The Williams sisters, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic are back at Wimbledon. What year is it again?
The mention of those names may make it feel like we’re stuck in a timewarp – but, no, it is 2026 and some of the sport’s greatest are returning to SW19, in one way or another.
American icon Serena Williams, 44, is making a blockbuster singles comeback after four years away from the sport and also resumes her iconic doubles pairing with sister Venus, 46.
Djokovic, meanwhile, is only a week younger than 39-year-old Murray yet is still chasing that elusive record 25th Grand Slam title.
“It’s very special to be here – we have quite a history here. It’s nice to be back in 2026,” said Venus Williams, who has won five singles and six doubles titles at the All England Club.
As one of the highlights of the British sporting summer, Wimbledon never goes under the radar, but the presence of the old guard will help elevate the grass-court Grand Slam in a summer stacked with sporting events.
Eyeballs are inevitably trained on the men’s football World Cup, particularly with England still in the competition, while the women’s T20 cricket World Cup and British Grand Prix are also jostling for the limelight.
The appearance of the legends – along with younger superstars like Jannik Sinner, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff, plus the high-profile return of Briton Jack Draper – will ensure Wimbledon will remain at the centre of attention.
“We’re always unbelievably excited to be part of an exciting summer of sport,” Wimbledon tournament director Jamie Baker told BBC World Service.
“Every summer there are always other big events on and I think that does add to the buzz around sport in general. We do love being part of that.”
It was an uncapped warm-up game for the Nations Championship tournament which starts with the opening game against Fiji at the Cardiff City Stadium next Saturday before away trips against Argentina and South Africa.
Morgan took over the captaincy at half-time when Lake was taken off.
“I love being back,” said Morgan. “It’s always an honour to be able to put the jersey on and I was chuffed to be back in the field with the boys.
“It was a tough game against a good Barbarians side and it was great to be able to get that win.”
Morgan says he has seen improvements under Tandy since his return.
“It’s been great to be able to watch because you can see how Steve and the coaches want to implement the game,” said Morgan.
“You can see during the Six Nations we’re getting better every game. You could see the identity we were trying to bring through.
“You always want to be out in the field, but it was great to be able to watch the boys play and I thought they did a brilliant job.”
Minutes after the final whistle was blown on Canada’s historic World Cup victory against South Africa on Sunday, coach Jesse Marsch gathered his players and staff in a huge huddle and delivered some words of inspiration to them.
“Canadian heroes,” he called his team after they won a knockout game at the tournament for the first time to reach the last 16.
“The future of the sport in this country is huge because of you.”
Marsch is known for grandiose comments – exaggerated and emotional statements delivered to provide maximum impact.
But his words here ring true – the sport in the country is changing.
“It is starting to become known as football now, not soccer,” one fan told BBC Sport before the match.
“Canada is becoming a football nation.”
That was the objective Marsch set out to achieve when he became Canada boss two years ago, a goal that at the time seemed highly unlikely for a country whose first love is widely regarded as ice hockey.
Mexico hosted this World Cup’s opener while the USA stages the final. Attention has been far greater on the two in the build-up, leaving Canada as something like the forgotten co-host.
But Canada quietly went about its business, building interest and passion for the tournament and their national team from within.
The country’s captain, Alphonso Davies, is used to large, football-mad crowds playing for Bayern Munich and in the Champions League.
However, he has noticed the change in Canada since the World Cup got under way, and said he cried at seeing so many fans clad in red and white in Toronto for their opening game against Bosnia-Herzegovina.
“It was surreal because I’ve never seen so many Canadians at a football match before,” he said before the win against South Africa.
Less than two hours before the Dodgers took the field in Minneapolis on Wednesday, a pair of powerful earthquakes rattled Venezuela, where the wife and two kids of Dodgers shortstop Miguel Rojas were visiting and where his sister lives.
The successive magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes left the country’s northern coastal state of La Guaira in ruins, collapsing more than 770 buildings and killing at least 1,450 people, local authorities said Sunday.
All of Rojas’ family members were OK, the Venezuelan native told reporters ahead of Friday’s game against the Padres in San Diego.
“Literally two blocks away from where my family was, two buildings collapsed — the whole building,” he said. “I’m lucky, to be honest with you guys. I’m really lucky to have my family still alive and with me. I’m not taking this for granted.”
Rojas’ wife and kids were in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, which is only about six miles south of the destruction along the coast. His wife was there to renew her passport, and the kids were going to try to get Venezuelan citizenship. His sister was in Los Teques, Rojas’ hometown about 17 miles south of the coastal destruction.
Rescue workers search through rubble on Saturday in Catia La Mar following the devastating double earthquakes.
(Fernando Vergara / Associated Press)
“It’s really tough to see teammates of mine and players that I played with at some point in my career to lose family members, to lose kids,” said Rojas, who had spent years playing baseball in La Guaira. “It’s really devastating. It’s been really hard for me to go to sleep at night.”
Rojas, on Friday, said he was talking daily with his family members, who were still in Venezuela. He hoped to bring them back to the United States as soon as possible. Aftershocks continued to rattle the country into Sunday morning.
As the Dodgers and Padres started their series in Petco Park on Friday, both teams wore caps with the letters “VZ” embroidered on the side to honor the people of Venezuela as the road to recovery begins.
“That means a lot because both teams will be doing it — it means a lot, because it brings awareness,” Rojas said.
“We are on one of the biggest stages in sports, and I really appreciate what the Dodgers do to support us,” he added. “It’s not just what happens now, it’s what’s going to happen in the future. It’s going to take a long time for people to recover.”
Times staff writer Maddie Lee contributed to this report.
Remember when we were sure the World Cup would suffer from all the issues that had everyone seeing red before the first ball was kicked?
And remember when we were certain soccer could never catch on in this country?
Despite controversies over visas and ticket prices and transportation, and in spite of consternation over expansion and new rules, the game has, as usual, proved too good to fail.
And we, the American people, have become unusually engrossed in it.
We’ve been tuning in on TV in record numbers and, even at exorbitant prices, helping to sell out our 70,000-some-capacity stadiums. Before group play was even finished, this tournament — staged also in Mexico and Canada — already outdrew the 1994 World Cup, which was hosted by the United States and set an attendance record of nearly 3.6 million.
We’ve been loving the healthy cultural exchange, and we’re being reminded that cultural barriers of traditional sports fandom can be breached.
So now, to keep our interest from drying out like a pitch on a hot summer day, the goal should be to keep the market saturated with soccer. That will take Major League Soccer tearing down all the walls.
It’s already turned the page on its calendar, adopting a summer-to-spring season format that will better blend with the global game.
Now MLS needs to make its games easier to watch, and to do its part to make the sport easier to play.
Canada goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau, left, celebrates with teammate Jonathan David after a 1-0 win over South Africa at the World Cup on Sunday.
(Kelvin Kuo / Los Angeles Times)
While the proverbial iron is hot, it needs a strike like Stephen Eustáquio’s winning rocket in the 92nd minute of Canada’s 1-0 victory against South Africa on Sunday at SoFi Stadium.
Eleven players on the two teams were MLS representatives — including Eustáquio, who spent the last six months in LAFC’s midfield.
Goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau, who played two seasons with LAFC and now plays for Orlando City, stopped the only shot he saw for his second clean sheet this World Cup, which saw the Canadians succeed in their first knockout stage appearance.
There’s been no avoiding MLS players in this World Cup. The greatest of them is piling up goals for Argentina: Lionel Messi, the Inter Miami superstar, is now the all-time World Cup goal-scorer (with 19).
MLS has set an attendance record too, with 44 players participating. It ranks as the league with the second-most players apart from the top five European leagues. LAFC had three current players in the mix.
But wait. Record skip. Before you celebrate the MLS’s contributions to this soccer spectacle, check with the VAR. Yep, without the 13 MLS players representing nations that rank 40th or lower in FIFA’s world ranking, there actually would be fewer than the 37 MLS participants at the World Cup four years ago.
A baby’s first steps are for celebrating, but three decades after the league’s formation, MLS is still searching for a giant leap. It’s still having a mean time of trying to make “fetch” happen for real.
It would help to make its games more readily available — not to the already converted, but to fans who didn’t even know what they didn’t know about soccer until the World Cup began in their backyards.
MLS has already brought MLS from behind Apple’s season pass paywall. And the league and streaming service also reportedly have agreed to a revised media rights deal that will end at the end of the 2028-29 season, three and a half years earlier than expected.
But the hat trick would be to remove the need to subscribe to streaming service to watch MLS games altogether, and then get those matches onto the networks people know to tune into for their sports.
Normalize watching American soccer.
And stop gatekeeping. MLS’s developmental programs are too restrictive and exclusive — they’re not developing more soccer players, they’re curtailing who can play.
It’s in the league’s interests, and the sport’s in this country, to encourage as many players to play as much as they can — including for their high school teams, which MLS Next bars.
They’ve got people in the tent; the goal should be to make them want to stay.
To make them want to join the world’s circus, not to let it pack up and move on, out of sight and out of mind, until it swings back through years from now.
-13 H Ryu (Kor); -11 I Yoon (Kor); -10 B Henderson (Can), D Weber (Ned); -7 A Corpuz (US), A Kim (US), A Lee (US); -6 SY Kim (Kor), J Thitikul (Tha), N Korda (US), AL Kim (Kor)
Selected others: +5 L Maguire (Ire); +6 G Dryburgh (Sco)
South Korea’s Haeran Ryu landed a maiden major with a two-shot victory at the Women’s PGA Championship.
The 25-year-old went into the day with a one-shot lead and relinquished her place at the top of the leaderboard in a fluctuating final round, with three bogeys in the first five holes.
But she got back on track with five birdies in a two-under-par round to finish on -13 and take the $1.95m (£1.48m) winner’s cheque.
The tournament purse of $13m (£9.8m) is the largest in women’s golf history.
“It feels like a dream has come true because I tried a couple times to be a major champion and I didn’t get it,” Ryu said.
“Today I did it and I’m so happy right now.”
It was an incredible comeback for a player who was tied for 70th and 10 shots off the lead after the opening round at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota.
Canada’s Brooke Henderson and Dewi Weber of the Netherlands each held the lead following a weather-delayed start to the round but both finished on -10, tied for third – a career-best finish in a major for Weber.
Ryu’s compatriot Ina Yoon had fallen away on the third day after leading by five, but fought back to finish second on -11.
America’s Nelly Korda – chasing a historic third straight major championship win – was four shots off the lead at the start of play but could not kick on, ending tied for eighth on six under.
Fears about the British number one’s fitness grew over the past week.
Raducanu was spotted wearing a protective boot on Wednesday, then was unable to train on Thursday and Friday because of what is believed to be a shin problem.
The 2021 US Open champion returned to the court on Saturday to test her fitness and, wearing strapping around her lower right leg, started with a gentle hour-long session with her team.
But she then cut short another practice session with Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya – when the pair played a set – with 10 minutes remaining.
There were signs of improvement in her practice session on Sunday morning.
Raducanu was slightly less tentative against hitting partner Alexis Canter – particularly when she pushed with her right leg on the forehand side – but it was not as rigorous a test of her movement as she got against Kalinskaya.
Later on Sunday, Raducanu told the media she was willing to push herself and take more risk with the injury in order to step out at the All England Club.
“Playing at Wimbledon, in front of a home crowd, means everything to me, so this is really difficult to process,” Raducanu said.
When FIFA expanded the World Cup field from 32 to 48 teams for this summer’s tournament, the gnashing of teeth and clutching of pearls was as predictable as it was loud. The field would be watered down, the traditionalists protested. The group stage would be a series of blowouts, the sharks would devour the minnows.
In fact, none of that happened.
What we got instead was plucky Cape Verde playing No. 3 Spain to a draw and becoming the smallest nation to reach the elimination rounds. We got Austria advancing on a goal six minutes into stoppage time — eliminating unbeaten Iran, which deserved better — and Canada, Egypt and the Democratic Republic of Congo all winning World Cup games for the first time.
We got Lionel Messi scoring six goals and Mexico and Spain giving up none. We got South Africa, Canada, Egypt and Cape Verde advancing to the knockout rounds for the first time while South Korea and Uruguay went home.
It was one of the most surprising, exciting and compelling group stages in recent World Cup history. And on Sunday it gave way to the first game of the knockout rounds, with Canada beating South Africa 1-0 on a goal by LAFC midfielder Stephen Eustáquio in the second minute of stoppage time.
Canada’s Stephen Eustáquio reacts after a 1-0 win over South Africa at the World Cup on Sunday at SoFi Stadium.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Unlike much of the group stage, Sunday’s game was a sloppy, sleepy affair, with South Africa relying on some heroic play from its back line to keep the game even. But it ended with a bang with Eustáquio latching on to a loose ball at top of the box and blasting a right-footed volley just inside the left post.
Canada will play the winner of Monday’s Netherlands-Morocco match in the round of 16 next week. For South Africa, the World Cup is over.
For both countries, this World Cup was the most successful ever. Canada, which is sharing host duties with Mexico and the U.S., has won twice. South Africa had won games before, but it had never gotten beyond the group stage.
For South Africa, that success is part of a continental soccer resurgence. Four years ago in Qatar, Morocco became the first African nation to reach the World Cup semifinals. This summer, thanks to the expanded field, 10 African nations qualified for the tournament and nine advanced to the round of 32.
And the rise of African soccer hasn’t just boosted the fortunes of African teams. Top-ranked France, a World Cup favorite, has 21 players of African descent on its roster; at least a dozen other non-African teams, including Canada, have at least two players of African heritage.
Canada is one of the world’s most diverse countries with nearly a quarter of its population having been born somewhere else. Former coach John Herdman leaned into that diversity when he took over the men’s team in 2018; four years later, Canada made its second trip to the World Cup with a lineup that included four dual nationals.
Jesse Marsch, the U.S.-born coach who succeeded Herdman, doubled down on that. As a result, the 26 players on Canada’s roster, or their parents, come from more than 17 countries — from Iran, Croatia, Jamaica and Barbados to Haiti, Lebanon, Nigeria and the Philippines. Captain Alphonso Davies, Canada’s best player, was born to Liberian parents in a refugee camp in Ghana before being resettled in Edmonton, becoming a citizen in 2017.
Canada goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau makes a save against South Africa on Sunday.
(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
Davies, who hasn’t played since sustained an acute hamstring injury in early May, came on in the 76th minute Sunday and had an immediate influence, threading a perfect pass to the feet of Promise David, whose right-footed shot from the top of the box drifted inches wide of the left post.
Three minutes later, Davies drew two defenders to him on the left flank, opening space for Jonathan David to slip into the box and get off a tight-angled shot near the end line that stood up South African keeper Ronwen Williams. But the winner came from Eustáquio, the son of Portuguese parents who Herdman wooed away from the Portuguese U-21 team in 2019.
He has made 60 appearances with Canada’s senior national team, none bigger than Sunday’s.
Canada’s Tani Oluwaseyi, center, gets caught between South Africa’s Khuliso Mudau (20) and Sphephelo Sithole during the first half Sunday.
A tidy race to lead Audi home and finish just outside the points.
Nico Hulkenberg – 5.5/10
Solid enough but finishing behind Bortoleto takes the shine off it. He gained places from his lowly starting position, however.
Pierre Gasly – 5/10
Slipped down the order so a disappointing Sunday for Alpine who just looked short on pace.
Ollie Bearman – 4.5/10
A clean but anonymous afternoon for Bearman. Haas didn’t have much to fight with.
Franco Colapinto – 4.5/10
Not spectacular but a steady finish for Colapinto, who kept his Alpine out of trouble.
Esteban Ocon – 4/10
Finished behind team-mate Ollie Bearman again, which made for a poor return. Lost ground at the start and never looked like a points contender.
Alex Albon – 4/10
Williams had a tough race and Alex Albon finished two laps down. Unlike this team-mate Carlos Sainz, he at least got to the flag.
Fernando Alonso – 4.5/10
The final classified finisher. He gained places largely through others retiring, however his five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane made this another race for Aston Martin to forget.
Lance Stroll – 3.5/10
Aston Martin driver retired after 45 laps, ending a difficult race from the back row.
Carlos Sainz – 4/10
Out after 23 laps when his car stopped on the pit straight. Led Williams once again in qualifying which is all that can be said.
Sergio Perez – 4/10
Only lasted a few laps for Cadillac. Out-qualified team-mate Valtteri Bottas but barely turned a wheel this weekend with several car issues in practice plaguing him during the race, too.
Valtteri Bottas – 3.5/10
The first retirement, after just two laps. There was almost no race to judge. Started behind his team-mate but Cadillac’s Sunday was over before it had begun.
Sixteen of the 48 teams are heading home, but which of the sides left standing will survive all the way to the World Cup final at MetLife Stadium near New York City on 19 July?
The hopes of another 16 nations will bite the dust after the first knockout round, which includes England against DR Congo and holders Argentina against surprise package Cape Verde.
It was a different team who caused the biggest shock in the final set of group games, however.
While BBC Sport’s football expert Chris Sutton and AI still went for Cape Verde to lose against Saudi Arabia – from more than 50,000 users playing the BBC’s new predictor game – 39% of you correctly went for a draw and 43% even backed the African side to win.
Instead, it was Ecuador who caught almost everyone out this time.
From more than 56,000 users predictions for that game, only 597 of you correctly backed them to beat Germany.
Chris and AI were also wrong about that one but, overall, they both got 15/24 predictions right from that set of matches.
Again, the users did better, with 17/24, and they still lead the way with 72 of this World Cup’s 104 matches now completed.
Chris has been right 41 times (57%), AI has a score of 43 (60%), but you lot are doing even better with 48 (67%).
Before the tournament, Chris also picked the order he thought each of the 12 groups would finish in. He was right about seven of the winners, but only got all four teams in the correct order in three of the groups.
AI’s predictions have been generated using Microsoft Copilot Chat. We simply asked the tool to ‘predict the results of the World Cup last-32 ties’.
The new BBC predictor game allows readers to pick a winner from each knockout tie.
When Stokes was away from the England team for the second Test, he played for Durham and said returning to his county rekindled a love for the game. He confirmed he will continue to play domestic cricket.
“Being back at Durham, when I wasn’t playing in the second Test, I found a new lease of life for the game, but unfortunately I just couldn’t get that feeling back this week,” said Stokes.
“I’m very excited about the next part of what I get to do. Going back to playing for my boyhood club Durham, I’m comparing this week to that week – right now I am buzzing, but there have been moments this week that have been really tough and it just adds to everything and it makes it clear that I’ve made the right decision.”
Stokes said he made the retirement decision when he was putting on his pads to prepare to bat in England’s first innings at Trent Bridge on Saturday.
He told former captain Joe Root and vice-captain Harry Brook on Saturday evening, then revealed the news to the rest of the team on Sunday morning.
“It’s been an interesting four or five weeks, maybe six months in general,” added Stokes. “There are all kinds of emotions when this day comes – relief, happiness, excitement, sadness. Everything that you go through.
“It’s the best thing that I’ve ever been asked to do, captaining England. It is the greatest honour to have on your shoulders but there is also another side to it that people don’t see, only those closest to you see it.
“My family, my wife, they see the bits where it does drain you and it does affect you negatively.”
Group play is over and it’s knockout time at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The round of 32 is set, with tournament co-host Canada kicking things off Sunday when it faces South Africa at SoFi Stadium.
Here’s everything you need to know about World Cup knockout stage matches being played Sunday, Monday and Tuesday across the U.S., Mexico and Canada (all times Pacific).
Sunday’s round of 32 match
Canada vs. South Africa
Canada’s Alphonso Davies warms up before a World Cup match against Qatar on June 18.
The buzz: Both teams are making their first appearances in a World Cup knockout round, Canada (1-1-1) after losing its group-play final to Switzerland and South Africa (1-1-1) after upsetting South Korea. Canada, the first World Cup host to play a game outside its borders, could get a boost if Alphonso Davies, its best player, can play after missing the team’s first three games. South Africa scored just one goal of its own in the group stage; Canada got six in one game alone.
Monday’s round of 32 matches
Brazil vs. Japan
Brazil’s Matheus Cunha celebrates after scoring against Haiti at the World Cup on June 19.
The buzz: Brazil won Group C, posting consecutive 3-0 wins over Haiti and Scotland to close out the first round and run goalkeeper Alisson Becker’s shutout streak to 249 minutes. Vinícius Júnior, with four goals, and Matheus Cunha, with three, have accounted for all of Brazil’s scoring. Brazil hasn’t been eliminated in the first knockout stage of a World Cup since 1990. Japan has received goals from five players in an unbeaten run through Group F, where it finished second to the Netherlands. Japan has not won a World Cup knockout-round game in four tries.
Germany vs. Paraguay
Germany’s Kai Havertz reacts during a match against Curaçao at the World Cup on June 14.
The buzz: Germany scored 10 goals in the group stage, but the four-time tournament champions lost to Ecuador and had to rely on a tiebreaker to win the group over the Ivory Coast. Deniz Undav, with three goals, and Kai Havertz, with two, are the only Germans who have scored more than once. Paraguay gutted out a scoreless draw with Australia in its final game to finish third in Group D and squeeze into the round of 32. It has just two goals in the tournament, but it is coming off back-to-back shutouts.
Netherlands vs. Morocco
Brian Brobbey celebrates after scoring for the Netherlands in a win over Sweden at the World Cup on June 20.
The buzz: Morocco, a semifinalist four years ago, did not lose in the group stage but finished second to Brazil on goal differential, setting up this challenging matchup with the Netherlands. Morocco is ranked sixth in the world by FIFA, one spot ahead of the Dutch, who matched Germany with a tournament-high 10 goals in the first round. The Netherlands haven’t lost a first-round knockout game since 2006. Brian Brobbey has three goals for the Dutch while Cody Gakpo and Crysencio Summerville have two apiece. Ismael Saibari has scored in each of Morocco’s three games.
Tuesday’s round of 32 matches
Ivory Coast vs. Norway
Norway’s Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring against Senegal at the World Cup on June 22.
The buzz: Norway rested many of its regulars in its group-play finale, a 4-1 loss to France, to settle for second in Group I. Erling Haaland, playing in his first World Cup, had braces in Norway’s first two games. Ivory Coast finished second to Germany on a tiebreaker but advanced to the knockout stages for the first time. Villarreal’s Nicolas Pépé has two of the team’s four goals.
France vs. Sweden
France’s Kylian Mbappé points during a win over Norway at the World Cup on June 26.
The buzz: Unbeaten France, which has played in the last two World Cup finals, has designs on returning after dominating its group, winning two of its three games by three goals. Kylian Mbappé had braces in the first two games and is tied with Ousmane Dembélé for the team scoring lead for four goals. Sweden finished third in Group F, winning its first game by four goals and losing its second by the same margin. Sweden’s seven goals allowed matches Norway and Algeria for most by a round-of-32 qualifier.
Mexico vs. Ecuador
Mexico’s Luis Romo gestures during a win over Czechia at the World Cup on June 24.
The buzz: Mexico hasn’t won a knockout-stage match since 1986, the last time the tournament was played in Mexico. El Tri didn’t allow a goal in winning its group easily. Colombian-born Julián Quiñones leads the team with two goals. Ecuador beat Germany 2-1 in its final group-play match to squeeze into the knockout stages for just the second time, advancing as a third-place team. It was shut out in its first two matches.
On the back of eight straight losses things could hardly have got off to a worse start for the Giants when Johnstone got in at the corner and prop McMeeken then dotted down, after Rourke flicked Jake Trueman’s kick back.
However, they did not go under and two solo efforts in four minutes from Gagai and Geyer saw them turn the match on its head for the first time.
Sinfield’s first Super League try since joining from Leeds in the off-season gave Wakefield a 16-12 lead at the break, but Russell kicked a 40/20 in the first play of the second half and O’Donnell crashed over.
Huddersfield, who were looking for a first wince since 4 April, could not hold on to their narrow lead as Jowitt kicked a penalty after a high shot on McMeeken to level and Rourke held off the attentions of three players to get in at the corner.
The visitors fought back once more when Swift cut in off the left edge and grounded the ball to make it 22-22.
Sinfield’s drop-goal nudged Wakefield back into the lead before Russell’s long ranger levelled the scores yet again.
But the former Trinity man was left desolate when his pass was grabbed by Rourke who managed to get away from the chasers and win it.
Huddersfield will raise the curtain on Magic Weekend when they play York Knights at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium next Saturday, with Daryl Powell’s men playing his former side Castleford in Sunday’s first match.
Watch the moment former England captain Michael Vaughan finds out on Test Match Special that current England captain Ben Stokes is retiring at the end of the third and final Test match against New Zealand at Trent Bridge.
England captain Ben Stokes has made a stunning announcement to end his international career at the conclusion of the ongoing third Test against New Zealand.
All-rounder Stokes, one of the finest cricketers to ever play for England, was in the middle of a bowling spell at Trent Bridge when a statement was released confirming his intention to end a 15-year international career.
The 35-year-old missed England’s second Test after being involved in an incident in a London nightclub.
Before his return to the leading the team in Nottingham, he referred only to leading the team “this week”.
South Africa stuttered but ultimately applied the pressure to India in the race for the T20 World Cup semi-finals by beating Bangladesh by four wickets in their final group match at Lord’s.
After coming through an edgy chase of 118, the Proteas will progress to play England, who they beat in last year’s 50-over World Cup semi-final, on Thursday unless India beat unbeaten Australia later on Sunday (14:30 BST).
South Africa still fail to convince at this tournament, however.
Having beaten India and piled up 208-1 against Netherlands in their previous two games, they put in an indifferent batting performance reminiscent of their opening two games.
Captain Laura Wolvaardt fell to the first ball of the chase, her off stump knocked back by a Marufa Aktar inswinger, and when Dane van Niekerk was trapped lbw for three the Proteas were 59-3 at the halfway stage.
Annerie Dercksen threatened to take them home but she edged behind for 45 in the 15th over after which the boundaries dried up and the tension rose.
Marizanne Kapp was run out for 16 and Nadine de Klerk was caught at deep mid-wicket with five runs still needed before Chloe Tryon edged a four and cleared the off side to secure victory with four balls to spare.
South Africa were at least better with the ball.
Kapp bowled Juairiya Ferdous with the first ball of the match and, despite some middle-order resistance through a careful 42 by Sobhana Mostary and the late flurry of captain Nigar Sultana’s 32 not out, Bangladesh still only made 117-5.
But, after an affair far more tense than it should have been, they face a nervy wait to see if Australia can beat India to send them through.
If only. If Rob Pelinka could use the Dodgers’ blueprint to renovate, Lakers fans wouldn’t even be sweating this summer.
But, you know. Baseballs and basketballs, apples and oranges.
The windup and sales pitch are the same, though: Deliver a sustainable, high-rising, championship build. On time and … about that budget. One team has none. The other’s is tight.
In baseball, they wear caps. In the NBA, they’re compelled to stay under them.
In baseball, they can swing freely (for now). In basketball, they’re hamstrung by aprons.
Ned Colletti had it easier, and he lasted only two relatively successful seasons in his role as Dodgers general manager after Mark Walter’s Guggenheim Baseball Management group bought the ballclub in 2012.
Pelinka has it tougher as the Lakers’ general manager and president of basketball operations. But like Colletti before him, with Walter having purchased the majority stake in the Lakers, Pelinka is going to have to crash the hourglass and build a winner with haste. Er, the winner.
If the Lakers lay anything but an 18th brick on their championship foundation in the next couple seasons, Pelinka’s story probably is going to go a lot like Colletti’s.
When free agency opens Tuesday, Pelinka is just going to have to show us how creative he can be, how clever and cunning.
He already hit a grand slam with the Luka Doncic trade in 2025. In one of the NBA’s all-time heists, Pelinka brought the then-25-year-old Slovenian superstar to L.A. from the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for essentially an aging and injury-prone Anthony Davis and just one first-round draft pick.
Before that, Pelinka hit another home run with Austin Reaves; a four-bagger so deep that Doncic’s undrafted backcourt-mate has now procured the proverbial bag. (Four years, $185 million worth of baggage to the Lakers.)
With those pillars cemented, Pelinka’s job is delivering the A-list center Doncic reportedly desires.
Lakers GM Rob Pelinka pulled off a blockbuster trade to acquire Slovenian superstar Luka Doncic. Can Pelinka build a winner around Doncic?
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
Doesn’t matter that all the perceivable candidates — from the Utah Jazz’s Walker Kessler to the New York Knicks’ Mitchell Robinson, the Milwaukee Bucks’ Myles Turner, the Detroit Pistons’ Jalen Duren, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Jarrett Allen, the Mavericks’ Daniel Gafford, even old friend A.D. — sit on a spectrum of unlikely to unwise.
Still, the best plan: Make Doncic happy; make a run at Kessler.
He’s a 24-year-old, defensively adept big man who would be a great pickup, just hard to get. But whether it’s overpaying in restricted free agency or working out a sign-and-trade deal, pry him away from the Jazz.
After nailing down a center, Pelinka also needs to really hit on the margins. Because in the modern NBA, the marginal is major.
The current contenders have depth borne of seasons spent tanking and loading up in the draft on athletic, affordable young talent or, in the case of the recently crowned Knicks, having a leading man take $113 million less than he was eligible for, as Jalen Brunson effectively did, to be able to play with his best buds.
In L.A., the Lakers don’t really have the first option and shouldn’t ever expect the second.
But Pelinka doesn’t have to swing for the fences every time; he doesn’t need to wow us now, he needs to have wowed us later. Take swings like he did trading for Rui Hachimura or netting sharpshooter Luke Kennard.
Former Laker Pau Gasol, right, speaks with GM Rob Pelinka during a Lakers practice in 2025.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
No one bats 1.000, of course, not even Andrew Friedman, the architect of the Dodgers’ three World Series titles since taking over as president of baseball operations in 2014.
But for the Lakers’ potential $51 million of cap space, for all of this summer’s much-hyped optionality, Pelinka’s competitive new boss isn’t the type to forgive errors that are forever front of mind for the Lakers’ faithful.
Pelinka can’t strike out on free agent signees like Gabe Vincent and Kendrick Nunn. Can’t let someone like Alex Caruso walk. Can’t whiff on draftees like Dalton Knecht or Jalen Hood-Schifino — and better hope he hasn’t on this year’s selection, Cameron Carr, who fell to the Lakers at No. 24.
The wrinkle, this offseason: Last year’s Lakers — 41-year-old LeBron James, Hachimura, Kennard and, if he opts out, Marcus Smart — will be among the most attractive free agents on the market, and they’re proven fits for a team that reached the second round of the playoffs.
But merely re-signing those guys won’t improve the Lakers’ odds of getting past the Oklahoma City Thunder or San Antonio Spurs in the playoffs.
And simply outspending those teams isn’t an option, either. So Pelinka is going to have to go bargain hunting, he’s got to find some hidden gems, pull some tricks out of his sleeve. Surprise us, like great general managers are supposed to do.
This is Pelinka’s opportunity to show us his blueprint for bringing another title to Los Angeles, to build a case for himself.
Paul Schilling has taken over as football coach at Crescenta Valley High, and one of his first decisions was turning running back Julian Savery into a quarterback.
It’s not as if Savery, a 5-foot-11, 200-pound senior, was giving hints he wanted to play quarterback last season. In fact, he missed all of 2025 because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered when he went up for a rebound and had his knee collapse playing pickup basketball at the YMCA on Valentine’s Day.
“I should have had a date,” Savery said.
Savery has always enjoyed using his size to run over tacklers. He last played quarterback in eighth grade for flag football and decided to help himself recover faster from his knee injury by practicing throwing a football when he couldn’t run. Schilling liked what he saw and gave him a chance in the spring. The Falcons are thrilled with his progress. He’s got speed and a good arm.
Savery declared his basketball career is over.
“Never again,” he said.
Birmingham looks for balance
City Section football will be all about whether any team can improve enough to challenge defending champion Carson.
Freshman quarterback Exavier Johnson of Birmingham High is the son of a former City Section passing standout.
(Birmingham HS)
Birmingham once relied on offensive balance to be the City Section’s top football team. Carson has surpassed the Patriots, but Birmingham is hoping to fix its passing game this season.
The Patriots certainly have one of their best group of receivers, led by Paul Turner, who has speed and big-play ability. He averaged 24.5 yards per catch as a junior. Hayden Schuler has transferred from Sierra Canyon. He ran the 100 meters in 10.93 seconds as a freshman. Nathan Chandler made lots of progress as a freshman.
The Patriots played in the Saugus passing tournament last weekend, and coach Jim Rose said, “The passing attack already looks better than last season.”
Five former head coaches on Simi Valley staff
Former Thousand Oaks coach Bob Richards turns 84 in August and serves as an assistant at Simi Valley.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
Bob Richards turns 84 in August. He has nine grandchildren and continues to help out as an assistant coach at Simi Valley. He coached for 28 years at Thousand Oaks, including 12 as head coach until his “retirement” in 1995.
Simi Valley coach Jim Benkert has surrounded himself with five former head coaches on his staff — Richards, Dion Lambert (Granada Hills Kennedy), Richard Fong (L.A. Baptist), Justin Berenson (Buena) and Jason Sabolic (El Camino Real).
“It’s so much fun,” Sabolic said.
Run stopper
Gabe Degl’Innocenti of Hart High is a nose tackle who has completed a 640-pound squat in the weight room.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
If teams want to run on Hart this season, they’ll have to get past 5-11, 260-pound Gabe Degl’Innocenti.
“He’s full of athleticism and is as strong as an ox,” coach Jake Goossen-Brown said.
He can squat 640 pounds, which puts him on another level in the weight room.
Sierra Canyon will play its first girls’ flag football game this fall in the fourth year of the CIF-sanctioned sport. The Trailblazers are already armed with the best two returning players from Orange County transferring to the school.
Ava Irwin (2) celebrates with her teammates after catching two touchdown passes in JSerra’s 25-20 victory over Orange Lutheran for the Southern Section Division 1 flag football title on Nov. 8, 2025. (Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
(Steve Galluzzo)
Receiver Ava Irwin, the Southern Section Division 1 player of the year last season for Division 1 champion JSerra, and quarterback Makena Cook from runner-up Orange Lutheran have enrolled at Sierra Canyon, which hired Camarillo’s Michaeltore Smith as its first flag football coach.
Notes
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame has been able to convince standout safety and top athlete Tahj Skinner to play quarterback this season. He was running plays on Saturday at the Simi Valley tournament. …
The Westlake receiving duo of Charles Davis and Demare Dezeurn, both committed to California, will be difficult to stop because you can’t double team both. …
Put it down on your calendar. July 11. Edison’s Battle at the Beach seven on seven passing tournament. Great lineup of teams as always. pic.twitter.com/wV1tZATIQV
The Edison Battle at the Beach seven-on-seven passing tournament is scheduled for July 11 and has the best collection of top teams of any summer event, including St. John Bosco, Santa Margarita, Mission Viejo, Corona Centennial, Servite and Palos Verdes. There is no entry fee but parking costs $20. In other words, find a parking spot on the street. …
Paraclete quarterback Shawn Sanders, a transfer from St. Francis, is also a top kicker with range beyond 50 yards. He suffered two broken collarbones last season. Call him the “Bionic Man” because that collarbone is so strong right now without the aid of surgery. …
There were two promising freshmen quarterbacks debuting at the Simi Valley tournament in backup roles — Hendrix Tucker of Westlake and West Dunton of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.
SAN DIEGO — One after another, Kyle Tucker and Dalton Rushing broke up their offensive slumps with home runs.
The Dodgers’ sixth-inning rally, en route to a 15-3 victory against the Padres at Petco Park Saturday, featured blasts from the two hitters who needed individual victories at the plate.
Tucker, who entered Saturday with just a .700 OPS, had gone four straight games without a hit. Rushing went hitless in the previous five, in a rough seven-week stretch.
“It’s tough,” Tucker said of his uncharacteristically slow offensive start. “You just have to try and stay positive as much as you can. … We’re going to enjoy the win, but you’ve got another game tomorrow, and you’ve gotta move on to that. Anything that happened yesterday, you’ve got to move on, do your best at that, move on to the next game, and try to improve and try to help your team win.”
Tucker and Rushing’s home runs started the sunflower seed showers in a nine-run inning, which included a home run by Mookie Betts. Four of the runs scored in the sixth were unearned.
The Dodgers’ Dalton Rushing celebrates with Alex Freeland after hitting a home run against the Padres Saturday in San Diego.
(Tony Ding / Ap Photo/tony Ding)
The Dodgers took full advantage of the Padres’ defensive mistakes to jump-start their offense.
In the second inning, Max Muncy hit a line drive into the corner, and Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. dove after it. But he missed the catch, and the ball bounced behind him. Muncy legged out a triple. And that put him in position to score easily on Tommy Edman’s double to the center-field warning track for the first run of the game.
The Padres evened the score with a Gavin Sheets’ solo home run off Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who’d go on to limit the Padres to two runs through six innings.
Shaky defense, however, came back to haunt the Padres the next inning.
With Freddie Freeman standing on second base, after a leadoff double against Padres right-hander Randy Vásquez, Muncy hit a sharp grounder to second baseman Will Wagner, who muffed the play. Freeman raced around the bases, scoring on a close play at the plate.
Then Edman, who’s been swinging a hot bat since making his season debut last week, tripled to drive in Muncy.
That’s when Tucker, who went three for five with four RBIs Saturday, stepped up to the plate. He won a nine-pitch battle, sending a cutter over the right-field fence.
“Kind of been looking for it all year,” Tucker said. “I just kind of caught the ball at the right point of contact. I didn’t really stay through it great, but I put a decent enough swing on it, got it to work out.”
Rushing was next, and also went long in a two-strike count.
The Dodgers kept extending the inning, with two walks and three more hits, including Betts’ three-run homer off Padres reliever Ron Marinaccio. It was Betts’ third home run in as many games.
The Padres chipped away at the lead with an RBI single from Sheets off Yamamoto in the sixth and another run against Dodgers reliever Kyle Hurt, who gave up two hits and issued two walks in one-third of an inning.
But the lead the Dodgers compiled in the sixth inning, plus the four runs they tacked on in the eighth with Muncy’s infield single, Edman’s bases-loaded groundout, and Tucker’s opposite-field single, was too steep to overcome.
By the ninth inning, both teams had position players pitching.
Injury update
The Dodgers hope to activate Teoscar Hernández (strained left hamstring) from the 10-day injured list on Monday, manager Dave Roberts said before Saturday’s game.
Hernández homered in all three of his triple-A rehab games, entering Saturday.
“Triple-A pitching is not comparative to big league pitching, I think we all know that,” Roberts said. “But if he’s healthy, he’s an easy guy to bet on.”
Catcher Will Smith, on the other hand, has not returned to baseball activities since receiving an injection to address his neck injury.
“I think we’re all surprised how long it’s taken,” Roberts said. “I hope he’s back before the All-Star break. But the more time he’s off, he’s going to have to play some [rehab] games. So that kind of cuts into the time of return to us. So I don’t really know. I don’t want to add any pressure to him. I want him to be healthy and then once he’s healthy we can have that conversation.”
Tyrone midfielder Conn Kilpatrick said the 2-25 to 0-27 defeat by in Saturday’s All-Ireland SFC quarter-final will “take a while to get over”.
Despite a strong display from Tyrone, Jack O’Connor’s side booked a spot in the last four and moved a step closer to defending their title.
Red Hands boss Malachy O’Rourke was left frustrated after the match by ‘really, really harsh calls’ in Dublin with Kilpatrick echoing his manager’s thoughts.
“It’s a disappointing result and one that’ll take a while to get over to be honest,” Kilpatrick told BBC Sport NI.
“I felt we were right in the game for large parts of it. We had done a lot well. Just a few decisions I think didn’t go our way and I feel, on another day, we would have got them.
“The boys put a massive shift in the game. Kerry are champions for a reason because they are a good team, but we still had full belief that we could take them on our day and it just wasn’t to be today.”
Tyrone’s wait for their first Sam Maguire title since 2021 will now continue with Monaghan, who face Louth in their quarter-final on Sunday, Ulster’s final team in this year’s All-Ireland.
Kilpatrick added that it has been “a tough campaign” which included an Ulster Championship preliminary-round exit at the hands of eventual winners Armagh.
“It’s no surprise that we obviously had a tough campaign. Everybody knows it and we were coming into the championship being completely written off, but again we had full belief in the squad,” he continued.
“It’s fine margins that can cost you and, look, it’s very disappointing and it’s hard to put into words but fair play to Kerry, they beat us on the day and we have to go again next year.
“Hopefully everybody comes back and we add to the squad again like we did this year and we’ll go again. We’re not finished yet.”
Denzer Guzman hit a tiebreaking single with two outs in the seventh inning Saturday night that sent the Angels to a 5-2 victory over the Athletics.
The Angels tacked on two insurance runs in the eighth on RBI singles by Oswald Peraza and Logan O’Hoppe.
Angels reliever Ryan Zeferjahn (4-3) struck out two in a scoreless seventh to earn the win and increase his hitless streak to 10 innings, with 19 strikeouts, over his last nine appearances.
Kirby Yates threw a 1-2-3 ninth for his 100th career save and second this season.
Josh Lowe sparked the go-ahead rally with a one-out single off left-hander Geoff Hartlieb (0-1) in the seventh. Lowe stole second and scored for a 3-2 lead when Guzman hit a hard grounder down the line that third baseman Max Muncy couldn’t get his glove on.
Angels right-hander Sam Bachman escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the eighth when he struck out pinch-hitter Carlos Cortes with a 100-mph sinker and got Muncy to fly out.
Angels starter Reid Detmers gave up two runs and four hits in 5⅔ innings, striking out eight and walking three. The left-hander increased his strikeout total to 112, third-most in the majors behind Milwaukee ace Jacob Misiorowski (146) and Toronto right-hander Dylan Cease (128).
A’s starter Jack Perkins gave up two runs and four hits in five innings, striking out five and walking one.
The A’s took a 1-0 lead in the second when Jonah Heim crushed a first-pitch fastball that Detmers left over the heart of the plate. Heim sent a 109-mph drive 445 feet over the left-center field wall for his seventh homer.
The Angels countered with two runs in the fourth, a rally that began with Nolan Schanuel’s walk and Jorge Soler’s single. Wade Meckler struck out, but Jo Adell ripped a two-run triple into the left-field corner for a 2-1 lead.
The A’s tied it in the sixth when Nick Kurtz singled, Lawrence Butler walked and Colby Thomas lined a two-out RBI single to left.
The A’s, already playing without injured shortstop Jacob Wilson and second baseman Zach Gelof, lost Tyler Soderstrom when the left fielder was pulled in the third inning because of left hip soreness.
Great Britain’s Ben Whittaker marked his American debut with an impressive second-round victory against Richard Rivera at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
The flamboyant Whittaker dropped the American at the end of the first round with a right hand, although Rivera pointed that the punch had caught him on the back of the head.
But Whittaker, nicknamed ‘The Surgeon’, clinically caught his rival with a left-hander at the start of the second and, although Rivera staggered to his feet, the referee stopped the light-heavyweight bout.
The win improved Whittaker’s record to 12 wins and a draw from his 13 professional fights, while Rivera suffered the third defeat of his 30 fight career.
“Brooklyn, that’s how you do it man,” said Midlands boxer Whittaker, who is renowned for his showboating and did a little dance at the end of the first round on the way back to his corner.
The fight took place on the undercard of Xander Zayas, who attempted to defend his WBA and WBO super-welterweight titles against Jaron Ennis.
But Zayas succumbed to a seventh-round stoppage, with the referee ending the contest after the Puerto Rican boxer had been knocked down for a third time in the fight.
It was the first defeat Zayas had suffered in his 24-fight career, while unbeaten American Ennis has 36 wins from as many fights.
