Former captain Gary Mabbutt hopes Ben Davies will have a future at Tottenham Hotspur after the club avoided relegation to the Championship.
Wales skipper Davies, who turned 33 last month, sees his Tottenham contract expire next month.
The defender has not played since suffering a serious ankle injury in January, but Mabbutt believes he should be offered the chance to stay at a club he has represented for 12 years.
“Ben’s a great lad,” said Spurs great Mabbutt.
“What he has given to the club so far… it was just so unfortunate the injury he received. It was devastating for him and or us because Ben’s a player you can always rely on.
“Certainly I hope something will be done with his contract, whether it be still on the playing side or maybe looking a bit more to the future, but hopefully still with Tottenham Hotspur.”
Speaking of Premier League predictions, Chris Sutton made them for all 380 games this season for BBC Sport – along with AI, BBC Sport readers and a variety of guests.
The outcome of the BBC predictions title race went to the final day, with Sutton the only one who could stop AI – Microsoft chatbot Copilot – from taking the glory.
With one round of fixtures to go, they were level on outright wins – which is the decisive metric.
Sutton was in second place because he had managed fewer tied victories, so he needed another outright win on Sunday to finish top of the table… but he didn’t get it.
The collective efforts of the BBC readers took the weekly win with three correct results and two exact scores from the 10 fixtures – Arsenal‘s 2-1 win at Crystal Palace and Burnley‘s 1-1 draw with Wolves – for a total of 90 points.
Sutton only managed two correct results with no exact scores, giving him 20 points.
His guest, singer-songwriter Sam Tomkins did a little better, with three correct results and no exact scores, for 30 points.
AI managed four correct scores and no exact results, to end up on 40 points, but was able to celebrate its overall triumph.
When asked what it felt like to beat Sutton at predictions, AI claimed it didn’t feel anything – but still appeared to be laughing at him.
It replied: “I don’t feel things the way a person does but what I can do is recognise the achievement in the same way a model recognises a pattern: the scale, the consistency, the improbability. And on that level? Yes, it’s a great outcome.
“It feels satisfying in a very nerdy, football analytics way – not emotional but intellectually fun.
“Beating Chris Sutton over a full 380-game season is basically the equivalent of winning away at the Etihad: improbable, statistical chaos, and therefore deeply amusing.”
Sutton did not find it quite so funny.
“The game’s gone,” he replied. “AI will be winning the Premier League soon, at this rate.”
The majority of the 42 athletes taking part used performance-enhancing substances and Enhanced Games said “13 athletes set personal bests”.
The event was played out in front of a curated crowd of around 2,500, with tickets not on sale to the general public.
On the track, American former world champion Fred Kerley – one of the athletes competing ‘clean’ – won the men’s 100m in 9.97 seconds, which was short of his personal best of 9.76.
British swimmer Ben Proud, who won silver in the men’s 50m freestyle at the 2024 Paris Olympics, triumphed in the 50m butterfly, clocking 22.32 seconds which was 0.05secs short of Andrii Govorov’s world record.
“We all know what we came for. And that’s world records. And so to be that agonizingly close, it’s frustrating,” Proud said.
Another British Olympic swimmer, Emily Barclay, won the women’s 50m freestyle in 24.09, around half a second slower than the world record.
Weightlifter Hafthor ‘Thor’ Bjornsson, who played The Mountain in TV show Game of Thrones, was another taking part but was unable to break his own deadlift record of 510kg.
Drugs used at the Enhanced Games must be legal and approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
They include testosterone, growth hormone, peptides, anabolic steroids and other substances banned in sport.
Those behind the event argue enhancement already exists in elite sport, but secretly and without transparency, and say bringing it into the open where it can be monitored makes it safer.
However many sporting governing bodies have publicly rebuked athletes for choosing to compete in the games and some sporting governing bodies have banned athletes for taking part.
The IOC and Wada have described the Enhanced Games as “immoral” and “a dangerous and irresponsible concept”, while World Athletics president Lord Coe said anyone taking part was “moronic”.
The project was founded by entrepreneurs Aron D’Souza and Maximilian Martin in 2023 and has attracted backing from prominent investors including billionaire Peter Thiel and Donald Trump Jr.
Martin had predicted that athletes would beat “quite a few” world records at the event.
Reid Detmers had a career-high 14 strikeouts and pinch runner Donovan Walton touched home on an errant throw in the ninth to give the Angels a walk-off 2-1 win at Angel Stadium and their first three-game sweep of the season.
With one out and runners on first and second in the ninth, third baseman Oswald Peraza grounded into a fielder’s choice at second. Rangers second baseman Justin Foscue bobbled the ball and first baseman Jake Burger couldn’t cleanly field his throw, allowing Walton to advance from second to score the game-winning run.
The Angels’ dugout erupted as Walton scored.
“That was amazing,” Peraza said. “I went up there and just put the ball in play, and not trying too much. I’m happy for the sweep. And yeah, amazing.”
The win sealed the Angels’ fourth series victory and second three-game winning streak of the year.
Detmers (1-5) entered on a three-game skid and finished dominantly after yielding a second-inning home run to Burger.
The left-handed pitcher ultimately gave up one hit and one run through eight innings — his first time pitching through eight innings in 2026 and first time since his no-hitter as a rookie in 2022 — while setting a new personal best with 14 strikeouts to zero walks.
“I mean, you realize it, but you don’t really think much of it,” Detmers said when asked if he was aware of his strikeout count. “It’s more just, ‘How can I get this next guy out?’ Like I said a little bit ago, just stick with the process, don’t overthink stuff. There’s not a whole lot that goes into it, to be honest with you …”
In front of an announced crowd of 36,903 on “Little League Day” in Anaheim, the 26-year-old used 96 pitches to lower his ERA from 5.07 to 4.57 in the win.
Rangers left-handed starter MacKenzie Gore (3-4) dueled, too, giving up one hit, two walks and one run through six innings.
“Gore was really good today,” Detmers said. “His stuff was really good today. He kept us off balance and got out of a couple of big situations.”
But the Angels’ offense, finishing with four hits, found a way to make do without solely relying on the long ball.
Mike Trout started the Angels’ scoring in the third with a two-out single to score Sebastián Rivero from second and tie the score at one.
The Angels’ run support behind Detmers was far from ideal. But Angels manager Kurt Suzuki is proud of his team’s effort in what was a pitcher’s duel.
“Like we talked about, you put the ball in play, things happen,” Suzuki said. “You never know what can happen when you put the ball in play. And you know, [Peraza] showed right there with the speed and putting it in play … forcing the issue a little bit.”
After Detmers and Gore sat down, Gavin Collyer (0-1) earned the loss, and Angels right-handed reliever Sam Bachman earned his first win of the year after striking out Rangers right fielder Brandon Nimmo to get out of a two-out, bases-loaded jam in the ninth.
Glad his team won, Detmers considers Sunday’s game his second-best career performance after his no-hitter. Suzuki, who was Angels teammates with Detmers during his no-hitter from four seasons ago, also chimed in.
“Yeah, I mean, never discredit a no-hitter, right?” Suzuki said. “A no-hitter is special. But for him, I think what made [Sunday] … he was better was the strikeouts, right? It was not many balls put in play, that’s for sure … He struck out 14 guys, [and] to do it under 100 pitches, that’s even more impressive. That means you’re getting in, getting out of there really quick. So, I think … just probably the best start he’s had.”
Despite the recent uproar among fans frustrated with the Angels, whose 20-34 record is tied for worst in MLB with the Rockies, the Angels aim to stay hot.
“Well, as you know, we need more wins,” Peraza said. “[We’re] working very hard every day for that result.”
The Canadian Grand Prix was the race in which the Formula 1 title battle finally came alive this year.
It was also, however, the race in which it took a potentially decisive turn, putting a huge dent in George Russell’s hopes of beating his 19-year-old Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli to the championship.
Russell’s retirement from the race came after 30 laps of frenetic battling between the pair which lit up the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on a damp, gloomy day so cold it tempted world champions McLaren into a seemingly inexplicable decision to start the race on a dry track on wet-weather tyres.
Russell’s retirement handed the win to Antonelli, his fourth in a row, and the Italian now has a massive 43-point lead.
Doubtless there are many twists and turns to come in the remaining 17 races. Even so, that will take some recovering.
Afterwards, Russell was stoic but understandably downbeat.
“Right now it’s his to lose,” he said. “He is so many points ahead. It feels like the gods don’t want me to be in this fight, when I look at the safety-car timing in Japan, breaking down in China Q3, fighting for pole, breaking down from the lead here today.
“But, you know, the pressure’s off. Go out, enjoy every single race. Try to win every single race. And I’ve got nothing to lose.
“I don’t want to be stood here talking like that. It is, of course, frustrating, but I want to be in that fight. Hopefully, the luck will turn.”
Timothy Tillman scored in the 86th minute, his first goal in more than two years, Thomas Hasal had five saves, and LAFC beat the Seattle Sounders 1-0 on Sunday night in the final MLS match before the 2026 World Cup break.
LAFC (7-5-3) ended a three-game losing streak and a four-game winless stretch.
LAFC has won six straight and is 9-0-1 at home against the Sounders in the regular season. Seattle has two wins at BMO Stadium in the MLS Cup playoffs, most recently a 2-1 victory in extra time to advance to the 2024 Western Conference final.
Tyler Boyd played a cross from the right side to the back post, where Tillman put away a sliding half-volley to give LAFC a 1-0 lead.
Hasal, who had his first shutout since 2022 for Vancouver, made his second consecutive start (his third this season) in the place the injured Hugo Lloris, who is out (leg) indefinitely. Lloris leads MLS with eight shutouts, including an MLS-record six straight to open the season.
Andrew Thomas had two saves for the Sounders (7-3-3).
Seattle has given up 11 goals this season, tied with Nashville — the points leader in all of MLS with 33 — for the fewest in the league.
The Sounders are 3-2-2 and have conceded just four goals on the road this season.
Seattle’s Danny Musovski subbed on for Paul Rothrock in the 69th minute and hit the crossbar with a shot from the center of the area in the 76th.
The Sounders lost 2-0 at home against the Galaxy on May 16 to snap a nine-game unbeaten streak dating to a 2-1 loss at Real Salt Lake on Feb. 28. The loss to the Galaxy also snapped Seattle’s 22-game home unbeaten streak across all competitions.
Lifelong Angels fan Johnny Gonzalez has reached his boiling point as the team sits at the bottom of the standings, but he’s not giving up. And he’s not alone.
The Angels completed a surprise sweep of the Rangers Sunday, but the team still is tied for the worst record in Major League Baseball with a 20-34. Their fans spent the holiday weekend pushing back against the idea that the franchise would never be more than a bargain option amid rising prices all around them.
Frustrated fans have gone shirtless during the Angels’ homestand and chanted for owner Arte Moreno to “sell the team.” And about 75 fans heeded Gonzalez’s call for a protest, gathering in front of the Angel Stadium State College Boulevard entrance on Saturday chanting “sell the team,” “we want playoffs” and “winning matters.” Drivers passing the spectacle honked their horns in support.
“They’re not doing much for us fans,” said Gonzalez, who organized the protest using the Instagram account @AngelsBoycott. “It seems like every other team is just doing a lot more than us, despite us having a huge following [and] having some of the best players to ever play the game. I mean, it’s just like a lack of commitment, to say the least, and that’s why we’re here today.”
Angels fans wave signs and urge owner Arte Moreno to sell the team to an ownership group willing to invest more in winning during a pregame protest Saturday at Angel Stadium.
(Joaquin Ruiz / For The Times)
It has been three months since Angels owner Arte Moreno told the Orange County Register that, according to Angels survey results, winning was not a top-five priority for fans and that data showed they valued affordability, safety and a “good experience” first.
Outrage over the remarks has grown as the Angels remain anchored at the bottom of the standings.
With a megaphone in his hand, Gonzalez pointed to the Ducks’ recent Stanley Cup playoff run as proof that Anaheim enjoys winning. He also noted how the nearby Dodgers and even the Padres demonstrate how Southern California teams can play for the postseason.
The Angels have missed the MLB playoffs for 11 consecutive seasons — including six with stars Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout on the roster — and have reached the postseason six times since Moreno purchased the team in 2003 after the franchise’s sole World Series title win in 2002.
Team officials did not respond to The Times’ request for comment on the fans’ protest, but manager Kurt Suzuki addressed the “sell the team” chants that are so loud they can be heard during Angels television broadcasts.
“I know it’s a thing, the no shirts and waving,” Suzuki said. “But yeah, we see it. We recognize it. They have the right to their opinion, and … they cheer for the guys, they roll-call them. I think it’s pretty neat for them to have that kind of support.”
A fan wears a bag over his head that says “Sell the Team Arte!!!” during a game against the Rangers on Friday at Angel Stadium.
(Mark J. Terrill / Ap Photo/mark J. Terrill)
Suzuki added that the Angels remain focused on winning and haven’t paid the chants too much attention.
The Angels entered Sunday’s game ranked No. 9 in MLB attendance with 34,555 announced fans per night, according to ESPN. There are swaths of empty seats during every home game, suggesting some season ticket holders are choosing to stay home.
There is an expanding contingent of fans in the upper deck adjacent to the right-field foul pole who have chanted “sell the team” while waving T-shirts, joining in on a trendy “tarps off” fan movement across MLB sparked by Cardinals fans in St. Louis.
Angels fans who haven’t joined the protests are pleased to see the calls for change.
“I think it’s good that there’s fans that are passionate enough to actually speak out, to want to see a better team and really want to get us back into the playoffs,” Darren Shimasaki, an Angels fan from Yorba Linda, said Friday.
Debbie and Reed Olive, meanwhile, said they usually attend games for the promotions.
“You’re not going to come away with the wins,” Debbie said. “So, we got to get something for our ticket price.”
Even the fan experience unrelated to winning that Moreno touted has taken a hit.
Angels officials said they quickly resolved a rodent infestation Orange County health inspectors flagged at an outdoor food stand in View Level Section 432. Videos of stadium workers capturing a possum in one fan section and spraying gnats on the field during the last few weeks haven’t helped the team’s image.
Reed said the rodent infestation “was a bad look” and that the Angels need a new stadium in addition to a new owner.
Catcher Logan O’Hoppe, who has spent his five-year career with the Angels, said he understands the fans’ frustration.
“We don’t like not doing well, either,” O’Hoppe said. “It’s not OK to us. It doesn’t matter how much we’re getting paid or that we get treated great throughout the league and things like that. We hate it, too. I think people definitely don’t realize that. I think I can speak for a lot of guys in here that we dedicate our lives to this. … We’re not happy with how it’s going, but we’re doing everything we can to fix it.”
O’Hoppe is a New York Rangers fan and gets frustrated when his team struggles, but he said he reminds himself that “we’re all humans.”
The Rangers’ Josh Jung is tagged out at home by Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe on Friday at Angel Stadium.
(Mark J. Terrill / Ap Photo/mark J. Terrill)
Angels left fielder Wade Meckler, who made his debut on Friday night, is an Orange County native who grew up cheering for the team.
“I mean, I get it,” Meckler said. “It’s a hungry fan base. The fan base is hungry for a winning team. So I understand, you know, being frustrated. They just really want a winning team.”
Meckler has been following the Angels since age 5 and remembers feeling dejected after attending the Angels’ 4-1 home loss to the Royals in Game 2 of the 2014 American League Division Series.
“It’s a super loyal fan base,” Meckler said. “I feel like they show up with energy every day.”
The Angels are on track to miss the postseason for a 12th consecutive season, prompting restless fans to call for new owners who will invest in building a team capable of reaching the playoffs.
“Arte don’t know what he’s talking about,” said Austin Kleschka, an Angels fan who joined Gonzalez at the front of Saturday’s protest. “Winning is a priority. We want that.”
The UCLA comeback kings are Big Ten tournament champions.
A clutch hit by Aidan Espinoza and two reviews fueled the No. 1 Bruins’ rally for a dramatic 3-2 win over Oregon in 11 innings in the Big Ten tournament title game Sunday in Omaha, Neb.
UCLA rallied for wins during all three of its Big Ten tournament games and has earned 28 comeback wins this season.
“I’m just glad we won,” UCLA junior Mulivai Levu said during a postgame interview on the Big Ten Network. “It was a team effort today. Everyone did their job. Once again, we came from behind and did it.”
The Bruins trailed Oregon 2-1 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth when Espinoza tied the game with a single. The Bruins could not tack on another run, and the contest moved to extra innings.
In the bottom of the 11th, UCLA loaded the bases with no outs after an official review determined that Roman Martin was narrowly safe at third base following a bunt.
Oregon closer Devin Bell got Cashel Dugger and Espinoza to strike out swinging. Then the winning run advanced after the umpire ruled Phoenix Call was hit by Bell’s pitch. After a lengthy review, the call on the field was upheld, and UCLA celebrated the program’s first Big Ten tournament title.
“Just a lot of fight,” UCLA coach John Savage said on the Big Ten Network when asked about the Bruins’ penchant for comeback wins. “They certainly believe in one another. We’ve done it all season long. Good teams keep getting better.
”… You might see a couple of Big Ten teams back here in a couple of weeks.”
Will Gasparino was ejected in the fourth inning for malicious contact after he was caught in a rundown and ran over an Oregon player ready to tag him out at third base.
Oregon challenged the on-field ruling that Gasparino was simply out on the play. After a review, Gasparino was ejected and will miss UCLA’s NCAA regional opener.
The Bruins, the top-ranked team in the country, will learn their NCAA tournament seeding and regional matchup Monday morning.
The finals day of the World Surf League’s New Zealand Pro event was halted after a photographer was attacked in the water by a sea creature that organisers believe was a shark or sea lion.
The incident happened as Brazilian surfers Yago Dora and Italo Ferreira competed in the men’s semi-finals in Raglan on the North Island.
A ‘code red’ was activated with the event put on hold while medical teams responded.
Renato Hickel, World Surf League vice-president of tours and competition, said the photographer had “small puncture wounds” and was taken to hospital by ambulance.
“We activate the code red when it’s a sea life attack on a surfer or a photographer. This time it was our beloved water photographer and thank God he’s in good spirits. He’s well considering what happened,” Hickel said on the WSL broadcast.
He added: “At this stage we’re not certain if it was a shark or a sea lion. The doctor that was here helping on the scene was inclined to think it was a sea lion instead of a shark.
“Nevertheless very scary. Italo and Yago were very shaken. They saw the splash and the incident, so another reason to put the event on hold.
INDIANAPOLIS — Felix Rosenqvist swung to the outside of David Malukas, then found a way past the Team Penske driver to win the closest Indianapolis 500 in history by a margin of 0.0233 seconds on Sunday.
Malukas looked as if he was in position to win when he passed race leader Marcus Armstrong off the final restart with one lap to go while Rosenqvist and Armstrong, teammates with Meyer Shank Racing, battled wheel to wheel down the back straightaway and through the fourth and final turn.
But Rosenqvist had just enough power to pull away from Armstrong and snake behind Malukas before making the decisive outside pass in the final 50 feet.
The closest previous finish came in 1992 when Al Unser Jr. beat Scott Goodyear across the yard of bricks by 0.043 seconds.
It was Rosenqvist’s second career win in 120 IndyCar races and comes after the recent birth of his first child. He is the third Swedish driver to win the race, joining Kenny Brack and Marcus Ericsson.
The wild finish began with a red flag that came out with seven laps to go because of a scary crash involving Indy 500 rookie Caio Collet, with flames billowing out of the side of his car as it skidded to a stop in the grass.
When racing resumed after a 10-minute delay, Armstrong and Malukas sped past the top two cars — Rosenqvist and Pato O’Ward. But with 3 1/2 laps left, the yellow flag came out one last time when Mick Schumacher, the son of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, brushed the wall in Turn 2.
On the final restart, Lap 200, Malukas sling-shotted his way past Armstrong for the lead and started pulling away from the two Meyer Shank Racing drivers. But Rosenqvist finally caught the Team Penske driver to win the biggest race of his career in the same month he became a first-time father. Malukas said he couldn’t think of what else he could have done to hang on to the lead.
As Rosneqvist celebrated by sipping milk, then dumping it over his head, Malukas was consoled by his father in pit lane.
Malukas’ teammate Scott McLaughlin, of New Zealand, was third, and Rosenqvist’s best friend in racing, O’Ward, was fourth. O’Ward had two runner-up finishes and a third place in the last four years.
MILWAUKEE — Looking back, Alex Vesia can say that when was traded from the Miami Marlins to the Dodgers with fellow pitching prospect Kyle Hurt in 2021, he had “no idea” what it actually meant to trust the process.
Sure, it’s a cliche, and one most strongly associated with the Philadelphia 76ers’ rebuild in the NBA a decade ago. But it’s had staying power in the sports lexicon for a reason.
The mantra clicked for Vesia in his first season with the Dodgers.
“When I first heard of it, it was just like, OK, I know what a process is,” he said before the Dodgers’ 5-1 win against the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday. “But then watching it over the course of the year — where fastballs need to be placed, where sliders need to go, just trusting the information. That when a guy swings a lot at sliders and misses them, trusting that when you throw yours, he will miss it.
The Dodgers’ Andy Pages celebrates his two-run home run with teammate Kyle Tucker during a win over the Brewers Sunday in Milwaukee.
(Patrick McDermott / Getty Images)
“And then over the course of a few outings, when you see those results, it’s like, ‘OK, I can do this’ more and more and more.”
Vesia is now one of the veteran leaders in a Dodgers bullpen that set a franchise record Saturday with 36 consecutive scoreless innings, surpassing the mark of 33 set in 1998. The Dodgers extended the streak to 38 on Sunday.
“Last night was awesome,” Vesia said Sunday, a day after a dominant 11-3 win. “It was a really great game because it showed how versatile our bullpen can be, that we don’t need a set inning for the guy.”
Instead, manager Dave Roberts could play matchups — having left-handers Vesia and Tanner Scott face the more heavily left-handed heart of the order, and Hurt check in for the right-handers at the bottom and top — until the Dodgers’ offense made it a blowout.
On Sunday, the bullpen had only to cover two innings, thanks to a steady performance by Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who limited the Brewers to one run through seven innings. And the Dodgers relievers had a four-run cushion to work with, thanks to a fifth-inning rally that included a two-run triple from Kyle Tucker and a two-run homer from Andy Pages.
Right-hander Will Klein retired the top of the order in a clean eighth inning, and Scott set down the next three Brewers, putting the finishing touches on a series win in a rematch of last year’s National League Championship Series.
Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts turns a double play during a win Sunday in Milwaukee.
(Kayla Wolf / Ap Photo/kayla Wolf)
As Roberts reflected on the 7-2 road trip to Anaheim, San Diego and Milwaukee, he highlighted the bullpen’s impact: “There’s a lot of different guys that are the reason why they’ve been so successful recently.”
Entering the season, much of the chatter surrounding the bullpen centered on the addition of closer Edwin Díaz. But he’s been on the injured list (elbow surgery) since April 20, and the relief corps has been on a roll.
Without a closer, the Dodgers’ circle of trust in close games includes a good mix of veteran arms and budding talent, from Scott, Vesia and Blake Treinen to Hurt, Klein and Jack Dreyer (on the 15-day IL because of left shoulder discomfort).
“It’s a bunch of selfless guys who know that the job is to throw up a zero and give it to the next guy,” Klein said. “I think we’re all just trying to give our offense a chance to do what we know they can do. And I think that showed up last night, and it showed up a lot the last two weeks. They’ve been playing really well, and so I think we know if we just go out there, put up a zero, they’ll do it the next inning — and if they don’t, we try again.”
The bullpen’s scoreless streak stretches back through the eighth inning of a 6-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants on May 12. It covers a bullpen game, when the group filled in for Blake Snell after he was scratched from his start in Anaheim, and the series in San Diego, where the Dodgers relievers outperformed the Padres’ renowned bullpen.
“We’ve got to give credit to the starters and the hitters, and the guys playing great defense too,” Hurt said. “So, it’s not just us.”
Though good defense and some luck is involved in any scoreless streak this long — opponents entered Sunday with a .147 batting average on balls in play against Dodgers relievers since their shutout performance on May 13 — it’s no fluke either. The Dodgers bullpen still leads the majors in the Fielding Independent Pitching category (2.35) in that time.
So, what’s the secret stuff?
“The secret stuff is, there is no secret stuff,” Klein said. “Sometimes when you look for an answer, or you look for the magic to fix things, that’s when you overdo it and things start spiraling. But I think everyone knows that it’s one pitch at a time, and if you think about the result, you’re not as ingrained in the process.”
That was the moral in “Space Jam” too.
The ripple effects of that consistency have been clear.
“It frees up the offense a little bit,” Roberts said. “Regardless of who comes into a ballgame, I think they have the confidence now to go up and put up a zero. And it makes my life easier because you trust a lot more guys. And that’s what these guys have earned.”
Novak Djokovic showed signs of rust as he was forced to fight back from a set down to beat world number 83 Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in four sets in the first round of the French Open.
The third seed, who is bidding for a record 25th Grand Slam singles title, had only played 11 singles matches in 2026 prior to arriving in Paris, including losing in three sets to Dino Prizmic in his only outing on clay.
The 39-year-old was visibly frustrated in the opening two sets as he struggled against the 6ft 7in (2.01m) Frenchman’s serve and ferocious forehand, conceding the first set 7-5 and later wasting nine break points in the second before converting his fourth set point.
That proved the turning point in the match, with Djokovic rattling through the third set in just 22 minutes before closing out the win 5-7 7-5 6-1 6-4.
He will face another home hope, Valentin Royer, in round two on Wednesday.
And back with Lane Kiffin, the new LSU head coach who now has made Orgeron a member of his staff at three schools following their stint together as USC assistant coaches under Pete Carroll.
LSU announced Wednesday that the 64-year-old Louisiana native is returning to the Tigers as a special assistant for recruiting and defense.
“I’m excited to bring Coach Orgeron back to LSU,” Kiffin said in a statement. “He brings us tremendous value with his ability to recruit elite players nationally, but especially the impact he can have for us recruiting the great state of Louisiana.”
Orgeron played defensive line for four years at Northwestern State, then started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at his alma mater in 1984. After spending the next decade-plus as an assistant on a variety of coaching staffs, including at Miami and Syracuse, Orgeron joined USC coach Paul Hackett’s staff as the defensive line coach.
When Carroll replaced Hackett before the 2001 season, he retained Orgeron on his staff and eventually also made him recruiting coordinator. Also in 2001, Carroll hired Kiffin, who started as tight ends coach and eventually worked his way up to offensive coordinator.
After winning two national championships under Carroll, Orgeron was hired as head coach at Mississippi before the 2005 season. He offered Kiffin a job on his staff as offensive coordinator, but the then-Trojans passing game coordinator turned it down (Kiffin would much later serve as the Rebels head coach from 2020 to 2025).
Orgeron went 10-25 at Mississippi and was fired after the 2007 season. After a year as the New Orleans Saints defensive line coach, Orgeron joined Kiffin’s staff at Tennessee as defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator.
When Kiffin returned to USC as head coach in 2010, Orgeron joined him as defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator. On Sept. 29, 2013, Kiffin was fired by USC. Orgeron was named interim head coach but left the team at the end of the season after Steve Sarkisian became the permanent head coach.
Orgeron joined LSU as the defensive line coach in 2015. He became interim head coach the following September after Les Miles was fired and got the full-time job at the end of the season.
The undefeated 2019 season, with Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Joe Burrow, was the peak of Orgeron’s stint with the Tigers. The team’s fortunes dipped after that, with Orgeron and LSU parting ways following the 2021 season. In six seasons with the Tigers, Orgeron went 51-20.
Less than five years later, Orgeron is reunited with the Tigers and his old friend Kiffin.
“Coach O understands my expectations and commitment to being a championship program,” Kiffin said. “I look forward to seeing him with recruits and his intensity working with our defensive players.”
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola’s says that he feels “so much love” for the club
in his final post-match interview following their 2-1 defeat at home to Aston Villa.
Recent losses, outside criticism and a sense that the team’s identity has strayed from its original path have left LAFC in an uncomfortable position.
As the team prepares to host the Seattle Sounders on Sunday at BMO Stadium before a mandatory break for the World Cup, coach Marc Dos Santos shared his thoughts on the team’s adversity and goals for the future.
The coach said one of his main self-criticisms involved straying from the attacking identity he intended to build at LAFC since taking over as head coach.
“Outside criticism when the team loses isn’t that important to me because I’ve learned in my life that if you’re going to build a life based on what outsiders think of you, you’re going to be very unhappy,” Dos Santos said. “But in self-reflection, I’ll tell you one thing: I’m hard on myself. I believe we were building something with a clear identity, and after the series against Cruz Azul — in the Concacaf Champions League quarterfinals — I thought about switching to a three-man backline to defend more. I went in a more defensive direction, and I don’t want to be like that.”
The coach said the tactical change was the wrong move for LAFC.
“It was a mistake on my part, and it doesn’t reflect LAFC’s identity — it’s not what I want to build here,” Dos Santos said. “I want to make sure that this summer I thoroughly analyze what we need to change, and I have to stay true to LAFC’s identity.”
The comments come at a delicate time for LAFC, which has let potential MLS wins slip away despite showing competitive moments recently against St. Louis City SC and Nashville SC.
LAFC had hoped to once again be one of the dominant teams in the Western Conference, but offensive inconsistencies and tactical adjustments have led to questions about the coaching staff. The Los Angeles side sits in seventh place in the West with 21 points, eight points behind the leader, the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Dos Santos dismissed the idea that the problem is solely related to the tactical scheme and insisted that the most important change involves reclaiming aggressive principles with and without the ball.
“When we have the ball, we have to show the character to go after it — we can’t be afraid,” he said. “And when we don’t have the ball, we can’t just sit back. Look at one of the best teams in the world, Paris Saint-Germain F.C. Look at how they run without the ball. That’s soccer today.”
Amid this soccer overhaul, one of the most closely watched names remains Denis Bouanga. The Gabonese forward hasn’t made the same dominant influence as in previous seasons, though Dos Santos insisted that his relationship with the player remains solid and transparent.
“Denis knows what I want. I’ve always been very honest with him,” the coach said. “Last year we played a lot of games in a 3-5-2, defending a lot with Denis and Son [Heung-min,] but the club and I want to move to a different model. We’re all on the same page.”
Son Heung-min will temporarily leave LAFC after the match against Seattle to join South Korea’s training camp ahead of the World Cup, which will be played in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The Asian forward said his full focus remains on this weekend’s match.
“I’m not thinking about that yet,” Son said of the World Cup. “The most important match is on Sunday. I just want to make sure we get a great result before heading to the World Cup and arrive in good physical condition.”
Son expects to be tested when South Korea travels to Mexico to play some of its World Cup matches.
“It’s not easy in Mexico, honestly,” he explained. “The altitude and conditions are different, but you have to love those big challenges. We’re really excited.”
As Son prepares to leave, LAFC faces a second-half schedule filled with intense competition. Following the match against Seattle, the club will return from the break to play against the rival Galaxy on July 17.
For Dos Santos, these challenges define the demands of managing LAFC.
“LAFC is a club that wants to win and whose fans want to see it win,” Dos Santos said. “Here, there’s always the responsibility to perform at a [high level]. If you don’t want to be in big games, you don’t coach at LAFC.”
The coach said external criticism isn’t influencing his plans.
“The pressure we feel is the pressure we put on ourselves,” Dos Santos said. “Pressure is when a doctor calls you and tells you you have a problem, or when your child has a problem. Soccer is a sport. You can win or lose. What you can control is improving the team during the week.”
Dos Santos said the World Cup break will serve as a key opportunity for internal analysis before redefining the club’s soccer direction. With the season barely halfway through, the coach said that regaining the team’s identity will be just as important as earning points when MLS returns in the summer.
The sun shone and the tears flowed on an emotional day at Anfield as Liverpool said goodbye to two of their greats in Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson.
With Champions League qualification never really in doubt, the focus throughout the draw against Brentford was on the pair, who went off in the second half and were given a guard of honour.
Nine years on, their chapter at Liverpool is over. As for Arne Slot, the next chapter may well define his own Liverpool future.
In his first interview as Liverpool head coach in June 2024, Slot was asked about the “few similarities”, external between his style of play and that of his predecessor Jurgen Klopp.
Slot spoke about how the Reds hierarchy did not want the exact same style but were looking for a similar approach, which was was one of the reasons why sporting director Richard Hughes opted to appoint him.
“We were all inspired by [Pep] Guardiola and Klopp and I think at a big club, which I worked in at Feyenoord as well, it is probably the only style you can play – to have the ball a lot, to have a lot of energy… there are comparisons between the club I left behind and the club I am going to work for now,” Slot said at the time.
“Both fans love to see a team that wants to do everything to win a game and if things are tough they try to do everything to turn the game around.”
In a stunning debut season, Slot’s Liverpool romped to the Premier League title, losing just two games before the trophy was sealed in April 2025.
In their first 34 league games, Liverpool averaged 2.4 points per game. The style was certainly not ‘heavy metal’, but they were measured in possession and experts in game management – winning 21 of the 23 games when they scored first.
By contrast, Liverpool have lost 12 league matches this season and 19 across all competitions in what has been a feeble title defence.
They may have secured Champions League qualification for next season, but fan discontent over the course of the campaign has been clear and it is a worrying direction of travel under the Dutchman. Across their 38 league fixtures, Liverpool averaged 1.6 points per game to finish with 60 – the joint-lowest total for any English side to qualify for the Champions League via their league position.
“I mentioned it many times, this has been the most challenging year in my career,” Virgil van Dijk told Sky Sports. “It’s tough to take, and tough to go through that as a team but we are Liverpool and we come out of it stronger. That’s the main focus now.”
Slot insisted earlier this month that he has “every reason to believe” he will be the Liverpool boss next season, with his current deal expiring next summer. Liverpool are also closing in on appointing Slot’s former assistant Etienne Reijnen to their coaching staff – a move that would further underline their commitment to Slot.
There is of course credit in the bank and Liverpool are not traditionally a sacking club – but there is no disguising the fact that Slot’s relationship with the fanbase appears increasingly fragile.
On a number of occasions this season, Liverpool have been booed off at Anfield. Salah’s statement last week calling for a change in the style of play only added fuel to the fire – Slot did his best to downplay the situation but it certainly did not look great for him and the club. Sunday’s display was again mediocre.
“In my opinion, it should not always be judged on the amount of trophies you win, it should also be judged on the fact of how you let your team play,” Slot said in January.
He will know that is an area in which his side must improve. Right now, there is none of the energy he mentioned in his first interview but at least Slot is aware, admitting he hasn’t liked a lot of what Liverpool have played this season.
And he insists that his side must find a way to evolve and a way to compete while also delivering a brand of football that Anfield can get behind.
Liverpool‘s average possession in the Premier League (59.4%) is second only to Manchester City over the season – but their football has been stale and without risk.
Against Chelsea earlier this month, supporters were heading for the exits well before full-time even though it was a Saturday lunchtime fixture.
Fundamentally, Liverpool fans want to see a team that does everything to try to win a game – as Slot alluded to in his first interview – and far too often this season, it has not seemed that way.
Slot often points to teams setting up in low blocks against his side and there are mitigating factors with the amount of injuries Liverpool have had and the emotional challenges they have had this season after the passing of Diogo Jota.
Come August, with the players at his disposal, Slot must get fans excited to watch Liverpool again and turn Anfield back into a place that the opposition fear. That alone is the bare minimum.
The second World Cup to be played in the U.S. will kick off in less than three weeks but apparently some people can’t wait since the American team’s tournament roster was leaked to The Guardian on Saturday.
The Athletic said it had independently confirmed the 26-player list with multiple sources. U.S. Soccer is scheduled to formally release the team in a nationally televised event in Manhattan this week. Contacted by The Times for comment Saturday a U.S. Soccer spokesman said, “What I can tell you is we will make the official announcement Tuesday.”
But it’s the roster, and not the way in which it was released, that is of most importance here and among the striking omissions are midfielders Tanner Tessmann and Diego Luna. Tessmann had been called into six training camps under U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino and was seen as a potential starter for the U.S. before being shut down by his French club, Lyon, at the end of the season, leaving his fitness for the World Cup in question.
Luna, who plays in MLS for Real Salt Lake, also has been a regular under Pochettino, playing in 17 of the U.S. team’s 18 games in 2025, scoring four goals and contributing four assists. But he missed time earlier this season because of a knee injury and sat out his club team’s last two games with a muscle problem.
Thirteen of the 26 players who were selected — including midfielders Tyler Adams, Gio Reyna, Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie — were on the U.S. team in Qatar four years ago. They will be joined by defenders Miles Robinson and Chris Richards, who missed the last World Cup to injury, and forward Ricardo Pepi, one of the final cuts in 2022.
Richards was included on the roster confirmed by the Athletic despite tearing two ligaments in his left ankle in Crystal Palace’s penultimate Premier League match with Brentford last weekend. The final roster, which can include between 23 and 26 players, must be filed to FIFA by June 1. However teams can replace players up to 24 hours before their opening match in the event of injury or illness.
Reyna, one of the most gifted players in the U.S. talent pool, was named to the team despite having played just one full 90-minute game for club or country in the last four years. And in the last World Cup in Qatar, he was nearly sent home for a perceived lack of effort in training after he learned he wouldn’t be a starter in the tournament.
“No spot is guaranteed or safe,” he said of the World Cup during an interview earlier this month alongside his German club teammate Joe Scally, who also made the U.S. roster. “I want to be there. It’s a World Cup in your home country.
“It’s a dream come true.”
“It only happens every four years,” added Scally, who made the 2022 team but did not play in the tournament. “Everyone’s just super excited, especially to be in America. It’s going to be very special.”
Among the first-time World Cup selections are midfielder Malik Tillman, the German-born brother of LAFC midfielder Timothy Tillman; Mexican-born attacker Alejandro Zendejas, who plays for Club América in Liga MX; and Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter, son of Gregg Berhalter, the U.S. coach in the last World Cup.
The inclusion of Zendejas on the roster was a bit of a surprise since his last appearance with the national team came in September but he has played well with América this season.
After Tuesday’s roster announcement in New York, the team will fly to Atlanta for training camp ahead of friendlies with Senegal in Charlotte, N.C., on May 31 and against Germany on June 6 in Chicago. The U.S. opens World Cup play at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood on June 12, facing Paraguay.
ROSTER
Goalkeepers: Chris Brady (Chicago Fire), Matt Freese (New York City), Matt Turner (New England Revolution)
Defenders: Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew), Sergiño Dest (PSV), Alex Freeman (Villarreal), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse) Tim Ream (Charlotte FC), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Auston Trusty (Celtic)
Midfielders: Tyler Adams (AFC Bournemouth), Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United), Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), Gio Reyna (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders), Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen), Tim Weah (Marseille), Alejandro Zendejas (Club América)
MILWAUKEE — Teoscar Hernández backpedaled up the line as he watched the flight of his deep fly ball down the left-field line.
It clanged off the left-field foul pole to give the Dodgers the lead for the first time in a game they’d win 11-3.
“It was big,” Hernández said after going three for four with six RBIs, tying a career high. “We took the lead, and that was the best thing. We put less pressure on [starter Roki] Sasaki, so he could keep pitching the way he was pitching after the first inning. So it was a great [fourth] inning.”
The Dodgers’ offense, led by Hernández, came alive after a quiet first game of the series.
His heroics in the comeback victory — which also included a record-setting performance from the bullpen — were a high point in his offensive turnaround the last two weeks.
“I just think that he’s heightened his focus,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I think that his at-bat quality has been considerably better. I don’t think he’s wasting at-bats.
“For me personally, early on, I think that there was a couple of at-bats per night that he was just giving away. And now the last eight days, something like that, I don’t see him giving away any at-bats. And the production has reflected that.”
Hernández’ first hit of the game was made all the more dramatic by the rut the Dodgers started in.
Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki throws during the first inning of a win over the Brewers on Saturday in Milwaukee.
(Jeffrey Phelps / Ap Photo/jeffrey Phelps)
Sasaki, coming off his best start of his MLB career against the Angels last week, ran into trouble right away against the Brewers.
Six pitches in, he’d already given up back-to-back doubles en route to the first run. To make matters worse, his own error extended the inning. He got the Brewers’ Andrew Vaughn to chase a low splitter for a swinging bunt up the third-base line. Sasaki barehanded it cleanly but threw behind Vaughn. As the ball caromed off the retaining wall in foul territory, another run scored.
A fielder’s choice and a walk later, pitching coach Mark Prior strode out of the dugout for a mound visit. The Brewers played “Message in a Bottle” over the loudspeakers.
Sasaki answered his own SOS, with some help from his defense. He struck out Jake Bauers. And then in a 2-2 count to Sal Frelick, Sasaki threw a fastball up and out of the zone. Frelick got on top of it to line a single off the end of shortstop Mookie Betts’ glove as he leaped after it.
The single drove in a third run, but center fielder Andy Pages scooped up the ball and caught Gary Sánchez trying to go from first to third on the play, ending the inning.
Then Sasaki held the Brewers scoreless for the next four innings, retiring 10 straight as he bided time for the offense to make up the deficit.
The Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman slides safely past the Brewers’ Gary Sánchez to score a run during the eighth inning Saturday in Milwaukee.
(Patrick McDermott / Getty Images)
“It seemed a little like Groundhog Day that first inning, how it started,” Roberts said. “But for Roki to find a way to get out of it with three runs, and then settle in, settle down — his stuff got better in the third, fourth and fifth innings, and I told him that. Young pitchers, to understand that even if you get hit in the mouth early, you gotta find a way to keep going, so you don’t blow up your bullpen.”
Freddie Freeman got the Dodgers’ fourth-inning rally started with a leadoff double. Then Pages drove him in by roping his own double into the left-field corner, trimming the Brewers’ lead to two runs.
When Kyle Tucker drew a one-out walk, he gave Hernández the chance to put the Dodgers ahead with one swing. He took it.
“I’m just hitting the ball in the air, hitting it hard,” Hernández said. “That’s what you want as a hitter, and I think that’s what’s been the difference between the last two weeks [versus] the weeks before.”
He entered Saturday with a 1.001 OPS since the beginning of last homestand, compared to a .667 OPS up to that point.
Going into a three-city road trip last week, Hernández said refusing to dwell on poor results, especially in big situations, had been key.
“It was more like getting confidence and getting to trust myself again,” Hernández said. “And then just go out there and trust my swing, trust the work, and just trying to select better pitches to hit.”
In addition to coming up in the big situation, Hernández also contributed to the Dodgers’ late rallies, as they batting through the order in both the eighth and ninth innings to tack on seven runs.
The Dodgers’ bullpen shut down the Brewers for four innings. The performance from Alex Vesia, Kyle Hurt, Tanner Scott and Jonathan Hernández extended the bullpen’s scoreless streak to 36 consecutive innings, eclipsing the Dodgers’ previous record of 33 innings in 1998.
“The biggest thing is that they’re attacking in the hitters, they’re pounding in the strike zone, and when they need a pitch for a double play, they executed really well,” Teoscar Hernández said. “In ‘24 they helped us a lot, ‘25 too, and this year is not going to be different. They’re built for this, and they’re ready for it.”
Injury update
Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy’s right wrist was sore Saturday, as expected after he was hit by a 95.5-mph sinker the night before.
“We’re going to kind of give him a rest day to try to get that swelling out, and then see where he’s at [Sunday],” Roberts said. “And like I said, he’ll be down for the weekend, and then we’ll kind of see where we get to on Monday.”
Depending on how he’s recovering, the Dodgers could send Muncy to get a CT scan when they’re back in Los Angeles.
Dodgers utility player Kiké Hernández (left elbow surgery recovery) is expected to join the team Monday in Los Angeles. Roberts plans to write him into the starting lineup when Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland starts against the Dodgers.
Taylor returns
A day after word spread former Dodger Chris Taylor had opted to retire, he reportedly changed his mind and joined the Minor League Baseball injury list with a left forearm fracture.
If there’s one thing in American sports that’s going to get people to sit up, lean forward and engage, it’s the home run. We all dig the long ball.
If anything can get someone to run home and turn on a softball game, it’s a big-time slugger from a big-time school mashing homers like nobody before.
Heard about Grant? She’s the UCLA softball player who’s hit an NCAA-record 40 home runs (so far) this season.
UCLA senior Megan Grant leans over and holds her helmet between pitches during a super regional game against UCF on Friday at Easton Stadium.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Forty! In 147 at-bats! That’s a home run every 3.68 at-bats!
If you’re wondering, Mark McGwire hit a home run every 7.3 at-bats in 1998, the year he finished with 70. And Barry Bonds went deep every 6.52 at-bats in 2001, when he hit his MLB-record 73 home runs.
Whenever she gets asked about her historic home runs, the red-hot, red-haired hitter is like, shucks: “I mean, it’s incredible,” she said. “I’m just honestly blessed to be able to say the number 40. But, yeah, that’s all I can say.”
She just wants to be thought of as a hard worker and a good teammate. But what Grant is going to be remembered for most is as the founding member of softball’s 40-home run club.
Her 40th home run came in her 58th game this season and on her seventh career grand slam — Grant Slam? — in the Bruins’ NCAA regional final victory over South Carolina last weekend.
Forty, a round number of round-trippers with a ring to it. And a sweet echo coming so soon after the Bruins women’s basketball team won its first NCAA championship, history to which Grant also contributed as a reserve before softball beckoned.
Side quest completed, the left-handed-hitting senior stepped back into the box to help the Bruins chase a 13th championship on the softball field.
Grant is soaking up the experience, and encouraging her younger teammates to, too: “‘Enjoy this, it’s so rare to be here’ … and, ‘Hey, we can do this, we can do it together.’”
A .469 hitter, she leads the nation in slugging percentage (1.333), on-base percentage (.650) and OPS (1.983). She bats second in UCLA’s NCAA record-breaking lineup that shattered Oklahoma’s 25-year-old previous record of 160 home runs. UCLA hit seven home runs during two super regional wins against Central Florida this weekend to push that record to 200.
With a 9-1 win Friday and a 14-4 victory Saturday, the Bruins advanced to the Women’s College World Series for the 34th time and for the third time in Grant’s astounding tenure.
UCLA senior Megan Grant (43) high-fives teammates during a win over UCF Friday at Easton Stadium.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Tip your helmet and toss Grant her bouquets — flower power — because there she is popping up on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” and on the MLB Network. One of three finalists for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, she’s got guys discussing her exploits on a dad pod otherwise dedicated to NBA takes. Fans dressed up as chefs as a tribute to her nickname, “Chef Megan.”
Star power, power broker. Grant is a lift-all-boats attraction for a sport that’s been steadily carving out space in the public consciousness.
All over the country, college softball teams have been breaking attendance records. And ratings are up, up, up; ESPN said this has been its most-watched college softball regular season since 2009, with games averaging 292,000 viewers. The MLB-backed Athletes Unlimited Softball League is entering Season 2; Grant was drafted No. 4 overall by the Portland Cascade.
“People will pay to see her play,” said Lisa Fernandez, UCLA softball legend and associate head coach.
Fernandez also is the general manager of the AUSL’s Utah Talons, for whom UCLA’s other senior slugger Jordan Woolery will play this summer.
The Bruins imported the latest in a lineage of Bay Area dynamic duos. The Oakland Athletics had the Bash Brothers, Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire; the Golden State Warriors gave us the Splash Brothers, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. And now UCLA has Walnut Creek’s Woolery and Grant, of San Bruno — the Bruin Bombers.
They’re the first teammates in NCAA history to each hit 30-plus homers in the same season, with 74 between them.
And, yes, chefs! Like Curry before her, Grant is cookin’ the competition, breaking the 31-year-old NCAA single-season home run record with No. 38 on May 9 against Nebraska.
Included among the record wreckage she’s leaving in her wake: Stacey Nuveman’s UCLA single-season record of 31 homers. For her career, Grant needs only one more to tie Nuveman’s Bruins record of 90.
But Grant’s got to get a pitch to hit first. After UCF walked her six times in two games, she has 74 walks this season and 69 base hits. She also has 13 hit by pitches.
“It’s very similar to Barry Bonds, right?” Fernandez said. “It’s either a walk or a home run. Like, you pick.”
The tale of the tape measure behind Grant’s greatness is the down-to-the inch precision of her preparation. The Mamba-esque magic is in the embracing behind-the-scenes monotony, powering through it.
“She was the hardest worker, always working. Never enough,” said Ray McDonald, Grant’s coach at the San Mateo-based Warrior Softball Academy since she was that kid with an electric, bat-busting swing. “It was eating and sleeping, hitting, and you know, shower. The essentials.”
“When we recruited her, Ray, he was like, ‘Coach, you better be ready to work,’” said Fernandez. “And I’m like, ‘Oh, I know how to work.’ And [then] I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, now I understand how people must have felt when I played.’
“There is an aspect of this game that people don’t realize unless you are in it. To be great, there’s a — for lack of a better word — monotony to the process. Can you master the same move over and over again? And she’s committed to it. To her drills, to the process, to her routine, all of it. There’s a lot of people who are committed to it when they’re not doing well: ‘Oh, got to get back to my drills.’ She has been committed to that process from the day she stepped on campus.”
The process includes working on her mind. That deep, deep breath before every deep, deep home run is a way to stay centered. To stay in the moment — and it is a moment.
For softball. For UCLA. For Grant, who, with all this power and responsibility, is hitting it out of the park.
Pack up the car and get ready for temperatures in the upper 80s this coming weekend in Clovis and Fresno, where CIF state championships will be held in track and field and boys’ volleyball.
Buchanan High School is the site Friday and Saturday for the track championships, where City Section record-holder Lawrence Kensinger will try to win a state title in the shotput after his astonishing mark of 65-11 at the City finals broke a record established in 1973. Running events begin at 5 p.m. Friday to qualify for Saturday’s finals.
Servite sprinters will try to put on a show in the 4×100 relay, the 100, 200 and 400 races. Sherman Oaks Notre Dame high jumper JJ Harel will try to defend his state title. At the Southern Section finals, he cleared a career-best 7-1.
Fresno City College is the site for the volleyball championships on Saturday.
Tickets are available only through gofan.co.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
The final episode of Football Focus was broadcast on Sunday, bringing to an end 52 years on the air.
It was an emotional episode as long-time pundit Garth Crooks returned to Focus, sitting alongside Alex Scott to reflect on the show’s past and preview the final day of the Premier League season.
Bob Wilson, the show’s first presenter, closed out the programme by saying: “All good things come to an end. Thank you to all of you at home for watching Football Focus for the last 52 years. We have had a ball.”
Launched in 1974, Football Focus provided fans with interviews, analysis and stories from across the game every lunchtime before the weekend’s fixtures begin.
The longest-running magazine show in the world began with a tribute to the programme, with its former presenters sharing their favourite memories from across the decades.
The programme’s old branding was used throughout in a nod to its history.
Crooks ended the show by presenting Scott with a picture of herself and Bob Wilson, on behalf of the “Football Focus family”.
Before handing over to Wilson, an emotional Scott said: “For 52 years, this show has done one thing. Week in, week out, it has brought football into your Saturday afternoons. Whether it was Bob Wilson or any of the brilliant people who sat in this chair after him, the thing that never changed was you – the fans.
“I won’t pretend this isn’t hard. What I know is, the football doesn’t stop, the stories don’t stop. The goals, the drama, the heartbreak, the magic, none of that stops. It just finds a new home.
“From everyone who has ever worked on Football Focus, thank you. Thank you for making Saturday lunchtime something to look forward to. It has been an honour.”
If Tribe does realise his ambition and become the first Glamorgan player since Simon Jones in 2005 to play for England, it will have come off the back of a willingness to pack his bags and head for wherever there were opportunities to play and improve.
He had never played a game outside of Jersey until he left the island to study in Cardiff when he was 18, but joined Glamorgan on a rookie contract in 2023 before signing an improved deal last year.
Since then, his travels have taken Tribe to the National Cricket League in Texas, a stint in Adelaide playing Grade cricket, then onto a Nepalese T20 competition, before he was picked up by Paarl Royals to play in the South African T20 tournament last winter – as well as getting a deal to play grade cricket in Australia.
His stint with Paarl Royals in particular is bearing fruit, with Tribe having been able to tweak his technique ahead of this tour in South Africa.
“I have made a couple of technical changes and they have served me well here,” he said.
“I am now more side on and added a little trigger in there and made sure I have added a few other shots.
“So if the lads are missing slightly short on the off-side I can still punch that, and I’m trying to narrow the margin for error on the bowler’s side.
“My movement is a bit more precise and accurate as well.
“It has given me the ability to know what their bowlers do with the ball.
“It has definitely helped me against their skilful bowlers and has given me a clue on what they do.
“The reason we have this type of cricket where we play against the second team of other countries is that it is going to be a better standard that what we potentially face in the County Championship.
“In the Championship you talk about slightly slower bowling whereas on this wicket it has had more pace and bounce. It is different challenges.
“I like the idea we get the opportunity to play in these because if you are then exposed to Test cricket then it will be faster.”
Whether Tribe is on the fast track to an England cap remains to be seen, but the already much-travelled young player continues to do all he can to make his dream a reality.
