The early round action at WTA Monterrey, the Abierto GNP Seguros has lead to a pair of compelling semifinals on Friday. Diane Parry from France will take on #5 seed Ann Li, while the rising Nikola Bartunkova takes on the tournament favorite, Elise Mertens.
The late-night quarterfinal at WTA Monterrey saw Mertens power past Yuliia Starodubtseva 6-1 6-4, as she dominated on her service games and didn't face a single break point. Mertens needed three sets to get past Panna Udvardy in the previous round, similarly performing better on serve.
Mertens, 30, is nearing her second consecutive season of 30+ match wins and has put together her best result this week since the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. With the US Open draw already made, Mertens is set to face Kaitlin Quevedo in the first round, and could face Naomi Osaka in round 3.
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The semifinal field at WTA Monterrey was completed on Thursday. Diane Parry scored a slight upset over Clara Tauson 6-3 7-5, converting all of her break point chances in the match. Parry has a chance to reach a career high ranking this week inside the top 50. Her semifinal opponent is Ann Li from the United States, Li, 26, finally advanced her record above 500 this season by dispatching her fellow American Alycia Parks 6-2 6-3. Li only needed two wins to reach the semis this week as she was granted a walkover in the round of 16. It's her best result since Strasbourg on clay in May, which also happened a week before a Grand Slam. Both sets of semifinals are matchups where there is h2h history.

#round #parry #semifinals #break

Everything was on the line at the draw in Monaco. The four home and four away opponents for the 2026–27 season have now been determined. UEFA will announce the exact dates of the matches by Saturday. Today, Thursday, former star strikers Thierry Henry and David Villa began by drawing the opponents for all 36 participating teams.
BVB already faced three of its eight opponents last year: At SIGNAL IDUNA PARK, BVB will once again take on Inter Milan and Villarreal CF—and these two matchups cannot be repeated next year—and will also face FK Bodø/Glimt from Norway again, though this time on the road. The other home opponents are Real Betis from Seville and AEK Athens—both of which will be first-time opponents! Away from home, Borussia will face Bodø/Glimt, as well as ******* nal, Aston Villa, and Sabah FK in Azerbaijan.
Inter MilanThe 21-time Italian champions have reached the Champions League final twice in the past four seasons. Inter has won the trophy three times (most recently in 2010), but suffered a surprising defeat last season in the Round of 16 against Bodø/Glimt—a team that shocked more than just BVB. BVB lost the head-to-head match against Inter 0–2. There will be a reunion with Manuel Akanji and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Real BetisReal Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis for short or simply Betis—that's the name of Spain's 1935 champion and three-time cup winner. Their greatest international achievement was reaching the final of the 2025 UEFA Conference League. Former Borussia player Marc Bartra (pictured) played a key role in helping the team finish fifth in La Liga last season, thereby qualifying for the Champions League for the second time in the club's history. BVB has not yet faced Betis in a head-to-head match.
FC VillarrealThe second Spanish opponent—which finished third last year—comes from Pot 3, even though it made a splash internationally by winning the 2021 UEFA Europa League and reaching the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League the following year. In last season's league campaign, however, "the Yellow Submarine" finished in 35th place with just one point earned. At SIGNAL IDUNA PARK, BVB won 4-0.

#time #champions #year

Seven weeks ago, Victor Wembanyama did his franchise a favor. The 22-year-old center and the Spurs agreed to a massive five-year contract extension, albeit one that will pay him about $50 million less than he might have received if he sought the largest contract allowed by the NBA.
The significance of that discount can be hard to process. After all, to a hard-working stiff, the gap between making $252 million and $303 million is a lot like the gap between taking a rocket ship to the moon and one to Mars. Most of us recognize there's a difference, but we'll never come close to experiencing it firsthand.
In the realm of NBA team-building, though, salary-cap savings of $10 million per year can turn losses into victories. Theoretically, signing Wembanyama at that lower price point could enable the Spurs to add an extra veteran once extensions for Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper kick in. It might allow them to keep De'Aaron Fox an extra year.
And if the Spurs play their cards right? Playoff trips that might otherwise have ended in the conference semifinals in 2028, 2029 or 2030 might turn into league championships, all because they had a little more flexibility to operate under the NBA's punitive luxury-tax aprons.
So it's possible to see how Wembanyama's sacrifice might pay off. In fact, they just lost in the NBA Finals to a New York Knicks team that benefited from a similar contract discount by their star player, Jalen Brunson.

#year #SPURS #contract #wembanyama

The playoffs are kicking off this weekend in Minnesota.
All of that stuff that happened in the regular season? It doesn't matter now.
It just takes one win for a team like the Maryland Whipsnakes to feel dangerous after a losing skid. On the flip side, as hot as the Cannons have been, a subpar performance could send them packing. Which team will advance to meet the top-seeded Philadelphia Waterdogs in the semifinals?
In the Western Conference, the Outlaws and Redwoods are battling for the right to face two-time champion Utah Archers as both teams pursue their first-ever PLL **** le.
Six things to watch in this weekend's quarterfinal matchups:

#waterdogs

One-half of the semifinals have been decided. Soon we will know who is playing for the 2026 Little League World Series ******* le.
Nevada, of the Mountain Region, and Curaçao have locked up spots in the U.S. final and the international final. But who will they face off against?
Looking for the scores and schedule for the 2026 LLWS? Bookmark this page. The field has been whittled from 20 teams to just six, and two more will be nixed Thursday.
GAME RECAP: Texas falls to Ohio in elimination game
MORE BASEBALL: The top 20 Longhorns of all time

#game #soon #nevada

By Dylan Butler
Austin FC's Leagues Cup 2026 run came to an end following a 2-0 quarterfinal loss to LIGA MX powerhouse Toluca FC at Sports Illustrated Stadium on Wednesday night.
Toluca advance to face Club León in the semifinals next week thanks to Helinho's 53rd-minute penalty kick after Oleksandr Svatok fouled Jesús Ángulo in the box. It was only the second goal Austin conceded in Leagues Cup 2026.
The Verde & Black were dealt a setback in the 40th minute after Joseph Rosales was shown a straight red card for a late challenge on Federico Pereira.
Brad Stuver did his best to keep Austin FC in the match, making several key saves in a one-goal game against the current Concacaf Champions Cup ****** le-holders.

#toluca #sports

Vasco took the advantage over Vitória in the race for a place in the Copa do Brasil semifinals.
Even playing with one man down for almost the entire match, Cruzmaltino won 1-0 this Wednesday (26) at São Januário.
Andrés Gómez, with a brilliant individual play, scored the only goal of the match in the second half.
Cauan Barros was sent off with a straight red card in the 18th minute, leaving Vitória with a numerical advantage.
But Leão failed to make the most of it and created little danger.

#even

The Oklahoma Sooners are a popular pick to make the College Football Playoff. One of the more popular college football ***** ysts, Josh Pate, is continuing the trend, listing the Sooners as the 11-seed in his college football playoff predictions for the 2026 season.
Josh Pate, of the Josh Pate College Football Show, has Oklahoma heading to Eugene to face the Oregon Ducks. Pate has the Ducks beating Oklahoma, then going on to beat Georgia, and then Texas in the semifinals before falling to Miami in the national championship game.
To make the playoff, Oklahoma would likely have to go 10-2. But Pate has the Sooners in the field as a 9-3 team, which would be a first for the 12-team era.
That means the Sooners probably lose to both Georgia and Texas and maybe drop either the Ole Miss or Texas A&M game later in the season. All three of those losses would likely be to top 15 teams, certainly giving the Sooners a case for making the playoff as a 9-3 team.
"Oklahoma is the only three-loss team that I have in the playoff," Pate said. "That means your Ole Misses, your A&M's, your LSU's, they're on the outside looking in."

#playoff #college #texas #team

Fox Sports college football ****** yst Joel Klatt recently announced his predictions for the 2027 College Football Playoff.
Much like other CFP predictions for the upcoming season, Klatt has Notre Dame reaching the national championship game. Going into the CFP as the second seed, Klatt has the Irish winning it all for the first time in nearly 40 years.
Through Fox Sports' The Joel Klatt Show podcast, Klatt predicted that Notre Dame will beat seventh-seeded Georgia in the quarterfinals, defeat third-seeded Miami in the semifinals then knock off top-seeded Oregon in the ****** le game.
It remains to be seen how Notre Dame will respond this season after being snubbed out of the CFP last year. However, with a stacked roster this season, the Irish are poised for redemption and to raise the CFP trophy.
The Irish will begin their run to the national championship game at home on Sept. 6 against Wisconsin.

#notre #sports

Only one of the Libertadores 2026 quarterfinal matchups was still to be decided.
And it was up to Independiente del Valle to send Deportes Tolima packing this Tuesday (25).
The Ecuadorian side will face Flamengo for a place in the semifinals.
After winning 1-0 away from home, Del Valle made it 3-1 in front of its fans at Banco Guayaquil Stadium.
Daykol Romero (59') and Carlos González (70') scored for the home team.

#home #Deportes

NEW YORK (AP) — Serena Williams is back at the U.S. Open for her first match at the Grand Slam tournament since 2022, playing mixed doubles alongside defending men's singles champion Carlos Alcaraz.
Williams and Alcaraz are facing one half of the reigning women's doubles champions, Erin Routliffe, and Lloyd Glasspool in the first round later Tuesday. They are one of the star-studded duos in the second year of the new-looked mixed doubles event, with Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic also participating together.
Returning to tennis earlier this year at 44, Williams is not planning to play singles at the U.S. Open. Nevertheless, she and Alcaraz have an opportunity to add another ****** le at Flushing Meadows to their respective resumes.
Williams has 10 U.S. Open championships: six in women's singles, two in women's doubles with sister Venus and one in mixed doubles — with Max Mirnyi in 1998. Alcaraz has won the men's singles tournament twice, including four years ago when Serena initially stepped away from the sport.
Following the first round and quarterfinals Tuesday, the mixed doubles semifinals and final are Wednesday night, with the winners getting a $1 million prize.

#open #mixed

Lincolnton (N.C.) won 11 games and reached the NCHSAA 3A state semifinals last season. The Wolves plan on making another deep run this fall and they've got one of the state's top defensive prospects leading the way.
Senior four-star linebacker Jalaythan Mayfield is the leader on the Lincolnton defense. The Indiana commit was all over the place in an impressive season-opening 30-10 road win at Maiden on Friday evening.
The 6-foot-1.5, 235-pounder racked up 13 tackles, forced a fumble in the red zone and returned a fumble for a touchdown in the victory. He routinely bullied the Maiden offensive line coming off the edge, notching a sack and tackle for loss. Mayfield raced all over the field and finished plenty of plays with aggression.
1 – 0 in the books. Great win over our cross town rivals Maiden! 13 Tackles | 1 Forced Fumble | 1 Fumble Recovery | 1 Touchdown | 1 Sack | 1 TFL |TheUCReport TomLoy247 SWiltfong_ ErikRichardsUSA BrandonHuffman JeffRabjohns#AGTG #Growth #IUFB #GoHoosiers #RecruitTheL pic.twitter.com/kOjJ12sgei
Mayfield is also an offensive weapon on the ground for the Wolves. He rushed for 13 touchdowns as a junior last fall to go with a whopping 152 tackles. He averaged over 11 tackles per game in 2025 and is already off to a blistering pace as a senior.

#touchdown

NEW YORK (AP) — As the WNBA heads into its final week before the FIBA World Cup break, the postseason picture is becoming clearer.
Seven teams have already clinched spots in the playoffs with Minnesota, Golden State and Las Vegas leading the way. Atlanta, Indiana, New York and Washington also will be in the postseason. Dallas is not far from sealing the eighth and final place.
Where those teams end up seeding-wise is still up for grabs. There is only 1 1/2 games separating the second-place Valkyries and fifth-place Fever.
There's only a game difference between No. 6 New York and eighth-seeded Dallas.
The top four teams will have homecourt advantage in the opening round of the best-of-three playoff series. The semifinals are best-of-five and the WNBA Finals are best-of-seven.

#best #dallas #eighth

ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR) — Here's a preview of the 2026 Floyd County Buffaloes.
Head Coach: Tim Cromer (3rd Season)
Last Season: 8-4…Lost at Gretna in the Region 2C Semifinals
2026 Schedule
August 28th - at Narrows

#county #head #coach #cromer

MASON − For the second time in three years, Jessica Pegula will compete for the Rookwood Cup.
Pegula, the WTA's No. 3 ranked player, defeated defending champion Iga Swiatek 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 in the semifinals of the 2026 Cincinnati Open on Saturday, Aug. 21. The American also snapped Swiatek's 10-match win streak that extended back to the National Bank Open.
In a match between two of the best returners in the WTA, there were 13 breaks across two hours and 47 minutes of play. Sets came down to who performed best down the stretch, which was Pegula in the first and third sets. It also helped that many shots down the line went in Pegula's favor, and vice versa for Swiatek.
Pegula broke Swiatek first. Swiatek pounced on Pegula's serve to break right back but dropped the next game to Pegula, which was briefly interrupted by a drizzle of rain. Two breaks later, Pegula won the first hold of the match at 4-2, before Swiatek held for the first time next.
Swiatek beat Pegula's serve again at 4-4, but couldn't break for the set when she had the chance. Instead, Pegula won the next three games, taking advantage of Swiatek rushing her shots to gain a 7-5 lead. On set point, Swiatek dumped a wide-open volley into the net.

#swiatek #match #next

Girona FC continues to invest in young talent with potential by signing Mauro Furtado. The Portuguese central defender, born in Lisbon on July 30, 2008, joins the red-and-white club and is tied to the Club for the next five seasons, until 2031.
Considered one of the standout prospects in Portuguese football, the 18-year-old Furtado arrives from Benfica, one of the leading academies in European football. Fully trained at the Lisbon-based club, he stood out from a young age for his physical attributes, competitive maturity, and leadership ability in the defensive line. His constant growth led him to sign his first professional contract with Benfica in the summer of 2024.
At the international level, Mauro Furtado has established himself as a key player in the youth categories of the Portuguese national team. With Portugal's U-17 team, he experienced a particularly successful period, participating in winning the European Championship in the category and later in the historic victory at the U-17 World Cup. During the U-17 World Cup, the Portuguese central defender was one of the defensive pillars of the Portuguese team. His defensive solidity was crucial for Portugal to lift the world ******* le for the first time in its history. His performances earned him notable individual accolades, being named the best player of the match in both the semifinals and the final, and receiving the Bronze Ball of the tournament, recognizing him as the third-best player of the competition.
Mauro stands out for his defensive strength, good positioning, ability to anticipate opponents, and remarkable quality in ball distribution. Despite his youth, he has demonstrated personality and competitive maturity in high-level international settings.
With his arrival, Girona adds a player with enormous growth potential and great future prospects, further reinforcing the Club's commitment to developing young talents with the potential to continue evolving within the red-and-white structure.

#player #club #Potential

MASON − There are just eight players remaining and two ******* les up for grabs as the Cincinnati Open moves into the final weekend.
Aug. 22 is "Semifinal Saturday" with both ATP and WTA semifinals scheduled at the Lindner Family Tennis Center.
The Cincinnati Open finals will be held on Sunday, Aug. 23.
Here's a breakdown of Saturday's semifinals at the Cincinnati Open by order of play.
Replay: ATP, WTA quarterfinal results at the Cincinnati Open

#cincinnati #lindner

The Wisconsin Badgers open their 2026 volleyball season Friday night with one of the toughest tests they could have asked for, taking on No. 3 Kentucky at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. The Badgers enter the season ranked No. 6 in the country, setting up a matchup between two of the nation's premier programs right out of the gate.
There's also some unfinished business between these teams, as Kentucky ended Wisconsin's 2025 season with a five-set victory in the NCAA Tournament semifinals.
Now, the Badgers get an early opportunity to turn the page and make a statement in their first match of the new season.
Follow along here for live updates, scores, highlights, and ***** ysis throughout Friday night's match.
Date: Friday, August 21

#badgers #kentucky #match #ncaa

Aug. 21—It's been a steady climb for the Austin Black Bears under head coach April Marsh.
After making the state semifinals in her second season, they took the first step on their next journey upward on Thursday night, sweeping West Morgan 25-13, 25-19, 25-18.
"We have been working a lot on our first contact over the summer. Serve receive and defense, I thought we did a pretty good job with that today," Marsh said. "I felt like we were in system most of the game."
Last year, Austin started off the season with a two-set win over West Morgan where it rallied in both sets. It ended up going 45-9 and made the state tournament for the first time since 2004.
This year, it didn't have to rally.

#west

Mondo Duplantis, the two-time Olympic pole vault gold medalist, released a song, "Gold," as the anthem for the first World Athletics Ultimate Championship, which will be Sept. 11-13 in Budapest.
"I wrote the song around representing something that's a lot bigger than yourself," Duplantis said in a press release. "I think that's what we all do when we're on the track. We represent our family, our team, our coaches, and I love that concept. Music and sports are the two things that bring people together in the best way, and Gold is an expression of that."
The music video published Friday shows Duplantis in famous parts of Budapest. "Gold" will be "woven into" the World Athletics Championship, capped by Duplantis performing it in the stadium to close out the competition on Sept. 13, according to World Athletics.
Duplantis, a 26-year-old raised in Louisiana by an American dad and Swedish mom, previously released six songs that have a combined 11 million streams on his Spotify.
The biennial Ultimate Championship, the top international meet of 2026, will have fields of eight to 16 athletes per individual event based primarily on world rankings with no limits on athletes per country. Track events will have semifinals and finals. Field events will have strictly finals.

#duplantis #sept #budapest #track

After Viera upset top-seeded Melbourne in the district semifinals last year, the two squads met in the second game of the season on Aug. 20.
The Hawks used big runs in the middle portion of all three sets to pull away from Melbourne for a 25-15, 25-19, 25-17 sweep.
"I'm really excited about we played. We had a big talk at practice about controlling our side of the court and eliminating our errors from the first game," Viera head coach Sarah Wayne said. "It's probably first-game jitters, so we did a really good job of earning a lot of our points. I thought our defensive play was really well, but then we executed offensively really well with our outsides. Both of our middles had 0 errors. They did a great job."
It was a balanced and potent Viera attack as 10 players scored points. The Hawks ended the night with 28 kills, 10 aces and 7 blocks that led to points.
"Our setters are comfortable setting any one of our three hitters across the net," Wayne said. "That makes the other start to have to guess. That opens a lot of holes for our hitters."

#melbourne #hawks #three #first

Indiana Fever schedule 2026: Dates, times, TV channels, live streams to watch Caitlin Clark WNBA games originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The WNBA is officially back, and as always, the Indiana Fever are the talk of the town.
Even entering her third season in the league, women's basketball fans can't get enough of Caitlin Clark. The point guard was plagued with injury throughout her sophomore campaign, only playing 13 total games. Clark is surely returning to the court with redemption top of mind.
Despite navigating a myriad of team injuries last year, the Fever were still able to push the eventual champion Aces to five games in the league semifinals. With the core of Clark, Aliyah Boston, Sophie Cunningham and Kelsey Mitchell all back in action, Indiana looks like it could be a top franchise in the WNBA this season.
Be sure to tune in for this team.

#clark #indiana #sporting

ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR) — Here's a preview of the 2026 William Byrd Terriers.
Head Coach: Brad Lutz (8th Season)
Last Season: 8-4….Lost at Lord Botetourt in Region 3D Semifinals
2026 Schedule
August 28th - at Cave Spring

#season

MASON, Ohio (AP) — Elena Rybakina stopped playing during the first set of her quarterfinal match against Iga Swiatek at the Cincinnati Open on Thursday night.
With the No. 2-ranked Rybakina serving at 1-4, 40-40, she took a medical timeout to have trainers address her left ankle area.
Rybakina appeared to injure herself during the previous point. After several minutes, she returned to the court but retired from the match after attempting one serve.
Rybakina lost to Swiatek in the semifinals in Cincinnati last year.
With top seed Aryna Sabalenka losing Thursday night to Sara Bejlik, the 27-year-old Rybakina could have risen to No. 1 in the rankings by reaching the final.

#thursday #night #mason #elena

ESPN is expanding its tennis coverage for the 2026 U.S. Open with the addition of former Canada tennis star Genie Bouchard.
The 32-year-old hasn't stepped onto the tennis court since 2025 after abruptly leaving the game. However, her return to the sport is coming soon as she transitions towards a potential new career.
MORE: Simona Halep, berated by Nick Kyrgios in the past, speaks out about his cocaine-related suspension
The sports media giant revealed Thursday that Bouchard is joining its star-studded coverage for the final major of the year.
Bouchard's top career highlight as a player came in 2014 when she reached the Wimbledon final after appearing in the Australian Open and French Open semifinals that same season.

#coverage #star #espn #canada

The BSD staff recently voted for the top 10 Penn State players heading into 2026. The votes are dictated by how the players are expected to perform in the upcoming season, without factoring in long-term or NFL potential. Each member submitted a ballot with players ranked 1-10, with a first-place vote being 10 points, a second-place vote worth nine points, and so on. Up next is offensive lineman Anthony Donkoh.
As a four-star recruit coming out of Lightridge High School in Aldie, Virginia, Donkoh committed to Penn State as part of the program's 2023 class. After redshirting his true freshman year in 2023 while appearing in four games, Anthony saw his playing time drastically increase in 2024, appearing in 11 games and starting 10 of them for a Nittany Lion squad that ultimately made it to the College Football Playoff semifinals. Despite trying times in 2025, Donkoh played a critical role on the offensive line as he played in all 13 of PSU's games, starting in 11 of them, and notably stumping for Terry Smith to get the permanent head coaching job after the Nittany Lions waxed Nebraska at home on Senior Night, when the coaching search was still in limbo.
There's a reason why Anthony joined Rocco Becht and Tony Rojas in Chicago for Big Ten Media Days last month. In addition to being a highly talented player, he is also the most experienced returning offensive lineman and will help anchor the right side of the line. How the O-line performs as a unit in 2026 hinges a good amount on whether Anthony picks up where he left off from last season. Given his career trajectory thus far, it's a pretty good bet that he will do so.

#penn #state

While it wasn't a storybook ending, it was still an "incredible summer" for the Tupelo 49ers.
For just the third time ever, Tupelo reached the American Legion World Series. They rolled into Shelby, North Carolina, on a hot streak and kept it going in pool play with a 3-0 mark. This had all the signs of a team that could win it all after coming up short in 2011 and 2021.
That dream ended Monday, when Portland (Ore.) beat the 49ers 3-1 in the semifinals. It was just Tupelo's second loss in its last 22 games.
"it was an incredible summer," fourth-year head coach Russell Bunch said. "These guys have really grown together, and it's been a real good experience for everybody. I'm just really proud for them. I hate it shook out like it did and we weren't able to win the whole thing."
There were a lot of memorable moments along the way, though. After winning the state tournament, the Niners left town Aug. 5 and stayed gone for nearly two weeks. They rolled through the Mid-South Regional, putting on one offensive show after another and batting .398 over five games. Regional MVP Jonas Coleman batted .667 with six RBIs over that span.

#summer #american

The Brazilian Men's National Team has been called up for the CONMEBOL South American U-20 Futsal Championship, which will take place from September 26 to October 4 in Barquisimeto, Venezuela. This Tuesday (18), head coach Cafu announced the list of 14 players who will represent Brazil in the competition.
The most successful team in the tournament's history, Brazil has won eight CONMEBOL South American U-20 Futsal ******* les and heads to Venezuela in search of another continental trophy.
Before its debut, the Brazilian National Team will begin preparations in São José do Vale do Rio Preto (RJ), where the squad will hold its training camp.
In the first stage, Brazil is in Group B alongside Argentina, Peru, Ecuador, and Chile. Group A consists of Venezuela, Colombia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia.
The ten national teams were divided into two groups of five and will play a single round-robin in the preliminary stage. The top two teams in each group will advance to the semifinals. The remaining teams will continue in the competition to determine places from fifth to ninth.

#Brazil

Former Germany international Lothar Matthäus has argued that Harry Kane deserves to win the 2026 Ballon d'Or.
Kane enjoyed a remarkable 2025/26 campaign with Bayern Munich, scoring 61 goals in 51 appearances across all competitions and winning the German double.
The 33-year-old missed out on winning the Champions League with Bayern and the World Cup with England, but Matthäus still believes he deserves the Ballon d'Or, arguing that no other player has outperformed him.
"For me, Kane is THE leading candidate for the Ballon d'Or. I judge the entire year, not just one game or one World Cup. Several players have won the Spanish league with Barcelona and the World Cup with their national team, but was there ONE player who stood above all the others? With Lamine Yamal, I would say no," Matthäus wrote in a column for Sky Germany.
"Lionel Messi won the MLS with Inter Miami, a league that isn't as strong as those in Europe. He scored eight goals at the World Cup, but also missed two penalties. Kylian Mbappé reached the World Cup semifinals with France, but did not win a ****** le with Real Madrid. The same applies to England's Jude Bellingham.

#matth

Isaiah Stewart shared some honesty in a sitdown interview with Marc Spears of ESPN/Andscape.
Stewart, who was traded from the Detroit Pistons on draft night June 24 for three second-round picks to the Memphis Grizzlies, was blunt about the past year with the team that drafted him No. 16 overall in 2020.
"That series didn't go good," Stewart said of the seven-game conference semifinals loss to Cleveland. "I didn't play as much. I just knew it was my last game as a Piston."
Stewart was a big part of the Pistons' turnaround from the worst team in the NBA from 2020-23 to the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference in 2025-26.
Spears asked at what point Stewart thought he "might not be in Detroit forever."

#didn 't #game #marc