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Juan Ayuso won the seventh stage of the Giro d’Italia on Friday as Primoz Roglic moved top of the overall standings.
UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider Ayuso powered away from the group of general classification contenders over the top of the final climb to win his first Grand Tour stage by four seconds.
The 22-year-old Spaniard’s team-mate Isaac del Toro of Mexico was four seconds behind him in second, with Colombian Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) denying Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe’s Roglic the final place on the podium.
However, 2023 Giro champion Roglic took over the overall leader’s pink jersey from Mads Pedersen, with the Danish classics rider losing touch as expected on the final climb.
Great Britain’s Max Poole of Picnic PostNL was ninth on Friday, with the 22-year-old moving up to fifth overall.
The 168km stage from Castel di Sangro to Tagliacozzo was the first mountain stage of the 2025 edition and saw the contenders for the general classification come to the fore.
Manager Dave Roberts was asked the other night about the “difficult decision” the Dodgers will have to make on Kim when utilityman Tommy Edman and outfielder Teoscar Hernández return from the injured list in the next couple of weeks, but nothing about this decision should be difficult.
Kim will still belong in the major leagues.
There won’t be enough at-bats for him?
The Dodgers have to find them.
He can gain more experience in the minors?
A 26-year-old who played seven-plus seasons in the Korean Baseball Organization before he signed with the Dodgers, Kim isn’t a typical rookie.
President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said part of the reason catcher Dalton Rushing was called up this week was because of the competition in the National League West?
The same logic should be applied to Kim’s situation.
Make liberal use of the injured list. Release Chris Taylor. Do whatever is necessary for Kim to remain in Los Angeles.
“How he’s playing,” Roberts acknowledged, “certainly helps his case.”
Shohei Ohtani homered twice in a 19-2 victory over the Athletics at Dodger Stadium on Thursday night. Both times, Kim was on base.
Ohtani, who leads off for the Dodgers, drove in only 10 runs in his first 30 games of the season. The bottom of the order wasn’t hitting or drawing walks
In the first 12 games Ohtani played since Kim was called up from triple-A Oklahoma City, Ohtani collected 18 runs batted in.
Kim batted eighth or ninth in each of the eight games he started through Thursday, and he’d already been driven home by Ohtani five times. The only player Ohtani has driven in more this season: Ohtani.
“A lot easier to pitch to Shohei when nobody’s on base,” Roberts said. “Recently, certainly with Kim and his ability to get on base, there’s always traffic.”
Kim entered the Freeway Series opener on Friday batting .429, a pleasant surprise considering he looked completely overmatched at the plate in spring training. His ability to make contact has enhanced his greatest weapon, his legs.
“He’s really talented,” third baseman Max Muncy said. “He can do a lot of really special things that you can’t see from a lot of players.”
That game-changing speed was on display in just his second major league game when he was deployed as a ninth-inning pinch runner with a one-run deficit against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. Kim stole second base and reached third on a dropped third strike, positioning him within 90 feet of the tying run. The next two batters struck out and the Dodgers lost the game, but the cameo performance was a preview of what was to come.
In his first 12 major league games, Kim stole three bases and plated nine runs. Three of his first 12 hits were infield hits.
“I tried to figure out what my role is in this organization, and I’m just trying to control what I can control,” Kim said through an interpreter.
Dodgers coaches also believe Kim’s speed has influenced how opponents attack Ohtani. One particular example that was cited was Ohtani’s three-run, ninth-inning home run in a 14-11 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 9.
Kim was on second base and Michael Conforto was on first when Ohtani came to the plate with one out and the score level, 11-11. Walking Ohtani would have moved the go-ahead run to third base, and with Kim’s speed, any ball put in play by the next batter would have likely resulted in a run. Diamondbacks reliever Ryan Thompson pitched to Ohtani, who launched a 1-2 pitch into the stands in right-center.
“With the speed dynamic [of Kim], it creates stress,” Roberts said. “He can steal a base, go first to third. It certainly opens some things up for the top of the order.”
The Dodgers have scored an average of 7.3 runs per game since Kim joined the team. In the process, he’s become a beloved figure in the clubhouse, overcoming a language barrier to form bonds with a wide range of players that includes everyone from Ohtani to Mookie Betts.
“That started in spring training,” Muncy said. “He was there with a couple of us and just immediately fit right in. He likes to have fun. He’s always smiling, he’s always laughing. He’s really fun to have out there.”
With a three-year deal that could be extended by the Dodgers for an additional two seasons, Kim figures to be a part of their future. But he’s already a reason for why they’re clicking now, and the returns of Edman and Hernández shouldn’t change that.
From Jack Harris: As is typically the case when a team wins 19-2 like the Dodgers did against the Athletics on Thursday night, plenty of hitters in the team’s star-studded lineup aligned to have monster nights.
Shohei Ohtani homered twice in a six-RBI performance, tying the major league lead with 15 long balls this season. Max Muncy, Andy Pages and James Outman also went deep, helping the club set a season-high for runs. Hyeseong Kim reached base all five times. Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts also combined to get aboard five times before being removed after the third inning, the lead at that point already 11 runs.
All of those accomplishments, however, paled in personal significance to what the Dodgers’ starting catcher did.
Making his major league debut after being called up in a major roster move the day prior, top prospect Dalton Rushing walked in his first at-bat, singled in the next and went two-for-four while navigating a pre-determined bullpen game behind the plate — a strong showing for a 24-year-old slugger with so much potential, the Dodgers cut longtime backup catcher Austin Barnes to get him on the roster.
“He’s very comfortable, I think, in a good way,” manager Dave Roberts said of Rushing, a second-round draft pick in 2022 who has blossomed into one of the most highly touted prospects in baseball. “I think he thought he was ready [for the majors] when he signed.”
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PETE ROSE POLL
Should Pete Rose and Joe Jackson be in the Baseball Hall of Fame? Click here to vote in our survey. Results will be announced Monday.
LAKERS
From Dan Woike: In the shadows, I was asking around about the Lakers’ biggest story this offseason, at least according to the internet.
Are the Lakers going to trade Austin Reaves?
My friend and colleague Bill Plaschke argued in those hallowed Times’ pages that the Lakers must tradeAustin Reaves to fulfill their needs for a big man no matter how painful the decision would be. Bill Simmons predicted on his podcast that Reaves “will get traded” this summer.
So what was the buzz at the NBA combine about all this?
Everyone is aware of the noise from the media and on the message boards (shoutout Lakers reddit), no one is acting like a trade is going to happen this summer for a couple of reasons.
No. 1 Oklahoma City vs. No. 4 Denver Nuggets Denver 121, at Oklahoma City 119 (box score) at Oklahoma City 149, Denver 106 (box score) at Denver 113, Oklahoma City 104 (OT) (box score) Oklahoma City 92, at Denver 87 (box score) at Oklahoma City 112, Denver 105 (box score) at Denver 119, Oklahoma City 107 (box score) Sunday at Oklahoma City, 12:30 p.m., ABC
No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves vs. No. 7 Golden State Golden State 99, at Minnesota 88 (box score) at Minnesota 117, Golden State 93 (box score) Minnesota 102, at Golden State 97 (box score) Minnesota 117, at Golden State 110 (box score) at Minnesota 121, Golden State 110 (box score)
Eastern Conference
No. 1 Cleveland vs. No. 4 Indiana Indiana 121, at Cleveland 112 (box score) Indiana 120, at Cleveland 119 (box score) Cleveland 126, at Indiana 104 (box score) at Indiana 129, Cleveland 109 (box score) Indiana 114, at Cleveland 105 (box score)
No. 2 Boston vs. No. 3 New York New York 108, at Boston 105 (OT) (box score) New York 91, at Boston 90 (box score) Boston 115, at New York 93 (box score) at New York 121, Boston 113 (box score) at Boston 127, New York 102 (box score) Friday at New York, 5 p.m., ESPN Monday at Boston, 5 p.m., TNT*
*if necessary
CHARGERS
The Chargers will seek approval to sell an 8% stake in the franchise to private investment firm Arctos at next week’s NFL team owners meetings.
The approval request was sent in a memo to NFL team owners, according to a person with knowledge of the memo not authorized to speak publicly about it.
If approved, Chargers owner Dean Spanos and siblings Michael Spanos and Alexis Spanos Ruhl would still own approximately 61% of the franchise.
It is the second major change for the Chargers ownership group in the last year after Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores bought a 27% stake in the team in September. That transaction resolved a long-running dispute between Dea Spanos Berberian and her siblings as Gores and his wife bought Spanos Berberian’s share of the franchise.
From Ryan Kartje: USC may have taken a step back in Lincoln Riley’s second season, but the coach remained comfortably among the top rung of college football’s highest-paid coaches in 2023.
USC paid Riley more than $11.5 million in reportable compensation in 2023, according to the school’s latest federal tax returns, obtained by The Times. His $10.2 million in base compensation ranked No. 4 nationally in 2023.
Of the $11.5 million credited by the school to Riley, $100,000 is listed under bonus and incentive compensation and $1.15 million is categorized as other reportable compensation.
Perhaps that felt like a bargain to USC compared to the previous year, when it shelled out nearly $20 million in reportable compensation to land Riley, $4.5 million of which was used to pay his buyout at the University of Oklahoma.
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Super Bowl champion and Olympic gold medalist? Some NFL players could be at the center of the Venn diagram in 2028.
NFL team owners could vote next week at the league’s meetings on whether to allow NFL players to participate in Olympic flag football in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. A resolution, announced Thursday, included several possible guidelines as further negotiations continue between the NFL Players Assn., the league, national governing bodies and Olympic authorities.
The proposed resolution would permit players under an NFL contract to try out for a 2028 Olympic flag football team, but limit NFL player participation to no more than one from each NFL team for each national team. In addition, each NFL team’s designated international player can play for his home country.
From John Cherwa: Trainer Bob Baffert loves to come to the Preakness. He loves the fact that all the top horses are in the same barn, so he can kibitz with his fellow trainers, such as an extended conversation with Mark Casse about the best crabcakes in town. He loves the casual atmosphere, in contrast to the high stakes, high pressure feeling at Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby.
Or maybe it’s because he’s won the second leg of the Triple Crown eight times, more than any other trainer in history.
So, he was asked why he was bringing Goal Oriented, an undefeated two-time starter who has never run in a stakes race, to the Preakness.
The strongest field of the majors gave way to a few surprises Thursday in the PGA Championship, starting with Jhonattan Vegas charging into the lead with a seven-under 64 and the top 10 players in the world nowhere to be found among the top 10 at Quail Hollow.
A long day filled with sunshine and mud balls ended with Vegas in the penultimate group playing the best golf hardly anyone saw.
A briefly energized crowd had mostly left when Vegas blazed his way to the finish with five birdies on his last six holes, ending with an 18-footer on No. 8 and a 25-footer on the rugged ninth.
It was Vegas’ best score in 45 rounds playing the majors. The Venezuelan has never finished in the top 20 in a major and hadn’t qualified for this one in three years.
Holland praised Hiller and looked ahead to their new partnership Thursday during the Hall of Fame hockey executive’s introductory news conference at the Kings’ training complex. Holland is returning to the NHL after a one-year absence, taking over as the replacement for Rob Blake.
The 69-year-old former GM of the Detroit Red Wings and the Edmonton Oilers immediately made it clear he isn’t in Los Angeles to blow up a team that has made four straight playoff appearances, only to lose to the Oilers in the first round every spring. Holland won’t make an immediate change behind the Kings’ bench — or even in the front office, where he plans to retain the assistant GMs and hockey executives who worked for Blake.
Pacific 1 Vegas vs. Pacific 3 Edmonton Edmonton 4, at Vegas 2 (summary) Edmonton 5, at Vegas 4 (OT) (summary) Vegas 4, at Edmonton 3 (summary) at Edmonton 3, Vegas 0 (summary) Edmonton 1, at Vegas 0 (OT) (summary)
C1 Winnipeg vs. C2 Dallas Dallas 3, at Winnipeg 2 (summary) Winnipeg 4, at Dallas 0 (summary) Dallas 5, at Winnipeg 2 (summary) at Dallas 3, Winnipeg 1 (summary) at Winnipeg 4, Dallas 0 (summary) Saturday at Dallas, 5 p.m., ABC Monday at Winnipeg, TBD, ESPN*
Eastern Conference
Atlantic 1 Toronto vs. Atlantic 3 Florida at Toronto 5, Florida 4 (summary) at Toronto 4, Florida 3 (summary) at Florida 5, Toronto 4 (OT) (summary) at Florida 2, Toronto 0 (summary) Florida 6, at Toronto 1 (summary) Friday at Florida, 5 p.m., TNT Sunday at Toronto, 4:30 p.m., TNT*
Metro 1 Washington vs. Metro 2 Carolina Carolina 2, at Washington 1 (OT) (summary) at Washington 3, Carolina 1 (summary) at Carolina 4, Washington 0 (summary) at Carolina 5, Washington 2 (summary) Carolina 3, at Washington 1 (summary)
* If necessary
THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1884 — Isaac Murphy, a Black jockey and one of the greatest American riders, wins the Kentucky Derby aboard Buchanan. He will win the showcase race two more times.
1916 — Damrosch, ridden by Linus McAtee, takes the early lead, gives it up in the stretch, and comes back to beat Greenwood by 1½ lengths in the Preakness Stakes.
1925 — Flying Ebony, ridden by Earl Sande, becomes the fourth field horse to win the Kentucky Derby, a 1½-length victory over Captain Hal. The first network radio broadcast of the Kentucky Derby airs from WHAS in Louisville.
1930 — 6th Walker Cup: US, 10-2.
1955 — Rocky Marciano beats Don Cockell by TKO in the 9th round at Kezar Stadium, San Francisco to retain his world heavyweight boxing title.
1964 — Northern Dancer, ridden by Bill Hartack, wins the Preakness Stakes by 2½ lengths over The Scoundrel.
1973 — AC Milan of Italy win 13th European Cup Winner’s Cup against Leeds of England 1-0 in Saloniki.
1975 — Muhammad Ali TKOs Ron Lyle in 11 for heavyweight boxing title.
1976 — The Montreal Canadiens win their 19th Stanley Cup with a 5-3 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers, capping a four-game sweep.
1977 — Muhammad Ali beats Alfredo Evangelist in 15 for heavyweight boxing title.
1979 — FC Barcelona of Spain wins 19th European Cup Winner’s Cup against Fortuna Düsseldorf of West Germany 4-3 in Basel.
1980 — The Lakers beat the Philadelphia 76ers 123-107 to win the NBA title in six games. Rookie guard Magic Johnson takes the opening tip for the injured Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and comes up with 42 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists and is named the Finals MVP. The 42 points are the most scored by a rookie in an NBA Finals game.
1982 — Stanley Cup Final, Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, BC: 3-peat for NY Islanders; sweep Vancouver Canucks in 4 games with a 3-1 Game 4 win.
1984 — Juventus of Italy win 24th European Cup Winner’s Cup against Porto of Portugal 2-1 in Basel.
1985 — Michael Jordan named NBA Rookie of Year.
1992 — America’s Cup: America Team USA defeats II Moro di Venezia 4-1 in San Diego.
2009 — Rachel Alexandria, ridden by Calvin Borel wins the 134th Preakness in 1:55:08.
2014 — Paris Saint-Germain F.C. & Manchester City F.C. are each fined €60 million for breaching Fair Play Regulations.
2019 — Brooks Koepka fires tournament record equalling, and course record 63 (-7) to lead the PGA Championship by 1 stroke after the 1st round at Bethpage Black, N.Y.
THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1933 — Cecil Travis of the Washington Senators made his major league debut with five hits in a 12-inning, 11-10 win over the Chicago White Sox.
1939 — The Cleveland Indians beat the Philadelphia Athletics 8-3 in 10 innings in the first American League night game, held at Philadelphia’s Shibe Park.
1953 — The White Sox loaded the bases against the Yankees in the ninth inning, but Vern Stephens, who had 10 grand slams in his career, was lifted for a pinch-hitter. Pitcher Tommy Byrne, the substitute batter, then hit a homer off Ewell Blackwell for a 5-3 win.
1965 — Jim Palmer, 19, won his first major league game and hit his first homer, off Jim Bouton. The Baltimore Orioles beat the New York Yankees 7-5.
1972 — Rick Monday hit three consecutive homers to lead the Chicago Cubs to an 8-1 win at Philadelphia. Greg Luzinski’s 500-foot home run hit the Liberty Bell monument at Veterans Stadium for the Phillies’ only run.
1978 — The White Sox trade OF Bobby Bonds to the Rangers for OF Claudell Washington and OF Rusty Torres.
1981 — Craig Reynolds of Houston hit three triples to lead the Astros to a 6-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
1996 — Sammy Sosa becomes the first Cub ever to hit two homers in one inning, hitting them in the eight-run 7th inning at Wrigley Field.
1997 — The Montreal Expos overcame an early nine-run deficit and rallied past the San Francisco Giants 14-13 on David Segui’s RBI single in the ninth inning. The Giants took an 11-2 lead after three innings. Montreal came back with four runs in the fourth, three in the fifth and three more in the sixth for a 12-11 lead. Glenallen Hill’s RBI single capped a two-run seventh that put the Giants ahead 13-12.
2000 — The Dodgers went into the Wrigley Field crowd after a fan ran off with Chad Kreuter’s cap in the ninth inning of a 6-5 victory. The game was delayed for nine minutes while some Dodgers and fans fought.
2001 — Rickey Henderson leads off with a home run, extending his major-league record for leadoff home runs to 79. This is the same as the combined total for the #2 and #3 players on the list: Brady Anderson (44), and Bobby Bonds (35).
2006 — The New York Yankees, down 9-0 in the second inning, matched the biggest comeback in Yankees history when Jorge Posada hit a game-winning, two-run homer with two out in the ninth for a 14-13 victory over the Texas Rangers.
2008 — Jayson Werth of Philadelphia hit three home runs and tied the team record with eight RBIs in a 10-3 win over Toronto.
2009 — Gabe Gross and Akinori Iwamura pulled off a double steal in the fifth inning of a 4-2 win over Cleveland, giving Tampa Bay at least one stolen base in 18 straight games. It was the longest stretch in the AL since the New York Yankees had a 19-game run in 1914.
2012 — Is there anything the old man cannot do? 49-year-old Jamie Moyer picks up his second win of the year for Colorado by throwing 6 1/3 innings, during which he allows a single run, and helps his own cause with a two-run single in the 4th.
2015 — Miguel Cabrera hits the 400th home run of his career.
2020 — The owners release figures showing that on average, teams will lose $640,000 per game played without fans. This is done in the hope of convincing players to accept a form of revenue sharing in conjunction with their plan to play a truncated season starting around July 4th, with no spectators present – at least at the outset – due to the coronavirus pandemic. They also provide the Players Association with a detailed protocol on how such games would be played in order to minimize contact between persons present at the ballpark and maintain social distancing. All of these proposals still require the players’ approval before they can be implemented.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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BALTIMORE — Horse racing’s biggest prize is winning the three legs of the Triple Crown — the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes. Three races in five weeks. It’s difficult, which is why only 13 horses have done it in more than a century.
It probably goes without saying that to achieve that goal, a horse actually has to run in all three races. And therein lies the rub.
For the third time in seven years, the winner of the Kentucky Derby is not running in the Preakness Stakes. Many in racing believe that horses aren’t trained, or even bred, to come back and race on two weeks’ rest. Others say it’s not that big of a deal to come back so quickly.
Horse racing embraces change about as well as giving your dog or cat a pill. It can be done, but it sure isn’t easy.
Aidan Butler, the president of 1/ST Racing, which owned Pimlico Race Course at the time, stirred the discussion two years ago when he suggested racing needed to look at the spacing between the Triple Crown races. He thought the sport would benefit if there was at least one more week between the Derby and Preakness. It would have meant that the Belmont Stakes would also have to move at least a week.
Belinda Stronach, chairman of The Stronach Group, the parent company of 1/ST Racing, even called the New York Racing Assn. (NYRA) to lobby the case for changing the dates. NYRA didn’t bite.
In hindsight, Butler thinks it was a case of bad timing.
“In fairness to NYRA, what and when I was suggesting a change, they were moving [the Belmont Stakes temporarily] to Saratoga,” Butler said. “They changed the distance from 1 ½ miles to 1 ¼ miles. And there was the construction at Belmont Park . That’s a lot to deal with. And we’re asking to change the date. I think it was maybe too much too soon.”
While things quieted in the corporate offices, it remained a hot topic on the backstretch.
Bill Mott, the trainer of this year’s Derby winner Sovereignty, ended the speculation early by saying he was skipping the Preakness on Saturday and pointing to the Belmont. Mott also skipped the Preakness when Country House won the 2019 Derby, although the stated reason was the horse developed a cough.
In 2022, Rich Strike, the longshot winner of the Derby, also skipped the Preakness because of the short turnaround.
Kenny McPeek, trainer of last year’s Derby winner Mystik Dan, said on the Tony Kornheiser podcast that he wishes he would have made a different decision and not gone to the Preakness.
“If I could have a do-over, I wouldn’t have gone last year,” McPeek said. “I think it was a mistake on my part.”
This year only three of the nine Preakness starters ran in the Kentucky Derby: Journalism (2nd), Sandman (7th) and American Promise (16th). The Baltimore Sun surveyed all the Derby horses from 2022 to 2025 and found that only 10 of the 67 horses ran in both the Derby and Preakness. That’s an abysmal 15% participation rate.
Michael McCarthy, trainer of Preakness favorite Journalism, would prefer to keep things the way they are.
“I think it’s demanding and meant to separate the greats,” McCarthy said. “I think it captivates the average observer for the five weeks. Sometimes there’s some great stories involved. This year we’re not going to have [a Triple Crown winner], but we’re still going to have a great Triple Crown series.
“Obviously, with the Belmont going to Saratoga last year and this year, it makes for a little bit of a different kind of a series. … I’m a bit of a traditionalist in that way, but I think three races in five weeks is good.”
Wayne Lukas, who trains American Promise, has been around racing longer than anyone. The 89-year-old has won the Preakness seven times, including last year with Seize the Grey.
“I’ve been pushing for a change in that tradition for 20 years,” Lukas said. “But then Bob Baffert comes up and wins [the Triple Crown] twice. So that silenced everybody pretty much.
“I thought that we could run the first Saturday in May and then run the Preakness on Memorial Day weekend … when everybody’s off work and then run the Belmont on the Fourth of July. But in order to get that done, you got to have three race tracks agree. And that’s really difficult.”
Baffert, who won the Triple Crown with American Pharoah and Justify and is running Goal Oriented in the Preakness, chooses to play Switzerland in this discussion.
“I don’t get involved in that conversation because I’ll do whatever [they want],” Baffert said. “We should just take it to Santa Anita for one year. Bring it out there. Don’t need your raincoats. Get a tan while you’re out there.”
Trainer Mark Casse, who has Sandman in the Preakness, has changed his mind on the topic.
“For a long time, I’ve said ‘No, I like the two weeks,” Casse said. “It’s not supposed to be easy. One of the things that drives me crazy is when people say, ‘Well, this is the way we’ve always done it.’ I believe that the world gets smarter every day, and if you stand still, you get run over.
“I think if we’re going to continue losing Kentucky Derby winners because of the two weeks, then I think we got to really seriously look at making it maybe a month and a month.”
Butler brought up another theory as to why fewer horses run the first two legs of the Triple Crown.
“There’s a lot of opportunities for 3-year-olds,” Butler said. “When the Triple Crown was the Triple Crown back in the day, that was it for big money races and you wanted to be there. That’s why you had a lot of the Derby horses running back to run for the money. Now, there are so many other opportunities, and two weeks doesn’t fit in.”
The Preakness is considered the easiest of the three races to win. It has a field about half the size of the Derby, which is considered the most difficult of the three to win. It also is 1/16 of a mile shorter than the Derby and 5/16th of a mile shorter than a traditional Belmont Stakes.
Doug O’Neill, when he was campaigning Derby winner Nyquist in 2016, might have offered the best explanation of why running the Preakness two weeks after the Derby is a good idea.
“You’re coming back so quick [after two weeks], you don’t have time to screw them up,” O’Neill said.
The topic likely will remain quiet for 50 weeks until the connections of next year’s Kentucky Derby winner decide to go to Baltimore or wait for New York.
Warning: this article contains discussion of eating disorders
Paul Craig says he developed an eating disorder while cutting weight for his four-fight stint at middleweight and has urged any fighter who has experienced the same to “get help and support”.
The 37-year-old Scotsman, who has spent the majority of his 11-year career at light-heavyweight, moved down to middleweight in 2023 with a submission win over Andre Muniz.
Craig, who lost his next three fights in the division, said he restricted his calorie intake for 10 weeks leading up to the bouts.
Craig weighs around 220lb (15st 7lb) normally and described the cut to the UFC’s middleweight threshold of 185lb (13st 2lb) as “horrible”.
“I set myself a goal of being middleweight champion and focussed and did it. But mentally, I ended up with an eating disorder,” said Craig.
“The best thing I did was talk to people about it because for a long time I was embarrassed of it.
“I do believe there are other fighters out there going through this so put it out there, get the help and support.”
The National Health Service (NHS) describes an eating disorder, external as a mental health condition where people use the control of food to cope with feelings and other situations.
Unhealthy eating behaviours may include eating too much, too little, disordered eating or worrying about body weight or shape.
DIVISION I #1 Banning 10, #16 LACES 1 #8 Garfield 3, #9 San Fernando 2 #5 Verdugo Hills 2, #12 Legacy 0 #4 San Pedro 11, #20 Hamilton 0 #14 Roosevelt 5, #3 Narbonne 3 #11 Taft 7, #6 Bell 4 #7 Palisades 7, #10 Kennedy 4 #2 Carson 15, #15 South Gate 5
DIVISION II #1 Maywood CES 10, #16 Fremont 0 #8 Monroe 1, #9 Torres 0 #12 Marquez 5, #5 Bravo 3 #4 Chavez 2, #13 Reseda 1 #3 Van Nuys 13, #14 Harbor Teacher 4 #6 Sotomayor 5, #11 Vaughn 2 #7 Port of LA 6, #10 Grant 5 #15 SOCES 11, #2 King/Drew 7
DIVISION III #1 Jefferson 21, #16 Lakeview Charter 0 #9 University Prep Value at #8 East Valley #5 Huntington Park 14, #12 Collins Family 0 #20 Lincoln at #4 WISH Academy #3 Triumph Charter 10, #19 Fulton 9 #6 Diego Rivera 18, #11 LA Leadership Academy 17 #7 RFK Community 8, #10 CALS Early College 7 #2 University 23, #15 Downtown Magnets 2
SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE (Games at 3 p.m. unless noted)
QUARTERFINALS
DIVISION I #8 Garfield at #1 Banning #5 Verdugo Hills at #4 San Pedro #14 Roosevelt at #11 Taft #7 Palisades at #2 Carson
DIVISION II #8 Monroe at #1 Maywood CES #12 Marquez at #4 Chavez #6 Sotomayor at #3 Van Nuys #15 SOCES at #7 Port of Los Angeles
DIVISION III #8 East Valley / #9 University Prep Value at #1 Jefferson #5 Huntington Park vs. #20 Lincoln / #4 Wish Academy #6 Diego Rivera at #3 Triumph Charter #7 RFK Community at #2 University
TUESDAY’S SCHEDULE
SEMIFINALS
OPEN DIVISION At Cal State Northridge #3 Birmingham vs. #2 El Camino Real, 3 p.m. #5 Sylmar at #1 Venice, 6 p.m.
Note: Divisions II-III Semifinals Tues., May 20 at 3 p.m. at higher seeds; Division I Semifinals Wed., May 21 at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. at Stengel Field; Divisions II-III Finals Fri., May 23 at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. at Stengel Field; Open-Division I Finals Sat. May 24 at Dodger Stadium, time TBD.
Shepherd, who has played 37 ODIs and 53 T20s, will be replaced in the squad by left-arm seamer Jediah Blades.
He has played four matches for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL, including a 14-ball 53 not out in his most recent innings.
Rutherford has played in nine matches for current IPL leaders Gujarat Titans this season.
He will be replaced by top-order batter John Campbell for the Ireland leg of the tour while Shimron Hetmyer will take his place for the matches against England.
Hetmyer is another West Indies player at the IPL but his Rajasthan Royals side are already eliminated. He was originally left out of the Windies ODI squad after a poor run of form.
Seamer Shamar Joseph is at the IPL but has not featured for his side Lucknow Super Giants and remains in the West Indies squad.
The Windies play three ODIs in Ireland from 21 May before a three-match series in England from 29 May.
Three T20s against England follow from 6 June but the tourists are yet to name a squad for that contest.
CITY SECTION Animo Bunche 21, Annenberg 3 Animo De La Hoya 13, CNDLC 3 CALS Early College 24, Alliance Bloomfield 3 Harbor Teacher 17, Dorsey 0 King/Drew 20, Locke 5 King/Drew 13, Locke 0 Northridge Academy 19, VAAS 3 Orthopaedic 28, Downtown Magnets 0 Port of Los Angeles 14, Fremont 2 SOCES 27, East Valley 2 Sun Valley Magnet 14, Bert Corona 4 USC-MAE 15, Central City Value 1 Vaughn 19, Fulton 12
Note: Playoff brackets will be released by noon Friday.
Crystal Palace will face Manchester City in the FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday.
How much of this season’s competition do you remember?
See how you get on with our FA Cup quiz. Have fun!
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As is typically the case when a team wins 19-2 like the Dodgers did against the Athletics on Thursday night, plenty of hitters in the team’s star-studded lineup aligned to have monster nights.
Shohei Ohtani homered twice in a six-RBI performance, tying the major league lead with 15 long balls this season. Max Muncy, Andy Pages and James Outman also went deep, helping the club set a new season-high for runs. Hyeseong Kim reached base all five times. Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts also combined to get aboard five times before being removed after the third inning, the lead at that point already up to 11 runs.
All of those accomplishments, however, paled in personal significance to what the Dodgers’ starting catcher did.
Making his major league debut after being called up in a major roster move the day prior, top prospect Dalton Rushing walked in his first at-bat, singled in the next and went two-for-four while navigating a pre-determined bullpen game behind the plate — a strong showing for a 24-year-old slugger with so much potential, the Dodgers cut longtime backup catcher Austin Barnes to get him on the roster.
“He’s very comfortable, I think, in a good way,” manager Dave Roberts said of Rushing, a second-round draft pick in 2022 who has blossomed into one of the most highly-touted prospects in baseball ever since. “I think he thought he was ready [for the majors] when he signed.”
Rushing’s rise wasn’t that quick, requiring the University of Louisville product to climb through the farm system over four minor-league seasons. But after batting .277 with 54 home runs, 185 RBIs and a .931 OPS as a farm hand, the Dodgers decided their minor league player of the year award-winner from last season was finally ready.
As far as first impressions go, Thursday was a good start.
In the second inning, Rushing got a three-run rally started by drawing a leadoff walk. In the third, he worked a full count before blasting a belt-high sinker through the infield at 110 mph off the bat. In the eighth, he tacked on another base hit when a ground ball to first was booted.
The Dodgers have been contemplating when to bring Rushing to the majors for a while, long ago convinced his bat was ready to handle big-league pitching.
It’s part of the reason why, during the second half of last season, they experimented with him in left field; a position where, at the time, he had a clearer pathway to regular playing time.
This offseason, however, the club decided to rededicate his focus to his duties behind the plate, “challenging him,” as president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman put it, to improve his defensive fundamentals, pitching-calling during games and ability to build rapport with members of the pitching staff.
“He’s continued to improve and get better,” Friedman said. “When we drafted him, he was new to catching. So there were a lot of areas to improve upon. But his work ethic is off the charts. And he really cares about being great. Each challenge we’ve given him, he’s met that challenge. And the success he’s had, there’s also an important element of having our finger on the pulse of that with guys, in terms of moving them up.”
And over the last couple weeks, the ways Rushing could potentially impact the club’s MLB roster became increasingly more clear.
Two weeks ago, the Dodgers sorely missed a left-handed bat like his off the bench in a May 4 loss in Atlanta, a game that ended with Barnes and fellow soft-hitting veteran Miguel Rojas recording outs in tough right-on-right matchups against Braves closer Raisel Iglesias.
In Barnes’ final Dodgers start last Saturday in Arizona, his weakened throwing arm was also exposed, the Diamondbacks stealing three bases in a game Barnes one-hopped one throw to second base and airmailed another to the outfield.
Perhaps, if the Dodgers weren’t facing the prospect of a tight division race in this year’s talented National League West, such problems would have been more tolerable. But, with the team’s MLB-best 29-15 record affording them just a one-game division lead so far this year, it’s already become clear that fine margins could matter this season.
So, once the Dodgers returned home from their 10-game trip this week, the front office decided to pull the trigger.
“Rush has obviously been on our radar for a long time in terms of when and how to introduce him to the major league team,” Friedman said. “I think with the improvements we’ve seen year over year, coupled with being in a tight division race … I think it falls in line with our consistent message of doing anything and everything we can to win.”
That didn’t mean cutting Barnes, who was in his 11th season with the Dodgers and won two World Series with the club, wasn’t difficult.
“Obviously Austin has been a huge part of this organization for a long time, he’s been in the middle of a lot of really big moments for us,” Friedman said. “His impact has been significant. So it was one of the harder decisions.”
Barnes’ departure sent ripples around the rest of the clubhouse, as well.
“I think everybody was surprised,” Clayton Kershaw said when asked of Barnes, whose 68 games behind the plate for the future Hall of Famer trails only A.J. Ellis for most in Kershaw’s career.
“It’s sad. Barnesy’s one of my best friends on or off the field. You won’t find a guy that competes better than Austin Barnes. He wants to win more than anybody, and he always found a way, and he came up with some big moments for us throughout the years. I think a lot of people forget he was starting a lot of playoff games and winning a lot of games for us, getting big knocks. It’s sad to see someone like that go who’s been here that long, and I think we all kind of feel it.”
“It’s no disrespect to Dalton,” Kershaw added. “I know he deserves it, and he’s going to be a great player. It’s just for me, personally, I think for a lot of guys on the team, it was disappointing to see [Barnes] go.”
As the door on Barnes’ Dodgers career closes, however, a new one is opening for Rushing.
And one night in, the early results were promising.
“The last mile of his development is helping lead a major league staff,” Friedman said. “We felt like now is the right time to give him that opportunity, and for us to learn some things about him that you can’t know until they’re at the major-league level, and for him to experience the speed of game here, which will be insightful for all of us in terms of the next set of things to work on.”
Those interviewed told researchers about the scale of abuse they suffered and its impacts.
Participants were chosen because they had experience of abuse. Former Yorkshire cricketer Rafiq encountered abuse and threats after documenting the racism he suffered in the game.
“The abuse left me feeling incredibly paranoid, at times, and often made me question my sanity,” Rafiq says in the report.
“The impact of this experience on me as a human being and on my mental health has damaged my life to such an extent, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to quantify it.”
Aluko, who last month won the first stage of a libel case after being targeted on social media by ex-footballer Joey Barton, is not quoted in the report but did contribute to it.
Ex-international rugby referee Barnes detailed the abuse aimed at his wife, which he says “shocked” him. Much of it originated after contentious decisions taken in games, he said.
“I wasn’t active on social media. She then became the subject of the abuse, with people attacking her personally via direct messages to her social media accounts and work email address, or by posting fake and offensive friend requests. The abuse went on for some time,” Barnes said.
He said “misogynistic language” and even “threats of sexual violence” were aimed at her.
The report documents how “a female TV sports presenter will get horrendous amounts of abuse, often just about what she’s wearing”.
Another contributor said: “I didn’t leave my house for a week because of the impact of online abuse, the sort of wave [of intensity] and the amount of people that are abusing you.”
Researchers were told that the fear of receiving more abuse led to some of the contributors turning down work.
Sanjay Bhandari, chair of the anti-discrimination body Kick It Out, said: “The impact of online abuse is undeniable, and the rise in discriminatory social media reports to Kick It Out last season shows it’s getting worse.”
He said the Ofcom report showed “a culture of abuse that has become normalised”.
“It’s vital that we see social media companies step up with meaningful tools that give users real control over what they see and experience online,” he added.
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame High was supposed to be a year or two away from softball prominence with its collection of six talented freshmen.
Well, the Knights have already arrived after a 9-7 victory over Trinity League champion Orange Lutheran on Thursday in an opening game of the Southern Section Division 1 playoffs in which freshman Jackie Morales hit three home runs.
Notre Dame, the Mission League champion, was leading most of the game until Orange Lutheran scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to take a 7-6 lead. Morales tied the score with a home run in the top of the seventh. Then the Knights scored two more runs on an RBI single from freshman Keira Luderer and an RBI single from junior Ellayne Tellez-Perez.
Orange Lutheran was the Division 1 runner-up last season. For Notre Dame to go on the road and win is quite an accomplishment for coach Justin Siegel and the Knights.
“Big players show up in big situations and Jackie Morales has been a big player for us all season,” Siegel said.
Huntington Beach 8, Charter Oak 7: The Oilers hung on for the Division 1 win. Tea Gutierrez and Maleah Humble each had three hits.
Thirty-two days after his dramatic play-off victory at the Masters, which saw him become only the sixth player to win all four majors, most eyes were on McIlroy as he headed out as part of a three-ball containing the world’s top three-ranked players.
McIlroy – the US PGA champion in 2012 and 2014 – has an excellent record at Quail Hollow, winning four PGA Tour events there during his career.
The world number two started with a birdie at the par-five 10th – his first hole of the day – but gave that shot straight back by three-putting for bogey on the 11th green.
Another birdie followed on 15, but the marquee trio faltered at the entrance to Quail Hollow’s difficult closing three-hole stretch, known as the ‘Green Mile’.
All three left the 16th hole with double bogeys after McIlroy put his tee shot into the thick rough and Scheffler and Schauffele dumped their second shots into the water.
Later, both Scheffler and Schauffele voiced their frustrations at the decision not to allow ‘preferred lies’ on Thursday, following heavy rain in the build-up to the event.
The pair were particularly irked by their misfortune on the 16th hole when their balls picked up mud, which they claimed affected their next shots to the green. If preffered lies had been in place, they would have been allowed to lift, clean and replace their balls.
After a series of pars towards the end of his first round, five-time major winner McIlroy ended with another dropped shot on his final hole.
He hit just four of 14 fairways from the tee, a statistic he must improve if he is to move back into contention.
However, McIlroy has shown already this year that he can recover from a big first-round deficit to win one of the sport’s biggest prizes – he was seven shots behind Justin Rose after round one at the Masters before coming back to win the Green Jacket.
McIlroy’s second round set to begin at 18:47 BST on Friday.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The strongest field of the majors gave way to a few surprises Thursday in the PGA Championship, starting with Jhonattan Vegas charging into the lead with a seven-under 64 and the top 10 players in the world nowhere to be found among the top 10 at Quail Hollow.
A long day filled with sunshine and mud balls ended with Vegas in the penultimate group playing the best golf hardly anyone saw.
A briefly energized crowd had mostly left when Vegas blazed his way to the finish with five birdies on his last six holes, ending with an 18-footer on No. 8 and a 25-footer on the rugged ninth.
It was Vegas’ best score in 45 rounds playing the majors. The Venezuelan has never finished in the top 20 in a major and hadn’t qualified for this one in three years.
He had a two-shot lead over Ryan Gerard, the PGA Tour rookie who grew up in North Carolina and was the only other player to reach 7 under until bogeys on his last two holes. He was joined at 66 by Cam Davis of Australia.
The biggest crowds belonged to the top three in the world, and it wasn’t nearly as inspiring as four of the last five majors they have combined to win.
Masters champion Rory McIlroy didn’t make birdie over his last 12 holes and had nothing to say about that after a three-over 74 sent him straight to the range.
Scottie Scheffler and defending PGA champion Xander Schauffele had plenty to say about mud balls on tee shots, particularly on the 16th hole that sent both to double bogey. Scheffler at least holed two shots from off the green — one for birdie, one for eagle — and he finished with a 6-iron from 215 yards to three feet on No. 9 that sent him to a 69.
“I did a good job battling and keeping a level head out there during a day which there was definitely some challenging aspects to the course,” Scheffler said. “Did a good job posting a number on a day where I didn’t have my best stuff.”
For the first time in at least 30 years, the top 10 scores after the opening round of a major did not include anyone from the top 10 in the world ranking.
In their places were Vegas, who only got his game back in order last year when he won in Minnesota, and a host of other surprises.
Alex Smalley, the first alternate who found out about 15 hours before he teed off that he had a spot in the field, rolled in a 70-foot eagle putt on his way to a 67. Ryan Fox of New Zealand, who qualified by winning the Myrtle Beach Classic, also was at 67.
They were joined by a large group that included Luke Donald, the 47-year-old Ryder Cup captain for Europe who was the only player without a bogey on his card. The U.S. captain, Keegan Bradley, was another shot behind.
“It’s always fun, bogey-free in a major championship on a course that you wouldn’t have thought would be ideal for me,” said Donald, who is only in the field because of a PGA of America tradition to invite active Ryder Cup captains.
Considering the champions the majors have produced in recent years, this leaderboard more closely resembled the Myrtle Beach Classic. None of the top eight players have won a major, nor have they ever seriously contended.
Gerard looked comfortable playing before a home crowd. He made a tough par on the rugged ninth hole, then ran off four straight birdies on the back nine, and was seven under for the round after holing a 60-footer for eagle on the par-five 15th.
Davis had seven birdies and narrowly missed a 10-foot par putt on his last hole for the lead. Not bad for someone who recently ended a stretch of five straight missed cuts and hasn’t had a top 10 since early February.
“It’s just constantly trying to go back to things that have worked, trying to keep the head in a place where you’re not feeling like you’re banging your head against the wall all the time,” Davis said. “It’s letting it organically come — good processes, good routines, all those little one percenters add up to good golf eventually.”
The others at 67 were Stephan Jaeger and Aaron Rai, who both became first-time PGA Tour winners last year.
Scheffler at 69 had the best score of anyone from the top 10 in the world.
McIlroy, a four-time winner at Quail Hollow, came into this PGA Championship believing that thrill-a-hole Masters title last month that gave him the career Grand Slam would be the highlight of his career no matter what he does from here.
A sloppy round, particularly off the tee, wasn’t going to change that. It was no less surprising to see him struggle at Quail Hollow, posting his highest round since a 76 in the second round of the Wells Fargo Championship in 2018.
Schauffele wound up with a 72 in his bid to go back-to-back in the PGA Championship.
Jordan Spieth likely will have to wait until next year at Aronimink to try for the career Grand Slam. The three-time major champion, lacking only the Wanamaker Trophy for his major collection, ran off three straight bogeys early on the back nine and shot 76.
Nathan Aspinall took the Premier League nightly win in Aberdeen to close on a play-off place while Luke Littler sealed top spot.
Aspinall is on the brink of qualifying after beating Chris Dobey 6-1 in the final on a dramatic evening which saw Gerwyn Price hit a nine-darter.
Dobey claimed a decider to win his semi-final 6-5 against world champion Littler, who earlier won a classic against world number one Luke Humphries that featured 14 180s.
Despite averaging 110.01, Humphries could not halt Littler, who averaged 115.96 to guarantee he would finish top of the league phase.
Defending champion Littler had already qualified for the four-man play-offs in London on 29 May alongside Humphries and Price.
Price hit his second nine-darter of the campaign but ended a 6-4 quarter-final loser to Stephen Bunting.
Aspinall moved above seven-time champion Michael van Gerwen into fourth spot with a 6-3 victory over the Dutchman before dispatching Bunting 6-1 and going four points clear after his final triumph.
If Van Gerwen does not claim the night win in Sheffield next week, Aspinall – who finished fifth in 2023 and 2024 – will claim the last play-off spot.
“All I have said to my family, I don’t want to come fifth again. I’ve put one foot in the finals. I play Michael [van Gerwen] again next week and the pressure is on him,” said the English player.
“It’s a do or die game. I save myself three hours of misery if I can beat him at 8pm, I’m going to the O2 which is a dream of mine. It’s in my hands.”
Holland praised Hiller and looked ahead to their new partnership Thursday during the Hall of Fame hockey executive’s introductory news conference at the Kings’ training complex. Holland is returning to the NHL after a one-year absence, taking over as the replacement for Rob Blake.
The 69-year-old former GM of the Detroit Red Wings and the Edmonton Oilers immediately made it clear he isn’t in Los Angeles to blow up a team that has made four straight playoff appearances, only to lose to the Oilers in the first round every spring. Holland won’t make an immediate change behind the Kings’ bench — or even in the front office, where he plans to retain the assistant GMs and hockey executives who worked for Blake.
“Jim is going to be the coach,” Holland said. “Jim Hiller did a fabulous job in leading the team to 105 points. They were good defensively. They were good on special teams. The team played hard. I thought three weeks ago that this was a team that had the potential, the ability to go on a long playoff run. He’ll be a better coach next year for the experience that he went through this year.”
Holland and Hiller spent two hours in discussion Wednesday, the GM said. Hiller, who replaced the fired Todd McLellan in February 2024, was an assistant coach to Mike Babcock in Detroit a decade ago while Holland was the Wings’ general manager.
The Kings tied the franchise records for victories (48) and points (105) this season under Hiller, only to lose four straight playoff games to Edmonton after going up 2-0. Los Angeles is a consistent playoff team with star power and solid depth, but Holland knows his job is to get the Kings off this franchise plateau.
“I’m hoping to add something to it, maybe a little different idea,” Holland said. “I’m looking forward to getting going. … I understand that this is a marketplace that’s really competitive. You talk about all the competition for the entertainment dollar, so it’s important that you win and you compete. Got to find a way to make the team a little bit different, a little bit better. I think the experiences they’ve been through here will benefit us down the road.”
Blake left the team less than two weeks ago, according to Kings president Luc Robitaille. Holland called the Kings “a legitimate Stanley Cup contender” this season, and he praised Blake for his rebuilding job.
The Kings’ search quickly zeroed in on Holland, who spent the past year working in the NHL’s hockey operations division after he left the Oilers by mutual consent. Robitaille said the Kings are “very fortunate” to hire Holland.
“He knows the path of what it takes to get to the championship,” Robitaille said. “That’s a hard thing to do, and that’s a hard thing to learn. His experience, what he’s done over the course of his career, is very important for this franchise to get to that next level.”
Holland won one Stanley Cup as an assistant GM in Detroit and three more during his 22 years as the Wings’ general manager. In 2019 he moved on to Edmonton, which made the playoffs in all five years of his tenure and even advanced to Game 7 of last year’s Stanley Cup Final before falling to Florida.
Holland said he wasn’t sure whether he would return to a front office after he left Edmonton, but he’s ready. He spent the winter watching games every night at home in British Columbia when he wasn’t working alongside NHL director of hockey operations Colin Campbell.
“I’m excited to be back in the saddle,” Holland said. “I’ve got a lot of energy. I had an opportunity this past winter to get my batteries re-juiced.”
Holland called Los Angeles “one of the great sports cities in all the world,” and he is already getting to know the breadth of the city in a way he never did as a visitor: He spent the past two nights in a hotel in Manhattan Beach, the beautiful seaside enclave where most of the Kings’ players and executives live.
“My wife is excited, and my grandkids are really excited,” Holland said. “Let me tell you, they’re looking forward to coming to L.A., watching some Kings games and going to Disneyland.”
Ange Postecoglou has signalled he will rest key players when Tottenham play Aston Villa on Friday as he “can’t afford to lose another” to injury with the Europa League final less than a week away.
Midfielder Dejan Kulusevski has become the latest first-team regular to suffer an injury that will rule him out of Wednesday’s final in Bilbao against Manchester United.
Fellow midfielders Lucas Bergvall and James Maddison are both also set to miss the final, while defender Radu Dragusin is a long-term injury absentee after suffering a serious knee injury in February.
Head coach Postecoglou rested several players against Crystal Palace last weekend.
Plans to field his strongest side against Villa to “sharpen up” for the Bilbao trip may now have to be scrapped.
“The reality of our existence at the moment is we can’t lose another player to an injury,” Postecoglou said. “It’s just too finely balanced for us considering what’s at stake.
“Look, in a normal world you use this to be sharpening up, but we’re not living in a normal world.
“Even with the best planning we’re still getting hit with these setbacks. From my perspective I’ve got to take that into account when considering the [Aston Villa] game.”
He may take the opportunity to try new combinations in midfield.
“We’ve always had to try to find creative ways to cover the absences we’ve had and we’ll find a way to do that again,” Postecoglou said.
“There’s obviously a few players who will play [on Friday] who haven’t played regularly or a lot lately who will get an opportunity.”
Spurs are 17th in the Premier League table – one place above the relegation zone but out of danger, and one behind United in 16th.
Both Europa League final sides have endured dismal domestic league campaigns but the winner next Wednesday will qualify for next season’s Champions League.
Tottenham have not won a trophy since lifting the League Cup in 2008.
The Chargers will seek approval to sell an 8% stake in the franchise to private investment firm Arctos at next week’s NFL team owners meetings.
The approval request was sent in a memo to NFL team owners, according to a person with knowledge of the memo not authorized to speak publicly about it.
If approved, Chargers owner Dean Spanos and siblings Michael Spanos and Alexis Spanos Ruhl would still own approximately 61% of the franchise.
The NFL spring meeting will be held Tuesday and Wednesday in Eagan, Minn.
It is the second major change for the Chargers ownership group in the last year after Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores bought a 27% stake in the team in September. That transaction resolved a long-running dispute between Dea Spanos Berberian and her siblings as Gores and his wife bought Spanos Berberian’s share of the franchise.
Players recently ranked Spanos and the ownership’s contribution to the Chargers’ success fifth-best out of 32 teams, according to an annual survey conducted by the NFL Players Assn. It was a stark improvement from the previous year’s rankings that placed ownership 24th in the league.
The jump can be attributed to the team’s new $250-million facility in El Segundo, which opened last July. Spanos also brought in coach Jim Harbaugh, who led the team to an 11-6 regular-season record in his first season.
The team entered free agency with the second-highest salary-cap space in the NFL, according to Overthecap.com, but did not make many splashy signings. The biggest contract of the offseason went to free agent offensive lineman Mekhi Becton, who signed a two-year deal worth $20 million after winning the Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles.
