Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall said Sunday's heavy defeat by Harlequins came at the end of "the toughest week" in the club's history.

The domestic and European champions were beaten 41-14 in their first Premiership match since relegation for salary cap breaches was confirmed.

"Perhaps after 19 weeks of the season, this was just a bridge too far for us," McCall said.

"This will probably be the worst you see of us. Things were fresh and raw."

Saracens will drop down to the Championship next season, but will still have to play their remaining 13 Premiership matches despite the ruling by Premier Rugby Limited earlier this month.

Shorn of many of their big names for the game at The Stoop due to Six Nations call-ups, Saracens conceded six tries to Harlequins.

The afternoon very much belonged to two players overlooked by England, Alex Dombrandt and Marcus Smith, who excelled for the hosts at number eight and fly-half respectively.

But Saracens still possessed an imposing line-up with England internationals Richard Wigglesworth, Alex Lozowski and Jack Singleton among their starters.

However, McCall confessed they were unable to replicate the same sort of emotional performance that saw them beat Racing 92 last Sunday to reach the European Champions Cup quarter-finals.

"When we were originally deducted 35 points, there was a strong feeling in the group that we were never going to get relegated," he said.

"But the decision last Friday that it was going to happen and all the repercussions of that have meant the past week, without question, has been the toughest at the club.

"There's been a lot of anxiety about people's personal situations and what they're going to do next.

"It's been quite difficult to focus on a game as big as this against an opposition who played as well as Quins did today.

"We've shown that we can be far more competitive than that this season and I'm sure we will be again."

McCall also revealed all players and coaches will take a break from the club next week before they return for a Premiership Rugby Cup semi-final at Sale on Friday 7 February.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - Coming off a career-best finish on the Indoor Auto Racing Series fueled by VP, Stephen Kemery has adjusted a busy schedule to compete in the NAPA Know How events at Boardwalk Hall.

In the aftermath of a brilliant second place finish in the PPL Center in Allentown, PA, the Sicklerville, N.J. TQ Midget driver had a surprise revelation to share with journalists at a post-race press conference.

“I won’t be able to run in Atlantic City. I have a college course all day Saturday in Philadelphia and won’t be able to make the race,” said Kemery of the Jan. 31-Feb. 1 races.

Kemery, however, changed his mind when he discovered he had misread the Saturday time schedule of events for race number three on the BELFOR Concrete Series.

“I came out of Allentown so pleased with what we had done. I had run most every one of the Indoor races for four years and the best I had ever done was 10th until Allentown,” said Kemery, who rebounded from the rear after an early spin to have a shot at the win on the final lap.

“I knew we were good there because I was in the top five for the first three practice sessions.”

To race this weekend, Kemery will be on an extremely tight schedule.

“I thought I had read that the Saturday show started at 6 p.m., but when I looked a second time, I realized I had another hour with the show starting at 7. It’s still going to be really tight, but it’s possible.”

Kemery, 30, is in the midst of a rigorous Executive MBA curriculum at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, Pa.

His class on Feb. 1, as it happens, is a particularly vital one.

“It’s the only class I can’t miss, I might be able to get out half an hour early and I think the drive can be done in under an hour and a half without traffic.”

Kemery will have the opportunity to take time and, hopefully, finish among the top two in one of the four A-Main qualifier races to be run Friday night. If he does, all pressure will be off his shoulders.

If he doesn’t, he’ll face a daunting challenge, one compressed by his time constraints.

Kemery will be driving a four year old Hyper Hugger chassis with a 600cc Dave Orange engine powering it.

Based on his strong showing on the Saturday night event in Allentown, Kemery, as well as other 600cc powered cars racing against those with 750s, are enthused about this race.

“Anthony Sesely (a three-time Atlantic City Gambler’s Classic winner), Kyle Lick and me were all taking about how well we all did in Allentown against the 750cc TQs,” said Kemery.

“The way the track was in Allentown, it kind of favored the 600s. It didn’t rubber up that much and Atlantic City can get like Allentown was.  If it does, one of the 600s can win it again.”

Kemery, who races his family owned No. 69k TQ only during the winter Indoor Series, was in a position to win the Saturday Allentown race. After getting a flat tire early, he got back on track and decided to bide his time.

The race, in effect, came back to him.

When leader Ryan Flores’ (2018 Atlantic City winner) left-rear tire started losing air in the final laps, Flores slowed and Kemery closed. Flores prevailed by a car length, with his left-rear tire going completely flat in victory lane.

Kemery’s racing interests have come full circle. He started out as a 600cc micro sprint racer on dirt in 2009, but moved to the full size dirt Sportsman class four years later.

“The micros were getting very expensive to race on a weekly basis,” Kemery shared. “My father and I decided to build a Sportsman for Bridgeport but that got delayed a year.”

When Kemery did start racing full sized cars on a full sized track he proved to be a quick study, winning immediately, something he is still doing.

A victory on Saturday in Atlantic City would be the highlight of his racing career.

ST. LOUIS -- The NHL All Stars descended upon St. Louis for the past three days, and what a weekend it was.

Players perched atop the 100-level launched pucks over the crowd. Women's hockey players dazzled. Blues legends ... appeared. Connor McDavid was dethroned. Green Day singer Billie Joe Armstrong spewed out a few F-bombs (no, that wasn't your TV feed cutting out). And oh yeah, they also staged a 3-on-3 tournament that wasn't half bad!

Here is a look at the highlights and lowlights.

Best: The games weren't horrible!

The no-hit, little-defense 3-on-3 NHL All-Star Game doesn't always produce the most compelling product, but two of the three games in the mini-tournament were quite entertaining: The Pacific Division's 10-5 win over the Blues-laden Central Division, and the Pacific's 5-4 win over the Atlantic in the final.

"You got more and more serious as these events go on. Both teams wanted to win," said Tampa Bay defenseman Victor Hedman. "Of course, we gave up like six breakaways in the second period, so I don't know if it's that tight."

Worst: Two out of three ain't bad

That Atlantic win over the Metropolitan was a reminder of how much this All-Star Game could have used Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin and Artemi Panarin, among others.

Best: Laila Anderson's intros

The St. Louis Blues' most famous fan -- apologies, Jon Hamm -- and postseason inspiration set the tone for the All-Star Game with spirited introductions for the hometown heroes playing for the Central Division.

ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR LAILA ANDERSON. ???

Awesome, awesome, AWESOME job! ? #NHLAllStar pic.twitter.com/7atGtvnVVe

— NHL (@NHL) January 26, 2020

Anderson has battled hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, a life-threatening immune disease. One year ago, she received a life-saving bone marrow transplant from donor Kenton Felmlee.

Worst: Misusing the legends

As expected, some of the St. Louis Blues' legends were integrated into the skills competition, but alas, it was in the most awkward of ways:

• Hall of Famer Bernie Federko appeared during the shot accuracy competition and didn't shoot a puck, instead passing to Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo for three missed shots and then ... getting a hug and leaving?

• Al MacInnis returned to the hardest shot competition with a wooden stick, and almost no one got the bit where he was "clocked" at his 1998 speed of 100.4 miles per hour -- many thought it was real.

• Keith Tkachuk and Brett Hull appeared in the last event of the night, getting nice pops from the crowd but adding little to the festivities otherwise.

Best: The women's 3-on-3 game

This is the third year the NHL has included elite women's hockey players at All-Star Weekend, and 2020 marked the most significant involvement yet. Twenty Canadian and American national team players faced off in a two-period, running clock 3-on-3 match that showed off the women's speed and skill -- despite some choppy ice -- and definitely some stellar goaltending. Canada won 2-1, but the most important thing was exposure.

"My two girls aren't too big into skating yet, but I think one day they will be," Capitals All-Star T.J. Oshie said. "For them to look up to role models like this and be able to see them at the NHL All-Star Weekend, I think it's pretty cool. They were on the bench with me out there and they saw some of the girls skating around, so it's pretty special for them to see that and have some people to look up to."

Worst: No clarity on the NHL's future relationship with women's hockey players

All indications are that the NHL will continue to include women in the All Star Weekend next year; this should be a new staple.

But the women -- all part of the Professional Hockey Women's Players Association, a group of some-200 players boycotting the National Women's Hockey League -- really want a sustainable pro league. And they've suggested that the NHL should run it, a la the NBA's relationship with the WNBA. Once again, commissioner Gary Bettman stayed mum on a formal relationship.

"It's a step in the right direction that the NHL is supporting women's hockey and they're helping us get the exposure we need," Canadian forward Rebecca Johnston said. "I think the partnership is there. It's not something you can build overnight. So for us, it's just being patient, trying to continue to grow the game, getting as much exposure as we can and keep working at that."

Best: Mathew Barzal beats Connor McDavid

One of the genuine surprises at the skills competition was New York Islanders star Mathew Barzal winning the fastest skater race with a time of 13.175 seconds -- ending the three-season reign of Connor McDavid, whom Barzal watched blaze to a time of 13.215 seconds, for second place.

"I might have gotten lucky this week. He was on a break, so he hadn't been on skates for a while. We just finished two days ago, so I was fresh on my skates," said Barzal. "I don't think I could have skated a better lap. I don't think I could have done it again."

Worst: Technical difficulties

The shot accuracy competition was needlessly complicated by a CGI plexiglass enhancement that was distracting at best and inaccurate at worst. And nothing screams "All-Star excitement" like seeing an IT guy shuffle out on the ice after it broke during an early shooter's turn. We yearn for the simplistic charms of chunky foam targets.

Best: Tomas Hertl breaking out the Justin Bieber mask

Prop comedy is back! In the spirit of P.K. Subban's mullet wig, Alex Ovechkin's hat and sunglasses combo and Brent Burns' Chewbacca costume, Hertl skated into the shootout streak competition against Jordan Binnington wearing a Justin Bieber mask. (If you're not keeping up with the Instagram follies of the youths these days, Bieber and Binnington have tentatively arranged a breakaway challenge).

Hertl's personality was on full display, even if the oversized mask caused him to fall and nearly lose the puck as he skated toward the net.

Worst: Justin Bieber not actually being there

The NHL tried to arrange it, but apparently visiting St. Louis in January for an NHL event just didn't fit into Mr. Bieber's schedule. In the NHL's defense, the league did get St. Louis celebs like Jenna Fischer and Jon Hamm to show up.

Best: Trying new things

As one NHL executive put it: The new "Shooting Stars" event, the Topgolf-inspired competition in which players fired pucks over the crowd at targets on the ice, "probably needs some rethinking." But that's OK! As a first draft, the event was wildly inventive, played well on television and included both NHLers and women's All-Stars. (Next year? Get the goalies in there.)

"It was a little different. Pretty unique," said Jack Eichel of the Sabres. "It seemed like the crowd had a good time with it. They were trying to do something new to try to spark the fans' interest a little bit. I thought it was cool."

Worst: The 10-point gateway arch

The shooters in the "Shooting Stars" competition all agreed before the event that they would target the large 10-point target at center ice that resembled the Gateway Arch, which immediately sapped the event of any strategy. But the biggest problem was when pucks landed in the netting but weren't counted because they didn't go through the front, instead dropping into the netting from above the target. Count Mitch Marner and David Pastrnak among the baffled when their 10-pointers didn't count.

Best: Patrick Kane vs. Blues fans

With Brad Marchand not here, someone had to ascend to being the event's primary villain, and that player was Patrick Kane. Blues fans jeered him on both days, which led to perhaps the funniest moment of the All-Star Game: Kane scoring a goal for the Central Division, putting his glove to his ear to hear the boos only to hear Blues fans cheering him ... until they realized it was Kane that scored, and then they booed him.

"To be honest with you, sometimes you get booed, you kind of like it a little bit. It's St. Louis and Chicago, it's a huge rivalry. Not only in hockey, but pretty much every other sport they play against each other," said Kane. "I guess that's only baseball, but ... you know what? Had a lot of fun this weekend and I thought that was a pretty cool moment."

Worst: Green Day vs. NBC censors

The good news: Green Day was trending on Twitter after their performance in the NHL All-Star Game.

The bad news: It was because of the barrage of F-bombs they dropped during the performance, some of which were caught by broadcast censors and some that were absolutely not caught. The worst news: This is only Year 1 of a two-year contract with the band.

Best: T.J. Oshie

The Capitals winger, who spent the first seven seasons of his career in St. Louis, was voted to his first All-Star Game and enjoyed the weekend being feted by fans. But the best moment came when Oshie scored to give the Metropolitan Division a 3-2 lead over the Atlantic on Saturday night. Afterward, he exchanged a wave with his father, Tim, who is battling Alzheimer's.

A special moment between @TJOshie77 and his dad after he scored in the #NHLAllStar Game. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/jI0yifv1ol

— #NHLAllStar on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) January 26, 2020

"He missed our fathers' trip this year, it's kind of hard for him to travel," Oshie said afterward. "But we were able to make it work for him to come to St. Louis where a lot of the people you see working down here behind the scenes probably know him better than they know me, so he got to see some old friends."

Worst: Armistice in the Battle of Alberta

Entering the weekend, the Oilers-Flames rivalry was hotter than ever. Oilers star Leon Draisaitl even threatened to "get off the ice" if he had to play with Matthew Tkachuk in the All-Star Game.

Apparently that was all talk. Draisaitl set Tkachuk up for a pretty goal in the final. Some fans caught Draisaitl muttering something under his breath afterward, but the Oilers star quashed any controversy afterward.

"I was just joking around," he said. "I hope everyone knows I was just joking around." And then he continued with plenty of pleasantries. "We're all here to have fun," Draisaitl said. "We're all here to have a good time."

Alrighty then.

A deliberate approach may have paid off last year for Bryson DeChambeau in Dubai, but this time around it left him a few holes short of a successful title defense.

DeChambeau cruised to victory a year ago at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, where TV cameras caught him discussing air density calculations on the 72nd hole with his caddie, Tim Tucker. He started Sunday's final round two shots behind Ashun Wu as he sought to keep the trophy and had moved into a tie for the lead with four holes to go.

But DeChambeau's pace of play again became an issue when he received a slow-play warning from a European Tour official on the 10th hole. He went on to make par, and cameras later documented a thorough club choice debate with Tucker on the 14th hole between a "10 o'clock" 8-iron and a "10:30" 9-iron.

DeChambeau's subsequent par on No. 14 kept him tied for the lead, but it proved to be his final par of the day. He closed his round with four straight bogeys from there, dropping from a share of the lead into a tie for eighth and four shots out of a playoff after signing for a 76.

Some saw a silver lining Sunday when it came to DeChambeau's overall pace. Eddie Pepperell has lobbed a few Twitter barbs in DeChambeau's direction in recent months over slow play, and the two were paired together for the final round in Dubai.

"We actually got on quite well," Pepperell tweeted. "And to his credit, he's sped up."

Ranked 17th in the world, DeChambeau is expected to make his first PGA Tour start of the new year next week at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

On just the second hole of Tiger Woods’ final round at Torrey Pines, where he tries to secure win No. 83 to secure the all-time PGA Tour wins record, something unbelievable happened. 

We can guarantee that you’ve never seen anything like it.

With only 141 yards to the hole, Tiger hit a perfect approach. He almost holed it for eagle, but then the ball literally went all the way in the cup and came out. 

What?

Yeah. Look.

To say Twitter (and Tiger Tracker) went crazy over the shot is an understatement.

We agree when Tiger Tracker said “most disappointing birdie of 2020.” 

PSG and Atletico Madrid are getting close to an agreement regarding the transfer of striker Edinson Cavani, sources have told ESPN.

The deal is not complete but all parties are optimistic that it will be done in the next couple of days.

Cavani, 33 next month, has been left out of the PSG squad travelling to Lille for their Ligue 1 game on Sunday evening, despite being fully fit after a groin injury.

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Sources have told ESPN that despite reports in France, the Uruguay international has not passed a medical at Atleti yet. However, he has already reached a contract agreement with the Colchoneros and is just waiting for the two clubs to do the same.

After their last offer of €10 million a week ago, the Spanish club's sporting director Andrea Berta is still negotiating with his PSG counterpart Leonardo. A new bid of €15m excluding bonuses should be lodged soon and PSG will accept it.

Cavani is out of contract in June after six-and-a-half years at the club. He joined from Napoli for €63m in the summer of 2013 and is the club's record goal scorer with 198 goals in 283 games in all competitions.

He asked to leave after losing his place in the team following the arrival of Mauro Icardi and after picking up a lot of injuries in the last 10 months. Initially, PSG didn't want to let him go but eventually opened the door to a move away from the Parc des Princes after rejecting three Atletico offers.

Cavani's official availability attracted more interest. Sources told ESPN Manchester United showed tentative interest in Cavani after losing Marcus Rashford to injury but were put off by his wage demands and questionable injury record.

Sources also confirmed to ESPN that Chelsea made contact with the player's agent and half brother Walter Guglielmone. But the striker only wanted to join Atletico and work with Diego Simeone.

The French champions will try to replace him but are not ready to spend big, sources have told ESPN. Leonardo is considering a few options like Napoli's Fernando Llorente, Valencia's Kevin Gameiro, Chelsea's Olivier Giroud.

Meanwhile, the swap deal between Layvin Kurzawa and Mattia De Sciglio with Juventus should be made official on Monday.

Information from ESPN's Rob Dawson was used in this report.

The coach of a Spanish junior football team has been warned about his behaviour after celebrating a goal too much and displaying non-sporting conduct in a match between nine-year-olds.

Barcelona-based Sant Andreu, who play in Spain's fourth division, received a complaint from junior level opponents Bufala de Badalona after their coach was filmed racing on to the pitch to celebrate the goal and embrace members of his team.

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The video, posted on Bufala's Twitter account, also showed the Sant Andreu coach booting the ball away as their opponents were preparing to re-start the game, provoking angry protests from the Bufala players.

Una pena ver acciones como la que protagoniza este entrenador del Sant Andreu, los valores que debemos enseñar como formadores nunca deben ser estos.

Hay que saber perder, pero sobre todo hay que saber ganar.#CFBufala #Valores #Badalona #Barcelona #Futbolcat #FutbolFormativo pic.twitter.com/lHT3k6xQLe

— C.F. Bufalà de Badalona (@cfbufala) January 25, 2020

"It was a real shame to see the actions of the Sant Andreu coach, no trainer should ever behave like that, it goes against the values we are trying to teach our children," Bufala said in a statement on Twitter.

"You have to know how to act when you lose and also how to act when you win."

Sant Andreu apologised for their coach's actions.

"We understand why they [Bufala] might be upset by this incident," the club said on Twitter.

"The people responsible for junior football have spoken to the coach and the correct measures will be taken to ensure this unfortunate incident is not repeated."

Bufala said they appreciated Sant Andreu's apology for the "unacceptable" act of the coach and called "for everyone to do their part to improve the atmosphere of junior football."

Harry Maguire scored his first goal for Manchester United as they eased into the last 16 of the FA Cup with a 6-0 win over Tranmere Rovers.

Diogo Dalot, Jesse Lingard, Phil Jones and Anthony Martial all scored in the first half, while Mason Greenwood converted from the penalty spot after the break.

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The victory eased pressure off manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after United endured back-to-back defeats against Liverpool and Burnley.

"It wasn't just the Tranmere people who wanted an upset, there were a lot of others," Solskjaer said after the match. "I think the players played football the way it should be played. It was an exceptional performance at times. It was a very difficult pitch."

Maguire opened the scoring inside 10 minutes with a long range effort which took a deflection off Peter Clarke and flew into the top corner.

Dalot skipped past two defenders and executed a fine finish three minutes later to score his first goal for the club. Lingard curled a shot into the bottom corner to make it 3-0 inside 16 minutes.

Before the break, Jones added a fourth with a header before Martial's strike on the edge of the box deflected in off Kieron Morris.

United were awarded a penalty after 56 minutes when Tranmere goalkeeper Scott Davies brought down Tahith Chong and Greenwood made it six.

"The attitude was spot on," Solskjaer added. "When the attitude is right, you can't fault them. Every game you win is a good one for your confidence. We just have to win now and get ready for Wednesday."