David Gray has gone from being slated to serenaded by Hibernian fans in the space of seven days.

Make no mistake, the head coach was under pressure after his side’s torrid display in Kosovo last week.

Supporters who had travelled to eastern Europe made it abundantly clear what they thought of their team’s 2-0 first-leg defeat by Malisheva with their Conference League hopes on the brink.

The head coach stressed the result – and the manner of it – were unacceptable, but the only way to answer doubters is on the park.

In the second half at Easter Road on Thursday, with Hibs four goals to the good on the night and on their way to an aggregate victory, Gray’s name was sung to the rafters.

His iconic status is untouchable. That’s what a winning goal in a Scottish Cup final win does, but these chants were not for his Hampden heroics as a player, rather for the way his team had responded to adversity.

They flew out of the blocks, led by the evergreen Martin Boyle, and had wiped out the two-goal deficit within 15 minutes.

By the time Boyle danced past several bewildered defenders and made it 4-0, it seemed as though Hibs could do no wrong.

Yes, there was a drop-off in the last 20 minutes and Malisheva got a goal back, but Gray wanted to focus on the positives post-match.

“We spoke about the intensity we want to play at, the intent from the start to play forward, run forward and get the crowd behind us,” he said.

“I saw it in training and they fully deserved to win tonight. We should have been out of sight, we hit the woodwork a couple of times and missed three or four big chances.

“That goal at the end made it a little bit edgy but at the same time, the players deserved what they got tonight. Delighted for them.”

Gray was asked if there was a sense of relief after last week and he admitted the enjoyment he takes from winning is only fleeting.

“It’s different for a coach winning games to being a player,” he said. “Relief kicks in and then it’s the next game.

“You enjoy it for two minutes and then on to the next one.”

It was quite surprising to see champion athletes like Neeraj Chopra, Arshad Nadeem, Anderson Peters, and even Rumesh Pathirage fail to hit the automatic qualification mark in the men’s javelin throw qualifier at the Commonwealth Games 2026 on Thursday. For these athletes, who have sometimes cleared 90-metre distances, struggling to even cross the 80-metre mark was unexpected. While it is common for athletes to hold back in qualifiers, Neeraj, Arshad, and several others were expected to at least breach the automatic qualification mark of 84 metres. However, not a single athlete managed to do so.

For Chopra, who won a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and silver in Paris four years later, his first attempt was just 76.28 metres. He improved in his second attempt to eventually finish fifth with a throw of 79.61m, meaning a third attempt was not needed.

Arshad, Neeraj’s long-term rival, could only manage a maximum distance of 78.63 metres-which came in his first attempt-finishing seventh overall.

Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage, Grenada’s Anderson Peters, South Africa’s Douw Smit, and England’s Ben East were the only four athletes to breach the 80-metre mark in the qualifier.

Why Could No Athlete Breach the 84-Metre Automatic Qualification Mark?

One of the main reasons for the athletes’ inability to secure automatic qualification for the final was the presence of strong winds at the venue. The conditions in Glasgow were treacherous for the throwers; crosswinds disturbed the flight of the spears, making it difficult for athletes to hit their desired distances.

Speaking on his effort in the qualifier, Neeraj said: “Conditions were not the best for javelin throwers-not only cold, but windy. And the wind was not from the front. It’s very hard to process. Sometimes I thought I’d throw a certain way, but the wind would come from another side. A lot of throwers were struggling. Nobody hit the automatic qualification,” he said.

VIDEO | Glasgow, Scotland: Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra speaks to the media after making it to the men’s javelin final at the Commonwealth Games after finishing fifth in the qualification round.

He says, “I’m happy that I’ve reached the final. That was the goal in the… pic.twitter.com/z3dlmiuJns

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 30, 2026

It was reported that athletes faced a 13 km/h west-blowing gust as they looked to seal qualification for the men’s javelin throw final.

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“Winning World Cup Most Beautiful thing”: Golden Ball Winner Rodri

Legendary trainer Teddy Atlas has predicted an upset victory when Ryan Garcia and Conor Benn go head to head.

The two welterweights will collide at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena on September 12, with ‘King Ry’ making a first defence of his WBC world title.

Garcia claimed his belt by dethroning Mario Barrios with a unanimous decision victory in February, which followed his unexpected points defeat to Rolando Romero in May 2025.

Back then, Garcia seemed a shadow of his former self after returning from a year-long doping ban, courtesy of him testing positive for ostarine following his encounter with Devin Haney.

A lack of confidence appeared to be the main problem here, with the American’s passive approach throughout the build-up being matched by his lacklustre performance against Romero.

But while Garcia is now coming off a far more assured display against Barrios, Atlas remains unconvinced that the 27-year-old can maintain this mindset.

Speaking with Canada Casino, the Hall of Fame trainer highlighted the champion’s inconsistency as the reason for him siding with Benn.

“Garcia has always been influenced on a mental and emotional basis. He is very talented, but unless he is right mentally and emotionally, that talent doesn’t really equate into anything special.

“Garcia is probably in a better place now, mentally, than he has been for a while. But does he stay in that place? At the end of the day, I usually go towards consistency. Garcia fights in spurts. Benn is not as flashy or spectacular in those spurts, but he is more consistent with his offence.

“In the mental area, Benn probably gets a bit of an edge. I might possibly be on the side of Benn.”

While ‘King Ry’ has previously tested positive for ostarine, Benn’s failed a doping test for clomifene came ahead of his cancelled encounter with Chris Eubank Jr in 2022.

Reports have gone back and forth regarding the current status of the ‘Protect College Sports Act’ in Congress.

Will there be enough changes made to get the Big Ten and SEC on board?

On today’s episode of Locked On College Football, I make my 2026 record prediction for the USC Trojans.

Will they win enough games to keep Lincoln Riley off the hot seat?

Iowa has been one of the steadiest members of the Big Ten, and last year they were closer to making the 12-team Playoff than folks might realize.

Will they be in the running for that mark again?

00:00 NCAA revenue sharing discussions
03:39 Concerns about college sports salary cap
06:49 Debating college sports financial caps
12:20 USC football schedule strategy
14:34 USC football expectations debate
17:33 USC’s 2026 team prospects
19:43 USC’s playoff chances and challenges
25:36 Iowa’s path to an 8-4 season

/ @lockedoncollegefootball  

Oliver Farry is pleased to welcome James Reade, Professor of Economics at the University of Reading. He argues that FIFA’s reported proposal of private equity involvement in the FIFA World Cup represents far more than a financial restructuring. It raises fundamental questions about ownership, governance, and the very purpose of football’s most iconic competition. Reade suggests that introducing private investors risks crossing a red line: Private equity would completely reframe the World Cup as a commercial asset focused on generating returns for investors.

New India jersey (ANI Photo)

Bengaluru: Indian hockey has changed its colours. In place of the legacy blue, a norm since 1926 and a shade instantly identified with the country’s stickmen and women, is saffron, starting from the FIH World Cup in Belgium and the Netherlands in a fortnight. The new kits arrived at the national camps here last week.It is a pass from the deep that has sparked outrage from former players, hockey lovers and people across society. As the visuals of the new jerseys were released earlier this week, it blew up social media. Hockey India (HI) scampered into damage control mode, claiming that the blue was being discarded since it clashed with the colour of the turf and hampered visibility. Blue-coloured turfs have been in practice for 14 years now.“The decision was taken collectively by the players and coaches after we felt the blue jersey blended with the blue turf, making visibility difficult at times. We used the new jersey in training on Thursday, and it made it easier to identify teammates and communicate on the field,” men’s team skipper Harmanpreet Singh told TOI.Meanwhile, a few players TOI spoke to said there was no team meeting held to discuss the colour of the jersey, and they realised the colour change only when their kits arrived.Past masters who have donned the blue with pride, are hurt by the decision.Vasudevan Baskaran, the captain of the 1980 Moscow Olympics gold-winning team, questioned, “This entire generation has grown up playing on blue turf; have they suddenly gone colour blind? We have played in blue clothing since 1928; it is a colour we identify with when we say an India jersey. Why change it now? It is shameful.”Former India captain Viren Rasquinha was among the first to react, posting, “… This is embarrassing. The legacy and identity of the Indian team has always been blue. I wore the Blue jersey with pride for many years. Fans want to see our Indian team in blue. What is the logic of orange?”Defending the change of colour, HI president Dilip Tirkey — a former India captain who played most of his 412 internationals in blue — told TOI, “I don’t understand why people are reacting negatively to the change in jersey colour. This is not the first time that we are playing in non-blue jerseys. The players and support staff felt a striking colour would ensure better visibility of the ball on the blue pitch.”On the colour that was eventually chosen, Dilip explained, “We had a choice of two colours, yellow and orange; we collectively went with the latter because orange is a part of the tricolour. Also, we haven’t said the team won’t wear blue ever again.”India have in the past worn different colours at various tournaments. They went with yellow and light blue jerseys at the World Cups in 2014 and 2018 respectively, while white with orange has been used as well in the past, including at the Olympics.The issue of ball visibility on a blue turf is rather subjective, given that the blue surface was introduced in 2012 and the citing and the colour of the jersey were not discussed.Outlining the importance of the blue jersey, Baskaran added, “In 1960, as a school boy, I watched Harbinder Singh and team play and told myself, ‘One day I want to wear the India blue.’ The colour is identified as the national sporting colour, and it is being taken away from the national sport.”A former hockey Olympic medallist, who did not want to be named, pointed out, “For 14 years, the team has been playing on blue turfs wearing the same colour jersey. If it was such a big problem, why wasn’t this discussed or implemented before? Also, the men’s team won two Olympic bronze medals wearing blue, and the women’s team’s best performance at the Olympics came in the same colours too. What’s changed now?”Harmanpreet urged people to focus on supporting the team. “We are always looking for ways to improve, and if a change benefits the team, we will make it. There is no politics behind this—it’s purely a sporting decision. I hope the focus remains on supporting the team as we prepare for the World Cup and aim to get the coveted trophy home,” the drag flick ace stated.

Cristina Ulbrich, the wife of Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, died Sunday after a battle with cancer, the team announced.

“The Atlanta Falcons are heartbroken by the passing of Cristina Ulbrich, beloved wife of defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, after her courageous battle with cancer,” the Falcons wrote in a statement.

“Cristina was a devoted wife, mother and friend whose strength, grace and resilience touched all who knew her. She was a constant source of love and support to Jeff, their family and the broader Falcons community.

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Interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich of the New York Jets and his wife, Cristina Ulbrich, embrace before a game against the Buffalo Bills at MetLife Stadium Oct. 14, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (Getty Images)

“On behalf of the entire organization, we extend our deepest condolences to Jeff, their children and all who loved Cristina. During this incredibly difficult time, our thoughts and prayers are with the Ulbrich family. We ask that their privacy be respected as they grieve this profound loss, and we stand with them in support and remembrance of Cristina’s life.”

Ulbrich, 49, had not been spotted at Falcons training camp during practices Tuesday and Wednesday, according to multiple reports.

Jeff and Cristina share three children together — Samantha, Jax and Jace.

ANDY REID PROVIDES UPDATE ON WIFE OF ERIC BIENIEMY, WHO WAS ALLEGEDLY SHOT BY OWN SON

The couple met during the former linebacker’s recruiting visit to Hawaii in 1997, according to The Athletic.

Ulbrich became the Falcons’ defensive coordinator last season after serving in the same role with the New York Jets since 2021.

It’s his second stint with the Falcons, the team he joined in 2015 to become a linebackers coach. He was a part of the infamous loss in the 2017 Super Bowl, when the New England Patriots stormed back from a 28-3 deficit to defeat the Falcons in overtime to win the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

Interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich of the New York Jets and his wife, Cristina Ulbrich, embrace before a game against the Buffalo Bills at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., Oct. 14, 2024. (Getty Images)

In 2020, Ulbrich was promoted to assistant head coach and linebackers coach, and in October of that year, he was named defensive coordinator under interim head coach Raheem Morris.

Ulbrich eventually joined Robert Saleh in New York in 2021, and, in 2024, he was named interim head coach after the Jets fired Saleh. Ulbrich finished 3-9 as interim head coach that year before rejoining Morris, who was named full-time head coach, last season to serve as his defensive coordinator.

Morris was fired after one season, but the Falcons kept Ulbrich in his role while hiring Kevin Stefanski as their next head coach for the 2026 season.

Interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich of the New York Jets and his wife, Cristina Ulbrich, embrace before a game against the Buffalo Bills at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., Oct. 14, 2024. (Getty Images)

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Before coaching, Ulbrich spent 10 years in the NFL as a linebacker with the San Francisco 49ers from 2000-09.

He got his first coaching job with the Seattle Seahawks after retirement and also spent time as the linebackers coach and special teams coordinator with the UCLA Bruins.

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