Few things in life are certain beyond death, taxes, and Tadej Pogacar winning the Tour de France. This year’s Grande Boucle went almost entirely as expected, offering few real surprises or diversions from the status quo, as the marauding Slovenian won another five stages en route to his record-equalling fifth title.

His place in the pantheon of greats had already been cemented and there are few superlatives left to describe his grip on the sport. He is now equal with cycling legends in the form of Eddy Merckx, Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain on five wins; his 26 stage wins leave him nine off the record of Mark Cavendish, who will be wishing he’d postponed retirement by another year or two.

There could have been more had Pogacar not opted to babysit young teammate Isaac del Toro to a stage win, third place on the podium, and the best young rider’s jersey too. Pogacar is able to win at will but sometimes seems happier in the role of world’s most powerful domestique; perhaps the only thing holding him back from an unprecedented sixth title is whether he can muster the enthusiasm for it. At 27, he is younger than all of his fellow five-time winners were and will be in his prime for a while yet.

But while the Pogacar era looks set to continue for some time, the post-Pogacar era already looks to be one to savour. Those left cold by the two-time world champion’s iron grip on the sport can set a reminder to tune in in a couple of seasons’ time, or perhaps as early as this autumn’s Vuelta, should Pogacar skip it – as expected – to target a third rainbow jersey.

Because while Pogacar has no real rivals, the rung of grand tour racers below him is in rude health. Much had been made before this Tour of the rapid rise of French 19-year-old Paul Seixas, who won European bronze behind Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel in an attritional race last year and continued his rapid progress this season, coming second to the Slovenian at Strade Bianche and Liege-Bastogne-Liege and winning a WorldTour stage race at the Tour of the Basque Country.

That hype appears justified after he finished fourth in his debut Grand Tour, a rather Pogacar-like result (he came third at the Vuelta a Espana in his first three-week race and was then sent straight to the Tour, after which, the rest is history). Seixas faded in the final week having been just 20 seconds off the podium after stage 16’s individual time trial, but the maturity and composure with which he rode was remarkable. France have had many Grand Tour hopefuls who have never fulfilled that early promise but the Lyonnais teenager looks to have both the climbing pedigree and the racing nous to deliver on it in years to come.

He also looks to be at the start of a fascinating rivalry with del Toro, the 22-year-old Mexican who already has podium places at the Giro d’Italia and Tour to his name. While he remains at UAE Team Emirates-XRG he will only ever be a superdomestique to Pogacar, but on the basis of those two podiums he should be the squad’s leader at any grand tour the Slovenian misses. He was unable to win the mountainous stage 15, towed up the same Plateau de Solaison climb by Pogacar which he mastered solo at the recent Tour Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, where he won the overall, but was a clear third-best over the course of three weeks.

That stage was won by Evenepoel, who in many ways was the breakout star of this Tour despite already being a proven winner and former grand tour champion himself. The Belgian has had to endure plenty of criticism since his 2022 victory at the Vuelta a Espana, with many questioning his capability over three weeks and in the most gruelling mountain passes.

But over the last two seasons he has made himself leaner, a better climber, and a more durable rider, and that was evident here, as he recovered from a patchy first week to cement his best-of-the-rest status in the high mountains in the third; he was nearly three minutes clear of del Toro, despite the Mexican being shepherded along by Pogacar in the closing stages. Evenepoel’s teammate Florian Lipowitz, third at the Tour last year, is another consistent rider who had looked set to challenge for the podium before crashing out in the time trial.

Evenepoel’s much-debated transfer from Soudal-QuickStep to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, in the hopes of making him a real Tour de France challenger, has paid off. The 26-year-old’s outspokenness and strength of character is an additional boon for the sport amid an increasingly sanitised, media-trained peloton.

It would have been fascinating to see how Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard would have handled the challengers in the Alpine final week, having looked far from secure in second place until that point and with Evenepoel in particular steadily improving in both form and confidence. His crash on an innocuous bend on stage 15, having been subjected to a 2am doping test mere hours before, robbed the Tour of an explosive battle for the remaining podium places.

Rumours abound of Vingegaard considering retirement after every demoralising defeat to Pogacar, and just like after last year’s Tour he has a point to prove, with a host of challengers rising up behind him. He responded last year by winning the Vuelta in dominant fashion and backed that up with victory at this year’s Giro.

But while Pogacar remains supreme, an immovable object at the top of the sport, the landscape around him is changing. Vingegaard is the best stage racer after him – but with the rise of Evenepoel, del Toro and Seixas, how long will that last? Cycling is on the cusp of a fascinating new era, and crucially, one which even those bored by Pogacar can look forward to.

If you didn’t believe Aaron Rodgers when he first said this would be his final season, maybe now it will sink in.

Rodgers, who re-signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason and said that his 22nd NFL season will be his last, reiterated his desire to retire at training camp on Monday.

“This is it,” the 42-year-old told media members at a press conference.

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Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers listens to head coach Mike McCarthy during NFL practice in Pittsburgh on May 20, 2026. (Gene J. Puskar/AP)

The thought of retirement has hovered around Rodgers for quite some time now, including this offseason, when the Steelers, and the rest of the NFL, for that matter, waited patiently to see if this was indeed the end of his career.

The Steelers, meanwhile, hired Mike McCarthy as their next head coach after parting ways with longtime sideline leader Mike Tomlin. McCarthy and Rodgers have the obvious rapport of winning together as Green Bay Packers. They spent 15 seasons at Lambeau Field.

STEELERS LEGEND JEROME BETTIS SAYS THERE’S ‘EXCITEMENT IN THE AIR’ AS AARON RODGERS RETURNS FOR FINAL SEASON

Rodgers admitted McCarthy’s hiring was a key part of him wanting to ride out one more season into the sunset.

“I thought last year might be it and then Mike got hired, and then talked to the wife and she said, ‘You can do one more year. See if it works out.’ And then it kinda all came together,” he said.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers listens to a question during a news conference after an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

When one reporter brought up that Rodgers’ top receiver, DK Metcalf, had said players often claim it’s their last season only to return, Rodgers doubled down.

“No, zero debate,” he responded.

Rodgers said the same thing in May during a press conference after signing his one-year pact with the Steelers, which he joined after a lowly tenure with the New York Jets.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers looks on after being sacked during the first half of the NFL Wild Card game against the Houston Texans at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pa., on Jan. 12, 2026. (Michael Longo/For USA Today Network-PA / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

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In his first season with the Steelers in 2025, Rodgers went 10-6, throwing for 3,322 yards with a 65.7% completion rate and 24 touchdowns with seven interceptions.

The Steelers also bolstered its offense this season, adding veteran wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. in a trade with the Indianapolis Colts. They also signed Rico Dowdle to work with Jaylen Warren in the backfield after Kenneth Gainwell, who Rodgers loved to dump the ball to, landed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this offseason.

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Danny Welbeck is not the only former Manchester United striker who is on the move this summer.

Javier Hernandez is a) still playing after turning 38 earlier this summer, and b) has signed for Atletico Dallas, who are due to start playing in the USL Championship, a level below Major League Soccer, next year. The move follows his departure from his boyhood club, Guadalajara, at the end of last year after two seasons back playing in Mexico.

Chicharito becomes the first player in Dallas history, some 20 months on from their founding. He has signed a two-year contract, with an option for a third.

Carl Froch has assessed Anthony Joshua’s punch resistance after seeing the Brit suffer two knockdowns in the opening round of his clash with Kristian Prenga.

The two heavyweights collided in what was designed as a warm-up fight for ‘AJ’, who had not fought since his sixth-round stoppage of Jake Paul in December.

More importantly, this was his first outing since being involved in a car crash that claimed the lives of his two close friends in Nigeria.

Yet despite him grappling with the psychological scars of that tragedy in December, Joshua was widely expected to dispatch Prenga within two rounds last Saturday.

That he did so was hardly the main talking point, however, as the 36-year-old was forced to climb off the canvas after getting caught with a right uppercut within the first 20 seconds of their contest.

Joshua was then floored a second time in the opening round, before finally orchestrating the result that many had anticipated.

A day earlier, Tyson Fury had gone seven rounds with a 46-year-old Mariusz Wach in Thailand, where he seemed a shadow of his former self but nonetheless emerged victorious without any real bother.

But while the two Brits inch closer towards their long-awaited showdown, Froch has said on his YouTube channel that Joshua should seriously consider hanging up the gloves, believing the former heavyweight champion is ‘shot to bits.’

“Anthony Joshua is f**king shot to bits. Let’s be honest: AJ shouldn’t be anywhere near a ring, let alone inside a ring.

“He came out [and] was a little bit unsure of himself [against Prenga]. Okay, fine, but he’s fit and strong and has trained for however many weeks.

“Once the punch resistance is gone, it’s game over. We’ve seen it with Amir Khan; we’ve seen it with top fighters over the years.

“AJ can’t take a punch. The only caveat is that he’s fighting Tyson Fury, who also looked pretty shocking [against Wach].”

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Despite Froch’s calls for retirement, it does appear that Joshua and Fury will square off in the not too distant future.

There has been plenty of debate surrounding Anthony Joshua‘s dramatic victory against Kristian Prenga over the last few days.

Joshua avoided a huge upset as he recovered from two knockdowns inside the opening three minutes to stop Prenga in round two, paving the way for his long-awaited showdown with Tyson Fury later this year.

Some fans have questioned how the fight played out after round one, with broadcaster Simon Jordan one of the more high profile voices suggesting that there was something ‘not quite right’.

Not having that … #anthonyjoshua fight ..:

Dropped twice and sets the tempo, how’s that ? … Prenga totally different in 2nd

Something not quite right , all designed to rinse maximum amount of money …

— Simon Jordan (@Sjopinion10) July 25, 2026

1. Joshua’s team have now responded to those claims, as Oleksandr Usyk team director and now ‘AJ’ team member Sergey Lapin has dismissed it as nothing other than ‘someone’s imagination’ whilst speaking to Action Network.

“What do I think of Simon Jordan’s comments? I suppose they also told Prenga to walk straight into a punch that weighed one and a half tonnes. Everyone is entitled to their own theories. I have a friend who still believes the Earth is flat and that space doesn’t exist.

“Personally, I’d rather discuss what actually happened inside the ring than someone else’s imagination.”

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With any outlandish suggestions of foul play now put to bed, attention will quickly turn to the clash with Fury, who was victorious in his own warm-up bout in Thailand on Friday when he defeated Mariusz Wach by seventh round retirement.

As for Prenga, he could land another big opportunity after his showing against Joshua, with Dave Allen already one of the names that has called out the Albanian for a future fight.

Italy’s Jannik Sinner holds the winner’s trophy after beating Germany’s Alexander Zverev during their men’s singles final tennis match on the fourteenth day of the 2026 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 12, 2026. (Photo by Adrian DENNIS / AFP)

LONDON — Wimbledon reached a record-high attendance of 550,151 over the Grand Slam tournament’s two weeks, up slightly over last year, the All England Club said Tuesday.

Attendance at the 139th edition of tennis’ grass-court major was aided by the first rain-free Championships since 2019. The total attendance was 1,381 more than in 2025.

Wimbledon still trails in total attendance compared to the other three Grand Slams.

READ: Jannik Sinner bounces back with another Wimbledon title

The main draw of this year’s Australian Open attracted more than 1.1 million fans. Last year’s U.S. Open drew more than 900,000 and the main draw for the 2026 French Open was 589,500.

The other three feature main-draw competition over 15 days; Wimbledon remains at 14 days. The rival tournaments also hold their qualifying events on site in the week prior, allowing them to host more fans and boost revenues. Wimbledon’s qualifying event is off site.

The All England Club said daily attendance records were set this year on Days 7 and 12 — as well as on Day 14 when Jannik Sinner beat Alexander Zverev in the men’s final. A day earlier, Linda Noskova defeated Karolina Muchova in an all-Czech women’s final.

The FIDE World Championship Match 2026 between reigning champion Gukesh D and challenger Javokhir Sindarov will be held in Geneva, Switzerland, from November 25 to December 15.

Both Gukesh of India and Uzbekistan’s Sindarov will be just 20 years old when the match begins, making it the youngest World Championship contest in history.

The clash also signals a generational shift in world chess, with two of the game’s brightest young stars battling for its biggest prize after emerging from an era dominated by seasoned champions..

FIDE Interim President Viswanathan Anand welcomed the announcement. 
Check CWG 2026 DAY 5 (July 28) LIVE UPDATES, MEDAL NEWS AND INDIA FULL SCHEDULE here

“Several countries expressed a strong interest in hosting the FIDE World Championship Match, including India, the United States and Cyprus,” said Anand.

The World Championship match will be contested over 14 classical games, with the first player to reach 7.5 points crowned world champion. If either player reaches the winning mark before all 14 games are completed, the remaining games will not be played.

However, if the score is tied 7-7 at the end of the classical portion, the title will be decided through a series of tiebreak games, ensuring a definitive winner.

“After carefully considering all the proposals, FIDE has decided to stage the match on neutral soil and bring it to Geneva, a city with a historic tradition of bringing nations and cultures together,” said Anand, the five-time world champion.

“We look forward to welcoming the global chess community to Switzerland. The local chess fans will have the opportunity to experience world-class chess in person, while millions of fans around the globe can follow the battle online as the duel for the highest title in chess unfolds,” he added.

As reigning champion, Gukesh will defend the crown he won in Singapore in December 2024. At the age of 18, he defeated China’s Ding Liren, securing victory in the 14th and final classical game to become the 18th World Champion and the youngest player ever to hold the title.

Sindarov earned his opportunity to challenge for the crown by winning the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026 in Cyprus. The Uzbek GM secured first place with a round to spare, adding another major achievement to his victory at the 2025 FIDE World Cup.

The Red Sox’s new-look infield suffered a blow on Tuesday, as the club placed Curtis Mead on the 10-day injured list with a fractured left wrist. Infielder Nick Sogard has been recalled from Triple-A in a corresponding move. 

Mead, whom the Red Sox acquired late Saturday night from the Nationals in exchange for young starting pitcher Connelly Early, suffered the injury while at the plate in his Red Sox debut on Monday: 

The Red Sox have not yet provided a timetable for Mead’s return, but wrist fractures typically require a recovery period of almost two months. Such a timeline would put Mead at risk of missing the remainder of the 2026 regular season. 

The 25-year-old Mead had been in the midst of a breakout season in 2026 after experiencing gains at the plate with Washington that had previously eluded him as a member of the Rays and White Sox from 2023-25. 

The above numbers are good for an OPS+ of 133, and that’s versus Mead’s pre-2026 career OPS+ of 75. 

Big blow for Boston’s infield

For the Red Sox, who have surged back into contention thanks largely to their 18-3 record in July, it means the infield situation that Mead’s addition had addressed is now unsettled once again as the Aug. 3 trade deadline approaches. 

The loss of Mead and the uncertainty surrounding the shortstop situation — Trevor Story is still sidelined after undergoing hernia surgery in late May — may prompt lead decision-maker Craig Breslow to reenter the infield trade market in the coming days. Some notable names who may be available leading up to the deadline include Zach Neto of the Angels, Gleyber Torres of the Tigers, Luis Arraez of the Giants, and CJ Abrams of the Nationals. 

Curtis Mead-Connelly Early trade grades: Nationals ace low-cost flip, Red Sox add much-needed length

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Coming into the season, Boston figured it would have a stable infield situation. However, injuries and a disappointing performance by highly regarded youngster Marcelo Mayer left the Sox with issues. The Mead trade came at a significant cost and was supposed to give the Red Sox needed infield stability down the stretch and into the playoffs. 

The Red Sox enter Tuesday night’s slate of games with a record of 55-50 and in second wild card position in the American League. 

FIFA said Tuesday it plans to sell a stake in the business operations of the World Cup and its other competitions through the creation of a semi-private subsidiary.

World football’s governing body said it would retain a majority share in FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) but hoped to raise $4.2 billion later this year by “carefully selecting long-term investors who will purchase minority, non-controlling interests”.

FIFA’s statement was a rapid response to a story in British newspapers The Times and The Financial Times based on leaks of the plan from two sources.

The Times reported that FIFA president Gianni Infantino, 56, stood to profit from the scheme by becoming commissioner of the FFE after his expected next term expires in 2031. FIFA denied that this had been discussed.

The article also said discussion had started with financial advisors and potential investors.

Those include Thrive capital, an investment company founded and led by Joshua Kushner, brother of US President Donald Trump‘s son-in-law Jared, as well as an arm of JP Morgan Chase, the US bank that attempted to finance the failed breakaway European Super League.

Sepp Blatter, Infantino’s disgraced predecessor, drew attention to the American connection.

“The close relationship between the FIFA President and the US President has reached a financial dimension that is deeply damaging football. No one has the right to sell our game,” the former FIFA president posted on social media.

European football’s governing body UEFA, which has been critical of Infantino, also responded.

“This crosses a line that football’s governing institutions should never cross. UEFA takes it extremely seriously,” said UEFA’s statement.

“The soul and governance of football are not assets to trade — especially with zero transparency as to who gains financially. None of us are the owners of football. It is not FIFA’s to sell.”

The plan would still have to be approved by the 38-member FIFA council an the majority of the MAs. FIFA said it intends to present the plans to the council soon.

FIFA said in its statement that it “would retain sole control of FFE and exclusive authority over football governance, competitions, match calendar, and all regulatory and sporting decisions”.

It said it believed FFE would achieve an “initial equity valuation of $20bn”.

FIFA said each of its 211 member associations (MAs) would be given the chance to take a one-off stake of 20mn dollars in FFE.

That represents only 0.1 percent of the total, but would be a significant sum for the leaderships of FIFA’s poorer or smaller members.

“Together with other existing FIFA programmes, these investments could bring FIFA’s total planned development funding to more than $10 billion over the next four years,” FIFA said.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, an Everton fan, decried the plan saying football was not a product in a post on X.

“Football does not belong to investors. It belongs to the people who fill the stands and who stand on the touchline week in, week out, rain or shine. The World Cup is not a product. It is the greatest competition in world sport, and it was never anyone’s to sell. Dress the deal up however you like. Once you have sold a piece of it, you have sold out. Football belongs to the fans. It always has, and it always will,” he wrote.

‘Expanding to 64 teams’

In June, ahead of the World Cup, FIFA, which folds competition income into revenue for the whole year, anticipated record revenues exceeding seven billion euros ($8bn) for 2026.

It was the first World Cup with 48 teams. At the start, Infantino said “we have had discussions about expanding to 64 teams” for 2030.

The Times quoted an unnamed “senior football figure” calling the plan “potentially much worse than the European Super League”, as it would have an impact on all levels of football across the globe.

Another anonymous source told the British paper that the plan would create “unacceptable” conflicts of interest for FIFA and Infantino.

In 2019, a FIFA stakeholders’ committee rejected an Infantino-backed plan for a $25bn private investment in an expanded Club World Cup. Reported backers included SoftBank of Japan and Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. FIFA did expand that competition from seven teams to 32 clubs in 2025.

The Times speculated that the creation of FFE could have an impact on the World Cup and the Club World Cup.

“It could lead to pressure for both events to be further expanded or played more regularly than the present once every four years,” it wrote.

FIFA has previously found itself in trouble with deals spinning off commercial activities to private partners.

Estimates for its losses when ISL, which negotiated World Cup rights deals, went bust in 2001 were anywhere between $30mn and $115mn.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)