Kelsey Plum is headed to Phoenix.

The Los Angeles Sparks traded the five-time All-Star guard to the Phoenix Mercury late Saturday night in exchange for Monique Akoa Makani, a 2027 first-round pick and a 2028 second-round pick.

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The blockbuster deal came just hours before Sunday afternoon’s WNBA trade deadline and sent the biggest available name on the market to a Mercury team trying to make another postseason run.

LA Sparks guard Kelsey Plum (10) reacts at the end of the first half against the Golden State Valkyries at Crypto.com Arena. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)

Plum, a two-time WNBA champion, has not played since June 21 because of a lower left leg injury. She was expected to return Sunday against the Portland Fire on a minutes restriction, though it is not yet clear whether she will be available when Phoenix visits the Chicago Sky on Monday.

The 31-year-old was putting together one of the best statistical seasons of her career before the injury. Plum is averaging 23.9 points and 6.4 assists through 12 games — both career highs — and led the league in scoring earlier this season.

Her time in Los Angeles lasted only a season and a half.

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Los Angeles Sparks guard Kelsey Plum (10) drives past Chicago Sky guard Ariel Atkins (7) in the first half at Crypto.com Arena. (Jayne Kamin/Oncea-Imagn Images)

The Sparks acquired Plum before the 2025 season in exchange for the No. 2 overall pick, hoping the veteran guard could help accelerate a rebuild centered around Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson. Seattle eventually used that selection on Dominique Malonga, who became an All-Star in her second season.

But the gamble never produced the turnaround Los Angeles envisioned.

The Sparks missed the playoffs in 2025 and currently sit at 10-17 after losing six straight games. They have gone just 2-9 during Plum’s latest absence and are in danger of missing the postseason for a sixth consecutive year.

MERCURY’S NOW-DELETED SOCIAL MEDIA POST MOCKING CAITLIN CLARK DRAWS SCRUTINY AFTER STAR’S INJURY

Los Angeles also parted ways with general manager Raegan Pebley in July, leaving assistant general managers Zach Knowlton and Nate Nielsen in charge on an interim basis.

Plum was set to become a free agent after the season and reportedly did not plan to re-sign with the Sparks, making her the league’s most prominent trade candidate ahead of the deadline. The New York Liberty and Atlanta Dream had also shown interest.

Alyssa Thomas side-steps ugly Caitlin Clark foul, claims to be receiving threats. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Instead, she lands with a Phoenix team that appears determined to keep pushing forward despite its own disappointing record. The Mercury are 11-19 and six games behind the eighth-place Liberty for the final playoff spot.

So Plum has her work cut out for her.

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She should immediately provide Phoenix with another proven scorer, secondary playmaker and championship-tested guard. She could also take some of the offensive burden away from Alyssa Thomas, who leads the Mercury with 8.3 assists per game.

The move marks only the fourth time in WNBA history that an All-Star has been traded during the season.

The rich get richer, or in the case of the Los Angeles Dodgers trading for Tarik Skubal, the best simply get better.

As first reported by ESPN late Saturday evening, the back-to-back American Cy Young winner with the Detroit Tigers is heading to play for the two-time defending World Series champions in a deal sending three prospects to the Motor City.

The Tigers are shipping Skubal to Los Angeles in exchange for outfielder Zyhir Hope and right-hand relievers Brady Smith and River Ryan. MLB currently ranks the 21-year-old Hope as the No. 25 prospect in baseball.

Tarik Skubal #29 of the Detroit Tigers delivers his 1,000th strikeout pitch against Taylor Ward of the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning at Comerica Park on July 29, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. (Duane Burleson/Getty Images)

MLB’S SALARY CAP PROPOSAL WON’T FIX THE LEAGUE’S NON-EXISTENT COMPETITIVE BALANCE PROBLEMS

Skubal, who is set to become a free agent this upcoming offseason, underwent arthroscopic elbow surgery in May after making seven starts for Detroit to begin the campaign. The 29-year-old ultimately missed just six months following the procedure and made his return to the bump in mid-June.

Tarik Skubal #29 of the Detroit Tigers looks on from the pitchers mound during the game against the Baltimore Orioles at Comerica Park on July 29, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. The Orioles defeated the Tigers 10-9 in 12 innings. (Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

Skubal, 7-5 as a starter this season, is owed the remainder of his $32 million salary, but will not be eligible to receive a qualifying offer from the Dodgers due to the trade taking place during the season.

With the Dodgers already being the favorite to win what would be a third-straight World Series title this fall, the organization acquiring one of the best arms in baseball doesn’t necessarily add excitement for fans of teams around the league with the postseason fast approaching.

The fact that the Dodgers were the team to land Skubal in exchange for just three prospects – a deal the majority of contenders around the league presumably could have also offered Detroit – is perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the situation for all non-Dodger fans looking on.

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Tarik Skubal #29 of the Detroit Tigers looks on during the game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on Wednesday, July 29, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan.  (Izzy Rincon/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

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No fanbase in Major League Baseball is more dumbfounded by the move than Detroit fans themselves, with the Tigers sitting just 2.5 games out of the Wild Card in the American League. Meanwhile, the Dodgers have a 10-game lead in the National League West while boasting a 69-42 record.

Skubal made his last start for the Tigers on July 29 and could make his Los Angeles debut in the coming days with the Dodgers playing visitors to the Chicago Cubs for a three-game series beginning on Monday.

England tried to rally themselves following their semi-final defeat by New Zealand, but came up against a Diamonds team recovering from one of the biggest shocks in the tournament’s history.

Australia – who had previously been in every Commonwealth final and won the tournament four times – were stunned by Jamaica on Saturday afternoon, giving them less time to recover for the bronze-medal match than England.

The Roses worked hard to shut down the Diamonds’ forward-passing options from the start, but the team in green and gold found their rhythm with devastating consequences, overturning an early 9-7 deficit to lead 19-11 in a bruising first-quarter spell for the Roses.

Stembridge’s side, who lost 66-47 to the same opponents in the pool stage, then lacked impetus in the second period, showing signs of tired legs against one of the world’s most established shooting partnerships in Kiera Austin and Sophie Garbin.

A loose pass from England captain Fran Williams allowed Austin to calmly extend the gap to 28-16 and her side kept the margin steady, resulting in a half-time score of 35-24.

The presence of substitute shooter Eleanor Cardwell in the third quarter helped the Roses score five without reply to trail 45-34, but they were still 49-36 behind with 15 minutes left to play.

Bronze is not a colour of medal that Australia ever imagined they would be playing for, but what seemed just as important to them was reminding the world what they are capable of and why they have been such feared opponents.

In that sense, Stacey Marinkovich’s Diamonds shone as ultimate professionals, and England again came up short against a top side, losing by one less point than the pool stage match between the teams.

“It’s so tough after we lost yesterday and the disappointment of not making a final, to pull yourself up. I’m just so proud of the girls, the fight that we had through this 10 days to keep showing up and responding,” Williams told BBC Sport.

“Probably a few of our errors came through that fatigue and the mental drain that being in tournament netball is, and that is no excuse.

“For so many of us, 10 of us, that was our first Commonwealth Games experiencing that and maybe that showed in a final-day game where you’ve got to turn it on when medals are on that line.

“I’m not going away from that World Cup next year without a medal and standing on that podium, hopefully with a gold, so we’ll be doing as much as we can in the next 12 months to make sure that we are in a better position to fight in these final games.”

It’s hard to find any real flaws in Dan Lanning’s first four seasons leading the Oregon football program.

He inherited a strong foundation left behind by Mario Cristobal but has taken the Ducks to new heights since taking over the flock.

Oregon has won 10-plus games in each of his first four seasons, including 13 in each of the last two seasons since the team made a leap up in difficulty by joining the Big Ten. The Ducks were the No. 1 seed in the 2024 College Football Playoff before making a quarterfinal exit and advanced to the 2025 CFP semifinals before running into the Indiana buzzsaw.

Since Lanning arrived for the 2022 season, Oregon’s 48-8 record is tied with Ohio State for the second-best in the country, trailing only Georgia.

This season, though, presents a new challenge for Lanning. Will Stein, his offensive coordinator the last three seasons, is now the head coach at Kentucky. Tosh Lupoi, his defensive coordinator for his entire Oregon tenure, is now the head coach at Cal.

Drew Mehringer and Chris Hampton were in-house promotions to replace them as offensive and defensive coordinator, respectively.

That makes this a year where Lanning can prove Oregon’s success has been firmly on his shoulders and that the Ducks will remain contenders as long as he’s in charge.

“Nobody’s going to have higher expectations for our team than us,” Lanning said Wednesday at Big Ten media days in Chicago. “We’re the guys in the building doing the work every single day. Certainly really proud of the team and the work they’ve put in. We have high expectations. We’ve got a lot that we want to accomplish.”

The good news for Lanning is that the 2025 roster is largely still intact in Eugene. Oregon returns 14 starters from last year’s team and sits 11th nationally in ESPN’s returning production rankings.

Lanning is already seeing the difference.

“Last year, I felt like we had a team that had a ton of talent. This year, we have a team that has a lot of experience returning,” Lanning said. “A lot of those young guys that played are guys that have great experience. I am excited to see what that looks like.”

Quarterback Dante Moore, who threw for 3,565 yards and 30 touchdowns last season, chose to run it back with the Ducks instead of almost certainly going to the New York Jets as the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft.

The public is clearly believing in Lanning’s squad, with Oregon tied for the third-best odds (+750) to win the national title this season, according to DraftKings.

Lanning likewise believes, telling ESPN on Wednesday that his team is “close” to bringing home the program’s elusive first national championship.

The 2026 season would be quite a time for him to break through and become the fifth active FBS coach who has won a national championship.

The Hundred women’s competition, Trent Bridge

Trent Rockets 139-7 (100 balls): Dunkley 56 (33); Jonassen 2-20

Sunrisers Leeds 134-5 (100 balls): Sutherland 59* (30); Phillips 1-10

Trent Rockets won by five runs

Scorecard. Table

Trent Rockets held off a late assault from Annabel Sutherland and Lauren Winfield-Hill to beat defending champions Sunrisers Leeds by five runs and extend their winning streak to three matches.

Defending 139 at Trent Bridge after failing to capitalise on Sophia Dunkley’s 29-ball half-century, economical bowling helped Rockets reduce Sunrisers to 76-4.

However, with 55 runs required off the final 20 balls, Sutherland dispatched Georgia Elwiss for 23 runs, including sending two full tosses away for six, to drag Sunrisers back into the match.

She and Winfield-Hill reduced the equation to 17 off five but when the latter was run out with three deliveries remaining, she took Sunrisers’ hopes of victory with her.

Sutherland finished the match with a six to end unbeaten on 59 (30), with her partnership with Winfield-Hill (15) worth 50 off just 27 deliveries.

Earlier, Rockets had appeared well set for a sizeable total after Dunkley backed up her 57 against Manchester Super Giants on Friday with a knock of 56 (33), including nine fours, before being bowled by Sutherland.

Nat Sciver-Brunt and Ashleigh Gardner briefly maintained the pressure, including taking Dani Gibson’s second set for 18 to carry Rockets beyond three figures off just 65 balls, but Sunrisers fought back with the ball.

Jess Jonassen and Hannah Baker took two wickets apiece as Rockets slumped from 105-2 to 118-6, with the hosts also failing to hit a boundary for 32 deliveries as their hopes of a 150-plus total faded.

A trio of fours from Bess Heath in the final set proved crucial, putting Rockets’ total just out of Sunrisers’ reach.

Trent Rockets’ fourth victory of the tournament moves them to within four points of unbeaten Southern Brave at the top of the table. Sunrisers Leeds, who are without a win since their opener, slip to seventh.

India’s CWG 2026 Day 11 Schedule:

JUDO

Women’s -78kg, Round of 16: Ishroop Narang vs Nicole Wood (Scotland), 2.30 PM onwards

Men’s -100kg, Round of 16: Avtar Singh vs Aristos Michael (Cyprus)

Men’s 100kg, Round of 16: Yash Ghangas vs Joshua Whitehouse (Wales)

Women’s -78kg, Medal Rounds: Ishroop Narang (subject to qualification), 7.30 PM onwards

Men’s -100kg, Medal Rounds: Avtar Singh (subject to qualification)

Men’s 100kg, Medal Rounds: Yash Ghangas (subject to qualification)

TRACK CYCLING AND PARA TRACK CYCLING:

Men’s 40km Points Race Qualifying Round: Harshveer Singh Sekhon (Heat 1), Dinesh Kumar (Heat 2), at 2.09 PM

Men’s 1000m Time Trial Final: Ronaldo Singh Laitonjam at 3.51 PM

Women’s C4-C5 1000m Time Trial Final: Lisha Das at 8.40 PM

Men’s 40km Points Race Final: Harshveer Singh Sekhon, Dinesh Kumar (subject to qualification), at 9.09 PM