Alex Eala defeated Sorana Cîrstea 7-5, 6-4 at the Dubai Tennis Championships to reach the quarterfinals.
The win sends Eala into her second career WTA 1000 quarterfinal and her first in Dubai, continuing an impressive run marked by composure and confidence.
After the match, Eala spoke about what the moment meant to her. “Super special,” she said. “Every round is such a battle and so filled with tension. I’m really happy with how I performed and really happy to be able to share it with all of you.”
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Asked about the support she has received, she added: “The waves of support have really made every single match all the more special. It’s difficult to describe the emotions of playing in front of this crowd. I’m really grateful to be here.”
Eala will face Coco Gauff in the quarterfinals; this will be their first meeting at the tour level. Speaking ahead of the match, Eala expressed admiration for her opponent.
“Coco is such an amazing person,” she said. “She’s a great role model for so many.”
The Gaelic Football season of 2026 will be a clear turning point in the way the inter-county and club games are run.
After 61 resolutions were passed during the GAA Special Congress at Croke Park, several structural modifications that were tested have now become part of the Official Guide. New rules for kick-outs and a new disciplinary system to deal with unscrupulous play and officiating standards are at the heart of these changes.
Jim Gavin leads the Football Review Committee (FRC), which made these revisions based on a lot of research. The major goal, as stated in official GAA publications, is to lengthen the “arc of play” and keep the ball moving for longer periods of time during competitive games.
The Intersection of Sporting Integrity and Digital Entertainment
The addition of these exact field lines and scoring zones has added a new level of statistical detail to the game, which is part of a larger change in how Irish people watch sports. The GAA is using more technology-based solutions, such as improved performance tracking and centralized match timing.
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Simultaneously, the growth of high-quality digital services has changed how Irish fans interact with the sport. With the introduction of the 40-metre arc making high-scoring comebacks more likely, fans are engaging with the game in real-time. Many utilize sportsbooks and online platforms, such as Spin Casino Ireland, to follow live odds and place bets on whether a player will opt for the risky two-point attempt or a safer play. This move toward a digital-first strategy ensures that people all around the country can access information on rule changes and match data immediately
Enhanced Disciplinary Measures for Cynical Behavior
The 2026 season has stronger “Category II” punishments for transgressions. Intentional jersey-pulling to prevent a goal is now a black card violation. The offending player now receives a 10-minute sin-bin and the attacking side receives a penalty, a provision that has been expanded from inter-county senior grade to all club competitions.
Also, the GAA has established the “Solo and Go” for fouled players. If they are not inside the opposition’s 20-metre line, the fouled player or a nearby teammate can toe-tap the ball and immediately go forward to continue play. An opponent interfering with a “Solo and Go” within the four-metre protected zone is penalized by the referee advancing the ball 50 metres.
Official Pitch Markings and the 40-Metre Arc
Gaelic Football pitches have been modified to accommodate 2026 scoring and kick-out rules. All official pitches must have a 40-meter semi-circle arc in the goal line. This arc defines genuine kick-outs and the new two-point scoring restriction.
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At least one foot on or outside the 40-meter arc counts as two points for play or free kicks. The score umpire waves an orange flag, and the referee lifts both arms over their heads. This correction is precise. A converted “45” is worth one point regardless of where it is kicked.
Managing Dissent and Sideline Conduct
In 2026, team officials and players-match officials are increasingly important. The new “disruptive conduct” rules provide the opposite team a 13-meter free kick if a team official verbally insults or enters the pitch without authorization. This will open the next quarter with the 13-meter free if it happens before or during halftime.
The team captain’s role is also explained in the Official Guide. The captain or his deputy (if the captain is out) can request further information regarding a referee’s call. This communication requires a game pause. Any player who challenges a ruling with an official risks a 50-meter penalty.
The Clock and Hooter System Integration
All Allianz Football League Division 1 and 2 matches and Senior Football Championship events must use the clock and hooter system after successful testing. This method eliminates the referee’s option to add time to halves by ending matches immediately after the hooter unless the ball is in flight or a free-kick/penalty is due.
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The GAA has acknowledged that while the hooter system is the target for all grounds, its immediate implementation at lower club levels may be phased due to infrastructure requirements. However, in any venue where the technology is currently installed and operational, such as major county grounds, its use is officially required under the 2026 rules to ensure maximum transparency regarding match duration.
Heart rates grew sky-high in Milan and throughout the United States, but the Americans survived in their quest for men’s hockey gold.
Quinn Hughes, of the Minnesota Wild, scored in overtime to give Team USA a gritty 2-1 victory over Sweden on Wednesday, advancing them to the men’s Olympic hockey semifinal.
Both goalies pitched shutouts through the midway point of the game, but with just under nine minutes left in the second period, Jack Hughes’ wrister was deflected by Dylan Larkin, and it scooted by Hughes’ New Jersey Devils teammate, Jakob Markstrom, to put the Stars and Stripes up 1-0.
Quinn Hughes of Team United States celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal in overtime during the Men’s Quarterfinals Playoff match between the United States and Sweden on day 12 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 18, 2026, in Milan, Italy.(Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
The Swedes were buzzing in the third period, all while the Americans were somewhat neutralized. But they were unable to get the puck in the back of the net, including a shot by Adrian Kempe that went off the post with about 2:30 to go.
Sweden pulled Markstrom with roughly 100 seconds left, and 10 seconds later, they finally scored as Mika Zibanejad ripped a one-timer from Lucas Raymond to tie the game. Connor Hellyebuck had stopped 28 shots up to that point, but the game went to a 3-on-3, 10-minute sudden overtime.
United States’ Quinn Hughes celebrates after scoring the winning goal against Sweden during the overtime period of a men’s ice hockey quarterfinal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
USA couldn’t connect on their first five shots of overtime, but on the sixth, Hughes rang one off the inside of the post that crossed the line to give the Americans the win.
The Americans will take on Slovakia, while Canada, who narrowly escaped being upset by the Czech Republic earlier Thursday, will go against Finland. Both Canada and Finland rallied back from deficits to win in overtime.
Read More About The 2026 Winter Olympics
Out of the four games played on Thursday, three of them went into overtime.
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Quinn Hughes of Team United States celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal in overtime during the Men’s Quarterfinals Playoff match between the United States and Sweden on day 12 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 18, 2026, in Milan, Italy. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
The semifinal round will be played on Friday, with the times of each game to be announced. The winners of each game will go back to work on Sunday, the 46th anniversary of the “Miracle on Ice,” for the gold medal game.
Canada now knows which team it will face in the Olympics men’s hockey semifinals.
The Canadians will face Finland on Friday, while the United States will play Slovakia in the other semifinal. Puck drop for the Canada-Finland game will be at 10:40 a.m. ET/ 7:40 a.m. PT.
The winners will play for gold on Sunday.
Both the Canadians and Finns needed to come from behind to win their quarterfinal games.
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Canada erased 2-1 and 3-2 deficits to force overtime before Mitch Marner scored the winner against Czechia. Finland rallied from 2-0 down late in the third period to force overtime against Switzerland before Artturi Lehkonen scored the game-winner.
New Delhi: Having served as the head of the ad-hoc committee to run the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) till last September, BCCI president Mithun Manhas said that the cricket infrastructure in the state will grow faster once the state association is approved by the government. “Everything is ready with forming the state association. They have gone to the government for approval. Once they get it done, BCCI funds will be unlocked to improve the infrastructure in the state. Right now, they play at the Harbux Stadium in Srinagar and the College Ground in Jammu. Work towards building a proper cricket stadium with proper facilities can start immediately,” Manhas told TOI on Wednesday.
All about Abhishek Sharma’s lonely net session in Ahmedabad
Manhas recalled the process of setting up facilities to help J&K cricket rise since he took charge in 2021. “I must thank Jay Shah, who was the BCCI secretary then, for giving us a free hand and funds to organise the facilities even though we were an ad-hoc committee. We made red-soil pitches in two stadiums so that the team was ready to play on all kinds of pitches across India. We used to start our talent hunt programme from April every year and went to every district. The teams were sent to play off-season tournaments in different parts of the country. Now, the plan is to invite other state teams to play invitational tournaments in J&K,” Manhas said. While 41-year-old Paras Dogra, coming in as a guest player, led from the front as captain in the last two seasons, Manhas said that the endeavour was never to rely heavily on outstation professional players. “Dogra’s experience helped these young batters learn to bat for longer periods. But he is the only guest player in the team. We need to give time to the young players to groom into leadership roles,” the former Delhi captain claimed. Manhas also highlighted that there was a conscious effort to develop more qualified coaches in the region. “When I took charge, there was only one NCA Level 1 coach in the state. Now we have close to 40 Level 2 coaches. That has helped in grooming talent in pockets of the state,” he mentioned.
Man Utd are into the FA Youth Cup quarter-finals and another goal from JJ Gabriel helped Darren Fletcher’s side to a 4-1 victory at Oxford.
20:04, 18 Feb 2026
Once again, it was JJ Gabriel who stole the headlines for Manchester United. The 15-year-old’s smart turn and clever shot from 25 yards put Darren Fletcher’s side on track for the FA Youth Cup quarter-finals in front of the watching first-team head coach Michael Carrick.
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Gabriel is proving to be a key figure in this run. He has now scored against Peterborough and Oxford to help United progress to the last eight of the competition and among teammates with much more experience and more physicality, he is proving to be the star of the show.
He cut a diminutive figure in an Oxfordshire downpour during the first half, but on a pitch showing signs of wear and tear from weeks of rain, and a surface that had to pass two pitch inspections at the weekend, he showed the class to rise above the conditions.
Gabriel wasn’t always in the game, playing just off Chibo Obi as a No.10 in a 4-2-3-1, but he drifted into space across the front line to try and make things happen and his skill in possession and ability to manipulate the ball made him a handful.
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That class was on show when he collected the ball 25 yards from goal, threw a defender off the scent with a perfectly balanced feint and then sent his low shot skidding off the wet surface and through the gloves of a diving Harry Jones.
Although Gabriel got his goal, he wasn’t the star of the show on this occasion. Godwill Kukonki was excellent as a marauding left-back, and Obi eventually got his goal after the break, but midfielder Jim Thwaites showed his class in open play and from dead-ball situations.
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Thwaites, 18, showed his set-piece prowess with a direct free-kick against Manchester City at the weekend. He pulled the strings from midfield at the Kassam Stadium, controlling the game for United, but they never looked more dangerous than when he was stood over a dead ball.
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His first-half corners alone could have produced four or five goals. Albert Mills did power a header in from the first to open the scoring, but twice Kukonki went close from Thwaites’ out-swingers, as did Obi, while an in-swinger almost went straight in. Jones got a hand to it and then managed to pounce on the loose ball inside his six-yard box.
The midfielder wearing the No.8 and playing like one then showed he can deliver from all angles. A free-kick from the left created another chance late in the first half and one from the right after the break was again on the money, spreading more panic in the Oxford defence.
Thwaites captained United in that third-round win against Peterborough, but missed the fourth-round success against Derby County with an injury. United missed his controlling presence in a game that was far too open for Fletcher’s liking and went all the way to extra time.
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He certainly put in a shift against Oxford. He left the pitch 15 minutes from the end with his white shorts caked in mud, after a second half that turned into more of a battle than expected after Josh Holton had cut the deficit to 3-1.
United were never really threatened, however, and they put the icing on the cake when substitute Noah Ajayi scored a superb individual goal in injury time. From here, they can expect the competition to provide more of a test, and Thwaites’s prowess to cause havoc from set-pieces could be a vital weapon.
He went on the first team’s post-season tour under Ruben Amorim in May 2025, but has yet to have any more first-team football. Carrick, who had made the three-hour journey to Oxford after training at Carrington earlier on Wednesday to be among the 3,500 in the crowd, will surely have been impressed by Thwaites. He knows a midfielder when he sees one.
And at a time when the game is being dominated by set-pieces, the teenager’s ability to land the ball on a dime almost every time will certainly mark him out now.
Ukrainian officials will not attend the Paralympic Winter Games in protest against a decison by the International Paralympic Committee to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their national flags, Kyiv said on Wednesday.
The final chance to construct a PGA longshot parlay on the tour’s West Coast Swing comes at the Genesis Invitational 2026. Hosted at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, this is the second signature event of the year and has a loaded field to make golf props on. The top of the PGA odds board features names such as Scottie Scheffler (+300), Rory McIlroy (+1100), 2024 winner Hideki Matsuyama and Tommy Fleetwood at +2000 and defending champion Ludvig Aberg (+4000). Australian Adam Scott, who is +5500 in the outright market, could be popular in a 2026 Genesis Invitational parlay as he has two wins and two runners-up at this tournament.
Scott is at +660 to notch a top 5 with your PGA picks while simply cracking the top 20 returns +120. From finishing positions to head-to-head matchups, a Genesis Invitational parlay can go in a number of different directions. Before making any 2026 Genesis Invitational picks or golf parlays, you need to see this PGA Tour parlay from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
SportsLine’s proprietary model, built by DFS pro Mike McClure, has been red-hot since the PGA Tour resumed in June 2020. In fact, the model is up over $8,000 on its best bets since the restart, nailing tournament after tournament.
This same model has also nailed a whopping 16 majors entering the weekend, including the 2025 Masters — its fourth Masters in a row — as well as this year’s PGA Championship and Open Championship. Anyone who has followed its golf betting picks could have seen massive returns on betting sites.
Now that the 2026 Genesis Invitational field is locked in, SportsLine simulated the tournament 10,000 times. It has locked in betting picks to form a 5-leg golf parlay that pays out well over $60,000 for a $10 bettor. See the picks and full parlay by heading to SportsLine.
Top 2026 Genesis Invitational parlay, PGA Tour picks
For the Genesis Invitational 2026, one of the picks featured in the model’s 5-leg PGA Tour parlay is Cameron Young notching a Top 5 finish at +475. Young was the No. 44 player in World Ranking at this time a year ago but is now ranked 22nd thanks to a stellar finish to 2025. He placed in the top 12 in eight of his final 11 events of the year, including five top 5s. He collected his first PGA Tour victory at the Wyndham Championship and has experienced nothing but success at Riviera Country Club.
Young was runner-up at his first ever start at this course in 2022 and has a pair of top 20s in his ensuing two starts at the Los Angeles venue. He’s shot under par in 10 of 12 rounds at the course and his ranking of 17th in driving distance will be beneficial, especially on the drivable par-4 10th hole. Few combine Young’s recent hot streak, previous course success and relevant metrics, making this golf prop one to jump on with your Genesis Invitational parlay. See the rest of the PGA Tour parlay legs here.
The model has also picked an outright winner, plus two props that return over +600 among its five PGA Tour picks for the 2026 Genesis Invitational parlay that pays well over $60,000 on just a $10 bet. You can only see the picks and the full parlay at SportsLine.
With plenty of inclusions at the start of season 16, the League of Legends patch 26.4 has now adjusted several elements to bring more balance to the title. The developers are tweaking numerous items, along with renowned jungle champions. On top of that, some Winter Sports skins will be available temporarily on the market.
Here are all the changes mentioned in the official League of Legends patch 26.4.
All champion buffs in League of Legends patch 26.4
All major changes in League of Legends patch 26.4 (Image via Riot Games)
Maximum Base Damage: 350 / 525 / 700 ⇒ 300 / 475 / 650
All champion adjustments in League of Legends patch 26.4
1) Lee Sin
W – Iron Will
Spell Vamp No More: Lee Sin W2 grants Life Steal and Spell Vamp.
Lee Sin is unable to heal with W2 and Smite on either minions, jungle monsters, or Champions ⇒ Lee Sin W2 grants Omnivamp, which will apply to minions, monsters, and Champions.
2) Ryze
R – Realm Warp
All Aboard: No longer refuses to grab a champion if they’re currently pathing out of the circle while near the edge.
Dec 4, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga (1) dunks the ball against the Philadelphia 76ers during the third quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Forward Jonathan Kuminga, who has yet to play since being acquired Feb. 5 by the Atlanta Hawks, is progressing in his rehabilitation for a left knee bone bruise and will be re-evaluated in about one week, the team said Wednesday.
He was injured on Jan. 22 while playing for the Golden State Warriors at the Dallas Mavericks. The Warriors traded Kuminga and guard Buddy Hield to the Hawks for center Kristaps Porzingis at the trade deadline.
Kuminga, 23, has played in 20 games this season (13 starts), averaging 12.1 points in 23.8 minutes, though his 5.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game would be career bests.
Golden State selected Kuminga seventh overall in the 2021 NBA Draft, and he was a member of the 2022 NBA champions as a rookie. For his career, he is averaging 12.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 22.1 minutes in 278 regular-season games (97 starts).
The Minnesota Twins have been among the unluckiest teams in baseball for most of the 21st century. More recently, they’ve assembled one of the better rosters in the American League, but it hasn’t led to much success in the postseason. They haven’t made it out of the ALDS since 2002, and with how their roster continued to fall apart at the worst times, they decided to close their window of contention at the trade deadline last season.
Minnesota blew up their roster, trading 10 players at the deadline, including Carlos Correa, Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, and many other important pieces. They got some decent pieces back in these trades, but they made many of these moves to shed salary.
The way they tore things down never made much sense. They gutted their roster but kept their three most valuable trade assets, which will never be valuable pieces on a contender in Minnesota.
Byron Buxton is coming off one of the healthiest years in his career, but at age 32, how much time does he have before his play begins to suffer after dealing with as many injuries as he has? Buxton is signed to a relatively team-friendly deal, but only through 2028. I don’t see Minnesota as a serious contender over the next three years, so holding on to him only keeps this team from truly bottoming out and landing a top draft pick.
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The move that really never made sense for the Twins was holding on to Pablo Lopez. Of course, it’s easier for me to say this after seeing that he will miss all of 2026 with a torn UCL Ligament, but even at the time, it never made sense to hold on to him.
The Twins were looking to shed money at the deadline, and Lopez was making $21.5 million. Not only that, but the last deadline was a complete seller’s market for pitchers. Even with a questionable bill of health for Lopez, he could’ve gotten a massive return for Minnesota.
Again, hindsight is 20/20, and nobody expected him to miss this entire season, but not cashing in on him after you had already traded 10 other players is organizational malpractice. It’s not like the Twins were even close to a playoff spot. Things really got worse down the stretch, but they still lost 92 games last year; it was simply not a good baseball team.
It might be a long few years for Twins fans. Detroit has one of the best rotations in baseball and multiple top prospects on the way. Kansas City has Bobby Whitt Jr. and a young core looking to compete.
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Then there’s always Cleveland who manages to break the Twins’ hearts year after year. Get ready for some rough times in the Twin Cities.
