Who is Central Wisconsin's standout high school athlete of the week? You be the judge.The Menke GMC Athlete of the Week poll for June 1-8 is now live until Thursday, June 11 at 11 a.m.Cast your vote for the top performance around the area from high school standouts across Central Wisconsin.Refresh the page if the poll does not populate.Central Wisconsin dominates WIAA state: Central Wisconsin crowns multiple state champions at 2026 WIAA state meetBrady Berg, Stratford baseball: Berg finished a triple away from a cycle, notching a single, double and home run in a 16-0 win over Crandon.Blake Underwood, Marathon baseball: Underwood led Marathon at the plate finishing with one hit, one run and a game-high of four RBI in a 10-3 regional playoff win over Saint Mary Catholic. He also went the distance, yielding one earned run and striking out four in seven innings pitched.Molly Fox, Marshfield softball: Fox yielded one hit, zero earned runs while striking out seven a 11-0 win over Chippewa Falls.Brooklyn Westfall, Athens softball: Westfall doubled and tripled across four hits in a 15-0 win over Elcho. Garrett Bracewell, Marathon boys track and field: Bracewell brought home a gold medal in the boys 300-meter hurdles and a silver medal in the 110-meter hurdles.Brooke Jaworski finds purpose: When injury halted career momentum, Brooke Jaworski found her purposeChris Marcell, Marathon boys track and field: Marcell broke the shot put meet record, snagging his second consecutive gold medal in both the shot put and discus events. Zander Zawislan, Stratford boys track and field: Zawislan snagged the gold medal in the boys 200-meter and 400-meter dash races.Alex Wierzba, Rosholt boys track and field: Wierzba took home the gold medal in the boys 100-meter dash and a silver medal in the 200-meter dash.Breckin Miller, Spencer boys track and field: Miller took a gold medal in the pole vault event and sixth place in Division 3’s 110-meter hurdles. Michael Dolan, Assumption boys track and field: Dolan brought home a gold medal in the boys 3,200-meter race and a silver medal in the 1,600-meter race. Bella Thomas, Assumption girls track and field: Thomas took home a gold medal in the 400-meter race, a silver medal in the girls 100-meter race and a fourth place finish in the 200-meter dashDaelyn Rieck, Colby girls track and field: Rieck won a gold medal in Division 2’s discus throw. Sy'Rih Hartwig, Athens girls track and field: Hartwig brought home a gold medal in the shot put event. Contact or send game stats/info to Sports Reporter Alfred Smith III at alfred.smith@usatoday.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @AlfredS_III.This article originally appeared on Wausau Daily Herald: Vote for Central Wisconsin's Menke GMC Athlete of the Week

Day one of WTA Tour event at Queen's - watch coverage of action on Andy Murray ArenaFrom 14:30 BST: Reigning Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen of China faces Romania's Jaqueline CristianFollowed by: Great Britain's Katie Boulter v former US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez and Britain's Francesca Jones v Laura SiegemundSerena Williams to make return to competitive tennis later in this tournament - she will play in women's doubles alongside Victoria Mboko Watch Queen's: Olympic champion Zheng delayed by rain

NEW YORK—Calling the breakthrough a significant step forward in xenotransplantation, New York University doctors confirmed Monday they had successfully transplanted a pig foreskin onto a circumcised human. “This successful operation proves that pig penises are a viable, long-term solution for circumcised patients in desperate need of working foreskin,” lead surgeon Robert Langford said of the procedure performed late last year, expressing hope that the new development in cross-species phallus grafts could help address the nearly 130 million Americans on the national waiting list to receive a foreskin donation. “We took porcine tissue from a specially bred, well-endowed pig and genetically edited the sample in order to reduce the chance that it would be rejected by the host penis. For the first time in history, we’ve been able to confirm without a doubt that renewed sensitivity and enhanced sexual pleasure can be safely transferred from pig to man. Imagine a world in which doctors can promise terminally circumcised patients a second chance at stimulation.” At press time, Dr. Langford announced that after a record 93 days, the penis had died. The post Scientists Successfully Transplant Pig Foreskin Onto Circumcised Man appeared first on The Onion.

WASHINGTON—In what experts are already calling one of the worst outbreaks of foodborne illness in decades, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an urgent recall Tuesday for 40,000 gallons of RFK Jr. milk. The recall, which covers all milk produced by the body of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was issued following widespread reports of high fever, nausea, arthritis-like symptoms, and uncontrollable diarrhea among consumers. The FDA urged Americans to throw out any RFK Jr. milk they had in their refrigerators, saying those affected would be entitled to a full refund and should take a 60-day course of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin. “If you purchased a jug of milk pumped from Secretary Kennedy’s breasts on or after Mar. 4, 2026, you may have noticed a sulfurous smell, streaks of red pus, or visible effervescence in the liquid,” said FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, stressing that anyone who experienced blindness or vertigo after drinking the beverage should consult a healthcare provider immediately, especially if they were pregnant. “We also ask that consumers dispose of the milk by incineration instead of dumping it down the drain, which could result in the substance entering rivers and streams and cause mass aquatic die-offs.” “We acknowledge our error in ever allowing this man’s milk to make it onto store shelves in the first place,” Makary added. Kennedy with his milking machine. According to sources, the recalled Kennedy dairy has been sold at wellness retailers and health food co-ops in all 50 states and includes processed RFK Jr. milk products sold under names such as Bobby Butter, Hyannis Port Farms Cheddar, and Kennedy’s Curse-Reversing Longevity Yogurt. Many of these products have been touted through official channels by the secretary himself, who as a central pillar of his “Make America Healthy Again” campaign has strongly encouraged consumption of his body’s milk. FDA officials said the RFK Jr. milk was contaminated with E. coli, salmonella, listeria, and a previously unknown pathogen scientists have named Robertococcus kenneddi, which appears to have proliferated exclusively in the squalid and unsanitary conditions in which Kennedy lives. Inspectors described “appalling” conditions in the Georgetown residence where much of his milk was pumped, citing moldy, sweat-soaked gym equipment, five-gallon buckets of rancid beef tallow, and the rotting carcasses of several unidentifiable marine mammals. “The spread of bacteria by RFK Jr. milk has led to numerous confirmed cases of sepsis, meningitis, and necrosis of the tongue,” said FDA microbiologist Hana Steiner, adding that she had long warned friends and relatives against consuming the poorly regulated substance. “People will say Kennedy should have been pasteurizing his milk, and of course he should have, but I’m not sure it would have mattered. A lot of these bacteria have mutated in the dank, humid piles of unwashed jeans found on the floor of his home, and many have become antibiotic-resistant thanks to his frequent swims in sewage-tainted waters.” While the FDA has ordered an indefinite halt to the distribution of RFK Jr. milk, some MAHA diehards have decried the crackdown as federal overreach, with Kennedy himself criticizing scientists who have questioned his milk’s safety. “The probiotic cultures in my milk are a feature, not a bug, and any negative reactions people have experienced are the result of a lack of ferments in the American diet,” Kennedy said in a recent video message in which he is seen pumping and drinking a bright yellow glass of his own milk to demonstrate its safety. “There are no dangerous additives in here, just pure, natural goodness. Americans have neglected their gut microbiomes for so long that even the gentle, nourishing milk of their health and human services secretary upsets their stomachs. That’s how bad things have gotten.” “The obvious answer is for people to drink more of my milk, not less,” Kennedy continued. “It’ll take more than some misguided recall to stop me from lactating for the health and longevity of this nation.” The post FDA Recalls 40,000 Gallons Of RFK Jr. Milk appeared first on The Onion.

WASHINGTON—Admitting that his prior beliefs regarding conflagrations had been formed out of ignorance, longtime U.S. Forest Service icon Smokey Bear issued a statement Monday claiming that his views on wildfires had evolved. “You have to understand, when I was coming up in the ’40s, these fires were talked about in an almost entirely negative context, and I was just a dumb cub echoing the conventional thinking of the time,” said Smokey Bear, telling reporters that conversations with real estate owners and insurance carriers who had benefited from wildfires had convinced him to soften his stance. “I’ve always striven to live with integrity, and sometimes that means admitting that you were wrong. It’s clear to me now that the decimation of large sections of woodland by an out-of-control blaze is a far more nuanced issue than I had previously been led to believe. While I don’t think I’m ever going to be cheering on flaming infernos spreading throughout our nation’s parks, I now understand they have an important role to play in a healthy ecosystem.” Smokey Bear added that he would be joining fellow mascot McGruff The Crime Dog to petition Congress for more lenient penalties against arsonists. The post Smokey Bear Claims Views On Wildfires Have Evolved appeared first on The Onion.

Starting at $7.99! READ MORE...

Jun 9, 2025; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte (9) stretches during minicamp at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images Kayshon Boutte performed admirably as the New England Patriots’ starting X-receiver in 2025. However, his role might be looking drastically different heading into the upcoming season.The Patriots, after all, traded first- and fifth-round draft picks to the Philadelphia Eagles for fellow wideout A.J. Brown. While Brown, like Boutte, is not a one-dimensional player only capable of performing in one role, his résumé as an X is well-documented and worthy of the much-talked-about WR1 label.Adding a player of that caliber to the mix, has a trickle-down effect on the rest of the group. No player might be more impacted than Boutte, who has been the subject of trade rumors for much of the offseason.And yet, he welcomes Brown coming aboard.“That was a good pickup,” he told WBZ’s Dan Roche over the weekend. “He’s a great dude. You watch him, he dominates. Great X-receiver. Dominant. Whether that’s deep ball, short route, he can catch; slant and take it to the house. Big-bodied. Contested catches. We watch those guys. I’m an X-receiver, too. I sit there and watch his tape. Just a guy you see that constantly wins 1-on-1.”While Brown projects as a starter in the Patriots’ offense alongside fellow offseason pickup Romeo Doubs, Boutte is not shying away from the challenge that is competing against him and the rest of the wideouts on New England’s roster.“There’s always competition. Every year,” he said. “Nothing is going to be given to you. Whether you’re on the outside looking in or on the inside looking in. At the end of the day, every day counts. You’ve got to make it count.”Boutte has made it count since joining the Patriots as a sixth-round selection in the 2023 NFL Draft. While he had a quiet rookie season, he made a sizable sophomore jump and quickly earned new quarterback Drake Maye’s trust. Last season, after already being speculated as a trade candidate, he had his best campaign to date.Despite missing three games with injury, the veteran wideout still finished with 42 catches for 719 yards and seven touchdowns. Most importantly, he again showed why Maye kept trusting him.Whether the Patriots’ decision makers feel the same way will be seen. The 24-year-old himself, meanwhile, has decided not to listen to any rumblings even while his absence from voluntary offseason workouts only added fuel to the fire.“I try not to buy into whether it’s the trade rumors or anything like that. I’m still working even though I’m away. That’s my focus,” Boutte explained, while adding his objective would be to stay with the Patriots long-term.“I want to be in New England for the rest of my career. I’ve enjoyed it out here. Been here three years. Every day I’m here. I call this home. This is my new home. Grew up in Louisiana, stayed there 20 years, but now Boston is my life.”

🐐 The Last Dance, the legends bowing out at the 2026 World CupThe 2026 World Cup is no ordinary tournament; it’s the farewell festival for the generation that made us fall in love with football. Get the tissues ready, because North America will be the stage for the final international dance of these seven indestructible icons.Cristiano RonaldoAt 41, with the counter chasing 1,000 goals, CR7 heads into his final battle with Portugal. The end of the World Cup 'Siuuu.'Lionel MessiAfter reaching the heavens in Qatar, the '10' defends his crown with Argentina on the verge of turning 39. Enjoying him now is a historic obligation.Luka ModrićFootball’s eternal Benjamin Button arrives at 40 still leading Croatia. One last chance to watch those outside-of-the-foot passes.Kevin De BruyneThe brain of Belgium’s golden generation knows this is his last great chance to brush against international glory.Manuel NeuerThe sweeper-keeper who changed the rules of the game is looking to shut Germany’s goal one last time on the big stage.Guillermo OchoaThe meme becomes reality. 'Memo' and his World Cup mystique will try to lock things down for Mexico in his sixth and final tournament.Edin DžekoThe eternal and tireless Bosnian striker is squeezing out his final goals at the top level to script a movie-worthy farewell.This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.

Belgian Pro League players at the 2026 World Cup: MidfieldersThe 2026 World Cup kicks off this week and the Belgian Pro League is well represented. We’ve looked at both the goalkeepers and defenders already, now its time to look at the midfielders representing their countries at the tournament. Hans Vanaken – BelgiumHans Vanaken had another fantastic season for Club Brugge. The veteran attacking midfielder hit double figures for goals for the 15th season in a row with 12 in 57 games, alongside seven assists. Club Brugge won the league for the 20th time thanks to Vanaken’s influence and Rudi Garcia has decided to bring the veteran to another major tournament. Vanaken may not be a starter for the Red Devils, but he could have an impact off the bench or slot in if injuries to other creative players hit the camp. Vanaken has 34 caps for Belgium with seven goals. Yacine Titraoi – Algeria Yacine Titraoi built on his fantastic debut season in Belgium with another fine campaign for Charleroi. In 42 games the midfielder scored five goals and grabbed three assists. Titraoi offers Algeria a dynamic central midfielder who can get a lot of work done over 90 minutes. The former Paradou AC youngster is unlikely to start, but off the bench he could really help the north African side who are confident of a decent World Cup campaign. Nathan Saliba – CanadaAnderlecht’s Nathan Saliba showed some positive signs during his first season in European football, playing 45 games with five goals and one assist. The former Montreal man will be part of a Canadian side that is looking to go deep into the tournament as one of the hosts, with plenty of talent up top. Saliba has 15 caps for Canada, with two goals. Even if he doesn’t start, Saliba should get a decent amount of minutes at the World Cup. Besfort Zeneli – SwedenBesfort Zeneli only joined Union St Gilloise in January but made a huge impact with his goal against Club Brugge in a victory that looked to have swung the title race towards Brussels. Sadly for Zeneli and Union, Club Brugge roared back to win the league, although Zeneli did pick up a cup winners medal. Not much is expected of Zeneli and Sweden at the World Cup given how they qualified, which could suit them. Zeneli has eight caps for Sweden and will likely add some more during the World Cup. GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson

De Bruyne: ‘Hard to explain’ Napoli injury but I’m ‘ready’ for the World CupNapoli midfielder Kevin De Bruyne admits his injury earlier in the season was “a pity,” but says completing his rehabilitation in Belgium was the ‘best choice’ as he now feels ‘ready’ for the World Cup.Napoli star De Bruyne spoke about the injury that forced him to the sidelines for several months in his debut season at the Stadio Maradona.“It’s hard to explain in front of a camera. At the beginning, I was scared because I had already suffered a hamstring injury two years ago. This is why I decided to do the rehabilitation here. I have full trust in Lieven [Maesschalck] and his staff,” De Bruyne said via TMW.De Bruyne spoke to the team of physiotherapists who treated him during his months of rehabilitation in Belgium.De Bruyne was sidelined for nearly five months, from the end of October 2025 to the start of March 2026, missing 30 games across all competitions for club and country.COMO, ITALY – MAY 02: Kevin De Bruyne of SSC Napoli looks on during the Serie A match between Como 1907 and SSC Napoli at Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadium on May 02, 2026 in Como, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)“We decided to bring the final part of the work on the pitch here,” De Bruyne said.“In practice, I spent the entire rehabilitation period here, and I think it was the best choice.“I’ve never had relapses or moments when I didn’t feel well. I didn’t feel pain or discomfort. It’s a pity because I had started the season really well and felt in great shape, but now I look forward with confidence.”De Bruyne scored five goals and provided four assists in 21 appearances across all competitions with Napoli in 2025-26.NAPLES, ITALY – APRIL 06: Kevin De Bruyne of SSC Napoli in action during the Serie A match between SSC Napoli and AC Milan at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on April 06, 2026 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)He’s part of the Belgium squad, coached by Rudi Garcia, for the 2026 World Cup, which kicks off in just a few days.“I hope to be in my best shape as soon as possible,” De Bruyne concluded.“I feel ready, and I’m convinced that after a couple of games I’ll get back in shape and fully regain my form.”De Bruyne recently said he was happy Antonio Conte was no longer the Napoli coach, receiving a firm reply from the Italian tactician’s assistant, Cristian Stellini, who said KDB had never shown enthusiasm in his first season at the club.

It will still be some time before we see the Cowboys defense against an opposing offense, but there's been enough practice time for members of the Dallas offense to draw some insights into the new scheme. Defensive coordinator Christian Parker was hired after last year's unit finished near the bottom of the league in most major metrics and the team moved to acquire new players at all levels of the defense this offseason. Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb's initial impression is that combination is going to be a tough one for opposing offenses to crack from week to week. “It’s annoying,” Lamb said, via Jon Machota of TheAthletic.com. “It’s been annoying to prepare against. But obviously seeing it in practice every day, it’s kind of unique. Just seeing the different guys communicate and be able to understand and take what they learn from the meeting room and being able to easily translate it on the field. It’s good to go against. It’s very tricky.”While it remains to be seen just what things will look like come September, there's a lot of room for improvement after the 2025 effort and the Cowboys appear well positioned to take a step forward in their first season with Parker calling the defensive shots.

Did you miss the debut of UFC Freedom 250 "Countdown" or just want to watch it again? Check out the main event preview now.The segment takes a special look at the lightweight title unification fight between champion Ilia Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) and interim titleholder Justin Gaethje (27-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC). Topuria, a former featherweight champion, is making his first attempted defense of the belt after a layoff of more than a year while he dealt with a high-profile divorce.UFC Freedom 250 (Paramount+) takes place Sunday at the White House in Washington. "Countdown" goes behind the scenes with the two fighters, and you can watch the full segment above. And don't miss the entire episode in the video below.This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Freedom 250 title preview video: Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje

After an excellent first year with the Chicago Cubs, outfielder Kyle Tucker left for Los Angeles in the offseason. With the team suddenly in need of a Tucker replacement, Alex Bregman was brought in to provide stability and leadership to a franchise looking for another World Series title. But the pairing hasn't worked out so far. In his first season in Chicago, Bregman has been awful, hitting just .243/.327/.342 in 65 games. His struggles reached a bit of a breaking point Sunday night, as Bregman went 0-for-5 and made the last out in the Cubs' 2-1 extra-innings loss to the San Francisco Giants on "Sunday Night Baseball."After that performance, Bregman lit into himself, saying he's been "terrible" and "awful" this season, per ESPN."I've been terrible," Bregman said. "I need to play better. Offensively, it's been awful. I've failed many times in this game. I've struggled. I've started slow before. I've started fast before. When you're struggling, there is only one way forward and that's straight, head-on through it. It comes down to executing in the game."He didn't stop there, admitting he's been miserable with runners in scoring position all season before concluding, "I need to figure it out."Bregman, 32, is in the first year of the five-year, $175 million contract he signed with the Cubs in January. Over his career, Bregman has been a strong and consistent hitter, with a career .271/.363/.473 slash line, a far cry from his current numbers. If there's a reason for optimism, Bregman said he had a few ideas on how he can improve moving forward. He said there were some mechanical changes he could make at the plate to get himself back on track.While Bregman has never been a Statcast darling, his metrics are worse than usual this season. Bregman's barrel rate, average exit velocity and hard-hit rate are all down compared to last season, as is his average bat speed. Bregman has shown the ability to overcome poor Statcast metrics in the past, so there's still hope for a bounce back, but it hasn't been the most encouraging start. Despite that, the Cubs still sit two games over .500. While that would normally be a reason for optimism, the Cubs find themselves in a surprisingly tough National League Central this year. Both the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals are exceeding expectations, leaving the Cubs in fourth place entering play Monday. Bregman returning to form at the plate would go a long way toward the Cubs moving up in the standings. While it hasn't been a great start to his Cubs tenure, Bregman is a seasoned veteran, and has months to prove he was the right signing for the team. After taking responsibility for his struggles, Bregman now needs to prove he can live up to those words and get back to form.

Patriots left tackle Will Campbell had an up-and-down rookie season in 2025, and it ended on a down note when he struggled mightily in New England's Super Bowl loss. Campbell believes his future has a lot more ups than downs.Campbell noted that he was drafted at age 21 after playing three seasons at LSU, and he believes he can get a lot better."I'm 22, so I'm a long way from where I’m going to be in the future. It's not like I'm great at everything and here's one little thing [to work on]. I'm trying to make everything as a whole better," Campbell said, via Mike Reiss of ESPN.Campbell suffered an MCL sprain in Week 12 of last season and missed five games, and in the playoffs he looked like he might not have been fully healed. He said his physical therapy this offseason has strengthened his knee. And strengthened his prospects of becoming the player the Patriots thought they were getting with the fourth overall pick last year.

Photo by Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire via Getty ImagesMarcus Ericsson says the IndyCar grid is still searching for answers behind Josef Newgarden’s short-oval dominance after another World Wide Technology Raceway win.Ericsson led 114 laps, more than anyone else, but still finished second and 0.6613 seconds behind Newgarden after 260 laps.Newgarden has now won six times at the Illinois oval, further cementing his status as IndyCar’s short-oval benchmark.Photo by Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty ImagesMarcus Ericsson left with familiar question after another Josef Newgarden winEricsson delivered one of his best oval performances, climbing from 12th on the grid to lead more laps than anyone else.But even with that effort, Newgarden still found a way to take control when it mattered, continuing a remarkable run of form at World Wide Technology Raceway.“That’s the million dollar question. He’s been the guy on these tracks the last 10 years.“Actually I did a lot of studying of him this week leading up to this place, studying a lot of video, analyzing together with my spotter Bob (Perona). We did a lot of work leading up to this weekend just really trying to see what we could do to improve our performance.“Of course, the #28 crew did a great job giving me a car so I can drive it the way I want. It would have been nice to beat him, but he was a little bit too strong in the end.”That final line captured the frustration of Ericsson’s night. He and Andretti Global did nearly everything right, but Newgarden still found a way to win.Marcus Ericsson left feeling bittersweet after career-high laps ledDespite leading a career-high 114 laps and delivering his best result of the season, Ericsson was not entirely satisfied with second place.The No. 28 Honda had the pace to control the race from the front, and Ericsson felt he could have held on with track position.“No, it’s definitely bittersweet after leading that many laps, having a great car underneath me. We drove all the way to the front, was feeling really good up front.“Josef is good around these tracks. He got track position on us at one of the stops. Yeah, it’s just hard to get around him.“Bittersweet, but the Honda was great all night. Thought I drove really well. A good result for us. But yeah, of course you want that win when you’re that close to it.”The race turned during the pit sequence around Laps 177 and 178, when Newgarden gained track position that Ericsson could not reclaim.Ericsson has not won an IndyCar race since the 2023 season opener in St. Petersburg, and this near miss clearly stung.“That one pit sequence Josef got around us, we had a couple of go’s at him after that, but he was a bit too strong up front. Yeah, it’s bittersweet, but I’m really proud of the #28 crew and my performance. I think I drove my everything out there.”That is why the result felt both encouraging and painful. Ericsson showed Andretti has made real progress, but Newgarden still had the final say.Read more:Ross Chastain wants to make it up to fan who got hit by exploding brake rotor at Cracker Barrel 400IndyCar Bommarito Automotive Group 500: Event information, where to watch, and starting lineupDavid Malukas gives ‘really happy’ verdict despite missing out on Bommarito Automotive Group 500

Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty ImagesJon Rahm has made a significant move after LIV Golf Andalucia by returning to the top 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR).Rahm finished second at Real Club Valderrama, two shots behind his Legion XII teammate and winner Tyrrell Hatton.The event coincided with the latest on the PGA Tour, with the Memorial Tournament having taken place at Muirfield Village.And it was J.T. Poston who emerged victorious, defeating fellow American Ryan Gerard in a playoff to claim his fourth career PGA Tour win.He has enjoyed a stunning rise in the OWGR after his success, although a place in the top 10 remains some way away.Jon Rahm returns to OWGR top 10 as Collin Morikawa slipsAfter winning the Memorial Tournament, Poston has risen from 94th to 39th, while LIV Golf Andalucia champion Hatton is up from 27th to 21st.It is, however, Scottie Scheffler who remains top of the pile, with the world number one followed closely by Rory McIlroy in second.Also unchanged from third to sixth are Cameron Young, Matt Fitzpatrick, Russell Henley and Justin Rose.But Tommy Fleetwood has managed to rise one place to sixth after finishing T4 at Muirfield, and he is closely followed by Rahm.A former world number one, the LIV Golf star now finds himself back in the top 10 of the OWGR in eighth.It is the first time that he has been in that position since the summer of 2024.Meanwhile, J.J. Spaun is unmoved behind him in ninth, but Collin Morikawa has dropped three places to 10th.Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty ImagesJon Rahm enjoys extraordinary OWGR riseIt has been a roller-coaster time of late for Rahm, who looked back to his usual self at LIV Golf Andalucia.He really impressed on home soil, returning to top form after finishing T16 in Korea, his only finish outside the top 10 all season.Such formidable displays place him atop the LIV Golf individual standings, with the Spaniard currently on track to claim a third successive title.He was able to take that form into the PGA Championship, finishing in a tie for second, but that arrived shortly after a T38 finish at The Masters.Notably, his current form has certainly been rewarded in the OWGR, where Rahm has enjoyed a remarkable rise in a very brief period.Given LIV Golf’s previous lack of recognition by the rankings, the Spaniard found himself all the way down in 97th place at the start of 2026.But he has stormed his way back into the top 10, which certainly deserves praise amid LIV Golf’s continued strained relationship with ranking points.Read more:Jon Rahm predicted to complete the career Grand Slam before retiring from golf as ‘unbelievable’ run expectedSeveral LIV Golf players to consider leaving the league if one change is made from next seasonScottie Scheffler admits what was unusual about his game at the Memorial after ‘frustrating’ tournament

Donald Trump stormed out of an NBC interview on Sunday when challenged about his claim that the 2020 election was stolen. Trump was talking about the January 6 rioters, who he pardoned en masse last year, when journalist Kristen Welker said, “Just to be very clear, there’s no evidence of what you’re saying.” She was likely referring to the over 60 lawsuits his campaign brought to challenge various state election results that year and how they were all withdrawn, dismissed, or ruled against on their merits. Related Trump has people wondering if he’s about to die with his latest social media post “There’s tremendous evidence!” Trump responded angrily. “There’s nothing but evidence. The election was rigged! It was a dirty election! He then said, “It’s happening again in California. They’re cheating.” He said that since it takes a while to count votes in California, that must mean they’re cheating. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Welker asked him for evidence that that’s happening, and Trump refused to provide any, just saying, “All I have to do is look.” “That’s not evidence,” Welker replied. “They’re crooked!” he shouted back. “Just like how you’re crooked! The press is crooked! Meet the Press is crooked!” Welker said she wasn’t crooked, and Trump then called her “stupid.” There was more crosstalk as Trump shouted about everyone being “crooked” and how the U.S. is a “third world country” before he said, “Let’s call it quits because I’ve had it!” He then kept berating her before calling her “darling,” putting his hand on her shoulder (perhaps to balance as he stood), and storming off. Trump has a meltdown and ends the interview Welker: Just to be very clear, there's no evidence of what you're saying.Trump: There’s a lot of evidence. There’s tremendous evidence. There’s nothing but evidence. The election was rigged. And it’s happening again in California.… pic.twitter.com/8xcPKFGE6m— Acyn (@Acyn) June 7, 2026 People pointed out that Trump’s behavior was unbecoming. Emotionally unstable man goes on paranoid, babbling rant.Somewhere in that suit, he has a small card with the codes to 1500 strategic nuclear weapons. https://t.co/ggwtvofV9X— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) June 7, 2026 Trump Calling Welker “crooked” “stupid” and then the ultimate—“darling”—for asking him what evidence he has that elections are rigged? What is “crooked” is the money for the ballroom, what is “stupid” are the tariffs. And what is “darling” is a first class journalist. https://t.co/Ar6zvB4jy9— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) June 7, 2026 His brain is broken and if you vote for any Republican at any level, this is what you're supporting: being an asshole at every turn, no matter what anyone says, because that's what the party is. https://t.co/ZFGOgX5VAn— Hemant Mehta (@hemantmehta) June 7, 2026 Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

A crowd that included Daniel Radcliffe, Cole Escola and Carrie Coon celebrated with whiskey ice cream at Rockefeller Center and show tunes at the Carlyle hotel.

The Iran war is pushing countries to prioritize domestic energy in order to protect themselves from volatile oil and natural gas markets.

Angola’s federation dream of snatching Castello Lukeba from FranceWhereas just a few years ago this phenomenon was limited to a handful of exceptions, it has now become commonplace to see dual-nationality footballers turn their backs on major European national teams to represent their parents’ country of origin.Whether it be Morocco, Senegal, Algeria or the Democratic Republic of the Congo, an increasing number of African football associations – which are becoming ever more structured and professional, and where significant investment has been made – are thus managing to persuade some of the greatest talents to come and represent them.Something to give smaller nations’ football associations food for thought, as they too are keen to secure the services of the best dual nationals. Starting with Angola, which, according to Carlos Alonso, vice-president of the Angolan Football Federation (FAF), is hoping to persuade the young Castello Lukeba (23) to join them, rather than France.“We’ve had a conversation with him. We’re trying to convince him to accept our project,” the official told Bola Em Campo. “But it is important to note that he was on France’s preliminary World Cup squad. He still believes he can play for Les Bleus. Aliou Cissé and his team, with the support of the Federation, will work to bring in some of these players who could have an immediate impact on our squad.”Born in Lyon, Lukeba is of Angolan descent, which could indeed allow him to represent Las Palancas Negras. However, at the age of 23, and with the RB Leipzig defender regarded as a player with great potential, it is France – where he has played at youth level since the Under-17s – to which he seems keen to pledge his allegiance.GFFN | Léo Aschi

The 2026 FIFA World Cup starts on Thursday. Running from June 11th to July 19th, the much-anticipated tournament will bring exciting matches in the world’s sport. 48 teams, through 104 fixtures, will give their all to achieve world glory. Argentina enters the tournament as defending champions after defeating France in the 2022 Final. Ahead of Thursday’s start of the tournament, here are bold predictions.MORE: San Francisco 49ers star fires off on NFL turf to grass change for FIFA World CupThe United States Fails to Advance from Group DMay 31, 2026; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; United States of America forward Christian Pulisic (10) reacts after scoring in the first half at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn ImagesThe US has had a rough stretch in the World Cup. The nation’s best finish was 3rd place in 1930. After failing to qualify in 2018, the United States were knocked out in 2022’s Round of 16. Qualifying as co-hosts, the United States starts in Group D with Australia, Paraguay, and Turkey. The US has the highest FIFA ranking of all Group D nations. However, the team’s recent struggles are hard to look past. Christian Pulisic is the team’s top player, but he does not have the supporting cast of previous US World Cup rosters that featured the likes of Landon Donovan, Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, and Jozy Altidore. Once again, the United States struggles in Group play, failing to advance.Kylian Mbappe Wins Golden Boot at 2026 World CupKylian Mbappe has fared well in his previous two World Cup tournaments. In 2018, Mbappe finished tied for second with four goals. In the last World Cup (2022), the French striker took home the Golden Boot after leading the tournament with eight goals. The 27-year-old will again lead all 2026 World Cup goal scorers. It will be a second consecutive Golden Boot for one of the world’s finest goal scorers.Canada Wins Group BJun 29, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Canada forward Jonathan David (10) controls the ball against Guatemala in the second half during a quarterfinal match of the 2025 Gold Cup at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn ImagesCanada is in its infancy stage with success in the sport. 2026 is the third time the nation has qualified for the World Cup. Les Rouges begin the 2026 World Cup in Group B with Bosnia-Herzegovina, Qatar, and Switzerland. Canada has fared well over the past year and is a team that should not be taken lightly. Forward Jonathan David will lead the team in scoring and see Canada as the winners of Group B.Spain Wins the 2026 World CupLa Roja enter the 2026 World Cup as winners of UEFA Euro 2024 and the 2010 World Cup. Spain’s squad has its eyes set on adding a second golden trophy. The nation starts the 2026 World Cup in Group H with Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, and Uruguay. The team will make quick work of their group foes and end the group stages atop of Group H. From there, Spain displays wonderful play on the pitch, advancing through each round. In the Final, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, La Roja defeated Argentina 3-1.— Enjoy free coverage of the top news & trending stories on The Big Lead —

The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off on June 11 and runs through July 19, 2026, with 104 matches between a record 48 countries taking place across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. In the U.S., all World Cup games will be televised across FOX and FS1, and Spanish-language coverage will air on Telemundo and Universo. If you’re looking for a way to watch the entire tournament on just one streaming platform, DIRECTV has you covered.With a subscription to one of DIRECTV’s Genre Packs®, you can tune in to every single game of the competition from the group stage all the way to the championship final on July 19. Want to see everything in English? DIRECTV’s MySports® Genre Pack® will do the job; plans start at $49.99/month. Only need Spanish-language access to games? A MiEspañol® Genre Pack® will get you Universo, Telemundo, and over 60 additional channels for just $34.99/month. And no matter which plan you choose, you can start off your subscription with a free 5-day trial period.Here’s everything you need to know to watch the 2026 FIFA World Cup with DIRECTV.Where to watch the 2026 World Cup:Dates: June 11 - July 19, 2026TV channels: FOX, FS1, Telemundo, UniversoStreaming: DIRECTVWhen is the 2026 FIFA World Cup?The 2026 World Cup begins June 11 and runs until July 19.What channels are showing the 2026 World Cup games?Every World Cup game will air in English on Fox and FS1. Spanish-language broadcasts of every World Cup game will air on Telemundo and Universo.Where to watch the 2026 World Cup without cable:Why we love DIRECTV:As Senior Yahoo Tech writer Rick Broida puts it, DIRECTV is the “polished and likable” cable alternative that cord-cutters have been searching for. Miss flipping through endless channels on the hunt for a gem to tune into? DIRECTV’s got one of the best channel guides out there. And in terms of content diversity, DIRECTV has you covered there, too, with packages ranging from hyper-specific Genre Packs for sports fans and reality TV zealots to full-coverage options for TV fans who want it all. Sports fans, meanwhile, will appreciate that ESPN Unlimited is included with many DIRECTV plans to boot. And don't worry about missing your favorite shows, either: In addition to live channels, DIRECTV offers a full range of on-demand programming and unlimited DVR, too. That's why we called DIRECTV the best cable TV replacement in the streaming world.2026 FIFA World Cup group stage schedule: All times EasternThursday, June 11Mexico vs South Africa: 3 p.m. (FOX) — Estadio Azteca, Mexico City South Korea vs Czechia: 10 p.m. (FS1) — Estadio Akron, ZapopanFriday, June 12Canada vs Bosnia and Herzegovina: 3 p.m. (FOX) — BMO Field, Toronto United States vs Paraguay: 9 p.m. (FOX) — SoFi Stadium, InglewoodSaturday, June 13Qatar vs Switzerland: 3 p.m. (FOX) — Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara Brazil vs Morocco: 6 p.m. (FS1) — MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford Haiti vs Scotland: 9 p.m. (FS1) — Gillette Stadium, FoxboroughSunday, June 14Australia vs Türkiye: 12 a.m. (FS1) — BC Place, Vancouver Germany vs Willemstad Curaçao: 1 p.m. (FOX) — NRG Stadium, Houston Netherlands vs Japan: 4 p.m. (FOX) — AT&T Stadium, Arlington Ivory Coast vs Ecuador: 7 p.m. (FS1) — Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia Sweden vs Tunisia: 10 p.m. (FS1) — Estadio BBVA Bancomer, GuadalupeMonday, June 15Spain vs Cape Verde: 12 p.m. (FOX) — Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta Belgium vs Egypt: 3 p.m. (FOX) — Lumen Field, Seattle Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay: 6 p.m. (FS1) — Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Iran vs New Zealand: 9 p.m. (FS1) — SoFi Stadium, InglewoodTuesday, June 16France vs Senegal: 3 p.m. (FOX) — MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford Iraq vs Norway: 6 p.m. (FOX) — Gillette Stadium, Foxborough Argentina vs Algeria: 9 p.m. (FOX) — Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas CityWednesday, June 17Austria vs Jordan: 12 a.m. (FS1) — Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara Portugal vs DR Congo: 1 p.m. (FOX) — NRG Stadium, Houston England vs Croatia: 4 p.m. (FOX) — AT&T Stadium, Arlington Ghana vs Panama: 7 p.m. (FS1) — BMO Field, Toronto Uzbekistan vs Colombia: 10 p.m. (FS1) — Estadio Azteca, Mexico CityThursday, June 18Czechia vs South Africa: 12 p.m. (FOX) — Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta Switzerland vs Bosnia and Herzegovina: 3 p.m. (FOX) — SoFi Stadium, Inglewood Canada vs Qatar: 6 p.m. (FS1) — BC Place, Vancouver Mexico vs South Korea: 9 p.m. (FOX) — Estadio Akron, ZapopanFriday, June 19United States vs Australia: 3 p.m. (FOX) — Lumen Field, Seattle Scotland vs Morocco: 6 p.m. (FOX) — Gillette Stadium, Foxborough Brazil vs Haiti: 8:30 p.m. (FOX) — Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia Türkiye vs Paraguay: 11 p.m. (FS1) — Levi's Stadium, Santa ClaraSaturday, June 20Netherlands vs Sweden: 1 p.m. (FOX) — NRG Stadium, Houston Germany vs Ivory Coast: 4 p.m. (FOX) — BMO Field, Toronto Ecuador vs Willemstad Curaçao: 8 p.m. (FS1) — Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas CitySunday, June 21Tunisia vs Japan: 12 a.m. (FS1) — Estadio BBVA Bancomer, Guadalupe Spain vs Saudi Arabia: 12 p.m. (FOX) — Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta Belgium vs Iran: 3 p.m. (FS1) — SoFi Stadium, Inglewood Uruguay vs Cape Verde: 6 p.m. (FS1) — Hard Rock Stadium, Miami New Zealand vs Egypt: 9 p.m. (FS1) — BC Place, VancouverMonday, June 22Argentina vs Austria: 1 p.m. (FOX) — AT&T Stadium, Arlington France vs Iraq: 5 p.m. (FOX) — Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia Norway vs Senegal: 8 p.m. (FOX) — MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford Jordan vs Algeria: 11 p.m. (FS1) — Levi's Stadium, Santa ClaraTuesday, June 23Portugal vs Uzbekistan: 1 p.m. (FOX) — NRG Stadium, Houston England vs Ghana: 4 p.m. (FOX) — Gillette Stadium, Foxborough Panama vs Croatia: 7 p.m. (FOX) — BMO Field, Toronto Colombia vs DR Congo: 10 p.m. (FS1) — Estadio Akron, ZapopanWednesday, June 24Switzerland vs Canada: 3 p.m. (FOX) — BC Place, Vancouver Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Qatar: 3 p.m. (FS1) — Lumen Field, Seattle Scotland vs Brazil: 6 p.m. (FOX) — Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Morocco vs Haiti: 6 p.m. (FS1) — Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta Czechia vs Mexico: 9 p.m. (FOX) — Estadio Azteca, Mexico City South Africa vs South Korea: 9 p.m. (FS1) — Estadio BBVA Bancomer, GuadalupeThursday, June 25Ecuador vs Germany: 4 p.m. (FOX) — MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford Willemstad Curaçao vs Ivory Coast: 4 p.m. (FS1) — Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia Tunisia vs Netherlands: 7 p.m. (FOX) — Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City Japan vs Sweden: 7 p.m. (FS1) — AT&T Stadium, Arlington Türkiye vs United States: 10 p.m. (FOX) — SoFi Stadium, Inglewood Paraguay vs Australia: 10 p.m. (FS1) — Levi's Stadium, Santa ClaraFriday, June 26Norway vs France: 3 p.m. (FOX) — Gillette Stadium, Foxborough Senegal vs Iraq: 3 p.m. (FS1) — BMO Field, Toronto Uruguay vs Spain: 8 p.m. (FOX) — Estadio Akron, Zapopan Cape Verde vs Saudi Arabia: 8 p.m. (FS1) — NRG Stadium, Houston New Zealand vs Belgium: 11 p.m. (FOX) — BC Place, Vancouver Egypt vs Iran: 11 p.m. (FS1) — Lumen Field, SeattleSaturday, June 27Panama vs England: 5 p.m. (FOX) — MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford Croatia vs Ghana: 5 p.m. (FS1) — Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia Colombia vs Portugal: 7:30 p.m. (FOX) — Hard Rock Stadium, Miami DR Congo vs Uzbekistan: 7:30 p.m. (FS1) — Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta Jordan vs Argentina: 10 p.m. (FOX) — AT&T Stadium, Arlington Algeria vs Austria: 10 p.m. (FS1) — Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City

After another exciting week of the high school softball playoffs, it's time to look back on the best performances.Read about the players who stood out last week and let us know who you think should be the Morris/Sussex Player of the Week in the poll at the bottom of this page.Voting closes at 5 p.m. Thursday.Julia Fox, Morris KnollsThe senior second baseman went 3-for-4 with three RBIs in a 10-2 win over Mount Olive on June 2 in the North 1, Group 4 sectional semifinals. Fox drove in two runs with a single on June 4 in the sectional final, a 4-1 win for the Golden Eagles.Anna Hendricks, Whippany ParkThe freshman infielder went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and five RBIs as the Wildcats cruised past Brearley, 14-2, on June 2 in the North 2, Group 1 sectional semifinals. In her first season with Whippany Park, Hendricks finished with a .458 batting average.Sophia Matullo, RoxburyThe sophomore outfielder drove in a run during a 4-2 win for the Gaels over Randolph in the North 1, Group 3 sectional semifinals on June 2. Matullo struck her 12th home run of the season in the sectional final on June 4 against Morris Hills. Matullo also stole a potential home run with a catch over the fence in a 2-0 win for the school's seventh sectional championship.Sydney Ribnicky, RoxburyThe senior pitcher struck out 13 batters in a 4-2 win over Randolph in the North 1, Group 3 sectional semifinals on June 2. On June 4, Ribnicky struck out eight in a one-hit shutout, a 2-0 win over Morris Hills for the program's first sectional championship since 2022. Ribnicky also had three hits during the two games with two doubles in the semifinal and a solo home run in the sectional final.Jessica Seprish, Morris KnollsThe sophomore pitcher struck out four batters across 1.2 innings of relief in a 10-2 win over Mount Olive in the North 1, Group 4 sectional semifinals on June 2. Seprish came into the sectional final on June 4 in relief after one out was recorded. Seprish went a career long 6.2 innings, allowing one hit and striking out nine in a 4-1 win over Passaic Tech.Grace Waldrum, Hanover ParkThe senior infielder went 2-for-2 with a pair of home runs and four RBIs in a 12-0 win over Rutherford in the North 2, Group 2 sectional semifinals. Waldrum went 2-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI, the 99th of her career, in a 5-4 loss to Governor Livingston in the sectional final on June 4.Lyla Zusi, Morris HillsThe junior outfielder's two-run single in the top of the fifth inning pushed Morris Hills to a 2-1 win over Montville in the North 1, Group 3 sectional semifinal on June 2. Zusi finished her junior season with a career-best 45 hits and 22 stolen bases.Vote!

The 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, is poised to be the largest in history, with an expanded 48-team field, 16 stadiums, and a record 104 matches over 39 days. This marks the first tournament since FIFA expanded from 32 to 48 teams, introducing four additional groups and a new round of 32 in the knockout phase.The expansion departs from the 32-team, 64-game format of the last seven editions since 1998. It is also only the second World Cup played across multiple countries, following Japan and South Korea in 2002.The 16 venues will see Mexico stage 13 matches, including the June 11 opener in Mexico City between the host team and South Africa, plus three knockout fixtures. Canada also secures 13 matches, with its June 12 inaugural game in Toronto featuring the hosts against Bosnia-Herzegovina, alongside three knockout rounds. The United States will host the majority, with 78 matches across 11 sites, commencing with the American team facing Paraguay on June 12 in the Los Angeles area. All quarterfinal, semifinal, and the final match will be held in the U.S., culminating at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.1,248The upcoming World Cup is set to feature a record 1,248 players, drawn from 449 domestic clubs across 71 nations, underscoring the tournament's vast global footprint. Among these athletes, 357 bring prior World Cup experience, while a significant 891 are poised to make their debut on football's grandest stage.England-based clubs lead the way in contributions, supplying 200 players to national rosters. Germany follows with 109, ahead of France and Spain, both providing 86 players. Italy adds 71, and Saudi Arabia 49. Major League Soccer will also see a record 44 active players participate, with 103 having some past experience in the league.At the club level, Manchester City of the Premier League boast the highest representation with a record 19 players. German giants Bayern Munich are close behind with 18, while Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal each contribute 16. Spanish powerhouse Barcelona rounds out the top clubs with 15 players.Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo leads all players in the tournament with 226 caps (Getty Images)226Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo leads all players in the tournament with 226 caps — the most ever by a single men's player — as he is set to join Argentina's Lionel Messi as the only players to appear in six World Cups.Ronaldo is the only player to score in five World Cups with eight goals in his 22 matches.Messi has the most career World Cup matches with 26 and needs two appearances to become the third man with at least 200 caps (Bader Al-Mutawa, Kuwait, also has more 200 appearances in international play). Croatia’s Luka Modric is three short of joining that group.Mexico's Guillermo Ochoa is on a World Cup roster for the sixth time but didn't appear in a game in 2006 or 2010.16Miroslav Klose’s record of 16 career goals for Germany could jeopardy in this year’s edition. Messi comes into the tournament with 13 career goals, trailing only Klose, Brazilian star Ronaldo (15) and Gerd Muller (14). France’s Kylian Mbappe is also in range having scored 12 goals combined in the past two tournaments8Only eight countries have won the World Cup with six of those teams winning multiple titles led by Brazil's five. The only first-time winners in the last 11 Cups came in 1998 when France won the first of its two titles and in 2010 when Spain won it all.2Only two countries have repeated as champions with Pele leading Brazil to titles in 1958 and ‘62, and Italy winning it in 1934 and ’38. Three other defending champions made it to the title game, including France four years ago before losing to Argentina.6There have been six defending champions who failed to make it out of the group stage, including in three of the last four editions. France made it back to the final in 2022 but Italy (2010), Spain (2014) and Germany (2018) all get eliminated before the knockout rounds.3France will try to become the third county to make it to three straight finals after winning it in 2018 and losing in 2022. West Germany lost the final in 1982 and '86 before beating Argentina in 1990. Brazil had wins in 1994 and 2002 around a title game loss to France in 1998.23Brazil is the only country to appear in all 23 editions of the World Cup starting in 1930 in Uruguay. The Brazilians also lead all countries with 76 wins, 237 goals and a plus-129 goal differential. Germany is next in all three categories with 21 appearances, 232 goals and a plus-102 goal differential, including 10 appearances as West Germany before reunification.4There are four countries making their World Cup debuts with Cape Verde, Curaçao, Jordan and Uzbekistan the newcomers this time around. That will increase the total of countries to compete in the World Cup to 84 all-time.7Egypt has played seven World Cup matches without a win. The Egyptians are 0-5-2 and will try to break through starting June 15 against Belgium. The only country with more games and no wins is Honduras with nine. Honduras didn't qualify this year.2,720There have been 2,720 goals scored in 964 matches in the first 22 World Cups. With the additional 40 games, the record of 172 goals in a tournament set in Qatar in 2022 should be broken. The record of 5.38 combined goals per game set in 1954 should be safe.25There is more than 25 years separating the oldest player from the youngest. Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon will be 43 years and 162 days old on the first day of the tournament, while Mexico's Gilbert Mora will be 17 years, 240 days old.

FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 qualifying leaves several Arsenal stars waitingAustralia are already through with three Arsenal players, while England, Ireland, Spain, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands still have work to do.Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty ImagesFIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 qualification updateMore teams have qualified for the tournament, which will take place next summer in Brazil.There are 29 direct places available, with three more to be decided through the intercontinental play-offs.Germany became the first European team to qualify after winning their group with one game to spare.Colombia and Argentina have also qualified from CONMEBOL.The current allocation and qualified teams are as follows:AFC (6): Australia, China PR, Korea R, Japan, Philippines, Korea DPRCAF (4):CONCACAF (4):CONMEBOL (3): Brazil, Colombia, ArgentinaUEFA (11): GermanyThe following teams have qualified for the intercontinental play-offs:AFC (2): Uzbekistan, Chinese TaipeiCAF (2):CONCACAF (2):CONMEBOL (2):OFC (1): Papua New GuineaUEFA (1)In terms of Arsenal players, Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord and Kyra Cooney-Cross are already through with Australia.Manuela Zinsberger has qualified for the UEFA Women’s World Cup play-offs with Austria after they failed to win their group.Barbora Votikova is also in the UEFA Women’s World Cup play-offs, with the Czech Republic top of their League B group.Daphne van Domselaar and Victoria Pelova face a more uncertain route with the Netherlands, who are currently third in their group. They need to beat Poland and hope for a draw between France and the Republic of Ireland to qualify directly for the World Cup. Any other outcome would send them into the UEFA play-offs.Emily Fox will begin qualifying later in 2026 with the USA, who need only to win one game, against El Salvador, to reach the World Cup.Lotte Wubben-Moy, Leah Williamson, Taylor Hinds, Beth Mead, Chloe Kelly, Alessia Russo and Michelle Agyemang are facing the prospect of the UEFA play-offs with England after a 4-0 defeat away to Spain.Laia Codina and Mariona Caldentey are close to qualifying with Spain after that win over England. Spain need to beat Iceland on the final day to secure their place at the World Cup.Katie McCabe and Ireland will play a winner-takes-all game away to France. Victory would send them to the World Cup, while any other result would leave them in the UEFA play-offs.Smilla Holmberg and Stina Blackstenius will also have to go through the play-offs with Sweden after a disappointing campaign cost them a direct place.Frida Maanum and Norway finished second in their group behind Germany, meaning they will also enter the UEFA play-offs.Olivia Smith is in a similar position to Fox, with Canada needing only to beat Panama to qualify.There is little doubt that Arsenal will have a significant contingent at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, although several of their players still have work to do before their places in Brazil are confirmed.

Real Madrid star may be forced out if Florentino Perez completes Galactico signingReal Madrid President Florentino Perez, newly elected after defeating Enrique Riquelme on Sunday night in the vote with a comfortable margin, has promised that this week he will make a €150m bid for a ‘Galactico signing’. Los Blancos have been linked with several names to fit that bill, but there is reportedly a preferred name.The latest links to emerge are to Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez, with Los Colchoneros seemingly demanding €150m in order to do business for the Argentina international. That fee would fit the bid that Perez is keen to make, but last week it was revealed that Real Madrid would be pursuing one of Paris Saint-Germain midfield duo Vitinha and Joao Neves, or Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise.Michael Olise move would all but end Rodrygo Goes stayOlise is seemingly the option that most seduces Los Blancos, with the French forward having shown the Santiago Bernabeu just how good he can be following their Champions League quarter-final this season. Diario AS note that if Olise were to be signed, then it would spell the end of Rodrygo Goe’ Real Madrid career. The Brazilian is currently recovering from a cruciate ligament injury that is likely to keep him out until 2027.The Brazilian was already struggling for a starting role before his injury, and the arrival of Olise would slam the door on his chances of having sufficient minutes.Bayern Munich have no intention of selling OliseImage via Reinaldo Coddou H./Getty ImagesWorking in his favour is that Bayern Munich seemingly have no intention of selling Olise. Bayern President Herbert Hainer has been public about the fact, and noted that not even a €200m bid would force their hand. Rodrygo was heavily linked with a move last summer, but the Real Madrid side he will be returning to will likely look very different.

Victoria Mboko had heard the rumors that Serena Williams was coming back to tennis, but didn't know much more than that. Until she got a message last month. From Williams. "Serena ... asked if I wanted to play doubles with her here. I wasn’t partnered up with anyone, so I was like, 'Yeah, sure, why not? That’s pretty cool,'" Mboko recalled on Sunday, June 7."It’s really exciting to play with her," Mboko said, "and I’m really looking forward to it."Williams and Mboko will play doubles Tuesday, June 9, at the HSBC Championships in what will be Williams' first tournament in almost four years.Here's more on Mboko:How old is Victoria Mboko?Mboko is just 19 years old, 25 years younger than Serena Williams. She'll turn 20 on Aug. 26.Where is Victoria Mboko from?Mboko, who goes by Vicky, was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, where her parents had moved in 1999 to flee political turmoil in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The family moved to Toronto when Mboko was two months old. How did Victoria Mboko begin playing tennis?Mboko is the youngest of four children. Her older siblings play tennis and, like so many other youngest children, she followed what they were doing. She first picked up a racket when she was 3. "I just remember watching them from the sidelines and not wanting to be left out," Mboko told the WTA.Did Victoria Mboko look up to Serena Williams? Mboko's family would go to the Rogers Cup, now the National Bank Open, in Toronto, and Mboko remembers watching Williams and older sister Venus play there. She also would watch Williams' matches on TV. "Growing up, Serena has always been my idol," Mboko said. "It was really hard not to like her because she won like every tournament she played. She was a really easy idol for me."Has Victoria Mboko had success as a pro? Mboko has had a quick rise, going from No. 333 in the world at the beginning of 2025 to No. 9 currently. She is only the fourth Canadian woman to reach the top 10.Mboko played in her first WTA 1000 event at the Miami Open in 2025. Not even four months later, she had her first win, beating Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka on her way to the title at the National Bank Open, her "home" tournament. Mboko won her second title at the Hong Kong Open last year, and was voted the WTA's Newcomer of the Year. This year, Mboko has made the finals in Adelaide, Qatar and Strasbourg. "I was quite impressed with her game, I was impressed with her attitude," Williams said, recalling her impressions of Mboko after watcher her win her first tournament. "What I liked the most about her was the next time she played, she still kept winning. I was like, 'OK, I love that.' It reminded me a lot of myself," Williams added. "Sometimes you win one and then you have a little bit of a lull. Which is normal, and that’s OK as well. But I loved how she had this drive."What has it been like to play with Serena Williams? Mboko didn't really know Williams before they started practicing last week. But it's been "a pleasure" so far. "She’s a really funny person," Mboko said. "I feel like I can learn a lot from her but, at the same time, I think we can have a lot of fun."I really admire her a lot," Mboko added. "I'm just really excited to step out with her."This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Serena Williams' doubles partner Victoria Mboko is rising tennis star

The Atlanta Falcons still have a few roster holes that they should try to address before the 2026 NFL season begins. Defensive tackle and wide receiver should still be at the top of the list. They may also need to add help on the edge in the event that James Pearce Jr. gets suspended by the NFL for a significant portion of the season.One spot that they definitely don't have to worry about is running back, where they're as well set as any team in the league. At the top of the depth chart is superstar Bijan Robinson - who's expected to sign a new contract this summer that should make him the highest-paid running back in football.Robinson will be worth every penny so long as he doesn't suffer a major career-shortening injury, and his ceiling is about as high as anyone who's ever played the position.The Falcons also have a new backup behind Bijan after having let Tyler Allgeier walk in free agency, landing a two-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals. They have replaced Allgeier with Brian Robinson Jr., a former third-round pick by Washington who spent last season with the 49ers.Moe Moton at Bleacher Report has ranked this new duo as the fourth-best in the NFL this year."The Atlanta Falcons should have a clever nickname for their backfield duo who have the same initials—B.R. squared? ... Every year in the league, Robinson has seen his reception totals increase. It's only a matter of time until he joins an elite group of players to finish a season with 1,000 rushing and receiving yards, which could be this year... One can make the case that Robinson's career touchdown total (25) is a bit underwhelming for a running back with over 1,000 touches. His running mate, Brian Robinson, could flourish in short-yardage situations."Robinson's touchdown total may be a bit low compared to other elite running backs, but Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley haven't had an Allgeier vulturing their red zone carries. It's certainly no concern for the Falcons, anyway.In three years as a starter for the Commanders, the other Robinson posted 2,329 rushing yards, averaged 4.1 yards per carry and scored 15 touchdowns. He added another 587 yards and five scores as a receiver. Last season as a backup behind Christian McCaffrey he chipped in 400 yards and two touchdowns.Those aren't set the world on fire numbers, but they're more than enough for a competent No. 2 option, especially when your No. 1 is named Bijan Robinson.The only real question about this duo is what nickname will stick. We're fond of Missile Family Robinson, but there's plenty of time to come up with something better before Week 1.This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Bijan Robinson and Brian Robinson Jr. ranked fourth best RB duo by B/R

The Los Angeles Lakers have multiple roster needs they need to address if they are to become championship contenders, and one of them is their center rotation. Deandre Ayton, their starting center this center, played well at times but was seen as a disappointment, and his backup, Jaxson Hayes, is very limited, especially on the offensive end of the floor.The team could have a few options as far as upgrading at the 5 this offseason. According to NBA reporter Jake Weinbach, Los Angeles is a possible landing spot for Nic Claxton, a defensive-minded center who is currently a member of the Brooklyn Nets."Nic Claxton is another starting-level center that will likely be discussed in trade talks as the Nets evaluate the roster this summer," Weinbach wrote on X (formerly Twitter)."The Lakers, Clippers, and Hornets are teams worth noting as possible landing spots for the 27-year-old big man."Claxton has been linked to the Lakers in the past. He averaged 11.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.1 blocks in 27.8 minutes a game this season, and while he doesn't have a perimeter jumper in his bag, at 6-foot-11, he seems to fit the prototype of the rim-protecting, rim-running center L.A. needs.He has two years left on his contract and will make $23.15 million next season. He was originally a second-round draft pick in 2019, and just three years ago, he got some votes in the balloting for the Defensive Player of the Year award. His rebounding and shot-blocking production have fallen off a bit in the last couple of years, but he remains strong in both categories, and he has converted well over 100 dunks in each of the last four seasons.This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Report: Lakers are a possible landing spot for Nic Claxton

A grand jury in New York ruled that a judge who refused to marry a same-sex couple in 2024 should be removed from office, ripping into her by accusing her of “[laying] bare her bigotry towards homosexual people and her willingness to put her personal feelings above her oath as an official charged with discharging the law.” In late 2024, the story broke about how Syracuse City Court Judge Felicia Pitts-Davis performed a marriage for a straight couple and then left the courtroom without explanation, just as the next wedding scheduled for that day – between two women, Shawntay and Niccora Davis, ages 33 and 29 – was scheduled to start. The couple was dumbfounded and had to wait for another judge to arrive to officiate the marriage. Related Texas will now let judges refuse to marry same-sex couples if it goes against their religion “She looked at us with this look on her face and swished her hair,” the Davises said at the time. “She just walked off. Like, she was just disgusted or something.” A grand jury investigated, talking to six witnesses and examining three exhibits. A grand jury can investigate public officials in the state of New York for misconduct. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today The jury recommended Judge Pitts-Davis’s removal last week in a unanimous decision. She then tried to have the report sealed, but the grand jury refused her request and released a copy over the weekend, which the Syracuse Post-Standard obtained. The report provides more details that demonstrate that what happened wasn’t a simple misunderstanding. Judge Pitts-Davis, it says, asked Syracuse City Court Clerk Lucille Matrassi on November 15, 2024, if either of the weddings scheduled for the next day was for a same-sex couple. Matrassi said that one was – the Davis’ wedding – and Pitts-Davis told her that her religious beliefs prevented her from officiating. She told Matrassi to move the Davis’ wedding to another day with another judge and said she “would like for this conversation to stay between us.” Matrassi tried to comply and told the Davises that their wedding would have to be moved, but the women had already booked everything for a reception after the courtroom wedding, so they got upset. That’s when Matrassi contacted Chief Clerk Valerie James, who then reported the matter to Supervising Syracuse City Court Judge Mary Anne Doherty. On the day of the wedding, Pitts-Davis performed the first marriage for an opposite-sex couple. She reportedly got emotional and cried during their wedding. Then, when it was time for the Davises’ wedding, she left the room without saying anything. “It made me feel small,” Shawntay Davis testified before the grand jury, adding that she saw “disgust on [Pitts-Davis’] face.” “It made me feel like I wasn’t normal.” Doherty, who is herself married to a woman, came into the courtroom to perform the Davises’ wedding. She was supposed to be on her day off that day, but she couldn’t just let Pitts-Davis ruin the women’s big day. Doherty later testified to the grand jury that there had never been a situation like that, where a judge refused to marry a same-sex couple, in the Syracuse City Court. The grand jury unanimously concluded that Pitts-Davis singled out the Davises for different treatment and that she attempted to conceal her motives by asking the clerk not to talk about the situation with anyone. They also said that she could have refused to perform all marriages, since judges in that city aren’t required to perform marriages, but they’re not allowed to discriminate against same-sex, interracial, or interfaith couples. The jury recommended she be removed. A grand jury doesn’t have the power to remove a judge, but its report was submitted to Onondaga County Court Judge Theodore Limpert. Shawntay Davis said that Judge Doherty, the one who ultimately performed their marriage, talked to them about how she herself has been married to a woman since the early 2000s and now has twins with her wife. “We really appreciate and thank [Doherty] for her doing that,” she said. Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

I didn’t plan it this way, but it’s a good coincidence that my interview with Devindra Hardawar is coming out on the week that the first Star Wars movie in years is being crushed at the box office by two low budget horror movies. Something is extremely off at Hollywood, or at least the old studio executives and streamers who control most of the money that funds movies. This week we’re joined by Devindra Hardawar. Devindra is a senior editor at Engadget and a co-host of The Filmcast, a podcast about film I’ve been listening to for 15 years. We’ve covered the intersection of the movie industry and AI here and there on 404 Media, but Devindra lives at that intersection. He’s the perfect person to talk to about AI and film, but also the state of the industry more broadly, how to fit movies into your life in the age of the infinite scroll, how to introduce kids to film, and more. 404 Media is a journalist-founded company and needs your support. To subscribe, go to 404media.co. As well as bonus content every single week, subscribers also get access to additional episodes where we respond to their best comments. And, they get early access to our interview series too. Gain access to that content at 404media.co.

The NCAA could be facing an unprecedented situation in 2026.Lubbock County (Texas) Judge Ken Curry ruled Monday to grant Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby a temporary injunction to play football for the Red Raiders in 2026. Sorsby had filed a lawsuit against the NCAA after he was ruled ineligible for placing bets on Indiana while he was a redshirt freshman for the Hoosiers in 2022.Sorsby has admitted to placing bets on Indiana and his teammates while he was on the bench. In a court filing, Sorsby admitted to at least 40 Indiana-related bets while with the team, but said that he was always betting on his teammates to succeed.The NCAA will likely appeal the ruling.In his decision, Curry said that Sorsby and his legal team had “demonstrated that he will suffer a probably, imminent, and irreparable injury” if the court did not issue the temporary injunction.Sorsby's attorneys argued that the NCAA did not act by its own rules in failing to consider Sorsby's wellbeing when ruling him ineligible. Sorsby recently completed an inpatient stay at a treatment facility for a gambling addiction, an affliction that is officially recognized as a mental health disorder.The NCAA has said that it did take Sorsby's mental health into account and that his gambling addiction does not mean he can avoid the consequences of his actions. It also said that Sorsby will be the first player to compete either collegiately or professionally after admitting to betting on his own team.Sorsby placed thousands of bets over the past four years and even used accounts from friends and family members to wager. His betting continued after he transferred to Texas Tech during the offseason. Sorsby, who starred for Cincinnati, committed to Texas Tech for his final season of college football after the 2025 season.Per NCAA rules, players who bet on their own sport or team face the permanent loss of eligibility. Former Iowa State quarterback Hunter Dekkers lost his eligibility after betting on ISU while as a bench player, and numerous former basketball players have had their eligibility stripped for their roles in a widespread college basketball match fixing scheme.

Wicketkeeper Amy Jones batted at three in the preceding series v India [Getty Images]ICC Women's T20 World Cup warm-up, CardiffEngland: yet to batAustralia: yet to batScorecardEngland have dropped Sophia Dunkley and promoted Amy Jones to open for their T20 World Cup warm-up against Australia in Cardiff.Dunkley's place was vulnerable after she scored 98 runs in six innings during England's preceding series against New Zealand and India, with a highest score of 26. Both openers fell cheaply, though, with Jones caught at mid-off for two and Danni Wyatt-Hodge bowled for four.Captain Nat Sciver-Brunt replaced Dunkley in the top six, batting at three in her first international appearance of the summer, while the in-form Alice Capsey remains at four - which is likely to be the line-up for England's tournament opener against Sri Lanka on Friday.Sciver-Brunt is playing as a specialist batter as she continues her recovery from a calf injury.Australia won the toss and chose to bowl first at Sophia Gardens, where England also play India in their second warm-up match on Wednesday. England will not enforce World Cup social media banNever any doubt about Knight's England spot - EdwardsWomen's T20 World Cup schedule, fixtures, times & results

Gary Neville: Bellingham is “a star, not a sub” for EnglandOllie Whitmore, Chief football news reporterSky Sports Football pundit Gary Neville pressed that England midfielder “Jude Bellingham is not a sub”, adding to the debate as to who Thomas Tuchel should start in the number 10 position at the World Cup.In an interview with The Telegraph, the Manchester United legend voiced his preference for Real Madrid’s number five over Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers, both of whom had 45 minutes in the Three Lions’ warm-up game against New Zealand.Bellingham, still just 22 years old, will feature at his fourth international tournament for England after notching four goals and six assists in Los Blancos’ trophyless campaign, while Rogers registered 16 goal involvements in 2025/26.Neville said: “I love Morgan Rogers – love him. But let’s be clear, Jude Bellingham is not a sub. He’s a star. That’s it. He’s a star.”The Villa star played the entirety of a low-energy first half between England and the World Cup’s lowest-ranked side, creating two chances and completing 18 of his 22 total passes for a success rate of 82% overall.Bellingham then replaced him after the break in a like-for-like change, in turn fuelling the ongoing debate as to who should start, completing all of his 32 passes and one dribble despite skying a shot high over the bar late on.The La Liga midfielder also won over two thirds of his ground duels against New Zealand, who found it very challenging to shrug one of world football’s most industrious players off of the ball.Rogers has also enjoyed a successful season and, unlike Bellingham, ended it with a piece of silverware as Unai Emrey’s team lifted the Europa League following a dominant 3-0 victory over Bundesliga side Freiberg in the final.The 27-year-old was an instrumental part to a fifth triumph for Emrey, the competition’s most decorated manager, registering eight goal involvements – just over a quarter of Aston Villa’s leading total in the competition.It is also worth noting that Rogers has been utilised as a winger by Villa and England, and is capable of playing both on the left and right hand side, which depending on how others perform may leave Bellingham unchallenged.La Liga runners up Madrid ended an uninspiring campaign eight points behind El Clásico rivals Barcelona, led by Hansi Flick.The former England international also believes that holding midfielders Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson, tipped by many fans to start alongside one another, must have “world-class summers” if England are to end 60 years of hurt.Neville said this will be Tuchel’s “biggest job”, adding they must be “protecting the back four” at all times.England kick-start their World Cup campaign against Croatia on Wednesday the 17th of June in Kansas City at 21:00 (GMT), before facing fellow Group L opponents Panama and Ghana later in the tournament.Who should start in the number 10 for the Three Lions? Let us know in the comments.

NEW DELHI: India took complete control of the lone Test against Afghanistan on Day 3, bowling the visitors out for 152 and enforcing the follow-on. The star of the day was debutant Manav Suthar, who produced a stunning six-wicket haul to dismantle Afghanistan's batting line-up and put the hosts in a commanding position.Speaking on JioStar's ‘Cricket Live’, Sunil Gavaskar praised the young left-arm spinner's skill and accuracy, dismissing the notion that Indian spinners succeed only because of spin-friendly pitches."People say a spin bowler is successful in India because he gets help from the pitch, the conditions are favourable for him. But I would say, here against Afghanistan, take the pitch out of the equation. Bowling comes down to skill and control. And that is exactly what this young man showed," he said.Gavaskar highlighted Suthar's consistency and ability to trouble batters through flight, dip and precision rather than excessive turn, adding, "When you have drift and can land the ball in the right spot consistently, you don't need a turning track to take wickets."READ ALSO: 'Rajasthan ka Jadeja': The making of Manav Suthar, India's newest left-arm spin hopeHe added that Suthar's success was the result of hard work and smart planning, saying, "He wasn't just lucky, he was clever and accurate."— BCCI (@BCCI) The 23-year-old Rajasthan all-rounder returned figures of 6 for 33 in 22 overs, becoming only the 10th Indian bowler and seventh Indian spinner to claim a five-wicket haul on Test debut. His performance is now the second-best by an Indian on Test debut, behind Narendra Hirwani's famous 8 for 61 against the West Indies in 1988.READ ALSO: IND vs AFG | Manav Suthar scripts history on debut, registers best bowling figures in 38 yearsAfter Afghanistan resumed at 113 for 5, Suthar ripped through the lower order, removing key batters including top-scorer Rahmat Shah (60). Afghanistan were eventually bowled out in 58.4 overs, giving India a massive 412-run first-innings lead.Suthar's dream debut capped years of strong domestic performances, where he has taken 129 wickets in 29 first-class matches and consistently impressed with both bat and ball, earning his long-awaited national call-up.

Orioles urged to cut ties with 8.64 ERA reliever amid Tyler O'Neil's struggles originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.The Baltimore Orioles cannot afford outings from their bullpen that completely change the trajectory of the game. After all, they are eight games out of first place in the AL East, but are one of the many teams that will battle for one of the three Wild Card spots. One member of Baltimore's bullpen who could be on his way out is a left-hander who has spent his entire six-year career with the organization. Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller believes the Orioles would DFA him before they parted ways with outfielder Tyler O'Neil. "Tyler O'Neill has been disastrous this season, entering play on Sunday with a .495 OPS and only one complete game played in the past two weeks," Miller wrote. "However, it's hard to see the Orioles—even in their post-Angelos-ownership, willing-to-spend-money-now era—admitting defeat and just eating what is a $16.5M salary in each of 2026 and 2027." O'Neil has been a major disappointment for the Orioles for many reasons, and the power just isn't there after he hit 31 home runs with the Boston Red Sox two seasons ago. But he's not the player Miller has picked the Orioles to move on from. MORE: Cubs’ cost to trade for Tarik Skubal from Tigers revealed by ex-MLB GM"But [Keegan] Akin's $2.975M salary? When he has already had not one but two relief appearances in which he allowed six earned runs? He and his 8.64 ERA could be one minor implosion away from landing on the chopping block," Miller wrote about the 31-year-old. Akin has been better lately, allowing just one run and five combined hits in his last five appearances. Still, he could find his way out of Baltimore soon with a few more horrendous performances. More MLB news:5 reasons to believe in Jordan Walker's breakout for CardinalsEx-MLB GM projects White Sox to sell at trade deadline despite 2026 successTarik Skubal being traded by Tigers would help him in free agencyYankees’ Ryan McMahon problem has a $25 million release solutionPhillies extending Cristopher Sanchez to his $107 million deal was genius

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan speaks at his Armenia Ruling Civil Contract party headquarters after parliamentary elections in Yerevan, Armenia, Monday, June 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Anthony Pizzoferrato)2026-06-08T07:35:58Z YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan early Monday claimed victory in a general election seen as a test of Russia’s influence in the South Caucasus state, as the latest preliminary results showed his governing Civil Contract party came first with 49.82% of the vote.Pashinyan and his party were looking for a strong mandate for a new geopolitical course, including distancing Armenia from Moscow and deepening cooperation with the West.“The European Union is our main partner in democratic reform implementation, and we will continue that path,” Pashinyan said as he cast his vote on Sunday. His main opponent, Samvel Karapetyan, is a billionaire who made his fortune in Russia and is under house arrest, accused of advocating for the government’s overthrow. Karapetyan, whose Strong Armenia bloc was the runner-up with 23.28% of the vote, rejects that charge as politically motivated. Armenian investigators said they also issued six arrest warrants for members of Strong Armenia the day before the election, accusing them of buying votes. The party seeks to develop close business ties with Moscow and has accused Pashinyan of attempting to start a war with the Kremlin. While the Central Election Commission says it has counted ballots from all electoral precincts, full results are only expected on Sunday. This is to give parties time to lodge complaints about any perceived irregularities. ‘Referendum on the future of the country’Richard Giragosian, who heads the independent Regional Studies Center think tank in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, described the vote as a “genuinely free and fair” election that “stands as a referendum on the future of the country.”“This election provides a fresh mandate on sustaining the positive momentum of diplomatic engagement, normalization of relations with neighbors, and the continued diversification of Armenia’s security partners,” Giragosian told the AP on Monday. Russia has hit Armenian exports with a barrage of restrictions in recent weeks, banning the import of Armenian flowers, some cognac and wine, potatoes, fish and more. While Moscow cited violations of import rules, the European Commission on Thursday described the move as “nothing short of economic coercion.” Read More President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials also made thinly veiled threats comparing Armenia’s path to that already taken by Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia.Moscow controls a significant portion of Armenia’s energy and infrastructure and supplies the country with cheap gas, a point driven home by Putin in his meetings with Pashinyan. Pashinyan’s party set to rule on its ownArmenia’s National Assembly must consist of at least 101 members elected for five-year terms. Parties must win at least 4% of the vote to enter, while blocs made up of three or more parties must hit 8%.The Hayastan (Armenia) bloc led by former President Robert Kocharyan is also set to take seats, receiving 9.93% of the vote. The Prosperous or Blossoming Armenia party, led by pro-Russia business owner Gagik Tsarukyan, is hovering around the 4% threshold, with the latest results giving it 3.99%. Turnout stood at 58.94%, according to the latest announcement by the election commission. Sign up for Morning Wire: Our flagship newsletter breaks down the biggest headlines of the day. Email address Sign up By checking this box, you agree to AP's Terms of Use and acknowledge that AP may collect and use your data pursuant to our Privacy Policy. Preliminary results from the election commission suggested the governing party has won 61 seats in the National Assembly. “This is enough to form a government without coalition partners, elect a prime minister, adopt the government program and state budget, as well as adopt most of the laws and parliamentary decisions independently,” said Giragosian, the analyst. But Pashinyan would not command the parliamentary majority needed to pass constitutional amendments without a referendum, he added. PM vows to continue peace process with neighboring AzerbaijanOpposition parties have strongly criticized Pashinyan for attempting to normalize relations with neighboring Azerbaijan. The Armenian leader and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev initialed a document on moving toward a peace deal at the White House alongside U.S. President Donald Trump in August. Armenia and Azerbaijan were locked in a decades-long conflict over Karabakh, a breakaway region that had been controlled for decades by ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia. Azerbaijan took control of the entire Karabakh region during a rapid offensive in 2023.Pashinyan announced on Monday that Armenia intends to move toward “institutionalizing” a peace deal in the near future, and ratifying an agreement with the White House that would create a major transit corridor through Armenian territory to be named after Trump. “It is important to confirm that this is a truly transformative project, as Armenia is becoming a crossroads of the world,” Pashinyan said at a meeting of a parliamentary committee on state and legal affairs. His remark was a potential reference to the country’s strategic geographical position, bridging Europe’s hungry energy markets and Central Asia’s gas fields. Responses from Brussels and MoscowTop EU officials congratulated Pashinyan following the tightly contested race, seen in Europe as a litmus test of Russia’s influence. “We deeply value our partnership with a democratic Armenia that is drawing ever closer to Europe. Armenia can count on us,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a social media post on Monday. Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said the Armenian people have made their “democratic commitment to peace and also closer ties with Europe” despite “heavy Russian pressure and economic coercion.”The bloc is preparing an economic support package for Armenia, Kallas told reporters at a news conference after a meeting with EU defense ministers on Monday. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday that the elections in Armenia were held “amid unprecedented pressure on the opposition and interference from the West, primarily the EU.” The ministry’s spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, did not give examples of such interference, but said “the elections clearly demonstrated that Armenian society is extremely polarized.” She added that Moscow’s approach to future relations will “take into account actual steps taken by the Armenian leadership.”——AP writers Sam McNeil in Brussels and Menelaos Hadjicostis in Nicosia, Cyprus contributed. ——An earlier version of this story wrongly stated that according to an earlier announcement by Armenia’s election commission, turnout in the general election on Sunday stood at 97%. The correct figure at that time was 59.97%.

Mexicans are enraged after viral videos claimed Adidas exploited Indigenous women to sew World Cup jerseys. We traveled into the mountains to speak to the artisans themselves.

Don’t let childhood memories of mealtime standoffs turn you away from these nutritional powerhouses.

Rays predicted to cut ties with former Orioles fan favorite outfielder originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.The Tampa Bay Rays have spent most of the 2026 season in first place in the AL East. However, a 5.5-game lead in May has vanished, and the Rays are now tied with the New York Yankees as of Monday morning. To win the division, the Rays will need their absolute best starting unit on the field on most days. Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller predicts that of all of Tampa Bay's players, outfielder Cedric Mullins has the best chance of being designated for assignment. "To his credit, Mullins has been better in recent weeks. His home run this past Friday was the capstone on a 16-game stretch with an .881 OPS," Miller wrote about the former Baltimore Orioles fan favorite. "However, he was at .421 prior to that, after closing out last season with a .419 OPS in his final 24 games played." Mullins can still run the ball down with the best of them in center field, so the Rays might have to let him go if they manage to find space on the bench as a fourth outfielder. But other players could be in line to take his spot sooner rather than later. MORE: Cubs’ cost to trade for Tarik Skubal from Tigers revealed by ex-MLB GM"If outfield prospect Jacob Melton hadn't suffered a Grade 2 ankle sprain in late April, he might have taken over Mullins' job prior to that aforementioned 16-game stretch," Miller added. An All-Star in 2021, Mullins' offensive statistics have trended downward in recent years. However, he managed a 106 OPS+ in 2025 with the Orioles and the New York Mets. Another team is likely to take a flier on Mullins if the Rays decide to cut ties with the left-handed hitter. More MLB news:5 reasons to believe in Jordan Walker's breakout for CardinalsEx-MLB GM projects White Sox to sell at trade deadline despite 2026 successTarik Skubal being traded by Tigers would help him in free agencyYankees’ Ryan McMahon problem has a $25 million release solutionPhillies extending Cristopher Sanchez to his $107 million deal was genius

Girls soccer regional champions have been named and the WIAA girls soccer tournament is onto sectionals.There are two Oshkosh, Fond du Lac area teams still playing, just two wins from making it to the state tournament.Sectional semifinal games will be played on Thursday, June 11, and sectional championships will take place on Saturday, June 13. The state tournament will be held at Uihlein Soccer Park in Milwaukee from June 18 – June 20.Here’s a look at how Winneconne and Lourdes Academy/Valley Christian made it to sectionals and their path to the state tournament.More: Oshkosh, Fond du Lac athletes earn medals at WIAA state track and field meetMore: 3 Oshkosh, Fond du Lac baseball teams are two wins from stateDivision 3WinneconneWinneconne is a No. 3 seed and defeated No. 14 Marinette 12-0 after a first round bye. In the regional championship, Winneconne beat No. 6 Seymour 3-0.In its sectional semifinal game, Winneconne will play at No. 2 Notre Dame. The winner would move on and play No. 1 Kiel or No. 5 Luxemburg-Casco in the sectional championship at 1 p.m. at Notre Dame’s Stock Family Stadium.Division 4Lourdes Academy/Valley ChristianLourdes Academy/Valley Christian, a No. 4 seed started its postseason with a 5-0 win over Omro. It followed that up with a 2-1 win over No. 5 Sturgeon Bay in the regional championship.In the sectional semifinals, Lourdes Academy will play at No. 1 Xavier. The winner will move onto the sectional championship and play No. 2 Howards Grove or No. 3 Providence Academy/Green Bay N.E.W. Lutheran at 1 p.m. at Xavier.Contact or send game stats/info to Ben Schultz at BSchultz@usatodayco.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @benschultz52.This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: Two Oshkosh, Fond du Lac girls soccer teams are two wins from state

The Arizona Cardinals open mandatory minicamp on Monday. All players must attend or be subject to fines of up to more than $100,000 for the three days. Quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who did not participate in any of the voluntary part of the offseason program, will be there. Multiple reports say that he will show up. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler and Josh Weinfuss were the first. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport noted that Brissett is doing so to avoid being fined. It is uncertain whether he will participate in on-field activities. He is the presumed starter for the Cardinals in 2026 and wants a new contract. He is due $4.9 million in salary with $1.5 million of it guaranteed. He would be the league's lowest-paid starter. He set career-highs in passing yards and passing touchdowns, and tight end Trey McBride and receiver Michael Wilson had career seasons with Brissett throwing to them for most the season. However, the Cardinals went 1-11 in his 12 starts and lost the final nine games of the season, six of them by three or more scores, after he was given the job outright. Free agent addition Gardner Minshew has been running the first-team offense in the offseason. After three days of minicamp, the Cardinals will be off until they report for training camp sometime in July. Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: Arizona Cardinals QB Jacoby Brissett to show up for mandatory minicamp

Jun 7, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels right fielder Jo Adell (7) hits a two-run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the seventh inning at DodgerAfter dropping a series against the Los Angeles Dodgers after back-to-back losses, the Los Angeles Angels avoided a sweep in a dominant win on Sunday, where the bats awoke to score 13 runs in an offensive onslaught. Such a win was much-needed for the Angels, one that they could use to build momentum going forward. As they open a three-game set against the Houston Astros on Monday, a team that has also had their fair share of struggles, the Angels will look to capitalize on translating that production back home.Below, you can find the team previews, including where to watch, game details, injury reports, and odds. TEAM PREVIEWS:Angels (25-41, 5th in AL West): The Angels did not put up much of a contest in their first two games against the Dodgers. They combined to score just two runs in those games before stamping 13 in the series finale, a game that was highlighted by the bottom of the order. On Sunday, the Angels’ 6-9 hitters went a combined 13-for-15, scoring 10 runs and cashing 10 RBI. The offensive explosion consisted of Jo Adell, Nick Madrigal, Jose Siri and Sebastián Rivero. For Angels manager Kurt Suzuki, the sight was a very encouraging one and something the team desperately needed some fresher faces.Currently the team’s backup catcher, RIvero made the most of his start in a career-day, as he went 5-for-5 at the plate with six RBI. In his ninth game this season, Madrigal took three walks in his first three at-bats — drawing a whopping 32 pitches in those three at-bats. A six-run seventh inning was sparked by two big home runs by Jo Adell and Zach Neto, who both needed such a swing. Neto’s three-run shot was his 12th of the season and Adell’s was his 10th long ball. Starting pitching struggled throughout the series, as the team also saw Jack Kochanowicz go down with an injury after he was unable to pitch a complete inning in Saturday’s loss. Facing a Houston Astros team that has not boasted the same offense they have been indisputable with in the past, they have a chance to turn things around.Grayson Rodriguez will take the mound in Monday’s series opener, looking to find some footing after a couple of shaky outings. Walbert Ureña will look to continue his strong start to the year on Tuesday, and Reid Detmers will follow on Wednesday as he looks to bounce back from a shaky start against the Dodgers.Astros (30-37, 4th in AL West): In 2026, Houston has not been the same fierce competitor that they have always been before. Instead, an aging core and an inconsistent rotation has people wondering if a window still exists for them to be a postseason team.Their lineup has had stretches of looking strong, but that consistency has yet to stick. One bat that has stuck out like a sore thumb has been Yordan Alvarez, who has arguably been the league’s best bat to date. But outside of Alvarez, not much has stood out.Jose Altuve is seemingly beyond his seasons of All-Star production. Carlos Correa has seen more of the same, while currently sitting on the 60-day IL. On Sunday, they saw a spark from Lamonte Wade Jr., who had a big day at the plate and fell just a triple short of the cycle. On the starting pitching front, the Astros have also not been among the top in the league. With ace Hunter Brown out for an extended period of time, Spencer Arrighetti has emerged to become a top arm for Houston, and he will start Monday’s series opener against the Angels. Righty starters Kai-Wei Teng and Peter Lambert will follow in the Astros’ rotation, making starts on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. Venue:Angel StadiumGame 1 Date:Monday, June 8, 2026Time: 6:38 PM PDTProbable Pitchers:HOU: Spencer Arrighetti (7-1, 1.94 ERA, 51 IP, 46 SO)LAA: Grayson Rodriguez (2-2, 9.50 ERA, 18 IP, 17 SO)Where to watch:HOU: Space City Home NetworkLAA: ABTV, presented by Pechanga Resort CasinoWhere to listen:HOU: KBME 790 AM/94.5 FM HD-2, KLTN-TUDN 102.9 FMLAA: KLAA 830, Angels ESGame 2 Date:Tuesday, June 9, 2026Time:6:38 PM PDTProbable Pitchers:HOU: Kai-Wei Teng (3-4, 3.06 ERA, 47 IP, 44 SO)LAA: Walbert Ureña (3-4, 2.68 ERA, 50.1 IP, 48 SO)Where to watch:HOU: Space City Home NetworkLAA: ABTV, presented by Pechanga Resort CasinoWhere to listen:HOU: KBME 790 AM/94.5 FM HD-2, KLTN-TUDN 102.9 FMLAA: KLAA 830, Angels ESGame 3 Date:Wednesday, June 10, 2026Time:6:38 PM PDTProbable Pitchers:HOU: Peter Lambert (5-4, 3.55 ERA, 50.2 IP, 47 SO)LAA: Reid Detmers (2-5, 4.26 ERA, 74 IP, 88 SO)Where to watch:HOU: Space City Home NetworkLAA: ABTV, presented by Pechanga Resort CasinoWhere to listen:HOU: KBME 790 AM/94.5 FM HD-2, KLTN-TUDN 102.9 FMLAA: KLAA 830, KWKW 1330INJURY REPORTHOU: INF Nick Allen (Day-to-day), SP Hunter Brown (60-day IL), SP Cristian Javier (60-day IL), INF Braden Shewmake (10-day IL), C Yainer Diaz (10-day IL), SS Carlos Correa (60-day IL), SP Lance McCullers Jr. (15-day IL), RP Bennett Sousa (15-day IL), SP Ronel Blanco (60-day IL), SP Hayden Wesneski (60-day IL), SP Brandon Walter (60-day IL)LAA: SP Jack Kochanowicz (15-day IL), INF Vaughn Grissom (Day-to-day), OF/DH Jorge Soler (10-day IL), OF Gustavo Campero (10-day IL), Yoán Moncada (10-day IL), SP Yusei Kikuchi (15-day IL), RP Ben Joyce (60-day IL), C Travis d’Arnaud (10-day IL), RP Robert Stephenson (60-day IL), 3B Anthony Rendon (60-day IL)ODDS (FanDuel)Monday, June 8, 2026Houston Astros:Run Line: -1.5, +130Money Line: -125Total: O 9, -107Los Angeles Angels:Run Line: +1.5, -157Money Line: +104Total: U 9, -112

NEW YORK (AP) — Roger Federer will play in an exhibition at the U.S. Open this year, returning to the Grand Slam tournament that he is the only player to win five consecutive times.Days before being enshrined in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, Federer will play in New York on Aug. 25. The event, titled “Roger Federer: An Icon Returns to New York,” also will include Andy Roddick, John McEnroe and Andre Agassi. It was announced Monday by the U.S. Tennis Association.Roddick won the 2003 U.S. Open, the year before Federer started dominating the event. He won every one from 2004-08 as part of his 20 Grand Slam singles titles.Federer last played the U.S. Open in 2019.“So many unforgettable moments of my career happened in New York, and Arthur Ashe Stadium is a place that means a great deal to me," he said in a statement. “I’ve missed being part of that atmosphere and feeling the incredible energy that the fans bring every year.”The Hall of Fame induction ceremony is scheduled for Aug. 29 in Newport, Rhode Island.The USTA said there will be further announcements about the lineup for the event, which is during the week before singles play in the tournament begins.___AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Nelly Korda stood over a 2 ½-foot putt to complete her lifelong dream Sunday at Riviera Country Club and wondered why she had not left herself something a little bit easier to win the U.S. Women’s Open.“I was like, ‘Good Lord,’” she said. “I wish I had my WHOOP showcase my heart rate, because it was definitely high.”It was a scene professional golf does not get very often: The best and most famous player in the world, playing at one of America’s most historic venues, needing to sink a pressure putt on the 72nd hole to avoid a playoff and close out the most important championship in the sport.And as Korda watched her ticklish left-to-righter ride the side of the cup nearly all the way around before falling in, she pursed her lips as if to say, “No, no, no…YES!” before covering her mouth with her right hand and raising her arms in victory.For the LPGA, a league that has frankly struggled to capitalize on the women’s sports boom of the last few years, it was as good as it can get, a moment of gripping drama served up on a silver platter to take this sport to another level.But will it?In the golf world, Korda should be what Caitlin Clark is to women’s basketball, what Serena Williams was to women’s tennis, what Simone Biles has been to gymnastics. A huge draw wherever she goes. A constant presence on billboards and television ads. A mainstream superstar.That was all true before Sunday, however, when Korda won her fourth major title — and none of it has really connected beyond a niche audience for women’s golf within the larger sport’s already niche audience.It might be the strangest phenomenon (or non-phenomenon, if you will) in sports. Given all the factors that should be boosting the LPGA into a moment of prominence, it’s a bit of a head-scratcher.According to the National Golf Foundation, participation in the game has grown 41 percent since 2019, with a record 48.1 million people playing some form of golf (including places like TopGolf) in 2025. That includes women’s participation nearly doubling over the last six years to 8.1 million.And though women’s golf might have suffered with American audiences from the stigma of being dominated by players from Asia, many of whom spoke little English, it hasn’t been true for several years. Among the last 17 women majors, six have been won by Americans, six by Asians, three by Australians and two by Europeans.But depth and worldwide appeal only matters if there’s star power — and, at least on paper, the LPGA has that too, with a crop of charismatic, easy-to-like players in Charley Hull, Lydia Ko, Rose Zhang and some big-time American amateurs in Asterisk Talley and Kiara Romero who will be ready to join the party soon.By now, though, Korda should be a household name, first reaching the world No. 1 ranking more than five years ago and winning the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. She comes from a prominent sporting family, with a tennis-playing father (Petr Korda) who was a famous tennis player in the 1990s and won an Australian Open title. Golf junkies can nerd out all day on the flawless tempo and technique of her swing. And though looks shouldn’t matter in evaluating someone’s athletic performance, Korda is a conventionally attractive woman who can draw viewers for non-golf reasons.Bottom line: This should be an easy sales job for American sports fans.Nelly Korda celebrates with the the Harton S. Semple trophy after winning the U.S. Women's Open.Brenton Tse/ISI Photos via Getty ImagesThe reality on the ground, however, is much different. During non-major weeks, the LPGA gets afterthought television coverage and almost nonexistent viewership. When Korda won this year’s first major, the Chevron Championship just outside of Houston, crowds looked sparse and somewhat embarrassing on television.Even the U.S. Women’s Open, the one event on the calendar that tends to stand apart, struggled for many years to get above 1 million viewers for the final round on FOX and NBC. However, it did spike a bit last year and it will be interesting to see when the numbers come in for whether Korda being on top of the leaderboard heading into the final round drove better viewership. (It seems to help increase interest when the USGA goes to more well-known courses like Riviera, and there are several coming up the next few years like Oakmont and Pinehurst No. 2.)Still — and admittedly, this is more anecdotal than data-based — it feels like the LPGA has less cultural currency now than it did 20-to-25 years ago during the Annika Sorenstam/Karrie Webb/Lorena Ochoa/Se Ri Pak era. Even the insane hype machine around Michelle Wie seems like it would be hard to reproduce these days.That’s opposite from the direction other women’s sports have been moving lately, and the LPGA needs to find a way to fix it now that this once-in-a-generation American talent is winning everything in sight.When this discussion has come up in the recent past, critics have directed some blame to Korda for not being quite as available to the media as she should be or not going the extra mile to promote herself. But even if that were true — she has amped things up on that side of the business the last couple years — there is not much media infrastructure in place to capitalize on her.Within the golf space, everyone knows TV coverage of the LPGA is lacking. You can find it if you look, but most of the events are shown on streaming or the Golf Channel rather than a mainstream network. That’s also a chicken-or-egg problem: Is it hard to generate ratings for the LPGA because it doesn’t get a lot of hours on network TV, or is it not on TV because there isn’t a huge audience for it?This isn’t an easy problem to solve, and maybe there’s no great answer. But the next measurement of how much Korda is breaking through will take place in 2 ½ weeks at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship when the story will be whether Korda can go 3-for-3 at the majors.Even that, however, is problematic because the LPGA recognizes five tournaments as majors. So if Korda were to win at Hazeltine National just outside of Minneapolis, would she just need the AIG Women’s Open to win the Grand Slam or would she also need the Evian Championship?It’s too confusing, but this much is clear: Korda’s U.S. Women’s Open win, and the fashion in which she won it, should open some eyes to women’s golf this summer. The LPGA has a precious few weeks to try to capitalize on it with American audiences who are more interested in women's sports than ever.If not now, when?

The Indiana Fever, ranked eighth in the WNBA with a 5-5 record, face the Washington Mystics, who are 11th in the league with a 4-5 record. The Indiana Fever are favored at -4.5, with a -210 moneyline.How to watch Indiana Fever vs Washington MysticsDate: Monday, June 8Time: 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PTWhere: CareFirst Arena, Washington, District of ColumbiaTV Channels: MNMT, WTHRLive Stream:Check listings | Follow on Yahoo SportsTeam recordsIndiana Fever: 5-5 (eighth in league)Washington Mystics: 4-5 (11th in league)OddsSpread: Indiana Fever -4.5Moneyline: Indiana Fever -210 / Washington Mystics +170Over/under: 170.5

The Atlanta Hawks believe in head coach Quin Snyder. After two middling years, the Hawks showed plenty of improvement during the 2025-25 NBA season, making the playoffs for the first time under Snyder. As a result, the team reportedly agreed to a multi-year extension with the head coach Monday, according to ESPN.The deal comes after Snyder led the team to a 46-36 record last season. It was the team’s first winning season since 2021-22, when the team finished four games over .500. Despite the Hawks’ regular-season success, the team failed to advance past the New York Knicks in the first round of the playoffs.This story will be updated.

The 1970 World Cup contained several fascinating off-field stories.Composite: Guardian DesignThe heat and the altitude worried everybody. The 1970 World Cup in Mexico would not be a normal one. So the Bulgarian authorities sent their squad south of Sofia to get used to playing several thousand feet above sea level. Which seemed a great idea until somebody noticed that the temperature in the Pirin Mountains was not in the mid-20s celsius as it is in Mexico but somewhere near freezing. How then could they replicate the effect of playing in intense heat? By restricting water intake so that the players got used to performing while dehydrated.The plan was not a great success. Bulgaria lost their first two World Cup games in 1970 and had already been eliminated by the time they drew with Morocco. It’s safe to assume that preparations for this World Cup will be rather more sophisticated than they were 56 years ago. Most countries back then seemed to take the view that training at altitude was the logical way to prepare for games in Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara. Israel went to Ethiopia and Colorado. Uruguay played in Quito and Bogotá. Mexico themselves held a five-month training camp that featured 13 friendly internationals in four months before a pair of games against the Scottish side Dundee United.England, the world champions, were paranoid about what they’d find in Mexico. Their team doctor, Neil Phillips, took a course on heat, altitude and tropical diseases, and recommended the players take salt tablets. He also brought in Dr Griffith Pugh, a physiologist who had been on Edmund Hillary’s mission that had climbed Everest. Other measures were less sensible.The manager Alf Ramsey, for all his gifts as a coach, was a xenophobe to the core. He had been a player in the England side that had lost to the USA in 1950, and remembered the greasy food served in Brazil with horror. A trip to Brazil in 1964 and a further tour of Latin America in 1969 had only heightened his distrust. England, he decided, would import their own bus, food and water. For the Mexicans, already irritated by a string of undiplomatic statements from Ramsey, this was the final straw. The authorities decided that the United Kingdom was beset by foot and mouth, so they impounded all the frozen meat at the docks then burned it, leaving England to subsist on Findus fishfingers and ready meals.Pre-tournament preparations began with three weeks in Mexico City, where life was so regimented that Ramsey would sit by the pool as players sunbathed, timing 20 minutes with a stopwatch, then blowing a whistle so the players could turn over. England then left for friendlies at altitude in Bogotá and Quito. It was when they stopped on the way back to change planes in Colombia that their captain, Bobby Moore, was arrested, accused of stealing a bracelet from a jewellery shop in the hotel foyer. He was held under house arrest for several days at the home of Alfonso Senior, a senior director of the Colombian football federation. After fevered diplomatic efforts, Moore made it to Mexico in time to play in England’s first game, a 1-0 win over Romania, and was eventually exonerated.The team that prepared most thoroughly, though, was Brazil. Late in 1969, the coach who led them through qualifying, João Saldanha, met two army officers, Cláudio Coutinho and Lamartine Da Costa, at a churrascaria at the bottom of Sugarloaf Mountain to discuss the best way to get the players ready for the physical challenge ahead. Coutinho would later become coach of Brazil and the LA Aztecs, where he had just finished working when he was killed in a diving accident in 1981. Da Costa was a specialist in biometeorology who taught at the Pontificia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro. Both had attended the 1968 Mexico Olympics, both had made their observations and were keen to employ science to help.The samba stereotype of Brazilian football, the idea of instinctive footballers wandering off the beach to win tournaments had always been nonsense. The Brazilian golden age, when they won three Worlds Cups out of four between 1958 and 1970 was always based on meticulous preparation. Before the 1970 tournament, the players spent 100 days at army facilities. Everything was monitored in fanatical detail: players’ kit was made to measure and the collars designed so they would not accumulate sweat. There was a lot of talk about using a Nasa training course, although that seems to have amounted to little more than using the Cooper test, a means of monitoring fitness by measuring how far the players could run in 12 minutes. They arrived in Mexico City 32 days before their opening game against Czechoslovakia. And it worked: 12 of the 19 goals scored by Brazil in the 1970 World Cup came in the second half. They outlasted opponents as well as outplaying them.And there is perhaps a lesson there for 2026. Preparation isn’t everything (as we will see below), and the demands of the domestic calendar mean no contender will have spent four months locked away in isolation to train, but being ready for the conditions and having a gameplan that accounts for it will be a major benefit. There is a lot of randomness in football, much that is settled only on the day, but the higher the starting point the more chance a side has. Subsisting on Findus ready meals has never been a successful basis for winning a World Cup.On this day …Cameroon’s preparations for the 1990 World Cup in Italy had been shambolic. Their coach was the Russian Valery Nepomnyashchy, who had turned up two years earlier to run youth development in the country only to be appointed to the senior job. He spoke little French and the players didn’t much like him. They went out of the 1990 Cup of Nations in the group stage. When they moved from Bordeaux to Yugoslavia for a pre-tournament training camp, the balls and kit didn’t turn up. The attacking midfielder Grégoire M’Bida was sent home for missing the bus, then the veteran forward Roger Milla, who had gone into semi-retirement, turned up at the request of the country’s president, Paul Biya.Before the opening game, against Argentina, played on 8 June 1990, the goalkeeper Joseph-Antoine Bell gave an interview in which he said a 3-0 defeat to the reigning world champions would be a good result. He was dropped and Thomas N’Kono drafted in – so late that his wife missed the game because she’d gone shopping in Milan, believing her husband would be on the bench. Cameroon had two men sent off – and still won 1-0. No sub-Saharan African team had ever previously won a game at the World Cup; Cameroon went on to reach the quarter-final that year.This is an extract from Soccer Desk: World Cup edition, a newsletter from the Guardian US that will run regularly during the tournament. Subscribe for free here.

NEW DELHI: Watching 23-year-old Manav Suthar weave his magic against Afghanistan in the one-off Test at Mullanpur must have brought back memories for Ravichandran Ashwin. Like Ashwin did on his own Test debut in 2011, the Rajasthan left-arm spinner made an immediate impact on the biggest stage, scripting history with a sensational six-wicket haul in his maiden Test innings.Handed his Test cap against Afghanistan, Suthar announced his arrival in style, returning figures of 6/33 as Afghanistan were bowled out for 152 in reply to India's imposing 564/8 declared.The performance earned Suthar a place in the record books. His 6/33 is the best bowling figures by an Indian on Test debut in 38 years. The last Indian to produce a better effort in a debut Test innings was Narendra Hirwani, who famously claimed 8/61 against the West Indies in Chennai in 1988 before finishing with a remarkable match haul of 16 wickets.Suthar also joined an exclusive club of Indian bowlers to take six wickets in an innings on Test debut. Before him, only Narendra Hirwani, Ravichandran Ashwin, Dilip Doshi and Syed Abid Ali had achieved the feat.The 23-year-old further became only the 10th Indian overall - and the seventh spinner - to register a five-wicket haul on Test debut.Ashwin, who himself picked up nine wickets in his debut Test against the West Indies in Delhi in 2011, including figures of 6/47 in the second innings, was among the first to congratulate the youngster."Manav Suthar. Best wishes for a wonderful career ahead," Ashwin wrote on social media.Suthar's feat is significant for more than one reason. He became only the second Indian this century to claim a five-wicket haul in his maiden Test innings after Amit Mishra, who took 5/71 against Australia in 2008.— ashwinravi99 (@ashwinravi99) His figures are also the second-best by any bowler against Afghanistan in Test cricket, behind Rahkeem Cornwall's 7/75 in Lucknow in 2019.Best bowling figures in a debut Test innings for India:8/61 – Narendra Hirwani vs West Indies, Chennai, 19886/33 – Manav Suthar vs Afghanistan, Mullanpur, 2026*6/55 – Syed Abid Ali vs Australia, Adelaide, 19676/103 – Dilip Doshi vs Australia, Chennai, 1979With his dream debut, Suthar has not only etched his name alongside some of India's finest spin bowlers but also given a glimpse of what could be a bright future in Indian cricket.

Columbia College Chicago student Kailey Ryan reads a newspaper in Chicago, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)2026-06-08T09:15:24Z WASHINGTON (AP) — As the U.S. prepares for an extravagant celebration of its founding principles, fewer Americans see their country as exceptional, a new poll finds.The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research highlights many Americans’ feeling of unease over the future of its representative government — particularly among young people. It presents a jarring contrast as communities around the country commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary. Only about one-quarter of Americans say the U.S. stands above all other countries in the world, the new poll found, while 44% say it’s one of the greatest countries in the world, along with some others. About 3 in 10 say there are better countries than the U.S., an increase from 19% in an AP-NORC poll conducted in June 2016.Americans remain divided about whether diversity is an essential feature of the U.S.'s identity, and agreement about other aspects of the country’s underlying character appears to be eroding, the survey found. Americans are less likely to see a democratically elected government as “extremely” or “very” important to the United States’ identity as a nation than they were just a few years ago. About two-thirds of U.S. adults now say a democratically elected government is highly important to the U.S.’s identity as a nation, down from 80% in 2021. “It’s not that the democracy part is not working,” said Derricka Wall, 24, of Chickasaw, Alabama. “It’s the people that are actually being put in office that is the problem.” Wall believes politicians have damaged America’s governing system, which was designed to ensure representation and guard against government misuse.America, she said, “is not what it used to be. I feel like our founding fathers would be kind of disappointed with how it is now.” Read More Rising belief that democracy is not essential to American identityYoung adults are much less likely than older Americans to believe the U.S. is special, compared with other nations, the poll found. About 4 in 10, 44%, of U.S. adults under 30 say there are other countries better than the U.S., compared with 22% of U.S. adults ages 60 and older.Fewer, too, see democracy as a key element of the U.S.’s identity. Only about half of Americans under 30 believe this, compared with 81% of those 60 and older. Wall said the people who established the government with co-equal branches thought they were erecting safeguards to keep any one person or group from attaining too much power. But she believes they didn’t foresee how easily those guardrails would crumble if the people in the system stopped enforcing them.“I feel like they would actually roll out of their graves,” she said. “I feel they would be very disappointed in us.”The belief that politics isn’t working for everyday people extends beyond the youngest generations. Kent Stage, 62 and a retired senior enlisted man in the Army, is a registered Republican in Indiana. He does not think the current political system addresses the country’s problems. He’d like to see term limits on politicians and more working-class people serving. “I’ll trust the ambulance-chasing lawyer and a shady used car salesman before I trust the politician,” he said. Stage, who is also a former Marine, believes public servants make self-serving choices for their families “while mine and yours still got to hit the old grindstone.”Many feel it’s harder to get ahead in the USThe survey also finds widespread cynicism about America as the land of opportunity. About half of U.S. adults, 51%, say the American Dream — the idea that if you work hard, you’ll get ahead — once held true but does not anymore. About one-third say it “still holds true” while 15% say it never held true. Jack Hermanson, a 27-year-old software developer in Denver, said his belief in the American Dream changed when he saw his engineer husband struggle to find a job. “That really shattered my impression that if you work hard, you get what you deserve,” Hermanson said.Only 22% of Americans under 30 say the American Dream still holds true, compared with 46% of Americans ages 60 and older. Angela Toombs, 31, works at a senior living facility in Atlanta where her clients talk about how easy it was to buy a house while working their first regular jobs in their 20s and are incredulous about the obstacles facing Toombs’ generation. Toombs recently gave up her own apartment to rent a room in order to save money. Skepticism about the American Dream is more widespread among Democrats and independents, compared with Republicans. Most Republicans, 57%, say the American Dream still holds true, compared with about one-quarter of independents and 17% of Democrats. Republicans are also much likelier than Democrats to see the U.S. as exceptional. About half of Republicans say the U.S. stands above all other countries in the world, compared with only 7% of Democrats. Quintin Sharpe, 28, lives in a resort town on Lake Geneva in Wisconsin. A financial planner who is Republican, he said the American Dream remains accessible and he is proud of the country. “It’s been a great experiment.” “The opportunity is there for those who want to work for it,” he said. Sharpe believes the country is “a meritocracy, and the best ideas, the best work ethic, those with the best succeed regardless of race, skin color, any of those factors.”He and his wife will celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary watching the fireworks over the lake.Divides on whether diversity is essential to USJust over half of U.S. adults — 56% — say a shared American culture and set of values are “extremely” or “very” important to the country’s identity, down from 65% in 2017. Younger Americans are less likely than older ones to say a singular set of values is important to U.S. identity.But Americans remain sharply divided on the centrality of welcoming diverse perspectives: About half of adults, 51%, say the ability of people to come from other places in the world to escape violence or find economic opportunities is “extremely” or “very” important to American identity, while 55% say this about the mixing of cultures and values from around the world.Only about 4 in 10 Republicans see the mixing of cultures and values from around the world as central to the country’s identity, compared with 76% of Democrats.Rose Nunez, 70, of San Antonio, was a small business owner but now is a caregiver for family members. Nunez, who tends to vote for Democrats, said there is an unease and tension that are just beneath the surface, especially focused on Hispanics. She said some people have started carrying their papers showing their immigration status in case they are challenged. “It is hard to celebrate when the feelings towards immigrants and communities of color are so strong,” she said of the upcoming America 250 celebrations. She said even citizens are questioned now. If it gets to a point where being naturalized is challenged, “guess what, my mom would be leaving. She’s been living in this country since she was maybe four years old. She’s 93.” ____The AP-NORC poll of 2,596 adults was conducted April 16-20 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 2.6 percentage points. LINLEY SANDERS Sanders is a polls and surveys analyst for The Associated Press. She develops and writes about AP-NORC polls, works on the AP Voter Poll and covers shifts in public opinion. twitter mailto