Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said his side delivered a statement win after beating Leeds 4-0 at Elland Road to get their Premier League title challenge back on track.
Chelsea hit back from two goals down to edge out London rivals West Ham while Liverpool came from behind to trounce Newcastle as Hugo Ekitike showed what the Magpies missed out on last summer.
Arteta beams at Arsenal win
Arsenal got back to winning ways after following up goalless league draws against Liverpool and Nottingham Forest with last week’s home defeat to Manchester United.
The Gunners were under pressure before a ball was kicked at Elland Road, but they led 2-0 at the break through Martin Zubimendi’s header and Leeds goalkeeper Karl Darlow’s own goal before wrapping up their first win in four league games with second-half efforts from Viktor Gyokeres and Gabriel Jesus.
Arteta said: “We’re very happy, obviously. A very impressive performance, a very impressive result.
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“The fact that after three results that didn’t go our way in the league, we really wanted to show how much we wanted it. And I think we said something on that today.”
Rosenior not playing blame game
Liam Rosenior refused to blame the players he replaced as three half-time substitutions helped Chelsea storm back to win 3-2 against West Ham at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea were booed off at the break as Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville put the Hammers in charge before Rosenior brought on Wesley Fofana, Marc Cucurella and Joao Pedro at the start of the second half.
Jorrel Hato, Alejandro Garnacho and Benoit Badiashile were the players hooked and Joao Pedro and Cucurella scored before the former provided the assist for Enzo Fernandez to score a stoppage-time winner.
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Rosenior said: “We’ve had so many games in a short space of time, I was fearful of a lack of energy. I felt our decision-making was really poor in the first half. The reaction in the second half tells me we’ve got something really special here.”
Ekitike shines against former suitors
Hugo Ekitike showed Newcastle exactly what they missed out on with two goals as Liverpool recorded their first Premier League victory of 2026 with a 4-1 win to move up to fifth in the table.
The France international, who also scored at St James’ Park, was the Magpies’ primary summer transfer target yet was snatched from under their noses by the defending champions.
He took his tally to 15 for the season, reaching double figures in the league, as Liverpool came from behind in a first half which, at times, resembled the chaos of these two clubs’ famous encounters of the mid-1990s.
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Someone else who has also rapidly become a favourite is fellow summer signing Florian Wirtz, whose quick feet set up Ekitike’s first and then added the important third, while a tearful Ibrahima Konate scored in added time on his first appearance since the death of his father.
Moyes rues celebration booking
David Moyes fears modern football is in danger of killing managers’ celebrations after he was booked for running on to the pitch following Everton’s dramatic late equaliser in a 1-1 Premier League draw at Brighton.
The Toffees boss struggled to contain his emotions at the Amex Stadium when substitute Beto struck in the seventh minute of added time to cancel out Pascal Gross’ 73rd-minute opener.
“We’re killing it that the managers can’t come out of their technical area to celebrate a goal, knee sliding, do things which give you people quite a bit to talk about,” Moyes said.
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Asked if he would do it again, Moyes replied: “I will do it again! Actually, if I’d been a bit more mobile, I might have done a knee slide. That would only have got me a yellow as well, so I might as well have gone the whole hog.”
What’s on today?
Manchester City will look to close the gap on Arsenal back to four points when they travel to Tottenham, who will be hoping to alleviate some of the pressure on under-fire boss Thomas Frank.
Aston Villa can also move to within four points of the Gunners when they welcome Brentford and Michael Carrick will be keeping his fingers crossed Manchester United can build on their recent momentum when they take on Fulham at Old Trafford.
WWE WrestleMania 42 just got pushed to a whole new level with another name being announced.
The Showcase of the Immortals is undeniably the most important PLE of the company every year, and as expected, it is the pinnacle of presentation in the pro wrestling industry. Several celebrities are generally a part of the show, and it appears that a grammy-nominated name has been roped in for a performance.
Thanks for the submission!
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As announced on X by WWE, famous artist Joe Jonas will be performing the National Anthem to kick the show off on Sunday. It should be noted that Joe Jonas is a Multi platinum and grammy-nominated artist. The announcement stated:
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“Multi-platinum and grammy-nominated recording artist @joejonas will be performing the National Anthem to kick off WrestleMania 42 Sunday! #WrestleMania”
You can check out the post below:
More celebrities could show up at WWE WrestleMania 42
Apart from Joe Jonas, there are several other grammy nominated names that could be present at The Showcase of the Immortals.
Trick Williams was recently assisted by renowned rapper Lil Yachty, in an attack on Sami Zayn. Zayn and Williams are set to face off at WrestleMania with the WWE United States title at stack. While Lil Yachty will likely make an appearance as well, the list of celebrities may not stop there.
Speaking on Mornings with Mero, Trick Williams noted that he had connections to bring in several other names. He said that he had family ties to help him in his pursuit:
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“Uh oh, we got that [sic] family ties. You know what I mean? And while we got that family ties going, I might just bring out the stars. I might go all the way to the Milky Way galaxy and bring some stars down. We got this entrance right here, man. We about to turn it up. We gonna turn it up,” Williams said.
Trick Williams is being favored heavily by the Stamford-based promotion, and it is clear that he is being viewed as a future megastar. Whether he can take another step forward at WrestleMania by dethroning Sami Zayn, remains to be seen.
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The 2026 RBC Heritage begins Thursday, April 16, with the opening round at Harbour Town Golf Links in South Carolina. You can find full RBC Heritage tee times for Thursday’s first round at the bottom of this post.
Featured tee time for Round 1
At this week’s RBC Heritage, Rickie Fowler is hoping to bring a lengthy winless streak to an end. The popular pro, who has six PGA Tour wins to his name, has not earned a victory since 2023.
Fowler earned his place in this week’s Signature Event via his final FedEx Cup ranking last year (32nd). He had a strong start to the 2026 season but missed the cut in his last two events at the Texas Children’s Houston Open and Valero Texas Open.
At those tournaments, Fowler was trying to earn an invite to the 2026 Masters, but he was unsuccessful. However, he’ll have to face many Masters contenders at Harbour Town, including runner-up Scottie Scheffler.
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Fowler tees off for the opening round of the RBC Heritage on Thursday at 7:55 a.m. ET alongside Kurt Kitayama.
You can watch Thursday’s first round of the 2026 RBC Heritage from 2-6 p.m. ET on Golf Channel. PGA Tour Live on ESPN+ will provide exclusive early streaming coverage starting on Thursday at 7 a.m. ET, in addition to featured group and featured hole coverage.
Check out the complete Round 1 tee times and groupings for the RBC Heritage below.
With an ESPN+ subscription, you gain access to PGA Tour Live, where you can stream the best PGA Tour events live from wherever you want.
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2026 RBC Heritage tee times for Thursday: Round 1 (ET)
Tee No. 1
7.05 a.m. – David Lipsky, Chandler Blanchet 7.15 a.m. – Brian Campbell, Joe Highsmith 7.25 a.m. – Adam Schenk, Matt Wallace 7.35 a.m. – Denny McCarthy, Jordan Smith 7.45 a.m. – Steven Fisk, JT Poston 7.55 a.m. – Lucas Glover, Patrick Rodgers 8.05 a.m. – Michael Brennan, Ryo Hisatsune 8.20 a.m. – Karl Vilips, Tom Hoge 8.30 a.m. – Min Woo Lee, Taylor Pendrith 8.40 a.m. – Matt McCarty, Michael Thorbjornsen 8.50 a.m. – Ryan Gerard, Tony Finau 9.00 a.m. – Harris English, Nick Taylor 9.10 a.m. – Ben Griffin, Robert MacIntyre 9.20 a.m. – Brian Harman, Sungjae Im 9.35 a.m. – JJ Spaun, Jacob Bridgeman 9.45 a.m. – Gary Woodland, Sepp Straka 9.55 a.m. – Chris Gotterup, Viktor Hovland 10.05 a.m. – Justin Thomas, Ludvig Aberg 10.15 a.m. – Cameron Young, Jordan Spieth 10.25 a.m. – Billy Horschel, Sahith Theegala 10.35 a.m. – Marco Penge, Johnny Keefer 10.50 a.m. – Jhonattan Vegas, Pierceson Coody 11.00 a.m. – Ryan Fox, Michael Kim 11.10 a.m. – William Mouw, Andrew Putnam 11.20 a.m. – Garrick Higgo, Daniel Berger 11.30 a.m. – Sami Valimaki, Sam Stevens 11.40 a.m. – Kurt Kitayama, Rickie Fowler 11.50 a.m. – Alex Noren, Nicolai Hojgaard 12.05 p.m. – Aldrich Potgieter, Wyndham Clark 12.15 p.m. – Bud Cauley, Austin Smotherman 12.25 p.m. – Ricky Castillo, Harry Hall 12.35 p.m. – Keegan Bradley, Si Woo Kim 12.45 p.m. – Andrew Novak, Maverick McNealy 12.55 p.m. – Akshay Bhatia, Nico Echavarria 1.05 p.m. – Corey Conners, Patrick Cantlay 1.20 p.m. – Collin Morikawa, Shane Lowry 1.30 p.m. – Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley 1.40 p.m. – Tommy Fleetwood, Sam Burns 1.50 p.m. – Matt Fitzpatrick, Scottie Scheffler 2.00 p.m. – Jake Knapp, Jason Day 2.10 p.m. – Max Homa, Sudarshan Yellamaraju
If the first night of the NBA play-in tournament is an appetizer of what’s coming for the next couple of months, the postseason will be at the very least intriguing.
The teasers came with a couple of compelling results. While there’s no guarantees that a new wave of contenders have been identified, there’s the notion that there are must-see moments ahead.
Ripe with controversy, comebacks and drama, it’s odd to suggest that the Charlotte Hornets and Portland Trail Blazers could be responsible for setting the tone.
The Hornets survived for a 127-126 overtime victory against the visiting Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference. In the Western Conference, the Trail Blazers rallied for a 114-110 road victory in Phoenix to advance into the playoffs.
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The Suns will have to play Friday night at home against Wednesday’s Golden State-Los Angeles Clippers winner for the right to reach the playoffs.
The Hornets have work to do as well, taking on the loser of Wednesday’s Orlando-Philadelphia game on Friday with a spot in the playoffs in the balance.
The Heat have been eliminated, failing to reach the playoffs for the first time since prior to the COVID pandemic. Their chances might have dimmed anyway with Bam Adebayo sitting out since early in the second quarter Tuesday because of a back injury. He played only 11 minutes.
That’s where the controversy arrived in the first game following the regular season. Adebayo crashed to the floor courtesy of an undetected trip by Hornets star guard LaMelo Ball.
Instead, Ball made the winning shot a couple of hours later.
These play-in games don’t come with the benefit of a series, so this saga won’t play out across another week.
Should they win Friday, the Hornets might be fun to have around in the playoffs for no other reason it’s an injection of new blood. They’re a team that emerged to exceed expectations from what most observers projected last fall. Charlotte hasn’t appeared in the playoffs in a decade.
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After Coby White rescued the Hornets in regulation with a tying 3-pointer, they won on Ball’s drive for a basket and then – of all things – a defensive play with Miles Bridges blocking the game’s final shot on Davion Mitchell’s attempt to extend Miami’s season.
Charlotte’s success in the first play-in game came despite minimal contributions from Kon Knueppel, who’s a favorite to be named Rookie of the Year. The NBA’s most productive 3-point shooter during the regular season went 0-for-6 from long range and 2-for-12 overall.
But the Hornets have Ball, who’s been waiting for the spotlight to shine his way.
Later out West, the Trail Blazers earned the right to hold the No. 7 seed and face the San Antonio Spurs in the first round. All it took was rallying from 11 points down in the fourth quarter and a 41-point night from Deni Avdija.
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Portland finds itself in the playoff field for the first time since 2021. That qualifies as an infusion of something new, with Avdija landing in the playoffs for the first time.
We could enjoy more of what he has to offer after Tuesday night’s sampling.
Mikel Arteta said Arsenal’s progression to the Champions League semi-finals can act as a massive boost for his side’s pivotal top-of-the-table Premier League clash against Manchester City.
Arsenal made sure of their second successive last-four spot on Europe’s grandest stage for the first time in their history with a 0-0 draw against Sporting Lisbon at the Emirates, a week after Kai Havertz’s stoppage-time opening-leg winner in Portugal.
They will now face Atletico Madrid over two legs for a place in this season’s final.
Arsenal, who lost against Bournemouth last Saturday, were not at their best – and Sporting’s Geny Catamo struck David Raya’s post in the first half.
But the goalless draw will serve Arteta’s side with renewed hope that they will not end the season empty handed ahead of their trip to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
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“One hundred per cent,” said Arteta when asked if the result can serve as springboard for their meeting with Pep Guardiola’s side.
“This is a massive push to win the semi-final of the Champions League. It’s extremely tough and we know what we’ve done. We deserve it, fully deserve it as well, and we’re going to enjoy it because we deserve it.
“My message (to the players) was gratitude to them. I know the effort and the commitment that they have put in.
“There’s a lot of work behind it. We’ve done something that has never been done in the history of our club in 140 years, so that tells you the difficulty of that, and we had to do it in a very special way, missing a lot of important players.”
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Arteta continued to be without Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Jurrien Timber through injury. Noni Madueke will also be a doubt for the match at City after he limped off with a knee problem in the second half.
Arsenal headed into Wednesday’s fixture facing criticism for their shock 2-1 defeat against Bournemouth which followed a Carabao Cup final loss against City and a dismal FA Cup exit to Southampton.
But for the second season in a row, Arsenal are the only Premier League team left standing in the last four of the Champions League.
And Arteta added: “There is a reason why we are the only English team in the competition, because this league and this schedule takes the hell out of you.
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“We are not perfect, we need to improve things, that’s for sure and we recognise that. But there’s value in what these players have done.”
Sporting head coach Rui Borges felt his side earned enough chances to force extra time.
He said: “The word ‘proud’ is the right word for all the players for what they have done for these two games.
“I thought we deserved more and potentially extra-time. The character and the personality to fight one of the best teams in Europe was amazing.
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“We had the best opportunities and Arsenal didn’t create that much in our penalty area, here and in Lisbon.”
EDMONTON — The Edmonton Oilers’ second season as a recovering Stanley Cup finalist has been… well, let’s just say they’ve taken it one day at a time.
They’ve learned how to get to April 15 in a comfortable playoff position, without expending too much energy along the way. How to maintain the level in everyone’s personal game to stay at or near the top of the Pacific, then find a team game when needed after the Olympic break — but not necessarily before.
How to be good enough, while saving your best for last.
Because if there’s one thing they know, it’s that you can’t play playoff hockey in December. Not if you plan on playing it in June.
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“The expectations are to win the Stanley Cup,” Zach Hyman said Wednesday. “We lose in the final, we lose in the first round — we’re going to be pissed.”
When you’re in the middle of a Stanley Cup window, it’s all about the 16 wins from April to June. The 82 games before that, they’re crab cakes: the appetizer before the main course.
And the more playoff hockey you’ve played, the more that becomes ingrained in the DNA of an NHL team.
“Playoff experience,” began Hyman. “When you don’t have it, you don’t really think it’s that important. And when you do, you realize it is important.”
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“When you’re a young kid and it’s your first playoff game, you’re taken aback. Everything’s different,” Hyman, who will be in the lineup Thursday against the Canucks, explained. “Players play differently. Everything’s faster. Every play matters. It’s just a different, different game.
“That’s why you see teams like Florida, who had 98 points last year, and then they turned it on. They were the best team by quite a (distance) in the East.”
And, in the end, two games better than these Oilers.
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Edmonton has been a 100-plus point team for four straight seasons. As we arrive at Game 82 Thursday in Edmonton, a point earned against the hapless Vancouver Canucks — and with playoff seeding at stake, can you envisage a world in which Edmonton doesn’t win by two or three? — the Oilers will close out the 2025-26 season with 92 or 93 points, good for (at least) second place in the pillow-fight Pacific.
Frankly, had Leon Draisaitl and then Hyman not been injured late in the season, the Oilers would likely have two or three more points and be home and cooled atop the division. But really, who cares?
“You want to put yourself in a position that you can be comfortable going into the playoffs, and obviously we’re not,” Hyman said. “We’ve got to win a game here. But at the same time, you still have the confidence that when you get in you can beat anybody.”
I know this: from about 2008 to 2011, if those Canucks teams needed a late season victory over Edmonton to feather their playoff nest, we all would have bet the house that the Sedins et al would take both points from those inferior Oilers teams.
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Today, the skate is on the other foot.
“We’re pretty confident,” Hyman said. “I mean, it’s kind of how we’ve been the whole time. It’s a big game for us. Every game we go into we’re confident that we can win.”
Thursday’s game is, in fact, a chance to kick in a little muscle memory before the games start for real.
There is a chance, should Vegas somehow lose in regulation Wednesday, that a win could give Edmonton first place. More importantly, if the tumblers fall the right way, there’s a chance a regulation loss could send Edmonton down to Colorado for Game 1, with a slog through the Central ahead even if they pull off an improbable upset over the Avalanche.
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Simply winning and playing either Anaheim or Los Angeles makes the stakes high in Game 82, a nice rehearsal for the gut-wrenching games that lie ahead.
“For a lot of us, these last few years, we’ve played a lot of hockey,” said veteran Darnell Nurse. “I wouldn’t say (playoff hockey) is the same feeling as a regular-season game — it’s more amplified, the context of the game. But there’s a familiarity and comfort to it.”
And they’re closing in on that game, just in time for the games they’ve been waiting for all season.
“This last week, we haven’t gotten all the results we wanted. But we played really well,” assessed Nurse. “It’s on us to bring that again against Vancouver — the full package. Be able to create some more offence for our team, but not at the expense of our defence.”
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If your game isn’t at a point that makes a speed bump out of Vancouver — with this much on the line — then what’s next doesn’t really matter, does it?
Late strikes from Luis Diaz and Michael Olise sealed a dramatic 4-3 win for Bayern Munich over Real Madrid on Wednesday, clinching a 6-4 aggregate victory and setting up a semi-final with holders Paris Saint-Germain.
The tie was level at the break in the second leg after a scintillating opening half, with record 15-time European champions Real going ahead three times on the night.
Bayern won 2-1 last week in the Spanish capital, but Arda Guler pounced on a loose Manuel Neuer pass to put the visitors ahead after just 34 seconds at the Allianz Arena. He scored again from a free-kick after Aleksandar Pavlovic equalised.
Harry Kane put Bayern back ahead in the tie only for Kylian Mbappe to restore parity overall when he put Madrid 3-2 up before half-time.
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Eduardo Camavinga was sent off for a second yellow card with four minutes left and Bayern pushed forward, Diaz blasting into the corner from outside the box after a crucial deflection.
With Real pressing for an equaliser, Bayern broke and Olise curled in a magnificent shot to rubberstamp their ticket to the last four, where Luis Enrique’s reigning European champions await.
Tempers boiled over after the final whistle with Guler picking up a straight red for confronting the referee.
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“We got off to a bad start, and then conceded again through a free-kick and a counter. The first half was hectic,” Joshua Kimmich told DAZN.
“The second half was calmer, we had more control – and then managed to win it in the end. It wasn’t our best performance, but we’ll take the win.
“The two best teams in Europe will face each other. We had many top level games against Paris in recent years. I’m looking forward to it.”
For the first time in Real’s long Champions League history, their starting XI did not contain a single Spanish player. Jude Bellingham, who impressed off the bench in the first leg, was one of four changes to Alvaro Arbeloa’s line-up for the visitors.
Neuer, widely lauded after a vintage performance in Madrid, gifted Real an opener. The Bayern goalkeeper miscued a pass directly to Guler, who floated a first-touch shot into the unguarded goal in the first minute.
Bayern looked stunned but struck back almost immediately when Pavlovic headed in a Kimmich corner after Real goalkeeper Andriy Lunin failed to read the flight of the ball.
The match had barely time to settle before Real were ahead once more thanks to a Guler goal, with Neuer again not at his best.
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The Turkey international whipped a free-kick into the top corner which Neuer got a hand to but was unable to keep out.
The match continued to swing back and forth before the break, as Kane struck first before Mbappe responded by getting himself on the scoresheet.
Kane slotted clinically into the bottom corner in the 38th minute to again haul Bayern level on the night — and ahead in the tie — before Mbappe ran onto a Vinicius Junior pass and slotted home to level the tie 4-4 on aggregate.
With Real regularly cutting into Bayern’s high line, coach Vincent Kompany responded by introducing the pace of Alphonso Davies at the interval.
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Both sides traded chances in the second half, with Olise particularly dangerous, forcing a fingertip save from Lunin with 20 minutes left.
Camavinga came on midway through the half but picked up two yellow cards in quick succession to leave his team a man down in the closing stages.
It proved a turning point as Bayern struck three minutes later when Diaz’s effort from outside the box took a touch off Eder Militao and flashed beyond Lunin.
Olise made certain of Bayern’s progress deep into stoppage time as the German giants took down Real in a knockout clash for the first time since 2012.
Shakur Stevenson is currently one of the most talented fighters in the sport, but Manny Pacquiao believes that one of his former opponents would have had Stevenson’s number if they met in their primes.
Stevenson has boxed between featherweight and super-lightweight, winning a world title in each to become a four-division conqueror, but he has struggled to find the willing dance partners who could make him a global superstar.
In January, the undefeated southpaw notched a career-best victory over Teofimo Lopez and the Newark sensation is now on the hunt for further opponents with big profiles, in pursuit of recognition as boxing’s pound-for-pound number one.
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Although, whilst Stevenson may indeed be the most skilful operator in the sport, boxing’s only eight-division world champion Pacquiao told Inside The Ring that he believes Shane Mosley would have been too much for the 28-year-old, if they collided when both were at their best.
“Shakur Stevenson vs Shane Mosley in his prime? I’m going Mosley. Mosley has speed and combinations in his prime. If you watch Mosley in his prime, he’s very good. Hard to hit and can move around.”
Mosley ruled in three weight divisions, but lost almost every round to Pacquiao (120-107, 120-108, 119-108) when he challenged for the Filipino icon’s WBO welterweight world title back in 2011.
Still, Mosley boasts two famous wins over Oscar De La Hoya, as well as impressive stoppage triumphs over Antonio Diaz and Antonio Margarito, but the Californian hung up the gloves with a record which did not reflect his quality – retiring at 49-10-1 in 2016.
As for the fantasy fight, Stevenson would disagree. In fact, he has said himself that he believes he would ‘smoke’ Pacquiao had they been in the same era, so a similar prediction would be directed Mosley’s way.
If you’ve ever taken a golf lesson or gone down the rabbit hole of swing videos online, you’ve likely heard about the importance of sequencing. A well-timed swing generates more speed and power than one that’s out of sync.
However, there’s a critical link in the chain many amateurs forget—largely because they don’t even realize it’s part of their sequence in the first place.
Mike Perpich, a GOLF Top 100 Teacher, explains that if you want to hit longer, straighter drives, you have to learn how to time your head in your swing. Not your clubhead. Your noggin.
Sequence your head for more speed
Now, you might be wondering, “what does my head have to do with my golf swing?”
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As Perpich explains, the head plays a vital role in the swing because it helps counterbalance your lower body in your transition and downswing. This creates a slingshot effect that boosts clubhead speed.
It works like this: as you transition into the downswing, you change direction. To do so, you have to push off your trail foot. As a result, pressure shifts forward. This initiatives your downswing sequence. But, as Perpich explains, it also causes your force to move from back to front. As your club and lower body move forward, your upper body actually needs to resist briefly and work in the opposite direction.
“You can’t have the top and the bottom going in the same direction,” Perpich says. “Your head is going to feel like it’s going backwards. That’s what helps speed the clubhead up.”
This brief moment of separation is what causes the “whip” effect that elite players use to maximize speed.
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Time your head to boost accuracy
Poor head sequencing might be draining you of power. It could also be the cause of your mis-hits with the driver. In a swing where the head is going forward at the same time as their lower body, Perpich says, the path of the swing will likely travel too far out—or over the top—and you’re going to have to compensate to strike the ball.
“When the head moves with the torso, you’re hitting down with the driver,” he says, “So, you’re not going to get a center hit, and you’re also not going to get an ascending blow.”
Remember: head backwards for longer straighter drives
If you’re trying to incorporate this into your swing, Perpich says to think about the top of your head going backwards as you change direction and begin the transition into your downswing.
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“It’s like a whip, a slingshot,” he says, “You have to have the bottom half going forward, but the top half is going backwards.”
Do that, and you’ll hit longer, straighter drives.
The Detroit Tigers and standout rookie third baseman Kevin McGonigle have agreed to an eight-year contract extension, the club announced on Wednesday. The deal is worth $150 million guaranteed and includes escalators that could push the total value to $160 million. It kicks in for 2027 and will run through the 2034 season.
McGonigle’s deal is the latest in a recent spate of long-term extensions for young players with little or no MLB service time. His pact is larger than the recent one signed by young shortstop Konnor Griffin and the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The 21-year-old McGonigle is a former No. 37 overall draft pick out of a Pennsylvania high school who’s thus far enjoying a highly productive rookie campaign in Detroit.
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Through the first 17 games of his MLB career, McGonigle has an OBP of .417 with more walks (11) than strikeouts (eight). He’s also slugging .492 with six doubles and an OPS+ of 162. Thanks to strong quality-of-contact measures, McGonigle boasts an expected slugging of .546, which puts him in the 90th percentile of MLB hitters in projectable power. That’s in addition to his running the bases well and playing sound defense at short and third for a Tigers team with designs on making the playoffs for a third straight year.
“Since I’ve been drafted by the Tigers, the way I am, I’m loyal,” McGonigle said at a press conference Wednesday. “I want to stick in one spot and help a team to win a World Series.”
McGonigle is probably the single most polished hitter not already in the majors. He’s a lefty who, when he’s in his stance, resembles a mirrored version of Jose Altuve. There are some skill-set similarities too. McGonigle can hit the ball wherever, whenever, and often with gusto behind it. He’s mindful of the zone, and last year he walked 13 times more than he struck out combined across three levels. McGonigle has shown headiness on the basepaths in the past, though last year he wasn’t as successful in volume or efficiency. Defensively, he may play shortstop at the onset of his big-league career as a necessity to get his bat in the lineup. McGonigle seems unlikely to remain at the six much beyond that, however, with second base appearing to be his long-term home. It won’t matter. If he hits like he’s demonstrated he can throughout his professional career, the Tigers will be pleased all the same.
The eight-year extension buys out multiple free agent years from McGonigle and all but ensures he’ll remain in Detroit through at least his age-29 season. From McGonigle’s standpoint, he gets a life-changing guarantee, and he can still test the free-agent market before he turns 30 years of age. For the Tigers, it’s bound to be a highly popular move for a fan base that’s primed to be frustrated by ace Tarik Skubal‘s likely departure via free agency next offseason.
McGonigle becomes the fifth player to whom the Tigers are committed beyond the current season. Marquee offseason addition Framber Valdez will be owed $42.8 million for the 2027 season, and he has a $35 million player option for 2028. Javier Báez is owed $27 million for the final year of his contract in 2027. Colt Keith is under contract through at least 2029 with three additional club options. Finally, reliever Kyle Finnegan will make $9.5 million next season. The Tigers also have 2027 options on Kenley Jansen and Drew Anderson. Overall, that comes to just more than $80 million committed for 2027, which means the Tigers have plenty of room to add salary this coming winter.
At this writing, McGonigle and the Tigers have won four in a row to reach 8-9 on the season after a slow start.
Apr 6, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; The LIV Golf logo is on display along the 10th hole during the second round of LIV Golf Miami golf tournament at Trump National Doral. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images
Speculation over the future of LIV Golf ran rampant after league executives reportedly were summoned to New York for an emergency summit.
The Financial Times reported Wednesday that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is on the verge of cutting its support for the league and that an announcement could come as soon as Thursday.
LIV Golf members are currently in Mexico City preparing to play the sixth event on the 2026 calendar, starting on Thursday. Golfer Sergio Garcia told reporters there Wednesday that the players “have not heard anything.”
All outward appearances indicated the event was proceeding as planned, with LIV Golf posting interviews and tee times on social media.
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Garcia said a shutdown would be contrary to what they have heard from Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of the Saudi PIF.
“That is not what Yasir told us at the beginning of the year, that he is behind us, that they have a project of many years,” said Garcia, translated from Spanish.
The PIF has reportedly poured more than $5 billion into LIV Golf since it launched in 2022, luring stars like Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson with lucrative contracts and massive tournament purses.
LIV Golf’s potential demise would not come as a total shock given the circuit’s stagnant television ratings and its inability to attract any big names of late, coupled with the recent departures of Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed back to the PGA Tour.
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After Mexico City, there are nine events remaining on the schedule in LIV Golf’s fourth season.
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