NLEX import Deonte Burton with coach Jimmy Alapag during practice.–Photo from NLEX’s Facebook

MANILA, Philippines—NLEX coach Jimmy Alapag expects new import Deonte Burton to give the Road Warriors a huge boost when the PBA Governors’ Cup resumes next month.

Burton was tapped to replace DeQuan Jones, who suffered a severe right leg fracture last month just days before the break.

“Super excited to have DB with the NLEX family,” said Alapag in a Facebook post by NLEX on Friday. “More than just his talent and his experience, I think, very similar to DeQuan during his time here, I think our guys are gonna enjoy being on the court with him”

READ: PBA: Deonte Burton set to replace DeQuan Jones at NLEX

“As great of a basketball player as DB is, I think he’s just as good of a person. “I think he’ll give us a great chance in the second half of the conference.”

As far as understanding Alapag’s system, the 32-year-old forward won’t be starting from scratch. The two have some history together from several years ago. Burton had stints with the Sacramento Kings and G League’s Stockton Kings, where Alapag served as an assistant coach.

“Obviously, having someone like DB who has NBA experience and the fact that we spent time together both in the G League and the NBA, I have a lot of confidence in how he’ll help our team,” Alapag said.

Burton, who also played two seasons for the Oklahoma City Thunder from 2018 to 2020, practiced with the Road Warriors on Friday.

“I’m really happy to be here to play for NLEX. A lot of players have told me that I should come play in the PBA. They kept telling me that I’d love it,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to play here. I’ve never had the opportunity, but now I have it.”

The 6-foot-4 Burton will have big shoes to fill after Jones led NLEX to the top spot in Group A, averaging 24.9 points on 56 percent shooting, 6.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.9 steals through eight games. The Road Warriors share the same record as the San Miguel Beermen at 7-2 after dropping a narrow loss to the Converge FiberXers in their only full game without Jones.

Burton, who’s played in South Korea, Puerto Rico and China, makes his NLEX debut on October 7 against lowly guest team Macau at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Ben Simmons #25 of the Los Angeles Clippers in action against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Intuit Dome on March 23, 2025 in Inglewood, California. Luke Hales/Getty Images/AFP

Ben Simmons is making a comeback to the NBA after sitting out last season with injuries, agreeing to a one-year contract with the Sacramento Kings.

A person familiar with the deal confirmed to The Associated Press that he will sign with Sacramento. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal hadn’t been announced.

ESPN first reported the move and said Simmons would be paid $3.5 million.

READ: NBA: Ben Simmons ready to play at high level for Clippers

The 30-year-old from Australia is a former No. 1 draft pick, three-time All-Star and Rookie of the Year, but he has struggled to perform and stay healthy in recent years. He sat out last season while dealing with back and leg injuries after ending the 2024-25 season in a reserve role for the Los Angeles Clippers.

Sacramento is coming off a 22-60 season and is trying to rebuild around rookie Darius Acuff Jr., who was picked seventh in the draft after a stellar freshman season at Arkansas. The Kings were looking for veteran help after waiving DeMar DeRozan and deciding not to bring back Russell Westbrook. Those two scored the most points last season for Sacramento.

The Kings believe Simmons provides value as a versatile defender that can guard almost any position and can be the backup point guard to Acuff as well as play in other spots.

Simmons was the first overall pick by Philadelphia in 2016 after playing one season in college at LSU. He sat out his first season with an injured foot but quickly developed into a star player for the 76ers once he returned. He was the Rookie of the Year in 2017-18, was an All-Star the following three seasons, as well as a third-team All-NBA player in 2019-20 and a first-team All-Defense selection in 2019-20 and 2020-21.

READ: NBA: Clippers sign Ben Simmons in latest change of scenery

But his career hasn’t been the same after sitting out the 2021-22 season when he was dealing with mental health concerns, other physical injuries and was seeking a trade out of Philadelphia.

He was sent to Brooklyn at the 2022 trade deadline but missed the rest of that season with a bad back. He then played 2 1/2 seasons with the Brooklyn before getting cut in February 2025. He finished that season with the Los Angeles Clippers before sitting out last season.

But he never came close to his level of play early in his career in Philadelphia, averaging 5.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists during his time with the Nets and Clippers.

Troy Parrott’s late winner ended Real Madrid’s perfect start ​to the LaLiga season, with the Republic of Ireland striker scoring nine minutes from time before Real Betis goalkeeper Alvaro Valles saved ⁠a stoppage-time penalty from Kylian Mbappe.

Parrott, introduced in the 68th minute, broke the deadlock in the 81st when he reacted quickly after Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois parried a header into his path.

Mbappe struck the crossbar four minutes later before substitute ⁠Carlos Espi met a cross from Vinicius Junior with a ​spectacular ⁠bicycle kick, only for the ‌equaliser to be ruled out for offside following a VAR review.

Nelson Deossa then nearly sealed the victory for hosts Betis with a long-range effort after spotting Courtois off his line, but the goalkeeper recovered to make the save.

Madrid got one final opportunity when Natan brought down Vinicius inside the area deep ⁠into stoppage time, but Valles saved Mbappe’s spot kick to preserve Betis’s lead and secure the three points.

“I don’t know how we lost because we played very well collectively. I cannot fault the attitude of any of my players. We deserved to win but deserving to win does not give you points,” Mourinho said.

“I’m very happy with my ​players, all of them. I cannot fault any of ‌them individually. As for ⁠the penalty, when one of us steps up to ⁠take it, we all stand together.

“The Betis players are more streetwise than the Madrid players, who are very honest. With the backing of a fantastic crowd, they manage to gain these kinds of advantage.”

Elsewhere, Paris Saint-Germain looked to be on their way to a first win of the Ligue 1 season when Marquinhos put the hosts ahead in the 31st minute, but Monaco rallied with goals by Flavio Nazinho in the 58th and Stanis Idumbo in the 72nd.

Monaco leads Ligue 1 as the only team to win its first three games.PSG had already drawn 2-2 with Rennes and Lille in its first two games. They also lost the French Super Cup to Lens 1-0 last month.

PSG’s first league defeat came hours after the French champions announced contract extensions for coach Luis Enrique and several players. João Neves, Lucas Beraldo, Senny Mayulu and Willian Pacho all got new deals through 2031, while Fabian Ruiz had his contract extended through 2028.

Striker Folarin Balogun was left out of Monaco’s squad after the collapse of his proposed transfer to Everton this week.

First Published: Sep 04 2026 | 4:23 PM IST

Manchester City welcome Premier League newcomers Coventry to the Etihad Stadium this afternoon as Enzo Maresca looks for three wins in a row

Manchester City welcome Frank Lampard’s Coventry to the Etihad Stadium this afternoon. The Blues have enjoyed a brilliant start to the season with Enzo Maresca’s tenure beginning with two Premier League wins from two matches.

City’s squad has since been bolstered by a hectic transfer deadline day. Enzo Fernandez and Iliman Ndiaye joined Allan Elias to add further options to the team. The Blues are rightly seen as one of the favourites to win the Premier League, and the amount spent on new signings will add further expectations on Maresca to deliver that.

Ahead of the third matchday of the season, City have a mostly fit squad to choose from. However, there were one or two doubts that have since been clarified by the boss. MEN Sport has rounded up the latest injury news ahead of this weekend’s action.

Enzo Fernandez

Injury: Fitness

Fernandez was a minor doubt heading into this weekend after not featuring in Chelsea’s last two matchday squads. The Argentina international came off the bench against Fulham on the first matchday of the season. Having not played much since the World Cup, there was a chance he may not have been fit enough to feature against Coventry.

However, Maresca confirmed the midfielder is fit and is raring to go. The City boss said on Friday: “He is a winner. I can promise you in the last four or five days, four or five players from the squad were asking: ‘Is he coming or not,’ because they want him to be with us.”

Potential return date: September 5 vs Coventry

Jeremy Doku

Injury: Calf

Doku last started for City in the Community Shield defeat to Arsenal. He was replaced at half-time that day by Jack Grealish. Doku later re-emerged from the dressing room with ice on his calf.

Maresca confirmed on August 21, that Doku would be out for a further two-three weeks. The City boss confirmed on Friday that the Belgium international remains absent.

Potential return date: September 13 vs Manchester United

Matheus Nunes

Injury: Knock

Nunes was withdrawn from the squad late on against Arsenal due to an injury complaint. However, he was back on the bench to face Bournemouth and played half an hour after replacing Rico Lewis.

Nunes then missed the trip to Crystal Palace with a knock, but Maresca confirmed this week that the 28-year-old is fit again to feature.

Potential return date: September 5 vs Coventry

The controversy surrounding Kylian Mbappe’s missed penalty against Real Betis has taken another turn, with the new IFAB rules for the 2026/27 season indicating that the spot-kick should have been retaken.

Real Madrid were trailing 1-0 at La Cartuja when Alvaro Valles saved Mbappe’s penalty in the closing stages. 

Advertisement

Marc Bartra then cleared the rebound, immediately prompting protests from the Madrid players because the Betis defender appeared to have entered the area before the kick was taken.

The initial argument against a retake centred on Bartra being airborne. He had not yet placed his feet on the ground inside the penalty area when Mbappe struck the ball.

That detail, though, does not settle the matter under the rules now in force.

The new rule changes the Bartra argument

IFAB’s 2026/27 Laws of the Game clarify how an airborne player’s position is determined.

Mbappe’s penalty was saved. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images)

Advertisement

If a player is in the air, their position is established by the projected position of their feet as though they were touching the ground.

That is crucial in this incident, as Bartra did not need to have his feet physically touching the turf inside the box for his position to count as an encroachment.

If his projected foot position was inside the penalty area when Mbappe struck the ball, he was considered to have entered the area before the kick.

There is another important element: impact.

Bartra’s involvement after the save matters

Under the updated Law 14, a defending player’s encroachment only leads to a retake when it has an impact. 

Advertisement

The law specifically provides for a penalty to be retaken when defending encroachment has an impact after a saved kick.

The new IFAB rule for penalty retakes. (Picture credit: IFAB official website)

Bartra’s role makes that particularly relevant. Valles saved the penalty, but Bartra then cleared the rebound before Mbappe could get to it.

Journalist Eduardo Iturralde made the same distinction when discussing the incident on El Larguero.

“I think the CTA [Technical Committee of Referees] is going to say that it didn’t have to be repeated, but as the rule is written, it has to be repeated.”

Advertisement

The controversy has a different answer now

The important point is that Bartra being airborne does not automatically mean he was legally outside the area. 

The 2026/27 clarification specifically addresses airborne positioning, and his subsequent intervention provides the potential impact required under Law 14. 

Therefore, provided the footage confirms that Bartra’s projected foot position was inside the penalty area when Mbappe took the kick, the new rules support a retake.

As we kick off the first college football games of the 2026 season, we conclude our series on the records of each top CFB program in the West against all others in the region.

Some schools have met many times over the years, while others are beginning new rivalries in the wake of recent realignment.

For each opponent in the table below, we provide the total games played, wins, losses, ties, winning percentage, first year played, and most recent contest.

We continue with Wyoming, which has played 772 games against regional foes, winning 333, losing 421, and recording 18 ties, for a winning percentage of .443.

The Cowboys have recorded the most wins (52), have played the most games (117), and lost the most games (117) against Colorado State.

Here is a breakdown of Wyoming’s records vs. the region’s teams.

World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka called a halt to her third-round match at the US Open after complaining she could smell marijuana.

The two-time defending champion was 2-0 up and serving in the first set against Kamilla Rakhimova on Louis Armstrong Stadium when she stopped abruptly and spoke to her team before approaching the umpire’s chair.

“Someone is smoking weed,” she told umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore. “Would you mind to… because it’s so strong.”

Asderaki-Moore spoke to an official on her radio and turned to someone else behind her, making a smoking gesture with her fingers, before play continued.

The smell of weed around Flushing Meadows has been an issue this week but has broadly been confined to the outside courts, close to nearby Corona Park. Smoking of any kind is prohibited on the site itself.

Afterwards, Sabalenka said: “I was, like, Guys, you can do whatever, you can smoke whatever, you can relax as much as you can, but please, do not do it around the tennis courts. It’s a bit tricky to handle that smell while you’re trying to compete at your best.

“[The smell was] that strong, yeah. Also, because it was a bit windy. I don’t know if it was, like, coming from the crowd or was from the outside because the wind blows it into the stadium. I don’t know. I just hope they’re going to be a bit more aware of that stuff.”

Despite the disruption Sabalenka was able to keep composed, winning 6-3 6-4 and withstanding the pressure as Rakhimova rallied in the second set, which took 54 minutes – a minute longer than Sabalenka’s entire second-round match.

“Second she played incredible tennis,” the Belarusian said. “She really pushed me so hard in the second set and I love when they bring their best tennis because they really push me to improve.”

She joked that she wore an elaborate, eye-catching jewellery set to “distract” opponents but in reality could rely on her usual easy power and aggression to hold off the world No 92.

Sabalenka, who is aiming to become the first woman to win three US Open titles in a row since Serena Williams from 2012-2014, will next play American Taylor Townsend.

Later on Friday third seed and former finalist Jessica Pegula survived a huge scare against 2021 runner-up Leylah Fernandez, dropping an error-strewn first set 6-1 before regrouping and taking advantage of a dip in the Canadian’s level to win 1-6 6-4 6-3, roared on by a hugely supportive home crowd.

“I’m not sure [how I turned it around], it was really tough today,” Pegula said afterwards. “I never feel comfortable playing her even when I’ve won. I knew I was going to have to dig deep, really glad I could find something there to turn it around.”

Pegula will play Romania’s Sorana Cirstea in the fourth round after the 16th seed beat 19th seed Jasmine Paolini in straight sets.

With PA

Former India cricketer Kris Srikkanth questioned Washington Sundar’s match fitness and selection in the upcoming three-match Afghanistan T20 series, arguing that the all-rounder should have played competitive cricket before being picked for India.  Srikkanth also expressed concerns over Sundar’s recurring injuries and felt that he has lost his rhythm in white-ball cricket despite making a successful transition to Test cricket. Sundar, along with pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, returns to the squad, subject to fitness clearance. The squad also includes all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy and pacer Harshit Rana. The series will get underway on September 13, with the second T20I scheduled for September 15 and the third on September 17. All three matches will be played in New Delhi at the Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium.

“He is good in Tests but didn’t play in Sri Lanka. How is he fit now, in two weeks? He has not proved his match fitness, so what is the use? You must play some matches at some level to show your fitness before being picked for India. You can’t just play with a doctor’s certificate. Washington Sundar seems to be injured after every two or three series,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel. 

“He was smashed in Ireland and England. He started his cricket from the T20 format. He moved brilliantly to Test cricket, but he has lost his rhythm in white-ball cricket,” he added. 

In July, Sundar suffered a hamstring injury during the third ODI against England and has since been at the Centre of Excellence (COE) for his recovery.

India’s squad: Shreyas Iyer, Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy*, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar*, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah*, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana*

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Featured Video Of The Day

Neeraj Chopra Wins Silver, Yashvir Singh Bronze As India Seal Double Podium In CWG Javelin