Gyeongju, South Korea – As US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping prepare to meet for the first time since 2019, Washington and Beijing appear poised to reach a deal to lower the temperature of their fierce rivalry.
But while Trump and Xi are widely expected to de-escalate US-China tensions in South Korea on Thursday, expectations are modest for how far any agreement will go to resolve the myriad points of contention between the world’s two largest economies.
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Many details of the expected deal that have been flagged in advance relate to avoiding future escalation, rather than rolling back the trade war that Trump launched during his first term and has dramatically expanded since returning to office this year.
Some of the proposed measures involve issues that have only arisen within the last few weeks, including China’s plan to impose strict export controls on rare earths from December 1.
Whatever Trump and Xi agree to on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju, there is little doubt that Washington and Beijing will continue to butt heads as they jockey for influence in a rapidly shifting international order, according to analysts.
“I have modest expectations for this meeting,” said Deborah Elms, head of trade policy at the Hinrich Foundation in Singapore.
“I think, no matter what happens this week, we haven’t seen the end of economic tensions, tariff threats, export controls and restrictions, and the use of unusual levers like digital rules,” Elms told Al Jazeera.
US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, on June 29, 2019. [Susan Walsh/AP]
Contours of a deal
While the exact parameters of any deal are still to be determined by Trump and Xi, the contours of an agreement have emerged in recent days.
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in media interviews this week that he expected China to defer its restrictions on rare earths and that Trump’s threatened 100 percent tariff on Chinese goods was “effectively off the table”.
Bessent said he also anticipated that the Chinese side would agree to increase purchases of US-grown soya beans, enhance cooperation with the US to halt the flow of chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl, and sign off on a finalised TikTok deal.
While heading off a further spiralling in US-China ties, a deal along these lines would leave intact a wide array of tariffs, sanctions and export controls that hinder trade and business between the sides.
Since Washington and Beijing reached a partial truce in their tit-for-tat tariff salvoes in May, the average US duty on Chinese goods has stood at more than 55 percent, while China’s average levy on US products has hovered at about 32 percent.
Washington has blacklisted hundreds of Chinese firms deemed to pose national security risks, and prohibited the export of advanced chips and key manufacturing equipment related to AI.
China has, in turn, added dozens of US companies to its “unreliable entity” list, launched antitrust investigations into Nvidia and Qualcomm, and restricted exports of more than a dozen rare earths and metallic elements, including gallium and dysprosium.
US-China trade has declined sharply since Trump re-entered the White House.
China’s exports to the US fell 27 percent in September, the sixth straight month of decline, even as outbound shipments rose overall amid expanding trade with Southeast Asia, Latin America, Europe and Africa.
China’s imports of US goods declined 16 percent, continuing a downward trend since April.
“The structural contradictions between China and the United States have not been resolved,” said Wang Wen, dean of the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China in Beijing, predicting continuing friction and “even worse” relations between the superpowers in the future.
“Most importantly, China’s strength is increasing and will surpass that of the United States in the future,” Wang told Al Jazeera.
‘De-escalation unlikely’
Shan Guo, a partner with Shanghai-based Hutong Research, said he expects the “bulk” of the deal between Trump and Xi to be about avoiding escalation. “A fundamental de-escalation is unlikely given the political environment in the US,” Guo told Al Jazeera.
A man films the logo of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit (APEC) outside of the venue in Gyeongju, South Korea, Tuesday, October 28, 2025 [Lee Jin-man/AP]
But with the US having no alternative to Chinese rare earths and minerals in the near-term, Washington and Beijing could put aside their differences for longer than past trade truces, Guo said.
“This means reduced downside risks in US-China relations for at least a year, or perhaps even longer,” he said.
Dennis Wilder, a professor at Georgetown University who worked on China at the CIA and the White House’s National Security Council, said that while he is optimistic the summit will produce “positive tactical results”, it will not mark the end of the trade war.
“A comprehensive trade deal is still not available,” Wilder told Al Jazeera.
“Bessent and his Chinese counterpart will continue negotiating in hopes of a more lasting agreement if and when President Trump visits China next year.”
Trump and Xi’s go-to language on the US-China relationship itself points to the gulf between the sides.
While Trump often complains about the US being “ripped off” by China, Xi has repeatedly called for their relations to be defined by “mutual respect” and “win-win cooperation”.
“The United States should treat China in a way that China considers respectful,” said Wang of Renmin University.
“They have to respect China, and if they don’t, then the United States will receive an equal response until they become able to respect others,” he added.
Welcome back to the Times of Troy newsletter, where after one last rain-soaked showdown in South Bend, we pour one out for one of the great rivalries in the history of college football. After a century of meeting on the football field, USC and Notre Dame are not currently scheduled to meet again. This, by all accounts, is a terrible shame.
Outside of L.A., the college football world has placed the blame for the rivalry’s demise squarely on USC’s shoulders. Notre Dame made sure that was the case when its athletic director, Pete Bevacqua, ran to Sports Illustrated last spring, immediately after USC made an offer to renew the series for one year.
Fight on! Are you a true Trojans fan?
As PR moves go, it was a smart one: By firing the first missive, Bevacqua knew that Notre Dame could shape the narrative around negotiations. And ever since, as Bevacqua hoped, Notre Dame has been cast by much of the national media as valiantly attempting to save the rivalry at any cost, while USC looks like its running scared away from it.
Which is really quite ironic, if you know the recent history of how Notre Dame has handled its rivalries.
Thirteen years ago, minutes before the two schools were set to face off in South Bend, former Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick famously handed then-Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon a letter as notice that Notre Dame intended to cancel the remainder of their rivalry series. It was as passive aggressive as scheduling changes get. Brandon didn’t even read the letter until after the game.
These two teams went way back, before USC even first fielded a football team. The two Midwest rivals first faced off back in 1887, when Michigan literally taught Notre Dame how to play football. (Not kidding.) Not to mention it was actually a Detroit Free Press columnist who first called Notre Dame the “Fighting Irish.” (Imagine the royalties!)
But in 2012, Notre Dame declared without any further conversation that it was backing out of the game. The reason? As part of its move to the Atlantic Coast Conference in every other sport, the Irish football program agreed to play five games against ACC schools every year.
No one at Notre Dame seemed all that concerned about history and tradition then. Swarbrick, at the time, called canceling the series “a necessary precaution,” given the future uncertainty surrounding its schedule.
Sound familiar?
Except, in this case, Notre Dame kept Purdue on its future schedule. And Michigan State. It chose to maintain its series with Navy, which had beaten the Irish just three times in the previous half-century, as well as Stanford. I wonder why.
Months later, then-Michigan coach Brady Hoke told a crowd at a booster luncheon that Notre Dame was “chickening out” of the rivalry. And he was right.
A dozen years later, Notre Dame is floating the same accusations about USC.
Except, in this case, USC has made efforts to maintain the series after moving to a much less flexible and more difficult schedule in the Big Ten. It has tried to keep the game going despite being locked into nine conference games — and with far less incentive to add strong non-conference opponents than there was in 2012. USC even amended its initial offer to extend the rivalry for multiple years, instead of just one, as a compromise.
Look, USC isn’t blameless in all of this. But no one seems to have acknowledged yet that Notre Dame hasn’t exactly helped negotiations along. It doesn’t want to move the game from October or November to September, as USC has asked — not because of tradition, as has been suggested, but purely because it’s much more convenient to Notre Dame to keep USC later in the season, when no other top programs want a team such as Notre Dame smack dab in the middle of its conference slate.
Who cares about the tradition of when the game is played, if the other option is it’s not played at all? If the Irish are so concerned about maintaining the USC rivalry, why didn’t they insist that Clemson — a team it has much less history with — play their newly signed 12-season series in mid-October?
Because Notre Dame is used to dictating the terms of engagement and getting its way. It has the flexibility of being without a conference. And it also knows it has the narrative firmly on its side. So why bother budging when the pitchforks are already pointed toward USC?
I don’t expect that to change any time soon, even as both athletic directors say they’re “optimistic” an agreement can be reached. Not unless USC is ready to capitulate. Until then, the public pressure will remain on the Trojans alone, while Notre Dame points across the bargaining table and cries chicken. Irony, be damned.
Yes … technically.
If USC wins each of its next five games to finish 10-2, you can count on the Trojans being in the 12-team field. But anything less than that, and they’re going to have a tough time making a case.
Let’s say USC only loses on the road to No. 6 Oregon from this point on. That would put the Trojans at 9-3, with just two Big Ten losses — and three overall. That’s a good season! But no team with three losses has ever made it into the Playoff, and while there’s a legitimate argument that this year will be the first, USC presumably wouldn’t have enough marquee wins to move the needle with the committee.
Michigan is currently USC’s only win over a team above .500. Nebraska, Iowa and Northwestern are all 5-2, but only one of the three has a top 25 win this season — the Huskers won their opener against No. 21 Cincinnati. The toughest test left aside from Oregon could very well be UCLA, which has won three in a row after starting 0-4.
Perhaps there’s a world where USC, with one conference loss, could end up in the Big Ten title game. But in addition to beating the Ducks, that would also require moving past either Ohio State or Indiana, neither of which have looked particularly vulnerable of late.
However you try to spin it, getting USC into the Playoff requires serious finesse. By losing to Notre Dame, the Trojans closed off the easiest path to a postseason run.
More than likely, USC’s hopes now hinge on running the table. But nothing I’ve seen recently suggests that’s a likely option. Instead, with each passing week, my 8-4 prediction is feeling just about right.
Jayden Maiava throws a pass under pressure in the second quarter against Notre Dame.
(Justin Casterline / Getty Images)
—Stop asking if Lincoln Riley is going to give up playcalling. It ain’t happening. It wasn’t that long ago that Riley’s playcalling was the main reason for his historic rise through the coaching ranks. That felt like ancient history on Saturday night, as Riley dialed up a failed trick play to star wideout Makai Lemon that ended in a game-altering fumble. Riley admitted after the game that it was “a stupid call,” which is the closest he’s come to accountability in that department. He added later that his two failed fourth-and-short calls weren’t very good either. “I’ve gotta be way better for our guys,” he said after. It’s good that he recognizes his shortcomings in this situation, but how we’ve gotten to this point, with Riley’s playcalling having a clear negative affect, I can’t quite explain. Riley has had impressive moments calling plays this season, which are easy to forget after such a bad performance. But the fact that he seems to be at his worst in the biggest moments is not the best sign for turning things around in the future. All that said, it would presumably take an intervention from one of his bosses to hand off those duties to Luke Huard. The ego hit would simply be too significant for Riley to initiate that change otherwise.
—USC struggled to protect Jayden Maiava, and it paid the price. The Trojans’ front allowed a season-high 17 pressures to Notre Dame, and Maiava completed a meager 31% of his passes and threw both of his interceptions when under pressure Saturday. The good news is that reinforcements are on the way. Starting left tackle Elijah Paige dressed for Saturday’s game, but was only available in case of emergency. Center Kilian O’Connor, meanwhile, was surprisingly listed as questionable against Notre Dame. Both should be good to go when USC takes on Nebraska in two weeks.
—USC has lost 11 straight on the road to top 25 teams, six of which came under Riley. The last win USC had against a ranked opponent on the road came in November … of 2016! And USC’s last chance this season to rectify this terrible streak will likely be in Eugene next month — a game the Trojans are, as of now, unlikely to win. That means we’re staring down the barrel of an entire decade without a win over a ranked team on the road, which is totally unacceptable for a team that sees itself as a blue blood of college football.
—After having zero rim protection a year ago, USC might have one of the best rim protectors in the Big Ten this season. Just take a look at the statline for new 7-foot-5 center Gabe Dynes from USC’s exhibition against Loyola Marymount. Dynes had six blocks, three of which came in his first 10 minutes of the game. Dynes also had nine points, eight rebounds and even three assists, as the USC took care of business in a 60-51 win. The Trojans shot just 33%, but showed that their defense can be a strength by holding Loyola Marymount to just 28% from the field. Dynes will be an important part of that equation and if he can contribute on offense, well … the sky could be the limit for the 7-footer.
Olympic sports spotlight
After losing four of six to start its Big Ten slate, USC’s women’s volleyball team bounced back in a big way over the past weekend, winning two critical matches on the road. The highlight of the weekend was a 3-1 win over No. 9 Wisconsin, USC’s best win yet of this season.
Redshirt freshman outside hitter London Wijay had a career performance in the win over Wisconsin, tying a career-high with 24 kills, while freshman libero Taylor Deckert tallied back-to-back 20-dig performances over the weekend. USC also handled Iowa in four sets, to bring its Big Ten record to 4-4 on the season.
Jason Bateman as Vince, Jude Law as Jake in “Black Rabbit.”
(Courtesy of Netflix)
The last time Jason Bateman got in with the wrong crowd on a Netflix show, one of the best shows of the last decade was born. I didn’t want to place “Ozark”-level expectations on “Black Rabbit,” Bateman’s new show on Netflix with Jude Law, but after watching the first two episodes, I can say with confidence that it’s off to just as strong of a start.
Law stars as a New York restaurateur whose life is upended when his estranged brother, played by Bateman, suddenly comes back into his life and drags him unwillingly into New York’s criminal underworld. The show’s tone is about as tense as it gets — think “The Bear” meets “Uncut Gems” — but if you’re in the mood for a thrill ride, then this show is worth your time.
Until next time …
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at [email protected], and follow me on X at @Ryan_Kartje. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Longtime rivals Sylmar and San Fernando are set to meet on Saturday at the Coliseum in a tripleheader for high school football.
The junior varsity teams will play at 2:30 p.m., followed by a girls flag football game at 5 p.m. and the varsity 11-man game at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 and available for purchase at each school this week, with $12 going back to the schools. Tickets also will be available at the Coliseum on Saturday.
San Fernando is an eight-time City Section champion with a rich history that includes its wishbone teams of the 1970s featuring the late Charles White, who won the Heisman Trophy at USC. Sylmar won City titles in 1992 and 1994 under coach Jeff Engilman.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our student-athletes, families, alumni and the broader community to come together and celebrate the legacy and rivalry of two proud programs in a truly iconic venue,” Sylmar athletic director Wilquin Garcia said.
It will be a Valley Mission League game, with Sylmar 4-3 and 1-2 in league and San Fernando 5-2 and 2-1. In flag football, San Fernando is 7-6 and Sylmar is 4-5.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].
Borg won 66 singles titles, spent 109 weeks as world number one and claimed a record 41 successive wins at Wimbledon.
His retirement at 25 – a time when tennis players are starting to peak – was a shock.
“I had enough. I lost the interest and the motivation,” he said.
“If I knew what was going to happen in the years after, I would continue to play tennis.”
In his autobiography, Heartbeats: A Memoir, co-written with his wife Patricia, the notoriously private Borg speaks about his post-playing career struggles.
“I had no plan. People today, they have guidance. I was lost in the world,” he said.
“There was more drugs, there was pills, alcohol, to escape myself from reality.
“I didn’t have to think about it. Of course it’s not good, it destroys you as a person.”
Scotland have not been able to lay so much as a glove on England since however.
Instead it has been one-way traffic, with the Red Roses juggernaut steaming through Scotland again and again.
England have played Scotland 34 times in total, and, apart from those two defeats from another millennia, have won every time.
In the past five meetings, the average points difference between the teams has stretched to nearly 50.
The Auld Enemy has become old news; a rivalry devoid of jeopardy, a bitter punchline delivered on repeat for the Scots.
Kennedy believes the current gap between the teams is due to three things; structure, investment and raw numbers.
“There are a lot more players in England, firstly,” she says.
“Secondly, it is the pathways for players to become internationals. England set them up early on. They were ahead of every nation in that, not just Scotland.
“England were a lot quicker off the mark with investing in both sevens and XVs, which then feeds into domestic rugby. You don’t just become an international player, you have to come though those clubs.”
Kennedy is hopeful that the Celtic Challenge, a cross-border club competition with teams from Scotland, Ireland and Wales that launched in 2023, can provide a proving ground to rival England’s PWR in time.
The cause of this friction, Liverpool’s interest in Isak, will continue to the end of the transfer window and probably beyond.
Newcastle’s supporters were in no mood to forgive or forget how their star striker has, in their eyes, betrayed them, and they were unsparing towards the club they hold responsible as the catalyst for his desire to leave.
This is now shaping up as a conflict for the ages, especially as it is unclear how the story that has caused the antagonism will end.
Liverpool’s fans revelled in how their interest in Isak has caused such rage among the Toon Army, their chants of “Hand Him Over Newcastle” greeted with a frenzy of indignation.
Newcastle need a resolution somehow, even if fences look almost impossible to repair with Isak. They cannot allow him to be the spectre hanging over every game.
Liverpool won this particular battle, but the other big takeaway on this evidence is that they need to focus their attention on signing a defender, presumably Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi, before making any definitive decision on Isak.
As against Bournemouth in their first game of the season at Anfield, Liverpool let slip a 2-0 lead before winning late on, looking horribly vulnerable in defence in the process.
The advantage they forged for themselves here flattered them as they piled up mistakes at the back and carelessly conceded possession with regularity.
Slot should be seriously concerned about how they were shaken up so badly by Newcastle’s 10 men. Indeed, before Ngumoha’s strike, it was Newcastle who looked more likely to score.
Liverpool, in only two games admittedly, have looked nothing like the side that strolled to the Premier League last season with such poise, apart from the fact they are still winning games.
Ibrahima Konate, the player most at risk from Guehi’s potential arrival and one who has yet to agree a new contract, was as uncertain as he was against Bournemouth. Slot also has yet to find the tweak to ensure he brings the best out of £116m attacker Florian Wirtz, who was substituted with 10 minutes left.
Left-back Milos Kerkez is still settling in, but the chaotic nature of Liverpool’s backline could have Slot pondering the return of the experienced Andy Robertson, who has the proven quality and greater understanding with his defensive colleagues.
Newcastle will be nursing their wounds over this loss as they try to find a way to end the Isak impasse.
This rivalry, like the discussions around Isak’s future, is one that will run and run.
Rob Manfred normally does what many fans consider an annoyingly effective job of keeping Major League Baseball’s strategic plans out of the public square.
So maybe the MLB commissioner was caught in an unguarded moment, staring down at a diamond from the ESPN “Sunday Night Baseball” booth in the cozy confines of Williamsport, Pa., and the Little League World Series.
Or maybe his comments were calculated. Either way, he spoke freely about how expanding from the current 30 teams could create an ideal chance to reset the way teams are aligned in divisions and leagues.
Manfred was asked on air for a window into the future. Expansion, realignment, both?
“The first two topics are related, in my mind,” he replied. “I think if we expand, it provides us with an opportunity to geographically realign. I think we could save a lot of wear and tear on our players in terms of travel. And I think our postseason format would be even more appealing for entities like ESPN, because you’d be playing out of the East and out of the West.”
Taking that thinking to an extreme would put the Dodgers and Angels in a division with, say, the San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Las Vegas Athletics and Seattle Mariners.
Would that collection — let’s call it the Pacific Division — be part of the American or National League? Maybe neither. Instead, geographic realignment could result in Eastern and Western Conferences similar to the NBA.
Pushback from traditionalists might be vigorous. Call them leagues, call them conferences, geographical realignment would make for some strange bedfellows.
Former MLB player and current MLB Network analyst Cameron Maybin posted on X that making sure the divisions are balanced is more important than geography.
“Manfred’s realignment talk isn’t just about moving teams around, it tilts playoff balance,” Maybin said on X. “Some divisions get watered down others overloaded and rivalries that drive October story lines we love, vanish. Baseball needs competitive integrity not manufactured shakeups.”
Manfreds realignment talk isnt just about moving teams around it tilts playoff balance. Some divisions get watered down others overloaded and rivalries that drive October storylines we love, vanish. Baseball needs competitive integrity not manufactured shakeups.
Yet Manfred makes a persuasive argument that grouping teams by geographic location would have its benefits.
“That 10 o’clock time slot where we sometimes get lost in Anaheim would be two West Coast teams,” he said. “Then that 10 o’clock spot that’s a problem for us becomes an opportunity for our West Coast audience. I think the owners realize there is a demand for Major League Baseball in a lot of great cities, and we have an opportunity to do something good around that expansion process.”
Manfred said in February that he’d like expansion to be approved by 2029, his last year as commissioner. MLB hasn’t expanded since the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays were added in 1998.
Expansion teams “won’t be playing by the time I’m done, but I would like the process along and [locations] selected,” Manfred said.
Several cities are courting MLB for a franchise, and the league is reported to be leaning toward Nashville and Salt Lake City as favorites. Portland, Orlando, San Antonio and Charlotte are other possibilities.
The Times’ Bill Shaikin has pointed out that geographical realignment would be tied to schedule reform that could help kindle rivalries and encourage fans to visit opposing ballparks that are within driving distance.
The future home of the Rays is in flux, and that decision likely will precede MLB choosing expansion cities, even after the recent news that Florida developer Patrick Zalupski has agreed to pay $1.7 billion for the team.
And soon afterward, if Manfred’s vision comes to fruition, geographical realignment would follow, and the Southern California Freeway Series could become just another series between divisional rivals.
Sinner, 23, and 22-year-old Alcaraz have created a duopoly in the men’s game over the past two seasons.
Because of his brilliance, Sinner has remained the world number one – despite serving a three-month doping ban this year in a case which rocked the sport.
The pair have gained a grip on the Grand Slam tournaments, winning the past six majors between them.
Their epic French Open battle was another demonstration of how the absorbing rivalry – which the ATP Tour has long pinned its hopes on filling the Federer-Nadal-Novak Djokovic void – could be a blockbuster for years to come.
“You cannot compare what the ‘Big Three’ did for 15-plus years. [Our rivalry] is not that big yet,” said three-time Grand Slam champion Sinner, who is aiming for his first non-hard court major.
“This is the second consecutive Grand Slam that we are in the final and playing each other – I believe it’s good for the sport.
“The more rivalries we have from now on, the better it is, because people want to see young player going against each other.”
The quality, excitement and tension of the recent Roland Garros final accelerated interest in the pair.
Alcaraz fighting back from two sets down – and having saved three championship points – to win a five-setter in over five hours has whetted the appetite for Wimbledon.
The five-time major champion expects to be pushed “to the limit” again at the All England Club.
“It’s going to be a great day, a great final. I’m just excited about it,” he said.
“I just hope not to be five and a half hours again. But if I have to, I will.”
Wimbledon, United Kingdom – Expectations will run high, and so will the temperatures in southwest London, when Carlos Alcaraz steps on Centre Court to defend his Wimbledon title against Jannik Sinner on Sunday.
The next instalment of an enthralling rivalry between the top two players in men’s tennis will come under the limelight once again at one of the biggest stages in the game – the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club – on a hot afternoon in the United Kingdom’s capital.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Alcaraz expects to be pushed to the limit by world number one Sinner in a meeting that has already drawn comparisons with the great Wimbledon finals of the modern era.
“I expect to be on the limit, to be on the line [in the final],” Alcaraz said while speaking to the media moments after Sinner’s near-faultless semifinal 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 win over Novak Djokovic on Friday.
A few hours earlier, the Spaniard had booked a spot in his third consecutive Wimbledon final with a resilient performance against Taylor Fritz, which brought him a 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) win.
It will be the 13th on-court meeting between the two, and their second Grand Slam final in the space of five weeks.
Their duel in the French Open final lasted five hours and 29 minutes and added fuel to the fiery-yet-friendly rivalry between the young tennis stars.
Alcaraz knows his opponent all too well and expects nothing short of another spectacle.
“Whatever Jannik has is because he has learned from everything – he just gets better after every match, every day,” Alcaraz said of the top seed.
The Spaniard said he expected Sinner to be in better shape mentally and physically for the Wimbledon final, but that he was not looking forward to another hours-long match.
“I just hope not to be five and a half hours on court again. But if I have to, I will.”
Meanwhile, Sinner – the tall, stoic and speedy Italian who stands between Alcaraz and a chance to become only the fifth man to win three straight Wimbledon titles – believes beating the holder will be “very tough”.
“I’m very happy to share the court with Carlos once again. It’s going to be difficult, I know that,” Sinner said on Friday.
The Australian Open champion said he loves playing Grand Slam finals – Sunday’s will be his fifth in two years.
“I always try to put myself in these kinds of situations that I really love. Sundays at every tournament are very special.”
The 23-year-old from northern Italy termed Alcaraz as the favourite, given his record at the tournament and on grass courts.
“He is the favourite. He won here the last two times. He’s again in the final. It’s very tough to beat him on grass, but I like these challenges.”
Alcaraz and Sinner after their epic French Open final [File: Susan Mullane/Imagn Images via Reuters]
‘Fire vs ice’
Out of the 12 occasions that both players have met, four have been at Grand Slams, but this is only their second meeting in the final.
The pair’s only other meeting at Wimbledon came in the fourth round in 2022, when Sinner won 6-1, 6-4, 6-7 (6-8), 6-3. Alcaraz, however, brushed aside the reference by saying that both men are changed players from what they were three years ago.
“We’re completely different players on grass and on all surfaces.”
The 22-year-old from Murcia, in southeastern Spain, will be buoyed by his 5-0 record against Sinner in the past two years.
Despite Alcaraz’s success against his nemesis, it is Sinner who has consistently topped the men’s rankings by racking up regular wins and points on the ATP circuit.
All things considered, there is not much that separates the two ahead of their highly anticipated match.
Just ask Djokovic.
While the 24-time Grand Slam champion picked Alcaraz due to his past success at Wimbledon, Djokovic predicted “a very close match-up, like they had in Paris” when asked to choose a winner.
“I think I will give a slight edge to Carlos because of the two titles he’s won here and the way he’s playing and the confidence he has right now, but it’s just a slight advantage, because Jannik is hitting the ball extremely well.”
It is not just their contrasting styles of play – Sinner relies on his baseline game and shot speed, while Alcaraz likes to cover the court with his nimble footwork and excellent coverage – but also their on-court personalities that set the two apart while making them an engaging pair to watch.
Before the French Open final, Alcaraz said in an interview that a “fire vs ice” analogy fits them perfectly.
“I guess you can say I am like fire because of the way I react on court and show emotions, while Jannik remains calm,” the Spaniard said with his trademark smile.
Alcaraz is never shy of showing his emotions on court [File: Stephanie Lecocq/Reuters]
In the shadow of the greats
For the fans, though, the pair offer another chance to pick sides and look forward to tennis tournaments that could pit the two against each other.
“It’s a dream final,” Catherine Shaw, a tennis fan who watched both the men’s semifinals on Centre Court, told Al Jazeera.
“They are the next big thing when it comes to tennis rivalries, so it’s exciting times for tennis fans.”
Stepping out in the shadows of some of the greatest players and rivals – Stefan Edberg vs Ivan Lendl, Bjorn Borg vs John McEnroe, Andre Agassi vs Pete Sampras and Rafael Nadal vs Roger Federer – the young players will have big shoes to fill.
Both are aware of the weight their match-up carries but refuse to be compared with their heroes just yet.
“I think the things that we are doing right now are great for tennis,” Alcaraz said ahead of the final.
“We just fight to engage more people to watch tennis. We’re fighting for tennis to be bigger, as all the tennis players are doing.
“For me, it’s sharing the big tournaments with Jannik, or just playing in the finals of the tournaments… We’re still really young.
“I hope to keep doing the right things for the next five to 10 years, so our rivalry is on the same table as those players.”
Sinner and Alcaraz will meet again on the iconic Centre Court at Wimbledon after their meeting in 2022 [File: Hannah Mckay/Reuters]
Jude Bellingham presents a tactical conundrum for new manager Xabi Alonso.
In his first season at Real Madrid he was fantastic, scoring 23 goals in 42 games while playing in an advanced midfield role to help Real Madrid to the 2023-24 La Liga and Champions League titles.
Last term he was pushed deeper and wider to accommodate Kylian Mbappe and only managed 14 strikes in 53 games as Real failed to win a major trophy.
At Alonso’s unveiling as Real manager he said he saw Bellingham more as a central midfielder and that’s where he started against Pachuca on Sunday – in the central left position of a 4-3-3.
But, when Raul Asencio was sent off after seven minutes, Madrid switched to a 4-4-1 with Bellingham playing even more centrally and driving from deep.
Two minutes after the tactics were tweaked during a first-half drinks break Bellingham made a late run into the box, picked up the ball from Fran Garcia and smashed a shot into the bottom corner.
It was 10-man Madrid’s first meaningful attack and changed the entire momentum of the match.
“When Bellingham comes from deep and arrives, he is phenomenal. That is an amazing goal and that is where he plays best,” former Italy striker Christian Vieri told DAZN.
“Alonso is the coach, he has to find a way to make them play. Bellingham scored so many goals before Mbappe arrived.
“It’s not our problem, it is Alonso’s problem and he is going to be having sleepless nights.”
Ex-Chelsea midfielder Jon-Obi Mikel added: “That is where Bellingham is best, when he arrives late from midfield.
“No one can stop Jude in that role because he has the power and energy, he can be very special when doing that.”
One of Alonso’s biggest problems this season – and one which former boss Carlo Ancelotti struggled to solve – will be keeping all his stars happy.
Mikel added: “You have to play the players in their best positions because big players want to play in their best positions and that is the problem Xabi Alonso is going to have.
“We know Mbappe wants to play out on the left but they have one of the best players there in Vinicius Jr so where do you play him? He doesn’t like playing through the middle.
“It is a massive problem for Xabi Alonso. If he can find a way to solve the problem then he may have a team. They need to play as a team not as individuals.”
SAN DIEGO — Rivalries in baseball can sometimes be difficult to define.
There are the obvious ones. Like the Yankees and Red Sox. The Cardinals and Cubs. And for the Dodgers, going back to their founding in New York, a generations-old hatred for the Giants.
“By definition, you can’t just decide to choose your rivalry because one team gets good,” veteran third baseman Max Muncy said. “And for the Dodgers, that’ll always be the Giants.”
But periodically, there are other emotionally charged, highly competitive, and simmering clashes; often taking root between simultaneous contenders, bad-blooded division foes or closely situated fan bases sharing a mutual dislike.
Over the last half-decade, that’s what has slowly been built between the Dodgers and San Diego Padres.
And in their first renewal of the season on Monday night at Petco Park, an 8-7 extra-innings win for the Dodgers, the two clubs lived up to the matchup’s ever-growing hype.
“Both teams are good. The fan bases are very adamant. Both environments have been hostile over the last several years,” Muncy said. “It brings everything that a rivalry should bring.”
A traditional rivalry, it’s still not quite. The Dodgers have as many World Series titles as the Padres do playoff appearances (eight each). Since the Padres last won the National League West in 2006, the Dodgers have done it 13 times.
But after three playoff meetings in the last five years, and a seemingly tight division race on tap this season, Dodgers-Padres is now a full-blown, certifiably legitimate rivalry — at least in the eyes of Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.
“I think it’s become a rivalry,” Roberts said, “because the stakes have been higher.”
But even entering Monday, the importance of this week’s three-game series at Petco Park — plus a four-game rematch between the teams next week at Dodger Stadium — had been magnified, the Dodgers leading the Padres by just one game in the National League West standings in their pursuit to defend last year’s World Series title.
“It’s going to be an intense series,” Roberts said. “It probably will feel like a playoff game tonight.”
It certainly played out that way.
Will Smith is showered in sunflower seeds thrown by Teoscar Hernández after hitting a two-run home run in the third inning against the Padres on Monday night.
(Orlando Ramirez / Associated Press)
Both teams scored twice in the first inning. The lead then changed hands three times between the second, when the Padres scored on a Will Smith throwing error; and the third, when Smith answered with a two-run homer to punctuate a three-run rally, only for the Padres to score three on a bases-loaded triple from Tyler Wade that got past a diving Teoscar Hernández in right center.
The Dodgers (40-27) got the game tied again in the fifth, with Hyeseong Kim doubling home Muncy in a rare opportunity against a left-handed pitcher (he is three-for-three in such situations this season).
The Padres (37-28) skirted even more trouble along the way. In the fourth, the Dodgers couldn’t take advantage of an infield pop-up that dropped between three Padres fielders. In the eighth, San Diego reliever Adrian Morejon misfired on the most routine of throws to first base with two outs, letting Shohei Ohtani reach second, but then struck out Freddie Freeman to escape unscathed.
But once the game reached the 10th, the Dodgers surged ahead. Andy Pages led off with a line-drive RBI double that outfielder Brandon Lockridge badly misread in left. Tommy Edman followed with an RBI single that ricocheted off the second base bag. And though closer Tanner Scott gave up an RBI double to Jackson Merrill — one at-bat after Manny Machado was rung up on a controversial called third strike — the former Padres left-hander limited the damage there.
Round 1 of Dodgers-Padres this year went to the defending champions. More heavyweight fights figure to follow.
Alcaraz emulated his childhood hero Rafael Nadal – a record 14-time champion at Roland Garros – by winning his fifth major at the exact same age of 22 years, one month and three days.
Sinner, meanwhile, is the youngest man to reach three consecutive Grand Slam singles finals since 14-time major winner Pete Sampras in 1994.
Such statistics offer a strong indication of the trajectory they both find themselves on.
So, where does their rivalry go from here?
The pair both have titles to defend at the two remaining slams in 2025 – Alcaraz at Wimbledon and Sinner at the US Open.
Alcaraz, who leads Sinner 20-19 in career titles, has reduced Sinner’s lead at the top of the world rankings to 2,030 points.
But the reigning champion has 2,000 points to defend at Wimbledon, compared to just 400 for Sinner after his quarter-final exit last year.
“I’m sure he will learn from this match and come back stronger next time we face each other,” Alcaraz added.
“I’m sure he’s going to do his homework. I’m going to try to learn how I can be better [and] tactically hurt his game.
“I’m not going to beat him forever, that’s obvious. So I have to keep learning from the matches I play against him.”
Two mainstays of the Loose Women panel could go head-to-head on iconic reality show Strictly Come Dancing as one of the stars joked that she’s been “practising my splits”
Two Loose Women stars could be rivals for a new role(Image: Jo Hale/Redferns via Getty Images)
Loose Women’s Brenda Edwards has revealed that she and fellow panellist Coleen Nolan are both eager to strut their stuff on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing.
The 56-year-old, who is currently dazzling audiences in the West End production of Chicago alongside former Strictly pro Janette Manrara, confessed she’s been doing all she can to land a spot on the dance competition. “I’ve asked her to put in a good word for me,” Brenda divulged about her conversations with Janette, who now hosts the show’s spin-off.
She added: “Don’t worry, I’m pushing all avenues. If I get on Strictly, I’ll have to start practising my splits. I want to do it!
“It’s between Coleen Nolan and me, because she really wants to go on it also.” In an interview with Bella Magazine, Brenda expressed her ambition to reach the final, something her Loose Women colleagues haven’t achieved yet.
Brenda Edwards has expressed a desire to appear on Strictly(Image: Getty Images)
Coleen, 60, has also shared her aspirations to hit the dance floor and vie for the coveted Glitterball trophy, reports Belfast Live. On Loose Women, she campaigned: “Vote me to go in!
“There’d be a lot of sequins involved, let me tell you.” She has also told The Mirror: “I’ve never done Strictly which devastates me.
“Since that show started, I’ve always wanted to do Strictly and so many Loose Women have done it but they never, ever ask me.” Among the Loose Women stars who have taken the plunge on Strictly’s dance floor are Ruth Langsford, Judi Love, and Kaye Adams.
Coleen Nolan is no stranger to reality TV competition, having won Celebrity Big Brother back in 2017(Image: Karwai Tang/WireImage via Getty Images)
Kaye, 62, was the first celebrity to be voted off the show in 2022, after partnering with Kai Widdrington. In 2017, Ruth, 65, secured ninth place after her stint with Anton Du Beke, while Judi, 44, was the fifth star to be eliminated in 2021, alongside her partner Graziano Di Prima.
The line-up of celebrities for the forthcoming series remains under wraps, but rumoured participants include Tom Parker Bowles, son of Queen Camilla, telly favourite Stacey Solomon, former Coronation Street actress Helen Flanagan, and ex-Made In Chelsea star Georgia Toffolo. What the BBC has confirmed is the roster of professional dancers.
Reigning champion Dianne Buswell will returning to the dance floor are, as will Nadiya Bychkova, Amy Dowden, Katya Jones, Neil Jones and Nikita Kuzmin.
Strictly winner Dianne Buswell will return(Image: Getty Images for BAFTA)
Gorka Marquez, Luba Mushtuk, Jowita Przystal, Karen Hauer, Johannes Radebe, Aljaž Škorjanec, Kai Widdrington, Nancy Xu, Carlos Gu, Lauren Oakley, Michelle Tsiakkas and Vito Coppola will also feature once more.
Earlier this year, the BBC also revealed that two new professional dancers will be introduced closer to the show’s return. The 2025 series is expected to kick off in September, though an official date is still to be confirmed.
Surprise! The Times of Troy is back by popular demand in your inbox, here to help ease you back into your week after what we hope was a relaxing holiday weekend.
I was honored and humbled to hear your thoughts — most of them very kind — about the newsletter’s debut season. So much so that we’ve decided to bring it back before our scheduled return in July.
Newsletter
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We’ve got some new ideas in the works for Season 2. But between now and July, when we turn our full attention to previewing the upcoming Trojans football season, we’ll land in your inbox periodically as the moment calls for it.
Now feels like one of those moments.
One of college football’s most storied rivalries is at a crossroads. A century after it was played for the first time, the historic series between USC and Notre Dame is at serious risk of ending. A lot of fans, former players and college football purists are upset about it. Most of them are pointing fingers at USC — and at Lincoln Riley especially.
I think there’s a little more to the situation than that. But the reason USC’s coach finds himself at the center of that frustration stems from comments he first made last summer during Big Ten media day, comments that explain quite transparently where USC stands right now, almost a year later.
USC and Mississippi had just canceled a home-and-home series, and rumors were swirling that Riley had pushed administrators to pull out of last September’s matchup with Louisiana State too. When he was asked what led to those changes, Riley didn’t hide his feelings about how scheduling should be handled. Why would any power conference school schedule marquee nonconference games in the future, he wondered aloud, unless there were “more guaranteed [College Football Playoff] spots in some of these conferences.” Otherwise, he predicted, those games would happen “less and less.”
“Our schedules are already going to be so good,” Riley said. “At some point, you’re like, alright, is the juice worth the squeeze in terms of playing these games?”
Before we address how that logic applies to Notre Dame — and before you start screaming “COWARD!” at your phone/computer screen — let’s acknowledge the fact that Riley has a point. (Ducks.) He is paid — more than all but a few coaches in the sport — to get USC to the College Football Playoff. Period. And as the playoff is currently constructed, there is no real incentive, on paper, for a coach such as Riley to want an extra marquee nonconference game on the schedule. Remove 95 years of context with the Irish and, to his point, the juice probably isn’t worth the squeeze.
This issue runs far deeper than just Notre Dame and USC, but let’s address the golden-domed elephant in the room, since Notre Dame’s athletic director has the college football world worked into a lather.
This is what Riley said about the rivalry last summer:
“If you get in a position where you’ve got to make a decision on what’s best for SC to help us win a national championship versus keeping that, shoot, then you gotta look at it. I mean, listen, we’re not the first example of that. Look all across the country — there’s been a lot of other teams [that] sacrifice rivalry games. I’m not saying that’s what’s going to happen, but you know, as we get into this playoff structure, and if it changes or not, we’re in this new conference, we’re going to learn something about this as we go.”
And boy did USC learn something on the road in its Big Ten debut. The Trojans unraveled on all four of their conference road trips. They realized how hard it would be to mix in an October trip to South Bend during that annual gantlet. No other Big Ten teams have that challenge on the Trojans’ particular timeline. Not to mention there’s a possible Southeastern Conference-Big Ten crossover matchup to consider in the future.
Automatic qualifiers to the College Football Playoff are the quickest way to solve this problem, as far as USC is concerned. It would give teams such as USC comfort that a loss to a nonconference opponent in September wouldn’t keep them out of the playoff. However, it would also mean rendering games such as USC-Notre Dame mostly meaningless as far as playoff resumes go.
USC is choosing to take the cold, calculated route when it comes to this quandary. And I understand why. Why should the Trojans be expected to carry the water for the soul of college football at the cost of their own playoff odds, while the rest of the sport’s leaders, USC’s own included, have made clear just how much tradition actually means to them?
Don’t get me wrong. USC isn’t being brave with its stance. It’s openly acknowledging that it is choosing the route of least resistance, no matter how its fans may feel about it. That’s not exactly valiant. And by calling them out for holding up negotiations, Notre Dame’s athletic director has already won the PR battle. If the rivalry ends after this season, the narrative will forever be that USC killed it with cowardice.
I do think that narrative would ignore some key points. Notably that USC hasn’t said it wants to end the game. Only that it doesn’t want a long-term contract before it understands the parameters of the playoff. Nor was Notre Dame interested at all in having a conversation about any concessions to USC’s situation, such as an early season date for the game, to help get a deal over the finish line. If these negotiations were simply about maintaining the rivalry, Notre Dame would have agreed to play next season already. This isn’t a one-sided stalemate.
I know that USC athletic director Jennifer Cohen would prefer to continue the rivalry with Notre Dame. I know she understands how much equity she could lose if it doesn’t continue.
I also have no doubt that she will take the heat, if necessary, for its demise, if it means putting USC on a better path to the College Football Playoff.
Is that hope of a playoff worth losing a storied rivalry? I’d understand if you said no. But USC leaders have made abundantly clear how they feel about that question. Let’s hope they never have to answer it.
USC-Notre Dame poll
Let’s hear from you. Could a smoother path to the College Football Playoff be worth losing the Notre Dame-USC rivalry? Vote here and let us know. Results announced in the next Times of Troy.
Will Saint Thomas walk onto the court with the Trojans next season?
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
—USC basketball still has two roster spots available for the 2025-26 season. One is currently being held for Saint Thomas. But it’s not clear how much longer Eric Musselman and his staff are willing to wait on Thomas’ appeal to the NCAA. The sentiment within the program was that Thomas had a compelling case for a mental health waiver, but the gears of justice grind slowly with the NCAA, and Thomas is running out of time. Summer practice kicks off on June 9. If he isn’t granted an extra year, expect USC to fill that spot with a low-major, all-conference-type point guard who could initiate the offense when called upon.
—Six-foot-10 sophomore forward Jacob Cofie is one to watch this summer. USC’s staff is very bullish on the young big man. One person with close knowledge of the program told The Times that they expect Cofie to be on draft boards by the start of Big Ten season. Along with Utah transfer Ezra Ausar — who stands 6-8, 242 pounds — Cofie should give USC much more of a physical presence in the paint, something it sorely lacked last season.
—Leaders from the Power Four conferences are floating a binding document that would force schools to fall in line with the new NIL enforcement entity … or else. It won’t work. I, for one, would love to see the Big Ten try to kick USC or Michigan or Ohio State out of the conference for not bending the knee to the new College Sports Commission. But more critically here, there’s no way that such an agreement would pass legal muster. College sports can’t supersede state law, no matter what some galaxy-brained commissioners might think.
—The College Football Playoff field will no longer give the four highest-rated conference champions an automatic first-round bye. That change to “straight seeding” was unanimously approved last week by CFP leaders, after the initial format last season was received poorly pretty much everywhere outside of Tempe, Ariz. In the new format, the committee’s top-four rated teams will be ranked one through four and get that coveted bye, no matter if they won their conference or not. That might sound like a tedious change. But this is better for everybody.
—Former USC point guard Kayleigh Heckel finally has a transfer destination. Heckel is joining Connecticut months after losing to the Huskies in the Elite Eight in her last game at USC. No one would’ve anticipated that turn in the immediate aftermath of that loss in Spokane. But hey, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, I guess.
When I was a kid, still just dreaming up the possibility of writing about sports, I would flip on ESPN every afternoon after school to try and catch Bill Plaschke or Woody Paige or Jackie MacMullan on “Around the Horn.” It was the show that taught me, in my ways, how to talk about sports.
That feels more and more like a lost art these days. And maybe that’s why ESPN unfortunately saw it fit to end “Around the Horn’s” run after nearly 5,000 shows. But I will always hold the show near and dear and forever respect its host, Tony Reali, for reminding the world all these years that sports talk can still have a soul.
Until next time….
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at [email protected], and follow me on Twitter at @Ryan_Kartje. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at [email protected], and follow me on Twitter at @Ryan_Kartje. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
From Ryan Kartje: With the contract between USC and Notre Dame set to expire and one of college football’s most storied rivalries in serious danger of ending, officials at USC extended an offer to Notre Dame earlier this month in hopes of continuing the historic series for at least one more season — through the fall of 2026 — a person familiar with the negotiations not authorized to discuss them publicly told The Times.
The future of the rivalry beyond that, in the eyes of USC’s leaders, hinges in large part on what happens with the format of the College Football Playoff — namely, the number of automatic qualifiers guaranteed to the Big Ten in future playoff fields. And until those questions are answered, USC leaders agree the best course forward for its century-old rivalry with Notre Dame would be to continue their arrangement one season at a time.
Anything else would be “a strategically bad decision,” a USC source said.
That timeline is where the two rivals find themselves at an impasse. Notre Dame is seeking a long-term extension of the series, and in an interview with Sports Illustrated earlier this week, Irish athletic director Pete Bevacqua not so subtly suggested that it was USC putting the rivalry at risk.
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NBA MVP
The case for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was simple. He’s the best player on an Oklahoma City Thunder team that had the best record this season and set a league mark for margin of victory. As if that weren’t enough, he also won the scoring title.
That’s an MVP season.
Gilgeous-Alexander was announced Wednesday as the NBA’s Most Valuable Player, his first time winning the award. It’s now seven consecutive years that a player born outside the U.S. won MVP, extending the longest such streak in league history.
It ultimately was a two-person race. Gilgeous-Alexander received 71 first-place votes and 29 second-place votes; Denver’s Nikola Jokic got the other 29 first-place votes and the other 71 second-place votes.
Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo was third, getting 88 of the 100 possible third-place votes. LeBron James of the Lakers came in sixth, James Harden of the Clippers was 11th.
No. 1 Oklahoma City vs. No. 6 Minnesota at Oklahoma City 114, Minnesota 88 (box score) Thursday at Oklahoma City, 5:30 p.m., ESPN Saturday at Minnesota, 5:30 p.m., ABC Monday at Minnesota, 5:30 p.m., ESPN Wednesday at Oklahoma City, 5:30 p.m., ESPN* Friday, May 30 at Minnesota, 5:30 p.m., ESPN* Sunday, June 1 at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m., ESPN*
Eastern Conference
No. 3 New York vs. No. 4 Indiana Indiana 138, at New York 135 (OT) (box score) Friday at New York, 5 p.m., TNT Sunday at Indiana, 5 p.m., TNT Tuesday at Indiana, 5 p.m., TNT Thursday, May 29 at New York, 5 p.m., TNT* Saturday, May 31 at Indiana, 5 p.m., TNT* Monday, June 2 at New York, 5 p.m., TNT*
A day after Teoscar Hernández returned to the Dodgers’ lineup, activated from the injured list Monday following a two-week absence because of an adductor strain, Roberts decided to sit the veteran slugger for the second of a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
It was a surprise choice, but with a simple reason.
Knowing Hernández would play only twice this week coming off his injury, Roberts wanted to ensure he would be available Wednesday to face former Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes.
“I just felt like having him in there tomorrow,” Roberts said Tuesday, “I feel good with.”
Twenty-four hours later, the result was even greater than he expected.
In the Dodgers’ 3-1 rubber-match victory over the Diamondbacks, Hernández delivered the night’s biggest swing in the bottom of the sixth, taking a wrecking ball to what had been a flawless outing from Burnes with a three-run home run that turned the game upside down.
Logan O’Hoppe hit two home runs and drove in three runs, Jo Adell and Zach Neto also homered and the Angels beat the Athletics 10-5 on Wednesday night for their season-high sixth straight victory.
O’Hoppe led off the fourth with his second homer of the game, third in two nights and 13th of the season, just before Adell hit his sixth. Neto’s two-run homer in the third, his eighth, gave the Angels the lead for good at 4-3. The Angels had five two-run innings.
Taylor Ward had three hits, including a triple and double. Jorge Soler had three hits, with two doubles and two RBIs.
Satou Sabally scored 25 points, Alyssa Thomas added 19 and the Phoenix Mercury held off the Sparks89-86 on Wednesday night.
Two free throws from Kelsey Plum had the Sparks, who trailed by 14 early in the fourth quarter, within one at 78-77 with 2 1/2 minutes to play in a game of long runs but Thomas scored the next six Phoenix points.
Plum kept pace, scoring the last 11 points of the game for the Sparks. That included the 500th 3-pointer of her career and then a shot with four seconds left. On that tightly contested desperation shot from the left wing, her foot was on the line so the Mercury led 87-86.
A second later Sabally made two free throws and Plum’s half-court heave wasn’t close.
From Chuck Schilken: NFL owners have decided to keep the “Tush Push,” the signature short-yardage play of the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, after a vote Wednesday at their spring meeting in Eagan, Minnesota.
Multiple media outlets are reporting that the vote was 22-10 in favor of the ban, falling short of the 24 votes it needed to go into effect. The teams that are said to have joined the Eagles in voting against the proposal were the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets and Tennessee Titans.
The “Tush Push” is a version of a quarterback sneak in which two or three players line up behind the signal caller and help drive him forward in short-yardage situations.
The USC and UC Irvinecoaching legend guided Orloff for two years as an Anteater, watching Orloff become the baseball program’s all-time hits leader with his peak bat-to-ball abilities. But it wasn’t Orloff’s eye-popping swing or swift speed on the basepaths that captivated Gillespie the most. It was the future he imagined for his star infielder, the then-Big West Conference player of the year.
“I don’t know how else to say it: His instincts, his clue, his feel for the game, his baseball IQ, is like nothing else,” Gillespie said as Orloff’s collegiate career wrapped up in 2009. “He should be a major league manager. He might be wasted as a major league manager, because they can do so little, in terms of all these little things.”
The American Baseball Coaches Assn. Hall of Famer, who died in 2020, continued: “He probably should be a college coach, a college head coach.”
It’s mid-May and Orloff sits in the office Gillespie once occupied. Orloff is bald with a bright smile. He’s just 38, and yet this is his 12th season on the UC Irvine coaching staff — and his seventh as the Anteaters’ head coach.
Orloff settles down at a table, crosses his legs and is ready to reminisce, talk shop — and praise the mish-mosh ballclub that’s set the Big West aflame for the second consecutive season in which it won its second regular-season conference championship under the coach.
From Kevin Baxter: A bipartisan group of Congressional representatives are calling on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to streamline the government’s visa processing system to ensure visitors from abroad will be able to attend next year’s FIFA World Cup as well as the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The World Cup, which kicks off in less than 400 days, is expected to generate $3.75 billion in economic activity in the U.S. With SoFi Stadium in Inglewood hosting eight games, the economic impact on Southern California is estimated at nearly $600 million.
But cost-cutting measures proposed by Rubio could threaten that by reducing staff and closing some embassies and consulates, increasing visa wait times and making an already cumbersome system more complicated and costly. That could keep tens of thousands of fans at home.
Central 2 Dallas vs. Pacific 3 Edmonton at Dallas 6, Edmonton 3 (summary) Friday at Dallas, 5 p.m., ESPN Sunday at Edmonton, noon, ABC Tuesday at Edmonton, 5 p.m., ESPN Thursday, May 29 at Dallas, 5 p.m., ESPN* Saturday, May 31 at Edmonton, 5 p.m., ABC* Monday, June 2 at Dallas, 5 p.m., ESPN*
Eastern Conference
Metro 2 Carolina vs. Atlantic 3 Florida Florida 5, at Carolina 2 (summary) Thursday at Carolina, 5 p.m., TNT Saturday at Florida, 5 p.m., TNT Monday at Florida, 5 p.m., TNT Wednesday at Carolina, 5 p.m., TNT* Friday, May 30 at Florida, 5 p.m., TNT* Sunday, June 1 at Carolina, 5 p.m., TNT*
* If necessary
THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1877 — Baden-Baden, ridden by C. Holloway, catches Leonard just before turning into the stretch and wins the Kentucky Derby by two lengths.
1885 — Tecumseh, ridden by Jimmy McLaughlin, wins the Preakness Stakes by two lengths over Wickham.
1902 — Mastermam, ridden by John Bullman, wins the Belmont Stakes by two lengths over Renald.
1906 — Whimsical, the favorite ridden by Walter Miller, wins the Preakness Stakes by four lengths over Content.
1954 — Hasty Road, ridden by Johnny Adams, edges favored Correlation by a neck to win the Preakness Stakes.
1963 — European Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London: José Altafini scores twice as AC Milan edge Benfica, 2-1 for first title to an Italian club.
1975 — Artis Gilmore scores 28 points and grabs 31 rebounds to lead the Kentucky Colonels to a 110-105 victory over the Indiana Pacers for the ABA championship.
1988 — Atlanta’s Dominique Wilkins trades bucket for bucket with Boston’s Larry Bird in the fourth quarter of Game 7 of the 1988 Eastern Conference semifinals until the Celtics escape with a 118-116 victory. Wilkins finishes with 47 points and Bird has 34 — with 20 of his points scored in the fourth quarter. The teams shoot a combined 58.8% from the field, the second highest mark in playoff history.
1988 — LPGA Championship Women’s Golf, Jack Nicklaus GC: Sherri Turner birdies final 2 holes to win her only major title, 1 stroke ahead of runner-up Amy Alcott.
1991 — NFL Owners agree to add 2 teams in 1994.
1993 — Riddick Bowe successfully defends his IBF and WBA heavyweight titles with a second-round knockout of Jesse Ferguson at RFK Stadium in Washington.
1994 — Toronto NBA franchise unveils name “Raptors” & logo.
1996 — 4th UEFA Champions League Final: Juventus beats Ajax (1-1, 4-2 on penalties) at Rome.
1997 — The Chicago Bulls win the lowest-scoring playoff game in NBA history, a 75-68 victory over the Miami Heat. The 143 combined points were two fewer than the previous postseason low set by Syracuse and Fort Wayne in 1955.
2003 — Annika Sorenstam becomes the first woman to play in a PGA Tour event in 58 years when she shoots a 71 in the first round of the Colonial in Fort Worth, Texas. Sorenstam misses the cut the next day by four shots.
2004 — English FA Cup Final, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff (71,350): Manchester United beats Millwall, 3-0; Ruud van Nistelrooy scores 2 and Cristiano Ronaldo 1 in Red Devils’ 11th title win.
2005 — Paula Creamer, 18, makes a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole to win the Sybase Classic by one stroke and become the second-youngest first-time winner on the LPGA Tour.
2006 — Pat Summitt becomes the newest millionaire coach — and the first in women’s basketball. Tennessee raises Summitt’s salary to $1.125 million for next season and extends her contract six years.
2009 — Dara Torres sets an American record in the 50-meter butterfly at the Texas Senior Circuit No. 2 meet at Texas A&M. The 42-year-old, breezes to victory in the 50 fly, touching the wall in 25.72 seconds to beat her record time of 25.84 seconds from the morning preliminaries. Both her times beat Jenny Thompson’s American record of 26.00 seconds, set in Barcelona in 2003.
2010 — UEFA Champions League Final, Madrid: Internazionale beats Bayern Munich, 2-0; Inter’s 3rd title and first treble (Italian Serie A & Cup).
2016 — The Tradition Senior Men’s Golf, Greystone G&CC: Germany’s Berhard Langer wins sixth of 13 Champions Tour majors by 6 strokes from Olin Browne.
2021 — 30 year old Scottish light-welterweight boxer Josh Taylor becomes Britain’s first undisputed world champion in the four-belt era by beating Jose Ramirez by unanimous decision in Las Vegas.
2022 — PGA Championship Men’s Golf, Southern Hills CC: 2017 champion Justin Thomas beats Will Zalatoris by 1 stroke in a 3-hole playoff after 54-hole leader Mito Pereira double bogeys the 72nd hole.
THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1933 — Joe Sewell of the New York Yankees struck out for the first time this season, during a 3-0 win over Cleveland. Sewell would strike out only three more times in 524 at-bats.
1942 — Ted Williams is sworn into the U.S. Navy, but will remain with the Red Sox until he is called for active duty.
1957 — The Boston Red Sox hit four home runs in the sixth inning of an 11-0 win over Cleveland. Gene Mauch, Ted Williams, Dick Gernert and Frank Malzone connected. All the homers came on the first 16 pitches from Cal McLish.
1958 — Ted Williams hits his 16th career grand slam to provide the Red Sox with the margin in an 8-5 win over the A’s. Ted’s 4th-inning blast, off Jack Urban, ties him with Babe Ruth for second place on the career slam list.
1959 — Baltimore’s Hoyt Wilhelm pitched a one-hitter against the New York Yankees for a 5-0 win. Jerry Lumpe’s single in the eighth spoiled the no-hit bid.
1963 — Mickey Mantle hit a pitch from Kansas City’s Bill Fischer off the right-field facade at Yankee Stadium in an 8-7 victory over the A’s.
1968 — Willie Stargell of the Pittsburgh Pirates hit three home runs, a double and a single in a 13-6 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Stargell’s double just missed going out, as it bounced off the railing of the left-field bleachers.
1976 — St. Louis’ Reggie Smith hit three home runs — two right-handed and one left-handed — and drove in five runs in a 7-6 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Smith’s third homer came with two out in the ninth and broke a 6-6 tie.
1977 — Boston and Milwaukee hit a combined 11 home runs in a 14-10 Red Sox victory at Fenway Park, tying a major league record. The Red Sox connected for six and the Brewers hit five in the first game of a doubleheader.
1983 — Cliff Johnson of the Toronto Blue Jays hit his 18th career pinch homer. The homer, off Baltimore’s Tippy Martinez, tied Johnson with Jerry Lynch on the career pinch home run list.
1990 — Andre Dawson sets a major-league record when he is intentionally walked five times during a 16-inning, 2-1 Cubs win over the Reds.
1998 — The Mets acquire catcher Mike Piazza from the Marlins in exchange for OF Preston Wilson, P Ed Yarnall and a player to be named. Piazza has barely spent a week with Florida, following a trade from the Dodgers.
1998 — Brian Cox went 6-for-6, including a grand slam in a 10-run third inning, as Florida State rolled past Delaware 27-6 in the NCAA Atlantic II Regional. Freshman Matt Diaz hit three home runs for the Seminoles.
2000 — Milwaukee beat Houston in the first game of a doubleheader, 10-9, coming back from a 9-2 deficit to tie the score with seven runs in the bottom half of the ninth inning. The Brewers won the game in the 10th on a home run by Jose Hernandez.
2001 — The Twins score 8 runs in the 3rd inning to give Brad Radke an 8-0 lead, then hold on to edge the Mariners, 12-11. The M’s will use the momentum to win their next 15 and set a franchise record.
2008 — Ken Griffey Jr. hits his 200th home run as a member of the Cincinnati Reds. He becomes the fourth player in major league history to hit 300 for one team and 200 with another. Preceding him are Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro and Jimmie Foxx.
2008 — Boston’s J.D. Drew and Mike Lowell hit grand slams to help Daisuke Matsuzaka remain unbeaten as the Red Sox posted an 11-8 win over the Kansas City Royals.
2009 — Michael Cuddyer hit for the cycle and matched his career high with five RBIs as Minnesota defeated Milwaukee 11-3. Cuddyer hit a three-run homer in the first inning, doubled in the third and singled in the fourth before completing the cycle by tripling on a broken-bat liner into the left-field corner in the sixth.
2012 — C.J. Wilson and Ernesto Frieri combined on a one-hitter to give the Angels a 4-0 win over Oakland. Cliff Pennington had the only hit — a one-out single in the fifth — for Oakland.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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With the contract between USC and Notre Dame set to expire and one of college football’s most storied rivalries in serious danger of ending, officials at USC extended an offer to Notre Dame earlier this month in hopes of continuing the historic series for at least one more season — through the fall of 2026 — a person familiar with the negotiations not authorized to discuss them publicly told The Times.
The future of the rivalry beyond that, in the eyes of USC’s leaders, hinges in large part on what happens with the format of the College Football Playoff — namely, the number of automatic qualifiers guaranteed to the Big Ten in future playoff fields. And until those questions are answered, USC leaders agree the best course forward for its century-old rivalry with Notre Dame would be to continue their arrangement one season at a time.
Anything else would be “a strategically bad decision,” a USC source said.
That timeline is where the two rivals find themselves at an impasse. Notre Dame is seeking a long-term extension of the series, and in an interview with Sports Illustrated earlier this week, Irish athletic director Pete Bevacqua not so subtly suggested that it was USC putting the rivalry at risk.
“I think Southern Cal and Notre Dame should play every year for as long as college football is played,” he told SI’s Pat Forde, “and SC knows that’s how we feel.”
The two blueblood programs have played 95 times since 1924, when the story goes that the wife of legendary Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne convinced her husband to schedule the series so she could visit Southern California every other year. In the century since, only World War II and the COVID-19 pandemic have stood in the way of USC and Notre Dame meeting on the football field. Between them, the two rivals boast 16 national titles, more than any other teams that play an annual college football series.
They’re scheduled to meet again in October in South Bend. What happens to the historic series after that matchup may come down to who blinks in a high-stakes game of chicken between the two schools.
USC has no plans to budge on its position without clarity over whether the Big Ten will have four automatic qualifiers in any future playoff format, a source told The Times. With nine conference games already built into the schedule and the possibility of an annual crossover matchup with the Southeastern Conference still on their radar, USC officials see no reason to commit long term to the Notre Dame matchup without assurances they wouldn’t be punished for scheduling such a marquee nonconference matchup.
The demands of Big Ten travel have also been a part of the conversation at USC, to the point officials broached the potential with Notre Dame of moving the game to the first month of the season. The hope was to better balance its future slate of travel to the Midwest and East Coast. Last season, in their Big Ten debut, the Trojans lost all four of their Big Ten road trips.
But Notre Dame was not receptive to the idea of moving the game, which traditionally has been played in the latter half of the football season.
The Irish agreed earlier this month to a 12-year home-and-home scheduling agreement with Clemson. But while that deal seemed like a precursor to moving on from the USC series, Sports Illustrated reported this week that it was not expected to stand in the way of continuing with the Trojans.
Uncertainty has loomed over the rivalry since last summer when USC coach Lincoln Riley was first asked about its future at Big Ten media days.
“I know it means a lot to a lot of people,” Riley said. “The purist in you [says] no doubt. Now if you get in a position where you got to make a decision on what’s best for SC to help us win a national championship vs. keep that [game], shoot, then you got to look at it.
“And listen, we’re not the first example of that. Look all the way across the country. There have been a lot of other teams sacrificing rivalry games. And I’m not saying that’s what’s going to happen. But as we get into this playoff structure, and if it changes or not, we’re in this new conference, we’re going to learn something about this as we go and what the right and the best track is to winning a national championship, that’s going to evolve.”
Those comments led many to point fingers at Riley for laying the groundwork for the rivalry’s possible demise. But as the two sides now stand at an impasse, a person familiar with the discussion at USC insisted that any decision on the series and its future would come from athletic director Jennifer Cohen.
She’ll have plenty to weigh on that front in the coming months, with both schools likely to dig in their heels for the long haul, slinging mud at one another in the meantime.
