For the first time, the football World Cup final in July will feature a star-studded Super Bowl-style halftime show. FIFA has announced that the concert will be headlined by no less than Madonna, Shakira and boys-band BTS. Story by Emerald Maxwell.

Home favourite Davide Ballerini won his first Grand Tour stage as he avoided a late crash to win stage six of the Giro d’Italia.

The XDS-Astana rider successfully dodged a late pile-up which took out several of the stage favourites and held off the chasing Jasper Stuyven for victory on the cobbles in Naples.

Stuyven’s teammate Paul Magnier, who has already won two stages of this year’s race, was third. The Frenchman nearly slipped himself as he tried to dodge riders on the ground, but managed to pick up speed again despite nearly coming to a stop and led in the chasing riders.

Dylan Groenewegen and Jonathan Milan were both caught out in the crash, with Groenewegen’s lead-out rider one of the first to slip on a tricky right-hander only a few hundred metres from the finish.

Wednesday’s stage five was notable for its torrid conditions, with torrential downpour and cold temperatures making for a miserable day on the bike.

Luckily the showers mostly cleared in time for stage six, with the riders racing under sunshine for most of the 141km run from Paestum to Naples.

Setting off near Paestum’s Ancient Greek temples, the riders had a relatively uncomplicated parcours to traverse: a nearly pan-flat stretch along the coast before rolling into Naples and swinging onto a cobbled stretch for the expected bunch sprint.

An early breakaway consisting of Alpecin-PremierTech teammates Luca Vergallito and Edward Planckaert was quickly out of the blocks, soon joined by Mattia Bais of Team Polti-VisitMalta and the Bardiani CSF 7 Saber pair of Martin Marcellusi and Manuele Tarozzi.

Bais was quickest to the top of the only climb of the day, the category 4 Cava de’ Tirreni, while Planckaert was dropped and absorbed by the peloton.

The remaining four escapees persevered but were kept on a short lead by the sprinters’ teams, who controlled proceedings throughout and finally caught them with 35km to go.

The clouds that had threatened to break all day finally did as the riders sped through central Naples, with the rain making the final cobbled section especially slick and treacherous.

Multiple riders slipped on the final corner, with Groenewegen and Milan the most notable to be caught out and unable to contest the sprint.

Bahrain-Victorious’ Afonso Eulalio remains in the overall race leader’s pink jersey, with no change in the general classification standings.

TNT Sports is the Home of Cycling in the U.K.

You know how you aren’t supposed to talk about a no-hitter while it’s going on? That’s kind of how it feels to talk about a starting pitcher who is both pitching well and is currently healthy. We’ve had so many pitchers go down with injuries (including a couple more big names on Wednesday, of course) or supposed aces struggling this season that it feels risky to even mention when a pitcher is thriving. 

But I’m going to do it. I’m going to take the risk, because it needs to be said: Jacob Misiorowski is ascending to the highest tiers of the position. 

This might not strike you as a particularly bold take. Misiorowski has some of the most overwhelmingly dominant stuff we’ve ever seen from a starting pitcher, and he entered Wednesday’s start against the Padres with a 2.45 ERA and absolutely massive strikeout numbers. For many of you, saying this in mid-May might be saying it too late. But let’s not forget that Misiorowski was very much a question mark just two months ago, coming off a rookie season where he put up a 4.63 ERA and was largely not all that useful for Fantasy in the second half. 

But it’s hard to argue against him as a true ace at this point. He shut down the Padres for seven innings Wednesday, his third straight start without allowing a run, and the fourth time in nine starts he has gone at least six innings – something he did just three times in 14 starts last season. And after serious issues throwing strikes for much of his rookie season, Misiorowski seems to have turned a corner, with two or fewer walks in four straight starts and six of nine overall. And, obviously, the strikeouts are plentiful, with 10 more in this start to give him four starts with double-digits on the season – the same number Paul Skenes has for his career after Tuesday’s gem. 

I’m not saying Misiorowski is a better pitcher than Skenes, though I don’t think it’s an overreaction to say he’s a better strikeout pitcher than Skenes. But I do think we’re at the point where it doesn’t really make any sense to have performance concerns about Misiorowski. He probably won’t sustain a 45%-plus whiff rate on his four-seamer, but … he might! It is genuinely one of the best four-seamers we’ve ever seen from a starting pitcher. And he’s showing a basically unprecedented ability to sustain that heat late into games, as his last three pitches of the game tonight were 102, 101.9, and 103.2 mph, giving him 12 pitches of at least 101 mph for his career in the sixth inning or later, the second-most of any pitcher in the pitch-tracking era behind Justin Verlander. 

And the rest of the arsenal is pretty good, too! Misiorowski’s slider isn’t really a huge bat-misser; it’s more like a monster, contact-suppressing cutter, and it generated nine batted balls Wednesday with just a 79.1 mph average exit velocity. The curveball operates more like a slider for Misiorowski; only the first two pitches are so good that he hardly ever needs it. 

It’s fair to wonder how sustainable this all is, mostly from a health standpoint. Nobody has ever sustained the kind of velocity Misiorowski is routinely generating while staying healthy. But here’s the thing: He’s healthy right now. Every pitcher has a fairly high baseline level of injury risk, and I don’t think it’s especially fair to assume Misiorowski’s is significantly higher than other pitchers who are also presumably pitching at max effort, just because his max effort produces higher readings. Yeah, he’s an injury risk. So is every pitcher, as you may be aware.

I’m moving Misiorowski up to the SP6 spot in my rankings this week. In trades, I think the only pitcher I would be willing to trade Misiorowski straight up for is Skenes, but I’m not sure I’d be willing to give up any of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Cristopher Sanchez, Chris Sale or Jacob deGrom for him, either, if that makes sense. I’m buying the performance with Misiorowski, but there’s still the open question of how this is all going to look 150 innings in. The rest of those guys might not be as good as Misiorowski right now, but they have shown they can be dominant for a full season. It’s really the only question Misiorowski has yet to answer.

O’Reilly’s “unbelievable talent” was spotted at the age of six, according to Riley, who says he had a “great left foot”, was “good on the ball” as well as having “determination”.

Even at that young age, there were scouts from Manchester United, Liverpool, Everton and Blackburn Rovers watching him in action for Moston Tigers and Failsworth Dynamos.

O’Reilly was first recommended to Riley by local scout Joe Yates, who would keep in touch with the family about his progress.

Riley said: “It was so competitive in their younger days – it still is now at the moment – because all the top clubs in the North West want all the best boys, so it’s so hard.

“This is where you’ve got to work quite hard with the parents and work as a team at the club. When he has signed on to the under-nines, your job’s not done.

“You carry on keeping in touch with parents, the recruitment team take over, the physios get involved. It’s a massive job getting these boys through but it is all about teamwork.”

O’Reilly grew up in Collyhurst and lists Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ronaldinho as players who he “loved watching”, while his City idols include Kevin de Bruyne, Yaya Toure, David Silva and Sergio Aguero.

Asked about his early days in football, O’Reilly told BBC Sport: “[We played] a bit of everywhere – on the grass, on the streets. We used to go to the little cage and play there.

“There used to be about 30 of us that used to go out and play and just have a good time. I was a good kid, I just love playing sports. I love being out doing activities.”

Punjab Kings openers Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh became the first uncapped opening pair to cross 1,000 partnership runs in the IPL. The milestone was reached when the team score moved to 24 during PBKS’ match against Mumbai Indians on Thursday.The duo also added a 50-run stand in the match before the partnership was broken by Deepak Chahar, who dismissed Priyansh Arya for 22.Prabhsimran Singh, who scored 549 runs in 2025 and 439* in 2026, also became only the third uncapped Indian player to score 400 or more runs in multiple IPL seasons. The other two are Suryakumar Yadav (2018, 2019 and 2020) and Abhishek Sharma (2022 and 2024).Earlier, Mumbai Indians skipper Jasprit Bumrah won the toss and chose to field first against Punjab Kings in their IPL 2026 match in Dharamsala on Thursday.Bumrah is leading Mumbai Indians for the first time in the IPL. Regular captain Hardik Pandya is recovering from a back spasm, while stand-in captain Suryakumar Yadav is unavailable due to personal reasons.Punjab Kings came into the match after four straight defeats at a key stage of the season. After seven matches, they were at the top of the table, but have since dropped momentum in the race for a top-two finish.Mumbai Indians have also had a poor season overall, with three wins from 11 matches and ninth place on the points table.At the toss, Bumrah said: “We have decided to bowl first. We saw the last game and felt that maybe with the cold weather coming down, the wicket would settle down. I didn’t think that I would be a Test captain before becoming MI captain (smiles). As much as we can, we can play three games left, and we want to enjoy and maybe ruffle a few teams. Surya is not here for personal reasons, and Allah is not there as well,”PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer said: “We would have bowled first as well. The wicket looks a bit drier. Still don’t know how the pitch will play, so just being positive about it. We should stop thinking about what has gone wrong. We have to think about being in good shape and having a positive mindset. Harpreet Brar, Xavier Bartlett and Azmatullah Omarzai come in.”

The ACC reportedly has “consensus” regarding expansion of the College Football Playoff.

Would the league benefit from having 24 teams make the Playoff each year?

On today’s episode of Locked On College Football, Spencer McLaughlin and ‘Locked On Canes’ host Alex Donno discuss the commitment of 5-star DB Donte Wright Jr., who flipped from Georgia.

Where does the landscape for high-end DB recruits sit on the NIL front?

San Diego State enters its third season under HC Sean Lewis and its 1st year in the new-look Pac-12.

The Aztecs should expect to be a conference title contender.

00:00 Discussing college football playoffs
04:10 Changes in college football playoffs
06:58 Big Ten influence on expansion
14:26 Recruitment surprise with Donte Wright
20:17 Discussing college football recruiting
21:44 Importance of offensive tackles
27:18 Texas State’s standout quarterback combo
28:17 San Diego State football analysis

/ @lockedoncollegefootball  

In his competitive prime, Johnson Wagner knocked down enough flagsticks and drained enough big putts to win three times on the PGA Tour.

But he’s better known these days for striking shots that don’t count toward his score.

As a reporter and analyst, first for NBC/Golf Channel and now for CBS Sports, Wagner, 46, has gained a fervent fan base for a segment in which he recreates (or attempts to, anyway) pivotal moments from that day’s action. 

For golf junkies, it’s must-see TV. But how did it come about?

On a recent episode of GOLF’s Subpar podcast, Johnson told the origin story. 

It happened in the opening round of the 2024 Players Championship, where Rory McIlroy, having hooked his drive into the water on the par-4 7th hole, took what some regarded as a questionable drop. The incident sparked a discussion with McIlroy’s playing partners, Jordan Spieth and Viktor Hovland, over where the ball had crossed the hazard line.

For Johnson, it also sparked a thought, which he shared with his producers.

“If we get the camera angle that shows the ball bounce and I throw it into the ground, I can prove that (Rory) took a good drop,” Johnson said, recounting the conversation with his bosses to Subpar co-hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz.

Given the green light, Johnson went out to the 7th hole later in the day to do exactly that. He was with his son, which was helpful. The two played a game of long toss so Johnson wouldn’t blow his arm out.

“I need to get to 180 ball speed,” he said.

The warm-up went well. But nothing could have prepared him for what transpired when he threw the ball for real, only to watch it land just above the red hazard line and dart left. The evidence seemed damning. Leaving the course after the film, Johnson called his producer to voice concern.

“I feel like I proved that Rory took a bad drop,” Johnson said.

His producer had good news.

“Have you checked social media?”

The segment was a hit. A viral star was born. And he soon had a chance to shine again. The following day, during the second round of the Players, McIlroy hit another poor drive on the 7th, a block into the trees, which he followed with nifty recovery: a low-hook bounce shot to get back in play.

For the second time in two rounds, Johnson went out to recreate the shot. Easier said than done. Johnson’s attempt caromed off a tree and bounced back at him.

“It wasn’t a shank,” Johnson said, though many delighted viewers believed it was.

Not that it mattered. Johnson and Golf Channel were clearly onto something. Who could forget, for instance, the moment in the gloaming at Pinehurst No. 2 in June 2024, when Johnson attempted to replicate Bryson DeChambeau’s U.S. Open-clinching blast from a green-side bunker on the 18th hole?

If that one escapes you, not to worry. Johnson recounts the details on the podcast, too. You can watch the entire episode below.

Veteran Philadelphia Phillies ace Zack Wheeler made a late start to the 2026 season after dealing with blood clots last year. However, the All-Star pitcher has not missed a beat as he put on a solid performance against the Boston Red Sox in his last start on Tuesday.

While Wheeler took the mound against the Red Sox, his wife, Dominique, rocked up at Fenway Park to cheer for the Phillies starter. She wore a cropped Phillies jacket with Wheeler’s name and number on the back.

She shared the pictures from her outing in her Instagram post, writing:

“Game day.”

Dominique and Wheeler reportedly met in 2016 and started dating before getting engaged in 2018. They tied the knot a year later in 2019 and share four children.

The three-time All-Star pitcher shared a heartfelt message for his wife in an Instagram post to celebrate Mother’s Day. He captioned the post:

“Thank you for being the best mom out there. You’re the rock and always present and comforting to our little ones. You always put the kids first and make sure they are having the best time ever. love you Gnikawheelz Memories are being made every day.”

Zack Wheeler puts in historic performance with wife Dominique at Fenway Park

Tuesday’s outing was Zack Wheeler’s fourth start of the season. The Phillies ace pitched 7.1 innings, allowing just one earned run with four strikeouts, helping Philadelphia to a 2-1 win.

The veteran ace set an MLB record as he needed just 16 pitches to complete the first three innings on Tuesday.

“Zack Wheeler needed just 16 pitches to complete the first 3 innings tonight. That’s the fewest pitches thrown by a starter through the first 3 innings of a game since at least 2000!”

With his wife watching from the stands, Wheeler threw only 87 pitches with 57 of them being strikes.