A top AEW star has shared a major personal update and has received support from many pro-wrestling stars, including Chelsea Green and Britt Baker.
The star in question, Deonna Purrazzo, has competed under an All Elite Wrestling contract since January 2024. Although her tenure began brightly and includes a run in ROH as Women’s Pure Champion (still ongoing), the Virtuosa’s TV time in AEW has declined sharply since mid-2025. As Purrazzo continues to thrive in Ring of Honor and strives to return to All Elite Wrestling programming, the 32-year-old revealed that she and her husband, Steve Maclin, who was recently released by TNA, put on their own wrestling show.
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On Instagram, Purrazzo revealed that having their own show had never been a dream for Maclin and her; instead, they used the opportunity to raise funds for the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. The event took place at the Rahway Rec Center in New Jersey. Her post received an outpouring of love from top wrestling stars, including WWE’s Chelsea Green, Mickie James, and AEW’s Britt Baker and Shane Taylor.
Check out the stars’ reactions below:The star reactions (Screengrabs taken from Instagram/@deonnapurrazzo)
AEW star Deonna Purrazzo’s emotional message to husband Steve Maclin following TNA release
Steve Maclin’s departure from TNA after a five-year tenure was one of the bigger developments in pro wrestling this month. Some time after Maclin’s release, Deonna Purrazzo took to X and shared a heartwarming message for her husband, calling him the epitome of wrestling before declaring her love for him.
“You are the epitome of a professional. You gave more blood than anyone I’ve ever seen. You have more heart than anyone I know. And you made the most of every minute you were given. This kind of feels like the end of era… but I know it’s the start of something even more magical. I love you,” she wrote.
Steve Maclin is a respected veteran in professional wrestling. At 39, the former TNA International Champion still has plenty left in his locker, and if rumors are to be believed, Maclin could soon be declared ‘All Elite’.
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Arsenal keen to sign Athletic Club winger Nico Williams, Juventus open talks with Aston Villa over deal for keeper Emiliano Martinez, while Paris St-Germain target Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise.
Paris St-Germain will to try to sign Bayern Munich’s 24-year-old French forward Michael Olise this summer. (L’Equipe – in French), external
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Manchester United are monitoring Everton‘s 26-year-old Senegal forward Iliman Ndiaye as they look to bolster their squad for a Champions League return next season (Sky Sports), external
Liverpoolare prepared to let Italy forward Federico Chiesa, 28, leave this summer for around £17m, with the player keen on a move back to Serie A. (Caughtoffside), external
Barcelona are aware of interest from Chelsea and Arsenalin Spain winger Dani Olmo, but will only allow the 28-year-old to leave if their £60m valuation is met. (Fichajes – in Spanish), external
Barcelona intend to sell Spain midfielder Marc Casado to raise money for other signings, with Bayer Leverkusen and Premier League clubs tracking the 22-year-old. (Fichajes – in Spanish), external
Leeds United want to break their transfer record to sign Ivory Coast defender Ousmane Diomande from Sporting, with an offer of up to £35m and another £8m in add-ons. (Mirror), external
Crystal Palace are preparing to rival Everton for Middlesbrough’s English midfielder Hayden Hackney, 23, this summer with a £20m offer. (Mail), external
Shortly after the New York Knicks’ Game 3 defeat in the NBA Finals, Mike Brown turned his attention to the officiating.
“I talked to [the officials]. They outshot us 14-3 in the third quarter from the free throw line. I talked to them, and they said, well, this is a foul, this is a foul,” Brown told reporters after the San Antonio Spurs trimmed the Knicks’ series lead to 2-1. “That’s the question I had with them is, you’re right. Maybe we did foul. But they fouled, too.”
Karl-Anthony Towns, one of the catalysts behind New York’s postseason success, struck a different tone ahead of Game 4.
New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown observes the game during the NBA Finals in Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.(Al Bello/Getty Images)
“Naw, that ain’t cost us the game,” Towns told reporters when asked about Brown’s comments. “Turned the ball over. Didn’t execute. Didn’t do what got us 13 straight wins in a row. That’s how you lose a game. We didn’t do what we’ve been doing for 13. We decided to do something different. … And throwing the ball away is a clear indication of how you’re going to lose the game, especially in the playoffs.”
The box score seemed to underscore Brown’s primary complaint, as the Spurs attempted three times as many free throws as the Knicks in the second half of Monday’s 115-111 victory.
The Knicks were in the penalty for the majority of the fourth quarter. A cold-shooting second half saw New York connect on 36% of its field-goal attempts.
Karl-Anthony Towns of the New York Knicks defends Stephon Castle of the San Antonio Spurs during the second quarter of Game 3 in the 2026 NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden in New York City on June 8, 2026.(Al Bello/Getty Images)
While it remains to be seen whether officiating will play a role in Wednesday night’s game at Madison Square Garden, Brown appeared intent on making it part of the buildup to Game 4.
“It’s going to be that because I said it. The story is going to be there,” Brown continued during a news conference. “But there are some controllables that we did not do a good job of doing. We allowed them to hit first at the beginning of the game. We allowed them to hit first in the beginning of the second half.”
Mike Brown talks with the New York Knicks during a timeout in the third quarter against the San Antonio Spurs in Game Three of the 2026 NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden in New York City on June 8, 2026.(Al Bello/Getty Images)
Towns finished Game 3 with 11 points and eight rebounds, a noticeable drop from his team-high 21-point performance in New York’s Game 2 victory over the Spurs. Jalen Brunson led the Knicks in scoring Monday with 32 points.
Game 4 tips off at 8:30 p.m. EDT, with the series returning to San Antonio for Game 5 on Saturday.
Back in November, new LPGA commissioner Craig Kessler sat at the dais in Naples at the CME Group Tour Championship and fielded questions from reporters about his plan to elevate women’s golf in the same way that the WNBA, NWSL and other women’s sports have exploded in recent years. Kessler showed he had a vision and ways to get the wheels turning. A new T.V. deal arrived that week, putting every LPGA round on live T.V. and promising an enhanced broadcast. He brought in Aramco to sponsor a big-money event in Las Vegas, talked about reworking the schedule and moved the Chevron Championship to Memorial Park. The plan to grab and keep attention was clear.
Kessler didn’t have all the answers that week. And the biggest question concerned something he had no control over. It seemed unanswerable at the time, but it was clear it would eventually determine how successful his plan would be and the pace at which it would deliver results: Could the LPGA break through to a larger audience with depth and parity? Or would it need a star to transcend the game and reach a wider audience?
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“No silver bullets to creating stars,” Kessler said that week.
“You have the best players, you have the most marketable players, and you have the ones who are actually willing to lean in and do the work. It’s the handful of players at the center of that Venn diagram that we are going to invest our resources against in order to create global superstars and create that player and fan connection.”
That Kessler faced these questions the week after Caitlin Clark, who lit the fuse for the WNBA’s explosion, played in the pro-am for the Annika was purely coincidental but it was a sign of what the LPGA likely needed to achieve the growth it desires and the women’s game deserves: a superstar who grabs eyeballs by winning, winning a lot and doing it in a way that demands attention.
The most likely candidate to do this was, of course, Nelly Korda; even her contemporaries noted how vital a resurgent Korda, who went winless in 2025, could be to the league’s popularity, especially in America. The depth and parity are great for the global health of women’s golf. But for American fans and American television audiences, especially those who aren’t golf diehards, stars sell.
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“As a tour and even from a fan perspective, yes, it’s great to have somebody like Nelly that was so dominant last year,” Hall of Famer Lydia Ko said in November. “Catches a lot of attention, especially with her — in Nelly’s case, being an American player. That catches a lot of different attention. In the case of even if you don’t play golf, you know who Tiger Woods is. Like having that kind of a figure is, yes, very important.”
Seven months later, Nelly Korda has delivered on her part.
She snapped her winless drought with a 54-hole, weather-shortened win at the Tournament of Champions and then went 2-2-T2 before running away with the year’s first major. She followed that with a win in Mexico, then arrived at the U.S. Women’s Open, the women’s game’s marquee event, held at a world-renowned venue, and won when everyone expected her to and wanted her to.
She has now won the year’s first two majors and should head into the KPMG PGA Championship at the end of the month with a world of hype surrounding her. A win at the Evian or the AIG Women’s Open later this summer will give her the LPGA’s career Grand Slam (four out of five). If she wins both, she’ll be a Super Slam winner, or she’ll have what Ko and others call the real Grand Slam.
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Nelly Korda winning the biggest prize in women’s golf, the tournament she has long craved and seemed born to win, and doing so in dramatic fashion on a famed course is a moment for women’s golf. Per NBC, Korda’s U.S. Women’s Open win had an average of 1.3 million viewers on Sunday, peaking at 2.2 million when her final putt narrowly lipped in. That’s the second-highest-rated U.S. Women’s Open since Michelle Wie’s 2014 win at Pinehurst No. 2 (2 million). Only Allisen Corpuz’s win at Pebble Beach in 2023 (1.6 million) has had more average Sunday viewers.
Stars and venues are the LPGA’s ticket to the dance that has been the women’s sports boom of the past few years. Nelly Korda is a superstar and has been for some time. She first reached World No. 1 status five years ago, has a gold medal, now has four majors and is two points away from the Hall of Fame. She should already be a star far outside the world of golf. That she hasn’t already reached the level of Clark, A’ja Wilson, Simone Biles and others speaks to the issues within the LPGA that predate Kessler and the new brain trust — ones they are trying to remedy.
Nelly Korda is a once-in-a-generation American talent, armed with a picture-perfect swing and a charismatic personality that is coming out more and more. She’s winning everything in sight right now and just had a monumental win on a course people know well.
Now it’s up to the LPGA to make the most of the opportunity Nelly Korda’s world-beating golf has created. There should be a full-sell hype machine around Korda over the next few weeks in the lead-up to the KPMG and it should continue into the summer. Putting her on the Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday, the second time she has joined this year, is the type of move that’s needed to help introduce her to a larger, non-golf-centric audience that the LPGA is hunting.
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Back in November, Kessler was adamant the LPGA didn’t want to put everything on one player or personality to push the game and league higher. “If we are reliant on one person, whether it’s a star or a celebrity, to carry the weight of the Tour on their backs, I think we’ve missed the boat,” Kessler said. “There’s so much magic happening on the LPGA and we have to bring all of it to life.”
That’s a long-term, big-picture view that’s reasonable and measured. The LPGA is indeed littered with great stories and talented, charismatic athletes like Charley Hull, Ko, Rose Zhang, and potential budding stars in Megha Ganne (who just turned pro) and amateurs Asterisk Talley and Kiara Romero. But as Ko noted, “everyone knows Tiger Woods.” Just like everyone knows Caitlin Clark, Michael Jordan, and many others who have elevated their sport and brought new fans into the picture by being a gateway to it.
Nelly Korda can do the same as long as women’s golf and the LPGA make the most of what her 2-foot, 10-inch putt delivered on Sunday.
San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama avoided adding a third flagrant point to his postseason total. Under NBA policy, players are automatically subject to suspension once they receive four flagrant foul points.
Wembanyama made contact with Jalen Brunson’s upper body while the New York Knicks guard was attempting to set a screen in the first quarter of Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday. When the Spurs center turned around during the play, he pushed Brunson, who fell backward to the floor.
Referees did not blow the whistle for a foul on the play, despite forceful objections from the Knicks bench. ESPN reported Tuesday, citing sources, that Wembanyama would not retroactively be assessed a “flagrant upgrade on the uncalled foul.”
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The play sparked debate across the sports world, and President Donald Trump, who attended Monday’s game, was among those weighing in.
President Donald Trump watches the start of Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs at Madison Square Garden in New York City on June 8, 2026.(Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
“I thought it was a very bad call. Absolutely. I thought it was a very bad call, personally. But I’m not the ref, you know?” Trump told the New York Post on Wednesday.
Trump watched the Knicks’ first NBA Finals game in 27 years from a suite with his granddaughter Kai Trump and was seen sitting next to team owner James Dolan. Trump became the first sitting U.S. president to attend an NBA Finals game.
The Spurs outlasted New York 115-111 in Game 3, trimming the Knicks’ series lead to 2-1 entering Wednesday’s Game 4.
Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks works against Dylan Harper and Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs during the third quarter in Game Three of the 2026 NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden in New York City on June 8, 2026.(Al Bello/Getty Images)
“Look, they’re pretty evenly matched, right? It’s two great teams. I’ll tell you, that Brunson is some player,” Trump added. “I think Brunson is amazing, [Stephon] Castle [of the Spurs] is amazing, Wemby is amazing, [Karl-Anthony] Towns [of the Knicks] is amazing. They’re like great players. That’s why they’re there, right?”
New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson reacts as San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama looks on during the second quarter of game three of the 2026 NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden in New York on June 8, 2026.(Vincent Carchietta/Imagn Images)
A New York native, Trump regularly sat courtside alongside other celebrities over the years before entering politics. “If you grow up in New York, you’re a Knick fan,” he noted.
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Taylor Swift, who is engaged to NFL star Travis Kelce, headlined Wednesday’s star-studded celebrity row at Madison Square Garden.
The Spurs came out hot for the second consecutive game Wednesday, racing to a 41-22 lead by the end of the first quarter. Wembanyama paced San Antonio with 13 points in the opening period, while OG Anunoby led New York with seven.
The Brazilian star still has an important role to play in his final weeks as a Manchester United player
Casemiro only has 20 days left to run on his Manchester United contract before he is officially considered a free agent. But the Brazil international can still play an important role in their future and, more specifically, his impending replacement, Ederson, over the next five weeks.
The 34-year-old announced his farewell in March after the club decided not to offer him a renewal on his contract, and head coach Michael Carrick has wasted no time in finding his successor. United reached an agreement with Atalanta to sign 26-year-old midfielder Ederson for £35million, with £4m in potential add-ons, with the deal only waiting for an official announcement before it is completed.
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Ederson was busy planning for his new life in Manchester before he was drafted into Brazil’s World Cup squad at the eleventh hour last week. Selecao coach Carlo Ancelotti called up the central midfielder after full-back Wesley was ruled out with injury, giving Ederson the chance to link up with his new team-mates Matheus Cunha and Casemiro in the United States.
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The latter has endured a turbulent time at Old Trafford but ultimately finished on a high, bagging a career-high nine league goals as the Reds secured third place in the Premier League. He has been one of their most impressive performers in the 2025/26 season, but there was a mutual acknowledgement that his four-year spell at the club had come to end after signing from Real Madrid in 2022.
Despite some difficult moments, Casemiro has savoured his positive relationship with the United faithful when reflecting on his time at the club. Ederson’s inclusion in the Brazil squad means he and Cunha can be his confidants in the Brazil camp, imparting any wisdom or advice he has to help him settle into his new home.
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“All I can do is be grateful, because I am really enjoying myself a lot. Not just me, but all my family. It is an honour for us to listen to the fans’ love and affection,” he said in April after his exit was announced.
“Lots of people think it is just the last few months, since the announcement, but I have to be thankful, since the very first day that I arrived here, the fans have been amazing with me and my family. So, I am so grateful to the fans, and the United fans, I am going to remember for the rest of my life.”
The main difference between life with Atalanta in the Serie A and playing for a global club like United is the pressure that comes with it. Casemiro was no stranger to that, having played for Real Madrid where the demands for strong performances are exceedingly high, particularly in the Spanish press.
But at United, the atmosphere around the club is entirely different. The stinging criticism from club icons who now work as pundits, chiefly when Gary Neville narrowed in on his performances, can be difficult to shake off. Every pass, move and mistake will be under the spotlight when Ederson pulls on that red shirt for the first time.
Casemiro can provide some coping mechanisms for his compatriot when the going gets tough. But the biggest takeaway he can pass on is that hard work and discipline go a long way in the eyes of a United supporter. The early comparisons that suggested he was an overpaid flop have dissipated over time; on his way out, he is recognised as a midfield stalwart who left his mark in M16.
As Ederson prepares to take his spot next season, no one will have a better viewpoint on how to perform his role than the man he is replacing. And that can only be a positive thing for Carrick and United going forward as they look to build on an impressive season.
Upgrade your World Cup TV setup with the Sky Glass ‘designed for football’
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Sky is knocking 20% off its entire range of Glass TVs to mark the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Until June 17, shoppers can upgrade to the Sky smart TV that’s ‘designed for football’ from £4.50 per month when taken alongside a Sky TV and Netflix package.
Many will have never heard the refrain “I am from Bosnia, take me to America” until the Bosnian national team upset Italy in a playoff final in March. It put the small Balkan nation through to the World Cup for just the second time since the country gained its independence in 1992.
Thousands of fans at the match in Zenica belted out the song, just as they did when the national team were feted at a square in the capital, Sarajevo, a few hours later.
But had you spent time in Bosnia over the past decade and a half, chances are good that the tune will have been oddly familiar. The song, originally titled “USA,” was actually released by the Bosnian band Dubioza Kollektiv some 15 years ago. And it actually had nothing whatsoever to do with football.
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‘Typical Balkan experience’
“It’s from our album Wild Wild East from 2011,” band member Vedran Mujagic, who plays bass, told DW of the song, now known as “I am from Bosnia, take me to America.”
“It’s about a typical experience of someone from the Balkans, going abroad in a search of a better life — in this case, in search of the “American dream.”
“But then, faced with the reality of immigrant life, life in the diaspora, he kind of realizes that it’s not all perfect (there) and he decides there is no place like the motherland and he goes back.”
The band had been playing the song at concerts for years when, to their astonishment, it turned up when Bosnia played Wales in the two-legged World Cup playoff semifinal that booked them a date with Italy.
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“Of course we’re watching that game. And then we saw a big, big banner that supporters rolled out during the game, and it read, “I’m from Bosnia, take me to America,” Mujagic recalled.
“And in that moment, it seemed almost like science fiction because we needed to beat Wales — which of course we did.”
By the Italy match, the song was long-since established as the “Dragons’” unofficial hymn.
Bosnia-Herzegovina have qualified for just their second major tournamentImage: Fabio Ferrari/LaPresse/ZUMA/picture alliance
The icing on the cake came after that match, when some of the players stormed Bosnia coach Sergei Barbarez‘ press conference singing the song.
Updated World Cup version
“Ten days later we decided to actually do a supporter’s version with changed lyrics and to address some of these football, subculture feelings and emotions that surrounded qualification for the World Cup,” Mujagic said.
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Interestingly, while the original version was completely in English, much of the new version is sung in Bosnian. The lyrics play on local stereotypes, and urge on the national team, while bemoaning what is still a sore point among fans old enough to remember the 2014 World Cup.
“And that (goal) against Nigeria, wasn’t offside,” they sing.
It wasn’t. Video footage shows that Edin Dzeko was clearly onside when he scored, but there was still no VAR (video assistant referee) at the time, and after the goal was called back momentum shifted, and Bosnia lost the match. They also failed to make it out of their group.
And while the new version being mostly in Bosnian may seem like a barrier to international success, it’s simply taken off. Mujagic thinks he knows why.
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Vedran Mujagic plays bass in the bandImage: Zoran Veselinovic/Avalon/IMAGO
Striking a chord
“I guess it has to do with the music video we shot for it, which features the band members playing football in a neighborhood courtyard with neighbors grilling (meat) and having, like, this regular Balkan fun,” he said.
The video, shot on a mobile phone, seems to have struck a particular chord in South America.
“A lot of people recognized that this looks like some of their neighborhoods, like a favela in Brazil or this looks like Chile because it is the same thing,” he added.
There’s also something slightly subversive about the low-budget production.
“It is like a response to this hyper-stylized aesthetic that FIFA music promotional videos have,” Mujagic explained, adding that it struck a chord with those frustrated by the modern, money-driven game.
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The diaspora experience in reverse
As for the newfound success of the national team, the majority of whom weren’t actually born in Bosnia, Mujagic gives all the credit to coach Barbarez and sporting director Emir Spahic.
“Spahic and Barbarez did an excellent job by recruiting and creating a team out of all these kids that grew up in the diaspora. They’re the ones whose parents went seeking the ‘American Dream’ or were refugees during the war,” he said.
“It’s like they (the children) have different experiences, and they experience even this song in a completely different manner,” he added.
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There’s little doubt that when Bosnia-Herzegovina kick off their World Cup campaign against co-hosts Canada in Toronto on Friday, this song will be ringing through the stands.
Edited by: Matt Pearson
Maida Besirevic of DW’s Bosnian service contributed to this report.
There will be 104 matches, up 40 since Qatar World Cup 2022, while Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo likely to play on this stage for the last time in their glittering careers.
Here’s how the tournament will unfold across 39 action-packed days
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World Cup 2026 groups
Group A: Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Czech Republic
Group B: Canada, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Qatar, Switzerland
Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, Scotland
Group D: United States, Paraguay, Australia, Turkey
It was also the venue for two classic World Cup finals: Brazil’s win over Italy in 1970 which included Carlos Alberto’s iconic team goal to cap a 4-1 win; and Argentina’s 3-2 win over West Germany in 1986, where Jorge Burruchaga grabbed an 84th-minute winner.
Mexico and Canada will host 13 games in each, and the United States will host 78.
From the quarter-finals onwards, the US will host all of the remaining matches, with the final in New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium.
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When does the World Cup start and finish?
The tournament begins in Mexico on 11 June, and concludes with the final in New Jersey on 19 July.
Who will win the World Cup?
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European countries top the list with UK bookmakers as the favourites to lift the trophy with Spain the favourites at 5/1 just ahead of France at 11/2. The French have reached the final in each of the last two editions of the World Cup so they cannot be ruled out for another lengthy run.
Also of note are England and Portugal with most World Cup betting sites placing them at 8/1 and 17/2 respectively while the first non-European nations with the best chance of winning the tournament are, perhaps unsurprisingly, Brazil and Argentina at 9/1 and 11/1 respectively.
Use our World Cup odds comparison tool below to find the best prices.
Minnesota Vikings linebacker Blake Cashman celebrates during a Christmas Day showdown against the Green Bay Packers, energizing the crowd after a key defensive sequence. Cashman emerged as one of Minnesota’s most important defenders following his arrival in 2024 free agency. Captured on Dec. 25, 2025, the moment reflects his passion and leadership. Mandatory Credit: YouTube.
Minnesota Vikings right tackle Brian O’Neill is due for a contract extension — and he may not be the only one. Linebacker Blake Cashman’s deal expires after 2026, too, and some rumblings suggest that he could stay in Minnesota beyond this season.
Cashman is a central figure in Brian Flores’s defense, meaning Minnesota may pony up the cash to preserve the status quo.
Cashman’s Production Gives Vikings a Clear Extension Case
Minnesota Vikings linebacker Blake Cashman celebrates after a key defensive stop during a divisional game against the Detroit Lions at U.S. Bank Stadium. On Dec. 25, 2025, Cashman energized the home crowd with another impactful play, continuing a standout season as one of Minnesota’s most productive defensive leaders. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images.
A Cashman Extension Makes Sense
Most of the contract extension focus from fans will center on O’Neill, but don’t forget Cashman.
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The Athletic‘s Alec Lewis wrote Tuesday, “The Vikings owe Cashman $7.5 million in cash for this season, a figure comparable to what is owed to Derrick Barnes of the Detroit Lions and Alex Singleton of the Denver Broncos. Fellow Viking Eric Wilson, who is almost two years older, signed a three-year contract this offseason worth $22.5 million. Drafting second-rounder Jake Golday gives Minnesota a possible off-ramp.”
“However, replacing Cashman feels like a risky proposition. The Green Bay Packers recently inked Zaire Franklin to a two-year deal worth about $9 million in average annual value, perhaps a more realistic starting point to keep Minnesota-native Cashman at the center of Flores’ defense.”
Minnesota lured Cashman away from the Houston Texans two offseasons ago, a move that remains near the top of former general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s accomplishments.
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Cashman’s Numbers and Impact in Minnesota
Flores can undoubtedly continue to build a defense around Cashman, and the Vikings should recognize his value as such. Since joining the Vikings, Cashman has started 27 games, accumulating 256 tackles, including 129 solo stops, 14 tackles for loss, 14 QB hits, 6.5 sacks, 10 passes defended, an interception, and a forced fumble.
His Pro Football Focus grades further support Cashman’s performance. In 2024, across 947 snaps, he earned a 72.0 defensive grade, with impressive marks of 76.3 in run defense, 72.0 in pass rush, and 62.1 in coverage. Although his overall grade slightly decreased to 63.6 in 2025, his tackling grade significantly improved to 83.4, and his run defense remained strong at 75.4. All of that makes him an ideal fit for Flores’ defensive scheme — or any defense, really.
Last season, Cashman recorded 144 tackles in just 13 games. Projecting that pace over a full 17-game season would result in approximately 188 tackles, placing him ninth all-time in NFL history for a single season.
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Minnesota Vikings linebacker Blake Cashman is pictured during a game against the Green Bay Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium. On Dec. 29, 2024, Minnesota’s defense forced a turnover that safety Camryn Bynum recovered, helping swing momentum in a rivalry matchup with major playoff implications late in the season. Mandatory Credit: Dan Powers-USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin via Imagn Images.
Cashman’s ability to quickly diagnose plays, aggressively attack downhill, provide solid coverage, excel as a blitzer, and maintain defensive cohesion makes him a quintessential Flores linebacker. He’s that good, and it just makes sense to prolong his stay.
SI.com‘s Will Ragatz noted on Cashman last week, “Underrated nationally, Cashman is an excellent green-dot middle linebacker who defends the run at a high level and flies around the field as a tackler. The Vikings did draft Jake Golday in the second round this year, but the rookie profiles as a great complement to Cashman, not a replacement.”
“Beyond Golday, there isn’t much in the pipeline at off-ball linebacker, as the Vikings no longer seem to view Ivan Pace Jr. as a reliable three-down option.”
The only knock on Cashman is that he misses about a month per season due to injuries.
What an Extension Would Realistically Look Like
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Lewis referenced Franklin’s deal in Green Bay, and that’s probably not too far off. The very best off-ball linebackers rake in $20 million per season, so to suggest Cashman would deserve any less than $10 million is not rooted in reality.
Minnesota, of course, will consider his age, as 30-year-old (or older) linebackers typically don’t improve. Still, Cashman is 30, not 35, and a two- or three-year deal feels appropriate.
And the Vikings can afford Cashman at $10 million per season. He’s well worth it.
If Not, It’s Golday Time in 2027
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Suppose, for a moment, that Cashman is on his way out, and no contract extension comes to fruition this summer. He’d hit free agency in March, and the Vikings would press the full-time button on Golday. Minnesota used a 2nd-Round pick on Golday, and that’s remarkably high for an inside linebacker. Golday may have some EDGE versatility, but coming out of Cincinnati, he was listed as an off-ball linebacker.
Vikings linebacker Jake Golday appears during a Cincinnati Bearcats Football feature interview focused on the program’s offseason preparations. On Aug. 8, 2024, Golday discussed his development, responsibilities, and goals as Cincinnati continued fall camp, with coaches evaluating contributors ahead of the upcoming college football season. Mandatory Credit: Cincinnati Bearcats Football-YouTube.
It’s much more likely that Golday will eventually take over for Eric Wilson, but because the club has “too many” good linebackers, Golday as a succession plan for Cashman cannot be ruled out, even if it’s that unlikely.
Perhaps Golday would take over for Cashman if Cashman’s asking price was too large.
Dustin Baker is a novelist and political scientist. His second novel, The Invaders , is out now. So is … More about Dustin Baker
2 min read Last Updated : Jun 05 2026 | 12:55 PM IST
Neymar is not traveling to Cleveland with Brazil’s World Cup team for its exhibition tuneup against Egypt on Saturday, according to the country’s soccer association.
The Brazilian Football Confederation said Thursday the 34-year-old forward would remain in New Jersey to undergo treatment.
Last week, the team doctor said that Neymar was expected to be sidelined two to three weeks because of a calf injury. Brazil’s opening game at the World Cup is June 13 against Morocco in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and it was not clear if Neymar would be ready to play in it.
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Picking Neymar for the 26-player roster was considered a risk because of his health. He is Brazil’s all-time leading goal scorer with 79 but has struggled since returning from tearing the ACL in his left knee in October 2023 in a World Cup qualifier.
“He can still improve his fitness until the first match of the World Cup,” coach Carlos Ancelotti said last month. “He has experience in this kind of competition, the love of our group, he can create a better environment in this group.”
Neymar has played eight matches for Santos FC this year and has four goals and two assists.
FIFA rules allow an injured player to be replaced up to one day before a team’s first game at the tournament. If he plays, this would be Neymar’s fourth World Cup.
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Brazil earlier this week named 32-year-old defender Marquinhos captain.
“You think about all the legendary captains who have worn this armband before, so I feel very honored and very happy,” Marquinhos said in Portuguese on Wednesday. “Being captain isn’t simply about wearing the armband and playing football. It’s much more than that. It starts with the person and with what you can contribute to the group, to your teammates and to the team as a whole.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The 2026 Fifa World Cup will feature a record eight players aged 40 or older in squad selections for the tournament, which will be staged across Canada, Mexico, and the United States–surpassing by one the total number of such players who have appeared across all previous 22 editions combined, according to Reuters.
The oldest player expected at the Fifa World Cup is Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon, who will be 43 at the tournament and, if he plays, would become the second-oldest World Cup appearance-maker in history behind Egypt’s Essam El Hadary, who played at 45 against Saudi Arabia in 2018. However, Gordon is likely to serve as backup to first-choice keeper Angus Gunn.
Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo will be the oldest outfield player at 41 and is set to feature in a record sixth World Cup. He shares that milestone with 40-year-old Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa and Lionel Messi, who turns 39 later this month.
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Other players aged over 40 at this tournament include Cape Verde’s debutant goalkeeper Vozinha and Germany’s 2014 World Cup winner Manuel Neuer, who is aiming to recover from a calf injury in time to feature against Curacao in Houston on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera will turn 40 next Tuesday, a day after Uruguay open their Group H campaign against Saudi Arabia in Miami.
Fifa has confirmed a record-breaking participation for the 2026 World Cup, with final squad lists revealing 1,248 players from 48 nations set to compete in the expanded global tournament.
Notably, the 2026 World Cup will feature more teams, players and matches than any previous edition of the marquee event, as per the Fifa Website.
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Argentina are the reigning champion of the World Cup after winning the 2022 tournament in Qatar. Led by legendary footballer Lionel Messi, Argentina defeated France in a thrilling final decided on penalties (4-2) after the match ended 3-3 in extra time.
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