Julian Quinones scored the opening goal of the tournament and veteran striker Raul Jimenez added a second as the co-hosts’ bid for qualification from Group A got off to smooth start.
South Africa meanwhile never looked like spoiling the opening day fiesta, and finished with only nine men after Sphephelo Sithole and Themba Zwane were sent off.
The Mexican-colored red, green and white smoke from pre-game fireworks had barely dissipated before Quinones fired the hosts into the lead on nine minutes, drilling a low shot through the legs of South Africa’s goalkeeper and captain Ronwen Williams.
A deafening roar cascaded down from the stands of the Azteca, the footballing cathedral that became the only stadium to host games at three different World Cups.
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South Africa coach Hugo Broos had warned his players to be ready for the intimidating atmosphere created by a capacity 80,824 crowd at the imposing concrete arena.
Two red cards
But South Africa’s players looked to have a bad case of stage fright as Mexico’s fans greeted each completed pass with a raucous chorus of “Ole!” in the opening minutes.
Sithole seemed particularly affected, being caught in possession trying to play out of the back for Quinones’ opening goal.
Sithole’s miserable afternoon ended with a 49th minute dismissal after bundling over Mexico’s Brian Gutierrez when clean through on goal.
Mexico rammed home their advantage in the 67th minute, with a fine counter attack culminating in Roberto Alvarado crossing for Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Jimenez to nod home at the far post.
It got worse for South Africa in the 84th minute when Zwane was dismissed after a VAR review for flinging an arm into the face of Alvarado.
There was still time for late drama when Mexican defender Cesar Montes was shown a red card for a clumsy challenge on Khulisa Mudau on the edge of the penalty area.
Texas Tech’s Brendan Sorsby looks on during the spring football game, Friday, April 17, 2026, at Jones AT&T Stadium.
Texas Tech and controversial quarterback Brendan Sorsby have agreed to mutually split, allowing the 22-year-old quarterback to apply for the NFL’s supplemental draft.
If approved, which he should be, Sorsby will cause the NFL to hold their first supplemental draft since 2019. In July, all 32 NFL teams will have an opportunity to bid draft picks on Sorsby.
In recent history, teams have been hesitant to sacrifice premium draft capital in the supplemental draft. In 2012, the Cleveland Browns used a second-round pick on wide receiver Josh Gordon, who has been the highest drafted player since then.
A team hasn’t spent a first-round pick in the supplemental draft since 1992.
The expectation for Sorsby is that he’d likely go for a second-round draft pick at the highest. However, his sports gambling controversy could scare off a few teams, lowering his price in the supplemental draft. A team that lands Sorsby with their bid in the supplemental draft will have to sacrifice that round’s selection in the 2027 NFL Draft.
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With that in mind, let’s take a look at a few teams that make sense for Sorsby – and one team that doesn’t make any sense.
New York Jets
The Jets need a quarterback. They’re loaded with 2027 draft capital, which would make a flier on Sorsby worthwhile.
Even though the Jets sold everything at last year’s trade deadline, they held onto wide receiver Garrett Wilson. It would be unwise to continue wasting his prime. Landing Sorsby would be music to Wilson’s ears, as he’d instantly become a viable QB option in New York.
Cleveland Browns
Nov 23, 2025; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson watches on the sidelines against the Las Vegas Raiders in the second half at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
When Terrell Pryor entered the supplemental draft after Tattoogate at Ohio State, the NFL suspended him for five games. This would set a precedent for Sorsby to receive some sort of suspension from the NFL stemming from his college football gambling scandal.
Browns GM Andrew Berry loves value, and landing a potential first-round talent while saving Cleveland’s premium draft picks. Following the blockbuster Myles Garrett trade to the Los Angeles Rams, the Browns have enough capital to part ways with a second-round pick.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers have been perpetually too good to tank their way into a franchise quarterback.
But after Ben Roethlisberger retired in early 2022, the Steelers haven’t had any luck finding a serious replacement.
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Aaron Rodgers announced his farewell tour. That means the Steelers are another team that will need a franchise quarterback in 2027. But with DK Metcalf, Michael Pittman Jr. and another loaded defense, the Steelers will probably be too talented to select Arch Manning or Dante Moore next year.
Arizona Cardinals shouldn’t chase Sorsby
Nov 23, 20Jan 4, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett (7) rolls out against the Los Angeles Rams during the second half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images25; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson watches on the sidelines against the Las Vegas Raiders in the second half at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
The Cardinals are another quarterback-needy team. But they just used a third-round pick on Carson Beck in the 2026 NFL Draft, and that could complicate things.
Heading into 2026, the Cardinals are moving with Jacoby Brissett as their starting quarterback. They have plenty of holes to fill throughout this rebuilding process, and the Browns and Jets are closer to contention than the Cardinals are.
Use Brissett as the starter with Beck as the developmental piece while loading up on other positions in the 2027 NFL Draft.
Jun 9, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels left fielder Wade Meckler (53) reacts after scoring a run against the Houston Astros during the second inning at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
After a week in Vegas, the A’s have returned from their future home to their temporary one in Sacramento. It’s still hot and it’s still a minor league ballpark, but it’s not at altitude so it’s just a “normal” hitters friendly venue.
For Pirates pitcher Mitch Keller, it matters little where he pitches, its been all pretty bad this year. He was kind of a steady mid 4’s ERA innings eater type as he hasn’t missed a start since 2022. But he’s had major hiccups in 2026, with a 5.14 ERA and 1.31 WHIP as his K% has dipped to a career low 17.6%. He was never a bid velo guy, but he’s sitting at 93.8 MPH, also his worst ever. The estimators think this is pretty much who he is now as he has a 4.98 xERA and 4.61` SIERA.
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Jack Perkins takes the ball for the A’s, and I’m pretty optimistic about his talent as evidenced by me having him on half my Fantasy teams.
He dabbled as the A’s closer and high leverage relief in general, before they started converting him to the rotation recently. His bottom line numbers on the year actually look worse than Keller’s as he’s got a 6.25 ERA, but he’s thrown way better than that. He has a 3.65 xERA and 3.28 SIERA with a near elite 18.9% K-BB%. He’s had 3 outings of 4 IP or longer and he has 17 K’s vs 5 BB’s in those, so he’s been about the same in longer work even though 4 of those innings were in Vegas. It’s a battle of two pretty good offenses, but I just think Perkins’ advantage is underpriced here, so give me the A’s.
Whatever chance they had of being semi competitive has been lost in a sea of injuries. It’s a shame because Mike Trout is healthy and productive at age 34, he just has no support.
But the Angels do have one big thing going for them tonight; Reid Detmers is on the hill. Again, try to ignore his 4.00 ERA as he’s got a sparkling 29.3% K% and a 1.05 WHIP. He’s been a bit unlucky with his low 63% strand rate.
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The DBacks start Merrill Kelly and like his near namesake Mitch Keller, he’s gone from reliable vet to BP pitcher. In fact he’s a much worse version as he has just a 13.5% K% vs, 21% in his career. His velo is down to 91.8 and he’s just not fooling anyone these days. As bad as the Angels look, they have such a huge edge in the matchup that I’ll take the plunge on them here.
Criticizing Shinnecock Hills’ treacherous greens is a time-honored U.S. Open tradition. On Monday at the 2026 U.S. Open at the iconic Long Island club, a new pro took up that baton. But his negative review differed drastically from the usual complaints.
That player is PGA Tour winner Michael Kim. Kim, who has a large base of followers on social media, will play in his third career U.S. Open this week and his first at Shinnecock.
Kim is well known for providing behind-the-scenes insight from all the tournaments he plays. While he generally stays positive and steers away from hot takes, he has also built a reputation for making honest observations and not pulling any punches.
That was the case when he took to X Monday night to offer his surprising criticism of Shinnecock’s green conditions to start the week.
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Michael Kim offers less-than-glowing review of Shinnecock’s famous greens at U.S. Open
Traditionally, Shinnecock’s greens take hits from U.S. Open competitors for being too fast and too hard, which, when coupled with high ocean winds, makes the test so tough that certain players experience a momentary loss of sanity.
After playing his first practice round for the 2026 event on Monday, Kim offered another less-than-glowing review of Shinnecock’s greens. But the surprising adjectives Kim used in his description of the green conditions early this week — including “spongy”, “quite bumpy” and dotted with “aerification holes” — made it sound like he’d played a very different course than the one Mickelson malfunctioned on eight years ago.
In his first description, Kim reported that the greens were “decently receptive and not crazy fast,” which he attributed to the greens crew countering high winds that rankled players on Monday. Those are not modifiers commonly associated with Shinnecock.
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“Talking about the greens… the greens are spongy so far. Decently receptive and not crazy fast,” Kim wrote on X. “I think they want to make sure to not lose the greens especially with how much wind is forecasted on Thursday.”
His next missive was far more surprising. Kim called the green surfaces “bumpy” and claimed they still showed evidence of the last aeration, something recreational golfers are more accustomed to than major competitors.
“They’re also… quite bumpy,” Kim wrote on Monday. “Poa greens plus some of the aerification holes are [not] completely fixed. You can still see the outline of the punched holes. Putting is going to be super tricky.”
Kim’s review didn’t stop at the greens, extending beyond them to the bunker sand, which he said featured “a lot of rocks and shells.”
Two World Cup finals in a row. The reigning Ballon d’Or winner. The Golden Boot favourite. A squad so deep that world-class players cannot get into the starting eleven. France do not just look like contenders. They look like the team to beat.
NEW YORK – NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 1: Serena Williams and Venus Williams of the United States talk on court after losing a point during their Women’s Doubles First Round against Linda Noskova and Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic on the 2022 U.S. Open Tennis Tournament on September 1, 2022. In New York. (Photo by Eduardo MunozAlvarez/VIEWpress)
Tennis fans are about to witness something special once again.
Wimbledon has confirmed that Serena and Venus Williams will compete together in the ladies’ doubles draw at The Championships 2026.
The announcement comes just weeks after Serena returned to professional tennis for the first time in nearly four years, winning a doubles match at Queen’s Club alongside Victoria Mboko.
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Those plans were cut short when Mboko suffered a knee injury that later ruled her out of Wimbledon.
Now, Serena will return to the All England Club alongside the partner who helped define an era of tennis.
Together, Serena and Venus won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles and became one of the most successful doubles teams in the history of the sport.
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Their success at Wimbledon is especially remarkable, with the sisters winning six doubles titles on the famous grass courts.
Wimbledon announced their return with the message on their social media:
“Back together, at Wimbledon.”
The Williams sisters helped change the sport forever.
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Now, they are sharing the court once again.
And for the first time in years, Serena and Venus will walk onto Wimbledon grass as doubles partners.
Following his win over Rico Verhoeven, Oleksandr Usyk has been ordered to face WBC mandatory challenger Agit Kabayel next. Four-time super-middleweight world champion Carl Froch has offered his thoughts on the proposed fight.
Usyk scored a round 11 stoppage over Verhoeven last month, but the result did not tell the full story of the bout, as the kickboxing star pushed the Ukrainian to the limit and almost sprung one of the greatest upsets in boxing history.
Whilst Verhoeven did impress, most feel that Usyk’s performance was far from his best – and that includes Froch.
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On his YouTube channel, ‘The Cobra’ labelled Kabayel as a ‘tricky’ fight for the unified champion.
“That is a tricky fight, Agit Kabayel is a good fighter; unbeaten, you know what he is and you know what he has done, he is very capable. Has Usyk got old overnight? Is he looking a bit slow? His body looks a bit spread around the middle, he is nearly 40, isn’t he?
“Usyk is past his best. I would have to see Usyk lose and get beat because of age. It’d be such a shame because he has had such a fantastic career, he is so good, one of the best to ever do it. For him to lose because he shouldn’t be fighting anymore, it would be a tragedy.”
Last night, a host of boxing stars were in attendance at the ‘UFC Freedom 250’ event at The White House, including recently retired pound-for-pound great Terence Crawford. After he commented on the main event, former MMA champion Conor McGregor took issue with his analysis.
The invitation was laughed off by Crawford, who said that he did not know who Topuria was.
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Now, with Crawford sitting at ringside, Topuria lost to Justin Gaetjhe via fourth-round stoppage, an upset which has cost him both his UFC title and undefeated record.
Upon witnessing the contest, Crawford took to social media to poke fun at Topuria, insinuating that their fight would have been extremely one-sided.
This the guy that said he would knock me out and whoop me and Shakur at the same time?😂😂😂
In response, McGregor spoke up for Topuria, declaring that Crawford is ‘afraid of an MMA fight’ and that he is ‘not man enough’ to step into the Octagon.
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“What the f**k are you saying? You can wrestle yet you are afraid of an MMA fight. That to me is pitiful. The kid was beaten in an MMA fight, of which you don’t have the courage for.
“What the f**k was with all these little boxers at this show yet no MMA fighters?”
What the fuck are you saying? You can wrestle yet you are afraid of an mma fight.
That to me is pitiful.
The kid was beaten in an mma fight, of which you don’t have the courage for.
What the fuck was with all these little boxers at this show yet no MMA fighters?… https://t.co/cqmO1NHrs6
Crawford then fired back, claiming that he ‘does not need to fight in the cage’ and that it’s the job of the MMA fighters to come and prove themselves to the world of boxing, rather than the other way around.
Shut yo drunk as up and get ready for yo fight. He got his ass whoop like you did running yo mouth. I don’t have to come and fight in the cage. That’s the joy of boxing yall come to us we don’t have to come to yall.🤫
McGregor has been absent from the UFC since his broken-leg defeat to Dustin Poirier in 2021. Although several comeback plans have been discussed in the years since, none have made it to fight night. He is now booked to return on July 12 against Max Holloway. He has had one professional boxing bout – a 2017 loss to Floyd Mayweather – and has teased a return to the ring in future.
Derek Chisora has faced Tyson Fury on three occasions throughout his career, making him well placed to predict a mega fight with Anthony Joshua.
It was announced two months ago that the two former heavyweight world champions have now signed to face off towards the end of this year, though both will have relative ‘warm up’ fights in the interim.
Should they win as expected, Joshua and Fury are expected to clash mid-November, with the UK and US currently in the running to host. If the fight comes off, it will end almost a decade of debate.
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Speaking to Seconds Out, Chisora said he believes ‘AJ’ will put a full stop on the rivalry.
“AJ wins by knockout in round eight.”
Joshua scored his last stoppage against Jake Paul last December. Prior to that, he had beaten Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius, Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou before being stopped himself by Daniel Dubois. He has produced 26 knockouts in his 29 wins, a ratio of just under 90%.
Fury, however, has never been stopped. The two losses on his record came via decision against unified champion Oleksandr Usyk. ‘The Gypsy King’ was hurt in the first fight against the Ukrainian, and has been knocked down several times by American puncher Deontay Wilder, but is still praised for his powers of recovery.
The Manchester United defender has previously described feeling “shocked and gutted” after he was left out of the 26-man squad for the tournament in North America, in what was widely considered one of the surprise selection decisions.
The 33-year-old, who featured at both the 2018 and 2022 editions, told Gary Lineker’s The Rest is Football World Cup podcast on Netflix that he felt he should have been picked after impressing this season for United and in England’s international friendlies in March.
“He (Tuchel) FaceTimes everyone,” said Maguire. “It’s quite an awkward call.
“I received a text around nine, ten in the morning saying can I speak to you today at 4pm. It is quite a unique way to do it. It makes it harder for him to see our reactions.
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Thomas Tuchel (right) FaceTimed Harry Maguire to tell him he wasn’t included in his World Cup squad (Getty)
“He said he can’t really give me an excuse but he said he had gone with the four lads who got him through the qualifying in the autumn camps.
“It was tough to take. I did think I was going to be in the squad after being selected for the March camp for the first time under him. I felt like I did really well in both of the games and then went back to Manchester United and finished the season really, really strongly.”
“I was shocked. We had a few words. It was an honest conversation between us both.”
Maguire fears that this may have been his last chance of going to a World Cup, having competed at the previous two editions under Gareth Southgate.
“I was really disappointed, I wanted to go to the Word Cup and play. I’m 33 now and 37 at the next World Cup, it looks far away.
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“I told the manager I wasn’t demanding to go and start the games, I’d have been happy to play one minute as long as I was there with the lads.”
Maguire has played 66 times for England since making his debut in 2017 but only four of them have come since the end of 2023.
“I don’t think I would retire from England,” he added.
“I still feel I have something to offer. There will be a time and a place where I don’t deserve to get picked but I probably still wouldn’t come out and retire. If I got one more cap it would be worth it.”
The Florida Everblades’ reign in the ECHL lives on.
Florida won its fourth Kelly Cup title in the past five seasons with a thrilling 5-4 double-overtime victory over the Kansas City Mavericks in Game 6 on Monday night.
Isaac Nurse scored the deciding goal 15:24 into the fifth period, burying a sharp-angle shot from below the face-off circle to cap an epic comeback victory.
The Everblades trailed 4-1 heading into the third period before three unanswered markers from Gianfranco Cassaro, Anthony Romano and Oliver Chau forced extra time.
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Chau’s goal came with just 14 seconds left on the clock after a net-front scramble.
Florida netminder Cam Johnson earned the June M. Kelly Playoffs Most Valuable Player Award for his performance during the post-season. In this year’s playoffs, Johnson posted a 16-3 record with a 1.93 goals-against average and .921 save percentage.
Johnson has been a central figure in the Everblades’ run of success, claiming the playoff MVP in 2022 and 2023 as well.
Florida responded from a 2-0 deficit in this year’s final against Kansas City, stringing together four straight wins — three of which needed overtime — on its way to an ECHL-record fifth title.
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The Everglades are affiliated with the National Hockey League’s St. Louis Blues, and the Mavericks are an affiliate of the Seattle Kraken.
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