What the papers say
Manchester City and West Ham had come to an agreement in principle on a £85million transfer deal for midfielder Lucas Paqueta before the bid crumbled due to potential betting breaches, the Daily Mail reports.
Fulham’s pursuit of Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi has become tougher as the Evening Standard says Everton and Nottingham Forest have joined the race for the 22-year-old.
Chelsea have agreed to a £14million deal for New England Revoultion’s 23-year-old goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic, according to the Daily Mail.
The same publication says Mason Greenwood is set to look for offers from clubs in Turkey and Italy after he and Manchester United parted ways after an internal investigation.
Social media round-upPlayers to watch
Jeremy Doku: Journalist Fabrizio Romano says Manchester City have agreed to personal terms with the Rennes winger, with the French club accepting a deal worth around £51million.
Dominic Solanke: Football Insider reports West Ham have entered a bid for the Bournemouth striker worth around £35million.
Cal Raleigh homered twice and drove in a career-high six runs to lead a 15-hit outburst by the scorching Seattle Mariners, who rolled to a 14-2 rout of the Chicago White Sox on Monday to extend their winning streak to seven games.
Raleigh went 3 for 5 with three runs scored and accounted for half of the Mariners' four homers as Seattle won for the 15th time in 18 games. Teoscar Hernandez and Dominic Canzone added solo shots with Hernandez finishing with two hits and three RBIs.
The Mariners' surge has moved them past the Toronto Blue Jays for the AL's final wild card and within two games of slumping Texas for first place in the American League West. The Rangers twice blew late leads in a 4-3, 11-inning loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday.
Seattle also received strong pitching from ace Luis Castillo, who struck out nine while holding the White Sox to one run in seven innings to win his third consecutive start.
Chicago starter Touki Toussaint was tagged for five first-inning runs and seven overall before being removed with none out in the fifth.
Diamondbacks rally twice late to stun struggling Rangers
Tommy Pham's walkoff two-run double in the 11th inning capped a second late rally that catapulted the resurgent Arizona Diamondbacks to a stunning 4-3 win over the reeling Texas Rangers to open a key two-game series.
After forcing extra innings on Ketel Marte's solo homer in the ninth inning, the Diamondbacks trailed 3-2 with two outs in the 11th when Pham drove Rangers closer Will Smith's pitch into the gap in right-center field to plate Marte and Geraldo Perdomo and give Arizona an improbable eighth win in 10 games.
The Diamondbacks closed within a half-game of the San Francisco Giants for the National League's final wild card spot.
Texas, meanwhile, was dealt a season-high fifth straight loss and saw its lead over second-place Houston in the AL West reduced to 1 1/2 games after the Astros recorded a 9-4 win over the Boston Red Sox on Monday.
The Rangers got eight shutout innings from Jordan Montgomery and a solo homer from Adolis Garcia to carry a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth, but couldn't hold it as Marte homered off reliever Aroldis Chapman with one out.
Texas regained the upper hand on Nathaniel Lowe's two-run double in the top of the 11th, but Smith intentionally walked Marte to put two on in the bottom of the frame before Perdomo delivered an RBI double to trim the lead to 3-2.
Montgomery yielded just four hits and a walk while striking out six in a tough-luck no-decision.
Harper's inside-the-park home run highlights Phillies' rout of Giants
The Philadelphia Phillies hit four home runs, including an inside-the-park shot from Bryce Harper, in a 10-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants that opened a three-game series between National League playoff contenders.
Edmundo Sosa, Alec Bohm and Kyle Schwarber also went deep to back seven strong innings from Aaron Nola as the Phillies strengthened their hold on the NL's top wild card spot. The defending NL champions now own a 2 1/2-game advantage on the Chicago Cubs, who moved past San Francisco by a half-game for the No. 2 wild card with Monday's 7-6 win over the Detroit Tigers.
Sosa gave Philadelphia a 3-1 lead with a two-run homer off Sean Manaea in the second inning, and the Phillies increased the margin with a two-run fifth highlighted by Harper's second career inside-the-park homer. The two-time NL MVP raced around the bases to extend the advantage to 5-2 before Bryson Stott doubled home Bohm for a four-run cushion.
Schwarber's 33rd homer of the season followed Johan Rojas' two-run triple in the seventh to give Philadelphia a commanding 10-2 lead.
Nola surrendered solo homers to Joc Pederson and Lamonte Wade Jr. over his first three innings before shutting out the Gians over the remainder of his stint. The standout right-hander scattered seven hits and one walk while striking out five.
Mo Farah put a summer of speculation behind him to make it half a dozen global titles as he again proved unbeatable over 10,000 metres at the World Championships in Beijing, on this day in 2015.
Farah was ruthlessly focused amid all the off-track distractions as he burst away from the twin Kenyan challenge of Geoffrey Kipsang Kamworor and Paul Tanui down the home straight.
The 32-year-old has endured a tumultuous year, caught up in the doping allegations surrounding his coach Alberto Salazaar, but had not lost his aura of invincibility on it as he came home in 27 minutes 01.13 seconds.
The double Olympic champion was back at the Bird’s Nest stadium, the scene of the biggest disappointment of his career when he failed to make the final of the 2008 Olympics.
Farah’s victory on this occasion meant he continued his Games and World Championships winning streak since his second-placed finish at Daegu, South Korea in 2011.
Farah was in a pack of five, well clear of the field for most of the race, also including American Galen Rupp, his training partner at the Nike Oregon Project in Portland, and, ominously, three Kenyan team-mates.
Farah kicked to the front with a lap to go and, although the Kenyans tried to respond, they simply could not match his finishing speed as the Briton came home with more than half a second to spare.
The double Olympic champion has admitted his name has been dragged through the mud over his links to Salazar- although he himself had been accused of no wrongdoing – and this win was the ideal way to answer his critics.
“I want to keep doing what I’m doing and serve my country and win as many medals as I can,” Farah told the BBC.
“I want to be remembered as someone who did something for their country.
“It’s been good to have so many people behind me on Instagram and Twitter, sending me messages.
“It’s a great atmosphere. It’s important I started the team well. I’m one of the oldest. So hopefully people look at that and say ‘I can do it’.”
Farah feared a last-lap stumble had killed his hopes of victory, but branded the challenge the toughest of his career.
He added: “The last lap, that was close. At one point, I honestly thought I was gone as I stumbled and I was thinking,
‘Not 24 laps into it, the last lap’.
“I was trying to go round and the Kenyan guy Geoffrey caught my leg. So I almost stumbled and managed to stay on my feet, go round to the front and make sure I had something left at the end. It was close, it wasn’t easy.”
The Indianapolis Colts have granted disgruntled running back Jonathan Taylor permission to seek a trade as the team and the 2021 NFL rushing champion remain locked in an ongoing contract dispute, multiple outlets reported Friday.
Taylor, the runner-up for the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year in 2021, initially requested a trade upon reporting to training camp in late July with the Colts unwilling to discuss a contract extension. The fourth-year pro is entering the final season of his rookie deal and is scheduled to earn $4.3 million in 2023.
According to ESPN, the Colts are seeking a package equivalent to a first-round pick for Taylor, who ran for a franchise-record 1,811 yards in 2021 to become the first Colts player to lead the NFL in rushing since Hall of Famer Edgerrin James did so in back-to-back seasons in 1999 and 2000.
The Colts' reluctance to extend Taylor seems to stem from injuries that lessened his production this past season. The 24-year-old is currently on the physically unable to peform list while recovering from ankle surgery that ended his 2022 campaign in December.
Taylor also briefly left camp last week for what the Colts said was an excused absence to attend to a personal matter. He previously was away from the team for a short period to undergo therapy on his ankle through an outside source.
Ankle issues limited Taylor to 11 games last season, which he finished with 861 rushing yards and four touchdowns while averaging 4.5 yards per attempt.
Taylor averaged 5.5 yards per carry during his superb 2021 season in which he also tied for the NFL lead with 20 total touchdowns while playing in all 17 games.
Since entering the NFL as a second-round pick of the Colts in 2020, Taylor's 33 rushing touchdowns are tied for second in the NFL and his 3,841 rushing yards are the fourth most of any player, trailing only Derrick Henry, Dalvin Cook and Nick Chubb.
Mikel Arteta may have “loved” Arsenal’s narrow win at Crystal Palace but believes a stopwatch may be needed to iron out inconsistencies in time-wasting after Takehiro Tomiyasu fell foul of the rules.
The Gunners won 1-0 in south London as Martin Odegaard’s second-half penalty proved the difference.
Japan defender Tomiyasu was sent off at Selhurst Park, picking up a soft yellow card for a foul on Jordan Ayew just seven minutes after being cautioned for perceived time-wasting at a throw-in.
The new remit for officiating this season has called, among other changes, for a clamp down on time-wasting but Arteta believes the timing did not add up on Tomiyasu’s booking.
Asked about the rule changes, the Spaniard replied: “For me it is not an issue. The referee makes that call.
“And we are consistent with that. They explained it. The only thing we are asking for is consistency. If not we need to play with a stopwatch to understand what is it and what is not.”
Arteta did not agree when told Tomiyasu had waited 23 seconds to take the throw-in before being cautioned – replying: “It wasn’t. I think it was eight seconds. We might have to play with a stopwatch.
“This is the standards.”
Despite the red card, Arsenal made it two wins from two following on from the opening-day victory over Nottingham Forest.
Odegaard stepped up to tuck away a penalty after Eddie Nketiah – who had hit a post in the first half – was tripped by Palace goalkeeper Sam Johnstone.
“I loved it, absolutely loved it,” Arteta said of the win.
“It’s a really difficult place to come, we played the way we wanted to play 11 against 11. We dominated the game, we created enough chances, we missed two very, very huge chances.
“We scored the penalty and then we have to play half an hour with 10 men. It’s a conflict we didn’t prepare for but we had to adapt and the players were fantastic.
“I don’t think we gave anything away. The subs were great, the way they came out, the concentration, the focus, how much they helped the team, the coaching. They changed momentum in many occasions of the game. So really happy.”
Eagles boss Roy Hodgson was in a reflective mood and felt his side put in a good showing despite coming out of the contest with no points.
“I would be tempted to say we deserved something from the game,” he said.
“When they went down to 10 men we gave it our best shot but they are a top-quality team and they were able to defend the efforts we had.
“They got a lot of bodies around the goalkeeper so we couldn’t get through the cordon but that is often the case.
“There were very few disappointments in the game for me in terms of the Crystal Palace performance. On another day I think we would be feeling even happier and proud of ourselves.”
2019 World Championship silver medallist, Fedrick Dacres, produced a 66.72m effort to finish fifth in the final of the Men’s discus throw on day three of the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Budapest on Monday.
The event was won by Sweden’s Daniel Stahl with a championship record 71.46m while Slovenia’s Kristjan Ceh threw 70.02m for second and Lithuania’s Mykolas Alekna threw 68.85m for third.
It was an exciting end to the competition as Ceh took the lead with his final round effort before Stahl produced the championship record throw with the very last throw of the competition.
Traves Smikle finished 11th with a best throw of 61.90m.
Dina Asher-Smith admits she was left baffled after her 100m failure at the World Championships.
The USA’s Sha’Carri Richardson stormed to the title in Budapest in a championship record of 10.65 seconds on Monday to leave Asher-Smith trailing in eighth.
The title – her first major crown – was redemption for the 23-year-old after she missed the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for marijuana during the US trials in 2021.
Jamaica pair Shericka Jackson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the defending champion, completed the podium.
It was more disappointment for Asher-Smith after she finished fourth at last year’s championships in Eugene despite equalling her personal best of 10.83 seconds.
“I’m almost in disbelief. I know myself and I know that I feel good. I came here for a new personal best,” said the 27-year-old after running just 11 seconds.
“I know I’m in great shape. I ran 10.8 a few weeks ago. It doesn’t really happen to me. That’s why I’m so surprised.
“I was just running and towards the end of the semi I just couldn’t feel my legs anymore which was a bit strange.
“I don’t want to make a huge deal because at the end of the day I crossed the line, felt fine, got on with it, made the final, and felt absolutely fine during the final.
“I felt great but a mad day, mad day.”
Asher-Smith, who is ranked sixth in the world, a place above team-mate Daryll Neita, struggled in a favourable semi-final and ran just 11.02s to come third.
She needed to rely on a fastest-loser spot, along with Richardson after the American finished third in her heat, to make the final.
There was earlier disappointment for Neita as she failed to make it past her semi-final after running 11.03s.
“It’s sad. It was crazy to be honest with you. I don’t see what I did majorly wrong, I just feel like I wasn’t fast, I didn’t run fast enough,” she said.
“It’s a big surprise because I should be there. I came here to be in that final. The fact that I am not is super disappointing and it honestly feels like a repeat of last year in Eugene.
“That was at least a faster run. The thing keeping me on my feet right now is the fact I have the 200m to come back. It is keeping me going. It fuels a lot.”
A tearful Holly Bradshaw failed to reach the pole vault final after only clearing 4.35m following illness at Great Britain’s holding camp last week, although Molly Caudery qualified after passing 4.65m.
The 31-year-old, who crashed out of the event at last year’s worlds when her pole snapped in the warm up, failed at 4.50m before two unsuccessful attempts at 4.60m.
She said: “My mental health is really suffering from doing this sport right now. I am not near my family, I’ve still got four competitions but I wanted to try and get the Olympics qualification.
“I don’t really know how I feel right now. At the moment, I don’t want to compete or think about the pole vault or do anything.
“I’m really gutted and heartbroken. I felt really good coming into this. I had some good sessions out in Slovakia but I picked up some stomach bug on Thursday and was basically being sick the whole night.
“That’s quite unusual for me. I have not really been able to eat much since. I have not trained because I have been trying to conserve my energy and I felt awful.”
Jessie Knight won her 400m hurdles heat in 54.27 seconds to reach Tuesday’s final at the National Athletics Centre.
She said: “It is probably the best mentally and physically that I have ever been coming into any Championships.
“I am starting to feel quite at home in this environment now. I had previously felt like a bit of a newbie in the major championships but I am settling in nicely now.”
Sha’Carri Richardson produced a breathtaking performance to claim her maiden World 100m title on day three of the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Budapest on Monday.
Richardson, running from lane nine after a shaky performance in the semi-finals earlier on Saturday, produced a personal best and championship record 10.65 to take the gold.
Shericka Jackson followed up her 10.79 in the semis with 10.72 to take her second consecutive silver medal in the evet while defending champion, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, was third with a season’s best 10.77.
Sha’Carri Richardson stormed to the world 100m title in Budapest as Dina Asher-Smith was left trailing.
The USA’s Richardson set a new World Championships record of 10.65 seconds to win ahead of Shericka Jackson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.
Asher-Smith could only manage eighth after running a disappointing 11 seconds on Monday night.
Asher-Smith is sixth in the world, a place above team-mate Daryll Neita, struggled in a favourable semi-final and ran just 11.02s to come third.
She needed to rely on a fastest-loser spot, along with Richardson after the American finished third in her heat.
There was earlier disappointment for Neita as she failed to make it past her semi-final after running 11.03s.
“It’s sad. It was crazy to be honest with you. I don’t see what I did majorly wrong, I just feel like I wasn’t fast, I didn’t run fast enough,” she said.
“It’s a big surprise because I should be there. I came here to be in that final. The fact that I am not is super disappointing and it honestly feels like a repeat of last year in Eugene.
“That was at least a faster run. The thing keeping me on my feet right now is the fact is I have the 200m to come back. It is keeping me going. It fuels a lot.”
A tearful Holly Bradshaw failed to reach the pole vault final after only clearing 4.35m following illness at Great Britain’s holding camp last week, although Molly Caudery qualified after passing 4.65m.
The 31-year-old, who crashed out of the event at last year’s worlds when her pole snapped in the warm up, failed at 4.50m before two unsuccessful attempts at 4.60m.
She said: “My mental health is really suffering from doing this sport right now. I am not near my family, I’ve still got four competitions but I wanted to try and get the Olympics qualification.
“I don’t really know how I feel right now. At the moment, I don’t want to compete or think about the pole vault or do anything.
“I’m really gutted and heartbroken. I felt really good coming into this. I had some good sessions out in Slovakia but I picked some stomach bug on Thursday and was basically being sick the whole night.
“That’s quite unusual for me. I have not really been able to eat much since. I have not trained because I have been trying to conserve my energy and I felt awful.”
Jessie Knight won her 400m hurdles heat in 54.27 seconds to reach Tuesday’s final at the National Athletics Centre.
She said: “It is probably the best mentally and physically that I have ever been coming into any Championships.
“I am starting to feel quite at home in this environment now. I had previously felt like a bit of a newbie in the major championships but I am settling in nicely now.”
Olympic Champion Hansle Parchment once again showed himself to be a man for the big occasion with a silver medal in the Men’s 110m hurdles final at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Budapest on Monday.
Parchment produced 13.07 to take silver behind American Grant Holloway who ran a season’s best 12.96 to claim his third consecutive World title. Holloway’s American teammate Daniel Roberts was third with 13.09.
This is Parchment’s second World Championship silver medal after running 13.03 at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing.
Marileidy Paulino, Candice McLeod and Sada Williams all successfully made it through the semi-finals of the Women’s 400m on day three of the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Budapest on Monday.
Paulino, the reigning Olympic and World Championship silver medalist, produced 49.54 to win semi-final one.
Ireland’s Rhasidat Adeleke (49.87) also automatically advanced through to the final from semi-final one while Belgium’s Cynthia Bolingo ran 49.96, a new national record, to advance as one of the non-automatic qualifiers. Jamaica’s Candice McLeod ran 50.62 for fourth to advance as the final time qualifier.
The second semi-final was won by Lieke Klaver in 49.88 while Talitha Diggs also made it through with 50.86. Jamaican champion, Nickisha Pryce, was in a qualifying spot after running a hard first 300m before fading down the stretch and eventually running 51.24 for fifth.
Sada Williams, the defending World Championship bronze medallist, ran a personal best and national record 49.58 for second in semi-final three to advance. Poland’s Natalia Kaczmarek ran 49.50 to take the win.
Defending champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson are through to the finals of the 100m. So, too, was Julien Alfred of St Lucia who continued her unbeaten run this season by taking her semi-final heat to advance to her first global final.
American medal hopeful Sha’Carri Richardson and the dangerous Marie Jose Ta-Lou are also through into what is expected to be a cracking final.
Fraser-Pryce who is going for her sixth world 100m title but whose preparation this season has been interrupted by a long-running knee injury, eased out of the blocks but rushed past the field to win her heat in 10.89.
The USA’s Tamari Davis secured her spot in the final by finishing second in 10.98.
Jackson, meanwhile, was more impressive getting a good start and cruised to victory in 10.79, just ahead of an impressive Ta Lou, who was just as easy finishing second on 10.79. Richardson, who was left in the blocks managed to take third in 10.84, a time that eventually got her into the final.
Alfred, who is unbeaten in the 100m this season, survived a scare in her heat after receiving a yellow card for a faulty start. However, having dodged a repeat of her fate at the 2022 World Championships, she started cautiously but stormed past the field to win in 10.92.
Britney Brown of the USA booked her finals berth after running 10.97 for a second-place finish.
Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith made it into the final having finished third in 11.01.
Olympic Champion Hansle Parchment successfully made it through to the final of the men’s 110m hurdles on day three of the IAAF World Athletics Championships on Monday.
Parchment got his customary slow start before coming through to eventually finish second in 13.18. The race was won by American Freddie Crittenden in 13.17. Wilhem Belocian of France advanced as one of the non-automatic qualifiers after running 13.23 for third while Switzerland's Jason Jospeh also made it through in fourth with 13.25.
Reigning two-time World Champion Grant Holloway was the fastest qualifier with 13.03 to win semi-final two ahead of France’s Sasha Zhoya (13.15). Japan’s Shunsuke Izumiya (13.16) won semi-final one ahead of the USA's Daniel Roberts (13.19).
The final is set for 2:40 pm Jamaica time on Monday.
Jaydon Hibbert’s gold medal ambitions at the World Athletics Championships have been shattered.
The talented 18-year-old, the world leader with his mark of 17.87m was among the favourites to win the triple jump at the championships. He appeared to have suffered an injury on his first approach. As he leapt off the board, he aborted his attempt while clutching the back of his right leg.
Officially, he will take no further part in the competition.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
