The San Francisco Giants unsteady future plans for their rotation just got murkier. On Tuesday, the team announced what many had feared for a few days: that right-handed pitcher Trevor McDonald will undergo Tommy John surgery to repair his throwing arm.
McDonald, who has a 5.12 ERA and a 4.28 FIP on the year, left his last start after feeling discomfort in his elbow during warm-up pitches before the fifth inning. The 25-year old was promptly placed on the 15-Day Injured List with a UCL strain which, unfortunately, leads to Tommy John most of the time. After getting a second opinion from a specialist, McDonald and the Giants decided on the surgery, which will take place next week.
The timing of the surgery means that McDonald will not only miss the rest of this year, but almost certainly all of next season as well. Barring any setbacks, he should have a good chance of being ready to return by the time Spring Training rolls around in 2028. Unfortunately for McDonald, he'll find himself in an unenviable situation then: he'll be not only trying to shake off the injury rust and get back in form, but he'll be out of options, essentially eliminating his leash to get back in a rhythm and proove himself.
But that's a problem for another day. Unfortunately, a whole lot of rehab awaits McDonald before he gets to the stage. And a whole lot of moves await the Giants, who will need to rebuild an already-bad rotation this offseason — and one that is likely about to lose Robbie Ray and Tyler Mahle — without McDonald as an option.

#Giants #tommy

Robbie Fowler has implored Liverpool to address one of their biggest 'problems' of recent years and ensure that there's adequate squad depth at Anfield by the end of the current transfer window.
The Reds went big in the marketplace a year ago by investing almost £450m in new signings, with much of that figure offset by player sales in a summer of massive upheaval in L4.
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However, Andoni Iraola has inherited a squad shorn of several players through injuries of varying severity, although he'll gradually get his World Cup contingent back in the building over the next month.
Speaking from New York, where Liverpool play Wrexham in a pre-season friendly on Wednesday night, Fowler stressed the need for his former club to have sufficient competition for places so that every player is kept 'on their toes' and high standards are maintained on a daily basis.

#Liverpool #robbie #anfield #official

Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac have enjoyed much success as co-owners of soccer team Wrexham AFC.
The North American celebrities have taken the Welsh team from the fifth tier of English football all the way up to the Championship (second tier).
They are now gearing up for the 2026/27 season, which kicks off in August, and Wrexham are once again back in the United States of America for their pre-season tour.
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
The Red Dragons have been to America several times since Ryan and Rob became owners, allowing them to face off against some big soccer teams in friendly matches.

#wrexham #tier #reynolds #north

Cubs linked to Giants 3.33 ERA lefty as 'perfect' trade target by ex-MLB GM originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
With the MLB trade deadline under two weeks away, the Chicago Cubs need to figure out who they should pursue to upgrade their rotation and bullpen.
There are some obvious options, like Tarik Skubal and Mason Miller, but both will be expensive. Instead, the Cubs could look elsewhere for more realistic trade targets who would still be huge upgrades.
Former MLB GM Jim Bowden of The Athletic identified San Francisco Giants left-handed Robbie Rays as the team's "perfect" trade target this summer to upgrade the starting rotation.
"The Cubs need to keep trying to upgrade their rotation," Bowden writes. "Ray will be a free agent this offseason and would be a solid get for Chicago."

#upgrade

Giants get good news on trade deadline market for $113 million star originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Under two weeks to go until the 2026 MLB trade deadline on August 3, and the San Francisco Giants are very obvious sellers.
Luis Arraez and Robbie Ray are clearly going to be on the block, with both likely to be dealt. But the Giants also want to trade away their expensive veterans, making over $100 million, but that's not going to be easy.
That is, except for one $113 million outfielder, Jung Hoo Lee, who, according to ESPN's Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan, should have a strong market at the MLB trade deadline.
"While the Giants' desire to dump their high-profile players with high-priced contracts will run into plenty of resistance, they should be able to cobble together a market if they really are interested in moving Lee," Passan and McDaniel write.

#Giants #deadline #market

Ireland boss Andy Farrell admitted he was "more relieved than anything" after his side battled through a scrappy performance to beat a spirited ****** an in the Nations Championship.
Tries from Nick Timoney, Tom O'Toole, Robbie Henshaw, debutant Sean Jansen and Tom Stewart helped Ireland win 36-20 at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle.
Taira Main and Hayate Era crossed for ****** an but Ireland finished with a flourish to deny the Brave Blossoms just a second win in 12 meetings between the sides.
"If you look at it, the scoreline is the scoreline but it flattered us a little bit, especially with stop-start nature of the game, the errors and stuff like that," said Farrell.
"But I was just saying to the lads that that happens in sport when you tinker a lot. We put them under a lot of pressure this week as coaches with the changes, the different combinations, lads not playing for a long time.

The San Francisco Giants continue this four-game series against the Colorado Rockies tonight from Oracle Park.
Taking the mound for the Giants will be left-hander Robbie Ray, who enters tonight's game with a 3.45 ERA, 4.70 FIP, with 86 strikeouts to 46 walks in 101.2 innings pitched. His last start was in the Giants' 6-4 win over the Rockies on Saturday, in which he allowed three runs on five hits with four strikeouts and three walks in six innings.
He'll be facing off against Rockies right-hander Tanner Gordon, who enters tonight's game with a 6.95 ERA, 5.03 FIP, with 46 strikeouts to 10 walks in 45.1 innings pitched. His last start was in the Rockies' 7-6 win over the Giants on Sunday, in which he allowed five runs on six hits with seven strikeouts and two walks in five innings.
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Robbie Ure scored all four of his side's goals at the weekend, becoming the Allsvenskan's top scorer on the way to shooting unfashionable IK Sirius into a nine-point lead at the top of the Swedish top flight.
The former Rangers striker has been attracting interest from bigger European leagues, so will Scotland recognise the 22-year-old's progress before Ukraine does?
Born and raised in Glasgow and capped for Scotland up to Under-19 level, Ure has had contact from Ukraine, for whom he qualifies on the grandparent rule.
"I was watching Scotland in the World Cup and it was something that, of course, I would have loved to be involved in," he said.
"My ambition is to play with Scotland one day but I have no stress for that situation. I feel like what I do at club level will give me the opportunities that I deserve.

Robbie Avila made his Lakers debut, but the problems showed immediately originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Robbie Avila has the potential to be a fan favorite for the Los Angeles Lakers.
That is, if the undrafted rookie out of Saint Louis can actually make the Lakers.
That pursuit of a roster spot didn't get off to a good start in Avila's Summer League debut on Monday for L.A.
He had sat out the Lakers' first two summer games, but he started on Monday in an 88-84 win over the Spurs.

It's been seven years since one of the most memorable knockouts in UFC history — and for now, the fastest.
In the featured fight on the main card at UFC 329, which took place July 6, 2019, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Jorge Masvidal put away Ben Askren in 5 seconds to set the new promotional standard for fastest finish.
Masvidal went straight to the center of the cage and launched a flying knee, and it was on the ******* on. Askren, a former champion with Bellator and ONE Championship, never had lost a fight until then, let alone been put away. He came in 19-0 after a win in his UFC debut over ex-welterweight champ Robbie Lawler earlier in 2019.
But after Askren was starched by Masvidal, he fought just once more in the UFC – a submission loss to Demian Maia – before he left the sport. He boxed Jake Paul in 2021, but was knocked out in the first round. Most notably, though, he had a medical emergency a year ago that left him in a coma for more than six weeks, but his miraculous recovery continues, and may even continue to include competition.
For Masvidal, the win was in the midst of a one-year superstar run that saw him finish Darren Till, Askren and Nate Diaz – the latter of which won him the inaugural BMF ******* le. But after that, he lost four straight in the UFC and is inactive in MMA. He's competed in boxing, grappling and has his own promotion.

I just can’t wait until the end of the season to do the final ****** ysis of the San Francisco Giants/Farhan Zaidi opting not to sign Kevin Gausman to an extension after the 2021 season. With the trade deadline less than a month away now and Robbie Ray almost certainly on the move, it’s begging to be written right now.
The history of the Giants getting burned by long-term pitching contracts is pretty spectacular. I don’t know what moron opted to sign Barry Zito to that 7-year deal after the 2003 season, and if it was Larry Baer, it just goes to show what an untouchable and blessed man he is. But after that, extensions for Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain didn’t provide value in the actual extension years. The Jeff Samardzija and Johnny Cueto deals were similarly hailed as massive failures that doomed the franchise. So, that’s a pretty good sampling of failure, which ignores the context of all the success.
That’s pretty much what happened with Gausman. The Giants ignored the context of success or that the player wanted to remain in San Francisco or that he worked well with a burgeoning young pitcher already in the fold in Logan Webb. A couple of years later, Farhan Zaidi would be able to show his work and convince ownership that signing Webb to an extension in a similar AAV range as Gausman would be good for the team and they acquiesced… but they’ve still bothered to let their disgruntlement echo through the halls of Oracle Park and into the curious ears of beat writers and pundits. It is known that the Giants don’t favor, value, or want pitchers signed to big, long-term deals. It’s why they were willing to let Madison ****** garner walk after his deal.
When you’re the sole team in a country as the Blue Jays are in Canada, it’s not a big deal.
This isn’t to say that the Giants totally have the wrong idea and high value, high payroll teams like the Blue Jays do, but before we look at Kevin Gausman and his Blue Jays teammates, let’s finish this ****** ysis. Kevin Gausman left the Giants and signed a 5-year, $110 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays that started in 2022. Rather than re-sign him, the Giants went with Carlos Rodón, Alex Cobb, and Robbie Ray. Here’s how the plan has worked out over the past almost-five seasons:

RC Strasbourg Alsace, OGC Nice and Olympique Lyonnais are reportedly keeping a close eye on the situation regarding IK Sirius’ Robbie Ure (22), according to L’Équipe.
Currently the top scorer in the Swedish league with 16 goals in as many matches across all competitions this season, the Scot has made a flying start to the campaign.
A product of the Rangers academy, the Glasgow-born player moved to Sweden in March 2025 after a year-and-a-half spell in the youth ranks at RCS Anderlecht. Having enjoyed a debut season in which he proved decisive on 15 occasions (11 goals, four ******* ists) in 30 matches for the Blåsvart, the Scottish Under-21 international has continued to confirm his rise to prominence.
Under contract with Sirius until December 2029, the 22-year-old therefore fits the profile of a centre-forward available at a reasonable price – a player sought after not only by RCSA, who are looking to strengthen their squad to compensate for the injury-enforced absence of Joaquín Panichelli (23) until the end of the calendar year, but also by OGCN and OL.
GFFN | Léo Aschi

Robbie Ray outpitched Chris Sale in a matchup of Cy Young Award winners and the San Francisco Giants held off the Atlanta Braves 3-2 on Sunday.
Ray allowed just four hits and an unearned run in eight innings. Caleb Kilian entered with a 3-1 lead in the ninth and gave up a leadoff double to Matt Chapman, who scored after two groundouts.
Pinch-hitter Dominic Smith singled off the glove of shortstop Casey Schmitt and pinch-runner Jorge Mateo stole second, but Kilian struck out former Giants outfielder Mike Yastrzemski swinging for his sixth save.
With a pair of outstanding pitching performances, San Francisco (35-48) won the last two games of the three-game series against the slumping Braves (49-33), who have dropped six of seven and 12 of 16. They lead the NL East by three games over surging Philadelphia.
Ray (7-6) didn’t permit a baserunner until Matt Olson’s leadoff single in the fifth and gave up his only run in the eighth following a fielding error by Chapman at third base. The left-hander struck out two, walked one and threw 95 pitches.

Beautiful day in the Bay for the 50th win of the season, who says no?
Well, it may be the Braves offense, if last night is any indication. Logan Webb was as excellent as advertised, unfortunately. It’d be great to see some signs of life in this last West Coast road game of the season by solving Robbie Ray to take the rubber match and series.
The Braves’ lone hit last night came from today’s leadoff man Mauricio Dubón, who remains in left field. Otherwise, it’s a familiar sequence of Michael Harris II, Ozzie Albies, Matt Olson, and Drake Baldwin. Baldwin gets the day off behind the plate today with Joey Bart serving as the battery mate for Chris Sale and batting seventh. Mike Yastrzemski started the first two games of this homecoming series, but will sit today with Eli White in right field. Notably, Ha-Seong Kim will start his third consecutive game at shortstop and batting ninth. He worked a walk last night, which I’ll delusionally hope and pray is the beginning of a turnaround.
The Giants will line up as follows behind Ray:
As the excited caption indicates, Heliot Ramos returns from the IL after being sidelined with a right quad strain. He’ll bat sixth as the designated hitter.

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen made a rare public appearance in support of their brother Trent's recent wedding.
The fraternal twins, 40, who formally retired from acting in 2012, attended the May ceremony of their oldest sibling and his new wife, Alexis.
On Thursday, in a joint Instagram post shared by the newlyweds, the Full House stars posed for a family photo. They stood to the left of the happy couple, alongside Ashley's husband, Louis Eisner, their half-siblings Courtney, 29, and Jake Olsen, 28, and other family members. Their younger sister, WandaVision star Elizabeth, 37, and her husband, Robbie Arnett, could be seen in the back.
Each person wore black, except for Alexis and her flower girl, who wore white, and Courtney, who wore a navy dress.
The post's caption simply reads, "Family," next to a single white heart emoji.

Mohamed Salah's exit has left a huge void for Liverpool to fill in the summer transfer window.
RB Leipzig winger Yan Diomande is the frontrunner to replace the Egyptian King with the Reds already submitting an £86m bid for the 19-year-old.
As it stands, no breakthrough has been made in negotiations with the German side.
A number of alternatives have been mentioned such as Brighton's Yankubah Minteh, Koln's Said El Mala and Lille's Matias Fernandez-Pardo.
But Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler has thrown a new name into the mix…

Is Robbie Avila going to the NBA? Next steps revealed after draft for Saint Louis big man nicknamed 'Milk Chamberlain' originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
One of the most impactful players in college basketball in recent years went undrafted during the 2026 NBA Draft.
Robbie Avila, the bespectacled big man from the Saint Louis Billikens, is a 6-foot-10 center with all sorts of skills and a bunch of great nicknames.
That's not an automatic spot in the NBA, though, and so now Avila has to wait.
MORE: Giannis legacy with the Bucks remains intact

Tonight, the Athletics will look to snap their three-game losing streak as they take on the San Francisco Giants in the middle game of this three-game interleague series. Last night, the A’s offense struggled against Giants starter Robbie Ray, who tossed eight innings of one-run ball. As a result, the “Green and Gold” need to get a win this evening, or they could be at risk of being swept tomorrow afternoon.
Athletics rookie left-hander Gage Jump will make his sixth MLB start and first against the Giants. The top-100 prospect has lived up to the billing through his first few big-league outings. Jump has posted a 3-1 record, a 2.37 ERA, an impressive 0.99 WHIP and 26 strikeouts across his initial 30 1/3 MLB innings. The 23-year-old is coming off his best start with the A’s, earning the win after pitching seven shutout innings against the Los Angeles Angels.
With a pitcher-friendly ballpark and a Giants offense that has scored the fourth-fewest runs in the league working in his favor, Jump appears well-positioned to cap off an impressive first month in the majors with another quality start.
The southpaw, who has experienced a meteoritic rise since being drafted by the A’s out of Louisiana State University in 2024, has a chance to become the franchise’s best left-handed starter developed from within since Barry Zito and Mark Mulder anchored the team’s rotation in the early 200os.
Here’s the A’s lineup for this matchup:

Giants top-10 trade chips revealed with interesting Jung Hoo Lee problem originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The San Francisco Giants are looking more and more likely to be trade deadline sellers as the season moves along. The rumor mill has been rampant lately, indicating Buster Posey is open to selling some of the team's players.
While the question of whether the Giants will be buyers or sellers appears to be answered, the new question is about who could be on the move. Rental options are clear trade chips this season, but there are a lot of other interesting names worth mentioning.
Bleacher Report's Zachary D. Rymer revealed the Giants' top-10 trade chips, all of which make sense as options to be moved. But there is one interesting problem, and it revolves around $113 million outfielder Jung Hoo Lee.
"Their Best Trade Chips: 1B/DH Rafael Devers, SS Willy Adames, 3B Matt Chapman, RF Jung Hoo Lee, 2B Luis Arraez, LHP Robbie Ray," Rymer writes. "... And out of these names, Lee is the only one who isn't either A) an albatross or B) a free-agent-to-be."

San Francisco hit three homers in the second inning, including a two-run shot by Luis Arraez, Carson Whisenhunt won a matchup of rookie starting pitchers and the Giants held off the Atlanta Braves 7-5 on Wednesday night to sweep a split doubleheader.
The Giants won the opening game of the doubleheader 7-2 as left-hander Robbie Ray threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings. It was the completion of Tuesday night’s game, which was suspended due to rain.
Whisenhunt (1-0) allowed two runs on six hits in five-plus innings in his season debut.
Atlanta right-hander JR Ritchie (1-2) gave up five runs in five innings on five hits, including three homers. Willy Adames, Arraez and Bryce Eldridge homered in the four-run second inning. Arraez added a two-run single in the ninth.
Giants left-hander Matt Gage (right knee inflammation) was reinstated from the 15-day injured list and gave up a two-run homer to Mauricio Dubón in the ninth. Gage gave up two more hits. Right-hander Tristan Beck overcame a run-scoring wild pitch to record the final two outs for his first save.

Mississippi State has landed a commitment out of the transfer portal via South Carolina right-handed pitcher Zach Russell, according to Robbie Faulk of State 1878.
Russell made 25 appearances and threw 32 innings for the Gamecocks this past season.
This story will be updated.
To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and X (formerly Twitter) account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 19: Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak of Liverpool during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield on October 19, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
Andoni Iraola has a lot to consider before the start of the 2026/27 season. Now Liverpool manager following his appointment by the Anfield club, Iraola has been trusted with imposing a new identity on a team that lost one over the course of the 2025/26 campaign under Arne Slot. He will face a number of challenges.
Liverpool’s squad is talented, but it’s unbalanced. While the Merseyside outfit spent over $250m signing a number of elite-level players last summer, not many of them fit into Slot’s team. This is where Iraola must offer something different. The Spaniard needs to think about the overall set-up of his team.
First and foremost, he must envisage how Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak could play together in the attacking third. Both strikers joined Liverpool last summer, but experienced contrasting fortunes in their first season there. While Ekitike flourished, Isak struggled for any sort of form and fitness.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - JUNE 04: (THE SUN OUT, THE SUN ON SUNDAY OUT) Andoni Iraola new manager of Liverpool Football Club at Anfield on June 04, 2026 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Cammy Devlin is reportedly emotionally torn between a new Heart of Midlothian contract and rival offers, while Robbie Keane is said to have been told he could yet be Celtic manager some day.
Out-of-contract Australia midfielder Cammy Devlin is torn over big money offers from a club in Major League Soccer, one from the Turkish Super Lig and another in the English Championship as Hearts want him to stay on improved terms. (Daily Record)
Porto, PSV Eindhoven and Galatasaray are among the clubs interested in Rangers striker Youssef Chermiti. (Rudy Galetti on X)
The NXT Level Lab coaching centre in Marbella, Spain, says 19-year-old midfielder Bailey Rice is there to build-up his fitness to prepare for pre-season with Rangers, where he is out of contract this summer amid interest from the likes of Ajax and Aston Villa. (The National)
Rangers-linked striker Joe Gelhardt will hold talks with Leeds United about his future after the 24-year-old returned from his loan to Hull City. (Alan Nixon on Patreon)

Green fees are rising more than twice as fast as membership charges across Scotland – but the real story lies beneath the averages, where tourism, geography and pricing power are pulling the game in different directions.
Scottish golf is evolving into an increasingly uneven market with fresh survey findings clearly detailing a three-layer economy shaped by geography, scale and access to demand.
The Herald Scottish Golf Survey 2026 of courses across the country shows that while the average green fee is now more than $106, most golfers actually pay closer to $60 for a round, a gap that reveals a widening divide between everyday club golf and a small number of premium destinations. That same tension is visible in membership pricing, where annual subscriptions cluster tightly around $867 to $1,068 at the majority of clubs, while the most exclusive venues push well beyond that range.
That gap matters because it captures a structural change in how golf is priced and funded. Clubs are increasingly protecting their members by charging visitors more heavily to absorb rising costs.
“The tourism numbers and the economic benefit from visitors are probably as strong as they have ever been,” explains Robbie Francis, who as a partner in the corporate team at legal firm Thorntons advises clients in the golf market. “Some of the clubs are now beginning to recognise that they have a very strong product that should be priced accordingly for visitors, and that has a benefit in terms of the sustainability of the mix of their income for now.”

Online banter has come under the microscope recently.
Despite being the Premier League Champions of England, ******* nal are being mocked by fans, pundits and even ex-players more than any of the 19 clubs they finished above in the division. For years, going 22 years without winning the Premier League was the stick used to beat the Gunners with, but now the focus has suddenly shifted to the fact that ******* nal have never won the Champions League.
Simon Jordan this week blamed AFTV for creating a culture on the internet where much of the content surrounding ******* nal appears to be driven by negativity and, at times, outright hatred.
Credit to talkSPORT for allowing callers to ring the station and challenge opinions, while also having an employee admit that the morning show remains one of the few programmes that still offers genuine sports debate rather than relying on manufactured characters.
Unsurprisingly, AFTV founder Robbie Lyle was quick to defend both himself and those who have worked for him.

Giants and Cardinals could make perfect trade to win NL Central from Brewers, Cubs originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
If anybody had guessed that the St. Louis Cardinals were going to be 31-27 to start the year, most would have said they wouldn't believe it. The Cardinals weren't expected to do much this season, but, as they typically do, they've found ways to win games.
I understand that Cardinals fans haven't been too happy with the direction of the organization before this season, but I think all longtime baseball fans understand that this is a team that has found ways to win, perhaps one of the most successful organizations in baseball over the past few decades.
Heading into this trade deadline, it'll be interesting to see which direction they want to go. Some believe the Cardinals will be buyers, while others don't expect that to be the case.
Regardless of what happens, I think there's reason to believe the Cardinals should be buyers. One writer believes so as well, recently naming them a fit for San Francisco Giants left-hander Robbie Ray.