neck

The domestic season will end with the Super League Grand Final on Saturday, 3 October, with England’s first match of the World Cup against Tonga in Perth, Australia scheduled for 17 October.

Williams has been captain of England since 2023.

Brian McDermott, speaking on Thursday after his appointment as England head coach, had said he “did not have any intentions” to change captains prior to the World Cup.

Speaking before kick-off, Warrington head coach Sam Burgess said: “George will probably go for surgery at some point in the next week or two.

“It’s unfortunate for George and the club. There are a number of ways to look at it so we’ve decided to take the positive route. Given the nature of where the injury is, we’re happy that we’ve got hold of it.

“Hopefully he can make a great recovery and we’ll see him back [in action] – if it’s not this year, then hopefully next year.”

JODIE Marsh has been charged with assault after allegedly confronting her neighbour in a row over her animals.

The ex-glamour model, 47, said she “lost it” and “put her hands on his neck” after he carried out what she called a “campaign of harassment”.

Marsh claims the neighbour filmed her animals and doctored clips to make them look “skeletal” after trespassing on her land.

Describing the clash, she said: “I put my hand on his neck because I leaned in to whisper to him.

“I can’t even remember what I said because I was so upset. It lasted around 30 seconds.

“I’m scared to sleep in my own house. I’m scared to go out.”

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The former lads’ mag star turned her back on fame to run Fripps Farm rescue centre in Lindsell, Essex.

Marsh is due to appear at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court tomorrow.

She is charged with common assault, specifically the use of “threatening / abusive / insulting words / behaviour with intent to cause fear or provoke unlawful violence”.

Common assault carries a maximum sentence of six months in prison.

But speaking to The Sun, Jodie insisted she did not hurt her neighbour, adding: “I didn’t actually injure him in any way.”

An Essex Police spokesman said: “At around 12.40pm on Friday 16 January officers were called to an address in Lindsell to reports of a woman behaving aggressively towards a man and assaulting him.

“It was further reported that verbal threats were made.

“As a result of further enquiries, charges of common assault and using threatening / abusive / insulting words or behaviour have since been authorised against Jodie Marsh, 47, of Lindsell.

“She is due to appear at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Friday 17 April.”

Fripps Farm is currently home to over 250 animals including alpacas, emus and reptiles, many of which have been saved from slaughter.

The reality star’s website reads: “Jodie gives a loving home to animals that are either unwanted or in danger of being put to sleep or slaughtered.”

It comes after a fire on her farm killed two of her beloved marmosets.

Fripps Farm hasn’t been without its controversies amid neighbour rows and court battles.

Marsh was left in tears of joy after winning a court battle to keep lemurs at the sanctuary.

She had appealed against a council’s decision to refuse her application for a wild animal licence.

Concerns had been raised about her taking a meerkat to the pub.

She said trolls were behind much of the criticism.

At a previous hearing, clips of screeching zoo lemurs were played to Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court.

But Judge Christopher Williams dismissed the council’s argument about the animals’ noise.

The Dodgers are too good, and too rich. If the owners of other major league teams ultimately deem that combination so objectionable that they shut down the sport this winter because of it, they will risk a rupture in one of the greatest fan bases in American sports history.

The four million tickets the Dodgers sold last season tells one part of the story. Here is an arguably better one: For decades, the Dodgers and Lakers have dominated Los Angeles sports and left every other team far behind in popularity.

For now, after back-to-back World Series championships, the Dodgers have left even the Lakers far behind in popularity, and every other team in town even further behind.

In a Loyola Marymount survey asking Los Angeles County residents to identify their favorite among the 12 pro sports teams within the local media market, nearly half picked the Dodgers.

The Dodgers’ lead over the Lakers — 43% to 28% — represented the largest gap between the teams in the nine editions of the survey, first conducted in 2014 by the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles.

The Rams ranked third, at 7%, followed by the Kings at 5% and the Angels at 4%.

The two women’s teams — Angel City FC and the Sparks — tied for last, each with less than 1% of the vote. Even when the study separated votes by gender, the two women’s teams got less than 1% of the vote from women.

As recently as 2018, five teams beyond the Dodgers and Lakers — the Angels, Clippers, Galaxy, Kings and Rams — attracted at least 4% of the vote. In this year’s survey, only the Rams did.

“I’m a big Rams fan,” said Fernando Guerra, the center’s director, “and I still put the Dodgers first.

“I love all these teams. But, when you have to choose one, it’s the Dodgers.”

Dodgers president Stan Kasten pointed to the popularity and excellence of the players, the cherished ballpark and the generational fan support as factors contributing to the top ranking.

“If you have a lot of good elements but you don’t win, you’re not going to be as high,” Kasten said. “And, if you win but you don’t have the other elements, you’re not going to be as high.

“I think, right now, we’re as close as you can be to clicking on all cylinders.”

Beyond the winning, Guerra cited Shohei Ohtani as a driving force behind the Dodgers’ popularity, and not just as a tourist attraction, merchandise driver, and the foremost product endorser in sports.

In 2018, Ohtani’s debut season with the Angels, 8% of fans that identified themselves as Asian picked the Angels as their favorite team and 34% picked the Dodgers — a terrific showing for the Angels, since the study polls residents in L.A. County, not Orange County.

That demographic this year: 4% picked the Angels, 47% picked the Dodgers.

In their 10 years since returning to Los Angeles, the Rams have made seven playoff appearances and two Super Bowl appearances, winning one. All that, and a half-century in their previous run in L.A., and their membership in the most popular sports league in America, and the best they could do was 7%.

“It’s just tough to break the Lakers’ and Dodgers’ hold,” Guerra said. “It’s not like we don’t love the Rams or the others. It’s just not your top priority.”

The Lakers and Dodgers have combined to win 20 championships in Los Angeles. The other 10 teams that call this market home have combined to win 16.

In the 13 seasons since Mark Walter and Co. bought the Dodgers, the team has won 12 division titles, made five World Series appearances, and won three championships. In the same time, the Lakers have won three division titles, advanced past the first round of the playoffs twice, and won one championship.

Walter bought a controlling interest in the Lakers last year. He has installed Lon Rosen, formerly the Dodgers’ executive vice president and chief marketing officer, as the Lakers’ president of business operations.

“When the Lakers are winning a lot of championships, they’re No. 1,” Rosen said. “When the Dodgers are, they’re No. 1.

“It’s a good position to be in, since we control both teams, and both teams are highly successful.”

In this moment, the Dodgers are highly successful.

“The Lakers and Dodgers are going to be neck and neck very soon,” Rosen said. “The Lakers will 100% be champions again soon.”

The Dodgers do not concede the days of neck and neck will return. Kasten, remember, said the Dodgers were as close as they could be to clicking on all cylinders.

“We don’t take that for granted,” he said. “We know we can do even better.”

Country singer Ray Stevens is recovering after breaking his neck.

On Sunday, Stevens, 87, fell and broke his neck, according to a press release shared with The Times. The two-time Grammy winner was “briefly hospitalized in the Nashville area and is now recovering at home,” and was advised by doctors to wear a neck brace for the next four weeks.

“Despite the injury, he remains fully mobile and in good spirits as he continues his recovery,” the statement read.

Stevens still plans to release his upcoming album, “Favorites Old & New,” this Friday. The album features recordings of classic songs like “It Had to Be You” and “Come Rain or Come Shine,” as well as originals.

“I had a lot of fun creating this album, ‘Favorites Old & New,’” explained Stevens in the press release. “It really does contain a few of my favorite old songs as well as favorite new ones penned by some talented writers. I just hope Ray Stevens fans enjoy it as much as Ray Stevens!”

In July, Stevens suffered a heart attack that required a heart catheterization and subsequent surgery. Shortly after the procedure, Stevens’ Instagram account shared that he was “working towards recovering from this surgery.”

“Ray is very grateful for all of the cards and get-well messages,” the post read. “Everything is Still Beautiful!!!!”

Stevens was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2019. Upon his induction, he quipped to The Times that his retirement was not on the horizon.

“I feel fine; I’ll probably keel over after I hang up the phone. [He laughs.] But I’m gonna do what I want to do because I can,” Stevens said.

JESSIE J has been rushed to hospital following a car injury which left her with fears she’d ‘broken her neck’.

The singer, 37, has undergone an MRI scan following the incident as she updated fans on her health scare.

Jessie is currently in China for her No Secrets Tour and suffered an unlikely injury after hitting her head on the roof of a car. 

Taking to Instagram, the Price Tag hitmaker shared a clip of her climbing into a black vehicle at her latest concert, whilst admitting she “didn’t mind squashing in the back”.

The video then cuts to Jessie in hospital undergoing an MRI scan after suffering the neck injury.

In an additional update, whilst backstage at one of her shows, Jessie goes on to relay the severity of her condition. 

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She said: “Yeah, I just can’t move my head. I’m alright. I’ll just have to take some painkillers and march right through it.”

“I thought I’d broken my neck, but I haven’t. But I have really hurt my neck and my back.”

Later, shots show the star trying on a stunning gold jumpsuit and embracing her young son Sky. 

Jessie didn’t let the injury stop her putting on a stellar performance as she’s filmed singing her iconic tracks on stage.

Fans flocked to the comments with messages of love and well wishes for the singer.

One user penned: “Take care of yourself (heart emoji)”

“And yet nobody noticed until you told us you hurt yourself!! POPSTARRRR mode was activated,” added another.

A third chimed: “Feel better soon girl you are such a vibe even if you are in pain such an awesome human being.”

“Sending you lots of love and light (heart emoji)” wrote a fourth.

The music star was diagnosed with breast cancer last year and shared news of her early-stage diagnosis publicly via social media in June 2025.

Jessie underwent two surgeries during her health battle, which included a mastectomy that same year.

In August, she was taken to hospital with an infection and fluid on her lungs six weeks post-surgery.

But the star now seems to be doing well and is back performing shows just under a year since her diagnosis.