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BOSTON — It has been nearly five months since Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum ruptured his right Achilles tendon in the second round of the NBA playoffs, but Tuesday will mark one of the most difficult days of his recovery, as his teammates take the practice court for the first time of the 2025-26 campaign.

“Now it’s a tough spot to be in, because the team is practicing tomorrow, and I won’t be able to be out there,” Tatum said from Monday’s media day festivities. “I’m certain when the season starts and I’m not out there, that’ll be mentally challenging, but you just try to look for bright days when you can get it.”

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One of those days came over the weekend, when for the first time since the injury Tatum took the practice court, getting in a light non-contact workout and sharing video with his fans on social media.

Houston Rockets superstar Kevin Durant — the premier example of how to come back healthy from an Achilles injury — was as surprised as everyone else at the speed with which Tatum returned to the court:

“He’s doing everything he can to get back, and we don’t know when that’s going to be, but hopefully it’s this season,” said Sam Hauser, who is among a large contingent of Celtics who have been working out all summer in Boston, where Tatum has been rehabbing every day. ” He’s the first one in and last one out.”

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This is a common refrain among Celtics, as questions have shifted from, Will Tatum return this season? to, When will Tatum return this season? A home game. That was all Tatum was willing to share with us.

“I don’t care who we play,” said Tatum, “but it’s going to be a home game.”

In the meantime, the Celtics will lean on Tatum’s co-star, Jaylen Brown. The four-time All-Star is not trying to be Tatum, but he does understand that his role on the court will be expanded, notably as a playmaker.

[Get more Celtics news: Boston team feed]

“I feel like I’ve shown that at different points of my career, and that’s the narrative that everybody wants to go with, but I’m going to approach it the same way I’ve always approached it,” said Brown. “Obviously, I’m gonna have more responsibility with Jayson not being here, but also there’s a chance for other guys to step up. So, [it’s about] empowering other guys, trusting your teammates more, trying to accelerate guys’ learning curve and playing some good basketball. I think that’s what people want to see.”

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Likewise, Brown is expanding his leadership off the court, or, as he concedes, embracing the community and putting his authentic self out there a little more. He invited every member of the Celtics to join him as a guest of the New England Patriots on Sunday, and on Monday he was joined at media day by Bill Nye the Science Guy, who performed experiments alongside Brown and his teammates at the practice facility.

“He’s naturally pretty good at rallying the troops,” Hauser said of Brown. “On Sunday, he had a bunch of guys go with him to the Patriots game. Whoever was available went with him, so stuff like that is cool. A lot of guys who went were new faces, and it’s a good chance for them to get to know Jaylen and him to get know them and create those bonds early, and then hopefully just skyrocket from there.”

Hauser is among the returning rotation players who will also see an expanded role in Tatum’s absence, along with Derrick White, Payton Pritchard and Neemias Queta. That group, with Brown, is the early favorite for a starting five, leaving newcomers Anfernee Simons, Luka Garza, Chris Boucher and Josh Minott to come off the bench. From the outside, it is not as inspiring a group as Boston’s teams from the past decade, but internally there is hope that everyone can collectively hold the fort in Tatum’s absence.

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“It’s a different team,” said Queta. “We lost a lot of the main voices in the locker room, a lot of our veteran leadership. It’s part of our growth. As younger guys, we also gotta find our voice, be more vocal. It’s going to be like a committee thing. We’ve all got to improve a little bit more and just contribute a little more with our voices. Everybody put in their little bit more, their 5%, and go from there.”

In that sense, then, even though just about everything has changed, things are the same around Boston. “Kaizen” — the growth mindset — is still emblazoned above their weight room, a calling card for the Celtics. Through hard work comes improvement, and if everyone buys in, maybe, just maybe, they can bridge the gap to Tatum’s return.

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“Every year,” the goal should be to win a championship, said Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla. “It should be.

“It’s to do everything to go after the process of winning a championship, because I think there’s a ton that’s out of your control. But at the end of the day the process of winning is the ultimate goal, and that will forever be the goal as long as you coach. And if you don’t have that, you shouldn’t do it. I have no idea what’s going to happen, but I do know we’ll treat it as such that we will have the process of winning every single day.”

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Injuries are catching up to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs and wide receiver Chris Godwin returned on Sunday but several other key players went down, joining a growing list of starters on the sideline.

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Still, that wasn’t the main reason the Buccaneers lost 31-25 to the Philadelphia Eagles. Another major special teams blunder, two key turnovers and poor defense in the first half sent the Bucs (3-1) to their first loss.

“It’s concerning,” coach Todd Bowles said Monday about the injuries. “I mean, we’re running out of bodies, but we’ll find somebody to play.”

Star wide receiver Mike Evans (hamstring) is out for a few weeks and safety Christian Izien (quad) didn’t play against Philadelphia. Already, defensive lineman Calijah Kancey, right guard Cody Mauch and tight end Ko Kieft sustained season-ending injuries.

Edge rusher Haason Reddick (stinger), cornerbacks Jamel Dean (hip/groin) and Benjamin Morrison (hamstring), defensive lineman Greg Gaines (pec) and safety Rashad Wisdom (quad) each exited in the second half against the Eagles. Running back Bucky Irving finished the game but he’s also banged up and Bowles said he’s getting an MRI. So are Dean and Morrison.

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“We’ll see who comes back, we’ll see who’s minor, we’ll see who’s major, and we’ll adjust accordingly,” Bowles said.

The Buccaneers travel to Seattle this week.

If their defense plays the way it did against Philadelphia in the second half — it held the Eagles to minus 1 yard and Jalen Hurts to 0 for 8 — the Buccaneers will be just fine. The question is who will be out there playing on the defensive side if some guys can’t go.

What’s working

Explosive plays. Baker Mayfield connected with Emeka Egbuka on a 77-yard TD pass and Irving on a 72-yard score. The play to Irving was ad-libbed. Irving ran a flat route and then turned upfield down the sideline with an edge rusher covering him as Mayfield scrambled out of trouble and threw a perfect deep ball that hit him in stride.

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What needs help

Special teams. It’s becoming a big problem. Riley Dixon had a punt blocked for the second time in three weeks and this one was returned for a touchdown. Last week, the Jets blocked a field goal that would have given the Buccaneers a 29-20 lead and returned it for a go-ahead score.

“It is something we will figure out in the meetings,” Bowles said. “We will look at the whole operation, how we are doing it, why we are doing it, if we are doing it with the right people and if we are doing it with the right scheme. That is three weeks in a row where something went wrong, and we will get that fixed.”

Stock up

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Chase McLaughlin’s 65-yard field goal was the longest in an outdoor stadium in NFL history. Then he made a 58-yarder. After a couple of misses and a block, he’s solidified himself.

Stock down

Linebacker SirVocea Dennis continues to struggle in both pass coverage and defending the run. One play that summed up his troubles came when Jalen Hurts scrambled for 28 yards while Dennis had his back turned to the quarterback and was chasing Barkley.

Injuries

There could be plenty of news this week, with the team waiting on test results for several players.

Key number

0 — The Bucs again had no takeaways and dropped one interception. They have one pick and one fumble recovery in four games.

Next steps

The Buccaneers visit Seattle (3-1) on Sunday.

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL

On Sundays, Denny Hamlin is the driver of the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 and not the co-owner of 23XI Racing.

Hamlin owes nothing on the track to Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick on the final lap in a scenario like Sunday afternoon at Kansas Speedway. Hamlin drove into the final corner and slid into Wallace and Chase Elliott drove by both on the way to his second win of the year.

He isn’t going to apologize. Why?

“Because I’m racing for the win,” Hamlin said on Monday during his Actions Detrimental podcast. “And I definitely won’t apologize for racing for the win.”

There was a sentiment from a segment of the audience on Sunday that Hamlin made a mistake because his last lap decision likely cost the team he owns and driver he employs from advancing to the third round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

And Hamlin rejects that narrative.

“No, no, no, no, no, no,” Hamlin said emphatically. “On Sunday, I’m the driver of the No. 11 car and not the owner of the 23 car. That’s where the disconnect, I think, comes from is that people expect me to be a different person.

“They expect me to be the guy with a 23XI shirt when I’m in the 11 car and that’s just not possible.”

Hamlin said he raced Wallace the same way he would have raced Christopher Bell or Chase Briscoe, who were both in that last lap battle, because his sole responsibility in that moment is to those who work on his No. 11 car.

“Again, my responsibilities as the team owner comes Monday through Saturday,” Hamlin said. “Like, it’s not up to me to get 23XI into the Round of 8 if that makes any sense. That isn’t my responsibility. My responsibility is to get the 11 into the Round of 8.

“I’m the driver of the 11 on Sunday. Joe Gibbs pays me a lot of money to make sure that car wins a championship or has a shot to. And can you imagine the outrage if I just backed off and let (Wallace) have it?”

And unlike the intra-team squabble at Gibbs last week, this was teammates and manufacturer stablemates racing for the win on the final lap and not for 12th on Lap 100. Hamlin had dominated that race with stage victories throughout the first half and only lost the lead due to a slow pit stop.

It was an error on the jackman, who it is worth noting, was a substitute due to a suspension being served over a loose wheel penalty from the Bristol Night Race. Hamlin restarted fifth and had a shot at Wallace only because he raced hard with Bell on the front row.

Hamlin brought SMT data that showed he had the same lift point from earlier in the race but just got aero tight under Wallace. It didn’t work out but Hamlin felt like he owed it to his team to try to win that race.

It also would have been the 60th win of his career in the twilight years of his final contract.

Wallace was measured but frustrated upon climbing out of the car but did flip Hamlin off during the cool down lap. But similar to his previous argument, Hamlin was fine with it because Wallace was gesturing at a rival driver from another team, and not his team owner in that moment.

“If he were to flip me off at 23XI as the car owner, we would have an employer, employee problem but as a competitor, he flipped off the driver of the 11,” Hamlin said. “I don’t have an issue with that.

“Anything directed to me as an owner, I would certainly take an exception to that because I know the resources Michael (Jordan) and I give Bubba every single week to go out there and compete. We have invested a ton to make sure our drivers have the best cars possible.

“I don’t take that personally because I’m assuming we got someone that is on the field in the game in a heated moment. I give him grace for that because we are competitors on Sunday.”

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez will face an extended period outside the ring.

The Mexican superstar, who lost his undisputed super middleweight championship to Terence Crawford in their Sep. 13 Netflix blockbuster at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium, will undergo elbow surgery, delaying his ring return until mid-to-late 2026. Turki Alalshikh’s Ring Magazine first reported the news Monday.

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Alvarez, Uncrowned’s No. 10 pound-for-pound boxer, signed a four-fight deal with Saudi Arabian fight financier Alalshikh this past February. The agreement called for the four-division champion to compete twice under the “Riyadh Season” banner in 2026. The first of those two fights was initially scheduled for February, with the second planned for October, both to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Hamzah Sheeraz, fresh off his knockout win over Edgar Berlanga in July, was the leading candidate for Alvarez’s return bout in February, with Chris Eubank Jr., Christian Mbilli and Dmitry Bivol among others, in consideration for both fights in 2026.

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As a result of Monday’s news, Alvarez, 35, is now expected to return in either the second quarter or third quarter of 2026. If his next bout is pushed into the third quarter of 2026, the Mexican star may only compete once next year.

It is unclear who Alvarez’s opponent will be for his first contest of 2026. Alvarez is now ranked as the No. 1 contender in the WBC and the WBO following his loss to Crawford, with the IBF and WBA rankings yet to drop.

Texas A&M’s chances to reach the College Football Playoff continue to rise after securing its Southeastern Conference opener against the Auburn Tigers on Saturday.

According to ESPN’s FPI metric, the Aggies have a 55.5% chance to make the playoffs this year, which ranks as the fourth-best odds in the league and eighth-best in college football entering Week 6. If head coach Mike Elko leads his team through the treacherous schedule filled with talented conference foes, it would mark the first time the program has ever made the playoffs.

Here are the site’s full top-25 best odds to gain a bid, based on the football power index after the conclusion of Week 5:

1. Ohio State Buckeyes – 87.0%
2. Oregon Ducks – 86.8%
3. Alabama Crimson Tide – 69.7%
4. Ole Miss Rebels – 69.1%
5. Indiana Hoosiers – 68.6%
6. Miami Hurricanes – 66.5%
7. Georgia Bulldogs – 55.8%
8. Texas A&M Aggies – 55.5%
9. Texas Longhorns – 55.5%
10. Oklahoma Sooners – 47.0%
11. Vanderbilt Commodores – 42.8%
12. Texas Tech Red Raiders – 36.3%
13. BYU Cougars – 36.1%
14. Michigan Wolverines – 35.2%
15. Missouri Tigers – 34.5%
16. Memphis Tigers – 34.5%
17. Tennessee Volunteers – 29.3%
18. LSU Tigers – 23.7%
19. Penn State Nittany Lions – 22.5%
20. USC Trojans – 21.1%
21. Old Dominion Monarchs – 15.4%
22. Iowa State Cyclones – 15.2%
23. North Texas Mean Green – 14.8%
24. Illinois Fighting Illini – 12.5%
25. Florida State Seminoles – 11.9%

Elko and company began that venture with a 16-10 win in front of the 12th Man to open SEC play. Ironically, the Aggies’ result over Auburn also marked Elko’s 12th win as Texas A&M’s head coach. While there are undoubtedly improvements to be made in preparation for a formidable Mississippi State squad visiting Bryan-College Station, Texas, this weekend, the program is headed in the right direction for a potential playoff bid this season.

One aspect of Texas A&M’s game that has improved drastically compared to last season is the Maroon and White secondary. In 2024, the unit ranked 90th in the FBS, allowing 232.2 passing yards per contest. The group locked down Auburn’s explosive offense by holding Cam Coleman, one of the most highly-touted wideouts in the country, to just four receptions for 18 yards. Signal-caller Jackson Arnold was held to 125 passing yards in the contest, as the Aggie defensive line sacked him five times.

While the offense looked sluggish at times against an extremely talented Auburn front, the rushing attack showed major progress as well. Le’Veon Moss, Reuben Owens II and Amari Daniels combined for 233 yards on the ground and the only touchdown of the game for Texas A&M. If the Aggies can provide quarterback Marcel Reed with more time in the pocket against hard-nosed SEC defensive fronts, the sky is the limit for this offense moving forward.

This program has shown flashes of its potential to become a playoff team in 2025, but there are still plenty of difficult tasks ahead before those talks can progress. The path to the bid continues for Texas A&M on Saturday against another dangerous offense and a much-improved Bulldog defensive unit coming to College Station ready to play spoiler.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Dylan on X: @dylanmflippo.

“Let’s be clear, there will be zero changes to the Muhammad Ali Act,” White told CBS Sports. “Not one word will be changed in the Muhammad Ali Act. We’re gonna add on to it. So, the guys who, you know, guys being fighters that want to fight under the Muhammad Ali act exactly the way it is, will have the opportunity to do that. Or you can bet on me, and fight with me under our version of the Muhammad Ali Act. So that thing’s been blown a lot out of proportion, and I get it, and I knew people were going to freak out, because that’s what people do.”

“Listen, the Muhammad Ali Act was put in place with all good intentions, but I think that it’s held the business back,” White explained. “And like I said earlier, you know, these guys, like, all these guys that have been in boxing and have been involved in boxing for a long time; the promoters, they just don’t think big enough. I think much bigger than any of them do, no matter how bad they all want to compete with me.”

As well as bearing the pressure of her first tournament in charge, Sciver-Brunt’s all-round performances will also go a long way to deciding England’s fortunes.

So often, she is their sole saviour with the bat but she will at least have the comfort of Knight’s return from injury, providing extra stability and maturity in the middle order which they lacked against India this summer.

Edwards wasted no time in changing England’s opening partnership, reinstating Amy Jones with Tammy Beaumont, but again it was difficult to take too much from their back-to-back stands of more than 200 against West Indies considering the weakness of the bowling attack.

They were far less convincing against a superior India, with a stand of 54 sandwiched between partnerships of eight and seven.

England are also very inexperienced in India as only Knight, Beaumont and Danni Wyatt-Hodge have 10 or more ODIs to their name here – though they are more familiar with the conditions from the Women’s Premier League, a T20 franchise tournament.

In terms of the bowling, much will also depend on how many overs Sciver-Brunt can deliver, having not bowled since the Ashes because of an Achilles problem.

Edwards made the bold call to omit the experienced Kate Cross from the squad, which leaves Lauren Bell, Lauren Filer and Em Arlott as the quicks and Sarah Glenn, Charlie Dean and world number one Sophie Ecclestone as the spinners.

Bell has quickly become one of the first names on the England team sheet over the past two years, but there are still a lot of unknowns about the surfaces in India and Sri Lanka, with their group games due to be played at four different venues.

If the surfaces do not offer much spin, especially in the early stages, England could find themselves a seamer light or lacking Cross’ experience, with Arlott and Filer still searching for consistency in international cricket.

Arlott is also the only new addition to the squad since the Ashes, another indication that England’s depth is yet to materialise in order to challenge the mainstays, though it was always unlikely the team would see wholesale changes from the summer considering the enormity of the challenge of this tournament and the need for experience.

It’s Week 5 and we’re into the first wave of bye weeks for the 2025 NFL season. That, coupled with injuries continuing to pile up, will make it more difficult to find players to plug into your lineup. As always, we’re going to be tracking all the latest NFL injury news throughout the week while providing some fantasy football analysis for the bigger names. Let’s get into it.

Week 4 injury recap

Malik Nabers, WR, Giants (knee): The nightmare scenario for the Giants came to life in Week 4 when Nabers tore his ACL on a play in the second quarter of a win over the Chargers. Nabers went up for a jump ball and came down grabbing his knee. With Nabers out for the season, rookie QB Jaxson Dart won’t have one of the best wideouts in the NFL at his disposal. Instead, he’ll have to operate with Wan’Dale Robinson, Darius Slayton and rookie RB Cam Skattebo the rest of the way.

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Lamar Jackson, QB, Ravens (hamstring): Jackson was forced to exit against the Chiefs in the second half in Week 4 and did not return. The Ravens were down big late in the third quarter and Cooper Rush took over at QB. While the game was a bit out of reach for Baltimore, this is still Jackson we’re talking about; if he was healthy enough to play, he’d be in there. We don’t know the extent of the injury so we’ll need more info before making any lineup calls. If Jackson is out in Week 5, it may be tough to trust the Ravens offense vs. the Texans. Receivers should be negatively affected while RB Derrick Henry would be leaned on heavily.

Ricky Pearsall/Jauan Jennings, WRs, 49ers: Both Pearsall and Jennings got banged up in Sunday’s game vs. the Jaguars. Jennings was able to return after taking a big hit. Pearsall left due to a knee injury and did not return. This has been a recurring theme all season with this receiver room. We’ll need to see how the practice week goes for both Pearsall and Jennings. It doesn’t help the Niners play the Rams on TNF. With the short week, San Fran could be shorthanded. TE Jake Tonges continues to take advantage of George Kittle’s absence. Tonges is an interesting add if the receivers can’t get healthy. Demarcus Robinson is the other wideout to consider off the wire.

CeeDee Lamb, WR, Cowboys (ankle): Lamb was expected to miss multiple weeks with a high-ankle sprain suffered in Week 3. He was out for SNF in Week 4 vs. the Packers. There’s a chance we see Lamb back at practice and he could make it back in time for Week 5 vs. the Jets.

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Jayden Daniels, QB, Commanders (knee): Daniels has missed the past two weeks but is expected to return in Week 5 vs. the Chargers. QB Marcus Mariota played well with Daniels sidelined considering Washington was also missing top WR Terry McLaurin (quad). It feels unlikely McLaurin is back for Week 5. If Daniels returns, he’s startable in all formats again and should be a boost for the offense overall.

Jaylen Warren, RB, Steelers (knee): Warren was a surprise inactive for Week 4 vs. the Vikings in Dublin. He was expected to play, per reports, but the Steelers decided to hold him out with the bye coming up. Pittsburgh will be back in action Week 6 vs. the Browns and we can expect Warren to be back as well. If he does end up missing more time, Kenneth Gainwell becomes a good RB2/FLEX play.

Week 5 injury report

Quarterback

• Lamar Jackson, Ravens (hamstring)

• Jayden Daniels, Commanders (knee)

• J.J. McCarthy, Vikings (ankle)

• Joe Burrow, Bengals (toe) — IR

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Running Back

• Jaylen Warren, Steelers (knee)

• Aaron Jones Sr., Vikings (hamstring) — IR

• Tyrone Tracy Jr., Giants (shoulder)

• Tyjae Spears, Titans (ankle) — IR

Wide Receiver

• CeeDee Lamb, Cowboys (ankle)

• Mike Evans, Bucs (hamstring)

• Ricky Pearsall, 49ers (knee)

• Jauan Jennings, 49ers (ribs)

• Terry McLaurin, Commanders (quad)

• Calvin Austin III, Steelers (shoulder)

• Darnell Mooney, Falcons (hamstring)

• Cedric Tillman, Browns (hamstring)

• Jalen Coker, Panthers (quad) — IR

• Alec Pierce, Colts (concussion)

• Dyami Brown, Jaguars (shoulder)

• Xavier Legette, Panthers (hamstring)

Tight End

• George Kittle, 49ers (hamstring) — IR

• Colston Loveland, Bears (hip)

• Ja’Tavion Sanders, Panthers (ankle)

• Michael Mayer, Raiders (concussion)

• Noah Fant, Broncos (concussion) — OUT in Week 4

Players done for the season

• Malik Nabers, Giants (knee)

• James Conner, Cardinals (foot)

• Najee Harris, Chargers (Achilles)

Last Season: After some early-season line shuffling, Hagens eventually settled in as the first-line center between Gabe Perreault and Ryan Leonard. He was undoubtedly productive — scoring a point-per-game as one of the youngest players in NCAA hockey. But after an offseason in which he was billed as the favorite to go first overall in the 2025 NHL Draft, the 11 goals and 26 assists he posted were a bit disappointing for some, and — fairly or not — likely contributed to his “fall” to 7th overall. Despite all of that pressure and noise, Hagens produced a lot of excellent moments in his freshman year — most notably his buzzer-beating assist to Leonard against Maine and his game-winner against Bentley.

Season Outlook: Hagens will be one of — if not the — most important player for BC this season. He will center the team’s top line again, although who his linemates will be is still a question. After spending last season somewhat deferring to the more established stars in Perreault and Leonard, Hagens will need to drive play and be more assertive with the puck. He’s put on weight this off-season, going from 177 pounds to 194 in an effort to be able to hang against bigger, older opponents. With the pressure of the draft now behind him, I expect Hagens to have a major sophomore year.

Fun Fact: Hagens has a sponsorship deal with Chipotle.