Jockey James McDonald is optimistic about the prospects of two exciting horses making a significant impact during the spring carnival, as he prepares to ride Columbus and Enviable again at Rosehill this Saturday.

All eyes will be on the Les Bridge-trained Columbus and Chris Waller’s Enviable as they contest separate races, having both returned with impressive victories at Newcastle earlier this month.

McDonald made the notable decision to ride Columbus in a midweek Hawkesbury meeting when the gelding broke his maiden last October. He believes the talented four-year-old could have been a player in the major three-year-old races had injury not interrupted his progress.

Enviable also lost valuable racing time after sustaining a paddock injury following a spring campaign that included a fourth placing in the Flight Stakes and a Group 2 placing during the Melbourne Carnival.

Both gallopers returned to winning form at Newcastle on July 14 and are heading to Rosehill as leading contenders.

Enviable is the $2.60 favourite for the Congratulations Chris Waller Handicap (1400m), while Columbus is the $2.20 favourite for the Kia Ora Bloodlines to Headlines Handicap (1500m).

“I was gutted when he had a bit of time off,” McDonald said of Columbus.

“I thought he was a perfect Rosehill Guineas type of horse, so he’s got huge talent. He’s got a lovely record, unexposed. A bit like the filly as well.

“She has been exposed to the top level, but what she was doing at three – she was so unfurnished – the time off has done her the world of good, and that confidence win would have done her the world of good.

“They’re two lovely horses.”

Saturday’s meeting also marks the commencement of another Sydney jockeys’ premiership campaign for McDonald, who secured his tenth overall title and eighth consecutive crown during the 2025/26 season.

McDonald finished with 91 Sydney metropolitan winners, 12 clear of Zac Lloyd, but anticipates that defending his title will become increasingly difficult.

“It will get harder, that’s for sure. There is really good young talent,” McDonald stated.

“As the years have gone by, the landscape has changed a little bit in terms of my travel and engagements. It will be similar to this year when I had so much time away and I was lucky to hang on.”

Despite spending more time interstate and overseas, including his ongoing association with Hong Kong superstar Romantic Warrior, McDonald remains the benchmark among Sydney riders with a winning strike-rate of better than 25 per cent.

He will be hoping to begin the new season in the same fashion as the last, when Amusing gave him a winner at his opening metropolitan ride, with Columbus set to launch his 2026/27 campaign at Rosehill.

The upcoming Rosehill meeting presents opportunities for those interested in exploring betting markets for the race.

The West is filled with talented coaches.

From Dan Lanning at Oregon to Kenny Dillingham at Arizona State, the young talent is undeniable.

But just how exactly do all the coaches in the West stack up?

Here’s my ranking of the Top 10 Coaches in the region.

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1. Dan Lanning, Oregon

There is no one in the West on Dan Lanning’s level. The Oregon coach is a mastermind.

From the actual X’s and O’s to the philosophical mindset of each week, his skill and execution are unmatched.

There’s a reason why the Ducks have been so good over the past few years. It’s because of Lanning.

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2. Kalani Sitake, BYU

A program-builder. That’s the best way to describe BYU’s Kalani Sitake.

The culture he has instilled in the program is uncommon. Sitake has the Cougars positioned to compete for the Playoff for years to come.

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The administration at BYU deserves credit for finding a way to keep him over the offseason.

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3. Lincoln Riley, USC

Lincoln Riley is dangerously close to being labeled a bust at USC. This season is critical for his reputation.

The underperformance in LA makes it easy to forget his 55-10 record at Oklahoma.

Who is the real Riley? The one that can’t get it going at USC or the one that dominated at Oklahoma?

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4. Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State

One of the top young coaches in college football, Kenny Dillingham has a high ceiling.

He led Arizona State to the Playoff in his second year as a coach. The Sun Devils are 19-8 over the past two seasons and have momentum.

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Another strong year in Tempe could draw more interest from Power 2 schools.

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5. Jedd Fisch, Washington

There’s no doubt that Jedd Fisch is a talented coach. He resurrected Arizona with a clear vision and recruiting prowess.

Yet, the results at Washington have yet to turn heads. This year could determine the narrative of his legacy in Seattle.

The time to put it all together is now.

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6. Dan Mullen, UNLV

Four. That’s the number of 10-win seasons (or better) that Dan Mullen has, including a 10-win campaign at UNLV last year.

Now after another round of conference realignment, the Mountain West is open for the taking.

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Mullen could realistically have UNLV competing for a spot in the Playoff every year.

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7. Brent Brennan, Arizona

Brent Brennan regained credibility due to last season’s success. But nobody has forgotten about the disastrous four-win year in 2024.

This season becomes the rubber match for Brennan’s early legacy in Tucson.

Keeping both coordinators on staff was a strong first start. Let’s see if they put it together on the field.

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8. Jason Eck, New Mexico

If there ever was an up-and-coming coach, it’s Jason Eck.

He has embraced the community in Albuquerque and resurrected New Mexico’s program. The momentum is tangible.

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By the end of the year, Eck could be pursued by several power conference teams. Enjoy it while you have it, Lobos.

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9. Bronco Mendenhall, Utah State

Utah State is at an interesting spot in the new Pac-12. The reformed league presents an opportunity for Bronco Mendenhall.

The former coach of BYU has five 10-win seasons (or better) over his 19-year career. In a wide-open conference, this year will be one to watch.

Keep an eye on what happens in Logan.

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10. Ken Niumatalolo, San Jose State

After spending 16 seasons at Navy, Ken Niumatalolo is 10-15 at San Jose State. Last year’s 3-wins were tied for the fewest he’s ever had in a single season.

The expectation is to get back on track in the revamped Mountain West.

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Look for SJSU to establish itself in the Conference’s new pecking order.

Miller covers College Basketball and College Football as well as Formula 1 racing as a Senior Writer and Assistant Editor for SuperWest Sports.

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Chelsea youngster Kendry Paez has been recalled from yet another fruitless loan, and the West London club is working to find a new temporary stomping ground for him.

The Blues signed the Ecuadorian gem years ago, but he has struggled to make headway. The powers that be at Stamford Bridge will likely be frustrated.

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According to Juan Patricio Balbi, Chelsea are trying to define something after his River Plate loan was cut short. He has offers from Turkey’s Trabzonspor and Mechelen in Belgium.

Chelsea need to ensure that the 19-year-old goes somewhere he can get playing time and express himself.

He is quite the talent, but getting game time is paramount for a player of his age right now, more than anything.

Belgium is a fantastic ground for nurturing talent. It may be better suited than the fiery Turkish Super Lig.

This might be a make-or-break season for him. The talent has never really been in doubt, but ability alone is not enough to succeed at a club like Chelsea.

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The youngster also has to take greater responsibility for his own development.

Reports of a poor attitude in training, a lack of professionalism and an active nightlife have done little to enhance his reputation over the past year.

Whether every story is accurate or not, perception matters, and Paez must give people fewer reasons to question his commitment.

His focus should be on improving every day, earning minutes and rediscovering the form that made him one of South America’s brightest prospects.

A successful loan starts with the right destination, but it will ultimately depend on Paez cleaning up his act, embracing discipline and letting his football do the talking again.

Chelsea also need to stop stockpiling talent and blocking their pathway, sending them on countless loans. Thankfully, they are taking steps to streamline their squad.

When newer Wrexham fans think about Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac’s club, Ollie Palmer and Paul Mullin are likely two of the first key names that pop into their heads.

Mullin arrived during Rob and Ryan’s first summer transfer window, with Palmer joining six months later.

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Together, the duo formed a lethal partnership at the head of Phil Parkinson’s side, firing Wrexham from the fifth tier of English football up to League One.

But as the Dragons continued to grow, players like Palmer and Mullin became surplus to requirements.

The former left the Racecourse Ground prior to the 2025/26 season to sign for Swindon Town, while ‘Super Paul Mullin’ has now secured a move to Rotherham United after his Wrexham contract was cancelled earlier this summer.

Ollie Palmer wishes Paul Mullin good luck after Rotherham United transfer

Mullin confirmed his move to the League Two outfit via Instagram on Wednesday.

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In the caption of his post, he wrote: “New challenge! Buzzing to be here & can’t wait for a big season ahead. See you all very soon.”

A number of players have since taken to the comments section of the Instagram post to react, including Palmer.

The former Wrexham striker wrote: “Goood luck la,” while Ryan Barnett, George Evans, Andy Cannon and more commented various emojis such as love hearts and heart-eyes.

Now that Mullin has officially signed for Rotherham, it means he and Palmer will be competing in the same league against each other.

Their first meeting of the 2026/27 season is set to take place on October 31, when Swindon play host to Rotherham.

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The reverse fixture takes place at Rotherham’s ground on January 30, 2027.

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Manchester United have been given the chance to sign Chelsea striker Liam Delap this summer, 12 months after they were in the race for him.

United wanted to sign Delap last summer, while he was with Ipswich Town, but were beaten by Chelsea in the race. But he has failed to make an impact with the Blues in his first season.

TEAMtalk reports that with Chelsea closing in on a deal for Danny Welbeck, they are willing to let Delap leave this summer. It’s added that United have been ‘offered’ the chance to reignite their interest in Delap, but have decided against making a move.

(L-R) Silver medalist, Croatia’s Donna Vekic, gold medallist, China’s Zheng Qinwen and bronze medallist, Poland’s Iga Swiatek pose with their medals on the podium at the presentation at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris on August 3, 2024. (Photo by CARL DE SOUZA / AFP)

MANILA, Philippines–Alex Eala has been making history for the Philippines since her breakout on the WTA Tour.

On Wednesday, she added another unique achievement to her growing list: Eala has now defeated all three medalists in the women’s singles event at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Eala defeated China’s Qinwen Zheng, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, to open her Mubadala DC Open campaign in Washington. Zheng, a former world No. 4, is the reigning Olympic gold medalist.

Eala has also beaten bronze medalist Iga Swiatek twice in three meetings, including her stunning Wimbledon victory over the world No. 2 that ended the defending champion’s reign.

She also owns victories over Croatia’s Donna Vekic, the Olympic silver medalist, in the first round of the ASB Classic and the Berlin Open.

With wins over all three Olympic medalists, hopes are high that Eala will one day represent the Philippines in the Olympic Games.

Eala previously won gold at the Southeast Asian Games and captured a bronze medal in her Asian Games debut in 2023, where Zheng went on to win the title.

She has also said she is keen on representing the Philippines at this year’s Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya.

CHICAGO — The White House sent lawyers to Capitol Hill on Wednesday. The bill’s Senate authors were said to be ready to file for cloture Thursday morning. But as the deadline hour came and went, and as the night wore on, the Protect College Sports Act was still not done.

Not dead. 

Not done.

And time is not an ally.

Multiple sources with direct knowledge of the negotiations told CBS Sports that congressional staff, White House counsel and conference representatives were working through Wednesday night on the final language of the sweeping bipartisan legislation. The bill would reshape college athletics by providing the NCAA and its conferences an antitrust exemption to enforce spending caps, transfer limits and eligibility rules that courts have systematically gutted.

But the Big Ten and SEC had not delivered their position on the legislation by the 9 a.m. Wednesday deadline set by the bill’s co-authors, Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.). Big Ten athletic directors met for nearly four hours Wednesday morning in Chicago, the site of the conference’s annual media days. 

Their meeting was so long, it started before and ended nearly three hours after the 9 a.m. deadline. Later, the Big Ten canceled an evening call with its presidents scheduled for 7 p.m. Meanwhile, a Senate staff member issued a pointed statement making clear that lawmakers’ patience was fraying.

“At this point, with every passing minute, odds are slimmer that we can move the bill before the August recess,” the Senate staff member said, according to multiple outlets. “We’ve been working night and day to make the revisions they said they needed.”

Congress leaves for its summer recess Aug. 7. Many believe Senate Majority Leader John Thune must file for cloture by Thursday for the legislation to realistically reach the floor next week for a vote. A number of Senate members are scheduled to leave Washington, D.C., for the weekend on Thursday night, and typically, they prefer to receive their voting schedule for the next week before Thursday evening. If the Senate is unable to schedule a vote, Congress and college athletics leaders will miss the last window before a month-long break that would almost certainly scramble the bill’s political coalition heading into midterm season.

Still, one source close to the negotiations told CBS Sports that the probability of the bill reaching the Senate floor remains high. As they termed it, the negotiations were more about clarifying and strengthening the language, but they acknowledged that the final obstacle — getting the language right — was proving harder than expected.

Points of contention 

Sources told CBS Sports on Wednesday that the specific sticking point was the “associated entities” provision. The language is meant to close a loophole that has allowed schools to route money to athletes through corporate sponsors and multimedia rights partners, effectively circumventing the revenue-share cap.

Complicating matters further, the conferences had not yet seen the formal text addressing how associated entity deals would be treated under the new cap structure, sources told CBS Sports. That gap — language tied directly to how the House settlement’s revenue-share cap would be enforced — made it impossible to formally react, let alone endorse the bill.

A separate source in the SEC’s orbit confirmed the same problem. Congressional staff had not presented the specific language related to associated entities and how they would interact with the House settlement cap. It is, the source said, difficult to react to or endorse something you haven’t seen.

When asked on Wednesday, Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti was careful with his words about where negotiations stood, but his measured tone carried its own message: exasperation.

“I think it’s being perceived that way, that on some issues, every issue is just the Big Ten and the SEC,” Petitti told CBS Sports. “And that’s not accurate.”

Petitti spent most of Wednesday on the phone. He paused his interview with CBS Sports twice to take important phone calls. By 4 p.m., he and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey had spoken at least seven times. 

The Big Ten boss then offered a guarded assessment on whether meaningful progress had been made with the bill’s sponsors in Washington, D.C.

“I mean, there’s some,” Petitti said. “It could be small changes in our opinion that (senators) think are big. You’re talking about an active negotiation on some of these provisions. What seems simple to one side could be more difficult to the other. So I don’t want to characterize it as hard or easy or great progress.”

On the question of scheduling calls with Big Ten presidents — the step that would signal to Thune a credible head count — Petitti captured the bind precisely.

“Scheduling calls is easy,” he said. “Having the right things to say on them is a lot harder.”

The urgency behind the associated entities’ fix is mathematical. According to documents obtained by CBS Sports on Tuesday, the revised bill creates a retention pool exception of $20 million above the existing revenue-share cap, with up to an additional $5 million available exclusively for women’s institutional NIL — a combined structure that approaches, but doesn’t fully match, the $25 million the conferences originally requested. The $20 million number was being negotiated late Wednesday, with several conference sources saying they expected it to rise.

“We need to see specifics,” Ohio State athletics director Ross Bjork told CBS Sports shortly after the Big Ten’s meeting of athletic directors. “There are certain concepts that have been discussed and proposed that we would agree with, but until you see exactly how it’s written and you want to make sure that it’s not changed, then we can’t really say we’re in. We can’t really sign up for it yet. So, there are things that we have to have. To me, we have to have some certainty around what the cap looks like.”

On the retention pool itself — the provision that has consumed much of the negotiating bandwidth — Petitti declined to get specific about numbers but made clear the complexity runs deeper than the dollar figure.

“You’ve just got to lock in what it is, how it works, how it grows, what it is,” Petitti said. “It’s a new thing. It’s complicated. How it sort of interacts with the settlement is really crucial and critical to make sure those things are working together properly.”

Contingency plans 

Big Ten athletic directors gathered in Chicago on Wednesday to discuss both the bill’s status and alternatives if it collapses. Petitti confirmed the four power conferences are preparing alternative plans that include negotiating changes to the House v. NCAA settlement to mirror the new rev-cap standards being negotiated in the bill. If that doesn’t work — or if it needs more authority — the Big Ten is prepared to develop a self-governance model.

The push for a hard cap through the associated entity provision is not without opposition from outside the conferences. Cole Gahagan, the president and CEO of Learfield — the multimedia rights company that manages intellectual property for dozens of FBS universities — told Yahoo Sports that rolling all associated-entity deals into the cap risks sweeping up legitimate commercial contracts alongside the redirected funds that the conferences are trying to stop.

That tension between schools demanding a hard cap and the industry operating under the current arrangement is embedded in the language that has stalled the bill.

Negotiations, however, have at times appeared more like a showdown. Sources in the SEC’s orbit pushed back hard Wednesday on the public characterization, circulating from some corners of Capitol Hill, that the Big Ten and SEC were moving the goalposts after senators made some concessions.

The associated entity language had not even been formally presented to the conferences, making the pressure framing particularly grating, sources said.

A rushed process

Sources across the Power Four told CBS Sports that the hours-long deadline, calling for support for a bill they were not consulted on drafting, in May was also an issue. That history cost time the current calendar no longer has.

The bill’s revised preemption and antitrust provisions also remain a concern. It’s the language designed to end the constant litigation that has made governing college athletics nearly impossible. In the conferences’ view, it still does not go far enough. Title II of the bill, covering media rights, still contains provisions they regard as potential legal traps.

On the other side of the ledger, the revisions delivered addressed many of the conferences’ demands in full according to documents obtained by CBS Sports. Institutional NIL deals are exempt from valid business purpose and market-value evaluation. The high school recruiting loophole was closed. Recruiting and tampering rules now cover prospects and agents. The super league revenue threshold was lowered from $1 billion to $700 million. Private equity acquisition of Power conference assets is prohibited. Participation in pooled media rights is entirely voluntary.

One last curveball

Then there is the provision that was added Tuesday that no one saw coming.

Title III of the revised bill — labeled the “Ignite HBCUs Sports and Media Act” — appeared in the text with no advance notice to conference leadership. More frustrating is that the language of the new section was not included for conferences to read and interpret before the 9 a.m. deadline on Wednesday. 

“We didn’t have any indication it was coming,” Petitti told CBS Sports. “I’m not really sure I understand what it means. We’ve been told that it doesn’t really involve what we’ve been working on. It’s just in there.”

One source told CBS Sports the provision could shift the vote math in ways the college sports debate alone cannot — that HBCU-connected members of Congress who might otherwise be on the fence could be moved by a provision that speaks directly to their constituents.

19 is an odd number

One of the bill’s more peculiar provisions, the 19-team conference membership cap has drawn quiet bewilderment from the very commissioner it most directly affects.

The Big Ten currently has 18 members. The bill would allow covered conferences to grow to 19. To many, that reads almost universally as a reserved space for Notre Dame.

Republicans pushed to move that number to 20, but negotiations resulted in 19, sources told CBS Sports. Petitti said he has not yet received a satisfactory answer as to why the number was set at 19, which would allow the Big Ten in the future to add only one member, while the SEC could add three more.

“I’ve asked that question,” Petitti told CBS Sports. “I don’t understand 19.”

The crux of the bill’s future is Thune and the Senate floor.

What happens next?

The majority leader is watching for one thing beyond clean bill language: a credible signal that Big Ten and SEC university presidents will actively call their senators and ask them to vote yes, a source with direct knowledge told CBS Sports. Without that, committing floor time to a bill still opposed by the sport’s two most powerful leagues is a difficult sell.

The Big Ten held a call with its presidents around noon Wednesday, 15 minutes after the league’s athletic directors met and three hours after the bill sponsors’ deadline. When asked about the tight timing, Petitti described the challenge clearly: getting the language right has to come before more calls are scheduled

The SEC’s presidents and chancellors are scheduled to meet on Thursday afternoon. It’s a regularly scheduled meeting, but the PCSA will dominate the conversation.

As for the bill’s health, Petitti himself declined to say the bill is finished if it misses the August window.

“I don’t know that to be true. Some people may say that. I don’t know what could happen in September,” he said.

Sources told CBS Sports the legislation could be filed this week and taken up in September when the Senate returns, with a potential House vote during a lame-duck session. In 2020, Cantwell and then-Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker pushed a major aviation safety bill through Congress in the final days of the session, and President Donald Trump signed it before leaving office.

Petitti knows what’s at stake if the bill fails. He also knows what kind of bill the Big Ten actually wanted. Provisions that seemed to target the Big Ten and SEC — conference expansion and media pooling — were particularly concerning in June. The two most powerful leagues were caught off guard when the conference expansion section was included in the first draft of the bill.

“We preferred a much skinnier bill than this bill,” Petitti said Tuesday at Big Ten media days. 

And yet here they are, working through the night on a 61-page piece of legislation, waiting on language from Senate staff, fielding calls from the White House, trying to get to yes on a bill that, as Petitti put it, may be the most critical thing his industry faces.

Oh, and the football season is six weeks away.

“There’s just no amount of time you can spend,” Petitti said Wednesday. “You can never say that the time you’re spending is too much. We have to get this right.”