Zidane will succeed his former national side teammate Didier Deschamps as France head coach, according to the report.
Published On 24 Mar 202624 Mar 2026
French football icon Zinedine Zidane has agreed to take over his national team’s head coaching duties following this summer’s FIFA World Cup, ESPN reported on Monday.
Zidane, 53, reportedly reached a verbal agreement with the Federation Francaise de Football to replace Didier Deschamps, who has held the role since 2012.
Zidane, who managed La Liga powerhouse Real Madrid for two stints (2016-18, 2019-21), has long been expected to eventually become the skipper for France.
As a player, the dynamic midfielder won the 1998 Ballon d’Or and was a three-time FIFA World Player of the Year (1998, 2000 and 2003).
He helped France win the World Cup in 1998 and finish second in 2006. He was infamously sent off during the final of the latter World Cup when he head-butted Italy’s Marco Materazzi in the chest.
Zidane watches the CAF Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinal between Algeria and Nigeria at the Grand Stadium of Marrakesh, Marrakesh, Morocco, on January 10, 2026 [Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters]
When UCLA baseball coach John Savage scouts prospects, he looks at their projections and skill upside. Most important, he wants players dedicated to the culture he’s developed during his 22 years as a coach.
“We want people that fit into our program, that want to be a part of a winning culture,” he said.
Most of his current roster consists of players who came up short in last year’s College World Series. This year, the No. 1 team in the country has its eyes set on winning a national title in Omaha. The Bruins (21-2 overall, 9-0 in the Big Ten) are coming off a three-game weekend home sweep of Maryland.
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The Times spoke to Savage about the expectations the Bruins set for themselves and his longevity with UCLA. The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Your team entered the year ranked No. 1 nationally and has gotten off to a strong start. How have you managed expectations?
Savage: It’s really about the people you have in the clubhouse. They’ve been born and raised through our program. Now it’s their junior years. They went to Omaha their sophomore year. They had a difficult year their freshman year. It’s been a work in progress, and I think the expectations are probably the heaviest inside our room. Everybody’s held to a very high standard and they believe in one another, they believe in the program. It’s refreshing to coach people that want to be coached, and to have people that love UCLA, and want to stay at UCLA.
After returning a large percentage of last year’s production, what differences have you noticed in this roster compared to previous teams?
UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky.
(Kyusung Gong / Associated Press)
Savage: I think the leadership is fantastic. Roch Cholowsky, Cashel Dugger, Michael Barnett, Jack O’Connor — our captains, they do a wonderful job of making sure guys are accountable. Everybody’s a year older. Everybody’s a little stronger. Everybody’s a little faster. A lot of guys that work extremely hard to upgrade their physicality, and then certainly it’s a mental game. We’ve worked really hard on the mental side of things to make sure that we’re combining both phases.
What has allowed your program to retain so much of its core talent year to year?
Savage: I would say loyalty, personal relationships, wanting to be at UCLA, to get a degree from UCLA, coaching staff, facilities, location. But, I would say most importantly, relationships. We didn’t win a national championship last year and these guys seem to be on that sort of mission.
Last season’s run to Omaha ended just short of the championship series. How much has that experience motivated this year’s group early in the season?
Savage: You see where you’re going. People always talk about Omaha, but if you never go, it’s hard to really envision what it looks like. It’s something that if you experience, you want to go back. It’s the mecca of college baseball and the city of Omaha has done a wonderful job of developing this tournament over 75 years. It’s an experience that you go and you definitely want to go back as a player and certainly as a coach.
How has recruiting or roster construction changed, if at all, now that UCLA is competing in the Big Ten instead of the Pac-12?
Savage: It’s still UCLA. I’ve been here 22 years, we’ve produced 30 major leaguers. It’s a place that you certainly could go and enjoy your college life and go play in the major leagues. The Big Ten is getting better in baseball, with the addition of UCLA, USC, Oregon and Washington. Obviously, it has helped the baseball side of things quite a bit. But there’s a lot of programs that are investing throughout the Big Ten in baseball and it’s only going to get better. Baseball is baseball. You gotta go play any time, anywhere.
With the travel demands that come with a conference like the Big Ten, what adjustments have you made to keep players fresh and focused?
Savage: We don’t charter. We’re all commercial. We fly out of LAX on Wednesday morning and we get back late Sunday night. It’s a challenge and it’s certainly one that it’s a daily and weekly operation. In terms of managing school, they all go to class. Not a lot of remote classes, really, so we love the challenge and the opportunity to grow as a young player and a young person.
You’re now in your 22nd season leading the Bruins. What has kept you motivated to continue evolving as a coach after more than two decades in Westwood?
Savage: I love being at UCLA. I love what it stands for. It’s a combination that I’m really looking for in terms of baseball, schedule, league, school — it’s just an elite combination. You have to make sure you’re grounded. You have to make sure you’re very consistent. You have to make sure that you have true values that are consistent with the university and that equates to winning. Winning is really, really difficult, especially now at the Power 4 level.
When players leave UCLA after their careers — whether they go to pro baseball or move on to other careers — what do you hope they carry with them from their time in your program?
Savage: That they understand how to be a contributor to an organization, to a business, how to lead a family, how to lead a group in work. Just be a person that people like to be around and a person that has a vision, that they want to get better and they want to do well in their lives and they want to have impact on other lives. That’s ultimately what we’re looking for, that they can handle themselves in any phase of life.
UCLA men are out, UCLA women stay strong
UConn’s Tarris Reed Jr. tries to get through UCLA’s Trent Perry, from left, Donovan Dent and Eric Dailey Jr. in the first half Monday.
(Matt Rourke / Associated Press)
UCLA coach Mick Cronin never wavered.
If senior forward Tyler Bilodeau felt any pain, he was not playing the NCAA tournament.
The No. 7 seed Bruins could not overcome No. 2 seed UConn’s interior game and suffered a 73-57 loss. The Bruins kept it close early, trailing by just five at halftime.
Cronin will help UCLA cope with the sudden end to its season and then immediately work on sorting out next season’s roster.
While fans questioned Cronin’s aggressive coaching style, the Bruins did play significantly improved defense through the final four weeks of their season and his players never wavered in their support of him.
Now Cronin will start over, working to forge comparable buy-in from the next wave of players.
The UCLA women walk to the bench during a time out against Cal Baptist.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
It’s rare for a No. 1 seed in the women’s NCAA tournament to miss the Sweet 16, but the Bruins (32-1) say they expect a big test when they face No. 8 seed Oklahoma State (24-9) at 7 p.m. Monday night at Pauley Pavilion.
It will be the final game the Bruins’ celebrated senior class will play at Pauley Pavilion.
UCLA coach Cori Close provided the following scouting report on Oklahoma State.
“I think that what stands out is their ability to shoot the three, their versatility, their work down the tunnel with the high ball screen,” Close said. “They’re extremely good in transition. It’s going to be so important for us to make them play later into the shot clock, which is going to be easier said than done. But I guess with the exception they don’t have like a really tall big, but they actually remind me in terms of their style and some of the actions that they run of Oklahoma. Their guard play.
“And one of the big things that we talk a lot about is trying to make them play later in the clock than they’re comfortable with. Now we go through all the analytics, and the later you have them play in the shot clock, the less efficient they become. They’re 13th in the country in offensive efficiency. They’re really, really good.
“Defensively I think that we obviously need to really hunt the paint. We’ve got some advantages with our size there. But they’re a really good team.”
Survey says
We asked “How far will the UCLA men advance in the NCAA men’s tournament. After 648 votes, the results:
They lose in the second round, 36.5% They lose in the Sweet 16, 27.5% They lose in the Elite Eight, 17.3% They win it all, 12.6% They lose in the first round, 3.2% They lose in the Final Four, 2.5% They lose in the championship game, 0.4%
Do you have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future UCLA newsletter? Email newsletters editor Houston Mitchell at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
There was a spiritual pull for Bellamy returning to Wales.
Born in Cardiff, he spent most of his playing career outside of his homeland, representing the likes of Liverpool and Newcastle.
As a coach, Bellamy followed Vincent Kompany to Anderlecht and Burnley, describing his time with the now Bayern Munich boss as an “education”.
The former Manchester City team-mates remain good friends and speak frequently, but Bellamy felt it was time to become a head coach in his own right when his country came calling.
Despite only being an assistant to Kompany at Burnley, Bellamy took a substantial pay cut to take charge of Wales.
This, however, was a job like no other. As well as the obvious emotional ties, Bellamy had unfinished business.
He never got the chance to play at a major international tournament but, as head coach, he aims to put that right by qualifying for this summer’s World Cup.
“You always have that buzz of chasing something, like I want qualification, I want to be at major tournaments,” Bellamy says.
“But how do we do it? I’ve got loads of flaws, but the team needs to play with intensity, play with balls.
“As long as you have belief, that’s the motivation. That’s why you do so much work, why you look at opposition.
“As a footballer for Wales, I didn’t really feel belief, I just felt hope. Italy [when Wales won 2-1 in 2002 in a European Championship qualifier] was different because we took the game to them. We were brilliant but there weren’t many nights like that.”
Bellamy scored the winning goal when Wales last faced Italy in Cardiff, a momentous occasion at a sold-out Millennium Stadium.
The teams will meet again if they win their respective World Cup play-off semi-finals on Thursday, with the final to be played at Cardiff City Stadium the following Tuesday.
Much like Bellamy himself, Welsh football is unrecognisable from that memorable night 24 years ago.
Having been absent from major tournaments since the 1958 World Cup, Wales not only qualified for Euro 2016 but reached the semi-finals in France, three years after Bellamy retired.
They followed that by getting to the knockout stages at Euro 2020 and then qualifying for the 2022 World Cup.
Bellamy wants to build on that success – and take his country to new heights.
“Euro 2016, that moment was like, ‘We are here’. That gave belief and I want to carry that on,” he says.
“We do punch well above our weight but that’s where we want to be. We need to do it continuously. I like expectations.
“This is what it takes to be a Wales player. To wear this shirt, these are the qualities you have to have. I believe we have a chance to consistently be at major tournaments.”
With that, Bellamy turns back to his laptop. The cursor hovers over files labelled ‘Italy’ and ‘Northern Ireland’ – Wales’ potential play-off final opponents – and then back to ‘Bosnia’.
Whether or not Wales get to the World Cup this summer, it will not be down to a lack of preparation.
Coaching high school basketball since the 1979-80 season and being the second-winningest coach in state history with 1,127 victories, Mike LeDuc is one of those old-school coaches who likes to push his players forward and fade into the background when team success comes.
This season at Damien, LeDuc can take a bow for guiding the Spartans to the state Division I championship with little size but a group of players who loved to shoot threes, never stopped hustling on defense and executed close to perfection on the biggest stage at Golden 1 Center and during his team’s playoff run.
For turning a group of players he fondly called “overachievers” into champions, LeDuc is The Times’ boys’ basketball coach of the year.
Through his many years of coaching at Damien and previously at Glendora, he’s mentored such outstanding players as Tracy Murray, Casey Jacobsen and Cameron Murray. Now Cameron’s sophomore son, CJ, plays for Damien. It’s a full circle moment for LeDuc, who was holding his granddaughter at the awards ceremony in Sacramento.
As the years go by and the game keeps changing, LeDuc continues to adapt, adjust and power on.
LeDuc‘s answer is, “Basketball is a real simple game. It’s a game of repetition and if you do it over and over, you expect it to be done perfectly.”
Huddersfield Giants have sacked head coach Luke Robinson after a poor start to the 2026 Super League season.
Giants have lost all of their opening five matches, leaving them without a point and bottom of the table.
Robinson began his second spell as Giants boss in September 2024, replacing Ian Watson, and went on to lose his first nine matches in charge before finally tasting success with a narrow victory against Hull FC at Magic Weekend last May.
Hampered by financial limitations, Robinson eventually guided the club to 10th in the final Super League standings last year.
This season, the 41-year-old has had to deal with a number of injuries to key players, including star full-back George Flanagan Jr, one of 16 first-team members who were unavailable during an injury crisis labelled as “unprecedented” by the club earlier this month.
Robinson was left looking a forlorn figure following his side’s defeat by Bradford Bulls on Friday night, which has ended up being his final match in charge.
He previously, but briefly, acted as interim head coach of Giants during the end of the Covid-affected 2020 season after Simon Woolford resigned, taking charge of the final eight matches of the campaign.
Director of rugby Andy Kelly will take charge of the first team until Robinson’s successor is appointed.
Huddersfield continue their Super League campaign with a trip to league leaders Wigan on Saturday [15:00 GMT].
PHILADELPHIA — Besides carrying on the UCLA legacy, which Mick Cronin says is an honor in itself, he’s got an extra incentive here this weekend that has nothing to do with finding the best cheesesteak in town.
“We’ve got to win two games,” said Cronin, whose Bruins will start off going against Central Florida, whose coach, Johnny Dawkins, knows all too well from the years they squared off when he was at Cincinnati in the American Athletic Conference. “My daughter goes to American [University.]
“I’ll see her Monday. But I would like to spend a week with her.”
That’s because the East Region will be held in Washington, where AU is located. But for the Bruins to advance to past a Sunday showdown most likely against powerful Connecticut, Cronin says they’ll first need to contain Central Florida’s potent attack.
UCLA coach Mick Cronin talks with guard Trent Perry during the Bruins’ game at Michigan on Feb. 14.
(Lon Horwedel / Associated Press)
“Central Florida can score,” he explained of the 21-11 Knights, who’ve successfully made the transition from the AAC to the Big 12. “They’re athletic.
“[Themus] Fulks [averaging 14.1 points and 6.7 assists] keeps me up at night because he can get in the lane whenever he wants. He’s great off the pick and roll. He makes good reads and he’s a problem.
“I’ve seen Riley Kugel [14.4 points] since high school. He played for a friend of mine, so I know he’s a very good player and has gotten better as he’s gotten older.
“They can shoot it. They’ve struggled of late which means law of averages, that’s going to flip. They’re an athletic, aggressive team.”
On the other hand Dawkins, back in the city where he played for five years and won an NBA Eastern Conference title while playing alongside Charles Barkley, knows what he’s up against.
“Mick does a great job with his team,” said Dawkins, who before coming to Central Florida went 156-115 coaching eight years at Stanford, following a decade serving as Mike Krzyzewski’s assistant at his alma mater, Duke. “Of course. UCLA is a storied program of all college basketball.
“What an amazing history they’ve had there. and, of course, Coach Cronin is a coach I have known from the American as well. I know his team is going to be really, really talented.
“They’re very skilled and they’re tough.”
Speaking of that legacy, which includes a 1976 Final Four appearance here under John Wooden’s replacement, Gene Bartow, Cronin’s players knew what they were signing up for when they decided to come to Westwood.
“It’s definitely a blessing just to be part of this, to be part of the history, part of the tradition,” said senior guard Skyy Clark, averaging 11.7 points per game. “It’s a lot to carry for sure, but it motivates us to go out there and just do what we can.”
UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau is congratulated by fans after beating USC at the Galen Center on March 7.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
“Yeah, a lot comes with these four letters we wear on our chest,” added second-leading scorer and top playmaker Donovan Dent (13.5, 7.6 assists). “We just want to make our names and the history of it.
“I wouldn’t say there’s extra pressure, but we know there’s definitely a standard that needs to be held.”
UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau and Dent were injured during the Bruins’ Big Ten tournament run, but Cronin said Thursday “they looked good today [during practice,] so knock on wood.”
Maintaining the standard first set by Wooden is what lured Cronin from Cincinnati, where he won 296 games in 13 years and took them to the NCAA tournament nine times.
“I had a great job and was close to being the winningest coach ever at Cincinnati,” said Cronin, who’ll be making his fourth tourney appearance with the Bruins, including dropping a 2022 Sweet Sixteen game to North Carolina in this building. “But I left to sit in Coach Wooden’s chair and coach at the best university in the country, arguably the world, and everything that goes with it.
“It’s tremendous. I’ve been very fortunate. To coach at my alma mater, Cincinnati, and to be the head basketball coach at UCLA following so many.”
On Friday night, Cronin and the Bruins will take on the challenge of Central Florida and his longtime adversary Dawkins, mindful there are no gimmes once you get this far. No. 5 seed Wisconsin learned that during a loss to No. 12 High Point on Thursday and top-ranked Duke nearly did, having to rally from 13 points down to survive No. 16 Siena.
“You got to have players,” he said. “If you can’t coach, you’re not going to be in those tournaments. “The better players you have, the further you go.
That’s the whole key to getting in these things and advancing in them. Perseverance.”
Angelo Gasca, a one-of-a-kind high school football coach who grew up using football to escape from gangs and became a beloved special education teacher, mentor and coach for 36 years at Venice High, died Monday night while watching a Lakers game on television, according to longtime friend, Steve Clarkson. He was 65.
The 1978 Venice graduate never left his neighborhood. Gasca won his first and only City Section Division I championship in 2021. He was known for his innovative passing schemes and producing numerous top City Section quarterbacks, led by former NFL player JP Losman. He was such a fixture at Venice that coaching sons of former players became the norm. He loved the concept of “neighborhood team.”
Perhaps his most important contribution was training, supporting and preparing players to become teachers and coaches. Most of his staff at Venice has been made up of former players. He’d help them stick with the difficult task of earning a teaching credential and find jobs for them.
He was most proud of former running back Byron Ellis, who became an orthopedic surgeon, and receiver Brycen Tremayne, who walked on at Stanford, went undrafted and made the Carolina Panthers.
Last month, Gasca was asked if he ever learned anything from a player and he told the story of having a coaches meeting and one of his ex-players reminded him how he wanted to quit football but Gasca wouldn’t let him.
“I’m not accepting your resignation today,” Gasca told him. “You need to go home and think about it.”
Said Gasca: “He went home and thought about it and stayed on the team and was the starting center. He taught me the best thing we can teach kids is come to school and you never know what connections you’ll make at the school you grew up at. He taught me there’s more to coaching than winning games and scoring touchdowns. In our lives as teachers and coaches, we do learn from players. When we stop learning, it’s time to stop coaching.”
Even though there were rumors last season of Gasca retiring, he insisted he was coming back because he loved teaching and coaching and believed that sports competition can change someone’s life for the better.
“My parents didn’t attend high school,” he said. “When you play, you get a little taste of success and want to play harder and people come into your life and help you. It’s just as easy to do well as it is to do bad. Sometimes when your friends zig right, you have to zig left. The life lessons we learn together is what it’s about.”
That’s the only way to describe what San Juan Hills players, coaches and fans were feeling on Saturday at Golden 1 Center when Alex Osterloh made two of three free throws with 0.3 seconds left to give Atherton Sacred Heart Prep a 47-45 victory in the Division IV state boys’ basketball championship game.
Osterloh was fouled at the top of the key by Kellen Owens with the scored tied.
“I’m pretty sure I was fouled,” Osterloh said.
San Juan Hills had earlier lost the ball on a turnover, its 19th of the game, surrendering its chance to take the lead.
“It was a tough ending,” San Juan Hills coach Jason Efstathiou said. “We turned over the ball too much. Nineteen is insane. Ultimately we didn’t do a good enough job handling pressure.”
San Juan Hills (22-14) came back from a 12-point deficit in the second quarter to take a four-point lead in the fourth quarter.
Garrett Brehmer finished with 17 points while Rocco Jensen had 10 points and eight rebounds for San Juan Hills. Osterloh scored 15 points and Pat Bala had 13.
“There’s a little distaste,” Efstathiou said, “but at the same time we got to be here.”
Hall of Fame high school football coach Bob Johnson, who turned El Toro and Mission Viejo into powerhouse high school football programs and became one of the winningest coaches in state history, has died. He was 80. He had been battling Alzheimer’s.
“I feel for the family,” Mission Viejo football coach Chad Johnson (no relation) said Wednesday.
Johnson passed early Wednesday morning,
Johnson won six Southern Section titles coaching at Mission Viejo and three at El Toro while winning 338 games, the second winningest in Orange County history and in the top five in state history, according to the Orange County Register.
His two sons, Rob and Bret, were standout high school quarterbacks before enrolling at USC and UCLA, respectively. Rob made it to the NFL. Both became coaches after their playing days were completed. Rob still coaches as an assistant at Mission Viejo.
When Jeff Bryant was playing high school basketball at Sylmar, the top teams in the City Section were annually among the best in California.
“The City dominated back in the day,” Bryant, now the head coach at Palisades, said Tuesday before Southern California Regional Division II boys’ basketball final. His Dolphins lost a heartbreaker, 59-57 at Bakersfield Christian, falling a win short of a trip to Sacramento for the state finals.
Eleven days earlier Palisades captured the City Open Division crown, going undefeated against section opponents, and with 10 players — including all five starters — returning next season, Bryant not only has his sights set on a repeat, he wants to reverse a 15-year trend during which City teams have struggled to compete at the highest level.
City boys teams won the state’s top division five times in six years from 1993-98 and seven times in nine years from 2002-10. However, since the Open Division debuted in 2013 only two City teams have advanced to the regional finals in that division — Westchester in 2014 and Fairfax in 2015 — and the last time a City team made the Open bracket was five years ago when Birmingham lost in the first round.
Bryant, who graduated in 2006, will be rooting for his former coach on Friday when his alma mater plays for the Division V state championship under the guidance of Bort Escoto, who piloted the Spartans to the City Division II title on the same night Palisades won the Open Division. Sylmar was dropped down to Division V for regionals and ran the table.
Birmingham was upset by Fairfax in the opening round of the City Open Division playoffs Feb. 11 and dropped to Division III for the regional tournament. The Patriots have since reeled off four convincing victories and will also play for a state title Friday afternoon.
Birmingham and Sylmar are the latest City teams to benefit from regional playoff expansion in which teams are placed several divisions lower from where they played in their section. Chatsworth advanced to the Division II state final last winter after losing in the City Open Division final and reached the Division IV state final after its City Open semifinal loss two years ago. Like Sylmar this season, Verdugo Hills was the City Division II champion in 2024 and went on to play for the Division V state title.
On the girls’ side, no City squad has won an Open Division state playoff game. Five teams from the section have received berths in the highest division over the last 14 years, but none since Fairfax in 2018. Narbonne is the last City team to conquer the state’s top division, claiming back-to-back Division I titles in 2000 and 2001, long before the Open debuted.
Like the boys, City girls’ teams fare well when dropped to lower divisions.
Palisades, which fell in the first round in the City Open Division, plays for the state Division IV crown Saturday while City Open Division champion Westchester was seeded 14th in Division I for regionals and lost in the first round. Granada Hills went to the Division III state finals two years ago after losing in the first round of the City’s Open Division.
Before taking the helm at Palisades, Bryant guided West Ranch of the Southern Section into the Open Division regional playoffs in 2023. Now he aims to do the same at a school in the section he once played in.
Walsall have sacked head coach Mat Sadler following Tuesday’s defeat by Salford City which left them with one win in their past 11 matches in League Two.
The 1-0 loss was their third in a row and further dented their fading challenge for a play-off place.
Walsall were four points clear at the top of the table in early December, but a run of two wins in 14 since Boxing Day has left them 11th in the table, three points outside the top seven with 10 games remaining.
Sadler, a former defender at the club, leaves after a nearly three years in charge, having been appointed on a permanent basis in May 2023 following a short interim stint.
“I would like to take the opportunity to acknowledge the significant efforts and contributions of Mat, both as a professional and as a person, during his time at the club,” Walsall co-chairman Ben Boycott said.
“We thank him for his dedicated service and wish him the very best for the future.”
Coach Darren Byfield will take interim charge of the team with support from Terry Connor and the rest of the backroom staff, the club also confirmed.
On the road to this point, he has lost a few warriors – Jamie Ritchie and Jamie Dobie after the Calcutta Cup and now Scott Cummings and Gregor Brown, too.
That’s a stellar cast list in the casualty unit, particularly the three forwards and especially the locks, who have been immense in Scotland’s recovery from the despondency of Rome.
Elliot Millar-Mills, previously unsung, had such a terrific impact off the bench against England and Wales that his injury can now be categorised as a blow.
In keeping with this trippy, but utterly wonderful, championship, Duhan van der Merwe is also out, a loss that would have been seen as an absolute calamity not that long ago.
Now, given his bit-part season, it’s merely regrettable but entirely salvageable. Even on his very best form it’s hard to see how he would have shifted Graham, scorer of two tries against France, and Kyle Steyn, arguably the player of the entire tournament so far.
In the four games, Townsend has started two different full-backs and three different left wings. He has changed his hooker from Italy to England, England to Wales and Wales to France – Ewan Ashman, George Turner and Dave Cherry all getting the nod at different times.
He’s had three different second-row combinations and three different back-rows. Some of this has been forced by injury.
His first three benches have had a 5-3 split before he switched to 6-2 against France, a day when Rory Darge, the brilliant flanker, ended up playing centre alongside the inspirational captain, Sione Tuipulotu.
So what now? Ireland were blown away by France, sneaked home against Italy, were utterly imperious against England and then battled to a win against Wales.
They have issues with their scrum, among other things, but they have home advantage and an astonishing win rate against Scotland.
Does Townsend have many big calls to make for such a momentous game?
If any photo reveals the intensity of two All-Americans, it’s this one from late in the game, where Jerzy Robinson (left) of Sierra Canyon and Kaleena Smith of Ontario Christian battled in the Open Division final.
Steve Borthwick’s boss has given the England coach his backing, but says there will be a full examination of the woeful Six Nations campaign after the team’s final-round match against France on Saturday.
England are fifth in the table and well out of the title running after successive defeats by Scotland, Ireland and Italy – which was the first ever loss to the Azzurri – ruined their ambitions and prompted questions over Borthwick’s future.
“After a 12-match winning run, these past three results have been hugely disappointing, and we feel that just as much as everyone else,” said Rugby Football Union chief executive Bill Sweeney.
“Steve and his coaching team are working tirelessly to make improvements, and we remain fully committed to supporting them and the players as they face France this weekend and then look ahead to the Nations Championship.
“Part of that support is being open about what hasn’t gone right during this Six Nations and making sure everyone has a clear sense of how we move through those challenges together. That’s something we’ll be talking through and working on in the days and weeks ahead.
“We will work together to understand and rectify why we have been unable to meet the expectations and anticipation going into these games.
“England fans rightly expect a team that learns and grows through adversity, and we’re confident this group will do everything they can to deliver that.”
Borthwick defended his record and the direction of the team after Italy, who had lost their previous 32 games against England, ran out 23-18 winners in Rome.
“Absolutely,” replied the 46-year-old when asked if he was the right man for the job.
“Right now this is a tough period, but what we will do is learn from it and make sure we are stronger going forward.
“It is tough right now and we are not hiding away from the fact it is tough.”
A pimp whose sex worker allegedly advertised on social media that she was willing to be anything from “arm candy” for a party to a “no strings attached girlfriend” has been charged with a slew of criminal charges in Kern County Superior Court.
The alleged pimp, Kevin Mays, was an assistant men’s basketball coach and former player at Cal State Bakersfield.
Mays faces 11 charges, including pimping, possession of automatic firearms and high-capacity magazines, and possession of methamphetamine and marijuana with intent to sell. An investigation by the Bakersfield Police Department also led to separate charges citing Mays for possession of more than 600 images of youth or child pornography and distribution of obscene matter involving someone younger than 18.
Mays, who was arrested in September 2025, is being held without bail. He has pleaded not guilty, and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 13 .
The case, first reported by Shwetha Surendran of ESPN, has upended the athletic department at CSU Bakersfield. Longtime basketball coach Rod Barnes and athletic director Kyle Condor have left their jobs, and Condor filed a lawsuit against the school alleging wrongful termination, according to court documents obtained by The Times.
CSU Bakersfield officials said the allegations against Mays did not involve a student. Nevertheless, the school formed a commission to examine the athletic program and recommend changes.
“When CSU Bakersfield received an anonymous report in August of 2025 that a member of our coaching staff was engaged in human trafficking, we took immediate action in notifying university police and the Bakersfield Police Department,” the school wrote in a statement. “Both agencies launched investigations that resulted in an arrest within days. Shortly after, the university terminated the coach.
“But the nature of the allegations devastated our campus community. We seized the opportunity to strengthen education and prevention efforts around human trafficking. To that end, we consulted with a local human trafficking expert and offered training and education focused on awareness and prevention for our campus community.”
Police said the alleged victim is 23. In the advertisement she posted last summer, she stated that she charged $300 for a half hour and $500 for 60 minutes. Authorities conducted a sting operation in September, arranging to meet her in a hotel room that Mays rented.
In an interview with police after the operation, she referred to Mays as her boyfriend and said he paid for her travel accommodations in Oregon, Washington and Nevada in addition to California.
Those locations were listed in an anonymous email to Barnes last fall titled “IMPORTANT MESSAGE 911 911.”
“HE IS TRAFFICKING A GIRL BY THE NAME OF [redacted],” the email read, according to police records. “HE HAS BEEN TRAFFICKING THIS GIRL SINCE MAY.”
Barnes turned over the email to university police, who attempted to contact the sender and received a subsequent email, according to ESPN. The tipster claimed to have known the alleged victim and Mays through previous travel for sex work. The person said Mays presented himself as a professional gambler and allegedly threatened to take away the tipster’s child if the person exposed his activities.
Mays, who was born in Queens, N.Y., attended high school at St. John’s Military Academy in Delafield, Wis., and played at Odessa Community College in Odessa, Texas, before transferring to CSU Bakersfield ahead of the 2014-2015 season.
“We are excited about signing Kevin as he fits our culture,” Barnes said of Mays at the time.
A year later, as a senior forward, Mays helped CSU Bakersfield to a 24-10 record and scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the Roadrunners’ first-round NCAA tournament loss to Oklahoma. He later returned to the school as a player-development coordinator.
In his application for the player-development position in 2019, Mays wrote that he was motivated by helping players improve on and off the court, according to school records obtained by ESPN.
“I gained lots of experience dealing with learning to lead young men and help them navigate the Division I experience in a successful manner,” Mays wrote. “CSUB helped me tremendously, and I look forward to giving back.”
Barnes was Mays’ coach, and he hired his former player last fall, paying him $3,000 a month. Now, Mays is in jail awaiting trial and Barnes is unemployed.
“The safety and well-being of our students and all CSU Bakersfield community members remain our highest priority,” the school said in its statement. “This work is sustained every day by the dedication of our faculty, staff and students. Their commitment to one another and to our shared values strengthens the culture of care and accountability we strive to build at CSUB.”
“I’m enjoying the role across all formats and I’d love to carry that on,” added McCullum.
“It’s been an absolute privilege to be in this position over the past three and a half years. I feel like we’ve made some significant improvements across the various formats.
“Yes, we’ve missed some opportunities, but I think this team has a real opportunity over the coming years to continue to improve and hopefully finish what we started. I’d love to be a part of that.”
Key backed McCullum during the Ashes, but neither ECB chief executive Richard Gould nor chair Richard Thompson have publicly spoken on his future.
At the end of the Ashes, McCullum also received support from Test skipper Ben Stokes, while the relationship between McCullum and Brook has blossomed during the T20 World Cup.
Asked after the semi-final defeat if McCullum should stay in charge, Brook said: “125%. I’ve said plenty of times he’s the best coach I’ve ever had.
“The way he speaks to everybody, he’s got an aura in the dressing room, and everybody looks up to him. The things he’s done over the four years since he took over has changed English cricket for hopefully the best.
“Our partnership has been good throughout the competition and since I’ve taken over. Long may it continue.”
Failures in away Ashes tours have often signalled change in the management of England teams.
Speaking on Sky Sports, former England captain Nasser Hussain said the ECB has to guard against repeating the mistakes of the past, while not ignoring the failures of this latest defeat in Australia.
“What you have to get away from is going to the Ashes, you lose, you get rid of the coach and captain, and you start all over again. I’m never a fan of that,” said Hussain.
“But I’m also not keen on, a couple of months later, forgetting what happened in the Ashes, and how poor England were on and off the field – all the mistakes that were made.
“There is a feeling Brook and McCullum are aligned, but there is a suggestion there was a divergence during the Ashes and that is a concern.
“They’ve made good decisions in the white-ball game that they didn’t in the Ashes. They missed an opportunity there and you can’t just brush over that.”
Colorado backup quarterback Dominiq Ponder died early Sunday morning in a single-car crash in Boulder County. He was 23.
According to the Colorado State Patrol, Ponder was driving a 2023 Tesla Model 3 at around 3 a.m. when he lost control on a righthand curve. The car went through a guardrail and hit an electrical line pole before rolling down an embankment and catching fire.
Ponder was pronounced dead at the scene. A preliminary investigation “shows that speed is suspected as a factor,” police said.
A three-star prospect out of Carol City High in Opa Locka, Fla., Ponder spent a year at Bethune-Cookman University before transferring to Colorado. He was a redshirt in 2024 and saw minimal action in 2025 — going 0-for-1 passing and rushing twice for minus-4 yards in two game appearances — but still made an impact on his coaches and teammates.
“Dom was one of my favorites! He was Loved, Respected & a Born Leader,” Colorado Coach Deion Sanders wrote Sunday on X. “Let’s pray for all that knew him & had the opportunity to be in his presence. Lord you’re receiving a good 1. Comfort us Lord Comfort us.”
Offensive coordinator Brennan Marion called Ponder “a joy to be around & coach!”
“gonna be tough but man this one hurts Lord,” Marion wrote on X. “getting that call from his dad today didn’t feel real. Love you Dom! God cover his family & our team, especially our qb room!
Fellow Colorado backup quarterback Colton Allen posted a lengthy tribute to Ponder on Instagram.
“Dom, you were a blessing to so many people,” Allen wrote. “You had a presence about you that just made everything better. You brought so much joy to me and everyone around you. I’m grateful for every lift, every practice, every rep, every conversation we got to share. I’ll carry those with me for the rest of my life.”
Colorado athletic director Fernando Lovo said in a statement that Ponder “epitomized the values of passion, enthusiasm, leadership, toughness, and intelligence that were revered by his teammates and coaches alike. Our hearts go out to his family and all of his teammates during this difficult time.”
There are All-Star teams. Then there’s Sierra Canyon’s boys’ basketball team, made up of two McDonald’s All-Americans, a former Trinity League MVP, a star guard from North Carolina and several other newcomers that complete a nine-man rotation that no one in Southern California has been able to beat.
Coach Andre Chevalier pushes the buttons and has so much depth that it gives him the kind of options any coach would welcome. About the only question regarding the Trailblazers has been with so many top players, would they be unselfish enough to share the ball with teammates?
The answer is a resounding yes. The Trailblazers (27-1) won their first Southern Section Open Division title since the pandemic season of 2020 on Saturday night, defeating Mission League rival Harvard-Westlake 59-53 at Toyota Arena in Ontario.
Maxi Adams of Sierra Canyon celebrates the Open Division championship.
(Steve Galluzzo)
Harvard-Westlake kept battling despite trailing by 11 points at halftime. They trailed 56-53 with 19 seconds left after a three by Joe Sterling. The Trailblazers were able to clinch victory thanks to one free throw from JJ Sati-Grier and two from Brannon Martinsen. Martinsen finished with 18 points, Brandon McCoy had 13 points and Maxi Adams had 12 points.
“This group has been amazing,” Chevalier said. “It’s been one of the best seasons, maybe ever.”
Said Harvard-Westlake coach David Rebibo: “I thought they made some big shots in big moments, but I’m incredibly proud of our fight.”
No opponent had finished within 13 points of Sierra Canyon over the last month, and Chevalier gave credit to Rebibo and the Wolverines for taking them to the brink.
“David Rebibo is a heck of a coach,” he said. “No matter what roster we have, he always manages to have an elite team every year.”
Sterling finished with 18 points and Pierce Thompson scored 15 points.
Sierra Canyon has reached peak form. One curiosity was seeing how well the Trailblazers would fare leaving their comfortable home court in Chatsworth to play in an arena setting. But there was little difference.
More important is Sierra Canyon’s depth, which was put on display with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter after McDonald’s All-American McCoy picked up his fourth foul and went to the bench with a 45-39 lead. Over the next 2½ minutes, Sierra Canyon’s lead expanded to 12 points, aided by threes from Sati-Grier, a sophomore guard from North Carolina, and Martinsen, who was the Trinity League MVP two years ago at Mater Dei. That’s the challenge in trying to topple the Trailblazers — there’s always someone ready to step forward to deliver.
Now the Trailblazers can get ready to be the No. 1 seed in the Southern California Open Division regional playoffs, with an opportunity to advance to the state championship game in Sacramento in two weeks. The team looks focused, and even if one or two top players are off their games, the magic of being nine deep is knowing there’s always someone ready to come to the rescue.
Chevalier, though, wondered, “Can we stay hungry?”
McCoy answered that he’s “starving” for a state championship in the postgame news conference, which made his coach smile.
It’s been pretty clear for more than a month that Sierra Canyon has separated itself, and it will take a major upset to halt the Trailblazers’ clear path to Sacramento.
Saracens have rejected “disrespectful” reports that they have offered Ireland head coach Andy Farrell a coaching role for after the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
The club said “no offer has been made” after the Irish Independent reported that Farrell has been approached with a deal worth more than £1m per year to return to Sarries following next year’s tournament in Australia.
Brendan Venter will return to the director of rugby role at the Premiership club when long-serving Mark McCall steps down at the end of the season.
“Andy has not discussed his future with anyone on the board or ownership group of Saracens and we can categorically state, despite numerous reports to the contrary in the press, that no offer has been made to Andy,” the club statement read.
“The misguided reporting is disrespectful to Brendan Venter who will be assuming the DOR [director of rugby] responsibilities from Mark McCall at the end of the 25-26 season. It is also disrespectful to Andy and the IRFU.”
Farrell was a Saracens player between 2005 and 2009, also winning eight England caps, having switched to union after a long and successful career in rugby league with Wigan, during which he also captained Great Britain. After retiring as a player, he took his first steps into coaching with Saracens.
The 50-year-old – whose son Owen rejoined the Premiership outfit last summer after a season in France with Racing 92 – took over as Ireland head coach in 2019 from Joe Schmidt, stepping up from an assistant role he took up in 2016.
In 2023, he led Ireland to a Six Nations Grand Slam and the championship title the following year.
He then turned his attention to the British and Irish Lions, guiding them to a 2-1 series victory over Australia last year, before returning to the Ireland role.
“Given Andy’s close relationship with Saracens, the club looks forward to welcoming him to more home fixtures once the Six Nations Championship has concluded,” the Saracens statement concluded.
Joel Quenneville became the second coach in NHL history to win 1,000 games with the Ducks’ 6-5 comeback victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night.
Quenneville joined Scotty Bowman in an exclusive hockey club with a milestone win in the Ducks’ first game back from the Olympic break.
Cutter Gauthier scored the tiebreaking goal with 1:14 to play for the Ducks, who erased a pair of two-goal deficits. Leo Carlsson had a goal and two assists in his first appearance since Jan. 10 for the Ducks, who have won six straight home games and 10 of 12 overall to leapfrog the Oilers into second place in the Pacific Division.
Zach Hyman and Evan Bouchard scored late in the second period to put the Oilers ahead, but Carlsson and Olen Zellweger scored early in the third to even it again.
Rookie Matt Savoie then converted a rebound late in a power play for his 10th career goal, but Beckett Sennecke answered 46 seconds later with a slick wrist shot for his 19th goal — tops among NHL rookies.
Gauthier then converted a rebound of Carlsson’s shot, setting off a wild celebration inside a sold-out Honda Center.
Jack Roslovic and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored for Edmonton. Connor McDavid had two assists, giving the Olympic silver medalist an NHL-best 98 points in 59 games.
Ian Moore and Alex Killorn scored for the Ducks, and Lukas Dostal made 22 saves.
Tristan Jarry made 20 saves before getting pulled for Connor Ingram after Sennecke’s tying goal with 13:21 to play.
Carlsson was outstanding in his return to the Ducks’ lineup after missing the final 11 games before the break with a thigh injury that kept him out of the Olympics.
Mikael Granlund didn’t play for the Ducks after captaining Finland to bronze in Milan. None of the Oilers’ Olympians sat out as they opened a three-game California trip.
Former Virginia coach Tony Bennett, who led the Cavaliers to the 2019 national title, has been hired by the Lakers as an NBA draft advisor to Rob Pelinka, the team’s president of basketball operations and general manager. Bennett’s record was 364-136 from 2009-24.
“As we refine and build out our NBA draft and scouting processes, we could think of no better basketball mind than Tony Bennett to have as a resource,” Pelinka said in a statement. “Tony’s track record of forming culture, with high-character, high-skill and high-IQ players is revered and respected across all basketball circles. Tony will be an incredible asset to our basketball leadership, to our scouts and to our draft department as a whole. We are truly excited.”
Virginia honored Bennett in a ceremony before Saturday’s 86-83 win over Miami, naming the court at John Paul Jones Arena after him.
Bennett was the AP national coach of the year in 2007 and 2018. He led Virginia to six ACC regular-season championships. He previously coached at Washington State from 2006-09.
“When Rob and I began talking, what stood out to me was the chance to help out such a storied organization,” Bennett said in a statement. “The Lakers carry a tradition that speaks for itself, so to be connected to it and assist Rob and the Lakers in any way I can is exciting.”
Bennett played under his father, Dick Bennett, at Wisconsin-Green Bay before playing four years in the NBA, including three for Charlotte from 1992-95.
