Sports
Dana White wants Oleksandr Usyk to fight undefeated Zuffa champion: “The best vs the best”
Oleksandr Usyk has revealed a three-fight plan before his retirement from the sport, but Zuffa Boxing CEO Dana White has admitted that he wishes to intervene and stage a clash between the Ukrainian and one of his undefeated champions.
Usyk remains unbeaten after 24 professional contests, despite an arduous run of fights that have seen him become an undisputed champion at both cruiserweight and heavyweight, cementing himself as a modern pound-for-pound standout.
Now, the 39-year-old is approaching the end of his astonishing career, having opened up on his plans to have three more fights, beginning with Rico Verhoeven in May and then against two British opponents, before hanging up the gloves.
Yet, whilst not mentioned on Usyk’s hit-list, Dana White has thrown Jai Opetaia’s name into the mix, admitting that he would like to see how the reigning Zuffa cruiserweight champion would fare against the dominant heavyweight ruler, in a clip captured by Seconds Out.
“I want to see the best fighters in the world fight the best fighters in the world. I would like to see Jai Opetaia fight Usyk.”
At present, a fight between the pair seems unlikely, though Opetaia may indeed make a move to heavyweight sooner rather than later given he has now been officially stripped of his IBF cruiserweight belt after weeks of back and forth.
Usyk will return to action on Saturday, May 23, as he offers a controversial world title shot to Dutch kickboxing champion, Verhoeven, in a fight at the Pyramids of Giza that is sure to capture global interest.
ENGIE Stadium will play host to Saturday’s
Round 9 AFL game between GWS Giants and
Essendon Bombers. The game kicks off at 4:15 pm with GWS Giants heading into the game as favourites with the bookmakers. Continue reading for our in-depth preview of the GWS Giants vs.
Essendon Bombers
game and give you our free tips and bets.
When: Saturday May 9, 2026 at 4:15 pm
Where: ENGIE Stadium
Bet 💰: Bet On This Match HERE
GWS Giants vs Essendon Bombers Odds
GWS Giants vs Essendon Bombers Preview
GWS returns home on Saturday afternoon looking to reignite its season against a struggling Essendon outfit. The Giants have found life difficult away from home in 2026, but a return to ENGIE Stadium could provide the perfect opportunity to reset after last week’s loss to Gold Coast. GWS has dominated Essendon in recent meetings in Western Sydney, winning its last four home games against the Bombers by hefty margins. Essendon’s problems deepened again during a heavy defeat to Brisbane, leaving the Bombers with just one win from eight matches this season. Defensive issues and a lack of midfield consistency continue to haunt Brad Scott’s side. While injuries have impacted GWS at times, the Giants still appear far more settled structurally and will see this fixture as a valuable chance to keep pace with the top-eight race.
Head To Head Bet
We’re tipping GWS Giants to win at $1.10 odds.
Welcome to Play Smart, a regular GOLF.com game-improvement column that will help you play smarter, better golf.
Everyone wants to get better at golf. Even the best players in the world are always looking for any edge they can find to shoot lower scores.
The problem with most recreational golfers is that they don’t fully understand why they shoot higher scores than better players. Sure, they recognize the macro-level differences — longer drives, closer approaches, fewer putts — but they don’t always understand how better golfers consistently put themselves in position for success.
The latest Arccos Annual Distance Report shed light on this topic, and it all starts with accuracy off the tee.
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1 big difference between good and bad golf
As you might expect, low-handicap golfers are more accurate off the tee than their high-handicap counterparts. But the gap between the two is smaller than you might think.
According to Arccos’ data, low single-digit handicaps (0–5) hit 50 percent of fairways across all age groups, while high-handicap players (30+) hit 40 percent. So, over the course of an average round, a low-handicap player will hit only one or two more fairways than a high-handicap playing partner.
That’s likely a much smaller discrepancy than you expected (it certainly surprised me). But if you dig a little deeper into the data, you’ll see the biggest difference between these groups comes from the severity of their misses.
Wayward drive percentage
;)
Arccos Golf
The table above charts the percentage of wayward drives across handicap groups, and it highlights one of the clearest differences between good and bad golfers.
According to Arccos, a “wayward drive” is any tee shot that results in either a penalty stroke or a recovery situation, such as a punch-out or layup. And as the chart shows, better golfers hit far fewer wayward drives than higher-handicap players.
A low-handicap golfer hits only about 12 percent of tee shots into this wayward category, while high-handicap golfers hit 45 percent of their drives wayward. Over a typical round, that means a low-handicap player hits only one or two drives into serious trouble. A high-handicap player, on the other hand, hits six or seven wayward drives — nearly half of all tee shots.
So what does this mean for you? If you want to shoot scores like a low-handicap golfer, you need to drive the ball like one — and that means keeping the ball in play. You don’t need to hit every fairway, but you do need to avoid the big miss. Do that consistently, and lower scores will follow.
Juveniles Uncertain Glory along with La Barrita faced mixed results at Warwick Farm, but opportunities in Queensland await both this winter.
Warwick Farm’s two-year-old fillies maiden could become a benchmark for Brisbane’s winter carnival, with the top finisher and third both earmarked for northern campaigns.
Tommy Berry guided Michael Freedman’s Uncertain Glory ($3.90) to claim the Ranvet Plate (1000m), prevailing by a long neck over Palmanova ($11), as favourite La Barrita ($3) stormed home third, beaten by a mere short half-head.
This Zoustar daughter Uncertain Glory debuted successfully, and Berry believes she will thrive over extended trips.
“The biggest query today was the 1000 metres. She will be better at 1100 and 1200,” Berry said.
“She was just a bit impatient in the gates. She was the same at the trials and she’s not pinging the barriers, but she has got good speed after that.
She got a little bit lost at the furlong, but I loved that when Kerrin McEvoy’s filly (La Barrita) came to her outside, she really knuckled down late.”
Michael Freedman did not attend, yet stable spokesperson Sophie Johnson shared that plans include possible Brisbane raids for the filly during the carnival.
“He’s got a couple of options and her owner is here and he’s quite keen on the idea of going to Queensland,” Johnson said.
From Victoria came La Barrita, handled by Tony and Calvin McEvoy, as a trial run before Queensland ambitions.
Denied the win, the filly nevertheless impressed by overcoming a wide draw and hitting the line hard.
“She did everything but win,” Calvin McEvoy said.
“She made a couple of mistakes and from a wide barrier, it was always going to be tough if she didn’t fly the gates.
We wanted to come here as a bit of a fact finding mission, hoping she could win and get the prizemoney for the $1 million Magic Millions race. That’s going to be a bit difficult now, but she is a filly that is going to love 1200 and 1400 metres.
It’s all a bit open now, but we are going to go to Queensland.”
The Magic Millions National 2YO Classic (1000m) takes place at the Gold Coast on May 18, while the Spirit Of Boom Classic (1200m) runs at Doomben two days beforehand.
For the latest racing odds on these key Brisbane events, head to trusted betting sites.
Out on the PGA Tour, when one player starts to have success with something, it doesn’t take long for others to take notice and try it for themselves.
Specifically, putters catch fire more often than other clubs.
In recent years, the Jailbird craze of 2023 is an obvious example, with Rickie Fowler, Wyndham Clark and Keegan Bradley all winniung with Jailbird Cruisers in the span of two months. This year, hordes of pros have flocked to TaylorMade’s Spider putters after the boatloads of wins by Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy.
Now, Cam Young’s Phantom 9.5R has the potential to be the next hot putter.
This week, Justin Thomas made a switch to an essential copy of the putter after Young won the Players Championship and the Cadillac Championship over the past month and a half.
It’s Thomas’ second switch in a month after he benched his Phantom 5.5 gamer midway through the RBC Heritage last month and played well on the weekend using a backup Newport 2 GSS blade.
He continued using that putter last week, but at Quail Hollow, he wanted to find something that would stick long term. He had worked himself nearly back to 0 strokes gained: putting after a disastrous start to his season at Bay Hill, before a rough opening two rounds at Harbour Town. He lost strokes with the blade last week in Miami.
“Some of it is just calibration. … some of it is just, he, you know, the potential of making good putts but not seeing anything go in type of thing,” Scotty Cameron Tour Rep Brad Cloke told GOLF. “It just seemed like he kind of wanted to start a little bit from scratch this week.”
So he asked for a couple of new putters, including some 9.2Rs, a shape he used previously, and a copy of Cam Young’s 9.5R.
“I literally texted Cameron’s guys and said, ‘Just give me Cam’s putter,’” Thomas said Friday, who played with Young the first two days.
Not an uncommon request.
Scotty Cameron 2026 Phantom 9.2R Custom Putter
View Product
“Obviously, with the success that Cam is having … these guys are as they see success and they want to see what it’s all about potentially,” Cloke said.
In addition to having a low-bend shaft that mimics the look and toe hang of a jet neck, Thomas’s 5.5 also has smooth face milling that makes it a bit louder-sounding and firmer.
His new putter matches Young’s so it has mid-milled face, but he’s actually preferred the milling on the new 9.5R.
“It was more so of like, ‘Hey, this is different, but I’m kind of liking it,’” Cloke said. “The comment that I heard from him was about feel, but it was more so like, ‘I’m actually surprised I like the way this feels.’”
While the putter is Thomas’ spec length and has his grip, it has the same graphite shaft Young uses and a full-length sight line. Thomas found that made it super easy to line up.
“It’s just so hard to putt well if you don’t have confidence, and so hard to have confidence unless you’re seeing it go in more often,” Thomas said. “So I really, really worked hard Monday through Wednesday on my speed and start line and everything to where I just felt like I was in a better place and more freed up when I was putting.”
Through two rounds, it’s been highly successful as Thomas sits at seven under going into the weekend and is gaining nearly three strokes on the field, good for top 10 in the stat.
Sahith Theegala’s newest putter wasn’t random, finally
While the biggest story in Ping putters was Tony Finau’s bizarre technique with a prototype Oslo Onset long putter early in the week, he ended up going back to the Scottsdale Tec Ally Blue Onset he switched to in February.
In fact, Ping’s Ally Blue headshape had a solid week, earning two high-profile conversions, one so surprising Ping Tour Rep Kenton Oates didn’t even take it seriously.
Sahith Theegala, who, as we profiled in Bag Spy this week, loves to practice with random putters every week on the PGA Tour before returning to his longtime Anser gamer, was losing a putting contest on the practice green using an Ally Blue H when Oates hollered over for him to try his gamer.
“He goes, ‘This is what I used Sunday of Cadillac,’” Oates said. “And I go, ‘What?
He goes, ‘Yeah, I think I’m going to use it on Thursday.’”
Theegala followed through on Thursday in the first round of the Truist Championship and kept it in the bag for Friday as well.
Turns out, this wasn’t another random practice putter for Theegala; this is something he worked on with Ping Principal Design Engineer Tony Serrano. He’s actually had the putter for over a year.
Theegala started working on a mallet putter with Serrano, feeling like he could gain forgiveness over his Anser blade.
“The key thing for him is, he has a certain stroke, a certain rotation in his stroke that requires something with some toe down,” Serrano said. “He’s always played an Anser 2 that hang at that 40 or 42 degrees that work perfectly for his stroke.”
PING Scottsdale TEC Ally Blue Onset Custom Putter
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The Ally Blue H has the same plumber’s neck hosel Theegala is used to and similar CG and toe hang properties, making it a more natural transition.
He started working on a new 3-wood with the TaylorMade team.
TaylorMade Qi4D Custom Fairway Wood
PROVEN RECIPE
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The Qi4D fairway is designed for golfers who want the most advanced technology while still prioritizing versatility and control with amazing distance.
ADJUSTABLE PERFORMANCE
Utilizing a single Trajectory Adjustment System weight (8g x1) provides the golfer a more mass efficient way to adjust flight, spin and swing weight.
4° loft sleeve can be used to adjust loft, lie and face angle for optimized flight and is available in all lofts.
REFINED ATTRIBUTES, BIG CHANGES
Engineers conducted an objective analysis of all the performance attributes and discovered new methods to enhance performance and confidence.
Sit points, lie angles, address views, and center of gravity locations were all updated based on Tour feedback and the expertise of leading fitters worldwide, ensuring the optimal fairway across skill levels.
TOUR-PROVEN TECHNOLOGIES
New and improved cut-through Speed Pocket™ protects ball speed and reduces spin on low-face strikes.
Advanced CAD modeling creates a design with a clean and powerful sound, a foundation for TaylorMade fairway performance.
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“Post-Augusta we went back and looked at the data and he was actually getting center strikes that were drawing too much,” TaylorMade Tour rep Keith Sbarbaro said. “So the club was acting like he was toeing it. It was kind of gear-affecting left.
“So what we did is we moved the CG a little more toward the toe to try and square that up. The other thing he was getting some under-spinning shots that were knuckling a little bit.”
With the new 3-wood, Sbarbaro said McIlroy hit eight shots that all spun between 3,100 and 3,300 RPM and flew right on target. That’ll do!
Check this out
This section is dedicated to cool photos we’ve snapped recently on Tour, but haven’t had a reason to share yet. For this week, check out Justin Thomas’ 10-plus-year old Titleist 915Fd 5-wood.
;)
Jack Hirsh/GOLF
Odds and Ends
Some other gear changes and notes we’re tracking this week.
Reitan also has a new Ping G440 K driver with a Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro White shaft. … Titleist launched the GTS300 Mini Driver on the PGA Tour this week, with the name suggesting it’s larger than its predecessor. … Brooks Koepka began his post-Srixon era with a new Grove XXIII staff bag and set of Vokey SM11 wedges, along with a rare WedgeWorks 60B Lob Wedge. … Lucas Glover added new GTS2 15.0 and 21.0 fairway woods. … Five players added new TaylorMade Qi4D fairways: Nico Echavarria (Qi4D 3-wood), Jason Day (Qi4D 9-wood), Robert MacIntyre (Qi4D 7-wood), Denny McCarthy (Qi4D Tour 3-wood) and Matt Wallace (Qi4D 7-wood) … McCarthy also switched to a Spider Tour X L-neck.
Angel Canino and the La Salle Lady Spikers during a game against NU Lady Bulldogs in the UAAP Season 88 women’s volleyball tournament Finals. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
Perfect in the elimination round and perfect in winning Game 1.
With that, La Salle is eyeing nothing but staying the same as the Lady Spikers try to wrap up the Season 88 UAAP women’s volleyball Finals against back-to-the-wall National University on Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
A 13th title in a spotless 16-0 campaign is within reach and the Lady Spikers won’t let their guard down against a bounce-back-seeking Lady Bulldogs in their 5 p.m. duel as NU tries to keep a “three-peat” bid alive.
Angel Canino, whose generational Rookie-MVP season three years ago was also the last time La Salle won a title, is determined to finish the season with a championship and add to the Lady Spikers’ rich winning tradition.
“I really want to end this in a good way, something we can be proud of,” said Canino in Filipino after delivering 17 points in a 25-23, 25-18, 25-18 Game 1 ripping of the Lady Bulldogs on Wednesday. She wants nothing but to end a two-year wait for another championship, especially after being swept by National U last season when Bella Belen and Alyssa Solomona still bannered the Bulldogs.
“Now, I’m trying to be more patient with myself and with my teammates,” Canino said. “I think that’s what will carry us to a championship, not just skills, but how we carry ourselves and handle everything so we can finish the season the right way.”
La Salle coach Ramil De Jesus reminds his wards, also bannered by Shevana Laput, Amie Provido, Shane Reterta and rookie setter Eshana Laput, not to be complacent, with the Lady Bulldogs looking to force a rubber match—which would be the first in the tournament since 2019 when Ateneo beat UST for the Season 81 crown.
“We’ll just stick to our preparation. NU doesn’t really change how they play, win or lose—they’re consistent,” De Jesus said as he tries to end the season of former player and now NU counterpart Regine Diego. “Their setter is very experienced, their spikers are solid and even their second stringers are strong.
“NU played really well, but our players just wanted it more,” said De Jesus, who eyes his second tournament sweep since 2004’s 14-0 run.
True enough, Diego won’t back down, as she and the Lady Bulldogs remain optimistic despite getting swept in Game 1.
“I knew they weren’t going to give it to us easily, which is why it was such a tough game,” Diego said. “But for sure, we’ll bounce back in the next one.”
Vange Alinsug, who had 12 points in Game 1, is eager to keep their “three-peat” bid alive.
“Right now, I’m just trying to lift up my teammates because I can see that we all want this badly,” said Alinsug. “We just need to play with even more heart. It’s not over yet. We still have work to do.
“We need to give even more, especially now that La Salle’s confidence is really high,” she added. “We have to polish the things we need to improve on. We really need to stay consistent, especially in the stretch.”
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National U will continue to turn to Arah Panique, who led the team with 18 points and fifth-year setter Lams Lamina. Top rookie Sam Cantada, who struggled in her Finals debut with two points on a 1-of-18 attacking clip, vowed to show up.nu
Novak Djokovic at Italian Open© AFP
Novak Djokovic was eliminated from the Italian Open in the second round on Friday by Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic 2-6, 6-2, 6-4. The 24-time Grand Slam champion was making his comeback from a shoulder injury in the last big tournament before the French Open. Djokovic was playing for the first time since losing in the last 16 at Indian Wells in March, having pulled out of tournaments in Miami, Monte Carlo and Madrid. The 38-year-old had not been knocked out this early in a tournament since the Madrid Open last year, and looked a long way from the player who has won six Rome titles. Playing with a shoulder brace, Djokovic had breezed through the first set helped by Prizmic’s 13 unforced errors.
But the world number four’s hitting started to look increasingly tentative as Prizmic rattled off four straight games at the start of the second set with his powerful ground strokes finding their mark.
Prizmic came to the Italian capital with a career-high ranking of 79 after reaching the third round in Madrid — beating world number six Ben Shelton in the process — and had also dispatched Marton Fucsovics to set up his clash with Djokovic.
The 20-year-old reached the third round of a second consecutive Masters 1000 event with the biggest scalp of his career to date.
Djokovic is Prizmic’s idol, and a landmark win gives the young talent a match with either Ugo Humbert or Vit Kopriva and a chance to make the fourth round of a top-tier event on the ATP Tour for the first time.
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The 2026 NBA Draft Lottery will take place on Sunday (3:00 p.m. ET), and it could be one of the most consequential in league history. That’s because with the looming lottery reform that could be in place as soon as next year, there would be no draft floor.
For example, the Washington Wizards finished the 2025-26 season with the worst record (17-65). This weekend, the worst possible outcome for Washington is its pick landing at No. 5. Under the proposed 3-2-1 lottery system, the Wizards would be in the “relegation” zone and could fall as far as pick No. 12.
Teams will have a whole summer and another NBA season to worry about what’s ahead. As of now? Teams are worried about the ping pong balls that could make-or-break what some teams have been planning on the rebuild front. The top of the 2026 draft class is as talented as any in the last decade, with BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, Kansas’ Darryn Peterson, Duke’s Cameron Boozer and North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson expected to come off the board early.
The Wizards, Indiana Pacers and Brooklyn Nets all have equal odds (14%) of landing the No. 1 pick. After that, the Utah Jazz and Sacramento Kings have the fourth-best odds (11.5%) to pick first after tying for the fourth-worst record. The New Orleans Pelicans finished tied with the Dallas Mavericks for the seventh-worst record in the league. However, the Pelicans don’t own their first-round pick after trading it away on draft night last summer in a deal centered around Derik Queen.
The Atlanta Hawks will have two bites at the apple because they own the Pelicans’ selection and have swap rights with the Milwaukee Bucks. The Los Angeles Clippers owe their first-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder no matter what, but could still pick at No. 5 or No. 6. The Pacers traded a top-four protected pick at the trade deadline to Los Angeles for Ivica Zubac.
The pick would go to Los Angeles this year if it’s outside the top four. And if it doesn’t? It becomes an unprotected first-rounder in 2031.
Here are the official odds ahead of the draft lottery this weekend.
What are the odds for the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery?
The Wizards finished with the NBA’s worst record in 2025-26, thus earning a 14% chance to win the lottery. Indiana had the second-worst record and has a 14% chance as well.
The full odds board for each team to win the No. 1 pick and the chances each pick lands in the top four are below.
| PICK | TEAM | 2025-26 RECORD | WIN% | TOP 4 | #1 OVERALL |
| 1 | Washington | 17-65 | 0.207 | 52.1% | 14% |
| 2 | Indiana-x | 19-63 | 0.232 | 52.1% | 14% |
| 3 | Brooklyn | 20-62 | 0.244 | 52.1% | 14% |
| 4 | Utah | 22-60 | 0.268 | 45.2% | 11.5% |
| 5 | Sacramento | 22-60 | 0.268 | 45.2% | 11.5% |
| 6 | Memphis | 25-57 | 0.305 | 37.0% | 9% |
| 7 | Atlanta (via NOP) | 26-56 | 0.317 | 29.3% | 6.8% |
| 8 | Dallas | 26-56 | 0.317 | 29% | 6.7% |
| 9 | Chicago | 31-51 | 0.378 | 20.3% | 4.5% |
| 10 | Milwaukee-x | 32-50 | 0.39 | 13.9% | 3% |
| 11 | Golden State | 37-45 | 0.451 | 9.4% | 2% |
| 12 | Oklahoma City (via LAC) | 42-40 | 0.512 | 7.1% | 1.5% |
| 13 | Miami | 43-39 | 0.524 | 4.8% | 1% |
| 14 | Charlotte | 44-38 | 0.537 | 2.4% | 0.5% |
x – Pick may be conveyed to another team
- If Indiana’s pick lands outside of the top four selections, the Clippers will receive the pick. If Indiana falls out of the top four, its pick would be No. 5 or No. 6.
- The Bucks are the only team here unable to receive the No. 1 pick. The Hawks have swap rights with the Bucks, meaning that if the Bucks draw the first overall pick, it can be swapped. Milwaukee would then receive the Pelicans’ first-round pick, via the Hawks. The Spurs own the Hawks’ first-round pick, which is slotted at pick No. 20.
His departure wasn’t a true shocker, but the timing of Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s dismissal sure was. The Vikings waited roughly three weeks after the season’s conclusion to fire their general manager after four years and decided to postpone the search for a successor until the spring.
That search has indeed kicked off. An external search firm has been hired and the interviews will be conducted behind closed doors, unlike four years ago when the franchise announced each interview.
One guy who has removed himself entirely from any consideration is Broncos general manager George Paton. Minnesota’s former assistant executive under Rick Spielman’s watch has signed a contract extension in Denver.
On Friday, the Broncos wrote on their website, “The Denver Broncos have signed General Manager George Paton to a new five-year contract through the 2030 season, Owner and CEO Greg Penner announced Friday.”
Paton was employed in the Twin Cities for over a decade, but the Broncos offered him the promotion from assistant GM to GM in 2021 and he left TCO Performance Center. As his contract was set to expire, Paton’s name surfaced in early Vikings GM rumors in January and February, but ultimately stayed put. It’s unclear whether either party entertained a reunion.
The 56-year-old has overhauled Denver’s roster over the years and landing head coach Sean Payton was certainly a home run three years ago. His draft success has been up-and-down, but he undoubtedly found some impact players, headlined by Pat Surtain II.
The Athletic’s Nick Kosmider commented, “Broncos draft picks during Paton’s tenure have earned a combined nine Pro Bowl berths and five first-team All-Pro honors. Five of his draft picks since 2021 have signed second contracts with the team.”
He does, however, have some mistakes on his resume.
Kosmider added, “Paton’s two notable misfires came in 2022. A blockbuster trade for quarterback Russell Wilson — Denver sent Seattle five draft picks, including first-rounders in the 2022 and 2023 drafts — netted only 11 wins in 30 starts over two seasons before the veteran was released. Nathaniel Hackett, Paton’s first head-coach hire in 2022, was fired after 15 games in his debut season.”
Wilson’s and Hackett’s tenures were a disaster. Adding Wilson could have fit Minnesota’s quarterback track record. Yet, under Paton’s guidance, with new owners and a new head coach, the organization has rebounded and made the trip to the AFC title game in January. The Broncos lost a close game to the New England Patriots, while quarterback Bo Nix was sidelined with a fractured ankle.
Long story short, Paton won’t be the man in charge of Minnesota’s football operations. Following Adofo-Mensah’s exit, the Vikings relied on Rob Brzezinski’s experience, having pulled the strings behind the scenes for decades. He is expected to be a strong candidate for the full-time job.
In the meantime, the Vikings have six outside candidates on their list.
Vikings writer Alec Lewis (The Athletic) reported this week, “The Minnesota Vikings entered the next phase of their general manager search Wednesday. According to league sources, the team submitted interview requests for six external candidates, all of whom are assistant general managers for their respective teams: Terrance Gray of the Buffalo Bills, John McKay of the Los Angeles Rams, Nolan Teasley of the Seattle Seahawks, Chad Alexander of the Los Angeles Chargers, RJ Gillen of the San Francisco 49ers and Dave Ziegler of the Tennessee Titans.”
It’s easy to evaluate coordinators who are head-coaching candidates because their influence is directly visible on the screen on Sundays, but it’s always a mystery from the outside what assistant GMs actually do in their respective franchises. It’s anyone’s guess who the top candidates are.
There’s a good chance the operations will get a new leader in the next few weeks or months.
Although Saturday’s Tour d’Horse Sprint over Caulfield doesn’t align with Bustling’s original buying intent, trainers Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr have moved past being finicky with the one-time West Australian star.
The four-year-old embarks on his first run in nearly 20 months in the 1000-metre $130,000 benchmark 84.
Acquired for a hefty price, his only prior appearance for Price and Kent was a ninth-place finish, eighth of nine, in the Group 2 Run To The Rose back in September 2024, plagued by various ailments since.
This race pales against the lofty goal of The Everest for which the son of Frosted was intended, yet Price is content just to witness his return.
“He had some bone problems and just assorted different niggles,” Price said.
“We keep getting him up, then we keep giving him time, we keep getting him up then we keep giving him time.
“But everyone’s done a good job with him and he’s now as right as we can have him.”
Bustling entered the Run To The Rose unbeaten in four of five previous races, triumphs including Group 2 Karrakatta Plate (1200m), Group 3 WA Sires Produce Stakes (1400m), Listed Perth Stakes (1100m), and a second.
Recent form shows a third in Cranbourne’s 800m jumpout on April 6 and a strong 850m trial success at Caulfield Heath April 23.
Mark Zahra, aboard for those hit-outs, sticks with the ride Saturday as Bustling leads betting at $4.40.
Not enamoured by Victoria’s rainfall this week, Price believes a better-than-Soft 6 track on Thursday would boost Bustling’s outlook.
“He’s a happy horse, he’s big, strong and he’s grown a lot since his two-year-old days,” Price said.
“He is one horse who hates the wet, but he is ready to run well.”
Head to betting sites for racing odds on Bustling in the Tour d’Horse Sprint.
This week at LIV Virginia, Rahm noted that he doesn’t see a way out of his contract with LIV and that it isn’t currently at the forefront of his mind as the rebel league tries to secure funding for life beyond 2026. DeChambeau spoke with several outlets, including ESPN and Sports Illustrated, and admitted his team has spoken to the PGA Tour, but he wouldn’t divulge the nature of those conversations. The two-time U.S. Open champion said that he has a plan should a path back to the PGA Tour not work out.
“I think, from my perspective, I’d love to grow my YouTube channel three times, maybe even more,” DeChambeau said. His YouTube channel has 2.7 million subscribers. “I would love to. I’d love to do a bunch of dubbing in different languages, giving the world more reason to watch YouTube. And then I’d love to play tournaments that want me.”
DeChambeau, whose contract with LIV ends after 2026, later told Skratch that he knows a potential path back to the PGA Tour will only materialize if the membership gives it the OK.
“I think there’s a way to solve any problem. It’s really about if the membership wants me back and if they just want me back. That’s what it’s about,” DeChambeau told Skratch. “I don’t even think it’s [PGA Tour CEO] Brian Rolapp or anybody like one of the top executives, it’s really if the players want me back and if not, then I understand that.”
DeChambeau also told Skratch that the PGA Tour’s policy governing players’ creation of social media content at tournaments was one of the biggest issues preventing his Tour comeback. While that policy reportedly is being tweaked, it’s clear that DeChambeau’s interests and the PGA Tour’s might not align.
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For Rolapp, his job is to put together the best Tour — one that includes the world’s best golfers who are committed to the vision and plan he and the PGA Tour are putting together as they begin their for-profit era. What that vision looks like won’t be for everyone.
“The PGA Tour may not be for everybody,” Rolapp told Eisen, speaking broadly about hypothetically reintegrating LIV players. “What we are building, I’m really excited about, our members are excited about, our fans are excited about. It may not excite some people. … We ultimately want people who are really excited about what we are building. I think, over time, we’ll just see how that plays out.”
While LIV’s future and the future of its players are up in the air, what is clear is that the Returning Members Program that was offered to Koepka — the one that DeChambeau, Rahm and Cam Smith turned down — isn’t coming back. That door is closed. The path Reed took back via the DP World Tour could be open for players who, like Reed, resigned their membership on the way out and didn’t break any PGA Tour regulations. For others who did not, they’ll be at the mercy of Rolapp and the membership. Whether or not they choose to open additional doors in the future will be decided when the time comes.
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