The situation surrounding all of Oleksandr Usyk’s world titles is now set in stone ahead of his clash with kickboxer Rico Verhoeven.

The WBC has controversially put its belt on the line for the fight, meaning that Verhoeven, despite being given little to no chance of winning, could win the belt on May 23 in Egypt.

Today, the WBA announced that the fight will count as a successful world title defence if Usyk wins, but the challenger will be unable to claim the belt even if he causes a seismic upset. Should that be the case, a committee will convene on the next steps.

The IBF has taken a similar stance, but, whilst Verhoeven cannot win that title either, the sanctioning body will immediately declare its heavyweight belt vacant if Usyk loses.

The conditions under which Usyk has been permitted to take the fight while remaining champion are:

1. If Usyk loses on May 23, 2026, the IBF Heavyweight title will be declared vacant immediately.

2. If Usyk wins on May 23, 2026, the IBF will acknowledge the WBC’s position in the rotation and order the IBF mandatory bout for one hundred eighty (180) days thereafter.

3. If the WBA grants a special permit, the IBF will acknowledge the WBA’s position in the rotation and order the IBF mandatory bout for one hundred eighty (180) days thereafter.

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4. The IBF reserves the right to amend the mandatory date in the event of substantial delays in the rotation.

Usyk will be ordered to face WBC mandatory Agit Kabayel following the Verhoeven clash, with promoter Frank Warren confident he would be stripped should he fail to fulfil the obligation.

Per annual tradition — and with a so-far impeccable streak of accuracy — VikingsTerritory has the Minnesota Vikings’ schedule hours ahead of the official NFL announcements.

Minnesota’s 2026 path now looks clearer ahead of the NFL making the full slate official.

The Vikings notably have nine true home games in 2026, seven true road games, and a date in Mexico City with the San Francisco 49ers.

A Tough November Stretch Will Determine Minnesota’s Season

The leak is here. The NFL will confirm the games on Thursday night.

The Vikings’ 2026 Schedule

The following is not ten thousand percent ironclad, but we trust our sources enough to publish the docket online. We’ve done this annually — an early schedule release — since 2020 and have avoided major gaffes. If you’re spending thousands of dollars on airfare, hotels, and whatnot, wait until the 100% official details Thursday night to press the GO button.

Nevertheless, here’s the schedule:

Most expect Kyler Murray to lead the Vikings at QB1, and he’ll experience the franchise’s two main rivalries out of the gate.

The Good Part

Nothing on the schedule can be considered wholly “easy” — the NFL doesn’t work like that when forecasting six months in advance — but this portion will be the time to stack wins:

The Vikings will probably split with the Packers and Bears to get 2026 rolling, and then Kevin O’Connell’s team must exit Week 7 with a 4-2 record or so to be considered a contender.

Thereafter, taking on the Falcons, Panthers, Commanders, and Jets in six weeks isn’t the worst menu in the world. Minnesota has two true road games in the final eight weeks — a perk.

Murderer’s Row

Here’s the unfriendly part:

Depending on how Murray acclimates to the Vikings’ offense — or if J.J. McCarthy has found his way into the lineup — this four-game stretch may define Minnesota’s seriousness as a Super Bowl seeker. The Vikings will be lucky to split this foursome with a 2-2 record, and if they escape the aforementioned “easy” section with a 4-2 record, the club would sit at 6-4 heading into Thanksgiving.

The Viking Age‘s Adam Patrick noted on the Mexico City development, “Vikings players will also have to deal with playing inside a venue that is in an area where the altitude is over 7,200 feet, which is more than 1,500 feet higher than the altitude in the ‘Mile High City,’ Denver, Colorado.”

“There will be plenty of challenges for Minnesota, but at least the game will take place at a neutral site and not San Francisco’s Levi’s Stadium since the 49ers are technically the home team.”

The other vicious part is at Patriots and home versus the Lions in Week 14 and Week 15. That will determine if Minnesota can dream big in January, its performance against those foes.

SI.com‘s Tony Liebert on the Patriots showdown: “Week 14 will reportedly feature Minnesota traveling to New England to face the AFC champion Patriots. That would be a Dec. 10 game, and it would mark the FOURTH straight season in which Minnesota has to go on the road to play a very tough opponent on short rest for TNF. The past three seasons have seen the Vikings play on Thursday night, on the road, against the Chargers, Rams, and Eagles.”

Preseason

For full context, these are the Vikings’ exhibition contests in August:

All things considered, those games don’t matter much, but the Vikings may play more starters this go-round as the club didn’t seem fully ready for the regular season last year (mainly McCarthy as the first-time starter).

Oddsmakers expect Minnesota to finish the 2026 season with an 8-9 or 9-8 record.

Dustin Baker is a novelist and political scientist. His second novel, The Invaders , is out now. So is … More about Dustin Baker

Nikita Shulchenko is the MPTC Tour of Luzon champion. –JONAS TERRADO

The MPTC Tour of Luzon formally announced its 2027 edition during the close of this year’s 14-stage summer cycling odyssey in Baguio on Wednesday.

And the enthusiasm that greeted the announcement was understandable.

“It’s a happy [development] because the race continues and it will help a lot of cyclists,” said 7-Eleven Roadbike Philippines’ Ronnilan Quita, who placed fifth in the general classification standings.

For the second straight time, a visiting cyclist ruled the annual derby on wheels, with Russian Nikita Shulchenko taking home the top purse of P1 million after donning the yellow jersey since Stage 3 and holding off the late charge of Quita’s 7-Eleven teammate Antoine Huby.

Shulchenko, the ace rider of LCW UAE Cycle, won with a final lead of one minute and 34 seconds.

It’s unclear if Shulchenko and some of his prominent LCW teammates, like third-placer Ibrahiem Alrefai and two-stage winner Ivan Anisimov will run it back next year or if a new batch of foreign riders will try to steal the limelight anew from local riders.

Whatever the field will look like next year, it will certainly face greater tests.

There are plans to push the Tour farther south, putting into play the famed “Tatlong Eme,” the steep and tight-curling zigzag mountain pass connecting the municipalities of Pagbilao and Atimonan in Quezon Province that has bedeviled several legendary cyclists in the past.

The Tour could also reach as far as Bicol, although Philippine Sports Commission Chairman Pato Gregorio, whose office supported the race, wants to go beyond Luzon.

“The Tour de France doesn’t start in France, right? It starts in a different country,” Gregorio said. “In the near future, maybe we can start in Visayas, but still call the race ‘Tour of Luzon.’”

This year’s Tour of Luzon started in Calatagan, Batangas, with Stage 1 ending in Tagaytay. It was the only time that it was held in the southern part of the region.

The race ran through Central Luzon before heading up north, passing Clark (Pampanga), New Clark City (Capas, Tarlac), Palayan (Nueva Ecija), Bayombong (Nueva Vizcaya), Santiago (Isabela), Tuguegarao (Cagayan), Pagudpud, Paoay and Laoag (Ilocos Norte) for the first half.

The latter phase had stops in Candon and Cervantes (Ilocos Sur), San Juan and Agoo (La Union), Mangatarem and Lingayen (Pangasinan).

The tag team duo known as Jet Speed had a big night on All Elite Wrestling (AEW)’s “Dynamite” on Wednesday night.

“Speedball” Mike Bailey squashed Westbrook with relative ease to pick up his third win in three shows on AEW. Meanwhile, Kevin Knight successfully defended his TNT Championship against a returning Brian Cage.

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Kevin Knight enters the ring during New Japan Pro-Wrestling at National Yoyogi Gymnasium in Tokyo on May 17, 2025. (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)

Afterward, Knight expressed his support in Bailey’s own pursuit of some gold. Bailey made it clear he was going after the AEW World Championship next. Darby Allin, the current title holder, defended it against Konosuke Takeshita as he gears up for a hair vs. title match against Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF).

In a recent interview with Fox News Digital, Knight gushed about his tag team partner.

“Man, ‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey is a savant – a wrestling savant. He’s been wrestling for almost longer than I’ve been alive,” Knight said. “He’s been in every single situation that you can think of. He’s wrestled thousands of times. He watches wrestling all the time. He talks about wrestling all the time. He knows how to put everybody in the right place to get the best reaction from the crowd.

Mike Bailey enters the ring during the New Japan Pro-Wrestling Best of the Super Jr. Final at Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo on May 28, 2023. (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)

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“So, the fact that I got somebody like that on my side … and he kicks extremely hard. So, I think he’s extremely smart and I don’t have to feel those kicks, it’s a great combination for me. So, it’s no complaints from me.”

Knight shared some of the wisdom that Bailey has imparted on him through the years.

“The No. 1 thing is don’t over think it. Don’t over think it and do what you do,” Knight said. “Like, as simple as that sounds, that’s literally the advice that he gives you. And you just take that and go, ‘OK, don’t over think it and just do what you do.’ And you just go out there and do what you do and you come to the back and everybody’s happy and you just get ready for the next one.”

Both men have crushed it since joining AEW.

Mike Bailey enters the ring during the New Japan Pro-Wrestling Best of the Super Jr. Final at Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo on May 28, 2023. (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)

The two have been two-thirds of the AEW trios championship twice. They won the belts with “Hangman” Adam Page and then again with legendary Lucha Libre competitor Místico.

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The ceiling is high for both competitors as they each look for more singles gold.

Capital1 Solar Spikers’ owners and its newest recruits Vanie Gandler, Erika Santos and Jaja Maraguinot. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

Capital1 has assembled one of the most dangerous and promising trios in the Premier Volleyball League, with MVPs Vanie Gandler and Erika Santos joining forces with top rookie Bella Belen.

Following Cignal’s leave of absence just a week after its runner-up finish—and Gandler’s coronation as the latest All-Filipino Conference MVP—the Super Spikers’ deadly one-two punch found a new home at Capital1 during the blockbuster signing press conference at GameVille on Wednesday.

From being one of the league’s youngest clubs, the Solar Spikers instantly transformed into legitimate contenders, with Belen—fresh off a stellar rookie campaign that earned her Best Outside Spiker honors in the All-Filipino Conference—teaming up with two of Cignal’s breakout stars.

With three prolific scorers now sharing the floor, Gandler sees the setup less as a challenge and more as a strength.

“It’s a good problem to have. I don’t think it’s something we need to adjust to too much. What’s important is learning how to cover for each other,” said Gandler. “There will be games where I might struggle more than the others or maybe Bella will struggle, so it’s really about having each other’s backs.”

Belen, who had been recruiting Gandler, Santos and other Cignal players during their stint together in the All-Star Game in Candon City, was grateful her efforts eventually convinced the MVP duo to join her squad.

“As a competitive player, they used to be my opponents, so my mindset before was always, ‘I have to beat them,’” Belen said. “But now that they’re my teammates, my mindset has changed into figuring out how I can raise my own level so I can complement what they already bring to the team and contribute even more.”

“I’m really excited to see how we’ll play together as a team because I’ve always faced them as opponents before. With Ate Vanie, I was only briefly teammates with her on the national team and we weren’t always together on the court. And with Ate Erika and Ate Jaja, this will really be my first time playing with them.”

And Belen believes their troika could unlock even more from each other.

“Volleyball is a team effort. The more players who can score, the easier it is for the team to win,” she said.

Martin Kaymer was asked by a PGA of America official during Tuesday night’s PGA champions dinner if he still played golf, to which Kaymer, mildly offended, responded, “I’m not flying from Europe to here to have a New York strip with you guys. Of course I’m playing.”

“That really motivated me,” Kaymer said Thursday at Aronimink Golf Club, where the 41-year-old LIV Golf member turned back the clock to the days, over a decade ago now, when he was winning two majors and the Players Championship.

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Kaymer was one of several players to card a leading 3-under 67 around a difficult layout bolstered by tricky, sticky rough and challenging green complexes, plus cool, gusty conditions.

But as surprising as it is to see names such as Aldrich Potgieter, Ryo Hisatsune and Stephan Jaeger atop this leaderboard – I’ll give you Min Woo Lee – none of them entered this week with a recent resumé like Kaymer’s.

Since accompanying the first exodus of signings to LIV in June 2022, Kaymer has played just four majors, including two PGAs, where he’s gone T-73 and MC the last two years. Go back further and Kaymer has missed five of his past six PGA cuts.

He’s currently ranked No. 1,160 in the world rankings, which he topped for eight weeks back in 2011, a year after his 2010 PGA triumph.

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And on LIV this season, Kaymer has played seven events with a low finish of T-25. Three times he’s finished outside the top 50 or withdrawn – LIV fields boast 57 players.

“I’ve been struggling since 2021,” Kaymer said. “And obviously, I had a couple surgeries then and other issues came with it the years after. And it was quite disappointing for me that playing out there on the LIV Golf league, I could never really perform, because I could never really practice, because I was always hurt. … So, I always came into tournaments never prepared. The other guys were ready to play. They were playing great. To be honest, it really pissed me off.”

Kaymer, who has battled left wrist and most recently left elbow issues, says he’s been pain-free for the last four to five weeks, which has allowed him not only ample time to practice but also rediscover his passion for the game. He called Monday-Wednesday of this week some of the most fun he’s had on the course.

“Playing those tough golf courses and doing well executing the golf shots the right way, that is really fun,” Kaymer said.

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Kaymer ignited Thursday’s round by throwing a dart into the par-4 11th to set up his first birdie and then canning a 44-foot birdie bomb on the par-4 12th. He added a birdie at No. 2, then bogeyed No. 7 before nearly walking off with the solo lead. From 295 yards out and in the fairway at the par-5 ninth, Kaymer went driver off the deck and hit it to 15 feet.

“I said to my caddie, ‘Do you think 3-wood can get to the front of the green?’ And he said, ‘There’s no chance,’” Kaymer recalled. “I practice a lot driver from the fairway. It was a lovely lie on the fairway. The grass grows with you, so you know you’re not going to hit it fat. That’s usually the mistake that you do. And again, I practice it a lot and there’s no reason, if you can do it in practice, why shouldn’t you be able to do it in the tournament. So, and it was a nice one.”

Kaymer missed the putt, but the tap-in birdie still earned him a share of the first-round lead.

That’s steak-worthy, if he wants another.

The Vikings have brought in an extensive rookie class, built around nine draft picks as well as 19 initial undrafted rookies. Since signing them three weeks ago, the franchise has already parted ways with two of them.

The latest victim of an offseason release was Jordan Botelho, a pass-rusher out of Notre Dame.

Minnesota announced on Thursday that Botelho won’t return for offseason workouts.

Wideout Davis will bolster the depth of the receiving corps, instead.

Botelho, from Honolulu, joined Notre Dame in 2020 as a four-star recruit. He immediately carved out a role on special teams and climbed the depth chart on defensee in his long career. Throughout his career, Botelho played in a whopping 62 games, registering 12.5 sacks, 97 tackles, and 16.5 tackles for loss.

Though he never fully clinched a starting spot outside of 2024, a season he got hurt in after only three games, he started several games in his six years in college.

As an undrafted rookie, he was always a long shot to stick around. Still, he could’ve been one of the players who earn a roster spot or qualify for the practice squad, especially at the alarmingly thin depth chart at outside linebacker following Jonathan Greenard’s trade to Philadelphia.

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Without the 2024 Pro Bowler in the mix, the Vikings will deploy fellow former Pro Bowler Andrew Van Ginkel and Dallas Turner in the starting lineup. First-rounder Turner will be a crucial player in replacing Greenard.

The organization spent a ton of draft capital to lure him to the Twin Cities in the 2024 draft and it’s time for him to become a full-time starter in his third NFL season under Brian Flores’ watch. He secured eight QB takedowns last season and figuratively exploded when he had to replace Greenard due to a shoulder injury.

Van Ginkel was once again fantastic when he was available, but he missed a handful of contests in his second season with the Vikings. In his 12 games, he still tabulated 7 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, and 54 tackles, as well as one of his signature interceptions.

The duo should be solid even without Greenard anchoring the defensive front. Behind them, however, the cupboard is bare, as the Vikings didn’t acquire any notable rushers and the depth wasn’t particularly impressive to begin with, even before the Greenard trade.

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Bo Richter, a freak athlete who spent his college time at Air Force, is the most accomplished on paper. The 2024 undrafted rookie has appeared in 31 career games, mostly starring on special teams. His defensive resume is limited to 81 defensive snaps, but he showed some promise in the preseason.

Tyler Batty and Chaz Chambliss can also be classified as special-teamers after barely playing on defense in their undrafted rookie seasons in 2025. This year’s UDFAs, Cam’Ron Stewart and Arden Walker, complete the group in theory.

There’s one more idea floating around in the Vikings universe, though. Rookie second-round linebacker Jake Golday is viewed as a versatile player who could get reps at off-ball linebacker and on the edge, which might be a tall task for a rookie.

The most likely outcome will be that another pass-rusher will join the franchise at some point within the next few months. There are a few experienced rushers at the tail end of their careers on the market. Jadeveon Clowney has picked his next employers in the summer for years; maybe Minnesota is his next stop.

Either way, Botelho is no longer under contract with the Vikings. He joins Scooby Williams as undrafted rookies that didn’t last long.

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Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.

Janik Eckardt is a German sports nerd, who likes numbers and stats. He chose the Vikings to be his … More about Janik Eckardt

Arber Xhekaj is getting a lot of praise around the hockey world for something that had little to do with hits, fights, or even that usual playoff intensity. The Montreal Canadiens defenseman reportedly helped save a person’s life earlier this week after noticing a suicide attempt close to Montreal’s Lachine Canal. 

Xhekaj, who was out walking with his brother Florian, quickly rang 911 and then worked with the emergency responders during the whole scary situation. The person did survive, so this ended up becoming a tragic moment turned into something that showed calm thinking, real responsibility, and compassion off the ice.

According to Reports, Xhekaj and his brother Florian were around the Lachine Canal between Games 3 and 4 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, when they saw a man jump into the water in what looked like an apparent suicide attempt. A bunch of folks were watching from farther away, but Xhekaj acted right away and kept his focus on getting proper, professional help to the situation as fast as possible.

Sources also suggest the Canadiens defenseman thought about going in himself, but he decided against it and went with the safer, more intelligent approach, which was calling emergency services. Since there wasn’t any rescue gear nearby, jumping into the canal could have turned into a bigger problem and put several lives at risk. So instead, Xhekaj stayed steady, called 911, and helped once the first responders got there.

The situation ended, pretty positively, with the individual making it through the whole incident. What impressed a lot of fans and insiders is that Xhekaj reportedly never actually sought attention, or any publicity for what he did. The story only came to light afterward, through people who were close to the events and knew what happened.

Montreal Canadiens Defenseman Arber Xhekaj Shows Leadership Beyond Hockey

Xhekaj is pretty well known all across the NHL for his toughness and physical-minded way of playing, but this one moment kinda showed a different side of the young defenseman. For a lot of people in the hockey community, what happened really pointed to the same kind of backbone and ownership that Martin St. Louis keeps stressing, over and over, inside the Canadiens group.

And the timing wasn’t small either. Just one day earlier Xhekaj had been hit with a fine after an on-ice altercation during the playoffs. Still, instead of using that off day to kinda stay clear of noise and drama, he got pulled into a real-life emergency, where every second felt crucial.

By the time it was said and done, the whole thing went past regular sports talk. Instead of being remembered for a fight, or a late playoff push, Xhekaj is now being talked about for helping save a life, and for doing the right thing when it actually mattered most.

Jannik Sinner has broken Novak Djokovic’s all-time record of successive match wins at ATP Masters 1000 tournaments by recording the 32nd straight victory of his historic streak to reach the Italian Open semi-finals.

The Italian world number one overpowered 12th seed Andrey Rublev 6-2 6-4 to continue his bid to join Djokovic as only the second man to win all nine Masters 1000 titles – the sport’s highest level below the Grand Slams.

Sinner, 24, appears in unstoppable form before the French Open – the only major standing between him and a career Grand Slam – begins on 24 May.

He has joined Spanish great Rafael Nadal as the only other man to reach semi-finals at each of the first five Masters 1000 events in a season, and will face Russian Daniil Medvedev for a place in the showpiece final.

Seventh seed Medvedev lost the first five games against Spanish lucky loser Martin Landaluce as he conceded the opening set in just 26 minutes, but battled back to win 1-6 6-4 7-5 and reach his first semi-final in the clay-court swing.

“I don’t play for records. I play just for my own story,” Sinner told the crowd.

“At the same time, it means a lot to me. But tomorrow is another opponent, in different conditions – it’s a night match.

“Now the highest priority for me is trying to recover as much as I can physically.

“Emotionally it takes a lot playing here at home. At the same time, I’ll definitely try to do my best. It’s a win-win situation for me in any case. It was a good day today.”