sport

The players’ campaign, which began in late 2025, is being spearheaded by former WTA chairman and chief executive Larry Scott.

The American will be in Paris on Friday for a meeting with French Open tournament director Amelie Mauresmo and FFT president Gilles Moretton.

Meetings are also planned with representatives of the All England Club (AELTC) and the US Tennis Association later in the fortnight.

The players’ action is designed to put pressure on the AELTC, with prize money for Wimbledon not due to be announced for another three weeks.

Last year, the Wimbledon prize fund rose by 7% to £53.5m – double the amount on offer a decade earlier.

Players look enviously, however, at the revenues generated by the Grand Slams and feel entitled to a larger slice of the cake.

The AELTC’s financial statement for the year to July 2025 showed revenue of £427m and profit after tax of £39.7m.

Players have asked the Slams to pay 22% of their revenue in prize money by 2030.

They are also asking that tens of millions of dollars are paid towards pension, healthcare and maternity benefits, and that they are consulted more widely on scheduling and other key decisions.

At this month’s Italian Open, world number one Aryna Sabalenka said she believes players will “at some point” boycott one of the majors.

World number three Iga Swiatek felt that would be a “bit extreme”, but defending French Open champion Coco Gauff said she would support strike action “if everyone were to move as one and collaborate”.

Men’s world number one Jannik Sinner also claimed players are not getting the respect they deserve when it comes to prize money at the majors.

An FFT statement on Wednesday read: “We regret the players’ decision, which impacts all of the tournament’s stakeholders: the media, broadcasters, the FFT and the entire tennis community, all of whom follow each edition of Roland Garros with great enthusiasm.

“The French Tennis Federation recognises the importance of the players’ contribution to the tournament’s success, and wishes to maintain close ties with them.”

The French Open takes place from 24 May to 7 June.

SOUTHERN SECTION BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
TUESDAY’S RESULTS
THIRD ROUND

DIVISION 1

Pool A

Norco 9, Ayala 2

Pool D

Corona 6, Corona Santiago 1

Pool C

Cypress 8, Sierra Canyon 0

Pool B

La Mirada 11, Huntington Beach 1

SECOND ROUND

DIVISION 2

Elsinore 6, Santa Margarita 4

Ganesha 5, South Hills 2

Newport Harbor 4, Great Oak 1

Aquinas 5, Gahr 3

Santa Ana Foothill 3, Servite 0

Yucaipa 17, Royal 2

Loyola 7, Chaminade 6

Alemany 9, Westlake 6

DIVISION 3

Mira Costa 6, Redondo Union 3

Dos Pueblos 10, Edison 7

Warren 10, Palos Verdes 1

St. Francis 5, Cajon 2

Agoura 3, Garden Grove Pacifica 0

Fullerton 7, Corona del Mar 6

Millikan 3, Beckman 1

Summit 5, Arcadia 4

DIVISION 4

Saugus 11, San Marino 10

Rio Mesa 4, Claremont 2

Glendora at Katella, Wednesday

Anaheim Canyon 4, Upland 1

Marina 11, La Quinta 4

Grand Terrace 4, Palm Desert 0

Laguna Beach 7, Woodbridge 2

Moorpark 8, Monrovia 6

DIVISION 5

Irvine 3, Citrus Valley 2

Cathedral 2, Long Beach Poly 1

Kaiser 5, Quartz Hill 4

Santa Barbara 12, Paramount 5

Long Beach Wilson 2, Jurupa Hills 1

Temescal Canyon 7, Riverside Prep 6

Culver City 6, St. Bonaventure 2

St. Bernard 4, Bishop Montgomery 0

DIVISION 6

Brentwood 9, Ontario 7

Foothill Tech 4, Canyon Springs 0

Trinity Classical Academy 5, Troy 3

El Rancho 8, Northwood 0

Western Christian 5, Savanna 3

Covina 15, Alhambra 5

Muir at Santa Ana Calvary Chapel, late

Lakewood 6, Crossroads 2

DIVISION 7

Carpinteria 7, New Roads 2

North Torrance 7, Grace 0

Santa Paula 11, Fontana 1

Patriot 3, Victor Valley 2

South El Monte 3, Hemet 2

Golden Valley 6, Jurupa Valley 3

Arroyo 4, Carter 3

Norwalk 4, Garden Grove 1

DIVISION 8

Rancho Alamitos 13, Edgewood 10

Chadwick 26, Pasadena Marshall 23

Wildomar Cornerstone Christian 7, Rio Hondo Prep 3

Oxford Academy 4, Rosemead 3

Duarte 4, Santa Clarita Christian 2

Nuview Bridge 3, Nordhoff 2

Artesia 10, Magnolia 5

Anaheim vs. Schurr at Rio Hondo College

DIVISION 9

Lennox Academy 6, Dunn 4

Crossroads Christian 9, St. Monica Academy 8

Ojai Valley 2, San Bernardino 0

Webb 5, Yucca Valley 3

Rolling Hills Prep 11, Ambassador Christian 3

Riverside Bethel Christian 6, Westminster 4

Temecula Prep 22, Cobalt 1

Garden Grove Santiago 7, St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy 6

FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE
(Games at 3:15 p.m. unless noted)
QUARTERFINALS

DIVISION 1

Corona at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame

Norco at Orange Lutheran

St. John Bosco at La Mirada, Saturday at 11 a.m.

Cypress at Harvard-Westlake

DIVISION 2

Ganesha at Elsinore

Aquinas at Newport Harbor

Foothill at Yucaipa

Loyola at Alemany

DIVISION 3

Mira Costa at Dos Pueblos

St. Francis at Warren

Fullerton at Agoura

Summit at Millikan

DIVISION 4

Saugus at Rio Mesa

Glendora / Katella vs. Anaheim Canyon

Marina at Grand Terrace

Laguna Beach at Moorpark

DIVISION 5

Irvine at Cathedral

Santa Barbara at Kaiser

Temescal Canyon at Long Beach Wilson

Culver City at St. Bernard

DIVISION 6

Foothill Tech at Brentwood

El Rancho at Trinity Classical Academy

Covina at Western Christian

Lakewood vs. Muir /Santa Ana Calvary Chapel

DIVISION 7

Carpinteria at North Torrance

Santa Paula at Patriot

South El Monte at Golden Valley

Norwalk at Arroyo

DIVISION 8

Chadwick at Rancho Alamitos

Oxford Academy at Wildomar Cornerstone Christian

Duarte at Nuview Bridge

Schurr at Artesia

DIVISION 9

Crossroads Christian at Lennox Academy

HajI Valley at Webb

Riverside Bethel Christian at Rolling Hills Prep

Temecula Prep at Garden Grove Santiago

Note: Semifinals in all divisions May 26; Finals in all divisions May 29-30.

SAN DIEGO — The good people of New York like to consider themselves tough. If you can make it there, as Frank Sinatra crooned, you’ll make it anywhere.

Do not confuse hot takes with sounding tough. Two New York sports talk hosts this week took daft shots at Joe Davis and came off — in the last adjective with which any true New Yorker would want to be described — as soft.

Let’s rewind: Davis is the lead voice of the Dodgers on SportsNet LA. He is also the lead voice of the national baseball broadcasts on Fox. In the latter role, he called last Saturday’s game between the New York Yankees and the New York Mets.

At one point, Mets outfielder Carson Benge dropped an easy fly ball. Without missing a beat, Davis said: “Oh, no! Oh, no, the Mets!”

It was the perfect call. The foibles of the Mets are so many and so weird that Mets fans themselves have embraced a term for them: LOLMets. You can learn all about it in a 23-minute YouTube video narrated by a former Mets pitcher.

Commentator Stephen Nelson, Dodger Shohei Ohtani, interpreter Will Ireton, Dodger Roki Sasaki and broadcaster Joe Davis address fans during Dodger Fest at Dodger Stadium on Jan. 31.

(Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)

Firing one manager (Willie Randolph) at midnight in Anaheim? Dumping another manager (Carlos Beltran) before he could manage a game because he was the only player cited in the commissioner’s report on the Houston Astros’ cheating scandal? Opening this season with baseball’s highest payroll and spending some time with baseball’s worst record?

“This year, and in recent years, there have been so many moments where it looks like the Mets are right there, ready to make a run or win the division or win a championship, and then something just tends to go wrong,” Davis said in San Diego Tuesday.

“They were in a stretch right there where every single day, they were getting a stud hurt. They put together a winning streak against the Tigers, then Clay Holmes has the comebacker break his ankle.”

The next day, Benge totally clanked it, and Davis totally nailed it — in the moment, not with some scripted phrase waiting in his pocket.

“You hope that your reactions in those moments — in any moment in this job — are authentic,” Davis said. “You don’t have much time for it to be anything else.”

On Monday, Evan Roberts — a host on WFAN, New York’s top-rated sports station — unloaded on Davis for “mocking” the Mets.

“Joe Davis has become a clown for the Los Angeles Dodgers and we all hear it,” Roberts said, in remarks posted by the Awful Announcing website.

Got anything else?

“I think he’s a Dodger fanboy,” Roberts said. “I think he wants to just make love to Shohei Ohtani every time he talks about him … He’s a great broadcaster, and I’ll admit it. But, for now, I think Joe Davis is a Dodgers shill and it’s obnoxious.

“And I’d give him this advice, not that he cares, he doesn’t care: Don’t go to the Dodger parade and be the emcee. It’s a bad look. It just is. You’re sitting there as the national voice and now you’re pom-pom waving at the Dodger parade. Come on, man.”

Davis works for the Dodgers. When the boss wants you to emcee the World Series championship rally, you do. Would the Mets’ broadcasters do the same? When the Mets win their first World Series championship since 1986, we’ll find out.

Let’s hear from Sal Licata, formerly at WFAN and now working independently: “What’s up with Joe Davis, by the way? You Dodger homer. ‘Oh no, the Mets,’ that’s a national unbiased broadcast? You biased Dodger blue fool.”

There always will be people who claim Davis is biased toward the Dodgers, just as people claimed his predecessor, Joe Buck, was biased toward the St. Louis Cardinals. Buck worked for Fox on weekends and called Cardinals games during the week.

And, for the people who see only what they want to see, Davis is the voice of baseball’s evil empire. Maybe that aggravates New Yorkers, but consider how aggravated we are that we have to fight through hellish traffic to get to Dodger Stadium or a television set by 5 p.m. so we can see our team play in the World Series because the East Coast needs to see the game in prime time.

Or how annoyed we are that we get televised Yankees-Red Sox games shoved down our throats when Red Sox management has opted for irrelevance and the best rivalry in baseball is here, between the Dodgers and Padres.

Better yet, how about we all chill? It’s just a game. We could break bread with New York’s famous bagels, except the New York Times told us we have the better bagels.

Hotel operators avoid a ‘very real threat’ by signing a deal with 25,000 workers as the city hosts the 2026 tournament.

New York City hotel operators and ⁠unions have reached an eight-year labour deal covering about 25,000 workers, averting a strike over wages, workloads and staffing levels that had threatened to disrupt the city ⁠before the FIFA World Cup, said the head of the Hotel Association of New York City.

Vijay Dandapani, the association’s president and chief executive, said on Tuesday that the mood among owners was “overall positive” after weeks of negotiations, though the industry made significant concessions.

“We came ‌a long way from where things were,” Dandapani said.

The United States will cohost the tournament with Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19.

While FIFA, football’s global governing body and tournament organiser, was not involved in the talks, the prospect of an influx of fans raised the stakes.

A union campaign had warned of a possible strike and urged visitors to avoid affected hotels.

The potential walkout was a “very real threat”, Dandapani said, noting recent labour actions in US cities including Los Angeles and ⁠Boston.

Dandapani said a figure of about $200,000 reflected compensation at the end of the agreement, not at the outset.

Hotel owners entered the talks aiming to preserve profitability, arguing New York’s lodging market has not ⁠fully recovered from the pandemic. Occupancy remains below 2019 levels, and inflation-adjusted room rates have yet to catch up, he ⁠said.

He also cited broader pressures, including the US-Israel war on Iran, tariffs and visa issues.

The deal follows the withdrawal of a proposed city measure that operators said would have sharply raised labour costs by limiting room attendants’ workloads and requiring double pay beyond certain ‌thresholds. Owners estimated it could have lifted wage costs by about 40 percent.

The new pact will still add costs, though operators expect tourism demand and major events to ‌support ‌revenue.

Dodgers beat the Padres

From Maddie Lee: Andy Pages’ game-winning at-bat was one of the “greatest” teammate Freddie Freeman has ever seen in person. Manager Dave Roberts commended his “will and determination.” Even Padres closer Mason Miller, the pitcher on the other side, tipped his cap: “Outstanding job by him.”

The Dodgers’ 5-4 comeback victory was sealed with a nine-pitch battle between Pages and Miller. And the Dodgers’ young All-Star candidate beat the best closer in baseball.

“I never thought he was going to strike me out or dominate me,” Pages said through an interpreter. “I was 100% certain I was going to move the ball forward.”

Forward and in the air to right field for the go-ahead sacrifice fly in the ninth inning.

The Dodgers (30-19) evened the series, pulled back into the top spot in the division standings, and handed Miller his first loss as a Padre.

Continue reading here

Shaikin: Pitching injuries are piling up again for Dodgers. Can the starting rotation hold up?

Dodgers box score

MLB standings

Angels walloped by the Athletics

Nick Kurtz had three hits and five RBIs, Brent Rooker and Zack Gelof homered and drove in three runs apiece as the Athletics beat the Angels 14-6 on Tuesday night.

The Athletics scored 12 of their runs with two out.

Kurtz, the reigning American League rookie of the year, sparked a six-run third inning with an RBI single, keyed a two-run sixth with a two-run single and added a two-run double in a four-run eighth.

Reliever Justin Sterner (2-3) escaped a first-and-third, two-out jam in the fourth and earned the win for the AL West-leading A’s, who snapped a three-game skid.

Continue reading here

Angels box score

MLB standings

Billie Jean King graduates

From Steve Henson: Long before Billie Jean King won dozens of Grand Slam tennis titles, founded the Women’s Tennis Assn., became part owner of the Dodgers and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, she enrolled in what was then called Los Angeles State College.

Three years later in 1964, King left without a degree to devote full attention to her burgeoning tennis career.

Failing to earn the degree bothered her, and King would correct anyone who said she had graduated.

“I said, ‘Don’t ever say ‘graduated.’ I haven’t earned it — yet,’” she said.

“Yet” became a reality Monday when King, 82, received her bachelor’s degree in history from the same school she attended more than 60 years ago — now called Cal State Los Angeles — walking across the Shrine Auditorium stage with the rest of the Class of 2026.

Continue reading here

This day in sports history

1897 — British Open Men’s Golf, Royal Liverpool GC: English amateur Harold Hilton wins 2nd Open title by 1 stroke from Scot James Braid.

1900 — The second modern Olympic games open in Paris.

1941 — Ten days after his Preakness victory, Whirlaway races against older horses for the first time and defeats four rivals in the Henry of Navarre Purse at Belmont Park in New York.

1950 — Heavily favored Hill Prince, ridden by Bill Boland, wins the Preakness Stakes by five lengths over Middleground.

1964 — Buster Mathis beats future world heavyweight champion Joe Frazer on points at trials in Flushing, NY to qualify for US Olympic boxing team; Mathis injures thumb, replaced by Frazier who wins gold medal.

1967 — Damascus, ridden by Willie Shoemaker, wins the Preakness Stakes by 2¼ lengths over In Reality.

1972 — Bee Bee Bee, a 19-1 long shot ridden by Eldon Nelson, wins the Preakness Stakes by 1½ lengths over No Le Hace.

1972 — Indiana’s Roger Brown scores 32 points to lead the Pacers to 108-105 to win over the New York Nets and the ABA championship.

1978 — Affirmed, ridden by Steve Cauthen, continues the battle with Alydar and wins the Preakness Stakes by a neck.

1983 — American heavyweight boxer Larry Holmes beats countryman Tim Witherspoon by split decision to retain his WBC title at the Dunes Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas.

1985 — Larry Holmes beats Carl Williams in 15 for heavyweight boxing title.

1990 — Monica Seles ends Steffi Graf’s 66-match winning streak and takes the German Open with a 6-4, 6-3 victory. Graf’s streak is the second longest in the modern era of tennis. Martina Navratilova won 74 straight matches in 1984.

1990 — The 18th triple dead heat in modern thoroughbred history takes place in the ninth race at Arlington International Racecourse. All Worked Up, Marshua’s Affair and Survival are timed in 1:24 4-5 over seven furlongs.

1991 — Chicago Bulls Michael Jordan is named NBA’s MVP.

1992 — 36th European Cup: Barcelona beats Sampdoria 1-0 at London.

1998 — 6th UEFA Champions League Final: Real Madrid beats Juventus 1-0 at Amsterdam.

2000 — English FA Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London (78,217): Chelsea beats Aston Villa, 1-0; Roberto Di Matteo scores 73′ winner.

2005 — Nextel Cup rookie Kyle Busch becomes the youngest winner in Craftsman Truck Series history, holding off Terry Cook and Ted Musgrave in a three-lap closing sprint at the Quaker Steak & Lube 200.

2006 — Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro breaks down at the start of the Preakness, galloping a few hundred yards while his eight rivals pass him. Bernardini wins the $1 million race, beating Sweetnorthernsaint by 5 1-4 lengths.

2007 — Roger Federer ends Rafael Nadal’s 81-match winning streak on clay with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 win in the final of the Hamburg Masters. It’s Federer’s first clay-court title in two years.

2015 — NASCAR 2016 Hall of Fame inductees: Bobby Isaac, Terry Labonte and Jerry Cook.

2017 — Cloud Computing, ridden by Javier Castellano, runs down Classic Empire in the final strides to win the Preakness by a head. The 13-1 long shot runs 1 3/16 miles in 1:55.98 and pays $28.80 to win. Derby winner Always Dreaming and Classic Empire duel throughout most of the race before Classic Empire jumps in front midway on the far turn.

2018 — Sweden beats Switzerland 3-2 in a shootout for the gold medal at the world ice hockey championship in Copenhagen, Denmark.

2018 — The Tradition Senior Men’s Golf, Greystone G &CC: Spaniard Miguel Ángel Jiménez wins by 3 from American trio Joe Durant, Steve Stricker & Gene Sauers.

2018 — The Vegas Golden Knights punch their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final beating the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 on the road to win the Western Conference finals 4-1. The Golden Knights become the second expansion team in the NHL, NBA, NFL or MLB since 1960 to reach a championship series in their first season. The other team was the 1967-68 St. Louis Blues.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1919 — Babe Ruth won a game on the mound and at the plate. He hit his first career grand slam as the Boston Red Sox beat the St. Louis Browns 6-4.

1925 — The Cleveland Indians scored six runs in the last of the ninth to beat the New York Yankees 10-9. Tris Speaker scored the winning run from first on a single.

1932 — Paul Waner of the Pittsburgh Pirates hit four doubles in one game.

1941 — Lefty Grove of the Boston Red Sox won his 20th consecutive game at home, the longest home park streak in the major leagues. Boston beat the Detroit Tigers, 4-2.

1947 — The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Boston Braves 4-3 in a game that featured 22 hits — all singles. The Pirates had 12 singles, the Braves 10.

1948 — Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees hits for the cycle and collects six RBI in a 13-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox. DiMaggio hits two home runs, a triple, a double and a single, and narrowly misses another extra-base hit when Chicago left fielder Ralph Hodgin makes a spectacular catch at the wall.

1953 — In the 13th game of the season, the Milwaukee Braves surpassed their 1952 attendance of 281,278, when they were in Boston.

1959 — The Detroit Tigers beat the Yankees, 13-6, to place New York in last place for the first time in 19 years.

1962 — Chicago Cubs rookie Ken Hubbs had eight singles in eight trips to the plate. The Cubs swept the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-4 and 11-2.

1978 — Willie Stargell hit a 535-foot homer off Montreal’s Wayne Twitchell — the longest home run in Montreal’s Olympic Stadium — to highlight the Pirates’ 6-0 victory. It was also Stargell’s 407th career homer, tying him with Duke Snider on the career list.

1983 — Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Steve Carlton passes Walter Johnson to move into second place on the all-time strikeout list. Carlton’s four strikeouts put him at 3,511, just 10 behind Nolan Ryan of the Houston Astros.

1984 — Boston’s Roger Clemens earned his first major league victory. The Red Sox beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-4.

1988 — Mike Schmidt belts the 535th home run of his career during 1st inning off Padres starting pitcher Andy Hawkins, moving Schmidt past Jimmie Foxx into sole possession of 8th place on the all-time home run list.

1991 — Jeff Reardon got his 300th save and Steve Lyons and Jack Clark homered as the Boston Red Sox beat the Milwaukee Brewers 3-0.

1999 — Robin Ventura became the first major leaguer to hit grand slams in both games of a doubleheader, leading the New York Mets to a sweep over Milwaukee, 11-10 and 10-1. He had two slams in a game for the Chicago White Sox on Sept. 4, 1995.

2001 — Barry Bonds hit two homers in the San Francisco Giants’ 11-6 loss to the Atlanta Braves, giving him a total of five in two games, becoming the 23rd player in history to do so.

2006 — Barry Bonds tied Babe Ruth for second place on the career home run list during San Francisco’s 4-2, 10-inning victory over the Oakland Athletics.

2009 — Boston center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury tied a major league record with 12 putouts by an outfielder in a nine-inning game, previously done by Earl Clark of the Boston Braves in 1929 and Lyman Bostock of the Minnesota Twins in 1977. He accomplished the feat in the Red Sox’s 8-3 win over Toronto.

2009 — Nick Swisher, Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera hit consecutive home runs for the New York Yankees in an 11-4 victory over Baltimore. All three solo shots to right field came in the second inning off Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie — with two strikes.

2011 — The Chicago Cubs make their first visit to Fenway Park since the 1918 World Series.

2018 — Rookie Jordan Hicks of the Cardinals ties Aroldis Chapman’s record for the fastest pitch ever recorded by pumping a couple of fastballs at 105 mph while facing Odubel Herrera of the Phillies. The first one goes for a ball, and Herrera manages to foul off the second before striking out on a pitched timed at 103.7 mph.

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.

Football’s world governing body, FIFA, has framed the 2026 World Cup’s expansion from 32 to 48 teams as a watershed moment for inclusivity, opening the door for nations that have never qualified before.

Indeed, four teams will be playing at their first World Cup in North America this summer: Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan, and Uzbekistan.

Here is Al Jazeera’s short guide to the debutants at this year’s competition.

Cape Verde

• FIFA world ranking: 69
• World Cup fixtures (Group H): Spain (June 15, Atlanta), Uruguay (June 21, Miami, US), Saudi Arabia (June 26, Houston, US)
• Player to watch: Garry Rodrigues

With a population of about 525,000, the small archipelago off the coast of Senegal will become the third-least populous country to participate in a World Cup after Curacao and Iceland.

Ryan Mendes is not even a household name in Turkiye, where he plays for second-tier Igdir, but Cape Verde’s 35-year-old captain was at the heart of their 3-0 win over Eswatini in October, which booked their place at the World Cup.

This was no freak occurrence as Cape Verde topped their group at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, which included Ghana, reaching the quarterfinals where they lost on penalties to South Africa.

Although they failed to reach AFCON 2025, they again topped their group in 2026 World Cup qualifying – this time finishing ahead of the once-mighty Cameroon.

“We have taken part in four African Cup of Nations tournaments, and we were also very close to qualifying for the 2014 World Cup,” Mendes told the AFP news agency.

“A lot has been achieved over the years. And today, we can say that this is the logical outcome.”

Cape Verde rely heavily on their Portuguese colonial past for a supply of diaspora talent, and also have several Dutch-born players, as well as one from Ireland – the Shamrock Rovers defender Roberto Lopes. The Dublin-born 33-year-old has a Cape Verdean father and Irish mother and was reportedly recruited for Cape Verde via LinkedIn.

The team’s best-known player, however, is probably 35-year-old winger Garry Rodrigues; now at Cypriot club Apollon Limassol, he has had stints at the likes of Galatasaray and Olympiacos.

But even without mega-star names, Mendes is certain that the Blue Sharks can make a mark at the tournament.

“One thing’s for sure: we’re not going there just to play three games and come home,” he said.

Curacao

• FIFA world ranking: 82
• World Cup fixtures (Group E): Germany (June 14, Houston, US), Ecuador (June 20, Kansas City, US), Ivory Coast (June 25, Philadelphia, US)
• Player to watch: Tahith Chong

“Small island, big dreams” reads a poster for the football team of the Caribbean island of Curacao – the smallest country ever, by population, to qualify for football’s World Cup.

Since Curacao clinched qualification with a hard-fought 0-0 draw against Steven McClaren’s Jamaica in November, the 160,000 inhabitants of the Dutch island famed for its eponymous sapphire liqueur are riding the crest of the Blue Wave, as the national side is dubbed.

The most famous person around the squad is Curacao’s boss Dick Advocaat, the 78-year-old former Netherlands, PSV and Rangers manager who guided the Curacaoans to qualification. He is set to become the oldest manager ever at a World Cup.

Meanwhile, as a self-governing entity within the Netherlands, the island owes its World Cup squad entirely to its Dutch-based diaspora, the president of Curacao’s football federation, Gilbert Martina, admitted.

“All the players on the national team play in foreign leagues,” he told AFP.

Perhaps the best-known player is former Dutch youth international Tahith Chong, now at Championship side Sheffield United. The only team member born on Curacao, Chong moved to the Netherlands at the age of 13.

The 26-year-old winger or attacking midfielder is known for his pace, dribbling and a wicked left foot.

The most famous Curacaoan is probably former Ajax and Barcelona star Patrick Kluivert, who was born to a Surinamese father and a mother from Curacao.

“It’s fantastic that the island is in the World Cup,” Kluivert, who coached the Curacaoan side between 2015 and 2016, told AFP.

“In my day, [football] was not that big on the island, but the players have given Curacao visibility. It’s important for the future, for the next generation.”

Jordan

• FIFA world ranking: 63
• World Cup fixtures (Group J): Austria (June 16, San Francisco, US), Algeria (June 22, San Francisco, US), Argentina (June 27, Dallas, US)
• Player to watch: Musa Al-Taamari

Jordan head coach Jamal Sellami has called on ⁠his players to emulate ⁠Morocco’s shock run to the last four of the World Cup in 2022 as they prepare for their first appearance at the tournament.

“In big competitions, many teams can surprise. My country, Morocco, ‌reached the semifinals in the last World Cup,” Reuters quoted him as saying during a training camp in Antalya, Turkiye in late March. “That gives us belief.”

Despite their underdog status, the players say they are not going to the World Cup just to make up the numbers.

“For us, we are not going just for participation,” midfielder Noor Al-Rawabdeh added. “We are aiming to go as far ⁠as we can in the tournament.

“To be honest, sometimes we don’t sleep when we think about it,” he added. “It’s a dream come true for us.”

The Rennes winger Musa Al-Taamari is probably the team’s standout player – he was the key creative force as Jordan ⁠secured an automatic berth at the World Cup after finishing ⁠second behind South Korea in their Asian qualifying group.

Sellami said the camp in Antalya, which involved games against Costa Rica and Nigeria, was a key stage in building experience before facing elite opposition.

“We ‌are ‌preparing step by step. We’ve played against different football cultures,” he said.

“We are collecting experience and, Inshallah [God willing], we will surprise many people.”

Uzbekistan

• FIFA world ranking: 50
• World Cup fixtures (Group K): Colombia (June 17, Mexico City, Mexico), Portugal (June 23, Houston, US), DR Congo (June 27, Atlanta, US)
• Player to watch: Abdukodir Khusanov

Uzbekistan FA Vice President Ravshan Irmatov is no stranger to the World Cup, having refereed at three finals, but believes the Central Asian country’s long-awaited qualification is merely the latest step in its football development.

“Qualifying for the World Cup has been a dream for 38 million people for 34 years,” Irmatov said. “You can understand how important it was for the Uzbek nation, we waited so long.”

Uzbekistan’s first qualification comes after seven attempts to secure a finals spot since the country was granted FIFA membership in 1994 following the break-up of the Soviet Union.

Slovenian coach Srecko Katanec guided a team built primarily on home-based talent to the cusp of the finals before health issues forced him to stand down, leaving Olympic team coach Timur Kapadze to secure the ticket for the 2026 tournament.

Captain Eldor Shomurodov, on loan at Istanbul Basaksehir from Roma, is the country’s top scorer with 44 goals in 90 games and scored 21 Turkish Super League goals this season.

But the team’s best-known player is probably Manchester City’s Abdukodir Khusanov. The 22-year-old centre back has become a key part of the defence this season, well-regarded for his positional play, pace, strength and quiet leadership.

Uzbekistan confirmed their place at the finals with a 0-0 draw against the United Arab Emirates in June, and since then, former Italian World Cup winner Fabio Cannavaro has taken over as coach.

“I’ll tell you what I always repeat to my players: for the first time you will play in a World Cup, you have nothing to lose,” Cannavaro was quoted as saying by The Mirror newspaper in March.

“Approach every match with maximum calm, enjoy yourselves as much as possible, and if you feel anxiety, let it be positive anxiety.”

Arsenal have ended a 22-year wait to be crowned Premier League champions after Manchester City were held 1-1 by Bournemouth.

Mikel Arteta’s men held off the challenge of Pep Guardiola’s second-place City on Tuesday night to seal a long-awaited triumph with one game to spare.

Here are the key factors that helped the Gunners finally get over the line after three seasons as runners-up:

Back to basics

Arsenal’s title-winning campaign has been ugly at times. For a couple of seasons, Arteta’s Arsenal have been the emblem of a more back-to-basics approach in English football.

The era of pretty passing under Guardiola and heavy-metal football under Jurgen Klopp has given way to set pieces, long throw-ins and long balls from the back.

It is a world Arsenal have mastered with Gabriel Magalhaes a menace at corners, Declan Rice key with his pinpoint throws and dead-ball deliveries, and Victor Gyokeres a more robust out-and-out striker.

Often derided by rival fans as “Set Piece FC” for a lack of creativity, specialist coach Nicolas Jover has devised a series of inventive schemes to give Arsenal an edge.

More than 40 percent of the Gunners’ Premier League goals this season have come from dead ball situations. Of their 28 goals from set pieces, 18 have come from corners, a new single-season Premier League record.

Meanwhile, the Gunners easily have the best defensive record in the league, conceding just 26 goals in 37 games this season, and it is that solidity and sturdiness that will define this title-winning team.

Rice’s leadership, Raya’s saves, Gyokeres’s goals

Rice and goalkeeper David Raya have stood out for Arsenal this season, putting them among the favourites for English football’s Player of the Year award.

Rice’s leadership, energy in midfield and set-piece delivery have made him an integral member of the team and one of England’s key players heading into the World Cup.

Raya has helped Arsenal keep 19 clean sheets, earning him the Golden Glove award for the third straight year.

“David Raya, for me, has to be the player of the season,” former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira told Sky Sports. “I think he was outstanding from the first game until the end of the season. I think he was really impressive.”

Throw in Gyokeres scoring 21 goals in all competitions in his first season at the club and it is clear that Arteta has built the most well-rounded team of his tenure.

Strength in depth

Injuries played a ruinous role in Arsenal’s failed pursuit of Liverpool last season.

The decision to invest heavily in bulking out Arteta’s squad paid off this season despite injuries to Saka, Magalhaes, Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber.

New signings Gyokeres, Eberechi Eze, Martin Zubimendi, Noni Madueke, Piero Hincapie and Cristhian Mosquera have all made significant contributions to get Arsenal over the line in the Premier League and within one game of winning the Champions League for the first time.

Unorthodox methods

Finishing as runners-up in the Premier League for the past three years saw Arsenal’s players and Arteta derided as “nearly men”, even chokers, by many football pundits.

An alternative view is that it built up the prerequisite experience and resolve to finally launch a successful tilt at the title.

Arteta kept believing in his squad – and kept coming up with unorthodox, ridicule-inviting methods to inspire his players. A professional pickpocket was reportedly hired for a preseason dinner and took items from players, highlighting the need for them to be alert at all times.

Arteta brought a lightbulb into the locker room before one game, linking that to his demand for the team to shine and light up Emirates Stadium. Just a few weeks ago, TikTok videos featuring fan chants were played on big screens during practice sessions.

Arsenal have been mentally tougher this season, holding on after yet another strong start to the campaign and seeing it through to the end despite City’s trademark late-season rally.

Faltering rivals

Arsenal accumulated more points two years ago when they were pipped to the title by City despite winning 16 of their final 18 games.

Over the past decade, City and Liverpool have often set the bar high, winning the league with more than 90 points.

This time, 82 was enough to see Arsenal over the line.

Despite taking the title race into the final week of the campaign, City lacked the same consistency and relentlessness of Guardiola’s best sides while Liverpool’s title defence imploded.

Petr Vlachovsky, ⁠a Czech women’s football club coach who filmed players in changing rooms, has been banned for life.

European football’s governing body says it has issued a lifetime ban ⁠to Petr Vlachovsky, ⁠a Czech women’s football coach who secretly filmed his players.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) said it had decided to ban Vlachovsky “from exercising any football-related activity for life” following an investigation into allegations of potential misconduct.

“The CEDB further decided to request FIFA to extend the abovementioned ban on a worldwide level and to order the Football Association of the Czech Republic to revoke Mr Petr Vlachovsky’s coaching licence,” the statement added.

Czech media reported that the coach was convicted in ⁠May 2025 and initially received a suspended one-year prison sentence and a five-year domestic coaching ban for filming FC Slovacko’s players in changing rooms, the youngest of ⁠whom was 17. According to the indictment cited by the Czech media, Vlachovsky confessed and expressed regret.

Vlachovsky had also previously served as coach of the Czech women’s Under-19 team.

“This is a deeply serious and distressing matter which came to light ⁠in 2023 and had a significant impact on our club, ⁠and above all on the players affected,” a spokesperson for FC Slovacko told the Reuters news agency.

“From the moment we became aware of the allegations, the club acted immediately, terminated its cooperation with the former coach, and ⁠cooperated with the relevant authorities.

“Throughout this process, the club has regarded itself as an injured party and has treated the ⁠matter with the utmost seriousness, sensitivity and respect for ⁠those affected.”

Football players’ union FIFPRO welcomed the ban as well as UEFA’s request for world football governing body FIFA to impose an international ban on Vlachovsky.

“This outcome sends a strong and necessary message that abusive and inappropriate behaviour has no place in football and ‌that ‌safeguarding the wellbeing of players must remain a priority at every level of the game,” FIFPRO added in a statement.

The AHLA said hotels spent years preparing and have made “significant investments” based upon official projections.

A study commissioned by Fifa,, external released last year, predicted that in the US the World Cup could create 185,000 jobs, adding $17.2bn (£12.7bn) in gross domestic product.

The hotels were planning for an influx of international travellers, who book longer stays with a higher spend.

But the AHLA said fewer overseas fans “threatens the broader economic impact” with just over three weeks until the opening game on 11 June.

The AHLA said the large-scale bookings made by Fifa in all cities “shaped revenue forecasts, staffing plans and preparations”.

It said this booking policy “manufactured artificial demand” and masked the fact that tourist flow is going to be lower than predicted.

Up to 70% of rooms reserved by Fifa in Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Seattle have been cancelled, the AHLA said.

In a statement Fifa rejected the AHLA’s claims and said it had followed agreements made with hotel chains.

“All room releases were conducted in line with contractually agreed timelines with hotel partners – a standard practice for an event of this scale,” a Fifa spokesperson said.

“In many cases, room releases were made ahead of established deadlines to further accommodate requests from hotels.

“Throughout the planning process, Fifa’s accommodations team maintained consistent discussions with hotel stakeholders, including room block adjustments, agreeing to rates, confirming room types and regular reporting, supported by townhall and ongoing communication.”

Prices spiked after the draw was made, as soon as fans knew which cities their teams would be in.

There has been a gradual fall since then, reportedly by a further 20% in recent weeks.

But this could be too late to entice fans back.

Hotel prices in cities like Boston are still more than $300 (£224) a night, and most fans are working to a lower budget.

Chris Hancock, an England fan who has been to four World Cups, told BBC Sport that his group of five are travelling on an accommodation budget of $75 (£56) per person per night.

They will hire a car in each city and book a mix of hotels and Airbnb accommodation between 45 minutes to an hour away.

“We always tend to stay out of town a little bit and cut the cost that way, so we’re not in the middle of Dallas, Boston or New York,” Hancock said.

“If you’re out of the city centres where everything’s happening, you can get some cheaper deals.

“We’re working within that budget. And at the minute we should be well under that.”

The AHLA told BBC Sport it “expects occupancy to strengthen in June and July”.

“We know that many fans are still waiting on tickets and schedules to become clearer before finalising plans,” a spokesperson said.

“We believe bookings will pick up in the weeks ahead. Hotels are ready to welcome guests and ensure that they have the best possible experience.”

Airbnb says the World Cup is on course to be the “biggest hosting event in Airbnb’s history”, overtaking the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris.

Hotels might need to rely on making gains in the knockout rounds, when fans have to make bookings at short notice.

But the World Cup seems unlikely to bring in the revenue that was being predicted.

Nick Kurtz had three hits and five RBIs, Brent Rooker and Zack Gelof homered and drove in three runs apiece as the Athletics beat the Angels 14-6 on Tuesday night.

The Athletics scored 12 of their runs with two out.

Kurtz, the reigning American League rookie of the year, sparked a six-run third inning with an RBI single, keyed a two-run sixth with a two-run single and added a two-run double in a four-run eighth.

Reliever Justin Sterner (2-3) escaped a first-and-third, two-out jam in the fourth and earned the win for the AL West-leading A’s, who snapped a three-game skid.

Mike Trout hit his 12th homer of the season, a solo shot, and finished with two RBIs for the last-place Angels, who have lost 22 of 28 games since an 11-10 start.

Angels starter Reid Detmers (1-5) was tagged for eight runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings. The left-hander retired seven straight batters to open the game, five by strikeout, before Jeff McNeil and Darell Hernaiz singled in the third.

Shea Langeliers flied out before Kurtz punched an RBI single to center to extend his on-base streak 42 games, the sixth-longest in franchise history. Colby Thomas followed with a two-run double, Rooker added an RBI single, Henry Bolte hit a ground-rule double, and Gelof had a two-run single for a 6-0 lead.

Trout led off the bottom of the third with his 43rd career homer against the A’s. That tied him with Rafael Palmeiro and Alex Rodriguez for the most since the A’s moved to California in 1968. Trout also scored his 600th Angel Stadium run on the play, the most in franchise history.

The Angels pulled within 6-4 in the fourth on Trout’s bases-loaded walk and Vaughn Grissom’s two-run single, which knocked A’s starter Jacob Lopez out of the game. But Sterner got Jorge Soler to fly out, ending the inning.

The A’s, who pounded out 15 hits, pulled away with eight runs over the final four innings, with Kurtz driving in four, Gelof hitting a solo homer in the seventh and Rooker a two-run shot in the eighth.

“Further tests, specialist reviews and medical processes are still ongoing, and my doctors are continuing to assess my condition.

“On medical advice, I am not currently medically cleared to train or play at the required level, and I will be stepping away from those duties while I focus fully on my health, treatment, and rehabilitation.”

MND affects nerves in the brain and spinal cord, which tell your muscles what to do.

This leads them to weaken and stiffen over time and usually affects how you walk, talk, eat and breathe.

Scientists are not sure what causes MND, but it is likely to be a combination of the genes – or biological traits – you get from your parents when you are born, and other lifestyle factors.

Fellow former Queensland player Carl Webb died of MND at 42 in 2023, while former England rugby league half-back Rob Burrow died in 2024, five years after diagnosis.

Former Scotland rugby union international Doddie Weir died in November 2022, and World Cup-winning former England international Lewis Moody was diagnosed in September 2025.

“Thank you for the support I’ve received over what has been an incredibly difficult and uncertain period in my life,” said Arrow.

“Over recent months, my symptoms have affected different parts of my everyday life.

“I want to sincerely thank everyone at the South Sydney Rabbitohs for the personal support they have shown me and my family throughout this process.

“The South Sydney Rabbitohs, my team-mates, staff, and everyone behind the scenes have made an incredibly hard situation much easier to face.

“What I need right now isn’t sympathy or sadness. What I need is support, understanding and privacy while my family and I navigate this difficult time.

“This is only part of my story, and when the time is right, I’ll share more. But for now, I ask everyone to respect my privacy while I continue working with my doctors and my family.”

Arrow made his NRL debut in 2016 for the Broncos, before joining the Titans in 2018. He joined South Sydney in 2021, for whom he made 98 NRL appearances.

“We all know how difficult the past few months have been for Jai, but we also know that he will fight this illness with the same bravery, passion and character that was the hallmark of his playing career,” said Rabbitohs CEO Blake Solly.

“Jai and his family will always be Rabbitohs and they will be part of this club for many years to come.”

Taijul Islam’s six-for helps Bangladesh bowl out the visitors for 328 in their first home series win over Pakistan.

Bangladesh have sealed a historic home Test series win over Pakistan after handing the visitors a 78-run defeat in their second Test in Sylhet.

Spinner Taijul Islam took six wickets to lead the spirited home side’s series win on the fifth day of the match on Wednesday.

Pakistan, who started the day on 316-7 while chasing a record 437, were bowled out for 328 in the first session after Mohammad Rizwan hit a valiant 94.

It was Bangladesh’s first Test series win at home against Pakistan and their second successive sweep after their 2-0 triumph on Pakistani soil in 2024.

Wicketkeeper Rizwan kept Pakistan in the hunt for an unlikely win with a 166-ball stay after the visitors had slumped to 162-5 on day four.

Rizwan put on an eighth-wicket partnership of 54 with overnight partner Sajid Khan, who made 28.

Taijul broke through to dismiss Sajid for his 18th Test five-wicket haul, and Shoriful Islam had Rizwan caught in the next over to end Pakistan’s resistance.

Taijul took the final wicket of Khurram Shahzad to return figures of 6-120 and trigger Bangladesh celebrations.

The left-arm spinner also took 3-67 during Pakistan’s 232 in the first innings.

Bangladesh wicketkeeper Litton Das scored 126 in their 278 in the first innings.

Veteran batsman Mushfiqur Rahim scored 137 in the second to guide Bangladesh to 390, with contributions from Mahmudul Hasan Joy (52) and Litton (69).

Bangladesh, led by Najmul Hossain Shanto, won the opening Test by 104 runs.

At Besiktas Park on Wednesday, Emery will stand on the touchline for his sixth Europa League final in 12 years.

He lost the 2019 final to Chelsea while at Arsenal, where his 18-month reign was seen as a failure.

But he has more triumphs in the competition than any other manager; three with Sevilla – in 2014, 2015 and 2016 – when they beat Liverpool – before a penalty shootout victory over Manchester United with Villarreal in 2021.

Emery, though, insists that will mean nothing come kick-off against their Bundesliga rivals.

“I am not a king in this competition,” he said. “I am now here with Aston Villa in a new chapter. Everything I did is done and of course it’s there in that moment but with it I am not winning.

“I need to win [in Turkey] with the players we have now, with Villa now. So now it’s a new way, a new moment, and hopefully a new era.

“If you are not respecting the opponent, you are closer to losing. If you are not respecting Europe, like we did during the process, we are not here. This is the strong mentality we had before.

“We have a huge challenge, a huge challenge. Are we thinking about the next party on Friday? No, no.”

The former Paris St Germain boss has managed 115 games in the Europa League, winning 71, and his best win rate in the competition is his 85.7% with Villa.

Those wins are a competition record. And since the start of 2023-24, no side has won more European matches than Villa’s tally of 26.

Emery – bizarrely overlooked in the Premier League’s Manager of the Season nominations – spoke to his players on Saturday morning, a debrief following Friday’s 4-2 win over Liverpool which sealed Champions League qualification.

He also reminded them about the journey the club has been on since he replaced Steven Gerrard in late 2022 – a Europa Conference League semi-final, a Champions League quarter-final and two top-five finishes.

Emery has needed a way with words at times, refusing to lay into his players at half-time during the abject defeat by Tottenham at the start of the month.

It was something the squad appreciated, a fatherly touch of reminding them of what they have achieved together.

Watch the moment Arsenal players and staff celebrate as they secure their first Premier League title in 22 years after Manchester City draw 1-1 at Bournemouth.

READ MORE: Twenty-two years in the making – how Arsenal celebrated title win

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Richarlison had given Robert de Zerbi’s disappointing side hope, after Enzo Fernandez and Andrey Santos gave the hosts a deserved two-goal advantage, when Chelsea‘s combative left-back Marc Cucurella unceremoniously dragged Spurs defender Micky van de Ven to the floor.

It came as Mathys Tel prepared to take a corner and Spurs demanded a penalty that never came, their disbelief doubled when Cucurella was cautioned over the incident.

Video assistant referee (VAR) checks detected his foul came seconds, maybe even one second, before the ball came into play, meaning a penalty could not be awarded.

Referee Stuart Attwell could only take action against Cucurella with a yellow card, and once VAR confirmed the ball had not been kicked there was no room to initiate a review and subsequent spot-kick.

Former Chelsea and England striker Daniel Sturridge told Sky Sports: “One second difference and it is a guaranteed penalty. Cucurella is so lucky.”

It was the tightest of calls.

Spurs boss De Zerbi refused to dwell on it, but said the Everton game was arguably “more important” than the club’s Europa League final against Manchester United last season, which they won in Bilbao.

He added: “It is not my business. My business is to focus on preparing the next game and to get the points we need because Sunday is the final for us.

“This game is important, more than playing for a trophy. Last season ended with playing for a trophy. We play for something more important than a trophy because of the pride and history of the club.

“You can win a trophy but it does not change anything. The most important thing is the pride and dignity of the club, so that we can go on holiday, in the Premier League.

“We have to stay alive. Sunday against Everton is a big day for us.”

Long before Billie Jean King won dozens of Grand Slam tennis titles, founded the Women’s Tennis Assn., became part owner of the Dodgers and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, she enrolled in what was then called Los Angeles State College.

Three years later in 1964, King left without a degree to devote full attention to her burgeoning tennis career.

Failing to earn the degree bothered her, and King would correct anyone who said she had graduated.

“I said, ‘Don’t ever say ‘graduated.’ I haven’t earned it — yet,’” she said.

“Yet” became a reality Monday when King, 82, received her bachelor’s degree in history from the same school she attended more than 60 years ago — now called Cal State Los Angeles — walking across the Shrine Auditorium stage with the rest of the Class of 2026.

King also served as a commencement speaker, telling the roughly 6,000 fellow graduates, “It is a privilege for me to be here.

“Yeah, baby, only 61 years!”

King mentioned that “like many of you,” no one in her immediate family had graduated from college.

She noted that her lifelong fight against discrimination began when she realized at age 12 that nearly everyone at tennis clubs was white.

“I asked myself, ‘Where is everybody else?’” King said. “From that day forward, I committed my life to equality and inclusion for all. Tennis is a global sport and it became my platform, but equality was my dream — to make the world a better place.”

“We can never understand inclusion unless we’ve been excluded.”

Known then as Billie Jean Moffitt, she chose Los Angeles State because tennis coach Scotty Deeds trained men and women together. She soon became an international star, winning a Wimbledon doubles championship at 18 with Karen Hantze, who was only 17.

She married her college sweetheart Larry King in 1965 and they divorced in 1987. Afterward, King and Ilana Kloss, an accomplished tennis player in her own right, were a couple for decades before marrying in 2018 in a secret ceremony in the apartment of former New York City Mayor David Dinkins.

“You’re finding your truth, and it doesn’t have to stay the same,” King told People magazine at the time. “I only liked guys when I was young. I didn’t think about girls. And then all of a sudden I’m like, ‘Oh my God, what’s happening?’ My truth was changing over time. It took me forever.”

King became a trailblazer for LGBTQ+ and women’s civil rights and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009 in part for her advocacy for equality. King and Kloss co-founded the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative to promote inclusive workplaces and gender equality.

Shortly after they married, King and Kloss became part owners of the Dodgers and the Sparks, acquiring undisclosed minority stakes in the franchises through an invitation from controlling owner Mark Walter.

“We believe all professions, and professional sports, need to be more inclusive and equitable,’’ Walter said at the time. “It’s going to be wonderful to have a role model like her in both clubhouses from time to time.’’

King returned to Cal State L.A. in the 2025 spring semester. She also earned course credit for her interaction with fellow students enrolled through the university’s Prison Graduation Initiative.

“They have made a commitment to improving their lives through education,” she said, and “getting their degree will be life-changing for them.”

King now knows the feeling firsthand. At the graduation ceremony on Monday, she wore a gold stole embroidered with a multicolored tennis racket and the letters G.O.A.T — greatest of all time.

“It means a lot more to me than I thought,” she told reporters. “I am so glad I did it. My hope is that one other person will go back to school.

“It’s never too late, whatever age you are, whatever your abilities are, go for it if you want it.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby has sued the NCAA in an attempt to be allowed to practice and play with the Red Raiders in 2026, his final season of college eligibility.

Late last month, Sorsby and the Red Raiders announced that the fifth-year player had entered a residential treatment program for gambling addiction and would be away from the team for an indefinite period of time.

A lawsuit filed Monday in Texas’ Lubbock County District Court requests that Sorsby be declared eligible for all team activities because the NCAA “failed to comply with its contractual commitments” to him as a student-athlete and therefore “is precluded from enforcing its gambling bylaws against Mr. Sorsby to deny or withhold his reinstatement.”

The filing also asks for “temporary and permanent injunctive relief enjoining the NCAA from interfering with his ability to practice, play, and participate fully as a member of the Texas Tech football team for the 2026 season.”

If he remains ineligible for college football, Sorsby intends to declare for this summer’s NFL supplemental draft. Athletes who enter that draft forfeit all remaining college eligibility.

“The relief is narrow: one student-athlete and one senior season,” the filing states. “The NCAA will suffer no cognizable harm from letting Mr. Sorsby play football while this case proceeds. But if this Court does not act, no future judgment can give Mr. Sorsby what the NCAA will have taken from him.”

As a freshman at Indiana and a low-ranked quarterback on the Hoosiers’ depth chart, the lawsuit states, Sorsby “placed small bets — typically between $5 and $50 — on the Indiana football team to win or for teammates to exceed expectations. He was not traveling with the team, and not privy to game plans; betting was his way of feeling connected to a team he could only watch from the sidelines.”

The most recent NCAA guidelines about sports wagering state that student-athletes who bet on their own games or on other sports at their school could “potentially face permanent loss of collegiate eligibility.”

Sorsby stopped betting on Indiana football once he became the backup quarterback, according to the filing, and since then hasn’t bet on any of his teams (he transferred to Cincinnati in 2024 and to Texas Tech this offseason). However, the lawsuit states, “his gambling escalated into a compulsion he could not control.”

According to the filing, Sorsby and Texas Tech were notified by the NCAA in mid-April that it had opened an investigation into the quarterback’s gambling.

“Mr. Sorsby did not deny, deflect, or delay in response,” the lawsuit states. “He immediately admitted to Texas Tech that he had placed bets in violation of NCAA rules, but he also emphasized that he never bet on a game he played in and never took any action to influence the outcome of any game because of a bet. He recognized he had a gambling addiction.

“In response, Texas Tech determined that it would declare Mr. Sorsby ineligible, as required by the Bylaws. But unlike the NCAA, Texas Tech decided to support him in seeking treatment for his addiction and to seek reinstatement of his eligibility in light of the undisputed evidence that Mr. Sorsby had not committed any integrity violation; his gambling was the product of a mental health disorder.”

The lawsuit states that Texas Tech has made multiple attempts to initiate Sorsby’s reinstatement with the NCAA. “Throughout the process, the NCAA has arbitrarily stalled at every turn,” the filing states, “despite the fact that it knows that the clock is ticking for Mr. Sorsby.”

The NCAA said in a statement to media outlets Monday that it “has not received a reinstatement request for this case.”

“The NCAA generally doesn’t comment on pending reinstatement requests, but the Association’s sports betting rules are clear, as are the reinstatement conditions,” the NCAA said. “When it comes to betting on one’s own team, these rules must be enforced in every case for the simple reason that the integrity of the game is at risk. Every sports league has these protections in place, and the NCAA will continue to apply them equally because every student-athlete competing deserves to know they’re playing a fair game.”

Texas Tech said in a statement emailed to The Times: “After finalizing an agreed-upon stipulation of facts between Texas Tech University, the NCAA and Brendan Sorsby, the University has declared Sorsby ineligible for competition. Texas Tech intends to quickly initiate the reinstatement process.

“Texas Tech’s primary focus remains supporting Sorsby’s health and well-being.”

Speaking on Match of the Day, Danny Murphy and Joe Hart praise Arsenal for giving Mikel Arteta time after he guided the club to their first Premier League title in 22 years, following Manchester City’s 1-1 draw with Bournemouth.

Boats, fire and a TikTok song – inside Arsenal’s title win

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Speaking on Match of the Day, Danny Murphy and Joe Hart discuss what Manchester City do now after missing out on the Premier League title, along with strong reports that manager Pep Guardiola will leave the club in the summer.

READ MORE: Title despair & Guardiola going – 24 hours of pain for Man City

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Jaxon Smith-Njigba was sent a trophy for Offensive Player of the Year that contained multiple typos.

But, hey, at least they got his name right.

The Seattle Seahawks receiver posted a video to his Instagram Story on Monday in which he displays the award from the NFL and Associated Press with an engraving that appears to read “2025 Defensive Player Of TheYear.”

“It’s getting disrespectful, guys,” Smith-Njigba says before pointing to the word that indicates the wrong side of the football on which he plays. “DEE-fense? Come on, bro.”

He then pointed to the two words that were merged together without a space at the end.

“One word?” he said. “Man.”

In a statement emailed to The Times, the NFL owned up to spelling the word “Offensive” wrong but said it was actually spelled “Oefensive” and the font made the first letter appear to be a D. On the trophy, the first letter of that word does appear the same as the one in “Of.”

“The league made the mistake. We sincerely apologize to Jaxon for the error and are in the process of creating and shipping him a new trophy,” the NFL wrote.

“Of course, like the teams he played against this year, we know how great an offensive player he is. We just had a problem spelling it.”

The third-year player out of Ohio State made a second straight Pro Bowl last season for the eventual Super Bowl champion Seahawks, with 119 receptions for a league-high 1,793 yards (eighth best all-time) and 10 touchdowns.

This offseason, he was rewarded with a four-year, $168-million extension that made him the highest-paid receiver in NFL history.

Comedian Druski mispronounced Smith-Njigba’s name several times when announcing him as the Offensive Player of the Year during the NFL Honors ceremony in February.