Manchester City beat Newcastle United 3-1 on Saturday night to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals, with Omar Marmoush’s second-half double securing their place in the next round.

Pep Guardiola admitted he said sorry during the victory over Newcastle United in the FA Cup fifth round because of “how good Manchester City were playing”. The hosts took the lead on 18 minutes through Harvey Barnes, but once Savinho equalised before half time, City were in control.

Omar Marmoush fired home from close range just after the break to put City ahead. He then bagged a second with a spectacular long-range effort on 65 minutes. Following the third goal, television cameras cut to Guardiola repeatedly saying something as his players celebrated.

When asked by TNT Sports what he was saying, Guardiola replied: “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” Pressed on why he felt the need to apologise, Guardiola added: “For how good we were playing.” City’s head coach was in the spotlight throughout the victory after being booked for arguing a decision.

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Guardiola felt Jeremy Doku should have received a free kick when he was caught by his opponent but referee Sam Barrott waved away the complaints. This led to the City boss’ furious reaction that earned him a booking. Reflecting on that incident, Guardiola said: “When Jeremy Doku dribbles past Trippier and goes alone to the box and is being pulled from behind, I’m not asking for a yellow card but please – it’s a foul.

“I will defend my team. We have all the records in this country – all of them. Despite everything, we have all of them.

“And we have the record of the manager with the most yellow cards. I have always wanted this record and now I have it. Two games banned now and I will go on holiday.”

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He added: “Oh my god. Oh, my, God. There are things that still after ten years I cannot understand. Review the action, review the action. Of course I’m going to defend Doku, and all my teams. They continue to do it.”

The suspension for Guardiola’s sixth booking of the season will come into effect against West Ham in the Premier League next weekend and the FA Cup quarter-final in April. The suspension does not apply to European matches or the Carabao Cup final vs Arsenal.

With free agency one day away, our Minnesota Vikings myths and misses — the Nopedy Nopes — ride again. We track weekly all Vikings-themed items that are unrealistic, wrong, or didn’t quite work out.

A few popular Vikings theories are already falling apart.

We call them the “Nopedy Nopes,” and the series has spanned a few years.

Carr, Jones, and Spending Hype Belong in Minnesota’s Myth Bin

Here’s a look at Vikings stuff from the week that didn’t or won’t turn out as planned.

The Nopedy Nope: Derek Carr is a realistic QB option for the Vikings.

Carr resurfacing as a viable option for the Vikings — or any team — may feel like a Philip Rivers-style comeback fantasy.

NFL insider Jason La Canfora wrote Tuesday, “Although sections of the media continue to suggest that NFL teams would welcome a comeback from retired quarterback Derek Carr, it’s far harder to find any front-office executives who share that enthusiasm for a return.”

“Carr, whose tenure with the Saints was mostly dreadful with him signing a lucrative contract that team officials quickly regretted, has been threatening to come out of retirement to play for a contending team.”

Carr will turn 35 in three weeks and, in theory, could still perform at a semi-high level.

La Canfora added, “New Orleans retains his rights and conversations with multiple teams actually in the market for quarterback upgrades revealed no appetite for the veteran even despite this college draft being very short on quarterback options and despite the free-agent class being barren as well.”

“An agent for a top free agent quarterback said he does not view Carr as competition for his client’s services and in general there has been skepticism within the football world about Carr playing anywhere in 2026.”

That reporting cools the conversation quickly for anyone hoping Carr might restart his career in the Twin Cities.

The Verdict: Nopedy nope on Carr as an overly realistic quarterback option for the Vikings. Why trade for Carr and his contract when you can sign Kyler Murray or Geno Smith for “free?”

The Nopedy Nope: Daniel Jones could be on the Vikings’ radar — all $40 million per year, plus a busted Achilles tendon.

The transition tag keeps a small door open for Daniel Jones to land in Minnesota. In that setup, another team can extend Jones an offer sheet while the Colts retain the option to match it.

ESPN’s Peter Schrager said Tuesday, “There’s also another team that’s lingering (in free agency. The transition tag does mean some other team can make an offer; the Colts would just have the last opportunity to match that offer. The team I would watch as a possible long shot, but also one that could be angling here is the Minnesota Vikings.”

KSTP’s Darren Wolfson also mentioned on SKOR North programming, “Daniel Jones is certainly somebody at least that needs to be on our radar.”

A Vikings pursuit of Jones would likely require a contract north of $40 million. That becomes tricky for a team that started the offseason about $40 million over the cap. The medical component adds another layer of risk, too, with Jones working back from a torn Achilles.

The Verdict: Nopedy nope on spending $40 million for Jones and his ruptured Achilles when, again, Murray and Smith can be signed for next to nothing.

The Nopedy Nope: The Vikings will spend big in free agency.

Because it spent so much in 2024 and 2025, Minnesota won’t pay top dollar in 2026 during free agency, or so says interim general manager Rob Brzezinski.

Brzezinski chatted with ESPN this week: “We’ve spent a lot of money the last two years in free agency. And so our goal is going to be to keep our core in place, and that’s going to involve making some difficult decisions on some players, which you deal with on a daily basis.”

“But I think for the most part, our goal is going to be to draft and develop and to retain our core, and supplement with free agency. It just makes logical sense that that bill’s coming due. We do have to navigate it, and navigate it responsibly.”

That sounds like a man in charge of a team seeking value-based newcomers.

Brzezinski continued, “A big part of that is balancing what we’re doing in 2026 versus the future. It’s just inherent in my role. I feel like that’s a critical part of when I talk about the guardrails and the vision and the philosophy.”

“To make sure, maybe if we’re veering a little bit, to try to make a decision that maybe is not the best for the long term, maybe we can come back to what we talked about originally and say, ‘Hey, remember we talked about this is the way we’re going to do things? This is our philosophy.’ I think we can just lean on that and go from there.””

The Verdict: The Vikings will sign new players, but don’t expect the top guys like center Tyler Linderbaum or EDGE Trey Hendrickson. Nopedy nope. The spend-big window has closed for a while.

McDonald piloted a historic sixth winner during the finale of Randwick’s 10-race meeting, steering Gangsta Granny to success in the Wenona Girl Quality (1200m).

This represents the first instance of a jockey riding six winners at a Sydney Saturday since Jim Cassidy did so in 1987.

McDonald’s accomplishment gains extra prominence since every one of his six wins was in a Group or Listed race.

He partnered Joliestar for the win in the Canterbury Stakes, along with Generosity in the Challenge Stakes, Pinito in the Aspiration Quality, Beadman in the Fireball Stakes and Chayan in the Reisling Stakes.

“I knew I had a proper book of rides. I thought every single one was capable of winning with a bit of luck,” McDonald said.

“But it was one of those days where everything just falls into place. If you get that luck, it just snowballs.

“You can feel them running well and you’re feeling good on top of them and things just worked out that way.

“I did ride six winners in New Zealand once (2010) but this is the first time I’ve done it in Sydney.”

Despite the triumph, McDonald was deemed guilty of careless riding that affected Hidrix in the Todman Stakes.

Pleading guilty earned him a four-meeting ban from Racing NSW stewards starting Sunday, but he remains eligible for next Saturday’s Coolmore Classic card.

Team Hawkes’ Gangsta Granny ($2.80) exhibited class, topping off McDonald’s record-setting performance with a three-quarter length victory from Cosmonova ($41) and Asgarda ($81) a neck back in third place.

“I thought she looked pretty well placed today even with the 58kgs,” McDonald said.

“She is a class mare and did run Autumn Glow to half a length.”

Co-trainer Michael Hawkes views the capable mare Gangsta Granny as having “gone to another level” this time in, elevating her stats to five wins (with five placings) over 10 runs.

“Her trials have been outstanding, she has come back with a bang,” Hawkes said.

“It was a nice race that we picked for her. We thought it was an easier race, albeit she had to carry the weight, but she is a class mare.

“She has always been strong, she has always been that sort of mare but you just want these good horses to come back to the next level, which she has.”

Hawkes revealed no firm autumn target yet for Gangsta Granny.

“She can go anyway,” Hawkes said.

“The improvement she has taken, they’ve run good time, it’s only first-up and she carried a big weight. Her day will come and hopefully we can get to the top of the tree.”

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The main event of UFC 326 produced a surprise performance from Charles Oliveira in a rematch 11 years in the making for the ceremonial BMF title in Las Vegas.  

Former lightweight Oliveira, 36, relied on his grappling to shut out and completely dominate Max Holloway over five rounds inside T-Mobile Arena. In the co-headliner, middleweight contender Caio Borralho bounced back from his first UFC defeat by winning all three rounds on all three scorecards to take a decision from Reinier de Ridder. 

Let’s take a look at the biggest takeaways from an exciting night at the fights. 

1. Charles Oliveira delivered the performance not enough of us saw coming

Despite how legendary this matchup was on paper in a fight that set a record for the most combined UFC wins in a single fight, the 34-year-old Holloway held firmly as a nearly 2-to-1 betting favorite and many (including this writer) predicted he would finish Oliveira in an all-action fight. But, in hindsight, there simply wasn’t enough talk about just how big Oliveira is for the division. Historically, Holloway has been stingy when it comes to takedown defense. But he had never fought a grappler this big or skilled and it showed immediately. Oliveira routinely took Holloway down with ease and spent most of the first two rounds threatening chokes while beating the former featherweight king up with ground and pound. Oliveira also held the advantage the rare times they exchanged on the feet to begin each round. Already the UFC recordholder for finishes, submissions and post-fight bonuses, Oliveira also moved into second place for most wins (two behind Jim Miller’s record of 27). Adding a name like Holloway to his legendary resume — and doing so by complete domination — was something very few pundits or fans had on their bingo card. 

2. If we’re being honest, Oliveira’s performance was not befitting of a BMF title fight

On one hand, it’s hard to criticize a fighter who just won seemingly every second of a 25-minute title fight against a fellow legend. But the BMF title was created to showcase the combined toughness and violent striking of two action legends and, without question, MMA fans expected (rightfully) for this rematch to be an all-out war. While Oliveira wasn’t exactly resistant to exchanging strikes with Holloway (and the Brazilian doubled Holloway’s output in significant strikes landed), he did quickly shoot for takedowns in all five rounds and amassed an absurd control time of 20 minutes and 49 seconds over the 25-minute fight. This simply wasn’t the spirit of a title lineage that was created in 2019 to honor the swagger and exploits of celebrated brawlers Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz. No one is saying Oliveira was expected to make this fight easier for Holloway. It’s just that anymore performances like the one Oliveira delivered on Saturday will quickly make the delightfully gimmicky BMF title played out and unnecessary.   

3. Oliveira’s gameplan and post-fight demeanor proved what matters most to him

For “Do Bronx,” defeating Holloway in their rematch wasn’t about the BMF title. It was about taking one giant step forward toward his real goal: regaining the UFC lightweight title. That was apparent not only by Oliveira’s decision to grapple and methodically beat up Holloway but also his reluctance to call out a big name after the victory. Instead of trying to secure a BMF title defense against, say, a returning Conor McGregor at July’s International Fight Week in Las Vegas, Oliveira pushed UFC brass for a last-minute opportunity on the June White House card and mentioned his want for a title fight next. Oliveira, who was knocked out by Ilia Topuria in their vacant lightweight bout last June, put himself in a strong position to get a second chance should Topuria defeat interim titleholder Justin Gaethje in the recently announced White House main event. 

4. Raul Rosas Jr. is evolving quickly but still has more work to do

At just 21, Rosas was stepping up considerably in class on Saturday for his seventh walk to the Octagon by facing his first ranked opponent in 38-year-old Rob Font. But even though Rosas would go on to pass the test with flying colors by pitching a shutout on all three scorecards and completing a bantamweight three-round record of 16 takedowns, his performance was a bit one-dimensional. Rosas, who won his fifth straight bout since his lone pro defeat in a 2023 decision loss to Christian Rodriguez, ultimately relied on his wrestling to a fault. Even though it was the right strategic move to get past the striking-heavy Font, it failed to showcase whether Rosas’ own striking could hold up at this level. Rosas will likely earn a top-15 ranking with the win and is still on pace at 21 years, 5 months to potentially break Jon Jones’ UFC record (23 years, 8 months) as the youngest champion. But it will be difficult to call him a true title threat until he levels up his striking to where his incredible grappling skills already lie. 

5. ‘RoboCop’ is quietly becoming a legitimate threat at middleweight

In the three years since Gregory Rodrigues was knocked out in Round 1 by countryman Bruno Ferreira, he won six of his next seven fights, including four by knockout. But it wasn’t until he changed his demeanor and gameplan entering their rematch on Saturday that he truly looked like a future title contender. The 34-year-old Rodrigues opened calm, cool and patient this time, which is a departure from his normal aggressive starts that have often left him fatigued late in fights. Not only did Rodrigues control distance, he waited for the risk-taking Ferreira to come to him and lined him up with a perfect right cross to knock him out less than two minutes into their rematch. Rodrigues has always had size, tremendous power and a solid ground game but if he continues to add the veteran wrinkles and utilize his fight IQ, a run into the top 10 appears likely. 

Erikan Francis has restated his commitment to help Heartland FC regain promotion to the Nigeria Premier Football League after scoring in their 3–1 victory over Smart City FC.

The forward who joined Heartland FC in mid-season on-loan from Akwa United gave the Owerri side a perfect start when he opened the scoring just two minutes into their Matchday 13 clash at the Dan Anyiam Stadium on Saturday.

Erikan’s early strike helped set the pace for a strong performance by the home side, who went on to secure an important win.

After the match, the Akwa Ibom-born forward, who was named the NNL Player of the Match, thanked God and spoke about his strong connection with the club. He said returning to Heartland means a lot to him and that he is determined to help the team return to the top division.

“First and foremost I want to thank the Almighty God. I want to thank Christ Jesus that I truly believe in. Coming back to Heartland to play for them is something I have always had in mind because this is my home,” he said.

“I love it here and anytime I play I put in everything. What runs through my mind is that this team needs to promote back to the NPFL. That is why I am giving 100 percent. The God that did it before through me when this team went to the NPFL in 2023/24, I believe that same God will do it again for Heartland this season.”

Heartland began the match strongly, with Erikan’s quick goal giving the Naze Millionaires an early advantage.

Erikan Francis was again involved in a key moment in the 21st minute when he was fouled inside the penalty area, leading the referee to award a penalty. Jonathan Osondi stepped up and calmly converted the spot kick to extend the lead.

Smart City reduced the deficit just before half-time when Gafar Ojo scored in the 45th minute.

However, Heartland regained control in the second half when Ali Sunday added a third goal to seal the victory for the team coached by Emmanuel Amuneke.

Erikan had previously played for Heartland under the late coach Christian Obi when the club secured promotion to the top flight. Since returning to the team in the middle of the season, he has recorded two goals and one assist.

The win moves Heartland to third place in Conference A with 17 points from 11 matches.

They will next face Sunshine Stars F.C. in another crucial fixture as they continue their push for promotion back to Nigeria’s top division.

Both clubs were relegated from the NPFL last season alongside Akwa United F.C. and Lobi Stars F.C., making the upcoming clash an important battle in the race for a return to the top flight.

Victory at Paycom Center was the Thunder’s fifth in a row. They became the first side to 50 wins this season and sit top of the Western Conference.

Gilgeous-Alexander said: “If we were the best team last year, all year, we win a championship, and we get better, we should put ourselves in great position to repeat.

“This year’s had a little bit more ups and downs for us, but I think we’ve done a pretty good job keeping that front of mind.”

The Warriors – again missing the injured Stephen Curry – scored seven unanswered points to reduce the Thunder’s lead to 99-97 before a three-pointer from Gilgeous-Alexander in the final minute.

Michael Porter Jr scored 30 points as the Brooklyn Nets came from 23 points down to win 107-105 at Eastern Conference leaders Detroit Pistons and end a 10-game losing streak.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 27 points as the Milwaukee Bucks beat the visiting Utah Jazz 113-99.

Jalen Johnson’s 35 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists helped the Atlanta Hawks to a 125-116 home win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Kawhi Leonard scored 28 points as the Los Angeles Clippers overturned a 19-point first-half deficit to win 123-120 at the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Orlando Magic won 119-92 at the Minnesota Timberwolves despite Anthony Edwards’ 34 points for the hosts.

Maybe more than any week on the PGA Tour schedule, Bay Hill delights in kicking your teeth in.

And on a noticeably punchy Saturday afternoon at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Scottie Scheffler wasted no time getting started.

The World No. 1 began a vexing third round at Bay Hill in particularly unusual fashion, recording three bogeys in his first five holes — and four in his first seven — to drop from the outskirts of the leaderboard to well out of contention. As he has for much of the week in Florida, the typically cool and collected Scheffler looked out of character with a club in his hands and out of patience without it, en route to a decidedly up-and-down 72. As if to emphasize the point, when his fourth bogey of the day dropped on the seventh hole, NBC cameras captured Scheffler crow-hopping his ball into the woods in disgust — his second frustrated ball-toss of the week.

By the time he made the turn, Scheffler had recorded his most bogeys on an opening nine in more than eleven months, since the second round of the Masters last April, and just one fewer black score than he recorded all week at the American Express in January. (Of course, another read of these stats emphasizes Scheffler’s brilliance in the 2020s, seeing as until the Genesis Invitational at the end of February, the World No. 1 had gone 11 months without a finish outside of the top 10.)

After it was over, Scheffler was blunt.

“Pretty up and down, I would say,” he said.