Sports
Taylor Decker opens up on Detroit Lions divorce
As the free agency period continues with the 2026 NFL draft approaching, former Detroit Lions offensive tackle Taylor Decker opened up on what led to his surprising March 9 release from the franchise after Decker indicated his intention to return to the Motor City for the 2026 season just days before.
In an exclusive interview with Justin Rogers of Detroit Football Network, the former 2016 No. 16 overall pick shared his perspective on how and why things fell apart so quickly with the Lions.
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After Decker publicly detailed how injuries and time away from his family had started to wear on him, both Decker and the Lions knew that retirement was an option for the veteran left tackle following last season. But, according to Decker in his conversation with Detroit Football Network, two things were clear in his exit interviews with Detroit: the Lions wanted him back and Decker was not interested in taking a pay cut.
However, when both sides reconvened after Decker announced his intentions to return for an 11th NFL season, Decker said he was shocked when the team told his agent that the Lions only wanted Decker back if he agreed to a pay cut.
From there, negotiations broke down and Decker requested his release.
Decker said that he talked to Lions head coach Dan Campbell about his decision to return the day before he announced it. According to Decker, he tried to reach out to Lions general manager Brad Holmes about his decision to return, but he did not get a responding call or text.
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Holmes said last week that the only thing that could have been considered surprising was the timing of Decker’s public announcement that he was returning.
“I think a lot of those situations that happen, it all starts with communication and what you communicate with the player, what you communicate with the player’s agent, and so it starts there,” Holmes said. “There was really no surprises. Again, you don’t know when a player is going to put something out. So if you want to say there was a surprise, maybe it was that a surprise, but in terms of the decisions that he made, I wouldn’t say that that’d be a surprise.”
It’s clear that there’s some lingering frustration from Decker toward the Lions with the way things ended in Detroit. Decker is unhappy that none of Holmes, Campbell or Lions offensive line coach Hank Fraley reached out after Decker requested his release.
From Detroit Football Network’s Justin Rogers:
But here’s what’s driving Decker crazy. This does feel a little personal. Since talking to Campbell on Feb. 23, he hasn’t heard from team leadership. There wasn’t a follow-up from his coach, Holmes never reached out, and Decker had to make first contact with position coach Hank Fraley, a man he publicly went to bat for when Campbell was hired.
After giving everything he had to the franchise for a decade, Decker expected more. He wanted to hear from his coach, from the general manager. He just wanted a simple “thank you” on his way out the door. And, just as badly, he wanted to say “thank you” for everything the organization has meant to and given to him. – Detroit Football Network
According to Decker, former Lions offensive coordinator-turned-Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson has touched base. Johnson apparently reached out to check in on Decker after hearing about his request to be released by Detroit.
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While Rogers said Decker is still undecided about playing at all next season, a few teams have expressed interest. Given the nature of the divorce between Decker and the Lions, it can be assumed that his career in Detroit is done.
Despite the bad blood, Decker is still interested in potentially signing a one-day contract so he can ceremonially retire as a Detroit Lion.
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This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: Taylor Decker opens up on Detroit Lions divorce
For the fifth time in its six years as a NASCAR Cup Series race, the Cracker Barrel 400 is a sellout, Nashville Superspeedway director of marketing Alan George said on May 31.
The 2026 race reached capacity at 38,000 before its 6 p.m. CT start. It was the fourth time in the last five years the race sold out ahead of the scheduled race time. A sellout was announced during the second stage of the 2024 race after a rain delay.
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The 2023 race, formerly known as the Ally 400, sold out a week in advance along with the inaugural race in 2021, which was the first NASCAR Cup race in the Nashville area in 37 years.
CRACKER BARREL 400 LIVE UPDATES: NASCAR Cup Series race at Nashville live updates, highlights, leaderboard
The only year the race did not sell out was in 2022, when attendance was slightly over 30,000.
Fans attending the 2026 race have come from all 50 states and 26 countries, according to track officials.
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Cracker Barrel 400 NASCAR Nashville race sold out
Tim Tszyu has fired back at Terence Crawford, promising to prove him wrong when he locks horns with Errol Spence Jr on July 25.
The pair will collide at a catchweight of 158lbs in Australia, where both former world champions hope to reignite their careers.
For Tszyu, this represents a chance to secure his first significant victory since 2023, back when he claimed the WBO super-welterweight title against Brian Mendoza.
After that, the Australian lost a split decision to Sebastian Fundora in 2024, before suffering a more punishing third-round stoppage defeat to Bakhram Murtazaliev that same year.
Tszyu’s relevance at world level was then further diminished by a seventh-round stoppage loss to Fundora last July, with the 31-year-old now hoping to re-join the world scene at 154lbs.
In order to do so, he must first defeat Spence, who has not fought since getting stopped in nine rounds by a masterful Crawford in July 2023.
Prior to that, ‘The Truth’ was considered among the welterweight elite but, now, at the age of 36, it remains to be seen exactly what he has left to offer.
Yet despite the American returning from a three-year layoff, Crawford still believes his former foe has what it takes to defeat Tszyu.
In response, Tszyu has told Jai McAllister that, while he respects Crawford’s opinion, he ultimately intends to prove the former three-division undisputed champion wrong.
“Everyone’s got something to say – I respect that. Crawford knows his boxing but, unfortunately, when that fight [with Spence] does happen, it’s not going to go down that path.”
With a home advantage and a greater run of activity, Tszyu certainly has several reasons to be confident ahead of his showdown with Spence.
LOS ANGELES — Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto left Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers with a left wrist contusion after getting hit by a pitch.
Realmuto was struck on the left wrist by a fastball from Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto leading off the third inning, with Philadelphia trailing 1-0. Realmuto was examined by a trainer and remained in the game as a baserunner. He was back on the field at catcher in the bottom half of the inning.
However, Realmuto was replaced behind the plate by Rafael Marchán when the Phillies came back out on defence in the fourth inning. The team said Realmuto would undergo further evaluation.
The Phillies were trailing 2-0 when Realmuto exited.
The 35-year-old Realmuto came into the game batting .220 with two homers and nine RBIs. He is in his eighth season with the Phillies and has won two Gold Glove and two Silver Slugger awards.
GALLOWAY, N.J. — Celine Boutier rallied from a four-shot deficit Sunday, making three birdies around the turn on her way to a 5-under 66 for a one-shot victory over Arpichaya Yubol in the ShopRite LPGA.
Soo Bin Joo, the 22-year-old South Korean going for her first LPGA Tour title, lost her four-shot lead at the turn and then fell behind for good on the 13th hole, the same hole where earlier Boutier had taken the lead with a 30-foot birdie putt.
Joo missed another fairway to the right into a clumpy lie, pitched back to the fairway, sent her wedge over the green with a front pin, chipped 8 feet by the hole and missed the putt, taking a double bogey to fall three shots behind.
Boutier kept hitting solid shots, rarely getting in trouble. She missed a 4-foot birdie putt on the final hole to post at 9-under 204, and no one could catch her.
“To have a chance to win today is definitely something very special,” said Boutier, the 32-year-old French player who won the ShopRite LPGA five years ago. “I think it’s great tournament, very special for me, so really excited to be able to have another win here.”
Yubol, who was penalized one shot in the second round Saturday for going over her maximum time, birdied the last two holes for a 66. It was her second runner-up finish of the year, having finished four shots behind Nelly Korda in Mexico.
Lauren Walsh (67) finished third, followed by Joo among four players who tied for fourth.
“It was so fun. It was my first time leading the tournament, and I think I did my best out there as much as I can and I prepared well and I’m very proud of myself,” Joo said. “I was trying to do my best to stay mentally calm, and I think I still got to work on that a little more.”
Chizzy Iwai, who also started four shots behind, had two birdies in three holes, but then closed with 15 straight pars.
Boutier finished the front nine with two straight birdies to reach 7 under, and that gave her a share of the lead when Joo made bogey on the par-4 eighth. Boutier then hit her approach to 4 feet for birdie on 10th. Joo caught her with a birdie on the ninth but couldn’t keep up the rest of the way.
The ShopRite LPGA is one of two 54-hole events on the schedule, and the field was particularly weak this year — one player from the top 10 — because of timing. The U.S. Women’s Open is next week across the country in Los Angeles, held at Riviera for the first time.
Boutier now has seven career LPGA title and 12 worldwide. She has struggled to start this year, with a tie for ninth her best finish among 10 tournaments.
“I feel like my game has turned around the last few weeks. I could see it coming together, and I definitely did not expect it to come together this week and today,” she said. “But I’m super excited to be back in the winner’s circle.”
 "The Paris police prefecture said smaller groups caused disturbances in various locations, with some vandalizing shops and setting fires")
The Paris police prefecture said smaller groups caused disturbances in various locations, with some vandalizing shops and setting fires
Paris police detained dozens of people after violence disrupted celebrations late Saturday of Paris Saint-Germain’s second Champions League title win and a group tried to storm a police station in the French capital.
Fans began celebrating in Paris after the final whistle earlier in the evening in Budapest, Hungary, where PSG won by beating Arsenal on penalties in a dramatic final.
Fans marched along the avenues near the Arc de Triomphe, with some setting off flares and blaring car horns. Around 20,000 people gathered on the Champs-Elysees, with police working to contain the crowd.
The Paris police prefecture said smaller groups caused disturbances in various locations, with some vandalizing shops and setting fires. Cars were also set ablaze. One police officer was injured. Those who attempted to storm a police station in the posh 8th Arrondissement neighborhood were dispersed, police said.
It said that by 10 p.m., 45 people were taken into custody.
The main ring road surrounding Paris was briefly blockaded by a crowd before police dispersed it. Police also said one bakery and a restaurant were damaged.
Officers also contained about 1,000 people gathered near the PSG stadium in the 16th Arrondissement and cleared barricades made from bicycles.
In May last year following PSG’s first title, when 201 people were injured in the French capital and police made more than 500 arrests across France, Paris was on high alert, with 8,000 police officers deployed across the city.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First Published: May 31 2026 | 10:58 PM IST
Starting up front in Kai Havertz’s absence, Deniz Undav impressed in Germany’s 4-0 friendly win over Finland on Sunday night, scoring twice and providing an assist.
After the game, the Stuttgart forward drew praise from Julian Nagelsmann, who felt the 29-year-old was unlucky not to have found the net earlier in the match.
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“Deniz was very dangerous, he was a bit unlucky with his first finish. He was involved in three goals and played a good game,” said Nagelsmann, according to Bundesliga.de.
Undav was forced off after picking up a knock while scoring his second goal, but both the striker himself and Nagelsmann played down the injury afterwards.
“I think everything is fine with Deniz. He had a very heavy workload in Stuttgart and has played a lot; he looked happy in the dressing room. He did very, very well again today,” Nagelsmann said.
Another standout performer was 18-year-old Bayern prodigy Lennart Karl, who impressed on the right wing on his first start for Germany.
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“Karl had a lot of actions in the first half, he tried a lot and also had good moments again and again in the second half. He’s a player who will be very valuable for us,” said Nagelsmann.
Overall, the Germany coach was pleased with what he saw.
“The boys executed the game plan very well, we started very well, the first 15 minutes were very good. In the second half we also defended deeper at times, and then we also scored on the counterattack, which does us good. The result is good, we didn’t concede, so we can continue like this,” he said.
Great Britain’s Max Burgin ran a season’s-best time to win the 800m at a Diamond League meeting in Morocco.
Burgin, 24, crossed the line in a time of one minute and 42.98 seconds as he beat off a competitive field at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat.
After a strong start to the race, he held off a late pursuit by Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi (1:43.56) to to clinch his first Diamond League victory.
Algeria’s Slimane Moula completed the podium as he finished in third place while Ireland’s Mark English was 11th in 1:45.
“I expected a race like this where someone would push me to my maximum,” Wanyonyi said.
“I have done my best and 1.43 is not a bad time for me. My focus this season will be on the 800m, not the 1500m”
Elsewhere, GB’s Matthew Hudson-Smith finished second in the 400m with a time of 44.25 seconds, just behind Jacory Patterson of the United States.
“It’s good to be back, I have had a lot of niggles but it is a great opener. Now I need to build on that for the rest of the season,” Hudson-Smith said.
GB’s Molly Caudrey finished seventh in the pole vault with a jump of 4.60m – 20cm behind winner Nina Kennedy of Australia.
RJ Abarrientos (with ball) soars to the hoop. —MARLO CUETO
ANTIPOLO—When Barangay Ginebra eliminated Rain or Shine on Sunday, it marked the ninth time the franchise reached a PBA Finals in 12 tournaments with Justin Brownlee as import.
But with the Gin Kings caught in the middle of a title drought, there is a new king of hunger for Brownlee as he and his teammates try to turn the Commissioner’s Cup into a celebration for their legions of fans.
“Hungry? Man, you hear my stomach growling?” Brownlee said in jest when asked by the Inquirer about his bid for a seventh PBA title, a record for imports, following Ginebra’s 118-107 win over Rain or Shine at the Ynares Center here.
Ginebra won the series, 4-2, before a crowd of more than 11,000, with Brownlee going off for 31 points plus 15 rebounds and five assists and RJ Abarrientos unloading 30 points, six rebounds, seven assists and three steals.
The Gin Kings became the first team to reach the championship round of the midseason conference and will face either the TNT Tropang 5G or the Meralco Bolts in a best-of-seven affair.
Cementing BPC case
It will be the seventh consecutive conference that Ginebra will play for the title with Brownlee as reinforcement. But the last three times have been a frustration since the beloved franchise ruled the 2022-23 Commissioner’s Cup.
They fell short in all of those Finals to Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and TNT, including last season’s version of the second conference, following a thrilling Game 7 that went to overtime.
“I think as a team, we really believe that it’s our time,” he said. “Being here before and having lost the last three times, we think it’s our time and we think we can get that hump and get a championship.”
To achieve that, Brownlee will need a lot of support from a number of guys, primarily Abarrientos, whose last two games may have cemented his case as the Best Player of the Conference.
Game 6, however, wasn’t about just Brownlee and Abarrientos. Scottie Thompson came up with 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists; Ralph Cu was again solid off the bench, knocking in 11 points, while Isaac Go provided quality minutes, finishing with nine points.
Sigh of relief
Coach Tim Cone could only heave a sigh of relief that Ginebra was able to close out a determined Rain or Shine side that stayed within striking distance throughout the contest, responding with timely shots and key stops.
“We don’t want to go to a Game 7 against a Yeng Guiao team. That would have been a disaster for us,” Cone said. “So we put all our eggs into one basket tonight because we don’t want a Game 7.”
While Ginebra advances, Rain or Shine was dealt with another semifinal exit, the fifth in the last six conferences.
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It was the closest the Elasto Painters had at ending the skid after winning Game 1 and tying the series at 2-2. Being close, however, was not enough. INQ
Olid had left Hearts hinting that, despite winning the league title for the first time in their history, she was not going to be given the financial backing she wanted next season.
There is a sense that the domestic women’s game has lost a bit of the momentum in terms of public excitement and backing from their parent clubs it had when Celtic were first to go full-time professional in 2019 and Rangers, Hibs and Hearts soon followed.
However, former Partick Thistle manager Brian Graham suggested: “Over the last five or six years, the standard of the women’s game in Scotland is definitely getting better – and it’s only going one way.
“I would love to see it getting supported and backed a little bit more at times. We want to see more fans in here today.”
As for the Hampden protagonists, Graham thought Celtic deserved their victory because of the way they defended resolutely after their goal – and because Rangers did not make the most of their one-player advantage.
“They lost the League Cup to Glasgow City, they lost the league on the last day, now they’ve lost the Scottish Cup on the last day of the season.” he pointed out.
“So she [Crichton] will be bitterly disappointed because, over the piece, she’s had a good first season but just not got over that final hurdle for silverware.
“However, Leanne has done an incredible job after coming from Motherwell as assistant.”
Graham agreed with Scott – that Celtic have the momentum going into the new season.
“Believe me, there will have been a bit of self-doubt among these Celtic players this afternoon knowing the fact they had not beaten Rangers in 10 games,” he said.
“They know it’s not been the season they wanted, but winning here, it will give them that belief going into next season.
“Congratulations to him [Scott] getting the first piece of silverware in a short period of time.
“He knows he’s going to have a big summer. He’ll have payers going out, he’ll have players coming in. It’s a rebuild situation at Celtic now.
“This is where he can really put his stamp on it moving on to next season. You can really judge him next season.
“Hearts winning the league and their manager leaving, there’s going to be a big upheaval there too.
“They’ll want to get players in, but they have a strong nucleus of a squad, although you never know, some of those players might get moves and the manager coming in.”
Former Rangers midfielder Clare Gemmell pointed out that it is “phenomenal” that the SWPL has had five different winners in the last five seasons.
Will Celtic build on their Hampden triumph as they aim for a second title and first since 2024?
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