The search for a new Crystal Palace manager is under way after Pierre Sage was sacked on Thursday, just 16 games into a three-year contract, with Thomas Frank in advanced talks to take over. The Frenchman leaves with Palace bottom of the Premier League, and the club is expected to have spent well over £10m on a short, unsuccessful tenure.

A short reign with an expensive exit

According to the Guardian, the decision was taken on Sunday evening after a 3-1 home defeat by Liverpool, but talks over compensation held up the announcement. Palace are understood to have agreed to pay Sage 18 months of a contract reportedly worth about £4m a year. Add the more than £4m the club paid to buy him out of his deal at Lens in the summer, and the total outlay passes £10m.

Three members of his coaching staff, Jamal Alioui, Damien Della Santa and Sandy Guichard, have also left. In a short statement, the club thanked Sage and his team for their efforts “in south London” and promised an update on the managerial search “in due course”.

What went wrong at Selhurst Park

The numbers explain the club’s impatience. Palace have taken seven points from 10 league games, with wins only over Fulham and Nottingham Forest. They have lost four league matches in a row and have conceded 24 goals, the most in the division. Across all competitions Sage won five of his 16 games. The run included a 5-0 defeat by rivals Brighton, after which he spoke of his “shame”. They are also 21st in the 36-team Europa League table.

The defensive problems are central to the story. Palace lost Marc Guéhi to Manchester City in January and Maxence Lacroix to Chelsea in the summer, and the replacements brought in, the loanee Axel Disasi and a young loan signing, have not steadied the back line. The Guardian reports that Sage was also frustrated not to land one of his main targets, the winger Malick Fofana, and had fallen out with the board over the lack of adequate replacements for the two centre-backs.

The BBC adds that injuries did not help, and that the absence of Jean-Philippe Mateta and Ismaila Sarr, caused by a mix of fitness issues and personal matters linked to their desire to leave, took away key attacking options. There was some sympathy for Sage inside the club after the Brighton loss, the BBC says, but three more defeats ended it.

Relations at the top also appear to have frayed. The Guardian reports that chair Steve Parish was unhappy with how Sage handled centre-back Jaydee Canvot, who was dropped for September’s home defeat by Ipswich, and with the substitution of Adam Wharton in that same game.

Why Thomas Frank is the favourite

Frank has been out of work since Tottenham dismissed him in February, with the team 16th and on an eight-match winless league run. The BBC says he chose not to take a job in the summer. The Guardian says he spoke to Palace then and is keen for a fresh challenge after his successful years at Brentford. Palace see him as the man to steer them away from relegation trouble, and the BBC reports that talks are in their closing stages, with hopes of a deal before players return from international duty next week. The Independent says bookmakers suspended betting on his appointment.

Others have been considered. Sean Dyche, who has supporters within the club, and Toulouse’s Jens Berthel Askou have both been linked, and the Guardian also mentions Vítor Pereira. The BBC notes that Fulham showed interest in Frank amid uncertainty over their own manager, but their improved results eased that threat. Palace’s next league game is at Coventry on 21 November, and the club hopes Frank will be in the dugout.

What happens next for Sage

Sage may not stay out of work for long. Lens sacked Yannick Cahuzac on Tuesday, and the Guardian reports that owner Joseph Oughourlian has kept in close contact with Sage and has discussed a return. Sage won the Coupe de France and qualified for the Champions League in his last season there. The BBC puts him second in Ligue 1 that year, a record that made him an attractive successor to Oliver Glasner.

Glasner, now at Nottingham Forest, left a high bar after Palace’s first FA Cup and a European trophy under his watch. Sage was the second Premier League manager sacked this season, hours after Manchester United dismissed Michael Carrick. For whoever becomes the next Crystal Palace manager, the task is immediate: fix a leaky defence, settle a restless squad, and pull a club that finished last season with silverware out of the bottom three.

Explore more on this topic with Vexel Search.

File photo: Pierre Sage lors d’un entraînement.jpg by Zz42, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Bob Boone, the seven-time Gold Glove catcher who helped deliver the Philadelphia Phillies their first World Series championship and anchored baseball’s first three-generation family, has died at 78. His son Bret Boone announced the news on social media Tuesday. No cause of death was given.

“He taught me how to be a pro and more importantly, how to be a man,” Bret wrote on X, calling his father “one of the highest integrity people I’ve ever known.” He ended the post with the words, “Baseball lost a great one.” The Phillies called Boone “an incredible player, teammate and family man” in a statement.

A Catcher Built for the Long Haul

Boone’s career was defined by durability. He was a sixth-round pick out of Stanford in 1969, drafted as a third baseman, and he moved behind the plate in the minor leagues. He went on to play 19 big league seasons: ten with Philadelphia, seven with the California Angels and two with the Kansas City Royals. He caught 2,225 games in total, including 1,095 for the Phillies, which ranks second in franchise history behind Red Dooin.

While in Kansas City, he set the record for career games caught at 1,919. Ivan Rodriguez and Carlton Fisk later passed that mark. Boone won his final Gold Glove in 1989 at age 41. He was the first Phillies catcher to win the award, taking it in 1978 and 1979, and he added four more with the Angels. Accounts differ slightly on his All-Star total, with some outlets listing three selections and others four. The count appears to be three with Philadelphia (1976, 1978 and 1979) plus one more with the Angels.

The 1980 Phillies and a Famous Pop-Up

The defining moment of Boone’s career came in the 1980 World Series against Kansas City. He led the Phillies with a .412 average in the series. In Game 6 at Veterans Stadium, a foul pop-up off Frank White’s bat popped out of Boone’s mitt and into the glove of first baseman Pete Rose, a moment that became a staple of baseball highlight reels. Boone then caught the final out when Tug McGraw struck out Willie Wilson, ending the franchise’s long wait for a title.

Boone’s October work did not end there. With the Angels, he hit .455 (10-for-22) with a homer and two RBIs against Boston in the 1986 ALCS. The Phillies inducted him into their Wall of Fame in 2005, and he was a visible presence at team ceremonies years later.

Baseball’s First Three-Generation Family

Boone’s place in the sport’s history was also a matter of family. His father, Ray, played 13 major league seasons and won a World Series with the Cleveland Indians. That made the Boones the first family in MLB history to produce three generations of big leaguers. Bob’s sons followed. Bret was a three-time All-Star over 14 seasons, mostly with the Seattle Mariners. Aaron played in the majors, including a stint under his father in Cincinnati, and now manages the New York Yankees. Sources differ on the length of Aaron’s playing career, giving it as 12 or 13 seasons. A third son played in the minors, and Bret’s son Jake, who played at Princeton and in the minors, now works in the New York Mets’ front office.

After the Playing Days

Bob Boone moved into management after he retired. He went 371-444 across three seasons each with the Royals and the Reds. In 2005 he joined the Washington Nationals’ front office, a tenure that spanned the club’s first World Series title in 2019. He resigned from that role in 2021 over the team’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

For Phillies fans, though, the lasting image of Boone is the one from 1980: a catcher with a mitt full of history and a pop-up that bounced into Rose’s glove. He is survived by his sons and the baseball family he helped extend to a third generation.

Explore more on this topic with Vexel Search.

File photo: Bob Boone 081323.jpg by PistonsFan2223, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Linda Noskova is the first player through to the WTA Finals semi-finals after a 6-3, 6-3 win over Coco Gauff in Indian Wells, California, on Tuesday. The result leaves two Americans scrambling for the second spot in Group 1.

The 21-year-old Czech, seeded eighth and playing the event for the first time, needed just 1 hour and 15 minutes. She has now won both of her round-robin matches without dropping a set, following up Sunday’s victory over Marta Kostyuk. Her ninth ace of the match sealed it.

How Noskova took control

The match began with an exchange of breaks, but Noskova soon found her range. She hit hard to the corners and pushed Gauff, one of the tour’s best movers, off balance. Gauff trailed by a double break in the first set, and Noskova won five games in a row to take it and lead 3-0 in the second. From there she held serve to the end.

Serve decided the match. Gauff hit eight aces but also eight double faults, and won only six of 24 points behind her second serve. Noskova’s accuracy gave her little to work with in return.

“I feel like I stayed in the match through every moment, from beginning to end,” Noskova said. She also joked with the crowd that the cheers after the match were louder than the support she had felt during it. It was her sixth top-10 win of the season, a year in which she claimed her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in July.

Pegula keeps her hopes alive

Earlier in the group, Jessica Pegula beat Kostyuk 6-2, 7-5 to recover from her opening loss to Gauff. Pegula broke in the first game and never looked back in the opening set. The second was scrappier, with several breaks of serve before Pegula made the decisive break at 5-5 and served it out.

Kostyuk is making her first WTA Finals appearance as a late replacement for world number one Elena Rybakina, who withdrew with a viral illness. She has also been dealing with a wrist injury since August, according to the BBC. Two defeats have eliminated her from contention. “Next time, maybe I’ll be more ready,” she said.

Pegula said she wanted to “give myself the best chance in this group” after the opening loss. The 2023 runner-up at this event now has her chance.

What is at stake on Thursday

Gauff and Pegula both stand at 1-1, so the other WTA Finals semi-finals place will be settled in the final round-robin matches on Thursday. Pegula faces the already-qualified Noskova, while Gauff plays Kostyuk. Kostyuk is playing for pride and for $230,000 in prize money, which she can earn by avoiding a winless group.

For Gauff, who is 22 and the youngest woman to reach five straight WTA Finals since Martina Hingis, a poor serving day has turned a comfortable position into a tense one. Noskova has taken control of the group in her first appearance at the event. Whether Gauff or Pegula joins her in the last four will be decided on Thursday.

Explore more on this topic with Vexel Search.

File photo: Linda Nosková (2023 US Open) 01 (cropped2).jpg by Hameltion, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Rory McIlroy has delivered a blunt assessment of Bryson DeChambeau’s options now that LIV Golf is winding down: there aren’t many. Speaking in Dubai ahead of the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, the world number two said that while DeChambeau would bring “eyeballs” to any event he plays, the American does not appear to have much room to manoeuvre if he wants to keep competing.

“I’m certainly not in his shoes, and nor would I ever want to be, but it doesn’t seem like he’s got many options,” McIlroy said. He added that a name like DeChambeau’s brings “good and bad” with it, but that the attention is ultimately a positive for tournaments.

How LIV’s collapse narrowed DeChambeau’s options

The comments land at an awkward moment for DeChambeau. According to Yahoo Sports, he had been firmly behind a revamped “LIV 2.0” in recent weeks, saying on a podcast last month that the new format made “full financial sense” and could last “forever.” Then LIV confirmed it would wind down after five years, reportedly after losing a funding plan from BC Partners. That followed an earlier announcement that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund would stop bankrolling the league.

DeChambeau, 33, has said he will approach his next move with “humility and respect.” He has committed to the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa in December, but has not said what comes after.

The routes still open

The most concrete route runs through Europe. Yahoo reports that the DP World Tour has offered DeChambeau full status for 2027, though he must commit by next week. The BBC notes he is also eligible to apply for membership as a recent major champion. Either way, playing in Europe could give him a way to earn back a PGA Tour card for 2028. Patrick Reed has followed that path this season, and Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton are reportedly planning the same for 2027.

A second option is a negotiated early return to the PGA Tour. Brooks Koepka secured a deal in January through the Returning Member’s Program, which reportedly cost him around $85 million in earnings. It is unclear whether a similar arrangement would be offered again. OutKick, for its part, says there is no immediate pathway back to the PGA Tour for next season.

The third path is DeChambeau’s own: play the majors and build his YouTube channel. Yahoo notes that this approach is unlikely to be sustainable unless he keeps winning majors and the exemptions that come with them. Seen together, the DeChambeau options McIlroy alluded to look limited, with the European route the most clearly defined.

A history between the two

The remarks carry extra weight given the history. McIlroy lost the 2024 US Open to DeChambeau in dramatic fashion, and OutKick points out that McIlroy has been open about not being particularly fond of the American, having said as much at The Open in July. Even so, his comments on the DP World Tour’s potential gain were measured.

Reed, who took the road DeChambeau may now face, struck a conciliatory tone in Dubai. He said he takes no satisfaction in watching former LIV colleagues sit out or struggle, and hopes they can “come out and play solid golf” and make it onto the PGA Tour.

McIlroy’s own title chase

McIlroy has his own business to attend to this week. He trails Spain’s Eugenio Chacarra by 533 points in the Race to Dubai, with 2,000 points available to the winner at Jumeirah Golf Estates. Nine players can still take the title, but a McIlroy victory would guarantee him a fifth straight crown and an eighth overall, drawing him level with Colin Montgomerie.

The 37-year-old, a three-time winner of the Dubai event, said he is proud of his “consistency” and “longevity,” noting he expects to finish inside the world’s top 10 for the 15th or 16th consecutive year. For DeChambeau, the more immediate question is how long he will take to decide, with the DP World Tour’s deadline close.

Explore more on this topic with Vexel Search.

File photo: 2018 Porsche European Open – Bryson DeChambeau (30166838848).jpg by Axel Schümann, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Header image: AI-generated illustration by WordUp News.

Jockey Tom O’Brien, a Cheltenham Festival winner who rode more than 1,000 winners in Britain and Ireland, has died at the age of 39 after being diagnosed with cancer. The British Horseracing Authority (BHA), where he worked as a steward after retiring from the saddle, said he died surrounded by his loved ones following a “long and courageous battle” with the illness.

A career built at Philip Hobbs’ Minehead yard

O’Brien was born in Ireland and was the nephew of the trainer Aidan O’Brien. His professional life was bound up with Philip Hobbs’ stable near Minehead in Somerset. Hobbs recalled that O’Brien arrived from Ireland as a teenager “having not ridden in a race”, but that it quickly became clear he had real talent. He stayed with the yard from the start of his career until he retired in April 2023, a riding career of about 20 years.

For much of that time he was number two to Richard Johnson, one of the great names of National Hunt racing. Hobbs said O’Brien lived “in the shadow” of Johnson for a long period as second jockey, then stepped up to stable jockey after Johnson retired in 2021. “Which went well,” Hobbs added.

The big days: Aintree, Kempton and Cheltenham

The Guardian reports that O’Brien rode five Grade One winners. Two came on the Hobbs-trained Thyme Hill: the Stayers’ Hurdle at Aintree in April 2021, also known as the Liverpool Hurdle, and the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase at Kempton in December 2022. Hobbs described the Aintree success as his biggest win. O’Brien also took the Tolworth Hurdle for Colin Tizzard on two occasions, with Finian’s Oscar in 2017 and Elixir De Nutz in 2019.

At the Cheltenham Festival he won two handicaps: the Fred Winter Handicap Hurdle on Silk Affair in 2009, and the Pertemps Final on Third Wind in 2022. He also won the Welsh Grand National twice, according to the BBC and the Independent. He passed the 1,000-winner mark in Britain and Ireland in 2021, a milestone few jump jockeys reach.

From the saddle to the stewards’ room

After hanging up his boots, O’Brien joined the BHA’s stewarding team. The Independent reports that he earned high praise there for his race-reading and judgement. It was a natural next step for a rider with two decades of experience, and it kept him close to the sport he had spent his working life in.

Hobbs said he had kept in touch with O’Brien since his retirement, as the former jockey lived only half an hour from the yard. “He was only in our yard about three weeks ago,” Hobbs said.

Racing’s tributes

The tributes reflected how widely O’Brien was liked as well as respected. Johnson said: “You won’t find anyone with a bad word to say about him,” and recalled that in all their years riding together at Hobbs’ they never had a cross word. “He left a positive mark on all of us,” he said.

BHA chief executive Brant Dunshea said O’Brien had “touched countless lives on both sides of the Irish Sea” and faced his illness with “the steely determination and drive that typified the man”. He described him as “a brilliant jockey, a valued colleague, a loyal friend and above all a loving husband and devoted father”. He added that the sport would support O’Brien’s family through what he called an “unimaginably difficult period”.

O’Brien leaves his wife, Hayley, and their two young sons. “It’s very sad, particularly for his wife Hayley and two young children,” Hobbs said.

Explore more on this topic with Vexel Search.

Aryna Sabalenka’s serve let her down, her temper nearly did too, and she still won her WTA Finals opener. The world number two beat Wimbledon runner-up Karolina Muchova 7-6 (7-2) 7-5 in one hour and 53 minutes at Indian Wells on Monday, recovering from a break down in both sets.

She is chasing a first season-ending title in what is her sixth appearance. The draw has also opened up for her. World number one Elena Rybakina withdrew on the eve of the tournament, with the Independent reporting a viral illness, and that leaves Sabalenka as the favourite on the same courts where she won the WTA 1000 title in March.

A serve that came and went

The numbers show how uneven the serve was. Sabalenka hit seven double faults against four aces and landed 59 percent of her first serves. When the first serve did land, it paid off, as she won 33 of 44 of those points, or 75 percent. The second serve was the weak spot, winning only 11 of 30 points (37 percent).

Muchova’s serve was no more reliable. She hit five aces and five double faults, and she won just 53 percent of her total service points, against Sabalenka’s 59 percent. The match produced plenty of breaks. Sabalenka saved four of the eight break points she faced, while Muchova saved four of nine.

Sabalenka blamed the conditions. “It was a bit tricky with the sun [and] with the shade,” she told Sky Sports. “Sometimes I had to adjust my toss, sometimes I had to serve blind, but it’s all part of the game.” She added that she kept reminding herself everyone was playing in the same conditions and that whoever handled them better would win.

Control when it mattered

Muchova was the only player in the field with a winning head-to-head record against Sabalenka, and she took the first break of the match. The same pattern then repeated. Sabalenka broke straight back, and Muchova could not hold her advantage. She served for the first set but a run of errors pushed it to a tie-break. Sabalenka dominated that, helped by two heavy forehand errors from the Czech.

The second set was messier, with five breaks of serve. Sabalenka failed to serve out the match the first time but made no mistake on her second attempt. Her forehand grew steadier as the match went on, and she looked frustrated at times but kept her emotions in check.

After the match she praised her opponent. “She’s such a high IQ player,” Sabalenka said. She added that she enjoys facing someone who constantly changes the pace, because both players are “trying to tactically find the weakness in each other’s game.”

Andreeva sets the bar

The late match on Monday made Sabalenka’s task look harder. French Open champion Mirra Andreeva beat Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina 6-4 6-0 in 77 minutes. She won seven games in a row, saved all six break points she faced and hit nine winners to 12 unforced errors. Andreeva also beat Sabalenka in the 2025 Indian Wells final.

The two meet next. Sabalenka leads the head-to-head 4-2 from six matches. Both players are well placed to reach the semi-finals, since the top two in each round-robin group advance.

A strange season for Sabalenka

This WTA Finals opener comes at the end of an odd year for Sabalenka. For the first time since 2022 she has not won a Grand Slam singles title. She lost the Australian Open and US Open finals to Rybakina, and her last title came in Miami in March, completing the Indian Wells-Miami double. She won just one of her three matches on the Asian swing and took a break before this event.

With Rybakina gone, Sabalenka has a good chance to end the year with a trophy, and the first win over Muchova was a useful start. But the serve problems and the Andreeva match mean her WTA Finals campaign is not yet secure.

File photo: Aryna Sabalenka Trophy US Open 2024 (cropped).jpg by Ocoudis

derivative work: Kacir, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

UFC 334 arrives at Madison Square Garden on Saturday 14 November with two title fights, and each carries its own storyline: a newly promoted heavyweight champion facing the most divisive man in his division, and one of the greatest fighters in women’s MMA coming out of retirement to face a former team-mate.

Gane’s first defence of the heavyweight belt

Ciryl Gane heads the bill in his first defence of the undisputed heavyweight title. The 36-year-old Frenchman won the interim belt in June by beating Alex Pereira at the UFC’s White House event. He was upgraded to undisputed champion in September, when Britain’s Tom Aspinall vacated the title because of complications in his recovery from an eye injury.

That injury happened in October 2025, when Gane poked Aspinall in the eye and their fight was ruled a no-contest. The UFC had planned a rematch to settle the undisputed title, but with Aspinall unable to compete, the promotion moved on. Gane, who lost earlier title fights to Francis Ngannou in 2022 and Jon Jones in 2023, now holds the full belt for the first time. He has won 14 of his 17 fights since debuting in 2018, with seven knockouts.

His opponent is Josh Hokit, a 28-year-old former NFL player who is ranked fifth at heavyweight. Hokit is 10-0 as a professional, with six knockouts, and has won all four of his UFC fights since debuting last November. The most recent was a June win over Derrick Lewis. Reaching a title shot after about a year with the promotion is a rapid rise.

The Hokit controversy

The build-up to the fight has centred on Hokit’s persona as much as his record. He uses exaggerated, WWE-style characters in interviews to draw attention, a approach compared with that of Colby Covington. The Independent describes him as one of the most controversial fighters on the roster, and says his act rubs many fans the wrong way.

He has also faced accusations of crossing the line into discrimination. Following his post-fight interview at UFC 324 in January, he was criticised over comments described as racially aggravating and misogynistic. In June he made misogynistic remarks about former First Lady Michelle Obama, which UFC president Dana White called “gross”, “moronic” and “inappropriate”. Whether the controversy translates into extra interest on fight night is one of the more interesting subplots of UFC 334.

The bookmakers still see Gane as the clear favourite. Betway lists him at 4/11 against 21/10 for Hokit.

Nunes returns to face Harrison

The co-main event may be the bigger draw for many fans. Amanda Nunes, 38, retired in 2023 after a 15-year career in which she won 23 of 28 fights, 13 by knockout. She is the only woman to hold UFC titles in two weight classes at the same time. At bantamweight she holds the records for most wins (13), most finishes (eight) and longest win streak (nine). She has not fought since defending that title against Irene Aldana in 2023, before retiring and vacating it.

Standing in her way is Kayla Harrison, the 36-year-old champion, who took the belt from Julianna Pena last year and is making her first defence. A former two-time PFL lightweight champion, Harrison won UFC gold in only her third fight with the promotion. She has won 19 of 20 fights, with her sole loss coming against Larissa Pacheco in 2022. The pair were once team-mates at American Top Team, which Nunes left in 2022, and are friends.

The fight was originally scheduled for January but was postponed when Harrison suffered a neck injury. Pundits are calling it one of the biggest women’s fights in UFC history. Harrison is the favourite at 1/2, with Nunes at 13/8.

UFC 334 start times and how to watch

For UK viewers, the schedule runs late into Sunday morning:

• Early prelims: 10pm GMT on Saturday
• Prelims: midnight GMT
• Main card: 2am GMT
• Gane v Hokit: expected around 4:30am GMT

In the UK, the card is live on TNT Sports, and is also available through HBO Max, EE TV, Virgin Media, Amazon Prime Video and Sky Sports. In the US, Paramount+ is streaming it. Start times in the US are 6pm PT / 9pm ET for the main card.

The rest of the card

The main card also includes Caio Borralho against Yousri Belgaroui at middleweight, Uros Medic against Kevin Holland at welterweight, and Bilal Hasan against Luis Gurule at flyweight. The prelims feature Stephen Thompson against Charles Radtke, Jim Miller against Terrance McKinney and Donte Johnson against Cesar Almeida. British interest comes from 33-year-old Scotsman Chris Duncan, who faces American lightweight Drew Dober. The early prelims include Jared Gordon v Melquizael Costa, Macy Chiasson v Bia Mesquita, Adrian Yanez v Juan Diaz and Evan Elder v Samuel Sanches. The card is subject to change.

If Gane wins, he strengthens his claim to the heavyweight throne, though the unresolved Aspinall situation will linger. A Hokit win would be a remarkable rise for an unbeaten fighter who has been in the UFC for a year, and it would put a controversial figure at the top of the division. Either way, UFC 334 looks set to be one of the year’s most talked-about nights in New York.

Explore more on this topic with Vexel Search.

File photo: Ciryl Gane en visite au centre d’entraînement du MHSC.jpg by MHSC TV – Montpellier Hérault Sport Club, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Scott McTominay has disclosed details of his World Cup heart treatment, saying he had his heart “shocked” in hospital just two days before Scotland’s tournament opener against Haiti. The Napoli midfielder spoke at a Hampden press conference on Tuesday, ahead of Scotland’s Nations League games against North Macedonia and Switzerland.

What McTominay said about the procedure

The 29-year-old said he was in a hospital bed, about to be put to sleep, shortly before the Haiti match in Massachusetts. “You’ve prepared so well, I was in such good condition and then something like that happens and you’re thinking, ‘How is this happening to me?’” he said. He added that he was fully fit by kick-off and that the episode was “nowhere near an excuse” for how his tournament went.

He was cleared to play and featured in the 1-0 win over Haiti. He also played 90 minutes in the defeats by Morocco and Brazil, and Scotland went out at the group stage.

A secret kept during the build-up

According to reports, the arrhythmia first came to light after the squad arrived in the United States in early June. At the time, the Scotland camp said McTominay had missed training because of a stomach complaint. He has now given the fuller account.

The condition was described as a mild, benign arrhythmia, but it did not go away. It affected him again in August while he was playing for Napoli. After the first two Serie A matches of the season, McTominay decided surgery was the only option. He had a cardiac ablation, a minimally invasive operation to correct irregular heart rhythms, in Manchester in September and spent the rest of that month out of action.

Back in the squad, and a World Cup hangover

The September absence meant he missed Scotland’s first four games under new head coach Sebastien Pocognoli, which brought a win, a draw and two defeats. He has since played in all nine of Napoli’s matches after the last international break, and he has been recalled for this month’s double-header.

McTominay stressed that the McTominay heart treatment sounds more alarming than it was. “It looks a lot worse to people in the media and family and friends who reach out to you after they’ve seen news relating to a heart issue,” he said, “but it was a relatively straightforward procedure which went really, really well.” He praised Napoli and the medical staff who treated him, and said he felt “much, much better” than before.

He was more candid about the emotional toll of the World Cup itself. He called it probably the most disappointed he has been in his career and said it took “a good couple of weeks” to get out of his system, including two to three weeks of feeling not “quite with it mentally.”

Scotland host North Macedonia on Friday, 13 November, and travel to Switzerland three days later. McTominay says getting back on the pitch matters most to him. “That’s the most important thing in my life and it always will be,” he said, adding that he wants to prove himself again and “go to another level.”

Explore more on this topic with Vexel Search.

File photo: Scott McTominay Scotland v Bolivia 6 June 2026-41.jpg by Bryan Berlin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Header image: AI-generated illustration by WordUp News.

Blades Brown, a 19-year-old from Tennessee, is the youngest PGA Tour winner in 95 years after beating Ben James in a two-hole playoff at the World Wide Technology Championship in Baja California, Mexico. He started the final round seven shots off the lead and finished it with a nine-under 63.

A record that stretches back to 1931

Brown was 19 years and 171 days old when he won. No one younger has won on the tour since Charles Kocsis, who was 18 when he took the 1931 Michigan Open. That event was considered regional in the early years of the tour, which explains the unusual gap. Brown is also the first teenager to win on the PGA Tour since Jordan Spieth took the 2013 John Deere Classic at 19 years and 352 days. According to PGA Tour Communications, quoted by Sky Sports, he is the fourth-youngest winner in tour history. It was his first victory, in his 22nd start.

Brown turned professional at 17, during his junior year of high school. He earned his PGA Tour card this year by finishing in the top 20 of the Korn Ferry Tour points list.

How the final day unfolded

James, the top-ranked player in the PGA Tour University standings last season, went into Sunday with a four-shot lead at El Cardonal at Diamante. That lead disappeared. On the back nine, eight players were within two shots of each other, and Brown ran off three straight birdies to join the lead. He closed with a pitch to about six feet and a birdie on the par-five 18th, finishing on 23-under 265.

That put him a shot clear of Michael Kim, who birdied from 12 feet for a 64 in the same group just before Brown’s putt dropped. Brown then waited to see whether his lead would hold. According to the Independent’s account, he got through two bags of balls on the range while he waited.

James answered with a flourish. He hit a 285-yard approach on the 18th to about 20 feet and holed the eagle putt for a 70, which forced the playoff. He said afterward he “had a feeling that it was going to go in,” and it was the only putt over 15 feet he made all day.

The playoff went back to the 18th. Both players missed eagle chances on the first extra hole. On the second, James’s pitch ran out to eight feet, and Brown’s finished three feet short. James’s putt grazed the edge of the hole, and Brown holed his to win.

What the win means for Brown

The prize goes well beyond the trophy. Brown gets a two-year exemption and a place in the PGA Championship next year, his first major. The exemption also puts him in the elite Championship Series when the PGA Tour’s new model begins in 2028.

Brown said the win had not sunk in. He recalled watching Tiger Woods and other major winners on television as a five-year-old, and called it “mind-blowing” to now be in a similar spot. “I’m so obsessed with this game,” he said. “I can’t wait for what’s next.”

For James it was another near miss. In 13 starts since turning pro, he has five top-five finishes and two runner-up results. Fall-season events in Cabo rarely draw much attention, but this one set up a playoff between two young players, and one of them became the youngest PGA Tour winner in nearly a century.

The FA Cup second round draw took place on Monday, 9 November, and it has handed a historic home tie to seventh-tier Wimborne Town, who will host League One side Bradford City. The draw was broadcast live by TNT Sports from Bolitho Park at about 18:45 GMT, ahead of the last first-round tie between Plymouth Parkway and Berkhamsted.

When are the second round ties played?

All 20 ties are scheduled for the weekend of 5-6 December. Forty clubs entered the draw, one of them a placeholder for the winner of the Parkway-Berkhamsted match, which will be at home to Barnet. The winners of this round take home £79,500 in prize money, and losing sides are guaranteed £21,200. Premier League and Championship clubs enter in the third round. That draw is expected on the evening of Monday, 7 December, though the Independent described that date as presumed rather than confirmed.

Wimborne’s dream continues

Wimborne are the story of the draw. The Dorset part-timers reach the second round for the first time, having beaten League Two’s Crawley Town 2-0 in round one. Bradford arrive in confident form after a 7-0 win over Marine. Wimborne manager Tim Sills said he would have been happy with any home tie, but admitted the opposition is “a different challenge”. He added that his players “can’t wait to hopefully produce another magical moment”.

Other ties to watch in the second round

Several other non-league sides will also hope to cause an upset. Dover Athletic host 2021 winners Leicester City. Guiseley, another seventh-tier club, who knocked out National League side Sutton United 1-0, welcome League One’s Notts County. Fifth-tier Kidderminster Harriers, 3-0 winners over Doncaster, travel to Barrow.

Among the all-professional ties, 2013 winners Wigan Athletic meet Barnsley in an all-League One clash. Grimsby Town, who needed penalties to beat eighth-tier Stafford Rangers, host Oldham Athletic, who beat Sheffield Wednesday in extra time. Leyton Orient travel to Port Vale, and Luton Town, managed by Jack Wilshere, visit AFC Fylde.

FA Cup second round draw: every fixture

Chesterfield v Cheltenham Town; Guiseley v Notts County; Wigan Athletic v Barnsley; Exeter City v Stevenage; Plymouth Parkway/Berkhamsted v Barnet; York City v Carlisle United; Crewe Alexandra v Plymouth Argyle; AFC Fylde v Luton Town; Barrow v Kidderminster Harriers; Colchester United v Mansfield Town; Rochdale v Newport County; Dover Athletic v Leicester City; Port Vale v Leyton Orient; Grimsby Town v Oldham Athletic; Shrewsbury Town v Burton Albion; Salisbury v Blackpool; Wimborne Town v Bradford City; Rotherham United v Bristol Rovers; Reading v Stockport County; Wycombe Wanderers v MK Dons.

With the Premier League and Championship sides still to come in, this round is the last chance for the lower-league clubs to get through to the third round without facing the top two divisions. Wimborne, Guiseley and Dover will hope to join the survivors from the first round.

File photo: FA Cup Trophy at Manchester National Football Museum (Ank Kumar) 01.jpg by Ank Kumar, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.