hurts

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER admitted his torrid Ryder Cup was “one of the lowest moments of my career”.

The dominant world No1 arrived at Bethpage expected to lead the USA team by example.

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But in harrowingly similar fashion to his 9&7 defeat with Brooks Koepka to Ludvig Aberg and Viktor Hovland, he started Friday morning with a crushing 5&3 foursomes loss alongside Russell Henley to Aberg and Matt Fitzpatrick.

And Scheffler, 29, became the first American to go 0-4 in the first four sessions in Ryder Cup history.

The reigning PGA Championship and Open champion, though, did beat Rory McIlroy in the singles to ensure he did not leave New York pointless.

Scheffler said: “I think it’s hard to put into words how much it hurt to lose all four matches. This week did not go how I anticipated it going for myself and I’m a little bit bummed.

“To have the trust of my captains and team-mates to go out there and play all four matches and lose all four, it’s really hard to put into words how much that stings and hurts.

“It was probably one of the lowest moments of my career, but it turned out to be one of the most special, just because I’ve got great friends in this room and I was really proud to be battling with these guys for three days.”

McIlroy and Scheffler spoke to each other on the course about their mental, physical and emotional exhaustion as both men played in all five sessions.

McIlroy said he was “running on empty” and described their match as a “pillow fight”.

Scheffler added: “Things just did not work out the way I anticipated, it was a difficult week for me personally but I was proud to be able to get a point.

“It’s tough, playing all five matches is a grind. I’m pretty tired.”

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RYDER CUP 2025 LIVE: FOLLOW ALL THE LATEST FROM BETHPAGE BLACK

This was probably as close as we will ever get to having another playing captain in a Ryder Cup. In truth, the PGA of America put Bradley in an invidious position by appointing him long before his days at the top of the game are done.

As a result, it could be argued, the American team have been denied one of their top dozen golfers for the 12-man team charged with trying to win back the trophy.

Bradley’s form and playing passion ticked every one of the boxes he cited for the six players he chose as wildcard picks. “They’re all incredibly gritty players, tough players, great competitors,” the skipper said.

“They’ve all proven themselves at the highest level. And again, they’ve played basically in the bubble of the Ryder Cup for the last month and a half and performed at the highest level.”

Bradley insists their current playing standards made it easy for him to leave himself out. But if someone else was captain, Bradley would have felt aggrieved to be ignored in the way that he was by Zach Johnson two years ago.

Justin Thomas and Patrick Cantlay were no-brainers. They bring vital experience and strong matchplay credentials – especially Cantlay, who has a 15-6-1 record in team competitions for the United States.

Cameron Young, a New Yorker who set the Bethpage Black course record as an amateur, won his first PGA Tour title only three weeks ago. His form and background made him a natural selection.

Ben Griffin’s consistency has been stellar and as someone who gave up the game to work in an office before returning to stardom, he provides a romantic perspective that could sit well in the locker room.

Sam Burns’ putting will worry Luke Donald’s European team, but Collin Morikawa’s patchy form in 2025 perhaps makes the two-time major champion the most fortunate of the picks.

A TOP Boy star has welcomed a child with his girlfriend. 

Giacomo Mancini took to social media on Saturday to share the very exciting news with his 7,000 followers. 

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Posting a carousel of images of the tot, he told fans that they’d welcomed a baby girl and revealed her name to be Mia. 

Giacomo wrote: “Mia Bella Mancini. August 9th 2025..The day you captured our hearts. Mummy and Daddy love you so much it hurts!” 

The 30-year-old Top Boy star is best known for his first acting role as Gem in the Netflix award winning series. 

He went on to star in Ripper Street in 2013, Pan in 2015, and Orthodox and Supacell in 2024. 

Among the images shared by the star was one of his daughter fast asleep. 

In another, little Mia was being carried out of the hospital by her happy parents, and he also gave a peek at her nursery. 

The happy dad was also pictured lying on the sofa with his bundle of joy, as well as popping out for a walk with her in the stroller. 

Giacomo also made sure to buy his new addition a Chelsea football kit with her name on it.

Fans flooded the comments with their messages of congratulations, as one person wrote: “Congratulations to you both. She is beautiful.”

A second penned: “Massive congratulations to you both,” and a third echoed: “Congratulations 🩷 obsessed 😍. Can’t wait to meet her.”

Two months ago, the actor posted some sweet photos from their baby shower.

Standing with his stunning wife, he wrote: “The Family. 8 Weeks To Go. We Couldn’t Be More Excited To Welcome You Into Our World. Thank You To Everyone For Showering Our Baby. Everyday You Continue To Amaze Me And I’m So So So Proud Of You.”

The series that Giacomo stars in is one of the biggest shows on Netflix.

The popular show tells the tale of rival drug-dealing gangs on a notorious London estate, leading some fans to wonder if it’s based on a true story.

Top Boy is not based on a true story and the characters are fictional.

However, the topics the show addresses, the setting of the show and the issues they represent are very real.

The Netflix series mainly focuses on the drug wars between Summerhouse, headed by Dushane, and other rival gangs, who fight for control of London‘s drug empire.

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Jalen Hurts is ready to move on.

The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback spent nearly 10 minutes talking to reporters Wednesday after the team’s first day of training camp. From the first question to the last, Hurts was clear that he has no interest in dwelling in the past — even if that past includes hoisting the Lombardi Trophy after the Eagles’ 40-22 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX and being named that game’s MVP a mere five months ago.

“It’s a new journey, it’s a new season, and those things are far behind us,” Hurts said. “The past is behind us, and the future’s too far away, so we have to stay present and worry about right now.”

It’s not that Hurts doesn’t look back fondly at what he and his teammates accomplished last season, when they thwarted the Chiefs’ attempt to become the first team to win three straight Super Bowls. He allowed himself to do so last week when the Eagles received their championship rings.

“It was honestly surreal to see it in person,” Hurts said of the Super Bowl ring, “almost — not nostalgic, but to see something that you’ve earned, have a moment to appreciate that one last time.”

And now, Hurts reiterated, “that moment’s behind us.”

One reporter noted that Hurts wasn’t seen actually wearing the ring at the ceremony and asked if he’s put it on at any point.

“I’ve moved on, moved on to the new year,” Hurts replied, “It’s as simple as that.”

Another reporter noted that Hurts has spent time this offseason with Michael Jordan, who led the Chicago Bulls to three consecutive NBA titles two times (1991-1993, 1996-1998). The journalist asked if the basketball legend had any advice about how to approach a season after winning a championship.

“He used every word but ‘repeat,’” Hurts said, “and I can appreciate that.”

Hurts isn’t the only one at Eagles camp with that mindset. Offensive lineman Jordan Mailata told reporters it irks him to hear the team described as the “defending champions.”

“We’re not defending nothing,” Mailata said. “We just won the title and now we gotta go win it again. Prove it all over again. And that’s the mentality this team is going to have.”

Similarly, coach Nick Sirianni said: “Every year at training camp feels the same. You’re not looking back, you’re not looking forward, you’re solely focused on today and how we can get better today.”

So, yeah, don’t expect to see Hurts strutting around camp wearing his shiny new Super Bowl ring.

“Ultimately, it’s a new journey,” Hurts said. “It’s a blank canvas. And we are who we are. We have what we have. And regardless whether you win a championship or lose a championship the next year, you have to be able to reset, have the right focus and pursue it with great intensity, great passion. And I think that’s where we are.”

Weathered and bumpy, the wall hidden among the surplus clothing stores of the Fashion District was hardly the perfect canvas.

But artist Sloe Motions’ vision for the memorial mural in honor of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna following their deaths in 2020 brought the stretch of Main and 14th streets to life with vibrant hues of purple and gold.

One of the most well-known Kobe murals across Southern California, the art piece — outside Jimmy Jam T-Shirts — was the backdrop for a commercial for Super Bowl LVI featuring Vanessa Bryant and has drawn fans from near and far.

For years, the mural remained untouched — an unspoken mark of respect for the artist and the subject but one that abruptly ended this year.

In late March, someone tagged the artwork with large bubble letters outlined in black and filled in with white — a similar style to other street tagging visible across the city.

Sloe Motions went back to work, painstakingly restoring the mural. There was much fanfare in downtown when the new mural made its debut in late May. But within a few days, it was again defaced. The artist is disappointed but vows to restore it once again — this time in a new location.

“This one has a lot of meaning to it, so it hurts me that people would do something like this where they’re disrespecting the Bryant family. It just exposes these people’s demons,” Sloe Motions said.

Graffiti has long been an element of Los Angeles life, and residents of downtown are used to tags as part of the landscape. This is, after all, the place where taggers coated the unfinished Oceanwide Plaza high-rise complex with graffiti, generating international attention and debate about the line between art and vandalism.

But the treatment of the Kobe tribute surprised Sloe Motions.

“This isn’t just another Kobe mural. It’s a memorial,” he said.

Street art has long been a part of the culture of Los Angeles, where murals — sanctioned and unsanctioned — and graffiti harmoniously share canvas space. Some abide by the unwritten code that you don’t cover someone else’s art. Others take a more autonomous approach, creating what they want where they want.

“Great cities have great public art,” said Wyland, a Laguna Beach-based artist who has painted murals across the world. “This Kobe mural, it’s become part of the fabric of Los Angeles. And for someone to come in and destroy it like that doesn’t make any sense.”

Los Angeles is known as a city of murals — some of which remain respectfully untouched for years, while others like the Kobe memorial are a seemingly irresistible target for taggers. There was a time when some property owners believed hiring the right muralist to grace your walls — or including a portrait of the Virgen de Guadalupe — could keep taggers away. But not anymore.

In many ways downtown Los Angeles is the perfect gallery for viewing street art, turning nondescript buildings into colorful canvases that tell the story of the region.

Ife Ewing, co-owner of Jimmy Jam T-Shirts, says street art has changed in the 13 years her business has been housed on Main Street.

James Ewing, co-owner of Jimmy Jam T-Shirts, looks at a mural Wednesday of Kobe and Gianna Bryant that has been vandalized again on the side of the business at 14th and Main streets.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

“Before, it was isolated to designated areas,” she said. “It’s a different breed of artists now. They have no respect for business owners, property owners. It’s disrespectful. You have to call it what it is, it’s just disrespect.”

Sloe Motions is far from the only muralist to feel burned.

Judy Baca’s famed mural of a female Olympic runner is beloved, even though it has been hit by taggers in the past. Then in 2019, the mural — part of the 1984 Olympics art movement — was mysterious whitewashed, sparking outrage. Metro eventually admitted one of its graffiti abatement contractors had covered the mural and vowed to restore it.

“They would rather paint on the mural than see even a mark of graffiti on the mural,” Baca said at the time.

The latest vandalism to Bryant’s mural felt like another blow to the area.

A post on June 3 from the DTLA Insider Instagram account summed up the situation simply: “We really can’t have nice things.”

The mural image is a spin on a photograph capturing a sweet moment during the 2008 NBA Finals when the Lakers legend — a proud “girl dad” — leans down and kisses the side of his smiling toddler’s head as he cradles her in his arm during a news conference.

Sloe Motions was drawn to the emotion in the photograph — the purity of a father’s love and a daughter’s admiration for her hero. It was captured years before Gigi started playing basketball, showing off her own version of her dad’s envied fadeaway jumper.

Next to them, the words “Mambas Forever” with an infinity symbol are painted in purple and gold.

Bryant, 41, and 13-year-old Gigi, along with seven others — John Altobelli, 56; Keri Altobelli, 46; Alyssa Altobelli, 13; Christina Mauser, 38, Sarah Chester, 45; Payton Chester, 13; and pilot Ara Zobayan, 50 — died Jan. 26, 2020, when the helicopter Zobayan was flying crashed in the hills of Calabasas.

After the initial vandalism in late March, Sloe Motions had sought donations to help cover the cost of restoring the mural in the current location, hoping to preserve the spot for the Bryant family.

“There’s just a lot of meaning at that wall,” he said.

Lakers star Luka Doncic’s foundation quickly jumped into action, donating $5,000, the full amount needed, to a fundraiser to help restore the art piece.

In late May, Sloe Motions posted on Instagram that the mural was finally finished. He’d added a few additional touches, painting the No. 8 on Gigi’s jersey, an homage to the number that Kobe wore for the first 10 seasons of his career.

A week later, the new details were still visible but under the scrawl of white paint.

On June 4, television news cameras were positioned near the mural, and passersby stopped to assess the damage. A jumble of bright white paint cut across the image, and heavy white dots covered Kobe’s and Gigi’s eyes.

“This time, they really went heavy,” Sergio Bautista, 35, said as he stood in front of the mural. “It’s sad to see.”

Sky Hendrix, who was in the area filming a music video with a friend, expressed his disbelief.

“That’s disrespecting the dead,” Hendrix said as he took in the scene. “Who would do that? He’s the GOAT and she’s just a little girl.”

Despite the vandalism, Sloe Motions showed no real sign of anger as he talked about the future of the art piece somewhere else where more people could view and appreciate it. He said he sent “prayers” to the people who vandalized his work.

“Nothing’s forever, and that’s the beauty of this stuff,” Sloe Motions said. “Some stuff could last a minute, some stuff could last a day, some stuff could last years.”

Times photographer Genaro Molina contributed to this report.