With kicker Harrison Mevis solidifying their special teams, the Rams on Friday waived Joshua Karty.
Karty, a 2024 sixth-round draft pick, had several kicks blocked early in the season, including one that led to a last-second touchdown by the Philadelphia Eagles. He made 10 of 15 field-goal attempts and 23 of 26 extra-point attempts.
“It was just exclusively a numbers thing,” coach Sean McVay said. “It’s just hard to keep two kickers.”
McVay said that if Karty clears waivers, the Rams would like to sign him to the practice squad.
The Rams have of late been shuffling their roster, putting tight end Tyler Higbee, offensive lineman Rob Havenstein and safety Quentin Lake on injured reserve, bringing receiver Tutu Atwell and cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon back from injured reserve, and signing players such as tight end Nick Vannett and cornerback Derion Kendrick.
Mevis has kicked the last three games. He made 40- and 52-yard field goals in last Sunday’s 34-7 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and has made all six extra-point attempts.
The Rams also appear to be benefiting from experienced snapper Jake McQuaide, who replaced Alex Ward.
“I’m a lot happier as head coach when we’re kicking extra points, and not field goals,” McVay said of the place-kicking operation that includes holder Ethan Evans, “but I’ve been pleased.”
Imran Sherwani, who led Great Britain to hockey gold at the 1988 Olympics, has died at the age of 63.
He scored twice in the final as GB beat West Germany 3-1 in Seoul – his second goal prompting a famous reaction from BBC commentator Barry Davies, who said: “Where were the Germans? But frankly, who cares!”
Rich Beer, chief operating officer of Great Britain Hockey, said: “Imran Sherwani will forever be remembered as one of the true icons of England and Great Britain Hockey.
“His talent, leadership and humility inspired generations of players and fans alike.”
Sherwani represented GB and England a combined 94 times, and worked as director of hockey at a school in Staffordshire.
He came from a sporting family – his father played hockey for Pakistan and his great uncles played for Stoke City and Port Vale.
The nostalgia hit Ross Niederhaus in the grocery store as he stocked up for what might be his last Rose Bowl tailgate.
This has been nearly a lifelong tradition for the native of Linda Vista, starting in 2005 when he was 8 years old and UCLA romped over Oregon State. When he got his driver’s license in 2012, Niderhaus started throwing his own tailgates, bringing chicken-in-a-biscuit crackers because he couldn’t afford fancier fare.
He was back Saturday afternoon underneath a tent on the grass in Lot H, wearing his favorite No. 2 Eric McNeal jersey, possibly here for the last time as the Bruins contemplate whether they will remain at the place they have called home since 1982 or move to SoFi Stadium for the 2026 season.
“I wish we knew whether or not this was the last time,” Niederhaus said, “because if this was the last time for sure I could at least be saying my goodbyes to my favorite tradition. This is my favorite thing to do. My ashes are willed to be spread at the Rose Bowl.”
UCLA fan Ray Hoit sets up a tent while tailgating at the Rose Bowl before Saturday’s game against Washington.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
On the other side of the stadium, on the sprawling Brookside Golf Course, Nicholaus Iamaleava was prepping his pregame tailgate below four tents alongside his brother Matt, the siblings expecting about 60 family members to indulge in a potluck spread of burgers, hot dogs, wings, fries, hot links, sushi and fried rice.
Both brothers were hoping for more tailgates to come outside the century-old stadium. But just in case, they were preparing for the alternative.
“Today, we’re going to go in early,” said Nicholaus Iamaleava, the father of the UCLA starting quarterback by the same name. “Normally we go in right before kickoff but this time, we’re going to go in and soak it all in, man. It might be the last game, right, so we want to enjoy every bit of it and just hang out.”
Matt Iamaleava said he didn’t think moving to SoFi Stadium would solve the attendance issues plaguing the Bruins at their longtime home.
UCLA fan Nathan Nguyen sets up while tailgating outside the Rose Bowl on Saturday.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
“There’s nothing like playing at the Rose Bowl,” Iamaleava said. “Hopefully, it works itself out.”
Added Nicholaus Iamaleava: “We’re praying on it. That would be great.”
Nearly 6½ hours before UCLA’s kickoff against Washington, Jamie Hickcox-Baker and Dee Fitzgerald-Cardello lugged a table across the pavement in Lot K, having already unfurled a couple of folding chairs. The UCLA graduates were awaiting the arrival of a massive ice sculpture that would hold margaritas for their group of 25 friends.
“I’m very sad because I live in Altadena and so this is in my backyard and I just hate to see it leave,” Fitzgerald-Cardello said. “It’s just such a tradition. I’m very saddened by it.”
Even though she’s been making the drive from Fresno to tailgate at the Rose Bowl since 1993, Hickcox-Baker was less wistful about a possible move to SoFi Stadium.
UCLA fan Leki Manu throws a football outside the Rose Bowl before Saturday’s game against Washington.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
“I kind of feel like we can talk tradition all we want,” Hickcox-Baker said, “but we left the Pac-12 and the Pac-12 is no longer, so if there’s no tradition in the Rose Bowl game anymore, think about how college football has evolved. I’ve been to a few games at SoFi, it’s a beautiful stadium. The last few years, because our team hasn’t been doing well, we’re stuck in that 100-degree temperature [at the Rose Bowl] and nobody’s coming to the games.”
Back in Lot H, the scene took on the feel of a state fair. The smell of burgers, brats and other grilled delicacies wafted through the air as children played football on the grass and a nearby patch of dirt. One kid kicked a football, commencing a mad scramble as a group of friends converged on the object of their delight.
“This is one of the reasons why people come now,” longtime fan John Anderson said, “is to be here with friends and be able to run around and throw a ball and stuff and if that can’t happen at SoFi, I think it will be a shame. So I don’t think they’re going to get the draw that they think they’re going to get — maybe a little bump for a couple of games and that’s it.”
UCLA fans tailgate before Saturday’s game at the Rose Bowl between UCLA and Washington.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Anderson said he missed one home UCLA football game over the last 16 years, and that was to attend a wedding. And if the Bruins move to SoFi?
“I’ll go to a game or two,” Anderson said. “It really depends on what the pricing looks like.”
Neiderhaus said he always would support the Bruins while conceding he might be in the minority.
“I’ll be there,” Niederhaus said, “but I know a lot of people that won’t — a lot of people I know who are season-ticket holders said they’re not coming back, which I think is a big issue that UCLA needs to be acknowledging throughout all of this. A lot of die-hards care about the Rose Bowl just as much as they care about Bruin football, so who knows” how attendance will go.
France captain Antoine Dupont will make his return from a serious knee injury in Toulouse’s Top 14 match against Racing 92 on Saturday (20:00 GMT).
Scrum-half Dupont, 29, has been out since March after rupturing cruciate ligaments in his knee in France’s Six Nations win over Ireland in Dublin in March.
The 2021 World Rugby Player of the Year has been named on the bench as Top 14 leaders Toulouse host Racing at Stade Ernest Wallon.
“Straight away he found his footing again,” Toulouse assistant coach Jean Bouilhou told reporters on Friday.
“He’s such a talented player, at the highest level. He also has a form of authority over our gameplan. I think he’ll get back his best quickly.”
Dupont has won two Six Nations titles with France and helped the Sevens team win Olympic gold at last year’s Paris Games.
With Toulouse, he has won five Top 14 titles and two Investec Champions Cups, while he recently signed a contract extension until 2031.
“I don’t have a crystal ball,” Bouilhou added when asked about Dupont’s return.
“I can’t really tell you what will happen in the match or in future matches, I can just talk about what I’ve seen in training.
“I haven’t seen a drop in quality compared to last year. We’re quite reassured to see him, in that regard.”
Talk about easing the blow. The Canadian father-son duo that secured not one, but both home run balls that doomed the Toronto Blue Jays team they rooted for in Game 7 of the World Series turned the evidence into some serious U.S. currency Saturday night.
Dodgers fans will never forget those baseballs hit by Miguel Rojas in the ninth inning and Will Smith in the 11th flying over the left-field wall and into the first row of seats beyond the Blue Jays’ bullpen.
John and Matthew Bains — sitting side-by-side — will never forget the balls ending up in their hands. John, 61, caught Rojas’ 387-foot home run in his glove on the fly. Two innings later, Matthew, seated next to his dad, saw Smith’s blast land in the bullpen and bounce directly into his hands.
Novices they were not. John has been a Blue Jays fan since the team’s inception in 1977 and purposely sits where he does for proximity to home runs. In fact, he caught one during the American League Division Series against the New York Yankees a few weeks earlier.
Both men brought baseballs into the stadium that they threw back onto the field, giving the Blue Jays faithful the impression the Bains did the honorable thing when, in fact, they did the smart thing for their bank accounts.
On Saturday night, the balls were sold at auction. Smith’s homer, which provided the Dodgers with the winning run, sold for $168,000 while Rojas’ blast that sent the game into extra innings fetched $156,000.
A third unforgettable Dodgers home run ball from the 2025 postseason eclipsed the Game 7 balls. The second of Shohei Ohtani’s three home runs against the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series sold for $270,000 in the same SCP Auction.
It was the longest of his three, landing on the Dodger Stadium right-field roof 469 feet from home plate. And it was a key element in what is considered perhaps the greatest performance in baseball history. Ohtani struck out 10 in six innings on the mound in addition to his offensive exploits, sending the Dodgers to the World Series.
Carlo Mendoza’s story of how he ended up with Ohtani’s ball is no less head-shaking than that of the Bains boys. The 26-year-old Los Angeles man said he was eating nachos in a food court behind the right-field pavilion and saw Ohtani hit the home run on a television monitor. He heard the ball hit the roof, dashed toward the sound and retrieved the ball from under a bush.
All three balls were authenticated by SCP Auctions through notarized affidavits and lie detector tests. SCP owner David Kohler said Mendoza was so apprehensive about handing over the ball that he insisted meeting Kohler in the parking lot of the Long Beach Police Dept.
“We authenticated through polygraph and eyewitnesses due diligence,” Kohler said. “From the time we announced we had these baseballs until now, no one else has come forward and said they have the balls. There’s been no contention.”
“We have appealed [against the red card] and our appeal was turned down,” Everton manager Moyes said.
“We haven’t been given any reason why it was turned down, but we did appeal it – immediately.”
On Thursday, Everton shared a photo of Gueye and Keane wearing boxing gloves and hugging on their social media channels.
“It was over immediately,” Moyes told a media conference on Friday.
“It was done, that was it. We moved on quite quickly and it was all sorted within the dressing room.
“We want passion. We don’t always want it in the style it showed up on Monday night but we certainly want that passion and commitment from all the players.”
Gueye has started every Premier League game for Everton this season and is due to join up with Senegal for the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in December.
Moyes is also without German midfielder Merlin Rohl, who recently had hernia surgery, while a minor hamstring issue sidelines captain Seamus Coleman, who was substituted in the first half at Old Trafford amid a season beset by injury concerns.
When asked if his team were light in midfield, Moyes said: “Yes, we are.
“Merlin [Rohl] having an operation has made us light, so we are quite short but we have other people who can play in there – Charly Alcaraz, Dwight McNeil if we need to as well.
“I think those players can do the job in there, if required.
“Merlin probably isn’t going to be back until the start of January and Idrissa’s suspension [and forthcoming Afcon participation] leaves us pretty short in that area.”
Everton’s Premier League campaign continues at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday, when they host Newcastle (17:30 GMT).
Cutter Gauthier scored with 1:03 left in overtime to give the Ducks a 4-3 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday night at Honda Center.
Vegas’ Mitch Marner whiffed trying to execute a backhand pass from behind his own goal, sending the puck right to Gauthier in the slot for a wrist shot and his 13th goal of the season.
Gauthier, Jackson LaCombe and Troy Terry each had a goal and an assist, Olen Zellweger also scored, and the Ducks ran their record in games going past regulation to 6-1. Lukas Dostal made 29 saves.
Braeden Bowman scored for the third straight game, Shea Theodore and Tomas Hertl each had a goal, and Jack Eichel had two assists for the Golden Knights. Akira Schmid made 29 saves.
Vegas extended its point streak to six games (3-0-3) but couldn’t turn around its overtime woes, dropping to 1-6 in three-on-three hockey.
The Golden Knights jumped to a 2-0 lead on goals from Theodore and Bowman 1:12 apart early in the first period. Bowman is the second Vegas rookie to post a three-game scoring streak and has four goals and one assist through his first six games.
The Ducks responded when LaCombe buried a one-timer through heavy traffic, followed by Zellweger tying it up at 2-all 34 seconds later.
Hertl put Vegas back in front on the power play with 2:01 left in the first period when Eichel’s long shot redirected in off his hand standing at the top of the crease.
Terry made it 3-3 with 6:10 left in the second period on a wrist shot from the right circle set up by Leo Carlsson’s entry into the zone off the rush.
Up next for the Ducks: vs. Vancouver at Honda Center on Wednesday night.
Cole Palmer is fit to play for Chelsea against London rivals Arsenal in Sunday’s Premier League game at Stamford Bridge.
The 23-year-old forward fractured his toe when stubbing it on a door last week and subsequently missed the wins over Burnley and Barcelona.
The England international has struggled with injury this season and featured only five times across all competitions.
“He is available to start,” said Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca.
“Everyone is happy, the team-mates are happy, we are all happy and the most important thing is Cole is happy because a footballer wants to play games and make the sessions every day.
“He is our best player, we are happy he is back. We need to give him time to be 100% fit. He has done fantastic in the past and no doubt he is going to do very good for this club in the future.”
Red Sanders, the legendary UCLA football coach, once said the rivalry with USC wasn’t life or death, it was more important than that.
Now, some 70 years later, almost half the Bruins roster needed a primer on what it means to play the Trojans.
“We have so many transfers and things,” interim coach Tim Skipper said, “so I wanted to make sure everybody knew how significant this game was.”
That could make Ciaran Dooley, the team’s creative content producer, a rivalry hero rivaling John Barnes, Anthony Barr and Dorian Thompson-Robinson. Dooley produced a video that tried to pack the essence of a nearly century-old rivalry into about five minutes.
Putting aside any worries about where college sports are headed when one needs to explain anything about his biggest rival, the video had its intended effect, sparking cheers nearly a week before kickoff.
Starting with a minutelong hype reel narrated by Barr, the video explained some of the rivalry basics, such as both teams wearing their home uniforms and the winner getting to take possession of the 295-pound Victory Bell before painting it in their primary school color — preferably blue.
“A lot of it was like clips I’ve already seen being from L.A. and around the game,” freshman linebacker Scott Taylor said, “but a lot of the guys who haven’t been here don’t understand how big a deal this is to L.A. and how special this win can be.”
Rivalry lexicon such as “It’s always 8:47 in Westwood” — a reference to the Bruins’ 13-9 upset of No. 2 USC in 2006 — and “Eight more years!” — a chant that broke out at the Rose Bowl in 1998 at the end of the Bruins’ eighth consecutive victory over the Trojans — might need some explaining to a roster that includes 57 newcomers, 52 transfers and 42 players from out of state.
“I made this video to show what the rivalry is really about — the history, the passion, the bragging rights,” Dooley told The Times. “I know everyone on the team already knows what it is, but if there’s anything that I can do to motivate the guys just that much more for the game, I’m going to do it every time.”
Linebacker Isaiah Chisom, a transfer from Oregon State, said the coaching staff also brought in several former players to explain the significance of the rivalry before the Bruins (3-8 overall, 3-5 Big Ten) face the No. 17 Trojans (8-3, 6-2) on Saturday afternoon at the Coliseum. Veteran offensive lineman Garrett DiGiorgio and defensive back Cole Martin also talked about what the rivalry meant to them.
Utah quarterback Devon Dampier (4) holds the ball and pushes Bruins linebacker Isaiah Chisom (32) on Aug. 30 at the Rose Bowl.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
“I think they’ve done a pretty good job at kind of bringing everybody together,” Chisom said, “so we all know how important this game is.”
Chisom didn’t need a refresher, having grown up in Southern California and played for Bishop Allemany High and Chaminade College Prep. He said he’s already attended a rivalry game and learned about the Bruins’ hatred for the Trojans from Chaminade assistant coach Reggie Carter, a former Bruins linebacker.
“He didn’t like anybody wearing any red,” Chisom said of Carter. “It’s been something I’ve been told for a long time.”
Skipper said he grew up watching the rivalry no matter where he lived — his father, Jim, was a coaching lifer who moved from one city to another and his older brother, Kelly, was DeShaun Foster’s running backs coach at UCLA.
“It’s awesome to finally be part of this thing,” Tim Skipper said. “You watch it so much, I’ve never been to one of these games, and to be able to work it and coach it is going to be awesome.”
Signs of rivalry week have greeted anyone who walked past the boarded-up John Wooden and bear statues on campus, though it’s been a little quieter than the Bruins would have preferred. That’s because they haven’t been able to ring the Victory Bell that’s residing across town after USC won last year’s game, 19-13, at the Rose Bowl.
“We want to get it back, we want to ring it after the game,” DiGiorgio said. “The [USC] guys, they planted flags on our field last year. I don’t know if we’re going to reciprocate that energy because I don’t know if that’s going to start anything, but we’re definitely looking forward to getting that bell back.”
The Bruins have won their last two trips to the Coliseum, giving DiGiorgio motivation to make it three in a row and end his college career 3-2 against the Trojans. There was a consensus at the team meeting Sunday that a victory over USC would make up for all the frustrations the team has endured during a season in which Foster was fired after only three games.
UCLA offensive lineman Garrett DiGiorgio (72) is confident a video the Bruins’ staff produced helped his teammates understand the importance of winning the USC rivalry game.
(John McCoy / Associated Press)
“Beating ‘SC would undo every wrong that has happened this season — that and the Penn State win [over the then-No. 7 Nittany Lions],” Chisom said. “I don’t think we could ask for anything more.”
Even those making their rivalry debut will know what they’re getting into thanks to the handiwork of a content creator whose video might help produce an upset.
“I believe that it enlightened, lit a fire under the guys,” DiGiorgio said, “to be a little excited for this week.”
The veteran started the season as first-choice – just as he did in each of his previous three campaigns at Newcastle.
But Howe recognised the need to bring in fresh competition, even before goalkeeper Martin Dubravka’s departure to Burnley was sanctioned last summer.
James Trafford had been a longstanding target, but the 23-year-old decided to rejoin former club Manchester City from Burnley instead.
And Pope previously admitted that Newcastle’s very public search for a permanent goalkeeper – and the subsequent arrival of Ramsdale on loan from Southampton – drove him on to “push himself to the absolute maximum to earn the right to play for the club”.
Pope certainly earned that right after starting the campaign strongly.
Such was Pope’s form, the 33-year-old was recalled to the England squad for the first time in a year earlier this month – only to have to withdraw after suffering a concussion during a match against Brentford.
It was a deserved call-up.
Pope kept eight clean sheets in his opening 14 games in all competitions, and his superb 65-yard throw went viral after he set up Harvey Barnes’ breakaway goal against Benfica.
But Newcastle have struggled defensively on the road in recent weeks.
Though he has not always been offered much protection by those around him, Pope has let in 10 goals in his past four away games and made different types of errors against Marseille, Brentford and West Ham when his side were in front.
West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta’s shot squirmed past him at the London Stadium.
Pope was caught out at the Gtech Community Stadium a week later when he attempted to punch the ball only for Kevin Schade to equalise from Brentford defender Michael Kayode’s long throw.
And then there was his rush of blood to the head in Marseille.
A crescendo is building, and the Rams might be best to ignore it.
So much can happen from week to week in the NFL — check out Philadelphia’s loss to Dallas — that the Rams can’t get too comfortable, even with the way they’re playing.
In the last five games, culminating with their 27-point stomping of Tampa Bay on Sunday night, the Rams have outscored opponents in the opening quarter, 63-3.
Matthew Stafford has thrown 27 touchdown passes without an interception.
In four of the games in this six-game winning streak, the Rams defense has allowed 10 points or fewer.
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Gary Klein breaks down what went right for the Rams in their 34-7 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at SoFi Stadium on Sunday night.
But it’s uncomfortably early for anyone in the organization to be thinking about Santa Clara in February. The Rams need to play with blinders on. Yes, they’ve secured the NFC’s No. 1 seed for the moment, but they have a one-game lead over the Eagles, who beat them earlier this season and therefore have the tiebreaker. There’s no wiggle room.
The glide path is far different than 2021, when the Rams wound up winning the Super Bowl on their home field. That season, they went 0-3 in November games.
This bears a closer resemblance to 2018, Sean McVay’s second season, when the last game before Thanksgiving was an instant classic at the Coliseum, Jared Goff and the Rams beating Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, 54-51.
There’s no ignoring that we’re watching something special in Stafford, who takes the snap, scans the field and delivers a laser with remarkable reliability. He processes with the speed of AI.
It was 10 years ago at Levi’s Stadium that Denver’s Peyton Manning, quarterbacking his second franchise, won his second Super Bowl ring and decided to retire.
Could that be Stafford? Second franchise. Potential for a second ring. Then again, Manning’s body was breaking down on him and he wasn’t at the top of his game. Those Broncos ran the ball and had a great defense.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford warms up before a 34-7 win over the Buccaneers at SoFi Stadium on Sunday.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
At the moment, Stafford is playing as well as anyone who has ever played the position. He looks nothing like a 37-year-old guy who sat out training camp with back problems.
His streak of 27 touchdown passes without a pick is, according to Elias, the longest such streak by any player since play-by-play was first tracked in 1978.
“It’s hard to conceptualize the fact that you can throw — put the ball in the end zone that much,” said Rams receiver Davante Adams, who has 12 touchdown receptions this season. “Most quarterbacks can’t throw 27 passes without throwing a pick.”
Stafford’s the leading most valuable player candidate, and this could be the season that secures him a bronze bust in Canton.
As for the poetry of him walking off the biggest stage the way Manning did, that’s all fantasy football now, especially with more than a quarter of the regular season remaining.
(A little more premature conjecture: It’s not inconceivable that the Rams and New England Patriots could meet in the Super Bowl for a third time.)
What is irrefutable is the Rams are continually deepening their foothold on the Los Angeles market. They set their regular-season attendance record Sunday night (75,545 tickets distributed), surpassing the mark they set a week earlier with a home game against Seattle.
This is what Rams owner Stan Kroenke was talking about when he brought the team back in 2016, and when he built SoFi Stadium with the idea of making the nearly-300-acre campus a center of gravity on the West Coast.
It’s not just home to the Rams and Chargers, but it’s the integral role the stadium will play in the World Cup, the 2028 Olympics, and in early 2027, the second Super Bowl it will host. No matter how you feel about UCLA trying to wriggle out of its Rose Bowl deal, there’s a reason the school has turned its attention to SoFi.
Kroenke always told his development team that undershooting L.A. would be a huge mistake, that the opportunity here was immeasurable.
“Sometimes when you’re a real estate developer, I think you have to be tremendously optimistic,” Kroenke told the Los Angeles Times. “You encounter so many issues. … With the NFL, you saw how difficult that whole thing was. So you had to be the optimist.
“Then you get a night like tonight, and it’s just awesome.”
Rams defensive end Kobie Turner reacts during player introductions before facing the Buccaneers on Sunday at SoFi Stadium.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
The stadium was loud and overwhelmingly blue, with only a sprinkling of Tampa Bay fans. That’s progress.
The peril for the Rams now is letting down their guard. They travel across the country next weekend to play at Carolina, a team that won four of five not so long ago, including an upset of Green Bay.
In his postgame news conference, cornerback Cobie Durant was asked how it feels to have the No. 1 seed in the conference.
“I didn’t know that,” he said, sounding pleasantly surprised. “I don’t keep up with that.”
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is being staged in United States, Canada and Mexico, with Washington, DC hosting December’s draw.
Published On 28 Nov 202528 Nov 2025
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Iran is to boycott next week’s World Cup finals draw in Washington because the United States refused to grant visas to several members of the delegation, the Iranian football federation announced on Friday.
“We have informed FIFA that the decisions taken have nothing to do with sports, and the members of the Iranian delegation will not participate in the World Cup draw,” the federation’s spokesperson told state television.
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Iranian sports website Varzesh 3 had claimed on Tuesday that the US had declined to issue visas to several members of the delegation, including the president of the federation, Mehdi Taj.
On Thursday, Taj had denounced the decision as being a political one.
“We have told the head of FIFA, Mr [Gianni] Infantino, that it is purely a political position and that FIFA must tell them [US] to desist from this behaviour,” added Taj.
According to Varzesh 3, four members of the delegation, including Amir Ghalenoei, the coach, had been granted visas for the draw on December 5.
Iran qualified for the sport’s quadrennial showpiece in March, guaranteeing them a fourth successive appearance and seventh in all.
They have yet to progress to the knockout stages, but there was unconfined joy when in the 1998 finals in France, Iran beat the USA 2-1 in their group match.
The US avenged that by beating Iran 1-0 in the 2022 edition.
The US – which is co-hosting the World Cup with Canada and Mexico – and Iran have been at loggerheads for more than four decades.
They had, though, been holding high-level nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington that had begun in April, during which the two sides were at odds over Iran’s right to enrich uranium – which Tehran defends as “inalienable”.
However, they ended when, in mid-June, Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran, triggering a 12-day war that the US briefly joined, with strikes on key Iranian nuclear facilities.
Scotland’s chance of gold at the European Curling Championships lies in the women’s competition after the men fell at the semi-final stage.
Bruce Mouat’s rink sailed through the round-robin phase with a 100% record but lost 8-5 to Sweden in the last four showdown.
Swedish skip Niklas Edin will now go for an eighth title against Switzerland, who beat Italy 8-7.
The Swedes, who lost three of their opening nine games, took two in the seventh and ninth ends to lead 7-5 and Mouat could not extend a tense tie when he was a fraction out with his final stone.
Team Mouat, runners-up last year and four-time winners, will play the Italians for bronze on Friday evening, with the action streamed on the BBC Sport website and iPlayer at 17:00 GMT.
“We’ve played a million times before,” said Edin of his team’s victory. “In the Olympic final it was the same situation.
“We just have to reach our own top level. We came in with the right mindset and executed well.”
On Thursday, Scotland’s women continued their revival in Finland by beating Switzerland in their semi-final.
The Scots – bronze medallists last year and ranked second going into this tournament – lost four of their opening six matches, but won their final three round-robin games to scrape into the knockout matches.
And in a dominant performance, Rebecca Morrison’s rink prevailed 8-5 to earn a place in the final against Sweden.
“Reaching our first European final together and that is a great achievement for us,” said an excited Jen Dodds, who won European gold in 2021.
“We got our bronze medal last year, which back then we were so happy with, and one of our goals for this season was to upgrade that and get to the final.
“Now we are really looking forward to getting that opportunity to compete in it.”
The final will be live on the BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app at 08:00 on Saturday.
Who: Palmeiras and Flamengo What: Copa Libertadores final Where: Monumental Stadium, Lima in Peru When: Saturday, November 29 at 4pm (21:00 GMT) How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 18:00 GMT in advance of our text commentary stream.
The recent Brazilian dominance of the Copa Libertadores continues on Saturday when a team from the South American nation will lift the continental trophy for the eighth time in the last nine years.
Flamengo lead Palmeiras by five points with two games to play in the current season in Brazil’s Serie A after the sides finished second and third last season behind Botafogo.
In the meantime, the showpiece trophy on the continent is up for grabs in the Peruvian capital of Lima, and perhaps with it, the bragging rights for the winner, no matter who comes out on top in the domestic league.
Al Jazeera Sport takes a look at Saturday’s final between two of the biggest names in the global club game outside of European football.
Who are the current Copa Libertadores holders?
Botafogo did the double last season with Brazil’s Serie A title, while also lifting the Copa Libertadores trophy.
It was Botafogo’s first appearance in a final, and they sealed the win with a 3-1 victory against Atletico Mineiro in the match staged in the Argentinian capital of Buenos Aires.
How did Palmeiras reach the Copa Libertadores final?
Raphael Veiga scored twice, and Palmeiras overturned a 3-0 first-leg deficit with a 4-0 victory over Liga Deportiva of Ecuador in the Copa Libertadores semifinals.
Midfielder Veiga scored in the 68th and 82nd minutes after Ramon Sosa and Bruno Fuchs’s first-half goals.
Abel Ferreira’s side won all six of their group stage matches, while seeing off Argentina’s River Plate in the quarterfinals.
How did Flamengo reach the Copa Libertadores final?
Flamengo reached the Copa Libertadores final after salvaging a scoreless draw against Argentinian side Racing Club in the second leg of their semifinal.
The Brazilian club managed to hold on to the 1-0 lead it took in the first leg despite playing most of the second half with 10 men after Gonzalo Plata was sent off in the 56th minute.
Flamengo had limped to second spot in their group with three wins and one defeat from six games, and needed penalties to beat Estudiantes of Argentina in the quarterfinals.
What is Palmeiras’s record in the Copa Libertadores?
Palmerias are three-time winners, with their first victory coming in 1999. Their second win came in 2020, with their third title coming the following season – when they beat Flamengo in the final.
What is Flamengo’s record in the Copa Libertadores?
Flamengo will also be aiming to win the prestigious South American tournament for the fourth time, having previously claimed victory in 1981, 2019 and 2022.
Flamengo football fans see their team off as it arrives at the airport before flying to Peru for the Copa Libertadores final [Bruna Prado/AP]
How dominant are Brazil in the Copa Libertadores?
This is the eighth title in the past nine editions of the tournament that will be competed for by Brazilian sides.
Brazilian teams have won every Copa Libertadores title since 2019, with Saturday’s finalists winning two each in that period.
What happened the last time Palmeiras played Flamengo?
Flamengo were 3-2 winners in October against their nearest rivals for the Serie A title in Brazil. They also won 2-0 at Palmeiras earlier in the campaign, in what now appears the first of a decisive league double as the domestic season draws to a close.
Is there expected to be trouble at the Copa Libertadores final?
Rio de Janeiro police officers and football fans clashed on Wednesday near the city’s international airport as Flamengo’s squad prepared to travel to Peru to face Palmeiras.
Local media reported that about a dozen fans entered the Flamengo bus from the ceiling as thousands cheered outside. Footage showed officials using tear gas and rubber bullets amid the clashes, with some fans fighting back.
Flamengo midfielder Saul Niguez joked about the incident on his social media channels, showing fans entering the bus from the top.
“We have some new signings,” the former Atletico Madrid player wrote.
The Brazilian club did not comment on the incident. Authorities also did not comment on injuries or arrests.
Head-to-head
This is the 48th meeting between the sides, with Flamengo claiming 16 victories and Palmeiras taking the spoils on 15 occasions.
Palmeiras team news
Figueiredo remains sidelined following a cruciate ligament injury sustained in March.
Lucas Evangelista misses out with a thigh problem, while former Tottenham midfielder Paulinho is ruled out by a shin injury.
Weverton’s fractured hand means the goalkeeper remains a heavy doubt, but his return hasn’t wholly been ruled out after his recent return to light training.
Flamengo team news
Gonzalo Plata misses out through suspension following his red card in the semifinal against Racing Club. Pedro misses out due to a thigh injury.
Henrique scored a late equaliser after coming on as a substitute against Atletico Mineiro in the most recent league match and is pushing for a start.
Rams defensive end Kobie Turner, a 294-pound man strong enough to carry a piano on his back, can also tap out a tune.
The country saw that Sunday night when, on two occasions, NBC aired video footage of Turner expertly playing a complex version of the “Sunday Night Football” theme song. He learned it by ear, then set up his phone to capture the clip.
The song was written by legendary composer John Williams and originally was called “Wide Receiver,” although NBC never adopted that name.
“He listened to it a couple of times and was able to play it and add his own flair,” NBC coordinating producer Rob Hyland said of Turner, who majored in music theory and composition at University of Richmond.
“I was completely blown away. Kobie has so much talent on the football field and just as much with musical instruments. His nickname, `The Conductor,’ is very fitting.”
Turner had two sacks in the 34-7 trouncing of Tampa Bay. He was instrumental in the Rams assembling their best defensive performance of the year, giving up 70 yards passing and 193 total.
The idea to show Turner’s musical talents was hatched earlier this year, and for “Thursday Night Football” on Amazon Prime. There’s a lot of crossover between those two production crews.
Reid Esocoff, whose father, Drew, directs the Sunday night show, pitched the idea to Prime to have Turner play that song for the Oct. 2 game against San Francisco. The segment got the green light, and Amazon sent the Rams star the sheet music.
“It was like five minutes long,” Turner recalled. “I was like, OK, I’m going to have to rearrange this. There’s like trumpets and strings, and I’m like, ‘I’m only doing piano.’”
Turner did his part, but the video wound up on the cutting-room floor.
Enter NBC, which made the same ask and ensured the Rams it would air the video. This time, Turner didn’t want the sheet music, just a recording of the familiar theme song.
“I picked it up by ear and I rearranged it too,” he said, “Because it was another three-minute-long song.’ I was like, how can I emulate this with just the keys and me in a solo take? It was a lot of fun.”
He nailed it, and the video ran twice, when NBC was going to a commercial and after Turner made a big play.
“Anytime I can learn something new, and anytime I can flex the music muscle it’s a lot of fun,” he said.
After playing the song — on his first take, mind you — Turner paused, then popped up and did a strongman flex in triumph.
Experience of Ulster club hurling final day may be an advantage for Slaughtneil when they take on St John’s at the Athletic Grounds on Saturday (18:00 GMT), but manager Paul McCormack insists they will need much more to retain their provincial crown.
The Derry champions are appearing in their 10th final of their 13-in-a-row run of county success with a sixth Ulster title in their sights.
Last year, they got their hands on the Four Seasons Cup for the first time since 2021 when coming through in a thriller against Portaferry and they had to dig deep once again against the Down club in this year’s semi-final, winning 1-23 to 1-18.
There is a know-how of playing late in the year for this group, a result of their desire to get back to the All-Ireland stage with Galway’s Loughrea awaiting the winner of Saturday’s Ulster decider, but McCormack is aware St John’s will be equally motivated having ended their 52-year wait for an Antrim title.
“That [experience] is an advantage we have, but St John’s are coming fresh, hungry and eager to make their impact now,” the Keady native told BBC Sport NI.
“The Antrim championship is very hard won, so this is their time and they will do all they can to make that time count.
“Our experience, will it tell? We’ll see on Saturday evening. I would hope it would because our fellas are grounded, still hungry and have that desire, so they will need all those qualities to get through the game.”
LAS VEGAS — Gabriela Jaquez scored 23 points and UCLA defeated Duke in the third-place game of the women’s Players Era Championship.
Handed their first loss this season the night before, 76-65 by second-ranked South Carolina, the Bruins came out red-hot even without star center Lauren Betts, who injured her left arm Wednesday.
UCLA (7-1) led 30-7 after shooting 60% (12 of 20) from the field in the first quarter, including 5 for 7 on 3-pointers. The Bruins also did a good job at the defensive end, forcing the Blue Devils (3-5) to commit six turnovers.
The Bruins shot 46.9% in the first half and took a 43-25 lead into halftime. Duke was 9 of 32 (28.1%) from the floor in the first 20 minutes.
Five players scored in double figures for UCLA. Charlisse Leger-Walker finished with 20 points, six assists and five rebounds. Kiki Rice had 17 points and six rebounds. Gianna Kneepkens added 13 points, six rebounds and six assists, and Angela Dugalic had 12 points and eight boards.
UCLA shot a season-high 59.1% from 3-point range, hitting 13 of 22 from beyond the arc.
The Blue Devils were led by Ashlon Jackson, who had 18 points. Toby Fournier posted her second double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Delaney Thomas scored 10.
Duke went 22 of 65 from the floor (33.8%) in its second-worst shooting performance this season.
No. 4 Texas edged No. 2 South Carolina 66-64 in the championship game earlier Thursday.
Without Cummins and Hazlewood, Australia could field an unchanged attack for the pink-ball Test.
In Perth, left-armer Mitchell Starc took 10 wickets and was named player of the match. He was joined by fellow seamers Scott Boland and debutant Brendan Doggett, along with all-rounder Cameron Green and off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon struggled in Perth after being struck while batting by England fast bowler Mark Wood. If Australia decide to omit their frontline spinner in Brisbane, his replacement would be either seamer Michael Neser or all-rounder Beau Webster.
Khawaja’s place is under scrutiny after he was not fit to open the batting in either innings in Perth.
In the second innings, Travis Head was promoted from number five and struck one of the all-time great Ashes hundreds to lead Australia to victory.
If Khawaja is left out on his home ground, it would leave the door open for Josh Inglis, who made a hundred for a Cricket Australia XI against England Lions on Monday.
Australia have not lost an Ashes Test in Brisbane since 1986. They have lost only one of their 14 previous pink-ball Tests and have beaten England in all three Ashes day-nighters.
England opted against sending any of their first-Test XI to play in a two-day pink-ball match between England Lions and the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra, starting on Saturday.
The tourists have arranged two extra training sessions in the run-up to the second Test.
They will return to practice at Allan Border Field on Saturday, when captain Ben Stokes is due to speak to the media.
When Lindsay Gottlieb put together a nonconference schedule she believed to be the hardest in the country, USC’s coach knew it would be an uphill climb. But that was the point. She wanted her team to be tested nightly, to play on “the biggest stages.”
“It’s not a schedule designed to win every nonconference game by an average of 40 points,” Gottlieb said earlier this month.
But after losing twice through a five-game gauntlet to start the season, a blowout nonconference win was precisely what the doctor ordered for USC.
“It was a really tough loss the other night,” Gottlieb said. “No doubt about that, for all of us. But the only thing you can do is utilize those lessons that are painful to get better.”
It was a particularly big night for freshman Jazzy Davidson, who bounced back from an eight-turnover performance in South Bend to tally her first collegiate double-double. Davidson nearly crossed that threshold before halftime Tuesday, and she finished the game with 20 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists and two blocks.
The 16 boards, Davidson said, was the most she could remember having in a single game.
“She has a will to go get that thing,” Gottlieb said.
Davidson and Londynn Jones were once again USC’s most reliable options on offense. Jones, who was held scoreless in the loss to Notre Dame, poured in a season-high 20 points. Together, they made16 of 23 from the field, while the rest of the team shot a combined 17 of 40.
USC also got a critical contribution from sophomore big Vivian Iwuchukwu, whose work inside gave the Trojans their most consistent frontcourt threat of the season on Tuesday. After playing strictly a reserve role a year ago, Iwuchukwu scored 11 points on five-of-six shooting in a performance Gottlieb said was indicative of her progress so far this season.
But it was USC’s defense that really overwhelmed Tennessee Tech. The Trojans were especially suffocating underneath, blocking 15 shots — their most since 1984, when they tallied a program-record 18.
“What was impressive about this is our length that we can put in a number of different places,” Gottlieb said. “Laura [Williams] had a couple. Kai [Milton] had a couple. But you also had Jazzy and [Kennedy Smith].”
USC’s length was so difficult for Tennessee Tech to deal with that it managed just nine total buckets inside the arc.
“There was an emphasis for us just being the hardest-working team tonight,” Davidson said. “I think our defense really showed that.”
USC held Tennessee Tech scoreless for the first five minutes of the game, then the first six minutes of the second quarter. Midway through the second, Davidson had more total points than the Golden Eagles had as a team.
It didn’t get any easier for Tennessee Tech from there, as the Trojans rolled to a resounding victory, bouncing back as best as they could have hoped.
