Drake is no stranger to putting his money where his mouth is when it comes to sporting events.
The rap sensation clearly enjoys a flutter, once announcing a huge bet placed on Odell Beckham Jr's performance at Super Bowl LVI – reportedly placing down $1.26million on that occasion.
Drake, who dropped his new album 'Honestly, Nevermind' last month, has now dabbled big again – this time on Israel Adesanya (21-1-0), who is set to defend his middleweight title against Jared Cannonier at UFC 276 in Las Vegas on Saturday.
Drake told 'The Last Stylebender' on a video call: "You know I put a light million up, I wasn't playing. Return on investment is a lot."
Adesanya has a formidable record and has defended his lightweight belt successfully against Robert Whittaker, Marvin Vettori, Paulo Costa, and Yoel Romero.
Jan Blachowicz is the only man to have put a loss on his record, when Adesanya stepped up a division to fight for the light heavyweight championship in March 2021.
Alexander Volkanovski defends his featherweight title against Max Holloway in the co-main event at T-Mobile Arena.
Jamie Carragher has praised Liverpool for figuring out a way to re-sign Mohamed Salah for another three years, believing the team had to do whatever they could to retain the "Liverpool legend".
Salah, 30, is coming off a season where he led the Premier League in both goals (23, tied with Son Heung-min) and assists (13), but there were rumours swirling about the club potentially looking to cash in on him with a transfer if he indicated he would not sign an extension.
Ultimately the deal got done, with Salah now tied to the club on a wage of £350,000 per week until the end of the 2024-25 season.
Speaking to Sky Sports News, Carragher said it would have been painful to see Sadio Mane and Salah depart in quick succession, and that the sale of Divock Origi likely gave Liverpool the financial flexibility to meet their Egyptian star's demands.
"Losing Mane, it was sad to see that front three break up," he said. "Lots of Liverpool fans over the last few months were kind of resigned to the fact that Salah might see out the last 12 months of his contract and then move on.
"Perhaps the club were not maybe prepared to go the numbers he wanted or he felt he deserved, and he would leave the club.
"But I think the fact that Origi has moved on and Mane has moved on, and Liverpool have brought in maybe one attacking player who is on similar sorts of wages [in Darwin Nunez]. I think the fact that two have gone and one has come in means that they could maybe get closer to the numbers Salah wanted.
"I think everyone is just delighted Salah has signed, and fingers crossed he produces over the next three years what he has produced over the last five years – and I am sure that he can."
Carragher went on to discuss how it was a change in the club's spending strategy, but a necessary one when you have a talent as rare as Salah.
"Liverpool have never really gone to that level in terms of numbers, certainly under [owners Fenway Sports Group]" he said.
"I think that a lot of Liverpool fans respect that model because it has brought a lot of success to the club, so they almost accept how they go about things – not just with player contracts, but also with signing players.
"I don't think there would have been much criticism if Salah had left, but I think now and again when you have someone as special as Salah, the rule that you have to have in place, you have to certainly bend them.
"Maybe not necessarily break them, but you have to maybe go closer to a position that maybe you don't want to.
"Salah is already a Liverpool legend – and if he'd moved on in 12 months, he'd have still been a legend.
"What players like him, Alisson, Van Dijk, Mane – how they've changed the face of Liverpool Football Club along with the manager means they will all be legends no matter when they move on for the club and for whatever reason they move on from the club.
"I think the supporters are very thankful for what these players have given. Salah will finish his time in the top five or six players ever to have played for the club."
St Louis Cardinals star Nolan Arenado hit for the cycle on Friday, but it was not enough to get his side over the line as they went down 5-3 against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Both Arenado and teammate Paul Goldschmidt are viewed as MVP candidates this season, and they combined early on to give the Cardinals an early lead.
In the first inning, Goldschmidt got on base with a single and was driven home by an Arenado triple as the next batter, and then in the third inning after Goldschmidt doubled, Arenado drove him in again with a home run, making it 3-0.
From that point on it would be all Phillies, allowing no runs from just two hits and two walks in the last six innings. The Phillies bullpen would also strike out 10 batters from the Cardinals' last 15 outs as five different relief pitchers collected two strikeouts each.
The fifth inning was the turning point of the contest as Mickey Moniak was able to finally put the Cardinals on the scoreboard with an RBI double, with a Kyle Schwarber RBI ground-out and a Rhys Hoskins sacrifice-fly manufacturing another couple of runs to tie it at 3-3.
Phillies designated hitter Darick Hall maintained an improbable stat, hitting his third home run of the season with a solo shot in the sixth frame. Incredibly, he only has three hits for the season, with all three travelling over the fence.
Arenado also collected the third leg of his cycle in the sixth inning, with a double, meaning he needed a single from his final at-bat to complete the feat. He did so, albeit it with the help of a friendly scoring decision as the third-baseman sailed his throw on Arenado's ground-ball, but it was ruled a hit due to how firmly it was struck.
Hoskins gave the Phillies some breathing room in the seventh with a 406-foot home run, setting up Brad Hand to come in and collect the save.
Brewers beat up the Pirates
The Milwaukee Brewers pounded the Pittsburgh Pirates 19-2 on the road in a game where the visitors had two separate innings with at least seven runs.
Rowdy Tellez finished with five RBIs, Willy Adames collected four RBIs on one swing with his grand slam, while five other Brewers drove in at least one run.
Pirates starter Roansy Contreras was only able to get five outs before he was withdrawn in the second inning, having given up seven earned runs from 52 pitches.
Willy's setting off fireworks in Pittsburgh.
MLB x @DairyQueen pic.twitter.com/55vlZFuPBA
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) July 2, 2022
Ohtani bangs in sole Angels run
Shohei Ohtani hit his 18th home run of the season, but it would be the only run his Los Angeles Angels would score in an 8-1 beating by the Houston Astros.
Ohtani's deep shot came in the very first inning, giving the Angels a 1-0 lead as the third batter of the game, but they would only collect one more hit the rest of the way as Astros starter Cristian Javier produced a career-best performance.
Javier only gave up one hit in his seven innings, while handing out no walks and striking out 14 batters, which ties the league-wide record for most strikeouts in a single game this season.
Dustin Johnson and Carlos Ortiz are tied for the lead at LIV Golf Portland after two rounds of play, heading into the final day at eight under, two strokes clear of the chasing field.
Ortiz was the outright leader after his first-round 67, following it up with a three-under 69. Johnson was outright second after Thursday, posting a 68, and he proceeded to shoot another 68 in his second trip around Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club.
Arguably the biggest star on the LIV Golf roster after Phil Mickelson, Johnson had six birdies and one bogey on the front-nine, with three bogeys and two birdies on the back-nine keeping him from running away with a lead.
In outright third place is Branden Grace at six under, while Justin Harding is alone at five under, with the group of Brooks Koepka, Louis Oosthuizen, Jinchiro Kozuma, Patrick Reed and Sihwan Kim rounding out the top-10 in a tie for fifth.
With Johnson and Reed both near the top of the leaderboard, it puts their team – 4 Aces GC, along with Pat Perez and Talor Gooch – atop the teams leaderboard at 15 under, four strokes clear of the South African team Stinger GC, consisting of Grace, Oosthuizen, Hennie du Plessis and Charl Schwartzel.
After an even par opening round, Bryson DeChambeau put himself back into contention with a three-under Friday, giving him a share of 10th with Sam Horsfield.
4 Aces partners Gooch and Perez are both at two under, tied for 12th, while Martin Kaymer, Matthew Wolff and Kevin Na are the last of the players under par.
Abraham Ancer is at even par, Sergio Garcia is at two over, and Mickelson shot his second consecutive 75 to finish play at six over.
J.T. Poston continued his terrific run of form on Friday to extend his lead to four strokes at the John Deere Classic, sitting at 15 under through 36 holes.
Coming off a second-place finish at the Travelers Championship last week, Poston shot Thursday's round of the day with a 62, and followed it up with a 65. Only six players had better rounds on Friday, with Maverick McNealy the sole 63.
Through two rounds, Poston now has 14 birdies, one bogey and one eagle.
In outright second place is Denny McCarthy, with rounds of 66 and 65, including going bogey-free on his second trip around the course to head into the weekend at 11 under.
The rest of the top-10 has strong international representation, with Austria's Matthias Schwab and Argentina's Emiliano Grillo part of a four-way tie for third place at 10 under, while Taiwan's C.T. Pan, England's Callum Taren and Canada's Michael Gligic are a further shot back in the log-jam at nine under.
South Africa's Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Canada's Adam Svensson are at eight under, America's Charles Howell III is at seven under, while India's Anirban Lahiri and Australia's Cam Davis highlight the large group at six under.
After narrowly missing out on a win at the Travelers Championship last weekend – losing due to a double-bogey on the 72nd hole – Sahith Theegala finished right on the cut-line at three under, highlighting the friendly scoring conditions.
John Huh missed out on the weekend's play by one stroke, Webb Simpson finished one under, and Cameron Champ missed the cut by three shots at even par.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Shericka Jackson, Yohan Blake and Oblique Seville lead a strong 64-member Jamaica team named to compete at the 2022 World Athletics Championships from July 15-24, 2022. Also included as first-timers are 800m champion Navasky Anderson and Adelle Tracey, who will compete in both 800 and 1500m.
Tracey, an American-born middle distance runner, who also represented Great Britain, recently received her official status as a Jamaican athlete. Tracey, who spent a part of her early childhood in the parish of Manchester, will join newly crowned national champion Chrisann Gordon Powell and eight-time national champion Natoya Goule in the 800m.
Meanwhile, Fraser-Pryce, Thompson-Herah, Jackson and Kemba Nelson, will contest the 100m with Briana Williams listed as an alternate. Fraser-Pryce, Jackson and Thompson-Herah will take on the 200m with Natalliah Whyte named as the alternate.
Seville, Blake and Ackeem Blake will run in the 100m. Jelani Walker is listed as the alternate. However, Andrew Hudson, who won the 200m at Jamaica’s national championships last weekend misses out as he remains ineligible to compete for Jamaica until July 28, four days after the championships end in Eugene, Oregon.
In his stead, Akeem Bloomfield will compete in the 200m alongside Rasheed Dwyer and Yohan Blake.
Candice McLeod, Stephenie-Ann McPherson and Charokee Young will compete in the 400m with Stacey-Ann Williams named as the alternate. Jevaughn Powell, Nathon Allen and Christopher Taylor will take on the men’s event.
Demisha Roswell, the fastest Jamaican woman over 100m hurdles this year, is named as an alternate to national champion Britany Anderson, Megan Tapper and Danielle Williams. Damion Thomas is the alternate in the 110m hurdles that will be represented by Olympic champion Hansle Parchment, Rasheed Broadbell and Orlando Bennett.
There is also good news for Andrenette Knight, the fastest Jamaican woman over the 400m hurdles this year. Knight, who has run 53.39 this season, is the alternate in the event that Janieve Russell, Shian Salmon and Rushell Clayton will compete in at the championships.
For the first time ever, Jamaica will have two female high jumpers at a world championship as NCAA champion Lamara Distin and Kimberly Williamson, were both selected.
Chanice Porter has been selected for the long jump while defending champion Tajay Gayle has been selected along with NCAA champion Wayne Pinnock. Gayle injured his knee at the national championships and is in a race against time to prove his fitness.
Shanieka Ricketts, Kimberly Williams and Ackelia Smith will represent Jamaica in the triple jump while Jordan Scott will compete in the men’s event.
Danielle Thomas-Dodd and Lloydricia Cameron will contest the shot put for women. Samantha Hall competes in the discus while national champion Traves Smikle, world championship silver medallist Fedrick Dacres, and Chad Wright are set to compete among the men.
Jamaica will field strong 4x100m relay squads at the championships as Fraser-Pryce, Thompson-Herah, Jackon and Nelson will form the core of the team along with Olympic gold medallist Williams and Remona Burchell.
The men’s squad is comprised of Blake, Blake, Seville, Jelani Walker, Kemar Bailey-Cole and Conroy Jones.
The 4x400m squads will be comprised of McLeod, Young, McPherson, Williams, Roneisha McGregor and Natalliah Whyte while the men’s squad will include Powell, Allen, Taylor, Karayme Bartley, Javon Francis and Anthony Cox.
Junelle Bromfield, Tiffany James, Akeem Bloomfield and St Jago High School runner Gregory Prince will form the mixed relay team.
Sprintec head coach Maurice Wilson has been appointed technical director of the contingent and he will have Paul Francis, Bertland Cameron, Lennox Graham, Julian Robinson, Marlon Gayle, Reynaldo Walcott, Lamar Richards and Gregory Little as his team of coaches.
American-born Andrew Hudson will not be able to represent Jamaica at the upcoming World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, despite winning the 200m event at the Jamaica National Championships.
Hudson stunned onlookers at the country’s national trials after finishing ahead of pre-race favourite and 2011 World Champion Yohan Blake, with Nigel Ellis finishing in third place.
Hudson was one of three athletes who applied to the Jamaica Athletic Administrative Association to switch allegiance and were approved to compete at the championships. The JAAA was optimistic regarding the athlete being given clearance to represent the country before the World Championships in Oregon.
According to a release, however, the athletes will not receive clearance in time for the games. Hudson will as a result not be eligible to compete for Jamaica until July 28th and has been replaced by fourth-place finisher Akeem Bloomfield in the 200m. The JAAA also released the rest of the squad.
The Golden State Warriors have signed free agent Donte DiVincenzo to a two-year, $9.3million deal – with the second year being a player option.
DiVincenzo, 25, was a first-round draft pick by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2018 after winning his second NCAA Championship on the same Villanova team as Mikal Bridges and Jalen Brunson, earning the Final Four's Most Valuable Player in the 2018 title.
He found a role immediately with the Bucks, and went on to start in all 66 of his regular season appearances in their championship season in 2021, before getting injured in the first round of the playoffs.
In that season, he averaged 10.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game while shooting 38 per cent from long range, proving himself as a strong complementary piece that can provide above average wing play on both ends of the floor.
During the Bucks' championship run, Pat Connaughton usurped DiVincenzo's role, with Milwaukee opting to trade him just two months after he returned from his six-month injury layoff.
While he was never able to truly fit in with the Sacramento Kings after arriving mid-season, he still averaged 18 points, 8.1 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 2.7 steals per 100 possessions in his 25 games off the bench – all career-high marks.
For the Warriors, DiVincenzo figures to fill important minutes after the departures of both Gary Payton II to the Portland Trail Blazers and Otto Porter Jr to the Toronto Raptors.
Venus Williams rolled back the years as she teamed up with Jamie Murray to add another Wimbledon victory to her collection.
The five-time All England Club singles champion and six-time women's doubles winner turned 42 years old a fortnight ago, and this year marks 25 years since her Wimbledon singles debut.
Williams had been inactive on tour since last August's Chicago Open, with many doubting she would play again, but the American great showed flashes of brilliance alongside British doubles expert Murray in a 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 victory over Michael Venus of New Zealand and Poland's Alicja Rosolska.
Some 24 years on from the season when she and Justin Gimelstob landed the Australian Open and French Open mixed doubles titles, Williams thrilled the Court One crowd with her energetic play at times, showing only a hint of rust.
The match was not initially allocated a specific court, as organisers hoped play on a show court would end early to allow for it to be added to the programme.
That panned out ideally, meaning a busy stadium crowd got to see Williams and five-time grand slam mixed doubles champion Murray pair up for a late-evening tussle, three years after their siblings Serena Williams and Andy Murray also joined forces at Wimbledon.
The Utah Jazz are trading center and three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Friday.
Utah will receive multiple first-round picks in return for the three-time All-Star, along with Malik Beasley, Patrick Beverley, Walker Kessler, Jarred Vanderbilt and Leandro Bolmaro.
ESPN reported that the Timberwolves are sending its 2023, 2025 and 2027 picks unprotected and a top-five protected 2029 pick to Utah.
The news comes a day after the Timberwolves and star Karl-Anthony Towns agreed to a four-year, $224million contract extension, giving Minnesota one of the most decorated frontcourts in the NBA.
A busy offseason continues for Timberwolves president Tim Connelly, who took over basketball operations this offseason after building the Denver Nuggets into a contender.
Gobert led the league last season by grabbing 14.7 rebounds per game. Fellow All-Star Towns ranked 14th at 9.8 rebounds per game.
Gobert's departure marks the end of an era for Utah, which peaked in 2020-21 when they secured the West's No. 1 seed but were ousted by the Los Angeles Clippers in the second round of the playoffs.
The Jazz went 49-33 last season, losing in the first round to the Dallas Mavericks. The team will now look to rebuild around three-time All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell.
Gobert has spent all nine of his NBA seasons in Utah, who drafted him 27th overall in 2013. He has averaged 12.4 points, 11.7 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in 611 career games.
Minnesota, who ranked 24th in the league last season by allowing 113.3 points per game, immediately projects to be stingier with Gobert, who was named the NBA's top defender three times in four seasons from 2017-2021.
Last season, the Timberwolves secured the No. 7 seed in the play-in tournament but fell to the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round in six games.
The Golden State Warriors have retained a key member of their NBA championship team by agreeing to a three-year, $25.5million contract with forward Kevon Looney, ESPN reported on Friday.
A first-round pick of the Warriors in 2015, Looney started a career-high 80 regular-season games in 2021-22 and emerged as a valuable complementary contributor to Golden State's fourth NBA title in eight years.
The 26-year-old averaged just 6.0 points per game during the regular season but was among the Warriors' top rebounders at 7.3 per game while providing a strong interior defensive presence.
Looney also chipped in a couple of standout performances during Golden State's title run. The seven-year veteran grabbed 22 rebounds – one short of a franchise single-game postseason record – in a series-clinching Game 6 win over the Memphis Grizzlies in the second round, then later amassed 21 points on 10-of-14 shooting along with 12 boards in a Game 2 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals.
Keeping Looney was a top priority for the Warriors, who will be losing two other important rotation players in free agency in forward Otto Porter Jr. and guard Gary Payton II.
Porter agreed to a two-year contract with the Toronto Raptors, according to Yahoo Sports, while The Athletic reports that Payton will sign a three-year, $28 million deal with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Lewis Hamilton was pleased with the "small step forwards" taken by Mercedes after setting the second-fastest time in practice ahead of the British Grand Prix.
The Briton was 0.163 seconds slower than pace-setter Carlos Sainz in FP2, while compatriot Lando Norris was third and championship leader Max Verstappen in fourth.
Hamilton has yet to win a race this season, but he offered plenty of promise heading into a big weekend on home soil at a packed Silverstone with his performance in practice.
However, the seven-time world champion offered a word of caution over the ongoing porpoising issue that has dominated recent races.
"It's bouncing still, quite a bit," he said. "Not necessarily on the straights but through the corners it's pretty harsh – not physically harsh but in the car on the tyres and everything.
"So we still have work to do but it feels like a small step forwards.
"Our long run pace isn't as good as the other guys but it's not miles off. We've definitely made an improvement. I'm sure overnight we can work and improve the car a bit more."
Hamilton may have endured a difficult campaign to date, lagging as he does 98 points behind leader Verstappen, but he boasts an impressive record on his home turf.
The 37-year-old has won the British Grand Prix eight times and could become the driver to have won the most races at a single Grand Prix with victory this weekend.
Mercedes, meanwhile, have recorded eight of the last nine wins at Silverstone, while also taking eight of the last nine poles.
McLaren driver Norris looks good value to challenge for a second podium of 2022 after a surprising rise up the timesheets, having finished 15th last time out in Canada.
"As good as it looked, it is still difficult to put things together and be consistent but I am happy," he said.
"The car seems to be in a decent place, at least a little better than we were expecting."
Friday was rather unimpressive for Red Bull's Verstappen, who has won six of the nine races this year, including five of the last six.
But the Dutchman – who is out to surpass Valtteri Bottas and equal Rubens Barrichello as the driver with the eighth-most podiums ever (68) – is confident of finding improvement.
"It's always a bit tricky, of course, after not driving in FP1 and then FP2 becomes a bit of guessing, let's say it like that," Verstappen said.
"It was maybe not ideal, but also not a big issue. I think we know what we have to work on and that's what we'll try to do overnight.
"But, again, tomorrow probably it's raining so you have again different kinds of conditions. This time probably was not amazing, but it was also not really bad."
Former West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo helped Worcestershire secure a 29-run win over Lancashire in their Vitality Blast North Group fixture at New Road on Friday.
Worcestershire posted a formidable 178-6 from their 20 overs after being sent in by Lancashire.
Opener Brett D’Oliveira (33) along with captain and England all-rounder Moeen Ali (31) were the main scorers while Kashif Ali (27) and New Zealander Colin Munro (26) also made valuable contributions.
Bravo, batting at number eight, played a decent cameo of 10 not out from five balls including one six.
Leg-spinner Luke Wells led the way with the ball for Lancashire with 2-26 from his four overs.
Lancashire’s reply can only be described as top-heavy as openers Phil Salt (44) and newly appointed England white ball captain Jos Buttler (42) were the only batsmen to pass 20 as they were dismissed for just 149 in 19.3 overs.
D’Oliveira capped off a fine all-round display with 4-20 from his four overs of leg-spin while Pat Brown and Moeen Ali took two wickets each.
Bravo, the leading wicket-taker in T20 history with 594 in 540 matches, added another to his tally with 1-26 from 3.3 overs.
Worcestershire remain at the bottom of the North Group with two wins, 10 losses, and one no-result from 13 games while Lancashire stay second with seven wins, four losses, and one no-result.
Yves Lampaert claimed a shock victory on stage one of the Tour de France in rainy conditions in Copenhagen to take the first yellow jersey of this year's race.
The Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl rider came out on top in Friday's opening 13.2-kilometre time trial in a time of 15 minutes and 17 seconds.
Lampaert dislodged Belgian countryman Wout van Aert, who finished five seconds back, while Tour favourite Tadej Pogacar was a further two seconds behind in third.
Time trial world champion Filippo Ganna and fellow heavyweight Mathieu van der Poel completed the top five, but it was surprisingly Lampaert who was celebrating at the end.
An emotional Lampaert said in his post-race interview: "My mind is exploding right now – I can't believe it. Top 10 would have been my expectation but to win is unbelievable.
"I know I'm in good condition, but to win the first stage of the Tour de France, the prologue, is something I never dreamed of.
"To beat Van Aert, Van der Poel, Ganna… it's unbelievable for me."
Lampaert, the fourth Belgian to win the opening time trial in the Tour de France, added: "I'm just a farmer's son from Belgium, eh."
Despite finishing in third, Pogacar confirmed his status as the overall favourite for a third title in a row by finishing as the best of the likely general classification racers.
The Slovenian laid down a marker when posting a time of 15:24, enough to finish just behind Team Jumbo-Visma's Van Aert, who was then usurped by Lampaert.
Elsewhere on stage one of the 109th edition of the race, Jonas Vingegaard and Primoz Roglic conceded eight and nine seconds to Pogacar respectively.
STAGE RESULT
1. Yves Lampaert (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) 15 minutes and 17 seconds
2. Wout van Aert (Team Jumbo-Visma) +0.05 seconds
3. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) +0.07s
4. Filippo Ganna (INEOS Grenadiers) +0.10s
5. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) +0.13s
CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS
General Classification
1. Yves Lampaert (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) 0:15:17
2. Wout van Aert (Team Jumbo-Visma) +0.05
3. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) +0.07
Points Classification
1. Yves Lampaert (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) 20
2. Wout van Aert (Team Jumbo-Visma) 17
3. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 15
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