A former Cy Young Award winner who is reportedly on the trade block could be making his final audition start tonight, and I’m not talking about Detroit’s Tarik Skubal – who might be staying put after all (and isn’t pitching tonight). Nope, I mean Miami’s Sandy Alcantara as he takes the hill for the sliding Marlins in an 8:10 ET first pitch in Houston. It’s a weird Wednesday slate with that being the latest start, nary a West Coast night game.

Marlins-Astros MLB same-game parlay

• Houston +1.5
• Under 1.5 first-inning runs
• Alt Under 10.5

DraftKings SGP price: +137 

On July 10, Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic and other national MLB scribes were reporting that the Marlins would keep Alcantara, the 2022 NL Cy Young winner. But back then, Miami was on a six-game winning streak, a season-high 10 games over .500 and right in the mix for the NL East title and a wild card spot. The team hasn’t won since, entering tonight on an MLB-high eight-game losing streak and perhaps changing the front office’s motivations.

A division title was always a longshot, and that can be forgotten now. Miami is tied for the last NL wild card spot, but the SportsLine Projection Model gives it only a 18.9% shot at the playoffs and DraftKings prices the Marlins at +370, which equates to 21.3%.

Alcantara (10-5, 3.89 ERA) perhaps isn’t a Cy Young type these days, and he has never before or since been as good as he was in 2022, but the 30-year-old is a workhorse innings eater (leads the majors with 162.2 innings pitched). Alcantara is the definition of a No. 2 or 3 starting pitcher on a championship-caliber club. Like, say, the Yankees or Dodgers. 

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Why would the Marlins deal him – there is a Kalshi market open on his next team — if they still have a very legitimate playoff chance? Because Alcantara is owed $21 million next season if they pick up the club option, then he’s set for free agency in 2027. The penny-pinching Marlins aren’t paying him $21 million — if there even is a 2027 season – and Alcantara has largely established his value following Tommy John surgery that cost him all of 2024.

Following a seven-start streak where Alcantara got a W in each, he is winless in the past two, but both were quality starts. He just got very little run support. When he gets 0-2 runs of support per game (total team runs), Alcantara is 1-4 with a 5.15 ERA this year in six starts.  When the Marlins score 3-5 runs in an outing, he is 1-1 with a 3.51 ERA in five starts. And when they score more than six, the Dominican is 8-0 with a 3.38 ERA in 10 starts.

Alcantara has not faced Houston this year but was hammered at home by the Astros in August 2025, allowing six runs and nine hits over seven in a loss. The SportsLine Projection Model forecasts him for 6.9 innings, 5.4 strikeouts, 5.6 hits allowed and 2.8 earned runs tonight. He usually goes deep into games and has an Over/Under outs total of 18.5. 

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Houston will be a buyer ahead of the deadline and has been linked to a couple of former Cy Young winners in Skubal and the Giants‘ Robbie Ray but not so much Alcantara. The Astros would not even be within striking distance in the AL West and wild card race without a breakout season from Peter Lambert (8-5, 3.03 ERA).

The 29-year-old had been brutal the first four seasons of his career with Colorado and didn’t pitch in the majors last year, instead going over to Japan. He wasn’t even that good there and only got a minor-league deal with Houston, starting the year at Triple-A. Bettors who have wagered $100 on Houston to win each of his 16 starts would be up $332.

Apparently, the Astros tinkered with his mechanics. In 2024, Lambert threw from a conventional 54-degree arm slot, but this year that arm angle is 49 degrees. That has increased the break on his four-seam fastball. His strikeout percentage on that pitch has increased from 13.2% two years ago to now 23.9%.

I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop on this guy, just hopefully not tonight. Lambert is 2-0 with a 1.02 ERA in three starts this month and the model forecasts him for 5.3 innings, 5.1 strikeouts, 5.2 hits allowed and 2.2 earned runs. He is 1-0 with a 6.35 ERA in 17.0 career innings vs. the Marlins, but no current Miami batters have faced Lambert.

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DraftKings is offering me Houston +1.5, not as an alt, so I will take it even though if I played Astros money line the parlay price would be much better. Always nice to have that insurance. And if the Under first-inning 1.5 cashes, that obviously increases the chances that the alt Under 10.5 full-game total does. Miami isn’t hitting. Check out other expert picks in the SportsLine daily newsletter.

File photo of David Warner© Getty Images

Beyond the action on the pitch, the tournament has also sparked debate over its growing American influence, from soaring ticket prices and extended half-time entertainment to hydration breaks and the prominent role played by FIFA president Gianni Infantino and US President Donald Trump.

What can fans expect from the final? Which tactical battle could decide the outcome? And what does this World Cup say about the future of football?

In this edition, FRANCE 24’s Yinka Oyetade is joined by International Affairs Editor Kethevane Gorjestani as well as Eduardo Tansley, sports journalist at the Athletic to discuss the Messi-Yamal relation and examine the controversies surrounding the tournament.

Tyson Fury has raised serious concerns over his proposed showdown with Anthony Joshua.

After over a decade of build-up, Fury and Joshua finally look set to meet later this year, provided that both men can first come through their respective warm-up bouts this weekend.

Fury takes on Mariusz Wach in Thailand on Friday, before Joshua then meets Kristian Prenga in Saudi Arabia 24 hours later, seemingly paving the way for the all-British showdown at the end of 2026.

‘The Gypsy King’ still doesn’t seem convinced that it will happen though, as he shared his doubts whilst speaking to IFL TV.

“Until that fight happens and we’re walking to the ring, I’m not convinced it does. 100% [I’m doubtful].

I can never see that stiff sitting on a table with me ever. What the f**k is he going to say? I can never see him at a press conference with me, it would be a bombardment. I can never see him taking that.

“He wouldn’t even get in the ring [after the Makhmudov fight]. He s**t himself and sat on a stool outside and didn’t even want to get up and build the fight and make the fight happen when Turki said to us both ‘come on boys let’s do it get in the ring and make it happen.’

“He didn’t want to do it, so how is he going to come face to face with me at a press conference? I think he’s a bottle job, a flapper, a chinless wonder as well.”

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Despite Fury’s fears, all signs still point towards the fight taking place later this year, though there still remains a debate over where it will be held.

Kevin Keegan, the two-time Ballon d’Or-winning soccer star who captained and coached England and won the European Cup with Liverpool, has died. He was 75.

His death was announced on Monday by former club Newcastle, where he had been both a player and coach. Keegan revealed last month that he had stage four cancer.

“One of the most iconic, influential and deeply loved figures in our club’s history,” Newcastle said.

For a time in the 1970s, Keegan transcended the English game with his celebrity status.

Keegan, one of just four Englishmen to win the Ballon d’Or, wasn’t just a brilliant soccer player who dovetailed nimbleness and an eye for goal with a relentless hunger and work rate stemming from his working-class upbringing in northern England.

He was also a trendsetter off the field, through his haircut – a perm, which other footballers across Europe started to copy – and his move into celebrity culture that saw him release a single, appear in an after-shave ad with heavyweight boxing great Henry Cooper, and go on TV shows.

Keegan was also something of a trailblazer in his sport as one of the first English players to move to a continental team when he left Liverpool, where he’d just won the European Cup, for German club Hamburger SV in 1977.

“For Hamburg fans he will remain above all a crowd favorite, an exceptional player, and one of the best footballers ever to wear the rhombus (crest) on his chest,” the Bundesliga club said.

It was in Hamburg where Keegan won the Ballon d’Or – then called the European Footballer of the Year award – in 1978 and 1979 and featured in another European Cup final, a 1980 loss to Nottingham Forest.

Keegan scored 21 times in 63 games for England and played at the 1982 World Cup, his only appearance on soccer’s biggest stage after the country failed to qualify in 1974 and 1978.

Coaching career 
His 16-year coaching career from 1992-2008 was memorable for almost leading Newcastle, the team where he retired as a player, to the Premier League title in 1995-96, only for a late-season collapse which included Keegan’s unforgettable outburst of “I’d love it if we beat them, love it” in a nod toward Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United – the eventual champion.

He then showed more vulnerability in a 20-month spell in charge of England in 1999 and 2000, during which the team failed to get out of its group at the 2000 European Championship before Keegan resigned after the first game of World Cup qualifying – a 1-0 home loss to Germany in the last game at the old Wembley Stadium.

He announced his departure to Football Association officials in an emotional chat in a toilet cubicle.

Born in Doncaster on February 14, 1951, Keegan first played for fourth-tier Scunthorpe in the English league before joining Liverpool in 1971 and, under iconic manager Bill Shankly, immediately forging a strong on-field relationship with John Toshack in a “big man, little man” strike partnership.

Keegan, 5-feet-8 (1.73 meters) and affectionately nicknamed “Mighty Mouse,” fed off the knockdowns and presence of the tall and slender Toshack.

That combination propelled the Reds to an English league-UEFA Cup double in 1973, and Keegan won two more league titles (1976 and 1977), an FA Cup (1974), another UEFA Cup (1976) when he scored in both legs of the final against Club Brugge, and the big one – the European Cup in 1977 – in a trophy-laden stint at Anfield.

“His legacy at Liverpool will be forever etched in history,” the club said.

“He was regarded as a hero wherever he went.” 
In that 1977 final, Keegan won the penalty – given after he was fouled by Berti Vogts – that was converted by Phil Neal to seal a 3-1 win over Borussia Monchengladbach.

Hamburg heights 
It was widely reported that Keegan then became European soccer’s highest-paid footballer when he joined Hamburg, whose players were initially resentful of the Englishman arriving on big money. He won them round and captured his first Ballon d’Or in 1978 – despite Hamburg only finishing 10th in the German league in his first season – and then helped the club win the title in 1979, with a reward being another Ballon d’Or.

“Hamburger SV will always cherish the memory of its former championship-winning player and two-time Ballon d’Or winner,” the German club said.

Off the field, Keegan’s status soared. That year, he released “Head Over Heels in Love,” which finished higher in the singles’ charts in Germany (No. 10) than in England (No. 31), and opened up his home for a behind-the-scenes documentary following his life.

In his third season at Hamburg, the team lost the European Cup final and the Bundesliga to Bayern Munich, and Keegan returned to England with Southampton. There he was the English league’s top scorer with 30 goals in the 1981-82 season – his second and last at the club before moving to Newcastle, his father’s favorite team.

With his work rate and personality, Keegan was adored at St. James’ Park – setting the seed for his later coaching roles there – until he retired in the summer of 1984, though he did put his boots back on in 1985 for a couple of guest appearances for Australian team Blacktown in the Sydney suburbs.

Roberto De Zerbi feels Tottenham’s summer spending spree is “not finished yet” as he looks to “build a soul” for his new-look team.

Spurs have already spent some £237m as the club look to move on from consecutive 17th-placed finishes in the Premier League – and having only avoided relegation on the final day of last season.

Sandro Tonali arrived from Newcastle in a club-record deal which could rise to £100m, which followed on from a £85m swoop for Mateus Fernandes from relegated West Ham and Jan Paul van Hecke coming in from Brighton for £52m.

Martin Dubravka, Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi have also signed on as free agents, though there have been outgoings – with Will Lankshear becoming the second highly-rated youngster, after Luka Vuskovic, to leave the club as he moved to Middlesbrough in a death worth up to £20m.

De Zerbi believes everyone is fully bought in to the “project” under the Italian coach, who took over for the run-in following the departure of Igor Tudor.

“I feel very good because we are working well. I think we are building a very good team, with some very important new players, and we are starting the project in another part of the history of the club,” De Zerbi told SpursPlay.

“I spent a lot of time (understanding the club) before joining in April and I knew very well the ideas of the owner of the club and the plan was clear before the Everton game.

“Now we are inside (the project), we are excited with the idea to build a very strong team. Now we have to finish as it is not finished yet, our transfer market, in and out, but at the moment I am very happy, very proud and very positive.

“To build a soul, to build a new team with the qualities for sure but with soul, with passion, with all the values we have.

“Football now is not just on the pitch, it’s not just with the ball, it is before in the private life, it is how many hours during the day you think you are doing your job and they have to be happy and proud to stay in Tottenham.”

Spurs are set to play their opening first pre-season fixture against MK Dons at the training ground in Enfield on Wednesday night.

De Zerbi hopes it will be the first step in a return to seeing Spurs moving forwards once again.

“I think Tottenham deserve to compete for the top of the Premier League,” the former Brighton and Marseille boss said.

“I know very well the Premier League is very tough, but if you have a good motivation inside of the players, a good organisation on the pitch and outside of the pitch, I think you work well and at the end you reach your target.”

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Caitlin Clark will not participate in the 2026 WNBA 3-point contest. Neither will two-time champion Sabrina Ionescu, who is the reigning champ and has the highest point total (37) in the event’s history, including the NBA. Nor will Kayla McBride, the active leader in 3-pointers (793). 

All three were invited but declined to take part, according to ESPN.

The WNBA did get No. 1 overall pick Azzi Fudd, as well as Marina Mabrey, who has tied both the single-game records for points (53) and 3-pointers (nine) this season. They’ll be joined in the field by Rhyne Howard, Bridget Carleton, Janelle Salaun and Natisha Hiedeman, as the 3-point contest expands to six participants for the first time since 2023 and headlines All-Star Friday Night at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. 

Mabrey and Howard have both participated in the past, but neither has won. Everyone else is making their debut in the event. 

Some of the best moments in WNBA All-Star history have come in the 3-point contest. Allie Quigley winning for a record fourth time in front of her home crowd in Chicago in 2022 stands out, as does Ionescu making 25 of 27 shots, including 20 in a row, in her record-setting 37-point performance in 2023. 

The event has a way of living up to expectations, and may do so again this year, but the biggest storyline heading into Friday night will be who’s not participating. While the league has faced plenty of deserved criticism this season and in years past — Ionescu’s record-setting performance infamously came in the middle of a Friday afternoon — this one is on the players. 

WNBA Power Rankings: Valkyries’ streak has them at No. 1, Liberty stuck in ‘trenches’

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Jack Maloney

Some of the reluctance is understandable. All-Star Weekend has become such an economic engine that it’s no longer a break. Players, especially those as popular as Clark and Ionescu, are shuttled from appearance to appearance to satisfy sponsors and fans. And for those who are also playing in the All-Star Game, it’s easy for the entire weekend to disappear. Declining the 3-point contest is one of the few ways they can reclaim some of their time. 

And this year, specifically, Clark and Ionescu have both dealt with injuries they are still working to fully overcome, while McBride was snubbed for an All-Star reserve spot and may not even be in Chicago. 

But there will always be explanations and excuses. Rest and recovery are important. So is putting on a show for the fans, growing the game and building a legacy. Once again, the league couldn’t announce the contestants until a few days beforehand, and there’s a feeling that they had to beg players to show up. And, once again, the biggest name in the sport is sitting out. 

Clark declined an invitation in her rookie season, had to sit out due to injury last year in Indianapolis and said no again this year. Attempts to get her to participate in a two-on-two version of the Stephen vs. Sabrina challenge at NBA All-Star Weekend also failed. At this point, it’s fair to wonder if Clark, who revolutionized the game with her long-range shooting, will ever take part in a 3-point contest. 

One of the few criticisms of LeBron James’ NBA career is that he never participated in the Slam Dunk Contest, which arguably contributed to the event’s demise. It would be a shame if Clark follows the same path. 

As we count down to the first college football game of the 2026 season, we continue our new series: The records of each top CFB program in the West against all the others in the region.

Some schools have met many times over the years, while others are beginning new rivalries in the wake of recent realignment.

For each opponent in the table below, we provide the total games played, wins, losses, ties, winning percentage, first year played, and most recent contest.

We continue with San Diego State, which has played 592 games against regional foes, winning 293, losing 285, and recording 14 ties, for a winning percentage of .507.

The Aztecs have recorded the most wins (32) and played the most games (63) against Fresno State, and lost the most games (29) against BYU.

Here is a breakdown of San Diego State’s records vs. the region’s teams.

Manchester United have been met with a backlash from a number of supporter groups after some fans had their online season-ticket accounts restricted.

The club’s official fans’ forum, Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST), The 1958 and The Red Army are among the groups to hit back at United, who are aiming to crack down on the illegal resale of tickets.

However, the club’s approach has been criticised for being too heavy-handed and led to concerns the constraints on the accounts could lead to the revocation of season tickets for many innocent fans.

A joint statement from the groups said: “Professional touting, automated purchasing and those who exploit supporters for financial gain have no place at Manchester United and deserve robust action.

“However, that action must be fair, proportionate and transparent. Long-standing supporters who have followed Manchester United for decades, often across multiple generations of the same family, should never feel they are being treated as suspects without clear evidence, due process or a meaningful opportunity to respond to the allegations made against them.

“The current approach has created a growing perception among supporters of a ‘ban first and ask questions later’ process. Investigations should establish the facts before sanctions are imposed.

“The club and its supporters share the same objective: ensuring tickets are used fairly by genuine Manchester United supporters while protecting the integrity of the ticketing system.

“That objective will only be achieved through trust, transparency, proportionate enforcement, better-designed systems and meaningful engagement with supporters, not by creating an environment where loyal fans fear losing relationships with the club that have been built over decades.”

MUST claimed at the weekend the club sent out “account suspensions and season ticket cancellation notices to thousands of supporters”, adding they have been “overwhelmed with requests for help”.

The supporter groups statement added: “The fans’ forum has rightly called on the club to pause the issuing of further suspensions and to halt any cancellation of season tickets while meaningful discussions take place.”

PA