The Trinidad and Tobago U16 and U18 netball teams have arrived in Jamaica for the inaugural Island Vibes Tournament, set to take place from September 20-22. This new event will see Jamaica's National U16 team face off against Trinidad and Tobago's U16 team in a two-match series, while the Trinidad and Tobago U18 team will compete against Denbigh High School, the winners of the recent Youth Summer Invitational and the first holders of the Marva Bernard Trophy.
Jamaica’s U16 squad, composed of talented schoolgirl representatives from both urban and rural schools, has been preparing for this series over the past six months under the leadership of co-coaches Nardia Hanson and Kerry-Ann Brown. The team, which was the runner-up to Denbigh High's U18 team in the recent Youth Summer Invitational, comprises a well-rounded mix of defenders, center court players, and shooters. The squad includes defenders Henicka Henry, Kyara Johnson, Denesia Laing, Ashley Kentish, and Sashane Smith. The center court is represented by Shamwua Hall, Jody-Ann Flemmings, Brianya Allen, Natasha Pringle, Reniecia Jones, and Jada Campbell, while the shooting duties will be handled by Kaelyn-Keandra Smith, Kheresha Peccoo, Syranna Brown, and Kalee Martin.
Vice President of Netball Jamaica, Simone Forbes, expressed excitement about the opportunity for the Jamaican girls to play in an international series. "The Coaches and the girls are excited about this opportunity to play an International Series," said Forbes. "Our sponsors Carimed, Wisynco, NHT, Budget Car Rentals, and INSPORT have pledged their support, and so this will be an interesting series which we anticipate will help us to promote Youth Development in the Region. We are very happy that the teams from Trinidad and Tobago were able to come to compete. We encourage all school coaches and members of school teams as well as the public to come out and support all our girls."
Trinidad and Tobago's President, Sherry-Ann Blackburn, also expressed her enthusiasm for the competition. "We are all excited and gearing up for intense competition in Jamaica this weekend. Our national Under 16 and Under 18 teams have gone through rigorous training supervised by our dedicated technical staff. We are happy to be a part of this new and innovative series and hope it will help to make a real difference as the Region continues to put structures in place to build high-performance teams."
The Island Vibes Tournament promises an exciting lineup of matches at the Leila Robinson Courts, Independence Park Limited. The action kicks off on Friday, September 20, with Denbigh High taking on Trinidad and Tobago's U18 team at 6:00 PM. Following that, Jamaica's U16 team will clash with Trinidad and Tobago's U16 team at 7:15 PM. The series concludes on Sunday, September 22, starting at 4:30 PM when Denbigh High faces the Trinidad and Tobago U18s once again. The final match, scheduled for 5:45 PM, will feature the Jamaica U16s against the Trinidad and Tobago U16s. The tournament will culminate with a closing ceremony and medal presentation at 7:00 PM.
The event is also supported by several sponsors, including Confidence, Kendel, Wata, Powerade, NHT, Budget, Stewart’s Automotive, ILE, and JACE Management. It is held under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, further showcasing the region's commitment to youth development in sports. Arleene Findlay serves as the Competition Manager for the tournament.
The Women's Super League is set for a shake-up this season after serving up one of the tightest title races in recent history.
Chelsea pipped Manchester City to the crown on goal difference last season, sending Emma Hayes off with a fifth consecutive WSL triumph, and her seventh overall.
But Sonia Bompastor is in the hot seat now, and her Chelsea team will kick off the new season on September 20 against Aston Villa, who are also under new management.
The first heavyweight clash of the season is just two days later, with City and Arsenal facing off at the start of their title challenges, with both keen to dethrone Chelsea.
The season promises twists and turns, but will it throw up any surprises? Or will it be business as usual?
Will Chelsea's reign finally come to an end?
Hayes may not be in West London any more, having swapped Chelsea for the United States, but her dominant legacy remains as Bompastor, a seasoned winner herself, takes the reins.
Having won three Division 1 Feminine league titles as Lyon manager, the Opta supercomputer is backing her to lead Chelsea (59.8%) to an incredible sixth WSL trophy in a row. No manager has ever won the WSL in their first season, and to do so would certainly begin her own legacy.
The team scored 71 goals in the WSL last term, setting a new record for a 22-game season, outperforming an expected goals figure of 59.87, which was still the highest accumulated tally of any team in the league, bettering Arsenal's 55.48 xG.
The likes of Lauren James and Aggie Beever-Jones are likely to prove pivotal at the top end of the pitch once again, but they have game-changers all over the pitch.
Niamh Charles has proven instrumental from left-back, making the second-most passes (1,220, of which 982 were successful) of all Chelsea players behind Jess Carter, who is no longer at the club. She also contested 210 duels, with only Erin Cuthbert (220) taking on more, but no player won more than her 130.
But having come so close to seeing their title streak end last season, they face another tough test to defend their crown, as both Arsenal and Man City will be keen to take advantage of Hayes' departure.
City finished as runners-up for the sixth time and are predicted to endure the same fate again come May, with a 23.5% chance of clinching the title as we start the season.
City's defensive sturdiness proved to be a valuable asset last term and was one of the reasons they ran Chelsea so close. They conceded the fewest goals in the league (15), outperforming their expected goals against figure (19.89 xGA).
That is partly due to the form of Khiara Keating, who scooped the Golden Glove in her breakout season after keeping nine clean sheets. She had the best save percentage (79.45%) of any goalkeeper in the league to play more than 10 games.
All the WSL teams have bolstered their ranks in the off-season, but none of the deals have stood out quite like City's early swoop to bring in Vivianne Miedema, who left Arsenal as a free agent.
Taylor has already acknowledged that the Dutchwoman could be the key to ending their long wait for a league title, and who could blame him?
Miedema has scored 80 WSL goals in 106 games, outperforming her 59.63 xG. She has also had the most shots on record since Opta began collecting such data for the competition, with 452, and 198 of those have hit the target.
And she will be sharing the spotlight with Khadija Shaw, who stole the show last time around, clinching her first Golden Boot since joining the club by netting 21 goals.
The Jamaican bettered her xG total by nearly 10 goals (12.31) and scored 11 of the 25 big chances that fell her way in the competition.
She now has 50 WSL goals in just 57 games for City, and with her tally improving year-on-year, she will surely be a key player for the Citizens once again.
Meanwhile, Arsenal may have slipped out of the title race on the home stretch last year after dropping valuable away points in a 3-1 defeat to Chelsea and a 1-1 draw with Everton, but Jonas Eidevall's side should not be counted out, despite being assigned just a 14.9% chance of getting their hands on the trophy.
Arsenal, who will be playing at the Emirates Stadium this season, are already a formidable home team, having lost only one such game last campaign (1-0 to Liverpool on the opening day), but a capacity crowd could be the extra boost they need.
A lot of the onus for goals will likely fall on Alessia Russo's shoulders after she finished as their top scorer in the WSL last season (12), but Stina Blackstenius' tally in all competitions had her beat.
The Swede's goals have proved invaluable to Arsenal over the years, and last year alone, she earned them a 1-0 win over Chelsea in the Conti Cup final, before her double over Man City effectively ended their rivals' title hopes.
Blackstenius has the best shots-per-90 ratio in the top-flight (5.5), managing 41 efforts in her 666 minutes on the field, and netting seven goals from those.
Manchester United, the runners-up in 2022-23, may have endured an underwhelming campaign last time around, but they are still being given a slim 1.8% chance of causing an upset to claim their first WSL title.
Marc Skinner led them to their first piece of major silverware in the FA Cup, but with some big-name departures, they will need to gel quickly to stand a chance of mounting a real challenge.
And while the Opta supercomputer does not believe they can do it, everybody loves a dark horse, and Liverpool could find themselves in the mix coming off a fourth-placed finish.
Matt Beard is the only current manager in the league to have won a WSL title, so that experience could prove vital, especially if the Reds get off to a strong start.
Managerial merry-go-round keeps spinning
Unsurprisingly, all the talk before the season is about Bompastor and the big shoes she has to fill.
Bompastor won exactly 100 of her 118 games in charge of Lyon, registering an 84.75% win ratio and losing only eight times. Her Lyon team scored 381 goals, averaging 3.81 per match while conceding only 71 in return (0.71 per game).
Chelsea have brought in a manager they hope can win them the one thing Hayes never could: the Champions League, which Bompastor won with Lyon. The elusive trophy will be high on their priority list, but Blues fans will be hoping it is not at the expense of another league title.
Bompastor will not be the only manager making her WSL bow on September 20, as she will face off against Robert de Pauw, Carla Ward's replacement at Villa.
De Pauw, joining after two years at Bayer Leverkusen, has been clever in his recruitment, replacing Alisha Lehmann and Simone Magill with exciting up-and-coming talents that could see them push for a place towards the top once again.
But perhaps De Pauw's biggest challenge will be to get Rachel Daly back to her high-scoring best after she managed just eight goals in the WSL last time around.
Daly was 2022-23's surprise package, enjoying a superb campaign by netting 22 goals to clinch the Golden Boot, holding off the likes of Shaw to get her hands on the award.
There have been changes at the other end of the table, too.
Brighton have welcomed Dario Vidosic from Melbourne City as they look to stave off relegation, and the manager may have quite the task on his hands.
However, his 54.55% win rate in the A-League from 25 matches (12 wins) is a promising sign, with the team averaging 1.86 points per game under the 37-year-old.
Meanwhile, Leicester City, who finished 10th last season, have brought in Amandine Miquel from Reims after seven years at the club, which included a promotion to the French top-flight.
The Foxes are tipped to be fighting for survival, and Miquel has warned fans they will need to trust the process while she tries to impress a "strong tactical identity" onto the squad, with her first aim surely to improve on the four wins they accumulated last campaign.
Who's In and Who's Out
Miedema's departure looked like it might spell trouble for Arsenal, but the Gunners have been savvy with their transfer dealings.
Young winger Rosa Kafaji is an exciting up-and-coming talent, but they also added a Champions League winner of their own, getting Mariona Caldentey on a free transfer from Barcelona.
Caldentey scored 10 goals in the league last season, also laying on nine assists, the third-highest tally in the competition, while her 57 chances created were only bettered by Caroline Hansen (85).
With Daphne van Domselaar also joining from Aston Villa to strengthen their goalkeeping position, Arsenal have given themselves a strong foundation to build success this campaign despite the loss of Miedema.
Chelsea have also been busy, strengthening their defence by bringing in serial winner Lucy Bronze.
The right-back has won every domestic trophy available in France, Spain and England, having left Barcelona after scooping an impressive quadruple, which included her fifth Champions League title.
Bronze created 28 chances for Barca last season from full-back – the second-most of any defender for the European champions, after Ona Batlle.
Man United, on the other hand, have drawn attention for the wrong reasons.
They started the off-season by announcing that club captain Katie Zelem, who created the most chances of any player in the WSL last season (58), Lucia Garcia and Mary Earps were all leaving after their contracts expired.
Grace Clinton is back, however, after her breakout season at Tottenham and will hope to link up with fellow lioness Ella Toone.
To add to United fans' transfer misery, experienced forward Nikita Parris also left the club in deadline day's biggest story, choosing to switch to a Brighton team and a likely relegation battle.
She will be playing alongside Fran Kirby, with Chelsea's all-time leading goalscorer leaving as a free agent at the end of last season.
Last campaign, she played just 897 minutes across 21 appearances in the league, but still managed to create 31 chances (the 11th-best tally in the league), with 10 of those considered 'big' chances.
Kirby won seven WSL titles under Hayes at Chelsea, and though she may not be pushing for silverware this time around, her experience could prove invaluable, along with Parris', as Vidosic looks to find his footing in a new league.
New kids on the block
Crystal Palace are just days away from embarking on their first-ever WSL season, with Laura Kaminski leading them to promotion from the Women's Championship in her first year in charge.
They finished top of the pile with 46 points, a 12-point improvement on their previous season, while they only suffered four defeats compared to 10 in 2022-23.
Kaminski immediately made Palace harder to beat, and they conceded just 20 goals in the league last season. But there was also huge progress at the other end of the pitch, with Palace scoring a league-high 55 goals, 16 more than Southampton in second.
The Eagles have seen a high turnover in the transfer window, bringing in eight new players and saying goodbye to eight, and they will not be eased into WSL action, with FA Cup runners-up Tottenham first up for them.
They are not the favourites to go down, though they are given a 20.2% chance of dropping straight back into the second tier – with four teams seen to be firmly in the relegation scrap.
The Opta supercomputer may show slight favour to the newcomers, but Brighton are not so lucky, with a 26.4% chance of finishing bottom of the table.
The unpredictability of their new coach coupled with a lot of changes to their squad is likely the reason for that unfavourable forecast, but as touched on before, the acquisitions of Kirby and Parris could turn the tide.
However, there are issues that need to be addressed quickly. Brighton lost the joint-second most games in the WSL last year (13), with only relegated Bristol City suffering more defeats.
The Seagulls netted just 26 times last season, the third-lowest tally, from a total of 208 shots (including blocks), and though they bettered their xG tally of 21.91, improving their creativity will surely be high on Vidosic's priority list.
In any other season, West Ham could have been in real danger of going down, but Bristol's struggles meant their 15 points were enough to secure another year in the top-flight in 2023-24.
Like Brighton, they lost 13 of their matches but only managed to get three wins on the board in Rehanne Skinner's first campaign at the helm.
One reason for their struggles was a lack of firepower, as they only scored 20 goals, level with the Robins, netting around three fewer goals than expected (22.92 xG).
They are being given a 19.2% chance of going down, and though Skinner will be hoping they can improve on her first year, having lost Mackenzie Arnold and Hawa Cissoko, it is likely they will be in the relegation fight once more.
Leicester are also tipped as candidates to drop, with a 21.9% chance, not helped by their stumbling finish to the WSL last season, in which they failed to win any of their last eight matches.
That run was compounded by a 4-0 defeat to Liverpool on the final day, and with the Reds first up for them this time around, they will be desperate to put in a better showing in Miquel's first outing.
Dylan Cease pitched two-hit ball into the ninth inning and Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Donovan Solano hit consecutive homers in the eighth to give San Diego Padres a 4-0 victory over the Houston Astros on Wednesday.
Machado homered twice for the Padres, who won two of three against the Astros and stayed 2 1/2 games ahead of Arizona and the Mets for the first NL wild card.
Cease, who threw his first career no-hitter on July 25 at Washington, took a one-hitter into the ninth before Mauricio Dubón beat out an infield single to shortstop. Cease struck out Jake Meyers but then shortstop Xander Bogaerts booted Jose Altuve's grounder for an error that allowed Dubón to take third, and that was it for the right-hander after 103 pitches.
Cease retired the first 15 Astros batters before allowing a single to right field by Jason Heyward to open the sixth. Cease then retired the side.
He struck out five and walked none before Tanner Scott got two outs for his 21st save.
Machado lined a shot to left-center off Framber Valdez, opening the sixth for his 29th home run.
Tatis, who struck out in his first three at-bats, hit reliever Kaleb Ort's first pitch into the first row in left-center leading off the eighth. Machado followed with a shot deep into the seats in left and Solano hit a liner to left.
Valdez went seven innings, allowing one run and five hits while striking out six and walking two.
Skubal wins 17th as Tigers stay hot
Tarik Skubal allowed three hits over five innings for his AL-best 17th win and the streaking Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals 4-2 to move within a half game of a playoff spot with 10 games remaining.
Riley Greene hit a go-ahead home run as the Tigers won their fourth straight and ninth in the last 11 games. With the series sweep, Detroit won for the 25th time in 35 games to move within a half game of Minnesota for the third AL wild-card spot.
Skubal, who has won his last five decisions, made his case for the AL Cy Young Award stronger by matching Atlanta’s Chris Sale for the major league lead in wins and lowered his AL-leading earned run average to 2.48. He walked one and struck out seven.
Skubal had struggled against the Royals in the past, entering Wednesday with a 2-9 record and 5.05 ERA in 12 starts over 14 appearances. After allowing three hits and Yuli Gurriel’s two-out RBI single in the first inning, he threw four hitless innings.
The Royals lost their fourth straight and were swept for the first time at home this season. They remained 2 1/2 games behind Baltimore for the first wild-card spot and 1 1/2 games ahead of Minnesota for the second wild card.
Guardians rally past Twins
Brayan Rocchio singled in Andrés Giménez to cap a three-run 10th inning and lift the Cleveland Guardians to a 5-4 win over the Minnesota Twins, reducing their magic number for clinching a playoff berth to one.
Kyle Manzardo and Will Brennan had RBI singles off Ronny Henriquez before Michael Tonkin entered and gave up Rocchio’s second career walk-off hit, a chopper to right through a drawn-in infield.
Josh Naylor hit a pair of solo homers and scored three times for Cleveland, which leads the division by six games over Kansas City. Naylor’s first shot was a 445-foot rocket to right-center, giving him his first 30-homer season.
The Guardians, who now have a major league-leading 41 comeback victories this season, can lock up a postseason spot Thursday with a win over Minnesota.
Carlos Correa had a two-run single off Hunter Gaddis that gave the Twins a 4-2 lead in the top of the 10th. Correa finished with four RBIs and extended his hitting streak to 16 games, matching his career high with Houston in 2019.
Minnesota had its lead for the final AL wild card cut to one-half game over surging Detroit.
Twins right-hander Bailey Ober struck out a career-high 12 over seven innings, but remained winless in seven starts since Aug. 9. He allowed two runs without issuing a walk.
The WNBA announced Wednesday it has awarded an expansion franchise to the City of Portland that will begin play in 2026.
Portland joins the California Bay Area and Toronto as new franchises set to enter the WNBA within the next two years, bringing the league to 15 teams. The Golden State Valkyries will debut in 2025, with Portland and Toronto starting the following season.
The Portland franchise will be owned and operated by the Bhathal family, which paid $125 million for the club. Lisa Bhathal Merage will serve as controlling owner and WNBA Governor, while Alex Bhathal was named Alternate Governor.
“For decades, Portland has been the global epicentre of sports lifestyle and today, we are now the global epicentre of women’s sports,” said Lisa Bhathal Merage. “We believe in the transformative power of women’s sports and are thrilled that the W will call Portland home.
"We know that Portland’s vibrant and diverse communities will highly support and rally around this team. Our goal is to grow this organisation in partnership with the Portland community, and we look forward to supporting the best women’s basketball players in the world when they take the floor at the Moda Center in 2026.”
The Bhathals also own the National Women's Soccer League's Portland Thorns and are investors in the NBA's Sacramento Kings.
Portland previously had a WNBA team, known as the Fire, that folded after three seasons in 2002.
“As the WNBA builds on a season of unprecedented growth, bringing a team back to Portland is another important step forward,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. “Portland has been an epicentre of the women’s sports movement and is home to a passionate community of basketball fans. Pairing this energy with the Bhathal family’s vision of leading top-flight professional sports teams will ensure that we deliver a premier WNBA team to the greater Portland area.”
Engelbert said in April the WNBA's goal is to expand to 16 teams by 2028, though it's unlikely the league adds another franchise before 2027.
Jordan Spieth is expecting to return to action for the 2025 PGA Tour season after undergoing successful wrist surgery last month.
Spieth, who last competed at the FedEx St. Jude Classic at TPC Southwind, failed to find his best form during the recent campaign out on the course.
The former world number one started the season strong, finishing third in The Sentry and then, a few weeks later, tied for sixth in the WM Phoenix Open
But the American missed the final two playoffs in the BMW Championship and Tour Championship, while also missing seven cuts, one of which included the Masters.
Spieth was seen sporting a cast on his first appearance since the surgery and was able to reveal the timeline for his return to action.
"I think that by 2025, by Jan. 1, it's my goal to be tournament-ready," Spieth told Golfweek in a Q&A published on Monday.
"And for me, that would be not just going out and seeing how it feels, you know, but expecting to play at my ceiling."
Spieth has three major wins and 13 overall victories on the PGA Tour but has not emerged victorious since the RBC Heritage in April 2022.
The American did not earn entry into the 2025 season-opening tournament. However, he is able to play in the Sony Open in Hawaii at the start of January.
While the 31-year-old's main reason for surgery was to see him return to form, he also detailed the personal reasons for his decision to go under the knife.
"I would say the number one reason why I ended up getting it done was because it affects my way of life at home," Spieth said.
"Like when it would dislocate and I couldn't get it back in, it would happen when I'm getting my daughter out of the bath, I'm putting a sweatshirt on or it just so random that it was like, I didn't want it to continue, and it happened more and more.
"And it wasn't going to heal itself based on a number of different docs and scans and whatever. So it's just inevitable."
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner assumes Lando Norris is the number one driver at McLaren because he is "paid five times more" than Oscar Piastri.
Despite Norris being the leading driver in the drivers’ championship standings and the highest-paid racer in the McLaren stable, it has been Piastri who has shone of late.
The Australian claimed his second career win in Baku last time out and has now scored more points (135) in the European leg of the season than any other driver.
Piastri is now 32 points behind Norris in the standings, having taken five top two finishes in his last seven races for the British-based team.
Ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, McLaren boss Andrea Stella revealed the team would favour Norris in a bid to topple Max Verstappen in the drivers' championship.
However, Horner rebuffed McLaren's claim that they have two number one drivers, suggesting Norris is being paid significantly more than Piastri.
"Usually those are things that are dealt with behind closed doors, those things, so I'm not actually sure what those rules are," said Horner.
"There still seems to be some confusion in them.
"Every team is different. Our rules of engagement are very clear and what the focus is until the end of the year.
"We've got a driver that's fighting for the world championship. It's a team sport. So it's very clear that Checo's job is to support Max until the end of the year.
"Different teams operate different ways. When you've got an asset like Max Verstappen, you don't make him a No 2 driver.
"Lando Norris, they're paying five times what they pay Oscar, so I would assume he would be their number one driver, or their biggest asset.
"So, therefore, the confusion comes when you're not up front from the beginning of what your plans are."
Thanks to McLaren's success in Baku, they now have a 20-point lead over Red Bull in the constructor's championship.
The British-based team now lead the standings for the first time since 2005, but their way to the top has not come without its problems.
During the Hungarian Grand Prix, Norris initially refused to hand first place back to Piastri before team orders were eventually followed to give the Australian his maiden victory in the competition.
But with McLaren's comments about prioritising Norris for the last seven races of the season, Horner believes that decision should have come much sooner.
"I think the other one is causing them headaches because he [Piastri] is winning races, and he's doing a very good job," continued Horner.
"It was like when Daniel Ricciardo came to us in 2014.
"He was clearly meant to be the number two to Sebastian Vettel, and he won three races that year to Sebastian's none. Sometimes it causes you a headache like that.
"For sure, they took Oscar with the expectation, as Mercedes probably did with George [Russell] and Ferrari did with Carlos [Sainz], that you've got a prime asset and a support asset.
"And when the second driver starts outperforming the first driver, that's when you tend to have a headache."
Bryce Harper hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the sixth inning to back up the strong pitching of Zack Wheeler and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-1 on Tuesday night in a matchup of division leaders.
Nick Castellanos added a solo shot and Trea Turner added three hits to help the Phillies move closer to wrapping up the NL East title while delaying the Brewers’ NL Central championship celebration.
The Phillies lowered their magic number for clinching the NL East to four. The Brewers’ magic number dropped to one with the Chicago Cubs’ 4-3 loss to the Oakland Athletics.
Wheeler (16-6) boosted his Cy Young Award credentials by allowing only four hits and one run in seven innings while striking out six and walking none. Wheeler, who lowered his ERA to 2.56, has given up no more than two runs in each of his last nine starts.
The score was tied at 1-all until Harper sent a 1-1 pitch from Frankie Montas over the wall in left-center for his 29th homer. Harper’s two-run shot also scored Kyle Schwarber, who led off with an infield single.
Philadelphia extended the lead to 4-1 in the seventh as Schwarber hit a ball that went off a leg of pitcher Aaron Ashby and headed into shallow right field for an RBI single after Edmundo Sosa's leadoff double.
Turner added a two-out RBI single off Enoli Paredes in the ninth.
Judge, Soto power Yankees to rout
Aaron Judge drove in four runs in his first two at-bats, Juan Soto hit his 40th homer of the season and 200th of his career, and the New York Yankees moved to the cusp of clinching a playoff berth with an 11-2 win over the Seattle Mariners.
The Yankees can clinch at worst a wild-card spot in the American League with a victory over Seattle on Wednesday. The win in the opener of New York’s six-game road trip pushed the Yankees' lead in the AL East to four games over Baltimore - their largest lead since holding a 4 1/2-game lead when play started on June 7.
Judge laced a two-run double three batters into the game and added a two-out, two-run single the next time he was up an inning later. Judge now has a league-leading 136 RBIs.
Soto joined the offensive outburst in the third inning with a two-out, two-run opposite field blast off Seattle starter Bryan Woo. It’s the first time in his career Soto has reached the 40-homer mark, and he’s now homered in all 30 parks in baseball.
Soto and Judge are the third set of Yankee teammates to each hit 40 home runs in a season, joining Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig (1927, 1930, 1931), and Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris (1961).
Tigers get past Royals in extras
Parker Meadows and Riley Greene delivered RBI singles in the 10th inning and the surging Detroit Tigers continued their postseason push with a 3-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals.
Tyler Holton retired all six Royals he faced, striking out a pair in the ninth to force extra innings. Jason Foley took care of the Royals in the 10th, earning the save for the second straight night and 25th time this season.
Detroit remained 1 1/2 games back of Minnesota for the final AL wild-card spot. The Royals stayed 2 1/2 games behind Baltimore for the first wild-card spot and are 1 1/2 ahead of the Twins.
Cole Ragans allowed one run on four hits and four walks with six strikeouts over seven innings for Kansas City, and Casey Mize allowed one run on six hits and four walks while pitching into the fifth for Detroit.
The Miami Dolphins will place quarterback Tua Tagovailoa on injured reserve, multiple media outlets reported Tuesday.
The move ensures that Tagovailoa will be out at least until Week 8, with Skylar Thompson slated to start Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks.
On Monday, the Dolphins signed Tyler Huntley from the Baltimore Ravens’ practice squad, giving them a possible alternative to Thompson in the coming weeks.
Tagovailoa’s latest concussion came during Thursday’s 31-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills. Tagovailoa scrambled for a first down in the second half before colliding with Bills safety Damar Hamlin.
The impact left Tagovailoa dazed on the ground as he appeared to undergo a fencing response – the stiffening of limbs after a traumatic brain injury – before he was helped off the field.
Tagovailoa had two previously diagnosed concussions in the 2022 season, including one which required him to be carried off the field on a stretcher.
The 2023 Pro Bowler’s third head injury sparked an outpouring of concern from the football world, with some calling for Tagovailoa to retire.
Miami’s players and coaches were visibly shaken up by Tagovailoa’s most recent concussion, but last year’s passing yards leader has yet to speak publicly since the injury.
NFL Network reported Sunday that Tagovailoa has no plans to retire.
“As far as Tua's career is concerned, I think it's an utmost priority of mine for Tua to speak onto his career,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel told reporters this week.
“I think as far as I'm concerned, I'm just worried about the human being and where that's at day to day. I'll let Tua be the champion of his own career and speak on that.”
While there is no firm timeline for Tagovailoa’s return, his placement on IR ensures that the earliest he could be back is Oct. 27 against the Arizona Cardinals.
While Miami’s (1-1) play-off hopes took a sizeable hit with Tagovailoa’s injury, the upcoming schedule appears manageable with games against the Seahawks, Tennessee Titans, New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts.
Trinidad and Tobago’s men’s hockey team are still basking in their successful qualification for next year’s Pan American (PanAm) Cup in Uruguay after they topped the recently-concluded Pan American Men’s Hockey Challenge in Peru.
The Calypso stickmen hammered the hosts 6-0 in a lopsided final in which captain Jordan Vieira secured a hat-trick, while the tournament’s top scorer Teague Marcano had a brace. Nicholas Grant got the other goal.
An elated Tarell Singh said winning the title and, by extension, qualifying for the PanAm Cup was a just reward for their hard work over the past week and leading up to the competition.
“Qualifying feels great because the Pan American Cup is where we should be competing,” Singh beamed.
“We have the quality to compete amongst the top teams in the Pan American region. The reason we went unbeaten in this tournament is because we came to make a statement, and we also worked for each other and kept trying to push positivity amongst the team,” he added as he reflected.
In the showpieces contest, Vieira handed Trinidad and Tobago a 1-0 lead at the half-time interval before they later asserted their authority on the encounter.
Vieira scored twice in the third quarter, while Grant also got his name on the scoresheet to make it 4-0, before Marcano fired in the last two to cap a solid performance for the Twin Island Republic, who ended the tournament as the only unbeaten team.
They tallied 60 goals in the process, 27 of which came from Marcano’s stick, while they only conceded a mere two goals across seven games.
Trinidad and Tobago will now be hoping to build on those performances leading up to and at the PanAm Cup scheduled for July 24 to August 3 in Montevideo.
The Calypso men will be hoping to replicate or even surpass the third-place finish in 2013, which remains the country’s best showing at the PanAm Cup.
Over 100 players turned out to display their talents at first weekend of the Shuttle Showdown Badminton Tournament 2024 which took place at the YMCA in Kingston on September 14th and 15th.
From thrilling matches in the Beginner’s Division, Division B, and Division D to the enthusiastic support from around 150 spectators daily, the tournament showcased exceptional badminton talent, sportsmanship and community spirit.
With over $150,000 in cash and prizes up for grabs, players truly gave their all on the court.
Tijae Hinds was the star of the weekend, taking the titles in Division B Men’s Singles, Men’s Doubles alongside Stephen Lue-Yen and Mixed Doubles alongside Breanna Bisnott.
The other winners were as follows:
Beginner’s Division- Selcon Zhang (Men’s Singles), Rolde Ann Broderick and Ashani Edwards (Mixed Doubles) and Davina Scott and Leonardo Wildman (Mixed Doubles).
Division D- Jhevado Ross (Men’s Singles), Dadrian Lewis (Women’s Singles), Marvin Lee and Rohan Brown (Men’s Doubles).
Patrons also enjoyed servings from The Burrito Shack, Zen Bowls and Bad Dawg Sausages, among many others to combat the heat of the day.
Jamaica Badminton Academy extends their gratitude to their sponsors including Chas. E. Ramson, Devon Biscuits, Lifespan Springwater, Premier Optical, Zalco Distributors, Shop Tech Goods, VP Racket Sports, Jamaica Sotheby's Realty Jamaica, ND Communications, Haven Beauty House, Dr. Mangue Chin and Television Jamaica for their coverage.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner insisted Sergio Perez "deserved more" after a "heartbreaking" crash denied him a place on the podium in Baku on Sunday.
Perez, who made a brilliant start to the season only to struggle in recent months, looked set to register his best finish since finishing third at the Chinese Grand Prix in April after comfortably holding P3 for much of the race.
However, Ferrari's Carlos Sainz snuck past him on the penultimate lap, and when the Mexican attempted to regain third place, the two tangled and hit the barrier, forcing them both out of the race.
That meant that George Russell instead claimed the final podium spot alongside winner Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc.
"He deserved a lot more," Horner told Sky Sports. "He should've at the very least been on the podium today.
"It was a magnificent race out at the front for so many laps. It was great to be in, it was exciting to be a part of, and it's just disappointing that it came to a close like that when it didn't need to.
"Unfortunately, he lost quite a bit of time on his out laps behind Alex Albon and then Lando [Norris] cost him dearly, which gave Oscar [Piastri] track position. I think without that, he would've won the race today.
"It's one of those things that's very heartbreaking for him and the team that so much effort goes in to lose a podium in the dying laps of the race."
It was a tough day for Red Bull all around, as Piastri's win coupled with Lando Norris crossing the line before Max Verstappen meant that McLaren leapfrogged them in the constructors'’ championship.
Red Bull are now 20 points behind McLaren ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, and Horner admitted he was not happy with how the tide had turned.
"Very, very disappointing," he added. "[The crash] destroyed the race for Checo.
"It's cost us a lot of damage and obviously vital points in the constructors' championship."
Emma Raducanu dug deep to grind out a marathon straight-sets victory over Peyton Stearns to progress at the Korea Open on Tuesday.
The Brit, who reached the semi-finals in 2022, needed two tie-breaks to win, holding off Stearns 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-5) in two hours and 46 minutes.
The play was delayed for 45 minutes due to excessive heat before the pair traded breaks in the opening three games, with Raducanu at one point holding a 4-1 lead before Stearns fought back to force the first tie-break.
Raducanu prevailed but was put straight back under pressure in a lengthy opening game of the second set, saving break point three times to get off the mark.
There was little to separate the two throughout though, as they continued to trade breaks before the 2021 US Open champion found her edge again to take the tie-break.
She will face last year's Korea Open runner-up Yuan Yue in the next round.
Data Debrief: Going the distance
Raducanu was playing her first match since being knocked out of the US Open, and she was certainly made to work for the victory.
It featured a combined tally of 28 break points and 12 breaks of serve, with eight of those coming in a topsy-turvy first set.
Raducanu successfully saved nine of 15 break points compared to seven of 13 for Stearns.
Emma Raducanu has been named in Great Britain's team for the Billie Jean King Cup finals.
The 2021 US Open winner will be joined by Katie Boulter, Harriet Dart, Heather Watson and Olivia Nicholls for the event in Malaga.
Britain defeated France in April to qualify for the knockout stage, with four of the aforementioned five - Watson the exception - taking part.
Captain Anne Keothavong named her five-member team on Monday ahead of the showpiece, which runs from November 13 to 20.
"We are really looking forward to the finals in Malaga after qualifying following our fantastic weekend in France in April," Keothavong said.
"Our team have created excellent memories and put in outstanding performances in this competition in recent years.
"We will relish the opportunity. There is still a lot of tennis to be played, and changes can be made up until the day before our first match."
All 12 teams announced their line-ups on Monday, with Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff notable names not included for Poland and the United States respectively.
World number one Swiatek and world number six Gauff feel they are unable to compete due to a quick turnaround in events to end the year.
US Open semi-finalist Emma Navarro is also out of the USA squad.
Kirk Cousins earned his first win at the Atlanta Falcons with a comeback win in the final minute of the game, and he believes it will only build their resolve.
The Falcons beat the Philadelphia Eagles 22-21, with Cousins picking out Drake London with 34 seconds left to snatch the victory.
At 21-15 down with less than two minutes on the clock, the quarterback completed 5 of 6 passes on a six-play, 70-yard drive before London finished it off. Younghoe Kim then converted a lengthy extra point to ensure they would not need to go to overtime.
And while Cousins was pleased to get off the mark with his new team, he thinks the nature of the win will benefit the Falcons in the long run.
"It's really, really important for us to be able to come in here and get a win," Cousins said. "Just proud of the way we kept playing, kept fighting.
"Coming from behind. Finding a way on the road in a tough environment against a good football team [makes it special].
"That builds resolve, builds some grit, builds some character that we're gonna have to lean on as the year goes on. This is how NFL football is.
"We've got to kind of get used to this and get comfortable in this because that's how these games tend to go.
"The more we can be battle-tested and have these moments, I think it will set us up well for what's coming down the road."
The game could have gone much differently if Philadelphia had completed a play with five-and-a-half minutes on the clock, but Saquon Barkley failed to catch Jalen Hurts' short pass inside the Atlanta 10.
The Eagles then settled for Jake Elliott's 28-yard field goal to take a six-point lead, before the Falcons' late show denied them a second win of the season.
"I dropped the ball," Barkley told reporters. "Let my team down today. Shouldn't have put the defense in that position.
"If I make the catch, game's over. Relax, get back to my old habits, and just gotta go back and get to work.
"I thought it was a great play call. I just gotta make that catch."
Both teams now hold a 1-1 record for the season. Atlanta face Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs next time out, while the Eagles travel to the New Orleans Saints.
The Los Angeles Dodgers got a three-run homer from Freddie Freeman and a combined four-hit shutout from Yoshinobu Yamamoto and four relievers to hand the Atlanta Braves a potentially costly 9-0 loss on Monday.
Making his second start following a near three-month absence caused by a strained shoulder, Yamamoto scattered four hits and two walks in four innings. The Braves didn't record a hit against Evan Phillips (4-1), Blake Treinen, Daniel Hudson and Brent Honeywell the rest of the way to fall one game back of the New York Mets for the National League's final wild card.
The Mets came through with a 2-1 win over the Washington Nationals on Starling Marte's run-scoring single in the 10th inning.
Shohei Ohtani knocked in two runs to help Los Angeles split this four-game series and move within a game of the Philadelphia Phillies for the NL's best record. The superstar slugger finished 0 for 4, however, and remained at 47 home runs and 48 stolen bases as he attempts to become MLB's first 50-50 player in a season.
The Dodgers didn't get a hit off Atlanta's Max Fried until the fifth inning but still managed to manufacture a run following a lead-off walk to Miguel Rojas in the third. Rojas advanced to second on a groundout, stole third and scored when Fried uncorked a wild pitch.
Tommy Edman collected Los Angeles' initial hit with a ground-rule double to begin the fifth and scored on Rojas' single. After a hit batter and a fly ball advanced Rojas to third, he came home on Ohtani's fielder's choice grounder for a 3-0 advantage.
Fried (9-10) yielded just two hits and struck out seven in six innings despite being touched for three runs.
The Dodgers put the game away with a six-run seventh inning capped by the ex-Brave fan favourite Freeman's opposite-field homer.
After three walks by Atlanta reliever Daysbel Hernandez loaded the bases, Ohtani reached on a fielder's choice that plated Rojas for a 4-0 cushion. Mookie Betts brought in another run with a sacrifice fly and Teoscar Hernandez delivered an RBI single in front of Freeman's blast.
Brewers trim magic number to two with win over Phillies
William Contreras and Joey Ortiz each drove in two runs to back a solid start from Aaron Civale as the Milwaukee Brewers moved closer to capturing the NL Central with a 6-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Brewers' fourth victory in five games reduced their magic number to two to claim their third division title in four years. Milwaukee also closed within three games of the NL-leading Phillies in the standings.
Civale (5-2) scattered seven hits and struck out six while limiting Philadelphia to one run in five-plus innings. Colin Rea closed out the win with 2 2/3 scoreless innings to notch his first career MLB save.
Contreras gave Milwaukee a 2-0 lead with a third-inning double off Ranger Suarez that brought in Jackson Chourio and Blake Perkins, who reached via a walk and single, respectively.
The Brewers extended the margin in the fourth when ex-Phil Rhys Hoskins walked, advanced to third on Sal Frelick's double and scored on a sacrifice fly from Ortiz.
Suarez (12-7) lasted five innings and allowed three runs despite giving up just four hits and fanning five.
Brandon Marsh homered in the fifth for the Phillies' lone run off Civale, but Milwaukee scored twice in the sixth to increase their lead further.
Ortiz knocked in Frelick with a triple to put the Brewers up 4-1 before crossing the plate on Brice Turang's single.
Philadelphia got a run back in the top of the seventh when Bryson Stott singled and later scored on Kyle Schwarber's two-out single. The Brewers countered in their half of the inning, however, when Perkins singled and stole two bases before coming home on Gary Sanchez's sac fly.
Manzardo's homer lifts Guardians over Twins
Kyle Manzardo's go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning rallied the Cleveland Guardians to a 4-3 win over the Minnesota Twins in the opener of a key four-game series between American League Central contenders.
Cleveland overcame an early 3-0 deficit to earn its MLB-leading 40th comeback victory of the season, which increased the Guardians' lead atop the AL Central to five games over Kansas City.
The Royals were handed a 7-6 loss by the charging Detroit Tigers, who closed within 1 1/2 games of struggling Minnesota for the AL's final wild card. The Twins have lost seven of 10 and are 9-18 since Aug. 18.
Minnesota was clinging to a 3-2 lead when Josh Naylor led off the bottom of the eighth with a double off Twins reliever Griffin Jax. Two batters later, Manzardo clubbed the first pitch he saw from Jax into the right field seats to put the Guardians ahead.
Emmanuel Clase then retired the side in order in the ninth to record his 46th save, tying a Cleveland franchise season record.
The Twins got all of their runs in the third inning after loading the bases with one out on a Carlos Correa double and two walks issued by Cleveland starter Matthew Boyd. Correa scored the game's first run on a passed ball by Guardians' catcher Bo Naylor, and Byron Buxton knocked in two more with a single for a 3-0 advantage.
Minnesota's Pablo Lopez held Cleveland scoreless until the fifth, when he hit Brayan Rocchio with a pitch and allowed a double to Angel Martinez. Andres Gimenez followed with a single to drive in the Guardians' first run.
Lopez issued two walks around a Will Brennan single to allow Cleveland to inch closer in the seventh on Martinez's bases-loaded single which brought in Manzardo.
Martinez finished 3 for 4, while Brennan and Jose Ramirez each had two hits for the Guardians.
Lopez pitched 6 1/3 innings and permitted two runs on eight hits.
Kirk Cousins threw two second-half touchdown passes, including the go-ahead score to Drake London with 34 seconds remaining, to earn his first win as an Atlanta Falcon with a 22-21 comeback victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday.
With his new team down 21-15 with under two minutes left, Cousins completed 5 of 6 passes on a six-play, 70-yard drive he capped with a 7-yard strike to London in the final minute. Younghoe Kim then converted a lengthy extra-point try from 48 yards out, with the distance increased due to a 15-yard penalty called on London after the touchdown, to break a 21-21 tie.
Jessie Bates sealed the win for Atlanta (1-1) by intercepting Jalen Hurts with 19 seconds left to send the partisan crowd at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field home stunned.
Cousins finished with 241 yards on 20-of-29 passing in his second start since signing a four-year, $180 million contract with the Falcons in March. Darnell Mooney, another of Atlanta's offseason additions, caught a 41-yard touchdown pass from Cousins in the third quarter and ended with 88 yards on three catches.
Hurts threw for 183 yards and a touchdown and added another TD on the ground while recording 85 rushing yards. His 1-yard touchdown run on the Eagles' patented "Tush Push" quarterback sneak play gave Philadelphia (1-1) an 18-15 lead with 6:47 remaining after Saquon Barkley successfully ran in the ensuing 2-point conversion.
The Eagles appeared headed for a third straight 2-0 start after stuffing Atlanta's Bijon Robinson on a 4th-and-1 run on the following possession to get the ball back at the Falcons' 39-yard line with 5:38 to go.
Philadelphia then moved to the Atlanta 10, but Barkley dropped a short pass from Hurts on third down and the Eagles settled for Jake Elliott's 28-yard field goal and a six-point lead with 1:39 left.
Cousins responded by quickly driving the Falcons inside the Eagles' 10 with four consecutive completions, including gains of 21 and 26 yards to Mooney.
Mooney had given the Falcons a 15-10 edge late in the third quarter when he got behind Philadelphia's defence and hauled in a deep pass from Cousins for a 41-yard score. Atlanta failed to convert the resulting 2-point attempt.
The Eagles also came up empty in the red zone early in the contest, passing up a short field goal try from the Atlanta 9-yard line and throwing an incomplete pass on 4th-and-4 that kept the game scoreless after one quarter.
Atlanta opened the scoring on Koo's 39-yard field goal with 11:22 left in the second, but the Eagles answered with an 11-play, 70-yard drive culminating in Hurts' 7-yard touchdown pass to Devonta Smith.
The Falcons pulled within 7-6 at half-time after Koo's 22-yard field goal ended a 15-play series. Another Koo field goal, a 34-yard kick, put Atlanta in front early in the third quarter before Philadelphia took a 10-9 lead on Elliott's 29-yard field goal with 4:28 left in the period.
Barkley rushed for 95 yards on 22 attempts in his first home game since leaving the NFC East-rival New York Giants for the Eagles in the offseason. Robinson had 97 rushing yards for Atlanta on 14 carries.
The Carolina Panthers are making a quarterback change following their 0-2 start, benching 2023 No. 1 overall draft pick Bryce Young in favour of veteran Andy Dalton for Sunday’s road matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Young has struggled mightily in his NFL career after Carolina acquired the top overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft from the Chicago Bears and used it to pick the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner out of the University of Alabama.
The 23-year-old Young has gone 2-16 in 18 starts while completing 59.3 percent of his pass attempts and throwing for 3,122 yards with 11 touchdowns and 13 interceptions for a passer rating of 70.9.
Since the beginning of the 2023 season, Young’s completion percentage is the worst among qualifying quarterbacks and his passer rating ranks second-to-last.
The decision by first-year Panthers coach Dave Canales to switch quarterbacks comes after Young posted a 44.1 rating and passed for 245 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions in a pair of losses to open 2024.
Carolina has been outscored 73-13 and scored just one touchdown on a three-yard run by Young in Week 1.
Dalton started in Week 3 last season with Young out due to an ankle injury and threw for 361 yards with two touchdowns in a 37-27 loss at the Seattle Seahawks.
Six weeks shy of his 37th birthday, Dalton ranks 26th in NFL history with 38,511 passing yards and 28th with 246 touchdowns through the air.
Jamaica’s Valentino Evans reached the Round of 16 of both the U-14 Kata Male and U14 Kumite Male at the 2024 Pan American Karate Foundation (PKF) Cadet, Junior and U21 Championships held from August 26 to September 1 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Evans was beaten by Chilean Joaquin Ballestero in the Kata category before losing to Brazil’s Arthur Galante in the Kumite Male -40kg category.
The youngster won two medals at the Caribbean Karate Championships in Curacao in July.
He took bronze in the 12-13 Kata before going two better with gold in the 12-13 Kumite, his second straight Kumite gold after winning it in the 10-11 section at the 2023 Caribbean karate Championships in Santo Domingo.
He also won Kata silver at last year’s championships.
Daniel Ricciardo revealed his desire to experience the world of motorsport as his 13-year Formula One career hangs in the balance ahead of the 2025 season.
Ricciardo, who has raced for five different teams in F1, is yet to find out whether he will race for RB next year.
The Australian and team-mate Yuki Tsunoda were considered the favourites to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull until the Mexican signed a new two-year deal.
Red Bull is a team Ricciardo knows well, of course.
Ricciardo has won eight F1 races during his career, seven of which came with the Austrian-based team before his move to Renault in 2019.
Across his 257 race entries, the 35-year-old has also claimed 1,329 points and 32 podiums, but Ricciardo has been unable to get close to the top three in recent times.
The Australian has not stood on the podium since his last victory at the Italian Grand Prix in 2021, picking up just 55 points over the last three seasons for an RB team who have struggled to emerge from the midfield places in a competitive grid.
Ricciardo finds himself 14th in the drivers' championship this term, with his best finish coming at the Canadian Grand Prix in June, where he finished eighth.
With time potentially running out on his F1 career heading into the final seven races of the 2024 season, Ricciardo kept his options open as to what may come next.
“I mean there's things I would like to try and experience," Ricciardo said in an interview with Tourism Western Australia ahead of the release of his new film 'Drive the Dream 2.0'.
"I don't know, let's say on a competitive level, I grew up a fan of NASCAR. I'd like to drive a NASCAR. I'd love to drive around Daytona, for example.
"But would I like to compete? Yes and no, but I also know that, it's not what I grew up doing, and I'll probably get smoked so like, I don't know if I need that!
"I would love to experience it. I love motorbikes. I love MotoGP. I would love to try a MotoGP bike, but I would be very, very slow and probably horrendous. Just like, all in my own time.
"And actually Bathurst, if it's, obviously okay, it's the V8 that does the race there, but you know there's the 12 hour and stuff, so maybe that's one I could compete in.
"If a V8 team said 'hey, do you want to do a few laps around Bathurst, no pressure, just to experience it', then I'll definitely take that up."
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