Maduka Okoye has opened up on the recent struggles of the Nigeria national football team, admitting the team is still searching for answers after a difficult period on the international stage.

The Udinese Calcio goalkeeper reflected on Nigeria’s disappointing campaign at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, where the Super Eagles fell short of expectations despite reaching the semi-finals. They were eventually knocked out on penalties by hosts Morocco national football team before settling for a third-place finish.

Okoye, who was not part of the squad as Stanley Nwabali took over as first-choice goalkeeper, said watching from home was not easy.

Maduka Okoye told SportyTV, “I was watching from home as a supporter, like all the other 200–300 million Nigerians. We deserved to win the Cup, but next year is already the next opportunity for us, and we will do everything to bring it home again.”

Nigeria’s AFCON disappointment was followed by an even bigger setback after failing to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Okoye admitted that the team is still trying to understand why results have not matched their quality.

“National team football is a different kind of football, and the answer might be in the World Cup,” Okoye said.

“I don’t really know, because we have the quality, we have great players, top-level players, top characters in the team. Hopefully, we get it done next time.”

Despite the setbacks, the 24-year-old remains hopeful that the team can recover and achieve success in future competitions.

Okoye has now been recalled to the Super Eagles squad for upcoming friendly matches against Iran and Jordan, signalling a new phase for the team as they begin to rebuild.

Born in Germany to a Nigerian father, the goalkeeper also explained why he chose to represent Nigeria at international level despite having the option to play for Germany.

Okoye said, “I grew up in Germany, but my father was very, very present in my life, especially in my young and early ages. So, I keep a lot of Nigerian inside of me, and I’m very proud of it.”

“I always knew I wanted to play for Nigeria, and back then I didn’t have another option. Of course, I went to youth German selections, but when the time came for Nigeria, I knew this was a dream, and I made it come true, by God’s grace.”

With 18 caps to his name, Okoye remains part of Nigeria’s goalkeeping setup as the Super Eagles look to move past recent disappointments.

Michael Conlan has announced his retirement from boxing following his loss to Kevin Walsh.

Conlan suffered a controversial upset defeat to Walsh at the SSE Arena in Belfast on Friday, and that has prompted the Irishman to hang up his gloves for the final time.

Speaking to the media following the loss to Walsh, Conlan explained his decision to retire.

“In this last run, it was only for me. That’s why I have no shame in saying that’s enough. I did it for me and my family trying to reach the goal of being world champion. It’s not meant to be. That’s it.

“It doesn’t matter what way I was going to lose. If it was wide, if it was a robbery, it wasn’t enough to win clearly, so it’s enough to say goodbye.

“The last defeat before this one I’d have been kicking myself saying I should have given it another go, the fact that I did come back and try. That was the third time I’ve come back, god loves a trier. Hope he loves me.

“I want to say thank you to every single person. I’ve fought all around the world, New York, Vegas, Australia, England, Ireland. I always have had a great following and always stuck by me, even through defeats they’ve stuck by me. The appreciation goes beyond.”

The 34-year-old was an elite amateur, becoming Ireland’s first ever male World Amateur Champion, whilst also claiming a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics in London.

After turning professional with an extremely loyal fan base behind him, Conlan would challenge for world honours on two occasions, and ends with a final record of 20 wins from 24 fights.

Cristiano Ronaldo has honoured his late father, Jose Dinis Aveiro, with a touching message to mark Father’s Day, reflecting on the lasting influence of his dad on his life and career.

Aveiro, who worked as a kit man at local club Andorinha, played a key role in Ronaldo’s early development in football. However, he passed away in 2005 due to liver failure when Ronaldo was just 20 years old and still in the early stages of his career at Manchester United.

To mark the occasion, the Al-Nassr forward shared a series of photos on Instagram, including a family picture with his children and a throwback image of himself with his father. In his caption, Ronaldo wrote, “Where I come from and who I live for. Happy Father’s Day,” alongside a heart emoji.

Despite his rise to global stardom, Ronaldo has often spoken about his difficult relationship with his father, who struggled with alcoholism. In a past interview with Piers Morgan, he admitted, “I never spoke with him, like a normal conversation. It was hard,” adding that he “didn’t know his father 100 per cent.”

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner also revealed that he has avoided cemeteries since his father’s death, explaining his absence from the funeral of a teammate’s father in recent years.

Ronaldo also recalled the support he received from his former manager Sir Alex Ferguson during that difficult period. He said, “My father was in hospital, and I was so emotional, very low. I spoke with him and he said: ‘Cristiano, go there for two or three days.’ We had difficult games coming up and I was a key player.

“He said: ‘It will be tough… but I understand your situation and I’ll leave you out and you can go and see your father.’”

Now playing for Al Nassr FC, Ronaldo continues to reflect on his humble beginnings, with his Father’s Day message serving as a reminder of the deep personal experiences that have shaped his journey.

When the sun rises on Saturday, the 2026 NCAA Tournament field will be cut in half. The 32 teams that make it to the weekend all enter into the “championship game” of their respective two-game tournaments, with a spot in the Sweet 16 serving as the prize. They don’t cut down nets for this round, but teams certainly understand the importance of that weekend win and extending their stay in the Big Dance. 

For some, the March Madness experience might be tampered by a busted bracket or a bad pick in your Bracket Games. Luckily, the tournament always provides many ways to predict how things play out, and here in the Expert Picks corner, we have found a couple of unique angles to spotlight from Saturday’s slate. 

Saturday’s schedule includes No. 11 seed VCU and No. 12 seed High Point, both upset winners in thrilling fashion from Thursday’s First Round. The ultimate test for any of these potential Cinderellas is always following up with a win on the weekend, and while the Rams and Panthers are incredible stories, the teams they face (No. 3 seed Illinois, No. 4 seed Arkansas) are an even tougher test. The Fighting Illini and Razorbacks are part of a group of top four seeds that went 8-0 on Thursday, as it was the mid-bracket chaos that really led the way. 

No. 1 overall seed Duke will be back in action after surviving an upset scare from No. 16 seed Siena. The Blue Devils will square off against No. 9 seed TCU, while fellow No. 1 Michigan will get the day started against a high-octane Saint Louis squad that dominated Georgia in the 8-9 game in the Midwest Region on Thursday night. There’s also a fascinating pair of games in Oklahoma City, first with a Texas tangle between No. 2 Houston and No. 10 Texas A&M and then No. 4 Nebraska will be looking for its second-ever NCAA Tournament win in a fascinating clash with No. 4 Vanderbilt. 

It’s an eight-game slate that will take fans from Noon ET to Midnight. Among those, we have spotlighted a few of our favorite picks below. If you prefer a more traditional straight-up or against-the-spread selection, we have included those as well, via the CBS Sports expert panel. 

(3) Michigan State vs. (6) Louisville 

2:45 p.m. on CBS | March Madness Live 

Michigan State is not typically an up-tempo team, but it generates offense by capitalizing on transition opportunities. With Louisville pushing the pace and getting shots up quickly, this matchup should feature more possessions — and, in turn, more chances for the Spartans to find easy points.

Michigan State’s defense also slipped late in the regular season, contributing to the over hitting in nine of its last 11 games. The Spartans have played faster in recent weeks than their season-long profile suggests, and in this matchup, pushing the pace before Louisville’s defense gets set could make them especially advantageous. Pick: Over 151 

(1) Duke vs. (9) TCU 

5:15 p.m. on CBS | March Madness Live 

TCU should be able to bring the fight to Duke early, using the same pressure and physicality that produced wins over Iowa State and Texas Tech in the regular season and helped eliminate Ohio State in the first round.

The concern for the Horned Frogs is foul trouble. That physical style can lead to quick whistles, and Duke star Cam Boozer excels at playing through contact and generating points at the free-throw line. It’s also unlikely the Blue Devils will shoot as poorly from 3-point range as they did against Siena (5 for 26), so positive regression should help the No. 1 overall seed advance from Greenville — perhaps with a few new nightmares, but with its title hopes intact. Pick: Duke -11.5  

(3) Gonzaga vs. (11) Texas 

7:10 p.m. on TBS | March Madness Live 

Gonzaga’s late-night performance Thursday was less than inspiring. The Zags took 10 minutes to reach double digits, missing 11 of their first 15 shots. Though they ultimately won by nine, they failed to cover as 18-point favorites.

Texas, meanwhile, enters with momentum after a pair of wins that have the Longhorns exceeding expectations by reaching the second round. Sean Miller has a strong track record in the Round of 32, and Matas Vokietaitis‘ first-round showing suggests Texas’ versatile big man is in form ahead of a matchup with WCC Player of the Year Graham Ike.

The Longhorns have a legitimate chance to win outright, making them a compelling play to cover the spread.Pick: Texas +6.5     

(3) Illinois vs. (11) VCU 

7:50 p.m. on CBS | March Madness Live 

Illinois has met expectations when heavily favored this season. Coach Brad Underwood is 4-0 against the spread as a double-digit favorite in the NCAA Tournament.

While history doesn’t favor double-digit seeds following up a big upset, this pick isn’t about fading VCU after its dramatic comeback. It’s more of a nod to how Illinois handles these situations. The Rams will face a different caliber of backcourt pressure against Keaton Wagler and Kylan Boswell, and Illinois has enough shooters to punish teams that can’t slow or stop the ball.

Illinois wins with size and shooting that most opponents can’t match, and when the team presses, it can snowball quickly. Expect a similar dynamic in the nightcap in Greenville. Pick: Illinois -10.5

(4) Nebraska vs. (5) Vanderbilt 

8:45 p.m. on TNT | March Madness Live 

It hardly felt like a neutral site in Oklahoma City as “Go Big Red” chants echoed through a red-clad Paycom Center for Nebraska’s first-ever NCAA Tournament win. The victory was methodical, and I don’t expect much of an emotional hangover for the Cornhuskers, who were in rhythm offensively and drained 14 three-pointers.

The key will be defense, though, especially after Tyler Tanner expertly guided Vanderbilt through McNeese’s defensive pressure to create easy baskets near the rim. This matchup shapes up as a major schematic battle between Fred Hoiberg and Mark Byington, and I wouldn’t be surprised by big swings and lead changes throughout.

At the end of 40 minutes, I expect Nebraska to advance to the Sweet 16, making a couple of points as the underdog a solid value play. Pick: Nebraska +2.5 

Only one person, Matt Wallace says, saw him accidentally move his golf ball. 

Or so he thought. 

The golf gods, remember, see all. 

The divine sequence played out Friday during the Valspar Championship’s second round, where Wallace shoved his tee ball right and into the pine straw on the Copperhead Course’s par-5 11th hole. Delicacy was needed. Wallace said his caddie, Jamie Lane, warned him, too. But a wayward twig forced Wallace to hover his club at address, he said, and as he waggled it, his ball relocated.  

Uh-oh. 

Wallace called for an official. He also said he’d never made his ball before in such a way. 

“Didn’t know whether it was in the action of my swing or anything,” he said afterward, “but I definitely touched it, and then the ball moved from that.”

Still, Wallace said no one else saw the violation. At the time, he was also two-over for the tournament and fighting to make the cut. You know the options in front of him. An ethical dilemma played out, at least in a golf sense. 

But so be it, Wallace said. And he took his one-stroke penalty. 

“You’d hope that everyone’s like that,” Wallace said. 

“Yeah. You kind of — you’re not just doing it for yourself though, even though it’s such an individual sport. You’re doing it to protect the rest of the field. You’re doing it for your caddie, your team, your family. I would rather miss the cut doing something like that by one shot, and then giving it my all for the rest, than making it and knowing something’s happened. So I called it on myself.

“And then I made a few birdies.”

Yeah, so about that golf gods thing.

After the penalty, Wallace hit his third shot to the left of the green, chipped on and made a par. “Obviously very much needed at the time,” Wallace said. Then he birdied 14, a par-4, on a 22-foot putt. Then he birdied 15, a par-3, after hitting his tee shot to 6 feet. Then he birdied 17, also a par-3, after rolling in a 27-footer. 

And a par on 18, a par-4, gave him a round of three-under 68 and a two-round total of one-under, which was good enough for the weekend. 

“Yeah,” Wallace said, “maybe a bit of good karma coming my way.”

You never know who’s watching, after all. 

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Fabian Edwards’ wait for a world title goes on after he loses against Costello van Steenis, who successfully defends his PFL middleweight title with a third-round knockout in Madrid.

READ MORE: Van Steenis ends Edwards’ title dream again

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It was a return to Belfast for the first time since his defeat by Jordan Gill in December 2023 which left him with much to ponder in terms of his career.

After a 16-month hiatus, Conlan returned in March 2025 under new coach Grant Smith, producing a points win over Asad Asif Khan in Brighton before stopping Jack Bateson in Dublin six months later.

However, the SSE Arena once again proved to be the scene of one final night of disappointment that has resulted in his decision to retire.

It wasn’t a case of him being completely dominated this time, but there was self-awareness that his performance was not up to a level where he could threaten a standing champion.

Walsh will instead seek his own opportunity and called out WBC featherweight champion Bruce Carrington afterwards.

“It was definitely a close fight,” he told DAZN afterwards.

“Shout out to Mick Conlan – I’ve always been a fan of his but he couldn’t figure me out. He’s been a helluva fighter, but his time’s up.”

Those words rang true with Conlan confirming this is indeed time up.

“Boxing has given me an unbelievable life,” he reflected.

“I can never be bitter with the situation because it gives you so much and takes so much. I’ve always said you can never love the sport as it will never love you back.

“I want to walk away with my health intact and my family good. I’ve done really well in boxing, have reached some serious heights and fought in some serious arenas around the world, done things many fighters don’t get to do.”

He continued: “I’ve achieved an awful lot but have I reached my goal of becoming a world champion? No, and that’s the hardest part of all.

“I’m a stubborn person and would want to keep going, but I’ve missed a lot of my family’s lives. I’ve two kids, my daughter is 11 next week and my son is seven. I’ve missed maybe 65 or 70% of their lives through boxing and training camps, so it’s time to go home.”