The Champions League final four is often the stage for unbelievable scenarios.

From spectacular comebacks and historic thrashings to longevity records, the semi-finals have helped forge the legend of the Champions League.

Here’s a look back at the numbers and performances that have marked the competition’s history.

The biggest comeback in a Champions League semi-final

Liverpool 4-0 Barça in the second leg (0-3 in the first leg, 2018/19)

The biggest aggregate score (home and away)

Bayern Munich 7-0 Barça (4-0, 3-0) 2012/13

The biggest wins in a Champions League semi-final

Real Madrid 6-0 Zurich (07/05/1964)

Bayern Munich 4-0 Barcelona (23/04/2013)

Real Madrid 4-0 Bayern Munich (29/04/2014)

Liverpool 4-0 Barça (07/05/2019)

Manchester City 4-0 Real Madrid (17/05/2023)

Most goals scored in a Champions League semi-final

4 goals - Robert Lewandowski (Dortmund vs Real Madrid, 24/04/2013)

The oldest player in a Champions League semi-final 🦁

41 years and 206 days, Mark Schwarzer (Chelsea 1-3 Atlético), 30/04/2014

The youngest player in a Champions League semi-final

17 years and 2 days, Rayan Cherki (Lyon 0-3 Bayern, 19/08/2020)

The youngest goalscorer in a Champions League semi-final

17 years and 291 days, Lamine Yamal (Barcelona 3-3 Inter, 30/04/2025)

The oldest goalscorer in a Champions League semi-final

37 years and 148 days, Ryan Giggs (Schalke 0-2 Man United), 26/04/2011

The youngest player to score a hat-trick in a Champions League semi-final

23 years and 143 days, Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus 4-1 Monaco, 01/04/1998) 

The oldest player to score a hat-trick in a Champions League semi-final

32 years and 86 days, Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid 3-0 Atlético, 02/05/2017)

Top scorer in Champions League semi-finals

Cristiano Ronaldo - 13 goals 

Stats: UEFA

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.

Romelu Lukaku’s agent, Federico Pastorello, confirms the Belgian striker will resume training with his Napoli teammates today, meeting with Antonio Conte: ‘The coach will decide what to do.’

Lukaku returns to Napoli to meet Conte

Belgium international Lukaku has returned to Naples after spending over one month in Antwerp, Belgium, for individual training sessions to regain full fitness.

Lukaku refused to return to Naples during the international break in March, remaining in Belgium without the club’s consent.

VERONA, ITALY – FEBRUARY 28: Romelu Lukaku of SSC Napoli celebrates after scoring his team second goal during the Serie A match between Hellas Verona FC and SSC Napoli at Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi on February 28, 2026 in Verona, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)

He was, therefore, fined and frozen out of the team. He did return to Naples for just one day towards the end of April to meet club directors with his agent, Pastorello.

Lukaku and his representative did not sit down with Conte at the time, prompting the coach to publicly express his dissatisfaction.

“I know both [Lukaku and Conte] really well, and they both live football with great passion,” Pastorello told DAZN Belgium via TMW.

NAPLES, ITALY – FEBRUARY 10: Romelu Lukaku of SSC Napoli reacts after missing a penalty in the penalty shootout during the Coppa Italia match between SSC Napoli and Como 1907 at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on February 10, 2026 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)

“That was not the right moment for a meeting, but they’ll do it today.”

Lukaku has now returned to Napoli’s training centre, his agent confirmed.

“Lukaku is back to Napoli, as expected, and he’ll resume training with the team now that he’s in better shape. Then the coach will decide what to do with Romelu,” Pastorello said.

Lukaku suffered a severe muscle injury at the beginning of the season, which forced him to the sidelines in the first part of the campaign.

The Belgian international, 32, has played only 64 minutes across all competitions this season, scoring one goal.

His contract at the Stadio Maradona runs out in June 2027.

Jon Rahm has reached a deal with the DP World Tour that will allow him to retain membership and be eligible for selection for next year’s Ryder Cup with the future of LIV Golf uncertain.

Rahm and the tour had appeared at an impasse after the two-time major champion turned down an offer taken by eight of his LIV colleagues to remain a member.

The 2023 Masters winner had declined to pay fines and accept a settlement that would have involved him playing a minimum of six events on the European tour, though now has reached agreement after further negotiations. It has not been confirmed how many events he will be expected to play.

A key part of the European teams that have won the last two editions of the Ryder Cup, Rahm now appears set to be available to Luke Donald again at Adare Manor next year.

“The DP World Tour and Jon Rahm have come to an agreement on conditional releases to play in conflicting tournaments on LIV Golf during the remainder of its 2026 season,” the DP World Tour confirmed in a statement.

“This involves payment of all outstanding fines accrued from 2024 to date, along with participation in agreed DP World Tour tournaments (outside the Majors) in the remainder of the 2026 season.”

News of the deal comes a week after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) confirmed that it would be ceasing its funding of LIV Golf at the end of the 2026 season. The breakaway league is now searching for alternative investors as it resumes the campaign at Trump National Golf Club near Washington DC this weekend.

Rahm joined LIV in December 2023 with a reported signing-on fee of $350m (£258m). He topped the individual standings on the series last year, and already has two victories this season.tThe 31-year-old finished in a tie for 38th at the Masters last month and is set to compete at the PGA Championship at Aronimink next weekend.

Good morning everyone, the Seattle Seahawks have woken up!

After an excruciatingly quiet stretch of offseason, the Seahawks have signed one of the most accomplished players of this free agency, bringing former first-round pick Dante Fowler in to play opposite DeMarcus Lawrence and make quarterbacks sad.

By the way, for the comp pick watchers, we’re past the deadline for any FA signings counting toward or against the formula, so this affects nothing but a roster spot and the salary cap.

This has felt like a strong possibility for a while, for a few reasons. Things became even more clear when Seattle entered and subsequently exited the 2026 draft without any drafted edge help. Additionally, Fowler overlapped with Lawrence in Dallas and Aden Durde in 2022 and 2023, and Seattle brought Fowler in for a visit. Finally, reviving 30-year old pass rushers seems to be one of the many specialties of head coach Mike Macdonald.

Fowler is not quite at the same tier as Lawrence – and the $5 million contract supports that, but he completely fits the bill for what has become the Seahawks defensive line engine.

• Versatility across the line
• Known for his high motor and nasty, disruptive playstyle
• Power rusher with high pressure rate. His 2025 was higher than any Seahawks player.
• Skilled and accomplished run defender

It’s not a pure Boye Mafe replacement in terms of skillset. He’s closer to Derick Hall, Lawrence, or even Leonard Williams in that regard.

Fowler’s career production has been a bit up and down. He only has two 10+ sack seasons, but 15 forced fumbles over 10 years is nothing to sneeze at, neither is 74 tackles for loss. His two best seasons were with the Los Angeles Rams and Washington Commanders, so we’ll just assume that the Cowboys don’t know what they’re doing, that Durde and Macdonald do, and look forward to Fowler in a Seahawks jersey soon!

In Today’s Links: another breakdown of the Jadarian Price pick, photos from the next phase of Seattle Seahawks offseason practice, takeaways from Rookie Minicamp, a look at the Macdonald Regime, thus far; and much more! Thanks for being here with us at Field Gulls. You know the rest.

#np Hold On by Alabama Shakes

Seahawks News

How many Seahawks have there been recently? – Seaside Joe
And how many more will be added to the list next year?

Brock sees similarities to RB legend in Seahawks’ Jadarian Price – Seattle Sports
The Seattle Seahawks made it through their rookie minicamp over the weekend, which allowed for the first look at first-round running back Jadarian Price in the blue and Action Green.

PHOTOS: Sam Darnold, Jaxon Smith-Njigba And The Seahawks Begin Phase Two Of Offseason Workouts – Seahawks.com
The Seahawks kicked off phase two of the team’s offseason workout program on Monday, May 4, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.

How Russell Wilson might fare if he joins CBS’ NFL pregame show – The Seattle Times
There are two schools of thought regarding how former Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson would fare if he joins “The NFL Today” on CBS next season.

Five takeaways from Seahawks rookie camp, including Jadarian Price’s hands – The News Tribune
From top draft choice Jadarian Price through a 5-foot-6 United States Air Force lieutenant, the Seahawks brought in more guys for a rookie minicamp than they’ll have players on their roster next season.

Stock Watch: Examining Seahawks Post-Draft Winners, Losers – Emerald City Spectrum
Now more than a week removed from the 2026 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks have gotten a first look at their newest draft class via rookie minicamp, and the offseason program will soon kick into full overdrive with Phase 2 opening next week.

Lessons to learn from the Seahawks 2026 draft – Seahawks Draft Blog
Brady Henderson has published a typically excellent breakdown of the Seahawks draft, with a few very interesting nuggets included. I wanted to touch on a few things we should remember for next year.

Why the Seahawks Signing of Dante Fowler Jr. Is Perfect – si.com
Dante Fowler Jr. won’t be the best pass rusher for the Seattle Seahawks, but the team isn’t asking him to be.

Inside the Macdonald Era: Why This Isn’t an Accident – The Hawks Eye w/ Bryce Coutts
The Mike Macdonald era in Seattle didn’t happen by chance… it was built with intent.

NFC West News

NFL Supplemental draft offers a quarterback the Cardinals may consider – Revenge of the Birds
The Arizona Cardinals appear to be pretty good with their quarterback situation.

Which Day 3 pick from the 49ers’ draft will play the biggest role in 2026? – Niners Nation
Is the answer too obvious?

Ty Simpson’s opponents ranked him below Jalen Milroe – Turf Show Times
ESPN asked SEC coaches why they were surprised by Simpson pick

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg announced Tuesday that assistants Nate Loenser, Ernie Zeigler and Pat Monaghan and general manager Luca Virgilio have signed contract extensions following the best season in program history.

Hoiberg, the Associated Press national coach of the year, also named Loenser associate head coach. Contract terms were not immediately announced.

The Cornhuskers finished 28-7 overall, tied for second in the Big Ten at 15-5 and beat Troy for their first-ever NCAA Tournament win and then Vanderbilt to reach the Sweet 16. They were No. 14 in the final AP Top 25.

“The success our program had this year is really a testament to the efforts of our entire staff, and it is important to reward them for all of their work,” Hoiberg said. “The work they pour into our players is evident in their development in our program. Nate, Ernie and Luca have been vital over the last four years in helping us build a winning culture and enjoy sustained success that Nebraska basketball has not seen in a long time."

Loenser, who coordinates the defense, just completed his fifth season on the staff. Zeigler, who works with the offense and plays a major role in game planning, has been at Nebraska four seasons. Monaghan, who joined the staff in April 2025, assists in player development, game planning and recruiting.

Virgilio, who has been with Hoiberg all seven seasons at Nebraska, is in charge of roster management and retention.

___

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James Tarkowski comes off second best against towering Newcastle defenders

(Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

For two seasons, James Tarkowski has been the bedrock of the Everton defence— the "Mr Dependable" who simply doesn't miss a minute of football.

But as we dissect the fallout from last night’s chaotic 3-3 draw against Manchester City at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, a growing number of Blues are asking a difficult question: is our vice-captain becoming a liability?

The Manchester City Meltdown

Last night was a microcosm of Tarkowski's season. While the headlines will rightly praise Thierno Barry’s double and the spirit shown to come from 0-1 to lead 3-1, the defensive lapses that allowed City to escape with a point were criminal.

The most egregious moment came in the 83rd minute. Having just taken a 3-1 lead, Everton’s defence — led by the veteran duo of Tarkowski and Michael Keane — completely switched off. Erling Haaland was allowed to race onto a Mateo Kovacic pass with embarrassing ease. Tarkowski’s lack of recovery pace and positioning were exposed as Haaland lifted the ball over Pickford. To concede within seconds of our third goal suggests a leadership vacuum at the heart of the backline.

Furthermore, Tarkowski's discipline was again called into question. His 53rd-minute yellow card for a cynical foul on Jeremy Doku was his 7th of the season (depending on the source, some data suggests 6, but his disciplinary record remains a concern). It forced him to play on a tightrope for the remainder of the match, limiting his ability to be aggressive against City's late onslaught.

The Statistical Decline

While Tarkowski still dominates the air — ranking in the 96th percentile for aerial duels won — other metrics paint a more worrying picture of his 2025-26 campaign:

• Goals Conceded: Everton have conceded 39 goals with Tarkowski on the pitch this season across 33 starts.
• Errors and Penalties: He has already conceded a penalty for handball this season (against Leeds) and was cited for an error leading to a goal in the 1-2 loss at Fulham in February.
• Indirect Responsibility: Beyond "official" errors, he has been part of a defensive unit that has struggled for consistency. In recent weeks, he has recorded low match ratings in losses to West Ham (1-2) and Liverpool (1-2), with critics pointing to a decline in his mobility following previous injury layoffs.
• The Pace Deficit: With only 4 successful dribbles all season and a 41% long-pass completion rate, Tarkowski is increasingly looking like a "box-defender" in a league that demands more mobility and technical security.

Time for the O’Brien-Branthwaite Axis?

The irony of last night was that Jake O'Brien, the man many want to see partner Jarrad Branthwaite long-term, was the one who scored the towering header from an excellent James Garner corner to put us 2-1 up. O'Brien showed the dynamism and goal threat that Tarkowski has struggled to provide this term (Tarkowski has just 1 goal from 16 shots inside the box this season).

The "squad audit" is becoming clear: while Tarkowski’s experience is valuable, his high wages and declining physical stats suggest he may no longer be an automatic starter if David Moyes wants to implement a more modern, mobile defensive line next season.

Of course, Branthwaite is out for what remains of this roller-coaster season, but worryingly, Tarkowski has already been granted a 2-year contract extension running through to June 2028. So his role going forward as one of Moyes's ageing favourites seems assured for the time being.

We love "Tarky" for his heart, but in a 3-3 thriller where the Everton defence "let themselves down" (Moyes's own words), the leadership we expect from our vice-captain was nowhere to be found when the game and the full 3 points from a precious win were on the line.

Manchester United have been on a roll under caretaker manager Michael Carrick, who remains an option for the full-time position at Old Trafford. However, that has not stopped the Red Devils from being linked to several managerial candidates ahead of the summer.

INEOS have had some poor luck with their managerial appointments and will be hoping to get third time lucky this year. Former head coach Ruben Amorim was appointed by United’s minority owners after a lot of background work, but his tenure turned out to be a disappointment.

The Portuguese head coach had an underwhelming 14-month spell at the Theatre of Dreams, and left in January with the club’s top-four hopes uncertain. Amorim’s future was also subject to speculation last summer after a 15th-placed finish in the Premier League last season.

The Portuguese survived the summer but had an underwhelming start to the new campaign, prompting speculation about his future. It was during that time that Brighton & Hove Albion manager Fabian Hurzeler was named as a possible replacement for the former Sporting manager.

Hurzeler’s rise at the Amex

Hurzeler arrived at the Amex in the summer of 2024, becoming the youngest permanent coach in Premier League history. The German soon added to his reputation as one of the most exciting young coaches in the world, and transformed Brighton into a well-drilled attacking unit.

Hurzeler has already displayed tactical flexibility, with his team playing intense attacking football and working extremely hard on the pitch. United had no answer to his tactics earlier this year in the FA Cup third round, losing the game 2-1 and exiting the tournament.

Darren Fletcher was in charge for that game in mid-January as interim manager following United’s decision to sack Amorim. The English giants were looking for some stability and appointed Carrick as the Portuguese’s temporary replacement a couple of days later.

Carrick, meanwhile, has already confirmed participation in next season’s Champions League by registering 10 wins and two draws in his 14 games in charge. United are third in the league table with three games remaining, and the focus has now shifted to the managerial selection process.

Michael Carrick Managerial Career Stats

Source: Wikipedia.

Several Premier League candidates have been named as options for the role, and it now appears that Hurzeler was also in the mix.

United considered Fabian Hurzeler

According to TEAMtalk, United briefly considered Hurzeler for the permanent position, but the German is now expected to sign a new deal at the Amex. The report states: “Brighton have moved decisively to secure the long-term future of head coach Fabian Hurzeler, with TEAMtalk able to confirm that the highly-rated German has agreed a new deal with the club.”

“We can also reveal that Manchester United had also done some work on him as part of their ongoing managerial hunt, though the Red Devils’ co-owners, INEOS, have long been convinced by Michael Carrick and were simply doing due diligence on alternatives should their first choice fail.”

A recent report relayed by The Peoples Person also states that United now consider Carrick as the frontrunner for the permanent position.

Final Thoughts

Hurzeler has been a revelation for the Seagulls, but as things stand, Carrick appears to be the best candidate for the position. With Champions League qualification secure, it is hard to look beyond the Englishman at the moment.

Featured image Gareth Copley via Getty Images

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The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social

As reported earlier this week, FC Barcelona are keeping tabs on AFC Bournemouth striker Eli Junior Kroupi heading into the summer transfer window.

The Blaugrana are in the market for a new centre-forward as Robert Lewandowski appears set to move on at the end of the season.

While Julian Alvarez is the priority target, his finances make the operation difficult, prompting Barça to keep an eye on alternatives, with Kroupi, 19, emerging as an option.

Eli Junior Kroupi not for sale

However, according to Lyall Thomas of Sky Sports, Bournemouth are not looking to sell Kroupi in the upcoming transfer window.

The teenage Frenchman joined the Cherries only last year, arriving from Lorient, and has enjoyed an impressive debut campaign – bagging 12 goals from 30 matches in the English top-flight.

His performances have alerted not only Barcelona, but also Manchester City and a number of other Premier League clubs.

Not for sale. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

As per the report, the Blaugrana have been tracking the France U21 international extensively this season and see him as a prospect for the long-term.

It must be remembered that the Catalans had already been monitoring Kroupi back in 2024 as well, before he had moved to Bournemouth.

Despite the interest that the young forward is attracting, Bournemouth are currently not looking to sell the player, who is tied down to a long-term contract until 2030.

So, unless the club come up with a significant offer, Barcelona’s chances of signing Kroupi in the upcoming transfer window appear to be very slim.

The teenager is not the only Premier League attacker that Deco & co. are tracking, with names like Joao Pedro of Chelsea and Newcastle United’s Anthony Gordon also on the club’s radars.

The personal chef who accused former New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs of assault and attempted strangulation returned to the witness stand Tuesday before the prosecution rested its case on the second day of trial in Dedham District Court.

Watch Live: Trial of former Patriots star Stefon Diggs continues

Jamila Adams, Diggs’ former personal chef, was the first witness called by prosecutors on Monday. She remained under cross-examination by the defense on Tuesday morning, which continued challenging her credibility and version of events.

The defense called its first witnesses to the stand after Adams was dismissed.

Diggs is accused of assaulting and attempting to strangle Adams inside his Dedham home in December. He has pleaded not guilty.

On the first day of testimony, Diggs walked quickly into court without speaking to reporters.

Under questioning from prosecutors, Adams became emotional as she described the alleged assault, saying Diggs began choking her. She testified that the incident at his Dedham home on Dec. 2, 2025, followed a heated exchange of text messages between the two over payments she said she was owed.

Defense attorneys have pushed back on Adams’ account, arguing the assault never happened. They pointed out that Adams did not take photos of any alleged bruising or marks and failed to disclose to police that she and Diggs were involved in what they described as an intimate relationship.

The defense also noted Adams was upset about being excluded from a trip to Miami and suggested that anger may have played a role in her allegations.

Boston attorney Elyse Hershon, a legal analyst, said the defense aggressively highlighted inconsistencies in Adams’ testimony.

“We have to look at why she would lie about this, and the defense is bringing out information,” Hershon said. “She deleted text messages before she went to the police and showed an angry exchange between her and Diggs. That doesn’t look good. So something that doesn’t look good is something the defense will use in their closing — to really say you can’t believe her, you can’t trust her, she lied, she just wanted money.”

The trial is expected to last another one to two days. Adams is scheduled to resume testimony first thing Tuesday morning as cross-examination continues.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning competed for the majority of the 2025-26 NHL season without their veteran captain.

Defenseman Victor Hedman played in 33 games, the lowest total of his 17-year career. A pair of injuries, including a procedure on his elbow, kept him out early in the season.

Then, on March 25, the team announced the 35-year-old Hedman was taking a leave of absence for personal reasons. He missed Tampa Bay’s final 15 games of the regular season and the seven-game postseason series against the Montreal Canadiens.

MORE: Jon Cooper blames ‘hockey gods’ as Canadiens shock Lightning in Game 7

The Canadiens eliminated the Lightning with a 2-1 victory in Game 7 on Sunday, May 3, in Tampa.

On Tuesday, Hedman released a statement through the team on X addressing his absence to “focus on my mental health.”

“I’ve always believed that being a leader means doing what’s best for the team,” the statement read. “In this case, it also meant doing what was necessary to take care of myself, so I can be the best player, teammate, husband and father I expect to be.”

‘Much better place today’

Though he didn’t address the details of his mental health struggle, Hedman shared that he is doing well now.

“I’ve been fortunate to have strong support from my family, my teammates and the organization, my therapist and I’m in a much better place today,” Hedman said in the statement.

Lightning head coach Jon Cooper indicated before Game 6 that Tampa Bay may have gotten Hedman back into the lineup if the postseason had lasted longer. Hedman skated with the team during several practices during the playoffs.

The 6-foot-7, 244-pound Hedman owns a rare combination of size and skill. The Lightning selected the Swede with the No. 2 pick in the 2008 NHL Draft, and he leads the franchise in games (1,164), goals (172), assists (639) and points (811) by a defenseman.

Hedman won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the 2020 postseason, leading the Lightning to the first of two consecutive Stanley Cups. He earned the Norris Trophy for the NHL’s top defenseman in 2017-18.

Hedman closed his statement with the hope that his decision helps others address mental health concerns.

“This is something that exists in our game more than people see,” Hedman wrote. “If this moment helps make it easier for others to take care of themselves when they need to, that matters.”

May 5 (UPI) -- Tampa Bay Lightning captain Victor Hedman missed the final 15 games of the regular season and playoffs to focus on mental health, he said Tuesday.

Hedman issued a statement on the hiatus through the Lightning, who lost to the Montreal Canadiens in seven games in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. He also spoke Tuesday at a news conference in Tampa, Fla.

"I spent most of my life in this game, and nearly all of my career with this organization," Hedman said in a statement. "Wearing this jersey -- and serving as captain -- is the greatest responsibility of my professional life.

"That responsibility doesn't only apply on the ice. Over the past couple of months, I made the decision to step away and focus on my mental health. It was not an easy decision, but it was the right one.

"I've always believed that being a leader means doing what's best for the team," Hedman said. "In this case, it also meant doing what was necessary to take care of myself, so I can be the best player, teammate, husband and father I expect to be."

Hedman, 35, joined the Lightning as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2009 NHL Draft. The two-time Stanley Cup winner appeared in 1,164 regular season games over the last 17 years for the franchise, including 33 in 2025-26.

"I've been fortunate to have strong support from my family, my teammates and the organization, my therapist and I'm in a much better place today," the 6-foot-7 defenseman said.

"This is something that exists in our game more than people see. If this moment helps make it easier for others to take care of themselves when they need to, that matters.

"I'm proud of this team, and I look forward to what's ahead."

Hedman totaled a goal and 16 assists this season. He underwent elbow surgery in December and missed six weeks of action. Hedman returned before the 2026 Winter Olympics and played his final game of the campaign on March 19. He practiced with the team during the first-round series with Montreal.

Hedman said it was "tough timing" and he is excited for next year.

The veteran defenseman logged 172 scores and 639 assists over his first 1,164 appearances for the Lightning. He is under contract through 2028-29.

"It's obviously a thing that's been going on for a long time and I [was] trying to work through it and find ways to get around it," Hedman said Tuesday. "I wasn't able to do that. That's where the decision came that I needed to take some time and find myself again."

Hedman advised others dealing with mental health issues to "reach out for help."

"Don't sit with your thoughts," Hedman said. "There are a lot of people out there that can help you. That's what I found out. Like I said, it's never too late, either."

"If that doesn't get given as a penalty, then it's an absolute free-for-all from now on," David Moyes said after the game.

The Everton manager wanted a spot-kick after Merlin Rohl was pulled to the ground by Bernardo Silva at an 85th-minute corner.

"I might have to start coaching my defenders how to defend differently completely," Moyes added. "It looks like now you're able to sort of grapple and wrestle on the ground if you want.

"I'm absolutely amazed."

It was checked by Paul Howard, the video assistant referee, but he ultimately decided that the foul took place before the ball was in play.

And you cannot give a free-kick or a penalty if the ball is out.

The referee can take disciplinary action, but the restart has to remain the same.

Last season, Southampton's Jack Stephens was sent off via a VAR review for pulling the hair of Chelsea's Marc Cucurella when the ball was out. The game still got under way again with a corner.

It is often why you see a lot of the pushing and shoving taking place just before a corner taker delivers the ball into the box.

There is no doubt that most of the holding was before the ball was kicked. But Everton fans argue it was still happening when James Garner kicked the ball, and that VAR should have intervened.

The VAR stats show why Everton feel so frustrated.

With three rounds to go, they are the only team in the Premier League yet to have an overturn go in their favour. In fact, no other team has fewer than two.

At the other end of the scale, Chelsea have had 11 VAR interventions go their way.

The last time the Toffees gained from a review was in January 2025, for a penalty at Brighton.

But stats from the Premier League's key match incidents panel indicate Everton have not generally been hard done by.

Everton have suffered only one error this season, when they should have been awarded a penalty on VAR review at home to Arsenal.

The Toffees have, however, benefited from four refereeing mistakes.

There was a missed VAR intervention to award a penalty to Wolves in August.

A spot-kick should have been given to the Gunners in the reverse game at Emirates Stadium, and to Chelsea in March - but neither reached the threshold for VAR.

Garner, meanwhile, should have received a second caution against Aston Villa in January.

• Read more from Dale on the officiating

Now that the 2026 NFL Draft is over, the next order of business for the Atlanta Falcons front office will be locking up some of their top assets with long-term deals.

At the top of the list is star wide receiver Drake London, who's currently scheduled to play out the 2026 season under his fifth-year option, which will cost the team just under $17 million.

The Falcons can cut into that number and create some cap space by signing London to a new contract, though. According to Over the Cap, Atlanta can save up to $12.5 million by extending him.

So, how much will a London extension cost the Falcons? According to Josh Kendall at The Athletic, London's deal will likely echo that of New York Jets receiver Garrett Wilson, which came in at four years and $130 million. The devil is of course in the details, though - especially guaranteed money.

"Wilson signed a four-year, $130 million deal last summer. If I were to guess at London’s new deal, I’d guess four years for $135 million, but the real number to watch will be the fully guaranteed money. Wilson’s total of $38.3 million fully guaranteed ranks just 15th among wide receivers in the league, according to Overthecap.com."

So far London has lived up to expectations since Atlanta picked him in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. In 62 career games he's totaled 309 catches, 3,961 yards and 22 touchdowns. He missed five games with a PCL strain last season but has had no major injuries so far. London still managed to post 919 yards and seven touchdowns.

London is the best receiver the Falcons have had on their roster since Julio Jones' prime, and it's a no-brainer to give him a lucrative long-term deal with the intention of him leading their receiving game for the foreseeable future.

This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Atlanta Falcons: Drake London estimated contract terms

Alex Bowman is making up ground with 15 races left in the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series regular season. Bowman sits 127 points behind the Chase bubble in the driver's standings with over half of the regular season remaining. Meanwhile, the No. 48 car is only 83 points back in the owner's standings.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver appeared to be out of the mix and while it is still a long shot, he is making up the needed ground. Bowman is on the pace to accomplish his points goal set before returning from his vertigo symptoms. The No. 48 team has a better chance at making the Chase, but Bowman can't be ruled out yet.

If Bowman can gain 8.5 points per race on the Chase bubble, he will reach the 16-driver field. It may require at least one win before September, but Bowman's two straight top-3 finishes certainly helps his case. It seemed nearly impossible two weeks ago; however, Bowman is giving himself an opportunity after two strong runs.

More: Kyle Busch could face NASCAR penalty after wreck at Texas in 2026

This article originally appeared on Motorsports Wire: Alex Bowman making up ground on Chase bubble with 15 races remaining

Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe has called reports of tension with a member of the coaching staff ‘exaggerated’, as talk of malcontent with the Frenchman at the Santiago Bernabeu continues to grow. Mbappe was heavily criticised for leaving Spain during his recovery period, as he faces a race against time to be fit for El Clasico on Sunday night.

Mbappe seemed to be the target of several indirect messages sent by Real Madrid manager Alvaro Arbeloa following their 2-0 win over Espanyol, while President Florentino Perez is also frustrated with his behaviour.  It is not the only incident that has resulted in disappointment with Mbappe, The Athletic report.

Mbappe involved in tense incident with staff member

Their information is that Mbappe was involved in a ‘flare-up’ with a member of the coaching staff before Los Blancos’ 1-1 draw with Real Betis two weeks ago. It follows on from reports that Antonio Rudiger and Alvaro Carreras had an altercation of their own. During a training game, Mbappe reportedly spoke angrily to the staff member, and used insulting language after being called offside.

Mbappe camp responds to reports

The same outlet includes comment from Mbappe’s representatives on the poor atmosphere at the Real Madrid training ground, and Mbappe’s loss of temper. They said there had been some exaggeration over the reaction to Mbappe’s handling of his recovery from a hamstring injury.

“A portion of the criticism is based on an over-interpretation of elements related to a recovery period strictly supervised by the club, and does not reflect the reality of Kylian’s commitment and daily work for the team.”

The fact that Mbappe’s representatives did not feel the need to deny the moment of tension with a staff member, or the poor atmosphere at Valdebebas, will certainly raise eyebrows in the Spanish capital. Mbappe is increasingly under pressure to become the leader of this Real Madrid side, and so far, those on the ground are yet to see satisfactory evidence that it is happening.

Lakers announce Luka Doncic’s injury status for Game 1 vs. Thunder originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

LeBron James practically carried the Los Angeles Lakers into the second round of the NBA Playoffs.

Coach JJ Redick did see massive performances from Luke Kennard, Marcus Smart and Deandre Ayton, but the Oklahoma City Thunder are going to be a bigger challenge. This is why many want to see Shai Gilgeous-Alexander face Luka Doncic in this series.

However, it looks like an injury will prevent that from happening.

MORE: LeBron James has never faced longer odds in his career than against the Thunder

Lakers reveal Doncic's Game 1 injury status vs. Thunder

Luka Doncic will not play in Game 1 against the Thunder.

The Lakers listed their star guard as out in the most recent status report. This means that either Jarred Vanderbilt, LeBron James, Marcus Smart or Austin Reaves will be assigned a match-up against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Doncic is dealing with a Grade 2 left hamstring strain. Poetically, the last game he played with the Lakers was against the Thunder back on April 2. The Lakers sent him to Europe to treat the injury, and he has since returned to the U.S. and saw LeBron James lead his team to a 4-2 series win against the Houston Rockets.

Before Game 1 against the Thunder, Brian Windhorst said that Lakers fans should not be expecting Doncic anytime soon.

"He is not close," Windhorst said. "There is a whole ramp up that is required when you are coming back from a hamstring, and he has not started that contact ramp up yet.

"I don't know where they'll be in 10 days, but do not expect to see Luka the first few games of this series."

Redick will have to rely on the same squad to either extend this NBA Playoffs series against the Thunder for Doncic's return or just get the whole thing done without any expectations of their star coming back.

More Lakers news:

• Lakers doubted again as ESPN unanimously picks Thunder series winner
• Bleacher Report picks clear side in Luka Doncic vs. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander debate
• JJ Redick already sounds like a coach managing expectations vs. OKC

Time to help our next door neighbours?

Sometimes your next door neighbour might ask for a favour. Can they borrow some sugar?

Do they need anything from the shop?

Will you be in to sign for a delivery?

On Sunday, Arsenal’s neighbours will be asking for a massive favour.

Sometimes you cannot control how fate falls, yet it is ironic that the club destiny has asked to help save Spurs from relegation is the one who would love to see it happen the most.

A twist of fate in the title race

A couple of months ago, the league leaders were in a position where it was possible to have the title won by this weekend. I am not saying the Gunners would have gone to the London Stadium going through the motions, but there would have been Gooners who would not have minded if that was the case.

Some would argue Tottenham fans would deserve that after how some acted two seasons ago when we needed them to get a result against Man City. Their own manager questioned the mentality of a fanbase cheering for their own side to lose, even when they still had a chance of qualifying for the Champions League. In terms of their domestic form, that would prove to be the turning point for Big Ange.

If we win at West Ham, our North London rivals kick off the next day with a chance to go four points clear of safety.

There would only then be six points left for both Spurs and the Hammers to play for. Considering their goal difference, that would be a long way back for the Irons.

(Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Karma knocking at the door

Spurs will not be grateful for our help. They will be the first to laugh if we surrender our lead at the top of the table.

Yet there is something amusing about them being embarrassed to knock on the door and admit they need us. To see them humble themselves and rely on us to bail them out.

It is not quite as fun as watching them play in the Championship.

Yet the idea of them cheering goals this weekend that could send us closer to being champions, that comforts me.

That is karma.

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5 May 2026, 15:45

From Emery to Arteta, Could Chelsea Follow Arsenal’s Rebuild Path?

5 May 2026, 14:30

Arsenal v Atletico Madrid: Predicted Line up and Score Prediction

5 May 2026, 13:30

The 2026 Fifa World Cup will be the biggest World Cup ever in terms of size and scale, with this year’s edition set to be the single most bet-on football event in the world.

The tournament will be hosted across the USA, Canada and Mexico from June 2026, and is the first World Cup to feature 48 teams and 104 matches.

Football bookmakers are preparing themselves for one of the biggest betting events of all time, so we’ve put together a list of the best World Cup betting sites on the UK market.

These sites will offer a range of pre-match and in-play markets, live streaming availability and ongoing promotions running before and throughout the six-week tournament.

Bookies will also prepare a raft of welcome offers, with updated UKGC guidelines now imposing a ban on mixed sportsbook and casino bonuses.

Read on to find our recommendations for the best sites for World Cup betting.

The best World Cup betting sites and offers for 2026

We consider a range of criteria when evaluating the best World Cup betting sites on the market.

Factors we look at include market depth for tournament betting, quality of World Cup-specific promotions, the competitiveness of the betting sign up offers and the overall mobile experience.

The table below provides a brief look at our recommendations for the best World Cup betting sites on the market:

Bet365 - best for in-play and live betting

Bet365 is our pick as the best option for in-play and live betting thanks to an unmatched range of in-play markets and live streaming of international football, including many World Cup warm-up matches and friendlies.

The brand offers great World Cup odds on a huge breadth of pre-match football markets including outright winner, top goalscorer, group winners, team to qualify, match result, both teams to score and player-specific markets.

As for other live betting features, the cash out option is particularly valuable during knockout rounds, allowing customers to lock in profit or cut losses before a match ends.

In terms of the Bet365 welcome offer, the promo is around the industry standard for value, offering £30 in free bet credits when users deposit and wager £10.

Betfred - best World Cup welcome offer value

Betfred is one of the most established bookmakers on the UK market, with a long history of World Cup coverage and customer service during major sporting events.

Betfred's Bet £10 Get £50 welcome offer is the highest value standard welcome offer among the bookmakers featured here, making it an obvious starting point for new customers signing up ahead of the tournament.

In addition to the welcome offer, Betfred run various ongoing football promotions, which extend well beyond the sign-up offer and run throughout major international tournaments, making it a great choice for World Cup betting.

The bookie also provides a wide range of World Cup markets, including group stage betting, team to qualify, golden boot, and match betting across all fixtures.

Sky Bet - best for World Cup bet builders

The first thing that makes Sky Bet catch the eye is their market-leading qualifying bet requirement, allowing users to bet as little as £0.05 to trigger the ‘Bet £0.05 Get £30 welcome offer’.

This is the most accessible threshold of any offer featured here, with users receiving 3x£10 free bets that can be used on World Cup betting across multiple group stage fixtures.

While the potential value on the offer stands out, Sky Bet is our World Cup betting site pick for bet builders thanks to the BuildABet feature, which allows customers to combine multiple selections within a single World Cup match (e.g. first goalscorer, number of cards, match result) into one bet with a combined return.

In addition to good availability on bet builders, it is likely that Sky Bet will offer World Cup price boosts on major matches throughout the tournament, making it a solid overall choice for anyone looking to bet on the World Cup.

talkSPORT BET - best for World Cup coverage

TalkSPORT BET has a unique position as the betting brand of the talkSPORT radio network. As the UK's biggest commercial sports radio station, they will carry extensive World Cup 2026 coverage throughout the tournament.

As an extension of the talkSPORT network, the World Cup betting site is a good choice for football fans already engaged with talkSPORT's media content around the sport.

The brand’s welcome offer allows new users to bet up to £40 and get up to £40 in free bets, with a minimum £20 stake and football bets placed only via the app.

While talkSPORT BET will provide a solid range of markets and competitive World Cup betting odds, the bookie also stands out for a range of football-focused ongoing promotions tied to talkSPORT's live World Cup commentary and coverage.

Coral - best for World Cup prediction games

Coral's low £5 qualifying bet makes the Bet £5 Get £30 welcome offer one of the most accessible for new customers during the tournament.

Once signed up, users will find that Coral is a great bookie for free-to-play football prediction games with cash prizes and free bets up for grabs.

Their long-running Football Super Series prediction game will likley be rebranded and repackaged for the World Cup, with rewards given for accurate predictions.

Coral will also have wide market coverage across all 104 World Cup fixtures, with competitive World Cup odds across the group and knockout stages.

And for fans of in-person betting, Coral Connect links the customer's online account to in-shop betting, which is useful for anyone who wants to follow World Cup matches in any of their high-street betting shops.

Ladbrokes - best for World Cup free bet flexibility

Ladbrokes is one of the UK's most established and recognisable bookmakers, with a reliable mobile app well-suited to live match betting.

The brand’s welcome offer offers great value as a ‘Bet £5 Get £30’ promo, and the rewards are structured as 6x £5 free bets.

This is the most granular split of any offer featured here, giving new customers maximum flexibility to spread bets across multiple World Cup group stage fixtures rather than committing to fewer, larger stakes.

In addition, Ladbrokes offer excellent international football coverage – with extensive pre-match and in-play markets across all 104 World Cup matches – as well as a great range of ongoing football promotions running throughout the tournament.

How to claim a World Cup free bet

Below, we’ve provided a step-by-step guide on how to sign up for your typical World Cup betting site:

• Step 1: Choose a bookmaker from our recommended list and click through to their website.
• Step 2: Complete the online registration form, including name, date of birth, address, email address and payment details.
• Step 3: Opt in to the welcome offer if prompted during registration, or find it in the promotions section of your account once registered.
• Step 4: Make a qualifying deposit at the minimum required amount. This varies by bookmaker, so check the T&Cs for your chosen site.
• Step 5: Place a qualifying bet on World Cup markets at the minimum required odds (typically evens (1/1) or greater, though requirements vary).
• Step 6: Once your qualifying bet has settled, free bets or bet credits will be credited to your account, usually within 24 hours.
• Step 7: Use your free bets on World Cup match betting, outright markets, or specials of your choice before the expiry date.

How we rank and review World Cup betting sites

Here are some of the key elements we look for when updating our rankings and reviews of the best World Cup betting sites:

Regulation

All the best World Cup betting sites on our list are regulated and licensed by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC).

Responsible gambling

Safe betting operators which follow responsible gambling practices and offer several responsible gambling tools.

Customer experience

We look into the customer experience across various platforms, judging football bookies for their layout, usability, loading speed and customer service.

Payment options

Football punters require a diverse range of payment options beyond debit cards and those bookies that feature on the list of Apple Pay bookmakers among others, are given preference.

Promotions

A valuable sign up offer is one thing but we want to see operators that take care of existing customers with free bets, price boosts, money back promotions and free to play games.

Responsible gambling

When having a bet on World Cup markets, it’s vital to practice responsible gambling.

Gambling can be addictive and it’s important to stay in control of your football World Cup betting.

Never treat betting as a way to make money, never wager more than you can afford and when the fun stops, stop.

Gambling sites offer punters tools, like deposit limits, profit and loss trackers and self-exclusion options, to help them stay in control.

But if you ever feel like you need help or advice on gambling addiction, don’t hesitate to contact one of the charities or organisations below.

• NHS Help
• GambleAware
• Gamblers Anonymous

FAQs on World Cup betting sites

What are the best World Cup betting odds for 2026?

All bookmakers listed in this piece carry competitive markets across all 104 fixtures. World Cup odds vary by bookmaker and will fluctuate throughout the tournament in response to team news, group draw results, and match outcomes. Outright winner markets are the most popular starting point for bettors, but punters should use odds comparison tools to find the best value on World Cup betting odds.

Can I bet on World Cup 2026 warm-up friendlies?

Most UK-licensed bookmakers offer betting on World Cup warm-up matches. Market depth is strongest for games involving major nations, and coverage of smaller nations will vary by bookmaker. All bookmakers listed here carry international friendly markets, though again the markets on games between smaller nations may be more limited.

What World Cup betting specials are available?

World Cup specials typically include top goalscorer (or golden boot winner), number of goals in the tournament, first nation eliminated, team to win each group and player-of-the-tournament markets. The range of specials expands significantly as the tournament progresses into knockout rounds.

Do World Cup free bets have wagering requirements?

Free bets from UK-licensed bookmakers do not typically require the original stake to be wagered. Only winnings from World Cup free bets are withdrawable. Under UKGC rules updated in January 2026, any wagering requirements on bonuses are capped at 10x maximum. Remember to always check individual T&Cs before claiming offers.

Is World Cup betting legal in the UK?

World Cup betting is fully legal in the UK for adults aged 18 and over using operators licensed by the UK Gambling Commission. All bookmakers recommended in this article are UKGC-licensed. When betting on any event, remember to gamble responsibly and visit BeGambleAware.org if you need additional information or support.

What are the top World Cup betting markets?

This is subjective, but generally the most popular betting markets on the World Cup are top scorer, outright winner and accumulators picking the group winners.

What are the odds for England to win the World Cup 2026?

England's World Cup winner odds are currently 13/2 second favourites behind Spain (5/1). Check the current ante-post prices directly with any of the bookmakers listed on this page, as they change regularly. All of the operators recommended here offer World Cup outright markets.

We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

Event: UFC Baku: “Fiziev vs. Torres”
Date: Sat., June 27, 2026
Location: Baku Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan
Start times: Paramount+ Prelims at 12 p.m. ET | Paramount+ Main Card at 3 p.m. ET

UFC Baku Main Event on Paramount+:

155 lbs.: Rafael Fiziev vs. Manuel Torres

UFC Baku Main Card on Paramount+ (3 p.m. ET):

185 lbs.: Shara Magomedov vs. Michel Pereira
185 lbs.: Marvin Vettori vs. Ismail Naurdiev
185 lbs.: Brunno Ferreira vs. Ikram Aliskerov
125 lbs.: Asu Almabayev vs. Charles Johnson
185 lbs.: Michal Oleksiejczuk vs. Abusupiyan Magomedov

UFC Baku Preliminary Card on Paramount+ (12 p.m. ET):

265 lbs.: Rizvan Kuniev vs. Tyrell Fortune
185 lbs.: Nursulton Ruziboev vs. Andrey Pulyaev
205 lbs.: Julius Walker vs. Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev
135 lbs.: Bekzat Almakhan vs. Jean Matsumoto
170 lbs.: Daniil Donchenko vs. Andreas Gustafsson
155 lbs.: Nazim Sadykhov vs. Matheus Camilo

*Fight card, bout order and number of fights subject to change.*

For the current UFC schedule of events click HERE.

The Vikings selected Demond Claiborne in the sixth round of the NFL draft. What is his realistic 2026 fantasy outlook, and how might his presence impact Aaron Jones, Jordan Mason, and Zavier Scott?

An ideal landing spot for a late-round pick? Quite possibly. On paper, this backfield looks pretty packed. But in reality, a lot could go wrong in a hurry, which could propel the rookie to fantasy legitimacy.

Jones will turn 32 in December, will be a free agent after this season, and is fully post-prime. While Minnesota will still lean on him when possible, his durability is now a major question mark. Jones’s over/under on games played is probably around 12 or 13. Fantasy managers should be prepared to snag at least one of his backups.

Mason, of course, is the most obvious backup. At this stage of his and Jones’s careers, Mason almost certainly will be the better bargain, and his over/under on games played is closer to 15. He can manage a fairly full workload when healthy, though his modest usage in the passing game limits his ceiling.

Scott is a prototypical #3 or #4 RB, or at least his usage makes him seem that way. A former college wideout, Scott’s realistic ceiling is capped at around the top 55-60, and that assumes he gets 35+ targets.

Claiborne, Minnesota, has a college bell cow with long-term NFL appeal if he can add a little more to his frame (his listed weight is between 188 and 195 pounds). If he can leapfrog Scott on the depth chart, he should be in line for at least a few games as Mason’s handcuff (assuming Jones misses time), and that would make him a decent deep-league add after fantasy drafts.

This article originally appeared on Touchdown Wire: Demond Claiborne rookie fantasy outlook and impact on RB teammates

The Zurich Classic of New Orleans is the latest PGA Tour event to announce its dates for a 2027 season that is looking to be similar to this year, minus Hawaii.

The American Express in La Quinta, California, is set for the third full week in January again. The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (Feb. 4-7) and WM Phoenix Open (Feb. 11-14, the week of the Super Bowl) already have announced dates on their websites.

The Masters, around which the early season revolves, is April 8-11, and again will be followed by the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town and the Zurich Classic.

The mystery remains Florida, except for The Players Championship set for March 11-14. Adding to the intrigue was the return of Doral to the schedule, which looked nothing like the Doral of old except for all the water on the course and airliners descending on nearby Miami International Airport.

Five of the top 15 players in the world were missing from the Cadillac Championship, as were the fans that used to pack the Blue Monster even when Tiger Woods wasn't winning. The PGA Tour was last at Doral in 2016. LIV Golf was there the last four years and had better crowds.

It didn't help the Cadillac Championship that Formula 1 was in Miami last weekend and attracted some 275,000 spectators over three days. The weather was dodgy on Sunday, and Cameron Young eliminated any suspense with his six-shot win.

It's looking more likely that big changes to the PGA Tour won't be ready until 2028. Still to be determined is how soon the PGA Tour will act to move the Cadillac Championship back to the Florida swing that leads to the Masters.

Florida currently has four tournaments — the Cognizant Classic at PGA National, the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, The Players and the Valspar Championship, which gets a good field despite a bad date because Innisbrook is such a proper test.

Is there room for Doral? That's more moving parts for the PGA Tour to figure out.

CEO Brian Rolapp didn't have answers last August when he announced a schedule of two majors and three signature events in a six-week span. He said of Doral, “I think we’re looking forward to bringing that back as a PGA Tour tradition.”

It clearly doesn't have much tradition the first weekend in May.

Nelly Korda and Coca-Cola

Fresh off back-to-back wins and a return to No. 1 in the world, Nelly Korda raised her profile even more with a playful appearance Monday on “The Pat McAfee Show.” That's when she revealed how Coca-Cola helped her develop that sweet golf swing.

McAfee asked how often she made changes, and Korda gave credit to longtime coach David Whelan for building her swing. She also said her father, Grand Slam tennis champion Petr Korda, played an important role.

“My parents spent so many hours with me, just working on tempo. That is the one thing they ingrained in my brain,” Korda said. “And my dad always referred to Coca-Cola.”

She moved her arms back for “Coca” and forward for “Cola.”

“It was super simple, but it was the key to have a very fluid swing,” Korda said.

She also allowed one more secret on the turnaround this year when she said, “I have higher shoes.”

“I’m trying to actually get closer to the ground with my chest,” Korda said. “I actually get a little bit steeper in my swing and I can hinge a little faster. So it’s just literally the smallest of things. But yeah, golfers are crazy. I’m crazy, just to let you know.”

Rose and Poulter going with McLaren irons

Justin Rose made a big switch and then set himself up for an easy punch line. He became the first global ambassador for McLaren Golf, the company best known for its Formula 1 race cars. He used McLaren irons at the Cadillac Championship and then got off to quite the slow start.

He was 21 shots behind after three rounds, closed with a 68 and beat two players in the 72-man field. One tournament is no measure, of course. But it's a bold move for Rose and McLaren, which has promised to “push the boundaries of equipment design and manufacturing.”

Rose says the clubs were performing well on the range, though he expects a refinement period.

He has been down this road before. Rose was No. 1 in the world when he left for Honma, winning within weeks at Torrey Pines but then falling out of the top 10 just over a year later. He left Honma 16 months into the deal.

Rose isn't the only player switching to McLaren. Ian Poulter, himself a lover of fast cars, had the McLaren irons in his bag at LIV Golf Virginia.

US Open spot up for grabs at LIV Golf

LIV Golf’s first tournament on U.S. soil this week also comes with a spot available in the U.S. Open.

Joaquin Niemann already secured one spot from LIV by finishing among the top three in last year’s points race. Another spot is available for the leading player from the top three in points on May 18, and LIV Golf Virginia is the last event before that cutoff.

Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau are set as U.S. Open champions in the last 10 years. The final spot is a close race with Thomas Detry holding down third place by 0.86 points over Elvis Smylie. Lurking and very much in range is Anthony Kim at No. 5, who is just over 14 points behind. Finishing 10th is worth 21 points, as an example.

The British Open offers one spot to the leading player not already in the field from the standings through LIV Golf Andalucia on June 7. The cutoff originally was Louisiana at the end of June, but that event has been postponed for now.

Koepka and Srixon end relationship

Brooks Koepka is back to being a free agent in the equipment market.

Koepka didn't have an equipment deal when Nike got out of the business of clubs and golf balls until he signed with Dunlop-owned Srixon in late 2021. He joined LIV Golf the next year, but then won the PGA Championship in 2023 at Oak Hill.

Dunlop Sports announced last week they had mutually agreed to end their contract.

“Over the course of their relationship, Brooks served as an exceptional ambassador for the Srixon and Cleveland Golf brands,” said a statement on the company’s website. “His commitment to competing at the highest level of the game, including a major championship victory with Srixon and Cleveland Golf equipment in play, exemplifies the performance standard both brands stand for."

The first sign of the deal ending came in late February when Koepka began using the Titleist Pro V1x golf ball. Koepka is playing the Myrtle Beach Classic this week.

Women’s TGL gets 6 more players and a logo

Three-time major champion Minjee Lee is among six women who have joined the indoor WTGL that starts later this year. The tech-infused league playing in SoFi Center also revealed Tuesday a logo — a red “

The logo was unveiled Monday for WTGL players in the field for the Mizuho Americas Open in New Jersey. The other players to join are Celine Boutier, Andrea Lee, Megan Khang, Danielle Kang and Albane Valenzuela.

WTGL now has 14 commitments from players, which includes five of the top 10 in the world, along with Michelle Wie West. Still not included for the inaugural season is top-ranked Nelly Korda.

Stat of the week

Scottie Scheffler has earned $6.75 million in his last three tournaments without winning. He was runner-up in the Masters, the RBC Heritage and the Cadillac Championship.

Final word

“Yes, I am living my best life, for sure. But golf also humbles you, so I know that I need to enjoy these moments.” — Nelly Korda after winning her second straight tournament at the Riviera Maya Open at Mayakoba.

___

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Ireland internationals Jacob Stockdale and Stuart McCloskey have emerged as injury doubts for Ulster's European Challenge Cup final against Montpellier later this month.

Outside back Stockdale must visit a maxillo-facial surgeon for a facial fracture sustained in a collision with Immanuel Fey-Waboso in Ulster's semi-final win over Exeter Chiefs last weekend.

In-form centre McCloskey will have an MRI scan to determine the extent of the hamstring problem he picked up in the Chiefs game.

Back row David McCann also requires an MRI scan after sustaining a knee injury in the 29-12 win over the Prem side.

Ulster face Montpellier in Bilbao on 22 May as the Irish province chase their first piece of silverware in 20 years.

In more positive news, Ulster boss Richie Murphy's front-row options have been boosted with props Angus Bell and Scott Wilson and hooker Rob Herring returning to training this week before Friday's United Rugby Championship game against the table-topping Stormers at Affidea Stadium (19:45 BST).

Ulster sit eighth in the URC table following back-to-back defeats by inter-provincial rivals Leinster and Munster.

Murphy's side will secure Champions Cup rugby for next season with a top-eight URC finish or by winning the Challenge Cup.

Many players believe the prize money at Grand Slams isn’t enough, and there’s even talk of a possible boycott in response.

Sam Querrey, who once reached the Wimbledon semi-finals, says players would be better off boycotting Grand Slams instead of just complaining about how much they get paid.

But where does Aryna Sabalenka, the current world number one, stand on all this?

Aryna Sabalenka says Grand Slam boycotts are likely

Sabalenka was asked about the ongoing dispute over Grand Slam prize money during her press conference at the Italian Open.

“I feel like the show is on us. I feel like without us, there wouldn’t be a tournament, and there wouldn’t be that entertainment. I feel like definitely we deserve to be paid more percentage.”

When pressed on whether she thinks players might eventually boycott Grand Slams, Sabalenka didn’t hesitate.

“I think at some point we will boycott it, yeah,” she replied.

“I feel like that’s going to be the only way to kind of fight for our rights.”

The issue isn’t just about prize money but also about how much of the total revenue players are getting.

The top players from both men’s and women’s tennis responded by releasing a joint statement after learning that French Open prize money would rise by only 9.5% from 2025 to 2026.

What exactly did players say about the Grand Slam prize money?

“Roland Garros generated €395m in revenue in 2025, a 14% year-on-year increase, yet prize money rose by only 5.4%, reducing players’ share of revenue to 14.3%,” they said.

“With estimated revenues of more than €400m for this year’s tournament, prize money as a percentage of revenue will likely still be less than 15%, far short of the 22% that players have requested to bring the grand slams into line with the ATP and WTA tours.

“As Roland Garros looks to post record revenues, players are therefore receiving a declining share of the value they help create.

“More critically, the announcement does nothing to address the structural issues that players have consistently and reasonably raised over the past year.

“There has been no engagement on player welfare and no progress towards establishing a formal mechanism for player consultation within Grand-Slam decision making.

“The Grand Slams remain resistant to change.

“The absence of player consultation and the continued lack of investment in player welfare reflect a system that does not adequately represent the interests of those who are central to the sport’s success.”

If boycotts happen, would it even impact Grand Slams?

If Aryna Sabalenka was joined by Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, Coco Gauff or others when threatening to skip Roland Garros, then tournament organisers may be forced into action.

The negative publicity is also something it can’t afford either. But there must be widespread support across both tours from top stars if this was ever considered an option.

Read more:

UCLA is entering a new era under head coach Bob Chesney this season.

Chesney is in his first season as UCLA’s head coach after leading James Madison to its first ever College Football Playoff appearance last season. The Bruins’ concluded their spring practices with their annual Spring Game at the Rose Bowl on Saturday, and Chesney is earning praise for what he has done with UCLA so far.

Former USC wide receiver Travon Patterson attended two of UCLA’s spring practices and said Chesney reminds him of former USC head coach Pete Carroll.

“I talked to Travon Patterson yesterday on my drive home from a tournament I was at in San Diego,” Biggins said. “He played at USC under Pete Carroll. He’s been to two UCLA practices and he said ‘Dude, this guy reminds me of Pete Carroll. The way that UCLA practices are set up with the energy, and the vibe, and the radio, the music pumping.’ He goes ‘It’s like our old USC practices.’”

Carroll led the Trojans to a 97-19 overall record, two national championships and seven consecutive Pac-10 championships from 2001-09. He held a 34-game winning streak between 2003-05 and is considered one of the best coaches in USC history.

Carroll ultimately left USC to become the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks in 2010. With the Seahawks, he won five NFC West titles, made two Super Bowl appearances and won Super Bowl XLVIII.

After one season as the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders in 2025, the franchise fired Carroll in January. Although his stint with the Raiders did not last long, his success with USC and the Seahawks is undeniable.

Chesney’s Young Staff is Helping With Recruiting Process

Chesney brought multiple former James Madison staff members with him to Westwood, like offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy and defensive coordinator Colin Hitschler.

Chesney and his young coaching staff have helped UCLA dominate in the recruiting process this offseason. The Bruins boast the No. 4 Class of 2027 in the nation and the No. 2 class in the Big Ten.

“I think Chesney also hired a really good, young staff that gets after it from a recruiting standpoint,” Biggins said. “They have to be doing a good job with NIL.”

Since taking on the role as head coach in December, Chesney has shown he has what it takes to lead UCLA towards a national championship.

Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The post UCLA’s Bob Chesney Compared to Former USC Coach Pete Carroll appeared first on LA Sports Report.

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — New Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon says he doesn’t consider himself a “huge rah-rah guy,” but there’s one point the former Arizona Cardinals coach is trying to make sure he gets across.

This is his message: You are under no obligation to be the person you were five minutes ago.

“I said it for the players, but it’s for us, too,” Gannon said Monday during his first media session since taking this job three months ago. “And what that’s basically saying is grow and adapt and get better. And if we all have that mindset and can continually stick to the process, we’ll get better.”

That adaptability is apparent from Gannon’s schematic approach.

The Packers had run a 4-3 defense during Jeff Hafley’s two years as coordinator before the Miami Dolphins hired him as their coach. Green Bay previously had utilized a 3-4 alignment under Joe Barry, the Packers’ defensive coordinator from 2021-23.

Gannon says he wants to adjust his scheme to reflect the strengths of his personnel.

“I don’t really get caught up in 4-3, 3-4,” Gannon said. “We’re an NFL-style defense hopefully, right? I just believe that you’ve got to be, you’ve got to continually every year try to adapt and solve problems and really with your guys in mind.”

Gannon has some specific principles he likes to utilize, but he said he’s not going to force a defense to do something that doesn’t suit its players’ talents.

“We’ve got to put them in the best positions possible, that they feel comfortable that they can go out and play the game,” Gannon said. “Before scheme, I truly believe it’s not what you play, it’s how you play.”

Gannon comes to Green Bay after an unsuccessful head coaching stint. He went 15-36 at Arizona before getting fired late in his third season.

Before going to Arizona, Gannon had a productive two seasons as the Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive coordinator. The Eagles reached the Super Bowl, ranked second in the league in total defense and had a franchise-record 70 sacks — 15 more than any other NFL team — in Gannon’s final season with them.

Gannon described the interview process with Packers coach Matt LaFleur and how it made him eager to join his Green Bay staff.

“I think Matt’s a savant, so he can go from topic to topic to topic, and you’ve got to be pretty wired up or you’ll fall behind pretty quick,” Gannon said. “It was intense. I was sweating. I was in a coat and tie, and I think I was sweating a little bit. It was fun. It was fun. I got home off the plane and I told my wife, Gina, I said, ‘This is where I want to go.’"

Gannon takes over a defense that ranked 12th in yards allowed per game (311.8), ninth in yards allowed per play (5.0) and 11th in points allowed per game (21.2) last season. That defense wasn’t the same after All-Pro pass rusher Micah Parsons tore his anterior cruciate ligament, an injury that occurred during the first of Green Bay’s five straight losses to end the season.

Parsons has said he hopes to be back for the start of the 2026 season, but has indicated a Week 3 or Week 4 return is more likely. Gannon believes Green Bay’s defense has plenty of other productive players to go along with Parsons.

“It’s a good mix of some younger players, (and) we’ve got some vets that are some really good players — that sweet spot,” Gannon said. “(Safety Xavier) McKinney, you think he’s been playing forever because he’s such a high performing vet, but he’s still pretty young. And then you got some guys that are younger and in their first contract that have played really good football.”

Green Bay’s defense has some new faces who are familiar with Gannon. Linebacker Zaire Franklin began his NFL career in Indianapolis when Gannon was coaching the Colts’ defensive backs. Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave had a career-high 11 sacks as part of Gannon’s Philadelphia defense in 2022.

Gannon knows the type of defense he wants to see. He believes the Packers have the pieces in place to play that style, no matter how they line up.

“I think that’s what a good defense looks like — a fast, violent, physical team that takes the ball away,” Gannon said.

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Eddie Hearn has claimed that Conor Benn turned down three world-title fights against different opponents before leaving Matchroom earlier this year.

In February, Benn was involved in a shock split from Hearn’s promotional company Matchroom, signing with rivals Zuffa Boxing – despite Hearn’s apparent loyalty to the British star during a two-year saga that began with Benn failing two drug tests.

Benn has since fought once, outpointing Regis Prograis in a catchweight bout in April, though he is expected to drop back down to his natural division of welterweight next, having traded middleweight wins with rival Chris Eubank Jr in 2025.

It is unclear whom the 29-year-old will face, although he has repeatedly targeted big names from the US. And now, Hearn has offered a potential explanation for that approach.

Speaking to various outlets, including Boxing News, Hearn said: “When Lewis Crocker won the world [IBF welterweight] title, I was like: ‘Oh, my God. Crocker vs Benn at the O2 [Arena] for the world title!’

“I went to Conor and he was like: ‘Nah, I don’t want that fight’. Then he eventually started talking about the [IBF’s 10lb] rehydration [policy] and all that kind of stuff.

“So, then I was like ‘Rolly Romero’. We had that fight done with [Romero’s manager] Luis DeCubas. Benn was like: ‘It’s not a very big fight.’ I’m like: ‘Mate, you’re getting a [WBA] world-title fight in London. I think you can beat Rolly Romero.’

“‘What about [IBF super-welterweight champion] Josh Kelly at the Stadium of Light?’ [Benn said:] ‘I ain’t fighting f***ing Josh Kelly.’

“I think he knows his limitations, so why would you get beat for small money when you can get beat for bigger money?”

The Independent has approached Benn for comment.

Prior to a points loss to Eubank Jr last April, Benn was unbeaten as a professional. He avenged that loss in November, as the pair returned to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, dropping Eubank Jr en route to a decision win.

Following Benn’s shock move to Zuffa, he was expected to be paired with a big-name opponent, given reports of Zuffa paying him $15m for one fight.

And while Prograis is a former world champion, he did not bring the profile that some fans expected, nor was he fighting at his natural weight or in his prime.

Furthermore, the American – who ventured up in weight to box Benn – carried an injury into his fight with the Briton, who outpointed the 37-year-old in Tottenham. Prograis then retired in the aftermath.

The 2026 Fifa World Cup takes place across the USA, Canada and Mexico this summer, with a record 48 countries fighting for the biggest prize in football in June and July.

And UK betting sites are already competing hard for new customers with sign-up offers, enhanced odds, tournament-specific promotions and World Cup 2026 free bets.

This page covers the best World Cup free bet offers on the UK market, with a focus on evaluating value, flexibility and accessibility to make sure users can benefit from generous free bet amounts, flexibility across World Cup markets and straightforward T&Cs.

Only UKGC-licensed bookmakers are included in our recommendations, and the guide below provides more detail on each betting site, their respective welcome offers and any World Cup free bets.

What are World Cup free bets?

World Cup free bets are sign-up bonuses offered by UK bookmakers to new customers registering ahead of or during the tournament.

These World Cup sign up offers are triggered by depositing and placing a qualifying bet of a set minimum amount. Once it settles, free bet tokens are credited to use on World Cup markets or across the wider sportsbook.

Free bet stakes are not returned if the bet wins. For example, a £10 free bet at 3/1 pays £30 profit, not £40. This is standard industry practice.

Therefore, comparing value relative to qualifying stake is what matters, not just the main free bet figure.

Types of World Cup free bet offers

• Bet & Get: The most common type – deposit and bet a minimum amount, meet the T&Cs and receive free bet tokens. Most bookmakers' standard welcome offers fall into this category.
• Enhanced World Cup odds: Bookmakers offer significantly inflated prices on popular markets ahead of major matches, e.g. England to score first at 10/1 rather than the standard price. Winnings are typically paid as free bets.
• Prediction games: Several bookmakers run free-to-play World Cup prediction games (for e.g. Sky Bet's Super 6, BetMGM's Golden Goals) with cash prizes. No stake required.
• Acca boosts: Profit boosts on World Cup accumulators, rewarding punters who build multi-match combination bets across the group stage and knockout rounds.
• Money-back specials: If a specific event occurs - such as a match ending 0-0 or a team losing only on penalties - your stake is refunded as a free bet.

Choose your favourite World Cup free bet offer

Best World Cup betting offers

Below, we have provided all the detail you need on the best World Cup betting promos on the UK market, including information on each offer’s qualifying terms, free bet tokens and additional promos for existing users.

Betfred – Best overall World Cup free bet offer

The Betfred World Cup free bet offer is one of the most valuable World Cup sign up offers. New customers can bet £10 to unlock £50 in free bets, which is the highest-value standard welcome offer available for the World Cup.

Free bets are split across the general sportsbook and accumulator-only bets, with 2x £10 acca tokens and 3x £10 tokens for any sports market. This makes the offer ideal for multi-match tournament bets.

In terms of offers for existing customers, Betfred typically has 20 promotions available at any given time, which is more than most rivals.

As an example, Double Delight and Hat-Trick Heaven promos mean that if your first goalscorer nets twice or three times in a World Cup match, winnings are doubled or trebled.

Overall, Betfred is a great option for betting on the World Cup too, with strong market depth expected across all tournament fixtures this summer.

Coral – Lowest qualifying stake for a World Cup free bet

The Coral promo is among the best World Cup betting offers on the market as it combines a low qualifying threshold with easy terms and an accessible site to make it one of the easiest World Cup free bet to claim.

New users can place just a £5 qualifying bet to unlock £30 in free bets, which makes it one of the lowest qualifying threshold of any major UK bookmaker. There is just a £5 deposit required to unlock the offer with no promo code needed.

World Cup free bets are credited as 6 x £5 tokens, five of which are valid on football betting markets with the remaining £5 free bet reserved for horse racing.

In terms of promos for existing users, Coral usually runs plenty of boosts and specials during tournaments, while the Football Super Series prediction game is free to enter and offers up to £100 accurate guesses on football outcomes – a perfect companion for the World Cup.

Bet365 – Best for in-play World Cup betting

Bet365 is the world's most used bookmaker with 80 million+ customers, and their World Cup free bet offer allows customers to bet £10 to get £30 in bet credits.

Once user qualify, they can use their £30 in bet credits as they please – from 10p accumulators to £1 in-play bets or a lump sum £30 bet, the choice is all yours.

Once signed up, users will also find a site and app that provides the best in-play World Cup betting experience, with 100+ live in-play markets expected on major fixtures and odds updating in real time.

In addition, Bet365 has an excellent bet builder, including Bet Builder+ for combining markets across different games.

This all ties in to the app’s 4.7/5 rating on the App Stores, making it the best online betting app for following the tournament on the move and betting in-play.

Paddy Power – Best for World Cup novelty offers

Paddy Power is the best betting site for novelty offers during the World Cup, with special promos including ‘Justice Payouts’ – which refunds bets affected by controversial VAR decisions or poor refereeing calls – and a Multi-Match Bet Builder that lets users combine selections from different World Cup fixtures into a single bet.

The brand’s Request-A-Bet service allows punters to propose custom World Cup markets via social media, while Paddy's Rewards Club provides ongoing free bets and odds boosts to keep the value coming throughout the tournament.

In terms of the welcome offer, the Paddy Power welcome offer lets users land £30 in free bets with just £5 as an initial stake, making it one of the lowest qualifying stakes on the UK market.

BetMGM – Best for World Cup acca free bets

BetMGM is the best choice for punters who want to put acca bets on during the World Cup, with the popular betting site providing competitive football odds that regularly match or beat rivals across Premier League and international markets.

Football Profit Boosts are applied to major tournament matches throughout the competition, and these can also be applied to accas in some cases, while the 2UP Early Payout feature means bets are settled as a winner if your team goes two goals ahead in a World Cup match.

For new users, BetMGM’s World Cup free bets offer lets users bet £10 to unlock £40 in free bets, which come in the form of 2x £10 general sportsbook tokens and 2x £10 Bet Builder tokens (for bet builders with minimum odds of 3/1).

Once signed up, customers will find a range of promos for existing users too, including the Golden Goals free-to-play game, which lets users predict six correct scores to win up to £1,000,000.

How to claim World Cup 2026 free bets

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to claim free World Cup bets:

Step 1: Choose a bookmaker from the list above and click through to their sign-up page.

Step 2: Complete the registration form with your personal details.

Step 3: Make a qualifying deposit using an accepted payment method (debit card recommended – e-wallets are often excluded from welcome offers).

Step 4: Place your qualifying bet on any eligible market at the minimum required odds.

Step 5: Wait for the bet to settle – free bet tokens are typically credited within minutes of settlement.

Step 6: Navigate to your bonus balance or bet slip and select the free bet option when placing your next bet.

Step 7: Use your free bet on any eligible World Cup market – check T&Cs for market restrictions before placing.

What to look for in World Cup 2026 betting offers

There are several factors to consider when evaluating whether to claim World Cup betting offers. Before signing up, consider the following:

Qualifying stake and odds: The lower the better. Sky Bet's £0.05 threshold is exceptional compared to most bookmakers' £5-10 minimum.

Free bet expiry: The World Cup runs for approximately five weeks. A 7-day expiry is tight – look for offers with 30-day windows or use tokens promptly after qualifying.

Market restrictions: Some free bets are limited to accumulators or bet builders. Confirm the free bet can be used on standard World Cup match odds if that is your preference.

Stake not returned: Free bet stakes are never included in winnings. Factor this in when assessing the true value of any offer,

Ongoing promotions: The welcome offer is just the start. Consider what each bookmaker offers existing customers during the tournament – prediction games, enhanced odds and acca boosts all add significant value over five weeks of football.

UK gambling rules for World Cup betting offers

New betting regulations were introduced on 19 January 2026, and now wagering requirements on betting promotions are capped at 10x, though they remain rare on standard sportsbook free bets.

Mixed sportsbook and casino bonuses are now banned too. Punters will not see offers such as "Bet £10, Get £30 + £10 Casino Bonus" on any of the bookmakers listed above, or indeed on any licensed UK bookie.

These regulations were introduced to improve transparency in promotional offers and to better protect consumers, though bettors should always remember to check full T&Cs before betting.

How we review best World Cup betting offers

When evaluating free bet offers, our writers will only recommend UKGC-licensed operators.

We test offers first-hand, assessing them based on factors including value, the fairness of their terms, qualifying accessibility, usability and the overall user experience on the site or app.

Additionally, our writers enjoy full editorial independence when reviewing any offers, keeping our reviews fair and balanced and ensuring that we only recommend the best offers.

World Cup betting odds

Most World Cup betting sites have already released their outright markets for the 2026 World Cup, with Spain, France and England heading up the winners’ market.

Below, you’ll find the latest odds on who will win the World Cup, but if you’re interested in the sub-markets - such as top scorer, golden ball, group winners - you may want to visit our dedicated World Cup odds page.

World Cup 2026 free bet tips

1. Read the T&Cs of every free bet offer to avoid getting duped by unfavourable terms.
2. Don’t waste your free bet on a short-priced bet, remember your free bet stake will not be returned with the winnings.
3. Check the potential winnings of your stake vs any maximum cap on free bet winnings - don’t make the bet if you can’t win the full amount.

Why trust us?

Chris Wilson is a betting content producer and sports reporter who has been working at The Independent since 2023.

He writes betting tips across a range of sporting events as well as reviewing dozens of new betting sites and new casino sites across the UK.

Chris has extensively tested and reviewed offers from established operators and new bookies to find the best free bet offers for readers of The Independent.

Responsible gambling is always at the forefront of his research, ensuring customers have a fair and secure experience claiming and using World Cup betting offers online.

Please gamble responsibly

If you’re having a bet on the World Cup, it’s vital to practice responsible gambling, as even the best world cup betting offers still involve real financial risk.

The excitement of a major international tournament can increase gambling urges, and betting can be addictive, so it’s important to stay in control of your gambling whether you’re using online bookmakers, casino sites, slot sites, bingo sites or any other gambling platform.

Never treat gambling as a way to make money, never bet more than you can afford and when the fun stops, stop.

If possible, try and set deposit limits and time-outs before the tournament even begins.

Gambling sites offer punters tools like deposit limits, profit and loss trackers and self-exclusion options, to help you stay in control.

Try not to get carried away by World Cup betting offers or casino bonuses, which are widely available on gambling apps.

But if you ever feel like you need help or advice on gambling addiction, don’t hesitate to contact one of the charities or organisations below.

• NHS Help
• GamCare
• Gamblers Anonymous
• GAMSTOP

World Cup free bets FAQs

Can I use a World Cup free bet on any match?

This depends on the bookmaker. Many standard welcome offer free bets can be used on any sportsbook market, including all World Cup fixtures. However, some offers restrict free bets to specific bet types such as accumulators or bet builders. Always check the T&Cs of your specific offer before placing your qualifying stake.

Which bookmaker has the best World Cup free bet offer?

Betfred's Bet £10 Get £50 offer represents the best headline value, while Sky Bet's Bet £0.05 Get £30 is the most accessible thanks to its minimal qualifying stake. Bet365 is the strongest all-round option for punters who want to combine a solid welcome offer with the best in-play betting experience on World Cup matches.

Do World Cup free bets expire?

Yes. Most free bets expire between seven and 30 days after being credited to your account. Sky Bet's free bets last 30 days, giving the most flexibility to use them across the full tournament. Always check when your free bets were credited so that you do not accidentally let them expire.

What happens if a World Cup match is abandoned?

If a match is abandoned before a result is determined, bets are typically voided and stakes returned. Free bets used on abandoned matches may also be returned to your account, though this varies by bookmaker, so check the relevant T&Cs.

Can I claim more than one World Cup free bet?

Yes. Each sign-up offer is available once per customer per bookmaker, but there is nothing to prevent you opening accounts with multiple UKGC-licensed operators to claim several free bets World Cup offers simultaneously. This is a perfectly legitimate way to maximise value during the tournament.

What are the odds for England to win the World Cup 2026?

England's World Cup odds will fluctuate as the tournament progresses, but they are currently 13/2 second favourites behind Spain (5/1). Check the current ante-post prices directly with any of the bookmakers listed above, as they update in real time. All of the operators featured above offer World Cup outright markets.

We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

Ahead of tomorrow night's semi-final second-leg clash with PSG, Bayern Munich's Vincent Kompany senses the fans are behind his team ahead of this pressurised encounter. 

“There's a good relationship between this team and the fans. At the start of the season, maybe not many believed we'd still have a chance to reach the final.

“Now we're here, we've experienced many special moments. And I think the fans believe we can do it. We want to make it a memorable moment,” he said in his press conference today.

When asked about the first-leg which ended in a 5-4 defeat, the Bavarians' head coach adopted a calm tone – conceding goals doesn't bother him provided they win and advance to the final. 

“The mission is to win games. We have ideas that we think help us to do that. It's just about that. We've shown that we can win many games, PSG have shown that too.

"In the end you have to score one more goal than your opponent to win a game. If you can do it without conceding, that's the best thing that could happen”

“It always depends on the teams. If one decides to take a step back and defend more, then there could be some calmer phases in the game. Otherwise there won't.

“It's difficult to imagine that either team will change what brought them here in the first place. We're playing at home, we want to win and will do everything for that,” he added. 

On the personnel front, the Belgian explained “Serge [Gnabry] is out. All others are there and available. That's important and a big difference to last season, where we were very unlucky with injuries".  

Hello and welcome to another edition of Free Agent! Hurry up and enjoy your Taco Tuesday Cinco de Mayo today.

We'll start with thoughts on Saudi Arabia's sports takeover that's been stopped in its tracks. After that it's time to dive into the implications of the Dianna Russini–Mike Vrabel affair for league policies. We'll close with a slightly bonkers idea: Did the Sixers beat the Celtics with a little help from the war on drugs?

Locker Room Links

• The Milwaukee Brewers donated $27,000 for pothole repairs and are getting some advertising out of it. (Granted, taxpayers have spent over a billiondollars combined on their ballpark.)
• A lawsuit over immigration rules almost forced the Dutch soccer league to replay 133 matches.
• Ever wondered what happens to all the horse poop at the Kentucky Derby?
• A Senate Commerce subcommittee will hold a hearing on sports betting on May 20.
• It was a chaotic weekend for D.C.'s golf courses (and not just because I played 18 holes!)—after an initial report said the three courses at East Potomac were getting closed by the Trump administration, a judge forced the government to keep the courses open (for now). Also, the administration might want the Commanders to run a golf course?
• That's still a better idea than the Washington, D.C., city government getting an ownership stake in the Commanders.
• Elsewhere in Reason: Nick Gillespie interviews Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch on the Declaration of Independence, how unchecked power threatens liberty, and what the Founders can teach future generations.
• The NBA has a new anti-tanking plan and everyone can see what a bad idea it is.
  

  The NBA's proposed lottery odds reform, visualized pic.twitter.com/rXm7FuK4oP

  — Lev Akabas (@LevAkabas) April 29, 2026

The Saudi Sports Takeover That Wasn't

Sometimes, the right thing to do is nothing at all.

Just a few years after it seemed like Saudi Arabia was going to take over the sports world, backed by its unlimited oil money, the takeover has been stopped in its tracks. LIV Golf is losing its Saudi funding after years of $500 million annual losses. The Saudi Pro League is no longer trying to lure in the biggest stars in soccer with eye-popping sums. Other plans to host or bid for global sporting events are scaled back or scrapped altogether. This isn't just a coincidence of timing, or solely because of the chaos caused by the Iran war: The Saudi Public Investment Fund is making a strategic, long-term shift away from sports (at least for the rest of the decade).

That "unlimited" oil money isn't so unlimited after all.

This wasn't because of any direct government action. Sports fans just never bought into what the Saudis were selling. Ignoring Saudi sports products has always been relatively easy.

As much as Americans were against a Saudi sports takeover, it never rose to a threat level high enough to justify government action, even from those who aren't libertarian-minded. LIV Golf struggled under both a skeptical Biden administration and an accommodating Trump administration. Legislation to tax LIV Golf and the Saudi wealth fund went nowhere in Congress. A Justice Department investigation and congressional hearing over the proposed LIV Golf merger with the PGA Tour yielded no results went anywhere. The biggest government action was probably an antitrust investigation into PGA Tour punishments against LIV players—had that investigation led to prosecution, it would have helped LIV and hurt the PGA Tour.

There was no need for a heavy-handed ban or sanctions. Other than some generally negative vibes, politics didn't bring down the Saudi sports plan, capitalism did.

The investments still had an impact, to be sure. Competition was always going to produce changes. PGA Tour players are enjoying more prize money than they used to. Soccer clubs had to make marginally higher offers to stars who were tempted by Saudi money. But the Saudi-backed competition wasn't enough to take down the biggest establishments in sports.

Saudi investment in sports isn't going away forever. The country will still host the 2034 World Cup, and the wealth fund still owns Newcastle United of the Premier League. Other oil-rich countries have their own sports investments, too. But the failure of Saudi Arabia's sports investments will be a cautionary tale that these efforts will not yield the intended economic or political results. It should always be remembered that Middle East oil investments, especially in sports, are still largely made and governed by the politicians of those countries, not innovators and entrepreneurs who can actually be competitive in a capitalist system.

The Vrabel Problem the NFL Can't Legislate Away

The (alleged) Dianna Russini–Mike Vrabel affair has raised some questions for the NFL, like whether it needs an official policy change that could stop conduct like a coach having an affair with an NFL reporter.

In theory, the Patriots (or any other employer) could fire someone for marital infidelity. Given some infamous actions in team owner Robert Kraft's past, that might look like a bit of a double standard. Plus, marital infidelity is probably, unfortunately, too common and messy for the league and teams to investigate every occurrence or to try to maintain a useful set of standards on.

The NFL could, though, adopt a policy on conduct between league personnel (players, coaches, administrators, etc.) and the press. They could set a strict rule against contact with the press outside of official team events and venues to avoid any appearance of impropriety—but this would make everyone worse off. Any kind of journalism outside of buttoned-down game reports and superficial quotes would be difficult to do. Reporters and subjects spending time together outside of official venues is a common form of source-building for journalists. Plus, the league thrives on the insider culture of constant updates coming from Adam Schefter, Ian Rapoport, etc. Insiders always have news to share because someone in the league is giving them updates outside of official channels. The NFL insiders are cozier with the league than I'd like, but all involved benefit from the league news they constantly churn out.

The league could specifically ban sexual relationships between journalists and personnel. But then it would need to define which journalists fall under that rule. All of them? What about a local TV news anchor whose channel covers the team but isn't specifically a sports journalist? Also, if any of this is going to affect the players, it would have to be spelled out in the collective bargaining agreement.

The league is better off regarding the Russini-Vrabel affair as a shocking yet rare event. It's a distraction the league wants to avoid in the future, but the downsides of all the possible one-size-fits-all solutions are too large.

If it were up to me, given the particulars of this specific situation, I'd fire Vrabel anyway. The evidence of the relationship is fairly overwhelming. The nature of a romantic coach-reporter relationship creates a complicated power dynamic—the coach can threaten to cut off the reporter's access and scoops at any time if he doesn't get what he wants, putting the reporter's job in jeopardy, or at least making it more difficult. It's unbecoming and below the standard of judgment that the league should have for itself.

Did Ketamine Knock Out the Celtics?

Should Sixers fans thank the war on drugs for their upset of the Celtics? Maybe!

In January, Paul George was suspended for 25 games for taking "an improper medication" relating to his mental health. There's no confirmation or even solid reporting to back this up, but there are rumorsthatsay ketamine is the banned substance that George was caught taking. (In theory, it could have been anything else on the NBA's long list of prohibited substances—this take would still apply to any other illegal drugs on that list.)

Ketamine is a drug that dulls pain and has hallucinogenic effects. It's sometimes used to treat depression, and some users will take microdoses instead of full-fledged doses. It's shown to be effective for therapeutic uses, sometimes rapidly so. For athletic purposes, it would have no performance-enhancing effects—that's partially why the World Anti-Doping Agency does not explicitly ban it. The case could be made that ketamine is safer than alcohol and nicotine, but the federal government lists it as a Schedule III drug that's only legal for prescribed medical use.

Whether it was ketamine or not, George had to sit out for February and most of March—making him well-rested and ready to roll just in time for the playoffs. Now 36-years-old, George averaged 18.2 points in the series. In Saturday night's huge game-seven win, he played 42 minutes, his second-highest in the series. Fans are hoping he gets suspended every year just for the downtime before the playoffs.

I'm sorry Paul George you can do ketamine to get fresh legs for the playoffs every year

— Drunk Sixers Fan (@DrunkSixersFan) May 1, 2026

Maybe it was luck that helped the Sixers in game seven, maybe it was Joel Embiid or the lack of Jayson Tatum, or maybe it was defense. Maybe George's absence actually hurt in the big picture because he was away from the team for so long. Or maybe, just maybe, getting suspended for (allegedly) taking a Schedule III drug is why George played well and why the Sixers upset the Celtics.

But before other players start getting any ideas, the suspension cost George $11.7 million in salary.

Replay of the Week

I was watching in a bar and couldn't hear anything, I just remember thinking "The pack is really tight! Wait, where'd that guy come from?" Unbelievable finish.

FROM LAST PLACE TO KENTUCKY DERBY GLORY, WHAT A RACE FOR GOLDEN TEMPO!

The 152nd Kentucky Derby on NBC and Peacock pic.twitter.com/yUIczKx4SX

— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) May 2, 2026

That's all for this week. Enjoy watching the real game of the weekend, Hannover 96 battling for promotion in Bundesliga 2.

The post What To Do About Saudi Arabia's Sports Takeover? Nothing, Apparently. appeared first on Reason.com.

The standoff between Jon Rahm and the DP World Tour is over.

Rahm told reporters Tuesday ahead of LIV Golf Virginia that he and the DP World Tour had come to an agreement, ending a stalemate between the two sides that threatened Rahm's Ryder Cup eligibility. Details of their truce weren't immediately available, but Rahm said he and the DP World Tour both made concessions to reach a deal. It's likely Rahm will be able to play in LIV events without needing a release and garnering more fines.

With the two sides coming to an agreement, Rahm's status on the DP World Tour is no longer in question.

In March, Rahm withdrew the appeal of sanctions against him but had not settled with the DP World Tour. The appeal is how Rahm remained eligible to compete in DP World Tour events and participate in the Ryder Cup. Players can maintain their DP World Tour membership while competing on different tours so long as they play in a minimum of four non-major DPWT events. For those competing on LIV, however, it's six events, two of which are chosen by the Tour itself.

Rahm stated he didn't agree with those terms. He was the only one of nine European LIV members who didn't agree to terms for a conditional release, which stated players would compete in six-to-eight non-major DP World Tour events — as well as pay any outstanding fines and withdraw any active appeals — in order to keep their status as members.

At the Masters, Rahm was confident he would be on the 2027 Ryder Cup team at Adare Manor, answering, "Yes" when asked whether he would be on the team. He was also asked at Augusta National whether he could play in a DP World Tour event right then, and he did not know the answer.

Rahm has two wins this season on LIV Golf, and, thanks to receiving OWGR points this year, has risen to No. 21 in the Official World Golf Ranking. He has three runner-up finishes in addition to his two victories in 2026.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Jon Rahm, DP World Tour reach agreement to end stalemate

Xabi Alonso could hold fire on accepting a new head coach position this summer.

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Sky Sports Dougie Critchley suggested that the Spaniard was highly unlikely to take on the Chelsea job amid links with the position vacated by Liam Rosenior in April.

The former Real Madrid boss has also been heavily linked with Arne Slot’s job at Liverpool.

Xabi Alonso won’t take the Chelsea head coach role

Critchely hopped onto X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday afternoon to cast some doubt over suggestions that Alonso could be the next Chelsea head coach.

And we’d have to wholeheartedly agree with the reputable journalist that such a move would seem… well… a little bit daft to say the least.

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Here we’re talking about a club that seems to relish in leaving managers next to no time to establish themselves in the position and build a culture.

Mind, we don’t think Rosenior was particularly well-equipped to meet the challenge of restoring Chelsea back within the elite class of Premier League clubs.

While you’d back Alonso to get more of a tune out of the Blues by comparison, it’s an environment that would prove to be even more toxic than the one he experienced in Madrid.

Liverpool or Bayern remain Alonso’s ideal next moves

There are a lot of ifs, buts and maybes involved, but it’s hard to imagine Alonso accepting a step down below what his talents deserve.

Yes, perhaps there’s an argument for taking a relatively “safe” role – perhaps at a club comparable to Bayer Leverkusen’s level.

But that would be assuming the Bundesliga winner feels his time in Real Madrid was such a failure it necessitates a decision designed to restore his reputation. And as far as we’re concerned, no such effort is required; we agree with Critchley’s view that his dismissal at Real Madrid was indeed unfair.

As such, Xabi Alonso should be aiming for the kind of next step that guided his decision to leave Leverkusen.

Having ticked Madrid off his list, that really only leaves jobs of the calibre of Liverpool and Bayern Munich. Vincent Kompany remains extremely settled in Bavaria, but there’s an ongoing question mark over the future of Arne Slot at L4.

In that case, it may very well be ideal to wait and see how this situation develops.

More Stories / Latest News

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May 5, 2026 15:30

The path for Tigers ace Tarik Skubal to reach a record-setting contract in free agency this offseason hit a major speedbump with the disclosure that he’ll need surgery on his pitching elbow.

Skubal, the two-time defending American League Cy Young Award winner, will have arthroscopic surgery to remove loose bodies from his left elbow. A specific timetable for his return has not been disclosed, but other pitchers who have had similar procedures have been out of action for two to three months. As a result, Skubal will likely be out until at least after the All-Star Game break in mid-July, and perhaps until around the Aug. 3 trade deadline.

“I think the length of the rehab is probably just getting your spring training buildup again, getting your volume up,” Skubal said. “But the procedure itself I think is pretty simple as far as what I’ve been explained.”

The financial implications of the current situation could be significant. After another dominant season in 2025, Skubal won an arbitration decision in February that awarded him a $32 million salary for this year—breaking all prior records for MLB players in the arbitration system.

With that decision in place, Skubal, 29, had been widely seen as a strong candidate to set a free-agent record this fall for a pitcher. The current contract milestone for a free-agent pitcher is the Dodgers’ 12-year, $325 million deal with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, signed in late 2023, and prior projections of a Skubal deal had hovered around $400 million. 

The latest injury, however, complicates that outlook, and any suitor team will be closely watching Skubal’s health and effectiveness on the mound when he returns before tendering anything close to an unprecedented contract offer. Skubal, meanwhile, is represented by super agent Scott Boras, who undoubtedly will be pushing hard to preserve the pitcher’s market value.

“The fans in Detroit want the Tigers to build the Tarik barrack,” Boras said last fall in one of his trademark puns. 

Skubal was also part of the U.S. team in the wildly successful World Baseball Classic, but his workload was carefully managed and he threw in just one game before returning to spring training. In the current MLB season, Skubal has a 3–2 record with a 2.70 earned run average. 

Hanging On?

The Tigers, meanwhile, will need to continue competitively with their best player on the injured list. The team is 18–18 entering Tuesday’s game, tied with the archrival Guardians atop the AL Central division. The Tigers’ .500 record is happening despite having the second-best run differential in the AL. 

Beyond the threat from Cleveland, Detroit is also grappling with a resurgent White Sox club that is just a half-game behind in the standings, thanks in part to the exploits of first-year slugger Munetaka Murakami, who is tied with Yankees superstar Aaron Judge for the MLB home-run lead.

“It’s a big test,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said of Skubal’s absence. “You can’t deny it’s a big blow, but we’re not canceling the season. We’re going to play the games.”

The post Skubal’s Elbow Surgery Puts Free Agent Record in Doubt appeared first on Front Office Sports.

We finally got to hear from Jonathan Gannon!

The Packers hired their new defensive coordinator in late January after the departure of Jeff Hafley, but, for some reason, it took more than four months for the Packers to let him talk to the media.

Why? Who knows, and in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t really matter. It’s not like he was going to say anything particularly meaningful or insightful. In fact, you probably could have guessed pretty much the exact things he ended up saying.

“We want to be fast and physical.” Yeah, every defense does. “We want to take the ball away.” I’ve yet to see an NFL defense that didn’t. “We’re going to have a multiple front.” That’s life in the NFL in 2026; everyone plays that way.

This is not to take anything away from Gannon, and if you were excited to hear him speak, more power to you. Shoot, I was interested! I enjoyed listening to his thoughts, if only because this is the guy that’s going to be shaping what we hope is going to be a Super Bowl-caliber defense for the next few years, and hopefully longer. It pays to get to know that guy a bit.

But what were we really missing out on for the last four months? Not much. It’s just weird we had to wait this long.

Jonathan Gannon knew quickly he wanted to be Packers defensive coordinator | Packers News

Of course he did. The choice was between “receive millions of dollars to coach Micah Parsons” and…not doing that.

5 things to know about new Packers QB Tyrod Taylor | Packers.com

The Packers’ backup QB shuffle continues.

Trainer of Top Kickers on Trey Smack’s Leg Strength, Ability to Handle Cold | Sports Illustrated

It looks more and more likely that the Packers’ new kicker is about to Smack veteran Brandon McManus right off the roster.

Packers OC says Jordan Morgan ‘ready’ for left tackle, clarifies roles

Jordan Morgan finally gets a crack at playing the position he was drafted to play.

NFL Power Rankings 2026: Which teams improved this offseason? | ESPN

The Packers’ offseason work has them ranked in the top quarter of the NFL according to ESPN’s rankings.

A real WKRP radio comes to Cincinnati, decades after the sitcom about a fictional station | Associated Press

If the phrase “God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly” means anything to you, you’ll enjoy this news.

The Seattle Seahawks have inked former Florida Gators edge rusher Dante Fowler Jr. to a one-year contract with a max value of $5 million. The Super Bowl LX champions add the 2015 third overall draft pick to an elite defensive unit that was a driving force in their title run last season.

The Seahawks opted to address this need in free agency rather than expending any of their 2026 NFL Draft selections on a pass rusher. Defensive coordinator Aden Durde and Seattle viewed Fowler as a priority target to fill this void, hosting the 6-foot-3-inch, 261-pound Lakewood, Florida native for a pre-draft visit. Durde coaches Fowler in both Atlanta and Dallas and called the 31-year-old a "top option."

Over his 10 seasons in the NFL, Fowler has recorded 58.5 sacks and 15 forced fumbles — his 11.5 sacks in 2019 were a career-high. A three-year starter at Florida, Fowler totaled 140 tackles and 14.5 sacks; his breakout season came in 2013, when he led the Gators' defensive line in tackles, earned All-SEC Second Team honors and tallied 10.5 tackles for loss.

For the defending champions, Fowler offers a veteran presence on the edge with a proven track record of production. His ability to set the edge against the run, disrupt plays early in the backfield and generate pressure on opposing quarterbacks makes him a potentially valuable piece to go alongside Leonard Williams and Bryon Murphy II.

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Former Gator Dante Fowler Jr. signs with Super Bowl Champion Seahawks

Marc Guehi looked glum as he headed for the Manchester City bus outside Hill Dickinson Stadium. Understandably, too. His ability to pick the right pass had helped him settle smoothly into the City defence. Until he picked the wrong pass, supplied Thierno Barry with a goal and a 3-3 draw altered the title race.

This had seemed a sequel to 2014 and 2023, a night when City chalked up crucial wins at Everton in the run-in. Instead, there were flashbacks to a couple of other games which, indirectly, led to City becoming champions. City conceded three times in 12 minutes on Monday; in 2014, in “Crystanbul”, Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool let in three in the last 11 minutes away at Crystal Palace. That also finished 3-3. Go back to 2012, and City’s first league title since 1968 was aided by David Moyes’ Everton, mounting an extraordinary comeback to draw 4-4 with Manchester United. In each case, two points were dropped in dramatic fashion.

It may be of scant consolation to Guehi now but, if Arsenal hold on to their advantage at the Premier League summit, his uncharacteristic error will be far from the only reason. In the last couple of years, there has been the temptation to deem this team the City of old: the relentless, remorseless winning machine. They are not, though. City have finished a league season with 14 straight wins before. They needed to be perfect in this run-in, to win their last eight: but this is an imperfect side.

They have spent the season playing catch-up after losing twice in August. City have reeled in Arsenal before, but it is not a failsafe formula. Especially when Guardiola’s City, who used to be frontrunners in title races, have had issues when in front in games. City are far above Arsenal in one table: for points lost from winning positions. Lost leads could be decisive. Their second defeat of the season, at Brighton, came when they led for half an hour.

They have drawn eight times. There was a stalemate at Sunderland. In each of the other seven, City have lost a lead. Perhaps the most damaging was also the most forgivable: amid considerable pressure, Guardiola’s injury-hit side almost held out for victory at Arsenal in September before Gabriel Martinelli’s injury-time lob.

It made for a three-point swing. Yet City should have more regrets about allowing managerless Chelsea an added-time leveller at the Etihad in January. Or failing to beat relegation-threatened West Ham and Nottingham Forest in back-to-back games in March. Or letting Thomas Frank take his last point as Tottenham manager after City went 2-0 up.

Collectively, it points to a lack of ruthlessness. It also suggests that, defensively, City are not quite good enough. That is in spite of some spectacular saves from Gianluigi Donnarumma. Briefly on Monday night, it felt like a block from Iliman Ndiaye could be bracketed alongside a magnificent stop from Alexis Mac Allister at Anfield as a transformative moment in the season.

City’s lost leads came with a host of different defences and centre-back partnerships. A mitigating factor in the draw with Chelsea was the loss of the injured Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol during the second half; when they were held by Brighton three days later, it was with the rookie Max Alleyne starting.

Guehi and Abdukodir Khusanov had shown promise as a partnership but, even before Barry’s first goal on Monday, it was notable how isolated they looked. Guardiola’s latest revamp has given his team running machines as full-backs, but Matheus Nunes and Nico O’Reilly’s forward momentum is not always allied with defensive solidity.

For the second successive season, City have had a reminder of the importance of Rodri in his absence. Their best form of the campaign, in the trio of wins over Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea in three different competitions, came with the Ballon d’Or winner partnered with Bernardo Silva in the middle of midfield. Maybe Rodri would have given them the calm and authority they lost at Everton.

There were warning signs in a couple of other games he sat out, even if City ultimately emerged victorious. They lost control in the second half at home to Leeds and away at Fulham, eventually prevailing 3-2 and 5-4 respectively. The latter, in particular, is not a typical Guardiola scoreline.

Neither is 3-3. It was Guardiola’s 376th Premier League game and just a second to end with an equal split of six goals. Everton finished with the third highest open play expected goals of any team against Guardiola’s City in the English top flight. Moyes nonetheless described City as the best team in the division. But, five months ago, his former midfielder Mikel Arteta brought Arsenal to the banks of the Mersey, ground out a forgettable 1-0 win and allowed his old club an xG of just 0.24 and one shot on target.

There has long been a theory Arsenal’s defence could win them the league. And perhaps the difference between the top two will be City’s struggles to hold on to leads.

Davey Todd has told BBC Sport NI that he is "gutted" to have been ruled out of this year's North West 200 international road race.

The race meeting's chief medical officer's assessment was that he was not satisfied that the Yorkshire rider had recovered sufficiently enough from injuries sustained in a crash at the Daytona races in Florida in early March.

The 30-year-old sustained multiple injuries in the incident, including a broken femur, tibia, foot and nose and surgery in the USA.

Two weeks ago Todd's 8Ten Racing teammate and co-owner Peter Hickman had indicated that he was optimistic that the nine-time North West race winner would be fit to take his place on the grid for the races over the Triangle circuit.

However hopes of his participation this year have now been dashed.

"Following his injuries at Daytona in March, Davey Todd underwent a medical examination by the Chief Medical Officer at the 2026 Briggs Equipment North West 200 today," a statement released by the organisers on Tuesday afternoon said.

"Unfortunately, because of his injuries, Davey was found to be unfit to take part in the North West 200 this week.

"We are very disappointed that Davey will not be on the grid this year," race director Mervyn Whyte, said.

"He has enjoyed a lot of success at the North West and a huge following who will be equally disappointed. We would all have loved to have seen him out there racing but safety is paramount."

"I'm gutted, I'm confused. I worked so hard over the last weeks to get fit and to come back and race in front of the fans here at the North West," Todd told BBC Sport NI.

"I rode a bike on Thursday for the first time at Valencia and I surprised myself with how fast I was going and how good I felt on the bike.

"Everything was slotting into place. I feel strong, feel healthier day by day and in a good place."

"I've put absolutely everything I possibly could over the last eight weeks to be back on this grid and I was amazed a few days ago, really proud of myself, that I was able to get myself back in the position that I could come here and race again and be competitive, and to be told I'll not be given the opportunity of doing that means I'm gutted."

High school football schedules for the 2026 season are rolling out rapidly across the country, and Colorado continues to stand out as a premier pipeline for college recruits. This upcoming fall is no different, with numerous programs nationwide now finalizing and releasing their complete 2026 schedules.

[ $19.99 gets you a FULL year of On3 | Rivals national coverage ]

Coming off a season where the Aurora (CO) Regis Jesuit Raiders were one of the top teams in the state of Colorado and now head into 2026 with one of the tougher schedules around. The Raiders return Class of 2028 four-star quarterback Luke Rubley, who last season threw for 2,084 yards and 20 touchdowns.

The full Regis Jesuit 2026 football schedule can be seen below, with official game times to be announced at a later date.

Regis Jesuit Football 2026 Schedule

Aug. 28 – Aurora (CO) Eaglecrest
Sep. 4 – at Spokane (WA) Gonzaga Prep School
Sep. 11 – Denver (CO) Mullen
Sep. 17 – at Parker (CO) Legend
Sep. 25 – Littleton (CO) Heritage
Oct. 1 – at Colorado Springs (CO) Pine Creek
Oct. 9 – Castle Rock (CO) Castle View
Oct. 22 – at Aurora (CO) Grandview
Oct. 30 – Littleton (CO) Valor Christian

In 2025, Regis Jesuit posted a 4-7 record and ranked as the No. 16 program in the state, according to the final Colorado High School Football Massey Rankings. 

More about Regis Jesuit High School

Regis Jesuit High School, located in Aurora, Colorado, is a premier Catholic college preparatory institution serving young men and women through single-gender education on the same campus. Rooted in Jesuit values, the school emphasizes academic excellence, spiritual growth, and service to others. RJHS offers a rigorous curriculum, a strong athletic program, and a vibrant student life dedicated to forming men and women with and for others.

How to Follow Colorado High School Football

For Colorado high school football fans looking to keep up with scores around the Centennial State, staying updated on the action is now easier than ever with the Rivals High School Scoreboard. This comprehensive resource provides real-time updates and final scores from across the state, ensuring you never miss a moment of the Friday night frenzy. From nail-biting finishes to dominant performances, the Rivals High School Scoreboard is your one-stop destination for tracking all the Colorado high school football excitement across the state.

Grêmio takes the field this Tuesday at 7 p.m. against Deportivo Riestra in a decisive Group F clash in the Copa Sudamericana.

The team led by Luís Castro is trying to end an uncomfortable run of 13 matches without an away win to temporarily take the top spot in the group and avoid the strain of playing in the competition’s playoffs.

The Qualification Scenarios

Currently in second place with four points, the Tricolor would overtake Riestra with a win and move up to seven points.

If they get a positive result in Argentina, Grêmio will depend only on themselves to advance directly to the round of 16.

That is because the current leaders, Montevideo City Torque, face Palestino on Wednesday and will then have a direct showdown with the team from Rio Grande do Sul at the Arena in the final round of the group stage.

A draw keeps the current positions, but it could allow Palestino to close the gap in the standings.

A defeat, meanwhile, would drastically complicate the Brazilian side’s plans, leaving the opponents alone at the top and forcing Grêmio to rely on a combination of results to avoid an early elimination or being stuck with second place.

The Playoff Ghost

The urgency to finish top of the group comes from last season’s trauma. In 2025, Grêmio finished second in its group and was eliminated in the playoffs by Alianza Lima.

Ten players from the current squad were part of that defeat and are now trying to avoid repeating the mistake, which would add two extra matches to an already overloaded schedule.

Reinforcements and Absences

Luís Castro will have forward Amuzu back after recovering from ankle pain. He traveled with the squad and is seen as an important option for the attack.

On the other hand, the coach will be without Nardoni and Arthur, which will require changes to the midfield setup for the clash in Buenos Aires. In addition to the tactical challenge, the team will have to deal with outside pressure after being met by protesting fans upon arriving in the Argentine capital.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

Delhi Capitals take on Chennai Super Kings at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Tuesday.

With only four victories in nine outings this season, Axar Patel's side find themselves rooted to seventh place on the points table.

Five defeats in nine games is not an ideal position for any team eyeing the playoffs, and at this stage of the tournament, every single result carries enormous weight.

Delhi are running out of room to manoeuvre, and a slip-up against a resurgent Chennai could make things significantly harder.

Meanwhile, CSK have managed to get three wins from their last five matches, including a dominant victory against their bitter rivals Mumbai Indians.

However, history has rarely been kind to Delhi in this fixture. Across 32 meetings between these two sides, Chennai have come out on top 20 times compared to Delhi's 12. 

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Live Scorecard

DC vs CSK IPL 2026: Win probability and toss result

After 6 overs, DC are 37/2

CSK have had a fantastic start to the match as they have sent back both DC openers, Nissanka and Rahul, cheaply. Rana and Karun are at the crease. 

Toss: Toss to take place at 7 p.m. IST.

DC vs CSK IPL 2026: Playing XI

DC playing XI: KL Rahul(w), Pathum Nissanka, Karun Nair, Tristan Stubbs, Nitish Rana, Axar Patel(c), Ashutosh Sharma, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Lungi Ngidi, T Natarajan

Impact subs: Vipraj Nigam, Sameer Rizvi, Abishek Porel, Auqib Nabi Dar, David Miller

CSK playing XI: Sanju Samson(w), Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Urvil Patel, Kartik Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Jamie Overton, Akeal Hosein, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Mukesh Choudhary, Gurjapneet Singh

Impact Subs: Shivam Dube, Prashant Veer, Matthew Short, Akash Madhwal, Sarfaraz Khan

MORE: Visit Cricket News for all the latest cricket coverage and opinion

DC vs CSK IPL 2026: Win percentage

DC vs CSK: Betting odds

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Tennessee’s loaded 2026 football schedule now has some important dates to remember. The University announced a few game designations for the upcoming season, which includes a ‘Checker Neyland’ date for the highly anticipated matchup with Texas.

This will be the first ever meeting between Tennessee and Texas that didn’t occur in the Cotton Bowl. The Longhorns are slated to be one of the top teams in the preseason polls after once again attacking the transfer portal hard. Arch Manning returns, which will put a Manning on the opposing sideline inside of Neyland Stadium, making for an awkward situation for Peyton.

Tennessee announced that the September 19th game against Kennesaw State will serve as the salute to service game.

They have designated Auburn as Champions Weekend, which will mark the return of Alex Golesh to Neyland. Golesh helped lead Heupel’s most successful at Tennessee back in 2022, riding Hendon Hooker and Jalin Hyatt to a No. 1 ranking and the head coaching job at South Florida. This will be Golesh’s first season on The Plains.

Finally, Tennessee will play their homecoming matchup against Kentucky on November 7th. The Wildcats are in a completely new era as well, bringing in Will Stein after things got stale with Mark Stoops. Kenny Minchey is set to take over at quarterback after transferring in from Notre Dame.

Tennessee will open on September 5th with Furman at home, followed by a true road game at Georgia Tech on September 12th.

There are moments late in a season where narratives shift quickly, and ahead of facing Liverpool, Joao Pedro has already started shaping the mood around Chelsea’s response.

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Following their latest defeat, the Brazilian forward has openly admitted things need to change, setting up an interesting backdrop before we meet them at Anfield.

Pedro sends clear message after Chelsea defeat

Speaking via chelseafc.com after their 3-1 loss to Nottingham Forest, the 24-year-old didn’t hide from the performance, despite scoring a late goal.

Pedro made it clear that standards inside the squad aren’t where they need to be, saying: “We need to improve… everyone needs to step up, me included.”

That honesty continued when he addressed the wider issue of inconsistency.

The Brazil international admitted: “Last week we beat Leeds, this week it didn’t happen. We need to find a way to be consistent.”

It’s the kind of message you expect from a player trying to rally his side, but it also highlights just how unstable they’ve been heading into this weekend.

Liverpool opportunity grows ahead of Anfield clash

This fixture has become even more significant, especially with Champions League qualification still not mathematically secured.

Chelsea’s defeat to Forest has already boosted our position, with Opta now giving us a 98.35% chance of finishing in the top five, underlining how results elsewhere are working in our favour.

At the same time, we’re dealing with our own challenges, including the Premier League’s highest injury count, which makes every game a test of depth and resilience.

Pedro himself acknowledged the pressure on his side, adding: “We still need to fight for every point… it wasn’t good enough; we need to change the situation.”

That combination of urgency and frustration could make Chelsea dangerous, but it also shows a team still searching for answers.

Ultimately, while the Chelsea forward is talking about stepping up, this is an opportunity for us to do exactly the same at Anfield, take control of the situation, and make sure the conversation after the game is about Liverpool getting the job done.

Reports in Italy claim that Luka Modric returned to the Milan training centre this morning. Hence, the Rossoneri hope to see the Croat return to action for the last game of the season despite a recent cheekbone surgery.

Modric’s season with Milan might not be over as Italian sources, including Sky Sport Italia and MilanNews, report that the 40-year-old returned to Milanello on Tuesday morning for the first time since suffering a cheekbone injury that required surgery two weeks ago.

Modric returns to Milanello for first time after surgery

It was expected that Modric would not play for Milan again this season, focusing his recovery on the World Cup with the Croatia national team.

However, according to MilanNews, his return to Milanello this morning suggests that the Real Madrid legend will push to be available for the season’s final game.

PISA, ITALY – FEBRUARY 13: Luka Modric of AC Milan celebrates after scoring a goal during the Serie A match between Pisa SC and AC Milan at Arena Garibaldi on February 13, 2026 in Pisa, Italy. (Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)

Milan have won only one of their last five league games and are still not certain to qualify for the Champions League, as their advantage over fifth-placed Roma has been reduced to three points.

Milan host Atalanta next weekend, then visit Genoa in Round 37 and play at home against Cagliari in the final round.

2026 will mark the sixth football season for Tennessee under head coach Josh Heupel. The season will also be the third with 16 SEC teams after Oklahoma and Texas became league members in 2024.

The Vols will kick off their 2026 football season Sept. 5 versus Furman at Neyland Stadium.

The Vols will also host Kennesaw State (Salute To Service), Texas, Auburn (champions weekend), Alabama, Kentucky and LSU, while playing at Georgia Tech, Arkansas, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt during the 2026 campaign.

Beginning in 2026, Tennessee will play Alabama, Kentucky and Vanderbilt as permanent opponents. Each SEC school will have three permanent opponents and six rotating opponents for the next four years.

Tennessee's Checker Neyland game will be against Texas. The SEC contest is slated for Sept. 26 at Neyland Stadium.

Nov. 7 will also mark homecoming for the Vols against Kentucky.

More: Josh Heupel details if a starting quarterback will be named in spring

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This article originally appeared on Vols Wire: 2026 Tennessee football: Checker Neyland, homecoming games announced

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Alex O'Donovan's header fired Newcastle ahead at the Magpies' Little Benton Academy before Samuel Alker's close-range finish swiftly levelled the clash before the half-hour mark.

Jack Callaghan restored Newcastle's lead within the opening minute of the restart, the 17-year-old winger's first league goal at under-18 level, before O'Donovan netted his second goal of the game shortly after the hour mark.

Ollie Pickles set up a nervy finale after pulling a goal back in the 90th minute but Newcastle's youngsters held firm to record a fifth consecutive home win, sealing third place in the table with a game to spare.

Chris Moore's side conclude their 2025/26 Under-18 Premier League North campaign on Saturday 9 May when facing an away clash against Middlesbrough [kick-off 11am BST].

A victory against their Boro counterparts would see our under-18s eclipse their highest points tally since the 2013/14 campaign [47].

Newcastle United Under-18s: Oliver Holland, Henry Johnson (c), Luke Gilligan, Aaron Epia, Lesecond Yeutembip (Thomas Old 45), Matthew Taylor (Jayden Kouossu 77), Jack Callaghan, Muawiya Ghanem, Kacey Wooster (Alfie Hutchison 71), Alex O'Donovan, Matheos Ferreira (Alfie Seldon 71).

Subs not used: Lucas Flack.

Things are not going well for Real Madrid, with the club being surrounded by negative coverage in the media in recent days.

Not only are the Merengues set to end the season without a single trophy, it appears that the dressing room is close to imploding, with reports of issues from the locker room are surfacing one after another.

The likes of Dani Carvajal, Dani Ceballos, Raul Asencio, and Alvaro Carreras have had problems with manager Alvaro Arbeloa.

Meanwhile, as reported a while back, Kylian Mbappe was also involved in a major flare-up with one of the staff members.

Antonio Rudiger involved in a bust-up

Now, according to The Athletic, Real Madrid veteran defender Antonio Rudiger, too, was involved in a major training ground bust-up with a first-team member in April.

As per the report, the entire episode was instigated by the German defender leading to a heated altercation at Valdebebas last month.

However, it is also claimed that the 33-year-old mainstay later apologised for his actions and even invited his teammates and their families to lunch to smooth things over inside the locker room.

Alvaro Carreras the other party involved?

Carreras was allegedly slapped by Rudiger. (Photo by Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, an alternate report from Onda Cero claims that the other player involved in this heated altercation with Rudiger was Alvaro Carreras.

As per the update, the 33-year-old veteran slapped the Spanish left-back in the dressing room, with the incident said to have occurred sometime between Real Madrid’s matches against Alaves and Real Betis.

The 2025 summer signing has recently dropped out of Arbeloa’s plans, with Ferland Mendy and Fran Garcia overtaking him in the pecking order at left-back.

The situation is far from ideal for Real Madrid and with still a few weeks left before the season ends, the club will hope that there are no more issues and that things settle down.

Hey all, here’s your open thread for Tuesday.

MMA ADJACENT

God, these look brutal.

Yeah, he’s earned it but… gotta be better things to do with that money.

TOTALLY OFF TOPIC

Great doc here from the NFB.

What do you think about those accents?

GAME TIME

Testing out how this kind of quiz embeds into our site.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

• Carnage: Whittaker makes his pick for UFC 328 — FULL STORY
• Tough loss: JDM’s coach speaks — FULL STORY
• Dariush dilemma: Should Beneil go bye bye? — FULL STORY

Enjoy!

Xavi Hernandez is under consideration by Chelsea to be their next manager, as they lean towards a coaching ideology already set down by the four years of the ownership so far.

The London club are undergoing what is described as a “period of self-reflection” after the debacle of the Liam Roseniorappointment and a generally disappointing season outside the FA Cup, but have naturally had to consider what next as they want everything fully in place for pre-season.

The feeling is that the club have made significant progress in instilling a football identity that is now visible in the academy right down through the age groups, and that one of the values of Enzo Maresca was that his teams typified this approach.

Chelsea consequently want to persevere with a coach of similar principles, which is how Xavi has come into a conversation that also includes Xabi Alonso, Porto's Franceso Farioli and Cesc Fabregas. Fabregas, however, is not expected to leave Como this summer.

Andoni Iraola is also greatly admired by the football hierarchy but he is seen as of a separate school to the other contenders. Chelsea would have to weigh up whether to commit to a deviation of approach for the first time were they to push for the Basque, although they do have considerable competition for his signature.

Hence, Xavi has become a name more prominently mentioned. He has been out of work since leaving Barcelona in 2024, a three-year period that brought one league title.

While the manner in which that spell ended has brought more debate about his potential and career, there is a belief that Xavi himself has sought to learn from the period, and that part of the issues were because of his emotional attachment to his boyhood club.

The Catalan now wants a “project” that would allow more space than Spanish football usually allows.

It's all about emotions...

This Tuesday evening, Arsenal host Atlético de Madrid in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final.

A match that could turn out to be Antoine Griezmann's last ever game in European competition.

The 2018 world champion is indeed set to join Orlando in the United States this summer, bringing the great and wonderful European chapter of his career to a close.

Champions League, Europa League; Real Sociedad, FC Barcelona or Atlético de Madrid: relive Antoine Griezmann's most memorable European goals here, from 2013 to 2026.

Spoiler: you'll see, Grizou has already scored at Arsenal's ground. A hint for tonight?

Which one is your favorite?

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.

Carlos Sainz thinks F1 drivers should ease off on their criticism of the new regulations, even if they aren’t perfect yet.

There were plenty of changes introduced as part of the 2026 F1 regulations, and we saw some of them in action at the Miami Grand Prix.

Lando Norris seemed supportive of what he saw but pointed out that issues with hybridisation still need addressing.

Oscar Piastri, though, raised concerns about how random some of the changes felt. Carlos Sainz, coming off his second top-10 finish of the season, urged others to give it more time before passing judgment.

Carlos Sainz urges F1 to collaborate over new regulations

Carlos Sainz says it’s time for Formula 1 drivers to move away from constant criticism of the new regulations and instead focus on working together to improve them.

The updated 2026 rules were put to the test at the Miami Grand Prix, and reactions were mixed across the grid. Lando Norris acknowledged some positive steps but pointed out long-term issues with hybridisation, while Oscar Piastri questioned the logic behind some of the changes.

Sainz, coming off his second top-10 finish of the season, called for more patience and a collaborative approach from his fellow drivers. Speaking to ESPN after Miami, he addressed whether the recent updates had made a real difference.

“Look, overtaking is overtaking. That’s true. But it depends more on what you do with the engine strategy and engine map than what you do as a driver,” Sainz said.

“So I think these regulations still have potential for improvement. But I think it’s time to stop criticising and keep pushing for changes in the right direction.”

F1 needs collaboration to address criticism of 2026 rule changes

McLaren took things further by instructing Norris not to criticise publicly – a surprising move given that he hadn’t been particularly outspoken about them lately.

In contrast, Sainz seems open to a more constructive path forward. His recent comments could signal a willingness among drivers to work more closely with officials rather than remain adversarial.

Read more:

The New York Giants selected linebacker Arvell Reese with the fifth overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft, adding yet another young star to an already impressive defensive core.

Reese is a dynamic linebacker who can play multiple roles in the Giants’ defense. The rookie was nothing short of a superstar during his three seasons at Ohio State and was widely regarded as the top defensive prospect in the draft.

Standing at 6-foot-4 and 243 pounds, Reese excelled as both an inside linebacker and edge rusher at the college level. The rising star will help the Giants’ defense in numerous ways next season.

Giants general manager Joe Schoen recently outlined the team’s plans for using Reese in his rookie campaign.

.@Giants GM Joe Schoen on how they were ecstatic to select LB Arvell Reese with the No. 5 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft and his fit in the defense.

📻 https://t.co/2rqLCIqNX3#Giants | #NYGiantspic.twitter.com/DEZuX9dtSM

— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) May 4, 2026

"Coach (John Harbaugh) mentioned it in our press conference the other night, just position-less defense," Schoen said. "We see him as an off-ball linebacker; he'll be playing next to Tremaine off the ball, and obviously, the versatility he has from what you saw on the college field. Being able to play some edge, being able to rush, blitz, and some of the cover stuff.

"You talk about the size that he and Tremaine give us in the middle of the field, just think about guys throwing between two 6-foot-4 linebackers with really good length. So, it should be fun to see, but right now he’s going to be our WILL linebacker."

Reese recorded 112 total tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, and 7.0 sacks across three seasons with the Buckeyes. The talented linebacker should benefit quickly from playing alongside Tremaine Edmunds, an eight-year veteran and two-time Pro Bowler who will serve as an excellent mentor for Reese in 2026.

Reese will put his talents on full display during the Giants’ rookie minicamp this weekend, and the linebacker should begin contributing on New York’s defense in short order.

This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Joe Schoen breaks down how New York Giants intend to use Arvell Reese

The Oklahoma City Thunder will host the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday. This will be Game 1 of the Round 2 NBA playoff series between the two squads.

The Thunder have been off for over a week. They collected a 131-122 Game 4 win over the Phoenix Suns last Monday to complete another Round 1 sweep. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 31 points and eight assists. Chet Holmgren helped with 24 points and 12 rebounds.

Meanwhile, the Lakers had a 98-78 Game 6 win over the Houston Rockets on Friday. LeBron James had 28 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Austin Reaves dropped 15 points as he works his way back from a month-long absence.

The Thunder remain without an All-NBA talent. Jalen Williams (hamstring strain) is out. Thomas Sorber (torn ACL) is out.

Meanwhile, the Lakers continue life without an MVP candidate. Luka Doncic (hamstring strain) is out.

Tipoff from Oklahoma City is set for 7:30 p.m. CT.

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Full injury report for Tuesday's Lakers vs. Thunder Game 1 matchup

South Carolina occupies a huge space in women's basketball - the USC women's basketball team is one of the most dominant forces in women's sports - but over the years, much of the state's high school talent has reached the same caliber.

From current stars to past legends, who would be the 10 best South Carolina girls high school basketball players of all time?

As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, that's the question USA TODAY Sports is looking to answer in celebration of the greatest American sports figures of all time, including the high school athletes who shaped communities and defined their states.

More: Who is all-time greatest South Carolina high school football player?

With that in mind, here are our selections for the girls basketball players who defined South Carolina. The 10 players (listed in alphabetical order) were all standouts in high school before going on to play at both the college and professional ranks.

Did we miss someone? There's a spot for you to write in your own candidate who wasn't included on our list of 10.

Alaina Coates, Dutch Fork

Coates was dominant during her years as a Silver Fox. She led Dutch Fork to a second-straight state title with a 29-0 record her senior year, before staying in-state to star at the University of South Carolina and go second overall in the 2017 WNBA draft. 

Joyce Edwards, Camden

Edwards is a very fresh face on this list, but she’s earned her place. In a high school career in which she starred on the basketball, volleyball and soccer teams, she is second only to legend Ivory Latta in the state record books for all-time career points with 3,966. She joined the University of South Carolina as one of the nation’s top recruits and recently finished her sophomore season there, averaging 19.2 points per game. 

Allison Feaster, Chester

Feaster’s 3,427 high school career points land her at third overall in South Carolina girls high school basketball history. After moving on to play professionally domestically and internationally, she took on a front-office executive role with the Boston Celtics. (And as an extra accolade, she is the mother of Sarah Strong, a former North Carolina high school standout and current UConn star.)

Sheila Foster, Boiling Springs

Many know Foster as a legend at the University of South Carolina, but her high school years were impressive, too. She led Boiling Springs to their first (and sole) state basketball title in 1978, and was an All-State and All-American selection. 

More: High school basketball shot clock: Which states have it, which states don't? Why?

Ivory Latta, York Comprehensive

To many, Latta’s name is synonymous with South Carolina girls high school basketball. Her 4,319 career points are the most by any girl or boy in state history, and her name is atop many of the girls state record book entries. She went on to become the University of North Carolina’s leading all-time scorer and a two-time WNBA All-Star. 

Katrina McClain, St. Andrews

McClain has stacked accolades on every level of the game. After leading St. Andrews to an undefeated 30-0 season her senior year, she went on to be named the National College Player of the year during her time at Georgia and has since been elected to the Women’s and Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. The NCAA’s annual award for the top women’s power forward is named after her. 

Pearl Moore, Wilson

An early trailblazer for women’s basketball, Moore was a four-year starter at Wilson and earned national attention at the AAU Junior Olympic Games. She technically became the all-time leading scorer in women’s college basketball with 4,061 points during her career at Francis Marion College, but the record is often challenged because it occurred before the NCAA took control of women’s sports in 1982. 

Martha Parker Hester, Hammond

Parker led Hammond to five straight state titles during her time there, averaging 28.7 points and 10 rebounds. She, like many on this list, went on to become a star at the University of South Carolina, where she was a two-time All-American. 

Direne Thomas, Blackville-Hilda

Thomas is all over the South Carolina record books. Landing in the top five all-time for most points in a career, most points in a season and most 30-point games in a season (17 games lands her in third place) to name a few, she cemented herself as a Blackville-Hilda – and South Carolina – legend. 

A’ja Wilson, Heathwood Hall Episcopal 

South Carolina gave the basketball world one of its most dominant stars in Wilson. The No. 1 national prospect coming out of high school, Wilson averaged 24.7 points, 13.9 rebounds and 4.3 blocks during her high school career before becoming a legend at the University of South Carolina and a four-time WNBA MVP. 

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Vote for South Carolina's all-time best girls basketball player

The NASCAR Cup Series is ready to take on the 2026 Go Bowling At The Glen at Watkins Glen International, and the entry list has been revealed. 

NASCAR released the 2026 Go Bowling At The Glen, O'Reilly Series, and Truck Series entry list for Watkins Glen on Monday afternoon. This is Watkins Glen's only race date on the NASCAR schedule and the first road course since COTA in March. All three NASCAR levels will be on track this weekend.

All 36 full-time drivers are present for the 2026 Go Bowling At The Glen on Sunday afternoon. This is the second season in the charter system's history in which all 36 entries have a full-time competitor. Josh Bilicki (Garage 66) and Katherine Legge (Live Fast Motorsports) are the open entries, making it a 38-driver field.

Below, you can check out the NASCAR entry list for the Cup Series race at Watkins Glen in May 2026!

NASCAR Cup Series entry list, Watkins Glen International (May 2026)

1. No. 1 Ross Chastain
2. No. 2 Austin Cindric
3. No. 3 Austin Dillon
4. No. 4 Noah Gragson
5. No. 5 Kyle Larson
6. No. 6 Brad Keselowski
7. No. 7 Daniel Suarez
8. No. 8 Kyle Busch
9. No. 9 Chase Elliott
10. No. 10 Ty Dillon
11. No. 11 Denny Hamlin
12. No. 12 Ryan Blaney
13. No. 16 A.J. Allmendinger
14. No. 17 Chris Buescher
15. No. 19 Chase Briscoe
16. No. 20 Christopher Bell
17. No. 21 Josh Berry
18. No. 22 Joey Logano
19. No. 23 Bubba Wallace
20. No. 24 William Byron
21. No. 34 Todd Gilliland
22. No. 35 Riley Herbst
23. No. 38 Zane Smith
24. No. 41 Cole Custer
25. No. 42 John Hunter Nemechek
26. No. 43 Erik Jones
27. No. 45 Tyler Reddick
28. No. 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
29. No. 48 Alex Bowman
30. No. 51 Cody Ware
31. No. 54 Ty Gibbs
32. No. 60 Ryan Preece
33. No 66 Josh Bilicki*
34. No. 71 Michael McDowell
35. No. 77 Carson Hocevar
36. No. 78 Katherine Legge*
37. No. 88 Connor Zilisch
38. No. 97 Shane van Gisbergen

* = open entry

More: How to watch NASCAR live at Watkins Glen in May 2026, full schedule

This article originally appeared on Motorsports Wire: NASCAR entry list for Cup Series race at Watkins Glen in May 2026

DORAL, Fla. — Cameron Young was so dominant at the Cadillac Championship that he called a one-shot penalty on himself on the second hole. And still won by six shots.

He officially is on a heater after finishing the event at Trump National Doral with a 68, giving him a 19-under 269 for the tournament.

Scottie Scheffler (68) was a distant second at 13-under. Scheffler now has 13 career runner-up finishes and three in a row.

Young opened with a 64 and never was threatened after leading by five shots after the second round. He was the solo leader wire-to-wire, the second time this season on the PGA Tour, joining Justin Rose who did it at the Farmers Insurance Open.

"I feel like I had different parts of the game working on different days," Young said. "Today I drove it a lot better. First couple days I putted great and I drove it a little bit more all over the place. Thankfully I feel like I've got a lot of tools right now and throughout the week I was able to use different parts of the game to keep myself moving in the right direction."

The native New Yorker won with Donald Trump watching from his suite on the 18th green for most of the afternoon. Trump, who stayed at the resort the previous night, came out to the course about 30 minutes after Young teed off.

Trump pointed to Young and gave him a thumbs up as Young walked off the 18th green to greet his family. Later, as Trump was being driven off the course in a black SUV, he had the driver stop the vehicle when he saw Young headed to the scoring tent. The president got out and shook the champion's hand.

"He was very complimentary," Young said about their short conversation. "He's nothing if not a very interesting man. He's very powerful. It's an honor to get to play in front if him."

Young, an early leader for Player of the Year along with Matt Fitzpatrick, has two wins (The Players, Cadillac) and two thirds (Arnold Palmer, Masters). He cruised to the win at Doral after starting the day with a six-shot lead.

Which lessened the sting on the second hole when he summoned a rules official after believing his ball took a slight turn forward as he took back his club for his second shot on the 458-yard, par-4 second hole.

This came after he picked up his ball to give himself a favorable lie, which was allowed because of the 1.1 inches of rain that fell on the course before play started.

Young told the official he was over the ball when it rolled. He was assessed a one-shot penalty.

"Your heart sinks when you see it move, but it moved, and that's part of what golf's about."

Cameron Young called a one-stroke penalty on himself on the second hole Sunday @Cadillac_Champ for his ball moving at address.

A few hours later, he secured his third PGA TOUR title. pic.twitter.com/GBPa8YP8fg

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 3, 2026

No problem. Young stuck his third shot inside 14-feet and drained the putt for a par.

"Your heart sinks when you see it move," Young said. "But it moved. That's part of what golf is about. There was no one that was going to give me a penalty there but myself. I wasn't going to look away and say it didn't move when it rolled over."

After birdies at No. 3 and 5, all that was left was for Young was to accept the $3.6 million winners check, which puts him atop the 2026 money list.

Young, No. 4 in the world, led Scheffler, the world No. 1, by seven shots after six holes with seven golfers tied for third, one shot behind Scheffler.

Most impressive about Young's season is his biggest conquests have come on the most difficult courses.

Augusta National and TPC Sawgrass, homes of the Masters and Players, are the two toughest courses on the PGA Tour schedule so far this season. Bay Hill, where Arnie's tournament is held, is No. 5.

The PGA Tour has not had an event at Doral in a decade. The last three years a tournament was held on the Blue Monster (2014-2016), the course was the third, seventh and 11th toughest on the Tour, respectfully.

"I tend to play well at difficult golf courses, difficult setups, difficult conditions," the 28-year-old Young said. "I think it mentally makes it easier for me to focus shot to shot. When you feel like you have to birdie every hole, and you feel like you're losing when you make a par. I think that's proven to be more difficult for me.

"Difficult golf courses I think it just forces you to focus on what you're doing and kind of the task at hand."

The conditions, though, were very benign in the final round compared to the whipping winds that made the third round so difficult.

The air was thick after the morning rain, but the winds died significantly. The course played about 3 shots under par on the final round, about 2.5 shots easier than the previous day.

"I didn't know exactly how the day was going to go, whether we would be starting or stopping," Young said. "Just one of those times played to my hands."

Scheffler played with Young three of the four days.

"Cam played fantastic golf all week," Scheffler said. "He was hitting a lot of quality shots and making putts from anywhere. He was going to be to be a tough man to beat this week."

Tom D'Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Cameron Young could be favorite to win PGA Tour Player of the Year

The Denver Broncos made the final pick in the 2026 NFL draft last month, giving the title of "Mr. Irrelevant" to Buffalo linebacker Red Murdock.

Murdock (6-1, 232 pounds) was actually a very relevant player in college, breaking an NCAA record with 17 career forced fumbles (Khalil Mack previously held the record with 16).

"Meticulous intent and being kind of being obsessed with it," Murdock said when asked in a post-draft conference call about his ability to force fumbles. "Now I’m just ready to go do that on the field and help us get some wins.”

Six of those forced fumbles came in 2025, and Murdock also racked up 142 tackles last fall. He was named a second-team All-American and a first-team All-MAC defender following his final year at Buffalo.

"Murdock, just man, he’s a tackling machine," Broncos general manager George Paton said after the draft. "Just really instinctive. Really good against the run. He may hold the record — you guys may know — for forced fumbles. Everyone talked about the Texas Tech guy [Jacob Rodriguez], and he was amazing, but this guy — oh my gosh, if you look at his career and all the forced fumbles he had. Just a nose for the ball, relentless motor. Think he could be a good special teamer. Great makeup, all of these guys I think have great makeup.”

Seventh-round draft picks are never a lock to make the active roster, but Murdock has clearly impressed Denver's front office, and he might have better odds to make it than a typical late-round pick. As Paton noted, Murdock can contribute right away on special teams, and he'll compete to win rotational playing time at linebacker. Murdock is a very relevant player to track going into the summer.

Social: Follow Broncos Wire on Facebook and Twitter/X! Did you know: These 25 celebrities are Broncos fans.

This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: Denver Broncos: Red Murdock holds NCAA record for most forced fumbles

The Boston Celtics have built their teams in a number of ways over the decades, but few if any methods have born more fruit than through the NBA draft. The best players to suit up for the Celtics have, by and large, come to Boston either through being taken directly in the annual event, or via trades made that night.

And it is not just the top stars who have been picked up by the Celtics via the draft. Countless members of the storied ball club's alumni have been taken by the team via that annual event, and some schools are better represented than others. We can see blue blood programs and some very small schools both delivering top talent to Boston's rosters over the years, so we decided to take a look at which players came from which schools overall.

So without further ado, let's take a look at every player who has been drafted by the Celtics out of Georgia State University.

R.J. Hunter - guard

Draft year and position: first round (28th pick, 28th overall), 2015 NBA Draft

Seasons at Georgia State University: three

Seasons played with Celtics: two

All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.

Listen to "Havlicek Stole the Pod" on:

Blue Wire: https://tiny.ee/CdKp

iTunes: https://tiny.ee/RK47

YouTube: https://tiny.ee/cOW3

This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Every Georgia State University player drafted by the Celtics

Sanju Samson was back in action for Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2026 as they took on Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday evening.

Since scoring the maiden century of the IPL 2026 season against DC, Samson has consistently performed for CSK and has been their highest run scorer. 

The opening batsman has already scored two centuries this season, including a 101 in 54 balls against CSK's arch-rivals Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium. But in the next match against MI, he departed for just 11 runs in nine balls. 

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EJ Colson Named as Miners’ QB1

There will be no quarterback drama entering the summer for the UTEP Miners. EJ Colson, the transfer from Incarnate Word, is QB1 in El Paso. Colson is well traveled, having played at UCF prior to ICW and now El Paso.

Pokes Insider: Tight ends spring review

Ryan Thorburn of Pokes Insider, Wyoming’s in-house reporting, takes a look at the Wyoming football tight end position as we transition to the dog days of the off-season.

Five standout performers from San Diego State football’s spring game

This one is from over the weekend, The Daily Aztec, the student newspaper at San Diego State, points out five names to watch going forward from the spring game this past weekend.

How the Pac-12’s deal with The CW, and The CW’s deal with ESPN, benefits Gonzaga | Jon Wilner

Jon Wilner, Bay Area News Group, breaks down why the recent news about The CW’s deal with ESPN could be hugely beneficial for Gonzaga basketball.

EJ Colson, QB1

Softball tournament starts tomorrow, btw

The Star Wars posts were plenty yesterday

On The Horizon:

Today – Mountain West Softball Tournament Preview: Round 1

Today – The Good, the Bad, the Ugly: Running Backs

Wednesday – Peak Perspective: Evaluating the Future PAC-12 Conference

Buffalo Bills running back James Cook is the NFL’s reigning rushing champ, and we’ve hardly spent any time this offseason on his future in Joe Brady’s offense as one of the league’s most efficient ground-game workhorses.

Frankly, there’s essentially been no conversation on Buffalo’s running back room over the past few months, and it’s the team’s only completely unchanged position group from a season ago — no adds, no subtractions (if we’re not counting fullback Reggie Gilliam’s departure eastward).

In 2025, as the Bills passing offense needed to exert considerable effort to even approach productivity of previous seasons in the Josh Allen era, Buffalo was fortunate to have Cook to lean on throughout his spectacular year that ended with the rushing-yard crown.

His 309 carries were the most by a Bills runner since Travis Henry in 2003 and the ninth-most in a single season in team history. Cook’s 95.4 rushing yards per game from 2025 stand alone in fourth place for the Bills all-time.

But what is done is done, and it’s time we project forward for Buffalo’s superstar back. We’re going to actively spin it forward here at Buffalo Rumblings. Often.

How effective should we expect Cook to be in 2026, after over 300 carries with more than 1,600 yards and 12 rushing scores last regular season?

To establish a baseline, I compiled running back seasons since 2020 factoring in age, career workload, and productivity that were the most similar to Cook as he stands right now, entering his Age 27 season following his 2025 that led to a second-team All-Pro distinction.

These were the five best overall “matches” for Cook when considering all those factors.

• Dalvin Cook, 2020
• Derrick Henry, 2020
• Alvin Kamara, 2022
• Josh Jacobs, 2023
• Christian McCaffrey, 2023

Certainly I could’ve (and normally would’ve) expanded to a larger sample — checked further back in time — but with the way the running back position has rapidly changed in the NFL over the past decade, using examples from ball-carriers in the mid 2010s did not feel all that applicable to the game today.

Here are the results of those seasons for the running backs most similar to Cook entering the 2026 campaign with the Bills:

(Kamara did not have Cook volume — in fact, he’s never had a 1,000-yard season to my bewilderment — but his efficiency and career carry total were too close to not include.)

For context, the averages across the bottom row are very comparable to the 2025 season for Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams who went 250-1251-10 in Sean McVay’s offense a year ago.

And here’s how much of an increase or decrease those numbers represented from the previous season for those runners when they found themselves at a similar career-carry point to Cook today:

The cyborg that is Derrick Henry saw an uptick in all of his metrics, including success rate, the latter of which would be normally baffling for any other human being playing running back in the NFL given the significantly increased volume.

James’ brother, Dalvin, was only slightly better across the board. Kamara shouldered less run-game responsibility in 2022 for the Saints than he did in 2021, yet was noticeably more efficient on the ground. Jacobs missed four games due to injury in his final season with the Raiders and saw the most precipitous drop in productivity of any of the five backs in the sample.

It is worth noting — Jacobs’ 2022 was the most similar to Cook’s 2025. In that year in Las Vegas, Jacobs toted the rock 340 times for 1,653 yards with 12 scores on the ground. Cautionary tale? Maybe.

It is also worth noting — the career-carry “cliff” for elite backs is between 1,500 and 1,800 attempts, and Cook’s career total is only at 982 (counting the playoffs) before the 2026 campaign.

McCaffrey spent 2022 on the Panthers and 49ers then asserted himself as Kyle Shanahan’s unquestioned bellcow in 2023 en route to his second first-team All-Pro honors and the league’s Comeback Player of the Year award.

The Bills do have to brace themselves for a less productive Cook in 2026, strictly from a rushing-yard total perspective.

Over the past 50 seasons — so dating back to 1976 — there have been nine instances (18% of the time) in which a running back led the NFL in rushing yards then increased his total the following year, and Earl Campbell miraculously did it in 1979 after 1,450 yards in 1978 then eclipsed his 1979 total of 1,697 yards with 1,934 in 1980 — those were his first three years in the NFL, by the way. That 18% is higher percentage than I initially expected, honestly, yet still rather low.

The other backs to accomplish the rare feat are Eric Dickerson, Emmitt Smith, Barry Sanders (2x), Edgerrin James, and Henry from 2019 to 2020.

A new piece along Buffalo’s sturdy offensive line along with a potentially pass-happy head coach, veteran receiver acquisition, and fourth-round wideout many are excited about feel like the ingredients for a less-than-300-carry workload ahead for Cook. And that wouldn’t be the worst development, particularly with his shelf life more front-of-mind given he’ll be 27 in September and is approaching 1,000 career NFL carries.

I’m going to project Cook’s 2026 right at those averages of 274 attempts — a 35-carry dip from 2025 — for 1,272 yards — a 349-yard dip — with nine touchdowns — three fewer than 2025.

That feels right to me.

In each of his first four seasons in Buffalo, Cook has managed a success rate of 50% of higher, which is quite impressive. Success rate is the frequency at which a running back’s carries gain at least 40% of the needed yardage on first down, 60% on second down, and 100% on third or fourth down. If he can stay above 50% again — and his historical comparisons indicate it’s doable — the Bills run game will hum once again.

How do you envision Cook’s 2026?

We’re back today to get you caught up on the latest from Syracuse’s Olympic Sports as the spring sports calendar ramps up.

Rowing:

The #9 Orange women were off this weekend as they train for the ACC Championships to begin on May 15th.

The #12 Syracuse men are off until the Eastern Sprints in Worcester on May 17th.

Softball (18-26, 4-18):

Syracuse ended their season being swept by the #13 Virginia Tech Hokies, falling in each game by 10+ runs in five innings. It’s the second straight year that the Orange have failed to qualify for the ACC Tournament after four straight appearances from 2021-24.

Jadyn Burney led Syracuse in batting average (.317), hits and stolen bases (20). Madison Knight was the team leader in home runs (15), runs batted in (38) and walks (29). Knight also led the Orange with 9 wins on the mound.

Track and Field:

Syracuse had a strong weekend on the track led by Jamir Brown’s 13.39 time in the 110m hurdles. Brown’s time is top-ten in the country in the event this season and not far off the school record of 13.28. Peyton Rollins’ 13.97 in the 100m hurdles is now the 9th-fastest in the ACC this season.

The Orange are at Cornell on Tuesday for their final tune-up before the ACC Outdoor Championships.

We’ll have more updates next week.

Brentford remain firmly in the hunt for a European spot after a 3-0 win over West Ham United on Saturday and, with the finish line in sight, the Bees are posting impressive numbers at both ends of the pitch.

Leading through an own goal from Hammers defender Konstantinos Mavropanos at the break, the west Londoners kicked on in the second period and Igor Thiago's penalty, followed by a composed late finish from Mikkel Damsgaard, wrapped up the points.

Head coach Keith Andrews afterwards hailed a "really special" London derby victory, which also marked young forward Kaye Furo's Premier League debut and a much-anticipated return to action for Josh Dasilva after 822 days.

Brentford got back to winning ways after five consecutive draws and a defeat, and Andrews will have been delighted by an incisive attacking display and another clean sheet.

Only Manchester United, Everton and Manchester City have hit the woodwork more than Brentford (11) this season, but on this occasion, it was Caoimhín Kelleher's goal that led a charmed life.

Centre-forward Taty Castellanos saw two efforts clip the post in the first half, while Crysencio Summerville and Tomáš Souček both struck the frame of the goal for the visitors after the interval.

The shut-out made it 10 league clean sheets for the season, with Brentford reaching double digits for only the second time since their promotion from the Championship. In the context of this campaign, only Arsenal (17), Man City (14), Crystal Palace (12) and Everton (11) have kept more.

If Kelleher and his defensive unit need any further incentive, three more clean sheets between now and the end of the campaign would see the Bees break their current record of 12 in a Premier League season, set in 2022/23.

The clean sheet underlined Brentford’s resilience, but there was also plenty to like in attack, with Thiago notably scoring his 25th goal across all competitions.

His trademark shuffle and finish from the spot took the Brazilian to 22 Premier League goals this term, and Brentford's ability to win penalties and convert them has been remarkable.

Across UEFA's top five leagues, only the unerring Harry Kane (10) has scored more penalties this season than Thiago (8), who coolly kept his eyes on West Ham keeper Mads Hermansen before slotting past the wrong-footed Dane on 54 minutes.

'Across UEFA's top five leagues, only the unerring Harry Kane (10) has scored more penalties this season than Igor Thiago (8)'

Brentford and their prolific striker are indebted, however, to flying winger Dango Ouattara's pace and trickery. The Burkina Faso international delivered another impressive display against the Hammers, and it was his driving run into the box which drew the ill-judged challenge from El Hadji Diouf that led to Thiago's spot-kick.

Ouattara has now won more penalties (5) this season than any player across UEFA's big five leagues - more than even the likes of Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr and Kylian Mbappé, who have won four apiece.

The former Bournemouth man has justified Brentford's decision to pay a club-record fee for him last summer, and his four tackles against West Ham at the Gtech also underlined his willingness to contribute defensively.

There were strong performances all over the park for the Bees, but it was Damsgaard - the scorer of their third goal - who added a touch of finesse to proceedings.

Fed by Keane Lewis-Potter, Damsgaard's smooth control and finish were composure personified, but arguably his most impressive moment of the match came before the break, when the Dane sumptuously cushioned a long ball into Thiago's path for a fantastic chance that was well saved by Hermansen.

Next up: a very different test - Manchester City away.

We are into the first week week of May and there is so much going on. Obviously today is Cinco de Mayo, but it’s also National Teacher’s Day and National Hoagie Day among others.

Yesterday was National Firefighter’s Day and tomorrow is the start of National Nurses Week.

Now don’t forget Mother’s Day on Sunday.

I hope you’re in to celebrating this week. Remember to thank a teacher, firefighter, and nurse this week. Also, get your hands on a Hoagie.

Here are your flakes.

Nebraska

Big Ten Announces Volleyball Opponent Rotations for 2026 The Big Ten Conference announced its volleyball opponent rotations for the 2026 season on Monday. 

Husker offseason midpoint refresher: Can Nebraska’s O-line set the tone? With some notable portal additions and two key returning starters, the Husker O-line has the chance to be a strength. But, as was said this spring about attacking each day, “We have time but we don’t have time.”

Nebraska Baseball swept by Ohio State, drops in rankings Nebraska closed out its weekend series at Ohio State with a performance it would prefer to forget.

Benge, Sautron Earn Top 20 Finishes at Big Ten Championship Sophomore Jackson Benge earned the top finish by a Husker men’s golfer at a conference championship event since 2007, as the Omaha Westside graduate took 13th with an even-par 210 at the 2026 Big Ten Championship on Sunday.

Elsewhere

Carolina Hurricanes sold out of popular ‘beer skate’ mugs The Carolina Hurricanes are officially hanging up their “beer skates” for the Stanley Cup playoffs.

College basketball rankings: Tennessee enters top 15 in way-too-early Top 25 And 1 after landing Juke Harris The Vols are flexing their financial muscle after securing the Wake Forest transfer to push their projected roster payroll over the $15 million mark

Man stabbed to death at Busch Stadium hours after Cardinals’ loss to Dodgers A 65-year-old man was arrested on Monday after the incident, which officials said took place between two members of a cleaning crew

Hotels have a big World Cup problem: Bookings are running far below projections With only six weeks to go before the start of the World Cup, hotels at most of the cities hosting the tournament are facing a major problem: Bookings are running far below what they had expected.

Performance in the NFL Draft is not always defined by the players a team picks. Sometimes it’s defined by the player they passed up on.

Not to bring up a painful example, but Eric Ebron turned out to be an okay player for the Detroit Lions. But when the next three players drafted after Ebron were Taylor Lewan, Odell Beckham Jr., and Aaron Donald, it makes an okay pick look terrible.

So on the next Detroit Lions 2026 Draft roundtable discussion, we don’t talk about the picks the Lions made—we talk about the picks they didn’t make—the picks we wish they would have made. It’s our opportunity to play general manager, and it doesn’t always turn out well. Last year’s choices included Derrick Harmon (27 tackles, 3.0 sacks), Elic Ayomanor (515 catches, 4 TDs), Josaiah Stewart (22 tackles, 3.0 sacks), J.T. Tuimoloau (0 starts, 17 tackles, no sacks), and Fadil Diggs (0 tackles, 5 games played).

But Lions general manager Brad Holmes is far from infallible, either.

Previous 2026 draft roundtables:

• Pick most excited to see in training camp
• Favorite Lions 2026 draft pick
• Least favorite Lions 2026 draft pick

Here are our picks for:

2026 NFL Draft roundtable: Pick we wish the Lions would’ve made

Al Karsten: Stayed put at 50, taken an available EDGE or taken Max Llewellyn in the 7th

This is splitting hairs more than anything.

I’m comfortable with the Lions identifying Derrick Moore as their best Day 2 defensive end available and trusting Brad Holmes to go up and get him. But I would’ve been intrigued by a scenario where they stayed put at No. 50, preserved additional early Day 3 draft capital, and selected whichever edge—Moore, Gabe Jacas, or Zion Young—was still available and highest on their board.

If I had to pinpoint one alternative, while I am curious to dive more into Tyre West and his ability as a five-technique and potential interior player, I would’ve leaned even further into pass rush juice and targeted Iowa edge Max Llewellyn. He could’ve filled more of a designated pass-rush role—something closer to the Al-Quadin Muhammad usage—while competing with Ahmed Hassanein for a roster spot.

Erik Schlitt: Trade up for NB Keionte Scott in the fourth round

Nickelback Keionte Scott was selected by the Buccaneers with pick No. 116, and just two slots later, the Lions picked linebacker Jimmy Rolder at pick No. 118 in the fourth round. This was very much an instance where I hoped general manager Brad Holmes would get aggressive and trade up to grab Scott, a player I believed would have been great value at pick No. 50 overall.

John Whiticar: LB Jacob Rodriguez

This is perhaps a pick that I wish they could‘ve made, not should’ve made. I already covered why I wanted Rodriguez in Detroit, but to see him go off the board one pick (43) before Detroit was tough to watch (although from the sounds of things, Detroit coveted Derrick Moore more anyway). Rodriguez was one of the few cover linebackers available in the draft and one of the few natural answers to Alex Anzalone’s departure. Instead, the Lions ended up with Jimmy Rolder, a linebacker who could step into the WILL linebacker spot, but his coverage skills are below-average, even for a prospect. Rodriguez would not have tied Detroit to three-linebacker sets either, given that Derrick Barnes’ future in Detroit is cloudy. Maybe a trade-up for pick 42 was never in the cards, but I can dream.

Brandon Knapp: TE Hayden Large

I really wanted a tight end in this class, especially if the team doesn’t seem Sam LaPorta around. While Large wouldn’t have been a starting caliber player, he could’ve been a great TE4 to start the year and move up to TE3 next season with the chance to fight for a backup job. His story was also nice, and being paired up with Isaac TeSlaa again would be a great story.

Ryan Mathews: NB Keionte Scott

Detroit had plenty of chances to grab Keionte Scott, but ultimately chose to go a different route. Scott could have been the pick at No. 50 and nobody would have batted an eye. All they had to do was trade up a couple of spots in the fourth round from No. 118 to grab Scott when he was still on the board at No. 115. Abney isn’t a bad consolation prize in the fifth, but Scott was one of my favorite fits for Detroit given their uncertain future at safety.

Jeremy Reisman: LB Kyle Louis over LB Jimmy Rolder

While I get the special teams value and upside of Rolder at the linebacker position, I thought Louis—who went 20 picks after Rolder—was a better fit to potentially take on a defensive role earlier in his career. While Louis is considered pretty seriously undersized (6-foot, 224), he’s got serious coverage ability, plays with both urgency and instincts, and has all the football character Detroit loves (captain, film junkie, etc.).

The Colorado Avalanche picked apart goalie Jesper Wallstedt in Game 1. Was there something they saw that made that possible? Also, the Toronto Maple Leafs had quite the presser to introduce their new hockey operations staff, and the NHL draft lottery will take place tonight, and it will be broadcast on ESPN an hour before the Avs game begins.

All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — May 5.

Colorado Hockey Now

There were several franchise firsts and records in the Avalanche’s crazy 9-6 victory on Sunday. I highlighted five of them below.

The Avs were getting goals from all over the lineup, but many of them looked similar, in a way. Colorado picked apart goalie Jesper Wallstedt in Game 1.

One of my favorite parts of Game 1 was how, despite all the chaos. Despite all the goals and offense, Brett Kulak still was able to keep doing Brett Kulak things.

After seeing the finalists for three awards get announced without the Avalanche being among them, Gabe Landeskog received a finalist slot for one particular award.

Author’s Note: I’ll be in Minnesota later this week, continuing my playoff coverage from the road. Unfortunately, the expenses are adding up pretty quickly, and it’s getting more difficult to be at every game. If you enjoy the coverage here at Colorado Hockey Now and want to chip in to our travel budget, you can do so here via PAYPAL or VENMO. My goal remains to bring the best possible coverage from the rink and inside the locker room. Thank you all so much for being readers and supporters. Here’s to a playoff run that goes all the way through the end of June.

Stanley Cup Playoffs Recap

Game 2 Recap — Flyers 2 at Hurricanes 3 — (CAR leads 2-0)

The Flyers gained an early 2-0 lead, which became the first time all playoffs that the Hurricanes have trailed in the postseason. But Carolina fought back, got the game-tying goal in the third period, and the overtime winner from Taylor Hall to build a 2-0 lead as the series shifts to Philadelphia.

It’ll be interesting to see how the Flyers respond on home ice. On one hand, the early goals and the ability to stick with it through OT might give them confidence that they can skate with the Hurricanes. But on the other hand, this might be the game that got away. The pressure is on for them to win Game 3 and avoid trying to crawl back from down three games.

Game 1 Recap — Ducks 1 at Golden Knights 3 — (VGK leads 1-0)

The Golden Knights were outshot 34-22, but a strong performance from goalie Carter Hart and goals from Brett Howden, Ivan Barbashev, and an empty-netter from Mitch Marner lifted them to a Game 1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks at T-Mobile Arena.

Anaheim trailed 1-0 for quite a while before Mikael Granlund scored Anaheim’s only goal with 6:03 remaining in regulation. Rather than building off a crucial game-tying goal, the Ducks gave the lead right back to Vegas just 65 seconds later.

Tonight’s Schedule

• Game 2: Minnesota Wild at Colorado Avalanche (6 pm MT on ESPN)

Around The NHL

Toronto Hockey Now: Chris Johnston called the introductory press conference for John Chayka and Mats Sundin uncomfortable. That’s just one way to explain how the president and CEO of MLSE, Keith Pelley, handled the presser. It was a fascinating day all around in Toronto.

And it all comes right before tonight’s draft lottery, which will have big ramifications for the Leafs. Toronto finished as the fifth-worst team in the NHL this season. If they drop one spot in the draft order after the lottery, then their first-round pick will be transferred to the Boston Bruins from the 2025 Brandon Carlo trade.

But if they keep the pick, or climb into the top two, Toronto will get its first top-five selection since the Auston Matthews draft 10 years ago.

Montreal Hockey Now: The MVPs for the Canadiens in their seven-game series win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round. Spoiler alert: One of them was the goalie.

Boston Hockey Now: Marco Sturm addresses the Bruins still not having a captain. Is it time to put the ‘C’ on someone’s sweater for next season?

Florida Hockey Now: For the first time since 2019, a team from Florida will not partake in the Stanley Cup Final.

The post Deen’s Daily: Avs Scouted Jesper Wallstedt Well; Leafs Uncomfortable Presser; Draft Lottery Tonight appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

Even though it ended with a disappointing result, their 2025 season was a success for the New England Patriots as a whole and a lot of their players individually. High up on that list you find cornerback Christian Gonzalez.

While the third-year defender did have to overcome some challenges, he played his typical brand of football and further proved that he is one of the most exciting defenders in the NFL right now. With that out of the way, let’s take a closer look at him in the first installment of our Patriots Scouting Report series.

Hard facts

Name: Christian Gonzalez

Position: Cornerback

Jersey number: 0

Opening day age: 24 (6/28/2002)

Measurements: 6’1 3/8”, 205 lbs, 76 7/8” wingspan, 32” arm length, 9 1/2” hand size, 4.38s 40-yard dash, 41 1/2” vertical jump, 11’1” broad jump, 14 bench press reps, 9.95 Relative Athletic Score

Experience

NFL: England Patriots (2023-) | College: Colorado (2020-2021), Oregon (2022)

Playing various roles at The Colony High School in The Colony, TX, Gonzalez was named all-district in both his junior and senior seasons. A four-star recruit, he received offers from several high-profile schools, before deciding to commit to Purdue. He later flipped his commitment and joined the University of Colorado instead.

Gonzalez spent his first two college seasons with the Buffaloes, starting all 18 games and registering 73 tackles as well as nine pass breakups. Following his 2021 sophomore year, however, he decided to take his talents to Oregon. Earning first-team All-Pac 12 honors, he produced the best season of his college career and, after deciding to leave early, became a serious first-round candidate entering the NFL Draft.

Gonzalez was eventually selected 17th overall by the Patriots. A season-ending shoulder injury limited his rookie campaign to only four games, but he already showed considerable promise along the way. Returning without limitations in 2024, the young cornerback took his game to a new level and proved himself as one of the NFL’s best players at his position — a status that was only solidified in his third season in 2025.

In total, Gonzalez started all 38 of his combined regular season and playoff games in the NFL so far. He has given up only three touchdowns while registering four interceptions and a fumble return for his first career score. He was also named second-team All-Pro in 2024 and voted to the Pro Bowl in 2025.

Scouting report

Strengths: As evidenced by his 9.95 Relative Athletic Score, Gonzalez has an elite profile that combines straight-line speed, explosivity and agility. He has proven himself capable of following the best wide receivers in the game without any help over the top, combining advanced hand usage with the reactionary skills and physicality to contend from the release, through the stem of the route and any breaks, to the catch point.

Not easily fooled by misdirection concepts or route combinations due to his natural poise and steady eyes, Gonzalez is at his best when allowed to play shadow man-to-man — following his assignment all over the field and almost creating a 10-on-10 situation. He uses the sideline, has impressive spatial awareness, and times his jumps well. He also recovers quickly when giving up receptions, allowing only 3.5 yards after catch over his career.

Gonzalez also offers tremendous versatility from a scheme and positional perspective, being able to perform at a high level both as a man and a zone defender; the latter was on full display during his 2026 campaign under first-year head coach Mike Vrabel. In zone, he employs his click-and-close foot speed and high football IQ to his advantage, while also being able to follow vertically and break down on the ball. Gonzalez also plays with a hot motor, offering competitiveness and “by example” leadership in the room, and is one of the surest tacklers on the Patriots’ current roster.

Weaknesses: While his playing weight is seven pounds over his testing weight leading up to the NFL Draft in 2023, Gonzalez is not the most physically intimidating presence and relatively slightly-built. He wins due to his outstanding technique rather than his ability to overwhelm wide receivers at the release point, while also running hot and cold in terms of his block-shedding skills. Speaking of inconsistency, Gonzalez’s ball production is leaving some to be desired. In those aforementioned 38 career games, he registered only four interceptions (roughly one every 54 passes thrown his way) as well as two forced fumbles and one recovery.

2025 review

Stats: 18 games (18 starts) | 1,014 defensive snaps (79.0%), 1 special teams snap (0.2%) | 88 tackles, 1 missed tackle (1.1%), 2 TFLs, 1 FF | 1 QB pressure (1 sack) | 106 targets, 46 catches surrendered (43.4%), 498 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 17 PBUs | 3 penalties (incl. 1 declined/offsetting)

Season recap: Coming off his best season up until that point and a second-team All-Pro nomination, the arrow continued to point up for Gonzalez entering the 2025 season. However, he did so under a different set of circumstances.

For starters, the Patriots changed their defensive staff under new head coach Mike Vrabel. That change in personnel also brought a change in scheme, with New England becoming more zone-heavy than it had been under the previous system run by Bill Belichick and his one-and-done successor Jerod Mayo. For Gonzalez, a top-tier man cornerback, that meant adapting to some new responsibilities from his spot on the perimeter of the defense.

Before truly being able to showcase his adaptability, however, he had to spend some time on the sidelines. Gonzalez hurt his hamstring during a late-July training camp session, and despite originally being considered “day-to-day” was unable to return to practice until almost two months later. As soon as he was cleared for practice, however, he quickly progressed.

In Week 4 against Carolina, Gonzalez made his season debut. From that point on, he continued to play on his usual high level and showed that the scheme switch was not a problem either.

In that sense, Gonzalez’s third season in the league was another individual success as well as a step in the right direction (and toward resetting the cornerback market). He has now fully established himself as a top-three player at his position and one of the best overall defenders in the NFL; getting voted to his first Pro Bowl was therefore a well-deserved outcome, even though no All-Pro recognition came his way in 2026.

Part of that might have been Gonzalez’s limited ball production after not catching a single interception in the regular season. He did, however, choose a good time for his biggest plays of the year: the third-year cornerback forced a red zone fumble by the Houston Texans’ Woody Marks in the divisional round, and took advantage of an errant Jarrett Stidham throw late in the AFC Championship Game against the Denver Broncos (a game he also had a sack in); his interception effectively clinched the game for the Patriots.

The image of him hauling in that throw in wintery conditions was a defining shot of New England’s season, and a memorable moment in his career. It was not, however, Gonzalez at his best just yet. For that, we will have to look two weeks further, to Super Bowl LX against the Seattle Seahawks.

While the Patriots ended up losing that game, Gonzalez was a big reason they were even in the contest until the wheels came off in the fourth period. Despite shadowing NFL Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba on a regular basis, he surrendered only one catch all game and finished with three pass breakups. Had New England found a way to win, Gonzalez would have had a strong case as the game’s Most Valuable Player.

That, of course, did not happen. It was not the only challenge Gonzalez faced in 2026 — he also spent a few days in concussion protocol after the wild card playoffs — but overall, he had another very good individual season.

2026 preview

Position: No. 1 cornerback | Ability: Blue-chip starter | Contract: Signed through 2027 (2028 UFA)

What will be his role? One of the best defenders in the NFL regardless of position or experience, Gonzalez will once again serve as the Patriots’ No. 1 cornerback in 2026. As such, he will play close to 100 percent of defensive snaps any given week and regularly shadow opponents’ top weapons in man-to-man. And while New England is more zone-heavy under Mike Vrabel and coordinator Zak Kuhr, having him in the fold nonetheless allows the team to use controlled aggression with its coverage calls.

What is his growth potential? Despite already having had an eventful career up until this point, Gonzalez is not even 24 years old yet. This, combined with his elite athletic traits and advanced technique, toughness and football intelligence, makes for a rare mix. He is a perennial All-Pro at the cornerback position and a player worthy of the contract extension that is likely to come his way.

Does he have positional versatility? As far as cornerback play is concerned, Gonzalez offers all the versatility you could ask for: he is capable of playing 1-on-1 coverage both on the outside and in the slot, and has the range and reactionary skills to succeed in zone as well. He also played a handful of special teams snaps during his rookie season plus another in 2025, but given his valuable and extensive role on defense that number staying at or close to zero makes plenty of sense. And while that limits his overall flexibility, the trade-off is definitely worth it.

What is his salary cap situation? Entering the fourth year of his rookie contract, Gonzalez is one of the biggest bargains in football. Carrying a salary cap number of $4.81 million, he is ranked only 18th on the team at the moment and 47th among all NFL cornerbacks. His cap hit consists of a $2.259 million salary, $1.996 million signing bonus proration, and $675,000 roster bonus, $550,000 of which considered likely to be earned. As is custom with first-round picks, the entirety of the deal is fully guaranteed.

How safe is his roster spot? Gonzalez is as safe a lock to make the roster as any player on New England’s pay roll at the moment. The bigger questions when it comes to his 2026 season are whether he will be able to go through it without any injury setbacks, and if he will sign the multi-year contract extension both he and the team have been working toward this offseason.

Summary: The Patriots recently picking up Gonzalez’s fifth-year contract option was merely a formality, but it also shows how highly the team thinks of him. For good reason: he is one of the premier cornerbacks in the game, an immense bargain for 2026, and all things considered might be the best player on New England’s defense if not the team overall.

What do you think about Christian Gonzalez heading into the 2026 season? Will he continue to build on his success? How soon will he sign that long-term deal? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts.

Good morning.

MLB dot com’s Benjamin Rosenberg writes that the Texas Rangers are getting it done in relief without having a lot of strikeouts or flamethrowers.

Matt Snyder writes that with Tarik Skubal out, the AL Cy Young race is wide open with Jacob deGrom among the new favorites.

And, the DMN notes that former Rangers World Series catcher Jonah Heim has begun his journeyman era by (sort of) going back to where it began as he rejoins the Athletics no longer in Oakland.

Have a nice day!

Each NFL team is allowed a maximum of 90 players under contract on its offseason roster. The Dallas Cowboys just signed OL DJ Wingfield as an undrafted free agent, bringing them to exactly 90 players under contract on their roster right now – assuming Malachi Lawrence eventually signs his rookie contract.

But even though they’ve maxed out at 90 players, the roster will continue to change over the coming weeks and months, as every single new signing will have to be accompanied by a corresponding player being released who is currently on the roster.

In total, the 90 Cowboys players are comprised as follows:

• 48 players returning from last season
• 10 players signed as free agents since the end of last season
• 2 players brought in via trade
• 7 rookies drafted in the 2026 NFL draft
• 9 players signed to reserve/future contracts earlier this yea
• 12 college free agents added after the draft.

Here’s how the roster currently stands, keeping in mind that this first roster iteration of 2026 may already be slightly outdated by the time you read this.

One interesting dynamic highlighted by the table above: With 48 players returning to the roster from 2025 (on the left side of the table) and 41 new players added to the roster (on the right side of the table) basically every new addition to the team will have to beat out a returning player for a roster spot on the final 53.

And so the 2026 season begins.

Cole Palmer’s troubles can no longer claim to be temporary. He’s now been struggling for more than a year. 

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Cole Palmer missed a penalty for Chelsea in their defeat yesterday, and he continues to look like a broken player. Mentally and physically he’s so far from where he’s been.

For a while this season everyone blamed it on his injury – but that was to ignore that the decline had continued for a while. Of course he didn’t turn bad overnight – but after an amazing 18 months he had an average 6 months, and the last few weeks have been truly terrible.

Palmer has now been poor for as long as he was good

Palmer’s drop off for Chelsea has been stark – you can almost draw an exact halfway point in his time at Stamford Bridge for where it all went wrong.

As Lloyd Canfield pointed out for the Sun, Palmer had 37 goals and bagged 21 assists in his first 66 games for the Blues, taking him through Mauricio Pochettino’s season and midway into Enzo Maresca’s. That’s an insane 58 G/A in 66 games.

In the 61 games since, he’s got 16 goals and 10 assists. That’s 26 G/A. So he’s less than half as productive as he was.

In other news…

Palmer looks totally broken and has done for a while – the question is what comes next for the attacker.

Caretaker Calum McFarlane keeps protecting his players, and we’re really not sure why.

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Check out the latest edition of Simon Phillips’ SPTC podcast here:

It was a bit of a surprise when the Phillies promoted Felix Reyes to the majors on April 18th. It was a major surprise when he batted cleanup in his first ever MLB game. It was downright shocking that he took Chris Sale deep in his first at bat. 

However, everything that’s happened since is not too much of a surprise.

Reyes earned his call up by hitting .333 with 6 home runs through his first 18 games in Triple-A this season. But at the same time, he had an eye-popping 51.9% outside the zone swing rate coupled with a 16.1% whiff rate. That chase rate is Reyes’ biggest weakness and it’s now being exploited to a major degree in the majors. 

Reyes has swung at 55.6% of pitches he’s seen outside of the strike zone through his first eight MLB games. That would be far and away the highest in MLB if Reyes qualified, as the current leader is the Rockies Ezequial Tovar with a 48% rate. Since that first at-bat, Reyes is 3-27 (.111) with two singles and a double. He’s struck out 7 times and has yet to draw a walk. He provided a nice spark in one game but has been wholly ineffective since and has looked overmatched at times. 

If the Phillies were to decide to option Reyes back to the minor leagues, the internal options to replace him aren’t very enticing. The first choice would be Otto Kemp, the man who was demoted to allow Reyes to come up in the first place. Kemp started the year 2-20 with 9 strikeouts before being sent to Triple-A. Since his demotion, Kemp is hitting .237 with a .625 OPS in 12 games with the Iron Pigs. 

Another option would be Bryan De La Cruz who signed a minor league deal with the Phillies in November. De La Cruz has played 32 games with Lehigh Valley and is hitting .222 with a .672 OPS. He would need to be added to the 40-man roster if the Phillies were to decide to promote him to the majors. As of right now, the Phillies do have one spot remaining on the 40-man that could theoretically be used on De La Cruz. He also has an opt-out clause in his contract that can be triggered to make him a free agent at some point in the next couple of months if he does not make the roster. 

Looking outside the organization, there’s players such as Mark Canha and Randall Grichuk that the team could take a flier on. Obviously, there are not many options when it comes to finding help for your roster in early May. 

So, is it time to end the Félix Reyes experiment? If so, who should take his spot on the Phillies bench? 

The Orioles went into New York this past Friday trying to prove they were better than their middling record. Instead, they walked away on the wrong end of a four-game sweep, looking more like a team trying to avoid a last-place finish than one contending for a playoff spot.

Each of the four losses in New York followed a similar script. The O’s always fell behind early, as they were outscored 14-2 in the first three innings across the four games. And every time we saw the Orioles’ bats shrink under the pressure of that early hole. The Baltimore bats put up 37 Ks while going 4-for-27 with runners in scoring position.

Rough opening frames from Oriole starters are nothing new. A month ago, I wrote about how terrible 2nd innings plagued the O’s over their first ten games. Since then, it hasn’t gotten any better. Heading into their final game against the Yankees, the Orioles had a 4.59 ERA in innings 1-3 (compared to the league average of 4.03). The 2nd inning is still their biggest downfall, as they have a league-worst 7.68 ERA and 1.015 opponent OPS. Of Orioles starters to make 3+ starts this year, only Trevor Rogers has a 2nd-inning ERA below 5.00.

These struggles to open games are something the O’s will have to improve if they want to undo the damage of another disappointing start to the season. Some of that improvement should come from positive regression; the O’s have an opposing BABIP of .314, whereas the league average is .285. However, much of the improvement will have to come from better execution—the likes of which we expected but have rarely seen from Rogers, Kyle Bradish, Shane Baz and Chris Bassitt.

However, these struggles from the starters have exposed a flaw in the construction of this lineup. Mike Elias and the rest of the front office built this offense to be a battering ram, the type of overwhelming force that gets the Orioles ahead, keeps them ahead, and papers over any deficiencies in the rotation.

The problem with this particular battering ram is that it comes with a lot of swing and miss. Of the 10 qualified Orioles hitters, seven have a swing and miss rate below the 50th-percentile, with Jeremiah Jackson, Coby Mayo, Blaze Alexander and Samuel Basallo all below the 30th percentile. The strikeout rates aren’t any better. Six of the 10 Orioles’ qualified hitters rank in the 40th percentile or below in strikeout rate, with Gunnar Henderson sitting down at the eighth percentile with a 31.4% K rate.

The profile of this offense shouldn’t come as a surprise. Pete Alonso, even for all his offensive output, has always had a fair amount of swing-and-miss in his game—as evidenced by his career average of 159 Ks per 162 games. We’ve seen similar levels of aggression from Gunnar throughout his Oriole career, whose career 23.6% strikeout rate is just a tick above Alonso’s. Adding another big-time power hitter like Samuel Basallo to the lineup was always likely to bring more whiffs as well. It is simply the price you pay for having guys with 30+ HR potential in your lineup.

Having a high-slugging, high-strikeout lineup isn’t a problem in and of itself. The problem arises when you ask those sluggers to try and methodically chip away at a deficit and help the Orioles get back into game they’re trailing. Heading into the series finale in New York, the O’s were third in baseball with 510 ABs when behind. In those situations, they rank 20th in batting average, 22nd in on-base percentage and dead last with 157 strikeouts.

Through this season’s first 35 games, the O’s have only had two hitters who have consistently shown the patience needed to claw yourself out of early holes. Taylor Ward and Adley Rutschman area the only Orioles who are above average in both strikeout rate and whiff rate this season. They go about it different ways, with Ward seeing the most pitches of any Oriole and leading baseball with a miniscule 10.9% chase rate. Adley is a little less selective, but makes up for it by making contact on damn near everything he swings at—as evidence by his 12.2% swing-and-miss rate.

The Orioles have built the whole offensive ethos of their franchise on the value of the three-run home run. And yet, too often, it feels like everyone in the lineup wants to be the guy to hit the Weaver and not enough players want to be the guys on base. The Orioles aren’t great at playing station-to-station baseball, as seen by the fact that 48% of their RBIs come via the long ball (majoe league average is 41.8%). And yet, it is that type of station-to-station approach that you need if you want to score come-from-behind victories.

The O’s have 15 more games this month against current Top 5 teams in the AL—including nine against the Yankees and Rays. Which means they have at least 15 more changes to prove that the double disfunction of their starting staff and lineup is more fluke than reality. But just like Colton Cowser against non-fastballs, this team has a clear flaw that so far has doomed them to a massively underwhelming start to the 2026 season.

With apologies to Shohei Ohtani and the faithful attending tonight’s contest at Daikin Park, the more significant season barometer will actually be registered approximately 23 miles southwest this evening when the Space Cowboys take the field against the Albuquerque Isotopes at Constellation Field.

The likes of Josh Hader, Nate Pearson, & Tatsuya Imai are each expected in the mix, returning to action and not a moment too soon.  For Imai in particular, getting “comfortable” a few days prior to his 28th birthday is paramount in Houston’s ability to steadily climb the A.L. West standings.   

In large measure, the divisional crown will not be measured against Ohtani’s “Unicorn” flashes, but rather, against its rivals within.  Control the division, and control your destiny.

In May alone, the Astros have 11 combined games against the Mariners and Rangers.  The final week of the regular season concludes with a 6 game road swing against Seattle and those pesky A’s.   

Show of hands if you thought by the third homestand that Spencer Arrighetti would have 3 more wins on the year than ace Hunter Brown.  Each year, there are surprises.  Remember the start Tyler Mahle had a year ago with the Rangers?  He finished last April with an ERA of 0.68.

Maybe even a “Spencer” (of a different variety), recall Schwellenbach who opened with the Braves allowing only a single run to be scored during the course of 20 innings?  Sugar Land may play as significant of a role in the “resist the rebuild” movement as any.  Barring a mega in-season trade, the Astros are a glorified mash unit, waiting to heal and deal.     

While the calls for Espada to be removed have a foreboding undertone, who’s available on the managerial docket that would galvanize the fan base and reverse course?  Dave Martinez? Skip Schumaker?  Yawn.

I’d rather have Julia Morales if we’re going that route, at least she knows the clubhouse and has a grasp on the organizational pulse.    

The Astros are far from dead and buried.  In fact, they might be ripe for an in-season trade.  You know the history.  Verlander, Greinke, Bagwell, Carlos Beltran in 2004 or even Randy Johnson in 1998.

As the Brewers continue to occupy 4th place in their division, the tantalizing possibility of Freddy Peralta or Brandon Woodruff linger in the air.

Real Madrid are dealing with growing internal tensions following a series of training-ground incidents involving senior players, including Kylian Mbappe, ahead of a crucial period in their season.

The atmosphere at the club has reportedly deteriorated in the weeks since their Champions League elimination to Bayern Munich, with multiple flashpoints contributing to unrest within the squad.

One of the key incidents involved Mbappe during a training session prior to the team’s recent trip to face Real Betis.

Sources indicate that the forward reacted angrily during a drill after being flagged offside by a member of the coaching staff, who was acting as an assistant referee.

The exchange is understood to have escalated, with Mbappe directing strong words towards the staff member, an episode that did not go down well internally.

While such disputes are not uncommon at elite clubs, the incident has added to concerns about discipline and unity within the dressing room.

Mbappe has also faced criticism from figures around the club over his decision to travel to Italy during a recovery period from a hamstring injury.

Although the trip was approved within the framework of his rehabilitation programme, some within the club questioned the timing given the team’s struggles on the pitch.

The player’s representatives have pushed back against that narrative, insisting that his recovery has been managed in full coordination with the club’s medical staff.

Tensions have not been limited to Mbappe, with Antonio Rudiger also involved in a separate dressing-room confrontation with a team-mate earlier in April.

Rudiger later apologised for his role in that incident and has since attempted to repair relationships within the squad.

Despite those efforts, sources describe a wider sense of unease around the first team, with several players reportedly unhappy and uncertainty surrounding the club’s direction.

Head coach Alvaro Arbeloa has sought to distance himself from individual player matters, stressing that decisions regarding injured players are handled by the medical department.

However, it is understood that the situation has not gone unnoticed within the coaching staff, with concerns lingering about how certain issues have been managed.

The timing of these tensions is particularly significant, with Madrid preparing for a decisive El Clasico clash against Barcelona.

On the pitch, results have been mixed, with a recent win over Espanyol offering some relief but doing little to mask underlying issues.

Mbappe’s fitness remains a key concern ahead of the fixture, with the forward still being assessed following his injury setback.

As the season approaches its climax, Madrid must now balance their on-field ambitions with the need to restore stability behind the scenes.

The best way to project 2026 success is by looking at the remains of the 2025 team and figuring out how much production returns on the offensive and defensive sides.

The gentleman who created both Rock M Nation and the SP+ metric system, Bill Connelly, has a measurement called “returning production”, a metric that attempts to quantify the value of production coming back, rather than the value of individuals coming back. His pieces are paywalled, but to me, it’s worth checking out every year as high returning production (roughly 80%) tends to lead to a 5-6 point jump in SP+. In fact – at this time three years ago – I pointed out that a 5-6 point jump in SP+ for Missouri would mean an increase from a 9.4 in ‘22 to a 14.4 or 15.4 in ‘23; at the end of the ‘23 season that featured a Missouri squad returning 78% of the prior years’ production, said Mizzou team finished with a 19.3 rating in SP+, nearly a full 10 point jump!

The 2026 season has nearly zero COVID bonus year guys hanging around but, of course, with multiple ongoing cases litigating eligibility – as well as the impending-but-not-finalized “5 to play 5” rule – it’s impossible to tell if we’ll ever stop the changes enough to embrace a “new normal”. To be sure, there are still lingering super seniors and, of course, the ever-active transfer portal will continue to make roster management much more different than what we were used to even five years ago. While that could mean that Bill C’s returning production number might not be 100% accurate, it’s certainly as close as you can get in a given timeframe and he’s done better, more thorough work than anyone else out there. Here’s how his formula projects Missouri:

• Overall Returning Production: 49% – 76th
• Offensive Returning Production: 59% – 51st
• Defensive Returning Production: 40% – 107th

Again, as a reference point, at this time last year the 2025 Missouri Tigers’ returning production was 60% overall (51st), 44% offense (100th), and 58% defense (68th). So, yeah, for the second time in two years Eli Drinkwitz’s Missouri Tigers are not going to be anywhere close to the top of returning production in the country.

The current national average for returning production is the lowest it’s ever been, thanks to the aforementioned COVID bonus year guys completely washing out and transfers increasing by 64% over the past two years. As far as the SEC goes, Missouri’s 49% returning production ranks 76th in the country and 12th in the SEC, with Mississippi State, Alabama, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt as the only teams returning less production than the good guy Tigers.

The strength of the 2023 Missouri squad was that it brought back a ton of production to an SEC that was losing a lot of production, specifically at quarterback. In 2024, Missouri once again ranked near the top of the league in production (and once again boasted a proven quarterback) to a league that once again was losing a bunch of production and quarterbacks.

But that wasn’t the case in 2025 and certainly isn’t for 2026.

Again, returning production talks about improvement or regression in quality, not an increase or decrease in wins, but the good-news-take-away here is that the team at the top of RP in the SEC – South Carolina – only returns 68% of last year’s roster. That would be good-to-middling in previous years, and would project at only a 0.5 win increase overall. Essentially, Missouri’s RP is bad but everyone’s RP is fairly low, so hopefully that mitigates some potential loss harvesting this fall.

Here’s Missouri’s 2025 end-of-season two-deep based off of production and snap counts. The gaps are players that were on the 2025 roster that won’t be on the 2026 roster:

Pretty empty on the 1st team side, huh?

Today let’s break down Missouri’s returning offensive production! On offense, returning production looks at the following metrics and is given the following weights:

• Returning Quarterback Passing Yards: 22.3% weight
• Returning Running Back Rushing Yards: 3.1% weight
• Returning Wide Receiver/Tight End Receiving Yards: 35% weight
• Returning Offensive Line Snaps: 39.6% weight

Bill C has said it countless times and I’ve echoed it: experience in the passing game (i.e. quarterbacks and receivers) matters the most. But, given Bill’s updated weight allocation, the only thing that isn’t a good predictor of future success is running back rushing yards. Let’s break down what’s coming back and from whom (italicized/struck-through players are not on the 2026 roster).

Quarterback Passing Yards – 22.3% weight – 41.1% returning production

Beau Pribula is gone, taking with him most of Missouri’s experience at the position. Matt Zollers is still around, though, and is joined by new friends Austin Simmons and Nick Evers. As you’ll remember, Simmons has already been named QB1 for the 2026 team, leaving Evers to be the actual “break glass in case of emergency” quarterback, and Zollers as the “it’s blow out time” quarterback. The main takeaway: not a lot of returning experience here. Bummer.

Running Back Rushing Yards – 3.1% Weight – 78.2% Returning Production

Ahmad Hardy and Jamal Roberts return. That’s basically all you need to know for 2026. As a positive addendum, Coach Luper already has their replacements on the roster and ready to jump in: Xai’Shaun Edwards from Houston Christian and Malae Fonoti from Montana. At this point Loop’s guys have earned my 100% trust so expect one of those two to be Missouri’s next great 1,000+ yard rusher.

Just not in 2026 (hopefully).

Receiver/Tight End Receiving Yards – 35% Weight – 57.9% Returning Production

In case you forgot, Donovan Olugbode rules and will be playing for Missouri again next year. The Tigers lost three of their top four targets but bring in two guys with more targets, catches, and yards then those other guys, as well as a few building blocks for the following year. The portal additions are volume catchers that will be entering an offense that traditionally doesn’t provide a lot of targets. I’m curious how this group gets utilized given it’s overall newness and the tremendous running backs that are old veterans at this point. The types of additions and the eligibility of these dudes makes this feel like a long-term receiving corps rather than an impact one. But, hey, I could be way off on that read.

Offensive Line Snaps – 39.6% Weight – 65.0% Returning Production

Three returning starters, plus three portalled in starters, helps mitigate the experience lost from last year’s line. The quality is unknown, and if spring ball is any indicator, even the returning guys could have new spots that they’ll be playing in come the fall. Regardless, the second-heaviest stat in offensive returning production has a good amount of returning production. Take the wins when you can! Hopefully Josh Atkins doesn’t miss too much time. Or maybe Logan Reichart/Tristan Wilson/Jack Lange are ready to make the leap.

Conclusion

Missouri returns almost everything from the running backs, very little from the quarterback, has some interesting additions at receiver, and has lots of various caliber of starter/intriguing backups along the line. That doesn’t mean that this offense can’t be good to elite in 2026, it just means that there’s enough questions that the most likely outcome is regression.

Next week we’ll check out the defense. If you thought the numbers here were bad, hold on to your butts.

Bayern Munich supervisory board member Uli Hoeneß has been around the block and reveled in the highs of Champions League wins and the lows of being upset in the tournament.

After watching from home as his team dropped a 5-4 decision to Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the tie, the venerable executive was not panicked or even worried.

Why?

Because Hoeneß trusts Bayern Munich head coach Vincent Kompany.

“You have to admire Vincent Kompany for having his team play so offensively in Paris – it was incredible. A turning point was the unfortunate handball penalty situation just before halftime. Something like that is brutal – you go into the dressing room with a negative feeling, while the opponent comes back motivated,” Hoeneß told DAZN (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “But the way the team reacted – as they have so often before, for example in Freiburg, in Mainz, or even to some extent recently against Heidenheim – the way they came back, continued playing, and didn’t give up, that’s truly phenomenal.”

In an odd twist, Hoeneß did not even travel to the match in Paris due to a superstition.

“It had a bit to do with superstition. I actually wanted to fly to Paris, but Karl-Heinz (Rummenigge) and I haven’t been to any away games so far. And then our guys said: ‘If you fly with us now and we lose badly, that would be bad.’ So I didn’t want to be a jinx,” Hoeneß said.

Finally, Hoeneß admitted that even with that first leg loss, he also got caught up in watching the game like a normal fan — at least for a while — before shifting back into being focused on Bayern Munich.

“You have to differentiate between the Bayern fan and the neutral spectator. As a Bayern fan, you think: Wow, so many goals conceded, can we even pull it off? As a neutral spectator in Seoul, New York, or Milan, you think: What’s going on here? That was great advertisement for football as a whole,” Hoeneß said. “After the game, I was naturally very nervous, but our guys have come back many times before. And if the game had gone on for ten minutes longer – given the cramps and injuries Paris were suffering – then perhaps even more would have been possible. That makes me optimistic for Wednesday.”

Song of the Week: “Seek and Destroy” by Metallica

Well, there has been a theme on game days of late and Metallica has been part of it. Let’s hope the Bayern Munich attack takes these words to heart when it looks at the PSG backline on Wednesday:

Dreesen eager to see Allianz Arena atmosphere vs. PSG

Bayern Munich CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen wants the fans to make PSG feel the full power of the home stadium.

“Just thinking about the tifo against Real Madrid gives me goosebumps all over again. Vincent is absolutely right. We need every voice on Wednesday. We need 100 percent ‘Mia san Mia’, the full solidarity of our Bayern family and as many people as possible in red. The team showed in Paris that they can bounce back from setbacks and keep going. The Allianz Arena is a tough place to break down, and that’s exactly what Paris need to feel from kick-off. It’s only half-time. Now we need to create a great European night together in Munich,” Dreesen told FCBayern.com.

Entertainment Rundown

I am so close to being done with Invincible and The Boys (and cannot wait to be done with them), but not all the way finished yet. Apologies, but it will be multiple episode review coming up…

In the meantime, here is a look at a clip from The Madalorian & Grogu:

Gordon is Plan A

Stories are dropping all over linking Newcastle United star Anthony Gordon to Bayern Munich, FC Barcelona, Arsenal and Liverpool. However, the Englishman is Plan for the Bavarians per Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg:

🚨👀 Max Eberl on @ZDF about Anthony Gordon:

“In the summer we can approach the market in a relaxed way. Right now, it would be disrespectful to talk about players who could be with us from 1 July.” #NUFC

Gordon remains Plan A as revealed. Plans B and C are prepared. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Predictions

Bayern Munich is hungry, at home, and will be powered by a frenzied crowd. Oh, and the PSG backline is banged up and susceptible to being broken down. If the Bayern Munich backline can just be adequate, this should be a win for the Bavarians.

Obviously, someone will have to make stops in this game, but the biggest key will come down to who scores first — and how each team responds to that. Another big thing to watch will be how each team’s star players perform. Can Harry Kane, Michael Olise, and Luis Díaz step up the challenge? We think so.

Prediction: Bayern Munich 4-2 Paris Saint-Germain(Bayern advances 8-7 on aggregate)

Other Champions League Prediction:

• Arsenal 2-1 Atlético Madrid (Arsenal advances 3-2 on aggregate)

Prediction Records

• Total: 517-337
• Perfect Picks: 55
• Bundesliga Last Matchday: 5-4
• Bundesliga Overall: 159-129
• DFB-Pokal: 51-11
• World Cup Qualifiers/Friendlies: 164-95
• Champions League: 99-79
• Club World Cup: 39-23
• Club Friendlies: 4-0
• Franz Beckenbauer Supercup: 1-0

If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…

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Last Saturday, Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid expressed caution when speaking to the point that quarterback Patrick Mahomes is on track to return to the field in some capacity for organized-team activities (OTAs) in roughly three weeks.

That caution is likely felt by all at the top of the organization, but not the signal caller himself. NFL Insider Ian Rapoport provided a perspective to consider from that of a two-time MVP and three-time Super Bowl champion quarterback who has never missed extended time as a professional athlete due to injury.

“Patrick Mahomes being on the field for OTA is, I think, good,” Rapoport began during an episode of “The Insiders” on NFL Network. “But in the grand scheme of things, really, what this is about is making sure the franchise quarterback is happy and engaged.”

“Mahomes wants to be on the field,” Rapoport continued. “The Chiefs have a very, very good medical staff; they’re going to make sure he’s not in harm’s way. But when you go through rehab, it’s something that’s so bad, and so strenuous and so lonely, you know that what Patrick Mahomes was looking forward to was just being able to play football.

“It seems like the Chiefs are going to allow him to do that,” Rapoport went on. “I don’t expect it to be very much. I don’t expect it to put him in harm’s way.”

As Reid alluded to last Saturday, there are rules surrounding the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list that Kansas City must consider with Mahomes participating in practices. OTAs take place in two three-day stretches, and then the team waits a week before conducting its mandatory minicamp for another three days.

The amount of work Mahomes does in that time may be hard to gauge from an external point of view, but it will be important for his psyche regardless.

It will also be important for spectators to consider all of this when the team travels to Saint Joseph, Missouri to officially begin the 2026 preseason.

“When we get to training camp, this should be an instructor for us,” Rapoport warned. “Even if Mahomes is on the field to begin training camp, let’s say in late July or early August, it doesn’t mean he’s going to be full go. They’re going to take him slowly through this process while also noting they want Patrick Mahomes to be healthy and in the right frame of mind, and to get there, he’s got to play, like, a little bit of football.”

The New Orleans Saints didn’t have the best record, but saw their team grow quite a bit in Year 1 under head coach Kellen Moore. While the offense saw sparks behind rookie quarterback Tyler Shough, the defense also saw improvements throughout the year in both the run and the pass game under defensive coordinator Brandon Staley.

Improving the run defense was a key for the Saints last offseason, who made a couple of moves up front, drafting Bryan Bresee in the first round while also trading a 2026 draft pick for defensive tackle Davon Godchaux.

Those two, paired with Nathan Shepard, were the keys for the Saints on the interior, with Godchaux playing that nose tackle role.

With part of the offseason complete, let’s now revisit that Godchaux trade and see how Year 1 was for the Saints.

Original terms of the Davon Godchaux trade to the Saints

New Orleans Saints receive: DT Davon Godchaux
New England Patriots receive: 2026 seventh-round pick (No. 224 overall)

How did Davon Godchaux play for the Saints in 2025?

Godchaux ended up playing in 16 games for the Saints, ranking third on the team in tackles in the run game with 29. He had 16 run stops, and New Orleans ranked seventh in the NFL in yards allowed per carry.

Godchaux had a similar rotational role like he did with the Patriots, playing in only 42 percent of the defensive snaps. He wasn’t much of a pass-rusher, recording only nine pressures and a pass rush win rate of 8.8 percent.

Overall, he provided snaps as an early-down defender for New Orleans, but didn’t have many tackles for loss (two) and was inconsistent with the penetration in the run game up front. He’ll be on the final year of his deal in 2026.

How did the Saints fare in the Davon Godchaux trade?

Overall, it was mixed results from Godchaux in 2025, with some of the younger players for the Saints taking over more as the season went on.

Godchaux’s snaps dwindled at the end of the year, and he didn’t have enough impact plays. Still, the cost of acquiring him was only a seventh-round pick, and the Saints aren’t paying significant money, with the defensive tackle having a $7.1 million cap hit this year.

With younger guys emerging, we’ll see what Godchaux’s role is this year as that early-down run defender, but the Saints will hope for more improvement from him with impact plays in 2026.

What did the Patriots do with the pick from the Davon Godchaux trade?

New England ended up trading the seventh-rounder in the Kyle Dugger trade last year, offloading yet another former starter that didn’t fit the defense. In that deal, the Patriots got a sixth-rounder for Dugger and the seventh-rounder.

Pittsburgh took safety Robert Spears-Jennings at No. 224, while New England ended up moving the sixth-rounder they got (No. 202) in the trade-up for Gabe Jacas at No. 55.

Everyone has a moment where nostalgia takes over, and a series of events over the past few days reminded me of the magic of the radio.

It started on Saturday. If you are a Carolina Hurricanes fan, you’re aware that the Stanley Cup Playoffs have moved to national broadcasts only, and while the NHL has a stable of pretty good to great announcers at the microphone, the fact is that they aren’t the pair of broadcasters fans are used to listening to. That pair moved to do radio only broadcasts, and that brought out a post on Bluesky that felt like it was speaking right to me:

As a UNC fan you should be nodding your head heavily right now.

The fact is that as much vitriol as I had for the likes of Dick Vitale and Billy Packer growing up, I barely listened to them because I always—and I mean always—muted my TV and turned on the radio to the Tar Heel Sports Network to hear the call from Woody Durham and Mick Mixon. It wasn’t until I actually got to Carolina that the practice stopped, and ultimately when I moved away from the area before a radio call was available on the Internet that I listened to national voices more.

So this bit of nostalgia was already in my brain when the sad news of legendary New York Yankees radio announcer John Sterling’s passing came down on Monday. It brought back to mind when I had heard of Durham’s passing, and it helped me empathize with Yankee fans who must have had childhood memories opened up like a treasure chest, as he was the voice of the modern era of the Yankee title wins. He was quirky, and he was theirs.

The fact is that there just isn’t anything like listening to the homer call of your team, and it’s something that does feel different in college sports and baseball than it does in any other sport. The tradition and long history of baseball just screams for a constant radio presence with legends choosing to stay on that side of the microphone instead of going in front of a camera. As for the college sports, the combination of love for the university, the likelihood of an alumnus calling said game, and the connection of it being a person who is also a fan of the team you are calling an important moment creates that connection that you just don’t get when it’s one of the national players calling it.

As UNC fans — to say we are extremely lucky is understating it. Decades of Woody Durham painting a picture of the action, and then to be fortunate enough to be followed by Jones Angell when life unfairly took that voice from Woody mean that many amazing moments in UNC history have the sound track of the UNC radio team calling it.

Thus we have our question of the day: what is your favorite UNC Radio call? It can be a football call, basketball call, or even baseball call as we have the recent success of the Diamond Heels to create some new memories.

For me, there’s no other answer—the 1993 National Title game:

HE TAKES A TIMEOUT! TECHNICAL FOUL! TECHNICAL FOUL!

Middle school me was jumping up and down on that Webber timeout. When it happened, after screaming, I ran over to my boombox that was playing the radio call and hit “record” with the blank cassette tape that was in there. I was too superstitious to record the call before I knew they would win it all, but once that timeout happened I knew it would mean and I needed to have Woody’s call saved.

Time took that tape from me, I don’t know if I’d even have a device to play it on now, but the call is still so burned into my brain I don’t know if there’ll ever be something that will replace it.

So, use the comments below, and let us know what are some of your radio calls for UNC?

Inter Miami is a 'strong contender' to sign outgoing Manchester United midfielder Casemiro according to reports.

The Brazilian's departure from Old Trafford was announced back in January with the player to leave the club on a free transfer despite having a much-improved season.

According to Lyall Thomas of Sky Sports News, the MLS is likely to be Casemiro's next destination with Inter Miami currently leading the way. The 34-year-old is said to be keen to play alongside Lionel Messi.

Wages could be an issue with LA Galaxy another potential destination or the Saudi Pro League.

Casemiro has played 34 times for Manchester United so far this season, scoring nine goals and making two assists.

If Nelly Korda’s win count was a human being, it would now be considered a legal adult.

The world number one won for the 18th time last week in Mexico as Nelly picked up her third win of just this season. Consider that she has more trophies this season than she does players who have finished ahead of her in tournament play. She is on quite the heater.

In case you were wondering, here are all of Nelly’s 18 career wins to date.

2026

• Riviera Maya Open at Mayakoba
• The Chevron Championship
• Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions

2024

• The ANNIKA Driven by Gainbridge at Pelican
• Mizuho Americas Open
• The Chevron Championship
• T-Mobile Match Play presented by MGM Rewards
• Ford Championship presented by KCC
• FIR HILLS SERI PAK Championship
• LPGA Drive On Championship

2022

• Pelican Women’s Championship

2021

• Pelican Women’s Championship
• KMPG Women’s PGA Championship
• Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give
• Gainbridge LPGA

2019

• Taiwan Swinging Skirts LPGA presented by CTBC
• ISPS handa Women’s Australian Open

2018

• Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan Championship presented by CTBC

To date the most incredible run that Nelly has had with regards to specific seasons was 2024 when she racked up seven wins. She certainly looks capable of matching that here in 2026, though.

A combination of day games and morning news gave me a brief, impromptu break, but I’m back.

Before this season started, I thought the Braves might need to operate more like their 2019-2021 lot in life (nothing is guaranteed) than their 2022-2025, “Our roster is good enough to do whatever” framework. The Braves have done their best to make a mockery of that thought, as they have baseball’s best record and run differential, and can still avoid losing a single series if they win the next two in Seattle.

For the season, the biggest chase is a playoff spot. Then, we can talk about winning the division. If that’s secure, I guess the next thing to think about is a first-round bye. And then we’re really just talking best record in MLB.

• The Braves currently have playoff odds of 95 percent. Seven teams have increased their odds more over the course of the season so far, but only the Yankees started in a similar place and have increased their odds more than the Braves. Basically, it’s possible that the Braves will still be in for a fight just to grab a playoff spot, but I’m not sure it’s that likely unless there’s another multifaceted collapse in terms of both injuries and approach.
• The Braves currently have the third-highest division odds, and no team has gained more in this regard. Those division odds are about 83 percent right now, so again, I don’t think it’s unrealistic at all to say their fight will in the end, be for the division, but you could also set your sights higher.
• They have the third-highest odds of a bye, but second in the NL — i.e., someone would have to supplant them from the field, aside from the Dodgers. This could be the most interesting “race” down the stretch… if everything goes okay for the Braves going forward.
• With the wins they have banked, they now project for the third-most wins in MLB as a central estimate. If everything goes right, maybe this is a “race” where they either lead the rest of the way with excitement, or they try to chase down, say, the Dodgers.

Which of these do you think will be the story down the stretch — say, in late August?

Moving on to the Gopher defense. This unit is also returning a lot of production, but probably has more question marks than the offense.

A year ago the Gopher defense finished in the middle of the pack of the Big Ten, allowing 23 points per game and they were 11th in yards allowed. Their SP+ ranking was 33rd nationally, 12th in the Big Ten.

Here is our best guess at who is starting for the Gopher defense on September 3rd when Eastern Illinois is getting a check to come to Minnesota and lose.

DEFENSE

DEFENSIVE END

Starters – Anthony Smith, TJ Bush (Cal transfer), Karter Menz
Depth – Adam Kissayi, Jaxon Howard
Freshmen – Aaden Aytch, Anthony Charles

I’m aware that I listed three starters when there will really just be two on the field, but these three represent three young men who are all going to contribute significantly and will be the equivalent of three starters. And the other two names have also had their moments of impact. This group of five ends is a talented and deep group.

It all starts with Smith, who led the Big Ten with 12.5 sacks last season. He is an excellent player on the field and an excellent leader off. I’m not sure that expecting him to match his 12.5 sacks is realistic, but he will be a force that Big Ten defensive coordinators are going to game-plan for.

After Smith, there are several names who will all be a part of the rotation and are all capable of consistently making plays. Karter Menz had a breakout year in 2025 with 6.5 sacks and is most likely to start opposite Smith.

The rotational guys will be TJ Bush, Adam Kissayi and Jaxon Howard. Bush was an unexpected transfer from Cal who immediately brings pass-rush ability. Kissayi is a redshirt sophomore who was with the team last year after transferring in from Clemson. And Howard is the highly touted, 4-star recruit who went to LSU before transferring back to Minnesota last year. All three of these guys are going to be playing meaningful snaps. This group of five is a strength of the Gopher defense.

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

Starters – Xion Chapman (FIU transfer), Naquan Crowder (Marshall transfer)
Depth – Riley Sunram, Theo Randle, Mo Saine, Jaylin Hicks, Sid Kaba (Marshall transfer)
Freshmen – Howie Johnson, Jeremiah Benson, Josiah Anyansi

And this is the position group on defense with the most question marks. Replacing Deven Eastern and Jalen Logan-Redding is not going to be easy and the Gopher coaching staff brought in a few transfers to buoy the young faces coming up.

Xion Chapman and Naquan Crowder are the guys expected to start in the middle. Chapman has been injured and will not be ready to go until fall camp, but he appears to be a guy they brought with the intention of starting. Next to him is the stout Crowder, who will plug up the middle. These two do not stand out as the most obvious starters; there will certainly be battles with four or five more guys.

Jaylin Hicks and Mo Saine each started for their respective teams in the spring game but prior to the Spring Game I would have suggested that Riley Sunram and Theo Randle were the two returners with the best chances of earning playing time. And don’t forget about the other Marshall transfer, Sid Kaba.

Frankly, there are a lot of names in the mix. This is the position group that will have the most questions heading into September and they absolutely need some concrete answers. The best news here is that there are no seniors, but can they get elite production this year?

My guess would be that Chapman starts at one spot with Hicks and Saine backing him up. Crowder starts at the other with Randle, Sunram and Kaba fighting for snaps behind him.

LINEBACKER

Starters – Maverick Baranowski, Matt Kingsbury, Emmanuel Karmo, Joey Gerlach
Depth – Nate Cleveland, Mason Carrier, Ethan Stendel
Freshmen – Hudson Dunn, Angel Luciano

At linebacker, there is quality depth. I mentioned that defensive end is the strongest unit on the defense, but linebacker is not far behind. This group of guys is versatile, strong and full of playmakers.

Maverick Baranowski is the leader of this group. Now a senior, Baranowski is a prototypical middle linebacker who has 221 career tackles and started all 13 games last season. He has a chance to put himself in the top 10 in Gopher career tackles with a healthy season.

Replacing Devon Williams as the other primary linebacker is a little bit more of an unknown. Matt Kingsbury is the most likely candidate after having a nice sophomore season. Kingsbury played in 12 games, finished 9th on the team in tackles and had three fumble recoveries. I would imagine that he is starting alongside Baranowski in base packages.

The flexibility and versatility for this unit comes with Emmanuel Karmo and Joey Gerlach. Karmo played in all 13 games last year as a true freshman. Karmo is an athletic linebacker who did well covering in the passing game last season. Gerlach is in his final season and is also a versatile linebacker who should see more playing time in 2026.

And then we have some emerging linebacker, Nate Cleveland who saw action in eight games last year as a true freshman. In the Spring Game, he led both teams with 10 tackles and it looks like he and Karmo will pair to be a very strong linebacker duo in years to come.

Mason Carrier and Ethan Stendel played primarily on special teams last season, but they both could see action on defense this fall.

CORNERBACK

Starters – John Nestor, Aiden Gousby/Aydan West (Michigan State)
Depth – Mike Gerald, Naiim Parish, Simon Seidl
Freshmen – Justin Hopkins, Chance Payne, Lamont Hamilton

Here at corner we have one starter locked in and then a little bit of unknown. John Nestor had a great season in 2025 after transferring to the Gophers from Iowa. He tied for the Big Ten lead with six interceptions, he also had six TFLs and finished 5th on the team in tackles.

On the other side of the field, there should be a battle between Aiden Gousby and Ayden West. Frankly, both will play and both will play a lot. Gousby has spent most of his Gopher career as a safety, but was moved to corner late in the season last year, and he did well. West was brought in as a transfer from Michigan State with the intent of giving the Gopher defense another reliable corner.

What is most likely? Both will play, especially on passing downs. Gousby will be on the field as nickel safety with West on the outside.

After those three, there is a bevy of sophomores who are itching to make a leap into the regular rotation. Mike Gerald played in six games last year as a redshirt freshman before missing some time due to injury. Naiim Parish was a true freshman last fall and he played in five games. Simon Seidl played in eight games and Samuel Madu played in the bowl game against New Mexico State. All four of those guys will be sophomores and all of them saw significant action in the Spring Game, with the exception of Gerald (who I think did not participate).

SAFETY

Starters – Kerry Brown, Aiden Gousby / Zack Harden / Garrison Monroe
Depth – Mekhai Smith (Leheigh), Parker Knutson (SW MN State), Zahir Rainer
Freshmen – Jordan Lampkins, Trason Richardson, Tavian White

And finally, we get to the unit that was potentially one of the best units in college football before Koi Perich decided to hit the portal and head to Oregon. But this group is still very good and it is led by Kerry Brown.

Brown is an elite safety who has started 22 games in his first two seasons. He was an honorable mention All-Big Ten and has four career interceptions. While Perich garnered the attention, Brown was quietly our best safety. He will be a junior this season, but it is likely that it will be his last and he will be drafted next spring.

Next to him will be a combination of guys, probably dependent on the situation.

As mentioned under the corners, Gousby could be starting at CB, he could be starting alongside Brown at Safety or he may be consistently on the field as a nickel when teams are frequently passing.

After Gousby, the most likely options at Safety will be Zack Harden or Garrison Monroe. Monroe is a junior who played in four games last season. Harden is a sophomore from Georgia who played in 11 games last year as a true freshman.

Then we have the transfers Mekhai Smith and Parker Knutson, and freshmen Trace Richardson and Jordan Lampkins.

———————-

What do we love about this defense?

I’ll start with the fact that there are a few guys in this lineup who are capable of earning 1st or 2nd All-Big Ten honors. Anthony Smith and Kerry Brown are elite players, who will stand out among their Big Ten colleagues. Lest we forget about Baranowski and Nestor, who are also very good players who will rack up stats and hold this defense together.

The three questions that will keep me up at night are around the interior of the defensive line, who steps up in the secondary to make that unit stronger and is Danny Collins the right man for the job?

There are a lot of bodies who will have the opportunities to step in and perform at both DT and in the secondary. Who grabs ahold of those opportunities and who begins to stand out…we’ll find out this fall.

Michael Conforto has been an afterthought for most of this Cubs season.

The team didn’t sign him until late February. He got some playing time early on because of the injury to Seiya Suzuki, but since Suzuki’s return April 10, Conforto has played in just 10 games, starting just four of those. He didn’t play at all in the weekend series against the Diamondbacks.

Then Craig Counsell sent him up to bat in the bottom of the ninth Monday for Matt Shaw. Shaw had pinch-run for Moisés Ballesteros in the eighth, and what I was thinking in that tie-game situation was, “Well, if Conforto gets on, they’ll have to run Nicky Lopez for him.”

Conforto took care of that potential issue by smashing a walk-off home run into the left-field bleachers, giving the Cubs their sixth consecutive win and 12th straight at Wrigley Field, 5-4 over the Reds.

Let’s rewind to the beginning of this back-and-forth affair.

Late Monday morning, the Cubs moved the starting time of this game up 30 minutes to 6:10 p.m. CT in anticipation of some rain and storms that were supposed to hit around 9 p.m. Instead, it started raining just about 6:10, the rain lasting an hour, so the game wound up starting at 7:50. Give the Cubs credit for the attempt, anyway. The sun came out as the rain was ending, producing these beautiful views:

Edward Cabrera got in trouble in the first two innings with hits and walks, but squeezed out of both jams. Then he served up a home-run ball to JJ Bleday leading off the second, and in the third issued a two-out walk. That was followed by Ke’Bryan Hayes smashing one out of the yard to give the Reds a 3-0 lead.

The Cubs couldn’t do anything with Reds rookie right-hander Chase Petty over the first three innings, with just a double by Alex Bregman in the first and single by Nico Hoerner over that time.

An annoying little rainshower parked itself over Wrigley Field in the fourth. That, entirely coincidentally, was when the Cubs rallied. Bregman led off with a walk and Ian Happ also drew a base on balls.

Suzuki took ball one from Petty and then tied the game with his sixth homer of the year [VIDEO].

That ball was absolutely demolished [VIDEO].

That was the longest Cubs home run of 2026 to date, and the sixth-longest by anyone this year. As you can see at that link, Suzuki also had the previous longest Cubs homer this year (441 feet on April 21 vs. the Phillies). Another note on the home-run distance (Bluesky link):

And one last note on Suzuki’s homer from BCB’s JohnW53:

Suzuki’s home run was the Cubs’ seventh this season with two on base, among 45 total homers — 15.6 percent. That is significantly higher than their final percentage in each of their five previous seasons:

2025: 27 of 223 — 12.1
2024: 19 of 170 — 11.2
2023: 15 of 196 — 7.7
2022: 12 of 159 — 7.5
2021: 17 of 210 — 8.1

The rain stopped, this time for good, and Cabrera then pulled off a nice play in the fifth. With one out, Elly De La Cruz singled. Cabrera picked him off [VIDEO].

The play went to review, but as you can see, De La Cruz was clearly out. In the sixth, Cabrera got some help from his defense — this slick stop by Michael Busch [VIDEO].

Cabrera completed six innings, allowing just the three runs, with eight strikeouts [VIDEO].

More on Cabrera’s outing from John:

Cabrera’s three runs in six innings was the Cubs’ 15th quality start in their 35 games. They began the day tied with the Pirates for seventh most QS. Dodgers had 21; Braves and Royals, 17; and Mariners, Tigers and Yankees, 16.

Hoby Milner and Phil Maton threw a scoreless seventh, with Maton entering to throw to Sal Stewart after Milner walked De La Cruz with two out. Maton, who has pitched much better since his return from the IL, got Stewart to ground out to end the inning.

The Cubs, though, could not score in the fifth, sixth or seventh, and then Ben Brown gave up a run in the eighth. Uncharacteristically a bit wild, Brown walked Nathaniel Lowe leading off the inning. Leadoff walks, as most managers will tell you, are never good. The Reds sent Blake Dunn in to run for Lowe, and Dunn immediately stole second. That was important, as Spencer Steer’s single scored Dunn to give the Reds a 4-3 lead.

The Cubs had a good scoring chance in the eighth. Ballesteros led off with a walk and, as noted earlier, Shaw ran for him. Shaw was immediately erased on a force play by Bregman. A wild pitch moved Bregman to second and after Happ struck out, Suzuki ran a 3-1 count before being intentionally passed. Busch walked to load the bases, but Carson Kelly also struck out, ending the inning.

Ryan Rolison, who’s had an up-and-down year for the Cubs so far, was definitely “up” in this game. He struck out all three Reds he faced in the top of the ninth, throwing 14 pitches.

Pete Crow-Armstrong led off the bottom of the ninth with a triple [VIDEO].

As you can see in the clip, Dane Myers almost made a spectacular catch against the ivy, but the ball went in and out of his glove, and PCA raced around the bases, safe easily at third. A note on the triple:

Dansby Swanson then struck out, but Nico then hit a fly ball deep enough in left to score PCA with the tying run [VIDEO].

That brought up Conforto, batting for Shaw. He ran the count full against Reds closer Emilio Pagan. And then… BOOM! [VIDEO]

Here’s a cool field level view of Conforto’s blast [VIDEO].

For Conforto, it was his first career walk-off home run. That entire ninth inning was something. Triples are perhaps the most exciting play in baseball, and PCA running the bases is always fun to watch. The walk-off homer wakes up and excites a crowd no matter who hits it. I’m really happy for Conforto, who has settled very well into his bench role on this team — now batting .323/.436/.548. It’s only 39 plate appearances for Conforto, but he has definitely made important contributions.

Here’s Conforto on the home run [VIDEO].

One more note on Conforto’s walk-off:

Hopefully, there will be more Conforto homers to come in a Cubs uniform.

Here are Craig Counsell’s postgame remarks [VIDEO]. In particular, the Cubs manager has major praise for what Conforto did in that ninth-inning situation.

Last note on this game from John:

This was the first game of the season in which the Cubs erased two deficits. They had erased one in 12 earlier games. They are 10-3 when they have erased at least one. They lost the first two, won eight in a row, lost last Monday at San Diego, then won Sunday and tonight.

I have written this before and I’m going to say it again: There is something special about this team. Every single player on the roster has made significant contributions to winning. That, I believe, is the mark of a really good team. They all pick each other up — and in this team’s case, even in the face of major pitching injuries. The season to date has been really enjoyable. Let’s hope that continues … all the way through October.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this recap, this was the Cubs’ sixth win in a row. They did not win six in a row all of last year. Now they have two streaks at least that long in 2026 — and we are only 35 games into the season.

Last note: The Cubs are on a 16-3 run since April 14, the best record in MLB in that span, and have scored the most runs over that period, 117 (6.2 per game). They’ve allowed 78 runs over the 19 games, or 4.1 per game.

The Cubs and Reds meet again at Wrigley Field Tuesday evening. Jameson Taillon will start for the Cubs and Andrew Abbott goes for Cincinnati. Game time is 6:40 p.m. CT (this time for sure, it will be cool but dry this evening) and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.

Join "The Ariel Helwani Show" live on Uncrowned and YouTube at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT/6 p.m. UK time as Ariel and the Boys in the Back keep the week rolling with another star-studded combat sports lineup. Check out Tuesday's rundown below.

1 p.m. ET: Ariel and the gang kick off the program.

1:30 p.m. ET: Tatsuro Taira previews his UFC 328 title challenge against Joshua Van.

2 p.m. ET: Daniel Dubois checks in ahead of his massive WBO title showdown against Fabio Wardley.

2:30 p.m. ET: Luke Rockhold stops by the with latest.

3 p.m. ET: New unified cruiserweight champion David Benavidez takes a victory lap after his monster win over Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez.

Catch all new episodes of "The Ariel Helwani Show"liveevery Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET on Uncrowned and The Ariel Helwani Show's YouTube page.

To listen to every episode, subscribe on Spotify or iTunes.

Though the Mets have not been bitten nearly as severely by the injury bug on the pitching side of things, they have struggled to find answers outside of the top 3 in their rotation. Clay Holmes has dazzled and Freddy Peralta and Nolan McLean have been mostly solid, but all of Kodai Senga, David Peterson, and Sean Manaea have been ineffective. Christian Scott has returned to the big leagues to replace Senga in the rotation and had a nightmarish first start, but rebounded in his next outing. The bullpen has been a mixed bag, but trending positive with Tobias Myers continuing to provide consistent quality in long relief and Carl Edwards Jr. joining him in that role. Brooks Raley continues to be outstanding and both Luke Weaver and Devin Williams have had hiccups over the past two weeks, but have had more good outings than bad ones.

Player	Last week	This week
Huascar Brazobán, RHP
Carl Edwards Jr., RHP	—
Clay Holmes, RHP
Craig Kimbrel, RHP
Sean Manaea, LHP
Nolan McLean, RHP
Tobias Myers, RHP
Freddy Peralta, RHP
David Peterson, RHP
Brooks Raley, LHP
Christian Scott, RHP
Kodai Senga, RHP
Austin Warren, RHP
Luke Weaver, RHP
Devin Williams, RHP

We’ll start with Kodai Senga, who has been so bad, that he likely wasn’t making his next start whether he was injured or not. He is now on the injured list with lumbar spinal inflammation and that is the only way he avoided a poop emoji. And it’s probably the only way he avoided another potential stint in the minor leagues too. Christian Scott, back from missing all of 2025 due to Tommy John surgery, has replaced Senga in the rotation. Nerves got the better of Scott in his first start against the Twins in which he issued five walks in just 1 1/3 innings. With the Mets in the position they are in, Carlos Mendoza pulled the plug early while the game was still in striking distance. It’s honestly a miracle Scott only gave up one run. But he looked much better in his outing in Anaheim in which he made one mistake to Jorge Soler, but otherwise pitched well. His defense didn’t do him any favors and ultimately he yielded three runs, only two of which were earned, in five innings of work. Most importantly, he struck out eight batters and walked none—a complete 180 from his first start.

In relief of Scott on Friday, the bullpen was perfect, paving the way for the comeback victory by the Mets. Huascar Brazobán got the win in that game for a scoreless sixth inning of work. Brazobán has been consistently excellent all season and though it wasn’t a clean sheet for him this time, the good outings outweighed the bad ones. One of those bad ones also came in relief of Scott in his abbreviated start against the Twins; Brazobán gave up a game-tying grand slam to Ryan Jeffers, but he inherited the bases loaded situation. And the Mets came back to win the game. He also gave up a run in the Game 1 loss to the Rockies last weekend over two innings of work. But he is spotless so far in the month of May. Carlos Mendoza has consistently turned to Brazobán with inherited runners rather than a clean inning, where he is more successful. But more often than not, he still gets the job done.

Speaking of guys who have been getting the job done, Brooks Raley had a clean sheet this week across five appearances and 4 2/3 innings of work. He earned his fifth hold of the season in relief of Scott on Friday with a scoreless seventh and sealed yesterday’s win with a scoreless ninth. He pitched a scoreless inning apiece in two losses—one to the Rockies and one to the Nationals. He also pitched 2/3 of an inning in last Wednesday’s 3-2 victory over the Twins that ended the legendary losing streak and got into a bit of a jam, but none of those runners would come around to score.

It was Luke Weaver who helped Raley escape that jam, getting the key final out of the eighth after issuing a walk to load the bases. Weaver came back out for the ninth as well and struck out three batters to pitch a scoreless inning and snap the Mets’ 12-game losing streak, earning a win in the process. Weaver bookended this 12-game span with two strong outings in the Angels series over the weekend. In yesterday’s game, he formed the bridge between Clay Holmes and Brooks Raley with 1 1/3 scoreless innings and in Friday’s win, he pitched a 1-2-3 eighth with two strikeouts. Weaver only had one bad outing in the past couple of weeks, but it was a costly one. He gave up a go-ahead two-run homer to CJ Abrams on Thursday, which ended up costing the Mets the game and the series.

Similarly, Devin Williams had a strong couple of weeks outside of one extremely costly outing. In the series opener against the Twins, Williams blew a save, leading to the Mets’ 12th straight loss in the most soul crushing way imaginable. But his outings did improve from there. After the Mets jumped back out ahead of the Twins in the rubber game last Thursday thanks to Bo Bichette’s clutch bases-clearing double, Williams came in the game with one out in the ninth and struck out the first batter he faced, but then allowed three straight hits to bring the Twins within two and put the tying run on base. But he held on to strike out the next batter to end the game. His other outings were less eventful. He pitched a scoreless inning against the Rockies and another against the Nationals—both games the Mets went on to lose, but not because of Williams. He then finally got a save opportunity again on Friday in Anaheim and pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to cap off that comeback victory.

Williams was not the only one to not distinguish himself in last Thursday’s game against the Twins. I already mentioned Scott’s terrible start and Brazobán giving up the grand slam, but three of the four runs that crossed the plate from Jeffers’ grand slam were charged to Craig Kimbrel, who loaded the bases on a couple of singles and a walk. Kimbrel pitched two scoreless innings after that—one in the series opener against the Nationals to help complete that shutout victory and a scoreless ninth inning in Anaheim on Saturday to help send that game to extras.

Tobias Myers also appeared in all three games Kimbrel appeared in. He immediately followed Scott last Thursday after he was unable to make it out of the second and pitched 2 1/3 innings, over which he gave up one unearned run and struck out three. Myers preceded Kimbrel in the series opener against the Nationals with two scoreless innings, contributing to the shutout. On Saturday Myers scattered three hits over 2 2/3 scoreless innings of work to cap off his clean sheet for this meter.

Austin Warren ended up taking the loss on Saturday for allowing the walk-off hit in the tenth. But Warren pitched a combined three scoreless innings across two outings before that, not allowing a baserunner in either outing and even striking out the side against the Twins after Devin Williams blew the save, leaving the bases loaded, leading to MVP chants being thrown his way.

Both that heroic effort and the walk-off loss came in relief of Nolan McLean, whose start in the Twins series played out like many of his other starts this season. He was basically unhittable early and then fatigued in the middle innings. But in the end, he logged another quality start, giving up three runs on five hits and striking out a whopping ten batters in 6 2/3 innings. McLean did not go as deep into the game in Saturday’s extra-inning loss. He lasted just four innings, over which he gave up three runs on six hits while striking out six and walking one. Still, even after that start, his season ERA starts with a 2.

The Mets’ best starting pitcher lately has not been McLean, but Clay Holmes, whose season ERA starts with a 1 and is among the best in baseball. He shut the Nationals out for six innings in that series opener, giving up just three hits with six strikeouts and one walk. He then followed that up with another sparkling performance on Sunday to help secure the series victory in Anaheim. He gave up just one run on four hits in 6 2/3 innings. That performance earned him his fourth win of the season and a well-deserved fireball for his cumulative body of work so far this season.

Freddy Peralta’s past two starts were good ones—they just happened to both be games the Mets lost, but that is much more the fault of the offense than of Peralta. He took the loss against the Rockies in the series opener, despite limiting the damage to just two runs on seven hits through 5 2/3 innings of work. He was even better against the Nationals, with just one of the three runs he surrendered being earned in six innings of work. He struck out 14 batters and walked 6 across the two outings.

Sean Manaea finished the game in relief of Peralta last Friday and allowed a pair of insurance runs to the Rockies, which turned out to be consequential as the Mets fell just one run shy of a comeback. Manaea did strike out seven batters in 3 1/3 innings in that outing though. But the real disaster for Manaea—and the reason he earned a poop emoji for this meter—came a few days later when the Nationals absolutely bludgeoned the Mets by a dozen runs. Six of the Nationals’ 14 runs were charged to Manaea.

Carl Edwards Jr., who used to pitch for the Nationals and was freshly called up, did mop-up duty in that game. After Manaea exited, Edwards Jr. pitched the final 2 2/3 innings of the game and was charged with one run on three hits. He struck out an impressive six batters in the outing. Edwards Jr. also pitched the bulk of long relief in Game 2 of last weekend’s doubleheader, started by Kodai Senga, in which the Mets were shut out by the Rockies. Edwards Jr. pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings with five strikeouts.

Seven of the Nationals’ runs in Wednesday’s beatdown were charged to David Peterson, who started that game and fell to 0-4 on the season with his disastrous performance. His other outing was less of a disaster; he appeared in long relief after Myers in the rubber game against the Twins and was charged with one run on four hits in 3 1/3 innings, earning his first hold of the season. Unfortunately for Peterson, who seems to vastly prefer being in the rotation, he’s had more success out of the bullpen so far this year and will likely remain there for the time being.

The 30th anniversary season of the WNBA tips off on Friday with storylines aplenty to monitor. Two expansion teams will debut this weekend in Toronto and Portland, the only teams to come into the league together while the W grows to 18 teams by 2030. Golden State, the first of six expansion franchises, wants to build on the unprecedented success of its inaugural season. 

The Las Vegas Aces are building on a dynasty, and the New York Liberty are leveling up again to challenge it. In Indiana, Caitlin Clark is healthy after missing all but 13 games of her second professional season. And in Atlanta, Angel Reese is settling in as a vital piece of the puzzle they hope will produce a championship. 

That’s the base of what to know after a long, tumultuous offseason. But what might we be writing about this time next year? Here’s a look at some predictions, leaning more bold and daring as the season begins. 

New York falls short of Finals  

New York possesses all the pieces on paper. An MVP-caliber core three of Jonquel Jones, Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu that lifted the Liberty’s offense to top-three in each of their three seasons and third in defensive rating their first two. The free agency signing of Satou Sabally, the “unicorn” forward yet to reach her full potential. A packed roster that includes Leonie Fiebich, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton and Marine Johannes. 

Sean D. Elliot via Getty Images

Things written on paper don't always translate to banners. Chris DeMarco won four NBA championships in a variety of positions with the Golden State Warriors, but it’s still his first head coaching job — plus, under the brightest lights in New York. Teams built around bunches of All-Stars don’t always come through. And the rest of the field is stout with contenders. As last year showed, one injury or bad stretch could diminish championship prospects. And there’s already some concern — Ionescu is out at least two weeks after rolling her ankle in the preseason.

… But Stewart wins MVP

We said “bold predictions,” and we meant it. Stewart is coming off a down year by the stratospheric standards she’s set in previous seasons. On a Liberty team battling through injuries last year — including ones she sustained herself — she averaged career lows in scoring (18.3 ppg tied rookie year), rebounding (6.5, a full one fewer than 2022), effective field goal percentage (.487) and, most detrimentally, 3-point percentage (.241). It was off her fewest attempts (2.8). 

Can a healthy offseason, new head coach and fresh system change that for the 31-year-old forward with three WNBA championships, two league MVPs, two Finals MVPs, a Commissioner’s Cup MVP and seven All-WNBA selections?

The last 30-something to win the award was Sylvia Fowles in Minnesota’s 2017 championship season. It was the first time in four seasons she earned votes on the ballot and followed seasons of production closer to her career floor. It also came on a stacked team, another comparative analysis for Stewart’s position with the Liberty’s cast of All-Stars. Ionescu is a preseason MVP candidate, and Jones is an overlooked key asset. 

Stewart is coming off a strong offseason, winning the Unrivaled championship with the Mist and earning MVP of the final. Once the WNBPA vice president put the marathon CBA negotiations behind her, she jetted off to win a third EuroLeague title in a two-game stint with Fenerbahçe last month. Stewart’s last WNBA MVP honor came in the controversial 2023 race; it was the second-smallest margin between top finishers in league history. 

Los Angeles will reach the Finals 

Bank on the Sparks to play some f****** defense this season; once they do, they could find themselves in their first Finals since winning it in 2016. 

A major piece is the MVP in that series, Nneka Ogwumike, returning to Los Angeles following two seasons in Seattle. Ogwumike, 35, earned All-WNBA second-team honors each of the last four years while maintaining a stat line similar to that of her peak years in Los Angeles. The veteran forward will add a defensive presence that the Sparks sorely need after finishing 10th in defensive rating (108.5), above only the lottery-bound Sun, Wings and Sky. Cameron Brink, a 6-4 rim protector who averaged a sixth-best 1.4 bpg, is in her second full season after ACL surgery. 

The offense kept them in playoff contention until the final days. The Sparks ranked second in scoring (85.7 ppg) in head coach Lynne Roberts’ first season at the helm. They return Kelsey Plum (19.5 ppg) and Dearica Hamby (18.4), the second-most productive scoring duo in the WNBA last year. Only the Aces’ A’ja Wilson and Jackie Young averaged more together at 39.9 ppg. 

Triple-double mark will fall again 

There were a season-record 17 triple-doubles in 2025, six more than the total from 1997-2021. The only other double-digit triple-double season was 14 in 2023. 

The game is leaning more that way with do-it-all, positionless stat-stuffers filtering into the ranks. Alyssa Thomas, the career record holder with 25, is in a prime position to stack onto her total as a point-forward barreling through the lane to find shooters in Phoenix. Caitlin Clark, entering the season healthy after missing 31 games, has three in her pro career. 

Jessica Shepard, Jackie Young, Skylar Diggins, Angel Reese and Julie Allemand also notched triple-doubles a year ago. Sabrina Ionescu, the NCAA record-holder, will have the ball in her hand more. And Olivia Miles, who had six as a graduate senior at TCU, should see plenty of opportunities in Minnesota. 

Toronto will make the playoffs 

Sandy Brondello has never missed the playoffs as a head coach. Not in her single 2010 season at the helm of San Antonio (which later moved to Las Vegas). Not during eight summers in Phoenix. And not while leading the Liberty for four seasons from 2022-25. 

No reason to go against the two-time WNBA champion now. The Tempo secured major assets in each of their three roster-building opportunities this offseason by adding Marina Mabrey and Nyara Sabally in the expansion draft; signing the trio of Brittney Sykes, Temi Fágbénlé and Canadian Kia Nurse in free agency; and drafting Kiki Rice in the first round of the collegiate draft. 

They may not defeat the Liberty, Aces, Fever or Dream, but they can stay competitive in the middle of the pack. As the league grows, reaching the playoffs will become less of a gimme and more of a notable achievement. With 15 teams in the league, 53% of them will make the postseason versus 75% when there were 12. 

The Valkyries became the first expansion team in WNBA history to reach the playoffs in their inaugural season. Golden State (23-21) took the eighth and final seed, losing to Minnesota in the first round. The league’s previous four expansion franchises combined to go 24-108 in their first season. 

The NFL’s organized team activities program over the next couple months is crucial for teams, even if it is officially voluntary.

Teams come together to install schemes and get some work on the field. Rookies and new additions are starting that process from scratch. New head coaches and coordinators don’t have that long to implement things before training camp starts.

Here are the top 10 stories around the NFL that we’ll be following through the OTAs.

Jesse Minter takes over in Baltimore

All 10 new head coaches have a lot of work to do over May and June, establishing a culture and implementing schemes. Not many lead a potential Super Bowl contender. Joe Brady of the Bills is in that category, but his move up from Buffalo’s offensive coordinator makes the transition a little less overwhelming.

Minter is the one coaching hire that starts absolutely new and for a Ravens franchise that should still be a title contender. Minter will be implementing his defense on one side of the ball, and he and new offensive coordinator Declan Doyle will be building an offense for Lamar Jackson. Jackson, who hasn’t always shown up for the voluntary OTAs the past few years, was present to start the offseason program this year, which is a positive sign for Baltimore. There’s a lot of change with the Ravens this year.

Ty Simpson comes aboard

The Rams invited an uncomfortable dynamic to the roster when they drafted Simpson 13th overall. Every team who has an established veteran at quarterback but drafts a future successor in the first round deals with the same questions.

Matthew Stafford’s role as a mentor will be a big topic of conversation in OTAs. Simpson’s development will be as well, as Sean McVay juggles handling an MVP quarterback and Super Bowl contender with trying to teach a rookie. The Rams can manage the situation, but it has the potential to be a distraction at times.

Will we see Patrick Mahomes at OTAs?

While it seems unlikely the Chiefs would push Mahomes back for OTAs after he tore his ACL last December, coach Andy Reid didn’t rule it out either.

“We’ve got to see on that,” Reid said. “He is in a good position to be able to do some things.”

Reid also mentioned that if Mahomes participates in OTAs, he can’t start training camp on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list. If Mahomes starts camp on PUP that would free up a roster spot. If Mahomes isn’t available at OTAs, there will be plenty of eyes on Justin Fields, who would start the season at QB if Mahomes isn’t ready.

Who wins Browns QB derby?

There aren’t many quarterback battles around the NFL, but the Browns have one with some big names. Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel will battle for the starting role. Watson and Sanders had a small edge was the offseason program began.

If Watson wins the job after Browns owner Jimmy Haslam practically threw in the towel on him by calling it a “big swing and a miss,” it would be a big story. If Sanders wins the job it would be a big story because everything Sanders does creates attention. It’s not the prettiest competition, but there’s intrigue to see how it plays out through OTAs and who leads the race going into training camp.

What will Steelers do as a backup plan at QB?

It still seems like the eventual solution for the Steelers at quarterback will be Aaron Rodgers signing and doing so on his own timeline. But until the Steelers have that official answer, they need to think ahead. Pittsburgh should be evaluating all three of the other quarterbacks on the roster.

There’s veteran Mason Rudolph, who has experience as a starter. Then there’s 2025 sixth-round pick Will Howard, who the Steelers were talking up this offseason, and this year’s third-round pick Drew Allar. Rudolph probably has the highest floor for a team coming off a division title, but the Steelers used the 76th pick of the draft on Allar for a reason. Even if Rodgers does sign, figuring out the rest of the quarterback depth chart over the summer will be important.

Fernando Mendoza starts the journey

Usually, everyone knows a No. 1 overall pick will start at quarterback by Week 1, even if the team plays games over the summer by not officially announcing it. But it’s just a matter of time, typically. This year, it’s a different story.

The Raiders drafted Mendoza first overall but they also paid Kirk Cousins $20 million for this season. That says the team is serious about Cousins beginning the season as starter. How long will Cousins be able to hold the job? That might depend on how quickly Mendoza impresses the team with his ability to pick up the offense. That starts in OTAs.

Patriots want controversy to subside

It’s hard to say the Mike Vrabel situation, after photos were published of him at a resort with NFL reporter Dianna Russini, hasn’t been a distraction. Vrabel missed the third day of the draft for counseling, and has had multiple media conferences to discuss the controversy.

Vrabel and the Patriots would probably like the story to go away, but will that happen? It will be a topic of discussion for a while, especially if there’s any sign over the summer that it’s affecting Vrabel’s ability to coach his team.

A.J. Brown getting up to speed

It seems like a foregone conclusion that Brown will be traded from the Eagles to the Patriots after June 1. That would help get the Vrabel headlines off the front page. If the Brown trade doesn’t happen, that would be a massive story too.

When Brown arrives he won’t have much time to get up to speed in the offense and develop chemistry with Drake Maye. The June OTAs and the team’s mandatory minicamp will take on a little more importance.

A new-look Cowboys defense

The Cowboys needed a complete defensive overhaul, and did so on the coaching and personnel side. Christian Parker is the new defensive coordinator, coming over from the Eagles, and there are six projected new starters as well as a first full offseason of Quinnen Williams on the roster. One of those new starters is safety Caleb Downs, the 11th pick of the draft, and his rapid development is one of the keys to Dallas’ defense this season. Parker is a first-time coordinator and implementing his scheme will be a big story of the offseason. He insists it won’t be the same as the defense that Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio runs.

"It's our defense. I don't want this to be called the Eagles defense or Vic's defense. This is gonna be ours,” Parker told the Cowboys site. “We've been really intentional about going about that process … so it's been real fun."

The 49ers’ evolving offense

The 49ers began last season ready to rely on George Kittle, Jauan Jennings and eventually Brandon Aiyuk in their passing game. This season, Kittle is coming off a torn Achilles, Jennings is an unsigned free agent who is very unlikely to be back and while Aiyuk is technically still on the roster, he won’t be for much longer.

Those targets will be going to Mike Evans, on a team other than the Buccaneers for the first time in his career, fellow veteran addition Christian Kirk, second-round pick De'Zhaun Stribling, and Ricky Pearsall, a holdover who needs to stay healthy. There’s also third-round pick Kaelon Black, who can perhaps take some of the massive workload off Christian McCaffrey. The 49ers always have a good offense but there’s a lot of new faces to get acclimated over OTAs.

Carlos Prates notched his seventh UFC win this past Saturday when he finished former welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena, which was also coincidentally his seventh knockout in the promotion.

The win put Prates tied for fifth all-time for knockouts in the UFC welterweight division and he’ll be tied for second with one more knockout added to his resume. That would still put Prates behind Matt Brown, who is the UFC’s all-time leader for welterweight knockouts with 13 during his career.

While Prates is still six knockouts away from even tying Brown’s remarkable record, the retired welterweight admits he would be proud to have somebody like that challenge him for that top spot.

“I’ll say that would be a guy that I’d be happy to do it,” Brown said about Prates potentially breaking his record on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer. “If it was Matt Hughes, I’d be [a little more upset], he was like No. 3 on there. Of course, he’s retired and wouldn’t do that but Prates, I’m a huge fan of his. I’ve been a huge fan of his for a long time.

“I actually hung out with him when I went up and fought in Chicago. He actually asked for a picture with me. He was a big fan of mine and I think he said he watched my clinch DVD’s and my courses on Dynamic Striking. He learned some stuff and he loves all that and that I inspired him, etc. That’s a great feeling, that you’re passing onto the next generation.”

Brown praised Prates not only for his win in the UFC Perth main event but for the way he systematically dismantled Della Maddalena across two plus rounds before getting the finish.

There was nothing fluky about Prates’ win because he just didn’t land a one-punch knockout. Instead, he broke down the former UFC welterweight champion with a variety of strikes before mercifully ending the fight in the third round.

“It feels like Carlos came into his own in this fight,” Brown said. “He stepped up to the next level. The most impressive thing it wasn’t a one punch knockout. It was diversity. The leg kicks, the knees, the punches, the elbows, the clinch, just everything all around. Other than the fact that he got taken down a little bit too easily but we’ll bypass that little part.

“But striking wise is the point, he just looked tremendous from top to bottom, front and back and it again it was the diversity. Ultimately, I think that’s where he beat Jack.”

Prates has now knocked out two former champions in back-to-back fights with Della Maddalena and Leon Edwards. Immediately after his win, Prates called for a title shot but conceded that Ian Machado Garry was almost certainly getting the next crack at reigning champion Islam Makhachev with all signs pointing towards that fight happening in August.

Of course, Garry handed Prates his only loss in the UFC when he beat the Brazilian by decision back in 2025 so it appears he’s getting the next shot no matter what.

That said, Makhachev remains the most daunting obstacle for anybody at welterweight whether that’s Garry, Prates or rising contender Michael Morales.

Truth be told, Brown doesn’t like anybody’s chances against Makhachev, especially with all three of the top challengers coming from a striking background.

“I know we’re going to get to Islam,” Brown said. “That’s a whole other story. That’s a different beast there, a different animal.

“I mean what a great time and place for Islam to be champion. This guy’s in a situation where he’s got all strikers at the top of the heap now. I know [Michael] Morales is a big guy but do you think he’s going to wrestle with Islam or be able to wrestle with Islam? [Kamaru] Usman is the only guy, the dark horse here but what is he going to have to do to get a title shot?”

In a perfect world, Brown advises Makhachev to stay active and start rolling through these challengers in rapid-fire fashion as he potentially boosts his resume to reach all-time great status.

Makhachev already holds the record for the most title defenses at lightweight and while beating Georges St-Pierre’s record nine title defenses at welterweight probably isn’t realistic, the fact that the top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport could rack up that many title fight wins across two divisions is unprecedented.

Brown feels like Makhachev likely beats Garry, Prates and Morales in dominant fashion and by then maybe a new contender emerges or perhaps the UFC could finally line up the long awaited showdown against Ilia Topuria in the future.

“When you think about the situation that Islam is in,” Brown explained. “Let’s say he runs through all three guys. They’re all strikers. He’s basically got the same training camp three fights in a row if he faces those three guys next. Then he’s on a four or five fight winning streak as the champion after coming up a division. No one looks at Anderson Silva’s run or [Georges St-Pierre’s] run or Demetrious Johnson, Jon Jones, they don’t look at all those runs and say ‘well those were the right matchups for them.’ No, you’re the title holder, you fight the guy who’s the best guy next to you, wrestler, striker whatever. This is the perfect string of matchups.

“If I’m Islam, I try to stay as active as I can, try to get all three within a year, starting now or whatever, try to get all three of those done in a year before those guys do get even better wrestling, which he may not care because he’s probably still his whole life going to be better than them at wrestling. But just do it now. Go through all three of them. Do it in nine months. Every three months, just go fight another one.”

Listen to new episodes of The Fighter vs. The Writer every Tuesday with audio only versions of the podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and iHeartRadio

Volleyball conference opponents announced

Baseball remains at 14 in USA Today Poll

Highlight of the Day: Oregon announces to the world they will compete in the B1G

The Detroit Tigers are making a low-risk move to add infield depth, bringing in a familiar name with big-league experience.

According to a report from MLB insider Jon Heyman, the Tigers have signed former All-Star infielder Paul DeJong to a minor league deal. The move gives Detroit another option as it looks to navigate a long season and maintain roster flexibility.

Tigers Add Veteran Depth With Paul DeJong Signing

The Detroit Tigers signing Paul DeJong may not grab headlines as a blockbuster move, but it adds a proven veteran to the organization.

DeJong, 32, has spent parts of nine seasons in the major leagues, primarily with the St. Louis Cardinals. He earned All-Star honors in 2019 and has built a reputation as a power-capable infielder who can play multiple positions, including shortstop, third base, and second base.

For a Tigers team dealing with injuries and inconsistency across the roster, adding a player with that level of experience could prove valuable.

A Look at DeJong’s Career

DeJong’s career has been defined by flashes of power and versatility.

He has totaled 146 home runs and 423 RBIs across more than 3,100 at-bats, showing the ability to impact games offensively when he is locked in. While his batting average has dipped over the years, his power remains his calling card.

His best season came in 2019, when he hit 30 home runs and earned his lone All-Star selection. Since then, he has bounced around multiple teams, including stints with Toronto, San Francisco, Kansas City, and most recently Washington.

What This Means for Detroit

The Detroit Tigers signing Paul DeJong gives the organization another depth option as it continues to evaluate its roster.

Because this is a minor league deal, there is no immediate pressure. DeJong will likely report to Triple-A Toledo, where he can work his way back into form and potentially earn a call-up if the Tigers need help at the major league level.

For Detroit, this is the type of move that can quietly pay off.

If DeJong finds his swing, he could provide pop and versatility. If not, the Tigers have taken on minimal risk.

It is my understanding that the rookie numbers for the Los Angeles Rams incoming class have been announced. It’s exciting for the team, it’s exciting for the players and the fans and it’s good old-fashioned fun.

Who doesn’t love a good jersey and a good number to go with it?

It should be fun to hear about how the rookies are developing as each team marches towards the start of the season. For the Rams, they have so many players who they expect to stay playing at a high level or take a leap forward, so how will the rookies stack up to the veterans?

It’s a question perhaps as old as time. Will any newcomers overtake the more tenured players?

One thing at a time, get drafted, figure out your jersey number, and go from there. The rookies are checking boxes.

It’s Tuesday. Thank you for checking out Turf Show Time and have a day! Comment on whatever you want!

Rams reveal rookie jersey numbers for Ty Simpson, other draft picks (ramswire)

“With rookie minicamp set to get underway this weekend, the Los Angeles Rams will welcome their 2026 draft picks to their facility in Woodland Hills. Before they hit the practice field, they’ll need jersey numbers.

On Monday, the Rams announced which number each draft pick will wear, from Ty Simpson to Tim Keenan III. Of the five incoming draft picks, four of them will wear the same numbers they wore in college last season. The only exception? CJ Daniels, who’s going down one digit from No. 7 to 6.“

LA Rams’ Draft Decision: Ty Simpson vs. Taylen Green (sportsgrid.com)

“The Los Angeles Rams’ decision to draft Ty Simpson at the 13th pick continues to raise questions. The franchise expressed their long-term commitment to Simpson, hoping that longtime quarterback Matthew Stafford continues his career long enough that Simpson might not even need to start. This strategy is seen as a potential win for the Rams, demonstrating their confidence in both Stafford’s longevity and coach Sean McVay’s ability to mold young talent like Simpson.

However, the choice to overlook Taylin Green, who could have been a significant contributor from the first year, was criticized. Picking Green in the 5th round instead of Simpson in the first could have offered immediate benefits and added a dynamic player capable of bending defenses with his talent. Critics believe that McVay would have been excited to work with Green’s abilities, suggesting the decision to pass on him might have been a misstep. This draft strategy by the Rams is still a topic of debate among fans and analysts in Los Angeles.“

PFF highlights Rams rookie as Day 3 pick who could have early impact (ramswire)

“Following a successful collegiate career where he helped Liberty University complete its first-ever undefeated FBS regular season and win a conference title – and assisting the University of Miami in its return to national championship relevance during the Hurricanes’ run to the title game – Daniels hopes to be the next Day 3 pick to become a breakout star for the Rams.

With players like Puka Nacua, Quentin Lake, Kyren Williams, and others currently being a flag bearer to a tradition that has existed during Les Snead’s tenure as general manager, Daniels has a lot to live up to. The good news is that Pro Football Focus’ Bradley Locker named Daniels as one of his Day 3 picks who could make an impact as a rookie.“

Random Ramsdom Fandom:

“I like Emmanuel, I would like it for him to stick around for a while. I just don’t see him being a starter for this team however if everyone is healthy. He would be a very good rotational piece as he showed flashes of greatness during the win streak.”-Leowaterhunteralt

Rams Feed:

Dolphins part ways with 7 players in post-draft roster moves originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

NFL offseason rosters can be a bit of an adventure, especially so soon after the NFL Draft.

That was definitely true for the Miami Dolphins on Monday as they cut seven players.

Officially, one of the cuts was a release, long snapper Taybor Pepper.

The other six are players who are being waived: punter Seth Vernon, inside linebacker K.C. Ossai, edge rusher Derrick McLendon, cornerback Jason Maitre, tight end Zack Kuntz and cornerback Isaiah Johnson.

Johnson and Maitre were both waived officially with a failed physical designation.

Most recently, Johnson got into four games with the Dolphins in 2025 as a special teams player.

McLendon also has played for the Dolphins, although in just a single game.

The most-tenured NFL player on the list is Pepper, the long snapper. He has played 100 games across time with the Packers, Dolphins and 49ers -- and he snapped in nine playoff games for San Francisco, too.

Kuntz played part of two seasons with the Jets.

Ossai and Maitre have yet to appear in a regular season NFL game.

Vernon has most recently punted in the UFL in 2025 for the Michigan Panthers, although he's not in that spring league at the moment -- maybe this move will push him back in that direction.

These won't be the last moves for the Dolphins by any means, because the large offseason rosters in the NFL result in plenty of churn.

An idea for a poll question emerged from a short conversation I had with Iowacoltsfan on a previous post. I suggested that I believed that the negativity towards Chris Ballard had reached a point that many fans would trade a good season, for a bad one that produced his ouster. He shared that he didn’t believe that the ire was that strong, but admitted he didn’t know what a poll would produce.

So, why not just ask? One question, two options.

Would you prefer a season that produced a division title and playoff win, but resulted in a new 3 year contract for CB and Shane? Or, would you prefer a season that did not produce a playoff appearance, but resulted in the firing of CB and Shane?

Pretty simple. Feel free to back up your choice.

Tim Tszyu spent some time talking to boxing media about his July 26 fight against Errol Spence that will take place at a 158 lb catchweight. Spence, who will be working his way back into action after three years out of the game, expects to return to form while Tszyu says he’ll be a well-oiled machine heading into the matchup. Here’s some of what Tsyzu had to say below.

Tszyu on his style approach to fighting Spence

“As much as I try to jab, jab, move a little bit, box — yeah, I am a forward-type guy, I bring the heat and that’s what I plan to do this fight…I’ve got plenty in the tank. I’ve learned a lot, I’ve experienced a lot in the last three or four years.”

On being confident he can beat Spence

“100%. I wouldn’t take this fight if I thought I was going to lose. If I had a little glimpse of losing I would have said ‘you know what, maybe I’m not ready.’ I’m taking this fight because I know I’m going to win.”

On how he’ll deal with Spence’s volume and pressure

“Yeah, I sort of understood that from Fundora. He throws a sh-tload of punches, as well. Southpaw. Errol Spence will just be maybe easier to hit, not as tall. Just going to be a different game plan this time around.

“I’m going to bring the heat from round 1. He’s the one that’s had three years off. I’m not rusty, my wheels have been in motion. So I’ll be ready to jump on him.”

With the Jacksonville Jaguars' roster for the 2026 season mostly set following free agency and the NFL draft, let's project what the Week 1 starting offensive lineup could look like.

We recently went through this same exercise of the defensive side of the ball.

Let's dive in.

Quarterback

Trevor Lawrence

No mystery here.

Running back

Bhayshul Tuten and Chris Rodriguez

I'm going to cheat a bit with this one. On paper, there will be a starter, but my early guess is that these two share the workload out of the backfield. One week, Tuten may have more carries, and then the next week, Rodriguez might.

Wide receiver

Brian Thomas Jr., Parker Washington, Jakobi Meyers

Travis Hunter will be factored in as well, but these three will sit at the top of the depth chart and be the steady contributors.

Tight end

Brenton Strange

The real competition will be taking place behind Strange, with Quintin Morris and Nate Boerkircher competing for snaps. Tanner Koziol could also push Hunter Long off the roster.

Offensive line

Cole Van Lanen, Ezra Cleveland, Robert Hainsey, Patrick Mekari, Anton Harrison

I do think that Emmanuel Pregnon could push Mekari, specifically, for playing time. But for now, I'll go with Mekari's experience as the differentiator. But if Pregnon is starting Week 1, I won't be surprised.

This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: 2026 NFL draft: What does Jaguars' starting offense now look like?

Steelers sign 24-year old TE with Patriots experience who Eagles just parted ways with originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

In very unsurprising news, the Pittsburgh Steelers have signed another tight end.

At times, it seems like their favorite position on the entire roster. They can't have too deep a TE depth chart.

The new guy is Jaheim Bell, who the Steelers announced the signing of on Monday.

Bell was most recently with the Philadelphia Eagles, but they waived him last week, which sent him into the free agent pool and allowed for Bell's signing by Pittsburgh.

He entered the NFL as a seventh-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots after splitting his college career at South Carolina and Florida State.

Bell is listed at 6-foot-2 and 241 pounds and will turn 25 on June 14.

MORE: Shilo Sanders under fire for telling female reporter to 'make a sandwich'

All his regular season NFL experience came in the 2024 season. He appeared in 15 games for the Pats and caught a pair of passes for 20 yards.

The Patriots kept Bell through the 2025 summer but released him late in the preseason in August.

He didn't get a new contract until October 2025, when the Eagles brought him aboard the practice squad, but he lasted just a week before being released.

The Steelers brought Bell onto the practice squad in late December, then cut him in mid-January.

The Eagles signed Bell to a futures contract soon after his Pittsburgh release, but they eventually waived him about three months after that deal.

That set Bell up to sign with Pittsburgh, where he'll hope to spend the rest of the offseason and try to make a good impression.

More NFL news:

• Saints still have an Alvin Kamara decision to make
• What's going on with Aaron Rodgers and the Cardinals?
• Eagles might have a DeVonta Smith problem
• Patriots give another A.J. Brown signal
• From Falcons to Cardinals, Tyler Allgeier can't catch a break

Benfica attacker Jaden Umeh is one of seven new faces called up by Republic of Ireland head coach Heimir Hallgrímsson for the upcoming training camp and friendly against Granada on Saturday, 16 May in Spain.

The 18-year-old has been released by the Portuguese club to take part in the training camp which is his first step up to the international squad.

With the English Football League (EFL) regular season over, Halgrimsson's 21-man squad is mainly made up of players who ply their trade in the Championship or League One, with those involved in the EFL play-offs or based in the Premier League, Scottish Premiership, League of Ireland or other major leagues available for the games against Qatar and Canada later in the month.

Umeh's release ensures he is eligible for this camp and will be joined by further newcomers in goalkeeper Killian Cahill, defenders Eiran Cashin, Tayo Adaramola and Joel Bagan, midfielder Jack Moylan and forward Aidomo Emakhu.

Dara O'Shea, Jayson Molumby, Adam Idah and Jason Knight provide experiencem while there is a return for Kasey McAteer, Tom Cannon and Mark McGuinness.

Republic of Ireland take on Grenada at the Estadio Nueva Condomina in Murcia on 16 May at 17:00 BST.

Who is Jaden Umeh?

The 18-year-old from Mahon in Cork began his career with Cork City in the League Ireland, making his debut in November 2023 despite being just 15 years of age, making his the youngest player to play for the club.

He would set another record as the youngest goalscorer for Cork City when netting against Wexford FC when aged 16 years and 14 days, going on to make 15 appearances for the club before joining Portuguese club Benfica in July 2025, where he is currently a member of the U23 squad.

Umeh has represented the Republic of Ireland at U15, U16 and U17 level, named in the squad for the 2025 U17 World Cup in Qatar with his performances earning him a call to join the U21 squad and is now part of the senior set-up for the first time.

Republic of Ireland squad

Goalkeepers: Max O'Leary (West Bromwich Albion), Josh Keeley (Luton Town), Killian Cahill (Leyton Orient)

Defenders: Dara O'Shea (Ipswich Town), Eiran Cashin (Blackburn Rovers - loan), James Abankwah (Watford), Mark McGuinness (Sheffield United), Tayo Adaramola (Sheffield Wednesday - loan), Joel Bagan (Cardiff City).

Midfielders: Jayson Molumby (West Bromwich Albion), Jason Knight (Bristol City), Conor Coventry (Charlton Athletic), Andrew Moran (Preston North End).

Forwards: Adam Idah (Swansea City), Tom Cannon (Sheffield United), Chiedozie Ogbene (Sheffield United - loan), Kasey McAteer (Ipswich Town), Millenic Alli (Portsmouth), Jack Moylan (Lincoln City), Aidomo Emakhu (Oxford United), Jaden Umeh (Benfica).

In late March, Tina Charles traveled to China to play in a best-of-five series with Henan Phoenix, a Chinese women’s basketball club looking to move into its league’s top tier. Through four games, Charles, 37, averaged 22 points and eight boards while playing 29 minutes a game. Henan won, and Charles celebrated with teammates before boarding a flight back to New York.

Through the festivities, merriment and jet lag, Charles also felt something different — a true sense of clarity.

She had gone into that decisive Game 4 knowing it could be her last basketball game she played. She put on and took off her uniform that day understanding it could be the final time she ever did that. Ultimately, it was.

After a storied career that included 14 seasons in the WNBA, two national championships at UConn, three Olympic gold medals and hundreds of games overseas, Charles’ final points came in a small gymnasium in central China.

Charles told The Athletic she has retired from professional basketball and is at peace with moving away from the hardwood.

“I’m very thankful for the career that I’ve been able to have, the experiences I was able to have,” Charles said. “I gave everything to this game, and the game gave me everything that I needed to become who I am. So now, it’s just time to apply that same standard of what I held myself to on the court to what’s next.”

Charles is considered one of the WNBA’s silent megastars, the most talented player who never won a WNBA title. She leaves as one of the preeminent — and one of the last — back-to-the-basket posts who also revolutionized her own game, expanding her range to the 3-point line after attempting just 17 3s through the first six seasons of her career.

She retires atop the WNBA leaderboard in career rebounds (4,262) and field goals made (3,364), and second in points scored (8,396). Charles, an eight-time All-Star who’s undoubtedly headed to the Hall of Fame someday, led the league in scoring twice during her career and was named the 2012 MVP. She was most recently a first-team all-league player in 2017. She was still considered a free-agent option during this offseason cycle, though the likelihood of being an immediate impact player has diminished.

Charles was the No. 1 pick in the 2010 WNBA Draft, after leading UConn to NCAA Tournament titles in 2009 and 2010 to cap undefeated seasons. In 2010, as a rookie with the Connecticut Sun, she led them in points and rebounds. She spent four seasons there before moving to the New York Liberty, her hometown team, in 2014. In 2020, New York traded Charles to the Washington Mystics, and she then journeyed to four teams during five seasons, culminating with a return to the Sun last season.

It was a new role for her, and ultimately, a clarifying season. As she did as a rookie with the Sun, she led Connecticut in scoring last season. But in 2025, her position and the space she occupied had changed.

“Playing around the younger players gave me perspective,” said Charles, who averaged 17.8 points and nine rebounds per game during her WNBA career. “They pushed me in a different way. It wasn’t just about competing, it was about adapting and learning and understanding where I fit in a new version of the game. It’s like they brought the energy, I brought the experience, and somewhere in that I was able to gain clarity. It’s just a full circle moment — you remember when you were in their shoes, when you were them, and you recognize when it’s their time to grow into the space you once held.”

The thoughts of retirement began to linger last season for Charles. She still opted to play in Athletes Unlimited this past offseason and travel to China for the series with Henan. Even in July, on an episode of Sue Bird’s podcast, Charles said, though with a laugh, that she thought about retirement “every day.”

“When you do the things that nobody sees, you’re going in to go work out, to strengthen your body and do all those little things — that started to escape me. I always showed up, but just the intention and why I’m doing it, it started to feel like work versus like what it used to,” Charles told The Athletic. “Once that started creeping in, that’s when I knew, like, all right, I’ll see if I want to give this a go this summer.”

But after that trip to China, Charles knew it was the right time to retire. Charles — who was born and raised in Queens and attended Christ the King Regional High School — will continue to live in New York while bouncing between home bases in Connecticut and Jamaica, where she feels a deep connection to her mother’s birthplace.

Charles is currently earning her master’s degree in sports management at UConn, and sees herself possibly working in a front office of the WNBA or NBA, or for a college team. This past semester, she worked as a graduate assistant for UConn athletics’ chief operating officer, learning about revenue share, name, image and likeness, scheduling and operations.

Charles has also founded and owns 78 Brewing Co., named for the Huskies’ 78-game win streak during her junior and senior seasons, joining the less than one percent of Black-owned American breweries. She will also continue her involvement with Hopey’s Heart Foundation, a non-profit she founded in 2013 that has placed more than 500 free automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in schools and communities.

“I’ve always had an entrepreneurship spirit. I’ve always had the mindset, and this chapter allows me to grow more into it,” Charles said. “I’ve never wanted to stay in one version of myself.”

Charles said she’s looking forward to this next stage of her career and life. After 20 years — between the WNBA, overseas play and UConn — of year-round basketball, she’s excited to reflect on her career and spend time with her family and friends.

The WNBA Charles leaves is far different from the one she joined in 2010. She earned a rookie salary of $45,827. The No. 1 pick this season, fellow UConn alum Azzi Fudd, will earn $500,000. The WNBA’s growth, represented by its groundbreaking collective bargaining agreement, has been significant as salaries, benefits, franchise valuations and television deals have skyrocketed. Though Charles ultimately won’t be a part of this next iteration of the league, she’s proud of the part she played in getting women’s basketball to this point.

“If I’ve done anything, I hope it’s that I made the path a little clearer and a little wider for the next generation,” Charles said. “Just having a tiny thing to do with that since entering the league in 2010 — making the league more exciting, expanding players’ minds to what they should be doing actively while playing off the court, and how to use the platform of the WNBA to elevate their beliefs and their dreams and their business aspirations; how to impact someone with just your kindness and just with your work. So, I think for me, that’s what legacy is.”

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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Barcelona’s plans to strengthen their defence have hit an unexpected obstacle, with fresh developments suggesting that their top target is no longer a straightforward signing. 

According to SPORT, Alessandro Bastoni is now reconsidering his future despite being close to agreeing a move to the Catalan club.

It is known that Bastoni has been identified as Barcelona’s priority defensive signing, with the club fully committed to bringing him in ahead of next season. 

Talks with the player’s camp had progressed well, and there was growing confidence that a long-term deal could be finalised. However, the situation has taken a turn in recent days.

Why is that?

According to the outlet, the defender’s position appears to have shifted following Inter Milan’s Scudetto celebrations. 

The strong support he received from fans, combined with personal and family ties to the region, has created fresh doubts in his mind. What once seemed like a near-complete agreement is now far less certain.

Barcelona had deliberately taken a step back in negotiations out of respect, choosing not to advance discussions until Inter secured the league title. 

Bastoni is having second thoughts over Inter exit. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

The expectation was that progress would accelerate immediately after. Instead, the process has slowed, with a key step still missing – Bastoni has yet to formally communicate his desire to leave to Inter.

So what now?

At Barcelona, there is now a growing sense of urgency. The club wants clarity as soon as possible so they can either move forward with negotiations or shift focus to alternative targets. 

Their sporting leadership has remained in close contact with the player’s representatives, hoping to push the deal forward.

Inter, for their part, are aware of the situation. They understand that if Bastoni decides to leave, it will be difficult to keep him. 

However, without a clear signal from the player, there is little movement between the clubs at this stage.

Despite the recent doubts, Barcelona remain cautiously optimistic, as they believe that once emotions settle, Bastoni will still favour the move, especially considering the sporting project on offer and the potential benefits.

West Ham United have sent a significant offer to the representatives of Paris FC defender Moustapha Mbow but could face competition from Liverpool and other suitors, according to French outlet RMC Sports. West Ham are desperate to stay up and hold on to Nuno Espirito Santo, which would boost their chances of bringing Mbow to the London Stadium club, but their Anfield counterparts want him too. Liverpool have been keeping a lower profile but the Reds have already inquired about the 26-year-old 6ft 4in Senegalese star as manager Arne Slot will look to strengthen at the back.

The Merseyside club have lost 11 Premier League games this term, conceding 47 goals, more than 16th-place Nottingham Forest. They need to get things right in the summer transfer window, and signing a centre-back is in their plans. Mbow has impressed in the French top-flight league, with more than 100 appearances to his name for the club. He has impressed since helping Paris FC to promotion last term, and West Ham and Liverpool are not the only clubs keen on his services. Ipswich Town, Fulham, Crystal Palace and Lille are also interested in signing him, and more suitors could join them should he feature and impress at the World Cup this summer.

Senegal manager Pape Thiaw has been keeping tabs on the Reds target and is likely to take him to the summer tournament. Mbow has played 30 Ligue 1 games this term and some of his strengths include playing long balls and clearing the ball out of defence. A move to the Premier League would appeal to him, with Liverpool likely to be playing in the Champions League next season. However, the defender will be keen on playing regularly and will need guarantees from Slot that he features in the Dutchman’s plans despite the presence of Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk.

West Ham can offer him regular football, but they need to hold on to their Premier League status first.

Donovan isn’t the only widely respected, veteran head coach who’s hoping for a return to the sidelines, though, as league sources say Tom Thibodeau is also very interested in a comeback. The 68-year-old was fired from his Knicks post last summer but is looking for the right fit for his coaching future again. And yes, league sources say, that includes the prospect of a Bulls reunion if the Reinsdorfs and new executive vice president of basketball operations Bryson Graham, who was hired away from the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, had interest.

New York Times

This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Tom Thibodeau an option for Chicago?