Fighting hard in front of a foot-stomping, animated gallery, Gilas Pilipinas gained some breathing room as the fourth window of the Fiba World Cup Asian Qualifiers drew to a close on Sunday.

The Nationals got the job done before another packed crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena, as they shook off another flat start to beat Iran, 68-56 and narrow the gap in the race for spots in next year’s World Cup.

Kai Sotto had another mammoth game, Dwight Ramos and Juan Gomez de Liaño also came up big as the Philippines completed a sweep of the window and improved to an even 4-4 in the second round of qualification.

In beating Iran, as well as Jordan in a thrilling 82-81 overtime decision on Friday, Gilas is now just a game behind the two Middle Eastern countries in the race for top three berths that will earn main draw slots to the main event in Qatar next year.

“I’m extremely happy,” coach Tim Cone said. “[Before the window], I said that if we win these two games, I’d be the happiest guy in the world because [Jordan and Iran] are two high-level teams, Iran especially.”

Iran and Jordan fell to 5-3 after they both came up empty-handed in this window, sending them to a tie for third in Group E standings.

Swan song for JMF

Australia remains ahead of the pack with a perfect 8-0 record while New Zealand climbed up to second at 6-2. The Boomers routed Jordan, 126-93, prior to the Gilas win.

Team Philippines is trying to make the World Cup for the fourth straight time, and the next window in November could very well decide its chances.

The victory also allowed June Mar Fajardo to end his national team career on a winning note and getting a fitting tribute after the final buzzer when he was given the game ball while also getting chants of “MVP!”

Fajardo didn’t just go out victorious, he made sure he would help in the win. He finished with six points and two rebounds in seven minutes, but his three-minute stint in the second frame when Gilas rallied from an early deficit was big.

Fajardo came to international prominence when the Philippines first returned to the World Cup in 2014 in Seville, Spain. There, he established himself as one of the best in Asia.

He played a total of 13 years as a national full-time while shuffling duties as the franchise player of San Miguel Beer in the PBA.

Ramos and Gomez de Liaño shared scoring honors for the Philippines with 16 points apiece, while Sotto had 13 points, 16 rebounds plus three assists.

“I am just so blessed to have been able to play with the pioneers of Gilas and the present and future of the team,” Fajardo said in Filipino.

“He had such a great national team career,” Sotto said. “This win is dedicated to him.”

Like when it played Jordan three nights back, Gilas endured another flat start as Iran ended the first quarter with an 18-7 lead. In that period, the Philippines made just two of 13 attempts even as it was rocked by the sudden shooting exhibition from backup guard Mobin Sheikhi.

Sheikhi, who played just 10 minutes in Iran’s 93-91 overtime loss to New Zealand, fired triple after triple and finished with 21 points.

And like Jordan, Gilas was able to find ways to come back and would eventually go into halftime up 36-34. INQ

Bruno Fernandes produced a brilliant performance as Manchester United came from behind to beat Ipswich Town 5-2 at Old Trafford.

The skies turned dark and heavy rain fell over the stadium towards the end of the match, with thunder and lightning adding to the dramatic afternoon.

But what looked like a miserable day for United turned into a memorable one, thanks largely to their captain.

Fernandes scored a hat-trick to lead United to a convincing victory, with the result helping Michael Carrick’s side recover from a poor start.

Ipswich took the lead after United were caught out early, but Fernandes soon stepped up.

The Portugal midfielder scored a powerful equaliser after Marcelino Nunez slipped, allowing Matheus Cunha to break forward and set up his captain.

United then took control of the game, with Fernandes converting a penalty in front of the Stretford End to make it 3-1.

The penalty was particularly important for the 31-year-old after he had missed two spot-kicks during pre-season.

Fernandes completed his hat-trick just seven minutes later to put United firmly in control.

He even came close to scoring one of the goals of the season when he attempted a stunning 55-yard effort after Ipswich lost possession straight from the restart. Goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen managed to watch the ball land on top of his net.

United eventually finished with five goals, while Ipswich managed a second to make the scoreline 5-2.

The match also marked a significant return for Marcus Rashford, who started his first Premier League game for Manchester United since December 2024. Kobbie Mainoo was also included in Carrick’s starting XI.

Fernandes’ performance came just days after he collected the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award following an outstanding campaign in which he helped United return to the Champions League.

He also set a Premier League record with 21 assists last season.

Before kick-off, Fernandes walked onto the pitch with the sons of PC Matthew Blades, who was tragically killed in a road crash on the A66 near Middlesbrough.

Carrick praised his captain after the match.

“He means a lot. I mean, he’s the captain. He’s been here for a good number of years now and experienced a whole load of different emotions.”

The United boss added that Fernandes showed his quality when the team needed someone to make the difference.

“Times like today, when you’re looking towards certain players to give us that little bit of something else, he did particularly well.”

For United, what threatened to be another difficult afternoon at Old Trafford ended as a celebration of their captain’s quality and leadership.

Following their final preseason game on Friday against the Denver Broncos, the Minnesota Vikings have now gone through the process of trimming down their roster.

By 5 p.m. on Sunday, the Vikings had to cut their roster from 91 players down to their final 53. Here are some of the biggest takeaways from that Vikings roster cutdown process.

Zavier Scott the Odd Man Out at RB

The Minnesota Vikings came into training camp with a jam-packed running back room after they selected Demond Claiborne in the sixth round of this spring’s draft, meaning they would have to part ways with at least one talented player at the position.

Well, we now know that Zavier Scott was the odd man out among the group, leaving Claiborne, Aaron Jones, Jordan Mason, and Max Bredeson left in the backfield. The Vikings also opted to part ways with Jermar Jefferson, who was waived with an injury designation.

Scott finished the preseason with 10 carries for 36 yards along with three receptions for 18 yards. It wouldn’t be surprising at all to see him back with the purple team on the practice squad.

The Punter Surprise

With the Vikings losing Ryan Wright to the New Orleans Saints this offseason, they have been in need of a new punter. When they brought in Johnny Hekker this March, it seemed that he would be destined to take on the role, but Sunday brought one of the biggest surprises when Minnesota terminated his contract.

As a result, Brett Thorson, an undrafted free agent out of Georgia, will be taking the job heading into the fall. It’s not without valid reasoning, either.

Thorson was a menace punting the ball throughout preseason with four of his five punts landing inside the opponent’s 20. He also averaged 47.8 yards per punt, including a 58-yard boot.

The undrafted rookie showed plenty of talent as a punter throughout his collegiate career as well, winning the Ray Guy Award, which honors the best punter during the season, with the Bulldogs in 2025.

Edge Rusher Depth Remains a Major Concern

Somewhat unrelated to roster cuts, the Vikings got some very bad news regarding their group of edge rushers on Sunday. It was confirmed that Tyler Batty tore his ACL during the final preseason game against the Broncos, and he will be out for the season.

Batty had shown some promise during the summer as a rotational piece in the defense, but now, he will be a non-factor for the Vikings this season.

The Vikings now have just four outside linebackers on their final roster: starters Dallas Turner and Andrew Van Ginkel along with backups Bo Richter and Chaz Chambliss. It’s not a very deep group right now, and that could cause some problems.

All Four QBs Make the Cut

Perhaps the biggest news of the day was the fact that the Vikings opted to dedicate four roster spots to the quarterback position, meaning all of Kyler Murray, J.J. McCarthy, Carson Wentz, and Max Brosmer made the final roster.

It’s not a very common move for a team to keep four quarterbacks around, so it should be expected that a move will be made at the position in the coming days. One of two things seem the most likely:

• Max Brosmer will be waived in the coming days
• A J.J. McCarthy trade is on the way

An injured reserve stint for J.J. McCarthy cannot be ruled out at this point either given he missed five games last year with a high ankle sprain, and he missed the final preseason game due to an ankle injury this past Friday. Of course, nothing of the sort has been confirmed yet, but it’s something to keep an eye on over the coming days.

The Full 53-Man Roster

With the dust now settled, here is a first look at the Vikings’ full initial 53-man roster for 2026.

Offense

Quarterback (4)

• Kyler Murray
• J.J. McCarthy
• Carson Wentz
• Max Brosmer

Running Back (3)

• Aaron Jones
• Jordan Mason
• Demond Claiborne

Fullback (1)

Wide Receiver (6)

• Justin Jefferson
• Jordan Addison
• Jauan Jennings
• Tai Felton
• Myles Price
• Dillon Bell

Tight End (4)

• T.J. Hockenson
• Josh Oliver
• Ben Yurosek
• Gavin Bartholomew

Offensive Line (8)

• LT Christian Darrisaw
• LG Donovan Jackson
• C Blake Brandel
• RG Will Fries
• RT Brian O’Neill
• T Ryan Van Demark
• T Caleb Tiernan
• G Joe Huber

Defense

Defensive Line (6)

• Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins
• Jalen Redmond
• Levi Drake Rodriguez
• Caleb Banks
• Domonique Orange
• Elijah Williams

Outside Linebacker (4)

• Dallas Turner
• Andrew Van Ginkel
• Bo Richter
• Chaz Chambliss

Inside Linebacker (4)

• Blake Cashman
• Eric Wilson
• Jake Golday
• Ivan Pace

Cornerback (5)

• Byron Murphy Jr.
• Isaiah Rodgers
• Chuck Demmings
• James Pierre
• Zemaiah Vaughn

Safety (5)

• Josh Metellus
• Jay Ward
• Theo Jackson
• Jakobe Thomas
• Jacob Thomas

Special Teams

Kicker (1)

Punter

Long Snapper

Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this article.

Josh Frey is a senior writer at both PurplePTSD.com and VikingsTerritory.com, with a fascination for the NFL Draft. To … More about Josh Frey

Tottenham’s remarkable $400 million summer spending spree isn’t translating to any on-field success so far in the Premier League.

Big-spending Spurs are still searching for their first goal of the campaign after being beaten 2-0 at home by Newcastle on Saturday, a week on from being ripped apart in a 3-0 loss at Brentford.

Five of Tottenham’s slew of new signings started the game – including Sandro Tonali, whose every touch was booed by the visiting fans after his $133 million departure from Newcastle, and Omar Marmoush, whose loan move from Manchester City was only finalized on Thursday.

They made little impact as Tottenham was picked off in the second half, with Anthony Elanga swiveling in the penalty area and bending in a shot off the post in the 62nd minute and Yoane Wissa hooking home a clever finish from close range in the 72nd.

For Tottenham manager Roberto De Zerbi, creating the right mentality in a club coming off back-to-back 17th-place finishes in the 20-team Premier League is the “biggest challenge.” “Unfortunately,” the Italian said, “you can’t buy the mentality in the transfer market.” Spurs are one of three teams to have lost both of their games so far and it looks like it will take time for so many new players to gel. One of them, Savio, wasn’t in the squad for Saturday because of a muscle injury.

Not since the 1974-75 season has Tottenham lost its two opening matches of a league campaign without scoring.

“I am sorry to the fans for the environment,” De Zerbi said. “Because after two defeats, maybe somebody can think it’s the same story, the same as the last two seasons. I have no doubt it’s not like this.” Another draw for Liverpool The Andoni Iraola era is yet to catch fire at Liverpool.

For the second straight weekend, Liverpool needed a late equalizer to rescue a point in the Premier League as summer signing Victor Munoz ‘s 82nd-minute strike earned a 2-2 draw against Nottingham Forest at Anfield.

The Reds also drew 2-2 last week in Iraola’s first league match in charge – and on that occasion a stoppage-time penalty by Dominik Szoboszlai denied Newcastle.

There might be teething problems early in Iraola’s tenure – notably in defense, where Liverpool continue to look shaky – but at least there has been some fighting spirit.

Liverpool twice came from behind against Forest, with Alexander Isak scoring Liverpool’s first equalizer in the 60th to cancel out Dan Ndoye’s first-half goal.

Then, after Morgan Gibbs-White converted a penalty to regain the lead for the visitors, Munoz smashed in a shot off the crossbar after running onto a through-ball from Florian Wirtz.

New investor Bhatia in attendance The Liverpool match was attended by Amit Bhatia, the leader of an investor group – also containing Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin – that has reached an agreement to buy a minority stake in the club for a reported estimated figure of $2.2 billion.

Bhatia posed for photos with Liverpool owner John Henry on the field ahead of the game against Forest, which was also preceded by news that the Reds have agreed to a $166 million deal to buy Bradley Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain.

Disappointment for Coventry The CBS Arena became the Premier League’s latest new stadium as Coventry hosted a top-flight game for the first time since 2001 – when the club was playing at Highfield Road.

A big occasion for Frank Lampard’s team was spoiled by losing 1-0 to fellow promoted team Hull, which is on a maximum six points after stunning Manchester United last weekend with a 2-0 home win.

Liam Miller scored the 82nd-minute winner for Hull, which started the season as the big favorite for relegation.

Bournemouth concedes late again Another weekend, another painful stoppage-time concession by Bournemouth.

James Tarkowski’s goal in the first minute of added-on time secured Everton a 1-1 draw and came a week after Bournemouth lost 2-1 at Manchester City thanks to Josko Gvardiol’s goal in the same minute.

Everton, which is unbeaten after opening with a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace, started Iliman Ndiaye – a winger who is reportedly of interest to Man City.

First Published: Aug 30 2026 | 10:53 AM IST

Argentina snapped co-host the Netherlands’ dream run of four consecutive women’s FIH World Cup titles by winning the crown, defeating the Dutch side 3-1 in penalty shoot-out after both the teams were locked 1-1 at end of the regulation time here on Saturday.

Argentina, thus, avenged their last World Cup and Tokyo Olympics final defeat to win their third title.

The first goal was scored in the 30th minute by Netherlands Yibbi Jansen, considered the world’s number one drag-flicker.

Argentina received eight penalty corners in the match, and captain Maria Granatto converted the eighth penalty corner to equalise on a rebound in the 54th minute, forcing the match into a penalty shootout.

In the shootout Marjin Veen scored for the Netherlands while Pien Sanders and Felice Albers missed.

For Argentina Victoria Granatto, Brisa Bruggesser and Sofia Cairo scored while Zoe Diaz’s goal was disallowed on referral..

Earlier, Argentina had won the title by defeating the Netherlands in 2002 and 2010.

The clash was a rematch of four years in the making after the two sides met in the last World Cup final in 2022, where the Dutch prevailed 3-1.

These teams also played the gold medal match at the Tokyo Olympics, with the Netherlands winning with the exact same scoreline.

The nine-time champion the Netherlands came through a dramatic battle against Belgium surviving a late disallowed goal to win the semifinal by merely one goal.

The second semifinal was similarly close with Argentina defeating Australia with the same margin.

Earlier, Belgium finished third defeating Australia by 1-0 in a hard fought third place play-off match.

The first 15 minutes were evenly contested, with both teams testing each other.

The Netherlands launched their first attack in the eighth minute when Marleen Jochems delivered the ball into the circle, but no one was there to intercept it. Two minutes later, Sanders entered the circle again, but the Argentine defenders cleared the ball safely.

Argentina’s Miranda Victoria attempted to break through the Dutch defence in the 13th minute but could not succeed.

Dutch forward Pien Dicke failed to finish a good move into a counterattack.

In the fourth minute of the second quarter, Xan de Waard, the Netherlands’ most experienced player with 252 caps, took the ball from the centre of the field and passed it to Veen on the right, but she lost control of the ball.

The Netherlands received their first penalty corner of the match in the last minute just before the break, and Jansen scored her eighth goal of the tournament with a powerful drag flick.

After the break, Argentina earned their first penalty corner in the 33rd minute, but the push was weak and the variation was unsuccessful.

Argentina continued their attacks and two minutes later, they were awarded their second penalty corner when captain Maria was obstructed inside the circle.

Agustina Gorzelany’s drag flick was brilliantly saved by experienced Dutch goalkeeper Anne Veenendaal.

Argentina were awarded two consecutive penalty corners in the final two minutes of the third quarter.

Gorzelany failed to clear the first, and the ball was still inside the circle when, while taking a rebound shot, the ball hit a defender’s foot, earning another penalty corner.

Gorzelany’s trapping was also poor, and Sauze Victoria, standing behind her, shot over the goal.

Argentina had a golden opportunity to equalise when Eugenia Trinchinetti received the ball from the right flank and, after evading three Dutch defenders, passed it to captain Granato inside the D, but she lost control.

Felice earned the Netherlands’ third penalty corner in the 50th minute, but Yibbi was not on the field at the time, and Frederique Malta’s shot went wide.

Argentina were awarded their sixth penalty corner of the match on a counterattack.

Gorzelany’s flick hit a Dutch defender’s foot, prompting the umpire to signal their second consecutive penalty corner. Even then, Gorzelany’s effort was thwarted by the in-form Dutch goalkeeper Anne.

Argentina finally found success on their eighth penalty corner when the Dutch goalkeeper slipped while trying to block Gorzelany’s flick, and Argentina’s captain Granatto, standing on the right side of the goal, put the ball into the net on the rebound.

Shawn Michaels sent a message to two stars following their WWE title win at Heatwave 2026. The event aired live today from the Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg, Texas.

Myles Borne and Tavion Heights defended the NXT Tag Team Championships against The Vanity Project at Heatwave 2026. The Vanity Project emerged victorious in the match to become the new champions and celebrated with The Heartbreak Kid backstage. Michaels shared a video of himself congratulating the new champions today on social media, and you can check it out in the post below.

“Big moment for The Vanity Project. Congratulations to the NEW #WWENXT Tag Team Champions. 👏 #NXTHeatwave Watch LIVE NOW on @TheCW in the U.S. and @netflix internationally,” he wrote.

Shawn Michaels has not competed in a match since Crown Jewel 2018 in Saudi Arabia. The legend teamed up with Triple H at the event to defeat The Undertaker and Kane. The legend was inducted into the company’s Hall of Fame in 2011 and now serves as the Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative for WWE NXT.

WWE legend Shawn Michaels reveals message he gave to Tony D’Angelo

Wrestling icon Shawn Michaels shared a backstage conversation he had with NXT Champion Tony D’Angelo.

Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Michaels disclosed that he had a backstage conversation with D’Angelo about a lot of the top NXT talent being called up to the main roster while he was champion. The veteran compared D’Angelo’s title reign to his own and credited the 31-year-old for carrying the promotion.

“I had a chat with Tony and one of the things you can enjoy about the job, I said, ‘Tony, the narrative on Shawn Michaels is he’s the worst-drawing WWE Champion of all-time,’ and I said, ‘Nobody says that’s when everybody was leaving. WCW was coming on, and Tony, you’re in that same boat; that everybody got called up. You’re the champion in this time.’ I said, ‘It isn’t fun,’ and I said, ‘But, I can tell you this much: I’m the one that’s still here… I created my space, and you can do the same thing. Once again, you just have to be able to silence the noise around you.’ I told him exactly what I was told, which is, ‘Hey, you’re the guy who carried us through this tough time. That’s the difference.’” he said. [H/T:Fightful]

It will be interesting to see how long The Vanity Project can hang onto the NXT Tag Team Championships moving forward on WWE television.