Juventus have entered the race for Mason Greenwood, with the Bianconeri monitoring the situation closely and ready to submit a formal offer should an opportunity emerge, adding a significant new complication to Roma’s pursuit of their primary summer target.
According to Turkish journalist Ekrem Konur, via CalcioMercato.it, Juventus have admired Greenwood since last season and are keeping a close eye on developments as Roma’s negotiations with Marseille continue to stall over the French club’s asking price of €50 million plus bonuses.
The winger has already reached a verbal agreement with Roma on personal terms, but the gap between offer and asking price has prevented a deal from being finalised.
SASSUOLO, ITALY – JANUARY 06: (L-R) Francois Modesto, Juventus Technical Director, Marco Ottolini, Sporting Director of Juventus and Damien Comolli, General Manager of Juventus talk prior to the Serie A match between US Sassuolo Calcio and Juventus FC at Mapei Stadium Citta del Tricolore on January 06, 2026 in Sassuolo, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)
Fenerbahce exit from race and Roma’s €50m offer readied as Juventus add fresh pressure on Greenwood
Roma are not standing still in the face of the Bianconeri’s interest.
The Giallorossi are understood to be preparing a comprehensive offer exceeding €50 million in total to satisfy Gasperini’s wishes and beat their domestic rival to the signature.
Further complicating the picture, Fenerbahce had previously agreed a €12 million per season salary package with Greenwood‘s entourage, but that deal was tied to former presidential candidate Hakim Safi, who lost the club’s recent elections.
New president Aziz Yildirim remains interested in the player but not at those financial terms, effectively removing the Turkish club from the equation and narrowing the field to Serie A.
Greenwood contributed 26 goals and 11 assists across all competitions for Marseille last season, numbers that make the summer battle for his signature entirely predictable.
Daichi Kamada is attracting significant Serie A interest as his Crystal Palace contract expires at the end of June, with both AC Milan and Fiorentina making enquiries about the Japanese midfielder who is currently one of the standout performers at the 2026 World Cup.
According to German outlet BILD, via MilanNews24, Milan have shown strong interest in bringing Kamada to San Siro on a free transfer, a move that would represent a reunion of sorts, given the two parties came close to an agreement in 2023 before the deal collapsed due to Milan’s change in ownership structure.
He instead joined Lazio, and has since moved to Crystal Palace where he won the Conference League and enjoyed an excellent season under Oliver Glasner.
REGGIO NELL’EMILIA, ITALY – OCTOBER 21: Daichi Kamada of SS Lazio looks on during the Serie A TIM match between US Sassuolo and SS Lazio at Mapei Stadium – Citta’ del Tricolore on October 21, 2023 in Reggio nell’Emilia, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)
Fiorentina also sounding out Kamada as World Cup goals reignite Serie A interest
Fiorentina sporting director Fabio Paratici has also made exploratory contact over a potential move, according to Matteo Moretto, via LaLazioSiamoNoi, though any serious negotiations are expected to wait until Kamada’s World Cup campaign concludes.
The midfielder has been outstanding for Japan in the group stage, scoring a last-minute equaliser against the Netherlands and netting the fastest goal in Japanese World Cup history against Tunisia after just four minutes.
Kamada currently earns approximately €5.45 million per season at Palace.
His availability as a free agent makes the operation financially attractive, though his wages represent a significant commitment for either Italian club.
Real Madrid have exercised their buyback option on Nico Paz, paying Como €10 million to reclaim the Argentine playmaker, ending any possibility of the Lake Como club retaining him for their Champions League debut and opening a new chapter in one of the summer’s most intriguing transfer sagas.
Como retain preferential rights to re-sign Nico Paz but are not understood to be prepared to meet the expected asking price of €60 million.
That is precisely the figure Inter are hoping Real Madrid will set as their selling price, and at that number, Beppe Marotta would move quickly. The risk, as the Palestra saga demonstrated, is that Premier League clubs enter the picture and drive the price beyond anyone’s expectations.
PISA, ITALY – NOVEMBER 30: Giuseppe Marotta of FC Internazionale looks on prior to the Serie A match between Pisa SC and FC Internazionale at Arena Garibaldi on November 30, 2025 in Pisa, Italy. (Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)
Inter leverage Dumfries goodwill and presidential relationship in pursuit of Nico Paz
Inter’s strongest card in this pursuit is the relationship between Marotta and Florentino Perez.
The two presidents met recently at a legends match between the clubs, and the Dumfries transfer, concluded smoothly and ahead of the formal activation of his release clause, in a gesture of goodwill that Real Madrid noticed, has left a positive impression in Madrid.
Inter deliberately avoided complicating those negotiations, and are now hoping that cooperative spirit can be converted into preferential treatment in the Nico Paz discussions.
Whether that goodwill is enough to keep Premier League clubs at bay remains to be seen.
Rio Ferdinand has hit back at comments being attributed to him about Thomas Partey after Djed Spence appeared to snub him in the pre-match handshake this week.
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This comes amid Partey being charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault back in 2025, relating to incidents which allegedly took place between 2021 and 2022.
It seems a fake quote doing the rounds had Ferdinand hitting out at Spence for his judgement, as Partey has not yet been found guilty, though the pundit has since posted on X that these comments are fake…
Rio Ferdinand post on X
Ferdinand has not commented on the incident any further, it would seem, so it’s not clear if these are in any way an accurate representation of what he thinks.
There is seemingly no record of Ferdinand saying this anywhere apart from social media quotes that do not mention an original source.
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Despite the very serious allegations against Partey, he continued to play for Arsenal until leaving the club in summer 2025, and he’s now on the books at La Liga club Villarreal.
What’s the latest on the Thomas Partey case?
Partey is due to have a further trial after previously pleading not guilty to the charges against him, as reported by the BBC.
The report adds that Partey “remains on bail during the legal proceedings, with the condition that he does not contact the alleged victims”.
Ghana manager Carlos Queiroz has defended selecting the 33-year-old, saying: “Let events run their normal course, let the river flow and one day, when the river meets the ocean, we will find the truth.”
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Posting on his official account on X, Romano says Onana’s second loan spell with the Turkish club is now “here we go”, with the final details being sorted before it can officially go through.
“Andre Onana to Trabzonspor, here we go! New loan deal verbally agreed as Onana is not part of #MUFC plan for next season and Trabzon are ready to re-sign him,” Romano said.
He added: “Trabzonspor to pay loan fee to United as details being sorted then done.”
??? BREAKING: André Onana to Trabzonspor, here we go! ?????
New loan deal verbally agreed as Onana is not part of #MUFC plan for next season and Trabzon are ready to re-sign him.
It certainly makes sense for Man Utd to offload Onana again as he looked so poor for so much of his time at Old Trafford, with Senne Lammens now the clear number one for Michael Carrick’s side.
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United may well be disappointed not to have been able to sell Onana permanently, but if there’s a loan fee coming in for him, then it’s not such bad business for the Red Devils overall.
As Romano said above, Onana is not in United’s plans, so it’s undoubtedly for the best that he’s moved on again for the season ahead.
It’s very hard to see there being a way back for the Cameroon international as a MUFC player, especially if Lammens continues to perform as well as he has.
Onana can be a quality ‘keeper on his day, as he showed at former club Inter Milan, but it certainly seems like playing for one of the biggest clubs in the Premier League was just too much of a step up for him.
Trabzonspor are seemingly happy with the 30-year-old, though, as they’ve brought him back for a second spell, so this looks like a deal that suits everyone involved.
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This has now been confirmed today by Fabrizio Romano, who has posted on X about Madrid informing the Serie A club of their decision, though he also suggests that Paz will be available on the market for around €60m.
See below for details as Romano provides his latest info on Paz’s future…
??? BREAKING: Real Madrid officially inform Como they activate €9m buy back clause for Nico Páz.
Nico returns and the club gives Como the chance to buy him for €60m from now to Monday.
Otherwise, next week Nico will be back to Real Madrid — and on the market again for MORE… pic.twitter.com/bk4vNcPc54
Interestingly, Romano makes it clear that Paz will be “on the market again” after returning to Madrid, with Como able to sign him permanently for €60m, while other clubs may face paying even more.
New Nico Paz transfer opportunity for Arsenal and Chelsea?
Interestingly, this latest information differs slightly from what we were told, which was that Paz was being brought back to Madrid to be a key first-team player.
We were told that Arsenal and Chelsea looked into the 21-year-old’s situation but were told he would not be available. It would appear that this has now changed, and is most likely due to the surprise return of Jose Mourinho as manager, which has signalled a clear shift in direction in terms of recruitment.
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It’s very clear that Mourinho’s return is part of an overall shift of strategy towards experience, both in the manager that has been brought in and the players he’ll be working under, such as Bernardo Silva, Marc Cucurella, Ibrahima Konate, and Denzel Dumfries.
This means there won’t be room for Paz unless something dramatic happens in the coming weeks, and he’ll be available for the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea to try again for his signature.
Clearly the young South American won’t come cheap, but he’s very highly regarded, so surely won’t be short of suitors willing to put big money on the table.
IROC will hit the streets of Washington, D.C. featuring some legendary names from NASCAR and IndyCar on August 22, 2026 as a support race for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C.
IROC Photo
Some of the greatest names in recent racing history will compete in an International Race of Champions (IROC) race as part of IndyCar’s Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington D.C. the weekend of August 22-23.
The IROC Presented by Chevrolet lineup for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix weekend will feature a star-studded collection of motorsports legends, including champions and some of the biggest stars in NASCAR and IndyCar history. Former NASCAR Cup Series champions Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, Bobby Labonte, Rusty Wallace and Bill Elliott will race on the 1.7-mile Freedom 250 Grand Prix street circuit around the National Mall, alongside IndyCar greats and Indianapolis 500 champions Tony Kanaan, Helio Castroneves and Dario Franchitti. The drivers will compete in authentic IROC Pontiac Firebirds that raced in series competition from 1996 through 2006.
With the addition of IROC, the Freedom 250 Grand Prix weekend will deliver an unmatched combination of past and present, as legends of the sport return to the spotlight alongside today’s racing stars competing in the NTT IndyCar Series. With world-class racing from IndyCar and IROC set against the backdrop of some of America’s most historic landmarks, the Freedom 250 Grand Prix will provide a once-in-a-lifetime celebration of America’s 250th birthday.
NASCAR Hall of Fame Members Jeff Gordon (left) and Ray Evernham pose for a photo during the 2019 NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at the Charlotte Convention Center on February 01, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Getty Images
“The Freedom 250 Grand Prix weekend represents a truly unique opportunity for motorsports and our country,” said Ray Evernham, Co-Principal of IROC. “To see IndyCar and IROC race on such hallowed ground, against the backdrop of some of our nation's most iconic landmarks, will be something truly special for competitors and fans alike. We are honored to have IROC included in the festivities and we look forward to putting on a great show for the fans.”
Originally launched in 1973, IROC gained worldwide recognition as a premier all-star competition, uniting top drivers from racing disciplines including NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula 1 and sports car racing to compete in identical cars, placing the focus entirely on driver skill.
NASCAR Hall of Famer Ray Evernham and Rob Kauffman acquired the rights to the IROC brand and revived the series, bringing some of racing’s living legends together for special exhibition races at select motorsports events.
The addition of IROC enhances an already dynamic weekend in the nation’s capital, offering fans a rare opportunity to see some of the sport’s most celebrated champions compete in a format that has long been regarded as the “champion of champions” showdown.
“We are proud to welcome the International Race of Champions to the Freedom 250 Grand Prix weekend, as we honor racing history by bringing some of the sport’s greatest heroes to this already legendary weekend,” said Bud Denker, Chairman of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix. “IROC has always represented the best of the best, bringing together champions from across motorsports to compete on equal footing. From the current IndyCar stars to former NASCAR and IndyCar champions, the Freedom 250 Grand Prix will be a celebration of racing’s past and present competing at one of the most iconic settings in the world.”
Action from a 1999 IROC race with Dale Earnhardt (No. 6) takes the checkered flag to win the International Race of Champions (IROC) event at Daytona International Speedway. Bobby Labonte (No. 2) just edged Mark Martin (No. 12) at the line for second place. (Photo by ISC Images & Archives via Getty Images)
ISC Archives/CQ-Roll Call Group via Getty Images
IROC Schedule At Freedom 250 Grand Prix Of Washington, D.C.
The IROC legends will practice and race on the Freedom 250 Grand Prix street circuit on Saturday, Aug. 22. The former INDYCAR and NASCAR star drivers competing in the Freedom 250 Grand Prix IROC race will also host a free autograph session for fans on Saturday.
Set against the backdrop of the National Mall, the Freedom 250 Grand Prix will mark the first-ever NTT IndyCar Series race on the streets of Washington, D.C., serving as a centerpiece of the national celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The free, two-day motorsports festival is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of fans to the nation’s capital, blending North America’s premier open-wheel racing series with historic pageantry.
Freedom 250 Grand Prix logo
Freedom 250
The 1.7-mile, seven-turn Freedom 250 Grand Prix course will wind through the heart of Washington, D.C., circling the National Mall with cars racing alongside some of the most iconic landmarks in the world. The street circuit will feature a high-speed 0.4-mile run down Pennsylvania Avenue, dramatically framed by the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol. Pit lane will sit just off the straight between Turns 1 and 2, keeping the crews and cars at the center of the action. The drivers will speed past landmarks including the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, the National Gallery of Art and the National Archives, creating a course that blends technical challenge with an unmistakable and historic backdrop.
Adding IROC to the lineup will fill a gap in Saturday’s schedule, which also includes IndyCar practice and qualifications. The Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington D.C. will be an historic event, and adding historic names from IndyCar and NASCAR in one of the most historic cities in the world in an IROC race can make it a legendary weekend.
This article was originally published on Forbes.com
The North Carolina Tar Heels' basketball program has been busy wrapping up its 2026-27 season. It will be the first for new head coach Michael Malone, as he took over for Hubert Davis this offseason.
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) June 25, 2026
The upcoming meeting will be the first time the two programs face off since 2010. They have played a total of eight times before, with each team winning four games in the series.
The biggest game of the series, however, went to the Tar Heels as they defeated Illinois in the 2005 National Championship Game.
While UNC is ushering in the Malone era, the Fighting Illini are fresh off a trip to the 2026 Final Four. They are expected to be a top-five team once the season opens up and one of the favorites in the Big Ten.
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St. Agnes Academy junior pole vaulter and hurdler Claire Wetick has been named the 2026 Gatorade Tennessee Girls Track and Field Player of the Year, Gatorade announced on June 25.
Wetick had an outstanding junior season, winning the state TSSAA Division II-A state championship in the pole vault with a personal best and then-state-record clearance of 13 feet, 8 inches. She also finished second at the state championships in the 100 hurdles with a personal-best 14.75 seconds and third in the 300 hurdles with a personal-best 44.8.
"Claire is the most committed athlete I've ever been around," said Stars coach Jacob Reeves in the release. "I've never been around another athlete who has the work ethic, dedication and commitment to excellence that she does. One of her best attributes is that she's also a passionate supporter of her teammates. She's always very encouraging as she watches and hears about their performances."
Wetick is also an achiever in the classroom — where she maintained a 4.82 weighted GPA — and outside of it, where she serves as a business manager of the St. Agnes Student Government Association and "has volunteered locally leading a schoolwide recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month last October."
Following the TSSAA season, Wetick later competed at the Nike Outdoor Nationals in Eugene, Oregon, where she placed second in the pole vault. Her clearance of 13-8 this season was the seventh-best mark among high schoolers across the country.
This is Gatorade's 41st year bestowing this award, "celebrating the nation's best athletes for their excellence in sport, academics and community." Wetick joins a list of names across the country that includes Olympians like Sanya Richards-Ross and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.
Wendell Shepherd Jr. is The Commercial Appeal's high school sports beat writer. Reach Wendell at wendell.shepherd@commercialappeal.com or on X @wendellsjr_.
The 2026 Seattle Seahawks are the reigning Super Bowl LX champions and are going into the season as one of the league's clear-cut obvious contenders. However, that doesn't mean this team won't have key storylines for the 12th Man - and fans across the country - to follow! Recently, ESPN analyst Bill Barnwell listed what he believes are Seattle's Top 3 storylines worth following:
No. 1 - Sam Darnold's looming contract extension
No. 2 - Are the Seahawks not being properly respected?
No. 3 - The impact offensive coordinator Brian Fleury will have
The first one is a reality the Seattle Seahawks will once again find them in: are they going to give absurd amounts of money to their quarterback? Seattle went through this with Geno Smith, and while it is incredibly obvious Sam Darnold is a considerably better player than Smith, they will once again have to determine if their love for Darnold is dependent upon his salary cap number. After all, they did draft Jalen Milroe in the third round of the 2025 NFL draft. Barnwell notes Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield's new contract will likely be the benchmark for any Darnold extension. Barnwell mentioned on the Bump and Stacy Show:
“If you’re Sam Darnold’s agent, you’re looking at that negotiation very closely and saying, hey, if Baker Mayfield gets maybe $50 million per year, well gosh, Sam Darnold’s won a Super Bowl, (Sam’s) a higher-profile quarterback, he’s got a better arm, he’s been more consistent as a starter over the last few years. Maybe $52 (million) or $55 (million) should be the number for Sam Darnold.”
As for the second point, Barnwell does understand why the national media or the betting sharps in Vegas might not be that high on the Seahawks. After all, no one considered the Seahawks to be a Super Bowl team last year, and even fewer people expected the Super Bowl to be a Seattle/New England rematch. So there likely is an element of resistance from those who still refuse to acknowledge they were wrong about the Hawks last year, either willingly or not.
Finally, when it comes to the third point regarding Brian Fleury's addition as offensive coordinator, this may be the most impactful storyline for this coming season alone. Barnwell points to the Philadelphia Eagles as an example, as they won the Super Bowl the year prior to Seattle, retained a lot of offensive talent, but struggled on that side of the ball with a first-time offensive coordinator in Kevin Patullo. Similarly, this will be Fleury's first stint as an offensive coordinator in the National Football League. There will surely be growing pains along the way, but how bad and how quickly Seattle will be able to overcome them will directly contribute to how well their title defense season plays out.
Forward Garnet Hathaway spent that last three seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers. File Photo by Archie Carpenter/UPI
June 25 (UPI) -- The Florida Panthers acquired forward Garnet Hathaway through a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers, general manager Bill Zito announced Thursday.
The Panthers agreed to send a fifth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and a fourth-round pick in 2027 in exchange for Hathaway and a sixth-round pick in 2026. The Flyers also will pay 50% of Hathaway's contract.
"Garnet is a physical and highly competitive player who will complement our group well," Zito said. "We're excited to add his veteran presence to our group for the upcoming season."
Hathaway, 34, totaled a goal and two assists over 66 appearances last season. He previously spent time with the Calgary Flames, Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins.
He totaled 10 goals and 11 assists over 67 appearances in 2024-25. Hathaway recorded a career-high 26 points, with 14 goals and 12 assists, over 76 appearances in 2021-22 for the Capitals.
Hathaway is under contract through 2026-27 and set to become a free agent next off-season.
But Scotland’s chances of advancing to the knockout state are slim. It went 1-0-2 in the group stage and is locked into third place in Group C. Among the 12 third-place teams, it currently sits in seventh place. Only the top eight of that group will make the Round of 32.
The teams below Scotland are Cape Verde (two points), Belgium (two points), D.R. Congo (one point), Ecuador (one point) and Senegal (zero points), all of which have only played two matches thus far. Scotland is also tied with five other teams with three points.
If two or more of the teams below Scotland win their final group match, Scotland will likely be eliminated, even if those squads rise above the third-place line. Scotland’s goal differential is -3, currently tied for the worst among third-place teams.
The only thing keeping Scotland alive is its 1-0 win over Haiti in its opening match. The victory marked Scotland’s first at the World Cup in 36 years. However, it lost both of its next two matches to Morocco and Brazil, being outscored 4-0. Goal differential is the next tiebreaker after standings points.
If Scotland does make the knockout rounds, its most likely opponents in the Round of 32 are Mexico and Germany, both of which have clinched first place in their respective groups.
NFL-themed Christmas movies have become an annual staple for Hallmark Channel, and this year the Bears will be the featured team.
The Bears announced today that they've partnered with Hallmark Media, NFL Films and Skydance Sports to produce Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story.
This year's movie is the third in a series, following Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story in 2024 and Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story in 2025.
"We are honored, grateful and excited to join forces with Hallmark Media, Skydance Sports and NFL Films on this special project," Bears President Kevin Warren said. "As we continually look for ways to further the connection with our passionate Chicago Bears fans and amplify our global brand in creative ways, we will provide our club and our fans with the opportunity to grow together by creating a special, meaningful movie. We look forward to the work ahead alongside Hallmark Media, Skydance Sports and NFL Films, and we are energized for the product we will create together, celebrating football, family, the Chicago Bears and the holiday season."
More information has surfaced regarding the shocking arrest of NFL defensive back Terrion Arnold, and the allegations paint a far more serious picture than initially understood. After Arnold turned himself in to authorities on Wednesday night, Tampa Police released additional details outlining the investigation that led to multiple felony charges against the Detroit Lions cornerback. If the allegations prove to be true, this is a case that extends far beyond a simple misunderstanding.
Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold (6) speaks to media members after practice during mini camp at Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park on Wednesday, June 17, 2026.
According to investigators, the incident began after Arnold reportedly believed several individuals had stolen property from an Airbnb he had rented. However, police say the people who ultimately became victims were later determined to have had no involvement in that alleged theft.
Authorities claim two women were used to lure the victims to an apartment in Tampa. Once they entered the residence, investigators say two armed suspects who had been hiding inside a closet emerged, pointed firearms at the victims, physically assaulted them, and robbed them.
Alleged Role During the Incident
Perhaps the most disturbing allegation involves Arnold’s reported involvement while the robbery was unfolding. According to police, the attack was livestreamed to Arnold, who allegedly communicated with those involved through a group chat and provided directions during the incident.
Investigators further allege that Arnold later arrived at the apartment while the robbery was still taking place. Police also claim the victims were forced at gunpoint into their own vehicle before eventually being released.
Facing Multiple Serious Felony Charges
Arnold surrendered to authorities Wednesday evening and now faces eight felony charges in total. Those charges include four counts of kidnapping and four counts of armed robbery.
As with any criminal case, these remain allegations, and Arnold is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. The legal process will now determine what evidence supports the accusations and whether prosecutors can prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
For now, however, the situation represents one of the most significant off-field stories in the NFL this year. With training camp approaching, questions now shift beyond the courtroom to what this could mean for Arnold’s football future and whether the league could eventually impose disciplinary action as the case moves forward.
A disappointing season left the Washington Commanders with no choice but to make roster changes this offseason. Dan Quinn is thankful that those modifications didn’t also include a coaching change, but he knows that his job isn’t secure if Washington can’t return to their winning ways.
The Commanders feel confident that they’ve pieced together a roster that’s capable of making sure last year was just a blip on the radar. But what if there’s still more work to do?
Brandon Aiyuk Wants to Join Commanders
USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect
The NFL’s worst-kept secret is that San Francisco 49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk now wants to play for the Commanders instead, where he’d reunite with his college quarterback, Jayden Daniels. Aiyuk missed all of last season while recovering from a torn ACL, MCL, and meniscus. Yet, he also stopped showing up to the team’s rehab sessions, and that has caused turmoil.
Now the expectation is that the 49ers will cut bait from the 28-year-old, but they’re still hoping to get something of value in return for the former second-team All-Pro. The problem is that Aiyuk is headed into season two of a four-year, $120 million contract, and he’s played in just seven games across the past two campaigns. Teams aren’t exactly lining up to trade for such a bloated contract of a player who hasn’t been on the field since February of 2024.
The belief is that the 49ers will have no choice but to release Aiyuk from the roster. If so, Aiyuk has made it clear that he’d like to join the Commanders instead.
It all began with Aiyuk making some wild claims online, saying he’s the “best WR in the world.”
“The best sport in the world. The best league in the world [and] the best team in the world. And I almost forgot.. The best WR in the world. And if I’m crazy or if I’m cappin’, tell them boys cut me today. And I’ll sign with the Commanders tomorrow.”
Brandon Aiyuk on Instagram
While I wouldn’t say he’s crazy, Aiyuk clearly has never been the best receiver in the world, and well, the Commanders haven’t been the best team in the world since winning a Super Bowl in 1991. Yet, the confidence is fun to see, even if it’s a bit delusional, or as Aiyuk might say, “crazy.”
Nevertheless, Aiyuk fully believes he can return to peak form, and it’s obvious that he wants the next chapter to be written in Washington.
The New York Knicks’ second-round selection of Vanderbilt forward Tyler Nickel has received the seal of approval from Skip Bayless.
With the 47th selection in the 2026 NBA Draft, the Knicks secured the rights to 22-year-old Nickel to potentially be a rotational contributor for the Knicks’ title defense campaign next season.
With their status as defending champions, Bayless made his feelings clear on his social media.
Skip Bayless rates the Knicks’ NBA Draft selection Tyler Nickel
Bayless posted on X after the Knicks made the 47th pick in the Draft, claiming that the ‘rich get richer’ as the reigning champions pick up a versatile forward.
“The rich get richer! The champion Knicks just picked the steal of the 2nd round, 6-7 Tyler Nickel from the greatest school in America. Trust me, he can shoot it.”
Nickel is a six-foot-seven wing/forward from Vanderbilt who averaged 13.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.2 assists on 40.0% from three in 36 games as a senior. He started his NCAA career with the UNC Tar Heels before transferring to Virginia Tech, and then spending his final two seasons with Vanderbilt.
Photo by Carly Mackler/Getty Images
Bayless is a Vanderbilt alum, so he’s naturally inclined to root for players that make the NBA from his alma mater.
Tyler Nickel can make an impact immediately for the Knicks
Nickel is the perfect addition if the Knicks want a rotational wing that can be cost-controlled as they look to retain control of the East while dealing with a potential second-apron roster. The Knicks traded out of the first round to select Jack Kayil (No. 39) and Nickel, so they’ll be hoping for good value.
As a second-round pick, he can be signed to a minimum-scale rookie contract or two-way deal, adding depth without significant cap commitment. This makes him a low-cost three-and-D forward who can be an efficient floor-spacer.
Nickel can play across multiple positions on the wing with his size, but it’ll be important to gauge if his defensive skills can translate over to the NBA in his first season.
The Knicks have over $203 million already committed to core players and have to re-sign key contributors such as Mitchell Robinson and Landry Shamet.
With the second apron threshold at $222 million, additions like Nickel will help the Knicks fill their roster out with quality while also providing a backup plan if Shamet was to leave due to apron concerns.
The two-day NHL draft will be held in Buffalo, New York, starting with the first round on Friday night. The Toronto Maple Leafs have the No. 1 pick after winning the draft lottery. The San Jose Sharks are scheduled to pick second for the second straight year, followed by Vancouver, Buffalo and the New York Rangers. Six of the top prospects:
Gavin McKenna, right wing, Penn State/NCAA
Hometown: Whitehorse, Yukon.
Measurables: 5-foot-11, 170 pounds. Turned 18 in December.
Expected to be selected: No. 1 by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Accomplishments/background: Pegged as his age-group’s top prospect two years ago, McKenna has matched expectations. That included last year, in jumping from the Western Hockey League to face older and more physical NCAA competition. Following an inconsistent start, McKenna scored 32 of his 51 points in his final 17 games, and finished tied for fourth in the nation in scoring. He was the Big Ten’s freshman of the year, a two-time national rookie of the month and Hobey Baker Award finalist. At Medicine Hat, McKenna scored 79 goals and 244 points in 133 career games. In 2025, he became the third-youngest player to earn CHL David Branch Player of the Year honors behind only Sidney Crosby and John Tavares. McKenna has an opportunity to become just the sixth Yukon-born player drafted, and the highest pick after Buffalo chose Dylan Cozens seventh in 2019. He’s a distant cousin by marriage with Connor Bedard, who was selected No. 1 by Chicago in 2023.
NHL Central Scouting report: “Shows exceptional poise and maturity in his game, demonstrating a high hockey IQ that allows him to dictate play. ... Projects as a player with pro-level pace and vision, someone who can drive a line and elevate those around him.”
Ivar Stenberg, left wing, Frolunda/Swedish Elite League
Hometown: Gothenburg, Sweden.
Measurables: 5-foot-11, 183 pounds. Turned 18 in September.
Expected to be selected: Has a chance to go No. 1, and won’t fall past No. 4
Accomplishments/background: Led all teenagers in Sweden’s top league with 11 goals and 33 points in 43 games. His 33 points were the fifth-most by a player 18 or younger in a group that includes twins Daniel and Henrik Sedin. In January, he was part of Sweden’s gold medal-winning team at the world junior championships; his 10 points (four goals, six assists) tied for fifth-most in tournament history. His brother, Otto Stenberg, was selected 25th overall by St. Louis in the 2023 draft.
NHL Central Scouting report: “His blend of speed, first-step quickness and balance makes him a dangerous, dynamic skater who can both create and finish plays. ... Though still physically developing, his compete level and confidence make him effective in board battles and transition play.”
Chase Reid, defense, Sault Ste. Marie/OHL
Hometown: Pontiac, Michigan.
Measurables: 6-foot 2, 195 pounds. Turned 18 in December.
Expected to be selected: A top-5 selection, and also mentioned as potential No. 1 candidate.
Accomplishments/background: Finished second among OHL blue liners in averaging 1.07 points per game with 18 goals and 30 assists in 45 outings. He missed 17 games with in injury before returning for the playoffs. Has used being cut by the USHL's Waterloo Black Hawks as motivation, and leading to decision to play in OHL. Began career as a forward before switching to defense while playing for Detroit Honeybaked Triple-A program.
NHL Central Scouting report: “A take-charge type of defenseman that dictates the game. ... Not afraid to mix it up and play physical. ... The complete package.”
Caleb Malhotra, center, Brantford/OHL
Hometown: Victoria, British Columbia.
Measurables: 6-foot-2, 182 pounds. Turned 18 on June 2.
Expected to be selected: Big surprise if he goes past Vancouver at No. 3, with the Canucks coached by his father, former NHL player Manny Malhotra.
Accomplishments/background: Regarded as the top center in the draft class and could go No. 1. Finished second among OHL rookies with 84 points (29 goals, 55 assists) in 67 games. He also led all rookies in playoff scoring with 26 points in 15 games, including a five-point outing. His father was a 16-year NHL veteran, and was coaching Vancouver’s AHL affiliate before being hired last month to take over as Canucks coach. Malhotra’s mother, Joann, is the sister of two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash.
NHL Central Scouting report: “The type of player you want on the ice in any situation and plays the pro-style game with high-end skills, work habits and compete.”
Alberts Smits, defense, Munchen/German Elite League
Hometown: Valmiera, Latvia.
Measurables: 6-foot-3, 205 pounds. Turned 18 in December.
Expected to be selected: Anywhere between No. 4 (Buffalo) and No. 8 (Winnipeg).
Accomplishments/background: Played in two pro leagues and represented Latvia at the Milan Cortina Games. Had 13 points in 17 games for Jukurit in Finland, and closed season in Munchen, where he had two goals and six points in 10 playoff outings. He had two assists in four games at the Olympics. Has chance to be highest-picked Latvian-born player after Buffalo selected Zemgus Girgensons 14th in 2012. Smits left his homeland to play in Finland at 13.
NHL Central Scouting report: “Offensively, Smits is dangerous from the blue line, with a heavy, accurate one-timer and the instincts to quarterback the power play. His calmness under pressure and maturity on the puck make him look like a seasoned pro rather than a teenager.”
Keaton Verhoeff, defense, North Dakota/NCAA
Hometown: Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta.
Measurables: 6-foot-3, 208 pounds. Turned 18 on June 19.
Expected to be selected: Could go as high as No. 4 to Buffalo, and could be the first blue-liner chosen.
Accomplishments/background: Led draft-eligible NCAA defensemen with 20 points (six goals, 14 assists). Made the jump from WHL's Victoria, where the previous season he led the league among rookie defensemen with 21 goals in 63 games. Began as a goalie before switching to defense at 11.
NHL Central Scouting report: “Combination of size and skill has him in the conversation for the top prospect. Can impact the game from his position like few in this draft class. Very complete player.”
Both the northern and southern sections of the draw were made on Thursday, and the round one ties, scheduled for the weekend of 7-9 August, will launch the 2026-27 season in England.
Wolves and Burnley, both relegated from the Premier League alongside West Ham, have home ties against Port Vale and Notts County respectively, while Millwall’s trip to QPR is another stand-out tie.
Wrexham face a tough test at Championship promotion rivals Middlesbrough (Nick Potts/PA Wire)
Sheffield United will be seeking revenge at Mansfield following their surprise FA Cup defeat to the Stags at Bramall Lane in January, while Derby will play Lincoln, back in the second tier for the first time in 65 years, at Pride Park.
Sheffield Wednesday, winners in 1991 but relegated to League One last season, face newly promoted Championship side Bolton at home, Southampton play at Colchester and Norwich have a home tie against MK Dons.
York, back in the English Football League for the first time in a decade, will be rewarded with a trip to Watford if they get past Crawley in the preliminary round.
Rochdale also need to get through a preliminary round against Tranmere if they are to face Bradford in the first round proper.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Pirates placed first baseman Spencer Horwitz on the 10-day injured list Thursday because of a left hamstring injury.
Horwitz was injured Wednesday night in an 11-1 win over the Seattle Mariners. He felt a grabbing sensation in his leg while grounding into a double play in the third inning. He was removed for a pinch-hitter an inning later.
In 74 games this season, Horwitz is hitting .280 with 10 home runs and 33 RBIs.
Infielder Jack Brannigan was recalled from Double-A Altoona. The 25-year-old has yet to make it in the big leagues after being selected in the third round of the 2012 draft from Notre Dame.
The Pirates and Mariners were set to finish a three-game series on Thursday.
British driver Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari reacts during a press conference after qualifying second for the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. David Davies/PA Wire/dpa
Lewis Hamilton insists he is not thinking about winning a record eighth world championship – despite admitting he is making every “sacrifice” possible in order to drive into the history books.
A resurgent Hamilton heads into this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix firmly in the title discussion after he charged to his first Ferrari victory at the previous round in Spain.
Hamilton’s triumph ended a 686-day wait for a victory and helped to shelve an ugly opening campaign in red where he failed to record a single podium, and at one stage even called on the Italian giants to replace him with another driver.
Hamilton is second in the standings, 41 points behind Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli after the 19-year-old, who replaced him at Mercedes, won five consecutive races.
But speaking at the eighth of a scheduled 22 rounds in Spielberg, where temperatures are soaring, Hamilton, 41, said: “I am not really thinking about competing for a championship. I want to win this weekend. That is my goal. And that is what I have been working towards all of last week, and this week, too.
“I haven’t been out for dinners. My head has been back down, the sacrifices required to make sure I arrive 100% so I can deliver – especially knowing how far my performance reaches.
“I am thinking about each race, arriving and executing as we did at the last race, with pit-stops, with strategy, we were all in sync, and having that all in one weekend is the most important thing, and not about what is going to happen in 15 races’ time.”
Hamilton’s record-extending 106th career win was fondly received across social media.
A video of a groom who delayed his wedding speech to inform his new bride of Hamilton’s victory went viral and was even reposted by the seven-time world champion.
Hamilton continued: “People wonder what you do when you win a race, and take a first Grand Prix win for Ferrari, and I got back home spending hours on the couch just reposting these beautiful stories and videos that I saw, and different messages from people.
“It was really, really overwhelming to experience it. It is nice to see people saying positive things, but I am also aware of the negative things that were said before.”
George Russell finished second to Hamilton in Barcelona as he awaits his first win since the opening race in Australia in March.
Russell, who drove alongside Hamilton at Mercedes for three seasons, said: “It’s great to see Lewis back doing what he does best.
“You know, people were writing him off last year or even the year we were team-mates. ‘Is he too old? Is he this? Is he that?’ And he’s been smashing it for the last four or five races now. It just shows that you don’t forget how to drive overnight.
“You need yourself, your team, everything just to click. And when it clicks, you fly. So that’s where he is at the moment and for sure he is a big threat. Ferrari feel like they’re coming and Lewis is at the forefront of that.”
Canadian fans march toward the stadium ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Group B match between Canada and Switzerland. Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press via ZUMA Press/dpa
Canada’s footballers have bid farewell to supporters in a letter of thanks and appealed for continued backing at the World Cup after missing out on playing their last-32 game on home soil.
The 2-1 defeat to Switzerland on Wednesday meant they did not top Group B and will play their first ever men's World Cup knock-out round game against South Africa in Inglewood, Los Angeles County instead of staying in Vancouver.
"Dear Canada. The love and support our team has felt across this country has been unlike anything we've experienced before. Your belief has carried us through some of the biggest moments in our history," the squad said in a letter published on X on Thursday.
"This journey isn't over. In many ways, it's only just beginning. See you in LA."
Even if they beat Bafana Bafana on Sunday, the Canadians would play all remaining tournament matches in the US, which is co-hosting with Canada and Mexico.
"We are sorry we have to leave you. But you don't have to leave us," the team note added.
The NFL announced that the first round of the draft will be held on Thursday, April 29. The second and third rounds will be held the next day and the final four rounds of the draft will be conducted on May 1.
Washington D.C. will be serving as the host city for the draft for the first time. Events are set to be held around the city with the main draft stage on the National Mall.
The NFL has awarded the 2028 Draft to Minneapolis and the Bengals have engaged in conversations with the league about Cincinnati hosting the 2029 edition.
Guernsey's leg of the relay is set to take place between 25 and 30 June, with a number of events planned to mark the event, according to the island's Commonwealth Games Association.
Chair Angela Stuart said the bailiff had "gratefully received the baton" on behalf of the island, before it would be handed over to Scotland.
Former Notre Dame star infielder and pitcher Jack Brannigan had a great three year run in South Bend which included a trip to the College World Series before getting picked by the Pittsburgh Pirates in round No. 3 of the 2022 MLB draft.
While there was chatter that he could try and play both ways as a professional, Brannigan eventually settled on the position player side and now that move has officially paid off. It was announced that he is getting called up to the Major Leagues on Thursday. This will be a special moment for Brannigan as this will be his debut whenever he gets to play.
He is not currently scheduled to start, but could see some action off the bench. After hitting 11 home runs and driving in 21 this season, the promotion is well earned from Brannigan and we hope to see his first MLB hit come soon.
The #Pirates are calling up infielder Jack Brannigan from Double-A Altoona for what would be his Major League debut.
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Texas A&M basketball's captain and All-SEC Third Team selection has agreed to an Exhibit 10 contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Rashaun Agee will begin his professional hoops career with the Cavs in the NBA Summer League in July and look to make the franchise's G-League roster, after not being selected in the 2026 NBA Draft. The powerful forward was the anchor of Bucky McMillan's 2025-26 squad, leading the Aggies in scoring, rebounds and blocks. Agee transferred to Texas A&M last season, following stints with USC, Bowling Green and New Mexico.
At 6-foot-6, 263 pounds and boasting a 7'1" wingspan, the forward from Chicago left his mark on the Aggies' basketball program by becoming the all-time season leader in double-doubles.
Cavs ✍️ 12
Congratulations to Rashaun Agee on signing an Exhibit 10 contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers! pic.twitter.com/DhsltyYhCY
Agee played in all 34 of Texas A&M's games in his graduate season, becoming one of the most prolific forwards in the Southeastern Conference. He averaged 16.2 points and 9.3 rebounds in league play, while also ranking second in the SEC with 13 total double-doubles.
His five 20-point performances helped lead the Aggies to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, where they lost to No. 2 seed Houston. In Texas A&M's first-round win over Saint Mary's, Agee led the team with 22 points and nine rebounds.
The Exhibit 10 contract is a one-year, non-guaranteed NBA contract with a minimum salary. It is used to invite players to compete for roster spots, including on G-League squads. His physicality, on-court presence and ability to finish make him an intriguing prospect to watch entering the Summer League next month, as he battles to make the Cavs roster and work his way up the NBA's developmental system.
Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Dylan on X: @dylanmflippo.
NBC averaged 5.5 million viewers for the final round of the U.S. Open on Sunday, as Wyndham Clark won the tournament for the second time in four years and in front of a hostile Long Island crowd at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club.
That audience is up 2% from the audience of 5.4 million viewers who tuned in to last year’s U.S. Open Sunday, as J.J. Spaun overcame 150–1 betting odds—and a rain delay—to win his first major championship at Oakmont Country Club.
Sunday’s audience peaked at 9.3 million viewers late in the final round.
The average viewer count marks the second-most watched East Coast-based U.S. Open since 2013, behind the 2024 tournament that drew 5.9 million viewers as Bryson DeChambeau outdueled Rory McIlroy at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina.
U.S. Open audiences are typically higher when the major is played on the West Coast—the 2023 edition at Los Angeles Country Club averaged 6.2 million viewers in the final round.
Third-round coverage from Shinnecock on Saturday averaged 3.7 million viewers, up 3% from last year.
All NBC coverage was simulcast on Peacock, which was NBC Sports’ most-streamed golf event on record, with overall consumption up 13% compared to the 2025 U.S. Open.
Major Comparison
Despite the increase in viewership over last year, the final round of the U.S. Open failed to outrate the PGA Championship for the first time since 2021, and fell to third among the three U.S.-based golf majors this year.
Masters: 13.99 million (CBS)
PGA Championship: 5.76 million (CBS)
U.S. Open: 5.5 million (NBC)
The final round of the PGA Championship in May had a crowded leaderboard that ended with Aaron Rai surprising most fans to win his first major. The Masters drew its largest final-round audience in 11 years as Rory McIlroy won his second consecutive Green Jacket.
The final major of the year, the Open Championship, played in the U.K., almost always draws the lowest U.S. audience of the four majors. Next month’s edition is being played at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England.
Meanwhile, NBC in March averaged 4.4 million viewers for the final round of the Players Championship, which was up 15% from last year.
Boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. has been in Athens since Wednesday morning as he was preparing for his matchup against Greek fighter Mike Zambidis this weekend. ayweather, 49, was due to fight "Iron Mike" on Saturday at the OAKA indoor arena in the Greek capital in what would be the American's first fight on Greek soil. But the bout was postponed for September as it was announced by Mayweather and Zampidis together due to "scheduling reasons".
Ahead of the bout, he spoke with Euronews about his career, his fitness and his love of Greece.
Floyd Mayweather speaks to Euronews journalist Yannis Giaginis
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Euronews
"I gave the sport a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get to this point," Mayweather, who has won all 50 of his professional fights, said. "I'm very, very thankful for the support from people from all around the world, people from all walks of life".
"Boxing has been good to me. The fans have been good to me, and I love going out and displaying my skills and putting on a show for the people," he added.
Mayweather has come out of retirement multiple times over the course of his career, most recently in February when he announced he would return to professional boxing after facing former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson in an exhibition fight.
He is due to face his old nemesis Manny Pacquiao, 47, in Las Vegas in September.
Floyd Mayweather is filmed by Euronews cameraman Yannis Dolas
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Euronews
Mayweather told Euronews that he feels in a good place ahead of a busy year of fights, thanking his workout regime and defensive style for having helped preserve his body.
"I'm in great shape. I work out every day, and I really never took any abuse in the sport of boxing," he said. "So just by being smart, being intelligent, being a very defensive fighter and being a calculated fighter, I'm able to still compete at this age".
While Mayweather has fought all around the world, he appeared to be looking forward to making his debut in Greece.
"It's always great to come to Greece, it's always a beautiful place. Athens, Mykonos and Santorini. Every time I come to Greece, I always make those three stops," he said, adding: "I'm happy that I'm back".
Still from Mayweather’s interview with Euronews
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Euronews
At the end of the interview, Mayweather also offered some advice to aspiring young boxers: "To all the young people that I inspire, and if I don't inspire, this should inspire you. Believe in yourself. Believe in your skills, believe in your talent, and most of all, give it 100% when you go out there and perform".
On June 26, Season 2 of Esports World Cup: Level Up debuts exclusively on Prime Video, offering a behind-the-scenes look at competitors from more than 100 countries chasing millions in prize money at one of the world's biggest gaming events.
https://esportsworldcup.com/
The series is coming at a time when competitive gaming is experiencing unprecedented growth, reaching audiences that stretch across the globe and generating billions in revenue.
"Esports is one of the most dynamic cultural movements of our time," said Emmy-winning filmmaker R. J. Cutler, who directed the series.
Competitive gaming now reaches roughly 3.6 billion people worldwide in some form and generates nearly $200 billion annually, making it one of the largest entertainment industries in the world. What was once viewed as a niche hobby has evolved into a global competitive ecosystem blending sports, entertainment and digital culture.
Ralf Reichert, CEO of the Esports Foundation, said the industry has reached an important turning point.
"Players are chasing their dreams, clubs are building sustainable futures, and fans are rallying on a global stage," he said.
Esports World Cup
The investment reflects that momentum. In 2026, the Esports Foundation committed more than $100 million to the industry, supporting marquee events including the seven-week Esports World Cup, which begins July 6 in Paris, along with the inaugural Esports Nations Cup in Saudi Arabia later this year.
Fabien Devide, chairman and co-founder of Team Vitality, pointed to the global impact of last year's competition.
"The scale of the event, followed by fans at home and around the world, showed just how influential esports has become," he said.
Esports World Cup
Even high-profile sports stars are taking notice. Chess champion Magnus Carlsen captured the 2025 Esports World Cup title, while skateboarding icon Tony Hawk was among the notable figures in attendance.
The growth also stands in contrast to some newer sports properties that continue searching for long-term stability. While ventures like LIV Golf have faced ongoing questions about their sustainability despite significant financial backing, esports has benefited from an audience that already exists and continues expanding each year.
Georgia Bulldogs right-handed pitcher Dylan Wood has entered the transfer portal, per an announcement on X. Wood held a 3.86 ERA throughout his freshman season in Athens last year.
Wood flashed his potential on numerous occasions during his first season with the Bulldogs. The pitcher will more than likely draw interest from programs across the nation. Wood enters the portal with three years of eligibility remaining. The talented pitcher could play at a higher level throughout his sophomore season elsewhere, as Wood appears to have seen his time in Athens come to an end.
Wood was drafted in the 19th round of the 2025 MLB draft by the Kansas City Royals before deciding to play college baseball at Georgia. The right-handed pitcher was a solid relief option in the Dawgs’ bullpen across 2026, and his departure from Athens is an unfortunate loss moving forward. The sophomore will more than likely commit to a new program sooner rather than later, and Wood has the potential to emerge as a star next season.
Wood finished the 2026 season with a 3.86 ERA in six appearances. He pitched 4.2 innings and last appeared in Georgia's win over LIU. He had nine walks and seven strikeouts.
Georgia baseball ended the 2026 season with an overall record of 53-14 (23-7 SEC). The Dawgs are expected to pursue some of the top available talent in the transfer portal and Georgia will now look to replace Wood in their bullpen prior to 2027.
The recruiting dominoes continue to fall and now we have a decision date for another high-priority recruit for the Texas Longhorns.
Four-star Alabaster (AL) Thompson defensive back Junior Tu’upo officially visited Texas in early June and was thought to be a tough pull from the state of Alabama with both Alabama and Auburn in pursuit. Following his trip to Austin, he gave rave reviews about his experience and even named Texas his leader following the visit.
Texas gaining traction following the visit to Austin was big plot development in this recruitment and now we have a decision date for Tu’upo, as he announced today he will be making his decision tomorrow afternoon.
Tu’upo is ranked as the 19th overall safety prospect in the country and the 12th-ranked prospect in the state of Alabama. While ranked as a safety, Tu’upo’s tape shows positional versatility in the secondary. which only adds to his value as a prospect.
Tu’upo’s decision is narrowed down to Alabama, Auburn, Indiana, Oregon, and Texas, with each program having the opportunity to host him for an official visit. He will be on the hot seat for a decision in a little over 24-hours.
Unfortunately for the Connecticut Sun, many of their recent games have followed the same pattern: three tight quarters, then a crumbling fourth quarter.
Players and coaches are constantly left wondering how to get over the hump and finish better. Athletes got to their peaks by keeping a positive mindset, but when looking towards the rest of the team’s final season in Connecticut, how are the Sun’s players supposed to do that?
Sun Players Are Getting Help From the Fans
Despite starting the season with few wins, fans continue to show up for this team. Sun guard Saniya Rivers will often show love to fans game after game, no matter the outcome of the matchup they just witnessed.
“We appreciate the support, win, lose or draw,” Rivers said in a one-on-one interview. “We play for 40 minutes, [so] I have five more minutes of energy just to come out there, sign some stuff, sign some autographs, [and] take some pictures.”
Sun center Brittney Griner also discussed in a one-on-one interview why it’s important now more than ever to deliver to fans.
“These fans in Connecticut have been so loyal throughout the year,” Griner said. “We hope that they know we’re working hard to [give them a good product]. After the games, we’re trying to sign as much as we can, so we can get some last autographs out.”
The Sun Community Is More Than a Fanbase
After moving from Orlando in 2003, the Sun are finishing up their time in Connecticut after 23 years of playing basketball at Mohegan Sun Arena. The franchise created a dynasty. This is a team with a fanbase that has lasted decades.
Specifically, Day 1 Season Ticket Holders are receiving an exclusive gift after being dedicated and staying loyal to this team since the start. There are also several games and events the Sun have already hosted or are hosting in the future to celebrate every crowd that shows up behind the basketball court.
Upcoming Nights to Remember
As the regular season wraps up in late September, the Sun are hosting two theme nights to honor their legacy. One of these games is the “Homecoming Game” matchup against the Minnesota Lynx on September 20. This promotion will help to honor the history of this team and all of the people behind it.
Later on that week, the Connecticut Sun will play their last-ever regular-season game. That Thursday, September 24, is titled “Fan Appreciation Night”, where fans at the game will receive a free Connecticut Sun Commemorative Ticket. Based on the odds and currently holding a losing record, this very well may be the Sun’s last game ever.
“Even though it’s the ‘Sunset Season’, we’re just hoping that they continue to show us love the rest of the way,” Rivers said.
Tottenham Hotspur have announced that former Arsenal midfielder Victoria Pelova has joined the club as a free agent.
Upon the expiry of her contract at the end of last season, Pelova becomes Spurs women’s newest addition this summer.
Over three years at Arsenal she made 56 appearances, including 17 matches last season, but explained that Martin Ho was a big reason she decided to join Spurs.
“It feels nice to be here, I had a lovely welcome from everyone,” she said.
“When I had conversations with Martin, he was so good. It felt immediately right to go to Spurs.
“I can’t wait for the season, and I’m so happy to be here.”
https://static.smartframe.io/embed.js
The Spurs women’s boss was full of praise for the Netherlands international after she was announced as a new Tottenham player.
“Victoria is a brilliant signing for us and someone who brings real quality, intelligence and top-level experience into our team.
“She is an established international player with the Netherlands,” he said. “She has played in major European competitions domestically and internationally, and understands what it takes to perform in high-pressure environments.
“What excites us is not only what she has already shown in her career, but also the belief we have that there is still much more to evolve in her game.
“We are delighted she has chosen to come to Tottenham. She arrives with strong experience, a real understanding of this league, and the ambition to keep developing.
“Our role now is to give her the environment, support and challenge to help her show even more of her qualities and become an important player for this football club.”
Official: Arsenal activate option to seal permanent Piero Hincapie deal
Arsenal have officially confirmed that Piero Hincapie will join the club on a permanent deal from Bayer Leverkusen after the Gunners activated the purchase option included in last summer’s loan agreement.
The Ecuador international enjoyed an outstanding first campaign in north London, playing a crucial role as Mikel Arteta’s side lifted the Premier League title. Hincapie featured 39 times across all competitions, quickly establishing himself as one of Arsenal’s most dependable defenders.
His versatility across the back line and composure in possession made him an invaluable asset throughout the season, helping Arsenal maintain the Premier League’s best defensive record for a third consecutive campaign.
Hincapie became a fan favourite during debut campaign
The 24-year-old made his Arsenal debut in September’s 2-0 Champions League victory away to Athletic Club and continued to grow in influence as the campaign progressed.
Having already become a firm favourite among supporters, the decision to make his move permanent comes as little surprise.
(Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images)
From Ecuador to Premier League champion
Hincapie began his career with Ecuadorian side Independiente del Valle, progressing through their academy before helping the club lift the Under-20 Copa Libertadores in 2020.
A move to Argentine outfit Talleres followed later that year before Bayer Leverkusen secured his signature in 2021.
During four successful seasons in Germany, Hincapie made 166 appearances and was part of the Leverkusen side that famously won the Bundesliga title unbeaten during the 2023/24 campaign.
Internationally, he has become one of Ecuador’s key players, earning more than 50 senior caps after captaining his country at Under-17 level. He is also currently representing Ecuador at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
With his permanent transfer now agreed, Arsenal have secured another important piece of Arteta’s title-winning squad as preparations continue for the new season.
Just Arsenal View
This always felt like a formality after Hincapie signed a loan deal with Arsenal on deadline day last summer. His performances throughout last season. His pace, aggression, technical quality and ability to play both centrally and at left-back give Arteta tremendous tactical flexibility.
At just 24 years old, Hincapie also fits Arsenal’s long-term recruitment strategy perfectly. If he continues to develop at the same rate, there’s every reason to believe his best years are still ahead of him.
What do you make of Arsenal making Hincapie’s move permanent? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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Several youngsters among those to impress at Sporting Talent’s Elite Football Summer Camp
George Gitau and Aaron Henry were among the young stars to impress at Sporting Talent’s Elite Football Summer Camp.
Gitau, a free agent since leaving Whitehawk, caught the eye by scoring and setting up another in the final game of the day.
Boreham Wood’s Henry also impressed, picking out the top corner with a superb strike from distance.
Among the other stand out performers were youngers Bobby Sheargold and Quinn Schutter.
https://static.smartframe.io/embed.js
The event saw players from various levels of the football pyramid, from youngsters to more experienced professionals, take part in the summer camp, put on by football agency Sporting Talent and aimed at helping maintain player fitness, as well as giving them a chance to test themselves in a competitive environment.
There was also an emphasis on helping players cope with the mental pressures of professional football, with a presentation given by Gazing Red2Blue’s Martin Fairn, an organisation which focuses on providing sportspeople and others with the mental skills to perform at their best.
Rhoa is the nation's No. 602 overall recruit and the No. 46 interior offensive lineman according to Rivals industry rankings. He's also the No. 47 prospect in the state of California.
This has also been a great month for the Longhorns in terms of acquiring talent. They have gotten commitments from eight players with five-star cornerback John Meredith III, four-star defensive lineman Kasi Currie, and four-star edge JaBarrius Garror highlighting the haul.
BREAKING: Class of 2027 IOL Lucas Rhoa has Committed to Texas, he tells me for @Rivals
The 6’5 300 IOL chose the Longhorns over Penn State, UCLA, and Oregon
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Carmouche is the PFL’s most recent flyweight tournament champion.
The 16-year veteran holds notable wins over the likes of Jessica
Andrade and Valentina
Shevchenko, not to mention being on a 12-1 run since 2020.
Araujo is keenly aware of the potential risks and rewards. Though
no belt is up for grabs this weekend, an emphatic win would most
likely catapult her to title contention.
Speaking in her native Portuguese, Araujo had nothing but praise
for her next opponent: “I have a lot of respect for her. She’s a
very experienced athlete. She’s proven repeatedly that she belongs
at the top. She’s a complete fighter. She’s strong and has a ton of
experience in the cage. We can see that she always shows up
well-prepared.”
Respect aside, the goal remains to vanquish the ageless American.
“This will be another great challenge in my career. This is why I
fight. I expect to beat her by imposing my rhythm and having an
intelligent fight. My biggest objective for San Diego is to have my
hand raised at the end, no matter how. It can be a knockout,
submission, or decision. I’ll show once more that I belong at the
highest level.”
Most MMA fans know Araujo from her six-year stint in the UFC.
Though that’s in the past now, Araujo is thankful for the
experience. “The most important moment in my career was my arrival
to the UFC,” she said. “It was confirmation of all the hard work I
put in over the years, to be among the best in the world. I faced
opponents at the highest level. It proved the consistency of my
work. I remained in the top 10. It was a period of high visibility.
I was able to show my work to the entire world.”
Today, in the PFL, she continues to pen her history and reach for
new goals. The hunger for victory remains the same. Araujo got
ready once again at the Cerrado MMA academy, in Brasilia, Brazil’s
capital. The academy has hosted several world-class competitors,
from Vicente
Luque and Gilbert
Burns to the Bonfim brothers, Ismael and
Gabriel.
Once again, no stone was left unturned. Training involved general
striking, muay thai, wrestling, no-gi jiu-jitsu, luta livre and
boxing, as well as special emphasis on physical conditioning.
She feels ready and confident. “For this fight, I’ll arrive very
strong,” she said. “I’ll also be very technical, especially
regarding strategy. We’re studying my opponent extensively, in all
her areas of strength.”
Despite nearing her forties, Araujo still sees a bright future
ahead. “My plan is to continue to evolve in the sport. Now that I
have a new home in the PFL, I’m looking forward to fighting and
putting on great performances. I like the PFL format. It allows us
to fight repeatedly throughout the year. My last fight was in
April. Now I’m back in June. It’s a small time gap, so I managed to
remain focused. I’m enjoying the opportunity to fight more often.
My objective is to capture the PFL belt, stay active, and keep my
name at the very top for the next few years.”
New Rangers signing Ross McCrorie says manager Derek McInnes is a leader players "run through brick walls" for.
The pair have been reunited at Ibrox after previously working together at Aberdeen, with McInnes appointed as manager in Glasgow last week and McCrorie signing from Bristol City on Thursday.
McCrorie was a Rangers academy graduate before joining the Dons in 2020.
"When you speak to the gaffer, he's a man you would run through brick walls [for]," McCrorie told Rangers TV.
"The gaffer's a big influence in my career - he was the one that gave me the belief to go and crack on and unlock the talent I know I had.
"The gaffer is a bit old school as well, but you need that at times, you need that hard side, because it is not easy to be at a club like Rangers and the mentality needs to be there, especially this season.
"I've been frustrated as a fan watching in the last few years because I want to see the club win. That is why I am back, I want to come and help the team win trophies.
"The only way I would've come back to Scotland was for Rangers and it was only going to be Rangers if I was coming back to Scotland.
"It was always something for me - unfinished business. It's great to be back. It's about time I came back. I feel I'm ready now."
With long-serving captain James Tavernier departing this summer, McCrorie is taking over the number two jersey.
"I'm really good friends with Tav," McCrorie said of his former team-mate. "I've got a lot of respect for Tav. He's a legend at this club.
"I've been number two at my previous clubs. When I first broke through at Rangers, I was number 40, and I phoned and asked the gaffer if I could take number two because that is my number, and I've made it my own in the last few years."
The 6-foot-4.5, 235-pounder has had his sights set on a summer pledge. This weekend, he’ll choose between five finalists: LSU, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State and Oregon.
Cartwright is the No. 346 overall prospect and No. 18 TE in the 2027 cycle, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all major recruiting media companies. He’s also the No. 8 recruit in the state of Michigan.
After logging his official visits, Cartwright has seen what he needs to see and is ready to come off the board. Oregon got him over to Eugene for his final OV over the weekend and it’s the Ducks that are currently trending, per the Rivals Recruiting Prediction Machine.
“It was great,” Cartwright said of his trip to Oregon when speaking with Rivals’ Steve Wiltfong. “The opportunity to play with and for people whether it’s within the football program or outside of the program excites me because everybody in Eugene wants to reach that ultimate goal which is winning the Natty, and being a part of that would be special.”
In-state schools still swinging for Cartwright
For a while, it looked like it was going to be tough to pull Cartwright out of The Great Lakes State. Both the Wolverines and Spartans have been pushing heavily to land the blue-chipper. Cartwright is a Michigan State legacy.
“I’ve been around Michigan State a lot of my life, so the campus wasn’t really new,” Cartwright told SpartanMag following his OV to East Lansing. “My dad always tells me anytime I have a question, I can ask him, because he’s an alumnus there. It was pretty cool being able to put on the uniform and walk around the stadium to get that experience that I’ve seen for as long as I can remember, for real.”
Michigan has continued to up its standing with Cartwright, too. He’s continued to get familiar with Kyle Whittingham and the new staff in Ann Arbor.
“They do a lot with tight ends, so I feel like that really fits my playstyle, and I’ll be able to excel in their scheme,” Cartwright told The Wolverine last month.
This weekend, one school will be greeted with good news from one of the top tight end recruits in the nation.
His final two schools remain the same. Clemson and Georgia have been wrestling for momentum with the Yellowhammer State star this summer and one of those programs will nab his pledge in the coming days.
Dabo Swinney and the Tigers currently have the edge, according to the Rivals Recruiting Prediction Machine. Aparicio-Bailey took official visits to both schools weeks ago.
He is the No. 174 overall prospect and No. 14 safety in the 2027 cycle, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all major recruiting media companies. He’s also the No. 8 recruit in Alabama.
The likes of Auburn, South Carolina and Florida were also previously involved in Aparicio-Bailey’s recruitment, but it’s Georgia that emerged from the SEC contenders. Clemson has been at the top of the pack for some time and is looking to pluck him out of SEC country.
“Those two schools best fit me as a player, scheme-wise,” Aparicio-Bailey told Rivals’ Chad Simmons earlier this month. “And just the atmosphere they have in the building, they’re the two best out of everybody.”
“I feel like I have everything answered from both schools,” he added. “Now it’s just me and my family thinking through everything. I think it comes down to relationships and what school I can be the happiest at.”
After weighing his options, Aparicio-Bailey will announce his decision live with Rivals this weekend.
Scouting Jayden Aparicio-Bailey
Rivals’ Greg Biggins wrote this about Aparicio-Bailey as a prospect back in May:
“Versatile defensive back with a really nice all around game. Has a safety frame but a corner skill set and could legitimately play anywhere in the secondary. Plays more safety in order ti impact the game more but being recruited more as a corner. Long and rangy and covers a ton of ground. Gets great jumps on the ball and is one of the more instinctive defensive backs in the country. Flys off the hash and shows knock back ability at the point of contact. Plays the ball well in the air and is able to cover down the field without being to handsy. Has shown at various 7v7 events he’s very capable as a potential lock down corner.
…Strong in press coverage and can bully opposing receivers at the line of scrimmage. Does a nice job high pointing the football and flashes big play ability with the ball in his hands. Big frame and still filling out and his likely college position will be determined by how much size he puts on over the next few years. Very talented around player and should see the field early in his college career.”
We are getting closer and closer to the new EA Sports College Football 27 video game being released, and the past week has seen ratings and numbers come out for the top teams and top players in the game.
As we move to the defensive side of the ball and focus on the defensive line ratings, it's clear that the Ducks have one of the best units in the nation.
For edge rushers, Oregon has two of the best in the game, with Matayo Uiagalelei ranked as the No. 2 EDGE in the game, rated 94 overall. Meanwhile, Teitum Tuioti isn't far behind, ranked as the No. 4 EDGE at a 92 overall.
Looking inside, the dominance for Oregon simply continues. A'Mauri Washington is rated a 93 overall and ranked as the No. 2 DT in the game, while Bear Alexander comes in as a 90 overall and is ranked as the No. 7 DT in the nation.
It's starting to make sense why the Ducks have the No. 1-ranked defense in the game, isn't it?
Early release for the game starts on July 2 for MVP+ members, and the deluxe edition of the game will be available for download on July 6. The game will officially be released worldwide on July 9.
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“We made it difficult for ourselves, that’s it,” Clarke, 62, told reporter Eilidh Barbour.
He added, “We gave them the goals, we gave them the game they wanted. Disappointing.”
When the BBC reporter asked how he was dealing with the reality that Scotland could be locked out of the knockout stage, he was apologetic — and abrupt.
“Sorry, I don’t even want to think about that,” the coach said and quickly shut down the interview.
Steve Clarke during Scotland's match against Brazil on June 24
Scotland’s poor play was mitigated by the outstanding play of Brazil’s Vinícius Júnior, who scored two goals. Matheus Cunha added another goal to net the team the top spot in Group C in Miami.
Now, Scotland will need a little help from other teams to advance. The team began the tournament with a 1-0 win over Haiti on June 13, but then lost to Morocco 0-1. Now with this loss, Scotland will finish third in their group and have to hope that the third-place teams in other groups have a worse goal differential to squeak their way in.
Elsewhere in World Cup play on Thursday, Curacao plays Cote d'Ivoire and Ecuador faces off against Germany at 4 p.m. ET, it’s Tunisia vs. Netherlands and Japan vs. Sweden at 7 p.m., and in the 10 p.m. slot, Paraguay and Australia meet, plus the U.S. plays Türkiye.
There's a big decision happening on Friday when consensus top 100 prospect Bode Sparrow makes his commitment live on 247Sports YouTube channel. The Oklahoma Sooners have long appeared like the team to beat but with official visits to Oregon, Utah, and BYU after his time in Norman at the end of May, there's perhaps a new lead contender for Sparrow.
According to Steve Wiltfong of Rivals, BYU has picked up a lot of momentum heading into decision day.
As the No. 4 athlete in the land, Bode Sparrow gears up for his Friday announcement, BYU is the program steady among the finalists with Oklahoma or Oregon being the other program mentioned. I do get the sense there is still confidence around Norman, but no question it’s the Cougars with the most buzz right now.
The Sooners are still the leader in the Rivals recruiting prediction machine, and crystal ball predictions from 247Sports still favor Oklahoma. But as we know in recruiting, things can turn in the span of a weekend visit.
Sparrow is a top 100 prospect across the board and one of the top athletes in the class. He could start for a number of Power Four schools at wide receiver, but the Sooners see him at safety or cheetah because of his speed, athleticism, and playmaking ability.
If the Sooners are able to earn a commitment from Sparrow, it would give them six committed players in the top 100 of Rivals' 2027 recruiting rankings and their third top 100 defender to go along with Gabriel Osborne (No. 35) and Cooper Witten (No. 45).
Oklahoma Sooners 2027 Recruiting Class
As of June 25, 2026
Jamison Roberts, QB
Noah Smith, QB
Keldrid Ben, RB
Jakoby Dixon, RB
Greydon Howell, WR
Seneca Driver, TE
Issac Coughran, OL
Cooper Hackett, OL
Kaeden Penny, OL
Tyson Ross, OL
Luke Wilson, OL
Sione Felila, DL
Elija Harmon, DL
Krew Jones, DL
Samuel Nelson, DL
Deven Robertson, DL
Taven Epps, LB
Cooper Witten, LB
Mikyal Davis, DB
Mikhail McCreary, DB
Gabriel Osborne Jr., DB
Jaylen Scott, DB
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X (formerly known as Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions.You can also follow John on X @john9williams.
With A.J. Greer about to get paid and departing in free agency, the Florida Panthers added some more toughness on Thursday by getting veteran Garnet Hathaway in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers.
Hathaway will fit right into what that Panthers do, and will slot in on their fourth line.
The 11-year veteran started his career with the Calgary Flames and went on to play for the Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins, and Flyers.
In his first season with the Flyers in 2023-24, Hathaway had 132 penalty minutes.
He has averaged 67 penalty minutes per season in his NHL career.
Florida gave up a fifth round pick in this weekend’s draft as well as a sixth-round pick next year for Hathaway and a sixth-round pick on Saturday.
The Flyers are also retaining 50 percent of Hathaway’s salary, so he only counts for $1.2 million against the cap this coming season.
“Garnet is a physical and highly competitive player who will complement our group well,” Bill Zito said in a statement. “We’re excited to add his veteran presence to our group for the upcoming season.”
Hathaway led the Flyers with 252 hits last season which ranked ninth in the NHL.
In his 11 seasons, Hathaway averages 198 hits.
Hathaway has been ranked in the top 10 in the NHL in hits every season since 2021; during that span, his 1,532 hits rank second among all NHL players.
Although a native of Naples, Fla., Hathaway grew up in New England.
Undrafted, Hathaway played four seasons at Brown University.
With new Liverpool signing Victor Muñoz on duty with the Spanish national team at the World Cup but sidelined with a calf strain expected to keep him out until the knockout rounds, the 22-year-old winger hasn’t exactly been front and centre since completing his £34.5M move.
That deal made the Barcelona-born winger the first signing for new head coach Andoni Iraola, and speaking to Cadena Ser this week he said the new Liverpool boss played a key role in his quick decision to reject a Newcastle move that was in the works and choose Anfield instead.
“It’s the sort of opportunity you can’t pass up,” Muñoz noted. “I’d been focused on the World Cup and didn’t want to hear about my future unless it was concrete, and [Iraola] instilled confidence in me, showed me how his teams play. It played an important role in my decision.”
In the immediate future, though, Muñoz is focused on regaining fitness and hoping he will still get a chance to play a role in a deep run for a Spanish side most had as co-favourites with France heading into the tournament before a shock nil-nil opening game draw with Curacao.
“We were managing [the injury] and were trying to get back on the field as quickly as possible but I felt some discomfort,” he added. “These have been difficult moments because this is my childhood dream, and seeing it maybe fall apart because of an injury is frustrating.”
Cornerback Denzel Ward is one, and AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Carson Schwesinger is the other.
Guess who pops up at No. 93? Former UCLA Bruin (selected with the No. 33 overall pick) Schwesinger, who had a standout rookie season with the team, made the annual league-wide poll of NFL players.
Schwesinger led all first-year players with 146 tackles, 11 of them for losses and tied for third in interceptions.
He notched double-digit tackles in seven games, including six consecutive. That led to his rookie of the year selection.
The annual list announcement is in its 16th year. Two players will be revealed daily at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. in mini episodes on the social media site X until Sept. 4.
George M. Thomas covers a myriad of things including sports and pop culture, but mostly sports, he thinks, for the Beacon Journal.
The Boston Red Sox have young arms galore in their farm system.
Anthony Eyanson and Kyson Witherspoon are each ranked in the upper portion of MLB.com's top-100 prospect rankings, while the recently acquired Gage Ziehl has struck out 30 batters in 25 innings with the Portland Sea Dogs.
Brayan Bello and Eduardo Rivera are holding down the rotation in Triple-A Worcester, but the latest standout comes all the way from Greenville.
Devin Futrell is a 23-year-old, six-foot-five 2024 MLB Draftee. Boston selected him in the 10th round and led the organization in A-ball with a 1.87 ERA in 2025.
"Both the first and 84th pitch Devin Futrell threw Tuesday night went to nearly the exact same spot. One was a heater that a batter swung through, the other was a backdoor curveball that left a hitter frozen. Both offerings were emblematic of a career-best 12-strikeout performance for the 23-year-old," Borek wrote.
"Futrell helped steer High-A Greenville to a 2-0 victory over Asheville at Flour Field, striking out each of the first five batters he faced. There was just one frame in which the left-hander didn’t record a K, making up for it by notching at least two in every other inning."
Futrell has now struck out 63 batters in 56 innings, only walking nine. He has held opponents to a .198 batting average this month and has not allowed a run in the last 13 innings.
Learn the name Devin Futrell, as the left-hander will surely continue to climb the ranks this summer.
EAST LANSING, MI - NOVEMBER 7: Penn State forward Charlie Cerrato #15 skates with the puck during a game between Penn State University and Michigan State University at Munn Ice Arena on November 7, 2025 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Michael Miller/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images) | ISI Photos via Getty Images
The Carolina Hurricanes released their preseason schedule today which consists of four games.
They will play a home and home series against both the Nashville Predators and the Florida Panthers. One of Carolina’s home games will be at the Coliseum in Greensboro.
Day Date Opponent Time Venue Sun. Sept. 20 at Florida 7 p.m. Amerant Bank Arena
Tues. Sept. 22 Florida 7 p.m. Lenovo Center
Thur. Sept. 24 Nashville 7 p.m. First Horizon Coliseum
Sat. Sept. 26 at Nashville 3 p.m. Bridgestone Arena
Carolina also announced the release of their Prospects Development Camp schedule. This will be held next week at the Invisalign Arena. On ice sessions are open to the public, (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday).
Charlie Cerrato will be attending. Anyone drafted by the Canes this weekend will be invited. Here is a blurb from the Carolina press release.
Carolina’s 2026 Prospects Development Camp roster currently consists of nine players, including five forwards and four defensemen. Four players selected by the Hurricanes in the 2025 NHL Draft will attend, including second-round pick Charlie Cerrato, third-round pick Kurban Limatov, sixth-round pick Viggo Nordlund and seventh-round pick Filip Ekberg. Also attending camp for the first time will be 2024 sixth-round selections Timur Kol and Roman Shokhrin. Players selected by the Hurricanes in the 2026 NHL Draft, which takes place on June 26-27, will also be invited to attend. The full 2026 Prospects Development Camp roster will be released prior to the camp starting.
Development Camp info!
The #Canes' up-and-comers will be at Invisalign Arena next week.
A full roster will be announced after this weekend's draft. Charlie Cerrato is among those set to attend.
Manchester City coach reaches agreement to join Derby County – Stephen Mfuni transfer plan brewing
Man City U21 coach Ben Wilkinson has agreed to join Jon Eustace’s coaching staff at Derby County
The move would see Wilkinson leave the Etihad Stadium’s academy setup this summer
Derby County are currently managed by Jon Eustace, who took charge of the club earlier this year
Manchester City U21 coach Ben Wilkinson has agreed to join Jon Eustace’s coaching staff at Derby County, as per a new report.
Wilkinson has been part of Manchester City‘s academy coaching structure, working with the club’s U21 side as they continue to develop the next generation of talent at the Etihad Stadium.
His reported departure would represent a notable loss for City’s youth setup, with experienced coaches at that level playing a central role in bridging the gap between the club’s youth ranks and first-team environment.
Manchester City face threat of latest managerial departure after Pep Guardiola
Report: Wilkinson agrees Derby move under Eustace
According to journalist Pete O’Rourke, Wilkinson, 39, has agreed to link up with Derby County manager Jon Eustace as part of a coaching staff overhaul at Pride Park this summer.
Eustace, who has previous experience as a head coach in the Championship having managed Birmingham City, is understood to be assembling a staff built around coaches with strong player development backgrounds, a profile that Wilkinson’s work within Manchester City’s academy system would closely match.
City’s academy pipeline has long been regarded as one of the most sophisticated in European football, producing a conveyor belt of talent that either feeds into the first team or commands significant fees in the transfer market.
What does Wilkinson’s departure mean for Man City’s academy?
Retaining experienced coaches within that system is as much a priority for director of football Hugo Viana as the club’s first-team recruitment this summer, with the structure and continuity of City’s development pathway underpinning much of the long-term planning at the Etihad Stadium.
Whether City move swiftly to identify a replacement within their existing coaching network remains to be seen, but Wilkinson’s agreement to join Derby represents a reminder that the competition for quality development coaches extends well beyond the transfer market.
Furthermore, Derby are plotting a loan move for Manchester City academy star Stephen Mfuni, with Wilkinson likely to be the steered wheel the Championship side’s pursuit of the teenage defender.
Egypt manager's Mo Salah comments confirm why Arne Slot was sacked
Liverpool will officially say goodbye to Mohamed Salah this week.
The Egyptian King, 34, reached an agreement to rip up his £400k per week contract one year early following a fallout with Arne Slot. And once the calendar turns to June 30 Salah will be a free agent - entitled to put pen-to-paper on a mega deal elsewhere.
The Salah saga was one of the issues which ultimately sealed Slot’s fate. The Dutchman was unable to get the same kinds of performances out of the left-footed attacker as he produced during the Premier League title-winning 2024/25 season.
Salah finished the campaign with 29 goals and 18 assists - carrying home the top flight’s top scorer and playmaker awards. The goals and assists dried up however last season with Salah on occasion forced to settle for a peripheral role.
His form has been in stark contrast to what he’s managed for the Pharaohs of Egypt in recent times.
Salah showing why he's Egypt's Messi
Amid all the acrimony back at Anfield he led the North Africans all the way to the Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals against the odds - and to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
He scored and assisted against New Zealand on the second group stage matchday - bringing Egypt their first-ever World Cup win. That followed an assist in the opening game against Belgium.
Helping Salah reach his best form on the international stage once again has been head coach Hossam Hassan. Much like Argentina being optimised for Lionel Messi Egypt play in a very particular way to accommodate Salah.
Mohamed Hany - the tireless wing-back is charged with getting up and down the pitch in Hassan’s adaptable formation.
It has brought Salah - and Egypt - huge improvements over the last year or so all at a time when the superstar’s Liverpool output was diminishing.
Egypt coach fires broadside at Arne Slot
"Salah worked hard on the pitch and this is something you should know,” the Egypt head coach told reporters after the New Zealand game.
"I am maybe the first coach to let him play in a position that matches his danger, that matches his capabilities and qualities.
“We worked on so many things and I am sure we are going to see more from him."
That is a direct insult to Slot - who forced Salah out wide and never afforded him the opportunity to influence games last season like he did in the previous campaign.
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“Mohamed Salah is a great character, a sincere man,” national team director Ibrahim Hassan told the Al Arabiya YouTube channel.
“Everyone loves him—the players love him, the staff loves him. He’s very cooperative, and you feel that he understands what we want.
“Hossam feels that too; he can communicate it quickly, and there’s strong interaction with the players.
“Salah’s role is very big. He carries a lot—not just on the pitch, but also in terms of discipline, organization, and how he talks to the players. That aspect is also important psychologically.
“All the players around him love him. Honestly, he doesn’t need much said about him—especially when he’s confident and in form, like you can see now, whether in the Africa Cup of Nations or in the current competition.
“His level rises. That shows he’s mentally comfortable, working with a coach like Hossam Hassan, who gives him freedom and new roles that allow him to show up in this way, alongside his skills. So, this really speaks for itself.”
Again this reiterates the point that Egypt are asking Salah to influence games in a manner that suits him at this stage of his career and at the age of 34.
He is no longer as zippy as he once was and does not have the legs to run up and down for 90 minutes and lead counters. But he remains a world-class playmaker - and finisher - as his performances at the World Cup thus far have confirmed.
It’s too late for Slot and indeed for Andoni Iraola. But Hossam Hassan has reminded Liverpool how they should have been using Salah all along. And that oversight played its part in costing Slot his job.
OG Anunoby is more than just a champion for the New York Knicks — he’s also an advocate for shelter cats.
Days after helping the Knicks end a 53-year title drought, Anunoby, who will soon also be getting his own Sketchers shoe, launched "OG's Starting Five" — a partnership with Royal Canin, VCA Animal Hospitals, and Animal Care Centers of NYC (ACC) — which aims to find homes for five adoptable cats pulled from the city's largest shelter system.
Anunoby, who’s a cat lover himself, personally chose five cats from ACC, naming them Penne, Sammy, Roxie, Damu, and Lil Leo. So far, three of the cats have found new homes.
The campaign moved fast. Three of the five cats were adopted within days of the launch. "This really made it possible for this cat to be adopted," Katy Hansen, director of communications for the Animal Care Centers of NYC, said in a statement. "And who knows how many people came in thinking they were going to meet one of those five, and then they ended up adopting another cat."
To sweeten the deal for adopters, each person who takes home one of the Starting Five gets a year of free Royal Canin pet food and a year of complimentary, unlimited wellness exams from VCA Animal Hospitals.
Royal Canin went further, committing to donate 50,000 pounds of pet food, valued at $300,000, to shelters nationwide through Greater Good Charities in Anunoby's name.
Hansen credited the broader pull of athlete-driven advocacy for the campaign's early traction. "I think having athletes who so many people respect and hero worship talking about adoptions is going to get other people to start talking about adoption," she said. "Especially young kids... The more people that talk about adoption, the better off we'll be because shelters around the country are at crisis level."
Hansen also noted the initiative carries momentum beyond just five cats. "OG has been inspiring New Yorkers all season long, and now he's helping create life-changing moments for shelter pets," she said.
Two cats from the Starting Five, Sammy (a 4-year-old male) and Roxie (a 5-pound, 6-year-old orange-and-white female), remain available through ACC.
Following a relatively disappointing 2025 campaign in which Texas missed the College Football Playoff after consecutive appearances in 2023 and 2024, the Longhorns landed several elite contributors in the offseason through the transfer portal.
The Longhorns’ most high-profile addition was former Auburn Tiger Cam Coleman, the consensus No. 1 wide receiver in the portal and a projected first-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. But when identifying a transfer addition who could “swing College Football Playoff hopes” for the Longhorns, CBS Sports’ Chris Hummer elected to go in a different direction: offensive tackle Melvin Siani.
Siani was ranked as the No. 6 and No. 4 offensive tackle in the 2026 transfer portal class by 247Sports and On3/Rivals, respectively.
The Ontario, Canada native signed with Temple out of high school and spent his first two collegiate seasons there, including a redshirt year, before transferring to Wake Forest ahead of 2025. He did not allow a sack as a member of the Demon Deacons last year and announced his commitment to the Longhorns in January:
BREAKING: Wake Forest transfer OT Melvin Siani has Committed to Texas, he tells @On3
Posted an 80.7 PFF pass block grade this season with 0 sacks allowed (859 snaps)
The offensive line was a major weakness for the Longhorns in 2025, as Hummer pointed out: “Texas was No. 109 in pressures allowed last season and struggled to consistently run the ball. That unit must improve for Texas to reach its goals.”
Hummer continued by noting how Siani’s arrival could bring both stability and experience to the Texas offensive line unit: “The Longhorns already have an All-American candidate at left tackle in Trevor Goosby. By adding Siani, one of the best OTs in the ACC last season, Texas should have the strongest tackle pairing in the country. And with last year's starting right tackle Brandon Baker able to slide inside, the Longhorns are employing an o-line interior with more than 3,000 combined career snaps...”
Texas also added a tackle (Jonte Newman) and trio of interior offensive linemen (Laurence Seymore, Dylan Sikorski, and Paris Patterson Jr.) through the portal, adding both starting-caliber talent and valuable depth in the trenches as they look to return to contention in 2026.
The four-star defensive lineman announced on June 24 at Poplarville High School his commitment to the Seminoles.
LeJeune is currently ranked as the No. 5 player in Mississippi and the No. 11 defensive lineman, nationally, in the 2027 class, according to the 247Sports Composite. He is the No. 119 overall recruit.
He narrowed his decision down to Florida State, California and Washington. LeJeune held other offers from Ole Miss, Mississippi State, LSU and Notre Dame, among others.
The 6-foot-3, 280-pound rising senior, produced 58 tackles, seven sacks, 22 tackles for loss, five blocked field goals and five pass breakups. He was also on the Under Armour All-America Game roster.
🚨BREAKING🚨 4-star DL Sam LeJeune has committed to Florida State🍢
The defensive lineman helped Poplarville to an 8-5 record in 2025, and the Hornets fell to eventual MHSAA 4A title winner Columbia, 20-14, in the fourth round of the playoffs.
LeJeune joins his Poplarville teammate, Ty Keys, the No. 6 player in the state, to commit to a Power 4 school in Florida after Keys committed to Miami on May 1.
Michael Chavez covers high school sports, among others, for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at mchavez@gannett.com or reach out to him on X @MikeSChavez or Facebook at Michael Chavez.
Formula 1 took a much-needed break last week, but things will resume this weekend with one of the most picturesque races of the year at Red Bull Ring, located in Spielberg, Austria. The Austria Grand Prix is scheduled for Sunday, June 28 at 9 a.m. ET.
If you're tuning in from home, you should know that this year, F1 has moved to streaming exclusively on Apple TV in the U.S., and this weekend, they're offering every race on the weekend schedule absolutely free to non-subscribers. If you want to catch this weekend's race in Austria live, you'll need to download the Apple TV app (or F1 TV Premium, now free with an Apple TV subscription), but can tune in without purchasing a subscription. In addition to watching on Apple TV, you can also tune into F1 practice sessions and qualifying races via the Yahoo Sports Racing Hub.
Here's everything you need to know about this weekend's F1 Austria Grand Prix, including how to watch free on Apple TV, and check out the full 2026 F1 Grand Prix schedule.
How to watch the F1 Austria Grand Prix
Date: Sunday, June 28
Time: 9 a.m. ET/6 a.m. PT
Location: Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Austria
TV channel: N/A
Streaming: Apple TV, F1 TV
Austria Grand Prix start time
The 2026 Austria Grand Prix will begin at 9 a.m. ET/6 a.m. PT on Sunday, June 28.
Austria Grand Prix TV channel
F1 races used to air on ESPN and ESPN2 in the U.S., but Apple TV has signed an exclusive five-year deal to be the U.S. broadcaster of Formula 1 starting this season. That means that every race of the 2026 F1 season will stream live on Apple TV.
For those without traditional cable, that makes watching F1 much easier. If you aren't already an Apple TV subscriber and don't want to shell out for yet another streaming service, we have a guide on how to get Apple TV for free in 2026, but the great news is that you don't need an Apple subscription at all to watch this weekend's Austria Grand Prix race, you just need to download the Apple TV app to your smart TV or streaming device to tune in.
In addition to watching on Apple TV, you can also tune into the practice sessions and qualifying races via the Yahoo Sports Racing Hub.
The Opening Finals is officially back following a six-year hiatus. The Nike Football event gets underway on Thursday from Beaverton, Oregon and will run through Friday.
More than 100 prospects across the 2027, 2028 and 2029 recruiting cycles are in attendance this week at the Philip H. Knight Campus. Prospects earned invites to the finals after competing in regional events across seven cities this spring and summer.
Some of the program’s prominent alumni include 2024 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain II, two-time All-Pro receiver Ja’Marr Chase, reigning Offensive Player of the Year Saquon Barkley, and two-time NFL rushing yards leader Derrick Henry.
Thursday will feature 1-on-1 action, as well as “training camp” style periods. Rivals National Scout Cody Bellaire, as well as Rivals national experts Greg Biggins, Brandon Huffman and Sam Spiegelman are all on hand this week and will provide analysis throughout the first session.
9:30 a.m. PT: Purely body-typing…out of the quarterback group, Ohio State commit Brady Edmunds, Alabama commit Elijah Haven, 2028 QB Neimann Lawrence, Missouri commit Braylen Warren and Nebraska commit Trae Taylor are the most well put together prospects. — Cody Bellaire
9:15 a.m. PT: Prospects are on the field and getting loose. In addition to participating in the event, a handful of blue-chippers are also nearing their college commitments. Four-star linebacker Fredderick Ford, four-star linebacker Sean Fox and junior four-star quarterback Niemann Lawrence are among those that will announce their decisions on Thursday.
8:35 a.m. PT: At the Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton this morning for the first day of the The Opening Finals. The morning session will be the Jordan Football Training Camp, with a dynamic workout, individual drills, 1-on-1s and some events before this afternoon and evening see the Nike 7-on-7 portion get underway. Action should be getting underway in the next hour. — Brandon Huffman
Eric Cole is the clubhouse leader at TPC River Highlights after shooting a 7-under 63.
Cole, still seeking his first career win on Tour, was bogey-free throughout the opening round where he carded a 30 on his back nine.
The highlights of the back nine included an eagle on the par-5 No. 13 and a magnificent bunker shot on 431-yard 17th that set him up for an birdie putt.
The longer hole, the better Cole seemed to be on Thursday. While he birdied two of the four par-3s, he gained fives shots on holes that were 400 yards or more
Prior to a missed cut in Toronto, Cole was coming off a streak of three top 10 finishes in four events. He withdrew from the 2025 Travelers Championship in the third round.
He holds a current three shot lead over Ben Griffin, Ben James and Brand Snedeker as of 12:30 p.m. ET. All three are on their respective back nines.
James, a Connecticut native and PGA Tour rookie, is playing on an exemption this week.
TPC River Highlands is the last stop on the Tour’s signature-event calendar this year. Here’s when the first round gets underway in Connecticut on Thursday and how to watch on Golf Channel.
I test over a dozen coffee makers every year, and I've discovered that great espresso machines don't have to be expensive. In fact, there are some truly excellent options around that perform just as well as pricier models, without burning a hole in your wallet. Here I've put together a list of my three top-rated budget espresso machines — and if you're lucky, you might find that they're even cheaper right now for Amazon Prime Day.
All these espresso machines are from reputable brands (De'Longhi, Breville, and Philips), so you can be confident that you're getting a well-made appliance with proper after-sales service too. Whether you're looking for a simple manual machine, or something that will handle the entire brewing process from bean to cup, I've got you covered.
1. Philips Baristina
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Everyone who knows me will know that I'm obsessed with this little espresso machine. You see, usually bean-to-cup machines are expensive and messy, but not this one. Its 'one swipe' brewing means you never have to weigh anything; just insert the empty portafilter handle and the machine will do the rest, grinding and tamping the beans, then whisking them over to be extracted.
During my tests, the coffee it produced was consistently well-extracted and flavorsome, and because the brewing process doesn't happen inside an enclosed case, as it does with most automatic coffee machines, you don't need to worry about things getting damp and dirty inside. The Baristina is as easy to clean as a manual coffee maker, but doesn't require any barista skills. Ideal if you're looking for your very first coffee maker, or want to upgrade from pods to fresh beans.
Another of my favorite compact coffee makers, the De'Longhi Dedica Duo is the right machine if you're willing to try honing your own barista skills, and want a manual espresso machine rather than an automatic one.
The Dedica Duo is super affordable, and you're likely to find it even cheaper for Prime Day. Most espresso machines in this price bracket are quite poorly made and deliver inconsistent results, but De'Longhi has a reputation to maintain, and the little Dedica Duo is just as solid and reliable as any of the company's premium coffee makers.
The little Bambino Plus is often recommended as a good espresso machine for first-timers, and with its easy controls, small but solid build, and entry-level price, it lives up to that reputation. One of my favorite features here, which you won't find on either of the other coffee makers, is its auto milk wand, which lets you choose from three different milk temperatures and three milk texture settings. You can steam your milk manually if you prefer, but it's a great option that lowers the barrier to entry for beginners.
Like the De'Longhi machine above, the Bambino Plus is able to sustain the pressure and temperature necessary for consistently extracted coffee every time, despite its small size. You won't need to worry about your coffee suddenly tasting different for no apparent reason, as you do with some affordably-priced espresso machines. A solid and dependable little brewer.
Microsoft has just announced that the price of the Xbox Series X and Series S consoles will increase "effective August 1, 2026" in a post on Xbox News Wire. Specifically, the company says that "The price of XBOX consoles will increase by US$100 for 512 GB models and US$150 for 1 TB models. We will also be sunsetting our 2 TB model."
I’ve been reviewing audio gear at TechRadar for years now, and there’s nothing I enjoy sinking my teeth into than a brand new pair of noise cancelling headphones. I’ve tested more than 15 pairs so far, some of which have been mind-blowingly good, and some…less so.
In a highly convoluted market, it can be tough to pick out just one pair of headphones to buy, but today, I’m here to narrow things down for you. I’ve picked 4 of the best noise cancelling headphones that I’ve tested so that you can get great bang for your buck and enjoy your tunes without compromise.
There are options for a range of budgets here, from a top-class budget-friendly set all the way up to a premium pair that’s sure to bless your ears. Curious to know what made the cut? Scroll on down and discover my top picks.
1. The budget big-hitter: 1More Sonoflow Pro HQ51
(Image credit: Future)
I’ve raved about the 1More Sonoflow Pro HQ51 plenty of times, and for good reason. These headphones almost feel too good to be true — and on multiple counts.
Firstly, they’re incredibly cheap. They’re regularly available for less than $90 / £90, making them far more affordable than models from the likes of Apple and Bose. But that low price-point doesn’t come at the cost of quality. The Sonoflow Pro plate up surprisingly strong sound quality, with rich bass, clean mids, and controlled highs. They even have LDAC support for higher-res Bluetooth listening, which is a great feature for a product at such a budget-friendly price-point.
Another area these headphones excel in is ANC. Sure, you’re not getting Bose QuietComfort Ultra levels of noise-nixing, but they’re effective at dulling external sounds right across the frequency range, making them a nice pick for commutes or daytime walks. Pair that with an extraordinary 100 hours of battery life (65 hours with ANC on) and a sleek look, and the 1More Sonoflow Pro HQ51 are an easy recommendation.
2. The best all-rounders: Sony WH-1000XM6
(Image credit: Future)
If there’s one pair of noise cancelling headphones I’d recommend to everyone, it would be the Sony WH-1000XM6. These are the headphones that I use every single day, and in my eyes, they’re the perfect all-rounders, delivering class-leading ANC, stellar sound, and an ingenious design.
Let’s start with ANC which is so good here, that it even beats out Sony’s newer, more expensive headphones, the Sony 1000X The Collexion. The XM6 make use of Sony’s QN3 processor, which harnesses the power of 12 microphones to block out noise from your environment, and while they’re great across the board, they’re especially good at keeping low-end sounds away, even outdoing Bose in this area in my view.
Yes the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Gen 2 are arguably a bit better at banishing higher-pitched sounds, but we’re talking about fine margins here. And I’d pick the XM6 over their Bose rivals every time for one key reason: they sound a good deal better, in my view.
The XM6 were co-designed with leading mastering engineers for a studio-inspired sound, and take a more balanced approach than their predecessors, the still excellent Sony WH-1000XM5 and Sony WH-1000XM4. They still sound nice and punchy however, and their tight and dynamic sound is a joy to behold. Again, LDAC is here if you want a more detailed listen — as is 3.5mm wired connectivity.
On top of this, the XM6 offer top-tier touch controls, scene-based listening, a ten-band equalizer, and an effective transparency mode. In our best headphones guide, we ranked these as our best overall pick, and I’d strongly recommend you try them for yourself and find out why.
3. The noise-nixing on-ears: Marshall Milton ANC
(Image credit: Future)
Here’s something a little different. Yes, the recently released Marshall Milton ANC aren’t like any other entries in this list, as they’re actually on-ear headphones. The Milton ANC look to blend the iconic look and feel of the Marshall Major line with the noise cancelling prowess of the Marshall Monitor III ANC, and what do you know, they pull it off to perfection.
When I reviewed the Marshall Milton ANC, they honestly outstripped my expectations. See, I’m not generally a fan of on-ears, as I tend to find them uncomfortable, and their tendency to leak sound usually means I’ll just reach for my over-ears instead. But the Milton ANC are by far the comfiest on-ears I’ve ever tested, with a generous, flexible build — and they honestly sound great too, with less leakage than some rivals I’ve tested.
Out of the box, the Milton ANC are pretty bass-heavy, which will appeal to a lot of listeners I’m sure. However, the Marshall Bluetooth app provides an equalizer for toning things down a bit if you want a more even spread across the frequency range. Unlike previous Marshall products, these also feature LDAC for higher-res listening, but you’ll also get USB-C audio passthrough for lossless playback.
What’s more, the Milton ANC feature a colossal 80 hour battery life (with ANC off), a soundstage mode for more immersive listening, Auracast connectivity, and a gorgeous retro-style design. They’re also made of 42% recycled materials, and you can get replaceable parts in the situation that they break, which makes them feel like a worthwhile long-term investment.
OK, the ANC is a little limited as a result of the on-ear design, but they still restrict outside noise pretty effectively, and I’ve happily used them on trains and buses with very little distraction from whatever I’m listening to. So, if you want the flexibility that on-ears can offer with the benefits of noise cancelling, then the Marshall Milton ANC are without question my top choice.
4. The premium pick: Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3
(Image credit: Future)
Last and most definitely not least, we have the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3. If you want something that feels, looks, and sounds truly premium, this is it — this is what you’ve been looking for.
The first time that I put these headphones on, they took my breath away. They conjure up a sense of space that few rivals in this price bracket can muster, with incredibly immersive, almost three-dimensional sound. Bass is full-sounding, extends deep, and hits with striking agility. Mids are brilliantly defined, and vocal separation adds a layer of nuance that will keep you coming back for more and more. And the treble is vibrant without sounding uncontrolled or fatiguing.
And the Px7 S3 almost look as good as they sound, with an enticing faux-leather, metal, and fabric combination. They even come in an eye-catching range of colors, with Indigo Blue and Canvas White being my personal favorites. Mix in aptX codec support, much-improved ANC (compared to their predecessor), and a comfortable fit, and you’re getting a brilliant overall package.
While their sibling, the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 is the superior pair of headphones, they are far more expensive than the Px7 S3, which I think are fantastic in their own right, and I’d recommend with confidence.
X-VPN has added dedicated Soccer servers aimed at World Cup viewers
The servers cover six countries, chosen based on language preferences
The launch arrives as streaming demand and server congestion peak
With the 2026 World Cup already underway across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, X-VPN has rolled out a server line built for one job — streaming football matches.
The company has launched what it calls a dedicated Soccer 2026 server line across six countries: the United Kingdom, Ireland, Brazil, Austria, Poland, and the Netherlands.
Plenty of people already reach for the best VPN to follow their team when they are travelling or stuck behind a regional blackout, and the broad strokes here are familiar.
What is different is the framing: a seasonal, event-specific line that is meant to be quicker to navigate than a general world map of servers. If you have ever wondered whether you even need a VPN to watch the World Cup, this is X-VPN's pitch for one.
What X-VPN's Soccer 2026 servers actually do
(Image credit: X-VPN)
Instead of a generic country list, the Soccer 2026 line points you toward locations tied to the tournament's free and regional broadcasters.
Several of the six countries map neatly onto the platforms fans already use to watch the World Cup for free, with the UK in particular covering BBC iPlayer and ITVX. The selection is built around language and viewing preferences rather than raw server count.
On availability, X-VPN says initial support has been announced for iOS, Windows, macOS, and Android, with Apple TV and Android TV support planned. That last part is worth flagging, since the living-room devices most people actually watch football on are still on the roadmap rather than live today.
Why streaming-optimized servers matter during the World Cup
Live sport is one of the hardest things to stream well. The feed is real-time, it eats bandwidth, and a small amount of lag can mean a goal alert buzzes your phone before you see the ball hit the net.
The flip side is congestion: when too many users pile onto the same server, speeds drop, which is exactly the risk during a simultaneous global kickoff. Grouping servers around a specific event is, in part, an attempt to manage that load.
A server tuned for streaming is really about three things: speed, stability, and not landing on an overcrowded connection when millions of other people are watching the same knockout tie.
None of this removes the basics. If you are watching on stadium, fan-park, or hotel Wi-Fi, your local network is often the real bottleneck, and a few settings tweaks to keep your connection fast in crowded environments will do as much for your stream as the server you pick.
The tournament runs from June 11 to July 19, 2026, and is the first 48-team World Cup, with 104 matches in total. That is a lot of football, a lot of late nights for some viewers, and a lot of demand hitting broadcasters at once.
A server line built for exactly this window makes it easier for more people to watch the matches they're interested in, and with the regional complexities and expenses involved with sports streaming, this is always a good thing.
In the UK, we've been dealing with multiple unseasonable heatwaves, and if it's taught me anything, it's that hydration is important — and so is keeping your drinks at the right temperature. It's a small thing, but many times over the last few days, I've taken a sip from a bottle in my bag and grimaced, as my cheap non-insulated, single-layer metal screw-top bottle just isn't keeping anything cool.
Fortunately, thanks to the Amazon Prime Day deals, I'm coming prepared next time. I'm ordering myself a Yeti Rambler 42oz Straw Mug. Yeti are the gold standard of keeping things cool (and hot), and Amazon is doing some particularly good deals on their Tumbler shape right now.
Save 30% on the Rambler Straw Mug's 35oz size in Papaya or White colorways. This is a cold drinks bottle for life, as Yeti famously over-engineer their products and back them up with a five-year warranty. Dishwasher safe. Also in White. View Deal
Save 35% on the larger 1.2L bottle in the UK, in White, Navy or the Key Lime colour opposite. Yeti makes their products to last, and their cooling technology is second to none. The straw is clear plastic so you can easily spot any build-up affecting taste, and the product is also rust and puncture resistant.View Deal
The Yeti Ramblers are ideal for the gym, but they'll really shine on a long commute or car trip too, as you can pop a cold drink in them, head out the door on your way to work, and still be sipping refreshed at midday. I've ordered the larger 1.2L version because, as a fitness writer, I'm apparently supposed to be keeping myself hydrated.
Everyone has their favorite Pokémon entry, and Pokémon in general — mine’s Buizel — and while I have a soft spot for Pokémon Diamond (and Gen 4 as a whole), in contention for the top spot would have to be the Nintendo Switch 2 instant classic that is Pokémon Legends Z-A.
And right now it’s on sale for Amazon Prime Day — the Nintendo Switch 2 physical edition is down to $44.99 — that's a whole $25 off its list price. Just remember to run, not walk, as this is a limited-time deal — and 17% of the discounted units have already been sold at the time of writing!
For folks who grew up with the Pokémon anime and games, Z-A is the perfect combination of both, with its story and adapted battling mechanics; and as I said in my review, it felt like the series has finally found its way again after losing itself slightly in the 3D era.
Sure, Lumiose City can feel a little claustrophobic by the end of your adventure, but the one-city setting worked surprisingly well, and I kinda loved the scaled-back but still high-stakes adventure.
I can’t recommend this game enough, and anyone with a Switch 2 (even folks who haven’t clicked with Pokémon before) should give this title a try.
If you have a Nintendo Switch 2 then you need to play Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's easily the best entry in the series in a long while, and the approachable yet exciting story, and the battle mechanics, make it a solid choice for newcomers and long-time fans alike.
This Prime Day deal is a mega one — you seriously don't want to miss it!View Deal
Ready to be a Champion?
(Image credit: The Pokemon Company)
Given that I’ve been playing so much of it since its mobile release, I need to talk about Pokémon Champions, and how Legends Z-A gives you the best possible head-start in that title.
You can play Champions completely on its own, collecting Pokémon through the recruitment ranch, training them up at the in-game gym, and heading out to compete in single or double battles. And you can play it completely free-to-play without too much trouble if you’re careful with your resources, complete challenges, and finish all of the tutorials.
But a big way to avoid spending in Champions is to import Pokémon from your other games via Pokémon Home. Pokémon Go is an excellent mobile-only option, but for Switch 2 owners Legends: Z-A has a major advantage.
Thanks to its mega evolution focus, all the most powerful new ‘mon can be caught and sent over to Champions. There are a couple of VGC classics who aren’t present (like the infamous Incineroar) but given Champions’ smallish pool of Pokémon, it shouldn’t take you long to find them through recruitment, especially as your resources won’t be so limited by needing to build out a whole team.
(Image credit: Future / The Pokémon Company)
Legends: Z-A is also home to a Champions contender who can only be obtained through Z-A — it’s the only exclusive ‘mon in the battler right now, as it won’t ever appear on the ranch, no matter how many times you attempt to recruit (though we don’t know if that will change in a future update). Perhaps most annoyingly of all, this contender is arguably the best mega evolution in Champions, with raw power that requires a dedicated counter on your team in case you ever face one on the ladder.
Oh, and did I mention this exclusive is only earned deep into Legends’ post-game?
I’m, of course, referring to Mega Floette which can only be achieved by mega-evolving the special Eternal Flower form obtainable after finishing Legends: Z-A and progressing through the post-game battle competition.
Eternal Flower Floette boasts seriously lifted stats compared to its base form, which are elevated further by its mega-evolution. Its Fairy Aura ability — previously exclusive to Xerneas, a contender for the best Pokémon ever competitively speaking — then buffs fairy-type moves’ power, which in conjunction with its stats and fairy typing (lending a same-type attack bonus on top of everything else) make Mega Floette a cannon ready to eliminate almost any ‘mon that dares to stand in front of its Moonblast.
If you’re playing Champions you need an answer to Floette — popular choices are Kingambit or Sneasler — otherwise a well-supported Eternal Flower will sweep your team.
So even if you don’t care about anything other than being the very best in Pokémon’s competitive scene, for now Legends: Z-A is a game you need to play. And with this deal you can save a big chunk on its price of entry (and you can always trade-in this physical edition game for something else down the line).
Halo Campaign Evolved's executive producer, Damian Kahn, says the team wanted to explore the relationship between Sergeant Johnson and Master Chief for the three new missions
The new missions were also inspired by Troy Denning's Halo novels
Halo Studios suggests players play them after the original story
Halo Campaign Evolved executive producer Damian Kahn and creative director Max Schlomberg have confirmed that the remake's three new missions were created with the help of Halo book author Troy Denning.
In an interview with TechRadar Gaming at Summer Game Fest 2026, where we went hands-on with the upcoming game, the developers explained that the Halo universe has a lot to explore, but they wanted to explore the relationship between Sergeant Johnson and Master Chief in the missions of Operation: METEORITE.
"If you think about it, in the original game, you see Sergeant Johnson as such an important character in these original games, but you don't really get to know Sergeant Johnson that well, or his relationship with Chief," Kahn said. "That really set the stage for us creatively to think about, 'Hey, let's talk about a mission that they went on a year before the events of The Ring,' and then really to go into their relationship and how they fight alongside each other.
"Even beyond that, there's all this other universe. You've got Spartans and ODSTs. You've got the Brutes. You've got the Prophets. It's really just us leaning into these other elements of the story that we can tell more deeply, that then let you go back and appreciate more of the campaign and what's there."
Schlomberg added that Troy Denning, one of the authors who writes some of the Halo novels, like Halo: Last Light, Halo: Retribution, and Halo: Silent Storm - A Master Chief Story, also "helped with the story" of the three missions.
"It's a lore-authentic story," he said, explaining that series veterans who have been fans for 25 years and played on Xbox or PC are going to get new bits of information that they've been wanting, allowing them to "piece more of the puzzle together," such as the Covenant War.
"It's really going to be fun for them," Schlomberg added. "But then also, if you're brand new to the experience, maybe you're a PlayStation player, you've never played before, and this is going to be something that would be really good to play after you play the main ring storyline."
However, the creative director suggests that players play the new missions "after they've played and experienced the original."
"It is meant to be played that way, because we've made it more of an intermediate difficulty experience, it's a little bit progressed further along. You start off, and it's a little bit more challenging than the first mission of Halo," he said.
"But again, you can play it in any order you would like. We're not going to make you choose or anything like that, but we just suggest that you play it that way."
It's 'Global Beatles Day' today, June 25th, which is the perfect excuse to go on a magical mystery tour of the Fab Four's finest output. Consider it a gift from me to you: I've collected essential vinyl albums, great turntables to play them on, fun accessories, the ultimate version of their best movie, and some other great gifts from across the universe (well, Amazon).
There's obviously the option of getting the whole Beatles Anthology vinyl collection, but that's a lot of money to spend — though I want to tell you that it's also excellent value overall. There are also smaller collections, so you can pick up the LPs that look especially great when displayed, such as Abbey Road, Revolver and The White Album.
I've got a feeling you'll also love the special Criterion Collection Blu-ray of A Hard Day's Night, because it's easily the best way to watch the film, with a beautiful visual presentation and hours of features and documentaries from the era.
I've also highlighted a Sony turntable that's basically the best beginner option on the market right now if you're just getting into vinyl, plus some Beatles playing cards and a couple of other cool desktop gifts. Don't wait on these — because tomorrow never knows if they'll still be available.
UK Beatles picks
The Beatles
Abbey Road [vinyl]
The Beatles
Let It Be [vinyl]
The Beatles
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band [vinyl]
The Beatles
The White Album [vinyl]
The Beatles
Rubber Soul [vinyl]
The Beatles
The Beatles 1967 - 1970 [vinyl]
The Beatles
1 [vinyl]
The Beatles
Anthology Collection [vinyl]
Crosley
Crosley the Beatles Anthology Portable Turntable - Bluetooth Record Player, Built in Stereo Speakers
Sony
Sony PS-LX3BT, Wireless Bluetooth Turntable with Full Auto Playback
D'Addario
Beatles Yellow Submarine Record Mat, Primrose
Criterion
A Hard Day's Night [4K UHD + Blu-Ray]
Puckator
The Beatles Yellow Submarine Standard Playing Card Deck
Igloo Books
The Beatles Colouring Book (Mindful Colouring)
Grupo Erik
Battery Lamp - The Beatles Desk Lamp Table
US Beatles picks
The Beatles
Revolver (special Edition)[vinyl]
The Beatles
Abbey Road (Anniversary Edition)[vinyl]
The Beatles
Let It Be (special Edition)[vinyl]
Generic
The Beatles: Essential 4 Album Vinyl Record Collection - Remastered Anniversary Editions - Rubber Soul / Revolver / Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band / Abbey Road
The Beatles
The White Album [vinyl]
The Beatles
Rubber Soul [vinyl]
The Beatles
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band [vinyl] [2017 Stereo Mix]
The Beatles
1 [vinyl]
The Beatles
Help![vinyl]
The Beatles
The Beatles 1967-1970 (2023 Edition)[vinyl] [half-Speed]
Ludicrously excited about the announced remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time? Yeah, me too. Unfortunately, I also have issues with delaying gratification, so waiting months for it to be released feels interminable to me. Fortunately, there are lots of other nostalgic purchases available this Prime Day, so if you're as into retro gaming as I am, let me introduce you to a few of my faves.
My core memories of gaming were formed in about 1990. That's why I love retro gaming, as it enables me to relive those halcyon days when most beloved characters were just 16 pixels high, and soundtracks sounded like a modem composing free jazz. Pixel art, chiptune sound effects, and awkwardly translated dialogue will never cease to charm me.
That's why I'm always on the lookout for fun retro consoles and accessories. If it gives me an excuse to complete Chrono Trigger for the 12th time or be terrified by the low-poly horror of Silent Hill all over again, I'm in. And, fortunately, this Prime Day has supplied plenty of great retro gaming deals to tide both of us over until The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake or Final Fantasy VII Revelation drops at last.
If you're not on the hunt for gadgets you once owned 30 years ago, you can find plenty of deals on cutting-edge tech on our Amazon Prime Day US live blog.
For the first time in over 40 years, a Supergirl movie has soared into theaters. And, if you weren't put off by its middling reviews — check out my Supergirl review to see what I thought of it — and have already watched it at your local cinema, you might need some clarity about what happens in its finale.
Below, I've answered your biggest questions about the DC Universe (DCU) film's ending and how it sets up next year's Superman sequel. So, this is your one and only warning: full spoilers immediately follow for Supergirl. Turn back now if you haven't seen it yet.
Does Krypto die in Supergirl?
Breathe a sigh of relief, everyone, because Krypto lives to fight another day (Image credit: DC Studios)
Rejoice, dog and animal lovers alike, because Krypto does not die.
As you'll know, part of this film's plot revolves around the titular Kryptonian — real name Kara Zor-El — retrieving an antidote to neutralize the effects of a poisoned dart that Krypto was shot with.
Did James Gunn direct Supergirl? And who wrote it?
No, Gunn didn't write or direct Supergirl.
It was helmed by Craig Gillespie, who some readers might know as the filmmaker behind the Margot Robbie-starring I, Tonya and 101 Dalmatians live-action prequel Cruella.
Meanwhile, actor-turned-screenwriter Ana Nogueira was responsible for its script. Nogueira is also confirmed to be writing the DCU's Wonder Woman film, which is still in very early development.
The problem? The only cure is in the possession of villain-in-chief Krem of the Yellow Hills, who just so happened to be the individual responsible for gravely injuring Krypto in the first place. And, as Kara learns, she only has 72 hours to track down Krem, acquire the necessary cure, and administer it, otherwise Krypto will succumb to the toxin.
To cut a long story short, Kara succeeds in her mission. Returning to the planet she left Krypto on, she hands the medication to the local physician, who injects it into Krypto and, within seconds, he's fit and healthy once more. Phew!
Why does Kara kill Krem in Supergirl?
I suspect there'll be a fair amount of backlash to Kara's decision to kill Krem (Image credit: Warner Bros. Pictures/DC Studios)
On the surface, the answer is simple: Krem is responsible for Krypto's near-death experience. Her Kryptonian cousin — Clark Kent/Kal-El/Superman — notwithstanding, Kara's only tie to the duo's annihilated home world Krypton is her superpowered pup. So, considering Krypto's life was severely threatened, you can understand why she ultimately decided to take Krem's life.
There are other factors at play, too, though. For one, Kara kills him because he murdered the family of young warrior Ruthye, who enlists Kara's help to enact revenge on Krem. However, rather than let Ruthye slay him and carry that weight for the rest of her days, Kara convinces Ruthye not to go through with it and, after sending Ruthye away, Kara deals the killing blow instead.
Then there's the fact that Krem and his criminal enterprise, aka the Brigands, hop from planet to planet to kidnap teenage girls and use them to create the next generation for this all-male gang. Furthermore, killing Krem means that he won't be able to revive the Brigands and, by proxy, his reign of terror. Add those reasons together, and it's little wonder that the honor-bound Kara bumps him off.
Krem is irredeemable, but his murder undercuts the entire point of Supergirl's main thematic thread (Image credit: DC Studios/Warner Bros. Pictures)
Nevertheless, Kara's decision to murder Krem is sure to polarize viewers.
In Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, aka the 2021 graphic novel that this film is based on, Krem is allowed to live. That's because Kara wants to teach Ruthye that revenge is never the answer, and breaking the cycle of violence is the only way to process your trauma and heal from it.
Supergirl follows the same thematic line right up until Kara kills Krem — and, in spite of the reasons I outlined earlier, it still doesn't sit right with me.
Sure, the narrative reasoning for Krem's death is sound. Additionally, despite the similarities that exist between Kara and Supes, it not only proves how different their worldviews are, but also positions her as something of an anti-hero rather than a traditional champion of the people.
That all said, Kara choosing to murder Krem completely undercuts the thematic purpose of the entire story, and I'm willing to be that there'll be many viewers like me who wished that this specific part of the DCU Chapter One movie had ended differently.
Does Supergirl have any end credits scenes?
My face when I realized I was waiting for an end credits scene that would never come... (Image credit: DC Studios/Warner Bros. Pictures)
Nope, there isn't a mid-credits and/or post-credits stinger to stick around for once Supergirl's end credits sequence begins.
So, if you don't want to stick around and appreciate how many people worked on this project, you can make a quick exit from your screening without worrying that you've missed the set up for DC Studios' next big-screen offering.
How does Supergirl set up Man of Tomorrow?
Man of Tomorrow is the 2027 sequel to last year's Superman movie (Image credit: DC Studios/Warner Bros. Pictures)
Supergirl doesn't set up any specific story threads for Man of Tomorrow, aka next year's follow-up in 2025's Superman movie. If you were hoping for even the slightest tease about its plot via a first-look clip or otherwise, then, you'll be sorely disappointed.
Regardless, Supergirl's final scene reconfirms that Milly Alcock's Kara will be part of Man of Tomorrow's cast.
Indeed, before Supergirl's end credits crawl, we see Kara and Krypto return to their Metropolis-based apartment just as David Corenswet's Supes is checking in on the place in their absence. As Krypto goes through Kara's trash, Kara and her sole surviving relative sit down for a quiet and brief chat, which ends with Kara telling Clark that she plans on sticking around on Earth for a while.
We already knew that Alcock's Girl of Steel would return in Man of Tomorrow — DC Studios co-chief Peter Safran revealed as much in a recent chat with The Hollywood Reporter. Nonetheless, it's pleasing to see that Supergirl acknowledges Kara is back on Earth prior to her appearance in next year's Superman sequel and that she won't just turn up out of the blue at some point in the film.
Don't get me wrong, I love my dog. He's a really, really good boy. Maybe the best boy? I don't know, I haven't met all the dogs. Yet. But I what I don't love so much is his hair, which seems to shed at such a rate that it's astounding to me that he has any left at all.
It's been an absolute blessing, then, to have spent two years testing vacuums for TechRadar. I've tested all kinds of vacuums, at all kinds of price points, but the one I've clung on to is the Roborock Saros 10. It arrived in my home in spring 2025, and since then it has been a vital tool in my anti-hair arsenal. It gets sent out cleaning every night — and it hasn't let me down yet.
Despite being one of my most-used gadgets, I found it a little hard to recommend at list price (a cool £1.5K at launch). Since then it's attracted a number of deals, but none so good as the current Prime Day discount: the Roborock Saros 10 is now £699.99 at Amazon (down from an adjusted list price of £1,199.99). At that price, I would absolutely recommend it, as it's one of the very best robot vacuums I've ever used — and, like I say, I've used plenty.
This massive 42% discount represents a new lowest-ever price on this premium, fully-featured robot vacuum and mop. You do need to be a Prime member to claim the deal, but you can sign up for a free trial if you want. View Deal
There's no Saros 10 deal for US shoppers, but there is a huge discount — and another new all-time cheapest price — on the 10R. This is a sister model, and the two are almost exactly the same — I'll cover the differences below. My reviewer loved this model as much as I love my Saros 10. View Deal
If you're suspicious of such a hefty discount, don't be. The robot vacuum market rattles along at a rate of knots, with multiple new models released each year (the two bots showcased here have officially been replaced by the Saros 20 and Saros 20 Sonic), That means models like this might be considered old news, even though they've only been around a couple of years.
The rate of appreciable improvement has slowed, though, so while the specs in the newest models might be technically better, you'll likely struggle to see much — if any — difference in the performance. That's true in the case of the Saros 20, which I also tested.
(Image credit: Future)
What's so good about the Roborock Saros 10?
Why do I love the Roborock Saros 10 so much? It's an ultra-capable all-rounder that requires minimal effort and maintenance from me. The vacuuming is efficient and effective, and the navigation and object avoidance is reliable — even when faced with the complicated corner of my kitchen that includes a thin rug, a table and multiple dining chairs, and also acts as the dog's preferred toy discard area. The mopping is also effective and thorough, clearing pawprints and smudges with ease.
The dock is also a standout. It auto-empties the dust cup, and has enough oomph that I've never experienced a hair blockage during this process (not true of all self-empty robovacs I've used). It'll also top up the onboard water tank from its larger dock reservoir — adding the right amount of cleaning fluid as it does so — and clean and dry the mop pads when it's done cleaning. Opting for a slightly older flagship model is my #1 tip for saving money when shopping for a robot vacuum.
What's the difference between the Saros 10 and 10R?
The Roborock Saros 10 and 10R are very similar in terms of specs and performance, but there are a couple of design differences. The first is that the 10R uses a different navigation system; one which doesn't require a raised LiDAR puck. So instead of a puck that can pop up and down, there's no puck at all. On test, we found this robovac navigated just as accurately as the 10. Both bots are the same height, and both are equally good at cleaning under the sofa.
The second difference is the mop pad style. While the 10 has a vibrating, D-shaped pad, the 10R boasts two, spinning pads. If I had to choose, I'd say I slightly prefer the dual mop-pad setup, but there's barely anything in it. In terms of wet cleaning, neither of these robot vacuums will let you down.
Most people don't walk enough. Sure, serious fitness enthusiasts make sure to get their 10,000 steps in each day, but many of us simply don't come close most days.
My fun fact of today is that the magic '10,000 steps' target isn't actually backed by science, but was arbitrarily invented by a Japanese pedometer company in the 1960s — but even though the number isn't a scientific target, moving more is rarely a bad thing.
You can use one of the best smartwatches or best fitness trackers to keep track of your steps and motivate yourself to hit the extra goal. But if it's too cold or hot to go outside, or you're inside with no reason to leave, it can be very easy to let those cardio goals slide. People give up on running regimes or pay for unused gym memberships when what they need is an easy, accessible, low-impact way to keep or stay fit.
Step forward, walkingpads, otherwise known as under-desk treadmills. These slim cardio machines are easy to store, often cheap to buy (especially on Amazon Prime Day), and have become very popular on TikTok. Ideal for beginners or those looking for a gentler introduction to fitness, here's a trio of science-backed reasons to get one, along with a bunch of Amazon Prime Day deals on walkingpads in the US and UK.
1. You can watch TV while you walk
If you were going to catch up with your favorite shows while lounging on the sofa, now you can use that time to get your cardio in. Simply wheel the machine out from behind the sofa, under the bed, or wherever it's stored, plug it in, and switch on the TV.
Research published in the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine found that 'TV viewing, regardless of whether the programming is self-selected or standardized, associates with greater enjoyment of exercise'. If you find the exercise process enjoyable, you'll keep coming back to it; walking in front of one of the best streaming services might be a perfect way to get started. Try walking for the duration of one 30-minute episode of your latest obsession show each day.
(Image credit: Future / Jessica Downey)
2. Walking is low-intensity
Some people find running painful or intimidating. But walking is a low-impact, low-intensity alternative that most of us engage in every day. The human body was built to walk, and most of us can do so comfortably for at least a short period of time.
Research found that for people unable to tolerate moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, lower-intensity walking was still beneficial for improving health, serving as a 'suitable alternative' to vigorous exercise. If you find running for 30 minutes hurts your knees or hips, walking for 45 minutes in front of the TV might be a more comfortable option for you.
3. Treadmills provide accessibility
As nice as it is to walk in front of the TV, sometimes it's good to get out into nature. Walkingpads or under-desk treadmills can be supplemental to a routine, acting as a helpful alternative to make sure you're consistent.
On fair-weather days, take your 30-minute walk outdoors and plan a circular route, while on rainy days or during heatwaves, you can stay indoors and walk instead. Giving yourself options and flexibility allows you to stay consistent, and when it comes to improving fitness, consistency is king.
Best walkingpad / under-desk treadmill deals in the US
Save a cool $64 on this fold-up WalkingPad, ideal for cupboard or under-bed storage. With a max speed of 4mph, it's ideal for walkers after a compact device, while its LED display shows estimates of calories burned, along with time, distance, and walking speeds.View Deal
We've reviewed DeerRun walking pads before and found them to be sturdy, no-fuss devices that feel solid underfoot. You can save 33% on this basic model, bringing it to just over $110 for Prime Day.View Deal
An upgrade over the other cheap-and-cheerful models, with an automatic 12% incline across 9 levels to simulate tougher routes and uphills. It's bulkier than the others, comprised of steel, with an impressive 200kgs weight capacity. The premium choice.View Deal
Best walkingpad / under-desk treadmill deals in the UK
A huge deal: save 50% off the Mobvoi Home Treadmill Pro. I reviewed the original Mobvoi Home Treadmill and loved it: the Pro goes one step further with virtual training trails, walking and running modes, and optional safety rails. View Deal
A good treadmill for those who may want to do a little jogging, as its fold-up safety rail enables it to enter a 'running mode' up to 12km/hr. It supports a 136kgs weight capacity and even has an accompanying AI-powered app. Comes in three sizes.View Deal
Every Prime Day, Amazon tends to really steal the headlines. I mean, it's not hard to see why considering the retailer started the ball rolling with big summer sales and continues to do so. That doesn't mean Amazon is the only game in town, however.
For example, if you have a penchant for Samsung products (as we do at TechRadar), then you're in for a treat over at the official Samsung Store. Right now, it's hosting a Prime Day-adjacent 4th of July event with record-low prices on the latest models. I haven't seen a sale this good at Samsung since Black Friday, in fact.
If you're interested, I've picked out today's best deals at Samsung just down below. Highlights include the latest Galaxy S26 series, the Galaxy Watch 8, and the brand new Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, which are only a few months old as of writing.
While I'm here, it's worth mentioning that Samsung's deals on TVs are particularly good today. Not only are some of the latest 2026 models available with their first-ever real price cuts, but a few slightly older outgoing models are getting clearance deals. If you're looking for a bargain, I'd absolutely recommend checking those out.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra: $330 off upfront, or up to $720 off with a trade-in at Samsung The outstanding Galaxy S26 Ultra has just been listed for its lowest price yet at the official Samsung Store this week, with an excellent $350 discount on unlocked devices. Available across all storage variants and colors, this deal can get you a device for as little as $949 upfront. Trade-in rebates of up to $720 are also available, but we've seen slightly better offerings in the past for trades.
The Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra is the latest and greatest of Samsung's tablets, and today's deal offers the choice between a $400 upfront discount or a trade-in of up to $500 off. While pricey, the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra boasts specs that challenge even the most powerful of iPads. With a 14.6-inch display, a top-notch build quality, and desktop-level power, you're getting a serious tablet here.View Deal
Save $200 on the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra in all colorways, including the fetching Titanium Blue version introduced last year. While it's not the best choice for everyone, its power, longevity (up to 100 hours!) and rugged durability means it's well-made for adventurers and triathletes. Watch out, Garmin. Today's deal at Samsung offers either $200 off upfront, or the option to trade-in for a discount of up to $250.View Deal
A 4.5-star-rated smartwatch with super-accurate health and activity tracking. If you throw in the industry-leading AI features, then you really do have the complete package with the excellent Galaxy Watch 8. Today's deal at the Samsung Store gets you either an upfront $120 discount or the option to trade-in for up to $200 off; a really good bargain for both the Bluetooth and LTE variants.View Deal
One of the first major deals on Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, you can currently get an impressive $40 discount on these new premium buds. We rated the buds 4.5 out of five stars thanks to innovative technology such as head-gesture operation, an intelligent ambient mode, and fantastic ANC. Even though they work with any Bluetooth-enabled phone, it is Samsung users who will benefit from the complete set of features here, so they're a good pairing with one of the latest Galaxy S26 series. View Deal
2026 Samsung TVs on sale
Samsung's rival Prime Day sale has a rare $300 discount on Samsung's all-new 65-inch R85H Micro RGB 4K Smart TV. Perfect for watching the World Cup on, Samsung's R85H Series delivers brilliant colors that come to life thanks to its Micro RGB technology and AI engine.View Deal
The S95H is the successor to the wildly popular S95F, which was one of our top-rated TVs of 2025. We haven't reviewed this iteration yet, but we have no hesitation recommending one of the first price cuts we've seen on the model. The main upgrades here are a QD-OLED panel, updated AI processing, and a new picture-frame design with a built-in bezel. Otherwise, you're still getting a stunning picture and support for a 165Hz refresh rate.View Deal
The new QH series from Samsung are a good choice if you want a decent TV but don't want to completely break the bank. The QN80H is the higher-end model and features AI-based picture and audio optimization, and SDR to HDR upscaling. QN80H also features Motion Xcelerator 144Hz support, which makes it a good choice for sports or gaming. You don't get as deep blacks with a Neo-QLED, but the picture quality is still absolutely fantastic.View Deal
The Frame series is a real crowd favorite, and it's certainly a very unique idea. Specs-wise, you don't tend to get the best of the best with these TVs, but they do offer a gorgeous art-like design that melds into any environment. The latest 2026 Pro model features a matte anti-reflective coating and a Neo-QLED panel with support for 144Hz refresh rates. View Deal
Older Samsung TVs on sale
The 65-inch S90F is a slightly older model now, but it still holds up great, with the same comprehensive set of gaming features as the higher-end Samsung S95F OLED. The 65-inch S90F was already a great value, but today's massive $1,300 price cut at Samsung just makes it one of the best buys on the entire site this week. This price is $200 lower than Black Friday, for example. View Deal
Samsung's flagship OLED TV for 2025 improves upon its predecessor with even higher brightness and a 2.0 version of its Glare-Free OLED screen. Gaming support has expanded with 4K 165Hz support across all four HDMI 2.1 ports, and the TV's Tizen smart interface now features the Samsung Art Store portal. All sizes apart from the 55-inch are sold out right now, annoyingly, so grab this still-amazing TV while you still can. View Deal
The QN90F is a slightly older model now, but it's still an amazing choice if you're looking for a great quality display with fantastic brightness. Samsung is offering a record-low price on the larger 75-inch model right now (the smaller sizes are already sold out). This Neo QLED TV features mini LEDs and Samsung's Glare-Free 2.0 technology, allowing you to view it from nearly any angle. Paired with high brightness and punchy colors, this makes it a great pick for sports.View Deal
EUROPOL’s Operation Endgame froze $47M in cryptocurrency and dismantled infrastructure for SocGholish, Amadey, and StealC malware
326 servers, 142 domains, and 14,971 infected websites were taken down, disrupting distribution networks and recovering 27M credentials
No arrests were made; experts warn such disruptions often only temporarily halt criminal operations before infrastructure is rebuilt
Millions of dollars in cryptocurrency were frozen, and hundreds of servers taken down, in a sweeping operation by EUROPOL and multiple national law enforcement agencies against cybercriminals.
Over the last couple of weeks, EUROPOL ran Operation Endgame, together with law enforcement agencies from Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Multiple private companies, including Microsoft, participated as well.
The goal was the dismantling of digital infrastructure used by three distinct hacking operations: SocGholish, Amadey, and StealC. These are known malware variants, granting attackers backdoor access, and stealing valuable secrets from compromised devices.
Shutting down servers and cleaning websites
SocGholish, for example, is a sophisticated JavaScript downloader and loader, linked to a Russian Malware-as-a-Service (MaaS) operation called Evil Corp.
During the operation, the police managed to identify and freeze $47 million in cryptocurrencies. It cannot access or retrieve these funds, but by freezing them, it effectively removed them from circulation. Around 27 million login credentials were also recovered as part of this operation.
Furthermore, law enforcement shut down 326 servers and 142 domains that were used to host and distribute the malware. This, EUROPOL says, “severely crippled” the malware’s distribution network: “By taking down these tools simultaneously, the collaboration between law enforcement and private parties has increased friction for cybercriminals, making it harder for attacks to succeed, spread, or recover.”
EUROPOL also said that by taking down SocGholish, 14,971 infected websites were “remediated”. These are legitimate sites, belonging to different businesses such as restaurants, auto repair shops, and others, but were compromised and used as launchpads for malware delivery.
Sadly, no arrests have been made, and EUROPOL did not say if key players of these groups were even identified. Usually, disruptions such as this one only momentarily stop malicious activities, which resume in a few weeks once the infrastructure is rebuilt.
If you are looking for a security suite for your team or business, NordLayer may have just what you're looking for - and they currently have a 20% discount code.
The core features include a business VPN, access control & zero trust architecture, threat prevention & intelligence, password management, device protection, and advanced device security.
There are also numerous handy integrations across identity & access management, cloud networks, and cybersecurity.
Today's top NordLayer deal
Logging into work accounts while traveling increases the risk of business access being intercepted or exposed. This opens the door to phishing and unauthorized login attempts. NordLayer helps teams stay protected wherever work happens – now with up to 20% OFF annual plans during the Summer Sale.
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For small teams looking for an essential layer of business protection, the Lite plan offers all of the core features at $8/month per user.
Network security connection speed is up to 1 Gbps (across all plans) with Shared Gateway locations across 40+ countries , so your security won't slow down your collaboration, business meetings, or general connectivity.
Your network will also be protected with Download Protection, Web Protection, VPN protocol variety to suit your preferences, and the highly efficient NordLynx VPN protocol.
For each license, you get 6 device network connections with multi-platform app support. The Lite plan also features multi-factor authentication and single sign-on, alongside activity monitoring reports to spot any suspicious or unsecured activity.
NordLayer Core
NordLayer Core adds additional functionality across network security, internet access security, network connectors, user authorization & management, and visibility at $11/month per user.
For a start, your team will benefit from a server with a dedicated IP, alongside IP allowlisting and IP-based split tunneling, plus a choice of Virtual Private Gateway locations in 40+ countries. You'll also be able to manually configure your network connections.
Core also adds category-based DNS filtering, custom DNS, and an application blocker to keep your team from accessing disruptive or unsecured apps.
For security, your team will have access to biometric authentication to verify that it is actually your colleagues accessing your network, and not a malicious actor. For additional visibility into the security of your team members, Core adds device posture monitoring.
NordLayer Premium
Premium ups your protection significantly at $14/month per user.
On the network security side, NordLayer offers a Cloud Firewall (FWaaS) and device-level posture security, plus URL-based split tunneling available as a browser extension.
It also adds site-to-site configurations for your network connector, with a Cloud LAN and browser extension for added usability. Premium also adds user provisioning to speed up onboarding for new employees.
Apple has raised the price of its iPads, Macs, and more Apple has refreshed its website with an entirely new price list, and it’s not good news for Apple fans. Most of Apple’s hardware appears to have received significant price increases, including their recently released MacBook Neo. Apple’s £599 MacBook Neo 256GB now costs £699. […]
Microsoft has quietly announced that Windows 10's extended support updates program will continue for an extra year, now until October 2027 for free if you sign-in to Windows 10 with a Microsoft account.
Originally, Windows 10's extended support program was only supposed to last one year, until October 2026 for consumers. However, a new support page published by Microsoft today has confirmed that the Windows 10 ESU program will now last until October 2027 instead.
"Windows 10 support has ended. You can enroll in ESU any time until the programme ends on 12 October, 2027. If you’re already enrolled, your coverage will automatically continue through that date—no action needed," says the support page.
All Windows 10 users that are already enrolled in the ESU program will get this extended year of updates automatically. You can enroll in the program for free by signing in with a Microsoft account, or pay 1,000 Microsoft reward points or $30 USD.
Microsoft has likely extended support for Windows 10 by an extra year due to the ongoing RAM crisis, which has pushed new PC prices through the roof making them difficult to justify financially, especially if you already have a working Windows 10 PC.
There are still hundreds of millions of PCs running Windows 10, and with extended support originally ending this October, many people would have been without the latest security patches keeping their devices secure.
The Windows 10 ESU program is vital to ensuring a PC that is connected to the internet is secure. Microsoft is still updating Windows 10 with security patches through the ESU program, and not being enrolled leaves your device open to attackers that might be trying to exploit vulnerabilities in the Windows 10 OS.
The good news is if you're already enrolled in the program, there's nothing you need to do to remain supported until October 2027. Your PC will keep getting security updates automatically until that date.
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Just over a week after it was reported that Bungie — the developer of the 2017 live-service shooter Destiny 2 and this year's extraction shooter Marathon — would soon face "significant" layoffs, major cuts at the studio have now come, having been announced by Sony CEO Hermen Hulst.
Hulst revealed the news in a letter to Sony employees that was also published publicly, writing that the layoffs have impacted "a significant number of employees, including most of the Destiny team and some Marathon team members." Sony teams tasked with supporting Bungie have also been affected.
He went on to explain that "This decision was made only after extensive discussion and careful consideration," and that Sony worked with Bungie's leadership to evaluate its long-term plans, resource demands, and place within the PlayStation portfolio "before concluding that a reduction was necessary to align the studio’s resources with its current priorities and long-term goals."
"What Bungie has accomplished with Destinyover the past decade has been truly remarkable," Hulst wrote, of the space fantasy looter shooter's legacy. "The franchise has left a lasting mark on players and the industry, and everyone who contributed to its success should be proud of what they helped create."
He also made a point of mentioning that "Marathonremains an important part of our portfolio, and we will continue to support the team as they build on the strong foundation established in Season 1 and 2, and as they work on incubation efforts for future projects." Though the sci-fi extraction shooter reboot hasn't been a massive hit for Bungie and PlayStation, it does have a passionate and dedicated community of players.
Sony acquired Bungie for $3.6 billion in 2022, adding the studio to its live-service game development group. According to one former Bungie worker, though, the merger was done as an "emergency," as Bungie would have been "very close to shutting its doors" without it. (Image credit: PlayStation)
"Our immediate priority is supporting affected employees through this transition. We are providing transition support and, where possible, working to identify opportunities across SIE and our global network of studios," Hulst continued.
"I want to sincerely thank every affected employee for their hard work, creativity, and contributions to Bungie, SIE, and the broader gaming community," he added. "I know today’s news is deeply difficult not only for those leaving, but for those colleagues and friends that remain. Please take the time you need to process this news and support one another."
Ultimately, after everything that's happened and come out in the last several weeks, I had a bad feeling that these steep layoffs were inevitable — and now that they've come down, I can't help but be very worried about Bungie's future as a developer. I also want to extend my best wishes to everyone affected at Sony and Bungie. I hope you're able to find new success in the industry or elsewhere as soon as you can.
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It was inevitable. Razer has successfully attached Chroma RGB to mice, keyboards, streaming keylights, mousepads, microphones, and probably a stray toaster if you leave it in their California design headquarters long enough (see their history of weird and experimental hardware). So, it was only a matter of time before they targeted the ultimate piece of battle station real estate: your backside.
Do you absolutely need a glowing throne that dynamically syncs with your desktop gameplay? No, of course not. Your skill in Valorant isn't going to magically jump three tiers just because your headrest is radiating neon green. But do we desperately want it anyway? Yes, obviously. It’s Razer, and adding immersive RGB to things we didn't know needed it is exactly why we love them.
The Razer Soma Chroma is the wireless RGB gaming chair your setup did not know it needed. It blends reactive lighting with all‑day comfort and cuts cable clutter entirely thanks to an ultra‑low latency HyperSpeed wireless connection powered by a simple USB‑C power bank. The dual‑density cold‑cured foam seat and built‑in ergonomic lumbar arch keep your posture neutral and your backside relaxed through marathon sessions.View Deal
The light show: Completely wireless RGB immersion
(Image credit: Razer)
The marquee feature here is the fully integrated, reactive RGB lighting embedded seamlessly into the headrest's shoulder wings. Powered by the venerable Razer Chroma RGB engine, it hooks directly into the Chroma SDK to react in real-time to in-game events across more than 300 integrated titles—including heavy hitters like Fortnite, Valorant, and Cyberpunk 2077. If you aren’t actively gaming, you can cycle through 10 dynamic presets and 16.8 million colors via Razer Synapse to perfectly dictate your setup's vibe.
But here is the genuinely clever bit: it's entirely wireless. Nobody wants to roll their chair over a rigid power cord and accidentally yank a $4,000 gaming rig off their desk. Instead, the Soma Chroma transmits data wirelessly via ultra-low latency Razer HyperSpeed 2.4 GHz for your PC, alongside Bluetooth LE for mobile devices.
To juice the actual LEDs, Razer integrated a tidy storage pocket on the back designed to house a standard external power bank (they recommend a hefty 20,000 mAh or larger unit pushing 20W+ and PD 2.0+) via an included 200 mm USB-C cable. If you don't care about a clean, wire-free aesthetic, you can also just run it straight to a wall adapter. There’s even a built-in control panel directly on the edge of the seat base to let you tweak brightness, cycle effects, or switch wireless inputs on the fly without opening an app.
Comfort Check: Saving our posteriors from the Iskur V2
The Razer Iskur V2 from our recent review. (Image credit: Future)
When Razer dropped the original Iskur, it blew us away with an aggressive, mechanical piston-powered lumbar support system. The premium Iskur V2 doubled down on that adaptive lumbar tech, earning massive praise for back health—but it also brought a punishingly firm seat pan. Meanwhile, the mid-range Iskur V2 X ($299) offered a much softer high-density foam seat but stripped out the adjustable lumbar support completely.
The Soma Chroma chart-corrects here with a brand-new Dual-Density Cold-Cured Foam Seat Cushion. It utilizes two distinct layers working in tandem: a softer upper layer that contours snugly to your body, sitting atop a firmer base layer that maintains its structural integrity over time. The goal is to keep the seat from collapsing or hardening prematurely during marathon sessions while actually offering plush, pressure-relieving comfort.
For back health, Razer ditched the complex, dial-driven mechanical pieces of the Iskur series in favor of a Built-In Ergonomic Lumbar Arch. It's a static, contoured support curve integrated directly into the backrest. While you lose the active left-and-right swiveling of the Iskur V2, you get a reliable curve that won’t shift out of place like a loose lumbar pillow.
Where the features got trimmed
Where the powerbank gets stowed for a "wireless" RGB experience. (Image credit: Razer)
To hit that $499.99 sweet spot while packing custom diffusers, a wireless control module, and a built-in control panel, Razer did have to make a few expected concessions:
2D Armrests: The Soma Chroma features basic 2D armrests limited strictly to height and swivel adjustments, a noticeable step down from the highly maneuverable 4D armrests on the Iskur V2 that slide and twist every which way.
No Built-in Haptics: If you were hoping this would natively integrate the bone-shaking directional haptics of the recently released Razer Freyja gaming cushion, you're out of luck. This is strictly a visual show, though you could easily strap a Freyja onto it if you want the ultimate rumble-and-glow cocktail (and I'll probably do that, since I have one of those).
On the mechanical side, it remains a total tank. You get a reinforced steel frame, a 5-star powder-coated steel wheelbase, a Class 4 gas lift, and premium 6 cm PU caster wheels—the latter being a massive upgrade over the friction-heavy plastic wheels that held back the Iskur V2. It reclines up to 155° with a butterfly tilt mechanism, safely supports up to 150 kg (331 lbs), and comfortably accommodates gamers up to 6'6".
Our review unit just arrived!
Yes, there are buttons on top of the headrest to control the RGB Chroma. (Image credit: Razer)
The shining throne literally just rolled through our doors. We'll be assembling it, unboxing our beefiest power banks, and seeing if the dual-density foam can truly save our glutes during late-night gaming sessions.
Stay tuned for our full, deep-dive review coming shortly (and you'll be able to see it on future Windows Central Podcasts).
The Razer Soma Chroma is the wireless RGB gaming chair your setup did not know it needed. It blends reactive lighting with all‑day comfort and cuts cable clutter entirely thanks to an ultra‑low latency HyperSpeed wireless connection powered by a simple USB‑C power bank. The dual‑density cold‑cured foam seat and built‑in ergonomic lumbar arch keep your posture neutral and your backside relaxed through marathon sessions.View Deal
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Gamers building DDR4 systems have long-faced a compromise: either more capacity or more character. Goodram RIVAL DDR4 RADIANT changes that equation by offering larger memory capacities and two heatsink color variants that allow users to match the modules to a carefully designed PC build. The new modules operate at 3200 MHz and are available in capacities ranging from 4 GB to 32 GB per module, while dual-channel configurations reach up to 64 GB. The heatsinks come in two versions: Red and Green—both built on black PCBs.
DDR4 Still Has an Active User Base
"DDR4 remains an important standard for a large group of gamers. Goodram RIVAL DDR4 RADIANT addresses the needs of users who want more memory capacity, smoother multitasking, and modules that visually match their PC configuration," says Monika Wilk, Vice President of Wilk Elektronik SA, manufacturer of the Goodram brand.
Swissbit introduces the A2000 PCIe SSD series, a new high-performance storage platform for applications that require consistently high throughput, low latency, and robust data integrity. The series combines PCIe Gen 4 performance with industrial design, advanced security features, hardware power-loss protection, and Swissbit's own controller and firmware expertise. Designed for mixed-use and write-intensive workloads, the A2000 series targets high-performance industrial systems, edge AI, networking and communication infrastructure, IoT gateways, enterprise servers, medical imaging, data logging, and other applications where predictable and consistent performance is critical.
Based on the latest BiCS8 3D TLC NAND, packaged in-house by Swissbit, the A2000 and A2200 use an eight-NAND-channel DRAM-based controller architecture and a TLC direct firmware design to deliver sustained performance, low latency, and low write amplification. Hardware power-loss protection helps safeguard data without relying on operating-system support, while lifetime monitoring supports preventive maintenance.
Gigabyte, the world's leading computer brand, announces the availability of the MO32U24. This 32-inch 240 Hz 4K gaming monitor is built to deliver ultra-smooth visual performance, featuring a QD-OLED panel with Advanced ObsidianShield film that deepens perceived blacks and contrast while keeping colors vivid during use. MO32U24 is further backed by Gigabyte's exclusive picture-quality tuning for both HDR and SDR content to bring out the perfected performance of OLED, and inherits proprietary Tactical Features for responsive in-game control.
The MO32U24 delivers top-tier OLED performance by leveraging Advanced ObsidianShield film to increase perceived black levels by up to 40% while preserving deep blacks and vivid colors even under strong ambient light. In addition, the upgraded 3H surface hardness improves everyday durability with 2.5x greater scratch resistance. Certified with VESA ClearMR 13000 and an outstanding 0.03 ms GTG response time, it eliminates motion blur for absolute clarity. Visuals are further refined by VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500 and 99% DCI-P3 color gamut, ensuring lifelike color reproduction.
IBM (NYSE: IBM) today unveiled a major semiconductor breakthrough with the introduction of the world's first sub-1 nanometer (nm) chip technology, featuring a revolutionary transistor architecture at the 0.7 nm, or 7 angstrom node. The achievement marks a landmark moment for an industry facing the physical limits of traditional chip scaling. Semiconductors play critical roles in everything from computing, to appliances, to communication devices, transportation systems, and critical infrastructure.
IBM's new sub-1 nm chip packs nearly 100 billion transistors onto a chip the size of a fingernail, nearly twice the density of IBM's 2 nm chip, unveiled in 2021. Enabled by a series of structural and material innovations, including IBM's groundbreaking three-dimensional nanostack architecture, the technology demonstrates how continued gains in performance and efficiency remain possible even as chip features approach atomic dimensions.
General Intuition has raised $320 million to scale AI trained on millions of hours of gameplay, betting action data can help AI develop something closer to human intuition.
Market research company Klue told customers that it believes the hacking group that stole their data is now deleting it. The company, however, warned about a second group of hackers wanting ransom.
"There were employees doing things like, 'Claude is so helpful for me — it analyzes my calendar and my email and puts together a plan for me,'" he says. "That person was spending at a run rate of $30,000 a year for this."
Users will be able to access their watchlists, real-time market data, live financial news, and Google's AI-powered "Key Moments" feature, which explains why stocks moved.
Given the incredible explosion of interest in AI infrastructure and the chips that power them, it's no surprise that virtually every semiconductor company has been talking about how their offerings are an important part of the overall AI computing story.
The French video game industry is in a critical state, and the STJV has called on workers to join a strike against studio executives and what it describes as irresponsible management practices. The union recently announced a new national strike on June 25, 2026, one month after a previous action....
Following last week's announcement from Cook that Apple wasn't totally immune to the AI-driven memory crisis driving up costs, Apple has now revealed new prices for many products.
It's Thursday, which means it's also another GeForce NOW Thursday, with a new batch of games getting added to NVIDIA's cloud streaming service. Notable titles include Empulse, the Titanfall-like shooter from 1047 Games, a new action roguelike called Dark Scrolls from developer doinksoft and publisher Devolver Digital, and The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales. But what's just as important is that they're all arriving on the service just as the first wave of Steam summer sales start to kick off. Now, that's not to say that those games mentioned are part of any upcoming summer sales. Empulse and Dark […]
Apple has succumbed to the inevitable by hiking the prices of most of its products in one fell sweep, leading to aberrant pricing outcomes, such as the one pertaining to the M3 Ultra chip-equipped Mac Studio (16TB) and its sole 96GB unified memory variant, which now sells for over $14,000. Apple's highest-end, 96GB unified memory variant of the M3 Ultra chip-equipped Mac Studio now retails for 14,299 Apple laid the groundwork for these sweeping price hikes a few days back, when Tim Cook had declared that memory prices had become "unsustainable," and that "unavoidable" price hikes were coming. As we […]
The final update for Destiny 2 went live a little more than two weeks ago, on June 9, 2026. Today, in the wake of Bungie putting the game and franchise it had been working on for over a decade down, the studio announced its latest round of layoffs, as a statement shared on its official X (formerly Twitter) account reads "we unfortunately could not continue operating at our previous size." This is, unfortunately, exactly what was expected to happen with Destiny 2's sunsetting. It hadn't even been 24 hours between the announcement that Destiny 2 would stop receiving content updates […]
Epic Games Store has revealed the upcoming free games, and the lineup for the period between July 2 and July 9, 2026, includes a cult classic: I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream. It even has the acclaimed River City Girls 2.
On Xbox and PS5 consoles, the unannounced GTA 6 online will likely be a separate download. The file scheme for the Rockstar title points to a standalone multiplayer option. It’s not yet known whether pre-order purchases will include access to the mode.
Samsung has released the new Galaxy A27 5G smartphone in Europe. The smartphone comes with a mid-range Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 processor, up to 8 GB of RAM, a 50 MP main camera, and a 120 Hz AMOLED display.
The Lenovo Lecoo 14 with the Ryzen 7 170 is a newly released thin and light laptop in China. This AMD-powered ultrabook is available with 16GB of RAM, and it costs CNY 4,499, around $662.
Oppo unveiled the Reno16 and Reno16 Pro in China last month, and today the brand announced these phones for international markets, though with some spec changes. Additionally, Oppo introduced the Reno16 F and Reno16 FS as the newest members of the Reno16 series. Let's talk about the Reno16 F first.
The Oppo Reno16 F is built around a 6.57" 120Hz FullHD+ AMOLED display with 10-bit color depth, 1,400 nits peak brightness, and 397 ppi pixel density. The display also has an optical fingerprint reader embedded for biometric authentication and a centered punch-hole for the selfie camera. More on...
The Apple iPhone Air is a very Apple product, if that makes sense – the phone sacrifices a lot to hit its design target of 5.6mm thickness and 165g weight. While it is hardly a battery endurance champ, the Air makes up for it with a unique feeling in the hand for anyone who has only used thick and heavy smartphones.
At 165g, the Air weighs more like a 6.3” phone, but instead it has a 6.5” display – a 120Hz LTPO OLED with Ceramic Shield 2 and an anti-reflective coating. The battery that fits inside the slim and light body has only 3,149mAh capacity, but Apple managed to eke out an average...
Google’s AI tools help educators support their teaching goals and provide personalized experiences to help students learn in the way that works best for them — all withi…
Google has released Google Ads API v24.2, an update that introduces new security controls, AI transparency features, enhanced reporting capabilities and additional experiment types for advertisers and developers.
What’s new. The headline feature is support for multi-party approvals (MPA), which requires a second administrator to approve sensitive account actions such as user invitations and access-level changes. The feature adds an extra layer of security for agencies and large organizations managing Google Ads accounts.
Google is also expanding support for AI-generated content disclosures. The API now exposes new SyntheticContentInfo and SyntheticContentAttestation fields on assets and ads, allowing developers to identify and label AI-generated creative programmatically. The update is designed to help advertisers prepare for the EU AI Act, which takes effect on August 2nd
Developers can begin building integrations now, although advertiser attestation fields remain read-only until the launch of v25.
Performance Max gets more visibility. Version 24.2 adds several long-requested enhancements for Performance Max campaigns, including the ability to segment performance_max_placement_view reports by ad_network_type. That gives advertisers a clearer picture of where ads are appearing across Search, Display and partner networks.
The release also introduces YouTube brand channel linking through the API, enabling stronger integrations for video campaigns, along with a new landing page text generation option that can automatically create text assets from a website’s landing page.
New testing capabilities. Google is expanding experimentation tools with two new experiment types.
The new COMPARE_CAMPAIGNS workflow allows advertisers to compare multiple campaigns or campaign types across as many as five experiment arms, including custom Performance Max experiments.
A second experiment type lets advertisers test text customization and final URL expansion within a single Performance Max campaign by splitting traffic between variations.
Documentation improvements. Google has also reorganized its API release notes, separating breaking changes from feature updates and introducing a dedicated guide for feature deprecations and unversioned changes to simplify future upgrades.
Why we care. While the release doesn’t include ground breaking changes, it gives developers new tools to prepare for upcoming AI disclosure requirements, strengthen account security and gain deeper insights into Performance Max campaigns.
The bottom line. Google Ads API v24.2 is a straightforward upgrade from v24.1, but it introduces meaningful features for advertisers preparing for AI transparency requirements, improving account security and getting more actionable reporting from Performance Max campaigns.
Google is rolling out new Agency Admin and Standard roles in Merchant Center for Agencies, giving agencies more centralized control over client access while improving security and operational efficiency.
What’s new: Clients are now linked directly to an agency rather than individual users. This allows agencies to manage client access from a single centralized location, making it easier to grant or revoke permissions as team members join or leave.
The update also introduces custom labels, enabling Agency Admins to organize client accounts by categories such as brand, business vertical or internal team. Those labels can then be used to assign Standard users access to groups of accounts in bulk, eliminating the need to configure permissions one account at a time.
Why we care. Agencies managing multiple Merchant Center accounts have often relied on user-level permissions, making onboarding, offboarding and account management more cumbersome. The new role-based structure shifts client management to the agency level, reducing administrative overhead and strengthening access controls.
How it works. Agency Admins receive full administrative privileges within the Merchant Center agency account. They can:
Link and unlink clients’ Merchant Center accounts.
Add, remove and modify Standard users.
Manage Standard users’ access to client accounts.
Create and manage custom labels for organizing clients.
Standard users receive more limited permissions, helping agencies follow security best practices by restricting access to only the client accounts they need.
Bottom line. For agencies managing large client portfolios, centralized client linking, bulk access management and customizable account labels should reduce manual work while making Merchant Center account administration more secure and scalable.
This series began with an observation: AI systems don’t always give the same answer to the same question. In the first article, I argued that the inconsistency wasn’t randomness. It was confidence loss across a measurable pipeline we can diagnose and fix.
Working through the AI engine pipeline, gate by gate, eventually led me to the won gate, where three clicks await: the imperfect click of search, the perfect click of recommendations, and the agentic click of agents.
That’s where I realized the series couldn’t stay within marketing. When an agent makes the purchase, it becomes a client you need to satisfy directly.
The funnel now runs through a machine that plugs into the business itself. SEO has no choice: it becomes assistive agent optimization, part of how the entire business is engineered.
To understand why, it helps to see how the underlying concepts fit together.
The framework is the theory. It explains why AI systems make the decisions they make and what influences those decisions. Apply those principles across the business, and you get AI-era business engineering: a company organized so search engines, AI assistants, agents, and people can all find you, understand you, recommend you, and buy from you.
Everything builds on SEO
The process is the day-to-day methodology. It sits above your existing disciplines — SEO, content, PR, paid media, and digital marketing — helping you prioritize the actions that have the greatest impact on recommendations and visibility.
Here’s the part every SEO should appreciate: assistive agent optimization is built on SEO. It doesn’t replace it.
Picture a Russian doll. SEO sits at the center. It draws from the open web, the same crawled and indexed foundation search has always relied on.
At that core are two parts of the algorithmic trinity: the search engine, which indexes and ranks information, and the knowledge graph, which stores entities and the relationships between them.
The next layer is assistive engine optimization. It adds the third component of the trinity: the large language model. The LLM provides reasoning, grounding, and conversation.
Instead of returning a list of links, it evaluates corroborating evidence and responds directly to the user. This layer builds on traditional SEO with entity corroboration, machine-readable proof, and the signals that help AI systems understand what your content means.
The outer layer is the agent. It introduces something the layers beneath it never had: direct access to business systems through protocols such as MCP. An agent can check inventory, compare prices, and complete transactions without visiting a page or navigating a search result. This is where AI stops recommending and starts acting.
Each layer depends on the one beneath it. The stronger your SEO foundation, the more effectively you can build everything above it. That makes SEO more central to digital marketing — and to the business itself — than it’s ever been.
If you understand how machines read the web, you’re holding the foundation that every other AI-facing initiative depends on.
The acquisition funnel hasn’t changed in 130 years, but the build direction has reversed
The funnel hasn’t fundamentally changed since marketers first drew it in the 1800s: awareness at the top, consideration in the middle, decision at the bottom, the customer moving down while the brand tries to catch them. What’s changed is where you stand to catch. It has shifted in three layers, each adding to the last rather than replacing it.
Traditional marketing stood in front of the audience in the real world, on billboards, shelves, and stages. Digital marketing did the same online, through SEO, paid search, social media, and content. AI-era marketing extends the logic again, and this is the part the industry is struggling with.
You now have to stand where you always stood and, on top of that, inside the AI engines. The engines place you in front of the audience, present you as the best solution, and increasingly make the purchase.
The modern buyer mixes all three inside the same purchase, and you have to be present in all of them. Your client still comes in from the top of the funnel down, and your offline and classic digital marketing can follow that path. But the engines run the other way. Their logic goes from the bottom up, so that’s how you build for them.
Marketers draw the funnel top-down because that’s the customer’s path, but businesses have always had reason to read it the other way. Winning the result for your own name is the cheapest move on the board and the highest-converting. That’s your warmest traffic, the people already at the door.
I’ve been making this case since 2012, when I started on brand SERPs. Your name is the one search result you completely own, and the whole field walked past it for years.
Comparison and consideration queries are the next move up, down near the purchase, where buyers are most likely to convert. Awareness is the last thing you build. That’s where people don’t yet know what they want or what the solution might be, the furthest point from a sale. Chase it first, and you’re spitting in a vast ocean, hoping to hit a whale.
The engines make that flip unavoidable. With search engines, the user hopped between sites on the way down the funnel, so you could build top-down and get away with it. The assistive engines pull the whole funnel inside themselves. Now you build from the bottom up because that’s how the machine learns about you.
Agents take it further still: the funnel goes dark, and the choice goes with it. Each step takes more of it out of your hands. And each rewards the same brand: the one built from the bottom up, the way it should have been all along.
Where you sit on the agentic spectrum determines how much of the business has to change
Two ideas determine how much of your business has to change. The first is the delegation boundary from Part 13. The second is the agentic spectrum.
The delegation boundary is the micro view. It tracks how much of one buyer’s journey — searching, comparing, choosing, and buying — that person hands to a machine instead of doing themselves.
The agentic spectrum is the macro view of the same thing. It asks what share of your clientele has gone agentic and how quickly that share is growing.
The micro view tells you how to win a buyer in the moment. The macro view tells you how much of the business has to change to keep winning them. This is the number most brands have never thought about, let alone measured. It’s the one I’d start with.
Here’s why it reorganizes the business, not just the marketing.
When the agent makes the purchase, it becomes a client you have to satisfy directly, even as it acts on behalf of the person behind it. It answers to one thing: keeping its own user. So the whole sale turns on confidence. Can the machine trust you to meet the need and keep its client happy?
That confidence has to clear a far higher bar than search or assistive engines ever set. It runs the entire length of the funnel. Earn it across the stack, and you’re the brand the agent buys from.
Preparing the business for that is what AI-era business engineering means: pricing, qualification, product data, checkout, all built so that an agent can transact with you as cleanly as a person ever did.
The agent navigates the whole funnel on its own. You have to convince it every step of the way, from awareness to the final yes. And you get almost no visibility into that journey, even less than assistive engines provide.
What you get instead is granular measurement at the negotiation and transaction stages. The agent tells you what it wants, and you either satisfy it or you don’t.
So build the business to work cleanly with agents and people alike, speaking to each from the top of the funnel to the bottom, and at the moment the deal is struck.
Translating what you do for a human into something a machine can read and act on used to feel optional. Ignoring search engines, then assistive engines, was never wise, but you could usually survive it. In the age of agents, ignore the engines, and you hand an ever-growing share of your clientele to the competition.
Your untrained salesforce is selling around the clock, for you or your competitor
Every business now runs a salesforce it never hired: Google, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Copilot, Siri, and Alexa. The real number is higher and growing every month. Every major tech platform now answers questions in-app the way an assistive engine does, across social media, video, search, and workflow tools.
Operating systems are building AI into the platform layer. The apps you already use embed assistants that recommend tools and vendors, and no one has to open a separate engine for it to happen.
Those engines reach your prospects in three ways: explicit, implicit, and ambient. However they appear, the outcome is the same. They work around the clock. They never sleep. They talk to your prospects in rooms you’ll never see, and they decide whether to recommend you or a competitor.
The default state of that salesforce is untrained. Ask it about your category, and it answers with whoever it happens to know, and that probably isn’t you. It hedges on basic facts. It confuses you with a namesake, cites testimonials you never collected, recommends you for problems you don’t solve, and, in the worst case, names your competitor at the exact moment the user was looking for you.
The cost is real, and it never shows up on your dashboards. You can’t watch the AI research you, evaluate you, recommend you, or talk a buyer out of working with you. It all happens inside the machine. Pay attention to the taxes: invisibility, ghost, and doubt.
These engines recommend the solution they’re most confident in, and that’s often not the best one. It’s the one they understand best. The recommendation depends on what they grasp about you and how confident they are in it.
So if your solution really is the best, train them. Educate them. Brief them. They answer to the user. Your client is their client, and they retain that client by surfacing the strongest solution they can see.
Have you made it abundantly clear that you’re the best answer to the specific problems you solve, for the ICP you solve them for?
You’ll pay a tax at every stage of the funnel for as long as this salesforce isn’t working explicitly for you.
Someone types your name directly into an engine, and instead of a clean answer, it hedges: “claims to be,” “reportedly serves,” “says on its website.” Worse, it starts offering alternatives: “You asked about this brand, but have you considered that one?”
Search engines only do that when a competitor pays heavily to claim a spot on your brand SERP. Otherwise, you own your name.
But AI raises the alternative on its own, out of nothing more than its own uncertainty. That’s why brand SERP and AI résumé protection are no longer optional.
That hedge and that nudge are the doubt tax. You pay it because the engine doesn’t have enough independent corroboration to commit. It sits at the Understandability layer. The cost is every prospect who came looking for you by name and left with doubt in their head, about you or a competitor.
A prospect asks the engine to weigh your category and name the best in it. It reels off three brands, and yours isn’t among them. You’re in the game. The engine knows you exist. You just don’t surface at the moment a buyer is choosing because its confidence in your credibility is too low to put you forward. That’s the ghost tax, and it lives at the credibility layer.
At the top of the funnel, you don’t even get the chance to lose. Someone asks a question you’re well qualified to answer, and you’re nowhere in the reply because the engine never flagged you as someone who belongs in that conversation. That’s the invisibility tax, a deliverability failure. You never see it because the conversation finishes without you.
You need to track this across every engine and every layer, and you shouldn’t use your own account. It’s biased toward you. It knows who you are, and no response it gives you is neutral. So you’ll need proper tracking tools and to ask the right questions.
I covered the micro and macro views of measuring this earlier in the series, and the funnel query pathway is the best way to read it over time and across the web. What you’re measuring is how much you leak at each layer, and because the system is opaque, you read it at the macro level rather than from any single query.
Then you build from the bottom up, clearing the taxes in revenue order:
The doubt tax first, on your warmest traffic.
The ghost tax next, against the competition for buyers who are almost decided.
The invisibility tax last, at the top, where the buyer is furthest from the purchase.
That’s the funnel flip again, one more reason the engines have turned top-down upside down.
The algorithmic trinity is where your work lands, and there are only a handful at the root
You train the salesforce in three places, and you have to be present in all three for that training to hold over the long term.
Large language models do the reasoning at the moment of the query, the intelligence layer: ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.
Search engines index and rank fresh content, the information layer: Google and Bing.
Knowledge graphs store entities and the verified relationships between them, the verification layer: Google’s Knowledge Graph, Wikidata, and Bing’s entity graph.
Those three are the algorithmic trinity.
Here’s something you might not have considered. You’re aiming at dozens of platforms and surfaces where the salesforce shows up, but there aren’t many machines at the root.
A handful of LLMs matter, and at mass-market scale, where the sales actually happen, that list narrows to ChatGPT and Gemini. There are two web indexes at that scale, Google and Bing, and two knowledge graph owners, Google and Bing again.
Everything you train reaches back to the same small set of underlying systems. So the corroboration work you do for one engine is, structurally, the work for all of them.
That’s why the effort compounds. The knowledge graph confirms the entities the LLM reasons about. The search engine surfaces the fresh content the LLM grounds on. The salesforce reaches full training when all three converge on the same answer about you.
That convergence is where you win: independent systems reaching the same conclusion about who you are, what you do, who you serve, and why you’re credible. Give them that picture in detail, and they’ll hold it with real confidence.
At that point, the trinity surfaces you. It converts prospects at the bottom of the funnel, recommends you over the competition in the middle, and advocates for you at the top across search engines, assistive engines, and agents.
The results vary a little from one to the next because each mixes the technologies in its own way, but they land in your favor.
Google owns all three and remains the dominant force across search and assistive engines, so it remains your main target.
I’m not suggesting you ignore smaller players such as Claude and DuckDuckGo. They matter to the audiences that use them. But for most brands, users, and SEOs, the major public engines are the key to commercial success.
A tight digital footprint, cleaned up and optimized on your site and off it, already covers them because it feeds the Trinity: at mass-market scale, six technologies — Gemini and ChatGPT, Google’s and Bing’s knowledge graphs, and Google’s and Bing’s search indexes.
Happily, that strategy covers the smaller players, too.
Third-party proof is what the salesforce actually believes, and without it, nothing stands
Knowing where your work is ingested is only half of it. The other half is knowing which evidence the salesforce believes because not all evidence carries the same weight, and the gap between the weakest and strongest is the differentiator.
The weakest evidence is what you publish yourself, on your own properties, in your own voice: your homepage, your about page, your product copy. Call it first-party. It’s a claim, the baseline, and it proves nothing on its own because you wrote it and published it, and the engines know that.
Surface a client outcome, a case study, or a real customer review on your own off-site channel, and you’ve moved up a step to second-party, where the substance is no longer entirely your assertion, even though your hand is still on the publish button.
Then there’s the evidence you had no hand in at all. Clients and partners describing their own experiences in their own words, an independent journalist’s article, an analyst’s report, coverage gatekept entirely outside your reach. That’s third-party, and it’s the heaviest evidence the salesforce can read precisely because you couldn’t touch it.
It’s also the category most brands have nothing in because filling it takes real-world activity rather than publishing. First-party claims, second-party corroborates, third-party proves, and without proof, nothing stands.
3 levels of effort lead to completely different outcomes
Barely trained, partially trained, and fully trained
Most brands sit at the bottom without ever choosing to. The minimum-effort brand keeps a website, runs some content marketing, responds to the occasional mention, and otherwise lets the ecosystem do what it does. It shows up in machine-readable form but never shapes that form.
Minimum effort is what the industry treats as normal, so most companies land here and never recognize it as a decision. The salesforce is barely trained.
A step up is when a brand starts noticing specific problems and fixing them: an incorrect fact in an AI Overview, a competitor outranking it for a query, a gap in the structured data. The fixes work, and this brand is genuinely better positioned.
But the work is triggered by symptoms, not strategy. It patches what breaks loudly and never builds the discipline that would prevent the next break. The salesforce is partially trained, but fixing problems is driving the strategy, which is clearly the wrong approach.
The systematic brand runs a full operational discipline against the pipeline, week after week: entity home maintenance, evidence harvested from service teams and codified into machine-readable proof, then distributed across the publication tiers the engines weight most heavily, with the brand SERP and AI résumé monitored continuously.
Most companies aren’t organized in a way that makes this happen naturally. If you can pull that off — harvest, codify, and distribute your business operations — you’ll win. You’ll be the brand that has trained the salesforce to work in your favor, 24/7/365.
Start from the entity home. Organize the brand SERP and the AI résumé, and optimize the brand’s digital footprint wherever it appears. That’s understandability done, and it’s the single most important thing you can do. With the core entity locked, you can build credibility on top of it: engagement, reviews, client feedback, PR, and evidence that you’re good at what you do.
Deliverability follows naturally because the moment you focus on the brand SERP and the AI Résumé, you’ve already done part of the credibility and deliverability work for free. Then spread the same discipline across every entity you own: the products, the services, and the people who work for you.
For each, build the right content, stand where the audience is looking, invite them down the funnel, and connect every dot back to the entity home on your own site. Walk the walk, and apply the mirror principle.
The salesforce is already working. The only question is who trained it.
In 2026 and beyond, the salesforce operates inside your supply chain as well as your sales funnel. AI sits at the gates that decide whether to include you in what it knows, whether to deploy you in an answer, and whether to reselect you after every transaction.
Every outcome your customers experience feeds back into the system for the next prospect who’s never heard of you. That’s the convergence this entire series has pointed toward. Your salesforce is selling 24 hours a day, right now, for you or your competitor. Whether it sells for you comes down to how well you trained it.
This is why the discipline is AI-era business engineering, not AI-era marketing. It isn’t a content strategy or a tactical tweak. It’s a reorganization of how the business operates, so pricing, qualification, product presentation, sales, retention, and customer success each throw off machine-readable evidence as a byproduct of doing the job. That’s how you train the salesforce.
You’re sitting in the best seat in the room, and you might not have noticed yet
This is what I present to entrepreneurs and CEOs in my talks. Nine questions, and the quality of the answers tells them exactly where the company stands.
Tech, bottom to top
Is our Entity Home locked down so the engines have a single source of truth about who we are?
Is our structured data complete enough for them to verify what we claim?
Are we discoverable across every engine so they can reach for us when topical questions come up?
Marketing, bottom to top
What does our Brand SERP look like today, and what does the AI Résumé say when you ask the engines about us directly?
Where is our third-party corroboration weakest, and what are we doing about it this quarter?
Which topical territory do we own in the engines, and which do we want that we don’t yet hold?
Branding, bottom to top
Does our brand story match what AI is currently saying about us, and where’s the gap?
Are our client outcomes being engineered into machine-readable evidence, or are they dying in CRMs and quarterly retrospectives?
Are we placing proof now for the categories we want to own in three years?
They all run from the bottom up, which is ironic given how marketers work the funnel from the top down. The customer is the only one moving from top to bottom, looking for a solution.
So take a step back and read the funnel from the bottom up. You and everyone you work with are building the same thing — understandability, credibility, and deliverability — just from different ends.
The business builds from the foundation up: know who you are, know who you serve, be credible, then reach the right people.
The marketer wants the maximum audience and starts at the top, with reach, then works down to who you are and why you’re trusted.
AI starts at the bottom: Who are you, and are you credible? Only then will it put you in front of the maximum number of people.
You’re the one who sees that it’s all the same. You understand that you must work from the foundation up, the way the machine does. Then you meet the customer coming the other way, down from the top, looking for a solution.
Build for the customer, but work up toward them. That’s always been the best approach, but the engines have only now made it obvious.
The business you work for has two kinds of clients now: the human and the agent, and you’re able to speak to both. You know how the machines work, and you know an agent is only ever emulating a person, reflecting back the world’s view of the brand. Pleasing the agent and pleasing the human are essentially the same thing, and you’re the person who sees that.
That’s what makes you, the SEO, impossible to sideline. You’re best positioned to tell the business and the marketers what to change to satisfy the agent without losing the human.
Whether agents are 5% of the business today or close to all of it, the agentic share will increase year over year. So step out of your corner and look at the wider world. You’re in a unique position to see business, marketing, and the machines all at once.
The audience used to be only human. Now it’s machines, too, and you’re the one who speaks to both.
This is the 19th and final piece in my AI authority series, and it’s been a long journey. My thanks to Danny Goodwin, Angel Niñofranco, and the Search Engine Land team for their immense support throughout.
When I started, the framework was a complete idea, but I hadn’t fully worked through all the details. Week by week, I worked through each of the 15 gates, and every one turned out to be more intricate, more in-depth, and more thought-provoking than I’d imagined when I set out. It’s been a huge job.
What I’ve finished is an important and genuinely useful framework for SEO, marketing, and business in the AI age, one that search professionals, marketers, and business leaders can apply to real business problems.
Traditional competitor campaigns often generate expensive clicks and disappointing results. People searching for a competitor’s brand are usually close to making a purchase, making your ad little more than a detour on their path to conversion.
Bidding on competitor brand terms isn’t your only option. Demand Gen campaigns and negative-intent keywords can help you reach competitor-aware audiences more efficiently and often at a lower cost.
Demand Gen: Your target audience at a fraction of the cost
Before we get into negative-intent keywords, let’s discuss another campaign type that can generate traffic unfamiliar with your brand: Demand Gen.
Demand Gen relies on two key elements: targeting and creative. Two non-negotiable components of that targeting are custom audience segments and lookalike audiences.
Custom segment targeting allows you to reach users who have searched for specific terms on Google or have particular interests or purchase intentions. It’s also one of the best ways to target users looking for your competitors at a lower cost than search.
Custom segments are the first targeting option available (right after the title) when creating a new audience within Demand Gen campaigns.
Select the second option, People who searched for any of these terms on Google, and enter as many competitors as you can think of. This puts you directly in front of your target audience at a lower cost than a search network click.
If you’re unsure which competitors to target, type your main product or service into Google Ads and see who appears. These are the primary businesses you’re competing with and, depending on which networks you opt into, your ads can appear across YouTube, Discover, and Gmail.
Designing conquesting landing pages for Demand Gen
When using Demand Gen for conquesting, it’s important to create a well-designed landing page for these ads. Include key differentiators and social proof that demonstrate why your company offers the best product or service.
Getting the click is only half the battle. Once searchers land on your page, your offer needs to be clear. Explain your offer clearly and thoroughly, and include a clear call to action that aligns with your messaging.
But what if you don’t have the assets to run a Demand Gen campaign?
Because high-quality video and image assets perform best across these networks, targeting the search network may make more sense if you don’t have access to those assets. This is where negative-intent conquesting comes in.
While we’re all familiar with traditional competitor search campaigns, searchers also look for alternatives to the company they’re searching for. This is where negative intent comes in.
This can happen at many stages of the sales funnel, but it frequently occurs during the consideration phase when users search for “companies like X” or “companies cheaper than X.” It also happens with branded products in searches like “dupe for X.” While not all of these may be biddable keywords due to search volume, this is where the research happens.
Building campaigns around competitor pain points
Perhaps you’ve recently heard about a company with a poor track record of customer service. Bidding on a keyword like “customer service complaints for [competitor]” could be helpful in this situation. You’ll want to keep this to a single ad group with different keyword variations.
Within the ad copy, address what makes your customer service team unique, different, or more helpful. Bear in mind that, due to trademark policy, it’s best to avoid mentioning the competitor directly by name in your ad text.
Traditional competitor campaigns focus on bidding on a competitor’s brand name. Negative-intent conquesting focuses on their weaknesses. Its specific use case involves users familiar with a brand but looking for an alternative.
This strategy can also be paired with a separate custom audience, allowing you to target users searching for these alternatives across Google’s networks.
For negative-intent conquesting to work post-click, however, the landing page remains a critical component. If a user clicks an ad that promises a solution to a competitor’s poor service or high prices, the corresponding landing page must validate that strength and provide the searcher with a unique value proposition that counters the competitor’s weakness.
Target competitor audiences before the decision is made
The biggest challenge with traditional competitor campaigns isn’t the competitor. It’s timing.
When someone searches for a competitor’s brand name, they’ve often already narrowed their options and are close to making a decision. That’s why competitor keyword campaigns can be expensive and difficult to scale profitably.
Demand Gen and negative-intent conquesting approach the same audience from different angles. One reaches potential customers before they commit to a brand, while the other reaches them when they’re actively reassessing their options.
The goal is to reach potential customers when they’re most open to considering a different option.
LLMs have changed the way people search and the way Google answers. While the SERP hasn’t been 10 blue links in a very long time, it has traditionally been centered on a single intent: the thing a person is looking for.
Now, AI Overviews create a full article directly in the SERP. They don’t just answer the searcher’s query. Results include related terms, contextual refinements, and supporting information that help searchers make decisions.
Understanding Google query expansion gives you an advantage that your competitors may overlook.
What is Google query expansion?
Google query expansion was designed to prevent zero-result searches for long-tail queries. It broadens a searcher’s query to deliver more accurate results. This happens automatically in several ways:
Synonyms: For example, “budget” instead of “affordable.”
Intent expansion: Google understands what your customer means, even if they don’t type it exactly.
Related topic expansion: Google uses similar searches to surface related content.
Don’t stuff keywords to capture these expanded results. Researching and creating supporting information helps your content rank for a wider range of queries.
Here’s an example.
You have an article about backyard chicken care. Someone searches for “What’s the average lifespan of a chicken?” Your page appears even though you never used the term “lifespan” on it.
Google determined your article was semantically relevant. Once you know Google has made this connection, adding a section on chicken lifespan can help the page rank for that term and drive more traffic.
It can also help your content appear in relevant AI Overviews.
The difference between Google query expansion and query fan-outs
Google query expansion and query fan-outs are similar, but they aren’t the same.
Query expansion is part of traditional search. It broadens a query with synonyms, related terms, and intent signals before results are generated. As a result, your content can rank for more queries than you originally targeted.
Query fan-outs are part of AI Mode. They break a query into multiple related subqueries while the AI response is generated. As a result, your content can be retrieved as a source for AI Overviews.
If query expansion is part of traditional search, why does it matter in the age of LLMs and AI Overviews?
Because the same semantic relationships that drive query expansion can influence which content AI systems retrieve during query fan-outs.
Finding query expansion opportunities for your content
So, how do you find query expansion opportunities?
Google Search Console
This is a top tool to confirm query expansion is happening on your site and keywords. Here, you can sort by impressions, look for similar queries, and determine what opportunities there are.
Here’s the workflow:
Go to Performance> Search results.
Filter by a specific page and pull the full query list.
Sort by impressions.
From there, you can look for queries you never targeted:
Synonyms with comparable impressions.
Question-form queries (these are especially popular with AI).
Broader keywords that you may not have on your page.
Just because the keywords and topics are there doesn’t mean they’re actually relevant. If that’s the case, you may need to audit your page and ensure your content isn’t covering unrelated topics that don’t follow through from the SERP to page promise.
Strategizing the right content with query expansion
Now that you know what query expansion is and how to find it, let’s talk about how you can strategize the right content.
Write for topic coverage
For a long time, it’s been less about specific keywords and more about semantic relations to the topic. Creating subtopics, related questions, and adjacent content enables broader expansion than content built solely to cover a keyword.
Answering questions adjacent to the primary topic
For instance, a company selling chicken feed might also want to explain why the right balance matters and how the right feed can improve chicken health. These questions can be found by searching GSC for query expansions and by looking at Ahrefs or the SERP itself to see what relevant information is coming up for that topic.
Finding content gaps with expansion data
If the GSC data shows Google is pulling your page for a query you haven’t strategized for, and it makes sense, it’s a signal that the page may need additional coverage.
Sometimes query expansions include results that aren’t related to the topic at all. Wild queries in the SERP. But if there are relevant, adjacent queries that help expand your search, add them to your page.
It’s a good idea to check your content regularly, at least once a quarter. New queries may show up, while others disappear. Since you’re always optimizing your content and keeping it fresh for the SERP, this is another way to ensure your topic is as strong as it can be.
Using query expansion to boost your AI Overviews presence
AI Overviews pull from ranking pages on a topic to build a thorough answer to a query, complete with semantic and supporting subtopics.
Cross-reference your query expansions with the main keyword in the SERP. If an AI Overview includes those supporting topics, consider adding them to your page.
Here’s an example. For our blog post, “Tandem vs. Spread Axles in Trucking,” I followed the steps above and filtered by impressions.
We show up for “tandem truck meaning.” However, that phrase isn’t specifically listed in our content.
We rank first, but we’re not in the AI Overview for this specific query.
Because the page ranks first, we can use the query expansion, along with the supporting information here, to create a section that supports both the query expansion term and the query fan-out for the AI Overview results.
Query expansions can reveal supporting topics that strengthen both traditional search visibility and AI Overview inclusion.
Query expansions are a practical way to identify supporting topics and expand content coverage across search experiences.
As clicks become harder to earn, broader visibility across relevant search experiences can strengthen brand awareness and keep your content in front of potential customers.
Trabzonspor'un Fransız ön liberosu Batista Mendy, Avrupa kulüplerinin gözdesi olmaya devam ediyor. İtalya Serie A ekibi Genoa, 1.91'lik dev futbolcuyu yeniden listesine alırken, İspanya'dan Getafe'nin de devreye girmesiyle bordo-mavili yönetim transfer yarışı için ellerini ovuşturmaya başladı.
İtalya Serie A ekiplerinden Genoa, orta sahasına fiziksel güç ve direnç katmak için transfer çalışmalarını hızlandırdı. İtalyan kulübü, Trabzonspor forması giyen 1.91’lik Fransız ön libero Batista Mendy’yi yeniden listesine aldı.
İtalya temsilcisinin Mendy’ye olan ilgisi yeni değil. 2023 yılında da oyuncuyu kadrosuna katmak isteyen Genoa yönetimi, orta sahadaki sertlik ve denge sorununu 26 yaşındaki Fransız oyuncuyla çözmeyi hedefliyor. Defansın önündeki kesiciliği, fiziksel üstünlüğü ve topsuz alandaki oyun zekasıyla öne çıkan Mendy, İtalyan ekibinin tam aradığı profil olarak değerlendiriliyor.
Mendy transferinde Genoa yalnız değil. La Liga ekiplerinden Getafe de oyuncunun durumunu yakından takip ediyor ve transfer yarışına dahil olmaya hazırlanıyor.
İtalyan basını transfer bombasını patlattı: Napoli'den ayrılmaya hazırlanan Frank Anguissa için Galatasaray ve Beşiktaş devreye girdi, menajerler düzeyinde ilk teklifler iletildi.
İtalya’nın önde gelen gazetelerinden Il Mattino, Napoli’nin yaz transfer dönemindeki yol haritasını deşifre etti. İtalyan ekibinde ilk büyük hareketliliğin orta saha hattında yaşanması beklenirken, ayrılığa en yakın isim Frank Anguissa.
Kulüple olan sözleşmesinin sonuna yaklaşan Kamerunlu orta saha oyuncusu Frank Anguissa, Türk kulüplerinin radarında. Galatasaray ve Beşiktaş, aracıları vasıtasıyla oyuncunun menajerleriyle temasa geçerek ilk tekliflerini resmen iletti.
Geleceği henüz netleşmeyen 30 yaşındaki futbolcu, Türkiye’den gelen tekliflere rağmen karar vermekte tereddüt ediyor. Habere göre Anguissa’nın önceliği İngiltere’ye dönmek. Yıldız oyuncunun, nihai kararını vermeden önce Premier Lig’den gelecek olası bir teklifi beklemeyi tercih ettiği belirtiliyor.
Anguissa’nın ayrılık ihtimaline karşılık B planını hazırlayan Napoli, listesinin ilk sırasına Benfica’nın Kolombiyalı orta sahası Richard Rios’u aldı. Ancak İtalyan kulübü bu transferde aceleci davranmayacak. Görüşmelerin, transfer piyasasının en yoğun dönemi olan Ağustos ayından önce başlaması beklenmiyor.
İngiliz basını, Acun Ilıcalı'nın sahibi olduğu Hull City'nin, Beşiktaş'ın transfer listesinde ilk sırada yer alan Bayern Münih'in dünyaca ünlü kalecisi Alexander Nübel için resmi teklif yaptığını duyurdu.
İngiliz basını, Acun Ilıcalı’nın sahibi olduğu Hull City’nin, Beşiktaş’ın transfer gündeminde ilk sırada yer alan dünyaca ünlü kaleci Alexander Nübel için resmi teklif yaptığını duyurdu.
Daily Mail’de yer alan habere göre; yeni sezon transfer çalışmalarını sürdüren Hull City, Bayern Münih'in başarılı file bekçisi Alexander Nübel’i kadrosuna katmak için harekete geçti. İngiliz ekibinin, Alman kaleci için Alman devine resmi teklifini ilettiği belirtildi.
Acun Ilıcalı'nın takımı, kaleyi sağlama almak adına Nübel transferinde oldukça ısrarcı bir tutum sergiliyor.
Siyah-beyazlılar, uzun süredir Nübel’i kadrosuna katmak için Bayern Münih ile pazarlıklarını sürdürüyordu. Hull City’nin bu hamlesi, transferde planları bozdu.
Gelen ilk bilgilere göre 29 yaşındaki Alman kaleci, iki kulübün projesini ve şartlarını değerlendirerek kısa süre içinde son kararını verecek.
Portekiz ekibi Alverca, eski Fenerbahçeli Lincoln Henrique için Türkiye ve Asya'dan gelen 2 milyon Euro'luk teklifleri değerlendirmeye aldı.
Portekiz basınından Record’un haberine göre, Alverca, Brezilyalı orta saha oyuncusu Lincoln Henrique için transfer teklifleri almaya başladı. 27 yaşındaki futbolcunun bu yaz transfer döneminde takımdan ayrılmasına kesin gözüyle bakılıyor.
Geçtiğimiz yaz Fenerbahçe’den bedelsiz olarak Alverca kadrosuna katılan Lincoln için kulübün kapısını çalan ekiplerin, yaklaşık 2 milyon Euro civarında bir bonservis bedelini gözden çıkardığı öğrenildi. Sözleşmesi devam eden oyuncuya özellikle Türkiye Süper Ligi ve Asya kulüplerinin yoğun ilgi gösterdiği belirtiliyor.
Alverca yönetimi, takımdaki hedefleri doğrultusunda Lincoln’ün ayrılık sürecini büyük bir gizlilik ve temkinle yürütüyor. Yıldız oyuncunun yerini dolduracak alternatif isimler için arayışlara başlayan kulüp, transferin resmiyet kazanacağı tarihler konusunda henüz serbest bir açıklama yapmadı.
Arjantinli gazeteci Paula Varela, Mauro Icardi'nin Galatasaray ile 2 yıllık yeni sözleşme imzaladığını iddia ederek Wanda Nara'nın ağır ithamları karşısında öfkeden deliye döndüğünü iddia etti.
Varela, sessizliğini koruyan yıldız golcünün kızlarının velayeti için yasal savaş başlattığını ve ay sonunda Türkiye'ye döneceğini açıkladı.
Galatasaray’ın yıldız golcüsü Mauro Icardi ve eski eşi Wanda Nara arasındaki hukuksal ve kişisel savaş yeni bir boyut kazandı. Wanda Nara, Arjantin basınına yaptığı son açıklamada, Icardi'nin Türkiye transferine en başından beri karşı olduğunu belirterek ağır bir ithamda bulundu. Nara, golcü futbolcunun çocuklarına "Türklerin kötü koktuğunu" aşıladığını iddia etti.
Arjantinli gazeteci Paula Varela’nın paylaştığı bilgilere göre, Mauro Icardi bu iddialar karşısında büyük bir öfke duyuyor. Ancak yıldız futbolcu, Nara’nın kendisini kışkırtmaya çalıştığının bilincinde olduğu için resmî bir açıklama yapmamayı ve sessizliğini korumayı tercih ediyor.
Bir hafta daha Arjantin'de kalması beklenen Icardi, mahkeme kararları doğrultusunda ay sonunda Türkiye'ye dönmek zorunda kalabilir. Paula Varela'nın iddiasına göre Galatasaray ile 2 yıllık daha sözleşme imzalayan tecrübeli forvet, kızlarının Türkiye’de yaşaması için hukuki mücadelesini sürdürüyor.
Yaşanan bu gerilime rağmen Türkiye'deki Galatasaray taraftarları Wanda Nara’nın iddialarına itibar etmiyor. Sarı-kırmızılı camia, saha içinde ve dışında idol olarak gördükleri Icardi’ye olan desteğini sürdürüyor.
Luckily, we're in Amazon Prime Day sales week, and discounts are live on Amazon for several Apple MacBooks from 2026 and 2025. Now really might be your last chance to secure a decent deal on a new MacBook before Apple's new pricing structure filters down, as we'll be expecting tech retailers (including Amazon) to raise prices to match Apple's own soon enough.
These deals won't be around for long, either. With price rises now confirmed, those thinking about purchasing one of these Apple laptops will be rushing to hit the purchase button before paying extra. Stock shortages, especially on the cheapest models, could become a real possibility by the end of this sales week.
If you're interested, here are some of the best MacBook deals on sale right now, because you'll want to jump on them while you can.
Prime Day Deals on Apple MacBooks
MacBook Pro, Air, and Neo models from 2025 and 2026 are all on sale right now at Amazon for Prime Day. Amazon hasn't put all models on sale, however, but here are some of the deals we've spotted so far.
One thing to point out, however, is the MacBook Neo. Apple has just raised its MSRP to $699, meaning that Amazon's $589.99 price is $110 cheaper. This will not last long, so make sure to grab it at this price.
Other MacBook models, including the MacBook Air 2026 with a 512GB SSD, are seeing $200 price rises. The MacBook Pro, meanwhile, is getting a price rise of up to $400. This isn't reflected in these Amazon deal prices yet, which have knocked up to $150 off Apple's original prices, so you're guaranteed an even bigger bargain today if you can get your order in quickly enough.
No discounts (right now) on the new MacBook Neo, but it's sub-$600 price is still available at Amazon, at least for now. The MacBook Neo features a gorgeous 13-inch liquid retina display, an A18 Pro processor, 8GB of unified memory, 256GB of SSD storage, and a 1080p webcam. All packed in a thin and sturdy metal chassis. View Deal
The new 2026 MacBook Air now comes with the new M5 chip. This model ships with a 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display, 16GB memory, and 1TB of SSD storage.View Deal
Similar spec to the model above, but this MacBook Air has a smaller 512GB SSD.View Deal
The faster, more powerful 2026 MacBook Pro. This model, with its M5 Pro chip, has a 15-core CPU and 16-core GPU. It comes with 24GB memory and a 1TB SSD.View Deal
This elite-level 2026 MacBook Pro is a serious option for productivity. It has the 18-core CPU, 20-core GPU version of the M5 Pro chip. You also get 24GB of memory and a 1TB SSD for View Deal
The Apple MacBook Pro with M5 Max is the top-tier option for professionals. This model ships with an 18-core CPU/32-core GPU version of the M5 Max chip, along with a 14.2-inch Liquid Retina display. It comes with 36GB memory and a 2TB SSD.View Deal
Secure big savings ahead of these Apple price rises on the MacBook Pro 2026 with an even faster M5 Max chip, this model shipping with an 18-core CPU/40-core GPU variant. It has a bigger 16.2-inch Liquid Retina display, 48GB of memory, and a 2TB SSD for storage.View Deal
This 2025-model MacBook Pro ships with the 10-core M5 chip. It has a 14.2-inch Liquid Retina display, 16GB memory, and a 1TB SSD for storage.View Deal
This 2025-model MacBook Pro ships with the 10-core M5 chip. It has a 14.2-inch Liquid Retina display, 16GB memory, and a 1TB SSD for storage.View Deal
The era of AI tokenmaxxing may be well and truly over. Alongside stories of Amazon cutting its AI leaderboard and an unknown company blowing through $500 million worth of tokens in one month, leaked audio has emerged from consulting firm Accenture as it tries to figure out how to rein in rampant token spend at client companies, 404Media reports.
In leaked audio, Accenture acknowledges that certain trivial tasks being offloaded to AI are causing massive token overspend, especially when agentic AI is part of the mix. The staff in the meeting clearly recognizes that not only is AI spend growing out of control at companies heavily adopting the technology, but that there is very little way to predict how much any tasks would cost, or whether there is real value in using AI to complete them.
Accenture has previously been incredibly bullish on AI, even encouraging employees to use it so much that if they didn't, they risked missing out on promotions. But that seems like a policy destined for the AI history books, as Accenture is now clearly aware that it's overspending on AI, and many of its clients are too.
Anecdotally, I know a number of software developers and data engineers who have been encouraged to use AI as much as they can. They have token limits, but they have been encouraged to use all of them and find new ways to do it, too.
This is leading to runaway token spending, something Accenture is seeing in its client data. Accenture’s agentic AI strategy lead, Justive Kwak, was quoted in the audio saying: "What we’re seeing right now is just rapid escalation in AI token spend [...] as companies start to scale AI, moving from like simple chatbots into use cases that feature agentic workflows and automation and then enterprise-wide deployment of some of these tools like Copilot, Claude Code, and Codex."
This isn't something that will be contained to just a few firms, either, he said. “It’s really not a niche problem. It is a problem that every enterprise will face if they are bullish on AI, if they haven’t already,” he said, adding that token spend was increasing, “exponentially, as more and more people are starting to use AI.”
But that may be starting to change. Amazon canned its AI leaderboard - it's rumored to be the mystery company with a half-billion dollar AI spend in one month - Uber is capping AI use to cut costs, and Axios reported at the end of May that a number of CEOs and companies were switching to more affordable models, and more closely monitoring employee usage.
This all comes in the aftermath of the move by many of the major AI providers to token-based billing. Where previously subscriptions offered very favorable rates for AI use, suddenly companies were having to pay for the tokens they input, and the tokens the AI output - even when it was verbose, or made mistakes, or required follow-up correction.
As the Accenture call shows, it's making even some of the most AI-bullish organizations question their usage, because measuring the spend and the return on that investment is proving all but impossible.
As Kwak said in the leaked audio, "Leadership, especially at the CFO, COO, and CIO level, are still asking the question of whether they’re getting value from what we’re spending on in the context of AI.”
How do you measure return on investment?
Although large language models are proving to be extremely useful in niche cases, their effectiveness at a broader range of tasks is more nebulous. Especially when it comes to financing it. When managers and executives look at AI budgeting and a return on that investment, it's hard to square away the numbers.
When you can't know how many tokens a task will take to complete, or whether the task will be completed effectively on the first, second, or third attempt; when you can't completely control the length of the output, or know whether that output will be wrong, or a lie, or just a random hallucination, how do you measure return on the investment in that tool?
"We’re hitting this inflection point where AI is becoming material to the cost structure; spend is becoming very unpredictable," Accenture's Kwak said during the meeting. Although the overall bill of AI costs is visible, he suggested, finding the specific value attributed to that token spend was not.
This seems to have created a culture of task hierarchy within Accenture, where some tasks are deemed more worthy of AI token use than others. When Kwak positioned himself to show some slides during the meeting, Accenture's client group lead, Stuary Henderson, joked that he hoped Kwak didn't use AI to convert a PDF into images and then markdown files.
“I’m learning that’s one of the big token chewers," he said. “Turning PDFs into markdown: is that right?”
Kwak agreed that Accenture data did show some tasks being completed using AI that didn't really need it, and were using unnecessary tokens because of it. Much of that problem, he suggested, was down to non-technical staff overusing it.
“We’re seeing from some of the data internally at least that it’s actually not our engineers that are driving the token consumption. It’s a lot of the non-engineers that are doing some of those behaviors."
Now that Accenture has encouraged heavy AI adoption among its clients, it finds itself in the bizarre position of having to discourage it or at least encourage more studious use of it. It now sees its next opportunity as a way to advise clients on how to "think about token economics."
It's working on a tool called "Token IQ" to help advise clients, according to the call, but hasn't made any announcement so far.
What's clear from the Accenture leak and actions of some of the major tech companies, which have previously been so bullish on AI use, is that the finances of mass AI adoption at the per-token scale don't line up. Without a clear way to measure the return on AI investment, we may find even the most tokenmaxxing companies look to restrict access and spend through the rest of 2026 as they re-address AI strategy.
ASUS has started rolling out beta BIOS updates that restore Transparent Secure Memory Encryption (TSME) support to several AM5 motherboards, making it one of the first board vendors to implement AMD’s promised fix after the company was criticized for quietly removing the feature from non-Pro Ryzen CPUs.
According to VideoCardz, the beta BIOS files — which cover several ROG Crosshair, ROG Strix, TUF Gaming, and ProArt boards based on AMD’s X870, B850, and X670 chipsets — were reportedly shared through the ASUS ROG forum by overclocker SAFEDISK and include support for “GNR Transparent Secure Memory Encryption,” with GNR referring to Granite Ridge, AMD’s Ryzen 9000 desktop CPU family.
The BIOS updates are based on AGESA ComboAM5 PI 1.3.0.1b Patch A and appear to restore TSME support for non-Pro Ryzen 9000 processors earlier than AMD’s previously stated July timeline. X870 boards mostly move to BIOS 2401; B850 boards move to BIOS 1686; and X670 boards move to BIOS 3901 or 3886, depending on the model.
AMD officially confirmed to Tom's Hardware last week that it will reinstate memory encryption on Ryzen 9000 CPUs via a BIOS update, following “valuable community feedback.” AMD users had strongly expressed disapproval after the company silently removed TSME support from Non-Pro CPUs. TSME is a security feature that protects CPUs against physical exploits by encrypting the data stored in memory, making it unusable to physical attackers.
A user discovered that the feature was no longer available on his Ryzen 7 9700X system, even though it was enabled in the BIOS. Further testing involving MSI showed that consumer Ryzen chips could report TSME support under older firmware, but not after a newer AGESA update, while Ryzen Pro processors continued to support it. After countless reactions, AMD moved to fix the issue, setting July as the timeline for reinstating the feature via a BIOS update.
The ASUS update now suggests the fix is beginning to arrive earlier than AMD’s July timeline, positioning the company as one of the first board makers to package the reinstatement into actual motherboard firmware. However, this is not yet the broad, stable rollout most users will be waiting for. The files are beta BIOS releases shared through the ASUS ROG forum, so users who specifically need TSME may want to track them closely, while anyone running a production or stability-critical system should probably wait for final BIOS builds.
It's common knowledge that it's a bad time to buy a graphics card right now, since prices have surged and are likely to continue rising. However, Newegg's FantasTech Sale has one custom GeForce RTX 5070 Ti graphics card that is currently the most affordable. The GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Eagle OC Ice SFF 16G is up to 20% off the regular price, with a nice $220 in savings if you click the Discount Available section of the listing to claim your discount.
The GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Eagle OC Ice SFF 16G comes equipped with the WindForce cooler, Gigabyte's triple-fan cooling solution for lower temperatures and noise levels. The graphics card also employs Hawk-branded fans with an eagle-wing-inspired blade design to improve airflow. It also uses server-grade thermally conductive gel to enhance heat dissipation.
The graphics card features a boost clock speed of 2,497 MHz, a 4% factory overclock above Nvidia's reference GeForce RTX 5070 Ti specifications. The GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Eagle OC Ice SFF 16G has the dual BIOS functionality that lets you toggle between performance and silent profiles with a physical button on the graphics card.
A GeForce RTX 5070 Ti that employs the WindForce cooling system and flaunts a boost clock that scales up to 2,542 MHz. Click the Discount Available section of the listing to claim your discount.View Deal
The GeForce RTX 5070 Ti is the top choice if you want an exceptional gaming experience at 1440p (2560x1440) resolution. You can enjoy the latest games with remarkable image quality and high frame rates. The GeForce RTX 5070 Ti is also capable of handling 4K (3840x2160) gaming, but you'll need to keep your expectations in check in some of the more graphics-demanding games.
If you're set on a GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Eagle OC Ice SFF 16G from Newegg will save you over $200. It's not a bad deal, considering the current graphics card market and the fact that it'll likely worsen over time.
Swan Hellenic has strengthened its commercial leadership across the Americas with three senior appointments to accelerate growth through the travel trade. Gordon Dirker has been appointed as senior vice president, Americas, alongside Jennifer Zammit as senior director, Canada sales, and Jane Martin as sales director, National Host Accounts. The company said in a press release...
Scenic has announced two Tastes of Discovery voyages through Northern Europe and the Mediterranean aboard the Scenic Eclipse I and II. These immersive culinary journeys will be led by chefs Gabriel Rodriguez and Begoña Rodrigo, the cruise line shared in a press release. Departing in September 2026, these specialty sailings will allow guests to experience Europe through the flavors, traditions and local ingredients inspired by the destinations they visit. “Food has the unique ability to connect travelers...
Germany and Ecuador face each other in their last match of Group E. While Julian Nagelsmann’s team have showcased their top contender status, Sebastian Beccacece’s team are still chasing their knockout stage spot. Here are the predicted lineups for both sides.
Germany face Ecuador in their last clash of Group E, chasing an unbeaten path to the Round of 32. While Julian Nagelsmann’s team have managed to shine, Sebastian Beccacece’s team need a victory to keep dreaming of a knockout-stage spot, as their 2026 World Cup future is at risk. As the final clash before the next round, both sides may decide to field their best lineup, promising a great match.
While head coach Sebastian Beccacece managed to build a fairly solid team during the CONMEBOL qualifiers, Ecuador have failed to shine at the 2026 World Cup. After losing to Ivory Coast and drawing with Curaçao, they arrive for the match against Germany with an urgent need to secure a victory. To do so, they could maintain their tactical approach, trusting that Enner Valencia and Gonzalo Plata improve their goalscoring output.
Despite arriving with several uncertainties, head coach Julian Nagelsmann has managed to elevate Germany into a favorite to win the title. Relying on a very impressive possession-based style of play, Deniz Undav has emerged as the team’s offensive leader. To achieve this, Jamal Musiala and Felix Nmecha have been key, leading the creative side of the game. In addition, Jonathan Tah and Joshua Kimmich have excelled in the defensive phase.
Germany predicted lineup vs Ecuador
After arriving in excellent winning form, Germany come in as the clear favorites to secure a victory against Ecuador. Head coach Julian Nagelsmann will be unable to count on Nathaniel Brown or Nico Schlotterbeck due to injuries. As a result, David Raum and Antonio Rüdiger could start. In addition, Deniz Undav could take the starting spot from Kai Havertz because of his outstanding form, while Jamal Musiala would start once again.
The German national team
Considering this, Germany could lineup as follows: Manuel Neuer; Joshua Kimmich, Jonathan Tah, Antonio Rüdiger, David Raum; Aleksandar Pavlović, Felix Nmecha; Leroy Sané, Jamal Musiala, Florian Wirtz; Deniz Undav.
Ecuador predicted lineup vs Germany
Ecuador arrive at the match needing a victory against Germany to keep dreaming of the Round of 32. Head coach Sebastian Beccacece would maintain his offensive approach, led by Gonzalo Plata and the veteran Enner Valencia. In addition, Moisés Caicedo would be the leader of the midfield, looking to limit their opponent. In defense, Willian Pacho would remain the undisputed leader of the back line.
With this in mind, Ecuador could play as follows: Hernán Galíndez; Alan Franco, Joel Ordóñez, Willian Pacho, Piero Hincapié; John Yeboah, Moisés Caicedo, Pedro Vite, Alan Minda; Gonzalo Plata, Enner Valencia.
Joshua Kimmich #6 of Germany and Moises Caicedo #23 of Ecuador.
Almanya'da düzenlenen ISSF Gençler Tüm Dallar Dünya Şampiyonası'nda milli sporcu Fahrettin Can Er gümüş madalya kazandı. Genç erkekler 50 metre serbest tabanca kategorisinde 552 puan alan Er, aynı zamanda Türkiye rekorunun da sahibi oldu.
Fabrizio Romano'nun haberine göre Real Madrid, Nico Paz'ı 9 milyon euroluk geri alma maddesini kullanarak kadrosuna katacak. Kariyerine Como'da devam etmek isteyen oyuncu için İspanyol devinin talebinin 60 milyon euro olduğu belirtildi.
TOFAŞ Basketbol Takımı, 2026-2027 sezonu kadro yapılanması kapsamında ABD'li oyun kurucu Zach Nutall ile anlaşma sağladı. Son olarak Çin'de Xinjiang Flying Tigers forması giyen 1999 doğumlu oyuncu, yeni sezonda mavi-yeşilli ekipte forma giyecek.
Bahçeşehir Koleji Erkek Basketbol Takımı, ABD'li oyun kurucu Jordan Ford ile yollarını ayırdığını açıkladı. Kulüp, 2025-2026 sezonu ortasında takıma katılan oyuncuya katkıları için teşekkür etti.
İspanya'nın 18 yaşındaki Fas asıllı futbolcusu Lamine Yamal, Suudi Arabistan'a karşı oynadığı maçta attığı golün ardından secdeye giderken bu sevinç, sosyal medyada kendisine yönelik ırkçı yorumların artmasına neden oldu.
VakıfBank Kadın Voleybol Takımı, yeni sezon kadro planlaması kapsamında Emily Maglio'yu kadrosuna kattı. Kanadalı orta oyuncu, 2026-2027 sezonunda sarı-siyahlı formayı giyecek.
Bitcoin fell to 21-month lows as stock market volatility accompanied three-year highs in US PCE inflation, leading to $600 million in hourly crypto liquidations.
Futbolpress.az xəbər verir ki, “atlılar” Rusiyanın “Pari NN” klubunda çıxış edən Reynaldo Cebhasla anlaşıb. Bu barədə klubun mətbuat xidməti məlumat yayıb.
Bu gün Gənclər və İdman Nazirliyinin Voleybol Mərkəzində Azərbaycan Voleybol Federasiyası (AVF) və Milli Olimpiya Komitəsinin (MOK) birgə təşkilatçılığı ilə voleybol məşqçiləri üçün “Təhlükəsiz idman – hamı üçün” mövzusunda seminar təşkil olunub.
Futbolpress.az xəbər verir ki, seminar Beynəlxalq Olimpiya Komitəsi tərəfindən sertifikatlaşdırılmış MOK-un təhlükəsiz idman üzrə inspektoru Vaqif Əliyev və AVF-nin təhlükəsiz idman üzrə məsul şəxsi, federasiyanın idman şöbəsinin direktoru Şir-Aslan Kərimov tərəfindən aparılıb.
Tədbirdə “Təhlükəsiz idman” təşəbbüsünün mahiyyəti, əsas prinsipləri və tətbiq mexanizmləri barədə təqdimat edilib, iştirakçılara mövzu ilə bağlı ətraflı məlumat verilib. Seminar çərçivəsində təhlükəsiz idman mühitinin formalaşdırılması, risklərin qarşısının alınması və beynəlxalq standartların tətbiqi məsələləri müzakirə olunub.
Olimpiya Həmrəyliyi Fondunun (Olympic Solidarity) dəstəyi ilə həyata keçirilən proqram çərçivəsində təşkil olunan seminarda 15-ə yaxın voleybol məşqçisi iştirak edib.
Qeyd edək ki, təhlükəsiz və sağlam idman mühitinin təşviqi məqsədilə bu cür maarifləndirici seminarların gələcəkdə ölkənin müxtəlif bölgələrində də keçirilməsi nəzərdə tutulur.
Qətər millisinin yarımmüdafiəçisi Assim Madibo dünya çempionatında rəqibini zədələdiyi üçün 5 oyunluq cəzalanıb. Msport.az xəbər verir ki, Kanada ilə görüşün […]
“Çelsi” İtaliyanın “Komo” klubundan 21 yaşlı mərkəz müdafiəçisi Yakobo Ramonla maraqlanır. Msport.az xəbər verir ki, gənc oyunçu, İngiltərə klubunun rəhbərliyinin […]
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Real Betis have reportedly made an exploratory enquiry with Torino over Cesare Casadei, with the Andalusian club sounding out the feasibility of a potential deal for the former Chelsea and Inter midfielder without yet entering into formal negotiations.
According to TuttoMercatoWeb, The approach follows a failed attempt by Betis to sign Fiorentina’s Rolando Mandragora in recent weeks, with the Spanish club continuing to look to Serie A to strengthen their midfield options.
Casadei has attracted attention from multiple directions this summer, Everton and Brighton had also been linked with a return to the Premier League for the 23-year-old in the days prior to Betis’s enquiry.
TURIN, ITALY – JANUARY 07: Cesare Casadei of Torino celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the Serie A match between Torino FC and Udinese Calcio at Stadio Olimpico di Torino on January 07, 2026 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)
Casadei’s strong Torino season makes him an attractive proposition for Betis
The interest is well founded; Casadei produced an impressive campaign at Torino, making 36 appearances and contributing seven goals, six of them in Serie A, to establish himself as one of the more effective midfielders in the division.
His combination of physical presence and technical quality, developed through his time in Chelsea and Inter’s youth system, makes him an appealing target for clubs across Europe’s major leagues.
The situation is expected to become clearer over the coming weeks as the transfer market develops and Torino establish their own summer plans under new coach Ignazio Abate.
Massimiliano Allegri’s move to Napoli remains stalled after exactly 30 days of negotiations with Milan over his severance package, with the tension between the parties now rising to the point where a legal battle before the sporting justice system has become a genuine possibility.
According to Tuttomercatoweb, two scenarios are now on the table for the coming days. The first is a financial agreement between Allegri’s agent and Milan, covering both the coach and his staff, which would clear the path for the Livorno native to sign a three-year contract with the Italian champions.
The second is Allegri’s resignation, which would immediately open a separate front: a potential damages claim before the sporting courts. Neither Milan nor Napoli want that outcome, and both sides retain cautious confidence that a resolution is close.
MILAN, ITALY – APRIL 11: Massimiliano Allegri, Head Coach of AC Milan, looks on prior to the Serie A match between AC Milan and Udinese Calcio at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on April 11, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
Allegri’s staff already moving on as Napoli run out of patience with Milan impasse
Aurelio De Laurentiis does not want the situation to drag beyond this week, a position that reflects the growing frustration within Napoli at a process complicated from the outset, with the ongoing chaos surrounding the leadership at Milan.
Allegri himself is currently on holiday in Sardinia, waiting for the situation to be resolved before travelling to sign his contract.
Two members of his staff have already secured their futures independently. Goalkeeping coach Claudio Filippi has resolved his Milan contract and accepted a role at Fiorentina under Fabio Paratici, while Bernardo Corradi has been announced as the new Sampdoria head coach.
Niclas Fullkrug is set to return to West Ham after a disappointing six-month loan spell at Milan in which the German striker managed just one goal, and the 33-year-old now faces an uncertain future with the Hammers having been relegated to the Championship, leaving him available for approximately €3 million.
According to Il Tirreno, via CalcioMercato, Fiorentina are also considering a move, with the Viola potentially in the market for a striker should Roberto Piccoli depart this summer.
FLORENCE, ITALY – JANUARY 11: Niclas Fullkrug of AC Milan looks on during the Serie A match between ACF Fiorentina and AC Milan at Artemio Franchi on January 11, 2026 in Florence, Italy. (Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)
Fiorentina eye Fullkrug as low-cost Piccoli replacement as Viola weigh attacking options
For Fiorentina, Fullkrug represents an experienced, physically imposing option at a remarkably modest price given his profile.
His time at Milan was underwhelming, but his record before the move, particularly his performances for Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, demonstrated he is capable of performing at the highest level when fit and in form.
New coach Fabio Grosso will need to decide whether the German fits his attacking plans before any approach is formalised.
West Ham’s relegation ensures they will be willing to listen to offers, making the economics of any deal straightforward for interested parties.
An analysis of a popular Google Chrome ad block extension for YouTube has uncovered the ability to execute arbitrary JavaScript code.
According to Island, the extension, named Adblock for YouTube (ID: cmedhionkhpnakcndndgjdbohmhepckk), has more than 10 million installs and carries a Featured badge on the Chrome Web Store.
The extension description states that it allows users to prevent web
My first DJI drone was the flagship DJI Mavic Pro that launched in 2016. At the time, it was the brand's smallest consumer market drone ever made, replacing the bulky DJI Phantom, and that meant it wasn't cheap at $999 / £999.
It didn't take long after unboxing it for me to crash it into a wall. I was excited; the controls were inverted. Back then, there was no way I could simply fork out for a replacement drone — but luckily it just needed a new arm rather than a whole new drone (phew).
Since then, DJI has expanded its consumer drone range considerably, from the ultra-lightweight Mini Series to the more accessible Neo Series for casual flyers. The most beginner-friendly of the lot is the DJI Neo, which you can find at Amazon for as low as $139 (was $199) in the US and £113 (was £169) in the UK for the drone itself.
I've rounded up the best DJI drone deals, like the DJI Neo, below. Hopefully, you're shopping to upgrade rather than replace, though. Happy flying!
Today's best DJI drone deals in the US
The DJI Neo is the easiest 4K drone you'll ever fly, and a fantastic gateway for beginners. You're not buying a Neo for its 12MP photo and 4K video quality, but its host of beginner-friendly features like one-tap takeoff and automatic return. Weighing just 135g, no registration is required, and, thanks to today's low price at Amazon, the drone itself is less than $140. View Deal
It's not a huge discount on a drone that's now been succeeded by a newer model, but that doesn't mean this DJI drone deal that saves you $150 should be ignored. If you're yet to fly high or want to upgrade from a much older quadcopter, this 249g drone is still pretty darn good. Read our review for the full scoop.View Deal
DJI's latest entry-level drone upgrades the Mini 2 SE with 4K video capture, whereas the Mini 2 SE only shoots in 2.7K. And with this Prime Day deal, it's available for a record-low price, beating the previous low of $255.55. This combo includes DJI's updated remote controller and two batteries for a 62-minute flight time. If you're looking for your first drone equipped with a camera, the Mini 4K Camera Drone Combo is a great starting point. View Deal
The DJI Neo is the easiest 4K drone you'll ever fly, and a fantastic gateway for beginners. You're not buying a Neo for its 12MP photo and 4K video quality, but its host of beginner-friendly features like one-tap takeoff and automatic return. Being just 135g, no registration is required, and, thanks to today's low price at Amazon, both the standalone drone and combo packages are available for very cheap indeed. This deal is for the Motion Fly More bundle, which includes the RC Motion 3, three batteries, and a charging hub. View Deal
Today's best DJI drone deals in the UK
In our DJI Mini 3 review, we praised it as "an enticing choice for eager drone pilots willing to sacrifice the obvious safety benefits of collision avoidance for a more affordable model". While it has since been succeeded, this 35% saving is still a notable discount worth considering if you want an entry-level drone. View Deal
I've been tracking DJI prices for the last three and a half years, and the current Mini 4K price is the lowest it has ever been. This package includes the drone, controller, and one battery. The camera is mounted to a three-axis gimbal for smooth 4K video capture, offers a handy 2x digital zoom, and boasts 31 minutes of flight time.View Deal
Usually, I recommend Fly More Combos for first-time buyers because you get a controller, extra batteries, and a charging hub, but of any beginner drone, the autonomous Neo is possibly the one where you can get away with the single-battery, drone-only bundle. There's a huge price drop for the Neo drone-only option, with more than £50 off the original price. By my reckoning, this is the lowest price ever in the UK for a DJI drone that shoots 4K video. View Deal
If you've read our DJI Neo review, you'll already know that it's the easiest 4K drone you'll ever fly, with one-tap takeoff, subject tracking, and automatic return. Both the drone itself and combo packages are discounted at Amazon right now. This deal is for the Fly More bundle, which also includes a controller, three batteries, and a charging hub.View Deal
As far as the best running headphones go, we're still obsessing over the range of audio devices that Shokz has, especially those on offer right now during Amazon Prime Day.
I recently rounded up the best workout headphones deals and thought they're all solid picks, but not all of them are suited to running and intense cardio quite like Shokz. With that said, if you're more of a runner and less of a gym rat, investing in a good pair of headphones from Shokz might work out for you much better in the long run. Pun intended.
Last year, I ran my first half-marathon, ticking off another bucket list achievement, but deciding to go music-less was a huge mistake. Besides, my current headphones aren't designed for high-intensity running, which is why I wish I had looked into these models from Shokz before completing the whole 13 miles.
Today's best Shokz deals in the US
If you're a keen swimmer and are looking for a pair of headphones to soundtrack your way up and down the lanes, the OpenSwim Pro are a solid shout thanks to its Bluetooth connectivity for live music streaming, which has been added to the existing built-in MP3 support. This means they're ideal for listening to music both in and out of swimming environments.
As Amazon doesn't have price history information for these in the US, we don't know if this is a record low for the OpenFit 2+. But what we do know is that $90 off is a staggering discount on a pair of fitness headphones we said were "better than Bose".
A $55 saving on the Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 (bone conduction headphones that don't actually go into your ear) is not to be sniffed at, especially as it's the biggest discount these headphones have ever had — they briefly dropped to $139 before now, but never this low! Available in both standard and mini sizes in three colors, the Pro 2 uses bone conduction and air conduction to deliver great sound on multiple fronts, all while keeping you aware of your surroundings.
These only came out last year, and we gave them 4.5 out of 5 in our glowing review – so this discount is fantastic. Clip-style open earbuds hook onto your ear, and don't go into the ear canal – they're really comfortable, they leave you able to hear the world around you as well as your music, and they sound superb.
OpenRun Pro 2 (a set of bone conduction headphones that don't actually cover the ears, so are almost like open earbuds!) are among the very best running headphones available right now, at the lowest price they've ever been – a solid Prime Day no-brainer for the long-distance runner in your life.
If you're in the UK, you can also get the Shokz OpenFit 2 for a record-low price. These excellent open earbuds are the ideal pick for runners and they are much easier to recommend at this massively discounted price. Get them for the impressive sound quality, lengthy battery life and dependable fit.
The OpenFit 2+ are slightly more pricey than the standard OpenFit 2, but there's a reason. Not only do they have incredible sound and fit comfortably even as a glasses wearer, but the battery life runs on a durable 11 hours playtime, 48 hours with the charging case.
This is a pretty great discount to score since these earbuds are just over a year old. The OpenDots One are comfortable, pack solid audio, and are now even more affordable than before. What's not to love about this better-than-Black Friday deal?
Two versions of the game are available: a standard edition that costs $79.99 / £69.99 / AU$129.95 and an upgraded Ultimate Edition that throws in some bonus digital content for $99.99 / £89.99 / AU$159.95.
In my eyes, it's a pretty reasonable price point. The game has taken over a decade to develop and is estimated to have a massive budget, which has led some analysts to suggest that prices could start at as much as $100 / £100 / AU$200 before they were made official.
In the US, it's $10 more expensive than most major games, which generally go for $69.99. In the UK, it's actually the same price as most other releases with the likes of Ghost of Yotei or Stellar Blade also costing £69.99.
Still, according to a poll we ran with TechRadar readers, some fans are disappointed, particularly given the fact that physical versions of GTA 6 won't actually contain a proper disc but rather a printed download code.
Most think GTA 6 costs too much
(Image credit: Rockstar Games)
We took to our almost 400,000 member strong WhatsApp channel to find out what our readers think and, after 459 responses, the results are pretty interesting.
Overall, the majority (59%) of responses said that GTA 6 is priced too high. Of that group, 68% stated that they would not by the game — vowing that "Rockstar just lost a sale" — while 32% admitted they would buy the game anyway, even if they thought it was too much.
Meanwhile, 41% were keen to get a pre-order locked in, selecting the option that said they will definitely "be there day one". This means that on the whole 59% said they were going to buy the game, even if they expressed concern with the price.
This leaves a sizeable minority that have seemingly been completely turned off. We'll have to wait and see whether this reservation is reflected in the official sales figures when they eventually release.
The first trailer for the new film adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, fronted by Daisy Edgar-Jones, has been released
Esmé Creed-Miles, Caitríona Balfe, Frank Dillane, George MacKay and Fiona Shaw are also in the cast
The movie is set to be released in cinemas on September 25
The first trailer for the new movie adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, starring Daisy Edgar-Jones as lead protagonist Elinor Dashwood, has been released — you can check it out below.
Releasing in cinemas worldwide in September 25, other cast members include Esmé Creed-Miles, Caitríona Balfe, Frank Dillane, George MacKay, Herbert Nordrum, Bodhi Rae Breathnach and Fiona Shaw.
The new movie, directed by Georgia Oakley, is the eighth adaptation of the Jane Austen novel since 1971, across all global media. However, fans of the book are already worried that the new film won't live up to one version in particular: the 1995 movie led by Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson.
"Unnecessary," one fan comment on YouTube reads, with another agreeing, "Gonna be very hard to top the Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson one."
A third adds on X, "1995 stans will riot, but this looks like it actually gets the heartbreak. Count me in for the tissues and the bonnets."
While fans are already divided over the impact of Oakley's take on the classic book, we're potentially overlooking the most crucial casting of the bunch: Caitríona Balfe.
Opinion: Caitríona Balfe's Outlander experience could elevate Sense and Sensibility
We've all been so busy talking about Daisy Edgar-Jones in the role of Elinor Dashwood that we've completely neglected how inspired a piece of casting Caitríona Balfe is.
The Outlander star will be playing Mrs Dashwood, originally played by Gemma Jones in the 1995 movie. Balfe is no stranger to creating compelling historical romance, having starred as Claire in the hit Starz series since 2014.
Frankly, she's the ideal person to cast in the face of a Jane Austen remake being so noticeably divisive. The new movie will need as many safe pairs of hands as possible to fend off the 'There-was-no-point-in-making-this-movie' brigade, especially if the idea is to showcase something completely different.
As far as the above trailer is concerned, we can expect traditional period-drama vibes throughout. Universal Pictures describes the adaptation as "an irresistible new take on Jane Austen’s iconic Sense and Sensibility: a charming, witty, and deeply relatable story of love and sisterhood."
Most plumbing jobs aren't planned. After all, a burst pipe doesn't wait for business hours. The company that answers the phone first usually wins the work.
Running that kind of business also means juggling a tight labor market and a stack of admin work that piles up the moment you stop chasing it. Now, I don’t run a home services business myself, but I’ve spent a lot of time reviewing business software for a living.
For this article, I tested different tools and platforms across five categories using sample data modeled on real plumbing scenarios, from urgent service calls to routine maintenance paperwork. Here's how it went.
#1 Field service management keeps the schedule honest
A field service management (FSM) platform schedules jobs and dispatches the closest available technician. It also stores every customer's repair history in one place, so nobody has to dig through paper invoices to remember what got replaced last time.
I tested one by building a week's worth of sample jobs, mixing emergency calls with routine maintenance the way a busy schedule actually looks. Everything was much easier to manage as the FSM software took care of most of my admin overhead. Meanwhile, my phone synced job notes and photos back to the dashboard in real time.
Industry research backs up what I saw. One 2025 survey of trade businesses found that 94% of companies using field service software reported real productivity gains. Eighty-three percent said the software helped their business grow.
The catch: techs used to working off a clipboard need real coaching before the software earns its keep. Switching systems mid-season can throw off a busy crew.
#2 Asset tracking stops tools from going missing
Plumbing crews lose more money to missing tools than most owners realize. An asset-tracking app assigns a QR code or GPS tag to every truck and major tool, so you always know who has what and where it's parked.
I built a sample inventory of tools and vehicles inside the app, then simulated one tool sitting unused in the yard for several days. The app flagged it within that same test run. It's exactly the kind of alert that would catch a missing drain snake before it becomes a bigger problem on a real job site.
Construction equipment theft costs the industry more than $1 billion a year in the US. Fewer than a quarter of stolen tools are ever recovered. One analysis found that businesses with full visibility into their assets boosted maintenance productivity by 28% and cut repair costs by 18%.
#3 AI lead capture tools answer calls you'd miss
AI-powered lead generation covers everything from chat widgets that qualify leads on your website to AI phone agents that answer calls after the office closes.
I set one up against a batch of sample after-hours calls, the kind that would normally roll to voicemail. In the test runs, several of those calls turned into booked appointments before a human ever saw the missed-call notification.
How fast you respond matters more than which specific tool you use. Contractors who reply to a lead within five minutes book the job far more often than those who wait half an hour, according to lead-response research.
Most contractors remain cautious about AI, though. One survey of more than 1,000 contractors found that just 25% use it in any meaningful way. So be sure to plan well before you roll it out.
#4 Accounting apps turn receipts into cash flow clarity
Accounting software is the least exciting tool on this list, but it's probably the one that saves the most time. It pulls in your bank transactions automatically and turns a pile of receipts into a usable profit and loss statement for your business.
I fed it a batch of sample receipts, the kind a plumbing crew would rack up in an average week. They landed already categorized in the right expense column within seconds. Generating a profit and loss statement from that sample data took minutes instead of an evening with a spreadsheet.
Manual bookkeeping eats up roughly 8 to 12 hours a month for the average small business owner. Decent software cuts that down to 2 to 4 hours.
Generic accounting platforms still fall short on job costing. They handle invoices fine, but rarely break down labor and materials by job the way a plumbing business actually needs.
#5 Training software shortens the learning curve
Specialty trade roles can take 45 to 60 days just to hire. New techs often need another 12 to 18 months before they're fully productive.
Many new techs quit within a year if there's no clear path forward for them. Forty-seven percent of trade workers say they'd leave a job that doesn't offer a clear way to learn new skills. That share has climbed sharply over the past year, according to recruitment research.
That’s why staff onboarding and training software turns tribal knowledge into a checklist that a new apprentice can actually follow. Training modules and certification checklists live in one app instead of a binder in the back of the truck.
I built a sample new-hire profile and ran it through one platform's onboarding checklist. I was able to clear the required certifications faster than I expected. The app even flagged exactly which ones were still missing instead of leaving that to memory.
Why software plays a big role in a plumbing business
Plumbing used to run on a paper schedule and word-of-mouth. Neither one has disappeared. Neither one is enough by itself anymore.
Part of the reason is the labor shortage. The industry is short an estimated 550,000 plumbers by 2027, a gap projected to cost the broader economy roughly $33 billion a year. When you can't hire your way out of a busy season, the work has to get done faster with the crew you already have.
That's what ties these five categories together. Scheduling, asset tracking, AI lead capture, accounting, and staff training don't replace a good plumber. They remove friction around everything else the job demands.
We tested each tool against scenarios modeled on how a busy plumbing business would actually use it, not as a polished sales demo. The ones that made this list are the ones that held up under that kind of pressure.
I need to make something abundantly clear, gentle reader. I ought perhaps to mention that we're tracking every Amazon Prime Day deal worth noticing if that's what you're after (and that the event is ongoing as I type), but, probably because of this big sale thing, I've been getting the question a lot and wanted to pin my colours to the mast.
Right then: the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) and no other set of earbuds before or since these June 2025-issue buds still offer the best active noise cancellation on the market, provided your source device doesn't have a piece of fruit with a bite taken out of it etched on the back. I test earbuds as a full-time job and have done so since 2019 (I know, nice work, etc.), so it's my job to know these things.
Other buds can offer better sound; I might point you towards Technics or Bowers & Wilkins here. And there are further buds I'd nudge you towards if you want novel features (here it is impossible not to note Samsung's own sets with live translation, as well as the ubiquitous ice-white offerings from Tim Cook's behemoth, some of which can monitor your heart rate). But for solid ANC, with music present and correct? Bose wrote the book on the technology, and Bose's buds are emphatically still the best.
And although I'm contractually bound to tell you that right now, you can get the QCU Earbuds (2nd Gen) for a whopping £89 off, since they're now £209 rather than £299 at Amazon (and their lowest discount before today was to £249, so it's big), that's not why I'm here.
No, I want to set the record straight once and for all. Until such time as a new set of earbuds swoops in and steals the spoils, this is the current, up-to-the-minute hierarchy.
Yes, AirPods Pro can cut out the noise, and I've got a roundup of the top AirPods Prime Day deals if you need 'em. But unless you own an iPhone, those won't serve you as well — which is how Apple wants to keep it. If you're on Android, I maintain that the earbuds you're reading about now are hands-down the best. And they don't care what file format or streaming service you're listening to when it comes to offering the excellent head-tracked spatial stuff, too…
Today's best Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) deal
Black Friday late last year was the first-ever saving I saw on this set of 5-star, 2025-release noise-cancelling earbuds, and that saw them drop to £249. Here's the thing: Bose products rarely see discounts, and that is because they basically walk all over anything else on the market for noise cancellation (except maybe Apple's AirPods Pro 3 — but if you don't own an iPhone, I don't recommend those, however good the deal). A lowest-seen fee on a truly excellent set of new earbuds from Bose? Yes please. View Deal
My in-depth Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) review is the place to go for my own even more detailed appraisal, but a cursory glance at the maximum five-star rating is perhaps all you need, along with this: They're just really,really good.
Also, for those with particular interest, the 'Sonic Sangria' finish pictured above is in the deal (hurrah!), and please believe me when I tell you they get plenty of compliments when I wear them. (All other finishes are included in the deal, though.)
I keep these buds beside my home desk, because the tree surgeons have been out in force recently (joy), and nothing cuts out chainsaw shrieks and the sound of falling timber quite like these. I also keep them here for when I'm testing the active noise cancellation efficacy of the competition. Yes, the Bose QCUE (2nd Gen) are essentially my reference product for ANC — a benchmark for what can be achieved in an in-ear design, if you've got a very special set of skills.
With this particular second-generation model, you get wireless charging from the box (which wasn't so with the originals) and multi-point connectivity that works seamlessly, something the original QCU Earbuds also bizarrely lacked on their release.
I also need to point out that I adore the Immersive audio profiles, which somehow mix device- and streaming service-agnostic spatial audio plus Bose's iconic noise-nixing to provide various vigorous, zealous, exciting soundstages for your movies or music.
Some of the best earbuds on the market? Oh absolutely. And one of the best Prime Day earbuds deals I've seen? Oh, OK then — 100% yes.
AeroPress coffee makers are super versatile, portable, and easy to use — and they're going cheap for Amazon Prime Day. The deals include both the AeroPress Original and the compact AeroPress Go, both in a rainbow of colors. Even if you already own one, like I do, you might be tempted to grab another while they're going chep.
There's also a great deal on the AeroPress Original XL, which is a great size for making a large carafe of coffee to share at home, at the office, or at camp. Pair it with the AeroPress Original XL Flow Filter Cap, which prevents coffee dripping before you start to press the plunger, and you've got total control over how your coffee is extracted - all for a bargain Prime Day price.
AeroPress Prime Day deals
AeroPress
AeroPress Original
AeroPress
AeroPress Original, Pink
AeroPress
AeroPress Original, Green
AeroPress
AeroPress Original, Red
AeroPress
AeroPress Original, Clear
AeroPress
AeroPress Go Plus, Cream
AeroPress
Aeropress Go Plus, Pink
AeroPress
Aeropress Original XL
AeroPress
AeroPress Go
AeroPress
AeroPress XL Flow Control Filter Cap
AeroPress
AeroPress Bundle - Premium
AeroPress
AeroPress Travel Mug, Red
The only thing missing is the new AeroPress Manual Coffee Grinder, which is still full price, but I'm keeping an eye on it, and will let you know as soon as it gets its first price cut. It's the best manual coffee grinder I've ever used, and it's not even close.
Logistics operators are under pressure from every direction.
Warehouses are being asked to process higher volumes, respond faster to disruption and maintain tighter inventory control, all while managing labor shortages and rising operational costs.
UK Warehousing Association research shows that recruitment challenges continue to affect the sector, with only 13% of employers reporting no difficulty hiring staff and more than half anticipating critical skills shortages in the years ahead.
At the same time, investment in warehouse automation continues to accelerate. McKinsey estimates adoption is growing at more than 10% annually as operators look to improve efficiency, resilience and cost management across increasingly complex supply chains.
Yet the defining shift in logistics is no longer the rollout of isolated automation tools. It is the emergence of autonomous systems capable of continuously capturing operational data, generating live insight and supporting faster, more informed decisions across the warehouse environment.
Moving beyond static automation
Historically, automation in logistics has been limited to controlled and predictable settings. Fixed systems deliver value in stable workflows.
That is beginning to change.
Most warehouse environments are dynamic, with changing inventory, layouts and operational demands. Advances in artificial intelligence, sensing and mobile robotics are enabling more effective operation in complex environments. At the same time, digital modelling technologies are improving how operators understand and manage warehouse operations.
Gartner predicts that by 2030, half of new warehouses in developed markets will be designed as human-optional facilities, supported by robotics and digital twins. This does not signal the removal of people from logistics. It reflects a shift towards systems that can support human decision-making with more accurate and timely data.
Creating a live operational picture
One of the biggest constraints in warehouse operations is visibility. Many decisions still rely on periodic stock checks, incomplete system data or manual investigation.
Digital twins are beginning to address this challenge.
By combining continuous data capture with virtual models of the warehouse, digital twins provide a real-time view of inventory, storage and movement. This allows operators to detect discrepancies earlier and respond before issues escalate.
Deloitte research indicates that improved inventory visibility can reduce operational inefficiencies and improve fulfilment accuracy, especially in high-volume distribution settings. More broadly, the ability to maintain accurate, real-time inventory data is directly linked to warehouse performance. Industry studies predict that poor inventory accuracy can significantly increase costs through mis-picks, stockouts and excess safety stock.
Turning data into operational action
The value of autonomy increases when insight leads directly to action.
As real-time data is combined with analytics, warehouse systems can identify issues such as misplaced inventory, congestion or underutilized space as they occur. This enables faster intervention, whether through human decision-making or system-driven recommendations.
Over time, this creates a more responsive operating model. Instead of reacting to problems after they occur, warehouses can move towards continuous optimization.
McKinsey notes that advanced analytics and automation can significantly improve warehouse productivity and reduce operational costs when deployed effectively.
Scaling logistics intelligently
A persistent challenge in logistics is that growth often brings added complexity. Higher volumes typically require more labor, more oversight and more manual processes.
Autonomous systems offer a way to change that dynamic.
By automating data capture and improving decision-making, organizations can scale operations without a proportional increase in manual intervention. This is particularly important in a constrained labor market.
At the same time, newer forms of automation are designed to be more flexible than traditional fixed systems.
Autonomous mobile robots, for example, can operate within existing warehouse environments, eliminating the need for large-scale infrastructure changes and making adoption accessible more easily.
How autonomy is changing warehouse roles
Autonomy does not replace people. It changes how they contribute.
As repetitive and physically demanding tasks are automated, workers can focus more on oversight, exception management and continuous improvement. This shift is already visible in facilities where humans and machines operate together, combining physical automation with human judgement.
Safety is also a key factor. Warehousing remains a high-risk environment, with industry data showing that the transportation and storage sector, which includes warehousing and distribution, experiences above-average non-fatal injury rates and around 38,000 workplace injuries each year. Reducing manual handling and improving situational awareness through automation can help mitigate these risks.
Building resilience through visibility
Autonomy is becoming a foundational capability for modern logistics operations. The greatest value does not come from robotics alone, but from the ability to combine automation, AI and real-time operational intelligence into a single connected system.
Warehouses that can continuously monitor inventory, identify inefficiencies and respond dynamically to changing conditions will be better positioned to manage disruption and scale sustainably.
As supply chains become more complex and less predictable, the competitive advantage will increasingly belong to organizations that can make faster and more accurate decisions. The future of warehousing will depend on how effectively businesses turn operational data into meaningful action.
This article was produced as part of TechRadar Pro Perspectives, our channel to feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today.
The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/pro/perspectives-how-to-submit
Yes, the news that Apple fans have been fearing is here — Apple isn't immune to the RAM crisis and has just raised prices across Macs, iPads and the HomePod mini.
Those price hikes are global and are now live in its online store. An Apple spokesperson told Bloomberg "we know this is not welcome news, and we are working tirelessly to find solutions".
The headline news is that the MacBook Neo, praised for its excellent value, has seen its starting rise from $599 / £599 to a slightly less palatable $699 / £699. There have also been price hikes for the iPad Air, iPad Pro, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac mini and some Mac Studio models.
What should you do if you were looking to buy one of those Apple products? You've can follow all the latest reaction and deals here in this liveblog...
Welcome to our Apple support group
Hello, and welcome to this liveblog for our reaction to Apple's bombshell news today that it'll be raising prices across Macs, iPads and more.
So what should you do if, like me, you've been looking at upgrading your Apple kit recently? I'll be rounding up all of the latest advice and reaction from TechRadar's experts here — along with the best Prime day deals that could be your savior.
Why is Apple raising prices so much?
(Image credit: Apple)
The RAM crisis is actually more of a PC component crisis — and unsurprisingly, Apple has said that it's this that's forced it to make unprecedented price hikes today.
An Apple spokesperson told Bloomberg that “the rapid expansion of AI data centers has created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage”. They added that the company has “never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly.”
It's very unusual for Apple make statements like this, which shows how bad the crisis has become. Apple also added it has “shielded our customers from these increases so far, but we have now reached a point where we need to begin raising prices on a number of products including today’s increases for iPad and Mac.”
So what are the price hikes?
(Image credit: Future)
Here's a list of the most notable price hikes today for Apple products in the US and UK.
This isn't an exhaustive list — there are various spec configurations for Macs, for example, that will also be hit, particularly if you want to add more RAM.
But it's a handy overview if you want a quick look at the damage for your chosen product. No price hikes are welcome, but those MacBook and Mac mini ones are particularly painful considering the decent value they previously offered.
US price hikes
New price
Old price
Price difference
MacBook Neo
$699
$599
+$100
MacBook Air
$1299
$1099
+$200
MacBook Pro
$1999
$1699
+$300
Mac mini
$799
$599
+$200
iMac
$1499
$1299
+$200
Mac Studio
$2499
$1999
+$500
iPad A16
$449
$349
+$100
iPad mini
$599
$499
+$100
iPad Air
$749
$599
+$250
iPad Pro
$1199
$999
+$200
HomePod
$349
$299
+$50
HomePod mini
$129
$99
+$30
Apple TV
$199
$129
$70
UK price hikes
New price
Old price
Price difference
MacBook Neo
£699
£599
+£100
MacBook Air
£1299
£1099
+£200
MacBook Pro
£1999
£1699
+£300
Mac mini
£799
£699
+£100
Mac Studio (M4 Max)
£2499
£1999
+£500
Mac Studio (M3 Ultra)
£5,299
£3,999
+£1300
iPad Air
£749
£599
+£250
iPad Pro
£1199
£999
+£200
Deals to the rescue
If there is a small crumb of comfort from today's news, it's that there are some good deals around at Apple's old prices — which could net you some big savings.
I'll be running through some of the best of them now in this liveblog, for both the US and UK. And I have a personal stake in this too, having mulled over buying a MacBook Pro M5 just a few days ago (yes, it hurts).
So without further ago, let's get deals hunting...
iPad deals
The iPad deals below just got a whole lot better in light of today's Apple price hikes.
The iPad A16, for example, is now effectively $150 off, rather than just $50 in the US. Similarly, the iPad Pro's sale price of $899 is now a massive $300 less than Apple's new price, rather than the still-decent $100 saving you got previously.
For those in the UK, there aren't quite as many Prime Day deals right now, but there is a good one on the older iPad Air 11-inch (M3).
Today's best iPad deals in the US
While Apple just raised the starting price of the iPad A16 to $449, Amazon still has it down to just $299 for Prime Day. The most significant upgrade for this model over the previous generation is the A16 chip for faster performance, and you'll also get double the storage as standard (128GB instead of 64GB).
Other features include a sharp 11-inch Liquid Retina display and solid 12MP front- and rear-facing cameras, making this iPad the best iPad for casual streamers and scrollers.
Amazon has the newest iPad Air with the M4 chipset on sale for $519 right now, which is an even stronger deal with Apple's new starting price set at $749 for the 11-inch Air. In addition to Apple's superfast M4 chip inside, this iPad features a crisp Liquid Retina display, 128GB of storage as standard, 12MP front and rear cameras, and support for Apple's AI features.
Apple's iPad Pro offers one of the best views on any tablet, thanks to a Tandem OLED Ultra Retina XDR display, and excellent performance from the superfast M5 chip under the hood. For Prime Day, Amazon has the Wi-Fi, 256GB 11-inch iPad Pro with M5 at just $899, which is a 10% discount for Prime Day, but an even larger discount over Apple's new price of $1,199.
Much like the larger iPad Air, the 13-inch iPad Pro offers the excellent top-of-the-line iPad experience at an even bigger scale. It has an excellent, vibrant OLED screen and great performance thanks to the M5 chip. It's $100 off on Prime Day at Amazon, at just $1,099 for the Wi-Fi 256GB variant, and that's an even larger discount over Apple's new starting price of $1,499.View Deal
Today's best Apple iPad deals in the UK
If you prefer a tablet with a larger display, you can save £200 on the 13-inch iPad Air with an M3 chip and bag one for its lowest-ever price at Amazon. Apart from the bigger screen, it's identical to the 11-inch version. So, you get the same powerful M3 chip, a sharp Liquid Retina display, 12MP front and back cameras, 128GB of storage at a minimum, and Apple Intelligence compatibility for all the fancy new AI features.View Deal
What does this mean for iPhone prices?
(Image credit: Getty Images / Anna Barclay )
Fortunately, the iPhone is unaffected by today's price hikes — for now. But there's a good chance we'll see the iPhone 18 Pro get a price bump when it lands in September.
This week, we saw speculation based on JP Morgan research that the iPhone 18 Pro could get a price increase of $50-$100. It true, that would be pretty acceptable compared to the bigger price rises we've seen today.
The Apple Watch and AirPods have both also been spared price increases, though they could also be susceptible later this year (if to a lesser extent than Macs and iPads).
What MacBook deals are there?
(Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future)
If you're looking to buy a MacBook, the Prime Day deals just became a lot more important — maybe even essential, given the unprecedented Apple price hikes we've seen today.
For example, in the US you can buy the MacBook Neo (Apple's most affordable laptop) for $110 less than Apple's new pricing. Earlier today, that discount was only $10.
There are even bigger savings on pricier models like the MacBook Pro. The base 14-inch MacBook Pro M5 model is available for $1549 in the US, a massive $450 under Apple's new official price. How long these deals will last, though, is anyone's guess...
Today's best Apple MacBook deals in the US
Apple's MacBook Neo has been a hit since its launch earlier this year, and Prime Day is your chance to save on this impressive machine. Right now, Amazon has the starting configuration at just $589.99, which isn't the largest discount, but still some savings. For that, you can get a 13-inch Liquid Retina display, an A18 Pro chip, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and up to 16 hours of battery life.
That Prime Day discount is made even stronger, as the Neo now starts at $699 from Apple, so it's effectively over $100 off.View Deal
If you're after the MacBook Neo with Touch ID built into the color-matched keyboard and 512GB of storage versus the 256GB starting size, Amazon's also discounting the higher-end model. This MacBook Neo is seeing a similar 2% discount, down to $689.99 from $699. But again, that's an even bigger discount now as Apple is listing this at $799!View Deal
With an impressive $150 discount, this Prime Day deal makes the 13-inch MacBook Air with M5 an excellent purchase. And Apple's price increase makes this even more of a steal, as it's $949 on Amazon and starts at $1,299 from Apple. For that price, you get the latest chipset, 16GB of RAM, and a bigger 512GB SSD for much less. Simply, it's a workhorse.
After a larger screen, but still ultra-portable Mac? Well, the 15-inch MacBook Air with M5 is also discounted for Prime Day, down to $1,149.99 in every color. That's an even better deal than the now-$1,4999 starting price directly from Apple for the same configuration.View Deal
If you don't need an M5 Pro or M5 Max but still want a larger 14-inch screen with a Pro shell that offers more ports, Prime Day is also bringing discounts on the 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M5 chip. Right now, the starting configuration with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage is 9% off at $1,549. That is an even larger discount than Apple's, though, as the M5 MacBook Pro now starts at $1,999 there.View Deal
For creative professionals, the 14-inch MacBook Pro powered by the performance-driven M5 Pro chip is the one to choose, and Prime Day has it starting at $1,549. This beast flies through demanding workloads like video editing without skipping a beat. It's also a major discount compared to Apple's now-$2,499 starting MSRP.
The latest MacBook Neo has been available for less earlier this Prime Day, but is still on sale for £50 below RRP. This brand-new and fantastic laptop packs a 13-inch Liquid Retina display, an A18 Pro chip, 8GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, and up to 16 hours of battery life, all for only £650.View Deal
When I'm planning my summer get-togethers there are three important things I have to tick off my list: good food, good company, and even better music — and for the past two years, the JBL Clip 5 has helped me check off that final entry.
While there are plenty of decent Bluetooth speaker offers kicking about for Amazon Prime Day, it's annoying to see them slip through your fingers if you don't have an Amazon Prime membership. Thankfully, Best Buy is pulling through with some great deals of its own.
Best Buy is currently matching Amazon's offer, listing the JBL Clip 5 for $59.95 down from $79.95, taking the speaker to a reasonable sub-$60 — and, unlike the Amazon offer, you don't have to sign up for a membership in order to get this deal.
Today's best JBL Clip 5 deal
The JBL Clip 5 has been one of our favorite budget-friendly Bluetooth speakers even before this current price drop. And despite its compact design and affordable price, it doesn't compromise on performance.View Deal
Despite narrowly missing out on a spot in our picks for the best Bluetooth speaker, the JBL Clip 5 is still one of our favorite models we've tested, and packs quite the punch despited its diminutive size.
It's simple to use and easy to carry around, and comes with IP67 rating, making it an ideal speaker to have at a pool party. Additionally, the fact you can hang it anywhere using its clip handle makes it a solid option for an outdoor speaker.
On the audio front, the JBL Clip 5 is surprisingly impressive for a sub-$60 Bluetooth speaker. You don't lose the details in deep bass, and while it can be a little strained with its trebles, that's pretty much to be expected given its budget-friendly price, and not a major issue for me.
Zscaler uncovered “Edgecution,” a malicious Edge extension deployed via fake Outlook update sites shared in Teams phishing
Attack uses ZIP archives with Python runtime to escape browser sandbox, creating a backdoor capable of shell/PowerShell execution and system data theft
Believed linked to Initial Access Brokers tied to ransomware group Payout Kings, showing evolving sophistication in access‑for‑sale operations
If you are using the Edge browser be careful - there is a malicious campaign going round that uses the browser to deploy a backdoor via an extension.
According to security researchers Zscaler, scammers are reaching out to their victims via Microsoft Teams, pretending to be IT support. They claim the user needs to install an Outlook update, or a spam filter, and direct the victims to a fake “Outlook Updates Management Console” website.
There, the users are instructed to run one of the three provided processes, all of which download a ZIP archive that, when executed, creates a scheduled task. This task starts the Edge browser in headless mode (invisible to the user) and installs an extension officially called “Edge Monitoring Agent”. Zscaler, on the other hand, calls it “Edgecution”.
Creating a Native Messaging manifest
The ZIP archive also contains an embedded Python runtime and a Python-based backdoor. The runtime creates a Native Messaging manifest - a file that tells the browser how to communicate with the backdoor. That’s the way the threat actors managed to escape the browser’s sandbox and run the backdoor on the compromised computer itself.
That backdoor can do multiple things, from executing shell commands, to running PowerShell and arbitrary Python code. It can also write files on the host, enumerate running processes, and gather system information.
Zscaler believes this is the work of an Initial Access Broker (IAB), a malicious group whose only job is to obtain access to a victim’s infrastructure and then sell it - or share it with a partnering group. This particular IAB, the researchers believe, is connected to a ransomware operation called Payout Kings.
“The Edgecution browser extension illustrates the evolving sophistication of initial access brokers operating in the ransomware landscape,” Zscaler warns. “The reliance on a malicious browser extension to relay commands to a Python-based native host demonstrates a creative approach to evade traditional endpoint detection.”
A full list of Indicators of Compromise (IoC) can be found on this link.
We're officially on day three of Prime Day 2026, and Amazon's discounts on MacBooks and iPads couldn't be better timed.
Apple just raised prices across nearly its entire Mac lineup — including MacBooks, iMac, and Mac Studio — alongside the iPad family and home products such as the HomePod and Apple TV 4K.
While Apple's online store is already reflecting the higher prices, Amazon is still offering some of the best discounts we've seen all year on MacBooks and iPads — even without updating the new original prices.
Those deals look even better now that Apple's higher MSRPs are officially in effect. For instance, Apple now lists the 13-inch MacBook Air with the M5 chip, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage at $1,299.99, but Amazon currently has it for $949. Likewise, the entry-level iPad now starts at $449 from Apple, while Amazon is selling it for just $299.
There's no telling how long these prices will last — though we're hoping they stick around through the remainder of Prime Day's four-day run. For now, keep scrolling for the best live deals on Macs, iPads, and Apple home devices that let you beat Apple's latest price increase.
You can even use the sidebar to jump to specific sections for each device category in the United States and the UK. Furthermore, while Apple hasn't raised prices for the Apple Watch, AirTags, or iPhone, I'm including deals for those as well since it's Prime Day after all.
Today's best iPad deals in the US
While Apple just raised the starting price of the iPad A16 to $449, Amazon still has it down to just $299 for Prime Day. The most significant upgrade for this model over the previous generation is the A16 chip for faster performance, and you'll also get double the storage as standard (128GB instead of 64GB).
Other features include a sharp 11-inch Liquid Retina display and solid 12MP front- and rear-facing cameras, making this iPad the best iPad for casual streamers and scrollers.
Amazon has the newest iPad Air with the M4 chipset on sale for $519 right now, which is an even stronger deal with Apple's new starting price set at $749 for the 11-inch Air. In addition to Apple's superfast M4 chip inside, this iPad features a crisp Liquid Retina display, 128GB of storage as standard, 12MP front and rear cameras, and support for Apple's AI features.
Apple's iPad Pro offers one of the best views on any tablet, thanks to a Tandem OLED Ultra Retina XDR display, and excellent performance from the superfast M5 chip under the hood. For Prime Day, Amazon has the Wi-Fi, 256GB 11-inch iPad Pro with M5 at just $899, which is a 10% discount for Prime Day, but an even larger discount over Apple's new price of $1,199.
Much like the larger iPad Air, the 13-inch iPad Pro offers the excellent top-of-the-line iPad experience at an even bigger scale. It has an excellent, vibrant OLED screen and great performance thanks to the M5 chip. It's $100 off on Prime Day at Amazon, at just $1,099 for the Wi-Fi 256GB variant, and that's an even larger discount over Apple's new starting price of $1,499.View Deal
Today's best Apple MacBook deals in the US
Apple's MacBook Neo has been a hit since its launch earlier this year, and Prime Day is your chance to save on this impressive machine. Right now, Amazon has the starting configuration at just $589.99, which isn't the largest discount, but still some savings. For that, you can get a 13-inch Liquid Retina display, an A18 Pro chip, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and up to 16 hours of battery life.
That Prime Day discount is made even stronger, as the Neo now starts at $699 from Apple, so it's effectively over $100 off.View Deal
If you're after the MacBook Neo with Touch ID built into the color-matched keyboard and 512GB of storage versus the 256GB starting size, Amazon's also discounting the higher-end model. This MacBook Neo is seeing a similar 2% discount, down to $689.99 from $699. But again, that's an even bigger discount now as Apple is listing this at $799!View Deal
With an impressive $150 discount, this Prime Day deal makes the 13-inch MacBook Air with M5 an excellent purchase. And Apple's price increase makes this even more of a steal, as it's $949 on Amazon and starts at $1,299 from Apple. For that price, you get the latest chipset, 16GB of RAM, and a bigger 512GB SSD for much less. Simply, it's a workhorse.
After a larger screen, but still ultra-portable Mac? Well, the 15-inch MacBook Air with M5 is also discounted for Prime Day, down to $1,149.99 in every color. That's an even better deal than the now-$1,4999 starting price directly from Apple for the same configuration.View Deal
If you don't need an M5 Pro or M5 Max but still want a larger 14-inch screen with a Pro shell that offers more ports, Prime Day is also bringing discounts on the 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M5 chip. Right now, the starting configuration with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage is 9% off at $1,549. That is an even larger discount than Apple's, though, as the M5 MacBook Pro now starts at $1,999 there.View Deal
For creative professionals, the 14-inch MacBook Pro powered by the performance-driven M5 Pro chip is the one to choose, and Prime Day has it starting at $1,549. This beast flies through demanding workloads like video editing without skipping a beat. It's also a major discount compared to Apple's now-$2,499 starting MSRP.
This might just be the best Prime Day tech deal — Apple's AirPods Pro 3 for $179. Apple's newest premium buds feature improved Active Noise Cancellation, outstanding audio, a comfortable in-ear design, and new features such as live translation and heart-rate tracking. These do-it-all buds really are 100% flagship audio, and the noise-canceling quality is outstanding.View Deal
The AirPods 4 are Apple's cheapest AirPods, and you can find them on sale for $99, which is the lowest price we've seen this year and $30 shy of the record-low. The AirPods 4 feature a new design for all-day comfort and feature Apple's H2 chip, which supports personalized spatial audio and voice isolation. You also get a redesigned case with 30 hours of battery life and support for wireless charging via USB-C.
Amazon has the AirPods 4 with active noise cancellation on sale for $148.99, which is the best deal you can find right now. The AirPods 4 feature a new comfortable design, handy controls, and Apple's H2 chip, which supports personalized spatial audio and voice isolation.
Amazon has the all-new AirPods Max 2 on sale for $399, which is the lowest price we've seen. The over-ear headphones now include Apple's H2 chip, which delivers adaptive audio, personalized volume, and improved voice isolation, resulting in superior sound. You're also getting up to 1.5x more Active Noise Cancellation and 20 hours of battery life.
If you haven't heard, wired headphones are all the rage, which is why Apple's EarPods for $14.88 are an excellent Prime Day deal. A slim, quality-looking design, clear sound, and comfortable fit are just a few of their best qualities. This model works with all devices that have a Lightning connector – which is iPhone 14 and before – so if you've got a newer iPhone, you'll instead want the USB-C version ($16.99 at Amazon).View Deal
Today's best Apple Watch deals in the US
Amazon has a $50 discount on the new Apple Watch SE 3, making it an excellent bargain. The Apple Watch SE 2 currently holds the position as the best budget smartwatch, but the SE 3 more than matches it — and it's a smarter buy while it's on sale this week at Amazon.
My favorite Prime Day Apple deal is an over $100 discount on the Apple Watch Series 11. The thinnest Apple Watch yet, with a wraparound LTP3 OLED display, it's a great-looking watch with Apple Intelligence-powered smarts and a boosted battery, clocking in at 24 hours of average use.
You can save $100 on the brand-new Apple Watch Ultra 3 at Amazon's Prime Day sale. Packed with premium features, you're getting Cellular connectivity, a boosted 42-hour battery life, and emergency satellite messaging. Today's deal is the lowest price we've seen this year.View Deal
Today's best Apple AirTag deals in the US
Apple's second-generation AirTag with louder sound, a 50% improvmenet in range for Precision Finding, and the rest of the features that made the first-gen such a great item tracker are at the lowest price ever ahead of Prime Day 2026. Right now, Amazon has a single AirTag for just $24. View Deal
Another very good Prime Day Apple deal - Apple's 2nd-generation AirTag 4-pack is getting a first-time discount, on sale for $89. Great for people like me who tend to misplace things, simply attach the AirTag to anything you don't want to lose or keep track of, such as luggage or your keys, and your iPhone will locate the item.View Deal
Today's best Apple iPad deals in the UK
If you prefer a tablet with a larger display, you can save £200 on the 13-inch iPad Air with an M3 chip and bag one for its lowest-ever price at Amazon. Apart from the bigger screen, it's identical to the 11-inch version. So, you get the same powerful M3 chip, a sharp Liquid Retina display, 12MP front and back cameras, 128GB of storage at a minimum, and Apple Intelligence compatibility for all the fancy new AI features.View Deal
Today's best Apple MacBook deals in the UK
The latest MacBook Neo has been available for less earlier this Prime Day, but is still on sale for £50 below RRP. This brand-new and fantastic laptop packs a 13-inch Liquid Retina display, an A18 Pro chip, 8GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, and up to 16 hours of battery life, all for only £650.View Deal
Today's best Apple AirPods deals in the UK
Apple's newest premium buds feature improved Active Noise Cancellation, outstanding audio, a comfortable in-ear design, and new features such as live translation and heart-rate tracking. To use, these are the do-it-all buds that offer excellent audio quality and top-tier noise-cancellation. Today's deal is the best price you can find on Apple's newest AirPods, and just £5 more than the record-low price.View Deal
This is a new record-low price for Apple's newest buds. The AirPods 4 feature a new design for all-day comfort and pack Apple's H2 chip, which supports personalized spatial audio and voice isolation. You also get a redesigned case with 30 hours of battery life and support for USB-C for wireless charging. Just be aware that this cheaper version does not support active noise cancellation, so it may be worth paying the extra to get that benefit with the deal below.View Deal
Willing to spend a bit more? Amazon's early Prime Day deals feature the AirPods 4 with active noise cancellation for their lowest price ever. These AirPods 4 feature a new comfortable design, handy controls, and Apple's H2 chip, which supports personalised spatial audio and voice isolation. There's also that all-important ANC to block out distracting noises and outside sounds, which is great when you want to focus at work or are commuting.View Deal
The AirPods Max use an Apple-designed dynamic driver to provide high-fidelity audio — and they sound fantastic for it. Exceptional active noise cancellation, personalised Spatial Audio, and Dolby Atmos support all reinforce that. They feel good on your head as well, thanks to the knit-mesh canopy and memory foam ear cushions, so you can easily wear them for the full 20 hours of battery life if you ever want or need to. Grab them now for a record-low price.View Deal
Today's best Apple Watch deals in the UK
Here's a new record-low price for the Apple Watch SE 3. Apple's cheaper smartwatch is currently our pick for the best Apple Watch to buy if you're on a budget, as it delivers a full health and fitness tracking experience, all the convenient on-wrist features you need, and that familiar Apple style, but at a fraction of the price.View Deal
The latest Apple Watch 11 is down to its lowest-ever price in the latest Amazon Prime Day sale. The thinnest Apple Watch yet, with a wraparound LTP3 OLED display, it's a great-looking watch with Apple Intelligence-powered smarts and a boosted battery compared to previous devices, clocking in at 24 hours of average use.View Deal
This is the lowest price for one of Apple's latest and most advanced wearables — not bad, considering it was only released just last September. Apple deals are very few and far between, and though £100 off may seem a little stingy, it's quite the steal for a brand new premium Apple device.View Deal
Today's best Apple AirTag deals in the UK
This four-pack of the best-selling Apple AirTags is on sale for 15% off for Prime Day. These are a great way to keep track of keys, your phones, a child's backpack, luggage, or any other possession you'd rather not misplace. The AirTag can be attached to anything you don't want to lose, and your iPhone will locate it or send out a ping so you can track it down.View Deal
Today's best Apple iPhone deals in the UK
The high-end iPhone 17 Pro Max has fallen to its lowest-ever price at Amazon. We gave this premium handset an impressive 4.5-stars in our review for its stellar performance and fantastic cameras. Quite simply, if you demand a lot from your phone, this is easily one of the best you can buy right now.View Deal
The Apple iPhone Air 512 GB is the thinnest iPhone ever. It has a 6.5-inch Display with ProMotion, a powerful A19 Pro chip, Center Stage Front Camera, all-day battery life and a whopping 24% off thanks to this Amazon Prime Day deal.View Deal
Banks aren’t short on AI ambition. Across the industry, there are almost weekly announcements about new deployments, new partnerships, and new capabilities.
But amidst the lofty pronouncements, not enough attention is given to building the underlying architecture that makes any of it sustainable.
The UK Treasury Committee has already warned that the financial system is not adequately prepared for a major AI-related incident, and from where I sit, that warning is aimed squarely at how modernization programs are being run.
This is a governance problem which stems from unmade decisions; most banks have yet to make the strategic, organisation-wide commitment that should determine what gets built, before anyone starts building.
There is a real opportunity to be grasped by inviting the risk team to be part of design before you begin delivery.
Risk teams are being invited to the table too late
In traditional program structures, risk and compliance are brought in to validate decisions already made. Platforms are selected, designs agreed and timelines set, and the role of the risk function has typically been to check these things, rather than shape them. That model was never ideal, but now, in the AI-era modernization push, is structurally backwards at best and dangerous at worst.
A genuinely AI-ready bank requires continuous data lineage, runtime-embedded controls and a real-time, cloud-native core. None of these can be retrofitted cheaply once architecture decisions have already been made. By the time a compliance team discovers that a new platform can't meet AI governance or data traceability requirements, the cost of fixing it is prohibitive
If the risk function is part of the design process from the outset, banks can build a risk-conscious architecture rather than a risk-adjacent one. The difference in outcome is substantial, and increasingly, the difference between an institution that can operate confidently with AI and one that can't.
How legacy cores create invisible risk
The story of legacy architecture's constraints on innovation is well told, but it also creates blind spots that risk professionals can't see, let alone manage.
Batch-processing cores are the clearest example of this. When a core updates positions overnight rather than in real time, AML and fraud systems are operating on stale data. Suspicious activity that occurs between batch runs is invisible until the next cycle, a direct operational liability as the volume and speed of financial crime increases.
Fragmented data pipelines create a related problem. Continuous lineage (the ability to trace every decision to its data source) is a prerequisite for AI governance. On architectures where data moves through multiple disconnected systems before reaching an analytics layer, that lineage is structurally impossible to maintain without a modern, cloud-native architecture.
Finally, third-party AI deployment adds an additional layer of exposure. When models are embedded in platforms a bank doesn't have full control over, it leaves compliance teams operating with limited visibility into how decisions are being made.
Under the EU AI Act, which requires traceability and explainability for high-risk AI systems which may credit decisioning and fraud detection, that becomes a direct regulatory risk, and that's just one of a raft of emerging AI regime banks must navigate.
Risk is moving from chronic to acute
What has changed is the speed at which risk moves.
Banks now have to contend with an increase in state-based cyberattacks on financial supply chains, a trend accelerated by geopolitical instability, with agentic AI substantially increasing the speed and scale of those attacks.
Under regimes such as DORA, which introduce near real-time cyber incident reporting, means institutions need detection and response infrastructure that operates on live data, capable of identifying and escalating incidents as they happen rather than after the fact. Batch architectures don't meet this standard, and the window to remediate is narrowing.
The EU AI Act raises the bar further on traceability and explainability, particularly for credit decisioning and fraud detection, both areas where AI adoption is moving fastest.
Banks not designing against these requirements are accumulating risk, not avoiding it. The regulatory deadlines are known. The technical requirements are understood. The question is whether the architecture being selected today is capable of meeting the obligations that will be enforced tomorrow.
What risk-intelligent modernization looks like
I have sat in enough program steering committees to know that the moment risk professionals are brought into a modernization program shapes everything that follows.
When we arrive after the architecture is set, we are negotiating against decisions that are already expensive to reverse. When we are in the room from the start, we can design the non-negotiables in rather than bolt them on.
The practical starting point is three questions that every bank should answer before any platform decision is made:
What risk posture must we preserve throughout migration? The answer defines the non-negotiables for any new architecture: data integrity, audit continuity, access controls, and the governance structures that cannot lapse during transition.
What are we engineering against on a ten-year horizon? Regulatory requirements in 2036 will look different from those in 2026. The architecture being selected today needs to be capable of meeting obligations that do not yet fully exist, which means flexibility and real-time data capability are not optional extras. Some of the newer, digitally-native fintechs have demonstrated that building with this horizon in mind from the outset produces materially different, and more resilient, architecture than retrofitting compliance onto an existing estate.
What governance must change so we don't embed legacy risk into a modern platform? New infrastructure running old processes is window-dressing. If you modernize technology without modernizing governance, you recreate the same control failures in a different environment.
Modernization is not risk-free. But the risk of standing still now exceeds the risk of moving carefully, and the cost of getting the architecture wrong compounds with every year it goes unfixed.
This article was produced as part of TechRadar Pro Perspectives, our channel to feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today.
The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/pro/perspectives-how-to-submit
Your phone won't stop ringing, but half your day still disappears into paperwork. Quotes need typing, schedules need shuffling, invoices need chasing, all before a dollar lands in your account. Add a tightening labor market, and there's even less room to waste hours on busywork.
The construction and trades sector needs roughly 349,000 net new workers in 2026 alone, according to the Associated Builders and Contractors. With fewer hands on deck, the businesses protecting their margins are the ones tightening their processes rather than just adding headcount.
Here are nine ways to do exactly that.
#1 Standardize how you estimate and quote jobs
A vague estimate can turn out to be quite expensive.
A survey of more than 600 construction business owners and finance experts found that one in four companies would close if they made just two or three inaccurate bids. Create one standard template that prices labor and materials with overhead built in, then reuse it for every quote.
#2 Centralize scheduling and invoicing in one system
(Image credit: Generated with Gemini )
The global market for field service management software is projected to grow from $5.64 billion in 2025 to $9.68 billion by 2030, as more commercial service businesses move toward all-in-one service management software.
Booking jobs in one tool and invoicing in another creates gaps where details fall through, especially once a crew gets added to the mix. A single system that connects bookings with dispatch and billing keeps your office and crews looking at the same information, so nothing gets double-booked or invoiced twice.
Look for software that fits how your trade actually works, rather than forcing your workflow to fit the software. A good platform usually covers:
Online booking requests with instant quotes
Technician scheduling and dispatch
Mobile invoicing with on-site payments
Customer messaging and review requests
#3 Put the right tools in technicians' hands
Admin tasks eat up roughly 30% of an average field technician's working week — almost as much time as they spend on the job itself — according to a recent study.
Mobile apps that let crews pull up job details and capture signatures on site cut out a layer of paperwork that used to sit on someone's desk back at the office. Photos and checklists logged on site also create a clear record if a job ever gets disputed.
#4 Track job costs in real time, not after the fact
Contractors who track actual costs against estimates while a job is still running see project margins improve by 15% to 20%. If you wait until a job closes to check the numbers, the overrun has already happened. A crew running 50% over its labor budget while only 30% through the work is worth flagging in week one, not at final invoicing.
#5 Make customer communication part of the process
Homeowners and commercial clients judge contractors on the whole experience, from first contact through final cleanup. A survey of more than 1,000 US homeowners found that 73% would refer a business after a great service experience.
Most homeowners also say speed and clear updates shape who they hire. Automated appointment reminders and status texts handle this consistently, without relying on someone in the office remembering to make a call.
#6 Plan routes around your crew, not the other way around
Poor routing and scheduling can eat up more than 40% of a field technician's workday.
Route optimization typically cuts drive time by 15% to 30%, freeing up hours that crews can spend on billable work instead of behind the wheel. That gap is often the difference between fitting in one more job or running into overtime.
#7 Build simple SOPs for your most common jobs
Crews waste an estimated 5% to 12% of total project costs on rework industry-wide, often repeating the same mistakes from job to job.
A short, written process for your most frequent jobs, covering the steps and the quality checks each one needs, keeps standards consistent even as your team grows. A plumbing business might document exactly how a water heater swap gets quoted and signed off, regardless of which technician shows up.
#8 Let your operational data guide staffing decisions
Research claims that AI tools could take over roughly 35% of a service team's administrative work, saving each employee more than two hours a week.
Use the data your business already generates, such as job duration and callback rates, to decide where to hire, retrain, or rebalance workloads before busy season hits. A technician whose first-time fix rate keeps slipping likely needs more training, not a heavier workload.
#9 Treat onboarding and training as retention tools
Replacing a skilled tradesperson can cost 50% to 200% of their annual salary once you factor in recruiting and lost productivity during ramp-up.
A structured onboarding process, with clear training steps and check-ins in the first few weeks, gets new hires productive faster and less likely to walk. Even a simple 30-60-90 day check-in schedule tends to catch problems long before they turn into a resignation.
Final thoughts
None of this needs to happen overnight. Pick the one area causing the most friction right now, maybe it's chasing payments, maybe it's an overbooked schedule. Fix that first, then move on to the next.
Growing a service business in 2026 means doing more with the same crew, not necessarily a bigger one. Tighter processes protect the margins that labor shortages and rising costs keep squeezing.
The contractors who win the most work are rarely the cheapest. They're the ones who make hiring them feel easy, from the first quote to the final invoice.
The International Supercomputer Conference in Hamburg was the perfect platform for Lineshine (or Língshèng 灵晟) to, well, shine, as it received the crown of the world’s most powerful computer ever built.
It smashed the previous TOP500 record held by El Capitan, the US supercomputer built in 2024 by HPE for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL).
Unlike the latter, Lineshine uses CPU power only rather than APU or GPUs, a remarkable feat given the prevalence of these technologies. Only another supercomputer in the top 10, the Arm-powered Fugaku supercomputer, falls in that category.
Details shared by Lu Yutong, the chief designer of Lineshine show that it is powered by more than 13.7 million ARMv9 cores spread over 90 racks and 45,360 CPUs.
Yes, you’ve got it right, there are 304 cores per socket split in two chiplets, and eight NUMA domains each with 38 cores and 4GB HBM memory. There’s apparently eight CPU slots left empty per rack.
Each socket can access 256GB of DDR5 memory, which means that the entire system has 128TB off-package RAM and 16TB HBM. The entire supercomputer has 11.6PB of traditional DDR5 memory and almost 1.5PB of HBM.
Compared to El Capitan pure HBM3 approach, Lineshine opted for a tiered memory pool similar to traditional computers (using RAM and SSD). The system is connected to 200PB of direct storage as well.
Breathtaking performance
Altogether, Lineshine reached 2.198 exaflops, 21% faster than the 1.809 exaflop figure reached by El Capitan.
However numbers don’t tell the whole story; China’s new top dog consumes far more power than El Capitan, making it far less efficient. It only reached 52 Gigaflops/Watt compared to 60.95 Gigaflops for El Capitan and 73.28 for Kairos, the greenest supercomputer in operation.
What is more interesting is the fact that each core, even running at 1.5GHz, reached about 200 Gigaflops of FP64. Significantly more than any supercomputing CPU Core (e.g. AMD Zen 4 or Nvidia Grace) which ironically underlines Chinese weakness when it comes to GPU, i.e they went the CPU way because they didn’t have any option than to go brute-force.
And that’s despite the barrage of launches by Huawei over the past few years with the Ascend 910D, the Ascend 910C and the Ascend 920.
Lineshine used its own version of Nvidia’s Nvlink interconnect called LinQi, one that can scale in excess of 100,000 nodes or more than 60 million cores, 4x the current core count. So there’s plenty of room to grow should Lineshine want to keep its rank.
It is not the first time that China sits atop the TOP500 leaderboard. The last time it achieved it was with the Sunway TaihuLight supercomputer back in 2017. And while nabbing the top spot on this leaderboard gets the winner bragging rights, it is only really useful for HPC (high performance computing) applications like CFD, earthquake simulation, materials, energy, drug design, neuroscience and scientific AI, and others.
Hyperscalers like Google or Microsoft can muster even more powerful compute power, by at least an order of magnitude, if needed but that is not accounted for by TOP500 for various reasons.
The fifth and final season of The Bear picks up the morning after Carmy's bombshell decision to walk away from the restaurant, a drastic step he had to take in order to make peace not only with Richie and Syd, but to address his own personal demons.
For Richie and Syd, it's the opportunity of a lifetime, but with Cicero relentlessly pressing home his pledge to shutter this sinkhole of a business once and for all, it's also a poisoned chalice. Those Jono Pandolfi plates don't seem quite so vital now.
Although the spectre of Mikey has been constant throughout the show's previous four seasons, Carmy's impending journey of personal discovery coupled with the events of Gary potentially hint at a breakthrough. The special flashback episode indicated that there wasn’t much more Richie could have done to help his best friend, and that in fact Mikey may have scuppered his shot at happiness with Tiff.
Just as the business couldn't possibly have survived with Carmy and Richie at loggerheads, Ebraheim showed that The Bear, both symbolically and literally, simply can't exist without The Beef. Will they finally earn that Michelin star? Will it make a blind bit of difference?
Read on as we explain how to watch The Bear season 5 from anywhere.
Can you watch The Bear season 5 for free?
Yes. Hulu offers new and some returning customers a 30-day FREE trial, which would let you watch all eight episodes of The Bear season 5.
YouTube TV , which carries FX, offers new subscribers a 21-day FREE trial., which would let you tune into at least the first few episodes of The Bear S5 for free.
Traveling abroad right now? You can use a VPN to access your usual streaming services from anywhere with a VPN.
Use a VPN to watch The Bear season 5 from anywhere
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Not having a VPN is like leaving your front door wide open in a busy city – anyone can walk right in and take a peek.
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How to watch The Bear season 5 in the US
The Bear season 5 is available to watch as a boxset on Hulu, or weekly on FX.
It premieres on FX with a double-header of episodes from 9pm ET / 6pm PT on Thursday, June 25. Further episodes will go out one at a time in the same slot weekly.
If you don't have access to FX, you can watch The Bear S5 on Hulu instead. All eight episodes will hit the streaming service at 9pm ET / 6pm PT on Thursday, June 25.
Plans start from $11.99 per month after a FREE 30-day trial, or you can get loads more content for just one dollar more with the Disney Plus Bundle.
FX is also available with different OTT cord cutting services, such as YouTube TV, which comes with a 21-day FREE trial.
Have one of these subscriptions but away when The Bear is on? You can still access your usual streaming services from anywhere by using a VPN.
How to watch The Bear season 5 in Canada, UK, Australia and worldwide
Viewers outside the US can watch The Bear S5 on Disney Plus, the show’s international home.
All eight episodes land at 9pm ET / 6pm PT on Thursday, June 25 in Canada, and on Friday, June 26 in the UK and Australia.
You can take a look at Disney Plus prices and plans where you are, starting for as little as CA$8.99 / £5.99 / AU$9.99 per month in Canada, the UK and Australia respectively.
Away from home? You can still connect to your usual streaming services by downloading a VPN and pointing your location back to your home country.
The Bear season 5 – Need to Know
The Bear S5 trailer
When is The Bear S5 release date?
The Bear season 5 premieres in the US and Canada on Thursday, June 25.
In the UK and Australia, episodes will arrive a day later, starting from Friday, June 26.
The Bear S5 episode guide
The Bear season 5 comprises eight episodes, all of which will be available to stream on Thursday, June 25 in the US and Canada, and on Friday, June 26 in the UK and Australia.
In the US, episodes will air on FX on the following schedule:
Episode 1: "Soda" – Thursday, June 25
Episode 2: "Lamb" – Thursday, June 25
Episode 3: "Mint" – Thursday, July 2
Episode 4: "Ribs" – Thursday, July 9
Episode 5: "Raspberries" – Thursday, July 16
Episode 6: "Focaccia" – Thursday, July 23
Episode 7: "Caramel" – Thursday, July 30
Episode 8: "The Original Beef of Chicagoland" – Thursday, August 6
The Bear S5 cast
Jeremy Allen White as Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto
Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Richard "Richie" Jerimovich
Ayo Edebiri as Sydney "Syd" Adamu
Lionel Boyce as Marcus Brooks
Liza Colón-Zayas as Tina Marrero
Abby Elliott as Natalie "Sugar" Berzatto
Matty Matheson as Neil Fak
Edwin Lee Gibson as Ebraheim
Corey Hendrix as Gary "Sweeps" Woods
Oliver Platt as Jimmy "Cicero" Kalinowski
Ricky Staffieri as Theodore Fak
Jose M. Cervantes as Angel
Christopher Zucchero as "Chi-Chi"
Chris Witaske as Pete
Richard Esteras as Manny
Paulie James as Chuckie
Rene Gube as Rene
Andrew Lopez as Garrett
Brian Koppelman as Nicholas "Computer" Marshall
Gillian Jacobs as Tiffany Jerimovich
Jamie Lee Curtis as Donna Berzatto
Sarah Ramos as Chef Jessica
Will Poulter as Luca
Jon Bernthal as Michael Berzatto
When is The Bear S5 season finale?
The eight and final episode of The Bear season 5, titled "The Original Beef of Chicagoland", premieres at 9pm ET on Thursday, June 25 on Hulu in the US and Disney Plus in Canada.
It will premiere in the UK and Australia on Friday, June 26 on Disney Plus.
It will air on FX in the US at 9pm ET on Thursday, August 6.
VPN services are evaluated and tested by us in view of legal recreational use. For example:a) Access to services from other countries, (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).b) Safeguarding your online security and making your online privacy more robust when abroad.Future plc does not support nor condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. We do not endorse nor approve of consuming pirated content that is paid-for.
If you’re thinking about buying your first proper mirrorless camera, or upgrading your current system, Amazon Prime Day is the time to do it. I’ve just found one of the best deals I’ve seen on a full-frame camera in a long time — but you might have to act fast to take advantage of it.
The Canon EOS RP was one of the first cameras in Canon’s EOS R series, released in 2019. Designed to be a lightweight alternative to the then-flagship EOS R, it puts a 26.2MP full-frame CMOS sensor into a lightweight SLR-styled body with ergonomic controls and excellent handling.
The EOS RP was designed to be the camera for everyone, a user-friendly and inexpensive route into what was then a new system. However, time marches on, and while the EOS RP hasn't been officially discontinued, Canon recently added the 'Sales Ended' tag to its page on its official Japanese store — which is a sign that a camera is about to ride off into the proverbial sunset.
Currently, you can get hold of this full-frame mirrorless camera for as little as $799 in the US, and an amazing £645 in the UK. For such a popular camera of such high quality — one that launched at a body-only asking price of $1,299/£1,399 — that is absolutely incredible.
But you might want to act fast. That 'Sales Ended' tag means no more Canon EOS RP models will be coming off the factory lines — once current stock gone, it's gone for good!
Today's best Canon EOS RP deals (US)
With a chunky three-figure discount, the EOS RP is currently one of the most affordable full-frame cameras you can buy new. Its fast autofocus system and full-frame quality make it a capable all-rounder for all shooting situations.View Deal
This bundle from Adorama isn't part of Prime Day, but the sale price matches Amazon's, and you also get a 64GB SDXC card, cleaning kit, card reader, bag and editing software package.View Deal
Today's best Canon EOS RP deals (UK)
In the UK, the EOS RP is even further discounted — to the tune of a whopping 39% off its current asking price. You could easily pick up this camera, and a lens or two, and still have change from a grand.View Deal
The 'P' in the name stood for 'Popular', positioning the EOS RP as a camera for all users. (Image credit: Future)
The ideal gateway into full-frame
Shooting with a full-frame system camera feels like a tangible step up. The level of depth and dynamic range achievable with a physically larger sensor is immediately striking. If you've only ever been shooting with a smaller-sensor compact camera, or just your phone, you'll immediately notice the difference.
The EOS RP is currently one of the most affordable routes into full-frame. It offers sumptuous image quality backed by Canon's excellent color science, and also benefits from advanced features like Canon's Dual Pixel CMOS autofocus, with 4779 selectable points. Long regarded as one of the best autofocus systems in the business, Dual PIxel CMOS continues working quickly and accurately even when the light gets low.
When Matt Golowczynski reviewed the Canon EOS RP back in 2019, one of his key criticisms was the lack of native lens options for the RF-mount. Well, seven years down the line that is categorically not a problem any more — Canon has been busy releasing RF-mount upgrades to all its major lens archetypes, from wide-angle zooms to telephoto primes.
There are loads of affordable options to pair the camera with, too — you can pick up the RF 50mm f/1.8 STM for as little as $199 / £189. That would still see you spending less than a grand for a complete full-frame setup — and believe me, that's not always an easy thing to achieve!
Or, if you prefer a zoom lens, Amazon will let you bundle up your EOS RP with an RF 24-105mm F4-7.1 lens, a lightweight travel-friendly optic designed for day-to-day photography, spanning wide-angle to telephoto. In the US, this combination will run you a still-respectable $1,099, while in the UK, it's a frankly mad £791.99
The EOS RP also shoots 4K video, albeit with a crop. (Image credit: Future)
Also, if you already own a Canon DSLR and a couple of lenses — perhaps ones that have been sitting in a cupboard untouched for a few years — it's easy to adapt your EF-mount lenses to work with the EOS RP. Simply add the EF-EOS R adapter, and all of your DSLR lenses will work with full electronic functionality of autofocus and stabilization, if they have it.
Granted, the EOS RP is an older camera. This means you're not going to get some of the more exciting features we've seen in cameras from the past few years, such as AI-powered subject-recognition autofocus, which has even started to appear in more entry-level models.
But the best thing about the EOS RP, in my view, is that it's a gateway into one of the most comprehensive and exciting mirrorless camera systems in all of photography. If you get to a point where you think you've outgrown it, you have a broad range of fantastic EOS R cameras to upgrade into. You'll be able to offset some of the cost by trading in your EOS RP — and all your RF or EF lenses will still work with the next model.
So, if you're thinking of jumping into full-frame photography, this could well be your moment. But like I said — don't hang around for too long!
What Stars Watch is the franchise that makes the tough choice of what to stream next for you using A-List recommendations. Whenever your favorite actor has a new movie or TV show coming out, we’ll get their take on what cinematic classic or underrated gem would make the ideal double bill. Two for the price of one, as the saying goes.
Want to know which 1960s French film Patrick Dempsey thinks is the perfect companion piece for his latest 10-part crime thriller? Or which forgotten action movie Channing Tatum loves so much from his childhood that he wants you to stream it with what he’s working on now? Like a streamable oracle, entertainment reporter Jasmine Valentine has got all the answers.
Apple has raised prices across multiple categories
The MacBook Neo notably got a sizable hike
The move comes in response to the RAM crisis
While everyone is busy scooping up Amazon Prime Day deals on all manner of gadgets, Apple just dropped the opposite of deal news: price hikes across most major product categories, including the new MacBook Neo, MacBook Air, Apple TV, HomePod mini, and more.
Look, it's not like we didn't see this coming. Apple's outgoing CEO Tim Cook may be the supply chain maverick, ensuring the tech giant had ample supplies of components to fill tech orders for months, but the RAM and component crisis has dragged on for long enough that even Apple has been dragged in.
Cook warned us last month during an earnings call in which he cited "significantly higher memory costs" and then added that, starting this month, RAM prices would "drive an increasing impact" on Apple's products.
That impact has now translated into higher prices for numerous Apple products, which Apple announced by, well, not really announcing them. Instead, the Apple Store went offline at around 7:30AM ET on Thursday and then returned an hour later with new prices and, basically, no fanfare.
This is gonna hurt
Among the devices seeing a price hike is the exciting and affordable new MacBook Neo, a mobile CPU-powered laptop that was perfectly built for the back-to-school market, and at $599 to start, was Apple's cheapest laptop in memory. It now starts at $699, which also means the Neo with double the storage (512GB) and TouchID is now $799 to start.
There is essentially bad news across multiple categories.
The MacBook Air 13-inch with the M5 chip, a laptop I called "the best ultraportable I've ever used," jumps from $1,099 to start to $1,299. The MacBook Pro jumps a whopping $300 (from $1,699 to $1,999) to start.
Other products getting price hikes include the Apple TV streaming box (now starts at $199) and HomePod Mini(up to $129 for $99).
Perhaps more disturbing for the back-to-school set, the iPad Air base system jumps from $599 to $699.
One of the more shocking price hikes is for a product that, perhaps thankfully, many will not sweat: the Vision Pro. At $3,499, it was already wildly expensive. Now the M5 edition starts at — wait for it — $3,699. That won't help its chances with consumer market penetration.
Shielded from these price hikes is Apple's entire iPhone lineup, Apple Watch, and AirPods. So there's that.
It's fairly clear Apple didn't want to do this. In fact, it's hard to remember a time when Apple summarily raised so many prices at once, but its hand was forced. Tech companies across almost every category are responding to these RAM shortages with higher prices.
We've contacted Apple and then sent us this comment: “The consumer electronics industry is facing an unprecedented challenge. The rapid expansion of AI data centers has created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage. We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly. We have shielded our customers from these increases so far, but we have now reached a point where we need to begin raising prices on a number of products, including today’s increases for iPad and Mac. We know this is not welcome news, and we are working tirelessly to find solutions.”
If and when the RAM crisis subsides, will prices return to pre-RAM shortage levels, or is Apple setting a new normal? Only time will tell.
Go find the deals
In the meantime, Prime Day is still live, and there are ample chances to snap up good deals on these gadgets before you're left with nothing but the higher prices (where prices are rising). You'll find the best deals we spotted on iPads, MacBooks, and more below and in this roundup.
Amazon has the newest iPad Air with the M4 chipset on sale for $519 right now. In addition to Apple's superfast brain, this iPad features a crisp Liquid Retina display, 128GB of storage as standard, 12MP front and rear cameras, and support for Apple's AI features.
Apple's latest base iPad is on sale for $299, which is only $15 more than the record-low price. The most significant upgrade for this model versus the previous generation is the newer A16 chip for faster performance, but you'll also get double the storage as standard (128GB instead of 64GB). Other features include a sharp 11-inch Liquid Retina display and solid 12MP front- and rear-facing cameras, making this iPad the best iPad for casual streamers and scrollers.
With an impressive $150 discount, this Prime Day deal addresses our main complaint about the M5 Air: it's pricier than the previous model. Now, you're getting the latest chipset, 16GB of RAM, and a bigger 512GB SSD for much less, with a price that (arguably) challenges even the budget MacBook Neo when it comes to outright value. It's a workhorse.
For creative professionals, the 14-inch MacBook Pro powered by the performance-driven M5 Pro chip is the one to choose. This beast flies through demanding workloads like video editing without skipping a beat.
This might just be the best Prime Day tech deal - Apple's AirPods Pro 3 for $179. Apple's newest premium buds feature improved Active Noise Cancellation, outstanding audio, a comfortable in-ear design, and new features such as live translation and heart-rate tracking. These do-it-all buds really are 100% flagship audio, and the noise-canceling quality is outstanding.View Deal
The AirPods 4 are Apple's cheapest AirPods, and you can find them on sale for $99, which is the lowest price we've seen this year and $30 shy of the record-low. The AirPods 4 feature a new design for all-day comfort and feature Apple's H2 chip, which supports personalized spatial audio and voice isolation. You also get a redesigned case with 30 hours of battery life and support for wireless charging via USB-C.
Amazon has the AirPods 4 with active noise cancellation on sale for $148.99, which is the best deal you can find right now. The AirPods 4 feature a new comfortable design, handy controls, and Apple's H2 chip, which supports personalized spatial audio and voice isolation.
Amazon has the all-new AirPods Max 2 on sale for $399, which is the lowest price we've seen. The over-ear headphones now include Apple's H2 chip, which delivers adaptive audio, personalized volume, and improved voice isolation, resulting in superior sound. You're also getting up to 1.5x more Active Noise Cancellation and 20 hours of battery life.
If you haven't heard, wired headphones are all the rage, which is why Apple's EarPods for $14.88 are an excellent Prime Day deal. A slim, quality-looking design, clear sound, and comfortable fit are just a few of their best qualities. This model works with all devices that have a Lightning connector – which is iPhone 14 and before – so if you've got a newer iPhone, you'll instead want the USB-C version ($16.99 at Amazon).View Deal
Prime Day Apple Watch deals
Amazon has a $50 discount on the new Apple Watch SE 3, making it an excellent bargain. The Apple Watch SE 2 currently holds the position as the best budget smartwatch, but the SE 3 more than matches it – and it's a smarter buy while it's on sale this week at Amazon.
My favorite Prime Day Apple deal is an over $100 discount on the Apple Watch Series 11. The thinnest Apple Watch yet, with a wraparound LTP3 OLED display, it's a great-looking watch with Apple Intelligence-powered smarts and a boosted battery, clocking in at 24 hours of average use.
You can save $100 on the brand-new Apple Watch Ultra 3 at Amazon's Prime Day sale. Packed with premium features, you're getting Cellular connectivity, a boosted 42-hour battery life, and emergency satellite messaging. Today's deal is the lowest price we've seen this year.View Deal
Prime Day AirTag deals
Apple's second-generation AirTag with louder sound, a 50% improvmenet in range for Precision Finding, and the rest of the features that made the first-gen such a great item tracker are at the lowest price ever ahead of Prime Day 2026. Right now, Amazon has a single AirTag for just $24. View Deal
Another very good Prime Day Apple deal - Apple's 2nd-generation AirTag 4-pack is getting a first-time discount, on sale for $89. Great for people like me who tend to misplace things, simply attach the AirTag to anything you don't want to lose or keep track of, such as luggage or your keys, and your iPhone will locate the item.View Deal
I did something out of character this year on Amazon Prime Day. On day one of the sales, I checked out my basket full of goodies; mostly household essentials that needed a top-up like my favorite shampoo, but also an impulse buy on a Breville Iced Coffee Maker so I can curb my spending on Starbucks iced coffee.
Usually, I wait a little longer, so the buyer's remorse hit fast, but it was all worth it in the end; I've used my new iced coffee maker twice now, saving me about £12 already on iced caramel lattes from Starbucks (give or take a little when you factor in home-ground coffee beans, milk and caramel syrup).
Considering it's at an almost record-low price of £21.99 (was £46.99), this single-serve gadget has almost paid for itself already, and it's going to be my top recommendation for those who have limited counter space but prefer caffeine of the cool variety. It comes with its own tumbler (of course, you can use any cup, but the giant one provided is great for slow sipping), a reusable coffee filter, and easy-to-follow instructions.
Today's best Breville Iced deals
For the price of four Starbucks iced lattes, you can have cool caffeination at home in less than four minutes. It's not something we've personally tested, but with 2,000+ customer reviews on Amazon and a 4.3-star rating, it seems a pretty popular gadget. At almost its lowest-ever price (£17.97 in 2024), this is a steal. View Deal
More iced coffee maker deals
We gave this clever coffee maker a full five stars in our review because it does absolutely everything — including making delicious cold-brew. No more messing around with mason jars in the fridge; just add cold water and coffee grounds, set the program, and wait. It makes hot filter coffee and espresso too.View Deal
Very has knocked a generous £100 off this superb little espresso machine in the UK, bringing it down to a record-low price. It's fantastic value, and would be perfect for your kitchen counter, or as a gift.
Really, the Breville Iced is basically a filter coffee machine that's optimised for iced coffees; the max water line and recommended coffee ground volume are set with a view to the brewed coffee being poured over ice in a tumbler below.
In theory, then, you can also use it as a cheap filter coffee machine; I've not tried it myself yet to see if the heat of the coffee or the distance between the tap and a standard mug or coffee pot would be prohibitive, but I imagine it'd do just fine. For £20, a small countertop footprint and a sizeable tumbler I can also use when I'm out and about, I'll take it.
Pontbriand, whose last day on air was June 19, was the first full-time female member in the sports department at the Graham Media-owned independent station in its 77-year history, according to her LinkedIn profile.
“Three years. Countless memories. Lifelong friendships. Forever grateful to be the first female sports anchor at @news4jax and excited for the incredible women who will follow,” Pontbriand wrote in a June 23 post on X, formerly Twitter.
Pontbriand anchored and reported for the station’s 6:30, 10 and 11 p.m. newscasts.
During her final News4Jax broadcast, she thanked her viewers and coworkers.
— Alessandra Pontbriand (@APontbriandTV) June 19, 2026
“Three years ago, I moved to Jacksonville to follow a dream. ... From the bottom of my heart, I want to say thank you. Thank you to the viewers for welcoming me into your homes and watching every day. Thank you to the coaches, the players and the fans who trusted me to tell your stories ... and thank you to my coworkers, the people you don't see on camera ... who help keep this station running every day.”
She made the announcement surrounded by her co-anchors and colleagues, including the News4Jax sports team.
“It’s not easy being a female in sports, especially right now,” she said. “They (her sports counterparts) have championed me. They have given me confidence when I didn't feel confident.”
Pontbriand’s departure was the second in a week and at least the third for on-air talent this year at Channel 4.
Pontbriand, a University of Alabama graduate, previously worked at stations in Springfield, Ill., and Tuscaloosa, Ala. She did not say where her next stop would be.
Gary T. Mills is the deputy managing editor at The Florida Times-Union. He has led the newspaper's dining coverage since 2010, as well as personnel changes at Jacksonville's local TV news organizations.
The Los Angeles Lakers have a legendary history of big guys, from Wilt Chamberlain to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Shaquille O'Neal.
No, William Kyle III is unlikely to turn into one of them. But he does have a couple things in common with some of the Lakers' best bigs.
First -- Kyle is a 6-foot-9 center from Syracuse who signed with the Lakers on an Exhibit 10 contract after the 2026 NBA Draft concluded. That deal incentivizes him to stay with the Lakers' G League team if he doesn't make the NBA roster.
Former Syracuse center William Kyle III is signing with the Lakers on an Exhibit 10 deal, sources told ESPN. The 6-9, 230-pound big man averaged 8.4 points on 66.1% with 7.1 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game in his senior season with the Orange
The good about Kyle is right there in that post on X from Dave McMenamin -- he protects the rim, and finishes at the rim.
For Syracuse, Kyle got to the point where opponents would go elsewhere rather than all the way to the basket. Clearly, he won't have quite that impact at the NBA level, but he moves his feet well, jumps impressively and has great timing and instincts.
If Kyle makes it, it'll be because he blocks shots, attacks the glass and dunks.
Now, the one major problem: foul shooting.
Shaq knows a thing or two about missing free throws. Kyle shot 49% in his final season at Syracuse, and his foul shot looked pretty much totally broken.
Maybe there's work that can be done on it, but it's certainly not a given that Kyle ever improves much at the line. He'll have to be good enough elsewhere that it isn't a problem.
Kyle's odds are long. But he has a skillset that could work out, if he reaches his peak potential.
But, in order for them to be able to do this, they needed to move many of their players on, which they did.
And now, since the club need to spend even more money to get them back to their best, more players are expected to leave.
However, some have actually already exited for free, much like one of the Reds' cult-heroes who could be about to make a rather unexpected move.
Rhys Williams is on trial with New York Red Bulls
Rhys Williams is a player that Liverpool fans will never forget.
Even though the Englishman hasn't played for Liverpool since the 2020/21 season, he will forever remain a cult-hero in the Reds' history books.
Williams, alongside Nat Phillips helped steer the Anfield outfit out of their defensive injury crisis during the 2020/21 season.
The duo were called up to the first-team by Jurgen Klopp after Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez were both ruled out with season-long injuries.
Nobody expected much from the two centre-backs but, considering this was their first taste of top-flight football, they did astonishingly well.
Since then, Williams hasn't had the best of luck and found himself released from his contract at L4 and, now that he's on the search for a new club, a surprise team have just entered the transfer chase.
"Liverpool defender Rhys Williams, who will officially leave the club when his contract expires at the end of June, is currently on trial at New York Red Bulls," James Pearce wrote.
"Great opportunity for him to impress as he seeks a new challenge this summer."
Rhys Williams needs to take this opportunity and prove his worth
Even though it was around five years ago when Williams last played for Liverpool, the quality he had was more than clear.
Since then, several loan spells have occurred with the most recent seeing him ply his trade for Morecambe back in the 2024-25 campaign.
He did manage to net a couple of goals that season and also featured in 38 games across all competitions but, from that point on, he's never really been handed another chance.
That's why his current trial with New York Red Bulls could be exact break he needed to prove his worth.
He'd be moving away from England and testing himself in a completely new environment, which, at this point in his career, could be exactly what he needs.
Obviously, it's only a trial so the MLS side haven't made him an offer just yet but, if he re-finds his form and proves his worth, there's no reason why he won't be able to find a new place to call home.
CHASKA, Minn. — The latest stop for Nelly Korda in this especially busy summer is the Women’s PGA Championship in Minnesota, where the top-ranked player in the world will try to hoist a third straight major trophy.
From winning the U.S. Women’s Open in California to playing in a pair at the Dow Championship in Michigan to brand-building for the sport in New York, the 27-year-old Korda has had little time for retreat.
If this is the price of stardom, well, she’s willing to lean into it.
“I feel like in everything that you do in life — if you’re in the finance world, if you’re doing this — the more you put yourself into that position the more comfortable you get,” Korda said at Hazeltine National Golf Club. “I think the biggest change that I told myself I’m going to make is I’m just going to be authentic and be who I am. Either that comes across great or it doesn’t, but I just want to be genuine.”
Korda, whose prize money has passed $5.3 million this year, has won four of the nine tournaments she has entered with only one finish outside of the top 10. She leads the Vare Trophy race for the lowest scoring average on the LPGA by an average of 1.15 strokes over Hyo Joo Kim.
The only women to win the first three majors of a season are Inbee Park in 2013 and Babe Zaharias in 1950, when there were only three on the schedule. Now the final two majors are in Europe: the Evian Championship in France from July 9-12 and the Women’s British Open in England from July 30-Aug. 2.
With the Chevron Championship win in April already on her scorecard, Korda pulled out a one-stroke victory over Charley Hull and Gaby Lopez at the U.S. Women’s Open this month. Fulfilling her commitment to playing with partner Olivia Cowan at the Dow Championship the following week required some self-discipline.
“I was very tired. Honestly, I couldn’t go to sleep, and every single morning I woke up I didn’t want to wake up,” Korda said. “I’m still a little tired from it.”
Then she was whisked away to New York for a whirlwind media tour on behalf of the LPGA, before heading home to recharge and refresh.
“It’s fun to be on a different stage in front of different people doing something that helps the game of golf and kind of puts us on a broader stage,” Korda said.
From a cameo on TODAY to a visit to the New York Stock Exchange to an appearance at Times Square, Korda relished the opportunity to show the lighthearted and self-described “dorky” side of her personality to more mainstream audiences.
“These are the types of things we need our athletes to do in order to have transcendent stars that cut through sports and find their way into culture,” LPGA Tour Commissioner Craig Kessler said. “She did it. She’s doing it.”
The major that was last held at Hazeltine on the suburban prairie southwest of Minneapolis in 2019, has a $13 million purse this year that’s the largest in the history of women’s golf.
“To see the evolution of where the women’s game was to what it is now, it is quite incredible,” Korda said. “You see that across every sport. You see that in tennis, right now in basketball, too. It is amazing to see the investment in women’s sports, and we are just really grateful for our partners continuously raising the bar.”
Hannah Green returns to Hazeltine in reflection on her 2019 win
Hannah Green, who currently is eighth in the world ranking, got her first tour victory at age 22 with a wire-to-wire win at the Women’s PGA Championship when it last visited Hazeltine. That remains her only major title.
“There is definitely shots that I remember. I also remember some of the bad shots as well, which is sometimes not a great thing,” Green said. “But it’s nice to kind of relive those moments in the practice round. I do hit a lot further than I used to do back then.”
Montrell Culbeath signs new Bayer Leverkusen contract until 2031
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended youngster Montrell Culbreath's contract once again – this time on a long-term basis.
Having only signed a deal with the Bundesliga club until 30 June 2030 in January, he has penned a new contract valid until 30 June 2031.
The former U-19 player, as attacking midfielder, earned the contract after he established himself in the first-team squad last season.
Culbreath joined the Werkself academy in 2023 and made 16 first-team appearances in all competitions last campaign, scoring one goal.
"The renewed extension of the contract is a clear sign of our satisfaction with Montrell," said Bayer managing director Simon Rolfes.
“We are delighted that he's made the step up to first-team level and seized his chance with energy," he added.
Kim Falkenberg, director of football described Culbreath as “an ideal example of our talented young players, who are determined to fulfil their professional dream."
The Philadelphia Phillies have been one of the more fascinating teams in Major League Baseball this season, as they started off 9-19, one of the worst teams in baseball, but have since been one of the best teams in the sport.
Now, following back-to-back miraculous wins over the rival Washington Nationals, the Phillies are sitting on the cusp of something they haven't had since Game 1 of the 2026 MLB season: a positive run differential.
The Phillies' standings have them at 44-36, 4.5 games back of the Atlanta Braves in the NL East, and sporting just a -1 run differential. For a team that's been as good as the Phillies, they can finally get back into the positive run differential this season.
Phillies can finally have a positive run differential with one win
At just a -1 run differential, the Phillies are one win away from getting out of the negatives in run differential, which would be the first time that's been the case since the third game of the 2026 season.
They won 5-3 over the Texas Rangers on Opening Day, then lost 4-5 in Game 2, though they still had a 1-run differential. But, after a 3-8 loss, they fell into the negatives, and with a 2-13 loss the next day, the Phillies fell even further behind.
A four-game winning streak, including a 10-1 win, wasn't enough to make up the difference, and adding in the -43 run differential during the 10-game losing streak, the Phillies were well-behind in getting back to a positive run differential.
But, they've been hot for a while, and finally are just one run from getting out of the red this season. With a Thursday night matchup against the Washington Nationals, with Cristopher Sanchez on the mound, the Phillies have a chance to get back into the positives for the first time since the second game of the season.
While their record is more important than their run differential, getting back into the green would be a huge boost for this team to fully move past the disastrous start they had to the year.
The Phillies have climbed their way back into a postseason spot, back into the NL East race, and now they're on the cusp of getting back into the positive run differential.
The American League is wide open. Yes, the Toronto Blue Jays are 9.5 games out of first place in the American League East, and it doesn’t look like they will catch the New York Yankees, but that doesn’t really matter. Despite being 39-41, the Blue Jays are currently locked into the third and final Wild Card spot. That means, if the season ended today, Toronto would make the playoffs with a .488 winning percentage. However, there are five teams within two games of them, so it’s certainly not the time to rest on their laurels. Instead, the Blue Jays need to push forward, so let’s take a look at three trades they should make at the MLB trade deadline.
Boston Red Sox pitcher Aroldis Chapman (44) reacts after a pitch is called a ball in the ninth inning of the MLB Opening Day game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Red Sox at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Thursday, March 26, 2026. The Reds lost the season opener, 3-0.
Jeff Hoffman hasn’t been the answer in the closer role for Toronto, and I’m not sure he recovered from the World Series home run he allowed last year. His early-season struggles relegated the right-hander to a setup role, and Louis Varland has stepped up. He’s already up to 16 saves on the season, and his 0.84 ERA really can’t get much better. However, he also has no prior closing experience before this season.
With the Blue Jays not being able to truly count on Hoffman, more depth and experience is needed. The Boston Red Sox aren’t going anywhere this season, and Chapman could be just what the Blue Jays need to lock down the late innings. With 12.05 strikeouts, 14 saves, and a 2.08 ERA this season, the left-hander hasn’t lost a step.
Robbie Ray, SP
It’s clear that Toronto can’t rely on Max Scherzer, so by that thought process, do they want to rely on Patrick Corbin and the health of Shane Bieber?
Instead, the Blue Jays should look to San Francisco for Ray. The left-hander is having another strong season with six wins in 15 starts and a 3.70 ERA. However, he’s also an impending free agent, and the Giants are looking to maximize their assets.
Ray is a former Blue Jay who excelled when pitching in Toronto, winning the 2021 Cy Young award.
Luis Arraez, 2B
Mar 27, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants second baseman Luis Arraez (1) throws the ball to first base during the seventh inning against the New York Yankees at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
Arraez doesn’t overwhelm with speed or power, but the man can hit. He can also play both first and second base, and he’s on the trade market with an expected return that shouldn’t be too prohibitive.
He can get Vladimir Guerrero off his feet and into the DH role while also allowing Ernie Clement to shift across the field in more of a super utility role. Why wouldn’t anyone want a player who is currently hitting .321 with 40 runs scored?
Jade Shekells missed a number of games for club and country with a hamstring injury in 2026 [Getty Images]
England centre Jade Shekells has extended her contract with Gloucester-Hartpury to stay with the club into the 2026-27 season.
Shekells has been with The Circus since 2024, having competed for Great Britain in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
The 29-year-old has been capped by the Red Roses four times since her international debut in 2025 and scored three tries in eight appearances for her club in the PWR this season.
"Her pace, athleticism and defensive qualities make her a real asset to our squad," said the club's head of rugby Dan Murphy.
"We're excited to see her back on the pitch and continue to make an impact in a Gloucester-Hartpury shirt."
Shekells is the latest in a list of internationals who have re-signed with Gloucester-Hartpury for the next campaign, including England team-mates Mia Venner, Maud Muir, Emma Sing and Alex Matthews.
Heading into last offseason, the New York Giants had just one quarterback under contract, Tommy DeVito, and the future of the position was very much up in the air.
Then general manager Joe Schoen got to work. He signed veterans Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston and traded up to snare Ole Miss star Jaxson Dart in the NFL draft.
Wilson lasted just a few games last year, giving way to Dart, and the future at quarterback was quickly answered. Dart displayed that he has the makings of a star.
So, where do the Giants' quarterbacks (Dart, Winston, and Brandon Allen) rank among the quarterback groups in the NFL? The analytics experts at Sharp Football have them ranked at No. 20 out of 32 teams, but almost everyone expects them to be better than that this year.
Jaxson Dart’s performance as a rookie saw the Giants move up seven spots in our QB rankings. Dart started 12 games as a rookie and scored 24 total touchdowns, 15 of which came through the air. However, his 6.7 yards per completion ranked ahead of just four quarterbacks with at least 300 pass attempts. Jameis Winston returns as the veteran backup after starting two games in 2025.
New head coach John Harbaugh has said that Dart has adjusted really well to the new offensive staff and scheme. The offense is now run by coordinator Matt Nagy with Brian Callahan as the quarterbacks coach and Greg Roman on board as the run-game coordinator.
Dart is coming off a season in which there was just as much concern for his safety as there was for his development. He played recklessly and failed to protect himself one too many times. He missed two games with a concussion and was checked on several other occasions. But when he shone, he shone brightly.
He finished QB13 in fantasy despite starting just 12 games, with unexpected rushing production bolstering his value. Ranking top three among QBs in both rushing yards (487) and TDs (9), the rookie was quick to run under pressure -- 10.1 percent scramble run rate (2nd) -- and didn't shy away from contact.
The Giants would like to get the best of both worlds out of him going forward. Dart himself said he won't change his style but would take caution when needed.
Dart could be without stud wideout Malik Nabers (knee) to start the season, but the Giants have added quite a few weapons this offseason in tight end Isaiah Likely and wide receivers Darnell Mooney, Calvin Austin III, rookie Malachi Fields, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Odell Beckham Jr.
FSU may not be the highest-rated team in the upcoming release of EA Sports' College Football 27, but that doesn't mean there aren't star players that gamers can build around.
CFB 27, and by a broader extension, sports video game players that make them up are defined by their "overall", a general number that takes into account how good all of their individual attributes are to give a rough idea without needing to dive too deep into analytics.
Naturally, the Oregons and Ohio States of the world have a lot of high overall players, given the program's reputation and star talent. Florida State, meanwhile, despite only being an 82 overall this season, has found itself with the No. 4 wide receiver in the game.
Duce Robinson is currently rated as a 92 overall. He's in the same zip code as guys like Texas' Cam Coleman, Miami's Malachi Toney, and even the first 99 overall to be in a CFB game at launch, Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith.
Without question, Robinson is almost certainly going to be one of the highest-rated players on FSU's squad this year, and should he perform well, his overall rating will improve further.
College Football 27 releases July 9 on PS5, Xbox Series X and S, and for the first time, on PC through Steam and the Epic Games store. You can view every ACC team's rating here.
— College Football 27 (@EASPORTSCollege) June 24, 2026
Contact/Follow us @FSUWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of FSU news, notes, and opinions. Jacob Smith is a contributor for FSU Wire, part of the USA TODAY Network. You can also follow Jacob on X at @jsmith_sports.
The 2026 offseason has been all about fixing the Dallas Cowboys’ trainwreck of a defense. After finishing last in the NFL in some of the biggest defensive categories, the focus is as understandable as it is warranted. It’s why the Cowboys swung big on new defensive coordinator Christian Parker, and it’s why the vast majority of resources have swung in that direction over the offseason.
But the Cowboys' offense has issues of their own, and unless they do something to fix it, those issues threaten to undermine the 2026 campaign. The issue is their red-zone efficiency and a closer look indicates these known issues are even worse than we suspected.
The red zone is defined as the area inside the opponents 20-yard line. It’s an area where good offenses find ways to score seven rather than settle for three. It’s an area in which the Cowboys struggled last year, converting just 56.92% of those trips into touchdowns, a number that ranked just 18th in the NFL regular season.
For an offense that ranked second in yards, fourth in points, fifth in EPA/play and sixth in success rate, ranking 18th in red-zone efficiency is simply unacceptable. It left points on the board and added unneeded pressure to a defense already outmatched and overpowered. In an interview with DLLS, offensive coordinator Klayton Adams pointed to penalties and negative movement as an explanation for some of the trouble
“I don’t know if it’s just maybe being young or performance anxiety, but like we had more self-inflicted wounds in the red zone than we did in some other areas,” Adams said. “If you have a negative yardage run on the 1-yards line, that’s a lot different than a negative yard on the 50.”
As if red-zone stats weren’t bad enough, things get even worse the closer the Cowboys get to paydirt. In goal-to-go situations (i.e. inside the 10-yard line), the Cowboys ranked much worse, finishing an embarrassing 24th in the NFL. They only got across the goal line in 69.4% of these doorstep situations, wasting prime opportunities for points and making things much harder on themselves than they have to be.
The reason things get tougher the closer an offense gets to the endzone is quite simple; a shorter field to work with means the defense isn’t as stretched as deeply as they are in middle-of-the-field areas. Teams no longer have to worry about Ceedee Lamb, George Pickens or Ryan Flournoy getting over the top of them so they can play things tighter.
With a more densely populated secondary, the windows become tighter. In order to hit those tight windows, routes need to be sharp, throws must be precise and timing must be perfectly synced. The running game suffers as well since box counts tend to increase. It’s why Dallas’ success rate on plays inside the red zone were just 39.5%, which ranked 21st in the NFL last season per Sumer Sports.
Practice and attention to detail is ultimately the cure for these red zone and goal-to-go woes. Players have to be precise in everything they do. Coaching and play design also matter. Just because the field loses its vertical depth, doesn’t mean defenses can’t be stretched out in horizontal width. Plays that stretch defenses horizontally will open windows and space for the Cowboys’ many play makers.
Given the amount of talent on the Cowboys offense in 2026, there’s no reason these issues can’t be fixed. But it will take a willful effort to overcome and the attention of all parties, players and coaches, to turn this weakness into a strength.
Redshirt junior offensive lineman Shamurad Umarov enters his fourth season at Tennessee in 2026. He has two years of eligibility remaining.
The 6-foot-7, 321-pound offensive lineman has appeared in 27 games, including 10 starts, for the Vols from 2023-25. Umarov has played in 837 offensive snaps.
In 2025, he appeared in 13 games, including 10 starts at left guard, and did not allow a sack in 758 offensive snaps.
Umarov played in 10 contests at guard in 2024, totaling 66 total offensive snaps. He earned a redshirt as a freshman in 2023 after appearing in four games
Umarov is from Denmark High School in Alpharetta, Georgia. He enrolled early at Tennessee in Dec. 2022 and participated in Orange Bowl practices.
Tennessee will kick off its 2026 football season Sept. 5 versus Furman at Neyland Stadium. The season opener is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. EDT (SEC Network+).
The Vols will also host Kennesaw State, Texas, Auburn, Alabama, Kentucky and LSU, while playing at Georgia Tech, Arkansas, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt during the 2026 campaign.
AB de Villiers believes Rishabh Pant grew frustrated at LSG before his move back to Delhi Capitals.
The RCB legend suggested the frustration may have stemmed from the ownership and coaching staff.
De Villiers called the wider DC management overhaul "wishy-washy" and confusing for players.
RCB legend decodes why India star left the franchise to return to DC
AB de Villiers has weighed in on Rishabh Pant's impending return to Delhi Capitals, suggesting the India wicketkeeper-batter had grown frustrated during his disappointing two-year stint at Lucknow Super Giants.
The RCB legend decoded the move on his YouTube channel, linking Pant's exit to issues with the franchise's ownership and coaching setup.
Pant is set to rejoin DC, the franchise he represented for nine seasons, as part of a blockbuster trade that will see Kuldeep Yadav move to LSG.
The wicketkeeper struggled badly at Lucknow, scoring just 581 runs across two seasons and stepping down as captain after the team finished bottom of the table in IPL 2026.
De Villiers felt the writing had been on the wall for some time, pointing to signs of discontent in Pant's body language and public appearances during a difficult period at his former franchise.
AB de Villiers on Rishabh Pant's frustration at LSG
The South African great suggested Pant's frustration was visible and may have stemmed from factors beyond his own form, hinting at friction with those running the Lucknow franchise.
"No surprises there after the season they've had, and looking at some of his post-match interviews, there were already signs of him being frustrated, and maybe the frustration is coming from the ownership and coaching staff as well. So he is returning back to DC," de Villiers said on his YouTube channel.
De Villiers also commented on the scale of change at Delhi Capitals, with Sourav Ganguly set to join as director of cricket and Yuvraj Singh as batting coach, alongside Pant's return and JSW taking control of operations for the next two years. He felt too many simultaneous changes could unsettle the players.
"Sourav Ganguly joins DC now as the director of cricket, and Yuvraj is also there as batting coach, with Pant returning. So we'll see the dynamic with that," De Villiers said.
"I feel it is a bit wishy-washy, doing this whole ownership change, the coaching staff comes and goes, and it's really difficult for players to react to that and have a positive mindset with all these changes taking place. It can be confusing, and there is no doubt about that."
The former RCB batter expressed unease about the alternating ownership model at DC, noting how Pant had sidestepped one cycle before JSW's return, and admitted he was not a fan of the constant upheaval.
"It is also interesting how Pant skipped the two-year GMR cycle. JSW coming back in now, and we'll see how they go with their two-year ownership. All confusing, you know, I am not a big fan of that," he added.
Rishabh Pant began his IPL journey with DC in 2016 and stayed with the franchise until 2024, before moving to LSG for two seasons. His return, therefore, marks a homecoming to where it all began, and a chance to rediscover his best form in familiar surroundings.
For DC, the move reunites Pant with a franchise that lacked an explosive, emotional leader in his absence.
With Ganguly and Yuvraj overseeing a new-look setup, the hope in the Delhi camp will be that a settled environment can help Pant rediscover the match-winning touch that deserted him at Lucknow.
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Youth golfers hit balls in a bay at a Topgolf facility.
Topgolf
Youth on Course is going off-course for its next play-time opportunity for juniors, partnering with Topgolf to provide access to hitting bays for just $5 this summer.
A non-profit that seeks to provide youngsters with access to opportunities through golf, Youth on Course has subsidized millions of $5 on-course rounds over the past two decades.
The partnership with Topgolf provides yet another outlet for kids to connect with the game, with Youth on Course members (and Alumni Network members) getting access to Topgolf bays from 9 a.m. to noon from Monday through Thursday. The program runs from July 1 until Sept. 3, a time when kids are out of school for the summer and may have the most opportunity to play.
"Topgolf is exactly the kind of partner that moves the needle for our members," said Youth on Golf CEO Adam Heieck. "This isn't just about affordable access. It's about showing young golfers that the game is for them. Walking into a Topgolf venue is a great golf and entertainment experience, and now our members and alumni get to be part of it."
The exterior of a Topgolf venue in Rhode Island.
Michael Baxter, Baxter Imaging LLC
For Topgolf, the partnership reflects a commitment to help grow the game more broadly.
Participation among juniors is up 58% since 2019, according to the National Golf Foundation, climbing to near-record levels. And on-course participation overall is up 20% over that same period.
New Topgolf CEO David McKillips said his company’s goal is to help create another 10 million new golfers by 2030, making the partnership with Youth on Course a natural extension of that mission.
"Youth is one of the fastest-growing segments in golf, and Topgolf has both the platform and the responsibility to help grow the game," said McKillips. “When young people experience the joy of golf early, they become golfers for life. That's good for them, good for the industry, and good for the game we all love.”
Anchoring the new program to the summer months gives kids a fun and welcoming place to play when they have the most free time. The goal is to eventually expand access for Youth on Course members year-round.
Two junior golfers in the Youth on Course program walk on the course.
Youth on Course
This new opportunity – and new avenue to play golf -- comes as on-course rounds have climbed to record levels in four of the past five years. While Youth on Course has partnered with thousands of courses in all 50 U.S. states and in Canada, the nationwide surges in play have created a more competitive environment for tee times at public courses. Heieck has acknowledged the lack of unused tee times and the fact that many operators are understandably trying to maximize revenue.
Off-course options for engagement, in turn, continue to become increasingly popular. Off-course participation has soared by 63% since 2019, according to the NGF, and has now exceeded that of on-course for the past four years.
Youth on Course previously teamed with Golf Galaxy and DICK’S to provide some indoor simulator play time to juniors. And now Youth on Course is again venturing off course in a meaningful way.
This article was originally published on Forbes.com
Broncos Wire's 91-man offseason roster series continues today with a look at second-year pass-rusher Que Robinson, No. 51.
Before the Broncos: Robinson (6-4, 243 pounds) was a four-year player at the University of Alabama. Robinson may not have had eye-popping stats, but he was a constant contributor. In 43 games with the Crimson Tide, Robinson logged 54 total tackles (30 solo, 24 assisted, 10 tackles for loss), six sacks, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries. After college, Robinson was selected by the Denver Broncos in the fourth round (134th overall) in the 2025 NFL draft.
Broncos tenure: After his selection in the 2025 NFL draft, Robinson spent the majority of his rookie season as a backup pass-rusher. Robinson dressed for six games, making 12 total tackles (six assisted, six solo, three tackles for loss), one pass deflection and half a sack. Robinson also played 51 percent of special teams snaps, making him a quality, all-around contributor. After the regular season, Robinson grabbed his first career solo sack against the New England Patriots in the NFL playoffs.
This is just bonkers closing speed from Que Robinson.
Activated today for just the 7th time this season. This is the first solo sack of his NFL career. What a time + situation for it.
Chances to make the 53-man roster: Near-lock. The Broncos have been trending younger and cheaper, and Robinson fits the bill for that criteria. Denver is set to give Jonah Elliss snaps at inside linebacker this season, which will create more snaps for Robinson on the edge. Robinson's teammates and coaches have been full of praise for the edge defender, so it wouldn't be surprising if he has a bit of a breakout year in 2026.
There has long been a perception among some fans that Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark is treated poorly by other players and even officials on the court. Whether fair or not, Fever coach Stephanie White is leaning into the idea.
White blasted officials on Wednesday night after the Phoenix Mercury took "cheap shots" at Clark and the referees largely held their whistle.
At one point, Phoenix's Alyssa Thomas appeared to hit Clark's next while the Fever star was lying on the court.
Here's a look at the play that upset White and what she had to say after the narrow 111-109 loss.
Stephanie White calls out 'absolutely unacceptable' officiating
Clark ripped the officials and Mercury players in defense of Clark after Wednesday's loss.
"We have a generational talent and WNBA superstar who had two cheap shots right there that weren't called," White told reporters. "Absolutely unacceptable."
One of two plays that frustrated White was a scramble for the ball that ended with Thomas appearing to shove her fist into Clark's neck, which went uncalled by officials.
White went on to call the officiating "absolutely egregious and utterly disrespectful," and she claimed the non-calls were part of a broader pattern of Clark being officiated differently than other players.
"We spent all offseason looking at officiating, and I still say the one thing that we keep asking for is consistency. [Clark] is not called the same way as everybody else is called," White said. "The fist in the throat is crazy. It's crazy. It's dangerous. When you have these things continue to happen time and time and time again, eventually it gets frustrating."
"You're coming in here aware of what happened two nights ago and that shit still happens? Absolutely unacceptable. Absolutely unacceptable."
Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White after 111-109 loss to Phoenix Mercury.
The Fever lost by two points, so any additional foul call could have changed the course of the game. Clark, meanwhile, would leave due to injury in the third quarter. Here's more to know.
Clark was on the receiving end of two hard hits Wednesday night, which White called "cheap shots." White, however, said she wasn't sure whether the plays had any impact on Clark's health before she left the game with a back injury in the third quarter and did not return.
Clark previously missed a game with a back injury in May, and White said after the game that the issue is just something the Fever have to be careful with throughout the year.
"We've got to be careful. It's a long season," White told reporters. "We've got to make sure that she's healthy."
Report: Everton eyeing move for £25m-rated Arsenal star
Arsenal Lower Gabriel Jesus Price as Everton Monitor Summer Opportunity
Arsenal have reportedly softened their stance over the future of Gabriel Jesus, with fresh reports suggesting the Premier League champions are now prepared to accept offers in the region of £20m to £25m for the Brazilian forward.
According to Caught Offside, Arsenal have lowered their valuation after initially seeking closer to £30m, a move that reflects the realities of the current transfer market and the player’s recent injury record. It is a significant development for clubs monitoring the situation, with Everton continuing to be linked with the experienced striker.
Reduced Valuation Opens Fresh Possibilities
Gabriel Jesus remains an established Premier League performer, but repeated injury setbacks have complicated his future at the Emirates Stadium. While the player himself is not agitating for a move, Arsenal appear increasingly willing to reshape their attacking options this summer.
Caught Offside reports that: “Arsenal are understood to have lowered their asking price for Gabriel Jesus to something more in the region of £20-25m.”
The report also notes that Arsenal “are now open to slightly lower offers for Jesus, having initially wanted closer to £30m for the Brazilian forward.”
That adjustment reflects a pragmatic approach from Arsenal’s hierarchy. Clubs across Europe remain cautious when investing heavily in players with lengthy injury histories, regardless of their proven quality.
Photo IMAGO
Everton Continue to Watch Situation
Everton’s interest in Jesus has been well documented, although there has yet to be any formal approach.
Caught Offside states: “Everton have a long-standing interest in Jesus, but have not yet come forward with an offer, while there’s also been some indication of interest from his former club Palmeiras.”
The report adds that negotiations have stalled because of “concerns over Jesus’ asking price and his wage demands.”
Those financial considerations are likely to remain central. Everton’s recruitment strategy under the club’s new ownership will require careful balancing of ambition and sustainability. Even with Arsenal reducing their valuation, Jesus’ salary package could still prove a major obstacle.
There is little doubt over his ability when fully fit. His movement, pressing and experience at the highest level remain attractive qualities, though clubs must decide whether those strengths outweigh the risks attached to his availability.
Arsenal Ready for Squad Reshuffle
This appears to be part of a broader summer overhaul.
One source quoted by Caught Offside explained: “Arsenal are hoping to sell Gabriel Jesus this summer and there’s an awareness that that means being more realistic about their asking price.”
The same source continued: “At the moment the message is that clubs won’t pay big for him, there are understandable concerns about his fitness record.”
The report also claims Arsenal are prepared to listen to offers for several other players, including Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard, Christian Norgaard, Fabio Vieira and Reiss Nelson, illustrating the scale of the club’s planned squad refresh.
Meanwhile, uncertainty continues around Ethan Nwaneri’s future, while the publication reports that Viktor Gyokeres is not currently expected to leave Arsenal this summer, and any move for Julian Alvarez remains difficult.
For Everton, patience could yet prove valuable. Should Arsenal become increasingly motivated to move Jesus off their wage bill, further flexibility over both the transfer fee and financial package cannot be ruled out before the window closes.
Our View – EPL Index Analysis
From an Everton perspective, this feels like one worth monitoring closely.
Gabriel Jesus has endured frustrating spells with injuries, but supporters know exactly what he can offer when available. His work rate, intelligence and experience at the top level would immediately improve Everton’s attacking options. Few players on the market combine Premier League pedigree with Champions League experience.
The concern is obvious. Everton cannot afford another high earner who spends extended periods unavailable. That has been an expensive lesson over several transfer windows.
If Arsenal are genuinely prepared to negotiate around the £20m mark, and if Jesus is willing to compromise on wages, this suddenly becomes a far more realistic conversation. Everton have often lacked a forward capable of linking play, pressing defenders and creating space for others. Jesus excels in those areas.
Supporters would understandably have reservations about his fitness record, but there is also reason for optimism. At 29, he still has several productive years ahead if managed correctly.
This feels like a calculated gamble rather than a reckless one. Everton need players capable of lifting standards immediately, and Jesus would certainly do that when fit. The key question is whether the financial package reflects the risk. If it does, this could become one of the smarter deals of the summer.
Sri Lanka and West Indies renew their Test rivalry in the Caribbean on Thursday at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua. The host is looking to reignite its Test form after losing seven of eight matches played.
How to Watch Test Cricket: Sri Lanka vs West Indies
In the current World Test Championship (WTC) cycle Sri Lanka is in third and will want to continue to succeed to get a spot in next year’s final.
For all their recent struggles, the West Indies is still best served by its fast bowlers, with Alzarri Joseph returning from injury, along with Jayden Seales and Shamar Joseph.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Joshua da Silva, a fixture on the West Indies side for five years before he lost his place at the start of 2025, is set for a return thanks to the strength of consecutive outstanding domestic seasons.
Sri Lanka’s batting is again built around the trio of Dhananjaya de Silva, former captain Dinesh Chandimal, and Pathum Nissanka. They are trying to post the type of totals that will give their bowlers a chance of achieving a first-ever Test series triumph in the Caribbean.
Both Tests in this brief duel are being played at the same venue where these opponents played out two draws in 2021.
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When Nick Saban retired from Alabama, he effectively brought an end to one of the greatest dynasties in college football history. Alabama no longer sits atop the sport. Instead, the focus has shifted to a new question: Which program will become college football’s next powerhouse?
As the expanded College Football Playoff era takes shape, several programs should emerge as annual contenders. But which of them has the potential to build a dynasty of its own? Replicating Saban’s unprecedented success may be impossible, but a new dominant force could soon emerge.
Here are three programs positioned to become the next dynasty in college football.
Georgia
Apr 18, 2026; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart shown on the field during the Georgia Spring football game at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
If any SEC program looks capable of winning it all year after year, it’s Georgia under Kirby Smart.
When Saban stepped away, Smart became the clear heir to the SEC throne. He continues to assemble elite coaching staffs while maintaining one of the nation’s most effective recruiting operations, even in the NIL era.
That adaptability gives Smart a significant advantage. NIL has transformed the recruiting landscape, but Georgia has remained one of the sport’s premier destinations. Smart consistently sells recruits on the long-term benefits of joining the program. The Bulldogs routinely send players to the NFL, and the school’s collective and booster support provide plenty of NIL opportunities along the way.
Georgia’s back-to-back national championships are already a few years in the rearview mirror, but another title run this season could be the start of a new era of dominance in Athens.
Ryan Day finally broke through and delivered a national championship, bringing Ohio State its first title in a decade. Although the Buckeyes exited early last season, they responded by reloading one of the most talented rosters in the country.
Ohio State enters the season with multiple projected first-round NFL Draft picks on offense, while the defense should remain among the nation’s best. The Buckeyes have the resources, recruiting power, and coaching stability necessary to compete for championships every year.
As things stand, Ohio State appears to be the Big Ten program best positioned to establish a dynasty. Well, except for…
Indiana
Jan 24, 2026; Bloomington, IN, USA; Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti holds up the coaches trophy on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, during the Indiana Football College Football Playoff National Championship celebration and parade at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Grace Hollars-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images
Curt Cignetti has built a reputation around one simple fact: he wins. Google it.
Indiana became college football’s biggest story last season, capturing a national championship and exceeding every expectation. Now comes the difficult part—proving it wasn’t a one-year phenomenon.
Cignetti assembled his roster in a way that felt unconventional by modern college football standards, but the approach paid off. The Hoosiers rode the play of a quarterback who is now projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft. His replacement arrives via the transfer portal as one of the most highly regarded transfers in the country.
Can Cignetti turn Indiana into a perennial national contender and build a dynasty in Bloomington? Or will the Hoosiers’ championship run ultimately be remembered as a remarkable one-year story?
After winning the national championship with Michigan this season, former UCLA center Aday Mara is beginning his professional career in the NBA.
Mara will be joining another championship organization after the Oklahoma City Thunder drafted him with the No. 12 overall pick in the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft on Tuesday. Going into the draft, ESPN had Mara ranked as the No. 1 center prospect.
Jun 23, 2026; New York, NY, USA; NBA commissioner Adam Silver greets the twelfth pick in the 2026 NBA draft, Michigan center Aday Mara after he was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Mara was one of three Michigan players drafted in the first round. In addition to Mara, forward Morez Johnson Jr. was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks with the No. 9 pick, and forward Yaxel Lendeborg was drafted by the Golden State Warriors with the No. 11 pick.
Former Wolverines head coach Dusty May also left Michigan after the national championship run to take over as head coach of the Mavericks.
Mara’s Career At UCLA
Mara played one season at Michigan after playing the first two seasons of his collegiate career at UCLA.
The Zaragoza, Spain native averaged 6.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists as a sophomore during the 2024-25 season. Mara only started in nine of the 61 games he played with the Bruins across two seasons.
Mar 20, 2025; Lexington, KY, USA; UCLA Bruins center Aday Mara (15) dunks the ball during the first half against the Utah State Aggies in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Rupp Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images
Mara transferred to Michigan as a junior ahead of the 2025-26 season. In Ann Arbor, Mara transformed into the first-round NBA pick he is today. At UCLA, he averaged 13 minutes per game his sophomore season but at Michigan, he averaged a career-best 23.4 minutes.
The 7-foot-3 center also averaged a career-high 12.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.6 blocks while starting in 39 of 40 games for the Wolverines.
Now, Mara will join the Thunder two seasons after Oklahoma City won the NBA championship.
Emma Raducanu’s participation at Wimbledon has been thrown into doubt after the British No 1 was reportedly spotted at the All England Club wearing an orthopaedic boot.
Clay reported that the British No 1 left Aorangi Park, the Wimbledon practice complex, on Wednesday evening wearing a boot on her right leg, while she did not train there when she had been scheduled to at midday on Thursday.
Thomas Houchin, one of her representatives, told Clay: “Emma is absolutely fine. She will play tomorrow”, but her use of the boot just five days before her home grand slam begins has sparked concern.
She was pictured practicing at the All England Club on Monday but did not book a session there or at Aorangi Park on either Tuesday or Wednesday.
Raducanu has not played since an excellent run to the final at Queen’s, a WTA 500 warm-up tournament in west London, where she lost to former Wimbledon semi-finalist Donna Vekic less than two weeks ago.
After playing five matches in quick succession, including her quarter- and semi-final on the same day, the 23-year-old opted not to play another tournament in Nottingham the following week, before declining a wildcard into this week’s event in Eastbourne. She said after Queen’s that she had been “dealing with a few niggles over the past few weeks”.
She slipped on the grass in her Queen’s quarter-final and took a medical timeout but did not appear to be hampered by any physical issues during the remainder of her tournament.
Her career has continually been frustrated by injury problems and missing Wimbledon - where she has twice reached the fourth round, her best result at a major since winning the US Open in 2021 - would mark yet another setback after a promising start to her grass-court season, on what is an excellent surface for the Briton.
A post-viral illness she struggled to shake off kept her off court for two months after Indian Wells in March, meaning she missed nearly the entire clay season.
Wimbledon begins on Monday. Raducanu reached the third round at SW19 last year and will be seeded ahead of the draw, which takes place this Friday.
The Pirates are placing first baseman Spencer Horwitz on the 10-day injured list after removing him from Wednesday’s game against the Mariners with left hamstring discomfort.
Horwitz was injured while running to first base on a double-play ball in the bottom of the third inning. He was pinch-hit for by Esmerlyn Valdez in bottom of the fourth.
Horwitz has had a strong season for the Pirates as the club’s primary first baseman. The 28-year-old carries a .280/.386/.455 batting line with 11 doubles, one triple, 10 home runs and 33 RBI in 71 games.
Ryan O’Hearn is playing first base for the Pirates against the Mariners on Thursday afternoon.
To take Horwitz’s place on the active roster, infielder Jack Brannigan is being recalled from Double-A Altoona.
Brannigan, who was added the 40-man roster in the offseason, has appeared in 31 games for Altoona this season and has slashed .235/.333/.522 with seven doubles, one triple, eight home runs and 18 RBI. It was a delayed start to the year for Brannigan, who broke his nose during spring training.
In parts of five minor-league seasons, the 25-year-old has a .243/.355/.463 batting line with 47 doubles, eight triples, 56 home runs, 172 RBI and 53 steals in 293 games. Most of his defensive work has been split between shortstop and third base.
The Pirates selected him out of the University of Notre Dame in the third round of the 2022 draft.
For the longest time, Anthony Edwards has been pushing the Minnesota Timberwolves to the brink of championship contention. He led the team to two of their only three Western Conference Finals appearances while not yet turning 25 years old. Obviously, carrying a franchise this hard could lead to some frustrations, and some reports suggested this was the case. Now, it seems like the front office had the appropriate response to their star's woes after trading with the Charlotte Hornets for LaMelo Ball.
The Timberwolves’ Edwards reason for the Ball trade with the Hornets
Teams usually just have three options when their star is reportedly disgruntled: stay silent, address their woes with a move, or trade away their franchise cornerstone. It was clear that the Timberwolves wanted to address their roster construction so that Anthony Edwards would feel happier to play for the organization.
So, what was the reason why the Timberwolves pulled the trigger and traded Naz Reid alongside a bunch of future assets for LaMelo Ball? It all boiled down to dealing with tough double teams and schematically complex defenses, according to Brian Windhorst on his Get Up appearance.
"Minnesota, this is a move to get Ant Edwards the kind of running mate that he needs... He is tired of being double-teamed. They get him a dynamic scorer in the backcourt. You throw a double at Ant Edwards with LaMelo Ball on the court, you are playing with fire. LaMelo will drop 10 three-pointers on you in the blink of an eye. So, this is what their move is. To accomplish this, they are basically emptying their coffin," the NBA Insider declared.
Diving deeper into this, Edwards has one of the highest isolation scoring frequency percentages in the 2026 NBA Playoffs. His 56.5% isolation scoring frequency percentage ranked third, only behind Jonathan Kuminga's 60% and Naz Reid's 70%. This means that the usual key to winning over the Timberwolves would have been to double Edwards or do a hard show every time he has the ball. These defensive assignments for teams get easier once all the fatigue start to seep in for Edwards or if his injuries start to reaggravate. This is also exactly why the Timberwolves' offense, with the exception of nights when someone like Jaden McDaniels pops off, tends to disappear when Edwards is not playing.
Moreover, these rough schemes without a secondary star is also the reason for why Edwards slowly became inefficient in the Timberwolves' most recent campaign. From having a 48.9% field goal percentage throughout his regular season campaign, teams in the NBA Playoffs deliberately decided to bother him with double teams so his field goal percentage dropped all the way to 42.8%.
Ball helps with these problems. Edwards no longer has to become the floor general who is also a scoring threat due to this trade with the Hornets. For Timberwolves fans who do not know the former Hornets superstar that much, he bears the 13th-highest assist percentage of all-time even when records of the ABA and NBA are merged. Ball's 39.14% assist percentage sits above players like Jason Kidd, Nikola Jokic, LeBron James, James Harden, Tony Parker, and Stephen Curry, among others. So, their offense is pretty much in good hands. Their offensive distribution will be in good hands and will no longer continually rely on Edwards.
Now, the Timberwolves' backcourt does not seem like it will have schematic problems, but there are big roster needs that need to be addressed. See, Julius Randle was dealt to the Brooklyn Nets before the NBA Draft, and Reid will be sent to the Hornets in this trade package. Rudy Gobert is also aging, and the front office needs to account for this also. The front court is the next thing they need to fix, and the Timberwolves have a lengthy offseason to do so.
Max Basing will go from losing in pre-qualifying to making his Wimbledon debut on Monday after the world No 331 sealed his place in a grand slam main draw for the first time.
The British No 22, who received a wildcard into the qualifying draw, defeated the Swiss player Remy Bertola in five grueling sets on Thursday to complete “the best week of my life”.
Basing, from Surrey, lost at the LTA’s pre-qualifying event last week but was granted a place in the draw and took full advantage of the opportunity, winning three matches in a row.
Winning a FIVE-SET THRILLER to book his spot in the @Wimbledon main draw for the very first time!!! 🤯
The 23-year-old, who trained at Rafael Nadal’s academy in Manacor as a teenager before spending four years at Stanford University in the United States, had previously lost in the first round of qualifying in ATP Challenger events at Birmingham, Ilkley and Nottingham.
His victory over Bertola was the first time he had played a five-set match, and comes just 10 weeks after he tore his hamstring.
“It's been crazy to say the least,” Basing said. “I started in pre-qualifying last week, down at Southlands at Wimbledon, got to the semis and lost there this time last week. I just feel super lucky and privileged to gave still been given the opportunity to play this week.
“This whole week has just been phenomenal, it's been the week of my life. Every day's gone my way. Just super, super happy and proud of myself. Proud of all the people I work with, my family, to kind of get to this point.
“Not many people can say they've they've already lost before the main draw of the tournament even starts, so I think that's probably a first. But I just feel really happy and lucky to be in this spot.”
Basing trained at Spanish tennis legend Nadal’s academy when he was a teenager and was able to hit with the 22-time grand slam champion on a couple of occasions.
He then played four years of college tennis at the prestigious Stanford University in California, graduating last year. He will play his first-ever tour-level match when he makes his Wimbledon debut on Monday.
Basing was joined in the Wimbledon draw by Oliver Tarvet and Billy Harris, who also won their final-round qualifying matches in Roehampton on Thursday.
Tarvet, who faced Carlos Alcaraz in the second round last season, defeated Greece's Stefanos Sakellaridis in straight sets while Harris came from a set down to beat China's Zhou Yi to reach the main draw for the third year in a row.
Following two days of the NBA draft, the Golden State Warriors turned their attention to their veteran frontcourt, locking up one of their key contributors for another two seasons. According to Shams Charania of ESPN, Al Horford will decline his player option with the Warriors and sign a new two-year deal to return to the Bay Area for his 20th NBA season.
Horford went into the offseason with a $6-million player option for next season. Prior to signing his new two-year, $14-million deal with the Warriors, Horford declined his player option, per Charania.
Golden State's Al Horford is declining his player option and intends to sign a new two-year, $14 million deal to stay with the Warriors, sources tell me and @anthonyVslater. Horford, 40, becomes only the 13th player in NBA history to reach 20 seasons. pic.twitter.com/Tuu4oYb9hV
Horford now becomes only the 13th player in NBA history to play 20 seasons. Horford joins LeBron James, Taj Gibson, Kyle Lowry and Garrett Temple as the only 40-year-olds playing in the NBA. James, at 23 seasons, is the only player to currently be playing longer than Horford.
After playing four seasons with the Boston Celtics, and winning an NBA championship in 2024, Horford joined the Warriors late in the offseason last summer. In his first season in the Bay Area, Horford played 45 games, averaging 8.3 points on 42.6% shooting from the field with 4.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists per contest. Horford shot 36.1% from beyond the arc on 4.6 attempts from deep per game.
Horford will help form Golden State's veteran-based frontcourt with Quinten Post and potentially Draymond Green and Kristaps Porzingis.
Pierce was a second-round pick by the Colts in the 2022 NFL draft. This offseason, Pierce signed a four-year, $114 million deal to remain with the Colts.
Recapping Alec Pierce's 2025 season
Pierce is coming off his most productive season, eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career. He again led the NFL in yards per catch for the second consecutive season, averaging 21.3 yards per reception. Pierce also had six touchdown receptions.
Looking ahead to 2026 for Alec Pierce
Pierce is known for the home run ability he brings to the Colts' offense. However, as we saw last season, he can provide much more than that.
During his time with the Colts, Pierce's route-running abilities have greatly improved, and with that, have come more opportunities to attack other levels of the field while doing so in a variety of ways.
While that may reduce his overall yards per catch figure, Pierce's impact on a game will grow. Pierce will need to continue developing into that true No. 1 option in the passing game.
Oct 27, 2007 - Jacksonville, Florida, USA - Georgia Bulldogs MATTHEW STAFFORD against Florida Gators in Jacksonville, Florida. Georgia won 42-30. (Photo by Bob Leverone/Sporting News via Getty Images via Getty Images) | Sporting News via Getty Images
Welcome to the Morning Memory, in which we look back fondly on a treasured moment from the Bulldog past.
This morning’s installment comes to you all the way from September 22, 2007. That’s when Mark Richt and #22 Georgia went to Tuscaloosa to take on #16 Alabama and second year head coach Nick Saban. The Red and Black, keyed by Knowshon Moreno, Thomas Brown, and a high octane rushing attack jumped out to a 10-0 lead and led the Tide 20-10 with 12:15 to go in the fourth quarter.
Then things got unnecessarily and inconveniently interesting for fans of the Classic City Canines. The Crimson Tide drove down for a field goal to pull within a touchdown, and the Red and Black responded by going three and out and punting back to the Sabanites (they’re in the Bible between the Ammonites and the Hittites, look it up). The Tide then took the air out of the ball on a grinding drive that ended with quarterback John Sarah Jessica Parker Wilson of all people running it in from 6 yards out. An extra point tied it up, and a Brandon Coutu missed 47 yard field goal as time expired sent the game to overtime, and the Tuscaloosa crowd into a frenzy.
Georgia won the toss and gave Bama the ball first in the extra stanza with the Red Elephants settling for a field goal.
The Tide led 23-20. The entire crowd into Tuscaloosa and a prime time television audience of millions sat perched on the edge of their seats.The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife. What would ESPN analysts Mike Patrick and Todd Blackledge have to say in this electric moment? Patrick obviously asked the question on everyone’s mind.
Poor Todd Blackledge, not the most elusive guy during his quarterbacking days, was perhaps even less so in the booth as a broadcaster. Fortunately, Matt Stafford and Mikey Henderson bailed him out before he had to provide Patrick with a definitive answer:
The Dawgs walked off the Tide 26-23. It was a singular moment in a season that contained a lot of highlights. That Georgia team would go on to dance in the endzone on the way to victory I. Jacksonville, to black out Auburn in Sanford Stadium, and to beat Hawaii so senseless in a lopsided Sugar Bowl that Thom Brenamen would worry aloud that they were hitting the Rainbow Warriors too hard.
I maintain that the 2007 Georgia Bulldogs would have won a national title if only they’d gotten the chance to play for one. No team finished the year hotter than Mark Richt’s. That would be Richt’s last victory over Saban in his tenure in Athens. But oh what a sweet one it was. Until later…
The Boston Red Sox cannot afford another injury this season. Fans held their breath when they watched starting third baseman Caleb Durbin, who is playing the best baseball of his career, leave the game against the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday afternoon, holding his hand.
Interim manager Chad Tracy provided a (shockingly) very positive update on the 26-year-old's injury.
"His pinky was kind of facing a direction it shouldn't, and they were able to pop it back in," Tracy said after the game. "There’s no bone damage or fracture, so hopefully we're fine. We'll see how he is soreness-wise, but I think we might have dodged a bullet there."
The official injury diagnosis was a "left fifth finger subluxation." In other words, he dislocated his pinky.
His exit due to injury forced the already injured Marcelo Mayer into the game. Mayer was dealing with left foot soreness that landed him out of the starting lineup for the second day in a row.
Mayer was forced to take the field in the fifth inning and eventually made a costly error that led to the Rockies scoring three unearned runs to tie the game in the seventh inning before going on to win by a pair of runs.
Durbin spoke to reporters after the game.
"Pinky-wise, I feel really good," Durbin said. "It looked worse initially than [when] the results came back, which is obviously a big win. No fracture, which was the big thing. Just a little stiffness, which isn't a big deal at all. The frustration is just having to come out and putting the guys in a tough position."
Germany's Francesco Friedrich has said he plans to continue his glittering bobsleigh career until competing at his fifth Olympics in 2030.
Friedrich, 36, is the most successful bobsleigh athlete of all time with 16 world titles, four golds and two silvers from the last three Olympics and 89 World Cup wins.
"Bob sport is still my passion: why should I give it up when I can still do well and enjoy it. The fiddling about, training with the team in summer, preparing the season and then contesting the season at this level," he said.
Friedrich won two-man and four-man Olympic gold in 2018 and 2022 and two silvers this year at Milan/Cortina behind German Rival Johannes Lochner.
Lochner has now retired and his best push man Georg Fleischhauer has joined the Friedrich crew. The first big test will be next year's world championships in Lillehammer, Norway.
BREAKING: The Charlotte Hornets are trading star guard LaMelo Ball and Josh Green to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Naz Reid, a 2033 unprotected first-round pick, three first-round pick swaps (2028, 2029, 2030) and three second-round picks (2029, 2032, 2033), sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/lkhXBWHCrA
The T-Wolves also acquired G Josh Green in the trade while sending C Naz Reid over to Charlotte along with four future picks and three pick swaps. Ball has struggled to stay healthy throughout his six NBA seasons but when he's on the court, he's been very productive. Ball has averaged at least 20 points and 7.0 assists per game in each of the past five seasons.
With Ball teaming up with a fellow 2020 draft classmate in Ant-Man, how will the trade impact fantasy basketball for 2026-27?
Fantasy impact from Dan Titus:
By now, we expected to see Ja Morant in another uniform, but after the draft, Shams Charania reported that the Charlotte Hornets were exploring trades for LaMelo Ball. By morning, a deal was done, sending the one-time All-Star to the Minnesota Timberwolves — a team starved for a point guard to pair with their superstar, Anthony Edwards. The Timberwolves made room to acquire Ball by trading away Julius Randle last week, which gave them space to absorb the three years remaining on Ball's contract. This duo will surely be one of the more entertaining backcourts in the league.
Now to the fantasy impact.
LaMelo Ball: Leaving the Hornets will have a positive impact on his fantasy value because he'll be joining a team desperately needing a point guard who can also score. The supporting cast isn't as strong in Minnesota, but I'd be comfortable selecting Melo in the third round since he'll have to see an uptick in minutes leading to more production. His health concerns will always be in the background, but this is a good move for his fantasy outlook after finishing 42nd in 9-cat and 31st in High Score this past season.
Naz Reid: Reid's been a winner of the offseason because no matter where he goes, someone is seemingly out the door. I thought he was going to ball out in Minnesota without Julius Randle, but now that he's traded to Charlotte, expect the Hornets to move on from Miles Bridges and his expiring contract at some point. Assuming Naz starts for Charlotte, he'll be one of the biggest risers in fantasy because, with no Bridges, a path to 30+ minutes a night is what fantasy managers want to see. Reid finished 82nd in 9-cat last season and barely made the top-120 in High Score. With an ADP of 95th overall last year, expect that to jump at least two rounds, maybe more.
Anthony Edwards: Remains a first-round talent in most leagues. He was the 14th overall player in 9-cat, and 17th in High Score, a career-best for him after averaging 29-5-4 with over 3 3s and 2 stocks per game. He's going to put up 30 a night this season, and having a dynamic point guard like Ball will only give him easier looks off-ball and in transition, where he excels. He'll still have playmaking duties whenever Melo is off the floor, so with all the change around him this offseason, he's primed for another step forward.
Coby White: I have to imagine the Hornets will try to retain him even more now that the newly selected rookie, Christian Anderson, and Tre Mann are the only point guards on the roster. Until we know more, I'm going to assume this will be the case, and Coby White's value will be much higher than it would have been in a sixth-man capacity.
Christian Anderson: Dynasty value is up and redraft consideration could be in play now that the Hornets are thin at point guard. There's a reason the Hornets selected him 18th overall in the 2026 Draft after averaging 18 points per game with over 7 assists at Texas Tech.
Miles Bridges: Expect him to be traded now that Naz Reid came over. By trading Ball, Charlotte is signaling that they're ready to build around Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller.
Kon Knueppel: He'll go into his second NBA season with more pressure to deliver but that won't be an issue after he was squarely in the running for Rookie of the Year and put together the most prolific 3-point shooting display for a rookie, ever. He's a threat to shoot 50/40/90 and could be a more fantasy-friendly version of Klay Thompson in his Warriors days. Less emphasis on the defense, and more counting stats in rebounding and assists, with a ton of 3s.
Brandon Miller: Similarly to Kon, more pressure is going his way, but he can handle it. He'll provide Paul George-like stats and should be gone by the fifth or sixth rounds in fantasy drafts. Now we have to see if there's another gear as a playmaker he can tap into to further his fantasy output on top of the 3s, steals and rebounding.
Joan Beringer: The rookie didn't play much for the Wolves, but with no big man returning in the deal for Minnesota, he's getting a promotion. He should back up Rudy Gobert now, and he'll be the better lob threat for LaMelo than Gobert. I'd be buying some stock.
Other players whose values I'm still sorting out post-trade are Jaden McDaniels, Terrance Shannon Jr. and Ayo Dosunmu. With the exception of Shannon, I think they'll be top-100 players by preseason draft time, but this roster is much different from last season.
The Los Angeles Lakers have signed the best set of nicknames out of the 2026 NBA Draft class -- and all the nicknames come with one guy, Robbie Avila.
Cream Abdul-Jabbar. Milk Chamberlain. Larry Nerd. And that's just scratching the surface.
Avila is the newest member of the Lakers.
He went undrafted out of Saint Louis, but they've signed him to an Exhibit 10 contract, according to Jon Chepkevich -- the deal gives him a look this summer and through training camp, and if he doesn't make the Lakers' NBA roster, it incentivizes him to stay with their G League team.
NEWS: Saint Louis’ Robbie Avila has agreed to an Exhibit-10 contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, sources tell DraftExpress.
The A10 Player of the Year is one of the nation’s most skilled bigs.
Shot 40% from three and averaged 4+ assists per game as a frontcourt playmaking hub. pic.twitter.com/q6yYnRtAXW
Avila began his college career with two seasons at Indiana State, then played two more at Saint Louis.
Pretty much all along, he was a cult hero for fans of college basketball. He's got the goggles, and the earthbound game, and the immense skills that give off at least tiny vibes of Nikola Jokic.
In his final season at Indiana State, Avila averaged 17.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game.
In his final season at Saint Louis, he put up 12.8 points, 46. rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. He also shot 41% from 3-point range.
Will he be able to defend in the NBA? That's a big question.
Will his offensive skills have a chance to make a difference? Yeah, probably.
It's certainly a worthwhile try for the Lakers, and it's a big next step for Avila.
The Hawks re-signed CJ McCollum to a one-year, $21 million contract on Sunday, and found their successor to McCollum in Flemings. Flemings plays with surgical midrange touch, an explosive first step and the passing vision of a true point guard who can run an offense. But Flemings is also 183 pounds and midrange-heavy in a 3-point league, and he watched his efficiency crater against the stiffest competition late in the season. The question is whether his scoring package translates against NBA length and spacing, or whether opposing scouts figure him out the same way late-season defenses did. Still, he brings incredible effort and passion to the floor and will likely maximize whatever he's going to become. Every player on the Hawks' roster can do a little bit of everything. So if there's anywhere that Flemings could best reach his potential, it might be Atlanta.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver poses with 2026 NBA Draft prospects. (Photo by Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Anadolu
After selecting Flemings in the lottery, the Hawks bolstered their frontcourt rotation. But Ejiofor is a bit too small. Atlanta needs a taller, beefy center to pair with Onyeka Okongwu. But Zuby brings winning qualities. After his freshman year at Kansas, Bill Self told him he wasn't good enough to play major minutes on any Big 12 team. Three years later, he became the unanimous Big East Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Tournament MVP, and Scholar-Athlete of the Year — the first player in the league's history to sweep all four in a single season — and he helped St. John's bounce his former team in the Round of 32 on the way to the program's first Sweet 16 in 25 years. Ejiofor found success with foundational skills: motor, length and defensive versatility. The question with Ejiofor is the fact he's undersized for a center and his jumper is still a work in progress. But he's developed enough to deserve a chance to figure it out in the league.
Veesaar falling to the Hawks is quite a shock after most teams had a late first/early second grade on him. But my league sources say Veesaar and his agent Jason Ranne were adamant that he won't sign a two-way contract. The fall, and the Hawks trading up to get him, all point toward Veesaar targeting Atlanta as his destination and a strong possibility that he will sign a full NBA contract. Perhaps it will work out for Veesaar in Atlanta, where he'll fit in as an agile big with real shooting touch, connective playmaking, and baseline big skills with the ability to set screens and catch lobs. He also offers rim protection and is a locked-in help defender. In all three of his collegiate seasons, he made a massive leap in production each year. But he's 227 pounds so his lanky frame can get pushed around, plus he still hasn't fully defined his cornerstone skill.
Boston Celtics
Grade: A
Round 1: Chris Cenac Jr. (No. 27)
Round 2: Dillon Mitchell (No. 40)
As good as Neemias Queta was all year, the Celtics clearly need to upgrade at center after blowing a 3-1 lead to the Sixers in the first round. Maybe Cenac will be the big to do just that. Cenac checks every box on paper as a superb athlete who moves like a wing, has the length to alter shots, and shoots from the perimeter. Houston handed him a starting role with national title aspirations and trusted him with heavy minutes. But the Cougars fell short again, in part because Cenac struggled to stay out of foul trouble, couldn't score efficiently, and was overeager to play on the perimeter despite having the body of a bruiser. He arrived in college with lottery expectations, and he still could become that player in the future. But the Celtics are taking a project.
Mitchell showed up at Texas as a McDonald's All-American, and back then it looked like a jump shot was the only thing standing between him and stardom. Four years and three schools later, the jumper is still nonexistent. Maybe the Celtics can be the team to finally fix it. And yet, he's a top-40 pick in a deep draft class because he's a left-handed power player who finishes everything around the rim, wrecks games on defense, and blossomed into a high-feel passer as a senior at St. John's. The non-shooting is a problem, but Boston is a perfect situation to mitigate it since he can play in lineups where he's surrounded by shooting. Even without the shot, his athleticism on offense and defensive versatility could allow him to carve out a long career.
Brooklyn Nets
Grade: B+
Round 1: Mikel Brown Jr. (No. 6), Joshua Jefferson (No. 28)
Round 2: Tyler Bilodeau (No. 43)
The Nets took four guard-ish players in last year's draft, but Egor Dёmin looks like the only true keeper and that hit didn't stop them from taking an even better guard prospect this year. When Brown is in the zone, he has an unstoppable pull-up jumper, an ambidextrous finishing ability, and the quick reads to rifle passes before the defense has time to react. He had a 45-point breakout performance in February after a back injury dogged him all freshman year and then ended his year later in the month. The absences muddy the evaluation and leave real questions about his consistency that may not get answered until he's fully healthy. Given how different Dёmin's skill set is at 6-8, Brown and Dёmin should perfectly complement each other as Brooklyn builds a foundation for the future.
Jefferson does a lot of the little things very well, but he needs to improve his jumper and his off-the-dribble game. His lack of shooting ability is worrisome for a guy who figures to be a complementary player. At almost 23 years old already, it felt like he'd be a better fit on a contender, rather than a Brooklyn team that's trying to build something up.
Bilodeau was one of the most efficient stretch-4s in college basketball. With his 6-7 frame, he could bring real value with his size and spacing ability at the next level. He made 48% of his catch-and-shoot 3s as a senior, which is precisely what Brooklyn needs to support its young guards. But no one should mistake Bilodeau for Tyler, The Creator, since he rarely takes shots off the dribble or serves as a playmaker for teammates. He also struggles as a defender, which is truly the big question about his ability to make it in the modern NBA.
Charlotte Hornets
Grade: A
Round 1: Hannes Steinbach (No. 14), Christian Anderson (No. 18)
The Hornets were in need of frontcourt reinforcements. Steinbach played professionally in Germany before enrolling at Washington, and he'll enter the NBA with some readymade skills as an interior scorer and rebounder. He has massive hands that he uses to grab every possible rebound and finish effectively around the basket. He also showed legitimate touch on 3-pointers in flashes, which would turn him into a very different player if it becomes real. But he's not quite a true 7-footer, and there are specific matchups where he gets targeted in space. It's encouraging though that he bulked up from 220 to 248 pounds from the start of his freshman year at Washington until now. He was already strong, and now he's making the case that he can be a true center for any team.
The Hornets, who reportedly traded LaMelo Ball to the Timberwolves on Thursday, also added a point guard in Anderson, who showed up at Texas Tech as the 101st-ranked recruit and played his way into the first-round conversation behind dynamic pick-and-roll creation and knockdown perimeter shooting. He does a good job of creating easier shots for his teammates, but at his small stature he hasn't shown a consistent ability to get to the rim with any regularity. And any small guard will always be a target on defense, so there's a lot of pressure on his shot translating to the next level.
Chicago Bulls
Grade: A
Round 1: Caleb Wilson (No. 4), Dailyn Swain (No. 15)
Wilson is the most gifted athlete in the draft class. He's 6-foot-9 with springs for legs. When he's flying above the rim, finishing through contact, and chasing down every shot in his area code, he looks like a future franchise cornerstone. That's exactly what the Bulls need in the frontcourt. After acquiring Nic Claxton from Brooklyn on Monday, the Bulls now have five players in Claxton, Wilson, Matas Buzelis, Josh Giddey, and Noa Essengue, who could in theory switch across positions. The Bulls are massive, athletic, and Wilson can be the centerpiece who becomes one of those defensive anchors while also adding even more upside offensively. For Wilson to reach his peak, though, he'll need to figure out how to shoot jumpers. He has shot well in pre-draft workouts, per sources. Even without the jumper, though, he has star upside. Chicago has to be ecstatic he was on the board here with the fourth choice.
The Bulls also got a potential steal in Swain, who is relentless getting to the rim, creative as a finisher, and active enough defensively to project as a switchable wing. But the reason he lives at the rim is because his jump shot is genuinely terrible. He has stiff mechanics, bad percentages, and a reluctance to even attempt it that goes all the way back to high school. He made improvements at Texas, though, so there's hope his soft touch at the line and from the paint will eventually translate.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Grade: B+
Round 2: Meleek Thomas (No. 34)
Thomas was the top-ranked player on my board in Round 2, but he doesn't exactly solve any problems for the Cavaliers. Donovan Mitchell and James Harden primarily handle the ball, and he doesn't provide size to fill holes for this defense. That said, Thomas is a bucket and this is a "best player available" choice. He's a legit NBA shooter with deep range, a quick release, and creation juice off the bounce. But he doesn't get to the rim, his shot selection drifts into hero-ball, and there are questions about how he'll deal with NBA physicality at 6-3 and 190 pounds — that's why he fell this far despite receiving consideration from teams in the top 20.
Detroit Pistons
Grade: A
Round 1: Ebuka Okorie (No. 17)
Round 2: Ugonna Onyenso (No. 53)
The Pistons need more creation alongside Cade Cunningham, and Okorie is the best driving guard in the class, a 6-1 jitterbug who manipulates defenders with a tight handle, sudden changes of speed, and an advanced feel for the game. He's not an above-the-rim athlete, though, and not long ago he was a kid from New Hampshire who ranked outside the top 100 and committed to Harvard. Then Stanford found him, he flipped his commitment, and he proceeded to lead the ACC in scoring with eight 30-point games and a habit for hitting clutch shots. NBA teams will have to decide whether what carved up the ACC will survive against bigger, longer defenders.
Onyenso could end up an immediate replacement in the frontcourt for Isaiah Stewart, who the Pistons traded to the Grizzlies for three second-round picks on Day 2, opening up cap space to make a big move this summer. Onyenso became one of the most feared shot-blockers in college basketball at Virginia. He had 21 blocks across three ACC tournament games, including nine against Duke and Cam Boozer in the championship. He lays a brick wall around the basket, though he has heavy feet when guarding on the perimeter and is still developing his offensive skill set. Much like Beef Stew, though, he has flashed a jumper. Maybe in Detroit it'll become a fully realized skill.
Indiana Pacers
Grade: A
Round 2: Braden Smith (No. 38)
The Pacers acquired Smith from the Bulls for Kam Jones and swaps, which is quite an interesting decision by Indiana. Tyrese Haliburton will be back next year. Andrew Nembhard handles the ball plenty. And T.J. McConnell remains one of the game's best backup guards. However, McConnell is 34 so adding Smith feels like they're taking a successor for that Sixth Man role. Smith left Purdue as the NCAA's all-time assists leader, breaking a 33-year-old record. He's arguably the highest-IQ player in the draft who could orchestrate an offense at the college level while also providing scoring off the bounce. But the issue is the one every 5-foot-10 guard faces: he isn't a plus athlete, and bigger guards are going to hunt him the moment he steps on an NBA floor. That's precisely why he is a projected second-rounder and will need to work his way up.
Miami Heat
Grade: A
Round 2: Ryan Conwell (No. 37)
Miami badly needs shot creation in the backcourt after dumping nearly everything to acquire Giannis Antetokounmpo from Milwaukee, so it's a logical choice to trade into this spot for Conwell. After his college career took him from South Florida to Indiana State to Xavier, and then to Louisville, he got better at every stop. By the end of his senior year he was the leading scorer for the Cardinals at 18.8 points per game as a knockdown shooter with deep range and a bruiser at the rim who absorbs contact like a fullback. My top comparison for him? Norm Powell, who shined this year with the Heat but is reportedly expected to leave in free agency. Maybe Conwell can fill those shoes as a rookie.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is gone, and now the Bucks have two lottery picks to start building the post-Giannis foundation. Enter Burries, who arrived at Arizona as a top-10 recruit, started slow, and then erupted once conference play began, helping lead his team to the Final Four. He's a physical, versatile scorer who can beat you from all three levels, rebounds like a forward, and competes hard on defense. But he's a methodical creator rather than an explosive one, and his shooting history before Arizona gives scouts reason to wonder whether the efficiency is real or a blip.
With Milwaukee's second lottery pick, the Bucks took a big swing with Ament. Players who can handle, shoot off the dribble, and stand at 6-10 don't grow on trees. This physical foundation kept Ament in lottery consideration even after a dreadful start to his freshman season when he struggled to score efficiently and make an impact defensively. But over the second half of the year for Tennessee, he flipped a switch and shots began to fall. He averaged 23.8 points over a six-game stretch in January and February that reminded everyone why he was a top recruit in the country. Then he dealt with an ankle injury that ruined his momentum entering March and he severely struggled during the tournament. Bucks general manager Jon Horst has never been afraid to take risks, though. If Ament pans out, it could look like a stroke of genius.
Lewis, the last pick in the draft, is a switchable 6-8 wing who plays extremely hard and offers connective passing. But he was a horrible shooter until this season when he made 38% of under 100 attempts from 3, plus he has a painfully slow release that is prone to being contested. The Bucks will need to do a lot of work to assure he has more success shooting the ball like he did this past season.
New York Knicks
Grade: B
Round 2: Jack Kayil (No. 39), Tyler Nickel (No. 47)
Kayil just won the German League championship, and now he's joining the NBA champions in New York. Kayil is a combo guard with a strong frame, a feel for the game that exceeds his youth, and the grit to become a high-level defender. He just became one of the youngest players to ever win the German League's Under-22 Player of the Year, joining Franz Wagner and Dennis Schröder on a list that bodes well for his NBA prospects. He committed to Gonzaga back in October, but has decided to stay in the draft — a decision that surprised some scouts since he has yet to prove he can shoot consistently or run an offense full-time. But there's no denying his upside and he could end up one of the late risers in this class.
Nickel has a flamethrower jump shot that Vanderbilt used in a wide array of actions to consistent success all season long. The questions about him are the ones every specialist faces: Does he offer enough other than shooting? Will he survive defensively? But anyone who shoots like Nickel and stands at 6-6 will get a shot to make it in the NBA, which is why New York is making a point out of finding guys who can support the stars.
Orlando Magic
Grade: C
Round 2: Izaiyah Nelson (No. 51)
Nelson is a 6-foot-8 athlete with a 7-foot-3 wingspan who feasts on lobs, rebounds in traffic, and disrupts everywhere on defense. He sets a tone any time he's on the floor. That's all well and good, and precisely why the Magic drafted him. But the reason for the low grade is the fact that Orlando needs to add some shooting, and Nelson is a liability outside of the paint.
Philadelphia 76ers
Grade: B
Round 1: Labaron Philon (No. 22)
While Philon appears to be a good value pick at this point, it's an odd fit for a Philly backcourt that suddenly feels a bit light with him, Tyrese Maxey, and VJ Edgecombe. Philon is a shifty, score-first point guard who blossomed into one of the best guards in college basketball as a sophomore. He doubled his scoring output with buttery floaters, a deceptive handle, and a feel for running an offense, while also beginning to shore up the shooting questions that once clouded his projection. But Philon is also a below-the-rim athlete and is listed under 180 pounds, so his slight frame remains the one thing standing between him and stardom. Is this a team that actually cares about competing today or is this more of a pick for the future?
Toronto Raptors
Grade: A
Round 1: Allen Graves (No. 19)
Round 2: Jaden Bradley (No. 50)
The Raptors clearly needed two things after their Game 7 loss to the Cavaliers: A point guard and a center. Here, they get another wing in Graves, so the front office clearly isn't drafting for need. But with Graves pick, the Raptors are getting a skilled player for his size. Graves was a point guard before a late growth spurt, and the floor skills carried over when he sprouted to 6-foot-8. He came off the bench at Santa Clara as a redshirt freshman and quietly became one of the most efficient producers in college basketball. But he came off the bench, lacks great athleticism, and struggled against the limited top competition that he faced. But the analytics love him, and he passes the eye test with his elite feel for the game.
Bradley is a 6-3 combo guard with a calm demeanor and a knack for clutch moments on offense. After arriving in college as a McDonald's All-American, he lost his starting spot as a freshman at Alabama then transferred to Arizona, where he got better every year and became the team's trusted leader. As a senior, he won Big 12 Player of the Year, Big 12 Tournament MVP, and led the Wildcats to their first Final Four since 2001. There are questions about whether he can be a lead guard at the next level, but his connective passing, improved shooting, and gritty defense all give him the potential to play big minutes.
Washington Wizards
Grade: A
Round 1: AJ Dybantsa (No. 1)
Round 2: Felix Okpara (No. 46)
The Wizards finally land their star. Dybantsa could become one of the NBA's most unstoppable shot-creators. At 6-foot-9, he has a special blend of athletic tools the way he bends, shifts, and explodes with the ball in his hands. Dybantsa led the nation with 25.5 points per game while breaking Danny Ainge's 48-year-old BYU freshman scoring record with a 43-point eruption. He gets to the rim at will, cooks in the midrange, draws fouls at a high rate, and displays point forward potential. After weeks of deliberating between Dybantsa and Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, Dybantsa likely got the nod because he's significantly taller and comes with less baggage.
In Washington, the pressure will be alleviated off AJ early in his career, now that he's teammates with two veterans in an All-Star-caliber big man in Anthony Davis and point guard Trae Young, who agreed to re-sign. The Wizards could even be quite competitive early on in Dybantsa's career, especially if their existing young players get even better: Alex Sarr already looks like an effective two-way big, while guards and wings like Kyshawn George, Tre Johnson, Will Riley, and Bilal Coulibaly have all shown flashes at one time or another. But none of them project to be a superstar like Dybantsa, whose upside will be determined by whether he can become a knockdown 3-point shooter, as well as a more impactful defender to take full advantage of his physical tools. But the native of Brockton, Mass., has a tremendously high floor with his scoring skill alone that gives the Wizards a face of the franchise to build around and the ceiling to be a future MVP.
With Davis and Sarr leading Washington's frontcourt, the Wizards still need some depth behind them. And Okpara knows his role as a player who protects the paint, runs the floor, finishes lobs, sets screens, and doesn't try to be more than that. One thing Okpara, Sarr, and Davis all have in common is their switchability, which could enable Washington to switch screens across positions. The issue is that none of them are reliable perimeter shooters, and Okpara hasn't shown much potential to ever become one.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Dallas Mavericks
Grade: A-
Round 1: Morez Johnson Jr. (No. 9), Sergio De Larrea (No. 25)
Just a day after Dusty May was hired as Mavericks head coach, he gets to continue coaching a player in Johnson who helped May's Michigan team win an NCAA championship a few months ago. New Mavericks president Masai Ujiri has always loved drafting jumbo-sized forwards, which must've been part of the appeal in joining a franchise that's headlined by Cooper Flagg. And that's the logic here with Johnson. You know the guy on a championship team who never gets enough credit nationally? The one who sets the bone-crushing screen that springs the star, then immediately sprints to the rim for the lob, then turns around and blows up the other team's pick-and-roll on the other end all in one sequence? That's Morez Johnson. He transferred from Illinois to Michigan and became the connective tissue of the national champions as a 251-pound wrecking ball with surprisingly soft hands and the defensive IQ to guard 1 through 5 in a switch-heavy scheme. The catch is he's not quite big enough to be a true center and not yet proven enough as a shooter to guarantee he spaces the floor. But even without a jumper, Johnson has a long future ahead of him at the next level.
After drafting Johnson, Dallas traded with the Knicks to get De Larrea. The Spaniard is a tall, playmaking guard with major feel and a knockdown jumper who thrives within team concepts. He suffered a dislocated shoulder that ended his 2024-25 season and removed him from draft boards, but it ended up a blessing in disguise since he returned with a bigger role and stronger production for a great team in the EuroLeague. With size, smarts, and defensive versatility, he could carve out a role with the Mavericks if his international skill can translate.
Lawal feels exactly like a classic Masai Ujiri pick, since he is a London-born forward with size, length, and elite athleticism, but he didn't start playing basketball until age 16 and it shows with his underdeveloped skills. Lawal is a pure project. He's still figuring out his jumper and doesn't do much off the dribble. But with NBA-ready hops and a strong frame, he has the tools to be a highly versatile defender who serves as a role player on offense.
Ishchenko is a fluid wing with an excellent shot off the catch with deep range. The Russian league is a much lower level of competition, which makes it hard to project his NBA future. But he also displayed the handle to operate out of pick-and-rolls. And at 6-foot-8 with a 7-foot wingspan and a wide frame, he has the body to be a quality defender. If the Mavericks nail this pick, the new front office led by Masai Ujiri and Mike Schmitz can flex forever. But Ishchenko is truly just a shot in the dark.
Brazile was a projected first-rounder before tearing his ACL nine games into his sophomore year at Arkansas, and the next two years were spent rebuilding the explosiveness that made him a prospect in the first place. He finally put it together as a fifth-year senior with a career year by anchoring Arkansas' defense. His long wingspan, explosive vertical, switchability, and perimeter jumper will immediately inject much-needed athleticism into Denver's frontcourt. Since Brazile can both defend the perimeter and make 3s — at 35% in his college career — he could play in lineups next to Nikola Jokić. But there's no guarantee that his shot translates, which will be vitally important for his fit on the Nuggets.
Hopkins is a big wing who bullies smaller defenders with hard drives to the rim. But he's not a one-trick pony. He also passes with feel, rebounds, and offers highly versatility defense. Those role player traits could be instantly valuable to the Nuggets, especially since he'll turn 24 as a rookie. Unfortunately, he's still not a reliable shooter, which is the real drawback with this pick after he spent so much time in college due to injuries that extended his stay. But he finally got a full, healthy run at St. John's, regained his explosiveness, and became a pivotal piece on a team that won the Big East title and made a tournament run. And now, he'll try to help Denver get back to contending for championships.
Golden State Warriors
Grade: B-
Round 1: Yaxel Lendeborg (No. 11)
Round 2: Lajae Jones (No. 54)
It's been a brutal year. The Warriors lost Jimmy Butler to a torn ACL and Moses Moody to a torn patellar tendon, watched Steph Curry miss 27 games with knee issues, and finally gave up on Jonathan Kuminga. Golden State has been desperately searching for a young star to extend Curry's championship window, and bridge into whatever comes next. It will be harder to do that here after not getting lucky in the lottery. But maybe the Warriors will find a star: Lendeborg has a compelling story. Poor grades kept him off his high school varsity team. He went to a JUCO. Then UAB. Then he entered the draft, went through the combine, pulled his name back, and came back for one more year at Michigan and won a national championship. He just kept getting better every single time the competition got harder. He fills the stat sheet, he can play multiple positions, and he has a 7-foot-4 wingspan at 240 pounds with a genuine handle. He'll be 24 as a rookie, but that aspect could be appealing to Steve Kerr, who re-signed for a two-year deal. Yaxel comes in ready. Whether his story ends with NBA stardom is still up for debate.
Jones is a switchable wing with an NBA-ready body, connective passing skill, and a mechanically sound shooting stroke. Those traits all make perfect sense for Golden State's system. But shots haven't fallen with any regularity yet despite his soft touch from the line, and the Warriors are still in need of more shooters.
Houston Rockets
Grade: A
Round 2: Bruce Thornton (No. 31)
The Rockets traded up to acquire Thornton from the Knicks, giving them a third small guard alongside Fred VanVleet and Reed Sheppard. Could this make Sheppard, the third pick in 2024, more expendable? Perhaps so, because Thornton is a three-level scorer with playmaking feel and the competitive fire that lifts a locker room. And even though he's short, he weighs 223 pounds and has a 6-foot-5 wingspan. Players with his intangibles can prove to be important to winning teams though. He was a four-year captain at Ohio State, and improved every year on his way to becoming the school's all-time leading scorer.
LA Clippers
Grade: B
Round 1: Keaton Wagler (No. 5)
Round 2: Baba Miller (No. 36), Nick Martinelli (No. 55), Narcisse Ngoy (No. 57)
After weeks of rumblings that the Clippers would trade down, they stayed put and took a guard of the future in Wagler, who stands at 6-5 and can play with or without the ball and proved that last year in college. With only two seasons remaining on Darius Garland's contract, he should not be a factor in their choice here. But Wagler's height does give him a better chance to play alongside Garland.
At Illinois, Wagler quickly became the orchestrator of a high-powered Illinois offense with his high-IQ playmaking and crafty scoring. Then he scored 46 at Purdue against a top-ranked team in the country — the most points by any freshman in Big Ten history. Then he kept rolling, and led the team to an unexpected Final Four appearance. Next to Garland, there'd be less pressure on him to be the man right away, which could be beneficial for his development. To become an NBA star, Wagler needs to overcome a lack of traditional athleticism after logging zero dunks as a freshman. But the best case is that his feel for the game is enough for him to continue ascending.
The Clippers are also building quite the athletic frontcourt after taking Yanic Konan Niederhauser last year, and now Miller, who retains the fluidity that he had growing up playing guard before a late growth spurt. Miller has perimeter skill with the way he can handle in the open floor, make advanced moves, and switch across positions on defense. The big issue, and the main reason why he has spent four years in college, is that he still can't shoot. Unless the Clippers have a fix for that problem, spacing could be tight for the offense.
Martinelli is a 6-7 lefty who hunts mismatches in the post, uses footwork and physicality to compensate for his average athletic profile, and he plays with a fire in his belly. He arrived at Northwestern as a three-star recruit, got notably better in each season, and proceeded to become the back-to-back Big Ten scoring champion. There are no questions about his work ethic. The real concern is about whether he can adapt at the next level when he can't feast on smaller players, and when he'll be targeted on defense. But he's beaten the odds so far and will receive chances to prove he belongs with the Clippers.
Ngoy committed to Auburn after playing professionally in France as a massive 7-footer with a 7-foot-7 wingspan. He's incredibly raw and offers nothing on offense other than highlight-reel-worthy dunks, but he has the size and the athleticism to someday become a high-level rim protector and rebounder.
Los Angeles Lakers
Grade: A-
Round 1: Cameron Carr (No. 24)
Luka Dončić said in a recent interview that he'd ideally like to be paired with shooters that can space the floor so he's not doubled as often. Well, he got his wish here with Carr after the Lakers traded up to the No. 24 pick with the Knicks. You could have watched every Tennessee game for two years and genuinely not known that Carr existed. Then he transferred to Baylor, and led the team in scoring, shot nearly 40% from 3 on high volume, and looked like a 3-and-D role player who also has blossoming skills off the dribble. With NBA genes in his blood, as the son of former player Chris Carr, Cameron has the skills to make it in the NBA. But at 184 pounds with not a ton of games under his belt, he's going to get introduced to the NBA's physicality in a way college basketball never did. The Lakers could use his shooting and creation, though, as another wing on the roster.
This choice was an easy one for the Grizzlies: Just take the best remaining of the top three prospects, and go home happy. And Grizzlies fans should be after landing the most polished player in the class. At 6-foot-8 and 253 pounds, Boozer scores from the post with both footwork and power, hits 40% of his 3s on high volume, and has enough handle to run offense as a point forward. He shifts between those modes based on what the defense gives him, and that adaptability led to a 35-win season at Duke and the Naismith Player of the Year. The worry is that he's not a vertical athlete and the foundation of all that production — overpowering smaller defenders — gets diminished against NBA length. Plus, he's a modern tweener on defense, lacking the explosiveness and size to protect the rim full-time and the lateral quickness to switch onto guards.
But Boozer is at his best defensively when paired with a true center, and he's got one by his side in Zach Edey. With Cedric Coward, Jaylen Wells, and the other young guys in Memphis — plus whatever pieces get dealt for Ja Morant, who league sources say remains likely to get traded — the Grizzlies now have one of the league's best young cores. With the bloodline of two-time All-Star Carlos Boozer, the Grizzlies are betting that skill, adaptability, and a track record of winning at every level all lead to superstardom.
The Grizzlies also got a potential steal in López, who is the best basketball prospect Mexico has ever produced. He left Hermosillo at 14 to play professionally in Barcelona, then at 17 moved to Auckland, New Zealand, where he shined for two years in the NBL Next Stars program. He checks a lot of boxes with his excellent physical tools, a hard-nosed approach, a well-rounded ability to defend multiple positions and handle the ball, and a blossoming shot. But he's thus far more of a jack of all trades since his jumper runs hot and cold and he lacks the burst to blow by defenders off the bounce. Regardless, not every player is drafted with stardom in mind. López has all the requisite skills to enhance a star teammate as a key piece on a winning team.
Saunders might turn 25 years old as a rookie, but he's a hard-nosed, two-way wing who plays with manic energy, hustling around the floor hunting for steals on defense and jumpers on offense. When he appeared on my podcast, he discussed his recovery from a torn ACL that ended his career at BYU and said when he returns to the court he's most looking forward to using a swim move on an opponent to crash the offensive glass — that's exactly the hustle the Grizzlies know they're gonna get from him. He's also skilled, though, with a quick-trigger jumper, soft touch on floaters, and a feel for moving the ball.
With Donte DiVincenzo sidelined due to a torn Achilles, it makes perfect sense for Minnesota to take Evans. He's a legitimate sharpshooter with the off-ball chops to thrive without even running any offense for himself, which is the key playing next to Anthony Edwards. Evans is the kind of shooter that defenses guard and think they've got him contained, then he uses a screen and catches it off a full sprint, moving away from the rim, and he somehow manages to rise into a perfect 3-pointer. But after serving as a shooting specialist as a freshman, he showed off a developing handle as a sophomore which could eventually unlock more creation chances.
Kaufman-Renn is a throwback post hub who bullies smalls, finesses bigs, and passes like a point center. If the Timberwolves are indeed looking to trade Rudy Gobert, then Joan Beringer could be thrust into a starting role and Kaufman-Renn could be forced to play minutes off the bench. But he's a ground-bound tweener who can't shoot and barely blocks shots — he logged only 39 in 147 career college games. He'll have a steep hill to climb to earn the trust of Wolves head coach Chris Finch.
New Orleans Pelicans
Grade: C
Round 2: Jaron Pierre Jr. (No. 58)
The Pelicans made attempts to trade into the first round, and failed to do so, which affects their grade. As for their late second-round choice: Pierre is an athletic wing who scores from all three levels, hits 40% of his catch-and-shoot 3s, and tends to make the right decisions off the dribble. But he needs to put greater effort into his defense to earn minutes in New Orleans for reasons other than his scoring.
Oklahoma City Thunder
Grade: A+
Round 1: Aday Mara (No. 12), Bennett Stirtz (No. 16)
Round 2: Otega Oweh (No. 41)
The entire NBA breathed a sigh of relief when the Thunder didn't move up in the lottery. But then, the player they were targeting ended up falling to them at No. 12 anyway. With this pick, courtesy of the Clippers for Paul George, they add a potentially vital piece for future battles against Victor Wembanyama in Aday Mara. Mara stepped on UCLA's campus as a lottery-projected center from Spain. Then he fell off draft boards during two forgettable seasons there before transferring to Michigan and becoming one of the best true 5s in the country on his way to winning the national championship. He reads the floor like a guard, finishes with both hands, and swats shots with elite timing. The complication is he doesn't shoot from outside, makes below 60% of his free throws, and opponents are going to attack him on the perimeter. The Thunder seemingly have a way of turning shaky shooters into reliable shooters though. If Mara figures out how to shoot, it'll be a nightmare for the NBA. Even if he doesn't, well, the Thunder are already a nightmare.
Four picks later, the Thunder moved up to acquire Stirtz from the Grizzlies, which signals that Sam Presti sees a need to add even more shot-creation depth after they ran out of it in the West finals against San Antonio. Stirtz feels the game at a different frequency than everyone else on the floor, and yet still makes scouts squint because he doesn't look the part athletically. The question isn't whether he can play, though. After transferring from Drake to Iowa, he kept cooking with bull's-eye passes, pump-fakes and shooting touch off the dribble from NBA range. If he adjusts to the physicality and speed of the NBA, he could thrive as both a floor general and off-ball connector.
Oweh made 38% of his catch-and-shoot 3s over his four-year college career. By simply eliminating shots off the dribble, as the Thunder will likely force him to do, he could become a 3-and-D player as a 6-4 wing with a strong frame, versatile defense, and connective passing skills. But there's a chance he taps into a higher level of upside, given his ability to catch fire as a scorer: He had one of the great games of the season with 35/8/7 against Santa Clara in the opening round of March Madness with a buzzer-beater to force overtime. The odds are he'll need to adapt as a role player, and that alone would be a win for Oklahoma City.
Phoenix Suns
Grade: B-
Round 1: Koa Peat (No. 30)
The Suns traded into the first round to select Peat, who played both high school and college ball in Arizona. Peat's bloodline is so loaded with offensive linemen that it's almost funny he ended up playing basketball. His father played nine NFL seasons. His uncle was a Pro Bowl tackle. Two brothers played college ball on the line. And you can absolutely see it in how he plays: powerful, physical, relentless, and it genuinely takes something special to stop him from getting to where he wants to go. He opened the season with a 30-point game against defending champion Florida and backed it up as one of Arizona's best players all year on its way to the Final Four. But since Peat can't shoot yet, it'll be important that he's paired with a floor-spacing center. Or he could serve as a small-ball center in switchable lineups.
Portland Trail Blazers
Grade: Inc.
Round 1: None
Round 2: None
Sacramento Kings
Grade: A
Round 1: Darius Acuff (No. 7), Alex Karaban (No. 29)
Round 2: Emanuel Sharp (No. 45)
Credit to the Kings front office for correctly calling the bluff by the Clippers and Nets, both of whom were rumored to threaten taking Acuff to force the Kings to move up in the draft. But Sacramento stuck with this spot and was rewarded with the guard the front office wanted all along in Acuff, a wiry scorer who can get a bucket from anywhere on the floor with a quick trigger, slippery handle, and a feel for manipulating defenses. After entering college with the reputation of a ball hog, he changed that and emerged as a skilled, low-turnover playmaker who sprayed the ball around the floor and put in significant effort moving off-ball. So while he is not the biggest guard or the most explosive athlete, he reads defenses like someone who's been in the league for a decade. He still needs to make dramatic improvements on defense, though, as he was one of the worst defenders in college basketball last season. Kings general manager Scott Perry and assistant general manager B.J. Armstrong were both born and raised in Detroit. So is Acuff. Perry coached Acuff's father at Eastern Kentucky in the late 1990s. So there is a lot connecting Acuff to this organization, and here he'll get a chance to become the savior of the franchise.
The Kings aren't winning games right now, but with Acuff and an aggressive trade into the first round for Karaban, they have two guys who can help set the franchise on that path again. Karaban makes defenses pay the moment they relax on him. He relocates for a 3, cuts when nobody's watching, and does everything efficiently. He's a similarly high-effort, high-IQ player on the defensive end, which helps him overcome his average athleticism. But he'll be 24 as a rookie, and hasn't shown much upside. He rarely shoots off the dribble because of his funky mechanics. So if his role-player skills are slow to translate, his margin for error is narrower than for most.
Sharp's calling card is his shooting ability. He can catch fire from 3-point range and be utilized as a weapon off screens. He plays with a high IQ even though he isn't a primary shot creator as well. On defense, he plays extremely hard to help compensate for the fact he's on the smaller side at only 6-3. Sharp should serve as a great spark off the bench behind Acuff for Sacramento.
Round 2: Ja'Kobi Gillespie (No. 42), Maliq Brown (No. 44)
If there's any team that's going to take a big, big swing, it's San Antonio. Remember when Victor Wembanyama was drafted and there were rumblings the Spurs had interest in Brook Lopez? Quaintance isn't exactly the same type of big man, but picking him here does suggest the Spurs have a vision for playing more two-big lineups, whether Quaintance is sharing the floor with Wemby or coming off the bench alongside Luke Kornet. As a freshman at Arizona State, he was blocking everything in sight, showing defensive instincts and mobility that players his size aren't supposed to have, and he was 17 years old doing it. Then came the ACL, the meniscus, the fractured knee, the transfer to Kentucky, persistent swelling, a shutdown for the remainder of his sophomore season, and an inability to fully work out for teams during the predraft phase. At some point, someone was gonna take a swing on him, though, and it's hard to fault the Spurs for swinging for the fences here.
The Spurs moved up from the No. 35 pick with a trade with Denver and went big again by selecting Reed. With Wembanyama looking fatigued in the NBA Finals, maybe the Spurs saw reason to bolster the frontcourt rotation to alleviate the load off him. We could also see far more two-big lineups in the future so Wemby doesn't need to handle every bruising battle in the paint. Reed is a throwback center who played at his best on the biggest stage on UConn's way to the national title game. He does all the dirty work inside the paint as a finisher, rebounder and shot-blocker. But beyond his ability to screen and pass, he isn't all too comfortable on the perimeter as a shooter or defender. So there are questions about his upside, especially since he'll be 23 as a rookie.
Gillespie offers a totally different style to the San Antonio backcourt as a spark plug who comes off the bench, fires jumpers and reliably runs the offense. The NBA's track record with guards his size is the obvious concern, but anyone who shoots like Gillespie and processes the game at his level deserves a real chance. And if there's any team that can compensate for a small guard, it's the Spurs simply by having Wembanyama on the floor.
San Antonio added more size in the frontcourt with Brown, who guards all five positions and has both the length and IQ to anchor the defense when he's on the floor. As a 6-foot-8 senior, he was named ACC Sixth Man of the Year and won the Lefty Driesell Award as the nation's top defender. With Quaintance likely to redshirt his entire rookie season due to an upcoming knee surgery, Brown could help fill that versatility role early in his career. But he's not a guarantee to make it since he struggles to shoot the ball, making him a hard offensive fit.
Utah Jazz
Grade: A
Round 1: Darryn Peterson (No. 2)
As much as Jazz owner and BYU alum/donor Ryan Smith might have wanted to keep Dybantsa in Utah, it could end up for the best to land Peterson, who is a buttery smooth scorer with a blend of fluid body control and positional size that gives him the ingredients to become an elite NBA player. At the high school level, he was a dynamic playmaker who used his burst to get into the teeth of defenses and generate buckets for himself and his teammates, while also showing off the kind of shot-making that draws comparisons to Hall of Famers. At Kansas, he thrived in an off-ball role, stroking jumpers out of movement actions and showing he can scale up or down depending on what a roster needs.
Peterson will join a talented young group featuring Ace Bailey, Cody Williams, Brice Sensabaugh, and Keyonte George, so his ability to shine with and without the ball will be highly valuable. The concern isn't his game. It's his body. He missed 11 of 35 games and pulled himself out of others due to cramping, which he claims are due to taking creatine. But it's hard to imagine a better situation for Peterson. Even when he isn't scoring, he's a high-impact defender who causes chaos off-ball and has the 6-foot-11 wingspan to switch screens. Now he'll have support around him with All-Stars Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. in the frontcourt, and the aforementioned blossoming young talents. The Jazz are actually pretty stacked on paper, especially if Walker Kessler re-signs and stays healthy next year. All this talent means that Peterson won't have to play savior, and, like Bailey last year, can ease into his NBA routine as a rookie.
Terrion Arnold was the 24th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft [Getty Images]
Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold was arrested in Tampa, Florida, on Wednesday in connection with an alleged kidnapping and armed robbery.
According to Tampa Police, investigators believe that Arnold was the "primary conspirator" in a "targeted armed robbery" of three adult males in their late teens on 4 February.
Three days earlier, Arnold and others had multiple items of personal property worth more than $250,000 (£190,000) stolen from an Airbnb that he had been renting in Largo, Florida.
Police say Arnold, 23, suspected that two of the three victims were responsible.
The NFL player and some of the six co-defendants lured them to an apartment in Tampa, where the three teenagers were "battered, held at gunpoint, and pistol-whipped before their personal property was stolen and they were ordered to leave", according to the police report.
It also says that one of the defendants streamed the incident to Arnold and two others as they were travelling to the apartment, and that a group chat was created where directions were given during the assault.
The victims reported it to Tampa Police and positively identified the suspects, while investigators also determined that they were not involved in the Airbnb theft.
Six males were arrested between 4 February and 21 March in relation to the alleged kidnapping.
Arnold turned himself in on Wednesday and was taken into custody. He faces four counts of kidnapping and four counts of armed robbery.
The Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office said the charges carry a potential sentence of up to life in prison.
Denise White, chief executive of Arnold's representatives EAG Sports Management, said: "There is no credible evidence linking Mr Arnold to these allegations.
"Instead, the government appears to be relying on testimony from multiple convicted felons who have admitted their own involvement and may have substantial incentives to shift blame in an effort to lessen their sentences.
"Mr Arnold looks forward to his day in court and is confident that the judicial process will lead to his ultimate vindication."
The Detroit Lions, for whom Arnold has played in 24 games since being a first-round draft pick in 2024, issued a brief statement.
"We are aware of the legal situation regarding Terrion Arnold," it read. "We will not comment at this time out of respect for the ongoing legal process."
Chris Cohen and Tom Shaw were part of the coaching team that got Lincoln City promoted to the Championship [Getty Images]
"Who's going to make the subs? It's what everyone says to us."
Even before the subject could be raised, Chris Cohen knew exactly what would be asked of him and Tom Shaw after the pair of them took on the Lincoln City head coach job as a double act.
Managing in tandem remains a peculiarity despite it being far from unique in the English game - with high-profile joint-bosses employed at Liverpool and Tottenham in the 1990s after the twosome of John Sillett and George Curtis delivered FA Cup glory for Coventry City in 1987.
Still, Cohen readily acknowledges that "from the outside looking in, it's not normal".
But while it might not be the "normal situation", as Cohen freely doubled down on when talking about how it might work, the former Nottingham Forest and West Ham midfielder is confident about the jobshare arrangement.
As far as the two of them are concerned, stepping up together to replace Michael Skubala - who left to take over at Championship rivals Bristol City - was natural after working together as assistant coaches under their predecessor.
"We feel like it is really normal and we just continue to do what we did last year with a few added bits, or a lot of added bits, that Michael did," Cohen told BBC Radio Lincolnshire.
Shaw adds that there will be parts of the combined role that he and Cohen will have to learn to get to grips with as they take a unique approach to leading Lincoln into their first season in the second tier for 65 years.
"There are obvious bits that we do extra now, and we will share that out," Shaw said.
"Over time, we'll decide who's a little bit better or a little bit more appropriate for certain parts of the role, but the football side will be very similar, if not the same.
"We're going into a higher challenge on the football pitch, which is going to be tough at times, but also really exciting."
Shaw and Cohen, both 39, played a major part in Lincoln's promotion in 2025-26 as assistant coaches who regularly oversaw training sessions and led in meetings.
Helping get the Imps up as League One title winners, with a points tally of 103, was the crowning achievement for a tightly-bound coaching team that was knitted together by Skubala.
And that is why both Cohen and Shaw reacted with "excitement" when the idea of taking over as joint head coaches was presented to them by the club's hierarchy.
"We've become incredibly close over the last few years, driving in together, and I spend a lot more time with Tom than I do with my wife," Cohen said.
"We've had an unbelievable journey together as a pair of coaches.
"The club's been incredible to us from day one - me for three years and Tom for nine years - and the journey that we all went on together last year as a footy club was amazing.
"We're just hopeful that we can continue to progress the club as best we can."
Shaw also says the years spent together, on the training pitch and while carpooling, have fostered a profound understanding of one another.
"We know what each other looks for in a football team, in a football player, in a training session," Shaw said.
"We trust each other a lot - trust each other in our decision making, trust each other as blokes and as men."
'We'll stand together'
And so, how does that trust, understanding and the title-winning contributions they made as assistant coaches together help when it comes to making the the call during a game on what player might be called upon for a sustituation?
Turns out that the answer might be about disagreeing at times.
"We do agree with the way football should look, we agree with loads of principles, and loads of behaviours, but we clash all the time," Cohen said.
"We sit in this room and we clash from Monday to Friday on what the right thing is to do, but the moment that we walk out of this room we're united on that decision, and we'll stick by it.
"From the outside looking in it doesn't feel logical but, when you actually talk through and walk through what we do, it is completely logical, and we just make the best decisions together.
"We're going to get loads wrong and hopefully get loads right, but we'll do it together we'll stand together - and if it's right, we'll live it together and if it's wrong, we'll live it together.
"There's not going to be a point where I'm going say 'Tom did this and I thought this' or anything like that, it's just never been in our nature.
"We'll back each other to the hilt and we back the group to the hilt."
Okorie scored 23.2 points per game (tied for sixth in the nation) in his lone college season (31 games), while shooting 46.5% from the field, 35.4% from 3 on 5.7 tries a game and 83.2% on 7.3 free-throw attempts per game. He dished 3.6 assists for the Cardinal (20-13), which finished ninth in the ACC and missed the NCAA Tournament.
Okorie will be sitting beside Trajan Langdon, the Pistons' third-year president of basketball operations, as they answer questions from the media. (Langdon now turns his sole focus to free agency and the trade market; the NBA's free agency negotiation window opens next Tuesday, June 30, at 6 p.m. ET.)
In the mean time, will bring you live updates with quotes from the scene at the Pistons' practice facility in midtown, beginning at 11 a.m. You can watch the press conference in the video at the top of the page.
Okorie scored 23.2 points per game (tied for sixth in the nation) in his lone college season (31 games), while shooting 46.5% from the field, 35.4% from 3 on 5.7 tries a game and 83.2% on 7.3 free-throw attempts per game. He dished 3.6 assists for the Cardinal (20-13), which finished ninth in the ACC and missed the NCAA Tournament.
Okorie will be sitting beside Trajan Langdon, the Pistons' third-year president of basketball operations, as they answer questions from the media. (Langdon now turns his sole focus to free agency and the trade market; the NBA's free agency negotiation window opens next Tuesday, June 30, at 6 p.m. ET.)
In the mean time, will bring you live updates with quotes from the scene at the Pistons' practice facility in midtown, beginning at 11 a.m. You can watch the press conference in the video at the top of the page.
Okorie scored 23.2 points per game (tied for sixth in the nation) in his lone college season (31 games), while shooting 46.5% from the field, 35.4% from 3 on 5.7 tries a game and 83.2% on 7.3 free-throw attempts per game. He dished 3.6 assists for the Cardinal (20-13), which finished ninth in the ACC and missed the NCAA Tournament.
Okorie will be sitting beside Trajan Langdon, the Pistons' third-year president of basketball operations, as they answer questions from the media. (Langdon now turns his sole focus to free agency and the trade market; the NBA's free agency negotiation window opens next Tuesday, June 30, at 6 p.m. ET.)
In the mean time, will bring you live updates with quotes from the scene at the Pistons' practice facility in midtown, beginning at 11 a.m. You can watch the press conference in the video at the top of the page.
Shortly after Izaiyah Nelson learned Wednesday night he had been selected by the Magic in the second round of the NBA draft, the University of South Florida senior couldn’t contain his excitement.
On a phone call with team officials, including president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman, Nelson said he planned on driving from Tampa to Orlando on Thursday morning with the intention of beating them into the building for workouts at the AdventHealth Training Center.
“He’s just about the work,” Weltman said about the No. 51 pick in a phone interview following the draft. “He’s a breath of fresh air in that most of the time when you’re looking through the draft lens, you’re looking at younger guys who are really going to need to develop personal routines and habits.
“And Izaiyah comes in really mature, understanding that it’s going to take a lot of work for him to get to where he wants to get, understanding that winning comes before all else,” Weltman added. “I think he’s got a lot of that stuff that he brings with him that you don’t have to kind of wait on and develop and hope that he finds it.”
Orlando entered the second round only with the No. 46 pick, but later completed a three-team trade with Washington and Milwaukee that netted the Magic both Nelson at No. 51 from the Wizards and cash considerations from the Bucks.
As part of the deal, Washington acquired the draft rights to University of Tennessee forward Felix Okpara (No. 46), while Milwaukee acquired the draft rights to Malique Lewis (No. 60), who played for the South East Melbourne Phoenix of the Australian National Basketball League.
Nelson stood out to Orlando because of his ability to impact the game on both ends of the court. The 6-foot-9 forward, who turns 23 on Oct. 1, became the first player in American Athletic Conference history to be named the league’s player of the year, defensive player of the year and newcomer of the year when he transferred to USF after three years at Arkansas State.
The Marietta, Ga. native, who helped the Bulls earn their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2012, recorded the ninth-most double-doubles in the country (18) and ranked 18th nationally in rebounding (9.6 rebounds per game) this past season.
But where does Nelson fit into Orlando’s plans moving forward under new head coach Sean Sweeney? That remains unclear.
While he’s proven to impact the game in more ways than one, he doesn’t help the Magic in a dire area of need: 3-point shooting. As a senior at USF, he shot 14.3% from distance on 1.4 long-range attempts per game.
Still, he led the AAC in field-goal percentage (56.1%), while averaging 15.9 points per contest. Nelson also boasts a massive 7-foot-2 wingspan and has been heralded for playing with a relentless motor by chasing after loose balls, crashing the glass and outworking opponents.
“I think it’s too soon to talk about stuff like that,” Weltman said about Nelson’s fit on the Magic. “Obviously, we’ve got a roster full of talented players and we have to figure out how that’s all going to work with Sean. There’s a long way to go before we kind of get to the end of summer and understand what our team looks like.
“But most importantly (Wednesday night), it’s about just bringing in talent, character, toughness and integrity, and we’ll figure the rest out as we go,” Weltman added.
As a late second-round pick, it also wasn’t immediately clear which type of contract Nelson will sign with the franchise.
The Magic enter the summer with three standard contract roster spots open and two of three two-way contracts available, but not much room financially to add to the roster through free agency compared to the past. That’s because Orlando has signed key young players, such as Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs, to large rookie extensions in recent years.
Two-way players go between the NBA and the G League, but they’re limited to being active for just 50 NBA games and can’t play in the playoffs. Nelson wouldn’t face those restrictions if he signed a standard contract.
Orlando signed last year’s second-round pick Noah Penda to a standard contract, but he was picked 19 spots higher (No. 32) than Nelson was Wednesday.
“These days you want to leave yourself as flexible as possible and obviously different commitments have different financial implications. So as we piece together the roster, we’ll make sense of all of that,” Weltman said when asked by the Orlando Sentinel if Nelson would sign a standard contract or a two-way deal. “It all kind of fits together.
“But the most important thing for us is we just want to get him in the gym soon, get him working with our guys and getting to know our organization,” Weltman added.
Nelson will hit the court soon for Las Vegas Summer League, which runs July 9-19 out west. The second-round pick will be joined by last year’s pair of Magic draft picks, Jase Richardson and the French forward Penda, Weltman confirmed.
Regardless of what the future holds for Nelson, it’s clear why the Magic made a move to draft him Wednesday night.
“This guy is a worker,” Weltman said. “He’s tough. He’s a hit-first guy. He’s about self-improvement. He’s about winning above everything else. (A) monster competitor, monster athlete.
“Just the kind of guy you want to bring into an organization.”
Alabama basketball guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. has reportedly signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the NBA's Charlotte Hornets, per The Charlotte Observer's Rod Boone.
As a result, Wrightsell, who went undrafted in the 2026 NBA draft, will now join Charlotte where he will compete for a roster spot with the Hornets this offseason. This will also likely include Wrightsell playing for Charlotte during the NBA's upcoming Summer League.
Wrightsell spent the last three seasons at Alabama after transferring from Cal State Fullerton, starting in 36-of-66 games played. Over those three seasons combined, Wrightsell averaged 11 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.7 assists a game, all while shooting 40% from three-point range.
The veteran guard was also a combined 85.7% free throw shooter during his time in Tuscaloosa.
Wrightsell was one-of-three Alabama players to go undrafted in the 2026 NBA draft, joined by Houston Mallette and Noah Williamson. Labaron Philon Jr. was Alabama's lone player selected, coming off the board at pick No. 22 overall to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion.
We are back in the NFC South for our all-time divisional rankings, and this time we'll be ranking the division's all-time leading rushers by yardage. While the NFC South was once known for its elite quarterback play and high-powered passing attacks, the division has also been home to some of the most underrated running backs in NFL history. Many of these players brought a tremendous amount of versatility out of the backfield, making an impact both as runners and receivers.
Interestingly enough, a current New Orleans Saints player sits just 68 rushing yards shy of claiming the No. 1 spot on this list and is the only active player within the division among the top ten rushers in NFC South history.
A quarterback also finds his name among the division's rushing leaders. Widely regarded as one of the most dynamic players to ever play the position, he changed the way the game viewed quarterback mobility and helped pave the way for the modern dual-threat stars we see today.
So many talented individuals dominated the ground game for years, etching their names into NFC South history. Whether it was through power, speed, vision, or versatility, each of these players left a lasting mark on their franchise and the division as a whole.
Here's our ranking of the all-time leading rushers in NFC South history.
10. RB Christian McCaffery, Carolina Panthers (2017-2022): 3,980 yards
Seven of them—Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Germany, Spain and Uruguay—are in North America chasing another trophy.
The eighth, Italy, has the summer off. Its absence is deeply felt in the United States and causing political shockwaves at home.
Winners in 1934, 1938, 1982 and 2006, Italy is as much a part of the history of the World Cup as Brazil or Argentina. Benito Mussolini’s hijacking of the 1934 tournament established the template for how soccer could achieve political goals. Marco Tardelli’s iconic celebration in the 1982 final remains spine-tingling. Luciano Pavarotti’s gargantuan rendition of Nessun Dorma in Rome, alongside Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras, is a contender for the moment that contemporary soccer was born. At a World Cup mostly hosted by a country where 5% of the population claims Italian ancestry, the team’s absence leaves a cultural, as well as a sporting, void.
“There’s no logical explanation for it,” Philadelphia restaurant owner Riccardo Longo tells Front Office Sports. “They just choked.”
Italy caused a sensation by missing out on the 2018 World Cup, losing a two-legged play-off to Sweden. They fell at the same hurdle in 2022, denied by North Macedonia. This time around, they finished second in their qualifying group behind Erling Haaland’s Norway. They overcame Northern Ireland in the first playoff round but then lost on penalties to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Missing out on a third consecutive World Cup caused outrage. The head of the Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (FIGC, the governing body), Gabriele Gravina, resigned, followed by the head of the national team delegation, Gianluigi Buffon, and the coach, Gennaro Gattuso.
It has also led to a very different World Cup for Italian restaurants, bars, and coffee shops across North America this summer.
‘The big four are soccer, soccer, soccer, and soccer’
Longo opened Gran Caffé L’Aquila in Center City in 2014. It quickly became the home for Italian soccer fans in Philadelphia. “We always joke that in America there are four major sports: baseball, basketball, football and hockey. In Italy, the big four are soccer, soccer, soccer and soccer,” he tells FOS. In 2021 Italy qualified for that summer’s European Championships. The Azzurri reached the final against England, making it the national team’s biggest match since the 2006 World Cup final. Longo hosted a watch-party. “We had to get security around the building because there were too many people trying to get in. We have a maximum capacity of 200 and it was just pandemonium.” Italy won on penalties and a giant party ensued.
Prior to the 2022 World Cup, Longo was granted permission by the city of Philadelphia to shut down a city block and rig up a giant screen to show all of Italy’s games. Those parties never happened. “We were going to do it again this year, but we decided not to ask too far ahead of time as we didn’t want to jinx it,” he laughs ruefully.
REUTERS/Antonio Denti
In Boston’s North End, peppered with Italian restaurants, Caffe dello Sport has broadcast Italian soccer matches for decades. “We were known for showing these games because they weren’t easy to find,” explains owner Mivan Spencer. His grandfather, Angelo Cattaneo, bought the café in 1991. “We had these two giant satellite dishes on the roof.”
Spencer has also felt the absence of the Azzurri keenly. When Italy has a World Cup game “the entire neighborhood changes,” he tells FOS. “It becomes a sea of blue on Hanover Street. People come hours and hours before kick-off and parade down the streets. The restaurants and cafes are full. There are people selling shirts. It just creates this whole different atmosphere that is just missing this time around.”
In New York, Irishman Kieron Slattery runs Smithfield Hall, a cavernous soccer bar in Midtown Manhattan that is home to fan groups affiliated to dozens of clubs and national teams. “Normally all the houses would have ‘Forza Azzurri’ flags outside and there would be constant chatter about the games. The kids would be playing ball on the streets. There would be huge outdoor watch events on 18th Avenue. But this year, it’s all quiet.” Slattery notes that Italy is not the only notable absentee. “We have a World Cup in New York City without Italy, Ireland, Poland and Jamaica. Urgh.” (Ireland and Poland came painfully close to qualifying.)
Longo believes that “there’s a very large segment of Italians that have just tuned out because they are too depressed.”
But there is one team that stands to benefit: He thinks another chunk of the Italian-American population is supporting the resurgent Americans. Spencer in Boston concurs.
‘You can always tell the difference’
In Italy, a rebuilding process has begun. On June 22nd FIGC members elected Giovanni Malago as its new president. Malago was most recently the head of the local organising committee of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
Malago inherits an unusual situation. Italy does not have a bad team. It is still ranked inside the top 20 of the FIFA rankings. “The overall quality of Italian football is pretty high,” argues Lorenzo Benotti, editor of a popular website, Football Italia. “And it is definitely higher than some of the European teams that have qualified for the World Cup.”
Courtesy Riccardo Longo
The chaotic result against Bosnia and Herzegovina, which saw defender Alessandro Bastoni sent off in the first half and two of the three Italians miss their penalties, suggested a complex had taken hold. “The approach to the Bosnia game was too fearful,” according to Benotti.
He is also doubtful that Malogo will institute a new era for Italian football, noting that Gravina had been elected almost unanimously just a year before. The FIGC’s first item of business is to appoint a new coach before qualification begins for the 2028 European Championships. Hinting at the sense of stasis, the two leading contenders, Roberto Mancini and Antonio Conte, have both held the role before.
In the meantime, Italian-owned bars and cafes in the U.S. will keep pulling up the shutters, screening the games and serving the Koreans, Colombians, Brazilians, and Scots that have filled the Azzurri-sized gap. But in Boston at least, it’s not quite the same, Spencer says.
“You can always tell the difference when there’s an Italy game on and when there isn’t.”
Tom Brady was seen at MetLife Stadium watching Brazil take on Morocco earlier in this World Cup, and he confirmed he will be in attendance for the World Cup Final.
Brady and his daughter went viral for a handshake while they were cheering on Brazil. Brady's ex-wife, Gisele Bündchen, is Brazilian and he shares two kids with her, Vivian and Benjamin. Brady also posted a picture with three Brazilian flag emojis on his Instagram story on the day of the match.
The World Cup final is set to take place at MetLife Stadium on July 19, and Brady plans to be there with Michael Rubin. Rubin and Brady are good friends. Rubin is the founder of Fanatics.
"I had all three of my kids and I sat with my buddy Michael Rubin, who's a great buddy of mine," Brady said of his experience watching Brazil's opening match during an appearance on "Stick to Football." "We're going to be at the World Cup final together here in New Jersey."
The former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback is an avid sports fan and has been seen at major sporting events plenty of times after his playing days. It's worth noting that the World Cup is being broadcast on FOX, the same network Brady currently works for.
Roma turn down €50 million offers for Svilar and Wesley
Roma doesn’t want to sell off their strongest players just to meet the settlement agreement by June 30th.
Gian Piero Gasperini needs to raise the team’s quality to avoid a poor showing in the Champions League and improve on last season’s third-place finish.
This is why the Giallorossi have built a wall around Svilar and Wesley.
Two pillars of the future Roma, two players considered essential by the Grugliasco-born coach.
Wesley and Svilar have attracted interest from major clubs, willing to invest in them.
As reported by Corriere dello Sport, Chelsea had made a determined move for the Brazilian winger, only to change their focus and focus on Atalanta’s Palestra after Roma’s resounding refusal.
The 2003-born player is not on the market: Manchester City received the same response when they sought information on the player. The Roman club made the same move with Mile Svilar.
Chelsea once again expressed concrete interest: €50 million to release the goalkeeper, who, for the second consecutive year, has been named Serie A’s best goalkeeper.
The offer was rejected. Wesley and Svilar could have brought Roma a figure close to €100 million, a huge temptation that Roma rejected.
Sweden Role Offers Liverpool A Look At Different Isak Role
Isak Finds Sweden Spark After Liverpool Frustration
Alexander Isak has arrived at the World Cup carrying baggage from Liverpool, but, for now, Sweden are seeing the version of him that Anfield spent £125m hoping to inherit.
Isak has started the tournament brightly after a difficult first season with Liverpool. A goal and two assists in Sweden’s 5-1 win over Tunisia, followed by an assist in the 5-1 defeat to Holland, have at least changed the mood around a player whose club campaign never truly caught fire.
Sweden Focus Clears Isak’s Mind
Isak’s Liverpool season was messy. Four goals and one assist in 22 appearances was nowhere near the return expected after a British record move from Newcastle United. Fitness problems disrupted him, rhythm escaped him, and judgement came quickly.
With Sweden, though, the conversation is different. Isak says the two worlds are separate. As quoted by the Liverpool Echo.
Photo: IMAGO
“Club team and national team are two very separate things. When I joined the national team, I had absolutely no thoughts about anything other than Sweden and the World Cup.
“It’s clear that it’s nice to have a good World Cup, and you want to do it even better all the time. I feel like I’m in a good place now. And hopefully I can continue to do well.
“Now I feel good, very good. But it’s hard to put your finger on what your maximum is, you never know. But I have nothing to complain about right now when it comes to my physical status.”
Liverpool Questions Remain
That physical line matters. Isak’s first 90-minute appearance in more than a year came against Tunisia, and that alone gives Liverpool something to cling to. The talent was never really the issue. The concern was availability, sharpness and whether his body could withstand the demands of Premier League football.
For Liverpool, the World Cup offers both reassurance and frustration. Reassurance because Isak looks fresher, sharper and more involved. Frustration because this version appeared too rarely during his debut season at Anfield.
Gyokeres Partnership Offers Clues
His work with Viktor Gyokeres has also been intriguing. Isak has played in a slightly deeper role, connecting attacks rather than constantly running beyond defenders.
“It’s felt good. It’s worked well in the matches. It’s clear that you’re a bit more of a playmaker, playing others forward instead of being the one making the deep runs yourself. But I’m enjoying it there.
“We are two talented players who want the best for the team. We get along really well, just like the whole team.”
That may interest Liverpool. If Isak can operate between lines, link play and still arrive in dangerous areas, his value to Andoni Iraola becomes more layered.
Anfield Patience Still Needed
Liverpool supporters will naturally wonder whether this Sweden form can travel back to Merseyside. One strong World Cup group stage does not erase a poor season, nor should it define his future.
Yet Isak sounds calm, fit and free of the noise that followed him at club level. For Liverpool, that might be the most encouraging part of all.
Leny Yoro or Ayden Heaven: who has the higher ceiling? Gary Pallister’s verdict
Manchester United have two incredibly talented young centre-backs in Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven, but which of them has the higher ceiling? It is a question that fans continue to debate in the pubs and on social media.
In 2024, Yoro was snapped up by United for a fee of around £52 million, a remarkable sum for an 18-year-old centre-back. Such was the reputation he carried already at that age.
Heaven was also considered quite a coup. A year younger, the Red Devils snapped him up for £1.5 million when he refused to sign professional terms with Arsenal.
With Harry Maguire nearing the end of his career and both Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez prone to injury, United will come to rely more and more on the young pair.
But after a difficult season for Yoro and just a handful of matches under Heaven’s belt, the question remains: which of the two is more likely to succeed at Old Trafford? There are few more qualified to tackle this difficult topic than a club legend in the same position, Gary Pallister, who believes that success may not necessarily depend on who has the greater amount of raw talent.
Pallister, speaking exclusively to The Peoples Person in association with Spreadex Sports, warned:
“Certainly, Leny’s had a tough season. I thought that the end of the season before, he really learned how to deal with the Premier League, and I thought he was starting to look like a player, but he’s taken a backward step last year.”
“Ayden Heaven’s done okay;” he continued. “I still think he’s got a little bit to learn, making the right decisions in games.”
Reputations
“Leny came with a big reputation,” Pallister explained. “Real Madrid were also in for Leny Yoro. So the expectancy on him was a lot bigger.”
“But they both have got high expectations. Obviously, Ayden came from Arsenal. And they weren’t too pleased to lose him.”
“The bar’s been set quite high for the two of them, and they’ve got to try and reach that bar. So, you know, [it’s a question of ] who grasps it first, really”
The higher ceiling
We pressed Pallister on which of the pair he thinks has the higher ceiling.
“Leny might have the better attributes;” he admitted. “That doesn’t always make you the better center-half. So maybe there’s more scope for Leny to be that player that everybody expected him to be.”
“But I think it’s too tight to call really. They’ve both shown that they can handle the Premier League at times, but again, it’s down to experience and playing games and then the trust of the manager.”
Carrick’s assessment of Yoro mirrors that of another legendary centre-back, Rio Ferdinand, who discussed the Frenchman’s progress in an interview this week.
McFarland made his ace at Chippewa Golf Club just outside Toledo earlier this week by knocking in a driver from 135 yards out. And did he celebrate his impressive accomplishment? Your damn right he did. Have a look:
A beer AND a cigarette in hand by the time you pluck your golf ball out of the hole is amazing stuff. That guy was ready to rock.
And apparently, he kept up the good play as well. As you can see, Lee also shot his age.
Just an absolute legend. Hope the party is still going, Lee.
MUMBAI: The two T20Is against India will begin at 1.30 pm local time, which is 6 pm IST, in a bid to avoid an overlap with the crucial India versus Australia clash in the 2026 Women's World Cup at Lord's on Sunday, it is learnt.
"It was simply a factor we considered," a Cricket Ireland official told TOI on Thursday. Normally, T20 internationals involving India start at 7 pm IST, but on this occasion the start time has been advanced by an hour to account for Harmanpreet Kaur & Co's key game against Australia in the Women's World Cup, which is scheduled to begin at 7 pm IST. The two-match T20I series between India and Ireland in Belfast will involve games on Friday and Sunday.
The five T20Is in England that follow immediately after the Ireland series have varying start times. Three games, in Chester-le-Street, Nottingham and Bristol, are scheduled to begin at 10 pm IST. While two of the matches will begin at the traditional 7 pm IST slot, the second T20I in Manchester on July 4 and the fifth in Southampton on July 11, the T20I series will be followed by three ODIs, all of which are slated to begin at the customary 3.30 pm IST.
This is the first time that India will play T20Is in Belfast. In 2007, they played three ODIs against South Africa and one against Ireland in Belfast. In recent years, however, India have toured only Dublin, where they have played six T20Is, two each in 2018, 2022 and 2023, winning all six matches.
The T20I series in Ireland could be historic as India's 15-year-old batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who received his maiden India call-up for the T20I series against Ireland and England, could make his highly anticipated international debut. The series will also mark the India captaincy debut of Mumbai and Punjab Kings middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer.
Former India leg-spinner MV Narsimha Rao, who played four Tests in 1978-79 and later moved to Ireland, will ring the ceremonial bell just before the second T20I between India and Ireland at the Stormont Cricket Ground in Belfast on June 28 (Sunday). Rao captained Hyderabad to only their second Ranji Trophy title, defeating Delhi in the 1987-88 final. Popularly known in cricketing circles as 'Bobjee', Rao moved to Ireland 38 years ago, in 1988.
After passing on Arkansas star Darius Acuff Jr. in Round 1 of the NBA Draft, a popular New York City sports host hilariously explained why the Brooklyn Nets need to fold up shop and cease operations as an NBA franchise.
While the Nets had Julius “Dr. J” Erving and Jason Kidd wear their jersey at the height of their powers, the franchise is known as a bottom-feeder team throughout its history. Since 1967, the team has had just 23 winning years. That means they have done a lot of losing during an existence that includes no NBA titles. A key reason is the countless bad decisions during the draft.
In what has been an unofficial tradition for decades, the Nets were once again in the top 10 of this week’s event. Following a 20-win campaign in 2025-26, the team chose to use the sixth overall pick on Tuesday night on Louisville star Mikel Brown Jr. Certainly not a bad pick, but not the one the New York Post’s Adam Schein believes they should have made.
Adam Schein makes the case for the Brooklyn Nets to shutter operations
The long-time radio and television host believes the Nets should have taken Darius Acuff Jr., a John Calipari product with an explosive and exciting playing style. Brooklyn’s decision this week was seemingly the last straw for him, as he offered a bold idea: The Nets should end as a franchise.
“The Brooklyn Nets should fold the franchise. Get out of the basketball business. Sell ice cream, sell bicycles, do something else,” Schein said. ” Clearly, this organization has no idea what the hell they’re doing. Get out of town. I don’t want to see the Brooklyn Nets in New York City ever again. They are an embarrassment to sports, the NBA, and the great state of New York.”
Obviously, the Nets are going nowhere, but the video is worth a watch and encapsulates the decades-long frustration of onlookers of the team. It also doesn’t help that Brooklyn made not one, not two, not three, but four picks in Round 1 of last year’s draft. A draft that ended up being much better than many expected, but not because of anyone the Nets selected.
“If you know a Brooklyn Nets fan, just give them a hug,” said Schein.
Chris Evert on June 10, 2026 Credit: Manny Carabel/WireImage
NEED TO KNOW
Chris Evert says she has undergone surgery after an abnormal scan that suggested cancer may have returned
The tennis legend was first diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2021 and underwent a preventive double mastectomy in 2022
Evert has been on the road promoting a new Netflix documentary featuring her and friend Martina Navratilova
Chris Evert has undergone surgery after an abnormal scan showed that her cancer may have returned.
The tennis legend, 71, was supposed to be in London for Wimbledon and for an event tied to the release of the new Netflix documentary Chris & Martina: The Final Set, featuring her and her longtime friend and rival Martina Navratilova. Instead, she stayed in Florida and had exploratory surgery Tuesday afternoon.
“Unexpectedly, a recent, routine CT scan was abnormal, suggesting the ovarian cancer may be back. Surgery is recommended for further treatment,” she said on Tuesday, June 23 before leaving for the hospital, according to The Athletic. She told the outlet that it wasn't yet clear what her recovery or treatment would look like.
The three-time Wimbledon champion was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2021, less than two years after losing her sister to the disease. In 2022 she underwent a preventive double mastectomy after discovering she carried the BRCA gene.
Chris Evert undergoing chemotherapy in 2024 Credit: chrissieevert/Instagram
In 2023, Evert learned her cancer had returned, just months after Navratilova finished treatment for throat and breast cancer, a period that is chronicled in the Netflix documentary.
A new documentary on Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova streams on Netflix beginning June 26 Credit: Netflix
The two leaned on each other as they faced the disease. "I knew she was there," Evert told PEOPLE of Navratilova's support. "I knew at any time of the day, night, she would fly across the country. I mean, if I needed her, she was there."
In an interview earlier this month, Evert told PEOPLE that facing cancer "humbled" her but it has also helped her live each day with meaning: ."The little things like having a cup of coffee in the morning, going out in the sun and feeling the warmth. Those things are meaningful to me now, whereas you just take so much for granted."
Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova attend 'Chris & Martina: The Final Set' Premiere on June 10, 2026. Credit: Jamie McCarthy/Getty
Evert also said that after her second bout of cancer, she has to get CT scans every three months. "So I have a moment like praying when I'm getting my CAT scan and you never know. You never know. You never know." In the past, when she's gotten good results, she says she's told herself: "Good. In the next three months, I'm going to live life to the fullest."
Two days left to lock in your spot at TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 and save up to $190 before Early Bird rates expire on June 26 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Register today.
The Department of Transportation wants to remove the brake-pedal requirement for vehicles "designed to be driven exclusively by automated driving systems."
Microsoft and OpenAI are no strangers in the corridors of justice, particularly when it comes to copyright infringement disputes. It is well established that advanced AI models such as Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT rely heavily on vast amounts of online content, including material from outlets like Windows Central, for training purposes.
In court proceedings, Microsoft and OpenAI have consistently argued that copyright law does not explicitly prohibit the use of online content to train AI models. However, with Google racing ahead by embedding AI directly into search, the industry finds itself at a tipping point. As traditional outlets struggle to compete, many are shutting down, leaving thousands of experienced journalists in the lurch.
The complaint indicates that the two companies are unlawfully using their content to develop and train the AI chatbots without consent or compensation. According to the complaint:
"Defendants systematically and secretly crawled the Publishers’ websites—including content behind paywalls and other access restrictions—and copied the Publishers’ articles, stories, and other original works onto their own servers without authorization."
The publishers argue that the companies have generated billions from stealing their work and have not paid a dime for it. They are now seeking statutory damages and injunctive relief, citing copyright infringement and violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
Speaking to Bloomberg, OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri indicated:
“Our models empower innovation, are trained on publicly available data, and are grounded in fair use."
“It would be inequitable if at the end of this you have a resolution that only benefits the largest players in the marketplace and not the people who are doing hard work reporting on things that frankly very few outlets still cover in America today,” former New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin added.
The publishers argue that the AI revolution could be a "death knell for local journalism" if these AI firms aren't held accountable and continue to steal content without compensation.
This opens up a broader discussion about the future of AI models if Google is hell-bent on integrating AI into search, after it has practically run every publication into the ground.
The dead internet theory, in particular, comes to mind. It suggests that prolonged exposure of large language models to low-quality training data negatively impacts accuracy, comprehension, and thought process. What's worse is that the phenomenon could only be less than 3 years away if recent studies are anything to go by.
Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.
It's Prime Day, and that means there are some great Windows laptops on sale not only at Amazon, but also at all major competing retailers. What makes this year's laptop sales more important than others is the fact that all PCs have gone up in price recently due to component shortages.
It's almost unbelievable that I'm seeing up to 54%off laptops using DDR5 RAM, but the proof is in the roundup I've assembled below. These are some of the biggest discounts I've seen in all my 10 years of covering these types of sales.
What makes these deals even sweeter is the fact that Apple just raised the prices of all of its MacBooks this morning. If you want an incredible deal on a new Windows laptop, this is the place to check first.
Powerful CPU, lots of RAM and storage, number pad, and a huge 17.3-inch display make this laptop a boon for any multitaskers out there, and it's now 54% cheaper than usual.
A brand new AMD Ryzen CPU paired with 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD is a sweet deal. The 16-inch display hits a 2K resolution and has a 120Hz refresh rate with 400 nits brightness.
This 18-inch gaming laptop has plenty of cooling for its RTX 5070 GPU and Ryzen 7 260 GPU. Display has a 2560x1600 resolution with a 240Hz refresh rate.
Gaming on a laptop's touchpad just doesn't work. Logitech's G305 Lightspeed is a mouse I've used for countless hours of gaming, and it's 46% cheaper than usual.
MacBook Air models with 512GB of storage have gone up from $1,099 to $1,299, while the MacBook Pro with 1TB of storage has increased from $1,699 to $1,999.
Has there ever been a better time to invest in a discounted Windows laptop with loads of memory and storage?
Which countries are taking part in Prime Day 2026?
While Windows Central primarily covers Amazon Prime Day sales in the United States and the United Kingdom, the event takes place in 26 countries, including Canada and Ireland.
Do I need an Amazon Prime membership for Prime Day?
Yes, Amazon's rivals are running competing events, including Best Buy's "Tech Fest", Newegg's "FantasTech Sale", and Walmart's "Deals & More", which all end on June 28, 2026. Each retailer can offer its own membership perks, such as My Best Buy Plus / Total and Walmart Plus, and it's important to remember that Amazon does not always offer the best deal during Prime Day. Windows Central will compare prices across retailers, so you can choose the best fit for you.
Diablo 4 was the first Diablo installment to actually receive two story expansions, with the base game, Vessel of Hatred, and Lord of Hatred telling what is now dubbed the Age of Hatred saga.
And what a saga it was; many new characters were introduced to the fray and subsequently killed off... and returning characters came back... and were also killed off... come to think of it... the Age of Hatred was pretty much a bloodbath for most of the characters involved wasn't it?
With that in mind, I'm taking a look back through the records and combing through the deaths of those who tried to hold the line, as well as those who tried to destroy it.
The following feature, “Diablo IV - Those We've Lost," was provided by the Diablo 4 team and is reproduced here with permission.
The first Fallen, aka base game Diablo 4 casualties
Vhenard
(Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)
No sooner did we meet Neyrelle's mother, Vhenard, than we were having to bring her life to a swift end.
Vhenard was a passionate explorer and seeker of knowledge, convinced by Lilith to embrace demonic knowledge and to assist her in crossing the Black Lake to reach the Necropolis of the Firstborn.
This demonic knowledge corrupted her mind, leading her to try and kill her own daughter. The Wanderer (us) had no choice but to bring her down.
In the end, Neyrelle performed a ritual to briefly raise her mother from the dead. Time enough for Vhenard to help open the way to pursue Lilith, and to bid her daughter, her “Magpie”, a regretful goodbye.
Vigo
(Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)
Vigo was the less-than-pious watch commander of the Knights Penitent, sworn to serve the Cathedral of Light. Charged with guarding the condemned mines in the southern Fractured Peaks, preventing all from reaching the ancient ruins within.
Foolishly accepting a bribe from Vhenard and her companion (Lilith) resulted in his downfall and allowed them to enter the mines. This mistake cost both Vhenard and his fellow knights their lives.
Consumed by the weight of that mistake, Vigo submitted himself to the Reverend Mother Prava to serve out a brutal penance. Locked inside a painful suit of armor known as the "Father's Grace". Ouch. Clad in this armor, he caught up with the Wanderer within the Necropolis of the Firstborn, giving his life to cut a path through corruption.
Rathma
(Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)
The first and most ancient of the Firstborn, son of Lilith and Inarius. Keeper of the sacred Balance between Light and Dark. Foundation of the Priests of Rathma (more commonly known as necromancers).
He had long ago rejected both Lilith and Inarius in favor of serving humanity as he saw fit. His methods and motives have ever been shrouded in mystery.
In a revelation of prophecy, he predicted that “the way to Hell would be torn asunder” and “a spear of light would pierce Hatred’s heart.” For this reason, Inarius sought him out and demanded the Hell Key, a dangerous artifact hidden in Rathma’s possession.
When Rathma refused, Inarius, his own father, struck him down, finally killing the Firstborn.
Donan
(Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)
Donan was once a Horadrim and a colleague of Lorath Nahr until the two had a falling out. He remained ever a protector of humanity.
In his youth, he fought alongside the druids of Scosglen to defeat the demon Astaroth and in the aftermath helped them rebuild. Then Lilith arrived. She not only brought back Astaroth to burn Scosglen a second time, she resurrected the demon using Donan’s own son. Yorin.
He was lost in his grief until the Wanderer called on him again, this time with his old “friend” Lorath Nahr, to continue the fight against Lilith. Reluctantly he joined the cause but soon rose to the challenge, following his allies into the depths of Hell itself where he took a mortal wound.
Because of him, his allies were able to entrap Mephisto in the soulstone, thwarting Lilith’s ambitions and buying humanity precious time before the Prime Evil’s return.
Yorin
(Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)
A young knight and only child of Donan and Braega. Eager to prove himself to his father, he set out with the Wanderer in pursuit of Lilith across Scosglen, using both his connections with the Knights Penitent stationed there as well as his deep understanding of local druid belief.
His efforts helped the Wanderer to confront the druid Airidah and force her to confess what aid she had given Lilith.
But in the end, Lilith seized Yorin and thrust a soulstone into his skull, permitting the demon Astaroth to possess him, body and soul.
The Wanderer was able to defeat Astaroth, but when the demon’s essence left Yorin, the boy was already dead. His father Donan carried him from the battlefield and laid him to rest.
Meshif
(Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)
Once a renowned traveler and unflappable man of adventure. He was born in the city of Kurast but his home was the open sea. In his youth, he met a group of heroes and became entangled in the fight against the Prime Evil Mephisto, taking him from the deserts of Lut Gholain back to save his beloved Kurast.
He somehow survived this and every adventure since, but after several decades, his glory days were suddenly behind him. A new mission found him in the middle of nowhere Kehjistan, smoking away his twilight years in a den of bandits. The Wanderer needed a guide through the desert to infiltrate the palace of an evil mage. Smelling adventure, Meshif was thrilled to oblige.
Meshif guided his new friends across the desert and into the palace, but before he could escape with them, he was cut down. A bittersweet yet fitting death for such a man.
Elias
(Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)
Once a brilliant mage and rising star of the Horadrim, apprenticed to Lorath Nahr.
Elias learned of Rathma’s prophecy and the foretold return of the Prime Evils. He became obsessed with finding a solution, and his ideas grew increasingly more radical. Too radical for Lorath to condone. The two of them argued endlessly until finally, Elias left Lorath and the Horadrim behind.
For him, all signs pointed to Lilith, the only being in all eternity (he believed) with the power and the will to save Sanctuary.
On his own, Elias did everything in his power to bring Lilith back from the Void, including promising his own head to the Tree of Whispers.He succeeded in summoning Lilith, and by her side he sought to make humanity suffer, forcing them to grow stronger for the fight against the Prime Evils.
But time and again Lorath and his allies frustrated his efforts. He confronted them one final time in the Black Tomb of Sankekur. In the end, he was defeated. His undying head taken in payment by the Tree of Whispers to hang for all eternity.
Inarius
(Image credit: Activision Blizzard)
The angelic father of humankind. Once the counterpart of the demon Lilith, their mother.
He and Lilith had sought to escape the Eternal Conflict between the Heavens and Hells by creating their own hidden world. Sanctuary. There, on the Skovos Isles, they gave birth to humanity, starting with their son Rathma. These days of peace would not last.
Inarius became fearful of his children’s power and eventually conspired against them, leading to a bloody conflict with Lilith. In the end, he banished her to the Void and attempted to sink the Skovos Isles to drown his children, only to stop at the last moment.
He resolved instead to diminish humanity’s power over time and hoped that was best, but for the sin of creating his children, the Heavens would not forgive him. Thousands of years and torments later, Inarius’ fellow Angels still forbade his return to the Heavens.
But, he believed, if he could fulfill the words of his son Rathma’s prophecy, lead humanity against the Hells, and drive his “spear of light into Hatred’s heart” the Heavens would finally forgive him.
It was not to be. He led his faithful forces into Hell itself in pursuit of Lilith, and there she defeated him. Running him through with his own spear before tearing his wings from his back.
Though his legacy is one of selfish hubris, humanity will always owe its existence to him and his original dream of freedom from the Eternal Conflict.
Lilith
(Image credit: Blizzard)
Daughter of Hatred, Creator of Sanctuary, and Mother of All Humankind. Together, she and the angel Inarius created the hidden world of Sanctuary as an escape from the Eternal Conflict, and there, they gave birth to humanity.
Since then, she has remained absolutely devoted to her children, willing to commit terrible atrocities in the name of their survival. She was banished to the Void for such an act, but after thousands of years in that darkness, one of her children brought her back. Elias.
With him at her side, she unleashed terrible suffering upon Sanctuary. Not to torture or kill, but to make her children strong enough to face the Burning Hells. For herself, she sought to consume her father, Mephisto, and claim his power, enough to repel any threat to her children.
And yet the strongest among her children fought back. They would not allow her to turn Sanctuary into a living Hell. They pursued her into the Realm of Hatred and imprisoned her father in a soulstone before she could consume him.
Against all odds, they defeated her in the Cathedral of Hatred, but she issued a final warning as she turned to dust. “Without me, you would have no victory.” (And spoiler, she was right).
Vessel of Hatred (and more death)
Urivar
(Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)
A Knight Penitent of the Cathedral of Light and alleged survivor of their ill-fated March on Hell. His scarred face and armor attest to his claims.
Whether a true believer or a cynical opportunist, Urivar seized the hearts and minds of the fractured Knights Penitent, filling them with renewed, violent purpose. To hunt the Horadrim they believed responsible for the death of the Father, Inarius.
With Lorath in the wind, Urivar and his Burned Knights set their sights on Neyrelle and pursued her all the way to the jungles of Nahantu, where through her, the demon Mephisto had begun to poison the land.
But the Wanderer would not allow Urivar to harm Neyrelle. In a final confrontation, they cut him down and ended his mad crusade.
Maka
(Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)
A proud spiritborn and member of the Council of Kurast in Nahantu. In effort to help Neyrelle resist the corruption of Mephisto, Maka set out with the Wanderer and Eru, her former mentor, to find a solution in the spirit realm.
She was strong, brave, and true in her care for Neyrelle, but the evil within the young woman lashed out and took her life. Maka was mourned by Nahantu but most of all by Eru, her lifelong friend.
Akarat
(Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)
A benevolent student of the Light whose teachings gave rise to the Zakarum faith. They would name him their holy prophet.
Born on Xiansai to an Umbaru mother and Xian father, Akarat and his family were forced to flee their home when fallen demons attacked. He spent his early life disillusioned by conflict until he beheld a vision of Light, compelling him to teach a revelation, that every human holds the Light within them.
Ultimately, Akarat returned to his mother’s homeland of Nahantu to battle the spreading corruption there, teaching his faith to all who would listen. Then he disappeared into the jungles. Some said he fell in battle against great evil, and while his body was entombed, his spirit continued to serve humanity. The faithful have searched for his tomb ever since.
Then, with the help of the spiritborn Eru and guided by the Spirit of Akarat himself, it was found by Neyrelle and the Wanderer. They hoped that Akarat’s body and spirit could safely secure a soulstone — one with Mephisto, Lord of Hatred trapped inside. Indeed, it seemed like it could until they were betrayed and attacked.
The Spirit of Akarat fought fiercely to defend them. In the end, he sacrificed himself to defeat Mephisto’s harbinger, removing the Spirit of Akarat from the world forever...Until Mephisto stole his body to walk Sanctuary in his image.
The final toll: Lord of Hatred
Neyrelle
(Image credit: Windows Central | Blizzard Entertainment)
A brilliant, young explorer and seeker of knowledge whose fateful encounter with Lilith, the Daughter of Hatred, set her on a path to become a true Horadrim. At her mother’s side, Neyrelle came to the Fractured Peaks in search of the Horadrim, but soon, Lilith tempted her mother with the promise of demonic power.
The Wanderer helped Neyrelle find her mother, but by then, she was beyond saving. Rather than despair, Neyrelle stayed with the Wanderer and pursued Lilith, proving her worth as a scholar and protector of Sanctuary. It cost her greatly, including her own left hand.
She followed the Wanderer and her new Horadrim friends into the depths of the Burning Hells, and there, she was asked to make an impossible decision: Imprison Lilith and allow her father Mephisto to return? Or imprison Mephisto to delay his return and deny Lilith her prize?
She chose the latter. And she tried with all she had to find a way to keep Mephisto imprisoned, but his corruption proved too much to bear. Even after Neyrelle was rid of the soulstone, she remained haunted by his presence.
She never stopped searching for a way to stop Mephisto. To break the cycle of Hatred for good. But just as she found it and sent word to her friends, Mephisto found her. And at last, took her life.
She died as a true Horadrim, wearing the talisman given to her by Lorath.
Queen Adreona
(Image credit: Windows Central | Blizzard Entertainment)
High Queen of the Amazons, matriarch and protector of the Skovos Isles.
Adreona did not inherit her position. She joined the Amazons in her youth, serving as one spearmaiden among thousands in the Amazon Legion. Through martial prowess, strategic mind, and a little luck, she rose through the ranks until at last, she was selected by the Council of Veterans to endure the Passage and become Queen of the Amazons.
For decades, her rule kept Skovos safe from the chaos of the continents, making a paradise of the isles. But she did not do it alone. Her faithful companion and adviser, Captain Tharra of the Amazons, stood ever at her side. And once, she accepted help from abroad.
A Horadrim named Lorath Nahr came to Skovos in search of lost members of his order. Together, they learned what happened to them, averted disaster, and forged a close bond. But it could not last.
Years later, when the fires of Hatred had consumed the mainland, another outsider arrived on Adreona’s shores. The holy prophet Akarat. Along with scores of pilgrims, Akarat promised her he would save her people from the Age of Hatred.
But in reality, he was Hatred Incarnate. Mephisto—disguised in the body of Akarat. Mephisto tricked and coerced Adreona into believing his lies, slowly turning her against her own people and tragically, against the one man she had almost loved.
Convinced Lorath had become her enemy, Adreona killed him in cold blood. An act which sealed her fate, giving Lorath’s allies no choice but to strike her down on the cliffs of Mount Hefaetrus.
Lorath Nahr
(Image credit: Windows Central | Blizzard Entertainment)
The last Horadrim of the modern age, tenacious defender of humankind, and a dear friend.
Lorath was born the son of a blacksmith in the city of Westmarch. He grew up with stories of the brave Horadrim and had ever dreamed to become one.
He joined their order just before the Reapers descended upon Sanctuary. Alongside the archangel Tyrael and a small band of heroes, he fought and triumphed over them, helping to stop the Reaping of Malthael.
Lorath doggedly served the Order for the rest of his life, and in his twilight years, he fought to deliver Sanctuary from the Age of Hatred. First against Lilith and then her father, Mephisto.
To accomplish this, he suffered the loss of friends, endured persecution, bargained his head to the Tree of Whispers, and ventured into Hell itself without guarantee of victory or gratitude. He considered it simply his duty.
When Mephisto came to the Skovos Isles in the guise of Akarat, Lorath alone spoke truth to the people. And when he was brought low by Mephisto’s trickery, he persevered, both supporting victory in Athulua and finding the weapon that would stop Mephisto for good. But he would not see it come to pass. He was cut down by Queen Adreona, a woman he had loved, and his head was taken to the Tree of Whispers.
His soul would have languished there forever, but his allies would not permit it. Setting fire to the Tree they laid Lorath Nahr, the last Horadrim, to rest. His duty done.
Mephisto
(Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)
One of the Three Prime Evils. Lord of Hatred and father of Lilith. Since the dawn of the Heavens and Hells, Mephisto has been a snake in the garden of creation, ever conspiring, manipulating, and corrupting all he touches.
He has long sought to possess and control humanity to wield as his own; if for no other reason than to prove his daughter Lilith, their creator and mother, that her beloved children are nothing. Mere pawns to be wielded in the Eternal Conflict.
Mephisto has suffered defeats throughout eternity, but his demon soul was always reborn in Hell. Each time, giving only a short respite before his return.
Engaging in his old ways, Mephisto had disguised himself as the prophet Akarat and sought to corrupt all of humankind, starting with Skovos.
But with the help of his daughter Lilith and the weapon she had made from her own body, a single human got the better of him. Mephisto was stabbed through the heart with this weapon and banished screaming into the Void between realms. Not dead, not alive, and unable to return to Hell. There he will remain.
Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.
I love widgets. Microsoft seems much cooler on the concept. Sure, Windows 11 has a Widgets Panel, but it's barely useful due to its lack of quality widgets. That's why I was so excited to see WidBar highlighted on Reddit.
WidBar is a new app that allows you to add widgets to the empty spaces of the Windows 11 taskbar. It's still in beta, but it's off to a promising start.
The developer of WidBar, Andrea Del Bello, shared the app and detailed its progress.
At the moment, WidBar only has a pair of widgets: "Now Playing" and "System Metrics." They're basic but they do a good job showcasing the app.
Within WidBar, you can drag and drop widgets into a preview of your taskbar. Different widgets can be placed on various monitors.
This free app lets you add widgets to the empty spaces in the Windows 11 taskbar. It's still in beta, so it only has two widgets available, but developers can create their own widgets using templates.View Deal
Any developer can make widgets for WidBar. Del Bello explained how that works on Reddit:
"Each widget is just a small packaged app that you publish to the Microsoft Store like any other app, and WidBar picks it up on its own: there's no separate plugin store, no manual install into WidBar, and no approval from me. The moment your widget is installed from the Store, WidBar recognizes it automatically, it appears in the catalog, and the user can drop it onto the taskbar."
Del Bello also provided a template for making WidBar widgets on GitHub.
Putting Microsoft to shame
The Widgets Panel only has 56 widgets available.
WidBar has two supported widgets right now and is still in beta, but it already surpasses Windows 11's Widgets Panel in an important way.
Incredibly, the Widgets Panel lacks a Now Playing widget from Microsoft. Windows 11 has those controls, but they appear in the Action Center. That shows how much Microsoft thinks about the Widgets Panel.
There is a widget made by Stefan vd called "S Media Controls" that seems to fill the gap, but I've only used it briefly in testing.
Even if you give Microsoft the benefit of the doubt and argue having audio controls in the Action Center and the Widgets Panel, it won't take much to catch up.
With just two supported widgets, WidBar is well on its way to beating the Widgets Panel. There are a grand total of 56 widgets in the Microsoft Store for the Widgets Panel. And that count includes "My Tic-Tac-Toe" and several entries that appear to be money grabs that offer little functionality.
Add a clock, a calendar, a recent files shortcut and WidBar is almost 10% of the way to the entire Widgets Panel ecosystem.
Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.
Retro handhelds have always held a special place in the hearts of gaming enthusiasts—an enduring symbol of nostalgia and passion. As the retro gaming wave continues to grow, Ayaneo once again brings classic design and modern evolution into a new balance. The next-generation Ayaneo Pocket Micro 2 is officially on its way. Built upon the Ayaneo REMAKE design philosophy, it preserves the spirit of the classic horizontal retro handheld while delivering a comprehensive redesign and upgrade across aesthetics, performance, and control experience. For players who continue to cherish the pixel era and the golden age of handheld gaming, this is more than a new device—it's a revival of memories once thought distant.
Ayaneo Pocket Micro 2 continues Ayaneo's signature minimalist design language, reinterpreting the fusion of classic proportions and modern premium craftsmanship within a compact body. The CNC all-metal frame, combined with layered contours and rounded transitions, creates a fuller and more ergonomic grip while maintaining a lightweight and refined form factor. We've also introduced creative new color options to extend the retro identity—transforming nostalgia from something remembered into something newly expressed.
Other World Computing (OWC), a trusted leader in high-performance storage, memory, connectivity, software, and accessories that empower creative and business professionals to maximize performance, enhance reliability, and streamline workflows, today announced the general availability (GA) launch of its new line of OWC Atlas Core CFexpress 4.0 Type B 256 GB memory cards. The Atlas Core memory card, intended for professional and hobbyist photographers, videographers, and content creators, delivers essential speed and the highest level of reliability at an unbeatable price.
With up to 3571 MB/s read, 2227 MB/s write, and 368 MB/s sustained write speeds going beyond the VPG200 certification, the OWC Atlas Core CFexpress 4.0 Type B memory card handles RAW burst photography, 4K video, and up to 8K compressed video without dropped frames. And with OWC's FREE Innergize software, users get built-in card health monitoring, performance restoration, and firmware updates so they stay confident shoot after shoot.
Tetris creator Alexei Pajitnov and Rubik's Cube inventor Erno Rubik had never met before December 2025. In a recently shared video from Japanese toymaker MegaHouse, the two legendary designers discuss their creations and examine the first collaboration between the Tetris and Rubik's Cube brands.
Anthropic's negotiations with the Trump administration over the sudden Fable 5 and Mythos 5 ban are reportedly improving after CEO Dario Amodei stopped taking part directly.
Sales for physical video game releases have been declining for over a decade now due to the rise in digital game sales, and with the revelation that GTA 6 will arrive as a code in a box in November for the few players who still head to brick-and-mortar retail stores to buy their games, physical sales are poised to decline even further. But for the first time since 2009, physical game spending has actually seen a year-on-year increase between 2025 and 2026 in the US. The reason? Nintendo Switch 2. That comes from Mat Piscatella, senior director and video game […]
CEO Tim Cook had already warned that memory prices had become unsustainable, which only meant that Apple was running on borrowed time in keeping the MSRP of its products as low as possible. Unfortunately, the Cupertino firm has thrown in the towel and has announced price bumps across its entire product family, with up to a $1,300 premium being stamped on the more expensive hardware when shopping for the base models. The more popular products like the MacBook Neo and MacBook Air are only slightly more expensive, but it’ll hurt consumers regardless For those who were wondering why Apple’s online […]
Apple just raised the prices across its key products, excluding iPhones for now. The company’s CEO has recently signaled an upcoming price bump, and the first wave is already here, targeting laptops and tablets.
Analyst MarkGurman reports that prices of select Apple products have been hiked by up to $300 in the US, but iPhones remain unaffected. How long the most trending gadgets stay away from a price bump remains to be seen.
Apple has increased the prices of MacBook laptops and iPad tablets. The company’s recently launched MacBook Neo is also facing a price hike, which gained praise across the industry for its competitive pricing.
Here are the new vs old prices:
MacBook Neo – $699 from $599
MacBook Air – $1,299 from $1,099
MacBook Pro – $1,999 from $1,699
iPad Pro – $1,199 from $999
iPad Air – $749 from $599
Apple no longer absorbs the cost burden
Costs of components have spiked severely over the past couple of months. Prices of DRAM and NAND memory chips have increased significantly as memory manufacturers prioritize HBM to make more money in the AI boom.
Apple kept its iPhone 17 series away from a price bump, which Samsung failed to replicate in its Galaxy S26 series earlier this year. Meanwhile, the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max may cost more than their predecessors.
Samsung published quantitative research in the IEEE detailing its HBM4E packaging strategy, highlighting the thermal advantages of its Hybrid Copper Bonding (HCB) approach over conventional Thermo-Compression Bonding (TCB).
The research focuses on how HCB addresses heat management challenges in high-stack HBM packages. Unlike TCB, which uses micro bumps and underfill materials between layers, HCB creates direct copper-to-copper connections.
This removes materials that can increase thermal resistance and creates additional pathways for heat to escape from the memory stack, as per SemiconductorsX.
Samsung’s research team used physics-based multi-scale modeling and test chip experiments to evaluate thermal performance from chip-level structures through package and server system environments.
The validation process included HCB and TCB-based HBM test vehicles mounted alongside an ASIC test chip on a silicon interposer, followed by measurements under air-cooling conditions similar to actual server operation.
The results showed that HCB reduced hotspot junction temperatures compared with TCB, lowering the risk of thermal issues. The technology also reduced heat interference between the HBM stack and the underlying logic chip.
New Samsung tech benefits with thinner and cooler HBM4E
These changes allow both components to operate with less thermal impact on each other. Under the same cooling conditions, the improved thermal performance created additional power headroom for higher performance operation.
Samsung also found that applying HCB reduced the overall package stack height by more than 15 percent. A thinner structure can help limit heat accumulation while supporting more compact advanced packaging designs.
The findings provide technical support for Samsung’s future HBM4E production plans, particularly for 16-high and higher memory stacks used in high-performance computing systems.
The company said the predictive thermal design framework developed through the study will be used to evaluate bonding technologies and optimize next-generation HPC packaging architectures.
The MacBook Neo, along with a bunch of other Apple devices, has seen a price adjustment. Apple's most affordable laptop now starts at $699 instead of $599, which puts it closer to most entry-level Windows laptops on the market.
Microsoft launches Windows 11 optional preview update KB5095093 for versions 24H2 and 25H2, introducing Point-in-time restore and a Recycle Bin display patch.
Deal | Steam currently has a real bargain on offer for anyone who finds clean street races a little too tame: WRC 7 FIA World Rally Championship is 90% off until 1:00 p.m. EDT today and is available for just under $2.
Rockstar Games’ $99.99 Grand Theft Auto VI Ultimate Edition reportedly locks key single-player content behind a $20 premium over the $79.99 Standard Edition, including exclusive stores, vehicle mod shops, cosmetics, weapons, vehicles, and side quests.
Oppo is launching the Enco Air5s, its first “semi-in-ear” buds. This means that the in-ear part of them is plastic without a rubber ear tip. This design makes for more comfortable wearing experience (and it helps that the buds are lighter too), but it doesn’t seal the ear canal fully. If you prefer the more traditional design, there is the new Oppo Enco Air5 (no “s”).
The Air5s are some of the lightest at 3.9g per bud – this is with a 40.5mAh battery inside, which is enough for up to 9 hours of listening time without ANC (Active Noise Cancellation). With ANC, the listening time drops to...
Ersin Destanoğlu, Beşiktaş'tan ayrılmaya hazırlanıyor. Kartal'ın yedek kaleci konusunda Bilal Bayazıt'la ilgilenmeye başladığı konuşuluyor. Ancak Samsunspor bu işi gizlice bitirdi...
Beşiktaş'la sözleşmesini yenilemeyen Ersin Destanoğlu'nun ayrılması bekleniyor. Yönetim bu sebeple yerli bir yedek kaleci konusunda temaslarını sürdürüyor. Gündeme son olarak Kayserispor'la küme düşme üzüntüsü yaşayan Bilal Bayazıt'ın geldiği konuşuluyordu...
TARAFLAR EL SIKIŞTI
Bilal'in mukavelesi de tıpkı Ersin gibi 30 Haziran'da bitiyor. Yani boşa çıkacak. Ortada Beşiktaş iddiaları dolaşsa da Samsunspor'un bu transferi kısa süre önce bitirdiği iddia edildi. Buna göre; Karadeniz temsilcisi kişisel konularda 27 yaşındaki futbolcuyla el sıkıştı.
TEMMUZ BAŞINDA AÇIKLANACAK
Resmi açıklamanın 1 Temmuz'da yapılacağı ifade ediliyor. Beşiktaş, kesinlikle yabancı bir eldiven getirecek. Ancak 2 yabancı kontenjanı kalede kullanılmayacak. Bu sebeple de yerli alternatiflere bakılıyor. Kartal'ın mevcut kadrosunda Emre Bilgin ve Emir Yaşar gibi isimler bulunuyor.
Bugün itibarıyla Galatasaray'ın merkez orta saha konusundaki favori ismi Joao Gomes... Wolverhampton forması giyen Brezilyalı futbolcuda Aslan'ın çok önemli bir kozu bulunuyor.
Galatasaray, Wolverhampton'la küme düşme üzüntüsü yaşayan Joao Gomes konusunda önemli adımlar attı. Hatta 25 yaşındaki merkez orta saha, sosyal medyada Galatasaray'la anıldığı haberleri beğeniyor! Brezilyalı futbolcunun transferinde kısa süre içinde çok önemli gelişmeler yaşanabilir.
İKİSİ DE CARLOS LEİTE
Gabriel Sara'nın menajerliğini yapan Carlos Leite, aynı zamanda Joao Gomes'in de temsilcisi konumunda... Galatasaray Yönetimi, Leite cephesiyle yakın ilişkiler içinde... Ve bu durum; doğal olarak Joao Gomes hamlesinde de kullanılıyor. Oyuncu açısından ortada hiçbir sıkıntı yok...
OYUNCUNUN TAVRI ÇOK ÖNEMLİ
Wolverhampton Kulübü'nün 40 milyon euroluk bir bonservis beklentisi var. Galatasaray, rakamı düşürmeye çalışıyor. Öte yandan Joao Gomes, Championship'te oynamak istemiyor. Oyuncunun tavrı, Sarı-Kırmızılılar açısından çok önemli bir ayrıntı... İngilizler bu sebeple indirim yapmaya mecbur kalabilir.
As much as I love high-priced tech like my RTX 4090-equipped gaming rig or the LG OLED TV I use as my monitor, most of us can't spend several hundred dollars on a tech purchase or gift all the time. But you can still improve your tech life (or the lives of your friends and family) while spending a comparatively small amount of money.
I own all of the affordable devices listed below, and all are on sale for under $50. Many are even under $25! All of these products have made my tech-saturated world a little nicer in their own way. If you're looking for a small tech splurge for yourself during this deals season, or an affordable gift for that tech-savvy friend or family member, one of these $50-or-under options might be a good fit and a great deal.
Last year, a family member asked me for help with an older PC, which was trying to run Windows 10 and several programs on a cramped 110 GB SSD. At first, I figured I could clone the boot drive onto a more spacious drive so the OS and programs had more space to stretch out.
But the thought of using multiple USB enclosures or shuffling drives in and out of my desktop filled me with dread as I pictured being there for hours getting everything done and the system back up and running. So I looked into getting an M.2 SSD cloner, and was surprised to see they can be found for less than $50.
With support for NVMe M.2 SSDs and offline cloning, this handy device makes it simple to move your files or OS from one drive to another. And with a 20 Gbps USB-C interface, it's also speedy in your OS of choice if you want to use software to clone or move your data between drives.View Deal
While I don't love the glossy plastic shell of Rosewill's model, it's one of the more affordable options. And it supports both NVMe M.2 drives and older AHCI models (Sorry, SATA). Using the cloner is pretty straightforward. You plug in the included USB-C power adapter, put your source drive in the left slot, the destination drive in the right slot, press the power button on the back, and a few logos light up, letting you know you're ready to go. Press the clone button on the top, and drive cloning will commence (provided your destination is the same size or larger than your source).
That's assuming you want to do an offline clone. But because I wanted to also resize the partition between the old 110 GB and the newer Team Group 512 GB SSD, I used the second included USB-C cable to connect the Rosewill cloner to my laptop and powered up the device. Within seconds, both drives were recognized in Windows, so I fired up the excellent free DiskGenius software, cloned the old partition to a new Team Group drive with a few clicks, and then used the software to drag the boot partition to the full size of the new drive. The whole process took just a few minutes, since the Rosewill cloner supports 20 Gbps USB, and I wasn't exactly copying a huge partition.
When the cloning process was finished and the partition inflated, it was hard to believe it was all that easy. I had expected to be at the task for hours, but I was done in less than 30 minutes. Sure, unless you're in IT, a drive cloner might not be something you use regularly, but it's sure handy to have around. You could also use it to save some money by buying a laptop with a cramped SSD and swapping in something much roomier – provided, of course, the laptop's storage isn't soldered to the motherboard.
The Rosewill cloner is also handy for just checking the contents of old M.2 drives you may have lying around. But if that's all you need, you can buy an NVMe enclosure or a single-drive dock. I also own a version of this model from Suitok, which costs $17.
This tiny, cheap, magnetic, USB-charging flashlight is great for PC building and other everyday tasks
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
I picked up the OLIGHT IMINI 2 mini flashlight last year on impulse, because it looked well-designed and cost around $20, but now it's down to just below $12. Its simple design and built-in USB-A plug for charging make it fun to use – just pull the back off and it turns on. And the magnet at the back lets you easily mount it anywhere you need a little extra light. I've used it inside a steel PC case while fiddling with RGB wires.
At just 2.17 inches long, this flashlight is rated to 50 lumens, and it sports a magnetic back with a USB-A plug for charging. Pulling the back off turns on the flashlight, and the magnetic back makes it easy to mount the light on anything with ferrous metal.View Deal
The OLIGHT IMINI 2 is also small enough for your keychain, is designed to live with your keys, and includes two silicone covers for the USB port and a little carabiner clip. But the flashlight portion is only held to the charging port via a magnet, and I feel like (for me, at least) it would fall off and get lost before too long.
I've used the HOTO 3.6V Screwdriver Set to build dozens of PCs
(Image credit: Hoto)
I build a lot of PCs, though not as many lately thanks to the RAMpocalypse, and I also do a fair bit of home improvement work around my apartment. So a cordless screwdriver is a nice thing to have. I also own a much slimmer Wowstick, but have found HOTO's NEX O1 Pro to be more useful thanks to its extra (and variable) torque. It's great for loosening those factory-installed screws on PC cases that just don't want to let go, and also good for assembling furniture.
The HOTO won't replace my DeWalt impact driver or drill for bigger, tougher jobs. But for everyday tasks, it's powerful enough, easy to charge over USB-C, and even looks good on my workbench.
Hoto's wireless screwdriver has three torque settings, charges over USB-C, and looks surprisingly good. It's even proven quite durable, as I've dropped it off of ladders and my workbench at least a dozen times, and it's still working flawlessly.View Deal
This travel-friendly 2K webcam is all most of us need for work calls and family chats
After using a few bulky and clunky 4K webcams during the pandemic, I picked up this 2K model from Anker in 2022 and haven't used anything else since. It's small, has a detachable cable, which makes it easier to toss in a bag, and most importantly, the 2K resolution sensor does a great job in both bright and low-light conditions. And while I don't often use the built-in mics because I prefer my headset, they have worked for me in a pinch more than a few times.
Anker's compact webcam has a built-in foot for angle adjustments or clamping on a screen, a tripod mount on the base, a detachable USB-C cable, and excellent image performance for the price. For most people, there's no reason to pay more for a 4K sensor or higher refresh rates.View Deal
You could spend less and get something serviceable with a rose sensor and fewer features, or way more and get a 4K webcam that tracks you around the room. But for most people, myself included, the PowerConf C200 is a great middle ground, especially now that it's on sale for under $50. I use this webcam every day, and like it so much that I have two of them: one for my treadmill desk and one for the desk in front of the TV in my living room that I use as a monitor.
Cheap USB media control box puts volume and track control a touch away
(Image credit: Amazon)
For those of us who grew up in the 1900s, few things beat a chunky tactile volume knob and physical buttons for controlling media, and Vaydeer's USB device provides that and then some. I own the previous version of this device and love it for controlling and muting music at my treadmill desk while I work.
I use the buttons on it to play / pause audio and video and move forward to the next track or backward to the previous one. It's totally plug and play, as no drivers are needed.
Just plug this simple USB device into a USB port and you can control the volume and select tracks without reaching for your keyboard or mouse.View Deal
8Bitdo SN30 Pro Wireless Bluetooth Controller
What's not to love about a SNES-inspired wireless gaming controller that's compatible with Windows, Mac, Android and the Nintendo Switch? Not much, but I own the original Pro model and not one of these newer models with translucent plastic shells. That's peak late-90s nostalgia and I really don't want to love it as much as I do.
As you might expect given this controller's small size and many more buttons than the SNES controller it was based on, its Rumble motors aren't the strongest, and the layout can feel kind of cramped for some modern games. But for any kind of retro game and especially platformers (I'm looking at you, Super Mario Bros. Wonder), this is my go-to controller. At this price, maybe I should pick up another one.
With its SNES-inspired design and white shell, this controller will appeal to gamers of a certain age. But its appeal goes beyond its looks., with Hall Effect joysticks, and support for the Switch, PC, macOS, and basically any OS that supports games and Bluetooth.View Deal
Go retro with modern specs with this NES-themed mouse from 8BitDo
There are so many gaming mouse options, most with specs that go well above and beyond my abilities. So I chose something with style that caught my eye, 8BitDo's Retro R8 Mouse with Charging Dock. This NES-inspired mouse is designed for nostalgia, with its black, gray, and red color scheme and round red side buttons. But 8BitDo went the extra mile (or two) by designing a weighted charging dock (with its own NES-like touches), and a spot for the 2.4 GHz dongle. This is the kind of extra feature that's more common in mice that cost twice as much.
The nostalgia of this mouse's design is nice. But it also sports a 26,000 DPI sensor, 4K polling, and a really nice charging dock that also houses the 2.4 GHz dongle. If you're in a pinch or just not gaming, Bluetooth is also supported. View Deal
Under the hood, you get a decent 26,000 DPI sensor and 4K polling (plenty for us older, non-esports gamers), and an ambidextrous design with two side buttons on either side, and a clicky, rubberized scroll wheel. The side buttons, which are concave, took a little getting used to for me. But they are also so distinctive that now I miss them while using other mice.
Never run out of USB ports with this powered 11-port hub
If you're like me, you never have access to enough USB ports. I solved this problem by picking up this Ikai hub, with 60W of power for your drives and peripherals and a premium metal shell. It sports three speedy 10 Gbps ports (two USB-C), along with seven 5 GBps USB-A ports. The final USB-C on the end of the hub is for charging your phone or other devices, and delivers 20W.
The other nice feature, is that all the data ports have a button on the side so you can toggle them on and off. Aside from saving a bit of power, I also find this handy for swapping between wireless mice and keyboards, while keeping the tiny dongles plugged in so I don't lose them.
With 11 ports and up to 10 Gbps speed, a solid aluminum shell, and buttons so you can cut the power to individual ports, this USB hub is a great addition to your desk. It has external power for better stability, and even a 20W USB-C PD port on the end for charging phones or peripherals.View Deal
The sole thing to keep in mind about this (and basically any) hub, is that it has a single 10 Gbps input. So don't expect to plug in multiple high-data devices (like SSDs) and have them run simultaneously at full speed. If that's what you need, you'll need to get a Thunderbolt or USB4 hub (and spend significantly more).
Add recessed power and USB ports to your desk for just $16
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
OK, this one's only for the DIY-inclined, because it involves cutting a hole in your desk (or anywhere else you might want some flush-mount power ports, like a nightstand). Jgstkcity's recessed power strip lets you drop a couple of AC outlets and two USB charging ports (one 30W USB-C) anywhere you need them – again, once you've cut a hole for it.
While it's always smart to be wary of no-name power strips, I've owned the older non-PD version of this strip for over two years and it's been functioning just fine. I have it installed in the narrow stand I built right behind my couch. It's a super-convenient place for power outlets, especially when friends or family stop by. I just warn people not to put drinks there. Thankfully, the coffee table is even more convenient for that and it's right in front of the couch.
You'll likely need a drill and a saw to install it, but having a couple of power plugs and USB-C PD power right on the surface of your desk or nightstand is super convenient. View Deal
Stay charged and save space while traveling abroad with Anker's slim Nano Travel Adapter
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
When you're traveling to another country for more than a few days, every small bit of space you can save helps. But you also usually need a travel adapter to plug your devices into the outlets of other countries. Anker's Nano Travel adapter serves both needs well, as it's roughly half the thickness of other adapters and is designed to work in over 200 countries.
The Nano Travel Adapter also has four USB ports for charging, which I've found super convenient for keeping my phone, ereader, and earbuds juiced up without needing a separate charger. There are two USB-A ports on the bottom and two USB-C on the side, with the latter delivering up to 20W. It also comes in black or white/silver. I opted for the white one, which makes it easier to find after months in a drawer when I'm not traveling.
Anker's slim travel adapter is 43% smaller than many other adapters, while supporting over 200 countries with its fold-down plugs. It also has two USB-C and two USB-A ports for charging, at up to 20W. View Deal
The major downside over other travel chargers is that the Nano Travel Adapter doesn't support plugging in devices with three-prong (grounded) plugs. But I haven't found this an issue since I typically plug things like my Baseus flat laptop charger in while traveling, rather than high-power devices like a desktop PC or hair dryer.
Powerowl's rechargeable batteries are good and surprisingly cheap
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
When I first started using rechargeable batteries with my Walkman in the early 90s, they were kind of awful (but still better than spending all my money feeding my music addiction). They couldn't hold a charge and didn't last nearly as long as name-brand disposable batteries. But here in the mid-2020s, rechargeables are surprisingly good.
Panasonic's Eneloops arguably ushered in the rechargeable AA and AAA renaissance, but PowerOwl's batteries are a lot more affordable and I haven't had a single one fail in over three years of using them in my various remotes, smart door locks, and other devices.
These PowerOwl Pro AA batteries are rated to 2800mAh (though I wouldn't put stock in that spec) and are rated to keep 60% of their power for two years. The included USB-powered charger isn't the fastest (10 hours rated), but it gets the job done. Clip the coupon to get it at this price.View Deal
If there's one thing everyone with modern tech could probably use at this point, it's an extra high-speed and compact charger. The Baseus 65W Flat Wall Charger is my favorite. It's especially great for travel, because it outputs 45W over USB-C for my laptop and up to 20W over USB-A for my phone or other devices, all while folding to a slim 0.66 inches thick. It's smaller than a deck of cards and easily fits in pretty much any bag pocket.
Its slim shape should also help keep the device fully inserted in loose hotel room power sockets, and while the outer shell is plastic, the build quality feels solid, and it includes a 3.3-foot USB-C charging cable for those of us who aren't already drowning in cables from other devices. You'll have to provide your own USB-A cable to charge a second device, but at its current sale price, there's hardly a reason to complain about that. And who doesn't have an extra USB-A charging cable at this point?
TP-Link's AX1800 WiFi 6 USB Adapter delivers Wi-Fi 6 to older devices over USB
(Image credit: TP-Link)
Have you upgraded your router to Wi-Fi 6 or later, but your desktop or laptop doesn't have the requisite hardware to take advantage of your recent network tech? TP-Link's AX1800 WiFi 6 USB Adapter is here to solve that problem for you. It's quite large by USB Wi-Fi dongle standards, but I've found it works quite well with the Wi-Fi 6 router I bought in 2020.
I have the router running downstairs from my office. And it instantly fixed an issue I was having with very poor reception from the SFF PC I built in the Fractal Terra case.
Sure, it's big and bulky with two antennas, but this Wi-Fi 6 USB adapter can deliver some serious speed to your desktop or laptop when paired with a Wi-Fi 6 or later router.View Deal
Orico USB 3.0 Clamp Hub is easy to mount on many desks
This is a four-port, 5Gbps USB-A hub that's designed to clamp onto your monitor or desk and give you extra convenient connectivity.
It comes in black or silver and has a nice, sturdy metal frame. Just note that its clamp section is pretty shallow and its adjustable screw can only open between 10 and 32 mm, so it won't fit on all monitors or desks.
An otherwise standard four-port USB 3.0 hub, this Orico model stands out for its metal frame and clamp design.View Deal
Clean up the cables under your desk with a tray
(Image credit: Delamu)
If you to get a handle on the PC cables in your home or office, some cheap cable management trays will do the job. This two-pack comes with tape, though heavier loads will ultimately require some screws.
Besides the trays, this kit also comes with cable ties and a few cable clips you can place along the bottom or sides of your desk. One of these has been holding up the PC cable clutter in my living room for the past year. But I had to screw it into my desk because it's holding one of the above Anker power strips, plus the large external power brick from my LG OLED TV/Monitor.
If there's a rats nest of cables under your desk, attaching some trays can help you clean it up. This set has tape for light loads, but for longer-term cleanliness, you probably want to consider screws.View Deal
Keep a fast charging cable with your keys
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
You may, like me, be swimming in a world of USB cables. But that doesn't mean you always have one when you need it away from home. This short 240W USB4 charging cable from EndlesShine solves that by being small enough to attach to your keys. It's not always convenient, at just over 5 inches long, but it will do in a pinch, and has come in handy more than once, particularly on trips when I'm traveling light.
It's short in length, at 5.11 inches, but this keychain cable supports 240W charging and USB4 (40Gbps speeds). Clip it onto your keys and you'll always have a fast cable when you need one.View Deal
If you're the type who is rough with your keys, the plastic cap may wear out over time, so you might want to just keep the cable in a pocket or your bag. It even comes in white and yellow if you don't like basic black.
Apple has made the unprecedented decision to hike the prices of all its current computers and tablets. iPhone prices remain as they were, for now. Bloomberg indicates that the rather steep price rises have been precipitated by increased costs of memory and storage. One of the most impactful hikes we see is the entry-level MacBook Pro going from $1,699 to $1,999. However, even the recently released but resource-starved MacBook Neo has had another $100 piled onto its price, so now it starts at $699 before tax.
Price Increases: MacBook Neo to $699 from $599; MacBook Air to $1,299 from $1,099; MacBook Pro to $1,999 from $1,699; iPad Pro to $1,199 from $999; iPad Air to $749 from $599. https://t.co/JSlxZ1zbdWJune 25, 2026
In addition to Gurman’s highlighted price increases, we spotted that the cheapest Mac Studio M4 Max (mini PC desktop) has had its price increased to $2,499 from $1,999. There’s a lot to take in, so check out our at-a-glance before and after table for quick reference.
Apple device price increases June 25, 2026
Device
Old price
New price
MacBook Neo
$599
$699
MacBook Air
$1,099
$1,299
MacBook Pro
$1,699
$1,999
Mac Studio M4 Max
$1,999
$2,499
iPad Pro
$999
$1,199
iPad Air
$599
$749
Bloomberg’s resident Apple expert, Mark Gurman, quoted an apologetic company rep. “We know this is not welcome news, and we are working tirelessly to find solutions,” a spokesperson from Apple told the reporter. Other interesting assertions from that conversation were that Apple had never seen component prices rise so high, so quickly. Moreover, its representative claimed that the firm did all it could to shield customers from any knock-on device price rises, stating the company had "shielded our customers from these increases so far, but we have now reached a point where we need to begin raising prices on a number of products including today’s increases for iPad and Mac."
While newsrooms might be agog at these price rises being implemented today, the writing has been on the wall of the RAMpocalypse for several months. Back in April, Tim Cook publicly forecast that the component shortages and price rises didn’t appear to be going anywhere soon. That statement came in the wake of the withdrawal of the entry-level $599 configuration of the Mac Mini, and Apple softening the blow of higher prices of its latest MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models by upgrading memory and other tech specs.
Until now, it seemed like Apple’s massive buying power and vertical integration had managed to help it hold off computer and tablet price increases. Today, the brakes came off, pretty dramatically.
Anthropic, the American AI lab that created one of the most advanced large language models available today, has said in a letter to the U.S. Senate that Chinese AI tech giant Alibaba has illicitly used Claude to train its own models. According to Reuters, the company sent the letter to Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), the chair of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), the ranking member of the said committee, before a scheduled hearing set to tackle AI issues.
This isn’t the first time that Anthropic has accused Chinese AI labs of “stealing” the capabilities of its AI model to train their own. Earlier this year, the company claimed that DeepSeek, Moonshot, and MiniMax used 24,000 fraudulent accounts and made 16 million exchanges collectively to train their own AI LLMs on Claude’s output. This method of training AI using the output of a more advanced model is called distillation, and while there are legitimate uses of this technique, such as when a frontier AI model is distilled to create a lighter, cheaper version of itself, it argues that competing labs can also use the same technique to build their own models at “a fraction of the time, and at a fraction of the cost, that it would take to develop them independently.”
The American AI lab says that it traced the distillation campaign back to operators that had connections with Alibaba, one of the largest Chinese tech companies often compared to Amazon, and Alibaba Qwen, its AI lab. Anthropic warns that distillation may help China create a frontier AI model that could match Mythos Preview’s capabilities — something many American lawmakers are afraid of.
While U.S. tech companies still enjoy an advantage when it comes to the latest AI models, Chinese tech companies are quickly catching up. In fact, Elon Musk estimated that a Chinese AI lab would have achieved a Fable 5-class AI model by the first quarter of next year, but the CEO and founder of Chinese AI lab Z.ai confidently replied, “won’t take that long.” Aside from that, many enterprise users are slowly switching to more affordable open-source Chinese LLMs for their agents as token costs spiral out of control, reserving the most powerful (and expensive) American models only for the most complicated tasks.
Both the U.S. and China are pushing hard to achieve AI supremacy, with the two rivals taking steps to reduce the advantage of the other. For example, Washington has been using export controls to limit Chinese access to advanced hardware needed to build the most advanced chips and for training AI, while Beijing countered this with its own controls on rare earth materials, some of which serve as key ingredients in chip making.
TUI River Cruises has launched its winter 2027 program, which it described in a press release as its biggest winter launch to date. The season will include 37 sailings with three-, four-, five-and seven-night itineraries running from October 2027 to April 2028. The program goes on sale from July 2, 2026, with prices starting from...
Celebrity Cruises achieved a milestone by winning 25 Wine Spectator Awards for 2026, the most it has ever received. The brand received 17 “Best of Award of Excellence” honors for the first time, alongside eight “Award of Excellence” recognitions. In a press release, the cruise line said that this brings the tally to 165 awards over 14 consecutive years, making its wine program the most awarded at...
After their two victories in the 2026 World Cup, Germany face Ecuador in the last match of Group E. While Julian Nagelsmann’s team are already in the Round of 32, Sebastian Beccacece’s team are playing for their future. Therefore, a win, a draw, or a loss could change Group E.
Germany have remained one of the most solid national teams at the 2026 World Cup. With their two victories, they have already secured their place in the Round of 32. However, they face Ecuador in today’s match, in a game that could be competitive. While Julian Nagelsmann’s team have already decided their future, Sebastian Beccacece’s team still have an uncertain destiny. Therefore, a win, a draw, or a loss could change Group E.
Despite arriving as one of the best teams in CONMEBOL, Ecuador have not achieved their first victory in the 2026 World Cup, recording one defeat and one draw. Despite this, they still have hopes of reaching the knockout stage. Because of this, head coach Sebastian Beccacece would look for a convincing victory, relying on an offensive strategy. In addition, they need particular scenarios to keep dreaming.
After several years of low competitiveness, head coach Julian Nagelsmann has managed to give Germany a clear playing identity while maintaining a solid defense. Although they have already secured their place in the Round of 32, they have not yet guaranteed first place in the group. Therefore, they would arrive looking for a victory to enter the next stage in top form, as they seek to win the title again after several years.
What happens if Germany win over Ecuador?
If Germany secure a victory against Ecuador, they would remain the leaders of Group E. With this, they would have a more accessible path toward the World Cup title. In addition, Sebastian Beccacece’s team would be automatically eliminated. As one of CONMEBOL’s favorites, this would be a huge disappointment, as they have a very promising roster to be eliminated in the first round.
Nico Schlotterbeck #15 of Germany celebrates scoring
What happens if Germany draw to Ecuador?
Germany would remain the leaders of Group E if they draw today’s match against Ecuador. With this, they would continue to have a fairly comfortable path to the knockout stage. However, Sebastian Beccacece’s team would be almost eliminated from the tournament, as they depend on Curaçao’s result and their two points leave them in a poor position in the tiebreaker for the best third-placed teams.
What happens if Germany lose to Ecuador?
Although Germany lose to Ecuador, they could remain at the top of Group E. While Ivory Coast could level them on points with a victory, Julian Nagelsmann’s team have the goal difference in their favor. In addition, Sebastian Beccacece’s team could qualify for the Round of 32 as a best third-placed team. However, they would depend on the performances of their rivals, with the tiebreakers serving as their main argument.
Deniz Undav #26 of Germany celebrates with teammate Nadiem Amiri #20.
On Saturday, attempts to become a unified world champion in a second division as he collides with Puerto Rico’s WBA and WBO ruler . Ennis was elevated to IBF welterweight champion in late 2023 and defended that belt against both David Avanesyan and Karen Chukhadzhian, before a brutal beatdown of then WBA champion Eimantas Stanionis […]
Galatasaray, yerli rotasyonunu derinleştirmek için harekete geçti. Sarı-kırmızılıların Çaykur Rizespor'dan Muhammet Taha Şahin ve Corendon Alanyaspor'dan Ümit Akdağ'ı listeye aldığı belirtildi.
Kocaelispor'un teknik patronu Selçuk İnan, orta saha hattını güçlendirmek adına geçtiğimiz sezon başında da listesinde yer alan Berkan Kutlu'nun ismini yönetime yeniden verdi.
Yaz transfer döneminde ses getirecek hamleler yapmaya hazırlanan Galatasaray, yönünü Real Madrid'in büyük yatırımlarla kadrosuna kattığı 18 yaşındaki yıldız oyuncuya çevirdi. Jose Mourinho, 2007 doğumlu...Devamı için tıklayınız
The Japanese financial conglomerate plans to take full control of Bitbank as it expands an ecosystem spanning crypto trading, stablecoins, tokenization and blockchain infrastructure.
Polymarket emerged as an onboarding layer for about 60% of World Cup bettors, who interacted with the blockchain for the first time during their prediction market entry.
Spark deployed approximately $150 million across two Uniswap v4 pools on Ethereum, while its DualPool hook and Shared Liquidity Layer are planned for later phases.
Cənubi Afrika Respublikası millisinin baş məşqçisi Hüqo Bros DÇ-2026-nın qrup mərhələsinin son turunda Cənubi Koreyaya qarşı keçirdikləri oyunu şərh edib.
Arena.az xəbər verir ki, A qrupunun sonuncu turunun oyunu Afrika təmsilçisinin 1:0 hesablı qələbəsi ilə yekunlaşıb.
Hüqo Bros matçdan sonra fikirlərini bölüşüb. Belçikalı mütəxəssis komandasının çıxışından məmnun qaldığını bildirib və son illərdə əldə olunan uğurları yüksək qiymətləndirib:
“Bu an nə hiss etdiyimi izah etmək çətindir. Bu, fantastik təcrübədir. Biz həqiqətən yaxşı oynadıq və qol epizodları yaratdıq. Taktiki baxımdan əla çıxış etdik, Cənubi Koreya isə ehtiyac duyduğu boş zonaları tapa bilmədi. Qolu vurduqdan sonra növbəti 20 dəqiqə çox böyük gərginlik şəraitində keçdi.
Son beş ildə əldə etdiklərimiz sadəcə heyrətamizdir. Bu qədər uzun müddət birlikdə çalışdıqda məşqçi ilə komanda arasında xüsusi bağ yaranır. Bu artıq təkcə məşqçi ilə futbolçular arasındakı münasibət deyil, biz dost olmuşuq. İndi sadəcə bu anın həzzini çıxarmalıyıq”, – deyə Bros bildirib.
Cənubi Koreya millisinin baş məşqçisi Honq Myunq-bo isə məğlubiyyətə görə bütün məsuliyyəti öz üzərinə götürüb.
“Futbolçularımız bu oyunda meydanda əllərindən gələni etdilər. İlk qolu buraxdığımız üçün məyusuq. Qeyri-qənaətbəxş nəticəyə görə məsuliyyət baş məşqçi kimi tamamilə mənim üzərimə düşür”.
Qeyd edək ki, Cənubi Afrika Respublikası millisi qrup mərhələsini uğurla başa vuraraq DÇ-2026-nın pley-off mərhələsinə vəsiqə qazanıb, Cənubi Koreya isə turnirlə vidalaşıb.
Futbol üzrə Meksika millisinin baş məşqçisi Xavyer Aqirre dünya çempionatının qrup mərhələsində Çexiyaya qarşı keçirdikləri oyunu şərh edib.
Arena.az xatırladır ki, DÇ-2026-nın qrup mərhələsinin sonuncu turunun Çexiya – Meksika matçı mundialın meydan sahiblərindən biri olan meksikalıların möhtəşəm qələbəsi ilə yekunlaşıb – 3:0.
Aqirre matçdan sonra təşkil edilmiş mətbuat konfransında bunları söyləyib:
“Bu komandanın özünəməxsus xarakteri var. Futbolçular böyük uğur qazandılar. Qrup mərhələsində maksimum nəticə göstərdik. Qol da buraxmadıq. Oyunçularımdan məmnunam. Heyətdə gənc futbolçular da var. Onlar bizim gələcəyimizdir. Gələcək üçün möhkəm təməlimiz var”.
Çexiya millisinin baş məşqçisi Miroslav Koubek də məğlub olduqları və turnirlə vidalaşdıqları oyundan sonra fikirlərini bölüşüb. Təcrübəli mütəxəssis dünya çempionatının komandanın çatışmazlıqlarını üzə çıxardığını bildirib və gələcəkdə heyətdə dəyişikliklər edəcəyini açıqlayıb.
“Bu dünya çempionatı göstərdi ki, inkişaf etməliyik və mundial kimi yüksək səviyyəli turnirlərdə uğurla çıxış etməyi bacaran daha çox rəqabətədavamlı futbolçuya sahib olmalıyıq. Əminəm ki, müəyyən dəyişikliklərdən sonra növbəti yarışlarda nəticələrimizi yaxşılaşdıracağıq. Mən milliyə daha güclü futbolçular dəvət edəcəyəm”, – deyə Koubek bildirib.
Baş məşqçi qrupun əsas favoriti kimi Meksika millisini göstərib.
“Qrupumuzda aşkar favorit Meksika idi. Biz isə Cənubi Koreya və Cənubi Afrika ilə oyunlarda daha yaxşı çıxış etməli idik”, – deyə çexiyalı mütəxəssis əlavə edib.
Qeyd edək ki, Çexiya millisi DÇ-2026-nın qrup mərhələsini adlaya bilməyərək turnirlə erkən vidalaşıb. Meksika seçməsi isə A qrupunu 9 xalla birinci pillədə bitirib.
Amerika Birləşmiş Ştatları (ABŞ), Kanada və Meksikada təşkil edilmiş futbol üzrə sayca 23-cü dünya çempionatı (DÇ-2026) davam edir.
Arena.az xəbər verir ki, artıq daha bir qrupda – A qrupunda da mübarizəyə yekun vurulub.
Dünya çempionatının ev sahiblərindən olan Meksika millisi Çexiya yığmasını sınağa çəkibsə, Cənubi Afrika Respublikası (CAR) Cənubi Koreya seçməsi ilə üz-üzə gəlib.
Mexiko stadionunda baş tutmuş Çexiya – Meksika matçında Şimali Amerika təmsilçisi 3:0 hesablı qələbəyə sevinib. Meksikalıların heyətində 55-ci dəqiqədə Mateo Çaves Qarsiya, 6 dəqiqə sonra Xulian Kinyones yerli azarkeşləri ayağa qaldırıblar. Matçda son nöqtəni isə 90+4-cü dəqiqədə Alvaro Fidalqo qoyub.
CAR seçməsi isə Cənubi Koreya ilə Monterrey stadionunda keçirilmiş oyundan 1:0 hesablı qələbə ilə ayrılıb. 63-cü dəqiqədə Tapelo Maseko adını tabloya yazdırıb.
Qrupdakı 3 görüşünü də qələbə ilə başa vurmuş Meksika 9 xalla A qrupunu lider tamamlayıb. CAR yığması xallarının sayını 4-ə çatdıraraq qrupdan ikinci yerlə çıxıb. Tarixində ilk dəfə pley-off mərhələsinə vəsiqə əldə edən komandanın bu mərhələdəki rəqibi B qrupunu ikinci sırada başa vurmuş Kanada seçməsi olacaq. Cənubi Koreya 3 xalla 3-cü olub. 1 xalla sonuncu olan Çexiya isə mundialla vidalaşıb.
Qeyd edək ki, Meksika millisi tarixində ilk dəfə dünya çempionatının qrup mərhələsində keçirdiyi hər üç oyundan qələbə ilə ayrılıb. Komanda həmçinin 1970-ci ildən bəri ilk dəfə qrup mərhələsindəki bütün görüşlərdə qapısını toxunulmaz saxlamağı bacarıb.
“Mançester Siti” “Nottingem Forest”in futbolçusu Elliot Andersonu transfer etmək istəyir.
Futbolpress.az xəbər verir ki, “şəhərlilər” ingilis yarımmüdafiəçi üçün bir müddətdir, danışıq aparır. Bu barədə insayder Fabrizio Romano məlumat yayıb. Tərəflərin anlaşmağa yaxın olduğu bildirilir.
Anderson hazırda İngiltərə yığması ilə dünya çempionatındadır. O, mundialda iki oyunda bir məhsuldar ötürmə edib.
“Atletiko”nun futbolçusu Aleks Baena komanda yoldaşı Yulian Alvaresin “Barselona”ya keçmək ehtimalından danışıb.
Futbolpress.az xəbər verir ki, yarımmüdafiəçi COPE-yə açıqlamasında bunları deyib:
“Komanda yoldaşlarımın heç birinin satılmasını istəməzdim. Klub rəhbəri olsam, oyunçumu əzəli rəqibimə göndərmərəm. Premyer Liqaya? Xeyr, əlimdən gəlsə, buraxmaram. Məndən olsa, Alvaresi zəncirləyərdim. Amma bir də onun tərəfindən düşünək. Arzularının arxasınca getmək istəyirsə, nə edə bilərik?”
Alvares daha əvvəl klubdan ayrılmaq istədiyini açıqlayıb. Futbolçu ilə “Barselona” və “Real” yaxından maraqlanır.
ABŞ millisinin baş məşqçisi Maurisio Poçettino DÇ-2026-da qrup mərhələsinin III turunda Türkiyəyə qarşı keçirəcəkləri oyundan əvvəl fikirlərini bölüşüb.
Futbolpress.az xəbər verir ki, mütəxəssis pley-offa vəsiqəni təmin etmələrinə baxmayaraq, qələbə qazanmaq istədiklərini deyib:
“Türkiyə gözlənilməz nəticə ilə yadda qaldı. Biz isə pley-offdayıq. Lakin bu, qələbə arzumuza təsir etməyəcək. Mümkün qədər yaxşı oynamalıyıq. Hədəfimiz qrup mərhələsini itkisiz başa vurmaqdır”.
Türkiyə – ABŞ oyunu sabah saat 06:00-da keçiriləcək.
“Mançester Siti”nin müdafiəçisi Ruben Dias İspaniyaya yollanmağa hazırlaşır. Msport.az xəbər verir ki, “Real” portuqaliyalı futbolçu ilə müqavilə imzalamaqda maraqlıdır. Dias […]
MLS klubu “Nyu-York Siti” “Milan” və ABŞ milli komandasının yarımmüdafiəçisi Kristian Pulişiçi transfer etməkdə maraqlı olduğunu bildirib. Msport.az xəbər verir […]
Aave has rebounded sharply from this week’s sell-off and is now testing a key long-term resistance level after renewed buying, short-covering activity, and fresh optimism around the DeFi lending protocol lifted market sentiment. According to data from crypto.news, Aave (AAVE)…
It’s dumb out there again.
This week has the usual smell of prod on fire and nobody wanting to admit who left the door open — old creds still working, trusted apps doing sketchy crap, browser tricks jumping the fence, and “normal” workflows turning into phishing pipes because apparently email was not enough hell already.
The worst part is how cheap some of it feels. Not elite. Not cinematic.
Fabio Capello believes that now is the right time for Antonio Conte to return to the role of head coach of the Italy national team, and suggests that the damage was done for Roberto Mancini when he accepted a position in the Saudi Arabia set-up three years ago.
Capello: Who better to give Italy a bit of a shock than Conte?
Giovanni Malago has recently been elected as the new President of the FIGC and appointing a new head coach of the men’s national team is an immediate priority for the new chief of the Italian FA.
As things stand, Mancini and Conte are the frontrunners, although there have also been some calls from supporters to give U21s head coach and recent interim Silvio Baldini a chance with the senior side on a full-time basis.
Mancini and Conte, however, remain the two frontrunners, and Capello has made it clear which one he would prefer to see return to the Italy hot seat.
“We’re talking about a battle between two great coaches, both winners,” Capello said in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport.
But, If he had to make the decision between Conte and Mancini, there are no doubts in his mind as to who he would select: “Antonio.”
NAPLES, ITALY – MAY 24: Antonio Conte SSC Napoli head coach greets his supporters after the Serie A match between SSC Napoli and Udinese Calcio at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on May 24, 2026 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)
He explained: “Conte is a coach who brings immediate impact, on the players, on the results. He rarely makes mistakes when he’s called upon to start a new adventure.
“Our football needs something of a shock. I’d say a nice bit of shock therapy, and who better to do it than Conte?”
Capello believes that Mancini’s decision to leave the Italy set up in order to join the Saudi Arabia national team back in 2023 puts him at a disadvantage in the running for the vacant CT role this time around.
“A week before mid-August, he was having dinner with the FIGC President Gravina. And, a week later, he tells him that he’s taken the Saudi Arabia option. It was done three summers ago. The facts are too recent to be forgotten about or pushed to one side.”
Capello refused to label Mancini’s decision to join the Saudi set-up a ‘betrayal’, as La Gazzetta dello Sport has done: “It was an interesting choice, but a sudden choice that nobody would have expected,” he confessed.
Twitter: @SaudiNT
Capello does feel encouraged that there is a promising crop of young players coming through, some of whom had opportunities during the round of June international friendlies played under interim head coach Silvio Baldini and his squad of Italy U21 players.
“Promising youngsters, but they need to be put into a different context: They need to create a good mix where the presence of the senior players is fundamental.”
One of the benefits of appointing Conte is that he, like Mancini, has been there before and knows how to get results.
“Leading a national team has very little to do with the day-to-day work you do,” said Capello. “Conte would know how to bring the best out of his boys every time they meet up.”
MADRID, SPAIN – APRIL 20: Fabio Capello attends the Sporting Mixed Zone ahead of Laureus World Sports Awards Madrid 2025 at Palacio De Cibeles on April 20, 2025 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images for Laureus)
Conte also looks back fondly on Conte’s performance with the Italy national team at EURO 2016.
“I remember that match against Germany. We took them to penalties with an unprecedented midfield due to the various unavailabilities: Parolo, Sturaro and Giaccherini in the middle.
“I back Antonio because it’s his time. You can feel Conte’s desire to return to the national team and complete a job he began a few years ago. And it was him who said it, that he would be the coach again one day.”
And Mancini?
“Bravo, very good. He gave us the EURO 2021 dream, the victory at the home of the English in Wembley. I have nothing more to say about that, but I think Conte would be better.”
And how about the promotion of current U21 head coach Baldini?
“I like him, and not just a small amount. The work he has done with the Italy U21s is great, the messages he launched during his 10 days in charge of the senior team have made an impact as well.”
It has been confirmed that Qatar midfielder Assim Madibo has been handed a five-match ban from international fixtures by FIFA after a challenge that left Sassuolo midfielder Ismael Kone with a fractured leg.
Madibo given five-match ban after horror Kone injury
The offender, Madibo, was originally shown a yellow card for his challenge, but this was later upgraded to a red after a VAR review. Madibo and Qatar’s Minister for Sport went to visit Kone in hospital shortly after the incident occurred.
It has since been confirmed that Madibo will be banned for five international matches as a result of the challenge.
It was a horrible injury for Kone to suffer, but there has still been some criticism over the severity of the punishment handed out to Madibo.
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – JUNE 18: #8 of Canada waves to crowd as he is stretched off after being fouled by Assim Madibo #23 of Qatar during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group B match between Canada and Qatar at BC Place Vancouver on June 18, 2026 in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
The Athletic have labelled the five-match ban ‘absurd’, suggesting that “FIFA reacted to the result of (Madibo’s) foul on Kone, not the foul itself.”
It wasn’t the best challenge by any means, but the general consensus is that Madibo was not intentionally trying to endanger his opponent, just that he made a poorly-timed and poorly-judged tackle. The Qatari midfielder had his head in his hands and appeared genuinely distraught upon seeing the extent of Kone’s injury.
Thursday’s reports claim that Juventus could turn to Paris Saint-Germain forward Lee Kang-in if they are unable to strike a deal with Real Madrid for Brahim Diaz, but Atletico Madrid are also interested in a potential deal for the South Korea international.
Lee Kang-in could be Juventus’s Plan B if Diaz stays with Real Madrid
For several weeks, reports in Italy have claimed that Diaz is Luciano Spalletti’s preferred choice to come in and strengthen the Bianconeri attack, in addition to the need for a new centre-forward to replace Dusan Vlahovic.
Agreeing a deal for Diaz may prove difficult, though, and despite the previous reports that the Morocco international was open to the idea of a return to Serie A, the latest updates from Calciomercato.com claim that he is now minded to stay put in the Spanish capital.
If Juventus are unable to strike a deal for Diaz, then Lee Kang-in could become a viable ‘Plan B’.
Lee is under contract with PSG until the summer of 2028 and earns a reported €4m per season on his current contract, which would not be out of the question for Juventus. PSG paid a fee of €22m to sign the South Korean from Mallorca in the summer of 2023.
GUADALUPE, MEXICO – JUNE 24: Kang-In Lee #19 of Korea Republic competes for the ball against Iqraam Rayners #15 of South Africa during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group A match between South Africa and Korea Republic at Monterrey Stadium on June 24, 2026 in Guadalupe, Mexico. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)
Juventus will face stiff competition from Atletico Madrid if they do proceed in negotiations for Lee. The Spanish side reportedly have an agreement in principle on personal terms with the player, but have not got an agreement in place with PSG.
Inter legend Beppe Bergomi has weighed in on the news that Marco Palestra will be moving to Stamford Bridge instead of San Siro this summer, and the Nerazzurri legend has made it clear that he thinks staying in Serie A would have been a better choice for the 21-year-old: ‘Inter could have had another Hakimi’.
Palestra is all set to join Premier League side Chelsea in a deal that could be worth up to €60m, with wages reported to be worth €5m-€6m per season over the course of a five or six-year contract.
This comes as a blow to the Nerazzurri, who had set aside €50m for the signing of the recently-capped Italy international, who had been tipped as the ideal replacement for the Real Madrid-bound Denzel Dumfries.
Bergomi: ‘I still think Inter would have been the perfect team for Palestra’
Bergomi has shared his thoughts on the matter in an in-depth interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“I followed the whole transfer saga involving Palestra,” Bergomi began. “I understand that it’s a source of pride for a young lad to go and play in such a competitive league, but I still think that Inter would have been the perfect team for him.”
Many supporters feel that Palestra’s head has been turned by a lucrative set of personal terms from Chelsea, more so than for sporting reasons given that Inter are the reigning league and cup champions in Italy, will be playing in the Champions League next term while Chelsea will sit out of the European competitions altogether after their 10th-place Premier League finish in 2025-26.
“I don’t want to put it all down to money,” says Bergomi. “At this age, for me, money should never be the deciding factor. A young player wants to measure themself in a new league, to try new challenges.
“But I do understand that he will earn twice as much at Chelsea than what he would have received here in Italy. But I don’t want to think that it’s just a financial issue for a 21-year-old.”
MILAN, ITALY – APRIL 17: Marco Palestra of Cagliari Calcio in action during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and Cagliari Calcio at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on April 17, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
For Bergomi, there is no doubt that Inter would have been the perfect fit for Palestra.
“Yes, it could have been ideal for him given how he plays, how he would fit into that role. Chivu’s team, which will still play in a 3-5-2, brings out the best qualities in its wing-backs. Inter could have had another Hakimi, a player with great speed and brilliant technique, after saying goodbye to Dumfries, who brought more physicality.
“So, for me, Inter would have been the perfect team for Palestra, both in terms of his enjoyment and for his development.”
There are concerns that Palestra’s development might stagnate in the Premier League, especially if he has to settle for a spot as an understudy to England international Reece James at right-back at Stamford Bridge.
“I hope that he will find a place in the starting XI and to find continuity, even if it won’t be easy to fit in or settle immediately in such a competitive league like the English one,” says Bergomi.
CAGLIARI, ITALY – FEBRUARY 16: Marco Palestra of Cagliari in action during the Serie A match between Cagliari Calcio and US Lecce at Stadio Sant’Elia on February 16, 2026 in Cagliari, Italy. (Photo by Enrico Locci/Getty Images)
“For him, playing will be fundamental, and that is also the same for the national team. But these days especially with young Italians who go abroad, there is no longer that fear that they might miss out on playing for the Azzurri if they go abroad. Look at where Retegui, Calafiori, Tonali and Donnarumma play.”
So, what would Bergomi do with the money that Inter had set aside for the signing of Palestra if he were in charge?
“I’m convinced they’ll be able to find the right solution, but I will repeat that for me, Palestra undoubtedly would have been an ideal choice on the right.
“As for the rest, Inter have to bring in two players in defence, not just one. (Oumar) Solet is perfect for how Chivu plays. The same also goes for Jones in midfield.
“But, I wouldn’t panic. Remember that Inter made their best signing, Akanji, on the final day of the transfer window last summer.”
Leeds United appear to be wasting no time in the summer transfer window, with their move for Harry Wilson looking like just the beginning of a bigger recruitment push.
According to Sky Sports, Leeds have agreed a deal to sign the Wales international on a free transfer once his Fulham contract expires at the end of June.
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Wilson enjoyed an excellent 2025/26 campaign, scoring 11 goals and providing eight assists for Fulham, so landing him without a transfer fee looks like smart business.
The deal is still subject to a medical, but Leeds look well placed to make him one of their first major summer additions.
Leeds United target more creativity after Wilson deal
Wilson’s arrival would give Daniel Farke more Premier League quality, but Leeds are not expected to stop there.
Daily Mail have reported that Leeds have been exploring a move for Julian Brandt, who is set to leave Borussia Dortmund as a free agent.
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Brandt would be an ambitious signing. The German playmaker has Champions League experience, technical quality and the ability to play between the lines.
His wages could be a challenge, but if Leeds can make the numbers work, signing two proven attackers on free transfers would be a major statement.
Shea Charles is another player on Farke’s radar
Leeds are also looking at Southampton midfielder Shea Charles.
Leeds All Over reported that Leeds have made a £20m-plus move for the 22-year-old, while Southampton’s difficult end to last season could influence the situation.
Leeds are moving in the right way. Wilson is a clever free transfer, Brandt would bring genuine class, and Charles would add long-term value.
The key is balance. Leeds need quality, but they cannot afford reckless spending.
If they can mix smart free-agent deals with one or two younger investments, this could become a very strong window.
Tottenham appear to be making serious moves in the race to sign West Ham midfielder Mateus Fernandes, with reports suggesting they have stepped up their pursuit of the highly rated Portuguese international.
The 21-year-old has attracted attention from several major clubs in recent weeks, including Manchester United, Arsenal and Real Madrid.
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However, Spurs now seem to be pushing hardest to get a deal done, with some reports claiming they have reached a verbal agreement with West Ham.
Neither club has officially confirmed an agreement, but the direction of the story is clear: Tottenham are trying to move quickly before their rivals can respond.
Man United transfer blow as Spurs step up interest
This could be a frustrating development for Man United.
The Guardian previously reported that United were leading the chase for Fernandes, while Sky Sports claimed the Red Devils were preparing an opening bid.
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United have been looking to reshape their midfield, and Fernandes fits the profile of a modern Premier League player.
He is young, technically secure, energetic and capable of developing into a long-term starter.
That is exactly why Tottenham’s sudden progress will be viewed as a blow at Old Trafford.
Spurs, meanwhile, appear ready to offer a stronger financial package, and that could prove decisive in such a competitive race.
West Ham are believed to value Fernandes at around £80m, with The Times reporting that Tottenham are hopeful of beating Manchester United to the midfielder.
For Tottenham, this would be an ambitious signing. Adding Fernandes would give them more quality, control and long-term potential in midfield, while also sending a message that they are ready to compete aggressively in the market.
This would be a huge statement from Tottenham if they can complete it.
Fernandes is expensive, but he has the age, profile and potential to become a major Premier League midfielder.
The finishing touch I needed to complete my budget gaming PC was a new monitor. I wanted it at least 27 inches, curved, with 1440p support, a high refresh rate, and low response time. I wanted all that for around £100. A tough ask, I thought, until I saw the MSI MAG 275CQF for £119. It's now even cheaper for Prime Day, and I can't recommend it enough if you want a quality budget gaming monitor.
Some of you may scoff at this pick, that perhaps I should have gone for a 4K display instead, or picked something larger if it's my main monitor. Truth is, for the relatively little PC gaming I still do these days, it suits me just fine. And it's an ideal size for work, too, giving me that extra bit of screen real estate I need for multiple windows and tabs.
The MSI MAG 275CQF pretty much hits everything I was after. It's a 27-inch curved display that offers 1440p resolution support, a refresh rate of up to 180Hz, a 0.5ms response time, HDR, and both display port or HDMI connectivity options. And best of all, it now only costs £101 in this week's Amazon sale.
So, if you're bemoaning ridiculous prices for RAM, storage and graphics cards, and you're looking for a way to upgrade or get the most out of your current rig, then this cheap monitor could be a nice little boost to your gaming experience.
Buy the MSI MAG 275CQF at Amazon
I recently upgraded to this gaming monitor from MSI — and I haven't looked back. There are definitely bigger and better monitors out there, but you get serious value for money with this MAG 275CQF. It's a good-sized 27-inch curved display, with support for up to 1440p resolution, a max refresh rate of 180Hz, and a response time of 0.5ms for smooth and responsive gaming. As far as budget gaming monitors go, it's hard to beat at this price.View Deal
I've found the MSI MAG 275CQF is the perfect pairing to my rig, as my spec is built around running most games in 1440p at 60fps or higher. With a Ryzen 5 9600X and a 16GB RX 9060XT, I can make use of the monitor's full resolution and the higher refresh rate in many less demanding titles. And that's mostly what I'm playing on it, with my PS5 Pro used for any cutting-edge games I want the big screen experience on.
Considering I work on the PC, too, I really like the extra screen size, responsiveness, and the sleek curved design for writing and all my other work needs. I've currently got the MSI MAG 275CQF paired with a basic 1080p monitor in a dual-screen setup, but I'm sorely tempted just to add another now that it's on sale again to get one huge curved display setup.
Looking for a great coffee maker this Amazon Prime Day? Look no further — one of my all-time favorite espresso machines is half price, and you don't even need to be a Prime subscriber to get it. Right now, you can grab the superb Philips Baristina for just £225.99 (was £449.99) at Amazon — a price cut that's too good to miss.
So why the price crash? Well, I suspect it has something to do with the Philips Baristina Latte, which launched a few days ago. The new addition has all the same features as the original Baristina, plus an integrated automatic milk frother for preparing creamy lattes and airy cappuccinos. It's available now for $499.99 from Target, but if you're mostly interested in espresso, the original Baristina is the one for you.
The Baristina is a compact coffee maker that makes brewing delicious espresso effortless, and it's half price at Amazon. It was already one of the cheapest bean-to-cup machines around, so this deal is frankly amazing.View Deal
What I love about the Baristina is the way it combines the best features of automatic and manual coffee makers. It handles all the work of weighing out the correct dose of coffee, grinding it, tamping it down, and then pulling a shot, but because this doesn't happen inside an enclosed case, cleanup is a piece of cake.
Fully automatic coffee makers can get gross inside, with moisture and stray coffee grounds making a nice home for bacterial and mold. Here, however, you only need to wash out the portafilter basket, keep the drip tray clean, and run a bit of hot water through the groupset after brewing.
I admit that I'm also charmed by the way the Baristina automatically slides the portafilter handle underneath the brewing group once the coffee has been ground and tamped. And, of course, the resulting coffee is delicious as well. Take a look at my full Philips Baristina review for more details.
(Image credit: Future)
More Prime Day coffee maker deals
If a half-price Philips Baristina doesn't tempt you, here's a hand-picked selection of other great deals on coffee makers this Amazon Prime Day.
This is the cheapest this two-in-one coffee maker has been in 2026, and a great buy for Prime Day if you love both drip and espresso, and don't have space in your kitchen for two machines.View Deal
The Lattissima One always gets some good discounts during sales events, and Prime Day 2026 is no exception. This is Amazon's best price this year, and the deal applies to both the black and white models.View Deal
Amazon has knocked the Nanopresso down to its lowest-ever price for Prime Day, paired with a Nespresso Original adapter so you can use it with either ground coffee or pods as the fancy takes you.View Deal
The Vertuo Pop+ has a larger water tank than the classic Pop, so you can make drinks for two before it needs refilling. This pistachio green version is usually more expensive than other colors, but it's down to a record-low price this Prime Day.View Deal
$80 off a top-notch Nespresso machine? Don't mind if I do! This deal applies to the Vertuo Next in stylish gray or navy blue. It dropped to $90 yesterday though, so it might be worth holding out until Friday to see if it goes back down again.View Deal
It's a bit hot right now, isn't it? In fact, today marks the hottest June day recorded in the UK, with temperatures peaking at over 36 degrees Celsius, which is pretty outrageous.
I suspect, then, that many Brits will be heading to their local pool or beach to chill out a bit. But if you want to really enjoy the summery vibes, then I'd strongly recommend grabbing a Bluetooth speaker and blasting some tunes — and luckily, one of my favorite models is on sale for Amazon Prime Day.
With amazing sound quality, a rugged build, and top-tier waterproofing, the JBL Charge 6 is the ultimate pool or beachside companion, so scroll on down to learn more about this unmissable offer.
Today's best JBL Charge 6 deal
The JBL Charge 6 is a stellar speaker that boasts powerful, full-sounding audio with pounding bass, clear mids, and distinguished highs. It's also drop-proof and highly waterproof, making it the perfect speaker to take on the go.View Deal
In our JBL Charge 6 review, we rated the speaker five stars, and raved about its "even-handed and expressive sound," awesome power, and genuinely impressive build quality. And after testing it for myself, I'd agree that it's more than deserving of the high praise.
When I got my hands on the Charge 6, I was especially struck by its regimented, precise, and thumping bass, which made genres like House and Hip-Hop sound highly energetic and exciting. But this never got in the way of the rest of the frequency range — vocals and guitars in the mid-range and percussion in the treble also came through with commendable clarity and flair, resulting in a beautifully rounded listen.
But JBL's mid-weight speaker doesn't only sound great, it's also rammed with a fantastic feature-set. With customizable EQ, a battery-enhancing PlayTime Boost option, and lossless USB-C audio, this speaker really feels like the full package.
And what really helps it to stand out as a beach or poolside is its IP68 dust and waterproof rating. This means that the Charge 6 is fully protected against particle ingress, but it can also survive a 30-minute-long dunking under a meter and a half of water...pretty amazing, right?
Ultimately, this deal makes an already great-value Bluetooth speaker feel like a total bargain. And if you're looking to take your music-listening experiences to new heights this summer, then I'd strongly suggest scooping the Charge 6 up for less while you still can.
While both the PS5 and Xbox consoles have excellent default controllers, there's something special about embracing a premium pad that can offer you more, something different, or something better.
And that's what I plan to do with GTA 6: use a premium pad, whichever console I end up playing the game on. And it just so happens that the ongoing Amazon Prime Day deals have brought the price down on my favorite options for either platform.
For Xbox, the Thrustmaster eSwap X2 controller is now just £48.80 at Amazon (was £56.60 — but has an original list price of way more than that); and for PS5, the DualSense Edge is now down to £168 at Amazon (down from £199.99), which makes the premium Sony pad much more attractive.
Two of my favorite controllers on sale right now
This is a frankly ridiculous price for a wonderful Xbox controller. It's wired, yes, but it's a wonderfully versatile and fantastically built pad. It wasn't that long ago that this pad had a very premium price tag, so this is unbelievable value for money.View Deal
A superb price for the official premium PS5 controller that will give you all the options you need to play GTA 6 how you like, while not compromising on ergonomics or quality.View Deal
The Thrustmaster Eswap X2 is the Xbox controller I use the most, and it's from a line that opened up Xbox to me when the first variant came out, soon after the Xbox consoles.
It's a premium wired pad that has a modular design, excellent buttons and triggers, and a cracking design and build quality. Right now it's just £48.80, which frankly feels like a mistake. This had an equally premium price tag not all that long ago, so is a bargain.
I love the original DualSense a lot, but if I were looking for something extra on PS5, then it'd have to be the DualSense Edge. It keeps all that makes the regular DualSense great, particularly those immersive features, and the ergonomic design, but layers premium features on top, allowing you to do more with a Sony controller.
Both these controllers have extra buttons too, which you can map to your liking, so if you're looking for flexibility when playing GTA 6 — or anything, for that matter — then these pads are perfect for you and offer more than just a standard layout to work with.
Rockstar Games' GTA 6 is now officially available to pre-order globally for PS5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S, with the game's launch set for November 19, 2026.
In case you missed it, there are already ways to save big on Rockstar's blockbuster. The demand is so high that it has led to store errors on ShopTo after purchasing PlayStation Store gift cards, once GTA 6's pre-orders went live in the UK.
However, if you're only a PC player, GTA 6 won't be arriving on the platform anytime soon, but there's a way to solve that. If you don't own a PS5 or Xbox console, there's an important matter at hand — it's Prime Day, and that means there are all kinds of deals for everyone widely available.
Sony's PlayStation 5 Slim Digital Edition is easily one of the most affordable ways to experience Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto 6, once it arrives in November. The system is powerful enough to tackle any triple-A game, and is now closer to its original retail price at launch.View Deal
The PlayStation 5 Digital Edition is a solid choice for any gamer looking to experience several PlayStation exclusives, including Rockstar Games' GTA 6, launching on November 19, 2026. GTA 6 is notably being marketed as a game that 'plays best on PS5', so don't miss it!View Deal
With the Xbox Series X 1TB Digital Edition, you can experience GTA 6 on November 19, utilizing the console's powerful hardware for high fidelity. A digital console fits just right with the highly anticipated game launching as digital only.View Deal
Fortunately, the PS5 Slim Digital Edition is available on Joybuy for £389.95 (was £519.99), thanks to a 19% discount and a £30 coupon, dropping the console's price close to the original retail price at launch. It's currently one of the most affordable ways to dive into the PlayStation ecosystem.
Ultimately, we still don't have any specific details regarding GTA 6's performance on either PS5 or Xbox consoles, despite rumors suggesting there will be performance and quality modes. It's suggested that the PS5 Pro enhanced version of GTA 6 will feature 60 frames per second, but it's hard to say until there's official confirmation.
For now, the focus should be on acquiring either of these consoles before the demand for them reaches new heights — and stock is already running low for the PS5 Digital Edition, so act fast!
There have been some terrific Amazon Prime Daydeals on the best headphones, but this is my pick. I use the Momentum 4's every single day and since I bought them in November 2024, they've been an excellent companion.
Today's best Sennheiser Momentum 4 deals
This is the cheapest the Sennheiser Momentum 4 have been, dropping to $179.95 for Prime Day. They deliver excellent sound quality, effective noise cancelling, great call quality and all-day comfort. Truly brilliant value. View Deal
The Sennheiser Momentum 4 return to a record-low price of £160 for Prime Day, which is a steal for these headphones. They offer balanced, detailed sound, great comfort, effective noise cancelling and great call quality. A real pair of do-it-all headphones. View Deal
Perfectly balanced
(Image credit: Future)
While the Momentum 4 may be a couple of years old now, and their successor the Sennheiser Momentum 5 have arrived, the Momentum 4 are still an excellent pair of headphones that I enjoy using every day.
Their main strength for me personally is their sound profile. While it's on the more neutral side, as opposed to the more bass-centric sound of Sony for example, I find the Momentum 4 can cover a wide range of genres really well.
Whether it's the delicate piano of 'To Zanarkand' from Final Fantasy X as I sit at my desk, the crunching, relentless guitars and drums of Dir En Grey or an electro-pop banger from Lady Gaga like 'Abracadabra', I've found the Momentum 4 do a great job offering punchy bass, clear trebles and highs, plus refined mid-tones — all well balanced and giving every aspect room to breathe.
During my travels I've found that the Momentum 4 offer excellent noise-cancelling, effectively shutting out loud conversations on busy public transport. Within the easy-to-use Smart Control app, you can control the level of ANC you want and its transparency setting in particular is excellent for busy city centres.
Battery life on the Momentum 4 is remarkable. I use them for multiple hours a day and rarely have to charge them more than once a week. Boasting a 60 hour battery life with ANC ON (yes, on) means the headphones can go. And go. And...
Aesthetically, the Momentum 4 are a little plain, and they don't have a folding design like other headphones (see Sony WH-1000XM6), but I think the trade-off in design is worth it for the sound quality. In terms of comfort, I've personally worn these headphones for up to 10 hours in a row and never found them uncomfortable.
I bought these headphones for £249 ($320 converted) in November 2024, and I thought they were excellent value then, down from their $349 / £300 launch price. At $179.50 / £160, they're a steal.
While scouting for deals thisAmazon Prime Day, I've spotted what may be my finest soon-to-be impulse purchase yet; a totally necessary Japanese BBQ grill.
I've already fallen victim to a £20 iced coffee-maker this year, but now I've seen this shichirin, I'm once again reaching for my credit card. Right now, the small size is 23% off, knocking the price down to £307 (was £399); a noteworthy £92 saving on what looks to be a well-made portable grill. That's perfect for me and my upcoming camping trip, but you can also score an even bigger 34% discount on the medium-sized model, now £327.27 (was £499).
Made by Kasai Grills in partnership with British Michelin Star chef Tommy Banks, this kind of indoor-outdoor grill can draw rich, deep flavours from meat, cooking them just inches away from the charcoal. It's built with tiles that reflect heat into the grill to keep temperatures steady, and Kasai claims it can withstand up to a whopping 1200°C. That's as hot as a pottery kiln.
Today's best Kasai grill deals
My top pick is the small-sized Kasai Japanese grill, which has a neat 23% discount for Prime Day. At 26.5 x 40.5 x 21cm (DxWxH) and 12.34kg, it's not exactly ultra-portable, but I'm driving to my campsite, so I can easily pop it in the boot of my car without taking up too much room. Below, the Nano model might be better if you plan to hike a little to your campsite.View Deal
The smallest size Kasai Japanese Grill is 23 x 31 x 16.5cm (DxWxH) and just 7.2kg. It's still not an everyday carry, but for taking on a short hike to a campsite, it's the best you can get. View Deal
At 26.5 x 54 x 21 (DxWxH) and 24.6 kg, this isn't one I'd travel with too readily, but it's great as a garden and at-home grill. With its roomy grill, you can feed a larger group at once without having to wait your turn to grill.View Deal
It's not the strongest discount here, but if you want to be able to feed the whole family and then some, this larger size is the best choice. Just don't try and shove it in a backpack for camping, because at 22kg and 26 x 70 x 21cm (DxWxH) it's more than a little hefty. View Deal
@Claude is an AI colleague that your colleagues can see
It'll answer questions and proactively contribute where it's useful
Teams first, other platforms later, but remember to set spending limits
In a bid to make its AI assistant even more collaborative, Anthropic has launched Claude Tag into Slack to make it more like interacting with a real colleague.
But tagging @Claude in a discussion, the AI reads the discussion's context to respond with relevant information, answer questions, summarize long chats, identify updates and surface missed information.
The shared assistant allows multiple people to interact with the same Claude instance, rather than everybody having separate chats with AI.
You can now tag @Claude in Slack
"We’re tagging Claude to chase down product metrics and data, work through support tickets, or even help find the root cause of tricky bugs," Anthropic said about its own internal use of the tool, powered by Opus 4.8.
Anthropic described Claude Tag as a virtual teammate, but the existing Slack connector for Claude gives the chatbot access to the app's context for users who still want to have private discussions with the tool.
Claude Tag can also connect to external tools – for example a Gmail connection monitors incoming emails and notifies users within Slack in a bid to keep everything in one place.
The built-in chatbot also promises to 'take initiative' by surfacing relevant information when a discussion is taking place, or by setting reminders for action items when a chat goes quiet.
Claude Tag is available for Enterprise and Team customers in research preview. Anthropic is giving away a 'launch credit' for users to try it out, but the company recommends setting a spend limit.
Though Slack is the first platform to support Claude Tag, the company promises to be working on integrating it into other workplace tools too.
There's one thing I can't live without when working out and that's music, and Amazon Prime Day is one of the best times of the year to see what deals are kicking about on the best workout headphones.
I've gathered nine deals on some of our favorite models, with different types of headphones for different types of workouts. If you're a keen runner, whether that's outdoors in the sun or inside on a treadmill, and are after a set of headphones to optimize your cardio sessions, the Shokz OpenRun Pro headphones are now down to $124.95 from $179.95. There's also a UK deal to match.
But it's not just running-specific headphones on offer, there are models from Apple, Beats, and the budget-friendly JLab getting the Prime day treatment too, so there's something for everyone.
I'm a big fan of taking my workouts outdoors when the weather brightens up in the summer months, but let's be honest, doing any sort of exercise in the heat is difficult, so I'll be relying on my air-conditioned gym to get a kick out of my HIIT workouts.
Today's best fitness headphones deals in the US
The AirPods Pro 3 are just $10 shy of their lowest ever price, which is still quite a steal. Apple's newest premium buds feature improved Active Noise Cancellation, outstanding audio, a comfortable in-ear design, and new features such as live translation and heart-rate tracking. These do-it-all buds really are 100% flagship audio, and the noise-cancelling is outstanding.View Deal
While we haven't had hands-on experience with JLab's Go Sport+, we've spent some time with their sibling, the JLab Go Air Sport earbuds, which we loved. They're surprisingly reliable and make for a great entry-level model if you're just getting into the world of fitness and don't want to spend big bucks. They fit securely, and can endure intense workouts — and for less than $20, they're a no-brainer. View Deal
If you're a keen swimmer and are looking for a pair of headphones to soundtrack your way up and down the lanes, the OpenSwim Pro are a solid shout thanks to its Bluetooth connectivity for live music streaming, which id added to the existing built-in MP3 support. This means they're ideal for listening to music both in and out of swimming environments.
The pinnacle of the Apple's Beats sub-brand are its Powerbeats Pro 2. Think of them as the new, improved version of some of the best running headphones you can buy — now at a record-low price. These better their predecessor in almost every category with that modern Apple H2 chip, lighter weight, longer battery life, and new features such as heart-rate monitoring and Qi wireless charging. The battery lasts an impressive 45 hours total with both the buds and case, which beats many of the best workout earbuds by a wide margin.
A $55 saving on the Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 (bone conduction headphones that don't actually go into your ear) is not to be sniffed at, especially as it's the biggest discount these headphones have ever had — they briefly dropped to $139 before now, but never this low! Available in both standard and mini sizes in three colors, the Pro 2 use bone conduction and air conduction to deliver great sound on multiple fronts, all while keeping you aware of your surroundings.
OpenRun Pro 2 (a set of bone conduction headphones that don't actually cover the ears so are almost like open earbuds!) are among the very best running headphones available right now, at the lowest price they've ever been – a solid Prime Day no-brainer for the long-distance runner in your life.
If you want Apple's iconic buds in the UK (and you'd be in good company; they're the most popular earbuds in the world for a reason) you're in luck. AirPods Pro 3 are at their lowest-seen price on Amazon UK. The main difference between the Pro 3 and Pro 2 is the addition of heart rate sensing and Live Translation using Apple Intelligence, and the ANC is vastly improved, as we covered at length in ourAirPods Pro 3 review — which is no small statement given that the ANC in the AirPods Pro 2 was already excellent.
If you're in the UK, you can also get the Shokz OpenFit 2 for a record-low price. These excellent open earbuds are the ideal pick for runners and they are much easier to recommend at this massively discounted price. Get them for the impressive sound quality, lengthy battery life and dependable fit.
The Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 are our pick for the best running headphones for endurance. So, if you’re running longer distances or want peace of mind on race day, these are excellent. The incredibly well-engineered earhook design delivers a secure fit, and the buds are backed up by solid battery life and good sound quality.
I've covered Amazon Prime Day for a few years now, and each year it seems to get bigger as the retailer's inventory expands. I've just spotted a promotion that's admittedly new to me, however.
Right now, you can get a $1,500 Amazon gift card if you buy a car via the retailer's Amazon Autos service. I didn't even know that buying a car from Amazon was a thing until I spotted this Prime Day special.
Should you buy a car via Amazon? Well, that's a good question. From what I can see on the listings, Amazon Autos is essentially just a new marketplace for dealers, rather than a first-party retailer. It's a little strange seeing cars listed as for sale on the Amazon Store page, but the more I look at it, the more it seems to make sense. It doesn't seem that much different from most online car marketplaces.
Interestingly, it looks like the available stock is mostly from American, Korean, and Japanese brands, with a few German cars sprinkled here and there. There aren't any new Chinese brands, which isn't surprising considering the various tariffs!
How do I get my $1,500 gift card?
(Image credit: Amazon)
According to the T&Cs, to be eligible for your gift card you'll need to either buy or lease a brand new car. Annoyingly, this promo doesn't extend to used cars, even though those are also listed on Amazon Autos.
Even worse, this promotion is a Prime Day special, so there's only today and tomorrow to actually buy a car. That's a hell of a commitment to make at such short notice, but you can test drive the car before you buy it, according to Amazon Autos.
Once you've picked out a car, you've got until June 29th to actually go and get it from the dealership. The gift card is being sent out via email within two weeks of pick-up.
Aside from those caveats, it appears that this promotion doesn't have any other stipulations in terms of brands or vehicle type. There are EVs, hybrids, pickups, SUVs, and pretty much all types of vehicles under the sun.
JP Morgan believes the iPhone 18 Pro price hike could be less severe than other analysts have predicted, at just $50
Another analyst has flagged chip price increases at TSMC which will affect Apple, and its laptops are in a different situation to iPhones
The end result could be substantial laptop price increases, while Apple's smartphones get away relatively unscathed
Update: Not long after this story was published, Apple officially announced price hikes on MacBooks (and other products). The MacBook Neo entry-level laptop got a straight $100 hike to start at $699 in the US.
The MacBook Air 13-inch with M5 has been hiked $200 to start at $1,299. The MacBook Pro has increased even more, by $300, so the baseline model is $1,999. In short, these are the painful hikes for Apple's laptops as predicted below, and notably the pricing of the iPhone range hasn't changed.
Original story follows below...
We know Apple's products have price hikes coming — Tim Cook has made that clear in no uncertain terms — but based on the latest spinning from the rumor mill, the iPhone could get away with a relatively mild price bump, with MacBooks potentially hit a good deal harder.
You might be surprised at the possibility that the next iPhone might not be hiked by all that much, because earlier rumors and napkin maths suggested that the incoming iPhone 18 Pro might hit $1,299 in the US, a hefty $200 increase (with a similarly step price hike for other countries). Others have theorized that there could be an even bigger jump than this.
However, as Phone Arena noticed, Max Weinbach, a tech analyst at Creative Strategies, posted on X to flag up JP Morgan's research on what the next-gen iPhone price hike might be.
Contrary to other analysis, JP Morgan thinks it might be more in line with a $50 price bump, as while memory costs will put a lot of pressure on Apple — as a Wccftech report recently underlined, noting that the firm is facing a "sticker shock heading into Q3" — the company seemingly has ways to mitigate those increases elsewhere. One such saving would be made by swapping to Apple's own modem for the new iPhone, as an example.
Another way Apple could theoretically alleviate the pressure on smartphone prices is to recoup some money by charging a premium for the rumored iPhone Ultra foldable, which will be inevitably pricey for those who want the latest and greatest tech (and it looks very much like that foldable is inbound for this year).
As for potential MacBook price hikes, there's not the same space for Apple to maneuver in terms of offsetting other component costs with its laptops. And as Tom's Hardware spotted, analyst (and former Bloomberg reporter) Tim Culpan has just delivered a rumor that TSMC is seemingly increasing chip prices for customers (from 3nm processes down to 7nm and older products) in the order of 5% to 10%.
That hits a bunch of firms who use TSMC to manufacture their chips, but notably AMD, Nvidia, and Apple. For Apple, the more heavyweight MacBook CPUs will be hit harder than mobile silicon, and on top of that, it's yet another unwelcome pressure on the affordably priced MacBook Neo.
As Culpan jokes at the end of his piece: "Maybe those red MacBook Neos will arrive after all." Puzzled as to what that means, exactly? Let's dive into that next.
Analysis: cooking the MacBooks
(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)
Arguably, Apple's biggest problem here is keeping the MacBook Neo at its tempting baseline price, in the face of these 'unavoidable' price rises as Tim Cook has called them. Mainly because the price is so low for an Apple laptop, with its popularity and demand meaning that the production of the Neo is rumored to have been massively cranked up.
Culpan has previously floated the theory that Apple will have to either apply price hikes to the MacBook Neo – and perhaps soften that blow with new colors (which is what the 'red Neo' comment refers to) – or just ditch the current entry-level variant, and offer the higher-tier Neo as a baseline instead. The latter is basically a way of applying a price hike of a hundred notes without actually having to increase prices technically, and what makes this seem more likely is that Apple did exactly that as a tactic with the Mac mini recently.
We don't know how this will play out yet, but it's looking increasingly likely that some considerable upward pricing movements will be coming to MacBooks, while the iPhone might perhaps escape the worsts.
A price hike of only $50 for the iPhone would be very much welcomed by many at this point as effectively stable pricing, given all that talk of a couple of hundred dollars or more being stuck on top of the current-gen price tag. And perhaps that's the point — with consumers fearing the worst for the iPhone 18 Pro, they'll eventually be relieved if this is the case.
At any rate — I've been saying this for a while — if you're thinking of buying a new MacBook, the time to move is very likely now, or soon, especially in the case of the Neo (unless you really, really want that red colorway, or whatever striking colors Apple may cook up to distract people from the new price tag).
Summer holiday season is almost upon us, and I'm getting organised for my own annual excursion. I have a number of non-negotiables when it comes to holidays — and browsing the current Amazon Prime Day sale, I spotted that several of them are heavily discounted right now.
I also spotted a few more gadgets in the sales that I think would make excellent additions to my luggage, and I've rounded up all of my finds below, starting with nine instant winners for under £30 each, then moving on to some higher-priced devices that I'm sorely tempted by.
One of my absolute essentials for travel is a great pair of noise-cancelling headphones. We've tested both of the budget-friendly pairs I've included below, and were blown away by their performance for the price, but honestly I was spoiled for choice in this area — I have a separate guide to cheap headphones and earbuds that's worth checking out if neither of these appeal.
At the top of my travel wishlist is a pair of Loop Quiet ear plugs. I've heard nothing but good things about this brand's products, and as someone with sensitive ears and a strong desire not be to bothered while travelling, they look like they could be a game changer (I'll be pairing them with my blackout sleep mask for an undisturbed flight).
I also think this might be the year I invest in a video doorbell for extra peace of mind while I'm away. Amazon has some big discounts on Blink and Ring products for Prime Week, so it seems like a no-brainer.
Hydro Flask Water Bottle 621ml (21oz) — Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel Water Bottle With Leak Proof Flex Cap and Powder Coat, Standard Mouth, Indigo
Ring
Wired Video Doorbell (newest Gen)
Blink
Wired Doorbell 2K+ (newest gen)
myhalos
100% Blackout Sleep Mask with storage pouch
Bonus buys if you want to blow the budget
The below picks are outside of the sub-£30 budget, and require a bit more consideration before buying. However, they're all so heavily discounted that I felt it would be remiss of me not to at least mention them. We've tested most of these products, and they all scored highly — in particular the DJI Mini 4K (4.5 stars) and the Sony WH-1000XM5 (which we awarded a perfect five stars). I've linked said reviews under the 'More details' button if you want to find out more.
iPhone users say their iOS alarms are going off silently
This has reportedly affected the work life of some
A fix has been discovered in the iOS 27 beta
How many times have you slept through your phone alarm in the morning? Most of us have experienced it at one time or another — but what if the problem wasn’t so much your heavy sleeping, but more the fact that your iPhone alarm was going off completely silently, meaning it never had a chance of waking you up in the first place?
That seems to be what’s happening to a number of iOS users, with several of them complaining that silent iOS alarms have risked or even cost them their jobs.
In a since-deleted post on Reddit, user Jeremy_keister said that although their iOS alarm had been set and went off in the morning, it did so silently, making it next to useless. The situation, they said, “has practically lost me a job.” Similarly, user okeanouszeke said the same issue had actually “cost me a job.”
Clearly, there’s something going on here, and a little investigation suggests that it might be to do with the volume settings in iOS. Fortunately, it looks like there’s a fix on the way in iOS 27.
Silent alarm activated
(Image credit: 9to5Mac / Future)
If your alarm is ringing silently rather than out loud, it could be due to a certain setting in iOS 26 and earlier. In those versions of Apple’s operating system, there was only one volume control, and this setting would affect alarms, ringtones, system notifications and more all at once.
That means that if you’d turned the ringtone volume all the way down to zero, your alarms might also be affected. If you happened to look at your iPhone display while the alarm was going off, you’d see it trying to alert you — but with no volume, you wouldn’t hear a thing. And since Apple didn’t build any kind of warning into iOS, you might not even realize that minimizing the system volume would render your alarms useless.
In iOS 27, though, that’s all set to change. Users of the iOS 27 beta have noticed that there’s a new section under Sound & Haptics in the Settings app. There, you’ll find a volume slider for ringtones, one for alarms and timers, and another for alerts and system sounds. In iOS 26 and earlier, you just got one slider that controlled everything.
In iOS 27, then, you can set ringtone volume to zero but push alarm volume to full, ensuring your alarms will still wake you up, even if everything else is silent. That should give you the peace of mind to know that you shouldn’t oversleep, whatever your taste for ringtone volume.
Another alarming issue
There’s one more issue to be aware of. Some users have reported alarms starting off loud, then suddenly dropping in volume.
One potential solution could be to disable Face ID’s attention features in Settings > Face ID & Passcode > Require Attention for Face ID. Supposedly, Apple’s facial recognition tech notices you looking at your iPhone and assumes that you’re fully awake, disabling your alarm in the process. Turning off this feature should allow the alarm to ring until you manually switch it off.
So, if you’ve been struggling to wake up on time in the mornings and think a silent alarm could be the culprit, there are a few potential solutions to try. When iOS 27 launches this fall, this problem might become a thing of the past.
The Trump administration has an official White House app
It's a mandatory install on most government-issued phones
Federal workers are finding they're unable to remove it
Over to the White House, where many government staffers are none-too-happy about having the current administration's official app foisted on to their phones. There's a lot of pro-Trump content in here, and there seems to be no way to get rid of the app.
As Wired reports, numerous federal workers are unhappy about having the app forced on them: one said it features "pure unadulterated propaganda" from the Trump administration, while another said "I deleted it as a test and it came immediately back."
The app that now seems to be mandatory on government-issued devices is apparently the same one that anyone can download for their Android or iOS devices. It features breaking news, social media feeds, photo galleries, and various streams of Presidential addresses and press conferences.
There's also reportedly a button in the app to "text President Trump", which then autofills a speech bubble reading "Greatest President Ever" — one of the touches in the app that the non-partisan civil servants are taking objection to.
It seems all of the news and content in the app takes a pro-Republican and anti-Democrat stance, which is fine for political campaigning but less suitable for federal agency workers who stay in post as administrations come and go.
According to Wired, some officials are simply refusing to engage with the app or even use their government phones much at all. Some agencies seem to have been able to escape having the app as a compulsory install — the General Services Administration is one that Wired mentions, for example.
It seems the privacy policies for the app are rather insubstantial too, while back in May a security researcher found numerous problems around data safety and privacy in the app — again, not ideal for devices issued to government staff. The app tracks user locations every 4.5 minutes, and interacts with non-government infrastructure.
Social media reactions are varied, with some Reddit posters saying the White House is entitled to put whatever it wants on government phones, while others are saying they're "sick of the constant surveillance" and calling the mandatory app installs "pathetic".
Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42 found five malicious “skills” on ClawHub, OpenClaw’s official marketplace, delivering infostealers and fraud
Threat actors bypassed VirusTotal/ClawScan checks with inflated file sizes and evasive techniques, showing persistent supply chain risk
All malicious skills were removed and accounts banned; researchers urge strict provenance validation and source code audits for published packages
ClawHub is the latest marketplace hackers are poisoning with malware, in an attempt to compromise software developers and other advanced users. Earlier this week, security researchers from Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42 team disclosed finding, and reporting, five “skills” on that marketplace, that sought to infect their users with infostealer malware.
First a little context: OpenClaw (originally published as Clawd/Clawdbot) was released in November 2025. It is an open-source agent platform that performs actions on a computer, such as browsing the web, or managing files, instead of simply answering questions like a chatbot. To perform different actions, OpenClaw must first learn how to do them, which is done through “skills” - add-ons that extend the agent’s capabilities.
Soon after, ClawHub was born - the official marketplace and registry for OpenClaw skills and plugins, attracting not just the AI developer community, but cybercriminals, as well. Early reports, published in February this year, forced OpenClaw to integrate VirusTotal and ClawScan, to better protect the community and allow proactive screening of published skills.
Persistent and evasive malicious skills
However, Unit 42 says this didn’t stop threat actors, and that it has since discovered multiple “persistent and evasive malicious skills” on the platform.
In total, the researchers discovered five skills, including two that delivered the AMOS infostealer, one that came with an inflated file size to trick scanners, and two that were essentially commission fraud, abusing the fact that an AI agent can make decisions and perform actions on behalf of the user. Details on all five can be found on this link.
All five were since reported to ClawHub, and OpenClaw had them removed and the accounts behind them banned.
Unit 42 recommends organizations use a “rigorous supply chain verification framework” to remain secure: “We identified that skill execution occurs within the agent process. This necessitates active validation of publisher provenance and a line-by-line audit of package source files.”
The manufacturer of the 'bonkers' Xeon PC we previewed a few days ago came up with another outrageous design. The S1 is based on a recycled 15-year old CPU - an Intel Core i3-2100 - and is positioned as a low budget mini PC for AI task automation using OpenClaw.
At $99 down from $199 at Newegg, it's more a cautionary tale rather than a decent deal. So no, don't buy this piece of technology that belongs to a museum, an example of a company astroturfing on a red-hot technology term to sell old tat.
If your budget can extend to $200 (but not beyond), these are the PC’s I’d recommend instead. Just bear in mind that they will only be useful for light office work and casual gaming.
AMD Ryzen 5 3500U | 8GB DDR4 | 256GB SSD
The wo-we P6 Lite offers impressive value at. Despite its compact size, it supports triple 4K displays via USB-C and dual HDMI ports, making it ideal for office work, entertainment, or home use. WiFi 5, Bluetooth 5.0, and Gigabit Ethernet provide fast, stable connectivity. You won’t get a faster new PC under $200.View Deal
Intel Core i5-9500 | 16GB RAM | 256GB SSD
This is a certified refurbished that looks and works like new. It comes with a 90-day warranty which you can increase to three years for only $28.99. This EliteDesk 800 is a business PC so the build quality will be way better than new mini PC sold for the same price and it comes with Windows 11 Pro, a mouse and keyboard and plenty of expansion ports. View Deal
AMD Ryzen 3 PEO 5350G | 8GB RAM | 256GB SSD
Another refreshed computer and this one is far faster than anything in this price range with a very capable Radeon Graphics. It runs Windows 11 Pro and has Lenovo’s pedigree to back it up. Shame about the 8GB DDR4 RAM but at least you should be able to upgrade it on the cheap.View Deal
With summer and Amazon Prime Day in full swing, you might be in the middle of weighing up what can actually fit in your suitcase for your next holiday — and if you are, I've found some great portable beauty-tech deals that could make that decision easier.
From a foldable hair dryer to a silicon LED face mask that can easily slide into the lining of your suitcase, I've made sure this round-up of beauty tech deals is filled with only devices that are light, transportable, and USB-C charged.
I haven't tried all of these products myself, but other members of the TechRadar team have, and they can confirm that they're worthwhile investments. For example, Josephine Watson is a big fan of light-therapy devices, particularly the Nanoleaf LED Light Therapy Face Mask for $149.99 (was $249) at Amazon in the US.
If you're in the UK, the best saving I've found is on the Ulike Air 10 IPL at Amazon, where it's £246.99 (was £399.99). I've been using this myself, and it's a huge saving compared to going to the salon for expensive laser hair-removal treatments. You won't be able to go out in the sun after using it, but if you're on a longer trip it's light enough to pack in your luggage.
I've also snuck in few more gadgets that aren't strictly beauty tech, like the Oura Ring 4 for wellness tracking, and some earplugs — traveling can be be a noisy affair, so anything that can help you block out sound is useful.
Growing up in Australia meant that if I wanted to visit family overseas I had to prepare for a grueling 24-hour flight, confined to a seat for much of the time; and while that was fine when my legs were shorter, it's no longer the most thrilling experience. These gadgets won't make economy class glamorous, but they will make it a bit more bearable.
Today's best beauty tech deals in the US
Despite its small size and lightweight build, the Dreame Pocket Pro hair dryer features a high-speed motor that can majorly cut down the time it takes for hair to dry. Compared to the basic model, the Pro comes with two more attachments and two more temperature modes. Oh, and it's down to a record-low price.
With six light-therapy treatments, including heat and cooling modes, this is one of the most portable devices for keeping up your beauty routine on the go. Our Managing Editor Josephine Watson tested it at home, and said it was the best part of her skincare routine in her Nanoleaf 6-in-1 review.
If you're a light-therapy fan and don't want to skip your nightly routine while on holiday, this LED mask is ideal. Made from silicone that can easily fold away, and with globally compatible USB-C charging, it's a neat way to keep up your light therapy while traveling. Read our full Nanoleaf LED mask review for more.
The Shark 3-in-1 ChillPill received an impressive 4.5 stars in our recent review. It's a great-performing fan with effective misting, and it's an excellent alternative to the Dreo if you've got a little more wiggle room in your budget. At just 350g, it's perfect for your next holiday.
I've only just started using this IPL hair removal device, and I'm already seeing results. If you're considering hair removal, then it's worth looking into an at-home device such as this, as it's significantly cheaper than the hundreds of dollars you'll spend at a salon. It's also very transportable; just remember to stay out of the sun after a treatment.
I'm not sure how I feel about smart rings, but our Fitness Editor, Matt Evans, is a big fan of the Oura Ring 4. He said it was "nearly the perfect fitness tracker" in his Oura Ring 4 review, praising the design, ease-of-use, long-lasting battery and detailed health information it offers. This clever bit of tech is now down to its lowest-ever price at Amazon.
Traveling can be very noisy and disruptive, from the train's rumbles to your temporary accommodation's neighbors, there's a lot you might want to block out. I've heard good things about Loop earplugs, with people who've tried them reporting that they're very comfortable, so if you're considering trying them out, this record-low price is a good way in.
The upgraded version of the Dreame Pocket isn't on sale this Prime Day in the UK, but the original is! It has a range of heat options, ranging from cold to hot, to help it be kinder to various hair types and to prevent any unwanted burning. We gave it four stars in our Dreame Pocket hair dryer review.
If you're going on holiday, this travel-friendly light-therapy device is ideal if you're only able to take a small carry-on bag with you. Weighing just 201g, it won't take up too space, which is perfect if you still want to keep up your LED light-therapy treatments while away from home.
If you have a bit more space to pack a few more essentials on your next holiday, then Nanoleaf's LED mask is ideal. It charges via USB-C, so you won't have to worry about the voltage in different countries. Its flexible silicone form also means you can pack it away neatly, so it doesn't take up too much space. Did I mention that it's also at its lowest-ever price this Prime Day?
Full disclosure: I haven't used this device myself, but I have used Nanoleaf's 6-in-1 Light Therapy Wand, and I love the cooling and heating modes, especially the former for reducing puffiness. I also own one of Therabody's massage guns, which I always take with me if I'm going snowboarding, so I can confirm that the brand makes great products. This device also offers vibration therapy.
Want to keep cool on the move? Consider Shark's 3-in-1 ChillPill, which earned a solid score of 4.5 stars in our recent review. Only one colourway is on sale right now, and they did inflate the list price to make this look like a big deal, but the actual offer of £10 off on a brand-new product that mists, cools, and fans is still pretty neat.
Want to save spending hundreds of pounds on salon laser treatments? This IPL hair -removal device is on sale for Prime Day. I've been using it myself, and I can confirm that it's an effective and painless way of removing hair if you're the right candidate for this type of treatment.
I'm not sure how I feel about smart rings, but our fitness editor, Matt Evans, is a big fan of the Oura Ring 4. He said it was "nearly the perfect fitness tracker" in his Oura Ring 4 review, praising the design, ease-of-use, long-lasting battery and detailed health information it offers. This clever bit of tech is now down to its lowest-ever price on Amazon.
I've seen a lot of people talk about using Loop earplugs lately, so if you want to see what the fuss is all about, this entry-level pair are down to a record-low price. Use them to block out noise on the plane, help you focus, protect your ears from loud music at bars or concerts, or help you create a better environment for sleep. They're reusable and can last for up to five years, so they're a good investment if you'll use them regularly.
The power bank that I use just about every day has hit an unbelievable low price for Amazon Prime Day, and it's one of the most tempting bargains I've come across so far.
I can be pretty forgetful and often leave the house without fully charging my phone, which has landed me in more than my fair share of sticky situations. But since picking up the Anker Nano 10K 45W Power Bank, things have been different. With its 45W wattage, I can fast charge my device in a pinch, and its integrated cable means I've always got a way to charge my devices on the fly.
Want to hear more about this exquisite deal? Then scroll on down for the key details.
Today's best Anker Nano 10K 45W Power Bank deal in the US
Anker's ultra-compact yet surprisingly powerful power bank is the ultimate travel companion, boasting speedy 45W charging, a solid 10,000mAh capacity, and an integrated USB-C cable for seamless use. It can easily slip into a pocket or small bag, and it's decently lightweight, making it ideal for taking on the go.View Deal
Today's best Anker Nano 10K 45W Power Bank deal in the UK
I adore Anker's small yet mighty power bank for a few key reasons. Firstly, it's a strong performer, delivering fast-charging up to 45W and a solid 10,000mAh capacity. But it's also very practical, thanks to its integrated USB-C cable and phenomenally compact form, meaning it can easily slide into your pocket or small-sized bag.View Deal
In my Anker Nano 10K 45W Power Bank review, I described the model as a "highly practical" and "well-designed" option, highlighting its durable and handy built-in charging cord, as well as its neat display and versatile ports.
I also found it to be a good value-for-money option at launch; however, this deal makes it an absolute steal. I'd certainly buy it right now for even better value if I didn't already have one! The current Prime Day deals actually place this power bank at a near record-low price, so it really is a fantastic time to snap it up.
If you're often forgetting to charge your phone, or if you want a compact power bank to take on your summer travels, then I strongly suggest picking up the Anker Nano 10K 45W right now — but make sure to act fast and grab it while it's cheap!
A promising 21-year-old French footballer has tragically died after drowning in the Rhone River, amid the severe heatwave currently gripping the nation.
Kenzo Kies, who played for the Guingamp reserve team, was pulled from the water earlier this week. Both Guingamp and Saint-Etienne, where he spent seven years in their academy system, issued tributes following his death on Wednesday.
His death comes as France endures an unprecedented heatwave, with the country recording its hottest ever day for the second consecutive day on Wednesday.
The national thermal indicator, an average of temperatures across 30 weather stations, reached a new high of 30C (86F), with some areas, including Paris, exceeding 40C (104F).
Sebastien Lecornu said most tragic incidents involved young people (AFP/Getty)
Authorities have reported at least 40 drowning fatalities in the past week alone, as people seek respite from the extreme temperatures in rivers and other bodies of water.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu noted on Tuesday that most of these tragic incidents involved young people, despite repeated warnings against unsupervised swimming.
According to French media reports, Mr Kies was rescued from a prohibited swimming area near Lyon on Monday in critical condition, having drowned in the Rhone River. He was subsequently declared brain dead.
The heatwave has also affected other areas of Europe, with the UK announcing that Wednesday was its hottest June day on record, which has stood since 1976.
The record broke four times on Wednesday, with 36.1C being recorded in Gosport, Hampshire, the Met Office said.
This came after 36C was recorded in Gosport and also in Wisley, Surrey.
Meanwhile, 35.8C was recorded in Wiggonholt, West Sussex, and 35.7C in Charlwood, Surrey.
This unprecedented heat surpasses the previous record of 35.6C, which had stood since 1976 and 1957.
The extreme heat caused several horse racing meets to be abandoned on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Formula One chiefs have issued a heat hazard ahead of this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix.
Race Director Rui Marques confirmed that the official weather service is forecasting temperatures exceeding 31C.
The declaration mandates that teams install a driver cooling system, such as a liquid-cooled vest, although drivers are not compelled to use them and may opt for a ballast penalty instead.
World Cup roundup: Ochoa helps Mexico top Group A, Morocco win six-goal thriller
Last night might have been one of the most entertaining at the 2026 World Cup yet.
Mexico were out to end the group stage with a 100% from their three matches in Group A, while Haiti wanted end their first tournament in 52 years in style by giving Morocco a real run for their money.
FromTheSpot looks back on the action from Wednesday night and Thursday morning, and what it means going forward in this World Cup.
Czechia 0-3 Mexico: Ochoa gets his moment
The co-hosts have so far had the best campaign at the World Cup, save for the fact that USMNT are yet to play their final group game against Turkey.
All of El Tri’s goals came in a storming second half performance, courtesy of Mateo Chavez’s curling strike, the Saudi Pro League’s top scorer Julián Quiñones, and then Álvaro Fidalgo’s strike in stoppage time.
But it was their iconic goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa who stole the show, being substituted on with 12 minutes left to make his 154th international cap for Mexico on his sixth appearance at the World Cup finals.
The 40-year-old legend ensured Mexico ended the group stage without conceding a single goal and eased into the round of 32 on home soil, and was serenaded at full time as his teammates hoisted him high into the air.
He endeared himself to Mexicans everywhere with save after save at the 2014 World Cup and kept Czechia out on a perfect night for the World Cup co-hosts – one that could be Ochoa’s final appearance as his team prepare for the knockouts.
Morocco 4-2 Haiti: Goals galore as Africans progress
Who could have seen this coming?
Morocco entered into this tie as clear favourites for an easy victory, against a Haiti side that hadn’t yet scored a goal. But they gave Scotland a few scares in their opening match, and this was also the case here.
An own goal from goalkeeper Yassine Bounou after Lenny Joseph’s ingenious flick towards the net got the Haitians up and running inside 10 minutes, before Achraf Hakimi tapped in to equalizer with half time looming.
But Wilson Isidor finally made his mark at the World Cup before the whistle blew, unleashing a brilliant effort into the top left corner from the edge of the penalty area minutes later to stun the African Cup of Nations winners yet again.
To round off the best half of football at the tournament yet, Ismael Saibari – who dropped down from striker into the number 10 position behind Ayoub El-Khaabi – notched his third goal in as many games with a tidy finish to make it 2-2.
The African side ended up running away with it in the second period as goals from Soufiane Rahimi and 20-year-old Strasbourg winger Gessime Yassine ended their team’s group campaign by moving second and level on seven points with Brazil.
South Africa 1-0 South Korea: Bafana Bafana remedy horror start
It’d be safe to assume that many had written off South Africa shortly after losing 3-0 to Mexico in the opening match and having both Yaya Sithole and veteran Themba Zwane sent off. Well, they were wrong.
Thapelo Maseko scored the only goal of a game – drilling Tshepang Moremi’s cross into the bottom left – to win what has been dubbed ‘the South Derby’ and book Bafana Bafana’s spot in the last 32 of the World Cup.
His side finished second in Group A on four points, completing a miraculous recovery that goes to show anyone’s tournament really isn’t over until it’s over. Mathematically, that is.
South Korea are still likely to make the cut. With three points from their opening 2-1 win over Czechia and a goal difference of -1, they currently rank fourth out of the 12 sides and can expect to play in the round of 32 starting on June 28th.
For more detailed reports, reaction, and analysis of the World Cup as it happens, head to our website and favourite our page on OneFootball.
The 2026 Formula 1 season has been an absolute nightmare for Aston Martin, and honestly, that might be the understatement of the year. The Silverstone-based squad has endured an incredibly difficult start to the campaign, fielding an AMR26 chassis that has consistently languished towards the back of the grid.
Recently in Barcelona, Fernando Alonso didn’t mince words, brutally calling the AMR26 the “worst car” with the “worst engine” on the grid. So naturally, the summer silly season rumors have kicked into overdrive.
With his longtime former manager, Flavio Briatore, allegedly pulling the strings over at Alpine, the paddock whispers heavily linked Alonso to a sensational return to Team Enstone, while others suggested he might just retire entirely. But ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, the two-time World Champion explicitly shut down the noise and went to bat for his garage.
Alonso on Defense
During the Austrian GP press conference, Alonso opened up about the relentless social media mockery and the rumors about his future. When a team drops to the back of the grid, the internet can be a brutally unforgiving place, and Alonso believes the negativity has completely crossed the line.
“We’re an easy target because we’re behind and there are lots of jokes and memes on social media,” Alonso noted. “We’ve been VERY BADLY TREATED by the outside world”.
Despite the current pain on the timing sheets, Alonso firmly believes the massive structural investments at Silverstone will eventually pay off.
He pointed out the sheer manpower working tirelessly behind the scenes to rectify the chassis issues, explaining, “The problems get fixed, it’s a matter of time. There are 1000 people at Aston Martin who work 8 hours a day to fix it”.
Loyalty Over Panic
But beyond addressing the critics, Alonso made it abundantly clear that he isn’t jumping ship just because the current car is an absolute handful.
“There are always rumors in the summer. I believe in the project, I trust my team, and we’re in this together,” Alonso stated. He reinforced that his commitment to the British marque extends well beyond his driving days, emphasizing that they still have the “best of the best” working on the project.
The feeling of loyalty is entirely mutual inside the factory. Aston Martin’s team brass recently praised Alonso for the way he has handled the immense adversity this year, officially signalling the team’s intention to continue the partnership well beyond 2026. Addressing the swirling retirement and transfer rumors, chief trackside officer Mike Krack confirmed that the squad has great hopes to continue working together, stating simply that Alonso is still “too quick” to walk away from the sport.
Until the highly anticipated aerodynamic upgrades finally arrive, Alonso is choosing to strap in, fight through the brutal handling, and completely shut down any idea that he is looking for the exit door.
Rohan bowled six wickets in six consecutive balls at a game on Sunday [Family handout]
A nine-year-old boy left his team-mates and family stumped when he bowled the perfect over, taking six wickets in six balls.
Rohan, who plays for the under-nines at Great Shelford Cricket Club near Cambridge, secured the double hat-trick during a match against Histon on Sunday.
Rohan said "it was very loud" when everyone cheered and ran on to the pitch following his bowling heroics.
He was presented with the match ball and awarded player of the match - with his side winning by 26 runs.
Rohan managed to bowl out the six batsmen during his wicket haul, ending up with enviable bowling figures of 6 for 0.
The star bowler told the BBC: "I play for my school team and Great Shelford. I joined when I was around seven."
Speaking about his achievement, he said: "It rarely ever happens."
Narain said he was proud of his son's achievements [Family handout]
Rohan's dad, Narain, 54, said it was "truly amazing" to watch his son complete the feat, especially on Father's Day.
"To get one wicket is a great achievement for someone so young, but wicket after wicket I was so proud," Narain said.
"Just him playing at the local cricket team was a great achievement.
"I don't think I realised how rare of an achievement it was."
Vishal Gupta, one of the team's coaches and umpire at the match, said he "had the best seat in the house" to watch Rohan's achievement.
"I took my umpire hat off and threw him up in the air with his team," said Gupta. "Everyone was clapping about it.
"I don't think I will ever see it again, it was amazing."
Lucas Green, the under-nines' head coach, added that everyone watching was pleased for Rohan.
"When the wickets fell for the sixth ball everyone ran on to the pitch," he said.
"The other team were so happy for him... and him and his team-mates enjoyed the moment."
'Extremely rare'
Cricket author and BBC broadcaster Andrew Radd said: "It goes without saying that Rohan's terrific achievement is extremely rare.
"Facts and figures for cricket below professional level can be rather sketchy - and according to Guinness World Records the feat of six wickets in six balls wasn't noted until a couple of instances in Australia earlier this century.
"But the Association of Cricket Statisticians has a record of 'six in six' by GH Sirett - a radio technician in Rugby - for Rowland United against the Royal Warwickshire Regimental Association back in 1951.
"In first-class (professional) cricket the best anyone has managed to date is five wickets in five deliveries by Brett Randell in New Zealand in March this year."
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With Lily Soda providing the pop and Alayna Wallace and Brooklyn Mauel providing the pitching, the Timber Rattlers defeated Play It Again Sports 10-6 on Kratzer Field at USA Youth Sports Complex to win the Appleton Little League Major Softball city championship June 24.
Soda tripled in a run and scored on a wild pitch in the first inning, hit a two-out, two-run home run in the third inning and tripled in a run and scored in a five-run sixth inning to key the offense.
Soda, who was hanging on to the championship trophy, said winning the title was a pretty good feeling.
"At first it was hard meeting the new people and getting to know them," she said. "But toward the end when we would have wins and stuff, it was fun. It was like a team celebrating. It was a good year with everyone."
Wallace, meanwhile, allowed one run over the first three innings and then came back to close out the game.
Wallace, who was sidelined by an injury until about four weeks ago, said it was challenging sitting on the sideline.
"I knew my team would have my back," she said. "I knew I would be able to help the team do the best they could."
And when Wallace was finally able to return to the mound, what was that like?
"It all came right back," she said. "I'm very used to pitching. It was kind of normal."
Timber Rattlers manager Sarah Guido said it has been a fantastic season.
"We started off battling some injuries," she said. "We had girls working through it. We had girls who needed to step up, learn new positions and support the team together. Then we went on a winning streak and at the end just had it clicking together."
Guido talked about how eager her players were to tackle the challenge of learning new positions.
"Each girl came with a really great attitude and a willingness to learn and try," Guido said. "They put in the effort and the time. We had a whole team of support."
Coaching these girls was a lot of fun for Guido.
"This has been a fantastic group of girls," she said. "The energy and the positivity that they bring every day and they're willing to learn and try hard has been a great joy and an easy way to coach."
Soda found it enjoyable as she and her teammates progressed over the course of the season.
"It was amazing like watching some of the batters who wouldn't get hits at the start of the year started hitting bombs at the end," she said. "It was great to watch."
Wallace said she enjoyed watching the team grow together as the season rolled along.
"It was great watching us fight together as a team, not as individuals," she said. "Everyone was able to shift to where they needed to be which was best for the team. I'm just proud we were able to overcome things like changing and learning new positions."
On the other side of the diamond, Play It Again Sports manager Todd McMahon knew his team, which won the city championship in 2025, would have its hands full against the Timber Rattlers.
"We had like six girls back from last year's team, so we were pegged as kind of one of the favorites but all along I knew the Timber Rattlers were going to be one of the favorites this year," McMahon said.
McMahon said it was a lot of fun watching his squad progress over the course of the season and make its way to the championship game.
"It was a fun season with six returning girls and five new girls and they really came along," McMahon said. "Madison Meyer, our leadoff batter, is only 10 years old. To see these kids come along, we knew we'd be a good team but we always knew that the Timber Rattlers were going to be the team to beat and they showed it."
It was also enjoyable for McMahon to watch the Play It Again Sports team steadily improve in the fundamentals of the game.
"That's what it's all about," he said. "The hitting was always there. We've got really good hitters. We've got five all-stars going forward now.
"I'm so proud of these girls with the injuries they went through. How resilient they were and to see them fight that last inning. We're definitely proud. Second place? We'll take it."
NFL star Terrion Arnold has been arrested in connection with an alleged kidnapping and robbery incident in Florida in February
Police allege Arnold coordinated the attack after suspecting the victims of stealing $250,000 in belongings from his Airbnb
Arnold denies involvement, and his rep claimed no evidence linked him to the crimes, per a statement shared with The Detroit News
Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold has been arrested in connection with a kidnapping and robbery incident that occurred in Florida earlier this year.
On Wednesday, June 24, the Tampa Police Department confirmed in a news release that Arnold, 23, had been arrested following a robbery that occurred on Feb. 4 at the 14,000 block of N. 46th St. in the city.
The release stated, “Arnold turned himself in and was taken into custody at Orient Road Jail in Hillsborough County on Wednesday night,” adding that the NFL star was facing four counts of kidnapping and four counts of armed robbery.
The charges the athlete is facing carry a maximum punishment of life in prison, according to CBS Sports. The victims were three boys in their late teens, Tampa Police confirmed in Wednesday's release.
Terrion Arnold Credit: Kevin Sabitus/Getty
Police also said that officers had previously arrested six others allegedly involved in the “targeted armed robbery.”
Detectives identified and apprehended the following individuals between Feb. 4 and March 21: Arianna Del Valle, 19, Jasmine Randazzo, 19, Lyndell Hudson II, 26, Christion Williams, 24, Boakai Hilton, Jr., 23, and Freddie Hughes, 27. The group is facing a variety of charges from kidnapping to armed robbery.
“Investigators believe, based on evidence gathered, that Arnold was the primary conspirator,” the police release stated.
Terrion Arnold and Dontayvion Wicks Credit: Nic Antaya/Getty
Officials noted that Arnold had rented an Airbnb in Largo, where he stayed with the co-defendants listed and other friends.
Police said that on Feb. 1 of this year, “multiple items of personal property belonging to Arnold and others were stolen from the Airbnb. Arnold suspected that two of the three victims were responsible, but Tampa Police investigators later determined they were not involved," per the release.
Two days later, on Feb. 3, authorities said that Arnold, Hilton, Hughes, and another individual had reported property loss to the Largo Police Department, claiming the stolen belongings totaled more than $250,000, police noted.
“That same day, Arnold and Hilton coordinated and directed Del Valle and Randazzo to contact one of the victims and lure him to their apartment,” police claimed, adding that the victims drove to the apartment where Williams and Hudson hid inside a closet of one of the bedrooms at around midnight on Feb. 4.
“When the victims went in the bedroom, they said Williams and Hudson grabbed them, held them at gunpoint and hit them,” the release said.
A stock photo of a Tampa Police Department car Credit: Octavio Jones/Getty
Del Valle was accused of streaming the incident to Arnold, Hilton, and Hughes, as they were traveling to the apartment, with investigators also discovering a group chat that provided them with more information about the alleged assault, per the release.
Police said that in the chat, Arnold and Hilton had reportedly given directions to Del Valle, Williams, and Hudson during the assault.
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“About an hour later, Arnold, Hilton, Hughes, and another individual arrived at the apartment. It was reported that Arnold directed them to go inside the residence. While the assault was still occurring, Hughes, Hudson, and Williams stole personal property belonging to the victims,” the release read.
Police added, “At around 1:40 a.m. [local time], all three victims were escorted out of the apartment by the armed suspects, forced into their vehicle, and the victims immediately left the scene. Del Valle, Williams, and another individual entered a vehicle being driven by Arnold and subsequently left the scene.”
The victims “had visible injuries from being battered, held at gunpoint, and pistol-whipped before their personal property was stolen and they were ordered to leave,” police stated in the release.
Arnold's rep responded to news of the athlete's arrest in a statement sent to The Detroit News, denying "any involvement" and maintaining his "innocence."
"There is no credible evidence linking Mr. Arnold to these allegations," the statement, which was signed by Denise White, CEO of EAG Sports Management, read, per the outlet.
"Instead, the government appears to be relying on testimony from multiple convicted felons who have admitted their own involvement and may have substantial incentives to shift blame in an effort to lessen their sentences,” the statement added.
White's message concluded, “Mr. Arnold looks forward to his day in court and is confident that the judicial process will lead to his ultimate vindication,” according to The Detroit News.
A spokesperson for the Detroit Lions also told PEOPLE, “We are aware of the legal situation regarding Terrion Arnold. We will not comment at this time out of respect for the ongoing legal process.”
Arnold's attorney, R. Timothy Jansen, also said in a statement to the Detroit Free Press, "Mr. Arnold had no involvement whatsoever in the activities that led to those arrests," adding, “He did not participate in, nor was he present for, any conduct related to the alleged offenses. There is no evidence in police reports, text messages, or witness statements that implicates Mr. Arnold in any way.”
"In fact, after direct communication with the lead prosecutor, it has been confirmed that no charges have been filed against Mr. Arnold in connection with this matter,” Jansen said.
Arnold played collegiately at Alabama before being selected by the Lions in the 2024 NFL Draft's first round at No. 24 overall, per the NFL website.
He's played 24 games in two seasons, but took part in just eight games during the 2025 season as he was sidelined due to a concussion and twice with a shoulder injury, with the latter ultimately leading to season-ending surgery, the site stated.
EAG Sports Management, R. Timothy Jansen and the Florida Attorney General's Office didn't immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for additional information.
A spokesperson for the NFL said, "We are aware of the matter and have been in contact with the club. We have no further comment at this time."
MADRID, SPAIN - MAY 09: Matteo Ruggeri of Atletico de Madrid looks on during the Spanish League, LaLiga EA Sports, football match played between Atletico de Madrid and RC Celta de Vigo at Riyadh Air Metropolitano stadium on May 09, 2026, in Madrid, Spain. (Photo By Oscar J. Barroso/Europa Press via Getty Images) | Europa Press via Getty Images
He may not have been the most heralded transfer in club history, but the minute Angeliño stepped onto the pitch in March 2024, his value was clear: he was fast, direct, and aggressive. Combined with his low center of gravity, those traits made the Spanish wing-back a nuisance to opponents and an asset to Roma’s attack. After surviving the De Rossi-Juric-Ranieri triumvirate, Angeliño was poised to flourish under Gian Piero Gasperino and alongside the club’s other combustible wing-back, Wesley França.
Unfortunately, that never came to pass. After missing nearly the entire 2025-2026 season due to a variety of injuries, Angeliño’s absence forced Wesley into the left wing-back role; not a catastrophic development, but hardly ideal. While we may see the Angeliño-Wesley pairing next season, the club has been intermittently linked to one of Gasperini’s former proteges, Matteo Ruggeri.
The Atletico Madrid left-back’s future is in the balance after the Colchoneros’ recent capture of Alejandro Grimaldo, who is moving from Bayer Leverkusen. According to the Gazzetta dello Sport, Atletico are likely to put Ruggeri on the transfer market, where Roma are expected to be a major suitor.
While actual negotiations may or may not be underway, our colleagues at Into the Calderon think €25 million would suffice for the 23-year-old
if you submit a €25m offer, probably!
— Into the Calderón (@intothecalderon) June 24, 2026
Given the hostile nature of the transfer market, we can safely assume the final cost will be closer to €30 million, if not more, but landing a talented young wing-back with Ruggeri’s skill set and proven ability to succeed under Gasperini could be a bargain.
This is perhaps the most sensible transfer target we’ve covered so far this summer, so we’ll continue to monitor this story as it develops.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been FIA president since December 2021 [Getty Images]
Formula 1's governing body the FIA has passed a proposal to end term limits for its president by a majority of more than 90%.
The move to end the previous limit of three four-year terms was put forward by FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
A vote of FIA member clubs at the organisation's general assembly in Macau on Thursday approved the proposal by a majority of 90.71%, sources have told BBC Sport.
An FIA spokesperson was not immediately able to confirm the figure, saying they were still going through the votes.
The move allows Ben Sulayem, 64, to continue as president beyond the 12-year limit.
Currently, there is an age restriction of 70 for anyone standing for FIA president, but sources with knowledge of Ben Sulayem's intentions say he plans to make a subsequent move to eradicate that as well.
His intention, they say, is to serve as president for life.
The FIA has been approached for comment on that issue.
The FIA has previously justified the move to end term limits by saying it was to "establish a consistent approach to tenure across all FIA bodies, similar to what currently exists for the world councils and the senate".
Other FIA roles that formerly had term limits included the president of the anti-doping committee, and the head of the F1 cost-cap committee.
When the plan to remove term limits was first revealed by BBC Sport, the FIA did not provide a specific answer to a question as to why it was decided to abolish term limits for all posts, rather than instate them for those that did not currently have them.
However, a spokesperson pointed to the NFL in the US, saying Roger Goodell had been commissioner since 2006 and had "transformed the sport into a global brand and it has an outstanding governance record".
The current three-term limit was put in place by Ben Sulayem's predecessor Jean Todt. The Frenchman replaced Max Mosley, who served as FIA president from 1993 until agreeing not to stand again following a dispute with F1 teams in 2009.
Other proposed changes have also passed, including making stricter the rules for presidential candidates.
A requirement for candidates to "demonstrate sufficient experience within an FIA member or an FIA body" has been added.
And the time by which prospective presidential candidates have to submit the list detailing their support team of vice-presidents has more than doubled from 49 days to 100 days before the date of the election.
Both would make it more difficult for someone to challenge Ben Sulayem at a subsequent election.
Writing in a post on LinkedIn, the Scot said: "Term limits are not a perfect safeguard. They do not guarantee good governance. They do not prevent poor judgement. But they do create a point at which renewal must happen.
"They also remind an institution that office is temporary, that legitimacy must be refreshed, and that no individual should become structurally indispensable."
On the stricter rules governing elections, Reid added: "Of course a presidential candidate should understand the FIA. Of course credibility, seriousness and relevant experience matter.
"But the wording of eligibility rules matters. If the standard is not clearly defined, power shifts to those applying it. A requirement for experience can become a judgement of acceptability. A safeguard against unserious candidates can become a barrier against inconvenient ones.
"That is the concern here. The judgement of what is sufficient remains within the FIA's own structures. In an organisation where recent election processes have already been challenged, that is not a small drafting point. It is the point at which process and power meet."
The moves follow a period of controversy surrounding the conduct of Ben Sulayem and the governance of the FIA.
Three rival candidates were barred from standing against Ben Sulayem in last year's presidential election because of a rule that dictates candidates must submit a list of their prospective vice-presidents for sport, which must be selected from each of the FIA's six global regions.
The published list last year contained only one candidate from South America, Brazilian Fabiana Ecclestone - wife of former F1 boss Bernie. She was already a member of Ben Sulayem's team.
That prevented any other candidate from naming a potential vice-president for sport from South America, which meant no-one else could enter the election.
Prior to that, Ben Sulayem changed statutes in a manner that a critic said risked "further contributing to the erosion of the FIA's reputation for competent and transparent governance".
Germany have already topped the group and won two from two against Curacao and the Ivory Coast. They have been one of the most impressive teams at the tournament so far.
Ecuador were touted by many as ‘dark horses’ coming into the tournament, but have been poor. They lost against the Ivory Coast and failed to beat Curacao, drawing 0-0, which could prove fatal.
What’s been said?
Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann: “I watched both games and I think they should have won them,” he said. “They have to put everything into this match, so they may be a little more offensive than usual.”
Ecuador head coach Sebastian Beccacece: “I prefer that people are angry at me than at the players.
“Tomorrow we are facing a world football powerhouse, but of course maybe we can make the impossible possible,” said Beccacece.
Bruno Fernandes: Keane and Wright assess Man United’s captain
Roy Keane has waded back into the debate about Bruno Fernandes after their clash last month, while Ian Wright hails the Manchester United captain’s creativity as “brilliant”.
Mending Broken Bridges
With Bruno Fernandes on the hunt to break the Premier League assist record, which is jointly held by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne, Keane decried the “circus act” that began to surround each United game over it.
Despite the Portugal international invariably producing an outstanding performance each week, ultimately leading him to scoop up every Player of the Year award on offer, the Irishman performed his best Donald Trump impression by misquoting Fernandes as part of his attack.
Following the 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest in May, Keane claimed the United star had said “I probably should have shot but I made them passes” in a post-match interview after notching his 20th assist of the season, drawing him level with Henry and De Bruyne.
Instead, Fernandes’ actual quote read: “There were probably moments today when I should have passed instead of shot. I’m very happy for the assist, but more than that, I’m happy for the win and to finish the season on a high.”
The former midfielder went on to reveal he was embarrassed by what he saw during the match at Old Trafford, stating he was left “cringing” and “raging” by Fernandes. In retaliation, the 31-year-old accused Keane of telling a “lie” by putting untrue “words in my mouth” – a response which drew widespread praise from a United fanbase that has grown weary of the club’s former players attacking the current cohort.
Despite a cryptic retort on social media by Keane immediately after, the pair made peace a few weeks later, with the ITV pundit revealing a “lovely chat” over the phone had cleared the air.
“99 times out of 100…”
The evidence of the mended bridges was on full display this week after Keane hailed Fernandes as the “best player in the world” at launching deadly counter-attacks after Portugal’s victory over Uzbekistan.
Roberto Martinez’s side ran out 5-0 winners in a blowout in Dallas, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring twice and Manchester United target Rafael Leao grabbing the fifth. Fernandes produced a superb pass for Ronaldo’s second, which drew praise from Keane and Wright.
Asked to expand on his view by Gary Neville on The Overlap, Keane said: “Without a shadow of doubt [he is the best at that]…99 times out of 100, he will pick the right pass, to the right player [with] the right weight. Bruno, in that position, [is] unbelievable.”
Wright backed up his fellow pundit, claiming there is a level of assurance the “brilliant” Fernandes offers when picking the right pass in transition which makes you say “he’s going to get that” through the defence without doubt.
“There is loads of pluses to his passes, and that is the beauty with Manchester United in the last year [because] Bruno needs runners, so when he has people running [in behind] he will pick you out,” Keane concludes.
MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 28: De'Von Achane #28 of the Miami Dolphins is tackled by Jason Pierre-Paul #91 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the fourth quarter at Hard Rock Stadium on December 28, 2025 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) | Getty Images
We’re officially smack dab in the doldrums of summer when it comes to the National Football League. Free agency has slowed to a crawl, the NFL Draft has come and gone, and teams are on break until late next month when training camps open around the league. With little news to report, media outlets are scrambling to churn out content, which means lists and rankings are hitting the internet on the daily.
Today’s list comes from Bill Barnwell of ESPN. He’s ranking all 32 skill position groups (running backs, tight ends and wide receivers) to see which teams have the best playmakers surrounding their quarterbacks. Unfortunately for Miami’s new signal-caller, Malik Willis, Barnwell thinks the Dolphins have the worst skill position players in the entire league.
“Unfortunately, this might be the worst receiving corps I’ve seen assembled on purpose by an NFL team in recent memory. Third and fourth wideouts such as Jalen Tolbert and Tutu Atwell are the veterans being forced into starting roles. Third-round picks Chris Bell and Caleb Douglas — who might be fourth or fifth wideouts in other lineups — are going to be pushed into the lineup by midseason. I’m a little excited about Greg Dulcich , who was second in the NFL in yards per route run among tight ends from Week 9 onward last season, but he’ll need to be prime Travis Kelce to make this group of receivers work.”
Yikes. It seems harsh, but in all honesty, Barnwell is being realistic. It’s hard to get excited about what Miami will trot out at wide receiver, unless one or two of the rookies surprise in a major way.
While Miami’s pass catchers are suspect, Barnwell does give running back De’Von Achane his flowers.
“De’Von Achane is the last one standing from the group that ranked among the best in the NFL two years ago. Achane is a legitimately great back, capable of both patiently getting what’s blocked and producing spectacularly explosive big plays if given any sort of open space. I worry he won’t see much of that playing within the structure of this offense in 2026, but we’re evaluating the fourth-year pro independent of the players around him.”
It’s going to be a tough year in South Florida regarding this once proud franchise. Hopefully, despite the lack of significant weapons, the organization is able to get a solid read on whether or not Willis is the quarterback to build around moving foward, because if this season goes as poorly as many are predicting, Miami will be picking high enough in the draft to replace him with a standout collegiate passer once the 2027 NFL Draft arrives… if they need to.
The Memphis Grizzlies selected 24-year-old BYU Cougars guard Richie Saunders at No. 32 in the 2026 NBA Draft, with his grandfather’s invention attracting attention.
Saunders hopes to be an instant-impact rookie after spending four seasons in college before making the jump to the NBA.
The news of his draft selection early in the second round led to many fans discovering that Saunders is the great-grandson of Nephi Grigg, the founder of Ore-Ida, and the inventor of the iconic potato snack, the Tater Tot.
Who is Richie Saunders’ great-grandfather, Nephi Grigg
Saunders’ great-grandfather created one of the most iconic snacks in the world with his brother by taking waste product from potatoes and corn to create the Tater Tot.
The invention came after Nephi Grigg and his brother, Golden Grigg, rented a frozen foods plant in Ontario, Oregon, in 1949, with the hope they could expand their existing frozen corn business to include potatoes.
Despite Ore-Ida being the biggest producer of frozen corn in the 1950s, their attempts at potato-based products led them to realize that potatoes leave a lot more scrap than corn after being shaped into commercial-grade fries. By 1956, they took these ‘waste’ pieces of potato to create the now-iconic Tater Tot, a snack that is still enjoyed worldwide today.
Photo by Scott Suchman for The Washington Post via Getty Images; food styling by Carolyn Robb for The Washington Post via Getty Images
While the food won’t have any impact on Saunders’ basketball ability, fans are already gravitating towards the guard due to his grandfather’s contribution to the world being a snack that kids around the world enjoy.
Richie Saunders enters the NBA recovering from an ACL tear
Saunders is coming off a senior season at BYU, where he averaged 18.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.7 steals on 48.9% from the field and 37.6% from three. Unfortunately, Saunders’ season came to an early end when he tore his ACL in February.
Saunders won’t feature in the NBA Summer League in July, and likely won’t be ready in time for the start of the 2026-27 NBA season. With him being a 24-year-old rookie, the Grizzlies likely believe in him contributing toward the end of the season and in the next season for them.
The 6’5″ shooting guard should be an impactful two-way player from day one, provided his ACL injury doesn’t majorly compromise his lateral movement. He’s still a strong three-point shooter and could factor into the rotation as a backup behind Cedric Coward if he returns later in the season.
ESPN's Bill Barnwell has put together his ranking of the best and worst skill position groups in the NFL entering 2026. So where did the Indianapolis Colts end up?
Since these rankings are skill position specific, only the wide receiver, tight end, and running back units were a part of the evaluation.
Barnwell also pointed out a few other ground rules that went into constructing this list:
This is only about 2026 on-field performance.
Injury history matters.
Wide receivers are weighted more heavily.
Barnwell's focus is on the elite players and a team's "top five contributors."
Where are the Colts in 2026 skill position rankings?
The Colts continue to trend upward in Barnwell's rankings. In 2024, Indianapolis ranked 22nd, and last year, they were 16th. Entering 2026, Barnwell has the Colts at 14th.
The Colts no longer have Michael Pittman, but Alec Pierce is coming off a 1,000-yard season and has been the most productive deep threat in football the last two seasons. Last season, he also showcased his ability to bring a more well-rounded skill set to the position.
Josh Downs, meanwhile, is as reliable as they come and should see more opportunities this season. That said, the WR3 role is up for grabs, and those competing for those snaps don't have strong track records of steady NFL production.
Barnwell also highlighted one other potential concern at wideout.
"I'm a little concerned that Pierce is more of a really high-end WR2 than a legitimate WR1 in a very good offense, but if the Colts' wide receivers can hold up their end of the bargain, Taylor and Warren are top-five at their respective spots," he wrote.
At running back, Jonathan Taylor continues to be one of the most productive running backs in football, while Tyler Warren was among the NFL's receiving leaders at tight end as a rookie. His impact also goes well beyond the passing game with his run-blocking abilities and versatility.
"There are stars away from wide receiver too. Jonathan Taylor was an Offensive Player of the Year contender for most of the season before fading down the stretch, generating big plays as both a rusher and receiver by shrugging off and running past tackle attempts," wrote Barnwell. "And Tyler Warren was a Swiss Army knife for coach Shane Steichen as a rookie, lining up at just about every conceivable spot on the field and creating havoc for opposing linebackers and defensive coordinators."
The Colts prioritized re-signing Daniel Jones and Pierce this offseason, with the internal belief being that the success they had through 10 games in 2025 can be replicated in 2026. We'll find out if the Colts are right, but Chris Ballard seems to believe that the team has everything it needs on offense.
The third major of the LPGA season starts in Chaska, Minnesota, this week where Hazeltine National Golf Club hosts the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
In addition to playing for the largest purse in the history of women’s golf, world No. 1 Nelly Korda is looking to win her third straight major title after reaching the winner's circle at the Chevron Championship in April and the U.S. Women's Open earlier this month.
Golf Channel will have live coverage during Thursday's opening round available on TV and streaming. Here's a breakdown of how to watch the tournament, and a reminder to download the Golf Channel mobile app for live scores and updates. Stream links will be added when available.
Joe Cordina had been hoping to become a three-time, two-weight world champion [Getty Images]
Joe Cordina faces a court appearance in July after being charged "with assault and threatening a person with an offensive weapon in a public place".
The 34-year-old Welshman is a former super-featherweight world champion and was due to fight for the WBO lightweight title in the United States on 4 July.
South Wales Police (SWP) has confirmed Cordina and another man "have been charged in connection with an incident outside Pentwyn Service Station, Pentwyn Road, Cardiff, on February 27, 2026".
SWP stated: "Joseph Cordina, 34, from Pontprennau, has been charged with assault and threatening a person with an offensive weapon in a public place. He is due to appear at Cardiff Magistrates' Court on July 7.
"Jamie O'Brien, 32, from Pentwyn, has been charged with assault and is due to appear at Cardiff Magistrates' Court on July 28."
Cordina revealed in a social media post on Wednesday that he had been denied a US visa, saying: "I was due to fly to the United States this week. A couple of days back I went to the US embassy in London and they basically denied me a visa.
"I tried to explain certain things, and had all the paperwork to back it up, and they wasn't having it.
"They just sort of basically told me you ain't getting in."
The Cordina fight was set to be Mason's first defence of the belt he won in an epic encounter with Sam Noakes in November 2025.
Cordina, from Cardiff, had been hoping to become a two-weight world champion.
He lost his IBF 130lb world title in May 2024, a shock defeat by Anthony Cacace the only loss in his 19-fight professional career.
He has since beaten Jaret Gonzalez Quiroz to claim the vacant WBO global lightweight title before dominating Gabriel Flores Jr in California on the way to a unanimous victory on points in December 2025.
Cordina won British and Commonwealth titles at lightweight earlier in his career, having been a decorated amateur boxer who fought at an Olympics and in the same Team GB programme as his friend Anthony Joshua.
New York — Fifty-two years separated Haiti’s last two World Cup goals from the two scored against Morocco on Wednesday. For 52-year-old Murielle Lodvil, the wait spanned her entire lifetime.
She was one of the many watching from the pockets of New York’s Little Haiti, where bars and restaurants fell quiet as fans watched the match unfold on screens before it burst into further chaos: an equaliser, a goal and then another equaliser in the frantic first half.
Haiti went into the last group match with Morocco with elimination already sealed, after losing to both Scotland and Brazil in Group C. Haiti would concede twice more, but the result did little to diminish the occasion for Murielle.
As a birthday gift to herself, she bought tickets for her and 41-year-old sister, Barbara Albert, to watch Haiti face Brazil last week.
“That is why Haiti participating on this world stage was so special to me,” she said. “Every moment of this experience counts, ending with two goals, even with the outcome.”
Ms Albert said the experience at the Brazil match underscored the pride many supporters felt simply seeing Haiti return to the World Cup stage.
“The representation was really good. We’re proud of our Haitian community. We really showed up for them,” she said.
The sense of pride was also visible at the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York last Wednesday. The state is home to the country’s second-largest Haitian community, home to about 113,000 Haitian residents, according to the US Census Bureau in 2024.
Last week, an hour before Haiti faced Brazil, the Haitian flags were already gone. The Brazil flags, handed out alongside them at the door, remained half-stacked on distribution tables.
Thousands in wigs, Haitian jerseys and flags draped over their shoulders had filled the nearly sold-out, 19,000 seat stadium, with a handful in Brazilian yellow and green. Amid the sea of red and blue was Maude Schwartz, who waved a Haitian flag as she danced into the arena alongside her family, pumping her hands up in the air.
The 58-year-old Pilates studio owner, who moved to the US from Haiti in 1990 on a student visa, had come seeking a taste of the World Cup atmosphere. While her twin sons were at the match, she was satisfied with a $10 ticket to the watch party.
“Oh my goodness, my entire family is here,” she said, gesturing at the crowd around her.
But not everyone that wanted to be here could make it. “I have a niece who has repeatedly been denied a visa to come to the United States,” she said.
Her experience reflects broader constraints facing Haitian supporters. A travel ban imposed by the Trump administration, which began last year and was expanded in January, kept some supporters like Maude’s niece from attending.
Supporters dressed in red and blue dominate the stands as they stream in for the match [Lauren Ong/Al Jazeera]
Even players were affected. The defensive midfielder Woodensky Pierre, who lives in Haiti, was unable to travel to the United States to join the national team until 10 days before Haiti’s opening match against Scotland on June 13th.
“This is a world event and people should not be denied entry to this country,” said 55 year old Jean-Marc, a former player in the Long Island Football League dressed in a Haitian jersey and a wig dyed in the national colours. Born in the US to Haitian parents, he spent part of his childhood in Haiti before returning in 1986, following the fall of the Duvalier regime many called a dictatorship.
Watching Haiti compete in the country he has lived in for decades, he called it a “momentous event for all Haitians”.
An arena full of gasps and sighs as Brazil scored three goals before half-time [Lauren Ong/Al Jazeera]
‘Afraid of a raid’
Back in Flatbush, the Brooklyn neighbourhood that many call Little Haiti, Nadege Fleurimond has thrown open the doors of her Haitian-Caribbean restaurant, BunNan, for every Haiti match, offering those priced out of the stadium, a way in.
She came to the United States from Haiti as a seven-year-old and has watched immigration uncertainty touch nearly every Haitian family she knows. Watching Haiti’s World Cup run in the country where she built her life carried its own weight.
“I am Haitian, and I am also American,” she said. “The United States gave me opportunities, education and the ability to build businesses and create jobs. Haiti gave me my roots, my values, my resilience and my culture,” she added.
“It’s a reminder that immigrants don’t have to choose one identity over the other,” she added.
For Fleurimond, who grew up hearing more stories about what Haiti couldn’t do than what it could, the team’s appearance alone in the World Cup was enough.
“It was proof that we belong in rooms and on stages people often count us out of,” she said.
The Netherlands are gearing up for a final Group Stage match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, set to face Tunisia Thursday, June 25, in a contest that will determine their fate in the tournament. With qualification for the knockout rounds and the potential to top Group F on the line, the Dutch squad will look to deliver a strong performance heading into the elimination stage.
The Netherlands opened its World Cup campaign with a 2-2 draw against Japan. In their second group match, they delivered a commanding 5-1 victory over Sweden, with standout performances from Brian Brobbey and Cody Gakpo, who combined for four of the five goals.
As they approach their final group game, the Netherlands aim to capitalize on their momentum against a struggling Tunisia side that has lost both previous matches. With both the Netherlands and Japan tied at four points atop Group F, this match offers the Dutch an opportunity to pull ahead and secure a favorable seeding for the knockout rounds.
For Thursday's game, the Netherlands are expected to start their key attacking trio of Brobbey, Gakpo, and Crysencio Summerville. Here’s a glimpse at the anticipated lineup:
Paige Bueckers added another milestone to her already remarkable young WNBA career on Wednesday night, but if you ask the Dallas Wings star, the achievement belongs to far more than just her. The reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year continued her sensational start to her second professional season by helping lead Dallas to a thrilling 112-110 overtime victory over the Seattle Storm. Bueckers finished with 27 points, five rebounds and five assists, but it was one of those assists that helped her rewrite the league's record book.
With the performance, Bueckers became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 1,000 career points and 250 assists, another impressive accomplishment for the former UConn standout. Instead of celebrating herself after the game, however, Bueckers immediately turned the attention toward the people around her.
Paige Bueckers gives teammates the credit
Speaking with ESPN after the game, Bueckers reflected on the milestone and made it clear she doesn't view it as an individual accomplishment.
"It's meant everything," Bueckers said. "I think it's more a testament to who's helped me get here, the village that helped me get here, the story, the adversity that a lot of people helped me overcome."
She then explained why the assists portion of the record is impossible to achieve without the players around her.
"Obviously, when you talk about assists," Bueckers said, "that means a whole lot of teammates are involved. And even buckets, a whole lot of teammates are involved. And coaching staffs are involved. A whole lot of people that are important to me."
Bueckers finished by thanking everyone who has played a role in her development.
"It's really rewarding to see that hard work pay off," she said. "And their hard work and their investment and their belief in me pay off.
"But it's really a true team testament and a team accomplishment, and so I'm really grateful for it."
Individual accolades have followed Bueckers since she entered the league as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft. She earned All-Star honors, made the All-WNBA Second Team and captured Rookie of the Year after averaging 19.2 points, 5.4 assists and 1.6 steals during her debut season.
This season, she's helped elevate the Wings into the playoff picture once again. Dallas improved to 11-6 with Wednesday's overtime victory, moving into fifth place in the WNBA standings while continuing to establish itself as one of the league's biggest contenders.
If Bueckers keeps producing at this pace, more records are almost certainly on the horizon. But based on her comments after making history, don't expect her to spend much time talking about them. She'd rather share the spotlight with the teammates and coaches who helped her get there.
Lazio Legend Negotiating a Return to the Club With Gattuso’s Blessing
Former Lazio goalkeeper Angelo Peruzzi could soon make his return to Formello to work alongside Gennaro Gattuso.
The Background
The 56-year-old signed for the Aquile in 2000 and swiftly became a fan favorite at the Stadio Olimpico. In 2007, the Italian put an end to an elusive playing career, but he eventually returned to Lazio in 2016, assuming the role of team coordinator. The Viterbo native spent five years in this post before leaving the club due to disagreements with then-sporting director Igle Tare.
Gennaro Gattuso Pushing for the Return of Angelo Peruzzi
According to several reports in the Italian media, Peruzzi is currently in talks with the Lazio management over a possible return. Il Messaggero believes he could be appointed as a technical director, operating as a liaison between the new head, Gattuso, and sporting director Angelo Fabiani. He would have a say in both technical decisions and dressing-room dynamics.
Gattuso would reportedly be delighted with Peruzzi’s return. The two men share a good rapport dating back to their time together in the Italian national team. They were both members of the 2006 World Cup-winning squad.
Lazio & Peruzzi Closing in on Agreement
Il Corriere dello Sport (via La Lazio Siamo Noi) adds that club president Claudio Lotito already held a meeting with the former goalkeeper at Villa San Sebastiano last week. While the two parties have yet to finalize their agreement, the Roman newspaper believes they have approached the finish line.
During his playing stint, Peruzzi made 226 appearances for Lazio, conceding 242 goals and registering 66 clean sheets.
Djed Spence facing uncertain future at Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur full-back Djed Spence faces an increasingly uncertain future in North London this summer as manager Roberto De Zerbi continues to reshape the squad ahead of his first full season. Despite a gritty conclusion to the 2025/26 campaign, where he helped secure Premier League safety, Spence is not a part of De Zerbi’s long-term plans. As a result, the Spurs hierarchy will actively listen to offers for the 25-year-old, who has three years left on his current deal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Spurs’ willingness to facilitate a permanent exit has sparked immediate interest across the division, with several clubs keen on a move. Everton are reportedly at the front of the queue as they seek a long-term successor to Seamus Coleman. While he is primarily a right-back, Spence can fill in at left-back when needed. For Spence, leaving Spurs represents a prime opportunity to reset a career path that has stalled through various loan moves.
The ‘unstoppable’ defender is currently on international duty with England and was handed a start by Thomas Tuchel in England’s second World Cup outing against Ghana. With De Zerbi eyeing a major summer overhaul, Spence’s window to fight for his position in North London appears to have closed, and a move away looks increasingly likely. Spurs will hope Spence manages to increase his value at the World Cup, which would put them in a strong position to recoup a sizeable fee. Tottenham paid £12.5 million pounds to sign him in 2022, but the club could hold out for almost double that amount to sanction a sale.
Opening round schedule as Championship fixtures released for 2026/27 season
The Football League has released its fixture list for the 2026/27 campaign with some cracking Championship clashes to open the season.
Wolves host Blackburn Rovers in the first fixture of the Championship campaign, with the fixture due to take place at Molineux on Friday August 14th.
Bolton Wanderers mark their return to the second tier with a clash against local rivals Preston North End, while there’s an all-Welsh clash between Cardiff City and Wrexham.
Elsewhere, relegated Burnley and West Ham United collide in the first round of fixtures. The latter are back in the Championship for the first time since 2011/12 after relegation from the Premier League last season.
Championship first round fixtures in full
Friday, 14 August
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Blackburn Rovers (20:00)
FIFA dish out five-match ban after Kone’s horror World Cup injury with Canada
It has been confirmed that Qatar midfielder Assim Madibo has been handed a five-match ban from international fixtures by FIFA after a challenge that left Sassuolo midfielder Ismael Kone with a fractured leg.
Madibo given five-match ban after horror Kone injury
The offender, Madibo, was originally shown a yellow card for his challenge, but this was later upgraded to a red after a VAR review. Madibo and Qatar’s Minister for Sport went to visit Kone in hospital shortly after the incident occurred.
It has since been confirmed that Madibo will be banned for five international matches as a result of the challenge.
It was a horrible injury for Kone to suffer, but there has still been some criticism over the severity of the punishment handed out to Madibo.
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – JUNE 18: #8 of Canada waves to crowd as he is stretched off after being fouled by Assim Madibo #23 of Qatar during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group B match between Canada and Qatar at BC Place Vancouver on June 18, 2026 in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
The Athletic have labelled the five-match ban ‘absurd’, suggesting that “FIFA reacted to the result of (Madibo’s) foul on Kone, not the foul itself.”
It wasn’t the best challenge by any means, but the general consensus is that Madibo was not intentionally trying to endanger his opponent, just that he made a poorly-timed and poorly-judged tackle. The Qatari midfielder had his head in his hands and appeared genuinely distraught upon seeing the extent of Kone’s injury.
Brian Windhorst: "The most important thing in the league right now for what is going to happen in the 2026-27 season is that Boston has apparently decided that Jaylen Brown probably needs to be traded for them to be competitive. Because that is now going to be the next storyline in the NBA. Obviously, the Heat getting Giannis is a huge story for them. From the moment they traded Jimmy Butler, they have been on the hunt for the next star. That is a huge story for them."
Marc Stein: The Hornets are waiving forward Tosan Evbuomwan, league sources say. Evbuomwan has averaged 7.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 50 career NBA games and is coming off a G League Finals MVP performance this past season.
Crazy Stats: This season, Kevin Durant became the oldest player in @NBA history to score 2,000 points in a single season. At 37 years and 195 days old, he surpassed the previous mark of 36 years and 270 days held by Karl Malone (2,095 points during the 1999–00 season). Moreover, the Rockets are the fourth team with which Durant has recorded a 2,000-point season. No other player in league history has accomplished this with more than two teams.
LAS VEGAS, NV - APRIL 29: WBC/WBA welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. (L) and WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao pose during a news conference at the KA Theatre at MGM Grand Hotel & Casino on April 29, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The two will face each other in a unification bout on May 2, 2015 in Las Vegas. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Will Floyd Mayweather box Mike Zambidis this Saturday in Greece? That’s still up in the air, but one thing is for sure: his much hyped rematch against Manny Pacquiao will not happen in 2026 as originally planned.
Mayweather has been hit with a tsunami of bad news over the past several months. “Money” launched several lawsuits this year alleging past partners and business associates bilked him out of hundreds of millions of dollars. At the same time, he’s facing felony charges for writing bad checks to the tune of $200,000 in Nevada. And now his latest exhibition bout against former kickboxing champion Zambidis set for June 27th is in jeopardy after promoters CSI filed a legal injunction against the event.
CSI says Mayweather signed a contract with them to fight both Mike Tyson and Manny Pacquiao, with the deal stating that Floyd’s next fight must be against Tyson. They’ve gone and served everyone associated with the Mayweather vs. Zambidis fight from Mayweather to broadcaster DAZN to Ticketmaster for selling tickets. On Wednesday there was an emergency hearing to determine if the injunction would be granted, and while no decision has been made by the judge yet, there was some interesting news.
I recorded Wednesday's emergecy hearing where CSI sought an injunction to stop #MayweatherZambidis on Saturday claiming Floyd is breaching their contract for the Tyson exhibition & Manny fight: https://t.co/3ZT57OSU5e Fascinating stuff for #boxing business nerds. Listen to our…
Boxing reporter Dan Rafael recorded the hearing and broke down some of the more salient points regarding Floyd’s schedule for the rest of the year. The biggest note: the Manny Pacquiao fight announced for September is delayed until next year.
“Pacquiao fight is NOT happening in September,” Rafael tweeted. “The lawyers said the date for Tyson exhibition is September 12 if they work things out with Floyd. Pacquiao would be moved to January if it happens.”
Since the beginning of this situation, we’ve asked why Floyd Mayweather continues to do everything the hard way. The easiest way to sort out these money issues is to go ahead with the Tyson and Mayweather fights, fights that will make him massive amounts of money. Fight that he signed legally binding agreements to compete in. Immediately after signing, he started flip-flopping on conditions for the Mayweather fight. The Tyson fight has also been extremely vaporous.
The Zambidis fight always seemed like an odd duck stuffed into the schedule between Tyson and Pacquiao, but fits the bill for the kind of fight that Floyd actually shows up for: one against a random opponent with no chance in a contest that no one asked for. Zambidis is another John Gotti III, Aaron Chalmers, or Don Moore. This time, though, the promoters of the big fights that people care about aren’t letting Mayweather walk away from them.
We’ll find out today (Thursday, June 25th) at 12 p.m. noon what the judge has decided and whther Mayweather vs. Zambidis goes ahead.
Many people are already familiar with how talented the Ohio State Buckeyes will be on offense this season. The main reason is the top player in the country, Jeremiah Smith. It would not be a Buckeyes team without multiple elite receivers. This season, there is another true freshman receiver who is ready to take college football by storm. In a recent article, Brad Crawford highlights the next potential receiver for Ohio State in Chris Henry Jr. Here is what he had to say about the Buckeyes' newest true freshman star.
"Rarely does a true freshman make one of these top-player lists, but Chris Henry Jr. at Ohio State is different. This program consistently signs five-star monsters on the outside, and Henry is next in line to star alongside Smith. His performance during the Buckeyes' spring game was merely a glimpse at his ability, and he's going to play heavy snaps in his first season."
To think that the Buckeyes will have another threat that is creating buzz just like Jeremiah did as a freshman will be something serious to monitor for all Big Ten defenses. The Trojans will not be able to just single out the star receiver, Jeremiah Smith. Julian Sayin, like many other Buckeye quarterbacks, will have a plethora of weapons. The Trojans' best shot may end up being just a shootout vs the Buckeyes in Week 11.
Stephanie White and Caitlin Clark talk during the Fever’s Wednesday night loss to the Mercury.Photograph: Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White has sounded off on WNBA officials after star player Caitlin Clark took several hard uncalled hits, including a fist to the throat, during Wednesday night’s loss to the Phoenix Mercury, a game that Clark exited in the third quarter with a back injury.
White did not link Clark’s injury to the no-calls, but did claim that the game was the latest instance in a pattern of the third-year guard being officiated differently from other WNBA players.
“We have a generational talent and a WNBA superstar who had two cheap shots right there that weren’t called,” White said in the postgame news conference after the Fever’s 111-109 home loss. “And I just say, again, [it’s] absolutely unacceptable.”
In the second quarter, Clark was driving into the lane and fell on her side after contact. Mercury forwards DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas dove for the ball, and in the jostle Thomas appeared to knee Clark in the groin and then push her closed fist into Clark’s neck. Clark managed to complete a pass to teammate Aliyah Boston as Thomas got up and stepped over her.
YouTube highlights of Mercury-Fever game on 24 June
Less than a minute later, Mercury forward Valeriane Ayayi fouled Clark as she was taking a three-pointer. Clark landed on Ayayi’s foot as she came down from her jump; White argued that it should have been elevated to a flagrant foul for restricting Clark’s space to land, but after a review the officials elected to keep it as a common foul.
“No 1, you gotta call it. It’s absolutely egregious and utterly disrespectful,” White said. “And then No 2, you’re coming in here aware of what happened two nights ago, and that shit still happens? Absolutely unacceptable.”
White was referencing the Fever and Mercury’s matchup on Monday night, when the Fever won 86-77 in a game that had six technical fouls – including ones given to Clark and Thomas – and one ejection.
Clark had 19 points before she left the game in the third quarter with a back injury. She sat out a game last month because of back issues. After missing the majority of last season with groin and ankle injuries, the 2024 Rookie of the Year is averaging 21.2 points and 8.2 assists this season. The Fever, who entered the season as title contenders, have struggled with consistency: they lead the WNBA in offensive scoring (92.1 points per game) but are third-worst in defense (88.9) and have given up 100 points in seven of their 18 games.
WNBA officiating has been under the spotlight this season. After outcry over physicality and inconsistency in referee decisions last year, a league taskforce was assembled – an effort spearheaded by a group of coaches, including White. Officials have been instructed this season to practice consistent enforcement of the existing league rules, especially as they pertain to freedom of movement; as a result, there was a sharp uptick in foul calls in the start to this season.
“We spent all offseason looking at officiating, and I still say the one thing that we keep asking for is consistency,” White said. “[Clark] is not called the same way as everybody else is called. The fist in the throat is crazy. It’s crazy. It’s dangerous. ... When you have these things continue to happen time and time and time again, eventually it gets frustrating.”
The piece, which was reported on for over three seasons by reporter Jim Owczarski, is available for subscribers but here are some takeaways of note:
Everyone had a hand in the trade
While much of the discourse surrounding Antetokounmpo and the Bucks was about one party or the other not wanting to come across as the “villain” in the breakup, there assuredly are no heroes. From ownership down to Antetokounmpo, every major stakeholder in the relationship had a hand in its dissolution.
Mistakes were made
The road to perdition was paved with altruistic intentions, beginning in the spring of 2023. While there was indeed bad luck along the way in the name of key injuries, important decisions made at important times ultimately led the Bucks to this juncture in franchise history.
Things became personal between Giannis and the Bucks
The end of Antetokounmpo’s career in Milwaukee was an injury-shortened season in 2025-26 and it included a battle with the organization over letting him play in the final two months. It was the culmination of hard feelings built up by both sides during a disappointing 32-win campaign.
The piece, which was reported on for over three seasons by reporter Jim Owczarski, is available for subscribers but here are some takeaways of note:
Everyone had a hand in the trade
While much of the discourse surrounding Antetokounmpo and the Bucks was about one party or the other not wanting to come across as the “villain” in the breakup, there assuredly are no heroes. From ownership down to Antetokounmpo, every major stakeholder in the relationship had a hand in its dissolution.
Mistakes were made
The road to perdition was paved with altruistic intentions, beginning in the spring of 2023. While there was indeed bad luck along the way in the name of key injuries, important decisions made at important times ultimately led the Bucks to this juncture in franchise history.
Things became personal between Giannis and the Bucks
The end of Antetokounmpo’s career in Milwaukee was an injury-shortened season in 2025-26 and it included a battle with the organization over letting him play in the final two months. It was the culmination of hard feelings built up by both sides during a disappointing 32-win campaign.
Hull City have definite interest in 25-year-old Rangers midfielder Nicolas Raskin, who is with Belgium at the World Cup.
However, with an offer understood to be in the region of £12m-14m, that is unlikely to be enough given the Scottish Premiership side are believed to value him at £20m-plus.
The midfielder joined Rangers in January 2023 and has made 145 appearances for the Ibrox club, scoring 13 times.
New Rangers manager Derek McInnes and a selection of players were pictured at the club's training ground on Thursday reporting for pre-season training.
Raskin's Belgium face New Zealand in World Cup Group G on Saturday (04:00 BST), seeking their first win of the tournament after two draws so far.
Countdown to kickoff is back! USC will kick off its 2026 football season on August 29 when the Trojans host San Jose State at the Coliseum. In this series, we will be counting down the days until the season opener by highlighting a notable Trojan who wore each number.
There are not a whole lot of recent options for the number 65, so today, we take it all the way back to the 1970s and look at former USC offensive lineman Melvin Jackson.
“Jackson was listed as a linebacker on the roster in 1973, then wearing the No. 54, but he swapped it for the No. 65 in 1974 taking up a place on the offensive line," de Artola wrote.
”Originally training as an offensive guard, he stepped in at offensive tackle briefly during the 1974 season because of injury. His involvement wasn’t great, but he was around to earn a national title ring with the Trojans.
“The next season Jackson moved into the starting lineup permanently opposite All-American Marvin Powell. Despite the clear talent on the other side, USC’s coaches voted Jackson the winner of the John Dye Memorial Award as the team’s lineman of the year.
"He certainly played a key role in the Trojans victory over Notre Dame in 1975. With the Irish leading 17-14, running back Ricky Bell had powered his offense to one-yard line. However, on a goal line carry, the ball popped out of his hands and into the air.
'When I fumbled, I told myself that I threw the ball game away,' Bell said in the Gannet News Service.
"The game wasn’t lost because Jackson was there to recover the ball on the two-yard line. That set up quarterback Vince Evans’s game winning score.”
After USC: The Green Bay Packers selected Jackson in the 12th round of the 1976 NFL Draft. He would go on to play five seasons with the team.
Jackson is the grandfather of former USC and current Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Austin Jackson.
His Carolina Clean squad didn't capture the Jani-King Spring Challenge this year, but that doesn't mean J.T. Poston hasn't had a season to reckon with in 2026.
Poston's victory at the Memorial, although it wasn't a part of the seven-event competition, was a major milestone in the 33-year-old's career. Poston defeated Ryan Gerard with a par on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff to win the signature event hosted by Jack Nicklaus in Dublin, Ohio, for the biggest title of his four career wins.
And he leaned heavily on his caddie, Aaron Flener, in the victory, especially when he needed to make birdie on the 72nd hole to force the playoff.
"It was a great feeling. I told Aaron, my caddie, when we were walking off the tee, we've had a few scenarios this year. Now, granted, several of them were to make the cut on Friday, but we had to birdie the last hole. And it's a similar type of pressure. You've got nothing to lose and just step up there and hit the shot," Poston said.
"And I told him, We've birdied 18 a few times this year. Let's go do it again. So to be able to pull it off at a tournament like this and on a hole like 18 at Muirfield Village is incredible."
The win highlighted the relationship between Poston and Flener, who have shined this year. Poston has four top-25 finishes in 15 starts this season, and has amassed over $5.5 million in earnings.
And he and Andrew Novak paired up to comprise one of the three teams in the Jani-King Spring Challenge. Wrapping up its third year, the challenge has evolved into more than a sponsor showcase. It’s a meaningful bonus layer woven into the Tour grind, rewarding players who consistently show up and produce.
Built around a slate of PGA Tour stops, the competition emphasizes both sharp play and steady results — with teams sharing $150,000 in payouts based on the FedEx Cup points they accumulate along the way.
It also highlights the relationship between player and caddie, a sometimes underappreciated piece of PGA Tour life.
Poston certainly appreciates Flener, noting after his Memorial win how important it is to have a teammate to work with.
"Yeah, he's been incredible. There's been times when I've certainly had my doubts about my game, and he's been the steady head, the foundation in the pair to just, you know, keep plugging along, keep working at it," Poston said of his relationship with Flener. "We're not quitters, like I said, and so we knew we had, we knew we were working on the right things to make this happen and I feel like he probably believed it before I did.
"But just incredibly proud of how we've stuck it out and we make a good team."
While Poston's win was a big one, Jacob Bridgeman and Chris Gotterup captured the Spring Challenge, taking the biggest prizes, with their caddies Brady Stockton and GW Cable, each getting a prize of $7,500 for the victory. The Kings of Clean finished with 785 points in the competition.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JANUARY 04: Tyree Wilson #9 of the Las Vegas Raiders looks on prior to a game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium on January 04, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images) | Getty Images
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Bruce Lee with fresh scratch marks on his face and chest in a scene from the film 'Enter The Dragon', 1973. (Photo by Warner Brothers/Getty Images) | Getty Images
All eyes are on the Minnesota Vikings’ quarterback battle in Eagan between Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy because that’s just how the sport works. It’s all about the quarterback. Yet, the “other” competition should turn heads, too — at OLB3.
Minnesota is in this spot due to trading outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard to the Philadelphia Eagles. Ranked from least to most likely, here’s who might get the bulk of snaps at OLB3.
Vikings Third EDGE Spot Has Real Intrigue
Former Georgia linebacker Chaz Chambliss runs a drill during Georgia’s Pro Day in Athens as NFL evaluators observe from around the field. Chambliss participated on March 12, 2025, with representatives from all 32 teams attending the annual showcase to evaluate Bulldogs prospects ahead of the upcoming NFL Draft. Mandatory Credit: Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images.
Chaz Chambliss
Chambliss, an undrafted free agent from Georgia in 2025, likely isn’t a serious contender to win the OLB3 job, but he must be included for full disclosure. Stranger things than an unsung pass rusher dazzling at training camp and in the preseason have occurred.
The 23-year-old appeared in 12 games as a rookie last season, logging 24 defensive snaps and 183 on special teams. He won’t be “the guy” at OLB3, but remember his name just in case.
Tyler Batty
Depending on the statuses of two young Vikings defenders — Jake Golday and Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins — Batty can reasonably be called the current OLB4 or OLB5. That means he’s right on the roster bubble, so he has quite the stakes this training camp and preseason. Batty could be a practice squad guy by September or claw his way up to the OLB3 slot.
A rookie last year, Batty is already 27 and played 12 games in 2025, including 42 defensive snaps and 268 on special teams.
Chambliss as the third EDGE rusher in September would be shocking; Batty would be surprising.
Bo Richter
This summer is the time for Richter to decide if he’s a long-term defensive contributor or just a guy who fills out the backend of an OLB depth chart. The moment Greenard got his marching orders toward Philadelphia, Richter slid up one spot on the roster.
He’s experienced action on 81 defensive plays in the last two seasons, with 639 on special teams. Richter logged a 61.1 Pro Football Grade in 2025 in limited snaps. There’s a chance that Brian Flores trusts him enough to see 300-400 defensive snaps this season. Stay tuned.
Jake Golday
On draftboards, Golday was listed as an off-ball linebacker entering the month of April. Yet, since the Vikings used 2nd-Round draft capital on him, it’s becoming more apparent that he possesses an Andrew Van Ginkel-like skill set — that of a hybrid ILB-OLB.
And it would just make more sense that Minnesota used a 2nd-Rounder on an EDGE rusher than an inside linebacker if it knew that Greenard would be traded later that night.
NBC Sports‘ Josh Alper opined last weekend, “Second-round pick Jake Golday has been working with the Vikings’ off-ball linebackers since joining the team in April, but his long-term fit in the defense may not be that straightforward. Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores’s system offers opportunities for versatile players to fill multiple roles with Andrew Van Ginkel being an example of a player who has developed as an edge rusher while also seeing time in other spots on defense.”
“Golday, who played defensive end at Central Arkansas before transferring to Cincinnati, has been compared to his veteran teammate by numerous people, including Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell.”
Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins
Ingram-Dawkins played 250 defensive snaps as a rookie in 2025, which is pretty damn impressive for a 5th-Rounder. Many 5th-Rounders don’t play at all.
Georgia Bulldogs defensive lineman Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins lines up against TCU during the CFP national championship game at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. Ingram-Dawkins appeared in the title game on January 9, 2023, as Georgia pursued another national championship and completed one of the sport’s most dominant seasons. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports.
So when some credible reporting suggested a few weeks ago that he could shift to OLB, the logic made sense. It’s easier to pull the trigger on a Greenard trade when decision-makers know that Golday and Ingram-Dawkins can be deployed off the EDGE.
A to Z Sports‘ Tyler Forness noted last month, “The idea to move Ingram-Dawkins out to edge rusher is a fascinating one. He was an undersized player for the interior, but had the requisite quickness to win against guards. It’s an interesting idea to move the 6-5 defender out to the edge, but it tracks with how the Vikings have been adding a lot of size on the interior.”
“Doing this is certainly worth trying, especially with it being defensive coordinator Brian Flores’s decision, but there are some concerns with making it work. Ingram-Dawkins is an explosive athlete, but only linear. He isn’t a great lateral mover, and is tight-hipped, making bending the arc around the edge a little more difficult. Being that he appears to be moving out to the edge, it’s a major concern.”
When the Vikings drafted Ingram-Dawkins in April 2025, some pundits claimed he had EDGE versatility. And here we are.
A Free Agent to Be Named Later
Finally, perhaps the Vikings will not roll with an in-house option. The free-agent market is stuffed to the gills with veteran outside linebackers:
Derek Barnett
Haason Reddick
Jadeveon Clowney
Joey Bosa
Kyle Van Noy
Leonard Floyd
Marcus Davenport
Von Miller
Yannick Ngakoue
Los Angeles Rams linebacker Leonard Floyd celebrates after defeating the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium. Floyd enjoyed the championship victory on February 13, 2022, as the Rams secured the Lombardi Trophy and completed a memorable postseason run on their home field in Inglewood. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports.
All the Vikings have to do is make a phone call to an agent, spend between $5 million and $10 million — and boom, problem solved.
Floyd especially makes sense because he won a Super Bowl with Kevin O’Connell in Los Angeles five years ago.
Olmo talks Pedri, Lamine, Luis Enrique, Julian Alvarez, World Cup: ‘The time has come’
Barcelona star Dani Olmo did not start Spain’s first game in the World Cup – a game that the team eventually struggled in and ended in a draw.
For the second clash against Saudi Arabia, Luis de la Fuente brought the attacking midfielder into his starting lineup, and the difference in attacking potency was clear.
Olmo enjoyed a great game against Saudi Arabia and was a key member of the transition and midfield dominance. Going forward in the World Cup, his importance only appears set to increase.
Olmo speaks about how he has built his career
The Barcelona midfielder opened in a recent interview where he was asked in detail about his beginnings in football and how he has endured a difficult journey to the top.
First, he was asked about how he felt when he first left Barcelona to play abroad at the age of 16 and how he is said to have cried out to his agent on that day.
“I don’t know if I cried or not (laughs), but it was certainly tough. Leaving at sixteen years old for a new country and a new club is no easy thing.”
“I’ve gained experience with age, but I think I’m still that same kid, with the same dreams and the same ambition and the same desire to play and win titles,” he added.
Commenting on what has changed around him over the years to bring him closer to his dreams, Olmo said,
“Now I have the luck of playing for a club that competes for everything and for a national team as well. I’m still the same person, maybe a little better (laughs) and more experienced.”
Important for club and country. (Photo by Manuel Velasquez/Getty Images)
He was then asked if he saw himself to be at his peak in the present moment, to which he modestly said,
“I don’t think I’m at the peak because a person can always improve. It wasn’t easy.”
“When I left Barcelona at sixteen, my dream was to return one day. That dream came true thanks to hard work and great effort. It was never easy,” he added.
“But now that I’ve returned, I don’t see the circle as closed; instead, I see a new circle beginning,” he concluded on the topic.
On his playing style
The Barcelona player then opened up on his tactical acumen and how he works on his understanding of the game.
“When I’m off the field, I try to read the open spaces, especially those where I can position myself or attack when we have possession of the ball.”
“I also watch how the team drops back and defends. I try to follow everything. This is something I trained on a lot with my father and brother since I was young,” he added.
The player then opened up on the various managers he has worked with in the national team and how they have moulded his game.
“And among the coaches who have influenced me the most tactically is Luis Enrique, as I sometimes played with him on the wing but with the freedom to move into the depth within the triangle I formed with Pedri and Jordi Alba.”
“As for now with Luis de la Fuente, I play more in depth, and he gives me the freedom I need to show the best of what I have,” he added.
The player then recollected how he and Pedri faced a difficult period after the Euros and Olympics in 2021 in terms of fitness.
“It was a tough year. A long time has passed since then, but it’s an unforgettable year.”
“We suffered injuries that kept us from doing what we love, but they were lessons that made us understand our bodies better,” he added.
Olmo enjoys playing with Pedri. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
Speaking particularly on playing alongside Pedri, the player said,
“Playing with Pedri is very easy. It’s true that we haven’t had much time together with the national team in recent years, but the last match showed that we’re perfectly in sync. And we’ve proven that in Barcelona too.”
On him staying grounded
The player was then reminded how fans related him as a grounded player, especially for how he naturally celebrated the title with Barcelona riding a bike in the city.
“This is how I consider myself. It happened spontaneously. I was with Inigo and Pedri and Eric, while Ferran couldn’t attend to celebrate the league title. We wanted to go see him, so we rented bikes because the streets were full.”
“It was a very natural moment. We are ordinary people. I love doing everyday things like having coffee or going out for a walk,” he added.
When asked if he would love to do the same after potentially winning the World Cup, he said.
“I wish for that, I really do. I see myself there. And I’ll definitely motivate my teammates.”
On Barcelona and Lamine Yamal
Olmo was then reminded of the queer period after he joined Barcelona when his registration was under serious doubt.
“They were strange and difficult moments because of the state of uncertainty.”
“I had complete confidence that the club would find a solution, and that’s exactly what happened. I never doubted it, but there was always a question: When would it be resolved? And yet, I was very confident in Barcelona,” he added.
He then opened up on Lamine Yamal and his connection with the winger both for club and country.
“We don’t talk much about that. We sometimes talk about certain shots or match details. But we understand each other just through looks.”
“I’ve played with him a lot and I know what he likes and what motivates him. Not just individual one-on-one situations, but even one against two,” he added.
“So I try to give him the right space, and sometimes I get closer to play a quick one-two with him or give him an extra option. I always try to support him,” he concluded.
Lamine may be Barça’s No. 10 but Olmo wears No. 10 for Spain. (Photo by Judit Cartiel/Getty Images)
When asked if he joked around with Yamal over having Spain’s number 10 shirt, Olmo said,
“Actually, he didn’t ask me for it at all. And I think I deserved this number too. I like it and I played with it in the Euros that we won. I see no reason to change it.”
He did, however, back Yamal as one of the greatest talents and best players on the planet.
“Lamine is world-class. He proves that in training and in matches when he steps onto the pitch. You might include him in this group or not, but for me, there’s no doubt.”
The player was then asked to comment on Barcelona target Julian Alvarez and what he made of the Atletico Madrid star.
“A very excellent player. World champion. He has great quality and works hard. He is a world-class player.”
On winning titles
Finally, Olmo was asked what winning titles mean to him, to which he did not hold back.
“Winning titles with Barcelona and the national team. We’re a winning team that’s gone through tough experiences that helped us evolve and win the Nations League and the Euros. We’re ready for anything.”
When asked if it was time for Spain to conquer the World Cup again, he said,
“Yes. It can be said that the time has come to earn the second star.”
“We have the quality we show on the pitch, and we also have the human quality. It’s an opportunity in front of us. We know we can rely on ourselves because we have the potential to go far and win,” he added.
The Los Angeles Sparks have been without one of their most important frontcourt contributors over the past week, but Cameron Brink offered fans a reason to feel optimistic about her recovery on Wednesday. Brink, who has missed the Sparks' last two games after suffering an ankle injury against the Golden State Valkyries, shared a personal update on Instagram that quickly caught the attention of teammates and WNBA fans alike.
The post featured a collection of photos from throughout the season, highlighting everything from game action to off-court fashion and moments with teammates. The final image, however, showed the reality of her recovery, revealing an ankle that remained visibly swollen and bruised. Despite the setback, Brink paired the photo with an encouraging message.
Brink has been one of the Sparks' most impactful reserves
While Brink's numbers don't always tell the full story, she has enjoyed the best season of her young WNBA career. Through 14 appearances, the former Stanford standout is averaging career highs of 9.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.5 blocks in just 17.5 minutes per game. Her defensive energy, rim protection and hustle have helped give Los Angeles an important spark whenever she checks into the game. The Sparks currently sit at 8-8, holding the eighth and final playoff spot as they continue a tightly contested race in the Western Conference.
With two road games remaining before returning home for a three-game homestand, Los Angeles would certainly welcome Brink's return as soon as she's medically cleared. Although the team has not announced an official timetable, Brink's latest social media post made one thing clear: she's already looking ahead to getting back on the court.
Al Horford might be 40, but he still has plenty left in the tank. The long-time veteran reportedly intends to sign a two-year, $14 million deal to stay with the Golden State Warriors, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Horford declined his player option with the team in order to sign a slightly longer extension.
Golden State's Al Horford is declining his player option and intends to sign a new two-year, $14 million deal to stay with the Warriors, sources tell me and @anthonyVslater. Horford, 40, becomes only the 13th player in NBA history to reach 20 seasons. pic.twitter.com/Tuu4oYb9hV
With the move, Horford will become just the 13th player in NBA history to play at least 20 seasons in the league. He joins a list littered with NBA legends, including Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, among others.
Horford has come a long way since being selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft. He showed promise with the team immediately, finishing second in the Rookie of the Year voting after his first season.
Horford would go on to play nine seasons in Atlanta, making four All-Star Games over that period.
After three seasons with the Boston Celtics, Horford spent one year with the Philadelphia 76ers and one year with the Oklahoma City Thunder before returning to the Celtics for four more years.
His second stint with Boston proved productive, as Horford won a championship with the team during the 2023-24 NBA season.
Horford spent one more season in Boston before signing with the Warriors ahead of last season. He was an effective bench player with Golden State. In 45 games last season, Horford averaged 8.3 points and 4.9 rebounds in 21.5 minutes per contest.
Comeback wins often feature some unusual plays, but the Los Angeles Angels outdid themselves in the weirdness category with several of the unusual plays that drove their 7-6 walk-off win over the Baltimore Orioles in yesterday's series finale.
The Angels were down 5-2 in the third inning, and as they continued to pile up zeroes it looked like this would be just another desultory loss. Then the strange stuff started.
“It was wild,” manager Kurt Suzuki said in a followup piece written by Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. “I feel like we were in the game the whole time. The bullpen did an unbelievable job keeping us right there and the guys just kept battling. And then we came through in the end.”
Start with the winning hit. It was a tapper by Logan O’Hoppe that went 15 feet in front of home plate, with a reported exit velocity of 18 mph. It allowed Nolan Schanuel to score from third, and O’Hoppe was duly modest as he described his feat after the game.
“It's a baseball play,” O’Hoppe said. “It's just one of those freak plays where it worked out. I worked in the cage the whole game to try to see the ball better. And then I hit a pitch out of the zone but it worked out for us.”
That was by no means the weirdest play of the game, however. The three-base error that got Schanuel to third happened when he hit a ground ball with an exit velocity of 67 mph that became a de facto triple when reliever Keegan Akin and first baseman Pete Alonso botched the coverage and Schanuel kicked the ball into right-field foul ground as he crossed the bag.
“It looked like a tweener, where it looked like Pete kind of broke and then stopped and then turned around and ran back, and Akin got to the bag at the same time and nobody knew who was going to get it,” Suzuki said. “And Schanny kicked it and went all the way through, so definitely a weird, weird ending.”
The play that made it all possible was even more remarkable. The Orioles did end up scoring a run in the top of the tenth thanks to an RBI single by Alonso, but before that reliever Chase Silseth fielded a tapper from Gunnar Henderson in front of the plate and made a brilliant scoop throw to O’Hoppe, and the catcher flawlessly executed the tag on ghost runner Blaze Alexander.
“I figured I probably was not going to get him at first so just might as well go for it,” Silseth said. “We work on it in spring training with the glove flips going to home. So it paid off.”
USA TODAY Network via Reuters ConnectUSA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
If the Detroit Red Wings want a center or a puck-moving defenseman, they will have choices with the No. 47 pick on Saturday.
Michigan center Adam Valentini, Ottawa center Thomas Vandenberg, Saskatoon right wing Zack Olsen, Slovak center Tomas Chrenko and Calgary defenseman Ben Mcbeath have all been linked to Detroit through mock drafts.
But history says there is a better chance of missing on the pick than landing a player who becomes a regular. A study of 2010-2021 NHL Draft reveals that only 34% (125/368) of the players chosen in the second round over that 12-year period played 200 or more games in the NHL. By contrast, 69% of first rounders played 200 or more games.
The study didn’t include the last four drafts because many of the players from those drafts are still considered developing players.
Even in the best of draft years, finding a true player in an 18-year-old draft, in the second round, was challenging. The 2016 draft had a quality second round yield led by Sebastian Aho (35th), Eric Cernak (43rd), Roope Hintz (49th) and Rasmus Andersson (53rd). But even in that year, only 18 of 31 second round picks (58%) played 200 games. Eight of the picks didn’t play any NHL games and four others played 65 or fewer games. Former Red Wings player Mitchell Stevens was a second-round pick (by Tampa Bay) that year and he has logged only 123 NHL games.
After the second round, it’s not much better than NHL teams drawing names out of a hat. From the third through the seventh round, only 10.8% of the players selected ended up playing 200 or more NHL games.
Makes you wonder why we don’t reduce the length of the NHL draft.
In Case You Missed It
The North American game suits the style of Detroit prospect Jesse Kiiskinen.
What GM Steve Yzerman needs to get back in a trade for Dylan Larkin.
Detroit prospect Rudy Guimond was named a second team QMJHL All-Star. The Harvard-bound netminder posted a 40-7-1-2 record, 2.27 GAA and .922 save percentage. He had three shutouts in 50 games during the 2025-26 season. . . The Colorado Avalanche sent former Red Wings draft pick Chase Bradley (203rd, 2002) along with Jack Drury and a third-round pick in a trade to the Nashville Predators for Zachary L’Heureux and Fedor Svechkov. The Red Wings never signed Bradley. He has played two seasons in the AHL, earning two games with the Avalanche.
Hockey Now Digest
Florida: GM Bill Zito said the door isn’t closed on a possible Sergei Bobrovsky return to the Florida Panthers.
Montreal: Mason McTavish explores whether it makes sense to pursue Mason McTavish. Montreal Canadiens.
New Jersey: The Devils now own the same kind of assets the Florida Panthers used to unite the Tkachuk. What can the Devils trade for with their collection of draft picks? New Jersey Devils.
Philadelphia: The Flyers reportedly are trying to re-sign a former Red Wings forward. Philadelphia Flyers.
We asked for you views on who Tottenham should sign this summer transfer window out of Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali.
The club have already signed four players as they gear up for a first full season under Roberto de Zerbi, but who would be the right fit in central midfield?
Here are some of your thoughts:
Tom: For the money, Fernandes seems like he could be a better purchase. He is a lot younger so can play longer for us, but that also means he is more malleable and De Zerbi can shape him into more of a player we need, rather than adapting other players to Tonali as might have been the case. While I would have liked Tonali, I'm cautiously optimistic that if we get Fernandes, it's a better long-term investment. He could spend a decade here and be very good for us.
Sebastian: We should buy both Tonali and Fernandes and stop mucking around. They would both be well used by De Zerbi and help Spurs get back on track to the top five.
Alex: I don't understand this. Fernandes is a player with two years of Premier League experience, but he has also been relegated twice. I know he can play as a six or an eight, but haven't we got a player more than capable in Lucas Bergvall, who hasn't been relegated twice and won't cost us £85m?
Ian: Tonali would be a game-changer for our midfield. Fernandes is great, but Tonali is ready-made for us. If I was being greedy, I would say get both and use Bergvall, Pape Matar Sarr, Luka Vuskovic or a different fringe player to sweeten the deal.
Jamie: Fernandes is the player Spurs have been absolutely crying out for and who would absolutely transform our midfield. He is the conductor of the orchestra in a sense and everything in midfield would start with him. I want Tonali as well, but Fernandes would have the biggest impact on how we play.
Golf Chanel coverage begins Thursday at 3 p.m. ET. Also, download the Golf Channel mobile app for live scores and live action. Here's when Bradley, James and the rest of the signature-event field, including world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, will go out on Thursday.
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - DECEMBER 31: Jeremiah Smith #4 of the Ohio State Buckeyes reacts after scoring a touchdown against the Miami Hurricanes during the second half of the College Football Playoff Quarter Final Game at AT&T Stadium on December 31, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by CFP/Getty Images) | Getty Images
With college football only a couple months away, Jared and I decided to sit down and do an eight-round, draft-style selection of what we consider to be the best, most intriguing Big Ten football games for the upcoming season. We kept it simple: No limits on how many times you can select a certain team or a certain month on the schedule. That being said, it wasn’t all just the B1G dogs of the conference that were drafted. Check it out and let us know what you think in the comments below.
And of course, if you haven’t done so already: Please subscribe to our YouTube Channel. We are currently at 768 subscribers (as of Wednesday, June 23rd) and are trying to hit 1,000 subscribers by the end of August. Once we’ve hit that magic number, we (Tim, Jared, Pat, and Bennett) will livestream ourselves naming 1,000 different Penn State football players, however long it may take us.
AMD’s Ryzen 7 9800X3D has hit a new pricing low in the UK AMD’s Ryzen 7 9800X3D is arguably the company’s best gaming CPU. Yes, the Ryzen 7 9850X3D exists, but it only offers a minor clock-speed bump at the cost of a much higher power draw. Furthermore, it is much more expensive. Today, the […]
By designing a chip around how tokens move through transformer architectures, OpenAI is trying to shift away from its heavy dependence on Nvidia hardware and toward a stack it controls end-to-end.
As you can see in the post below, REI's promotional ad for the Van Rysel EDR AF bike appears to show too many chains, blurry lettering, and the unique feature of dual front and rear handlebars.
Microsoft has spent the past few weeks showing off the drastic changes it has made to Halo: Combat Evolved's lighting, characters, environments, textures, and other visual elements. However, instead of creating a remake that lines up perfectly with the original, Halo Studios decided to remix certain gameplay elements and add...
Today, independent German developer Keen Games announced the release date of Enshrouded 1.0. The game will be released on October 15 for PC and PlayStation 5, but the Xbox version has been delayed to next Spring. Jan Jöckel, CEO of Keen Games, said in a statement: Our team worked tirelessly to launch Enshrouded 1.0 and its exciting new content simultaneously across PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 5 Pro, and Xbox Series S|X. Enshrouded combines large-scale voxel building, fully terraformable worlds, advanced multiplayer systems, and a vast open world in ways that are technically very demanding. As we approached launch, we decided […]
More processors are getting a discount on this Prime Day deal, and you shouldn't miss these Ryzen CPUs if you want to build a powerful gaming PC on a budget. AMD Ryzen 5 9600X Drops to Just $179 While Ryzen 5 7600X is Now Down to $146 on Amazon There are some excellent deals on Amazon at the moment, ranging from PC components to pre-built systems, but the processor deals are particularly irresistible. We have just published Intel's Core Ultra 7 270K Plus deal post that gives you the chance to buy the processor at just $264, making it one […]
Vendors have started releasing new BIOS updates that restores the TSME feature on consumer Ryzen CPUs. ASUS Releases ComboAM5 P1 1.3.0.1b Patch A to Restore TSME Feature on Non-PRO Ryzen CPUs After AMD Promised to Reinstate it A week ago, users complained that their Ryzen CPUs were no longer showing TSME support. This was due to the latest AMD BIOSes, which reportedly removed the TSME encryption feature on the Ryzen CPUs. However, AMD didn't remove it from the PRO variants and told MSI that the TSME is reserved only for the Ryzen PRO chips. TSME, or Transparent Memory Secure Encryption, […]
Valve's reveal that the Steam Machine would be priced at $1049 for the base edition (512 GB with no controller) and up to $1428 for the 2TB edition with a Steam Controller rocked most consumers who were looking forward to buying one at a much lower price. The Steam company made it crystal clear that this wasn't the pricing they had in mind for the hardware and pointed to suppliers literally forcing their hand due to the ongoing memory and storage component crisis. Valve engineer Pierre-Loup Griffais told Gamers Nexus: Look, there’s no contract; there’s nothing. Like, those guys… they give […]
One of the fastest gaming and productivity chip is now under $300, making it a perfect choice for enthusiasts. Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus Gets a $35 Discount on Amazon, Making it the Cheapest 24-Core CPU on the Market You don't see great CPU deals every day, but thanks to the Prime Day deals, some of the best processors are now down to their lowest prices ever. After Intel's launch of Arrow Lake Refresh, aka Core Ultra 200S Plus, the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus became the most popular Intel desktop chip, selling like hotcakes due to its amazing […]
On June 25, Samsung announced the Global and US launch of the Galaxy A27 5G. The company’s new mid-range smartphone arrives with support for two AI assistants in a single Black colorway for $350 stateside.
Galaxy A27 5G comes with a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED screen with Full HD+ resolution. Samsung is bringing 120Hz refresh rate support and a modern punch-hole display, replacing the Infinity-U cutout.
Under the hood, the Galaxy A27 5G is powered by a Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 processor fabricated using a 4nm process. The new smartphone is packed with a 5,000mAh battery, measures just 7.8mm thin, and weighs 200 grams.
Camera setup includes:
5MP Ultra-Wide Camera
50MP OIS Wide Camera
2MP Macro Camera
12MP Front Camera
In the US, Samsung has only one memory configuration (6GB + 128GB) to offer in Black color. Meanwhile, global shoppers get three tiers: 6 + 128 GB, 8 + 128 GB, and 8 + 256 GB in Black, Blue, Light Green and Light Pink colors.
The device comes with Android 16-based One UI 8.5 software. Samsung has refined the AI feature set on its mid-range portfolio. The company is highlighting support for two AI assistants, including Gemini and Perplexity with Bixby.
Deeper integration across more native Galaxy apps, including Gallery, supports faster, more intuitive everyday interactions. Galaxy A27 5G now supports Bixby as a conversational device agent, enabling seamless control of settings and features through natural language.
Galaxy A27 5G reinforces Samsung’s commitment to long-term support with up to six generations of Android OS and One UI upgrades, as well as up to six years of security updates from the initial global launch date.
Global sales start on July 3 in select markets, while the US availability is scheduled for July 14. You can have Samsung Care+ for comprehensive coverage, including tailored benefits that protect the value of the smartphone.
This June, Samsung once again expanded its affordable 5G smartphone lineup with the Galaxy A27 5G, bringing a One UI 8.5 preinstalled, refreshed design, and several meaningful upgrades over last year’s Galaxy A26 5G.
Samsung has replaced the Galaxy A26’s older U-shaped notch design with a modern punch-hole display on the Galaxy A27. This gives the phone a cleaner front look and makes it feel closer to the premium Galaxy lineup.
The Galaxy A27 5G comes with a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display featuring FHD+ resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. While the core display experience remains familiar, the new punch-hole design makes the device look more premium.
Samsung has equipped the Galaxy A27 5G with a Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 processor paired with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. The phone also supports microSD expansion up to 2TB, giving buyers more flexibility for apps, photos, and videos.
Galaxy A27 brings five major upgrades over Galaxy A26
The punch-hole display, front camera OIS, DeX support and extended security updates make it a more refined upgrade over the Galaxy A26 for users looking for a budget-friendly phone.
1. Punch-hole display replaces the old notch
The Galaxy A27 moves to a punch-hole display, replacing the Galaxy A26’s U-shaped notch.
2. Improved camera setup
Compared to the Galaxy A26, the ultra-wide camera resolution drops from 8MP to 5MP, while the dedicated macro sensor has been replaced by a depth sensor.
3. Front camera gains Optical Image Stabilization
The Galaxy A27 features a 12MP front camera compared to the Galaxy A26’s 13MP selfie camera. While the resolution is slightly lower, Samsung has added OIS support.
4. Samsung DeX support arrives on the A-series
Samsung has added DeX support to the Galaxy A27, allowing users to access a more desktop-like experience with compatible displays and accessories.
5. Perplexity with Bixby
Samsung officially announced Galaxy A27 supports Perplexity with Bixby. This joins the existing support for Google’s Gemini AI assistant.
6. Longer software support
The Galaxy A27 comes with security updates promised until July 2032, extending its usable lifespan.
The Galaxy A27 5G is not a major hardware overhaul, but Samsung has focused on the areas buyers notice most: design, software longevity, and useful features.
Apple reportedly added the 2nd-gen foldable iPhone to its product pipeline, and Samsung should prepare for it. The company could launch the iPhone Air 2 next year, while the iPhone Air 3 hasn’t been confirmed yet.
Weibo leaker DigitalChatStation reports that Apple has internally confirmed the 2nd-gen foldable iPhone, and it could feature a familiar wide-screen design. With the first iPhone Fold coming this year, the 2nd-gen model may land in 2027.
Samsung and Apple launched their first slim phones in 2025. Samsung tried to bring the Galaxy S26 Edge earlier this year, but dumped its decision. Meanwhile, Apple postponed its 2nd-gen Air to 2027 due to sluggish sales.
Apple’s upcoming foldable iPhone is said to launch with the name iPhone Ultra. Samsung is the biggest rival, which will be facing a decline in its foldable sales. That said, Samsung should now prepare for a nonstop foldable battle with Apple.
Like S25 Edge, Samsung has a preemptive move for the iPhone Ultra. The company is bringing two Galaxy Z Fold models this year. The Z Fold 8 has given a wide screen, while the Fold 7 sequel has been promoted to Fold 8 Ultra.
Apple took years to join the foldable smartphone segment. The official entry is slated for September this year, and the company looks serious about the future of its foldable journey as the 2nd model is getting internal approval.
Samsung is expected to hold its Summer Unpacked event on July 22. The in-person event would take place in London, United Kingdom. A recent leak claimed that the phones will be available for purchase starting August 5.
With the ambitious goal of creating the world’s smallest 50 mm f/1.4 autofocus lens, Leica developed the new 50 mm Summilux lens for the SL system. But the new lens is not only smaller – it’s also significantly more affordable than its predecessor.
The brand-new Leica SL3-P is positioned as a true full-frame all-rounder that’s also priced lower than the Leica SL3. The Leica SL3-P combines a 44-megapixel full-frame sensor with a 176-megapixel multishot mode and extremely high speed.
The start of pre-orders has given GTA fans a large batch of new screenshots, which are now being discussed on Reddit. Several details stand out – mostly in a positive way.
Deborah Ann Woll says Santa Monica Studio had been planning God of War: Laufey since before God of War 2018, with Cory Barlog pitching her the project and its mysterious cube companion nearly a decade ago.
AI is no longer some distant future topic in game development. But on Steam, even disclosing its use could become a problem for many studios. An analysis by Game Oracle shows that games with disclosed AI use receive significantly fewer reviews than comparable titles without an AI disclosure. The study is now sparking plenty of discussion on Reddit.
Retroid has finally announced the Pocket Nova as its latest handheld. Available in colorful options, the new handheld packs 4:3 aspect ratio, a 120Hz AMOLED screen, and Snapdragon 8 Gen 2-level performance for under $250.
According to the product page for the GTA 6 Ultimate Edition, it appears to include several exclusive shops. If that is the case, Rockstar would be locking entire parts of the game world behind a paywall for the first time – and many fans are not happy about it.
Xiaomi is preparing a global launch of its new Robot Vacuum 6 Max, a high-end vacuum and mop with strong suction and limited climbing capability. The model also features a triple-camera system designed to enhance obstacle detection.
You probably already marked July 22 on your calendar if you are a Samsung fan, even though the next Galaxy Unpacked event has not yet been officially confirmed. Now, a retailer in Europe has not only "confirmed" the announcement date of the new Galaxy Z Fold8 and Galaxy Watch9 generations but also provided a very concrete indication of their general availability.
The Arrows Alpha 2 from FCNT, a Japanese subsidiary of Lenovo, is colorful, compact, and exceptionally durable. With a 3,000-nit AMOLED display, a 50 MP Sony Lytia main camera, and five years of updates, the Arrows Alpha 2 offers impressive specs for a mid-range smartphone.
With the “Stim Machine,” French hardware retailer LDLC has launched a provocative alternative to Valve’s Steam Machine. The cube-shaped mini-PC also costs €1,039 ($1,179), but comes with a more powerful Radeon RX 9060 XT and standard Mini-ITX hardware. However, it does not ship with SteamOS pre-installed – and that is exactly where opinions on Reddit are divided.
Oppo has announced the Reno 16 and Reno 16 Pro in Europe. However, unlike their Chinese variants, they feature a smaller battery and a smaller display for the pro model, but still pack impressive features, overall.
It's time for the international release of Oppo's Reno16 series, and we've got the Reno16 Pro for unboxing. The global Reno16 Pro is closer to the Chinese Reno16 than to the Chinese Pro, which means it's a 6.32-inch phone, and not a 6.78-inch one.
The global Reno16 Pro is also close to its global counterpart, the Reno16. It's easier to name their differences than their similarities. The Reno16 Pro has a Dimensity 8550 Super, a 200MP main camera, and 12GB of RAM as standard.
The Reno16 has a 50MP main camera, a Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 SoC, and 8GB or 12GB of RAM (only 8GB in the EU).
Both...
Say hi to the Galaxy A27 5G. It's very much a modest update over the Galaxy A26 that mainly focuses on the design with a slight performance boost on the inside.
Upfront, the Galaxy A27 is technically identical to its predecessor with a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED with a 120Hz refresh rate. What's different is the way the selfie camera is integrated - gone is the teardrop notch, replaced with a cleaner punch hole. Samsung calls it the Infinixy-O display and says that the bezels around the screen are also slimmer.
The other big difference is the chipset of choice. The 4nm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3...
You may be wondering – how many Lava phones are there with the Unisoc 9863A chipset (28nm), a 6.75” 720p+ display, a 5,000mAh battery, a 13MP main camera and a 5MP selfie camera? The answer to this (slightly odd) question is at least 5. Wait, make that at least 6.
The new – well, “new” – Lava Smart 4 Plus is an Android 15 Go Edition phone that offers 4G-only connectivity on a tight budget. It only costs ₹10,000 ($106 / €93).
The Go Edition limitation comes from the small amount of RAM (4GB LPDDR4X) and built-in storage (64GB). The good news is that the phone has a 2+1 hybrid card slot...
The best and worst part of the web is the ability to freely share your opinions regardless of whether they’re technically accurate.
But imagine a scenario where you are held accountable not only for what you say online, but also for whether it is human- or AI-written?
A recent report came out that a German court is holding Google accountable for just this. The court treated AI Overviews as Google’s own content and rejected Google’s argument that users were responsible for fact-checking the results themselves.
Let’s talk more about what this could look like for businesses and individuals.
The ‘disclaimer’ defense is cracking
For the last few years, nearly every AI platform has relied on some version of the same disclaimer: “AI can make mistakes. Please verify important information.”
Most users recognized this as the cost of using these tools.
But the German court essentially said that merely warning users about potential errors doesn’t automatically remove responsibility when those errors cause harm. If your system creates new claims that never existed in the source material, those aren’t someone else’s words anymore. They’re yours.
Why? Because it moves the conversation away from whether AI is useful (AKA *) and toward who owns the consequences when it gets things wrong.
What this means for businesses
Many companies are blindly trusting rapidly adopting AI across content creation, customer service, product descriptions, reporting, legal reviews, hiring, and internal communications.
In many cases, the discussion centers around efficiency.
Can we create content faster?
Can we answer support tickets more cheaply?
Can we automate this process?
Those are reasonable questions.
But the German ruling introduces another question: Who is responsible when the output is wrong?
What if:
AI-generated support response gives inaccurate guidance.
An AI-written article damages a competitor’s reputation.
An AI-generated report contains fabricated information that influences a business decision.
The more people position AI as a trusted source of information, the harder it becomes to argue they shouldn’t be accountable for what it says.
The situation is kinda funny…
The irony in this is that most AI vendors already know this.
That’s why nearly every platform includes warnings, disclaimers, and usage policies.
Yet those same companies market AI as smarter, faster, more capable, and increasingly reliable.
You can’t, at the same time, tell users to trust the answer while arguing nobody should trust the answer.
At some point, those positions collide. We’re starting to see Google’s “solution”: an option to opt out of AI.
Germany may simply be one of the first courts willing to force Google (or any other LLM business) to take certain actions.
What SEOs should be paying attention to
Ironically, this ruling could end up benefiting everyone.
Today, the conversation is focused on whether AI companies should be responsible for the content their systems generate. But accountability could expand, well beyond AI.
The internet has spent decades creating distance between actions and consequences. Anonymous accounts, fake profiles, throwaway emails, and now AI-generated content all make it easier to say things without owning them.
That’s why I find this ruling so interesting.
Not because of Google. Because it introduces the idea that “I didn’t write it” may not be enough.
The image below shows a real email that Russell and Nina Westbrook received. A real person sat behind a keyboard and sent a message, hoping they would die in a car crash.
That isn’t free speech. It’s hate speech.
The internet, combined with AI, needs more confidence that the content is accurate and that people who create it are held accountable.
You don’t get to claim the productivity gains when AI is right and blame the algorithm when it’s wrong.
This post first appeared on the author’s website and is republished here with permission.
Competitive brand bidding has become a staple PPC strategy. Many brands assume there’s little they can do about it beyond running their own branded campaigns.
Industry case studies show that advertisers who gain visibility into competitor, affiliate, and trademark bidding activity often uncover substantial CPC inflation. In documented cases, brands reduced branded CPCs by 25% to 75% after identifying infringing advertisers and enforcing their policies.
In this guide, Bluepear’s brand protection experts show you how to monitor branded keywords, identify who’s advertising on them, and determine what actions may be available based on what you find.
Choosing keywords to avoid gaps in your monitoring setup
To identify who’s using your brand in search ads, start by deciding which keywords to monitor.
One of the most common mistakes is monitoring only your exact brand name. While it’s a valid starting point, it rarely shows the full picture. Some advertisers deliberately target brand-related coupon, discount, review, or alternative queries because they attract high-intent users while drawing less scrutiny.
For example, someone searching for “Brand coupon” or “Brand discount code” may be much closer to making a purchase than someone searching for the brand alone. These queries also tend to attract coupon affiliates, loyalty sites, and unauthorized advertisers seeking to intercept branded traffic.
Similarly, searches containing terms like “reviews” or “alternatives” often attract competitors and comparison sites that position themselves alongside your brand.
Misspellings deserve special attention. Some advertisers deliberately target spelling variations because they’re less likely to be monitored and often face less competition.
Your brand monitoring setup should be based on these types of keywords:
Bluepear’s built-in AI assistant generates keyword suggestions using this list as a starting point.
The number of terms you need to monitor depends on the size of your brand portfolio, including trademarks, local branches, and product names. Most small to medium-sized brands start with about 20 keywords and expand coverage over time as new risks and opportunities emerge.
Choosing locations and monitoring frequency
A search from your office, on your device, at a single point in time rarely reflects what real customers see. Search results are highly dynamic, so two users searching for the same keyword may see entirely different ads and organic listings.
Another factor to consider: Some advertisers deliberately try to hide their activity.
For example, a fraudster or affiliate violating your PPC policy may run campaigns outside normal business hours to reduce the chance of detection. If you only check search results manually during the workday, there’s a good chance you’ll never see these ads.
When monitoring branded search results, it’s important to consider:
Countries and markets where your brand operates.
Regional differences within those markets.
Mobile and desktop search results.
Different times of day.
Weekday versus weekend activity.
Monitoring frequency matters as well. Some violations appear only briefly before disappearing. Running checks multiple times throughout the day helps capture activity that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Keeping track of all these variables can be difficult when relying on manual checks, especially for brands operating across multiple markets.
Bluepear accounts for everything: locations, devices, time zones, and redirects that obscure the true destination of traffic. Set your parameters once and gain continuous visibility without disrupting your workflow.
Otherwise, you could end up spending hours each week on tedious manual work.
Reviewing search results and recording evidence
Not every advertiser bidding on your branded keywords is violating a policy. Competitors may legally bid on branded keywords as long as they don’t use your trademark in the ad copy. Affiliates may also be authorized to promote your brand under specific conditions.
However, you still need to determine whether an advertiser’s behavior crosses the line from legitimate brand bidding into trademark misuse, policy violations, or customer deception.
Some common signals to investigate include:
Trademark use in ad copy: Does the ad mention your brand name in the headline or description? For brands with trademark restrictions or affiliate PPC policies, this may indicate a compliance issue.
Misleading claims: Look for language that could confuse users about the advertiser’s relationship with your company. Claims of being an “official” partner, references to exclusive offers, or statements implying authorization when none exists warrant investigation.
Unauthorized coupon and discount promotions: Verify that the advertised discount, promo code, or offer is legitimate. Some affiliates use expired, misleading, or entirely fabricated offers to attract clicks.
Impersonation signals: Some ads and landing pages are designed to resemble a brand’s official website. Even without explicitly claiming to be your company, these tactics can create confusion and divert branded traffic.
Because advertisers can change ad copy, pause campaigns, or remove landing pages at any time, violations may disappear before they can be documented. Take screenshots and record key details, including:
Ad copy
SERP position
The keyword that triggered the ad
Location
URLs and redirects
Landing page content
Timestamps
Alternatively, Bluepear can handle this automatically by compiling a comprehensive report containing all relevant information.
Identifying who’s behind the activity
Sometimes you won’t immediately know whether an advertiser is a competitor, an affiliate, or something else entirely.
Branded search results often include a mix of participants with different motivations and risk levels. Understanding who you’re dealing with is essential before deciding whether any action is necessary.
The following signals can help guide your investigation:
Signal
Likely Competitor
Likely Affiliate
Likely Coupon / Loyalty Site
Possible Fraudster
Direct competitor domain
+
–
–
–
Coupon or cashback page
–
Sometimes
+
–
Affiliate network tracking links
–
+
+
Sometimes
Product comparison page
+
Sometimes
–
–
Uses your trademark in ad copy
Sometimes
Sometimes
Sometimes
+
Claims to be “official”
–
–
Sometimes
+
Multiple redirects before reaching the destination page
–
+
+
+
Promotes coupon codes that cannot be verified
–
Sometimes
+
+
Landing page closely imitates your brand’s design or messaging
–
Sometimes
–
+
No single signal provides a definitive answer. The goal is to evaluate multiple pieces of evidence before drawing conclusions.
Once you know who’s advertising on your brand terms, you can move beyond detection and assess whether their activity aligns with your policies and business objectives.
What to do next
Once you’ve identified who’s advertising on your brand terms and reviewed their ads, the next step is deciding how to respond.
Competitor brand bidding
Not every competitor bidding on your branded keywords requires immediate intervention.
Before acting, you need the answers to these questions:
How frequently does the competitor appear in your brand search?
Which keywords are being targeted?
Are they using trademarked terms in ad copy?
Are they directing users to comparison content or direct offers?
In many cases, the best approach is to monitor the activity and evaluate its business impact over time. Document patterns to establish a baseline that can support future compliance reviews or legal discussions if escalation becomes necessary.
Affiliate violations
If an affiliate is bidding on restricted branded keywords or otherwise violating program rules, the next step is usually to gather evidence and contact the affiliate or network.
The common workflow is:
Document the violation.
Verify the affiliate’s ID.
Show evidence to them.
Request removal or corrective action.
Apply program enforcement measures if needed.
Having screenshots, timestamps, and redirect data makes these conversations significantly easier.
Ads that create confusion about brand affiliation.
Impersonation attempts.
Misleading claims of being an official brand representative, partner, or reseller.
The appropriate response depends on the circumstances, your internal policies, and applicable laws.
In many jurisdictions, competitors are generally allowed to bid on trademarked keywords. However, ads that create confusion about the advertiser’s relationship with your brand may raise trademark or unfair competition concerns, depending on the specific facts and local laws.
The advertising platform’s own policies also matter. Google allows advertisers to bid on trademarked keywords, but may restrict trademark use in ad text when a valid trademark complaint is submitted. Google also prohibits ads that use trademarks in a confusing, deceptive, or misleading way.
Before taking action, collect as much evidence as possible, including screenshots, detection timestamps, URLs, and landing page content.
Once the facts have been documented, consider the following actions:
Contact the advertiser directly and request removal of the ad.
Submit a trademark complaint to the advertising platform.
Send a cease and desist letter requesting to stop the activity.
Escalate through legal channels if necessary.
Why you need to keep monitoring your brand search
The important thing to remember is that this isn’t a one-time exercise. Affiliates may activate and pause campaigns throughout the month. Some violations appear only on weekends, outside business hours, or in specific markets. An advertiser that disappears today may return next week with different ad copy, a new domain, or a different affiliate account.
That’s why effective brand protection isn’t built on occasional searches or periodic audits. It requires consistent monitoring and a repeatable investigation process that reveals who’s appearing on your brand terms, how they operate, and whether action is warranted.
Want effortless visibility into your branded search landscape?
Try Bluepear. The platform helps marketing teams identify issues earlier, respond faster, and make more informed decisions about protecting their traffic and advertising investments.
Fenerbahçe, PSV'nin Brezilyalı sol beki Mauro Junior konusunda temaslarını sürdürüyor. Hollanda ekibi, serbest kalma bedelinin tamamını talep ediyor. Sarı-Lacivertliler ise indirim bekliyor.
Fenerbahçe'nin mevcut sol beki Archie Brown'la birçok İngiliz ekibi ilgileniyor. 24 yaşındaki futbolcudan ciddi bir gelir bekleniyor. Oyuncunun sonraki satışından eski kulübü Gent'in de %10'luk bir pay hakkı var. 1.90 boyundaki İngiliz oyuncu büyük bir ihtimalle ilerleyen süreçte ülkesinin yolunu tutacak.
TEMASLAR KESİLMEDİ
Yönetim de bu sebeple çalışmalarını sürdürüyor. PSV forması giyen Mauro Junior konusunda temaslar kesilmedi. Hollanda ekibi, 12 milyon euroluk serbest kalma bedelinin tamamının ödenmesini bekliyor. Alınan bilgilere göre; Sarı-Lacivertliler 8 milyon euroya bu işi bitirmeyi hedefliyor.
DAHA YÜKSEK MAAŞ
Taraflar arasındaki pazarlıklar sürüyor. 27 yaşındaki futbolcu, geride bıraktığımız sezonda Hollanda Ligi'nde 26 karşılaşmaya çıktı. Sahada 2.086 dakika kaldı. 1 gol ve 9 asist üretti. Daha yüksek bir maaş talep eden Mauro Junior, Fenerbahçe'ye sıcak bakıyor. Ancak öncelikle iki takımın anlaşması gerekiyor.
Galatasaray, Club Brugge forması giyen Yunan kanat oyuncusu Christos Tzolis'i gündeminde tutuyor. 24 yaşındaki futbolcu, "şut pası" konusunda Avrupa'nın en iyisi... Listenin 3. sırasında ise Beşiktaş'tan Cerny var...
Avrupa'nın en büyük 10 liginde en fazla şut pası veren kanat oyuncuları şöyle sıralanıyor (90 dakika başına ortalama):
Galatasaray, Club Brugge forması giyen Tzolis konusunda temaslarını sürdürüyor. Ancak bugün itibarıyla transfer konusunda en büyük favori Arsenal... Premier Lig'in son şampiyonu, Brugge ile pazarlıklarında büyük aşama kaydetti. Açık konuşmak gerekirse Sarı-Kırmızılılar'ın şansı düşük...
CERNY'NİN KARTAL'DAKİ DURUMU
Beşiktaş'taki geleceği tartışılan Vaclav Cerny'nin ise "şut pası" konusunda Avrupa'nın en iyi 3. kanat oyuncusu olması da dikkat çekti. 28 yaşındaki futbolcunun, daha önce kiralık oynadığı Glasgow Rangers'a dönebileceği konuşuluyor. Kartal'ın yeni hocası Italiano henüz konuyla ilgili son kararını vermedi.
Galatasaray'ın Uruguaylı yıldızı Lucas Torreira, Türkiye'de uğradığı şok saldırının perde arkasını ilk kez anlattı: "Fotoğraf isteyecek sanırken aniden yumruk attı. Karakolda öğrendim ki akli dengesi yerinde değilmiş ve bir yıldır beni öldürmeyi planlıyormuş."
Galatasaray'ın Uruguaylı yıldızı Lucas Torreira, Terapia Picante programında Türkiye'de yaşadığı korkunç darp olayının detaylarını ilk kez paylaştı. Ailesiyle vakit geçirdiği otelde merdivenlerden inerken saldırıya uğradığını belirten Torreira, olayın arkasında takıntılı bir tacizci olduğunu açıkladı.
Otelde ailesiyle padel tenis oynayıp duştan çıktıktan sonra bir hayranıyla fotoğraf çektiren Torreira, merdivenlerden inerken yanına yaklaşan bir şahsın aniden yumruklu saldırısına uğradı. Yıldız oyuncu, refleksle karşılık vererek saldırganı yere düşürdüğünü, ardından şoförü ve arkadaşlarının araya girdiğini belirtti.
Olayın perde arkasını karakolda öğrendiğini söyleyen Torreira, "Meğer bu kişi çok yakın bir kız arkadaşıma takıntılı bir tacizciymiş. Bizim padel fotoğrafımızı görünce oteli basmış" dedi.
Saldırganın akli dengesinin yerinde olmadığını belirten futbolcu, "Bir yıldır annem hakkında kötü şeyler yazıp beni öldürmeyi planlıyormuş" ifadesini kullandı.
Arbede sırasında en hassas olduğu noktalardan birinin zarar gördüğünü vurgulayan Torreira, "Yumruktan ziyade mate takımımın kırılması canımı yaktı" diye konuştu.
Darp raporu almak için hastaneye giderken hapisten yeni çıkan bir arkadaşının kendisini aradığını belirten oyuncu, hastane otoparkında doktor tarafından telefon flaşıyla muayene edildiğini söyledi.
Yaşanan bu olağanüstü sürecin ardından biletlerini değiştirerek Türkiye'den erken döndüğünü ifade eden Lucas Torreira, yaşananların münferit olduğunu belirterek sözlerini şöyle tamamladı:
- Bu durum Türk halkının ne kadar iyi olduğu gerçeğini değiştirmez, o istisnai bir durumdu.
Galatasaray yaz döneminde kadrosuna sol ayaklı bir stoper katmak istiyor. Teknik Direktör Okan Buruk'un hayali Renato Veiga... Ancak açık konuşmak gerekirse bu hamle hiç de kolay değil...
Galatasaray'ın mevcut kadrosundaki tek sol ayaklı stoper; Abdülkerim Bardakcı... Sarı-Kırmızılılar çok uzun bir süredir bu bölgeyi güçlendirmeye çalışıyor. 2026 yazında da durum değişmedi. Listede alternatifler var... Ancak Teknik Direktör Okan Buruk'un en büyük hayalinin Renato Veiga olduğu öğrenildi.
24.5 MİLYONA ALINDI
Villarreal, 2025 yazında Chelsea'ye 24.5 milyon euro ödeyerek 22 yaşındaki savunmacıyı kadrosuna katmıştı. 1.88 boyundaki stoperle 30 Haziran 2032'ye kadar mukavele yapıldı. Renato Veiga, La Liga'da 32 karşılaşmaya çıktı. Sahada 2.478 dakika kaldı. Villarreal, sezonu 3. bitirdi. Bu başarıda Portekizli yıldızın katkısı da büyüktü.
HER YERDEN AVANTAJLI AMA...
22 yaşındaki futbolcu, TFF'nin "genç" yabancı kriterini karşılıyor. Portekiz Milli Takımı'nın parçası... Sol ayaklı stoper konusunda dünyanın en iyilerinden biri... Ancak bu transferin gerçekleşmesi çok zor... Öncelikle Villarreal'in satış listesinde değil... Olası transferde ise İspanyol ekibi astronomik bir bonservis bedeli talep edecek...
Trabzonspor'un devre arasında kadrosuna kattığı Chibuike Nwaiwu için Fulham'ın 20 milyon euroluk teklifi geri çevrilmişti. Premier Lig ekibi, yeni bir artışla Bordo-Mavililer'in kapısını çalmaya hazırlanıyor.
Trabzonspor kış döneminde WAC Kulübü'ne 5.5 milyon euro ödeyerek Chibuike Nwaiwu'yu kadrosuna katmıştı. 22 yaşındaki stoperle 30 Haziran 2030 tarihine kadar mukavele yapıldı. 1.93 boyundaki savunmacı, Nijerya Milli Takımı'nın da parçası olmayı başardı...
ISRARLARI BİTMEDİ
Böylece birçok takımın ilgisini çekti. Onlardan biri de Fulham'dı... Premier Lig temsilcisinin ilk teklifi 20 milyon euroydu... Bordo-Mavililer bunu geri çevirdi. Ancak İngiliz ekibinin ısrarı bitmedi. Fulham'ın kısa süre içinde 25 milyon euroluk teklifle tekrar Trabzonspor'un kapısını çalacağı öğrenildi.
NEREDEYSE 5 KATI
25 milyon euroluk yeni önerinin kabul edilmesi bekleniyor. İşler resmiyete dökülürse, Fırtına genç futbolcuyu neredeyse aldığı rakamın 5 katına satmış olacak... 1.93 boyundaki oyuncu, kış döneminde geldiği Trabzonspor'da 16 lig maçına çıktı. Sahada 1.310 dakika kaldı. 3 gol ve 1 asist üretti. Türkiye'de fazla kalmayacak gibi gözüküyor.
Galatasaray'ın yıldızı Victor Osimhen, Miami tatilinde canının çektiği geleneksel sokak lezzeti için adeta servet ödedi. Siparişi getiren satıcıya gözünü kırpmadan 500 dolar bahşiş veren Nijeryalı golcünün o anları sosyal medyada viral oldu.
Galatasaray’ın ve Nijerya Millî Takımı’nın dünyaca ünlü yıldız forveti Victor Osimhen, saha içindeki başarısını saha dışındaki cömertliğiyle taçlandırmaya devam ediyor. Miami’de yaz tatilinin tadını çıkaran 27 yaşındaki golcü oyuncu, canının çektiği geleneksel bir atıştırmalık için yaptığı jestle sosyal medyada viral oldu.
Arkadaşlarıyla vakit geçirdiği sırada Nijerya’nın meşhur sokak lezzetlerinden "puff-puff" (bir tür mayalı hamur tatlısı/börek) sipariş eden Osimhen, yemeğini getiren Nijeryalı satıcıya unutulmaz bir sürpriz yaşattı.
Sıradan bir teslimat gibi başlayan olayda Osimhen, samimi tavırlarıyla dikkat çekerken asıl büyük sürpriz ödeme anında yaşandı. Siparişi getiren satıcının sosyal medyada paylaştığı videodaki ifadesine göre; Osimhen kendisine tam 500 dolar bahşiş verdi. Atıştırmalığın normal değerinin katbekat üstünde olan bu cömert bağış, videonun sonunda gösterilen 100 dolarlık banknotlarla da doğrulandı.
Galatasaray'ın transfer listesindeki Khephren Thuram, Türkiye seçeneğine kapıyı kapattı. Juventus'un mali darboğaz nedeniyle satmaya hazırlandığı Fransız yıldızın gözü Premier Lig'de... İşte İtalyan devinin belirlediği bonservis bedeli ve masadaki talipler!
Juventus forması giyen Fransız orta saha oyuncusu Khephren Thuram, transfer geleceğine dair kararını verdi. Türkiye seçeneğine kapıları kapatan yıldız oyuncu için Juventus’un talep ettiği bonservis bedeli de netleşti.
İtalyan basınına göre; Khephren Thuram, Galatasaray’dan gelen transfer teklifini net bir dille reddetti. Türkiye’de oynamaya sıcak bakmayan 25 yaşındaki orta sahanın önceliği Juventus’ta kalmak. Ancak kulübün kendisini satmak istemesi durumunda, Fransız oyuncunun tek rotası İngiltere olacak.
Thuram, Juventus'tan ayrılmaya zorlanması halinde sadece Premier Lig tekliflerini masaya yatıracak. Fiziksel gücü ve hızlı geçiş oyununa yatkınlığıyla dikkat çeken oyuncunun peşinde İngiltere'den ciddi talipler var:
Liverpool
Newcastle United
Aston Villa
Nottingham Forest
Juventus yönetimi, takımdan ayrılmasına yeşil ışık yaktığı Thuram için bonservis bedelini 40 milyon Euro olarak belirledi.
İspanya Milli Takımı'nın formasını giyen Lamine Yamal, "secdeli" gol sevinci sonrası sosyal medyada hedef oldu.
İspanya Milli Takımı'nın formasını giyen 18 yaşındaki Fas asıllı futbolcu Lamine Yamal, ABD, Kanada ve Meksika ev sahipliğinde devam eden 2026 FIFA Dünya Kupası'nda ırkçı yorumların hedefi oldu.
Yamal'ın bu yorumlara maruz kalmasının sebebi ise Müslüman olması ve Suudi Arabistan maçında attığı golü secdeye giderek kutlaması.
21 Haziran Pazar günü Atlanta Stadı'nda oynanan Suudi Arabistan maçının henüz 10'uncu dakikasında takımının ilk golünü atan genç futbolcu, gol sevincini secdeye giderek gerçekleştirmişti. Bu gol sevinci kimi taraftarlarca takdir edilirken, pek çok sosyal medya kullanıcısı Lamine Yamal'a yönelik ırkçı yorumlarda bulundu.
Futbolcuların gol sevinçlerinde haç çıkarması veya gökyüzünü işaret etmesi gibi yaygın dini sembollere benzer şekilde gerçekleştirilen kutlama, sosyal medyada geniş yankı uyandırırken, pek çok ırkçı sosyal medya hesabından Yamal'ı karalamaya, eleştirmeye çalışan İslamofobik paylaşımlar yapıldı.
Tepkiler arasında yapay zeka ile oluşturulan sahte görüntüler ile "Müslüman değil, Hristiyan bir İspanya", "Bir Arap asla İspanyol olamaz", "Bir iğrenç siyah, her zaman iğrenç bir siyah kalacak." yorumlarını içeren paylaşımlar da yer aldı.
Bazı sosyal medya kullanıcıları da Yamal'ın annesinin memleketi olan Ekvator Ginesi ile babasının memleketi olan Fas'ın bayraklarını kramponlarında taşımasını eleştirirken, genç futbolcunun İspanya formasını giymeyi hak etmediğini savundu.
Yamal'a gelen tepki mesajları kadar ırkçı yorumlara tepki gösteren isimler de vardı. "Katolik Üniversiteliler" isimli bir sosyal medya hesabı Yamal'ın secde ettiği fotoğrafı paylaşarak "(Hristiyanlığa) Lamine Yamal'ın dönüşü için dua edelim" paylaşımı yaparken bazı sosyal medya kullanıcıları söz konusu paylaşıma "İspanyol ve Katolik olduğunuz için sizlerden utanıyoruz." gibi yorumlar yaptı.
İspanya Irkçılık ve Yabancı Düşmanlığı Gözlemevinin verilerine göre Lamine Yamal, sosyal medyada ırkçı nefret söylemlerine en yoğun şekilde maruz kalan sporcular arasında bulunuyor. Uzmanlar, son yaşananların münferit bir olay olmadığını, genç futbolcuya yönelik uzun süredir devam eden ayrımcı ve nefret içerikli saldırıların bir parçası olduğunu değerlendiriyor.
Milli futbolcumuz Kenan Yıldız, ABD maçı öncesinde ev sahibi ülkeyle ilgili, "Galatasaray deplasmanından da hatırlıyorum... Büyük taraftarların önünde oynamaya alışkınım" ifadelerini kullandı. Bu sözlere sosyal medyada büyük tepki geldi.
Bilindiği üzere Dünya Kupası'na grup aşamasında veda ettik. ABD mücadelesi sadece prestij maçı olacak. Mücadele öncesinde konuşan Kenan Yıldız'ın kullandığı ifadeler arasında bir bölüm dikkat çekti: "Galatasaray deplasmanından da hatırlıyorum... Büyük taraftarların önünde oynamaya alışkınım."
UMARIZ BİZİ BEŞLEMEZLER!
Kenan'ın bahsettiği karşılaşmada Galatasaray, Juventus'u 5-2 mağlup etmişti. Sosyal medyada, "Unuttuysan hatırlatalım Kenan... O maçta 5 yemiştiniz. ABD de 5'lemez umarım! Galatasaray örneği veriyorsun da o taraftar önünde 5 gol yemiştiniz. Kenan o maçta hiçbir şey oynamamıştın" tarzında yorumlar yapıldı.
PEK HAZIRLIKLI DURMUYORDUNUZ
Kullanıcılar ayrıca, "5 yeriz mi diyorsun yani! O maçta Ali Sami Yen'de pek de ortama hazırlıklı gibi durmuyordunuz... Ev sahibi taraftarın önünde oynayacağın bir maçla ilgili verilebilecek en kötü örnek! Galatasaray'ı yenseydiniz güzel konuştun derdim. Fark yediniz Kenan!" ifadelerini de kullandı.
Galatasaray'ın santrfor alternatifleri arasında Promise David'in de bulunduğu öğrenildi. Union SG forması giyen Kanadalı forvet aslında Sarı-Kırmızılı ekibe yabancı bir isim değil...
Galatasaray, Mauro Icardi'nin ardından kadrosuna yabancı bir santrfor katacak. Çok geniş bir liste oluşturuldu. Alternatifler arasında Promise David'in de bulunduğu öğrenildi. 24 yaşındaki forvet, Şampiyonlar Ligi'nde Union SG'nin 1-0 kazandığı Galatasaray maçında tek golü kaydetmişti.
DAHA FAZLASINI BEKLİYORLAR
Yani Sarı-Kırmızılı taraftarlar onu tanıyor... Kanada Milli Takımı'nın da önemli parçalarından biri olan 1.95 boyundaki yıldızın Union SG ile 30 Haziran 2029 tarihine kadar mukavelesi bulunuyor. Tahmini piyasa değeri 17 milyon euro civarında... Fakat Belçika ekibinin kafasındaki rakamın çok daha fazla olduğu belirtildi.
İLK SIRALARDA DEĞİL
Promise David, Galatasaray'ın öncelikli golcü hedefleri arasında değil. Fakat geniş listede yer alıyor. Sarı-Kırmızılılar, alternatiflerin durumuna göre ağırlığını ona verebilir. Cim-Bom, transferlerde acele etmeyecek. Çünkü önlerinde zaman var. Rakiplerine oranla da sezonu daha geç açacaklar (Avrupa maçları)...
Dünya Kupası'na 2 maçta veda etmemiz sonrasında kimse istifa etmedi. Teknik Direktör Montella ise daha da güçlendiğini belirtti! Uluslar Ligi'ndeki rakiplerimiz Fransa, İtalya ve Belçika... O maçlar sonrasında ortamın nasıl olacağı merak ediliyor!
ABD maçı öncesinde konuşan A Milli Takım Teknik Direktörü Montella, "Futbolcular ve başkan beni destekliyor. Başkanımız takımı yok etmeye değil, geliştirmeye yönelik hareket ediyor. Ben de geliştirmek için çalışmaya devam edeceğim. İstifa etmeyeceğim. Daha da güçlendim... Türkiye'yi üst üste turnuvalara götürdüm. Kalbimi ortaya koydum. İstifa etmemi bekleyen varsa, bunu kabullenmeli. Çünkü istifa etmeyeceğim" ifadelerini kullandı.
HERKES EVE DÖNECEK
Avustralya ve Paraguay yenilgileriyle birlikte Dünya Kupası'na matematiksel olarak veda ettik. ABD karşılaşmasının ardından herkes eve dönecek. Bugünkü tabloda kimse istifa etmedi... A Milli Takım'ın katılacağı sonraki turnuva, Uluslar Ligi olacak. Oradaki grubumuzda yer alan ülkeler şöyle:
Fransa
İtalya
Belçika
TELAŞLA BEKLENİYOR!
Turnuva; eylül sonu-ekim başında start alacak. Gruplardaki son iki karşılaşmalar, kasım ayı içinde yapılacak. Dünya Kupası'nın ardından Milli Takım'ın kredisi kalmadı! Fransa, İtalya ve Belçika gibi ülkeler karşısında kötü sonuçlar alınırsa, o gün yaşanacaklar merakla bekleniyor. Bu 3 ülke de, Avustralya ve Paraguay'la kıyaslanamayacak kadar güçlü...
Sosyal medyadaki tetikçi hesapların prim fon fonlama operasyonuyla Fenerbahçe'ye dayattığı Mason Greenwood transferi, hem astronomik maliyeti hem de Fransa'daki sabıkasıyla büyük bir krize dönüşüyor. As Roma'ya 5 milyon Euro'ya 'evet' diyen İngiliz yıldızın sarı-lacivertlilerden 15 milyon Euro talep etmesi Aziz Yıldırım engeline takıldı. Fransız basını ve futbol efsaneleri, büyük maçlarda adeta "hayalet" gibi dolanan, aidiyetsiz ve gamsız tavırlarıyla hayal kırıklığı yaratan Greenwood için net uyarıları var.
Fenerbahçe’de Mason Greenwood ismi transfer gündemini meşgul ederken, arka planda büyük bir kriz ve sosyal medya operasyonu dönüyor. Marsilya’nın en az 55 milyon Euro bonservis talep ettiği İngiliz oyuncu için Roma ile yıllık 5 milyon Euro’ya anlaşma noktasına gelindiği belirtiliyor.
YILDA 15 MİLYON EURO İSTİYOR
Ancak aynı oyuncunun Fenerbahçe’den yıllık 15 milyon Euro talep etmesi, Aziz Yıldırım yönetiminin kesin vetosuyla karşılaştı. Kulübün ilk teknik direktör adayı Aykut Kocaman’ın da Oğuz Çetin ile yaptığı görüşmelerde üstünü çizdiği bilinen Greenwood için akıl almaz bir kampanya yürütülüyor.
TWEET BAŞINA 5 BİN TL İDDİASI
Transfer baskısının arkasında ise sosyal medyadaki tetikçi hesapların ve bazı menajerlerin maddi çıkarları olduğu iddia ediliyor. Operasyonun merkezinde, milli takımdaki krizlerin de baş sorumlusu olarak gösterilen ve bir menajerin yer aldığı ileri sürülüyor.
İddialara göre tetikçi hesaplar, bu transferin gerçekleşmesi halinde takipçi sayılarına göre tweet başına 5 bin TL, YouTube programlarında ise izlenme oranlarına göre 20 bin TL’yi bulan ciddi primler alıyor.
İSTATİSTİKLERİ PARÇALADI AMA
Saha dışındaki bu karmaşanın yanı sıra, Greenwood’un Fransa kariyeri de ciddi soru işaretleriyle dolu. Marsilya formasıyla istatistikleri parçalasa da sergilediği tavırlar nedeniyle Fransız basını ve yorumcuları tarafından sert şekilde eleştiriliyor.
"ONU HİÇ ÖZLEMEYECEĞİZ"
RMC Danışmanı Kevin Diaz, oyuncunun savunma eksikliğine ve topsuz alandaki gamsızlığına dikkat çekerek, "Geçmişteki sorunları olmasaydı, asla Marsilya’da işi olmazdı" yorumunu yaparken; köşe yazarı Florent Gautreau ise "Büyük maçlarda doğru tavrı sergilemedi, aidiyet hissetmedik. Onu hiç özlemeyeceğim" diyerek kulübün yeni ve sakin bir yapılanmaya gitmesi gerektiğini savunuyor.
FRANSA'DAKİ LAKABI GAMSIZ
Fransız medyası, Greenwood için en çok "gamsız" kelimesini kullanıyor. L'Equipe gazetesi, İngiliz yıldızın önemli maçlarda tamamen kaybolduğu için "hayalet" yakıştırması yaptı.
Greenwood için Le Phoceen ve Foot Mercato gibi yayın organları da yine büyük maçlarda fiziksel yoğunluğa cevap veremediğini ve sahada hiçbir varlık gösteremediğini vurguluyor.
FRANSIZ BASININA KULAK VERİN
Fransız futbol kamuoyunun ortak görüşü; Greenwood'un yetenekli bir bitirici olduğu ancak takım oyununa aidiyet, sahada mücadele etme ve istikrar konularında sınıfta kaldığı yönünde.
Fenerbahçe'nin, Fransa'da kredisini tüketen ve Türkiye için adı şimdiden mali ve idari krizlerle anılan bu isimle "ateşle oynadığı" net bir şekilde görülüyor.
If you're craving a big monitor mostly for productivity purposes, this 37-inch monster from Samsung is half off today at B&H, or just $249. That's over $100 less than its lowest-ever price at Amazon and $150 more than its current price at Best Buy, making this this perhaps the best monitor deal so far this year.
Just note this is very much not a gaming monitor, as evidenced by its locked 60 Hz refresh rate and 5 ms response time. You certainly could game on it, but it lacks pretty much every modern gaming screen feature, save for its high resolution.
This is a large 37-inch 4K (3840 x 2160) monitor with a 60 Hz refresh rate, using a VA panel. Because of the panel type, don't expect great viewing angles. But when sitting directly in front of it, the contrast should be good. Samsung rates the screen at 350 nits of brightness and a 3,000:1 static contrast.View Deal
Aside from price, the 37-inch size is this monitor's major selling point, as it's pretty rare, sitting between typical 32-inch screens the truly large 40-42-inch monitors. If you're rocking a 27-inch or 32-inch monitor and looking for a size upgrade without spending a lot, this is a no-brainer so long as there's room for it on your desk.
As someone who has used TVs as monitors for over a decade, I can vouch for the value of a larger screen for work tasks. And I can't think of a time when I've seen a better combination of low price, large size, and high (3840 x 2160) resolution. If I didn't already have a spare 4K monitor in a closet (plus two 4K TVs I use as monitors), I would have ordered one of these already. I'd consider buying one anyway, but this is too big to fit in my closet.
Qualcomm has announced that it will bring all four of its Dragonfly data center product lines to China, including custom AI accelerators engineered to stay below U.S. export thresholds, CEO Cristiano Amon told Nikkei Asia on the sidelines of the company's investor day in New York on Wednesday. China supplied 46% of Qualcomm's revenue in 2025, almost all of it from smartphone silicon, and Amon’s data center plan could revive the same export-compliant strategy that cut Nvidia's China accelerator sales to almost zero.
Dragonfly covers AI accelerators, data center CPUs, custom silicon, and connectivity chips, and Amon said versions of every line will ship into China within the export rules. “We have versions of all of our products that comply with those guidelines,” he told Nikkei Asia, adding that Qualcomm is “engaged in conversations,” presumably with Chinese customers. The first accelerator, the AI250, is due next year and uses the company's HBC near-memory design instead of the HBM stacks that Nvidia and AMD racks rely on, a packaging choice that could pay off in a market where HBM is and will remain tight for the foreseeable future.
Qualcomm told investors that the data center unit is expected to generate $300 million this fiscal year and $5 billion in fiscal year 2027, figures the company designates as the early ramp of a total addressable market it projects will exceed $1 trillion by 2029. The push into China relies on Amon's argument that Qualcomm's existing relationships with Chinese phone makers and automakers extend to the data center, the same customer base behind its AI200 and AI250 inference accelerators announced last October.
China, however, isn’t a neutral buyer for Qualcomm at the moment: The country’s market regulator opened an antitrust investigation into its Autotalks acquisition in October, and has pressed domestic data center operators to source at least 50% of their chips locally while steering Alibaba, ByteDance, and Tencent toward Huawei and Cambricon parts.
Those dynamics have already gutted the export-compliant model that Qualcomm is looking to emulate. Nvidia’s H20, for example — the part it built specifically for China — had generated only about $50 million by late last year, and CEO Jensen Huang has said Nvidia has “zero” China market share left. Qualcomm is entering that lane voluntarily with hardware that won’t reach customers until at least fiscal year 2027, by which point Huawei's Ascend line and Cambricon's accelerators are scheduled to scale production well past current volumes.
Qualcomm has at least one confirmed buyer outside China, with Saudi Arabia's Humain already taking delivery of AI100 systems and committing to 200MW of Qualcomm racks. Inside China, the company still has to convince customers that Beijing is pushing away from foreign silicon.
Everyone wants the freedom of a great wireless gaming headset, but it's hard to find one that's budget-friendly without compromising on... well, a lot. HyperX's new Cloud Stinger 3 Wireless is a budget-friendly (ish) wireless headset that doesn't compromise on much — it's got large, 50mm dynamic drivers with a frequency response range of 10 - 50,000 Hz, an ultra lightweight, comfortable frame with reinforced metal yokes for durability, and it gets up to 80 hours of battery life on a single charge, which is a number we usually only see in much pricier products. The Cloud Stinger 3 Wireless comes in at just under $100, which isn't nothing, but is significantly cheaper than the $200 - $300 price range of headsets with similar specs.
Design and Comfort of the Cloud Stinger 3 Wireless
The Cloud Stinger 3 Wireless is an over-ear (circumaural) wireless gaming headset with a lightweight plastic frame and a non-detachable flip-to-mute boom mic. It's mostly made of plastic, with a matte black finish and some machined texturing around the outer edges of the large, oval earcups, but it does have stainless steel sliders in the headband for durability. The earcups are independently height-adjustable, and they also tilt and swivel 90 degrees for flat storage (though the headset doesn't come with a travel bag or case). The earpads and the underside of the headband are padded with soft, leatherette-covered memory foam, which does an excellent job of passive noise cancellation.
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
It looks like a gaming headset, mostly because it has a non-detachable boom mic. HyperX's HX logo is glossily debossed on both earcups, while the HyperX text logo adorns the top of the headband. It's not unattractive, but it does look a little cheap — I blame the matte black plastic; it's hard to have this particular finish without looking like you're cutting corners at least somewhat. It feels relatively sturdy for its weight, and the flexible frame makes me think it would hold up decently well if you take care of it. The leatherette-covered memory foam padding feels more premium than the rest of the headset, so that's a nice touch.
The Cloud Stinger 3 Wireless is expectedly lightweight, weighing in at just 10.1 ounces (286.5g). It's almost two ounces lighter than the extremely comfortable HyperX Cloud III S Wireless (12.05oz / 341.5g), and it's half an ounce lighter than the Turtle Beach Atlas Air (10.61oz / 301g), which is one of the lightest wireless headsets we've tested. It's still heavier than wired lightweight headsets, however, such as the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 (8.3oz / 235g).
Tom's HardwareTom's Hardware
Weight isn't the only factor when it comes to comfort, but it certainly helps — and the Cloud Stinger 3 Wireless is a very comfortable and adjustable headset. The headband measures around nine inches (228.6mm) with the earcups fully retracted, and each earcup can be extended around 1.5 inches (38mm) for a total headband length of just under 12 inches (304.8mm). While it wasn't so comfortable that I forgot I was wearing it, I had no problems wearing the Cloud Stinger 3 Wireless for hours at a time.
Tom's HardwareTom's HardwareTom's Hardware
It's a wireless headset, so it's got several on-ear controls. On the left earcup, from back to front, there's a power button and a USB-C charging port. On the right earcup, from back to front, there's a multi-function button, a volume wheel, and a mode switch for switching between 2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth.
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
In the box, the Cloud Stinger 3 Wireless comes with a short, 1.6-foot (0.5m) USB-C to USB-C charging cable, a 2.4GHz wireless USB-C dongle, and a USB-C to USB-A adapter.
Audio Performance of the Cloud Stinger 3 Wireless
The Cloud Stinger 3 Wireless has large 50mm dynamic drivers with a listed frequency response range of 10 - 50,000 Hz, which is pretty far outside the normal range of 20 - 20,000 Hz (though we often see headsets outside this range these days).
Music on the Cloud Stinger 3 Wireless sounded good — a fairly neutral profile with no immediately noticeable distortion at either end of the spectrum. The bass in songs such as Kaskade's POW POW POW was powerful-feeling without being muddy, and I could hear the full reign of the kick drum at the beginning of Lorde's Royals. It wasn't the absolute clearest bass I've heard, but I was impressed with the balance between power and restraint. The mid- and high-range also sounded good, though perhaps a little too neutral for my taste. The high strings in Britney Spears' Toxic were well-curbed, but the dynamics in songs such as Farruko's Pepas and David Guetta's Titanium (ft. Sia) felt a little... lacking in excitement.
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
Games also sounded good on the Cloud Stinger 3 Wireless. While it doesn't have a particularly wide soundstage, the headset did a good job of picking up detail in dense, layered audio environments such as the cities of Baldur's Gate 3 and Where Winds Meet, or the jungle of Uncharted 4. In noisy environments these details did tend to blend together in a way that was more cacophonous than artistically rendered (but I suppose that's pretty realistic to how audio works in the real world, too). Directional sound was accurate, if not as finely-tuned as it is in premium, performance-oriented headsets such as the Razer BlackShark V3 Pro.
The headset features dual-wireless connectivity, though not simultaneous — a switch on the right earcup lets you quickly switch between the headset's 2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth 2 connections. Audio sounded a little compressed over the headset's Bluetooth connection, but it was fine for taking calls or scrolling through TikTok.
Specs
Driver Type
50mm dynamic
Frequency Response
20 - 20,000 Hz
Design Style
Overear (circumaural)
Microphone Type
6mm, unidirectional
Connectivity
2.4GHz wireless, Bluetooth
Weight
10.1oz / 286.5g
Cord Length
N/A
Battery Life
80 hours
Lighting
N/A
Software
Ngenuity
MSRP / Price at Time of Review
$99.99
Release Date
April 30, 2036
Microphone of the Cloud Stinger 3 Wireless
The Cloud Stinger 3 Wireless has a non-detachable flip-to-mute boom microphone that sits on the end of a 3.5-inch (89mm) flexible gooseneck arm. The mic is a 6mm back electret condenser microphone with a unidirectional polar pattern, and it does a decent job of keeping background noise at bay, even without any software-based noise cancellation active.
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
As for quality, the mic isn't anything to write home about — it's a pretty typical headset mic that picks up vocals loud and clear, but won't make you sound like you're a professional podcaster (or anywhere near that level). My voice sounded decently full over both voice chat and in recordings, but it still had the thin, slightly fuzzy quality that easily gave away the fact that this was a headset mic and not a standalone USB gaming mic. But as long as you're not creating content, this mic is perfectly capable for communicating with coworkers, friends, and teammates.
Features and Software of the Cloud Stinger 3 Wireless
The Cloud Stinger 3 Wireless is supposed to be configurable via HyperX's Ngenuity software, but I downloaded both the new Ngenuity (Ngenuity 3?) and the legacy version of Ngenuity, and neither was able to recognize the headset when it was connected to my PC (wired or wireless).
Luckily, the Cloud Stinger 3 works pretty flawlessly out of the box, so you shouldn't need the software (HyperX's Ngenuity software generally tends to be lacking on features, anyway) to use the headset. The headset comes configured by default with voice prompts that tell you when you're switching between connections and when your mic is muted/unmuted (though this is fairly obvious given that it's a flip-to-mute mic), and tapping the power button once gives you the headset's current remaining battery life. There aren't any settings I desperately wanted to change, though I did want to see if tweaking the EQ could pull out footstep details, and HyperX does boast about its software-based spatial audio on the Cloud Stinger 3 Wireless' product page.
Battery Life of the Cloud Stinger 3 Wireless
HyperX rates the Cloud Stinger 3 Wireless' battery life at "up to 80 hours" over 2.4GHz wireless, which is pretty impressive given how light the headset is. The BlackShark V3 Pro, which weighs 12.96 ounces (367g), gets up to 70 hours of battery life, while the 1.23-pound (560g) Audeze Maxwell 2 gets over 80 hours. Of course, HyperX's other headsets also have battery life that far outclasses their peers — the HyperX Cloud III S Wireless, which weighs 12.05 ounces (341.5g) and retails for $180 gets up to 120 hours over its 2.4GHz wireless connection.
Bottom Line
The Cloud Stinger 3 Wireless is a lightweight, comfortable wireless gaming headset that offers impressive performance and battery life for its $99.99 retail price. It has large dynamic drivers with a wide frequency response range and a fairly neutral (if a little boring) sound profile and up to 80 hours of battery life. It's extremely lightweight and comfortable, though it does look and feel a little cheap overall, and its flip-to-mute boom mic is perfectly adequate for most typical gaming situations. At $100, it's not quite what I'd call budget-friendly (more like the low end of mid-range), but it's definitely worth the price. My only real complaint is that it's a little boring (in both sound profile and looks) — for something a little more fun, I'd still recommend the $120 Corsair Void Wireless v2.
In a world where memory is no longer a commodity but a strategically valuable asset, customers are eager to sign long-term supply agreements (LTAs) with their suppliers to ensure a steady supply of 3D NAND and/or DRAM. Micron this week announced that it had signed 16 strategic customer agreements (SCAs), 14 of which are worth around $100 billion. Furthermore, the company expects to receive cash deposits and other commitments worth $22 billion, but has warned there is no foreseeable end in sight to the RAM crisis driving up PC component prices.
“14 of the 16 SCAs that we have signed have a cumulative revenue at minimum price per our contracts of approximately $100 billion over the remaining agreement term,” a statement by Micron reads. “Under the SCAs we have signed so far, we project to receive cash deposits and related financial commitments of $22 billion.”
Based on Micron’s claims, the company has about $100 billion of guaranteed baseline revenue already locked in under 14 of those 16 strategic customer agreements, assuming customers only buy the minimum committed volumes and only pay the minimum contract price. In reality, Micron can earn more if customers buy higher volumes or pay higher prices. Furthermore, Micron expects customers who signed these long-term SCAs to put up real money up front — or make equivalent binding financial commitments — as part of reserving future memory supply.
Micron claims it has signed strategic customer agreements with four 'very large customers' and three 'medium-sized customers,' which means that the contracts were inked with clients that previously did not commit to LTAs. The contracts are signed with a five-year term (except the automotive LTAs, which have a term of three years), from calendar 2026 to calendar 2030.
Micron claims that memory supply will be insufficient in 2027 and may improve gradually only in 2028. To that end, it is not surprising that its clients are willing to sign LTAs for 3D NAND and DRAM to ensure that they have enough memory for their products.
"With respect to supply, our customers are recognizing that supply shortages in memory and storage will take considerable time to improve," said Sanjay Mehrotra, chief executive of Micron, in prepared remarks. "Even as we expect industry supply to improve gradually in 2028, we currently do not have line of sight as to when memory supply will be able to catch up with increasing demand."
Normally, Micron and other memory producers inked LTAs with select clients only (read: with Apple, Nvidia). 16 LTAs is a lot for this kind of arrangement, and this looks like a business model shift for the company. It is noteworthy that the 16 signed contracts represent roughly 20% of Micron's DRAM volume and 33% of the company's NAND volume over the period through 2030. That said, Micron may sign more LTAs with more companies.
AmaWaterways has unveiled the first details and renderings of the AmaRudi, the second double-width river ship scheduled to debut on the Danube River in spring 2027. “AmaRudi reflects our confidence in the future of river cruising and our continued commitment to innovation,” said Catherine Powell, CEO of AmaWaterways. “There is tremendous opportunity to continue pushing...
Delivered to Royal Caribbean earlier this month, the new Legend of the Seas is scheduled to enter service in early July. Cruise Industry News looks at the ship’s initial itineraries, which include cruises in the Western Mediterranean, the Bahamas and the Caribbean. First Cruise Date: July 4, 2026 Length: Seven nights Homeport: Civitavecchia (Italy) Itinerary:...
Oleksandr Usyk has cemented himself as the best of a generation, but, after an uncharacteristic display against Rico Verhoeven last month, fans may have seen the last of the undefeated Ukrainian. Usyk had previously planned to have two more contests after his clash with Verhoeven, but a closer-than-anticipated contest against the Dutch kickboxer has seemingly […]
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Mərakeş millisinin baş məşqçisi Məhəmməd Uahbi dünya çempionatının qrup mərhələsində Haiti yığmasına qarşı keçirdikləri oyunu şərh edib.
Arena.az xəbər verir ki, DÇ-2026-nın qrup mərhələsinin sonuncu turu çərçivəsində üz-üzə gəlmiş bu komandaların görüşü Mərakeşin 4:2 hesablı qələbəsi ilə yekunlaşıb.
Məhəmməd Uahbi matçdan sonra rəhbərlik etdiyi yığmanın gündən-günə irəlilədiyini söyləyib:
“Mərakeş futbolu tamamilə yeni mərhələyə qədəm qoyub. Futbolçular və azarkeşlər komandaya inanırlar, rəqiblərimiz isə bizə hörmətlə yanaşırlar. Biz bu məqsədə – dünya çempionu olmaq hədəfinə inanmalıyıq. Bütün gücümüzü ortaya qoymalı, rəqiblərimizə hörmət etməli və bu ambisiyaya yüz faiz sadiq qalmalıyıq. Mən öz işimə və məşqçilər korpusunun fəaliyyətinə böyük inam bəsləyirəm. Dünyanın ən yaxşı futbol ölkəsinə çevrilmək üçün lazım olan bütün keyfiyyətlərə sahibik”.
Mümkün rəqiblərlə bağlı danışan baş məşqçi seçim etmədiyini bildirib:
“Heç bir üstünlük vermirəm. Sabah kiminlə qarşılaşacağımız bəlli olacaq. Hər bir oyuna eyni məqsəd və eyni inamla çıxacağıq”.
Haiti millisinin baş məşqçisi Sebastyen Minye də uduzduqları oyundan sonra komandasının çıxışını dəyərləndirib. Mütəxəssis komandasının mundialda tarixi nəticə əldə etməyə çox yaxın olduğunu bildirib:
“Bu dünya çempionatında tarix yazmağa çox yaxın idik. Hətta qalib gələ bilməsək belə, turniri başımız dik şəkildə tərk etmək istəyirdik. Düşünürəm ki, bunu bacardıq”, – deyə Minye bildirib.
Qeyd edək ki, Haiti millisi DÇ-2026-nın qrup mərhələsində mübarizəni dayandırsa da, komanda turnirdə nümayiş etdirdiyi əzmkarlıqla diqqət çəkib. Baş məşqçi də futbolçularının sonadək mübarizə aparmasından razı qaldığını vurğulayıb.
Braziliya yığmasının baş məşqçisi Karlo Ançelotti dünya çempionatının qrup mərhələsində Şotlandiya millisinə qarşı keçirdikləri oyunu şərh edib.
Arena.az xəbər verir ki, DÇ-2026-nın qrup mərhələsinin sonuncu turu çərçivəsində baş tutmuş bu görüş Braziliyanın 3:0 hesablı qələbəsi ilə yekunlaşıb.
Karlo Ançelotti matçdan sonra jurnalistlərə açıqlama verib. Təcrübəli italiyalı mütəxəssis komandasının getdikcə daha yaxşı oyun nümayiş etdirdiyini vurğulayıb:
“Hazırda biz komanda kimi oynayırıq və əsas məqsədimiz də məhz budur. Biz ideal deyilik, üzərində işləməli olduğumuz məqamlar hələ də var. Oyuna nəzarət etdiyimiz zaman bir qədər daha sürətli oynaya bilərik”.
Ançelotti komandanın ilk matçla müqayisədə nəzərəçarpacaq dərəcədə inkişaf etdiyini qeyd edib:
“Mən məmnunam, çünki komanda xeyli irəliləyiş əldə edib və artıq daha uyğun şəkildə çıxış edir. Pley-off oyunlarında birlik çox vacibdir. Biz isə məhz belə bir komandaya sahibik. İlk matçla müqayisədə indi daha az səhv edirik, oyunumuzda daha çox ritm var və hücumda daha effektiv çıxış edirik”.
Braziliyalı hücumçu Vinisius Juniorun matçdakı dubluna da toxunan Ançelotti onun dünya futbolunun ən yaxşı oyunçularından biri olduğunu söyləyib:
“Vinisusun iki qol vurması məni çox sevindirir. Onun dünya çempionatında belə oynaya biləcəyinə heç vaxt şübhə etməmişəm. Millini təmsil etmək onun üçün böyük şərəfdir. O, çox yaxşı çıxış edir, hətta başla da qol vurdu ki, bu, onun üçün nadir haldır. Vini mənim kəşf etdiyim futbolçu deyil. O, ən yüksək səviyyəli oyunçudur və şübhəsiz ki, dünyanın ən yaxşı futbolçularından biridir”.
Şotlandiya yığmasının baş məşqçisi Stiv Klark 0:3 hesablı məğlubiyyətdən sonra komandasının oyunu ilə bağlı məyusluğunu gizlətməyib. Şotlandiyalı mütəxəssis futbolçularının rəqibə çox asan imkanlar verdiyini bildirib:
“Biz özümüz işimizi çətinləşdirdik, məsələ bundan ibarətdir. Rəqibə qollar vurmağa özümüz imkan yaratdıq və onlara istədikləri oyunu hədiyyə etdik. Bu, böyük məyusluqdur”.
Amerika Birləşmiş Ştatları (ABŞ), Kanada və Meksikada təşkil edilmiş futbol üzrə sayca 23-cü dünya çempionatı (DÇ-2026) davam edir.
Arena.az xəbər verir ki, bu gün C qrupunda da mübarizəyə yekun vurulub.
Son turda Braziliya yığması Şotlandiya ilə, Mərakeş millisi isə Haiti ilə qarşılaşıb.
Mayami stadionunda keçirilmiş Braziliya – Şotlandiya matçında Cənubi Amerika təmsilçisi rəqibini 3:0 hesabı ilə üstələyib. “Sambaçılar”ın heyətində Vinisius dubla imza atıb. Yekun nəticəni isə Mateus Kunya müəyyənləşdirib.
Mərakeş də Haitini məğlub edib. Atlanta stadionunda keçirilmiş matçda Afrika təmsilçisi 4:2 hesablı qələbəyə sevinib. Mərakeşin heyətində Əşrəf Hakimi, İsmael Saybari, Sofyan Rahimi və Yassin Gessim qol vurublar. Haiti isə əvvəlcə Yassin Bononun avtoqoluna sevinib, digər qolu Uilson İsidor vurub.
Beləliklə, Braziliya seçməsi 7 xalla qrup lideri olub. Mərakeş də 7 xal toplamasına baxmayaraq, ikinci yerlə kifayətlənib. Şotlandiya 3 xalla üçüncü olub. Xalsız olan Haitinin isə qrupdan çıxmayacağı daha əvvəl dəqiqləşmişdi.
Braziliya millisi DÇ-2026-nın qrup mərhələsinin III turunda Şotlandiyanı məğlub edib – 3:0.
Futbolpress.az xəbər verir ki, hücumçu Vinisius Junior sözügedən matçda meydana çıxmaqla bu mundialda debüt edən komanda yoldaşı Neymarla bağlı fikirlərini bölüşüb:
“Neymarı meydanda görmək möhtəşəmdir. O, bizim kumirimizdir. Onunla eyni stadionu bölüşmək böyük motivasiya verir”.
Neymar şotlandlarla matçda 76-cı dəqiqədə oyuna daxil olub. Bu, onun karyerasının 4-cü mundialı olub.
İtaliyanın “Komo” klubu “Fənərbağça”nın futbolçusu İsmail Yükseki transfer etmək istəyir.
Futbolpress.az xəbər verir ki, bu barədə Türkiyə mətbuatı məlumat yayıb. A Seriyası klubu yaxın zamanda İstanbul təmsilçisi ilə danışıqlara başlayacaq.
“Fənərbağça”nın yeni baş məşqçisi İsmail Kartal yarımmüdafiəçinin satılmasına razı deyil. Yüksek isə “Komo”da oynamağa müsbət yanaşır.
İsmail hazırda Türkiyə millisi ilə dünya çempionatındadır. Mundialdan sonra “Komo” ilə futbolçu arasında görüş planlaşdırılır.
Portuqaliyalı yarımmüdafiəçi Mateuş Fernandeş “Vest Hem”dən ayrılmağa qərar verib.
Futbolpress.az xəbər verir ki, bu barədə insayder Fabrizio Romano məlumat yayıb.
“Tottenhem” və “Mançester Yunayted” portuqaliyalı futbolçunu transfer etmək istəyir. Klublar artıq Fernandeşlə danışıqlara başlayıb. Yarımmüdafiəçi seçimini etməyə tələsmir.
Mateuş ötən mövsüm Premyer Liqada 36 oyunda 3 qol vurub, 4 məhsuldar ötürmə edib.
AFFA-nın prezidenti Rövşən Nəcəf 15 yaşadək futbolçulardan ibarət komandalar arasında ilk dünya çempionatının ev sahibliyinin Azərbaycana həvalə edilməsinə dair FIFA Şurasının Bürosunun qərarı ilə bağlı fikirlərini bildirib.
Futbolpress.az xəbər verir ki, funksioner AFFA-nın mətbuat xidmətinə açıqlamasında bunları deyib:
“FIFA Şurasının Bürosunun qərarı ilə ölkəmiz cari ilin oktyabrında 15 yaşadək oğlan futbolçulardan ibarət komandalar arasında ilk dünya çempionatına və 2026-cı il Festivalına ev sahibliyi edəcək.
Bu qərar ilk növbədə Azərbaycan Respublikasının Prezidenti cənab İlham Əliyevin ölkəmizdə idmanın, o cümlədən futbolun inkişafına göstərdiyi diqqət və qayğının, dövlətimizin uğurlu idman siyasətinin parlaq nəticəsidir. Turnirin keçirilməsinin beynəlxalq yarışların, böyük və mötəbər tədbirlərin təşkilində zəngin təcrübəyə malik Azərbaycana həvalə olunması ölkəmizin idman dövləti kimi güclü mövqeyinin təzahürüdür.
İlk dəfə təşkil olunacaq və yeni formatda keçiriləcək dünya çempionatının ev sahibliyi üçün Azərbaycanın seçilməsi eyni zamanda AFFA ilə FIFA arasında uğurlu əməkdaşlığın növbəti nümunəsidir. Bu xüsusda, AFFA-ya göstərilən etimada görə FIFA rəhbərliyinə təşəkkürümüzü bildiririk. Bu əlamətdar hadisə münasibətilə Azərbaycanın futbol ictimaiyyətini ürəkdən təbrik edirik”.
Qeyd edək ki, U-15-lərin dünya çempionatı 22-31 oktyabr 2026-cı il tarixlərində təşkil olunacaq.
“İnter” müdafiəçisi Federiko Dimarko ilə müqaviləni uzatmağa hazırlaşır. Msport.az xəbər verir ki, Milan klubu futbolçunun müqaviləsində yer alan uzatma bəndini […]
“Bavariya” futbolçu İsmael Saybarinin transferi üçün PSV ilə prinsipial razılığa gəlib. Msport.az xəbər verir ki, Münhen təmsilçisi 25 yaşlı yarımmüdafiəçi […]
AFFA-nın prezidenti Rövşən Nəcəf 15 yaşadək futbolçulardan ibarət komandalar arasında ilk dünya çempionatının ev sahibliyinin Azərbaycana həvalə edilməsinə dair FIFA […]
İran millisi DÇ-2026-nın qrup mərhələsinin 3-cü turunda Misirlə keçiriləcək oyun üçün Sietlə vaxtında yollana bilməyib. Msport.az xəbər verir ki, bu […]
FIFA Ümumnepal Futbol Assosiasiyasının (ANFA) üzvlüyünü dayandırıb. Msport.az xəbər verir ki, bu barədə ali futbol qurumu qərar çıxarıb. Nepal millisi […]
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Despite the abundance of telemetry at analysts’ disposal, many security operations teams struggle to answer a few basic questions during incident investigation: What happened? What evidence do we have? How do we know we’re seeing it all, in context?
Answering these questions requires teams to go beyond alerts, the most common basis for initial triage. But investigations (and their outcomes)
A previously undocumented Rust-based macOS implant and information stealer has been found to embed a prompt injection payload designed to trick a malware analyst's artificial intelligence (AI) tools and trick it into aborting or refusing an analysis of the artifact.
The malware has been codenamed Gaslight owing to this deceptive behavior. It's been assessed with high confidence that the tool is
Inter are still on the lookout for a new right wing-back after missing out on the signing of Marco Palestra, and Thursday’s reports claim that Roma’s Wesley and Fluminense’s Guga are now also included on the list of potential alternatives for the Nerazzurri.
Nico Paz, Wesley, Cambiaso: Inter transfer rumours in full swing
Earlier this week, it was confirmed that 21-year-old Italy talent Palestra is set to join Premier League side Chelsea in a deal that is expected to exceed €50m, potentially rising as high as €60m including bonuses. The Atalanta-owned youngster is set to pocket €30m over the course of his five or six-year Chelsea contract.
This comes as a massive blow for Inter, whose owners had set aside €50m for the signing of Palestra this summer. Inter are also set to lose starting right wing-back Denzel Dumfries to Real Madrid after seeing the Dutchman’s €20m release clause activated earlier this month.
It remains to be seen where Inter will turn next after losing Dumfries and missing out on Palestra.
The encouraging news is that there should still be €70m to spend before any other players are sold, from the €20m Dumfries release clause and the €50m that had been set aside for Palestra.
However, the Nerazzurri will still be needing a new right wing-back and other outlets suggest that the club are still evaluating potential ‘luxury’ options in that position.
There have been suggestions that Inter could turn to Juventus’s Andrea Cambiaso or Nottingham Forest’s Dan Ndoye, both valued in the region of €40m. Davide Frattesi could also be used in a player-plus-cash offer to both Juve and Forest. Fiorentina’s Dodo has also been touted as a potential alternative.
However, according to Thursday’s reports from La Gazzetta dello Sport, Roma’s Wesley is also an option for Inter this summer.
ROME, ITALY – MAY 04: Wesley of AS Roma celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the Serie A match between AS Roma and ACF Fiorentina at Stadio Olimpico on May 04, 2026 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)
Roma do need to sell players by the end of the month to raise funds to comply with their financial fair play settlement agreement, but Gian Piero Gasperini considers the versatile Brazilian an unsellable asset, especially ahead of his side’s return to the Champions League next season.
La Gazzetta dello Sport claims that another Brazilian full-back has been offered to the Nerazzurri: 27-year-old Guga from Fluminense. He has a Portuguese passport, so would not count towards the club’s non-EU quota.
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY – JULY 08: Guga #23 of Fluminense FC looks on prior to the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 semi-final match between Fluminense FC and Chelsea FC at MetLife Stadium on July 08, 2025 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)
Elsewhere, if Inter are to bring in a new centre-back this summer, Udinese’s Oumar Solet remains the first choice, however, La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Chelsea’s Trevoh Chalobah could also come back into fashion for Inter, especially if Solet ends up moving to Atletico Madrid. The England international is also of interest to Como.
Newly-elected FIGC President Giovanni Malagò is pushing to appoint both Antonio Conte and Paolo Maldini to leadership roles within the Italy national team set-up, but the appointment of the Milan legend in the role of technical director is currently the bigger priority and the Italian FA are willing to offer him unprecedented powers according to Thursday’s reports.
Maldini offered full control as technical director of the Italy national team
La Gazzetta dello Sport suggests that the Italian FA would seek to appoint Maldini as technical director before bringing in Conte as head coach.
EMPOLI, ITALY – OCTOBER 01: Paolo Maldini of AC Milan looks on during the Serie A match between Empoli FC and AC MIlan at Stadio Carlo Castellani on October 1, 2022 in Empoli, Italy. (Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)
If Maldini were to accept, he would be given unprecedented powers as the leader of the new ‘Club Italia’, which would see him have full control over the technical and youth sectors of the national team set-up.
It has also been suggested that there could potentially be a more prominent role for Gianfranco Zola in this new set-up: The former Italy international is currently serving as the vice-President of the Lega Pro (Serie C).
These ideas are expected to be discussed at length at the next meeting of the federal council on Wednesday.
There are some causes for concern, however, as La Gazzetta dello Sport hints that there is not much of a back-up plan at this stage, while SportItalia reported on Wednesday that Maldini is not entirely convinced about taking over as technical director of the Italy national team.
It was all smiles for Carlo Ancelotti and the Brazil national team in the early hours of Thursday morning as the Selecao beat Scotland 3-0 to top Group C at the 2026 World Cup, but Napoli’s Scott McTominay and his compatriots now face a nervous wait to see if they have done enough to qualify for the knock-out rounds.
Ancelotti and Brazil into World Cup knock-outs, anxious wait for Scotland and McTominay
A brace from Vinicius Jr. and a 60th-minute strike from Manchester United’s Matheus Cunha handed Brazil a 3-0 victory over a Scotland side featuring several Serie A talents in McTominay, Lewis Ferguson and Che Adams.
There was even an opportunity for Ancelotti to hand the legendary Neymar his first minutes at the 2026 World Cup off the bench in the second half against Scotland.
MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA – JUNE 24: Carlo Ancelotti, Head Coach of Brazil, speaks with Neymar Jr #10 as he prepares to be substituted in during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group C match between Scotland and Brazil at Miami Stadium on June 24, 2026 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
The result means that Brazil have qualified for the round of 32 as winners of Group C on 7 points, bettering Morocco (also on 7 point) on goal difference.
Brazil will face the runner-up from Group F in the round of 32. As things stand, that will be Japan, but the Netherlands and Sweden are also among the potential opponents depending on the final group stage results.
McTominay and Scotland have finished Group C in third place with three points from three matches: Their only victory coming in a 1-0 win against Haiti in the opening round. Now, Scotland must wait until the completion of the group stage to see if they have done enough to qualify for the knock-out rounds as one of the best third-place finishers.
As things stand, Scotland are in the round of 32, but there are still nine groups left to be completed and it remains to be seen whether their tally of three points and a goal difference of -3 will be enough.
In an alarming stat for the Scots, McTominay’s 60th-minute header was the nation’s first shot on target in over 200 minutes at the 2026 World Cup, and their first since John McGinn’s goal in the 1-0 victory over Haiti in the opening round of group stage fixtures.
Woody the toy cowboy has faced a lot of frightening moments over the course of five Toy Story movies, but the actor voicing him for the last 30 years is trepidatious over the possibility that AI will supplant him. Tom Hanks told Entertainment Weekly in a new interview that the idea of AI replacing his voice is "a scary thought."
"Time is undefeated," Hanks said. "The question would be whether or not we could cobble together some version of me. Every word we have ever recorded in time in Toy Story is on digital media somewhere, so they could put together anything they would want."
Debates about AI in movies and film are raging even as the technology is deployed to reproduce the voices and complete performances of people who have passed away. Not to mention fully AI-generated films that otherwise employ human voice actors.
AI acting
Most entertainment projects with AI so far have generally involved the participation or approval of the performers themselves, but they also demonstrate how quickly the technology has matured. What once required painstaking effects work can increasingly be achieved with sophisticated machine learning models trained on years of existing material.
Hanks has himself been in AI-assisted productions, specifically in the film Here, which relied on AI to de-age him and co-star Robin Wright for part of the film rather than depending entirely on traditional visual effects.
Hanks' concerns extend beyond his own career. He has elsewhere suggested that his biggest worry is whether audiences will eventually stop caring whether a performance comes from a human being at all, not trusting that what they see isn't produced with AI. That feels like a more unsettling question than whether Woody could return without Hanks.
Future films
(Image credit: Disney Pixar)
There's a little irony in Hanks' comments. The original Toy Story was a technological revolution that some saw as a threat to traditional hand-drawn animation. Three decades later, one of the stars who helped usher in that revolution is looking at the next wave of technology with understandable caution.
Caution doesn't mean dismissal of AI, of course. Hanks is known for being part of projects using advanced tools like motion capture, digital filmmaking, and experimental visual effects throughout his career. His concern seems more about what gets lost when technology starts replacing the people audiences are connected with in the first place.
And while each individual use of AI can be justified as another filmmaking tool, there's still a larger question about where AI assistance ends, and replacement begins. The answer will probably depend on what audiences decide they value rather than purely technical capabilities. Movie stars are more than collections of facial expressions and vocal recordings, and recreating the performance that audiences associate with Woody, that's more than just "good enough," would be a tall order.
I've been scouting for Prime Day deals, but this one stopped me in my tracks. Currys is running an excellent summer sale on back-to-school and business laptops, but Amazon has absolutely crushed them on the price of the Asus Zenbook A14 for £500 (was £600) for Prime Day.
This 14-inch OLED laptop features a Snapdragon X X1-26-100 processor that's engineered for day-to-day work and study tasks, alongside 16GB LPDDR5X memory, and a well-sized 1TB SSD. For general office and school tasks, that's pitch-perfect for the price.
Over at Currys, however, the exact same model is priced at £599 (was £999) for the Snapdragon-powered machine with 16GB RAM and - wait for it - 512GB SSD. So, you're getting twice as much SSD storage from Amazon at an even cheaper price. I wouldn't even look twice at Currys for this specific model while this Prime Day deal is live.
Excellent price for an efficient work laptop. This 14-inch OLED ultra-portable machine excels at battery life, and tailored for running office apps, emails, and web browsing. View Deal
Snapdragon X X1-26-100 | 16GB LPDDR5X | 512GB SSD
Only buy this if Amazon's Zenbook deal isn't available. It's a good price, but it's lacking the storage space the Prime Day deal has. View Deal
That's not to say the Currys summer sale is bad. In fact, having charted all the deals, I found it a treasure trove of well-priced laptops for work and study. You can see my article on the top 4 laptop deals at Currys here.
But considering the massive price difference, and the improved SSD size, I'd go for the Amazon deal all-day long (or while it lasts, which might not be long as Prime Day ends tomorrow).
We were impressed with the A14 when we reviewed this laptop. Scoring it 4 stars and awarding it a TechRadar Recommends badge, we found this ultra-lightweight MacBook Air-style Windows laptop possessed "brilliant design, capable all-round performance, and an impressive battery life."
As a budget-tier laptop, it's got it faults, but we loved the "fabulously thin and light" design and performance are impressive. Perfect, then, for campus and the commute.
It's been years since I last owned my own Kindle, as I ultimately do prefer physical copies to add to my collection, and only otherwise used my OG Kindle while travelling. However, whenever Amazon Prime Day rolls around, I do tend to second-guess myself when I see the meaty discounts on some of the best Kindles.
In particular, I was tempted by the new Kindle Scribe Colorsoft; as an avid manga reader, I was super excited by the idea of freeing up some shelf space (and if you read manga, you'll know that comes in short supply once your collection grows) by reading some of my less-favored series digitally. However, after trying it for a couple of weeks, I'm only using it for its primary function: as an ereader.
Sure, I'm pretty impressed by this all-in-one E Ink notepad, comic and book reader, but especially right now, the price is a huge turn-off. Put it this way; the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft is currently $519 (was $679) in the US and £442 (was £569) in the UK.
Below, I've detailed the key differences between each device.
Amazon Kindle Scribe Colorsoft
(Image credit: Future/Rami Tabari)
Pros and cons
Pros +Gets the basics right +Color and Scribe features are well-packaged +Large and sharp display
Cons - Pricey - Some features could use updating
The Kindle Scribe Colorsoft is the latest, most performant ereader from Amazon, offering a combination of three different Kindle types: the standard E ink display Kindle, the notepad-like Kindle Scribe, and the color display Kindle Colorsoft.
Each is useful in its own right; reading comics and manga on the Scribe Colorsoft is a delight, though text boxes that spread across panels can be cut off if you use the full page panel view. It's pretty well optimized for the task, though even in vivid mode, colors can be a little washed out.
The writing experience is great. The screen is super responsive, the stylus is comfortable in use and features a shortcut key as well as a functional eraser, and the addition of color to the display means you can select different pen and highlighter colors to create more detailed annotations.
It packs all the usual useful Kindle features (including Word Wise, which is great for younger readers or language learners) as well as AI features like note summary and handwriting-to-text conversion.
However, there are three major things to note when it comes to the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft.
First is that you can't actually use all of these features in tandem, meaning you can't markup comics or manga, though that's likely not a use case many people would want.
Second is that even outside of major sales events like Prime Day, you can get a Kindle, a Scribe, and a Colorsoft at almost the same price as this all-in-one device; and if you don't really need either the note-taking or the color display at the same time, you might as well do that.
Third is that while the large slate might be what you're looking for in terms of drawing, writing and graphic novel reading, it makes it a lot less portable than the standard or Paperwhite Kindle experience, which for me is the main reason I prize an ereader over a book.
Amazon Kindle Paperwhite
(Image credit: Future)
Pros and cons
Pros +7-inch display is great +Fastest Paperwhite yet +Excellent battery life
Cons -Expensive for a mid-range ereader -Ads on lock screen in some markets (unless you pay extra)
A step up from the basic Kindle, the Kindle Paperwhite offers a bright and beautiful screen for reading your favorite books. At this point, I'd very rarely recommend the standard base model for any reason beyond its low price, whereas the Kindle Paperwhite is genuinely enjoyable to read on, and that includes comics and manga.
With its E Ink Carta 1300 display, the 12th-generation Kindle Paperwhite offers great contrast for easy reading, a slightly larger screen, comfortable bezels for long hours of reading and 16GB storage (though we're not thrilled 4.5GB of that is dedicated to the operating system.)
If you've tried the 11th-generation model, there's a slim margin of upgrade with this newer, 12th-generation model, but if you're currently using any older Kindle Paperwhite or standard Kindle, you'll certainly feel the difference.
It's fast, the battery is great, and it excels at exactly what it was created for; reading. That's doubly true thanks to its slim profile, making it easy to grab and stash in your bag; at 211g, it's super lightweight to carry.
It's worth noting that, at list price, we're not 100% happy about the Kindle Paperwhite's value proposition. This goes for a lot of Amazon devices, which only feel like a good deal during major sales events, but for context, spend a little more on the Kobo Libra color which costs $219.99 / £219.99 and you can get a color ereader with a screen of the same size, double the storage, a more ergonomic design and writing capabilities.
Of course, if you're bedded into the Amazon ecosystem with access to its vast library of books through a Prime Membership, it's still a no-brainer.
Apple iPad 11-inch (A16 chip)
(Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future)
Pros and cons
Pros +A16 chip is very capable +Now starts with 128GB of storage +iPadOS 18 runs smoothly here
Cons -No major changes over the previous generation
While the latest, 11th-generation iPad didn't reinvent the tablet-shaped wheel, it brought a nice refresh in the form of the A16 chipset, powering a fast, responsive iPadOS experience.
It's a great productivity machine, and especially when paired with an Apple Pencil, it offers everything you could want from a Kindle Scribe Colorsoft and more, with its app library including fantastic options for note-taking, drawing and more intensive creative functions like video editing; though you're better off with an Apple Silicon-powered tablet like the iPad Pro (M5) or iPad Air (M4) if that's your rodeo.
It weighs just over a pound, so it's less primed for travel, and an e-ink display offers weeks of battery life, whereas the 11th-generation iPad only stretches to roughly 10 hours with general use; that's why pairing it with a Kindle Paperwhite for your reading needs is my top recommendation.
Still, even on its own, it stands as a solid alternative to a Kindle altogether, but especially at its price, I'd wager it's a superior choice to a Kindle Scribe Colorsoft for most. After all, you can just install the Kindle app and read your favorite books, comics, and manga on the vastly superior display.
Big Tech was hit with $3.5B fines over three years, Surfshark found
Many were fined for using personal data unlawfully
Enforceability remains a key challenge
Major tech companies have already been hit by fines totalling $3.5 billion for using vast amounts of users’ personal data to train their AI models, raising hopes that the days of AI operating in a regulatory vacuum might be coming to an end.
The figures come from Surfshark, one of the best VPNs on the market, which recently analysed 10 AI-related sanctions imposed on the usual suspects — Anthropic, Meta, Google, Clearview, Apple, Amazon, and OpenAI — between 2022 and 2026.
Disturbingly, nine out of ten fines were imposed for using users’ personal data — including biometric data, copyright-protected content, facial images, and children's voice recordings — without user consent or legal authorisation.
AI violations: which company misused our data the most?
(Image credit: Surfhsark)
According to Surfshark’s study, Clearview AI was the first, in 2022, to be fined a total of around $46 million for collecting facial images for its facial recognition database.
But the pace picked up in 2024, with five new separate fines imposed on Google, OpenAI, Meta, Clearview, and Amazon.
The size of the fines has also increased substantially, signalling a positive shift from regulatory warnings to severe financial consequences. In 2024, Meta was fined $1.4 billion for collecting users’ biometric data without consent, followed by Anthropic in 2025 with a record $1.5 billion for training its AI models using pirated books.
On a different note, the $250 million fine imposed on Apple in 2026 for AI misleading marketing practices might signal that current AI advertisement tactics might also soon become a thing of the past.
"This could be only the beginning," says Dr. Luis Costa, research lead at Surfshark. "The overarching trend suggests that accountability is catching up with innovation, and the industry must re-evaluate both how it builds AI and how it markets it."
The industry must re-evaluate both how it builds AI and how it markets it
Dr. Luis Costa, Surfshark
While regulations and authorities seem to be starting to catch up and match their punishments with Big Tech's wrongdoings, the findings continue to raise serious questions about the risks users face when using these AI platforms.
"Firstly, the scale of unauthorised data collection is unprecedented: 90 per cent of AI-related fines imposed since 2022 relate to the use of data without the necessary consent," Costa explains.
"Second, this harvesting often targets highly sensitive, unchangeable data, as seen in Meta’s $1.4 billion biometric settlement and Amazon’s fine over children’s voice recordings," he adds.
It also remains alarming that many companies fail to adequately inform the public about how their sensitive data is used, leaving consumers oblivious to the fact that their personal information is permanently baked into commercial AI models.
Better enforceability is needed
Additionally, while these fines may seem exorbitant, it is worrying that the financial impact of such punishments rarely acts as a deterrent to these large technology companies, whose market capitalisation runs into the hundreds of billions of dollars.
In its research, Proton previously found that the $7.8 billion in privacy and competition fines imposed on Big Tech in 2025 could be collectively paid by these firms in less than a month.
However, Costa argues that the issue is more complex and regulators might be working toward targeted changes. "First, regulators are escalating the financial stakes, shifting toward massive penalties like Anthropic's $1.5 billion and Meta's $1.4 billion settlements."
Additionally, a major challenge right now is actually enforceability — particularly as some companies have already been exploiting loopholes to avoid paying fines. Clearview AI, for example, managed to avoid paying $105 million in fines imposed by four different European regulatory authorities by arguing that it did not fall within European jurisdiction.
"Even if these early fines are manageable for tech giants, their real value lies in establishing the firm legal precedents that will govern how AI must operate in the future," Costa concludes.
Sorry Sony (and Bose, and AirPods) I know the best earbuds I've ever tested — and they're a Technics product called the EAH-AZ100.
I know, try to see past the immediately forgettable name, because once you get past that alphabetty spaghetti, there's a seriously good set of earbuds in a great little offer here.
Do you like my lead image? I just went out into the full glare of the sun on the hottest recorded UK day in June — for a full three minutes — to get it, to prove I'm using them right now. I also snapped the photo above because the most-asked question I get when I tell people I'm TechRadar's Audio Editor is 'What are the best earbuds with noise cancelling?'
Take note of the subtle shift in phrasing there; not the best noise cancelling earbuds — no, the best current earbuds with noise cancelling. They're quite different things actually, because one can be read as 'I just want the closest thing to actively-generated silence I can get, in a small box please', whereas this specific question above prioritises sound quality, but adds ANC because it is a desirable extra. And I love that.
Anyway, people want a definitive answer and leave the complicated reasoning to Scarrott. Obviously I'm flattered, because it means they trust my judgement (well done there. I do know my stuff). But I've already spilled the answer above: it's these Technics buds, and has been for quite some time.
They came out in January 2025, and they're built on the original May 2023-issue EAH-AZ80, which were also excellent. And both products are somehow still the only earbuds on the market able to offer multipoint to three devices simultaneously, rather than two. Think it's a small perk? Try it for two weeks, then give them back to me. You won't be able to…
Today's best Technics EAH-AZ100 deal
A new lowest-seen price! The excellent EAH-AZ80 that came before this model basically tore up the rule book on sound quality and features in wireless earbuds – and the AZ100 are even better. Released in January 2025, these little beauties are still the only earbuds to offer multipoint to three devices simultaneously, plus excellent sidetone tech for hearing your own voice in calls, as well as some of the most neutral and detailed audio in an even smaller, even more premium-feel design. Oh, and this deal is £17 cheaper than our price trackers have ever seen. Highly recommended. View Deal
Look, the Technics EAH-AZ100 are still sitting pretty at the top of my guide to the best earbuds for a reason. They're incredibly secure and comfortable to wear; Technics pioneered a 'concha fit' design (which initially looks a little deep for a top-plate, but works beautifully), and it's a trick several rivals soon adopted in a post-AirPods-stem market, whether they'd choose to admit it or not.
They also offer LDAC support, which is one of my favourite hi-res wireless codecs and a simple route to better-quality audio streaming for Samsung and Sony smartphone owners.
And did I mention the call handling? It's excellent. Technics deploys both its known Sidetone tech (to slightly amplify your own voice, so it's not muffled by the buds in your ears as you talk) plus its newer proprietary JustMyVoice technology here, which captures your speech while simultaneously suppressing background noise.
Noise cancelling is also very good, but best of all, though, is the sound. As we enthused in our Technics EAH-AZ100 review, the soundstage is neutral and natural, yet simultaneously expansive, engagingly dynamic, and energetic.
I've used the EAH-AZ100 earbuds practically every day since they launched. Before that, I'd used their older siblings every day, and let me tell you: they're the best. I say this as someone with much of the consumer earbuds oeuvre at their disposal (I'm not bragging, it's work — my job is to review earbuds and headphones), so I do know the best from the also-rans.
Yes, I typically prefer over-ears for sound quality, but when running around, earbuds are more portable — especially in a UK heatwave where those ear cups can get a little hot. And in an in-ear design, I love the sonic performance of these buds, especially when the Prime Day deal is this good.
Did you struggle to sleep in the heat last night? What you need is a super-quiet fan, and you're in the right place to find one in the Amazon Prime Day sales. We test dozens of fans here at TechRadar, and I've put together this collection based on brands and models we know are dependable and effective.
When choosing a quiet fan for your bedroom, take a minute to think about the space. Will you be keeping the fan on your bedside table? If so, a fan with a rechargeable battery might be the best option, letting you run it all night while leaving plug sockets free for phone chargers. If you want to blow a blanket of air over your bed, consider an adjustable-height fan that you can direct at your duvet.
Some of the best fans have been selling out extremely quickly in the Prime Day sale, for obvious reasons, but all these deals are still in stock at the time of writing so grab one before they blow away on their own.
Amazon Prime Day quiet fan deals
Levoit makes some of the best value fans we've tested here at TechRadar, and this is an exceptional deal for one you can control with either a remote or a smartphone app. It's hit a record-low price for Prime Day 2026.View Deal
Another super quiet fan from Levoit, this model is specially designed for night time, with adjustable height to direct airflow at your bed. At under £80 it's one of the cheapest fans from a reputable brand this Prime Day.View Deal
Dreo's air fans and air circulators have been selling out fast during the current heatwave, but you can still grab a great deal on this oscillating standing fan, which can drop as low as 20dB at night and includes a useful timer.View Deal
I'm a big fan of SwitchBot's smart home tech and this near-silent desk fan will play nicely with all your other smart devices. It's rechargeable so you can keep it on your bedside table even if there's no plug socket available.View Deal
I'm relying on a Dimplex fan to keep me cool at night, and this versatile desk/standing fan should do the job for you as well. At under £100 it's a great Prime Day deal, and will serve you well for many heatwaves to come.View Deal
Be prepared
The current heatwave might have broken by the time your new fan arrives, but it's still a good idea to grab one during the Prime Day sales. As we've seen, the weather forecast can change within the space of a week, so it's never a bad idea to have one handy and ready to go next time the mercury rises.
Buying a fan now also means you won't be in such a rush. If you're in a hurry, it can be tempting to grab anything that has a good review, but not all fans are suitable for all rooms, so it pays to take some time now and make sure you're making the right choice.
The latest fans can move a large volume of air much more easily than older models, and are more energy efficient as well, which will keep you cooler and reduce your energy bills in the long term. That's not necessarily something you have time to think about if you're rushing to pick up a fan — any fan — in a sweat-soaked panic.
The PS5 homepage, PS Store, and PS App have been updated with a GTA 6 theme
Pre-orders have officially begun
Sony has gone full Grand Theft Auto 6 marketing mode as pre-orders for the most anticipated game of all time officially begin.
The wait is finally over, GTA 6 pre-orders are now live, and in anticipation of the game's release later this year, Sony is showing that it definitely has a favorite by updating the PlayStation 5 homepage, PS Store, and PS App with a new GTA 6 theme.
Now, when players boot up their PS5, they're greeted by a full-screen animation of the game's logo, before it fades into an ad for the game on the console's welcome hub.
When navigating to the PS Store, the background now features co-protagonists Jason and Lucia, and the "Must See" UI has been updated with purple boxes that provide details on the Ultimate Edition, trailers, the Vintage Vice City and GTA+ pre-order bonuses, and a way to pre-order.
GTA 6 is now the first thing you see when you boot up your PS5, they made an entirely new UI for this, insane. pic.twitter.com/xmz8h6RLzIJune 24, 2026
As spotted by Shinobi602, Sony has also updated the PS App logo with GTA 6 branding. Instead of the blue icon, it's been replaced by the game's sunset theme and palm trees.
It's clear that Sony is going all out to maximize the GTA 6 marketing, and it's not even a first-party exclusive.
It also shared in a post yesterday that "thanks to a close partnership" with the studio, "GTA 6 will play best on PS5" and take advantage of PS5’s features "to deliver a deeply engaging single-player experience."
GTA 6 officially launches on November 19 for PS5 and Xbox Series X and Series S, and will cost $79.99 / AU$129.95 / £69.99 for the Standard Edition and $99.99 / AU$159.95 / £89.99 for the Ultimate Edition. Pre-loads begin on November 12.
As both a hardcore gamer and an audio geek, I used to spend a lot of time agonizing over whether to invest more money on a gaming headset or whether I could spend more on a great pair of headphones to cover both my hobbies. If you find yourself in the same boat, it's your lucky day: I'm here to help you make that decision and, with some of the great deals available this Prime Day, I can help save you some cash to boot.
I've been reviewing audio gadgets for many years now and have reviewed a bunch of gaming headsets in my time at TechRadar. What I've found is that headphones absolutely can do double duty as an alternative to a dedicated gaming headset, but you really need to consider what kind of features are the biggest priority for you personally.
Gaming headsets vs headphones: which should you buy?
When it comes to gaming headsets, there are a few kinds of features you can expect. Low-latency connectivity will often set these apart from wireless headphones, nixing any lag and ensuring you can respond to gunshots and monster cries quickly.
I've always found specific gaming sonic profiles super useful as well — headsets that can boost footsteps are fantastic for FPSes, for example, making it harder for people to sneak up on you. Pick up the Turtle Beach Stealth Pro for $167.94 at Amazon (was $329.99) and you can experience both of these features in spades.
Gaming headsets have historically been way ahead of the curve in terms of battery life. That's partly because not all of them offer ANC and some wireless headphone brands have really caught up in this area. For example, you can get the Sennheiser Momentum 4 for $179.55 at Amazon (was $299.99) and they offer up to 60 hours with ANC on, which is seriously competitive.
But I wouldn't say headsets get the upper hand on every front, with some areas being more of dead heat. I've not always found gaming headset's boom mics to be higher quality than the built-in call mics on higher-end headphones. But some offer fold-to-mute functionality that makes it easier to mute yourself when you want some privacy, for example the Corsair HS55 Surround v2, which you can pick up for $39.99 from Amazon (was $59.99).
Meanwhile, while many headsets these days offer spatial audio, so do a good proportion of high-end headphones — honestly, both camps contain great examples with deeply immersive audio and yet there are also plenty of headsets and headphones that promise spatial effects that sound pretty mono-directional. The absolute undisputed champ here is also on offer right now: you can buy the Apple AirPods Max 2 for $399 at Amazon (was $549).
For me, traditional headphones get the edge over a gaming headset in a couple of key areas. Headphones tend to offer superior music playback, as they've been engineered with that in mind — I know, I know: 'thanks Captain Obvious' — so they tend to handle soundtracks and your fave tunes better.
On top of this, they can also come crammed with innovative features. For example, the Sony WH-1000XM6 offer nice touches like speak-to-chat for automatic transparency mode during conversations and head gestures for accepting and rejecting calls. If you're keen to try out some of these cutting-edge advances, you can currently grab the Sony WH-1000XM6 for $378 at Amazon (was $459.99).
Ultimately, whether you need a dedicated headset or you can get away with using the same pair of headphones for listening to tunes and gaming will depend on the features you most rely on. Fortunately, there are so many great Prime Day deals available on each right now that no matter which choice you make, you can be sure you'll get it for a bargain price.
Headsets for gaming
HyperX
Cloud III S Wireless
Corsair
HS55 Surround v2
SteelSeries
Arctis Nova Pro
Pros
Excellent sound quality
Very detailed audio
Long battery life
Extremely versatile with multiple connectivity
Cons
Eye-watering price tag
ANC isn’t the best
Non-intuitive physical controls
Razer
BlackShark V2 Pro — PlayStation Version
Pros
Battery life for days, literally
Incredibly clear mic audio
Beautiful stitching and finish
Great sound reproduction
Multi-device compatibility
Comfortable and adjustable
Cons
Physical chat mix control only on Xbox version
No wired operation on consoles
Synapse software required to get the best out of the mic
Beyerdynamic
Tygr 300 R
Pros
Best-in-class audio quality
Comfortable as heck
Robust cable
Open back design great for single player
Cons
Expensive
No replaceable cable
No built-in mic
Turtle Beach
Stealth Pro
Pros
Incredible audio quality
Flawless active noise canceling
Excellent build quality and comfort
Versatile connectivity options
Cons
Average sounding microphone
Expensive
Headphones for gaming
Sony
WH-1000XM6
Pros
Class-leading noise cancellation
Excellent audio performance
Super lightweight and comfortable
Highly intuitive touch controls
They're foldable again!
Cons
Price increase over previous model
Battery life is nothing special
Still not waterproof
Some may find them to be a tad bulky
Apple
AirPods Max 2
Pros
Even better active noise cancellation
Live Translation that's easier to use than on Apple's earbuds
Adaptive Audio means meatier, punchier sound than the originals
Even head-tracked Spatial Audio feels more accurate and crisp
Cons
Battery life hasn't been improved
That flimsy 'headphone bra' case remains
Still very iOS-only (Android owners need not apply)
No wireless hi-res codec support still
Sennheiser
HD 599 SE
Bose
QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen)
Pros
Predictably brilliant noise cancellation
As comfortable as these things ever get
Balanced, energetic sound
Cons
Not quite the perceived value of some rivals
Humdrum control app
Nothing
Headphone (a)
Pros
Great sound that's a big upgrade over Headphone (1)
The original Nintendo Switch is heavily discounted over Amazon Prime Day, but I would still recommend picking up the newer Switch 2 instead. Right now, the original Switch could be yours for just £197.74 (was £239.95) at Amazon, the lowest price that it's ever been at the retailer.
The Nintendo Switch 2, in contrast, is currently up at only £369.95 (was £385) at Amazon - or £172.21 more. What does that extra cash get you, though? A much newer console with multiple years of support ahead of it, a range of high-quality exclusive games, more premium build quality, and substantially improved specs.
Today's best Nintendo Switch deals
The original Nintendo Switch is currently at its lowest-ever price at Amazon. This hybrid handheld console was originally released back in 2017, and is over nine years old at this point, but could still be a decent pick if you definitely can't or won't splash out for the superior Switch 2.View Deal
The Nintendo Switch 2 is newer and much more powerful than the original Switch. It boasts its own compelling exclusive games and a range of cool additional features. It also has significantly higher build quality. The only caveat? It costs a lot more.View Deal
I would definitely advise picking the Nintendo Switch 2 if you have the budget, but that's not to say the original Switch is a disastrous choice. If you're shopping for a young child and want something more inexpensive (and smaller), then it could be a good pick.
There are also plenty of Nintendo Switch-compatible games still releasing today, even now that the Switch 2 is out. This includes recent hits like Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream and the upcoming Rhythm Heaven Groove.
Just bear in mind that this support might not continue beyond the next few years.
No kidding, Currys is turning out to be a bit of a goldmine for cheap laptops for business and the back to school season. I went through all the deals to find 4 laptops that boast snappy processors and 16GB DDR5 RAM for smoothly tackling work in the office and at school.
My top all-rounder is the Asus Vivobook S16 for £599 (was £999). This lightweight OLED laptop with a 16-inch screen will effortlessly handle day-to-day tasks most professionals and students need. And it won't break the bank doing any of it.
I've been tracking all the best Prime Day home office deals this year. And while there are plenty of discount laptops on Amazon that absolutely aren't worth your time or money, I was pleasantly surprised to see some genuinely good price drops in the Currys summer sale.
Intel Core Ultra 5 255H | 16GB DDR5 | 1TB SSD
This 16-inch laptop caught my eye for its responsive Core Ultra chip, and long battery life. But the real bonus here is the OLED screen that hits 95% DCI-P3 colour coverage for content creation. View Deal
Intel Core Ultra 7 256V | 16GB LPDDR5X | 1TB SSD
The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 is a powerful ultra-portable OLED laptop tailored to multi-tasking and heavier day-to-day workloads at work or school. View Deal
Intel Core Ultra 5 225U | 16GB LPDDR5 | 512GB
This is a serious steal for a 2K OLED laptop tailored for work, study, and streaming. Performance-wise, it's powered by an efficient Core Ultra 5 processor and 16GB RAM. View Deal
Snapdragon X X1-26-100 | 16GB LPDDR5X | 512GB SSD
A snappy, cheaper alternative to the Zenbook, this 14-inch laptop drops the OLED display and the price, but it's still a long-lasting pick for general office work and school tasks.View Deal
Massive price drop on this efficient 14-inch OLED ultra-portable with up to 32-hour battery life. It's tailored for running office apps, emails, and web browsing. But avoid it. Seriously. Amazon beats it on price and specs right now. View Deal
Debuting in September last year, the iPhone Air remains the world’s thinnest smartphone. When it first came out I thought it looked slightly ridiculous, especially with the high price tag, but when you see one in the flesh (so to speak), they do look incredibly cool.
The iPhone Air is just 5.6 mm thick and weighs just 165 grams. I’ve seen my colleagues at work, like Axel Metz, use one, and write about how they still feel a bit conflicted about it, but the reservations are mainly down to the price. And this Amazon Prime Day, the price took a 24% hit that makes the iPhone Air more tempting than ever.
The world's thinnest smartphone
Today's best iPhone Air Deal
The Apple iPhone Air 512 GB is the thinnest iPhone ever. It has a 6.5-inch Display with ProMotion, a powerful A19 Pro chip, Center Stage Front Camera, all-day battery life and a whopping 24% off thanks to this Amazon Prime Day deal.View Deal
Of course, there are compromises — a smaller battery than the Pro models, fewer cameras, and the premium you’re paying for Apple squeezing it into the thinnest case ever.
But the Prime Day Deal does a lot to change that equation.
If you've been intrigued by the iPhone Air for a while now, like I have, then this is probably the safest time to scratch that itch.
Rather than another black slab, the iPhone Air looks like a real piece of industrial design — just picking it up is enjoyable. I’m coming to the conclusion that life is a bit too short not to choose the things that give you the most enjoyment, and the iPhone Air genuinely looks different to every other smartphone.
Your phone rings while three jobs are already running late. A fourth customer wants to know why nobody confirmed their appointment window. If you're coordinating calls through a shared calendar, a stack of paper tickets, or a group chat with your crew, this probably sounds familiar.
You're likely looking at software because the manual approach stopped holding up around your fifth truck. A missed appointment may have already cost you a repeat customer. Picking the wrong platform wastes money you can't spare, so it pays to know what matters before you sign anything.
Why use a dedicated platform for HVAC services
Spreadsheets and paper trackers work fine with two trucks and a short customer list. A few more technicians or a batch of maintenance contracts push that setup past its limit. Job details start slipping between the office and the field before anyone notices.
The HVAC trade doesn't have spare hands to throw at the problem either. The industry is short roughly 110,000 technicians nationwide, with about 25,000 leaving the workforce every year, according to ACHR News. Customers have also grown less patient: industry surveys show that 74% expect a repair within 24 hours when their air conditioning fails, with 30% wanting same-day service.
Dedicated software closes that gap by automating reminders and arrival windows. It also turns every job into a record, with service history and equipment details attached to the customer rather than a technician's memory. That record becomes the foundation for maintenance plans, where a lot of HVAC profit actually sits.
What to look for in HVAC field service management platforms
Once you've decided to move off spreadsheets, the next challenge is sorting features that matter from features that just look good in a demo.
Pricing pages tend to list the same buzzwords, which makes the real differences hard to spot on a sales call. We've focused the criteria below on what changes daily operations, not what fills out a checklist.
Scheduling and dispatch tools
(Image credit: Generated with Gemini )
A clear view of who's where and what's next is the core job of this software. Look for a drag-and-drop calendar showing technician location alongside current job status. Dispatchers should be able to reassign a job in seconds when a call comes in or a repair runs long.
Route optimization matters more than it sounds, since grouping nearby jobs cuts drive time and adds billable hours. Some platforms also weigh technician skill level, so a complex repair doesn't land with someone trained only on residential units.
We'd ask specifically how the platform handles same-day emergencies. A good system slots an urgent job into an existing route without rebuilding the day's schedule by hand.
Mobile features for field technicians
Your technicians live on their phones once they leave the shop, so the mobile app needs to work as hard as the office dashboard. Look for offline access, since basements and rural job sites often have weak signal. A technician who can keep working offline, then sync once back in range, won't lose half a day to a dead zone.
The app should also surface what a technician needs before they knock on a door, including service history and notes from the last visit. All of it should live on one screen, not behind a phone call to dispatch.
Photo capture and on-site invoicing round out a solid mobile experience. A technician who can collect a signature and close out a job before driving away gets paid faster.
Payment processing
Cash flow depends on how quickly a job becomes a paid invoice. Look for software that lets technicians invoice on-site and take payment immediately, rather than mailing a bill and waiting weeks.
Check whether pricing is locked to a pricebook technicians can pull from in the field. This keeps quotes consistent across your team and prevents undercharging on parts or labor.
Integration with accounting software like QuickBooks saves your office from re-entering the same data twice. Ask exactly which platforms a vendor supports natively, since a clunky export process defeats the purpose.
Customer communication
Customers want more than a booking confirmation. They expect to know when the technician is actually on the way. Automated text or email updates, including a real-time arrival window, cut down on the calls asking where the technician is.
A self-serve customer portal is increasingly standard, too. Letting customers view past invoices or request a new appointment without calling in lightens the load on busy days. Review-request features, which prompt a happy customer right after the job closes, are worth checking too. Word of mouth still carries serious weight in a trade that runs on trust.
Maintenance agreement and equipment tracking
Recurring maintenance plans are where a lot of HVAC profit quietly sits. The Air Conditioning Contractors of America has reported that recurring service agreements now make up more than half of total HVACR industry revenue at well-run companies. Software that automates plan billing and renewal reminders turns this into a system, rather than a manual chase every spring and fall.
Equipment tracking matters just as much. A platform that logs serial numbers and warranty status per unit means a technician arrives already knowing the system's history, which makes the case for a replacement far easier to have.
Reporting and software integrations
Once a platform is running, the data it collects should say something about your business beyond which jobs are scheduled. Look for dashboards showing technician productivity alongside which crews convert service calls into maintenance agreements.
Integrations matter beyond accounting, too. Check whether the platform connects to your payment processor and parts suppliers, since an isolated system just becomes one more login to manage.
Most vendors say their software integrates with everything. Ask for a specific list of supported tools rather than taking that claim at face value.
Conclusion
A smooth rollout matters almost as much as the features themselves. Start with one crew before pushing it across the company, then use that pilot to catch workflow problems early.
Budget for more than the monthly subscription fee. Most vendors charge per technician. Implementation and training can also add real cost in the first few months.
We'd suggest asking current customers in your trade how long their rollout took, since vendor estimates tend to run optimistic. A platform that fits your actual call volume and crew size earns back its cost within the first year.
The potential around AI in finance is tangible right now and with it comes both opportunity and risk.
Vendors are promising faster closes, automated reporting and real-time insights. Finance leaders are under pressure to modernize and keep pace with the AI revolution.
Across the mid-market, AI is being embedded into financial workflows at a pace that is outrunning the governance structures needed to make it safe.
That gap is where a new category of risk is emerging, one that for professionals working closely with finance teams are increasingly calling "black box AI." It is yet another challenge the industry needs to address head-on.
Black box AI refers to any finance deployment where outputs cannot be traced or governed. It shows up as unverifiable recommendations, automation that bypasses normal approval workflows, or analytics tools that surface a headline figure with no clear path back to the underlying transaction.
The outputs look credible on the surface, but when an auditor asks what has changed, who approved it and why, that’s when finance teams run into problems.
Finance teams have always operated on a simple principle: if you cannot trace it, you cannot trust it, this mantra has not changed in the age of AI. What has changed is that the technology can now either reinforce that discipline or undermine it.
Which outcome occurs comes down to how AI is built and what your provider is willing to be held accountable for.
Assistive versus autonomous: A distinction that matters
Not all AI carries the same risk profile. The distinction for finance leaders is between AI that assists in a controlled environment and AI that acts autonomously.
Assistive AI flags issues and directs decisions through existing approval structures. It identifies an exception, spots a coding anomaly, or highlights an unusual movement, and then puts a human in the driving seat for decision-making. The finance professional can see the source transaction, the rule behind the flag, and the approval record. Every action the AI makes also leaves a clear audit trail.
Autonomous AI, by contrast, makes decisions silently. It allocates, codes, or adjusts without a visible audit trail, leaving teams unable to satisfy even basic reporting requirements. It may make things look faster but it is also quietly undermining the integrity of the numbers.
The question every finance leader should be asking their technology provider is simple: if something changes in our reporting, can we see exactly what happened, who approved it and why? If the answer is unclear or non-existent, then that is a problem for the finance team to address.
Where governed AI delivers
Month-end close is where well-governed AI delivers the clearest practical return on investment, and it is worth being precise about what that looks like.
The real win is not AI-generated narratives or automated reporting. It is catching issues earlier in the process before the stakeholder board packs go out, before the pressure peaks and before the rework begins. When AI surfaces exceptions at the right moment and directs them through channels, teams can close faster and with greater confidence in what they are signing off.
For organizations operating across multiple entities or currencies, this becomes even more valuable. AI can flag unusual movements at subsidiary level before they surface as problems at group consolidation but only when the underlying model is governed properly and the exception trail is intact.
Raising the bar on what ‘finance-grade’ means
There is a version of AI in finance that makes teams more effective, then there is a version that makes things look faster while quietly compromising the controls that finance exists to uphold.
The industry needs to be more precise about what earns the label ‘finance-grade AI.’ Reporting or analytics tools only deserves that description when a professional can analyze from a headline variance figure down to the underlying transactions and from there to the audit-trail evidence that can explain that headline variance number.
Anything that breaks that process - however sophisticated it appears - is not fit for purpose in a governed finance function.
Finance leaders cannot afford to adopt technology simply because it is what everyone else is doing. The right question is not whether AI can automate a process, but whether it can do so in a way that keeps the finance team genuinely in control of their numbers with a ‘human in the loop’.
That standard should be a non-negotiable and it should be first on the checklist before any AI deployment goes live.
This article was produced as part of TechRadar Pro Perspectives, our channel to feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today.
The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/pro/perspectives-how-to-submit
Only 31% of companies say they have accurate AI software visibility – 36% for overall IT visibility
AI is complex to track because it's a layer that sits across existing categories
IT leaders are also under pressure to prove AI ROI
New data revealed in Flexera's State of ITAM report has revealed that only 31% of companies have accurate visibility into their AI software – an area of IT spend that continues to grow as new use cases emerge and models develop.
This comes as nearly three in five (59%) reveal wasted AI spend has increased over the past year, with increasingly complex software stacks being blamed for an overall drop in visibility.
Flexera found that complete visibility across IT assets has fallen to 36% – only slightly ahead of AI visibility – thanks to complex and intertwined SaaS, public cloud and hybrid environments.
IT stack visibility is getting worse, not better
According to the report, ITAM professionals now spend more of their time optimizing software (32%), but audit response (22%) also takes up a considerable amount of their time.
As for AI, Flexera believes it's difficult to track because it doesn't occupy its own category. Instead, models, agents and platforms sit across multiple systems as an additional layer.
"What we’re seeing is a familiar pattern of rapid adoption followed by a scramble for visibility and control, as spend surges," Chief Product Officer Becky Trevino wrote.
But ironically, Flexera also found that AI promises to automate some ITAM work, including processing software contracts, purchase orders, licences and renewals.
With IT professionals under more pressure to prove AI ROI, the next steps move beyond identifying which AI tools are being used to consider how they're being used, how much they cost and what data they access.
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