Caitlin Clark appeared to be back on top of her game after missing most of the 2025 season with injuries.

Clark played for Team USA in the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup qualifying tournament this month, and on Tuesday, she was named the MVP.

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Caitlin Clark of USA prepares to take a free throw during the Women’s World Cup 2026 Qualifier between Puerto Rico and USA at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot on March 12, 2026 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. (Alexa Alejandro/FIBA via Getty Images)

The Indiana Fever star, who was making her debut with the senior team, averaged 11.6 points and 6.4 assists per game as the Americans went a perfect 5-0. The team won games against Senegal, Puerto Rico, Italy, New Zealand and Spain to round out the tournament.

It’s the second MVP award for Clark on the world stage. She received the honor when she was a part of the FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup in 2021.

Clark has taken a long journey back to the basketball court as she only played in 13 games for the Fever during the 2025 season. She averaged 16.5 points, 8.8 assists and 5 rebounds per game, but an injury right before the All-Star break threw her off course.

WNBA, PLAYERS STRIKE LATE-NIGHT DEAL FOR NEW CBA

Caitlin Clark (17) brings the ball upcourt during a training camp for the U.S women’s national basketball team, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Durham, North Carolina. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley, File)

The sharpshooting guard suffered a groin strain and then a bone bruise in her ankle. The Fever closely monitored her recovery and eventually ruled her out for the remainder of the regular season.

“I’ve always been a person that’s going to just rely on my work. I feel like it’s certainly made me work harder,” the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year said earlier this month, referencing her injury setbacks.

“But that’s also probably the part that kind of stunk about it is I felt like I put in so much time and so much energy going into last season and then, obviously, only appeared in about 13 games.”

Despite worries about being rusty, Clark scored 17 points in her first game against Senegal. She nailed four 3-pointers and it set the stage for how the rest of the tournament would go.

Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark (22) gestures to the crowd during the first half of a WNBA basketball game against the Connecticut Sun Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

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The FIBA Women’s World Cup will start on Sept. 4 and run through Sept. 13.

Fox News’ Chantz Martin contributed to this report.

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Everton and Nottingham Forest received points deductions for breaking Premier League Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) in recent years but despite making “obvious and deliberate breaches” which “involved deception and concealment in relation to financial matters”, Chelsea were spared a sporting sanction.

When the punishment was announced Chelsea said: “From the outset of this process, the club has treated these matters with the utmost seriousness, providing full cooperation to all relevant regulators.”

Because the breaches came during former owner Roman Abramovich’s time in charge, and new owners BlueCo made voluntary disclosures and showed “exceptional co-operation”, that was viewed as enough mitigation to avoid more severe punishment.

“This is essentially a litany of offences related to how you conduct transfer business, so a transfer ban makes sense,” Purslow said.

“But to see that ban suspended in full, again, seems extremely lenient.

“That must really rankle with clubs like Everton and Forest who I don’t think have had much credit in the past where they have co-operated.”

The Premier League has previously stated, when handing Everton a points deduction, that “a financial penalty for a club that enjoys the support of a wealthy owner is not a sufficient penalty”.

That verdict also stated “the requirements of deterrence, vindication of compliant clubs, and the protection of the integrity of the sport demand a sporting sanction in the form of a points deduction”.

Chelsea signed players such as Eden Hazard, Samuel Eto’o, Willian, Ramires, David Luiz and Nemanja Matic as they won seven majors honours between 2011 and 2018, including two Premier League titles and the Champions League.

“Sporting sanctions first came into the frame as an acknowledgement that sometimes punishing with a fine just didn’t fit the crime,” Purslow added.

“In other words, when football clubs had gained meaningful football advantage, you needed to sanction with sporting penalty to compensate.

“It is blindingly obvious that sporting benefits were attained through this transfer activity.”

Also in this sports roundup:

In the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, PSG and Real Madrid saw the job through. Sporting Lisbon staged an incredible comeback.

In the EuroLeague, Paris Basketball lost.

In tennis, Elsa Jacquemot secured her first career victory in a WTA 1000 tournament.

Manchester City were beaten by Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday night and now face Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley on Sunday.

Jeremy Doku has challenged Manchester City to respond to their Champions League heartache in perfect fashion by lifting the Carabao Cup this weekend.

City were beaten 2-1 by Real Madrid on Tuesday night having been reduced to 10 men midway through the first half when Bernardo Silva was sent off for handball on the line. Vinicius Jr converted the penalty and, after Erling Haaland levelled before the break, the Brazilian added a stoppage time second for the visitors to complete a 5-1 aggregate success.

It means City’s European campaign is over for another season, and, with their Premier League chances hanging by a thread given Arsenal’s nine-point lead at the top, the chance to beat the Gunners and lift the first silverware of the campaign at Wembley on Sunday is a huge opportunity.

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“That is a good cure to this game,” said Doku. “We will do everything to win that game.

“There is still a lot to play for, there is still three trophies to win. We do that, it is going to be a great season still. Of course we are disappointed with the Champions League, it is always a nice trophy to have but there are some lessons to take out of these two games. We recover well and look forward to the next games that we have.”

The message from the City camp after the midweek defeat to Real was one of pride, with the Blues producing a positive performance in the second leg despite the early red card. And Doku feels the tie will stand City in good stead for the future.

“We played well, 10 against 11, 11 against 11, we did well and created chances. I feel like if we play like that every game you will put many teams in trouble. There are some good things to take out of this game for the next one.

“We can be proud of our performance, playing against a big team like that 10 against 11 and still performing like we did, still putting them into trouble – not every team can do it.

“Unfortunately we didn’t win, but we can look each other in the eyes and be proud of each other. We will recover now, try and win the game on Sunday and be in the Champions League for next season.”

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The Carabao Cup Final will see Arsenal v Manchester City at London’s Wembley Stadium this March.

Argentina is pressing forward with a bid to host the 2035 Rugby World Cup, which would take the event to South America for the first time.

Argentina hopes to involve Brazil, Chile and Uruguay in the staging of the tournament.

World Rugby chief executive Alan Gilpin is visiting Argentina on a fact-finding mission before formal applications for the tournament are submitted in the latter half of 2026.

“We want a World Cup that reflects the passion and development that rugby has achieved in every corner of our territory,” said Gabriel Travaglini, president of the Argentine Rugby Union.

Japan and Spain have recently confirmed their intention of bidding for the tournament, while Italy have previously expressed an interest and a joint Middle East bid, incorporating Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, has also been rumoured.

Argentina have played in all 10 previous editions of the Rugby World Cup, reaching the semi-finals in three of the past five stagings.

Los Pumas make use of various multi-purpose stadiums around the country for home matches.

In July, they will take on Scotland in the 57,000-capacity Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes in Cordoba, Wales in the 25-000-seater Estadio San Juan de Bicentenario in San Juan and England in Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades, which holds about 30,000 people, in Santiago del Estero.

Estadio Mas Monumental – the Buenos Aires’ home of football side River Plate – is the largest stadium in South America with a capacity in excess of 85,000.

World Rugby’s selection of hosts has balanced maximising commercial returns and expanding into new markets in recent years. Japan staged the tournament for the first time in 2019, hile the United States will do in 2031.

France and Australia, hosts for 2023 and 2027 respectively, have both put on the tournament on more than one occasion.

After site visits and assessments, World Rugby will identify a preferred host in May 2027, with their recommendation being voted on in November.

The Senegalese government has called for an “independent international investigation” into “suspected corruption” at African football’s governing body after it stripped Senegal of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title and awarded it to Morocco.

Senegal beat Morocco 1-0 in January’s final but the Confederation of African Football (Caf) overturned the result on Tuesday because Senegal’s players walked off the pitch in protest when hosts Morocco were awarded a stoppage-time penalty.

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The players returned after a 17-minute delay, and Brahim Diaz’s ‘Panenka’ penalty for Morocco was saved before Senegal’s Pape Gueye scored an extra-time winner.

Following an appeal by the Moroccan FA (FRMF), Caf ruled that Senegal had forfeited the match, with the “result being recorded as 3-0 in favour” of Morocco.

In a statement the Senegalese government said the “unprecedented and exceptionally serious decision” was based on “a manifestly erroneous interpretation of the regulations, leading to a grossly illegal and deeply unjust decision”.

It said: “Senegal unequivocally rejects this unjustified attempt at dispossession.”

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BBC Sport has contacted Caf for comment.

Fight is far from over – Senegal FA chief

Earlier on Wednesday, the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) said it would appeal against Caf’s decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas), calling it “an unfair, unprecedented and unacceptable decision which brings discredit to African football”.

“This decision is a breach of trust that is not based on any rule of law,” FSF secretary general Abdoulaye Seydou Sow told Senegalese TV channel RTS 1.

“We felt that the jury wasn’t there to uphold the law, but to carry out an order.

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“We will stop at nothing. The law is on our side. The fight is far from over. Senegal will defend its rights to the very end.”

Some Senegal players have suggested they will not relinquish their winners’ medals.

“We know what we experienced that evening in Rabat. And no-one can take that away from us,” Senegal and Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye said on social media.

The walk-off by Senegal prompted the International Football Association Board (Ifab), football’s lawmaking body, to open a consultation on how to deal with situations when “players unilaterally decide to leave the field of play, or team officials instigate such action, as a means of protest against a referee’s decision”.

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Senegal’s players, apart from Sadio Mane, left the pitch after the award of a penalty for Morocco by referee Jean Jacques Ndala shortly after he had disallowed a goal by Ismaila Sarr at the other end.

Ndala gave the penalty in the 98th minute after being advised by the video assistant referee (VAR) to consult the pitchside monitor and review defender El Hadji Malick Diouf’s challenge on Diaz.

Fifa president Gianni Infantino said it was “unacceptable to leave the field of play in this manner” and that the scenes “must be condemned and never repeated”.

During the tournament there was much debate about refereeing decisions and VAR, with accusations from some journalists that Morocco were treated favourably by some officials.

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Senegal complained before the final about how they had been treated and expressed “serious concerns” over security when they arrived in Rabat for the game.

‘Game should not be won in the boardroom’

In its ruling to award Morocco the title, Caf also “partially upheld” an appeal against an incident involving ball boys in the final, and reduced the Moroccan FA’s fine for the incident.

In torrential rain, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy regularly dried his gloves, but the ball boys repeatedly tried to discard his towel.

At one point Senegal reserve goalkeeper Yehvann Diouf was tackled to the ground by three ball boys and dragged around on the floor when he tried to intervene.

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A fine for fans shining lasers at players on the pitch was also reduced by Caf.

Caf’s former head of disciplinary, Raymond Hack, questioned the decisions made by African football’s governing body and suggested there is a perception of “political interference” as “the president of the Moroccan Football Association [Fouzi Lekjaa] is the first vice-president of Caf”.

“The circus continues,” Hack told BBC World Service.

“A lot will depend on the referee’s written report, but the fact that the referee allowed the game to continue and they went into extra time gives the impression that he was satisfied that the game will continue.

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“He is the only person who can call an end to the game. Not the authorities, not the governing bodies, only the referee.

“Otherwise you’re going to have situation worldwide where every time someone disagrees with a decision, they’re going to go on appeal or take it to court or something ridiculous like that.

“The game should be won on the field of play not in a boardroom.”

Hack, a lawyer and a member of Fifa’s disciplinary committee, said the Morocco players should have informed the referee they were playing under protest if they intended to challenge the result.

He also said it could take six months for Cas to rule on Senegal’s appeal.

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Moroccan journalist Jalal Bounar told Newsday that Caf’s decision had been welcomed “with great excitement and joy across the country”.

“Morocco appealed the decision to the confederation of African football because they believed that Senegal had broken the rules during the match, and that’s why Moroccans went out to celebrate,” he said.

“If they give it to Senegal, it won’t be the end of the world. We will accept because we are satisfied that we reached the final.”

However, north African journalist Maher Mezahi said such a sentiment is not matched across the continent.

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“It does seem like the rest of Africa feels outraged by this because it seems like, once again, the Confederation of African Football has almost disgraced the sport,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live.

Mezahi cited Caf’s decision to ban Togo from two Africa Cup of Nations for quitting the 2010 competition following a gun attack on their team bus in Angola two days before the tournament.

Referring back to Caf’s decision on the 2025 final, he said: “They have, unfortunately, come up with a habit of releasing decisions like this – whether it’s the disciplinary committee or the appeals board – that eventually do get shot down at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but it makes the entire thing look very amateurish.”

Previous walk-offs in football

While the sanction issued for the Senegal players leaving the pitch was unprecedented in global football, it was not the first time players had walked off the field in protest.

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Czechoslovakia v Belgium (1920)

Czechoslovakia’s players abandoned their shot at gold at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics when they left the field 40 minutes into the final against Belgium in protest against English referee John Lewis, who had awarded the hosts a penalty and sent off Czechoslovakia left-back Karel Steiner.

Belgium were awarded the gold medal with Czechoslovakia disqualified from the competition entirely.

Lille v Manchester Utd (2007)

Ryan Giggs’ late free-kick for Manchester United, scored while Lille were still arranging their wall, led the Lille players to walk off in a Champions League last-16 tie.

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Having gathered by the touchline, they eventually returned to complete the match.

Uefa fined Lille £42,000, which included a sanction for poor security and organisation at the stadium.

AC Milan v Pro Patria (2013)

AC Milan midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng led his team-mates off the pitch after being racially abused by sections of the crowd during a friendly against Pro Patria.

Fifa applauded Boateng’s principles and made him the first member of its anti-discrimination taskforce, but said it did not condone his decision to walk off.

Paris St-Germain v Istanbul Basaksehir (2020)

Players from both sides left the field during a Champions League match after fourth official Sebastian Coltescu was alleged to have used a racist term towards Istanbul Basaksehir assistant coach Pierre Webo.

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When Basaksehir refused to return, the match was abandoned and replayed the following day. Coltescu was suspended until the end of the season and ordered to attend an educational programme.

Fenerbahce v Galatasaray (2024)

Fenerbahce started an under-19 side and then walked off after one minute in the Turkish Super Cup against rivals Galatasaray after their request for the game to be postponed – because they had a Europa League quarter-final against Olympiacos four days later – was rejected.

Fenerbahce were fined 115,000 euros (£98,000) and Galatasaray awarded a 3-0 win.

Colombe Sportive du Sud v Panthere du Nde (2026)

In February champions Colombe Sportive du Sud walked off during the Cameroonian Super Cup against Panthere du Nde after the award of a controversial penalty and a red card for captain Randy Ntume in the 69th minute.

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The match was abandoned and the final outcome is still to be determined by the Cameroonian football authorities.

Former Nigel Reo-Coker has strongly criticised the Confederation of African Football for awarding the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title to Morocco.

CAF announced that Senegal had forfeited the final, with the match recorded as a 3–0 win for Morocco. The decision came after a dramatic and tense final between the two teams.

Before the ruling, Senegal had appeared to win the match after scoring in extra time. However, there were several controversial moments during the game, including a disallowed goal and a late penalty incident that caused protests from Senegal players.

Reacting to CAF’s decision, Reo-Coker, who played for West Ham United and Aston Villa, described the situation as embarrassing for African football.

“CAF is an embarrassment. I’m of African heritage, and I know about the Cup of Nations. I watched it as a kid growing up, and I know players who have played in it, World Class players,” he said.

He added that such incidents could damage the reputation of the tournament.

“There’s always a stigma about Africa, and its football. We’ve had conversations about AFCON not being taken seriously for many years.

“It’s another reason why people will look down on this tournament and have a stigma attached to it. There’s not one Morocco player, past or present, who would want to win in this manner.

“None of them will look in the mirror and be happy about being handed that.

“CAF have embarrassed themselves again in front of the world, and allows other footballing federations to laugh at Africa as a continent because of how this whole situation has been handled,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Senegal Football Federation are preparing to challenge the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport as they seek to overturn the ruling.

The Africa Cup of Nations has taken another mind-boggling turn. It’s “the joke of the century”, according to the Senegalese daily Le Soleil. Le Dakarois reports that the Confederation of African Football’s appeal board decided that Senegal were “declared to have forfeited the final” by walking off, and therefore automatically lose 3-0. The Guinean website Le Djely calls it a disproportionate decision. The mood in Morocco is quite different. Moroccan news site 360 says that CAF has “saved African football from the grip of unsportsmanlike conduct”. 

Meanwhile, an exclusive report in the Guardian reveals that the UK‘s national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, attended the US-Iran talks in Geneva in late February, after which he judged that Tehran’s offer had been significant enough to prevent a war in the Middle East. This in part explains the UK government’s reluctance to back the US attack on Iran. 

A long read in The New York Times looks into the American weapons being smuggled into Mexico and used by violent drug cartels. Firearms are sold in American gun shops and on websites and phone apps and are then funnelled to Mexican cartel members. The paper says as many as 1 million weapons could be being smuggled into Mexico every year.  

Finally, in the UK, one of art’s worst kept secrets has just been solved. Reuters has uncovered Banksy‘s identity. The Times, though, says that the street artist’s identity has been known since the early 2000s: “he’s a shortsighted bloke from Bristol called Robin”. The Wall Street Journal explains that although anonymity helped Banksy move undetected, it did make art collectors uneasy and his art is now going to sell for a lot more. For Sky News, the revelation of Banksy’s identity will only add to his legacy as an artist of the people.  

You can catch our press review every morning on France 24 at 7:20am and 9:20am (Paris time), from Monday to Friday. 

The Miami (OH) RedHawks battle the SMU Mustangs in a First Four matchup on Wednesday night. The winner will be the 11th seed and will face the sixth-seeded Tennessee Volunteers on Friday. The RedHawks (31-1) suffered their one and only defeat this season in an 87-83 loss to UMass in the first round of the MAC Tournament. SMU was able to get into the tournament thanks largely to a grueling nonconference schedule. The RedHawks have won four of five games, while the Mustangs have lost four of five games. 

Tipoff from UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio, is set for 9:15 p.m. ET. Miami (OH) holds a 2-0 all-time series lead over SMU. The RedHawks should have a clear home-crowd advantage with the University of Dayton Arena being only one hour from Miami’s campus in Oxford, Ohio. SMU is a 6.5-point favorite in the latest Miami (OH) vs SMU odds, while the over/under for total points scored is 163.5. Before making any SMU vs. Miami (OH) picks, check out the men’s college basketball predictions and betting advice from the SportsLine Projection Model.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every college basketball game 10,000 times. It entered the tournament on a sizzling 11-1 run on its top-rated over/under college basketball picks dating back to last season, and is on a 28-22 run on top-rated CBB side picks. Anyone following its college basketball betting advice at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen strong returns.

Now, the model has simulated Miami (OH) vs SMU 10,000 times and just revealed its coveted men’s college basketball picks and betting predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model’s picks. Here are several men’s college basketball odds and men’s college basketball betting lines for Miami (OH) vs SMU:

Top Miami (OH) vs SMU predictions

After 10,000 simulations of Miami (OH) vs SMU, SportsLine’s model is going Over on the total (163.5 points). The total has gone over in nine of SMU’s last 13 games. Both teams have a 62% Over rate this season, so the trends clearly point in this direction. 

The model projects the RedHawks to have four players score 10.3 points or more, including Peter Suder, who is projected to score 14.8 points. The Mustangs are projected to have five players score 11.9 points or more, led by Boopie Miller, who is projected to score 22.3 points. The model is projecting 167 combined points as the Over clears in 61% of simulations. 

How to make Miami (OH) vs SMU picks

The model also says one side of the spread hits well over 60% of the time. You can only see that pick at SportsLine.

So who wins Miami (OH) vs SMU, and which side of the spread hits well over 60% of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread to back, all from the advanced model that has simulated this game 10,000 times, and find out.