The Los Angeles Lakers have a reworked roster and championship aspirations. But they'll need to prove themselves in the regular season first.

Colin Cowherd has proclaimed the Ravens the NFL's best team.

Referees could be replaced by robots within the next 30 years, an expert in the field believes. Artificial intelligence is already prominent in officiating, with the use of VAR and goalline technology, but it is expected to heavily increase in the future. With more high-quality data available, it could be possible for matches to be officiated by an AI-powered machine, taking away the need for an on-field human referee. “Computer vision will be more and more effective in the next few years and the number of cameras on the pitch will only increase,” Aldo Comi, chief executive of leading global football analytics provider Soccerment, told the PA news agency. “The amount of data that is tagged and the quality of the models that are trained with that data will increase exponentially and thanks to that you will have AI models that can make refereeing decisions on the back of what they see on the pitch. “So we might get to the point where we don’t need a referee at all. “Before that, you will maybe have a referee but not linesmen, maybe they will be the first to disappear from the game. And you will have the referee connected to the virtual assistant, guiding them to make better decisions. “Ultimately in a matter of 20 or 30 years probably the referee will be just an AI. I am not saying this is positive, I’m just saying it is likely to happen.” The increase of AI and machine learning in football will not be restricted to officiating and it is already present in the game. The use of data analytics have helped the likes of Brighton and Brentford disrupt the established Premier League hierarchy as they have unearthed high-quality signings which they have sold on for significant profits. But the improvement in the integration of data could see managers using a virtual coach to help them with team selection and tactics. “AI can become a source of new ways of thinking about the game in the next few years,” Comi added. “If you give AI enough high-quality data, you will have the possibility to have a virtual assistant, which will have a better understanding of what is going on the pitch. Ultimately in a matter of 20 or 30 years probably the referee will be just an AI Aldo Comi, CEO of data analtyics company Soccerment “By having the data analysed by AI you can train models to better understand what will happen in the future, for example understanding the probabilities of what is happening in the next five or 10 minutes. “By having this predictive analytics, the AI can give you a so-called prescriptive analytics. It says, ‘Things are expected to go this way, in order to improve your chances I have 10 ideas’. “That could be swapping two players or changing the structure of the team. “The things that the AI suggests will be filtered by the assistant coach and then pass on the information to the manager and it will be up to him to accept. “There will be AI, but not replacing professionals, but it is more of a high-quality support. The clubs that can get this sport will outperform the ones that refrain from having it.” Comi, whose company serve several Serie A and Serie B clubs, says that people will need to learn to trust AI but the evidence of it working is already out there. He added: “It will take time to trust, but in the same way with data analytics, there are enough positive cases to say that you can out-perform the others, we have seen it with Brentford and Brighton. “The advantage that AI can give you is X times more important than data analytics.” :: Soccerment has launched a new platform, xvalue.ai, which has introduced never seen before metrics such as Gegenpressing Intensity (GPI), Expected Offensive Value Added (xOVA), Gegenpressing Efficiency (GPE) and BuildUp Disruption Percentage (BDP%), providing users with more data insights than ever before. For more details visit www.soccerment.com Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Football rumours: Al-Ittihad set to make record £215m bid for Mohamed Salah Joe McCarthy delighted after wrestling his way into Ireland’s World Cup squad On This Day in 2020: Ian Bell announces intention to retire from cricket

Russia has reimposed some of the capital controls it introduced in the wake of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in a new attempt to prop up the ruble as the cost of war weighs heavily on the economy.

BofA Global Research on Wednesday raised its 2023 economic growth outlook for the United States, saying incoming data

The girl group become the first ever Korean band to headline a major UK music festival.

The US Coast Guard are said to have used the information to narrow the search area.

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The Army is launching a sweeping overhaul of its recruiting to focus more on young people who've spent time in college or are job hunting early in their careers

Richard Arnold is leaving his role as Manchester United chief executive, the Premier League club has announced. With the club since 2007, he worked as commercial director before becoming group managing director in 2013. The departure of executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward saw him take up the role of chief executive in February 2022, but United have confirmed he is leaving his post. United said in a statement: “Richard Arnold has decided to step down as Chief Executive of Manchester United after 16 years with the club. “Patrick Stewart will take over as interim CEO, in addition to his existing role as General Counsel, with Richard continuing to provide transitional support until the end of December. A search process will be carried out for a new permanent CEO.” Outgoing chief executive Arnold said: “It has been an incredible privilege to serve this great football club for the past 16 years. “Through highs and lows, the constant has been the dedication of our employees and fans. “I would like to thank all of them for their loyalty and commitment, and wish everyone associated with the club the very best for the future.” Read More Virat Kohli hits record century as India post huge score in semi-final Jon Rahm says it is ‘mainly my fault’ that he cannot catch Rory McIlroy in Dubai Man arrested over death of ice hockey player Adam Johnson bailed by police

Fans of the British singer Harry Styles have been left bereft after the star cut off his luscious locks and got a buzz cut. For many of his devoted fanbase, his famous hair is part of his charm and it was even captured in the artist David Hockney’s portrait of him, which hangs in the National Portrait Gallery. Rumours had already begun to swirl about his new look before it appeared to be confirmed after he was spotted at a U2 concert in Las Vegas in a very grainy photo. One fan begged, “Lord please help me in these difficult times” as they shared the apparent confirmation that Styles now has a “buzz cut”. The message they shared claimed that the former One Direction member still looks good. But, it seems the loss of his formerly side-swept hair affected fans very deeply as the whole thing became an instant meme. While there is no solid proof beyond a grainy picture, it seems some of his most loyal following might need a moment to process it, if true. With the help of videos, pictures and memes, fans certainly did not hold back in letting their feelings of grief known. One person had a theory that he did it because he watched the Beckham documentary on Netflix and got inspired by the early 2000s nostalgia of it all. How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings

Here's a breakdown of the gear progression system in Diablo Immortal.