Or [Insert number] things you didn’t know about Ryan Fox.
Or something like that. Over the past 24 hours, you’ve likely seen more than a few articles with those discovery-based headlines; hell, even this site wrote one. In the encyclopedia-in-your-pocket era, what these stories do is catch you up with subjects now celebrated but previously a bit unheralded — and what you usually won’t find are similar-styled pieces about multiple-time major winners or those in and around the world top 25 because sports, at their core, are about who wins, and sports stories are about telling you how that happened, so, by now, you’re well acquainted with the folks who have won dozens of times over such as Nelly and Scottie and Rory.
So let’s indulge this: Who’s Ryan Fox, the 39-year-old New Zealander who, on Sunday, won the Open Championship for his first major championship?
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He’s you, actually.
Or at least perhaps closer to you than, say, Nelly and Scottie and Rory. Fox needed a while to arrive and worked toward that. He started playing competitive golf in his late teens. Turned pro in his mid-20s. Reached the PGA Tour at 37. None of this is to say that Fox doesn’t have god-given ability, or that the aforementioned megastars are afraid to get their golf gloves dirty, so to say. It’s just that Fox’s path has had more twists and turns than Royal Birkdale’s fairways, which we all can relate to.
“Why it’s a slow burn? I don’t know,” Fox said Sunday. “It took — I was a rookie on the DP World Tour at 30. I was a rookie on the PGA Tour at 37 and now a major champion at 39. I’m definitely not following the trend at the moment. But if I can keep getting better a little bit every year, I’ll be pretty happy.
“I said it earlier; if you’d have given me my career up till yesterday when I first turned pro, I would have jumped at it. Now I probably would have killed people for it.”
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Sunday night, I wanted to test my theory. I texted my 18-year-old golfing nephew a tweet that shared the point that Fox didn’t start playing seriously until he was about the same age. The response?
“Dang, that’s crazy.”
Crazy like a … [insert bad pun here.]
As we look back at the Open Championship week that was, let’s make that observation No. 1 then. We’ll try for 49 more, and we’ll be fueled by the anticipation of eating a sausage roll, which will be had as soon as the keyboarding concludes.
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2. How trying was the journey? Fox was close to quitting.
“My second year on the Aussie Tour, I was pretty close to giving it up,” he said. “I think I had three events left in the season, and I was not enjoying it. I played well enough in pro-ams to make a little money, but I had not played well on tour, and I was well outside keeping my card.
“I remember getting to the Aussie Masters at Royal Melbourne. It was the second-to-last event of the year. I had just missed the cut at the Aussie PGA badly. My dad came over and caddied for me, and he said to me, ‘Why do you play this game?’ And I said, ‘Well, it’s supposed to be fun.’ But it wasn’t really very fun at the time. He goes, ‘Well, let’s just go out this week and try to have some fun.’
“I think I finished fifth that week, and that made enough to keep my card for the year. Took the pressure off the rest of the year, and I came back the following year and played really, really well.
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“Yeah, that was — I was very close to giving it up at that point.”
3. Who is Ryan Fox?
A finisher.
On the mine-filled 72nd hole, he nuked a drive, flushed an iron and sunk a putt, under the heat of needing a bird to win major No. 1. Has there been a better played hole, under the circumstances?
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4. He played to win it, too. First or bust.
“I did say to my caddie, Dean [Smith, on the tee that we were going to take it on, that I was going to try to win the tournament,” Fox said, “and I’d live with the consequences if I stuffed it up.”
He didn’t stuff it up.
5. Who is Ryan Fox?
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Efficient.
He played those shots on 18, along with all of his other ones, with few questions asked. He’s fast. On Sunday, the PGA Tour shared a video that you can watch below that showed he needed just 22 seconds on his 270th and final stroke.
Where does it come from?
“I was always that way as a kid,” Fox said. “I see things fast. I was the same when I was playing cricket growing up. I played almost every sport growing up, and tennis I wanted to hit the ball hard, and cricket I wanted to hit the ball hard. Everything just happened fast. I was never methodical at anything, to be honest, and it just carried over into golf.
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“For me it’s — I don’t feel like it’s — I need to make sure this comes across right. It’s not that difficult to pick a shot and pick a club. I get in there, and it all happens quick. You hit — it’s always going to be between one or two clubs into a green, and I just see the shot quickly, pick a shot quickly, and the less time I have to think about it, the less bad stuff can creep in there.”
6. But pro golf is kinda, well, slow. How has he handled that?
“I think just playing professional golf in general, it used to frustrate me a lot early on, and I’ve just got better at switching off and talking to Dean, my caddie, or talking to my playing partners,” Fox said.
“Xander [Schauffele] and I did a great job of that yesterday. I get along with Sam [Burns] really well. There was a few chats going on down there, but we were probably a bit more focused today than we were yesterday.
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“Yeah, like I just — you only really need to concentrate properly 30 seconds, a minute before hitting a shot, and then you can switch off again. That’s just the strategy I’ve had going pretty much my whole golf career.”
7. Has he ever played with anyone faster?
“I can think of one maybe, Renato Paratore, back in the day,” Fox said. “He used to hit while his name was getting announced on the 1st tee.
“He’s probably the only one that did it. I’ll go a little while — I played with Scottie Scheffler earlier in the year, and I can’t work out if this was a burn or a compliment. We played at Phoenix, and we’re in a three-ball on Saturday. We walk off the 9th tee, and he goes, ‘Foxy, it doesn’t even feel like you’re in the group. It just feels like we’re playing in a two-ball, you hit it so fast. It’s just in the air.’
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“You guys can tell me if it’s a burn or a compliment. It is just always how I’ve played. I’m kinda glad I kept that routine down the stretch.”
8. Does Fox do everything fast? Drive fast? Eat fast?
“I can’t really — I can’t drive fast in New Zealand because we get too many speeding tickets,” he said. “Yeah, I would say just my brain works fast. That’s just how everything is. Yeah, it’s just always how I’ve seen it on the golf course.
“If you tried to slow me down and make me do everything slowly, I think I’d be pretty useless, to be honest.”
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9. Who is Ryan Fox?
Son of a rugby legend. And a watcher of the sport. A bettor of it, too. On Saturday, the All Blacks — the team Fox’s dad, Grant, used to play for — defeated Ireland, and Fox and Irishman Shane Lowry supposedly had a wager going. After he shot his record-tying 62 on Saturday, Fox said he was going to watch a replay of the match and that he was “looking forward to taking 100 quid off of him, the little bet we had.”
10. Speaking of the All Blacks, I thought the video below, taken from Golf Channel’s “Live From” show, was good.
Ryan Fox’s commitment to the game and humility stems from the @AllBlacks New Zealand rugby team 🇳🇿🏉
The son of legend Grant Fox, he’s creating his own Kiwi legacy in a totally different sport 🙌 pic.twitter.com/Dp0sp9iZH0
11. Music break! Let’s go with Oasis, which formed about an hour’s drive to the east of Royal Birkdale, in Manchester. Below is song No. 1.
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12. One more word on New Zealand. Last week, at the Genesis Scottish Open, Scheffler said he has interest in playing in the country, which led to a reporter on Sunday asking him what about the country had appealed to him.
He started his answer this way:
“Just the views from ‘Lord of the Rings’ pretty much.”
13. Let’s start non-Fox player thoughts with Scheffler, who finishes the major season 0 for 4.
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Winning majors is hard.
What he did in winning two last year may never be done again.
What he did this year — finishing in the top five in three majors while playing perhaps his less-than-best golf — is incredible.
14. I think he wins the PGA Championship next year.
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15. I thought this was good from Travis Smyth, who played a practice round with Scheffler:
“Yeah, yesterday was sweet, playing with Scottie for the first time,” he said. “Watching the precision of his iron play was amazing. It was kind of demoralizing a little bit. It was like, damn, when I play good, I don’t think I have that in me.
“But it was good. It lights a fire in my stomach and makes me want to work hard. Now that I’ve seen what No. 1 in the world looks like, a little bit of a taste — it was only nine holes, but it was a great experience watching him play.
“He’s a lovely guy, really down to earth, which I’m happy about. He’s not like a d**khead or anything. So it was good.”
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16. What if Bryson DeChambeau’s ball had ended up to the left of the grandstands like Scheffler’s did on Sunday?
17. Many, many words have been typed on DeChambeau and FescueGate, so I’ll keep the thoughts to just a few.
Both Scheffler and Max Homa said in response to the events of Friday that DeChambeau was not a cheater, and their point is made.
Doesn’t mean he’s mistake-proof, though.
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18. Then there’s the thought that since players like DeChambeau are often televised, their actions, good or bad, are more visible than players who aren’t on camera.
But if you’re a player who believes in all that is good and holy about the game, wouldn’t you welcome any and all exposure? A colleague of mine made this point, and I agree.
19. DeChambeau dominated the headlines — and said few words to reporters.
Can writers tell the story without talking to him? Yes, we have more than our mouths. (Feel free to make your eating jokes here.) Eyes and ears can also do the job. Those associated with him can also be helpful.
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Do I personally care whether DeChambeau talks? No, nor do I personally care whether others talk.
Do I care that you, the reader, cares? Yes, and that’s my job.
Do you want to know his side of what happened on Friday through questions you may have? And not through statements he might give?
22. I’ll just leave this item here: Geoff Shackelford of the Quadrilateral reported that DeChambeau wanted to bring President Donald Trump into his rules conversation with the R&A. You can — and should — subscribe to Shackelford’s newsletter here.
23. I think DeChambeau wins the Open Championship next year.
24. What if Cameron Young had hit a wedge out of the fairway bunker on 18 on Sunday?
25. What if Fox had hit his ball about an inch lower out of the fairway bunker on 18 on Saturday?
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26. What’s the over-under total on career major wins for Young? I’ll go 2.5.
27. What’s the over-under total on career major wins for Burns? I’ll go 1.5.
28. There was only player to shoot in the 60s for all four rounds: Tommy Fleetwood.
32. I’ll never get over that men’s pro golf goes from one of its biggest events — that also ends the major season — to a standard tour event just a few days later.
33. On Friday, after his 62, Lucas Herbert was asked what he had for dinner the night before and he said a steak and a cheeseburger.
I’m still thinking about that on Monday.
34. Ahead of the tournament, I really believed Matt Fitzpatrick was going to contend, and certainly make the cut, but he did neither. I thought what he said on Friday was interesting.
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“Yeah, it is disappointing, but like I say, I didn’t really feel like I played that bad,” Fitzpatrick said. “I’ve hit three shots today that I’ve hit them exactly how I wanted them, and one is in a bush 30 yards long. One has basically been on the green for basically 15 seconds and then dropped off the green, and that’s another dropped shot. Then I’ve hit one that somehow has gone less than the normal number, and there’s 15 yards of help downwind. Now all of a sudden you’re plugged in the face of a bunker.
“So I’ve got four shots, and three shots I’ve hit good. That’s the way links golf is. When it’s this firm, there’s a lot of luck of the bounces and luck of the lies. It is what it is.
35. I thought the quote below was interesting.
“The more I play that golf course,” Robert MacIntyre said of Royal Birkdale, “the more I realize that it’s not for — it doesn’t set up that well for me.
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“There are certain holes that the longer hitters — the guys probably cruising it at 184 ball speed — are taking drivers on and there’s no punishment. I feel like that’s the way professional golf is going. I get we’re trying to get crowds in, but we’ve still got to have — links golf needs gorse bushes, and I’m watching everyone now, the longer hitters, bomb driver down 9. There’s one gorse bush down the left-hand side. You’re telling me — that hole reminds me of I think it’s 12 or something at Portrush, the dogleg left to right before the long par-5. I mean, it needs gorse bushes. Cam [Young] has hit a slightly wider one, but he knows it’s fine and then he’s pitched up to six feet and holed it.
“I feel like links golf courses are designed to be — it’s like you go and take the gorse bushes out at Troon on that one right by the railway — that’s what I feel is going to happen. That’s the way I feel the new designers are going. So yeah, it wasn’t to be my week. But always next year.”
36. I also thought this quote was interesting:
“If you give up on reaching your ceiling,” Jordan Spieth said, “then I don’t see a point in playing anymore.”
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37. One of the best stories of the week was that of David Howard, who was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when he was 7. Earlier in the week, he said this to the BBC: “When I was 12 or 13 I didn’t even think I’d live to this age — to be here now, healthy as ever and playing with all these top players, it doesn’t even make sense to me.” On Friday, he shot a one-under 69.
38. Another one of the best stories of the week was the journey of Marcus Plunkett. Below is a video about him.
39. Below is one of the pictures of the week. It was taken by Adrain Dennis of AFP.
Tyrrell Hatton on Thursday.
Getty Images
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40. Below is also one of the pictures of the week. It was taken by Warren Little of Getty Images.
42. Minjee Lee wins the Women’s Open, which would also give her four of the five women’s majors.
43. Here are a few of my favorite reads this week from the on-site GOLF.com staff. From Michael Bamberger, his column here on the DeChambeau incident was great.
44. From James Colgan, his column here, also on DeChambeau, was great.
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45. From Sean Zak, his story here on Young’s Sunday wait was great.
46. I also liked Dylan Dethier’s Winners and Losers stories after each round. You can read them here, here, here and here.
47. Every video at Birkdale was shot by Darren Riehl. A few of my favorites are here, here and here.
48. Two years ago, my wife and I went to England together, and I’ve been thinking about the pasty-and-meat slice of heaven that is a sausage roll ever since. Our first night, we bought some from the nearby market. Then the second night. And the third …
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49. On Monday night, we went to the Churchill Tavern in New York City, where they have ’em.
50. In the fall, my wife and I are headed to Scotland, where next year’s Open will be. So … what do you think we should do? I might not be able to play any golf, but there’s a chance. Feel free to email me at nick.piastowski@golf.com.
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)
Jul 20, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman (44) celebrates beating the Baltimore Orioles with catcher Connor Wong (12) at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images
Caleb Durbin hit a tiebreaking solo home run to break in the eighth inning as the Boston Red Sox extended their winning streak to 14 games by beating the visiting Baltimore Orioles, 6-5, Monday night.
The streak is the second longest in club history and one short of the franchise record set in 1946.
Durbin’s homer came against reliever Tyler Wells (2-2) and broke a 5-5 tie. It was his 10th home run of the season. Baltimore had runners on second and third with two outs in the ninth, but Tyler O’Neill lined out to shortstop to end the game. Garrett Whitlock (5-1) pitched a scoreless eighth to earn the win. Aroldis Chapman worked the ninth for his 22nd save.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand homered and Gunnar Henderson had three doubles for the Orioles, who committed four errors. The loss ended Baltimore’s seven-game winning streak.
Yankees 8, Pirates 5
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Jazz Chisholm Jr. homered twice as New York played one of its best games at home of late to beat Pittsburgh.
The Yankees won for the third time in their past 12 home games and scored its most runs in a home game since a 10-5 victory over the Chicago White Sox on June 17 thanks to Chisholm, who homered in the first and third off Pittsburgh’s Braxton Ashcraft (9-4) and produced his 10th career multi-homer game.
Chisholm’s second homer occurred after rookie Esmerlyn Valdez hit a 431-foot two-run home run that gave the Pirates a 5-4 lead in the top of the third. Valdez’s drive to right gave him an RBI in eight straight games and 13 homers in the first 32 games of his career.
Guardians 13, Twins 4
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Rookie Petey Halpin hit his first two home runs and Rhys Hoskins had his 14th career multi-homer game as Cleveland went deep a season-high seven times to throttle visiting Minnesota.
Travis Bazzana and Brayan Rocchio also cleared the fence against Twins starter Joe Ryan (6-6), who allowed a franchise- and ballpark-record six homers in four innings — the most in the majors this season — in his first appearance since the All-Star Game.
Patrick Bailey belted Cleveland’s seventh homer off Woo-Suk Go in the seventh, tying the club’s mark for most ever at home. Tanner Bibee (4-9) won his second consecutive start, working six innings and giving up two runs on six hits.
Rays 7, Blue Jays 1
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Victor Mesa Jr., Cedric Mullins and Nick Fortes socked solo home runs as Tampa Bay won in Toronto to snap a five-game losing streak.
Junior Caminero was 3-for-4 with two doubles, a walk, and two RBIs in the opener of a four-game series to support Nick Martinez, who pitched six effective innings.
Martinez (9-2) allowed one run, six hits and one walk with no strikeouts to help Tampa Bay go to 6-1 against Toronto this season. Toronto is now 1-3 on a six-game homestand and fell 11 1/2 games behind the first-place Rays in the American League East.
Phillies 10, Dodgers 7
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Trea Turner had two home runs, a double and five RBIs to fuel Philadelphia over visiting Los Angeles.
Brandon Marsh, Bryce Harper and Derek Hill also homered for the Phillies, who provided Cristopher Sanchez (12-4) with plenty of offensive support. After struggling in his first All-Star start last week, the left-hander allowed three runs and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings Monday, striking out seven without a walk.
Mookie Betts homered twice as part of a 4-for-5 night for the Dodgers, while Andy Pages chipped in with two hits and an RBI. Los Angeles starter Emmet Sheehan (4-7) absorbed the loss after allowing six runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Braves 3, Padres 2
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Michael Harris II and Ozzie Albies hit solo home runs and Bryce Elder pitched six strong innings to help Atlanta beat visiting San Diego in the opener of their four-game series. It was Atlanta’s first win in four tries against San Diego.
Harris went deep in the fifth to tie the game and Albies homered in the sixth, although their streak of nine consecutive home games with at least five runs came to an end. Elder (6-6) allowed two runs on five hits and one walk, striking out four. Victor Mederos pitched the final 2 1/3 innings and earned his first career save.
San Diego’s Ty France extended his hitting streak to a season-high eight games with a single in the fourth and homered to start the seventh.
Tigers 8. Cubs 6 (10 innings)
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Dillon Dingler hit two home runs and added the go-ahead RBI single in the 10th inning to help Detroit survive a comeback by host Chicago.
Detroit scored four times in the first inning and maintained the lead until Ian Happ’s two-run homer off Kyle Finnegan in the eighth knotted the score at 5-5. With runners on the corners and no one out in the 10th, Dingler hit a chopper deep into the hole at shortstop and beat the throw to first from Dansby Swanson. Spencer Torkelson added on with a two-run single.
Dingler was 4-for-5 with three RBIs while Riley Greene got things started with a three-run homer in the first for Detroit.
Royals 4, Giants 3
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Salvador Perez clubbed a two-run shot to move within one of tying George Brett’s all-time club home run record, but Kansas City needed Nick Loftin’s walk-off squeeze bunt in the ninth inning to beat visiting San Francisco.
The Giants trailed 3-1 and were down to their final out in the top of the ninth when Kansas City’s Alex Lange (1-5) allowed a single to Jung Hoo Lee. Willy Adames then sent a low-and-away pitch the opposite way and just over the right field fence to tie the game.
However, with runners on first and third and one out against Caleb Kilian (2-6) in the bottom of the frame, Loftin, who replaced All-Star Bobby Witt Jr. after the latter exited with lingering low back tightness earlier in the contest, bounced a bunt toward charging first baseman Bryce Eldridge, who could not make a clean play to get Josh Rojas at the plate.
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Brewers 8, Mets 3
Joey Ortiz had a three-run homer, and Andrew Vaughn and Cooper Pratt added solo shots to pace Milwaukee over visiting New York and former teammate Freddy Peralta.
Brewers starter Jacob Misiorowski, who skipped his last start before the All-Star break due to arm fatigue, allowed one unearned run before exiting after four innings and 65 pitches. Two of the four hits allowed by the hard-throwing right-hander were infield singles. He struck out six and walked one. Craig Yoho (2-0) followed Misiorowski with one scoreless inning.
Peralta (5-9), facing his former team for the first time, was tagged for seven runs on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings, striking out six and walking two in a 107-pitch outing.
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Astros 8, Marlins 5
Yordan Alvarez produced his fifth multi-homer game of the season to help Houston snap a four-game skid with a win over visiting Miami.
Alvarez finished 3-for-4 with a pair of solo home runs, his 27th career multi-homer game. Jeremy Pena added his second career grand slam as the highlight of a six-run second inning for the Astros. Ronel Blanco allowed two homers and four runs, striking out eight in his first start since May 17, 2025 after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Joe Mack and Liam Hicks hit two-run homers for the Marlins. Miami starter Janson Junk (4-6) was tagged for six runs on five hits over four innings. The Marlins lost their seventh straight game, falling out of the final National League wild-card spot with the loss.
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White Sox 10, Rangers 3
Andrew Benintendi delivered a bases-clearing double in the fifth inning and Miguel Vargas had three hits and two RBIs to boost visiting Chicago over Texas in Arlington.
Chicago scored five runs in the ninth inning and is half a game ahead of the Cleveland Guardians atop the American League Central.
White Sox starter Erick Fedde spaced two runs and four hits in four innings with six strikeouts while Texas right-hander Jacob deGrom fell to 7-6 after an uneven outing. deGrom allowed five runs and seven hits in 4 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out six.
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Nationals 7, Rockies 3
CJ Abrams homered for the second straight game, one of three home runs for Washington in its win over Colorado in Denver.
Jacob Young also went deep and finished with three hits, Curtis Mead contributed three hits and Andres Chaparro hit his fourth home run for Washington. Riley Cornelio (1-1) tossed 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief, and Tom Cosgrove got the final six outs for his first save.
Jake McCarthy led the Rockies with a pair of hits. Kyle Freeland (2-9) allowed three runs in the first inning, but settled in to allow just four runs on seven hits over six innings. Colorado, which has dropped three of their first four out of the All-Star break, has the worst record in the National League.
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Mariners 8, Reds 0
Cal Raleigh hit a grand slam and George Kirby pitched six scoreless innings as Seattle defeated visiting Cincinnati in the opener of a three-game interleague series.
Victor Robles went 4-for-4 and scored twice and Raleigh provided five RBIs for the Mariners. Kirby (8-8) allowed three hits, walked one batter and struck out six. Julio Rodriguez exited after the fifth inning, when he was hit by an Elly De La Cruz throw while legging out a run-scoring infield single.
Andrew Abbott (5-6) took the loss despite allowing just one unearned run on four hits over six innings. The top six hitters in the Reds’ lineup were a combined 0-for-20, with Cincinnati’s three hits coming from each of the bottom three hitters in the order.
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Angels 3, Cardinals 2
Jo Adell was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth to give Los Angeles a walk-off victory over St. Louis in the opener of a three-game series in Anaheim, Calif.
The Angels, who were 0-48 when trailing after eight innings this season and had lost their last 106 such games, entered the bottom of the ninth behind 2-1.
Cardinals’ All-Star closer Riley O’Brien (3-4) struck out Mike Trout to begin the frame, but was touched for a single and a double, hit a batter and intentionally walked another before plunking Adell with a 3-0 sinker to drive in the game-winning run. Adell also hit a home run among two hits.
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Athletics 5, Diamondbacks 2
Jeff McNeil delivered a tiebreaking pinch-hit, two-run single during a three-run seventh inning and the Athletics’ bullpen made it stand up in a victory over Arizona in Phoenix.
Tommy White went 4-for-5 with a run scored in his third major league game. Jacob Wilson and Joshua Kuroda-Grauer both had a homer among their two hits. A’s starter Jeffrey Springs gave up two runs on six hits over five innings but still saw his winless streak extended to 16.
Ketel Marte smacked a two-run homer for the Diamondbacks. Nolan Arenado became the sixth active player with 2,000 hits with his fifth-inning double. Arizona starter Mitch Bratt gave up two runs and eight hits over 4 2/3 innings in his third major league start. Kevin Ginkel (3-3) surrendered all three Athletics runs in the seventh.
Jul 19, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez (44) runs the bases after a home run hit by Seattle Mariners second baseman Cole Young (2) (not pictured) during the seventh inning against the San Francisco Giants at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images
Although he abruptly exited his third game back from the injured list on Monday, Seattle Mariners star outfielder Julio Rodriguez didn’t sustain an injury in their 8-0 home defeat of the Cincinnati Reds.
Instead, it was simply what Mariners manager Dan Wilson deemed a precautionary move after Rodriguez was hit in the left leg by an errant throw while legging out a run-scoring infield single in the fifth inning.
“He’s good,” Wilson said. “Julio busting down the line, got the ball off the leg. We kinda had to make a quick decision and just thought that it was the best moment there (to take him out) just coming off what he’s coming off of to get him out and see how he is tomorrow. … Kinda hit the bag hard and the ball hit him, and it was just a good moment there to make a decision to give him a minute.”
Rodriguez hit a chopper between third and short that shortstop Elly De La Cruz backhanded. He double-clutched before making a throw that eluded first baseman Sal Stewart and struck Rodriguez.
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Rodriguez returned to the lineup Saturday after being on the 7-day concussion list since July 2 when he was hit in the back of the helmet by a throw while sliding into second base. He’s 2-for-11 with two RBIs in his first three games back.
Wilson also shared postgame that Seattle infielder J.P. Crawford, who was scratched from the lineup shortly before Monday’s game, is day-to-day with wrist soreness
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