The statement came on Saturday, two days after Claude Lemieux died at age 60. It was released by his daughter Claudia Lemieux Bishop, and it did two things at once: it confirmed the cause of death, which authorities had already reported as suicide, and it announced that the family had donated Lemieux’s brain to the Boston University CTE Center for research into the long-term effects of repetitive brain injuries.

The family also gave the CTE Center permission to publicly share any findings connected to Lemieux’s name. They added one condition: no conclusions should be drawn regarding any diagnosis until the research is complete.

What the Family Said

The statement connected the donation to who Lemieux had become after his playing career ended. He had worked as a player agent, spending his post-hockey years on behalf of the next generation of athletes rather than trading on the reputation of the four Stanley Cups he won.

“Claude dedicated his post-playing career to helping the next generation,” the family said. “By allowing his name to be connected to this research, we hope his life can contribute to greater understanding, more honest conversations and better protection for athletes and families in the years ahead.”

That framing matters. The donation is not framed as an answer to questions about Lemieux’s death. It is framed as a continuation of the work he had already chosen to do with his life after hockey.

The Broader Context in Hockey

Lemieux played nearly 1,500 NHL games across six teams between 1983 and 2009, in a style built on physical confrontation, big hits, and the kind of play that made him beloved by his own teams and despised by everyone else. The physical toll of that career is the relevant context for the CTE research.

He is not the first hockey player from his era to make this kind of donation. Bobby Hull’s family donated his brain after his death in January 2023, and researchers at the same Boston University CTE Center subsequently confirmed he had Stage 2 CTE at the time of his death. Dennis Hull, Bobby’s younger brother, died just days before this story broke, another reminder of how many players from that generation are now gone.

The BU CTE Center, led by Dr Ann McKee, operates the largest tissue repository in the world focused on traumatic brain injury and CTE, with over 1,700 brains and more than 800 CTE diagnoses to date. Lemieux’s donation adds to a body of research that is still building the case for what decades of contact sport does to the brain long after the final game.

Collina asked for protocol to be updated so the VAR could step in if a foul occurred before the ball was in play.

There have been several examples, such as a goal scored by England in their 1-1 draw against Uruguay at Wembley in March.

Cole Palmer delivered a corner into the area, but before the ball was kicked Adam Wharton blocked the run of Jose Maria Gimenez.

That allowed the ball to run through to Harvey Barnes, who saw his effort saved by Fernando Muslera, and Ben White tapped in from close range.

VAR protocol did not previously allow a review for a foul before a corner has been taken, but the Italian asked Ifab for permission to change this.

The Ifab has now accepted the request, and says that any foul before the ball is in play that has a direct impact can be reviewed.

This will apply to a goal, penalty kick or disciplinary sanction which happens on a corner or free-kick

The measure will be applied for the World Cup and reassessed after the tournament.

It means that for the England goal, the VAR would be able to suggest a retake of the corner because of the foul by Wharton on Gimenez.

“We think this is very unfair, that the goal is given when the defender is prevented from being able to defend,” Collina said.

“A clear, illegal block made by an attacker. The only objective was to prevent the defender from being able to defend on his opponent.

“We are very confident to receive a clarification from the Ifab before the World Cup, saying that the VAR can intervene just before the ball is in play. We are convinced that nobody can object.”

This will only apply to attacking fouls, and not to defensive fouls for holding or pulling.

Collina also explained the new rule for players who cover their mouth with a hand, arm or shirt in confrontation with an opponent.

This will now be a red card after the controversial incident involving Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni and Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr in a Champions League game in February.

Prestianni received a six-game ban from Uefa for homophobic conduct.

“If the conversation is friendly, they can continue to do it without any problem,” Collina said.

“When the conversation is confrontational, covering the mouth means that you are doing something very wrong, potentially, and the sanction is the red card.”

Collina also said his referees would be ready to monitor grappling inside the area, with officials provided with data on the tactical approach of teams.

The PGA Tour returns to one of its longest tenured tournaments at Colonial Country Club

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Heading into every offseason, Minnesota Vikings fans and various media members manufacture some theories that come true — and some that don’t quite pan out. The following chronicles the takes that seemed likely at the time but later felt flat.

For example, during the 2025 offseason, many believe that Minnesota would sign Aaron Rodgers. That didn’t happen. He played for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Here’s the 2026 edition of poorly-aged Vikings theories.

Vikings Rumor Mill Missed on Several Big Names

1. Oregon Safety Dillon Thieneman Was the Obvious Round 1 Draft Choice

For about four to six weeks, every NFL mock draft — like every single one — linked Thieneman to the Vikings. It was almost a variation of The Mandela Effect.

Despite no Vikings insiders validating the connection, the theory continued all the way up to draft night on April 23rd. With Thieneman indeed on the board, surely Minnesota would select Thieneman and call it good, right? They just had to fulfill the prophecy, correct? Absolutely not. The Vikings picked defensive tackle Caleb Banks, making the long run of Thiemenan-to-Minnesota theories look silly.

Meanwhile, Thieneman, who was drafted by the Chicago Bears, evidently did not run with the first team at OTAs this week. Bear Goggles On‘s Anthony Miller observed, “It’s very early on in the process to prepare for 2026, and there has to be some kind of method to the madness, but it’s interesting to say the least that.”

“Thieneman is not with the starters. Johnson’s decision might come as the team tries to avoid rushing him into the lineup and to let him learn before being thrown into the starting lineup.”

2. The Vikings Would Draft a Notable RB, WR, and C

Some thought Minnesota would draft a running back like Jonah Coleman or Emmett Johnson before the draft’s late rounds. The Vikings also hosted a litany of prominent mid-round wide receivers before the draft. And at center, Blake Brandel was the only decent option, a guy who started his career as a tackle and later switched to guard.

Interim general manager Rob Brzezinski then selected no players at these positions until Round 6.

Instead, the Vikings will roll with Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason at running back, Jauan Jennings at WR3, and the aforementioned Brandel at center. Fans will hope that Round 6 runner Demond Claiborne is a draft steal.

3. J.J. McCarthy Would Be Tradebait Because of Kyler Murray’s Arrival

Soon after the Vikings signed Murray in March, the world decided that McCarthy may not be able to coexist with Murray. Some claimed he’d request a trade; some said he was gone via trade during the draft.

None of that happened, and McCarthy is currently locked in a quarterback competition with Murray — just like the Vikings advertised in March.

If McCarthy is traded, it will probably be because he soured on the franchise and wanted a fresh start. That has not happened yet. NFL insider Jason La Canfora wrote this week, “Minnesota would likely not fetch much for McCarthy under these circumstances, and it might require an injury elsewhere to create more demand. If O’Connell couldn’t get much from him and opted to sell low on him, that would resonate around the league.”

“But it also stands to reason that obvious friction between a new QB you need to win with now, and one who has to quickly come to grips with watching games and not playing them so soon after being drafted that high, is far from ideal.”

4. Aaron Jones and T.J. Hockenson Would Be Cut

When the offseason arrived, many assumed that Minnesota would cut Jones and Hockenson because of their hefty 2026 price tags. It would then have March and April to use free agency and the draft as a blank canvas for new playmakers.

Yet, the Vikings proposed paycuts for both, and the pair accepted. Jones and Hockenson took lesser salaries in 2026 and are now slated to be unrestricted free agents in 2027.

The takes about Jones and Hockenson release indeed made sense, but they didn’t play out.

5. Jonathan Greenard Would Be a Longtime Viking

Danielle Hunter left the Vikings during the 2024 offseason, choosing his hometown team, the Houston Texans, for his career’s second chapter. Minnesota turned around and signed the Texans’ main pass rusher — Greenard — to replace him.

It lasted two years.

Six weeks after signing Greenard, former Vikings boss Kwesi Adofo-Mensah finagled an expensive trade for Dallas Turner during the draft. That was apparently a pick to make Greenard’s stay short in Minnesota because the Vikings traded Greenard during the 2026 NFL Draft.

Most playoff-contending football teams don’t trade their best EDGE defender, but Minnesota did precisely that. In fact, when the Greenard trade rumors took hold in March, it just didn’t seem real that the Vikings would trade him.

But they did.

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

WWE Clash in Italy is all about grudges. The championship-loaded event features major rematches from WrestleMania 42, Backlash and Saturday Night’s Main Event, and it all goes down Sunday afternoon. Follow WWE Clash in Italy results with live updates and grades throughout the show.

There’s a major upset brewing in the world heavyweight title scene. Roman Reigns barely escaped Backlash with his world title. Three weeks later, “The Samoan Werewolf” Jacob Fatu is back in the hunt. Fatu looked like a legitimate future champion in his first meeting with one of WWE’s most dominant figures. There’s a rising tide of belief that Fatu is ready to sit at the head of the table.

WrestleMania 42, which took place in April, featured two titanic clashes: Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar and Rhea Ripley vs. Jade Cargill. Femi’s win over Lesnar seemed to signal the latter’s retirement. On May 18, Lesnar reneged on the retirement, attacking Femi and setting up the rematch. Ripley makes her first WWE women’s title defense against the woman she beat at WrestleMania in another explosive encounter.

The last of WWE’s four rematches takes place one week after the initial encounter. Becky Lynch snuck out of Saturday Night’s Main Event with the women’s intercontinental title after drawing a disqualification. Sol Ruca left empty-handed, but technically recorded a win over the defending champ. That gave Ruca the ammunition needed to log a quick rematch.

Clash in Italy’s only fresh encounter is for SmackDown’s top prize. Undisputed WWE champion Cody Rhodes welcomed anyone on the roster to challenge him. Gunther answered the call, leaving Raw for SmackDown in pursuit of the title. Overcoming Royce Keys in a difficult title eliminator cemented Gunther as the rightful challenger. Rhodes and Gunther will wrestle for only the second time. They previously met at the 2024 Crown Jewel event when both were world champions. Rhodes defeated Gunther that night.

Below is how you can catch all the action on Sunday.

Where to watch WWE Clash in Italy

All times Eastern

Date: Sunday, May 31
Location: Inalpi Arena — Turin, Italy
Start time: 2 p.m. ET
Watch live: ESPN Unlimited

Watch the Clash in Italy live with Fubo if your subscription includes ESPN to watch the first hour on Saturday. ESPN Unlimited access is free if you log in to the ESPN app with your Fubo credentials.

WWE Clash in Italy match card

• Undisputed WWE Championship — Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Gunther
• World Heavyweight Championship — Roman Reigns (c) vs. Jacob Fatu
• Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar
• WWE Women’s Championship — Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Jade Cargil
• Women’s Intercontinental Championship — Becky Lynch (c) vs. Sol Ruca

2026 Baltic Sea Darts Open: Draw, schedule, prize money and format explained originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Euro Tour heads to Germany, with the Baltic Sea Darts Open marking the eighth ET event of 2026.

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As usual, 48 qualifiers will battle it out, starting on Friday, in hopes of advancing to the final on Sunday night.

What to know about the Baltic Sea Darts Open

Let’s take a look at some of the specifics of the tournament.

MORE: 2026 Baltic Sea Darts Open qualifiers

2026 International Darts Open draw & schedule

Day 1 – first round (afternoon session)

Day 1 – first round (evening session)

Day 2 – second round (afternoon session)

Day 2 – second round (evening session)

Day 3 – third round (afternoon session)

Day 3 – quarterfinals (evening session)

Day 3 – semifinals (evening session)

Day 3 – final (evening session)

Tournament bracket

Here is the tournament bracket after the first round.

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Second round

Third round

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final

Prize Money

*Data via Wikipedia

Format

48 players will be in action this weekend, with 16 seeded players receiving automatic byes into the second round action on Saturday.

Each seeded player will play the winner of one of Friday’s games, leaving 32 players left after Friday.

Saturday will feature only round two games, determining which 16 players will advance to action on Sunday.

The afternoon session on Sunday will consist of the round of 16 games.

The evening session will consist of the quarterfinal, semifinal and final rounds.

The first round, second round, round of 16 and quarterfinal round will all be played in a best-of-11-leg format.

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The semifinal round will be best-of-13 legs, and the final will be best-of-15 legs.

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Meralco import Patrick Gardner during Game 6 of the PBA semifinals against TNT.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

ANTIPOLO—For most of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, Meralco leaned on import Marvin Jones.

But a mid-series switch to Patrick Gardner during the semifinals forced the Bolts into an adjustment period they never fully got to complete.

That lack of time together surfaced again on Sunday night as Meralco bowed out of the conference, absorbing a 97-94 defeat to TNT in the deciding game of their semifinal series at Ynares Center.

READ: TNT beats Meralco, sets up PBA Finals rematch vs Ginebra

For CJ Cansino, a longer stint with Gardner could have helped the Bolts develop better chemistry.

“Patrick has such a high character so we didn’t have a hard time gelling with him because he has a good attitude and he’s easy to work with,” Cansino told the Inquirer.

“I guess, if we were with him longer, our team chemistry would’ve been better.”

Gardner did everything he could in his final game for Meralco, finishing with 32 points and 13 rebounds. But it wasn’t enough to keep the Bolts’ title hopes alive.

The former Japan B.League standout suited up in only three games for Meralco after replacing Jones midway through the semifinals.

READ: PBA: Patrick Gardner wastes no time fitting in with Meralco

Chris Newsome, however, refused to use the situation as an excuse.

The veteran guard noted that TNT had to navigate similar challenges after replacing Bol Bol with Chris McCullough when Bol suffered a partially torn Achilles injury.

“They’re in the same situation too where if they had more time with C-Mac, they could’ve had more chemistry as well,” Newsome said.

TNT ultimately overcame those adjustments and advanced to the PBA Finals, where it will face Barangay Ginebra.

Newsome finished with 15 points and two rebounds in Meralco’s season-ending loss.

When it comes to finding the right shaft in your golf club, we know how important timing is.

Based on how you swing the golf club, the shaft is going to be the timing mechanism that allows you to swing at your rhythm and tempo to hit the ball in the center of the club face.

On this week’s episode of GOLF’s Fully Equipped, co-host Johnny Wunder explained how the way baseball pitchers in Japan are taught to throw the ball can help you figure out what is best for your game.

Wunder was explaining that he wanted to find out how players could gain data and learn the optimal way to move around. The old theory is that players who walk fast generally should have faster, more abrupt tempos, while slower walkers are smoother and more deliberate. He used the examples of Nick Price, a fast mover, and Fred Couples, a smooth one.

Then he called on what pitchers do in baseball.

“If you watch Japanese pitchers throw a baseball,” Wunder said. “It’s a full release one way and a full release the other way. There are no constraining forces. There’s no torque.

“The reason why they teach that, one is that it’s easier on the body. But it’s easier for the human body to repeat that if there’s not an opposing force.”

So what does that have to do with golf?

Well, just like they teach the optimal way to find repetitive movements in baseball for pitchers, golfers can find the optimal timing and rhythm with the right golf clubs to help them make repeatable swings more often.

“There’s a way to optimize your fittings by making sure you’re looking at the right swings,” co-host Jake Morrow said. “The process of figuring out what the right swings are is what Johnny is currently after. Defining what is my good golf swing and then going into future fittings, knowing what those numbers look like and matching up your fitting data to that swing data is going to be an important part moving forward.”

The idea is that you might hit a club well in a fitting, but the swing your making might not actually be the best for your game. That’s why when you take it out on the course, you end up putting a different swing on it and struggle.

But if you can be sure you’re making an optimal swing for your body, then you can expect to make that same swing on the golf course.

For more from Wunder and Morrow, listen to the full episode of GOLF’s Fully Equipped here, or watch it below.

Want to overhaul your bag in 2026? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

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Virat Kohli and Venkatesh Iyer (Pic credit: IPL)

NEW DELHI: Royal Challengers Bengaluru launched a stunning assault in the IPL 2026 final, rewriting the record books as Virat Kohli and Venkatesh Iyer raced to the fastest team fifty ever recorded in an IPL final on Sunday.Chasing 156 for victory against Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, RCB reached the 50-run mark in just 3.3 overs, eclipsing the previous record of 4 overs set by Chennai Super Kings in the 2023 final at the same venue.The blistering start put defending champions RCB firmly in control after their bowlers had earlier restricted Gujarat to 155 for 8.Kohli-Iyer unleash carnageThe opening pair came out with clear intent and immediately took the attack to Gujarat’s bowlers.Kohli, whose iconic No. 18 jersey dominated the stands, was at his aggressive best. The batting superstar hammered 23 runs off just eight deliveries, finding boundaries with remarkable ease and sending the packed crowd into a frenzy.At the other end, Venkatesh Iyer matched him stroke for stroke. The left-hander smashed 26 off only 13 balls as the duo tore into the Gujarat attack during the powerplay.By the time RCB crossed the fifty-run mark in the fourth over, the previous record had already been consigned to history.The explosive opening stand underlined Bengaluru’s determination to finish the job after producing a near-perfect performance with the ball.Bowlers set the platformEarlier, Rajat Patidar‘s decision to bowl first paid immediate dividends.RCB’s pace attack dismantled Gujarat’s top order, with Josh Hazlewood removing captain Shubman Gill for 10 before Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed Sai Sudharsan for 12 in the very next over.Unheralded pacer Rasikh Salam emerged as the standout performer, claiming 3 for 27 from his four overs. Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar chipped in with two wickets apiece, while Krunal Pandya delivered a crucial breakthrough by stumping Jos Buttler for 19.Only Washington Sundar offered significant resistance, carrying his bat for an unbeaten 50 off 37 deliveries to help Gujarat post a fighting total.