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Soccer legend Pelé died Thursday at the age of 82, his manager confirmed.

Pelé was hospitalized in November for complications related to his colon cancer, and his health steadily worsened in the ensuing weeks. The Guardian's Andrew Downie reported on Dec. 24 that his family members had arrived at the São Paulo hospital where he was being treated.

The three-time World Cup winner is universally regarded as one of the greatest male players in the sport's history. For years, Diego Maradona was arguably his closest competition, with the discussion having since expanded to include Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The numbers alone speak to Pelé's dominance on the pitch.

His 643 goals for Santos had been the all-time single-club record until Messi notched his 644th goal for Barcelona last December. However, Santos historian Odir Cunha told ESPN FC's Andrew Cesare Richardson that the former Brazil international actually tallied 1,091 goals for Santos, with a high volume coming in non-official friendlies that were far more competitive than their designation indicated.

With Pelé at the fore, Santos won the Copa Libertadores in 1962 and 1963 and was crowned the champion of Brazil's first division on six occasions.

For the majority of soccer fans, his time with the Brazil national team created the most enduring memories.

Pelé's first World Cup medal came in 1958, when he was just 17. He was named the tournament's Best Young Player after scoring six goals in four matches.

The Seleção successfully defended their title in 1962, but a thigh injury limited Pelé to two appearances in the tournament. Four years later, he and Brazil failed to advance out of the group stage as they struggled to cope with the physicality of Bulgaria and Portugal.

Pelé had been so disenchanted by the style of play that he contemplated walking away from World Cup competition altogether.

Luckily for fans, he was back in the fold in time for the 1970 edition and played a key role in what many believe to be the best men's team in the sport's history.

Brazil beat Czechoslovakia 4-1 in its opening game before taking down reigning champion England 1-0 in its second fixture. The run culminated in a 4-1 demolition of Italy in the final. Pelé netted the opener in the 18th minute and Carlos Alberto capped off a brilliant collective effort in the 86th minute for the country's fourth goal.

Jonathan Wilson wrote for Sports Illustrated how the 1970 Brazil squad took on an added importance because soccer in general was entering a time when pragmatism superseded aesthetics. Brazil that summer "was a final celebration of the old football":

In Mexico, where the heat and the altitude made pressing impossible, where the game was slowed down so that artistry emerged again, Brazil, elevated by intense preparation, won a victory for the artistic football of the past. Even it, by 1974, had switched to something more physical, less full of flair. There were flickers of the old school under Tele Santana in the 1980s, but by the time Brazil next won the World Cup in 1994, the heart of its midfield was not a player of the elegance of Gerson, but the dogged spoiler, Dunga. In 1958, Brazil had Didi and Zito in the middle of midfield; by 2010 it had Gilberto Silva and Felipe Melo.

With his club and international career seemingly over, Pelé padded his legacy by signing with the New York Cosmos in 1975. He helped briefly put soccer on the map in the United States and laid the groundwork for the sport's explosion stateside decades later.

Both on the pitch and in retirement, Pelé was one of soccer's most influential figures.

The Tennessee Titans will reportedly start Josh Dobbs for Thursday night's matchup with the Dallas Cowboys over rookie Malik Willis, according to Justin Melo of TheDraftNetwork.com. Tom Pelissero of NFL Network confirmed the news.

It will be Dobbs' first NFL start.

The Titans selected Willis in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft, and he has served as Ryan Tannehill's backup this season. He has started three games in Tannehill's absence.

Willis was one of the more promising quarterbacks in a relatively weak 2022 draft class at that position. He spent two seasons at Auburn before transferring to Liberty, where he spent his junior and senior seasons.

The 22-year-old had a solid 2021 season, completing 61.1 percent of his passes for 2,857 yards and 27 touchdowns against 12 interceptions. He also rushed for 878 yards and 13 scores.

The Titans have gone just 1-2 in his three starts this season. He's thrown for only 276 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions while completing just 50.8 percent of his passes and taking 10 sacks. He has also rushed for 123 yards and a touchdown.

Dobbs has appeared in six games throughout his NFL career. He's completed 10 of his 17 pass attempts for 45 yards, no touchdowns and one interception.

With Tannehill still injured, the Titans had to decide between the inexperienced and struggling Willis or the journeyman Dobbs. They reportedly have chosen the latter.

Following the reported release of Mandy Rose, WWE reportedly has main-roster plans for Toxic Attraction members Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne.

According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), WWE is planning to call Dolin and Jayne up to either Raw or SmackDown without Rose.

Rose was the leader of Toxic Attraction, but Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp reported two weeks ago that WWE released Rose due to the belief that some of the explicit photos and videos she posted on her FanTime page were "outside of the parameters" of her contract with the company.

Bryan Alvarez of Wrestling Observer Live (h/t Mukherjee) later reported that the door was potentially open for Rose to return to WWE at some point if they could reach an agreement and better understanding.

Toxic Attraction was formed in August 2021 after Rose went from the main roster to NXT. She aligned herself with Dolin and Jayne, who had recently began receiving television time, and they went on to become one of the most dominant stables in NXT history.

Dolin and Jayne twice held the NXT Women's Tag Team Championships, while Rose was NXT women's champion for 413 days before dropping it to Roxanne Perez this month, one day before her reported release.

Last week, Dolin and Jayne attempted to become three-time tag champs, but they lost a Triple Threat tag team match that saw Katana Chance and Kayden Carter retain.

On this week's episode of NXT, Dolin and Jayne vowed to take down Perez, blaming her for the downfall of Toxic Attraction.

If Dolin and Jayne do get called up, it would be a shot in the arm of the main roster's women's tag team division, which remains in dire need of established teams.

WWE also has some options at its disposal if it wants to keep Toxic Attraction as a stable, as it could replace Rose as the leader. Sonya Deville would perhaps be the best option since she is Rose's real-life best friend and aided Toxic Attraction in NXT recently.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).

Las Vegas Raiders star Darren Waller offered a vote of confidence in the team's new starting quarterback, Jarrett Stidham.

Waller told reporters Wednesday that he and his teammates "took note that he knew what he was doing" in training camp, which helped build belief in his abilities. The roster is now looking to maintain a unified front around Stidham with him taking over for Derek Carr.

"The only thing that's productive is to support Jarrett going forward," he said. "We're rallying around him and letting him know we believe in him and doing what we can to prepare for San Francisco."

This will be Stidham's first start since entering the NFL, and he hasn't done much in his limited time on the field. The 2019 fourth-round pick has gone 32-of-61 for 342 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions in 11 appearances.

Benching Carr seems to be less an endorsement of Stidham and more a sign of the Raiders' plans for the three-time Pro Bowler. If Las Vegas cuts or trades Carr shortly after the Super Bowl, then it's only on the hook for a fraction of his $34.9 million salary cap hit in 2023.

But saying the quiet part—Stidham is a placeholder and a clear downgrade from his predecessor—doesn't achieve much. Las Vegas hasn't even been mathematically eliminated from the postseason yet.

You can't blame Waller for remaining outwardly optimistic about the Raiders' chances with Stidham under center.

The World Boxing Council is planning to launch a new transgender division in 2023.

"We are creating a set of rules and structures so that transgender boxing can take place, as they fully deserve to if they want to box," WBC Mauricio Sulaiman said to Gareth A. Davies of the Telegraph (via talkSPORT's Michael Benson).

Sulaiman asserted trans fighters will remain limited in whom they can fight, though.

"Woman to man or man to woman transgender change will never be allowed to fight a different gender by birth," he said.

In August, the WBC issued a set of guidelines for transgender boxers. The organization said it "firmly and unequivocally supports transgender rights and recognizes the gender identity of an individual athlete."

The WBC also contended that "there is no consensus whether a bout between a transgender woman against a cisgender (biological) woman is a fair bout between two equally matched competitors":

Metric such as testosterone level less than 10 nanomoles per liter (achieved by using testosterone suppression medication in the transgender woman), in isolation is inadequate to ensure fairness at the time off the bout. It can be argued that by the time a transgender woman combatant launches her professional career she has already gone through male puberty thus conferring her with the musculature and bony structure of a male. So, a transgender woman combatant may have an unfair advantage over her cisgender woman combatant.

The question over whether transgender women in particular have a physical edge over their cisgender counterparts extends beyond boxing, though the data is far from conclusive.

In November 2021, the International Olympic Committee offered new guidance for individual sporting associations regarding trans athletes.

"No athlete should be precluded from competing or excluded from competition on the exclusive ground of an unverified, alleged or perceived unfair competitive advantage due to their sex variations, physical appearance and/or transgender status," the IOC wrote.

The committee added that any restrictions should be implemented only on the strength of "robust and peer reviewed research."

The WBC's approach to transgender boxers follows a similar policy by FINA, which oversees competitive aquatic sports. FINA prohibited transgender swimmers who transitioned after turning 12 from competing in elite women's races in June. The organization said it planned to create an "open" category that would allow more trans swimmers to race.

Athlete Ally, a group that advocates for LGBTQI+ equality, called the move "discriminatory, harmful, unscientific and not in line with the 2021 IOC principles."

Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry is listed as doubtful for Thursday night's game against the Dallas Cowboys because of a hip injury, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

Sitting Henry at this point is risk mitigation by Tennessee. The Titans are in a must-win game in Week 18 against the Jacksonville Jaguars if they want to secure the AFC South title, and the outcome of Thursday's clash with the Cowboys won't have any bearing on their pursuit of a postseason berth.

Henry has amassed 319 carries for 1,429 yards and 13 touchdowns through 15 games. The ex-Alabama star is a two-time Pro Bowler who won the Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year award in 2020.

He led the NFL in rushing touchdowns and rushing yards in 2019 and 2020, notably running for 2,027 yards in the latter year. Henry's 2,141 yards from scrimmage also paced the NFL in 2020.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers didn't practice on Wednesday because of a knee injury, though it isn't expected to keep him out of action in Week 17 against the Minnesota Vikings.

Rodgers has dealt with a thumb issue for much of the season and suffered a rib injury during a Week 12 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. His health concerns have played a role what has turned into a disappointing campaign for the 7-8 Packers, though the team's postseason hopes are still alive

The 39-year-old has completed 64.8 percent of his passes for 3,331 yards, 24 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

That Green Bay is fighting for its playoff life means Rodgers will almost assuredly play unless he's absolutely unable to go. Having to rely on Jordan Love down the stretch wouldn't be ideal for the Packers.

The team surprised many when it selected Love with a first-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft despite having Rodgers. The 24-year-old started just one game as a rookie and is yet to establish himself at the NFL level because of the presence of the veteran.

It seems unlikely that will change despite Rodgers' latest injury.

Arizona Cardinals star J.J. Watt announced Tuesday he's retiring from the NFL after the 2022 season:

Watt has 9.5 sacks, 14 tackles for loss and 33 total tackles through 14 games this year. He soaked in the scene following Arizona's 19-16 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday:

The 33-year-old got off to a blistering start when he entered the NFL in 2011. Through his first five years, he was a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, a four-time All-Pro and led the league in sacks twice. His three DPOY nods are tied for the most all-time with Lawrence Taylor and Aaron Donald.

Thanks to a series of injuries, his career has taken a turn since then.

Having already undergone offseason back surgery, Watt only made three appearances in 2016 before he required another back procedure.

That was the beginning of a trend for Watt. From 2016 to 2021, he appeared in 55 out of a possible 97 games.

Most recently, Watt battled multiple injuries before his first year with the Cardinals ended after seven games. He had 16 tackles, one sack and 10 tackles for loss in his limited time on the field.

While he didn't boast the kind of longevity some elite pass-rushers enjoyed—his 111.5 sacks rank 26th all-time—the five-time Pro Bowler is a near-lock for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Pro Football Reference gives him a Hall of Fame Monitor score of 126.00, which is fifth-highest among defensive ends. The four players ahead of Watt have all been enshrined in Canton, Ohio.