President Donald Trump lashed out at Bill Maher in a 1,300-word Truth Social post on Sunday after tuning into Maher's late-night show on HBO.
"Let's talk about this COMPLETE AND TOTAL LOSER, Bill Maher," Trump wrote at the top of the post, a few days after the pair's second dinner together at the White House.
More from Variety
Bill Maher's Embarrassing Karoline Leavitt Interview on 'Real Time'
Sacha Baron Cohen Says Donald Trump Has 'Elements of Brilliance' and 'We Were Too Easy to Dismiss Him as a Nincompoop'

#Trump #Social #sunday

Bengaluru: When batters are scoring at 11.46 runs an over, even quality bowling attacks can be made to look ordinary. India's T20I series against the West Indies has exposed the vulnerability of the hosts' pace unit, with flat pitches, dew and short boundaries proving a punishing combination for bowlers.

West Indies' stunning 250-run chase in Ranchi, completed with nine **** to spare, prompted a stern **** sment from India head coach Gautam Gambhir.

"These bowlers are our bowlers, not someone else's bowlers. Their careers are at stake," he had said, underlining the scrutiny facing the attack.

With the exception of Indore, where India successfully defended 223, the bowlers struggled to contain a fearless West Indies batting line-up. While the absence of Jasprit **** rah and, to an extent, Hardik Pandya has been felt, the bigger concern for the team management is the inconsistency shown by Arshdeep Singh, Mayank Yadav and Prince Yadav.

The two young quicks, Mayank and Prince, have alternated between brilliance and waywardness during the series, highlighting the challenges of adjusting to different match situations. The fourth T20I in Hyderabad offered a clear example. India conceded 18 extras, including 13 wides. Arshdeep accounted for six, while Mayank and Prince leaked two and one, respectively. Their attempts to execute wide yorkers and fuller deliveries repeatedly missed the mark, allowing the West Indies batters to maintain the pressure.

India's lack of proven T20 pace-bowling depth has consequently become a talking point. That has put renewed focus on the return of Bhuvneshwar **** ar, whose recall after nearly four years away from the national side could prove timely.

The experienced swing bowler has enjoyed a productive run in the IPL, taking 45 wickets across the last two seasons. More importantly, his success has been built on control and execution rather than sheer pace, qualities that India's younger quicks have often lacked in this series.

Conditions, however, have offered little respite to bowlers. High-scoring surfaces and heavy dew have meant that even small lapses have come at a significant cost.

As India prepare for a demanding tour of New Zealand, they know the challenges ahead will be very different. The pitches may offer more **** istance, but the key question remains whether the bowling group can quickly adapt and improve its consistency.

On the eve of the rain-affected series finale in Bengaluru, fast-bowling coach Morne Morkel urged observers to consider the physical and mental demands placed on modern cricketers.

"We sometimes forget that mental fatigue plays a big part. We have to manage that and be smart with it. Some of the players went for the Asian Games and then straight into a full series against the West Indies. These guys are also human," Morkel said.

"Execution and skills become better when you've recovered, slept well and mentally refreshed. That's a challenge. We're going to N

Hollywood's brightest continue to shine even as the years roll on, proving that true star power never fades. These 11 living legends, all in their 90s or older, have shaped entertainment history and remain beloved by generations of fans. Join us as we celebrate their remarkable lives and legacies with a look at the faces and moments that embody the enduring magic of Hollywood.
MEGA
With iconic roles in suspense classics, Tippi Hedren remains a glamorous, pioneering force on and off screen. Her passion for animal rescue and advocacy has made her a real-life hero, engaging fans and conservationists alike. She founded the Roar Foundation in 1983, which supports the Shambala Preserve, an 80-acre wildlife habitat in Acton, California, dedicated to caring for lions, tigers, and other big cats, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. She continues to inspire, both through cherished films and her ongoing commitment to wildlife protection.
MEGA
Shirley MacLaine's decades-spanning career has earned her a place among Hollywood's most prolific actors. Known for both comedic brilliance and dramatic depth, her multi-award-winning career includes unforgettable film and television performances. She earned the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Terms of Endearment, one of six Oscar nominations across her storied career, per ShirleyMacLaine.com. Her outspoken nature and writing continue to captivate and provoke thought even today.

#even

The annual gala recognizing the leaders, visionaries, and changemakers takes place on Nov. 9 in Los Angeles.
A who's who of Black trailblazers in the fields of business, entertainment, sports, media, music, STEM and community leadership have been named to EBONY's Power 100 list for 2026.
The full list, which was revealed on Monday (Oct. 5), honors the likes of Allen Media Group founder Byron Allen, author and professor Tayari Jones, JAŸ-Z, 50 Cent, Debbie Allen, Gracie's Corner voice actress Graceyn "Gracie" Hollingsworth, Quenlin Blackwell, iShowSpeed, Wisdom Kaye and more.
Since launching in 2012, the EBONY 100 has spotlighted numerous Black men, women, young adults and children who have reset what it means to dream, achieve, aspire and inspire, showcasing that Black genius evolves over generations and constantly endures.
"[The] EBONY Power 100 has always been more than a list; it is a cultural record of the people moving us forward," Eden Bridgeman, EBONY Media's CEO, said in a statement. "As EBONY continues to evolve, this franchise remains one of our most powerful platforms for recognizing the brilliance, leadership and creativity shaping our community and the world."

#ebony #black #community

Andre Iguodala's 2015 Finals MVP trophy has once again become a topic of conversation, this time due to a comment made by Tracy McGrady.
"The MVP of the regular season has more weight than a championship," said McGrady on Cousins with Vince Carter & Tracy McGrady podcast.
This comment was not taken lightly by Iman Shumpert, who has an NBA championship to his name, winning it with the Cleveland Cavaliers as part of their 2016 team.
Shumpert was also part of the Cavaliers team that went to the NBA Finals in 2015.
It was there that Iguodala showed the world his brilliance and brought the Golden State Warriors back from 2-1 down to win the championship.

#championship #finals #shumpert #cavaliers

As the Kansas City Chiefs prepared to play their first game of the 2026 NFL season, a firefighter was given a big reward for his everyday contribution to society.
The Kansas City Chiefs were preparing for their game against the Denver Broncos, with ESPN's crew at Arrowhead Stadium for their show.
Called down to be on the show was Lee's Summit, Missouri's firefighter Adam Greeno.
He was awarded Firefighter of the Year for his work, and to reward his brilliance ahead of the 25th anniversary of 9/11, he was given two tickets to the opening game against the Broncos, by two former Chiefs players, Keith Cash and Bill Mass.
However, when he got to the game, Greeno was given an even bigger surprise.

#game #given

Texas volleyball has shown flashes of brilliance through the first three weeks of the season.
It has been swept (Louisville, Nebraska) and it brought out the brooms themselves (TCU, USC). The Longhorns won the fourth set against No. 8 SMU 28-26, but ended up losing the match in the fifth set.
The final game before conference play was a 3-1 win against No. 6 Wisconsin and it is probably, statistically, Texas' best game. Head coach Jerritt Elliott called it "the most organized and dialed-in that we've been all season long.
"We've had about three and a half total practices, so we're just trying to kind of get a rhythm," Elliott said after the match Sunday afternoon.
The Longhorns found it against the team that eliminated them from the NCAA Tournament last season in their most complete game yet.

#game #longhorns #we 've

Healthy Tanner Houck Hopes to Be a Difference Maker for Red Sox in Playoffs originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Tanner Houck started his career with plenty of hype, acting as someone who can do anything if given the opportunity. Coming off an injury that kept him out of action throughout he 2026 season, he hopes the Red Sox could use him come playoff time.
The 24th overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft, Houck was picked up as a starting pitcher. A chameleon, he adapted to any situation, acting as a starter, reliever, and closer. In 2022, he appeared in 32 games and was as durable as one could be.
Houck has shown flashes of brilliance but hasn't found consistency. This year, he has been rehabbing after undergoing a special surgery of his ulnar collateral ligament. It's a "hybrid reconstruction" with a flexor tendon repair.
That was last August. This year, the Red Sox, with high expectations, struggled at first. Now, they are playoff contenders, and Houck wouldn't mind adding to the fun. That includes rejoining the team before the season ended.

#playoff #healthy

Cancel the tee booked at the Belfry, rearrange the trip to Cadbury World and abort the shopping jolly to the Bullring.
The reason? Pakistan debutant Razaullah and 'Razball'.
England's bowlers were thwarted by a Pakistan side who mixed batting belligerence with brilliance and instead of a Saturday off must reconvene at Edgbaston for day four.
The brilliance was provided by Razaullah, who produced a dizzying knock to breathe life into the third Test and lift the spirits of Pakistan supporters everywhere. A new hero, a new hope.
Bazball might be on its way out, but has Birmingham might just witnessed the birth of new phenomenon during two hours of unbridled chaos during which he made a stunning 81 off 63 **** coming in at number nine.

#Pakistan

Bayern Munich scored five goals against Norwegian underdogs FK Bodø/Glimt. The rust in the Bavarians was evident as they struggled to build rhythm. The second half turned out to be a much better affair as Vincent Kompany's men found their feet and blew their opponents away.
Alphonso Davies, Joshua Kimmich and Michael Olise were frontrunners who woke the rest of the team up with their individual brilliance and finally reaped their rewards in the second half with deserved goals and ***** ists. Luis Diaz had an off day and was perhaps the only starter who couldn't pick himself up before the end of the game.
Without further ado, here are the match awards from Bayern Munich's first game and first victory of the Champions League season.
While Bodø/Glimt as a unit were fantastic in capitalizing on Bayern's rustiness by isolating the attackers, they failed to make scoresheet gains. In Bayern's emphatic attempts to crack the Bodø code, there were a few vulnerabilities especially early into the game. With some more numbers, the Norwegians could have sneaked at least one goal. Helmersen's shot at Neuer's open goal was a brave lone effort from his pressing.
Nonetheless, Kjetil Knutsen and his team deserve a shoutout for executing a great low-block. Nikita Haikin, the starting goalkeeper made some important saves and kept the game even. Unfortunately, he had to leave the pitch after the first half due to injury.

#munich

The Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers are ready to renew their annual rivalry, this time with both team's kicking off their season in Melbourne, Australia. While the location has many excited about the game, along with the rivalry's intensity, these three storylines are ones to watch.
This is a multi-layered question due to Kyle Shanahan's offensive brilliance, along with how his scheme has populated the league. The immediate questions revolve around the Rams' defense and whether they have the tools to contain Shanahan's zone-blocking scheme. On top of that, do they have the ability to stop Shanahan's layered passing attack, in which he uses short underneath passes to open up the rest of the field?
Schematics aside, the Seahawks and Cardinals also utilize Shanahan's offensive scheme, as their offensive play-callers are ex-Shanahan ****** istants.
Then, we have to account for Shanahan's tactical brilliance. If I'm Shanahan, I'm using the early portions of the game to figure out how the Rams match up against San Francisco's multi-tight end personnel, and once Chris Shula deploys multiple linebackers, the 49ers should use a fast-tempo offense to take advantage of the Rams' linebackers having to cover ****** e while depleting their energy, with the Rams being unable to substitute.
Shanahan has tricks like that in his bag to control the pen. Is Shula finally wise enough not to fall for it?

#Rams #offensive #scheme #brilliance

INDIANAPOLIS – The crown jewel was diamond at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, and the stars of the National Hot Rod ****** ociation put on a Labor Day spectacle fitting of the hardware's brilliance during the Cornwell Quality Tools U.S. Nationals.
In celebration of the NHRA's 75th anniversary, the coveted Wally trophies for the 72nd running of the U.S. Nationals were diamond-accented to mark the milestone.
The significance wasn't lost on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series drivers, particularly 60-year-old "Fast Jack" Beckman.
Beckman, who collected his 41st career win, battled a loaded Funny Car field and a mild cold to chase down John Force Racing's 15th U.S. Nationals ****** le, and he achieved the feat in a John Force tribute car from 1996.
"That was just a phenomenal weekend. We tend to give preference to the most recent accomplishment but this one might be more significant because we did it in John's tribute car," Beckman said.

#john #lucas

Caitlin Clark once again came off the bench for Team USA in their group stage game against Italy at the FIBA World Cup. However, this time around, she wasn't able to show off her brilliance as she did in the game against China, where she scored 14 points and had 11 **** ists.
In a game against the 14th-placed FIBA nation, USA came out with a narrow 55-52 win, but Clark looked miles off her best as she only scored 1 point.
Jackie Young and Angel Reese, who came off the bench, were pivotal for Team USA. They scored 10 and 8 points respectively, with Reese also recording two blocks and a steal against Italy.
Clark was expected to have another big night, but she just never got going as the Italian defense made it hard for her to score.
The Indiana Fever player is known for her ability to score. She is averaging 22.5 PPG with the team in the WNBA, and after her performance against China, it seemed like the same version of her would be available throughout the tournament.

#came #italy #fiba #bench

Hamburger SV's lacklustre start to the new Bundesliga season continued this afternoon on home soil. In the Hanseatic sun, an FSV Mainz 05 side inspired by the brilliance of Sheraldo Becker and Phillip Tietz ran out comfortable winners on a 5-0 scoreline.
Similar to their opening day struggles in Dortmund, the hosts seemed to struggle as Mainz piled on the pressure. Sheraldo Becker stung the palms of Daniel Heuer Fernandes, before Nadiem Amiri fired wide on the end of a neat set-piece routine inside 15 minutes.
The warning signs were clear and HSV took no heed of it as an atmospheric Volksparkstadion fell momentarily silent. A misplaced pass from skipper Nicolai Remberg was picked off by Kaishu Sano. From there, he played in Becker who dispatched from a one-on-one scenario.
Aside from the occasional threat of Albert Grønbaek, HSV failed to even test debutante Alexander Schwolow before the break. Mainz swiftly led 2-0 when Nadiem Amiri pulled the strings in midfield for Becker to find **** e and deliver a routine tap-in for Philipp Mwene.
Half-time whistles from supporters forced Merlin Polzin's hand at the break. Torunarigha, Nadir and Adeline departed for Shafiq Nandja, Patson Daka and Fábio Vieira. The latter receiving a massive cheer since returning on a permanent basis from **** nal.

#nadiem #break #hamburger #bundesliga

If you're excited for Nico Iamaleava's 2026 season, you're not alone. Ahead of Iamaleava and the UCLA Bruins season debut on Saturday, college football ****** yst Todd McShay appeared on the Bill Simmons Podcast and gushed about UCLA's signal caller.
The former five-star recruit is flying a bit under the radar after a 2025 season where the Bruins offense struggled and the team finished 3-9 as a whole. Even amidst the struggles for the team, Iamaleava flashed moments of brilliance.
"I don't think people nationally have a clue how good Nico is," McShay said. "He's got a toughness about him that I didn't expect. He's got an ability to bounce-back from mistakes. This guy loves ball, you can't hide that on tape."
Even with those intangibles, it's the combination of Iamaleava's size and speed for the quarterback position. That skillset not only makes him an exciting college quarterback, it makes him a potential option at the NFL level.
"A 6'5" gazelle when he takes off to run. Then you watch the ability to, at 6'5", make guys miss in small ****** es," McShay said of the UCLA quarterback. "There's nothing he can't do. Now his deep ball accuracy was atrocious at Tennessee. I'm interested to see this year if he can improve that area."

#mcshay #bruins #you 're #college

First Pitch (CT): 6:40 PM
TV: Twins.TV
Radio: TIBN/830 WCCO/102.9 The Wolf /Audacy App
Know Yo' Foe: Bless You Boys
The Twins' postseason hopes aren't dead yet, but a disastrous 8-17 August has put them firmly as a long shot. They are only four games out of a playoff spot, but teams like the Guardians, Blue Jays, and Orioles are trending in the right direction while the Twins and Mariners fade out of the picture.
At this point, the Twins need to pivot to 2027 evaluation mode and if a few bonus wins come, all the better. Walker Jenkins and Kaelen Culpepper should be in the lineup nearly every day from here on out, Gabriel Gonzalez should see every possible PA against lefties, and Emmanuel Rodriguez and Alan Roden likely need to start taking playing time away from Trevor Larnach and Josh Bell when rosters expand tomorrow.
Part of the issue recent Twins teams have run into is simply not knowing whether certain young players are truly ready to take on a bigger role, and they can't afford that heading into 2027 on a team in need of upgrades in both the lineup and pitching staff.
Speaking of pitching, after 2027, Joe Ryan, Pablo Lopez, Dean Kremer, and Bailey Ober are all free agents. Connor Prielipp and Zebby Matthews have shown flashes of brilliance this season, while Mick Abel and Kendry Rojas will be back from injury with nothing left to prove in AAA, to say nothing of pitching prospects like Riley Quick, Ryan Gallagher, and Adrian Bohorquez who will likely be ready at different points next season. Jeremy Zoll and Co. will need to sort through who of that group is worth keeping, who should be traded, who could thrive in the bullpen, and who (looking at you, Ober) maybe shouldn't be tendered a contract at all.

#twins #ober

In the longer format, patience and discipline are traditional routes to building an innings. The beauty lies in embracing that challenge when the situation demands it.

South Zone found themselves in a similar situation on Monday. At 80/5, they were staring at the prospect of conceding first-innings lead to North Zone, who had posted 195 in their Duleep Trophy semifinal at the BCCI Centre of Excellence here.

What followed over the next 271 minutes was an exhibition of restraint and disciplined batsmanship as Tilak Varma (106 batting, 225b, 7x4) and Shreyas Gopal (87, 169b, 11x4) took centre stage with a 175-run sixth-wicket partnership. Their stand eventually turned the tide, helping South secure a first-innings lead. They were 285/9 at stumps, 90 runs ahead on the second day.

South, who resumed on 40/2, were rocked by the brilliance of pacer Gurnoor Brar (4/70), who arrived in the city from the Sri Lanka tour on Friday. Making the most of windy conditions, Brar produced a peach in his fifth delivery of the day to disturb Narayan Jagadeesan's stumps. He struck again soon after, producing a similar delivery to castle R Smaran's off stump before dismissing Kodimela Himateja for a duck.

With their backs against the wall, Tilak and Shreyas joined hands and tested the North bowlers' patience.

The Karnataka all-rounder brought up his first four off the 42nd ball he faced. Tilak did not find the boundary again until his 154th delivery, with that four taking South into the lead. Having curbed his instincts and reached his fifty without a boundary, the Hyderabad batter gradually shifted gears.

Shreyas, meanwhile, completed his fifty in 107 ******* and looked in control as he appeared on course for his seventh first-class hundred. But pacer Arshdeep Singh ended his vigil when he edged one through to stand-in wicketkeeper Abdul Samad.

With South's tail beginning to crumble, Tilak was in danger of missing out on a deserved century. The Hyderabad batter, though, held his nerve, smashing two successive fours off Gurnoor to bring up his eighth first-class hundred in 219 ******* .

Interestingly, all seven of Tilak's fours came after he reached his fifty — a reflection of the restraint that underpinned his innings. With South nine down, he will be eager to carry that momentum into the third day and stretch their lead into three figures and beyond.
Brief scores: North Zone 195 vs South Zone 285/9 in 94 overs (o/n: 40/2) (Narayan Jagadeesan 36, Tilak Varma 106 batting, Shreyas Gopal 87; Arshdeep Singh 2-59, Anshul Kamboj 2-53, Gurnoor Brar 4-70).

#lead

A new Liverpool wonderkid very much looks like a Steven Gerrard clone and he's on his way to the first-team soon.
Liverpool's former No.8 was everything supporters could have wanted from a captain.
Steven Gerrard was not simply one of the greatest midfielders in the club's history. He came to represent everything Liverpool stood for. Passion, commitment, leadership and extraordinary ability were all wrapped into one player.
What made Gerrard truly special, though, was his ability to take control when Liverpool needed him most.
A crunching tackle, a surging run through midfield, a defence-splitting pass or a moment of individual brilliance in front of goal — he always seemed capable of producing something when the situation demanded it.

#steven #passion #wonderkid #like

Hypotheticals and hindsight are not typically the favoured topics of the professional sports team but there is an alternative England scenario worth pondering. Had Sam Curran been fully fit to bowl ahead of this Pakistan series, the likelihood is that the Surrey all-rounder would have earned a recall to the Test squad for the first time in five years, a replacement of sorts after Ben Stokes had gone down in a blaze of gory batting at Trent Bridge.
Would Curran have featured in England's XI? The **** umption must be that he would not have but the very fact that he was under consideration at all shows the tricky question that Joe Root's side were attempting to answer. How does one replace the irreplaceable? Well, it seems, the answer is to not replace Stokes at all. There is no point, of course, selecting a seam all-rounder when you have specialists bowling the way that England's pace foursome have in this series so far.
England wrapped up a speedy victory over Pakistan at Lord's (Getty)
One must weigh Pakistan's paucity as mitigation against declarations of the brilliance of this attack but the evidence is increasingly persuasive about the group's potential. After the Headingley Test, Root had declared that the quartet of Ollie Robinson, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson did not know how good they could be and another standout showing at Lord's will not dim his praise. Of all English bowlers in Test history, Root can currently call upon three of the five men with strike rates beneath 44 and still have Archer to spare; if the fast forwarding of Test cricket is partly to blame, any skipper would enjoy that sort of potency.
"Each day it will be someone else's turn," Archer said during the second Test. "Everyone is relentless, everyone wants wickets and it feels like no-one is ever going to be overworked because everyone shares the overs out. You don't have to do too much because someone is going to back you up until you find your feet again."

#Pakistan

With the summer transfer window set to close within the next two days, some significant news for ****** nal has emerged on Sunday as the exits of Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli, and Fabio Vieira have all been reported. Jesus will be joining Barcelona, while Martinelli is set to become ****** nal's record transfer with a move to Saudi side Al Hilal. Vieira will return to Hamburg on a permanent move after a successful loan spell last season.
The Fabio Vieira move is one that has been in the making for the last few seasons. He came into the ****** nal side from Porto in the 2022 summer window as an under-the-radar move with a high ceiling. While he displayed his technical quality at times, he just never seemed to adapt to the more physical nature of the Premier League, and he was soon in the window shop for the Gunners. A loan back to Porto in 24/25 was followed by his spell with Hamburg in 25/26 where he shone for the Bundesliga side.
The one drawback of the Hamburg loan was that any fee for a permanent move was never going to majorly move the needle. Considering their record fee for an incoming player was €14m for Filip Kostic, the expectation was that they would not come close to meeting ****** nal's original valuation of €20m. After negotiations this week, the Gunners brought their asking price down and reached an agreement of €9m for the midfielder.
Gabriel Jesus' also saw his role in the side lessen over the past two seasons due in large part to injuries. His addition in the summer of 2022 after joining from Manchester City was a landmark one in the Mikel Arteta era. His arrival took ****** nal from a being simply a competitive side to one that consistent challenged for the ****** le. The first 6 months of his first season were sublime as he immediately elevated the attack with his exceptional ability to receive the ball in tight ****** es and link up with the front line.
Unfortunately, he suffered a knee injury in the 2022 World Cup that began a series of ongoing issues he never seemed to overcome. The cycle that followed was as predictable as it was frustrating. After recovering from an injury, he would show flashes of his brilliance before encountering another setback. The signing of Viktor Gyökeres last summer was a major indicator that the club was preparing for him to take a more diminished role in the attack, and a move seemed inevitable.

#summer

Michael Chiesa remains bullish on Ian Machado Garry's upside despite falling short in his first bid at gold.
Machado Garry (17-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) suffered a unanimous decision loss to Islam Makhachev (29-1 MMA, 18-1 UFC) in their UFC 330 welterweight ******* le fight this month, but the Irishman was more competitive than many pundits and the oddsmakers indicated.
Although Machado Garry did not get the belt at UFC 330, retired welterweight standout turned UFC ******* yst and commentator Chiesa still saw flashes of brilliance. If Machado Garry can build on those going forward, it could lead him to the ultimate prize.
"Ian Garry's stock to me still goes up," Chiesa told MMA Junkie. "I don't think his stock goes down at all. There are people that definitely had him picked to win, and he didn't fight a bad fight. But he could have fought better. But his stock still goes up. He was able to defend takedowns. He made it really hard for Islam. He made Islam have to ditch MMA and focus on wrestling to get through the late rounds of that fight.
"Ian's stock still goes up. I can confidently say there is a world where he has a world ******* le someday. Especially given how young he is. 28 years old. He's got a lot of time to win a ******* le."

#still #Stock #title

Jonas Urbig is a name that is quickly becoming a hot topic in German football. Hailed as the next replacement for Manuel Neuer (after Alexander Nübel ultimately fell short), Urbig has had some memorable performances over the last year, and impressed enough for Julian Nagelsmann to send him overseas to join Die Mannschaft as part of the practice squad for the World Cup.
"We were all knocked out together; I was part of the group. Even so, it was an incredible experience for me; I got a taste of tournament life and learnt a lot," said a bittersweet Urbig looking back on the World Cup this summer, as captured by iMiaSanMia.
A very mature response from the 21-year-old goalkeeper. It was a massive kudos to the former FC Köln talent that he was brought to come and join the squad in North America, even if it wasn't in the capacity that he would have wanted.
While he is doing all the right things by being grateful for his opportunities, many will be quick to point out that Manuel Neuer should be handing off additional responsibility to Urbig over time, but Neuer's recent statements have contradicted this. Did Neuer hold back Germany at the World Cup? Did Neuer hold back Bayern Munich in the Champions League last season?
While it is impossible to know how the tournaments would have concluded if Urbig were given the full opportunity, but it seems like he will be getting the keys to himself in the distant future. For some, that couldn't come quick enough as Neuer's brilliance hasn't always shown up in the big moments, with some memorable mistakes costing Bayern Munich a tournament exit on multiple occasions.

#urbig #manuel #bayern

The San Francisco 49ers' short-term future doesn't look great, according to ESPN. An expert panel consisting of ****** ysts Louis Riddick, Aaron Schatz, Ben Solak, and Seth Walder ranked the 49ers No. 14 in ESPN's Future Power Rankings.
ESPN's methodology evaluates how well all 32 NFL franchises are set up for sustained success over a three-year window spanning the 2027 through 2029 seasons. The panel rated each team's quarterback situation, non-QB roster makeup, front office, and coaching staff on a 1–100 scale. Those grades were then calculated into a weighted overall score: roster makeup (30%), coaching staff (25%), front office (25%), and quarterback (20%).
The 49ers earned an overall score of 82.4, placing them behind NFC West rivals Seattle (No. 1, 88.7) and Los Angeles (No. 5, 85.3). San Francisco's category breakdown features elite respect for their coaching staff (93.5 score, second in NFL) and a top-10 quarterback rating (87.0 score, 10th in NFL). However, lower marks for their non-QB roster (77.0 score, 16th in NFL) and front office (74.0 score, 23rd in NFL) pulled down their overall grade.
The primary reason for optimism centers around head coach Kyle Shanahan's play-calling brilliance and a young defense. Solak noted that as long as Shanahan remains at the helm printing high-caliber offensive schemes, San Francisco will stay dangerous regardless of offensive line inconsistencies or playmaker injuries.
Conversely, Riddick highlighted roster age and durability as major causes for concern. Crucial veterans like Trent Williams (38), Kyle Juszczyk (35), Mike Evans (32), and George Kittle (32, returning from an Achilles tear) face steep longevity questions. Paired with a history of significant annual injury bug issues, the 49ers will lean heavily on Shanahan and his staff to continuously develop unheralded talent to remain in contention over the next three-year cycle.

#overall

Can Fernando Mendoza become a savior for a big NFL franchise like the Las Vegas Raiders? Rookie quarterback Mendoza is a towering 6 feet 5 inches tall, throwing the ball all over the field with incredible speed and brilliance.
Fans and experts are eager to know when his time will come to step onto the field as the Raiders' starting quarterback.
The plans regarding the Raiders' quarterback are now starting to become clear at the training camp. The current situation is:
Kirk Cousins has been designated as the No. 1 QB on the roster.
Fernando Mendoza's name is on the list as the No. 2 QB.

#vegas

One of those football adages that has always stuck with me came from a member of an NFL team's front office circa 2010: "Never let desperation be confused with a plan." It came at a time when his team was signing anyone and everyone at defensive back to fill an injury void, and he told me this anonymously because he disagreed with the approach of throwing money at free agents, rather than letting rookies get their reps in and take lumps as a result.
At first glance the decision by the Dallas Cowboys to sign Von Miller seems like desperation. The team is still reeling from the need to find pass-rush help in the wake of trading away Micah Parsons, while coming to the realization that Rashan Gary and Donovan Ezeiruaku really aren't the marquee talents you want to get after opposing quarterbacks. Miller is 37-years-old, he's a journeyman, and the Cowboys are his fourth team in the last five seasons.
Miller remains one of the most impactful pass rushers in the NFL. The future Hall of Fame lock has been reduced to just having one trick in his bag — but that's all the Cowboys need at this point.
It's completely understandable if you didn't watch the Commanders play last season. Heck, even die-hard Commanders fans would forgive you for skipping over their debacle of a 2025 campaign. What we saw out of Von Miller in Washington was punctuated brilliance. Dan Quinn and the coaching staff were well aware of what Miller can and can't do on the field at this point in his career, so he was used predominantly as a 3rd-down pass rusher, or an additional linebacker in some gadget sets. This concept worked extremely well, as Miller finished the 2025 season with 10 sacks and 36 total pressures on just 289 pass rush snaps.
This pressure rate of 12.4% is prolific compared with the pass rushers he joins now. Rashan Gary's pressure rate was 13% — but Ezeiruaku's was considerably worse at just 9%. This means that there's a natural advantage on third-down pass-rushing situations to swap out Ezeiruaku for Miller, bolstering the attack as a result. This becomes even more intriguing with the addition of Caleb Downs, whom Dallas selected in the draft. There's a gravity which comes from throwing Miller on the field which can't be avoided, even as he gets older — meaning he needs to be accounted for on third down situations. While he might not command a true double, there will need to be a chip block thrown his way as well, because this is still Von Miller we're talking about.

#down

The Philadelphia 76ers continue to be the talk of the league as they have been the most aggressive team in the league in terms of making big additions. The Sixers were able to pull off a big deal to acquire Jaylen Brown from the Boston Celtics and that move then set up the addition of LeBron James.
James brings his brilliance now to the City of Brotherly Love as he is still one of the best players in the game this late in his career. In year 23, and his eighth with the Los Angeles Lakers, James averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 **** ists, and 6.1 rebounds while guiding the Lakers to Round 2 of the playoffs after a series win over the Houston Rockets.
Plenty of James' former teammates have come forward to speak on how terrific he is a player and a teammate and D'Angelo Russell joined that crowd as he gave his thoughts on James joining the Sixers in free agency:
But also adding a guy like LeBron to a team that did really well last year without a guy like Joel (Embiid). And then you add a healthy Joel, I think that is debatable. LeBron is the greatest of all time. Joel is ex-MVP. Jaylen Brown Finals MVP. (Tyrese) Maxey coming off of the year he had, and (VJ) Edgecombe, the sky is the limit...Philly, to see all those dudes just in attack mode, which is already the style they played in. Like, they're gonna be tough to beat. Tough to beat.
Russell played alongside James to help the Lakers reach the Western Conference finals in 2023. He knows very well what James brings to the table and he knows what the future Hall of Famer will be able to do in Philadelphia. The Sixers will certainly be considered the favorites in a much tougher Eastern Conference as they move forward into the season.

#lebron

Barcelona summer signing Jesse Bisiwu enjoyed an outing to remember in the colours of the Blaugrana on Sunday evening. This came as the young winger notched a pair of goals during a substitute cameo against Basel.
Hansi Flick's troops were back in action a short time ago, making the trip to Switzerland amid the club's ongoing preparations for the new Spanish campaign.
When all was said and done in a friendly meeting with the aforementioned Basel, Barcelona emerged on the right side of a dominant 5-2 result.
And though the aformentioned Bisiwu was forced to make do with a role as a substitute, he made his minutes on the pitch count…
Introduced off the bench during the 2nd-half, the Belgian winger first conjured up a moment of individual brilliance, to find the top corner from the edge of the penalty area:

#bisiwu #blaugrana

Michael Massey and Jac Caglianone powered the lineup last night. They did it again tonight, with the only two hits KC had – both singles – in a 1-0 loss to the Angels.
When your team falls by a score of 1-0, it would be easy to place the blame on the offense. But this was really Reid Detmers flashing some of that brilliance I wrote about before the game. When he's on, there's not a whole heck of a lot you can do, and baby, he was on tonight. Detmers struck out 11 over 8 scoreless innings and required only 92 pitches to do it. He didn't walk anyone, and he allowed those two singles mentioned at the top. That's it. The Angels asked closer Ben Joyce to finish it off and, wielding a fastball that easily tops 104 MPH, he did just that with a pair of strikeouts.
Randy Dobnak, known more for his sweeper, threw the Angels a healthy dose of changeups in his 5.2 innings tonight. He figured out early that the sweeper wasn't working and the Angels could do nothing to the changeup, so he threw it more than any of his other pitches. Ultimately, he struck out six while allowing 4 hits and 2 walks in 5.2 scoreless innings. He had some good defense behind him, but Dobnak Time continues unabated as we inch ever closer to the end of the season.
Craig Kimbrel was tasked with escaping the sixth inning with two runners on and managed to do so when a deep flyball from Josh Lowe died just in front of the track, landing in Starling Marte's glove. Kimbrel relied again on the marine layer as well as a fantastic play from Tyler Tolbert in the seventh.
Nate Pearson got the eighth and, unfortunately, his control issues from most of his career popped up again when he allowed a leadoff walk to Wade Meckler. Jose Siri pinch-ran for him and promptly stole second. Pearson got Mike Trout to pop out, but a groundball at 102.6 off the bat of Nolan Schanuel managed to deflect off of Caglianone's glove into right, and that was all she wrote. Pearson recovered to get a strikeout and a groundout, but the winning run was already in.

#tonight #detmers

If you're a Royals fan of a certain age, the phrase "Lima Time!" will mean something to you. In 2003, the Royals were surprise contenders after getting off to an incredibly hot start. But they needed starting pitching help due to injury and ineffectiveness. Enter José Lima.
Lima was an interesting case; he'd been a 20-game winner as recently as 1999 for the Houston Astros. But he'd also been cut by the Detroit Tigers in 2002 after pitching to a 7.77 ERA in 68.1 innings both as a starter and a reliever. To open the 2003 season, he was pitching in the Independent Atlanta League. His first start for the Royals that year saw him allow 4 runs in 6 innings and take a no-decision with the Royals rallied with two runs in the ninth off of Giants closer Tim Worrell. From then on, it was Lima Time! Lima won 7 straight starts while pitching to a ridiculous 1.65 ERA. I was young and cut off from other Royals fans at the time, but I remember thinking the Royals had found a true ace that would lead them for years to come. With the benefit of hindsight and more advanced ***** ytics than pitcher wins, I can see now that the 3.4% K-BB% he had over that span pointed to oncoming problems. Lima went 1-3 over his final 6 starts with a 10.65 ERA. Sadly, Lima time was not to last.
Why do I bring all this up? Randy Dobnak reminds me a lot of José. I'm older and wiser now, so I can see past the shiny 2.00 ERA to the remarkably similar 3.3% K-BB%. Still, given that the Royals aren't competing for a playoff spot as they were when Lima was around, it's safe to just enjoy the ride of Dobnak time for as long as we can. Maybe it will even last until the end of the season! Hopefully, it lasts at least one more start, tonight.
The Angels will have Reid Detmers on the mound. Reid was considered the 47th-best prospect in MLB when he graduated from the list in 2022. He has a killer curveball and he has shown occasional flashes of brilliance, but he's never been able to fully put things together. He does have a 3.99 ERA going back to the start of last year, and he's been worth 3.0 fWAR this year, but he has been very up-and-down this season and is definitely not the true ace the Angels would like him to be, despite the ridiculous 14-strikeout, 1-hit, 0-walk outing he had against Texas earlier this season.
Unfortunately for the Royals, Detmers is in one of those up spans right this moment. He has a 2.39 ERA while striking out 33 and walking only 8 in his last 5 starts covering 26.1 innings. He's also gone 0-2 over that span because the Angels' offense has been… lackluster.

#time #start #pitching #last

Ludvig Aberg is one of Scottie Scheffler's closest challengers with 36 holes left to play at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
Scheffler was in scintillating form on Friday at the FedEx St. Jude as he fired a round of nine-under par 61.
Aberg's round of 65 was made to look rather ordinary by the 30-year-old world number one's brilliance.
Scottie Scheffler is 11-under par after two rounds of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, and he holds a three-stroke lead over Sungjae Im and Viktor Hovland, with Ludvig Aberg a further shot back.
Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images

#scottie #championship #scheffler #Friday