Former England flanker Jo Brown will make her Ireland debut in Saturday's second Test against Japan in Tokyo.

Worcester flanker Brown and Grace Moore replace injured Dorothy Wall and Sam Monaghan in the pack with Laura Feely taking over at prop from Katie O'Dwyer.

Positional changes see Hannah O'Connor moving from the back row to lock and Linda Djougang switching prop berths.

Ireland recovered from trailing by 15 points early on to earn a thumping 57-22 win in the first Test in Shizuoka.

Emma Tilly and US-based Jess Keating are in line to join Brown in earning first caps after being named on the bench.

Under World Rugby's new eligibility rules, Brown, who has Irish ancestry, is available to Ireland having not featured for England since 2019.

Christy Haney and Nicole Cronin, who came on as replacements last weekend, are ruled out of Saturday's game because of injury.

Coach Greg McWilliams has named an unchanged backline with Aoife Dalton, who marked her debut with a try last week, partnering Enya Breen in midfield and Dannah O'Brien and Ailsa Hughes retaining the half-back berths.

"We were really pleased with last weekend's victory and it was a reward for the hard work the whole group have put in over the course of the summer programme, but the focus for us has been on improving, growing and being better on Saturday," said the Ireland coach on Thursday.

"We've already grown hugely over the course of this Tour and we're excited about the team selected for this weekend."

The Ireland senior women's side are taking part in their first ever summer tour with the hosts using the series as preparations for the World Cup which starts in New Zealand next month.

The Irish, semi-finalists in 2014, were surprise non-qualifiers for this year's tournament.

Exeter Chiefs front-row Sachiko Kato is line to feature for Japan for the first time since their November European tour after being named in the replacements.

Japan: Matsuda; Nagura, Furuta, Nakayama, Imakugi; Otsuka, Abe; Minami, Nagata, Sadaka; Sato, Takano; Saito, Nagata, Nagai.

Replacements: M Lavemai, K Taniguchi, S Kato, K Tamai, O Yoshimura, M Tsukui, M Yamamoto, K Hosokawa.

Ireland: Deely; Behan, Dalton, Breen, Doyle; O'Brien, Hughes; Feeley, Jones, Djougang; O'Connor, Fryday (capt); Brown, McMahon, Moore.

Replacements: Hooban, Pearse, O'Dwyer, Schultzer, Keating, Cronin, Scuffil-McCabe, Tilly.

The PGA Tour announced an array of changes to its future schedule as well as how it will compensate players, from rookie to its stars.

But what is a "top player" on Tour? In this Golf Central Podcast presented by Callaway Golf, senior writers Ryan Lavner and Rex Hoggard tackle the ambiguity and sort through all the facts.

They dive into the Player Impact Program, how Wednesday's announcements affect players further down the points list and compare this offering to what LIV Golf has. Listen below:

Barcelona have agreed to loan defender Samuel Umtiti to Lecce for the remainder of the season, the club announced on Thursday.

The Serie A club secured the arrival of the experienced centre-back, which does not include an option to keep Umtiti permanently at the end of the season.

- Transfer window Q&A: Everything you've always wanted to know
- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, more (U.S.)

Barcelona are desperate to lower their wage bill in order to register defender Jules Kounde, who joined the club earlier this month from Sevilla.

However, Umtiti's move to Italy is unlikely to help Barcelona in that respect with the LaLiga giants reportedly set to pay his wages in full.

Lecce will reportedly pay a fee to Barcelona that will vary depending on the number of performances Umtiti makes this season.

Umtiti's departure will nevertheless be seen as a positive move for Barcelona, who have tried to offload the France international in previous transfer windows without success.

He signed for Barcelona from Lyon in a €25 million deal in 2016 and made 133 appearances for the club since.

Knee injuries plagued Umtiti since France's World Cup win in 2018 but the defender said back in October that he had fully recovered.

Umtiti, 28, made a single appearance for Barcelona last season and although he was reluctant to leave the Camp Nou despite a lack of playing time, he has since changed his mind.

Earlier this year, he signed a new contract with Barcelona until June 2026.

That deal included a wage reduction that helped Barcelona increase its 'financial fair play' quota and thus register Ferran Torres.

Lecce finished top of Serie B last season to return to Italy's top flight.

They lost their opening two league games and will look for their first victory of the season as they host Empoli on Sunday.

Former Cleveland Browns center JC Tretter has retired from football after eight seasons in the NFL but will remain in his role as president of the NFL Players Association.

Tretter, 31, announced his decision Thursday on Twitter, saying he is leaving the game "on my own terms" but also that he is "looking forward to doubling down on my work as NFLPA president."

The Browns released Tretter in a salary-cap-clearing move this past March, just after he was reelected to a second term as NFLPA president.

On to the next chapter pic.twitter.com/gDGTlyhZr0

— JC Tretter (@JCTretter) August 25, 2022

Tretter started every game but one -- due to COVID-19 in 2021 -- for the Browns over the past five seasons despite battling knee injuries that limited how much he could practice. With Tretter anchoring the middle, the Browns' offensive line ranked among the league's best in 2020 and 2021.

The Browns, however, released Tretter to clear $8.25 million against the salary cap and replaced him with Nick Harris, who suffered a season-ending knee injury on the second play of the preseason opener against Jacksonville. Instead of making a move to re-sign Tretter, the Browns bumped up reserve Ethan Pocic to the starting center spot.

As NFLPA president, Tretter helped guide the union through two turbulent years amid the COVID-19 pandemic, collaborating with the league on protocols to keep players safe.

Shortly after Tretter's first term began, the league and union agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement that added a 17th game to the regular-season schedule and expanded the playoff field from 12 to 14 teams.

The new CBA also resulted in higher minimum salaries, improved benefits for current and former players, and expanded rosters and practice squads. The deal also increased the players' share of league revenue from 47% before the CBA to 48.5% last year.

The field is set for the 2022 Tour Championship, as the original 125-player FedEx Cup playoff roster now sits at just 29 contenders. An $18 million purse awaits the winner of the season-ending event at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.

Scottie Scheffler leads the list of players who advanced, with Patrick Cantlay, the reigning champion and winner of last week's BMW Championship, right behind him.

Get ESPN+ here | Download the app | WatchESPN

This event will have three feeds from which to choose:

• Main feed: Primary tournament coverage featuring the best action from around the course.

• Featured groups: Coverage of two concurrent selected groups.

• Featured holes: A full look at a scenic, pivotal or iconic hole.

Here is how to watch the Tour Championship:

All times ET

Thursday

Main feed

11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. | Watch here

Featured holes (Nos. 2, 9, 15 and 17)

12 p.m. - 1 p.m. | Watch here

Featured Group 1

1 p.m. - 6 p.m. | Watch here

Featured Group 2

11:45 a.m. - 6 p.m. | Watch here

Featured holes (Nos. 2 and 15)

12 p.m. - 6 p.m. | Watch here

Featured holes (No. 9 and 17)

1:15 p.m. - 6 p.m. | Watch here

Friday

Main feed

11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. | Watch here

Featured holes (Nos. 2, 9, 15 and 17)

12 p.m. - 1 p.m. | Watch here

Featured Group 1

1 p.m. - 6 p.m. | Watch here

Featured Group 2

1 p.m. - 6 p.m. | Watch here

Featured holes (Nos. 2 and 15)

1 p.m. - 6 p.m. | Watch here

Featured holes (Nos. 9 and 17)

1 p.m. - 6 p.m. | Watch here

Saturday

Featured Group 1

12:30 p.m. - 7 p.m. | Watch here

Featured Group 2

1 p.m. - 7 p.m. | Watch here

Featured holes (Nos. 2 and 15)

1 p.m. - 7 p.m. | Watch here

Featured holes (Nos. 3 and 17)

1 p.m. - 7 p.m. | Watch here

Sunday

Featured Group 1

11:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. | Watch here

Featured Group 2

12 p.m. - 4 p.m. | Watch here

Featured holes (Nos. 2 and 15)

12 p.m. - 4 p.m. | Watch here

Featured holes (Nos. 9 and 17)

12 p.m. - 4 p.m. | Watch here

Featured Group 1

4 p.m. - 6 p.m. | Watch here

Featured Group 2

4 p.m. - 6 p.m. | Watch here

Featured holes (Nos. 2 and 15)

4 p.m. - 6 p.m. | Watch here

Featured holes (Nos. 9 and 17)

4 p.m. - 6 p.m. | Watch here

ATLANTA -- The winner of this week's season-ending Tour Championship, which starts Thursday at East Lake Golf Club, will take home an $18 million bonus.

The top 29 players in the FedEx Cup Playoffs points standings will compete for the top prize, after Will Zalatoris, who was third in the standings, had to withdraw on Tuesday because of a back injury.

But the week's biggest news could come Wednesday when PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan addresses the media. Details have started to leak from a players-only meeting that was organized by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy at last week's BMW Championship in Wilmington, Delaware.

The 22 players at the meeting were presented with a proposal that would include converting as many as 15 events to tournaments with smaller fields and bigger purses to entice top players to remain with the PGA Tour. More than two dozen PGA Tour members have left to join the rival LIV Golf series that is being financed by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, including past major champions Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson and Patrick Reed.

The players have presented their proposal to Monahan. A player familiar with the discussions told ESPN that the plan is still in its infancy, and he wasn't sure how quickly the tour could implement the changes if it moves forward.

A source told ESPN on Tuesday that Monahan is expected to reveal significant changes during his news conference at East Lake.

"Change for an organization that has such a long history as the PGA Tour does, I think it's slow to change in general, and so if you're making potentially big changes, they can't happen necessarily overnight," defending FedEx Cup champion Patrick Cantlay said on Tuesday.

Cantlay declined to talk about what was discussed in Delaware last week. He did say he would support changes that strengthened the PGA Tour's position in its ongoing battle with LIV Golf.

"I think anything that's better for viewers and trying to attract the most amount of viewers to bring them into the fold of golf and get them excited about golf, I think that would be a good thing," Cantlay said.

Cantlay's FedEx Cup defense

Cantlay, who successfully defended his BMW Championship title last week, is trying to become the first player to win the FedEx Cup in back-to-back seasons. Not even Tiger Woods did it.

Cantlay started the 2021 Tour Championship 2 strokes ahead of Tony Finau. He'll start this week's tournament 2 strokes behind world No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler.

"I'm excited, coming back to a golf course that I like and obviously have some recent success on," Cantlay said. "It's nice to come into this tournament with a chance to win, being up near the top of the staggered start, although this year should be a different challenge than last year considering I'm 2 behind as opposed to 2 ahead."

Cantlay, who is ranked third in the world, called this season a "grind." He had 11 top-10 finishes in 19 tour starts, but didn't pick up his first individual victory until last week at Wilmington Country Club in Delaware. He teamed up with good friend Xander Schauffele to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in late April.

"It's the most golf I've probably ever played in a two-month stretch the last couple months," Cantlay said. "I think it's either six of eight or seven of nine [tournaments] for me, which is a lot of golf. I'm excited about the opportunity I have this week, starting this event only two shots back. But I'll be happy when the season is over and I get a couple-week break before the Presidents Cup."

Players not a fan of format

The Tour Championship is the only PGA Tour event that uses a strokes-based system, which is determined by a player's position in the FedEx Cup points standings after the BMW Championship.

Points leader Scheffler will start at 10-under par on Thursday, and the three players behind him, Cantlay, Schauffele and Sam Burns, will start at 8 under, 6 under and 5 under, respectively. The next five players will start the tournament at 4 under, regressing by one stroke every five players until those ranked Nos. 26-30 are at even par.

Zalatoris, who picked up his first win at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the first leg of the playoffs, was third in points and would have started at 7 under. Zalatoris pulled out of last week's BMW Championship in the third round and has two herniated discs in his back.

Despite Cantlay's success in the Tour Championship, he still doesn't like the format, which is in its fourth season of existence.

"I've talked before about it," Cantlay said. "I'm not a fan. I think there's got to be a better system, although frankly I don't know what that better system is."

Schauffele, who has carded scores in the 60s in 18 of his 20 career rounds at East Lake, doesn't particularly favor the format, either. He won the Tour Championship as a rookie in 2017 and was runner-up in 2019 and 2020.

"If we had it like it was before, Scottie would have won the FedExCup months ago," Schauffele said. "I'm sure Scottie would like it in the old system, and it would be hard to argue that he doesn't deserve it.

"But from a playoff standpoint and shaking it up and giving the viewers what they need, at the end of the day we play golf and we're entertainers, so we need to create an entertaining space," Schauffele said. "I think having some sort of alternative outcome where someone else has a chance to win is what everyone would want. Like I said, I don't know what that looks like, but I'm sure it could be improved."

So, what's the best way to change it? U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick suggested that a match-play format in the three playoff events might be a better option. That change might give everyone in the field a chance to win.

"Golf is just so different to the other sports," Fitzpatrick said. "That's why I think looking at match play would probably be more of an answer because you've got a team that makes the playoffs in last place or whatever and you don't think they're going to go anywhere, and then they end up going all the way. And then you could have a guy, say in 90th [place], get all the way to the final."

Pass out the name tags

One of the byproducts of more than two dozen players leaving the PGA Tour for LIV Golf is an abundance of golfers making their Tour Championship debuts. In fact, there are nine first-timers playing this week at East Lake: Fitzpatrick, Sepp Straka, Scott Stallings, Cameron Young, Max Homa, Tom Hoge, K.H. Lee, J.T. Poston and Sahith Theegala.

"Yeah, I was speaking to someone last week about the average age of players now has dropped dramatically and guys are winning younger," Fitzpatrick said. "I think that kind of says it all with like nine first-timers. Obviously, everyone is much younger of those first-timers. I think golf is obviously in a decent place on that front."

Zalatoris would have been the 10th first-timer. He'll finish 30th in the FedEx Cup standings and will receive a $500,000 bonus. Schauffele didn't like the way that worked out for Zalatoris, who finished tied for sixth or better in three of the four majors. He lost to Justin Thomas in a playoff at the PGA Championship and tied for second at the U.S. Open.

"You know, I think unfortunately I saw on the news of Will not being able to play this week, and after a season that he had to sort of just to go to last place, I think it's a bit harsh," Schauffele said. "I think it could be sorted out a little bit better."

East Lake is pure

East Lake, which was the home of golf legend Bobby Jones, has hosted the Tour Championship since 1998. It has thick and long Bermuda rough, which is extra juicy this week because of the recent wet weather in Atlanta. Players might get a reprieve from the typically hot August weather in Georgia; forecasts call for temperatures from 80 to 86 degrees. There's a decent chance for thunderstorms on Thursday and Friday.

"I'd say obviously this course is one of the best-conditioned golf courses we come to all year," Cantlay said. "Seems like every year it's in perfect shape. Seems like it's a lot wetter this year. The fairways are long, and I don't think they've been cut just due to the softness. But if the weather holds off and doesn't rain too much, I'm sure it'll firm up every day."

INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Steve Ballmer, decked out in a black construction hard hat and yellow safety vest, is standing in a cavernous area where the loading dock of the Intuit Dome will be.

Even though the area is on uneven dirt right now, the LA Clippers owner knows the layout. Ballmer, who visits the construction site monthly, points to where the visiting team's locker room will be and makes sure to mention one detail in the design plans of the Clippers' new home.

"As you know, there are back halls in [Crypto.com Arena that connect locker rooms] between visitors," Ballmer tells ESPN during a tour of the Inglewood construction site in late July.

"Yeah, we don't want that. I'm just going to say that. How about that? We don't want any back hallways between locker rooms."

Sorry, Chris Paul, but the NBA's richest owner isn't sparing any detail when it comes to his more than $2 billion privately funded arena, scheduled to open for the 2024-25 season. Footing the bill, Ballmer has his fingerprints all over what will be Inglewood's latest modern sports palace -- located across the street from the more than $5 billion SoFi Stadium -- with input on everything from the 38,375-square foot halo-shaped LED board to the 640 restrooms (twice as much as any other arena) down to the inches of space between fans' knees and the seat in front of them.

Ballmer has spent billions on the present and future of the Clippers. He has built an organization poised to compete for the championship this season with Kawhi Leonard expected to return from an ACL injury. The Clippers, though, aren't just trying to compete with 29 other teams for a title. They have to live and play in a city that has long been a purple and gold town.

Ballmer is trying to change that, even if it means planting the Clippers logo in as much pavement as possible. Recently, he and his wife, Connie, celebrated the renovation of 350 public basketball courts, each with a Clippers logo on it, for the current and next generations to play on in Los Angeles. And now he is a couple of years away from giving the franchise its first true home in Southern California, a futuristic L.A. landmark that will be designed to give fans every comfort in hopes of developing an actual home-court advantage.

"I think this'll be so cool," Ballmer says when asked if he could have ever imagined the Clippers having their own home after sharing a building in a town that leans heavily toward the Los Angeles Lakers. "And it needs to be. You said this is a Laker town. No. [It's a] Laker-Clipper [town].

"And someday I want to be able to say Clipper-Laker [town]."

The fist-pumping Ballmer famously gets so excited at games that he has ripped his dress shirt. So it's a good thing he has a hard hat on during this tour because the giddy Clippers owner can barely remain on his feet when talking about his newest prize -- designed to be second to none.

"It's another statement that says, 'Hey look, we're nobody's little brother,'" Ballmer says. "We're a real team."

WHILE THE CONCRETE frame foundation is in, there is one area where steel beams rise up and outward. Here, there is a black and white sign to indicate the landmark of one of Ballmer's favorite features -- "The Wall."

Ballmer likes to refer to this as "the wall of sound," where 5,000 fans will fill 51 uninterrupted rows to give the Intuit Dome a student section fieldhouse-feel. The Clippers even brought in sound experts from The Forum -- which Ballmer purchased for $400 million from Madison Square Garden Company to clear the path to build the Intuit Dome -- to enhance acoustics and make The Wall as formidable of a home-court advantage as possible.

Ballmer has gone over digital renderings of The Wall, but now he can see it coming to life. At the bottom of The Wall is the outline of one baseline marked in green where the basketball court is supposed to be drawn into the dirt ground.

Looking up toward the steel beams, Ballmer envisions what he wants to see and hear from not just the 18,000 fans that will be in attendance but this specific area.

"You just look 51 rows straight up, literally stands all the way to here," Ballmer says as he points upward from the baseline where his courtside seat will be underneath a basket.

"'Clips!" Ballmer shouts, deepening his voice. "'Let's go Clips!'"

Ballmer and Clippers executives visited at least 16 NBA arenas and venues overseas in Europe. Members of the organization went to places such as Utah's Vivint Arena, where the Jazz have one of the loudest crowds in the league. Ballmer attended regular-season and postseason games in Toronto (Scotiabank Arena), Minnesota (Target Center), Dallas (American Airlines Center), Houston (Toyota Center), San Antonio (AT&T Center), Phoenix (Footprint Center), Golden State (Oracle Arena and Chase Center) and Portland (Moda Center), among other places, to see how loud these buildings get and gather details of what makes players, their families and even their agents feel as comfortable as possible.

"You just copy ideas," Ballmer says. "These guys have a great practice facility. Copy that idea. These guys have great player space. These guys have family spaces. Very important. Because we want our players to say, 'Yeah, this is our house. ... We literally [will have] a [rehab] pool outdoor because we're here in California."

Ballmer has obsessed over details, such as how to get fans to the bathroom or to concessions and back to their seats without missing an in-game moment. He wants fans to be able to select concession items as if they're picking food from their own kitchen and skip lines by paying with technology designed to create a hassle-free experience. There will be 199 game clocks installed around the arena to let fans know when play will resume.

Since purchasing the Clippers for $2 billion in 2014, Ballmer has tried to give his franchise the best that money can buy. But he hasn't been able to give his team its own home as it shares Crypto.com Arena (formerly Staples Center) with the Lakers, the NHL's Kings and the WNBA's Sparks.

With their own arena, the Clippers won't have to worry about having to play less-than-desirable 12:30 p.m. weekend games -- a source of frustration for Clippers players and coaches -- while the Lakers or Kings play at night.

For a team with championship hopes, disadvantages like this can impact a title pursuit. The early starts can draw fewer fans.

Starting in 2024, the Clippers will not only have the best times but Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts believes they will have their own city full of fans. Butts scoffed when asked what it will mean for the Clippers to have their own arena in a city filled with Lakers fans.

"Well, first of all, I don't even think that's true," Butts says last month when he and Ballmer celebrated the completion of the Intuit Dome's concrete frame. "The Lakers left us [The Forum in Inglewood] and they are in Los Angeles.

"I think we have a plethora of Clipper fans. And I think people are going to be so excited because this is going to be the newest and greatest basketball arena in the world."

AS THE TOUR winds down, Ballmer begins to walk up a wide dirt ramp back to the top when he is asked about the Clippers' journey toward trying to win a championship.

This will be Year 4 of the Leonard-Paul George era. The result so far has been the Clippers making their first-ever Western Conference finals in 2020-21, but injuries and the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic have delayed their championship hopes.

Leonard hasn't played in a game since Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Jazz on June 14, 2021. And George was limited to just 31 games in 2021-22, missing a good chunk of last season because of an elbow injury. After returning late in the season, George was sidelined by COVID-19 for the Clippers' play-in loss to New Orleans.

"I'm very excited," Ballmer says about the Clippers entering this season as one of Las Vegas oddsmakers' favorites to win it all. "I really think we have a very good team. ... We want to compete for championships. We were in position two years ago when Kawhi went down. It's hard without your best player.

"It's really hard to win an NBA championship," Ballmer adds. "But we've got a guy who's done it twice. And you need one of those."

Ballmer also knows his team needs its own home. And in a couple of seasons, he will have that.

Peering out from where the club level will be and looking down toward a chalk dirt outline of where the basketball court will be, Ballmer allows himself to dream about the possibilities of what's on the horizon.

"This," Ballmer says, "is our home, man."

Wasps have signed second row Cam Dodson from Major League Rugby in America after a successful preseason trial.

He attended Grand Canyon University in Arizona and after impressing in the Collegiate National 7s competition, was picked up by Austin Gilgronis in MLR.

"Cam has shown great potential since joining us in June," head coach Lee Blackett told the club website.

"It was clear he is an impressive athlete and someone we wanted to keep."

Dodson will be initially loaned to Ampthill in the Championship.

"I'm really excited to have signed for Wasps. We've had a really strong pre-season so I'm glad I can put the practise into action," he said.

"I'm looking forward to pulling on the Black and Gold shirt and running out in front of the fans."

Wasps, currently under financial pressure with talks ongoing over unpaid tax and debt to bondholders, begin the season at Gloucester on Sunday, 11 September.