Anthony Richardson's future with the Indianapolis Colts remains in limbo as the former first-round pick is still searching for a trade. The organization declined Richardson's fifth-year option, making the Gainesville, Florida, native a free agent after the 2026 season.The 2023 first-round selection and his camp requested a trade earlier this offseason, but a market has yet to materialize. Injury concerns may be muddying the water for Richardson as the former No. 4 pick has struggled to stay on the field — he's played just 15 games across three seasons.Richardson has participated in voluntary workouts after skipping the early portion as other Colts signal callers recover from injury, including Daniel Jones, whom the Colts signed to a two-year, $100 million contract. Coach Shane Steichen expressed that the former Gator remains engaged in meetings and competes on the practice field daily.ESPN insiders mention the Packers, Bears, Lions and Vikings as potential landing spots, with Minnesota being framed as an enticing possibility. Head coach Kevin O'Connell's quarterback-friendly offense could unlock Richardson's potentialFollow 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: Anthony Richardson trade speculation grows amid Colts consent

Who is the most underappreciated player on the Indianapolis Colts' 2026 roster? NFL.com's Gennaro Filice recently made that determination for all 32 teams.When it came to the Colts, Filice selected center Tanor Bortolini, who stepped into the starting role last season after Indianapolis moved on from Ryan Kelly.Over 566 pass-blocking snaps, he did not allow a single sack last season. Among all centers, he ranked 16th in pass-blocking efficiency and third in PFF's run-blocking grade."All in all,' 'Bort' established himself as an anchor in the middle of Indianapolis’ stout offensive line," wrote Filice.Not to be overlooked either, when discussing the center position is all the work that comes pre-snap with setting protections and communicating adjustments based on what the defense is showing, which Bortolini also handled quite well.Bortolini's ability to operate in space was key to his success and helped to elevate the offense as a whole.“Some of the things that we've done in the run game with him – getting him out, pulling him, getting up to the second level defenders, has been a big part of our offense,” Steichen said last season, via the Indy Star. “(Bortolini) out in space has been tremendous. He can move really well for an offensive lineman, and he understands leverage of the defense and where he needs to get.”This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: Colts' C Tanor Bortolini named 'most underappreciated" player by analyst

Crystal Palace became the ninth Premier League club to qualify for Europe by winning the Conference League on Wednesday [Getty Images]For the second season in a row, the Premier League will have nine teams in Europe.Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Aston Villa and Liverpool will take part in the Champions League.In the Europa League, Bournemouth and Sunderland qualified via the league. Crystal Palace booked their spot by beating Rayo Vallecano 1-0 in the Conference League final.Brighton complete the set by entering the qualifying rounds of the Conference League.With so many clubs having their midweeks taken up by European football, there will be knock-on effects for the Premier League.Here are a few things to look out for.Chelsea, Newcastle and Spurs could face unwanted scheduleTottenham fans might have to get used to more Monday and Friday night games without any midweek European football [Getty Images]Last season, fans of a few clubs started to realise a trend - they were being picked by Sky Sports for live broadcast on a Friday or a Monday night more often than usual. It was an annoyance at first - then these clubs moved past the supposed five-game limit for selection.It was partly because nine clubs were locked out of Fridays and Mondays in European weeks. For the most part, only 11 teams were even able to play on those days.And Sky Sports was eager to show the clubs who bring in bigger viewing figures.By the end of the season, Manchester United had played eight times on a Friday or Monday, with Everton, Leeds and West Ham shown on seven occasions. Brighton were only shown once, Burnley and Fulham twice.Next season, Chelsea, Newcastle and Tottenham could find themselves losing weekend fixtures, often having to find a way to watch their team on a Friday or a Monday.Perhaps with Everton and Leeds also being attractive for Sky, the effect might be diluted with the slots spread around more clubs. But with Manchester United and West Ham no longer available, maybe not.Are Premier League clubs flat-track bullies in Europe?Financial Fair Play rules in Premier League to change next seasonThere will be fewer games on a SaturdayThere were nine clubs in Europe this season too, so why would next season bring fewer Saturday matches?With Palace qualifying as an additional team in the Europa League as a title holder, it means four teams must play on a Thursday rather than three.And teams who play on a Thursday cannot play on a Saturday.So unless two of these teams are playing each other, four of the 10 matches will have to move to Sunday or Monday. And that is before you factor in the games selected for television.Saturdays with only three or four Premier League games might become common next season, with fewer games at 15:00.The current broadcast deal means that all the games that are moved will be on television. The Carabao Cup conundrumWest Ham will have to enter the EFL Cup in the first round because of the number of Premier League clubs in Europe [Getty Images]Ordinarily, the teams who finish in 18th and 19th in the Premier League receive a bye into the second round of the EFL Cup.But this depends on the number of clubs who qualify for the Europe, which affects the number of slots in the third round.If eight teams qualify for Europe, 24 teams must come through from the second round, and 36 from the first round.For the maths to work, West Ham and Burnley must start in the first round, to be played on the weekend of 7-9 August. They make it 72 teams and 36 first-round ties. With nine teams having qualified, it is a little more complicated. Only 23 slots are available in round three, so the EFL must lose a tie - or two teams - via preliminary round fixtures. It will feature the two teams promoted from the National League - York and Rochdale - and the clubs who were 21st and 22nd in League Two - Tranmere and Crawley.But there is a snag, because the first round is regionalised into northern and southern sections.When this happened last season, there was the perfect solution. Accrington played Oldham and Barnet took on Newport - one winner feeding into the north and the other to the south.Next season, three northern clubs and one from the south are set to be in the preliminary round.The EFL could choose Crawley to play Tranmere - the most southerly of the three northern clubs in the preliminary round.Rochdale and York would then meet in a repeat of last season's dramatic automatic promotion decider. But Tranmere are also the furthest club west - indeed all three northern clubs are a similar distance from Crawley. So the EFL might just hold an open draw for the preliminary round - and one club would have to go into the south for the first round.The EFL could then potentially rebalance the regions for the second-round draw, if for instance York were misplaced in the south.As the preliminary round will take place just before the first round, there is realistically not enough time to play those ties, and then hold another draw. New financial rules will create a two-tier systemFrom 1 July, the Premier League will move to a new system of financial regulation.Profit and sustainability will be replaced by squad cost ratio.In simple terms, the more you earn, the more you can spend.Crucially, the figure is different if you are in Europe. Uefa limits clubs to 70% of revenue. This will apply to the nine clubs who have qualified.But the Premier League figure is 85%, with the potential to spend up to 115%. The 11 clubs who do not have European football can spend this.It is intended to give clubs not in Europe the ability to compete with those receiving Uefa broadcast revenue. But it would greatly benefit a club such as Tottenham, who had revenues of £585m in 2024-25.Potentially, it could mean a rotating list of teams who qualify year to year, especially in the Europa League and Conference League.Get news, insight and fan views on your Premier League teamAll your football quizzes in one placePremier League indexPremier League tablePremier League fixtures

Rather than pay a monthly subscription for an app that plenty of people think kinda sucks, a developer has created Cracked Oura, an open source app that lets Oura ring wearers query and analyze their health data without the monthly fee. On Thursday, Oura announced the new Ring 5, a lighter and smaller wearable with an allegedly better battery life. That ring will cost at least $399, and some models cost as much as $499. An Oura subscription, which is required to actually get usable insights on your sleep, stress, and exercise, costs nearly $70 a year or $6 a month.Or, users could try Cracked Oura, which developer Elmo Ahorinta published on GitHub earlier this year. “Pay for the ring, not for the app that is not even that good,” its GitHub page reads.💡Do you know anything else about Oura? I would love to hear from you. Using a non-work device, you can message me securely on Signal at joseph.404 or send me an email at joseph@404media.co.The page says Cracked Oura keeps the health data local to a user’s device, provides some deeper insights than the official app, and, most importantly, doesn’t require a subscription. The app works by using Oura’s data export function on its website. “​​Anyone can request the data from their website and it comes with a bunch of CSVs that contain the data. My application just takes the CSVs and populates a database,” Ahorinta told me in an email. Rather than having to log in to Oura’s website and manually download their data each time, Cracked Oura does it automatically, Ahorinta said. It’s not complete, though. “At the moment, my application misses some features that Oura has. For example, women's health, symptom radar, and the front page's short texts about sleep and readiness are features that would need reverse engineering,” Ahorinta said. “Also, features like recording your workout heart rate and adding tags requires the subscription. But other than that, my application can be used to visualize the same data points that Oura does.”The GitHub page lists Claude as a contributor, indicating Ahorinta used AI to make the app.Even if not that many people end up using Cracked Oura, its existence highlights that people don’t necessarily want to be locked into a single platform, or a monthly subscription fee, when they’ve already spent a bunch of money to generate data about their own health. “I hope that other people would also contribute to this project and fix my bugs and bad design choices that I have made. I believe that this type of workaround applications could be made for any other wearable devices that have a subscription that gatekeep some parts of the data,” Ahorinta said.Oura did not respond to a request for comment.The company recently told cybersecurity journalist Zack Whittaker that it does “receive infrequent requests from the government” for user data. Oura wouldn’t say how many requests it receives, how often it turns over that requested data, or what kinds of data is requested, Whittaker wrote.

The cliché says that “sometimes it’s more about the journey than the destination,” which is particularly true in the fight game. When a 42-year-old Benson Henderson showed up this past weekend in Brussels to fight Patrick Habirora in the PFL, it felt as though his UFC title run belonged to a different lifetime. In reality that occurred in 2012, and I remember right around that time Henderson laying out his plan to be retired by the age of 33.Darren Till is 33 years old right now, and — as he gets set to take off the gloves and fight Aaron Chalmers in his bare-knuckle boxing debut at BKFC 90 — his journey has been a wild one. It feels like eons ago that he was stabbed in Liverpool, England, thus prompting a move to Brazil to pursue a career in mixed martial arts. That, too, was in 2012, when Till was just 19 years old. Yet since he broke into the UFC against Wendell de Oliveira at a Fight Night in Goiania, Brazil, in 2015, we’ve seen the many twists and turns of his career firsthand. There was the blue-chip prospect who went unbeaten in his first six UFC fights, poised to be the biggest thing to come out of Merseyside since John Conteh. Till, you might remember, was so highly regarded during that time that when Nicolas Dalby came back from being down rounds to force a draw against him in Ireland, it felt like a major upset. Darren Till was once one of the UFC's hottest up-and-coming stars.Josh Hedges via Getty ImagesWe saw Till come up drastically short in his title shot against welterweight champion Tyron Woodley at UFC 228 in Dallas.Then there was the fallout. The knockout he endured against Jorge Masvidal in London, which kicked off Masvidal’s magical year in 2019. There was the move up to middleweight, where he escaped with a labor-intensive victory over Kelvin Gastelum before running into “Bobby Knuckles,” Robert Whittaker. Somewhere in there he turned into Keith Moon and destroyed a hotel room, followed by the submission losses to Derek Brunson and eventual champion Dricus du Plessis, and the ultimate departure from the UFC.There were bad knees and beaming veneers and fatherhood. Then, finally, came the boxing ring, where he regained some of his footing in KSI’s Misfits Boxing promotion, his last fight coming against former UFC champion Luke Rockhold. Till won the bout via third-round knockout. Through it all, Till has remained a draw in combat sports, in part because he speaks his mind. And in part because he’s versatile enough to thrive in new environs. Still, just when it felt like the pillowy gloves were part of a larger redemption, he decided to take them off to fight in bare-knuckle.“At the start, I thought it was brutal,” Till says of his new venture. “It leaves your face scarred, a lot of scar tissue, and it really is a violent sport. But the more I toyed with the idea, the more I sat back and thought about it, the more I was just like, ‘You know what? I feel like I'm a little bit tailor-made for this bare-knuckle anyway, because it suits the type of style I've always had, especially in MMA and stuff like that.’“And when I looked at the roster and the guys [at BKFC], I'll be honest, I didn't see a lot of threats.”BKFC president David Feldman was among those who began tempting Till to come “toe the line,” as they say. From Till’s perspective the timing was right because, as he relates, it was a struggle to get fights with Misfits, because not too many guys have been willing to sign the dotted line. Till says he dealt with a little “burnout,” but it helped that BKFC came correct with a hefty enough offer to make this adventure worthwhile.It's a calculated risk, he says, given his tool set.“You know what? I got into boxing, Muay Thai when I was a kid, and I've tried me hand in everything,” he says. “I've been in MMA, I've fought a lot of the greats and then I've switched my hand over to boxing, not professional boxing, but the Misfits and stuff. So this is just another art form. I know it's a more brutal, violent art form, but it's just another art form. I do really enjoy the aspect of fighting, whatever art it is, whether it be boxing, mixed martial arts. I do enjoy challenges — and it's a new challenge.”These days, to be a versatile free agent in combat sports is a boon. Last weekend in Egypt, kickboxing legend Rico Verhoeven gave boxing heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk all he could handle at the base of the pyramids. If Verhoeven didn’t already break the bank in that first fight, where he was a massive underdog, he’s about to. A week prior to that, BKFC’s Mike Perry took on Nate Diaz in MVP MMA’s debut on Netflix. Fighters with names and versatility have a lot of leverage right now.Till, who called both Diaz and Perry “mongoloids” on Uncrowned’s “The Ariel Helwani Show” last month, sees fighting as a Choose Your Own Adventure book at this point, with plenty of prizes available for prizefighters. He doesn’t even rule out a return to MMA at some point, though it would require an extended break from action.Darren Till reignited his career with an undefeated run in Misfits Boxing.Ben Roberts Photo via Getty Images“I would love to return to MMA, because I do love it,” he says. “But I’ve had doctors look at my knees, and they've said they don't even know how I’m walking around, let alone still fighting. My knees are that bad. So if I was to do it, I'd have to get the surgery on my knees and that would take me, what, eight, nine months out? And then by the time I’d be coming back, we’re not even into a training camp yet. I’d need a year of just pure grappling and getting back to me roots. “The door's not 100% closed, but it would take a lot for me to come back. And especially with the pay in UFC, what am I coming back to? If I was to come back to the UFC, am I coming back to $50K/$50K, where I'm getting much more in the Misfits and BKFC now. Do you know what I mean? Yeah, it'd have to be worth me time, to be honest.”For now, it’s the bare-knuckle gauntlet. Till has signed on for three fights, beginning with Aaron Chalmers (the reality TV star of “Geordie Shore” fame turned boxer). Eventually a run-in with Perry could be in the cards, as the “King of Violence” has emerged as a marquee star in the broader world of combat sports. “I think me and him are going to be clashing heads,” Till says of Perry, “it’s coming to an arena near you.”Where it all leads is half the drama. It’s not the destination, it’s the journey, and Till’s continues Saturday night in Birmingham, England, not quite 100 miles from where it all began in Liverpool.“I just don't take life too serious,” Till says. “I love the life I live. I sort of live life on the edge. I haven't even got a stable home right now. I'm Airbnb wherever I go over there, over the world. And I've just been in Thailand, Cyprus. I was in Dubai. Now I'm back in the UK. “I just live my life. I just love the life I live. My [four] daughters are all taken care of. I’ve got a beautiful missus. I've got a beautiful coach, friends around me. So I just love the life I live. There's nothing to complain about. It’s not all about money yet, making good money, but I spend it as fast as I get it. I love taking care of people around me, and I love the life I live.”After more than a decade in the fight game, to love the life you’re leading might be destination enough.

AUSTIN, TX - NOVEMBER 28: Head coach Steve Sarkisian of the Texas Longhorns points to his eye while directing players before the SEC football game between Texas Longhorns and Texas A&M Aggies on November 28, 2025, at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, TX. (Photo by David Buono/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Texas football head coach Steve Sarkisian has been vocal so far this summer. That includes comments against Ole Miss’ academic standards and a shot at the Big 12 in which he claimed the Longhorns’ second-string could win-out against the conference, among others. Now, the sixth-year head coach believes college football’s heart and soul is at stake. At least for all but one program each season—those that don’t win a College Football Playoff National Championship. “That’s part of the problem in college athletics. Everybody is chasing one end goal and we’re losing sight of the small victories along the way. We live in an era of college football that’s playoff or bust,” Sarkisian said, according to Sports Illustrated. Is that healthy for college football? Sarkisian believes not. WHAT THEY’RE SAYING ABOUT THE LONGHORNS Austin American-Statesman: Texas fills in the blanks for the Texas State, UTSA football gamesDallas Morning News: Defending champion Texas leads talented field at Women’s College World Series247Sports: The Insider: ‘Spicy Sark’ likes his Texas team, Longhorns’ baseball and softball postseason previews and more247Sports: Texas Baseball: Here’s who will start opener of the Austin Regional for Longhorns vs Holy CrossInside Texas: Reading the Regional: How does Texas deal with an elite mid-major pitching staff from Santa Barbara?Inside Texas: How will opponents attack the Texas defense?Inside Texas: If Steve Sarkisian could’ve seen the future, he “would probably tried to offer Bijan a little more money”ICYMI IN BURNT ORANGE NATION Chris Del Conte: Notre Dame series ‘tentatively’ on scheduleWhy Texas prioritized David Punch in the NCAA transfer portalGame times, TV announced for two Texas non-conference matchupsRECRUITING ROUNDUP Austin American-Statesman: Texas coach Vic Schaefer on transfers: ‘This is the day and age that we’re in’Inside Texas: Texas Elite Camp: Prospects who could earn Longhorn offers this weekendSEC SHOWDOWN Austin American-Statesman: 3 things to know about Tennessee, which faces Texas in Game 1 of WCWS247Sports: After Steve Sarkisian’s remarks about Ole Miss, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey reiterates “sportsmanship”247Sports: Senators introduce new, bipartisan bill that addresses NIL, transfer freedom, media rights and moreInside Texas: Elite OT, top Texas target Ismael Camara has change of plans with official tripsRock M Nation: 2027 defensive lineman Dami Sowunmi commits to Mizzou footballAnd The Valley Shook: LSU baseball HC Jay Johnson discusses 2026 seasonRocky Top Talk: Chaz Coleman absent for start of summer workoutsDawg Sports: Kickoff times announced for early Bulldog home games—Arkansas’s AD isn’t thrilledA Sea Of Blue: New lawsuit claims school officials concealed misconduct by Scott County coach Sean WoodsWHAT WE’RE READING SB Nation: Eagles, Patriots ‘not close’ on A.J. Brown tradeSB Nation: The Chicago Sky just signed another talented guard as injuries mountSB Nation: Joe Theismann is grateful for what golf providesNEWS ACROSS LONGHORN NATION AND BEYOND Should Texas take on Notre Dame in a home-and-home series? Texas AD Chris Del Conte on if Notre Dame will stay on the schedule:“They’re tentatively on the schedule right now.”The Longhorns are scheduled to do a home-and-home series with the Irish in 2028 & 2029 🐂🔗read more here🔗: https://t.co/dCmRrWujPgpic.twitter.com/ekJdhkCULK— Orangebloods.com (@orangebloods_) May 27, 2026

May 28—***Certainly, someone at the Big Ten office or within the Illinois athletic department ran the idea of opening the football season on Thursday past sixth-year head coach Bret Bielema, right?Not that he would have objected. Bielema likes extra time to get his team ready for an opponent and by playing UAB on Sept. 3, Illinois will have a two-day head start on the second oppnent Duke, which visits the House of Grange on Sept. 12.Duke opens its season at home on Sept.5 against Tulane. The Green Wave, fresh off an appearance in the College Football Playoff. figure to test the Blue Devils ... even at Durham. Will Hall is the new head coach in New Orleans, promoted after serving as passing game coordinator.The UAB game gives Illinois a mini-open weekend during a packed season. The only true open week is Oct. 17, wedged between games against Michigan State (road) and Oregon (home).Bielema with his new defensive coordinator and new starting quarterback will make the best of it. He will appreciate the prime-time game the opening week, knowing his program can be seen by most of the country.Illinois-Duke is part of a loaded early nonconference schedule for the Big Ten, which includes Oregon-Boise State, Wisconsin-Notre Dame at Green Bay, Wis., Ohio State-Texas and Michigan-Oklahoma. None of those games are in the same window as the first three Illinois matchups.I'm planning to come up with a grid of what I plan to watch, maximizing my viewing experience. You should too.

May 28—➜ .➜ after winning a sectional title last Saturday in Peoria.➜ . In doubles, and will compete for Uni High, with and from Urbana and and from M-S.straight season openers for the Illinois football team on a weeknight. The 2026 opener against UAB is now at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 3 at Gies Memorial Stadium after the Big Ten announced select kickoff times on Wednesday. The Illini opened the 2025 season against Western Illinois on a Friday night and the 2024 season against Eastern Illinois on a Thursday night.➜ . An intriguing Class 2A regional semifinal game takes place between the host and third-seeded Sages (29-4) and the sixth-seeded Tigers (22-12) at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday on the turf in Monticello.➜ . The two Vermilion Valley Conference rivals square off at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday when third-seeded Salt Fork (11-11) takes on the fifth-seeded Comets (9-16) in Potomac.➜ . A record-setting season for LeRoy (37-1) continues at 4:30 p.m. on Friday when the Panthers welcome the Hawks (24-8) in for a Class 1A sectional title game. The winner moves on to the Elite Eight next Monday.➜ Masyn Winn, Victor Scott and Jordan Walker.➜ "Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood."➜ when people interrupt me.

May 28—The college basketball schedule will grow by one game — to 32 total — for the 2026-27 season. Brad Underwood would consider that barely a start toward what he envisions for the sport.How an even further expanded schedule works, of course, is the question. The current issue is the fact the season has to end in time by the Masters because CBS holds the broadcast rights for both that and the NCAA tournament. College basketball scheduling works backwards from golf's most popular major championship.But Underwood sees a longer season coming to college basketball. Eventually. More league games and more games overall on the schedule.It's a change that might have more traction given the expansion of the NCAA tournament to 76 teams. Underwood also made note of the Big Ten including all 18 teams in its own conference tournament for the first time last season."College basketball is truly the only sport — professional or collegiate — that's making a lot of money and hasn't expanded," Underwood said. "I think we have some opportunities to do that. I would love to see a true round robin — 34 league games — and play 8-10 non-league games. I think it's great for the game.'I'm the biggest believer. The game of basketball has never been better. We've got great players playing in it. We've got young people making better decisions about going to the NBA and staying in college bacsue of NIL. I think the game is in a great, great spot, and we just need to keep expanding it."

Trader Robert Arciero works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)2026-05-28T03:23:36Z NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are hanging near their records on Thursday as companies like Dollar Tree, Snowflake and Hormel Foods keep piling up profits. That’s even as oil prices continue to swing and more data shows pressure building on the economy because of the war with Iran.The S&P 500 added 0.3% to its all-time high set the day before after drifting between small gains and losses earlier in the morning. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 58 points, or 0.1%, as of 10:45 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.3% higher after both indexes also set records the day before.Even with worries about expensive oil and high inflation, the U.S. stock market has run to records largely because U.S. companies keep making more money. Stock prices tend to follow the path of corporate profits over the long term, and companies have been routinely topping analysts’ expectations for the first three months of 2026. Dollar Tree’s stock soared 16.8% after it became the latest to report fatter profit than analysts expected. CEO Mike Creedon said improved store conditions helped the retailer make more profit off each $1 in sales during the latest quarter despite tariffs adding to its costs. The company also gave a forecast for profit over the full year that topped analysts’ expectations. Kohl’s rallied 17.6% after the retailer reported better results for the latest quarter than analysts had feared, while Hormel Foods climbed 9.4% after a strong performance for its Jennie-O ground turkey and exports of its Spam luncheon meat helped it report a better profit than analysts expected. Read More Snowflake rose 33.4% after saying artificial intelligence continues to be a strong driver of its business, and profit and revenue for the latest quarter exceeded expectations. They helped offset a drop for Marvell Technology, which fell 1.8% after its profit for the latest quarter only matched analysts’ expectations. It also said AI is driving big revenue growth for it, particularly its data center business. In the oil market, prices ticked higher following their latest U-turns. The price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude oil rose 0.9% to $89.49, but only after bouncing between $87 and $92. It’s been swinging as hopes rise and fall that the United States and Iran may reach a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and get oil flowing again from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide.The latest threat to the ceasefire in the war came after U.S. Central Command said Kuwait had intercepted missiles launched by Iran late Wednesday night. That followed earlier “defensive” strikes by the U.S. military on missile launch sites and minelaying boats in southern Iran.In the bond market, Treasury yields eased after a report said the measure of inflation that the Federal Reserve likes to use accelerated last month but was roughly within economists’ expectations.The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.46% from 4.48% late Wednesday after giving up an earlier gain. The report also showed how U.S. households are less able to save money, with the personal savings rate down to a four-year low of 2.6%, “pointing up the financial pressure on lower- and middle-income families,” according to Gary Schlossberg, global strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. U.S. households have been saying they’re feeling discouraged about the economy and inflation, even as the stock market keeps chugging along. High yields in bond markets worldwide recently have threatened to slow economies and undercut prices for stocks and all kinds of other investments. High yields have already forced the average long-term U.S. mortgage rate to its most expensive level since last summer, and they could curtail companies’ borrowing to build the AI data centers that have supported the U.S. economy’s growth recently.A report on Thursday said the pace of sales of new U.S. homes unexpectedly slowed last month. In stock markets abroad, indexes dipped across much of Europe and Asia. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.3% for one of the world’s larger losses.___AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.

Gov. Kathy Hochul used the budget as a vehicle for policy initiatives, including a new second-home tax and a push to make the state less hospitable to ICE agents.

As predictive medicine advances, legal scholars warn that decades-old federal guidelines could set up a potential clash between your genes and your job.

During a special edition of “Popcast,” the singer discussed her new album and the public fallout from a series of lawsuits. Then she performed a stripped-down set.

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The small-space sleepers you (and your guests) will love. READ MORE...

On May 21, we debuted the fourth in a series of reader polls asking who you consider the best high school boys track and field athlete in Wisconsin history, with 10 primary suggestions. We received more than 700 votes, and here's how people voted:Kenny Bednarek voted as most impactful athlete in Wisconsin high school boys track and field historyFormer Rice Lake standout Kenny Bednarek was the readers choice for the best boys track and field athlete in state history after receiving 189 votes.Bednarek was a seven-time gold medalist at the WIAA state track and field championships over his high school career, three-peating in both the 200-meter and 400-meter events from 2016 to 2018. He also won a 100-meter dash in 2018. His preliminary 100 time of 10.42 seconds set a Division 2 state record, while his 200 time (20.43) and 400 time (46.73) were all-division records that stand to this day.After high school, Bednarek won silver in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and 2024 Paris Olympics in the 200. He has also represented the United States in the World Athletics Championships, World Relays and Diamond League.While Bednarek was the top choice, he wasn't the only popular one.Here's how you voted.Our top 10:Kenny Bednarek, Rice Lake: 189Darrell Jansen, Kimberly: 119Michael Bennett, Milwaukee Tech: 85Justin Austin, Brown Deer: 80Chris Solinsky, Stevens Point: 63David Greenwood, Park Falls: 52Andrew Rock, Stratford: 24Alvin E. Kraenzlein, Milwaukee East: 17Joe Schubert, Milwaukee Marquette: 7Paul Annear, Richland Center: 4Here are the other names suggested as the most impactful in Wisconsin historyWith the option to select someone other than our group of 10, we received numerous write-in submissions, including many who received more than one vote.Others with 2 or more votesFloyd Heard, Milwaukee Marshall: 13Joshua Dickerson, D.C. Everest: 9Brad Johnson, Brookfield East: 9Kenny Harrison, Brookfield Central: 7Steve Lacy, McFarland: 5Pat Matzdorf, Sheboygan North: 5Gabe Jennings, Madison East: 4Kevin Bledsoe, Milwaukee South: 2Grant Dean, Neenah: 2Robert Hackett, Milwaukee Rufus King: 2Acquine Jackson, Milwaukee Tech: 2Chris Lutzke, Valders: 2Centrell Minter, Milwaukee Vincent: 2Joe Thomas, Brookfield Central: 2Cordell Tinch, Bay Port: 2B.J. Tucker, Nicolet: 2Roger Van Scotter, Elkhorn: 2Paul Voss, Clinton: 2This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Kenny Bednarek voted best Wisconsin high school boys track athlete

On May 21, we debuted the fourth in a series of reader polls asking who you consider the best high school boys track and field athlete in Wisconsin history, with 10 primary suggestions. We received more than 700 votes, and here's how people voted:Kenny Bednarek voted as most impactful athlete in Wisconsin high school boys track and field historyFormer Rice Lake standout Kenny Bednarek was the readers choice for the best boys track and field athlete in state history after receiving 189 votes.Bednarek was a seven-time gold medalist at the WIAA state track and field championships over his high school career, three-peating in both the 200-meter and 400-meter events from 2016 to 2018. He also won a 100-meter dash in 2018. His preliminary 100 time of 10.42 seconds set a Division 2 state record, while his 200 time (20.43) and 400 time (46.73) were all-division records that stand to this day.After high school, Bednarek won silver in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and 2024 Paris Olympics in the 200. He has also represented the United States in the World Athletics Championships, World Relays and Diamond League.While Bednarek was the top choice, he wasn't the only popular one.Here's how you voted.Our top 10:Kenny Bednarek, Rice Lake: 189Darrell Jansen, Kimberly: 119Michael Bennett, Milwaukee Tech: 85Justin Austin, Brown Deer: 80Chris Solinsky, Stevens Point: 63David Greenwood, Park Falls: 52Andrew Rock, Stratford: 24Alvin E. Kraenzlein, Milwaukee East: 17Joe Schubert, Milwaukee Marquette: 7Paul Annear, Richland Center: 4Here are the other names suggested as the most impactful in Wisconsin historyWith the option to select someone other than our group of 10, we received numerous write-in submissions, including many who received more than one vote.Others with 2 or more votesFloyd Heard, Milwaukee Marshall: 13Joshua Dickerson, D.C. Everest: 9Brad Johnson, Brookfield East: 9Kenny Harrison, Brookfield Central: 7Steve Lacy, McFarland: 5Pat Matzdorf, Sheboygan North: 5Gabe Jennings, Madison East: 4Kevin Bledsoe, Milwaukee South: 2Grant Dean, Neenah: 2Robert Hackett, Milwaukee Rufus King: 2Acquine Jackson, Milwaukee Tech: 2Chris Lutzke, Valders: 2Centrell Minter, Milwaukee Vincent: 2Joe Thomas, Brookfield Central: 2Cordell Tinch, Bay Port: 2B.J. Tucker, Nicolet: 2Roger Van Scotter, Elkhorn: 2Paul Voss, Clinton: 2This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Kenny Bednarek voted best Wisconsin high school boys track athlete

Photo by Todd Rosenberg/Getty ImagesQuarterbacks coach J.T. Barrett may have delivered the most telling quote of the Bears’ offseason so far, quietly asking Caleb Williams to “do less.”It doesn’t sound like typical coaching advice until you hear Barrett explain it. He’s asking him to stop turning every routine down into a scramble drill. This isn’t about playing it safe; it’s about being more direct with how he plays.Williams becoming more comfortable and decisive within the structure of the offence has been a steady theme in comments from the coaching staff. Barrett’s remarks are in line with that.It’s about shifting some of that workload to before the snap. Essentially, they want him to be able to read what he’s seeing, stick with the timing, and trust his progressions—rather than feeling like he has to bail them out every time.This is something Williams has shown an ability to do in college, but not always consistently. Part of that was playing behind a shaky USC offensive line, which often forced him into improvisation mode early in plays.Barrett also made it clear that this isn’t about trying to dull down one of Williams’ best qualities. It’s simply about better choosing when to unleash it.That’s a subtle difference from how other young quarterbacks have been coached at times. It doesn’t sound like the Bears want him boxed into a strict system — more guided on when to use his gifts most effectively.Photo by Kara Durrette/Getty ImagesCaleb Williams has made a strong early impressionBears players have spoken highly of his leadership and presence already during OTAs. D.J. Moore described how quickly Williams had become vocal within the huddle and how he wasn’t shy about taking command.This was expected, considering everything you heard about him before arriving in Chicago, but having your two best receivers back up only adds fuel. This isn’t about playing it safe. It’s about being more productive with less effort.Barrett said Williams shouldn’t have to “work as hard for [his] money,” and that gets to the heart of what Chicago is building. The Bears have built a roster that shouldn’t need its quarterback to bail out broken plays as often as his college teams required.Williams has always been able to turn broken plays into highlights, but he’s also admitted he can drift away from what’s planned.Caleb Williams understands why J.T. Barrett wants him “to do less”Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron has spoken openly about wanting Williams’ decision-making process to become more decisive and focused on early-down efficiency rather than waiting for big-play moments.Chicago’s improved depth gives Williams the chance to spread the ball around more naturally. Getting the ball out on time doesn’t just help wide receivers – it brings everyone into play, from tight ends to running backs.Ben Johnson has made it clear that timing and route precision are priorities, which fits perfectly with an offence designed to give the quarterback quicker options.Pre-snap motion, heavier personnel packages, all help simplify things for Williams. When defences have to show their hand earlier, it lets him make decisions faster once the play begins. Williams doesn’t need to lose his creativity. He just needs fewer plays where it’s the only choice left on the board.If the Bears get this right, everyone benefits. More routine completions lead to steadier drives, improved protection rhythm, fewer desperate third downs, and more chances for skill players to make something happen after the catch.The goal isn’t to make Williams less special. It’s to create a system where he doesn’t have to be special on every play.Read more:Is this the end for the Steelers? Aaron Rodgers just made it official!Bold move by Minnesota: J.J. McCarthy will have to fight for what other first-round QBs getThe surprising way Brandon Aiyuk’s contract is pulling the 49ers’ roster strings

Liverpool Upset Inter and Juventus Transfer PlansInter and Juventus have been trying to acquire Curtis Jones and Alisson in recent weeks, but their latest efforts haven’t been fruitful. There’s a significant gap between the Nerazzurri’s offer and the counterparty’s request for the midfielder, while the Reds straight-up want to keep the goalie, Gianluca Di Marzio reports.The reigning Italian champions have tendered €20M for the 25-year-old. The English outfit demanded €10M more. The Serie A giants are trying to lean on the fact that his contract runs out in 2027. However, such a caveat hasn’t significantly decreased his price tag for now.While Inter hold out some hope for a possible agreement with Liverpool for Jones, Juventus might give up for Alisson. The veteran accepted their offer and is open to joining even though they didn’t qualify for the UEFA Champions League. Though the Reds plan for him to be the starter next season in his ninth year at the club.It’s unlikely that the shot-stopper will force his way out. His relationship with the Scousers is solid. According to Corriere dello Sport, the Bianconeri could go for his teammate Giorgi Mamardashvili instead, but he’s only available on loan. David De Gea remains a possible fallback. They have also been linked to Bayern Munich’s Alexander Nubel, who has spent a few seasons on loan at Stuttgart.Our Take on Inter, Juventus, Jones, and AlissonIt takes the big bucks to do business with the Premier League powerhouses, and we’ll see whether either they keep at it. Onboarding the former would be a sound piece of business only at the right price. The Bianconeri are a couple of rejections away from having to abandon their stubborn plan to add a super-experienced goalie.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton has begun running outside after imaging on his ailing right calf left the club feeling good about his recovery, but manager Aaron Boone said it still was unclear when he would be back in the lineup.Stanton has been sidelined since April 24, after he experienced some stiffness while running the bases in a game against Houston.“I think he wants it fully clear, and I think we got enough news today that allows us to take that step to hopefully the running goes in line with how he’s feeling, and we can start to ramp up,” Boone said before the Yankees’ series finale against the Royals.Stanton was off to a good start through the first 24 games of the season, hitting .256 with three homers and 14 RBIs. The availability of the five-time All-Star’s right-handed bat in the middle of the lineup especially is valuable on nights in which Boone has a lineup that is loaded with left-handers, such as Ben Rice, Trent Grisham, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Cody Bellinger and Austin Wells.“Having him in the middle, his presence is massive,” Boone said. “So you know, hopefully not too much longer.”Jasson Dominguez was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre when Stanton got hurt, only for the young outfielder to join him on the injured list when he strained the AC joint in his left shoulder May 7 while colliding with the outfield wall at Yankee Stadium.He received an injection in his shoulder on May 11 and has been hitting off a tee for about a week.The plan for Dominquez is to begin ramping up baseball activities, while the Yankees are completing their series in Kansas City and heading to Sacramento for three games against the Athletics to conclude their six-game, seven-day road trip.“Hopefully when we get back next week,” Boone said, “there may be some live (batting practice) situations for him.”

Most Memorable Green Monster Home Runs: Carlton Fisk, Bucky Dent & More at Fenway Park originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.NESN's "Monster Week" is back May 26-28! Tune in and follow along all week for wall-to-wall coverage inspired by Fenway Park's iconic Green Monster, complete with a full game broadcast from atop the wall, exclusive camera angles, live reporting from inside the structure and Monster-focused features and interviews.Standing at 37 feet tall and more than 200 feet wide, the Green Monster has swallowed up plenty of hard hits that would be home runs in other stadiums. However, Fenway Park's massive wall has also served as the backdrop for a few legendary dingers.Let's look back at some of the most memorable home runs in Green Monster history, from walk-off bombs to record-breaking blasts.Most memorable Green Monster home runsCarlton Fisk (1975 World Series, Game 6 vs. Reds)"If it stays fair..."In Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, Fisk smacked a pitch down the line and drilled the left-field foul pole, giving the Red Sox a 7-6 victory.Boston lost to Cincinnati in Game 7 of the World Series, but Fisk waving his arms to make sure the ball went fair in the bottom of the 12th inning is an unforgettable moment.Bucky Dent (1978 AL East tiebreaker vs. Yankees)In a winner-take-all tiebreaker between the Red Sox and Yankees, New York shortstop Bucky Dent fouled a pitch off his foot before hitting a dramatic three-run homer in the seventh inning.The ball just barely cleared the Green Monster, propelling the Yankees to a 5-4 victory and breaking the hearts of Red Sox fans. No wonder they call him Bucky "Bleeping" Dent.1999 Home Run DerbyFenway Park was the perfect spot for the 1999 Home Run Derby, which featured Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa just one year after they chased down Roger Maris' single-season home run record.While Ken Griffey Jr. won his second consecutive Home Run Derby, McGwire provided plenty of entertainment in the first round with 13 home runs, setting a new Derby record for a single round.Manny Ramirez (2001 vs. Blue Jays)In his first season with the Red Sox, Ramirez offered a glimpse of what Boston fans would witness for years to come, absolutely crushing a couple of pitches against the Blue Jays.Manny Ramirez (2007 ALDS, Game 2 vs. Angels)In Game 2 of the 2007 ALDS, Francisco Rodriguez was on the mound in the bottom ninth inning with Ramirez at the plate. Against an elite closer, Ramirez sent a ball over the Green Monster, giving the Red Sox a 2-0 series lead.Boston went on to sweep the Angels and ultimately win the 2007 World Series.Shane Victorino (2013 ALCS, Game 6 vs. Tigers)Victorino was the hero in Game 6 of the 2013 ALCS.In the bottom of the seventh inning, Victorino crushed a grand slam over the Green Monster, giving the Red Sox a lead that they would not relinquish. After eliminating Detroit, Boston defeated St. Louis in the 2013 World Series.More Red SoxLatest Red Sox news2026 Red Sox schedule2026 Red Sox rosterComplete history of Red Sox championships

Montolivo: Milan attack ‘has been a problem for years’Former AC Milan captain Riccardo Montolivo has identified the club’s chronic attacking issues as the key area requiring investment this summer, insisting that the forward line has been a recurring weakness long before this season’s collapse, and that only Olivier Giroud’s brilliance masked it for so long.Speaking to gianlucadimarzio.com, via MilanNews.it, Montolivo was candid in his assessment of the club’s recent failings while stopping short of placing all the blame on the outgoing Massimiliano Allegri.“He is a very high-level coach,” Montolivo said.“Milan had an obvious decline and the squad will undoubtedly need to be strengthened for next year. The attack has been a bit of a problem for Milan for many years. Giroud managed in the years he played to hide that problem by having fantastic seasons. But it is up front that action needs to be taken.”SASSUOLO, ITALY – MAY 03: Ardon Jashari in action during the Serie A match at Mapei Stadium Citta del Tricolore on May 03, 2026 in Sassuolo, Italy. (Photo by Emmanuele Ciancaglini/Getty Images)Montolivo backs Jashari and Ricci for second chance at Milan after difficult debut seasonThe former Italy international, who wore the captain’s armband at San Siro and describes his time at the club as a lifelong dream fulfilled, also offered encouraging words to two of Milan’s younger midfielders who struggled for consistency this season.“Don’t give up,” Montolivo said of Ardon Jashari and Samuele Ricci.“This year was a difficult season for them also because they had few opportunities and little continuity. Jashari also got injured straight away. I believe both of them deserve a second chance because they are players of value. They need to have patience and not give up.”

Brewers 2019 re-draft sees Yankees' 8.9 WAR Gold Glove infielder land in Milwaukee originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.What could've been. In 2019, the Milwaukee Brewers selected left-handed pitcher Ethan Small with the 28th overall pick in the MLB Draft. Small is a free agent and made just four combined appearances with Milwaukee between 2022-23. It's safe to say the pick did not work out for the Brewers. Enough time has passed. In Bleacher Report's re-draft of the 2019 MLB Draft, Joel Reuter has the NL Central club selecting New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe instead of Small. "Instead, his stock has dropped considerably after a 2025 season where he hit .212/.272/.391 for an 82 OPS+ while his defense also took a step backward," Reuter wrote about Volpe's performance in recent seasons. "The Brewers have gotten little in the way of production out of Joey Ortiz, so this is a bet on the higher ceiling of Volpe, who is still only 25 years old." Even with his struggles, Volpe wouldn't have been the worst option at shortstop. He won a Gold Glove during his rookie season, and he's having a strong start to the year with the Yankees, albeit with a small sample size of games. MORE: A rookie named Santa had a 1-of-a-kind MLB debutIn the actual 2019 draft, the Yankees selected Volpe with the 30th overall pick. Since making his debut in 2023, he's produced 8.9 WAR in 483 games. Has he experienced hardship? Sure, but there are a lot worse ways your first-round pick can turn out. More MLB news:Bo Bichette reveals his plans for his opt-out clauseBumpus Jones is trending for an 1892 accomplishmentThe last time a team was this bad at walking, it took 9 balls to earn a walkChase Burns makes Reds history that hasn't been done in 104 yearsGuardians pitcher trying to complete incredible comeback

If you watch enough tour golf, you start to notice something counterintuitive: the best draw players don't actually draw the ball that much.Below are the average spin axis of draw players versus faders—using data from the 2026 Masters—and draw players draw it less than faders fade it. The margins are thinner, fewer players do it, and the ones who do, do it carefully.The reason comes down to a move some people call the path draw. And it's worth understanding. What they are A draw happens when the clubface is pointing to the left of the direction of your swing—the clubface is closed, in other words.A path draw is a way of getting that shape without leaning on the clubface to do the work. Players keep their body turning aggressively so the clubface stays more open, then create the draw by swinging just to the right of it.Golf Digest+ members can dive deeper into this important concept using our new interactiveBall Flight Builder Tool right here. How they're different Most juniors, before they've fully and amateurs hit draws a different way—dropping the hands behind the body, swinging out to the right, and rolling the hands through to close the face. Young Rory came up on tour perfecting this. But it's hard to time. The differences:Hand draws rely on rolling the wrists to close the face. The good ones are push draws, but when those arrows get too far apart, they turn into high hooks.Path draws keep the face more neutral and create the shape with a more extreme path instead. Tommy Fleetwood and Bryson DeChambeau is the example—they both work on keeping the clubface from turning over, while swinging out to the right. Why pros prefer them Rolling the clubface closed is kind of like playing with fire. It lowers loft, ramps up ball speed, kills spin—which is why hook misses are low and hot rather than high and soft. As the old saying goes, you can talk to a fade, but hooks don't listen.Path draws give pros a friendlier miss: a block or push, where face and path point the same way, out to the right. Predictable. Playable. And it's why pros love them.Golf Digest+ members can dive deeper into this important concept using our new interactiveBall Flight Builder Tool right here.

On the heels of Wednesday’s announcement of the U.S. women’s national team senior roster for June, the program’s under-23s manager, Heather Dyche, has invited 20 players to travel to Brazil next month to compete against a Brazilian club in São Paulo.Several of the players named to this U-23 roster have experience with the senior USWNT: center backs Jordyn Bugg and Eva Gaetino, fullback Ayo Oke, forwards Maddie Dahlien and Mia Fishel, and goalkeeper Jordan Silkowitz. Others are older than 23, which has occasionally been the norm for this team.Both factors point to Dyche — and USWNT head coach Emma Hayes — still wanting to cultivate a core group, even if the core extends across generations. It also suggests they still want players who’ve enjoyed recent success on the pitch to have opportunities to train and compete at an international level. Though the USWNT will face Brazil, hosts of the 2027 World Cup, twice in two different cities, the under-23s will play two matches against the storied Brazilian professional club SC Corinthians Paulista on June 5 and 9.U.S. Under-23 June roster, in fullGoalkeepers (2): Neeku Purcell (Seattle Reign FC; Seattle), Jordan Silkowitz (Bay FC; Fairfax, Va.)Defenders (7): Jordyn Bugg (Seattle Reign FC; El Cajon, Calif.), Carolyn Calzada (Portland Thorns FC; Sugar Hill, Ga.), Kate Del Fava (Utah Royals; Kenosha, Wis.), Eva Gaetino (Denver Summit FC; Dexter, Mich.), Leah Klenke (Houston Dash; Houston), Ayo Oke (Denver Summit FC; Lawrenceville, Ga.), Evelyn Shores (Angel City FC; Atlanta)Midfielders (5): Sofia Cook (Gotham FC; Huntington Beach, Calif.), Ally Lemos (Orlando Pride; Glendora, Calif.), Yuna McCormack (Denver Summit FC; Mill Valley, Calif.), Taylor Suarez (Angel City FC; Charlotte, N.C.), Pietra Tordin (Portland Thorns FC; Miami)Forwards (6): Trinity Byars (San Diego Wave FC; Richardson, Texas), Maddie Dahlien (Seattle Reign FC; Edina, Minn.), Jordynn Dudley (Gotham FC; Milton, Ga.), Mia Fishel (Seattle Reign FC; San Diego), Madison Haley (Brighton & Hove Albion, ENG; Dallas), Kat Rader (Houston Dash; Stuart, Fla.)Prioritizing experience over ageHayes has been inclined to decenter age as a barometer for any given camp invitation, whether at the senior or youth level. Five players over the age of 23 have made this roster: Silkowitz (born in 2000), Gaetino (2002), Del Fava (1998), Haley (1998) and Fishel (2001), emphasizing that point from a different angle. Del Fava and Haley, both 27, have never been called up to the USWNT. Just as younger players can gain more experience playing with the senior team during any given window, older players can learn from training and competing with their juniors. They’re all professionals anyway, and this method could also allow Hayes to assess them without disrupting the chemistry of her own core group just yet.Rookie performances earning national team invitesSeven of the 20 players called up to this team are in their first professional seasons: Calzada, Klenke, Cook, McCormack, Suarez, Dudley and Rader. Each has transitioned seamlessly from collegiate play, either by scoring goals or earning regular starts on their NWSL teams. Though clubs such as Gotham FC (to whom Cook and Dudley are signed) and Portland (Calzada) are known to sign top college prospects with or without a draft, it is promising to see some of these rookies come from less expected clubs like the Houston Dash and the expansion side Denver Summit.Women’s Super League standoutHaley played at Stanford across similar years as Catarino Macaio, Naomi Girma, Sophia Wilson and other USWNT players, but she took a decidedly different path to the pros, beginning her career in Australia before signing with Brighton & Hove Albion in the Women’s Super League. Typically, players selected for the USWNT represent the “top four” of the WSL: Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea or Manchester United. Haley’s Brighton finished seventh this season in the WSL, but Haley had a standout campaign, scoring four goals and recording three assists. She was similarly prolific in the FA Cup, scoring three times across four fixtures, including against Arsenal.This article originally appeared in The Athletic.Women's Soccer2026 The Athletic Media Company

The Sun is experiencing “striking” long-term shifts in its behavior that have gone undiscovered for more than a decade, according to a study published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society on Wednesday. The Sun passes through a cycle of high and low activity that lasts roughly 11 years and is caused by variations in the star’s magnetic activity. This activity peaks at a solar maximum, producing more frequent sunspots and higher radio flux, which are known as surface “proxies” of intense magnetism, as well as dramatic eruptions like solar flares and coronal mass ejections. At solar minimum, when magnetic activity winds down, the Sun enters a quieter phase. Throughout the cycle, sound waves known as p-modes oscillate near the surface of the Sun, providing clues about its internal structure. All of the above is well known, but using new tools, astronomers have just discovered a weird mismatch in surface and p-mode signals that emerged more than a decade ago and has become especially pronounced in the current epoch, Cycle 25, which began in 2019.“Essentially, we can use the p-modes as a proxy and a probe of activity underneath the surface of the Sun, because the frequencies change in response to the changing magnetic field,” said Bill Chaplin, a professor of astrophysics at the University of Birmingham who led the study, in a call with 404 Media. “The sunspot number and the radio flux are basically proxies of the total amount of magnetic flux,” he continued. “What we're doing with the p-modes is saying: What is actually happening beneath the visible surface?” Graphic illustrating the p-mode oscillations in recent solar cycles. Image: W.J. ChaplinTo answer that question, Chaplin and his colleagues examined four decades of observations from the Birmingham Solar Oscillations Network (BiSON), a collection of six remote solar observatories located around the world that have tracked the Sun’s oscillations since 1976. While astronomers have monitored sunspots for centuries, BiSON has enabled researchers to monitor long-term shifts in “helioseismology,” which measures the seismic activity inside the Sun, a dataset that has led to the recent discovery of so-called "glitches" and other previously undetectable solar phenomena. “There's a tendency to think that because we've only had data on a few cycles, that all cycles look like that, and that they copy and repeat,” Chaplin said. “I think what's becoming clear is that that isn't the case. No cycle is the same as another.”The new study revealed that Cycle 25 shows stronger high-frequency p-mode activity just below the surface compared to recent cycles, but that it also appears weaker in terms of surface proxies, meaning it is showing comparatively fewer sunspots and reduced radio flux. This discrepancy hints that magnetic activity has become increasingly confined to a region of several hundred miles under the surface with each successive cycle, though the underlying reason for this change is unclear.“We saw this really clear signal in the high frequency modes,” said Chaplin. “You can see in the high frequency modes that the current cycle is as strong as Cycles 22 and 23 and that the picture looks very different in the proxies.”The results suggest that surface proxies, while valuable as rough estimates of magnetic activity, don’t provide the full picture of the roiling dynamics playing out under the solar surface. Chaplin and his colleagues note that several other studies have presented evidence for long-term changes in near-surface solar phenomena, though it will take more research to understand what is driving these trends.To that end, the team plans to continue observing Cycle 25, which just passed its maximum and is expected to close out with a minimum toward the end of the 2020s. The researchers speculated that the structural changes may be linked either to the longer Hale cycle, which is a period covering two solar cycles—roughly 22 years. Since the Sun’s magnetic poles flip after each solar cycle, the Hale cycle measures the time it takes for the Sun to return to its original magnetic state.These long-term observations are slowly peeling back the enigmatic inner workings of the Sun, especially the solar dynamo—the process that generates its magnetic field—which remains poorly understood. These efforts could help refine forecasts of hazardous space weather near Earth, while also shedding light on the behavior of other stars.“Getting more robust space weather predictions is important, but also, from the science point of view, there is [a need] for a better understanding of the dynamo, and how the dynamo changes on long timescales,” Chaplin said.“Helioseismology is important because it enables you to see inside the Sun, which is something that you can't do by any other means,” he concluded.

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Sometimes I think we lose track of the Diamondbacks a little bit. They’ve only made the playoffs twice in the past 14 years, though they did make it to the World Series in 2023 (as an 84-win team). The other NL West teams tend to obscure them: the Dodgers and Padres because of their star power, the Giants and Rockies because of their ballparks. I did not head to the March fantasy baseball draft table targeting Snakes for my roster.But with a third of the season in the books, Arizona is holding up nicely. The Diamondbacks stand 31-24, which is comfortably inside the wild-card cutline. The offense has mostly supported the team (10th in runs scored), while the pitching has been average (16th in ERA). And there are a handful of players offering fantasy value.Let’s pop open the hood and see what’s going on in Phoenix.Why fantasy managers should take a look at the D-backsThe first thing that struck me about this year’s club is how many older and surprising players dot the top of the roster. Four of the top six Arizona players by WAR are in their 30s: Eduardo Rodríguez (33), Nolan Arenado (35), Ildemaro Vargas (34) and Ketel Marte (32).Marte is producing close to expectations, though his slugging is down a tick and he no longer runs much. We know what he is. But Rodríguez, Arenado and Vargas have all been unexpected producers, forcing their way from the waiver wire to active fantasy rosters.It’s hard to take Rodríguez’s start at face value. That pretty 2.31 ERA doesn’t jibe with a 3.70 FIP and he has a small strikeout rate (18%) and a bloated walk rate (8.8%). All the good-luck signs are flashing: a 7.2% HR/FB rate and a miraculous 84.9% strand rate. He recently took advantage of some stream-friendly opponents (Giants, Rockies on the road, Mets), but I wouldn’t tempt fate against the better opponents that are coming.Arenado’s Hall of Fame ticket is likely punched already, with 360 career homers and 10 Gold Gloves. He’s just shy of 60.0 WAR for his career. But it’s fun to see his best offensive season in four years, a .271/.351/.459 slash with seven home runs. Third base is not a deep fantasy position, so Arenado stands as the 3B12 through two months.Arenado has a collection of older-player skills dotting his offensive profile. His bat speed is below average, his hard-hit metrics lag. His expected slugging (.361) is a whopping 98 points shy of his actual mark. Arenado’s best skills moving forward should be a credible batting average and consistent contact; he might struggle to get to 20 homers. I understand why he’s still unrostered in about two-thirds of Yahoo leagues.The Vargas story has come completely out of nowhere, a 34-year-old journeyman who’s never seen 300 at-bats in a season. The Snakes viewed him as a versatile bench player to open the year, but injuries and underperformance have forced Vargas into the lineup regularly. A .303/.330/.484 slash with seven homers will play in any format, and he’s earned most of that average (.291 xBA) even if Statcast doesn’t buy all the slugging (.412 slugging).Vargas is another contact king (97th percentile in strikeout rate) but he’ll swing at almost anything (3.6% walks, 42.4% chase rate). You worry about that sort of thing being exploited as more teams get a look at Vargas. Perhaps that’s been the story over the past 17 games, where he’s at .215/.257/.292 with just three extra base hits.Stories like this can expire at any time.Play 2026 Soccer Pick 'Em with FOX One and make your picks for the world's biggest soccer tournamentNot every player has to have a Cinderella tilt. Sometimes it’s as simple as a great player performing to expectations. Corbin Carroll was a first-round staple in March and although he’s been closer to a third- or fourth-round producer so far, a .293-35-7-28-7 line is within a reasonable range of outcomes. This is a very safe place to park your money.Geraldo Perdomo has not repeated his 2025 dream season, but he could be a reasonable buy-low. His plate-discipline stats are all excellent, and his .223 batting average should be 25 points higher based on Statcast data. Last year’s 20 home runs aren’t coming back, but this is a smart base stealer (69-for-85 over his career) who’s a strong bet to hit for a plus average moving forward (he’s at .274 since the beginning of 2024). He’s welcome on any of my rosters.Michael Soroka might be the staff ace here, finally healthy again in his age-28 season. He’s an easy watch because he rarely walks anyone (2.1 BB/9) and he keeps the ball in the park (0.6 HR/9). He’s already given us a couple of double-digit strikeout games — those are always screaming buy signals.His 3.25 ERA is a trickier case, depending on which ERA estimator you feel best about. Soroka is validated by FIP (2.84), trusted by SIERA (3.48) and dismissed by Savant (4.42). Which kind of porridge would you like? Soroka’s true value might be revealed in his next two starts, when he takes on the formidable Dodgers and Nationals.

Neymar has been ⁠ruled out of Brazil’s upcoming friendlies and is set to miss their World Cup opener after scans revealed a grade-two calf injury, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) has confirmed.CBF doctor Rodrigo Lasmar delivered the blow on Thursday ahead of a players’ media conference, confirming the 34-year-old forward faces two to three more weeks on the sidelines.“Neymar reported for duty yesterday here ⁠at Granja Comary, underwent all the medical tests, which concluded with an MRI scan revealing a grade-two calf injury, not just swelling. He is expected to be cleared in two to three weeks,” Lasmar said.He did not say whether Neymar could be dropped from the squad.He had joined the team on ‌Tuesday but missed Wednesday’s first training session and was sent to a private clinic in Teresopolis for imaging tests after complaints of swelling in his right calf.According to Lasmar, the MRI showed not swelling, as previously reported, but a grade-two calf strain — a moderate injury involving a partial tear of the muscle fibres that requires rest and rehabilitation.The diagnosis differs from that presented by Santos prior to the squad announcement. The club’s doctor, Rodrigo ⁠Zogaib, stated that the problem was merely swelling, and that Neymar would ⁠arrive fit to begin training on Tuesday.Instead, Brazil’s all-time leading scorer will miss Sunday’s friendly against Panama at the Maracana, and the subsequent match against Egypt in Cleveland. He is also all but ruled out of Brazil’s World Cup ⁠opener against African champions Morocco on June 13 in New Jersey.Brazil are in Group C alongside Haiti and Scotland.Manager Carlo Ancelotti is already ⁠without defenders Gabriel Magalhaes and Marquinhos, as well as forward Gabriel ⁠Martinelli for Sunday’s fixture due to their involvement in this weekend’s Champions League final between Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain.Neymar’s recall last week had generated widespread excitement after not featuring in Ancelotti’s plans during the Italian’s year in charge. ‌The forward, who has scored 79 goals in 128 international appearances, has endured years of injury troubles and an underwhelming return to Santos.In an interview with Reuters earlier this month, Ancelotti ‌said ‌that Neymar would receive no special treatment, and that his place in the squad would be strictly based on fitness and form, not sentiment.For now, Brazil must plan without him.

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes left Game 4 of the NHL‘s Eastern Conference Final with another loss on his record, but the Bell Centre crowd still gave him one of the loudest ovations of the night.After Wednesday’s 4-0 defeat to the Carolina Hurricanes, Dobes admitted he was stunned by the support he received late in the game despite Montreal falling into a 3-1 series deficit.“Yeah, I mean, it’s been unbelievable,” Dobes said. “My family’s here, and they’re loving every second of it. And really grateful for what I have [achieved] and how much the fans love me and love our team.”MORE: Canadiens GM says 78-point D-man Lane Hutson ‘never quits’The 24-year-old finished with 40 saves on 43 shots, with Carolina’s fourth goal coming into an empty net. Dobes was again one of the few reasons Montreal remained competitive as the Canadiens struggled badly to generate offense.“I will never take that for granted,” Dobes said of the crowd support. “I will always show up with my best effort.”Still, the numbers highlighted the gap between the two teams. Carolina has outshot Montreal 136-65 through four games, while the Canadiens produced only four total shots in the third periods of Games 3 and 4 combined.Hurricanes’ structure continues to overwhelm the CanadiensThe Hurricanes dictated the game with aggressive puck pressure, layered defensive coverage, and constant transition speed. Montreal repeatedly turned pucks over under pressure, especially during a disastrous first period when Sebastian Aho, Jordan Staal, and Logan Stankoven scored three goals in less than three minutes.This series has exposed how difficult it is for young teams to create offense against Carolina’s structure. The Hurricanes close space quickly in the neutral zone and force rushed plays before opponents can establish possession.Montreal never adjusted cleanly. The Canadiens managed only 18 shots in Game 4 and spent long stretches defending instead of attacking. Frederik Andersen earned the shutout with little sustained pressure against him.Montreal Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes (75) looks up at the scoreboard during the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn ImagesDobes, meanwhile, continued to strengthen his reputation despite the loss. He now owns a 2.53 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage across 18 playoff starts.MORE: Elliotte Friedman reacts as Mitch Marner reaches first Stanley Cup FinalHead coach Martin St. Louis kept the focus simple entering Game 5.“It’s not to worry about the whole thing; it’s just winning a game – one game,” St. Louis said. “You can’t look at the mountain. You just have to look at what’s in front of you and stay present.”

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Yankees’ Gerrit Cole was quick to point out that his second straight dominant start in his long-awaited return from Tommy John surgery was just that: his second start.“Small sample size,” the former Cy Young winner said.What a sample, though.After allowing two hits over six scoreless innings against Tampa Bay in his first major league start since Game 5 of the 2024 World Series against the Dodgers, the 35-year-old Cole did even better against struggling Kansas City. He allowed four hits while striking out 10 without a single walk, sending the Yankees to a 7-0 victory — their 14th straight win over the Royals.“I feel like maybe the first game was the appetizer,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, “and that was the main course right there. That was surgical. You saw everything, like, good fastball, both breaking balls going, mixed in the cutter a little bit, made some really good change-ups along the way. There was good defensive plays behind him early and then he kind of cruised.”Cole (1-0) needed only 79 pitches to get through 6 2/3 innings, and he probably could have gone deeper into the game against Kansas City. But at this point in what the Yankees hope is a long season, there was no reason to push Cole’s once-ailing right elbow.The closest the Royals came to scoring off him came in the third, when Michael Massey hit a one-out double. Cole bounced back to strike out Isaac Collins, bringing Maikel Garcia to the plate. He ripped a single to right field, Aaron Judge fielded a tough hop cleanly, and then made a perfect throw to catch Massey at the plate for the final out of the inning.Cole also stranded Garcia at second base after a two-out double in the sixth. Salvador Perez singled off him in the seventh.And that was it. All the runners Kansas City managed against him.“I think it just reminds you of who he is, and how great a consistent pitcher he is,” Boone said. “And to see him go through the process the last several months to get back to this, and go out there and execute like he is here to start, it’s fun to watch.”Cole brutally was efficient, especially with his 96 mph fastball. He threw first-pitch strikes to 16 of the 23 batters he faced, and only a couple of batters even managed to drive the count to three balls against him the entire night.“I expect to execute pitches. I don’t necessarily expect to not give up any runs, especially on 75% strikes. You’re putting a lot of pressure on guys,” Cole said. “So you have to play good defense, which is what we did tonight.”There was pressure on Cole to execute, too, because the Yankees never really gave him a cushion. They managed a pair of runs on a single by Paul Goldschmidt, a triple by Ben Rice and Judge’s sacrifice fly, but the rest of their offense came after Cole departed.It wasn’t nearly as prolific as the Yankees’ memorable 15-1 win in which they belted six homers and had 24 hits — and, in a first for one of the game’s historic franchises, every player in the New York starting lineup had at least two hits.But with Cole back on the mound, they only needed a fraction of that offense in the series finale.“It’s two games. Small sample size,” Cole said. “We still have stuff to improve, and just have to keep the same mindset that we have right now, and that’s to take it one outing at a time.”

Former Tampa Bay Rays star Wander Franco once looked destined to become one of the faces of Major League Baseball. At just 24 years old, he had already signed a massive long-term contract, earned All-Star recognition, and established himself as one of the sport’s brightest young talents.Now, his baseball future should be over for good. On Monday, a Dominican court found Franco guilty of sexual and psychological abuse involving a minor. Although the court ruled that he would avoid prison time because of findings related to extortion and blackmail by the minor’s mother, the conviction itself remains in place. That distinction matters.MORE: MLB set to propose salary cap in new CBA negotiations & it could be a disasterAug 11, 2023; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco (5) celebrates after hitting a two run single in the third inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY SportsGuilty Verdict Cannot Be IgnoredFranco was arrested in January 2024 after authorities accused him of maintaining a four-month relationship with a 14-year-old girl. Prosecutors also alleged that money was transferred to the girl’s mother in exchange for consent regarding the relationship.While the court later determined Franco had also been victimized through extortion and blackmail, it did not erase the central ruling of the case.He was still found guilty. Avoiding prison time does not change the seriousness of the conviction or the nature of the allegations that led to it. For Major League Baseball, that should be enough to make a permanent decision.Aug 11, 2023; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco (5) hits a walk off home run in the ninth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY SportsMLB Must Protect Its ImageProfessional sports leagues constantly talk about protecting the integrity of the game and holding players accountable for conduct off the field.This is one of those moments where MLB has to prove it truly means that. Franco is not just another player. He was marketed as one of baseball’s future superstars. He signed an 11-year, $182 million extension with Tampa Bay in 2021 and was viewed as a foundational player for the sport moving forward.That is exactly why the league cannot afford to treat this lightly. Allowing Franco to eventually return would send a terrible message to fans, sponsors, and players across the league.Baseball Has Already Moved OnFranco has not played in Major League Baseball since allegations first surfaced in 2023. MLB placed him on administrative leave before later moving him to the restricted list. At this point, a comeback should not even be part of the conversation.The legal process has now produced a guilty verdict, even if it did not result in incarceration. Baseball does not need to wait for additional developments to understand the seriousness of the situation. Wander Franco was once one of baseball’s brightest stars. Now, MLB should make sure his career remains over permanently.— Enjoy free coverage of the top news & trending stories on The Big Lead —

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - NOVEMBER 15: (L-R) Holly Holm lands a left-high kick against Ronda Rousey in the second round of their UFC women's bantamweight championship bout during the UFC 193 event at Etihad Stadium on November 15, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) | Zuffa LLC via Getty Images Ronda Rousey has retired her pillow.The former UFC women’s bantamweight champion is no longer “haunted” by her loss to Holly Holm at UFC 193 back in late 2015 and has no desire to rematch “The Preacher’s Daughter.” Probably because “Rowdy” was able to return to the win column by submitting Gina Carano for MVP earlier this month on Netflix.Holm floated the rematch offer to MMA Fighting on Wednesday.“I highly doubt she’ll ever want a rematch,” Holm said. “I always have said since the minute the last fight was over, I’ll always rematch her. That’s always been available. But she wanted to come back and have this win and go back and enjoy life and have a win like that. No hate from me. I hope she does well. I hope she does whatever she wants with her life. That’s her life. I’d always be open to fight her again.”Prior to Holm, Rousey was undefeated at 12-0 with 12 finishes.“The whole reason why me beating her was such a big deal is because she was so dominant,” Holm added. “You have to have a dominant champion in order to have a big upset. So I have all the respect for her and to her. I’ll never say anything negative. But then there’s like the fighter pride of things and a win is great but also to try to win that good or put that much of a stamp on something, anybody would be lying if they said they weren’t proud of it. I’m proud that I went in and did what I did. But I’m a fighter. That’s what we do. We go to win.”Rousey got her win over Carano to erase this lasting memory and is expected to remain retired.“I said I’m retired, A and B, I think that I am a completely different fighter now. I would clean her clock and definitely now that I got that new medication,” Rousey told Up and Adams. “I took it before. I was diagnosed with cortical spreading depression, which was always happening in my last fights and basically why I was like I need to stop. I thought my concussions were catching up to me. This is the first fight where I was able to take it and when I spiked my head into the mat, that’s exactly the kind of thing that would have set me off before. I would have lost big chunks of my vision and it didn’t come back at all. It ended up working perfectly in a live situation.”Rousey claims to have suffered from a “secret” concussion history.“I think I definitely have the ability and the opportunity to be able to f*cking clean her clock and rewrite all of that but it’s no longer important to me anymore,” Rousey continued. “It doesn’t haunt me. It’s not the most important thing in my life and these people’s perceptions and knowing how great I am and all this stuff. I know how good I am and my kids need me in their life and I want to be there for them. This isn’t the most important thing anymore. Of course the time that I get where I could go back and do that, I don’t want to go back. I only want to go forward.”And leave those “sad” bandwagon fans behind her.

Cincinnati chili has made its way to New York City, but with a twist.Baseball fans had the opportunity to try a unique version of Cincinnati chili during the Reds-Mets series at Citi Field: the Skyline Chili egg roll.According to the MLB website, the Skyline Chili egg roll was part of the ballpark's season-long “Wok 'N' Roll's Cities to Citi Field” promotion, which highlights "famous fare" from different U.S. cities corresponding with the teams that are in town to play the Mets.This three minutes is well worth your time. 🤣Jim Day tries a Skyline Chili Egg Roll and John Sadak and Cowboy Jeff Brantley can’t stop laughing. 🤣Incredible content. pic.twitter.com/vEvnXz72gu— Reds Daily (@RedsDaily4) May 28, 2026Reds sideline reporter Jim Day tried the egg roll, which includes chili, spaghetti and cheddar cheese, during the series finale on May 27. Day, a Reds broadcast fixture for 25 years, said he was willing to try the unusual concoction since he's a "team player."Unfortunately, the dish didn’t earn a glowing review from Day.“This is the lowest point of my career. And I’ve had some low ones," he said.Skyline Chili egg rolls aren’t common in the Queen City, but they aren’t unheard of. The local chain actually has a recipe for the dish featured on their website. Instead of spaghetti, however, the recipe includes whipped cream cheese, jalapeños, green onions and hot sauce.This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Reds reporter Jim Day tries Skyline Chili egg roll at Reds-Mets game

CONCORD — Eight Seacoast high school football players were among 38 seniors honored at the 39th annual Joe Yukica Scholar/Athlete Awards ceremony May 27.Exeter's Will Tobin, Owen Wagner and Garrett White, Winnacunnet's Anthony Magri and Sullivan Duffy, Dover's Connor Lazarz and St. Thomas Aquinas' Cole Masiello were all recognized before a capacity crowd at the Grappone Conference Center."These young men have distinguished themselves in the classroom, on the field of play, as leaders both on and off the field," said Jay Fallon, the president of the Joe Yukica/New Hampshire Chapter of the National Football Foundation. "All are a credit to their families, their schools, their communities and themselves."Exeter High School head coach Bill Ball said Tobin, White and Wagner all uphold the example of being a student-athlete."They all really do a good job in the classroom, and that carries over onto the playing field," Ball said. "They all represent Exeter High School, and our football team extremely well."Winnacunnet head football coach Ryan Francoeur said receiving a Yukica Scholar/Athlete award is the "most prestigious given out to football seniors in New Hampshire.""I congratulate all 38 deserving recipients this year," Francoeur said. "(Duffy and Magri) were so deserving of this recognition. They are both fierce competitors, great teammates, and hold themselves to the highest of standards as athletes, students and most importantly people."Both Duffy and Magri will continue their football careers in college; Duffy at the University of New Hampshire and Magri at Plymouth State."Both (schools) will be getting two great Warriors next season," Francoeur said. "Our staff is proud of them, and grateful to have had the opportunity to be their coaches."Masiello, a Rye resident, will continue his academic and football careers next year at Middlebury College."This was a well-deserved award for all the hard work on the field and in the classroom that Cole has put in during his four years at St. Thomas," St. Thomas head coach Scott Bray said. "On the field he was the anchor that held things together and made all those around him better. In the classroom he held himself to high standards we allowed him to achieve academic success. We are so proud of him and wish him the best as he continues his academic and athletic careers."This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: 8 Seacoast NH high school football seniors receive Joe Yukica award

OKLAHOMA CITY — Throughout the NCAA Softball Tournament, Mississippi State's use of broccoli has been limited to the players in the dugout.However, that will change at the Women's College World Series. Although outside food is on the list of prohibited items at Devon Park, the NCAA is making an exception for fans bringing in broccoli.Donny Faircloth, the grandfather of MSU pitcher Alyssa Faircloth was one of the first fans to discover this, bringing in a bag of florets for the Bulldogs' (43-19) opening matchup vs. Texas Tech (57-7) on May 28 (11 a.m. CT, ESPN)."We were hoping that they'd let us through the gate. ... We were bringing it on the chance they did," Donny Faircloth said. "They looked at it, nodded, said, 'Cool.'"Broccoli has become Mississippi State's good luck charm since a fan known as Broccoli Guy showed up to the Eugene Regional, dancing with the vegetable in the stands.When Mississippi State won the regional final over Saint Mary's they had a surplus of florets in the dugout. It was the same for their super regional wins over No. 3 seed Oklahoma.Even though, the amount of broccoli is the stands is limited on Day 1, Dean Goold, pitcher Peja Goold's father, says the players have plenty after he took a trip to Homeland grocery store and cleared an entire shelf of broccoli.Even though, he didn't have any for himself, Goold was glad to hear that he and the other parents and fans would be able to join in on the fun. "This is supposed to be fun," he said. "It's not supposed to be a business. It's not supposed to be high pressure. It's supposed to be a game. So, I think the spirit of positivity, positive energy and just keeping it what it's all supposed to be about is very important right now."Whether with or without broccoli, the Mississippi State parents also plan to show up in broccoli t-shirts.Outfielder Gretta Grassel's mom Penny helped commission the black shirts that read "Team Broccoli" with three smiling florets pictured on the shirt. The parents will wear them for MSU's second game of the weekend."Once we won super regionals (Game 1), I was like, 'Oh, we've got to get broccoli shirts," Penny Grassel said. "... And so, I had a couple shirts made and shipped them to our Airbnb. ... I just think it's so cool."Even without their own broccoli, Mississippi State's fans enjoy watching the Bulldogs rally around the vegetable and are hoping it keeps their energy high during the program's first trip to the WCWS."I just think it's cool that everybody's jumping on the whole broccoli thing," Penny Grassel said. "It's just a fun thing to do. ... It's cool that the (Women's) College World Series has just allowed that to happen and just let these girls live out their dream and have fun with the broccoli."2026 Women's College World Series scheduleAll times CTMay 28Game 1: Mississippi State vs Texas Tech (11 a.m., ESPN)Game 2: Tennessee vs Texas (1:30 p.m., ESPN)Game 3: UCLA vs Alabama (6 p.m., ESPN2)Game 4: Arkansas vs Nebraska (8:30 p.m., ESPN2)May 29Game 5: Game 1 loser vs Game 2 loser (6 p.m., ESPN2)Game 6: Game 3 loser vs Game 4 loser (8:30 p.m., ESPN2)May 30Game 7: Game 1 winner vs Game 2 winner (2 p.m., ABC)Game 8: Game 3 winner vs Game 4 winner (6 p.m., ESPN)May 31Game 9: Game 5 winner vs Game 8 loser (2 p.m., ABC)Game 10: Game 6 winner vs Game 7 loser (6 p.m., ESPN2)June 1Game 11: Game 7 winner vs Game 9 winner (11 a.m., ESPN)Game 12 (if necessary): Game 7 winner vs Game 9 winner (1:30 p.m., ESPN)Game 13: Game 8 winner vs Game 10 winner (6 p.m., ESPN2)Game 14 (if necessary): Game 8 winner vs Game 10 winner (8:30 p.m., ESPN2)June 3Finals Game 1 (7 p.m., ESPN)June 4Finals Game 2 (7 p.m., ESPN)June 5If necessary, finals Game 3 (7 p.m., ESPN)Tia Reid covers Jackson State sports for the Clarion Ledger. Email her at treid@usatodayco.com and follow her on X @tiareid65.This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: NCAA changes rule, allows Mississippi State to bring broccoli to WCWS

Fazalhaq Farooqi has previous experience of English cricket having played for Nottinghamshire and Manchester Originals in 2024. [Huw Evans Picture Agency]Glamorgan paceman Fazalhaq Farooqi will miss the remainder of their T20 Blast campaign after being recalled by the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB).The 25-year-old signed in March and played in the opening two games of this season's competition.Farooqi claimed four wickets in the defeat against Northamptonshire Steelbacks and took a further two wickets in the loss to Gloucestershire.Glamorgan said they fully respected the ACB's decision to recall Farooqi and wished the player well with his national team.He was one of three overseas players in their T20 Blast squad alongside Australian all-rounder Nathan McAndrew and South African batter Colin Ingram.Only two can play in any match and McAndrew is set to make his debut when they host Somerset on Friday (18:30 BST).

Mr. Bilton, a documentarian and former New York Times columnist, said he would bring new voices to the show, which he said was the most important news program in America.

Ms. Whitmer had been viewed as part of a field of possible Democratic candidates. She has been governor for two terms, and is barred from running again.

Three reasons Trump is losing the war in Iran.

On his new album, the ex-Beatle revisits his past and revels in simply continuing to create.

Over five frantic days, I gambled my family’s life savings on a hunch that A.I. could outperform a real estate agent.

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Jannik Sinner walked into Thursday’s second-round match at the 2026 French Open looking unbeatable. Sinner entered the day on a 30-match winning streak, one of the longest-such streaks in men’s tennis since 2000.Through two sets, it looked as though that streak would continue. Then, disaster struck.Sinner sustained what appeared to be a cramping injury during the third set. After being granted a controversial timeout, Sinner — the world’s No. 1 — never recovered, getting upset by Argentinian Juan Manuel Cerundolo, who came into the event as the No. 56 ranked men’s player.Even considering Sinner’s injury, Cerundolo’s upset was among the biggest ever in the sport. Where does it rank among the biggest upsets in all sports, though? Let’s take a look at some of the contenders for that title. Team USA defeats Russia at the 1980 Winter OlympicsWidely considered the biggest upset in sports history, Team USA somehow found a way to take down Russia’s dominant hockey team during the 1980 Winter Olympics. The Russian team had won eight of the last nine gold medals at the games, and were just days removed from taking down Team USA 10-3 in an exhibition game. But Team USA found a way to hang with Russia in the medal round. Goalie Jim Craig recovered after giving up two early goals, allowing just one more despite a barrage of shots from the Russians. With time winding down, Mike Eruzione gave Team USA a narrow 4-3 lead. As time ran out, broadcaster Al Michaels declared, “Do you believe in miracles,” coining arguably the most iconic call in sports-broadcasting history.Jets defeat Colts in Super Bowl IIINew York Jets quarterback Joe Namath didn’t care about the odds. Despite his team being double-digit underdogs to the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III, Namath guaranteed a win. He delivered on that promise, pulling out a 16-7 victory over the heavily-favored Colts. The game is notable not just for the upset, but for Namath’s guarantee. Other players have tried to repeat the act over the years — with some even being successful — but Namath’s proclamation has never truly been topped.Giants beat undefeated Patriots in Super Bowl XLIIThe New England Patriots walked into Super Bowl XLII looking to make history. After a perfect regular-season, the Patriots were looking to become the first team since the 1972 Miami Dolphins to win the Super Bowl without losing a single game.But Eli Manning — with some clutch throws and a little help from the football gods — had other plans. After a strong performance by the Giants’ defense, Manning took the field with just over two minutes to play and led a game-winning drive that included the “helmet catch” and multiple late-down conversions. The Giants won the contest 17-14, sending Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and Randy Moss home disappointed.Appalachian State takes down Michigan footballMichigan opened the 2007 season as the No. 5 ranked team in the country. Appalachian State was coming off two-straight Division I championships, but the general thought was the team couldn’t hang with the DIII elites. Appalachian State, however, got off to an early lead, immediately putting Michigan on upset alert. But the Wolverines rallied, taking a one-point lead with just over four minutes to play. It felt as though order was restored and Michigan would claim its rightful spot as one of the sport’s elites.But with 30 seconds left, Appalachian State hit a field goal to take the lead. Michigan gave it one last chance, driving down the field for a potential game-winning field goal of their own. It was blocked, giving Appalachian State a massive win over a college-football powerhouse.Fairleigh Dickinson beats No. 1 seed Purdue in NCAA TournamentEntering the 2023 NCAA Tournament, No. 1 seeds were 150-1 in the first round of the event. Given those odds, No. 1 seed Purdue had to feel good about itself when it took on No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson.But — despite being 23.5 point underdogs — the Knights pulled off the upset, beating Purdue 63-58. Despite being named the Big Ten and national Player of the Year, Purdue big man Zach Edey was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament after just one game. Fairleigh Dickinson’s time in the limelight didn’t last long, however, as the team dropped its next game to No. 9 Florida Atlantic. Upset beats Man o’ War at the Sanford MemorialMan o’ War is widely considered one of the greatest racehorses of all time. Over his career, Man o’ War turned in a 20-1 record. His only loss came against a horse with a very convenient name.Man o’ War was upset by Upset at the 1919 Sanford Memorial. After getting out to a poor start, Man o’ War wasn’t able to fully recover, losing a close race.While some credit the sports term “upset” to Upset’s victory over Man o’ War, that actually isn’t the case. The term “upset” existed before Upset’s big win.Biggest upsets in tennis history If limited to just tennis, Sinner’s second-round upset has some similarities to some of the biggest in the sport in recent memory.The contenders for the biggest upset in tennis history include:• Denis Istomin beating Novak Djokovic in the second round of the 2017 Australian Open• Steve Darcis beating Rafael Nadal in the first round of Wimbledon in 2013• Virginie Razzano beating Serena Williams in the first round of the 2012 French Open• Robin Soderling beating Rafael Nadal in the fourth round at the 2009 French Open• Sergiy Stakhovsky beating Roger Federer in the second round at Wimbledon in 2013• Lukas Rosol beating Rafael Nadal in the second round at Wimbledon in 2012Where does Jannik Sinner’s loss to Juan Manuel Cerundolo rank?While Sinner’s upset Thursday is notable, it arguably doesn’t rank higher than some of the tennis-specific upsets above. Because of that, Sinner’s upset likely doesn’t rank among the biggest in sports history … but, in fairness, that’s a pretty impressive list.On the tennis front, it’s likely on par with — but not bigger than — the matches listed above. In every instance above, the players who were upset — Djokovic, Federer, Nadal and Williams — were already deeper into their careers, and had longer track records of success in the sport. All four players had won at least six Grand Slam events before suffering their losses above. That number was in the double-digits for Djokokic, Federer and Williams.Sinner is well on his way to reaching those heights. Since 2024, he’s won four Grand Slam events. He’s clearly established himself as one of the best, if not the best, men’s player in the game right now. For that reason, Sinner’s upset is notable and certainly deserving of inclusion on the list of top upsets in recent tennis history. But from a ranking perspective, it might fall just below those listed above due to it coming fairly early during Sinner’s rise to stardom.

Four years ago, Serena Williams waves goodbye to the crowd at Wimbledon after her first-round defeat to Harmony Tan.John Walton - PA Images via Getty ImagesWhen Serena Williams announces her inevitable comeback to professional tennis in the coming days, there’s an important question I hope she will address in detail.Why?Why is a 44-year old mother of two who has won everything there is to win and got an amazing send-off four years ago at the U.S. Open going through all this one more time?After more than six months in the drug testing pool — a clear sign of her intention to play again — and now multiple reports that she’s requested wildcards to grass tournaments next month heading into Wimbledon, it’s the elephant in the room.What does she want out of this? What does she think she’s going to accomplish?To be clear, that’s not meant as a criticism. Given all she’s done for the game, Serena can do whatever she wants. If she think it’s worth a try, go right ahead. Every tournament on the calendar would love to give her a wildcard and welcome her back.And no matter the results, seeing her again on a tennis court will be a jolt for the sport this summer. It will, at the very least, be interesting to see what level she can compete at four years after — and we should be honest about this — an ending that was far from an embarrassment but exposed her physical decline against younger and fitter opponents.So … why?Did the first-round loss to Harmony Tan in her final Wimbledon leave such a bad a taste that she hasn’t gotten over it? Does she want her oldest daughter Alexis, now 8 years old, to remember watching her play? Is she aiming to play doubles with Venus? After losing more than 30 pounds and becoming a spokesperson for a GLP-1 drug, does she think she has a chance to do damage more damage now than a few years ago?Or is she just bored?It’s all fascinating.Since her retirement, Serena Williams has hardly been out of the spotlight, focussing on her numerous business ventures, including part ownership of the Los Angeles Golf Club — a team in the Tiger Woods' backed indoor golf league.Rich Storry/TGL via Getty ImagesThroughout history, tennis players have been notoriously bad at retirement. Bjorn Borg tried a comeback and flopped. Martina Navratilova came back in her mid-40s and had some success in doubles, winning a U.S. Open mixed title right before her 50th birthday. She even became the oldest woman to win a Grand Slam singles match at age 47.So it’s not impossible to believe that a fit and committed Serena could produce some fun moments for her fans and win some matches along the way.But when she left the game in 2022, using the phrase “evolving” away from tennis rather than retirement, it seemed like the right time. Williams was still a capable player, but the younger generation was getting better as she was declining.And at that time, it seemed clear she wasn’t going to win the 24th Grand Slam title to tie her with Margaret Court — a phony record to begin with, given that seven of Court’s Australian titles were won before the Open era when the field was predominantly Australian amateurs.Though Williams desperately had 24 in her mind in her final years, it seemed like there were declining returns in working so hard to chase something she couldn’t achieve.It’s difficult to imagine much has changed in that regard over the last four years. The idea of a 44-year old Serena going toe-to-toe with a world class athlete in their prime like Aryna Sabalenka or Coco Gauff seems bizarre, even delusional.With Serena, our minds should be open to the impossible but our expectations should be low.Maybe that’s not even what she’s after. Perhaps, in her calculus, simply being semi-competitive in her mid-40s would be as much validation for the work she’s putting in as winning all those big trophies before she became a mother.After all, there’s really nothing to lose. The most inane conversation in sports is whether someone tarnishes their legacy by performing poorly at the end of their career. It’s complete nonsense. What Williams accomplished cannot be cheapened even if she comes back, loses a bunch of matches in a row and slinks back into retirement.At this point, it’s all upside.But it’s also a bit confusing. When Serena left the game four years ago, it seemed like a natural end point to enter a new phase of life. She had nothing to prove to anyone, including herself. Her family and her business empire had become more of a priority.Something has changed. As she prepares for a return to professional tennis, it would be useful to know what it is.

The start of the 2026 college football season is just around the corner. And with it, watch list season is officially upon us!Last week, the watch list was announced for the Lott IMPACT Trophy. Included on the list were two USC defensive linemen: Jude Abasiri and Jahkeem Stewart.“Abasiri looks to be an impact player on the defensive line as a junior in 2026,” USC wrote in a press release. “He recorded 26 tackles, including 4 for loss of 24 yards (with 3.5 sacks for minus 24 yards), 2 QB hurries and 1 forced fumble while appearing in all 13 games with 9 starts as a sophomore in 2025. Last season, he was named to Bruce Feldman's Freaks List for his intriguing athleticism, having clocked 19.22 mph at nearly 300 pounds. More impressively, Abasiri's 10-yard split was 1.60, and he's squatted 700 pounds.“Stewart, a 2025 Freshman All-American, looks to build on an impressive foundation from his freshman season. After enrolling at USC in the spring of 2025 after reclassifying and forgoing his senior year of high school, he had a stellar collegiate debut making an immediate impact on the Trojan defensive line by decorating his stat sheet with 18 tackles, including 7.5 for loss of 27 yards (with 1.5 sacks for minus 11 yards), 1 INT returned for 4 yards, 1 fumble recovery returned for 22 yards and 1 QB hurry. Stewart was named an FWAA Freshman All-American and a PFF Freshman All-American. He was selected to the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award Watch List. FOX Sports named Stewart to the nation's Top 10 impact freshmen ahead of the 2025 college football season.”As the award’s website states, “Named after former NFL Hall of Fame star Ronnie Lott, The Lott Trophy annually goes to the Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year, a player who has had the biggest impact on his team both on and off the field. IMPACT stands for Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity, all characteristics exhibited by Lott during his illustrious playing career.”While the award is named after a USC legend in Lott, no Trojan has ever won it (although USC has had numerous finalists). This fall, Abasiri and Stewart will be among the USC players looking to finally change that.This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC’s Jide Abasiri, Jahkeem Stewart make Lott IMPACT Trophy Watch List

Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn ImagesMLB commissioner Rob Manfred appeared on The Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday to make the case for how baseball’s new broadcast structure handles two things he says the league is prioritizing above everything else.“The second thing that we’re really, really focused on is the reach of our broadcasts,” Manfred said. “I think the two touch words, I said one before, is reach and discoverability. We have to get to the biggest possible audience we can get to, and fans need to know how they can find our games. That’s why I like the ESPN+ platform for our local broadcasts. It is kind of a hub where people can go and figure out how they get their games.”“We’re really focused on the reach of our broadcasts..We have to get to the biggest possible audience we can get to and fans need to know how they can find our game” ~ Rob Manfred #PrimetimeSportspic.twitter.com/viksQ9qqWj— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) May 27, 2026The local broadcast situation Manfred is describing stems directly from how the new ESPN deal is structured. When the two sides mutually opted out of their previous agreement, ESPN traded its national marquee inventory — Sunday Night Baseball, the Home Run Derby, the Wild Card round — for in-market rights covering six teams under league control in Cleveland, San Diego, Seattle, Minnesota, Arizona, and Colorado, plus licensing the out-of-market MLB.tv package for its direct-to-consumer app.But the out-of-market package came with its fair share of confusion before Opening Day, and the six in-market clubs won’t be available on ESPN+ until next season. Baseball in 2026 is spread across seven different platforms, making discoverability a real challenge.As Awful Announcing noted when the deals were finalized, MLB saved face on the ESPN breakup but not necessarily financially. NBC and Netflix together are paying roughly $250 million annually for what ESPN had been paying $550 million for; and the league had to throw in additional inventory to bridge the gap. What it got in return was a presence on more platforms than at any point in its history, with 47 over-the-air windows this season.Manfred has been transparent that the current arrangement is a three-year bridge to 2029, when every national deal expires, and the league renegotiates everything at once toward the more NFL-style national structure he has described as the long-term goal. Reach and discoverability are the two words he is building toward. The current deals run through 2028, and between now and then, whether fans of all 30 teams can actually find their games on any given night is the only measurement that matters.The post Rob Manfred preaches ‘reach and discoverability’ as MLB broadcast setup remains fragmented appeared first on Awful Announcing.

Image Credit: Grindstone Media Group / Shutterstock.Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s final text exchange with Kyle Busch was not about goodbye. It was about a race car, a seat fitting, and a plan that would have given NASCAR fans a moment they never got to see.On the latest episode of The Dale Jr. Download, Earnhardt reflected on the last messages he shared with Busch before the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion died at 41. Busch’s family said severe pneumonia progressed into sepsis, leading to rapid complications.The detail that made Earnhardt’s story hit harder was how ordinary the exchange sounded at the time. The two former rivals were not looking backward. They were trying to set up a race, and Busch wanted to do it in a way longtime fans would have remembered immediately.Busch Wanted to Run Dale Jr.’s No. 8Earnhardt said he and Busch had been texting about getting together so Busch could bring a seat for a late model car to Earnhardt’s shop. The plan was for Busch to drive one of Earnhardt’s cars in the CARS Tour.When Earnhardt asked what number Busch wanted to run, Busch chose “the Dale Jr. 8.” Earnhardt said he told him the car already carried that number and that they would run it that way.The choice carried real NASCAR weight. Earnhardt drove the No. 8 for years during one of the most recognizable stretches of his Cup Series career. Busch choosing that number would have turned a late model appearance into more than a one-off race.A Rivalry Had Turned Into a Real FriendshipImage Credit: Grindstone Media Group / Shutterstock.Earnhardt and Busch had a complicated history that dated back nearly two decades. Their connection was shaped partly by Busch’s departure from Hendrick Motorsports and Earnhardt’s arrival in the No. 88 car, a period that became one of NASCAR’s more talked-about driver storylines.In his tribute after Busch’s death, Earnhardt said their relationship had once been challenging, but that Busch made the effort to improve it. The two later appeared together in media settings and were able to laugh about old tension that had once followed them through the garage.That change gives the final text exchange its emotional force. The unfinished race plan was not only a fun idea for fans. It showed that two drivers who had once been defined by friction had reached a place where they could build something together.Earnhardt Said the Loss Still Feels Hard to BelieveImage Credit: Grindstone Media Group / Shutterstock.Earnhardt became emotional while speaking about Busch, saying he still had a hard time believing his friend and fellow driver was gone. He said he found some comfort in hearing stories from other people about who Busch was away from the track.Busch was known publicly for his “Rowdy” image, sharp competitiveness, and willingness to be the driver many fans loved or loved to root against. Earnhardt said he already knew Busch personally, but the tributes after his death helped him understand more about how Busch treated people outside the race weekend spotlight.The final text exchange showed that softer side in a simple way. Busch was excited about the car, the scheme, and the reaction fans would have had to seeing him run Earnhardt’s old number.NASCAR Honored Busch Days LaterImage Credit: Bruce Alan Bennett / Shutterstock.NASCAR described Busch as a generational talent after his death was announced by his family, Richard Childress Racing, and the sanctioning body. He won two Cup Series championships, in 2015 and 2019, and earned 63 Cup victories.Across NASCAR’s three national series, Busch’s numbers were historic. NASCAR listed him with 102 wins in what is now called the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and 69 Craftsman Truck Series victories, along with his Cup Series total.His family, including wife Samantha and children Brexton and Lennix, appeared at Charlotte Motor Speedway during the Coca-Cola 600 weekend as the sport paid tribute. NASCAR president Steve O’Donnell called every racetrack Busch’s home and said he competed as if he still had something to prove.The planned CARS Tour start adds a smaller, more personal detail to the tributes. Busch had spent more than two decades winning at NASCAR’s highest levels, but Earnhardt’s story showed he was still excited about a late model idea built around fans, history, and an old No. 8 car.

Carlisle United have appointed former Gateshead boss Rob Elliot as their new manager after Mark Hughes left the club by mutual consent.Hughes, 62, took over in February 2025 but was unable to save them from suffering relegation to the National League.The former Manchester United and Wales striker remained with the club last summer and led them to third with 95 points but they were beaten 2-1 at home by fourth-placed Boreham Wood in the play-off semi-final.Elliot, 40, left the Heed on Wednesday having led them on a remarkable run from February to help them avoid relegation to National League North, when they had been bottom of the table.More to follow.

Stan and Josh Kroenke have had majority control of Arsenal since 2018 [Getty Images]Arsenal co-chair Josh Kroenke says behind-closed-doors football during the Covid-19 pandemic allowed manager Mikel Arteta "space" to help revive the "sleeping giant".The Kroenke Sports and Entertainment (KSE) group took full control of Arsenal in 2018 but it has not always been easy, with fan protests at how the club was being run taking place during their tenure.The Kroenkes hired Arteta in 2019, giving the former Arsenal player his first senior managerial role after a period of uncertainty at the club.It took time for that vision to take hold with two eighth-placed finishes, despite a 2020 FA Cup win, leading to some questioning whether Arteta was the right man for the job.But now the Spaniard has transformed the club after six-and-a-half years in charge and has led the Gunners to their first Premier League title in 22 years.And in a wide-ranging interview, Kroenke talked about:How the pandemic meant that Arteta had time without fan pressureThe Gunners' summer plans to strengthen to "stay top of the mountain"The sleeping giant of ArsenalBeing on his hands on knees watching the video assistant referee decision against West HamAnd how the culture has changed at the clubRelationship with Arteta and how they picked himGiving a manager their first senior job in football is always a risk, but Kroenke says Arteta's character made it clear that he was the right candidate to succeed Unai Emery in December 2019."Anybody that gets a chance to be around Mikel, you can buy into what he's selling pretty easily," Kroenke said."So I don't want to give myself or my father [Stan Kroenke, founder and chairman of KSE and co-chair of Arsenal] any credit."I think Mikel and his staff and our players are the ones that earned those rights to have the patience in those moments by the amount of work and energy they were putting in behind the scenes."Arteta won the 2020 FA Cup but finished eighth in a league affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, which meant games were played behind closed doors."I don't know if I would ever acknowledge it, or Mikel or anybody - there was something about Mikel having a little bit of what I would say 'space' during Covid when there weren't fans around." Kroenke said."There were some growing pains that went on during matches, different moments, and obviously we won the FA Cup, but to not have that extra pressure of fans being on top of you at different points in time when we were going through different growth phases was probably something I don't think any of us would acknowledge in the moment."But, looking back I think we can say 'maybe that was a little bit of a benefit'."The 'difficult' transition to a new eraIt has not always been an easy transition for the Kroenkes, who took full ownership of the club in 2018 after being shareholders since 2007.There was a "We Care, Do You?" movement from supporters who called into question the owners' commitment to the club."There was a lot of heavy lifting going on behind the scenes at the club at that point in time," Kroenke said."We went through a big transition from Arsene [Wenger], obviously a legendary person and manager."Transitioning to a new era after 22 years was going to be difficult."One: it was taking the club private that summer."Two: You had a legendary manager moving along, us trying to reinvent ourselves."Third: An underestimated thing for me on the back end was [chief executive] Ivan Gazidis' departure."For a club of our stature, change is going to be healthy but that was way too much change in way too short of a period of time."Changing strategy and identifying SalibaIn the early period of running the club, Arsenal found themselves - in Kroenke's own words - "straddling strategies" as they chased Champions League qualification and trophies.Kroenke flew to Baku and saw Arsenal lose 4-0 to Chelsea in the 2019 Europa League final which was the moment when he says he and his father had to "accept" where the club was after watching the "worst 45 minutes of the season"."Seeing that happen was the first time where I came back from that trip and I told my dad that I think we need to really embrace where we are," Kroenke said."Now that we have 100% of the club, we might need to take a step back to go forward at some point."But, in that low moment, one of the bright lights of Arsenal's next generation emerged in a conversation with soon to be departing academy manager, and former player, Per Mertesacker."After the final in Baku, I made a comment about Virgil van Dijk, who had arrived at Liverpool a year or two before," Kroenke said."I said 'how do we get one of these guys into our system'. [Mertesacker replied] 'Well unless you've got 100 million quid, you better not be thinking about him'."I said 'who's the best young defender in Europe?'. He turned without hesitation and said 'William Saliba'."Saliba joined Arsenal aged 18 in July 2019 for £27m from Saint-Etienne, going on to become a key member of their title-winning side.Watching Arsenal win the league from the USAKroenke spends a lot of time flying to and from the United States, which can mean some early rises to watch the Gunners play."If there's any way they could do away with the 12.30, 12.45 kick-off… the 4am wake-up is not fun in the United States." Kroenke joked."There were some big highs and some tough ones as well. That's when you wish you were with someone else, at least to talk to."Another big moment Kroenke experienced in the US was the season-defining video assistant referee (VAR) decision that saw West Ham's late goal ruled out, three games from the end of the season, as Arsenal moved closer to the title."I was on my hands and knees in my living room. It was a moment where I think every Arsenal supporter worldwide held their breath," said Kroenke.The evolution of 'sleeping giant'After Arsenal's first league title for more than two decades was confirmed, tens of thousands of supporters rushed to Emirates Stadium to celebrate."I knew we were a sleeping giant that we needed to awaken in some way." Kroenke said."We haven't had a team, a squad like this in the social media age. Social media evolved and the Twittersphere and everything else around it."The instantaneous information, the 'Banter Era' - I'm aware of all this. I turned 46 last week."I've grown up around this and I've seen it all from my own perspective. I think that's what I'm so proud to see. There was almost a time when you were a closeted Arsenal fan."But this success does not mean the end of the journey for Kroenke and his vision for the club, with the Gunners playing Paris-St Germain in the Champions League final on Saturday."I think I can think back and say that our stated goal was winning the Premier League, because if you can put yourself in contention for the Premier League, you're in contention for everything else." Kroenke said."Should we get a great result on Saturday, it's not going to change or affect who we are. When you win something, the sun's still going to come up the next day."You've got to get back to work and there are many teams trying to gain on you, including some historically great ones around the Premier League."So, we're going to look to strengthen because we know that teams around us are going to get better. If you're not trying to continually evolve and improve, you're standing still."Latest Arsenal news, analysis and fan viewsAsk about Arsenal - what do you want to know?