Expanding the World Cup to 48 teams always presented one obvious problem – it was an imperfect number for a tournament.
With 32 teams, the maths was simple – eight groups of four teams, with the top two going through to a last 16, then quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final.
By adding another 16 nations, Fifa had to find a way to get to a symmetrical knockout stage. There was no ideal solution – one which preserved the intensity of the previous format.
The original plan was to create 16 groups of three teams. The two top in each would go through to the last 16.
But there was an issue. Three-team groups meant individual fixtures – and those in the final match would know exactly what they needed to do to qualify. Nations could play for specific results to secure their passage to the knockout rounds.
Fifa, after all, knew all about alleged collusion from the scandal at the 1982 World Cup. Back then, with groups of four, teams did not play their final group matches at the same time.
West Germany faced Austria in the standalone last game. A slender win for the Germans would send both teams through at the expense of Algeria. The match finished 1-0 to West Germany. Algeria went out.
Fifa changed the format so all final fixtures would be played simultaneously, but that would not have been possible with three-team groups.
The climax to the group stage in Qatar was so exciting that Fifa had a rethink. It accepted there must be 12 four-team groups and two matches would be played at the same time to determine who would qualify.
Except for one crucial difference – something that removed much of the jeopardy that made the last World Cup so gripping.
Eight of the third-placed teams must go through for there to be 32 teams in the knockout rounds. It became harder to be knocked out than to progress.
And one issue becomes clear with two matches this week.
First up, Australia played Paraguay on Thursday. The teams were second and third in Group D and both on three points.
Four points is almost certain to be enough to take one of the eight third-placed qualifying slots, so it created a situation in which the teams knew that a draw was helpful to both.
Australia are definitely through in second place and celebrated with their supporters at the final whistle. Paraguay played it low key but, barring a very unlikely set of results in the remaining groups, they will go through too.
The next game of interest in this respect is Austria v Algeria in Group J (03:00 BST Sunday).
Again, the two teams are second and third on three points. A point is very likely to send both teams through, while defeat is much more likely to send one home.
Will we see another draw?
After being impacted negatively in 1982, Algeria could be the beneficiaries in 2026.
You could argue a game in Group F on Thursday fell into the same category, with Japan starting the match on four points and Sweden on three.
That match also finished 1-1 to guarantee the Scandinavians would progress, but there was no real risk involved for Japan if they have lost.
It is the same in Group L, too, with Ghana on four points and Croatia on three.
Passing “Go” has become especially lucrative for mobile game publisher Scopely.
The Culver City-based Scopely launched “Monopoly Go!” in 2023, betting fans of the classic board game would flock to a mobile version aimed at casual gamers.
By 2025, “Monopoly Go!” had accrued $6 billion in lifetime in-app purchase revenue, becoming the fastest free mobile game to do so, according to app analytics firm Sensor Tower.
This summer, the app is expected to reach $8 billion in lifetime revenue, the company says, solidifying “Monopoly Go!” as Scopely’s biggest game and far surpassing the company’s popular “Pokémon Go.” The company declined to disclose its total profits.
Scopely Co-Chief Executive Javier Ferreira.
As overall downloads in the mobile game market have stagnated and in-app purchases and retention become the main drivers of growth, Scopely has hit on an age-old Hollywood strategy — using known franchises and intellectual property to bring out fans.
“These are incredibly durable and long-lasting games that have really passionate communities and fandom around them,” said Javier Ferreira, co-chief executive of Scopely. “We’re in the business of building people’s favorite thing, and that’s a difficult thing to do. The power of [intellectual property] is that, in some cases, that is already their favorite thing.”
The company’s journey toward “Monopoly Go!” began in 2014, when Scopely formed a partnership with Rhode Island-based toymaker Hasbro. Its first collaboration was a Yahtzee mobile dice game that ultimately drew millions of players worldwide (though it was especially popular in the U.S.) and generated more than $1 billion in lifetime revenue.
After that, Scopely approached Hasbro about taking on the “crown jewel” of its board game empire — Monopoly.
Monopoly’s massive global popularity was an obvious draw. But adapting an hours-long real estate transaction game for a casual, mobile audience proved challenging.
Development of what would become “Monopoly Go!” ultimately took seven years, two of which were spent trying to make movement around the board more fun. In that time, the company scrapped two versions of the game; one deemed too competitive, and one that was too complex, Ferreira said.
Developers wanted to capture the “roller coaster feel” of the board game’s highs and lows, while also having simple rules and ensuring a strong social element, he said.
“We couldn’t just copy,” Ferreira said. “We had to reinvent it and re-imagine it, and that’s a complicated, creative endeavor.”
Today, “Monopoly Go!” brings in more than $2 billion in annual revenue and has been downloaded across the globe more than 300 million times.
Now with “Pokémon Go,” which the company owns after acquiring maker Niantic’s game business last year, “Scopely has gone from a successful publisher to one of the defining companies in mobile gaming,” Randy Nelson, head of insights at Appfigures, a mobile app analytics firm.
“The company cracked the code on licensed games years ago,” he wrote in an email. “Its biggest hits work because they’re great games first and recognizable brands second.”
Though the company’s overall game downloads have slowed, its gross revenue has largely increased every year since 2020, according to Appfigures data.
Shortly after Scopely released “Monopoly Go!,” the company was acquired by Savvy Games Group, which is owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, for $4.9 billion.
In a statement about the deal, Savvy Games Group Chief Executive Brian Ward touted the success of “Monopoly Go!” as “indicative of Scopely’s ongoing position at the forefront of the global games sector.”
Representatives of the Saudi investment fund are part of Savvy Game Group’s board and do sometimes give some feedback on company initiatives, though Ferreira said the company has remained “very independent.”
The proposed acquisition of gaming giant Electronic Arts by the Saudi Public Investment Fund is not expected to affect Scopely since EA largely focuses on high-budget console and computer games, he said.
As Scopely, now 3,000 employees strong, looks to the future, it has embarked on a number of entertainment partnerships with studios to add franchises such as “The Simpsons,” “Hello Kitty” and Marvel to its mobile game ecosystem.
“They give us access to these universes that millions of people love and are really invested in,” Ferreira said. “We see this as a very strategic part of our business.”
A bowl of lemons sits on a table in the conference room Mauricio Pochettino has turned into an office at the U.S. men’s soccer team’s beachfront resort in south Orange County. The citrus fruit, the coach believes, has the spiritual ability to absorb negative energy. On the corner of another table, the flame from a candle flickers.
“I like candles,” says Pochettino, who believes they release therapeutic fragrances and create a calming environment.
But it is the massive, blood-red mural covering the entire south side of the room that truly reveals what Pochettino believes. In the center of the wall, just behind the coach’s desk, white block letters spell out “Why Not” above a script “U.S.,” which, despite the periods, is meant to be read as “us.”
Pochettino has turned the question in a mantra for a World Cup team that has answered it with two wins in as many games and has a chance to win a third match in the tournament for the first time when it meets Turkey at SoFi Stadium on Thursday.
The idea came to him during a team meeting last November when he sensed his players had doubts about their upcoming World Cup run. So Pochettino turned those doubts into a question. If South Korea could come from nowhere and make the semifinals of the 2002 World Cup, and if Morocco could do the same four years ago in Qatar, why not the U.S.?
Why not us?
“Hey, come on, guys, are you listening to me?” Pochettino said he asked the group. “We need to believe.”
Before he could convince his players, however, he had to convince himself. And that might have been the hardest part.
The 54-year-old Pochettino is a benevolent Svengali with a whistle; Ted Lasso with an Argentine accent. Belief isn’t so much a concept for him as it is a way of life. But when he and his coaching staff took over the U.S. team in the fall of 2024, following its disastrous performance in the Copa América, he said he inherited a demoralized, dispirited group.
“We received a big bang,” Pochettino said, mimicking a punch to the face. “We were knock[ed] out for a while.”
“We were so naive,” he continued. “The situation was way worse than we really believed.”
Pochettino refused to change the system that has brought him success at European clubs Tottenham, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea. So he set out to change the players instead. That would take time, something he had very little of since he took over with the World Cup just 20 months away.
“It’s difficult to analyze the process, you know,” Pochettino said during an informal, 40-minute discussion at his team’s Dana Point hotel, the sun setting over the ocean through the open patio doors of his office.
“When you put the seed on the soil, [the] first seed, you don’t see nothing. Then you start to grow the tree. It was difficult to explain the plant because it’s not easy.”
The seed Pochettino planted with the national team took time to sprout. He lost five of his first 10 games, including a disastrous four-game stretch that included Nations League losses to Panama and Canada in the spring of 2025. The team’s supporters revolted, but Pochettino rejoiced.
“What happened, that was [a] good crash,” he said. “When we detect all the problems, we go for the solution. And we knew that the solution will arrive. The object is to challenge people.”
U.S. men’s soccer coach Mauricio Pochettino during the second half of his team’s World Cup match vs. Paraguay at SoFi Stadium.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
So he stayed the course.
“That was the process. Now is not a coincidence,” he said of the team’s success.
Pochettino has long believed that building a roster isn’t about picking the best players, but picking the right players. Players who fit his tactical approach, players who get along with one another, players who contribute to the team chemistry.
For him, the human connection, human respect is as important — if not more important — than the ability to dribble through tight spaces. And those traits are particularly important in a World Cup since the team will spend every day together for six weeks or more.
Although Pochettino’s team includes 13 holdovers from the 2022 World Cup roster, it also includes five players who made their national team debuts in the last 18 months.
Sometimes, he concluded, it is easier to simply change the player than it is to change what the player thinks or believes. And the newbies have totally bought in.
“We’re all in total belief. We’re all totally supportive and have faith in the process that he’s been outlining,” said goalkeeper Matt Freese, who made his first appearance for the national team more than 12 months ago and now is starting in a World Cup. “Our task was to keep believing, keep working hard and keep trusting. And we did that. We fully bought into the process.”
That process has made Pochettino the first U.S. coach to win a group stage in 16 years while his two victories in as many games match Bruce Arena, the most successful World Cup coach in U.S. history, who managed eight games over two tournaments.
The lemons and candles Pochettino keeps in his office are manifestations of energia universal or universal energy, a foundational concept common to many Eastern philosophies that believe a fundamental life force connects all things. Pochettino said he has long felt this connection and it has been a foundational part of his coaching.
But it doesn’t stop with the candles and citrus fruit. Pochettino also has filled the mural behind his desk with inspirational sayings.
“The talent has brought us here, but it is heart, effort and unity that will make us unforgettable,” one reads.
“If I dream of touching the moon, maybe I can get close to it. If I only dream of getting close, I’ll stay on Earth,” another says.
Each ends with the coach’s initials, similar to the way a painter signs his portraits.
Pochettino’s faith in the power of fruit and candles and his penchant for penning aphorisms hasn’t taken away from the ferociousness of his approach to soccer. Many players say the training sessions under Pochettino — which are intricate, focused and highly physical — are frequently more intense than the games. But most also are punctuated with laughter.
“Training is still very competitive, it’s very intense,” said midfielder Max Arfsten, who made his national team debut under Pochettino last year. “That’s the culture that the coaches created. Everyone’s still trying to prove something.”
Although Pochettino has spent his life in Argentina and Europe and still splits his time between houses in Barcelona and London, flying to the U.S. for matches and training camps, he’s been a quick study in this country’s culture and quirks.
“One of the things that we really like, and we learn from you, is in the way that you approach life. It’s more casual than formal,” said the coach, whose English is still a work in progress. “People are very approachable and make you feel comfortable. That, for me, was a massive surprise. You always want to welcome people.
“Even the music, even the food. People say ‘no, Americans have crazy food.’ Yes, you have crazy food. But also you have Whole Foods. In Europe, you don’t have a Whole Foods.”
And Pochettino has adopted it all. He’s become a big fan of country artist Lainey Wilson, went to hear Teddy Swims, a uniquely American genre-blending singer, last winter in New York, and is learning the words to John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” the unofficial victory anthem of the World Cup team.
Perhaps more important, at times he’s taken his lemons and his candles and pushed them aside, replacing them with another distinctly American trait: the in-your-face confidence to will yourself to victory from the most hopeless situations.
It’s how Americans won at Valley Forge even before they were Americans and how they won on the beaches of Normandy when the concept of America was threatened. It’s how Americans went to the moon and invented the internet.
“We’re American. We don’t take s—,” midfielder Sebastian Berhalter said Pochettino told the team during one meeting. “Even though he’s Argentinian, he has that mindset of, ‘Look, this is what we do. This is who we are. This is what America’s about.’ Even from an outside perspective, he showed us Americans what we’re about.
“He really drills that into us.”
For decades Americans have measured World Cup success in advancing beyond the group stage. Pochettino entered this summer’s tournament predicting a run to the semifinals, runs like South Korea and Morocco made.
“When people believe in each other, impossible dreams become possible,” reads another message the coach has scratched onto the wall of his office.
In 1846, two amateur baseball teams played under new rules at Hoboken, N.J., planting the first seeds of organized baseball. The New York Nine beat the Knickerbockers, 23-1.
In 1856, the first Republican national convention ended in Philadelphia with the nomination of explorer John Charles Fremont of California for president. James Buchanan, a Federalist nominated by the Democrats, was elected.
In 1864, the Union sloop-of-war USS Kearsarge sank the Confederate commerce raider CSS Alabama in the Battle of Cherbourg off the coast of France.
In 1865, nearly two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation, freedom from slavery was announced in Galveston, Texas, the most remote area of the country where slavery was still practiced. The day came to be celebrated annually as Juneteenth, Freedom Day, Jubilee Day and Liberation Day.
In 1867, Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, installed as emperor of Mexico by French Emperor Napoleon III in 1864, was executed on the orders of Benito Juarez, president of the Mexican Republic.
In 1905, Pittsburgh showman Harry Davis opened the world’s first nickelodeon, showing “The Great Train Robbery,” a silent Western film. The storefront theater had 96 seats, charged 5 cents and prompted the advent of movie houses across the United States.
In 1910, Spokane, Wash., had the first Father’s Day.
File Photo by Gary C. Caskey/UPI
In 1944, World War II’s Battle of the Philippine Sea began. Japanese forces tried unsuccessfully to prevent further Allied advancement in the South Pacific.
In 1953, convicted spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed by electric chair at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, N.Y.
In 1965, Nguyen Cao Ky became the prime minister of South Vietnam, the ninth leader within the past 20 months.
UPI File Photo
In 1972, Hurricane Agnes made landfall in the Florida Panhandle, going on to kill 128 people along the eastern U.S. seaboard.
In 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a 1981 Louisiana law that required schools to teach the creationist theory of human origin espoused by fundamentalist Christians.
In 1991, Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar surrendered to police in Medellin in the wake of the assassination of Luis Carlos Galan. Authorities convinced him to give himself up in exchange for a lighter sentence for prior criminal activity — activity which continued after his imprisonment.
In 1999, horror novelist Stephen King was hit by a car and severely injured while out for a walk in rural Maine.
In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that prayers led by students at public high school football games aren’t permitted under the constitutional separation of church and state. In 2022, the high court ruled, however, that a school district in Washington violated a coach’s First Amendment rights when they stopped him from publicly praying on the field after games.
In 2008, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, became the first candidate at that level to bypass public financing since the program was established.
In 2014, Felipe VI was proclaimed Spain’s new king after his father, King Juan Carlos, abdicated the throne.
In 2019, Joy Harjo was named the first Native American poet laureate of the United States.
In 2024, the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, concluded after at least 1,300 people died over the five-day trek. Officials blamed a lack of cooling centers, sleeping accommodations and other critical services as temperatures soared above 125 degrees Fahrenheit.
WASHINGTON — The House Appropriations Committee has approved $875 million to fund public transportation for the 2028 Olympic Games, a positive sign for LA28 after the exclusion of Olympics transit funding from President Trump’s fiscal year 2027 budget request this spring.
The funding must be passed by Congress in a future spending bill — part of a lengthy 2027 budgeting process that is underway now — but its approval in committee last week is a crucial signal of investment from Washington after weeks of uncertainty.
“We are encouraged by the House Appropriations Committee’s action,” spokesperson Maya Pogoda of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority said in a statement, “and we look forward to continuing to work with the Senate and the White House to make America’s Games the best ever in history.”
LA Metro has sought $2 billion in federal funding for the planned transit service for the Games, which includes leasing buses, hiring drivers and building temporary depots. With the clock ticking to start projects that require significant lead time to be completed before the Games, the absence of any funding in Trump’s budget request in April had raised concerns among lawmakers and other stakeholders.
In recent weeks, the transit authority, the city and LA28 had publicly pressed for federal funding; LA28 Chief Executive Casey Wasserman reportedly met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill in April.
“The House Appropriations Committee’s most recent transportation bill is another positive signal of the continued bipartisan support in Congress to provide federal transit money for the Games,” LA28 spokesperson Jacie Prieto Lopez told The Times.
The inclusion of the funding in the bill conveyed bipartisan support for the Games, an event that Trump — who places an outsize importance ondisplays of patriotism — is likely to want to see go well during his tenure.
“This is on the American stage,” said former Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who was on the City Council during the 1984 Olympic Games. “The success of the Games are the success of the country.”
The Olympics item was included in the fiscal year 2027 transportation funding bill approved by the House Appropriations Committee last week. In its report, the committee noted that the funding is intended for all host cities, including those outside California.
“The 2028 games will put our nation on center stage, and this investment will help ensure that we are prepared to meet the moment and showcase why the United States is the best country in the world,” Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.), who chairs the subcommittee that put forth the bill, said in a statement.
The Games in Los Angeles are expected to draw massive crowds and will be the first Summer Olympics held in the United States since Atlanta hosted in 1996. More than 4 million tickets were sold during LA28’s first ticket release; asecond ticket drop is coming in August.
The massive event requires federal involvement not just on funding but also on issues including athlete visas and the import of Olympic horses.
LA Metro has planned to lease 1,700 buses from transit agencies across the country, build three temporary transit depots and create dedicated traffic lanes for athletes, officials and others as required by the International Olympic Committee. Metro estimates that 1 million additional trips per day will be taken during the 16-day Games.
It’s crucial for federal funding to come through in a timely manner, Yaroslavsky said, particularly given the scope of the security and transportation considerations for the sprawling Games.
“The city and the LA28 committee need to know that this money is going to be made available,” Yaroslavsky said. “This has to be in place long before the Games start.”
It would be fitting if Ireland’s first win in the T20 World Cup came against the Scots given they denied the Irish a place in the tournament two years ago as they pulled off a shock victory to reach the tournament for the first time.
Lewis said there was “major heartbreak” in the Ireland camp after that sore defeat that forced the squad to have to watch the World Cup from home.
Ireland are in a better place now and come into the tournament off the back of a productive Tri-Nations series in Clontarf where they beat both Pakistan and the West Indies.
“The series was a great success, we’ve got the results behind us. Confidence is high and that’s exactly what you want going into a World Cup,” Lewis added.
Lloyd Tennant’s side are ranked ninth in the world but are in a tough Group B which also has hosts England, holders New Zealand, Sri Lanka and West Indies alongside the Scots.
They will face all five sides with the top two in the group moving through to the semi-finals where they will face the top two from Group A.
Scotland won by 39 runs the last time the two sides met in Nepal in January and Lewis believes getting off to a good start in their first game is “massive” for Ireland in terms of momentum.
“There’s a big rivalry between us and them. They’ve probably got one up on us at the moment after beating us in Nepal. I think we’re looking good and we’re really excited for it.
“They’ve got a new addition in Kirsty Gordon [a former England spinner] which is a boost for them.
“If we get the win, then you never know against England.”
Germany earned a 2-1 victory against World Cup co-hosts United States in the final warm-up game for both teams.
Kai Havertz had an early goal for Germany cancelled out by Antonee Robinson’s stunning volley before Leroy Sane’s winner for Julian Nagelsmann’s side.
“I’m happy with the performance of everyone,” said US coach Mauricio Pochettino, who believed his side were “unlucky” to lose.
“We played one of the most important teams in the world. I think we need to be happy with that.”
The US will start their World Cup campaign against Paraguay on 12 June, while Germany, who have won nine games in a row, begin with a game against Curacao on 14 June.
Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said his side’s win against the US had been a “perfect test for us, both in terms of the weather and the opponent”.
Brazil beat Egypt 2-1 in the final warm-up game for both countries, with Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes scoring early on for the winners.
Mostafa Zico equalised for Egypt but Raphinha set up Endrick to win it for the South American side, who had to take defender Wesley off after 17 minutes.
Egypt forward Mohamed Salah, who recovered from a “minor muscle injury” to play for Liverpool towards the end of the season, came on for the second half against Brazil.
“Salah underwent a rehabilitation program with Liverpool and then with the national team, and he is now ready for matches,” said Egypt coach Hossam Hassan.
Egypt’s opening game of the World Cup on Monday, 15 June will be against Belgium, who thrashed Tunisia 5-0.
Leandro Trossard, Charles de Ketelaere, Kevin de Bruyne, Dodi Lukebakio and Nicolas Raskin each scored against a Tunisia side reduced to 10 men following the dismissal of Ismael Gharbi after 62 minutes.
Belgium boss Rudi Garcia brought Romelu Lukaku on after 66 minutes as he manages the striker’s return to action.
“It is a good preparation for the World Cup, we know this team can do great things,” said Garcia, whose side were beaten 2-0 by Croatia in their previous game.
In his first season at Chelsea, Liam Delap scored just one Premier League goal – two in 41 appearances in all competitions – and ended the campaign on a 26-game goal drought.
A year ago, when the striker arrived at Stamford Bridge, he spoke about his ambition to make England’s World Cup squad this summer. Clearly, it’s not gone to plan.
There are mitigating circumstances for the England Under-21 international, who had injuries and spent a lot of time on the bench, but his goal tally remains surprising given he scored 12 for an Ipswich Town side that was relegated the season before.
So what next? Delap remains committed and wants at least another season to prove his doubters wrong.
The 23-year-old’s commitment is reflected in his decision to buy a house locally, while his coaches – Enzo Maresca, Liam Rosenior and most recently Calum McFarlane – have all highlighted his work-rate behind the scenes.
Delap’s biggest issue has been Joao Pedro, who also arrived last summer in a £55m move from Brighton and was arguably the standout forward among those signed by major English clubs, with Manchester United, Arsenal and Newcastle also strengthening in that area.
Unlike Delap, Pedro is currently part of a group of ‘untouchable’ players at Stamford Bridge, alongside Cole Palmer, Reece James and Moises Caicedo.
This does not mean Chelsea are actively looking to sell Delap but his relatively low transfer fee would make him easier to move on. The club’s failure to qualify for European competition also means fewer matches, making it harder to carry a large squad.
Nicolas Jackson is also due to finish his loan spell at Bayern Munich and, with his previously frosty relationship with former manager Maresca no longer an issue, could return to the Blues despite interest from Premier League and overseas clubs.
Similarly, striker Emmanuel Emegha agreed to join Chelsea on a permanent basis from partner club Strasbourg last summer, with the expectation he will integrate into the squad in 2026.
It is likely to be a complex situation, with the input of new manager Xabi Alonso set to be key when he takes charge on 1 July.
The majority of the 42 athletes taking part used performance-enhancing substances and Enhanced Games said “13 athletes set personal bests”.
The event was played out in front of a curated crowd of around 2,500, with tickets not on sale to the general public.
On the track, American former world champion Fred Kerley – one of the athletes competing ‘clean’ – won the men’s 100m in 9.97 seconds, which was short of his personal best of 9.76.
British swimmer Ben Proud, who won silver in the men’s 50m freestyle at the 2024 Paris Olympics, triumphed in the 50m butterfly, clocking 22.32 seconds which was 0.05secs short of Andrii Govorov’s world record.
“We all know what we came for. And that’s world records. And so to be that agonizingly close, it’s frustrating,” Proud said.
Another British Olympic swimmer, Emily Barclay, won the women’s 50m freestyle in 24.09, around half a second slower than the world record.
Weightlifter Hafthor ‘Thor’ Bjornsson, who played The Mountain in TV show Game of Thrones, was another taking part but was unable to break his own deadlift record of 510kg.
Drugs used at the Enhanced Games must be legal and approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
They include testosterone, growth hormone, peptides, anabolic steroids and other substances banned in sport.
Those behind the event argue enhancement already exists in elite sport, but secretly and without transparency, and say bringing it into the open where it can be monitored makes it safer.
However many sporting governing bodies have publicly rebuked athletes for choosing to compete in the games and some sporting governing bodies have banned athletes for taking part.
The IOC and Wada have described the Enhanced Games as “immoral” and “a dangerous and irresponsible concept”, while World Athletics president Lord Coe said anyone taking part was “moronic”.
The project was founded by entrepreneurs Aron D’Souza and Maximilian Martin in 2023 and has attracted backing from prominent investors including billionaire Peter Thiel and Donald Trump Jr.
Martin had predicted that athletes would beat “quite a few” world records at the event.
The government has commissioned UK Sport to conduct an “initial strategic assessment” into a potential bid for the north of England to host the Olympics and Paralympics in the 2040s.
It said the funding agency would examine whether the UK could host the Games for the first time since London 2012, along with potential cost, socio-economic benefit and any bid’s chance of success.
“For too long we have been told the Olympics is simply too big and too important to be hosted in the north”, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told BBC Sport.
“Not any more. It’s time the Olympics came north and we showed what we can offer to the world.
“We know that we can pull off the most incredible, not just bid, but Olympics. So we’re kick-starting that with a phase-one study about the investment, the resources, the infrastructure, the transport that we’re going to need.”
The findings of UK Sport’s study will determine whether to proceed with a more detailed “technical feasibility study”, with a final decision on any bid resting with the British Olympic Association (BOA).
They aim to end the season playing in Super Bowl LXI on their home turf at SoFi Stadium.
The Sept. 10 opener — a Thursday night in the United States and the morning of Sept. 11 in Melbourne — is the first of 17 games on a schedule announced Thursday by the NFL.
With reigning NFL most valuable player Matthew Stafford and a roster fortified by the addition of All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie, the Rams are regarded as a Super Bowl favorite. And their marquee status is reflected in a schedule that includes the maximum seven prime-time appearances, an increase of two over last season when the Rams finished 12-5 and advanced to the NFC championship game before losing to the eventual Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.
Fans will have to wait nearly the entire season to see the Rams play the Seahawks. The first game between the NFC West rivals is Week 16 on Christmas night in Seattle. Two games later, on a date to be determined, they will play in the regular-season finale at SoFi Stadium.
In addition to the Friday night game against the Seahawks on Christmas, they play on “Sunday Night Football” against the Denver Broncos and “Monday Night Football” against the New York Giants and Buffalo Bills. The Rams play the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving eve — Wednesday night — and on “Thursday Night Football” against the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Rams play six division games in the NFC West, which is matched this season with the NFC East and the AFC West. The Rams also have games against teams in the NFC North, NFC South and AFC East.
The Rams play a preseason road game against the Chiefs and will play at SoFi Stadium against the New Orleans Saints and the Chargers.
Here is a game-by-game look at the regular-season schedule (all times Pacific):
Sept. 10, SAN FRANCISCO at Melbourne Cricket Ground, 5:35 p.m. (Netflix): Coach Sean McVay starts the season by matching up against mentor Kyle Shanahan and former Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris in a huge NFC West game.
Sept. 21, NEW YORK GIANTS, 5:15 p.m. (ESPN): New coach John Harbaugh aims to build a winning culture in the tradition of the one he established in 18 seasons with the Baltimore Ravens.
Sept. 27, at Denver, 5:20 p.m., (NBC): The Broncos aim to reach the Super Bowl that eluded them last season after Bo Nix’s injury. Bonus: There’s history between McVay and Sean Payton.
Oct. 4, at Philadelphia, 10 a.m. (Fox): The Rams opted to draft quarterback Ty Simpson — not former USC receiver Makai Lemon — with the 13th pick. Lemon was selected by the Eagles.
Oct. 12, BUFFALO, 5:15 p.m. (ESPN): The last time the Bills visited SoFi Stadium, the Rams won a 44-42 shootout. First-year coach Joe Brady will try to guide Josh Allen to his first Super Bowl appearance.
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen signals against the Denver Broncos in an AFC divisional playoff game in January.
(Bart Young / Associated Press)
Oct. 18, ARIZONA, 1:05 p.m., (Fox): Former Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur parlayed his time with McVay into a head coach opportunity with the Cardinals. Now he has to face Matthew Stafford & Co.
Oct. 25, at Las Vegas, 1:25 p.m. (Fox): The Raiders drafted quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the top pick in the draft. Will he play against the Rams or sit behind Kirk Cousins?
Nov. 1, CHARGERS, 1:05 p.m. (Fox): Quarterback Justin Herbert is expected to benefit from the arrival of new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel.
Nov. 8, at Washington, 10 a.m. (Fox): The Rams travel to play the Commanders for the first time since 2020. Quarterback Jayden Daniels looks to remain healthy and recapture rookie form.
Nov. 15, at Arizona, 1:05 p.m. (CBS): The Cardinals selected running back Jeremiyah Love with the fourth pick in the draft. Will it be Jacoby Brissett, Gardner Minshew or rookie Carson Beck at quarterback?
Nov. 22, off week
Nov. 25, GREEN BAY, 5 p.m. (Netflix): Jordan Love leads the Packers offense, Micah Parson the defense. Coach Matt LaFleur is 5-0 against McVay, who hired LaFleur as offensive coordinator in 2017.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford passes during a playoff win over the Carolina Panthers in January.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Dec. 3, KANSAS CITY, 5:15 p.m. (Amazon Prime): Chiefs have not played the Rams in L.A. since 2018, when the Rams won, 54-51, at the Coliseum. Will Taylor Swift return to SoFi for the end of the Travis Kelce era?
Dec. 13, at San Francisco, 1:25 p.m. (Fox): Quarterback Brock Purdy and running back Christian McCaffrey are mainstays for a team that always challenges McVay.
Dec. 20, DALLAS, 1:25 p.m. (CBS): Dak Prescott comes to town with receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens presumably as top targets. The Cowboys gave up a league-worst 30.1 points per game last season.
Dec. 25, at Seattle, 5:15 p.m. (Fox): Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold elevated his performance for the Super Bowl champions in regular-season and playoff victories over the Rams last season.
Week 17, at Tampa Bay, TBD: Baker Mayfield reignited his career after a crash course in the Rams offense in 2022 under Zac Robinson. Now Robinson is the Buccaneers offensive coordinator.
Week 18: SEATTLE, TBD: Last season, the Rams donned their Midnight Mode alternate uniforms against the Seahawks and escaped with a narrow victory. Will this game decide the NFC West?
Netflix picked up the rights to three more NFL contests amid government scrutiny over the migration of games from free TV to streaming.
The NFL’s first-ever regular season game in Melbourne, featuring the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers, will stream Sept. 10 on Netflix, the company announced Wednesday at its upfront presentation in New York. Netflix will present another NFL game first on Nov. 25 with a Thanksgiving eve game between the Rams and the Green Bay Packers at SoFi Stadium.
The streamer is also picking up a Saturday game in the final week of the regular season. With the Christmas double header Netflix has carried since 2024, the additions bring the total to five games next season.
The five games were a part of ESPN’s NFL package. ESPN relinquished the rights after the league took a 10% stake in the Walt Disney Co.-owned entity.
It was widely believed throughout the sports media business that all five games would go to streamers, split between Netflix and YouTube. But the other two will go to Fox, an international game that will air in the morning in the U.S., and NBC.
The two additional games are going to its traditional TV partners after politicians in Washington, including President Trump, raised concerns about the number of NFL contests that are moving off broadcast and behind streaming paywalls.
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Fox Corp. Chairman Emeritus Rupert Murdoch visited Trump at the White House in February to warn how traditional TV networks could be priced out of the NFL due to competition from deep-pocketed streamers.
The Department of Justice has also inquired about whether the NFL is violating the antitrust status given to leagues when their teams collectively negotiate TV rights deals.
An NFL executive familiar with the deal who was not authorized to comment publicly said the added broadcast games are not related to the issues raised in Washington. “We always are looking for ways to increase reach at the benefit of our fans,” the executive said.
In recent years, the NFL has carved out a number of games from the broadcast packages to sell to Netflix and YouTube. Those games primarily come out of the regional Sunday afternoon games carried on Fox and CBS.
But the NFL makes the case that it offers 87% of its games on free over-the-air television than any other major sport. Games sold to streamers are still made available on the local TV stations in the local markets of the teams that are featured.
Questioned about his father’s meeting at the White House, Fox Corp. Executive Chairman Lachlan Murdoch told Wall Street analysts on Monday there is no tension between the league and his company, which has carried the NFL since 1994.
Murdoch also said there have been no new negotiations with the NFL, which has expressed a desire to redo its current media rights package that runs through the 2032-33 season but has an opt-out in 2030. Murdoch has previously said the company is paying fair market value in its current deal.
In addition to the international game in Week 10, Fox is getting an extra Saturday game in Week 15.
The NFL believes its product is undervalued in light of the massive $76-billion, 11-year contract the NBA entered with NBC, Amazon and ESPN last year. The NFL is in the middle of an 11-year deal that pays the league $110 billion for games that provide much higher ratings.
The league has also said the move to streaming in recent years — which includes putting the Thursday Night Football package on Amazon Prime Video — is necessary to reach younger viewers who are not watching traditional TV. The Thursday games are made available on free TV in the local markets of the teams featured.
The NFL does have the right to renegotiate with CBS before that opt-out due to the network’s transfer of ownership. CBS parent Paramount was acquired by Skydance Media last year.
The NFL and CBS are not close on the new deal. The league is looking to increase the network’s fee from $2.1 billion a year to $3 billion, according to people familiar with the discussions who were not authorized to comment.
The NFL is currently a break-even proposition for CBS at the current price.
But the NFL is at a significant advantage as the broadcast networks and their affiliated stations are dependent on the league, which provides a vast majority of the highest-rated programming on TV. NFL games give major leverage to TV station groups when they are negotiating new carriage deals from cable and satellite providers.
The Philadelphia Eagles will play in London as part of the NFL’s international games next season.
The NFL will stage a record nine regular-season games overseas during 2026, with three in the UK while Australia and France are hosts for the first time.
The London series begins on 4 October with the Washington Commanders hosting the Indianapolis Colts at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The Jacksonville Jaguars will then host games on the following two Sundays against the Eagles at Tottenham then the Houston Texans at Wembley.
The first international game will take place during the first week of the season, with the Los Angeles Rams having a divisional match-up against the San Francisco 49ers at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The 49ers will also face the Minnesota Vikings as the NFL returns to Mexico, while the Baltimore Ravens meet the Dallas Cowboys in the league’s first game in Rio de Janeiro.
There will be three games in continental Europe, with the New Orleans Saints facing the Pittsburgh Steelers as Paris hosts its first game at the Stade de France.
The Cincinnati Bengals then face the Atlanta Falcons at the home of Real Madrid while the New England Patriots, who reached last season’s Super Bowl, will take on the Detroit Lions in Munich.
Secret Handshake, the anonymous arts and activism group behind an ongoing series of satirical public sculptures — mostly about President Trump’s alleged ties to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein — has channeled its black comedy into a new video game about the Iran war called “Operation Epic Furious: Strait to Hell.”
“The game features furious tweet battles against Iranian schoolgirls, low-flow shower heads and other threats to American freedom like DEI and the Pope. And just to save you time, the only way you can lose is by trying to hold Melania’s hand. But it’s the Middle East, so you also can’t win either,” Secret Handshake wrote in an email to The Times.
The group placed three old-school arcade-style games inside the Neoclassical DC War Memorial, which is located near the Reflecting Pool in Ash Woods and resembles a domed, open-air bandstand. The pivot from sculpture to video games was necessitated by current events, said a member of the group.
A plaque beside three video games placed in the DC War Memorial by the satirical arts and activism group Secret Handshake.
(Secret Handshake)
“We didn’t sit down and say, let’s make a video game. The video game was the answer because that’s what was happening to us. It was about watching the actions take place in Iran and some truly, truly horrible things, and how that was being spun into something cool and hip and edgy through the actual administration, through the use of video games,” the man said. “They were literally cutting in ‘Call of Duty’ and ‘Grand Theft Auto’ and others as well into these hype videos for the war, almost as if it was before a concert or a wrestling match.”
The game, which is also available to play online, begins with a shot of the White House. “Another big, beautiful day as the best President ever,” a caption reads. The game moves into the Oval Office where Trump sits at the Resolute Desk under the words, “Uh-oh another one of your executive orders was halted by the courts.” Players can then choose whether to order a Diet Coke or bomb Iran — if you choose to do the latter, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth enters the room and says, “Hey boss! Just saw on Truth Social you declared war on Iran. Hell yeah!”
“Some call it a war, I call it renovating my Middle East ballroom,” Trump says.
“My delts are ready, let’s liberate some oil,” Hegseth yells.
FBI Director Kash Patel is featured in the satirical video game made by Secret Handshake.
(Secret Handshake)
A representative for Secret Handshake says if you choose to order six Diet Cokes something special happens. I tried. You unlock an achievement and are told your health is perfect.
Secret Handshake has been erecting satirical Trump sculptures on the National Mall for more than a year, making headlines in September when the park service toppled one of its pieces, titled “Best Friends Forever,” featuring Trump and Epstein gleefully holding hands. The statue, bruised and battered by its fall, ultimately went back up.
Secret Handshake is meticulous about getting the necessary permits to display its protest art, which is why the pieces have lately remained in their designated spots for up to a week. The “Operation Epic Furious” video games are scheduled to stay up for at least the next few days, the rep said.
The goal is to get people to think, not to mock or glorify violence in any way, the Secret Handshake rep said.
The video game “Operation Epic Furious” by Secret Handshake begins with a choice: Order a Diet Coke or bomb Iran.
(Secret Handshake)
“There is no violence in the game,” the rep said. “The damage that is done is political damage and the weapons are things like gas prices and Catholic guilt.”
It’s also important to the group to be mindful of various political viewpoints.
“I would say that everything we’ve done, we’ve tried to do with respect to the other side and to not make it cruel,” the rep said. “And also we’ve done it with permission.”
Protest art, yes. But the kind that is, hopefully, built to last.
From Maddie Lee:Dodgers left-hander Justin Wrobleski had a chance to slam the door shut on the Braves’ second-inning rally. He fielded Sean Murphy’s comebacker, and set his feet to start a would-be inning-ending double play at second base.
Angled up the mound, however, he sailed the throw, which second baseman Alex Freeland wrangled to at least salvage an out.
The way the Dodgers’ offense has been scuffling, however, their 7-2 loss hinged on that four-run second inning.
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“It’s just,one half-inning of being pissed off about it, and then you’ve got to keep going back out there and doing your thing,” said Wrobleski, who was charged with seven runs but gutted out a career-high 8⅔ innings. “So yeah, it’s frustrating. It’s annoying because now I look back at it and, yeah, that’s what cost me from having a good outing.”
With the Dodgers’ rubber-match loss, the Braves took sole possession of the best record in the majors. The Dodgers (24-16) dropped the series to the Braves (28-13) after scoring three or fewer runs in each game.
“I thought we turned the corner in Houston,” manager Dave Roberts said. “We kind of got back down a little bit this series. … It’s hard to articulate. There’s some empty at-bats, there’s some early outs that are not just quality outs. There’s the passing the baton to the next guy — and sometimes it just doesn’t happen.”
After Wrobleski cruised through the first inning in just six pitches — first-pitch flyout, four-pitch strikeout, first-pitch groundout — he had an uncharacteristically long second inning.
Lakers star LeBron James slaps hands with coach JJ Redick on his way to the bench in a blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday night.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
From Bill Plaschke: They possessed a halftime lead with one of the most accomplished playoff players in NBA history.
They possessed the best scorer in NBA history at the controls of a sizzling offense in a loud arena against a team that had every reason to pack it in.
They lost by 23.
To those who witnessed the first three games of these Western Conference semifinals between the Luka Doncic-less Lakers and the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, it is no surprise that the Thunder lead three games to none.
What is shocking is that, with a 131-108 win Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena, the Thunder steamrolled to victory over the prone body of an NBA legend.
Lakers forward Rui Hachimura tries to shoot a layup in front of Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jaylin Williams in Game 3 on Saturday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
From Broderick Turner: In their darkest playoff hour, Lakers coach JJ Redick advised his players during practice Sunday to take the same mental approach for the win-or-go-home Game 4 that they’ve used since the first day of training camp.
The Lakers trail the Oklahoma City Thunder 3-0 in the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series. The Lakers must beat the Thunder at Crypto.com Arena on Monday night or their season is over.
“Our first slide that we put up in training camp was [to] win the day,” Redick said. “Today was a quick offensive review and then just going over some stuff defensively. Got to win today and we got to win tomorrow. We know what we’re facing being down 3-0. So it’s just more of a mindset check than anything else.”
Ducks forward Alex Killorn, second left, celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals Sunday at Honda Center.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
From Kevin Baxter: The Ducks’ second-round playoff showdown with the Vegas Golden Knights has become a best-of-three series.
With a 4-3 victory Sunday before a raucous sold-out crowd at the Honda Center, the Ducks evened the series 2-2 as it heads back to Las Vegas for Game 5 on Tuesday. But it wasn’t easy, with the Golden Knights twice rallying from one-goal deficits, only to see the Ducks answer each time.
And the Ducks’ power play, so lethal in the team’s first-round win over Edmonton and so ineffective in the first three games of this series, finally found a spark, scoring goals in each of the first two periods.
Sparks guard Kelsey Plum, left, and forward Dearica Hamby, right, battle Las Vegas center A’ja Wilson for the ball during the Sparks’ 105-78 loss at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday.
(Luiza Moraes / Getty Images)
From Marisa Ingemi: Before the Sparks opening day loss to the Las Vegas Aces, coach Lynne Roberts said that this year “felt different.”
After one game, though, it feels a lot like the same.
During their season opener, the Sparks couldn’t get momentum against the defending champion Aces and fell 105-78 behind a remarkably efficient shooting day from the visitors at Crypto.com Arena.
After posting the worst defense in the WNBA last season (88.2 points per game), the Sparks made a flurry of offseason moves prioritizing stopping opponents. It’s why they brought in Nneka Ogwumike, Ariel Atkins and Erica Wheeler.
The Washington Wizards won the draft lottery on Sunday and are poised to pick first overall for the first time since 2010.
(Nam Y. Huh / Associated Press)
From the Associated Press: The league’s worst team this season is getting the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.
The Washington Wizards won the draft lottery on Sunday and are poised to pick first overall for the first time since choosing John Wall in that spot in 2010. Wall was the Wizards’ on-stage representative for the lottery.
Washington had a 14% chance of winning No. 1, tied with Brooklyn and Indiana for the best odds. The Wizards had basically a 50-50 chance of getting either a top-four pick or the No. 5 spot.
Oswald Peraza celebrates after hitting a two-run home run for the Angels in the fifth inning of a 6-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday.
(Cole Burston / Getty Images)
From the Associated Press:Jo Adell hit a pair of solo homers, José Soriano struck out seven over 7⅔ innings to stop a three-start winless steak and the Angels avoided a three-game sweep by beating the Toronto Blue Jays 6-1 on Sunday.
Oswald Peraza added a two-run homer as the Angels ended an eight-game road losing streak dating to April 16, while also ending a nine-game slump in Toronto.
Soriano (6-2) gave up two hits and a walk in the first inning, including Kazuma Okamoto’s RBI double, but didn’t allow another runner until Myles Straw reached in the eighth with an infield hit, ending a streak of 20 consecutive outs.
Houston’s Antonio Carlos, top, heads the ball over LAFC’s Eddie Segura, left, and Ryan Porteous during LAFC’s 4-1 loss Sunday at BMO Stadium.
(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
From the Associated Press: Jack McGlynn scored a goal in each half and the Houston Dynamo thumped LAFC 4-1 on Sunday night at BMO Stadium.
McGlynn used an assist from Lawrence Ennali in the 25th minute to score on a shot from well outside the box, giving Houston a 1-0 lead. It was McGlynn’s first goal after scoring a career-high six times last season.
Guilherme Santos scored off a free kick in the 34th minute for a two-goal lead. The first-year midfielder has six goals in 11 matches.
Second round All times Pacific Game 1: at Oklahoma City 108, Lakers 90 (box score) Game 2: at Oklahoma City 125, Lakers 107 (box score) Game 3: Oklahoma City 131, at Lakers 108 (box score) Game 4: Monday at Lakers, 7:30 p.m., Amazon Prime Game 5*: Wednesday at Oklahoma City, ESPN Game 6*: Saturday at Lakers, TBD Game 7*: Monday at Oklahoma City, TBD *- if necessary
Ducks playoffs schedule
Second round All times Pacific Game 1: at Vegas 3, Ducks 1 (summary) Game 2: Ducks 3, at Vegas 1 (summary) Game 3: Vegas 6, at Ducks 2 (summary) Game 4: at Ducks 4, Vegas 3 (summary) Game 5: Tuesday at Vegas, 6:30 p.m., ESPN Game 6: Thursday at Ducks, 6:30 p.m., TNT, truTV, HBO MAX Game 7*: at Vegas, TBA, ABC or ESPN *-if necessary
This day in sports history
1892 — Azra, ridden by Alonzo Cayton, wins the first three-horse field in the Kentucky Derby, nipping Huron by a nose.
1900 — James J. Jeffries KOs James J Corbett in 23 for heavyweight boxing title.
1918 — Exterminator, a 30-1 long shot ridden by Willie Knapp, loses the lead but regains it to win the Kentucky Derby by one length over Escoba.
1923 — Setting several Pacific Coast League records, Pete Schneider of Vernon hit five homers and a double to drive in 14 runs in a 35-11 romp over Salt Lake City.
1928 — British Open Men’s Golf, Royal St George’s GC: Walter Hagen wins 3rd of his 4 Open Championship titles, 2 strokes ahead of fellow American Gene Sarazen.
1959 — New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra’s errorless streak of 148 games ends.
1963 — LA Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax throws his second career no-hitter.
1966 — European Cup Final, Heysel Stadium, Brussels: Fernando Serena scores the winner as Real Madrid beats Partizan Belgrade, 2-1; Madrid’s 6th title.
1968 — The Montreal Canadiens win the Stanley Cup, completing a four-game sweep over the St. Louis Blues with a 3-2 victory.
1972 — The Boston Bruins win the Stanley Cup in six games with a 3-0 victory over the New York Rangers.
1977 — Ted Turner manages an Atlanta Braves game.
1980 — Pete Rose, 39, steals second, third, & home in one inning for Phillies.
1983 — Aberdeen of Scotland win 23rd European Cup Winner’s Cup against Real Madrid of Spain 2-1 in Gothenburg.
1988 — KV Mechelen of Belgium win 28th European Cup Winner’s Cup against Ajax of Netherlands 1-0 in Strasbourg.
1992 — The Portland Trail Blazers win the highest-scoring playoff game in NBA history, 153-151 in double overtime against the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference semifinals.
1994 — The Phoenix Suns, down 104-84 with 10 minutes left, come back to force overtime and beat Houston 124-117 for a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals. The Suns start the fourth quarter trailing by 18 and are down 20 with 10 minutes to go. Phoenix holds the Rockets to eight points in the quarter and Danny Ainge hits a three to tie the game at 1:08 and send the game into overtime.
2008 — PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: Sergio García of Spain claims the biggest win of his career to date in a sudden-death playoff over American Paul Goydos.
2009 — Cleveland makes it an NBA-record eight straight wins by double digits with an 84-74 victory over Atlanta to advance to the Eastern Conference finals. The Cavaliers are the second team to sweep the first two rounds of the playoffs since the NBA expanded the first round to best-of-seven in 2003.
2013 — English FA Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London (86,254): Wigan Athletic upsets Manchester City, 1-0; Ben Watson scores 90+1′ winner.
2016 — Max Scherzer strikes out 20 batters, matching the major league record for a nine-inning game as he pitches the Washington Nationals past the Detroit Tigers 3-2.
2014 — PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: German Martin Kaymer leads after each round to win by 1 stroke ahead of Jim Furyk; first 8-figure purse in golf with winner’s share $1.8 million.
2018 — Top-ranked Rafael Nadal loses to Dominic Thiem 7-5, 6-3 in the Madrid Open quarterfinals, breaking the defending champion’s run of 21 straight wins on clay courts. Nadal hadn’t lost a single set on clay since falling to Thiem a year ago in the Italian Open quarterfinals. Nadal had come to this event fresh off winning his 11th titles at both Monte Carlo and Barcelona.
Compiled by the Associated Press.
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
TORONTO — Brandon Valenzuela hit a three-run home run, Ernie Clement had a solo homer among his career-high tying five hits and the Toronto Blue Jays used a seven-run fifth inning to rout the Angels 14-1 on Saturday.
Mason Fluharty (2-0) worked one inning for the win as Toronto set season-highs in runs and hits (20).
Clement had infield singles in the second and fourth, then drove in a run with a hard single off the glove of third baseman Yoán Moncada in the fifth. He homered off Mitch Farris to begin the seventh, his second of the season, then singled in the ninth.
Valenzuela went four for five, with four RBIs in his first career four-hit game, coming within a triple of the cycle. He homered on the first pitch he saw from Farris in the fifth.
Mike Trout went 0 for 3 with three strikeouts before being replaced defensively by Bryce Teodosio, ending a 23-game run of reaching base in Toronto that began in May 2015.
Adam Frazier drove in the Angels’ only run with a pinch-hit single in the top of the eighth, then stayed in to pitch the bottom half. Frazier gave up four runs and five hits including a solo homer by Jesús Sánchez.
Jack Kochanowicz (2-2) allowed nine hits and seven runs, six earned, in four-plus innings. He faced six batters in the fifth but didn’t record an out. The Angels have lost 15 of their last 19 games.
Toronto’s Addison Barger walked twice in his return after missing 29 games because of a sprained left ankle. The Blue Jays optioned Yohendrick Piñango to triple-A Buffalo.
In the second, Barger caught Vaughn Grissom’s fly ball and threw home at 101.2 miles per hour to retire Jorge Soler for an inning-ending double play. It was the fastest throw on an outfield assist by any Blue Jays player since 2015, and the fastest in the majors this season.
Up next: Angels RHP José Soriano (5-2, 1.74 ERA) is scheduled to face Blue Jays LHP Eric Lauer (1-4, 6.03) on Sunday.
Rodney Barreto has received reassurances from Secretary of State Marco Rubio that ICE would steer clear of World Cup.
Published On 8 May 20268 May 2026
United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will not be seen at World Cup matches this summer, according to the co-chair of the Miami host committee.
Rodney Barreto said on Thursday that he received reassurances from Secretary of State Marco Rubio that ICE would steer clear of the world football showcase.
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“ICE is not going to be at the stadium,” Barreto told US-based website, The Athletic. “This is not going to turn into some ‘round them up’ type of thing. That’s not the purpose of this.
“It’ll be a great experience for everybody. I think that we’re lucky that we do have a president who loves sports and has given us the resources to reimburse the cities for their police protection.”
Barreto added, “I spoke to Marco and, first of all, he’s going to make sure that the passports get processed and people can get here and there is an orderly process so people won’t be held up. It’s going to be a major undertaking by the federal government to do that. We feel very comfortable that we’re going to be in good hands.”
The deployment of ICE for immigration-enforcement raids has increased since Donald Trump began his second stint as president last year, igniting a significant political debate in the US.
South Florida’s role as a World Cup host market also comes against the backdrop of scenes from the 2024 Copa America championship game, when fans stormed the gates at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, causing a number of injuries and delaying the start of the Argentina-Colombia match.
“(The Miami World Cup organising committee) took the position that we didn’t want to be critical of the planners of that event,” Barreto told The Athletic. “It wasn’t our event. But now that time has passed, I would tell you that where the failure was, which was that there were no perimeters.
“People without tickets should have been nowhere near the entrance ways of that stadium. It didn’t take much to overrun an entrance. But listen, you learn from all these events, and you learn to do it better and come up with different scenarios which mitigate this from happening in the future. So that’s where we’re at.”
The Scottish champions will receive £3.7m for reaching the Champions League play-off round, with another £16.1m to come should they reach the league stage.
That is before bonus payments of £1.73m per win, £605,000 per draw and £275,000 per finishing position in the table – with additional payments should they progress to the last 16 or beyond.
Reaching the Europa League proper guarantees £3.7m, with performance bonuses of £388,000 per win and £130,000 per draw.
There is £187,000 available for each position in the final Europa League table.
Performance bonus payments for the Conference League are £345,000 per win and £115,000 per draw, with £24,000 for each position in the table.
Should Celtic or Rangers finish third in the Premiership, it would be a multi-million drop in their expectations of income.
For Hearts, Champions League qualification would be game changing.
Even if they drop into the Europa League, this would bring in a guaranteed minimum of around £7.3m with ticket sales and other commercial revenues to be added.
The UK government says it is in “discussions about supporting potential bids” for the Olympics and Paralympics in the 2040s.
It added that “initial work examining whether the UK could host the Games for the first time since London 2012 will assess key factors such as potential cost, socio-economic benefit and [the] chance of success”.
Ministers say they are also considering whether to support bids to stage golf’s Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup in the 2030s.
The last time the two team competitions were staged in the UK was in 2014 and 2019 respectively, both at Gleneagles in Scotland.
In recent months there has been growing momentum behind a possible attempt to bring the Olympics back to the UK for a fourth time.
Last year London mayor Sadiq Khan said he wanted the city to bid for the 2040 Games.
With Los Angeles in the US and Brisbane, Australia hosting the 2028 and 2032 Games respectively, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is yet to choose cities to stage the events in 2036 and beyond.
In December, the chair of funding agency UK Sport told BBC Sport a bid “has to be an aspiration”, suggesting Liverpool and Manchester could be co-hosts.
In February, a group of political leaders urged the government to ensure any future bid would be based in the north of England, saying there was a “compelling” case for it to host the event.
The Ryder Cup takes place every two years with 24 of the best players from Europe and the USA going head-to-head over three days in matchplay competition. The two continents take it in turns to host the event.
In March, it was revealed that Bolton is bidding to host the Ryder Cup in 2035. If successful it would be the first time in more than 30 years that the event is staged in England.
Last year England Golf urged the government to underwrite its bid to stage the Solheim Cup – a contest between the leading female golfers of Europe and the US – in the country for the first time.
As part of a new ‘sporting events framework’, the government says it will look to make it a criminal offence to resell tickets for specific major sporting events without authorisation such as Euro 2028, claiming it “will make it easier to bid for, secure and deliver major sporting events”.
England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland are hosting Euro 2028, while the UK is the sole bidder to host the 2035 Women’s World Cup.
In November, the government announced legislation to outlaw the sale of tickets to sports events at inflated prices – but it did not apply to football.
Murakami’s two-run blast in the fourth inning kept the Japanese rookie tied with New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge for the major league lead in home runs. Murakami also hit his first double of the season in the sixth, singled and scored in the eighth, finishing three for four with two RBIs and three runs scored.
Davis Martin gave up five hits in seven shutout innings, with 10 strikeouts and no walks. He improved to 5-1 and lowered his ERA to 1.64. The right-hander escaped his only jam in the seventh, getting Josh Lowe to fly to deep center with runners on first and third.
Andrew Benintendi added four hits — all singles — and an RBI for the White Sox, who have won six of their last seven games.
Nolan Schanuel and Travis d’Arnaud had two hits apiece for the Angels, who have lost 13 of 15 and have the worst record in the majors at 13-23.
Angels starter José Soriano looked nothing like the ace who went 5-1 with an 0.84 ERA in his first seven starts and became the first Angel to win AL pitcher-of-the-month honors since Matt Shoemaker in August 2014.
Soriano, slowed by neck stiffness in his previous start, gave up a season-high five runs and eight hits in four innings, striking out five, walking three and needing 88 pitches to record 12 outs. The right-hander looked out of whack mechanically in the first, throwing nine of his first 11 pitches for balls and walking two. Run-scoring singles by Chase Meidroth and Benintendi gave Chicago a 2-0 lead.
Soriano escaped two-on, two-out jams in the second and third innings before being tagged for three runs in the fourth. Murakami followed Sam Antonacci’s single by clubbing an up-and-away 98-mph fastball an estimated 429 feet to center for a two-run homer. Vargas followed with a solo shot to right-center to make it 5-0.
Up next: RHP Erick Fedde (0-3, 3.24 ERA) will start for the White Sox on Tuesday night. LHP Sam Aldegheri (1-0, 5.40 ERA) is expected to start for the Angels.
Tickets for the cohosts’ opening game in Los Angeles are available for prices ranging between $1,120 and $6,050.
Published On 3 May 20263 May 2026
With under 40 days to go until the World Cup, tournament organisers continue to struggle with ticket sales as seats remain available for most group-stage games, albeit at exorbitant prices.
Home fans can find tickets for tournament cohost United States’ (USA) opener against Paraguay, with prices starting at $1,120 and going as high as $4,105, with many tickets priced around $2,000 for the June 12 match in Los Angeles. Seats in the hospitality package groupings go as high as $6,050 per seat.
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Tickets are still available on FIFA’s official website through its “last-minute sales” section.
Football fans are already outraged by exorbitant match prices — the most expensive ticket for the final costs nearly $11,000 — since the first phase of ticket sales in December. Late last month, FIFA announced yet another “last-minute ticket phase” with tickets for all 104 matches available on a first-come, first-served basis.
The stagnant sales contradict FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s assertion in January that demand for tickets for this year’s tournament in the US, Canada and Mexico would be the equivalent of “1,000 years of World Cups at once”.
Experts attribute dynamic pricing and greed as key factors, with fans saying they have been “priced out” by FIFA.
While many in the US are accustomed to the pricing model commonly adopted at the Super Bowl, fans from around the world are not used to dynamic pricing and legal profiting from ticket resales, sports executive Peter Moore told Al Jazeera in a recent interview.
“FIFA taking a 30 percent cut of dynamic pricing is outrageous,” the former Liverpool chief executive said.
“FIFA is taking advantage of the unique commercial opportunities in the US, dynamic pricing and the secondary market being legal here, to make money. Infantino has said [he expects] FIFA revenues from the World Cup to exceed] $11bn. Why not make it more reasonable and accessible and make, maybe, $8bn?”
Last month, four seats for the World Cup final were listed at just under $2m each on FIFA’s official resale site.
A total of seven group-stage games still have general sale tickets available for $380, including Austria vs Jordan, New Zealand vs Egypt, Jordan vs Algeria, Cape Verde vs Saudi Arabia, Algeria vs Austria, Congo DR vs Uzbekistan and Curacao vs Ivory Coast.
The USA vs Paraguay opener is the most expensive group game, followed by Argentina vs Austria ($2,925), Ecuador vs Germany ($2,550), Uruguay vs Spain ($2,520) and England vs Croatia ($2,505).
According to FIFA’s website, a total of 17 group-stage games are sold out, including the tournament opener between Mexico and South Africa in Mexico City on June 11.
Seven games staged in Mexico are sold out, including the cohosts’ two other matches against South Korea in Guadalajara and the Czech Republic in Mexico City.
Turkiye vs USA in Los Angeles, Brazil vs Morocco in New York/New Jersey and Scotland vs Brazil in Miami are among other sold-out games.
