The College Football Playoff will go to a more straightforward way of filling the bracket next season, placing teams strictly on where they are ranked instead of moving pieces around to reward conference champions.
Ten conference commissioners and Notre Dame’s athletic director came to the unanimous agreement they needed Thursday to shift the model that drew complaints last season.
The new format was widely expected after last season’s jumbled bracket gave byes to Big 12 champion Arizona State and Mountain West champion Boise State, even though those teams were ranked ninth and 12th by the playoff selection committee.
That system made the rankings and the seedings in the tournament two different things and resulted in some matchups — for instance, the quarterfinal between top-ranked Oregon and eventual national champion Ohio State — that came earlier than they otherwise might have.
“After evaluating the first year of the 12-team Playoff, the CFP Management Committee felt it was in the best interest of the game to make this adjustment,” said Rich Clark, executive director of the CFP.
The five highest-ranked champions will still be guaranteed spots in the playoff, meaning it’s possible there could be a repeat of last season, when CFP No. 16 Clemson was seeded 12th in the bracket after winning the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey was among those who pushed for the change in the second year of the agreement, though he remained cautious about it being approved because of the unanimous vote needed.
Smaller conferences had a chance to use the seeding issue as leverage for the next set of negotiations, which will come after this season and could include an expansion to 14 teams and more guaranteed bids for certain leagues. The SEC and Big Ten will have the biggest say in those decisions.
As it stands, this will be the third different playoff system for college football in the span of three years. For the 10 years leading into last season’s inaugural 12-team playoff, the CFP was a four-team affair.
The news was first reported by ESPN, which last year signed a six-year, $7.8 billion deal to televise the expanded playoff.
Al Jazeera takes a look at financially-troubled Manchester United’s expensive Europa League final defeat by Spurs.
Manchester United’s decline on and off the field has been laid bare for a number of years but was placed in even sharper focus with their defeat by Tottenham in the Europa League final.
It was a zero-sum game on Wednesday: Winner goes into the Champions League – plus the UEFA Super Cup game in August – and loser is out of Europe next season and gets nothing.
As football finance expert Kieran Maguire noted on Thursday, the defeat came despite United having higher revenue than Tottenham and spending 64% more on wages for a more expensively acquired squad of players. Tottenham also beat United twice in the Premier League this season, and in the domestic League Cup.
“If I was teaching this at management school (I) would conclude that there is something seriously wrong with the culture of the organisation… which is set by senior management,” Maguire wrote on X.
What are the financial costs to Man Utd?
Beyond the loss of sporting opportunities and reputational prestige, the club owned by the Glazer family from the United States and British billionaire industrialist Jim Ratcliffe has short-term and long-term financial hits ahead.
No Champions League play next season is an instant loss of at least 80 million euros ($90m), and approaching 150 million euros ($169m) for a run deep into the knockout stage.
United also misses out on the 4 million euros ($4.5m) Tottenham will get from UEFA for playing the Super Cup against the Champions League titleholder – either Inter Milan or Paris Saint-Germain – on August 13 at Udinese’s stadium in Italy. The winner gets a bonus of 1 million euros ($1.1m).
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, left, Manchester United Chairman Avram Glazer, second left, major shareholder Jim Ratcliffe, second right, and former coach Sir Alex Ferguson, right, attend the UEFA Europa League final [Luis Tejido/EPA]
Can Man Utd recoup its losses in the FIFA Club World Cup?
After failing to qualify for the 2025 Club World Cup – which has a $1bn prize fund from FIFA and should pay more than $100m to a successful European team – United is now far behind in qualifying for the 2029 edition.
European teams qualify for the FIFA event only by being in the Champions League, either winning the title or building consistent results over four seasons.
United already will miss the entire first half of the 2024-28 qualifying period, and it is hard to project the team that last won the Premier League 12 years ago both qualifying for and then winning a Champions League title within three years.
What financial options do Man Utd have?
One clear solution to growing financial issues and the ability to comply with Premier League rules is selling the club’s best players, like captain Bruno Fernandes and out-of-favour forward Marcus Rashford, or its homegrown prospects. Some already earn high wages that are problematic for potential buyers.
A talent drain risks speeding a spiral of decline on and off the field if coach Ruben Amorim is left trying to rebuild with a weaker pool of players.
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim, left, has been able to rely on captain Bruno Fernandes, right, as one of his most trusted performers [Vincent West/Reuters]
How do Man Utd match up to other clubs?
While United is still one of Europe’s highest-earning clubs, UEFA’s annual research shows its advantage is in decline, even though revenue was a club record 661.8 million pounds ($887m) last year.
A UEFA chart showed that over five years from 2019-24 – pre-COVID-19 through to the post-pandemic recovery in the football industry – United’s revenue grew at a slower rate than all of its biggest English rivals except Chelsea.
Will Man Utd’s revenue be affected?
Revenue now risks dropping, and another income cut is coming from falling to 16th in the Premier League standings with one round left on Sunday.
Premier League prize money based on final position in the standings means dropping from eighth a year ago to 16th is a difference of 22 million pounds ($29.5m) less.
It all adds up to another loss-making season after a 113.2 million pounds ($152m) deficit last season. The three previous years totaled losses of 236 million pounds ($316m).
Will Man Utd’s losses cost them further?
The Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR) allow clubs to lose 105 million pounds ($140.7m) over a three-year period or face sanctions, though United can cite some exemptions.
Ratcliffe, who has operational control despite being a minority shareholder, is already the public face of unpopular cuts to jobs and staff benefits, and rising ticket prices for fans.
“This is not sustainable,” the club told fans in January, “and if we do not act now we are in danger of failing to comply with PSR/FFP (financial fair play) requirements in future years and significantly impacting our ability to compete on the pitch.”
From Ryan Kartje: With the contract between USC and Notre Dame set to expire and one of college football’s most storied rivalries in serious danger of ending, officials at USC extended an offer to Notre Dame earlier this month in hopes of continuing the historic series for at least one more season — through the fall of 2026 — a person familiar with the negotiations not authorized to discuss them publicly told The Times.
The future of the rivalry beyond that, in the eyes of USC’s leaders, hinges in large part on what happens with the format of the College Football Playoff — namely, the number of automatic qualifiers guaranteed to the Big Ten in future playoff fields. And until those questions are answered, USC leaders agree the best course forward for its century-old rivalry with Notre Dame would be to continue their arrangement one season at a time.
Anything else would be “a strategically bad decision,” a USC source said.
That timeline is where the two rivals find themselves at an impasse. Notre Dame is seeking a long-term extension of the series, and in an interview with Sports Illustrated earlier this week, Irish athletic director Pete Bevacqua not so subtly suggested that it was USC putting the rivalry at risk.
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NBA MVP
The case for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was simple. He’s the best player on an Oklahoma City Thunder team that had the best record this season and set a league mark for margin of victory. As if that weren’t enough, he also won the scoring title.
That’s an MVP season.
Gilgeous-Alexander was announced Wednesday as the NBA’s Most Valuable Player, his first time winning the award. It’s now seven consecutive years that a player born outside the U.S. won MVP, extending the longest such streak in league history.
It ultimately was a two-person race. Gilgeous-Alexander received 71 first-place votes and 29 second-place votes; Denver’s Nikola Jokic got the other 29 first-place votes and the other 71 second-place votes.
Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo was third, getting 88 of the 100 possible third-place votes. LeBron James of the Lakers came in sixth, James Harden of the Clippers was 11th.
No. 1 Oklahoma City vs. No. 6 Minnesota at Oklahoma City 114, Minnesota 88 (box score) Thursday at Oklahoma City, 5:30 p.m., ESPN Saturday at Minnesota, 5:30 p.m., ABC Monday at Minnesota, 5:30 p.m., ESPN Wednesday at Oklahoma City, 5:30 p.m., ESPN* Friday, May 30 at Minnesota, 5:30 p.m., ESPN* Sunday, June 1 at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m., ESPN*
Eastern Conference
No. 3 New York vs. No. 4 Indiana Indiana 138, at New York 135 (OT) (box score) Friday at New York, 5 p.m., TNT Sunday at Indiana, 5 p.m., TNT Tuesday at Indiana, 5 p.m., TNT Thursday, May 29 at New York, 5 p.m., TNT* Saturday, May 31 at Indiana, 5 p.m., TNT* Monday, June 2 at New York, 5 p.m., TNT*
A day after Teoscar Hernández returned to the Dodgers’ lineup, activated from the injured list Monday following a two-week absence because of an adductor strain, Roberts decided to sit the veteran slugger for the second of a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
It was a surprise choice, but with a simple reason.
Knowing Hernández would play only twice this week coming off his injury, Roberts wanted to ensure he would be available Wednesday to face former Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes.
“I just felt like having him in there tomorrow,” Roberts said Tuesday, “I feel good with.”
Twenty-four hours later, the result was even greater than he expected.
In the Dodgers’ 3-1 rubber-match victory over the Diamondbacks, Hernández delivered the night’s biggest swing in the bottom of the sixth, taking a wrecking ball to what had been a flawless outing from Burnes with a three-run home run that turned the game upside down.
Logan O’Hoppe hit two home runs and drove in three runs, Jo Adell and Zach Neto also homered and the Angels beat the Athletics 10-5 on Wednesday night for their season-high sixth straight victory.
O’Hoppe led off the fourth with his second homer of the game, third in two nights and 13th of the season, just before Adell hit his sixth. Neto’s two-run homer in the third, his eighth, gave the Angels the lead for good at 4-3. The Angels had five two-run innings.
Taylor Ward had three hits, including a triple and double. Jorge Soler had three hits, with two doubles and two RBIs.
Satou Sabally scored 25 points, Alyssa Thomas added 19 and the Phoenix Mercury held off the Sparks89-86 on Wednesday night.
Two free throws from Kelsey Plum had the Sparks, who trailed by 14 early in the fourth quarter, within one at 78-77 with 2 1/2 minutes to play in a game of long runs but Thomas scored the next six Phoenix points.
Plum kept pace, scoring the last 11 points of the game for the Sparks. That included the 500th 3-pointer of her career and then a shot with four seconds left. On that tightly contested desperation shot from the left wing, her foot was on the line so the Mercury led 87-86.
A second later Sabally made two free throws and Plum’s half-court heave wasn’t close.
From Chuck Schilken: NFL owners have decided to keep the “Tush Push,” the signature short-yardage play of the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, after a vote Wednesday at their spring meeting in Eagan, Minnesota.
Multiple media outlets are reporting that the vote was 22-10 in favor of the ban, falling short of the 24 votes it needed to go into effect. The teams that are said to have joined the Eagles in voting against the proposal were the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets and Tennessee Titans.
The “Tush Push” is a version of a quarterback sneak in which two or three players line up behind the signal caller and help drive him forward in short-yardage situations.
The USC and UC Irvinecoaching legend guided Orloff for two years as an Anteater, watching Orloff become the baseball program’s all-time hits leader with his peak bat-to-ball abilities. But it wasn’t Orloff’s eye-popping swing or swift speed on the basepaths that captivated Gillespie the most. It was the future he imagined for his star infielder, the then-Big West Conference player of the year.
“I don’t know how else to say it: His instincts, his clue, his feel for the game, his baseball IQ, is like nothing else,” Gillespie said as Orloff’s collegiate career wrapped up in 2009. “He should be a major league manager. He might be wasted as a major league manager, because they can do so little, in terms of all these little things.”
The American Baseball Coaches Assn. Hall of Famer, who died in 2020, continued: “He probably should be a college coach, a college head coach.”
It’s mid-May and Orloff sits in the office Gillespie once occupied. Orloff is bald with a bright smile. He’s just 38, and yet this is his 12th season on the UC Irvine coaching staff — and his seventh as the Anteaters’ head coach.
Orloff settles down at a table, crosses his legs and is ready to reminisce, talk shop — and praise the mish-mosh ballclub that’s set the Big West aflame for the second consecutive season in which it won its second regular-season conference championship under the coach.
From Kevin Baxter: A bipartisan group of Congressional representatives are calling on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to streamline the government’s visa processing system to ensure visitors from abroad will be able to attend next year’s FIFA World Cup as well as the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The World Cup, which kicks off in less than 400 days, is expected to generate $3.75 billion in economic activity in the U.S. With SoFi Stadium in Inglewood hosting eight games, the economic impact on Southern California is estimated at nearly $600 million.
But cost-cutting measures proposed by Rubio could threaten that by reducing staff and closing some embassies and consulates, increasing visa wait times and making an already cumbersome system more complicated and costly. That could keep tens of thousands of fans at home.
Central 2 Dallas vs. Pacific 3 Edmonton at Dallas 6, Edmonton 3 (summary) Friday at Dallas, 5 p.m., ESPN Sunday at Edmonton, noon, ABC Tuesday at Edmonton, 5 p.m., ESPN Thursday, May 29 at Dallas, 5 p.m., ESPN* Saturday, May 31 at Edmonton, 5 p.m., ABC* Monday, June 2 at Dallas, 5 p.m., ESPN*
Eastern Conference
Metro 2 Carolina vs. Atlantic 3 Florida Florida 5, at Carolina 2 (summary) Thursday at Carolina, 5 p.m., TNT Saturday at Florida, 5 p.m., TNT Monday at Florida, 5 p.m., TNT Wednesday at Carolina, 5 p.m., TNT* Friday, May 30 at Florida, 5 p.m., TNT* Sunday, June 1 at Carolina, 5 p.m., TNT*
* If necessary
THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1877 — Baden-Baden, ridden by C. Holloway, catches Leonard just before turning into the stretch and wins the Kentucky Derby by two lengths.
1885 — Tecumseh, ridden by Jimmy McLaughlin, wins the Preakness Stakes by two lengths over Wickham.
1902 — Mastermam, ridden by John Bullman, wins the Belmont Stakes by two lengths over Renald.
1906 — Whimsical, the favorite ridden by Walter Miller, wins the Preakness Stakes by four lengths over Content.
1954 — Hasty Road, ridden by Johnny Adams, edges favored Correlation by a neck to win the Preakness Stakes.
1963 — European Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London: José Altafini scores twice as AC Milan edge Benfica, 2-1 for first title to an Italian club.
1975 — Artis Gilmore scores 28 points and grabs 31 rebounds to lead the Kentucky Colonels to a 110-105 victory over the Indiana Pacers for the ABA championship.
1988 — Atlanta’s Dominique Wilkins trades bucket for bucket with Boston’s Larry Bird in the fourth quarter of Game 7 of the 1988 Eastern Conference semifinals until the Celtics escape with a 118-116 victory. Wilkins finishes with 47 points and Bird has 34 — with 20 of his points scored in the fourth quarter. The teams shoot a combined 58.8% from the field, the second highest mark in playoff history.
1988 — LPGA Championship Women’s Golf, Jack Nicklaus GC: Sherri Turner birdies final 2 holes to win her only major title, 1 stroke ahead of runner-up Amy Alcott.
1991 — NFL Owners agree to add 2 teams in 1994.
1993 — Riddick Bowe successfully defends his IBF and WBA heavyweight titles with a second-round knockout of Jesse Ferguson at RFK Stadium in Washington.
1994 — Toronto NBA franchise unveils name “Raptors” & logo.
1996 — 4th UEFA Champions League Final: Juventus beats Ajax (1-1, 4-2 on penalties) at Rome.
1997 — The Chicago Bulls win the lowest-scoring playoff game in NBA history, a 75-68 victory over the Miami Heat. The 143 combined points were two fewer than the previous postseason low set by Syracuse and Fort Wayne in 1955.
2003 — Annika Sorenstam becomes the first woman to play in a PGA Tour event in 58 years when she shoots a 71 in the first round of the Colonial in Fort Worth, Texas. Sorenstam misses the cut the next day by four shots.
2004 — English FA Cup Final, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff (71,350): Manchester United beats Millwall, 3-0; Ruud van Nistelrooy scores 2 and Cristiano Ronaldo 1 in Red Devils’ 11th title win.
2005 — Paula Creamer, 18, makes a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole to win the Sybase Classic by one stroke and become the second-youngest first-time winner on the LPGA Tour.
2006 — Pat Summitt becomes the newest millionaire coach — and the first in women’s basketball. Tennessee raises Summitt’s salary to $1.125 million for next season and extends her contract six years.
2009 — Dara Torres sets an American record in the 50-meter butterfly at the Texas Senior Circuit No. 2 meet at Texas A&M. The 42-year-old, breezes to victory in the 50 fly, touching the wall in 25.72 seconds to beat her record time of 25.84 seconds from the morning preliminaries. Both her times beat Jenny Thompson’s American record of 26.00 seconds, set in Barcelona in 2003.
2010 — UEFA Champions League Final, Madrid: Internazionale beats Bayern Munich, 2-0; Inter’s 3rd title and first treble (Italian Serie A & Cup).
2016 — The Tradition Senior Men’s Golf, Greystone G&CC: Germany’s Berhard Langer wins sixth of 13 Champions Tour majors by 6 strokes from Olin Browne.
2021 — 30 year old Scottish light-welterweight boxer Josh Taylor becomes Britain’s first undisputed world champion in the four-belt era by beating Jose Ramirez by unanimous decision in Las Vegas.
2022 — PGA Championship Men’s Golf, Southern Hills CC: 2017 champion Justin Thomas beats Will Zalatoris by 1 stroke in a 3-hole playoff after 54-hole leader Mito Pereira double bogeys the 72nd hole.
THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1933 — Joe Sewell of the New York Yankees struck out for the first time this season, during a 3-0 win over Cleveland. Sewell would strike out only three more times in 524 at-bats.
1942 — Ted Williams is sworn into the U.S. Navy, but will remain with the Red Sox until he is called for active duty.
1957 — The Boston Red Sox hit four home runs in the sixth inning of an 11-0 win over Cleveland. Gene Mauch, Ted Williams, Dick Gernert and Frank Malzone connected. All the homers came on the first 16 pitches from Cal McLish.
1958 — Ted Williams hits his 16th career grand slam to provide the Red Sox with the margin in an 8-5 win over the A’s. Ted’s 4th-inning blast, off Jack Urban, ties him with Babe Ruth for second place on the career slam list.
1959 — Baltimore’s Hoyt Wilhelm pitched a one-hitter against the New York Yankees for a 5-0 win. Jerry Lumpe’s single in the eighth spoiled the no-hit bid.
1963 — Mickey Mantle hit a pitch from Kansas City’s Bill Fischer off the right-field facade at Yankee Stadium in an 8-7 victory over the A’s.
1968 — Willie Stargell of the Pittsburgh Pirates hit three home runs, a double and a single in a 13-6 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Stargell’s double just missed going out, as it bounced off the railing of the left-field bleachers.
1976 — St. Louis’ Reggie Smith hit three home runs — two right-handed and one left-handed — and drove in five runs in a 7-6 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Smith’s third homer came with two out in the ninth and broke a 6-6 tie.
1977 — Boston and Milwaukee hit a combined 11 home runs in a 14-10 Red Sox victory at Fenway Park, tying a major league record. The Red Sox connected for six and the Brewers hit five in the first game of a doubleheader.
1983 — Cliff Johnson of the Toronto Blue Jays hit his 18th career pinch homer. The homer, off Baltimore’s Tippy Martinez, tied Johnson with Jerry Lynch on the career pinch home run list.
1990 — Andre Dawson sets a major-league record when he is intentionally walked five times during a 16-inning, 2-1 Cubs win over the Reds.
1998 — The Mets acquire catcher Mike Piazza from the Marlins in exchange for OF Preston Wilson, P Ed Yarnall and a player to be named. Piazza has barely spent a week with Florida, following a trade from the Dodgers.
1998 — Brian Cox went 6-for-6, including a grand slam in a 10-run third inning, as Florida State rolled past Delaware 27-6 in the NCAA Atlantic II Regional. Freshman Matt Diaz hit three home runs for the Seminoles.
2000 — Milwaukee beat Houston in the first game of a doubleheader, 10-9, coming back from a 9-2 deficit to tie the score with seven runs in the bottom half of the ninth inning. The Brewers won the game in the 10th on a home run by Jose Hernandez.
2001 — The Twins score 8 runs in the 3rd inning to give Brad Radke an 8-0 lead, then hold on to edge the Mariners, 12-11. The M’s will use the momentum to win their next 15 and set a franchise record.
2008 — Ken Griffey Jr. hits his 200th home run as a member of the Cincinnati Reds. He becomes the fourth player in major league history to hit 300 for one team and 200 with another. Preceding him are Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro and Jimmie Foxx.
2008 — Boston’s J.D. Drew and Mike Lowell hit grand slams to help Daisuke Matsuzaka remain unbeaten as the Red Sox posted an 11-8 win over the Kansas City Royals.
2009 — Michael Cuddyer hit for the cycle and matched his career high with five RBIs as Minnesota defeated Milwaukee 11-3. Cuddyer hit a three-run homer in the first inning, doubled in the third and singled in the fourth before completing the cycle by tripling on a broken-bat liner into the left-field corner in the sixth.
2012 — C.J. Wilson and Ernesto Frieri combined on a one-hitter to give the Angels a 4-0 win over Oakland. Cliff Pennington had the only hit — a one-out single in the fifth — for Oakland.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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With the contract between USC and Notre Dame set to expire and one of college football’s most storied rivalries in serious danger of ending, officials at USC extended an offer to Notre Dame earlier this month in hopes of continuing the historic series for at least one more season — through the fall of 2026 — a person familiar with the negotiations not authorized to discuss them publicly told The Times.
The future of the rivalry beyond that, in the eyes of USC’s leaders, hinges in large part on what happens with the format of the College Football Playoff — namely, the number of automatic qualifiers guaranteed to the Big Ten in future playoff fields. And until those questions are answered, USC leaders agree the best course forward for its century-old rivalry with Notre Dame would be to continue their arrangement one season at a time.
Anything else would be “a strategically bad decision,” a USC source said.
That timeline is where the two rivals find themselves at an impasse. Notre Dame is seeking a long-term extension of the series, and in an interview with Sports Illustrated earlier this week, Irish athletic director Pete Bevacqua not so subtly suggested that it was USC putting the rivalry at risk.
“I think Southern Cal and Notre Dame should play every year for as long as college football is played,” he told SI’s Pat Forde, “and SC knows that’s how we feel.”
The two blueblood programs have played 95 times since 1924, when the story goes that the wife of legendary Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne convinced her husband to schedule the series so she could visit Southern California every other year. In the century since, only World War II and the COVID-19 pandemic have stood in the way of USC and Notre Dame meeting on the football field. Between them, the two rivals boast 16 national titles, more than any other teams that play an annual college football series.
They’re scheduled to meet again in October in South Bend. What happens to the historic series after that matchup may come down to who blinks in a high-stakes game of chicken between the two schools.
USC has no plans to budge on its position without clarity over whether the Big Ten will have four automatic qualifiers in any future playoff format, a source told The Times. With nine conference games already built into the schedule and the possibility of an annual crossover matchup with the Southeastern Conference still on their radar, USC officials see no reason to commit long term to the Notre Dame matchup without assurances they wouldn’t be punished for scheduling such a marquee nonconference matchup.
The demands of Big Ten travel have also been a part of the conversation at USC, to the point officials broached the potential with Notre Dame of moving the game to the first month of the season. The hope was to better balance its future slate of travel to the Midwest and East Coast. Last season, in their Big Ten debut, the Trojans lost all four of their Big Ten road trips.
But Notre Dame was not receptive to the idea of moving the game, which traditionally has been played in the latter half of the football season.
The Irish agreed earlier this month to a 12-year home-and-home scheduling agreement with Clemson. But while that deal seemed like a precursor to moving on from the USC series, Sports Illustrated reported this week that it was not expected to stand in the way of continuing with the Trojans.
Uncertainty has loomed over the rivalry since last summer when USC coach Lincoln Riley was first asked about its future at Big Ten media days.
“I know it means a lot to a lot of people,” Riley said. “The purist in you [says] no doubt. Now if you get in a position where you got to make a decision on what’s best for SC to help us win a national championship vs. keep that [game], shoot, then you got to look at it.
“And listen, we’re not the first example of that. Look all the way across the country. There have been a lot of other teams sacrificing rivalry games. And I’m not saying that’s what’s going to happen. But as we get into this playoff structure, and if it changes or not, we’re in this new conference, we’re going to learn something about this as we go and what the right and the best track is to winning a national championship, that’s going to evolve.”
Those comments led many to point fingers at Riley for laying the groundwork for the rivalry’s possible demise. But as the two sides now stand at an impasse, a person familiar with the discussion at USC insisted that any decision on the series and its future would come from athletic director Jennifer Cohen.
She’ll have plenty to weigh on that front in the coming months, with both schools likely to dig in their heels for the long haul, slinging mud at one another in the meantime.
Brennan Johnson scores the only goal as Tottenham beat Man Utd to lift the cup and qualify for the Champions League.
Tottenham beat Manchester United 1-0 to win the Europa League final, lifting its first European trophy in more than four decades to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
It is the first major title for Tottenham since it won the English League Cup in 2008, and its first European triumph since it won its second UEFA Cup — the equivalent of the Europa League now — in 1984.
Brennan Johnson squeezed in the winner at the end of the first half on Wednesday to help Spurs salvage a dismal season, in which it will finish near the bottom of the Premier League standings.
The title guarantees Spurs a spot in next season’s Champions League, and brings some much-needed relief for manager Ange Postecoglou after he struggled to keep his team on track all year.
Tottenham Hotspur’s Brennan Johnson, left, scores their first goal [Vincent West/Reuters]
The victory comes six years after Tottenham fell short against Liverpool in the Champions League final.
The defeat adds pressure on United coach Ruben Amorim, whose team sits in 16th place — just ahead of Tottenham — in the Premier League. The club will not play in any European competition next season.
United came close to equalising the match on Wednesday when a header by Rasmus Hojlund was cleared at the goal line by Tottenham’s Micky van de Ven in the 68th.
Deep into stoppage time, a header by Luke Shaw prompted a difficult save by Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.
Tottenham Hotspur’s Micky van de Ven clears the ball off the line [Andrew Couldridge/Reuters]
It had been an even match, with neither team creating many significant scoring opportunities, until Tottenham got on the board in the 42nd minute after a cross by Pape Sarr into the area.
The ball ricocheted off Shaw and fell in front of Johnson, who seemed to get just enough of it to poke it across the goal line.
United pressed forward after conceding, but was not able to get the equaliser in front of a split crowd of nearly 50,000 at Athletic Bilbao’s San Mames Stadium.
Manchester United’s captain, Bruno Fernandes, looks dejected as he walks past the trophy after collecting his runners-up medal [Isabel Infantes/Reuters]
United had last won a trophy in the 2024 FA Cup, and its last European triumph was at the 2017 Europa League under manager Jose Mourinho.
The Red Devils lost all four matches against Tottenham this season and is winless against its rival in seven straight games, with the last six under Postecoglou.
United and Tottenham had met in just one previous final — the 2009 League Cup when Alex Ferguson’s United won 4-1 on penalties after a 0-0 draw.
Tottenham striker Son Heung-min, who came off the bench in the 67th, finally ended his decade-long trophy drought with Spurs.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou celebrates with his players after winning the Europa League [Isabel Infantes/Reuters]
Newcastle among clubs set to hold talks with Liam Delap but Manchester United lead race to sign Ipswich striker, Manchester City will battle Liverpool for Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez.
Newcastle United are among the clubs set to hold talks with Ipswich Town’s 22-year-old English striker Liam Delap this week. (Talksport), external
Manchester United lead the race to sign Delap but a defeat in the Europa League final and consequential inability to offer him European football next season would hand Chelsea the advantage. (ESPN), external
Brighton have agreed a deal to sign 27-year-old French defender Olivier Boscagli on a free transfer from PSV Eindhoven. (Sky Sports), external
Liverpool have received enquiries from the Saudi Pro League over 25-year-old Uruguay forward Darwin Nunez, Portugal forward Diogo Jota and Colombia winger Luis Diaz, both 28. (Sky Germany), external
Manchester United are set to proceed with paying Wolves the £62.5m release clause in instalments for 25-year-old Brazil forward Matheus Cunha. (Fabrizio Romano), external
Manchester United are also hoping they can tempt Sporting and Sweden striker Viktor Gyokeres, 26, to sign for them this summer. (L’Equipe – in French) , external
Aston Villa are not planning to stand in the way of Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, 32, if it becomes clear he wants to leave Villa Park. (Givemesport) , external
Chelsea are understood to have opened talks with Ajax over a potential transfer deal for Netherlands defender Jorrel Hato, 19, who is also a target for Liverpool and Arsenal.(Caughtoffside) , external
Barcelona have reached an agreement with Brazil forward Raphinha over a new deal that will keep the 28-year-old at the club until June 2028. (Fabrizio Romano) , external
Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo might leave at the end of the season because of internal tensions at the club. (Footmercato – in French) , external
Leicester City are poised to sack manager Ruud van Nistelrooy and are in advanced talks to appoint former Southampton boss Russell Martin. (Football Insider) , external
NFL team owners approved the participation of NFL players in the 2028 L.A. Olympic flag football competition at the league’s owners meetings on Tuesday.
The resolution permits NFL players currently under contract to try out for flag football, but limits only one player per NFL team to play for each national team participating in the Olympics. An exception was made for each NFL team’s designated international player, who is allowed to play for his home country.
Injury protections and salary cap credit will cover any players injured during flag football activities, and Olympic flag football teams must implement minimum standards for medical staff and field surfaces to be eligible to have NFL players on their rosters.
Flag football is one of five new sports in the 2028 Olympics and will make its Olympic debut, along with squash. There are five players per team on the field and each team builds a 10-person roster. The U.S. men’s national team has won five consecutive world championships.
This is a developing story. The Times will have more soon on the NFL’s vote.
Who: Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur What: UEFA Europa League final 2025 Where: San Mames Stadium in Bilbao, Spain When: Wednesday at 9pm (19:00 GMT)
Follow Al Jazeera Sport‘s live text and photo commentary stream.
Manchester United clash with Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday in an all-English Europa League final, which has major implications on and off the field.
The winner of this final not only – and unexpectedly, based on their horrendous bottom-five domestic form – take home a European crown, but also punch their golden ticket for entry into next season’s lucrative UEFA Champions League, resulting in tens of millions of dollars in extra revenue.
Al Jazeera Sport chronicles the key talking points ahead of a classic winner-takes-most showdown between two of England’s highest-profile clubs looking to reverse their regrettable seasons with an unexpected European triumph.
Are Man Utd, Spurs the lowest-ranked teams to play in the Europa League final?
There has never been any final, in any UEFA competition, where both clubs have been so low in their domestic league tables.
Both clubs head to Bilbao for the final, assailed by stinging criticism amid their worst seasons of the English Premier League era.
United sit 16th on the ladder, and Tottenham are one point worse off in 17th, with just one league game remaining.
Only the struggles of relegated trio Ipswich, Leicester and Southampton saved United and Tottenham from a highly embarrassing battle to avoid crashing into the second-tier championship.
Ruben Amorim, manager of Manchester United, walks off the pitch after losing to West Ham 2-0 in a Premier League match at Old Trafford on May 11, 2025, in Manchester, England, UK [James Gill/Danehouse via Getty Images]
Do the winners directly qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League?
UEFA allows the winners of their second-tier Europa League competition direct entry into the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League, without the need for additional qualifying matches.
Additionally, they will earn the right to play against the winners of the 2024-25 Champions League in the UEFA Super Cup on August 13.
For the losers of the final in Bilbao, the hangover from this catastrophic domestic season threatens to be a long one, with the possibility of European football exile until at least the 2026-27 season.
How much is Champions League qualification worth?
The winners of the Europa League final could receive up to a 65-million-euro ($73m) boost.
This calculation is reached by combining the Europa League prize money and the TV and gate revenue derived from the winning team’s participation in the league phase of next season’s Champions League.
What happened the last time these teams played?
The teams last met at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on February 16, with James Maddison’s 13th-minute game-winner handing the home team a 1-0 victory against United.
Spurs have won all three of their meetings with United in all competitions this season, twice in the Premier League and once in the EFL Cup quarterfinals.
James Maddison was the match-winner the last time Tottenham played Manchester United on February 16 [Sebastian Frej/MB Media via Getty Images]
What is Manchester United’s form?
United’s last win in the Premier League was on March 16, a 3-0 victory at Leicester. Since then, Ruben Amorim’s side has registered six defeats and two draws in the domestic competition.
United’s only two victories in May came in the Europa League semifinals against Athletic Club.
What is Tottenham’s form?
Spurs have been equally dreadful in the final two months of the Premier League season, losing five and drawing once in their last six games.
Their last domestic league victory was a 3-1 home win against Southampton way back on April 6, leading to constant media speculation that manager Ange Postecoglou’s job is under threat for next season.
Where will the 2025 final be played?
San Mames Stadium in Bilbao, Spain is the venue for the final.
With a seating capacity in excess of 50,000, the stadium is home to Athletic Club, who, by chance, are the team Manchester United defeated on May 8 in the Europa League semifinal to progress to the final.
UEFA has confirmed that the two teams will receive an allocation of 15,000 tickets each, with a further 11,000 tickets up for general sale and the remainder offered to hospitality and sponsors.
A drone view shows San Mames Stadium before the Europa League final [Guillermo Martinez/Reuters]
Team news: Manchester United
According to Manchester United’s official website, the Red Devils received a triple boost on the eve of the UEFA Europa League final with sidelined stars Diogo Dalot, Leny Yoro, and Joshua Zirkzee spotted taking part in the team’s build-up training session on Tuesday.
Zirkzee had been ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering a hamstring injury in April, but could be available for selection after missing United’s last eight games.
Another Dutchman, centre-back Matthijs de Ligt, is also questionable ahead of the match, but he was seen running through some training drills in an individual workout on Tuesday.
Striker Rasmus Hojlund, who has struggled up front for large parts of the season, is tipped to lead the line for Amorim’s side.
Sidelined Manchester United striker Joshua Zirkzee, centre, could still play a part in the UEFA Europa League Final 2025 against Tottenham [Ben Roberts Photo/Getty Images]
Team News: Tottenham
Spurs will line up without key midfield players Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski, as well as promising youngster Lucas Bergvall, who are all ruled out with injury.
Maddison, who was set to miss the rest of the season with a knee issue, did board the team bus for Bilbao, leading to rampant media speculation he might play in the final, despite being ruled out by Postecoglou.
Tottenham captain Son Heung-Min, who sustained a foot injury in April and missed seven consecutive matches, is on course to be fit for the final after making his first start against Aston Villa last Friday, according to the team.
Better news in the backline for Tottenham, with previously injured defenders Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven both available for selection.
Cheerleader or midfielder? Tottenham Hotspur fans are hoping injured star James Maddison is in Bilbao to play against Manchester United in the Europa League final [Andrew Milligan/PA Images via Getty Images]
Possible lineups
United possible starting XI: Onana (GK); Yoro, Maguire, Lindelof; Mazraoui, Casemiro, Ugarte, Dorgu; Fernandes, Amad; Hojlund
Tottenham possible starting XI: Vicario (GK); Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Sarr, Bissouma, Bentancur; Johnson, Solanke, Son
What’s the prize money for the Europa League winners?
The winners of the 2025 Europa League final will receive a prize money of 13 million euros ($14.6m). The runners-up are allocated 7 million euros ($7.87m).
Both clubs could use the money to pay down their debt: Spurs recorded an annual operating loss of 26 million pounds ($34.7m) last year, while United’s deficit was 113 million pounds ($151m) over the same period.
The Europa League Trophy and a winners’ medal [Michael Rega/UEFA via Getty Images]
What the managers and players had to say
Ruben Amorim, Manchester United manager: “I feel it’s a mixed feeling. I’m really excited, but at the same time, I know my responsibility as Manchester United coach. I have always [had] that feeling of frustration for the season, so I want really badly to help the team win this final. We’ve got to give something to the club, to the fans, to the staff, to everybody.”
Ange Postecoglou, Tottenham Hotspur manager: “I mean, who cares if we’re struggling in the league? Why is that important? If it’s so easy to get to a final, then why doesn’t everyone who finishes in the top three do it?
“We understand our league form hasn’t been great. We understand the struggles we’ve had. A lot of them are because of the situation we’ve been in. But how does that diminish the achievement of getting to a final?
“I couldn’t care less who’s struggling and who’s not. I think both us and United have earned the right to be there.”
Son Heung-Min, Tottenham captain: “We always respect our opponents, but I think it’s important to do what we need to do. I think the Manchester United players would think the same. It’s definitely going to be a great game, but it will be a difficult one. But I think we want to win it even more.
“I have accomplished everything in the 10 years I’ve been at Tottenham, except for one thing [winning a European title]. I’ve worked hard to make up for that and have always dreamed of winning a trophy in a Tottenham shirt. So, I hope we can make that dream a reality.”
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou arrives at Bilbao airport, Spain, on May 18, 2025 [Juanma/UEFA via Getty Images]
Britain’s top football host will not front 2026 World Cup coverage and is ‘bowing out by mutual agreement’ after backlash to a social media post about Zionism.
Gary Lineker, a former England captain and the face of football on British television for more than two decades, will leave the BBC, the public broadcaster said in a statement on Monday.
Lineker, 64, had been due to cover the 2026 FIFA World Cup for the BBC, but his early departure comes after he apologised last week for sharing a social media post about Zionism which featured a picture of a rat, historically used as an anti-Semitic insult.
Lineker said that he deleted the posts after learning of the offensive references.
According to multiple British media reports, the high-profile host is “bowing out by mutual agreement”.
He rose to become the BBC’s highest-paid star after presenting its Match of the Day (MOTD) highlights show for 25 years. The BBC announced last November that he would step down from MOTD this year, but carry on working for it until 2026.
“Gary has acknowledged the mistake he made. Accordingly, we have agreed he will step back from further presenting after this season,” BBC director general Tim Davie said in a statement.
Lineker repeated his apology on Monday, saying he would never consciously repost anything anti-Semitic.
“I recognise the error and upset that I caused, and reiterate how sorry I am,” he said. “Stepping back now feels like the responsible course of action.”
Gary Lineker is leaving the BBC after 26 years of service, the public broadcaster confirmed on Monday [File: Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA via Getty Images]
Voicing Palestinian support
In recent years, Lineker’s desire to put forward his political views on social media has caused headaches for the BBC, which has strict rules on impartiality.
He was temporarily taken off air in 2023 after he criticised the previous government’s immigration policy on social media. In 2018, he opposed Brexit and called for a second referendum.
But it was Lineker’s support for the Palestinians affected by the war on Gaza that most recently brought him into conflict with the BBC.
Lineker had already caused friction at the public broadcaster when he recently said Israel was to blame for the origins of the Gaza conflict, because it turned the occupied territory into an “outdoor prison”.
Speaking on May 9 in an interview with The Telegraph at the Football Business Awards, just days before he was accused of the anti-Semitic social post on X, Lineker expressed that his issues are with the Israeli government rather than Jewish people.
“Obviously, October 7 was awful, but it’s very important to know your history and to study the massacres that happened prior to this, many of them against the Palestinian people,” he said in the interview with The Telegraph, which was published last Thursday, on May 15.
“Yes, Israelis have a right to defend themselves. But it appears that Palestinians don’t – and that is where it’s wrong. Palestinians are caged in this outdoor prison in Gaza, and now it’s an outdoor prison that they’re bombing,” Lineker added.
In the same interview, the TV host also disputed whether Israel could justifiably argue that it was still acting in self-defence. “I understand that they needed to avenge, but I don’t think they’ve helped their own hostage situation at all,” Lineker said.
“People say it’s a complex issue, but I don’t think it is. It’s inevitable that the Israeli occupation was going to cause massive problems, and I just feel for the Palestinians.”
The former striker played for England for eight years until 1992 and had been a top scorer for Leicester City, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur in the 1980s and early 1990s.
He is also the co-founder of a podcasting production business, Goalhanger, which makes series such as the podcasts The Rest Is History and The Rest Is Football.
Lineker will leave his role at the BBC on Sunday after his final episode of Match of the Day.
Gary Lineker, left, and Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer look at a football shirt during a reception ahead of St George’s Day at 10 Downing Street, London, Britain on April 22, 2025 [Stefan Rousseau/Pool via Reuters]
Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami had one of their worst performances of the season, losing at home to their Florida rivals.
Lionel Messi’s frustration grew as Inter Miami’s miserable run continued with a 3-0 loss at home to Orlando City in Major League Soccer (MLS).
The Florida derby defeat on Sunday leaves Miami with one win from their last seven games in all competitions. They have slipped to sixth in the Eastern Conference, with Orlando leapfrogging them.
Messi had just two shots on target and scuffed a free-kick as his form slumped with that of his team.
“Now, we’ll truly see if we’re a team in difficult times, because when everything’s going well, it’s very easy,” Messi told Apple TV.
“When difficult times come, that’s when we have to be more united than ever, be a true team, and pull ourselves together,” he added.
Messi questioned the refereeing, but in truth, the loss had little to do with officiating and much to do with shambolic defending, a disjointed midfield and a punchless attack led by the rapidly fading Luis Suarez.
Orlando grabbed the lead in the 43rd minute with a goal of absurd simplicity. Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese launched the ball downfield, and Luis Muriel ran clear and slotted past Oscar Ustari.
The visitors were getting plenty of joy from going direct against a Miami backline, which was all at sea. Argentinian Martin Ojeda should have done better when he found himself clear on goal, but blasted over.
Miami’s veteran keeper Ustari made a fine double save, but then the 38-year-old found himself to blame for Orlando’s second goal.
The ball fell to Marco Pasalic on the edge of the box, and his low shot went through the hands and legs of Ustari to double the Orlando lead.
Lionel Messi and Inter Miami have now fallen to sixth position in the MLS Eastern Conference standings [Rebecca Blackwell/AP]
Miami coach Javier Mascherano threw on attacking players in a bid to retrieve something from the game, but it was in vain.
In the fourth minute of stoppage time, Duncan McGuire broke down the left, and his low cross was slotted home by Icelandic forward Dagur Thorhallsson to wrap up an impressive performance from the visitors.
Miami have conceded 20 goals in their last seven games, with their only victory coming against the New York Red Bulls on May 3.
Mascherano said the first goal changed the game.
“I’d say for 25 or 30 minutes, we had it completely under control playing in the opponent’s half, but this is how it is, clearly. I’m not going to deny what the result is,” he said.
Miami’s MLS campaign was going well until their exit in the Concacaf Champions Cup at the hands of the Vancouver Whitecaps. Mascherano admitted the team’s morale had been hit.
“Clearly, something has happened where the team has lost a lot of confidence. We have had a drop in level, individually and collectively, and it’s clear one way or another – we have tried with different schemes, different names, and still today, we are hurting. We will keep trying to find a way.”
A GANGSTER jailed for plotting to blow up a football stadium has lost his bid to stay in Britain — but is still here.
Maksim Cela, 59, claimed returning to Albania would put him at risk from rivals.
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Gangster Maksim Cela has lost his bid to stay in Britain — but is still here
His claims were thrown out by a judge on Friday after a two-year fight costing taxpayers tens of thousands of pounds.
But the crook, who arrived in 2023, five days after serving a sentence for murder and terrorism in Albania, has not left and launched yet another appeal.
But Judge Jeremy Rintoul of the Upper Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber said: “I do not accept that the appellant has told the truth about the nature of the threats.
Read More on DEPORTATIONS
“I find that the appellant’s refusal to acknowledge guilt weighs heavily against him.”
Cela was jailed in Albania for masterminding the murder of a crime-busting police officer and plotting to bomb a football stadium.
In his legal battle, he claimed the elderly mum of the dead officer might seek revenge.
He was named as the mafia boss in the case only after The Sun fought for 23 months to overturn an anonymity order.
Sources last night confirmed Cela was still in the UK and had lodged another legal appeal.
The Home Office said: “Foreign nationals who commit heinous crimes should be in no doubt we will do everything to make sure they are not free on Britain’s streets.”
It remained unclear last night where Cela was living — but he can remain here while his appeal is being prepared.
Inside the TikTok Job Centre used by Albanian crimelords to advertise £100,000-a-year drug dealer jobs
Manchester United have made a move for Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo, while Cristiano Ronaldo could be heading to Brazil and Aston Villa are keen on Ferran Torres.
Manchester United have made an offer of 65m euros (£54m) for Brentford’s Cameroon striker Bryan Mbeumo, 25, who has a year left on his current contract. (Fichajes – in Spanish), external
Al-Nassr striker Cristiano Ronaldo, 40, has received an offer from an unnamed Brazilian club, which would allow the Portugal star to play in the Fifa Club World Cup which starts in June. (Marca – in Spanish) , external
Aston Villa are interested in Barcelona forward Ferran Torres, 25, and prepared to offer around 50m euros (£42m) for the Spain international. (Mundo Deportivo – in Spanish), external
English manager Will Still, 32, is in talks to become Southampton boss after leaving French club Lens. (Independent), external
Lyon’s 21-year-old French winger Rayan Cherki, a target for Manchester United and Liverpool, has confirmed he will leave the French side his summer. (Goal), external
Manchester United are also keen on Sporting and Portugal midfielder Pedro Goncalves, 26, this summer. (Teamtalk), external
Atletico Madrid are among several clubs interested in Aston Villa’s Argentine midfielder Enzo Barrenechea, 23, who is on loan at Valencia. (Birmingham Mail), external
Bayern Munich have not lost hope of keeping former Manchester City winger Leroy Sane at the club, with the 29-year-old Germany international out of contract next month. (Bild – in German), external
Nottingham Forest are keen to tie down England pair, midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White, 25, and winger Callum Hudson-Odoi, 24, to new contracts as soon as possible. (Football Insider), external
Napoli need a new centre-forward for next season and are plotting a move for either Lille’s out-of-contract Canada striker Jonathan David, 25, or Liverpool’s Uruguay forwardDarwin Nunez, 25. (Calciomercato – in Italian), external
Striker Marcus Rashford is happy to take a pay cut in order to get a move from Manchester United to Barcelona, Arsenal braced for Jakub Kiwior bid from Napoli, AC Milan turn down Manchester City offer for Tijjani Reijnders.
Manchester United and England forward Marcus Rashford, 27, currently on loan at Aston Villa, is willing to lower his wage demands to secure a summer move to Barcelona. (Mundo Deportivo – in Spanish), external
Barcelona want to take Rashford on loan from Manchester United in the first instance but with an option to buy. (Sport – in Spanish), external
Arsenal and Poland defender Jakub Kiwior, 25, will be targeted by Napoli again this summer but the Serie A club want the Gunners to lower their £30m asking price. (Calciomercato – in Italian), external
Manchester United will not sack manager Ruben Amorim even if they lose the Europa League final against Tottenham. (Mirror), external
Manchester City are planning a £180m double deal for Bayer Leverkusen’s Germany winger Florian Wirtz, 22, and AC Milan and the Netherlands midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, 26. (Mirror), external
AC Milan have turned down a £50.4m offer from Manchester City for Reijnders. (Teamtalk), external
Bayer Leverkusen and the Netherlands right wing-back Jeremie Frimpong, 24, has agreed a five-year contract with Liverpool. (Talksport), external
Germany winger Leroy Sane, 29, has rejected the offer of a new contract at Bayern Munich amid links with clubs in the Premier League and La Liga. ( Sky Germany – in German), external
Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez looks to be on his way out of the club with the 32-year-old Argentine receiving offers from Saudi Arabia and two European sides. (Mundo Albiceleste – in Spanish), external
Martinez and his family are settled in Birmingham but he wants to move in order to win more trophies. (Ole – in Spanish), external
Aston Villa are eyeing Liverpool’s Caoimhin Kelleher as a potential replacement for Martinez but face competition from Chelsea, Newcastle United and Bournemouth for the 26-year-old Republic of Ireland goalkeeper. (The I), external
Newcastle United are ready to spend £150m in the summer transfer window with a right winger, forward and goalkeeper high on manager Eddie Howe’s wish-list. (Newcastle Chronicle), external
Real Madrid and Brazil forward Vinicius Jr, 24, is a target for a number of Saudi Arabian clubs with an offer of £210m (250m euros) believed to be on the table. (Fichajes – in Spanish), external
Former Al-Nassr manager Luis Castro turned down a chance to take over at Brazilian side Corinthians with the 63-year-old Portuguese on course for a role in the Premier League. (Foot Mercato – in French), external
Crystal Palace win their first major trophy by beating Manchester City 1-0 in the FA Cup final at Wembley stadium.
Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze sparked a massive south London party by scoring the only goal to win the FA Cup 1-0 against Manchester City and claim the club’s first major trophy in their history.
Local man Eze volleyed in after 16 minutes, former Manchester United goalkeeper Dean Henderson performed heroics in the Palace goal, and City contrived to waste a sack-load of chances, including a penalty, in an enthralling final on Saturday.
After England forward Eze, whose goals in the last eight and semis fired his team into the final for the third time, scored completely against the run of play, Palace had to survive a City siege to spark wild celebrations.
Omar Marmoush had a first-half penalty saved by Henderson as City lost in the Cup final for a second successive season, summing up a harrowing campaign in which they have been dethroned as the powerhouse of English football and will go without a domestic trophy for the first time since 2016-17.
Crystal Palace’s English midfielder Eberechi Eze, right, watches his shot into the net as he scores the opening goal [Adrian Dennis/AFP]
For Palace’s massed ranks decked in purple and blue, it was a day of unbridled joy as Oliver Glasner’s team rode their luck to make it third time lucky after suffering defeats in their previous two FA Cup final appearances in 1990 and 2016.
Glasner, who took charge of the club 15 months ago, becomes the first Austrian coach to win the FA Cup.
City have been a pale imitation of the side that has dominated the English game for most of the past decade.
But the way they began at Wembley suggested that Pep Guardiola’s side were determined to prove that talk of their demise had been greatly exaggerated.
Having picked an ultra-attacking lineup shorn of defensive midfielders, City hemmed Palace deep inside their own half for the opening 15 minutes with Kevin De Bruyne pulling the strings on what was his last Wembley appearance in City’s colours.
Crystal Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson saves Manchester City’s Omar Marmoush’s penalty kick [Adam Davy/PA Images via Getty Images]
His lofted ball picked out Erling Haaland, whose stretching effort at the far post was brilliantly saved by Henderson, who also shortly afterwards beat out Josko Gvardiol’s header.
Palace finally broke the siege, and in their first foray beyond the centre circle, they ripped through City’s lines.
Jean-Philippe Mateta played in Daniel Munoz, and his cross was met by Eze, who flashed a first-time volley past Stefan Ortega to provoke an eruption of noise from the Palace fans.
Ismaila Sarr nearly made it 2-0, but Ortega saved, and Palace’s hearts were in their mouths when Henderson appeared to have handled the ball outside his area under pressure from Haaland, but a subsequent VAR check spared him a possible red card.
Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi and Joel Ward lift the trophy as they celebrate with teammates after winning the FA Cup [Andrew Boyers/Reuters]
There was no escape for Palace defender Tyrick Mitchell when he tripped Bernardo Silva, and referee Stuart Attwell pointed to the spot. Surprisingly, Haaland did not take it and instead Omar Marmoush stepped forward for his first penalty since joining City in January, but his effort lacked conviction and Henderson dived to his right to save.
Henderson made a flying save to keep out Jeremy Doku’s curling effort as Palace reached half-time ahead despite having only 19 percent of possession.
Munoz thought he had made it 2-0 just past the hour mark, but a lengthy VAR check ruled his effort out for offside.
Seven-time winners City went close numerous times after the break, with Henderson and his defenders performing heroics to preserve Palace’s lead.
A huge groan went up from the Palace fans as 10 minutes of stoppage time, but after more close shaves and nail-biting, the final whistle sounded and the club’s anthem Glad All Over bellowed around the stadium.
Liverpool, England – “I love it when it gets like this,” exclaimed the man beside me as he rubbed his hands with glee.
It was the Halloween of 2009 and in the gloom of an early winter’s afternoon, Goodison Park was at its best.
Everton were playing Aston Villa in a league match, which was becoming increasingly bad-tempered. Two late red cards, an appalling referee and the floodlights taking full effect. It was the perfect recipe for a big bowl of Goodison fury.
The game finished as an unmemorable 1-1 draw, but the sheer delight of the man in the neighbouring seat long stayed with me. His excitement was a reminder to relish those rare occasions when the entire audience at this glorious theatre of football are united in emotion.
And nowhere does emotion quite like Goodison Park.
Fury, relief, joy and despair – and that’s just a two-nil defeat to Norwich in the League Cup fourth round.
Fans sitting in this footballing relic have felt it all throughout the stadium’s long and illustrious history. If they gave out Ballon d’Ors for booing, Everton would need a separate stadium just to house the trophy cabinet.
But on Sunday, there will be new emotions to add to the list – because everything is about to change.
A 133-year chapter in the story of Everton is about to end, as Goodison Park hosts the men’s team for the final time.
“Goodison has just always been there, there’s not an Evertonian alive that has watched Everton anywhere else,” said Matt Jones, host of the Blue Room podcast.
Like thousands of fellow fans, he will spend the weekend grappling with various emotions.
“I feel a bit like a dad watching his daughter get married at a wedding and everything’s starting to make him cry. As you get closer and closer to the day, you get more and more emotional,” Jones told Al Jazeera Sport.
The view as fans make their way through the residential streets that surround Goodison Park [Courtesy: Gary Lambert]
At its most basic level, Sunday’s fixture against Southampton is game number 2,791 for the Everton men’s senior team at Goodison. But for Evertonians, it represents so much more. A small part of our identity is about to be lost.
I’ve grown from a boy to a man in various seats in every stand of that grand old stadium, learning every swear word there is to know along the way.
The highs and lows of the last 30 years have been intertwined with trips there, with the ground somehow able to block out everyday life for 90 precious minutes. Much like the inability to get a phone signal inside, you leave your troubles at the turnstile.
I’ve taken various partners to Goodison (one said that she had “never seen rage quite like it”), with most of those relationships ending in the same sort of heartbreak as an Everton cup run.
But I’ve always felt privileged to sit inside a real-life museum of football. Surrounded by history, tradition and furious middle-aged men abusing anything that moves.
The next page of the Everton story will see the men’s team relocate to a 53,000-capacity stadium at Bramley Moore Dock. The impressive structure sits on the banks of the river Mersey and, for the sake of sponsorship, will be called the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
A drone view shows Everton’s new stadium at Bramley Moore Dock in Liverpool [Jason Cairnduff/Reuters]
Life in such a shiny, modern arena will be a huge adjustment for one of the oldest teams in English football.
“It’s that feeling of leaving your family home. It’s the only way I can describe it,” said Merseyside-based sports reporter Giulia Bould.
“You know you’re going to a house with a load of mod cons and you know your life’s going to be so much easier in this new house, but you’ve got to leave your family home. It’s weird,” she added.
This season has been filled with finals for Everton, although sadly not the ones that are played at Wembley with a trophy on the line.
Instead, each fixture at Goodison has ticked another final occasion off the list. From the final cup game to the final night match, even the final Saturday 3pm kickoff has had a shoutout.
But on Sunday, it really will be the finale – although only for the men’s team.
Just days before what was due to be the final ever Goodison game, Everton announced that the old stadium would be granted a stay of execution. The bulldozers won’t move in – instead the women’s team will.
“I think it’s perfect,” said Bould as she reflects on the decision from Everton’s American owners to pass Goodison over to the women’s team.
“Under the previous owner, the women’s side has long been ignored and run into the ground really, it’s been pretty much treated as second rate. But now it has been put on a level where it should be, setting the precedent for everyone else,” Bould told Al Jazeera Sport.
Terraced housing surrounds Everton Football Club’s Goodison Park ground in this aerial photo taken in 2006 [David Goddard/Getty Images]
Goodison Park is no stranger to setting a precedent. It was the first purpose-built football stadium in England and the first to install dugouts and undersoil heating.
The Toffees’ long run without relegation means it’s hosted more English top-flight football games than anywhere else.
Goodison was also the venue for an FA Cup Final and a World Cup semifinal, with Pele and Eusebio both also scoring there during the 1966 tournament. Even North Korea has graced the Goodison turf.
The storied history of Everton’s home has caught the imagination of some of the greats of the modern game.
Jose Mourinho called the place “the history of English football”, while Arsene Wenger described it as “one of the noisiest” stadium’s he’s managed in.
Sir Alex Ferguson once spared former Evertonian Wayne Rooney from an afternoon at Goodison with Manchester United, purely because of the abuse he would receive.
Visiting Goodison Park today feels vastly removed from the riches of modern English football. To put it bluntly, the stadium is no longer fit for purpose. But that is what makes it magical.
“It is the closest you can get to travelling through time to watch football,” said photographer and Evertonian Gary Lambert. That time travel begins before you even set foot in the stadium.
“Physically, Goodison is an imposing place. It appears out of nowhere between the rows of terraced houses,” said Lambert.
The view of one of the stands from outside the stadium [Courtesy: Gary Lambert]
Once inside, the stadium’s history unravels through the various sights and sounds. Obstructed views are common, with posts and pillars causing many a strained neck.
And the unique Archibald Leitch criss-cross design runs down the middle of the ancient Bullens Road stand.
“Goodison Park is the bluest place on earth. The brickwork on three-quarters of the ground is painted a vivid shade of royal blue.
“It doesn’t matter what tweaked blue hue the latest kit manufacturer might tone the latest home shirt, it’s that blue outside which is Everton’s blue,” Lambert told Al Jazeera Sport.
But there is one particular quirk that stands out above them all and it happens whenever Everton go on the attack.
“There are still so many old-fashioned wooden seats, so the seats bang and click as everyone moves to stand up,” said Bould.
The chorus of wooden clangs is something she will miss when Everton move away from their historical home.
“That clicking noise, you don’t hear that anywhere. That, for me, is Goodison.”
Like all Everton fans, I’ll miss the matchday routines around Goodison. Parking near the snooker hall, a pre-match pint in Crofts Social Club, the endless queues for the loo. I might even miss the lack of legroom.
It’s troubling to comprehend life after Goodison for Everton’s men. The two are so connected and so well-suited. Everton is Goodison and Goodison is Everton. A divorce after 133 years was always going to hurt.
But change is needed for a club still clinging to former glories. Everton’s new ground could be the chance for a new start. The Hill Dickinson Stadium doesn’t suit us, but it represents the new world of football, where money is power.
In many ways, Sunday’s fixture will be a changing of the guard as the grand old team are hurtled into the modern age.
“We’re at the end of such a long journey now at Goodison. And at just the very start and the very first step of a new one.
“And maybe we’re quite privileged to be at this crossover point and experience both of them,” said Jones.
The view inside Goodison Park as the surface is watered before the arrival of the players and fans [Dave Thompson/AP]
The FA Cup was not Manchester City’s top priority this season, but now that they are in a third straight final, the club will go all out to win the trophy at Wembley, manager Pep Guardiola said.
City have had a “horrific season” in the words of striker Erling Haaland, with Guardiola’s side falling by the wayside in the Premier League title race while they were also eliminated in the Champions League knockout phase playoffs.
City are fourth in the Premier League and yet to secure Champions League qualification for next season – winning the FA Cup when they face Crystal Palace on Saturday may not be enough to salvage their campaign.
“That is the problem, right? The FA Cup now is not the first choice. Of course, we want it. Once we are here, of course, we want the trophy. It is massively important,” Guardiola told reporters on Friday.
“It was a disappointment last season [losing in the final to Manchester United]. But I’m pretty sure we’ll perform well, and we are going to compete against them.
“It’s the final of the FA Cup, it’s an honour and a privilege. Third time in a row being there, and we have to perform well. We travel to London to win the title.”
Guardiola also praised Oliver Glasner’s Palace, who knocked out fellow Premier League sides Fulham and Aston Villa to reach the final.
Palace, who are 12th in the league table, are seeking their first major trophy, having fallen in the final in 1990 and 2016, losing to Manchester United on both occasions.
“It is a fantastic team. They have had a really good second part of the season. They have had more than a year with Oliver working with the same players,” Guardiola said.
“They are a threat because they have quality. [Striker Jean-Philippe] Mateta is strong and the quality in [Eberechi] Eze is obvious and, of course, the pace from [fellow forward Ismaila] Sarr … [Adam] Wharton is a really good holding midfielder.
“They are well structured defensively and their set-pieces are one of the best in the Premier League.”
Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner is in his second season in charge of the club [David Klein/Reuters]
It’s 90 percent about us, says Palace manager
The quiet confidence seeping out of Crystal Palace’s training ground before the final against Manchester City was summed up by manager Oliver Glasner on Friday.
“We’re focused on what we want to do at Wembley. We analysed Man City, but 90 percent, we were talking about us,” Glasner, who will become the first Austrian to lead a team in an FA Cup final, told reporters.
“This is what we can influence. We can influence our performance. We can influence what we want to do in and out of possession. And the focus was on our game. We have a lot of confidence and looking forward to the final.”
Palace may be 12th in the Premier League, but have matched their record points tally with two games still to play.
In the FA Cup, they have clicked impressively, winning 3-0 at Fulham in the quarterfinals and then beating Villa by the same margin at Wembley in the semis.
Now, they have one last obstacle to get over and claim the south London club’s first major trophy in its 120-year history.
Palace drew 2-2 with City at Selhurst Park in the league and led 2-0 in the return fixture, only to lose 5-2. They also lost 4-2 last April, a couple of months after Glasner took charge.
Scoring goals against Pep Guardiola’s team has not been a problem, but Glasner knows they will need to adjust defensively to give themselves the best possible chance at Wembley.
“In every single game [against City] we scored two goals, but we just had one draw, because we conceded four, two and five, so we have to make a few adjustments in our defending,” he said. “Because when you concede five, it’s tough to win, but when you score two, you should be able to win.
“So, we have confidence that we will create our chances, we will create our situations to score goals, but we have to do better in defence, and I don’t mean the back three or the back five. So as a team, maybe we have to adjust a few things, and this is what we want to do tomorrow.”
Palace fans, hoping it will be third time lucky in Cup finals after defeats in 1990 and 2016, produced a wall of sound and colour in the semifinal against Villa and are bound to give their side passionate support again on Saturday.
Goalkeeper Dean Henderson was one of several Palace players to donate to a fundraising campaign for a giant “tifo” against Villa, and another 45,000 pounds has been raised for one to be unfurled before Saturday’s Wembley showdown.
“The one against Villa was top class,” said Henderson. “I don’t know what they are going to do with 40-odd grand – but I’m excited to see it.”
Liverpool are competing with Spanish giants for Adam Wharton, but could lose Harvey Elliott to Wolves, while Real Madrid forward Rodrygo’s agents have held talks with a trio of Premier League clubs…
A move for Chelsea’s French striker Christopher Nkunku, 27, could also be part of Liverpool’s summer plans. (Footmercato – in French, external)
Wolves are stepping up their efforts to sign Liverpool’s English midfielder Harvey Elliott, 22. (GiveMesport, external)
Premier League trio Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal have already held talks with the agents of Real Madrid’s 24-year-old Brazilian forward Rodrygo, who has fallen down the pecking order at the Bernabeu. (Fichajes – in Spanish, external)
Aston Villa are hoping to turn Axel Disasi’s loan move from Chelsea permanent in the summer, with the club already starting negotiations with the 27-year-old French defender. (Footmercato – in French, external)
Chelsea, meanwhile, have a shortlist of potential centre-back signings, including 22-year-old Englishman Jarrad Branthwaite of Everton, and England international Marc Guehi, 24, at Crystal Palace. (Sky Sports, external)
Aston Villa could bring Barcelona’s 25-year-old Spanish striker Ferran Torres back to the Premier League for a fee in the region of £42m during the summer transfer window. (Birmingham Mail, external)
Southampton are interested in Sturm Graz right-back Max Johnston, 21, with the Scotland international reportedly available for £3m. (Sky Sports, external)
Wrexham are considering a move for 26-year-old Nottingham Forest midfielder Lewis O’Brien – currently on loan at Swansea City – following their promotion to the Championship. (Football League World, external)
Who: Manchester City vs Crystal Palace What: English FA Cup final Where: Wembley Stadium, London, United Kingdom When: Saturday at 4:30pm (15:30 GMT)
Follow Al Jazeera Sport‘s live text and photo commentary stream.
Manchester City and Crystal Palace go head-to-head for the FA Cup in a final that has captured the imagination the world over since its inception.
English football’s showpiece cup final has been a tale of a team from any level – even non-professional – rising to the top to take down the giants of the game.
The Eagles of South London are no minnows in this story, but their opponents are as big as they come in the global game.
Al Jazeera Sport takes a look at a showdown that carries great weight for both teams in the world’s oldest cup competition.
Why is the FA Cup so important to both finalists?
History beckons for Crystal Palace against a Manchester City side that have one final shot at avoiding a rare trophyless season under Pep Guardiola.
Twice FA Cup runners-up, Palace have never won a major trophy in their 119-year history.
The Eagles sense this may finally be their time up against a City side far from their former glories of Guardiola’s trophy-laden reign.
What is Crystal Palace’s form?
Palace warmed up for the Wembley showpiece by cruising to a 2-0 win at Tottenham last weekend to equal their record of 49 Premier League points with two games of the season to spare.
The south London club finished in the top 10 for the first time in the Premier League era last season after just a few months under Oliver Glasner.
Another top-half finish looks unlikely, but progress has continued under the Austrian thanks to their FA Cup heroics, including a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Champions League quarterfinalists Aston Villa in the last four.
Eberechi Eze is the main man for City to fear with five goals in his last four games.
But he is one of just four England internationals that reached the final of Euro 2024 likely to start for Palace on Saturday alongside Dean Henderson, Marc Guehi and Adam Wharton.
“It means everything,” said Eze on the prospect of delivering the club’s first taste of silverware.
“We know what it means to the fans, to the club. We’re going to give everything that we’ve got to put ourselves in the best position.
“We’re confident. We know that we’ve just got to do what we do and be the best version of ourselves, and we’ve got the chance of beating any team.”
Victory would also secure entry to one of Europe’s major club competitions for the first time in Palace’s history, with a place in the Europa League at stake.
What is Man City’s form?
City’s laboured display in drawing a blank at bottom-of-the-table Southampton last weekend gives Palace even more reason to believe they can lift the cup.
However, Guardiola’s men are unbeaten in 10 games, including a 5-2 demolition of Palace in the Premier League last month despite falling 2-0 behind.
Will this be De Bruyne’s dream send-off?
City’s fightback at the Etihad Stadium in the last encounter between the clubs was prompted by Kevin De Bruyne rolling back the years.
The Belgian has just three games left as a City player after a glorious decade in Manchester and will be aiming to add one more to his 14 major honours with the club.
“He has had an incredible time at Manchester City,” said City’s top scorer Erling Haaland.
“It is ridiculous how many trophies he has won. Hopefully he will get one more trophy.”
After an unprecedented four consecutive English top-flight titles, City find themselves battling just to secure a top-five Premier League finish and a place in next season’s Champions League.
Anything other than victory would cap what Haaland described as a “horrendous” campaign for a squad of serial winners.
City have not ended a season without a trophy since Guardiola’s first at the club in 2016/17.
“It is a good habit to reach Wembley and always important to win trophies. We have the FA Cup final to play for and in a horrific season we still managed to do this,” added the Norwegian.
What was Palace’s finest FA Cup moment?
Palace’s extraordinary and eventually heartbreaking 1990 campaign was their finest hour in the competition.
The semifinals and final(s) that year were arguably the most dramatic in the competition’s long and storied history and remain the emotional high and low point of every Palace fan who watched them.
Palace were struggling in the top flight after promotion and had been humiliated 9-0 by Liverpool early in the season.
In the Cup they were hardly pulling up trees either, beating lower league Portsmouth, Huddersfield Town, Rochdale and Cambridge United to reach the semifinals for the first time since they lost to Southampton as a third division team in 1976.
Facing runaway champions-elect and FA Cup holders Liverpool again in the semis look an insurmountable barrier and an Ian Rush goal had the Reds ahead at halftime at Villa Park.
Things then went crazy as Mark Bright and Gary O’Reilly gave Palace a shock lead. Two goals in two minutes put Liverpool back in front, only for Andy Gray to stun the odds-on favourites in the 88th minute to force extra time.
Amazingly, it was Palace who snatched victory in the 109th minute via Alan Pardew, who would later manage the club.
The cup final itself, against Manchester United, went to a replay after a stunning 3-3 draw in the first encounter.
United won the next match 1-0 with a goal from defender Lee Martin, which handed a young manager by the name of Alex Ferguson his first trophy as boss of the Red Devils.
How many FA Cups have City won?
City are seven-time winners of the cup, with their first victory coming in 1904 against Bolton Wanderers.
Their last win was a 2-1 victory against their fierce rivals Manchester United in 2023.
Head-to-head
This is the 74th meeting between the two teams in a fixture dating back to 1921.
Palace were 2-0 winners in an FA Cup meeting in the third round that year.
City stormed back in the next meeting between the clubs – once again in the FA Cup – beating Palace 11-4 in February 1926.
Overall, City have claimed the spoils on 39 occasions and the Eagles soaring to victory after 17 of the meetings.
Palace haven’t recorded a win in their last seven encounters with City, who have won four in that time.
Man City team news
Haaland is expected to start after making his comeback from six weeks out injured at Southampton last weekend.
Rodri continues his slow return to full fitness, but with an eye on the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup in June, the cup final appears to have come too soon for a start.
Crystal Palace team news
Midfielder Adam Wharton has returned to full fitness following an ankle injury.
It means the Eagles have a fully fit squad to choose from.
The TV industry and buyers of commercial time were able to breathe a little easier going to their annual week of presentations known as the upfronts.
Not long before the curtain went up Monday at Radio City Music Hall for NBCUniversal’s event, President Trump announced he would hold off on tariffs on China, easing some of the economic uncertainty going into the selling season for television networks.
But the messaging from media executives throughout the week acknowledged that advertisers will be under pressure to get more from their marketing dollars. Between performances by Lizzo, Lady Gaga and the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, ad buyers heard about the new artificial intelligence-powered tools for targeting specific audiences.
While traditional TV still commands the bulk of U.S. advertising spending, advertisers’ increasing comfort with streaming was apparent.
Seven years ago, YouTube executives had to reassure sponsors that the company would work harder to keep their ads from running in user-created videos that pushed conspiracy theories or hate speech.
But at the Google-owned platform‘s gathering at Lincoln Center on Wednesday, the audience saw a glowing testimonial video from Marc Pritchard, chief branding officer for Procter & Gamble, a company known for being meticulous about its marketing and media decisions.
Netflix and Amazon marched into the week buoyed by the growing number of streaming subscribers who see ads. Netflix said its service carrying commercials now reaches 90 million subscribers worldwide while Amazon’s Prime Video is now at 130 million in the U.S.
The week of parties and parade of celebrities offered a glimpse into the current state of the TV business. Here’s what stood out:
Live sports rule, especially the NFL
Walt Disney Co.’s TV lineup is packed with big-name talent. But the company kicked off its upfront with an opening number by an unlikely singing duo — former NFL quarterbacks Eli and Peyton Manning.
The audience at North Javits in Manhattan saw two more NFL stars, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, before a single actor appeared on stage. It was a sign of the NFL’s vital importance to the company and the TV business writ large.
Disney — where not too long ago Chief Executive Bob Iger mused about spinning off ESPN — wasn’t alone in touting its commitment to the league.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell did a walk-on at the YouTube presentation to announce the platform’s first exclusive livestream of a league game, the Los Angeles Chargers season opener against the Chiefs in Brazil on Sept. 5.
Roger Goodell speaks onstage during Netflix’s Upfront 2025 on Wednesday in New York.
(Roy Rochlin / Getty Images for Netflix)
On the Netflix stage, Goodell was joined by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to plug a documentary series on the franchise and announce this year’s two Christmas games that will be carried on the platform.
Jason and Travis Kelce promoted their Wondery podcast at Amazon’s show. Former tight end Rob Gronkowski showed up at two upfront presentations, one for Fox where he is part of the network’s NFL coverage and later at YouTube because, well, why not?
NFL games accounted for 95 out of the top 100 most-watched TV programs last year and is now setting records on streaming. Netflix had its most watched Christmas Day in history when 65 million U.S. viewers streamed some portion of its NFL double header. (Goodell wore a Santa Claus suit for his announcement of this year’s Netflix games).
For TV industry veterans, the emphasis on live sports was surprising. “Traditionally entertainment was the driver of the upfront,” Ben Silverman, co-CEO of production company Propagate, told CNBC.
Or as ABC late night host Jimmy Kimmel put it during his annual Disney upfront roast: “This is all sports. What happened? We used to be so gay.”
But as the audience continues to be atomized by the growing number of streaming options, sports are more valuable than ever for advertisers who want to reach a mass audience.
Executives at Netflix, long on the leading edge of providing niche offerings to fit every consumer’s taste, now extol the virtues of the mass audience viewing experience now that it carries NFL games.
Live sports have become a lifeline to traditional TV, as most young viewers have turned to streaming for scripted series and movies. The trend was reflected in NBCUniversal’s presentation, which emphasized the arrival of the NBA on the network that will cost $2.5 billion a year.
“Tonight” host Jimmy Fallon may have summed it up best when he said, “Good morning, I’m glad to be at the NBA upfront — I mean NBC upfront.”
Planning for life after cable
Warner Bros. Discovery stunned the crowd at the Theater at Madison Square Garden with the announcement that its streaming service Max will once again be called HBO Max. The company stripped HBO from the name in 2023, believing the HBO brand name was too exclusive for the service’s ambitions to broaden its audience.
Dropping the prestigious HBO logo from the name of the service was a dubious decision from the start. But restoring it was a recognition of an undeniable fact: the future belongs to streaming, so why relegate a familiar and respected brand name to the waning cable box?
CNN and ESPN announced that their direct-to-consumer streaming services rolling out later this year will use the network names that have been familiar to cable viewers for more than four decades. The monikers will not carry a plus sign or any other designation that suggest the product differs from what’s on TV, and that’s by design.
Younger viewers may be forgoing cable subscriptions, but they know the CNN and ESPN brand names through their digital content. For those viewers, streaming isn’t an add-on, it is the way they watch TV
Movies are open for ad business, too
Not so long ago, seeing a movie star on stage at a network upfront presentation was a big deal.
But streaming has blurred the line by offering both series and original movies, and media companies are using that to their advantage when pitching to advertisers. The trend has given the platforms a bit more sizzle in their pitches.
Charlize Theron speaks onstage during Netflix’s upfront presentation Wednesday in New York.
(Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images for Netflix)
Arnold Schwarzenegger riffed at length about his upcoming Christmas film for Amazon, “The Man With the Bag.” The moment got added mileage when the former California governor’s “True Lies” co-star Jamie Lee Curtis joined him on stage.
Charlize Theron took the stage at the Perelman Performing Arts Center to plug her upcoming Netflix feature “Apex.”
NBCUniversal teased the sequel to “Wicked,” which will eventually run on its Peacock streaming service.
Warner Bros. Discovery touted its sponsor partnerships for the theatrical blockbuster “A Minecraft Movie” and brought out James Gunn and Peter Safran, keepers of DC Studios, to say there will be opportunities for the upcoming Superman movie and other projects.
Julian Strawther provides the spark off the bench, and even loses a tooth, as Nuggets force Game 7 against Thunder.
Now this was finally a role Julian Strawther could sink his teeth into, even if it cost him one.
Playing meaningful extended minutes for the first time in the series, the Denver Nuggets guard provided a spark off the bench as he scored all 15 of his points in the second half on Thursday night. His big game helped propel Denver to a 119-107 victory over the Thunder and force a Game 7 on Sunday in Oklahoma City.
“That’s the moment you dream of when you’re a little kid – come to the game, having all the guys believe in you, find you in your spots and be able to just make an impact on the game,” said Strawther, a second-year player out of Gonzaga.
Strawther certainly left it all on the floor, including a tooth (a prosthetic one) that happened to pop out in the fourth quarter when he took contact from an Oklahoma City player. He tried to get the officials to stop play long enough to gather it up. But the action was already heading the other way.
A ball boy scooped it up for him in a towel and returned it to the bench. By the time Strawther addressed the media following the game, he had it back in place.
He explained that after he lost a baby tooth as a kid, the adult version – located on the right side next to his front tooth – never grew in.
“We got it back,” Strawther said.
Julian Strawther (3) of the Denver Nuggets reacts to being called for fouling Luguentz Dort (5) of the Oklahoma City Thunder [Aaron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post via Getty Images]
Just like that, the Nuggets are going back to OKC. It was their sole mission after frittering away a fourth-quarter lead and losing there in Game 5.
The Nuggets’ bench made a big impact behind the play of Strawther, Russell Westbrook (eight points) and Peyton Watson (four).
Sure, the reserves of the Thunder outscored them 32-27. Before Thursday, though, the average production of the bench was 34-22 through five games in favour of the Thunder.
“(Julian) was amazing,” said Nikola Jokic, who had 29 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists. “He had the big points, the big moments of the game.”
Strawther finished 3 of 4 from 3-point range and 4 of 4 from the line. Above all, he helped the Nuggets maintain their momentum in the fourth quarter as Jokic sat on the bench to get some valuable rest. Strawther played 19 1/2 minutes, his playoff high.
This after being limited to 14 minutes combined over the last three games, including a “DNP” – did not play – in Game 3. Interim coach David Adelman told him to stay ready.
He listened.
“Understanding that there’s a night that I may not check in at all,” Strawther explained. “And there’s a night like tonight where he’s going to ride with me.
“Me and (Adelman) have had a transparent relationship through these playoffs, and I’m really appreciative for him throwing me out there tonight.”
His role may increase even more depending on the status of Aaron Gordon, who hurt his left hamstring late in the game.
“I feel OK. We’ll see,” Gordon said after the game. “I’m going to start the recovery process now, to make sure I’m ready for a Game 7.”
Another player who found a groove was banged-up forward Michael Porter Jr., who was 4 of 9 for 10 points. He’s been dealing with a sprained left shoulder.
“For me, with what I’ve been through, there’s so much extra things I have to be on top of,” explained Porter, who said he had a lidocaine injection in his shoulder before Game 6 and plans to have another leading into Sunday. “Since I hurt my shoulder I’m not able to be on top of things like I want to … I don’t feel as comfortable and confident in my shot as I want to feel throughout these playoffs.
“But I’m still out there and still trying to space the floor and shooting it when I’m getting it, whether it goes in or out. I just have to stay confident.”
