Good morning, BBN!
Mark Pope announced a new, fun media event yesterday: UK Basketball Media Madness.
Coach Pope has been on fire on social media this summer, and earlier this week he opened up practice to the public, showing that he's really trying to rally all of BBN ahead of this season.
The UK Media Madness will involve media members running drills in full athletic gear, 3-on-3 and 5-on-5 scrimmages, and even having the UK players ask the media members questions.
It's hilarious, and it's awesome to see a coach invest in the media like this!

#madness #good #Basketball

DANVILLE — With the first day of practice for every Illinois prep football team, the Danville Vikings were one of the first on the field.
The Vikings started its season with a morning practice at Ned Whitesell Field on Wednesday.
"I was looking up a Texas team that was doing a midnight madness, so I don't think that it matters where you start," Danville head coach Marcus Forrest said. "The biggest reason why it is different for everyone is how many days that you have to prepare. In understanding that the preparation days are different, you figure out that things will get shortened and what time you have spent. It has been beneficial because they go in camp and get ready to play. Everything has been real consistent."
The early start is also a thing that has been consistent in the Vikings' summer, which makes Wednesday's practice just
"I know there are differences for a lot of kids because we are going on a Wednesday and we are going in the morning," Forrest said. "It is something that we were working on in the summer, so being able to do that has been consistent for us."

#wednesday #forrest

Liverpool's summer transfer window is eventually starting to pick up the pace. It started well with the arrivals of Jeremy Jacquet and Victor Munoz, but since then it has been radio silence for six weeks.
Now, Liverpool are in talks over a double raid on PSG to sign both Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye. Fabrizio Romano has provided a really positive update on the latter of those names…
Speaking on Give Me Sport's 'Market Madness' podcast, Romano claimed Liverpool are in the driving seat to sign the 18 year old.
He said: "There is genuine interest in Ibrahim Mbaye and there is a conversation happening with the player's new agent, Jorge Mendes."
"Bayer Leverkusen were pushing but now Liverpool lead the race for Mbaye. Let's see if they can reach a financial agreement with PSG."

#Liverpool #ibrahim #romano #jeremy

The expectations for Duke basketball have remained the same since Mike Krzyzewski turned the Blue Devils into a powerhouse: national championship or bust.
That will be the case again for the 2026-27 season as Jon Scheyer enters his fifth year in charge and looks for his first national ****** le as a head coach. The Blue Devils fell short two years ago with a loss to Houston in the Final Four and again this past March after a heartbreaking loss to UConn in the Elite Eight.
With a loaded roster that includes Caleb Foster, Cayden Boozer, Dame Sarr and Patrick Ngongba, who all return from last year's team, along with transfers John Blackwell and Drew Scharnowski and incoming 5-star freshman Cam Williams plus others, the Blue Devils are already among the favorites to bring home the trophy next March, according to Vegas.
Scheyer's squad and Florida, who won the national ****** le two years ago, are co-favorites to run through March Madness next season with +600 odds.
Fans of both teams won't have to wait to see if the Blue Devils and Gators meet up in the Final Four in Detroit next season as they meet in the ACC/SEC Challenge on Dec. 1, a rematch of last season's game in Cameron Indoor Stadium in which Duke pulled out a thrilling 67-66 win over Florida.

#Florida

Every year, fantasy football running back rankings and tiers start to look the same across the industry. The top of my board is no different. Look, I try to give my freshest NFL takes, but we're all privy to the same information! You should seek out opinions that are pivots from the norm. Meaning, not every prediction must be bold, not every take has to be hot.
On draft day, you separate yourself from the average league taco by how you approach in the middle to late rounds, where having a player ranked one or two spots different can decide how a roster takes shape.
These eight players are the clearest points where my RB rankings and tiers deviate from the expert consensus. Plus, I explain the methods to my madness by explaining my reasoning for each.
2026 Fantasy Football Rankings powered by FantasyProsECR ™ – Expert Consensus Rankings
ADP – Average Draft Position
Miami Dolphins running back De'Von Achane (28) is significantly higher in my running back rankings ahead of the 2026 fantasy football season.

#rankings #look #draft

*Editor's Note: The Valparaiso men's basketball team is taking a foreign tour trip to The Bahamas this summer. Sophomore guard Rakim Chaney is journaling his and the team's experiences for Mid-Major Madness.
What's going on, everybody? My name is Rakim Chaney. I am a sophomore on the Valpo men's basketball team, and I will be updating you guys this week each day throughout our trip here in Nassau, The Bahamas.
Saturday, we left Valpo early around 7 a.m. and got to the O'Hare Airport to check in and begin boarding for our flight. We arrived in Nassau around 3 p.m. and headed to our hotel at the Baha Mar Resort.
We took our first few minutes to check in our bags and into our rooms before meeting each other in our team room to go over the general Baha Mar rules and our team rules for the trip. After the meeting, a few other guys and I checked out the Pizza Pub Restaurant in the resort, and it was pretty good.
We then got a chance to check out some parts of the resort, and I went to go spend some time with my family who drove down the street from their hotel.

#check #bahamas #rakim

He was the president of the Immortals, the Invincibles and the Amazing Ones. He oversaw **** les, Ballon d'Or wins and records. He was a president full of life, with AC Milan at heart. The Rossoneri fans loved him, his sporting opponents respected him. Silvio Berlusconi and his helicopter, Silvio Berlusconi and his vision.
He planned and brought together squads with a wealth of options so as to compete on all fronts, he desired and dreamed of playing attacking football at home and away, and he always held to the idea that one's opponent is an integral part of sport. He never made himself an enemy of anybody but was a fierce competitor, who required his opponents to be at the top of their game. He was not to be beaten with clenched fists. His vision of football was a game pleasing to the eye and soul, not dedicated to madness and violence. He always showed others that this was the way. He was the Presidentissimo of Italian football.
"Silvio, Milano loves you". That was the welcome from the fans that greeted him 37 years ago, when AC Milan were suffering, languishing, at risk of a worse fate. And he responded with that courageous, infectious smile. He made a lot of significant and very brave investments. He smiled in victory and in defeat. He brought first-place and podium finishes to AC Milan, though he was always gracious when the **** le went elsewhere.
Now, it's time for the great, unforgettable Cavaliere to take his final journey. On either side of the path, there will be a guard of honour from fans and directors, from coaches and players. His father Luigi will be waiting up there for him, as will Rosa, his mother. They will already be receiving him with a warm embrace and telling him how football fans are applauding him. No ifs, no buts, no maybes. Everyone united in applause, just as he would have wanted. Silvio, you are still loved here.

#silvio #Milan #fans #berlusconi

The LeBron James sweepstakes unfolding while Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" debuted in movie theaters is amusing and worthy of a chuckle.
It took James 25 days to choose the Philadelphia 76ers as his landing spot in NBA free agency, yet, with the fast and furious release of podcasts and the madness of social media, those three-plus weeks felt closer to the 20 years Odysseus spent fighting in the Trojan War and making his way back to Ithaca.
One key difference between James and Odysseus, though, is the heroic graybeard who hails from Akron is not returning home.
So, why did the 41-year-old James decline a third tour with his hometown Cavaliers?
The 76ers, Cavs, Miami Heat and Golden State Warriors were the finalists in the James derby, agent Rich Paul confirmed July 24 on the "Game Over" podcast he co-hosts with Max Kellerman.

#christopher

More than half a century has elapsed since the last big exhibition of work by Richard Dadd, the Victorian one-off who murdered his father while in his 20s and spent the rest of his life painting in psychiatric institutions. The most famous of his seemingly psychedelic compositions is The Fairy-Feller's Master-Stroke (1855-64), an airless, intricate and profoundly eccentric picture swarming with supernatural creatures, each apparently no bigger than a blade of grass. Surely it's the product of a fevered brain?
Richard Dadd: Beyond Bedlam, at the Royal Academy of Arts, invites us to consider its subject afresh, not as a lunatic who happened to paint but as a first-rate artist who lived with mental illness (probably schizophrenia), a little like Vincent van Gogh. Although, on this evidence, his folkloric paintings can appear obscure, as well as multitudinous and hallucinatory, the originality of his vision reinforces the show's premise. This exhibition may be weird, but it's certainly compelling.
Despite Dadd's medical history, it would be wrong to categorise him as an "outsider" artist. He was born in Kent in 1817, his mother died when he was a child, then, at the age of 19, he entered the Royal Academy Schools, a move emphasised (unsurprisingly, given its setting) by this exhibition's dull opening room. If Dadd's mature art appears technically accomplished and steeped in art history – I have a hunch that an odd watercolour of 1852 depicting Robin Hood craftily alludes to The Archers (1769-70) by Sir Joshua Reynolds now in Tate Britain – that's because he was trained, as well as talented.
After winning acclaim for some early Shakespearean fairy pictures, including one of a corpulent, malevolent-looking Puck sitting cross-legged on a fungus beneath a foxglove like a dripping shower head, Dadd was invited, in 1842, to accompany Thomas Phillips, a Welsh lawyer and politician, on a trip around the eastern Mediterranean. Over-stimulated by this grand tour, Dadd began suffering delusions. On his return to London, he became convinced that his father was a devil and killed him with a knife. A year later, he was admitted to Bethlem and remained there for two decades before being transferred to Broadmoor Hospital, where he would eventually die from tuberculosis, in 1886.
During his time as a patient, medical attitudes to mental illness started to shift. In 1854, Dadd produced Agony – Raving Madness, a watercolour of a manacled, half-naked, evidently tormented patient clutching at his head. Yet, Dadd's doctors wanted physical coercion to become a thing of the past. They allowed him to draw and paint as he wished, and even commissioned him to do so; exceptionally, at Broadmoor, they also provided him with carpentry tools, so that he could build his own idiosyncratic wooden picture frames (two of which appear at the Royal Academy).

Expansion. A word many American sports fans do not like to hear.
The National Collegiate Athletic ******* ociation announced on May 7 that the 2027 NCAA Basketball Tournament, better known as March Madness, will expand for what will be the first time in 16 years, when it introduced the First Four in 2011.
To some, the announcement was welcomed as another opportunity to watch even more basketball. But to others, the 76-team field is a farce.
For the World Cup, however, pushback against the 48-team expansion diminished after watching its first rendition play out. The expanded event opened the door to new teams, allowed fans to experience different cultures across a greater variety of geographical locations and, of course, put more money in FIFA's pockets.
Many argued before the tournament began that the greater team field would dilute group play, allowing for mulligans and removing the "jeopardy" of the group stage, making it easier for powerhouses like Argentina and England to reach the knockout stage. But the world still watched. The additional teams even provided plenty of fresh storylines as they got their moment to shine.

Tubby Smith, who spent two seasons as Memphis basketball coach, was announced as a member of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame's 2026 induction class on July 13.
Rounding out the class are coaches Jay Wright and Ted Owens, as well as former BYU superstar Danny Ainge, former Michigan Wolverine standout Glen Rice, and late UCLA legend Walt Hazzard. The induction ceremony is set for Oct. 22 at the College Basketball Experience in Kansas City, Missouri.
"The Class of 2026 represents the very best of college basketball – individuals whose performance, leadership, and impact helped shape the game at the highest level," said Kevin Henderson, CEO of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. "Their legacies will forever be preserved as part of the sport's rich history."
In addition to Smith's time at Memphis — where he was fired in 2018, before the school hired current coach Penny Hardaway — he also served as head coach at Tulsa (1992-95), Georgia (1996-97), Kentucky (1998-2007), Minnesota (2008-13), Texas Tech (2014-16), and High Point (2019-22). He has a career record of 642-370, and he won the 1998 national championship in his first season at Kentucky.
Smith, 75, is one of four coaches in college basketball history to lead as many as five programs to the NCAA tournament. Memphis and High Point are the only programs that did not reach March Madness with him as coach. During the most successful stretch of his coaching career, Smith guided his teams to the Big Dance 16 out of 17 seasons. But his last season at Texas Tech (2015-16) is the only time he reached the NCAA tournament over his final nine seasons as a Division I coach.

The 2026 World Cup semifinals are officially here and the final four teams will soon be down to two.
France, Spain, England and Argentina all punched their tickets to the tournament's semifinals and now have head-to-head matchups to see who can advance to the World Cup final. On Tuesday, July 14, France takes on Spain at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and on Wednesday, July 15, Argentina faces England at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
No one knows who will make it out of the semifinals just yet, but until then, you may be wondering how FIFA ranks the remaining four teams left in the World Cup. If that's you, USA TODAY has you covered.
Here are the FIFA rankings of the teams left in the World Cup as of July 12:
More: World Cup isn't rigged. It's taken a page from March Madness | Opinion

Caitlin Clark has garnered a lot of attention, really, since she was dominating the hardwood in college at Iowa, where her performances became a national spectacle. Once March Madness got underway, interest in the women's basketball player with limitless range multiplied.
So when she was ready to advance to the pros, it came as no surprise when Clark was selected first overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft by the Indiana Fever. She's since become a two-time All-Star, but there's also a lot of controversy surrounding the way she's been treated by opponents, referees, and the WNBA as a whole.
The good news for WNBA fans is that powerful people are paying close attention.
Basketball minds of all types have already called on the WNBA to provide better protection for Clark. Now, Congress is getting involved too.
That includes Indiana House of Representatives member Marlin Stutzman, who recently revealed that Congress is closely monitoring how the WNBA addresses safety concerns regarding Clark.

The NCAA tournament is officially expanding to 76 teams, and Dayton could use some help when it comes to hosting opening round games. That's where Wichita comes in.
The NCAA announced that Wichita and Dayton will host opening-round tripleheaders on the Tuesday and Wednesday following Selection Sunday.
"We were pleased but not surprised by the number of cities from around the country that very much wanted March Madness to begin in their market," said Keith Gill, the commissioner of the Sun Belt Conference and the chair of the Division I Men's Basketball Committee. "Like Dayton, Wichita is a basketball-crazed community that we expect will embrace the reimagined start of the tournament. Having a city in Middle America will be advantageous for getting teams from various points around the country, many of which won't be known until Selection Sunday, to the Opening Round and subsequently first-round sites."
The games in Wichita and Dayton will feature the 12 lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers and the 12 lowest-seeded at-large schools.
Dayton has been the opening round host since 2001, with UD Arena hosting the most games in NCAA tournament history.

The NCAA has announced the second site for the Opening Round of the Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
Wichita, Kansas, will join Dayton as the two host cities for the Opening Round of the 2027 and 2028 tournaments, according to an NCAA spokesperson.
This comes after the NCAA decided to expand the tournament field from 68 to 76 teams, as previously reported.
>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: NCAA officially approves expansion of March Madness to 76 teams

Anthony Gordon is perhaps the most traditional type of English winger. He's strong, fast, with an ability to whip a cross into the box and a work rate that goes toe-to-toe with Raphinha. He comes to Camp Nou with a hefty price tag, something that has made some fans skeptical, but there is a method to the madness. Firstly, Gordon is a younger, fitter and more intense variant of the profile Barca experimented with last season with Marcus Rashford.
Secondly, sheer pace in the final third is a trait Barcelona have lacked. While technically breaking down an opponent is the Barcelona way, the brute force of a fast winger will solve situations when tactically things get slow. Gordon has been clocked as one of the fastest players at World Cup 2026, hitting a top speed of 37.9 km/h.
What Gordon lacks in final product compared to Rashford, he brings in energy off the ball, a trait that fits the Flick system perfectly. This signing will need time to pay off. We might see Gordon struggling with fewer touches, and the more technical nature of La Liga compared to the Premier League, but that's what was said about Raphinha when he signed from Leeds. The good thing is that Gordon can be a real handful due to his physical nature in attack, an area where experienced Premier League forwards always stand out, especially when compared to La Liga's more technical forwards.
Last season, Raphinha missed many important games due to injury and one thing that could not be replaced in his absence is work rate. Barca without Raphinha looked toothless without the ball, with no leader in pressing. Gordon certainly brings that profile over Rashford. Any team that wants to compete for all ***** les needs the ability to replicate similar profiles when squad rotation is necessary. Gordon's work rate will be even more important when the calendar becomes dense as we move deeper into the season. This will also allow other forwards to be fresh and ready to go when the Champions League knockouts come around.
Another thing that is noticeable is that there were moments last season where, in Pedri's absence, Barca could not progress the ball forward with conviction. Having a ball-playing goalkeeper in Joan Garcia and a forward as pacy as Gordon can help in such situations.

There were more than five hours on the clock and yet Novak Djokovic was still not done. As Centre Court shook, Djokovic’s 11-year-old son, Stefan, watched on with his head in his hands, up way past his bedtime but gripped by what his 39-year-old father was producing. Felix Auger-Aliassime stood over a forehand and sensed his moment to strike but Djokovic, in a flash, sprung to his right deep behind the baseline, extending the point and the Canadian third seed’s torment. Auger-Aliassime netted and it broke him; the decisive point in the match tiebreak that settled the longest Wimbledon quarter-final ever, a victory that Djokovic ranked as one of his finest on Centre Court.
“These are the moments I still play for,” said Djokovic. If the scoreline - 7-6 (10), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (10-4) - was scarcely believable in itself, the sight of Djokovic stretching his limbs and denying the 25-year-old Auger-Aliassime, in five hours and 15 minutes, was sheer madness. It equalled the longest match of Djokovic’s Wimbledon career, eight years on from the 2018 semi-final with Rafael Nadal that was held overnight. Djokovic managed this in one epic, gruelling sitting and just five minutes before the 11pm curfew. When the moment required it, he once again raised his level, booking a semi-final with defending champion Jannik Sinner on Friday.
The celebrations were memorable, the victory too - a battle Djokovic prevailed from in front of his children on Centre Court adding to the sweetness. And yet the message afterwards from Djokovic was that he is not done yet. The records - an eighth consecutive Wimbledon semi-final, the 15th of his career - did not matter. “Right now, it's all business,” Djokovic confirmed. The pursuit of the grand slam record and a 25th ****** le is what fuelled his extraordinary fight and refusal to submit, and yet it is still two rounds away. ”I wish it was finals so I don't need to worry about how the body will feel tomorrow,” Djokovic said.
And there could lie the problem. At this stage of his career, and since the gold medal match against Carlos Alcaraz at the 2024 Olympics, Djokovic’s finest victories have arrived before the final. Last season, the quarter-finals of grand slams fell in the the sweet spot where Djokovic was fresh enough to compete against younger opponents, but late enough in the tournament where he knew he needed to step it up. He did, in defeating Alcaraz at the Australian Open, Alexander Zverev at the French Open, Flavio Cobolli at Wimbledon and Taylor Fritz at the US Open. Outlasting Auger-Aliassime at Wimbledon is another added to the list.
Djokovic, though, arrived at those semi-finals and found that he was physically cooked, unable to recover for the next challenge. The exception came at the Australian Open in January, and was memorable in itself with Djokovic ending Sinner’s reign in Melbourne by beating the world No 1 in five sets. But that followed a different sort of tournament for Djokovic, after his fourth

Argentina’s apotheosic comeback against Egypt (3-2) at the 2026 World Cup has unleashed a tsunami of global praise.
The front pages of the planet’s most prestigious newspapers have unanimously surrendered to the figure of Leo Messi, who at 39 once again moved the footballing world.
In just thirteen minutes of pure madness and pride, the star rewrote history when his national team seemed doomed, delivering a dramatic feat already being described as eternal.
In his homeland, the emotional impact dominates the most passionate headlines in both the general and sports press. The newspaper Clarín highlights on its front page that "when everything seemed lost, Argentine pride turned it around", praising the team’s immense courage in overturning a 0-2 deficit with only 11 minutes left before the final whistle.
Meanwhile, the newspaper Crónica runs with the emotional headline "Messi-go moving us!", echoing the captain’s tears that spread to an entire country now dreaming awake of a fourth World Cup after a "heart-stopping" victory. In the same vein,

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is already the biggest sporting event on the planet, but this summer’s soccer tournament has an even larger feel that rivals college basketball’s March Madness.
FIFA may be greedy in many ways, but decided to enhance the competition by adding 16 more countries has proven to be a tremendous decision. President Gianni Infantino promised fans a better competition and 2026 is certainly delivering the hype.
MORE: Lionel Messi passes Maradona as FIFA World Cup **** ist leader
The 2026 World Cup marks the first time in the tournament’s history that 48 nations are competing together. Meanwhile, the expansion from 32 to 48 teams has delivered on more incredible storylines and exciting matches.
I'm not even a huge soccer fan, and there really is no sporting event that compares to the World Cup

There were more than five hours on the clock and yet Novak Djokovic was still not done. As Centre Court shook, Djokovic’s 11-year-old son, Stefan, watched on with his head in his hands, up way past his bedtime but gripped by what his father was producing. Felix Auger-Aliassime stood over a forehand and sensed his moment to strike but Djokovic, in a flash, sprung to his right deep behind the baseline, extending the point and the Canadian third seed’s torment. Auger-Aliassime netted and it broke him; the decisive point in the match tiebreak that settled the longest Wimbledon quarter-final ever, a victory that Djokovic ranked as one of his finest ever on Centre Court.
“These are the moments I still play for,” said Djokovic. If the scoreline - 7-6 (10), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (10-4) - is scarcely believable in itself, the sight of Djokovic, at 39, stretching his limbs and denying the 25-year-old Auger-Aliassime in five hours and 15 minutes, was sheer madness. It equalled the longest match of Djokovic’s Wimbledon career, eight years on from the 2018 semi-final with Rafael Nadal that was held overnight. Djokovic managed this in one epic, gruelling sitting. When the moment required it, he once again raised his level, booking a semi-final with defending champion Jannik Sinner on Friday.
The celebrations were memorable, the victory too - a battle Djokovic prevailed from in front of his children on Centre Court adding to the sweetness. And yet the message afterwards from Djokovic was that he is not done yet. The records - an eighth consecutive Wimbledon semi-final, the 15th of his career - did not matter. “Right now, it's all business,” Djokovic confirmed. The pursuit of the grand slam record and a 25th ***** le is what fuelled his extraordinary fight and refusal to submit, and yet it is still two rounds away. ”I wish it was finals so I don't need to worry about how the body will feel tomorrow,” Djokovic said.
And there could lie the problem. At this stage of his career, and since the gold medal match against Carlos Alcaraz at the 2024 Olympics, Djokovic’s finest victories have arrived before the final. Last season, the quarter-finals of grand slams fell in the the sweet spot where Djokovic was fresh enough to compete against younger opponents, but late enough in the tournament where he knew he needed to step it up. He did, in defeating Carlos Alcaraz at the Australian Open, Alexander Zverev at the French Open, Flavio Cobolli at Wimbledon and Taylor Fritz at the US Open. Outlasting Auger-Aliassime at Wimbledon is another added to the list.
Djokovic, though, arrived at those semi-finals and found that he was physically cooked, unable to recover for the next challenge. The exception came at the Australian Open in January, and was memorable in itself with Djokovic ending Sinner’s reign in Melbourne by beating the world No 1 in five sets. But that followed a different sort of tournament for Djokovic, after his fourth-round opponent Jakub Mensik withdrew an

Pure, unadulterated madness. That is the only way to describe the bedlam that just unfolded in Atlanta in the FIFA World Cup 2026. Defending world champions Argentina looked dead, buried, and ready to pack their bags. Yet somehow, through sheer ***** -mindedness, they clawed their way back from the absolute edge of World Cup elimination to secure a breathless 3-2 victory against a magnificent Egypt side.
The match ***** ysis reads like a dream. When Mostafa Ziko doubled Egypt’s advantage just after the interval, following Yasser Ibrahim’s early headed opener, Lionel Scaloni’s men looked completely spent. Lionel Messi had already seen a first-half penalty saved by the heroic Mostafa Shobeir. Frustration was boiling over.
Then came the final eleven minutes. Cristian Romero sparked the dramatic resurgence with a thunderous header. The psychological momentum completely flipped. Moments later, Messi found ***** e in the box to smash home the equaliser, instantly erasing his earlier spot-kick failure. Deep into added time, Enzo Fernandez met a floated cross with a bullet header to finalise a historic turnaround. To dissect this chaos, we look at the individual displays through an ***** ytical lens.
Conceded twice from limited opportunities. Left totally exposed by his central defenders for both Egyptian goals. Couldn’t do much about Ibrahim’s close-range header or Ziko’s clinical finish, but he failed to command his six-yard box effectively during corner routines.
Struggled heavily against the pace of the Egyptian wingers. Frequently caught out of position when Egypt transitioned rapidly into attack. Offered next to nothing down the right channel before getting hooked for tactical adjustments.

After a Friday packed with football at the World Cup, here are the most surprising images from a historic matchday.
With the running joke that Gilberto Mora is Mexico's great young prospect at just 17 years old, 40-year-old 'Memo' Ochoa went to read him a bedtime story and bring him some coloring books before he went to sleep.
Cape Verde's players interrupted Leo Messi's post-match interview to take photos with him. An unforgettable moment for them.
Sidny Lopes scored one of the goals of the World Cup against Argentina. A thunderous right-footed strike that will go down in history. He then went to celebrate in the stands, where he found his girlfriend and hugged her amid the madness.
But then came the heartbreak, with even children crying over the African team's defeat. They dreamed, they came close to a miracle, and they went down fighting. Respect.

After a thrilling Round of 32, Colombia's win over Ghana on Friday night solidified the 16-team field moving on in the World Cup knockout round.
The group that remains is filled with juggernauts and all three host nations are still alive after 48 teams entered the expanded tournament. Mexico, Canada and the United States are still competing, joined by traditional powers including Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Portugal and Spain, among others.
It's not March Madness, but this is an opportunity to print out a World Cup bracket and compete against your friends, so click the image below to make your own knockout-round picks.
Here's the full Round of 16 schedule, including every date, kickoff time and location:
Canada vs. Morocco, 1 p.m. ET – Houston
Paraguay vs. France, 5 p.m. ET – Philadelphia

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NCAA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Mid-Major fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
World Cup fever has hit Mid-Major Madness.
We’re taking a break from basketball as we look at some of the best soccer kits across mid-majors. But which one is the best?
The Catamounts won the 2024 men’s soccer national championship and looked darn good doing it.
They eye-catcher for Vermont is their gold and green horizontal striped jerseys.

It’s starting to feel like déjà vu.
For the third year in a row, Illinois season tickets have sold out. It only makes sense that fans are eager to see the Illini in action after a historic season. Illinois went on a run in the NCAA Tournament and reached the Final Four for the first time in over 20 years.
It’s also the third straight year Illinois earned a win in March Madness. While head coach Brad Underwood and his Illini lost a superstar in Keaton Wagler and a gritty veteran in Kylen Boswell, they also kept key contributors in David Mirković, Andrej Stojaković and the Ivišić twins.
Along with the returners, Illinois added freshman Quentin Coleman and Stefan Vaaks from Providence. The Illini are projected to be a top team next season, and the fans obviously agree.

This year's World Cup is shattering betting records, with sportsbook operators attributing the unprecedented wagering to a perfect storm of factors. The tournament's North American setting allows U.S. audiences to watch games live during convenient hours, while a historically talented American team has exceeded expectations by winning its first two matches and topping its group.
"I think it has exceeded our expectations," stated Mark Bickerdike, Caesars Sportsbook's head of soccer trading, regarding the volume of money being wagered. Johnny Avello, director at DraftKings Sportsbook, noted that betting on the 48-team World Cup, which recently entered its knockout stage, is rivaling the popularity of college basketball's NCAA Tournament.
"It could be the biggest event of the year when it's all said and done," Avello predicted. "March Madness takes place over the course of three weeks, and it rakes quite a bit of money. This is getting there. It blows the Super Bowl away. One game, one day. This thing here is way bigger than that."
The surge in interest is particularly ******* ounced for the US team. Christian Cipollini, BetMGM Sportsbook's trading manager, anticipates their upcoming single-elimination match against Bosnia-Herzegovina in Santa Clara, California, will be "BetMGM's most bet-on soccer game of all time." He added, "In this World Cup, all three of our most bet-on games have been the three USA games. This game is leading up to be a perfect storm where the USA looks very good. There's a lot of hype around the team."
While Kylian Mbappé's France is widely favored to win the tournament, with Lionel Messi's defending champion Argentina close behind, handicapper Bruce Marshall cautions against ******* uming a final rematch. "I could see seven or eight teams winning this thing," Marshall remarked, suggesting that "any favorite at this stage, I don't know that there's great value there."

FOXBOROUGH, MA — FIFA looked across the Atlantic Ocean every March as college basketball teams competed in the “madness” that is the NCAA Tournament and felt that twinge of jealousy every other sports entity does.
FIFA being FIFA, the governing body simply said … gimme that.
Thus, the expanded 48-team format that debuted at the 2026 World Cup became reality. Purists puked. Traditionalists teased.
But what was at its core a money-grab by FIFA – simply, more programming equals more money – has turned into the best part of the tournament. More exciting matches with more at stake in each one is the most ideal unintended consequence FIFA could have asked for.
The fans have benefited, too.

CLEVELAND — Let the (potential) madness begin.
The NBA's free agency period tends to be among the craziest in professional sports. The Cavaliers could be facing a massively important summer on the heels of their first trip to the Eastern Conference Finals since 2018, but also a sweep at the hands of the champion New York Knicks.
On one hand, it was the furthest the franchise has progressed without LeBron James on the roster since 1992. But losing in a sweep also brought into question what major changes, if any, are needed around the roster.
Follow for updates with NBA rumors and news as it relates to the Cavs.
Teams can officially begin negotiating with free agents at 6 p.m. ET June 30. Those players cannot be officially signed until 12:01 p.m. ET July 6, but agreements between key free agents and teams will be locked up well before that time.

After a jam-packed second day of the 2026 NBA draft, the Oklahoma City Thunder put the final touches on a loaded class as they restock the back end of their roster. They selected Kentucky's Otega Oweh with the No. 41 pick. In a trade-down, they received the second-round pick and cash considerations for No. 37.
The Thunder likely fill in one of their three two-way spots with Oweh. He should be familiar with the state. He spent his first two years in college at Oklahoma before transferring to Kentucky. In his final year, he averaged 18.6 points on 46.5% shooting, 4.8 rebounds and 2.7 ****** ists.
Let's break down the draft pick and hand out a grade for Oweh's addition:
Oweh played the full four years at college from 2022-26. Two each at Oklahoma and Kentucky. He eventually broke out on the Sooners in his sophomore year as a double-digit scorer. That was enough for him to make the jump to a bigger basketball program. He entered the transfer portal and committed to the Wildcats. With them, he played out two years as one of their top scorers. He was a two-time Second Team All-SEC member there.
Oweh tested the waters in the 2025 NBA draft. But after getting a feel for things, he returned to Kentucky for his senior season. That's what he turned in his best college season. He was their best player as a near 19-point scorer. All of the offense fell on him. He became the fastest player in school history to reach 1,000 career points there. Eventually, the Wildcats made it to the Round of 32 in March Madness.

The WNBA continues to discover new ways to shoot itself in the foot.
It is the league’s 30th anniversary season, and the latest self-inflicted wound is a poster celebrating that historic milestone.
On the surface, it looks harmless. The poster looks like something that might hang in a 10-year-old’s bedroom or a college kid’s dorm. Dawn Staley’s awesome teal and purple Charlotte Sting jersey pops in the middle of it and she’s surrounded by a handful of recognizable faces from the past and present: Breanna Stewart, A’ja Wilson, Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie, Paige Bueckers and Angel Reese, to name a few.
But a closer look shows a few things the WNBA is guilty of far too often: incompetence, a lack of oversight and a void of creativity.
For starters, this poster is $30 and looks like something that could’ve been designed in PhotoShop 15 years ago. It is simply a collection of logos and stock images of players. It seemingly wants to take inspiration from one of those throwback Sports Illustrated covers the magazine rolled out during March Madness, a “Where’s Waldo” style collage meant to evoke excitement for the NCAA Tournament.