Brazil defender Gabriel Magalhaes has become the latest player from title-chasing Arsenal to withdraw from international duty with injury.
Six of the Arsenal first-team squad have now pulled out or been determined to be unavailable to represent their country in the international window that begins this week.
The Brazil Football Federation (CBF) said that Gabriel will miss the friendlies against France and Croatia, which will take place in the United States, because of “pain in his right knee”.
The CBF says that imaging tests confirmed the 28-year-old’s injury.
His fellow Arsenal centre-back William Saliba has withdrawn from the France squad, with Les Bleus also travelling to the US for their friendly matches against Brazil and Colombia.
England midfielder Eberechi Eze was called up to Thomas Tuchel’s 35-man squad for friendlies against Uruguay and Japan but withdrew with a calf problem.
He suffered that blow in Arsenal‘s 2-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen in their Champions League last-16 second leg and missed the Wembley defeat on Sunday.
Gunners manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed the club are waiting for Eze to undergo another scan to find out the severity of his injury.
Arsenal winger Leandro Trossard is out of the Belgium squad for their matches against the USA and Mexico because of an injury issue.
Club captain Martin Odegaard was already ruled out of Norway duty because of a knee injury, while Dutch defender Jurrien Timber is also out of action at the moment.
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Arsenal are competing to win their first Premier League title for 22 years and lead second-placed Manchester City, who have a game in hand, by nine points.
They are next in action when they take on Southampton in the FA Cup quarter-finals on April 4, before they play the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Sporting on April 7.
The Gunners resume their league campaign on April 11 when they play Bournemouth at Emirates Stadium.
Former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeuhas claimed that the Catalan giants nearly lost Lionel Messi after the club were reportedly set to receive a record breaking €400 million offer to sign him.
Speaking in an interview with Cadena SER, Bartomeu opened up on his heavily criticized stint at Barcelona. The ex-president made a shocking revelation about a potential blockbuster offer to sign a prime Lionel Messi.
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Following Neymar Jr‘s shock departure to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017, he claimed that the club were made aware of a reportedly massive offer to snatch away Messi from the club. He explained that the club became aware of a €400m operation attempting to sign the Argentine superstar. He said(via GOAL):
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“A few weeks after Neymar’s departure, rumours began to circulate that a club was preparing €400 million (£346m/$470m) for Messi – the amount of his release clause. Funds from an Arab country were transferred to accounts in Europe”
“It doesn’t matter now… that’s old news; it was years ago. There are very few clubs in England, or state-owned clubs, that can afford such sums. There was a team willing to pay €400 million. I don’t want to name names, but it wasn’t City”
Bartomeu didn’t disclose the name of the club trying to sign Messi but ruled out Manchester City. The ex-president claimed that the threat of losing the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner forced the club to draft a contract that was one of the most lucrative in sporting history. He said:
“What we did was talk to Lionel Messi and his father and discuss the matter: we had to raise the release clause,” Bartomeu explained. “At the time, the clause was 400, so we raised it to 700, which is a very high figure. If you raise the release clause, you also have to raise the player’s salary and compensation.”
The new contract effectively ended the pursuit but played a major role in Lionel Messi’s exit from the club in 2021.
Secret Barcelona contract offered to Lionel Messi before Miami switch revealed
According to SPORT(via beIN Sports), Messi reportedly received a contract offer from Barcelona before sealing his move to Inter Miami. The deal would have seen Messi return to the club, designed to give him the farewell he didn’t get in 2021. Former manager Xavi acted as a bridge between the club and Messi’s team to make the deal possible. Unfortunately, Barcelona’s massive salary limit prevented LaLiga from approving the deal. The dream ended after Xavi was informed by Lionel Messi’s father that any potential deal was impossible.
As LIV Golf prepares for its first tournament since the news that it will no longer be funded by the Saudi PIF following this season, questions continue to swirl about what will happen to the league and its players.
LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil spoke at length on Tuesday at Trump National D.C. about a business plan, momentum and strategic changes going forward. Although, as Jon Rahm noted, O’Neil and other LIV executives “have a lot of hard work to do” to secure funding for the future.
Rahm said Tuesday he has several years left on his contract. But as for LIV’s most prized possession, Bryson DeChambeau? He’s only signed through the end of 2026. What he does next is one major storyline, not only for the long-term health of LIV but the future of the pro golf landscape.
He already has ideas if he doesn’t return to LIV or if the pathway back to the PGA Tour doesn’t pan out.
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“I think, from my perspective, I’d love to grow my YouTube channel three times, maybe even more,” DeChambeau told a few outlets, including ESPN and SI, on Tuesday. His YouTube channel has 2.7 million subscribers. “I would love to. I’d love to do a bunch of dubbing in different languages, giving the world more reason to watch YouTube. And then I’d love to play tournaments that want me.”
DeChambeau told them he had conversations with the PGA Tour but did not discuss what a return could look like.
Brooks Koepka went from LIV to the PGA Tour earlier this year via the Returning Member Program but paid a hefty price to do so. DeChambeau — along with Rahm and Cameron Smith — also had a chance to return under those same circumstances but declined. A potential path back to the PGA Tour will likely be different now, especially since DeChambeau, unlike Koepka, was once involved in a lawsuit against the Tour.
Although despite LIV’s uncertain future, DeChambeau said the PGA Tour “isn’t doing great either.”
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“Let’s be honest about the situation,” he told reporters. “They’ve got the media. They’ve got everybody on the side that helps pump it up. But they’re reducing field sizes, cutting employees and restructuring their business too.”
O’Neil was asked Tuesday how DeChambeau’s contract situation (whether he has one or not) affects funding efforts for next year.
“Well, that’s an interesting question,” he said. “I’m not sure. We’ll sort through and work through. I appreciate the question. It’s just Bryson’s special. He’s different and special. You want to talk about a business partner, we’re literally talking about the future of LIV Golf, I’m talking with him about how does he see, not just the golf, but the business. He’s smart, he’s driven, he’s committed, and he’s a heck of a partner.”
DeChambeau told GOLF.com he sees the current LIV uncertainty as an opportunity.
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“Any time a door closes, another one opens,” he said. “I don’t think if a door closes, you’re just locked in forever. For us, this is the opportunity that we have in this country and also internationally, the freedom and the opportunity to build businesses. If it’s restructured in the right way, and people see the value of team golf, and want to be a part of something special, I think there’s opportunity out there.”
Sports sponsorship long followed a predictable playbook. Brands spent heavily on star male athletes, buying visibility and cultural relevance in a single move. The approach delivered reach, optimized for exposure rather than connection. In the process, it left women’s sports underfunded, undervalued and often overlooked altogether.
That model has shifted. As investment pours into women’s sports, a new class of brands is entering earlier, thinking longer term, and even scaling alongside the leagues themselves rather than waiting for them to mature.
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Last year, McKinsey & Company estimated a $2.5 billion opportunity in women’s sports. Sponsorship dollars are already accelerating behind it. The WNBA entered the 2025 season with a record 45 sponsors, including 14 added across 2024 and 2025 alone. Meanwhile, increased sponsorship traction across the WNBA and NWSL added more than $250 million to the women’s sports market in 2024. As of September 2025, the NWSL had 16 active league-level sponsors, the highest in league history.
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For brands, increasingly, the question is not who you sponsor, but where you embed. The new model is less about reaching an audience once and more about embedding into an ecosystem over time.
A Different Kind Of Bet
The structure of sports sponsorship in women’s leagues differs significantly from the legacy model. Instead of defaulting to high-cost, single-athlete endorsement deals, brands are experimenting with a broader mix of partnerships: league-level integrations, community investments, co-branded product drops and in-venue experiences designed to build deeper engagement over time.
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Female-founded companies like Dagne Dover have made that intentional shift. Their partnership with League One Volleyball reflects a belief in how the future of women’s sports will be built.
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LOVB itself was designed differently from the start. Rather than launching as a top-down professional league, it was built “club up,” connecting a national network of youth volleyball programs to a professional pathway. The result is an integrated network that spans middle school athletes, elite development and the pro level, creating both a talent pipeline and a deeply engaged fan base rooted in community.
On the court: Dagne Dover Founders (Jessy Dover, Deepa Gahndi and Melissa Mash) with Danielle Scott (Head of Pro Talent Acquisition at LOVB and 5x Olympian) and Michelle Chatmansmith (Pro Recruiting Coordinator at LOVB)
Courtesy of Dagne Dover
When Dagne signed on, it marked the company’s first formal sports league deal in its 13-year history. The brand is integrating across that full pipeline, from youth development programs to professional athletes to the families and communities that fuel the sport’s growth.
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“Elevating women’s sports has been important to us because they don’t get as much funding, they don’t get as much visibility,” said Melissa Mash, cofounder of Dagne Dover, during a video call. “We are builders, just like how [LOVB] is building something, new, new leagues, new teams. We wanted to support something that we felt was from the ground up.”
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This is what distinguishes many of today’s women’s sports deals. They are not purely media buys or endorsement contracts; they are strategic plays, often combining:
Product integration with athletes
Retail and co-branded merchandise
In-arena activations and fan experiences
Community and youth-level engagement
LOVB’s model makes that possible. Its reach extends beyond game-day audiences into year-round participation, giving brands repeated, meaningful touchpoints with athletes and consumers at different stages of their journey.
Why Early Investment Matters
Before formally entering league sponsorships, Dagne had already seen growing interest from female athletes across professional sports. Players from teams including the U.S. women’s national soccer team were already carrying Dagne products while traveling for competition, often without paid partnerships.
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That organic adoption helped the founders recognize an overlap they had not initially designed for.
“When the women’s U.S. soccer team started to come to us and say, ‘We love your bags,’ something clicked,” said Jessy Dover, cofounder of Dagne Dover. “I realized at that moment how the athlete’s lifestyle is actually very similar to ours. They’re just not going to the office, they’re going to practice or training.”
That realization reshaped how the company thought about both product design and sports partnerships. Athletes were not simply influencers or endorsement vehicles; they were existing customers whose daily routines mirrored the needs of Dagne’s broader consumer base: organization and transitioning between multiple roles throughout the day.
That insight is now shaping future collections, from functionality to color palettes, as the brand leans further into sports and travel.
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At the same time, the founders viewed LOVB as an opportunity to invest early in a league still establishing its identity and infrastructure.
“When you build with them, they remember that you were there at the beginning,” said Deepa Gandhi, cofounder of Dagne Dover. “To be able to stand behind something that is in their second season, going into their third season, that’s truly building a community and world and ecosystem around them, that felt very compelling to all of us.”
The Rise Of Values-Based Sponsorships
But Dagne is not alone in rethinking what sports sponsorship can look like.
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Another example is Bobbie, the organic infant formula brand that became the official infant feeding partner of the National Women’s Soccer League. Rather than focusing exclusively on elite athletic performance, Bobbie built its partnership around the realities of parenthood and the growing number of professional female athletes openly navigating motherhood alongside their careers.
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“We see our NWSL partnership as a bit of our brand intervention,” said Kim Chappell, chief brand officer at Bobbie. “Parents, who represent a massive portion of that fan base, have largely been ignored by traditional sports sponsors. Our parents are in the stands, our parents are on the field, our parents are on the sidelines, and so our logo should be a part of that and our brand dollars should be a part of that ecosystem.”
That framing highlights how brands are increasingly aligning with values and life stages, not just audience demographics.
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Sponsoring The Athlete And The Mother
For Bobbie, whose customer base largely consists of new mothers, the partnership aligned naturally with the NWSL’s advocacy around paid leave, equal pay and support for players returning to the field after childbirth.
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“The NWSL has done such a beautiful job of championing women and equality in women’s sports and fair pay and paid leave,” Chappell expresses. “That fight for support in their journey into motherhood, in their career, is exactly what we stand for at Bobbie.”
Last year, the company launched its “There’s No Scoreboard In Motherhood” campaign alongside soccer icon Alex Morgan as she transitioned into becoming a mother of two and prepared for retirement from professional soccer.
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Alex Morgan partnered with Bobbie in their “There’s No Scoreboard in Motherhood” campaign after the birth of her second baby.
grace rivera for bobbie
“It’s not only about supporting the women on the field, but also saying we support you when you need to take a pause, or you’re transitioning to the next moment of your career,” Chappell said.
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Like Dagne, Bobbie is approaching sponsorship less as a transaction and more as a long-term cultural investment. The brand’s NWSL activations have included community baby showers.
From Transactions To Cultural Investments
Instead of reaching a fan once, brands are embedding themselves into a lifecycle. Perhaps the most defining element of this strategy is timing.
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Instead of waiting for leagues to prove scale, brands like Dagne and Bobbie are entering early, when cultural and commercial value is still being defined. That early positioning can translate into long-term brand equity, particularly in emerging categories where loyalty is still forming.
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“People who are passionate about women’s sports really appreciate and pay attention to the brands that are supporting them,” Mash noted.
That attention eventually becomes something more valuable: affinity.
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As women’s sports continue to scale, the brands that win may not be those that spend the most, but those that invest earliest and most intentionally. In women’s sports, the smartest sponsorships are no longer chasing the spotlight. They are helping build the stage.
NEW DELHI: The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has announced the rules and schedule for the 2026 Asian Games wrestling selection trials, and one major outcome is that Vinesh Phogat will not be eligible to compete in them. The federation said only medal winners from the 2025 Senior National Wrestling Championship, the 2026 Senior Federation Cup, and the Under-20 National Wrestling Championship can take part. WFI also made it clear that past performance will not be considered.
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Vaibhav Sooryavanshi India debut: The calls are getting louder
Vinesh, who is preparing for a comeback after nearly 18 months, is set to compete in the National Open Ranking Tournament in the 57kg category. However, under the newly announced criteria, her previous achievements will not help her qualify for the Asian Games trials.The women’s wrestling trials will be held on May 30 at Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi, while freestyle and Greco-Roman trials are scheduled for May 31 at the SAI Regional Centre in Lucknow. The competition will cover 18 Olympic weight categories across the three wrestling formats.At the same time, Vinesh has also received a warning from the International Testing Agency (ITA) after missing an out-of-competition doping test in December 2025 in Bengaluru. Athletes in the testing pool must stay available during a fixed one-hour slot for surprise testing. Vinesh explained that she was travelling for Haryana Assembly duties and dealing with personal responsibilities after the birth of her child, but the ITA rejected her explanation.“The obligation is to be both available and accessible without prior notice at the location indicated,” the ITA said in its notice. The agency added that this would count as her first “whereabouts failure” in the last 12 months. However, it is not considered a doping violation and will not stop her from competing in the upcoming Gonda tournament.
After a breathless first leg full of goals, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain meet again for the second leg of their Champions League semifinal on Wednesday.
PSG edged a dramatic encounter at the Parc des Princes last week, winning 5–4 in what has already been described as one of the competition’s classic ties. The reigning European champions now carry a slim advantage into the return leg at the Allianz Arena, where they aim to protect their lead and continue their title defence.
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The nine-goal thriller in Paris has set the stage for another high-intensity contest, with both sides showing enough attacking quality to believe they can reach the final. With key players rested during weekend league matches, both teams arrive in Bavaria fresh for a decisive showdown.
Bayern will need at least a two-goal win to book their place in the final, while PSG only need to avoid defeat to progress. If the aggregate score is level after full time, extra time and penalties will be required to separate the sides.
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With expectations soaring, the second leg promises another captivating European night.
Bayern vs PSG UCL broadcast details
Country/Region
TV Broadcast
Live Streaming
USA
CBS
Paramount+, Fubo, YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV
UK
TNT Sports 1
HBO Max (TNT Sports add-on)
India
Sony Sports Network
SonyLIV
Canada
—
DAZN
Australia
—
Stan Sport
Ireland
RTÉ 2
RTÉ Player (free)
Belgium
RTL Play
RTL Play (free)
Turkey
TRT 1
Tabii
Other Regions
Local UCL broadcasters
UEFA official partners / VPN access where applicable
Bayern Munich vs PSG UEFA Champions League semi final 2nd leg live telecast and streaming details
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When will the UCL 2026 semifinal between Bayern Munich and PSG be played?
The 2nd leg of the UCL 2026 semifinal between Bayern Munich and PSG will be played on May 7.
What time will the UCL 2026 semifinal between Bayern Munich and PSG begin on May 7?
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The UCL 2026 semifinal between Bayern Munich and PSG will start at 12:30 am IST (May 7).
What will be the venue for the UCL 2026 semifinal match between Bayern Munich and PSG?
The Allianz Arena in Munich will host the UCL 2026 semifinal match between Bayern Munich and PSG.
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Where will the live telecast of the UCL 2026 semifinal between Bayern Munich and PSG be available in India?
The live telecast of the UCL 2026 semifinal between Bayern Munich and PSG will be available on the Sony Sports Network.
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Where will the live streaming of the UCL 2026 semifinal between Bayern Munich and PSG be available in India?
The live streaming of the UCL 2026 semifinal between Bayern Munich and PSG will be available on the SonyLIV app and website.
Minnesota Vikings fans celebrate from the stands following a road victory over the New York Giants, reacting to the 28-10 result on Oct 6, 2019, in East Rutherford, New Jersey, as Minnesota secured a convincing win during Week 5 action at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com via Imagn Content Services.
Minnesota Vikings fans want a change to the status quo — they do not want more of Rob Brzezinski as the primary general manager. We polled Twitter (X) this week, and the verdict is decisive: people say it’s time for something new.
The poll was informal, but the result still shows where fan sentiment currently sits.
The Vikings’ search for a general manager is ongoing, and the club should announce a decision within the next couple of weeks.
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Fans Prefer a New Voice in Minnesota
Do you prefer Brzezinski or someone new?
Vikings executive Rob Brzezinski speaks during an interview segment with Vikings.com’s Gabe Henderson focused on organizational philosophy and front-office structure. Brzezinski discussed leadership alignment, roster-building strategy, and the hiring of Kevin O’Connell during the feature recorded on Feb. 17, 2022, as Minnesota mapped out its long-term football vision. Mandatory Credit: YouTube.
Vikings Fans: Get Us a New GM
Minnesota fired Kwesi Adofo-Mensah at the end of January, about three and a half weeks after the end of the 2025 regular season. The timing was strange, but most believe the Vikings’ owners saw Sam Darnold advance to the Super Bowl and said to themselves, “I’ve seen enough.”
Brzezinski took over in an interim capacity, with his hat in the ring for the permanent gig.
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But fans would rather Brzezinski not continue. Here’s the poll:
Who would you hire as the Vikings’ next general manager?
One hundred eighty-six people responded, and the poll was not scientific.
Brzezinski’s Track Record
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Despite fans’ hesitation, the longer one considers Brzezinski as general manager, the more sense it makes. He has already managed the Vikings’ free agency cycle and draft following Adofo-Mensah’s departure.
His deep knowledge of the organization’s budget, contracts, and cap sheet provides him with a thorough understanding of internal operations — a sweet advantage. While NFL general manager roles are often perceived as solely focused on scouting and roster vision, the financial aspect is paramount, and Brzezinski has been entrusted with it for years.
Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell talks with owner Zygi Wilf during training camp at TCO Stadium while the franchise prepared for the upcoming season. The conversation came during practice activities on Aug. 3, 2023, in Eagan, Minnesota, with leadership continuing to shape roster expectations and organizational priorities. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports.
Vikings fans have long dubbed him the “cap wizard,” a reputation that should warrant him a genuine shot at the top job.
The arrangement also aligns perfectly with the Vikings’ recent actions. By firing Adofo-Mensah but retaining Kevin O’Connell, the team fundamentally altered its GM search. Most NFL teams link the head coach and general manager, with their fates typically intertwined. Minnesota, however, kept O’Connell, effectively positioning him as the primary figure in their football operations.
Within this model, Brzezinski emerges as an ideal fit.
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O’Connell can maintain significant involvement in roster vision, while Brian Flores can heavily influence defensive personnel decisions. Brzezinski, in turn, can oversee the front office, manage the salary cap, handle contracts, and ensure operational efficiency. The Vikings demonstrated the viability of this distributed structure during the recent draft.
Furthermore, this approach provides ownership with considerable flexibility. Should the season underperform — finishing, for instance, with a 6-11 or 7-10 record — Minnesota could reset without a major structural upheaval. O’Connell could be dismissed, Brzezinski could revert to his previous role, and the team could then pursue a new GM-head coach pairing. Conversely, if the Vikings succeed, the move will appear steady, logical, and perhaps even long overdue.
Otherwise, if a poor season unfolds, the new non-Brzezinski general manager will have lived in both worlds: working with players that O’Connell, Flores, and Brzezinski drafted while carving out his own vision.
The Outside Candidates
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The Vikings’ owners announced last week the general manager search would be private — but then updates started spilling into public view on Wednesday.
Buffalo Bills assistant general manager Terrance Gray watches from the sideline as the Pittsburgh Steelers host Buffalo at Acrisure Stadium. Gray has emerged as a notable NFL executive name during recent hiring cycles because of his scouting background and front-office experience. The appearance occurred on Nov. 30, 2025, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.
NFL.com’s Kevin Patra wrote, “The Minnesota Vikings have identified their first general manager candidate outside the organization. The Vikings requested an interview with Buffalo Bills assistant general manager Terrance Gray for their GM job, NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero reported on Wednesday, per a source.”
“Gray has been with the Bills since 2017, but spent 11 seasons with Minnesota as a scout, so he is well-known within the building. Prior to his stint with the Vikings, Gray worked in the Kansas City Chiefs’ front office.”
Gray will be the first of many, and the process evidently won’t be so secretive after all.
Some have hinted that a different person inside the current front office, too, such as Ryan Grigson, could walk away with the job.
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How We Got Here
The Vikings need a new general for two primary reasons:
From 2022 to 2025 — four drafts — Adofo-Mensah picked underwhelming players, connecting on only about 15% to 20% of selections. Adofo-Mensah’s best pick might be a kicker (Will Reichard). A team cannot draft poorly and hope to win a Super Bowl. It is impossible.
Last offseason, Minnesota had several quarterback options, including Sam Darnold, Daniel Jones, and Aaron Rodgers. It landed on J.J. McCarthy as the sole QB1 solution. He struggled, while Darnold, Jones, and Rodgers played better. Darnold won a Super Bowl, and his success appeared to be the final nail in Adofo-Mensah’s coffin.
Therefore, the next general manager — Brzezinski, Gray, or someone else — must draft at a normal or stellar hit rate and make responsible quarterback decisions. It’s really that simple.
Dustin Baker is a novelist and political scientist. His second novel, The Invaders , is out now. So is … More about Dustin Baker
The headline fight and full card have now been confirmed for iVB’s ambitious San Francisco boxing event this summer, where organisers hope to break the world record for the largest crowd ever assembled for a fight.
With the date fast approaching, the card has now taken shape. Anthony Olascuaga headlines the event, defending his WBO flyweight world title against Andy Dominguez.
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Elsewhere on the card, Vito Mielnicki Jr faces Gerardo Luis Vergara at middleweight, super-featherweights Charly Suarez and Manuel Avila meet, and heavyweight prospect Gurgen Hovhannisyan takes on Uila Mauʻu. Oscar Bonifacino vs Gabriel Torres in the featherweight ranks and Blake Binskin vs Dante Paris Ibarra Hernandez at super-featherweight round out the six-fight card.
Well-respected boxing figure Sampson Lewkowicz will act as lead promoter for the event alongside iVB CEO Pereira, while former world champion Christy Martin is also supporting the show. Iconic ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr will front the May 7 press conference. Pereira said:
“This will be a show like the boxing world has never seen before. An event built for this city and its communities. San Francisco has always been a city that stands for something special, and on July 11, it will stand at the centre of the boxing world.”
Lewkowicz added:
“Ed has a vision for this sport that I believe in completely. When he came to me with this event, I saw immediately what it could be – something the boxing world has never seen. Together we are going to give San Francisco and the world a night they will never forget. This is not just a fight card, this is a statement. I have spent my whole career backing things other people walked away from and every time I have been proved right. This will be no different.”
The card will be broadcast live on YouTube, with further announcements expected in the coming weeks as preparations continue for one of the most ambitious boxing events ever staged in the US.
Bruno Fernandes has one year left on his contract at Man Utd, and nobody seems sure quite how long he will stay at Old Trafford.
There is a certain irony to the fact that Bruno Fernandes stands on the brink of a remarkable Premier League record in the season after he came as close as he has ever done to leaving Manchester United.
The talismanic 31-year-old needs one more assist to equal the Premier League record of 20 in a season, set by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne. Two in his final three games will leave him in a class of his own.
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Fernandes’ remarkable form this season means he is a certainty to win a fifth player of the season award at Old Trafford and is a strong contender to be named player of the year across the division. Once again, the thought of where United would be without him isn’t really worth thinking about.
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That could have been a reality had Fernandes moved to Saudi Arabia last summer. In the end, he turned the eye-watering sums down, but felt United were willing to let him go and cash a transfer fee that could have been close to £100million.
There is no ambiguity this summer. United have made it clear they want Fernandes to stay and hope the sense of momentum and a return to the Champions League will convince him to do just that.
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He has a release clause of around £56million that can be activated by a foreign club and a year remaining on his contract, with the option of a further 12 months. Even if Fernandes does stay for another season, there is no guarantee next year won’t be his last at the club.
The Portuguese playmaker also turns 32 in September, and although he is in the form of his life at the moment, there is no certainty that it will be sustained for years to come, especially with the schedule set to become more demanding now that United have returned to Europe.
So there is clearly a need for a succession plan. United can’t be caught out if Fernandes decides after the World Cup he wants to leave this summer, or if he says next season will be his last.
There are options in the current squad who can play there, with Matheus Cunha and Mason Mount both fitting the bill. Mount hasn’t done enough so far in his United career to get the chance, while Cunha is a versatile forward also used on the left and as a false nine.
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Instead, the answer may well lie in the transfer market. Amid another summer focusing on Premier League-proven players, Aston Villa’s attacking midfielder Morgan Rogers is someone United are keen on, with the view within the game that Villa might be willing to cash in on the 23-year-old to help fund their own summer overhaul.
The England international has had an excellent season at Villa Park and he could go to the World Cup as Thomas Tuchel’s first-choice No. 10, ahead of Jude Bellingham, which is evidence of his ability to succeed in that position.
His versatility has also been on show this term, with 30 games as an attacking midfielder and 17 on the left wing. United are in the market for a left-winger this summer and if they can land Rogers, he could play on the left with Fernandes in the same team, before eventually taking control of that central position.
He is also a player that Michael Carrick knows well, with the 44-year-old now increasingly likely to stay on as head coach. While United’s recruitment is no longer dictated by the manager, it is a deal Carrick would be keen on, with Rogers producing 18 goal contributions in 33 games for the Old Trafford boss at Middlesbrough.
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Carrick was slightly surprised to see Rogers quickly make the leap from the Championship to Aston Villa, but he has been impressed with the way he took the step up and the impact he is now having.
“He’s taking huge steps and quickly and being a major, major part of their team and part of the England team as well. It just shows how well he’s done,” Carrick said ahead of United’s win against Villa earlier this season.
“We could always see what he was possibly going to be capable of and the potential there in terms of what he could do, his attributes, the way he carries the ball, play off his left foot, play off of his right foot, create, score goals and really good athletically.
“So there were a lot of things there, but to see him go on and have such an impact would probably be more than I would have expected, probably more than Morgan himself would have expected.”
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He might well get the chance to build on that with Carrick again, and he could yet be the perfect replacement for Fernandes, whenever that day comes.
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.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi might be making headlines with his bat in IPL 2026, but beyond the field, the 15-year-old batting sensation has also become the centre of a rather unusual stream of conversations. From calls for an immediate India debut to debates over whether the timing is right, the buzz around the Rajasthan Royals teenager has only continued to grow with every fearless innings.Such has been the prodigious talent of Sooryavanshi that, at times, it almost feels unreal watching a 15-year-old take apart some of the best bowlers in world cricket with such ease. Naturally, that has also opened the door for a few bizarre theories and tongue-in-cheek reactions.
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Vaibhav Sooryavanshi India debut: The calls are getting louder
There were joking suggestions from across the border that there might be an “AI chip” inside his bat. Former Rajasthan Royals teammate and T20 great Jos Buttler even joked that he had messaged Jofra Archer asking whether Sooryavanshi is AI, created by Elon Musk”.And now, adding another layer to the ever-growing Sooryavanshi folklore, comes a completely different and unexpected claim.A social activist, CM Shivakumar Nayak, in a video going viral on social media, argued that the teenager was being ‘exploited’ by the professional cricket system and said he intended to file a police complaint or legal case against Rajasthan Royals for allegedly violating child rights and child labour laws.Bizarre as it may sound, the comments quickly gained traction online, becoming the latest addition to the growing list of conversations surrounding the teenage prodigy.“This 15-year-old boy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi from Rajasthan Royals is being exploited. He is just a child, only 15 years old, and they have brought him into the IPL to play professional cricket. This is nothing but child labour.”“How can they make a minor boy play in such a big league like this? He should be focusing on his studies, going to school and completing his education instead of playing cricket at this tender age,” said Nayak. Nayak further contended that allowing Sooryavanshi to compete at this level establishes ‘a very bad precedent’ for youth across the nation.“I strongly condemn this and I will be filing a police complaint or legal case against the Rajasthan Royals management for violating child rights and child labour laws. Don’t let this boy play IPL cricket, it’s child labour, he should study,” he went on to add. Sooryavanshi, after all, has become one of the biggest stories of IPL cricket over the last two seasons.Since his debut in April 2025 at just 14 years and 23 days old, Sooryavanshi has emerged as one of the most explosive young batters in T20 cricket. Across IPL 2025 and IPL 2026, he has scored 656 runs in 17 matches at an average of 38.59 and an astonishing strike rate of 224.66, including two centuries and three fifties. He created history in 2025 by becoming the youngest-ever T20 centurion, smashing 101 off 38 balls against Gujarat Titans, with the hundred coming in just 35 balls, the second-fastest century in IPL history. In IPL 2026, he continued his remarkable rise with another century, scoring 103 off 37 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad.Beyond the IPL, Sooryavanshi starred in the 2026 U19 World Cup, guiding India national under-19 cricket team to the title and winning Player of the Tournament after a stunning 175 off 80 balls in the final against England national under-19 cricket team. He also holds records as the youngest player to score a List A century and the fastest batter from Bihar to reach 150 runs in domestic cricket.
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