TOKYO ? WALLABIES backrower Jack Dempsey has credited former World Cup-winning captain John Eales in helping him see the light at the end of the tunnel during the darkest period of his life.

LEGENDARY leg-spinner Shane Warne says the Australian cricket team needs a ?kick up the backside? while also questioning the appointment of Mitchell Marsh as the country?s vice-captain.

WELCOME to Off-Season Central.

DREAMS will be realised on Tuesday when over 60 players? names are called out by clubs in the 2018 AFLW draft.

MANCHESTER UNITED fans think they have they have uncovered the club?s new director of football as Patrice Evra.

MAURIZIO Sarri has risked the wrath of Chelsea fans by telling them Jose Mourinho deserves more respect.

FERNANDO Alonso condemned Formula 1?s attempt to bring in driver introductions at the US Grand Prix as ?a bad copy? of the Indianapolis 500, which the Spaniard competed in earlier this year.

?It?s certainly not ideal,? laughs Moses Mbye.

DES Hasler has defended his controversial NRL salary-cap management record, claiming things would have been different if he?d had a chance to see out his plans in previous head-coaching roles.

THEY may be struggling with the language, but when it comes to playing football in Germany, English teenagers Jadon Sancho and Reiss Nelson are making themselves perfectly understood.

THE Australian women?s rugby sevens world series title defence is off to a rocky start after a heavy quarter-final loss to the US in the opening event in Denver, Colorado.

KANGAROOS five-eighth Luke Keary concedes his two-game cameo might not be enough to hold his Test spot.

BRISBANE Roar recruit Adam Taggart had a mixed debut for his new club but he might just be the solution to the Socceroos? goal-scoring problems, according to a former national team striker.

He?s back.

USAIN Bolt?s desire to become a professsional A-League footballer is set to be tested after the Central Coast Mariners reportedly tabled a contract offer well short of initial suggestions.

THE mighty Golden State Warriors have copped their first loss of the NBA season, and it came in dramatic fashion.

TAMPA Bay?s Chandler Catanzaro hit the longest overtime field goal in NFL history, a 59-yarder to give the Buccaneers a 26-23 win over the Cleveland Browns.

JONAS Hofmann hit the first hat-trick of his career on Sunday as Borussia Moenchengladbach went second in the Bundesliga with a 4-0 thrashing of his former club Mainz.

OVER 60 players will have their name called out in Tuesday?s AFL Women?s draft ahead of the third season of AFLW.

AUSSIE swimmer Emily Seebohm has responded to comments made by ex-boyfriend Mitch Larkin in the media insisting he did not cheat during their relationship.

LEWIS Hamilton admits he was ?surprised? by Mercedes? strategy at the US GP as the Englishman was made to wait to clinch his fifth title.

LUKA Modric could be the key to Real Madrid?s pursuit of a Serie A star.

CONFUSION reigns over whether Ben Simmons will miss any games with the back problem that caused his early exit in the home win over Orlando Magic on Sunday.

NEW footage of the Chelsea staff member?s celebration that riled Jose Mourinho at Stamford Bridge on Saturday has emerged.

MITCHELL Starc appears unlikely to be risked during Australia?s Twenty20 series against Pakistan after having tests on his injured hamstring.

LEWIS Hamilton didn?t need reminding that he failed to sew up his fifth Formula One world title at the United States Grand Prix.

MANLY have confirmed the return of former premiership-winning coach Des Hasler on a three-year deal, effective immediately.

JOSE MOURINHO has launched a desperate move for a big-name defender while Arsenal have stolen a march on the Red Devils in the race to sign an English teen sensation.

CRICKET Australia and the Australian Cricketers? Association have firmly rebuked spot-fixing allegations raised by television network Al Jazeera against a group of unnamed Australian players.

CHELSEA is angry and deeply embarrassed over Saturday?s touchline incident involving Jose Mourinho and its assistant coach at Stamford Bridge, according to Sky sources.

BARCELONA, Spain (AP)

THE international season has produced some scintillating performances from a number of standout players.

IT IS rare to have a set of twins in a single draft pool ? let alone two sets of identical twins who will likely join the AFL ranks for 2019.

FREMANTLE has delisted Tom Sheridan, Cam Sutcliffe and Brady Grey, with the trio confirming the news via Instagram.

NFL reporter Melissa Stark perfectly demonstrated the show must go on, even if you get hit in the head by a ball.

THE NBA has handed down suspensions to three stars following Sunday (AEDT)?s brawl during the Los Angeles Lakers v Houston Rockets game.

KIMI Raikkonen ended the longest drought between two race victories in F1 history at the United States Grand Prix before celebrating in his iconic style.

JOSE MOURINHO is sweating on another FA charge after his Stamford Bridge bust-up.

CAPTAIN Mauro Icardi struck a dramatic injury-time winner as Inter Milan stunned AC Milan 1-0 in the derby at the San Siro to retake third place in Serie A on Sunday.

LIVE: Welcome to Fox Sports? daily roundup of the stories you need to know about in the world of sports right now. Join us every weekday morning from 6.30am ? 9am. Play on!

THE NBA is investigating a courtside video that appears to show Rajon Rondo spitting in the face of Chris Paul, reports ESPN?s Adrian Wojnarowski.

VIRAT Kohli and Rohit Sharma hit attacking hundreds as India beat West Indies by eight wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match ODI series on Sunday.

AMID the sprawl of headlines calling for Julen Lopetegui to be sacked by Real Madrid on Sunday, Diario AS ran an online poll: who is more guilty, the coach or the club president?

THE last thing A-League bosses wanted was for the VAR system to dominate the narrative in its first round of matches.

ROGER Federer has revealed that he has been suffering with a hand injury since the European summer, but said the problem is no longer a worry as he heads into his home Swiss Open starting on Monday.

THE day began with the Jacksonville Jaguars proclaiming they weren?t even considering looking at a replacement for quarterback Blake Bortles, as he was the ?least? of their issues.

EVERTON goalkeeper Jordan Pickford saved a penalty before substitutes Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Cenk Tosun scored in the closing minutes as the Merseysiders won 2-0 at home to Crystal Palace on Sunday.

BLISTERING rear tyres on Lewis Hamilton?s Mercedes and Max Verstappen have saved Sebastian Vettel from a premature, and embarrassing exit from the world championship.

KIMI Raikkonen ended a record winless streak with a stunning victory in the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, while Lewis Hamilton?s hopes of securing his fifth world title will have to wait at least another week after a dramatic race.

DANIEL Ricciardo?s tenure at Red Bull continues to spiral towards a miserable end following yet another power unit failure.

JOHNATHAN Thurston has broken down after tackling two of the toughest times of his legendary league career in an emotional interview with 60 Minutes.

MANLY are poised to unveil Des Hasler as the NRL club?s new head coach under a three-year deal.

QUEENSLAND Country have overcome a lightning stoppage to secure a berth in the National Rugby Championship final against Fijian Drua in Lautoka, Fiji on Saturday.

PUTTING a stronger, more permanent roof over his family?s head is Taniela Tupou?s motivation to back up his bumper 2018 season with the Wallabies and Queensland Reds.

NEW Perth Glory coach Tony Popovic has been denied a first-up win with his former side Western Sydney coming from behind to secure a 1-1 draw at nib Stadium.

DAVID Pocock has revealed his humbling charity efforts in Africa last year as the inspiration behind his spectacular return to Australian rugby in 2018.

REPORTS that Usain Bolt has been offered a contract by the Central Coast Mariners have come as news to Mike Mulvey.

WHAT do AFL Women?s superstars Erin Phillips, Brianna Davey and Jess Duffin all have in common?

THE moment a fight broke out in the Lakers-Rockets game, you knew social media would be all over it.

THERE was no Bolt but plenty of lightning as the Roar and Central Coast struck out in a 1-1 draw on a stormy Brisbane Sunday.

ZACH LAVINE just matched the legend of his franchise, Nikola Jokic dropped a perfect triple-double, and Kemba Walker remains the most unheralded player in the league.

EVEN the Gods love Craig Lowndes.

MOTHER Nature was the final winner in Supercars Race 27 at the Vodafone Gold Coast 600.

MARC Marquez clinched the 2018 MotoGP World Championship with two laps still remaining in the Japanese Grand Prix.

JUST three matches into the new A-League season and we?ve already seen two major VAR controversies.

MARC Marquez wrapped his fifth MotoGP world championship in just six years thanks to another stunning victory in the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi.

THERE was a lot going on during the lead-up to the scuffle that marred LeBron James? Los Angeles Lakers home debut.

WALLABIES coach Michael Cheika is desperately scouting for a new outside centre after Reece Hodge was ruled out of the spring tour with a fractured ankle.

THE story was supposed to be about LeBron James making his home debut for the Los Angeles Lakers. It quickly turned into something else.

FOX Sports commentator, Simon Hill, concludes his ?Six of the Best? series looking at some of the new imports to the Hyundai A-League, by talking to Brisbane Roar?s new recruit from Denmark, Tobias Mikkelsen.

ALL hail King David!

I WAS chatting to a girl at a bar in Townsville. She was a pretty good sort and I made it clear I was interested. He came from nowhere, all fists and swinging arms.

REAL Madrid are plotting a massive move for Raheem Sterling, while Jose Mourinho has identified a January target.

BEN Simmons? night ended early, and his team just survived.

LIVERPOOL and Manchester City are tied atop the Premier League table after Chelsea dropped points in a dramatic 2-2 draw with Manchester United.

JOSE Mourinho has delivered a cheeky response to fans chants at his old home, while Paul Pogba was slammed by pundits for a ?simple? error.

SOCCEROOS pair Tom Rogic and Martin Boyle were on either scoresheet overnight as Celtic beat Hibernian 4-2 in the Scottish Premiership.

CELTIC boss Brendan Rodgers has responded to chatter surrounding Socceroos teen Daniel Arzani?s lack of involvement at the club after joining on a two-year loan from Manchester City.

LEWIS Hamilton secured pole position for Sunday?s potential title-deciding United States Grand Prix by just 0.061 seconds on Saturday with another record-breaking performance for Mercedes in a tense qualifying session.

KHABIB Nurmagomedov won?t fight Conor McGregor again, according to the Russian?s manager Ali Abdelaziz.

LIONEL Messi has broken a bone in his right arm and will be sidelined for about three weeks.

CRISTIANO Ronaldo?s 400th goal in Europe?s top five leagues was not enough to extend Juventus? perfect start in Italy?s Serie A to nine games. Instead, Genoa hit back through Daniel Bessa for a 1-1 draw which allowed Napoli to cut the deficit at the top of Serie A to four points with a 3-0 win at Udinese.

AUSSIE swimmer Mitch Larkin has opened up on his public split with Emily Seebohm.

ACCORDING reports in Spain, Real Madrid boss Julen Lopetegui could be sacked in the ?next 24 hours? after his team fell to yet another loss in La Liga overnight.

FOR all the talk of title bids from Chelsea and Liverpool, defending champions Manchester City are once again looking like the record-breaking side that dominated the English Premier League last season.

MAURICIO Pochettino believes Erik Lamela is finally ready to fulfil his potential after the revitalised winger fired Tottenham to a 1-0 win against London rivals West Ham on Saturday.

JOSE Mourinho played down an ugly touchline melee after watching his Manchester United side concede a heartbreaking late equaliser as Chelsea preserved their unbeaten Premier League record on Saturday.

MANCHESTER United manager Jose Mourinho had to be restrained by stewards in the aftermath of Ross Barkley?s 96th minute equaliser to salvage Chelsea?s unbeaten record under Maurizio Sarri in a thrilling 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge.

HE?S one of Mike Mulvey?s top recruits himself, but Tommy Oar has praised the impact Ross McCormack has had on the Central Coast Mariners.

KEVIN Muscat says he believes the incident that led to Melbourne City?s contentious penalty on Saturday night was ?not a foul.?

The 26,214 crowd prayed for a Tonga comeback - and it almost worked.

MARK Bosnich has labelled the decision to award a penalty to Melbourne City after the intervention of the VAR as an absolute disgrace.

A BRAVE Mate Ma?a Tonga kept taking it to the Aussies until the full-time whistle but they had too much work to do after losing halfback Ata Hingano to a shoulder injury.

IF there was any doubt the people were at Marvel Stadium to see Keisuke Honda, the reading of Melbourne?s Victory?s line-up on Saturday night quickly vanquished it.

STRIKE while the iron is hot.

IF there was any doubt the people were at Marvel Stadium to see Keisuke Honda, the reading of Melbourne?s Victory?s line-up on Saturday night quickly vanquished it.

SCOTT McLaughlin is back in the Supercars championship lead following a dramatic day of racing at the Gold Coast 600 and this is how he got there.

CHAZ Mostert may have won Saturday?s battle on the streets of Surfers Paradise but no one was more delighted at the end of the first race of the Gold Coast 600 than Scott McLaughlin.

AVRAAM Papadopoulos has received a huge boost ahead of Brisbane Roar?s A-League season-opener at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday, with the tough defender cleared of illegally betting on matches during his time with Greek club Olympiacos.

JOE Ingles labelled himself the best shooter in the league at the start of the season, and boy, he?s backed up the talk.