PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Jon Rahm feels motivation to measure up playing alongside world No. 1 Rory McIlroy and former world No. 1 Brooks Koepka in a featured pairing through the first two rounds of The Players Championship.

“I might have something to prove besides just good golf,” Rahm said. “It’s exciting.”

Actually, Rahm may not be alone wanting to break out.

McIlroy is the defending champion, looking to turn four consecutive top-5 finishes – including more than one disappointing Sunday finish – into his first victory this calendar year.

Koepka is looking to regain the form that drove him to world No. 1 before he hurt his knee last year and lost his spot to McIlroy. In three starts this year, Koepka has gone T-43 at the Genesis Invitational, missed the cut at the Honda Classic and T-47 at last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational.

The No. 1 ranking is up for grabs among this threesome.

With a victory this week, Koepka can gain back the top ranking, as long as McIlroy finishes worse than solo 45^th.

Rahm can also get to No. 1 with a victory or solo second-place finish, depending on what both McIlroy and Koepka do. 

A win would also help Rahm wash away any bad memories of last year’s finish. He was the 54-hole leader but knocked a risky 8-iron in the water from a tough spot in a fairway bunker at the 11^th hole on his way to shooting 76.

Rahm was asked if the No. 1 ranking is a goal.

“I don't know how many times I'm going to answer this question,” he said. “Yes, it is. But, again, it's a consequence of good play

“If I do my job properly, and I play good, and I win the tournament, that will be a reality. If I just focus on being No. 1, and play badly, that will never happen. Yes, it is a goal, but I'm here to win tournaments. I'm going to perform, and that's what I'm here to do.”

UEFA is asking governments across the continent to ensure the European Championship goes ahead in three months despite the coronavirus outbreak, and called reports of federations asking to move the tournament back a year "completely untrue."

Based on advice received from the World Health Organization, UEFA believes a city can host Euro 2020 games if it has the medical infrastructure to treat COVID-19 patients while still providing the necessary facilities to cope with tens of thousands of fans, a person with knowledge of the planning told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

- Euro 2020 fixtures: Match dates, times and venues
- Euro 2020 finals draw: All you need to know
- Euro 2020 playoffs: All you need to know

The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private planning conversations.

UEFA is using 12 stadiums in 12 nations for this unique pan-European tournament, which provides flexibility to give a city additional games if another is prevented from doing so due to the coronavirus. UEFA would remove games from a city if necessary to ensure the 24-team tournament can go ahead, the person said.

Brussels was already stripped of hosting because its stadium wasn't finished and additional games were placed at Wembley, which has the semifinals and final in North London.

UEFA said reports that European football federations had requested that the 24-team tournament is moved to next year were "completely untrue."

"UEFA has had no requests to move or cancel the tournament," the governing body told the AP.

Officials from European football's governing body have been working with the WHO to form a plan to mitigate the risks from the COVID-19 disease across the 12 countries due to stage games.

UEFA has been told by the WHO that it does not expect the virus to have been contained by the time Euro 2020 opens on June 12 in Rome, the persons with with knowledge of the planning said. No sports events are currently taking place in Italy after the country was put in effective lockdown by the government this week.

"UEFA takes the situation linked to the coronavirus very seriously," the Nyon, Switzerland-based organization said in a statement. "We are closely monitoring the situation and are in contact with the World Health Organisation and national authorities regarding COVID-19 and its development."

UEFA wants Euro 2020 to take place with fans. But some European club competition games are taking place this week in empty stadiums, including Paris Saint-Germain's last-16 meeting in the Champions League with Borussia Dortmund on the orders of French authorities.

Decisions have already been made for later this month. Ireland's Euro 2020 playoff match against Slovakia on March 26 will be played without fans on the instruction of the Slovakian government. Supporters will be barred from the stadium in Nuremberg for Germany's friendly against Italy on March 31.

Like the IOC with the Tokyo Olympics, UEFA is trying to ensure its flagship event is not derailed by the virus. Cities in Azerbaijan, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Scotland and Spain will also stage games.

The new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms for most people, such as fever and cough, and the vast majority recover. But it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems.

Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe has been tested for the coronavirus after a recent illness but the France international's results came back negative, sources have confirmed to ESPN FC.

Mbappe, 21, has not yet trained this week because of a throat problem and was logically tested for the coronavirus as its grip on Europe and sports on the continent tightens.

According to ESPN FC sources, despite the negative test for COVID-19 his recent illness has put his ability to start Wednesday's crucial Champions League round of 16 second-leg clash with Borussia Dortmund in doubt.

PSG trail the Germans 2-1 from the opening leg and will be playing in front of an empty Parc des Princes because of the decision to proceed with the match behind closed doors.

Mbappe is likely to feature at some point, said ESPN FC sources, but may well have to make do with a substitute role because of concerns over his ability to start.

To give their team some form of home advantage, PSG's ultras have announced that they will march towards the Auteuil end of Parc des Princes and generate as much noise as they can from outside the stadium ahead of kick-off.

PSG's Saturday match away to Strasbourg was postponed because of fears of the spreading coronavirus in the region.

"It was negative for me because we flew to Strasbourg," said PSG manager Thomas Tuchel. "We were in Strasbourg and we couldn't play. It was a last test for this game on Wednesday [against Borussia Dortmund] without any problem to adapt to the workload and the intensity of this game [that is coming up]."

Elsewhere in France, Metz have confirmed that they have quarantined an unnamed player after they recently came into contact with somebody who has been diagnosed with the coronavirus.

The Ligue 1 side said that the player is showing no symptoms but has been asked to stay home for now.

All training sessions will be held behind closed doors and there will be no player interviews with the press as Metz and the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) stay in regular contact on the topic.

Earlier on Tuesday, the LFP confirmed that Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 (both of France's fully professional football tiers) will be playing games behind closed doors until at least April 15.

The French Football Federation (FFF) has also confirmed that upcoming friendlies against Ukraine in Paris and Finland in Lyon will go ahead with empty stadiums.

Tuchel added: "And yes, with all the news about the coronavirus, with Kylian Mbappe now, we have a lot of things to think about, a lot of things to adapt to. But at the same time, it is a football match and we must adapt.

"I really hope we are capable of adapting, we have a lot of confidence we can adapt. But the difference is too big to talk about it. It's huge."

RB Leipzig sent Tottenham packing from the Champions League after beating the Premier League side 3-0 in their round of 16 second leg on Tuesday to advance 4-0 on aggregate.

The visitors came in trailing 1-0 from the first leg and were soon down by the same scoreline in the return fixture when Marcel Sabitzer's first-time shot from outside the penalty area was just out of reach for Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris.

Soon after, Sabitzer doubled Leipzig's lead when he again beat Lloris, this time at the near post with a header from a perfectly placed Angelino cross to make it 2-0 and effectively put the tie to bed.

Spurs pushed for a way back into the match throughout the second half, but it was again Leipzig who had the better of the chances and they added a third in the 87th minute when substitute Emil Forsberg smashed home a loose ball in the box to make it 3-0.

The result sees RB Leipzig through to the quarterfinals, making them the first Bundesliga side other than Bayern Munich or Borussia Dortmund to reach that stage since Wolfsburg in 2015-16.

David Wiese! Remember the name? You perhaps don't, unless you're a Lahore Qalandars fan, since the South African delivered exactly this outcome in the final over of a game last year, smashing a six off the final ball then to power Lahore to victory against Multan. This time around, it was the penultimate ball, and this time, it was Peshawar Zalmi. He was facing Carlos Brathwaite, the undisputed king of final overs in T20 cricket, and it seemed like the West Indian's grip on that crown would tighten even more after a fantastic first four balls that leaked just three runs.

Lahore needed 5 off 2, and just as it appeared they would manage to let victory slip through their fingers once more, Wiese cleared his front leg, read the slower delivery and bludgeoned the ball over the head of a long-on fielder who could only watch the ball sail into an exultant Lahore crowd. It sealed a famous five wicket win, with this being just the second time Lahore have won three games on the bounce in the PSL.

The craziness of that last over complemented what was one of the games of the season, with ebbs and flows of momentum that kept the outcome uncertain until Wiese launched that final delivery into the stands. Peshawar suffered a nightmarish start that may have proved the difference, slumping to 24 for 3 in the Powerplay thanks to Shaheen Afridi and Samit Patel's excellent opening overs, before a 116-run stand from two players at extreme ends of the age spectrum, Haider Ali and Shoaib Malik, got Peshawar back on parity.

But Shaheen returned at the death to restrict Peshawar to 187 on a brilliant pitch for batting, and with Fakhar Zaman firing and Sohail Akhtar playing his part, Lahore suffered no capitulation of the top order. Even when Akhtar was run out in a moment of characteristically sabotaging running, Chris Lynn stepped up, and ensured Lahore would always remain ahead of the rate in a partnership that put their side well on course to a reasonably straightforward win. Fakhar smashed a chanceless 46-ball 63, but Lahore almost gave it away when Zaman and Lynn fell within three balls of each other, and with Dunk and Hafeez falling cheaply and the asking rate soaring past 12, it appeared Lahore had tossed away their golden opportunity.

But Rahat Ali's shoddy 19th over that both Wiese and Patel capitalised on suddenly put them back into contention. Wiese put away a slower ball for six over midwicket and Patel caressed him for four in the gap at extra cover to turn what looked like an impossible scenario into one where they needed just eight off the final over. Wiese would do the rest.

The Shaheen Afridi show

Pakistan, and indeed Lahore Qalandars, had best be careful not to take Shaheen Afridi for granted for the moment. In the last few months, the lanky left-arm pacer, barely put of his teenage years, has fast risen to become Pakistan's only indispensable bowler across formats. At the PSL this year, he had only continued that irresistible form, and the first over of the opposition innings has become the stage upon which Shaheen Afridi repeatedly plays the lead role. Today, the contest was a mismatch in terms of current form, with the hapless Tom Banton the latest to fall victim to Afridi's wiles. Off the second ball of the innings and the first he faced, he was hopelessly deceived by an off-cutter, and spooned the ball straight to extra cover.

He showed he was just as adept at bowling at the death, and would return in the 17th over to see off the threat of Lewis Gregory, before delivering the ball of the evening to his fellow left-arm speedster Wahab Riaz. It saw off stump buckle at the base, and would have felled far more capable batsman than the Peshawar captain. Afridi is quickly showing how rapidly he continues to improve; he now ranks second on the wickets charts at this year's PSL with an economy of 6.88. No one else in the top five can boast an economy rate under 7.40. In a game that went down to the last over, every slight edge he could provide his side was priceless.

Star of the day

There was much hand-wringing about the paucity of young Pakistan batsmen with the capability of stepping up in the PSL last year. Indeed, the highest scoring uncapped Pakistani at the PSL in 2019 was now-Lahore captain Sohail Akhtar, with 241 runs across the season. That total has nearly been matched already by 19-year old Haider Ali, who enriched his burgeoning reputation with a delightful innings today that takes him to 238 runs for the season already. Coming in with Peshawar crumbling at 24 for three, he struck up a 116-run partnership with Shoaib Malik, a man who had made his international debut before Haider was even born. And he wasn't just playing second fiddle.

Haider was the chief aggressor for much of that stand, picking up the tempo around the 12th over by smashing David Wiese and Haris Rauf for three fours and a six inside six balls, before bringing up his 50 in 31 balls. The power he generates when hitting towards the onside is particularly precocious for someone so young, and what was in evidence today may just be a preview for what to expect from Haider Ali in this format. He would see Peshawar through close to the end of the innings, continuing to push at the margins of what Peshawar would have deemed possible after losing their top three for 24, and by the time he fell in the 18th over for a 43-ball 69, he had left Peshawar in a far more dominant position than he'd found them.

Where the teams stand

Lahore have now won four games in eight, the first time the franchise has won more than three games in a season. They rise to third, while Peshawar Zalmi stay at nine points in second place.

Nebraska is turning to its football team for some help in the Big Ten basketball tournament.

The Cornhuskers have rounded out their roster by adding two football players -- quarterback Noah Vedral and offensive tackle Brant Banks -- for the conference tourney that begins Wednesday in Indianapolis, coach Fred Hoiberg said.

Both players will be available to play in No. 14-seeded Nebraska's opener against No. 11 Indiana.

Vedral, a sophomore, played in six games (two starts) for the Cornhuskers football team this past season. According to the school, he was a four-year basketball player at Bishop Neumann High in Wahoo, Nebraska, leading it to three C-1 state titles (third-largest division in state) and a 98-16 record. He averaged 13.6 points per game as a senior.

Banks played four football games this past season, but ultimately took a redshirt. According to the school, he averaged 11.5 points and 7.6 rebounds per game as a junior at Westbury Christian (Houston) but didn't play basketball as a senior after enrolling at Nebraska early.

Nebraska has only seven scholarship basketball players after it suspended guards Dachon Burke Jr. and Cam Mack indefinitely last week.

The Columbus Blue Jackets will play their home games Thursday and Saturday in front of fans, they announced Tuesday, several hours after Ohio Governor Mike DeWine recommended that sporting events at indoor facilities in the state take place without spectators.

"The Columbus Blue Jackets are aware of the recommendation by Governor DeWine," the team said in a statement. "We have been in contact with the National Hockey League and, given the facts before us, it has been determined that our scheduled games, including this Thursday vs. Pittsburgh and Saturday vs. Nashville, will go on as scheduled and be open to ticketed fans that wish to attend."

The status of other sporting events in the state is still fluid.

The MAC basketball tournament is scheduled to begin Thursday at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland. A spokesperson for the MAC told ESPN that the league is discussing what to do with its tournament and will have a statement later Tuesday.

Additionally, Dayton Arena is set to host the NCAA First Four March 17-18, and Rocket Mortgage Arena in Cleveland is scheduled to host first- and second-round men's and women's NCAA games.

In response to DeWine's recommendation, the NCAA issued a statement later Tuesday that read, "The NCAA continues to assess how COVID-19 impacts the conduct of our tournaments and events. We are consulting with public health officials and our COVID-19 advisory panel, who are leading experts in epidemiology and public health, and will make decisions in the coming days."

Ohio State is scheduled to host Michigan at Nationwide Arena in the Big 10 men's hockey semifinals on Sunday.

The Cleveland Cavaliers just began a long road trip and do not have a home game until March 24.

Well, it has arrived. Champ Week is like a satisfying appetizer as Selection Sunday approaches. The ambitions of college basketball programs that have worked all season to contend for a spot in the NCAA tournament will either be validated or crushed.

The evolution of the field is one of the most fascinating processes in sports. The excitement around Champ Week proves as much.

Let's not waste any time. Here are the biggest questions entering Champ Week: (and follow this link to play ESPN's Champ Week Challenge)

ACC

Could Virginia join the list of ACC national title contenders?

For the duration of the season, Louisville, Duke and Florida State, the ACC regular-season champion, have been discussed as three teams capable of making a run to Atlanta and winning a national championship. They all entered the week ranked within the top 10 in the NET rankings and the top 15 on KenPom. Virginia, which finished in a three-way tie for second place with the Blue Devils and the Cardinals, has wins over all three teams in recent weeks. Since suffering a 53-51 home loss to NC State on Jan. 20, Virginia is 11-1, and the Cavaliers have owned the most effective defense in America (ranked first on both KenPom and barttorvik.com).

Although Virginia has possessed one of the ACC's worst offensive units (31.4% from the 3-point line in league play) after losing three pros from last year's national title team, it's impossible to ignore the momentum Tony Bennett's team has amassed entering the NCAA tournament and the wins it has collected the past six weeks. Virginia ended the season with a 23-7 record in the regular season. Connecticut ended the 2013-14 campaign with a 24-7 record prior to its run to an American Athletic Conference tournament title and national championship. Could Virginia accomplish the same feat and defend its title with a wild run? Everything this team has achieved recently suggests that Virginia is capable, but an ACC tournament title would confirm that.

Big East

Will Creighton convert the nonbelievers at Madison Square Garden?

Greg McDermott might win national coach of the year after leading Creighton to a slice of the Big East championship, a title the Bluejays shared with Villanova and Seton Hall. The Bluejays have spent the bulk of the season as one of the nation's most efficient offenses, capped by a 38.7% clip from the 3-point line, a top-10 mark. Marcus Zegarowski, who suffered a knee injury in Saturday's 77-70 home win over Seton Hall, is doubtful for the Big East tournament. The Bluejays have lost just one game since Feb. 5 and certainly possess the offensive talent to make a run in March, but making a run through this week's tournament will be difficult without Zegarowski.

The naysayers have a point. Creighton's losses have been landslides. The Bluejays lost to St. John's by 20 points on March 1. San Diego State beat Creighton by 31 points in November. The Bluejays also have double-digit losses to Michigan, Providence and Butler -- all on the road -- this season. Those blemishes can be erased, however, with a strong run through the Big East tournament. This is one of the toughest leagues in the country, and a title in the conference tournament, a tall order given Zegarowski's injury, would make Creighton a serious pick to win a title in April. Another lopsided loss this week, especially without one of the team's top players, would encourage the doubters.

Atlantic 10

Can any team ruin Dayton's shot at a No. 1 seed?

Dayton became the first Atlantic 10 team since George Washington in 2006 to win the league's title without a conference loss. The Flyers are an excellent team, and their best player, Obi Toppin, is a projected first-round pick and a potential Wooden Award winner. Dayton's only blemishes are overtime losses to Colorado and Kansas. But the Flyers are entering the Atlantic 10 tournament with the understanding that one loss could jeopardize their shot at a No. 1 seed, for which the team is currently projected in Joe Lunardi's latest bracketology.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- As all professional sports leagues consider steps forward to manage the worldwide coronavirus epidemic, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Danilo Gallinari said on Tuesday he would be in favor of closing games to fans if the situation worsens.

"I am in favor, because I see everything that's been going on in Europe, not just in Italy," Gallinari said. "In all of Europe, they stopped every game, they stopped every competition, in between countries, too, so it's not just Italy. The steps they did were playing normal games, then games without fans and now they're not playing."

The Italian national Olympic committee announced Monday that all sports would be halted until at least April 3.

"Hopefully we don't get to that point where we don't play games anymore, but maybe as a step forward to play some games with no fans," Gallinari said. "Hopefully that doesn't happen, of course, because playing without fans is a huge change for a player, too, when you play the game. But it's something the league has to do in order to prevent what's going on in Italy and not have it go on in the States, too."

Gallinari, a native Italian, has seen the impact of the virus on his home country in recent weeks, with Italy enacting a countrywide shutdown, asking people to stay home and seek permission only for essential travel. Behind only China, where the virus originated, Italy has been hit harder than any other country, with the most recent death toll climbing toward 500, according to the World Health Organization.

"It's a tough situation, and hopefully we'll be able to manage it and manage it right," Gallinari said. "The hospitals and all the health care institutions have done a great job right now managing the virus. We need all the people and the citizens to do the same thing and behave in the right way. Because that's going to be crucial in order to not have too many people in the hospitals and have doctors not be able to handle all the pressure."

Gallinari said he has been in contact with his family "multiple times" a day to keep updated on the situation.

"The life has changed when you cannot get out of the house, when you cannot have any contact with anybody," he said. "You can only get of the house if you have to, for example, going to the grocery store. Not having any contact with anybody, my mom and her brothers not being able to see my grandparents because of the age, they could be the most affected and maybe not be able to handle the virus. So it's a weird and tough situation for everybody and my family, too."

After consultation with infectious disease and public health experts, the NBA, along with other major U.S. sports leagues, closed locker room access as of Monday to media, allowing only essential personnel to interact with players and staff.

"Having that situation in my country ... I'm just trying to make sure my team understands the situation and they behave in the right way in order to prevent ourselves, and not just for us, but other people we get in contact with it," Gallinari said. "The NBA has done a great job giving us rules and news to follow.

"We can't do autographs, we can't be in contact with fans and shaking hands and high-fives and pictures. It's going to be different right now until the situation gets under control."

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- With the situation and safety measures concerning the coronavirus outbreak changing rapidly, LeBron James said he'd be disappointed if the NBA plays games without fans but that he would listen to whatever the league decides is the safest thing to do.

Last Friday, when initially asked about the idea, the Los Angeles Lakers star said he would not play if there were no fans at NBA games.

"Well it's funny, because when I was asked the question of would you play without no fans, I had no idea that there was actually a conversation going behind closed doors about the particular virus," James said Tuesday. "Obviously, I would be very disappointed not having the fans, because that is what I play for -- I play for my family, I play for my fans."

James, listed as questionable to play Tuesday against Brooklyn because of a sore left groin, said he plans to play against the Nets. The premise, though, of playing future games without fans in the building still doesn't sit right with him.

"They say no one could actually come to the game if they decide to go to that point, so I would be disappointed in that," James said. "But at the same time, you got to listen to the people that's keeping a track on what's going on. If they feel like it's best for the safety of the players, the safety of the franchise, the safety of the league to mandate that, then we all listen to it."

Tuesday marked the first time that teams were abiding by the new pre- and postgame health safety measures instituted by the NBA, MLB, NHL and MLS to have all team locker rooms and clubhouses closed off to the media and nonessential team employees.

Lakers head coach Frank Vogel said the team doctor held a town hall meeting with the organization Monday to address the safety measures and the coronavirus.

This was the first time James spoke at a distance from reporters and cameras, with two roped-off areas to his side and cameras held 6 to 8 feet away in front of him.

It was something that James -- who is accustomed to talking to reporters up close, in huge scrums -- was not used to.

James was asked if he felt safe under the new protocol.

"So much safer. You guys are such a threat every time I come out," James said with a smile on his face. "No. No. ... Listen, I have no idea what happened with -- I miss you guys being right here. Like right here in my bubble. Very challenging to do an interview like this."