Jun 24, 2019; Reims, FRANCE; Spain midfielder Patricia Guijarro (12) and defender Leila Ouahabi (3) celebrate a goal by forward Jennifer Hermoso (not pictured) against the United States during the first half in a round of 16 match in the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019 at Stade Auguste-Delaune. Mandatory Credit: Michael Chow-Imagn Images
Chicago Stars FC signed Spain national team defender Leila Ouahabi to a three-year contract on Tuesday.
The deal runs through the 2028 NWSL season. Ouahabi, 33, will occupy an international roster spot.
Ouahabi was a free agent after playing the past four seasons at England’s Manchester City. She appeared in 106 matches across all competitions from 2022-26 and helped the club win the Women’s Super League and the Women’s FA Cup in 2026
“I’m very excited to join the Chicago Stars,” Ouahabi said. “This is a new challenge in my career, and I can’t wait to meet my teammates and start playing. I look forward to bringing my soccer knowledge and experience to the team, and I want to give the best version of me and help my team do the same. Chicago is building a great project, and I think this is the right place to be to compete at my best.”
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Ouahabi previously played for Barcelona (2011-13, 2016-22) and Valencia (2013-16) in Spain. She helped Barcelona win the UEFA Women’s Champions League in 2020-21.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Leila to the Chicago Stars and are excited to add her experience and international pedigree to our roster,” said Stars president Karen Leetzow. “Leila is a proven winner and has excelled at some of the biggest clubs and competitions in the world, as well as on the international stage with Spain, and we look forward to her bolstering our back line following a historic season with Manchester City.”
She has earned 66 caps with Spain, appearing in the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup and the UEFA Euro tournaments in 2022 and 2025.
A five-time major champion will indeed tee it up at the U.S. Open.
Brooks Koepka told Golfweek Tuesday that he plans to play the major at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club despite withdrawing from the final round of the RBC Canadian Open due to a hand injury.
Koepka won the U.S. Open the last time it was contested at Shinnecock in 2018.
“I’m gonna go this week,” he told Golfweek when asked about the possibility of withdrawing.
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Koepka began experiencing pain in his left pinky and ring finger on Friday night, and the issue arose again ahead of his Saturday round at TPC Toronto, he told Golfweek. The 36-year-old co-led the event after a six-under 64 on Thursday but struggled to a two-over 72 on Saturday.
He said two possible causes of the pain are an ulnar nerve flare-up and thoracic outlet syndrome.
Koepka also had scans of his neck vertebrae, which came back clear.
He tied for 12th at The Masters and tied for 55th at the PGA Championship in the first two majors this year.
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He’s set to play alongside fellow Americans Cameron Young and Chris Gotterup for the first two rounds of the U.S. Open, with a Thursday tee time at 7:30 a.m. ET.
The Canucks have signed defenceman Cole Clayton to a one-year, two-way contract, the team announced Tuesday.
The financial terms of the deal were not initially announced.
Clayton, 26, spent the 2025-26 season with the Abbotsford Canucks in the AHL, tallying six assists in 32 games with Vancouver’s affiliate.
Since being signed by the Cleveland Monsters — the Columbus Blue Jackets’ AHL affiliate — for the 2021-22 season, the Strathmore, Alta., native has tallied 72 points (14 goals, 58 assists) across five seasons split between the Canucks, Monsters and San Jose Barracuda.
Doubts over Neymar’s debut at the World Cup continued Monday after the Brazil forward underwent new tests on his injured right leg. There had been hope that Neymar could return to training on Monday, but the Santos player did not join his teammates and instead went to a clinic for the tests on his right calf. The Brazilian soccer confederation did not immediately reveal the results of the tests. The 34-year-old Neymar, in his fourth World Cup, has been sidelined since getting injured with Santos in Brazil on May 17.
Brazil plays Haiti on Friday at Philadelphia. Neymar has yet to participate in any full training session since the five-time world champions began their World Cup preparations in Morristown, New Jersey.
Brazilian media said Brazil’s medical staff was hoping to have him back fully fit for the knockout stages.
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Neymar’s potential return gained more significance after Brazil’s disappointing 1-1 draw against Morocco in the teams’ World Cup opener on Saturday.
Neymar still brought some star power to the game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. He was seen on the sidelines before kickoff saluting celebrities such as rapper Travis Scott and seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady.
Brazil’s struggles in attack against Morocco immediately prompted calls for a more experienced playmaker like Neymar on the field.
There was widespread debate in Brazil over whether Neymar, whose first World Cup was in 2014 on home soil, should have been called up for the World Cup by new coach Carlo Ancelotti. Some believe the veteran could still help Brazil, but others say Neymar is past his prime and took a spot away from a younger player.
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Three other players did not join the group and trained separately Monday to improve their fitness: Gabriel Magalhães, Bruno Guimarães and Raphinha.
Neymar and his partner, Bruna Biancardi, on Monday announced on social media that she is pregnant with their third daughter. The player has a teenage son from a previous relationship.
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AP World Cup:
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(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Featured Video Of The Day
Tushar Deshpande’s Brilliant Final Act Ensures Thrilling Win For RR Over Gujarat Titans
From obscure, veteran goalkeeper to global fame and an extra 6 million social media followers in 90 minutes, Vozinha’s story is the sort that has made the World Cup so special across the globe.
The Cape Verde stopper excelled as his side drew 0-0 with European champions Spain on Monday. But the tears he shed after the game were not only joyful.
“I cried because I grew up with my grandparents and unfortunately they were not here; they died a few years ago,” he told reporters.
“They were everything for me, for my life. I also cried because my mum didn’t manage to be here because of the visa. Because of the money we had to pay for the visa, we didn’t manage to [complete it] on time. I would like her to be here, but I’m also very happy.”
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Visa issues have been a running theme of the World Cup, mostly in the United States. Cape Verde was added earlier this year to the list of countries whose citizens have to post a refundable bond of up to $15,000 (€12,931) before travelling to the country.
Somali referee denied US entry before World Cup debut
No further detail on these concerns has been forthcoming but US President Donald Trump described Somalis as “garbage” in December, telling immigrants from the African country to “go back to where they came from” and that “their country is no good for a reason.”
This is all despite the promise of FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, who awarded Trump the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize last year, that “fans from all over the world will be welcome” at the tournament. In the same August 2025 statement, Infantino added that the visa process would be “smooth, it will ensure that those that qualify will be able to come with their fans.”
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Iran a team apart at World Cup
That has not been the case for many fans. But it has also caused problems for teams and their support staff, most notably Iran. While the framework of a deal in the US-Israel war with Iran has been agreed, the conflict has meant the Iranian team is operating under different circumstances to the other 47 teams in the tournament.
Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei said his side were being “oppressed” after late changes to their travel plans following their 2-2 draw with New Zealand on Monday. Ghalenoei’s side moved base camp from Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico, shortly before the tournament and must leave the United States after each match to return. Ghalenoei said he thought the team would stay overnight after the match in Los Angeles but they were forced to leave.
Iranian team sets up FIFA base camp in Tijuana
“We’re supposed to stay here tonight to recover and return tomorrow lunchtime, but they haven’t permitted us,” Ghalenoei said. “To be honest, I have no idea why. I think perhaps our team is the most oppressed one in the whole World Cup.”
It was not immediately clear who Ghalenoei feels imposed the departure. But forward Mehdi Taremi said the restrictions on the Iran team put them at a competitive disadvantage.
Infantino visits Iran team despite discontent
“It’s not good for us. I think it’s not good for football,” he said. “I think FIFA have to help us more than this,” said Taremi, who feels the team’s preparations have been rushed. He added that Infantino had visited the Iran dressing room prematch.
“He wants to try to help us, but it’s about other things too,” Taremi said.
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The FIFA president later posted about the match on social media, using the FIFA tagline “FIFA Unites the World” as part of his text.
Iran are also competing without several officials and media operatives. They are unable to travel due to visa restrictions, leaving coaches to take on additional responsibilities on the bench.
“The federation is absent here. Our media isn’t here. Our management team, many of them aren’t here. We used to have a part of a coaching team to help with substitutions but we didn’t have that. Those in the technical area had to deal with that,” Ghalenoei said.
Audrey Werro missed out on her pursuit of the long-standing women’s 800m record as two-time 400m hurdles world champion Femke Broeders-Bol impressed in her first outdoor race at the distance.
Swiss athlete Werro stunned Keely Hodgkinson two weeks ago in Stockholm by winning in a time of one minute and 53.98 seconds – the third fastest women’s 800m time ever and fastest in the world this year.
The 22-year-old was looking to break the record of 1:53.28 set by Jarmila Kratochvilova in 1983 at the Ostrava Golden Spike in Czechia.
She was in contention at 600m but faded slightly to win in a time of 1:54.55 – still the eighth-fastest in history.
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Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles closed the night by setting a world’s best of 14.67 over the unofficial distance of 150m.
The previous fastest time over the distance on a curved track was 14.92 by Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson., external
Werro shone in the 800m as eight women finished inside two minutes in a stacked field.
Dutch superstar Bol, 25, who married Belgian pole vaulter Ben Broeders earlier this year, finished second in 1:57.13 to become the third fastest Dutch woman over two laps.
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She announced last year that she was changing events.
She has also been a world indoor champion in the flat 400m and is a renowned relay athlete, a gold medallist anchor leg runner with the Netherlands’ 4x400m team at Paris 2024.
Albert Ghim from No Ceilings joins KOC for an in-depth NBA Draft breakdown just one week before the big night. The pair shares their predictions for the 2026 Draft including which players might fall and which teams may trade up.
(0:36) NBA Draft predictions (27:16) Player comparisons for top prospects
AJ Dybantsa of the BYU Cougars goes up for a dunks against the Houston Cougars in the first half during the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament at T-Mobile Center on March 12, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
Canelo Alvarez is set to soon return to the 168lbs scene and there are a host of new players at the weight hoping to get the chance to face him. One of those men is a newly crowned world champion, and Canelo has now responded to his call-out.
Canelo lost all four recognised super-middleweight world titles to Terence Crawford in September and they have since been picked up by Hamzah Sheeraz (WBO), Jaime Munguia (WBA), Osleys Iglesias (IBF) and Christian Mbilli (WBC), whom he will face in September.
However, if successful in regaining the 168lb throne against Mbilli, Sheeraz and Iglesias have made it clear that they would like to pursue a potential unification against the Mexican superstar.
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Although, in a recent interview, Iglesias insinuated that Canelo ‘would not want’ to face him, believing that he would not be granted with a unification opportunity, despite his position as the reigning IBF world champion.
“It’s complicated. It’s complicated with Canelo. Canelo would not want to fight me. I would hope that he would give me the fight and allow me to demonstrate that Cuban fighters and more specifically, Osleys Iglesias, is a different breed.
“We will leave it up to God and God willing, he will give me the opportunity to fight him.”
In response, Canelo has now told DAZN Boxing that Iglesias and Sheeraz could earn that opportunity by facing one another.
“I never checked that [potential fights with Hamzah Sheeraz or Osleys Iglesias]. I think that they need to fight each other and then I find out the winner. That is the most smart thing that they can do.
“We all, at some point, we need to earn what we deserve, right? They need to earn it [a fight with me], why not? That is why I say that they need to [fight each other] and I don’t say that they don’t deserve it.
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“They deserve it, that is why they are there as champions or number ones or whatever.
“But, they need to fight each other and then, after my fight, we will see.”
Iglesias, who has 14 knockouts from his 15 victories, is believed to be in talks for a difficult first defence against reigning WBC middleweight world champion Carlos Adames, who is expected to soon vacate his belt ahead of a move up to the super-middleweight division.
Jun 4, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Vegas Golden Knights John Tortorella during the post game press conference after the loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in game two of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
John Tortorella will not return as the head coach of the Vegas Golden Knights, the team announced Tuesday.
The news comes two days after the Golden Knights fell to the Carolina Hurricanes in six games in the Stanley Cup Final.
Tortorella was hired on March 29 after Vegas abruptly fired head coach Bruce Cassidy with eight games remaining in the regular season. Under Tortorella, the Golden Knights finished 7-0-1 to win the Pacific Division title.
Vegas rode that momentum and dispatched both the Utah Mammoth and Anaheim Ducks in six games during the first two rounds of the playoffs before sweeping the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference final.
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“We thank Torts for the guidance he provided our team since joining the organization in March,” Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon said. “When the decision was made to bring Torts to Vegas, we needed an immediate impact to help us at a pivotal point in the season. Torts’ experience and leadership proved to be the boost that we were looking for, helping guide us to the Stanley Cup Final. We are grateful for Torts’ passion, sincerity, and commitment to our organization, and we wish him and his family the best.”
Tortorella, who turns 68 next week, appeared to be uncertain about his future following the Golden Knights’ 3-0 loss to the Hurricanes in Game 6 on Sunday.
“I feel very fortunate how this all came about, and just kind of in a weird way at the end of the year,” Tortorella said. “And then to get locked in with these guys, I just feel fortunate to get to know the team, get to know the organization, first-class organization, and just to have the opportunity.
“Like I said, I’ve wanted to coach, I want to coach. And to jump into this with this gang, I feel so fortunate.”
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Tortorella’s overall record as an NHL head coach is 777-648-166 with 37 ties, highlighted by a Stanley Cup-winning campaign with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2003-04. The two-time Jack Adams Award winner also has coached the New York Rangers, Vancouver Canucks, Columbus Blue Jackets and Philadelphia Flyers.
SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — Welcome to the Open! That is, our Open, our national American championship, even though this Shinnecock Hills golf course, built by Shinnecock men, seems airlifted from Scotland. The South Fork of Long Island is a giant sand pit, really. American linksland, if there were such a thing.
You’re going to hear a lot in the coming days about the changes to the course, in its maintenance and the rest. Forgive me: I’ve been to this Shinnecock course often over the years, as a caddie, reporter and playing guest, and I would say the course barely changes at all. To me, it’s a heaving, pale field of windblown bumpiness. Shinnecock Hills is beautiful, in a grim, timeless and challenging way. As is golf: beautiful, in a grim, timeless and challenging way. The still ball, a golfer over it, bravado and doubt swirling in the northern reaches. It’s true for them and it’s true for us. The clock’s second hand drags. When you’re going good, a waggle can feel like it’s taking for-ev-er? Right?
Golf does time in weird and wonderful ways. Michael Murphy invites you into “Golf in the Kingdom” with this: “The game was invented a billion years ago — don’t you remember?” Golf likes wind, too, and this holy week on deck looks to be a windy one, as you would hope, for a course airlifted from away. Here (again) is John Updike, courtesy a long-ago linksland roam: “This was happiness, on this wasteland between the tracks and the beach, and freedom, of a wild and windy sort.” One player will leave this 126th U.S. Open, and the sixth one played here, particularly happy. He’ll have his name on a trophy forever.
On Father’s Day in 1986, Raymond Floyd won the second Open played here at Shinnecock Hills. An hour or so after Floyd’s victory, I found myself sitting in the press tent one row behind Joe Gergen, a sports columnist for Newsday. Gergen was wearing a short-sleeved shirt patterned with little flowers and he was writing on a typewriter. He paused now and again to laugh about something with the writer on his right elbow. I was 26. I carry the image happily to this day.
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I just reread the story Gergen filed that night. (Thank you, Newspapers.com.) His first quote is from Floyd: “Quite often, I express my joy with tears.” Gergen’s whole column, really, revolves around Floyd’s eyes. You get a bit and ride it out — I was starting to pick up on that. Golf and writing were already elemental parts of my life, but more cement was poured that night. A couple weeks earlier, Gergen had written a generous column about my first book, an account of my brief stint as touring caddie. A 40th-anniversary edition of that book has just been published. The march of time.
I almost can’t believe it, the eye-blink of it all. I can see my childhood mornings almost in real time. Maybe the same is true for you. There are the papers on the gravel driveway of our house in Patchogue, about 30 miles west of here. Our neighboring village, Bellport, had a municipal course where for $50 a year I played all the weekday afternoon golf I wanted, through high school and college. (We played fast to finish.)
My brother and I, as kids, read Dave Anderson and Red Smith in the sports section of the New York Times, Russell Baker on its Op-Ed page, the “On Language” column by William Safire, loads of others, Cap’n Crunch observing all through cereal-box eyes. I had a gym teacher in 8th grade who taught an intro-to-golf class, plastic balls aimed at basketball hoops. That class changed my life. My first U.S. Open (in a manner of speaking) was in ’74, at Winged Foot, mostly by way of the newspaper coverage, along with the broadcast. Watson, Trevino, Palmer. Hale Irwin won. Watson won the British Open one year later. I was mesmerized.
Good luck has a shelf-life of forever, doesn’t it?
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A bookish junior golfer in Western Pennsylvania read my wee caddie memoir, my first book, as a 12-year-old — and as a thirtysomething became my editor. (My good luck.) This new edition is all him, plus Brad Faxon, who wrote an introduction for it.
At the ’86 Open at Shinnecock, Faxon, then a young touring pro and now (we all know) a veteran broadcaster, was the first alternate, ready to play if somebody pulled out. I caddied for him in the Tuesday and Wednesday practice rounds. When nobody withdrew, he flew to Chattanooga to play in a much smaller event there. He won. I traded in my caddie badge for a press pass and got to see Joe Gergen in action Sunday night. A few months later, I was hired as a high school sportswriter for The Philadelphia Inquirer. The editor said, “I like the way he got around the country on the cheap, doing that caddying thing.” (Cheap flights on People Express — my pathway to a big-city daily.) Suddenly I had colleagues who actually knew Joe Gergen and Dave Anderson, among my other deadline heroes.
Hero worship is barely a thing anymore. Maybe we were expecting too much. Tiger Woods was always good about working on his golfing weaknesses. Apply as you wish. The other parts are the other parts. The unbridled joy Paul McCartney gets from music, his own and others, how inspiring is that? When he was 24 and 44 and 64, you could see that joy all over his impish face, and you still can, 84 knocking on his door. (You don’t work music, McCartney says; you play it.)
Roger Angell, the late baseball writer and writer writer, was at the peak of his powers in his 90s. An inspiration. Gary Player used to say, “The harder I work, the luckier I get.” Whole worlds in that. Yes, a lot of XY here. Pardon me as I scream and shout, glowing cellphone in hand, for this foursome: Susan Orlean, Kate McKinnon, Bonnie Raitt, Meryl Streep. (Writer, comedian, musician, Meryl Streep.) The names alone make you want to turn up the volume, do a little dance, raise your game. Don’t they?
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The first U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills was held in 1896. I was on hand for the next four, in 1986, 1995, 2004 and 2018. And I have a press pass — a media credential — for this one. Luck-eee. Forty years later, Joe Gergen’s example continues to inspire me. This typing life.
As we finished up a nine-hole round earlier this year (on the gentle remnants of a U.S. Open course), one of my regular playing partners said he hadn’t read my first book.
“Please don’t,” I said.
“Why?” he asked.
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“It’s terrible.”
“Then why are they bringing it out again?”
“Well, it has a certain charm.”
In 1985, when I was trying to be a professional caddie, the Pebble Beach pro-am was still named for Bing Crosby. By ’86, Bing was out and AT&T was in. I feel like I caught the PGA Tour in its last year as a mom-and-pop operation. I had a caddie-yard mentor named Killer, who won the 1979 Open with Hale Irwin at Inverness. When my pro missed the cut at the U.S. Open at Oakland Hills in ’85, we spent the weekend parking cars on our hosts’ front lawn. At the B.C. Open in Endicott, N.Y., I stayed in a boarding house for $5 a night. I was a recovering English major trying to make it as a vagabond caddie. The stakes maybe sound low but they were high then. They were high to me.
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I didn’t know what I was doing, not as a caddie, not as a writer. But I did love it, the whole thing. The golf, the scene, the tingly excitement, the attempt to capture it all in typed words. Forty years later, nothing has changed, except now I know what everybody of a certain age figures out eventually. George Bernard Shaw said youth is wasted on the young. Pithy and true. This is not pithy but is painfully, gorgeously true: It goes too fast. This week will go too fast. It all goes too fast. Dance while you can.
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