Nick Sirianni slams ‘ridiculous’ calls to bench Jalen Hurts amid Eagles’ skid

Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni moved quickly on Wednesday to shut down the rising speculation around Jalen Hurts’ job security, calling talk of a potential quarterback change “ridiculous” despite his team’s three-game losing streak and their franchise star’s sudden dip in form.Hurts committed five turnovers – four interceptions and a lost fumble – in Monday night’s 22-19 defeat to the Los Angeles Chargers, punctuating one of the ugliest outings of his career. The final mistake, an interception near the goalline in overtime, sealed another deflating loss for an Eagles side that has averaged just 16 points across the past five games. The 8-5 Eagles have not won since 10 November.Hurts’ performance tied several unwanted marks: the most giveaways by an Eagles player since tracking began in 1978 and the first four-interception game by a Philadelphia quarterback since Michael Vick in 2012

Imran Sherwani obituary

Imran Sherwani, who has died aged 63 of Alzheimer’s disease, was a star of the Great Britain hockey team that won Olympic gold in 1988 with a 3-1 win against West Germany in the final, a match in which he scored twice.Sherwani’s second goal, which put the game beyond the opposition, came as he ran in behind the defence to knock in a cross from Stephen Batchelor – a breathless passage of play that led to a much-replayed piece of TV commentary from the BBC’s Barry Davies. Referring to the lack of marking on Sherwani, Davies asked: “Where were the Germans?” before abandoning any pretence of impartiality to add: “But frankly, who cares?”Davies’s brief departure from objectivity was understandable, given that Sherwani’s decisive goal led Great Britain’s men to their first Olympic hockey gold since 1920. In nine Olympic Games subsequently, they have come nowhere near repeating that feat, with a best position of fourth.At Seoul, where Sherwani played in all seven matches, Great Britain struggled in the early stages before pulling themselves together under the leadership of their forceful coach, Roger Self, a man who insisted on new levels of professionalism in his amateur charges and who was able to instil great self-belief in the squad

A sporting superhero: can anyone stop Luke Littler at the world darts championship?

Defending champion is a phenomenon and the indisputable titan of the game with a sense of inevitability at the Alexandra Palace extravaganzaYou will be seeing plenty of Batman and Wonder Woman over the coming weeks; Spiderman, Mr Incredible, perhaps even a Ninja Turtle or two. Yes, Christmas at Alexandra Palace is always a good time for spotting superheroes. But only one of them will not be wearing a costume.In fact, it is when he is in his normal human clothes, doing normal human things, that Luke Littler looks at his most incongruous. Standing with his fellow Manchester United fans in the away end at Molineux

Leicester’s Parling backs crackdown on escort defenders as ‘pretty positive’

Geoff Parling, the Leicester head coach, has defended the crackdown on escort defenders, saying the impact of refereeing changes that promote more kicking has been “pretty positive”.Parling’s comments come after Ross Byrne attacked the revised law interpretations around contestable kicks on Monday. The Gloucester fly-half argued a potential knock-on effect would be for international coaches to convert second-rows into wings for the next men’s Rugby World Cup in 2027.Byrne believes the sport risks becoming one-dimensional but before the Tigers’ Champions Cup pool meeting with Leinster on Friday, Parling acknowledged World Rugby’s move has led to more kicking, but that had not altered his tactical approach.“The change has been positive,” Parling said

Chaos reigns at Wests Tigers: how did things get so dire at the embattled NRL club? | Nick Tedeschi

A return to glory for the longsuffering Wests Tigers appears increasingly distant after a high-level purge which has accounted for four independent board members and CEO Shane Richardson, and created instability that threatens to consign the Tigers to NRL irrelevance for years to come – and maybe even the existence of the club.Despite a quarter of a century passing since the Western Suburbs Magpies and Balmain Tigers merged, traditional divisions have persisted and the uneasy alliance within the club has been thrown into the spotlight by the recent upheaval, led by the Magpies-aligned majority owners of the club, the Holman Barnes Group (HBG).Despite the longstanding partnership, the Western Suburbs and Balmain factions have rarely both been happy with the merger and, in particular, the public-facing look of the club. The Magpies faction has tended to believe the Tigers appeared to be more Balmain than Wests.Among other issues, the proposed jerseys for next year have reportedly played a key role in the recent turmoil

The Spin | From jaffas to the corridor of uncertainty – revel in cricket’s rich language of bowling

Every act in cricket’s history has begun with a bowler delivering a ball to a batter 22 yards away. Delivering. Like a postman delivers a council tax bill. Like a waiter delivers a round of drinks. Of all the verbs used to describe the bowling of a ball, this one speaks to the deep-seated cultural inequity that has plagued this sport since its inception