Sports Digest: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says Super Bowl could be held outside U.S.

FOOTBALL

The NFL’s aggressive international growth plan could include holding a Super Bowl outside the United States for the first time, Commissioner Roger Goodell said Saturday.

Goodell has shot down the idea in the past, but he told a fan forum in London that it’s a possibility.

“We’ve always traditionally tried to play a Super Bowl in an NFL city — that was always sort of a reward for the cities that have NFL franchises,” he said in response to a question about moving the neutral-site game internationally. “But things change. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if that happens one day.”

Goodell floated the idea as he outlined a plan that could include playing 16 international games every year if the regular season expands to 18 games.

• Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Evan Engram is likely to play Sunday against the Chicago Bears in what would be a boost for a team that arrived late to England because of Hurricane Milton.

The two-time Pro Bowl tight end – a favorite target of quarterback Trevor Lawrence – hasn’t played since the season opener because of a hamstring injury.

• Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver will miss a second week with a hamstring injury after Coach Sean McDermott ruled out the starter from playing at the New York Jets on Monday night.

TENNIS

SHANGHAI MASTERS: Novak Djokovic overcame physical discomfort to beat Taylor Fritz 6-4, 7-6 (6) and move closer to a 100th career title and a record-extending fifth at the Shanghai Masters.

By also reaching the final, top-ranked Jannik Sinner ensured he will be the ATP year-end No. 1 and the first Italian to achieve that feat.

Top-ranked Sinner will chase his seventh ATP title of the year after beating Tomas Machac 6-4, 7-5.

WUHAN OPEN: Second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka rallied from a slow start to beat an in-form Coco Gauff 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals to advance to her third straight Wuhan final and preserve her perfect record at the tournament.

Sabalenka will face seventh-ranked Zheng Qinwen in the final. The Paris Olympics champion beat No. 51-ranked Wang Xinyu 6-3, 6-4. Sabalenka will be bidding for her fourth title of the season, which includes the Australian Open and U.S. Open.

HOCKEY

NHL: The San Jose Sharks placed rookie Macklin Celebrini on the injured reserve list with a lower-body injury.

The move came two days after Celebrini made an impressive debut by recording a goal and an assist in an overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues on Thursday.

The 18-year-old Celebrini was picked first overall in June and is being counted on to help spark a rebuild in San Jose. He was hampered in the preseason with a lower-body injury. Coach Ryan Warsofsky said Celebrini is week to week.

• Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov will miss two to three weeks with a lower-body injury, Coach Paul Maurice said.

Maurice said he’s optimistic Barkov will return in time for – if not sooner than – the Panthers’ two NHL Global Series games against the Dallas Stars on Nov. 1- 2, which are being held in the center’s hometown of Tampere, Finland.

Barkov was hurt with 70 seconds left in a 3-1 loss at Ottawa on Thursday, when he was attempting to prevent Tim Stutzle from scoring an empty-net goal. He and the Senators forward got tangled up, with Barkov crashing feet first into the end boards.

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