Expert Sports News & Commentary

Arsenal’s Premier League title charge resumes under the Molineux lights on Wednesday, 18 February 2026, with kick-off at 8pm GMT, as the league leaders face a Wolverhampton Wanderers side whose survival hopes hang by the thinnest of threads. Mikel Arteta’s men hold a four-point cushion over Manchester City but were reminded of the title’s volatility after a late Brentford equaliser last weekend; Wolves, anchored to the foot of the table with only nine points from 26 fixtures, require a miracle 16-point swing to escape the drop zone. The contrast in objectives is stark. Arsenal arrive seeking the consistency that has underpinned their summit stay, while Rob Edwards’ Wolves are playing for pride and the faint possibility of spring-time momentum. Edwards, aware that his squad’s confidence has been eroded by relentless defeats, will at least welcome midfielder Andre back into contention after a minor calf scare, describing the Brazilian as “fine” in his pre-match briefing. Hwang Hee Chan’s ankle complaint and Toti Gomes’ hamstring setback rule both players out, stripping the hosts of pace and defensive cover. Arteta’s selection dilemma is shaped by injuries and foresight. A muscle strain has sidelined one of Arsenal’s key attackers for several weeks, while Mikel Merino’s foot surgery looks set to end his campaign. A brief social-media stir was quelled when the player posted “No injuries”, easing fears of another setback. With the north London derby against Igor Tudor’s Tottenham looming next weekend, rotation is likely, yet the Gunners cannot afford complacency against a side fighting for its top-flight life. Recent form offers encouragement to both camps. Arsenal swept aside Wigan in the FA Cup, re-discovering attacking fluency, but Brentford’s late equaliser exposed defensive lapses Wolves will aim to exploit. History, however, favours the visitors: Arsenal have won 67 of the previous meetings to Wolves’ 32, with 28 draws. Televised live on Sky Sports Main Event from 7pm, the fixture represents another opportunity for Arsenal to cement their credentials. If they match Wolves’ expected intensity, the leaders should secure the three points that keep Manchester City at arm’s length.

PALLEKELE — Australia’s T20 World Cup defence is hanging by the slenderest of threads after an eight-wicket capitulation to Sri Lanka on Monday night left the 2021 champions needing miracles and mathematics to squeeze into the Super 8s. A crestfallen Mitchell Marsh, fresh from a 54-ball cameo that ultimately proved insufficient, did not attempt to sugar-coat the situation. “We’re in the lap of the gods now,” he conceded, voice cracking under the weight of a second straight defeat. “There’s a lot of emotion in the rooms.” For 30 overs Australia dared to dream. Marsh and Travis Head blazed to a 110-run stand inside the first half of the innings, the scoreboard racing to 110 for 2 and a 200-plus total shimmering on the Kandy horizon. Then the gears jammed. Sri Lanka’s spinners dragged the scoring rate back, wickets fell in clusters and the final 10 overs yielded only 71. “We probably left ourselves a few short,” Marsh admitted. “We just lost our way.” If 181 felt competitive, it was rendered inadequate by Pathum Nissanka, whose unbeaten 100 off 52 balls was as audacious as it was clinical. The opener flayed Australia’s seamers over extra cover, reverse-swept Adam Zampa against the turn and finished the chase with 10 balls to spare, sealing Sri Lanka’s berth in the next phase and plunging the Australians into a nervous 48-hour vigil. Group B is now a maze of ifs and buts. Australia sit on one win from three outings; their fate rests on the outcome of Zimbabwe’s remaining fixtures. A Zimbabwe victory over Ireland on Tuesday will officially end Australia’s campaign. An Ireland win, however, keeps the door ajar. If Ireland prevail and Zimbabwe then lose to Sri Lanka on 19 February, three sides — Zimbabwe, Ireland and Australia — would be locked on four points, flinging the qualification decision to net run rate. Australia, who conclude their group stage against Oman on 20 February, would need not only a thumping win but also a sizeable swing in run-rate margins to edge ahead. “We watch the Zimbabwe-Ireland game and we hope,” Marsh said, summing up the helplessness of a squad that arrived expecting to control its own destiny. Instead they must now rely on scoreboard-watching and calculators, a scenario no world champion ever envisions. The lap of the gods, as Marsh calls it, is an uncomfortable place for a proud cricket nation; yet it is the only seat Australia have left.

Girona midfielder Claudio Echeverri has admitted he trod on Jules Koundé’s foot in the build-up to Fran Beltran’s 88th-minute strike that settled Monday’s stormy Catalan derby, but insists the contact was accidental. Television replays showed Echeverri’s boot making clear contact with Koundé as both players chased a loose ball inside the Barça half. Referee Jesús Gil Manzano allowed play to continue and, seconds later, Beltran curled past Iñaki Peña to seal a 2-1 victory that lifts Girona level on points with the league leaders and leaves Barcelona in second, one point adrift. Speaking to El Chiringuito after reviewing the footage, the 22-year-old Argentine said: “Yes, I stepped on Koundé’s foot, but I was running at speed and didn’t do it on purpose. If the referee had given it as a foul, I would have understood.” His confession is unlikely to placate a Barcelona camp still incensed that VAR did not intervene. Coach Hansi Flick, whose side led at the interval through Robert Lewandowski’s 38th-minute header, labelled the decision “surprising” and revealed he had granted his squad two days off before reconvening ahead of Sunday’s visit to Rayo Vallecano. “Everyone is disappointed. We will fight,” Flick said. “We have time to come back now in the next two weeks with no midweek games. We will train good and come back for Sunday. Now we have to fight and attack the first place in the table.” The German tactician accepted his team “were too open” in the closing stages at Montilivi and lamented a second-half display in which Girona dominated territory and possession. “We played a bad game,” he conceded, noting that Barcelona ought to have sealed the points before the interval. The defeat ends Barcelona’s four-match league winning streak and hands the initiative to their rivals in a title race that promises to go down to the wire.

Newcastle United’s FA Cup fourth-round triumph at Aston Villa was less a single storyline than a convergence of them: cup romance, contentious officiating, a potential seasonal pivot, and, most strikingly, the re-awakening of Sandro Tonali. The Italy midfielder delivered two emphatic finishes to propel the Magpies into the last-16 and, in the process, offered the clearest evidence yet that he is approaching peak form. Manager Eddie Howe’s side arrived at Villa Park without Bruno Guimarães, sidelined for eight weeks, and having taken no points from Villa in two previous league meetings this term. Those obstacles dissolved beneath Tonali’s brilliance. His first goal, a driven effort from outside the box, took a slight deflection yet retained its deserved gloss, coming shortly after Newcastle were denied what players and staff felt was an obvious penalty. The second, however, was untouched by fortune: a blistering strike that carved a path through four outfield defenders and goalkeeper Emi Martínez, the kind of hit that lives eternally in cup folklore. The contribution of Nick Woltemade should not be overlooked. The young forward’s cool chip sealed a 3–1 victory and earned him a solo ovation from the travelling support, a moment that followed Tonali’s own curtain-call. Such post-match acknowledgements, first afforded to Howe after the mid-week win at Tottenham, underline a squad growing in cohesion and confidence. That unity will be tested immediately: Newcastle now face a 6,500-mile round trip to Azerbaijan for a Europa League play-off before visiting Manchester City in the Premier League. Yet the mood on Tyneside is buoyant; victories in knockout competition have a way of making supporters “feel floaty and poetic,” and the belief is that a corner may finally have been turned. Sandro Tonali, once again, stands at the heart of that optimism.

Everton’s academy and women’s sides provided the headlines on Tuesday as the club’s Under-21s were denied a last-gasp victory and the women’s team extended their winning streak to three matches. At Finch Farm on Monday night, Everton U21s appeared poised for a home triumph over Burnley U21s in Premier League 2, only for the visitors to snatch a dramatic equaliser in the ninth minute of stoppage time. The late goal left Paul Tait’s youngsters ruing two points dropped ahead of the international break. Meanwhile, across Stanley Park at Goodison, Everton Women made it three wins on the spin with a 1-0 defeat of West Ham United. A second-half strike from Japanese international Honoka Hayashi proved enough to seal the points and lift interim boss Scott Phelan to his first victory on home soil. “It means everything,” Phelan told Yahoo Sports after the final whistle, underlining the importance of the result for both squad morale and the club’s ambitions this season. Off the pitch, opinion pieces dominated the discourse. ToffeeWeb argued that Sean Dyche must find a way to maximise the impact of his bench, warning that over-reliance on a settled XI risks making Everton too predictable in the run-in. The 4th Official, meanwhile, labelled the retention of Iliman Ndiaye as potentially “the most important bit of business” Everton could conclude this summer, highlighting the attacker’s growing influence. A retrospective debate also reignited over last summer’s transfer strategy. Four Four Two contended that the £11.5 million sale of Youssef Chermiti looks increasingly questionable after the striker hit a hat-trick at the weekend, suggesting patience rather than profit might have served the Toffees better. Looking ahead to the weekend, Everton News pinpointed Bruno Fernandes as the primary threat for David Moyes’ side when Manchester United visit, citing the Portuguese midfielder’s prolific record against the Blues. Elsewhere in Europe, the UEFA Champions League playoffs kicked off with Benfica hosting Real Madrid alongside three other ties, though Everton’s focus remains firmly on domestic matters as they seek momentum on multiple fronts.

When the final whistle blew on January’s league-phase finale, Paris St-Germain, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Juventus, Borussia Dortmund and Benfica discovered they had traded a winter break for a February shoot-out. All six former champions finished between 9th and 24th in the 36-team table, forcing them into a two-legged knockout play-off that will trim the field from 24 to 16. The question now echoing across Europe is whether the so-called detour is actually a death trap or a disguised advantage. History, and last season’s remarkable run by PSG, argues it can be the latter. Twelve months ago Luis Enrique’s side were 15th after the league phase and 2-0 down at home to Manchester City on matchday seven before a dramatic 4-2 recovery propelled them into the play-offs. They responded by obliterating Brest 10-0 on aggregate, edging Liverpool on penalties in the last 16, ousting Aston Villa and Arsenal in the quarters and semis, then routing Inter 5-0 in the final. Far from derailing their campaign, the extra fixtures became a launchpad. “We knew a play-off was a possibility,” Luis Enrique said after learning this season’s draw paired PSG with Monaco. “We will have to take the long route, but I don’t think anyone else can be considered favourites more than us.” Opta’s modelling agrees: the reigning champions are rated more likely to lift the trophy than three of the sides that secured direct passage to the last 16, including Tottenham and Sporting. The analytics firm gives Newcastle and Inter the same 3 per cent probability as Spurs, while perfect-phase winners Arsenal top the charts at 30 per cent. Yet the English quintet that finished inside the top eight—Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester City—have greeted the bye with visible relief. “We’re really pleased to not play one knockout stage,” said Pep Guardiola, whose City team lost to Real Madrid at this juncture last year. “Hopefully we can arrive in March at our best.” Arne Slot, whose Liverpool side topped the league in 2024-25 yet fell to PSG in the last 16, echoed the sentiment: “You want to finish top eight because that helps you skip a round.” Mikel Arteta, fresh from guiding Arsenal to eight wins from eight, called the perfect return “so difficult to do” and welcomed the chance to “focus on other competitions” during the play-off window. For Newcastle, the only Premier League club still in jeopardy, the equation is simpler: beat Qarabag, the Azerbaijani side thumped 6-0 by Liverpool in January, and they will reach the Champions League knockout phase for the first time in the club’s history. Opta rates Eddie Howe’s team an 88.5 per cent favourite to advance. “We didn’t set out to qualify via a play-off,” Howe admitted, “but you take every eventuality that falls your way.” Defender Dan Burn insisted the squad are “looking forward” to making history. Elsewhere, the draw has served up instant grudge matches. Benfica’s goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin scored in the eighth minute of stoppage time against Real Madrid in January to flip a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 triumph; the sides renew hostilities 48 hours apart on 17-18 and 24-25 February, with the winners earning a last-16 date with Sporting or Manchester City. The wider data set offers encouragement to the play-off participants. Seven of last season’s top eight in the league phase reached the quarter-finals, but so did PSG from 15th and Real Betis from 15th in the Conference League, a competition Chelsea ultimately won from fourth place in their section. Tottenham, fourth in the league phase, went on to beat third-placed Manchester United in the Europa League final. First legs take place on 17-18 February, with returns a week later. The eight victors will join Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Tottenham, Sporting, Manchester City, Barcelona and Chelsea in the last-16 draw, proving that the so-called consolation round can, in the right hands, become a springboard to continental glory.

Paris Saint-Germain’s meeting with AS Monaco in tonight’s UEFA Champions League play-off round marks only the third all-Ligue 1 knockout tie in the competition’s history and the first time the two French clubs have ever faced one another on the European stage. The honour of opening that account went to Lyon and Bordeaux, who clashed in the 2009-10 quarter-finals, with Lyon prevailing. Last season PSG raised the bar even higher, dismantling Brest 10-0 on aggregate in the knockout phase play-offs—the largest winning margin ever recorded between clubs from the same country in a two-legged Champions League tie. Across the tournament’s modern era, 27 knockout ties have pitted domestic rivals against each other. England supplies the bulk of these duels, producing ten all-Premier League contests, while Spain follows with eight. Three of those showdowns have been same-city affairs: Inter Milan and AC Milan have crossed paths three times, and Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid have met on another three occasions. Landmark moments include the first-ever London derby in the competition, when Chelsea faced Arsenal in the 2003-04 quarter-finals, and a trio of classics decided by the finest of margins: Milan edged Inter on away goals in the 2002-03 semi-finals, Liverpool overcame Chelsea on penalties in 2006-07, and Tottenham slipped past Manchester City on away goals after a 4-4 thriller in 2018-19. Most recently, Real Madrid squeezed past city rivals Atlético on spot-kicks in this season’s round of 16 after a 2-2 stalemate. With PSG and Monaco set to write the next chapter, the list of same-nation showdowns continues to grow, reminding fans that some of the Champions League’s most compelling stories are told when familiar foes share an unfamiliar stage.

Harare Sports Club may be 8,000 kilometres away, but the eyes of Australian cricket are fixed on today’s T20 World Cup Group B duel between Zimbabwe and Ireland. What looks, on paper, like a mid-table scrap is in fact the pivot on which the entire Super 8 qualification could turn. Sri Lanka’s emphatic eight-wicket demolition of Australia on Monday has already redrawn the landscape. Pathum Nissanka’s unbeaten 100 off 52 balls overshadowed a blazing 104-run opening stand from Mitchell Marsh (54) and Travis Head (56), and with it the 2021 champions were shoved to the precipice. Sri Lanka now sit pretty with three wins from three, while Zimbabwe occupy second place with two wins in two and a commanding net run rate of +1.984. Australia, languishing in third with a solitary victory and an NRR of +0.414, must now rely on external help. Ireland, fourth with one win in three and an NRR of +0.150, still harbour slim hopes, but only if they triumph today. The arithmetic is brutal yet straightforward: a Zimbabwe victory propels them into the Super 8s and sends Aaron Finch’s side home. An Irish upset, however, injects net-run-rate chaos, forcing Australia to thrash already-eliminated Oman and pray the numbers swing their way. Zimbabwe, buoyed by their earlier tournament upset of Australia, enter as favourites, yet Ireland know a do-or-die scenario can unearth heroics. For all involved—players, fans, and especially the watching Australians—the equation is stark: one game, three possible fates, and a place in the next phase on the line.

Estadi Montilivi, once a modest outpost on Barcelona’s fixture list, became the scene of a sobering reality check as Girona overturned a 1-0 deficit to defeat the Blaugrana 2-1 and deepen the Catalans’ mid-winter crisis. The loss, their second in succession, leaves the reigning Spanish champions trailing Real Madrid in the title race and raises urgent questions about fatigue, tactics and officiating just as the season enters its decisive stretch. 1. A familiar script flipped against them For twelve months Barcelona have marketed themselves as the comeback kings of La Liga, but on Saturday they were forced to taste their own medicine. After taking an early lead, they conceded twice in the second half, the winner arriving late and in contentious fashion. The turnaround was all the more painful because it echoed recent self-inflicted wounds: for the fourth time in six league outings, Barcelona surrendered a lead within minutes of scoring. Girona’s second-half expected goals tally of 1.79—more than double that of the visitors—underscored how easily the hosts sliced through a back line that has looked increasingly ragged since the turn of the year. 2. Refereeing controversy refuses to go away Hansi Flick’s ire at officials after the mid-week Copa del Rey debacle against Atlético Madrid was still fresh, and two flashpoints at Montilivi ensured the theme lingered. First, Girona defenders encroached well inside the area before Lamine Yamal’s penalty was struck; the miss stood and no retake was ordered. Later, Jules Koundé appeared to have his foot stamped on during the build-up to Girona’s 79th-minute winner, yet neither on-field referee nor VAR intervened. Barcelona have now grown accustomed to lengthy video reviews cancelling their own goals while pivotal decisions at the other end escape scrutiny, a pattern that is fraying nerves inside the squad. 3. Physical and mental fatigue now impossible to ignore Barcelona entered the match needing a statement of intent after the 4-0 humiliation at the Metropolitano; what they produced was a performance heavy-legged and light on ideas. Yamal spurned a one-on-one and the spot-kick before half-time, but after the interval the team collectively wilted. The once-relentless press was disjointed, midfield spacing evaporated, and tracking back resembled an optional exercise. Having last lost consecutive fixtures in early October, the Catalans now replicate that streak at the worst possible moment: a five-goal mountain to climb in the Copa return leg, Champions League knockouts looming, and Real Madrid handed fresh momentum in the league. With every pillar of their game—defensive compactness, midfield control, clinical finishing—simultaneously regressing, Barcelona must regroup quickly or risk watching a once-promising campaign unravel across multiple fronts.

Jacob Devaney’s story begins in a Yorkshire maternity ward because, in 2007, his father Martin was pulling on a Barnsley shirt. Twelve years later the same boy was pulling on a Manchester United shirt, and this January the 18-year-old Republic of Ireland Under-21 international pulled on a St Mirren one, beginning the loan spell he hopes will accelerate his journey from academy prodigy to first-team fixture. The Manchester United Under-21s captain has been ever-present for the Reds in Premier League 2 this season, starting all 11 fixtures and completing every minute. Rather than bask in that dominance, he and the club agreed it was time for a dose of senior football. Enter Stephen Robinson’s St Mirren, a side fresh from a League Cup triumph but languishing in the lower half of the Scottish Premiership and in need of midfield energy. Devaney wasted no time announcing himself. In only his second Buddies appearance he scored a superb long-range strike during extra-time of a Scottish Cup tie at Airdrieonians, a goal that proved decisive in an otherwise drab contest. It was the kind of statement young players crave and coaches remember. Positioned as a right-footed central midfielder, Devaney stands 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) and combines classic United academy polish with a willingness to meet the physical demands of men’s football. He plays with his head up, rarely rattled when pressed, and possesses the stamina to cover every blade of grass—attributes that earned him the armband for one of England’s flagship under-21 sides. Yet the step up is not merely technical. At St Mirren he lines up alongside seasoned battlers such as Alex Gogic, and the weekly grappling in the Premiership should add the layer of physicality and aerial edge he still lacks. His numbers in the air are modest, but regular exposure to Scottish football’s intensity should improve that facet. The teenager’s direct output is already ahead of the curve for his age and role. He has shown he can arrive late and finish from distance, a quality that separates promising midfielders from the pack. Consistency will dictate whether he returns to Old Trafford ready to challenge for squad places or spends another season refining his craft elsewhere. For now, the mission is simple: graft in the “trenches” of Paisley, emerge tougher, savvier, and prepared for the expectations that await at one of world football’s most scrutinised clubs. If the early evidence is anything to go by, Jacob Devaney is determined to make sure people remember not just where he was born, but how far he can go.

Estadi Montilivi witnessed a dramatic twist in the La Liga title race as Girona fought back to defeat Barcelona 2-1, capitalising on a pivotal missed penalty by 16-year-old winger Lamine Yamal. The result leaves the reigning champions two points adrift of leaders Real Madrid and intensifies scrutiny on coach Hansi Flick after a second defeat in five days. Yamal, entrusted with the spot-kick on the stroke of half-time, saw his effort crash against the upright, preserving the deadlock and denying Barcelona the chance to seize the summit before the interval. The visitors nevertheless broke through in the 59th minute when centre-back Pau Cubarsi rose highest to meet Jules Koundé’s precise right-wing cross and angle a header beyond Paulo Gazzaniga for his first goal of the campaign. The strike also nudged Barcelona to the 100-goal mark across all competitions this season, making them only the second side in Europe’s big-five leagues to reach the milestone after Bayern Munich. Girona responded almost immediately. Three minutes after falling behind, the hosts levelled through Thomas Lemar, who side-footed home from close range after Vladyslav Vanat had tormented the Blaugrana back line down the left. The momentum shifted decisively in the 87th minute when substitute Fran Beltran collected possession just inside the area and drilled a low shot past Joan Garcia to complete the turnaround. Barcelona pressed frantically for an equaliser, but Girona held firm even after Joel Roca received a late red card for a second caution. The victory ended a three-match winless run for Míchel’s side and propels them three places up the table to 12th, level on points with Getafe. Meanwhile, only seven points now separate the 11 clubs stationed between eighth and 18th, underscoring the congested mid-table landscape. For Flick, the defeat compounds the misery of last week’s 4-0 Copa del Rey humiliation at the hands of Atlético Madrid and raises urgent questions about Barcelona’s defensive resilience as the title chase intensifies.

Bayern Munich has entered the race for FC Twente centre-back Ruud Nijstad, adding German muscle to a crowded field of suitors that already includes FC Barcelona, Chelsea, Manchester City and Newcastle United, TEAMtalk reports. The 18-year-old Dutchman has become one of Europe’s most scouted teenagers after establishing himself in the Twente first team this season, prompting elite recruitment departments to fast-track their assessments. Barcelona had positioned themselves as early frontrunners, holding discussions with the player’s camp and exploring an agreement worth around €10 million. Yet sources say the La Liga giants balked at meeting that valuation and failed to convince Nijstad that their long-term development plan would serve his progression. Barça’s wavering has cleared the path for a wave of new contenders. Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig have each dispatched scouts to recent Twente fixtures, with the Bavarians prioritising defensive reinforcements as they size up emerging talent across Europe. Premier League trio Chelsea, Manchester City and Newcastle United are also firmly in the mix, ensuring the Eredivisie club will field calls from more than a dozen interested parties. Negotiations remain at a preliminary stage, but the intensity of scouting activity suggests a fierce bidding war could materialise once Twente outline their asking price. SEO keywords:

Illinois quarterback Israel Abrams, rated the No. 2 passer in the 2027 cycle by 247Sports and No. 3 by On3/Rivals, has scheduled a five-stop tour that defies conventional blue-blood recruiting logic. The high four-star prospect, No. 44 nationally, will take official visits to Purdue, Auburn, Kentucky, Florida State and Tennessee, according to industry insider Steve Wiltfong. Abrams will start at Purdue on May 22, followed by Auburn on June 5. Trips to Florida State and Kentucky are slated for the subsequent two weekends, with a still-undetermined date for Tennessee. On3’s prediction model currently lists Auburn as the lean, but the race appears fluid. Each program offers a rebuilding narrative that appears to resonate with Abrams. Auburn, under first-year head coach Alex Golesh, is retooling after a regime change. Purdue, in year two of the Barry Odom era, is searching for a face-of-the-program passer. Kentucky, led by new offensive architect Will Stein, recently added Notre Dame transfer Kenny Minchey for 2026 yet continues to explore long-term quarterback solutions. Even the comparatively traditional powers on the list arrive with question marks. Tennessee reached the 2024 College Football Playoff but slipped in 2025 and faces uncertainty surrounding Joey Aguilar’s eligibility. Florida State, 13-1 in 2023, has since stumbled to a 7-17 mark over the past two seasons while cycling through portal quarterbacks DJ Uiagalelei and Tommy Castellanos without finding consistency. By prioritizing programs where a competitive culture is still being forged, Abrams is positioning himself as a potential catalyst rather than a final piece, a rarity for a prospect of his stature. With more than a year before national signing day, the 6-foot-3 signal-caller has ample time to evaluate each destination before announcing a commitment.

Kearney, Neb. — The stage is set for Nebraska’s most celebrated high-school all-star football showcase, as organizers released the official North and South rosters for the 2026 Nebraska Shrine Bowl. The annual charity classic, scheduled for Saturday, June 6, will be played at Cope Stadium on the University of Nebraska-Kearney campus and will feature many of the state’s top graduating seniors in their final prep contest before moving on to college programs. Bennington’s Kameron Lenhardt will lead the North squad, assisted by an experienced staff that includes Kurt Altig of North Platte, Arlington’s Troy Schlueter, Tony Kobza of Raymond Central, Clarkson-Leigh’s Jim Clarkson, Fort Calhoun’s Zach Byrd, and Bennington assistant Brandon Mimick. On the opposite sideline, Seward head coach Jamie Opfer will guide the South team. The North roster includes Bennington’s own Charlie Swoboda, giving Lenhardt a familiar face in the huddle. Papillion-La Vista standouts Micah Arellano and Logan Holtmeyer, fresh off a Class A state runner-up finish, will bolster the North’s offensive and defensive units. Grand Island Central Catholic’s Connor Haney, whose team reached the Class C-2 title game, also made the cut. State-championship pedigree dots the North lineup. Sidney’s Ben Monheiser, who helped the Red Raiders secure the C-1 crown over Wahoo, will line up alongside Harrison Krueger of Wahoo. Waverly’s Nathan Axmann and Gavin Ruskamp, members of the Class B championship squad, add further depth. The South team will counter with firepower from Gretna East. Liam Norton and Connor Sams, key contributors to the Class B runner-up finish, headline a South roster that promises speed and physicality. Fans can view the complete North and South rosters on Rural Radio Nebraska. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. on June 6, with proceeds benefiting Shriners Hospitals for Children.

By Andy Naylor Brighton & Hove Albion’s head coach Fabian Hurzeler leads the Premier League in substitutions this season with 123, yet the frequency and timing of his changes have become a lightning rod for supporter frustration during a run that has brought only one win in 13 league matches and dropped the club from fifth in early December to 14th, seven points above the relegation zone. The most recent flash-point came at Craven Cottage on 3 February. With the scores level at 1-1, Hurzeler withdrew midfielder Carlos Baleba in the 81st minute; Harry Wilson’s subsequent 88th-minute free-kick consigned Brighton to defeat. Away fans booed the switch, unaware that Baleba had told the bench he was exhausted. Seven days later, 39-year-old James Milner replaced goal-scorer Pascal Groß in the 89th minute against Everton. Beto’s 97th-minute header salvaged a 1-1 draw and intensified scrutiny of Hurzeler’s late-game management. Milner’s introduction has fuelled speculation that Hurzeler is prioritising the veteran’s pursuit of Gareth Barry’s all-time Premier League appearance record of 653. The former England international equalled the mark in last week’s 1-0 loss at Aston Villa after replacing the early-booked Baleba, and will break it if he features at Brentford on Saturday. Hurzeler defended the decision, citing the Cameroon midfielder’s second-minute yellow card and the risk of a red. Data from Opta highlights Hurzeler’s willingness to act early: only 62 first-half substitutions have been made league-wide this term, and the German has accounted for five of them, including four occasions on which Baleba has been hooked at the interval for tactical or performance reasons. Across all matches, 153 Premier League changes have been made at half-time, the most common juncture for intervention. The 31-year-old coach insists every alteration is pre-meditated, informed by sports-science metrics, injury management and in-game analytics. Jan Paul van Hecke’s 61-minute outing at Villa was pre-planned after a hamstring complaint; staff had capped him at 65 minutes. Similarly, a triple substitution in the 84th minute at Nottingham Forest in November helped Brighton turn 1-0 into 2-0, their last away league victory. Brighton substitutes have contributed eight goals—level with Arsenal and Burnley for the joint-most in the division—and account for 23.5 per cent of the team’s 34 strikes, the highest proportion outside Burnley’s 28.6 per cent. Charalampos Kostoulas’ spectacular overhead kick against Bournemouth in January arrived after 77 minutes; Danny Welbeck and Jack Hinshelwood both scored within minutes of being introduced in the 2-1 comeback win over Brentford in November. Yet the recent narrative is dominated by concessions rather than interventions. Five changes between the 62nd and 81st minutes failed to prevent a 3-0 FA Cup fourth-round defeat at Liverpool, and February has yielded three losses without a goal. Hurzeler, who regularly confers with assistants and monitors live running data, maintains that substitutions are designed either to preserve momentum or alter it, depending on opponents’ shape, personnel or tactical tweaks. With home fixtures against Nottingham Forest, Arsenal and Liverpool plus a trip to Sunderland looming in March, the Seagulls urgently need positive results to ease pressure on their rookie boss. Whether Hurzeler’s penchant for rotation proves a masterstroke or an over-complication may determine both Brighton’s season and his own managerial trajectory. SEO keywords:

James Trafford’s body language said more than any headline could. Moments after Manchester City’s 2-0 FA Cup victory over League Two Salford on Saturday, the 23-year-old goalkeeper shuffled through the mixed zone, eyes lowered, voice flat, offering clipped answers that revealed a season slipping through his gloves. Put forward by the club for the BBC’s mandatory post-match interview, Trafford admitted the campaign “wasn’t what I expected coming into the season,” a line that has since detonated across social media and turned an otherwise forgettable cup tie into a referendum on his future. The source of that disappointment is no mystery. Trafford re-joined his boyhood club on 29 July, believing the path was clearing for him to become City’s first-choice keeper. Within five weeks, the landscape shifted violently. On deadline day, 2 September, Italy international Gianluigi Donnarumma arrived from Paris Saint-Germain for £26 million, fresh from lifting the Champions League and on his way to being crowned The Best FIFA Goalkeeper for 2025. Trafford, who had started the season as No 1, was demoted overnight and has not played a single Premier League minute since 31 August. Speaking to reporters after the Salford win, Trafford confirmed he had no prior knowledge of Donnarumma’s impending arrival. “No. No,” he said, shaking his head when asked if the club had briefed him. “So, yeah, it’s happened, so work very hard every day and then see what happens.” The words themselves were measured; the raw frustration in his tone was unmistakable. A second interview, released 24 hours later, carried the same resignation: “I didn’t expect the situation to happen, but it happened, so just get on with it.” Within hours, sections of the fanbase turned on the academy graduate, accusing him of petulance and questioning why a player earning Premier League wages should lament a lack of minutes. Critics argue Trafford would have been second-choice even if Ederson had stayed, yet that narrative glosses over crucial context. Ederson’s form had waned and a move to Fenerbahce was already in motion when Donnarumma signed; City hierarchy saw a rare market opportunity to secure an elite 26-year-old keeper and seized it. The decision was sound business, but it was also a blind-side to the young Englishman who had turned down Newcastle United after City triggered a buy-back clause inserted when he moved to Burnley in 2023. The fallout has been painful. Trafford has featured 11 times this term, all in domestic cups, keeping alive his hopes of starting the Carabao Cup final against Arsenal on 22 March. Yet each appearance feels like an audition for suitors rather than a stride toward long-term ownership of the No 1 shirt. England Under-21 European Championship winner and standout of that 2023 tournament, Trafford fears the stagnation could cost him a place in the senior World Cup squad this summer. Still, he has refused to burn bridges. Asked about Donnarumma, Trafford was effusive: “He is a great fella, a lovely man.” There has been no transfer request, no public ultimatum, only the steady drip of disappointment from a player who returned to Manchester precisely because he believed the stars were aligning. Instead, he must watch the Italian marshal a defence that recently ended City’s 21-year winless league run at Anfield, further endearing him to supporters who once sang Trafford’s name during loan spells at smaller clubs. City manager Pep Guardiola hinted in January that “conversations will happen” over Trafford’s future, and sources close to the club expect those talks to accelerate once the season concludes. Donnarumma’s camp has already floated the possibility of a return to Italy, with agent Enzo Raiola telling Calciomercato that “if there is the opportunity to return to Italy, we will take it.” Yet for now the pecking order is fixed, and Trafford’s best route to regular football may lie elsewhere. For a club that prides itself on meticulous planning, the goalkeeper succession strategy has produced an unintended casualty: a homegrown talent caught between ambition and reality, applauded for professionalism while privately aching for a fairer shot. Until the summer window opens, Trafford will continue to greet each training session with the same diligence that has won him admirers inside the dressing room, even as he braces for another afternoon on the bench. The curious case of James Trafford is not one of rebellion, but of a dream deferred—and the clock is ticking.

Lisbon, 14 February 2026 — The clock had already struck 98 minutes when Anatoliy Trubin rose above the white shirts of Real Madrid and powered a header past Andriy Lunin. The Estadio da Luz erupted, but the roar was only half the story. Seconds later, Jose Mourinho, the 63-year-old who once cleaned these same dressing-room benches as a teenage coach-in-training, tore down the touchline, coat-tails flying, and collided with a 14-year-old ball boy named Francisco Cunha. The pair spun, arms locked, faces tilted to the roof in disbelief: Benfica 4, Real Madrid 2, a Champions League play-off place snatched from the jaws of elimination. The image froze in real time: Mourinho, mouth wide, index fingers stabbing the sky; Cunha, academy midfielder, lifelong Benfiquista, living the fantasy of every kid who has ever chased a ball around this ground. “Everyone was screaming, and we jumped and we started celebrating the goal together,” the teenager told UEFA’s mixed-zone cameras, still wearing the same fluorescent bib that had marked him out among the squad of ball retrievers. By the time he reached the changing rooms, WhatsApp had already done its work. “My friends started sending me videos. I gave an interview to Benfica FM. I still can’t believe it.” Mourinho’s sprint was not the choreographed theatre of Old Trafford 2004 or the Camp Nou 2010; this was raw, unscripted joy. He admitted later that he had no idea where he was running until Cunha’s shoulder clipped his ribs. In that instant, the touchline dissolved into the terraces: manager and academy hopeful became indistinguishable from the 65,000 who had refused to leave until the final whistle. Cunha is no random recruit. A central midfielder enrolled at the Caixa campus since the age of five, he has already collected regional titles at under-12 and under-13 level and scored 59 goals in 58 games over the past three seasons. Rodrigo Magalhaes, Benfica’s academy director for two decades, likens his upright, gliding stride to a young Kaka. “Before he receives, he scans one, two, three times — 360 degrees,” Magalhaes says. “It’s not just speed; it’s execution. He understands space like someone much older.” Magalhaes cautions against prophecy — he watched Bernardo Silva and Joao Felix disappear into the development shadows before re-emerging as elite talents — but admits the boy’s technique and game intelligence are “unusual” for 14. The symbolism was not lost inside the stadium. Benfica’s policy of staffing touchline duties with academy players is deliberate: the first team feels tangible, the pathway real. CIES ranks the club as the planet’s top talent factory, with 93 graduates in Europe’s top divisions. Last night, one of them was standing on the pitch, arms wrapped around the most celebrated Portuguese coach of the 21st century. Mourinho has history with ball boys. In December 2023, while at Roma, he handed a tactical note to a touchline helper and dispatched him on a lap to deliver it to Rui Patricio. In 2019, he lauded Tottenham’s Callum Hynes for a quick throw that sparked the goal against Olympiacos, invited the teenager to pre-match lunch, and then repeated the ritual for every subsequent home game. “I love intelligent ball boys like I was,” Mourinho told BT Sport. “He’s not there to look at the lights. He’s living the game.” The phenomenon stretches beyond Mourinho. Liverpool’s Oakley Cannonier, 14 when he fed Trent Alexander-Arnold for the famous corner against Barcelona, is now 21 and out of contract this summer. Hearts’ Derek McInnes hugged a ball boy after a stoppage-time Edinburgh-derby winner last week. Bristol City’s Lee Johnson swung 10-year-old academy striker Jaden Neale around in 2017 after a League Cup upset of Manchester United. Each episode re-affirms the role’s quiet power: the ball kid as the last civilian link between million-pound athletes and the communities that spawn them. Tonight, Benfica and Real Madrid meet again in the second leg. Mourinho will stride out in front of the same stands where he once celebrated as a child. Somewhere inside the stadium, Francisco Cunha will either be kicking every ball from the touchline or, if the coach has schooled him properly, hiding it. Either way, the teenager has already left an imprint on this tie — and on the enduring romance that still ties the modern game to its roots.

Tottenham Hotspur’s managerial merry-go-round has taken another spin, and this time it has delivered Igor Tudor and a hastily re-engineered backroom team into the eye of a north-London storm. With the dust still settling on Thomas Frank’s abrupt departure, the 47-year-old Croatian was unveiled as interim head coach on Saturday night, charged with keeping 16th-placed Spurs above the relegation line over the final 12 Premier League fixtures. Tudor’s first task was to assemble a staff capable of delivering an instant bounce. After days of talks, the club agreed to release Justin Cochrane, Chris Haslam, Joe Newton and January arrival John Heitinga—Heitinga’s exit coming only 33 days into his tenure—clearing the way for a trio the Croatian has long trusted. Ivan Javorcic, who followed Tudor from Lazio to Juventus last year, steps in as assistant coach. Riccardo Ragnacci, reunited with the head coach after their Verona and Juve collaborations, becomes physical coach. Between the posts, Tomislav Rogic—first hired by Tudor at Hajduk Split in 2014 and later seen at Shakhtar, Zenit, Club Brugge and Shanghai Port—takes over goalkeeping duties. The appointments leave Fabian Otte, retained from Frank’s regime, working alongside Rogic and academy graduate Dean Brill for just three senior keepers, a dynamic that could test squad harmony should methodologies clash. Otte’s CV—USMNT, Burnley, Gladbach and Liverpool—suggests Spurs view him as a long-term piece, yet the immediate priority is cohesion. Cohesion is hardly guaranteed elsewhere. Matt Wells, the lone survivor from Ange Postecoglou’s tenure, left in December for the Colorado Rapids head-coach role, while Stuart Lewis and Brill remain from the academy pipeline. The result is a patchwork staff: part-Tudor loyalists, part-Frank recommendations, part-club holdovers. The head coach must weld them together before Sunday’s north-London derby against league-leading Arsenal, a fixture for which he will have minimal preparation time. Tactical upheaval adds to the strain. Tudor historically favours a 3-4-2-1, but captain Cristian Romero begins a four-match ban and first-choice wing-backs Destiny Udogie and Pedro Porro are injured. Research indicates injury risk spikes after managerial changes; balancing fresh intensity with player welfare will be critical. Twelve games remain, starting with Arsenal’s visit. Survival, not style points, is the mandate for a squad adapting to its third head coach in under a year. Tudor’s ability to meld old and new faces into a unified dugout may determine whether Spurs stage a great escape or slide toward the Championship.

Cole Palmer’s answer to almost every question about penalties is the same: he doesn’t have an approach, doesn’t think about it, doesn’t do anything special. “I’m actually not even joking,” he told the BBC’s Football Daily podcast last summer. His own mother fared no better in Amazon Prime Video’s 2025 documentary The New Generation: “What do you think goes through your mind?” she asked. Palmer shrugged: “Score. What else am I gonna think?” The nonchalance is part of the act, but the numbers are deadly serious. After converting spot kicks against Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers in the past fortnight, Palmer has scored 18 of 19 Premier League penalties, a conversion rate of 94.7 per cent that places him behind only Raul Jimenez, Matt Le Tissier and Yaya Toure among players with at least 11 attempts. His first 12 in the competition were perfect, equalling Jimenez’s competition record, and 14 of his 19 have sent the goalkeeper the wrong way. So how does a 23-year-old who claims not to practise routines become one of the most reliable takers in English top-flight history? The Athletic assembled specialists in biomechanics, psychology, goalkeeping and penalty analysis to reverse-engineer the Palmer method. The foundation, according to Ben Lyttleton, author of Twelve Yards: The Art and Psychology of the Perfect Penalty Kick, is narrative. Palmer’s first four Chelsea goals came from the spot, instantly branding him “the penalty guy” inside Stamford Bridge and in opposition video rooms. “That changes the narrative around every penalty he will take after that,” Lyttleton says. “Goalkeepers study him, but he keeps changing the script.” Palmer has never aimed the same direction more than three times in succession, making patterns almost impossible to detect. More unusually, he appears to merge two schools of thought. Traditional coaching divides penalty styles into goalkeeper-dependent (wait for the keeper, then react) and goalkeeper-independent (pick a spot and rely on power). Palmer’s rapid, fluid run-up points to the latter, yet he still freezes keepers 74 per cent of the time. “He’s not slowing down, he’s not stuttering, but something in his body shape is still making keepers go early,” Lyttlington notes. Palmer admits he occasionally changes his mind mid-run—normally taboo for infrequent takers—yet his biomechanics protect him. Archit Navandar, assistant professor of biomechanics at Madrid’s Polytechnic University, isolates the moment Palmer’s planted foot pivots outward a split-second before contact. “That micro-rotation opens his hips and allows him to redirect the ball across goal,” Navandar explains. “Only elite takers like Harry Kane have that late ankle mobility.” The strike itself is ruthlessly simple. Palmer hits the ball’s equator, producing a low, spin-free trajectory that reaches the corner before a keeper can set. His long run-up and full back-swing transfer maximum momentum; Navandar likens the motion to a golf drive or a cricket six, where timing the supporting foot’s placement is everything. “Too close and you lose power, too far and you lose accuracy,” he says. Palmer’s chest also arches, adding hip-extension torque “like swinging an iron instead of a putter.” Accuracy is backed by ferocity. Athletic goalkeeping analyst Matt Pyzdrowski clocks Palmer among the hardest strikers from 12 yards. “He doesn’t hop or stutter like Bruno Fernandes or Raul Jimenez, so there’s no tell,” Pyzdrowski says. “But the velocity is so high keepers simply can’t cover the corner even when they guess right.” Tottenham’s Guglielmo Vicario, Manchester City’s Ederson, Liverpool’s Alisson and Bournemouth’s Djordje Petrovic all chose correctly; none laid a glove on the shot. Sports psychologist Dan Abrahams believes the mental piece is equally decisive. High stakes plus sky-high expectation can trigger intrusive thoughts; Palmer’s solution is to embrace, rather than fight, the pressure. “Past success can either inflate confidence or invite fear of the inevitable miss,” Abrahams says. “Cole’s body language and his four conversions since returning from injury suggest the former.” Indeed, after Mads Hermansen finally stopped one for Leicester, Palmer altered nothing. “He doubled down on the same technique,” Lyttleton says. “That psychological resilience is what separates good penalty takers from great ones.” Palmer’s swagger crystallised in May 2024 when, with Chelsea trailing Tottenham 3-2 in stoppage time, he chipped a Panenka into the vacant net to complete a remarkable comeback. He had tipped friends and team-mates the day before; even his father told him to pipe down. “I thought, I’ve told everyone I’m gonna chip it, so I might as well,” Palmer grinned. The ball floated in, and Stamford Bridge erupted. Eleven of his 19 penalties have either levelled or put Chelsea ahead, including 97th-minute equalisers against both Manchester clubs. With England’s World Cup squad looming, Lyttleton argues Palmer’s spot-kick supremacy should weigh heavily in selection debates. Whether Palmer ever discloses the hidden code remains unlikely. Ask him for the secret and the shrug returns: pick a side, smash it, don’t overthink it. Thanks to a blend of biomechanical precision, psychological steel and uncluttered self-belief, that simple formula has made Cole Palmer the most lethal penalty taker of the modern Premier League era.

Barcelona goalkeeper Joan Garcia has voiced his disbelief after Girona’s 88th-minute decider was permitted to stand in Monday night’s 2-1 defeat at Estadi Montilivi, insisting a clear foul on defender Jules Koundé in the build-up should have invalidated Fran Beltran’s strike. Speaking to reporters after the final whistle, Garcia admitted he had not appreciated the flashpoint in real time, but a subsequent replay left him in no doubt. “I didn’t see Koundé’s play clearly live,” he said. “Then I saw the replay and for me it was a foul. Jules got to the ball first. I think it was a foul. What’s surprising is that they didn’t call the VAR official.” The 23-year-old stopper stopped short of blaming on-field refereeing alone, accepting that mistakes occur, yet he questioned the protocol that allowed play to continue unchecked. “The referee can make mistakes. It’s surprising that they didn’t even call the official VAR official to review it on a screen. These things happen. We can’t control it, so we have to move on.” Beyond the controversy, Garcia turned his focus to a defensive record that has become a growing concern. Barcelona have now conceded twice or more in consecutive league outings, and the keeper believes the squad must use an upcoming free midweek to reset. “I think we need to improve. We concede too much, too easily. We need to analyze. We have a week without a midweek match. That will give us time to analyze things properly and work on them. With a cool head, we’ll try to improve.” He also highlighted tactical tweaks that have shown promise, particularly in the first phase of pressure. “It looks a bit better from behind. We press well from a standing position. When we lose, we need to cut off plays and commit fouls in the opponent’s half. They commit fouls against us.” Sunday’s visit of Levante to the Catalan capital now looms as an opportunity to arrest the slide before the international break. Garcia and his teammates will hope that, this time, the talking points are confined to their performance rather than another late VAR flashpoint.

Lexington, Ky. — Kentucky’s 2027 quarterback plan is back to square one after Buford (Ga.) signal-caller DJ Hunter announced Sunday that he has reopened his recruitment, ending a commitment that began in April 2025. Hunter, originally a Knoxville product, pledged to the Wildcats during Mark Stoops’ tenure but never took the field as a junior after tearing his ACL last fall. With Will Stein now directing the offense and a revamped staff in place, Hunter said the timing felt right to reassess. “After consideration, my family and I felt it was in my best interest to go ahead and decommit and fully open my recruitment back up,” Hunter told Rivals. “It’s been in the back of my mind ever since the head-coaching change went down. After this weekend it just felt like the right time to do it.” The decommitment underscores the roster churn that accompanies any high-level coaching transition, even as Stein and his assistants build early momentum on the trail. Kentucky already has feelers out to a trio of elite 2027 quarterbacks—Elijah Haven, Andre Adams, and Israel Abrams—each of whom is slated to visit Lexington unofficially this spring. Abrams has locked in an official visit for the summer, keeping the staff optimistic about landing a blue-chip passer in the cycle. Staff changes or not, Stein’s priority remains clear: secure a franchise-type quarterback capable of elevating Kentucky’s offense to the next tier. The pursuit starts anew with Hunter off the board, but the Cats believe viable, high-end options are still within reach.

Paris — With the 2026 World Cup on the horizon, Didier Deschamps faces the delicate balance of rewarding form while preserving the spine that has carried Les Bleus to back-to-back finals in 2018 and 2022. Drawing on players plying their trade from Barcelona to Munich, the projected line-up blends proven winners with a wave of exuberant talent ready to step out of the shadows. Between the sticks, experience edges youth. AC Milan’s Mike Maignan is expected to get the nod over Lille’s Lucas Chevalier, his reflexes and big-game composure viewed as critical in knockout football. Maignan’s rise has already eclipsed the standard set by longtime captain Hugo Lloris, and the 2026 stage offers a global platform to cement his legacy. In front of him, the back four oozes versatility. Jules Kounde’s seamless transition from centre-back to right-back for Barcelona makes him the automatic choice on the flank, while Theo Hernandez, now starring for Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Hilal, continues to provide lung-bursting overlaps and a goal threat from left-back. At centre-half, Arsenal’s William Saliba anchors the defence with ice-cold positioning and tackling precision. Partnering him is January’s breakout star Loic Bade, whose four consecutive clean sheets for Bayer Leverkusen have catapulted him into World Cup contention. The midfield pairing promises both steel and sparkle. Real Madrid’s Aurelien Tchouameni returns to the fold after a temporary omission, bringing ball-winning authority and metronomic distribution. Alongside him, 19-year-old Warren Zaire-Emery of Paris Saint-Germain is tipped to pull the strings, his energy and incisive passing offering the creative foil to Tchouameni’s destructive edge. Attacking thrust comes from a trio operating with positional fluidity. Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise, described by scouts as the planet’s most complete wide creator, drifts inside to orchestrate, while Manchester City’s Rayan Cherki provides fearless directness, having tallied nine goals and nine assists in his debut Premier League campaign. On the opposite flank, Ballon d’Or holder Ousmane Dembele supplies searing pace and end product, his eight goals in 14 Ligue 1 outings underscoring a pedigree that few can rival. Spearheading the formation, Kylian Mbappe remains the undisputed focal point. The Real Madrid talisman’s 38 goals in 30 matches this season illustrate a forward at the absolute apex of his powers, and Deschamps is unlikely to gamble with any alternative atop the attack. Should this XI take the field in North America, France will marry the pragmatism that delivered a 2018 triumph with the flair required to outgun global heavyweights. The blend of battle-hardened winners and fearless prodigies could once again make Les Bleus the team everyone hopes to avoid when the group-stage draw is made. Mike Maignan, Jules Kounde, William Saliba, Loic Bade, Theo Hernandez, Aurelien Tchouameni, Warren Zaire-Emery, Michael Olise, Rayan Cherki, Ousmane Dembele, Kylian Mbappe — eleven names, one objective: return the World Cup to French hands.

Glendale, Ariz. – When the Arizona Cardinals begin reshaping their roster ahead of the 2026 league year, the most recognizable name on the chopping block could also be the most logical. Veteran running back James Conner, the club’s unquestioned offensive leader since 2021, is the Cardinals’ lone “notable” cut candidate identified by NFL.com’s Matt Okada as teams around the league start clearing salary-cap space. Conner, who will turn 31 in May, appeared in only three games during the 2025 season before an ankle injury landed him on injured reserve. In those limited snaps he managed just 3.0 yards per carry and registered a career-worst 3.1 percent explosive-run rate, producing only one run of 10-plus yards. The combination of declining efficiency, health concerns and a $7.5 million cap hit has made the former Pro Bowler a prime release candidate. Arizona enters the offseason with healthier books than cap-strapped franchises like New Orleans or Minnesota, yet still faces myriad roster holes under first-year head coach Mike LaFleur. Moving on from Conner would immediately free up the $7.5 million, money the front office could reinvest in a backfield overhaul. No heir apparent currently sits on the roster, but the front office is expected to prioritize youth and availability after watching Conner miss the vast majority of the schedule. The decision figures to be easier with a new staff in place. While Conner’s locker-room presence and physical style were valued under previous leadership, LaFleur’s arrival signals a fresh evaluation of every position group. League observers note that Conner’s age, injury history and 2025 productivity slide make a parting of ways increasingly likely. If released, Conner would leave the Cardinals with 3,807 rushing yards and 46 total touchdowns across five desert seasons, a tenure highlighted by his 2021 Comeback Player of the Year runner-up campaign. For now, his future—and Arizona’s backfield reconstruction—remains one of the franchise’s most pressing offseason storylines.

College Station, Texas — Texas A&M has doubled down on head football coach Mike Elko, signing him to a six-year, $69 million extension that vaults him into the sport’s highest financial tier and ties him to the Aggies through the 2031 season, according to contract details released Monday through an open-records request. The new deal represents a $27 million raise over the original terms Elko accepted when he arrived in 2024, and it cements the administration’s belief that the 47-year-old is the program’s long-term culture-changer after guiding A&M to its first College Football Playoff appearance and the program’s best season since 2012. Beyond the base salary, the contract is loaded with performance triggers: bonuses for final win totals, postseason berths, conference titles and national honors such as Associated Press Coach of the Year. Elko also receives premium perks—two luxury vehicles, a family suite at Kyle Field and access to a private aircraft for recruiting and personal travel. One of the more forward-thinking clauses addresses the evolving landscape of name, image and likeness compensation. The agreement mandates that university officials and Elko’s representation meet “multiple times per year” to set the level of direct NIL and revenue-share support funneled to players. If the two sides cannot agree, Texas A&M reserves the right to unilaterally determine the allocation, giving the school flexibility amid rapidly shifting NCAA financial rules. Athletic department decision-makers privately signaled that an extension was imminent after the Aggies’ breakout 2024 campaign, but the speed and size of the raise underscore how quickly Elko has shifted expectations in Aggieland. Where 8-4 seasons once felt like a ceiling, the new deal makes clear that double-digit wins and playoff contention are now the baseline. With recruiting battles intensifying across the SEC and Big Ten, locking up a coach who has already proven he can elevate talent and navigate November pressure was viewed internally as a non-negotiable priority. The financial commitment places Elko among the top-five highest-paid coaches in college football and sends a national message that Texas A&M intends to compete for championships every December.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Nearly three months have passed since Denny Hamlin watched the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series championship slip away on the final lap at Phoenix Raceway, yet the sting remains fresh. Speaking candidly on his weekly Actions Detrimental podcast, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver revisited the race that left him questioning the very structure of the sport’s playoff system. “November burned for me personally,” Hamlin said. “That didn’t have anything to do with the format, but it was just a microcosm of our playoff format. It was, ‘Oh wait a minute, this doesn’t feel right.’ You should not leave the championship event in racing, baseball, or football, saying, ‘Uh, I don’t know. Something didn’t seem right about that.’” The raw numbers only deepen the frustration. According to Hamlin, he out-pointed race-winner Kyle Larson across the 312-lap event and led every circuit until the overtime restart that decided the title. “We actually scored more points than Kyle Larson in that event,” Hamlin noted. “What I couldn’t believe when I saw it is that the race was 312 laps, we’re in front of [Larson] for 312 laps. Not one lap was he ahead of us until the overtime finish.” Hamlin’s experience has become a flashpoint in the ongoing debate over NASCAR’s championship format. Ahead of the 2026 season, the sanctioning body scrapped the winner-take-all finale in favor of a 10-race Chase that rewards season-long excellence. Under the new structure, the top 16 drivers after 26 regular-season races will contest 10 playoff events, and the driver highest in points at the conclusion of that stretch will be crowned champion—no single race will decide the title. Hamlin believes the tweak will favor the most consistent competitors from the outset. “Whoever the champion is going to be is going to finish in the top three of the regular season,” he predicted. “That’s who the champion will be in the top three.” The 43-year-old Virginian argues that the regular-season champion deserves a meaningful advantage. “He earned it. Whoever it is, they earned it,” Hamlin said. “If they clinch a week early, they f***ing earned it. Leave him alone.” Hamlin’s own 2026 campaign began inauspiciously with a 31st-place finish in Sunday’s Daytona 500, a result punctuated by late-race chaos. Still, with 25 regular-season events remaining, he has ample time to climb inside the top 16 and secure a Chase berth. Adding a silver lining, 23XI Racing—co-owned by Hamlin and basketball legend Michael Jordan—celebrated victory lane as Tyler Reddick captured the Harley J. Earl Trophy. As the series heads to Atlanta this weekend, Hamlin’s focus shifts from reflection to resurgence, carrying both the memory of last year’s heartbreak and a conviction that the retooled playoff format will reward the kind of consistency that eluded him in the championship race.

Montilivi witnessed a seismic shift in the LaLiga title race on Monday as Girona stunned Barcelona 2-1, capitalizing on a missed penalty by teenage winger Lamine Yamal to claim a victory that throws the championship chase wide open. The defeat, only the second in the league for Hansi Flick’s side since late October, leaves Barcelona scrambling to keep pace at the summit after a night of high drama in Catalonia. Yamal, entrusted with the spot-kick after a first half in which Barcelona had twice struck the woodwork, saw his effort parried away in the 63rd minute with the score level at 1-1. The miss proved pivotal: Girona surged forward minutes later, punishing the visitors on the break to seal the 2-1 scoreline that ignited celebrations across the modest Montilivi stands. Barcelona had arrived on the back of a five-match winning streak in the league, yet they were met by a Girona side desperate to rebound from their own recent stumbles. The hosts struck first against the run of play, but Flick’s men responded quickly through a sweeping move that culminated in an equalizer just before the interval. The pendulum seemed to swing decisively when Yamal earned the penalty, yet his attempt lacked conviction and was comfortably turned aside. Girona, sensing blood, pressed higher in the aftermath and found the decisive second goal when a rapid counter exposed the Blaugrana back line, the finish tucked away with aplomb. Barcelona threw numbers forward in the closing stages, but Girona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga produced a pair of acrobatic saves to preserve the advantage and consign the visitors to a damaging defeat. The result leaves Barcelona still within striking distance of the top but now reliant on slip-ups from rivals to regain control of their fate. For Girona, the triumph not only boosts survival hopes but also rekindles memories of their earlier-season giant-killing exploits. Lamine Yamal, so often heralded as the club’s next superstar, will shoulder the weight of the loss, yet the broader concern for Flick will be how quickly his side can regroup with the season entering its decisive stretch. With points at a premium and every match now effectively a cup final, Barcelona’s room for error has evaporated. Keywords:

The Champions League’s new knockout playoff round opens on Tuesday with 16 clubs battling for the eight remaining places in the round of 16. After a frantic Matchday 8, the first legs promise a more measured tone, yet the draw has still served up storylines aplenty. Sports Illustrated forecasts how the ties will unfold. Galatasaray vs Juventus Juventus travel to RAMS Park with unhappy Istanbul memories: they have lost on both previous visits, most famously in 2013 when Wesley Sneijder struck late for the hosts. Gala, unbeaten in four matches since a 2-0 loss to Manchester City, will look to Victor Osimhen: the Nigerian has five wins and four goal contributions in seven career meetings with the Bianconeri. Juve, reeling from a last-gasp Derby d’Italia defeat in which Piotr Zielinski cancelled Manuel Locatelli’s equaliser, believe a first-leg draw would leave qualification in their hands. Benfica vs Real Madrid Three weeks after goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin’s goal sealed Benfica’s shock league-phase win, Real Madrid return to Lisbon seeking revenge. That 4-2 defeat cost Madrid a top-eight finish; they now arrive buoyed by a stylish weekend victory over Real Sociedad achieved without even calling on Kylian Mbappé, who should be fresh after scoring in the clubs’ recent thriller. José Mourinho’s side, inconsistent since that famous night, simply want to keep the tie alive before heading to the Bernabéu. Borussia Dortmund vs Atalanta Only two points separated these sides in the league table, and their first meeting since a 2018 Europa League 1-1 draw in Bergamo looks equally tight. Dortmund, at Signal Iduna Park, have qualified for the last 16 in six of the past seven seasons, while Raffaele Palladino’s Atalanta target a second-ever appearance in the Champions League knockout stage. Both teams ended the league phase with back-to-back defeats but have since rebounded with three straight domestic wins. Monaco vs Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain, holders but outside the automatic qualification spots after two draws and a defeat to close the league phase, visit a resurgent Monaco. The Principality club edged PSG 1-0 in November and have taken two wins from three under Sébastien Pocognoli. Luis Enrique’s side, beaten 3-1 at Rennes last time out, are still searching for the imperious form that eluded them during the autumn, while Monaco’s ten-point haul—built on four draws—was just enough to sneak into the playoffs. With ties delicately poised ahead of next week’s return legs, Tuesday’s openers may set the tone rather than decide fates, yet the margins remain razor-thin as Europe’s elite scramble for a place among the final 16.

Lexington, Ky. — The Kentucky Wildcats’ 2027 recruiting class took a hit Tuesday when Buford (Ga.) quarterback DJ Hunter announced he is reopening his recruitment, ending a pledge that had been in place since April 2025. Hunter, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound three-star prospect rated the nation’s No. 38 quarterback in the 2027 cycle by 247Sports, said the December coaching transition from Mark Stoops to offensive coordinator-turned-head coach Will Stein planted the first seeds of doubt. “After consideration, my family and I felt it was in my best interest to go ahead and decommit and fully open my recruitment back up,” Hunter told Rivals’ Chad Simmons. “It’s been in the back of my mind ever since the head coaching change went down. After this weekend, [it] just felt like the right time to do it.” The decommitment trims Kentucky’s current 2027 class to just two known pledges: three-star offensive lineman Brady Hull and unranked safety Larron Westmoreland. Hunter’s recruitment is expected to heat up quickly. He listed South Florida, Maryland, West Virginia, Florida State and Duke as programs in contention, with USF, Duke, Maryland and West Virginia likely to receive official visits. Auburn, Kennesaw State, UAB, Vanderbilt and Virginia Tech all checked in on Hunter during January in-person evaluations at Buford High School. With more than two years until national signing day for the 2027 class, Stein and his revamped staff will now pivot to replace their longest-standing quarterback commitment while simultaneously working to expand a class that currently ranks near the bottom of the SEC.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — One week into his first major-league spring training as manager, Tony Vitello discovered something he hadn’t anticipated: big-leaguers listen longer than college kids. Yet on Monday morning it was Vitello who couldn’t stick to the script. Seated in the Scottsdale Stadium dugout, the new San Francisco Giants skipper hijacked his own media session with an unprompted, minute-by-minute recounting of the chaotic October days that carried him out of Knoxville and into the Bay Area. He asked reporters when they first believed he would take the job, then answered himself with a blow-by-blow narrative that blurred the line between clarification and catharsis. Vitello’s central complaint: premature media reports—most notably an Oct. 18 Athletic story that the Giants were “closing in” on him—compressed a delicate four-day window in which he needed assurances that his Tennessee assistants would land on their feet. “Somebody decides they think they’ve got the information,” Vitello said, “but the final blow was about four days later.” He insisted the lag between offer and acceptance was shorter than widely assumed and that leaked speculation rattled his players, his staff and his own thought process. The fallout inside the Volunteers program was immediate. During a routine practice, Vitello noticed his first- and third-base coaches “freaking out,” a distraction that forced him to pause drills and address a restless locker room. That night he retreated to his Knoxville condo, ate pizza, drank a beer and tried to tune out the Alabama-Tennessee football hype by watching Seinfeld reruns. “When your name is on the ticker,” he said, “that kind of causes you to turn on whatever the hell I put on.” Vitello declined to single out any reporter, claiming he still hasn’t read the coverage, but admitted the episode left scars. “It might have changed the course of history if I know who leaked it,” he said cryptically. The timing of Monday’s rehash—minutes after a Fox Sports spot with Ken Rosenthal, co-author of the Oct. 18 piece—only underscored how raw the subject remains. The detour was striking for a manager who has never played or coached in the professional ranks and is still persuading outsiders he can scale the learning curve. Giants officials hired him believing his communication chops and intellectual curiosity would offset inexperience, but even Vitello conceded the college anecdotes are piling up. “Probably time, after today, to divide the line in the sand,” he said. “If someone’s watching, they might be like, ‘Hey, let’s make sure you know what shade of orange you’re wearing there.’” For now, the orange is gone, replaced by Giants black and orange. Whether Monday’s airing of grievances was a one-time purge or a sign of lingering hesitation will determine how quickly Vitello can turn the page and focus on the season ahead.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, fresh off a Heisman Trophy and a national championship, added another prestigious honor to his historic season Monday night by claiming the Davey O’Brien Award as the nation’s top college quarterback. The ceremony, held in downtown Fort Worth, punctuated a remarkable stretch for Mendoza that included a visit to the Super Bowl just days earlier. Since its inception in 1981, the Davey O’Brien Award has been presented in the city, and Mendoza’s name will now be etched alongside the game’s greatest signal-callers in the Davey O’Brien Hall of Honor. “This one means so much to me,” Mendoza said after receiving the bronze statue. “It’s a culmination of quarterback. The quarterback is the ultimate position in all of sports. It requires so many attributes to be successful.” Mendoza pointed to the award’s namesake, TCU legend Davey O’Brien, as a source of inspiration. “Davey O’Brien himself had the heart of a lion,” he noted. “The shortest player ever to win the Heisman. He was gritty, tough and had great leadership, and those are all things I try to embody as a quarterback.” The Hoosiers’ national-title run vaulted the program into uncharted territory, with Mendoza engineering an unexpected march through the College Football Playoff. With his college eligibility exhausted, attention now turns to April’s NFL Draft, where Mendoza is widely projected as the likely first overall selection. “There are a lot of great names, and I have to do a lot of work ahead to try and live up to those names,” he said of joining the award’s fraternity. “It just speaks to the history and how rich the tradition is at Davey O’Brien. I can’t be more honored or blessed.” Former TCU head coach Gary Patterson also took center stage Monday, receiving the Davey O’Brien Legends Award for his two-decade tenure leading the Horned Frogs. Now defensive coordinator at Southern California, Patterson expressed his enduring bond with Fort Worth. “I’m very thankful to TCU and Fort Worth because I’ve always said they raised me,” Patterson said. “People say, ‘Are you still going to live in Fort Worth?’ I kept my house, and I’ll probably die in Fort Worth, to be honest with you.” The evening further highlighted the Texas-Indiana football pipeline: former TCU quarterback Josh Hoover transferred to Indiana this season, setting the stage for an intriguing matchup when the Hoosiers visit the Horned Frogs in November.