FRISCO, Texas -- After looking outside the organization for Mike McCarthy's replacement, the Dallas Cowboys have chosen coordinator Brian Schottenheimer as the 10th coach in franchise history, Jerry Jones told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The Cowboys also interviewed Seattle Seahawks assistant head coach Leslie Frazier, former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh and Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, who coached with the Cowboys for five seasons, spending 2019-22 as the offensive coordinator.

Schottenheimer interviewed this week with Jones, executive vice president Stephen Jones and vice president of player personnel Will McClay after the aforementioned coaches. He has a strong relationship with quarterback Dak Prescott and has connected well with people in the organization, but this will be his first head coaching job.

Schottenheimer, 51, joined the Cowboys in 2022 as a consultant, working mostly with former defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. When Moore left for the Los Angeles Chargers after McCarthy decided to take over the play-calling duties, he was hired as the offensive coordinator.

Schottenheimer's father, Marty, was the head coach of the Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs, Washington and San Diego Chargers. Marty Schottenheimer made the playoffs 18 times in 21 years as a coach and three times made it to the AFC Championship Game (twice with the Browns and once with the Chiefs). His 200 regular-season wins are seventh most in NFL history.

The only other coach in Jones' era to be named a head coach without prior experience was Dave Campo, who posted a 15-33 record from 2000-02. Jason Garrett served as the interim head coach in 2010 before landing the job full-time in 2011, lasting until 2019.

Schottenheimer has been an offensive coordinator with the St. Louis Rams, Jets and Seahawks. He served as the Jacksonville Jaguars' passing game coordinator in 2021 before coming to Dallas.

In 12 years as a playcaller, Schottenheimer had four offenses finish inside the top 10 in points per game and three times in the top half in the league in yards per game. His best three years came with the Seahawks when they finished sixth, ninth and eighth in points per game with Russell Wilson at quarterback.

While he did not call plays under McCarthy, he had a large role in the offense with team sources saying he helped jumpstart the offense in 2023 after a slow start. The Cowboys finished with the highest-scoring offense in the league (29.9 points per game) and fifth in yards (371.6) but scored 30 or more points in seven of their final 11 games.

In 2024, the Cowboys' dipped dramatically, averaging 20.6 points and 327.5 yards per game. While hurt by injuries, particularly to Prescott, the Cowboys scored 30 or more points just three times last season. The Cowboys and McCarthy opted to part ways on Jan. 13 after it became clear the length of an extension was an issue, per multiple sources.

McCarthy went 49-35 in the regular season with the Cowboys, posting three straight 12-5 marks from 2021-23, but he was unable to continue the playoff success he had with the Green Bay Packers. The Cowboys were just 1-3 in the postseason, losing two games at AT&T Stadium, including a 48-32 defeat to the Packers in the wild-card round after the Cowboys entered that game with a 16-game home winning streak.

Now Schottenheimer will be tasked to take the Cowboys to a spot they have not been since 1995 and end a 29-year Super Bowl drought.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The Grizzlies ruled out star guard Ja Morant for Friday's matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans because of cold symptoms.

The team also announced forward Santi Aldama, who left after playing only two quarters Wednesday in a win over Charlotte, is also out because of illness.

"We had an off day yesterday and they just reported some cold symptoms overnight," Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said. "[They] woke up this morning. We opted for rest. Then, as the day went on, they're definitely going to be out tonight. [We're] hopeful for tomorrow. We'll see how they feel."

Multiple Grizzlies players and staff members have dealt with illnesses in recent days.

Morant, 25, ranks second in scoring (21.2 points) for Memphis but has been in and out of the lineup all season because of injuries that have limited him to 26 games.

In his fourth season, Aldama is averaging career highs in points (12.7), rebounds (6.9) and assists (2.7).

CHICAGO -- The White Sox will unveil a statue of former All-Star left-hander Mark Buehrle outside of Rate Field in a July 11 ceremony, the team announced Friday at its fan convention.

Buehrle, 45, already has his No. 56 retired by the team but now will be immortalized outside the ballpark he pitched in for the first 12 years of his 16-year career.

"Retiring my number is an incredible honor, but then to put a statue up, it's something's that's going to be of me out there forever," Buehrle said after the announcement. "I guess the number could be unretired, they could take it out and put it back into play. But the statue, unless somebody tears it down or does something, it's always going to be there."

Buehrle said he was informed of the decision by owner Jerry Reinsdorf last summer, then quickly asked about having to give a speech at the ceremony. Known for keeping it short with reporters during his playing days, he said he plans on doing the same when they unveil the statue.

"When they asked me about it, I threw that out there and said, 'Is there a speech attached to it?' And they said, 'We'll work with you,'" Buehrle said. "I don't know necessarily about a speech. I'll get up there and say a few words. I don't plan on it being very long."

The ceremony will be part of a 20th anniversary reunion of the 2005 team, which won the World Series, going 11-1 in the postseason. Buehrle finished fifth in the American League Cy Young Award voting that season. Of his 214 career wins, 161 came with the White Sox. He had a career 3.81 ERA and 14 straight seasons of throwing 200 or more innings.

Earlier this week, Buehrle received 11.4 percent of Hall of Fame votes in his fifth year of eligibility.

"I don't sit down and look at numbers," he said. "I can't tell you exactly what my numbers are compared to [Andy] Pettitte, compared to [CC] Sabathia, but I know there's some guys that are not in the Hall of Fame that have better numbers than I do. Are you going off innings? You going off strikeouts? You going off of WAR? There's so much stuff you can go off of. I'm literally just honored to be on the ballot for this many years."

The young collector who scored a one-of-a-kind baseball card featuring National League Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes has turned down a trade offer from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Topps announced Friday that the 11-year-old from the Los Angeles area had declined the deal and instead was going to put the card -- which features Skenes' autograph and a patch from a game-worn jersey -- up for auction.

??'? ????????: The 11-year-old collector who pulled the Paul Skenes 1/1 Debut Patch card has DECLINED the Pirates' offer.

The Pirates offer included:
- Two Pirates season tickets behind home plate for the next 30 years
- Meet & Greet with Paul Skenes
- Two Paul Skenes... pic.twitter.com/oRBhhD647j

Topps (@Topps) January 24, 2025

The Pirates had put together a package that included 30 years' worth of season tickets behind home plate at PNC Park and the chance to play a softball game on the field in exchange for the card.

Skenes' girlfriend, LSU gymnast and influencer Livvy Dunne, also offered the card's owner the opportunity to take in a game with her in a luxury suite at the ballpark during one of Skenes' starts.

While the collector wrote in a journal entry shared by Topps that nabbing the card was a "dream come true," that dream apparently did not include spending the next three decades attending games at PNC Park.

The 11-year-old collector who pulled the Paul Skenes 1/1 Debut Patch card just shared his journal entries...

It's an absolute MUST-READ pic.twitter.com/PldkJMS06W

Topps (@Topps) January 24, 2025

The team posted on X after the decision that it was "bummed" but offered to have the fan at a game sometime during the 2025 season.

Fanatics Collect, which will handle the auctioning of the card in March, said it would donate its proceeds from the sale to fire relief funds in the Los Angeles area.

The card could hold pretty high value considering the potentially bright future ahead for the 22-year-old Skenes, who finished third in NL Cy Young Award voting after an outstanding rookie season.

The No. 1 pick in the 2023 amateur draft made his major league debut in May and put together one of the most impressive rookie seasons in recent memory. Skenes was selected as the NL's starting pitcher in the All-Star Game after only 11 starts and finished 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 games.

Skenes said over the weekend he hasn't thought about the potential of signing a long-term contract to remain in Pittsburgh, saying instead that his focus is on helping the Pirates take a step toward contending in 2025. He is eligible for free agency after the 2029 season.

Britain's Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid won a sixth successive Australian Open wheelchair doubles title while Andy Lapthorne triumphed in the quad doubles final.

Top seeds Hewett and Reid defeated Spain's Daniel Caverzaschi and Frenchman Stephane Houdet 6-2 6-4 at Melbourne Park.

It is their 22nd Grand Slam title as a partnership.

Lapthorne and Dutchman Sam Schroder won the quad wheelchair doubles with a 6-1 6-4 victory against the top seeds, Niels Vink of the Netherlands and Israel's Guy Sasson.

Lapthorne, 34, has now won eight doubles titles in Melbourne.

A huge West Ham fan, Lapthorne said he had received messages from players in the build-up to his final and hoped to be back in the UK in time to watch them play at Aston Villa on Sunday.

"My flight, I think, is at 11pm tomorrow. If I'm not delayed, then I'll get straight in a car and drive up to Villa Park," he said.

"If not, hopefully I've got the week off and maybe go to the training ground and show the trophy off, meet some of the boys.

"I had some messages from [West Ham right-back] Vladimir Coufal last night, which was really nice.

"He just WhatsApped me saying he's watching and good luck. They've been amazing to me.

"It's just really nice to have the support of the fans of the club and the people within the club. It drives me on."

The odds are stacked against Keys as she hopes to deny Sabalenka, who won the Australian and US Open finals in straight sets last year.

Sabalenka has won four of her five previous meetings with Keys, including victory in their two previous Slam encounters.

Their most recent meeting at a major, in the semi-finals of the US Open in 2023, was a particularly painful one for Keys.

The American served for the match with a 6-0 5-3 lead, only for Sabalenka to pull off a remarkable fightback to advance.

"I felt like I tried to play safe. I wasn't playing how I wanted to in the big moments," Keys said of that defeat.

"That felt so bad. I didn't want to be in the same situation where I looked back and thought 'I should have gone for it'.

"I didn't want to have any regrets."

Novak Djokovic says he will return to the Australian Open next year if he is still "fit, healthy and motivated".

The 37-year-old Serb, aiming for a record-extending 11th men's singles title, retired injured from his semi-final against Alexander Zverev on Friday.

He raised both thumbs in the air towards the 15,000 fans as he left Rod Laver Arena - which he has often described as his "second home".

Asked if it might be his final appearance at Melbourne Park, Djokovic said. "I don't know. There is a chance. Who knows? I'll just have to see how the season goes.

"I want to keep going. But whether I'm going to have a revised schedule or not for the next year, I'm not sure."

It is the second successive year that Djokovic has lost in the Melbourne semi-finals.

Djokovic has stripped back his schedule in recent seasons and prioritised being ready for the biggest tournaments - namely the four Grand Slams.

The former world number one continues to seek a 25th Slam to move clear of Australia's Margaret Court, who won 24 women's singles titles between 1960 and 1973.

The Australian Open is where Djokovic has enjoyed most of Grand Slam success followed by Wimbledon, where he has won seven titles.

He has also won three French Open and four US Open titles.

"I normally like to come to Australia to play," seventh seed Djokovic added.

"I've had the biggest success in my career here. So if I'm fit, healthy, motivated, I don't see a reason why I wouldn't come.

"But there's always a chance [it is the last time]."

Shelton, bidding to reach his first major final, made a confident start by breaking Sinner in the first game of the match - but that was an advantage the 21st seed surrendered three games later after a series of unforced errors.

Shelton, 22, broke again for a 6-5 lead and served for the set but squandered two set points as Sinner dug in to force a tie-break.

Sinner took control from then on, reeling off five straight points to close out the breaker before quickly going up a double break of serve in the second.

The daunting prospect of needing to come back from two sets down against the top seed did not discourage Shelton from entertaining and engaging the crowd.

The American reset admirably to force three break points early in the third set. But, after they went untaken, Sinner struck what proved to be the decisive blow in game five to extinguish Shelton's hopes of an unlikely fightback.

Despite appearing to limp following an awkward landing, Sinner closed out five straight games to secure victory in two hours 36 minutes.

"There was a lot of tension and I had some slight cramps," Sinner said afterwards.

"These matches can go very long. Three sets in two-and-a-half hours is quite some time, so I'm happy to finish it in three."

Sinner's Australian Open title defence comes against the backdrop of his ongoing doping case, which will be heard at the Court of Arbitration for Sport from 16 April, with the World Anti-Doping Agency seeking a ban of between one and two years.

Baxter masterminded Exeters rise from playing in Englands second tier to becoming Premiership and European champions.

The Chiefs made six successive Premiership finals between 2016 and 2021, winning in 2017 and completing a domestic and Champions Cup double in 2020.

But the Covid-19 pandemic had a big impact on the club, both in terms of gate receipts and Exeter's conferencing business, which was hit hard by the lockdown.

It led to the Chiefs shedding many of the star players that had guided them to European glory in 2020 and a new, young side being formed in the summer of 2023.

"We're not at salary cap, we've released a large number of experienced players and internationals," Baxter said.

"We had to do that and we are in a genuine rebuilding process.

"Sometimes you've just got to settle down and deal with what we are dealing with right in front of us now, which is expanding and developing the young group that we've got, adding some quality as finances allow.

"We've got the business on a level footing now and we will be expanding our investment in the squad and our investment in the things we are doing in the playing side.

"That's our vision now going forward is that we are going to be on an upward journey.

"Do we have games to win now? Of course we do, we don't want to be involved in any kind of a relegation battle or play-off at the end of the year, we want to be moving on from here, but that is what we're expecting to do."

Dan Sheehan will captain Leinster in Saturday's United Rugby Championship game against the Stormers (17:00 GMT) on his return from an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

It will be the Ireland hooker's first appearance of the season, having suffered the injury during Ireland's defeat by South Africa in July.

Winger James Lowe is also restored to the line-up after recovering from the calf problem that has kept him out since Ireland's win over Australia in November.

Sheehan and Lowe are due to link up with Ireland's Six Nations squad at their training camp in Portugal on Sunday.

Back row Will Connors is named among the replacements having also recovered from injury.

With the bulk of his squad already in Ireland camp, Leinster head coach Leo Cullen has been forced into making wholesale changes to the side that beat Bath in the Champions Cup last weekend.

However, prop Jack Boyle - the only uncapped player in Ireland's Six Nations squad - starts while Cullen has been able to retain seasoned internationals Rabah Slimani, Jordie Barrett and RG Snyman.

Table-toppers Leinster have won all 13 of their games in the URC and Champions Cup this season. The Stormers are 10th in the URC with four wins and four defeats and were knocked out of the Champions Cup last weekend.

Leinster: H McErlean; A Osborne, L Turner, J Barrett, J Lowe; R Byrne, L McGrath; J Boyle, D Sheehan (capt), R Slimani; R Snyman, B Deeny; A Soroka, S Penny, M Deegan.

Replacements: J McKee, P McCarthy, R McGuire, D Mangan, J Culhane, W Connors, C Foley, C Tector.