Rajasthan Royals’ Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (AP Photo)

NEW DELHI: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi once again stole the spotlight as the 15-year-old produced a stunning 93 off just 38 balls to guide Rajasthan Royals to a comfortable seven-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants in a crucial IPL 2026 clash in Jaipur. The victory kept Rajasthan firmly alive in the playoff race, with the team now needing one more win against Mumbai Indians to strengthen their qualification hopes.Chasing a huge target of 221, Rajasthan looked fearless from the start. Sooryavanshi smashed 10 sixes and attacked almost every bowler, making the difficult chase look surprisingly easy. He first added a quick partnership with stand-in captain Yashasvi Jaiswal before building another massive stand with Dhruv Jurel, who stayed unbeaten with a half-century. Although the teenager missed his century by just seven runs, he had already taken the game away from Lucknow.Former cricketer Ian Bishop summed up the youngster’s brilliance perfectly on commentary, saying: “He is ready.”Earlier, Mitchell Marsh had powered Lucknow to 220/5 with a brutal 96 off 57 balls. Josh Inglis also played aggressively, scoring 60 as the pair gave LSG a flying start with a 109-run opening partnership. Marsh continued the attack even after Inglis got out, smashing boundaries all around the ground and narrowly missing out on a century.However, Rajasthan’s bowlers struggled for most of the innings, with only young spinner Yash Raj Punja managing to create some control with two wickets. Jofra Archer’s disciplined final over also helped limit further damage.The young batter is now closing in on several IPL records, including Chris Gayle’s mark for most sixes in a season. His fearless batting even put pressure on India pacer Mayank Yadav, who conceded heavily during one over.While Lucknow’s playoff hopes ended with the defeat, Rajasthan now head into their final league match with qualification still within reach.

In all likelihood, Kyler Murray will lead the Minnesota Vikings at quarterback in 2026, so long as third-year passer J.J. McCarthy doesn’t score the training camp upset. And according to former Vikings signal-caller Warren Moon, Murray’s emergence to the QB1 spot sounds bittersweet.

Moon sees Murray’s upside, but the familiar commitment questions still follow the Cardinals quarterback.

Moon believes Murray has the talent for the job, but seemed to question his commitment.

Murray’s Vikings Career Still Depends on McCarthy — and Himself?

It’s a familiar critique of Murray.

Moon on Murray

Moon spoke to Kay Adams this week and didn’t hold back, saying about Murray, “He never looks like he’s motivated. Maybe he is inside, but he just doesn’t give you that demeanor. He doesn’t give you that demeanor. I hope he’s learned over the last couple of years, with all the criticism that he’s taken, with the injuries that he’s gone through. I have to give more of myself to my football team.”

“I have to show people more about what I’m feeling and thinking. You have to do that as a quarterback in order to get people to follow you. Murray is so dynamic. He makes so many plays that you go, ‘Wow.’ And then, all of a sudden, he goes through phases where he doesn’t even look like the same guy.”

The Vikings inked Murray in March to a $1.3 million 2026 contract, one of the best-value contracts in sports.

Moon added, “I hope that coming into this situation, he’s re-motivated to show what he can do. He’s been out of the game for a while with injury. He’s going to a great place with a great coaching staff, and he has really excellent weapons to throw the football to. It’s all in his possession if he wants it.”

“But J.J. McCarthy is right there, too. I don’t think he’s going to make it easy.”

The “Aloof” Talker + Study Clause

Moon seems to be buying into a widespread, consistent Murray-themed talker: the guy loves video games too much and doesn’t prioritize football. That narrative has persisted for years, prompting an outside audience to wonder whether Murray cares about his craft as much as his quarterback peers.

The Cardinals even baked a “study clause” into his contract extension four years ago, which drew ire and awe because of its unprecedented nature. After backlash, the Cardinals removed the clause.

So, in conjunction with Moon’s comments, Murray must prove the naysayers wrong. The perception is that football may be a side perk for him; he has to dispel that.

All Up to Murray

In addition to the attitudinal concerns, Murray has a tall task afoot. He’ll be asked to guide a 9-8 team from last year to the postseason, and hopefully, for the head coach’s sake and job security, win a playoff game or two.

Getting kicked out of Arizona — a franchise known for generally poor ownership and operations — in favor of Jacoby Brissett and rookie Carson Beck is flat-out embarrassing. On top of that, the Cardinals are paying Murray to play for the Vikings. It’s how Minnesota finagled the March contract for $1.3 million.

Murray can “stick it to the Cardinals,” as athletes often do to their ex-employers, almost like a grudge match in wrestling. He also has 2027 to consider. A 30-touchdown season with 3,500+ passing yards in 2026 will fetch him around $50+ million per season via his next contract — in Minnesota or elsewhere. A 7-10 campaign with a litany of Murray injuries might lead to more “prove-it” contracts, which Murray basically has right now.

It’s all up to Murray to show that he’s locked and can perform at a Top-15 NFL quarterback clip.

A QB Verdict in August

Of course, Murray must win the job over McCarthy first. Minnesota is selling the competition to anyone willing to buy, creating an atmosphere for McCarthy to pull off the upset if he has the stomach for it. Unlike last year, when McCarthy was handed the QB1 job on a silver platter without impediment, Murray must stave off McCarthy’s advances. McCarthy is young and hungry. Murray is seeking redemption and, from Moon, accusations that he “never looks like he’s motivated.”

In that regard, training camp may be cinema for the Vikings, a winner-take-all duel for the QB1 crown.

Moon played for the Vikings from 1994 to 1996, so he knows a little something about the franchise.

Vikings training camp is 10 weeks away.

Dustin Baker is a novelist and political scientist. His second novel, The Invaders , is out now. So is … More about Dustin Baker

UCLA baseball has been on a dominant run all season long, becoming the first NCAA Division I team to be ranked No. 1 for an entire regular season in D1Baseball and Baseball America polls.

On Tuesday, that dominance was rewarded in the Big Ten end-of-season conference awards. The Bruins claimed a conference-leading nine total selections across the First, Second, and Third Teams along with the Player of the Year and Coach of the Year awards.

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Junior shortstop Roch Cholowsky earned the Big Ten Player of the Year Award for the second season in a row. He is the first player in UCLA history to win the award twice in a career and the third player in Big Ten history to win back-to-back Player of the Year awards.

Cholowsky, who led the Big Ten with 21 home runs, is the No. 1 ranked prospect entering the 2026 MLB Draft

Cholowsky was also named an All-Big Ten First Team selection. Six other Bruins were also First Team honorees, which led the conference for most First Team selections from the same team. Alongside Cholowsky, Will Gasparino, Easton Hawk, Mulivai Levu, Roman Martin, Wylan Moss and Logan Reddemann were First Team selections.

Catcher Cashel Dugger was a Second Team All-Big Ten selection, and pitcher Cal Randall was a Third Team honoree. Dugger, Gasparino, Levu and outfielder Dean West were selected for the Big Ten All-Defensive Team, while pitcher Zach Strickland was included on the conference’s All-Freshman Team.

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Lastly, head coach John Savage was named the unanimous Big Ten Coach of the Year. This is the third time in his career he has earned the conference Coach of the Year award, with his first two being in the Pac-12 in 2013 and 2019.

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Savage led the Bruins to a program-record 48 regular season wins and the longest conference winning streak in Big Ten history. Savage and the Bruins will begin the Big Ten Tournament on May 22.

Photo Credit: Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

The post UCLA Baseball Dominates Big Ten End-of-Season Awards appeared first on LA Sports Report.

Tim Cone expects the Kings to face a hard-fighting Painters in the semifinals. —PBA IMAGES

When Barangay Ginebra faced Rain or Shine in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup elimination round, the Gin Kings barely broke a sweat.

“We felt we had something to prove in that game against Rain or Shine in the eliminations. It’s a different feeling now, though,” coach Tim Cone said after his wards punched a ticket to the semifinals with a victory over Phoenix.

“We have to make sure that we stay neither too high nor too low at this point.”

As someone who has seen and accomplished everything in the PBA, Cone knows that once the playoffs begin, previous results no longer matter.

Naturally, he has chosen to forget Ginebra’s 114-90 rout of the Elasto Painters in the eliminations because it is now back to square one in a best-of-seven series.

Cone is also fully aware of how dangerous counterpart Yeng Guiao can be in a long series.

“I just know how hard it is to go up against Yeng,” he admitted.

“They play extremely hard and fast. They compete all the time. They can wear you down in a series because of their depth. There’s a lot of concern when you’re facing a team like that.”

According to league chief statistician Fidel Mangonon III, Ginebra won the last two playoff meetings against Rain or Shine. The most recent came in the quarterfinals of the 2020 Philippine Cup, while the other was during the 2018 Commissioner’s Cup.

Interestingly, the last time Guiao and the Elasto Painters defeated the Gin Kings in the playoffs, they also went on to beat San Miguel Beer in the semifinals of the 2016 Commissioner’s Cup.

War of attrition

Rain or Shine eventually captured the title of that conference, marking the last time an independent team won a PBA championship.

But Cone was quick to stress that past results mean little now.

All he knows is that Ginebra faces a war of attrition against Guiao and the Elasto Painters, who are coming off a quarterfinals upset of the mighty Beermen.

“I expect it to be a tough series.”

Game 1 of the semifinals between Cone and Guiao is set for Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo, serving as the nightcap to the TNT-Meralco opener at 5:15 p.m. INQ

The Houston Astros entered Tuesday with a 19-30 record and the worst ERA (5.45) in MLB. Their injury-riddled pitching staff took another hit hours before first pitch when they scratched starter Lance McCullers Jr. ahead of a road matchup versus the Minnesota Twins.

Houston placed McCullers on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation, retroactively to May 16. Astros manager Joe Espada told reporters the righty’s been pitching through shoulder pain “for a while.”

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“He’s been recovering well, kind of your normal, typical post-start soreness,” Espada said pregame, per The Athletic. “But, this week, he wasn’t able to get rid of it. We decided to get him seen by our doctors.”

McCullers is the latest member of Houston’s season-opening starting rotation to be bitten by the injury bug. He’ll join both Cristian Javier and Hunter Brown on the IL, where those two are healing up from Grade 2 shoulder strains.

Another right-handed pitcher, Jason Alexander, took McCullers’ place on the mound Tuesday. The Astros recalled Alexander from Triple-A Sugar Land earlier this week.

Sources said that Kidd had expressed a desire to be promoted to president of basketball operations after general manager Nico Harrison was fired in November, but Dumont informed Kidd months ago that he wouldn’t be considered for the front office. Kidd was kept out of the loop in the process that resulted in Ujiri’s hiring, sources said.

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Arsenal have been crowned Premier League champions for the first time in 22 years after Manchester City were held to a 1-1 draw by AFC Bournemouth on Tuesday night.

City, who had won six of the last eight league titles, needed victory to keep the title race alive until the final day of the season. However, Bournemouth frustrated Pep Guardiola’s side and ended their hopes of retaining the trophy.

Junior Kroupi gave Bournemouth the lead in the 39th minute with a fine finish, leaving City with a difficult task in the second half. Norwegian striker Erling Haaland scored a late equaliser in stoppage time, but it was not enough as City failed to find the winning goal they desperately needed.

The result confirmed Arsenal as Premier League champions before their final game of the season against Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Wild celebrations broke out outside Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium after the final whistle, with supporters celebrating the club’s first league title since the famous “Invincibles” season of 2003/2004 under former manager Arsène Wenger.

Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice also celebrated on Instagram, posting a picture with his teammates alongside the caption: “I told you all … it’s done.”

The title is Arsenal’s 14th English league crown, moving them closer to rivals Liverpool FC and Manchester United, who both have 20 league titles.

Manager Mikel Arteta has now guided Arsenal back to the top after several years of near misses. Since taking charge in 2019, Arteta has transformed the club into one of the strongest teams in England.

The former Arsenal and Everton midfielder becomes the first ex-Premier League player to win the title as a manager. Arsenal had previously finished second in the league for three straight seasons.

This season’s success has been built on a strong defence and dangerous set-pieces. Arsenal have conceded only 26 league goals in 37 matches and kept 19 clean sheets. They have also scored 24 goals from set-pieces, including a record 18 from corners.

Arsenal’s excellent campaign could become even more memorable as they prepare to face Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League final on May 30. The North London club will hope to win Europe’s biggest trophy for the first time in their history.

Neymar has been named in Brazil’s squad for next month’s World Cup, manager Carlo ​Ancelotti said on Monday, handing the forward a chance to return to international soccer’s biggest stage after an injury-disrupted cycle.

Read moreFrance squad: Didier Deschamps unveils his selection for the 2026 World Cup

The inclusion of Neymar, Brazil‘s all-time leading goalscorer with 79 goals in 128 appearances, was the biggest surprise in the 26-man squad named by coach Carlo Ancelotti.

Ancelotti announced Neymar‘s selection at a gala ceremony in Rio de Janeiro, with loud cheers ringing out as the veteran attacker’s call-up was confirmed.