of an equaliser but lacked ideas, with Mateta condemning the hosts to a seventh home league loss and 11th in total this term with a late second, helping Palace climb above 13th-placed United into 12th in the standings.

"The result is really bad," United manager Ruben Amorim told Sky Sports. "The performance was a little bit better than the last games. We controlled the transitions quite well for Crystal Palace.

"It's normal for the fans to feel negative, it is a hard season for them but football can change in certain moments. I will prepare the next game and move forward. Better things will come."

United came into Sunday's encounter on the back of their best run under new manager Ruben Amorim, having secured a third successive win in all competitions at Steaua Bucharest on Thursday in the Europa League.

Amorim has, however, yet to taste back-to-back league wins since he took charge in late November. No United manager since Tommy Docherty in 1972-73 has had to wait so long to achieve that.

After a pre-match tribute to those who died in the Munich air disaster 67 years ago, Kobbie Mainoo, playing in an unfamiliar central striker role, went close to giving United the perfect start, striking the post with a deflected shot.

Palace, in fine away form having won four of their previous five on the road, looked the more threatening early on, with defenders Daniel Muñoz and Tyrick Mitchell going close to an opener.

The visitors continued to press, with Mateta denied by a brilliant save from André Onana as half-time approached.

Needing improvement after again failing to score in the first half of a league match -- now 18 goalless opening periods in 24 this season -- United pushed forward after the break.

Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson was finally called into action, denying Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte with smart saves, but Mateta's close-range finish, after Maxence Lacroix's header had hit the crossbar, was what the visitors' endeavour merited.

For all their pressure, United openings failed to materialise, with Mateta finishing off a Palace counter in the 89th minute to send the away supporters into raptures.

United defender Lisandro Martínez was carried off on a stretcher in the second half with what looked like a serious knee injury.