Jammu and Kashmir’s players celebrate after the team’s victory in Ranji Trophy semifinal against Bengal. (PTI Photo)

KALYANI: History had barely settled in when the phone rang. A familiar face flashed up on a video call. Minutes after Jammu and Kashmir sealed a spot in the Ranji Trophy final, the team heard from BCCI president Mithun Manhas, a former head of the J&K cricket’s ad-hoc committee. It was fitting. J&K first entered the Ranji Trophy in the 1959-60 season. For decades they were treated as plucky participants, rarely as genuine threats. The transformation into a side that now talks — and plays — like title contenders has had Manhas’ imprint on it.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!“We have done it, Mithun,” J&K coach Ajay Sharma shouted out on the phone, “Mithun and I go back a long way. He made his debut for Delhi under me. I know how hard he had worked for this.”There is a fairy-tale quality to J&K’s rise as a cricketing power: overcoming odds, brushing aside doubts, and learning the most important skill of all — self-belief. But this isn’t a story built on romance alone. It has also been shaped by method, patience and the hard labour of building a culture.

Former Delhi player Sharma himself admits he struggled to get a grip when he first took charge before the 2022-23 season. “When I joined for the first time, I was handling 38 boys. I was alone then,” Sharma said.The set-up looks very different now. J&K have a bowling coach in P Krishnakumar and Dishant Yagnik as their fielding coach. These are small additions on paper, significant ones in a dressing room trying to grow into a winning unit.“Initially it was challenging because it was a very different culture in J&K. It took me around two years to understand these kids. It took time to bond with them,” he said. “I was hard on them initially. But today they see me as an elder brother.”The first shift, Sharma believes, had to happen in the mind. “These boys only think about white-ball cricket and the IPL. We have players from the state in the IPL. But Mithun, as J&K cricket administrator, had a vision and that is to win the Ranji trophy. Ranji trophy still remains the country’s premier tournament. If you do well here your name goes ahead,” Sharma said.From there, the work became more deliberate: identify a core and keep backing it. A group of 24-25 boys began to take shape — some, like left-arm pacer Sunil Kumar, emerging through talent-hunt competitions. “It’s the same bunch which has developed as we kept giving them confidence,” Sharma stated.Alongside confidence came ambition — not the loud, throwaway kind, but some-thing planted carefully and watered over seasons. “I slowly made them understand that you are all talented guys and you are all around 19-20 years of age. You have the game in you so if you apply a little, you can play for India,” he said.Infrastructure, too, mattered. J&K’s push included pitch preparation, with Sharma noting the state now has both black and red soil pitches, a rare advantage for a side looking to be versatile at home and resilient away.Preparation became a season-defining theme. “Pre-season is very important and we started playing the Buchi Babu (in Chennai) for the last two-three years,” Sharma pointed out. Facing bigger sides there, and surviving those examinations, helped the group believe it could beat anyone.“J&K has become a team to reckon with. Everybody is scared of playing J&K now,” Sharma thundered. “We have all bases covered having both quality fast bowlers and spinners. We have won both the knockout matches away from home.”

Champions League Match of the Day pundit Guillem Balague, who attended Real Madrid’s match at Benfica on Tuesday, explains the aftermath of the alleged racist incident between Vinicius Jr and Gianluca Prestianni.

READ MORE: Vinicius: Eight years at Real Madrid, 20 cases of alleged racist abuse

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Chelsea and England legend Frank Lampard has praised Super Eagles midfielder Frank Onyeka after his strong debut for Coventry City.

The 28-year-old joined Coventry from Brentford in the January transfer window but missed their previous match against Oxford United because his wife was about to give birth. He returned to action in their crucial clash against Middlesbrough and was named in the starting line-up.

Onyeka played 75 minutes at the Coventry Building Society Arena, winning duels, pressing high and helping his team stay organised in midfield.

After the game, Lampard expressed his delight with the Nigerian midfielder’s performance, saying his energy and ball-winning ability were key reasons he was signed.

“He was outstanding – the energy, the ball winning,” Lampard said. “He was so visible with his pressing, break-up play and quality on the ball. He reads the game quickly, covers a lot of ground and can play as well.”

Lampard added that Onyeka’s experience in the Premier League and with the national team gave the squad a boost.

“When you bring in a player of that level, it gives everybody a lift. It’s not easy to come into a game at this level, but it looked like it was there,” he said.

Onyeka played alongside Matt Grimes in midfield, and the pair helped Coventry look more solid in the centre of the pitch. Lampard said Onyeka brought a different profile to the team and had already impressed in training.

“He was tired and cramping up, that’s why he had to come off, but he will get fitter. His impact was high, and I’m very pleased with him,” Lampard added.

Coventry’s win over Middlesbrough moved them to the top of the EFL Championship table, although only by a single point.

Betting markets suggest that the Minnesota Vikings are the frontrunners to acquire Kyler Murray in 2026. But one team cannot be ruled out as an alternate suitor: the New York Jets.

Minnesota’s Murray pursuit could turn into a Vikings-Jets tug-of-war, depending on Murray’s fate: trade or release.

Of course, it’s not a foregone conclusion that Minnesota will pursue Murray; the Vikings’ actions will prove yes or no in the next few weeks. Keep an eye on the Jets, too, as Murray’s other would-be destination.

Vikings and Jets Could Battle for Kyler Murray

Murray has to go somewhere, and it could be a binary choice between the Vikings and the Jets.

ESPN’s Bill Barnwell on Murray to NYJ

Barnwell took on the upcoming quarterback carousel this week, outlining trades that made sense for the quarterback in question and the teams in need.

On Murray to the Jets, he wrote, “Jets get: QB Kyler Murray, 2026 sixth-round pick. Cardinals get: 2026 fourth-round pick. Aaron Glenn turned over nearly his entire staff after a disappointing first year, when the Jets were abysmal on both sides of the football. For most of the first half of the season, Glenn couldn’t decide whether to bench Justin Fields, and when Fields went down with an injury, the results from Tyrod Taylor and Brady Cook weren’t much better.”

“Glenn could be coaching for his job in Year 2, and though he will trust his ability to turn around the defense, finding a veteran quarterback who can win a few games is critical. Swapping a Day 3 selection for a quarterback who ranked 14th in Total QBR over the past two years won’t hurt an organization that has a ton of draft capital after the Quinnen Williams and Sauce Gardner trades.”

The Cardinals are reportedly somewhat comfortable embarking on the 2026 season with last year’s QB2, now QB1, Jacoby Brissett.

Barnwell continued, “Jets fans would love to add their quarterback of the future after seeing Sam Darnold thrive in Seattle, but they also haven’t had even league-average QB play in a season since Josh McCown put together a solid year for the Jets in 2017.”

“It’s never fun to see the face of the franchise dealt for a Day 3 pick, but I would suspect that the new staff was interviewed and hired with the understanding that Murray wouldn’t be staying in Arizona for much longer. So a Murray trade might be about landing the best available deal instead of waiting for the right one.”

Since the beginning of the offseason, with the assumption that the Las Vegas Raiders will draft Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, two teams always made the most sense for Murray: Minnesota and New York. And now here are — with those franchises as the two pace-setters to net his services.

Steelers and Falcons as Dark Horses?

Most NFL teams have a quarterback plan in motion by now. A handful of teams do not, including the Vikings and Jets.

Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Steelers could lurk as a dark horse for Murray. Aaron Rodgers probably won’t formally retire until he absorbs the most offseason attention possible, but at what point would the Steelers’ brass tell him no thanks and sign Murray if Arizona releases the 28-year-old? Most would consider a 28-year-old Murray an upgrade over 42-year-old Rodgers.

What’s more, the Atlanta Falcons could also peek at Murray, with Kirk Cousins on tap to be released and Michael Penix Jr. recovering from his third career ACL tear.

Other offshoot suitors if Murray is gettable for cheap? The Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns, and Indianapolis Colts.

A Release by Cardinals Could Change Everything

The current kicker on Murray is straightforward: Will the Cardinals release Murray or trade him? If traded, Murray’s next team will take on a fat contract that would almost certainly be restructured. With a release, well, the Cardinals foot the entire bill.

Recent momentum suggests Arizona could cut Murray, as perhaps no team will take the bait on a trade and the contract. A free-agent Murray is a game-changer. What quasi-quarterback-needy team wouldn’t want him for something in the ballpark of the league minimum?

If Murray is released, the Vikings absolutely must pursue him. The value would be off the charts. The same mentality applies to the Jets, Steelers, or Dolphins.

Murray Would Probably Pick MIN over NYJ if Decision Is Left to Him

If you use social media, you likely know this factoid by now: Murray grew up cheering for the Vikings. He was reared in the Adrian Peterson era, and he’s told reporters numerous times that Minnesota was his squad.

Therefore, ask yourself: Would a free-agent Murray, who would have free will to pick his next team, pick the Jets, a franchise historically and habitually mired by dysfunction? Or would he pick his favorite team as a lad that also employs Justin Jefferson, the quarterback whisperer head coach, and Brian Flores?

A no-brainer.

American speedskater Brittany Bowe will not leave the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics with a medal, but she will return home with a new ring. 

Team USA women’s hockey captain Hilary Knight proposed to Bowe at the 2026 Winter Games. The two first met while competing at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Knight proposed on the eve of the women’s hockey gold medal clash between the U.S. and Canada.

Knight shared the moment on social media, captioning a video of the two athletes in matching Team USA gear, “Olympics brought us together. This one made us forever.”

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Hilary Knight poses for a photo during the U.S. Olympic Team Media Summit in preparation for the 2026 Milan Olympic Winter Games at the Javits Center Oct. 29, 2025. (Robert Deutsch/Imagn Images)

Bowe entered with two bronze medals, and Knight, a four-time Olympic medalist, will leave with a fifth — gold or silver — after Thursday’s rematch with Canada.

OLYMPIC RIVALS TURNED LOVERS AS US ICE DANCER PROPOSES TO SPANISH SKATER ON VALENTINE’S DAY IN MILAN

Knight reflected on connecting with Bowe during the 2022 Beijing Games under COVID-19 protocols. 

“To have that human connection, even walking outside at a distance, it was really cool,” Knight told Olympics.com last week.

Brittany Bowe of the United States reacts after skating in the women’s team pursuit Final B during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Speed Skating Stadium Feb. 17, 2026, in Milan, Italy. (Katie Stratman/Imagn Images)

Bowe said she has come to know a different side of Knight beyond her superstar persona.

“Knowing her as a hockey player, it’s like this big, strong, powerful female,” Bowe said. “But then, when we got to know each other, she was soft, genuine, kind, almost shy. That really sparked my interest.”

Brittany Bowe of the United States competes in the women’s 1500-meter race during the ISU World Cup Speed Skating at Calgary Olympic Oval Nov. 22, 2025, in Calgary, Alberta. (Leah Hennel-International Skating Union/International Skating Union via Getty Images)

Romance has been part of the story at this year’s Games, particularly for Valentine’s Day. Last week, American skier Breezy Johnson’s boyfriend proposed at the finish of her super-G run in Cortina d’Ampezzo.

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Johnson captured her first career Olympic gold medal in the women’s Alpine skiing downhill event.

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