Tom Jordan brings a smorgasbord of skills to Bristol’s Big Game at Harlequins

New Zealand rugby must still be unearthing loads of outstanding players. So many, in fact, that their talent spotters have grown increasingly blase. Because how on earth did someone, somewhere not spot the uncut diamond now twinkling on the far side of the world for Bristol Bears and Scotland?Let’s just run through the impressive menu of skills Tom Jordan will bring to today’s Big Game against Harlequins at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium. Excellent distribution off both hands? Tick. A smart rugby brain? Tick

NFL playoff race: sepia-toned Bears v Packers rivalry takes center stage

Another week as the NFL winds up for the postseason offers a fresh look at contenders building for the Super Bowl. Jacksonville v Denver, yes please. Baltimore v New England, bingo. Pittsburgh v Detroit, hmm … OK. Still not satisfied? The strange lights of Saturday night over in the NFC North should do the trick with a sepia-toned showdown between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field

‘A great night for golf’: McIlroy hails Spoty success after individual and team awards

Moments before Rory McIlroy was named BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year, and the cream of British sport rose to applaud him, a nervy thought raced through his mind. “I was, like, not an F1 driver again … ” he said.This time, though, there was no late twist. Lando Norris was unable to emulate Lewis Hamilton, who had pipped McIlroy when the Northern Irishman was a warm favourite in 2014. And with Europe’s Ryder Cup winners also being named team of the year, a delighted McIlroy was able to reflect on a blockbuster night for him and his sport

BBC outbid by TNT Sports for 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games

The Commonwealth Games will not be broadcast on the BBC next year for the first time since 1954, with TNT Sports buying the live UK rights for next summer’s event in Glasgow.The BBC is understood to have made an offer to continue its 72-year coverage but was outbid by TNT’s owner, Warner Bros Discovery, with the Commonwealth Games prioritising a larger financial offer above the bigger audience guaranteed by terrestrial television.TNT will broadcast 600 hours of coverage from the 11-day event in Glasgow and is understood to be exploring the possibility of making some of their coverage available free-to-air. For the Olympics, Eurosport – now TNT Sports – made live coverage from Paris available to streaming subscribers for £3.99, and plans to do similar for Glasgow

Travis Head tees up Bazball’s last rites in Adelaide but fatal blow was in Perth | Geoff Lemon

Anyone following this Ashes series, let alone writing about it, has wondered at which moment they can declare the death of Bazball. Maybe this is the joyless urge to destroy other people’s fun, maybe it’s righteous disapproval of some irritating aspects. All along, Bazball may have been a neighbourhood house party: great at your place, annoying next door.Anyone waiting to time their solemn announcement with the imminent series loss is out of date. Given its fuel is confidence, England’s high-octane approach probably died during their adrenal collapse in Perth, when dazed players looked around and wondered why their mouths tasted like lightning

Waste of Jacks’ talent speaks volumes for England’s bodged Ashes planning | Barney Ronay

For anyone still curious about the exact role of Will Jacks in this England Test team, the key is probably to see him as a kind of a tell, a set of entrails, a weather vane on the state of the game.The first rule of Jacks goes like this. If you can see Will Jacks on your TV screen, it’s bad. If Will Jacks is bowling when you wake up something has gone wrong. If Will Jacks is batting something has also probably gone wrong