La Salle Lady Spikers celebrate a point vs NU Lady Bulldogs in the UAAP Season 88 women’s volleyball Finals Game 2. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

La Salle wrote a perfect ending to finish its redemption tour in the UAAP Season 88 women’s volleyball tournament that took three years to make.

The Lady Spikers completed their unbeaten march to championship No. 13, dethroning National University with ease, 25-22, 25-16, 25-16, in Game 2 of the Finals on Saturday in front of 22,509 fans at the Mall of Asia Arena, as La Salle returned the favor, so to speak, after being swept by the Lady Bulldogs last year.

READ: UAAP Finals: La Salle dethrones NU to complete perfect title run

La Salle coach Ramil De Jesus had a modest goal of reaching NU’s level after the group of former stars Bella Belen and Alyssa Solomon won three of the last four seasons for the Bulldogs.

“For me, you always have to chase the level of the champion. Whoever wins the title becomes the standard you need to prepare for and try to reach,” said De Jesus in Filipino. “It also helped that some of our seniors played for Alas … they became guides for (our) younger players.”

READ: UAAP: Angel Canino, La Salle seniors still undecided on future

The Lady Spikers didn’t just match the Lady Bulldogs’ level; they finished a season like no other with a 16-0 sweep, counting a perfect performance in the title series where they didn’t yield a set to a very formidable foe.

Shevana Laput, who was limited to 11 Game 1 points, bounced back with 20 points on 14 kills and six blocks to emerge as the Finals MVP.

Angel Canino delivered 11 points, 10 digs and 10 excellent receptions, as Amie Provido contributed nine points, with Shane Reterta and Lilay Del Castillo adding eight each. Rookie setter Eshana Nunag had 17 excellent sets.

De Jesus scored his first 16-0 sweep, his second undefeated season after steering La Salle to a 14-game sweep and the outright title in 2004.

Bitter memory erased

Coach Ramil de Jesus and the La Salle Lady Spikers celebrate after winning the championship in the UAAP Season 88 women’s volleyball tournament, beating NU Lady Bulldogs. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

But it wasn’t easy before they finally erased memories of Season 76, when they squandered an outright Finals berth and lost the title to an Ateneo squad led by Alyssa Valdez.

“Honestly, it was very difficult. Even in the first round, we already faced a lot of struggles,” De Jesus said. “There were games without (some key players). Those were challenges the team had to go through.

“I even told myself maybe we’d become champions because of all the challenges we experienced. It wasn’t easy because we mostly relied on seven to eight players in the rotation,” he went on. “With games (played) so close together, some players were dealing with knee pain and body aches. Recovery became a really big deal for us.”

“I’m thankful we finished Season 88 without major injuries and that the players stayed healthy overall, even though I know many of them were already playing through pain,” he added.

The longtime La Salle coach was grateful for another championship, as his passion to teach aspiring volleyball players will never stop, hoping to continue developing more Lady Spikers and winning more UAAP titles.

“For me, when you go to La Salle, you have to be ready to adjust. You need to follow the system and do what’s asked of you,” De Jesus explained. “If you’re just going there to be associated with La Salle, then that’s not the goal. If you choose to go there, you have to be ready to handle everything.”

“Teaching is really my passion. Whenever I see potential in a player, I want to help bring out their talent and keep pushing them further. I really enjoy teaching, and if a player wants to learn, we’ll help them improve.”

NU saw its bid for a third straight title denied by La Salle in the rivals’ fourth Finals meeting.

Setter Lams Lamina played her final game for the Lady Bulldogs with 11 excellent sets.

Vange Alinsug led NU with 14 points. Sam Cantada had eight points, while Game 1 leading scorer Arah Panique was held to just seven points. INQ

The top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder look to take a commanding 3-0 series lead when they battle the fourth-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal matchup on Saturday night in the 2026 NBA playoffs. Oklahoma City earned a 125-107 win in Game 2 on Thursday. The Thunder (64-18), the defending NBA champions, are 32-10 on the road this season, including the postseason. The Lakers (53-29), who won the Pacific Division, are 30-14 on their home court. Luka Doncic (hamstring) remains out for Los Angeles, while Jalen Williams (hamstring) is out for OKC. Jarred Vanderbilt (finger) is questionable for the Lakers.

Tipoff from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles is set for 8:30 p.m. ET. The Thunder are 8.5-point favorites in the latest Thunder vs. Lakers odds from FanDuel Sportsbook, while the over/under for total points scored is 210.5. Before making any Lakers vs. Thunder picks, check out the Thunder vs. Lakers predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in betting profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past eight-plus seasons. The model entered the second round of the 2026 NBA playoffs on a sizzling 26-9 roll (74%) on top-rated NBA spread picks this season. Anyone following its NBA betting advice at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen huge returns.    

Now, the model has simulated Thunder vs. Lakers 10,000 times and just revealed its coveted NBA picks and betting predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model’s picks. Here are several NBA odds and NBA betting lines for Lakers vs. Thunder:

Top Thunder vs. Lakers predictions

After 10,000 simulations of Thunder vs. Lakers, SportsLine’s model is going Over on the total (210.5). The Over has hit in four of the last seven head-to-head meetings. The Over has also hit in seven of the last 10 Oklahoma City games, and in the last Los Angeles game. The Over has hit in 25 of 42 road games for the Thunder.

The SportsLine model is projecting the Thunder to have three players scoring 14 points or more, led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 31.8 points. LeBron James is projected to lead the Lakers with 23.4 points scored, as five Los Angeles players will score 11.3 points or more. The teams are projected to combine for 220 total points as the Over hits in 65% of simulations, making it a great selection for anybody targeting NBA parlay betting. See the Lakers vs. Thunder spread pick at SportsLine, and you can bet the Over in Thunder vs. Lakers at FanDuel here:

How to make Lakers vs. Thunder picks

After simulating each possession of Thunder vs. Lakers 10,000 times, the model also says one side of the spread hits well over 50% of the time. You can head to SportsLine to see the model’s NBA picks. 

So who wins Thunder vs. Lakers, and which side of the spread hits well over 50% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread to back, all from the model that has returned well over $10,000 on top-rated NBA picks, and find out.

Tottenham have given their survival chances a huge boost as they bid to avoid the unthinkable: relegation from the Premier League.

Demotion to the second tier for a Spurs side that won the Europa League last season, reached the Champions League knockout stage this term and has spent just one season outside the top flight since 1950 would go down as one of the biggest shocks in Premier League history. Roberto De Zerbi is now the man tasked with engineering an escape, and three points against Aston Villa last weekend lifted them into 17th.

West Ham’s defeat to Brentford had opened the door as Nuno Espirito Santo’s side slip back into the bottom three and now with their fate out of their hands. Leeds pulled clear after an impressive recent run, while Nottingham Forest won back-to-back games at Sunderland and Chelsea to bolster their hopes.

Wolves have long been destined for the drop and had their demotion confirmed last Monday. They have now been joined by Burnley after the Clarets fell to a 1-0 loss at home to Manchester City to confirm their return to the Championship.

With Wolves and Burnley both relegated, here’s how the rest of the crucial relegation run-in is shaping up.

Nottingham Forest

Position: 16th | Played: 35 | Points: 42 | GD: -2

Remaining fixtures:

Where to pick up points? After four wins in five games, a home game against a struggling Newcastle side who have nothing to play could confirm Forest’s Premier League status.

Tricky contests? Ideally, they’d like to get it done before visiting Manchester United and then hosting a Bournemouth side who may be pushing for Champions League qualification on the final day of the season.

Tottenham Hotspur

Position: 17th | Played: 35 | Points: 37 | GD: -9

Remaining fixtures:

Where to pick up points? A potentially pivotal clash with Leeds at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Monday night three matches from the end of the campaign will be a golden opportunity for Tottenham after escaping the bottom three.

West Ham United

Position: 18th | Played: 34 | Points: 36 | GD: -19

Remaining fixtures:

Tricky contests? A heavy defeat to Brentford may not have been totally deserved for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, yet is nonetheless ill-timed and highly-damaging. Now the visit of title-chasing Arsenal is unwelcome, too.

Final straight? If West Ham can get something from the Arsenal game then a trip against Newcastle and a home clash with Leeds to finish the season might just be the ticket to get them clear of the drop zone.

Verdict?

This could genuinely go in any direction and you’d have to be a brave person to predict the outcome with any confidence. It could still all come down to the final day when West Ham host Leeds, Spurs play Everton and Nottingham Forest host Bournemouth.

Forest’s recent results have been massive, given that they could have been adversely affected by their Europa League run and probably need to have survival wrapped up going into the final couple of games.

Spurs have their survival hopes in their hands, if they can build on victories at Wolves and Aston Villa and win a Premier League game at home for the first time since December. But every team is showing fight – and it could all change quickly.

The BCCI has issued some stringent rules for IPL players, commentators and teams. As for unauthorised visitors in players’ and support staff’s rooms, the Board’s concerns deepened after a player was recently found hosting a few people in his room well into the night quite often. The BCCI Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) officer immediately summoned the team manager to enquire about the meetings, but the reply was “casual and disinterested”. The manager cited the player’s seniority in the team’s ranks to defend him. “I am not surprised. At times, the players use their stature within the team to bend the rules. Once I told a player to host his friends in the lobby restaurant, not in his room,” a former official said.

“I told him there are some board instructions on such matters. He just snapped: ‘You don’t worry. I will tell the board (officials) if they ask’,” said a former official, who worked for a long time in the IPL as a team manager.

Another franchise official offered his view on this. “Well, I don’t know about such arm-twisting (by players). But we have now given out clear instructions that written or at least verbal permission is required to invite friends and family to the hotel where the team stays.

“I know they also need to meet family and friends. But we have told them not to entertain guests after 10 pm, and such meetings should happen in the lobby or any other public place where the team manager/officials should have ready access,” the official stated.

In another instance, a player failed to return calls from a team official, who knocked on his hotel room door to pass on information.

He eventually walked into the hotel quite late at night, accompanied by a group of friends. But it was brushed under the carpet, as the player was perceived to be close to the franchise’s owners.

“I agree that sometimes rules are not followed in letter and spirit, or sometimes some exemptions will be given to the players. Now, we are looking to put in place constant checks on the players.

“But we should also ensure that it’s not an intrusion into their privacy. We will also be in talks with the BCCI as to how to implement this particular rule without any issue,” the official said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a press release)

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A former MLB pitcher’s divorce is getting ugly.

Carl Pavano and his ex-wife, Alissa, have been in quite the prenup battle, with Alissa accusing the former pitcher of signing the one-sided agreement she says she was “demanded” to sign.

According to documents, Alissa “had given up her residence, potential employment, and all financial independence” after Carl had shown “ongoing controlling behavior,” including name-calling, cutting off her expenses and threats to take their children.

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Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Carl Pavano delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 26, 2012. (Jesse Johnson/USA TODAY Sports)

To make matters worse, according to CT Insider, police have been called to their shared home in Connecticut nine times over the last two years, and most recently on April 29.

“A prenuptial agreement is an acceptable way for individuals, prior to marriage, to condition how their financial interests and responsibilities will be determined after marriage,” Alissa’s lawyers said in a brief, via the New York Post.

“It should not be an acceptable way for a monied spouse who has already started a family with his significant other to force her to give up her financial independence, and then to extract financial advantages in the premarital agreement under the threat of taking the minor children away from her and leaving her destitute.”

Yankees trainer Gene Monahan checks pitcher Carl Pavano after he was hit in the head by a ball hit by Baltimore Orioles player Melvin Mora. (Beth Balbierz/The Record)

BOBBY COX, LEGENDARY ATLANTA BRAVES MANAGER WHO LED 1995 WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS, DEAD AT 84

The signing of the prenup was videotaped, documents say, after Alissa had a $500 consultation with her attorney.

State Superior Court Judge Thomas O’Neill ruled the prenup valid, awarding Alissa $300,000 and ordering Carl to buy her a home worth $1 million. Carl had a net worth of over $43 million by the time the trial began, the document says.

The prenup was signed shortly after they were married in 2011, but the divorce began in 2024. The aforementioned ruling came last year.

New York Yankees starting pitcher Carl Pavano pitches in the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on Sept. 8, 2008. (Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY Sports)

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Pavano pitched for the Montreal Expos, Florida Marlins, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins, being named an All-Star in 2004. He pitched to a 4.81 ERA in his career, with his biggest payday coming from the Yankees. However, he only made 26 starts in his four seasons with them and is widely considered one of their worst signings.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola ended his press conference with an Arsenal joke after his team beat Brentford 3-0

Pep Guardiola made clear Manchester City will be supporting West Ham against Arsenal on Sunday with a funny gesture at the end of his press conference. The Blues boss had finished talking about the 3-0 win over Brentford when he crossed his arms above his head and said ‘Come on you Irons!’

City need Arsenal to drop points in one of their remaining three games to have a chance of beating them to the Premier League title, and a West Ham side fighting relegation look the most likely of any opponents to do the Blues a favour when they face the leaders on Sunday. Guardiola had dismissed questions on Friday about if he would be supporting West Ham, yet with the Brentford game won he allowed himself a joke to finish his 15 minutes with reporters.

City will be cheering on West Ham with a little more hope after an emphatic win over Brentford on Saturday in a difficult game. It took nearly an hour to break the deadlock but the Blues eventually ran out 3-0 winners to move two points behind Arsenal as well as move to within one goal of them; should City take two more points from the remaining three games, the title would be decided on goal difference.

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However, it remains in Arsenal’s hands and Guardiola was realistic about the chances of catching a team that has shown for nine months they are one of the best in Europe.

“We are fighting with a team quite similar to Liverpool in the past, in the final of the Champions League without losing a game and have been top of the league almost all season,” he said.

“It’s not in our hands now so it depends on them dropping points but all we can do is Wednesday win again, play the final of the FA Cup and go to Bournemouth – I’d say that is not the best one to go to – and Aston Villa. The calendar is demanding but it’s simple. It’s just two weeks and the season will be over.

“I love to be here again. Finish second again minimum so I love it. I didn’t enjoy last season and the moment to fight to qualify for the Champions League was difficult but the Carabao Cup is in our pocket, the FA Cup final at Wembley is the most beautiful day of the season and I love it.

“When you arrive and have the feeling that the job can be done, well done. When you arrive fighting against Arsenal, with many changes, seeing how they help each other in every training sessions, it is a joy.”

AAMI Park will play host to Sunday’s
Round 10 NRL game between Melbourne Storm and
Wests Tigers. The game kicks off at 2:00 pm with Melbourne Storm heading into the game as favourites with the bookmakers. Continue reading for our in-depth preview of the Melbourne Storm vs.
Wests Tigers
game and give you our free tips and bets.

When: Sunday May 10, 2026 at 2:00 pm

Where: AAMI Park

Bet 💰: Bet On This Match HERE

Melbourne Storm vs Wests Tigers Odds

Melbourne Storm vs Wests Tigers Preview

Melbourne will be desperate to halt its worst losing run in club history when it hosts Wests Tigers on Sunday afternoon. The Storm have looked uncharacteristically flat in recent weeks, struggling badly in attack despite leading at halftime against the Dolphins last round. Jahrome Hughes’ return could not come at a better time, with Melbourne needing greater direction and energy around the ruck. The Tigers also enter under pressure after being thrashed by Cronulla and losing more key personnel to injury. Jarome Luai now shoulders greater responsibility with Adam Doueihi sidelined, while Cameron Munster will be eager to rediscover his best form for Melbourne. The Storm have dominated this matchup for years, including a 64-0 demolition last season at AAMI Park. With Hughes back steering the side, Melbourne has a strong chance to steady its campaign.