Jul 17, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Tempo head coach Sandy Brondello reacts to a play against the Atlanta Dream during the second half at Coca-Cola Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
The WNBA on Saturday suspended Toronto Tempo coach Sandy Brondello one game without pay for comments she made about Atlanta Dream star Angel Reese that the league deemed inappropriate.
During Friday’s 111-92 home loss to the Dream, the Tempo’s Nyara Sabally was injured after making contact with Reese. Sabally was called for a foul on the play.
According to reports, the broadcast of the game captured Brondello referring to Reese as a “protected species” while pleading her case to officials.
Following the game, Reese posted to her X account “ARE WE SURPRISED?!” with a clown face emoji. She tagged Brondello’s account in the post, as well.
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On Saturday, Brondello replied with a series of posts to her X account, including:
“Angel, I’m sorry. Last night, in the emotion of the moment after Nyara’s injury, I used a phrase that I shouldn’t have used, and I take full responsibility for that. My frustration was with the officiating, but my words unfairly put the focus on you.”
Brondello, who will serve her suspension Monday when the Tempo host the Las Vegas Aces, is from Australia. According to reports, the term “protected species” in commonly used in Australian sporting events and environments to refer to players receiving preferential treatment from officials.
In its statement announcing the suspension, the league said, “The WNBA expects all coaches and team personnel to uphold the highest standards of professionalism and respect that are fundamental to our league.”
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According to ESPN, a previously scheduled meeting between players and commissioner Cathy Engelbert next week will now include a discussion of the incident.
Paul Heyman walked away from The Vision last week on WWE RAW, and it seems that he has thrown himself into the story between Brock Lesnar and Oba Femi.
The two men will collide inside Hell in a Cell at SummerSlam, but ahead of the event, Heyman appeared on the SummerSlam Kickoff Show at Fanatics Fest earlier today, where he continued to promote the match.
Thanks for the submission!
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Heyman was met by ECW chants when he appeared in New York, which led to him reacting to claim that ECW was dead, before then claiming that he wished the same for Oba Femi.
It seems that the Nigerian star has managed to get under his skin in recent weeks for him to make such a shocking comment.
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Paul Heyman has been by Brock Lesnar‘s side for many years, and he has seen him up against some of the biggest stars WWE has had to offer. Oba Femi is obviously different, since he is the first person to seemingly push Lesnar into a fake retirement.
Paul Heyman could see Brock Lesnar retire at SummerSlam
Paul Heyman has been a loyal follower of Brock Lesnar, but it seems that their time together could be coming to an end if the rumors are to be believed. Lesnar has major links to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and there is speculation that it could be the place where he decides he wants to hang up his boots.
Lesnar has to step inside Hell in a Cell with Oba Femi, knowing that The Ruler was able to take him off his game at WrestleMania and push him towards a retirement. Femi was the man who pitched a match at WWE SummerSlam, but Lesnar upped the stakes to Hell in a Cell, and now he may be regretting it.
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Femi has already become one of the fastest rising stars in WWE history and he has shown Lesnar that he’s capable of more than an average wrestler, but inside Hell in a Cell, it could be a completely different match, and Lesnar may not be prepared for what is coming.
Will this be Brock Lesnar’s final WWE match next month at SummerSlam?
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Lisandro Martinez was deployed by Lionel Scaloni from the start during Argentina’s World Cup final clash with Spain on Sunday, but the Manchester United defender failed to see out the first-half
20:54, 19 Jul 2026Updated 21:05, 19 Jul 2026
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Lisandro Martinez has sparked Manchester United injury concerns, as he was substituted off in the first-half of Argentina’s World Cup final with Spain. The centre-half was given the nod to start by Lionel Scaloni as the two sides met at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, having impressed throughout the tournament.
However, he was unable to make it through the first-half, substituted 44 minutes in as a result of injury. Having picked up a yellow card moments earlier for a cynical challenge on Mikel Oyarzabal, Martinez was spotted taking a seat on the turf, showing signs of discomfort.
Surrounded by Emiliano Martinez, Enzo Fernandez and referee, Slavko Vincic, a gesture was made toward Scaloni’s dugout that a substitution was required. Speaking during the BBC’s coverage of the final, Sam Matterface said: “Having just been booked, Lisandro Martinez is now down in his own penalty area.
“Slavko Vincic will be reiterating that if he needs treatment, he’s going to have to go off. The signal has just came from Emi Martinez that he’ll be going off anyway, he won’t be coming back on.”
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He added: “Argentina could be losing one of their trusted centre-backs. It’s been a really good partnership between the man from Spurs [Cristian Romero] and the man from Old Trafford.
“I know some have criticised it, but they just seem to gel. We’ll use their nicknames; the Butcher is being replaced by the General. [Nicolas] Otamendi on to play for his country for the 139th time.”
Martinez looked to be signalling discomfort in his quad before making way for Otamendi, as Manchester United fans will be hoping that it’s nothing too serious.
There will be more to follow. We’ll bring you the very latest updates on this breaking news story.
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Angel Reese has responded to Sandy Brondello’s apology.
The Atlanta Dream star said she appreciated the Toronto Tempo head coach’s apology after she was caught on a mic saying, “Angel, she’s a protected species” during a Friday game between the teams.
Brondello has since apologized and been suspended one game.
“First, I appreciate Sandy’s apology, but I also appreciate the love and support that I’ve had for the last 48 hours. It has been very overwhelming with a lot of love and also other things. But I am grateful that the league did take action,” Reese said.
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“There is no place for discrimination or hate in this league from anyone — from fans to coaches to players. And I’m just grateful that we are able to move on from the situation and just play winning basketball. The WNBA is supposed to be positive and we are going in a great light right now, so I just want to continue that and move forward.”
Brondello also addressed the media after Tempo practice on Sunday. She said she has reached out to the Dream organization asking to speak with Reese and apologize but hasn’t had the chance to speak with her yet.
“I felt mad myself because I’m part of the solution, not the problem,” Brondello said. “I hope we can have a chat and if she gets to know me and my heart, I think everyone else that I’ve coached in this league, they know that, and they know what I’m about, and you know, and I’ll try to you know be better as I move forward. I did make a mistake.”
Brondello will serve her one-game suspension on Monday when the Tempo host the Las Vegas Aces. Associate head coach Olaf Lange will step up in her place.
Argentina vs Spain LIVE Score | FIFA World Cup 2026 Final, Spain vs Argentina: Lionel Messi’s Argentina Survive Huge Scare; Lamine Yamal Wastes Golden Chance | ARG 0-0 ESP
Apr 8, 2026; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins speaks at a press conference at Intermountain Health Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images
The Las Vegas Raiders signed Kirk Cousins in March, about six weeks before their very obvious draft pick of Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza first overall. Now, somewhat predictably, there’s a mystery looming, with Raiders fans unsure how long Cousins will be under center.
Las Vegas evidently wants Cousins to start indefinitely while the world wonders, “What’s the hold-up?” on Mendoza.
Mendoza Gives Las Vegas a Built-In Pivot
Jun 3, 2026; Henderson, NV, USA; Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) warms up during organized team activities at Intermountain Health Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images
Ian Rapoport on Cousins
Training camps begin in about one week, and among quarterback competitions around the league, Cousins versus Mendoza is near the top of the list.
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NFL Network‘s Ian Rapoport said this week, “The way they’re hoping for it to all be is for Kirk Cousins to be the starter at the beginning of the season, throughout the season, and the end of the season”
Sitting Mendoza behind Cousins for an entire year would be fine in the long run; it’s just that first overall picks usually play sooner rather than later. The last first-overall-pick to watch and learn was Jared Goff in Los Angeles, and that was a decade ago. Before Goff, Raiders passer JaMarcus Russell — hopefully not a good career comp for Mendoza — only started one game as a rookie. And in 2003, Carson Palmer sat all year behind Jon Kitna for the Cincinnati Bengals.
Overall, it’s a little weird for a first overall pick to have a clear bench assignment as a rookie. Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence, for example, started right away.
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The Head Coach’s Musings
Earlier in the offseason, Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak — a former Vikings offensive coordinator — opined on this topic, telling Fox Sports, “Ideally, you don’t want him to start from day one. You’d love him to be able to learn behind somebody. That’s in a perfect world. It doesn’t always work out that way.”
“Sometimes they have to play from day one, and it’s our job as coaches to get them ready to go. I think it does help the player if they can sit behind a mature adult and watch how they run the show.”
Kubiak backed up his words by signing Cousins, and with Cousins’s history of production, he could retain the QB1 job longer than most. Perhaps Kubiak enjoys the “Green Bay Packers model” of quarterback development; just letting a young passer marinate indefinitely.
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Just Fluff?
Not everyone is buying the Cousins QB1 theory, though. Fansided‘s Rucker Haringey wrote Saturday, “The more likely date for Mendoza’s first start will come in Week 8 when the Raiders travel to New York to take on the Jets.”
“The downside to that date is that Vegas heads to San Francisco the following week to take on a good 49ers defense. It’s not a perfect runway for Mendoza, but it represents the right balance between rushing him onto the field in Week 1 and having him sit until the season has ceased to be competitive for the Raiders. In the end, Raiders fans should ignore what their team’s higher-ups continue to say about Cousins.”
May 2, 2026; Henderson, NV, USA; Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) speaks during a news conference at the team’s Rookie Minicamp at Intermountain Health Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images
There’s a chance that promoting Cousins as the starter through the media is a tactic to motivate Mendoza.
“He’s not going to hold off Mendoza for the full season unless the rookie is entirely unable to operate the offense. Expect to see the No. 1 overall pick firmly entrenched as Las Vegas’ starter before the midpoint of the regular season,” Haringey added.
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The Inevitability
One thing is certain: Mendoza will be the Raiders’ starting quarterback before too long. It’s all a matter of when.
Nov 28, 2025; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) looks on during the third quarter against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images
If Mendoza looks markedly better than Cousins at training camp, Kubiak can just tell the masses, “Hey, the guy earned it, and we didn’t expect him to look this terrific.” And if Cousins looks the part, the Raiders can insist that Mendoza as the QB2 to start the season was the plan all along.
But all signs point to Cousins starting multiple games out of the gate in 2026, even if most NFL teams start first overall picks right away.
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However, unfortunately for the Toronto Blue Jays, that didn’t impact the result as the team’s offence continued to sputter.
Yesavage righted himself after an outing that was marred by wildness, yet the Blue Jays couldn’t muster any runs during a 3-0 loss to the White Sox in front of 41,288 at Rogers Centre on Sunday. With the loss, the Blue Jays dropped two out three games in the weekend series, and fell to 46-53 on the campaign.
The club currently sits four games behind the final American League wild-card spot.
Walks have been an issue for Yesavage this season and that became glaringly evident during his previous start, when he couldn’t find the zone and issued seven free passes in just 1.2 innings against the San Diego Padres last week.
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Following that outing, the rookie said his wildness was the result of a mechanical issue — he was leaning too far back during his delivery and that was causing his front side to fly open. Yesavage worked with the Blue Jays coaching staff on correcting that during what manager John Schneider described as a “good work day” on Friday.
“With the unique delivery comes a lot of moving parts and making sure that they’re all in sync,” Schneider said this weekend. “The fact that he’s aware of it is good. It’s not like we’re sitting here screaming, ‘This is what you’re doing.’ He felt that. He was aware of it.
And he’s had a few of those outings, even looking back into last year in the minor leagues where things can get out of whack a little bit,” continued the manager. “So, I think it was a lot delivery, nothing about stuff. Stuff comes with the delivery being kind of intact.”
The stuff, along with everything else, certainly looked sharp for Yesavage out of the gate on Sunday as he struck out six out of the first nine hitters he faced.
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He ran into trouble in the fourth inning when the White Sox opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly and then again in the sixth when Chicago shortstop Colson Montgomery launched a solo home run and right-fielder Braden Montgomery added a hard-hit RBI single that pushed the lead to 3-0.
All told though, Yesavage authored a quality start by allowing three runs on five hits over six innings. He walked just two batters and punched out nine while generating 21 whiffs, an indication that his stuff was back to normal.
Perhaps most impressive, though, was that Yesavage filled up the strike zone. He recorded first-pitch strikes to 22 of the 24 batters he faced while 69 of his 95 total pitches were strikes (72.6 per cent).
Under most circumstances, such a performance would be worthy of a win. But that’s not the case when a lineup is experiencing the type of struggles that the Blue Jays are going through.
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The club was shut down by White Sox starter Sean Burke, who surrendered just two hits over 6.2 frames, and remained punchless against the Chicago bullpen. The Blue Jays tallied just five runs during the three-game series and sit 26th in the majors in OPS (.687) and 27th in runs (397).
Sunday also began on an emotional note with news of the passing of former Blue Jays pitcher Duane Ward, who died on Saturday of natural causes. The team held a moment of silence for Ward, who was an impactful reliver during his nine years with the franchise. He was 62.
Up next is a pivotal four-game set against the AL-East leading Tampa Bay Rays, beginning Monday at Rogers Centre.
National Sports Commission (NSC) Chairman, Mallam Shehu Dikko, has explained why a N6.44 billion budget provision for Nigeria’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign remained in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
The issue came up after former Vice President Atiku Abubakar questioned why the money was still included in the budget even though Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Atiku said the budget item, listed as “Special Presidential Support Group for the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers,” needed a public explanation.
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He asked why the government budgeted N6.44 billion for the World Cup qualifiers after Nigeria’s qualification campaign had ended. He also questioned who approved the budget line and what the money was meant for.
The budget provision has sparked public discussion, with many Nigerians asking whether the allocation was for a programme that had already been completed.
In response, Dikko said there was a misunderstanding about how the country’s budget system works.
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According to him, the N6.44 billion was first included in the 2025 budget to support the Super Eagles’ World Cup qualifying campaign. However, he said the money was never released during the 2025 financial year.
Dikko explained that despite not receiving the funds, the National Sports Commission still financed Nigeria’s World Cup qualifying matches, including the playoff fixtures, using other available resources.
He said the Federal Government later approved the transfer of some unfunded 2025 budget items into the 2026 budget so payments could be made for projects already carried out or programmes that were still outstanding.
“The budget sub-head has been in the Federal Government budget since the 2025 Appropriation Act to support the World Cup qualifiers,” Dikko said.
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He added that when the 2026 budget was prepared, Nigeria still had a petition before FIFA concerning the qualification process. Because of this, he said there was reason to keep the budget item until the matter was concluded.
Dikko also revealed that after Nigeria’s hopes of qualifying for the World Cup officially ended, the NSC worked with the National Assembly and the Budget Office to change the budget through a corrigendum.
He said the amendment would allow the funds to be legally redirected to support other Nigerian national teams taking part in international competitions.
According to the NSC chairman, using a budget corrigendum is a legal process for correcting or updating items in the Appropriation Act.
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He maintained that rolling over unfunded budget provisions from one year to another is part of the Federal Government’s budget implementation policy for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), especially where projects have already been completed but payment has not yet been made.
The controversy has renewed calls for greater transparency and accountability in the management of government funds for sports development and other national projects.
Spain and Argentina meet in the World Cup final at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, with both nations seeking to etch their names in football history. The European champions face the defending world champions in a clash of styles, experience, and ambition as the tournament’s ultimate prize hangs in the balance. Follow our liveblog for minute-by-minute commentary.
Argentina: E. Martinez – Montiel, Romero, Li. Martinez, Tagliafico – De Paul, Fernandez, Mac Allister, Gonzalez – Messi (c), Alvarez.
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The US anthem rings at MetLife
Closing ceremony underway!
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A little more than 15 minutes until countdown!
‘We always suffer but we hope for the best’, says Argentina fan in Times Square
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‘I think we are going to win 3-0’, says Spain fan in New York
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Less than 40 minutes until countdown!
Argentina’s starting XI
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Inside La Albiceleste’s locker room
Argentina fans at the Times Square fan zone
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Yamal has arrived too
La Pulga arrives at MetLife stadium!
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The show begins! Closing ceremony kicks off!
And we’re off! The closing ceremony is underway with a stellar lineup of entertainment! Post Malone, Nicole Scherzinger, Robbie Williams, and Tom Cruise headline an American-style spectacular! The world’s greatest tournament draws to a close in spectacular fashion!
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Defending champions ready
Spain’s starting XI
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Hello and welcome!
Welcome to our live coverage of the World Cup 2026 final between Spain and Argentina!
Two nations with contrasting styles, two legendary captains in Rodri and Messi, and one ultimate prize on the line. Follow every moment as history is written at the MetLife Stadium in this epic encounter for world football supremacy!
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Spain arrive as reigning European champions, seeking to replicate the extraordinary achievements of their golden generation by winning a second Euro-World Cup double sixteen years after their 2008-2010 feat. The Roja have showcased commanding possession-based football throughout this tournament, controlling matches through their midfield superiority and collective organisation. Their ability to dictate tempo and starve opponents of the ball has proven devastatingly effective, culminating in their semi-final demolition of France.
Argentina come as defending World Cup champions, bidding to become the first nation since Brazil in 1962 to win back-to-back World Cups. The Albiceleste have displayed pragmatism and defensive resilience despite being tested repeatedly in the knockout stages. Lionel Messi leads the charge, pursuing both a second World Cup crown and potentially reclaiming the all-time goalscoring record from Kylian Mbappé, who currently stands at 22 goals.
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