Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny said on Monday he will accept being dropped for Marc-André ter Stegen if that is what coach Hansi Flick decides when the Germany international returns to full fitness.

Szczesny, 34, came out of retirement to sign for Barça last October when Ter Stegen injured his knee in a LaLiga fixture against Villarreal.

Ter Stegen was initially expected miss the rest of the season, but he returned to training ahead of schedule this month and could feature again before the campaign is up.

"Look, I am here this season to replace Marc," Szczęsny told a news conference ahead of Tuesday's Champions League quarterfinal second leg against Borussia Dortmund in Germany.

"If Marc is back and fit and the coach decides he's back in goal, I am fine with it. But I want to play. If the decision is the other way, I think Marc will understand too.

"At this moment, there is no competition because Marc is only coming back to training. He's not fully with the team. When he is available, it will be the coach's decision, not ours, and we will respect it.

"It's not uncomfortable. There's no tension between us. We both want the best outcome for the team at this crucial stage of the season."

Barça's fortunes have changed dramatically since Szczesny first came into the side in January, replacing Iñaki Peña. They are undefeated in their last 24 matches in all competitions, with the former Poland international yet to taste defeat in his 22 appearances for the club.

His contract is due to expire in the summer, but there have been reports he will sign an extension, which would see his battle for the gloves with Ter Stegen run into next season.

"We have only big games from now until the end of the season and I want to focus on playing the best football I can," he added.

"I don't want to lose energy on contract negotiations or contemplating my future.

"I want to win every trophy in front of us and leave the contract talks to the club and my agent. There is a chance they are talking, but I don't want to hear it."

Barça have already won the Spanish Supercopa with Szczesny in goal and three more trophies could follow. They are four points clear in LaLiga, in the Copa del Rey final and have a 4-0 lead going into the second leg against Dortmund.

"I like the winning," the former Arsenal and Juventus goalkeeper said. "I was on the beach a few months ago, I didn't really want to play football. Now I get to play with what I believe is the best team in Europe.

"It's a little surreal for me, but the winning is nice, in the dressing room, the training sessions. It's a nice feeling, I missed that. The winning is what I enjoy the most.

"Of course I would not believe [being here]. But we're here and now I don't want to accept any other outcome. I want to win big trophies.

"This year takes me closer than ever to my dream of winning this competition. I want to take that chance. I want to focus on the last few weeks of the season to do something very special for the club and ourselves."

Barça will be without Alejandro Balde in Dortmund after the left-back injured his hamstring at the weekend, but Dani Olmo is back in the squad.

Flick said his team must not take their foot of the gas despite travelling to Germany with a big lead.

"We always want to be at our best," the Barça coach said in a news conference. "We have high quality in our team and it's our duty to show that every game.

"We play a team like Dortmund, they have strong players themselves, and here at this stadium you need to be switched on from the start.

"I am happy we won 4-0 because I know tomorrow will be a tough game. It is important the team shows how good they are; that they enjoy playing on this stage against some of the best in Europe.

"We won't take any game lightly. We want to deliver, for the fans travelling, watching at home in Barcelona and around the world."

Concacaf president Victor Montagliani has joined other confederations in opposing the proposal of CONMEBOL leader Alejandro Domínguez to expand the World Cup to 64 teams for the 2030 edition of the international tournament.

Domínguez introduced the official proposal to broaden the competition during an online meeting of FIFA's ruling council, insisting the tournament grow from the traditional 32 participants to 64.

"At Concacaf, we've shown that we are open to change by supporting the Women's World Cup expansion and the continuous evolution of our Confederation's men's and women's national team and club events," Montagliani told ESPN.

"I don't believe expanding the men's World Cup to 64 teams is the right move for the tournament itself and the broader football ecosystem, from national teams to club competitions, leagues, and players."

FIFA will already be testing a new 48-team format for the 2026 World Cup, but Domínguez emphasized more can be done with a larger scale tournament.

"We haven't even kicked off the new 48-team World Cup yet, so personally, I don't think that expanding to 64 teams should even be on the table."

UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin also expressed dissent for the proposal by Domínguez, labeling the thought of expansion a "bad idea."

"I think it's a bad idea -- it's not a good idea for the World Cup itself and it's not a good idea for our qualifiers as well," he said. "So, I am not supporting that idea. I don't know where it came from but it's strange that we didn't know anything before this proposal at the FIFA Council."

While Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa maintains that growth at this rate would incite chaos.

"If the issue remains open to change, then the door will not only be open to expanding the tournament to 64 teams," said Salman at the 35th AFC Congress.

"But someone might come along and demand raising the number to 132 teams. Where would we end up then? It would become chaos."

The 2026 World Cup will be testing a new format for the first time in tournament history, seeing 48 teams compete for the coveted trophy across stadiums in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

The Minnesota Lynx acquired veteran guard Karlie Samuelson from the Washington Mystics in exchange for a first-round pick in the 2026 WNBA draft, it was announced Monday.

Samuelson, who turns 30 next month, joins her sixth team as she enters her seventh season in the league. She averaged a career-high 8.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 29 games (19 starts) for the Mystics in 2024.

She is a career 39.7% shooter from 3-point range.

Samuelson has averaged 5.6 points and 2.1 rebounds in 105 games (45 starts) with the Los Angeles Sparks (2018-19, 2021, 2023), Dallas Wings (2019), Seattle Storm (2021), Phoenix Mercury (2022) and Mystics.

Luka Doncic is making an impact both on and off the court for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Doncic's No. 77 Lakers jersey was the NBA's most popular jersey for the 2024-25 regular season based on NBAStore.com sales, the league announced Monday.

The Lakers were also No. 1 on the team merchandise list.

Doncic became the first player other than LeBron James or Stephen Curry to hold the lead in jersey sales since the 2012-13 regular season, when Carmelo Anthony was No. 1, playing for the New York Knicks.

Curry finished No. 2 this season and James was No. 3. The top 10 were rounded out, in order, by the Boston Celtics' Jayson Tatum, the Knicks' Jalen Brunson, the San Antonio Spurs' Victor Wembanyama, the Minnesota Timberwolves' Anthony Edwards, the Memphis Grizzlies' Ja Morant, the Oklahoma City Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Denver Nuggets' Nikola Jokic.

Doncic, who is Slovenian, is the first international player to top the most popular jerseys list, the league announced.

The Lakers' popularity also was reflected by the NBA's social media and digital platforms, with James' clips amassing 3.23 billion views to lead the league and Doncic's 1.82 billion views coming in third, according to the announcement. Curry was second with 2.56 billion views.

The New Orleans Pelicans have fired executive vice president David Griffin, the team announced Monday.

Griffin spent the past six seasons as the head of basketball operations for the Pelicans. New Orleans went 209-263 under Griffin's leadership, with two postseason appearances during that span.

Hall of Famer Joe Dumars is a serious front-runner to become the lead basketball executive with the New Orleans Pelicans, sources told ESPN. The 2003 executive of the year and 2004 champion with the Detroit Pistons is a Louisiana native. Dumars is currently the NBA's executive vice president, head of basketball operations. The Pelicans and Dumars are expected to engage in conversations to finalize a deal by the end of the week, sources tell ESPN.

Griffin's tenure was marked by the Anthony Davis trade to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2019 and the drafting of Zion Williamson in 2019 with the No. 1 pick.

The Pelicans received three players -- Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart -- and three first-round draft picks, including the No. 4 pick in 2019, in exchange for Davis.

Williamson, meanwhile, has played in just 45% of his possible games with the Pelicans -- and has never played in the playoffs after he suffered injuries prior to both of the team's postseason appearances in 2022 and 2024.

The Pelicans finished this season at 21-61 -- the fourth-worst record in the league, ahead of only the Utah Jazz (17-65), Washington Wizards (18-64) and Charlotte Hornets (19-63).

Dejounte Murray fractured his left hand in a season-opening win against Chicago Bulls, tipping off what would be a vicious wave of injuries for a team that lost 16 of its first 20 games. The vaunted trio of Murray, Williamson and Ingram never stepped foot on the court together, with Ingram traded to Toronto in February.

In all, the Pelicans lost Murray, Ingram, Williamson, Trey Murphy III, Herbert Jones and Jose Alvarado at some point to either season-ending or prolonged injuries. The club also shut down CJ McCollum for the season.

ESPN's NBA insiders contributed to this report.

After missing the NBA playoffs and play-in tournament with the largest payroll in league history, the Phoenix Suns have fired head coach Mike Budenholzer, the team announced Monday.

"Competing at the highest level remains our goal, and we failed to meet expectations this season. Our fans deserve better. Change is needed," the team said in a statement.

For the third consecutive offseason, Suns owner Mat Ishbia, CEO Josh Bartelstein and general manager James Jones are changing coaches. Phoenix finished 36-46.

Budenholzer had issues connecting with the locker room this season, with team officials concluding that the roster failed to respond to the 2021 NBA championship coach, sources said. Budenholzer's inability to coexist with his players centered around the franchise's cornerstone, Devin Booker, and went down the roster, those sources said.

The Suns will now hold a wide-ranging coaching search, sources said.

Budenholzer accepted the Suns' job on a five-year, $50 million contract last offseason -- hired for his winning pedigree and schemes on both sides of the court.

The Suns became the third team in NBA history to start 8-1 or better and miss the playoffs, joining the 1970-71 Detroit Pistons and 2001-02 Milwaukee Bucks, according to ESPN Research. In March and April, the Suns lost eight straight games all by double digits, which was the most consecutive losses by 10-plus points in franchise history.

A year after winning 49 games, earning the sixth seed and being the No. 13 defensive team under Frank Vogel in 2023-24, the Suns ranked as the third-worst team in the NBA in defensive efficiency this season -- including the second worst since the All-Star break, according to ESPN Research.

The Suns were 26-15 when Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal played last season with a plus-6.6 net efficiency -- compared to just 19-18 and minus-4.1 net efficiency during this campaign, per ESPN Research.

Over two years into ownership, Ishbia has shown supreme aggressiveness and willingness to spend for players, coaches and resources for the organization. This iteration of the team did not work, however, and the franchise is set to retool around Booker.

The Suns had a 10-18 record since the All-Star break. They went 12-32 against teams with a .500 record or above this season -- compared to 28-25 against such teams in 2023-24.

This marks the first action in a summer of change coming to the Suns. Phoenix is expected to engage in trade conversations involving Durant and will have discussions on the future of Beal, according to sources. Multiple teams will seriously pursue Durant, who finished another stellar season, and the franchise is expected to work with Durant and his business partner and Boardroom CEO Rich Kleiman on the next landing spot for the future Hall of Famer.

Beal has two years and $111 million remaining on his contract.

Durant was nearly traded to the Golden State Warriors at the trade deadline in February before making clear in league circles that he did not want to return to his former organization. He will be in the final year of his deal next season.

The Suns went 33-29 when Durant played and 3-17 when he didn't this season.

New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge has been named the captain of Team USA for the 2026 World Baseball Classic, Team USA manager Mark DeRosa said Monday.

Judge will be making his WBC debut. He did not play in the WBC in 2023 when Team USA, also managed by DeRosa, lost to Japan in the title game. Angels star Mike Trout served as captain of that team.

"Just getting a chance to represent this country, what this country means to me," Judge told MLB Network. "Honestly, every game, during the national anthem [and] 'God Bless America,' getting a chance to sit out there, for me it's a time to reflect about all the brave men and women that have fought for this country and given me the opportunity to step on a baseball field and play a game that I love.

"Now, getting a chance to have 'USA' across my chest and represent all the great people in our country and represent what this country means, it's a great opportunity. I never had this opportunity before, even growing up as a kid, so I'm definitely looking forward to it."

Judge, who turns 33 on April 26, is the first player to be named to the team.

The reigning American League MVP -- his second -- is off to another hot start in 2025, hitting .357 with six home runs and 20 RBIs through his first 15 games. The six-time All-Star and three-time AL home run leader has 321 home runs and 736 RBIs with a career batting average of .289 since entering the majors in 2016.

ALL RISE.

Aaron Judge will play #ForGlory in the 2026 World Baseball Classic! pic.twitter.com/C4HM9foyjl

USA Baseball (@USABaseball) April 14, 2025

Former Yankees star Andy Pettitte will be serving as pitching coach on DeRosa 's staff.

The World Baseball Classic will run from March 5 to March 17, 2026. Games will take place in Houston, Miami, Tokyo and San Juan, Puerto Rico, with the semifinals and championship game in Miami.

Team USA last won the World Baseball Classic in 2017.

Field Level Media contributed to this report.

Iga Swiatek is set for a mammoth few months.

The world number two is defending 4,195 points during the clay-court season after her astonishing 2024, which saw her win every tournament on the surface bar the Stuttgart Open. Even then, she reached the semi-finals.

Poland's Swiatek won both WTA 1,000 titles in Madrid and Italy, before picking up another 2,000 points from defending her French Open title.

Simply put, she's defending 54% of her 7,276 points over the next six weeks - and world number three Jessica Pegula, breathing down her neck, is defending none.

Clay is Swiatek's best surface, the slower conditions giving her more time on her pacey forehand, backed up by her superb movement around the court.

But it's been a tricky year for Swiatek. She lost in the Australian Open semi-finals from match point up, was stunned at the Miami Open by Filipina teenager Alexandra Eala and has cut a stressed, irritable figure on court.

Swiatek has also had to deal with an upsetting incident off the court, being verbally abused by an "aggressive and taunting fan" in Miami.

A return to her favoured clay might provide a reset for her - as Carlos Alcaraz has shown.

Like Swiatek, Alcaraz is the defending French Open champion. He too has had a mixed start to the year. He too had a surprise loss in Miami and, like Swiatek, has a tendency to be overly self-critical.

The new Monte Carlo champion did not have it all his own way on his run to the title. His quarter-final against Arthur Fils was a tricky, tight encounter, and the Spaniard was second-best in the early stages of the final against Lorenzo Musetti.

But Alcaraz found a way through and, ultimately, a way to win. That is something Swiatek can emulate this week in Stuttgart and beyond.

Northampton Saints have announced that Ella Bevan is to become the Premiership club's new chair of the board.

Bevan has been a director since 2012 and will replace John White, who is standing down at the end of the season.

Bevan's father Keith Barwell and brother Leon Barwell have also held the post in the past and her appointment means Saints will have a female chair and chief executive after Julia Chapman took on the latter role in November.

"Saints need to evolve as rugby evolves, and we need to make sure that we are key drivers and innovators in that process," Bevan told the club website, external.

"I've always felt that the club has led from the front on a lot of rugby initiatives, and we need to keep moving forward and finding new methods to progress, as without doing so, we'll get left behind."

She continued: "There are challenges ahead of us, but I've seen everything from Premiership and European Cup triumphs to relegations and promotions over the years of my involvement at Saints, and I am completely confident that our best days are still ahead of us."

Northampton reached the semi-finals of the European Champions Cup by beating Castres 51-16 on Saturday and next face a re-match of their 2024 last-four tie against Leinster.

The winners will meet Bordeaux or Toulouse in the final in Cardiff on 24 May.

Saints won their first Premiership title for a decade in 2024, but still reported a 1.7m loss and Bevan said work was ongoing to make sure their business model meets their needs.

"Our years and years of profitability came when the salary cap and central distributions were all pretty balanced, and we're in a situation now where that is not the case," she added.

"We've always tried to be as supportive to the coaches as possible to give them the resources that they need to succeed, as above all else we need to ensure we are competitive on and off the pitch.

"We will be pushing for a model where the club and the league as a whole can remain sustainable and competitive."