LeBron James has been named Team USA's male flagbearer for the Olympic Games opening ceremony on Friday.
A two-time gold medallist in 2008 and 2012, the NBA legend was selected by his fellow Olympians ahead of what will be his fourth Games in Paris.
James, who also won bronze in Athens 20 years ago, is the first men's basketball player to achieve the honour.
The 39-year-old will lead his 591 fellow Team USA athletes along the River Seine in what will be the first summer Olympic opening ceremony held outside the main stadium.
"It's an incredible honour to represent the United States on this global stage," James said, "especially in a moment that can bring the whole world together.
"For a kid from Akron, this responsibility means everything to not only myself but to my family, all the kids in my hometown, my team-mates, fellow Olympians and so many people across the country with big aspirations."
Four-time NBA champion James, who is also the record points scorer in the league's history, will look to help Team USA to a fifth successive gold in the men's basketball - and 17th overall.
They begin their campaign against Serbia on Sunday while also playing South Sudan and Puerto Rico in Group C, with all their matches taking place at the Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Lille.
Ian Maatsen labelled Aston Villa head coach as "brilliant" as he prepares for the club's maiden appearance in this season's Champions League.
Maatsen completed his £37.5million switch from Chelsea while on international duty with the Netherlands at Euro 2024.
The 22-year-old, who did not feature for Ronald Koeman's side in Germany, signed a six-year deal at Villa Park following an impressive loan spell with Borussia Dortmund last season.
Maatsen made 16 Bundesliga appearances, scoring two goals and helping Die Schwarzgelben reach the Champions League final, playing the full duration of their 2-0 defeat to Real Madrid at Wembley.
Emery led Villa to a fourth place finish in the Premier League, and has become well known for his success on the European stage during his time in Spain.
The Spaniard has won the Europa League on four different ocassions, while also guiding Villa to the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League last term.
"Last season they did very well and the coach obviously is a brilliant coach with a lot of experience in Europe," Maatsen told Aston Villa's official club website.
"They are playing Champions League football this season so it is exciting. "He is a manager who loves to play football and win trophies.
"That was the challenge for me to come here and show the people that I am capable of doing these things at the highest level."
Maatsen made his Champions League debut in Dortmund's last 16 fixture against PSV Eindhoven, going on to make seven appearances in the competition.
And while many predict Emery's side to follow Newcastle after trying to juggle league and European commitments, the defender insisted that he is confident that Villa can become regulars in Europe's elite club competition.
"It's good because obviously we are here now to earn a spot in the Champions League every year - it's such a great competition."
Maatsen is one of seven new arrivals at Villa Park, with Emery taking his spending this transfer window to £140million after the arrival of Amadou Onana from Everton was confirmed on Monday.
Villa begin the 2024-25 season away to West Ham on August 17, a side they have failed to beat away from home in the league since a 2-1 victory at Upton Park back in April 2011.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner believes Gianpiero Lambiase's "childish" remark was not aimed at Max Verstappen during the pair's unhappy radio exchange at Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix.
Drivers' Championship leader Verstappen was forced to settle for fifth at the Hungaroring - his second-lowest finish of the season - Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris comprising a McLaren one-two.
The three-time world champion was involved in a collision with Lewis Hamilton on lap 63, after overshooting a corner on an attempted overtake.
It led Verstappen to vent his frustrations towards race engineer Lambiase, telling him over the team radio: "You gave me this s*** strategy. I'm trying to rescue what's left."
The Italian responded: "I am not even going to get into a radio fight with the other teams, Max. We'll let the stewards do their thing. It’s childish on the radio, childish."
It was a surprising exchange given the close-knit relationship shared between the pair, who have worked together for eight years.
However, Horner said Lambiase's comments were instead aimed at the radio traffic from rival teams hoping the stewards would penalise them.
"I don't think GP's [Lambiase] reference at that point was in reference to Max," he told reporters. "Others [were] obviously goading for penalties because obviously the stewards are listening to the radio as well.
"Max was frustrated, which you can understand. He has a very direct line of communication with his engineer. It's something that they’ll discuss between the two of them.
"They've been together for eight years and, yes, there are things we could have done better in the race today that we'll talk about as a team.
"I think everybody sees we need to find more performance, and everybody is working hard to do that and we'll have whatever discussions behind closed doors."
Verstappen, who still holds a 76-point lead over Norris at the Drivers' Championship summit, will head to next weekend's Belgian Grand Prix having not won any of his last three races; last going four without success during the 2020 season.
However, the Dutchman has won each of the last three races in Belgium, and could become only the third driver after Ayrton Senna and Jim Clark to win four in a row.
Vincent Kompany believes Bayern Munich's players are "showing a lot of hunger" in keeping with club traditions as they look to bounce back from a disappointing 2023-24 season.
The Belgian was appointed as Thomas Tuchel's successor in May following a rare trophyless campaign at the Allianz Arena.
Bayern surrendered their 11-year grip on the Bundesliga title to Xabi Alonso's unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen, while Real Madrid defeated them in the Champions League semi-finals.
Several players are linked with moves away, with Kompany quizzed by reporters at the club's pre-season training camp in Tegernsee.
However, the new head coach insists a collective team spirit will be fundamental as he targets a response in the 2024-25 campaign, highlighting his learnings from a recent visit to the FC Bayern Museum.
"They explained everything that has made Bayern so successful," he said.
"I learned a lot about Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Uli Hoeness, Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Muller - the big names. They all had one thing in common: they always kept going, even after success. That has always characterised the club.
"We're making such a mistake talking about individuals. None of the history of this club shows that; it's been about hard work and resilience.
"We've worked hard in the last weeks. Every player in the team has a lot of talent. It's about the future. I don't want to talk much about the past. I want to work with the lads. I feel like everyone is showing a lot of hunger.
"I don't want to look back too much. What I can say is that players like the ones we have always show a reaction. It's important that we show a reaction together. We don't need to make big speeches. It's important for me that we show that we're up for it.
"We have to win and to celebrate, but we also have to keep going. It's about the club, the next step - how can we get better? We can be proud of the past, but we are successful because we think about the future."
Nayoka Clunis will not get her chance to compete at the Paris Olympics as the Court of Arbitration for Sport Ad Hoc Division concluded that it lacks jurisdiction to hear the dispute brought forward by the 28-year-old.
Clunis, a four-time Jamaican national champion and current national record holder, filed a last-minute appeal to the CAS Ad Hoc Division on Friday after she qualified for and was selected by the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) to represent Jamaica in the hammer throw competition in Paris, but her name was not submitted by the local governing body to World Athletics.
“The application filed by Ms Nayoka Clunis (JAM), who sought a decision from the CAS ad hoc Division directing that she be included on the appropriate list to participate in the hammer throw competition at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, could not be entertained as it was filed outside the jurisdiction of the CAS ad hoc Division Paris 2024. As a consequence, the case could not be reviewed on the merits.” the CAS ad hoc division release stated on Monday.
It continued, “Nayoka Clunis was qualified and selected by the JAAA to represent Jamaica in the hammer throw competition at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, but her name was not submitted by the JAAA to World Athletics (WA) due to an unfortunate omission. The unused quota was reallocated to another athlete, Iryna Klymets (Ukraine).”
The JAAA expressed that they were “deeply saddened” by the situation in a release of their own on Monday.
“We note the decision of the ad hoc panel of CAS that they do not have jurisdiction to hear the matter as the dispute arose outside the 10 days window for disputes relating to the Olympic Games,” the release stated.
It continued: “At all times we (JAAA) have been supportive of the athlete’s participation at the Olympic Games and in fact had petitioned World Athletics to include her in the list of participating athletes even if it meant increasing the number of participants to 33.”
The Association noted that while World Athletics didn’t alter their position of 32 participants, they maintained that if any vacancy arises, it would be allocated to Clunis.
The statement continued: “Notwithstanding the above CAS also made note that the respondent (JAAA) would have been unable to provide the relief being sought by the applicant (Clunis) and that World Athletics and the IOC would be the ones that could provide that relief. Again, we are deeply saddened that this situation continues and are making every effort in the hope that World Athletics and the IOC will find a way to enable Ms. Clunis to compete in the Olympics.”
Clunis set a new national record of 71.83m at the USATF Throws Festival in Tucson, Arizona in May, one of three throws she’s had over 70m this season.
She represented the country at the World Championships in Budapest last year and this would’ve been her first appearance at the Olympics.
Leny Yoro is relishing the opportunity to play in the Premier League for Manchester United, a division he described as "the biggest in the world".
Yoro completed his £52million move to Old Trafford from Lille last week, signing a five-year contract with the option of a further year.
The 18-year-old became United's second signing of the transfer window following the arrival of Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna four days prior.
Yoro was thrust straight into Erik ten Hag's starting line-up for their 2-0 win over Rangers in their pre-season friendly on Saturday and impressed on his debut.
The French defender had the most touches (51), completed passes (44) and completed long passes (four) of anyone in the United side and is looking forward to showcasing his talents in the Premier League.
"Yeah, for me, this is the biggest championship in the world," Yoro said in his first interview with United. "For me, the Premier League, this is where the football fully exists.
"So the fans, the level – because the level is crazy there, there is not an easy game - and, for me, the Premier League is the biggest in the world."
Yoro had long been expected to complete a move to Real Madrid after keeping 15 clean sheets in his 32 league appearances, earning him a place in the Ligue 1 team of the year last season.
However, the 18-year-old revealed that a conversation with six-time Premier League winner Rio Ferdinand played a pivotal role in United securing his services.
"This is Rio Ferdinand, this is a legend in Man United, so for me this is an honour," Yoro said. "This is a big defender, a legend, so yeah, big honour for me.
"It was like two weeks ago. He called me, so first of all I was really impressed to speak with him and yeah, we spoke like 10 minutes about Man United, so he helped me a lot to make my choice.
"He spoke to me about the club, and [that] this is a historic club with a big story, and if I go there I need to fight for the club, to be ready, because this is the biggest club in the world."
United fans will be able to see Yoro in action again this Saturday when they face Arsenal in the first game of their pre-season tour of the United States.
Ten Hag's side will also play against Real Betis and Liverpool, before turning their attentions to their Community Shield encounter with Manchester City on August 10.
Chelsea have announced the signing of Caleb Wiley from Atlanta United for a reported fee of £8.5million.
The 19-year-old has signed a six-year contract, with the option to extend that for a further year, which would keep him at the club until 2031.
Wiley joined Atlanta's academy aged 11, progressing through the youth set-up before making his first-team debut in 2022.
He made 85 appearances for the Five Stripes in all competitions, scoring on his debut in a win over Sporting Kansas City.
Wiley has made two appearances for the USA senior side and is currently with the United States Olympic squad preparing for the Games in Paris.
The left-back is Chelsea's sixth signing this transfer window, after Tosin Adarabioyo, Omari Kellyman, Marc Guiu, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Renato Veiga.
However, he is expected to go out on loan next season, joining Strasbourg in Ligue 1 following his return from the Olympics.
On the back of a vintage display of power hitting from Captain Kieron Pollard and some responsible batting from Nicholas Pooran, defending champions MI New York booked a spot in the 2024 Major League Cricket Playoffs with a four-wicket win over the Los Angeles Knight Riders at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas on Sunday.
Both teams entered Sunday’s clash knowing a win would be good enough for them to join the San Francisco Unicorns, Washington Freedom and Texas Super Kings in the playoffs.
After winning the toss and electing to field first, MI New York restricted the LA Knight Riders to 130 all out off 19.1 overs.
The hard-hitting Andre Russell did the bulk of the scoring for the Sunil Narine-led knight Riders with 35 while Jason Roy hit 27 at the top of the innings.
Leg-spinner Rashid Khan was the pick of the New York bowlers with 3-22 from his four overs while Nosthush Kenjige and Trent Boult supported well with two wickets, each.
MI New York then needed only 17 overs to reach 134-6 and book their spot in the playoffs after winning just one of their first six games of the season.
Nicholas Pooran led the way with 35 off 28 balls but it was Pollard’s blistering 33* off just 12 balls that sealed victory.
Pooran’s knock included two fours and as many sixes while Pollard hit two fours and three sixes.
Dewald Brevis also chipped in with a 19-ball 27.
Narine took 2-24 from his four overs for the Knight Riders.
Full Scores:
LA Knight Riders 130 all out off 19.1 overs (Andre Russell 35, Jason Roy 27, Rashid Khan 3-22, Nosthush Kenjige 2-22, Trent Boult 2-38)
MI New York 134-6 off 17 overs (Nicholas Pooran 35, Kieron Pollard 33*, Dewald Brevis 27, Sunil Narine 2-24)
Rafael Nadal is "convinced" Carlos Alcaraz will be at a "great level" for the Olympics ahead of their anticipated doubles team-up.
The pair will be representing Spain at the upcoming Games in Paris, with both also participating in the singles event.
Nadal reached his first final since his French Open triumph in 2022 at the Swedish Open on Sunday, eventually losing out to Nuno Borges in straight sets.
He has previously won two Olympic gold medals though, his first in the singles at the 2008 Games in Beijing, and the second at Rio 2016 in the doubles.
Meanwhile, Alcaraz has won back-to-back grand slams this year, winning at Roland Garros in June before beating Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon earlier this month.
The 21-year-old is competing at the Olympics for the first time in his career ahead of the hard-court swing of the season.
Nadal admitted he was not happy with his performance level in the final in Bastad and is determined to improve to match Alcaraz's level.
"I'm really looking forward to being part of the Olympic team and representing Spain," Nadal said.
"This is the most important event in sport. I hope I can find the energy I need and do some good training.
"If I manage to play good tennis, I will also do so in doubles, but I must analyse well what happened this week and work hard.
"I am convinced that Carlos will be at a great level because he is coming in with confidence. We will train together this week."
Erik ten Hag says Manchester United do not want to sell Scott McTominay, despite speculation linking the midfielder with a move away from Old Trafford.
McTominay, who has been with United since the age of five, has been the subject of interest from Galatasaray and Fulham, with the latter seeing a bid of £17million rejected.
The Scotland midfielder enjoyed his most prolific season in 2023-24 with 10 goals, before appearing for his nation at Euro 2024.
And though the Red Devils are reportedly keen to offload players, Ten Hag hopes McTominay will not be one of them.
"We have very good players, so there will always be interest from other clubs," Ten Hag said.
"When you score 10 goals in a season and also perform very well for Scotland, then there will be interest. But we want to keep him because he is a very important player for our squad.
"What he can contribute, as we saw last season once we had our sixes available, he could play in a more advanced role, and he is a highly interesting player for our team."
Rafael Nadal felt his performance levels at the Swedish Open were "so far from what they should be", but was pleased to emerge from his run to the final in Bastad without any injuries.
The 22-time major winner reached his first ATP championship match since winning his 14th French Open title two years ago, losing out to Nuno Borges in straight sets.
Nadal saw off Leo Borg and Cameron Norrie, before battling past Mariano Navone and Duje Ajdukovic in three sets. However, he was no match for Borges, who was a commanding 6-3 6-2 winner in the final.
The injury-plagued Spaniard opted to skip Wimbledon to focus on participating in the forthcoming Paris Olympics, where he will play in the singles and doubles events.
And though he admitted he wanted to play better in Bastad, Nadal was thrilled to come through multiple demanding matches unscathed.
"The level was so far from what it should be. Probably, the energy too. It has been a long week with long matches," Nadal told reporters.
"I don't have damage [to my body], that's important - but mentally and physically, I'm not used to playing four days in a row and playing long matches.
"I need to analyse well and find the reason why I played that way, even if the energy wasn't right. Things like this can happen, and that's the situation.
"I played the final, that's positive. I was able to play long matches without having an injury. That's good.
"In some ways, I felt that I arrived here practising much better than what I played in the tournament during the whole week. That's something that I am not satisfied with."
In a decisive ruling on Monday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) Ad Hoc Division concluded that it lacks jurisdiction to hear the dispute brought forward by Jamaican hammer thrower Nayoka Clunis. The decision came after a detailed examination of the timeline and events leading up to the application filed by Clunis on July 18, 2024.
On July 4, 2024, Clunis's name was omitted from the list sent to World Athletics (WA). By July 7, she was informed by the JAAA that her name was missing from the list, and on July 8, WA confirmed that her name could not be added. Despite Clunis's contention that the dispute only crystallized when she received detailed submissions from WA on July 19, the CAS determined that the dispute had arisen earlier.
The CAS proceedings began on July 18, 2024, with a videoconference hearing on July 20. The parties involved included Clunis and her counsel Dr Emir Crowne and Sayeed Bernard, representatives from the JAAA, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), WA, and the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA). The panel, consisting of President Dr. Annabelle Bennett and arbitrators Ms. Carine Dupeyron and Ms. Kristen Thorsness OLY, found that the timeline of events placed the dispute outside their jurisdiction.
Clunis's submission stated that due to an administrative error and the impact of Hurricane Beryl, her name was not submitted to WA for the Paris Olympic Games. She argued that this exceptional situation warranted the CAS Ad Hoc Division's intervention to prevent an unjust outcome. However, the IOC and WA contested the jurisdiction, pointing out that the dispute arose before the 10-day window preceding the Opening Ceremony.
The CAS panel reviewed the chronology of events, noting key dates such as World Athletics (WA’s) confirmation of qualified athletes on July 5 and the JAAA’s attempts to rectify the error from July 6 onwards. The dispute, according to the CAS, did not arise when Clunis received the detailed correspondence but rather when she was first informed of the omission.
Ultimately, the CAS concluded that it had no jurisdiction as the dispute arose before the 10-day period leading up to the Olympics. The panel acknowledged the unfairness to Clunis, who was deprived of the opportunity to compete due to circumstances beyond her control. Despite recognizing the hardship, the CAS emphasized that jurisdiction could not be assumed where it does not exist under the rules.
Mike Morgan and Ben Cisneros appeared for the JAAA; Antonio Rigozzi and Eolos Rigopoulos for the IOC, Ian Wilkson for the JOA and Catherine Pitre (Counsel) and expert witnesses Carlo de Angeli and Marton Gyulai for World Athletics.
Former Italy defender Leonardo Bonucci has backed Antonio Conte to make Napoli one of the main contenders in Serie A next season.
Conte returned to management after a 15-month absence by signing a three-year contract with the Partenopei last month.
Napoli won the Scudetto in 2022-23 with five games to spare after storming to the title, but followed that up by finishing 10th last season, outside the extended European places.
After Luciano Spalletti's departure in 2023, the club went through three head coaches last season, with both Rudi Garcia and Walter Mazzarri being fired before Francesco Calzona oversaw the last few months of their underwhelming title challenge.
Gianluigi Buffon believes Napoli will finish in the top two this season, and Bonucci agreed with his former Juventus team-mate that Conte will make all the difference.
"Napoli couldn't have made a better choice after the year they've had," Bonucci told Sky Italia.
"They've taken on a world-class coach; he teaches you everything about football and gives you the right knowledge.
"The squad is strong and full of quality. Being able to work with them all week, he [Conte] will do really well."
Conte's first competitive game in charge of Napoli will be their Coppa Italia tie against Modena on August 10.
Karim Benzema does not believe there is a team capable of being better than "best in the world" Real Madrid.
The Frenchman left Madrid in 2023 after 14 years in which he won 25 major trophies, including five Champions Leagues, five Club World Cups and four LaLiga titles.
He scored 354 goals for Los Blancos in 648 appearances before joining Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League.
Following his departure, Madrid won LaLiga and lifted their 15th Champions League title last season, and Benzema backs them to follow that up without a challenge.
"A spectacular season, very good," Benzema told Marca. "Real Madrid is always the best team in the world.
"Players come and go, but Real Madrid will always be at the top, at the very top. It is the best and will continue to prove it.
"It's the best team in the world. It's always strong and fighting for everything. I stand there, look around and don't see any team that's capable of being better.
"They have everything. Players, coach and president."
Benzema's old shirt number has recently been filled following the signing of Kylian Mbappe on a free transfer after his departure from Paris Saint-Germain.
He will slot into a team full of players being tipped to win the Ballon d'Or this year, with the likes of Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior among the favourites.
Benzema, who won the prize in 2022, has tipped the Brazilian to lift the individual award after he finished as Madrid's top scorer in all competitions, netting 24 goals.
"I'm going to say Vini because he deserves it for his season and not just for what he's done this year, but also for what he's done last year, he was also above the rest with his football and what he does with the ball. He's a kid, a complete footballer," Benzema added.
"He can win a game on his own, of course, with the help of his teammates, but he is very good when Real Madrid needs him and that is why I think he deserves it.
"He is always there, and he always shows up. For all of that, my favourite is Vini."
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