NBA legend Charles Barkley branded the San Antonio Spurs “the dumbest basketball team in the history of civilisation” after the New York Knicks pulled off the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history.

The Spurs led by 29 points as they aimed to level the best-of-seven series in New York before hosting game five, but the Knicks fought back to win 107-106.

London-born OG Anunoby claimed a tip-in basket with 1.2 seconds left to clinch victory, much to the delight of a star-studded crowd at Madison Square Garden, which included Taylor Swift and Timothee Chalamet.

It gave the Knicks a 3-1 lead in the series and put them within one win of their first championship since 1973.

The previous biggest comeback in the NBA Finals was 24 points, by the Boston Celtics against the Los Angeles Lakers in 2008.

San Antonio went 29 points up in the second quarter and their 27-point lead at half-time (76-49) was the largest for a road team in Finals history, but they then scored just 30 points in the second half.

“That was some of the most mismanaged, stupid basketball,” said ESPN analyst and former NBA most valuable player Barkley.

“When you blow a 29-point lead, the other team has to help, and the San Antonio Spurs helped the New York Knicks win this game.”

Victor Wembanyama scored a team-high 24 points for San Antonio and claimed 13 rebounds.

“I can’t really explain it right now,” said the NBA’s defensive player of the year.

“I don’t know. I think it’s just execution, greediness of some sort. We clearly weren’t the most hungry in the second half.”

The Knicks still trailed 90-75 heading into the fourth quarter but Jalen Brunson put them in front for the first time at 105-104 with 82 seconds remaining.

Anunoby then made a block with 11.1 seconds left, to stop the Spurs leading 108-105, before tipping in the game-clinching score after Brunson’s three-point attempt struck the rim.

“One word that caps that all is just ‘belief’,” Brunson told ESPN. “It was chipping away, one possession at a time. It wasn’t going to be one play to get us back.”

Game five is in San Antonio on Saturday (01:30 BST, Sunday).

CommBank Stadium will play host to Saturday’s
Round 15 NRL game between Parramatta Eels and
Canberra Raiders. The game kicks off at 7:35 pm with Canberra Raiders heading into the game as favourites with the bookmakers. Continue reading for our in-depth preview of the Parramatta Eels vs.
Canberra Raiders
game and give you our free tips and bets.

When: Saturday June 13, 2026 at 7:35 pm

Where: CommBank Stadium

Bet 💰: Bet On This Match HERE

Parramatta Eels vs Canberra Raiders Odds

Parramatta Eels vs Canberra Raiders Preview

Parramatta and Canberra enter Saturday night’s clash at CommBank Stadium desperate to revive their seasons. Despite sitting near the bottom of the ladder, the Eels have shown encouraging signs in recent weeks, pushing higher-ranked opponents despite a lengthy injury list and the absence of key personnel. Canberra, meanwhile, continues to struggle for consistency and enters the contest after a disappointing shutout loss to the Roosters. The Raiders have enjoyed recent dominance in this fixture, winning the last four meetings, but their current form leaves plenty of questions unanswered. Parramatta’s young spine continues to gain valuable experience and confidence, while Canberra’s attack has failed to fire often enough in 2026. With both sides needing a win to remain relevant in the finals conversation, expect a desperate and physical contest.

On the eve of the opening match, FIFA president Gianni Infantino held a press conference in Mexico City, addressing the various controversies surrounding the tournament. He also commented on the case of Somali referee Omar Artan, who was denied entry upon arrival in the United States before being welcomed back as a hero in Mogadishu.

In athletics, 17-year-old American prospect Cooper Lutkenhaus produced the fastest 800-metre time in the world this year at the Oslo Diamond League meeting.

In tennis, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard reached the quarter-finals in Stuttgart, while Arthur Fils, who has withdrawn from Halle, will arrive at Wimbledon without having played a single grass-court match this season.

If Edin Dzeko played for a bigger footballing nation, this wouldn’t be just his second appearance at the tournament. But 12 years after Bosnia-Herzegovina failed to make it out of the group stage in Brazil, the now 40-year-old striker and his country are back on the game’s biggest stage.

Although Bosnia-Herzegovina, which gained its independence in 1992, has only made it to the one previous World Cup and never qualified for a European Championship, Dzeko has played an incredible 148 times (scoring 73 goals) for his country.

Growing up in a besieged capital

That independence came at a heavy price, as it was engulfed in one of the wars that followed the breakup of the former Yugoslavia. The capital, Sarajevo, was particularly hard hit, enduring almost four years of siege by Yugoslav National Army and the newly formed Bosnian-Serb army, which held the mountains surrounding the city. Between 1992 and 1995 more than 10,000 people, mostly civilians, were killed through shelling and by snipers in Sarajevo alone.

Dzeko was six years old when the war broke out and during the siege, kicking a ball around on the streets of the ever-more battered capital was a welcome distraction.

“Our home was destroyed, so we had to move in with my grandparents. The whole family lived there under one roof, maybe 15 people crammed into an apartment of 35 square meters,” Dzeko told British newspaper The Mail in 2011 of his experience of the war.

“It was constant stress and worry, in case something happened or news came through that someone we knew had been killed. I was only young, and I cried often, through fear. Every day, you could hear the guns firing, and we lost family, friends and even some relatives.”

From Sarajevo to Wolfsburg and beyond

He would continue his development in the academy of one of the city’s two big clubs, FK Zeljeznicar. That’s where he made his debut as a professional in Bosnia-Herzegovina’s topflight in 2003, but this would be the beginning of the end of his career in his homeland. His first coach, who happened to be Czech, convinced FK Teplice to sign him for a reported €25,000 ($28,870) two years later.

There, he attracted the attention of German coach Felix Magath, who brought Dzeko to Wolfsburg in the summer of 2007, the same year he made his debut for the senior national team for Bosnia-Herzegovina. It was in Wolfsburg where he flourished. Alongside Grafite, he was one half of the most prolific striking duo in Bundesliga history, combining for a total of 54 goals (28 for Grafite, 26 for Dzeko) as the pair led the club to their only league title in 2009.

By then, the “Bosnian diamond,” as he had been dubbed by a local broadcaster, was coveted by top clubs all over Europe. He went on to win titles at Manchester City and Inter, while also enjoying successful spells at Roma and Fenerbahce before returning to Italy’s Serie A with Fiorentina this past season. By then he had racked up 369 goals in 856 games in all competitions for his various clubs.

Returning to Germany

At 39, having managed just one goal in five Conference League matches for Fiorentina, and none in his 11 Serie A appearances, it seemed as if his long career was drawing to a close. In December, a frustrated Dzeko started looking for a new club — one where he would again get regular minutes.

This came just as second-division German side Schalke were looking to boost their chances of winning promotion back to the topflight. Their Bosnian-born coach, Miron Muslic, who fled the war with his parents as a child, could hardly believe his luck when he learned that Dzeko was prepared to take a big pay cut to play in a lower league. In fact, Dzeko was so eager to play, that he turned down Schalke’s offer to send a plane for him, having already booked a commercial flight to Germany.

Just days after his arrival, Dzeko was back in his familiar blue and white, the traditional colors not only of Schalke, but also his first club, Zeljeznicar, and the Bosnian national team. Coming on as a sub, he scored his first of six goals in the second half of the season as he helped Schalke seal promotion just weeks after his 40th birthday.

“I’ve won quite a few titles during my career. But I’ve never celebrated one like we did here at Schalke,” Dzeko told the club’s website afterwards. “I said from day one that Schalke belongs in the Bundesliga.”

A ‘perfect few months’

All the while, Dzeko remained captain of the national team, determined to make it to one more World Cup — a proposition that seemed extremely unlikely when another Bosnian legend, Sergej Barbarez, took over as coach of “The Dragons” in April 2024. Not much was expected of Barbarez, considering the fact that although he had completed his coaching badges years earlier, he had absolutely no experience in the role.

But Barbarez, an impressive Bundesliga striker in his own right in the 1990s and 2000s, had a way of inspiring a mainly young Bosnian side to the kind of success they hadn’t seen in over a decade, upsetting Italy in a playoff to qualify for North America. Dzeko was a big part of the campaign.

“I wanted to help bring the club (Schalke) back to where it belongs,” he said. “The fact that I also qualified for the World Cup with the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team has made the past few months perfect. I absolutely made the right decision.”

Edin Dzeko seems to have made a habit of making the right choices over his long career. Seeing him make it to one last World Cup stands out as a feel-good story going into a tournament largely making the headlines for the wrong reasons.

The Dayton Peace Agreement 30 years on

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Edited by: Jonathan Harding 

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Leichhardt Oval will play host to Sunday’s
Round 15 NRL game between Wests Tigers and
Gold Coast Titans. The game kicks off at 4:05 pm with Wests Tigers heading into the game as favourites with the bookmakers. Continue reading for our in-depth preview of the Wests Tigers vs.
Gold Coast Titans
game and give you our free tips and bets.

When: Sunday June 14, 2026 at 4:05 pm

Where: Leichhardt Oval

Bet 💰: Bet On This Match HERE

Wests Tigers vs Gold Coast Titans Odds

Wests Tigers vs Gold Coast Titans Preview

Two teams attempting to salvage disappointing campaigns meet at Leichhardt Oval when the Wests Tigers host the Gold Coast Titans on Sunday afternoon. The Tigers are reeling after a humiliating defeat to Penrith and have now lost four of their past five matches, a dramatic reversal after their promising start to the season. The Titans arrive with renewed confidence following a stirring comeback win over Brisbane, snapping a lengthy losing streak and producing one of their best attacking displays of the year. Leichhardt Oval has been a fortress for the Tigers, but confidence is fragile after conceding heavy scores throughout the past month. With both teams sitting outside the finals picture and desperate to build momentum, Sunday’s clash looms as a crucial opportunity to keep fading hopes alive.

They were two iconic shirt celebrations that came to define a rivalry like no other – but how much did Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo drive each other?

Hear from leading journalists on how two of football’s greatest players reached unprecedented heights.

Watch Rivals: Messi v Ronaldo now on BBC iPlayer and listen to Sporting Giants: Messi v Ronaldo on BBC Sounds.

Vikings d-lineman Elijah Williams is a success story playing out in real time. Already, the young fella has exceeded expectations by going from offseason tryout to UDFA contract to 53-man roster.

Williams, quite evidently, isn’t incapable of overcoming long odds.

After the second day of minicamp at TCO Performance Center,Vikings Territory had the chance to chat with the Vikings d-lineman for a few minutes. Doing so offered an opportunity to learn a bit more about his comfort level going into his sophomore season, how he has been building his body, and working under the coaching from Ryan Nielsen.

Vikings D-Lineman Elijah Williams is Back and Burly

Williams likes the teaching he’s getting from Coach Nielsen.

Being able to watch the defensive line coach go to work is a treat. He’s ultra specific in his instructions, leaving little room for ambiguity about how to defeat blockers. Williams has noticed: “I love it because he’s just going to make sure that you’re doing the right thing and you understand why you’re doing it. He’s a great coach.”

“That hands on really helps,” Williams clarified, “and you can tell, you can feel his enthusiasm.”

After saying that he’s feeling healthy and well, Elijah Williams described adding on some size to better thrive in the rough-and-tumble life of an NFL lineman.

Williams explained that he’s sitting at 305 and that that has been intentional: “I’m going to stay in that range, it feels better for taking on double teams.” Any lineman living on the inside needs to be able to soak up blocks, but generally it’s a 1T — shaded on the center — who clogs running lanes while demanding a pair of blockers. Williams foresees some of that regardless of being a touch closer to the end of the line.

— READ MORE: Brian Flores Landed the Corner He Had Been Chasing for a While —
— READ MORE: J.J. McCarthy Answers Burning Question Amid Trade Rumors —

Last season, Williams played in seven games, earning 9 tackles within his 42 snaps on defense and 29 snaps on special teams. He’ll be looking to increase his workload and his production.

Describing a willingness to play essentially “everywhere” given Brian Flores’ proclivity for shuffling players around, Williams said that he feels “very comfortable.” Part of that has meant “less nervousness,” thereby allowing him to focus on his “technique.”

“I’m just trying to take it day by day. I just want to be better than I was last year. Make more of an impact on this team,” Williams said.

As things stand, Jalen Redmond is the top player along the defensive line. He’ll be supported by a pair of rookies in Caleb Banks and Domonique Orange. Moreover, Levi Drake Rodriguez is a noticeable presence on the field, offering great burst and energy. He, too, will be somebody who is very important.

Lost in the shuffle, perhaps, is Elijah Williams. The 23-year-old Vikings d-lineman is unlikely to be the second coming of Kevin Williams, but he’s a good ball player who has shown a knack for winning an uphill battle.

The defender is back and heavier. Ideally, that allows him to prove sturdier at the line of scrimmage as he helps a team undergoing a broader youth movement within the front seven.

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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A look at the Imran Mir-led Afghanistan A squad for the tri-nation series:

Imran Mir(c), Noor ul Rahman(w), Hassan Eisakhil, Bahir Shah, Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai, Farmanullah Safi, Shams Ur Rahman, Khalil Gurbaz, Zahir Khan, Faridoon Dawoodzai, Mohammad Ibrahim, Abdullah Ahmadzai, Khalid Taniwal, Ishaq Rahimi, Faisal Khan Ahmadzai