Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell walks the field during pregame preparations ahead of a divisional matchup with the Chicago Bears at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Minnesota leader oversaw final warmups as players completed their routines before kickoff. Dec 16, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA: O’Connell prepared his team on the home field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images.
The Minnesota Vikings aren’t making it very mysterious: a different quarterback is on the way. It’s just a matter of who, with free agency less than two weeks away, and what role that man will hold in relation to J.J. McCarthy, the QB1 from 2025. Head coach Kevin O’Connell spoke to reporters Tuesday, explaining that his mindset about McCarthy as the long-term QB1 has changed since 2024, mainly because the timeline is different.
McCarthy still sits in front, yet the language points to a shorter leash and a more serious veteran hedge this offseason.
It feels like Minnesota must win now, and McCarthy may not be the safest option to achieve that mission.
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What O’Connell’s Word Choice Signals about McCarthy
Another day, another noncommittal quip about McCarthy.
Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell addresses reporters during media availability at the NFL Scouting Combine inside the Indiana Convention Center. The head coach discussed roster outlook and offseason priorities as Minnesota evaluated upcoming draft decisions. Feb 25, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA: O’Connell spoke publicly while the Vikings prepared for another critical offseason period. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images.
O’Connell on McCarthy
Reporters asked O’Connell if he still views McCarthy as a franchise quarterback, two words he used freely two years ago, and O’Connell replied affirmatively, adding, “It’s just the timeline is in a different place for all of us than it was in the summer of 2024. And I have a responsibility — we have a responsibility collectively as we put together this team — to make sure that we use the data that we have at this time and the experiences we have.”
If you’re McCarthy, that update is the very definition of bittersweet.
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Interim GM Rob Brzezinski Weighs In
When asked about the Vikings’ offseason quarterback plan, Brzezinski aligned on the same page as O’Connell.
“We’re exploring every option that can be out there. What we do know is we need a level of baseline quarterback play for us to be effective,” he replied.
“A lot of this has been J.J. in unfortunate situations with some of the injuries and things that he’s dealt with, but we’re going to explore every opportunity, and I don’t think there’s anything specifically we’re looking for. We can’t manufacture anything that’s not there. So, No. 1, what are the options? Is it reciprocal? Is it financially doable? All those things. There’s just a lot of factors that go into it.”
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Brzezinski also said of his franchise’s new decision-making structure: “We have to have protocol in place, and so the owners have asked me to handle that responsibility if that would occur. But our intent is to have complete and total collaboration … and I think the decisions are going to be pretty easy to make.”
None of that screams extreme loyalty to McCarthy.
An Acknowledgement That There’s No Time to Develop McCarthy?
What exactly does O’Connell’s remark mean?
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It’s just the timeline is in a different place for all of us than it was in the summer of 2024.
In August 2024, Minnesota had drafted McCarthy four months prior, and there was no reason to believe his torn meniscus would spiral into a high ankle sprain, concussion, and broken hand the following season. The guy had no major injury history in high school or college, and in fact, drafting the “healthy guy,” as opposed to Michael Penix Jr., for example, seemed like the wise choice. Almost two years later, McCarthy and Penix Jr. have battled major injuries.
Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell review selections behind the scenes during the club’s 2024 NFL Draft process. The draft class included first-round picks J.J. McCarthy and Dallas Turner as Minnesota reshaped its roster. Apr 25, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA: Team leadership worked through decisions during draft operations. Mandatory Credit: YouTube.
The timeline may be referring to McCarthy’s health and how it jibes with an alleged Super Bowl window. Former general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah constructed his competitive rebuild process for Minnesota to aim for a Super Bowl in 2025 and 2026 — if one assumed that McCarthy would pan out.
Instead, the Vikings traded away the quarterback who would later win the Super Bowl, Sam Darnold, while this offseason wondering whether McCarthy would develop into a dependable starter.
In short, O’Connell likely feels the heat to win now or risk losing his job. That’s the real timeline. Minnesota hired him in 2022, and through four seasons, he reached the postseason twice and won no playoff games. Regarding playoff success, it’s go-time for O’Connell. He can’t bet it all on McCarthy.
All Bets off at QB
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Earlier in the offseason, ESPN reported that “all bets were off” on McCarthy’s future, meaning the club wouldn’t tie its success to him alone. In theory, they could call about big-fish trades for players like Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, or Justin Herbert. They could explore the availability of Kyler Murray and Mac Jones. They could add a veteran like Aaron Rodgers, Kirk Cousins, Derek Carr, or Geno Smith.
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) warms up on the field while wearing a WVB bow tie patch honoring late owner William V. Bidwill before kickoff. The quarterback completed pregame routines ahead of the home contest. Oct 13, 2019; Glendale, Arizona, USA: Murray prepared for action while honoring the longtime Cardinals owner. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher-Arizona Republic via Imagn Content Services, LLC.
Every single one of those alternatives feels realistic, especially after the comments from O’Connell and Brzezinski at the Combine. McCarthy will probably be on the roster, but it’s a safe assumption that he’ll fight for the QB1 job — like Anthony Richardson versus Daniel Jones in Indianapolis last summer.
On Tuesday, Kansas City Chiefs heiress Gracie Hunt posted a short Instagram video of her making a healthy recipe that she said tastes like dessert. She is best known for keeping her followers updated about her healthy routine.
Hunt shared the ingredients and the recipe and also talked about stevia.
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“I’m obsessed with stevia, and it’s my vice in life,” Hunt said.
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Hunt often grabs people’s attention with her workout routines. On Jan. 28, she posted a video of her gym session. She shared a glimpse of her workout and mentioned the “arms and abs” routine in the caption.
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“Arms & Abs Circuit,” she wrote. “I aim for 20 reps per exercise, focusing on mind–muscle connection over speed. Repeat the circuit 4️⃣ times. This is my go-to routine for building upper-body strength while keeping the core engaged the entire time.”
In the clip, Hunt started her workout with dumbbell deadlifts, then did triceps dips, followed by incline crunches and finally incline situps with a weighted bar. She also did bench hops, incline dumbbell fly and incline shoulder press.
Gracie Hunt penned a heartfelt message on her father, Clark Hunt’s, birthday
On Thursday, Gracie Hunt shared a sweet post on Instagram, celebrating her father, Clark Hunt’s, birthday.
“Happy Birthday, Dad! 🥳🎊 You make the world better every single day through the way you work, love, teach, serve, and make everyone you meet feel truly seen and special,” Gracie wrote. “You’ve impacted countless lives and are the kindest, most patient, God-fearing man I know. Thank you for leading by example and living each day with integrity and intention. I’m so grateful to call you my dad — and to celebrate another 365 days of you.”
Gracie posed with her father in the first slide of the post. She wore a body-hugging dress, while her father wore a printed blue shirt and black pants. She added a video of the Kansas City Chiefs owner cutting his birthday cake.
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Her mother, Tavia, also joined Gracie. She shared a picture with her mother in the third slide of the post. It was followed by a snap of her with her boyfriend, Derek Green, who wore a black shirt and white pants.
Trainer Mick Price recognizes the tough assignment of getting the better of Observer in the Australian Guineas following their recent showdown.
However, Price is far from abandoning his bid for a fourth success in the Group 1 Australian Guineas (1600m) which heads to Flemington this Saturday.
“He’s a nice, uncomplicated gelding and he’ll show up, but everything will have to go right for us to turn it around on Observer,” Price said.
“My opinion is no I can’t (beat Observer) but that is not how we’re training him. My opinion is Observer is the clear good horse, and we are there to do our best.”
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Price’s prior Australian Guineas conquests feature Light Fantastic (2008), Heart Of Dreams (2009), and Grunt (2018).
He also achieved second place via Tarzino in 2016, behind Palentino.
Handled by Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr, Planet Red has tangled with Observer three times, with Planet Red superior in two instances.
Planet Red’s initial success came against Observer in a Pakenham maiden back in May last year, prior to their rematch in the Caulfield Guineas seeing Planet Red runner-up and Observer an unfortunate third.
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Observer later succeeded in the Moonee Valley Vase and Group 1 Victoria Derby, then dominated the Group 2 Autumn Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on February 7, Planet Red rallying late from behind for second.
Planet Red carried 2kg less than Observer then, but equal terms apply for Saturday.
“I’m not sure how we beat Observer,” Price said.
“We rode our horse cold first-up and I thought it was a very good run, a long-sustained run.
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“He’s going well and hopefully he can take up a more forward position in the race.
“He’s had a good prep for the race, he’s sound, he’s got good condition on him, and I’ve got enough horse to go to Sydney for something afterwards, but I haven’t worked that out yet.”
Price keeps the door ajar for a quick turnaround into the Group 1 Randwick Guineas a fortnight hence, despite deeming it improbable.
Price harks back to Global Glamour under Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, who managed dual Group 1 victories a week distant across borders.
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“Normally seven days after a Group 1 here and then a trip up to Sydney would be too close, but Gai did it one year from the Flight to the Thousand Guineas, so anything is possible,” Price said.
Visit the betting sites with the keenest racing betting markets for the Australian Guineas.
Team India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak has revealed that batter Rinku Singh will be joining the team on Wednesday (February 25) evening, ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026 match against Zimbabwe. The Super 8 clash is scheduled to be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Thursday, February 26.
Rinku Singh was not present for Team India’s mandatory training session on Tuesday as he had left the squad to deal with a family emergency. Reports soon emerged that the southpaw was visiting his father, whose condition, amid long-term cancer treatment, had deteriorated.
The batter has not yet returned as he is not a part of the optional training session on Wednesday, with only Tilak Varma and Varun Chakaravarthy being part of the proceedings.
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“Rinku will come back today evening,” Sitanshu Kotak confirmed during the pre-match press conference. (via RevSportz).
It remains to be seen whether Rinku Singh will be in contention for selection for the playing XI in the upcoming clash.
“There can be changes in the game” – Batting coach on Team India’s playing XI after crushing loss in IND vs SA T20 World Cup 2026 match
The batting coach admitted that the recent result against South Africa in the Super 8 stage and the left-handed top-order being exploited by oppositions, have forced the team management to think about potential changes in the combination.
“There can be changes in the game. We are thinking of the top three left-handers and oppositions bowling off spin. Now that we have lost openers early in 3 matches we are talking about it. The No. 8 position, we think is for all-rounders,” Sitanshu Kotak explained.
The coach also defended Tilak Varma, who has been struggling with form and rhythm after coming into the T20 World Cup 2026 right after an injury, followed by surgery.
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“There are no issue s with how Tilak is batting. He batted well against Pakistan. For Tilak, it is a matter of two boundaries (on his strike rate). There’s no concern about his run a ball innings. There is no tension regarding Abhishek, Tilak or even the loss against SA,” the Indian coach added.
Both Tilak Varma and Abhishek Sharma have had a campaign to forget so far. The former has scored only 107 runs at an average of 21.40 and a strike rate of 118.89, and was dismissed for one run against South Africa.
Abhishek Sharma, on the other hand, recorded three consecutive ducks in the group stage for India. Although he ended the string of ducks against South Africa, he perished soon after, scoring 15 runs off 12 deliveries.
Manchester United could be in for a busy summer and reports suggest they’ve set their sights on raiding relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest
Ben Crawford Senior Sports Writer
10:46, 25 Feb 2026
Manchester United are reportedly interested in Nottingham Forest duo Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson. And some sales might have to be sanctioned to afford this blockbuster double deal.
With Michael Carrick at the helm, United have made significant improvements over the last month. Having supplanted Ruben Amorim, the English manager is yet to lose any of his first six matches in charge during this spell.
Yet, bolstering the squad when the summer window opens must still be on the club’s agenda and they have reportedly singled out both Gibbs-White and Anderson. The former was the subject of a £60million bid from Tottenham over the summer, though this was rebuffed and he shortly thereafter signed a new three-year deal at the City Ground.
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Anderson is one of the Premier League’s hottest properties and whispers of a £100m price tag continue to swirl. Irrespective of whether Forest survive the drop, it appears United may launch an assault on this pair and the Manchester Evening News looks at sales the club could sanction to fund it.
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There are two obvious moves that United are expected to make come the summer: offloading both Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund, who are currently away on loan.
Hojlund is thriving at Napoli and he too has a buy-out obligation. This £38m clause is activated if Napoli qualify for next season’s Champions League and even if they don’t, it is still expected they’d attempt to purchase him.
If both of these exits go smoothly then they may generate £64m, with Rashford’s sale acting as pure profit. Next, should the dynamic Gibbs-White arrive, he would surely take the place of Bruno Fernandes in the first team.
He is only under contract until 2027 and would likely demand astronomical wages to renew. The Daily Mail reports that he has a £56.6m release clause in his contract for clubs outside of England.
Two other squad players could join Fernandes out the exit door, Mason Mount and Joshua Zirkzee. The Dutch forward was linked with a move away in January and appears out of the first-team picture.
Mount has struggled with injuries since his £60m move from Chelsea in 2023 and he would free up space if Anderson is to sign. January rumours placed Zirkzee’s price at around the £20m mark, with Mount valued at £28m as per Transfermarkt.
Altogether, selling these five players could raise roughly £170m. Forest may demand near £100m for Anderson and there is a release clause in the new deal Gibbs-White penned last summer which prevents a bidding war.
Nevertheless, a combined £170m, not to mention the wages that United may have been able to get off their books with these sales, would surely be enough to secure this potentially game-changing double transfer if personal terms can be agreed.
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Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package
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Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle for the 2025/26 season, saving members £336 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
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Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games this season, an increase of up to 100 more.
Lots of recreational golfers have the right instinct about what’s wrong with their swing. But issues arise when they apply a superficial “solution” that doesn’t address the actual issues in their swings.
The best example? Tons of amateurs “scoop” the clubhead as they make impact with the ball. It translates into weak contact with too much loft and (usually) an open clubface. It only takes a few of those shots before you start trying to do something to address it.
Usually, that means shoving the handle toward the target in an effort to remove the scooping motion. You might be able to get away with that on a short pitch or chip, but when you add length and speed to the swing, that handle shove actually makes you scoop it more because your body responds by backing out of the shot. This will have you dumping the clubhead just to avoid hitting the ground six inches behind the ball.
In reality, the root cause of scooping at impact often has nothing to do with your hands or your release. It happens because you aren’t rotating in a way that moves the low point in front of the ball, which promotes proper compression of the ball at impact.
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Working with my teaching partner Morgan Hale, we addressed this exact problem in the video below. The student was stalling his rotation, standing up out of his posture and using his hands to try to create more speed through impact — but that doesn’t work!
To help fix the issue, we gave him three easy drills to improve his rotation, create a real pivot and get his low point more in front of the ball. If you struggle with scooping your irons at impact, they may help you, too.
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3 drills for better compression
1. Stretch and turn
Pull an exercise band against your chest by extending your arms completely, then make slow backswings and through-swings as you keep the band fully stretched. If you stop rotating or make an over-the-top move, you’ll instantly lose the stretch on the band.
2. Push with precision
Lots of people do a good job pushing with their trail foot during the downswing, but when they do it, they slide everything toward the target. Pushing is good, but you need to add in the feel of pushing your lead hip back to get the proper turn through the ball.
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To teach yourself this feel, have a friend stand to the side and hold an alignment stick in front of your lead hip. As you make practice swings with no club, make sure you’re turning through in a way that doesn’t bump your lead hip into the club.
3. Lawn mower stretch
Another way to feel that is to have somebody stand in front of you holding the resistance band on the ground with their foot where the ball would be. Hold the other end of the band in your lead hand, and when you make your downswing, pull the band tight post-impact, like you’re starting a lawn mower. The effort it takes to create the tension will encourage you to rotate and push that lead hip back instead of sliding it toward the target.
The NFL Combine’s 40-yard dash is a sprint designed to evaluate the speed and acceleration of football players by scouts for the Draft.
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Traditionally, a player’s recorded time would only impact his prospects at the “skill” positions, but these days a fast time is telling for almost every position on the field.
Of course, the 40 is not an official race in track and field athletics. So why that distance and not a 50 or 100?
According to Michael MacCambridge inAmerica’s Game: The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured a Nation, the origin of timing football players for 40 yards comes from the average distance of a punt and the time it takes to reach that distance, as determined by Paul Brown in the mid-1940s.
Punts average around 40 yards in distance from the line of scrimmage, and the hangtime (or time of flight) averages approximately 4.5 seconds.
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Theoretically, then, if a player can run 40 yards in 4.5 seconds, he will be able to leave the line of scrimmage when a punt is kicked and reach the point where the ball comes down as it arrives.
Below we’ve compiled the 40-yard-dash time for every player from the region who has run it at the NFL Combine since 2000, along with their position, school, and the year they participated, in a searchable, sortable table.
Since the Combine wasn’t held in 2021 due to the pandemic, we’ve included the team Pr0-Day drill results for that year instead.
Washington’s John Ross recorded the fastest 40-yard-dash time among former SuperWest players and owns the all-time NFL Combine mark.
The U.S. men’s hockey team made history with its 2-1 overtime win over Team Canada at the Milan Cortina Olympics in the gold medal game Sunday.
Jack Hughes hit the golden goal to deliver the U.S. its first men’s hockey gold medal since the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” team.
“We deserve it,” Matthew Tkachuk said during an exclusive sitdown on Fox News Channel’s “Special Report” about the whirlwind celebration he and his teammates have experienced in recent days.
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“We really pride ourselves on being true Americans that would doing anything it takes for this country and to win. And I’m so proud of the guys, and I’m so proud to be able to compete with them.”
Brady Tkachuk (7) and Matthew Tkachuk (19) of the United States celebrate after their game against Team Canada during the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena Feb. 22, 2026.(Geoff Burke/Imagn Images)
“You never really dream of being in this position, but to share this with (Matthew), but also my 23 other brothers … wouldn’t change it for the world,” Brady Tkachuk said about the experience of playing alongside his brother Matthew in the gold medal game.
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“To be able to represent this country and all (the) amazing people and millions of Americans that were back home, we felt their love. We felt their support.”
Team USA goaltender and Winnipeg Jets star Connor Hellebuyck discussed his transition back to Canada for NHL competition.
“Mentally, this is going to be hard to get back in it. I need at least 24 hours to wrap my brain around this because this has been not only the most fun experience of my life, but you just see the pride in this country,” Hellebuyck said.
Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck of theUnited States celebrates winning the gold medal during the men’s gold medal game against Canada at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games Feb. 22, 2026, in Milan, Italy.(Andrea Branca/Eurasia Sport Images)
“It’s bigger than the game of hockey. …. I know my city loves me in Winnepeg, and I’m really looking forward to trying to bring some joy back to that city as well and hopefully chasing a (Stanley) Cup.”
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Canada has historically been the most dominant Olympic hockey team in history, with a world-best nine gold medals. Sunday’s win also avenged a loss to Canada in the NHL’s 4 Nations Face Off exhibition last year.
“The second the boots hit the ground back here in the U.S., we could feel how many millions of people were tuning in, supporting us and just loving how we represent,” Matthew added of the outpouring. “We were kind of America’s Team there for a bit, and we could feel it across the Atlantic (Ocean). We just appreciate everybody’s support. It was truly amazing just to represent the greatest country in the world at that stage.”
Dylan Larkin and Zach Werenski appeared on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends” Tuesday morning, hours after celebrating their gold medal victory against Canada in Miami. The two opened up on what it meant to them to represent the Stars and Stripes.
The United States celebrates after winning the men’s ice hockey gold medal game during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena.(James Lang/Imagn Images)
“I think a lot of us played at the U.S. National Team Development Program. … When we were there, you get to put the jersey on every day for two years before you’re drafted. We go through training. We’re not military by any means, but they put us through some training, and they really instill in you some pride,” Larkin said. “Once you go through that, you take the jersey off. … And every time you take it off, for me at least, I don’t know the next time I’m going to put it on.
“So, every time I get the chance to represent the United States of America, I put that jersey on, I’m all in. I love doing it, and it’s just something special. I could go on all day about how great our country is. Just being home and seeing our friends and family, it’s just special.”
Stripped of its context, it seemed an ordinary moment. A player tumbling to the ground. A referee’s whistle. A penalty scored. An early lead.
But, as Manozh Noori raised a fist to the sky to celebrate her first international goal in her first international game, the significance to her and her teammates was overwhelming.
“It was the moment of happiness for everyone,” Noori told DW after the match.
“All of my teammates came to me and hugged me,” she said. “It was such a great moment for all of us. I dedicate this goal to all of those in Afghanistan, because they deserve happiness.”
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It has been a long time in the making. Afghanistan’s women’s football team last played an international match in 2021, before the Taliban returned to power in the country later that year. The Islamic fundamentalist nationalist movement has relentlessly repressed women since regaining power and, according to the United Nations, “is closer than ever to achieving its vision of a society that completely erases women from public life.”
Women and girls in Afghanistan see no hope for the future
All of the players on the pitch in late October were forced to flee, with playing sport in public placing a target firmly on their backs. Just over half of the squad eventually found a home in Australia; other playes settled in various European countries.
Sport a faraway, but achievable, dream
Since they were exiled, regaining their status as international footballers — which means recognition from the game’s global governors FIFA — has been the preoccupation for many. Though they are driven by playing at the top level, their deeper motivation is always front of mind.
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“Girls in Afghanistan don’t have any rights right now. Playing sport is maybe a faraway dream, but just a very simple one is studying and having education and they don’t have it,” goalkeeper Fatima Yousufi told DW.
“It’s just the biggest motivation for us to do this for all those girls,” Yousufi said. “We’re showing them that their dreams are valid.”
Fatima Yousufi was between the sticks for Afghanistan on SundayImage: Ann Odong/FIFA
Those thoughts and memories of their homeland were etched on the faces of the players as they saw their flag fly and heard their anthem play before kickoff against Chad, who eventually won 6-1 on Sunday, with tears flowing freely.
While FIFA started the process of recognizing the team in May, they are currently playing as Afghan Women United, a name picked in conjunction with the players that replaced their old status as the Afghanistan women’s refugee team. As such, the tournament they are playing in is composed of friendly matches, with Libya and Tunisia also involved. Afghanistan’s men’s team continue to compete on the global stage under Taliban control.
Yousufi was one of those who played in the team’s last fixture as Afghanistan — before the Taliban retook control following the withdrawal of US and NATO forces. Women’s football has moved on rapidly since then, with increased professionalization, booming ticket sales in many countries and increased media interest.
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Afghanistan have lots of catching up to do
With players scattered across the globe and having also to concentrate on building new lives in unfamiliar lands, Afghanistan have plenty of catching up to do. That process was not helped by the delay and last-minute change of venue for the tournament after the Afghan players’ visas were rejected by the United Arab Emirates, who had initially agreed to host, and play, in it. No official statement has yet been offered as to the reason for that rejection, but the UAE has strong diplomatic links with the Taliban.
Until a few days ago, some of Afghanistan’s players and staff hadn’t even met, now they are proud to be back on the international stageImage: Ann Odong/FIFA
“It’s very difficult, when you’ve not played international football for four years, to understand what the level is, because even in that time the game has changed a lot,” said the team’s Scottish coach, Pauline Hamill.
“I think you can see that there’s a level of potential there,” Hamill said. “I think it was a case of ‘Welcome to international football’ [in the first game], and now: ‘How do we improve moving forward? I think that’s the key message.”
FIFA promises ongoing support
After another defeat, to Tunisia, the Afghan side showed that improvement with a 7-0 win over Libya to end the tournament on a high. But, after fighting so hard to be heard and recognized for four years, the Afghan players see this as merely a first step on the path back to a sporting existence somewhat like the one they had before their lives were upended.
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FIFA president, Gianni Infantino turned up to the team’s second match, posing for pictures and declaring the tournament the start of a “beautiful, beautiful story”. He has also promised to “continue to stand by all Afghan women” and “work tirelessly to ensure that every one of them receives the support they deserve to play the game they love.”
But what happens next is not yet clear. With a government unwilling to support them, competetive fixtures are currently impossible and none are arranged as the year ends.
While they may not yet be representing their country in quite the way they want, this group of exiled women has shown their resilience time and time again. As Yousufi puts it, complete with a hint of Australian twang: “Never give up on your dreams, girls.”
Edited by: Chuck Penfold. This article is part of DW Sports’ Best of 2025 series in which we revisit some of our outstanding features from the past year. The article has been updated to reflect the latter stages of the FIFA Unites tournament.
Turns out this baseball quote, which has been going around the pastime for half-century now, can be applied to golf, too: “There’s nothing more limited than being a limited partner of George Steinbrenner.”
Not George Costanza’s boss in Seinfeld. The real-life George Steinbrenner, bombastic and effective late owner of the New York Yankees.
For Reed Dickens, this is all familiar territory. Reed Dickens ran a bat manufacturing business and before that he that worked for a man who was once a baseball team owner. (The Texas Rangers, late Nolan Ryan years.) For most of the past decade Dickens has been the owner and CEO of LA Golf, a high-end shaft-and-club manufacturer in Southern California. But to gearheads across the United States and beyond, Dickens is background scenery in this L.A. story.
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The real star here is Bryson A. DeChambeau, former SMU physics student and current LIV Golf star, for whom LA Golf is his personal club-making lab, where conversations between DeChambeau and Jeff Meyer, LA Golf’s top engineer, can go on for hours as they talk about optical launch angles in different wind conditions, the golfer’s eyes flaring with excitement.
When DeChambeau won the Covid-delayed 2020 U.S. Open, he did it with 14 LA Golf shafts. The shafts in the irons were all the same length and about as stiff as a White House flagpole. Golf’s core gear-centric fans, watching this XXL golfer have his way with the celebrated West Course at Winged Foot, were all agog about Bryson’s shafts. Nobody was talking about Reed Dickens, understandably. It was DeChambeau who went around in 274, winning by a touchdown.
When DeChambeau won the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst, the same: 14 clubs, 14 LA Golf shafts. He owned the No. 2 course that day, and that night he owned the town. At the 2025 Masters, where he played the final round with the eventual winner, Rory McIlroy, DeChambeau had 14 LA Golf shafts in his plus-size green Crushers G.C. golf bag. DeChambeau talked about LA Golf at the drop of a hat.
Then, last year, DeChambeau played not just LA Golf shafts but LA Golf heads, too. These heads were made to his exact specifications, with faces that had a pronounced and distinctive bulge and roll. DeChambeau all but demands bespoke clubs for his distinctive one-plane swing with its extraordinary speed, clubs that match his one-of-one personality. A line of LA Golf drivers, with DeChambeau’s fingerprints on its simple and shiny design, were introduced last year, and you can find them easily enough (with some help from Google). A handsome $600 driver. You won’t find it in your neighborhood PGA Tour Superstore, but they are available at pro shops at Discovery Golf’s swank properties, should you ever find yourself at one. That’s because the founder of Discovery, Michael Meldman, is an 11 percent owner of LA Golf.
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LA Golf and Bryson DeChambeau. Sounds like a match made in golfing heaven, doesn’t it?
Turns out, the parties needed a pre-nup.
The restless Bryson DeChambeau is in yet another period in which he’s evaluating every aspect of his golf and business life. His future with LIV Golf is an unknown. Already, as a result of this review, a report of collateral damage is in: Bryson DeChambeau and LA Golf are parting company.
In a phone interview Monday afternoon, Reed Dickens, speaking from his home in Newport Beach, Calif., said that DeChambeau made a pitch, through a new-to-the-team Bryson business advisor, to become LA Golf’s majority owner. Dickens, a 48-year-old native Louisianan and a former CEO of the baseball equipment company Marucci Sports, was not down with that. Turns out, in golf as in life, breaking up is hard to do.
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“Bryson and I actually have some of the same tendencies, and I have nothing but respect for him,” Dickens said during a 90-minute interview. You could not miss an intensiveness in Dickens that brought to mind DeChambeau. Dickens is a long-hitting 10-handicap golfer at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, and a scratch talker up and down Southern California’s 405 Freeway. “But he has this new consultant, a McKinsey-consulting type guy, and this guy says to me that Bryson is gonna walk unless he gets 51 percent. Bryson’s got 2 percent of the company. And I think the guy doesn’t realize that he’s dealing with a redneck. And I say, ‘There’s no path for that.’ They played chicken with me, and now we’re going to graciously part ways.”
Dickens has seen high-stakes chess before. Horseshoes, too. In his 20s, he worked in the George W. Bush White House for four years as an assistant press secretary and campaign spokesman. More than once he went to Kennebunkport, Maine, with 43 and 41 both on the scene. The senior Bush was a first baseman at Yale. The younger was an owner of the Rangers. Dickens is not a baseball guy or political but has found himself enmeshed in both in his adult life.
“Bryson needs someone serving him 24 hours a day, he needs somebody to build him his own clubs, and that’s not scalable for us,” Dickens said. In other words, you can’t have a small, almost artisanal manufacturing business where a single customer demands and gets vast amounts of attention. Dickens said his goal for LA Golf is to make high-end equipment for golfers who want clubs that perform better off mishits, because of their bulge-and-roll face designs. All the while he wants to simplify the shaft-fitting process. The LA Golf website comprises a single page, a moody black-and-white golf photo with single box to enter your email address. Callaway this is not.
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Dickens said that LA Golf had a “head count” of 75 employees but that he has more recently terminated 25 staffers as the company shifts from trying to be a premium wholesaler with high-end retail accounts to a direct-to-the-golfer company making exclusive products exclusively in the United States. He described his years with DeChambeau as one long R&D project, with DeChambeau making vast design contributions. “He challenges everything you do, and he makes you test your every assumption,” Dickens said.
Dickens was asked if Nike Golf’s experience with Tiger Woods had been instructive for him.
“I think what’s instructive about Tiger and Nike is this: The most difficult and expensive thing to do in consumer product sales is unaided name recognition, to use a phrase of politics,” Dickens said. Nike, he said, already enjoyed vast name recognition without Tiger Woods and had slightly more with Tiger Woods. What Nike Golf didn’t have, Dickens said, was a line of products that ordinary golfers wanted to buy in large quantities. An issue for Nike, he said, was that the public never really believed that the clubs Woods played were essentially the same clubs that ordinary golfers could buy.
For the last half-decade or more, LA Golf faced different issues. “We partnered with the golfer who is more active than any golfer on social media and I’m very grateful for that,” Dickens said. “Tiger gave Nike some magical moments, like that ball sitting on the edge of the hole before falling in.” Sunday at the 2005 Masters, par-3 16th hole, Woods’s second shot, his ball’s Nike swoosh available for all to see until it wasn’t. Woods won his fourth Masters that year. “But I don’t think any of that helped with Nike’s return on their investment,” Dickens said.
By 2016, Nike was out of the golf-manufacturing business. That same year, DeChambeau turned pro. Within a few years, he was helping LA Golf get into the golf business at its highest level. For ubiquitousness, LA Golf was nothing like TaylorMade or Titleist, but DeChambeau helped get the LA Golf name known to innumerable gearhead golfers, no question about that. You always have to start with a base, with your constituents. Every student of politics knows that, and every marketing executive does, too.
Dickens believes the company has an innovative product line (and he notes that Sergio Garcia is playing LA Golf clubs this year). But what LA Golf will do now is go forward without its Tiger Woods, without arguably the most influential golfer in the world. He knows it won’t be easier.
In the meantime, DeChambeau’s 4.3 million Instagram followers, among others, will be itching to know about Bryson’s next move, what with spring not even a month away and Bryson DeChambeau broadly enjoying the title, with a wink or not, as the Most Interesting Man in Golf.
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Yo, Bryson: What gives, dude?
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II. SPRINGTIME FOR BRYSON
Your fill-in gear correspondent sent a text Tuesday morning at 9:15 to DeChambeau’s longtime agent, Mr. Brett Falkoff, senior vice president of GSE Worldwide, noting that Reed Dickens had outlined the state of affairs between LA Golf and the golfer. Would Bryson like to discuss their years together and his equipment future? (Not that he needs this GOLF.com megaphone, what with the millions who follow him on the Instagram, the X, the YouTube, the TikTok.) Seventy minutes later, a response from Falkoff landed:
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“Bryson is no longer an ambassador for LA Golf. He remains a customer and still has the shafts in his bag.”
If we hear something more, Part II of this report will be expanded and updated.
Until then, the first round of the 2026 Masters (on this fourth and last Tuesday in February) is just 45 days away. Bryson’s in the field and he’ll have 14 clubs at his disposal. DeChambeau in Augusta will be interesting because DeChambeau most anywhere is interesting. What clubs, and what shafts, will he use? Always a question with Bryson, though this is likely a good time to share this observation from Reed Dickens: “Bryson could win with a rental set.”
Three years ago, a team of exiled Afghan women looked on with frustration as the Women’s World Cup took place in the Australian cities where they lived.
The displaced players have come a long way since then, but the Women’s Asian Cup, which starts in Australia on March 1, is both an inspiration and a reminder of the many hurdles they must still clear to play international matches.
“I couldn’t stop crying the entire time as it reminded me of a time that I was able to take that pride and play for my country [before the return of the Taliban in 2021],” defender Mursal Sadat told DW of her memories of the 2023 World Cup, at which point Afghanistan had no women’s national team. “Hopefully, Afghanistan will be competing by the next qualifiers.”
The team’s first major step on the path to international recognition from football’s governing body was an emotional and sporting milestone after a four-year battle to be heard. But four months later, they have yet to play another fixture.
“Morocco was a big milestone, but for us it is only the beginning,” UK-based goalkeeper Elaha Safdari told DW. “As players, we are always eager to represent Afghanistan again. Of course, we want more international matches, but we have stayed disciplined, training hard and improving as a team. We know the staff is working behind the scenes to create more opportunities so we remain ready and motivated.”
After a period of silence, FIFA announced on Monday that Afghanistan will play two unnamed opponents in the June international break, with further information to follow “in the coming months.” Those players based in Europe were involved in a training camp in Doncaster, England, earlier this month, while those based in Australia are set for something similar later in the year.
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Elaha Safdari is keen to play more international footballImage: Ann Odong/FIFA
Given the team’s struggles for recognition, trauma and the development gap that has emerged after missing four years of international competition, the World Cup in Brazil next year, was always going to come too soon. March’s Asian Cup will decide which Asian teams qualify for Brazil 2027 — the semifinalists will make it automatically, while the losing quarterfinalists will go into a series of playoffs for the remaining four Asian spots.
Taliban and UAE ties ‘logical explanation’ for visa rejection
Like Afghanistan, the UAE will not be at Brazil 2027 after failing to qualify for the Asian Cup. It’s fair to say they also won’t be the Afghan team’s opponents in June either, after the Gulf state refused to allow the Afghanistan players to enter the country in October, forcing a last minute change of host country to Morocco.
FIFA has since repeatedly refused to answer any questions from DW on why the UAE, who had agreed to host and play the team, reneged on the deal. It appears more than likely that the UAE’s relationship with the Taliban was the reason for the refusal.
“That appears to be the most reasonable and logical explanation,” Alison Battisson, the Australian human rights lawyer who helped the team find asylum in Australia and maintains close contact with the players, told DW. “The UAE can turn around visas in hours for a team. If it is true that they went quiet on FIFA in that week beforehand, withdrew visas that had been granted or didn’t grant visas, that is really quite extraordinary.
“To me, it says that, without explanation, somebody much more senior and not really that concerned about women’s sport stepped in and said we have to prioritize this other interest, which I can only assume is economic interest in Afghanistan.”
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FIFA doubles down on UAE relationship
DW understands this is also the suspicion of many players, but FIFA’s silence leaves the situation unclear. The organization, headed by Gianni Infantino, were less tight-lipped when they announced “the launch of a new annual world football awards event in Dubai [in the UAE]” on December 29, two months after the visa refusal.
From this year, the press release said, these awards will be the “official annual FIFA awards ceremony that gathers the world’s most influential football figures, celebrating the best players, teams, and achievements of the beautiful game for the previous year.”
Given what happened in October, it’s safe to assume the players of Afghanistan Women United would not be able to attend such a ceremony.
While Afghan players past and present do express gratitude for FIFA’s support, the explicit backing of a country that rejected a team FIFA has recognized is impossible to square with the governing body’s commitment to use “advocacy and diplomacy with relevant actors and organizations regarding long-term access to sport” for the Afghan women.
Afghan defender Sadat has, like most of her teammates, been a determined advocate for their cause. While the players have little control over geopolitics, she retains the faith that they can endure and compete in the qualifiers for the next Asian Cup in 2029.
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“Re-creation and recognition of the Afghan women’s national team from exile is something that millions of Afghans want because it’s a protest against the regime of the Taliban,” Sadat said to DW. “It’s a slap from the football world to say: ‘you are trying to silence them and stop them from playing, but we are still here, and we are giving them the platform to rise, shine and use their sport as a weapon to fight against the gender apartheid and injustice.’”
Here’s a look at previous 40-yard dash results for players from schools in the West.
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