Sean Dyche is vying with former Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini to replace Ange Postecoglou at Nottingham Forest, sources have told ESPN, with Mancini being considered by Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis as an alternative to the former Burnley and Everton manager.

Forest are searching for their third manager of the season after the club announced Postecoglou’s sacking just 19 minutes after the team’s 3-0 home defeat against Chelsea on Saturday.

The former Tottenham, Celtic and Australia coach had been in his post for just 39 days, taking charge of eight games without a win, since replacing Nuno Espírito Santo last month.

But with Forest dismissing Postecoglou after his brief spell at the club, sources have said that Dyche is the favoured candidate to take over and that discussions have take place with the 54-year-old, whose connections to the club date back to his time as a youth team player in the 1980s.

Dyche, who was fired by Everton last season, is not a certainty to take charge, however, with Marinakis keen to assess Mancini’s qualities for the job.

Mancini, 60, has not worked in English football since being fired by City in May 2013 — 12 months after guiding the club to its first league title in 44 years — after falling out with a number of senior players at the Etihad.

Mancini has since coached Galatasaray, Inter Milan and Zenit St Petersburg, but has not been involved in the club game since 2018, when he started a five-year stint as Italy coach, during which he led the Azzurri to the Euro 2020 title.

He has been out of work since leaving his post as Saudi Arabia coach in October 2024.

– How Ange Postecoglou’s eight-game Forest nightmare unfolded
– Ange Postecoglou joins list of shortest managerial reigns in Premier League era
– Watch: Is Dyche the best candidate to replace Postecoglou at Forest?

Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider ripped Seattle Mariners fans after they appeared to boo loudly when four-time All-Star George Springer went down in the seventh inning after being hit on the knee by a pitch. 

Speaking to reporters after allowing the Mariners to take a 3-1 lead in the American League Championship Series, Schneider called out what he described as poor sportsmanship from the Seattle crowd. 

“I know this is an awesome atmosphere to play in,” he said. “And it’s really, really cool to play here, and I think the fans that were booing him should take a look in the mirror and understand what kind of player he is.”

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“I’ll stop there, because when a guy gets hit in the knee and is in obvious pain and you have 40,000 people cheering, not the right thing to do,” Schneider continued. 

Springer was struck on the right kneecap off a pitch from right-hander Bryan Woo with the Blue Jays leading 2-1 late in the game. Springer fell to the ground in pain and was eventually helped off the field, limping. 

Toronto Blue Jays’ George Springer falls after being hit by a pitch against the Seattle Mariners during the seventh inning in Game 5 of baseball’s American League Championship Series, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, in Seattle.  (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

BLUE JAYS’ MAX SCHERZER REFUSES TO LEAVE MOUND IN HEATED EXCHANGE WITH MANAGER IN GAME 4 WIN

That’s when the boos roared. 

“I don’t know how you boo somebody who’s down on the ground hurt,” Blue Jays third baseman Ernie Clement said “I don’t understand that. I’ve had a lot of respect for all of the Mariners fans, especially the ones that I’ve kind of talked to throughout the series, they’ve been awesome. But that’s a tough moment. That’s pretty classless.”

Teammates and staff help Toronto Blue Jays outfielder George Springer (4) off the field after he took a pitch to the knee from Seattle Mariners pitcher Bryan Woo (22) during seventh inning MLB Game 5 of baseball’s American League Championship Series action in Seattle, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025.  (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

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Springer has been a dominant presence in the Blue Jays’ attempt to reach the World Series for the first time since 1993. His run-scoring double in the fifth gave him six straight games with an extra-base hit. The 36-year-old is hitting .256 with three home runs and five doubles this postseason.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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LOS ANGELES — Using Friday’s preseason finale as a “dress rehearsal” for next week’s regular-season opener, Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick put Gabe Vincent in the starting lineup to fill in for the injured LeBron James.

Vincent capped a strong individual training camp with 14 points on 5-for-6 shooting (4-for-5 from 3), but the Lakers lost 117-116 to the Sacramento Kings to finish the preseason 1-5.

The regular season starts Tuesday night when the Lakers host the Golden State Warriors. Though the Vincent decision was made, there is plenty more for the Lakers to figure out in the next few days.

“We have two more practices, so we need to clean up some things,” said Luka Doncic, who scored a game-high 31 points to go with nine assists in 33 minutes.

Vincent said the coaching staff informed him about the lineup change Friday morning. If the staff was uncertain about the choice, Vincent helped his cause in the Lakers’ preseason game against the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday when he scored 18 points in the first four minutes, going 5-for-5 from 3.

“I think I just bring what I’ve been doing since I’ve been here,” Vincent said when asked about his fit with the starters. “Just defending, try to defend at a high level. Playmake when I have opportunities, space the floor while Luka and [Austin Reaves] are creating themselves.”

James is not expected to return to the lineup until mid-November, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania, as he continues to recover from sciatica affecting the right side of his body.

Though Vincent will join Doncic, Reaves, Deandre Ayton and Rui Hachimura on the court to tip off the 2025-26 season, Redick made it clear that the current starters are not permanent.

“I don’t know anything about who I’m going to be starting the rest of the season because, again, there’s injuries and there’s things that happen throughout a year,” Redick said. “I have a pretty good idea who’s going to start Game 1. After that, I don’t know. But I do think in that lineup there’s lot of shooting around Luka and DA, and Gabe is another ball handler, another tough defender.

“I think he fits in well, but you have to take a look at every matchup we play against and have to make a decision there.”

Redick has downplayed the magnitude of his starting lineup decision repeatedly during training camp, pointing out that he used 25 starting lineups last season.

He and his team sounded far more concerned about their defense after allowing 59 second-half points to a Kings team that shot 54.7% overall and 44.8% from 3.

“I think in practice we were more physical,” Doncic said. “We need to work on our physicality.”

The Lakers were without one of their more physical defenders in center Jaxson Hayes for the second half Friday. He left the game because of a right wrist contusion after finishing a lob dunk in the first quarter. Redick said X-rays on Hayes’ wrist were negative, and the Lakers will have a further update on Hayes when they practice Sunday.

Former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart, who had 14 points and four steals off the bench against Sacramento, vowed to help with the physicality in the meantime.

“Just follow my lead,” Smart said. “That’s really it. I’m going to try to set the tone each and every night. And just kind of piggyback off me.”