beat

Aaron Donald made his triumphant return to NFL relevance on Monday night, and notably so did the Rams.

The team that looked lost in its Down Under debut returned to form against the New York Giants, even with star receiver Puka Nacua watching in street clothes because of hip pain.

Matthew Stafford was surgical with his passing, throwing four touchdown passes in a 28-6 victory. Receiver Davante Adams made several acrobatic catches befitting of the retina-burning yellow “Classic Sol” jerseys that turned the Rams into human highlighter pens.

Cornerback Trent McDuffie, acquired by the Rams in an offseason trade with Kansas City, made the most of his home debut with an interception in the second quarter that snuffed a Giants scoring threat. He broke up a game-high four passes.

Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald runs onto the field during player introductions before a 28-6 win over the New York Giants at SoFi Stadium on Monday.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

SoFi Stadium, meanwhile, was a house of horrors for the Giants, who lost starting quarterback Jaxson Dart five minutes into the game when he was sandwiched by Rams defenders Byron Young and Josaiah Stewart and his left leg bent in an unnatural way.

That was a devastating blow to the Giants (1-1), who watched Dart wincingly limp off the field and into the blue medical tent. Later, it was off to the locker room for the second-year quarterback, and TV cameras showed him getting picked up by a cart in the bowels of the stadium, presumably for a more thorough medical examination before he was ruled out with a knee injury.

Surely, Dart could hear the roar of the Rams-heavy crowd as Adams made catch after catch — including a 31-yard touchdown in the first quarter and an 11-yarder in the third — and Kyren Williams pitched in with some pivotal plays of his own.

The Rams (1-1) extended their lead to 14-0 in the second quarter when, on third and six, Stafford connected with Williams on a 10-yard touchdown pass. That was set up by a 64-yard reception by Adams.

Stafford threw touchdown passes to Adams and Terrance Ferguson in the second half to take over sole possession of sixth place on the NFL’s all-time list with 427 passing touchdowns.

These were the Rams that most everyone anticipated seeing, the team with designs on ending this season with another Super Bowl at SoFi, where they raised the Lombardi Trophy in 2022.

Losing Dart was a gut punch to the Giants, who also got a scare early in the second quarter when standout receiver Malik Nabers doubled over in pain after a pass breakup. It was a shoulder injury that briefly sidelined him, although he was able to return later in the quarter.

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford passes under pressure in the first half against the Giants.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Dart delirium was growing among Giants fans after the quarterback threw for three touchdowns and had a lofty passer rating of 134.2 in a 28-20 season-opening win over Dallas. So to lose him is a spirit-withering development.

Oddsmakers had the Rams as 7½-point favorites.

By the second half, a somber Dart was watching from the sideline in street clothes. It was a brutal weekend for a few of the NFL’s rising-star quarterbacks. Washington lost Jayden Daniels to an elbow injury, and Chicago’s Caleb Williams was carted off the field in tears, although that hamstring injury apparently wound up less serious than originally feared.

Donald, who spent his entire 10-year career with the Rams, retired after the 2023 season as one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history. After months of speculation, he decided to unretire and rejoin the Rams, who had traded for star Cleveland Browns defensive lineman Myles Garrett.

Garrett underwent knee surgery after the season-opening loss to San Francisco and was placed on injured reserve, meaning he will miss four games. Donald helped pick up the slack Monday, and got a rollicking ovation in pregame as the last Rams defender announced.

Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald wraps up Giants running back Najee Harris for a three-yard loss near the goal line late in the second quarter Monday.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Donald, who frequently commanded double-team blocking, made a memorable play near the end of the second quarter with the Giants — who had feasted on a Williams fumble — threatening to score.

On third down from the three, Donald pushed his way into the Giants’ backfield and wrangled running back Najee Harris for a three-yard loss. The beleaguered visitors opted to kick the first of their two field goals.

The Rams are squarely in the national spotlight with four prime-time games in five weeks. First, the opener in Australia, followed by the Monday night game. Next week, a Sunday night game at Denver, followed by a day game at Philadelphia, and finally another Monday night home game against Buffalo.

Welcome back to the Times of Troy newsletter, where we’ve reached a critical fork in the road for the Lincoln Riley era.

The soft part of the schedule is behind USC. Oregon awaits next Saturday. The time is now for Riley and USC, just like the billboards around L.A. have been insisting for months.

That this moment arrives after Saturday’s uninspiring escape from Rutgers only amplifies the pressure on USC’s coach. Against arguably the worst team in the Big Ten, the Trojans were once again plagued by many of the same road woes that Riley has failed for four years to solve. USC’s defense, now on its third coordinator under Riley, was largely a disaster. Even the offense, with another Heisman Trophy candidate at quarterback, looked clunky and out of sync.

Now, Riley is out of time to iron out these issues. Because there is no more important game for USC this season than next Saturday. Outside of the 2022 Pac-12 title game, which went quite poorly for him, I’d argue it’s the most important game of Riley’s entire tenure to date.

Riley has yet to beat Oregon as USC’s coach, while Dan Lanning and the Ducks have run circles around the Trojans, on and off the field, during the four-plus years they’ve both been coaching out West. Oregon may have never won a national title, but has been to the College Football Playoff in three out of those four years. USC has never been to the Playoff. The two teams have become legitimate rivals over that time. But in two meetings with Oregon under Riley, there’s never been any doubt about who’s the better team.

For a brief moment, early in this season, it seemed like that might be shifting. Oregon was stunned by Oklahoma State, just two weeks ago, leading to real questions about whether the Ducks are the Playoff contender they were made out to be.

That loss, though, actually ratcheted up the importance for Riley. With Oregon appearing this vulnerable, there are no excuses for USC or its coach if they don’t win this game. No matter the situation that Riley inherited, the Trojans should have what it takes, by Year 5, to compete with Oregon. Full stop.

That’s the standard that USC was expecting in shelling out over $11 million per year to its football coach. But in four-plus seasons under Riley, the Trojans have just six wins against ranked opponents and have consistently blown their biggest games.

Think, for a moment, of Riley’s biggest win at USC. Are you having a hard time conjuring it? That’s because of the six ranked teams that USC has beaten under Riley, all of them finished with four losses that season.

Clay Helton had three top-five wins at USC through his first 18 games as head coach. Meanwhile, in almost five years and 57 games, I’d argue Riley still doesn’t have a single great win.

He can change that Saturday. But if Riley can’t lead USC past Oregon now, after all this time, who’s to say he ever will?

“House of Troy”: Chapter 1 drops Sept. 22

Pete Carroll when he was coaching USC.

(Getty Images)

Twenty five years ago, USC’s football program was in a bad spot.

The Trojans hadn’t been relevant in over a decade, and Paul Hackett had just been fired as head coach. USC needed a new direction. But its search for Hackett’s replacement was going poorly. Two coaches — from Oregon and Oregon State, no less — had already turned them down. That’s when Daryl Gross, the USC official in charge of the search, turned his attention to a twice-failed NFL coach.

Pete Carroll.

His hire would turn out to be a seminal moment in the history of Trojan football. But that was not how folks saw it at the time.

“There’s legendary stories of fax machines just blowing up and paper after paper coming through,” said Rocky Seto, who was a grad assistant at the time. “People weren’t happy.”

Bill Plaschke, The Times columnist, wrote a column at the time ripping the hire. Carroll himself called Plaschke after that, begging for a shot.

“All he kept saying,” Plaschke said, “was just gimme a chance.”

Well, it turned out OK for Carroll and the Trojans. They won back-to-back national titles and nearly won a third during his tenure as coach.

It’s what came after that, as USC tried to cling on to the Carroll era, that’s the subject of a new narrative podcast series from LA Times and LA Times Studios, House of Troy. Starting with Carroll’s hire a quarter-century ago, we’ll walk you through how USC rose to college football prominence and how it all came crashing down once Carroll left.

The first chapter of House of Troy drops on Sept. 22, with new episodes coming every week after that. Before then, be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

King Miller runs past Rutgers defensive lineman Farell Gnago in the first half.

(Adam Hunger / AP)

—King Miller is the clear RB1 at the moment. USC may view Miller and Waymond Jordan as starting running backs, but there’s no doubting who has taken the reins at the top of that rotation. Both are averaging over five yards per carry. But Miller has at least 15 carries in all four games, while Jordan hasn’t eclipsed 11. Personally, I’m a bit surprised by that divide given how great Jordan looked before his injury last season. It makes me wonder if he’s all the way back from his ankle surgeries.

—The receiver rotation is still up in the air right now. With Trent Mosley out indefinitely, USC opened the game with Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, Corey Simms and Zacharyus Williams as its top three wideouts. Dixon-Wyatt is deservedly locked in that spot, while Simms balled it in his 20 snaps, catching four passes for 72 yards despite missing some time during the game due to injury. Hines ended up playing more snaps, but had a key drop on third down that we’d be talking much more about if USC hadn’t gone for it and converted on fourth. Williams played in the slot, but had just one catch. The real mystery here is Terrell Anderson, who was dressed and not on the injury report, but didn’t play a single snap on offense. Anderson was viewed, at one point, as a key contributor, so it’s not clear what happened.

—Kaylon Miller replaced Hayden Treter as the starting left guard. The move was a bit unexpected, given how Treter played through three games. Treter still played 28 snaps to Miller’s 40 against Rutgers, but with a very good Oregon defensive line on tap, the offensive line will be tested next week unlike it has all season. Miller has always had the respect of offensive line coach Zach Hanson. We’ll know at the start of the game next week whom he trusts the most in that spot.

—USC isn’t built to withstand injuries in the secondary. No unit on the entire roster has more doubts about its depth, and against Rutgers, USC had to test that depth more than it would like. Top corner Jontez Williams only played 22 snaps, while slot corner Alex Graham only played 15. Kennedy Urlacher and Rock Hill took their places, and while they did a fine job, the ripple effects of one injury on the position could be significant. Behind those players are a lot of question marks. So USC better hope that they’re all healthy heading into Oregon.

—USC men’s hoops will play four Big Ten road games in 10 days to start 2027. Which, on its face, seems patently insane. But after a screwy start to the Big Ten schedule a year ago, coach Eric Musselman actually asked for a slate exactly like this. The reason? His team doesn’t have to travel back and forth twice to the East Coast. In this case, they will have to travel from Bloomington, Ind. to College Park, Md. But that’s much more doable than an extra 10 hours of flying.

This week, in 2006 …

After hosting College Gameday and beating No. 19 Nebraska at home, USC opens its Pac-10 season on the road with a dominant defensive performance at Arizona, winning 20-3.

Led by new inside linebacker Rey Maualuga, the Trojans didn’t allow a single point until the fourth quarter. The offense, meanwhile, finally found a running back to lean on. With Reggie Bush and LenDale White both off to the NFL and USC still waiting for someone to step up in their place, Emmanuel Moody heeded the call. He rushed for 130 yards and a score as the Trojans stood pat at No. 3 in the AP poll.

Polling the people

We asked, “After three comfortable wins in the non-conference schedule, do you feel better about the Trojans’ trajectory than you did at the start of the season?”

After 1,523 votes:

Nothing has changed, 47.4%
Yes, I feel better, 45.8%
No, I feel worse, 6.8%

Olympic sports spotlight

A brutal start to the season isn’t getting much better in Big Ten play for USC’s women’s soccer team. After starting the conference slate by being shut out, 5-0, by Michigan State, USC was shut out again by Purdue, 2-0, and then managed a tie against Oregon, 1-1.

The Trojans have scored one or fewer goals in seven of their nine matches this season and are 0-5-2 in those scenarios. They need to produce more offense — and stat.

What I’m watching this week

Domhnall Gleeson as Ned in “The Paper.”

(Aaron Epstein/Peacock)

It tends to take at least a season for a sitcom to really find its rhythm, and so far, that’s been the case for “The Paper,” the spinoff of The Office which dropped its second season on Peacock recently. The first season got the journalism right, but the narrative was a bit clunky, as it sorted out who of its characters should be leading the way.

Fortunately, it seems like they’ve figured it out. Especially in the case of Domnhall Gleeson’s lead editor character, Ned Sampson, who I find far more likable in Season 2.

In case you missed it

No. 12 USC defeats Rutgers in Big Ten opener, but defensive woes detract from win

USC freshman star Luke Wafle’s football roots date back nearly a century

USC freshman star receiver Trent Mosley to miss Rutgers game

Chad Baker-Mazara sues USC, accuses Eric Musselman of ‘racially charged’ tirade

Until next time …

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at ryan.kartje@latimes.com, and follow me on X at @Ryan_Kartje. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Over the years, the concept of the “song of the summer” has been well-contested: Is it merely based on statistics? Is it the song that has become so omnipresent that many have become sick of it? Does this mean that “Happy” by Pharrell Williams and “Fancy” by Iggy Azalea count?

Last year, it was likely somewhere between Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild” and “Luther” by Kendrick Lamar, featuring SZA. Just based on numbers, it was Alex Warren’s “Ordinary,” but this is a strong case for why metrics don’t always matter.

On Sept. 23, the autumn equinox will arrive, officially bringing an end to the summer season and countless attempts at giving it an anthem. This year, there was a plethora of choices. So much so that we couldn’t narrow it down to a definitive tune.

However, you can find our potential picks below.

“The Peace,” underscores

“I don’t speak unless I’m spoken to / And I won’t smoke unless you’re smoking too.”

Underscores, the artist that you are. After “U” dropped in March, “The Peace” was one of the first tracks to go viral across social media. It’s since maintained its cultural relevancy, with the artist performing it as part of her DIY pop-up sets, staged from the back of a U-Haul truck.

Historically, underscores hasn’t written much about her personal life, opting for conceptual work. However, “The Peace” offers a rare, intimate glimpse into the artist’s love life and the feeling of sacrificing basic boundaries in order to satisfy someone else.

Beyond its storytelling, the song’s melody and chopped vocal riff are unforgettable on this track, standing out from the rest of the album. This isn’t a jab at the project — “U” is an incredible album and the song is just that good.

“stupid song,” Olivia Rodrigo

A song from Olivia Rodrigo’s third album, “You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love,” was always going to make this list, given the strong reception it’s received and its incredible replayability. As further evidence of this, within weeks of its release, the song hit 300 million streams.

The album’s third single, “stupid song,” just makes it in over “the cure,” its second single. Though the latter has one of the best bridges of the year, its undeniably melancholic and macabre nature is what put it out of contention.

Though “stupid song” has its somber moments, it’s easier to scream in a crowd without catching concerned glares. This call for catharsis is ever-present in Rodrigo’s discography, but this last album is the artist in full stride.

“Dance…,” Slayyyter

Speaking of artists in full stride, Slayyyter has been the breakout act of the summer, which is incredible considering that her debut mixtape released in 2019. She’s got skin in the game but hasn’t really been able to crack the mainstream until the release of “Worst Girl in America” and a subsequent, viral Coachella set.

“Dance…” is the opening track of that album and also arguably the best song on it. After about a full minute of pensive, progressive, electronic buildup, listeners get a taste of bliss, sewn-in synths and heavy bass.

When one individual made the bold claim on X that it was “one of the best album intros ever,” Slayyyter was quick to respond with a simple “TRUE.” Shortly after its release, it went viral on Instagram reels and TikTok as creators used the song in a trend where they’d act fatigued before bursting into motion on beat.

“Caught in a Jam,” Portraits of Tracy

This is easily one of the most fun, captivating tracks of the summer — it’s funky, bouncy, buzzy and everything in between. Solidifying its cool is the reassuring note at the end of the music video description: “No generative AI was used at any stage in the production of this material.”

It features — without a doubt — one of the best bridges and refrains of the year, and perhaps onward. Not to mention, its lyrics are equally as enjoyable as the production.

“Oh, something changed in me, I felt it instantly / I had to hit the club so they could all see / Now I’m the dancing queen / F-f-f-far far from 17”

“Caught in a Jam” would an impressive feat from any artist, but it’s exciting to hear it coming from a 22-year-old. Hopefully, the future is bright and groovy for Portraits of Tracy. Reception of the artist’s latest EP, “Q: From Where Do Our Primal Instincts Originate? A: MTV! EP,” has been overwhelmingly positive, with Pitchfork placing it a 7.6 rating.

“BbY Wow,” Karol G, Judeline, rusowsky

The 2026 Coachella headliner is back at it again. This time around, Karol G released “BbY Wow” at the tail end of July, allowing it just enough time to seep into the brains of all its listeners.

Realistically, it needed no time at all. It didn’t take long for the song to hit No. 1 on Spotify global charts, receiving over 3 million streams within a week of its release.

The song is a masterclass in production, pulling and syncopating a sample from iconic dance hall tune “Coolie Dance Riddim,” released by Jamaican producer Cordel Skatta Burrell in 2003. In this, a lot of the heavy lifting is done, and all three artists are left to ride the smooth beat.

Naturally, Karol G really shines here, but Judeline and rusowsky provide an interesting dynamic to the song, making it an instant hit.

“Girl Like Me,” PinkPantheress

“Girl Like Me” is an odd entry for potential song of the summer. The track was released back in May 2025 as part of her second mixtape, “Fancy That.” However, it didn’t receive much buzz until April 2026, when PinkPantheress performed at Coachella.

Not long after, she released the official music video for the song, which blew up almost as soon as it landed on YouTube. The video, made in collaboration with faceless director Lauzza, features buildings shuffling on beat and other excerpts of British culture.

It would soon witness the same treatment on streaming, garnering a 165% increase in streaming activity over a four-week period, Billboard reported.

But it’s not all about numbers in the world of music and, thankfully, “Girl Like Me,” delivers sonically, as well. The song flips both “Romeo” and “Always Be There” by aughts-defining electronic duo Basement Jaxx and turns it into a thumping dance pop tune.

“Dine N’Dash,” the Strokes

As plainly stated in our coverage of the Strokes’ appearance at Just Like Heaven in August, the band is “currently riding the high” of its first Coachella performance in 15 years. “Reality Awaits” is an incredibly polarizing album. What’s dividing fans is Julian Casablancas’ insistence on using Autotune, as many prefer his raw vocals.

However, Autotune or not, “Dine N’Dash” is reminiscent of the best of the band, confirming that they’ve still got the juice to make hits 25 years after their debut. The chorus is the key here, as its smooth riff pauses for Casablancas to softy wail out “We could never afford it / So we dine and dash / I would always go last.”

Hello, 2001!

“brand new chanel$,” Slayyyter

It’s always difficult to give an artist a double entry on a list, but in the case of Slayyyter, it was mandatory. “Brand new chanel$” is poised to be a song off of a potential upcoming project, which is expected to be an inverse, “brother album” to “Worst Girl in America.”

In that, it completely lives up to her promises, taking the route of a more traditional pop song, while still delivering on all fronts. Notably, her vocal ability really shines through on this track, as she belts out “I‘m holding it alone just for tonight / I wonder if you / got her in your room / I call you on the phone to start a fight” during the chorus.

The song’s outro is equally as intoxicating, referencing the lyrics and melody of its apparent brother track, “Beat Up Chanel$.”

Like “Dance…,” the song was quick to go viral on social media, and the artist revealed that the song was made to process romantic trauma. Just two days before “WGIA” dropped and during rehearsals for her Coachella set, Slayyyter found out she had been cheated on by her then-boyfriend.

“Choosin’ Texas,” Ella Langley

It’s been 22 weeks since Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” first appeared on top of the Billboard 100, tying Mariah Carey’s seasonally ubiquitous “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” Whether you like the song or not, its appeal is officially undeniable.

On Spotify, it’s racked up more than half a billion streams and on YouTube, nearly 100 million. Not to mention, it’s impossible to crawl into any dive bar in the country without being ambushed by “She’s from Texas, I can tell by the way / He’s two steppin’ ‘round the room,” delivered in a Southern drawl.

Is it the “Happy” or “Fancy” of 2026? We leave that with you to decide.

The game hinged on Huijsen’s red card early in the second half for pulling down Giuliano Simeone in the box.

Atletico Madrid edged 10-man Real Madrid 2-1 in a La Liga derby clash to leave Jose Mourinho’s side trailing leaders Barcelona by six points.

Dean Huijsen was sent off early in the second half for Los Blancos on Sunday before Alejandro Grimaldo and Jonathan David’s goals earned Diego Simeone’s Atletico victory, with Antonio Rudiger pulling one back late on.

Atletico rose to second, five points behind Barca and one ahead of Real Madrid, who chalked up a second defeat of the campaign.

The game hinged on Huijsen’s red card early in the second half, for pulling down Giuliano Simeone in the box which led to a penalty, tucked away by Grimaldo to set Atletico on their way.

Mourinho started with Aurelien Tchouameni in midfield over Bernardo Silva, opting for defensive clout over creativity.

There was more tension than footballing quality in the first half, with neither side capable of creating any clear chances.

The main talking point was an incident between Jude Bellingham and Atletico defender Cristian Romero.

The England international threw himself into a tackle and Romero trod on his leg, with Bellingham booked initially, but after a VAR review the referee removed the card and issued it to the Atletico man.

Madrid were also unhappy with a heavy tackle by Lee Kang-in on Federico Valverde which went unpunished just before half-time.

It was a scrappy battle, intense but lacking excitement comparative to the star power on the pitch, especially in Madrid’s front line, with Vinicius Junior, Kylian Mbappe and Bellingham kept quiet.

The game burst into life early in the second half when Huijsen pulled back Giuliano Simeone’s arm as the forward ran through on goal and Atletico were awarded a penalty.

Huijsen was dismissed after a VAR review and Grimaldo beat Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois from the penalty spot.

Mourinho reacted immediately by replacing the underwhelming Vinicius and Arda Guler and sending on club record signing Yan Diomande and Rudiger.

It was Atletico who struck next, though, with Canada international David tucking away Giuliano Simeone’s raking low cross on 59 minutes for his third goal in three matches.

The hosts came close to getting a third but Courtois made an excellent save to deny Julian Alvarez and Ibrahima Konate reacted brilliantly to head Grimaldo’s effort from the rebound off the line.

Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak saved from Diomande and Bellingham rowed with Giuliano Simeone as Madrid’s frustrations showed, impotent to change the course of the game.

Madrid pulled a goal back in the final stages with Rudiger heading Bernardo Silva’s cross past Oblak. However, it was too little too late for Mourinho’s side.

Great Britain will play in November’s Davis Cup Finals as Henry Patten and Neal Skuspki won their doubles match to give the nation an unassailable 3-0 lead in their qualifying tie against Ecuador.

Toby Samuel and Arthur Fery both triumphed in their singles matches at a sold-out Copper Box Arena in London on Saturday to get Britain off to a winning start in the best-of-five tie.

Patten and Skupski then took to the court on Sunday and booked Britain’s ticket to the ‘Final Eight’ event in Bologna at the earliest opportunity with a 6-3 6-4 win over Gonzalo Escobar and Diego Hidalgo.

“We’re feeling great,” said Patten in his on-court interview.

“[Captain] Leon [Smith] was giving us the team talk and saying we needed to be ready for the singles so we’re very, very happy to get it done on the first match.”

Great Britain had not reached the knockout stage of the Davis Cup since 2023 and, even against underdogs Ecuador, there were doubts if captain Leon Smith could end that run given his inexperienced team in London.

Jack Draper ended his difficult season early, while Jan Choinski and Jacob Fearnley were both unavailable through injury.

Smith was then dealt a late blow when British number two Cameron Norrie pulled out on Friday after feeling pain in his arm during a practice session.

However, Samuel – after a breakthrough season that has seen him rise from outside the world’s top 250 to 95th in the rankings – stepped up on his Davis Cup debut.

Just weeks after winning his first Grand Slam match at the US Open, the 24-year-old overcame nerves and fought back from a set down to beat Andres Andrade 4-6 6-4 6-1.

Fery, meanwhile, was making just his second Davis Cup appearance as the British number one claimed an assured 7-5 6-0 win over Alvaro Guillen Meza.

And with world number one Patten and new US Open champion Skupski to call upon for Sunday’s doubles rubber, victory seemed to be well within Britain’s grasp.

The pair, despite not playing together on the ATP Tour, combined effortlessly and did not face a single break point against the Ecuadorians.

“I made my debut in 2019 with all the other guys like Jamie Murray, Andy Murray, Evo [Dan Evans] and now I guess I am the oldest in the team,” said 36-year-old Skupsi, who was making his 16th Davis Cup appearance.

“It’s been amazing to be back with the team, it’s been a big 18 months and it’s such an honour to play for your county, especially in front of a home crowd like you guys coming out to support – it’s been amazing.”

India defeat Bangladesh by 114 runs to book women’s cricket final against Sri Lanka, who beat Pakistan by eight wickets.

Smriti Mandhana has become the highest run-scorer in women’s T20 international cricket, guiding India to a crushing win over Bangladesh in an Asian Games semifinal in Japan.

The recently crowned Asian champions defeated Bangladesh by 114 runs on Sunday as Mandhana’s fellow opener Shafali Verma hit her maiden T20 hundred at the Korogi Athletic Park ground in Nagoya.

Mandhana scored 37 off 19 balls with five fours and two sixes in her side’s 195-4 in 20 overs and, in the process, went past New Zealand all-rounder Suzie Bates’s 4,758 runs at the top of the all-time list to stand on 4,788 runs from 171 innings.

Earlier this month, Mandhana reached the top of overall run-scoring charts in women’s international cricket after smashing a record-breaking 124 off 64 balls in the Women’s Asia Cup in Dubai.

Mandhana overtook former India captain Mithali Raj, who had been the top international scorer with 10,868 international runs, during her match-winning innings against Hong Kong on Thursday.

Verma was the star on the day for India in the Asian Games semifinal, scoring 100 not out off 49 balls with three fours and nine sixes. She reached her hundred off the final ball of the 20-over innings and was clearly emotional as she took off her helmet and raised her bat in celebration towards her applauding teammates on the boundary.

India then restricted Bangladesh to 81 in 15.4 overs.

The 50-over world champions will meet Sri Lanka on Tuesday in the gold medal match, which will be a replay of the Asia Cup final from last Sunday, when India won a record-extending eighth title.

Sri Lanka advanced to the final after their captain Chamari Athapaththu led them to an easy eight-wicket win over Pakistan with more than two overs to spare.

The island nation hunted down the 178-run target with 13 balls to spare as Athapaththu led the scoring with 83 not out.

Earlier, Pakistan were asked to bat first and, with half-centuries from Ayesha Zafar and Shawaal Zulfiqar, they posted a total of 177-4 in 20 overs.

Zafar, who hit the joint third-fastest fifty for Pakistan in WT20Is off 27 balls, shared a record stand of 115 with Zulfiqar, which is the second-highest in the format for Pakistan and the highest for the third wicket.

Pakistan were able to score 27 runs off the last three overs as their all-rounder captain Fatima Sana hit two fours and one six in her 12-ball 20.

In reply, Sana broke Sri Lanka’s 36-run opening stand in the fifth over, bowling out Imesha Dulani for 27. Athapaththu, who hit seven fours and six sixes in her 50-ball knock, joined forces with Hasini Perera (42) to form a match-winning 95-run partnership off 56 balls.

Nashra Sundhu provided Pakistan the breakthrough in the 14th over, with Sri Lanka requiring another 47 runs off the last six overs, but Athapaththu’s quickfire stand of 47 off 23 balls with Harshitha Samrawickrama (17 not out) took their team over the line with 13 balls to spare.

Pakistan will play Bangladesh for the bronze medal, also on Tuesday.

Mohamed Salah scored three goals and created the fourth as the Turkish champions were defeated 4-0 by Trabzonspor.

Mohamed ‌‌‌‌Salah scored a hat-trick and provided an assist as Trabzonspor thrashed defending champions Galatasaray 4-0 at home, handing the ⁠⁠⁠⁠Istanbul side their first defeat of the Turkish Super Lig season.

Salah opened the ⁠⁠⁠⁠scoring in the fourth minute on Saturday, running through from midfield and finishing calmly, before turning provider to set up Noah Saviolo, who struck from ‌‌‌‌inside the penalty area in the 39th minute.

Salah added a third in the 44th minute with a clinical finish from a Franculino Dju assist, sending the team he joined last month into the break three goals ⁠⁠⁠⁠up.

He completed his hat-trick ⁠⁠⁠⁠in the 80th minute, running more than half the length of the pitch unchallenged to score with a trademark ⁠⁠⁠⁠side-foot finish.

The Egyptian icon has scored seven goals in six appearances in the league this season, with two assists to his name as well.

Galatasaray coach Okan Buruk was sent to the stands in ⁠⁠⁠⁠the 71st minute, while ⁠⁠⁠⁠Lesley Ugochukwu was shown a red card in the 87th minute.

German coach Thomas Reis took charge of Trabzonspor this week ‌‌‌‌following the departure of Fatih Tekke earlier this month.

Trabzonspor are fifth in the table with ‌‌‌‌10 ‌‌‌‌points from six games, three points behind leaders Galatasaray.

Arsenal in shock 3-0 loss at Brighton to lose top spot in the Premier League on goal difference to Manchester City.

Arsenal slumped to a first loss in their Premier League title defence – and it was a heavy one at Brighton.

After four straight wins for the champions, the 3-0 defeat at the Amex Stadium on Saturday came out of nowhere. Conceding the third goal from a corner — typically an area of strength for Arsenal – summed up an unusually sloppy performance from Mikel Arteta’s team.

Pascal Gross and Charalampos Kostoulas scored in the first half with shots from outside the penalty area, before Chema Andres completed the win with a header at the back post from Gross’s corner.

The victory will have been especially sweet for Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler, who said “only one team tried to play football” after his team’s narrow home loss to Arsenal last season.

Arsenal have often struggled against Brighton, which was the last team to inflict such a heavy defeat on the Gunners in any competition — winning 3-0 at Emirates Stadium in May 2023.

It completed a brilliant week for Brighton, after beating Coventry 5-0 in the league last weekend and coming from two goals down in midweek to beat Manchester United 3-2 away in the English League Cup.

Manchester City — the other team to win their first four games — can now move three points clear in the standings by beating Sunderland on Sunday.

Chelsea left with one point from their last three Premier League games after a 3-0 defeat at neighbours Brentford.

Brentford exposed Chelsea’s defensive problems to inflict a damaging 3-0 defeat that gives Xabi Alonso plenty to ponder during a three-week international break.

After a promising start to life under the former Real Madrid coach, Chelsea have picked up just one point from their last three league games.

Goals from Jaidon Anthony, Igor Thiago and Fabio Carvalho took unbeaten Brentford above their west London neighbours late on Friday and up to third in the table.

“I have this unbelievable calm around that team because I trust them. It’s nice to see it come to fruition,” said Brentford boss Keith Andrews.

Chelsea had quickly earned the reputation as the Premier League’s great entertainers under Alonso, with their opening four games containing 19 goals.

But the loss of Joao Pedro to a knee injury subdued the Blues’ free-flowing attack as Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers were comfortably kept in check by the Bees.

“At the moment we are not being consistent enough to compete during the whole game,” said Alonso.

“It’s about everything. It’s about the mentality. It’s about football, tactical things that we need to keep improving that we can do much better.”

Alonso said after last weekend’s 2-2 draw against Hull, he was hoping for more “boring” games going forward.

The Spaniard sought control as he made four changes in all, handing Jordan Henderson his first Chelsea start against the 36-year-old’s former club.

Alonso got his wish during a flat first half in which neither goalkeeper was seriously tested, but Brentford were the more threatening side in the second period.

The visitors’ frailty from set-pieces led to the opening goal when Jannick Schuster rose highest to meet Mikkel Damsgaard’s corner, and Anthony was left with a simple task to head into an unguarded net just after the hour mark.

Chelsea’s response was muted, and as they pushed forward in search of an equaliser, Alonso’s men were picked off on the counterattack.

Kevin Schade should have scored the second goal himself when played clean through on Emi Martinez.

But even after the Argentinian goalkeeper spread himself to save, the rebound fell kindly for Thiago to end his goal drought.

The Brazilian netted 25 times last season, earning a shock call-up to Carlo Ancelotti’s World Cup squad as a result.

Thiago has looked shorn of confidence in the early weeks of the campaign and tore off his shirt in celebration after netting for the first time in the Premier League this season.

Chelsea have conceded at least twice in all five league games under Alonso, and there was further punishment to come in stoppage time.

Schade’s low cross was deflected into the path of Carvalho, who fired high past Martinez to leave Andrews yelling into the night sky in delight.

Brentford, who also beat Tottenham 3-0 on the opening weekend of the season, sit behind only defending champions Arsenal and Manchester City at the top of the table.

By contrast, Chelsea were handed another reminder of the gap Alonso must bridge to make them title contenders once more.

CINCINNATI — A simple change opened up a dramatic offensive turnaround for Dodgers left fielder Teoscar Hernández.

Hernández’s two-run homer Tuesday, in the Dodgers’ 4-0 win against the Reds, was his second home run in as many nights, as the team trimmed its magic number to clinch the division to two. And, significantly, this one was against a right-handed pitcher.

“It’s been very helpful,” manager Dave Roberts said after the game. “As certain guys are not seeing the ball as well, it’s nice to kind of backfill with guys like Teo swinging the bat. And when you can slug like he can, you can win baseball games, and he can carry us for a while. And the last 10 days, something like that, it’s been really good from him.”

Through the end of August, Hernández had just a .668 OPS against right-handed pitchers this season. So, when manager Dave Roberts was asked in Detroit whether the Dodgers would consider setting up a left-field platoon with the team’s September call-ups, he said yes.

Hernández homered off Tigers left-hander Framber Valdez on the last day of the series. And before the Dodgers opened a three-game set against the Cardinals at Dodger Stadium, Hernández met with the hitting coaches.

Against Valdez, Hernández was in a closed stance, to delay his front hip from opening, according to Dodgers hitting coach Aaron Bates. But the team’s hitting group thought a return to a familiar setup could be a long-term solution.

“It was a great meeting we had,” Bates said. “We all talked about it, and then he felt comfortable enough to do it, and then the rest is to his credit. He’s just been who he is.”

In the past, Hernández had used a “twister tap” as his stride. He started in a more open stance, tapped his toe in line with the pitcher, and then set his foot down. But lower-body injuries the last couple of years — a left groin strain last season and a left hamstring strain earlier this season — forced him away from it.

His improved health and hip flexibility opened up the avenue for him to return to that timing mechanism.

“When Teo’s hips are loose that way, and his front leg looks like an Elvis knee, it’s a good sign for us,” Bates said. “Because that means that he can open and close it without his upper body going with it.”

The advantage of the twister tap, as Hernández explained it, is how repeatable it is. A more traditional stride can be sped up or slowed down.

“Just being able to control my body and being in a good position,” Hernández said earlier this month. “I can see the pitch a little sooner and identify what kind of pitch it is and if it’s going to be a strike or a ball.”

Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitches during one of his seven shutout innings against the Reds Tuesday.

(Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press)

With that change, he’s rewarded the Dodgers for deciding against platooning left field. Hernández entered Tuesday with a .777 OPS against right-handed pitchers — a sample size of just 28 plate appearances but still a significant jump.

“The biggest thing is his plate coverage away,” Bates said. “Because now he can spoil pitches, and he’s staying in at-bats longer.”

Hernández’s dramatic offensive turnaround, along with fellow corner outfielder Kyle Tucker’s improvement, have helped steady a Dodgers offense that’s missing Shohei Ohtani (on the IL with right biceps and left knee injuries) and includes a hobbled Freddie Freeman (right knee soreness).

Rookie Josue De Paula, mostly filling in for Ohtani at designated hitter, has already shown he can take mature at-bats and provide some pop. But he’s still finding his footing in a new league.

It lengthens the Dodgers lineup for Hernández, after a slow start to his year, to return to being a veteran power threat — just in time to, ideally, carry the momentum into the postseason.

On Monday, he launched his two-run shot off left-hander Nick Lodolo. On Tuesday, he replicated the feat off right-hander Rhett Lowder.

On the second pitch of the at-bat, Hernández recognized a hung slider, and he roped it over the left-field fence at 109.3 mph, according to Statcast. The blast put the Dodgers up 3-0 in the third inning, with Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto settling into a groove on the other side.

Yamamoto had walked the first two batters he faced, but he reigned in his control to pitch seven scoreless innings and allow just one more baserunner, on a double by Reds star shortstop Elly De La Cruz.

The Dodgers also scored on Hunter Feduccia’s second-inning single and Alex Freeland’s seventh-inning homer. And the Dodgers bullpen completed the shutout.

Freeman staying in the lineup

Freeman was all smiles after his three-hit game Tuesday — after going hitless for his last four games.

“I was supposed to be off tomorrow, but I played myself in there,” he said. “So I’m very excited.”

Roberts explained: “He was joking, saying, ‘If I get three hits, then can I be in there tomorrow?’”

Sure enough, the mechanical adjustments he made in the batting cage — focusing on getting his foot down early and making contact out in front — got him there.

“I’m just trying to find something that gives me results,” Freeman said. “We’re at the time where we’re just trying to get hot for five weeks here. So kind of like I did in the World Series a couple years ago, I did the step-out move. That’s not sustainable over six months. I’m not trying to find something that’s sustainable.”

Though Roberts has been trying to find opportunities to rest Freeman, he saw promising signs Tuesday beyond the results.

“Just my eyes, just watching him move, I feel good about him going tomorrow,” Roberts said.

De Paula, Freeland and third baseman Max Muncy will be out of the lineup Wednesday, Roberts said.

In an abandoned warehouse in Barcelona, the diva concealed her face beneath a helmet. Her hair moved like a black waterfall as she strutted, bare feet arched, as if in heels. The heels do appear later, click-clacking as the camera reveals a screen on her pelvic region, and as she reveals her face, growling a provocative verse from “Taconeando” — “Yo sé que tu quieres que me venga.”

Throughout the course of her July 27 “XXXXX” livestream, which beamed her first album in five years to the world, the artist-producer Alejandra Ghersi Rodríguez, best known as Arca, bathed in the warm hue of red light and strobes — and later, what seemed to be blood.

She blew kisses to the camera and toward the sky. She let out vocoded screams as she writhed on an industrial floor and lay resplendently upon a mountain of sand. She covered her bikini-clad body in peonies, visually echoing an Ana Mendieta “Silhueta.”

It would be too simplistic to label “XXXXX” as a return to form for the expansive Venezuelan artist; this record is more than a pop-timized syncretization of her previous electronic experimentations, such as her 2013 debut EP “&&&&&,” or the hourlong single “@@@@@.”

Lest we forget her celebrated self-titled album in 2017, which was the first time we heard Arca’s voice untreated to the doleful melody of a tonada, the Venezuelan folk genre popularized by llanero troubadour Simón Díaz; or the wildly ambitious five-album “Kick” cycle, in which she indulged in the Caribbean sounds of dembow and reggaeton, then melded them together into one ambient stream, with her signature glitchy flair.

The album cover of “XXXXX,” which calls to mind one of Swiss artist’s H.R. Giger’s biomechanoid machine-human chimeras, nods to the much-ness inherent here: specifically the post-humanist conceit of “diva as technology” that lies at the bloody, beating heart of this record.

What best captures her ambitions on “XXXXX” is the aptly named song “Everything,” which centers a soft-hard sequence of percussion that threatens to consume you — and if it does, you let it.

When every color of paint is mixed together, a dark color emerges. When every sound is blended together, what does it become? An orchestral flourish slowed to a whisper as in “Finisher?” An explosion, like in the fast-rattling crackle of “Syncope?” Or a hand on your hookup’s throat, telling them they know exactly what you want from the interaction as in “Fxck?”

The alchemy on “XXXXX” doesn’t always go down smoothly. Arca’s never been an artist to be easily swallowed and thrown back into the ouroboros of the pop machine; if she’s always been the sand in the cog, what happens when the underground diva herself surfaces to mainstream superstardom? These are problems to ponder in the shadows of a club.

The diva as a concept is already rooted in transformation. A beautiful, powerful woman flaunts her voice dramatically onstage, reaching new heights and incarnating — to paraphrase Wayne Koestenbaum’s observations on operatic divas, like Maria Callas in his seminal text “The Queen’s Throat” — an airy sense of freedom.

Arca — a nonbinary trans woman who makes uncategorizable music and embodies unquestionable glamour — anchors her divahood in a mutation of body, soul and sound. It’s a concept she has been playing with since her second album, “Mutant,” which also gave her fanbase a name.

Still, attempting to situate her in any tradition is moot.

Her divahood exists in the context of Venezuelan underground electronic music, where Arca was the youngest of a generation of DJs and producers. This includes the raptor house don DJ Babatr; hard fusion father DJ Yirvin; Luis Garban (who plays as Cardopusher and Safety Trance); MPeach; and Phran.

It was two years ago that Arca brought all of them together in Caracas; it was then that the glitchy young experimentalist, now the most famous contemporary Venezuelan musician, became the gravitational center of a scene as fractured as the country it was born from.

Arca is now the kind of artist who could be seen walking runways in Berlin, or seated front row at the Saint Laurent show at Paris Fashion Week. Last month in Iceland, Arca served as the high priestess of Echolalia: an eclipse rave helmed by longtime collaborator Björk and a coterie of local acts.

Arriving in a summer defined by pop divas switching gears — Charli XCX turning to rock music (in a sense), Madonna leaning hard into nostalgia after a career of refusing to repeat herself, and the ever-smiley Karol G surrendering to her saudade — Arca’s “XXXXX” is similarly an invitation to transmute.

But if we can locate Arca’s divahood in a lineage, it might be in the modern tradition of the anonymous and enigmatic doll at the rave: ready to let her ego dissolve into the bass.

You listen to the quiet internal world Arca conjures on “Raver,” with its jangling and haunted electronic keys. You can see her clearly there: lost under the strobes, eyes turned up toward heaven, letting herself sway, sweaty, between moments of euphoria, completely in her body. Has anyone ever been more enraptured and glorious? Every raver has, in a sense, wandered gladly to oblivion with “eyes closed and heart open,” as Arca says on “Cinch.”

We may get drugged up to forget it all; or we go sober with earplugs and water and good sneakers and coffee, or cold yerba mate toward the music. Yet all of us seek to get lost in the sound, to cinch our waists and let the bass move through us — to have the transcendental experience of “[letting] the beat f— you,” as Australian scholar McKenzie Wark describes halfway through her essential book, “Raving.”

The aesthetics of ravers reaching the mainstream — and into the hands of normies through the rise of so-called “corporate raves” — has allowed for the creation of depictions that exist outside of the real, silent moments of transcendence. It’s the communion, after so much ceremonial dance, with the divine.

For all the modernity of its rave philosophy and sci-fi metallic soul, “XXXXX” has a connection to an ancient divinity — to older technologies, from ritual to radio.

Near the beginning of “XXXXX,” the song “Willow” ushers us into this new world, with a clanging that evokes the sound of church bells in space. After a minute of this, the crash of hi-hat punctures the silence. Arca’s pitched-up vocals seep through, matching the beat in a disjointed chant: “Willow tree blowing in the wind, let it fall.” The song continues flourishing with the deconstructed trap beat and dark synthesizers that call to mind the classic sounds of witch house. It’s the opening of the ceremony, the energetic cleansing of the space.

The album’s loose framework as a transmission from an intergalactic underground radio station, “Diva Experimental FM,” is a structure she’s been playing with for years in the form of a show streamed on NTS. She launched this new era with another mix for the show called “Airdoll,” a storm of baile funk with currents of ambient music, R&B and Gregorian chants. These various sonic streams fuel the mechanical but witchy futurist soul of “XXXXX.”

In their multi-genre 2025 book “Dysphoria Mundi,” Spanish trans philosopher and activist Paul B. Preciado points to gender dysphoria as a symptom of the world’s broken state and the utopia that could well rise from the ashes. The constant procession of natural disasters — and the indifferent leaders and the violent bloodthirsty systems they work under — push society to mutate into something better. As with Arca the artist, “XXXXX” is a curse-breaker, a cultural palate cleanser and a call to evolve.

Mark Williams pulled off a superb fightback to beat Shaun Murphy and book a spot in Sunday’s English Open final, where he will face Ali Carter.

Murphy, who had claimed a final-frame victory over Judd Trump in the quarter-finals, charged into a 5-1 lead over Williams on Saturday.

But this time it was the world number seven who was denied as Welshman Williams claimed five straight frames to snatch a 6-5 win.

Murphy looked set to clinch victory in the 10th frame with a break of 51 but handed Williams a lifeline and the world number nine took full advantage.

The 51-year-old made 65 to level things up and again prevailed in the decider, with a break of 69 completing the three-time world champion’s remarkable comeback.

Williams and Carter will now battle it out for their first English Open title at the Brentwood Centre in Essex.

In the first semi-final, Carter reeled off five frames in a row to claim a 6-2 win over China’s Ding Junhui, producing a highest break of 119.

The 47-year-old from Essex started the week 25th in the world rankings and will return to the elite top 16 if he beats Williams.

“To get in the top 16 at my ripe old age of 47 wouldn’t be too bad,” said Carter.

“There is a lot to play for tomorrow, but I’m going to be in there fighting.

“I’m still competing with the best players in the world and it is a feather in my cap.”

Aryna Sabalenka was fully aware she would have to win the US Open to stand any chance of stopping Elena Rybakina overtaking her as world number one.

Even that would not necessarily be enough. And as the pair prepare to meet in Saturday’s final, Sabalenka knows her 99-week stay at the top of the world rankings is at an end.

Kazakhstan’s Rybakina is assured of replacing Sabalenka at the top of the rankings, guaranteeing that by reaching the semi-finals.

Having also beaten the Belarusian to win this year’s Australian Open title, Rybakina now has the opportunity to inflict further damage.

But that provides extra motivation for Sabalenka before their fourth meeting of the year.

“It is going to be red rag to a bull for her – she is not going to be happy,” said former British number one Annabel Croft on BBC Radio 5 Live.

“Now she has the opportunity to end this year on a high.”

Sabalenka, who has beaten Rybakina in Indian Wells and Miami since the Melbourne final, still has history in her sights as she bids to become only the third woman in the Open era to win the New York singles title three years in a row.

The four-time Grand Slam champion’s victory over American third seed Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals was her finest display in months, playing with a fire and freedom that had been missing previously.

Afterwards, Sabalenka played down the significance of losing her ranking, joking she did not care about it.

But she clearly does. Sabalenka’s coach Anton Dubrov said as much when he spoke about how the issue has been hanging over her.

“I actually like this [losing the ranking] happened. It’s ended and it’s extra fuel,” Dubrov said.

“There is no more extra draining [of mental energy] or thinking about it.

“There’s a next chapter right now. You have to chase again. It’s extra motivation for you. Just go and get it.”

BERLIN: Buoyed by partisan home fans, host Germany upset Belgium 93-74 to reach the semifinals of the women’s FIBA World Cup on Thursday.

Leonie Fiebich scored 17 points and had 10 rebounds to lead Germany to a showdown with France on Saturday. Nyara Sabally also had a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

“I can’t quite believe it yet,” forward Frieda Bühner said. “We’re among the best four teams in the world. I can’t believe it. It’s crazy.”

The players screamed and whooped in celebration. Germany had never reached the semifinals before.

“Everyone stepped up today and we did it from the first second to the very last,” said Alexandra Wilke, who scored 10 points.

Germany lost their opening game by 30 points to Spain, but bounced back with impressive wins over Japan and Mali before routing South Korea in a playoff to reach the quarterfinals.

Egged on by fervent commentary from the announcer, fans cheered, jumped and waved Germany flags at the Berlin Arena to help the home team keep their momentum going.

“It’s always really cool to play in front of such a crowd,” Sabally said. “I couldn’t have wished for more, especially in Germany. It’s really cool to see that there’s so much hype and the whole venue is caught up in it. It’s really, really cool.”

It’s the sixth straight World Cup at which the host have made the final four since China failed to make the semifinals in 2002.

Belgium, the European champion, were one of three teams that advanced through group play without a loss.

Emma Meesseman led Belgium with 29 points and added eight rebounds, but her team were unable to regain the lead after Bühner made it 20-19 toward the end of the first quarter.

Germany did not qualify for the World Cup since the unified country’s only previous appearance as host in 1998. East Germany’s women’s basketball team finished fourth at the 1967 tournament.

France rout China

Marine Johannès and Janelle Salaün led France to the semifinals for the first time by beating China 90-61 earlier.

Both Johannès and Salaün scored 15 points while Gabby Williams contributed 14 as the Olympic finalists put themselves in contention for a first World Cup medal since the inaugural tournament in 1953, when France finished third in the final round.

“It means a lot,” Williams said of reaching the semifinals for the first time. “We want to be one of the greatest teams ever to put on the French jersey. Obviously, we have a big goal this tournament, but it’s great to check this off the list.”

Chants of “Allez les Bleues” rang around the Berlin Arena before Williams opened the scoring, and the French supporters made sure they were heard for the rest of the game as their team dominated on the court below. France have been fluid and free-scoring, beating their four opponents so far by a combined 156 points.

The team set a tournament record for 3-pointers in a single game by netting 22 in their final group game on Monday. The French players connected on 14 of 37 attempts Thursday, with Johannès and Salaün scoring three triples each.

“We are lucky because we are a group that have known each other for a couple of years now,” Salaün said of France’s team spirit. “We went through a lot of things, the Olympics, training camp(s), so we just know each other and we know what we want. We have a goal and we want to do everything to get to this goal.”

Salaün had an ice pack bound to her right knee. France coach Jean Aime Toupane told The Associated Press it was just a precaution.

Zhang’s impact limited

The French defense limited the impact of China’s 7-foot-3 Zhang Ziyu, who had the attention of two French players any time she received the ball. The 19-year-old sensation was held scoreless over her 7 minutes, 18 seconds of play in the first half, though she contributed in defense with three blocks before halftime.

There was nothing Zhang could do to stop Johannès from scoring successive 3-pointers in the third quarter, when she also got on the scoreboard. Zhang finished the game with seven points, eight rebounds and seven turnovers.

Han Xu, who had a double-double in each of her four games at the tournament, again led China with 21 points and nine rebounds.

US never in danger

The United States, the four-time defending champion, routed Hungary 108-56 in the first quarterfinal with Napheesa Collier scoring 19 points to stretch their winning run in the tournament to 34 games since a semifinal loss to Russia in the 2006 semifinals.

The US await the winner of Spain-Australia in the last quarterfinal later.

The continental games will officially open on September 19, but several team competitions will get under way earlier.

The Asian Games have begun in Japan with Qatar beating Iran in men’s basketball, the first action in the continental multisport showpiece that has more participants than the Olympics.

Qatar held off a comeback from Iran to win their Group B encounter 59-35 at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya on Thursday.

It was the first match of a men’s basketball competition that will have medal finals on September 20, the day after the opening ceremony.

“We know we need to win at least one game so we can qualify for the next round,” said Qatar’s Michael Lewis, the United States-born player who scored a game-high 21 points.

“Feels good to get some team camaraderie back, and now we have got to keep going.”

Later in Group B, Taiwan beat Jordan 83-80.

More than 17,000 athletes and officials are expected to take part in 43 sports at the Nagoya-Aichi Games, which do not officially start until the opening ceremony on September 19 and will run until October 4.

Several events such as basketball, football, cricket, hockey and modern pentathlon will get under way before the opening ceremony.

Los Angeles 2028 Olympics qualifying spots are up for grabs in several sports at the Asian Games, which are returning to Japan for the first time since 1994.

Organisers hope the athletes will have a “unique experience” staying in accommodation ranging from a cruise liner and wooden containers to standard hotel rooms.

Officials are confident that the plan will not be affected by Japan’s typhoon season, which is usually in full swing in September-October.

Weather has already caused disruptions, with record rainfall two days ago forcing hundreds of athletes briefly to evacuate their accommodation.

Rainwater also leaked into some competition venues, with more wet weather forecast for the coming days.

Among those in action at the Games will be Philippine tennis sensation Alexandra Eala and a pair of world-class teenage talents: 15-year-old Indian cricketer Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and 13-year-old Chinese swimmer Yu Zidi.

Even Dodgers catcher Will Smith, who’d never be accused of wearing his emotions on his sleeve, was a little worried during his monthslong absence because of a persistent neck injury that he might not be healthy by the end of the season.

“‘It was kind of the ‘who knows how long it’s going to take,’” Smith said when the Dodgers activated him at the beginning of the month. “But at some point I was going to be fed up and just kind of deal with it.”

It apparently didn’t come to that. And in the Dodgers’ 3-2 win against the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday, Smith’s fifth time in the lineup since returning from the injured list, he put the Dodgers ahead with a first-inning home run and guided Dodgers left-handed starter Tarik Skubal through 7 ⅓ innings of two-run ball.

“He called a great game,” Skubal said of his Team USA teammate. “And the targets that he sets up, and the way that he goes about it, he gives me a ton of confidence back there.”

A neck problem that was initially expected to resolve on its own in a few days turned into a nearly three-month IL stint. With the revolving door behind the plate in Smith’s absence, getting him back down the stretch and into the postseason was going to be key.

While Smith was on the IL, backup catcher Dalton Rushing was thrown into the starting role, learning how to balance the defensive responsibility of serving as the main backstop at the major-league level with a desire to also contribute offensively.

Rushing seemed to be getting the hang of it, with Chuckie Robinson and then Eliézer Alfonzo behind him, before he hurt his right elbow right before the trade deadline. The Dodgers traded for an entirely new catching duo, Hunter Feduccia and Ben Rortvedt, who held down the position until Smith’s return.

“It was frustrating early,” Smith said. “Just looking for answers why it was taking longer, but we finally got those answers. And then it was kind of a pretty straightforward process from there. So last month or two hasn’t been too bad.”

Smith and the Dodgers sought multiple doctors’ opinions. He was eventually diagnosed with an annular tear and given two possible recovery timelines. Though they proceeded with hope for the earlier return, the longer one came to fruition.

Now, the Dodgers are carrying three catchers, trying not to overwork Smith in his first weeks back. He’ll be out of the lineup Wednesday and play two of three games in Miami, manager Dave Roberts said.

With Rushing back on the IL for the same elbow injury, Feduccia can also serve as a left-handed bat off the bench, and Alfonzo gives the team more substitution flexibility.

Entering Tuesday, Smith had already thrown out three baserunners attempting to steal in his first week back in action. But despite some hard contact, hits weren’t falling for him. He went two for 17 with a single and a double in the same time period.

“Will is just very consistent, dependable,” Roberts said. “I know he’s taking really good at-bats. Hitting some balls to the warning track.”

On Tuesday, batting third in the lineup against Reds left-handed starting pitcher Nick Lodolo, he showcased the kind of influence he can make on both sides of the ball.

In Smith’s first at-bat, he battled for nine pitches, finally lifting a changeup over the left field wall.

“That was really good to see,” Roberts said. “With Will, it’s just great having him in there because you know you can count on the at-bat quality, and obviously having him behind the plate has been good.”

The next inning the Dodgers (88-57) doubled their score when Tommy Edman — hitting in the leadoff spot in place of Shohei Ohtani (right biceps and left knee), who was out of the lineup Tuesday as the Dodgers ease him back from a four-day absence over the weekend — was hit in the leg by a pitch with the bases loaded.

The Reds then tied the score in the third, as Elly De La Cruz launched a two-run homer off Skubal. But the Dodgers pulled ahead again two innings later, courtesy of the red-hot bat Teoscar Hernández has been swinging in September.

Tarik Skubal pitches in the second inning Tuesday.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

Hernández avenged his ill-fated inside-the-park home run attempt — he was thrown out at the plate on an aggressive send two innings earlier — with a well-struck RBI single.

Skubal wrapped up his deepest start of his Dodgers tenure to a standing ovation. He’d limited the Reds to just four hits, while recording five strikeouts in an efficient performance.

Flame-throwing reliever Edgardo Henriquez replaced Skubal, tasked with recording the last two outs of the eighth. He did so with the help of an ABS challenge from Smith that secured an inning-ending strikeout.

Lefty Tanner Scott earned the save, retiring three straight batters after a leadoff walk, and the Dodgers extended their winning streak to six games.

“It’s the last stretch,” Smith said at the beginning of the month. “We’re fighting for seeding as well. So yeah, it’s definitely time to step on the gas.”

Spencer Jones homered and drove in three runs, Jazz Chisholm Jr. also went deep and finished with three hits, and the New York Yankees pulled away Tuesday night for a 7-3 victory over the Angels.

Jones and Chisholm launched back-to-back homers to give Gerrit Cole a 3-0 lead before even throwing a pitch in his latest return home. New York moved four games ahead of rival Boston for the top American League wild card and remained 4 1/2 games behind first-place Tampa Bay in the AL East.

A day that began with Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, led by Rams owner Stan Kroenke, reaching an agreement to acquire a controlling interest in the Angels from owner Arte Moreno ended with the struggling Angels losing for the ninth time in 11 games.

Cole (8-7) gave up three runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings, striking out five and walking one. Brent Headrick, Paul Blackburn and John Schreiber held the Angels to one hit the rest of the way.

Angels starter Grayson Rodriguez (4-6) gave up four runs and seven hits in six innings, striking out seven and walking two.

The Angels trailed 4-1 when Wade Meckler, who had three hits, opened the sixth with a single. Moisés Ballesteros singled and Christian Moore sliced a two-run triple to right field that eluded a diving Jones and trimmed the deficit to 4-3.

Cole was pulled in favor of Headrick, who stranded Moore by striking out pinch-hitter Jose Siri and getting Oswald Peraza to fly out.

New York pushed the lead to 6-3 in the eighth when Jones walked, Chisholm singled and Trent Grisham, mired in a two-for-42 slump, fouled off two bunt attempts before hitting an RBI single. Ryan McMahon loaded the bases with a bunt single and Paul Goldschmidt hit a sacrifice fly.

Consecutive singles by Cody Bellinger, who had three of New York’s 14 hits, Luis García Jr. and Jones made it 7-3 in the ninth.

The Yankees took a 3-0 lead in the first. Bellinger singled before Jones hit a two-run homer — his second longball in two nights — and Chisholm followed with an opposite-field shot into the left-field corner.

Ben Rice singled in the third, went to third on Bellinger’s single and scored on García’s double-play grounder for a 4-0 advantage.

The Angels pulled to 4-1 in the bottom half when Zach Neto singled, stole second and scored on Meckler’s two-out single.

Up next

Yankees RHP Cam Schlittler (12-6, 2.09 ERA) faces LHP Reid Detmers (4-8, 3.54) in Wednesday night’s series finale.

DiGiovanna writes for the Associated Press.

Swedish club Djurgardens have agreed a National League record fee thought to be in excess of £1.5m to sign winger Abdul Abdulmalik from Boreham Wood.

The 23-year-old’s move breaks the record fee paid for a fifth-tier player in England, set in 2012 when Leicester City paid Fleetwood Town £1m for Jamie Vardy.

Abdulmalik is currently in Sweden completing a medical after the deal was agreed on Sunday morning.

The forward enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2025-26, scoring 17 goals and providing 10 assists as Boreham Wood reached the National League play-off final, where he scored and set up a goal at Wembley.

The agreement also brings to an end a long-running transfer saga, with the Hertfordshire club having rejected bids of £1m and £1.5m for the former Millwall academy player earlier this summer.

Abdulmalik said: “I’m ready for the next challenge. I’m ready to prove to myself and those around me that I’m capable of reaching the top.”

He scored in his final appearance for Boreham Wood in mid-August but subsequently made himself unavailable for selection in an attempt to secure a move.

Clubs in England, including Peterborough United, had also expressed an interest.

Abdulmalik was previously an England Under-17s international but was released by Millwall in 2024 and had an unsuccessful trial at Portsmouth.

Stockholm-based Djurgardens are currently fifth in the Allsvenskan – which runs from April to November – but have two games in hand on the majority of their rivals and remain in contention to qualify for Europe.