47+ min ago (786+ words) Paul Finebaum says Alabama will prevail in the SEC title game, securing its a second win over Georgia this season. (0:36) In addition, a season-high four teams from Group of Five conferences are ranked in the poll this week. The top 25 teams in the AP college football poll, released Sunday (first-place votes in parentheses) No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Indiana, the only remaining unbeatens, are the top two teams for a seventh straight poll heading into their Big Ten title game clash on Saturday. No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 Oregon each moved up a spot, and Texas Tech's No. 5 ranking is its best since it spent three weeks at No. 2 in November 2008. The seven straight weeks with the same Nos. 1 and 2 teams is the longest since Georgia and Michigan went 11 weeks in a row as the top two in 2023. Ole Miss remained…...

10+ hour, 20+ min ago (425+ words) Andre Russell, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) legend, has decided to call time on his IPL career after not being retained by the franchise ahead of the 2026 season, and announced that he would be joining the team's support staff as its "power coach". Russell, who was part of KKR's title-winning teams in 2014 and 2024, was also the IPL's Most Valuable Player in 2019. Russell won 16 Player-of-the-Match awards at KKR, only behind Sunil Narine's mark. And that long association has been strengthened with a position in the team's support staff as "power coach". "So Kolkata, I'll be back. I'm here now just to say that I'll be a part of the KKR support staff," he said. "When I heard that name, you know, coming from Mr Venky, I said, you know, 'power coach, hmmm'. That describes Dre Russ. That describes Andre Russell, because the…...

1+ day, 2+ hour ago (292+ words) Georgia Stanway speaks about Bayern Munich's Women's Champions League target after their 3-1 win vs. PSG. (0:45) England's next stop as part of their Homecoming Series arrives at Wembley, their true spiritual centre. The Lionesses' triumph under the arches in the Euro 2022 final was a watershed moment for women's football in the country. They defended their crown at Euro 2025 and on Saturday, return to Wembley for the first time since their triumph in Switzerland this summer. In front of what is expected to be a sellout crowd in northwest London, England will take on China in their penultimate game of the Homecoming Series. This spate of four friendlies against opposition across continents has served as preparation for the 2027 World Cup qualifiers, which begin in March next year. England were beaten by Brazil in their first game post the Euros before bouncing back…...

2+ day, 7+ hour ago (585+ words) Manchester United's five game unbeaten run in the Premier League ended on Monday when 10-man Everton beat them 1-0 at Old Trafford. On Sunday, they face a Crystal Palace side who are fifth in the league, two points above United, and will be a tough nut to crack at home. Palace, of course, play in Ruben Amorim's favoured 3-4-2-1 formation but have shown much greater adaptability and ambition under Oliver Glasner and it will be an interesting tactical battle on Sunday. ESPN's Ryan O'Hanlon argues here that Man United have improved a year into Amorim's reign, but the underlying stats show concerns -- and it's those concerns that Glasner will be looking to exploit as he looks to bounce back from a 1-2 reverse at Strasbourg in the UEFA Conference League on Thursday. United, meanwhile, will be looking to show that their October run…...

2+ day, 8+ hour ago (1059+ words) Here's what you need to know about this high-octane legal battle as it takes the green flag in an Uptown Charlotte courtroom. A pair of race teams -- 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports -- filed an antitrust lawsuit in October 2024, claiming that NASCAR employs monopoly powers to restrict race team revenues and independence. "I did it for the smaller teams as well. It's not just me," Jordan said last year after the suit was filed. "I think everybody should have an opportunity to be successful in any business. My voice is saying that it hasn't been happening." 23XI and Front Row believe that the current way of doing stock car business is preventing teams from reaching their full potential. The two teams believe this is all a violation of antitrust law. But the reality is that all of the above is just the…...

3+ day, 1+ hour ago (233+ words) Herculez Gomez speaks after Christian Pulisic's winner for AC Milan vs. Inter Milan in Serie A. (2:19) Christian Pulisic is likely to miss AC Milan's Serie A clash with Lazio this weekend, manager Massimiliano Allegeri said Thursday. The United States star, who only recently returned from a hamstring injury, withdrew from training on Wednesday due to minor muscular discomfort, according to reports in Italy. - USMNT 2026 World Cup Big Board 3.0: Reyna, Scally back in the fold - WC ticket sales for exact matchups to start Dec. 11 - Predicting the USMNT's starting lineup at the World Cup Speaking at his pre-match news conference, Allegri was pessimistic about Pulisic's chances of being passed fit in time for Saturday's matchup. "Pulisic is unlikely to play, although there are still two days until the match and anything can happen," he said. Pulisic suffered a low-grade tear in his right…...

3+ day, 1+ hour ago (566+ words) The long Test drought between Australia and Zimbabwe is set to continue, but the countries will contest a three-match ODI series in Zimbabwe next year ahead of the 2027 World Cup in southern Africa. Before their Test and ODI tour of South Africa, earmarked for September-October 2026, Australia will have a brief stopover in Zimbabwe for a trio of ODIs, a development first reported by News Corp and likely to be officially announced in the coming weeks. The series is to be played in Harare, and possibly Bulawayo, with the flagship 10,000-seat stadium at Victoria Falls unlikely to be ready by then. Zimbabwe and Australia have only played three Tests against each other with the last two being in October 2003 in a short series best remembered for Matthew Hayden briefly setting a world record score of 380 in the first Test at the…...

3+ day, 5+ hour ago (379+ words) Leigh Wood and Josh Warrington re-ignited their fierce rivalry with a heated face-off on Thursday ahead of their rematch on Feb. 21 in Nottingham. Wood (28-4, 17 KOs), a former featherweight world champion and Warrington (32-4-1, 8 KOs), a former two-time world champion in the same division, will finally meet in long-awaited second fight early next year. Their rivalry has been simmering for two years since their first fight. Wood beat Warrington with a dramatic Round 7 knockout in October 2023 after being down on the judges' scorecards. Warrington was well in control of the bout, landing more punches than his rival. The two argued in their first meeting since the rematch was announced. "I don't like him now. Since the first fight he never shown any respect. For me, did I fear Leigh going into the first fight? Probably not," Warrington said. "I thought the fight…...

3+ day, 18+ hour ago (592+ words) The 'F1 Unlapped' crew discuss if Lando Norris has opened the championship door for Max Verstappen after being disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix. (0:49) DOHA -- A relaxed Lando Norris insisted it feels like business as usual ahead of a weekend in which he could clinch his first world championship. The McLaren driver said he sees teammate Oscar Piastri and Red Bull's Max Verstappen as equal threats despite their radically different form coming into such a crucial race. Norris is 24 points ahead of Piastri and Verstappen as F1 approaches the Qatar Grand Prix -- the penultimate race of 2025. His lead over both would have been greater had McLaren not been sensationally disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix last Saturday for running two cars with illegal levels of plank wear underneath the car, a slam-dunk DQ under F1's rulebook. Norris seemed to be…...

3+ day, 20+ hour ago (578+ words) CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle was so frustrated after getting only six carries in Monday night's 20-9 loss at San Francisco that the next morning he posted a confused emoji on social media. On Wednesday, head coach Dave Canales met with the team to admit he has to be more balanced with his play-calling, starting with Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Rams. "Just frustrated with the outcome of the game,'' Dowdle explained of his emoji. "I thought we had an opportunity to run the ball more. Coach addressed it with the team. . . . He talked to me this morning about it. "We've got to run the ball for us to have our best chance and things like that.'' Despite his admission to the team, Canales has no plans to give up the play-calling. He just acknowledged as a young…...