Jamaica’s trio of Shamera Sterling-Humphrey, Latanya Wilson, and Romelda Aiken-George will again grace the Suncorp Super Netball (SSN) League’s big stage, as Adelaide Thunderbirds secured a spot in the grand final with a dominant 68-43 win over Melbourne Vixens in the major semi-final at Adelaide 36ers Arena on Saturday.
Aiken-George again led from the front with 39 goals from 44 attempts, while Lauren Frew had 18 goals from 18 attempts, including a Super Shot worth two goals. Lucy Austin (10 goals from 11 attempts), and Georgie Horjus, with a solitary goal from three attempts, got in on the act in the 25-goal blowout.
An elated Wilson told SportsMax.TV that last week’s narrow two-goal win over Sunshine Coast Lightning, served as motivation for this, the biggest finals winning margin in Suncorp Super Netball history.
“From the outside looking in, it might seem easy, but it is never easy. However, I believe we needed that close game last week to motivate us to win this one by such a wide margin, especially with a spot in the final up for grabs,” she shared shortly after the win.
Sterling-Humphrey registered 300-intercept milestone.
While it will be back-to-back finals for Wilson and Sterling-Humphrey with the reigning champions, it will be Aiken-George’s first with the Thunderbirds, as she joined the franchise earlier in the season. However, the towering goal shooter won three Premierships in a 14-season stint with Queensland Firebirds and, as such, is no stranger to being in a final.
“I know the capabilities of my team, and I am sure that we have the ability to go back-to-back. We are a team that is evolving, and we are playing each game on its merit. We don’t talk about the game; we play it. So from here, it is just to rest, recover, and prepare for whoever we will meet in the final,” Wilson noted.
Meanwhile, the Vixens, who got their goals from Kiera Austin (16 goals from 19 attempts), Sophie Garbin (15 goals from 19 attempts), and Lily Graham (12 goals from 13 attempts), will have a second shot at making the grand final. They will face the winner of the minor semi-final to be decided between West Coast Fever and Sunshine Coast Lightning.
Spurred on by a sell-out crowd at Adelaide 36ers Arena, the Thunderbirds went straight to work from the start, as they opened up a six-goal lead at 19-13 to end the first quarter.
Defenders Sterling-Humphrey, Wilson, and company then applied consistent pressure to shut down Vixens’ attackers in the second quarter, and that resulted in the Thunderbirds outscoring the opponents 19-9 for a massive 16-goal lead—38-22—at the half-time interval.
The Vixens were well off colour where ball-handling and shooting accuracy are concerned, and that made life much easier for the Thunderbirds, who rode their momentum in the third quarter to extend the lead to 22 goals at 54-22 heading into the final quarter.
With such a wide lead, one would think the Tania Obst-coached Thunderbirds would relent, but not if Sterling-Humphrey had anything to say about it. The 28-year-old, as she has done all season, again paraded her athleticism and impressive timing to register a 300-intercept milestone.
In fact, she ended the contest with 14 gains and five intercepts, while Wilson had five gains, and Tayla Williams proved the link in mid-court with 19 goal assists and two gains as the Thunderbirds wrapped up an emphatic victory.
They are set to host the final at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on August 3.
Joe Schmidt has said he remains unsure about some of his Australia players following their 40-29 victory over Georgia at Sydney Football Stadium.
Rob Valetini and Fraser McReight scored doubles for the hosts, with Australia surviving a red card picked up by Filipo Daugunu for a knee to the head of Sandro Todua to maintain the Wallabies' new head coaches unbeaten start.
Schmidt made 10 changes to the side that beat Wales last Saturday in Melbourne, with some taking the opportunity with both hands, while others fell short.
"Some guys have really put their hands up and other guys probably need a bit of work," Schmidt said.
"Some guys are delivering really consistent training performances and pushing for match day selection. Whether you're playing Georgia or next time we come out in Brisbane, it will be South Africa.
"We have a number of players who we're not sure about, who is maybe the best option in a particular position or who's the best combination."
Australia led 26-10 at the break, and although Georgia rallied in the second half, the home side triumphed in only the third meeting between the pair.
Hunter Paisami and Isaac Kailea went over the line early on, but Dauganu's sending off allowed Georgia a way back into the contest.
The visitors closed to within two points of Australia with two scintillating tries early in the second half through Davit Niniashvili and Akaki Tabutsadze.
However, their challenge faded as Niniashvili was sin-binned for a deliberate knockdown, as McReight and Valetini secured three successive wins for the first time since late 2021.
“It is only three weeks that we’ve been together and we made 10 changes and we knew there was an element of risk in that,” Schmidt said.
“But I like the way we built our way into the game, bar the early three points.
“We put a few nice tries together and built a lead, but it was really disappointing that they got back into the game and we were scrambling just a little bit.”
The Wallabies next face world champions South Africa in their Rugby Championship opener in Brisbane on August 10.
New Zealand captain Scott Barrett insists improvements will be made despite the All Blacks easing to a 47-5 win over Fiji in San Diego.
Scott Robertson's men scored seven tries at the Snapdragon Stadium in a side that included six debutants from their 2–0 series win over England last week.
The All Blacks led 26-5 at half-time, but Fiji still managed to restrict their opponents to the lowest score of their eight Test encounters.
"Fiji certainly showed up tonight in the physical areas," said captain Barrett. "It wasn't fully polished, we have pretty high standards in this team.
"They were able to get their hands on the ball to turn it over at times but we created enough opportunities to turn into points."
Caleb Clarke and Cortez Ratima scored converted tries in the opening exchanges, before Vilimoni Botitu notched Fiji's only try of the contest.
Sevu Reece would increase the All Blacks' advantage in the second half, before George Bell, on his debut, went over for the final try of the encounter.
The result maintains New Zealand's eight-game winning run, with head coach Scott Robertson nodding to the future following impressive performances from his debutants.
“Keeping them to five points is pretty special," Robertson said. "We scored some great tries, we left a lot out there.
"I’m really proud of a lot of efforts and the six debutants who really stood up.
“It was exciting to see how that talent went. They showed why we picked them. We’ve had seven debutants over the three games.
"It’s been intense with the travel coming over here. I’m pleased everyone has learnt quickly and been incredibly professional off the field.”
Bob MacIntyre feared he would shoot 90 ahead of his remarkable comeback at The Open on Friday.
MacIntyre found himself in trouble in the opening four holes at Royal Troon, scoring two triple bogeys as he dropped eight shots early on.
The Oban-born man went to nine under, three shots below the projected cut line as it seemed he would be unable to replicate his Scottish Open win a week prior.
However, a remarkable turn of form saw MacIntyre shoot four under for the remaining 14 holes, making it through to the weekend's action with one shot to spare.
“That was carnage," MacIntyre said. "I was actually nervous going out. I said it to the whole team. They’re like, 'Why?' Because that front nine is going to be carnage for me.
"After four holes, I was staring 90 in the face. When I made that eight on the fourth, my head was completely gone.
"I’m just thankful (my caddie) Mike managed to keep me somewhat calm once the head was going a little bit.
"Once he started to talk sense to me, I started to realise, 'You actually haven’t played that bad and you’re shooting gazillions.' That’s where we calmed down.
"I didn’t think I was going to make the weekend, but Mike said. 'Look, fans are here to watch. Just give them what they want, severe dig and fight' - and that’s what I did.
"I just tried my best and managed to turn it around"
On a day when Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau and Tiger Woods all missed the cut, MacIntyre left the home fans heading home happy as he joined amateur Calum Scott and Ewen Ferguson in the next round.
Asked if he’d been able to pull off such a ‘Great Escape’ a year ago before playing in a winning Ryder Cup team and winning twice on the PGA Tour, he replied: “No, I'd have been gone.
"I'd have been in my car already and up the road. The attitude has been massive for me the last 12, 15 weeks. It’s been superb.
"I’m just proud of the way I fought, making this cut, especially after last week.
"The support I had out there was unbelievable. I felt like I was letting everyone down, not just myself, but my team and the fans.
"But it was just about fighting and they helped me a long way."
Hunter Brown and three relievers combined on a four-hitter and the Houston Astros moved into a tie for the AL West lead with a 3-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Friday night.
Yainer Diaz delivered the big blow with a two-run single and the Astros (51-46) won for the 18th time in 24 games. They trailed the Mariners by 10 games and were seven games under .500 on June 18.
Seattle, meanwhile, has stumbled to an 8-16 mark during that span and turned in a listless effort against a division rival coming out of the All-Star break that led to boos from the home fans after the final out.
Brown allowed four hits with three walks and five strikeouts to win for the sixth time in seven starts.
Bryan Abreu and Ryan Pressly each worked a perfect inning and Josh Hader pitched the ninth for his 19th save.
Houston did all its scoring in the third against Luis Castillo.
Trey Cabbage doubled, then scored as Jose Altuve reached on a bunt single and a bad throw by Josh Rojas got away from first baseman Ty France. Alex Bregman was hit by a pitch and Yordan Alvarez walked to load the bases.
Diaz then jumped on Castillo’s first pitch for a two-run single and a 3-0 lead.
Pirates rally, walk-off Phillies
Nick Gonzales delivered a walk-off single and the surging Pittsburgh Pirates completed a rally from a three-run deficit for an 8-7 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.
Pittsburgh trailed 7-4 but pulled to within one in the seventh on an RBI infield single by Oneil Cruz and Rowdy Tellez’s sacrifice fly.
Jose Alvardo was called on to protect the slim lead in the ninth, but Connor Joe led off with a single and Andew McCutchen walked. After a double steal, Bryan Reynolds struck out and Cruz brought home the tying run on a fielder’s choice.
Gonzales then sent a first-pitch cutter through the left side of the infield to give the Pirates their fifth straight win and seventh in eight games.
Pittsburgh (49-48) moved over .500 for the first time since April 24.
Trea Turner homered and Weston Wilson had a career-high three hits, including his first home run of the season, for the major league-best Phillies, who lost their third in four games.
Freeman’s slam lifts Dodgers
Freddie Freeman drilled a grand slam in the eighth inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ bullpen worked four scoreless innings in a 4-1 win over the Boston Red Sox.
Nick Pivetta limited the Dodgers to two hits over six scoreless innings, but the Dodgers got to Boston’s bullpen in the eighth.
Miguel Vargas drew a leadoff walk against Zach Kelly and Chris Taylor struck out before Brennan Bernadino entered. He gave up a ground-rule double down the left-field line to Shohei Ohtani and Will Smith was intentionally walked to load the bases.
Freeman followed by sending an 0-1 slider over the wall in right field for his 15th home run and seventh career grand slam.
Gavin Stone allowed one run and six hits over five innings before Anthony Banda, Alex Vesia and Ryan Yarbrough each pitched a scoreless frame. Daniel Hudson pitched the ninth for his fifth save.
All-Star MVP Jarren Duran homered for the Red Sox, who entered the break with 10 wins in 14 games.
Rory McIlroy conceded he struggled to adapt to the windy conditions after failing to make the cut at The Open on Friday.
The Northern Irishman followed up a dismal seven-over 78 on Thursday by carding 75 in the second round, finishing 11 over at the halfway point.
After being pipped to the U.S. Open last month by Bryson DeChambeau, who also missed the cut at Royal Troon, McIlroy's hopes of finally earning his first major title since 2014 will stretch into next year.
After finishing the round, McIlroy admitted the weather played a big part as he struggled to adapt his game to get the better of the conditions.
"Obviously, got off to the worst start possible today, being six over through six. If I need to remember something about this week, it'll be the last few holes that I played," McIlroy told reporters.
"When I look back on the two majors that I didn't play my best at, here and the Masters, the wind got the better of me on Friday at Augusta, and then the wind got the better of me the last two days here.
"Twenty-two holes into the event, and I'm thinking about where I'm going to go on vacation next week. That was basically it.
"I knew from then I'd sort of resigned myself to the fact that I wasn't going to shoot, whatever it is, from there on in to make the cut.
"It was a pretty meaningless 14 holes after that, but at least I played okay. When the wind dropped, my game felt a little more comfortable."
McIlroy looked set to end his long wait for a major title at the U.S. Open in June, only to collapse during the final four holes and lose by a single stroke.
Despite his early exit from The Open, McIlroy remains optimistic about his chances going forward if he can put his recent disappointments behind him.
"I think I have to remind myself that I am close and keep giving myself chances," McIlroy told Sky Sports.
"These disappointing Sundays are racking up, but I'd much rather have disappointing Sundays than be going home on a Friday night.
"I've got to keep doing what I'm doing, reflect on the windy conditions getting the better of me at two of the majors this year. That is something I am going to have to address going forward."
Lando Norris believes there will be an eight-car challenge for pole during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix on Saturday.
The Brit set the pace at practice on Friday, just edging Max Verstappen to the top of the pile as they prepare to continue their rivalry at the top of the drivers' standings.
Carlos Sainz finished third on a day when the action was interrupted following Charles Leclerc's crash, where he spun into the barriers on Turn 4.
Norris, who finished third in the British Grand Prix last time out, is aiming to get his second win of the season and admits it is tough to call who will come out on top in qualifying, especially after Mercedes' recent success.
Asked about his chances of taking pole after practice, Norris said: "From today, pretty reasonable. It was a nice lap. Today, we could get a good amount of it, but tomorrow's another day.
"I think it's close between us, Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull. I feel like we have eight cars here who are going to be fighting for a pole, and even some other cars that looked very quick, like the Haas even.
"A good first day but definitely a little bit more work to do if we want to be a bit more comfortable."
Mercedes have won the last two Grand Prix, with George Russell claiming an unexpected win in Austria before Lewis Hamilton ended a three-year wait for victory with a triumph at Silverstone.
However, Hamilton, who finished seventh in the second practice session behind team-mate George Russell in fifth, was not optimistic about his chances following practice, explaining his car was struggling to cope with the heat in Budapest.
"[It] felt just as bad as it does normally when it's hot," Hamilton said. "Today's not been a good day, really.
"The car hasn't felt good setup-wise, but we think we have an idea why, and we'll just work overnight. It's not the best prep so far.
"[We made] little tweaks [in between sessions] but the car was pretty much the same. There's a particular thing that we left - that we're changing into this weekend - that we probably need to go back on.
"It's all relatively close otherwise. We couldn't do the pace that the other guys did today, but the long run, pace was pretty decent at the end."
Rory McIlroy has missed the cut in the second round of The Open, having failed to improve on his dismal score from the first.
The Northern Irishman had hopes of clinching a first major title in a decade, but his wait will stretch into an 11th year after carding 75 on Friday.
McIlroy went round in a seven-over par 78 in the first round and continued to toil at Royal Troon as he finished 11 over.
Bryson DeChambeau, who pipped McIlroy to the U.S. Open title at Pinehurst last month, did not fare much better.
On the back of his best major run to date, finishing tied sixth at The Masters before finishing as a runner-up at the PGA Championship, the American came unstuck in Scotland once more, shooting 75 to finish nine over.
Meanwhile, Shane Lowry holds the lead going into the weekend, recovering brilliantly from a double bogey to give himself a two-stroke lead over Daniel Brown and Justin Rose (both on five under).
Rose finished strongly, holing his putt on the 18th from a long way out to finish with a three-under 68 for the day to put himself into contention for a first Claret Jug.
The Scottish Open winner Robert MacIntyre also staged a remarkable comeback. Having played the first four holes in eight over, he scored four under on the next 14 to make the cut.
Scottie Scheffler (two under) and Xander Schauffele (one under) also kept themselves in with a chance.
Alexander Zverev booked his place in the Hamburg Open semi-finals with a straight-sets victory over Zhizhen Zhang.
The top seed - and reigning champion - kept his title defence very much on track, prevailing 6-4 6-3 after 66 minutes on Center Court.
Zverev dominated on serve during the opening set, dropping just three points, while a break in game five paved the way for him to move halfway towards victory.
The home favourite made another statement of intent when he broke in the opening game of the second set.
Another break followed at 5-3 to secure victory and send the Italian Open champion through to his seventh ATP semi-final of the season - and third on clay, having also reached the French Open final.
There, he will play Pedro Martinez after the Spaniard beat fourth seed Francisco Cerundolo in three sets.
Data Debrief: Statement of intent from Zverev
The German demonstrated his desire to maintain his hold on the trophy he won in front of his home crowd last season, and become only the third player this century to successfully defend the crown after Roger Federer and Nikoloz Basilashvili.
Indeed, Zverev hit 10 aces and won 29 of 33 points on first serve (88%), while converting three of his four break-point opportunities.
Stefanos Tsitsipas will play Matteo Berrettini in the Swiss Open semi-finals, after seeing off Fabio Fognini in straight sets on Friday.
The two-time major finalist, who is making his first appearance in Gstaad, took 66 minutes to wrap up a 6-4 6-3 victory over the Italian on Roy Emerson Court.
Though he relinquished an early break in the opening set, Tsitsipas claimed a crucial one at 5-4 to edge his nose in front.
Despite seeing another early break cancelled out in the second set, the Greek managed to earn another, and eventually progressed to the last four in comfortable fashion.
"My returns worked pretty well, I was very consistent with them," he said. "I insisted on staying back throughout the match and giving it a bit of a loop, trying to get the angles from the very beginning. It worked pretty well.
"I'm happy with how I started serving towards the end of the match. In the beginning, I was still trying to figure out how I was going to open up the court and create opportunities on my serve. It took me a while to figure out. I unlocked the code towards the end."
Another Italian lies in wait for Tsitsipas in Berrettini, who overcame Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-2).
The former Wimbledon finalist is seeking his second clay-court title of the season, having also triumphed in Marrakech, while he was runner-up to Jack Draper in Stuttgart last month.
Data Debrief: Another Italian Job well done by Tsitsipas
Reigning Monte-Carlo Masters champion Tsitsipas is through to his fourth ATP semi-final of the season, with three of those coming on clay, while recording his fifth straight victory in as many meetings with Fognini.
The Greek now boasts an impressive 14-1 record against Italian opponents on surface - his only such defeat coming against Jannik Sinner in Rome four years ago.
George Russell says he has been picking the brains of tennis great Novak Djokovic in a bid to ensure longevity in Formula One.
The Mercedes driver is aiming to reach the pinnacle of his sport and remain there for a sustained period of time, something achieved by 24-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic.
A two-time Grand Prix winner - including in Austria this year - Russell has sought inspiration from the Serbian in recent years, as he looks to follow suit in the F1 World Championship.
And the 26-year-old, who was at Wimbledon for Djokovic's final showdown with Carlos Alcaraz last weekend, gave a brief insight into his learnings.
"We've shared ideas together, and he's been really open with me about things he's trying and what's working for him," Russell said.
"I don't want to share too much because they are private conversations, but I just really like how he's constantly wanting to learn more and that inspires me to learn more about myself, what works for me, what works for them and pushing the boundaries.
"There's a lot that he knows that I won't and vice versa, and you've got to take all these ideas from the best in each profession and see what you can take for yourself.
"I feel fit, healthy and in a great place right now at the age of 26, but I need to make sure that I'm fit, healthy and as motivated in 10 years' time, 15 years' time, who knows 20 years’ time. I'm trying to put in work now."
Russell occupies seventh place in the 2024 drivers' championship standings ahead of this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix, where he finished fifth in the second practice session on Friday.
Lando Norris led the way with an impressive time of 1:17.788 seconds, 0.243 seconds ahead of leader Max Verstappen, with Carlos Sainz taking third on a day where the action was interrupted following Charles Leclerc's earlier crash.
The Ferrari driver spun into the barriers after taking too much kerb at Turn 4, but thankfully was unhurt.
Shane Lowry says he is feeling "calm and composed" after recovering from a double-bogey to establish the clubhouse lead on day two at The Open.
The 2019 champion began the day at five under at Royal Troon - a shot behind leader Daniel Brown - and birdied the first, fourth and eight holes to reach seven under at the turn.
However, things started to go wrong on the notorious par-four 11th, when a stray tee shot into the rough was followed by a hook into a gorse bush, with Lowry having to settle for six and moving back to par for the day.
Nevertheless, the Northern Irishman held his nerve in the windy conditions, with four successive pars followed by two birdies on the final three holes.
The second of these saw him roll in a beautiful 20-footer, and Lowry was thrilled by the way he responded to the setback to put himself in a promising position.
"I was in control of my ball and did all the right things for a lot of the round," he told reporters. "Then when I got in a bit of trouble, I feel like I really finished the round well.
"I'm pretty happy with the day. To be leading this tournament after two days; it's why you come here, it's why we're here.
"The job tomorrow as well is to try to put myself in a position to win this tournament on Sunday, and that's what I'll try and do."
"I have felt quite calm and composed the last couple of days. I've felt really in my comfort zone. To shoot in the 60s is very good any day on this course, even when the conditions aren't this bad. I'm very happy."
Rafael Nadal booked his place in the Swedish Open semi-finals after coming from behind to deny Mariano Navone in Bastad.
The 22-time major winner recovered from losing the opening set to prevail 6-7 (2-7) 7-5 7-5 in just under four hours on Centre Court.
Nadal was slow out of the blocks against the fourth seed, who broke his opponent three times in the opening set for a 4-1 lead.
The Spaniard dug deep and responded to lead 6-5 but Navone - a finalist on clay in Rio and Bucharest - dominated the tie-break 7-2 to draw first blood.
Both players continued to struggle on serve in the second set, with Nadal crucially breaking in game 11 before holding to level.
The 37-year-old recovered from an early break in the decider, reeling off five successive games for a 5-2 lead. Navone fought back to 5-5, but was broken in the following game with Nadal subsequently serving out to set up a semi-final clash with Duje Ajdukovic.
Data Debrief: Comeback king Nadal seals semi-final return
Not since Wimbledon in 2022 had Nadal reached an ATP semi-final, withdrawing on the eve of his clash with Nick Kyrgios due to an abdominal injury.
His hopes of doing so seemed bleak early on, with world number 36 Navone threatening to become the lowest-ranked player to beat him on clay since 2016.
However, the 22-time major winner dug deep, and is now just two wins away from his first silverware since landing a 14th French Open crown 25 months ago.
Tiger Woods suggested he will play The Open again next year after a six-over final round ensured he would miss the cut at the 2024 event at Royal Troon.
Woods entered Friday's second round needing a big turnaround after carding an eight-over 79 on Thursday, but he struggled again as his major season came to a premature end.
He shot 77 to finish 14 over par with the projected cut line at four over. Having finished 60th at the Masters, he also failed to make the weekend at the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship.
The 15-time major champion lamented his physical struggles when speaking to reporters at the end of his round.
"I was just fighting it pretty much all day," Woods said. "I never really hit it close enough to make birdies and consequently made a lot of bogeys.
"I loved it. I've always loved playing major championships. I just wish I was more physically sharp coming into the majors.
"Obviously it tests you mentally, physically, emotionally, and I just wasn't as sharp as I needed to be. I was hoping that I would find it somehow, but just never did.
"Consequently, my results and scores were pretty high."
Woods will not compete again until the Hero World Challenge, an event he hosts in the Bahamas in December, despite previously targeting one event per month in 2024.
He does, however, plan to return for the 153rd Open next year, which will take place at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland.
"As a past champion, I’m exempt until I'm 60," he said. "I've enjoyed the challenges that Scotland brings, I've missed playing Troon.
"I've had some good memories here and just wish I did a little bit better, but I look forward to that."
Sharpshooting Bahamian Buddy Hield expressed excitement at the opportunity to play for the Golden State Warriors in his first interaction with Warriors media on Thursday.
The 31-year-old joined the seven-time NBA Champions through a sign-and-trade with the Philadelphia 76ers in early July.
The Warriors will be the fifth team Hield has represented since being drafted sixth overall by the New Orleans Pelicans in the 2016 NBA Draft.
“Excited! Excited for the opportunity to come in here and learn from great players, a great organization, great coach, and be a sponge and an open book to everybody around me,” was Hield’s response to a question about his emotions heading into his first season in San Francisco.
Hield was brought in by the Warriors as a like-for-like replacement for franchise legend Klay Thompson who left for the Dallas Mavericks in Free Agency after 13 seasons and four titles with the Warriors.
The Bahamian says he isn’t feeling the pressure of trying to replicate what Thompson gave the Warriors.
“There’s no pressure, I just have to come and do my job. What Klay has done for this organization has been tremendous. I love Klay a lot and I watched him over the years and he’s special,” he said.
“The way he can get hot and change the game as a two-way player. I think it’s fun being in that role,” he added.
One of the hallmarks of the Warriors during their run of dominance in the Steph Curry-Draymond Green-Klay Thompson era has been their complicated offensive scheme.
Hield believes practice is the key to learning where he fits into the offense quickly.
“Taking it day by day in practice, watching a lot of film. Practice will be really important. I’ve watched these guys play since college. Even in the pros when they play, they’re always a fun team to watch,” he said.
“I think it’s a great fit and it shouldn’t be that hard but everything takes time,” he added.
Lando Norris acknowledged the criticism aimed at him and McLaren following last weekend's British Grand Prix was justified.
The Briton was leading ahead of the final round of pit stops at Silverstone, and looking on course to close the gap on drivers' championship leader Max Verstappen.
However, eventual winner Lewis Hamilton undercut Norris, who overran his pit box after McLaren were unable to bring him in at an ideal time.
After McLaren opted for soft tyres during the race's climax, Norris was then surpassed by Verstappen, and had to settle for a third-place finish.
While the 24-year-old understands the scrutiny he and the team came under, he feels the most important thing is the way they respond at this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix.
"No, not at all, it just depends on how you take it," he told Sky Sports. "I don't think it's unfair because you're always going to have it, that's life.
"People are going to criticise you, people are going to support you, people are going to make mistakes. We're not the only team. There have been times when Red Bull should have won and didn't and Mercedes should have won and didn't.
"At the same time, we didn't blame anyone but ourselves, and it's a tough one because it hurts when you lose your home race, you have a chance to win and those types of things.
"But it's more about how you and we as a team handled it, how we learned from it, we reviewed things, and we come back stronger this weekend and for the future races.
"So, plenty of things to learn, but I'm confident with our team. I think we always accept criticism. Especially when it's constructive, you prefer that way, but you are always going to have people who are supporting and not supporting you.
"How you use that and how you turn it into something positive is the main thing."
Lewis Hamilton has declared it is "game on" for Mercedes at this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix as the Silver Arrows target a third straight win.
Mercedes endured a dismal start to 2024 as the team suffered teething problems with their W15 car, but recent upgrades have led to a major upturn.
George Russell triumphed at the Austrian Grand Prix three weeks ago, before Hamilton secured a record-breaking ninth victory at the British Grand Prix a week later.
Mercedes are now just seven points adrift of second-placed Ferrari in the constructors' championship standings, and Hamilton is confident in their chances at the Hungaroring, where he has a record eight wins.
"We definitely don't want to get ahead of ourselves, that's key in our approach," Hamilton said. "But also, we're like, 'it's game on!
"We're fighting, we're chasing, and we're going to try and win as many races as George mentioned or compete for as many wins as possible.
"It may turn out this weekend that the Red Bull is still light years ahead, or the McLaren is, who knows?
"We are united as a team and we are going to try and make sure we finish this season on a high.
"If we can lift the team up in the ladder of constructors, if we can progress – we are not too far off the drivers up ahead of us – then that will be great."
Three of the last four races have seen both Hamilton and Russell finish inside the top four, after neither of the duo managed such a finish in the first eight races of the season.
"If you told us at the start of the year we'd be fighting for three wins in a row, we wouldn't have believed it," Russell said.
"We have led the last four races since the upgrades, which is an incredible turnaround for us and everyone is super motivated."
As three-time grand slam champion Andy Murray prepares to bow out from the sport he loves at the Paris Olympics, he could soon be a man in demand.
The two-time Wimbledon victor got the fitting tribute his career deserved at his home slam, but not in the circumstances he wanted.
A back injury ruled him out of the singles, and his last match on centre court was a doubles defeat alongside his brother Jamie.
Murray will retire following the summer games, where he hopes to add to his two Olympic golds won at London 2012 and Rio 2016.
But one tennis rival may already have his next career path in mind.
When Vasek Pospisil is not on the court, he is busy pushing for improvements for players off the court with the Professional Tennis Players' Association.
Co-founded with 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, the PTPA aims to 'address player challenges and calls for change within the business of professional tennis.'
What started as an idea thought up by Pospisil and Djokovic in 2019 was formally created two years later.
Three years and 'thousands of hours' on, players across the ATP and WTA Tours are reaping the rewards.
"The first few years were just growing pains. It was so many thousands of hours. The amount of hours, especially those first three or four years to get some momentum and organise players and just try to get the building blocks in place," Pospisil told Stats Perform.
"Tennis has a long way to go from the player side. But as a sport, it's an incredible sport. It's one-on-one combat.
"That's why it's the third or fourth most watched sport in the world. So there's so much there. And players have been underserviced and it's time for change. And that's where we come in."
"We want hundreds of players to be able to make a living. When I say hundreds, I mean three or 400 on the men's side and three or 400 on the women's side.
"Currently it's about a hundred on each, right? And that's unacceptable in a multi-billion dollar industry with the value that these players are bringing to the table.
"In the meantime, we're trying to generate revenue for players, extra revenue through group licensing programs that hasn't existed prior to the PTPA."
Murray, who Pospisil has competed against on six occasions and beaten just once, has long been a voice of reason on the ATP tour, and has gained respect for his support of the WTA.
That hasn't gone unnoticed by Pospisil, who plans to reach out to the Brit once the curtain comes down on his illustrious career.
"I really like Andy. He was always so nice in the locker room and just a good guy," he said.
"And I know that in previous years, I'd seen several quotes and articles and in the press where he'd spoken out about the importance of having independent player representation.
"I haven't spoken to him in a few years since the start of the PTPA, and it's something that I definitely want to revisit.
"When you really look under the hood, you look past all the all the nonsense that's been spewed as a counter argument to why the PTPA shouldn't exist and why it's bad for tennis.
"So I think if any reasonable person were to sit down and have a 30-minute conversation listening to the PTPA from the horse's mouth, I would be shocked if someone were to leave that conversation and say, 'oh, that doesn't make sense'.
"I'm going to follow up with Andy and some of these big players that are on their way out. I think it would be great to get their endorsement and get them involved."
Should Murray take up the offer, he'll join the likes of Ons Jabeur and Hubert Hurkacz, who sit on the PTPA executive committee.
Carlos Alcaraz "can do everything" and could get "very close" to Novak Djokovic's record of 24 grand slam titles, having denied the tennis great his 25th at Wimbledon.
That is according to Vasek Pospisil, who believes "all the signs" point towards Alcaraz having a career to compare with Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Alcaraz beat Djokovic in the All England Club final to win his fourth major at the age of just 21.
He is still 20 titles short of his opponent, who holds the men's record and has matched Margaret Court's all-time singles benchmark.
But former Wimbledon doubles champion Pospisil, speaking to Stats Perform as the co-founder of the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), believes that gap can quickly close.
Pospisil said: "We can't see into the future, but the fact that he's just 21 and he already has four grand slams...
"You put things into perspective: Stan Wawrinka and Andy Murray both have three each, if I'm not mistaken. He already has one more, and he's 21.
"So, for sure, unless he gets injured or unlucky or something out of his control pops up, all the signs are there that he'll be very close to those records if he keeps on the track that he's going, if not break them.
"I mean, we never know, right? Obviously at this stage, time will tell. But these grand slams can tally up pretty quickly.
"Just two years ago, he won his first one, and he's already got four. We just barely even blinked, and he has four slams already.
"So, it'll be interesting to see where he's at in five or six years. He'll be just really entering his prime and he may have 10, 11, 12 grand slams in five years."
Djokovic did not win his fourth major until he was 24, while Federer was 23.
Of the three all-time greats, Nadal was the youngest to that mark, with a fourth successive French Open title coming days after his 22nd birthday.
And it is a young Nadal, another Spaniard, who Pospisil sees in Alcaraz, although the Wimbledon champion might even have a more complete game.
"He brings a similar kind of intensity that Nadal did when he burst onto the scene," Pospisil told Stats Perform.
"It was something that we weren't really used to seeing, someone playing with that kind of force and energy in every shot that he hit, so Alcaraz brings some of that to the table.
"But then he is also just hitting through the court a little bit more. Rafa was a little bit more passive and then started being more aggressive as he got older.
"Alcaraz, right from the get-go, he's really just using that athleticism and power to really put a lot of pressure on players. He can do everything. He's a full-court, all-court player.
"You see he's already won at least one grand slam per surface, so he's clearly extremely versatile."
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