club

The seemingly unlikely comeback at the end of regulation came after a dramatic second-half that had begun with Scotstown leading 0-6 to 0-1.

Kilcoo were playing into the considerable wind in the first half with the conditions hampering their attacking efforts.

Despite a sizeable edge in possession through the opening period, there were just five minutes until the break before they registered their sole score of the first half.

The point was provided by Eugene Branagan, but even the wavering trajectory of the ball as it bisected the posts was evidence of the difficulties endured by the Down side’s players when shooting into the swirling breeze.

By that stage, Beggan had already kicked the first pair of two-pointers among his tally and there seemed only one winner when his side’s lead was stretched to eight midway through the second half.

But, having struggled to find their range with the wind at their backs in the early stages of the second half, Kilcoo belatedly mastered the conditions to reel Scotstown in.

Devlin finally got his side off the mark in the second half with a two-pointer 13 minutes after the restart, with the forward adding a further three points as the Down champions cut the deficit to only a point in the closing stages.

A drilled effort from Kieran Hughes was matched by Tommy Mallen from just inside the arc, before Beggan stepped up with another two-pointer to give his side that seemingly crucial three-point cushion heading into injury time.

But his Kilcoo counterpart Niall Kane answered in kind with the clock already well in the red.

Rather than mere consolation, Kilcoo regained possession with the three minutes of indicated added time already up and Callum Rogers gathered and spun brilliantly to send the game into extra time.

Rather than be flattened by letting the long-sought title slip from their grasp, Scotstown lifted themselves from the floor in extra-time with Beggan kicking two frees and a 45, in addition to three points from Conor McCarthy, to end their 36-year wait.

We’ve all wondered what goes on behind the galley curtain 35,000ft in the air. From the reality of mid-air romances to the one divisive passenger habit that crew members actually love, a flight attendant has spilled all the secrets

For many, the life of a flight attendant is the ultimate daydream: jet-setting to exotic locations, waking up in a new country, and calling the world your office.

But behind the glamorous Instagram posts and the crisp uniforms lies a reality of strict safety protocols, secret signals, and the constant management of hundreds of personalities in a metal tube. Grace Hampson, an international flight attendant, has opened up about what really happens on board.

From debunking myths and to confirming a few surprises along the way, Grace – whose father was a pilot – reveals the truth behind what some may think is the dream job.

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The mile high club myth

It is the oldest cliché in aviation history: doing the deed in the airplane bathroom. But according to Grace, if you are hoping to join the “Mile High Club,” you are likely to be disappointed.

While she admits it isn’t a “total myth,” the reality is far less exciting than the films suggest. “It doesn’t happen often like people think,” Grace tells Sky News.

Between heightened post-9/11 security measures and flight attendants who are trained to vigilantly patrol the cabin, getting away with it is “near on impossible.”

So, while the fantasy persists, the likelihood of sneaking two people into a cupboard-sized toilet without an awkward interception by the crew is slim to none.

The ‘cringe’ habit

There is one passenger behaviour that divides the internet like no other: clapping when the plane lands. It is often mocked as “cringe” or unsophisticated by frequent flyers.

However, Grace confesses that while she has to maintain a professional, stony face, she is actually a fan. “I try to play it cool when passengers clap as the plane lands,” she says, “but deep down, I love it.”

For her, it’s not about the passengers being easily impressed; it’s a moment of recognition for the colleagues up front. “We fly with some talented pilots and they deserve the applause for getting us all there safely.”

The one thing you should never do

While the clapping is secretly appreciated, there is one habit that causes the crew a genuine headache: the mid-boarding seat swap.

We’ve all seen it – someone spots an empty row and tries to jump into it before the doors close. Grace warns that this isn’t just annoying; it’s a safety issue.

“We need all passengers to take their allocated seat for take-off,” she explains. The aircraft’s weight and balance are precisely calculated based on where passengers are sitting.

If everyone starts playing musical chairs, it can affect the plane’s stability. Her advice? Sit where you are told, wait until the seatbelt sign is off, then ask to move.

Being called ‘waitresses’

Perhaps the biggest frustration for crew is the lingering “waitress in the sky” stereotype. Grace stresses that while serving chicken or beef is part of the routine, it is secondary to their real purpose.

“We can deal with a large number of emergencies that have the possibility of emerging in the air, with fewer resources than you would have on the ground,” she notes. From medical incidents to turbulence – which she says she handles calmly to reassure passengers – the crew are safety professionals first, servers second.

Grace’s Insider Travel Hacks

After years of flying, Grace has picked up some elite travel habits:

• The Best Time to Fly: Tuesdays and Wednesdays are cheapest, and morning flights are best because they are less likely to be delayed.
• The Secret Language: Yes, the crew use signals. If you see a subtle hand gesture down the aisle, they are likely signalling for a “top-up of tea or another serving of chicken.”
• Packing: Roll, don’t fold. And stick to a colour palette so you can mix and match outfits without overpacking.

So next time you fly, keep your seatbelt on, don’t try to sneak into the bathroom with your partner, and feel free to clap when the wheels touch the tarmac.

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At the start of the winter, the assumption was that top free-agent closer Edwin Díaz would fall out of the Dodgers’ preferred price range.

Knowing they needed bullpen help, however, the Dodgers decided to reach out with interest anyway.

What followed will go down as one of the most surprising outcomes of this MLB offseason. And, for the Dodgers, their latest in a string of big-name, star-player acquisitions.

Even though the Dodgers initially had doubts about their chances of landing Díaz — especially on the kind of relatively shorter-term deal they were seeking in their hunt for relief help — circumstances changed, Díaz’s market evolved, and they went from dark horse to front-runner.

On Friday, it all culminated in a Dodger Stadium news conference, the once-unexpected union between the two-time defending champions and three-time All-Star right-hander being made official as Díaz’s three-year, $69-million contract was finalized.

“It wasn’t easy,” Díaz said of his free agent process, which ended with him leaving the New York Mets after a decorated seven-year stint. “I spent seven years in New York. They treated me really good. They treated me great. But I chose the Dodgers because they are a winning organization. I’m looking to win, and I think they have everything to win. So picking the Dodgers was pretty easy.”

That didn’t mean it came as any less of a surprise.

Early on this winter, the Dodgers signaled a hesitancy to hand out another long-term contract to a reliever, after watching Tanner Scott struggle in the first season of the four-year, $72-million deal he signed last winter.

And though they gradually grew more open to the idea, giving serious consideration to Devin Williams before he signed a three-year, $51-million deal with the Mets two weeks ago, the thought of landing Díaz seemed far-fetched.

After all, the 31-year-old was widely expected to receive a four- or five-year deal, having already opted out of the remaining two seasons on his record-breaking five-year, $102-million contract with the Mets to become a free agent this winter. Also, since he had turned down a qualifying offer from the Mets at the start of the offseason, the Dodgers knew they’d lose two draft picks (their second- and fifth-highest selections) to sign him.

“We checked in from the get-go,” general manager Brandon Gomes said. But, he acknowledged, “the opportunity to add somebody of this caliber to what’s already a really talented bullpen was something that we weren’t sure was going to be able to actually come to fruition.”

Turned out, a few factors were working in the Dodgers’ favor.

First, the Mets weren’t willing to give Díaz a longer-term deal, either. Instead, in the wake of the Williams signing, they were reportedly offering only three years for a similar salary as the Dodgers. Not coincidentally, it was only entering last week’s winter meetings — mere days after Williams’ Dec. 3 agreement with the Mets — that Gomes said talks started to intensify.

“Having those conversations and making sure you’re in there and [letting him know], ‘Hey, we’re really valuing you, and if things make sense on your end, great, we’re here’ — that was the biggest thing,” Gomes said. “Making sure you’re exploring all avenues, because you don’t know how things are gonna play out.”

Another benefit for the Dodgers: They had advocates close to Díaz vouching for the organization.

The Dodgers’ new star closer, Edwin Díaz, speaks at his introductory news conference on Friday at Dodger Stadium.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Díaz said he received rave reviews about the club from both his brother Alexis (who spent most of last year with the Dodgers, after they acquired him from Cincinnati following an early-season demotion to the minors) and his Team Puerto Rico teammate Kiké Hernández (a longtime Dodgers fan favorite who is currently a free agent).

“They treat every single player the same,” Díaz said of the message he received. “That’s really nice, [especially] knowing they have a lot of great players, future Hall of Fame players. … That’s really good. That’s how a winning clubhouse is.”

Ultimately, it all led up to a rather swift signing process on Tuesday morning, one in which the Dodgers gave Díaz the highest average annual salary for a reliever in MLB history ($23 million per year) but kept the terms to three years and were able to defer more than $13 million of the total guarantee.

“I think once Devin came off the board, it was like, ‘OK, let’s continue to explore the different options,’” Gomes said. “Obviously having no idea what conversations had gone on up to that point between Edwin and other clubs, it was more about: ‘Hey, we’re here if there’s something that makes sense. And we would love to have you join our group.’ And fortunately enough, everybody’s interests were aligned on that.

“That’s why you shouldn’t play the game of assumptions, and just do the due diligence on the front end,” Gomes added. “Sometimes things work out, sometimes they don’t. But having those conversations and making sure you’re doing the work that’s needed to really understand the situation is important, especially when you see situations like this play out.”

Now, the Dodgers will put their faith in Díaz to play a leading role in their quest for a World Series three-peat.

He will be the club’s designated closer — a role they have been hesitant to bestow upon any one reliever since the departure of Kenley Jansen (the only MLB reliever with more saves than Díaz since his debut in 2016).

“For us, we have a high bar. To name someone the closer, you have to be one of the best. You have to be elite and dominant at what you do,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said.

The team’s expectation is that Díaz’s presence will elevate the rest of the bullpen, too, giving a more defined late-game structure to a relief corps that ranks just 21st in the majors in ERA last season.

“It allows Doc and our coaching staff to kind of put guys into spots leading up to that,” Gomes said, “knowing that it doesn’t really matter who’s in the ninth, that we’re gonna like the matchup.”

Perhaps the biggest news from Friday’s introduction: Díaz still plans to enter games to his iconic walk-out song, “Narco” by Timmy Trumpet — which Gomes described as “probably the most electric walkout song in the game.”

“I can’t wait, the first game of the season, coming in the ninth with Timmy Trumpet and getting the W for the Dodgers,” Díaz said.

A few weeks ago, that scene felt like an unlikely vision.

But now, anytime the sounds of trumpets echo around Chavez Ravine in the summers to come, they will serve as a reminder of the team’s latest free-agent coup — one more unexpected than almost all the rest.

ORLANDO, Fla. — It’s been an offseason of few acquisitions thus far for the Dodgers.

So much so that, on the first day of MLB’s annual winter meetings at the Signia by Hilton Orlando on Monday, the most intriguing rumor surrounding the team had to do with a potential subtraction from their big-league roster.

According to multiple reports, Teoscar Hernández has come up in the Dodgers’ trade talks with other teams this winter. USA Today went as far as saying the club was “shopping” the two-time All-Star, who is entering the second season of the three-year, $66-million deal he signed last offseason.

However, both manager Dave Roberts and general manager Brandon Gomes downplayed that notion while addressing reporters on Monday.

Dodgers right fielder Teoscar Hernández hits a sacrifice fly to score Dodgers’ Will Smith during the Game 7 of the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays on Nov. 1.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

“Teo certainly fits [our roster still],” Roberts said. “He’s helped us win two championships. He’s one of my favorites.”

“That doesn’t feel likely,” Gomes added of the possibility of trading Hernández. “Obviously, you can never say never on those types of things. I know that’s come up [in reports]. But that’s not something we anticipate at all.”

The idea of the Dodgers trading Hernández has felt like a long shot from the start. Though the 33-year-old slugger suffered an inconsistent and injury-plagued regular season in 2025 — both at the plate, where he had 25 home runs but hit only .247, and especially defensively, where he had several notable lapses after moving to right field — the 10-year veteran has made crucial contributions in each of the Dodgers’ two World Series runs the last couple years, and has served in a mentor role to young players in the clubhouse; none more so than Andy Pages.

Granted, moving Hernández could help the Dodgers get younger, which has been a goal for the front office this offseason as they try to navigate their aging and expensive roster. And his salary could be repurposed if the team were to make a splashier free-agent signing.

But for now, the Dodgers continue to express belief in their current core, with Roberts noting Monday that “we’re very confident with where the roster is right now” and that “there’s really no big splash we feel needs to be made.”

Plus, moving Hernández would also only further exacerbate the team’s pre-existing need for outfield help, as the club continues to evaluate both the free agent market (where players such as Cody Bellinger or Harrison Bader figure to be better, and more affordable, fits than a likely $400-million signing of top free-agent option Kyle Tucker) and trade possibilities (such as Brendan Donovan or Lars Nootbaar of the St. Louis Cardinals, Jarren Duran or Wilyer Abreu of the Boston Red Sox or — in a less likely scenario — Steven Kwan of the Cleveland Guardians).

Roberts did leave the door open to potentially moving Hernández back to left field, where he spent the majority of 2024 for the Dodgers before shifting over to his more natural right field position last year.

Still, in Roberts’ eyes, Hernández’s defense was “at least average” in right after an August series in Colorado when he made a couple particularly glaring mistakes on fly balls. His career-long defensive metrics have also been stronger in right field than left.

“I do think that with the versatility [of our roster] and how we potentially shape this roster, there’s some options,” Roberts said. “But right now, he’s our right fielder.”

Tottenham manager Thomas Frank says he is “very confident” he has the backing of the club’s owners.

Spurs’ only Premier League home win under Frank, who joined from Brentford in June, was the opening-weekend fixture against Burnley.

They have just 18 points from 13 games and sit 12th in the league table – with some fans criticising the Dane.

But asked if he was confident the club’s hierarchy would give him time to improve things on the pitch, Frank told reporters: “Yeah, I’m very confident.

“It seems like they’re good guys, intelligent people, know how to run businesses and learning about football.

“I think when we’re dealing with intelligent people, they can see every successful dynasty and every successful club has taken time.”

Fans at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium booed goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario after his mistake led to Fulham’s second goal in Saturday’s 2-1 defeat – Spurs’ 10th home league loss of 2025.

The Dane said after the defeat that those who booed Vicario “can’t be true Tottenham fans” and called their actions “completely unacceptable”.

Speaking before his side face Newcastle United, just below them in 13th, at St James’ Park on Tuesday (20:15 GMT), Frank said he understood the disappointment of fans.

“As I said after the game, I completely understand the frustration,” he said.

“If you don’t win, there will always be a frustration. That is normal.

“Especially as we haven’t won as much as we would have wanted to at home, not only this year but the last long period. So the frustration grows a little bit more.

“We are nothing without the fans. No club is anything without the fans. Tottenham is nothing without our fantastic fans, nothing. We need each other.

“My point is that during matches is where we need each other – where I want to create a fortress.

“If you want to create a fortress, it can only be together – fans, team, me. My job is to make sure we do everything we can to perform – but can we do that together? That is where you create a difficult place to play.”

At 38 years of age, Darren Hughes has done a lot in his football career, but the Scotstown veteran is thrilled to have another opportunity to win an Ulster club title following Sunday’s epic semi-final win over Newbridge.

Hughes stroked home the winning penalty in the shootout after the game finished 2-20 apiece after extra-time, joking “I wanted to hit the first one and get it out of the road”, but was simply relieved to have come out on the right side.

Leading by 10 early in the second half and then by nine with 15 to go, it seemed Scotstown were well on their way to a return to the final for the first time since 2023, but Newbridge forced extra-time and then penalties with Conor McAteer twice finding equalisers.

However, they held their nerve, converting all four of their spot-kicks with Newbridge missing their final two as Scotstown emerged 4-2 winners.

“A couple of times we could have lost it, but we’ve been around the block this year, going to extra-time in our club championship and have been here before in the Ulster Club against Trillick a couple of years ago,” Hughes told BBC Sport NI.

“We just tried to call on those experiences, reset and go again. It took penalties but thankfully we got over it.

“We probably let them back into it, but credit to them, they could maybe have pinched it if there was another minute or two at the end, but thankfully we will be back here in two weeks.”

Scotstown will now face Kilcoo in the final on Saturday, 13 December, whom they lost heavily to in last year’s semi-final after edging the Magpies in 2023.

A first Ulster title since 1989 is on offer for the Monaghan club, but Hughes is aware of the challenge they will face.

“We’ve had plenty of good days and plenty of bad days, so it’s great to be able to look forward to the final against Kilcoo,” he added.

“We didn’t feel as though we did ourselves justice last year when they steamrolled us.

“The year before we won by a point but the biggest difference between us and them is they know how to win an Ulster club, so there’s a lot of work to do over the next two weeks.”