Marcello Hernández, the host of Wednesday night’s ESPY Awards, jumped right into the deep end in his opening monologue with a not-so-subtle jab at last year’s host. 

“I also want to shout out last year’s host, Shane Gillis. He is watching from home like a true American,” said Hernández. “On his couch, drinking a beer while a Hispanic guy does his job.” 

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Gillis received backlash last year after making a distasteful joke about WNBA star Caitlin Clark.

“When Caitlin Clark retires from the WNBA, she’s going to work at a Waffle House so she can continue doing what she loves most: fist-fighting Black women,” Gillis said at the time. 

Aside from the Gillis joke, Hernández didn’t shy away from highlighting his heritage in his opening monologue, noting that he’s the first Hispanic to host the ESPYs in 25 years. The “SNL” cast member also took the opportunity, amid increased hostility toward immigrants in the U.S., to thank his mother, who immigrated from Cuba. 

“I personally think it’s crazy that I get to host the ESPYs,” Hernández said. “This is an American dream, for a child of immigrants to host the biggest show in sports.” 

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“My mom came to this country by herself at 20 years old; she worked as a nanny, she lived in an efficiency, which is a room attached to a house,” he continued. “She paid her way through college by working during the day and going to school at night. And at her graduation, she was pregnant with me. And I just figured that if I had to hear it every day, you all could hear it once.” 

Hernández then implored Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry to give his mother, who was seated right behind him, a hug. Curry, without hesitation, obliged Hernández’s request. 

Click here to watch Hernández’s full opening monologue from Wednesday night’s show.

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Did a baseball team or a boy band just kick off the sports world’s most glamorous gathering?

While the choreography, lip-syncing, backflips and yellow uniforms may have seemed like a baffling combo to the uninitiated, Wednesday night’s ESPY Awards opener looked like business as usual for fans of the Savannah Bananas.

The on-stage spectacle also made it clear why the exhibition baseball team is popular enough to sell out Yankee Stadium and boasts more TikTok followers than any Major League Baseball clubhouse.

The Savannah Bananas launched in 2016 on the idea of “whatever is normal, we will do the opposite,” Joe Martinelli, the president and CEO of Visit Savannah, said that founder Jesse Cole told him. That means you can expect dingers celebrated with dance breaks, outfield acrobatics and a pitcher who stands 10 feet 9 inches tall while slinging his heaters on stilts.

The Bananas aren’t playing by MLB rules when they take the field either.

“Banana Ball,” as it’s called, maintains a strict two-hour time limit, with teams competing for one point per inning, making each leg of the game a battle to score the most runs. All bets are off in the ninth inning, however, when scoring is unlimited.

Waiting out four balls won’t get you a walk. Instead, batters make a full sprint around the diamond while the ball is relayed to every fielder before the defense can make a play.

Providing some true chaos at the plate, the players can even decide that they’re bored with their at-bat and steal first base on any pitch.

Foul balls are fair game no matter where they go because a catch by someone in the stands counts as an out.

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Though the antics might remind some of the Harlem Globetrotters’ basketball theatrics, Banana Ball has one key difference: While wacky, the competition is real.

“We get that [comparison] a lot,” Cole told the New York Post, “but the biggest difference is that we never know the result of the game.”

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U.S. star Folarin Balogun admitted Tuesday that the controversy surrounding his World Cup red card caused “outside noise” that made it “difficult” to focus ahead of his team’s exit from the tournament.

The forward was sent off during the United States’ 2-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina, leaving the U.S. men’s national team without its leading goal scorer for the round of 16 clash against Belgium.

Against the backdrop of claims the Monaco striker was unfairly dismissed, FIFA’s disciplinary committee lifted the suspension. 

But the furor ballooned when it emerged President Donald Trump called FIFA head Gianni Infantino to make the case that Balogun should not have been forced to sit out.

Infantino insisted Trump’s intervention did not influence the reversal.

In the event, the U.S. lost 4-1 to Belgium, exiting the World Cup with a disappointing performance.

Appearing on “CBS Mornings” on Tuesday, Balogun was asked about the controversy.

 “My initial reaction was I was happy to be back in the team, but when I kind of started to reflect, I knew it was going to cause a lot of controversy, and I could almost see within my teammates a bit of nerves, because it’s something that is so unique,” he said.

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“But the closer we got to the game, I tried to just focus as best as I could, but it was difficult. A lot of outside noise, and that’s hard to avoid.”

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Lamine Yamal turned 19 on Monday with diamonds around his neck, mischief in the family and the biggest match of his life ahead but the Spain forward's clearest message before the World Cup semi-final against France was not about goals, gifts or fame.

Asked about former Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's controversial remark that France were a great team but "did not have any French players", Lamine, son of a Moroccan father and Equatorial Guinean mother, said football should be a bridge.

"Tomorrow we'll play a brilliant match but if football serves any purpose it's to bring people together," Lamine told reporters in Dallas. "France and Spain are examples of integration. That's what football is all about: integration. Not talking about what someone else has said."

It was a measured answer from a player still young enough to be asked about birthday presents and famous enough for his family to be swept into the tournament glare.

Lamine smiled when asked about his three-year-old brother Keyne, whose spontaneity in front of television cameras has made him one of Spain's unexpected World Cup attractions.

"My brother doesn't realise," Lamine said. "He does what he does at home, and when the camera focuses on him, he gets up to mischief. I like it when people like him. It's fun to see him on screen."

Lamine also arrived at the news conference wearing an extravagant diamond necklace, his birthday present to himself, on the eve of a game he described as "the most important match of my life".

Yet Lamine said he was not fretting over his own numbers, despite having scored only once at the tournament so far. "Every tournament is different," he said. "I'm not worried about having scored just one goal in the World Cup so far. We're winning. I've seen World Cups where Spain were knocked out, and so far that hasn't happened. I hope to keep playing matches so I can score."

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Spain face France in Dallas for a place in the World Cup final, with Lamine's birthday week offering another layer of theatre around a player who seems increasingly comfortable carrying attention that might flatten others.

"And it’s going to be a great match. A match that everyone was hoping would happen. Both teams will attack and defend. It’s sure to be a very evenly matched game," he said. For now, he wants football to do the talking — preferably loudly enough to carry Spain at least one match further.

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Norway forward Alexander Sorloth has received severe online abuse following the team's World Cup quarter-final exit against England on Saturday, manager Stale Solbakken said.

The abuse started after Sorloth opted to shoot instead of passing to an unmarked Erling Haaland during a crucial two-on-one counter-attack while Norway were leading 1-0. His shot was blocked and England equalised minutes later, going on to win 2-1 after extra time.

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Sorloth's partner, Lena Selnes, shared screenshots on Instagram revealing a barrage of hostile messages, including comments urging the striker to take his own life.

"It is tragic," Solbakken told a press conference in Miami. "That is the world we live in. I tell the boys to stay away from social media, especially on days like this."

"There is nothing more to say about it other than it is completely devoid of sense on every possible level."

Sorloth, 30, who plays for Atletico Madrid, defended his decision after the match, explaining that England defender John Stones had closed down the passing lane to Haaland.

"The only thing I wanted to do in that situation was to pass to Erling," Sorloth said. "But it felt like the pass wasn't there, so I went to shoot."

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England men’s national soccer team captain Harry Kane has sparked backlash after revealing he’s played golf with Donald Trump.

Kane, whose six goals have helped fire England into Wednesday’s World Cup semifinal against Argentina, disclosed the round with the president during a news conference on Friday ahead of England’s 2-1 quarterfinal victory over Norway.

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The Bayern Munich striker was asked by The Daily Telegraph how he fared against Trump on the golf course. Watch the exchange here.

“I played all right, to be honest,” Kane said. “Yeah, we played about 18 months ago. He invited me to play when I was down in Palm Beach, so, yeah, when the president invites you somewhere. It was a pretty surreal experience just to meet him and obviously play golf with him.”

Kane added that Trump’s golf game is “pretty good to be honest with you” and said: “I hope I can play golf as good as him when I’m his age, that’s for sure.”

“Yeah, a unique experience,” Kane added. “But, yeah, was just grateful that he just invited me down to play, for sure.”

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Trump, who turned 80 in June, has long faced accusations of cheating at golf, including from sportswriter Rick Reilly, who devoted an entire book to the subject.

Trump praised Kane on Truth Social last week, calling him “a GREAT player!!!” before later revealing the pair had played golf together.

Kane’s remarks quickly drew criticism on social media, with some calling them “beyond embarrassing” and “disappointing.”

The England captain is not the first soccer star to face backlash over an encounter with Trump.

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Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentina’s Lionel Messi have also been criticizedin recent months following visits to the White House and photo ops with the president.

If England end up defeating Messi’s reigning champions Argentina and then go on to win the World Cup against either Spain or France, Trump will hand Kane the trophy.

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Senegal have terminated the contract of head coach Pape Thiaw after the country's elimination in the 2026 World Cup.

The Senegalese Football Federation announced on Sunday that it had parted ways with the 45-year-old coach, who had been on the job since 2024.

"It was decided to initiate a procedure to terminate the functions of the national coach, Mr. Pape Thiaw, as well as his entire technical staff," the federation said in a news release.

"After a thorough evaluation of the sporting results and prospects of the national team, the Executive Committee deemed it necessary to initiate this procedure in the best interests of Senegalese football."

On July 1 in Seattle, Senegal lost to Belgium 3-2 in the round of 32, considered a failure by the federation. Thiaw's side held a 2-0 lead in the 86th minute, then allowed two late goals and a penalty in extra time to be eliminated.

In Group I action, Senegal defeated Iraq but lost to Norway and France. They advanced to the knockout stage as one of the eight third-place finishers, thanks to their five-goal win over Iraq.

More than 25% of the World Cup coaches have been fired or resigned since the their teams were eliminated.

In addition to Senegal, coaches from these countries are out of a job: Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Germany, Ghana, Mexico, Netherlands, Portugal, South Korea, Tunisia, Scotland and Uruguay.

More departures could occur, as well.

There was a brief moment of tension in the aftermath of England's 2-1 World Cup quarter-final win over Norway on Saturday when Jude Bellingham pushed back against criticism from manager Thomas Tuchel.

"Yeah, well, whatever," the midfielder said after learning that Tuchel had described England's performance as "sloppy" despite their extra-time victory.

Bellingham, whose two goals sent England into the semi-finals, was quick to defend his team mates after another gruelling evening in punishing conditions.

The exchange offered a glimpse of the differing perspectives of a demanding coach unwilling to overlook flaws in England's display and a star player focused on the resilience that carried the team into the last four.

Tuchel surprised many with his blunt assessment after England battled past Norway in sweltering Miami conditions. While delighted to reach the semi-finals and full of praise for the players' mentality, the German said he was unhappy with almost every aspect of the performance.

"The result is fantastic. We are in the last four. It's amazing but I'm not happy with the performance," Tuchel said, describing England as sloppy, error-prone and fortunate to progress.

Bellingham, however, viewed events through a different lens.

The Real Madrid midfielder pointed to the draining heat and the quality of Norway's attacking threat, led by Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard, suggesting the task had been tougher than Tuchel's post-match verdict implied.

"Maybe he doesn't know what it's like to play in those conditions against Erling Haaland, Odegaard, (Antonio) Nusa, (Alexander) Sorloth," Bellingham told reporters. "That's not an easy team to play against."

It is not the first time friction between the pair has become public.

Tuchel caused controversy just over a year ago when he described elements of Bellingham's on-field behaviour as potentially "repulsive" to some viewers while discussing the player's fiery temperament.

The England manager later apologised, insisting the word had been used unintentionally and that there was no hidden criticism of the midfielder.

Questions also surfaced before the World Cup over Bellingham's role after Tuchel suggested places in his starting lineup were not guaranteed, even for England's biggest names.

Yet any debate over Bellingham's importance has been emphatically settled on the pitch, as England would not be preparing for a semi-final were it not for the 23-year-old.

He has repeatedly delivered in decisive moments, rescuing his side with two goals against both Norway and Mexico, and producing the kind of performances that have underlined his status as one of the tournament's outstanding players.

And Tuchel, despite his frustration with England's overall display, was unequivocal in his praise of Bellingham after the match.

"Enough said. He does it every single match," the coach said. "World class."

England's World Cup campaign continues with a heavyweight semi-final against champions Argentina on Wednesday in Atlanta.

Successful tournament teams do not always need perfect harmony. They do, however, need players capable of deciding matches when everything else breaks down.

England have one in Bellingham, and as they move into the final four, that will matter more than any disagreement with his manager.