Six Nations: Scotland are favourites, says England coach Jones

England coach Eddie Jones says Scotland will start as favourites when the two sides meet at Murrayfield in next week's Six Nations opening round.

Scotland's World Cup performances and the fact they have a settled side give them the advantage, according to Jones.
"We've only had six training sessions together so there is an enormous pressure on Scotland to perform and not so much on us," he said.
"The bookies might have us as favourites but Scotland have to be."
Scotland have lost their last seven Six Nations games.
Their only win in their last 12 championship games was a 21-20 win over Italy in Rome in February 2014.
They have not beaten England, runners-up for the last four years, since 2008.
The sides meet for the Calcutta Cup on Saturday, 6 February (16:50 GMT).
Scotland, coached by Vern Cotter, reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup, losing narrowly to Australia, while hosts England surprisingly bowed out in the group stages.
England's displays ultimately cost Stuart Lancaster his job and led to former Australia and Japan coach Jones taking over.

Kevin Durant's season-high 44 lead Thunder past Knicks in OT

The ascendancy of Stephen Curry over the past two seasons has somewhat obscured the continued scoring excellence of Kevin Durant, at least insofar as an All-Star starter and recent MVP can lack attention. Yet Durant has bounced back from his 2014-15 foot surgeries and reached his usually fine form. He entered Tuesday's game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden averaging 26.6 ppg on 50.7 percent shooting, which would rank as his third-best mark from the field for his career.

However, what Durant did not come to NYC boasting many big scoring nights in 2015-16. He changed that with a season-high 44 points vs. the Knicks, going 12-of-26 from the field and 16-of-18 from the line. Those points mattered, too — a mid-range jumper with 16 seconds remaining in regulation forced overtime and four free throws in the final 24 seconds of OT helped cinch OKC's 128-122 win.

The new season-best is just Durant's second game of more than 34 points this season, joining the 43 he put up against the Orlando Magic in double overtime way back on October 30. That's a low total for someone who scored at least 35 in three of his 27 games last season, which was itself well off the absurd pace of 27 such games he had in his MVP campaign of 2013-14.

However, it's hard to watch Durant from game to game without thinking that he could put up those kinds of gaudy single-game numbers if he chose. While the Thunder still rely on Durant and Russell Westbrook (30 points on 13-of-24 FG) for scoring well above all other players on the roster, the latter's development from mere All-Star to genuine co-leading superstar and the team's push to become more balanced has changed their offensive calculus. The fact that Durant hasn't been especially explosive could be part of the design. He's been good enough that no one has any reason to worry.

That's not to say the Thunder are without problems. Though a solid ninth in points allowed per possession, Oklahoma City occasionally struggles to contain the opponent and does not necessarily register as a championship-level defensive squad. Tuesday's game displayed some of their problems as the Knicks had five players score at least 15 points with Carmelo Anthony resting due to left knee soreness. New York shot 11-of-23 from three-point range and turned it over only nine times over the 53 minutes.

Royal Rumble 2016 results: Triple H beats Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose, becomes WWE World Heavyweight Champion

The Game is the champ for the first time in seven years.

The new WWE World Heavyweight Champion is Triple H, who's captured a world-level title for the 14th time in his career. He was the final entrant in the Royal Rumble, which was all about his Authority faction trying to get the title off of Roman Reigns.

This was the first time in history that the WWE World Heavyweight Championship was defended in the Royal Rumble. The one other time that it was up for grabs in this match was in 1992, when Ric Flair won the vacant title in one of the greatest matches of all time.

Order of entry

1. Roman Reigns (eliminated by Triple H)
2. Rusev (eliminated by Roman Reigns)
3. AJ Styles (eliminated by Kevin Owens)
4. Tyler Breeze (eliminated by Roman Reigns and AJ Styles)
5. Curtis Axel (eliminated by Styles)
6. Chris Jericho (eliminated by Dean Ambrose)
7. Kane (eliminated by Braun Strowman)
8. Goldust (eliminated by Titus O'Neil)
9. Ryback (eliminated by Big Show)
10. Kofi Kingston (eliminated by Chris Jericho)
11. Titus O'Neil (eliminated by Big Show)
12. R-Truth (eliminated by Kane)
13. Luke Harper (eliminated by Brock Lesnar)
14. Stardust (eliminated by Luke Harper)
15. Big Show (eliminated by Braun Strowman)
16. Neville (eliminated by Luke Harper)
17. Braun Strowman (eliminated by Brock Lesnar)
18. Kevin Owens (eliminated by Sami Zayn)
19. Dean Ambrose (eliminated by Triple H)
20. Sami Zayn (eliminated by Braun Strowman)
21. Erick Rowan (eliminated by Brock Lesnar)
22. Mark Henry (eliminated by Braun Strowman)
23. Brock Lesnar (eliminated by Bray Wyatt)
24. Jack Swagger (eliminated by Brock Lesnar)
25. The Miz (eliminated by Roman Reigns)
26. Alberto del Rio (eliminated by Roman Reigns)
27. Bray Wyatt (eliminated by Triple H)
28. Dolph Ziggler (eliminated by Triple H)

29. Sheamus (eliminated by Dean Ambrose)

30. Triple H (champion).

Six Nations 2016: Ireland are favourites - Wales' Gatland

    

Warren Gatland believes title holders Ireland go into their Six Nations defence as tournament favourites.

 

Wales and Ireland meet in Dublin in their opening game on Sunday, 7 February, with Joe Schmidt's side eyeing a hat-trick of European crowns.

"They would like to go in with people writing them off, even though they have won the championship for the last two years," said the Wales coach.

"They have to go in as favourites. You write an Irish team off at your peril."

He added: "We go into this tournament respecting them immensely, and particularly what they have achieved under Joe Schmidt over the last two seasons.

"I think they are favourites for the tournament, given the experience they have at knowing how to win, particularly under pressure." 

 

Monday's gossip column: Costa, Debuchy, Mahrez, Yarmolenko

For a list of all the latest deals, check out the transfers page.




Southampton have rejected an £8m offer from Liverpool for their 29-year-old Republic of Ireland striker Shane Long. (Daily Mirror)

Arsenal right-back Mathieu Debuchy says he regrets moving to the club and plans to leave this transfer window. (L'Equipe - in French, subscription required)

Debuchy says he has already spoken to Aston Villa manager Remi Garde about a potential move to Villa Park.

 


 Arsenal have appointed the Leicester scout who helped the club sign players such as Riyad Mahrez and N'Golo Kante. (Daily Telegraph)

Atletico Madrid want to bring Chelsea striker Diego Costa back to the club. The 26-year-old Spain international left Atletico for Stamford Bridge for £32m in July 2014.

Costa's bruised shin, sustained against Everton on Saturday, may prompt Chelsea to speed up a move for Corinthians forward Alexandre Pato, 26.

Newcastle have been offered the chance to sign former AC Milan playmaker Pato and Swansea's 30-year-old French forward Bafetimbi Gomis, 30.

Gomis is unlikely to join Newcastle because Swansea do not want to sell to a relegation rival. (South Wales Evening Post)

Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink says that, if it were down to him, he would give a new contract to captain John Terry, 35.

Terry, meanwhile, is confident he will earn a one-year contract to extend his stay at Stamford Bridge beyond the end of the season.

Tottenham plan to step up their pursuit of Fulham's 19-year-old striker Moussa Dembele, but Whites boss Slavisa Jokanovic is unwilling to sell.

Former Chelsea and Arsenal left-back Ashley Cole, 35, has agreed a deal to join MLS club LA Galaxy from Roma.

FC Porto are not planning to sell forward Yacine Brahimi to Crystal Palace. Reports had linked the 25-year-old Algeria forward with the Premier League club.

Leicester City have agreed a £5m deal with FC Copenhagen for their 21-year-old defensive midfielder Daniel Amartey.

Leeds United's 22-year-old full-back Sam Byram has passed a medical at Goodison Park and will be presented as an Everton player on Monday.

Tennis match fixing: Evidence of suspected match-fixing revealed

Secret files exposing evidence of widespread suspected match-fixing at the top level of world tennis, including at Wimbledon, can be revealed by the BBC and BuzzFeed News.

 

Over the last decade, 16 players who have ranked in the top 50 have been repeatedly flagged to the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) over suspicions they have thrown matches.

All of the players, including winners of Grand Slam titles, were allowed to continue competing.

The TIU- which was set up to police the sport - said it had a zero-tolerance approach to betting-related corruption.

Chris Kermode, who heads the body that governs world tennis, rejected claims evidence of match-fixing had "been suppressed for any reason or isn't being thoroughly investigated".

But he added: "While the BBC and BuzzFeed reports mainly refer to events from about 10 years ago, we will investigate any new information."

The cache of documents passed to the BBC and Buzzfeed News include the findings of an investigation set up in 2007 by the Association of Tennis Professionals, the organisation Kermode heads .

 

Louis van Gaal: Man Utd boss in market for January signings

Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal wants to "improve" his squad in the January transfer window - but admits it is not the "ideal time to do business".

Van Gaal  United are fifth in the Premier League and their victory over Swansea last week ended an eight-game winless run.
They face Sheffield United in the FA Cup on Saturday (17:30 GMT).
In the programme for that match, Van Gaal writes he would strengthen "if the opportunity does arise" and he and his coaches feel "something can be done".



But he adds: "I don't see January as the ideal time to do business."
Van Gaal, 64, is contracted to United until the end of the 2016-17 season but his position came under scrutiny as his side slipped down the table and went out of the Champions League.
The Dutchman's possession-based approach has been criticised by fans, former players and the media.  
Van Gaal

The Red Devils have had seven goalless draws so far this season, six of them at home.