Hall of Fame Minnesota Vikings wideout Cris Carter was rather obviously not a huge fan of J.J. McCarthy, using his platform to criticize the passer a few times during the 2025 regular season. But in the 2026 offseason, Carter thinks McCarthy will eventually get a chance to prove himself.

Minnesota has a new QB1 for now, but Carter clearly believes McCarthy still has meaningful time to reclaim the job.

The Vikings now have Kyler Murray on the roster for QB1 duty, yet Carter says not to count out McCarthy just yet.

The Vikings’ Quarterback Timeline Still Leaves Room

A fresh take from the Vikings legend.

Carter on McCarthy

Carter spoke to Heavy this week, and to the surprise of some, he unloaded an optimistic McCarthy take.

“J.J. McCarthy, he’s still going to get an opportunity because most quarterbacks aren’t going to stay healthy for 17 games, so there will be an opportunity for him not only to learn and get better, but also to watch and learn from a guy like Kyler Murray … But I’d expect Kyler to be the starter this season,” Carter said.

He added about the Vikings’ offense, “Kevin O’Connell has proven with this offense when he’s had a healthy QB, he’s been able to win 12, 13, 14 games during the regular season. If you look at the nucleus of players they do have coming back … you’d have to be looking at the Vikings to be back in the playoffs and competing for the NFC.”

“Their offensive and defensive lines are more fortified than they were 2 years ago; they just need consistent quarterback play and the ability to allow that defense to be able to turn the ball over and get after the quarterback.”

For the most part, Carter was spot-on.

McCarthy’s Whirlwind 2025 Campaign

McCarthy showcased his potential late in 2025 in games against Detroit, Washington, Dallas, and New York, demonstrating confidence and effective offensive leadership.

However, the rest of his record is less promising. Recurring injuries hampered his performance and prevented him from achieving week-to-week consistency. By the end of 2025, he ranked last in EPA+CPOE, highlighting an underwhelming first season as a starter.

Ultimately, McCarthy’s availability is the major concern. Since entering the league in 2024, he has missed 24 of 34 possible games, resulting in a 70% absence rate over two seasons. He started the season with a memorable moment at Soldier Field, struggled the following week, got hurt, returned with a vengeance, got hurt, got hot in December, and then got hurt again.

Carter Is Correct on QB Injuries

One thing is certain from Carter’s musings: Murray isn’t necessarily an Iron Man. He’s missed 26% of all games in his career, translating to a pattern of staying under center 12 or 13 games per season. If his history catches up with him in 2026, well, McCarthy will be ready to step in as the QB2, assuming he keeps Carson Wentz at bay, whom Minnesota signed last month for more depth.

There’s a world where Murray gets hurt — again, he’s not known for extreme durability — and McCarthy enters the lineup. Then, you know, he could just stay there if his mechanics have improved and his maturation mirrored that of an NFL starter.

McCarthy’s story doesn’t have to be over in Minnesota. It might just require some serendipity if the form of a Murray injury, as morbid as that sounds.

Zone Coverage‘s Wyatt Wade wrote last month, “While Murray’s signing helps the Vikings in 2026, it could create an issue in the future. McCarthy and Brosmer have only one more year on their contracts beyond this season. As a first-round pick, McCarthy has a club option after 2027, and Brosmer would be a restricted free agent.”

“The Vikings also haven’t signed Wentz yet and seem hesitant to bring in another quarterback to challenge McCarthy for the backup spot. If Murray stays healthy and chooses to leave after this season, the team is right back where they started before this offseason, if not in a bit worse situation.”

Vikings’ Life Easier if McCarthy Is Good

Minnesota picked McCarthy with a purpose in 2024 — to be the franchise quarterback after Kirk Cousins. That plan has not worked. Injuries have spoiled the forecast.

But that doesn’t mean anyone has to be low on his future. His stock took a major hit when Murray signed the dotted line, rest assured. Yet, the Vikings’ long-term outlook would be so much easier if McCarthy arrived to 2026 as an improved and healthy man. It wouldn’t matter if Murray worked out, and the Vikings wouldn’t need to eye young quarterbacks in 2027 or 2028.

In that vein, Minnesota might have two favorable outcomes churning: a chance for Murray to get back on track as a Pro Bowl quarterback, and if he does not, a hope that McCarthy develops and matures, as was the plan in the spring of 2024.

Carter is right that McCarthy will probably get a chance to strut his stuff in 2026. Given Murray’s history, it might be weird if he stays 100% healthy in all 17 games.

Despite being debutants, Palace were installed as favourites to win the Conference League at the start of the season.

It took a while for them to live up to that tag, with many of their performances in Europe looking somewhat turgid.

But their 3-0 win against Fiorentina – two-time finalists in the Conference League – showed what they are capable of.

Next up for Palace is a two-legged semi-final with Shakhtar, with Strasbourg facing Rayo Vallecano in the other tie.

“They made light work of them [Fiorentina] really, but from here on in they will expect some really tough games, there is some good quality in the competition,” added Tomkins.

“The question is whether they can bring the positivity from the first leg. That was the best I’ve seen them for a while, the three-week break did them the world of good and they looked like the team we saw early this season and last season.”

The season will end with Glasner’s departure, but it could also end with a European prize.

“Of course, that is what we all want,” said the Austrian.

“We want to enjoy our life together, not just the football. The more successful you are, the more you enjoy your life.

“When you play the semi-final, you want to get it all at the end and that’s what we will go for.”

Suryakumar Yadav, Rohit Sharma react after Shreyas Iyer’s acrobatic effort.© X/Twitter

Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians players after the match at Wankhede stadium. (Pic credit: IPL)

NEW DELHI: Punjab Kings continued their dominant run in the ongoing IPL 2026 season, dismantling Mumbai Indians by seven wickets to climb to the top of the points table on Thursday. The victory ensured Punjab remain the only unbeaten side in the tournament so far, extending their strong start to nine points from five matches.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!The win pushed PBKS ahead of defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Rajasthan Royals, who are now second and third on the table with eight points each. RCB, led by Rajat Patidar, hold a slight edge on net run rate (+1.503), the best in the season so far, while RR trail closely behind. The top three remain tightly packed, separated by only a point, setting up an intense race for the top spots in the coming fixtures.At the other end of the table, Mumbai Indians’ struggles deepened with their fourth defeat in five matches. The five-time champions are languishing in ninth place in the ten-team standings with just two points, sitting just above Kolkata Knight Riders, who remain winless with one point from a rain-affected fixture against PBKS earlier in the season.The mid-table battle remains equally congested, with Sunrisers Hyderabad, Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Titans, Lucknow Super Giants and Chennai Super Kings all locked on four points each. Sunrisers Hyderabad currently occupy fourth spot on net run rate, with Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Titans, Lucknow Super Giants and Chennai Super Kings following in close succession, underlining how little separates the middle order of the table at this stage of the competition.With Punjab in imperious form and several teams tightly bunched behind them, the IPL 2026 standings remain finely poised as the tournament heads into a crucial phase.

Latest IPL 2026 Points Table after MI vs PBKS match

Manny Pacquiao has made his feelings perfectly clear to Floyd Mayweather regarding the disagreement over their planned rematch.

It was announced earlier this year that Pacquiao and Mayweather were set to meet at The Sphere in Las Vegas on September 19, over a decade on from their first bout which Mayweather won by unanimous decision.

While their initial battle in 2015 may have been an underwhelming affair inside the ring, it became the highest grossing event in the history of boxing, making it clear why there is demand for it to happen again despite both men now being well into their 40s.

Over the past few weeks though, doubts have started to be raised about their clash, after Mayweather claimed that there were still details that had to be finalised, and if it was to take place it would be an exhibition rather than a professional contest.

That was immediately disputed by Pacquiao, and there were further mixed reports in the last 24 hours when it was claimed that the issues had been resolved, only for Mayweather to hit back once again and say that wasn’t the case. This came after a deadline set by Pacquiao’s team.

With frustration clearly growing, Pacquiao has now sent a fresh message to Mayweather in a video captured by ESNews, first making it clear that his rival must proceed with the contest.

“He has no way to get out of the fight. He’s fighting. Sanctioned fight.”

Pacquiao then finished by sending a stern and clear warning to Mayweather.

“Be a man.”

With the conflicting reports continuing to come out of both camps, a definitive decision over the fight will have to be made soon.

Quinton de Kock – he came, he saw and he conquered. Playing his first match of IPL 2026, Quinton de Kock slammed an unbeaten ton. De Kock’s 112* and a gritty 50 from Naman Dhir pulled Mumbai Indians out of the doldrums and lifted them to an under-par 195/6 against Punjab Kings in their Indian Premier League match here on Thursday. Confined to warming the bench so far, de Kock replaced Rohit Sharma and smashed his third IPL hundred to lead an inspirational fightback for the troubled Mumbai Indians, who had slipped to 15/2 in three overs and had their backs firmly pressed against the wall.

With the ton, de Kock surpassed MS Dhoni on the elite list of designated wicketkeepers in the IPL to have scored most 50-plus scores.

Most 50-plus scores by a designated wicketkeeper in the IPL

31 – KL Rahul

25 – Quinton de Kock*

24 – MS Dhoni

21 – Dinesh Karthik

21 – Rishabh Pant

20 – Sanju Samson

He is also the first overseas player to score a century for three different IPL teams.

Players to score hundreds for three IPL teams

KL Rahul – Punjab Kings, Lucknow Super Giants, Delhi Capitals

Sanju Samson – Delhi Capitals, Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Super Kings

Quinton de Kock – Delhi Capitals, Lucknow Super Giants, Mumbai Indians

De Kock’s 112* against PBKS is the highest score by any MI batter in the first innings of an IPL match. He broke the record held by Rohit Sharma (109 vs KKR, 2012). Sanath Jayasuriya‘s 114* against Chennai Super Kings remains the highest individual score by a Mumbai Indians batter in IPL history.

The veteran Proteas batter was in his element during his unbeaten ton – a 60-ball 112 not out (8x4s, 7x6s) and his first IPL hundred since 2022 – clobbering the ball powerfully on the leg side and picking boundaries with precision and terrific timing on the off side.

India and Punjab Kings pacer Arshdeep Singh (3/22) swung the ball prodigiously with immaculate lengths to snaffle two key wickets early on, while a third came late in the innings.

After beating Ryan Rickelton (2) persistently with deliveries that swung away from the left-hander, Arshdeep had the South African caught at deep square leg on a shortish ball. He was all over India T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav (0), luring him outside off on the first ball and beating him with swing to have a thick edge flying to short third man.

With Suryakumar back in the hut and Tilak Varma (8) out of sorts, MI took a punt by promoting Dhir to No. 4, and the right-handed batter repaid the faith with a gutsy knock that required patience.

Dhir was also lucky when on 10, as Yuzvendra Chahal spilled a sitter at short fine leg off Marco Jansen in the fifth over. He was fortunate again when a misjudgement in calling for a single in the next over did not result in de Kock being run out at the non-striker’s end, as Shreyas Iyer missed the direct hit.

Mumbai Indians once again had an underwhelming powerplay – 48 for 2 – but the home camp was relieved that there was no further damage. The pair had already begun the rebuilding work, and from there on, neither de Kock nor Dhir put a foot wrong in their century stand.

De Kock and Dhir put on 132 off 68 balls in a robust third-wicket partnership that not only revived MI but also built a strong platform to push for a big total. However, the hosts could not manage to score at more than 10 runs an over.

With strong bottom-hand strokeplay, Dhir struck three sixes and as many fours, playing the perfect second fiddle to de Kock. The partnership ended immediately after Dhir completed his half-century, hitting one straight to long-off.

In the 18th over, Iyer had his arms spread wide in celebration after he caught the ball off Hardik Pandya (14) while airborne near the ropes at long-on and hurled it to Xavier Bartlett for a superbly executed catch.

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People with disabilities are being shut out of the 2026 World Cup, according to fans and rights campaigners.

In stark contrast to previous tournaments, this year’s event in the US, Canada and Mexico, has no separate ticket ballot, is charging for companions who usually go free and has failed to provide free or reduced cost accessible parking. And that’s without mentioning the cost of the tickets themselves.

“I originally was going and thinking America would be amazing, and Canada and Mexico too. I’ve been many times. I know you can get about, the transport is all set up, hotels, everything is accessible, so you didn’t have any of that worry. But now the whole thing about ticketing… it’s just impossible to get tickets,” England fan Jo McNicol told DW.

“I just think they’ve priced people out. They’ve not restricted it, so anyone can get a wheelchair ticket, an accessible ticket. You don’t have to prove you need one, which is what you normally do.”

Profit before people?

McNicol has been a regular at club matches and international tournaments for many years and was at the last World Cup in Qatar, where she found the accessibility “fabulous”. There, she said, fans with disabilities were given a proportion of the available tickets to purchase upon proof of their disability, as is also generally the case in sporting events in Europe.

Given that, McNicol booked a flight and rented a campervan for a trip this year. But she has been unable to secure tickets through the ballot system run by tournament organizers FIFA and is now unlikely to attend.

The organization has come under fire for excessive profiteering. This has included: the high initial prices of tickets, adding new higher categories to tickets without announcement, moving people’s seats after purchase, making transport and parking much more expensive than normal and profiting from a 15% levy on buyer and seller in a newly-introduced resale portal.

With category 4 tickets, the cheapest, seemingly not available for disabled fans — perhaps because they are found in the furthest, highest corners of the ground — McNicol and those like her can only access category 3 and above through said portal. This is despite no matches having been announced by FIFA as sold out. The BBC reported earlier this month that the cheapest category 3 ticket for England’s opening match is $898 (€762), up from a face value of $265.

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Disabled fans pay twice

James Flanagan from advocacy group Football Supporters Europe said tickets in Qatar were available to fans with disabilities for about $10 and that FIFA’s current policies are a “step back” that is “excluding people with disabilities from the tournament.”

With many requiring assistance at matches, Flanagan said charging for a companion was an extra penalty.

“Charging for a companion ticket, which FIFA have included in their policies, effectively doubles the cost,” he told DW. “Accessible parking will also not be discounted. All of this will challenge fans with disabilities, and time is running out to change.”

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FIFA have not responded to a series of questions from DW nor to FSE. But their website does confirm the issues raised by fans and FSE.

“They won’t even guarantee that the PA [companion] ticket is going to be next to you,” said McNicol, who uses a wheelchair. “But you need them. If I drop something on the floor, I can’t pick it up. If I want to use the bathroom, I need help. And also you just want to sit with someone that you want to sit with, rather than sit with a bunch of strangers. You want that choice.”

Fans ignored by FIFA

FIFA’s policy is that “companions will be seated as close to you as possible. However, the exact seat location cannot be guaranteed, and FIFA Ticketing cannot ensure that it will be immediately adjacent to your seat.”

Flanagan sees this as unacceptable. “It is not a choice that people have to have a companion with them. That is a necessity, and it’s an unfair financial burden on people with disabilities. We believe that the policy contradicts FIFA’s own commitments on inclusion and human rights,” he said.

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“FIFA needs to listen to people with disabilities, and I don’t think fans are being consulted.”

With public transport limited at many venues, parking is also a bone of contention for fans with disabilities. While FIFA’s general accessibility policy does make note that disabled parking “should be provided and located next to the stadium or close by” it does not suggest it should be free or subsidized. And it isn’t.

“Currently, fans are being asked to fork out extortionate prices for match tickets, but also $150 to $300 on an accessible parking depending on the venue,” added Flanagan. “The prices that these fans have to pay are just not acceptable.”

Interviews and editing by: Dave Braneck

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