Dallas Turner (15) looks on from the sideline during pregame moments, taking in the atmosphere as Minnesota prepared for kickoff, Dec. 8, 2024, at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The linebacker remained focused ahead of the matchup, observing warmups and final adjustments before facing Atlanta in a late-season contest. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images.
Because of free agency and the draft, most NFL teams have at least a handful of new starters each season, and the 2026 Minnesota Vikings are no different. Consider this the batch for the upcoming season, which is suddenly four months away.
Minnesota’s roster reset could look dramatic by Week 1, especially after a busy offseason and draft.
Oddsmakers expect Minnesota to win about eight or nine games in 2026, a familiar forecast that seems to follow the franchise every offseason and preseason. The list below features prospective new starters, with No. 1 as the most impactful.
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Eight Lineup Changes Could Reshape Minnesota’s Week 1 Look
Which starter are you most excited about?
Michigan tight end Max Bredeson (44), defensive end Joey Klunder (93), and offensive lineman Trente Jones (53) celebrate on the field after a dominant win, Sept. 2, 2023, at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan, following a 30-3 victory that showcased the Wolverines’ depth and physical style in the season opener. Mandatory Credit: Junfu Han-USA TODAY NETWORK.
8. Max Bredeson (FB)
C.J. Ham is gone and isn’t coming back. Rather than delete the fullback position, as many NFL teams have over the last five years, the Vikings have renewed their FB vitality with Bredeson, a former teammate of J.J. McCarthy.
7. Tai Felton or Veteran WR3 (WR)
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Jalen Nailor signed a fat contract with the Las Vegas Raiders two months ago, and he may be on deck for WR1 duty with Klint Kubiak’s team. That leaves Felton as the next man up, though Minnesota is flirting with Jauan Jennings, who would be a magnificent WR3.
6. Jay Ward (S)
Ward saw more playing time down the stretch of 2025, even taking Theo Jackson’s spot in Brian Flores’s defense. With Harrison Smith perhaps retired, Ward would be the natural choice to start next to Josh Metellus.
5. Blake Brandel (C)
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Ryan Kelly retired after three concussions in 2025, a wise move. Then, Minnesota signed no replacement centers in free agency and didn’t pick any in the first six rounds of the 2026 NFL Draft, waiting on Round 7 to choose Cincinnati’s Gavin Gerhardt. It’s probably Brande at center for Week 1.
Minnesota Vikings guard Blake Brandel (64) lines up during postseason action, Jan. 13, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, as the Vikings face the Los Angeles Rams in an NFC Wild Card game with Brandel anchoring the offensive line in a high-stakes playoff matchup. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images.
Our Janik Eckardt on Brandel: “A clear need entering the offseason was the center position, especially since veteran Ryan Kelly announced his retirement following a concussion-plagued campaign. However, instead of spending money in free agency or a draft pick last week. Minnesota’s decision-makers appear happy with the current top option, versatile backup Blake Brandel.”
“The asterisk was that a new center could still arrive in the draft, but only seventh-rounder Gavin Gerhardt joined, who’s certainly unlikely to take over. It’s Brandel’s position now.”
4. Domonique Orange (NT)
The Vikings haven’t employed a prototypical starting nose tackle since Linval Joseph — seven years ago — and Orange is the solution to that drought. So long as he can defeat Levi Drake Rodriguez at training camp in August, he’s the shiny new nose tackle.
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3. Caleb Banks (NT)
Minnesota booted Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave from the roster, and instead of signing Christian Wilkins, for example, it took a swing with a boom-or-bust 1st-Round pick in Banks.
If Banks’s foot is good to go, he has an All-Pro upside. For 2026’s purposes, it’s all a matter of whether the broken bone in his foot from the Combine is completely healed. If so, he’ll start in September.
2. Dallas Turner (OLB)
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Interim general manager Rob Brzezinski traded Jonathan Greenard to the Philadelphia Eagles eight days ago, grabbing two 3rd-Rounders for his troubles. Turner, a 2024 1st-Rounder, is now vividly in line to hold a starter’s job for the long term.
It’s time to see if the 2024 trade — the expensive one — was worth it.
MSN’s Adam Patrick on Turner: “The 23-year-old pass rusher appeared in all 17 games for the Vikings last year, including 10 in which he was a starter. In those 17 contests, Turner accumulated 66 tackles (11 for a loss), 24 pressures, eight sacks, four forced fumbles, and three pass deflections.”
“When filling in for Van Ginkel last season, he did a solid job. But when Greenard was sidelined was really when Turner got to play a role in Minnesota’s defense that better suited his strengths. The Vikings clearly noticed what the young pass rusher was able to do when filling in for Greenard in 2025, which made it that much easier for the team to complete the trade with the Eagles on Friday.”
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1. Kyler Murray (QB)
He’s in town, folks. Murray, a two-time Pro Bowler, picked the Vikings for his “prove it” season after the Arizona Cardinals kicked him to the curb in favor of Jacoby Brissett.
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) surveys the field during game action, Oct. 28, 2021, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, as the Cardinals host the Green Bay Packers with Murray leading the offense in a primetime matchup against a top NFC opponent. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports.
Barring a stunning training camp upset by the aforementioned McCarthy, Murray is the Vikings’ new QB1, and if he plays his cards right — Minnesota reaches the postseason and wins a playoff game or multiple — he’ll probably be the team’s signal-caller well into his 30s.
Murray fell into the Vikings’ lap like a gift from the Almighty.
Fernando Mendoza responded to a question Saturday about whether he will visit President Donald Trump at the White House to celebrate the Indiana Hoosiers’ historic college football championship.
Mendoza said that he “believed” the scheduled date of the visit, May 11, was the first day of the Las Vegas Raiders’ organized team activities (OTAs). But he was incorrect, as the Raiders’ OTAs don’t start until May 18.
Quarterback Fernando Mendoza, selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft by the Las Vegas Raiders, attends a news conference at the Raiders Headquarters in Henderson, Nev., on April 24, 2026.(Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
“If it is on the first day of OTAs, like I said, I’m on the bottom of the totem pole here, I got to prove myself, I can’t miss practice,” Mendoza told reporters at a Raiders press conference on Saturday. “As a rookie, I don’t think that’s a good look. I want to try to best serve my teammates, and I don’t think that would be accomplishing that goal.”
The Raiders don’t have anything in their offseason program scheduled for May 11.
Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza looks on during warmups before the College Football Playoff National Championship game against the Miami Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Jan. 19, 2026.(Sam Navarro/Imagn Images)
Mendoza led Indiana to the college football championship and the first 16-0 season in the modern history of the sport. The team announced it was visiting the White House to celebrate the accomplishment on Friday.
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Mendoza became one of the biggest names in the sport during his heroics for Indiana last season, en route to the Heisman Trophy. He was the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft by the Las Vegas Raiders.
President Donald Trump hosts NCAA collegiate national champions at the White House in this April 2026 photo.(Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The other college football champions who went on to be the No. 1 overall picks, Trevor Lawrence and Joe Burrow, each visited Trump at the White House in the president’s first term. Lawrence visited in 2019 and Burrow went in 2020.
Now, all eyes turn to Mendoza, who etched his name in college football history and the hearts of many football fans, to see if he will make the trip once realizing that OTAs are not on the same day as the visit.
Jackson Thompson is a sports reporter for Fox News Digital covering critical political and cultural issues in sports, with an investigative lens. Jackson’s reporting has been cited in federal government actions related to the enforcement of Title IX, and in legacy media outlets including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Associated Press and ESPN.com.
Paul Heyman was spotted by eagle-eyed WWE fans on SmackDown this week, in the background of a backstage segment between Fraxiom and R-Truth.
Heyman was seen talking with Adam Pearce, but this was the only time The Oracle made an appearance this week. It seems that this was a significant moment on the show, since this later led to Gunther’s return to the brand.
Thanks for the submission!
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Gunther was on RAW when he was battling Seth Rollins ahead of WrestleMania, but it seems that Heyman had something to do with his move over to SmackDown and his shot at Cody Rhodes.
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Real reason behind Reigns vs. Fatu revealed – Check here!
There is a belief that WWE was showing fans that this was the favor that Gunther asked for from Heyman, which could also confirm that Brock Lesnar has retired.
Gunther vs Brock Lesnar was believed to be Paul Heyman’s favor
There was major speculation that Gunther would push for Brock Lesnar to make his return so that he could be added to his retirement list, but it seems that this isn’t the case.
Gunther could have instead asked for Paul Heyman to talk to Pearce and help him get a shot for the WWE Championship, since Roman Reigns is busy with Jacob Fatu on RAW. Cody Rhodes appears to be a better target for The Ring General, and now he has his eyes on the prize ahead of Backlash.
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Gunther protected Heyman from Seth Rollins when Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed were sidelined, which left him indebted to the Austrian star, and now it appears that he has decided to cash in.
There is no other reason why Pearce and Paul Heyman would need to speak, since The Vision is on RAW. WWE also made a point of showing the two men talking to make it clear it’s connected. This could be confirmed if the two men have a backstage segment next week, since Gunther should have his shot at the World Championship confirmed for Backlash momentarily.
It will be interesting to see if Gunther can dethrone Rhodes or if Backlash will see the return of Randy Orton, who could still have a bone to pick with Rhodes after WrestleMania 42.
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New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. became a talking point on the internet because fans thought he was wearing an AirPod in the field.
Chisholm, 28, clarified that it was actually a piece of cotton in his ear canal because of an earache. In the Yankees’ win over the Texas Rangers on Monday, Chisholm took a grounder to the head. When he tried to field a ground ball, it kicked off his glove and clocked him in the head.
“It gave me an earache for like three or four days,” Chisholm told The Athletic.
New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. reacts after initially being called out before a replay overturned the call, resulting in an infield single during the third inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York, on May 1, 2026.(Vincent Carchietta/Imagn Images)
Chisholm said he could barely hear out of his right ear and wore actual AirPods in the clubhouse to block out the noise. He used the noise-cancellation mode, trying to keep things as quiet as possible.
“Right now,” he said, “I’m feeling better. … My right ear was ringing for like three days.”
Chisholm has not missed any time and said he didn’t think it affected him. As the conversation continued to rage on about the cotton in his ear, he took to his Instagram Story to show it wasn’t an AirPod.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the New York Yankees looks on during a game against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on April 28, 2026.(Kelcee Skoug/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
“All y’all just ain’t the smartest,” Chisholm captioned his picture with a shrug and laughing emoji.
He said the conversation around the cotton in his ear was “not smart.”
“I think that’s not smart at all,” Chisholm said. “I think no umpire would let it go through. No coach would let that happen. You know what I mean? I just feel like … and you would have seen a phone in my back pocket or something. I mean, AirPods don’t reach that far. So for me, it’s just like, I just didn’t think it was a smart thing. I feel like everything I do is on the media. I don’t mind it.
New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. and first baseman Ben Rice fist-bump as they run off the field after the eighth inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on April 27, 2026.(Raymond Carlin III/Imagn Images)
“If you guys love me that much, s—. I don’t mind it. I have no problem with it.”
Chisholm is off to a slow start this season but has started to pick it up lately. He has a .205 batting average with three home runs, 10 RBI and nine stolen bases.
Fusion Fix and GTA 4 have had a long relationship, but version 5.0 is the most substantial update the mod has seen in a while. Shared by @Ash_735 on X, this release takes the already impressive fix collection and pushes it further with native ambient occlusion, a comprehensive overhaul of high frame rate script issues, graphical restorations from the Xbox 360 version, and a long list of bug fixes that have been sitting in the game for years.
For anyone who tried the PC version of GTA 4 in the past and ran into performance or visual issues, this update directly addresses most of what made that experience frustrating.
GTA 4 Fusion Fix v5.0 is the reason to replay the game in 2026
The post was shared by @Ash_735 on X, and one of the headline additions on the visual side is native Ambient Occlusion, accessible directly from the Graphics menu. AO makes objects and environments look physically grounded rather than flat, adding depth to scenes in a way that the base PC version never had.
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Alongside that, several visual behaviours from the Xbox 360 version have been restored and brought to PC. The key graphical changes include:
Vehicle tires and damage now cast accurate shadows.
Console Gamma now applies to the full screen.
Depth of Field and Sun Shafts now render correctly.
MSAA now applies to vehicle, water, interior, and mirror reflections
Rain droplet refraction restored.
We know that the PC version of GTA 4 has been notorious for breaking at higher frame rates. Fusion Fix v5.0 takes a serious run at fixing that. These physics were highly FPS-dependent, and now they’re fixed. You’ll eventually notice differences in riding and handling different vehicles.
The script overhaul in v5.0 is broad. A few of the more noticeable fixes include a new ‘Disable Wardrobe Transition’ option that removes the slow screen fades when changing clothes, and an ‘Instant Stop Taxi’ option that stops taxis immediately after skipping journeys rather than letting the driver meander to a random stop.
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There are also fixes for the Lost clubhouse memorial wall crash, delayed character animations in several missions, and a crash linked to entering the clubhouse from the roof. The DLC episodes also receive some long-overdue attention, including restored friend respect gain for Armando and Henrique in TBoGT after hangouts with Luis, and restored voice lines for Jim, Terry, and Clay during the hi-lo cards minigame in TLAD.
Taken together, Fusion Fix v5.0 is not just a patch for a few annoyances. It is a genuine argument for going back to GTA 4 in 2026 and experiencing the PC version in a state it probably should have been in from launch. With GTA 6 on the horizon and the appetite for revisiting the series at a natural high, the timing could not be better.
Jincy Roese scored 4:30 into overtime as the Minnesota Frost defeated the Montreal Victoire 5-4 in Game 1 of their Professional Women’s Hockey League semifinal series on Saturday.
The win at Place Bell gives Minnesota a 1-0 series lead in the best-of-five series, taking home-ice advantage away from the regular-season champion Victoire.
Katy Knoll, Kendall Coyne Schofield, Grace Zumwinkle, and Sidney Morin also scored for the defending Walter Cup champion Frost. Taylor Heise, Kelly Pannek and Klara Hymlarova had two assists each, while Maddie Rooney made 21 saves as she extended a personal six-game playoff winning streak.
Laura Stacey, with a hat trick, and Shiann Darkangelo scored for Montreal. Ann-Renee Desbiens made 24 saves. Marie-Philip Poulin and Abby Roque each had two assists.
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The game really turned up a notch in the second period as seven of the nine goals in the game were scored after the opening 20 minutes.
With 47.1 seconds left in the second, with Minnesota holding a 3-2 lead, Frost forward Britta Curl-Salemme was called for a hit to the head of Kaitlin Willoughby and was assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct.
On the ensuing power play 2:56 into the third period, Stacey took a pass after a line change and fired a shot from the right circle past Rooney.
Minnesota answered right back, with Morin scoring a short-handed goal on the same Curl-Salemme penalty with a shot from the top of the circles that went five-hole on Desbiens. It was the second time Minnesota scored while a Montreal goal was being announced.
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It was then Montreal’s turn to respond. After Morin took a penalty on the ensuing shift, Stacey completed the hat trick when she charged the net to put home a rebound in the crease into the open net. It was her second power-play goal of the game.
The three goals came in a span of 1:50, with Minnesota scoring 50 seconds after Stacey’s second goal and Stacey scoring one minute after Morin’s 4-3 goal.
Minnesota opened the scoring with 11:24 left in the first period when Knoll drove the net and scored on a backhand feed from Klara Hymlarova off the side wall.
The Frost doubled their lead late in the first period on the power play. Heise skated the puck down low and put it towards the crease where Coyne Schofield got a stick on it and it trickled past Desbiens.
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Montreal cut the deficit to 2-1 when Darkangelo potted a rebound off of a Kati Tabin shot just 2:45 into the second period.
The goal came a couple of minutes after a great Desbiens save on Heise. Heise broke in alone behind the Victoire defence, and deked out the Montreal goaltender but Desbiens managed to get a pad on the shot appearing to head toward the empty net.
Stacey tied the game when she scored on a wraparound with 2:11 remaining, sneaking the puck past Rooney.
Just 46 seconds after Montreal made the game 2-2, Zumwinkle picked up a loose bouncing puck and fired a shot over Desbiens to give Minnesota a 3-2 lead with 1:25 left in the second period.
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Game 2 will be played on Tuesday night at Place Bell.
The 2026 Kentucky Derby will take place on Saturday, May 2 at 6:57 p.m. ET from Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., marking the beginning of Triple Crown season in horse racing. The 152nd Run for the Roses has Renegade listed as the favorite at 4-1 in the latest Kentucky Derby 2026 odds, and the horse is deserving of top billing after winning the Arkansas Derby. However, Renegade drawing the No. 1 inside post could push those betting on the Kentucky Derby to lean towards Further Ado (6-1), Commandment (6-1) or other contenders. Bet the Kentucky Derby with the exclusive TwinSpires offer code CBSSPORTS to receive up to $400 in bonus bets here, double what’s available to the general public:
Hochman has shown a profit in 22 of the past 39 Triple Crown races. One example of his best picks was Big Brown in the 2008 Kentucky Derby at odds of 2-1. More recently, he swept the 2022 Triple Crown, capped off by Mo Donegal’s easy win in the Belmont Stakes. In 2023, he cashed the Preakness with National Treasure. In 2024, he successfully tabbed Straight No Chaser to win, place and show in the Grade 2 Santa Anita Sprint Championship at odds of 3-2.
Hochman delivered exceptional handicapping results during the summer 2025 racing season at two of the country’s premier tracks, Saratoga and Del Mar. His combined 65.7% win rate across the two tracks represents elite-level performance that significantly exceeds industry benchmarks for professional handicappers.
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Now, Hochman has handicapped the 2026 Kentucky Derby field and revealed his picks. Go here to see them.
Top 2026 Kentucky Derby predictions
One of Hochman’s surprising 2026 Kentucky Derby picks: Cox brings two of the top favorites to this year’s race in Commandment and Further Ado, and both were listed at 6-1 odds, trailing only the favorite, Renegade, who is 4-1. Despite being viewed as a top contender, Commandment is not a horse that Hochman is high on this weekend.
The last time we saw Commandment was March 28 when he won the Florida Derby, edging out another top Derby Contender — The Puma, who ended up scratching from the Kentucky Derby Saturday morning. Despite Commandment emerging victorious in that race, Hochman has some questions, namely in terms of his overall speed.
Lando Norris gave McLaren their first win of the season after a strong performance in the Miami Grand Prix sprint race.
The British driver started from pole position and stayed in control throughout the race. He kept the lead at the first corner and comfortably finished ahead of team-mate Oscar Piastri to complete a McLaren one-two finish.
Charles Leclerc finished third for Ferrari after putting pressure on Piastri in the closing laps, but the Australian managed to hold him off.
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After the race, Norris praised the team for improving the car.
“We did a good job today and the upgrades really helped us this weekend,” Norris said.
The win was an important result for McLaren after a difficult start to the season.
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Piastri stayed close to Norris in the early part of the race before dropping back as the race continued. Leclerc later closed the gap, but Piastri regained control in the final laps.
Young Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli crossed the line in fourth after battling team-mate George Russell. However, Antonelli received a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits too many times.
The penalty pushed him down behind Russell and Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing.
Antonelli admitted he made mistakes during the race.
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“I didn’t drive very well and made too many errors,” the 19-year-old said.
Russell also admitted Mercedes still have work to do, saying rival teams have made strong improvements.
Further down the field, Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton were involved in a tense fight during the race. The pair touched wheels on the opening lap before Hamilton briefly regained the place.
Verstappen later overtook Hamilton again after several close battles between the two former title rivals.
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Pierre Gasly claimed the final point in eighth place for Alpine F1 Team.
Meanwhile, Gabriel Bortoleto was disqualified after officials found his car exceeded the permitted engine intake air pressure limit.
Adam Scott says it was “such a silly thing to do.”
He said he’d never done it before in his career.
He was also wondering what-if.
Scott had finished his Cadillac Championship third round on Saturday, but a moment on Thursday lingered. Then, from the left rough on Doral’s 582-yard, par-5 8th hole, Scott hit his second shot — then backtracked after he learned that he hit the wrong ball, which is a no-no. From there, Scott took a two-stroke penalty, played his original ball and finished the hole with a double-bogey seven.
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Interestingly, the damage could have been significantly worse. Wrong balls are addressed in rule 6.3c in the Rules of Golf, which reads this way:
“In stroke play, the player must correct the mistake by continuing play with the original ball by playing it as it lies or taking relief under the Rules: The stroke made with the wrong ball and any more strokes before the mistake is corrected (including strokes made and any penalty strokes solely from playing that ball) do not count. If the player does not correct the mistake before making a stroke to begin another hole or, for the final hole of the round, before returning his or her scorecard, the player is disqualified.”
After the 8th on Thursday, Scott went on to shoot a four-over 76, then fired a 71 during Friday’s second round. On Saturday, he shot a bogey-free 66, and afterward, a reporter asked Scott how he was able to rebound from the wrong-ball sequence two days earlier.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s such a silly thing to do,” he said. “I think it’s the first time I’ve ever done it in my career. That’s probably one of those things everyone ends up doing once. But an odd set of circumstances leading up to me not checking it, which I think I’ve done thousands of times.
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“To take two lumps there was, is tough, especially as you sit here now in the weekend and thinking if you’re two better you would be doing so well in the tournament.”
He then looked at things optimistically.
“But golf can be cruel at times, and I’ve experienced plenty of other tough things on the course, and you just have to get on with it and do the best you can,” Scott said.
“Luckily, it was like on the 8th hole and I had the rest of the day to try and salvage something out of it.”
The head of the International Testing Agency (ITA), the body that manages anti-doping programme in Olympic Games and other major global events, has expressed concern at the high rate of doping cases in India and athletes getting “advance notice prior to testing” and avoiding furnishing samples if there is doping control.
ITA Director General Benjamin Cohen said in a report that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has passed on the message that if India wants to host the 2036 Games, the country needs to undergo “a lot of governance and structural reforms”.
“We’re concerned in general with the state of doping in India and we’re hearing a lot of things happening on the ground,” Cohen was quoted as saying by ‘The Athletic’, which covers sports for ‘The New York Times’.
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“We also hear stories of athletes running away when there is a doping control, and we hear of advance notice (given to athletes prior to testing).”
Besides overseeing anti-doping tests on behalf of the IOC, the Lausanne-based ITA also manages the anti-doping programme of around 50 international sports federations.
Cohen said he met with the officials of the New Delhi-based National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) and Indian Olympic Association (IOA) at the recent Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina in Italy, and he was warmed by their apparent willingness to “team up with the ITA”.
But, he also admitted that getting India to join forces with ITA won’t be an easy task as that could be perceived (by India) as an admission of failure of its (anti-doping) system.
“I’m going to be frank: there is still some resistance to engage with the ITA, as there can be a perception in India that this is almost an admission of failure of the system, or that they’re not going to be seen as competent enough to deal with their own problems, so they have to join forces with an independent international organisation.
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“There’s a bit of scepticism as to how it’s going to be perceived in the Indian community. But I think they (India) are on the right track in that it is now known that the IOA and the Ministry of Sports want to do something: they want to invest. They have the resources, so I think it’s just a matter of time,” he said.
The ITA works with an increasing number of National Anti-Doping Organisations (NADOs) around the world to exchange intelligence and information, coordinate testing plans, and collaborate on specific cases or areas such as sample collection and education.
India has been topping the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) list of dope offenders for three consecutive years with the highest positivity rate among major nations.
The country is scheduled to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games in Ahmedabad and is aspiring to become an Olympic host in 2036 in the Gujarat capital.
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Doha, the capital of Qatar, is also in the running to host the 2036 Olympics, and the host city for that edition is expected to be known before 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
Last month, WADA President Witold Banka said at the sidelines of a conference on Global Anti-Doping Intelligence and Investigations Network (GAIIN) held in New Delhi that “nobody is blind” to India’s serious doping problem but acknowledged that there have been “sincere efforts” to address it.
He had also said India is the biggest producer of Performance Enhancing Drug (PEDs) and steroids in the world.
ITA was created in 2018 as a non-profit foundation under the supervision of the WADA and the IOC to promote independence, expertise and transparency in the global fight against doping.
Liverpool will reportedly be without Alexander Isak for the Premier League clash against Manchester United this Sunday
Liverpool will reportedly be without Alexander Isak for the Premier League clash against Manchester United this weekend. The Anfield side will make the journey to Old Trafford to take on the Reds as the fierce rivals go head-to-head in the race to secure Champions League qualification.
Isak arrived at Liverpool last summer in a transfer reportedly valued at £125million, though has been forced to spend the majority of his first campaign on Merseyside on the sidelines through injury.
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The Sweden international only made his return to action in April following a four-month absence with a fractured fibula and an ankle problem, which required surgery before he could make a complete recovery.
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The Sun have reported that Isak is unlikely to be available for Liverpool’s clash against United owing to a fresh fitness concern.
The report suggests that Isak has been ruled out for the trip to Old Trafford with a groin problem, with the setback believed to have occurred during training this week.
Should Isak be unavailable for Liverpool, it leaves Reds head coach Arne Slot without a senior striker in the squad that will face United.
Liverpool’s summer signing Hugo Ekitike is already sidelined after sustaining an Achilles injury last month, while Mohamed Salah will also be absent, currently recovering from a muscle problem he picked up last week against Crystal Palace.
Liverpool are also facing a nervous wait to determine whether Alisson Becker will be fit to face United, with second-choice goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili remaining on the sidelines.
“Alisson hasn’t trained with us yet, I will find out today if he can today or start of next week,” Slot said. “Very close but we don’t take risks.
“We don’t want to do that with any player. There’s a difference between a keeper and a player, they need to run more.
“So if the issue with an outfield player is when they are out it is the fitness levels, so there is a different issue with goalkeepers.”
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Milos Kerkez has also emerged as an injury concern for Liverpool, though Slot has expressed his hope of having the full-back back in training ahead of the visit to Old Trafford.
“Milos has had some niggles,” said Slot. “He left the training pitch the day before yesterday but I expect him to train either today or tomorrow.”
Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni and Wataru Endo are all ruled out for Liverpool due to long-term injuries.
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