AUGUSTA, Ga. — Come Sunday night at Augusta National Golf Club, someone will win the Masters green jacket and their life will change forever.

It’s the most coveted jacket in all of sports, but it’s definitely not your ordinary coat. Let us explain.

First, the color. You know you were wondering. It’s Pantone 342, also known as Masters Green. (Your new basement hue? Smart choice.)

The club bought its first jackets from Brooks Uniform Company in 1937, but members, who were encouraged to buy them so patrons could identify reliable sources of information, were not thrilled about how warm they were. There have been a few different suppliers since then, but Hamilton Tailoring Co. has made them since 1967. (No, you can’t buy one.) Besides the club logo on the left chest pocket, it’s also on the brass buttons.

The jackets weren’t given to Masters champs until 1949, when Sam Snead won. They were awarded to all previous winners retroactively.

And you probably know this one, but Masters tradition is that the previous tournament’s winner puts the jacket on the new champ every Sunday night. But what about back-to-back winners? In 1966, when Jack Nicklaus repeated as champion, club co-founder Bobby Jones suggested, jokingly, that Nicklaus handle both roles and slip it on himself. The last two times there was a repeat champion, with Nick Faldo in 1990 and Tiger Woods in 2002, the club’s chairman assisted with the jacket. Although, with the 2026 tournament nearing its finish, there’s a chance we have our fourth repeat winner in tournament history.

Jackets are reserved for club members and Masters winners. That’s it. And don’t even think about taking them off the grounds. That right is reserved only for the reigning champ after their victory. But when their year is up and they return next April to defend their title, the jacket stays put as soon as the new champion puts theirs on. Three-time champ Gary Player forgot the rule one year and took his back to South Africa. When he heard from chairman Clifford Roberts, Player joked, “Well why don’t you come get it?”

There are certain times when Masters champions get to wear their jacket off grounds, but it’s only when they might be representing the tournament or club at a function or event, and of course, they’d need permission to do so.

As the Masters nears its finish every year, the club selects a few jackets that might fit the potential winner. The jacket the winner gets the night of their victory is not usually the one they keep. They are fitted immediately after their win and receive a new one.

These jackets aren’t found in the wild often, but when they are, the price tag is high. Back in 2013, Green Jacket Auctions sold inaugural Augusta National Invitational winner Horton Smith’s jacket for $682,229.

So while you likely won’t win the Masters to get your own green jacket, you could always just get asked to join the club. Although that might be even less likely. The LA Times published a story in 2023 that detailed an exclusive vault beneath the members’ pro shop that the club calls the “Green Jacket Experience” and “Green Jacket Vault,” where new club members are joined by chairman Fred Ridley and a tailor to get fitted for their own jackets.

A boxing promoter has spoken about a possible fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua

Boxing promoter Kalle Sauerland has claimed that the date and location for a future clash between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua have already been decided. The two British heavyweights are long-standing rivals but have never met inside the ring.

As both men approach the end of their glittering careers, there has been increased speculation about a fight later this year. It has previously been discussed on multiple occasions but ultimately failed to materialise.

Fury returns to the ring against Arslanbek Makhmudov on Saturday at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Joshua was last in action against Jake Paul in December. However, later that month, he suffered minor injuries in a car crash that claimed the lives of two of his friends, disrupting his immediate plans.

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As Fury prepares to face Makhmudov, Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn has spoken about his client possibly fighting Deontay Wilder this summer. The Matchroom boss recently dismissed claims that an agreement was already in place to face Fury, but fellow promoter Sauerland has suggested it is essentially a done deal.

“I think Fury-AJ is done for the Autumn in Dublin,” Sauerland told iFL TV. When asked for further clarification, he added: “That’s what I’ve heard, done for Dublin in I think September/October. Have I put my foot in it? That’s what I’ve heard, word on the street.”

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Tyson Fury has come out of retirement to face Russian boxer Arslanbek Makhmudov in a heavyweight clash in London on April 11. The fight will stream live on Netflix, which fans can get for free with Sky’s £15 Essential TV bundle or £24 Ultimate TV bundle, the latter of which also includes HBO Max and Disney+.

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It is worth noting that Sauerland is not associated with either fighter, and the promoter’s comments sharply contrast with Hearn’s stance last month. In an interview with The Stomping Ground, he said: “There is absolutely nothing signed with Anthony Joshua to fight Tyson Fury next. There is nothing agreed.”

Hearn outlined that, prior to Joshua sustaining injuries in a car crash, the plan had been for AJ to fight in the spring before a showdown with Fury. Joshua is now expected to return in the summer as he steps up his recovery.

“This is what I want. We need a warm-up fight before we fight Tyson Fury,” Hearn said. “Because AJ is coming off the accident. He’s rehabilitating his body. We will take Deontay Wilder as that warm-up fight. And then we will fight Tyson Fury in December.”

He continued: “By the way, I respect Wilder, and I think he looked much better in that fight than he has done previously. But let me tell you… Anthony Joshua will walk through Deontay Wilder within three rounds. We’re going to fight before Tyson Fury.”

However, Fury has called for Joshua to ditch plans of a comeback fight before facing him. The 37-year-old is keen to reach an agreement with AJ as he fears that waiting any longer than necessary risks derailing their plans once again.

“That fight was supposed to happen so many times over the last 10 years,” Fury said. “But then someone has had one more fight in between, or someone has been knocked out or injured.

“Forget Wilder, the man is a shell of himself, and forget anyone else. Let me get through Saturday, and then we will do the fight before the end of the year.”

Before the NFL turned its attention to the upcoming draft, the offseason chatter was heavy on whether or not the league should expand its schedule from 17 to 18 regular season games. That subject was a popular topic at the annual league meeting in March.

There’s no doubt an 18-game regular season schedule is what NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wants. That would increase revenue – remember, it’s always about money – and allow the league to move the Super Bowl to Presidents’ Day weekend. It would likely mean the NFL would add international games (one for each team) and perhaps another streaming service as well.

It would also mean reducing the preseason from three games to two, and (hopefully) adding a second bye week.

“I like it for the long-term growth and development of the league – to keep our league healthy and grow revenue,” New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft told reporters at the league meeting. “I think preseason games have not been what (they) used to be.

“It would allow us to also grow the game internationally,” Kraft continued. “Every team in the league would play a game overseas. I think it would be a lot more exciting to the fans to have an extra game rather than the way our preseason games stack up.”

Why NFL’s 18th game is a bad idea

Typically, more football is a good thing. In terms of adding an 18th regular season game, however, more would be less.

Of the four major sports the NFL has the most meaningful regular season. Why? Because it plays the fewest regular season games. Each NFL contest carries more weight than a game in the NBA, NHL or MLB.

The NFL went from 16 to 17 regular season games in 2021. Lengthening the season in any way would be adding to an already saturated product.

Don’t fall for the talk that eliminating a preseason game and adding a game to the regular season is an even trade, since key players typically see little playing time during the preseason. That’s like comparing apples to dump trucks.

Another strong argument against going to an 18-game schedule is player health. NFL bodies are already being pushed to the limit. The fear here is that adding to the regular season would be the tipping point that leads NFL players to start taking games off, like you see in today’s NBA.

NFL load management? No thanks.

“From playing in the league, and I played 16 [games], it was a long season,” Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “So to play 17 is long, 18 is just adding more games. It’s definitely harder on the players. You think about the guys, and if you see what guys go through on a day-to-day basis, week-to-week basis, just to get ready for football games, adding another game is definitely going to be hard on the players.

“It’s not my decision to make, but just my perspective and what these guys have to go through and what they put their bodies through, it’ll be really tough to ask the guys to go do another one.”

Like having an extra dessert, an 18-game regular season schedule would be too much of a good thing.

Being crowned world champions in front of a record women’s rugby crowd of 81,885 at Allianz Stadium set the bar very high for John Mitchell’s England.

As an occasion, it does not really get much bigger in any sport.

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The Red Roses have played across the country in order to build a loyal fan base, which all came together in September as they defeated Canada to claim a first World Cup in 11 years.

So, what was next? Was it too big an ask to try to fill Allianz Stadium again?

With the momentum of record-breaking World Cup viewing figures, England called on their supporters to return to Allianz Stadium for their opening game of this year’s Women’s Six Nations against Ireland.

It was a bold call, and one that delivered, as a crowd of 77,120 turned out to see Mitchell’s side defeat Ireland in their first game since becoming world champions.

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A one-off home World Cup final was always going to draw a large crowd, but to back that up with a record crowd for a Women’s Six Nations game – beating the 58,498 who watched the Grand Slam decider in 2023 – is just as important for the sport’s growth.

“You can never replicate a game that has happened before [the World Cup final],” England full-back Ellie Kildunne told BBC Sport.

“The World Cup final is a moment I will cherish for the rest of my life and I don’t want to compare the two things.

“We have to get used to this. We sold out then [the World Cup final] and we nearly sold out now, this is going to become the norm.

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“This shows where the women’s game is going and long may it last.”

A decade ago, a crowd of 2,500 watched England narrowly beat Ireland at the same venue.

Hooker Amy Cokayne is the only player from that game to feature in the back-to-back wins at Allianz Stadium.

If you had asked the then-teenager if that would be possible, her likely answer would have been more out of hope than expectation.

But this is now where the Red Roses are, they are world champions and expectations are at an all-time high.

‘I just dropped the ball’

Mitchell’s side were far from perfect in their five-try win over Ireland, but they were always in control as they extended their record-breaking winning run to 34 matches.

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Three first-half tries opened up a 21-point lead before Kildunne dropped the ball over the tryline.

Ireland and England then each scored two second-half tries, as the encounter in front of a record crowd failed to catch fire.

The 2024 world player of the year Kildunne remained calm after her error and showed her searing pace to finish in the corner.

Rather than learning from losing control while putting the ball down with one hand, Kildunne again confidently placed it down in the same manner.

“People will want an explanation as to what happened – I just dropped the ball,” she added.

“It shows that we are just people and mistakes will happen, and we always talk about how quickly you can recover.

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“I brushed my shoulders off and just went again.”

Talling & Hunt set to miss rest of tournament

England, who have not lost a Six Nations game since 2018, are seeking an eighth consecutive title and a fifth Grand Slam in a row.

Prior to the tournament, Mitchell lost four of his matchday squad from the World Cup final to pregnancies.

Three of those – Zoe Stratford, Abbie Ward and Rosie Galligan – have all played in the second row under Mitchell.

Lock Morwenna Talling was carted off on a stretcher against Ireland, with Mitchell confirming that she and replacement scrum-half Natasha Hunt will likely miss the rest of the tournament through injury.

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Loughborough Lightning’s 19-year-old Haineala Lutui, who has mainly been deployed in the back row for her club, came off the bench to make her debut as Talling’s replacement.

“We must adapt, as we have lost four international locks – we will be a team of back rowers by the end of the tournament,” Mitchell said.

“If that is the way it is going to be, then so be it. There are different ways to play this game, and if that means using back rowers, then we will make it work.”

Megan Jones replaced Stratford as England captain and stepped up with a strong defensive performance, picking up the player of the match.

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“There were always going to be nerves coming into this campaign off the back of an amazing World Cup, so there was always going to be that expectation,” Jones told BBC Sport.

“We want to play in front of big crowds like that, and sometimes the game can get stuck, but we found ways through, and that is what a winning team does.

“Some nerves, but we will brush up on that.”

Mitchell made eight changes from the World Cup final starting XV, which resulted in a lack of cohesion at times as his side attempted to play an open and expansive brand of rugby.

Scrum-half Lucy Packer, who played second fiddle to Hunt during the World Cup, looked lively throughout, while 22-year-old lock Lilli Ives Campion also stepped up in the line-out.

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Fly-half Holly Aitchison was another player who struggled for starts at the World Cup but was handed the number 10 role from the outset.

“This is a new team, a fresh start and a learning process, and we have learned a lot today,” Mitchell told BBC Sport.

“Ireland were taken out of the match in the first half, but we let them back in, so we will learn from that.

“There is a huge amount of growth still to come – we are exposing youngsters and challenging the nine-ten axis.

“Players will be better for today’s performance.”

It will be interesting if Mitchell continues with his rotation policy or build cohesions, as England next face Scotland (13:30 BST) at Murrayfield next Saturday.

For the fifth time in his boxing career, Tyson Fury is set to come out of retirement, and he will do so against Arslanbek Makhmudov this evening.

Fury, a former two-time heavyweight champion, will box Makhmudov in the Briton’s first fight since December 2024, when he was outpointed by Oleksandr Usyk for the second time in eight months.

Fury, 37, is still desperate for a trilogy bout with Usyk, who holds the unified belts, after the Ukrainian handed the “Gypsy King” (34-2-1, 24 KOs) the first losses of his professional career.

Whether or not that match-up awaits in Fury’s future, he will first have to overcome Russia’s Makhmudov (21-2, 19 KOs). The pair will clash in a main-event bout in London, with Conor Benn in action in the co-main event.

Against Regis Prograis, Benn will enter the ring for the first time since he surprisingly defected from his longtime promoter Eddie Hearn, and for the first time since avenging the sole loss of his pro career. The British welterweight was beaten by Chris Eubank Jr last April, but Benn dropped and outpointed his bitter rival in a November rematch.

Here’s all you need to know:

When is the fight?

Fury vs Makhmudov will take place on Saturday 11 April, at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. The main card is due to begin at 7pm BST (11am PT / 1pm CT / 2pm ET), with main-event ring walks from 10pm BST (2pm PT / 4pm CT / 5pm ET).

How can I watch it?

The event will stream live exclusively on Netflix worldwide. It will be available to all existing subscribers; in other words, the event will not be a pay-per-view.

Odds

Fury – 2/9; Makhmudov – 7/2; draw – 20/1

Benn – 1/12; Prograis – 13/2; draw – 25/1

Via William Hill, accurate as of 10 April.

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Fight card in full

Subject to change; ‘C’ denotes champion

Main card

Tyson Fury vs Arslanbek Makhmudov (heavyweight)

Conor Benn vs Regis Prograis (150lb catchweight)

Jeamie Tshikeva (C) vs Richard Riakporhe (British heavyweight title)

Frazer Clarke vs Justis Huni (heavyweight)

Prelims

Breyon Gorham def. Eduardo Costa do Nascimento via fifth-round TKO

Mikie Tallon def. Leandro Jose Blanc via first-round KO

Pawel August def. Simon Zachenhuber via decision

Felix Cash def. Liam O’Hare via second-round TKO

Sultan Almohammed def. Hector Avila Lozano via third-round TKO

Elliot Whale def. Tom Hill via fourth-round TKO