Ex-Ireland and British and Irish Lions fly-half Ronan O'Gara has been promoted to the top coaching role at French club La Rochelle for next season.

However with Gibbes expected to move to Clermont, La Rochelle have handed O'Gara a new three-year deal which will see him taking sole charge of the team.

O'Gara said he was "extremely proud" of the trust the club are putting in him.

"I am obviously very excited about next season, but first, we have important challenges ahead of us and above all a good season to end in the best possible way," said the former Munster star.

The Atlantic-coast club are having a superb season, currently level on points with Toulouse at the top of the French domestic table and also set to play Leinster in the European Champions Cup semi-finals on 2 May.

After the Munster man's playing career ended, he spent almost five years in assistant coaching roles with Paris club Racing 92.

The Corkman then had a stint as attack coach of New Zealand Super Rugby outfit Crusaders for two seasons before moving back to France to take the La Rochelle position.

O'Gara won 128 Ireland caps and played for the British and Irish Lions on their 2001, 2005 and 2009 tours and also captained Munster, Ireland and the Lions.

Scotland head coach Bryan Easson has named a side with three changes for Saturday's must-win Women's Six Nations match against Wales.

Vice-captain Lisa Thomson moves back to inside centre.

The Scots need to beat the Welsh at Scotstoun to avoid finishing in last place after defeat by Italy.

"We've made a few personnel and positional changes that I believe will allow us to put the best team available on the pitch this weekend," said the Scotland head coach.

"We were disappointed in our defence against Italy last weekend but we have worked really hard during our training sessions to rectify this and we believe we have a good system in place ahead of the game.

"Wales will be a very physical and motivated opponent but we know what to expect and we have prepared accordingly."

In the front row, hooker Lana Skeldon packs down alongside Belisle and Megan Kennedy.

An unchanged second row sees Emma Wassell and Louise McMillan continue their partnership, while Evie Gallagher, Rachel McLachlan and Siobhan Cattigan are all once again named in the back row.

Captain Helen Nelson moves back to fly-half to form a half-back partnership with Maxwell, while Thomson is partnered by Smith in midfield.

A settled back three sees Chloe Rollie continue at full-back, with Megan Gaffney and Liz Musgrove again lining up on the wing.

Scotland: Rollie, Musgrove, Smith, Thomson, Gaffney; Nelson, Maxwell; Belisle, Skeldon, Kennedy, Wassell, McMillan, Gallagher, McLachlan, Cattigan.

Replacements: Rettie, Bartlett, Cockburn, Howat, McDonald, Law, Wills, Shankland.

Poppy Cleall will start at number eight for England's Women's Six Nations final against France on Saturday, pushing captain Sarah Hunter to the bench.

Helena Rowland cements her place as England's first-choice fly-half with a third consecutive start.

Hunter returned after 13 months out for England's win in Italy two weeks ago.

As well as a hamstring strain, the 35-year-old had been battling an injury to a nerve in her neck which left her struggling to tie her shoelaces.

But with so little game time, Hunter has struggled to compete with Cleall, who England head coach Simon Middleton agreed was one of the best players in the world after her performance in the Red Roses' win against Scotland on 3 April.

"It was great to have Sarah Hunter back against Italy," Middleton said of the change.

"She's not quite at the level she would want to be and we need [to be] for this game at the moment, which is to be expected and anticipated after 13 months out.

"Poppy has got a really good all-round game. Physically she is in the best shape she has ever been and that has translated on to the field."

England beat Scotland 52-10 and Italy 67-3 in the group stage to secure their place in the first Women's Six Nations final after the tournament's format was changed following the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Middleton has largely returned to the side that claimed the opening victory against Scotland, with Sarah McKenna at full-back and Lark Davies starting at hooker.

Abbie Ward is at lock in place of Zoe Aldcroft, who moves into the back row alongside Marlie Packer.

Centre Meg Jones and flanker Alex Matthews have returned to the GB sevens programme and so were unavailable for selection.

Among the replacements, prop Detysha Harper and centre Lagi Tuima are back as England host a French side riding high following a 53-0 win against Wales and 56-15 victory in Ireland.

England team to face France

England: McKenna; Breach, Scarratt (capt), Harrison, Dow; Rowland, Riley; Cornborough, Davies, Brown, Ward, O'Donnell, Aldcroft, Packer, P Cleall.

Replacements: Cokayne, Harper, B Cleall, Millar-Mills, Hunter, MacDonald, Tuima, Kildunne.

While the playoff races for the No. 4 seeds around the NHL sometimes get more attention, on Thursday night the spotlight will be on the teams vying for the top spot in three of the four divisions.

From the East, the New York Islanders will play host to the Washington Capitals, with the home team having won each game in this seasons thus far. These teams are knotted at 62 points apiece, though Washington has more regulation wins (24-21), and holds the advantage in head-to-head games (for now, at least).

The Central Division clash features the Carolina Hurricanes visiting the Florida Panthers, and this one will stream live on ESPN+. The Canes have had their way with the Cats thus far, leading the season series 5-1, outscoring the Panthers 22-13 in the process. These teams are also tied in standings points (and regulation wins), though Carolina has two games in hand.

Finally, the North Division showdown pits the host Winnipeg Jets against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Toronto has a four-point lead in the standings, but Winnipeg has a game in hand.

Tonight will be another occasion to deploy your extra screens, since all three of those matchups -- and seven of the 10 on the slate -- start at 7 p.m. ET.

As we enter the final stretch of the regular season, it's time to check in on all the playoff races -- along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2021 NHL draft lottery.

Note: Playoff chances are via Money Puck. Tragic numbers are courtesy of Damian Echevarrieta of the NHL.

Jump ahead:
Current playoff matchups
Race for No. 1 pick

East Division

Washington Capitals

Points: 62
Regulation wins: 24
Playoff position: E1
Games left: 10
Next game: @ NYI (Apr. 22)
Playoff chances: 99.1%
Tragic number: N/A

New York Islanders

Points: 62
Regulation wins: 21
Playoff position: E2
Games left: 10
Next game: vs. WSH (Apr. 22)
Playoff chances: 98.4%
Tragic number: N/A

Pittsburgh Penguins

Points: 61
Regulation wins: 22
Playoff position: E3
Games left: 10
Next game: vs. NJ (Apr. 22)
Playoff chances: 99.4%
Tragic number: N/A

Boston Bruins

Points: 58
Regulation wins: 19
Playoff position: E4
Games left: 12
Next game: @ BUF (Apr. 22)
Playoff chances: 96.2%
Tragic number: N/A

New York Rangers

Points: 52
Regulation wins: 20
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 10
Next game: vs. PHI (Apr. 22)
Playoff chances: 6.8%
Tragic number: 15

Philadelphia Flyers

Points: 47
Regulation wins: 13
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 11
Next game: @ NYR (Apr. 22)
Playoff chances: 0.2%
Tragic number: 11

New Jersey Devils

Points: 34
Regulation wins: 11
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 11
Next game: @ PIT (Apr. 22)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E

Buffalo Sabres

Points: 31
Regulation wins: 9
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 10
Next game: vs. BOS (Apr. 22)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E

Central Division

Carolina Hurricanes

Points: 65
Regulation wins: 22
Playoff position: C1
Games left: 11
Next game: @ FLA (Apr. 22)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Florida Panthers

Points: 65
Regulation wins: 22
Playoff position: C2
Games left: 9
Next game: vs. CAR (Apr. 22)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Tampa Bay Lightning

Points: 62
Regulation wins: 24
Playoff position: C3
Games left: 10
Next game: vs. CBJ (Apr. 22)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Nashville Predators

Points: 52
Regulation wins: 17
Playoff position: C4
Games left: 8
Next game: @ CHI (Apr. 23)
Playoff chances: 37.5%
Tragic number: N/A

Dallas Stars

Points: 50
Regulation wins: 16
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 11
Next game: @ DET (Apr. 22)
Playoff chances: 57.6%
Tragic number: 20

Chicago Blackhawks

Points: 49
Regulation wins: 14
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 9
Next game: vs. NSH (Apr. 23)
Playoff chances: 4.9%
Tragic number: 15

Detroit Red Wings

Points: 39
Regulation wins: 14
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 8
Next game: vs. DAL (Apr. 22)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: 3

Columbus Blue Jackets

Points: 39
Regulation wins: 11
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 8
Next game: @ TB (Apr. 22)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: 3

North Division

Toronto Maple Leafs

Points: 61
Regulation wins: 22
Playoff position: N1
Games left: 10
Next game: @ WPG (Apr. 22)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Winnipeg Jets

Points: 57
Regulation wins: 21
Playoff position: N2
Games left: 11
Next game: vs. TOR (Apr. 22)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Edmonton Oilers

Points: 56
Regulation wins: 25
Playoff position: N3
Games left: 11
Next game: @ WPG (Apr. 26)
Playoff chances: 98.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Montreal Canadiens

Points: 49
Regulation wins: 18
Playoff position: N4
Games left: 12
Next game: @ CGY (Apr. 23)
Playoff chances: 85.3%
Tragic number: N/A

Calgary Flames

Points: 41
Regulation wins: 16
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 11
Next game: vs. MTL (Apr. 23)
Playoff chances: 8.4%
Tragic number: 14

Vancouver Canucks

Points: 39
Regulation wins: 12
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 17
Next game: vs. OTT (Apr. 22)
Playoff chances: 7.6%
Tragic number: 24

Ottawa Senators

Points: 36
Regulation wins: 12
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 10
Next game: @ VAN (Apr. 22)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: 7

West Division

Vegas Golden Knights - x

Points: 68
Regulation wins: 26
Playoff position: W1
Games left: 10
Next game: @ ANA (Apr. 24)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Colorado Avalanche

Points: 64
Regulation wins: 27
Playoff position: W2
Games left: 13
Next game: @ STL (Apr. 22)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Minnesota Wild

Points: 61
Regulation wins: 24
Playoff position: W3
Games left: 11
Next game: @ LA (Apr. 23)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Arizona Coyotes

Points: 45
Regulation wins: 16
Playoff position: W4
Games left: 9
Next game: @ LA (Apr. 24)
Playoff chances: 21.9%
Tragic number: N/A

St. Louis Blues

Points: 44
Regulation wins: 13
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 13
Next game: vs. COL (Apr. 22)
Playoff chances: 46.2%
Tragic number: 25

San Jose Sharks

Points: 41
Regulation wins: 12
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 10
Next game: vs. MIN (Apr. 24)
Playoff chances: 6.3%
Tragic number: 18

Los Angeles Kings

Points: 40
Regulation wins: 15
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 13
Next game: vs. MIN (Apr. 23)
Playoff chances: 25.5%
Tragic number: 21

Anaheim Ducks

Points: 35
Regulation wins: 9
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 9
Next game: vs. VGS (Apr. 24)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: 8

Current playoff matchups

East Division

No. 1 Washington Capitals vs. No. 4 Boston Bruins
No. 2 New York Islanders vs. No. 3 Pittsburgh Penguins

Central Division

No. 1 Carolina Hurricanes vs. No. 4 Nashville Predators
No. 2 Florida Panthers vs. No. 3 Tampa Bay Lightning

North Division

No. 1 Toronto Maple Leafs vs. No. 4 Montreal Canadiens
No. 2 Winnipeg Jets vs. No. 3 Edmonton Oilers

West Division

No. 1 Vegas Golden Knights vs. No. 4 Arizona Coyotes
No. 2 Colorado Avalanche vs. No. 3 Minnesota Wild

Race for the No. 1 pick

The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order at the top of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. New for 2021, a team may move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the draw for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process can be found here.

1. Buffalo Sabres

Points: 31
Regulation wins: 9

2. New Jersey Devils

Points: 34
Regulation wins: 11

3. Anaheim Ducks

Points: 35
Regulation wins: 9

4. Ottawa Senators

Points: 36
Regulation wins: 12

5. Columbus Blue Jackets

Points: 39
Regulation wins: 11

6. Vancouver Canucks

Points: 39
Regulation wins: 12

7. Detroit Red Wings

Points: 39
Regulation wins: 14

8. Los Angeles Kings

Points: 40
Regulation wins: 15

9. San Jose Sharks

Points: 41
Regulation wins: 12

10. Calgary Flames

Points: 41
Regulation wins: 16

11. St. Louis Blues

Points: 44
Regulation wins: 13

12. Philadelphia Flyers

Points: 47
Regulation wins: 13

13. Chicago Blackhawks

Points: 47
Regulation wins: 14

14. Dallas Stars

Points: 50
Regulation wins: 16

15. New York Rangers

Points: 52
Regulation wins: 20

Jesse Lingard has said that he considered taking a break from football last year due to issues concerning the mental health of his family and himself.

The forward also discussed how coping with his mother's depression impacted his life on and off the pitch. The interview was conducted in January but was released on Thursday.

- Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ (U.S. only)
- Sources: PSG, Inter, Madrid monitor Lingard
- Has Lingard become the league's most instrumental player?

Lingard spoke to entertainment show "Presenting" and when asked whether he considered hanging up his boots, he replied: "Not quit football, just have a time out really.

"I was going into games happy sitting on the bench and that's not me. I was telling my brother the other day: 'Remember when I was happy sitting on the bench and all this?'

"I didn't want to play because my mind wasn't there, I wasn't focused at all. I was thinking about other things and obviously bottling it all up; trying to play football, you can't do it.

"Through the years we had the help for her, but even just for me it's hard to bottle things up. It feels like you're not the same person. I felt like I wasn't Jesse Lingard.

"Even in football matches, I felt like the game was just passing me by, like I just didn't want to be there -- it was crazy. So, I opened up to [Manchester] United and told them what I was going through, what my mum was going through and they're always there to help."

Lingard left Manchester United to join West Ham on loan in the January transfer window and has thrived, contributing nine goals in 10 appearances for David Moyes' side.

Before his loan move, Lingard was not a regular starter at Old Trafford but said the first lockdown in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic changed his outlook in a positive way.

"I could have easily quit in lockdown, been like: 'Nah I don't want to do it,'" he added. "I could have easily given up but the fight in me always brings me back to life and in lockdown I was just smashing gym, doing runs. I wanted to get back to training fitter and faster than anyone else and I did that.

"I feel like lockdown has kind of transitioned me in a way. I watched my old games back and watched the World Cup games back and I thought: 'Yeah, that's the real Jesse Lingard.'

"The time that I had going a couple seasons back or last season, it just wasn't me at all and you can see that. My brother who lives with me, he could see that and he's got a video of me literally laying on the couch and I'm just staring for three minutes into thin air and he's just thinking: 'What is he going through? He's got the weight of the world on his shoulders.' And even he didn't know what I was going through at the time.

"I feel like with my mum and me I've learnt that when you open up you feel like a butterfly -- you're in a cocoon and then you can spread your wings, you can fly. It's an amazing feeling and now I've got all that behind me and I can concentrate on football and my family."

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has said owner Stan Kroenke apologised to him directly over the European Super League fiasco and believes the backlash proves "the soul of this sport belongs to the fans."

The north London side were one of six English clubs signed up to a breakaway competition which appears on the brink of collapse less than a week after its controversial launch, following widespread condemnation throughout the game.

- Stream LIVE games and replays on ESPN+ (U.S. only)

Arsenal chief executive Vinai Venkatesham addressed the players and Arteta at London Colney on Wednesday to explain the club's thinking.

Arteta said the Kroenke family had also reached out ahead of a planned fans' protest outside Emirates Stadium before Friday's Premier League game against Everton.

"I had some communication with them as well, I spoke with them yesterday," Arteta said at a news conference. "As always, every time we need something and something is happening they are straight away ready to act, to give us the answers they can do, the support they can do and they have done it again.

"They have the maximum responsibility to run the football club and that is what they said was: 'apologies for disturbing the team, we did it without the capacity to communicate in a different way earlier and pass on my message to the players' -- that is all you can ask for.

"All of them had the right intentions to defend the club and put the club in the best possible position for now and for the future but accepting that way it was handled has had terrible consequences and that it was a mistake.

"I have to really respect that when people have genuine intentions to do the best for the club and then they can stand up here and apologise. I think the players and the staff and everyone working at the club has to accept that and move on.

"I think this has given big lessons and it shows the importance of football in the world. And it shows that the soul of this sport belongs to the fans -- and that's it. During this pandemic, for a year, we have been trying to sustain this industry with no fans in the stadium.

"But, when the fans have to come out and talk, they've done it really loud and clear, and they sent probably the strongest message that has ever been sent in the football world.

"And every club, leaving their interests apart, has done the right thing -- which is, they are the ones [the fans], we have to listen to them, we put it aside and in 24 hours we kill the project. So that is a massive statement for the history of football."

Arteta said he was only made aware of the Super League plans -- and Arsenal's involvement in it -- shortly before the news was leaked on Sunday but he did not feel let down by the owners.

"No, I feel privileged again and I will say it loud and clear again, the way we have dealt with the pandemic internally, all the issues we have had have been unprecedented, I still see everyone coming here with smiles on their faces and happy to represent this football club and that for me is a big achievement and something I am really proud of because everyone is contributing to that from the top to the bottom," he said.

"I found out just a little bit before the news was leaked. And then everything was completely out of control and the world reacted in a really unified manner. There was not really time to think about it, reflect and evaluate or anything because by the time that was out, a big tsunami already came onto it and basically killed it."

The Royal Challengers Bangalore are the most in-form team of the tournament, having won their opening three matches. With both AB de Villiers and Glenn Maxwell firing, all they are missing now is a Virat Kohli masterclass. The Royal Challengers will be up against a Rajasthan Royals side currently languishing at seventh in the table, with just one win so far.

While the Royals have been decent with the bat - even threatening to chase down 222 - their tendency to collapse at crucial stages has cost them. They will be one batter lighter for the clash against the Royal Challengers after Liam Livingstone left the IPL bubble citing fatigue. The Royals have one of the worst performing death-bowling attacks this season, having conceded 12 runs per over during this phase. However, they will be buoyed by the fact that Shreyas Gopal has dismissed de Villiers four times and Kohli thrice in T20 cricket.

Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Rajasthan Royals is available to view in India on Disney+ Hotstar, Jio TV and Airtel TV.

When does the RCB vs RR live streaming start?
The RCB vs RR live streaming will start at 7:00 PM India Time April 22, 2021.

Where is the RCB vs RR match being played?
The RCB vs RR match will be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

On which TV channels will RCB vs RR live coverage be available?
In India, Star Sports 1 and 1HD, Star Sports Select 1 and 1HD and SS1 Hindi and 1 Hindi HD will telecast the match live.

Where can one find RCB vs RR live score and commentary online?
The fastest and most comprehensive live score and details will be available here: RCB vs RR live score

What are the likely playing XIs for today's RCB vs RR game?
Royal Challengers Bangalore: 1 Virat Kohli (capt), 2 Finn Allen, 3 Devdutt Padikkal, 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 AB de Villiers (wk), 6 Kyle Jamieson, 7 Washington Sundar, 8 Shahbaz Ahmed, 9 Harshal Patel, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal

Rajasthan Royals: 1 Jos Buttler, 2 Yashasvi Jaiswal/Manan Vohra, 3 Sanju Samson (capt & wk), 4 Shivam Dube/Shreyas Gopal, 5 David Miller, 6 Riyan Parag, 7 Rahul Tewatia, 8 Chris Morris, 9 Jaydev Unadkat, 10 Chetan Sakariya, 11 Mustafizur Rahman

Who are the captains for today's RCB vs RR game?
The captains for today's game will be Virat Kohli (RCB) and Sanju Samson (RR).

Who are the umpires for RCB vs RR game?
The on-field umpires for today's game will be Jayaram Madanagopal and S Ravi. The third umpire will be Virender Sharma.

Who will be the match referee for RCB vs RR game?
The match referee for today's game will be Shakti Singh.

Graeme van Buuren, the South African-born allrounder, has been ruled out of Gloucestershire's County Championship fixture against Hampshire after the complications of Brexit lost him his status as a non-overseas player.

Van Buuren, 30, was born in Pretoria and played for Northerns and Titans in South Africa early in his career. He has been playing for Gloucestershire as a local player since 2016 through his wife's British passport, and has become a first-team regular in all formats.

However, the UK's departure from the European Union led to a change in the ECB's eligibility and registration regulations on December 31, 2020. In September, Alan Fordham, the operations manager for first-class cricket, wrote to the counties outlining the changes, including the removal of "the rights of so-called 'Kolpak' players to be registered as a 'qualified cricketer'" and the cancellation of the registrations of players qualifying as locals through EU passports or family or ancestral visas, unless they had evidence of having settled or pre-settled status under the government's settlement scheme.

In van Buuren's case, he had applied for indefinite leave to remain in the UK as a pathway to British citizenship, but delays in processing his paperwork have left him in a state of limbo. As a result, he has only been able to play as an overseas player, and with Daniel Worrall and Kraigg Brathwaite filling Gloucestershire's two permitted spots in their fixture against Hampshire this week, van Buuren has been left out of the side, two weeks after hitting a match-winning 110 not out off 98 balls against Surrey.

It is understood that van Buuren would have been able to apply for indefinite leave to remain through a fast-tracked service, but the logistical complications caused by Covid-19 have taken that option away from him.

Gloucestershire do not know how long the delay will take, but do not anticipate it being a long-term issue. Van Buuren is still registered as a player - clubs are able to register three overseas players for the two spots in their side - and may be rotated into the side in later rounds of fixtures, given Gloucestershire have not fielded a frontline spinner in his absence.

"Graeme van Buuren, having been a Gloucestershire player and Bristol resident for the last five years, has to date been playing cricket in the UK as a non-overseas player," a club statement said. "He has built a life in the UK, is married to a British citizen, and is settled in Bristol with two young children born in the city during his time at the club.

"Earlier in the year, having completed the requisite five years in the UK, Graeme started the process of applying for his "indefinite leave to remain" as a pathway to British Citizenship. This was anticipated to allow him to play, under recently changed regulations, as an England-qualified player from the early part of this season. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in delays in the UK government processing his paperwork and the impact of Brexit means that the rights previously afforded to him are no longer available in the UK.

"Graeme has played a huge part in the two victories of the 2021 season so far and is an integral member of the Gloucestershire cricket family. The club, along with the Professional Cricketers Association (PCA), continue to support his application and the speedy resolution of what is a very difficult period for Graeme and his family."

WHEN KIM NG was hired by the Miami Marlins as their general manager this past MLB offseason, she received ringing endorsements from Michelle Obama, Sharon Robinson and Billie Jean King. In January, she was invited by President Joe Biden to participate in a prime-time television special as part of his inauguration ceremonies.

"The idea that it has affected this many people is just extraordinary," Ng said during a November news conference introducing her as the first female GM for any team in the four major North American sports leagues. "I thought it would be a big deal, but this is beyond my expectations -- and I think beyond many people's expectation."

Marlins owner Bruce Sherman recognized Ng's years in the game as a major reason behind her hiring.

"We are truly a fortunate organization to have someone with 30 years of experience -- with three major league teams, and the past nine years with Major League Baseball," Sherman said. "I can't think of anyone more qualified for the position than Kim."

Yet, while Ng was establishing those credentials over three decades, baseball wunderkinds with Ivy League backgrounds like Theo Epstein were landing GM jobs in their 20s and 30s. Epstein was 28 when he was hired by the Boston Red Sox in 2002. Others, like Jon Daniels of the Texas Rangers and A.J. Preller of the San Diego Padres were 28 and 36, respectively. David Stearns was 30 when the Milwaukee Brewers hired him in 2015. Two years ago, the Red Sox tabbed 36-year-old Chaim Bloom to run the team.

Ng, who's 52, might not be an Ivy Leaguer, but she graduated from the University of Chicago -- ranked by U.S. News and World Report as the one of top 10 universities in the country -- and was making a name for herself in baseball while some other current GMs were still in grade school.

An ESPN data analysis of baseball front offices in June 2020 focused on the dramatic rise over the past two decades in the percentage of Ivy League graduates and graduates from U.S. News & World Report's list of the top 25 schools running baseball operations departments. The percentage of minorities running teams rose too, though only slightly. But one figure hadn't changed: the percentage of women. Before Ng's hiring, that percentage had held steady -- at zero.

In 2016, 106 women worked in baseball operations roles, with nine in on-field positions and 12 in director positions or above, according to Major League Baseball. In 2020, the number of women in baseball operations roles increased to 225, with 17 women in director's roles or above. From 2016 to 2020, the number of jobs in baseball operations increased from 4,442 to 4,951, with 23.8% of new jobs going to women.

"Kim's hiring is progress," said a female National League baseball operations staffer, "but there's a lot of work to be done."

Buoyed by Ng, MLB scored a C for gender hiring in the 2021 Racial and Gender Report Card from the University of Central Florida, a grade that seems palatable only when compared with what the league received in 2020: an F.

MLB has worked to diversify in many ways, but even with Ng's hiring, success has been limited when it comes to women. Women continue to report incidents that range from harassment to getting kicked out of rooms they belong in and an inability to find basic resources, including restrooms. MLB is noticing, and the league says it's working to fix these issues, bringing Michele Meyer-Shipp in as its first chief people and culture officer last August as part of a larger effort to be more inclusive. But women in the game remain discouraged.

Women working in baseball operations across the major leagues, most of them speaking to ESPN on the condition of anonymity to protect their future job prospects, say Ng's long climb to earn her position feels out of reach for them. They watch as many of their male colleagues -- who share responsibilities ranging from entry-level administrative tasks to sabermetric analysis to working on the field with players to negotiating contracts -- get promoted more quickly.

"It's so competitive to even get into the space in the first place and then to advance beyond the entry-level jobs," said an American League baseball operations analyst who is the only woman working for her team in her department. "Still not sure how that happens."

Said a female National League front-office analyst of women like Ng: "I respect that they were willing to stick it out and be there for 30 years putting in their time and advance through the ranks, but that's pretty much the only path you see is baseball lifers. There's just not a lot of variety in the paths that [women] take to succeed."

Numerous men running front offices across MLB declined to speak on or off the record for this story. When asked for an interview, deputy commissioner Dan Halem deferred, through the public relations department, to Meyer-Shipp.

Men might not be talking, but women in baseball have stories to tell.

VIDEO ANALYSIS IS a vital part of the game. During spring training three years ago, a female league operations analyst, then working as an intern, set out to develop that skill. But after she sat down to begin her session at the video station, located in the coaches' locker room, she received a text message from her supervisor.

"Hey, the other intern is going to come and switch spots with you," the text read.

"Did I do something wrong?" she texted back.

The explanation she received: One of the coaches was uncomfortable with a woman sitting in his locker room -- which also happened to be the only place to receive the video training. She was pulled from the session, never getting the chance to develop a skill she had expected to use for the entire season. Instead, the training went to a man.

"I was just like, 'How the f--- is that my problem?'" she said. "No one stuck up for me. That was the hardest part. It was my first few weeks, and I very quickly did not feel like I was being looked after by the people who had just hired me and asked me to move across the country for them."

The women who talked to ESPN echoed this sentiment, noting that it's typical for front offices to discount the experience of being the only woman in the room. Many described a pressure they felt to remain quiet for their first year in order to feel accepted. Others spoke of increased anxiety in meetings, where their ideas often receive more scrutiny than those of their male counterparts. Multiple women expressed the need to exert additional emotional energy when considering their outward appearance, hoping to avoid harassment while at work.

"I was just like, 'How the f--- is that my problem?' No one stuck up for me. That was the hardest part. It was my first few weeks, and I very quickly did not feel like I was being looked after by the people who had just hired me and asked me to move across the country for them." Female league operations analyst on being denied video training because a male coach felt uncomfortable with her in the locker room.

Major League Baseball has created programs in an attempt to create a top-down cultural shift in the sport's workplace attitude toward women, launching employee networks such as the MLB Women Business Resource Group -- an internal networking group -- and the Katy Feeney Leadership Symposium, a developmental program for women in baseball that has drawn more than 140 participants since 2017.

The league has also created diversity programs, including the Pipeline Program -- which seeks to identify and develop women and minorities for baseball operations and on-field roles, with women making up 46 of 220 people so far hired from the program -- and the Fellowship Program, which recruits women and minorities for roles in the commissioner's office, with women making up 45% of the candidate pool to date.

But even as MLB attempts to create more pathways for women, a culture persists that makes them feel unwelcome. A National League front-office staffer described the daily anxiety she feels simply driving up to her own team's facility, worried -- based on past experiences in ballparks across the country -- that security won't believe she works for the team. This has become a regular occurrence, where security doubts her credentials, or ignores them entirely, spending extra time double-checking them regardless of whether she's at her home team's facility or visiting another's.

"They checked me through security five times, more than they did any of the men," she said of one incident. "Some of my co-workers saw that, and they were like, 'Oh my god, we didn't realize that this actually happened.'

"You really have to be a tough cookie because you go through a lot of s---." she said. "And it's not just people giving you bad looks, but it's sexual harassment, it's guys touching you inappropriately, it's ticket guys not giving you your ticket, it's being kicked out of your seat."

The league operations analyst recounted an incident in which players got into the back seat of her car during an airport pickup and immediately began talking about her in Spanish, thinking she could not understand what they were saying.

"[The players] start talking s--- about me in the car or talk about if I'm hot or whatever, and I can understand everything," she said. "Two hours into the car ride, I laugh at a joke they say in Spanish and they realize it and they're like, 'Oh.' It's that moment with men talking to men in the room and someone says a joke and one of us is in the corner and will be like, 'What?' and we'll be like, 'Remember, we work here in the room,' and the tone immediately changes. It's kind of a hard situation."

The American League baseball operations analyst said her male counterparts often don't know how to collaborate with her, something she attributes, at least in part, to a lack of experience working with women.

"When you're interacting with coaches, they're not really sure how to treat you," she said. "When you're interacting with male analysts in the front office, it's really hard to make that transition from intern to full-time in how you're treated, and that's the case across the board.

"It becomes even more loud when you're the first woman or the only woman."

"You really have to be a tough cookie because you go through a lot of s---. And it's not just people giving you bad looks, but it's sexual harassment, it's guys touching you inappropriately, it's ticket guys not giving you your ticket, it's being kicked out of your seat." Female National League front-office staffer

Bianca Smith was hired by the Red Sox as a minor league coach in February, becoming the first Black woman to hold that job in professional baseball. Smith says she regularly heard dismissive comments about her aspirations as she began her on-field coaching career at Case Western Reserve University. As women make strides on the field, they often face skepticism regarding their ability to lead in a sport they didn't play at a professional level.

"We had a high school coach who asked what I did for the team. I tell people I did everything but actual recruiting, and that's because I would work over the summer," said Smith, a Dartmouth grad who aspires to be a big league manager. "I even told them I was getting a law and business degree, and his first response was, 'Great, that means I can hire you to make sandwiches when you graduate,' and I didn't even have a response immediately because I was shocked."

Women working both on and off the field pointed to the lack of a concrete support system, exacerbated by the lack of female colleagues. Women in entry-level baseball operations positions often receive feedback from their male counterparts to be more confident and assertive, but subsequently receive conflicting advice to stay quiet and to be more grateful for their positions in a competitive industry, a consistent theme among the women who talked to ESPN for this story.

"I'm constantly teetering on the edge of those two things, and I can't really find a middle ground because I don't think there is one," said another National League front-office analyst. "I feel like I'm screaming at a brick wall when I have these conversations, and that's really, really sad because at the end of the day, all I'm trying to do is my job."

IT'S A SCAVENGER hunt no one would want to go on.

Walk through the locker room, where players might be changing clothes. Pass the potted plant in the hallway. Turn left down another hallway. Find the fourth door. Enter a corridor with curtains. And there, nearly hidden in the back corner by the storage closets: the women's restroom.

Inconvenient trips to find the bathroom -- often requiring walks through trainers' rooms, locker rooms and gyms to access the facilities -- is a simple but no less important and illustrative issue, and another common theme among women in baseball. An American League front-office analyst said her team did not have any women's bathrooms at all on the same floor as the baseball operations office -- despite the fact that she was working in a stadium built in the 2000s.

For the National League baseball operations analyst, that hunt for the restroom in her team's spring training facility -- in which you can't miss the men's room -- meant soliciting a mental road map from one of her only female colleagues.

"The hallway that the bathroom was in, I would have never gone there. There's nothing there. It's literally tucked away in the back corner. There's no markings or anything. ... If I didn't have a co-worker who had already been to spring training that year, I would've been just wandering around for who knows how long." Female National League baseball operations analyst on needing detailed instructions just to find the women's restroom.

"When all my co-workers are men, I'm like, 'OK, I have to text someone who isn't here to figure out where I'm going because none of you are going to be able to help me at all," she said. "If I didn't have a co-worker who had already been to spring training that year, I would've been just wandering around for who knows how long."

Even with the instructions, it wasn't easy.

"I was literally making sure that I could visually see touchpoints when I'm walking through, because the hallway that the bathroom was in, I would have never gone there," she said. "There's nothing there. It's literally tucked away in the back corner. There's no markings or anything."

Meyer-Shipp -- formerly the chief diversity officer for accounting firm KPMG -- said the league is aware of the issues regarding facilities for women and is in discussions with teams to address them. Meyer-Shipp said she began a 120-day listening tour across Major League Baseball last year, looking for feedback about diversity and collecting feedback about how to improve workplace culture.

"We need to be asking our employees for their sentiment about how they're experiencing the organization," Meyer-Shipp said. "We need to be looking at that feedback broken down by demographic to understand. Are our women experiencing our culture in a way that's different from men, and if so, how? What are our challenges?

"I've engaged with women across the league, I've engaged with people of color across the league to start conversations around, 'What do you need? What are the gaps? Tell us what you think will work,'" Meyer-Shipp said. "My message to our leaders across the league is it's not just good enough to get people in the door, but what are you going to do to keep, grow and elevate that talent?"

"They straight up told me, 'If we hadn't worked with Kim [Ng], we would have been harder on you or been more inquisitive of you and why you're here, but because we worked with Kim, we know that you can do this job. I felt a sense of gratitude towards her. She's lifted this whole weight off of our shoulders." Female National League front-office staffer

Additionally, in response to recent events like now-former New York Mets GM Jared Porter's harassment of a female reporter, the league created a third-party anonymous hotline to report incidents.

"Talking about it, speaking about it, calling others out when they see somebody do something or something untoward," Meyer-Shipp said. "I need them to take strategy and put it into action. Be intentional, proactive and deliberate about recruitment efforts. I need them to do overarching things because when people see it from the top, it starts to cascade down."

The impact of Ng's success wasn't felt only after she'd nabbed the top job with the Marlins. The National League front-office staffer recalled that when she first started out in the industry, multiple co-workers told her their experience working with Ng influenced how they approached working with her.

"They straight up told me, 'If we hadn't worked with Kim, we would have been harder on you or been more inquisitive of you and why you're here, but because we worked with Kim, we know that you can do this job," she said. "I felt a sense of gratitude towards her. She's lifted this whole weight off of our shoulders."

Ng is all too aware.

"When Derek told me I got the job, there was a 10,000-pound weight lifted off of this shoulder, I realized about a half hour later that it had just been transferred to this shoulder," Ng said in November. "I feel quite a lot of responsibility; I have my entire career. ... You're bearing the torch for so many."

Where does English football go after the humiliating climbdown of the shamed "Selfish Six" clubs, whose idea of a cosy drama-free cartel lasted precisely two days?

The biggest winners are the fans: the ones who blocked the road outside Stamford Bridge to stop the Chelsea team bus, the ones who took down their Liverpool banners from the seats at Anfield, and the thousands like the lifelong Manchester United fan who declared he would never step inside Old Trafford again so long as the despised Glazer family were in control. Also, the supporter who carried a flag saying: "I like my cold night in Stoke."

In a year of ghostly games in deserted stadiums, this season has proved beyond all doubt that this game is nothing without these supporters. The clubs now have to do more to hand the game back to fans who are now up for the fight.

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Crazy kick-off times, made for TV, that make it impossible for away supporters to travel because there is no train home? Sky-high prices for replica shirts and tickets? It all has to change. Build the Premier League more along the lines of the fan-friendly Bundesliga in Germany, where supporters pay affordable prices and get train tickets thrown in when going to see their team play away from home.

I work in television and understand the dynamics at play here. The Premier League's lucrative business model is built on the money generated by selling TV rights. Sky Sports can end up paying £11 million per match; BT Sport £7m. Understandably, for that kind of money, they do not want kick-off times clashing, hence the weekend spread. But common sense now has to apply. Southampton cannot be playing at Newcastle on a Monday night, meaning their fans could not possibly attend without paying a big hotel bill.

The owners of the six Premier League clubs that broke ranks -- Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham -- now know that the fans will not continue to take this kind of treatment. The Premier League need to call a meeting to plot a better path forward. "Greed is Good" can no longer be an acceptable mantra.

Meanwhile, we are listening to apparently heartfelt apologies from the likes of Liverpool's owner, John Henry for getting involved in the "Not So Super League" plot and betrayal in the first place. While the words are welcome, the fact remains that he and his fellow conspirators were happy to ditch all the club's history and tradition to enter a plastic tournament, a made-for-TV product: one that would have delighted bank managers but killed proper competition.

Arsenal could have finished 10th, as they might do this season, and yet waltzed into the Super League, while Leicester, in third, stayed where they were. There really is no place to hide from such a laughable concept. There was no pathway to the top for the likes of Bournemouth and Brighton, either, and no relegation to worry about in a Super League vacuum where you can be as hopeless as you want without having to worry too much.

Yes, this kind of franchise-based single league like the National Football League and Major League Soccer works in America, but there it is set in stone, accepted by fans and functional within that unique marketplace. But it is hard to believe that businessmen like Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke, the Glazers, Roman Abramovich and Henry were naive enough to believe this thing could fly in Europe, where all of football has been based on pyramids with performance-related promotion and relegation since the game was invented.

How did they not understand that this is the heartbeat of the game? It's what keeps the fans on tenterhooks: it's the dream of smaller clubs like Brentford that they could get into the Premier League, the fear of even the giants that they might be relegated. (It's happened to Manchester United, Chelsea and Spurs before, Liverpool were once a second-division team, and it was not so long ago that Manchester City were in the third tier.)

Those owners were prepared to throw it all away, and for what? So that ludicrously rich men could get richer.

The climbdown was inevitable in the face of worldwide contempt and ridicule, and these owners -- as many already suspected -- are now exposed as interested only in dollar signs. They will be distrusted now for as long as they continue at the helm.

In my opinion, their positions have become just about untenable. They should be thinking of selling their stakes, because a bond has been broken. Clearly they have no feel or love for the clubs they own or the game of football -- with the possible exception of Chelsea's Abramovich, who has demonstrated otherwise in the past.

The others, though, just do not get it. For all the money swishing around at the top of the Premier League, this is still a glory game -- not a get-rich-quick business deal. The landscape has changed, and the fans have beaten the owners of Manchester United, Manchester City, Spurs, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool 6-0.

The seismic shift has been towards the people who love the game most: the supporters. It is a victory we all should relish.