SOUTHPORT, England — Ryan Fox will hit many 10-footers in his life. But he’ll never hit another one like that one.
This is the beauty of Sunday at a major championship. The work of many, many years — a lifetime, even — comes to fruition in an instant. A life changes forever. All that was before is removed by all that is now. And Ryan Fox is now a major champion.
The 39-year-old Kiwi is the only place to start this week’s post-major championship stock report, and he enters the proceedings with his holdings trading at an all-time high.
Post-major championship season stock report
Ryan Fox — Stock Peaking
Let me tell you about a little New Zealand company that just had its ship come in. Yep, its name is Ryan Fox, Inc., and after a pro career that featured just three wins and little to speak of by way of memorable victories, it’s on the way TO THE MOON.
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OK, maybe I spent a little bit too much time on r/WallStreetBets before writing this story, but truth be told, Foxy’s performance at Royal Birkdale remains one of the most pleasant surprises I’ve witnessed in six years on the golf beat. Fox is not just an all-time good hang, he’s not just a player who upholds all of tournament golf’s most aspirational qualities (dignity, an even-keel, plays in a hurry), but he’s also the exact kind of personality you’d hope to win a major championship.
It’s fascinating to think about the doors that will open for him for the rest of his competitive life as a result of Sunday’s victory, including a first-career start at the Presidents Cup this fall at Medinah (how in the name of all that is the post-LIV international team has Fox never made a start in the event?). If it never gets better than tucking the Claret Jug into the overhead compartment on a Boeing 737 this morning, I think Fox will be alright with that.
Scottie Scheffler — Stock Rising
This is a bit of a speculative play, particularly after the World No. 1’s comparatively “disappointing” major season (three top-10s including a runner-up finish at the Masters), but I want to tell you about something I witnessed at Royal Birkdale that influenced my decision.
It was late on Saturday night, as the leaders were coming off the golf course, when Scheffler arrived on a quiet corner of the practice range. He’d just played what looked like a maddening round of golf — brilliant iron play, a bunch of missed shorties — and you could just tell he was stewing about it.
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He walked onto the practice green with his putting coach, Phil Kenyon, and wordlessly got to work on the exact type of putt it seemed like he’d missed 20 of on Saturday: A 10-footer with maybe five inches of subtle break.
Over the next three minutes, I watched as Scheffler poured in six straight 10-footers from all angles surrounding the cup. With a Tour make-rate of roughly 40 percent from that distance, the odds of that outcome in that moment were 1 in 252.
When the sixth of those putts rolled in, I watched as Scheffler — all alone on the range — laughed to himself. As if to say, ‘Oh great, NOW they fall.’
What that moment taught me is that Scheffler is not facing a crisis of ability. He’s in his own head a little bit. And when he figures out how to step out of that, he’s probably going to start mowing down the competition again. I’m betting on that outcome happening sooner rather than later.
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Bryson DeChambeau — Stock DOWN
It felt like an all-around damaging week for DeChambeau, who actually played pretty great golf in between the planet-shattering controversy and the outright refusal to speak to the press. I empathized deeply with the emotional struggle he faced after that two-shot penalty on Friday night, and how hard it must have been to regroup after having his tournament altered in a manner that felt outside of his control.
But resiliency in the face of adversity is one of many reasons why professional golfers make a lot more money than I do, and I was disappointed that Bryson’s week ended with two consecutive over-par rounds to end the tournament mostly out of contention. For those keeping score, that’s three missed cuts and one very disappointing T14 for the most polarizing player in the sport.
Bryson’s vice grip on golf content — Stock UP
It would be altogether incomplete to rate Bryson’s performance this weekend on his golf alone, considering his golf played but a supporting role in the biggest drama of Open Championship weekend.
While Bryson might not have earned himself a Christmas card from the R&A by traipsing around the property with little regard for traditional golf decorum, he certainly earned himself a beer at every pub on the west coast of England with his performance over the weekend at Birkdale. Forgetting his golf for a second, DeChambeau’s performance was a stark reminder that he is golf’s needle-mover in the post-Tiger era. There’s nobody like him … even when he’s turning the petulant meter up to 11 by blowing off the media.
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Cam Young — “Suffering Builds Character”
Two hours waiting in the player dining area for a playoff only to lose to a soul-crushing birdie in the final group on the 72nd hole? Yep, that is the golf equivalent of kick in the pants. And yet I weirdly think if he got another chance on Sunday at a major like that, he wouldn’t smoke his 6-iron into the face of the 18th-hole bunker again.
Shouldn’t he have known that already?
Of course he KNEW that already. But until you’ve watched one slip through your fingers like Cam Young just did, you can’t know how careful you truly have to be. Especially in a bunker on the 72nd hole.
Jordan Spieth — Suffering might not build character
That HAD to suck. The last time you were at Birkdale, you played maybe the most memorable final round of any golfer in the last decade. You were not just on top of the world, you were staring down a decade as the single most dominant star the sport had seen since Tiger Woods.
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And then, nearly a decade later, you missed the cut at Birkdale, and it hardly even counted as news.
The word belief gets thrown around a lot in Spieth’s context. I don’t think that’s a fair word. Of course Spieth believes. He should believe. That golfer still lives in his body somewhere. But I’m not sure we’re ever going to find a good reason for what’s happened over the last nine years.
Here’s the thing: Spieth is a great guy. I’m not sure why such a uniquely Sisyphean burden has befallen such an exceedingly nice person. I’m hopeful there’s a good reason for it all — a moment that’s going to make all this suffering worth it. I’m fearful there might not be.
Tommy Fleetwood — Stock NEUTRAL
Short of a victory at the Open, it’s hard to see how this weekend could have gone any better for Tommy Fleetwood, the hometown kid who basked in the crowd’s adulation for four long days at Royal Birkdale. He shot four straight rounds in the 60s, the only player in the field to do it. He was in contention from the very beginning. He made clutch putts and kept himself in the running right until the bitter end.
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And yet this weekend felt … very much like a lot of other major championship weekends for Fleetwood. He is in some ways a victim of his own success. He’s good enough to win a major, and until he does it, everything less than a major victory will feel like a failure.
Tommy Fleetwood was gutted not to win his hometown Open.
And yet I won’t forget watching him stop to sign autographs for a group of starstruck local kids immediately after leaving scoring on Sunday night.
There is little question that Burns belongs on a very short list of best players in the world right now. Long a certified striper, Burns has ascended to another level in ’26. When Burns woke up on Sunday morning with a two-shot lead and no real chasers, I figured we were due to see his coronation.
Then came a dispiriting Sunday performance, which followed a handful of other Sunday major duds over the last few years. If Burns had gone out and shot one under on the same golf course Cameron Young shot nine under on Sunday, this whole column would be dedicated to him. Instead, he missed a birdie putt on the last to lose by two.
The good news: I still think that coronation is coming. Eventually. The bad news: If it didn’t come on Sunday at Birkdale, I’m not sure when a better opportunity will arise.
And yet it’s not all drab for Mr. Burns. He continued a recent string of good press this week at the Open, sharing the story of his unlikely arrival in the event in the first place following the birth of his daughter, Belle. And then, when the cameras were all focused on his playing partner, Ryan Fox, Burns did something even more impressive: He stopped and gave a genuine round of applause for the tournament winner. He had to be gutted in that moment, but his actions spoke a lot about what exists within him.
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In other words, it makes me want to believe in him. Whether you’re on the bandwagon with me is entirely up to you.
Si Woo Kim — Points for Honesty
Si Woo’s stock right now is a bit like when a company embroils itself in an embarrassing controversy but is then rewarded by investors for being forthcoming about the mistake.
Did Si Woo Kim choke on Sunday at the Open Championship, when he came home in 40 after making the turn with the lead?
Yes, yes he did.
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Did his willingness to admit as much on Instagram on Monday morning help the lens through which I viewed his performance?
Yes, yes it did.
Casey Jarvis — Meme Stock
There’s a group out there somewhere in South Africa who bought $500 worth of Casey Jarvis as a joke a few years ago, when he was the 2,000th-ranked golfer in the world and missing the cut at an event named the Bain’s Cape Town Open. That group woke up on Sunday see their investment was worth a million dollars.
OK, more like half of a million dollars. But still, Jarvis’s charge up the leaderboard on Sunday at Birkdale to finish T6 for his first-ever major top-10 was inspiring. The Open is nothing if not an open call for golfers to make a name for themselves. With one good week, you can be somebody. On Monday, Casey Jarvis is a guy with a major top-10 and $550,000 in his pocket and trending status on the DP World Tour.
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And best of all? We might not have seen the last of him yet. Here’s hoping those fellas back home in Boksburg aren’t quite ready to sell.
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has lauded Rohit Sharma for his brilliant century against England in the third and final ODI at Lord’s, stating that the opener has ‘shut everyone up’ on speculations about his future in the 50-over format. Rohit made a sublime 138, the first ODI century hit by an Indian batter at Lord’s, and quashed speculations about the end of his journey in the 50-over setup. He shared stands of 147 and 113 with skipper Shubman Gill (77) and Virat Kohli (74), though it went in vain as India lost by 27 runs and suffered a 2-1 series defeat.
“He didn’t need to do so, but he shut up everybody, because when you get those kinds of rumours floating around, it’s sometimes irritating. When a player has done that much, you don’t have to prove anything to anyone.
“If he has the desire to play and work hard at his game and he’s still enjoying it, I think he should be given the opportunity for as long as he wants. The day will come when he’ll feel that he’ll go, but when you have that kind of quality, you’re thinking of dropping him and then he produces something like this. First time ever, it was a special innings,” said Shastri on Sky Sports at the conclusion of the series.
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He also noted that while the top order fired, India’s bowling and fielding left a lot to be desired.
“Absolutely – these guys (Rohit and Virat) are converters. Once they get 40-50, they smell the coffee. They know how to make that big score now for India to stay in the hunt.
“They needed that 130-140 from someone. It came from Rohit, good support from Shubman and Virat kept them in the game. But 380 was always a little too much. A lot of food for thought for India, especially when it comes to fielding and the bowling department.”
Speaking about Kohli, who hit his first fifty in an international game at Lord’s, Shastri praised his sheer determination and the intangible value he brings to the squad.
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“He was looking to muscle the ball a little too much.
“It wasn’t easy once the ball got a little older, as we found out with the other batsmen, but then again that hunger, that desire, that passion for the sport, the energy he brings onto the ground and in the dressing room, there’s no substitute for that.”
Looking ahead, Shastri believes the team management must address the death-bowling concerns, pointing out that the absence of a seasoned campaigner like Jasprit Bumrah cost India dearly in the final overs against a rampant Jos Buttler.
“They will look back and know the areas where they’ve got to improve on. They will realize the importance of Jasprit Bumrah and they will want to give exposure to these youngsters.
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“They’ve given Gurnoor Brar, Prince Yadav and others chances. You’ve got to give them more exposure and then learn from experience. That’s what India lacked in those final overs when Jos Buttler took them apart. It was lack of experience. Someone like Bumrah there with three or four overs might have made all the difference.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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Destanee Aiava lifts First Title after Retirement U-Turn
Destanee Aiava has completed a remarkable turnaround after winning her first professional title since returning to tennis and switching her sporting nationality from Australia to New Zealand.
The 26-year-old lifted the W15 Brisbane trophy without dropping a set, beating Australia’s Belle Thompson 6-2, 6-3 in the final to cap an impressive week.
The title comes just months after Aiava announced plans to retire, describing professional tennis as a “racist, misogynistic, homophobic and hostile” environment. At the time, she said the sport had become like a “toxic boyfriend” and intended to step away at the end of the season.
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However, she reversed that decision in March before announcing another major career move by choosing to represent New Zealand instead of Australia.
The Brisbane title marks her first since making the switch and comes during an emotional period away from the court. Aiava has spoken publicly about her father, Hassan, who remains in intensive care after suffering a fractured skull earlier this year.
After her victory, she reflected on the difficult circumstances.
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“At first I was texting dad updates hoping he’d be able to look through his phone and catch up on everything he missed.”
She added:
“It is very weird grieving someone who’s still alive, and coming to terms with the fact that people can just become memories and you’re just supposed to accept it.”
Sussex have announced that former Kent boss Matt Walker will take over as their new head coach for the 2027 season.
The 52-year-old will take charge on 1 November, succeeding Paul Farbrace, who is switching roles to become Sussex’s new Director of Cricket.
Walker spent eight seasons as head coach at Kent, guiding them to promotion to Division One in 2018, T20 Blast success in 2021 and the One-Day Cup in 2022.
He has also coached in the England men’s set-up and is currently batting coach at Warwickshire and assistant coach with MI London, formerly known as Oval Invincibles, in The Hundred.
Michael Carrick has been to a World Cup without playing a single minute and the Manchester United head coach has already shown he can get the best out of Kobbie Mainoo
If anybody knows how Kobbie Mainoo feels right now, it is probably Michael Carrick. The Manchester United head coach has been there and got the t-shirt when it comes to going to a World Cup only to then be treated like a spare part.
Carrick’s moment of ignominy came in 2010, when he made Fabio Capello’s 23-man squad for the World Cup in South Africa. Carrick probably got a sense of where things were going when Capello tried to get Paul Scholes out of retirement and then considered a call-up for Owen Hargreaves, who had played one minute of football in the previous season.
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Instead, he turned to Carrick, but England’s World Cup campaign was full of misery and for those not even selected, that experience was magnified. They stayed in the middle of nowhere, played awful football and were dumped out in the last-16 by Germany when they were thrashed 4-1.
Eight years later, Carrick reflected on the experience and how badly it had affected him. He didn’t play for England for another two years.
“I’d been in the squad a long time and, I’ll be honest, I was finding it hard going away with England,” Carrick said in 2018.
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“I didn’t mind going away with United pre-season for three weeks or whatever and coming back, but going with England, it was almost depressing in a way.
“It made me really down, so I came to the point after South Africa where I thought, ‘I can’t do that again’.
“People would be saying, ‘Pull yourself together and be grateful for it’, and I understood the position I was in, the privileged position I was in, but I just found it so hard and I couldn’t deal with it any more.
“I was probably on the verge of… yes, I was depressed at times, yes. I told the FA, ‘Look, please don’t pick me’.”
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Mainoo hasn’t yet opened up on his experiences in North America but if and when he does so, it will be fascinating to hear what he made of it all. Carrick’s 2010 tournament lasted only four games, but Mainoo went eight games without selection, albeit a minor back injury kept him out on Saturday.
England observers noticed a change in Mainoo’s mood during the tournament: he left stadiums quickly and often looked forlorn, but that is also partly his personality. He is a quiet, unassuming figure who often keeps to himself. We are guessing at what he made of it all at the moment.
But if anybody knows what he’s feeling like, it’s Carrick. The 44-year-old’s handling of Mainoo was one of the triumphs of his spell in charge in the second half of last season and his understanding of the academy graduate will be vital again now.
Carrick had an immediate impact on Mainoo, who returned to the United team after being ignored by Ruben Amorim, who clearly has something in common with Thomas Tuchel, and it’s worth reflecting on what Carrick said about the 21-year-old as far back as January.
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“I’ve really enjoyed working with Kobbie,” he said. “I’ve known him since he was young. I think I started working with him a little bit when he was 13, 14 years old when I was going through my badges myself.
“He’s quite straight-faced and he doesn’t give you an awful lot, but you could see the way he played and he expressed himself. He was enjoying himself and to see him like that was great.”
Mainoo was straight-faced on England duty, but we should be careful reading too much into that. The challenge now is to get him to enjoy the game again.
He is expected to be back with United when they head to a training camp at Carton House, in County Kildare, after the friendly against Paris Saint-Germain in Gothenburg. Like Carrick, he might find being around his club team a more enjoyable experience than spending six weeks away with your country without getting a kick.
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In time, Mainoo might reveal how he felt the summer went and what his experience was like. For now, he at least has the perfect manager to get him back to his best at Old Trafford.
Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix and Disney+ with Ultimate TV package
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Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.
Sky broadcasts more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more with at least 215 live from the top flight alongside Formula 1, darts and golf.
Manchester City returned to training on Monday and the club put a video out on their social media channels with many players visible
Manchester City included some of their most valuable young players as the first team returned to training with new coach Enzo Maresca. The academy sides are undergoing separate preparations for the new campaign but a number of their most exciting talent were at the City Football Academy on Monday to join up with senior stars.
They included new signing Jeremy Monga – a 17-year-old winger who has arrived from Leicester for £10m – and two highly-rated forwards who have been targeted by other clubs this summer in 18-year-old Ryan McAidoo and 16-year-old Xavier Parker. With spots up for grabs on the pre-season tour given so many senior players will be absent as they rest after the World Cup, the youngsters have been welcomed into the first team fold and their presence was highlighted by official club channels on social media.
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Also spotted in the training footage was 18-year-old defender Stephen Mfuni, who replaced Max Alleyne on loan at Watford in the second half of last season but picked up a significant injury that required surgery. Alleyne was also present, Abudkodir Khusanov was back after his involvement with Uzbekistan at the World Cup and Vitor Reis added to a promising group of centre-backs.
Phil Foden, Savinho, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Nico Gonzalez were among the first team players back in Manchester as they look to build some momentum for the new campaign. Savinho has transfer interest from Tottenham for the second successive summer and Nico Gonzalez also has an uncertain future, yet both were present for the start of the Maresca era.
Jack Grealish trained separately as he continues his rehabilitation from the injury that cut short his loan at Everton last season. With just one year left on his contract, this is the last summer where City can get a transfer fee for the 30-year-old. There was also no sign of Kalvin Phillips, who was in discussions to return to Sheffield United on loan earlier in the summer.
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Players spotted in training: Gianluigi Donnarumma, Marcus Bettinelli, Oliver Whatmuff, Jack Wint, Rico Lewis, Brooklyn Nfonkeu, Vitor Reis, Abdukodir Khusanov, Max Alleyne, Stephen Mfuni, Christian McFarlane, Nico Gonzalez, Floyd Samba, Claudio Echeverri, Phil Foden, Tyrone Samba, Xavier Parker, Divine Mukasa, Ryan McAidoo, Jeremy Monga, Savinho, Divin Mubama, Mahamadou Sangare
It’s a brand new season, which means revamped expectations.
The narratives surrounding each year always shape the outcomes. From the consistent preseason hype coming from the SEC to the regional expectations out West, the narratives always matter.
Conference realignment is a clear theme this year, with both the Pac-12 and the Mountain West undergoing dramatic changes. Who steps up to win those newly revamped leagues?
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With that in mind, here’s my list of the Teams from the West most likely to surprise this upcoming season.
1. Washington State
The new Pac-12 is wide open for the taking.
Washington State has navigated the transition better than could be expected. Despite consistent coaching changes, the program continues to deliver. That signifies institutional power and a strong brand.
You can’t kill the Cougs. It’s fair to expect WSU to be in contention to win the Conference.
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2. Arizona
Nobody is talking about Arizona.
The Wildcats are coming off a nine-win season and return one of the best quarterbacks in the Big 12. Brent Brennan managed to retain both his coordinators, setting the stage for a strong season.
If Noah Fifita plays to his standard, the Cats could compete for a Big 12 Championship.
3. Washington
This is the breakout year for Demond Williams Jr.
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The transfer portal mishap over the offseason doesn’t matter. Williams is playing for the Dawgs, and the momentum under Jedd Fisch is real.
This season could end up being a make-or-break year for Fisch. The expectations are tangible in Seattle. Fail to deliver, and the administration might look for new options.
4. New Mexico
There are legitimate expectations for New Mexico this season. And it’s not just coming from Albuquerque.
This Lobos team is primed to capitalize on the program’s momentum. The community is starting to rally behind UNM football and the Mountain West has been reset.
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The optimism entering the season is at its highest point in years. As are the outside anticipations.
5. San Diego State
Sean Lewis has San Diego State trending up.
Entering the revamped Pac-12, this season is critical to maintain the momentum. The Aztecs could lay the foundation for many years to come if they play well.
First impressions matter. The Conference of Champions is there for the taking. Keep an eye on SDSU.
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6. San Jose State
The Spartans flopped last year. Let’s just get that out in the open.
The failure to meet expectations damaged the trajectory of the program under Ken Niumatalolo. However, momentum arguably played a key factor in last year’s 3-9 campaign.
If SJSU wins close games this year, they may find themselves competing for a Mountain West Championship.
7. California
Coaching changes are never easy for a program to navigate. But the Cal administration appears to have made the right decision.
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Tosh Lupoi managed to keep Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele on the roster, and recruiting is going well.
Entering the year, expectations outside of Berkeley are muted. ESPN’s FPI has the Bears 14th in the ACC. Don’t be surprised when they overperform.
8. Arizona State
The Sun Devils had to find a new quarterback over the offseason. The question under center limits preseason expectations.
But if Kenny Dillingham made the right choices in the portal, Arizona State could be better than expected.
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The roster is solid and should be capable of competing in the Big 12 every week. Don’t overlook ASU this year.
9. UCLA
There is no buzz surrounding UCLA. Nobody is expecting the Bruins to compete in the Big Ten.
Bob Chesney takes over the program with a clean slate and low expectations. That could be the right combination for a surprising year.
ESPN currently projects UCLA’s win total at five games. A six-win season plus a bowl victory would exceed expectations.
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10. Utah State
Bronco Mendenhall enters his second season at Utah State.
Coming off a bowl appearance, the program sits in a reasonable spot. How the Aggies stack up in the Pac-12 is a compelling storyline. Foundational years are crucial.
Last season, USU went 1-2 against current Pac-12 members. A .500 record in conference games this year would build momentum.
Miller covers College Basketball and College Football as well as Formula 1 racing as a Senior Writer and Assistant Editor for SuperWest Sports.
The place is San Francisco, the venue is Alcatraz Island and the purpose is a rare immersion in non-sport culture in the midst of covering the World Cup on the US West Coast. Here, dutifully reading about the ill-fated 1962 prison escape plan, it felt like I’d been thrown into the middle of The Shawshank Redemption as I toured around the site which housed criminals such as Al Capone, an eerie 1.5 miles offshore. No wonder the escapees were never seen again.
Satisfied that my thirst for something akin to normal touristy tropes had been met, I was queuing for the boat back to the city when I felt something from high above. With not a cloud to be seen, it certainly wasn’t rain. And one quick look down at my t-shirt informed me that a seagull had, well… you know.
Ruefully (or thankfully, for those reading this over lunch), I didn’t manage to snap a decent photo of the mess before I wiped it off with a spare tissue. Content regrets. “They have a pure fish diet – it’s good for you, man!” said a chuckling American next to me. Cheers… man. They do say it’s good luck, I suppose.
The famous Alcatraz prison off the shore of San Francisco (AFP/Getty)
Such jovial encounters were a regularity across a tremendous three weeks in the USA, based predominantly in Los Angeles, with one weekend reporting on England’s glorious win at the Azteca in Mexico City. Attending my first World Cup, my overriding takeaway was the heartwarming illustration of multi-culturalism at every turn.
And obviously, this World Cup had a myriad of Fifa-triggered issues: ticket prices, visas, the treatment of Iran’s squad, the Balogun ban overturn, the pandering to Trump. But the passion of supporters across the country was genuinely alluring, amid preconceptions of what this tournament, in this United States, might actually be like.
World Cup fever began in earnest at Heathrow’s Terminal 3. Sitting next to me on my Virgin Atlantic flight to Los Angeles was a Mexico fan, shirt on and all, who lived in LA. We proceeded to talk about all the important issues of the day: Raul Jimenez’s heading ability, Mexico’s popular president Claudia Sheinbaum, why Californians are hated across the US and Trump. It was all fun and games until he spotted an aisle seat a few rows ahead after take-off. Fair enough, needs must.
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Arriving at LAX, there was not a World Cup poster in sight. Immigration, at least, was surprisingly smooth. This was not the Trump-led US of A I was promised.
The next few days, housed in an Airbnb just outside Culver City, were spent acclimatising to the uniqueness of West Coast life. Most notably, I crossed my fingers at a pair of giggling Colombian fans as I booked my first-ever Waymo self-driving car. Adrenaline as a passenger has never felt so high.
Left a bit perplexed that my journey back home would take double the time Google Maps told me, I later learned that Waymo had temporarily halted its freeway operations in May. Probably for the best, eh. Yet as pedestrians walked up to the window and took photos of the car at traffic lights, I felt like some kind of duped guinea pig or eldritch celebrity. Is this what it feels like to be Harry Styles?
Across LA, you quickly gauge the life of a quintessential Californian in encounters in Ubers, cafes and sports bars. One loud-mouthed punter next to me in the Barney’s Beanery pub in Santa Monica describing soccer as “f***ing boring” 20 minutes into a match was particularly vexing. Buddy, have you seen your version of football?!
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Interior view of a ‘Waymo’ taxi in Los Angeles (Kieran Jackson/The Independent)
The self-driving cars are commonplace across California (Getty)
Embarrassingly, he was then proved right as England and Ghana played out one of the dullest matches of the tournament.
Often, there’s an unintentional irony to their words. Outside the magnificent Los Angeles Stadium, the spaceship-like arena plonked beneath sea-level in Inglewood’s multi-million-dollar regeneration project, for one volunteer telling fans “no refillable bottles allowed inside”, you had another saying “free water if you take the survey.” Most are perfectly well-informed and amiable, even if one very charming Uber driver actually did use words like “iconography” and “ad nauseum” in proper real-life sentences.
What is not in doubt is the ultra-high level of sports fanaticism in this country. Whether it’s golf, softball or indeed the World Cup, it’s on the big screen. And, my gosh, do the bars have some big screens to go with their big portions.
The N17 bar in Marina Del Rey, so named by the owner who supports Tottenham, was one particularly enjoyable Sunday afternoon experience. A night later, one sports bar in Hollywood was packed to the rafters for a screening of Love Island USA after the Netherlands-Morocco penalty shoot-out. Needless to say, that was my cue to leave.
The Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood (Getty)
My favourite American city, however, was Seattle. A spectacular downtown skyline – which you can see from inside the Lumen Field stadium – next to the protected saltwater inlet Puget Sound is a sight to behold. And even more so with thousands of Egyptians and Iranians spread across the city ahead of their World Cup showdown.
One of America’s most liberal locations, it was hosting the first-ever World Cup Pride Match amid a myriad of different marches. Surrounded by so much geopolitics and peaceful protest, it all went off without incident. We didn’t know it then but Iran’s last-minute winner, ruled out by VAR, would prove to be the last action of their unprecedented involvement in this tournament. Their treatment from US immigration officials was utterly contemptible.
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A view of Seattle’s Lumen Field ahead of Egypt vs Iran (Kieran Jackson/The Independent)
Other high points came with following the USA in San Francisco for their fever-pitch win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, even if I did get kicked out of the media centre at the end of a podcast recording, before the Folarin Balogun debacle turned the whole tide against them. I also saw eventual world champions Spain twice, in knockout wins against Austria and Belgium. Yet the overall highlight, undoubtedly, was a weekend in Mexico City; a city which had a colour and vibrancy unmatched on the US West Coast.
Everywhere you went, the sense of anticipation for England’s last-16 visit was inescapable. On the day, amid thunderstorms, the cauldron of the Azteca Stadium was an atmosphere unlike anything I’d ever experienced. A constant drum of noise, the one-hour delay only added to the cacophony. A Jude Bellingham-inspired win was one of England’s great World Cup triumphs – and the Mexicans took it all in good grace.
But as my time neared its end, there was one underlying thought: Will this World Cup make a difference? Will this really be the event which gives America its long-heralded soccer boom? Two encounters made me think so.
USA vs Bosnia in San Francisco (Getty)
Fans in the Azteca Stadium ahead of Mexico vs England (Reuters)
After a gorgeous one-hour (big effort, I know) sunset hike to the top of Mount Lee, perched just behind the Hollywood sign with a 360-degree view of Los Angeles, a young Mexican called Jovanni felt immediately enamoured by my English accent. “Ah, you knocked us out!” he said.
Sports-mad, he told me in detail about why LeBron James was leaving the Lakers, how the Dodgers are going for a historic baseball three-peat and – get this – the boisterous ‘El Trafico’ rivalry between Los Angeles FC and LA Galaxy, as if it were the Old Firm between Celtic and Rangers.
The second was altogether simpler: a local Uber driver ranting to me about VAR and in-game substitutions. “What the hell were Ecuador doing against Ivory Coast?!” he said, as if he were at the helm of a black cab around Stamford Bridge in December.
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And as I headed home, seven matches, 21 goals and 55 articles later, amid the conclusion of the very best and the very worst football’s greatest stage has to offer, the main conclusion was twofold: maybe the star-spangled cut-through really can happen – and even Fifa cannot truly screw up what is, with the World Cup, a truly un-screwable product.
Vingegaard crashed heavily on Stage 15 and withdrew from the Tour having claimed he was awoken at 2am by the International Testing Agency (ITA) before the stage. He sustained a broken collarbone in the incident after misjudging a corner on the route to Plateau de Solaison, abandoning the race for the first time.
Lance Armstrong feels Jonas Vingegaard was mistreated (AFP/Getty)
The Tour de France race leader is tested after every stage and can be subjected to them at other times, while other riders can also be targeted for random tests during the race.
Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour titles in 2012 after an investigation into doping allegations, and has since admitted to using performance enhancing drugs during his career.
The 54-year-old believes, though, that Vingegaard and Pogacar were mistreated by officials after the late-night tests.
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“I am told that Jonas had anti-doping control at 2am, and Tadej had it at 5am. If you are going to choose one, you take the 5am,” Armstrong argued on The Move, a podcast he co-hosts.
“They showed up to his room at 2am, knocked on the door and woke him up in the middle of the Tour de France.This is the hardest sporting event in the world. Sleep is essential.
“Now obviously nobody here is going to be proponent of not having controls. But this isn’t a sporting issue now; 2am is a human rights issue. I’m speechless. What are we doing? Why are we agreeing to that?
“Why would anybody agree to do that? That is ridiculous. We talked about what a great month of sport this has been globally. What would have happened if you went and knocked on [Lionel] Messi’s door at 2am? What would have happened if you went and knocked on [Jannik] Sinner’s door at 2am? What would Scottie Scheffler do if you knocked on his door at 2am? Serena Williams’ door at 2am? It just makes no sense.”
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Riders are not usually tested between 11pm and 6am. Vingegaard estimated that the visit cost him 40 minutes of sleep, though sought not to blame it fully for his crash.
Vingegaard (right) and Pogacar were visited by ITA officials in the night (Reuters)
Fellow competitors including Remco Evenepoel have questioned the tests, though Cannondale-EF team boss Jonathan Vaughters believes late night testing could have exposed the sport’s blood-doping era sooner.
Vaughters is a former teammate of Armstrong’s and admitted using performance-enhancing drugs, including EPO, during his career.
“2 am testing is one of the very effective ways to prevent peptide (EPO, hGH) and testosterone micro dosing,” Vaughters wrote on social media.
“If UCI had tested us in 2001 at 2 am? We’d all have been suspended and saved the sport 25 years of drama.”
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Pogacar, seeking a fifth yellow jersey, leads the Tour by five minutes from Evenepoel as the race resumes with a 26.1km individual time trial from Evian-les-Bains to Thonon-les-Bains.
TORONTO – The Toronto Tempo are looking forward to a mental and physical rest period over the WNBA’s all-star break — so they can be ready to attack the season’s second half.
The expansion franchise dropped a 109-83 decision to the Las Vegas Aces (18-7) at Coca-Cola Coliseum on Monday night. Toronto (10-16) enters the break having lost three straight and seven of their last eight games overall.
It’s been an eventful opening half for Canada’s first WNBA team. The Tempo have enjoyed memorable moments, including Marina Mabrey’s WNBA record-tying 53 point-performance against the Los Angeles Sparks on June 25 and setting a league attendance record at Montreal’s Bell Centre earlier this month.
But Toronto has also been hampered by key injuries, all while experiencing the growing pains expected of an expansion team. The break will be a moment to reset, said Tempo centre Isabelle Harrison.
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“We have people in and out, injuries left and right,” said Harrison, who scored a career-high 26 points in the loss. “So, really resting, but coming in and having the mindset of just being tough.
“I can live with a lot of different things that might not go well. But we just have to be tougher and be ready to face these teams that we have coming up after the break.”
On Monday, the Tempo also faced a new challenge. Head coach Sandy Brondello wasn’t on the bench as she served a one-game suspension handed down by the league for an “inappropriate” comment she made about Atlanta star Angel Reese during the Dream’s 111- 92 win Friday.
It happened when Tempo centre, Nyara Sabally fouled Reese after an offensive rebound. While the call was reviewed, microphones picked up Brondello yelling at the referees, “Angel, she’s a protected species.”
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Brondello issued a written apology for her choice of words on social media the following day. She later told the media she’d reached out to Reese immediately following Friday’s game.
Tempo associate coach Olaf Lange, who is married to Brondello, assumed head coaching duties for the game. He was asked ahead of Monday’s contest if he thought the suspension was fair.
“I’m not going to entertain that,” he said. “I think my wife handled it well.
“I’m not in the business of judging if this is justified or not. It is what it is, and I’m here to coach.”
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Lange said the team was ready to turn its attention to facing the Aces.
“The players handled it very, very professionally,” he said. “There was support, and then there was understanding of the situation, and they really wanted to move on and focus on the game.”
The Tempo were in tough against the defending champion Aces (18-7), who were making their first trip to Toronto. A’ja Wilson and Jackie Young combined for 50 points as Las Vegas took control of the game in the second half.
“Vegas is the champion in three of the last four years,” Lange said. “This is a terrific basketball team.”
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The loss capped a 2-7 stretch for the Tempo during their nine-game homestand that spanned 26 days and three venues, including Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena, Coca-Cola Coliseum and the Bell Centre.
While Mabrey will head to Chicago for her first all-star Game appearance, the remaining Tempo players are prepared to use the break to recuperate. When play resumes, Mabrey said the club needs to “get better and not feel sorry for ourselves.”
Manchester United remain interested in signing Leicester City defender Ben Nelson this summer.
The 22-year-old has come up through the Foxes academy and is highly rated. But he has just 12 months remaining on his contract, with reports that he has asked the club to leave this summer following relegation to League One.
United are showing an interest alongside Torino, Borussia Monchengladbach and West Ham.
Leicester are standing firm on their £10 million asking price, with Nelson playing an hour of their pre-season friendly win over Burton Albion on Saturday.
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Leicester City defender Ben Nelson has been linked with a move to Manchester United(Image: Getty Images)
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