Nigerian striker Tolu Arokodare has spoken out against racism after he was targeted with abusive messages on social media following Wolves’ 1–0 defeat to Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday.
Arokodare missed a first-half penalty at Selhurst Park, with Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson saving his effort shortly before half-time. After the match, the forward revealed that he received racist messages online.
“It’s still unbelievable to me that we are playing in a time where people have so much freedom to communicate such racism without any consequences,” Arokodare said in a social media post.
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“These individuals should have no place in our game and we all have to take action to punish anyone who behaves like this.”
The missed penalty was Wolves’ best chance to take control of the match. Henderson also saved a long-range effort from Arokodare as Wolves tried to respond to an early strong start from Palace. Yeremy Pino and Ismaïla Sarr both went close for the hosts in the opening minutes.
Wolves’ situation worsened just after the hour mark when Ladislav Krejčí was sent off for a second yellow card. Substitute Evann Guessand later scored from close range to secure the win for Palace and end their eight-match winless run at home.
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The result moves Crystal Palace up to 13th in the Premier League table, while Wolves remain in the relegation zone and are still without an away win in 16 league matches.
Chelsea and Aston Villa dropped points this weekend ahead of Manchester United’s trip to Everton on Monday.
Manchester United haven’t even kicked a ball yet and already it’s been a huge weekend in the battle for the Champions League football.
Chelsea and Aston Villa both dropped points on Saturday as the Blues threw away a lead at home to relegation-threatened Burnley to draw 1-1. Villa came from behind at home to Leeds but they too had to settle for a point after Anton Stach’s superb free-kick had given the visitors the lead.
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There was almost more good news for United on Sunday as Liverpool looked set to drop points at Nottingham Forest. But Arne Slot’s side grabbed a late winner through Alexis Mac Allister after the Argentina international had seen a goal disallowed for handball just a few minutes earlier.
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With some of United’s rivals dropping points, let’s take a look at the upcoming league games for those in the race for a spot in next season’s Champions League:
Beşiktaş J.K. delivered a commanding win in the Turkish Süper Lig on Sunday, but the standout story belonged to Super Eagles midfielder Wilfred Ndidi.
Fresh from the burial of his father in Nigeria, Ndidi returned to action in spectacular fashion, scoring the opening goal and dictating play as Beşiktaş thrashed Göztepe S.K. 4–0 at the Tüpraş Stadyumu.
A Goal Full of Meaning
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The Nigerian midfielder opened the scoring in the 9th minute, rising highest at the near post to power home a header from Orkun Kökçü’s precise corner. It was a moment of strength, timing, and conviction, but one laden with emotion.
Having just said goodbye to his father, Ndidi’s goal reflected remarkable mental resilience. The crowd applauded loudly, while teammates shared in the emotion of the moment.
Beşiktaş Turn Style into Substance
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The Black Eagles dominated possession throughout. Amir Murillo added a second in the 36th minute, reacting fastest to Kristjan Asllani’s incisive pass to score a low strike that hit the crossbar before crossing the line.
After the break, Beşiktaş continued to control the game. A well-constructed team move carved open Göztepe’s defence for the third goal, followed by a late fourth to seal a ruthless victory and one of the club’s most convincing league wins of the season.
Ndidi Controls the Midfield
Ndidi’s influence went far beyond his goal. In a match defined by tempo and physicality, he dominated the midfield, completing 43 passes (33 accurate), 60 touches, 2 tackles, 9 key defensive actions, winning all 7 aerial duels, and taking one shot on goal.
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His performance combined authority, intelligence, and leadership — a remarkable display given the emotional weight he carried into the match.
League Implications
The win lifts Beşiktaş into fourth place in the Süper Lig with 43 points, leapfrogging Göztepe, who remain fifth with 41 points. The battle for European places is now finely poised.
For Ndidi, however, this match was about far more than the league table. It was a personal statement: football as tribute, resilience in adversity, and a reminder of the power of focus and professionalism even in the most challenging times.
No. 4 Arizona is positioned to enter the NCAA tournament as a No. 1 or No. 2 seed, based on a resume that includes victories over Florida, UConn and Alabama prior to taking down Houston on Saturday.
Now comes the hard part. Maintaining.
How the Wildcats respond in their most difficult stretch of the season will determine the landing spot, and their situation is made more perilous because of an injury to forward Koa Peat.
The Wildcats got off to a good start Wednesday, improving to 24-2 with a 75-68 home victory over BYU, completing a season sweep of the ranked Cougars and rebounding from close losses at Kansas and home to Texas Tech.
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It will not get easier. The BYU game was simply the next in the series of pivotal tests that the UA will face before selection Sunday on March 15.
No. 2 Houston, No. 8 Kansas (again) and No. 6 Iowa State remain on the unforgiving Big 12 regular-season schedule, and a rematch or two seems inevitable in the Big 12 tournament.
Along the way, the Wildcats will have a chance for revenge against the Jayhawks, whose 82-78 victory in Lawrence on Feb. 9 snapped Arizona’s school record, 23-game winning streak
The Wildcats must find a way around the injury to freshman Peat, who is among the best players to come out of metro Phoenix since Mike Bibby and Jalen Williams.
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Peat, who has started since Day 1 and is averaging 13.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists, did not play against BYU after suffering what Arizona called a muscle strain in a “lower leg area” early in the Texas Tech game.
The Wildcats are averaging 88.2 points per game with an offense built around creating guards Brayden Burries (15.5 points, 4.6 rebounds) and Jaden Bradley (13.3 points, 4.7 assists), and perimeter reserve Anthony Dell’Orso stepped up with an Arizona career-high 22 points and four 3-pointers against BYU.
But they are not the same without 6-foot-8 Peat solidifying a relentless front line that includes 7-2 center Motiejus Krivas (10.8 points, 8.7 rebounds) and 6-8 Tobe Awaka (9.7, 9.6).
Arizona is third in Division I with a plus-12.5 rebounding margin, and Peat is part of that. Both Arizona and Houston average more than 13 offensive rebounds per game.
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Houston was giving up 61.6 points per game, before Arizona’s 73-point showing Saturday night.
The NBA’s preeminent rivalry will have its next iteration on Sunday Night Basketball as the Boston Celtics visit the Los Angeles Lakers. Boston (36-19) has won eight of its last 10, including a 121-110 Thursday victory over Golden State. L.A. (34-21) is coming off back-to-back victories, most recently a Friday triumph over the Clippers by a 125-122 score. Boston leads the all-time series with 211 wins versus 166 losses. Both teams have clean injury reports.
Tipoff is at 6:30 p.m. ET from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Boston has won the last two matchups, including a 126-105 victory on Dec. 5. The latest Celtics vs. Lakers odds list Boston as the 1.5-point favorite, with the over/under at 230.5. Boston is at -117 on the money line (risk $117 to win $100), with Los Angeles priced at -102. Before making any Lakers vs. Celtics picks, check out the NBA predictions and betting advice from the SportsLine Projection Model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in betting profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past eight-plus seasons. The model exited the NBA All-Star break on a sizzling 38-17 roll on top-rated NBA spread picks dating back to last season. Anyone following its NBA betting advice at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen huge returns.
Top Celtics vs. Lakers predictions for Sunday Night Basketball
SportsLine’s model has simulated Lakers vs. Celtics 10,000 times and is going Over on the total (230.5 points). Their matchup a few weeks ago went Over with 231 combined points despite neither LeBron James or Luka Doncic playing. With or without them, the Lakers have heavily leaned over this season. The Over has a 31-24 record for L.A., with that 56.4% being the fourth-highest in the NBA.
At Crypto.com Arena, the Over is 18-8 for the Lakers, which is the best home Over record in the league. As for Boston, it has eclipsed the total in each of its last two games, and the Celtics offense will be even more prolific over the rest of the season with Nikola Vucevic now in the fold. SportsLine’s model projects the Over to hit in 64.4% of simulations with 238 combined points, making this side of the total an A-rated pick.
How to make Lakers vs. Celtics picks on Sunday Night Basketball
NEW DELHI: Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav vowed a stronger comeback after India suffered a crushing 76-run loss to South Africa in their Group 1 Super Eights clash of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.“I feel we were always in the game when we started. I think we bowled really well in the beginning, 21 for 3, and the way they batted after that from 7 to 15, I think they batted really well, and then we came back again in the game later on. Overall, if we see, we bowled really well, but we could have batted a little better. My thing is sometimes you’ve got to think, if you’re chasing 180-185, you can’t win the game in the powerplay, but you might lose the game in the powerplay. We lost too many wickets in the powerplay and then we couldn’t have small, small partnerships which we wanted for chasing 180-185, but that’s part of the game. We learn from it, we’ll sit back and then come back stronger,” Surya said after the match.
Jay Shah: Kapil Dev deserves more credit for 1983 World Cup triumph
After winning the toss, South Africa posted 187/7, powered by David Miller’s 63 off 35 balls and Dewald Brevis’ 45 off 29 balls. The duo stitched a 97-run fourth-wicket partnership off just 51 balls. Marco Jansen (4/22), Keshav Maharaj (3/24), and Corbin Bosch (2/12) also contributed with the ball, while Lungi Ngidi kept things tight with 4 overs for 15 runs.“I think everyone knows their combination (Bumrah-Arshdeep) has been very lethal. Both of them have played together. If you see today also, both of them bowled eight overs, picked around five wickets and gave around 45-50 runs. If I’m not wrong, I’m not good with numbers. But they bowled really well in partnership and that’s what we want from them. Both are experienced and it’s good to have both of them in our side,” Surya added.India’s reply faltered from the start. Ishan Kishan fell for a duck to Markram, while Abhishek Sharma (15) and Tilak Varma (1) were dismissed in the powerplay. Shivam Dube top-scored with 42, and Hardik Pandya contributed 18, but India were bowled out for 111 in 18.5 overs.“Hopefully bat well, bowl well and field well (Talking about the plans for the next game vs Zimbabwe). That’s it. We’ll try and keep it simple, play the same brand of cricket which we want to play and nothing changes. I think we’ll come back strong,” Surya said.The loss, in front of 90,954 fans, is India’s first ICC event defeat since the 2023 ODI World Cup final, leaving them needing wins against Zimbabwe and West Indies to stay in semi-final contention with a net run rate of -3.8.
Manchester United will face Everton in the Premier League in the Monday Night Football with both clubs having players on the sidelines
Both Manchester United and Everton are expected to have players on the sidelines for their Premier League clash on Monday evening. The Reds will travel to Merseyside to take on the Toffees in their return to top-flight action after nearly two weeks without a game.
United were not in FA Cup action last weekend, and have been preparing to face Everton since their 1-1 draw with West Ham on February 10.
Patrick Dorgu, Matthijs de Ligt and Mason Mount all missed United’s draw with West Ham earlier this month, and neither are expected to make a return to the Reds’ clash against Everton on Monday night.
De Ligt has been sidelined with a back injury since November, while Mount has missed United’s last three matches with a knock and that absence is expected to continue for the trip to Hill Dickinson Stadium in the Monday Night Football.
“Mason [Mount] is getting closer, we have to be patient with him.” Carrick said on Friday. “We don’t want to rush anything, he is getting closer.
Carrick added: “De Ligt is working towards it, he is a little bit behind Mason [Mount].”
Dorgu has been unavailable since the end of January with a hamstring injury and is still expected to be several weeks away from returning to the matchday squad for United.
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Everton will also have some players on the sidelines when United travels to Merseyside. Jack Grealish is expected to miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on a foot injury earlier this month.
Defender Jake O’Brien will also be unavailable for Everton, as he serves a one-game ban for a red card he picked up in the Toffees’ defeat to Bournemouth earlier this month.
Seamus Coleman has not featured for Everton since United’s defeat to the Merseyside club at Old Trafford in November, but Toffees boss David Moyes has confirmed the defender is expected to make a return for this evening’s fixture.
“Seamus [Coleman] is fit and available as well [at right-back], so we’ve got people we can choose and we’ll move on from [O’Brien’s red card],” Moyes told reporters on Friday. “He got sent off and these things happen.
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“We’ve got everybody fit, bar Jack Grealish.”
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For years, super heavy and stout steel shafts like Dynamic Gold X100s or Project X 6.5s have dominated the PGA Tour.
But could lightweight and softer graphite shafts eventually capture some of the market share on Tour? Given the fast swings at the game’s highest level, it seems unlikely, but you never know until you try.
“So they built up a 7-iron, and Jimmy’s normal ball speed with like a 7-iron is like 128 to 130 mph,” Wunder said. “So he doesn’t hammer his irons, but like he’s not like one of the holy gods where they’re like 140. He’s a normal tour player with his irons.
“He’s getting 135, 136 out of these regular shafts, but the ball’s still spinning 7-iron at 6,600, launching high. He’s like, I can turn them over, but I’m swinging 80 percent. I don’t have to work hard.”
So the real question is, how did Walker even arrive at the possibility of testing a shaft designed for much slower players?
Turns out, he took a couple rips with his father’s driver, which had a regular flex Fujikura Ventus shaft, and found that despite the soft flex, he was able to maintain the same ball speeds as his gamer.
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His initial fears of hitting the ball way left were unfounded. So he went to a golf shop and asked someone to build him a 7-iron with lighter steel shafts, but someone suggested he try the Axioms.
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Fujikura Axiom Iron Shaft
AXIOM introduces an unparalleled level of iron shaft performance. For the first time, Fujikura’s proprietary VELOCORE TECHNOLOGY has been integrated into an iron shaft that delivers the same industry-leading performance gains initially introduced in VENTUS and VENTUS TR. Extreme accuracy and consistency combined with unmatched workability provide golfers the same level of confidence they’ve come to expect from VeloCore-powered products. Whatever the shot requires, AXIOM delivers.
VeloCore Technology is the engine that drives AXIOM iron performance. An extremely stable platform delivers optimized results on every shot through tightened dispersion, increased ball speeds, and improved accuracy. AXIOM is designed in a unique 3-parallel system that creates constant weight and decreasing torque values throughout the set. Comprised of a long parallel (#2, #3, #4), a mid parallel, (#5, #6, #7), and a short parallel (#8, #9, W), AXIOM allows for more versatility in design and material integration versus a single blank iron shaft. Each iron is specifically tipped to compliment each design, reducing SKU count while maximizing results.
To Wunder and fellow co-host Jake Morrow, the idea is tempting, especially for days when you aren’t feeling your best and swinging 80 percent might be the limit. The issue is you have to swing 80 percent all the time, something Morrow said he could struggle to do.
