England captain Ben Stokes will miss the second Test against New Zealand at The Oval following the nightclub incident, with Joe Root set to lead the side as interim captain.Stokes has been left out of the squad along with fast bowler Gus Atkinson after the pair breached the team’s midnight curfew in the early hours of Monday.The England & Wales Cricket Board said Stokes and Atkinson “have not been made available for selection.”The two players were present at a nightclub when a member of England’s security staff was struck by Saracens rugby player Totoa Auvaa.Although Harry Brook is England’s vice-captain, he has not been chosen to lead the team for the match.Brook was involved in an incident last year when he was punched by a bouncer outside a nightclub in Wellington on the eve of an ODI against New Zealand.Root will therefore return to the captaincy for the first time since stepping down from the role in 2022. The former skipper led England in a record 64 Tests between 2017 and 2022.The 35-year-old remains England’s highest run-scorer in Test cricket. He resigned as captain after England managed one win in 17 Tests and was succeeded by Stokes.England have also added fast bowler Jofra Archer and batter Jordan Cox to the squad that won the opening Test against New Zealand by 115 runs at Lord’s.The second Test against New Zealand begins at The Oval on June 17.Meanwhile, some reports have suggested England Ben Stokes may even retire from cricket following the nightclub controversy involving him and teammate Gus Atkinson.The development comes after the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) launched an investigation into an incident involving Stokes and Atkinson at a nightclub in the early hours of Monday, hours after England’s 115-run win over New Zealand in the first Test at Lord’s.England Test squad: Joe Root (capt), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Sonny Baker, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Jordan Cox, Ben Duckett, Matthew Fisher, Emilio Gay, James Rew, Ollie Robinson, Jamie Smith (wk), Josh Tongue.

This November will mark 10 years since the Chicago Cubs were champions for the first time in several generations.

On Nov. 2, 2016, the Cubs broke a curse that had lasted 108 years, winning their first World Series title four years before the Titanic even sank, and many members of the team will get back to Wrigley Field next month to celebrate.

“It’s crazy. Time flies. I mean, it was a special team, special run, and it’s gonna be fun to celebrate it,” Anthony Rizzo recently told Fox News Digital.

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Chicago Cubs’ Anthony Rizzo celebrates victory during Game 7 of the World Series against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio, on Nov. 2, 2016. (David E. Klutho/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)

Now in retirement, Rizzo, who signed a one-day contract to retire a Cub after spending nearly four years with the New York Yankees, has been back in Chicago attending Cubs games and recording a podcast with former World Series teammate David Ross. But recently, as the World Cup nears, he partnered with Abbott and Real Madrid to help give rising soccer stars in Chicago a chance to play for the Abbott Dream Team.

The 16 selected male and female “Abbott Dream Team” members, ages 18–19, will travel to Spain on an all‑expenses‑paid trip to train at Real Madrid’s official facilities.

“Giving back in the community here in Chicago means the world to me, and these kids getting an opportunity to go to Real Madrid, practice, and train there is pretty special,” Rizzo said. “It’s a really cool program, they’re both respective leaders in their industry, bringing together kids playing soccer, and then harping on the nutrition side of it, as well, means a lot, because it takes a lot to get to the next level, and the fact that Abbott’s drilling these kids with nutrition and the importance of it, I think is very important as well.”

Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo celebrates during the team’s World Series victory rally at Grant Park in Chicago, Ill., on Nov. 4, 2016. (Patrick Gorski/Icon Sportswire)

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“Everyone’s talented when you get to the higher levels, right? Everyone has the talent, but it’s the mental capacity, it’s the little things, and nutrition is, I think, for me, one of the most important things,” Rizzo added. “You don’t really see the results on the field, but you feel you’re gonna recover better, you’re gonna sleep better, you have more energy, so taking care of your body is very important, and I let them know that when you get to a certain level, the talent level evens out, and it’s what separates you from making it, or getting that opportunity, or being ready for that opportunity when it comes.”

Rizzo, of course, knows what it takes to get to, and succeed at, the next level. He found the ultimate success with that 2016 title, which obviously came with additional pressure. But the former first baseman said that, despite fans’ desperate desire for a drought to end, he was able to maintain business as usual in the World Series in which he hit .360 with a 1.084 OPS.

“You don’t really feel as much of that weight, because you’re in the World Series, you’re at the highest level, you’re one of two teams standing, right? So, all the drought stuff comes in on the outside, and I was only there for five or six years up to that point, so, the previous 102 years … You just have to, you have to be able to have perspective on it,” Rizzo said.

Chicago Cubs’ Anthony Rizzo celebrates on the field after recording the final out in the 10th inning to win Game 7 and the World Series championship against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio, on Nov. 2, 2016. (Al Tielemans/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)

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“You have to be able to laugh about it, and for us, we just kept all the outside noise outside, and we just focused on what we had to do to win.”

The 2016 Cubs will gather on July 18, 10 years to the day Rizzo hit a three-run homer off New York Mets pitcher Steven Matz in a 5-1 victory to go to 56-36.

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His Napoli years – the Serie A title in 2024-25 and the adoration that came with it – have turned him into a player who is worshipped in Naples and identified throughout the world.

McTominay is the superstar of this Scotland team, the guy with a giant mural on the side of a house near Hampden and whose frame – mid-bicycle kick against Denmark on the night of all nights last November – is on a bank note.

For club and country he has scored 13, 16 and 17 goals in the last three seasons, some of them to win a title in Italy, others helping Scotland to the World Cup.

McTominay has 70 caps and has played multiple positions – right-sided centre-back, defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder. He is now exactly where he wants to be, in every sense.

Naismith has watched him grow into a player of huge substance, on and off the field. “He can glide across the pitch with elegance. He’s such an athlete,” he said.

“And see his passing – it’s as if you’re in a computer game. It’s like in Super Mario where you get a mushroom and you’re bigger, if that makes sense. He’s just more powerful than everybody else.

“The last part is you just hope he’s not an arsehole – and he’s not. He’ll hang about with the youngest players in the squad at dinner and he’ll chat away to them.

“And then the next day he could be sitting with [John] McGinn and Robbo [Andy Robertson] and Kenny McLean and Grant [Hanley] and be part of that.

“And then he might just be by himself for a bit. He’s a social butterfly and it’s all pure happiness for him.”

It’s taken a lot of hard work to get McTominay happy. A nation will be hoping he’s still smiling in the wake of their opener against Haiti, Scotland’s first World Cup game since the great thoroughbred in their midfield was barely out of nappies.

Shakur Stevenson has been linked to a number of names since his super-lightweight title win, but there is one man that former sparring partner Regis Prograis believes will beat the pound-for-pound star if given the opportunity.

Since claiming the WBO crown at 140lbs by comprehensively beating Teofimo Lopez, Stevenson has been called for fights against Conor Benn, Devin Haney and Gervonta Davis.

Another man that has been demanding a shot at Stevenson is two-time and reigning WBC super-featherweight world champion, O’Shaquie Foster, who trumped Raymond Ford last month to defend his belt.

Speaking to YSM Sports Media, Prograis hailed the talent of Foster, saying that the only person who can defeat the Texan is himself, despite the 32-year-old’s three prior losses.

“I have been saying this about O’Shaquie forever. At one point in time, I was number one in the world at 140lbs, he was coming up at 130lbs and I was telling people that Shaq is the truth because his name was so small. 

“He didn’t have the name but I was always high on Shaq, for a long time. I have been knowing Shaq since he was a child, basically, so I know how good he was, he was just, naturally, real good.

“He works hard and he has the mindset, Shaq has been through a lot of stuff and when you have been through stuff like that, your mindset does change, you have different type of mindset. It is going to be hard to beat somebody like Shaq. 

“Really, I don’t think that someone like him could be beat, he can only beat himself, he has early losses and that is kind of what happened to him, he kind of beat himself.”

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Prograis – who recently said he backs Stevenson to beat Haney should they fight – then went on to explain why he believes Foster is the man to hand the pound-for-pound star his first loss.

“Yes, [I would favour Foster over Stevenson]. I have been in the ring with Shaq more, for sure, but I am telling you, I have got him over Shakur.”

“He is natural, he can switch; he can go southpaw and orthodox, equally as good on both sides. Shaq can take a punch, Shaq has really good foot movement and Shaq has power also. He doesn’t have that big one-punch knockout power but he has got the power where you have to respect him because it is going to hurt.

“I know how good Shakur is. Shakur is a highly skilled fighter but, for me, right now, I got Shaq.”

To make the fight, Foster would need to move up two weight divisions and challenge for Stevenson’s super-lightweight title, or have Stevenson drop back down and meet him at 135lbs.

The San Antonio Spurs will look to draw even in their best-of-seven series when they battle the New York Knicks in Game 4 of the 2026 NBA Finals on Wednesday night. San Antonio held on for a 115-111 win on Monday night as the road team has won all three games. The Spurs (62-20), who won the 2014 NBA crown, are 7-3 on the road in the playoffs. The Knicks (53-29), who last won an NBA title in 1973, had a 13-game postseason winning streak snapped.

Tipoff from Madison Square Garden in New York is set for 8:30 p.m. ET. The Spurs lead the all-time postseason series 5-3. The Knicks are a 1.5-point favorites in the latest Knicks vs. Spurs odds from FanDuel Sportsbook, while the over/under for total points scored is 216.5. Before making any Spurs vs. Knicks picks, check out the Knicks vs. Spurs predictions from SportsLine’s Mike Barner. 

Barner is perenially one of SportsLine’s top NBA experts, and he enters this game on a sizzling 143-106 roll on all NBA picks, returning $1,682 for $100 players during that span. Anyone following his NBA betting advice at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen huge returns.

Now, Barner has studied Knicks vs. Spurs from every angle and just revealed his coveted NBA picks and betting predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see his picks. Here are several NBA odds and NBA betting lines for Spurs vs. Knicks:

Top Knicks vs. Spurs predictions

After studying Knicks vs. Spurs from every angle, Barner is leaning Under 216.5 total points. The Under has hit in three of the past four head-to-head meetings. The Under has also hit in three of the last five San Antonio games and in two of the last three New York matchups. The Knicks also had the fifth-best scoring defense in the NBA during the regular season, allowing 110.1 points per game, while the Spurs were eighth at 111.5.

The Under has hit in 53 of the last 100 New York games when the line was over 205, and 3-3 in six head-to-head meetings in 2025-26. Barner expects defense to win the day. See his Knicks vs. Spurs spread pick at SportsLine, and you can bet the Under in Knicks vs. Spurs at FanDuel here:

How to make Knicks vs. Spurs picks

Barner is leaning Over on the total, and he has also found a critical x-factor that has him jumping all over one side of the spread. You can head to SportsLine to see Barner’s NBA picks. 

So who wins Spurs vs. Knicks, and what critical x-factor makes one side of the spread hit hard? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Knicks vs. Spurs spread to back, all from the expert who is on an 143-106 roll on NBA picks, and find out.

David Sullivan agreed to stay away from West Ham’s women and youth teams one-on-one following a historic complaint.

The former joint chair, who resigned last week, said he had entered a “temporary agreement” with the Football Association not to meet with any academy or women’s players alone while the body resolved a complaint about an incident in 1981.

The revelation comes after the BBC and The Times reported that the FA opened a safeguarding investigation in 2023 after receiving allegations about Mr Sullivan’s conduct.

Mr Sullivan said the agreement was not a “ban” and denied the event at the centre of the historic complaint ever took place.

Culture secretary Lisa Nandy said the FA must explain “why no further action was taken” following the investigation. It is understood that West Ham United and the FA refute this.

On Monday, the BBC and The Times reported the accounts of seven women who claimed Mr Sullivan engaged in sexually exploitative and predatory behaviour. The accounts from the women date back to the 1980s and 1990s, when he owned the tabloid newspapers Daily Sport and Sunday Sport.

According to the reporting, the claims about Mr Sullivan involve him pressuring young or aspiring models in their late teens or early twenties.

Mr Sullivan said the claims are “entirely false” and that he “categorically denies” them.

Ms Nandy said in a statement on Tuesday evening: “These latest revelations are utterly horrifying.

“If it is the case that an investigation concluded that there were sufficiently serious allegations to warrant a ban on contact with the youth and women’s teams, then the FA must explain this decision and why no further action was taken.

“I expect a full and urgent explanation from the FA and West Ham as to how these incredibly serious allegations have been handled.”

Mr Sullivan said the restriction was a “negotiated agreement” with the FA.

“I wish to clarify recent media reports regarding a negotiated agreement with the Football Association, which has been inaccurately described as a disciplinary ‘ban’,” he told The Independent.

“In my entire 16 years at West Ham United, I have never met any academy or women’s team players 1-2-1. Therefore, a negotiated and temporary agreement with the FA not to do so until the FA resolved an outstanding complaint in relation to a single anonymous complaint regarding an event in 1981 was entered into.

“The complaint had nothing to do about my time in football, and it never happened. I saw it as a meaningless restriction, as it didn’t impact on my work in any way, therefore I accepted it for a quiet life.”

The FA said it was unable to comment on individual safeguarding cases, but that it took all allegations “very seriously” and worked closely with police.

A spokesperson said: “We operate a robust safeguarding programme across every level of English football, and all referrals to us are handled in line with our rigorous and stringent policies and procedures.

“Appropriate action is always taken against individuals who pose or may pose a risk of harm to children and adults at risk in football.

“This includes issuing appropriate suspensions in accordance with our safeguarding regulations. The aim of our process is to safeguard children and adults at risk.”

A West Ham United spokesperson said: “West Ham United has clear and robust safeguarding measures in place, measures that are independently assessed and audited on an annual basis. The club is unable to comment or provide details on any individual safeguarding matter as per safeguarding best practice.”

In a statement announcing he was stepping down as chair of West Ham at the weekend, Mr Sullivan said: “The false allegations levelled against me have been sensationalised by the media.

“After a lifetime spent building businesses in the adult industry, in which I have met thousands of women, it is sadly inevitable that a small number of improper conduct claims are being made against me.

“I categorically deny these claims.”

Cristiano Ronaldo’s former teammate, Hugo Almeida, has urged fans to lower their expectations regarding the five-time Ballon d’Or winner ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Ronaldo is set to feature in a record sixth World Cup tournament while hoping to help Portugal win their first-ever Mundial. Speaking to Lusa, as quoted by GOAL, Almeida expressed confidence about Ronaldo entering the tournament in ‘good form’.

“The age isn’t a problem, today we see many players at 39, 40, 41 years old arriving in great shape,” Almeida said. “Ronaldo prepares himself better and better and it is the competition that is missing from his curriculum and which he has been chasing for a long time. I believe he will arrive in good form.”

While Almeida dismissed concerns regarding Ronaldo’s age, he stressed that fans should not expect the performance of a player between 20 and 30 years of age from the 41-year-old. Instead, he noted that the Al-Nassr forward’s experience will prove invaluable for the Portugal national team at the World Cup.

“Now, we cannot expect a Ronaldo as loose as when he was 20 or 30 years old, but he is very experienced, the best of all time, and he makes the difference, without a doubt,” Almeida added.

Ronaldo and Portugal reached the quarter-final of the 2022 World Cup, where they were eliminated by Morocco. They have been placed in Group K of the 2026 World Cup alongside DR Congo, Uzbekistan, and Colombia.

“Ronaldo makes the difference” – Almeida offers opinion on Portugal team selection

Almeida further opined that while Ronaldo may be in the twilight of his career, he is the difference maker on the national team. There have been suggestions that Ronaldo should be dropped from the national team, with critics arguing that he is preventing young players from getting enough minutes.

Speaking to that, Almeida expressed confidence in head coach Roberto Martinez’s selections, insisting that the Spaniard ‘chose who gave him more guarantees’.

“The coach knows very well what he is going to do and has been preparing for the competition for a long time. He chose who gave him more guarantees, that is the most important thing,” Almeida concluded. “He could have a more fixed striker, but Portugal never play with fixed strikers. Goncalo Ramos has been doing well and Ronaldo makes the difference from one moment to the next.”

Ronaldo holds the record for Portugal’s most capped player and all-time leading scorer.