Azerbaijan side Sabah fight back from 4-2 down on aggregate to beat Hapoel Be’er Sheva of Israel 6-4 on aggregate to secure their place in the main draw of the Champions League for the first time in their history.
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St Jude Championship – round three leaderboard
-13 S Scheffler (US); -11 S Burns (US), Im (Kor); -8 J Knapp (US), T Fleetwood (Eng)
Selected others: -7 B Harman (US); -6 V Hovland (Nor); -5 W Clark (US); -4 M Fitzpatrick (Eng), J Spieth (US); -3 L Aberg (Swe); -2 H Hall (Eng); -1 A Rai (Eng); +6 J Rose (Eng), R McIlroy (NI)
World number one Scottie Scheffler will take a two-stroke lead into the final round of the St Jude Championship as he chases his first victory since January.
Scheffler, 30, carded a two-under 68 on Saturday to sit at 13 under overall, with his American compatriot Sam Burns at 11 under alongside South Korea’s Im Sung-jae.
Burns produced a superb bogey-free 62 to move into contention in the FedEx Cup play-off opener at TPC Southwind in Memphis.
England’s Tommy Fleetwood, who is the defending FedEx Cup champion, is a further three strokes adrift at eight under with Jake Knapp.
And it ensures an intriguing fourth round, with close friends Scheffler and Burns in the final pairing.
“Strategy is still the same, just go out there and execute,” said Scheffler, who last led an event after 54 holes at the 2025 Open Championship.
“This is a golf course where that’s really all it comes down to. It’s always a little weird just because I want him to have success so much and I think he wants the same for me.
“It will be a competition like normal. It will be fun being out there with your friend but it’s also a bit weird.”
Sweden’s Alex Noren and Norway’s Viktor Hovland are well placed for strong finishes at seven and six under respectively.
However, six-time major winner Rory McIlroy and 2013 US Open champion Justin Rose both faltered badly on the 18th hole to sit well off the pace at six over.
Northern Ireland’s McIlroy carded a double-bogey six after driving into the water off the tee, while Rose fared even worse finding the same hazard twice on his way to a triple-bogey seven.
The top 50 players in the FedEx standings at the end of the weekend will advance into next week’s BMW Championship, with the top 30 after that advancing to the Tour Championship.
Here’s a bit of Dodgers trivia for the bandwagon fans in our midst: Who was the manager before Dave Roberts?
That was 11 years ago. He is Don Mattingly, who returns to Dodger Stadium on Friday as manager of the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Phillies were 9-19 when they fired Rob Thomson and replaced him with Mattingly. They are 20-8 since then, a better record than the Dodgers have posted over the same span.
In Philadelphia, Mattingly got his chance because the Phillies were losing. In Los Angeles, Mattingly departed amid a run of winning.
For Mark Walter and what was then a new Dodgers ownership group, that was not enough. As Walter enters his first offseason as the Lakers’ controlling owner, it’s worth keeping that in mind.
“They have a hunger for victory that is the greatest I’ve ever seen, without exaggeration,” former Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti told me.
In two seasons with Rob Pelinka as president of basketball operations and JJ Redick as coach, the Lakers won division titles both times, failing to get out of the first round of the playoffs one year and failing to get out of the second round of the playoffs the next.
In 2013 and 2014, with Colletti as GM and Mattingly as manager in the first full seasons of Walter’s ownership, the Dodgers won division titles both times, failing to get out of the first round one year and failing to get out of the second round the other.
The Dodgers replaced Colletti with Andrew Friedman.
In 2015, the Dodgers won the division but failed to get out of the first round of the playoffs. Friedman offered Mattingly a short-term extension, and Mattingly opted for a long-term deal to manage the Miami Marlins.
After Walter and Co. took over the Dodgers, Mattingly told me Wednesday, there was one year he thought he might be fired: 2013, when the Dodgers started 30-42 and fell 9 1/2 games out of first place in mid-June. The Dodgers then reeled off 42 wins in 50 games and won the division by 11 games.
He appreciated that Walter, team president Stan Kasten and eventually Friedman did not simply bring in a new manager at their first chance.
“You get to evaluate and see,” Mattingly said, “and you have your vision for where you want it to go, and sustain it. That’s the thing they’ve been great at: sustaining it. It’s been year after year. You can’t really doubt what they’re doing.”
Kasten’s first move was not to fire Colletti, but to ask what ownership could provide for him so that he could do a better job. The owners quickly responded by funding the addition of impact players (Adrián González and Hanley Ramirez), extending the contract of a popular home-grown player (Andre Ethier), revitalizing the Dodgers’ Latin American talent pipeline (Yasiel Puig and Julio Urías), renovating the clubhouse and, at Mattingly’s suggestion, refreshing the family room.
“We started to be able to compete with a different mindset, which was invaluable,” Colletti said.
Similarly, with Friedman and former Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi as consultants, the Lakers have added two positions for assistant general managers, overhauled the scouting staff, created more room at team headquarters by relocating their G League affiliate to the Coachella Valley, and borrowed from the Dodgers’ playbook in modernizing medical and biomechanical facilities.
This summer could be critical in determining the future of the Lakers, including who runs them. Walter can spend all he wants, as he does with the Dodgers, but the luxury-tax penalties in the NBA are more severe than in baseball and could restrict the roster flexibility so coveted by the likes of Friedman and Zaidi. A star-studded roster beyond Luka Doncic — say, a trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo? — could require the Lakers to sacrifice the draft picks that also would limit roster flexibility.
The Lakers will have the resources. Walter will want to see the creativity and the championships — or, at least, the path to them. Ultimately, he will decide what he did with the Dodgers: Does he have the best people he can get running the team?
“You see many organizations that win, and then they take a step back,” Colletti said. “They feel like they have some goodwill in the bank, they don’t have to chase the biggest free agents, and they don’t need to re-invest in the team or the stadium.
“From my vantage point, all the way up and down that organization and especially at the ownership level, it’s almost like they’ve never won, and they’re hungry to get there. To be there and be unsatisfied — that quest to be as great as you can be — is one of the great indicators of the excellent ownership it is.”
In the meantime, any advice for Pelinka and Redick? Colletti let out a hearty laugh.
“Do your best,” he said, “and turn it up a notch.”
Wilkinson says Wales have learned from their experience at Euro 2025, when they stuggled to make an impact against three of the world’s best teams – Netherlands, France and England.
“I think we all learned a lot through the Euros – myself, my staff, the players,” she said.
“Do I wish I’d coached differently? Parts of it, absolutely. I’m sure they (the players) look back on it and think like ‘what if, what if we could have…’
“But you don’t know until you’ve been to a major event what it’s going to be like, what the pressure feels like, what the stress feels like.
“We talked about it, we prepared for it, and it still blew us away, but there’s confidence that comes from having done it.
“I also look at our last Nations League A campaign – two draws against Sweden, but also keeping the scores really competitive against some top nations.”
Wales will have to improve their away form if they are to get through the play-offs and make it to Brazil.
Wilkinson’s side sailed through their home qualifiers, with a 6-1 mauling of Montenegro, a 4-0 romp past Albania and a 3-1 win over Czech Republic to wrap up the group.
On the road, however, they were fortunate to salvage a draw in the Czech Republic in their opening qualifier in March, then scraped a 1-0 victory in Albania before a shock 1-1 draw in Montenegro in the penultimate match.
“We were a bit frustrated when we played Albania away (in April), but this is a good opportunity to improve our performance against a challenging opposition,” said Wilkinson.
“I thought (Albania) played really well in that second leg, so they’ll be tough. It’ll be a good tactical battle between them and us, and who’s learnt the most.
“It was obvious from our campaign that our away form wasn’t what we wanted it to be. There’s definitely some work to be done away from home.
“It’s about showing up with the best version of ourselves.”
England did not want to go through the play-offs but were given an unkind draw in the qualifying groups when they met world champions Spain.
It does mean, however, that Sarina Wiegman’s side are in a strong position for the play-offs and will fancy their chances with a kind trip to Greece in October.
They beat potential round two opponents Ukraine in both matches in the qualifying group stage, which will give them confidence too.
There is a tricky tie for Northern Ireland, who come up against a talented young squad from Portugal in round one. Portugal twice beat Northern Ireland in Euro 2025 qualifying.
Their task gets trickier if they make it through to round two with potential opponents Iceland proving to be difficult to break down in their matches against England this year.
Scotland are hoping to reach just their second Women’s World Cup finals having failed to qualify in 2023.
They performed well in this year’s qualifying group stages, including draws with Belgium that showed they can compete with Europe’s strongest teams.
They will need to produce their best in round two if they meet big-hitters Sweden, who have been semi-finalists in the past two Women’s World Cup finals.
Wales have never beaten a top-20 ranked nation in a competitive fixture and are likely to need to do so to qualify – and their away form needs improvement.
But Rhian Wilkinson’s side face familiar opponents in round one. They thrashed Albania 4-0 in their qualifying group so who says they can’t do it again?
Meanwhile, having performed superbly in qualifying, the Republic of Ireland have a tricky play-off route with established European opposition Belgium potentially waiting in round two.
First, Carly Ward’s side will have to navigate a 3,100-mile trip to Kazakhstan, against relatively unknown opposition.
Three wins and three defeats to finish third in their qualifying group may not look like much, but there is plenty for Republic of Ireland to be proud of in how they navigated what many said was the ‘group of death’ in League A.
The bottom seeds, who had only won promotion to League A with a last-gasp goal against Belgium in a promotion/relegation play-off last year, were tipped to go straight back down to League B when they were drawn against France, Netherlands and Poland.
Manager Carla Ward always said they wanted to aim as high as possible, and while they fell short of scaling their Everest by narrowly losing to France in their final qualifier to miss out on automatic World Cup qualification, they still have a chance to reach next year’s tournament in Brazil.
They became the first side promoted to League A not to be relegated straight back down and the first to pick up not just two but three wins in the top tier, including that sensational win over Netherlands in Cork on Friday.
Their third-place finish has secured a seeded play-off in the autumn and they will be the team many will want to avoid when the draw is made on 18 June given how they have shocked Poland twice and the Netherlands and run France ever so close.
Ward’s overriding feelings when speaking to RTE were pride tinged with pain that they couldn’t get over the line, although she was philosophical in how far they have come and how far they can go.
“I’m incredibly proud of this group and I said it to them there. We’ve got a special, special group who work unbelievably hard. It shows you everything, the [French] scenes at the end, they didn’t have it easy tonight,” she said.
“France are a top, top side and the fact we are here disappointed tells you an awful lot about where we are.
“You can take so many positives. This campaign we have grown and got better and better. Whether we had won, drawn or lost tonight we wanted to continue on the journey. We are in a really good place going into October and that has to be the focus.”
Jared Grindlinger is not ready to say goodbye to his friends at Huntington Beach High. The likely first-round draft pick didn’t have to play for the Oilers in the Southern California Division I regional playoffs, let alone pitch. But he did both to help Huntington Beach knock off San Diego Open Division champion Patrick Henry 10-3 on Tuesday.
Grindlinger went four for four, including a home run, and finished with three RBIs. He also struck out five in three innings on the mound. Dane Cunningham had a three-run home run. Huntington Beach advances to play the winner of Wednesday’s game between Corona and Chula Vista Eastlake on Thursday.
Cathedral Catholic 4, St. John Bosco 2: The impressive two-year run of St. John Bosco’s baseball team has come to an end. The Braves had the bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the seventh but couldn’t push across any runs and were eliminated in a first-round Division I game. They won the Southern Section Division 1 title the last two seasons and the regional title last season.
La Mirada 7, Liberty 6: A three-run seventh inning helped the Matadores enjoy their bus ride home from Bakersfield. The big hit was a three-run home run by Justin Torres. La Mirada will face Cathedral Catholic on Thursday in the semifinals.
Arroyo Grande 4, Loyola 3: An RBI single in the eighth inning by Colton Gotchal pushed Arroyo Grande to victory over top-seeded Loyola in Division 2. Jack Murray had a home run and two RBIs for Loyola.
Newport Harbor 2, Madison 0: Gavin Guy threw the shutout with seven strikeouts.
South El Monte 3, Brentwood 2: South El Monte went on the road and pulled off the upset of Division 6 champion Brentwood. Anthony Mata had an RBI single and Gabriel Canchola limited the Eagles to four hits while striking out nine in six innings.
Westview 7, Carson 1: Leadoff hitter Eli Irvine had three hits for the winners.
North Torrance 2, Bell 0: Seth Narasaki and Joey Banuelos combined for the shutout.
Verdugo Hills 11, Rolling Hills Prep 2: Cutlor Fannon finished with three hits and three RBIs for the Dons.
Victor Wembanyama bagged 22 points as San Antonio Spurs defeated defending champions the Oklahoma City Thunder 111-103 to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 2014, where they will face the New York Knicks.
San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson had called on Wembanyama to score more than 20 points after a disappointing showing in game five.
An inspired 28-point haul by the 22-year-old Frenchman on Friday helped level the best-of-seven series at 3-3 and save his “childhood dream” – which is now within touching distance.
“Winning the Larry O’Brien [NBA championship trophy] is a childhood dream, and having a real shot at it, having a tangible chance at winning it – it’s a lifetime chance,” said Wembanyama after reaching the Finals for the first time.
“You never know when it’s gonna happen again. But the day we win it, speaking for myself, it’s going to be an amazing day – the realisation of a dream.
“It’s hard to put into words. It’s almost like the meaning of my life.”
Johnson’s side last won the NBA showpiece in 2014, while the Knicks will compete in the finals for the first time in 27 years.
It will be a rematch of the 1999 NBA Finals, which San Antonio won in five games for their first of five NBA championships.
Having scored 41 points in game one and 33 points in game four, the number one pick in the 2023 draft showed in the deciding two matches why he was one of the most coveted picks since LeBron James in 2003.
“What I’ve learned is that I can go through hurdles that I didn’t know could get so high,” added Wembanyama.
“I found resources inside of me. Relentlessness. I already knew that, but doing it at this level, this is the best basketball being played on the planet right now. And the crazy thing is I want to do that 15 or 20 more times.”
The NBA Finals series will begin on 3 June, with a possible game seven finale on 19 June.
Victor Wembanyama produced an inspired performance as the San Antonio Spurs beat defending NBA champions the Oklahoma City Thunder 118-91 to set up a decisive game seven in the Western Conference Finals.
San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson had called on Wembanyama to score more than 20 points after a disappointing showing in game five, and the 22-year-old duly delivered.
Wembanyama finished with 28 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks as the Spurs dominated after taking an early lead to level the series at 3-3.
The Frenchman came out of the game with almost eight minutes remaining in the third quarter and midway through the Spurs scoring 20 consecutive points.
Johnson praised Wembanyama’s “passion and desire” and taking “responsibility” after his dominant display.
Stephon Castle finished with 17 points, nine assists and one turnover, while Dylan Harper added 18 points off the bench.
Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander could not replicate his 32-point outing in game five as he finished with 15 points and four assists after making only six of 18 shots.
It was Gilgeous-Alexander’s lowest scoring output since he scored 14 in game three of the 2025 Western Conference finals against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The two-time NBA MVP is shooting just 37.9% from the floor in the series after making 51.4% of his field-goal attempts during the first two rounds of this year’s post-season.
“I’m not sure, to be honest,” Gilgeous-Alexander said when asked why he is struggling.
“A lot of the shots that I’m shooting, I shot plenty of times before. They feel good, and it’s not good.
“They [San Antonio] were the aggressors from start to finish. They played harder than us, hit more shots, were more aggressive, were in attack mode. We were on our heels.”
Whoever wins game seven in Oklahoma City on Saturday, 30 May (Sunday 01:00 BST), will face the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals.