Alex Eala headsto Homburg as the27th seed. —WTA PHOTO

Alex Eala’s most memorable 2026 WTA run ended on Sunday morning in Manila when the Czech Linda Noskova needed just 69 minutes to bundle out the hard-fighting pride of the Philippines in the semifinals of the Berlin Open.

And that leaves the 21-year-old setting her sights on another WTA 500 event starting Monday when she battles Elise Mertens in the round-of-32 of the Bad Homburg Open at the Spielbank Bad Homburg Centre Court.

There will be no shortage of giants to chop down in Homburg in Germany, with former world No. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland and newly crowned French Open champion Meera Andreeva ranked 1-2 in the event and where Eala will get a chance of facing Noskova again after taking a 6-2, 6-4 defeat in Berlin.

With Filipino blood

A second player with Filipino roots in Leyla Fernandez of Canada is also entered and they could find their paths crossing in the quarterfinals with Fernandez opening up against wild card Katie Boulter.

Eala, who owns a win over Swiatek carved out in magical Miami Open stint last year, had said in Berlin that she was just thankful for the chance of playing some of the biggest names in the world—and beating some of them like world No. 2 Elena Rybakina before taking out Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals.

The Filipino made the Berlin draw as a wildcard and sealed a place in the final four after humbling world No. 8 Svitolina, 6-3, 6-4. Eala wasted no time paying tribute to her vanquished opponent.

“Elina is a huge fighter, and I’ve seen it many times,” Eala said in her on-court interview after the match on Friday, Berlin time.

Shot at Adreeva

“I’ve been watching her since I was a kid, so to be able to compete with her today is such an honor, and I really admire her. She’s a mother, and I find her to act with such elegance and strength, and I’m really lucky to have had this match today.”

Svitolina, like Swiatek, Andreeva and Karolina Muchova all earned first round byes, with Eala, being at the bottom half of the draw as the 27th seed, having a shot at Andreeva in the third round.

But for that to happen, Eala would of course have to beat Martens first to advance into a likely collision with another charismatic player in Japan’s Naomi Osaka, another multiple Grand Slam winner entered as the 25th seed in Homburg.

Noskova, meanwhile, now has a 2-0 record against Eala and will battle Jessica Pegula of the United States after the American scored an impressive 6-4, 7-6, 6-0 dismantling of current No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the other semifinal.

Pegula will not be in Homburg. INQ

Trainer Ben Brisbourne achieved a significant milestone with Fontein Jewel’s victory in the first race at Flemington on Saturday, making the win particularly special.

The Lucky Vega colt’s triumph in the $150,000 TAB We’re On Handicap (1420m) was the young English trainer’s first at the track since establishing on-course stables at Australia’s premier racecourse in early May.

Brisbourne continues to operate his Wangaratta stable, where Fontein Jewel was listed as trained before Saturday’s event, but he considered the win a collective achievement for his team.

“It the third Flemington winner for us, but the first one at Flemington since we’ve been had a base down here,” Brisbourne remarked. “So that’s a big tick and hopefully it gets us noticed a little bit more, especially with these young younger horses. “It just proves that what we’ve put in place so far is working and we look forward to plenty more successful, hopefully.”

Fontein Jewel, which started as a $7 outsider, displayed a determined effort to win by three-quarters of a length from Insolence ($6.50). Insolence narrowly edged out the closing Spirit Of Macedon ($5) for the runner-up position.

This victory marked the second win from five starts for Fontein Jewel. The colt had previously finished second in the Elvstroem Classic (1300m).

The win occurred just over five years after his dam, Fontein Diamond, won the $250,000 Country Mile Final at Moonee Valley on All-Star Mile Day. Brisbourne expressed his delight at winning significant races with the son of his first major winning mare.

“It’s really nice, because he’s the first foal out of Fontein Diamond, who was my first big winner as a trainer,” Brisbourne stated. “She would have put some toughness into him and then the stallion’s just put a little bit of a class. “It’s absolutely brilliant for Chris (Morey) and Terry (Hurford), who bred him and support me every year with taking shares and horses, to get a big reward here.”

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Cape Verde will take the field again at the 2026 World Cup after their stunning draw with Spain when they face Uruguay on Sunday. The Cape Verdeans had a scoreless contest with the Spanish in their Monday opener, while the Uruguayans drew 1-1 with Saudi Arabia in their World Cup Group H opening match on the same day. This is Cape Verde’s first ever appearance at this tournament, while Uruguay is a two-time champion (1930, 1950). Spain (-270) is favored to win Group H, with Uruguay at +340 and Cape Verde at +1800.

Kickoff is 6 p.m. ET from Miami Stadium. The latest Cape Verde vs. Uruguay odds from FanDuel Sportsbook list the Uruguayans as -250 favorites (risk $250 to win $100) on the 90-minute money line, with Cape Verde at +800 and a draw at +330. The over/under for total goals is 2.5. Before locking in any Uruguay vs. Cape Verde picks or World Cup 2026 predictions, check out the Cape Verde vs. Uruguay predictions from SportsLine’s Martin Green.

After working in the sports betting industry for several years, Green became a professional sports writer and handicapper and has covered the game worldwide. Last year, Green was profitable in multiple areas on his soccer betting picks, including the Champions League (+211.25) and Bundesliga (+100). He’s also been red-hot in 2026, posting an 18-8 record over his last 26 UCL picks, returning nearly $1,000 in profit. Anyone wanting to follow his World Cup betting advice at sportsbooks and on betting apps could see big returns.

Now, Green has studied Uruguay vs. Cape Verde and just revealed his 2026 World Cup picks and betting predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see his picks. Here are several World Cup odds and soccer betting lines for Cape Verde vs. Uruguay:

Top Cape Verde vs. Uruguay predictions

After examining Uruguay vs. Cape Verde from every angle, Green is leaning Under 2.5 total goals (-170). Uruguay have played three matches in 2026, and all three contests saw under 2.5 total goals. Dating back to 2018, each of their last five World Cup matches have gone under 2.5 goals. Meanwhile, the only scoreless contest across the first 24 matches of this year’s World Cup involved the Cape Verdeans, thanks, in part, to their goalkeeper Vozinha. The 40-year-old became the third-oldest goalkeeper to produce a World Cup clean sheet in keeping Spain off the scoreboard.

“Vozinha was the star of the show in Cape Verde’s 0-0 draw with Spain, as he made eight saves. Cape Verde’s 40-year-old goalkeeper was the player of the match, as he displayed remarkable agility to keep the reigning European champions at bay,” Green told SportsLine. “… We can certainly expect a similar approach from Cape Verde, as the Blue Sharks will be happy to sit back and ‘park the bus’ in a bid to stop Uruguay from scoring.” See Green’s best bets for Uruguay vs. Cape Verde at SportsLine, and you can bet the Under in Cape Verde vs. Uruguay at FanDuel here:

How to make Uruguay vs. Cape Verde picks

After studying Uruguay vs. Cape Verde from every angle, Green has locked in another pair of best bets, both of which return plus-money. You can head to SportsLine to see what they are. 

So what are the best bets for Cape Verde vs. Uruguay? Visit SportsLine now to see the best bets for Uruguay vs. Cape Verde, all from expert on an 18-8 roll on UCL picks, and find out.

World record-chasing Keely Hodgkinson insisted she is “healthy” after tearfully withdrawing from the 400 metres final at the UK Athletics Championships with what her coach explained was hamstring tightness.

The Olympic champion has made no secret of her summer ambition to break the one minute, 53.28-second 800m women’s standard set by Czech athlete Jarmila Kratochvilova nearly 43 years ago, identifying next month’s London Diamond League as the ideal time and place.

A visibly emotional Hodgkinson – who was out on track in Birmingham for her pre-race warm-up – sparked concern when she abruptly pulled out but Jenny Meadows, who alongside husband Trevor Painter coaches Hodgkinson, later confirmed a physiotherapist gave the 24-year-old “the all-clear”.

Hodgkinson, speaking immediately after dropping out of the final, said: “I wasn’t feeling 100 per cent standing on the start line, so I made the tough decision to step away and not race.

“I didn’t want to risk anything this summer.”

The world indoor 800m record-holder later wrote on Instagram: “Leaving champs healthy! Sometimes the hard decision is saying no. Body wasn’t feeling 100 per cent, exciting summer ahead!”

Meadows replied to a concerned fan on X, saying “Thankfully it was just a precautionary measure. She’s fine now she’s seen the physio and got the all clear.”

She further explained to another user: “She’s not injured! It was a precaution as her hamstring felt tight. She did her cool down jog, saw the physio and is fine. We don’t take any risks now and neither does Keely.”

Hodgkinson’s training partner Georgia Hunter Bell won the women’s 800m final in a championship-record one minute, 55.93 seconds.

Hodgkinson was laid off for 376 days with injury, much of it hamstring-related, before returning last August to set a world-leading 800m time, then claimed bronze at the 2025 world championships in Tokyo having raced just twice that season before travelling to Japan.

It was a layoff she later described as a “s***show” so her reluctance to risk anything after announcing her London intentions is understandable, particularly after she was beaten by Swiss rival Audrey Werro – who went third on the all-time list in one minute, 53.98 seconds – earlier this month.

Amber Anning ultimately defended her 400m title on a Father’s Day replete with successes for British dads.

Olympic 400m silver-medallist Matthew Hudson-Smith was given an exemption last year so he could support his wife through the challenging birth of their now-healthy daughter Eden.

The local favourite, a Wolves academy product in his youth, reclaimed his title in 44.45secs to secure his place at August’s European Championships at the same venue.

First-time dad Alastair Chalmers, who welcomed a baby boy on Tuesday, was the 400m hurdles champion and 200m champion Zharnel Hughes revealed his agent had texted him before Saturday’s 100m final to say “do this one for your son”.

Scotland’s Jake Wightman, the 2022 world gold and 2025 world silver 1500m medallist, was among Sunday’s other champions, winning the men’s 800m final in 1:45.40 – with his father Geoff on commentary duty in the stadium.

Success Eduan won the women’s 200m in a personal best 22.43 seconds, beating world 200m silver medallist Amy Hunt, who defended her 100m title on Saturday.

Dina Asher-Smith also qualified for the 200m final, but explained it was always her plan only to participate in Sunday’s heat.

Jayson David had a tremendous PBA Philippine Cup stint that naturally, he was expected to be a key contributor for the Gin Kings in the Commissioner’s Cup that recently ended.

That was supposed to be the case, only for a season-ending injury to derail his march into a contributor and total stardom with the crowd-darlings.

From someone expected to lighten the load for the Kings, David turned into a spectator after tearing his left ACL in March in a game against the NLEX Road Warriors.

That, however, didn’t dampen his joy when Ginebra won its first title in three years after defeating TNT in Game 7 last Wednesday.

“I’m just so happy because I saw their dedication,” a beaming David told the Inquirer, alluding to his teammates. “Everyone really worked together while I’m sidelined and observing.

“They went through a lot, but now we won a championship and everyone, even me, can breathe better now.”

David has since had surgery and has begun going through rehab sessions, doing all that while being present every game for his Ginebra brothers.

And it’s a bittersweet feeling, the one of not being able to play and seeing his brothers win.

While he enjoys the support that Ginebra gives during his time of recovery, the tough-as-nails guard couldn’t help but feel like he could do more for his fellow Ginebra swingmen.

“I have this feeling since the playoffs came, when every time I see us trailing, I always think to myself, ‘sayang, if I was just there, I can help on defense to stop this player,’ but it’s okay,” he said.

“My teammates stepped up, so I’m happy that they got me a championship even if I’m not on the team this time,” David added.

Already undergoing therapy sessions, David expects to be back as early as February next year.

“I feel like I can come back in February or March next year. I’m not sure but I’m certain it’s early next year.” INQ

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — Wyndham Clark has a commanding lead at the 2026 U.S. Open, but now comes the hard part — closing it out when everyone expects you to do so.

At seven under, Clark leads four players by six strokes heading into the final round at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on Long Island. That group is led by World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who is a win away from completing the career Grand Slam. And if he did so on Sunday, it would be quite the 30th birthday present.

Scheffler, Sahith Theegala, Tom Kim and Sam Stevens are all tied at one under, while Emiliano Grillo, Keith Mitchell, Sam Burns and Xander Schauffele are even par and seven off the lead.

The winner Sunday will also take home the $4.5 million winner’s check, although the top-four finishers all earn at least one million dollars.

Clark has been in this position before, although things were a little different when he won the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club. He was tied for the 54-hole lead with Rickie Fowler, and Rory McIlroy was just one behind.

Now? He leads by a half dozen.

“I would say I’m definitely a lot more confident and believe I can do it — in ’23 there was still doubts,” Clark said Saturday. “Not necessarily doubts, but I hadn’t done it, so there was a lot of unknown. Now that I have done it, I know I can do it, and I can do it again. So I’ll definitely lean on that experience and other experiences from when I’ve won that I can break through and do this again.”

The total purse for the U.S. Open is $22.5 million, which is the same total purse (and winner’s share) as the 2026 Masters. Aaron Rai took home $3.69 million for winning the PGA Championship last month, and Cameron Young won $4.5 million at the Players Championship in March.

Below is the payout breakdown for the U.S. Open. All the professionals who missed the cut receive $10,000 each.

2026 U.S. Open total purse, payout

1st: $4.5 million
2nd: $2,430,000
3rd: $1,532,530
4th: $1,074,363
5th: $894,841
6th: $793,443
7th: $715,320
8th: $640,654
9th: $579,815
10th: $532,572
11th: $486,021
12th: $449,379
13th: $418,729
14th: $386,466
15th: $358,812
16th: $335,767
17th: $317,331
18th: $298,895
19th: $280,459
20th: $262,022
21st: $246,121
22nd: $230,220
23rd: $214,780
24th: $200,492
25th: $188,048
26th: $177,447
27th: $169,381
28th: $162,237
29th: $155,324
30th: $148,410
31st: $141,497
32nd: $134,583
33rd: $127,669
34th: $121,447
35th: $116,377
36th: $111,307
37th: $106,468
38th: $101,859
39th: $97,250
40th: $92,641
41st: $88,032
42nd: $83,423
43rd: $78,814
44th: $74,205
45th: $69,596
46th: $65,448
47th: $61,300
48th: $57,382
49th: $55,077
50th: $52,773
51st: $51,390
52nd: $50,238
53rd: $49,316
54th: $48,855
55th: $48,394
56th: $47,933
57th: $47,472
58th: $47,012
59th: $46,551
60th: $46,090
61th: $45,629
62th: $45,168
63th: $44,707
64th: $44,246
65th: $43,785
66th: $43,324
67th: $42,863

Fernando Mendoza is gearing up for his first season in the NFL with the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Raiders selected Mendoza with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2026 draft after he led the Indiana Hoosiers to an undefeated 2025 season and a national championship. While Mendoza added the Heisman Trophy to his list of incredible accomplishments last year, he still has a lot to learn when it comes to being an NFL player.

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Las Vegas Raiders offensive coordinator Andrew Janocko talks with quarterbacks Fernando Mendoza and Kirk Cousins during minicamp at Intermountain Health Performance Center in Henderson, Nev., on June 9, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)

Mendoza recently shared some of the advice that Raiders minority owner Tom Brady has lent him in the first two months of being with Las Vegas.

“I think what he said as a quarterback is you need to be the most everything. You need to be the most competitive. You need to be the most leader. You have to have the most leadership,” he said, via the Raiders’ YouTube page.

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Raiders minority owner Tom Brady yells encouragement to players during the first half of a Raiders training camp mock game at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Aug. 2, 2025. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

“You need to be the toughest, both mentally and physically. And you’ve got to embody all these things and lead by example before gaining that equity and respect from your teammates in order to lead effectively.”

Mendoza will also have Kirk Cousins to lean on in certain situations, even as the veteran quarterback doesn’t see his relationship as a mentor-mentee situation.

“I think to say I’m mentoring them is a bit of a reach, probably more of a narrative than it is the truth,” Cousins said last week, via The Athletic. “They’re pretty good players and pretty experienced, and I’m learning a lot from them too and asking questions of them.”

Quarterback Fernando Mendoza, selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft by the Las Vegas Raiders, attends a news conference at the Raiders Headquarters in Henderson, Nev., on April 24, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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It’s unclear whether Mendoza will be the Week 1 starter. Cousins has proved to have some left in the tank to play. He signed a two-year, $12.6 million deal with the Raiders in the offseason.

After quarterback, edge rusher is the NFL’s most important position (see some of Jeff Diamond’s recent thoughts on VT). Does that mean Andrew Van Ginkel needs to be next to earn an extension? He’s a Vikings star player even if he’s often overlooked.

The 2024 second-team All Pro is moving into his final season. He’ll demand $23 million, an amount that puts him in a good spot within the broader edge rusher market but nowhere near the top. Seeing a new deal arrive should be a priority for the Vikings’ front office. Quite possibly, the undone Van Ginkel extension needs to get in ahead of the Brian O’Neill deal, somebody who has more commonly been in the headlines.

A Vikings Star Player — Andrew Van Ginkel — Needs an Extension

Part of the problem for Van Ginkel in 2025 was health, or lack thereof. The edge rusher got into just a dozen games, starting eleven.

He was nevertheless able to climb up to 7 sacks. That’s a step behind the 11.5 sacks he tossed up in 2024. What’s missing from the basic analysis is that Van Ginkel not only played in less games but had lesser pass rushing snaps. Brian Flores tasked him with pass rushing on just 173 plays, per PFF. He had 414 pass rushing snaps the year before.

He was, in other words, a terror off the edge. His issue is that he got less opportunity, making the final tally appear more modest.

Worse yet (for the Vikings, at least) is that Minnesota doesn’t have a great replacement. Dallas Turner is already being burdened with jumping into the Jonathan Greenard opening. Nobody else on the roster boasts the sort of promise to suggest that an EDGE1 job as early as 2027 makes sense. Bo Richter, Tyler Batty, and/or others will have something to say about the matter, but we’re merely considering the most likely path ahead.

So, an extension would appear darn near necessary.

Over the Cap clarifies that top edge rushers — think guys like Myles Garrett, Micah Parsons, Danielle Hunter, and some others — can clear $40 million per year on their deals. Van Ginkel won’t see his name among those guys.

Goodness, Will Anderson Jr. is now at the top of the market with a contract averaging a cool $50 million per season. Doubling the Van Ginkel $23 million would mean sitting at $46 million, still short of the Anderson contract.

In all likelihood, Andrew Van Ginkel could see his annual average get to somewhere within the $25 to $30 million range. Greenard climbed up to that $30 million benchmark in his new Philadelphia deal but that’s within the context of being younger and having a better reputation for tracking down quarterbacks. The $30 million average should be considered the high-end of any potential Van Ginkel extension.

Taking a guess would mean doing precisely that: guessing. Nolan Teasley is a mystery since he’s still so new.

What’s not a mystery is the abilities that Andrew Van Ginkel can offer. He’s a unique player in a league that boasts a pile of unique players. Nobody on Minnesota’s roster can do what the EDGE1 is capable of doing. As a result, the Vikings star player may end up being the priority to extend.

The Vikings could put more than $11 million into the 2026 budget with an extension.

Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.