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

Brentford boss Keith Andrews hailed Igor Thiago as a “very special player” after he backed up his Brazil debut with a record-breaking brace in a 2-2 draw with fellow European hopefuls Everton.

Striker Thiago became the Bees’ all-time leading scorer in a single Premier League season by taking his tally to 21 with an early penalty and a fortuitous 77th-minute finish.

Brentford were ultimately frustrated as Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall levelled in added time at the Gtech Community Stadium after Beto headed Everton’s initial equaliser.

Thiago joined the Bees in a club-record £30million deal from Belgian side Club Brugge in 2024 but missed most of last term due to injury.

“The biggest thing for Thiago this season was staying fit and playing as many minutes as he has,” said Andrews. “We always knew he had brilliant attributes.

“The goals get all the attention but his overall performance levels continue to get better and better and he’s constantly evolving his game.

“He’s proving to be a very, very special player.”

Thiago converted from the spot in the third minute following Jordan Pickford’s foul on Kevin Schade to move alongside Ivan Toney and Bryan Mbeumo as Brentford players to have scored 20 goals in a Premier League campaign.

The 24-year-old, who registered a hat-trick in his side’s 4-2 win at Everton in January, then claimed a small piece of history by deflecting home Michael Kayode’s shot.

Thiago won his first Brazil cap in a 2-1 friendly defeat to France on March 26 before scoring a penalty in a 3-1 win over Croatia on April 1.

“He was in a pretty good place before he left (for international duty),” said Andrews. “He’s grown as the season has gone on, naturally with the journey he’s been on.

“The dream of playing for your country, quite an iconic jersey to wear, was special for all of us and I think he is on cloud nine, there’s no doubt about that.

“Hopefully that can continue for the rest of the season and beyond.”

The two sides remain firmly in the mix for continental qualification but each missed the chance to pile pressure on Liverpool and Chelsea in the battle to secure Champions League football through a top-five finish.

Brentford stay seventh after edging on to 47 points following a fourth consecutive league draw, with eighth-placed Everton below on goal difference ahead of next weekend’s Merseyside derby.

Speaking about the late leveller, Andrews said: “Unfortunately we couldn’t quite manage those last few moments to see out what I feel would have been a well-deserved win.”

Dewsbury-Hall’s crucial strike was his seventh Everton goal since joining from Chelsea.

Toffees boss David Moyes said: “Kiernan has been so good for us. From last season there are not many changes but Kiernan has come in and helped us greatly.

“His goals have been hugely important. When I was signing him, when I was speaking with him, he did say, ‘I’ll score goals if I’m played in the right way’.

“He’s scored goals, he’s contributed to the performances, so we’ve been really impressed with Kiernan.

“I’m pleased to get a draw out of the game because it looked as if it wasn’t going to be the case. It’s a tough place to come, taking a point from here is not the worst result.”

Alexander Zverev went down at the Monte-Carlo Masters, losing to Jannik Sinner in a tepid display. He could only muster four games in the 6-1, 6-4 loss. Emotions understandably ran high in the match for the German, who even had an outburst mid-match.

Turning to his box, he lameted that he did not know what to do to win points against Sinner on the given day.

“I don’t know how to play him today”, Alexander Zverev could be heard telling his box.

Zverev found himself on the back foot of the encounter right from the start. He never got a look at the breakpoint, while also struggling to win easy points behind his own serve as well. The usually big-serving German lost his serve on four occasions in the match and was unable to hit any ace in the match.

With this defeat, Zverev has now gone down 4-9 in his win-loss record against Sinner. The Italian has dominated the rivalry in recent times, winning their last eight matches. In those wins, Sinner has dropped on one set against his opponent.

“I felt really solid from the beginning” – Jannik Sinner after beating Alexander Zverev at Monte-Carlo Masters

Jannik Sinner reflected positively on his win over Alexander Zverev in the Monte-Carlo Masters, saying he was feeling solid from the get-go. He also expressed satisfaction with the way his game as come together on clay given that he has worked on particular aspects right before the red dirt swing.

“I’m very happy. We came here trying to give myself some feedback [on clay] and now finding myself in the final means a lot to me,” Jannik Sinner said. “Obviously every match, every day is different, so I’m very happy about today’s performance. I felt really solid from the beginning. When you are a break up straightaway, it changes the dynamic of the match, so very happy and let’s see what’s coming in the final.”

The Italian looked ahead at the final with optimism, saying he was going in with nothing to lose. He added he was expecting a tough fight from World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz.

“I have nothing to lose. Coming here and making the final means a lot to me, so of course I will try to push as much as I can tomorrow on the last day,” Jannik Sinner said. “Now the most important thing is to rest. It was a good performance from my side, and tomorrow is going to be a tough one.

Alcaraz and Sinner will clash in the Monte-Carlo Masters final on Sunday. The Spaniard had beaten home hope Valentin Vacherot in his semifinal encounter 6-4, 6-4.