Stripped of its context, it seemed an ordinary moment. A player tumbling to the ground. A referee’s whistle. A penalty scored. An early lead.
But, as Manozh Noori raised a fist to the sky to celebrate her first international goal in her first international game, the significance to her and her teammates was overwhelming.
“It was the moment of happiness for everyone,” Noori told DW after the match.
“All of my teammates came to me and hugged me,” she said. “It was such a great moment for all of us. I dedicate this goal to all of those in Afghanistan, because they deserve happiness.”
Advertisement
It has been a long time in the making. Afghanistan’s women’s football team last played an international match in 2021, before the Taliban returned to power in the country later that year. The Islamic fundamentalist nationalist movement has relentlessly repressed women since regaining power and, according to the United Nations, “is closer than ever to achieving its vision of a society that completely erases women from public life.”
Women and girls in Afghanistan see no hope for the future
All of the players on the pitch in late October were forced to flee, with playing sport in public placing a target firmly on their backs. Just over half of the squad eventually found a home in Australia; other playes settled in various European countries.
Sport a faraway, but achievable, dream
Since they were exiled, regaining their status as international footballers — which means recognition from the game’s global governors FIFA — has been the preoccupation for many. Though they are driven by playing at the top level, their deeper motivation is always front of mind.
Advertisement
“Girls in Afghanistan don’t have any rights right now. Playing sport is maybe a faraway dream, but just a very simple one is studying and having education and they don’t have it,” goalkeeper Fatima Yousufi told DW.
“It’s just the biggest motivation for us to do this for all those girls,” Yousufi said. “We’re showing them that their dreams are valid.”
Fatima Yousufi was between the sticks for Afghanistan on SundayImage: Ann Odong/FIFA
Those thoughts and memories of their homeland were etched on the faces of the players as they saw their flag fly and heard their anthem play before kickoff against Chad, who eventually won 6-1 on Sunday, with tears flowing freely.
While FIFA started the process of recognizing the team in May, they are currently playing as Afghan Women United, a name picked in conjunction with the players that replaced their old status as the Afghanistan women’s refugee team. As such, the tournament they are playing in is composed of friendly matches, with Libya and Tunisia also involved. Afghanistan’s men’s team continue to compete on the global stage under Taliban control.
Yousufi was one of those who played in the team’s last fixture as Afghanistan — before the Taliban retook control following the withdrawal of US and NATO forces. Women’s football has moved on rapidly since then, with increased professionalization, booming ticket sales in many countries and increased media interest.
Advertisement
Afghanistan have lots of catching up to do
With players scattered across the globe and having also to concentrate on building new lives in unfamiliar lands, Afghanistan have plenty of catching up to do. That process was not helped by the delay and last-minute change of venue for the tournament after the Afghan players’ visas were rejected by the United Arab Emirates, who had initially agreed to host, and play, in it. No official statement has yet been offered as to the reason for that rejection, but the UAE has strong diplomatic links with the Taliban.
Until a few days ago, some of Afghanistan’s players and staff hadn’t even met, now they are proud to be back on the international stageImage: Ann Odong/FIFA
“It’s very difficult, when you’ve not played international football for four years, to understand what the level is, because even in that time the game has changed a lot,” said the team’s Scottish coach, Pauline Hamill.
“I think you can see that there’s a level of potential there,” Hamill said. “I think it was a case of ‘Welcome to international football’ [in the first game], and now: ‘How do we improve moving forward? I think that’s the key message.”
FIFA promises ongoing support
After another defeat, to Tunisia, the Afghan side showed that improvement with a 7-0 win over Libya to end the tournament on a high. But, after fighting so hard to be heard and recognized for four years, the Afghan players see this as merely a first step on the path back to a sporting existence somewhat like the one they had before their lives were upended.
Advertisement
FIFA president, Gianni Infantino turned up to the team’s second match, posing for pictures and declaring the tournament the start of a “beautiful, beautiful story”. He has also promised to “continue to stand by all Afghan women” and “work tirelessly to ensure that every one of them receives the support they deserve to play the game they love.”
But what happens next is not yet clear. With a government unwilling to support them, competetive fixtures are currently impossible and none are arranged as the year ends.
While they may not yet be representing their country in quite the way they want, this group of exiled women has shown their resilience time and time again. As Yousufi puts it, complete with a hint of Australian twang: “Never give up on your dreams, girls.”
Edited by: Chuck Penfold. This article is part of DW Sports’ Best of 2025 series in which we revisit some of our outstanding features from the past year. The article has been updated to reflect the latter stages of the FIFA Unites tournament.
Michigan State’s Jeremy Fears Jr., right, guards Purdue’s Braden Smith during the second half on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.
In previous seasons, Michigan State and Purdue playing this late with both ranked among the nation’s top 15 would feel like the Big Ten’s most important game of the year.
But entering their only regular-season meeting on Thursday night in West Lafayette, Ind., this clash between No. 13 Michigan State (22-5, 12-4 Big Ten) and No. 8 Purdue (22-5, 12-4) has no banner-hanging implications.
With Michigan owning a commanding lead in the conference title race, the Spartans and Boilermakers are left to play for postseason seeds and bragging rights instead of league titles.
Considering Purdue and Michigan State have won the last three Big Ten crowns — and their coaches have combined for 16 league titles — this is not an insignificant concession.
“Not being able to win the Big Ten championship is tough,” said Purdue head coach Matt Painter, whose team comes off a 93-64 rout of Indiana on Friday. “That’s tough. But we’re the ones that lost the games. So we’ve got to try to get better, try to improve. I thought (Indiana) was a great bounceback for our guys, but it’s hard to take. It’s really hard to take when you have lofty goals and one of them is out the window.”
Advertisement
Purdue comes in having won five of its last six games. The only problem for the Boilermakers is that the defeat was a 91-80 home loss to Michigan, which essentially ended their hopes for a league title.
Purdue will forge on and focus on Michigan State in what will be a battle of two of the best point guards in the country.
In fact, Michigan State junior Jeremy Fears and Purdue senior Braden Smith are 1-2 in the country in assists. Fears averages 9.2 assists while Smith, who ranks fifth all-time with 994 assists, averages 8.7 per contest.
Advertisement
The Spartans are coming off back-to-back home wins over UCLA and Ohio State, but they have lost their last two road games and don’t have a signature road win yet.
After Purdue, Michigan State will have another tough road game at Indiana.
“We have to get better,” Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said. “We talked a lot with the group about what the next couple of days are going to be like and what the next couple of weeks are going to be like. Our schedule ends about as tough as anybody’s.”
Michigan State will try to achieve that in a place that’s been a house of horrors lately.
Advertisement
The Spartans have lost their last five games at Mackey Arena — six if you count an NCAA Tournament loss to UCLA during the COVID-plagued 2020-21 season.
The last time Michigan State won at Mackey Arena was in 2014.
“Mackey Arena is one of the toughest we play in during the conference or nonconference,” Izzo said. “I think this is a really experienced Purdue team. They’ve got three guys in Smith, (Fletcher) Loyer and (Trey) Kaufman-Renn where it seems like they’ve been there forever.”
Star Thoroughbreds stands to enjoy a monumental Wednesday at the Launceston Cup, even without Denise Martin represented in the signature event.
Expect Martin’s signature purple and white to fly on the leading hopes in four races adjacent to the $250,000 Group 3 Cup, the ninth race at 5.29pm.
The Vamos Stakes (1400m), another Group 3 35 minutes pre-Cup, sees Sanniya as firm favourite, after Durazzo‘s tilt at the Listed Hellova Street Stakes (1600m) and Mazzini‘s bid in the non-Black Type $125,000 3YO Classic (1200m).
Barry Campbell, trainer for Star Thoroughbreds in Tasmania, also saddles Azonto in the 1200m benchmark 64 curtain-closer.
Advertisement
Favouritism is keenly contested among the four, Sanniya and Mazzini odds-on shots, with Sanniya pursuing five in a row while Mazzini hopes to recover from his recent four-win sequence interruption.
This three-year-old by Needs Further ran fourth at $1.16 in the $75,000 Magic Millions 3&4YO Classic (1200m) on February 6’s Tasmanian Derby undercard, and Martin later pinpointed a cause.
“When Barry took him home that night the horse ate up, he was not unsound, he was well, but we had bloods taken on him on the Monday and his iron levels were a little bit down,” Martin said.
“He had whatever is the usual supplement that vets make sure horses for blood irregularities like that have and since that time he’s been really good.”
Advertisement
At $1.90 for the 3YO Classic, Mazzini gets stall two and jockey Kelvin Sanderson.
The rest of Martin’s runners ride with Craig Newitt, featuring Sanniya – three-year-old Stratosphere daughter, six-for-seven – at $1.55 trying 1400m first up.
“Craig is adamant that she will run 1400 metres,” Martin said.
Durazzo, full brother to Mazzini, thrills with a return to Launceston (seven-for-eight record) to rectify his tight Thomas Lyons Stakes reverse against Steparty on February 8, per the Listed Thomas Lyons Stakes.
Advertisement
“He seems to enjoy Mowbray even more than Hobart and he loves 1600, so I think the owners are very keen for another contest with Steparty to see if he can turn it around.”
Only six acceptors in the Hellova Street Stakes, Durazzo widest and Steparty from barrier four.
Looking Forward, Backward and Sideways at the Vikings’ Offseason
During the NFL offseason, it is time to look forward, backward and sideways (and in this case we look at the Minnesota Vikings). There is always plenty to look forward to, as this is the season of speculation designed specifically for Purple prognostication. And, as far as the Vikings are concerned, there is a great history of individual performances, near misses and more than an odd or exceptional win/loss to discuss. The Vikings are an infinitely fascinating franchise if not ultimately a successful one (where success is often only defined by winning the Super Bowl).
But this time on the Vikings Territory Breakdown podcast, the fellas—Joe Oberle, senior writer at vikingsterritory.com and purplePTSD.com and Mark Craig, NFL and Vikings writer for the Star Tribune and startribune.com—look back in sadness to a couple of players who wore Viking purple, and are, unfortunately, no longer with us: WR Rondale Moore and defensive back Ronyell Whitaker.
Advertisement
The news of these passings brings sadness to Purple Nation, for sure. But couple the news of their passing with the death of rookie draft pick Khyree Jackson last summer, and the Vikings organization has experienced more than enough of highly emotional difficulties of late. We will pay tribute to a couple players who, though only playing a short time in Minnesota, still deserve their due.
In addition, we will look forward to free agency, the draft and the NFL Combine just on the horizon. But if you want to know what we look sideways at, well, you’ll just have to tune in and check it out. Skol!
Joe Oberle is a veteran sportswriter/editor/reporter and has covered the Vikings since 2008. The author of three books, he … More about Joe Oberle
Dec 21, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns defensive back Malik Muhammad (5) against the Clemson Tigers during the CFP National playoff first round at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images.
Do you consider the absolute dream candidate for the Minnesota Vikings a 3rd-Round cornerback? Probably not — but Bleacher Report does. BR’s Gary Davenport picked a “dream target” for every team in this year’s draft, and for Minnesota, that man is Texas’s Malik Muhammad.
He’s twitchy, competitive, and sticky in coverage, with the kind of edge Minnesota keeps chasing at corner.
Muhammad Would Evidently Fit Brian Flores’ CB Mold
A curveball some eight weeks before the draft.
Texas Longhorns defensive back Malik Muhammad (5) lines up during College Football Playoff first-round action against the Clemson Tigers at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium. The young defender handled coverage duties in a high-stakes postseason matchup for Texas. Dec 21, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA: Muhammad competed in the CFP spotlight as the Longhorns hosted Clemson. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images.
BR: Muhammad Is the Vikings’ Dream Rookie
Most opened Davenport’s article expecting to find a running back like Jeremiyah Love or a cornerback like Mansoor Delane. But Davenport disagreed.
On Muhammad as the Vikings’ dream pick, he explained, “The quarterback position in Minnesota will dominate the offseason conversation surrounding the Vikings, but if the team adds competition for J.J. McCarthy this spring, it will likely come via a veteran free agent. The Vikings were stout defensively in 2025, allowing fewer passing yards per game (158.5) than any team in the NFC.”
Advertisement
“But the team has a potential issue on the back end—outside of Byron Murphy Jr. and Isaiah Rodgers, the team’s depth at the cornerback position is essentially non-existent. That should lead the Vikes to look to add a cornerback relatively early in this year’s draft, and Malik Muhammad of Texas could be an intriguing target on Day 2.”
The Consensus Big Board has Muhammad listed at No. 82 as of February 24th. A 3rd-Rounder.
Davenport continued, “A 6’0″ 188-pounder who spent the 2025 season matched up with opponents’ No. 1 receivers, Muhammad has it all — size, speed, athleticism, fluidity in coverage…you name it.”
“He also has a background in track and basketball, which can’t hurt at a position that involves a fair amount of running, jumping and whatnot.”
Advertisement
The Scouting Report
Muhammad is 6’0″ and 190 pounds. He played 41 games at Texas, logging 97 tackles, 16 passes defended, and 3 interceptions. He also has youth on his side; he won’t turn 22 until September. Muhammad is known for his versatility, twitchiness, and role as a defensive field general.
NFL Draft Buzzon Muhammad: “Muhammad brings immediate value as a defender who can contribute in multiple packages from day one. What jumps off the tape is his natural feel for route distributions and ability to process passing concepts – he sees the game unfold with veteran anticipation despite his youth.”
“Watching him navigate complex coverage assignments against elite SEC competition revealed a corner who rarely finds himself out of position and consistently plays above his experience level. His best NFL fit appears to be with defensive schemes employing pattern-match principles that maximize his instincts and football IQ.”
Advertisement
It’s worth noting that the Vikings are in the middle — hopefully near the end — of a severe drought in drafting cornerbacks. Ten years have passed since the franchise picked one of any round with staying power.
NBD added, “Coordinators who prioritize versatility in their secondary will appreciate his ability to execute both man and zone techniques with equal proficiency. While Muhammad doesn’t possess elite length, he compensates with exceptional footwork and transitional quickness that lets him mirror even the craftiest route runners.”
“The technical refinement he displays in press technique and zone spacing indicates a prospect who’s been meticulously coached. The comparison that resonates when studying Muhammad is a young Marcus Peters.”
Perhaps the Value Is Really That Great
Advertisement
Davenport must love Muhammad and his fit in Minnesota because it’s not often that a 2nd- or 3rd-Rounder pulls down “dream” draft candidate status a couple of months before the event.
So, how would Davenport’s assertion come true? Well, first, the Vikings would have to scoop Muhammad from Round 2 or 3, fitting his current stock. Thereafter, if he immediately latched on as a starter and remained for longer than a few years, Davenport would be vindicated.
Texas Longhorns defensive back Malik Muhammad (5) wraps up Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Anthony Evans III (5) during second-quarter action at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium. The defensive play stopped the receiver short after a short gain in a key conference matchup. Oct 19, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA: Muhammad secured the tackle along the sideline for Texas. Mandatory Credit: Sara Diggins-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images.
The Vikings must also get into the habit — soon — of playing rookies. In the last four years, rookies don’t often see the field in Year No. 1, with the exception of wide receiver Jordan Addison and guard Ed Ingram. For example, Minnesota drafted wideout Tai Felton in Round 3 last year; the guy barely played on offense as a rookie.
If Davenport is correct, the Vikings grab Muhammad from Round 2 or 3, and he plays right away, fans will treat him like a supreme breath of fresh air.
Other Dream Candidates
Advertisement
How about real dream draft candidates for Minnesota? Here’s a look at Round 1 rookies who would bring tremendous joy to the fan base if they [somehow] fell to Pick No. 18:
Mansoor Delane (CB, LSU)
Caleb Downs (S, Ohio State)
Jeremiyah Love (RB, Notre Dame)
Sonny Styles (LB, Ohio State)
Ohio State Buckeyes cornerback Lorenzo Styles Jr. (3) celebrates with linebacker Sonny Styles (0) after returning a punt for a touchdown during third-quarter action against the UCLA Bruins at Ohio Stadium. The brothers shared the moment on the sideline after the special teams score energized the crowd. Nov 15, 2025; Columbus, Ohio, USA: Styles finished the return with a touchdown. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images.
Downs, Love, and Styles live in a category of their own; they’re virtually guaranteed to be gone by Pick No. 18. Delane would turn heads, as he’s considered the top corner in the draft.
Oct 25, 2025; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs wide receiver Brenen Thompson (0) catches the ball for a touchdown over Texas Longhorns defensive back Malik Muhammad (5) during the second quarter at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
Cue the lights, these men in tights are ready to steal the show at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine.
Demond Claiborne, RB, Wake Forest
Only one running back, Notre Dame’s Jeremyiah Love, is a first-rounder. Claiborne’s shifty nature and explosive burst out of the backfield are coveted by teams shopping for change-of-pace backs. If Claiborne can run in the 4.3 range and deliver a dynamite three-cone agility test result, this weaker RB class is his for the taking.
Brenen Thompson, WR, Mississippi State
A candidate to break Xavier Worthy’s 40-yard dash record, Thompson is small and can’t do much about that. His downfield speed could cause heads to turn with a target in the 4.2s.
Ted Hurst, WR, Georgia State
Hurst’s small-school pedigree has left some wondering if he can adjust against NFL cornerbacks. If he continues to show precision and explosiveness in and out of breaks, Hurst can erase enough doubt to be in the top 64 picks.
Advertisement
Jaren Kanak, TE, Oklahoma
Some feigned surprise he was invited to Indy, but if you’ve been keying in on the Sooners, you know why Kanak is here. He will likely have one of the fastest times for the tight end position, and his defensive experience should translate to impressive bench press rep counts as well.
Gennings Dunker, OG, Iowa
Dunker’s combine performance will be a double-edged sword. He’s almost certainly going to nail his bench press reps with his yolked arms and impressive frame, but teams will be looking to see how he performs during agility drills. Everyone knows Dunker is strong. The question is, Can he move like an NFL lineman? Performing well could send him into the top 50.
Zane Durant, DT, Penn State
Aug 31, 2024; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions defensive tackle Zane Durant (28) celebrates after a stop during the third quarter against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
Durant’s first-step explosiveness is intense. As a speed-rushing tackle, he has a knack for penetrating inside gaps, a valued skill for a position valuing speed to power. If he can crush his 40 and agility drills, Durant won’t be easy to pass on draft day.
Peter Woods, DT, Clemson
Athletically he’s a no-doubt first-round prospect. Following a down year in terms of production, his final grade isn’t set in stone. Woods participating in the combine drills and showing off his athletic prowess would cement his stock.
Advertisement
Harold Perkins, LB, LSU
As a former five-star recruit, Perkins’ athletic pedigree should be highly valued. He currently is a mid-round prospect. With talk of him moving to edge in some schemes, timed speed and strength will be more important for Perkins than ever, especially if he’s carrying the weight to reflect his desire to play outside.
Brandon Cisse, CB, South Carolina
Cisse is looking to break into a packed conversation around corners with first-round value. The combine is his best opportunity. His size, speed and strength are exceptional. Putting numbers down on paper to match the film would mean booking himself tickets to Pittsburgh in April.
VJ Payne, S, Kansas State
The battle for the third-best safety in the class is wide open — Ohio State’s Caleb Downs is the clear-cut No. 1 and top five overall. If Payne backs up his impressive athletic traits evident on film in on-field drills and testing, he’ll be a big-time riser.
Transgender golfer Hailey Davidson filed a lawsuit against the women’s golf tour NXXT in December after it changed its policies to prevent biological males from competing against females.
NXXT and its attorneys from America First Policy Institute filed its motion to dismiss this week, and believe the suit will be thrown out.
“We are asking the courts to dismiss the claims and we’re addressing the matter,” NXXT Golf CEO Stuart McKinnon told Fox News Digital.
Advertisement
“This was about simply protecting women’s sports. So the goal was really clarity and competitive integrity, and, as a professional tour, we believe it was our responsibility to define those categories.”
Transgender golfer Hailey Davidson looks after shot at pre-qualifying stage of LPGA Q-Series.(Riley Gaines/X)
McKinnon said after the organization updated its policies, he reached out to Davidson to offer the golfer a chance to compete on the tour in an open category, free of cost, and would even pay for Davidson’s Q School – an annual, multi-stage tournament where golfers compete for playing status on the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour.
“I had a talk with Davidson. And at that time, prior to the change, I had offered Davidson the opportunity to play in an open division. And in that open division, I had offered Hayley Davidson to play in that open division and even a management position in that open division, and we would allow Davidson to play for free,” McKinnon said.
Advertisement
“We would pay for Q School fees for Davidson. So we were very generous and respectful of what Davidson wanted to do. And my message to Davidson was simply that perhaps your legacy is forging the path for future generations. But it can’t be right now in this women’s tour right now, when I’m running it, and we are going to make the policy change.”
McKinnon said the trans athlete rejected the offer.
Now, his tour is engaged in a legal battle against Davidson. It was an outcome he expected when he made the policy change, but believed it was necessary based on the feedback of his golfers.
McKinnon said he came to the decision after distributing an anonymous poll to the female golfers on his tour, as the vast majority of them expressed concern over Davidson’s presence.
Advertisement
“We did an anonymous player poll, which we had a high response rate within a very short period of time. Within two or three days, we had 80% plus response rate, and it was clear that the players, you know, were speaking, that they felt the policy change was in order,” McKinnon said.
“The theme was that it was unfair, and they wanted us to address our policies.”
McKinnon said that a few female golfers expressed support for maintaining the current policy and allowing Davidson to compete.
“We just respectfully disagreed with one another,” McKinnon said.
Advertisement
McKinnon had to watch Davidson finish first place on the tour in January 2024, marking Davidson’s third first-place finish at the event. The win put Davidson in the race to earn an Epson Tour exemption, which is the developmental tour of the LPGA Tour. The top 10 players of the Epson Tour graduate to the LPGA Tour.
At the time, the LPGA’s policy allowed biological males to compete without much restriction.
NXXT was one of the first women’s tours that stepped up to make a policy change. The LPGA then changed its own policy to bring about more restrictions to protect the women’s category in December 2024.
Now, as Davidson wages a legal battle against NXXT for pioneering the protection of women’s golf, McKinnon doesn’t expect the lawsuit will impede his tour’s operations.
“Nothing has changed from an operational standpoint. We’re going to continue to grow,” McKinnon said.
“We’ve expanded the tour from the NXXT Women’s Pro Tour to the NXXT Battle Tour, which is a professional co-ed tour that we’re launching, as well our NXXT Gen Tour, which is our junior tour. It’s a competitive pathway for elite juniors, male and female. And we just actually have announced a partnership with Sir Nick Faldo for the NEXT Faldo Junior Tour. So all systems are go here at NXXT. We’re growing the pathway. We’re growing the tour.”
Transgender golfer Hailey Davidson during pre-qualifying stage of LPGA Q-Series.(Riley Gaines/X)
Fox News Digital has reached out to Davidson’s attorneys for a response.
Advertisement
Davidson’s lawsuit argues NXXT breached its contractual obligations and made false representations to Davidson, leading to wrongful exclusion from professional golf opportunities.
“Defendants breached the Contracts by implementing the Policy Change that resulted in Ms. Davidson being prohibited from participating in the entirety of the NXXT Winter Series; failing to allow Ms. Davidson to compete in any NXXT Winter Series tournaments after the Policy Change; retaining Ms. Davidson’s annual NXXT Golf membership fees and entry fees for NXXT Winter Series tournaments; and not awarding Ms. Davidson the Epson Exemptions she had earned,” the lawsuit stated.
Jackson Thompson is a sports reporter for Fox News Digital covering critical political and cultural issues in sports, with an investigative lens. Jackson’s reporting has been cited in federal government actions related to the enforcement of Title IX, and in legacy media outlets including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Associated Press and ESPN.com.
Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer is currently in a relationship with an NXT star. Last year, they confirmed they were dating. While La Primera is making waves on RAW as its top titleholder, her boyfriend also won his first WWE championship this week.
The NXT star in question here is Myles Borne. On the latest episode of NXT, Borne won the NXT North American Championship. He defeated Ethan Page, ending the longest (tied with Oba Femi) NXT North American Title reign. Vaquer recently took to Instagram to express how she felt about her boyfriend’s achievement.
Thanks for the submission!
Advertisement
Vaquer wrote that she was proud of Myles Borne because she knew how hard he worked to achieve his goals. The Women’s World Champion added that Borne deserved the North American Championship win and much more. On her Instagram Story, she also posted a picture of the 26-year-old holding his newly won title.
Advertisement
“I’m so proud of you because I truly know how hard you work day after day. You deserve this and so much more [red heart emoji],” Vaquer wrote.
Stephanie Vaquer has had one of the best rookie years in WWE
Stephanie Vaquer is heading into WrestleMania 42 as the Women’s World Champion. She has had a stellar rookie year, winning a total of four titles. She first won the Women’s North American Championship from Fallon Henley. Later, she captured the NXT Women’s Championship from Giulia. At one point, she held both the titles simultaneously.
La Primera quickly transitioned to the main roster and held her ground. At Evolution, she won a 20-woman Battle Royal for a shot at the Women’s World Championship. She battled IYO SKY in possibly the best match of the night at Wrestlepalooza to capture the coveted gold.
At Crown Jewel: Perth, Stephanie Vaquer squared off against then-WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton in a Women’s Crown Jewel Title match. The RAW Superstar reigned supreme, adding another major accolade to her resume. Ahead of her match against Liv Morgan at ‘Mania, the fan-favorite star seems unstoppable.
Advertisement
Why did you not like this content?
Was this article helpful?
Advertisement
Thank You for feedback
Read all the hottest WWE news from Sportskeeda by choosing us as your preferred source. Click HERE.
TORONTO — The Oklahoma City Thunder will be the defending NBA champions until sometime in mid-to-late June.
They remain favourites to be champions again, but the group that was on the floor at Scotiabank Arena are not those guys.
Not with defending MVP (and defending Finals MVP) Shai Gilgeous-Alexander back home in Oklahoma nursing an abdominal injury that has kept him out for 10 games and counting, and all-NBA wing Jalen Williams out with a bad hamstring and Ajay Mitchell — their newly discovered bench sparkplug — out now for 14 games and counting.
They are trying to navigate a post-championship season that has been more notable for who has not been playing than who has. Gilgeous-Alexander has now joined fellow starters Luguentz Dort (12), Isaiah Hartenstein (27) and Williams (33) for the dubious distinction of having missed double-digit games through the Thunder’s 59th start. As well, key reserves Mitchell (16), Aaron Wiggins (16) and Alex Caruso (21) have missed significant time.
Advertisement
But somehow the Thunder continue to roll.
They were able to squeeze out a 116-107 win over the Raptors that they earned thanks to a dominant second and third quarter where they out-scored Toronto by 27, and a fantastic flurry in the final four minutes. They finished with a 15-point surge, shutting down a Raptors rally that saw them come back down 24 with one minute left in the third to tie it up with just over four minutes left.
For the Raptors (34-24), it was another loss to a quality team, this one a little more concerning since Scottie Barnes left the game early after bruising his right thigh in a collision with Hartenstein. Barnes will be listed as questionable as the Raptors host the San Antonio Spurs Wednesday night.
For the Thunder (45-14), it was one more bit of evidence that their championship pedigree extends past Gilgeous-Alexander or Williams and runs all the way through most of their rotation. On Tuesday night, it was Cason Wallace — the Thunder’s third-year on-ball stopper and the league-leader in steals — who exploded for 27 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. His run included six quick points after the Raptors had tied the game on a Jamal Shead three with 4:06 to play. Meanwhile, Canadian national team star Dort shed his defence-first reputation (though not before helping hold Raptors leading scorer Brandon Ingram to 14 points on 14 shots) long enough to score four of his 15 points in the final minutes on a pair of tough jumpers with the game in the balance.
Advertisement
“We’ve been in a lot of those situations before, obviously we’re still without our main guys, but we know that we have to execute and find the best shot that we can get,” said Dort. “Credit to the Raptors, they didn’t give up, but down the stretch we had to find the best shots, which we did.”
It was a familiar situation for the Raptors, too. The loss dropped Toronto to 4-14 against the top 10 teams in the league by winning percentage. Three of those wins came against a (then) struggling Cleveland Cavaliers team early in the season and the other came on the road against a short-handed Thunder team back in January, although that version did have Gilgeous-Alexander in the lineup.
It’s a bit of a good news, bad news story: It’s not nothing that the Raptors are 30-10 against the league’s other 19 teams, but beating good teams is essential if all that work is going to deliver something in the post-season.
“I mean, we made a huge jump from where we were last year, like, where were we last year versus now?” said RJ Barrett, who led the Raptors with 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting, including 4-of-6 from three, his best offensive outing since returning from knee and ankle injuries that forced him to miss 24 games in a 30-game stretch over December and January. The Raptors won just 30 games all season, was his point.
Advertisement
“A lot of these teams have already been good, already been in playoff situations [or] like tonight, won a championship. They already have these guys that are battle-tested.
“It’s good for us to play these teams right now, go through these tough losses during the season so we’ll figure it out,” Barrett added. “Detroit game we got blown out [just prior to the all-star break], tonight we went down and fought all the way back, so we’re already learning and we got to continue to learn and scratch and claw and beat these good teams.”
They certainly have some blueprints they could work from, namely how they performed during the first and fourth quarters — or at least until those final four minutes.
The Raptors jumped out to a 32-25 lead after the first as they forced the Thunder into six turnovers in 12 minutes, continuing the ferocious perimeter defence they have shown since the all-star break in road wins over Chicago (23 turnovers with 14 steals) and Milwaukee (19 turnovers with 11 steals).
Advertisement
NBA on Sportsnet
Livestream 40-plus regular season Toronto Raptors games, marquee matchups from around the association, select NBA Playoffs games, the NBA Draft and summer league action on Sportsnet+.
It was the Raptors at their best. Rookie Collin Murray-Boyles (four points, four rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal in 30 minutes), starting at centre for Jakob Poeltl (out resting his back), got his hands on seemingly every pass the Thunder tried to throw. Barnes (15 points, seven assists, three steals and four blocks), back in the lineup after missing Sunday’s game for personal reasons, stripped Caruso’s dribble on consecutive possessions, each turning into transition lay-ups, giving the Raptors a 10-point lead — their high-water mark for the game.
They reprised that energy for a nine-minute stretch bridging the end of the third quarter and first eight minutes of the fourth as they went on a 27-3 run where they held the Thunder to 1-of-15 shooting and forced them into seven turnovers. OKC looked very much like a team needing the defending MVP to bail them out.
“I mean [the Raptors] defend really well,” said Dort. “The pressure and the way they turn us over was extremely tough, but obviously it’s hard to pressure for 48 minutes and we had to find a way to break that.”
They did. It began in the second quarter when the Thunder began taking care of the ball and some of their secondary scorers got cooking.
Advertisement
Wallace — getting all the point guard reps he could hope for with Gilgeous-Alexander out — exploded for 13 of his game-high 27, making all five of his field goal attempts, including three triples. The Thunder led 60-51 at half.
In the third quarter, it was three-point specialist Isaiah Joe shaking loose, knocking down five threes, including two for four-point plays, finishing with 19 points in the frame and pushing OKC’s lead to as high as 25 — creating an 18-point cushion to start the fourth. Over the pivotal second and third quarters, OKC had just five turnovers while forcing the Raptors into seven. Related, the Raptors’ offence cratered, as they scored just 48 points over the middle two frames.
“I wish I had the answers. Hopefully the film is going to help us understand better, but the second, third quarter was not us, and it was not our identity,” said Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic, as his team allowed the Thunder to shoot 54 per cent over the middle two periods. “That was not what we did in the first quarter to start the game. We were dictating and dominating on the offensive end, creating a lot of turnovers, which fueled our offence and we took our foot [off the] gas.”
They got onto the gas again in the fourth and made it a game. The Raptors deserve plenty of credit for that. But two good quarters are not going to cut it against the NBA’s better teams, and certainly not against the defending champion Thunder — even the short-handed version.
Advertisement
Barnes in good spirits: The Raptors’ workhorse banged his leg on Hartenstein’s knee with 3:38 to play and immediately limped to the bench. The Raptors were down two at the time. The Thunder quickly scored on a lay-up from Wallace, a triple from Joe and a jumper by Dort. Barnes subbed back in with the Raptors suddenly down nine with 2:29 to play and was subbed out again 90 seconds later. In the locker room, he seemed to be in a good mood, joking with locker mates Ingram and Jamal Shead, but could be seen rubbing the inside of his right thigh or knee area before going for treatment post-game. Barnes has missed just two games this season, and the Raptors won his 32 minutes against the Thunder by 18 points.
To the winners go the spoils: When Dort spoke with the media after the Thunder’s win, he had a massive diamond-encrusted necklace on over his black turtleneck sweater. At the end of the chain was a pendant shaped as a wolf’s head, roughly the size of a toddler’s hand. It’s his championship wolf, Dort told me, a gift to himself for winning the NBA title last year. His last name, translated, means wolf. “A [championship]ring wasn’t enough,” he said, laughing.
Silver lining for SGA? Gilgeous-Alexander has played a lot of high-pressure basketball in the past three years. To review: the Canadian national team star led the Thunder to the second round of the 2023 FIBA World Cup, helped the Thunder to the second round of the 2024 playoffs, led Canada to a fifth-place finish at the 2024 Olympics and helped the Thunder to their first-ever championship last summer. Chances are he’ll be playing deep into June this year and beyond, while the 2027 World Cup and 2028 Olympics aren’t all that far in the future. In that context, is missing a month or more of basketball (he’s been out since February 3rd and will be re-evaluated next week) the worst thing? “He wants to play, he doesn’t want to miss games and he didn’t want to miss this game, I’ll tell you that, so that’s a high cost to him,” said Thunder head coach Mark Daigenault. “… But getting a good reprieve out of this [could be a benefit] — not that he would ever want that — but you can’t fight your circumstances.”
On Tuesday, Kansas City Chiefs heiress Gracie Hunt posted a short Instagram video of her making a healthy recipe that she said tastes like dessert. She is best known for keeping her followers updated about her healthy routine.
Hunt shared the ingredients and the recipe and also talked about stevia.
Thanks for the submission!
Advertisement
“I’m obsessed with stevia, and it’s my vice in life,” Hunt said.
•
Advertisement
Looking to predict NFL playoff Scenarios? Try our NFL Playoff Predictor for real-time simulations and stay ahead of the game!
Hunt often grabs people’s attention with her workout routines. On Jan. 28, she posted a video of her gym session. She shared a glimpse of her workout and mentioned the “arms and abs” routine in the caption.
Advertisement
“Arms & Abs Circuit,” she wrote. “I aim for 20 reps per exercise, focusing on mind–muscle connection over speed. Repeat the circuit 4️⃣ times. This is my go-to routine for building upper-body strength while keeping the core engaged the entire time.”
In the clip, Hunt started her workout with dumbbell deadlifts, then did triceps dips, followed by incline crunches and finally incline situps with a weighted bar. She also did bench hops, incline dumbbell fly and incline shoulder press.
Gracie Hunt penned a heartfelt message on her father, Clark Hunt’s, birthday
On Thursday, Gracie Hunt shared a sweet post on Instagram, celebrating her father, Clark Hunt’s, birthday.
“Happy Birthday, Dad! 🥳🎊 You make the world better every single day through the way you work, love, teach, serve, and make everyone you meet feel truly seen and special,” Gracie wrote. “You’ve impacted countless lives and are the kindest, most patient, God-fearing man I know. Thank you for leading by example and living each day with integrity and intention. I’m so grateful to call you my dad — and to celebrate another 365 days of you.”
Gracie posed with her father in the first slide of the post. She wore a body-hugging dress, while her father wore a printed blue shirt and black pants. She added a video of the Kansas City Chiefs owner cutting his birthday cake.
Advertisement
Her mother, Tavia, also joined Gracie. She shared a picture with her mother in the third slide of the post. It was followed by a snap of her with her boyfriend, Derek Green, who wore a black shirt and white pants.
