NEW DELHI: Gujarat Titans moved closer to a top-two finish in IPL 2026 after beating Chennai Super Kings by 89 runs in Ahmedabad on Thursday.Gill, Sudharsan and Buttler powered Gujarat Titans to 229/4 before their bowlers bundled out CSK for 140 in 13.4 overs.Shubman Gill scored 64 off 37 balls while B Sai Sudharsan made 84 off 53 balls as the opening pair added 125 runs. It was their seventh century partnership in the IPL, the most by any pair in the tournament’s history.Jos Buttler then added the finishing touches with an unbeaten 57 off 27 balls.CSK, who needed a win to stay alive in the playoff race, lost four wickets inside the powerplay and never recovered. The defeat also confirmed that the five-time champions failed to qualify for the playoffs for the third straight season.Mohammed Siraj struck early for GT, removing Sanju Samson off the first ball of the innings. Samson edged a wide delivery behind to Buttler.Siraj finished with three wickets in the powerplay, while Kagiso Rabada dismissed Matthew Short after the batter mistimed a shot to mid-on.Only Shivam Dube showed some resistance for CSK with a 17-ball 47 filled with sixes, but the chase ended quickly.GT now have nine wins from 14 matches and 18 points. Sunrisers Hyderabad can also reach 18 points if they beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who already have 18 points.Earlier, Gill started aggressively and targeted left-arm pacer Spencer Johnson in the powerplay. He reached his fifty in 23 balls, while Sudharsan completed his half-century in 35 balls, his fifth consecutive IPL fifty.Gill scored most of the runs during their 125-run stand, using cuts, drives and sweeps to keep the scoreboard moving.When Noor Ahmad came into the attack, Gill attacked him immediately with two sixes.The partnership also helped Gill and Sudharsan go past the pairs of David Warner-Shikhar Dhawan and Travis Head-Abhishek Sharma, who had six century stands each in IPL history.After Gill got out, Sudharsan and Buttler kept the scoring rate high. Sudharsan continued playing his shots with control, while Buttler hit four sixes, including two against Noor Ahmad, as GT crossed the 220-run mark.

As we head towards training camp, Pro Football Focus put out an article listing 15 names they believed could be trade candidates. According to them, there could be a big Vikings trade around the corner, with one of the team’s key defenders on his way out.

Cashman Fits the Vikings’ Defensive Timeline, but PFF Disagrees

When I opened the PFF article, I had to admit I wasn’t expecting Blake Cashman’s name to pop up, but there he was. Among the 15 names, the Vikings’ middle linebacker and green dot guy was named. Minnesota wanting to trade their main communicator and the cog in the middle that makes everything else turn didn’t make sense to me, but here is the rationale for PFF’s thinking.

Once the centerpiece of Minnesota’s fabulous defense, Cashman could be on the move after a down year.In 2025, Cashman didn’t look like the strong linebacker of the last two years.

His overall PFF grade dipped from 72.0 to 63.6, punctuated by his 48.6 PFF coverage grade. Nevertheless, he was good as a downhill player with a 7.7% run stop rate and a 5.3% missed tackle clip.In light of

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Cashman’s decline as well as this being the final year of his contract, the Vikings drafted linebacker Jake Golday in the second round as well as extended Eric Wilson. That suggests that either he or Ivan Pace Jr. could have their days numbered in purple.

There are some valid points here. Cashman did have a down year; he is now 30 years old and in the last year of his contract. However, they fail to mention that he suffered a hamstring injury in Week 1 against the Chicago Bears, which severely hampered his start.

He didn’t return to full involvement until Week 8. He looked more like his old self by the end of the season, with 2 sacks and 2 tackles for loss in the final two games of the season. Coverage has never been Cashman’s strength, but it’s fair to say he didn’t have the best year in that department.

Will the Vikings Trade Blake Cashman?

Cashman is one of the Vikings’ best players, and I just don’t foresee the Vikings shopping him around. It would leave Minnesota very short at linebacker, with Cashman clearly a level above the others at his position right now. Eric Wilson did well as a rusher last season in Brian Flores’ defense, but I wouldn’t be confident of him taking on Cashman’s role on the defense.

Ivan Pace’s stock has been falling since his breakthrough as an undrafted rookie. He lost his starting place to Wilson last year and didn’t look close to being ready to take over from Cashman. Maybe Jake Golday can come in and take over straight away, but we are a long way off knowing that right now. The plan could be that the Vikings want their second-round rookie to take over next year, but Golday and Cashman playing together would be preferable to me.

Will the Vikings trade Cashman? I don’t know for sure that they won’t, but I would be very surprised if it’s even under consideration right now. The Minnesota native should be staying home at least for 2026.

Proud UK Viking. Family Man. Enjoy writing about my team. Away from football an advocate for autism acceptance.

The Minnesota Vikings have now added six new defensive tackles to the 90-man roster since the start of the offseason, onboarding veteran Isaiahh Loudermilk from the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday as the latest addition.

Minnesota continues to tweak the bottom of its defensive line room after earlier offseason moves changed the depth chart.

The team cut ties with Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave in March and hasn’t been shy about welcoming newcomers.

Loudermilk Joins a Crowded DT Battle

The Loudermilk era in the Twin Cities is here.

Loudermilk to MIN

This one is official. Vikings.com’s Lindsey Young wrote Thursday, “The Vikings are adding a veteran defensive lineman to the roster. Minnesota has signed Isaiahh Loudermilk, the team announced Thursday. Originally a fifth-round selection by Pittsburgh in the 2021 NFL Draft, Loudermilk has played 60 games (seven starts) and totaled 63 tackles, 1.0 sack and six passes defensed for the Steelers.”

“In three postseason appearances, he’s recorded six tackles. Loudermilk overlapped in Pittsburgh with Vikings Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores (2022) and Defensive Pass Game Coordinator & Defensive Backs Coach Gerald Alexander (2022-23). Loudermilk played collegiately at Wisconsin from 2016-20.”

Loudermilk was a college teammate of Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor at Wisconsin.

The Career Biography

The Steelers pulled Loudermilk from Round 5 of the 2021 NFL Draft, two days after the Vikings picked Christian Darrisaw. He’s 6’7″ and nearly 300 pounds, posting 5.08 speed before turning pro five years ago. Loudermilk has appeared in 60 games through five seasons, starting 7 and banking 63 tackles and a sack. He suffered a high ankle sprain last September — right around the time that the same injury beset Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy — and did not play the rest of the year.

SI.com‘s Christian Borman noted on Loudermilk’s production at Wisconsin: ‘During his time in Madison, Loudermilk was a solid presence along the Badgers’ defensive line and a highly productive player. In 40 games with Wisconsin, he totaled 63 total tackles, 11.5 tackles for a loss, 7.5 sacks, and nine passes defended. Loudermilk will lean on his experience to earn a spot on the Vikings team that desperately needs someone to make an impact from the defensive line position.”

The best way to think of Loudermilk is depth and insurance. He is not a starting-caliber player, or at least has shown no such inclinations in Pittsburgh.

His Pro Football Focus scorecard:

Specifically via run defense:

And the pass rush:

He’s a less productive version of Jonathan Bullard from Vikings’ seasons past. SteelersDepot‘s Ross McCorkle on Loudermilk: “Loudermilk also visited the Detroit Lions earlier in the offseason but generally didn’t seem to draw much interest around the league as a free agent. With Loudermilk gone, Pat Freiermuth is the lone member of the Steelers’ 2021 draft class left on the roster.”

“With the 2022 draft class already wiped out, Kevin Colbert’s fingerprints on the roster are rapidly fading with just five of his drafted players left on the team. Loudermilk was selected by the Steelers—who traded up for him—in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft out of the University of Wisconsin. He stuck around for his whole rookie contract and was brought back on a one-year deal prior to the 2025 season.”

The DT Room in Late May

Sans Allen and Hargrave, these are the Vikings’ defensive tackles nearing June:

• Jalen Redmond
• Caleb Banks
• Domonique Orange
• Levi Drake Rodriguez
• Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins
• Isaiahh Loudermilk
• Eric Johnson
• Taki Taimani
• Elijah Williams
• Monkell Goodwine
• Smith Vilbert

Last year, entering Week 1, Minnesota kept six DTs on the 53-man roster. If that trend continues for Flores, Loudermilk would straddle the roster bubble in August, hoping to stave off Johnson, Taimani, and Williams for DT6.

Roster Trajectory + Upcoming FA Moves

Because of his experience, fans should tentatively expect Loudermilk to make the cut. He may be evenly matched against Johnson for the final DT spot, but Loudermilk has previous ties to Flores and Alexander. Otherwise, if Loudermilk is the odd man out, the practice squad feels like a reasonable fallback.

On other free agents, the Vikings might need an extra linebacker after trading Jonathan Greenard in April. A.J. Epenesa, Cameron Jordan, Denico Autry, Derek Barnett, Haason Reddick, Jadeveon Clowney, Joey Bosa, Kyle Van Noy, Leonard Floyd, Marcus Davenport, and Von Miller are available on the open market.

In theory, Minnesota could also add one more cornerback for depth. Last year’s CB3, Fabian Moreau, as an example, is unsigned through 2.5 months of free agency.

Loudermilk will turn 29 in October.

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

The Indiana Fever are clearly trying to be very careful about Caitlin Clark’s health this season.

And understandably so. The Fever have WNBA title-contention aspirations and do not want a repeat of last season, when Clark played in just 13 games due to lingering injuries. The latest episode of this apparent mission came when the Fever sat Clark down for a game against the Portland Fire because of a back problem that was actually part of a larger strategy.

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We’re seeing the Clark strategy coming to fruition. The superstar guard is officially probable for the Fever’s next game against the Golden State Valkyries on Friday night. Sometimes, you just need a night off amid health maintenance:

The Edmonton Oilers are already getting tied to some bold offseason rumors after another disappointing playoff finish and one possible move is stirring major buzz across the NHL. The chatter around Edmonton picked up after insider talks suggested the Oilers might chase a blockbuster offer sheet for Pavel Dorofeyev this summer. 

Now, the whole situation is still complicated but the idea of Edmonton trying to grab one of the league’s rising goal scorers has already stirred up big reactions from analysts, insiders, and fans, in and around hockey.

 

During a recent episode of The Sheet, NHL insider Jeff Marek described what he called a “maximum chaos” scenario involving the Oilers and Dorofeyev. From Marek’s angle, Edmonton could try a massive offer sheet, for the Vegas Golden Knights forward, but only if the organization is able to shuffle its draft-pick situation this offseason. 

So the proposed deal would reportedly come with a two-year cap hit, somewhere around 11.9 million each year. Dorofeyev—who, on July 1, becomes a restricted free agent, has quickly morphed into one of the NHL’s most dangerous young goal scorers after stacking two back-to-back 35-goal seasons and then topping the postseason in goals. 

With projections saying that the winger’s next contract value might reach beyond $70 million long-term extension, well, the chatter around his future has only gotten louder. That rumored number right away kinda split opinions across the hockey world, especially since Edmonton would end up owing multiple top-tier draft picks if Vegas doesn’t decide to match the offer.

Why NHL Insiders Are Divided on Edmonton Oilers Pursuing Pavel Dorofeyev 

A few hockey personalities really got behind the idea, even with the huge price tag attached to the whole deal. Analyst Mark said the possible move was a “slam dunk,” and he argued that giving up a few select high draft picks would still be worth it for a proven 25-year-old scorer who’s entering his prime.

Meanwhile, insider Tony Cordasco was saying that Vegas might finally take the hit, for all those years of pretty aggressive salary cap maneuvering. Others, though, wondered if Edmonton can actually pull off every step that’s needed, like all that draft-pick compensation stuff plus the cap management too.

Even hockey salary-cap outlet PuckPedia jumped into it, saying that Edmonton might not have to reacquire its 2027 first-round pick just to finish an offer sheet.  Instead, the Oilers could use a future first-round selection, while still needing to make good on a separate draft asset that’s linked to the  Nashville Predators. Whether GM Stan Bowman will really dive into the idea remains unclear, but the chatter has already turned into one of the NHL offseason’s loudest talking points.

The defender’s brother has slammed the decision

Harry Maguire’s mum has taken to social media to share her ‘disgust’ at him being left out of the England World Cup squad. Maguire, 33,has been left out of the 26-man squad for the tournament which will be officially announced by boss Thomas Tuchel tomorrow (Friday).

That is despite him enjoying an impressive second half of the season under Michael Carrick at Manchester United. Maguire confirmed his axe on social media amid outrage from fans who believe that he should’ve been called up.

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In a post on Instagram, the defender said: “I was confident I could of played a major part this summer for my country after the season I’ve had. I’ve been left shocked and gutted by the decision. I’ve loved nothing more than putting that shirt on and representing my country over the years. I wish the players, all the best this summer.”

His furious mum, Zoe, also had her say. On X, she wrote: “Absolutely disgusted.”

One of his brothers, Joe, also fumed: “This might possibly be the worst decision I’ve ever seen in my life. No words.”

Tuchel will explain his decision regarding Maguire at a press conference on Friday. The centre-back isn’t the only big name to miss out. Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Luke Shaw and Morgan Gibbs-White are also among the high-profile omissions.

It was Maguire’s mum who ‘started crying’ when he was recalled to the England squad in March following an 18-month absence. Discussing his recall, the 33-year-old said: “It’s amazing. It’s something I’ve missed. When you don’t get picked, when you’ve been a regular for six or seven years, it’s tough. I spoke to the manager and he told me I was in.

“I phoned my family. My mum was on holiday and she was crying. I’m in a position now in my career where it is not so much about myself. I’m 33. If I play one minute at the World Cup or every game, I will do everything to make sure this country is successful.”

But now the only football Maguire that will be playing this summer will be during United’s pre-season. The Red Devils are due to travel Europe for a number of friendlies while England battle it out to end 66 years of hurt in North America.

The Cleveland Browns hired Todd Monken as their new coach in January after firing former coach Kevin Stefanski. However, the new Browns coach hasn’t met veteran defensive end Myles Garrett.

Monken was asked whether he has met the Pro Bowl DE after he arrived in Cleveland. The New Browns coach answered with a straightforward “no.”

Fans reacted to Browns’ defensive stalwart not meeting their new coach.

“How hasn’t he yet?!? 😳 just trade him already lol.”

“-100 team chemistry.”

“Your new head coach not even meeting the best defensive player in the history of your franchise is some way to set a tone.”

“The way he answers make me think Myles may finally get his wish if things arent going right by the trade deadline.”

“The more coming out ab the browns the more 2nd hand embarrassment I get.”

Garrett, who set the NFL‘s single-season sack record and won the Defensive Player of the Year award last season, is not attending the voluntary OTAs for a second year, a potential reason Monken has not met the veteran DE yet.

Also Read: PHOTO: Myles Garrett goes shirtless as GF Chloe Kim poses in two-piece swimsuit set during beach date

Also Read: Myles Garrett’s GF Chloe Kim exposes Browns DE in intimate snaps as star hunts Pokémon in bed like a true gamer

Browns coach Todd Monken not making a “big deal” out of Myles Garrett missing OTAs

While Myles Garrett is not attending the OTAs, the Pro Bowl defensive end’s availability for the team’s mandatory minicamp next month also remains unclear. However, Browns coach Todd Monken urged not to “make a big deal out of” Garrett missing the OTAs.

“Hasn’t been a lot. This is voluntary,” Monken said. “We’re making a big deal out of this. We really are. It’s voluntary. We have other guys besides Myles that aren’t here. I wish they were here. They’ll be ready. We expect them to be ready and we’ll be fired up when they’re here.”

The seven-time Pro Bowler is the best player on the roster and is expected to play a crucial role in Monken’s first year as a Browns coach.