Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa made history on Friday as he became the first Indian to win the Norway Chess title. The 20-year-old chess star defeated Germany’s Vincent Keymer to conclude his campaign on a memorable note. Praggnanandhaa, who started the day in third place with 15 points, stepped up at the right moment and won his classical game, earning three crucial points. This took his total to 18 points and helped him win one of the most prestigious titles in elite chess. With this victory, the Chennai-born star achieved something that even Indian legend Viswanathan Anand and current world champion D Gukesh had not managed since the tournament began in 2013.

Competing in Norway Chess for only the second time, Praggnanandhaa endured a slow start in the elite six-player field before gathering momentum in the second half of the event.

His campaign was highlighted by a remarkable achievement — defeating seven-time Norway Chess champion and World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen twice in classical chess — a rare accomplishment that underlined his determination to bounce back from the disappointment of an underwhelming Candidates Tournament in Paphos earlier this year.

As reigning world champion Gukesh fell out of contention in the closing stages, Praggnanandhaa ensured that India’s challenge remained alive, ultimately carrying it all the way to the title.

The result was made possible after American Grandmaster Wesley So, who led the standings with 15.5 points heading into the final round, was held to a draw in his classical game against Alireza Firouzja, sending their contest into an Armageddon tie-break.

That outcome opened the door for Praggnanandhaa, who knew that a classical victory over Keymer would propel him to the top of the standings and secure a landmark title.

Although Wesley So went on to win the Armageddon tie-break, the victory was worth only 1.5 points, taking his tally to 17 points — one short of Praggnanandhaa’s winning total of 18.

Alireza, who had also entered the final round with title hopes, finished third with 15.5 points.

Meanwhile, Gukesh’s disappointing campaign continued as his third appearance in the tournament ended without the breakthrough he had hoped for in a year when he is set to defend his world title against challenger Javokhir Sindarov.

In the final round, Carlsen, playing with the white pieces, defeated the 20-year-old Indian in a classical game to collect three full points. However, the victory was not enough to propel the Norwegian great into title contention, as he finished fifth in the standings with 13 points.

(With PTI Inputs)

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Delhi vs Mumbai IPL 2026: Fans Flood Arun Jaitley Stadium for High-Voltage Clash

Denver Broncos star Jonathon Cooper and his girlfriend were both arrested on domestic violence charges on Friday.

Both Cooper and his girlfriend were held on suspicion of two counts of domestic violence and one count of criminal mischief, according to Douglas County jail records.

An argument broke out between the two over cheating allegations, according to TMZ.

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(Left) Denver Broncos linebacker Jonathon Cooper (0) looks on after a defensive play in the overtime period of the AFC Divisional Round game against the Buffalo Bills at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado, on Jan. 17, 2026. (Right) Denver Broncos star Jonathon Cooper was arrested early Friday morning on suspicion of two counts of domestic violence and one count of criminal mischief in Colorado. (Dustin Bradford/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images; Courtesy of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office)

The pair, who have been seeing each other on and off for years, were hanging out at Cooper’s residence when she confronted him over his alleged infidelity. The woman grabbed Cooper’s phone and threw it against a wall, and then eventually regained control of the device to go through it, the arrest affidavit said, according to TMZ.

Cooper and the woman then struggled for the phone, which Cooper eventually retrieved after a physical struggle. He then demanded that the woman leave his home, or he allegedly told her he would break her cell phone, the probable cause affidavit said, per TMZ.

After the woman did not leave, he bit down and broke the screen on the iPhone, according to the affidavit.

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Denver Broncos star Jonathon Cooper was arrested early Friday morning on suspicion of two counts of domestic violence and one count of criminal mischief in Colorado. (Courtesy of Douglas County Sheriff’s Office)

Cooper had a hearing at 9:45 a.m. in a Douglas County courtroom, and a follow-up hearing will be held on Monday, when Cooper is expected to enter a plea, according to 9NEWS.

Following the hearing, Cooper was released on a personal recognizance bond, according to 9NEWS’ report.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Broncos and Cooper’s agency for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

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Denver Broncos linebacker Jonathon Cooper stands on the field before the game at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo., on Dec. 21, 2025. (Ron Chenoy/Imagn Images)

Cooper, 28, has been with the Broncos since they drafted him out of Ohio State in the seventh round of the NFL Draft, and he has spent all five seasons of his career with Denver.

In 17 games last season, Cooper recorded 50 tackles and eight sacks and was a key member of the Broncos’ stout defense. In his career, Cooper has played 81 games, recording 266 tackles and 31.5 sacks.

The Broncos signed him to a four-year, $60 million contract extension in November 2024.

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Rajasthan Royals’ Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (ANI Photo)

Former England captain Nasser Hussain believes India should not wait too long before handing teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi an international debut, insisting the Rajasthan Royals opener has already done enough to force his way into the national conversation.Speaking on The ICC Review, Hussain was full of praise for the 15-year-old, whose record-shattering IPL 2026 campaign turned him into one of the most talked-about young cricketers in the world.“Such an easy answer to give to that is that yes, he has to play. I didn’t watch too much of the IPL to be honest, but I watched clips of Sooryavanshi and what an incredible talent,” Nasser Hussain said.Sooryavanshi’s numbers from the season were extraordinary. The left-handed opener accumulated 776 runs in 16 matches at a remarkable strike rate of 237.30. He also rewrote the IPL record books by smashing 72 sixes, the most ever recorded in a single edition of the tournament. His performances earned him both the Orange Cap and the Most Valuable Player award.The teenager’s rise has attracted admiration from some of the biggest names in cricket. Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has already publicly backed him for higher honours, while batting legend Sachin Tendulkar recently praised the youngster’s technique and fearless batting style.Hussain drew on his own memories of witnessing a prodigious Indian talent for the first time, recalling his early encounter with Tendulkar during the Nehru Cup.“One of my first games for England was in the Nehru Cup, that’s how long ago it was, and this young lad strode out with pads on that I’d never seen before, and his name was Sachin Tendulkar,” Hussain recalled.“And I was in complete awe and I’ve noticed Sachin putting out some tweets about Sooryavanshi’s bat swing and if you can impress Sachin Tendulkar and if you can impress Virat Kohli and the rest, he’s impressed everyone. What an unbelievable talent,” he added.While acknowledging India’s abundance of batting options at the top of the order, Hussain argued that truly exceptional talent eventually makes selection unavoidable.India currently have several established and emerging white-ball openers, including Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan. Yet Hussain believes Sooryavanshi’s case has become impossible to ignore.“So anywhere else in the world you would say get him in. But usually at the toss you just have to name 11 players. In international cricket, who do you leave out for him?“India have a list of batters they could play and should play, but in the end, someone makes such a case, such a consistent case, and such an incredible case for being picked. In the end, you have to say, I don’t care who we’re leaving out, this lad has to play,” Hussain believes.The former England skipper also pointed out that the next phase of Sooryavanshi’s development will involve proving himself in different conditions and overcoming the inevitable challenges that every young batter faces during a long career.“And I’m getting towards that stage where you say this lad has to play because there are other challenges doing it away from home.“Doing it against a ball that’s moving around, having an eventual downturn in form, which he’s not had yet, finding a weakness, maybe the short ball, who knows?“But he needs to get through all of that before you get to a world event and he’s going to be a star. We saw it in the U19 World Cup. We saw what he did to England in the U19 World Cup, to everyone, but England in particular. My word, this lad is a talent and he has to play,” he said.Sooryavanshi’s credentials extend beyond his IPL exploits. Earlier this year, he played a pivotal role in India’s victorious Under-19 World Cup campaign, producing the highest score ever recorded in a tournament final against England.The next step in his journey is already underway. Following his remarkable domestic and franchise season, Sooryavanshi has been named in the India A squad for the upcoming tri-series featuring Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, which begins on June 9.

At some point, reality needs to be acknowledged.

Kevin O’Connell has been doing his best to slowdown the effort to fully ignite the passer battle. In the spring, the focus rests on digesting the playbook, building comradery among teammates, perfecting technique, and so on. Class on the grass, a coach will say. But while that may be the focus, Coach O’Connell is at least now acknowledging that the competition has begun.

Kevin O’Connell Talks Vikings QB Competition

Consider, for instance, the conversation that Kevin O’Connell had with Mike Florio and Chris Simms of Pro Football Talk.

The former NFL passers — Simms and O’Connell — dug into the topic. Simms, God bless him, asked about Minnesota actually having an open competition. O’Connell swerves immediately, re-framing the discussion: “What I would say is this: we’re going to go through the offseason program. I’ve always looked at that as kind of the learning [and] teaching phase. There’s a lot of individual player improvement plans being activated.”

Not long afterwards, there’s a mention of working toward “mastery” of the scheme.

Journey forward into OTAs at the beginning of June, a key part of individual learning that O’Connell layered into his March prophecy. O’Connell doesn’t appear so shy about the prospect of a competition unfolding right now.

“I’ve been really happy with the way both those guys,” O’Connell explained, “J.J. and Kyler have kind of attacked it in their own individual kind of ways, knowing that they’re competing. Look, there’s no, it’s a competition, these guys are working everyday. They know that. But the greater good of the Minnesota Vikings and our team’s ceiling is the most important thing that’s clear to both of those guys.”

And then afterwards there was chatter about McCarthy’s now infamous “high school classroom” comparison. The key point, though, is that Kevin O’Connell didn’t appear shy about naming the competition a competition. So, what changed?

First and most obvious is the calendar. Real work (June) rather than imagined work (March) is ongoing at TCO Performance Center. Reps are being taken, meaning the two combatants are squaring off even if it’s just shorts and jerseys.

Similarly of note is that O’Connell does still try to bring things around to the priority. The team, not the individual passers, is what matters. But then there’s the other detail shoehorned in there: each guy working through an own individualized plan to become a better quarterback. There is, in other words, somewhat of a tension that’s taking place.

In McCarthy and Murray, the Vikings have two quarterbacks pursuing singular pathways to push each individual game higher. Well and good. But then there’s the pool that these two are swimming in. Whoever becomes the QB1 needs to elevate the team via individual performance. Such is life for a professional quarterback within the NFL.

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Combined, the Vikings’ quarterbacks did poorly last season.

The 9-8 Vikings had the trio of arms offer a 61.6% completion rate alongside 2,834 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 21 interceptions. These are brutal statistics for a team boasting Kevin O’Connell as the head coach alongside Justin Jefferson at receiver.

Kevin O’Connell is moving into his fifth season as the team’s head coach. Quite possibly, a season that resembles the effort from last year will mean that O’Connell never arrives at a sixth NFL season in Minnesota, making the currently unfolding quarterback competition of the utmost importance.

Next up in the offseason program is mandatory minicamp. Slowly at first but then quite suddenly, the passer battle will grow in intensity.

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Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.

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Every June, ESPN releases its FPI — Football Power Index — a thermometer of each team’s ranking before the regular season. This go-around, the metric claims the Minnesota Vikings are the league’s 19th-best team and on tap for an 8-9 record.

Yes, it’s a fancy way of saying the most powerful sports network in the world believes the Vikings are mid.

Brian Flores Should Give Vikings a Better Case Than No. 19

ESPN FPI: Vikings at No. 19

FPI rankings are out, and the Vikings are sandwiched between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (No. 18) and the Indianapolis Colts (No. 20). ESPN argues that Minnesota is the NFL’s 19th-best team with the ninth-worst offense. The metric basically does not trust Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy.

Defense is a different story — thank goodness. ESPN FPI placed Minnesota at No. 7 defensively, which is actually a bit low because the Vikings ranked third-best in the league per EPA/Play and DVOA last season.

On special teams, Minnesota pulled down the No. 8 spot, probably because kicker Will Reichard was an All-Pro in 2025. And via strength of schedule, it was No. 16 for the Vikings — smack dab in the middle.

All told, FPI claims that Minnesota has a 29.1% chance of reaching the postseason.

What Is FPI?

New to FPI? That’s fair; it’s not overly popular. Here’s how ESPN describes the stat:

At its core, NFL FPI is a prediction system for the NFL. Each team’s FPI rating is composed of a predicted offensive, defensive and special teams efficiency, as measured by expected points added per play, and that rating is the basis for FPI’s game-level and season-level projections. Other information included in the preseason ratings include: previous years’ efficiencies for each unit, number of returning starters (on offense and defense), coaching/coordinator/quarterback changes and quarterback injuries.

After combining all of these factors, a preseason FPI rating is determined for each team, which represents the points above or below average a team is expected to be in the coming season. Preseason FPI will serve as the basis of the early-season predictions but will diminish in effect as the season progresses and we learn more about the actual strength of each team.

FPI calls the Los Angeles Rams the top dog in the NFL — most do — with the Buffalo Bills a distant second.

ESPN’s Seth Walder noted on the NFC North specifically, “The NFC North trio of the Bears, Packers and Vikings rank 10th, 14th and 16th in strength of schedule, respectively. But the Lions rank 31st. Detroit lucked out after finishing last in the division in 2025, as its fourth-place schedule differ significantly from its NFC North rivals.”

“Though the other three teams must battle with NFC West heavyweights, the Lions face the Cardinals. Same deal (to less of an extreme) in facing the AFC South — the rest of the division has to face one of the Texans, Colts and Jaguars, while the Lions play the Titans. Detroit also will face the Giants, and the Bears and Packers will have to tangle with the Eagles and Cowboys, respectively.”

The 2024 Warning

At this time on the calendar in 2024, the Vikings ranked 25th per ESPN FPI. How did they respond? The club won 14 games during Sam Darnold’s rebirth season and almost pulled off an NFC North crown if not for a lousy game at Detroit in Week 18.

FPI is a wonderful guideline for how teams might fare in an upcoming season, but it obviously is not gospel. It also fluctuates. For example, if Minnesota wins its first few games in September, it will climb into the FPI Top 10, and few will remember the 19th ranking from June.

Another club that might be ranked too low? The New Orleans Saints. They sit at No. 25 per FPI. New Orleans finished the 2025 campaign strong, and some are high on quarterback Tyler Shough’s upside.

It’s the Defense, Stupid.

Flores has quietly assembled one of the NFL’s most formidable defenses in Minnesota. Consider the Vikings’ defensive EPA/Play rankings since Flores’s arrival:

2023: 17th
2024: 1st
2025: 3rd
2023–2025 overall: 2nd

The data reveals a noteworthy trend: over three years, Minnesota has boasted the NFL’s second-best defense by EPA/Play under Flores’s leadership.

The accomplishment should not be overlooked. Regardless of the Vikings’ offensive performance in 2026, the defense is already strong enough to contend for a Super Bowl. Unfortunately, the team’s inconsistent offense has overshadowed this larger narrative. In one season, the offense might struggle to find its rhythm; in another, it falters critically when it matters most. All the while, the defense performs at a high level.

Flores now possesses the talent, reputation, and track record to demonstrate that ESPN’s No. 19 ranking is undervalued. Barring an unforeseen collapse, Minnesota is poised to once again feature one of the league’s elite defensive units. It’s what Flores does.

The Vikings don’t need to aspire to a championship-caliber defense; they already have one.

Dustin Baker is a novelist and political scientist. His second novel, The Invaders , is out now. So is … More about Dustin Baker