Kai Rooney models his game on a former Premier League star and one‑time Manchester United rival

Kai Rooney has modelled elements of his game on former Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli as he continues his development at Manchester United, following in the footsteps of his father Wayne. The teenager has risen quickly since joining the club in 2020.

This summer marked a major milestone, with the 16‑year‑old signing a scholarship deal and declaring: “Work starts now.” His progress stalled in March when an injury brought his season to an early end, ruling him out of a potential appearance in United’s FA Youth Cup final defeat to Manchester City.

The young forward has shifted from playing centrally, like his father once did, to operating out wide, where he can cut inside onto his left foot as he moves through United’s youth ranks.

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His reference point in that role is Martinelli, the former Arsenal winger who left the Emirates for Al Hilal in a £60million move after making 278 appearances for the Gunners.

“If I’m playing right wing Martinelli but more like him as a striker. I’m not like a hold up striker, I’m more running behind,” Kai told TikToker Gabrielvpool during an interview.

Martinelli highlighted the impact Futsal had on his development during an interview with club media in November 2024.

He said: “Futsal was really important in my growth in football. You play in a smaller pitch or court and you have to think quicker.

“How you control the ball is different. You don’t have much space so it helps you a lot.”

Kai has been part of United’s academy since returning at the age of 11 and took another significant step last month by signing his first‑year scholarship contract.

The deal allows him to continue his education while progressing through the academy, having recently passed all his GCSEs.

His mum, Coleen, marked the achievement with a message on social media. Coleen wrote: “GCSE results day! ! Super proud @kairooney.10 ….Great results especially with a busy schedule, all passed and a place in 6th form!! We love you.”

The next major milestone will come when he turns 17 and becomes eligible to sign a professional contract.

Wayne has previously said he prefers to step back, letting Kai play freely without interference, and avoids putting any added pressure on the teenager.

“I think it’s very unfair for anyone to expect him to go and do all kinds,” the Reds icon said. “He’s just playing, he’s a 15-year-old boy playing his football, enjoying it.

“Of course he gets different attention to a lot of his team-mates but I think he handles that really well.”

On Monday, Russia’s highest court upheld a lawsuit against the anti-war opposition party Yabloko. Its candidates will now be barred from taking part in the parliamentary election from September 18 to 20.

The case against Yabloko was brought by the pro-Kremlin party Rodina, which accused it of infringing copyright with its election campaign materials. Rodina also made the claim that Yabloko had engaged in extremist activities and had received illegal financing from abroad.

The verdict was pronounced by presiding judge Vyacheslav Kirillov. This was the same judge who, in April, banned the Russian human rights organization Memorial and designated it an extremist organization. Kirillov also previously dismissed legal complaints against the Russian prison service filed by the prominent opposition politician Alexei Navalny. Navalny spent many years in Russian prisons prior to his death in jail in 2024.

At least 500 people gathered in front of the court to show their support for Yabloko, distributing apples and sang songs. The name Yabloko — “apple” in English — derives from the initials of the party’s three founders, Grigory Yavlinsky, Yury Boldyrev and Vladimir Lukin (YaBL). The apple is now well-known as a symbol of the party.

At the end of the nine-hour court session, security services threatened the people gathered outside the courthouse with arrest, also warning young men that they could be taken to an army enlistment office.

“You are mistaken if you believe that, with a stroke of a pen, you can write off millions of people who want peace, freedom and a normal future for their country,” Nikolai Rybakov, the leader of Yabloko, wrote on Telegram that evening.

He insisted that the party had not broken any Russian laws, and announced he would appeal the judgement.

Kremlin ‘got scared’

Yavlinsky, one of Yabloko’s founders, said those in power were afraid of Yabloko’s program, which calls for an election “for peace, freedom and a life without fear” — because, he said, “removing a party with a platform like this from the election, without any real grounds, is the political system exposing itself.”

The lawsuit came at the same time as an appeal by Russian opposition and cultural leaders living abroad for people to support Yabloko.

They include the politician Yulia Navalnaya, Alexei Navalny’s widow, as well as Lyubov Sobol, Ilya Yashin and Andrei Pivovarov. The writer Dmitry Bykov, human rights activist Oleg Orlov and other prominent people also voiced their support for Yabloko.

Navalnaya, who now leads the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) her husband set up in 2011, responded to the verdict. The Kremlin was originally going to let Yabloko stand in the election, she said, but those in power “got scared” and had the party blocked.

Navalnaya wrote on Telegram that the powers-that-be had observed a development they wanted to stop at any cost: People were starting to join forces. This, she wrote, was less about support for Yabloko than the possibility for millions of Russians to express how they really felt about President Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine.

Andrei Pivovarov, a political activist who lives in exile in Germany and is a coordinator of the Russian Antiwar Committee, explained that the opposition had not believed supporting Yabloko would bring about swift political change or an end to the war. The aim, he said, had been to make visible the extent of anti-war sentiment in Russia.

“There would have been a dozen parties on the ballot who are pro-war, and one that is pro-peace. The war wouldn’t end even if Yabloko were to get representatives into the State Duma. But we would have seen that a lot of Russians oppose the war,” said Pivovarov. This view, he added, would not simply disappear now Yabloko has been barred from standing.

What were Kremlin’s plans for Yabloko?

In an interview with DW, Political scientist Ivan Preobrazhensky speculated that the banning of Yabloko could be a consequence of a power struggle between different interest groups in the Kremlin. He suggested that the security bloc allied with the federal security service, the FSB, may have wanted Yabloko to act as a counterweight to the New People party. This is regarded as a project of Sergey Kiriyenko, the first deputy chief of staff of the presidential administration.

Another version of events is that Kiriyenko himself may have tried to create the impression of political rivalry, and underestimated the potential of anti-war feeling in the country.

Preobazhensky said the government underestimated the number of people in Russia who oppose the war and are ready to support a political force campaigning for an end to the war in Ukraine. Surveys, he said, indicate that there is substantial demand for such a political alternative. He also believes the Kremlin initially intended to let Yabloko run in the election but changed its mind when it saw how much support the party was getting.

Another political scientist, Mikhail Vinogradov, thinks there was a different calculation behind the move. If Yabloko had scored very few votes in the election, the Kremlin could have painted a picture of a population solidly behind the war. A poor result would also have served to disillusion those who oppose it.

Barring Yabloko makes independent election monitoring more difficult. The party is now no longer allowed to send representatives to monitor polling stations. Roman Udot, a Russian specialist in electoral observation, explained that Yabloko has also enabled access for independent observers in the past.

Does the Kremlin have situation under control?

The State Duma election is taking place at a time of growing uncertainty in Russian society, said Margarita Zavadskaya from the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. She pointed to data from the Russian Public Opinion Foundation (FOM), which regularly records the population’s prevailing view of the situation in the country: optimism or alarm?

At the end of July, 57% of those surveyed said that they were worried. This is the highest level since mobilization in the autumn of 2022. FOM surveys should be taken with a grain of salt, but Zavadskaya said an increase like this in high summer indicates that “something is not going according to plan.”

She gave the increase in drone attacks, deaths, fires in warehouses and rumors of a fresh mobilization as reasons for the prevailing sentiment, and added that the summer of 2026 has been the most unsettling for the people in Russia since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine almost five years ago. She also believes the number of people who support the war is going down rather than up.

Russia’s leadership, therefore, has good reason to be nervous.

“For the Kremlin, the ideal scenario would be a boring election with low turnout and no noteworthy events,” said Zavadskaya. “Right now, though, this seems unlikely, as the situation in the run-up to the election does not appear normal, nor does it give the impression that the government has the situation under control.”

This article was originally written in Russian.

Everybody who takes the field in Tuesday night’s MLB games will have a No. 21 patch on their jersey.

That’s because Sept. 15 is Roberto Clemente Day, a day of remembrance for Pittsburgh Pirates legend and Baseball Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente and his charitable contributions, a legacy that lives on through the Roberto Clemente Foundation.

As for the right fielder’s on-field success, Clemente, who wore No. 21, was a force to be reckoned with. Here’s his MLB career (1955-72) by the numbers:

1A: Clemente is first in Pirates history with 3,000 hits, 4,492 total bases and 2,154 singles.

1B: On that note, he’s one of 33 players to hit the 3,000-hit mark. 

2A: Clemente was part of the Pirates’ 1960 and 1971 World Series triumphs.

2B: Clemente led the National League in hits twice: in 1964 and 1967.

2C: His career 95 wins above replacement are second in Pirates history and 37th in MLB altogether.

3: Clemente is third in Pirates history with 1,416 runs scored, 1,305 RBIs, 440 doubles and 166 triples.

4: He led the NL in batting average in four seasons: 1961, 1964, 1965 and 1967.

8.2: Clemente led NL position players with 8.2 wins above replacement in 1968.

10: Clemente logged a double-digit number of triples in 10 seasons, including leading the NL with 12 triples in 1969.

12: The number of Gold Gloves he won.

15: The number of All-Star nods he received.

18: Each of Clemente’s 18 seasons in the sport were spent with the Pirates.

200: He logged 200-plus hits in four seasons: 1961, 1964, 1966 and 1967.

240: The number of home runs Clemente hit.

300: Clemente finished with a .300 or higher batting average in 13 of his 18 seasons in the sport.

317: Clemente was a career .317 regular-season hitter, tied with Joe Harris for 66th in MLB history.

318: He was a career .318 postseason hitter in 113 plate appearances.

1966: Clemente won the 1966 NL MVP Award.

1971: Clemente was the 1971 World Series MVP, totaling 12 hits, two home runs and four RBIs while posting a .414/.452/.759 slash line in the seven-game series against the Baltimore Orioles.

1973: MLB renamed the “Commissioner’s Award” the “Roberto Clemente Award” in 1973, which is an award “given annually to a player who demonstrates the values Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente displayed in his commitment to community and understanding the value of helping others.” Each of MLB’s 30 teams have a nominee for the award, with the league office naming one recipient of the honor during the World Series of that particular year.

2,305: Clemente is first in MLB history with 2,305 appearances in right field.

2,433: Clemente and Honus Wagner are tied for first in Pirates history with 2,433 games played.

Max Dowman marked his first appearance of the season with two goals, including a stunning solo effort, to fire Arsenal to a 4-2 victory at Ipswich Town in the Carabao Cup.

The 16-year-old struck in the sixth minute of the third-round tie at Portman Road after picking the ball up just inside the Ipswich half and running towards goal.

He danced past defender Cedric Kipre on the edge of the box, leaving the centre-back tumbling to the ground, before slamming a fierce strike inside the near post.

Dowman then added a stylish second goal just 98 seconds into the second half when he took down Martin Zubimendi’s deflected pass and slotted a finish into the far corner.

It made Dowman only the second 16-year-old to score twice for a Premier League team after Wayne Rooney hit a brace in a League Cup tie against Wrexham in 2002.

Dowman sat his GCSEs towards the end of last season while also playing a part in Arsenal’s Premier League title and run to the Champions League final.

He became the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history in March when he provided a key assist and scored Arsenal’s second goal in a 2-0 win over Everton that continued their push towards the title.

The teenager was rewarded for his patience with his first appearance of the season after Mikel Arteta’s side had started the new campaign with six wins from six in all competitions.

Arsenal made it 4-0 with 58 minutes played when Mikel Merino rifled home off the post after Dowman let Guimaraes’ pass roll into the path of Arsenal’s stand-in captain.

Ipswich boss Gary O’Neil turned to his bench and Jack Clarke made an instant impact when he dribbled past Zubimendi before he teed up Anis Mehmeti to side foot into the bottom corner in the 62nd minute.

Arteta kept Dowman on the pitch but no hat-trick chance followed and instead another Arsenal academy graduate in Ipswich forward Chuba Akpom had the final say with a smart low finish late on after Leif Davis’ cut back.

Includes reporting from PA

Drafts are over and Week 1 is in the books, so now is the time for Fantasy football players to begin making roster adjustments. A huge part of that is the weekly waiver wire run where players are acquired either using a Free Agency Acquisition Budget (FAAB) or waiver priority, usually decided by inverse order of the league standings. Notable NFL injuries from Week 1 included Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold (glute), Kyler Murray (concussion), A.J. Brown (ankle) and Zay Flowers (hamstring). 

Who are some of the top Week 2 Fantasy football waiver targets, and how much of your budget will it take if you’re looking to plug a hole in your Fantasy football lineups or even to block a rival from landing a player? Before making any Week 2 Fantasy football waiver claims, be sure to see what SportsLine Fantasy football expert Josh Nagel has to say.

Nagel is a Reno-based analyst and radio host who has worked in the sports handicapping industry for more than 20 years. SportsLine’s assistant managing editor has covered the wagering industry on a variety of platforms, and has won numerous sports handicapping contests. He’s also a prolific Fantasy player and Fantasy editor at SportsLine.com, and his in-depth knowledge of rosters around the league makes him an ideal expert to find value on the waiver wire weekly. 

Now, he’s revealed his top waiver wire picks from among the widely available Fantasy football free agents entering Week 2. You can see his top Fantasy NFL waiver wire picks and full analysis over at SportsLine. 

Top Fantasy football waiver wire picks ahead of Week 2 

One player Nagel is advising Fantasy players to target on the Week 2 waiver wire: Saints receiver Devaughn Vele, who had seven catches on nine targets for 63 yards and a touchdown in Week 1 against the Lions. 

“If you’re desperate for help at flex or receiver in a 3WR league, we’d bid up to 10 FAAB dollars on him or make a priority waiver claim,” Nagel said. “This isn’t some one-week fluke as Vele collected 19 catches for 239 yards and a touchdown over the final four games of last season.”

Nagel is also targeting Cowboys running back Emari Demercado. “The former Cardinals running back was signed at the last minute after projected RB2 Malik Davis suffered a season-ending injury during the team’s final practice before its Week 1 opener. Demercado saw just two touches in Sunday night’s 28-20 loss to the Giants, but his usage should increase as he gets familiar with the system.” See who else to target on the Fantasy football waiver wire at SportsLine. 

How to set your Week 2 waiver wire claims

Nagel is also targeting an overlooked receiver who is worth investing some FAAB in, saying “there’s a good chance you’ll be getting a steal.” You can only see who it is at SportsLine. 

So which players should you target on the Fantasy football waiver wire before Week 2, and which wide receiver could be a steal? Visit SportsLine now to see the best league-winning Fantasy football free agents entering Week 2, all from a proven Fantasy football and NFL expert, and find out.

Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark and Atlanta Dream star Angel Reese had just wrapped up their first FIBA World Cup run on Sunday. The WNBA stars became temporary teammates and helped Team USA win the gold medal.

A post by a fan-run account dedicated to the Fever went viral on X. It showed an image of Clark and Reese enjoying a European lunch together after the championship game against France.

“After winning the FIBA World Cup, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese were spotted together enjoying a European lunch,” the post claimed.

However, the photo was generated by AI (artificial intelligence). Both players in the image were in their sports attire, and fans are aware of how they dress when they’re not playing a game.

Additionally, it’s the same account that has claimed various fake reports about Clark, Reese, the Fever, and the WNBA. Following Team USA’s World Cup victory, the fan account shared a post about ESPN crowning the former Iowa star as the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup tournament MVP.

ESPN cannot officially name or choose the tournament MVP. FIBA has the rights to name and choose the best player in the competition. The honor was given to New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart. The two-time WNBA MVP averaged 12.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists for Team USA.

Stewart also had a great performance against France with 22 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.

The X page Fever Updates is not a reliable source for news about Caitlin Clark, the Fever and the league.

Fox News Reporter Addresses His Interaction With Caitlin Clark

After Team USA won, a Fox News reporter was curious about the deal between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. Since their college days, they’ve been pitted against each other, and fans knew about their rivalry.

The reporter, Jackson Thompson, asked Clark if she’s now friends with Reese after winning a gold medal together. However, the Fever star did not like the question and shut the reporter down.

“We’ve always been friends, don’t do that,” Clark said.

Thompson clarified that he was genuinely curious about their relationship after winning as teammates.

“She has a lot of obligations and responsibility as a leader of the sport,” he said. “But one thing I will say is a fact, a certain fact, is I did not ask the question to be inflammatory or divisive.”

Thompson said that he thinks people should know that Clark and Reese are friends. He noted that because their friendship isn’t public knowledge, keeping it quiet helps prevent people from jumping to conclusions.

Read More:

“Overly locked in” – Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark & WNBA World Hypes Paige Bueckers’ FIBA World Cup Star Studded Dump

Caitlin Clark’s Teammate Sends 2-Word Message as Angel Reese Makes Statement to Doubters After World Cup Gold