A second-half goal from Houston's Mauro Manotas canceled out an early wonder strike from Los Angeles' Cristian Pavon, as the visiting Galaxy and Dynamo played to a season-opening 1-1 draw on Saturday.

While there was naturally much hype surrounding the MLS debut of Mexican superstar Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez, it was budding league star Pavon who stole the spotlight from his new Galaxy teammate to open the season.

- Stream MLS games all season on ESPN+

Pavon, who posted four goals and eight assists over 13 total 2019 games in his first season with L.A., delivered a stunning goal in the 13th minute that won't soon be forgotten.

Streaking down the left wing, Pavon put on the brakes just inside the box, made a short dribble, then drilled a strike that was out of the reach of Houston keeper Marko Maric to open the Galaxy's 2020 scoring account.

It was a particularly frustrating moment for the Dynamo, who failed to score in the first half even while holding 59 percent of the possession and taking nine overall shots.

Houston was finally rewarded for its effort when Manotas took advantage of a Galaxy defensive breakdown, and out-of-position keeper David Bingham, to level the match in the 54th minute.

While the Dynamo continued to control the possession, Los Angeles looked as if it would take the lead back. The 31-year-old Chicharito, who has starred with Manchester United and Real Madrid and is the Mexican national team's all-time goal scorer, was more active around the hour mark as L.A. threatened.

"I've always said that in this profession it's not how you start but how you finish," Hernandez said afterward. "I'm happy, calm, things will improve, I've got confidence in this team and they have confidence in me."

Hernandez, who was named a club captain for the first time in his career, said the early lead help Houston grow into the game.

"Football is ironic sometimes, the worst thing was scoring a goal so early because after that I think we let them play, build their confidence and then the game became equal. The result was very fair," Hernandez said.

On being named captain, Hernandez said: "I want to focus on the team, it's more important. If you want to win championships it doesn't depend on individuals, or who is the captain or not. I feel the same if I have the armband or not, I always try to be the leader I think I can be, with my qualities and things to improve."

Galaxy midfielder Joe Corona got two quality looks in the 66th minute, but the first was blocked with Maric out of position and the second went high.

Houston forwards Alberth Elis and newcomer Darwin Quintero were not available for selection on Saturday. Meanwhile, a reported groin injury kept star Galaxy midfielder Jonathan dos Santos out of the lineup.

ESPN's Tom Marshall and Reuters contributed to this report.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said that his team's shocking 3-0 loss to relegation-threatened Watford on Saturday will relieve pressure from his players to play "free football again."

Liverpool's first league defeat of the season in their 28th match meant the end of their hopes of going the whole league campaign unbeaten, emulating Arsenal's feat of 2003-04 and Preston North End's in 1888-89.

"Tonight we were not good enough. It's not now a plus for me that we look back years later and think Liverpool nearly did it. That's not my main concern. You can't change it," Klopp said after the match.

Saturday's loss at Vicarage Road also concluded Liverpool's run of 44 league matches without defeat stretching back to January 2019 and came on the day they were expected to surpass champions Manchester City by creating a new English top-flight record of 19 successive league victories.

But the German gaffer remained steadfast in seeing the bright side of a loss that could saw Ismaila Sarr inspire the extraordinary upset with two goals in six second-half minutes before setting up captain Troy Deeney with Watford's third.

"We were going to lose a game at some time, and we didn't wait for it but it was clear it would happen," Klopp said. "Tonight it happened and I see it rather positive that we got close to these records.

"Now we can play free football again and don't have to try to get a record. We just have to try to win football games again, and that's what we will do."

Meanwhile, Watford manager Nigel Pearson said he isn't getting carried away with the win and will only briefly relish it.

"It is very satisfying and it is good to get reward for everybody's work," Pearson said afterward. "My job is to steer the ship and try to keep some perspective in terms of where we are.

"It is a very satisfying and fantastic win, but with 10 games left we have got an awful lot of work to do."

One fanbase did take a collective sigh of relief with Watford's win -- and that was Arsenal's, who beloved "Invincibles" remain the sole English unbeaten side in modern times.

Phew...

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) February 29, 2020

Liverpool remain in commanding lead to claim their first league title in 30 years, and are still in contention in the FA Cup tournament and Champions League.

Nonetheless, Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk lamented his side's mistakes on Saturday, although the Dutchman didn't want to take anything from their opponent's win.

"They deserved it if you look at the game, the chances they created. They stuck to their plan and obviously scored three goals," Van Dijk said.

"I don't think we created too many big opportunities. So we shouldn't take the credit away from Watford. Obviously we want to look at ourselves with most of the things and we have to. We have to improve again. It's a tough one to take, but it's football as well."

Van Dijk added that the remarkable records were not on the minds of the players.

"Losing hurts. The records are only for the media, we didn't even mention it once," he said. "We keep going, we want to win the next game ahead of us, that's the FA Cup, and then we have Bournemouth at home. We want to strike back, we want to show what we've been doing the whole season. That's the only way forward."

Reuters contributed to this report.

March 1: PSL - Islamabad United v Karachi Kings, Rawalpindi

Our XI: Babar Azam, Alex Hales, Cameron Delport, Imad Wasim, Luke Ronchi, Dawid Malan, Colin Ingram, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Musa, Chris Jordan

Captain: Babar Azam

Babar hasn't quite got going in the last couple of games but the batting strip in Rawalpindi might be exactly what he needs to get some runs. He has scored 319 runs in nine T20 innings at the venue at an average of 45.57 and a strike rate of 113.52.

Vice-captain: Dawid Malan

Malan has been a reliable batsman for Islamabad this season. He has scored 131 runs at an average of 43.66 and a strike rate of 142.39 in the tournament so far. In all PSL games, Malan strikes at 110.14 against pace and 130.27 against spin.

Hot Picks

Alex Hales: Hales has back-to-back scores of 29 in the competition so far, but had four fifties in six NNL innings just before the PSL. Since 2019, his strike rate in the powerplay in all T20s has been 146.70.

Luke Ronchi: Ronchi had a terrific start to the tournament but his scores have been on the lower side over the last couple of games. But it will be a good move to have him in your team because of his numbers against Karachi. He has scored 263 runs against them at a strike rate of 186.52 and he averages 87.66 against them.

Shadab Khan: Shadab has been batting in the upper middle-order of late and scoring pretty well. That confidence seems to be rubbing off on his bowling as well. He has picked up three wickets and scored 91 runs in the last two games.

Value Picks

Faheem Ashraf: Ashraf has picked up wickets in all the four games so far. He has seven in the bag at a strike rate of 12.85. Though his economy is on the higher side (9.33), he is a genuine wicket-taker for Islamabad.

Cameron Delport: Delport bats in the top four and can also bowl a few overs if needed. He hasn't scored big runs yet but has made some decent contributions of 20 and 22 in his first couple of games. In all T20s, Delport strikes at 145.03 in the middle overs and at 183.33 in the death, suggesting he could be the perfect finisher for Karachi.

Point to note

• Though the sample size is small, Islamabad's average first-innings score this PSL is 178 while Karachi's is 179. So at a high-scoring venue, with two high-scoring sides, expect a high-scoring game.

New Zealand 142 for 5 (de Grandhomme 8*, Watling 0*, Shami 2-45) trail India 242 by 100 runs

India began day two needing a big effort to stay alive in the Christchurch Test, but by the end of the first session they had sensationally pulled ahead of New Zealand with five wickets for just 79 runs. They had bowled 23 overs without a wicket on the first evening, but they refused to die, bowling with accuracy, venom and enjoying appreciable seam movement off the surface. At lunch New Zealand trailed by 100 runs with five wickets in hand, with their last recognised pair in the middle.

India's pumped-up leader Virat Kohli lived every moment, giving a send-off to Kane Williamson, giving it back to the crowd, taking a sensational catch diving forward at slip and then taking offence at the batsman waiting for replays to confirm the catch was clean. He could afford to be so pumped up of course because his bowlers gave him their best collective session of the series.

The first half hour was a torrid examination from Umesh Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah, who took out Tom Blundell and Williamson respectively. Mohammed Shami began too short once again, but stayed economical long enough to get a long spell during which he corrected his lengths and took two wickets.

Quite unlike regular New Zealand conditions, the pitch had become spicier on day two compared to day one. It got quicker, and offered consistent seam movement - just the conditions the Indian quicks love. So, while they didn't quite get into the 5m full zone that you need to target in New Zealand, they gave nothing away. When Yadav did bowl that full ball, he found Blundell hanging back, and the seam movement back in trapped him lbw. All the seam movement drew a mental error from Williamson, who defended at a widish ball from Bumrah, which didn't move back as much as he expected it to. Kohli, looking away from his team, evidently let out a Hindi expletive but didn't get in the personal space of the batsman.

Ross Taylor and Tom Latham batted with better intent, and they saw New Zealand through to drinks comfortably enough. They added 40 in little over 10 overs, but Taylor perished trying to dominate the weak link on paper, Ravindra Jadeja. Just after drinks, he stepped out to Jadeja in premeditated fashion, and didn't have a bail-out option when Jadeja pulled the length back. Yadav then took an amazing catch running back from point and despite over-running the ball a little.

Latham was at the heart of New Zealand's resistance, showing excellent judgement and restraint, and punishing the really loose balls. He kept leaving on length, drawing excited cries from India, but the ball always sailed over the stumps. That would draw the odd half-volley, which he took toll of, bringing up his half-century. However, he too made a mental error of leaving a full ball, losing his off stump, bringing Shami his first wicket. That ended a 21-run stand between Latham and Henry Nicholls, bringing real jitters into the dressing room.

Kohli was not done yet. Minutes before lunch, he dived forward to a dying edge to send back Nicholls. One angle showed him getting his fingers underneath the ball while another raised suspicion, which meant it was fair to go with the on-field soft signal of out. Nicholls had pushed at a wide short-of-a-length delivery, which will annoy him.

MESA, Ariz. -- Yu Darvish's spring training debut Saturday began exactly the way he predicted.

First pitch, home run.

Orlando Arcia connected right away, launching a drive over the fence in left-center field, prompting the Chicago Cubs right-hander to rapidly snap his glove open and closed, imploring the plate umpire to give him another ball.

"I knew that he was going to swing, and also this is first game, so I want to throw a fastball, a get-me-over fastball for a strike," Darvish said. "So I was thinking last night if Arcia is the leading [off], he's going to hit the homer. So it happened."

Darvish wound up going two innings against Milwaukee, allowing only one more hit while striking out three. He touched 98 mph with his fastball and mixed in five other pitches.

While Darvish, 33, aims to allow fewer home runs this season, he believes he's ahead of schedule in his preparation to replicate his exceptional 2019 second half, which featured a 2.76 ERA, including 118 strikeouts in his last 13 starts.

After Arcia's homer, Darvish threw a pair of high-90s fastballs that yielded swing-and-misses and induced a fly out by Keston Hiura and a strikeout of Avisail Garcia, then prevailed in an impressive matchup against left-handed hitter Logan Morrison. Darvish set Morrison up with a 98 mph fastball that just missed to make the count 2-2, and then fooled him with an 82 mph curve that Morrison whiffed on, ending the inning.

"I tried to throw 100; I tried to hit 100, but only 98," Darvish said, smiling.

The timing of Saturday's start for the four-time All-Star would put him on track for Opening Day against the Brewers in Milwaukee on March 26, although new Cubs manager David Ross has not announced who will start the game.

Darvish, who joked that he is the No. 3 starter, said he is more confident in his fastball.

"I was throwing hard last year, but my spin efficiency is not good enough," he said. "That's why hitters don't swing and miss. But this year I feel different; that's why there are more swing-and-misses."

Matter of factly, Darvish said he can command his fastball for strikes now, as opposed to his first eight years in MLB, with Texas, the Dodgers and, since 2018, with the Cubs after he signed a six-year $126 million contract.

"I can throw strikes any time," he said. "The last eight years I struggled."

A student of the game who has embraced the tracking of spin rate, Darvish said he wasn't concerned about showing his arsenal of pitches to the National League Central rivals, as he threw his fastball, hard cutter, cutter, slider, knuckle-curveball, and two-seamer.

Darvish said he would have enjoyed matching up against star Christian Yelich, who was not in the Brewers' lineup.

"Any time I really want to face him," Darvish said. "He's the best hitter in MLB, so I am looking to face him in the opening series."

INDIANAPOLIS - One night after some of the biggest offensive lineman wowed scouts with their speed, it was the defensive linemen's turn Saturday at the NFL scouting combine, as Nebraska's Khalil Davis and Oklahoma's Neville Gallimore carved out a little history.

Davis, at 6-foot-1, 308 pounds, ran an official clocking of 4.75 seconds in the 40-yard dash Saturday night and Gallimore, at 6-2, 304 pounds, clocked an official time of 4.79 seconds.

According to ESPN's Stats and Information, those times made the pair the only defensive linemen who weighed more than 300 pounds to clock sub-4.8 40s since 2006. Davis' twin brother Carlos (6-2, 313 pounds) had an official 40 time of 4.82.

Those efforts came 24 hours after Louisville's Mekhi Becton and Iowa's Tristan Wirfs were among the offensive linemen to show big man speed at the combine.

Seven of the interior defensive lineman overall ran sub-5.0 40s Saturday night with four of those players tipping the scales over 300 pounds.

Gallimore, a native of Canada, said earlier this week at the combine that he had played both soccer and basketball growing up in addition to football and that it had helped his footwork and quickness.

"I'm speaking for the kids who have a dream and grow up watching football, grow up having that passion, and have that talent and the work ethic,'' Gallimore said. "That if you have the desire to play you won't have to go out of your way to get found, they'll come find you. You still have to do your work as well, but show again that no matter where you come from and what your background is, you still can get that opportunity.''

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- A month after a brawl punctuated the final seconds of their first meeting of the season, players and coaches from Kansas and Kansas State had a positive exchange prior to Saturday's game.

After the national anthem, the two teams met at half court and shook hands.

Jayhawks coach Bill Self said he reached out to Kansas State officials and asked for the moment of solidarity to help erase the residue of last month's game, where the lasting image of Silvio De Sousa holding a stool over his head highlighted the escalation of emotions in the Jayhawks' 81-60 victory over their chief rival.

"What happened over there at our place was an embarrassment to both teams, both schools, and certainly [there is] no place for it," Self said. "But we've never had a problem with K-State players, and they've never had a problem with our players.

"We've had some players do some silly things or some not-so-bright things at the end of the game before, but in the battle of competition. During competition, it's always been classy. Certainly, I think that was a way to hopefully show people that it's still just a game, it's still just a competition."

Kansas State coach Bruce Weber echoed those sentiments.

"Obviously the first one ended in not a special moment in K-State-Kansas rivalry history," Weber said. "We wanted to make sure this one started with a positive moment of sportsmanship. We can move forward now, worry about the game and how it's played."

In the Jan. 21 meeting, DaJuan Gordon stole the ball from De Sousa as he attempted to dribble out the clock in the final seconds. As Gordon raced down the floor, De Sousa caught up to him, blocked his shot and stood over him. James Love III, Antonio Gordon and David McCormack all got involved, along with other players from both teams.

Fans seated courtside, including some with disabilities, scrambled to avoid the fight. De Sousa (12 games), Love (eight games), McCormack (two games) and Antonio Gordon (three games) were all suspended by the Big 12.

While Saturday's matchup lacked the same fireworks -- Udoka Azubuike and Makol Mawien getting hit with double technical fouls after trash-talking in the first half was the most heated moment of the game -- it was clear that officials at Kansas State had prepared for the worst.

Multiple police officers stood on the perimeter of the court before the game started. State troopers roamed the corridor that separates the locker rooms for the home and visiting teams at Bramlage Coliseum. And when the game ended, six police officers rushed toward the handshake line to make sure the two teams avoided the craziness from the first meeting.

Unlike the first game, Kansas State got off to a hot start, making seven of its first 14 3-point attempts. The game was tied 48-48 with seven minutes to go and Gordon's 3-pointer cut KU's lead to three, 60-57, with 27 seconds to go before the top-ranked Jayhawks closed out a 62-58 victory.

Overall, players seemed to handle the rematch with class. Devon Dotson, the star for Kansas who scored 25 points and finished 8-of-11 from the floor, was laughing with Kansas State's Cartier Diarra toward the end of the game.

The two became friends after working basketball camps together.

"That's my guy," Dotson said. "He was just cracking jokes."

Although the first game is in the past now, Self had to address the status of Azubuike, who played just 20 minutes after leaving the game in the first half with an ankle injury and tweaking the injury again in the second half.

The Jayhawks center finished with six points (2-for-4) and nine rebounds.

After the game, Self said he didn't have any major concerns about Azubuike's status going forward.

"He came back and played, although he wasn't effective, but he came back and played," Self said. "The way he laid on the ground initially, amputation may have been a viable course of action. But he came back and at least he gave us some minutes, even though he wasn't effective. We probably don't win the game unless he was able to give us some minutes.

"I imagine he'll be fine, but big guys like that, a turned ankle probably affects him more than a guard."

Major North American professional sports leagues are talking to health officials and informing teams about the coronavirus outbreak that has led to the first reported death in the U.S.

Officials from the NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball say they are all consulting with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other organizations on a regular basis about COVID-19.

A man in his 50s died from the virus in Washington, state officials reported Saturday.

There are no immediate plans to cancel or postpone games or have them held in empty stadiums or arenas. Some of those contingencies have been taken in other countries, including Italy, where soccer matches were postponed until May.

Pro sports in the U.S. for now are going on as scheduled, though leagues are closely monitoring the situation. The NBA and NHL are in their regular seasons and MLB in spring training in Arizona and Florida with Opening Day less than a month way.

"The health and safety of our employees, teams, players and fans is paramount," the NBA said in a statement. "We are coordinating with our teams and consulting with the CDC and infectious disease specialists on the coronavirus and continue to monitor the situation closely.''

Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum posted on Twitter that he's "officially taking a break from signing autographs" after an Oregon resident was diagnosed.

The Corona Virus has officially hit Oregon. More specifically Lake Oswego...Make sure y'all washing y'all hands with soap for 20 or more seconds & covering ya mouths when you cough. I am officially taking a break from signing autographs until further notice.

Sincerely,

CJ

— CJ McCollum (@CJMcCollum) February 29, 2020

The new virus that first emerged in China in December has infected more than 85,000 people and caused more than 2,900 deaths. There have been 62 reported cases in the U.S., compared to 1,128 in Italy.

The NHL, which has seven teams based in Canada, is in contact with personnel from the CDC and Public Health Canada. Deputy commissioner Bill Daly said by email the NHL has not considered any cancellations.

"We are in regular communication with our clubs on the issue and have passed along best practices being recommended by CDC and Public Health Canada medical experts,'' Daly said. "Most of these steps are common sense precautions, but there definitely involves consciousness raising.''

An NHL spokesman added the league "will implement all necessary safety measures as required.'' Teams have been getting information from the league about COVID-19 since late January.

MLB has also been actively monitoring the outbreak for some time and been in touch with the CDC and Health and Human Services. It is providing guidance to clubs, staff members and players that are mirror CDC recommendations.

Churchill Downs is using the time left before the Kentucky Derby in early May to watch as the situation develops before hosting horse racing's biggest event.

"We still have a great deal of time to monitor and react,'' Churchill Downs said in a statement. ``We also will learn from others as they hold events over the next number of weeks. We are consulting with relevant authorities and will take any and all necessary steps to ensure the safety of all who attend and participate.''

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Big Interview: 11 Points with Tom Ford
By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor

THIS YEAR’S Wild Card Challenge in the St. James’s Place Canary Wharf Classic features two extremely talented English players, Tom Ford and Joe Lee, who have returned to action after extended absences caused by injuries.

Here, Tom reveals the physical and mental challenges that he had to deal with as he came to terms with chronic fatigue and injuries.

1: Tom, it’s good to see you back in action and playing well after your break from the game. Please tell us about the issues that forced you to step back from the PSA World Tour.

A: Thanks Alan. I guess there are many reasons why I took a break from the game, but the thing that really forced me to stop is Chronic Fatigue, which I am still recovering from.

2: What kind of process did you go through, physically and mentally, as you were forced to assess your future?

A: Many! But I guess ultimately it was the process of trying to get to the root causes of what lead me to burning out and addressing them. These were physical, mental and emotional.

3: Were there any setbacks? And, if there were, how did you overcome them?

A: Of course. And there still are, as I continue to build myself back to full health. I have overcome them by learning to ask for help and get support where needed.

4: What kind of help and support did you receive?

A: Seeing an osteopath and acupuncturist regularly helped and still helps tremendously with my energy levels. Seeing a Sports and Clinical Psychologist helped me to piece together the psychological work I had done by myself. And my parents and close friends for their love and understanding throughout, particularly when I felt I wasn’t making any progress.

5: How did you keep busy during that time?

A: Well being busy wasn’t really the protocol for recovery in my case. However, it did offer space for me to explore areas of my life that I was concerned I might miss out on had I just continued playing PSA full time. I briefly went to University, started a podcast, volunteered, and began coaching too.

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6: I’ve seen some articles by you dealing with mental health issues and the mental side of the game. Please tell us more.

A: For a long time now I’ve been interested in how our psychology impacts our life and craft. I guess I had always looked at that from more of a performance perspective, but going through this has brought me closer to my own mental health as a raw, imperfect human. This is such a vitally important thing to be aware of within ourselves and the more we can normalize these conversations the better.

7: Players very rarely discuss the stress of competing on the PSA Tour, especially those difficult early years when you are battling for ranking points with very little revenue coming in to cover all your costs. It all adds to the pressure to perform and deliver results.

A: I was fortunate from that perspective to be getting funding from England Squash when I joined PSA the first time, but I can definitely empathize with this more now as I’m not funded. A big part of my decision making regarding a tournament will depend on how financially viable it is.

8: How much do you enjoy coaching and working with different players?

A: I really enjoy coaching. As a player I find I can get quite insular and so focused on my own process, that I find it really healthy and rewarding to get out of my own head and help someone to make improvements in their own game / life.

9: I think one of the last times I saw you play, you beat Joel Makin in the final of the Kent Open in 2016. I remember osteopath Nick Griffith helping your back on a daily basis to keep you mobile.

A: Yes, that was a very memorable tournament for me. Not only for the players that I beat to win the tournament, but also the fact that I had a very painful bruised rib where I was really struggling to hit the ball in the first round. Fortunately, I got treatment from Nick after every match and it was pretty much better by the end. We still keep in touch!

10: You must be impressed by the work Joel has put in to climb up the rankings since then.

A: It’s very impressive to see what Joel has achieved in the years since we last played. Clearly our paths went in very different directions, but to see where he is and what he’s doing provides a lot of inspiration for what may be possible for me.

11: The last time you were on the glass court at Canary Wharf you played Peter Nicol in an exhibition match. What do you think of the quality of the draw this year? Who do you fancy for the title?

A: I mean you’ve got 13 of the top 16 players in the world, including all of the top four! That is a dream for any organiser. I think everyone is so close now, it’s down to who is as close to their best on the day.

Thank you, Tom. Good luck in the Challenge.

Pictures courtesy of Kim Roberts and Steve Cubbins