Payton Tolle Delivers Electric Statement As Red Sox Win Ninth Straight originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Payton Tolle did not need much help from the Boston Red Sox offense Friday night.

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He received plenty of it anyway. Tolle struck out a career-high 14 batters over six dominant innings as the Red Sox crushed the Athletics 13-1 at Fenway Park. The 23-year-old allowed only two hits and one run without issuing a walk.

Boston described the performance with two fitting words on social media.

“Just electric.”

Tolle threw 61 of his 84 pitches for strikes and generated an astonishing 24 swinging strikes. He faced 20 batters and struck out 70% of them.

The victory improved Tolle’s record to 7-6 and lowered his ERA to 3.20. More importantly, it extended Boston’s winning streak to nine games.

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Payton Tolle Overwhelms Athletics

The Athletics had no answer for Tolle from the opening pitch. He retired the first 12 batters he faced, striking out nine of them. Tyler Soderstrom ended the perfect-game bid by hitting a solo home run to begin the fifth inning, but Tolle never allowed the mistake to become anything more.

Put Stefon Diggs in the category of people who won’t be surprised if the Washington Commanders have a bounce-back season.

“They got talent. They got a lot of talent,” Diggs said about the Commanders on Friday afternoon after his first practice with the team. “[Dyami] Brown, he’s been to a couple teams. I see that he has a lot of potential; he’s made some plays. Terry [McLaurin], obviously, Trey Burks, he was in Tennessee. He’s been in the league for a little while, too. And then, you got the young guys, [third-round pick] Antonio Williams can hoop a little bit. He’s got some game, and, hopefully, I can be a piece in that process that can kind of build this team and lead this team in the right direction because, at the end of the day, I just want to win.

“Winning is the main thing for me. We had a lot of that last year [with the New England Patriots], and I kind of want that to just carry over, and all I bring is my experience and the things that I’ve done and my leadership.”

Diggs, who was released by the Patriots in March, signed a one-year deal with the Commanders worth up to $12 million earlier in the week.

The partnership with the Commanders is a homecoming of sorts for Diggs, who grew up roughly 35 minutes north of Nortwest Stadium, the Commanders’ home stadium, in Gaithersburg and played college football for the Maryland Terrapins, whose campus is located roughly 15 minutes north of Washington’s home turf.

Coming off a 2024 campaign that saw Washington win a playoff game for the first time since 2005 and reach the NFC Championship Game for the first time since winning Super Bowl XXVI (1991 season), the Commanders went 5-12 in 2025. 

Washington’s offense was 24th in the NFL in passing yards (184.1 per game), tied for 22nd in points (20.9 per game), 22nd outright in total yards (318.8 per game) and fourth in rushing yards (134.7 per game). Moreover, quarterback Jayden Daniels, the 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year, was limited to seven games due to knee, hamstring and elbow injuries.

As for some of the Commanders’ offseason moves, they selected Ohio State Buckeyes linebacker Sonny Styles with the No. 7 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft and signed linebackers Odafe Oweh (four-year, $100 million deal) and Leo Chenal (three-year, $24.75 million deal), defensive tackles Javon Kinlaw (three-year, $45 million deal) and Tim Settle (three-year, $24 million deal), cornerback Amik Robertson (two-year, $16 million deal) and tight end Chig Okonkwo (three-year, $27 million deal) in free agency, among other moves.

Regarding Diggs, the 2020 All-Pro led the Patriots in receptions (85) and receiving yards (1,013) last year in a season that saw them reach Super Bowl LX.

The Commanders are Diggs’ fourth team in as many years, as the Buffalo Bills traded the now-32-year-old receiver to the Houston Texans in 2024, and he signed with the Patriots after the 2024 season. Diggs spent the first five seasons of his NFL career with the Minnesota Vikings (2015-19) before being traded to the Bills, with whom he earned each of his four career Pro Bowl nods, in 2020.

Old foes South Africa and New Zealand collide in a new series in the first “Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry” tour.

The Springboks and All Blacks have reached a reciprocal touring agreement that will see the pair clash in a number of Tests every four years.

The first edition sees Dave Rennie’s side head for South African soil to take on four United Rugby Championship sides alongside a quartet of clashes with Rassie Erasmus’s world champions.

The fourth of those fixtures, which brings together the World Cup finalists from three years ago, will take place in Baltimore on the east coast of the United States.

Here’s everything you need to know.

Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry schedule (all times BST)

7 August: Stormers 21-38 New Zealand

11 August: Sharks vs New Zealand (6pm, Durban)

15 August: Bulls vs New Zealand (6pm, Pretoria)

22 August: South Africa vs New Zealand (4.10pm, Johannesburg) FIRST TEST

25 August: Lions vs New Zealand (6pm, Johannesburg)

29 August: South Africa vs New Zealand (4.10pm, Cape Town) SECOND TEST

5 September: South Africa vs New Zealand (4.10pm, Johannesburg) THIRD TEST

12 September: South Africa vs New Zealand (10pm, Baltimore) FOURTH TEST

How can I watch it?

Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the series live on Sky Sports, which has struck a deal for the broadcasting rights.

After launching the season with a winning treble at Rosehill, jockey Tim Clark is now setting his sights on claiming the first Sydney stakes race of the new term with Gangsta Granny.

Clark is scheduled to partner with the Hawkes Racing mare once more in Saturday’s Group 2 Missile Stakes (1200m), aiming to build on his recent successful start.

“It was a good day last week. I got some nice winners that weren’t totally expected, so that’s always nice, and for a variety of trainers too,” Clark commented.

The top jockey’s sole previous ride on Gangsta Granny resulted in a third-place finish behind Stefi Magnetica in last year’s The Invitation (1400m).

This particular race remains a significant memory for Clark, and he is eager to make amends for his previous effort.

“I didn’t quite have the best of luck when I rode her in The Invitation, so I’m looking to redeem that,” he explained.

“She trialled up well on Friday at Randwick. I gave her a nice hit-out there. She’s drawn soft in one, so she will get the right run.

“She’ll probably need a bit of luck at the right stages, but you know with her, every time she goes out there she is going to try her best and give her all.”

Gangsta Granny has maintained exceptional consistency, never finishing outside the top three placings across her twelve starts.

Clark attributes this remarkable consistency to a combination of her inherent tenacity and the astute race programming executed by Team Hawkes.

Although Gangsta Granny has mainly competed in fillies and mares’ races over the past year, securing two Group 3 victories and five black-type placings, Clark is confident she can contend with the colts and geldings in the Missile Stakes (1200m).

“She’s a strong mare and obviously the Hawkes team have placed her really well throughout her career,” Clark stated.

“Now is the time to test her at that little bit better level to see where she measures up.

“It’s always nice to get the call up to ride one of their horses because invariably, they’re in the right races. They do place them well, and I’m looking forward to teaming up with them on Saturday.”

On Thursday, Angel Capital was listed as the $2.60 favourite for the Missile Stakes, with Gangsta Granny at $3.80 and Ninja at $3.90.

Betting sites are offering competitive racing odds for the Missile Stakes, so get your bets on now.

New Iowa State coach Jimmy Rogers is nothing if not confident.

The Cyclones were picked last in the Big 12 preseason media poll, return no starters and had 55 players transfer after Rogers was hired to replace Matt Campbell, who took 24 of the best with him to Penn State.

Rogers admitted to reporters in Ames, Iowa this week that he was the one who picked the Cyclones, in an On3.com anonymous coaches poll, to make it to the Big 12 championship game in his first season.

“What would you think if I didn’t vote on us? You’d wonder why I’m the head coach at Iowa State,” Rogers said. “I was brought in to win. Very self-aware. They didn’t hire me to come here and not be competitive. I wasn’t hired for my disposition. I was hired to create a program that competes and wins and that’s the goal. We’re not signing up for second place.

“So I know that’s a bold statement, and they’ll print it everywhere. But the reality is this: the players have to believe in what you say, and you have to act on how you believe. I believe that we can win.”

Rogers is replacing the all-time wins leader at Iowa State, which went 8-4 overall and 5-4 in the Big 12 in Campbell’s final season. The Cyclones played in seven bowls in Campbell’s 10 years — they opted out of a bowl last season — and appeared in the Big 12 championship game in 2020. The program hasn’t won a conference championship since 1912.

Tight end Tyler Fortenberry said Rogers’ prediction surprises no one on the team. He said Rogers’ abundance of confidence comes from the success he was part of as an assistant and head coach at South Dakota State of the Football Championship Subdivision. In his only year at Washington State, he led a team with 75 newcomers to a 6-6 record and a bowl bid.

“Coach Rogers does a good job in team meetings making sure we’re not focused on what Twitter says, what Instagram says or what the media says about what we’re going to finish,” Fortenberry said. “They all have us 16th. If you buy into that and believe what the media has to say, you’re not going to get anywhere in life.”

Reporting by the Associated Press.

Gianni Infantino’s alleged lover was given a severance payment over the affair by Uefa while he was its general secretary, according to a Daily Telegraph investigation, external.

A spokesman for the now Fifa president was reported to have told the paper Infantino “strongly denies these categorically untrue allegations”.

Uefa, for whom Infantino was general secretary from 2009 to 2016, issued a statement confirming “a departure payment was made to the individual in question”.

The allegations come as Infantino fights for his future as Fifa president following his aborted plans to sell off stakes in the World Cup to private investors.

BBC Sport has contacted Fifa and Infantino for comment.

The Telegraph reported that Uefa paid a six-figure sum to the woman, who had an alleged relationship with Infantino, who is married, during his time at European football’s governing body.

“Fifa president Gianni Infantino strongly denies these allegations, and they are categorically untrue. Any insinuation of inappropriate conduct or violation of statutes or regulations is defamatory,” a Fifa spokesman told the Telegraph.

“No employee at Uefa and Fifa has ever raised a complaint regarding Mr Infantino’s behaviour because there never was an incident where he was involved.”

Uefa confirmed a payment was made to the woman in question and that it covered the fees for her to complete an MBA course at a local business school.

It said all payments were in line with regulations at the time, but those regulations have since been tightened and “reflect those found in a modern, high-profile organisation”.

A gun charge against Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star James Harden has been dismissed, according to court records.

The charge was dropped on Thursday by Harris County Criminal Court Judge Alex Salgado in Houston, Texas, at the request of the Harris County district attorney’s office.

Harden completed an alternative resolution program, which allows defendants to avoid a criminal conviction through community service, though the specific terms were not detailed.

Harden was arrested on June 13 in Houston after police found a handgun in his vehicle. The California native was accused of “unlawfully, intentionally and knowingly” having a gun in his vehicle, which was unholstered and “in plain view,” according to a copy of the complaint obtained by The New York Post.

Texas law classifies having a gun “in plain view” in a vehicle without a license as a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

Sources told the outlet that the shooting guard had been at a Houston hookah lounge with friends before the early morning arrest. Harden was released after paying a $100 bond.

The 36-year-old guard finished his 17th NBA season in May, when the Cavaliers were swept by the eventual NBA champion New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals. He averaged 23.6 points per game during the regular season.

Harden has indicated he wishes to remain with the Cavaliers, but declined a $42.3 million option for next season in favor of a longer contract, which is not yet finalized.

An 11-time All-Star and eight-time All-NBA selection, Harden was named MVP in the 2017-18 season while with the Houston Rockets.