Improvements to the athletics track and indoor facilities to be made within the next 12 months as part of wider plans to give historic arena a major facelift

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has promised to invest in redeveloping Crystal Palace National Sports Centre with the crumbling athletics facilities to be repaired and indoor facilities improved within the next year.

Khan announced the “once-in-a-generation redevelopment” on Friday (May 26) but warned the development is complex and will take around five years to complete. However, immediate improvements in the next 12 months include:

• Repairing the athletics track and installing replacement floodlighting
• Reopening the climbing walls in the indoor centre
• Upgrading the fitness gym

He said: “Crystal Palace National Sports Centre is a historic and much-loved sporting and community facility where many UK sporting stars have started their careers and trained, but which is in need of major investment and refurbishment.

“I am completely committed to this once-in-a-generation redevelopment of the site which will secure its future for decades to come.

“While work continues apace on our vision for the long-term future of the centre, I am delighted to announce that we intend to make a number of early improvements that we hope will make a huge difference to users of the centre.

“Over the coming months, we will continue to work closely with key stakeholders – including sporting bodies and wider community groups – to deliver an outstanding venue that our capital and our country can be proud of.”

The Mayor hopes that a planning application for the comprehensive redevelopment of the centre will be brought forward by April 2024 and that a contractor will be able to start work in 2025.

There have been big fears that the centre would simply be demolished and as recently as November parts of the centre were closed due to fears over concrete pillars underneath floodlights. There have been a few false dawns too where promising plans have come to nothing.

The south London venue held the AAA Championships from 1971-1987 and many still regard it as the spiritual home of British athletics. In 2014 the stadium was threatened with demolition. Although in 2015 UK Athletics called for the retention of the facilities, mainly so that the large number of athletes based in the south London area would have a good indoor and outdoor training track.

Hugh Brasher, Event Director of London Marathon Events, said: “For more than four decades, the famous Crystal Palace stadium hosted some of the greatest international athletics events staged in the UK in front of sellout crowds and the track is part of an extensive sports complex with a wonderful heritage.

‘The Mayor’s commitment to the redevelopment of the Crystal Palace site is fantastic news for athletics, aquatics and many other sports. London Marathon Events and the London Marathon Foundation are keen to support this visionary future to restore Crystal Palace as a much-needed sporting and community facility.”

A revitalised Crystal Palace could eventually provide UK Athletics with an alternative home to the problematic London Stadium as the centrepiece for the sport in the capital.

John Powell, chair of the Crystal Palace Sports Partnership, told The Times: “Hopefully this will spell the end of the managed decline we have seen over the years. I’m so pleased the Mayor’s office has finally recognised the unique needs of Crystal Palace and the uniqueness of its potential.”

You can read the full announcement here.

DALLAS -- Jonathan Marchessault isn't getting ahead of himself, as the Vegas Golden Knights still need a win in Game 4 on Thursday to close out the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference finals.

But already waiting in the Stanley Cup Final are the Florida Panthers. That's the team that tossed Marchessault into the 2017 expansion draft, resulting in him becoming a Golden Knight.

"You know what? I thought they were going to protect me," Marchessault said Thursday. "I was surprised of the decision. But I mean, that's just the way she goes sometimes. Keeps you honest."

Dale Tallon, the general manager of the Florida Panthers at the time, handed Vegas two foundational pieces in the 2017 expansion draft. Marchessault was coming off a 30-goal season in just his second full NHL campaign. Now, at 32 years old, he has scored 348 points, including 150 goals, in 432 games with Vegas.

Exposing him was enticement for Vegas to trade for forward Reilly Smith, whose five-year contract extension was set to kick in that season. In what was seen as a cost-cutting move at the time, the Panthers traded Smith to Vegas for a 2018 fourth-round pick. He has 286 points in 399 games with the Knights.

Marchessault was convinced that he would be protected by Florida, but in addition to seeking cost savings on Smith's contract, the Panthers also wanted to protect defensemen Alex Petrovic and Mark Pysyk from the expansion draft.

Justified Tallon at the time: "You win championships with defense first."

Tallon left the franchise in 2020 and was replaced by current GM Bill Zito, who was just announced as a finalist for NHL general manager of the year.

Marchessault, like many of the "Golden Misfits" from Vegas' inaugural season, played with a chip on his shoulder about the Panthers' decision. While it still surprises him, he said he has moved on.

"It's a long time ago. It's water under the bridge," Marchessault said. "I was disappointed at the time but that's six years ago now, so it doesn't bother me anymore. I know it's my old team, but good for them. I don't worry too much about them anymore. I worry about our team."

Marchessault said he and Smith have discussed their Panthers past together.

"Yeah, we do, sometimes. It's how we built our organization, with trades like that," Marchessault said. "We've done good things here and we're not going to be satisfied with nothing else than winning it all. That's why we're still here."

The Panthers still have a few connections to the team on which Marchessault played, including captain Aleksander Barkov and top defenseman Aaron Ekblad.

If the Golden Knights advance to the Stanley Cup Final, Marchessault says they'll meet a Panthers team that is similar to the Vegas squad that went to the championship round in the franchise's inaugural season.

"They're kind of a similar team to what we had here in the first year. Kind of this Cinderella story," Marchessault said. "They worked their way there and hard work pays off sometimes. In the playoffs, it's how desperate and how bad a team wants it. And I think they've wanted it more. They've dominated most of the games they've played in the playoffs."

Scottie Scheffler opened the Charles Schwab Challenge with a solid 3-under 67, but the six-time PGA Tour winner wasn’t sure what to make of his first round.

“I don't know how to describe my round today,” Scheffler said. “I felt like I could have shot really low, and I feel like I could have went in the opposite direction, too, really fast. I really don't know. I posted 3 under, which is really nice. Anything in the red around Colonial is typically a pretty good score.”

Scheffler’s four birdies were countered with a lone bogey at the par-4 second, but a break at the par-4 fifth might’ve turned a bogey into a birdie.

The 2022 Masters champion pushed his 3-wood well into the right trees off the tee and could have potentially found the hazard, but he watched as his ball ricocheted off one of those trees into the middle of the fairway.

Scheffler was left with 205 yards to the hole and hit it to 15 feet before rolling in the birdie.

“It was a ball I felt was going to go into the hazard,” Scheffler said. “Next thing I know, I saw the ball bounce out, and I actually had a shot from the middle of the fairway. Massive break there. I ended up being able to take advantage of it and make birdie. It was definitely a shot or two swing, I would say, throughout the round.”

Scheffler is just a shot back of second as the afternoon wave gets started at Colonial, but sits five shots behind Harry Hall, who has opened a big early lead with a first-round 8-under 62.

Manchester United forward Antony was taken off on a stretcher after sustaining an injury during the first half of his team's 4-1 Premier League win over Chelsea on Thursday.

The Brazil international looked in distress as he left the field at Old Trafford in the 29th minute, with top-four seeking United going into half-time leading 2-0. The end result saw Erik ten Hag's side clinch a spot in the top four and a place in next season's Champions League.

Antony held his face as he was carried off, and United manager Ten Hag consoled him with a pat on the stomach before he was taken to the locker rooms.

It was not immediately clear what part of the body Antony hurt, but he was in pain after a challenge from Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah. Antony was replaced by Marcus Rashford, who was just returning to the team from an injury of his own.

The injury will be a concern for Ten Hag ahead of the FA Cup final against Manchester City next week. United are already without Lisandro Martinez and Marcel Sabitzer for that match.

United, who signed Antony for $95 million from Ajax last summer, need a point from their final two games to secure Champions League qualification.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this story.

Surrey 199 for 6 (S Curran 68, T Curran 50) beat Middlesex 126 (Holden 43, Jack 3-17, Atkinson 3-20) by 73 runs

The Curran brothers Sam and Tom put Middlesex's bowlers to the sword as Surrey won the T20 Blast London derby at Lord's by 77 runs.

Sam, who'd hot-footed it back to London from an underwhelming stint at the IPL with Punjab Kings, took out his frustration on the Seaxes with 68 off 47 balls, including two big sixes in Surrey's total of 199 for 6. Tom, playing these days under a white-ball only contract, was if anything even more belligerent with 50 off 33 balls with eight fours as the siblings added 118 in 11 overs. Will Jacks earlier blasted a quickfire 43.

Three wickets in the final over for Tom Helm gave him 3 for 38, while left-arm spinner Nathan Fernandes took 1 for 27 from three overs on debut.

Jacks then starred with ball in hand, returning 3 for 17, backed up by Gus Atkinson's 3 for 20 as the hosts could only muster 126 in reply despite some defiant striking by Max Holden who top scored with 43.

Jacks, who had made two swashbuckling half-centuries in his last three innings against Middlesex at Lord's in the format, came out swinging from ball one and while he played and missed at a few the England man took heavy toll of a full toss from Helm, belting it back past the bowler for four.

Teenager Fernandes, thrown on in the powerplay, struck second ball when pinch-hitter Sunil Narine hit him straight to cover, but Jacks sent two drag-downs from legspinner Luke Hollman into the stands, before a brilliant catch by Helm on the fence at long-on ended his revelry.

The Currans' progress was steady initially, but the 12th over bowled by Ryan Higgins changed the complexion as Tom Curran dispatched the allrounder to all parts, hitting five fours in succession. Not to be upstaged Sam Curran then cut loose, denting Fernandes's excellent figures to that point with consecutive sixes.

Blake Cullen, back on Middlesex first-team duty for the first time in more than a year, was rusty and his 11-ball over, including a waist-high full toss and four wides only added to Surrey's momentum.

The 100-stand came in 56 balls, and we were in the penultimate over by the time Tom top-edged a steepling catch back to grateful bowler Higgins. Sam, too, left before the end as the south Londoners finished one shy of 200.

For Middlesex much depended on skipper Stephen Eskinazi, but he departed for just 1, run out following a mix-up from the fourth ball of the innings.

The exciting Joe Cracknell deposited a short one from Sean Abbot into the second tier of the Mound Stand only to perish trying to repeat the feat meaning both openers were gone with 27 on the board.

Pieter Malan, back from injury, also found the stands before departing to Atkinson for a breezy 30, and Jacks then struck twice in his first over, removing the dangerous Higgins, caught at mid-off before bowling Hollman round his legs.

Throughout this period Holden had hit bravely, smiting two big sixes at a strike rate approaching 200, but when Narine bowled him for 43 the game was up.

The Blaze 120 for 7 (Beaumont 38, Ecclestone 2-18) beat Thunder 117 for 6 (Heap 26, Ballinger 2-23) by three wickets

A blistering 38 off 21 balls from opener Tammy Beaumont was the eye-catching contribution as she helped the Blaze to a three-wicket victory over struggling Thunder in an England-player dominated Charlotte Edwards Cup fixture at Emirates Old Trafford.

Beaumont was one of six Ashes contenders featuring in a low-scoring affair played after Lancashire men had beaten Leicestershire in the Vitality Blast, with star duo Nat Sciver-Brunt and Sophie Ecclestone going head to head.

Both impressed as Thunder made 117 for 6 and failed to defend it. Ecclestone returned 2 for 18 from four overs of left-arm spin, while Sciver-Brunt's seamers accounted for 1 for 23 from four before adding 21 off 14 balls in the chase.

But Beaumont usurped them both, striking the ball better than anyone with eight fours and a flicked six to ensure the Blaze continued their unbeaten start to the summer.

The Blaze survived a late wobble from 88 for 2 to 98 for 6 to win inside 16 overs and have now won five of seven matches across the Charlotte Edwards Cup and the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy in their first season based at Trent Bridge, including two from two in this T20 competition.

The East Midlands side have been rebranded from Lightning after three seasons based at Loughborough University.

For Thunder, their disappointing start to 2023 continues. They are winless in seven games across the two competitions, including a pair of T20 defeats.

Beaumont, Ecclestone, Kate Cross, Sarah Glenn, Emma Lamb and Sciver-Brunt were the England players on show.

Thunder failed to gain any significant momentum through an innings strangled by an on-point five-strong bowling attack. Left-arm seamer Grace Ballinger took the new ball and stood out with 2 for 23 from her four overs, while Sciver-Brunt, captain and spinner Kirstie Gordon, legspinner Glenn and South Africa seamer Nadine de Klerk all struck once.

Opener Libby Heap top-scored with 26 for Thunder, while captain Ellie Threlkeld and Cross both made 22.

Lancashire had promoted the day as Empower Play, with £1 from each of the 3,101 tickets sold across the day donated to women's and girls' participation initiatives in conjunction with the Lancashire Cricket Foundation.

Thunder were in trouble early when England opener Lamb chipped Gordon's left-arm spin to mid-off to fall for 2 four balls into the match before Ballinger bowled big-hitting West Indian Deandra Dottin for 9 as the score fell to 14 for 2 in the fourth over.

Heap, Threlkeld, Fi Morris with 18 and Cross were all busy in trying to advance Thunder's cause, but they slipped from 82 for 3 in the 15th over to 89 for 6 in the 18th to undermine hope of a challenging total.

Morris was bowled by Glenn, Heap was well caught at short third by ex-Thunder batter Georgie Boyce off Sciver-Brunt and Ecclestone was caught at short fine-leg for only three off Ballinger.

In the first over of the chase, Beaumont made her intentions clear by sweeping and lofting international colleague Ecclestone for back-to-back boundaries. Her flicked six over midwicket came off the seam of Tara Norris, while she hit three boundaries in the same area in dominating a 56-run opening stand with Marie Kelly.

The latter was bowled sweeping at Ecclestone for 16 in the sixth over before Beaumont was lbw sweeping at the offspin of Morris an over later - leaving the Blaze 56 for 2.

Sciver-Brunt, in at No. 3, then clubbed and carved three fours in as many balls off UAE international fast bowler Mahika Gaur to maintain Blaze's dominance.

Cross had Boyce (15) caught at point as the score fell to 88 for 3 in the 10th over, sparking a mini collapse to 98 for 6 after 12 which only delayed the inevitable. Sciver-Brunt miscued Norris to short midwicket before Ecclestone bowled de Klerk as part of that. Glenn later hit the winning runs and finished 17 not out.

FRISCO, Texas -- Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy is making sure he will not be fined for a third straight year for too much contact during organized team activities.

"Our team periods are basically walkthroughs and jogthroughs," McCarthy said before the Cowboys' second OTA of the offseason program. "So we won't have a competitive 11-on-11 drill here probably ever again in the offseason."

McCarthy was fined in 2021 and 2022 for what the league deemed as too much contact in the offseason practices that are conducted without pads and theoretically not supposed to have any contact. A brief tussle between two players last year led to the investigation that prompted the second fine.

A third violation of the rules could lead to a team potentially losing a draft pick.

In the recent rookie minicamp, the on-field work was limited. When players were on the field, they did not have any one on one or team drills and most of the practice was conducted with the players wearing helmets.

In Thursday's OTA, there was a two-minute drill that was done without offensive or defensive linemen.

"Team drills really are not practical under the guidelines, in my opinion," McCarthy said.

Asked if the change in format was related to the fines, McCarthy smiled, which drew a laugh from the media.

"I mean I'm glad you find humor in it," McCarthy cracked. "My wife and I don't think it's really funny. It's actually a sore spot with me. I'm on camera [or] I'd tell you exactly how I really feel. Gotta follow the rules."