Since the club entered administration, fans have ended a boycott of the club, which had seen many supporters not attend Carabao Cup ties against Leeds United and Grimsby Town at Hillsborough, and this month’s home league game with Middlesbrough.
Administrator Kris Wigfield, who is leading the search for new ownership, said on Monday that supporters had already spent more than £500,000 on tickets and in the club shop.
He said there were already “four or five interested parties that look like the real deal” but that because of EFL rules, the club would need to be on the market for 28 days before they could move towards preferred-bidder status.
“I’m hopeful that by the end of November, if things go well, we might know who’s going to buy the football club,” he told BBC 5 Live’s Wake Up To Money programme.
“Then hopefully a deal can be concluded this calendar year, so that the new owner is in for the January transfer window, if the EFL allows the new owner to buy players.”
Sheffield Wednesday said the event was “a gesture from the first-team squad and staff” to thank supporters for their “unprecedented” response to the club going into administration.
From Jack Harris: It was a miserably cold, rainy and gray afternoon outside Rogers Centre on Thursday.
Inside the stadium, however, the Dodgers found some rays of emotional sunshine.
No, this is not where the team wanted to be, facing a 3-2 deficit in the World Series entering Game 6 on Friday night against the Toronto Blue Jays.
And no, there was not much to feel good about after a disastrous 48 hours in Games 4 and 5 of this Fall Classic, in which the Dodgers relinquished control of the series and allowed their title-defense campaign to be put on life support.
But during an off-day workout, the club tried to rebound from that disappointment and reframe the downtrodden mindset that permeated the clubhouse after Game 5.
Every player showed up to the ballpark, even though attendance was optional after a long night of travel. “That was pretty exciting for me, and just speaks to where these guys are at,” manager Dave Roberts said. “They realize that the job’s not done.”
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about this … and I could dive into my thoughts,” Roberts said of the team’s offensive struggles, which he noted could include another lineup alteration for Game 6.
“But I think at the end of the day,” Roberts continued, “they just have to compete and fight in the batter’s box. It’s one-on-one, the hitter versus the pitcher, and that’s it. Really. I mean, I think that that sort of mindset is all I’ll be looking for. And I expect good things to happen from that.”
Dodgers vs. Toronto at Toronto 11, Dodgers 4 (box score) Dodgers 5, at Toronto 1 (box score) at Dodgers 6, Toronto 5 (18) (box score) Toronto 6, at Dodgers 2 (box score) Toronto 6, at Dodgers 1 (box score)
Friday at Toronto, 5 p.m., Fox, AM 570, KTNQ 1020, ESPN Radio
*Saturday at Toronto, 5 p.m., Fox, AM 570, KTNQ 1020, ESPN Radio
The Rams’ star receiver, who sat out the last game because of an ankle injury, said Thursday that he was “feeling great” and planned to play on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints at SoFi Stadium.
“That’s the plan,” he said after practice. “I’m feeling fantastic. Feel ready to go.”
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: The NBA board of governors unanimously approved Mark Walter’s bid to buy a majority stake in the Lakers on Thursday, the league announced, marking a major shift for one of L.A.’s most significant sports teams.
The Lakers had been a family-run team since Dr. Jerry Buss bought the franchise in 1979. When he died in 2013, control went into a family trust with daughter Jeanie Buss acting as the team’s governor. The Buss family built the team into one of the most recognizable brands in sports, eventually attracting a record-breaking $10-billion valuation. While the sale was finalized, Jeanie Buss will be the team’s governor for at least five years after the transaction officially closes, the league announcement stated.
“The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most iconic franchises in all of sports, defined by a history of excellence and the relentless pursuit of greatness,” Walter said in a statement released by the team. “Few teams carry the legacy and global influence of the Lakers, and it’s a privilege to work alongside Jeanie Buss as we maintain that excellence and set the standard for success in this new era, both on and off the court.”
Lucas Raymond scored in the shootout and the Detroit Red Wings beat the Kings 4-3 on Thursday night.
Marco Kasper scored two goals, and Alex DeBrincat had a goal and an assist for Detroit. Cam Talbot stopped 35 shots through overtime and denied all three attempts in the tiebreaker as the Red Wings got their third straight win and eighth in the last 10 games.
Quinton Byfield had a goal and an assist, and Alex Laferriere and Corey Perry also scored for the Kings, who had a modest two-game win streak and a six-game point streak (4-0-2). Darcy Kuemper had 24 saves.
1948 — Sammy Baugh of Washington passes for 446 yards and four touchdowns and Dan Sandifer has four interceptions including two for touchdowns as the Redskins beat the Boston Yanks 56-21.
1950 — Earl Lloyd of the Washington Capitols becomes the first Black man to play in an NBA game. Washington loses 78-70 on the road to the Rochester Royals.
1964 — Kelso, running in what is billed as his final race in New York, wins his fifth consecutive Jockey Club Gold Cup, surpassing Round Table as the all-time money-winning thoroughbred. Kelso runs the 2-mile distance in 3:19 1/5, breaking the world record he set as a 3-year-old, four years earlier, by 1/5 of a second.
1969 — Lenny Wilkens, the NBA’s all-time winningest coach, gets his first coaching victory as the Seattle SuperSonics beats Cincinnati Royals 129-121.
1981 — Florida State freshman Greg Allen rushes for 322 yards in a 56-31 victory over Western Carolina.
1987 — Eric Dickerson, the NFL’s single-season rushing champion, signs a three-year contract with the Indianapolis Colts to complete a three-way trade that nets the Rams two running backs and six top draft choices over the next two years. The third part of the deal sends linebacker Cornelius Bennett to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for three of the draft picks that went to the Rams.
1987 — Jockey Chris Antley becomes the first rider to win nine races in a single day. He has four winners in six mounts at Aqueduct and five winners from eight tries during The Meadowlands’ evening program.
1988 — The first Monday Night NFL game was played in Indianapolis; Colts beat the Broncos 55-23.
1998 — Tee Martin of Tennessee, sets NCAA records with 23 straight completions and 24 over two games in the No. 3 Volunteers’ 49-14 victory over South Carolina. Martin is 23-for-24, with a record completion percentage of 95.8, for 315 yards and four touchdowns.
1999 — Tim Couch completes a desperation 56-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Johnson with no time on the clock to give the expansion Cleveland Browns their first victory, a 21-16 win over New Orleans.
2004 — The New England Patriots lose for the first time in more than a year, falling to the Pittsburgh Steelers 34-20. The Patriots had won 21 straight games, including the playoffs, and a league-record 18 in a row in the regular season.
2006 — Miami’s season-opening 108-66 loss to Chicago is the worst loss in NBA history for a defending champion on opening night.
2008 — The North Carolina Tar Heels are No. 1 in The Associated Press’ preseason Top 25, the first unanimous No. 1 since the preseason poll began in 1981-82.
2012 — Jamal Crawford scores 29 points in 30 minutes in his first official game with his new team, and the Clippers convert 21 turnovers into 29 points in a 101-92 victory that extends the Memphis Grizzlies’ NBA-record streak of opening-night losses to 12. The Grizzlies are 0-12 on opening night since the franchise shifted from Vancouver to Memphis in 2001.
2015 — Triple Crown champion American Pharoah wins the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic by 6 1/2 lengths in his final race before retirement.
2020 — Endland beats Italy 34-5 in Rome to win the 29th Six-Nations Rugby Championship.
Compiled by the Associated Press
THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1972 — Gaylord Perry wins the AL Cy Young Award.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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The only contest between these sides this season ended goalless in August.
Motherwell had 66% possession that day but lacked a cutting edge, injury issues meaning they played without a centre-forward.
St Mirren had the better of the chances, but the stalemate means they have won only two of their past 16 league meetings with the Lanarkshire club and are winless in six.
Motherwell may be four points better off in the Premiership and in better form but this feels like a 50-50 affair.
The Fir Park club have won four of their past six matches, including their quarter-final success at Aberdeen.
Across 10 league games, they have scored double the goals of St Mirren (16 to eight) but conceded one more than the Paisley side (13 to 12).
In left-back Emmanuel Longelo and midfielder Elliot Watt, both signed in the summer, Motherwell boast two players who are among the standouts in the Premiership so far this term.
St Mirren, meanwhile, have won once in five matches since dumping out Kilmarnock on penalties in the last eight.
But an impressive showing against league leaders Hearts in midweek showcased all the redeeming features in Robinson’s side, who posed a serious threat from set-plays.
“Really contrasting styles between both sides,” BBC Scotland pundit Neil McCann said on Sportscene.
“If Motherwell get a grip of the game, it’ll be difficult for St Mirren. You could see St Mirren going old school and making Motherwell defend direct balls like they did against Hearts.
“I lean towards Motherwell because of the big pitch at Hampden. I make them favourites. But the way Robinson gets his teams to play, he will come up with a game plan to nullify space.”
DIVISION 2 Chino Hills 8, Redlands East Valley 7 Etiwanda 11, Santa Monica 10 La Habra 13, Alta Loma 10 Los Alamitos 22, Walnut 13 Orange Lutheran 11, San Marino 10 El Segundo 17, Edison 16 Damien 14, Crescenta Valley 11 Crean Lutheran 21, Carpinteria 13 Redondo Union 12, La Serna 8 Royal 11, Riverside King 10 Ventura 11, Corona Santiago 6 Aliso Niguel 16, Dana Hills 13 Capistrano Valley 17, Woodbridge 6 Anaheim Canyon 6, Murrieta Valley 5 St. John Bosco 11, Portola 9 Riverside Poly 14, Cate 9
DIVISION 3 Camarillo 11, Flintridge Prep 5 Burbank 13, Agoura 9 Trabuco Hills 21, Eastvale Roosevelt 13 Bonita 17, Brentwood 3 Temple City 19, Redlands 13 Arcadia 8, Yorba Linda 7 Glendora 15, Troy 10 Malibu 14, Millikan 8 Santa Barbara 11, Valley View 9 Hoover 9, Elsinore 8 Pasadena Poly 9, Schurr 7 Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 18, Villa Park 8 Irvine University 11, Fullerton 9 Great Oak 14, Long Beach Poly 10 Brea Olinda 11, Rancho Cucamonga 9 Cathedral at Temecula Valley
DIVISION 4 Charter Oak 18, Webb 8 Santa Ana 11, Tustin 9 Garden Grove Pacifica at La Canada Placentia Valencia 15, Temescal Canyon 8 Aquinas at Buena Park Anaheim 15, La Quinta 8 Palm Desert 13, Los Altos 11 Hemet 21, Paloma Valley 9 Glendale 22, La Salle 15 Western 16, Estancia 15 Mission Viejo 10, Sunny Hills 6 Culver City 21, West Covina 12 Liberty 15, West Torrance 3 Sonora 14, Don Lugo 10 South Torrance at Xavier Prep Garden Grove at Corona
DIVISION 5 Fontana 21, Bolsa Grande 7 Edgewood 13, Lakeside 9 Ramona 17, Heritage 7 Chino 6, Los Amigos 5 Warren 19, Cerritos 4 Westminster 16, Summit 10 Rowland 14, Pioneer 13 Norte Vista 21, Artesia 9 Montebello 16, Nogales 3 La Mirada 5, Chaffey 4 San Bernardino 21, Westminster La Quinta 11 Hillcrest 21, Indio 10 La Palma Kennedy 22, Riverside Notre Dame 6 Nordhoff 16, Savanna 12 Santa Fe 9, California 8 Baldwin Park 21, West Valley 7
FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE
(Games at 5 p.m. unless noted)
First Round
DIVISION 1 Servite at Loyola San Marcos at San Juan Hills Huntington Beach at Buena San Clemente at Dos Pueblos Downey at Mater Dei Sage Hill at Yucaipa Westlake at Beckman Foothill at Harvard-Westlake
Note:Open Division Pool Play second round Nov. 1 at higher seeds; Divisions 2-5 second round Nov. 4; Open Division Pool Play third round Nov. 5 at higher seeds; Division 1 quarterfinals Nov. 6; Divisions 2-5 quarterfinals Nov. 7; Open Division crossover round Nov. 8 at higher seed; Divisions 2-5 semifinals Nov. 11; Open Division semifinals Nov. 12 at Woollett Aquatics Center; Division 1 semifinals Nov. 12; Finals (all divisions) Nov. 15 at Mt. San Antonio College.
Chris Wood, Dilane Bakwa, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Ola Aina remain unavailable for Nottingham Forest.
Wood could return from a knee injury in time to face Leeds United next weekend.
Back-up goalkeeper Angus Gunn has also been after damaging knee ligaments during training.
Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez has returned to full training following nine months out with a knee injury although he is not in contention to travel to the City Ground.
“He [Martinez] wants to go to this one, he is not going to this one, he is going to take time,” said United boss Ruben Amorim.
“He is really good, he is really good, and he gives us that edge in every training session and that is also really good for us.
Harry Maguire is a doubt after missing the 4-2 win against Brighton last weekend due to a knock and Leny Yoro could once again deputise.
Players out: Nottingham Forest – Gunn, Wood, Bakwa, Zinchenko, Aina Manchester United – Martinez
Doubts: Nottingham Forest – none Manchester United – Maguire
Key FPL notes:
Morgan Gibbs-White’s (£7.3m) 20 shots and 30 penalty box touches both rank top across Nottingham Forest’s first nine matches.
No player has created more chances than Bruno Fernandes (£8.9m) this season, with 24.
Bryan Mbeumo (£8.2m) is the most-bought midfielder in the Gameweek, earning over 846,000 new owners. The Cameroon international is averaging 10.0 points per start since the start of October.
World number one Luke Humphries scraped into November’s Players Championship Finals as reigning world champion Luke Littler criticised tournament officials.
Humphries, 30, began the day 58th in the competition’s rankings and could have missed the finals if he had lost in the opening round of the Players Championship 34 event.
However, he gained a 6-2 victory over Dutchman Martijn Dragt in round one to qualify before losing 6-4 to Rob Owen in the second round at Robin Park Leisure Centre in Wigan.
This was the last of 34 Players Championship events held across the year. The 64 best-performing players will now advance to the finals in Minehead, Somerset from 21-23 November.
It later emerged someone had died in an incident on the M6.
Afterwards, Littler posted on Instagram: “Missed registration today for the pro tour, but someone sadly lost their life. Thinking of everyone.”
He reached the last 32 on Thursday before losing 6-5 in a deciding leg against Canada’s Matt Campbell – and then criticised officials in a post on social media, claiming other players had been allowed to play when arriving late for events.
In an Instagram post, which was later deleted, Littler wrote: “Not the best day today but played some decent stuff.
“But really glad to hear from a few of the other players that people have been let in almost half an hour late for a pro tour but I can’t be two minutes late.
“Says a lot, one rule for one and one for another.”
Dutchman Wessel Nijman beat England’s Luke Woodhouse 8-5 to win the Players Championship 34 title.
Three-time world champion and current world number three Michael van Gerwen will not feature at the finals as he was outside the top 64 in the rankings and did not play the last two events.
TORONTO — It was a miserably cold, rainy and gray afternoon outside Rogers Centre on Thursday.
Inside the stadium, however, the Dodgers found some rays of emotional sunshine.
No, this is not where the team wanted to be, facing a 3-2 deficit in the World Series entering Game 6 on Friday night against the Toronto Blue Jays.
And no, there was not much to feel good about after a disastrous 48 hours in Games 4 and 5 of this Fall Classic, in which the Dodgers relinquished control of the series and allowed their title-defense campaign to be put on life support.
But during an off-day workout, the club tried to rebound from that disappointment and reframe the downtrodden mindset that permeated the clubhouse after Game 5.
Every player showed up to the ballpark, even though attendance was optional after a long night of travel.
“That was pretty exciting for me, and just speaks to where these guys are at,” manager Dave Roberts said. “They realize that the job’s not done.”
Roberts brought some levity to the start of the workout, too, challenging speedster Hyeseong Kim to a race around the bases — only to stumble face-first on the turn around second while trying to preserve his comically large head start.
“Cut the cameras,” Roberts yelled to media members, as he playfully grabbed at his hamstring and wiped dirt off his sweatshirt.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts reacts after falling while challenging Hyeseong Kim to a race on the basepaths during a team workout at Rogers Centre on Thursday.
(Vaughn Ridley / Getty Images)
Then, the Dodgers got to work on their primary task: Trying to sync up an offense that had looked lost the last two games, and has scuffled through much of October.
“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about this … and I could dive into my thoughts,” Roberts said of the team’s offensive struggles, which he noted could include another lineup alteration for Game 6.
“But I think at the end of the day,” Roberts continued, “they just have to compete and fight in the batter’s box. It’s one-on-one, the hitter versus the pitcher, and that’s it. Really. I mean, I think that that sort of mindset is all I’ll be looking for. And I expect good things to happen from that.”
In the losses at Chavez Ravine, the majors’ second-highest scoring offense struggled to hone that ethos. The Dodgers scored only three runs, racked up a woeful 10 hits and looked more like the version of themselves that stumbled through much of the second half of the season before entering the playoffs on a late-season surge.
Their biggest stars stopped hitting. Their teamwide approach went by the wayside. And in the aftermath of Game 5, they almost seemed to be searching for their identity as a team at the plate — trying to couple their naturally gifted slugging ability, with the need to work more competitive at-bats and earn hittable pitches first.
“We’re just not having good at-bats,” third baseman Max Muncy said.
“We’ve got to figure something out,” echoed shortstop Mookie Betts.
Take a quick glance at the numbers in this World Series, and the Dodgers’ hitting problems are relatively easy to explain.
Shohei Ohtani (who took another Ruthian round of batting practice Thursday) does not have a hit since reaching base nine times in the 18-inning Game 3 marathon. Betts (who spent as much time hitting as anyone Thursday) has bottomed out with a three-for-25 performance.
Other important bats, including Muncy and Tommy Edman, are hitting under .200. And as a team, the Dodgers have 55 strikeouts (11 more than the Blue Jays), a .201 overall average and just six hits in 30 at-bats with runners in scoring position.
“We got a lot of guys who aren’t hot right now, aren’t feeling the best,” Edman said Wednesday night. “But we got to turn the page, and hopefully we can swing it better the next couple days.”
“As a group,” Kiké Hernández added, “it’s time for us to show our character and put up a fight and see what happens. … It’s time for us, for the offense, to show up.”
Better production from Betts would be a good start.
On Wednesday night, the shortstop did not mince words about his recent offensive struggles, saying he has “just been terrible” after batting .164 in 13 games since the start of the National League Division Series.
Roberts tried to take some pressure off the former MVP in Game 5, moving him from second to third in a reshuffled batting order. But after that yielded yet another hitless performance, Roberts further simplified the task for his 33-year-old star.
“Focus on one game, and be good for one game,” Roberts said. “Go out there and compete.”
On Thursday, that was Betts’ focus, with multiple people around the team noting a quiet and renewed confidence he carried into his off-day batting practice session. He had long talks with hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc, special assistant Ron Roenicke and Roberts around the hitting cage. He searched for answers to a swing that, of late, has generated too many shallow pop-ups and mishit balls.
Dodgers teammates Mookie Betts, left, Max Muncy, Tommy Edman and Freddie Freeman wait on the infield during a pitching change in the seventh inning of Game 5 of the World Series on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
“He looked great,” fellow hitting coach Aaron Bates said. “Actually, his head was in a good place. Good spirits. The whole group, guys were great. Everyone came and showed up and hit and got their work in.”
For the Dodgers to save their season, it isn’t only Betts who will need to find a turnaround.
While Blue Jays starters Shane Bieber and Trey Yesavage pitched well in Games 4 and 5, the Dodgers also seemed to struggle to adapt their plan of attack — getting stuck in an “in-between” state, as both Roberts and several players noted, of both trying to attack fastballs and protect against secondary stuff.
“Sometimes we’re too aggressive,” outfielder Teoscar Hernández said. “Sometimes we’re too patient.”
“It seems like at-bats are snowballing on us right now,” Kiké Hernández added. “We’re getting pitches to hit, we’re missing them. And we’re expanding the zone with two strikes.”
Being “in-between” was a problem for the Dodgers late in the season, when they ranked just 12th in the majors in scoring after the All-Star break. That it is happening again raises a familiar question about the identity of the club.
Do they want to be an aggressive, slugging lineup that lives and dies by the home run? Or more of a contact-minded unit capable of grinding out at-bats and stressing an opposing pitcher’s pitch count. Roberts’ emphasis on better “compete” signaled the need to do more of the latter.
Freeman echoed that notion leading up to Game 5.
“If we’re going up there just trying to hit home runs, it’s just not the name of the game,” Freeman said. “We just need to check down and have, like, almost a 0-1 mindset. Just build innings, extend ‘em, work counts, be who we are.”
So, how do they actually go about doing that, ahead of a Game 6 matchup with a pitcher in Kevin Gausman who excels at mixing his fastball and splitter?
“Basically, you have to keep to your strengths,” Bates said. “And see what the next pitcher brings to the table.”
The only silver lining: The Dodgers have been in this spot before.
Last year, at the very start of their World Series run, they faced a similar situation in the NLDS against the San Diego Padres, winning back-to-back games with clutch offensive outbursts that helped catapult them to an eventual World Series title.
“We can do it again,” Freeman said.
“I think we’re a more talented team than we were last year,” Kike Hernández added.
Entering Friday, they will have two games to prove it. Now or never. Do, or watch their dreams of cementing a dynasty die.
Fenerbahce’s home EuroLeague fixtures against Israeli sides Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv next month have been relocated to Germany over security concerns.
The Turkish side were scheduled to host the clubs in Istanbul on 11 and 13 November, but the games will now be played in Munich on the same dates because of what Fenerbahce said were security measures implemented by Turkish authorities.
Fenerbahce said the games will be played at SAP Garden in the German city and be “open to the participation of our fans”.
The EuroLeague defending champions also had to relocate two games against Maccabi, originally scheduled to be held in Istanbul, to Lithuania last year.
Relations between Turkey and Israel have deteriorated since Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023.
Large anti-Israel demonstrations have taken place across Turkey since.
Last week, Fenerbahce and fellow EuroLeague side Efes Istanbul criticised the tournament organisers’ decision to allow Israeli clubs to resume playing at home from 1 December.
The Israeli teams have been playing their EuroLeague and EuroCup home games abroad since October 2023.
It is only the latest in a series of incidents where tensions surrounding the Israel-Gaza war have affected sports.
Earlier this month, a decision was made to bar Maccabi Tel Aviv football fans from attending the Europa League fixture against Aston Villa in Birmingham on 6 November on safety grounds.
Violence also broke out before Maccabi’s match against Ajax in the same competition in November last year.
There were also protests at the Israel national football team’s 2026 World Cup qualifier games in Norway and Italy this month.
Meanwhile, Israel-Premier Tech are to drop Israel from their name from next season after the cycling team, owned by Israeli-Canadian property billionaire Sylvan Adams, were at the centre of several disruptions by protesters during last month’s Vuelta a Espana in Spain.
Premier League clubs fight for Karl Etta Eyong’s signature, AC Milan interested in Joshua Zirkzee loan, Manchester United not pursuing Kevin Filling and Chelsea lead race for Kenan Yildiz.
Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal are in the running to sign 22-year-old Cameroon and Levante forward Karl Etta Eyong, who wants to resolve his future in January with Barcelona and Real Madrid also interested. (Mundo Deportivo – in Spanish, external)
Manchester United are not currently pursuing AIK’s Kevin Filling, despite reports they are in negotiations to sign the 16-year-old Swedish forward. (Manchester Evening News, external)
AC Milan could join the clubs interested in Manchester United forward Joshua Zirkzee, 24, if the Netherlands international is available on loan in January. (Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian, external)
German champions Bayern Munich have entered into talks to sign 19-year-old Givairo Read, the Feyenoord and Netherlands Under-21 full-back who is also a target of several Premier League clubs including Liverpool. (Sky Sports – in German, external)
Former Tottenham and Nottingham Forest manager Ange Postecoglou is very unlikely to become Celtic’s next boss, with Ipswich Town’s Kieran McKenna and Wales head coach Craig Bellamy among the candidates. (Sky Sports, external)
Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen, 26, is still on Barcelona’s radar, but they are deterred by the price tag of the Nigeria international. (Mundo Deportivo – in Spanish, external)
Chelsea have emerged as favourites to sign Juventus forward Kenan Yildiz, 20, after tabling an exciting proposal for the Turkey international, but Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool are keen too. (Teamtalk, external)
Chelsea are actively working to sign Joaquin Panichelli from Ligue 1 side Strasbourg, but AC Milan have also shown interest in the 23-year-old Argentine striker. (Fichajes – in Spanish, external)
Barcelona defender Eric Garcia has agreed terms on a new Barcelona contract, despite the 24-year-old Spain international attracting interest from Chelsea and Tottenham. (TBR Football, external)
Tottenham will look to sign Juventus and Canada striker Jonathan David during the January transfer window, with Bayern Munich also eyeing the 25-year-old. (Fichajes – in Spanish, external)
The Rams star receiver, who sat out the last game because of an ankle injury, said Thursday that he was “feeling great” and planned to play on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints at SoFi Stadium.
“That’s the plan,” he said after practice. “I’m feeling fantastic. Feel ready to go.”
That enabled Nacua to rest and receive treatment for an injury suffered during an Oct. 12 victory against the Ravens in Baltimore.
Nacua had two catches for 28 yards before he and Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey leaped for a pass near the end zone. Both came down hard on the turf as the pass fell incomplete.
Nacua said he was intent on making sure that if he did not come down with the ball, neither would Humphrey.
“Really thought it was like just getting the wind knocked out of me, just of how I landed,” Nacua said. “Got up and I was like, ‘Oh, it’s definitely not my back.’”
The Rams defeated the Jaguars without Nacua to improve their record to 5-2 heading into the off week.
“Never a good time to be injured,” Nacua said, “but the bye did land at a great time to rest and recover.”
Nacua returns to a receiving corps that got a three-touchdown performance from Davante Adams against the Jaguars. The Rams, however, will be without Tutu Atwell, who is on injured reserve for at least four games because of a hamstring injury.
Nacua ranks third in the NFL with 54 catches and fourth with 616 yards receiving. He has two touchdown catches and also has rushed for a touchdown.
Nacua eclipsed 100 yards receiving three times this season, the last a month ago when he caught 13 passes for 170 yards in a 17-3 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.
“I asked Brendon how he changed that in English cricket, which was really interesting. Then we got into the technicalities of coaching someone one-on-one, what that looks like, his role as head coach in that versus his assistants.
“We sat for a good period of time and took loads from it. They’re on to a good thing.”
After beginning the series against Australia, England will also face Fiji, New Zealand and Argentina this autumn.
Meanwhile, the cricket team will play five Test matches as they look to regain the Ashes for the first time since they won in Australia a decade ago.
“They’ll go out and give it a great dig – as English teams who are playing against Australia want to – and hopefully we stick one on the board on Saturday,” said Wigglesworth, who was part of the British and Irish Lions set-up as they posted a 2-1 series win against the Wallabies in the summer.
“It’s a great rivalry with Australia. Both sides really enjoy playing against each other because there’s something there. Bring on Saturday.”
England are favourites against Australia, who are ranked seventh in the world.
The Wallabies finished third in the Rugby Championship with two wins from six games and beat Japan 19-15 in Tokyo on Saturday with a much-changed team.
A first-round pick out of Wake Forest in 2022, the Lakers forward has played for three NBA teams without garnering too much attention — at least not until Wednesday night’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Starting in his second straight game for injury-depleted L.A., which has been without LeBron James all season and Luka Doncic the last three games, LaRavia scored 27 points on 10-of-11 shooting, including five of six from three-point range).
Even then, LaRavia seemed to be toiling in obscurity. A number of fans at Minneapolis’ Target Center started shouting, “Who is No. 12?” — a genuine question as to the identity of the sharpshooter torching their team.
LaRavia, who was born in Pasadena and grew up in Indianapolis, took notice of the puzzled fans and more than once gave them a smile and a slight wave in acknowledgment.
When one fan yelled “Who is No. 12?” early in the fourth quarter — after LaRavia hit a three-pointer to give the Lakers a 105-89 lead — it caught the attention of injured Minnesota star Anthony Edwards on the bench. Edwards responded by spreading his arms above his head and shouting “That’s what I’m saying! I don’t know!”
FanDuel Sports Network broadcast the interaction between Edwards and the fan, and video clips of it have been circulating on social media. Again, LaRavia rolled with it all, writing “lol” in the comments of one such clip and posting the video on his Instagram Story, along with the caption “Cap” (slang for when someone is lying) and two laughing emojis.
The Lakers won the game 116-115 on a last-second floater by Austin Reaves, who had a team-high 28 points and 16 assists. Afterward, LaRavia credited Reaves for setting up most of his shots.
“Yeah, I mean, Austin has 16 assists, so I think they all came from him,” LaRavia told reporters. “But yeah, I was knocking down shots and kind of just getting my rhythm and kept shooting. So when they’re falling, they’re falling.”
LaRavia previously played his best basketball late in the 2023-24 season with Memphis, scoring a career-high 32 points against Cleveland, 28 against the Lakers and 29 against Denver in the final three games of the season. He also scored 25 against the Lakers during a late-March game that season.
Sent to the Sacramento Kings at the trade deadline last season, LaRavia became a free agent after his option was not picked up this summer. He was a career 42.9% three-point shooter, averaging 6.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, when he was signed by the Lakers to be a complementary player to the team’s bigger names.
Necessity has given LaRavia a greater role. His first start for the Lakers, which came Monday in a 122-108 loss to Portland, didn’t go so well (three points on one-for-six shooting, 0-for-three from three-point range). LaRavia said a conversation with coach JJ Redick and general manager Rob Pelinka helped him get in the proper mindset for Wednesday’s game.
“They have just been wanting me to be more aggressive scoring,” LaRavia said, “especially with everyone that we have out…. Our conversation with both of them [was] to just come out here and kind of play how I play. I think I did just that.”
He added: “It’s pretty much just like having a scorer’s mentality. A lot of times, I feel like when I’m in the game, I’m looking for an AR or someone else to get off the ball to, like hitting [Deandre Ayton] or whoever it is, and then to just come out tonight and be like, ‘I’m going to go score. I’m gonna be more aggressive myself so that when I am making shots, I can collapse the defense and then kick it out and stuff like that.’ Just to go out there and kind of have that scorers mentality.”
In addition to his scoring against Minnesota, LaRavia also had eight rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block, although Redick said his contributions were even greater than the numbers show.
“For Jake as a Laker, this game now is a reference point,” Redick told reporters after the game. “Not only for the offense — again, two out of the last three games, he’s been phenomenal defensively. … He had six or seven deflections tonight. He ended up with one steal and a block, but that doesn’t really capture his level of activity defensively. And then just continuing to have confidence in his shot and belief in that was big.”
Times staff writers Broderick Turner and Thuc-Nhi Nguyen contributed to this report.
There was Harmanpreet Kaur’s unforgettable 171 at Derby in 2017 to seal India’s place in the final, and the near-miss in the T20 semi-final at Cape Town in 2023 as the same player’s bat got stuck in the ground as she was crucially run out.
These two teams had already played out the best match of this tournament’s group stage, with Alyssa Healy’s side chasing 331 on that occasion.
Thursday’s thriller was another example of India and Australia taking the game to new levels.
Phoebe Litchfield’s stunning 119 set up Australia’s 338, supported by half-centuries from Ellyse Perry and Ash Gardner, as India were run ragged in the field.
At the halfway stage Australia’s eight-year unbeaten run at 50-over World Cups looked almost certain to continue.
However, such was Rodrigues’ brilliance – her speed between the wickets, her innovation by shuffling across her stumps, her pinpoint ability to pick the gaps between fielders – that the usually unflappable Australia were rocked.
Healy and Tahlia McGrath put down simple chances, and the team that had not lost a World Cup game since Harmanpreet’s epic were left stunned.
The batting was arguably of the highest quality that women’s cricket has ever seen – but of wider significance is what an India triumph at a home World Cup could mean.
They face South Africa in Sunday’s showpiece, meaning a new winner will be crowned for the first time since 2000.
Both finalists are chasing history – but an India victory could catapult the women’s game to new heights in terms of reach and investment.
“The pace at which women’s cricket is growing in India is unbelievable,” former IPL batter Abhishek Jhunjhunwala told BBC Test Match Special.
“Girls have started playing on the streets with boys, which you never used to see happen. They want to be a Jemimah Rodrigues or a Deepti Sharma.
“It is a proper career now for women. If India go on to win this World Cup, this will change women’s cricket. The game is growing rapidly worldwide but in a commercial aspect, this will change drastically.”
Around the stadiums in India, the shift is obvious in the sheer number of boys and men wearing shirts bearing the names of Smriti Mandhana or Harmanpreet, and the crowds have been electric for the hosts’ games.
The Women’s Premier League, India’s T20 franchise competition, has started the game-changing process with the salaries on offer to players. But based on this sensational semi-final, that could prove to be just the beginning.
The NBA board of governors unanimously approved Mark Walter’s bid to buy a majority stake in the Lakers on Thursday, the league announced, marking a major shift for one of L.A.’s most significant sports teams.
The Lakers had been a family-run team since Dr. Jerry Buss bought the franchise in 1979. When he died in 2013, control went into a family trust with daughter Jeanie Buss acting as the team’s governor. The Buss family built the team into one of the most recognizable brands in sports, eventually attracting a record-breaking $10-billion valuation. While the sale was finalized, Jeanie Buss will be the team’s governor for at least five years after the transaction officially closes, the league announcement stated.
“The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most iconic franchises in all of sports, defined by a history of excellence and the relentless pursuit of greatness,” Walter said in a statement released by the team. “Few teams carry the legacy and global influence of the Lakers, and it’s a privilege to work alongside Jeanie Buss as we maintain that excellence and set the standard for success in this new era, both on and off the court.”
Walter, who also heads the group that owns the Dodgers and the Sparks, was seated next to Buss at the Lakers’ season opener on Oct. 21. Walter and Todd Boehly have been minority stakeholders in the Lakers since 2021 when they bought 27% of the franchise.
To represent the team as a governor, a minority owner must have at least 15% stake of their team. Buss will continue to oversee day-to-day team operations for the foreseeable future, the Lakers announced.
“Over the past decade, I have come to know Mark well — first as a businessman, then as a friend and now as a colleague,” Buss said in a statement. “He has demonstrated time and time again his commitment to bringing championships to Los Angeles, and, on behalf of Lakers fans everywhere, I am beyond excited about what our future has in store.”
During a recent Lakers game, when the camera panned to Buss and Walter sitting courtside, Buss held one finger up to show off a gaudy Lakers championship ring. In 2020, she became the first female controlling owner to win an NBA championship as the Lakers collected their 17th title.
With 11 championships under the Buss family’s watch, the Lakers became a global sports phenomenon with stars including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant plus the latest wave of LeBron James and Luka Doncic. When Doncic signed a three-year, $165-million contract extension in August, the 26-year-old superstar thanked both Walter and Buss for their belief in his talent.
It has been suggested that McKenna would be open to speaking to Celtic given his boyhood allegiances.
“Growing up, we all have our affinities,” he said when asked about those. “I don’t think everyone has to go around and announce what they were, but of course it’s a really big football club.”
McKenna signed a new four-year contract in 2024 and was asked about his reported £5m release clause.
“In every manager’s contract, there are things,” he replied. “I don’t know what mine are and, if I did, I wouldn’t tell you anyway!
“I approach this job like I’ll be Ipswich manager forever. I know that’s not always going to be the case, but I’ll always do my best as long as I am here.”
Bellamy played for Celtic on loan from Newcastle United in 2005, but the former Wales striker is minded to complete the current World Cup campaign, a stance that would effectively rule out the 46-year-old from immediately taking the Celtic job.
Wales are currently third in their qualifying group behind leaders Belgium and second-placed North Macedonia.
Victories over Liechtenstein and North Macedonia in November would book their place in the qualification play-offs, but they are all but assured of making those, thanks to a successful Nations League campaign, even if they fail to finish as Group J runners-up.
Given his current stance, Bellamy, whose contract expires after Euro 2028, would not be available until after the play-offs at the earliest.
NEW YORK — Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball was fined $35,000 by the NBA on Thursday for making an obscene gesture on Tuesday night.
Ball was assessed a technical foul for making the gesture with 4:02 to play in the fourth quarter of a 144-117 loss to Miami. He finished the game with 20 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.
Ball leads the Hornets in all three categories through their first four games with averages of 26.3 points, 9.5 assists and 8.3 rebounds.
Charlotte hosts the Orlando Magic on Thursday night.
