MANCHESTER, England -- John Stones has been so good during Manchester City's charge toward the treble that during a party to celebrate winning the Premier League title, Kyle Walker grabbed the microphone and began singing the song dedicated to the England centre-back by the club's fans.

Walker belted out "Johnny, Johnny Stones" to the tune of Boney M's "Daddy Cool" in front of a packed dance floor at Manchester restaurant MNKY HSE before the rest of the crowd joined in.

Stones, thriving in a half-defender, half-midfielder role dreamt up by manager Pep Guardiola, has never been more popular. Along with 52-goal striker Erling Haaland and midfield genius Kevin De Bruyne, he will be one of the first names on the team sheet when Guardiola names his XI for the Champions League final against Inter Milan in Istanbul on Saturday. But it hasn't always been that way.

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Three years ago, in the summer of 2020, it looked like Stones might have to leave the Etihad Stadium. Struggling with fitness and form, he could barely get a game.

"It was probably one of the hardest times in my career," he tells ESPN. "I literally went back to firstly looking at myself, being super critical of myself and what I could do better on the football pitch, and then looking into every fine detail. Food, what food? Training, what training? What extras?

"I would go home and do work, even late at night, or straight after training. These small margins, put them all together to kind of break where I was at. It was a big learning curve for me."

The low point was the Champions League quarterfinal against Lyon -- delayed because of COVID-19 -- in August 2020. Stones was fit and Guardiola used a system incorporating three central defenders but instead picked 35-year-old Fernandinho and 19-year-old Eric Garcia. City crashed out after a shock 3-1 defeat in Lisbon and Stones was an unused substitute.

"I think it's not just that game," he says. "I think any game that you don't play, or feel maybe that you should be playing, every player feels like that when they don't play, especially here because we've got an incredible team, it's always difficult. I really do try to put a positive spin on that and use that to motivate me."

In the wake of the defeat to Lyon, Stones was linked with a return to Everton, the club he left to join City in a £47.5 million deal in 2016. Ruben Dias arrived from Benfica in a move worth more than £60m to further complicate his path into the first XI and, because of a chequered injury record, there were doubts about whether Guardiola and director of football Txiki Begiristain wanted to extend his contract.

Stones, though, insists that a move elsewhere was never on his mind.

"I never thought about that," he says. "I think as soon as you accept that or have that mindset then you have killed yourself. So no, I always wanted to stay; I have stayed and I absolutely love it. I wanted to prove to myself, I didn't say to anyone, 'It was because I want to prove to you.' I think, if anything, you have to prove to yourself first and foremost that you deserve to be here, you are good enough to be here, and what you bring to the team."

It's a decision that has paid off. Less than a year after warming the bench against Lyon, Stones was named in the PFA Team of the Year alongside Dias as City won another Premier League title. A few months later, he signed a new five-year contract that will keep him at the Etihad Stadium until at least 2026.

During the second half of this season, he played in a hybrid position that has required him to step out of defence and into midfield and then back again. He was so impressive in Saturday's FA Cup final against Manchester United that Jack Grealish labelled his performance "disgusting" in a postmatch interview. More than once, the blue half of Wembley sang "Johnny, Johnny Stones."

"People have always said from a young age that they can see me playing in midfield," he says. "I think I did, and still do, love playing as a centre-half and I've absolutely loved this role as well. I think I have shown myself that I'm able to do it. Maybe showing some attributes that I didn't know that I had, but the manager has seen [something] in me and ultimately I think I'm just trying to show what I can do in there, and show what the manager sees in me."

Stones will be asked to do it again Saturday at Istanbul's Ataturk Olympic Stadium when City take on Inter for a chance to win the Champions League for the first time and complete the treble. Guardiola's team are heavy favourites, but Stones has learned over the course of his career that nothing in football is guaranteed.

"Inter are in the Champions League final for a reason," he says. "They've got incredible players, we can all see that. How they played on a big occasion, in a derby game [against AC Milan] in the Champions League semifinal, is never easy. We know what we're up against, they are an incredible team, and I know I am going over and over but we have to be ourselves and focus on us."

Stones is trying not to look too far ahead but there is an acceptance, if only briefly, that lifting the trophy would represent quite the turnaround after the lows of 2020.

"Probably, yeah," he says with a smile. "For me personally, if I hopefully look back after Saturday, with a winner's medal. Yeah, it will be super sweet."

The Big 12 Conference is extending its reach into Mexico, announcing plans Thursday for men's and women's basketball games to be played in Mexico City late next year while also exploring a possible football bowl game in Monterrey.

"Mexico is a natural extension to the Big 12 footprint," commissioner Brett Yormark said Thursday. "Through Big 12 Mexico, our student-athletes will have the opportunity to compete in an international setting, and our conference will have the chance to showcase our brand across Mexico."

Kansas and Houston, as reported by ESPN on Wednesday, will play each other in men's and women's basketball at Mexico City's Arena CDMX in December 2024. After that, women's soccer teams and baseball teams from the Big 12 will participate in exhibitions against clubs from the region.

Plans for a football bowl game -- to potentially be played following the 2026 regular season -- has been targeted for Monterrey.

The Big 12 will expand from 10 to 14 schools on July 1 when BYU, Central Florida, Cincinnati and Houston officially join the league. Those additions come a year before the departures of Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC.

Yormark discussed the Mexico strategy at Big 12 meetings in West Virginia last week, saying expansion remains a focus for the conference that is distributing a record $440 million of revenue among its 10 current schools for the 2022-23 academic year.

Yormark expressed to the league's leadership that the Mexico initiative will help deliver the league a natural extension into a local footprint in Mexico and give Big 12 athletes the experience in competing in another country, sources told ESPN.

In his first year as commissioner, Yormark brokered a six-year television extension with ESPN and Fox that has given the league stability, and negotiated the early exit of Oklahoma and Texas.

Five current or future Big 12 campuses -- Baylor, Houston, TCU, Texas and Texas Tech -- are located within 400 miles of Mexico. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State have campus extensions in Mexico.

Along with hosting conference games across multiple sports, Big 12 Mexico will see the league execute a variety of community outreach programming, commercial partnerships, merchandise and activations. The league on Thursday said that will include partnering with notable musicians and artists and launching an influencer marketing campaign in the region.

The bowl game in Monterrey would be the second postseason one currently held outside the United States, joining the Bahamas Bowl in Nassau. Historically, there have been others, including the now-defunct International Bowl in Toronto that held its final game in 2010. The Bacardi Bowl was also played in Havana, Cuba, periodically over the previous century.

The league is still exploring business partners and a league pairing for the bowl game.

ESPN's Pete Thamel and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Longtime Arizona Coyotes captain Shane Doan, who played for the franchise from 1995-2017, is joining the front office of the Toronto Maple Leafs, multiple reports said Thursday.

Doan's role with the Maple Leafs was not yet clear. He had taken a position with the Coyotes as chief hockey development officer in January 2021 but stepped away from the job in September 2022.

He joins Toronto shortly after the franchise hired Brad Treliving as its new general manager on May 31. Treliving previously held the same role with the Calgary Flames.

The Maple Leafs' most important offseason task is addressing the contract of former league MVP Auston Matthews, who is an Arizona native who grew up rooting for Doan's Coyotes teams.

In 21 seasons with the Coyotes franchise, dating to their final season as the original Winnipeg Jets, Doan played in 1,540 games and tallied 972 points (402 goals, 570 assists).

The architect behind the groundbreaking agreement that was announced Tuesday between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia covered a wide range of topics in an interview Thursday on "Golf Central".

Jimmy Dunne, the senior managing principal of investment bank Piper Sandler and vice chairman of the PGA Tour’s policy board, said the agreement with the PIF was needed to end the “animosity” and “divisive environment” that has controlled the game for the last year.

Dunne, who is also the president of Seminole Golf Club, was also asked about his previous comments regarding LIV Golf, the PIF and Saudi Arabia. Piper Sandler (formerly known as Sandler O’Neill & Partners) was located on the 104th floor of the south tower of the World Trade Center and lost 66 employees during the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

“Every day the first thing I think about is that, several times during the day, I think about it and the last thing I think about at night is that,” Dunne said. “That has not changed since that day and I’m not alone in that. I would guarantee you that every one of those family members has that same condition. It’s just a reality of how unbelievably sad and awful that day was.

“I am quite certain and have had conversations with a lot of knowledgeable people that the people that I’m dealing with [from the PIF] had nothing to do with [the Sept. 11 attacks]. And if someone can find someone that unequivocally was involved with it, I’ll kill him myself. We don’t have to wait around.”

The agreement with the PIF was quickly criticized by groups representing the families of 9/11 victims and an emotional Dunne said part of his motivation to bridge the divide in professional golf was driven by his experiences following the attacks.

“We need to come together as a people. We have too much divisiveness,” he said. “There’s a point in time when you have to say, ‘let’s try to get to know one another. Let’s try to understand, let’s try to demonstrate by example.’

“I believe that we should not run away from our differences and we should get to know each other and basically make it difficult so that the extreme, vicious, immoral aspects of the people of the world, we don’t have to have a family deal with what we dealt with 20-plus years ago. As awful as it was for me, it was way worse for other people. I can’t imagine if one of my children were involved. I have a real empathy but I’d like to do something about it … that starts with communicating.”

That communication began seven weeks ago and included four face-to-face meetings between Dunne, fellow policy board member Ed Herlihy and, eventually, Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley.

Dunne said the timing of the talks was important, given a recent ruling in the United Kingdom in favor of the DP World Tour enforcing its policies against players who joined LIV Golf, and the PGA Tour’s current financial stability.

“When the outreach occurred, we were in our strongest position so if there was anything that hurt the game of golf we could walk away,” Dunne said. “We felt very good from a sponsorship standpoint, from a television standpoint, from a legal standpoint, so that at this point in time it was the time to have a conversation.”

The talks between the two sides moved quickly and trust with the PIF’s governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, was crucial to the agreement.

“I thought it was important to visit with him [Al-Rumayyan] and get to know him and find out if there was something we could do together and unite the game,” Dunne said. “We worked as quickly as we could and as thoroughly as we could.”

One of the big concerns by many was that, with the alliance, the PIF would control the professional game. Dunne noted that in the agreement, Monahan would be CEO of the new entity and, therefore, be the leader.

"By definition, as much as I liked the people I dealt with, the game of golf is too important, the legacy of the PGA Tour is too important. The people that we have in place have too much experience that we have no desire, no need – there is no way on God’s green earth that we’re going to give up control," Dunne said.

Among the most pressing issues moving forward that an initial agreement has been reached, is how players who remained loyal to the PGA Tour are compensated for that loyalty and those who left for guaranteed paydays at LIV Golf are provided a path back to the PGA Tour and European circuit.

“We have to make sure that whatever it is that we finalize, that they feel good about their [the players who remained with the PGA Tour] decisions,” he said. “I think we can get there. I don’t think it’s going to be easy and I don’t think we’re all going to agree, but I think we can get there.”

What exactly that path back and the compensation looks like remains to be seen, and Dunne said he will remain involved in the process as the two sides work out the details of the new agreement.

“When all the issues are dealt with, some of the venom and some of the self-centered concerns, as we get through that and we come up with a methodology that people can reenter, when we establish what the criteria will be, there needs to be something that people that didn’t go [to LIV Golf], people that stayed with us, they need to feel good about it,” Dunne said. “I don’t want it to be so outrageously punitive in nature … I want to try to get a balance and make sure that while everyone’s needs are heard and felt that we do what’s right for the game.”

This year's Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand is on track to become the most attended standalone women's sporting event ever with over one million tickets sold, FIFA said on Thursday.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said the ninth edition of the Women's World Cup, which starts on July 20, has sold 1,032,884 tickets, surpassing the previous tournament in France in 2019.

- Women's World Cup bracket and fixtures schedule
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"The future is women, thanks to the fans for supporting what will be the greatest FIFA Women's World Cup ever!," Infantino said in a statement.

"The momentum is building in the host countries and across the globe, and I look forward to seeing you there to witness the stars of women's football shine on the world stage."

FIFA had already announced that Australia's opening match against Ireland will change venue to the 83,500-capacity Stadium Australia, the tournament's largest stadium, due to high public demand for tickets.

This will allow up to 100,000 fans to attend the World Cup's opening games, with the match between co-hosts New Zealand and Norway taking place hours before in Auckland.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The defending champions were teetering, if only for a moment.

On Wednesday night, during the opening game of the best-of-three Women's College World Series championship set, the Oklahoma bats that had come to signify dominance in college softball, leading the country in batting average, on-base percentage and home runs, fell noticeably silent against Florida State with only one hit and no runs through three innings.

The Sooners' gloves weren't working, either. The top fielding team in the country committed its 17th error of the season when third baseman Alyssa Brito was eaten up by a sharp ground ball in the third inning. In the following inning, pitcher Jordy Bahl couldn't field a harmless tapper back to the mound for the team's 18th error -- her first this season.

But after each miscue, Bahl dug in and delivered, throwing inning-ending strikeouts that culminated with explosive displays of emotion. The fiery Bahl ripped off her face mask each time and screamed. Catcher Kinzie Hansen spiked the ball in celebration.

How's that for being unapologetically energetic? When designated player Haley Lee led off the fourth inning being hit by pitch, she turned to the pro-Sooner crowd and waved her arms wildly, encouraging them to cheer louder. Hansen promptly drilled a double to the center-field fence and Bahl, who had come on as a pinch runner for Lee, scored all the way from first base.

The Sooner fans at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium, who had been restlessly waiting for a breakthrough, erupted. And from there, the rout was on as Oklahoma scored two more runs in the inning and went on to win 5-0, setting up an elimination game Thursday night.

Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso later said her team was uncharacteristically anxious to start the game. She said that maybe the two weather delays had something to do with it.

Which is why she summoned the players into an area behind the dugout in the fourth inning. Away from prying eyes, she said, they had a "little conversation."

"Who are we right now?" Gasso asked her players. "This is not how we play the game."

She hit reset.

"We don't try hard," she said, "we just play."

And that might be the secret to Oklahoma's 52-game winning streak. Aside from having a dizzying array of talent, it is a team that plays with a style that's unflinching, uncompromising and absolutely unrelenting.

They're a team, Hansen said, that thrives on chaos.

They're a team that dances in the dugout and eggs on their head coach until she gives them a little shimmy.

When center fielder Jayda Coleman threw out Kalie Harding trying to stretch a single into a double to end the top of the sixth inning, a party broke out in short left field.

When the game ended, the bench players came onto the field waving towels in the air.

If Wednesday night proved anything, it's that getting in a jam doesn't bother these Sooners. It might actually wake them up. Ask Clemson and Stanford and any other team that dared to get tangled up in a close game with Gasso's squad this season.

She's the one encouraging every fist-bump and high-five. She's OK with her players throwing their bats after a walk -- as long as they're not thrown toward the opposing dugout.

She needs them playing loose. She needs them creating their own energy.

In theory, Oklahoma entered this WCWS with all the pressure. It was the budding dynasty with a never-ending win streak. It was the wire-to-wire favorite to win a third consecutive national championship and a sixth title in 10 years.

It was the team with five All-Americans, four batters hitting .400 or better and three pitchers with a sub-1.00 ERA.

But that wealth of talent -- which doesn't include so many quality transfers and high school recruits -- is exactly why the Sooners can smile through harrowing moments. At least that's how Liberty coach Dot Richardson sees it. And she ought to know. She helped UCLA take home the first of seven championships from 1982 to 1992. She won gold medals with Team USA in the Atlanta and Sydney Olympics.

"Competitive athletes compete," she said, "they don't bicker. Everyone, when they're really good, they want to play the game. They might get jealous, they might say stuff, but they want to play the game and compete at the highest level."

Richardson saw it up close earlier in the season when Liberty and Oklahoma played to a 0-0 tie through seven innings. Then the Sooners cobbled together the winning run in the eighth when Bahl scored from second base on a walk-off bunt that resulted in a throwing error.

They always seem to find a way.

"They're loud and they're cheering and they're lit," Richardson said. "They're on top of the world and they believe they're invincible. And you have to feel that way. When you want to be more than good -- when you want to be great -- you have to play with freedom."

Richardson has kept an eye on them ever since.

"And every time I have met them as players or that we've talked to them ... they don't want to just be good, they want to be great," she said. "And to build this huge legacy."

On Wednesday night, they took yet another step toward making history.

UCLA was the last team to three-peat.

Oklahoma is eager to join the Bruins.

ATLANTA -- New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso returned to New York for further testing Thursday after being hit on his left wrist by a pitch and leaving Wednesday night's game against the Atlanta Braves.

Manager Buck Showalter said Alonso had a CT scan in Atlanta on Thursday morning. The slugger was scheduled for an MRI later Thursday in New York.

Asked why the additional testing was taking place in New York, Showalter said, "I think we'd rather have our people look at it."

Alonso, who leads the majors with 22 homers, was hit by a 96 mph fastball from Charlie Morton in the first inning of Atlanta's 7-5 win Wednesday night.

The Mets said Wednesday night that Alonso had a contusion and X-rays revealed no broken bones. More tests were scheduled even before Showalter said Alonso had more soreness in the wrist Thursday morning.

"We had plans for him to have the scan this morning anyway, just to be on the safe side," Showalter said.

Following Wednesday night's game, Morton apologized to Alonso, one night after Alonso hit a long homer and then was heard yelling to Braves right-hander Bryce Elder, "Throw it again. Throw it again, please. Throw it again."

"He was looking for me," said Alonso of Morton's postgame visit Wednesday night. "He just wanted to apologize. Obviously he didn't mean to. For people speculating for this or that, I just wanted to clear that. Chuckie's a good guy and the situation didn't call for it either. There's nothing to it. I just happened to get hit with an up-and-in fastball."

The Mets entered Thursday night's game on a five-game skid and played without Alonso for the first time this season.

A serious injury to the slugger would be damaging to the Mets' hopes of getting back into contention in the NL East. New York entered Thursday's game in third place, 7½ games behind Atlanta. Showalter said he remained optimistic Alonso can return during a three-game series at Pittsburgh that begins Friday.

Alonso leads the NL with 49 RBIs and is hitting .231.

Rookie Mark Vientos, recalled from Triple-A Syracuse on May 17, made his first start of the season at first base as a fill-in for Alonso, who has 59 starts at first and three at designated hitter.

From the moment the French Open draw was made almost a fortnight ago, the tennis world licked its lips at the prospect of one blockbuster match.

On Friday, the two men - at opposite ends of their careers but in the same stunning form - finally go head-to-head at a Grand Slam when they meet in the Roland Garros semi-finals.

"That's the match that a lot of people want to see," said 36-year-old Djokovic, who is bidding for a third French Open title and a men's record 23rd major.

Alcaraz, 20, won his first Grand Slam title at the US Open in September and is contesting his maiden semi-final on the Paris clay.

"Since the draw came out, everyone was expecting that match. Myself as well. I have really wanted to play this match," Alcaraz said.

The pair have long been considered the main contenders to lift the Coupe des Mousquetaires on Sunday, even before 14-time champion Rafael Nadal withdrew with a hip injury.

Whoever wins in the last four will be favourite to beat the victor of Friday's other semi-final between Norwegian fourth seed Casper Ruud and Germany's 22nd seed Alexander Zverev.

Duel the tennis world has been waiting for

When Djokovic's name popped out of the French Open computer in the same half of the draw as Alcaraz, there were murmurs among those sitting in the Roland Garros ceremony.

Djokovic may have won five of the past seven majors he has played, but he is seeded third in Paris after having injury issues in the build-up.

That meant he would either land in Alcaraz's half and potentially face him in the last four, or end up on the side of second seed Daniil Medvedev and not able to face the top seed until the final.

Of course, the unpredictable nature of sport means things rarely pan out as expected in the draws.

But the fine form of Djokovic and Alcaraz - both dropping just one set so far - has ensured the blockbuster semi-final will take place.

"It's definitely the biggest challenge for me so far in the tournament," said Djokovic, who won the Roland Garros title in 2016 and 2021.

"If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. He's definitely a guy to beat here. I'm looking forward to that."

Djokovic and Alcaraz, who has won four of the eight tournaments he has competed in this season, have been two of the standout players on the men's tour this season.

However, duels between the pair - either head-to-head or even being present in the biggest tournaments - have been rare.

"We played only once in Madrid last year, 7-6 in the third for him. We haven't played since," said Djokovic.

"Most of the tournaments this year we were not in the same draw, but here we are."

Further spice to the occasion is provided by the world number one ranking being on the line.

Alcaraz will remain at the top if he beats Djokovic, with the Serb needing to win the tournament to reclaim the position.

Will youth or experience prove key?

While the pair's results at Roland Garros this year have been similarly superb, there is a huge gulf between them in terms of career experience.

Djokovic is appearing in his 45th major semi-final, with only Roger Federer (46) playing more, and is aiming to eclipse Nadal as the oldest French Open men's champion.

Alcaraz, who turned 20 at the start of May, would become the youngest Roland Garros finalist since a 20-year-old Nadal won the title in 2006, and hopes youth will be a bigger factor than pedigree.

"It's going be his 45th semi-final of a Grand Slam, this is going to be my second," he said.

"I would say the experience is better in that point, but I'm not going think about that."