Keely Hodgkinson says she is aiming for a new world record after breaking the British 800m mark at the UK Athletics Indoor Championships in Birmingham.

The 23-year-old, who won Olympic gold in 2024, clocked 1:56.33 in the heats on Saturday to beat her own national record by almost one second.

It was the fastest time in a women’s indoor 800m race in 24 years and the third-fastest in history.

Having announced beforehand that she would not compete in Sunday’s final because she is due to race in France on Thursday, Hodgkinson described the run as “a personal challenge”.

The event in the Midlands counts towards athletes qualifying for the World Indoor Championships in Poland from 20-22 March.

“I had to come to qualify for the Worlds and that is why I was only doing one round,” she said.

“But it was a good test. It is three years since I ran indoors, so I knew I had to go out there and stay focused.

“We didn’t set out to run a world lead, but I started well and just kept it going. It was a nice surprise. It was a really strong day.”

Tom Banton thinks he is older, wiser and, quite simply, better these days.

It is coming up to seven years since the England batter first caught the eye as a 19-year-old by hitting a stunning 71 from 37 balls to help Somerset chase 204 against Surrey in the T20 Blast.

If the pure numbers from that day were not enough, one reverse flick for six off Sam Curran – now an England team-mate – made some smart judges take note.

The following winter Banton was picked by England for their tour of New Zealand.

He kept his place the next summer, in Twenty20 and 50-over cricket, picked as the fresh face to help take the 2019 World Cup winners on into a new era.

Banton made 58 against Ireland and 71 in a T20 against Pakistan, but they were his only scores above 50 in 15 matches.

Another five caps came and went in 2022, making this current run the 27-year-old’s third go at international level.

His match-winning 63 not out in England’s five-wicket win against Scotland on Saturday, with his side’s T20 World Cup hopes on the line, may not have been his highest score, but it was his best knock for his country – a breakout innings in which he finally delivered on all of those talents by truly defining a match on the biggest stage.

“I think just a bit, obviously older, more mature, got a better understanding of my game,” Banton said, asked what he is doing differently this time.

“When I came onto the scene, I remember at the start of that summer I was just about scraping into Somerset’s second team.

“Then six months later, I was playing for England and traveling all over the world, which was great, but I’ve got more of an understanding.

“I have kind of, I don’t know, just grown. I’ve learned a lot about myself. Not even anything to do with cricket.”

When discussing Real Madrid’s play this season, balance, specifically the lack thereof in attack, is a word that often comes up. But in stopping a surging Real Sociedad side and running their own unbeaten streak in LaLiga play to eight straight victories with a 4-1 win, the balance that Trent Alexander-Arnold can bring was on display. And they did it without Kylian Mbappe.

It only took five minutes for Real Madrid to open the scoring via a lovely pass from Alexander-Arnold to Gonzalo Garcia. It’s only the second assist for the English right back this season, as injuries have limited him to only 12 appearances in all competitions. But with Benfica looming in Champions League play on Tuesday in the playoffs (which you can watch on Paramount+), this performance comes at a more important time than ever.

One of the best creative right backs in the world, Alexander-Arnold joined from Liverpool ahead of the Club World Cup during the summer, and it was an exciting acquisition expected to take the Real Madrid attack to the next level. Rightfully so, as well, look at this pass map from last season at Liverpool.

With a player spraying the ball forward like that, every attacker is able to focus on getting into good position, and there’s the additional benefit of Federico Valverde being able to return to the midfield. That was also an important shift with Valverde switching from open play to join Vinicius Junior, who scored two penalties during the match.

Despite the result, it wasn’t all smiles for Real Madrid, with young defender Dean Huijsen conceding a penalty from a rash challenge that Mikel Oyarzabal scored. Los Blancos also will have felt as if they could’ve scored more goals, but strong finishing and penalties made sure that Real Madrid made the most of their chances. They struggled to create much from open play after the first half of action, but considering that this was without Mbappe’s 38 goals in all competitions, Madrid manager Alvaro Arbeloa won’t be too concerned.

The leadership of American manager Pellegrino Matarazzo has turned Real Sociedad around in the league, and they’re only 90 minutes from an appearance in the Copa Del Rey final, so losing in the Santiago Bernabeau it nothing to hang your head over. Arbeloa’s Madrid are moving in the right direction, but all eyes will be on their Champions League fixture this week. Losing to Benfica on the final day of the league phase is what got them in this scenario; instead of the stars getting to rest during the week, Los Blancos need to find their way into the round of 16 in the Champions League.

Already being knocked out of the Copa Del Rey in shocking fashion to Albacete last month, catching Barcelona in LaLiga and winning the Champions League are the top priorities, and a lopsided victory over Benfica on Tuesday will be a step in the right direction as they continue to look to find balance.

Defensive end Maxx Crosby has been a name rumored to be on the trading block for the past couple of days. He just finished his seventh year with the Las Vegas Raiders.

According to NFL insider Dov Kleiman, the Detroit Lions, who are worth $5.4 billion (as per Forbes), are one of the favorite teams to acquire Crosby. He shared a tweet on X, which was accompanied by a screenshot from Polymarket where Dan Campbell’s team has 32% chance of acquiring the defensive end.

“BREAKING: The Lions are the FAVORITES to trade for Raiders superstar DE Maxx Crosby on Polymarket. Detroit would be UNSTOPPABLE with Maxx,” Kleiman wrote.

Fans on social media shared their thoughts on Crosby potentially joining the Lions.

“And they still won’t win a ring,” one fan commented.

“They don’t have the money for it,” another fan said.

“So the Eagles just disappeared from being a favorite to land Crosby?” this fan wrote.

“Detroit would have to mortgage its future-we’re talking about two first-rounders plus someone like McNeil. Cannot affort that. Maxx would be awesome, but the price is too high. We have other priorities,” another fan said.

“It’s Monty going to be the sacrifice? In order to get Crosby we are going to lose something that Hurts,” one fan wrote.

“This trade would be the opposite of making detroit unstoppable. It would destroy roster cohesion and prevent detroit from fixing the real problems. Do people want to struggle wothcap for the next 4 years, not resign our good players we draftedz and have gaping 0-lines holes?” this fan commented.

“Already that time of year of Crosby lions rumors? Feel like it’s a little early, try other engagement bait,” another fan wrote.

During the 2025 season, Dan Campbell and the Lions had a disappointing campaign. After making the playoffs in 2024, they finished dead last in the NFC North with a 9-8 record.

Maxx Crosby, on the other hand, also failed to qualify for the postseason in his seventh year with the Raiders. He missed the last two games after an injury. This reportedly did not sit well with the two-time All-Pro.

This situation led to the rumor mill churning about a potential rift between Crosby and his team.

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Raiders coach Klint Kubiak shares his thoughts on Maxx Crosby’s future with the Raiders

The Raiders fired coach Pete Carroll after just one season. They brought in Klint Kubiak as his replacement following his Super Bowl LX success with the Seattle Seahawks.

During his introductory press conference, Kubiak discussed Maxx Crosby’s future amid the trade rumors.

“I got a cup of coffee with Maxx this morning,” Kubiak said. “Love talking to him. And look forward to continuing those conversations. He was the first one in here working out. So that fired me up.

“We want him to be a part of our success going forward. There’s no doubt about that. He’s one of the best players in the NFL, so that’s no-brainer to get to work with Maxx and see him continue to have success with this organization.”

In seven seasons, Crosby has recorded 439 total tackles, 69.5 sacks and 133 tackles for loss.