Sale Sharks centre Manu Tuilagi believes winning the club's first Premiership title since 2006 would give rugby union in the north a major boost.

"After 17 years, for Sale to get this opportunity is huge for us as players," Tuilagi, 32, told BBC Sport.

"We have the opportunity to do something great for the people of the north and the Sharks organisation."

The England centre added: "We've been waiting for a long time and it's massive. We can't wait and will give everything."

Sale have reached their first final since the club was taken over by an investment group led by Ged Mason and Simon Orange in June 2016.

Tuilagi, a Premiership winner with Leicester Tigers in 2013 when he scored a try in a final victory over Northampton, joined Sale in 2020 while former Sharks flanker Alex Sanderson was appointed as director of rugby in January 2021.

"I've had a great time here so far and I think it's special what we have," Tuilagi added.

"What Alex, Simon and Ged are building is amazing, in terms of the environment. It's challenging and making everyone grow."

In February Sale launched a 'Northern Rugby Matters' campaign to increase awareness of - and celebrate - the 15-man code in a region which has an abundance of rugby league sides.

Sale, in 2005-06, and Newcastle Falcons, in 1997-98, are the only two clubs north of the Midlands to have won the Premiership title.

"When I turn around at games where we've had near sell-outs, then you start to get a feeling that you are having an impact," Sanderson said.

"The better you do, the further you reach.

"I want to win. It's my home town and home team. They're selfish reasons but the wider purpose is to win it for the region. If we do that then how humbling is that?"

Former England back row Sanderson spent 15 years on Saracens' coaching staff before his move back to Sale, and Tuilagi credits the 43-year-old with transforming the club's fortunes.

"Alex has changed a lot of things," he told BBC North West Tonight.

"It is more of a collective. Getting everyone on the same page is the toughest part.

"I'd take my hat off to him because getting 50 or 60 blokes who come from all over the world, with different backgrounds, beliefs and ideas, and to get them all on the same page is hard.

"For us as a club we're fortunate and blessed that we're in the position that we are. We're enjoying our rugby as well."

Eddie Jones says it was an easy decision to name "standout" Alun Wyn Jones as his Barbarians captain to face a World XV at Twickenham on Sunday.

The former England coach says he used to hate coaching against world-record cap holder Jones, who last week announced his retirement from the international game.

READ MORE: What next for Wales after Jones and Tipuric quit

DALLAS -- The Dallas Stars have apologized to the Vegas Golden Knights and the NHL after their fans tossed debris at opposing players during Game 3 of the Western Conference final on Tuesday night.

The Stars lost 4-0 as the Golden Knights moved to one victory from a conference final sweep.

"On behalf of the Dallas Stars organization, I would like to apologize to the Vegas Golden Knights and the National Hockey League for the actions of a few of our spectators at last night's game. Their actions were unacceptable and put the safety of the players and fans at risk," said Brad Alberts, Dallas Stars president and CEO.

With their team down 4-0, fans littered the ice with plastic bottles and garbage in protest and frustration.

Near the end of the second period, Dallas forward Max Domi hit Vegas defenseman Nicolas Hague from behind, sending him to the ice. He then skated to Hague to throw a couple of gloved punches at him. Domi was given cross-checking and roughing minors as well as a 10-minute misconduct.

With debris hitting the ice, the referees had the players leave for their dressing rooms with 21.6 seconds remaining in the second period for their safety.

"Everybody in the building was frustrated," Stars coach Peter DeBoer said.

The frustration started early. Stars captain Jamie Benn was ejected less than two minutes into the game for a cross-check to the jaw of Vegas captain Mark Stone. Benn has a hearing with the department of player safety on Wednesday. Dallas had taken three penalties in the second period before Domi's.

The debris tossing continued when the players returned to finish the game. Vegas goalie Adin Hill was hit with a bag of popcorn as he walked out after intermission.

"I guess everything was hitting me tonight," joked Hill, who made 34 saves for his first NHL playoff shutout.

Stars players defended their fans and blamed themselves after the loss.

"They were engaged, they wanted it as much as we did and they showed it in that way," forward Joe Pavelski said. "You don't like to see it, but we have to be better for them."

Forward Tyler Seguin agreed. "Yeah, we don't love it. We have amazing fans here. That's out of character for them. But we put them in that position. They're emotional, just like us. So we've got to do better," he said.

Alberts said the fans who tossed debris weren't representative of all Dallas fans.

"We take pride in providing the best experience for everyone who enters our arena," he said. "The actions of these individuals certainly do not reflect our great city, organization and loyal fan base."

Game 4 is Thursday night in Dallas, with the Golden Knights up 3-0 in the series.

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Florida Panthers' captain Aleksander Barkov will be back in the lineup for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals Wednesday after leaving the first period of Game 3 with a lower-body injury.

The Panthers lead their best-of-seven series with Carolina 3-0 and can reach a Stanley Cup Final for the second time in franchise history with a victory in Wednesday's tilt.

"Ready to roll," was how Florida coach Paul Maurice classified Barkov following the Panthers' morning skate, which Barkov was a full participant in. "Freshest guy on the ice," he said.

There was 7:04 remaining in the first period of Monday's game when Barkov took a hip check from Carolina forward Nick Drury and immediately retired to Florida's dressing room. His return was deemed "questionable" from there.

The shorthanded Panthers went on to beat Carolina 1-0. Maurice joked in explanation for Barkov's absence that the center was "at a bar mitzvah. ... He didn't want to disappoint the kids." The Panthers' coach clarified Tuesday that Barkov's injury wasn't serious, and his health status would be reevaluated prior to Game 4, when Florida would make a decision on his availability.

Having Barkov centering the Panthers' top line again is a major boost. He's tallied four goals and 12 points in 15 playoff games so far and is Florida's most trusted performer in the faceoff dot.

It's not just Barkov's on-ice abilities that impact the Panthers. Maurice stressed Wednesday morning that Barkov's leadership and attitude are just as critical for Florida, especially when so much is on the line in this postseason.

"He's possibly uncomfortable with the idea that he's talked about more than other players," said Maurice. "He would think [the other] 13 forwards are every bit as important as he is, and he believes it and that's the way he treats everybody. Most guys, they think that when they get to that elite level, they do have this kind of ego ... but he seems to be completely devoid of ego and still pushes himself very hard. I think a lot of the time he's a driver for his teammates."

A Northern California judge clarified a question of timing that led to legal challenges in four other U.S. Circuit Courts. But the antitrust case filed against the PGA Tour last year by LIV Golf remains in limbo as both sides await a likely appeal.

Judge Beth Labson Freeman ruled Wednesday that subpoenas for depositions and documents in the case served to four witnesses – Kevin Kisner, Cameron Young, James Hahn and player manager Mark Steinberg – were properly served.

Kisner, Young, Hahn and Steinberg challenged the subpoenas in four separate courts, claiming they were untimely. A judge in Georgia granted Kisner’s motion to quash the subpoena for numerous reasons, including the request being “unduly burdensome” and failing to meet the court’s deadline.

Labson Freeman, however, ruled the deadline to serve subpoenas to “non-parties” like Kisner and the others is June 6.

Although the ruling cleared up the most recent discovery dispute, the case remains mired in uncertainty as the court awaits a ruling from the 9^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on whether that court will hear an appeal from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia and its governor, who have been named co-defendants in the Tour’s countersuit but have claimed they’re not subject to U.S. jurisdiction because of sovereign immunity.

In a video hearing Monday, Labson Freeman reiterated her desire to continue with discovery despite the uncertainty of the appeal, and attorneys for the Tour continued to stress their opposition to the current case schedule.

“Obviously the lawsuit has changed. The players are all gone now. This is about LIV/PIF and the Tour. I say LIV/PIF because we know they are one in the same. LIV really is PIF. LIV wants to go ahead quickly [with the case], but PIF makes decision that slows down the case,” argued Elliot Peters, the Tour’s lead attorney.

Although Labson Freeman allowed for the uncertainty of the appeal for some deadlines, most notably the deadline for expert discovery, she remained committed to the current May 17, 2024, trial date.

“It is very important to preserve the evidence now,” Labson Freeman said. “The longer it takes to go to trial the more important it is to do the discovery now.”

The next case management conference is scheduled for Aug. 24 and Labson Freeman ruled that will be an “in person” hearing in San Jose, California.

Cristiano Ronaldo believes the Saudi Pro League he joined this season could in time become one of the top five leagues in the world.

The Portugal captain joined Al Nassr in January on a contract estimated by some media reports to be worth more than €200 million ($220.16 million).

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)

Ronaldo has played in three of the world's top leagues with stints at Real Madrid in LaLiga, Manchester United in the Premier League and Juventus in Serie A.

The 38-year-old said the quality of the Saudi competition had improved even in his short time in it.

"We are much better and the Saudi league is getting better and the next year will be even better," he told Saudi SSC channel on Tuesday.

"Step-by-step I think this league will be among the top five leagues in the world but they need time, players and infrastructure.

"But I believe that this country have amazing potential, they have amazing people and the league will be great in my opinion."

The Saudis do not lack ambition and a source told Reuters earlier this month that Riyadh club Al Hilal had made a formal offer to secure the services of Lionel Messi, Ronaldo's rival for the title of best player of his generation.

Ronaldo scored a stunning winner on Tuesday as Al-Nassr fought back to beat visitors Al Shabab 3-2 and put Al-Ittihad's Saudi Pro League title celebrations on hold.

U.S. women's national team forward Catarina Macario has announced that she will not recover in time from an ACL injury to play in this summer's Women's World Cup.

Macario, 23, has not played since suffering the injury in French club Lyon's final game of last season almost a year ago.

- Women's World Cup bracket and fixtures schedule
- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)

Although she has returned to training, the end of Lyon's season on Saturday will leave her unable to get competitive minutes before USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski announces his roster for the World Cup by July 10. The tournament in Australia and New Zealand is set to begin on July 20, with the U.S. playing its opener against Vietnam a day later.

"While I'm excited and super optimistic about my future as a footballer, I'm sad to share that I won't be physically ready for selection to our U.S. World Cup team," Macario posted on social media.

"The desire to return to play for my country has driven my training and fueled my everyday life. However, what's most important right now is my mental health and getting fit and ready for my next club season.

"I am eternally grateful to Aspetar Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Hospital for always supporting me and guiding me in my rehab. And to U.S. Soccer and Vlatko Andonovski for prioritizing my long-term health over any individual and collective ambitions.

"I'll be cheering hard for my teammates at the World Cup, and I look forward to dedicating myself to fight to earn a spot for what I hope will be a long future on the U.S. national team."

Macario, who has been linked with a move to WSL side Chelsea, has eight goals and two assists in 17 appearances for the U.S. and had been a key figure for the team. She was named the MVP of the SheBelieves Cup in February after scoring two goals in the team's final game against Iceland.

The absence of Macario is a further blow to the U.S., which is seeking a third successive World Cup title, following forward Mallory Swanson suffering a torn patella tendon last month.

Raheem Sterling has been left out of England's 25-man squad for next month's Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia while Eberechi Eze and Lewis Dunk have earned call-ups.

Sterling has struggled for form and fitness this season after moving from Manchester City to Chelsea in a £47.5 million deal last summer, registering nine goals and four assists in 37 appearances across all competitions.

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)

Sources have told ESPN that Sterling, who has 82 caps, remains fully committed to England and his omission in June is a mutual decision based on how best to manage his body ahead of next season.

And after naming his squad at Wembley on Thursday, Southgate told a news conference: "I spoke with him a week or so ago, a general catch-up. He's not happy physically with his condition, he's been carrying a hamstring problem.

"He really wasn't in consideration. We didn't get to the point of whether he should be in or out. He doesn't think he's operating at the level he needs so that was the conversation I had with him."

Eze has scored six goals in eight games for Crystal Palace as they have revived their fortunes under Roy Hodgson. He is yet to make his senior debut but missed out on being part of England's provisional squad for Euro 2020 after suffering an Achilles injury on the eve of the tournament.

"We've liked him for a long time," Southgate said of Eze. "He was very unfortunate just before the Euros. We were going to call him into a prep camp to have a look at him and he got a bad injury. I remember talking to Roy Hodgson about him then and Roy telling me he had picked up an injury in training that day.

"So I think he has finished the season really strongly. He can play in a couple of positions across that attacking line. He is a goal threat. He has got a nice ability, a burst of speed to go past people and to take people out of the game with his dribbling skills. We are looking forward to seeing him a bit closer and everybody I talk to speaks brilliantly about him as a person as well."

Dunk earned his first call-up in four-and-half years after thriving at Brighton and rejoins England's squad along with Aston Villa's Tyrone Mings, whose last cap came in March 2022 against Cote d'Ivoire.

While Nick Pope, Ben Chilwell and Mason Mount miss out through injury, Eze's Palace teammate Sam Johnstone has been included along with Callum Wilson, selected after Ivan Toney was banned for eight months for breaking Football Association rules on betting.

The timing of this international double-header is awkward for Southgate given it comes more than two weeks after the end of the Premier League season with just six days between the Champions League final - contested by Manchester City, who have five played in the England squad, and Inter Milan -- and their first match against Malta.

Asked about the level of motivation for players at the end of a gruelling season which also featured the first-ever winter World Cup, Southgate said: "I don't think the rest of the world will be doing that this summer and we've played North Macedonia twice at home and never beaten them. So, I think we could easily fall into that trap.

"To be a top team, if we want to be European champions, we've got to nail the big games like we did in March and you've got to make sure you nail the more complicated ones because everybody has the view that you've just given.

"It is a good test of commitment, of togetherness. We don't want to let each other down and keep progressing as a team. We have five opportunities to work together before a European Championship if we can qualify and we played so well in March, we need to back it up and make sure we aren't needing to go to North Macedonia at the end of this competition needing a result to get through."

England squad in full:

Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Aaron Ramsdale, Sam Johnstone

Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Lewis Dunk, Marc Guehi, Harry Maguire, Tyrone Mings, Luke Shaw, John Stones, Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker

Midfielders: Jude Bellingham, Eberechi Eze, Conor Gallagher, Jordan Henderson, James Maddison, Kalvin Phillips, Declan Rice

Forwards: Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, Callum Wilson

The treble is so rare in English football that when Sir Alex Ferguson addressed his players at Camp Nou ahead of the 1999 Champions League final, he likened it to flying to the moon.

Manchester United had already lifted the Premier League trophy and the FA Cup during the previous 10 days, standing on the verge of becoming the first English team to win all three competitions in the same season. But despite his rousing speech before kickoff, Ferguson realised very quickly that even for an outstanding team, the final game of a gruelling season spent fighting on three fronts was 90 minutes too far. Bayern Munich were better, except during three minutes of stoppage time when Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored the goals that wrote United into the history books.

It's been nearly a quarter of a century, but Pep Guardiola and Manchester City are two games away from joining them. The Premier League is already theirs, while all that stands between them and the treble is an FA Cup final against United on June 3 and a Champions League final against Inter Milan a week later on June 10.

Like Ferguson 24 years ago, it's up to Guardiola to plot his way through the remaining three weeks of the season and make sure City don't miss the chance to reach the moon.

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)

City's run-in -- so far -- has been far more serene than the one United experienced in 1999. Guardiola's team rattled off 12 straight league wins to overhaul Arsenal at the top of the table, won their FA Cup semifinal against Sheffield United 3-0 and thrashed Real Madrid 4-0 in their Champions League semifinal second leg.

United, in contrast, drew four of their last eight league games and had to beat Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on the final day of the season to win the Premier League. Their FA Cup semifinal against Arsenal went to a replay, in which Roy Keane was sent off and Peter Schmeichel saved a Dennis Bergkamp penalty, and in the Champions League semifinal second leg against Juventus, United were 2-0 down in 10 minutes. Against Bayern in the final, they were behind for 85 minutes before Sheringham's equaliser.

Since City last lost a game, to Tottenham on Feb. 5, they've been behind for a total of 41 minutes -- 10 minutes against Liverpool in April, and a little over 30 minutes against Real Madrid in the Bernabeu in May. If United's treble is remembered for being wonderfully chaotic, City's charge has, for the most part, been calm and controlled.

The nature of United's run-in meant that from Old Trafford, to Wembley and on to Barcelona, the players were riding a wave of momentum. Training was limited as much as possible to preserve energy, and the most running they did was when Schmeichel chased Dwight Yorke in anger because the striker had scored a Panenka penalty while the squad practiced spot kicks before the Champions League final. (The goalkeeper only calmed down when Yorke swore that he was taking the exercise seriously and he planned to do the same against Bayern.)

Guardiola's dilemma between now and the FA Cup final is how to maintain the rhythm of his key players, like Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne, without putting too many more minutes in their legs or risking injury. City's remaining league games against Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford -- with nothing at stake -- present a problem for Guardiola because he believes two poor performances could impact the game against United.

"I don't know if they have that feeling to play against Brighton and Brentford at this point, in those terms, because the target for the Premier League is done, but we cannot drop much, otherwise it makes it more difficult," he told a news conference on Tuesday. "The demanding FA Cup final against Man United will be really, really difficult, and I've started to watch a little bit some minutes of Inter Milan and I'm really impressed, really impressed at what they do."

It's a twist of fate that City are looking to match a feat first achieved by United, their city neighbours, and it's United, along with Inter, who stand in their way.

When Liverpool were aiming to become the first English team to do the treble in 1977, they were beaten by United in the FA Cup final in between lifting the First Division title and the European Cup. Liverpool were English football's dominant force for much of the 1970s and 1980s, winning 11 league titles and four European Cups in two decades between 1970 and 1990, but 1977 was as close as they got to the treble. And despite all of United's dominance under Ferguson -- 13 league titles, five FA Cups and four Champions League finals -- it all came together just once in 1999.

Guardiola and City are next to stand on the brink of history. As United can tell them, the chance doesn't come around very often.