Sports Desk

Meanwhile, there is a first senior call-up for Chelsea midfielder Lexi Potter, 20, who has impressed alongside England’s Keira Walsh in the Women’s Super League.

She has started three of Chelsea’s opening four matches and was a standout performer in their 1-0 win over Arsenal on Sunday.

“Her performances were just really good. We started following her closely last season and she got minutes over time,” said Wiegman.

“She plays with a lot of courage, a lot of understanding and her decision-making is really good. Her technical ability, we have seen, is really good too.

“What I’ve seen is that no matter who she plays against, like last Sunday [against Arsenal], it looks like it doesn’t bother her at all and she will just play football.

“She played against very high-level players, international players, and she just played. She looked very comfortable. I hope she shows that with us too.”

There is also a return to the squad for uncapped midfielder Erica Meg Parkinson, 18, who has excelled since joining North Carolina Courage in the summer.

Manchester City full-back Niamh Charles made her return from injury as a substitute in their 1-0 win over Charlton Athletic on Saturday and is included.

London City Lionesses forward Freya Godfrey and Liverpool defender Grace Fisk are the other two uncapped players named.

England play a double-header against Greece, first in Crete on Friday, 9 October (17:30 BST) and then in Leicester on Tuesday, 13 October (19:30 BST).

If they win the two-legged tie, they progress to round two of the play-offs where they can compete for a place in next summer’s Women’s World Cup in Brazil.

When Dodgers rookie Josue De Paula debuted a little over two weeks ago, he was the youngest player in the lineup by four years. And when veteran infielder Miguel Rojas pinch-hit for Alex Freeland in the eighth inning, the 21-year-old De Paula and 29-year-old Kyle Tucker were the only Dodgers under 30 remaining in the batting order.

“You’ve got to have both,” veteran shortstop Mookie Betts, who turns 34 next month, said in a recent conversation with the Times. “You need experience, but you also do need youth. I don’t know what the balance is, to be honest.”

The age of the Dodgers’ stars is the most persistent knock on a group that just finished a 100-win regular season and has the second-best odds to win the World Series (16.7%), according to Baseball Prospectus.

It’s the threat looming beyond every new accomplishment. Yes, the Dodgers are in the midst of a historic run. Only one other organization has strung together so many consecutive postseason berths, and that Braves team of the 1990s and early 2000s won only one World Series.

The Dodgers are aiming to become the first National League team to claim three straight championships.

But how long can this last?

The Dodgers’ lineup is the oldest in the majors, according to Baseball Reference, with an average age of 30.9 years old when weighted by at-bats and games played. Their star corner infielders, Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy, are the oldest of the everyday starters, at 37 and 36, respectively. Even two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani turned 32 in July.

“That’s a fact, we’re an older team,” manager Dave Roberts said. “With age, there’s experience. I know we’re not going to fall off a cliff, our team.”

Plenty of young players in the Dodgers’ system have been blocked by older stars over the years. But in addition to a sky-high payroll, the Dodgers are known for their player development.

Even after the trade deadline — when the Dodgers sent two MLB Top-100 prospects, outfielder Zyhir Hope (No. 25) and right-hander River Ryan (No. 68), to the Tigers as part of the trade package for left-hander Tarik Skubal — the organization’s farm system ranked No. 1 on MLB Pipeline’s rankings.

Serving as a reminder of that strength, when the Dodgers called up De Paula straight from double A, he immediately showed his bat belonged in the big-leagues.

At the same time, injuries stoked the flames of the age discussion. De Paula got his shot because Ohtani finally went on the injured list, after managing problems with his left knee and right biceps for much of the season.

Freeman pushed through knee tendinitis in September. Teoscar Hernández (left hamstring strain) and Betts (right oblique strain) both had monthlong IL stints earlier in the season but have helped carry the offense lately.

“As I’ve gotten older, I’m definitely taking a lot more care of my body,” Betts said. “I know I had an oblique [injury] earlier, but as far as just showing up every day and whatnot, I feel like we do a good job in taking care of our bodies and staying healthy for the most part.

“But I mean, people are talking like we’re the only ones in the league that’s getting hurt. You look everywhere around the league, somebody’s hurt.”

That’s true. And it also isn’t just the guys in their mid-to-late 30’s sustaining soft-tissue injuries. Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing, 25, served back-to-back IL stints for a flexor strain in his forearm down the stretch.

The Dodgers’ roster has proven deep enough to withstand injuries, as the team posted the second-best regular-season record in the majors this year.

“We’re not going to win games the same way that Milwaukee or Tampa Bay or these younger teams are winning games,” said Rojas, 37. “We’re going to win games a different way. We’re going to win games with a lot of talent, with experience, and winning moments.”

Over the years, the Dodgers have brought in players with postseason experience. But roster continuity also has meant that 17 players on this year’s projected postseason roster also contributed to both of the Dodgers’ last two World Series-winning seasons.

So, after playing more games than any other team the past couple years, the Dodgers may be a little hobbled going into their first-round bye. Regardless, they just completed their first 100-win season since 2023.

“The experience, how smart these guys are on the field, I think those things help win moments and win battles on the edges in October,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said when the Dodgers clinched the NL West title earlier this month. “It’s not as easy to navigate through a 162-game season with an older roster. But I do think that experience in those moments will definitely help and we’ll see it shine through at different points in October.”

It seems like a simple equation: $338 million produces 100.

That’s the Dodgers’ season-ending payroll and victory total. But to assume a franchise can merely buy a playoff berth is a stretch.

The New York Mets sit at home — or more likely at lavish vacation destinations, given their perch at the top of baseball’s payrolls at $345.8 million. They finished last in the National League East with a 74-88 record.

The Cleveland Guardians also sit at home, but are quite pleased about it. They earned a first-round bye and berth in the American League Division Series this weekend despite a payroll of only $74.2 million — baseball’s lowest and barely one-fifth that of the Mets.

Twelve of the 30 MLB teams qualified for the postseason, with four best-of-three Wild Card Series beginning Tuesday. Eight of the dozen have payrolls in the top 10, with the defending AL-champion Toronto Blue Jays joining the Mets as supreme underachievers given their No. 5-ranked payroll of $275.4 million.

Yet three playoff teams — the Tampa Bay Rays ($98.3 million) and Chicago White Sox ($98 million), in addition to the Guardians — rank among the six lowest payrolls, according to present-day salary calculations from the MLB Labor Relations Department, or LRD, obtained by USA Today.

The combined LRD payrolls of those three overachievers don’t come close to the Mets or Dodgers, highlighting the enormous disparity between the haves and have-nots that team owners point to while demanding a salary cap during ongoing collective bargaining negotiations.

Oddly, only one playoff qualifier is among the 14 mid-range payrolls of roughly $100 million to $200 million — the Milwaukee Brewers, who achieved baseball’s best record at 103-59 while paying its roster $143.5 million. The Angels are also among that group, ranking No. 15 at $179.8, not enough to keep them from losing 100 games for the first time in franchise history.

The LRD payroll tracks a team’s real-time salary commitments for the current season, accounting for the 26-man MLB roster’s base salaries plus a prorated portion of signing bonuses. LRD differs from luxury tax payrolls, which are based on the average annual value of every player contract on the 40-man roster.

Luxury tax payrolls determine whether a team exceeds the league’s luxury tax threshold and owes financial penalties. MLB is using luxury tax payrolls in the CBA negotiations over a hard salary cap and floor, proposing a $245.3-million ceiling and $171.2-million floor for 2027.

Luxury tax penalties from clubs that exceed the thresholds funnel back to low-revenue clubs through revenue sharing. A record $402,637,907 was paid in luxury tax penalties last season, with the Dodgers paying the most at a record $169.4 million. This year, the Dodgers’ luxury tax is projected at $180 million — higher than the LRD payroll of 16 teams.

The Dodgers also have the highest luxury tax payroll at $430 million, dwarfing the Mets’ $363-million number. Reasons? The Dodgers pay more in penalties because they have exceeded the luxury tax six years in a row, they have more players with massive average annual values and they took on additional penalties by acquiring starter Tarik Skubal at the trade deadline.

MLB 2026 payrolls (playoff teams in bold)

1. New York Mets: $346.8 million

2. Dodgers: $338.0 million

3. New York Yankees: $304.6 million

4. Philadelphia Phillies: $291.7 million

5. Toronto Blue Jays: $275.4 million

6. Atlanta Braves: $263.9 million

7. Houston Astros: $249.5 million

8. Chicago Cubs: $248.8 million

9. San Diego Padres: $223.9 million

10. Boston Red Sox: $210.2 million

11. Detroit Tigers: $202.1 million

12. San Francisco Giants: $197.6 million

13. Arizona Diamondbacks: $192.8 million

14. Texas Rangers: $192.5 million

15. Angels: $179.8 million

16. Seattle Mariners: $170.5 million

17. Baltimore Orioles: $169.2 million

18. Kansas City Royals: $149.8 million

19. Milwaukee Brewers: $143.5 million

20. Cincinnati Reds: $128.3 million

21. Colorado Rockies: $117.0 million

22. Minnesota Twins: $109.5 million

23. Pittsburgh Pirates: $107.6 million

24. Athletics: $98.7 million

25. Tampa Bay Rays: $98.3 million

26. Chicago White Sox: $98.0 million

27. St. Louis Cardinals: $94.7 million

28. Washington Nationals: $90.3 million

29. Miami Marlins: $83.0 million

30. Cleveland Guardians: $74.2 million

Aston Villa manager Natalia Arroyo has been sacked following a disappointing start to the Women’s Super League season.

Villa are yet to win this season, drawing two and losing two of their opening four matches and BBC Sport is told that led to the club’s decision.

They suffered a 4-0 defeat by Tottenham on Sunday in the WSL and are due to play Newcastle in the Women’s League Cup on Wednesday (19:30 BST).

Spaniard Arroyo joined Villa in January 2025 and had another two years remaining on her contract.

She becomes the first managerial departure this season, though former Manchester United boss Marc Skinner and ex-Brighton head coach Dario Vidosic both stepped down earlier this year.

The club informed Arroyo of their decision on Monday evening and players were told on Tuesday morning.

Former Everton manager Brian Sorensen, who is now Villa’s women’s technical advisor, has been placed in interim charge.

Since Arroyo’s arrival, Villa have shown flashes of potential and she initially steadied the ship as they toyed with relegation in her first six months at the club.

But despite investment in the transfer window, Villa lacked consistency and were underwhelming last season.

There was pressure on them to perform in 2026-27 and while they earned a draw on the opening weekend against Chelsea, they have looked dangerously open at the back and chaotic out of possession.

Their latest defeat by Spurs was a worrying display and appears to have been enough to lead to Arroyo’s sacking.

Lewis was part of the Wales squad at the 2022 union World Cup and was set to play in the inaugural WXV tournament a year later.

But she suffered a serious knee injury as Wales beat Italy in the 2023 Six Nations.

Since her recovery Lewis has played for Brython Thunder in the Celtic Challenge but, with no WRU contract, felt she had unfinished business and “didn’t want any regrets”.

“I could have easily just walked away from rugby at that point. I could have just been like ‘I’m done’,” said Lewis.

“But internally, I knew I wasn’t, and I put so much time and effort into coming back and getting back fit, and I was only 28, and I was like, ‘I’ve still got so much time left’, and I just felt individually I didn’t deserve my time to be done based on someone else’s decision.

“So I took some time, and then I just set a goal to myself. If I got the opportunity to play rugby league, great.

“If I had the opportunity to play union, I wouldn’t say no. But this opportunity came up, and I just grabbed it with two hands, and hopefully now it’s paid off.”

According to documents obtained by The Times via the California Public Records Act, Inglewood High School confirmed to the Southern Section that its football coach, Mil’Von James, played three ineligible players during a game in Austin, Texas, last month.

The reason, according to the letter sent to the Southern Section office, was, “The coach stated that he was not aware CIF eligibility rules applied to a game in Texas.”

That raises the question how many more times Inglewood has used ineligible players for out-of-state football games under James, the head coach since 2019. Last season on Sept. 25, 2025, the team played in Midland, Texas, three days before sit-out transfer players became eligible. Inglewood won 43-42. One of the players on the team who had not been cleared to play was Masyn Harvey, a quarterback transfer and holder on PATs.

Harvey, now playing for a prep school team, declined to return a request for comment if he had played.

If Harvey did play, Inglewood should have forfeited its win last season to Midland. Because Inglewood lost to Westlake of Austin on Aug. 28, a forfeit was moot for this season. Inglewood informed the Southern Section that it imposed a two-game suspension as punishment to James, who returned to coach last week in a win over Downey. The school said it would extend the sit-out period by another week to those players who participated while not cleared.

As for corrective action, the school stated, “Going forward, all ineligible players, across all sports, will be in street clothes on the sideline and must check in with the game administrator prior to the start of each game. We will send all coaches, across all sports, a weekly email listing ineligible players and the reasons for their ineligibility.

“At the start of each season, we will re-train all coaches on eligibility criteria and the clearance process and require them to sign an acknowledgment confirming they understand.”

James has a history of using ineligible players. He was dismissed at Hawkins High in 2016. The Los Angeles Unified School District did not share why James was fired, calling it a confidential personnel matter. LAUSD dismissed James soon after the discovery of ineligible players, resulting in Hawkins forfeiting all of its games to finish 0-13. Since then, the City Section established a rule that teams must exchange rosters before games to verify that players are eligible.

The Southern Section declined comment, but according to a letter response from an assistant commissioner, “Based on your self-report, preventative measures and the corrective actions taken, we will consider this matter closed.”

A new age of Clippers basketball started on Monday.

It’s about moving on, or attempting to, after the franchise endured a nightmare offseason.

“My entire summer’s been basketball,” guard Darius Garland nonchalantly said during media day at Intuit Dome. “My main thing is to come in here and win games. So, that’s my main focus.”

The Clippers’ offseason was engulfed by the NBA’s salary-cap circumvention investigation into the team’s endorsement deals with Kawhi Leonard. The NBA fined the Clippers $30 million, stripped them of five first-round picks, dealt suspensions to owner Steve Ballmer and president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank — and the Clippers ultimately traded Leonard, who was fined merely $700,000, back to Toronto.

Garland represented his teammates in prioritizing hoops.

But for Trent Redden, the Clippers’ interim president of basketball operations, things weren’t that simple. The admittedly nervous executive started Monday’s news conferences by apologizing to the Clippers’ faithful for the aftermath of the Leonard situation.

“Our fans deserve to hear from us before this, and for that we’re sorry,” Redden said. “We’ve been listening to the thoughts, the concerns, and feeling the emotions of our fan base. They mean everything to us. … We hope to fulfill our promises to them, to build their trust and move forward through this time.

“This franchise often has done its best work with its back against the wall … We hope to represent our fans the same way we always have in dark times, by coming out fighting.”

Fighting is all the new-look Clippers can do as they enter the 2026-27 season.

Leonard is back north of the border. Other stars, such as Paul George, James Harden and the recently retired Russell Westbrook, are distant memories in L.A. For the first time in years, the Clippers aren’t entering a season with championship aspirations.

“It’s been difficult,” said Ty Lue, who enters his seventh season as the Clippers’ coach. “But I give our players a lot of credit … the leadership is great [and] the morale is great, even in these tough situations. That’s good to see, when you have your players coming in every day, giving everything they have; a lot of teams don’t have that.”

The Clippers’ league-record streak of 15 consecutive winning seasons is in jeopardy. Nonetheless, the team will still feature plenty of intrigue roster-wise, with a mix of youngsters “doing TikToks” and “old heads” trying to keep up, as Garland described it.

“I think we can surprise a lot of people,” he said.

Garland himself, 26, enters his first full season in L.A. as the team’s go-to scorer. A two-time All-Star, he’s primed to lead a promising backcourt alongside 19-year-old rookie Keaton Wagler, the Clippers’ No. 5 pick in the 2026 draft.

Wagler is one of the team’s promising young players, alongside fellow rookie Baba Miller, Kobe Sanders and the rehabbing Jordan Miller and Yanic Konan Niederhauser.

“I’m just going to do my best to stay mentally focused,” Wagler said when asked about the pressure of being the team’s first top-five pick since Blake Griffin in 2009. “Not worry about all the outside noise.”

The Clippers return key role players like Derrick Jones Jr., Kris Dunn, Bradley Beal and Brook Lopez, and sport new ones like Max Strus and Gradey Dick via trades.

However, the team’s ceiling will rest on the influence of new forwards Brandon Ingram and Rui Hachimura. Hachimura is coming off a strong playoff run and four-year stint with the Lakers.

“One thing about here … everybody talks about how they take really good care of their players,” Hachimura said of signing a two-year, $28-million contract with the Clippers this offseason.

Ingram, the centerpiece of the Leonard trade, is a solid three-level scorer and will shoulder much of the offensive load alongside Garland — when healthy.

Redden shockingly shared that Ingram is recovering from a partially torn Achilles tendon in addition to heel surgery.

“I had been dealing with some pain throughout the year with the Raptors, especially coming down crunch time with the Raptors,” Ingram said. “I didn’t quite know what it was. Near the end of the season, we figured out what it was, and surgery was the best thing to do.”

The 29-year-old Ingram, though, should make a full recovery and claims his best days are still ahead of him.

He feels the same way about his new Clippers team.

“I know [there are] little to no expectations for us this year,” Ingram said. “We have enough in the building to compete. This is what we love to do. So, we’ll go out and compete every single night, learn, go on to the next game and get better and better.”

The bromance between Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves remains strong and it’s a bond the Lakers will lean on with LeBron James no longer on the team.

After eight years of James being the Lakers’ leader, the role now will be shared by Doncic and Reaves.

Doncic already took a step in that direction when he invited his teammates to his home country of Slovenia in August for a bonding trip.

Reaves chided Doncic about losing in rowing, bowling and golf while they were in Slovenia together.

Reminded about it Monday at the Lakers’ media day, Doncic immediately retorted: “I beat him in golf two days ago. … He didn’t say that, huh?”

Doncic paused and smiled.

“The key was I was playing great golf,” Doncic said. “He gave me some strokes, I’m not going to lie — as he should.”

Reaves spoke about the events his group won in Slovenia and how they beat Doncic in the process.

“We won the rowing, we won the golf, we won bowling,” Reaves said. “Luka tried to put on a blue shirt when his rowing team lost, which is crazy. But he did host us, so we let him hold the first-place trophy for once.”

The two friends and teammates have developed a closeness that their teammates have noticed.

“They get along so well that it’s kind of easy for them to co-lead this team — in different ways sometimes,” Jake LaRavia said. “I think sometimes Luka leads by example and we watch him and we watch how he goes about himself. AR can sometimes be a bit more vocal. But I think they both do a great job at what they are good at it when it comes to being leaders for this team.”

Lakers guard Luka Doncic speaks during the team’s media day in El Segundo on Monday.

(Eric Thaye r/ Los Angeles Times)

Doncic led the NBA in scoring last season (33.5 points per game) and was third in assists (8.3). He averaged 7.7 rebounds and shot 47.6%, including 36.6% from three-point range.

The three-year, $165-million contract extension Doncic signed last year kicked in this season.

“Obviously, it’s a new challenge,” he said about his leadership role. “I was in this position in my career a lot of times, so it’s not new to me. But I feel great, I feel excited, and like I said, I’m ready to go. It’s been a long time since I played basketball, so I’m ready.”

Reaves is entering his sixth season with the Lakers, making him the longest-tenured player on the team. In June, he signed a four-year, $180-million deal, the largest contract for an undrafted player in NBA history.

Reaves earned it by averaging career-highs in points (23.2) and rebounds (4.7).

The Lakers have nine new players and Reaves knows he’ll need to provide guidance.

“I think it’s different for everybody,” Reaves said. “I’m not going to lead the same way Bron does. I’m not going to lead the same way Luka does. I like to do things a little different. I was talking about doing more one-on-one conversations. There will be times where I need to speak up in group settings and I’ll do that when the time comes. But I think you just got to be true to yourself and do what’s comfortable for you.”

Doncic played in just 64 games last season. He missed the last five regular-season games and all of the playoffs with a left hamstring strain. After spending time in Europe rehabbing his hamstring over the summer, Doncic said he’s healthy and ready to go with no restrictions when the Lakers begin training camp Tuesday.

“I know I had a lot of time, just taking it slowly, not taking no risks,” Doncic said. “But right now, I’m feeling great. I feel rested. Mentally I feel great, so I can’t wait just to start.”

With Walker Kessler, Quentin Grimes, Jaden Hardy, Kevon Looney, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Collin Sexton, Matisse Thybulle and Ziaire Williams among the newcomers on the Lakers, Doncic and Reaves are looking forward to what comes next.

“I like everybody that we signed,” Doncic said. “I think there’s a lot of underrated guys. … Now training camp is going to help us a lot, focus on basketball, get to know what they like on the court, but I’m very excited to play with all of them.”

A controversial pass-interference call cost the Rams dearly in their defeat by the Denver Broncos, but coach Sean McVay said Monday that neither he nor the team would play the victim card.

With just over a minute left in the game, Rams cornerback Josh Wallace battled with Broncos receiver Pat Bryant before intercepting a Bo Nix pass at the Rams’ seven-yard line. Had the play stood, it would have preserved a second consecutive Rams victory.

But officials cited Wallace for pass interference, giving the Broncos another set of downs. Nix eventually scored a touchdown to give the Broncos a 30-26 lead and an eventual victory that dropped the Rams to 1-2.

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Gary Klein breaks down what went wrong for the Rams in a 30-26 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday night.

“I’m not going to play the victim card,” McVay said during a videoconference with reporters. “Doesn’t really matter. It is what it is. That was the call that was made, and there was a lot of opportunities that we had to be able to close the door on that game. … I wouldn’t have any additional coaching points for how Josh plays through the cycle of the snap.

“But I’m not going to make excuses either and we’re not going to play the victim card.”

Rams cornerback Trent McDuffie reviewed the play “over and over.”

“I told Josh, ‘Hey, nothing you can do. Refs got to call their calls. We can’t control that,’” McDuffie said. “But, I mean, looking back at it, I don’t know what they saw but I thought it was a great play. Got the interception for us.

“But like I said, whatever the refs saw they saw and threw the flag and ain’t much we can do about it, so it’s really just on to the next week.”

The Rams play the Eagles on Sunday in Philadelphia.

They will probably do so without cornerback Jaylen Watson, who left against the Broncos after suffering a dislocated right shoulder.

Watson will not be placed on injured reserve, McVay said, “but will probably be out for this week. We’ll see if we can kind of get him strengthened and harness it. It’s something that he’s dealt with before.”

Tight end Terrance Ferguson sustained an ankle sprain and is probably out against the Eagles. Tight end Colby Parkinson’s (shoulder) status will be evaluated this week.

Receiver Puka Nacua, who has been sidelined the last two games because of a hip injury, went through a lengthy on-field workout before the game against the Broncos.

Will he play against the Eagles?

”I’m hopeful,” McVay said, adding, “We’ll continue to see, but if he is able to progress the way that we hope there’s optimism that he’ll be able to play this week.”

McVay apologized for taking only a few questions during a postgame news conference after the defeat by the Broncos.

“I understand my role and responsibility is to be able to talk whether it’s after a win or whether we don’t get the results that we want,” McVay said, adding that the brevity resulted from a mix-up in timing. “There was a pause in any sort of questions and obviously an emotional game and so that was kind of what led to that.

“But if there was any misinterpretation, do apologize for that.”

It’s never good when NFL coaches on struggling teams have to publicly reaffirm their faith in members of their staff before the calendar turns to October — and that’s what Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh did on Monday.

Speaking to reporters in the wake of a 24-16 loss to the Buffalo Bills, Harbaugh was asked if he would consider taking some control away from offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel if the offense doesn’t improve.

“No, we trust Mike. We believe in Mike,” Harbaugh said.

It would be odd for Harbaugh to publicly admit to anything else at this point, especially because he’s not in a good position to do much else to salvage the season. Harbaugh has never called plays at the NFL level and must hope McDaniel and Justin Herbert can fix the NFL’s No. 21-ranked offense (309 yards per game) if the Chargers have any chance of becoming the eighth team in NFL history to reach the postseason after an 0-3 start.

“We’re searching for every possible way to give ourselves an advantage,” Harbaugh said. “Every possible way to not beat ourselves.”

Although Harbaugh doesn’t see himself intervening on McDaniel’s turf, he does want to see improvement from Herbert. The quarterback struggled against the Bills, failing to capitalize on five takeaways from the Chargers’ defense. He passed for 226 yards with a touchdown and an interception, but four trips to the red zone — two of which were assisted by favorable field position off takeaways — resulted in only three field goals and a touchdown.

“To be better,” said Harbaugh, regarding Herbert’s decision-making. “That drives Justin, that drives me, that drives his position coach, that drives Mike [McDaniel]. … I mean, drives us all.”

Herbert isn’t the only underperformer. Dropped passes from wide receiver Quentin Johnston and tight end Oronde Gadsden II were factors in the Bills becoming the first team since the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2022 season wild-card playoffs to win despite five turnovers and a minus-four turnover differential.

The team the Jaguars beat that January? The Chargers.

Porto defender Alberto Costa is on the radar of Arsenal and Manchester United, Manchester City will not let Erling Haaland leave on the cheap if they are relegated, Liverpool retain an interest in Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni.

Manchester United and Arsenal are both keeping a close eye on Porto’s 22-year-old Portuguese right-back Alberto Costa but face competition from Paris St-Germain. (Caughtoffside), external

Manchester City will put a hefty price tag on Norway striker Erling Haaland, 26, if they end up being relegated from the Premier League over financial rule breaches. (Football Insider), external

Chelsea, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Barcelona are among the teams interested in Haaland and closely monitoring Manchester City‘s situation amid the possibility of sanctions. (Fichajes – in Spanish), external

Former Chelsea and Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling has been offered to two clubs in France’s Ligue 1, but neither were interested in the 31-year-old Englishman, who is currently a free agent. (Foot Mercato – in French), external

Besiktas president Serdal Adali has vowed to sign Joe Willock, 27, from Newcastle, in January, claiming the English midfielder has already chosen a new home in Turkey. (Talksport), external

Former Newcastle boss Eddie Howe will not return to Premier League management with a lower or mid-ranked club such as Crystal Palace or Fulham and would want to take over at an underachieving big club. (Telegraph – subscription required), external

Liverpool remain interested in Real Madrid’s France midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni – even though the 26-year-old signed a new long-term contract with the La Liga club in the summer. (Teamtalk), external

World champion Luke Littler’s hopes of defending his World Grand Prix title were dashed as he fell to a shock first-round defeat by Luke Woodhouse in Leicester.

Littler, 19, had been looking to bounce back from his quarter-final exit to Jonny Clayton at the World Series of Darts Finals just over a week ago.

But despite taking the first set, he was distinctly below par throughout the best-of-three encounter, averaging just 82.41.

That allowed Woodhouse to level the match and deliver a checkout of 75 to win the deciding set 3-1 in legs.

Woodhouse will face 2022 runner-up Nathan Aspinall in the last 16, who edged past Dutch debutant Kevin Doets 2-1.

Earlier on Monday, six-time winner Michael van Gerwen lost five legs out of the last six as 2024 semi-finalist Ryan Joyce fought back to win 2-1.

England’s Joyce will play Dutchman Danny Noppert, who advanced past Germany’s Niko Springer by the same scoreline.

Elsewhere, Wales’ Gerwyn Price only lost a single leg as he comfortably beat Poland’s Sebastian Bialecki 2-0 to set up a meeting with England’s Ross Smith, who came from behind to triumph 2-1 against Scotland’s Cameron Menzies.

Welshman Clayton edged past Krzysztof Ratajski 2-1, and he will take on the Netherlands’ Wessel Nijman, who overcame 2018 world champion Rob Cross in straight sets.

Chances were at a premium at Windsor Park as both defences came out on top.

Patrick Kelly hit the crossbar in the first half for Northern Ireland, and Isaac Price had an effort beaten away by Balazs Toth.

After Dan Ballard controversially conceded a penalty in Georgia, Shea Charles also had a penalty appeal waved away in the lead-up to the Kelly chance for a similar incident.

While O’Neill said he had yet to see it back, he did quip that “the referee never seems to make the walk for us to the side of the pitch. It never seems to happen for us.”

The threat of Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai was largely nullified throughout the game as Hungary, like Northern Ireland, struggled to create any clear-cut chances.

The only save that Pierce Charles had to make in goal was when a lethargic clearance led to Alex Toth shooting towards goal in the closing stages, but the QPR stopper was otherwise untroubled.

After a 5,000-mile trip from Georgia in their opening game, Northern Ireland had to quickly reset and O’Neill admitted he saw “two tired teams” at the end of the game.

“I think our preparation, our first game in terms of being away from home and everything, was more difficult.

“I felt like Hungary got a little bit stronger towards the end.”

Gianni Infantino has indicated a greater amount of money could be distributed to Fifa members from its estimated £4.4bn cash reserves.

In a letter seen by BBC Sport, and sent to the governing body’s six continental confederations on Monday, Fifa president Infantino said he would support “the greatest level of additional funding that can responsibly be delivered”.

Infantino has come under increasing pressure over his aborted Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) plan, which proposed selling stakes in the World Cup and other competitions to private investors, sparking a major backlash.

His letter comes after Uefa and Concacaf – the confederations for Europe and North America, Central America and the Caribbean – demanded Fifa pays $10m (£7.5m) to all 211 members from its reserves.

The proposal will be considered by the Fifa Council when they meet on 15 October.

“I will not prejudge the amount,” Infantino said in the letter.

“A single figure can begin the discussion, but it cannot complete a global policy.”

Infantino issued his latest defence of the failed proposal to sell a slice of the World Cup commercial rights that brought calls for his resignation, again claiming it had been intended to generate additional money for the game.

“The recent commercial proposal, now withdrawn, was intended to enable Fifa to invest more in football,” wrote the Swiss-Italian.

Earlier this month, Football Association chair Debbie Hewitt, a Fifa vice-president, told Infantino to release all documents relating to his controversial plan, and called for an independent review of FFE.

Infantino will stand for election for a fourth time in March 2027, with his opponents having until 18 November to find an alternative candidate.

Free-scoring All Blacks wing Fehi Fineanganofo has convinced Newcastle Red Bulls to delay his arrival on Tyneside so he can chase his dream of playing at the Rugby World Cup.

It was originally announced back in January that the 24-year-old had agreed a two-year deal with Newcastle, beginning at the start of the current campaign.

However, Fineanganofo’s exceptional form with the Wellington-based Hurricanes in Super Rugby then propelled him into Test reckoning.

He made his New Zealand debut against France in July.

Under All Blacks selection rules, a move overseas this year would have put Fineanganofo’s emerging international career on ice and ruled him out of contention for the Rugby World Cup, which begins in October 2027.

Newcastle have therefore allowed Fineanganofo to stay with the Hurricanes, for whom he broke the record for the most tries in a single Super Rugby campaign this year, for an extra season.

His Newcastle deal is still for two campaigns, but now covers the 2027-28 and 2028-29 seasons instead.

“I’m really grateful to Newcastle Red Bulls for the support and understanding they’ve shown me,” said Fineanganofo.

“The opportunity to stay in New Zealand and push for selection for the Rugby World Cup means a huge amount, and I’m fully committed to joining the club after the tournament and giving everything I can to the team.”

Newcastle’s sporting general manager Neil McIlroy said: “We are fully supportive of Fehi’s desire to represent his country at Rugby World Cup 2027, which marries with our own philosophy of aiming high and enabling our athletes to achieve their ambitions.

“Fehi’s arrival in 2027, with additional international experience that will only add to his already devastating qualities as a top-class winger, is another statement of intent around where this club is going.”

The compromise ends long-running uncertainty about Fineanganofo’s future.

In June, New Zealand Rugby denied they were attempting to put together a deal to get Fineanganofo out of his Newcastle contract.

Just a few weeks ago, Red Bulls’ head coach Dan McFarland said he expected Fineanganofo to arrive in November and play in the current campaign.

His side began the Prem season with former Ulster man Werner Kok, signed in June as doubts over Fineanganofo’s move increased, and 35-year-old Christian Wade as their first-choice wings.

McIlroy kept open the possibility of adding to the club’s options in that position.

“We are more than happy with the quality and depth that our existing squad possesses, but may yet choose to add to the outside back position if a player of the required standard becomes available,” he said.

Newcastle lost 59-26 away to defending champions Northampton on Friday in their league opener, and will take on Leicester at home on Saturday.

The NFL confirmed Monday that it has asked the Department of Homeland Security to remove a video featuring hard-hitting highlights of Hall of Fame safety Brian Dawkins from a social media post in reference to a report about a caravan of immigrants approaching the U.S. border.

On Sunday afternoon, the verified X account of the DHS reposted another account’s report of the purported caravan, along with the comment, “Our time has come,” and a 39-second clip of the former Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos star delivering one bruising hit after another.

“The league requested DHS take down the video,” NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy told The Times in an email.

Dawkins told ESPN in a text that he had “very respectfully not given permission” for the DHS to use his video.

About two hours after the initial post went up, the DHS responded in the comment section with a still photo of Dawkins and the caption, “The Border Is Closed.” As of early Monday afternoon, both posts remained intact.

The Times reached out to the DHS by email and asked if it had initially sought the NFL’s permission to use the content, if it planned on taking down the content as the league requested and why it chose to use Dawkins’ imagery with the posts.

The department sent a statement in response that appears to refer to the nine-time Pro Bowl selection’s nickname “Weapon X.”

“DHS is playing lockdown defense at the border. We will use every Weapon at our disposal, from A to X, to keep Americans safe,” the department wrote.

“The United States Border Patrol is actively tracking a migrant caravan which departed San Pedro Sula, Honduras on September 20, 2026. USBP is closely engaged with its international partners to monitor their movement and any additional developments. USBP reminds migrants that under the leadership of President Trump and Homeland Secretary [Markwayne] Mullin, the border has remained closed and secured for the last 16 months.

“Migrants considering making the dangerous journey to our country should also be aware that the days of ‘catch and release’ are over, and [former President] Biden’s disastrous open border policy has been SEALED SHUT. Anyone attempting to illegally enter the United States will be apprehended, prosecuted, and removed from the country.”

Drake Maye was almost the NFL’s MVP last year.

The New England Patriots quarterback finished second in the Associated Press poll of national media members, with 23 first-place votes and 361 total points. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford edged him out with 24 first-place votes and 366 overall points.

Chances are, Maye won’t be receiving any votes this year — at least not if the first three games are any indication of how the rest of the season will go. Months after helping the Patriots to a surprise Super Bowl appearance, the third-year player and two-time Pro Bowl selection is not playing close to the standard he established last year.

Maye has thrown only one touchdown pass so far this season after tossing 31 a year ago. And he has been intercepted six times already in 2026 after getting picked off only eight times total last season.

The Patriots are 1-2 at the moment, the same record they had after the first three games last season. But Maye showed promise in those games a year ago, throwing for five touchdowns and two interceptions.

During a 35-6 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, Maye was picked off twice and also fumbled two times, losing one. The lost fumble came first, when an untouched Maye lost grip of the ball while reaching back to pass late in the first quarter.

After the game, Maye told reporters that blood from center Jared Wilson’s hand had gotten on the ball and made it slippery. But, he added, “at the same time, I’ve got to hold onto the football.”

Jaguars two-way player Travis Hunter, the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner and second overall draft pick in 2025, got his first NFL interception when he picked off Maye in the end zone late in the second quarter.

Then in the third quarter, on the Patriots’ first play from scrimmage after falling behind 21-3, Maye had a pass intercepted by Jacksonville’s Jarrian Jones. Jones stepped in front of a pass intended for Kyle Williams and returned it to the New England 5-yard line.

The Jaguars scored on the next play to take a 28-3 lead, after which Patriots coach Mike Vrabel could be seen on the sideline with both hands on Maye’s shoulders in an apparent attempt to comfort his quarterback.

“My conversations with each person on that sideline, I have to do my best each and every play, whoever I’m communicating with, to try to get the best out of them,” Vrabel told reporters Monday. “So I’ll have conversations with a lot of people. I’ve got a lot of faith and confidence in everybody that’s here. That’s why they’re here.”

Maye, who completed 14 of 25 passes for 199 yards and was sacked three times, finished with a passer rating of 48.6, the second-lowest of his career.

“It’s disappointing,” Maye told reporters after the game. “I think the ball starts rolling like that, we can’t get out of our own way — can’t get out of my own way, personally. So I gotta look myself in the mirror and take it to the turning point. … I’ve got to start with myself and lead these guys and we’ve got to get back after it.”

After the 2025 season, Maye revealed that he had injured his throwing shoulder during the AFC championship game against the Denver Broncos and received an injection to help with the pain before the Patriots’ 29-13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX. Both he and Vrabel have said they don’t feel there have been any lingering effects from that injury.

On Sunday, Maye told reporters that his confidence hasn’t wavered despite the rough start to the season.

“This is an opportunity to band together and realize that the best football that we play is together,” he said, “and realize that’s going to start with me, protecting the football and protecting this team. Because that’s my job and I’ve been failing to do that.”

Cricket Ireland has named former international Ed Joyce as its new high performance batting coach, with a focus on the the men’s senior squad and male talent pathway.

Joyce played 151 times for Ireland, scoring 5,552 runs at an average of 40.82 with 10 centuries and 29 half-centuries.

In 2019, one year after his playing retirement, Joyce became head coach of Ireland women and stayed in the role until stepping down last year.

“The head coach role with Ireland women was a great experience and I enjoyed the day-to-day aspect of working with players on developing and improving their techniques and mindset,” he said.

“Despite the power game coming to the fore, having a sound technique and a positive mindset are still crucial aspects for any batter at this level.

“When I look at the Ireland men’s side over recent years, it’s obvious to see the amount of hard work that has gone on behind the scenes in preparing our players to be competitive on the international stage.

“I look forward to getting involved in this work and perhaps adding some insights and knowledge to push the batting group forward. The talent is there, the goal is now consistency.”

Joyce also played for England on 19 occasions.

Leicestershire have had eight points of their 27-point County Championship deduction reinstated but their Division One status remains in limbo.

The original penalty for breaching pitch regulations, relating to their win against Glamorgan in August, was announced on 16 September.

Leicestershire took 19 points from the match against Glamorgan – 16 for winning and three bonus points – which were removed but remain the subject of appeal.

The Cricket Discipline Panel (CDP) had applied an additional eight-point deduction, a further eight-point penalty suspended for a year, plus a £5,000 fine.

The latter two sanctions remain part of the amended decision but the eight-point deduction for this season has been waived because the docking of the 19 points for winning the game in question is considered punishment enough.

Without the 27 points being docked, Leicestershire would have finished two points above the relegation zone.

With the 19-point penalty currently in place, the Foxes are 17 points behind Essex and will be relegated if their appeal is unsuccessful.

The amended punishment comes after the Cricket Regulator raised with the CDP whether the 19-point penalty imposed, after its initial hearing, under the County Championship’s playing conditions had been taken into account when making its original decision.

A section of the County Championship’s playing conditions state that teams charged with producing a pitch rated as poor or below average, and the Cricket Discipline Panel (CDP) upholding the charge, would receive zero points from the fixture in question.

Leicestershire had already stated their intention to appeal against the panel’s decision and a statement by chief executive Emma White said the club’s position is “unchanged” by the amended decision.

More to follow.

Seven-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan, world number one Zhao Xintong and defending champion Mark Williams were knocked out on the opening day of the Shenzhen Open.

China’s Jiang Jun, who is 64th in the world rankings, took the opening two frames before England’s O’Sullivan levelled with breaks of 92 and 52.

Jiang reeled off the next three frames, sealing a famous 5-2 second-round win with a superb break of 108 to set up a meeting with Englishman Zak Surety.

Scott Donaldson stunned 2025 world champion Zhao by winning a final-frame decider.

Scotland’s Donaldson, who is 65 places below Zhao in the rankings, compiled breaks of 77, 105, 50 and 62 as he came from 3-2 down.

Donaldson will take on China’s Pang Junxu in round three.

Welshman Williams lost 5-4 to China’s Fan Zhengyi after fouling on the final pink.

England’s Judd Trump cruised to a 5-0 win over China’s Huang Jiahao and goes into the last 16 after Anthony McGill, his scheduled third-round opponent, withdrew on medical grounds.

In Monday’s other second-round encounters, Australia’s Neil Robertson beat China’s Liu Hongyu 5-2, England’s Chris Wakelin claimed a 5-3 win over Welshman Liam Davies and China’s Si Jiahui swept to a 5-1 success against England’s Oliver Lines.

Belgium’s Ben Mertens also progressed as Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen withdrew for personal reasons.

Wales’ Jamie Clarke, England’s Andrew Higginson, Hong Kong’s Marco Fu and England’s Sam Craigie progressed in the first-round matches that took place on Monday.

Let’s get the rose-colored story line out of the way, right away.

The postseason starts Tuesday, and it could be the last we see of Major League Baseball for a long, long time. The owners expect to lock out the players when the collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1, and the owners have made their pitch loud and clear: No new agreement without a salary cap, for they believe there can be no true competitive balance without one.

You’ll hear a lot about how the way this postseason sets up, or how it plays out, could impact the bargaining.

Don’t believe a word of it. Nothing that happens this October will be relevant to the new labor agreement.

Come on. The team with the lowest payroll — the Cleveland Guardians — won their division. So competitive balance can’t be completely out of whack, can it?

Cleveland hasn’t won the World Series since 1948. The opponent was the Boston Braves, who subsequently moved to Milwaukee and then Atlanta.

What about the team with the best record in the American League: the Tampa Bay Rays, who beat up on big-market bullies in the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox?

The Rays never have won the World Series.

Well, what about the Milwaukee Brewers? For the second consecutive season, the team in baseball’s smallest market posted baseball’s best record.

The Brewers got swept in last year’s National League Championship Series. They never have won the World Series.

But aren’t the Brewers the best example of a team playing beyond its payroll instead of using it as an excuse?

They got smoked last October by the Dodgers, who won the World Series and then signed Edwin Díaz and Kyle Tucker and traded for Tarik Skubal.

Isn’t that what got everyone agitated? Doesn’t everyone outside L.A. know the Dodgers have destroyed competitive balance, and the owners are trying to fix it?

The owners were ready to fight for more than a year before the Dodgers helped themselves to Díaz, Tucker and Skubal. For years, the commissioner’s office touted baseball’s competitive balance, citing in part how the league championship series and World Series matchups changed almost every year.

After the Dodgers won in 2024, the commissioner’s office redefined competitive balance as how often a small-market team won the World Series, last accomplished by the 2015 Kansas City Royals. The seeds for this winter’s labor war had been planted.

If the Dodgers flop this October, the owners are not going to suddenly back off a salary cap. If, say, the Brewers or Rays win, the owners will say that’s the exception that proves the rule.

There are ways for owners to direct more revenue to small-market teams without the salary cap the players insist they will not accept, and without limiting the definition of success to winning the World Series, which risks devaluing the product among 29 fan bases every year. Whether the owners wish to consider them without the cost certainty that comes with a salary cap will be the story line of the cold winter ahead.

The Dodgers are scheduled to open next season on March 25. Neither owners nor players would have lost any significant revenue by then — ticket sales and broadcasting rights for owners, salaries for players — so a new agreement by then is uncertain at best.

So enjoy the postseason.

So, at least for now, isn’t the postseason tilted toward the Dodgers and Yankees?

Those screams you hear are coming from New York, where Yankees fans are annoyed that their team finished with the second-best record in the AL and still could be eliminated in two or three days. The Yankees finished behind the Rays and received a wild card.

The Yankees lost 13 fewer games than the AL West champion Houston Astros and 10 fewer games than the AL Central champion Guardians, both seeded ahead of them. The Astros are a .500 team, the worst record a division champion has taken into the postseason. The Guardians get a bye, just like the Dodgers.

The Yankees drew the Red Sox, which means painful amounts of national commentary will focus on (1) how the system victimized the Yankees and the Red Sox; and (2) baseball’s most hyped rivalry.

Until baseball realigns its divisions or seeds its playoffs by wins, regardless of division, the Yankees should simply do what Aaron Judge said about how they should respond to criticism of their fundamentally frightening 2024 World Series: “Play better.” And baseball’s best rivalry will be on October display only if the Dodgers and San Diego Padres meet in the NL Championship Series.

Still laughing, though, at sanctimonious Yankees fans believing baseball is somehow unfair to the poor, gutty Yankees.

Can anyone save baseball in 2027?

We should try Pope Leo. He’s a long-suffering Chicago White Sox fan. In his first full year as pope — and after three consecutive 100-loss seasons — the White Sox made the playoffs.

Some fans call it a miracle, a reporter told the pope. Did the pope have anything to do with the turnaround?

He smiled.

“No comment,” he said, then paused.

“Great things happen in Chicago,” he said.

The Cubs made the postseason too. The Cubs and White Sox have shared Chicago since 1901. This is the fourth time both have qualified for postseason play. Deep dish pizza for all, but a World Series in Chicago this fall might truly require divine intervention.

Australia-born Jasmin Strange is one of four potential debutants in England’s 23-strong squad for the World Cup.

Sydney Roosters second-row forward Strange, who is set to play in Sunday’s NRLW Grand Final against Brisbane Broncos, has committed herself to England, for whom she qualifies through her mother Adele.

The 23-year-old is the daughter of Roosters women’s head coach John Strange, who played for Featherstone in the 1990s.

Strange is joined by three uncapped players – Leeds Rhinos’ Connie Boyd, Hope Millard of Canterbury Bulldogs, and Wigan Warriors’ Lucie Sams.

In addition to Strange and Millard, whose father Shane was a forward for Widnes, Leeds and Wigan, three other NRLW players have made the squad – including dual code international Fran Goldthorp, who last played rugby league for her country at the most recent World Cup in 2022.

Newcastle Knights’ Georgia Roche and Hollie-Mae Dodd of Canberra Raiders have also been included.

Strange’s inclusion as a heritage player – one who qualifies through parentage – comes after eligibility rules were relaxed this year.

An International Rugby League ruling means that players can now represent more than one of the three tier one nations – Australia, New Zealand and England.

That led to speculation that head coach Stu Barrow might call on more heritage players with NRLW experience – such as Roosters playmaker Jocelyn Kelleher, Bulldogs half-back Tayla Preston and Wests Tigers full-back Caitlin Turnbull.

But Barrow has said he wants to give homegrown players an opportunity to develop.

All three Woman of Steel nominees – Jenna Foubister, Eva Hunter and Megan Williams – have been selected, along with six of their Wigan team-mates. Grand Final winners York Valkyrie have one player in the squad in forward Liv Wood.

Loose forward Jodie Cunningham, who will retire after the World Cup, is selected along with St Helens team-mate Vicky Whitfield, who will be competing at her fourth World Cup.

Barrow said: “Narrowing our squad from 40 players to a final 23 has involved some difficult decisions, but we believe we have the right balance of experience and youth to compete on the world stage.

“It’s also an exciting moment for the programme with the inclusion of Australian-based heritage players for the first time.”

This year’s men’s, women’s and wheelchair World Cups will run concurrently, with England competing in all three. The wheelchair squad was announced last week, while the men’s squad will be confirmed on 5 October.

The tournaments are being staged largely in Australia, with Papua New Guinea’s men and women each playing two pool matches in their own country, and their New Zealand counterparts playing one.

England face three group matches – beginning in Perth against Wales on 17 October and Australia on 24 October, before facing Samoa in Wollongong on 30 October.

The top two sides in England’s four-team group will go through to the semi-finals on 7 and 8 November, with the final on 15 November.