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Manhattan Beach Volleyball Club wins national championship

There’s no time off this summer for Loyola volleyball coach Michael Boehle, who owns the Manhattan Beach Volleyball Club. He was celebrating Monday after his two sons, Davis and Parker, coached the 18U club team to the AAU Open Junior National Championship in Orlando, Fla.

The tournament MVP was Loyola graduate Blake Fahlbusch, a USC commit. Wyatt Davis and Jack Newman, Mira Costa grads, were All-Americans. JP Wardy, another Loyola graduate, was also instrumental in the team’s success.

“I’m so proud,” Boehle said of his sons coaching the team.

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Argentine club queen Six Sex wants you to get free

In an era hallmarked by what experts call a “sex recession,” Six Sex is a symbol of liberation.

The Argentine baddie fashions herself as a baby-voiced, bikini-clad fembot, beamed in from the clubs of Buenos Aires — and has become known for cheeky, instructive celebrations of desire. Her songs are designed to galvanize like-minded club rats into Dionysian revelry, or, in the case of the song “How to Make Your Ass Bigger,” squats.

To a certain subset of the Latine underground, she represents a pure-hearted hypersexuality. Yet, for the artist behind the persona, Francisca Agustina Cuello, this wasn’t always the intention.

“I don’t know if it was because I still had to keep my innocence or what, but I didn’t envision the project that way,” she said, calling from a hotel room in Barcelona. “That response sort of came about from the people, towards me. So, I said OK, I’m making it my own.”

In doing so, Cuello has churned out six thumping EPs as Six Sex, a campy character that she describes as a “fable” — a mix of “fantasía y hedonismo.”

That dynamic is taken to extremes on her debut album, “Ultra”, released June 6. It’s a dark and propulsive journey through decades of electronic dance music, best described by its own opening words portending “ultra terrorific fantasy.” (The phrase conjures up images of grandeur, but really, it evokes that “Blades of Glory” quote: “no one knows what it means, but it’s provocative.”)

“I feel like nothing I say is all that serious,” she said about her lyrics. “It’s a thing about my personality to be silly and goof around.”

“Ultra” centers Cuello’s winking, suggestive sense of humor. “Not Your Mom” features a conversation with a garbled, omnipotent voice akin to the parents in Charlie Brown; “FUchi!” features schoolyard taunts about “low dickie energy;” the album ends with “No More Porn,” a playful yet powerful subversion of sexual expectations.

“At the same time, for me, that acts as a filter,” she added with a laugh. “Weeding out the people who get scandalized by it, and identifying the people who get it and say: ‘Yas, yo también quiero tener cuatro novios.’”

Earlier this year, Cuello took the stage at Don Quixote, performing in front of a sold-out crowd for her Los Angeles debut. The smell of sweat permeated the air as she ripped through several of her hits — including collaborations with Reysha Rami and German producer MCR-T. Every single one of her signature ponytail flips sent the room into hysterics. The audience screamed every word at the top of their lungs; it was the loudest, most raucous show I’d been to in years.

Cuello took a breather in the middle of her world tour to chat with De Los over Zoom about all things Six Sex: her new record, her writing style and how it feels to connect with fans spun into febrile intensity.

This interview has been condensed for clarity and was translated from Spanish to English.

Argentine artist Six Sex poses in the cover of her album 'Ultra.'

“[I’m] weeding out the people who get scandalized,” says Six Sex of her provocative music.

(Catalina Jacobo)

I was really taken by the “Ultra” album cover. You’re wearing a white bikini and in this “come to Jesus” pose. What was the goal?
[laughs] It was hard, because I wanted the cover to represent what the entire journey of the album meant to me. I was looking for something strong and heavy in visual terms, because with “Ultra”, this is the first time I’ve finished a long, heavy project and I see the start of something. It’s like something new was unlocked. I found a new way to convey feelings, and a new way to create as well. It’s not like I just finished, and it is what it is. Rather, it is the beginning of something bigger.

Is there an element of separation at all between the artistry and you as a person?
I think they’re pretty close. It’s as if Six Sex was sort of a fable, or like a hentai or comic [version of] my life. It’s also happened that things I wrote as a joke later became reality. But generally, I draw inspiration from things that actually happened to me.

Is it weird to put those intimate experiences on an album?
No, not for me. Because I’m not speaking so seriously, I don’t feel exposed. Even though my persona and my character are very close to one another, I don’t have to prove anything to anyone. I’m not trying to make you believe in something. The songs stop being about me as soon as someone else listens to them. There are certain things we can all see ourselves represented in, and I think my music aims for that, too.

I want to ask about your performance style. I saw you live in Los Angeles and was really taken by the energy exchange between yourself and the crowd. How do you approach live performance?
Nowadays, I’m in a balance between performance and being a human being that connects with people and can pause to look in the eyes of the audience to register how they feel. I like being in a showgirl role, and at the same time, knowing when to step out of it.

Sometimes I go up there after having a crappy day, thinking that I’m gonna screw it up. And when I get up there and connect with the people, everything flows in a perfect way.

Does the music transform when it’s performed live, versus on a record? A lot of your music seems designed to be played in the club.
I think it’s very personal. For me, I’m a bit autistic; sometimes when I’m at a show, I get different sensations. It really depends on the person. I like seeing people’s reactions live when I start playing these songs for the first time. People were super hyped. They were enjoying them and jumping around a lot. It feels really fresh.

You reference ‘90s club classics all over “Ultra,” including by U.K. band the Prodigy on “Bitch Up.” How did these sounds come into your life?
These sounds evoke a special kind of nostalgia for me. Even though I hadn’t been listening to them lately, they sounded like something I wanted to bring back to the table — songs my uncle used to listen to when I was really young. Like a CD [of] pirated songs that somehow ended up at my house, and at the time I was like, “Wow, what is this music?”

There’s an element of Six Sex that gives “fembot,” like a female, sexy robot. I’m curious if you feel that playing out in your work.
[laughs] I didn’t know about the fembot thing. I don’t use Twitter. I [keep] a bubble… against some things that I don’t know. But I’ve always liked the idea that people have that perception of me, to some extent.

How do you feel about the rise of AI as a musician, especially considering your persona adopts that perception?
I mean… I don’t have a formed opinion on the matter. I do think that, I don’t know, it’s all very relative. For one thing, I obviously feel like it strips away the human value, but at the same time, it’s also a tool for humans. So it’s kind of contradictory. I feel weird about it…. I don’t know.

Zooming out, I’ve noticed Argentina has been having a musical moment over the last few years between yourself, Ca7riel y Paco Amoroso, Juana Rozas… How do you feel Argentina being represented or even challenged in your music?
I feel that culturally, Argentina is a very rich country. However, I do feel like, over generations, a paradigm was broken, and new sounds have been created that don’t necessarily abandon the roots of our music, but were created out of counterculture.

That same kind of counterculture is what makes Argentina be in such turmoil. It’s also the context of our country. Economic, political, social. The key Argentinian figures we refer to nowadays are constantly changing. And that allows you to listen to a variety of genres from Argentina, from people doing different things, and at the same time raising the flag and saying: “Yo soy argentino.” And we love that.

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Wimbledon 2026: Arthur Fery left carrying British hopes at All England Club

Arthur Fery grew up just a short walk away from Wimbledon but there is much more to his story than simply the confines of SW19.

The British men’s number three was born near Paris to his French parents before the family moved to Wimbledon when he was still in nappies.

After coming through the Lawn Tennis Association system, the 23-year-old then moved to Stanford University in California to study for a degree in science, technology and society – and sharpen his game in a tennis scholarship.

Now Fery is back on his doorstep and enjoying the biggest success of his career.

The world number 114 is left carrying British hopes at the All England Club this year after becoming the sole home player to reach the third round of the singles.

“I grew up coming to the tournament, watching the players and that definitely contributed to my development,” Fery told BBC Sport.

“I was trying to imitate players – like you do when you’re a kid. Now I’m here winning matches. It’s awesome.”

Fery’s mother, Olivia, is a French former Fed Cup player, who used to work for the LTA as a business development manager, while father Loic is an asset manager who owns Ligue 1 football club Lorient.

Many summer holidays were spent at the family’s second home near La Rochelle on the west coast of France, while he also spent time with other relatives near Nice – an area packed with courts and academies – to hone his tennis talent.

Fery briefly represented France when he was about 10 before starting to play for Britain shortly after.

After that, he says, there was “no question” that he would go on to represent Britain in the professional ranks.

“By that point, there was really no decision to make. I was living here, I was training at the National Tennis Centre. I was in the system here,” he said.

“I feel completely British now. Maybe 10 years ago if you’d asked me the question, it would be a bit different. Now I feel very British at heart.”

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Brighton break club record to sign Luka Vuskovic for £46m

Brighton have agreed a club record £46m deal with Tottenham Hotspur for Croatia defender Luka Vuskovic.

Brighton had two bids for Vuskovic turned down last month.

However, they have now reached an agreement over a transfer that is also subject to potential additional payments that could take the overall fee to £50m.

The 19-year-old will have a medical when Croatia’s World Cup campaign is over.

They play Portugal in a last-32 tie in the early hours of Friday morning UK time.

Born in Split, Vuskovic came through the academy at local club Hajduk, becoming the youngest player to feature in Croatia’s top flight when he was just 16 – and going on to become his club’s youngest goalscorer.

He agreed a deal with Tottenham in September 2023 that saw him join the club in 2025.

Although he is yet to make his Spurs debut, Vuskovic made 30 appearances on loan with German club Hamburg last season, scoring six goals in the Bundesliga, and is now one of the most highly rated young central defenders in Europe.

He will replace Jan Paul van Hecke in Fabian Hurzeler’s squad.

Ironically, Van Hecke is moving in the opposite direction after Tottenham agreed to pay £52m for the Netherlands international, who had a year left on his Brighton contract.

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Save 15% on ‘magical’ Club Med holidays to Marbella, Sicily and Marrakech

Had enough of the heat? Grab your bags and enjoy utter luxury with Club Med prices in July

Club Med has officially unveiled an enticing selection of last-minute summer holiday offers, giving spontaneous travellers the chance to save up to 15% on last-minute breaks. Tailored for those prepared to jet off at a moment’s notice, this time-limited promotion delivers sunshine, sandy shores and luxury at a fraction of the usual cost.

Holiday seekers will need to move quickly, however, as spaces are restricted across selected dates and properties. To maintain the excitement, Club Med will be introducing fresh departure offers every Friday, reports the Manchester Evening News.

Renowned for its upmarket all-inclusive holidays, Club Med provides idyllic getaways to stunning locations across the globe. Each package bundles together high-end accommodation with fine dining, unlimited activities and childcare into one transparent price, allowing guests to unwind and savour a much-needed escape.

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From the sun-kissed coastal havens of Europe to the palm-lined shores of the Caribbean, we’ve compiled some of the finest resorts for a last-minute holiday you’ll treasure forever.

Club Med Magna, Marbella

The 12-acre Club Med Magna Marbella is a sun-soaked resort ideally situated for reaching central Marbella. Visitors can unwind beside the family lagoon pool and the adults-only Zen Zone or get involved in numerous activities such as padel tennis.

The resort also features outstanding dining experiences at the sophisticated Suenos restaurant and the Tierra Gourmet Lounge, which offers regional specialities such as jamón ibérico. Additionally, there are four distinct bars where guests can savour a holiday drink.

Save up to 15% on a last minute holiday

Club Med

Prices vary

Club Med

Book now

Travel dates are available until July, with new deals added every Friday

As the sun-kissed shores of Marbella continue to be a favourite amongst British tourists, holidaymakers can also discover reduced Spanish getaways with savings of up to £600 through TUI. Budget-conscious last-minute escapes are also on offer for under £500 with Love Holidays.

TripAdvisor users have given the resort glowing reviews, with one describing it as ‘THE family destination’. One visitor said: “Our stay was simply amazing, everything is thoughtfully designed with families in mind. Our 4-year-old absolutely loved the kids’ club… the food was exceptional. There were so many spaces to explore with our children, and a great range of sports and activities to enjoy – paddle, tennis, Pilates and more.”

Another guest did observe that the location was an “Isolated village, without much personality, but a hotel of good quality, made for sport and sun.”

On the whole, though, the prevailing view mirrored this assessment, stating: “Very good experience at Club Med Magna Marbella. Everything was perfect, buffet, kids club and entertainment.”

Club Med Da Balaia, Algarve

Perched atop the famous red cliffs of the Algarve, Club Med Da Balaia is a paradise for golf enthusiasts. Visitors can also unwind beside the unique natural eco-pool or try their hand at numerous activities, including flying trapeze and archery.

The resort also features excellent dining at the Balaïa Restaurant and the relaxed lounge, offering authentic Portuguese fare alongside stunning ocean vistas. There’s also a spa on-site providing bespoke treatments and ample indulgence.

The Algarve remains a firm favourite holiday destination for Brits seeking a getaway. Currently, Love Holidays has last-minute, room-only Portugal breaks from £119 per person, while Golf Breaks provides specially designed escapes for devotees of the sport.

At Club Med, TripAdvisor reviewers are full of praise for the resort, with one declaring: “Our stay at Club Med La Balaia was simply fantastic from start to finish. Set in a stunning location overlooking a beautiful, family-friendly beach, the resort offers the perfect balance of activity and relaxation.”

While one visitor mentioned the pool was “ok, maybe a bit warmer may have been ideal,” the overall sentiment mirrored this review: “We had an absolutely wonderful week at Club Med de Da Balaia…three young children, parents and grandmother. Everything was there for a successful holiday: sunny weather and beautiful surroundings.”

Cefalù, Sicily

The flagship Exclusive Collection Cefalù is a luxury resort superbly located on the iconic Italian island of Sicily. Guests can unwind in the restored 18th-century palazzo lounge or participate in numerous activities, including sunset yoga and Europe’s first stand-up paddleboarding school.

After an action-packed day, the resort features impressive dining options to satisfy every appetite. Visitors are then treated to a delectable Sicilian-inspired menu that perfectly captures the authentic flavours of the region.

Travellers unlucky enough to miss out on a Club Med stay could try booking a break to Italy with British Airways Holidays instead. Alternatively, Citalia offers a range of specially selected tours and holidays in the region.

Guest reviewers overwhelmingly praise the resort, with one hailing it as a ‘magical place’ where “the food is to die for’. They also praise the stunning views and say that just being 10-15 minutes away from Cefalu town in Sicily ‘is something very special.”

While one guest noted that, unlike some other Club Med locations, there was “no show at happy hour, no barbecue, no themed evening.”

Most, however, enjoyed their stay with another adding: “We had an absolutely exceptional time at Club Med de Céfalù! The setting is simply magical: breathtaking views of the Tyrrhenian Sea, elegant architecture perfectly integrated with nature, and a serene atmosphere that immediately invites relaxation.”

Club Med Palmiye, Turkey

Positioned south of Antalya close to the Taurus mountains, Club Med Palmiye is a beachfront resort nestled along a Mediterranean shoreline. Holidaymakers can opt to unwind beside the family pool or the adults-only Zen pool, or take part in numerous activities including flying trapeze and wakeboarding..

When it comes to dining, the resort provides multiple choices to cater for varying preferences. Guests can sample Turkish cuisine in a restaurant boasting a duck pond moat. There’s also a vibrant beach bar to enjoy as evening approaches.

Turkey’s southern coastline delivers budget-friendly entertainment and warm weather. Some other excellent bargains to the area include all-inclusive getaways with On The Beach, and Mr and Mrs Smith provide thoughtfully selected stays in upscale accommodations.

As you’d anticipate from Club Med, the Palmiye resort has also garnered numerous positive reviews on TripAdvisor. One said: “A great place for early birds and those who like to do a lot of different activities, to learn tennis and padel, circus trapeze, sailing basics and waterski.”

While one visitor mentioned slight annoyances with “long lines” for waterskiing, the overall verdict reflected the sentiment of an ideal family retreat. Another repeat guest proclaimed: “We came here after 2 years again, it was a good experience, so we come again, and we will come every year.”

For those contemplating a long-haul escape, the Punta Cana Resort in the Dominican Republic offers particular appeal to families.

A perfect choice for summer holidays, it features Club Med’s biggest water park, boasting more than 20 slides and splash zones, alongside a luxurious spa..

With a 4.4-star rating on TripAdvisor, guests commend the beautiful beach and the expert instructors who help families master new pursuits, including golf and tennis. Meanwhile, the Club Med resort in Marrakech has been described as a ‘magical destination’ where visitors can swap unpredictable weather for golden sunsets, colourful souks and the enchanting scent of spices wafting through the streets.

To discover more about last-minute getaways with Club Med, click here to save 15%.

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Michelle Tea interviews queer historian Hugh Ryan on his new memoir “My Bad”

Hugh Ryan is an absolute superstar of queer history. His first two books, “When Brooklyn Was Queer” and “The Women’s House of Detention: A Queer History of a Forgotten Prison,” were magnets for awards and accolades. After spending recent years immersed in cultural stories, he’s turned his investigative eye on his own coming of age with the rollicking, raw, funny and sharp memoir “My Bad: A Personal History of the Queer Nineties and Beyond.” Pivoting from scholar of history to student of life, Ryan shares lessons learned from beloved but homophobic middle school teachers (“The nicest mother— I knew could accidentally curb-stomp my heart at any moment”) to ones acquired on the dance floor (“Dancing is sex on a communal level: an embodied ecstatic ritual of union”).

Ryan swung through L.A. on his book tour, and what better place to host a paean to the ’90s than the ASU FIDM Museum, where the exhibit “Obsessed: Fashion and Nostalgia in the ’90s” is serving Westwood plaids, Calvin Klein’s minimalist silk parachute sheath and Donatella’s zipper-slashed, leather mourning dress. A fellow survivor of the era, I interviewed Ryan and the evening was introduced by the exhibition’s sparkling curator, Christina Frank, who cheekily shared period photos of the author alongside images from the museum’s ’90s archives, asking: Who wore it best? Whether it was Ryan channeling designer inspo or fashion-snatching looks from the streets, the display — like the book that inspired it — was colorful and daring, inspired and eccentric and wholly unique. At a time when nostalgia for the ’90s is seemingly everywhere, “My Bad” places the decade into context, including its paradoxical freedoms and oppressions, with the intimate, funny rough language of your freakiest, funnest bestie.

Michelle Tea: Your previous books are this amazing, accessible scholarship. In “My Bad,” your language is so different — you’re cussing! The academic gloves are off — which isn’t to say that it’s not brainy. Was this just the voice that the book wanted? It’s like, “Oh, so we’re just like sitting on the curb having a cigarette together.”

Hugh Ryan: I actually wanted to buy a box of clove cigarettes while I was doing the research, but apparently they’re illegal now because they’re deadly and full of fiberglass.

So much of it is about writing it for people today who are younger, who look up to my books and are like, “I’m going to get my PhD and be just like you!,” and I was like, I didn’t do that, I’ve misrepresented myself somehow, and I want to be really real. Also, I had this job for four or five years where I ghost wrote a kids’ books series, and I was eventually fired, because I took a beloved character — who I am not allowed to name — and made her curse, which she had apparently never done in her 100-year history. When I made her say ‘hell’ and ‘damn’ while solving a mystery, the internet went wild, and you can find the Amazon page where I am ruined. So, the ability to curse in my work and have a real voice was something that, from very early on in my career, I was like, “Oh no, I got to be real careful about being too much myself on the page.”

writer Hugh Ryan
Ryan in '90s Calvin Klein; Dave Navarro walks the Anna Sui Spring/Summer 1997 runway.

Ryan in ‘90s Calvin Klein; Dave Navarro walks the Anna Sui Spring/Summer 1997 runway. (Hugh Ryan; Michel Arnaud; Gift of Arnaud Associates, 2000; From ASU FIDM Museum Collection)

MT: You needed to break that pattern of self-censoring. What was it like to shift the focus of your intellectual investigation onto yourself?

HR: Excruciating. At first I really enjoyed it, when it was just this idea. I’ve never really told these stories. In the early versions of it, everything I wrote was jokey, silly, overly stylized, not honest. I wasn’t ready to really dig in. I think that I had a lot of layers of defensiveness that I didn’t even understand I had until I had to write things down. My agent kept being, “No, no, this isn’t real, stop with these jokes, it is funny, but you have to get into the serious issues.” There was a large resistance inside me. Asking, “OK, how did my experiences relate to the ’90s as a whole?” actually let me talk about myself and the time period I emerged from. I needed that scaffolding to feel comfortable.

MT: How do you feel about Gen X’s legacy as basically the coolest generation?

HR: I mean, I kind of love it.

MT: We’re having the most sex, even though we’re so old now. And we’re tough, because we’ve survived so much queer trauma. You write in “My Bad” about having Snapple bottles thrown out windows at you.

HR: If you looked queer and you were out in the world, it was just accepted that at some point during the day someone was going to be violent towards you. Verbally, maybe physically. It just was what it was. Though I will say, having now, later in my life, thrown some Snapple bottles really hard just to feel it, it does feel very good. They’re heavy, they’re glass, they explode. If you can get your hands on some classic ’90s Snapple, just throw them, just try it.

MT: We have to have a queer, Gen X ritual of throwing Snapple bottles, like a rage room.

Various photos of writer Hugh Ryan in 1994-1999.

Ryan in the ‘90s. In his new memoir “My Bad,” Ryan looks back on this time with the intimate, funny rough language of your freakiest, funnest bestie.

(Hugh Ryan)

HR: I do think that it’s easy to forget all of that, because I think we all wanted to forget it to a certain degree. We wanted to let go of our pain. Both the people who were hurt and the people who caused those hurts had some amount of evolution. This is something I think about a lot with my family. If you read the book, in the early chapters it’s rough with my folks. They were loving, but also had no idea what to do with me. I was not just gay, I was weird and trans and confused, and always making noise and acting out and being inappropriate. There’s all this tough stuff, and then we try to forgive each other and let it go, but without saying it. Writing the book was this moment of, “Oh no, am I making us talk about all the bad times again?” It took me sitting with that and realizing — that’s the only way to get to the other side. I’ve seen this change in my family, and it felt important to document how shitty it was, so we could see the change.

MT: What sign are you?

HR: Cancer.

MT: You’re Cancer?!

HR: Yeah, tell me about it. I know so little about astrology. It’s the straightest thing about me, how little I know about astrology.

MT: I don’t even know what to say, because I’m getting such Aquarius-Virgo-Gemini from you that Cancer is just blowing my mind.

HR: I do have a shell, I know that about myself. And that was my first two books. Now I’m trying to invite people in.

MT: Will you talk about the club kid scene in New York City in the ’90s?

HR: I just touched up on the edges of it. The club kid movement really stopped after effective retrovirals come in, in 1996. Suddenly club kids saw a future for themselves, and did not all imagine that they were going to die of AIDS imminently. The ones who I’ve interviewed have said, “That’s the moment at which suddenly, dressing for Friday night no longer felt like what you spend two weeks doing.” But when it was happening, it was amazing. There were these free magazines in New York City, HX and Next, little queer rags full of party promotions and photos of half-naked people in clubs, and ads for those awful viatical companies that would buy up your life insurance if you had AIDS. They were very weird, but they’re like style bibles for me. And then you would go to the clubs.

When you went to Limelight, there would be two entrances, one for straight people and one for gay people. The bouncer at the line for the straight entrance was a giant gay guy, who — this was abusive, and probably wrong, but it was very funny — he’d be like, “You two make out if you’re gonna tell me you’re gay, make out or you don’t come in.” You only got access to half the club if you went in the straight entrance — the other half was only for queer people, and so you would have these straight folks trying to get in. It was amazing, and it was a place where I came to really love my body, because up until then the only things I had been told my body were for were sports, and that was never going to be me. There, I could dance all night.

Limelight was the coolest, but I loved Tunnel. Tunnel was 80,000 square feet of nightclub in a former railway terminal. There was a room entirely designed by the artist Kenny Scharf, and it was covered in fake fur — in a club when smoking was still allowed! It was the worst smelling place I’ve ever been in my whole life. I would sneak down there wearing giant Jnco raver pants, and watch everyone. These giant pants had these huge pockets in them, and I would put a big, gallon Ziploc bag with a clean T-shirt and clean socks inside the pant pocket. When the night was done I would go out, get food, change my clothes, and put the dirty clothes inside the Ziploc bag. I still had to have the pants on. I carried like the smell of 1,000 humid homosexuals with me everywhere I went.

Various photos of writer Hugh Ryan in 1994-1999.

The club, Ryan says, “was a place where I came to really love my body, because up until then the only things I had been told my body were for were sports, and that was never going to be me.”

(Hugh Ryan)

MT: Speaking of being grimy — you were also really affected by Burning Man.

HR: I had met this guy, we totally fell in love. He was a high school dropout computer hacker who was the epitome of the bisexual ’90s — longhaired, androgynous, everything I wanted to be. You know, that very queer thing of: Do I want you, do I want to be you, should we go on a road trip or a killing spree? We were in love and I did not want to go back to school. I had had a terrible junior year, and I was looking to make new mistakes. He was like, “I’m gonna go to this thing called Burning Man, do you want to go? It’s out in the desert, there’s all this art, and it’s super cool,” and I was like, “When is it?” And it was the very first week of classes my senior year, and I was like, “Yeah, absolutely.”

It was amazing. We got adopted by these people who called themselves the Church of Mez, or Mezbians. They were extremely rich Microsoft engineers. We were completely unprepared, because we’d f—ing come in on the Greyhound bus. You’re supposed to bring a gallon of water per person per day, just to start with, and we had nothing. We had a tent and a sleeping bag, and these people thought we were somewhere between pets and aphrodisiacs.

It felt like such an amazing thing to get to touch. And I know that all of those people ended up being like fascist tech bros of today, I’m sure, and I worry about the environmental degradation that I did not know anything about. And it was so white, so many white people with dreadlocks and those terrible tribal tattoos. Like many things in the book, I have to write about it tenderly, even though I know there are so many problems. I don’t think I would be who I was if I didn’t show some tenderness towards those spaces that made me, or at least allowed me to see myself.

Michelle Tea is the author of more than 20 books for grown-ups, teenagers and children.



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Julian Alvarez: Atletico Madrid striker wants to leave club to ‘fulfil my dream’

Argentina striker Julian Alvarez says he wants to leave Atletico Madrid to “fulfil his dream”.

The 26-year-old has reportedly drawn interest from Barcelona and Paris St-Germain, while Atletico rejected a 150m euro (£130m) offer for Alvarez from rivals Real Madrid earlier in June.

Alvarez is currently at the World Cup with Argentina and has come off the bench in their first two games after recovering from an ankle injury.

“I spoke with the people at [Atletico] I needed to speak with, and the best thing for everyone is a transfer. I want to fulfil my dream,” Alvarez said after Argentina’s World Cup win over Austria.

“It’s ‌not the time ‌to talk about this, but I also can’t ‌hide it. I try to be an honest person.”

Alvarez joined Atletico from Manchester City for £81.5m in the summer of 2024 and has scored 49 goals in 106 games, as well as providing 17 assists, for Diego Simeone’s side.

Having scored 17 goals in his first season in La Liga, the former River Plate forward managed only eight in 2025-26.

However, he excelled in the Champions League, scoring 10 goals to help Atletico reach the semi-finals, where they were beaten by Arsenal.

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Anti-Migrant Slate Rejected by Sierra Club

A bitter battle that exposed deep divisions over the direction of America’s conservation movement reached culmination with the announcement Wednesday that Sierra Club members had overwhelmingly rejected a campaign by immigration control advocates to control the venerable environmental group.

In what was termed the largest voter turnout in the Sierra Club’s 112-year history, more than 22% of the group’s 757,000 members cast ballots to select its governing board. The votes, which were submitted by members in March and April, were tallied Wednesday. The members elected a slate backed by the club’s leaders and which received more than 110,000 votes apiece.

By contrast, a slate of candidates seeking to bring a strong immigration control agenda to the club garnered only minimal support — former Colorado Gov. Richard Lamm, the best known, received 13,090 votes.

“I never argue with the voters. My congratulations to the winners,” Lamm said in an e-mail shortly after the results were announced. He declined to be interviewed.

Five seats were up for grabs on the club’s 15-member governing board. The election took place via mail and the Internet starting in March.

The election was the second time in less than a decade that the Sierra Club, arguably the nation’s most influential environmental group, has publicly wrestled with the issue of restricting immigration. Members voted to remain neutral on the issue in 1998, following a campaign that featured accusations that conservationists were resorting to immigrant bashing, and counterclaims that political correctness was leading to environmental cowardice. The same accusations were raised this year.

Despite the 1998 vote, an increasingly vocal group of environmentalists continued to argue that the Sierra Club needed to aggressively support strict immigration controls, citing the destructive effect of unchecked U.S. population growth on the nation’s natural resources.

Three prominent immigration control advocates — UCLA astronomy professor Ben Zuckerman, Wisconsin Secretary of State Doug LaFollette, and Paul Watson, leader of the group Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, already had won seats to the board in recent years, putting majority control within the grasp of the dissidents in this year’s election.

Sierra Club leaders said after the landslide vote that they hoped the rancorous dispute had finally been resolved.

“I thought the issue should have been laid to rest after 1998, and I certainly don’t see anything in these results to suggest [members] have had a change of heart,” said Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope.

“We are delighted that the turnout was so strong. This may have been the largest election turnout ever for a nonprofit organization other than the NRA,” the National Rifle Assn.

However, it quickly became clear on Wednesday that the losing side considered the issue far from resolved. Rather than seeing the results as evidence that Sierra Club members did not support an immigration platform, critics called it proof that dirty tactics by the status quo to promote their favorites had unfairly tipped the scales.

Some dissidents said they were holding out hope that a lawsuit filed recently in San Francisco Superior Court would result in a new election. The suit alleges that Sierra Club leaders violated state laws governing nonprofits by using club funds to promote candidates they had endorsed.

Club officials called the claims groundless. A similar suit by Lamm was withdrawn when Pope and other club officials threatened a countersuit.

“The Sierra Club just elected the best new directors money can buy — but with a lawsuit pending over unfair election practices, justice and truth may yet prevail,” said a losing candidate, Karyn Strickler.

Strickler, who said she did not advocate curbing immigration and was running as an independent reformer, said all candidates who collected petitions to be on the ballot were damaged by an “urgent election notice” to Sierra Club members that accompanied the ballot and warned of “outside groups” seeking to influence the club’s agenda. Under Sierra Club bylaws, some candidates are automatically placed on the ballot by current leaders; others can collect signatures to run.

The ballot notice referred to racist and anti-immigrant websites that had posted stories urging their visitors to vote for immigration-control candidates in the Sierra Club elections, and made similar links to animal rights groups and hemp proponents. As a result of the notice, critics argued that voters were pressured to stick with the candidates endorsed by the current leadership.

During the dawn of the modern environmental movement four decades ago, conservationists widely embraced the goal of global population control. Books such as “The Population Bomb” by Stanford professor Paul Ehrlich painted a dire portrait of a planet straining under man’s increasingly wide footprint.

Yet although many environmentalists still call for worldwide curbs on population, they are increasingly divided over the less-abstract issue of restricting the flood of newcomers to America. According to the U.S. census, the U.S. population, now more than 292 million, could surge by 50% over the next 50 years, largely because of immigrants and their children.

Former Wisconsin Democratic U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson, one of the founders of Earth Day, sided with immigration control advocates, supporting Cornell University professor David Pimentel.

The two had been active in the Carrying Capacity Network, a population control organization that advocates strict curbs on immigration.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the founder of Waterkeeper Alliance, lent his name to the election campaign to defeat Pimentel and the other insurgents. Actor Robert Redford and MoveOn.Org, the liberal activist network known for helping propel former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean to prominence, also opposed the anti-immigration candidates.

“I think the agenda of those looking to bring immigration to our organization was soundly defeated,” said Sierra Club President Larry Fahn. “We should now focus on reuniting the membership and getting back to our core mission: to protect the planet. And this year, we should focus on the mission most of us consider most important this year: defeating President Bush and his horrendous environmental policies.”

Yet Fahn conceded that anti-immigration candidates were unlikely to give up their fight.

“The debate will continue,” he said. “Many of them feel so passionate that they will continue agitating and never be pacified.”

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Inside Disneyland’s secret Club 33 loved by celebs that demands £20k joining fee and is the only place you can bag booze

DISNEYLAND is a place where everyone can enjoy a bit of magic, but hidden behind its world famous rides and queues of exhausted families is a top secret club that most guests have no idea exists.

Club 33 originally opened in Disneyland California, although can also be found in Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland and Shanghai Disneyland now too.

The secret club is hidden away behind rides at Disneyland Credit: Alamy
Club 33 in invite-only and membership can cost thousands Credit: .
Former Playmate Holly Madison recently shared a peak inside the club Credit: Instagram
She enjoyed an Alice in Wonderland themed afternoon tea Credit: Instagram

But don’t get too excited – the club is incredibly exclusive and the only way to join is if you receive an invite.

It’s even suggested that there is a waiting list of up to 10 years, which was reportedly closed in 2007 after it became so long, before reopening in 2012.

So it’s no wonder why the sought-after club is loved by celebs like Tom Hanks, Michael Jackson and Elton John.

Found on 33 Orleans Street, the speakeasy style club can be found behind a blue door with a discreet 33 address plate at the entrance, for those in the know.

TINY TRIP

Beautiful ‘Disney-looking’ country three hours from UK is one of world’s smallest


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Disney-alternative theme park to open new thrill ride and you can fly there for £15

Walt Disney died a year before the club was finished Credit: Getty – Contributor
Inside there’s a swanky restaurant and bar with champagne and caviar Credit: .
Katy Perry was spotted inside the very exclusive bar Credit: X
Rebel Wilson has also been spotted at the private members club Credit: Instagram

The members-only club was founded by Walt Disney, who based the club on his travel adventures with his wife Lillian, although he died a year before the club opened in 1967.

Inside is just as lush as you’d expect, with wood-panelled private dining lounges, swanky baroque wallpaper and various Victorian curios that Walt personally collected from antique shops.

In fact, the restaurant is one of the only places visitors can bag some booze in the park.

And for film fanatics, props from classics like Mary Poppins  are inside, including original drawings on the wall.

But all of this will cost you.

Initiation fees are believed to range between $25,000 (£19,200) and $50,000 (£38,000).

How many Disney locations are there around the world?

DISNEY parks are located in several countries around the world. Here’s the list of countries with Disney parks:

  1. United States
    • Disneyland Resort (Anaheim, California)
    • Walt Disney World Resort (Orlando, Florida)
  2. France
    • Disneyland Paris (Marne-la-Vallée, near Paris)
  3. Japan
    • Tokyo Disney Resort (Urayasu, near Tokyo)
  4. China
    • Shanghai Disney Resort (Shanghai)
    • Hong Kong Disneyland Resort (Hong Kong)

Then there is the annual fee, which can be as much as $30,000 (£23,000).

The membership, however, gets you some extra perks such as day passes for guests, private VIP tours, exclusive merchandise and free hotel room upgrades.

You also can’t go to more than one of the Club 33s around the world, as each membership is exclusive to each club.

There is one place in the club you can visit without your own membership, although you do need to know someone who does have one to take you.

The Salon Nouveau Lounge is known for it’s posh caviar appetizers as well as burgers and champagne, so if you know someone lucky enough to have access the club 33, you could try it out.

Meanwhile, for members only, there is Le Grande Salon which has set menu costing upwards of £100, but can reportedly include options such as scallops and steak tartare.

And for those wanting to spend the night, there’s the Disneyland Dream Suite, which sits above the next-door Pirates of the Caribbean ride.

Walt had his own apartment on Main Street in the park, but it was decided there needed to be a bigger spot to host Disney’s VIP guests, away from the hustle and bustle of the crowds.

The club is one of the only places guests can buy alcohol in the park Credit: .
The interior of the club is full of film and ride memorabilia Credit: .

The more specific details of the elusive club are scarce, mostly because members are told not to ever share the club’s secrets.

Florida-based Disney travel experts Simon and Susan Veness previously told the Telegraph: “The level of secrecy around Club 33 is quite startling, but it has been there since the club’s earliest days, and it continues to be a Disney parks anomaly today.

“For somewhere that is never slow to promote its rides and attractions, this ultra-expensive ‘insiders’ club’ is distinctly incongruous and out of step with the general pixie dust nature of the theme parks.”

However, some guests have shared a sneak peak inside the club.

This week former Playboy star Holly Madison took to Instagram to post some snaps from the balcony of the club.

“Club 33 Alice in Wonderland tea was divine,” she captioned the alluring snaps which showed her sat a linen-covered table with Mad Hatter plates, Alice in Wonderland-themed snacks and over huge floral displays.

Bragging about having club 33 membership comes with it’s risks though as one couple even ended up taking Disney to court after losing their membership.

The couple, from the US, said they had paid as much as $124,000 (£94,000) a year to visit the theme parks, sometimes visiting as much as 80 times a year.

Celebs like Tom Hanks and Rebel Wilson are reportedly members Credit: .
Holly posed inside the club’s sun-soaked courtyard Credit: Instagram

However, they were taken off the membership list after the park claimed they had both behaved badly, being both intoxicated and swearing – something they both refute.

Back in 2015 Joseph Cosgrove allegedly lost his membership when he allowed a friend to auction off his passes.

According to Disneyland spokeswoman Suzi Brown, Joseph had “repeatedly transferred and sold their membership privileges,” which meant the park was “left with no other choice in order to preserve the integrity of membership.”

Celebrities aren’t immune to having their membership revoked either; a Pitch Perfect actress claimed she was suspended from the club for taking a secret picture in the club’s bathroom, she revealed on The Daily Show in 2023.

But all the mystery around the club has only made it more intriguing for Disney fans over the years, with thousands of social media posts on the topic of the secret spot popping up every week.

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Fulham: Club looking at two candidates to replace former manager Marco Silva, says Tony Khan

“We have got a few people that the board are talking to that are very exciting and interesting candidates.

“There have been people who we have been linked to, where it says they were the frontrunner or that there was conversations, that were people we have never talked to or never even had a conversation about.”

Fulham are also known to have held talks with Kieran McKenna, who has since departed as manager of Ipswich Town following their promotion to the Premier League, saying he wanted a break to spend time with his family.

Khan said: “There have been some rumours, but at the same time, we have had lots of conversations and meetings. We have been actively talking.

“There are two in particular who have had multiple meetings with the board and who we really like, but we are open to more conversations and talking to more people. We are working on that process right now.”

Fulham finished 11th in the table last season, missing out on a place in Europe by two points.

A former defender for both Liverpool and West Ham, Arbeloa was in charge of Real Madrid at the end of last season on an interim basis, having replaced Xabi Alonso – who has been appointed Chelsea‘s new boss – midway through the campaign.

After a successful 13-year playing career at Stamford Bridge, Lampard started his managerial career at Derby before spells at Chelsea, Everton and then Coventry in 2024.

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‘I’m a family travel expert – Club Med, Bodrum, in Turkey, is an undiscovered gem’

As a mum to a six year old and a two year old, I love an all inclusive hotel. There’s plenty of food options, and I don’t groan every time one of my children tips their drink into the sand. But they’re often pretty big, and pretty expensive. So when I checked into Club Med in Bodrum, I was quickly won over.

While it’s quite large, with 242 rooms on the pretty hillside site, it still manages to feel boutique and exclusive. A high return rate, plenty of the guests we met were on their second or third visits. One, an elderly Belgian man on holiday with his wife, was on his seventh. “It’s just perfect,” he told me. Why would we go anywhere else? And I have to say I agree. Here’s why…

The rooms

There are three different room types at Club Med, Bodrum: superior, family deluxe and suites. As a family of four, we were given a deluxe, which was split over two floors. There were two single beds downstairs and a king upstairs, in a large living space that doubled as a living room.

There were two bathrooms and a spacious balcony with chairs for lounging that looked out over the archery courts below. As far as decor goes, it was simple – white walls, minimal accessories. Functional for a family who would be spending most of their time on the beach. Beds were comfy, and a cot was provided. The whole thing was immaculately clean and the thread count was high. It was an ideal base to set up camp for the week.

The food

While in Bodrum, we ate a lot of our meals out, but the ones we enjoyed at the hotel were very good indeed. The hotel’s main buffet restaurant, La Terrasse, is at the top of the site, with stunning breezy terraces overlooking the sea, all draped in purple flowers. The view, it has to be said, is breathtaking. The scenery served up is almost as good as the eggs.

Breakfast is varied, with omelettes made to order, a bakery, cereals and salads. A juice bar serves up brightly coloured drinks, and there’s a fruit station with enough bananas to keep my kids happy all day. Coffee is best sourced at the bar, which does a great flat white with fresh beans. Throughout the day, delicious picky snacks like olives and flatbread are served at the beach bar, and to the delight of the little ones, fresh watermelon was delivered to them on the sand.

La Terrasse opens once more for lunch and dinner, with a banquet of options for all tastes and palates, from grilled prawns to pizza. There were even snails one night – a nod to Club Med’s French brand heritage. A gentle theme runs each night, say Mexican, Chinese, and so on. And there’s plenty of Turkish treats to delight too. Once a week, a white party takes over the pool area and guests are all given light-up crowns to wear as they dine. My six year old absolutely loved this – as did I. Down the mountainside, the a la carte Halikarnas restaurant provides a more intimate, upmarket setting, with incredible seafood and meat options.

The activities

While Club Med isn’t specifically a family hotel, and in fact most of the guests we met during our stay were friends or couples, it really does welcome children with open arms. Staff remember names and drinks orders, and a fuss is made of young guests wherever they go. The pool area is large and luxurious, with plenty of sunloungers, many of which are set under the shade of surrounding trees, and there’s a little baby pool for paddlers too.

Elsewhere, there’s a small playground set down a shady path and activities like archery and beach fit to keep everyone occupied when on a break from the beach. A complimentary twice-daily boat trip, which leaves from the hotel pier at 10am and 3pm each day to tour the beautiful coastline, lets the little ones on with lifejackets.

The beach

At the foot of the hill lies the jewel in Club Med’s crown – its pristine, private, beach. Set in a long bay, ensuring calm, safe water, it can be accessed via stairs or a lift, with a regular supply of buggies taking guests up and down the hill to reach it. Once at the shore, turning left takes you to a section of Bali beds set over the waves on the rocky cliffs, with some more to be found on a wooden pier.

We, however, turned right – to the main stretch of beach. With more than enough sunbeds, each with a generous umbrella for shade, there’s no jostling required. The beach is cleaned daily and the water is crystal clear. It’s paradisical. Little fish came to say hello as we built sandcastles by the water’s edge. The perfect place to wile away the day.

The surrounding area

If you can bear to leave Club Med Bodrum, there is plenty to explore nearby. A trip to Bodrum castle is a must to wander through the historic fortress. Built by the Knights of St John, it now houses one of the world’s most important collections of ancient shipwrecks and relics. There are a flock of friendly peacocks in residence too, which I have to say were the highlight for both my girls.

Elsewhere, Bodrum Antik Tiyatrosu (Bodrum Antique Theatre) is a remarkably preserved 4th-century BC Greco-Roman amphitheatre carved into the slopes of Mount Göktepe. Overlooking the city and the Aegean Sea, it stands as one of Anatolia’s oldest surviving theatres. Later, a walk up to the 18th-century windmills between Bodrum and Gümbet then provided sweeping views, and we headed down to the glamorous Bodrum marina to dine by the water at Liman Koftescisi, a renowned Turkish restaurant. The meatballs with aubergine were divine.

For those who love wine, Bodrum is abundant. Karnas Vineyards is a family-owned, boutique winery and agricultural estate located in the Karaova region of the Bodrum peninsula. Spanning over 20 hectares, it is famous for being the first vineyard to plant the Zinfandel grape variety in Turkey, producing award-winning wines using sustainable and traditional techniques. Featured in the Michelin Guide, the vineyard features a terrace restaurant serving local, farm-to-fork meals made from ingredients grown on-site or by local farmers.

And just down the road, Mehmet Vuran is the owner and winemaker at Garova in the Karaova Valley of Bodrum. A visit to his estate is as much of a delight for children as it is for the grown ups thanks to a menagerie of animals, with cows, chickens and baby chickens running around. As the golden sun dipped behind the horizon, as our visit to Bodrum drew to a close, we toasted to our return.

*For more on planning a trip to Türkiye, see Go Türkiye

Getting there

Without Flights: Seven nights all-inclusive stay at Club Med Bodrum, Palmiye, Turkey from £2,490 (based on a family of four). Price based on departure date 06.06.26. Book now at www.clubmed.co.uk/r/bodrum/y or call 03453 676767

London Flights: Seven nights all-inclusive stay at Club Med Bodrum, Palmiye, Turkey from £4,014 (based on a family of four). Price based on departure date 06.06.26. Book now at www.clubmed.co.uk/r/bodrum/y or call 03453 676767

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Dad’s Link Golf Club helps busy dads with fellowship

To understand the gravitational pull toward golf, consider the sport as a sequence of problems. Aaron Singleton, a skilled player in the Dads Link Golf Club, is playing particularly well today at Palos Verdes Golf Course, having just hit two back-to-back birdies. But even on the shots that fly into a grassy oblivion, he smiles.

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“Golf is 18 different holes. 18 different chances to solve a problem,” he says. “Each hole presents a different problem. Each shot is a different problem.” According to Singleton, this wisdom that players inherit on the golf course — especially resilience and patience — translates to fatherhood.

Singleton, who has a 3-year-old son, is part of a growing group of fathers who participate in the Dads Link Golf Club. The club is part of the region’s golf boom; Southern California Golf Assn. is estimated to have one of the largest memberships in the country, with over 200,000 golfers.

Ian Davis watches his drive on 9th hole

Ian Davis, the founder of Dads Link and Golf Club, watches his drive.

Ian Davis is the founder of Los Angeles’ Dads Link Golf Club. Each month, he invites fathers to enjoy golf together to focus on fellowship, fatherhood and their well-being.

“This has grown in a way that I couldn’t have imagined,” says Davis, who works as a wellness coach with an emphasis in mindfulness and meditation. He started the club in 2023 on the East Coast before relocating it to Los Angeles in January 2024, where the club hosts an annual Father’s Day tournament and various golf clinics.

At the driving range, Davis leads the group through “a grounding practice” that involves stretching and deep breathing. Member Ose Akhile, a personal trainer, follows up with stretching and other warm-up exercises. For many of the men, golf has become a rediscovered hobby. Singleton returned to the sport after playing it as a teenager. “I’m looking forward to getting better,” he says.

Club member Darius Ingram, father of 3-year-old daughter, says that reconnecting with the game has allowed him to prioritize his own well-being.

“I used to play golf recreationally. Now, I do it for mental stability,” he says.

Ian Davis (right) greets Ose Akhile as Darius Ingram stands nearby

Ian Davis greets Ose Akhile as Darius Ingram stands nearby.

Ian Monteilh, who is new to the group and has two daughters ages 11 and 15, says the outing provides camaraderie that was missing from his life.

“It’s a community that I didn’t have. I’m blessed to be around like-minded men with no pressure,” he says. “Even if we’re having a rough day on a golf course, there’s camaraderie.”

Once considered a predominantly white sport, golf is now being reshaped by a new generation of Black players and other players of color, including many of the fathers in Dads Link Golf Club. In 2024, 25% of golfers across courses nationally were Black, Asian and Latino, marking the most diverse era in the sport’s history, according to the National Golf Foundation.

“It’s a lot less pretentious — more diverse, more access for all different types of people,” says Ingram, who noticed a shift in golfing culture in recent years. Despite Tiger Woods’ storied career as one of the sport’s most impactful athletes, Black men remain underrepresented in top tournaments.

Darius Ingram (left) reacts to barely missing a putt on the 18th green

Darius Ingram reacts to barely missing a putt on the 18th green as Ian Davis watches.

Ingram partly attributes Black men’s interest in golf to renewed interest from other professional athletes. Star athletes like Michael Jordan and Steph Curry — who also happen to be dads — are skilled golfers.

“There are a lot of people who play their main sport, and they play golf when they retire,” says Ingram.

Ose Akhile smiles before teeing off

Ose Akhile smiles before teeing off.

Rappers like Schoolboy Q and DJ Khalid have also become interested in the sport, adding to its cachet.

The benefits of the groups are apparent, explains Akhile, who has three daughters, ages 6, 7 and 9.

“I’m outside — fresh air, sunshine, a break for my family. I get to decompress,” he says. Describing himself as a “Caribbean baby,” he explains that the ocean waves have a hypnotic effect on him. As the golfers move along the Palos Verdes course, the ocean stretches beyond them.

“Nature helps a lot with stress relief. There’s a lot of green grass and quiet out here. I love my child, but it’s hard to hear her yell, ‘Dad!’ every three seconds,” says Singleton. During the game, he stays calm while a squirrel approaches him. “Me and nature are one with each other,” he says. Behind him, a baby coyote prances into the fog.

Singleton adds that in the chaos of fatherhood, friendships occasionally fall to the wayside.

“There’s so much to do. Everyone separated. It’s beneficial to have a group text, a fellowship like this, where you can hear someone going through the same thing as you,” Singleton says.

Akhile agrees. “These are probably the only guys that understand the day-to-day stressors and pressures of my life,” he says.

men have breakfast after Dads Link and Golf Club

Ose Akhile, Darius Ingram, Ian Monteilh, Ian Davis, Aaron Singleton and other Dads Link and Golf members have breakfast together.

After finishing nine holes, the men enjoy breakfast burritos. They joke that they will begin ranking the golf courses in the L.A. area by the quality of their breakfast burritos. Meanwhile, Davis leads the group through a conversation about fatherhood. Each month he chooses one dad to be the focus. This morning that’s Ingram. He speaks on being a father and how it relates to golf.

“I’m not as good as I want to be, so there’s frustration there,” Ingram says, referring to the challenges of parenting. He adds that to “right things” he doesn’t like about himself, he focuses on how his efforts could result in his daughter becoming a better version of him. The men offer encouragement as birds circle above. The sun pierces through the fog.

Monteilh looks up and jokes: “The only birdies I saw today were in the sky.”



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Serena Williams gets a doubles win in first match in nearly four years

Serena Williams is back.

And so is her blistering serve.

After almost four years away from the sport, the 44-year-old tennis legend made a triumphant return Tuesday at Queen’s Club in London. She teamed with Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko for a 7-6 (2), 6-2 victory against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand in an opening doubles match at the grass-court HSBC Championships.

Williams recorded service winners of up to 120 mph during her first professional match since the 2022 U.S. Open.

“It was so fun,” Williams said afterward in an on-court interview. “I had so much fun playing with Victoria. She really was able to hold up the team and really play big on the big points. I could really rely on her. We’ve never played together, but it just felt so natural playing with her.”

Williams has won 14 Grand Slam titles and three Olympic gold medals in doubles, all with sister Venus Williams as her playing partner.

Serena Williams and Victoria Mboko stand side by side on the court while holding their rackets and waving to the crowd

Serena Williams and Victoria Mboko of Canada wave to the crowd after defeating Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe on Tuesday at the Queen’s Club in London.

(Alberto Pezzali / Associated Press)

“I feel very honored to play with Serena,” Mboko said. “I had a lot of fun, if anything. We really did that out there. I’m so happy to be playing beside you. And we’re going for more.”

In September 2022, Williams had registered as retired with the International Tennis Integrity Agency.

Last December, however, Williams reentered the agency’s drug-testing pool, a move that led to speculation about a possible return for the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion. She announced her professional tennis return last week as a wild-card doubles entry at the Queen’s Club tournament.

Days later, Williams was added to the 16-team doubles field at Germany’s WTA 500 event.

“I had nothing better to do,” Williams said Tuesday. “I got tired of sitting at home. My kids are out of school for the summer, so why not?”

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How Hollywood’s ‘boys’ club’ prepared these actors for ‘The Pitt’

Since launching at the start of 2025, “The Pitt” has emerged as more than just a hyperrealistic depiction of an embattled American emergency department. Using its hospital setting as a social microcosm, HBO Max’s Emmy-winning juggernaut has explored various systemic issues — including the misogyny that women of color face in the workplace.

“Some of the stories from real physicians and nurses that I’ve spoken to are so crazy. The system feels like it’s 15, 20 years behind other industries,” says Sepideh Moafi, who portrays attending Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi. “There is still this older culture of a boundaryless style of work where [there’s] a lack of understanding and compassion,” with respect to pregnancy and childcare, for working women.

“The Pitt’s” depiction of such subjects includes unflinching attention to microaggressions and unconscious biases. Isa Briones, who plays second-year resident Dr. Trinity Santos, recalls hearing from qualified on-set doctors that “a lot of female physicians will wear their lab coats, because it makes them look like more of an authority.”

“We have a female, half-Asian doctor on our set who consistently says that people talk to the nurse in the room if they’re a white man instead of her,” adds Supriya Ganesh, whose character, fourth-year resident Dr. Samira Mohan, is mistaken for a nurse in Season 2, despite having “DOCTOR” emblazoned on her name tag.

Supriya Ganesh.

Supriya Ganesh.

(Justin Jun Lee / For The Times)

Nor is the series reluctant to show the other side of the dynamic, as doctors Robinavitch (Noah Wyle) and Langdon (Patrick Ball) lash out against their colleagues in lieu of acknowledging their own flaws. Although the women of “The Pitt” would never compare acting to saving lives, Briones believes that the experiences of women — especially from marginalized communities — share commonalities across many male-dominated industries.

“The entertainment business constantly feels like a boys’ club that you cannot penetrate no matter what you do, because it’s still always going to be these older white men who are making all the decisions,” she says. “That’s why seeing the storyline with Langdon and Robby informed my performance so much, because I know this feeling of being like, ‘Why the f— are these men fist-bumping each other? I’m also here! I’m doing my job too!’”

“As a woman in any field, if you express emotion, if you make your opinion or your voice heard, then it’s like, ‘You’re talking too much. You’re being hysterical,’” Moafi says.

Sepideh Moafi.

Sepideh Moafi.

(Justin Jun Lee / For The Times)

In holding up a mirror to the healthcare system, showrunner R. Scott Gemmill also wanted to explore the linguistic diversity of its practitioners, allowing his actors of color to reconnect with their mother tongues.

“Language shapes who you are, how you see the world,” Moafi says. Al-Hashimi became a polyglot — speaking English, Farsi and Armenian — in part to curb the effects of a seizure disorder on her temporal lobe, which is crucial for language comprehension. “[Language] connects you to different registers in the body. The rhythms are different, and the emotional access is more immediate.”

During Season 1, Santos — who, like Briones, is half-Filipino — surprised nurses Princess (Kristin Villanueva) and Perlah (Amielynn Abellera) by chiming in on their gossip session in Tagalog. But wanting to show “a more vulnerable side of Santos” this season, Briones worked with her own actor father, Jon Jon, to find a Filipino lullaby that she could sing to baby Jane Doe.

To reflect the 100-plus languages spoken in the Philippines, they selected a Hiligaynon lullaby called “Ili Ili Tulog Anay.” Briones advocated for the scene not to have subtitles: “It should be just this quiet moment that you don’t have to understand [the language] to understand, but also it’s a great moment for people who do speak it to feel that little secret joy.”

For Briones, speaking Tagalog at work has opened up difficult conversations with her immigrant father, who feels shame about not passing down enough cultural knowledge to his children. “I’ve been starting with Rosetta Stone, so I can start conversing with my dad and then he can help me, because I want to be able to talk to my lola and she doesn’t have to work through English,” she says. “This show has reminded me of how important that is to me.”

Isa Briones.

Isa Briones.

(Justin Jun Lee / For The Times)

Ganesh, who grew up in New Delhi, felt strongly that Mohan should not be fluent in Hindi because of its similarities to Nepali, the language that doctors struggled to identify when treating a patient in the first season. Instead, the actor chose to infuse her own heritage into the character, who uses Tamil as a way to feel connected to her late father.

“She chooses to speak it with her mom, because maybe that’s the only other person she has in her life who she can speak it to,” explains Ganesh, who recalls consulting multiple generations of her own family — and even her on-set coach’s family — for the Tamil dialogue. “She wants to preserve that as much as she can, even though it’s already filtered through her being American and being born in this country.”

That part of Indian American culture will be lost next season, with Ganesh officially departing at the end of Season 2. The actor reiterates that the “creative decision” to write Mohan off was made by executive producers Gemmill, Wyle and John Wells: “They work with such intention on the show and make all the choices that they make for that reason, so I think it’s better to ask them for answers.”

“I’m going to treasure all the memories I had working with these two and everyone else,” Ganesh adds. “It’s been so great just getting all the love from the fans. I feel sad for them, too, that they won’t get to see this character.”

“The representation that you brought to the show is so beautiful,” Briones chimes in. “Seeing the fans ride for you so hard and be like, ‘This was the first time I felt represented on camera,’ it’s really gorgeous to see everyone coming out and celebrating that and celebrating you.”

For her part, Moafi believes that Dr. Mohan will be remembered for the way “she won’t compromise humanity in how she delivers care.” “The power of strength comes from vulnerability, and in order to go fast, you have to slow down,” she adds. “That’s something that is so ingrained in us, as women.”

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Tennis legend Serena Williams to compete for first time in years

Serena Williams is returning to competitive tennis after all.

Months after insisting on social media, “Omg yall I’m NOT coming back,” the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion announced Monday that she’ll play professionally for the first time in almost four years at the HSBC Championships at the Queen’s Club in London.

Williams, 44, has been given a wild-card entry into the doubles draw of the WTA 500 event, which begins June 8.

“Queen’s Club feels like the perfect place to begin this next chapter,” Williams said in a statement released by the tournament. “Grass has given me some of the most meaningful moments of my career, and I’m excited to be back competing on one of the sport’s most iconic stages.”

Williams teased the announcement earlier Monday by posting a video on social media that featured her phone‘s notifications going off constantly while she seemingly was practicing on the court.

“Good news travels fast,” Williams wrote on the post.

Tournament director Laura Robson said during TNT Sports UK’s coverage of the French Open on Monday that Williams’ playing partner will be Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko, who is ranked No. 9 in WTA singles. Williams has won 14 Grand Slam titles and three Olympic gold medals in doubles with her sister Venus Williams as her partner.

It is not clear whether Williams will participate in any other events. Wimbledon, a Grand Slam event Williams won seven times in singles, begins June 29 in London.

Williams’ last professional match was a loss to Australian Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round of the U.S. Open on Sept. 2, 2002. She registered as retired with the International Tennis Integrity Agency the next day.

Last December, however, Williams reentered the agency’s drug-testing pool. According to the ITIA website, retired players “may not return to sanctioned events unless they have made themselves available for out-of-competition testing for at least six months prior to the event in question.”

The move led to much speculation about a possible Williams return, leading to her social media post denying any such intentions.

Martina Navratilova, the 18-time Grand Slam champion who is the oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match — she was 47 when she won a Wimbledon match in 2004 — expressed excitement for Williams’ return.

“Serena brought the game to another level and it is incredible for the sport that she’s pushing the boundaries and coming back,” Navratilova said in a statement released by the WTA. “To many of the younger players, they never had the opportunity to play her; some may have never watched her on television, so this will be a new and exciting experience.”

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I’ve spoken to brave women from the Lee Andrews ‘survivors club’

IN just three days, Katie Price’s husband Lee Andrews is due to be released from Dubai’s hell-hole Al Awir prison.

But the news of his imminent return to freedom has emboldened the women who have been caught up in his web of lies and deceit – and now they’re determined to see him locked up for good.

Lee Andrews has been at the centre of numerous fraud claims Credit: Instagram
Katie Price revealed this week that her husband had been found after disappearing Credit: mistraesthetics/Instagram

Over the past five months, I have spoken to the women who have survived Andrews, and their extraordinary stories are chilling.

From financial fraud on a life-changing scale to even more shocking allegations, the women painted a terrifying picture of the man Katie chose to marry just weeks after meeting him earlier this year.

For months, the women have shared evidence with The Sun – and the relevant police authorities – in the hope that the law will catch up with Andrews.

Together they stood firm as he desperately tried to smear their reputations, telling me in a long and rambling voice note that one of the women was disturbed and had spent time inside a “mental institution”.

He claimed they were fantasists, liars and angrily declared: “I know you’re a lady and everything, but women can be very harsh.”

I didn’t believe a word he said to me then, and I still don’t now.

But the patience of the women involved is understandably wearing thin.

His arrest in Dubai on a civil matter has, they tell me, been for Andrews just a brief taste of what they hope is to come.

Justice for these women, however, will be a war that will not be easily won.

“Lee is a dangerous man, and the authorities need to act,” one of the women tells me from their home in the US.

“All of the women Lee has conned in the past have come together in a group, and we are determined to fight to get justice.

“It does feel incredibly hopeless at times. No one in power seems to be properly acting. But we’re standing together, and we will do everything we can to make the police act.”

Criminal complaints have been lodged against Andrews by one woman with Hertfordshire Police.

Another of his victims, businesswoman Crystal Janke, reported an alleged theft of £123,000 to cops in America.

The uphill battle they face is the fact that Andrews resides in Dubai and is unable to leave due to a travel ban.

Andrews, ultimately, is able to dodge culpability because of where he is.

Hertfordshire Police confirmed to me they had handed the complaints filed to them to cops in Dubai because the alleged incidents happened in the UAE.

These allegations, to add, are incredibly serious.

They need to see him hauled in for questioning.

But so far, the police there have seemingly failed to act in any way to investigate Andrews, let alone arrest him.

The financial fraud complaint made to cops against Andrews in the US by Crystal is also dangling in the ether.

The police confirmed they can only act against Andrews if he lands on US soil.

He’s currently in Dubai’s hell-hole Al Awir prison after being arrested Credit: AFP
Many women have come forward to reveal they’ve been duped by Lee Credit: Instagram/wesleeeandrews

And let’s be honest, Andrews isn’t going to be leaving Dubai anytime soon.

From the number of phone calls I had in the days leading up to Andrews’ arrest, the women who have joined forces to try and bring the con-artist to justice are not alone in their plight.

Andrews is alleged to owe vast sums of money to several people in Dubai.

Each individual wants him taken to task, and no one more so than the women whose lives he has irrevocably damaged in one way or another.

“We see ourselves as survivors of Lee, not victims,” one woman tells me.

“But to say the slow progress by the police in Dubai is frustrating is an understatement.

“The complaints are racking up, and nothing is being done.

“Some of us have even gone to the lengths of contacting the police when we know where Lee is and pleading with them to arrest him.

Crystal Janke reported Lee to cops in America and claimed Lee took £123,000 from her Credit: Instagram
She dated him back in 2024 Credit: Instagram

“Repeatedly, we have said, he is at this location, he is wanted for this, please act. And nothing ever seems to happen.

“We have no idea what else to do, but once he is out, we are going to carry on alerting the police, and we won’t stop until they act.”

After he was arrested and sent to the Al Awir prison, authorities confirmed to The Sun he had been apprehended on a private civil matter.

It proved once again that Andrews is a devious liar – after he told Katie he had been arrested for espionage.

“Lee saying he was arrested for spying is nothing new,” one of the women explained to me.

“It’s a claim directly out of his conman playbook.

“He’s said to everyone in this group at some point that he worked for the secret services. He bragged about being in MI5 in the UK.

“Lee would just tell so many lies. He told Katie he was an international arms dealer, too.

“By this point, we don’t think Lee would know what the truth is – even if he slapped him around the face.”

Previously, Andrews denied every claim made against him by the women who spoke out against him.

In the face of the weight of evidence they provided me with, including their bank statements and correspondence with their relevant police forces, Andrews stood firm and tried to paint them as scorned fantasists.

These women are nothing of the sort.

And I, along with my colleagues, will keep banging this drum until Andrews is locked up.

With any luck, they will throw away the key.

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It’s official: 13 players with World Cup experience make U.S. roster

Mauricio Pochettino knows the joy of making a World Cup roster. But he also knows the misery of being left off one.

In the first case, you want to celebrate; in the second, you want to be left alone.

The U.S. coach said he kept both emotions in mind when informing players they had — or had not — made the roster for next month’s tournament, a roster that was formally announced Tuesday during a sun-splashed, made-for-TV rally in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge, about 13 miles from where July’s World Cup final will be played.

“The most important event is to be in any single roster,” said Pochettino, who made Argentina’s team for the 2002 World Cup after being passed over four years earlier.

So when Pochettino decided which 26 men would be on his team this summer, each of them got a WhatsApp message, followed by a video, sent out at 1 p.m. Eastern Time Friday. Defender Tim Ream said he received the message as he walked to his car after training with his club team in Charlotte, N.C.

“It made me stop in my tracks and immediately call my wife to let her know,” he said. “We both had been anxious and excited for the announcement.

“I’m not overly emotional, but it was definitely a relief and there was a little bit of bit of quivering, for sure, with my family when I found out.”

Christian Pulisic was alone in Milan, where he plays in Italy’s Serie A, when his phone lit up.

“I was just relaxing. Then I saw the message pop up and got excited,” he said.

The 29 players from the provisional roster who didn’t make the cut? They each got a simple email. And no explanation.

“I know it is so painful. It was so painful for me,” Pochettino said.

“When I didn’t make the roster, I didn’t want my coach to call me,” he added. “Because we care a lot, we don’t want to say nothing to confuse the player. A player who didn’t make the roster, they don’t want to hear me say, ‘Oh [too bad].’”

Christian Pulisic holds up his U.S. jersey during a rally Tuesday in New York.

Christian Pulisic holds up his U.S. jersey during a rally Tuesday in New York.

(Adam Hunger / Getty Images)

Ream and Pulisic are two of 13 players who are returning to the World Cup after making the team in Qatar four years ago, part of a list that includes midfielders Tyler Adams, Gio Reyna and Weston McKennie and defenders Sergiño Dest and Antonee Robinson. They will be joined by defenders Miles Robinson and Chris Richards, both of who missed the last World Cup because of injury, and forward Ricardo Pepi, one of the final cuts in 2022.

Richards was chosen despite tearing two ligaments in his left ankle playing for Crystal Palace earlier this month. Pochettino had no new information on the injury Tuesday but said the final World Cup roster doesn’t need to be filed with FIFA until Sunday; after that, teams can replace players up to 24 hours before their opening match in the event of injury or illness.

Reyna’s inclusion was also a minor surprise since he has played just one full 90-minute game for club or country in the last four years. In the last World Cup in Qatar, he was nearly sent home for a perceived lack of effort in training after he learned he wouldn’t be a starter in the tournament.

But Pochettino said picking him was an easy decision.

“I really trust in him,” Pochettino said. “He’s a different player. A different talent. The roster needs to have a player like him.”

There were also notable omissions, among them midfielders Diego Luna and Tanner Tessmann. Luna, who plays in MLS for Real Salt Lake, has been a regular under Pochettino, playing in 17 of the U.S. team’s 18 games in 2025. But he missed time earlier this season with a knee injury and sat out of his club team’s last two games with a muscle problem

Tessmann had been called into six training camps under Pochettino and was seen as a potential starter for the U.S. before being shut down by his French club, Lyon, at the end of the season, leaving his fitness for the World Cup in question.

Pochettino declined to talk about either player — or anyone else left off the team.

“We are not going to talk about the players that are not on the roster,” he said. “That’s disrespectful to the players who are on the roster.”

Raising questions about who should have been included, the coach said, necessarily leads to questions about who should have been left off.

“That was my decision to pick that 26,” he said

Pochettino said he didn’t settle on a roster until the day before players got the WhatsApp videos — or the simple email.

“We wanted the right balance with the right players,” he said.

Among the first-time World Cup selections are midfielder Malik Tillman, the German-born brother of LAFC midfielder Timothy Tillman; Mexican-born attacker Alejandro Zendejas, who plays for Club América in the Liga MX; and Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter, son of Gregg Berhalter, the U.S. coach in the last World Cup.

Berhalter said he was in Qatar four years ago, cheering on his dad’s team. This year, his dad will be cheering for him.

“If you believe in your dream and put in the work, you never know what might happen,” he said from the stage after being introduced to the crowd at Tuesday’s rally.

The team will open training camp in Atlanta on Wednesday ahead of friendlies with Senegal in Charlotte, N.C., on Sunday and against Germany on June 6 in Chicago. The team will then move to the Orange County Great Park in Irvine for final preparations for its World Cup opener against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood on June 12.

ROSTER

Goalkeepers: Chris Brady (Chicago Fire), Matt Freese (New York City), Matt Turner (New England Revolution)

Defenders: Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew), Sergiño Dest (PSV), Alex Freeman (Villarreal), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse) Tim Ream (Charlotte FC), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Auston Trusty (Celtic)

Midfielders: Tyler Adams (AFC Bournemouth), Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Gio Reyna (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders), Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen)

Forwards: Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United),Folarin Balogun (AS Monaco), Ricardo Pepi (PSV), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), Tim Weah (Marseille), Haji Wright (Coventry City), Alejandro Zendejas (Club América)

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Tottenham: Premier League club launches season review after injury woe

As part of the audit, they are considering numerous factors to work out why it has become such a problem.

For example, Spurs are analysing the “bounce” on the club’s home pitch in comparison to that at rival grounds and their Enfield training centre.

At present, the club have found there is no major difference between the conditions of other pitches in comparison to their home ground, but testing is ongoing.

There is a view that certain knee injuries are unavoidable – Odobert for instance damaged his ACL following an awkward landing.

It is also understood Spurs are confident the on-field treatment of Simons’ injury did not result in additional damage to the Dutchman’s knee.

There has been criticism from supporters after footage showed medics allowing the attacker to put weight on his knee despite having suffered a serious injury.

One of the key improvements Lewindon has recommended is to make medical support more individually tailored – based on factors including strength, fatigue and robustness.

Medical staff will compile bespoke profiles for each player that will include personal insights as well as physical and psychological information to ensure they can deliver expert individual support to treat – but also prevent – injury.

There is also set to be greater leeway for injured players to conduct part of their rehabilitation away from the club’s training facility.

Players across the Premier League are increasingly relying on external medical practitioners to aid their fitness and recovery, while many overseas footballers even return to their homeland for treatment.

That dynamic often causes friction but moving forward Tottenham are open to letting players leave their direct care provided all parties involved agree to one shared recovery plan – though Spurs would ultimately take responsibility for any problems that arise during the process.

The medical team will work closely alongside head coach Roberto de Zerbi and his staff over the summer amid concerns changing managers three times in under 12 months has contributed to their injury problems.

Tottenham will look to introduce an integrated structure that will ensure De Zerbi, or a member of his staff, the medical department and the player are involved in deciding when a player can accelerate their rehabilitation plans.

Psychology is also a key component of the ongoing review with the club set to employ a full-time head of psychology to work with the players and staff.

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Women’s Super League: How did each club do in 2025-26 season?

Prediction: 3rd

It was the perfect season for Manchester City as they claimed their first league title in a decade – and in manager Andree Jeglertz’s debut campaign.

With no Champions League football to distract them, City were able to throw everything at the WSL title and they swept up the opposition.

They went on a 13-game winning streak between September and February and, at one point, had a 12-point lead over Chelsea.

They also kept key players Khadija Shaw and Vivianne Miedema fit, with the two scoring a combined 31 goals – half of the club’s overall tally.

With a squad packed with talent and depth, City will hope to compete on several fronts in Europe next year, but must replace Shaw, who looks set to leave.

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LAFC’s Marc Dos Santos to restore attacking identity after World Cup

Recent losses, outside criticism and a sense that the team’s identity has strayed from its original path have left LAFC in an uncomfortable position.

As the team prepares to host the Seattle Sounders on Sunday at BMO Stadium before a mandatory break for the World Cup, coach Marc Dos Santos shared his thoughts on the team’s adversity and goals for the future.

The coach said one of his main self-criticisms involved straying from the attacking identity he intended to build at LAFC since taking over as head coach.

“Outside criticism when the team loses isn’t that important to me because I’ve learned in my life that if you’re going to build a life based on what outsiders think of you, you’re going to be very unhappy,” Dos Santos said. “But in self-reflection, I’ll tell you one thing: I’m hard on myself. I believe we were building something with a clear identity, and after the series against Cruz Azul — in the Concacaf Champions League quarterfinals — I thought about switching to a three-man backline to defend more. I went in a more defensive direction, and I don’t want to be like that.”

The coach said the tactical change was the wrong move for LAFC.

“It was a mistake on my part, and it doesn’t reflect LAFC’s identity — it’s not what I want to build here,” Dos Santos said. “I want to make sure that this summer I thoroughly analyze what we need to change, and I have to stay true to LAFC’s identity.”

The comments come at a delicate time for LAFC, which has let potential MLS wins slip away despite showing competitive moments recently against St. Louis City SC and Nashville SC.

LAFC had hoped to once again be one of the dominant teams in the Western Conference, but offensive inconsistencies and tactical adjustments have led to questions about the coaching staff. The Los Angeles side sits in seventh place in the West with 21 points, eight points behind the leader, the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Dos Santos dismissed the idea that the problem is solely related to the tactical scheme and insisted that the most important change involves reclaiming aggressive principles with and without the ball.

“When we have the ball, we have to show the character to go after it — we can’t be afraid,” he said. “And when we don’t have the ball, we can’t just sit back. Look at one of the best teams in the world, Paris Saint-Germain F.C. Look at how they run without the ball. That’s soccer today.”

Amid this soccer overhaul, one of the most closely watched names remains Denis Bouanga. The Gabonese forward hasn’t made the same dominant influence as in previous seasons, though Dos Santos insisted that his relationship with the player remains solid and transparent.

“Denis knows what I want. I’ve always been very honest with him,” the coach said. “Last year we played a lot of games in a 3-5-2, defending a lot with Denis and Son [Heung-min,] but the club and I want to move to a different model. We’re all on the same page.”

Son Heung-min will temporarily leave LAFC after the match against Seattle to join South Korea’s training camp ahead of the World Cup, which will be played in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

The Asian forward said his full focus remains on this weekend’s match.

“I’m not thinking about that yet,” Son said of the World Cup. “The most important match is on Sunday. I just want to make sure we get a great result before heading to the World Cup and arrive in good physical condition.”

Son expects to be tested when South Korea travels to Mexico to play some of its World Cup matches.

“It’s not easy in Mexico, honestly,” he explained. “The altitude and conditions are different, but you have to love those big challenges. We’re really excited.”

As Son prepares to leave, LAFC faces a second-half schedule filled with intense competition. Following the match against Seattle, the club will return from the break to play against the rival Galaxy on July 17.

For Dos Santos, these challenges define the demands of managing LAFC.

“LAFC is a club that wants to win and whose fans want to see it win,” Dos Santos said. “Here, there’s always the responsibility to perform at a [high level]. If you don’t want to be in big games, you don’t coach at LAFC.”

The coach said external criticism isn’t influencing his plans.

“The pressure we feel is the pressure we put on ourselves,” Dos Santos said. “Pressure is when a doctor calls you and tells you you have a problem, or when your child has a problem. Soccer is a sport. You can win or lose. What you can control is improving the team during the week.”

Dos Santos said the World Cup break will serve as a key opportunity for internal analysis before redefining the club’s soccer direction. With the season barely halfway through, the coach said that regaining the team’s identity will be just as important as earning points when MLS returns in the summer.

This article first appeared in Spanish via L.A. Times en Español.

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Czech club Bohemians 1905 to enter C team of fans into league system

Czech club Bohemians 1905 are recruiting fans to play for a C team that will enter the country’s football league system next season.

The Prague-based club intend to enter a team of supporters in the ninth tier of Czech football.

Fans have been encouraged to express interest by email.

“The goal of this unique project won’t be to advance as high as possible, but to offer Bohemians fans the joy of football and the pride of wearing the kangaroo on their chest,” a club statement read.

The club, also known as Bohemka, have a kangaroo emblem that stems from their tour of Australia in 1927, when they were gifted two of the animals to take home.

Bohemians, whose honorary president is former Czechoslovakia midfielder Antonin Panenka, went bankrupt in 2005 but have been ever present in the Czech top flight since 2013 thanks to a revival that was helped by the fundraising of supporters.

“Thanks to the fans, Bohemka continues to play football. Now it’s time for Bohemka to enable the same for its fans,” the club said.

The new C team are unlikely to ever face the club’s first team in competitive competition as only sides in the top four divisions of Czech football qualify for the Czech Cup.

Bohemians are currently crowdfunding for the complete reconstruction of their Dolicek stadium, which will cost an estimated 350 million Czech Koruna (£12.4m).

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Netflix set to launch daily stream of ‘The Breakfast Club’

Netflix subscribers will wake up to a video livestream of “The Breakfast Club” starting next month, marking the platform’s first daily live podcast.

The deal is part of the streaming platform’s ongoing focus on live programming, and the latest video podcast offering through its partnership with iHeartRadio, the company said on Thursday. The nearly three-hour show will include a live video feed exclusive to Netflix and will air every weekday morning.

“Taking this show live every day to a global audience on Netflix is a powerful example of how we’re expanding the reach of our biggest brands while giving audiences entirely new ways to experience them,” Bob Pittman, iHeartMedia’s chairman and chief executive, said in a statement. “Whether it’s morning in NYC or the afternoon in London, the conversation is live and reaching the world in real time.”

“The Breakfast Club” will air simultaneously on Netflix, the iHeartRadio app and it will continue to be syndicated by Premiere Networks on more than 100 broadcast radio stations nationwide. Netflix’s video feed is meant to provide more behind-the-scenes content, as radio formats will still need to include commercial breaks. Instead of pausing the program, Netflix watchers will get an uninterrupted stream, where those traditional breaks will be filled with exclusive segments and extended discussions.

“The media landscape will always evolve, but one thing consistently cuts through: live programming,” Charlamagne tha God said in a statement. “That’s a big reason ‘The Breakfast Club’ has sustained its reign for so long. We’re building something powerful — real‑time conversation, real community, on a global scale. The future belongs to those who can see what’s possible — and trust me, the vision for ‘The Breakfast Club’ and Netflix is crystal clear.”

The radio program first got its start in 2010 on WWPR-FM in New York. Over the years, it has become one of the most popular morning shows, rooted in Hip-Hop and R&B culture and known for its lively interviews and entertaining commentary from hosts Charlamagne Tha God, DJ Envy and Jess Hilarious. The show has welcomed guests like former President Barack Obama, and artists like Kendrick Lamar and Cardi B. In 2020, the talk show was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame.

Netflix has heavily invested in its live programming in the worlds of sports, comedy and podcasting in recent years. In the past month, the Los Gatos-based company livestreamed “The Roast of Kevin Hart” and its latest fight between MMA fighters Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano. This weekend, the F1 Canadian Grand Prix is also set to air on Netflix. These tentpole events are in addition to some of the weekly live programming Netflix offers, including “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” which airs every Sunday.

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