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Saquon Barkley is the most deserving running back MVP candidate since Adrian Peterson | McCoy & Van Noy

Gerald McCoy and Yahoo Sports' Charles McDonald discuss the MVP candidacy of Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley. With nearly 1,700 scrimmage yards already in 2024 and the driving force behind one of the NFL's best offenses, shouldn't he be in the discussion, and not just quarterbacks? Hear the full conversation on “McCoy & Van Noy” - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen.

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Slot claims Salah’s Liverpool contract dispute may be bringing best out of him

  • Manager says absence of contract offer is not distraction
  • Alexander-Arnold not fit to start against Real Madrid

Arne Slot has claimed Mohamed Salah’s contract standoff with Liverpool may be bringing the best out of the forward and is not a distraction from a hugely important week for the club.

Salah’s admission that he is “more out than in” at Liverpool owing to the absence of a contract offer has overshadowed the buildup to Wednesday’s Champions League game against Real Madrid and Manchester City’s visit in the Premier League on Sunday.

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RFU’s annual report shows a worrying decline. Has it lost its purpose? | Gerard Meagher

Beneath headline figures of the chief executive’s bumper income, what does the RFU stand for and want to achieve?

There have been suggestions in recent years, little more than rumours – though plenty of them – that the Rugby Football Union’s chief executive, Bill Sweeney, might have been preparing his exit strategy. That finding a replacement for Eddie Jones could be his parting gift, that negotiating the new eight-year agreement with the Premiership could be his intended legacy. Eventually the whispers grew loud enough that Sweeney publicly denied it and, after it emerged on Monday he was paid £1.1m thanks to the maturation of a bonus three years in the making, we appear to have a pretty good idea as to why.

The first thing to say about Sweeney’s eye-watering raise – a performance-based payment of £358,000 on top of a base salary of £742,000 – is that you can hardly blame him for taking it. Admittedly, he will have likely negotiated the details of the long-term incentive plan that has so lined his pockets but would you really expect him to turn it down? The blame lies with the RFU’s board and remuneration committee for signing off on a scheme that has made Sweeney the best-paid chief executive of a UK sports governing body – excluding payouts – at a time when 42 redundancies have just been made and a loss to reserves of £42m has just been announced.

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Brendan Rodgers wary of Brugge threat but backs Celtic Park’s power

  • Hoops chasing fourth straight home win in Europe
  • Champions League progress will define club’s season

Caution from Brendan Rodgers over Celtic’s prospects in the Champions League is perfectly understandable. Thoroughbred racehorses know how to time their run. That Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, Milan, Benfica and Paris Saint-Germain started this week behind Celtic in the newfangled version of European football’s premier club competition is likely to prove a temporary impasse. Celtic, despite a hugely promising start, were 15th before Tuesday evening’s fixtures. The Scottish champions have not altered their goal of reaching the playoff round. Seven points from a possible 12 has not changed aspirations that existed before a ball was kicked in anger.

Rodgers revelled in Celtic’s dismantling of RB Leipzig in the last round. Pre-match media duties for the subsequent Scottish Premiership stop at Kilmarnock were dominated by what had transpired days earlier. This was fair; Celtic have taken such public kickings for failures in Europe over recent years that they were entitled to purr over happier times. The performance against the German club was exceptional and a justification of Rodgers’ decision to return for a second Celtic tenure in 2023.

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‘Nightmare’: Juan Martín del Potro lives with daily pain after tennis career

  • US Open champion’s career was scarred by injury
  • Argentinian will face Novak Djokovic in farewell match

Former US Open champion Juan Martín del Potro has detailed the toll injuries took on his career and the pain he still experiences.

The 36-year-old’s last professional tournament came in February 2022 at the Argentina Open, when he hinted his career was over after a first-round loss. He had not played in the three years before that after fracturing his knee at Queen’s in 2019.

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MLB Playoff Payout Hits Record $129M, Dodgers Get $477,441 Each

The World Series between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers fueled a record postseason bonus pool of $129.1 million, according to the commissioner’s office. The tally was 20% higher than the previous high of $107.8 million set last year—it was $107.5 million in 2022 when the playoffs expanded to their current format. The …