Booth is a former London Irish director of rugby, while he also spent seven years as Bath first-team coach and had an assistant role with Harlequins.

He started at the Ospreys in the summer of 2020 when the Swansea-based team were in disarray and helped transform their fortunes.

The 2023-24 season was arguably his most successful, Ospreys reaching the URC play-offs by finishing in the top eight and recording a first European play-off victory on the way to the Challenge Cup quarter-finals.

During the previous season, Booth oversaw a Champions Cup double over then French champions Montpellier before Ospreys were defeated by Saracens in the last 16.

Booth gave young players a chance as he had to cope during his time in charge with the loss of high-profile names like Alun Wyn Jones, Rhys Webb, George North, Tomas Francis, Nicky Smith, Gareth Anscombe and Alex Cuthbert.

He enjoyed a 70% success rate in Welsh derbies as he turned Ospreys into the best side in Wales for two of his four full seasons in charge.

Wales captains Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake flourished under Booth during his time with the Welsh region.

Ireland and Connacht centre Bundee Aki has signed a contract extension until the summer of 2026.

The 34-year-old New Zealand native arrived in Galway in 2014 and made his Ireland debut against South Africa in 2017 upon the completion of a thee-year residency period.

He has won 60 caps and has made a 142 appearances for Connacht.

"I love playing rugby in Ireland and believe that this is the right environment for me to progress as a player," said Aki.

"I would like to thank the IRFU for their support and I'm excited for what the future holds in green in the years ahead."

IRFU performance director, David Humphreys feels Aki still "has a lot more to offer" in the coming years.

"Bundee has displayed a consistently high level of performance for club and country in recent years and we are delighted to extend his deal," he said.

"We believe that Bundee has a lot more to offer on the field and has a big role in helping to develop the next batch of exciting youngsters out west in Connacht and within the wider Ireland panel."

England prop Fin Baxter has signed a contract extension with Harlequins.

The 22-year-old loose-head joined Quins' academy as a 13-year-old and since his first-team debut in December 2020 has gone on to make 58 appearances.

He played in all 18 of the club's Premiership matches during 2023-24 and was named in the Premiership team of the season at the end of the campaign.

Baxter won the first of his six caps in July during the Test series against New Zealand, having also represented England at under-18 and under-20 level.

"If someone had told me 12 months ago I was going to have the year I've had, at first, I wouldn't have believed them," Baxter said, external.

"Good performances at club level with Quins allowed me the opportunity to go on tour with England and earn my first caps for my country, and I believe I've developed so much from those experiences.

"Hopefully there is more to come."

The NHL playoff picture has started to come into focus.

Some teams have banked enough points to scorching starts that they're practically locks to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Some teams have made up significant ground despite early-season struggles. And some teams are looking for something, anything to give them hope that the season isn't lost.

Remember: What's projected now isn't always how things turn out. On Dec. 17, 2023, the Edmonton Oilers were two points out of a playoff spot. They ended up second in the Pacific and one win away from winning the Stanley Cup. Of course, having Connor McDavid on your team helps.

Welcome to a new monthly feature on ESPN: The NHL Bubble Watch, where we check in with the postseason races using playoff probabilities and points projections from Stathletes for all 32 teams - including what each team should be most concerned about going forward ... or in the case of some lottery-bound teams, what they should celebrate.

But first, a look at what the playoff matchups would look like if the Stanley Cup tournament started today:

The Football Association have dismissed Tottenham's appeal against Rodrigo Bentancur's seven-game suspension for using racist language in a television interview.

Bentancur has already served five matches of the seven-game sanction and will now be out for Thursday's Carabao Cup quarterfinal against Manchester United and Sunday's Premier League home game against leaders Liverpool.

He will next be available for Spurs' Boxing Day clash at Nottingham Forest.

The 27-year-old was last month also ordered to pay a 100,000 ($126,710) fine and attend a mandatory face-to-face education programme after appearing on Uruguayan show "Por La Camiseta" in June.

Host Rafa Cotelo asked Bentancur for a Spurs player's shirt, to which he replied, "Sonny's?" [Son Heung-Min], adding: "It could be Sonny's cousin too as they all look the same."

Bentancur apologised and Son insisted "nothing had changed" between the pair -- describing them as "brothers" -- but an independent regulatory commission panel upheld the FA charge.

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou explained that while the club accepted the judgement, they wanted to appeal the length of his suspension on the basis the ban was "a little bit harsh" as FA rules dictate the minimum punishment for such an offence is six games.

However, in a statement released on Tuesday, the FA said: "An independent Appeal Board has dismissed an appeal by Rodrigo Bentancur in relation to his recent suspension.

"An independent Regulatory Commission imposed a seven-match suspension on the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder for an aggravated breach of FA Rule E3 in relation to a media interview.

"This appeal was dismissed following a hearing, and the seven-match suspension remains as ordered by the Regulatory Commission. The Appeal Board's written reasons for its decision will be published in due course."

Bentancur has been able to play in the Europa League as the ban does not apply to UEFA competitions.

CARY, N.C. -- Maximilian Kissel scored in a sudden-death overtime to help Vermont beat Marshall 2-1 on Monday night for the program's first national championship.

It was the ninth championship game decided by overtime or penalty kicks in the 21st century.

Vermont (16-2-6) became the first squad in school history to win a national championship in a team sport -- with the skiing program winning six championships. The Catamounts were also first America East team to ever make a national title game in a team sport.

Marshall (15-2-7) was looking to earn the program's second national title in as many College Cup appearances since claiming the 2020 national championship.

Kissel was first to a long ball over the defense along the right sideline, and he headed it forward as defender Alex Bamford fell to the ground. Marshall goalkeeper Aleksa Janjic came out of his area, and Kissel cut to his left before sending a shot into an empty net. Kissel ripped off his jersey and ran to the corner flag to celebrate with his team.

It was Vermont's 16th goal this season in the 83rd minute or later.

Kissel's teammate Marcell Papp tied it at 1-all in the 81st after a give-and-go with David Ismail following a Marshall turnover deep in its own area.

Kissel almost gave Vermont a 2-1 lead in the 85th after cutting back on his defender in the box on a breakaway, but Janjic dove to his right to deflect it just wide of the post.

Janjic made a huge save midway through the first half when he denied Ismail on a one-on-one breakaway.

Tarik Pannholzer scored his third goal of the season -- all coming in the NCAA tournament -- in the 57th minute to give Marshall the lead. Vermont first-year goaltender Niklas Herceg spoiled a cross by Rai Pinto and Pannholzer was there for the rebound.

Herceg kept it 1-0 after denying Haruhi Taneda's close-range attempt in the 78th minute.

Conor McGregor has said he intends to delay his return to MMA and has "agreed" to face Logan Paul in a boxing exhibition in India.

McGregor, a former two-weight UFC champion, has not fought since he broke his leg in a TKO loss to Dustin Poirier in 2021. He had been due to face Michael Chandler at UFC 303 in June, but withdrew due to an injured foot.

"The rumors of a bout with [Ilia] Topurio are false," McGregor said in a post on X on Tuesday.

"I am in preliminary agreements with the Ambani family to face Logan Paul in a boxing exhibition in India. I have agreed. I will then seek my return to the Octagon."

Paul, who is also a YouTuber, has appeared in four exhibition boxing fights, including a draw and a defeat to KSI, a draw with Floyd Mayweather and a win against MMA fighter Dillon Danis.

However, he has become more known for his time in WWE, where he won the U.S. Championship in November 2023.

McGregor has only once appeared in a professional boxing bout -- a 2017 fight against Mayweather. which ended in a 10th-round TKO defeat.

The Irish fighter was found liable by a civil jury in Dublin last month in a case in which a woman said McGregor sexually assaulted her in a hotel room in December 2018.

The High Court in Dublin ordered him to pay the complainant 248,000 ($257,000). McGregor, who said in court he had consensual sex with the woman, has said he intends to appeal the decision.

He is not currently facing any criminal charges related to the case, although he multiple companies have pulled McGregor-related products.

Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk has said he is shocked after being notified of a positive drugs test by the Football Association.

Reports in Ukraine on Tuesday suggest a prohibited substance was found in an "A" sample given at the end of October. Those same reports state the "B" sample has not yet been tested but will be in the coming days.

Confirmation that Mudryk has used a banned substance could trigger a lengthy ban from football, potentially up to four years.

A source told ESPN that Mudryk has been provisionally suspended pending the outcome of an investigation but the FA and Chelsea refused to confirm this when contacted by ESPN.

Mudryk, 23, has missed the club's last five matches with head coach Enzo Maresca citing illness as the reason for his omission.

"I can confirm that I have been notified that a sample I provided to the FA contained a banned substance," Mudryk wrote on Instagram.

"This has come as a complete shock as I have never knowingly used any banned substances or broken any rules and am working closely with my team to investigate how this could have happened.

"I know that I have not done anything wrong and remain hopeful that I will be back on the pitch soon. I cannot say any more now due to the confidentiality of the process, but I will as soon as I can."

Chelsea said in a statement: "Chelsea Football Club can confirm the Football Association recently contacted our player Mykhailo Mudryk concerning an adverse finding in a routine urine test.

"Both the club and Mykhailo fully support The FA's testing programme and all our players, including Mykhailo, are regularly tested. Mykhailo has confirmed categorically that he has never knowingly used any banned substances.

"Both Mykhailo and the club will now work with the relevant authorities to establish what has caused the adverse finding. The club will not be commenting any further."

FA rules state that a player notified of a positive test result can be provisionally suspended by their club pending a right of reply and subsequent testing of a 'B' sample.

Mudryk joined Chelsea from Shakhtar Donetsk in January 2023 for a fee which could potentially rise to 88 million. However, his time in England has been mixed having started just 26 Premier League games and only one this season.

The Ukraine winger has been a regular in the Europa Conference League, where Maresca has made wholesale changes from his regular Premier League line-ups.