Deliberate DTM retirements on Saturday? “We need to think about penal…

• Itoje rested for Nations Championship games in July

• Captain has had rare full pre-season with Saracens

Maro Itoje says it felt “very weird” watching England play from afar this summer but believes more top players should consider taking a break to prolong their careers. The British & Irish Lions captain was rested for his country’s three Nations Championship games in July and is now feeling the benefits of “taking a breath” after an intense year on and off the field. chickenroad.qpon

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In addition to the burden of leadership for club and country, Itoje also lost his mother last year and, with next year’s World Cup looming, the national coach Steve Borthwick offered his skipper the chance of a mini sabbatical. He has emerged fit, healthy and mentally rested for the season ahead having enjoyed his first full club pre-season at Saracens since 2014.

A Matthew Brennan, con 21 añitos y participante por primera vez en una grande, parece quedársele pequeña incluso la Vuelta a España. Gana como y cuando quiere el ciclista del Visma, sprinter sin igual, tres etapas en el zurrón que no son cuatro porque en la jornada anterior el equipo quiso respetar los galones y designó a Van Aert para el sprint final, ciclista sin el turbo suficiente hasta el momento. Corregida la hoja de ruta, Brennan volvió de estilete y no falló, de nuevo arrebatador, el más rápido del pelotón, atrápame si puedes.

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Maybe Dallas Cowboys fans should enjoy having CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens in the same offense while they still can. "I don't know of any teams that really can pay two top receivers top of the market [money], so that's going to be a really difficult situation as we move forward," Cowboys COO Stephen Jones said about Pickens' future in Dallas in an interview on the DLLS Cowboys podcast on Tuesday. "We've managed to figure out how we can do it for this year. If everything works out the way we think it is, [in] which CeeDee and George both have huge years again, then it'll be a bigger challenge next year." Coming off a breakout 2025 campaign that saw Pickens total 93 receptions for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns — all three totals led the Cowboys and were career highs — and earn his first career Pro Bowl, Dallas placed the $27.3 million franchise tag on the now-fifth-year receiver in February, whom they acquired from the Pittsburgh Steelers the offseason prior. Meanwhile, the Cowboys signed Lamb, a 2023 All-Pro and a Pro Bowler in each of the last four years, to a four-year, $136 million deal in Aug. 2024. Last season (2025), Lamb totaled 75 receptions for 1,077 yards and three touchdowns across 14 games (he missed three games due to an ankle injury). From 2021-25, Lamb averaged 99.4 receptions for 1,296.2 yards and 7.2 touchdowns per year. Regarding the wide receiver market, Jaxon Smith-Njigba became the highest-paid receiver in NFL history this offseason, inking a four-year, $168.6 million extension ($42.2 million average annual value) with the Seattle Seahawks. On the paying multiple wide receivers top-line money front, the Cincinnati Bengals are paying roughly $69.1 million in salary to Ja'Marr Chase ($40.3 million AAV) and Tee Higgins ($28.8 million AAV), while the Detroit Lions are paying roughly $56.7 million in salary to Amon-Ra St. Brown ($30 million AAV) and Jameson Williams ($26.7 million AAV). Dallas is paying a combined $61.3 million to Lamb and Pickens this season. For perspective, the Bengals haven't made the playoffs since 2022, while the Cowboys haven't reached the playoffs since 2023. "George is really wanting to put back-to-back years on top of one another, so it'll help his market," Jones said. "And certainly, I know at some point, as does every player in this league, he'll want to be rewarded with a long-term contract. So that certainly puts pressure on us to have a unique situation there at wide receiver." Dallas opens its 2026 regular season on the road against the New York Giants on Sept. 13.

Alex Palou continues his epic run, rattling off championship after championship after championship after championship. Four in a row. Five in the last six years. So does that put him on the Mount Rushmore of INDYCAR drivers? Well ... He sits third in all-time championships, his five only behind A.J. Foyt (seven) and Scott Dixon (six). Some would say that puts him on there. But his all-time win total of 25? That ties him for 17th. He needs 17 more to reach the top five. And then there’s Indianapolis 500 victories. Palou has one. Four drivers have won it four times. So my Mount Rushmore doesn’t include Palou — not just yet. I am thinking it will eventually. Maybe in 2028 or 2029 when he shows he can adapt and win in the new INDYCAR. If he accomplishes that, he will just further amaze everyone with his versatility. My Mount Rushmore? It begins with Andretti and Foyt. Andretti, also a Formula 1 champion, has 52 victories and four titles and Foyt owns 67 victories and seven titles. Both also won a Daytona 500. Dixon is on there, too, having won races throughout his 25-year career (this year could end a streak of 21 years with at least one win). Dixon’s 59 victories are second only to Foyt. And then I have Al Unser with his combination of 39 victories (sixth all-time), which include four in the Indianapolis 500 and three titles. Palou will probably rattle off dozens of more victories. But at the moment, and only because he hasn’t raced as long, he currently has fewer wins than active drivers Dixon, Will Power (45) and Josef Newgarden (32). Dixon has 23 seasons with at least one win. Foyt earned his wins in 18 separate seasons (Power has, too). Andretti won at least once over 16 seasons. And Unser in 14 (nine drivers have won in at least 14 different seasons). Palou? He’s won in six separate seasons. Of course, he has only raced in INDYCAR over the last seven years. Has he been dominant the last four years? For sure and especially the last two with 14 victories. A Mount Rushmore, to me, signifies consistent success over decades. So I totally think Palou will be on my Mount Rushmore after he continues to climb up the win charts (and probably adding more championships as well as more Indianapolis 500 wins). I'll even start doing the designs. But I'm not ready to sculpt just yet.