Stuck on 399 career goals for nearly a month, Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn sat out against the Nashville Predators on Thursday night, with coach Pete DeBoer saying it was for "maintenance."

The 35-year-old Benn had played 371 consecutive games. He scored his 399th goal against Edmonton on March 8.

Benn has 16 goals and 29 assists in 74 games this season.

The U.S. men's national team remained 16th in the latest FIFA rankings released Thursday, while Canada climbed to a new all-time high and Mexico moved up two spots following last month's Concacaf Nations League finals.

The U.S. lost both its games at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, falling to Panama in the semifinals before going down to Canada in the third-place match. It is now just one place ahead of rivals Mexico, which received a boost after beating Canada and Panama to claim its first Nations League title.

Panama's reward for its shock victory over the U.S. is a three-place bump up to No. 33.

Despite falling to Mexico in the semifinals, Canada moved up one spot to new best of No. 30, continuing a staggering rise for the men's team. A little more than a decade ago, in October 2014, the team was ranked a lowly 122.

But after qualifying for its first World Cup in 36 years in 2022, the Canadians have continued their upward trajectory under American coach Jesse Marsch.

Canada, the U.S. and Mexico have automatically qualified for the next World Cup in 2026 as co-hosts. Their next competitive matches will come at the Concacaf Gold Cup, beginning June 14.

At the top of the FIFA rankings, world champions Argentina remains at No. 1 after sealing its qualification for the next World Cup with wins over Uruguay and Brazil last month.

European champions Spain moves up one spot to second, swapping places with France, while England and Brazil round out the top five.

Get ready to see the very best on the biggest stage. ESPN has ranked the top players in women's college basketball throughout the season. Now it's time for the women's Final Four, and we're down to the top 15 players who will compete in Tampa, Florida, from UCLA, South Carolina, Texas and UConn.

There's no surprise at the top: UConn guard Paige Bueckers, who scored a combined 71 points in the Huskies' two previous victories, leads the way. The presumptive No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft on April 14, Bueckers is in her fourth Final Four and seeking her first national championship. She is one of four Huskies on this list. UConn will face UCLA in the nightcap of Friday's national semifinals (9 p.m. ET, ESPN). The Bruins, the No. 1 seed in the women's NCAA tournament, also have four players in the rankings.

Four Gamecocks also made the cut, though freshman Joyce Edwards -- who has struggled the past two games as defenses keyed on her -- dropped off the list after being included in our Sweet 16 top 25 player rankings.

The Gamecocks meet SEC rival Texas on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). The Longhorns are represented by three players on the list, led by SEC player of the year Madison Booker.

They'll all be vying to advance to Sunday's NCAA title game (3 p.m. ET, ABC). Before the games tip, ESPN's Kendra Andrews, Charlie Creme, Alexa Philippou and Michael Voepel ranked their top 15.

1. Paige Bueckers, UConn

Guard | 6-foot | redshirt senior
Stats: 20.1 PPG, 4.8 APG, 2.1 SPG

Bueckers has been on a heater for most of March. She arrives in Tampa having scored 105 points over her past three games, the most in a three-game stretch for any player in UConn history. On Monday, she passed Napheesa Collier for third on the program's all-time scoring list. And in that span, she has shot 59.1% from the field and 61.9% from 3. And Bueckers is plenty motivated to win a national title in her final weekend in a UConn uniform. -- Philippou

2. Lauren Betts, UCLA

Center | 6-foot-7 | junior
Stats: 20.0 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 3.0 BPG

What hasn't Betts done for the Bruins in this tournament? Between her second-round performance and the Sweet 16, she became the first Division I player over the past 20 years to have 30 points, 10 rebounds and 80% field goal shooting in back-to-back games. On the other end of the court, Betts held opponents to 17% shooting when she contested the shot, including 2-of-17 from inside the paint through the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight. -- Andrews

3. Sarah Strong, UConn

Forward | 6-foot-2 | freshman
Stats: 16.1 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 2.3 SPG

Strong was spectacular in the Huskies' Elite Eight game Monday, keeping them afloat with 10 first-quarter points when scoring was hard to come by. She also showed off her versatility, coming away with a game-high 17 rebounds while also registering four assists and hitting 4-of-6 3-point attempts. Coach Geno Auriemma has described Strong as a level-headed player who treats every game the same, a quality that should serve her well in her first Final Four. -- Philippou

4. Madison Booker, Texas

Forward/guard | 6-foot-1 | sophomore
Stats: 16.5 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 2.8 APG

Booker stands out for consistency and versatility. Her numbers in the Longhorns' two regional wins were nearly identical: 17 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists vs. Tennessee, and 18, 6 and 2 against TCU. Texas hopes for similar stats vs. South Carolina. In the Longhorns' three previous meetings this season against the Gamecocks, her best performance was 20 points and 11 rebounds in a 66-62 win on Feb. 9. She was held to 10 and seven points in Texas' two losses to South Carolina. Booker didn't shoot well in any of those games: a combined 25.9% (14 of 54). Booker doesn't hesitate to do the dirty work on defense: guarding players of all sizes, fighting through screens, rebounding against bigger players. She is as comfortable starting the fast break as she is finishing it. Booker has a sweet jump shot that is hard to guard, and she can create something out of nothing. -- Voepel

5. Chloe Kitts, South Carolina

Guard | 6-foot-2 | junior
Stats: 10.4 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 52.5% FG

In the deep South Carolina rotation, Kitts has emerged as the steadiest and most reliable player. She has scored in double figures in nine straight games, with five double-doubles in that stretch. Getting the ball to Kitts and Sania Feagin was the Gamecocks' most successful offense tactic against Duke in the Elite Eight, and Kitts led the way with 14 points. The SEC tournament MVP has also been South Carolina's leading scorer and rebounder in the NCAA tournament (12.3 PPG, 8.0 RPG). -- Creme

6. Kiki Rice, UCLA

Forward | 5-foot-11 | junior
Stats: 12.9 PPG, 5.1 APG, 49.0% FG

Through the first four games of the tournament, UCLA is shooting 69% off of Rice's passes -- the third-highest mark in the tournament so far -- including 60% on 3-pointers. She has had a role in 39 of UCLA's 80 3-point attempts, either as the passer or the shooter. She's also averaging 13.5 points on 40% shooting from the field, including 50% from beyond the arc. -- Andrews

7. Azzi Fudd, UConn

Guard | 5-foot-11 | graduate
Stats: 13.1 PPG, 44.1 3FG%, 1.3 SPG

Fudd has had some ups and downs in this NCAA tournament, her first since 2023 after sitting out last season because of an ACL tear. She hit six 3-pointers for 22 points in the first round but struggled more in Spokane, where she averaged 9.0 points on 3-for-11 shooting from beyond the arc. But she ended the Elite Eight with an impactful fourth quarter (eight points) that helped put the game away for the Huskies, and hopes to use that momentum for a strong showing in Tampa. -- Philippou

8. Rori Harmon, Texas

Guard | 5-foot-6 | senior
Stats: 9.3 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 5.9 APG

Harmon sustained an ACL injury in December 2023 that cost her the rest of last season, but she worked hard to return for 2024-25. No guard works harder on defense: She is a premier on-ball defender but also provides great help to her teammates. Along with leading Texas in assists, she's tops in steals (2.2). She isn't averaging quite as many points this season, but that's more a function of the Longhorns not needing as much scoring from her. That said, she's still capable of taking over games, or getting the big basket at just the right time. In the Longhorns' regional wins, Harmon had 8 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists against Tennessee, and 13, 2 and 5 against TCU. -- Voepel

9. Gabriela Jaquez, UCLA

Guard | 6-foot | junior
Stats: 9.9 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 53.5 FG%

Not only did Jaquez hit the dagger shot that lifted the Bruins into the Final Four, but her five 3-pointers that game against LSU is the most for a player off the bench in the Elite Eight or later since Baylor's Emily Niemann in the championship game in 2005. -- Andrews

10. Taylor Jones, Texas

Forward | 6-foot-4 | senior
Stats: 12.1 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 1.9 BPG

Jones is a Texas native who started her college career at Oregon State but has spent the past three seasons with the Longhorns. She is Texas' second-leading scorer and is tops in rebounds and blocks. Her experience showed big-time in the regional, as she did exactly what Texas needed her to do in both games. Against Tennessee, she had 12 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks while being able to get up and down the court well against the Lady Vols' fast pace. Then against TCU, she had 7 points, 6 rebounds and 4 blocks while battling 6-7 Sedona Prince inside, holding her to four points on 1-of-4 shooting. -- Voepel

11. MiLaysia Fulwiley, South Carolina

Guard | 5-foot-10 | sophomore
Stats: 11.9 PPG, 1.9 APG, 42.0% FG

The NCAA tournament has been a roller coaster for Fulwiley. She played only 10 minutes in the second round against Indiana. Then she saved the Gamecocks with a brilliant 23-point performance in the Sweet 16 win over Maryland. Then it was back to 11 minutes of playing time two days later against Duke. Despite the fluctuating role, Fulwiley remains South Carolina's only true threat to take over a game. -- Creme

12. Sania Feagin, South Carolina

Forward | 6-foot-3 | senior
Stats: 8.1 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 60.5% FG

Generally a third or fourth scoring option for the Gamecocks, Feagin has played some of the best basketball of her career late in her final season. Her scoring average has jumped to 10.4 points in the SEC and NCAA tournaments. Feagin even became a go-to player against Duke in the regional final and delivered with reliable post moves that she turned into 12 points and eight rebounds. The Gamecocks wouldn't have survived the Blue Devils without Feagin's contributions. -- Creme

13. Timea Gardiner, UCLA

Forward | 6-foot-3 | junior
Stats: 7.7 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 42.3 FG%

Gardiner is shooting 11-of-20 in the tournament, including a career-high four 3-pointers in the Elite Eight, giving UCLA a major scoring boost. When Betts had to sit the second quarter against LSU because of foul trouble, Gardiner's shooting was the main reason the Bruins were able to win the period. -- Andrews

14. Kaitlyn Chen, UConn

Guard | 5-foot-9 | senior
Stats: 7.1 PPG, 3.3 APG, 1.2 SPG

After running out of eligibility at Princeton, Chen -- the 2023 Ivy League Player of the Year -- chose to finish her career at UConn in hopes of making it to her first and only Final Four. Not only is she able to enjoy that accomplishment, she is a big reason why the Huskies made it to Tampa. With USC hanging around Monday in the Elite Eight, Chen came through with 15 points, including six in the pivotal fourth quarter, to help the Huskies pull away for good. -- Philippou

15. Te-Hina Paopao, South Carolina

Guard | 5-foot-9 | senior
Stats: 9.5 PPG, 2.9 APG, 36.1% 3FG

Despite her recent struggles, Paopao remains the Gamecocks' biggest perimeter shooting threat with a team-leading 56 3-pointers made this season. But she has only one in the past three games and has yet to score in double figures in the NCAA tournament. Paopao scored nine points against Duke, including the layup that gave South Carolina the lead for good. Her shooting and leadership will be key if the Gamecocks are to win a second straight national title. -- Creme

South Carolina trailed by four points heading into the fourth quarter against Duke in the Elite Eight. The Gamecocks had 10 minutes left to keep their season alive.

Te-Hina Paopao told her teammates to start off fast in the first five minutes so they could reclaim the lead. MiLaysia Fulwiley urged the upperclassmen not to get baited into taking bad shots, to remember they are the reigning national champions, the team that knows how to win when it matters most.

Bree Hall thought back to a text message she received earlier in the day from former teammate Aliyah Boston, telling her to remain calm in the big moments, to let the plays come to her.

The huddle broke, and the Gamecocks starters took the floor. Sania Feagin started the scoring on a turnaround jumper. Raven Johnson hit two free throws. By the time Paopao made a driving layup and Chloe Kitts followed with a layup in the paint, the pro-South Carolina crowd was in a frenzy.

South Carolina had its first lead since the start of the third quarter. Duke pushed the Gamecocks to the finish before Hall's defensive stop sealed a 54-50 win and a spot in the Final Four.

But for the third consecutive game, the Gamecocks needed a comeback to win. For the second game in a row, they needed a fourth-quarter rally.

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley admitted afterward it was not always going to look pretty, and the nerve-wracking four-point victories in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight left some questioning whether South Carolina can run it back. The Gamecocks have looked disjointed at times, taken poor shots and made uncharacteristic mistakes. And their bench, which leads the nation in scoring, has not been nearly as consistent as it was in the regular season as freshman Joyce Edwards has been neutralized and Fulwiley has been up and down.

The Gamecocks don't think what happened in Birmingham indicates they are vulnerable in Tampa.

"These teams are really good," Hall said in the locker room after the win over Duke. "I don't know why everybody expects us to just blow everybody out. These teams are coming to play. It's not going to be easy. Every team is going to be ready for us, so I think having a few wins like this under our belts is definitely going to keep helping us throughout the tournament."

But does South Carolina have big things to worry about in trying to repeat and win its third championship in four years -- especially Friday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) against Texas, the one team that might be able to find a weakness since they've already played each other three times this season?

What can we take away from how the Gamecocks have performed so far in the NCAA tournament, and how it might impact results in Tampa?

The bench must step up

One of the biggest strengths for South Carolina this season is that its reserves have not just been good, but dynamic. Edwards -- who had 22 points in the first round but a combined 15 in the three games since -- was a first-team All-SEC pick. Fulwiley was the league's sixth woman of the year, but after scoring 23 points against Maryland she had just five against Duke. Fellow sophomore Tessa Johnson is another player who would start for most programs but comes off the bench for South Carolina.

Depth has made the Gamecocks a nightmare to guard most of the time. However, against Duke, Staley had to rely on her experienced starters because the bench didn't contribute much.

Starters Kitts, Feagin, Johnson, Paopao and Hall played virtually all of the fourth quarter vs. the Blue Devils and scored all but nine points.

Edwards is the Gamecocks' leading scorer this season, and Staley said they will need her in Tampa.

"It's a gift and a curse that you are our leading scorer, so people are going to zero in on that and scheme to cut her production in half," Staley said of Edwards. "And because of that, there is a short gap between us winning and losing basketball games.

"[We've] just got to talk her through things. We're just really simplifying things for her. Things are coming fast at her, so it's hard. I know she wants to play well. Hopefully we can show her some film where she can be effective. But we need her. [If we're] going to win a national championship, we need better production from Joyce."

South Carolina's offense must improve vs. Texas

The Gamecocks and Longhorns are strong defensive teams. Watching how well Texas shut down TCU in its 58-47 Elite Eight win over the Horned Frogs has to raise some concerns for South Carolina.

"I just hope that we can get our offense going a little bit," Staley said after the Duke victory. "We can't seem to just play a little more fluidly. But I thought that we played with a lot better pace than we did [in the Sweet 16]."

The Gamecocks are 2-1 against the Longhorns this year. South Carolina won 67-50 at home on Jan. 12. On Feb. 9, the Longhorns won 66-62 at home. In the SEC tournament final in Greenville, South Carolina, on March 9, the Gamecocks won 64-45.

Texas forward Taylor Jones said the teams know each other so well, there won't be any surprises.

"It's going to come down to toughness and grit," Jones said. "The other times we've played them, it was decided by who was the toughest team that night. And unfortunately, we weren't in two of them."

It's important to maintain patience and not get rattled

The pressure was on the Gamecocks the past two games, but they didn't panic. That's an important part of trying to win two more games for another title.

South Carolina has been through this before. Even last season, when the Gamecocks finished undefeated, they were pushed in both regional games. They beat Indiana 79-75 in a nail-biter and then Oregon State 70-58 in a game that was close until South Carolina took over in the final three minutes.

Then they went to the Final Four and defeated NC State by 19 and Iowa by 12 for the program's third NCAA title.

Staley said this year's team addresses issues right away.

"We've handled things in real-time," she said. "I really don't think I've had a team that has been able to communicate as early -- when we see something, we act. They don't wait until a week later.

"They really want to be the best that they can be and they're unafraid to be vulnerable and discuss shortcomings. They just want to know how [they] can hurdle that."

PHILADELPHIA -- Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers said that Damian Lillard is feeling good as he recovers from deep vein thrombosis in his right calf and that there is "much more hope today" than there was a few days ago that he can return sometime this season.

Lillard, who missed his eighth straight game Thursday against the Philadelphia 76ers, did not make the road trip with the Bucks, with Rivers saying the team "decided against it" despite receiving a "great report" recently on Lillard's recovery.

"'Why mess with it?' was our thing, when flying or anything could affect that," Rivers said. "We have much more hope today than we did three days ago, I can tell you that. And so we're going to take everything that we can do to see if there's a way we can get him back."

Milwaukee announced last week that Lillard would be out indefinitely after being diagnosed with the issue in his right calf. That differed from the immediate diagnosis of San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama, who was ruled out for the season in February after deep vein thrombosis was diagnosed in his right shoulder.

The regular season ends in 10 days, and the playoffs will begin in 16 or 17 days, depending on whether the Bucks will open play on April 19 or April 20.

In the meantime, Rivers said the Bucks are fully preparing for the likelihood that Lillard will not return and how the team will have to alter its approach if he doesn't.

"There's no balance," Rivers said when asked how the team would straddle the chances of him coming back or not. "You work on what we don't have ... because there's no guarantee we are going to have him.

"We get him back, we know how to play. But we don't know how to play in the long term without him. And so it's really the nine Giannis minutes that we have to figure out. Before there was either a non Giannis, but you had Dame, and now you don't have that. So that's what we're working on every day and I haven't been great at it yet, so we got work to do."

Before Thursday's game, Rivers bemoaned his team's recent turnover issues, which have led to the Bucks facing a deficit in total shot attempts. Rivers, who also cited the team's issues with giving up offensive rebounds and not forcing turnovers, insisted that had to change for the Bucks to have success in the playoffs.

"I can't put my finger on it, honestly," Rivers said of what's causing the Bucks' turnover issues. "We turn it over in a lot of ways. But I do know this -- we can't win games. ... The other night, they took 18 more shots. The night before, they took 19 more shots. You know how well you have to shoot the ball to win a game like that?"

Milwaukee entered Thursday's game a half-game behind the Detroit Pistons for fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings. Beginning with Thursday's game against the tanking 76ers, the Bucks have several winnable games in a row before playing their final two games of the season against Detroit to close out the regular season.

ESPN's Basketball Power Index entered Thursday with the Bucks set to tie the Pistons with 45 wins for that fifth spot in the East playoff picture. Getting to fifth, instead of sixth, would mean avoiding having to beat all three of the New York Knicks, Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers to reach the NBA Finals, making it a potentially significantly easier path.

Rivers, who did not coach Thursday's game due to an illness, entered the day tied with Hall of Famer Phil Jackson for seventh place in all-time NBA regular season wins with 1,155, and would surpass the 11-time champion with a win over his former team.

"Yeah, it's awesome," Rivers said. "Just says I've had a lot of success. I've done a lot of good things in this job, but I've also had a lot of help. I've had great coaches with me. I have an amazing staff now. I've had some pretty good players throughout my career, but winning is what we're supposed to do and I try to do that, but I don't count, don't look. I don't know.

"That's not why I'm doing it. I'll put it that way."

Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman, who slipped and fell in the shower Sunday morning, was put on the injured list for his ankle injury, the team announced Thursday.

The move is retroactive to Monday. He hasn't played since Saturday and is 3-for-12 this season with two home runs and four RBIs.

The incident happened at home during the Dodgers' off day. Freeman's wife had to drive him to Dodger Stadium on Sunday for a three-hour treatment session. By the time it was over, he was able to drive himself home. An X-ray showed no serious damage.

Freeman sprained his right ankle on a play at first base in late September and struggled in the first two rounds of the postseason, but it was hardly evident during the World Series. He homered in the first four games and had 12 RBIs, earning the World Series MVP award as the Dodgers beat the New York Yankees in five games.

He had debridement surgery in December to remove loose bodies in the ankle.

The Dodgers (8-0) begin a three-game series at the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

LONDON -- Ange Postecolgou has said his actions were misinterpreted after the Tottenham Hotspur head coach appeared to cup his ear and wave in the direction of the travelling Spurs fans when he thought Pape Matar Sarr had scored the equaliser in the team's 1-0 loss to Chelsea on Thursday.

The under-pressure coach made the gesture in the direction of the Spurs supporters while standing on the edge of his technical during the celebrations for the 70th-minute goal that was subsequently disallowed following a VAR check for a foul on Moisés Caicedo in the build-up.

Postecoglou's celebration-of-sorts came six minutes after some of the travelling supporters chanted "you don't know what you're doing" when Postecoglou introduced Sarr and Brennan Johnson in place of Lucas Bergvall and Wilson Odobert.

"It's incredible how things get interpreted," Postecolgou told a news conference. "We'd just scored. I just wanted to hear them cheer because I mean we've been through a tough time and I thought it was a cracking goal and I wanted them to get really excited because I felt at that point we could potentially go on and win the game. I just felt momentum was on our way.

"It doesn't bother me, it's not the first time they've booed my substitutions or my decisions. That's fine. They're allowed to do that, but we'd just scored a goal, just scored an equaliser. I was just hoping that we could get some excitement.

"People want to read into that, that somehow I'm trying to make a point about something. I said I felt we've been through a tough time, but I just felt there was a bit of a momentum shift there and if they get really behind the lads, I thought we had the momentum to finish on top of them."

The north London club are enduring a torrid season, with Thursday's loss at Stamford Bridge condemning Spurs to their 16th defeat of the season - the most they have suffered after 30 games of a Premier League campaign.

Spurs' fans have been broadly understanding of the club's situation for most of this season after an injury crisis left the Australian with a heavily depleted squad for long stretches. Sections of the fanbase have opted to direct their frustration at chairman Daniel Levy and his running of the club instead of blaming the manager.

But Postecoglou's popularity with the fans has dipped of late, with the team failing to improve their results despite the return of several key players from injury.

Asked aboout the fans singing against him, Postecoglou said: "It doesn't affect me. If that's what the fans feel and if they feel that I'm not doing a good job, then they've got every right to express it. They pay their hard earned [money], they follow the club. They're the ones that will be here long after I'm gone, so it doesn't affect me.

"What I kind of try and focus on is the things I can control. I can't control fans, I can't control many things, but I can control our football and the way we play and the way we conduct ourselves, and that's what I concentrate on."

Spurs are 14th in the Premier League table with only the prospect of winning the Europa League -- where they face Eintracht Frankfurt in quarterfinals -- remaining in their bid to salvage their season.

The decision to disallow Sarr's strike was one of two lengthy VAR checks in the game -- Moisés Caicedo also had a goal chalked off for a marginal offside -- and the incidents prompted Postecoglou to reiterate his ongoing frustrations with the officiating system.

"Whether I think it's a foul or not, what does it matter?" Postecoglou said. "What matters is VAR was called in for clear and obvious errors, right? I've said this a few times already.

"How long did it take tonight? Six minutes for a clear and obvious error. Who cares if it's a foul or not? There's so many incidents that are very similar out there now.

"They're saying, oh well this becomes the goal, but what does it matter? What's the point of having a referee? Then clear and obvious to me as you go to the screen, you see it [and you say] 'oh my god, I've missed that.' Standing around for ... we're all -- well not me because I'm very vocal about it -- everyone accepts it.

"It's going to be referee by AI pretty soon. Like I said, we may as well dispense the players at some point. Some kid come up with a genius way of just having a game of football with no participants because referees aren't refereeing."

Spurs host Southampton in their next Premier League fixture on Sunday.

Harry Kane is a man on a mission. Not just for Bayern Munich but also for himself.

It's simple: the England captain finally wants to win silverware of note. Despite winning goal-scoring trophies and featuring in five finals, Kane has never tasted victory in a major competition, a run of futility that has even made some question whether Kane, regardless of all his goals, is made for the biggest stage. Those doubts have followed him to Germany, where his first year with Bayern Munich ended trophy-less, an unusual feat for the 33-time German league champions.

"I looked at the greats of the game and what made them great, and it wasn't just doing it in spells: it was doing it year after year," Kane told ESPN in an exclusive.

"That was a big drive of mine to be able to consistently be one of the best players in the world. And that drive will be with me until the end of my career, whether I finish with one trophy or 20 trophies. Ultimately, it won't change my mindset, what I want to achieve and how I try and achieve it."

Football, like professional sports in general, is all about opportunities and goals. The goal for Bayern is to win the UEFA Champions League final on May 31, which will be played at their home ground, Allianz Arena, for the second time in history.

The first Finale dahoam ("final at home") in 2012 ended in a heartbreaking penalty shootout loss to Chelsea. Kane, who himself played for Tottenham Hotspur in the 2019 final and lost to Liverpool, was not just signed to score against the Augsburgs and Werder Bremens of this world, but to lead Bayern to the summit of European football.

Kane is familiar with pressure and the fact that a prolific goal scorer like him doesn't get much praise for racking up 20 or 30 goals during a season. It is expected of him, but yet, he is proud of what he has achieved regardless.

"There's a lot of people out there who talk about football and commentate on football or do stuff on football who don't really understand football that much," he said. "I know there's been games where I've scored and not played great, and I've been spoken about in this high light, and there's been games where I haven't scored and been one of the best players on the pitch."

During the recent international break, Kane spoke about his aura and the feeling of how defenders play against him. They might approach him slightly differently because of what he represents, the huge price tag when he made his transfer to Bayern in 2023, the England armband, and his name recognition.

"I don't even know if aura was the right word," he said. "I just think: being on the big stage, more often than not, it just kind of puts you out there a little bit more. And I think the more you can do it in those big nights, the more respected you become."

At least two big nights await Bayern in the form of two Champions League quarterfinal matches against Serie A leaders Internazionale. After that, either Barcelona or Borussia Dortmund would be next in the semifinals. Quite the opposition en route to a possible final at home.

"[Winning the Champions League] has been a dream of mine pretty much my whole life," he said. "And we have the opportunity to do that this year. But also to do it at home in front of our fans at the Allianz, I think would make it that even more bit special. And I think when you have the opportunity to do stuff like that, it makes you excited."

While Bayern are slight favorites against Inter, they are dealing with some injury woes as defenders Dayot Upamecano and Alphonso Davies both suffered knee injuries, which could make the matchup even more fascinating.

"The expectation is to win everything every season. I felt that last year," he said. "We didn't win anything, and there was a lot of noise around the club, and probably rightly so. So, when you're at these clubs, the expectation is high not just for yourself but for the team."

But when it comes to his own performance and dealing with expectations and criticism, it's all about perspective in Kane's eyes.

"I feel like there's been a lot of great moments," he said. "I've given people a lot of joy over the years, and I hope even more joy is to come, but ultimately, if I keep doing what I'm doing, I know I'll be seen as a top player, but also a top person as well."

It's the kind of mature attitude that made Kane the top target for Bayern in 2023, in addition to his unquestioned talent on the pitch, and that make him the perfect representative for a globally operating club. At the same time, there is a maturity he brings to Bayern's attack filled with rising stars, most notably Jamal Musiala and Michael Olise. These two are usually the driving force behind Kane while the Englishman is their target player, be it directly at the offside line or a little bit deeper.

When asked about Musiala, Kane couldn't have been any more complimentary about the 22-year-old star.

"He's a great guy, first and foremost," he said. "Obviously still extremely young, but willing to learn, willing to work hard, and he's just got a good side to him, a good fun side to him that I think everyone loves. And then on the pitch he is one of the best I've played with."

Not bad praise considering Kane has played with many brilliant players at Tottenham and with England over the years.

It has been said that he hit it off quite well with younger teammates, but also with club veterans like Thomas Müller who, as things stand, won't continue as a player for Bayern come June. One thing Müller might not be so helpful with is Kane's progress in learning German.

"I think as an Englishman I'm quite spoiled," he said. "Obviously, a lot of people speak English around the world, and it kind of opens your eyes to learn a new language and how difficult it is for other people learning English. I've heard [Müller's] German is quite strong and quite hard to understand even for Germans. So maybe I'll go to someone a little easier to begin with, but who knows."

Learning German is just a way for Kane to connect even better in his everyday life in Munich. He confessed that the first months without his family in Munich were quite tough, but that he's settled in now. Whether this means he won't return to England to potentially break the Premier League goal-scoring record held by Alan Shearer remains up in the air.

"I've said throughout my whole career, I'm not someone who likes to think too far ahead," he said. "I'm extremely happy here. I think we have a fantastic team, fantastic coaching staff, and I just feel like, whilst I feel like I'm in the best condition, I want to play at the highest level possible. And this is as high as it gets."

NEW YORK -- A Georgia businessman who scammed former NBA players Dwight Howard and Chandler Parsons out of millions of dollars was sentenced Thursday to more than 12 years in federal prison.

A Manhattan jury in October convicted Calvin Darden Jr. of cheating Howard -- who had been one of the NBA's most dominant players in his prime -- out of $7 million in a bogus scheme to buy the WNBA's Atlanta Dream.

The 50-year-old Atlanta resident was also found guilty of bilking $1 million from former NBA forward Chandler Parsons in a separate ruse involving the development of then-NBA prospect James Wiseman.

A Manhattan federal court judge on Thursday ordered Darden to forfeit $8 million, as well as several luxury items he acquired with the ill-gotten gains, including a $3.7 million Atlanta mansion, $600,000 in artwork by Jean-Michel Basquiat, a Lamborghini and a Rolls-Royce.

Lawyers for Darden, who wasn't present in court when the sentence was handed down, declined to comment.

Darden was allowed to leave the proceedings after waiving his right to be present and telling the judge he had suffered a concussion last week while in custody, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Howard testified during the trial that Darden fooled him into giving him $7 million by convincing him that it was an investment toward the purchase of the Dream.

But the eight-time All-Star and three-time NBA defensive player of the year acknowledged he only learned he wasn't an owner of the Dream when ESPN reported the team had been sold to an investor group that included former Dream guard Renee Montgomery in 2021.

Prosecutors said Darden and a sports agent also conned Parsons into sending $1 million that was supposed to aid in the development of Wiseman, who was drafted by the Golden State Warriors as the second overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft.

But the two didn't know Wiseman, and the player never agreed to be represented by the agent as they claimed to Parsons. Wiseman last played for the Indiana Pacers before being traded to the Toronto Raptors, who waived him earlier this year.

Darden was ultimately convicted by a jury in October of wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering charges.

He was previously sentenced to a year in federal prison in New York for impersonating his father, Cal Darden, a former executive at Atlanta-based United Parcel Service, in a failed bid to buy Maxim magazine.

Howard played for seven franchises after the Orlando Magic took him with the No. 1 overall selection in the 2004 draft. He won his lone NBA title with the Los Angeles Lakers during the pandemic-affected 2019-20 season.

Parsons had a nine-year NBA career playing for Houston, Dallas, Memphis and Atlanta teams.

The Dream were once co-owned by former Republican U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, but she was pressured to sell after clashing with players over her opposition to the league's racial justice initiatives.

A local television news crew was stationed outside the Sawyer Hotel in downtown Sacramento on Sunday night, ready to catch every nuance of the magical moment the bleary-eyed Chicago Cubs stepped off their bus to enter the lobby. This was the first time a major league baseball team had arrived in Sacramento to play a legally sanctioned regular-season game, and no story was too small. If you ever wondered what Ian Happ looks like walking toward a hotel and being surprised by the presence of a camera and a reporter, CBS-13 was the channel for you.

"That was different," Cubs pitcher Matthew Boyd said. "But it's the first time a big league team has come to Sacramento, and they're excited. Baseball's that cool thing that brings everyone together."

It was quite a week for Sacramento -- more specifically, West Sacramento, the place with the street signs declaring it "The Baseball Side of the River." It got to host the first three games of the Athletics' expected three-season interregnum between Oakland and Las Vegas, and it got to call a big league team its own, even if the team has decided to declare itself simply the Athletics, a geographically nonspecific generic version of a Major League Baseball team.

It's tough to explain the vibe at Sutter Health Park for the first series. It looked like big league baseball and sounded like big league baseball; it just didn't feel like big league baseball. The crowds were mostly sedate, maybe because there's room for only about 14,000 fans, and maybe because the Athletics were outscored 35-9 over the course of the three games, the first and third of which could have been stopped for humanitarian reasons.

This is a team that is supposed to be better this season, and three games shouldn't change that expectation. It spent some money nobody knew it had on a free agent contract for Luis Severino and extensions for Brent Rooker and Lawrence Butler, moves that assured a payroll high enough to abide by the revenue-sharing rules of the collective bargaining agreement, but moves that improved the team nonetheless. (You've got to spend money to make money is an adage that, for the first time, appealed to owner John Fisher.) The A's have a universally respected manager in Mark Kotsay, several promising young players from recent drafts and the confidence that came from playing really good baseball over last season's second half. There is a creeping suspicion that they could be building something that could make West Sacramento proud.

It's a long, maybe even interminable season that will contain every iteration of peak and valley. Three games can end up being the equivalent of one breath over the course of a lifetime. But still, it's impossible to deny the Athletics brought back a lot of their old classics for their Sacramento debut: They walked 10 batters in Monday night's home opener; they kicked the ball around enough for four unearned runs in three games; they walked seven more Wednesday afternoon. The crowds were mostly quiet; the numerous Cubs fans were noisy until it felt mean, but the A's fans, when they found something cheer-worthy, reacted as if they were cheering for someone else's kid at a piano recital. As first impressions go, it could have been better.

The A's players, in their defense, are going through an adjustment period. When I asked closer Mason Miller how he likes Sacramento, he starts counting on his fingers and says, "I've literally spent five nights here." They're young, wealthy and accustomed to living in a new place every season as they progress through the minor leagues, and they're trying to view their new home as an opportunity to bond over experiencing something together for the first time.

"We're all new here," rookie second baseman Max Muncy says, "so even though I'm a rookie, I can earn some cred if I find a good restaurant and let everyone know." I mention the toughest reservation in town, a Michelin-starred, fixed-price restaurant less than 2 miles away.

"That sounds like a two-month wait," he says.

"Not if you tell them who you are," I joke.

"Yeah, I can't imagine doing that," he says. "Besides, if I say, 'Max Muncy,' when I show up they'll say, 'Oh great, we got this one.'"

The A's bigger concern is playing the next three seasons in a minor league ballpark and sharing it with a minor league team, the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats. It's kind of like a senior rooming with a freshman; the senior has dibs on just about everything, but he still has to deal with the roommate. For the A's, that means wondering how the field will hold up over the course of the 155 games it'll wear this season, and figuring out how to cope with having a clubhouse beyond the outfield wall, disconnected from the dugout.

Severino made his first home start for the A's on Tuesday night, and he had to tweak his routine to account for the new reality: Once he left the clubhouse, there was no going back. It was cold and windy, so he had to make sure his jacket made it to the dugout with him. The notes he likes to reference during the game had to be there, too. His usual practice of popping into the clubhouse to watch the game on television while his team hits ("It looks easier and more fun on TV," he says with a laugh) is on hold for home starts for the foreseeable future. He had to sit there with his teammates whether he pitched well or not -- on Tuesday: not -- and know that every one of his emotions would be picked up by at least five cameras.

"You just have to stick it out," Severino says. "You can't have all the stuff you have in a normal stadium. When you go out there, you have to bring everything with you. You have to try to stay warm and find out a different routine. It's not the same, but the thing is, it doesn't matter because it's happening, and we need to get used to it. Just treat it like spring training, because it feels like spring training."

Players coming off the bench to pinch-hit or play defense have nowhere to get loose. In any other park, they'd jump into the cage behind the dugout and take some swings or stretch out and run a few sprints. Here, they have to do whatever they can do within the confines of the dugout. "Just do some arm circles and maybe run in place," Cubs infielder Jon Berti says. "Make it old-school."

Just one of the three games sold out, an unexpected development after months of civic backslapping and grand proclamations about Sacramento cementing its status as a major league city. Tickets for Wednesday's game, which drew 9,342 fans, were selling on the secondary market for $20 about 30 minutes before first pitch. The A's have the highest median ticket prices -- $181 -- in baseball, according to data compiled by the ticket app Gametime. The idea was to employ the time-honored scarcity=demand concept to seize maximum profits from minimal opportunities, but one sellout -- the opener, which also included roughly 2,000 comped tickets -- in the first three games shows the A's remain capable of straining even the most fundamental economic concepts.

It's probably not fair to judge Sacramento's worth as a baseball town based on its willingness to support a team that won't be identified by the city's name during its time here. And it's definitely not fair to judge a region based on the number of fans eager to hand money to an owner who pulled the team out of Oakland after 57 years and is on his way to Las Vegas.

In the days after Kings/River Cats owner Vivek Ranadive joined with Fisher to bring the A's to Sacramento, someone identified to me as "as Sacramento as it gets" sent a text that illustrates the conflict that lives within the Sacramento sports fan:

So many thoughts as I've been following this:

1) I hate it in that we are just bailing out Fisher

2) I hate that we are basically acting as Seattle a decade ago with regards to the Kings and poached the A's away from Oakland. That's an awful feeling I wish on no one

3) I am interested to see if this actually goes anywhere other than just bailing out Fisher for 3 years while he waits out whatever magic is gonna happen in LV

4) Reeeeeally wish Vivek read the room on this one

5) We could buy $30 lawn seats and catch a ball from Mike Trout or even better, [Austin] Slater, on a Wednesday night in Sac. That would be wild

The A's are quick to point out that there weren't many crowds of 10,000 on Tuesday nights in Oakland. (There was just one last year, during the final homestand of the season.) Still, Sacramento is a city attempting to use this three- to four-year run to audition for its own big league team. And if the A's can't sell out a minor league stadium in an area with established fans of the team, what does that foretell for their eventual move to Las Vegas, where the team is forecasting sellout crowds, including nearly 5,000 tourists per game -- in a 33,000-seat stadium in an area with no connection to the A's?

But that's someone else's problem, some other day. Three trips this week to Sutter Health -- Sunday for the River Cats, Monday and Wednesday for the A's -- was a chance to watch big league baseball in a quaint, intimate ballpark. I thought it might be like venturing back in time, maybe what it felt like to watch a Philadelphia A's game in 1907 at Columbia Park if Columbia Park had a state-of-the-art video screen that looks like an 86-inch television hanging from the wall of a studio apartment. This would be baseball back when games were just games and big league ballparks didn't feel obligated to stock luxury suites with $300 cabernet and fist-sized prawns. Back to when every concession stand sold pretty much the same thing (at Sutter Health, each vendor has a set menu and one or two "specialty" items, like the pizza at Pizza & Pints) and fans could bring a chair or sit on the grass out in right field and dream of Mike Trout or Austin Slater.

Its charms are undeniable, but sustainable? The workers in the ballpark are all genial and helpful, thrilled with having major league baseball in their humble yard, but maybe we should check back in August. At the River Cats' game Sunday, I spoke with an employee working in the team store who laid out the process of turning it from a River Cats' store to an Athletics' store over the course of roughly 24 hours. Starting at 5 p.m. Sunday, three overlapping shifts worked through the night and well into Monday, folding and packing and hauling out all the minor league gear, storing it somewhere she isn't privy to, while hauling in all the big league gear, unpacking it, unfolding it and displaying it nicely enough that someone might feel compelled to forfeit $134.99 for an authentic JJ Bleday jersey.

As she detailed the process, and the time constraints, knowing this River Cats-to-A's and vice versa conga will take place roughly every 10 days to two weeks over the next six months, I was beginning to feel stressed just looking at every cap, sock, T-shirt, bobblehead, Dinger the mascot doll and performance men's half-zip pullover sweatshirt that awaited their attention.

"Will it get done?" I asked her.

She laughed.

"I guess it has to," she said, "but I'm off tomorrow."

And poof, just as there was no sign of the A's on Sunday, there was no sign of the River Cats on Monday. Everything brick red and gold was replaced by something kelly green and gold. Even the sign proclaiming Sacramento's Triple-A championships was replaced by one proclaiming the A's nine World Series wins, five in Philadelphia and four in Oakland. But, like everything else involving the 2025 Athletics, there is no geographic designation. As the A's know better than most, you are where you are until you're where you want to be.