World Volleyball Day was celebrated in full spirit during the ongoing Pacific Mini Games, as the FIVB leadership continued its official visit of Palau.
The celebration featured a vibrant beach volleyball showcase, bringing together the local volleyball community and athletes participating in the Pacific Mini Games. The event fostered a festive and inclusive atmosphere, with players, fans and youth all uniting around the shared joy of the sport.
The day’s celebrations were also featured on ANOC TV, the media platform of the Association of National Olympic Committees. In an interview, FIVB President Fabio Azevedo reflected on the joy of witnessing children enjoying beach volleyball against the backdrop of Palau’s stunning natural beauty.
“Being here for the first ever World Volleyball Day is something special,” said the FIVB President. “We want more people engaging in our sport. We want more people playing our sport and having fun with it. Volleyball’s a sport that you can play all year long, on grass, on sand, indoors, outdoors, 2-on-2, 3-on-3, 6-on-6, 9-on-9. It’s just a matter of keeping the ball flying, moving, getting healthy and sharing the values of the sport. Volleyball is a sport of collaboration and that’s what our world needs today.”
President Fabio Azevedo also praised the organisation of the Pacific Mini Games and the warm welcome extended to the FIVB delegation.
During the day, the FIVB also held a productive meeting with the Palau National Olympic Committee (PNOC), represented by its President Frank Kyota, Secretary General Baklai Temengil – who also serves as an IOC Member and President of the Oceania National Olympic Committees (ONOC) – and members of the PNOC Board. The discussion focused on strengthening collaboration between the FIVB, PNOC and the Palau Volleyball Federation to ensure a lasting legacy from the Pacific Mini Games.
One of the key topics was the proposal to transform the current beach volleyball venue into a Centre of Excellence for beach volleyball, with strong alignment among all stakeholders to support athlete development and create long-term impact for Palau and the Oceania region.
The meeting also explored joint development initiatives, including Volleyball Empowerment programme projects and Olympic Solidarity initiatives, with a shared emphasis on youth beach volleyball development. The PNOC expressed full support to explore the possibility of hosting a future edition of the FIVB Age Group Beach Volleyball World Championship in Palau.
Later that evening, the President of the Republic of Palau, Surangel Whipps Jr., accompanied by the First Lady Valerie Whipps, attended the beach volleyball semi-final matches of the Mini Pacific Games. Also present was the Governor of Koror, Eyos Rudimch.
Throughout the day, FIVB President Fabio Azevedo engaged directly with beach volleyball and indoor volleyball athletes from various national teams. Conversations centred on their development needs at zonal, continental and international levels, and how the FIVB and its Volleyball Empowerment programme can support their growth. These discussions reflect the goals of the FIVB Strategic Vision 2032, which places athletes at the heart of the Global Volleyball Movement.
A major highlight of the day was the FIVB’s official signing of the Sports for Nature Framework, a key step in its sustainability journey. The signing took place in the presence of Oceania National Olympic Committees President and International Olympic Committee Member Baklai Temengil. Learn more here.
The visit also included a high-level meeting between the President of the Republic of Palau, Surangel Whipps Jr., and the FIVB leadership. Discussions focused on future hosting opportunities and strategies to further grow volleyball throughout the nation. Read more here.
After a spectacular British Grand Prix last weekend, Pirelli was back on track at Silverstone for two days of testing, aimed at development of the 2026 tyres.
The task of collaborating on this complex and important phase of preparation for next season fell to Aston Martin, who were the first team to test the prototype tyres on track last September in Barcelona, this time joined by Sauber, who were trying this type of tyre for the very first time.
Two Brazilians were driving today: Felipe Drugovich was behind the wheel of the Aston Martin AMR25, while Gabriel Bortoleto was driving the Sauber C45. Both cars were specially adapted to suit the 2026 tyres, which are 25 millimetres narrower at the front and 30 at the rear.
Today’s work focused mainly on a comparison of the latest constructions prior to their being homologated, which is scheduled for this coming 1 September. Drugovich completed 112 laps, the quickest in 1’30”119 and Bortoleto did 110, the best being a 1’ 1’31’’341.
Testing continues tomorrow with Sauber’s young Brazilian still driving, while Canada’s Lance Stroll takes over at Aston Martin.
Two games into the series we have already witnessed something very special from Shubman Gill. In the second Test at Edgbaston he produced a real rarity: an individual performance that defines and dominates a game. Not just piling on the runs, but forcing his opponents to toil in the field until they felt exhausted and out of options.
That fatigue affects batters’ mental clarity and their decision-making – what to play, when to leave – as well as their movement and their footwork. Reducing England to 25 for three at the end of the second day went a long way to deciding the match. As well as India bowled with the new ball, it was Gill’s remorselessness that created the conditions for it to happen.
We have to pay testament to his stamina, his skill and his hunger – not just for runs, but to set an example as the new captain of a young team. Captaincy can affect a player’s form detrimentally, but it seems to have focused him and his three highest Test scores have been made in the past three weeks.
We are coming to the end of a period that has been dominated by the so-called Fab Four – Virat Kohli, Joe Root, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson – and the search has been on for players who can take over. Gill has shown he can fill those boots and in a wonderfully orthodox style: he plays all formats and is brilliantly adaptable, but with a foundation of classic technique.
He has not just been making his own reputation, he is making history. No touring player has scored as many runs in a Test as the 430 at Edgbaston – only Graham Gooch against India at Lord’s, in 1990, has bettered it – and his 585 puts him 23rd on the list of highest individual tallies in Test series in England, two games in. Even Don Bradman’s world record of 974 in the 1930 Ashes looks under threat.
He was given the opportunity to dictate the game because England chose to bowl first. The opportunity to stretch and tire opponents and then benefit from scoreboard pressure and fatigue, as well as the opportunity to bowl on a possibly deteriorating pitch towards the end of the game, is why people win the toss and bat. England will be reflecting on that decision as they consider ways of reducing Gill’s impact on the remainder of the series.
Shubman Gill made history at Edgbaston. Photograph: Alex Davidson/Getty Images
I remember Smith’s performances on the Ashes tour I went on as batting coach in 2017-18, when he scored two unbeaten centuries and a double century, ending the series with an average of 137.40. At times it felt like we just could not get him out, it was soul-destroying. He always seemed to have an answer. After a while it really does get to you and we had two very experienced frontline bowlers in Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad.
Gill is used to the cast of bowlers England used in the first two matches, he knows their plans, their trajectories, their variations, their pace. If fatigue was not already going to force Ben Stokes to change his bowling group, the need to find fresh ways to challenge the India captain would have done it anyway.
If Chris Woakes can put himself through a third match in a row I would keep him in, because his batting could play a part. He bowled a good new-ball spell on the first day at Edgbaston when he was a bit unlucky and Lord’s is a happy hunting ground for him.
skip past newsletter promotion
after newsletter promotion
Brydon Carse and Josh Tongue have been selected because they bowl with good pace, height and bounce and can present problems even on flat surfaces. They have done OK, but they have come up against top-class batting that has been ruthless – Stokes doesn’t like that word but India probably do. Now England need a point of difference: it’s going to be 30C in London, probably not great conditions for swing, and Jofra Archer has to be the man.
But picking Archer, after one first-class game in four years, is a risk and with Stokes also needing to bowl in short bursts England then need a couple of people who can really put in a shift. What surprises me about their squad, aside from the three seamers who played the first two games, is the extraordinary lack of first-class overs in it: Gus Atkinson has come back in for the third Test having not played since the game against Zimbabwe in May and joins Jamie Overton, who would add extra depth to England’s batting but has played one T20 game since May and one first-class match this season.
To pick either of them alongside Archer feels like a risk, particularly when it is going to be hot and dry and England have to be braced for long periods in the field.
For that reason Sam Cook has to come in, though he is someone who offers control, plenty of stamina and lots of overs, but not always a cutting edge. Cook may struggle at Old Trafford and the Oval given the nature of the pitches and this could be the one where he uses the slope cleverly and bowls lots of overs. Woakes and Cook can then provide control with Archer the ace up England’s sleeve, someone fresh and fast, and something new for Gill to try to deal with.
The Paris 2024 Olympic 100m champion announced on Tuesday (8 July) that he will compete at this week’s Diamond League meeting in Monaco.
Competition there is set for Friday (11 July).
Lyles has been out of competition since mid-April, dealing with what has been described as a “tight ankle,” according to FloTrack.
In Monaco, the three-time 200m world champion will enter his signature event for the first time in the 2025 season in style, facing off with Paris gold medallist Letsile Tebogo.
The American has not lost a 200m race in Diamond League competition in more than five years.
A raft of changes has been made to a controversial parking scheme surrounding Everton’s new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.
Liverpool City Council had imposed a traffic order within a half-hour walking radius around the stadium, which included restrictions for on-street parking all year round, not just on matchdays.
But the order was paused in March after backlash from residents and businesses, some of whom claimed the parking restrictions would cause them to go under.
The council has rowed back on the original order after a consultation and introduced non-event day parking restrictions and extended waiting limits to up to four hours when Everton were not playing.
There will also be additional parking bays for local businesses and community venues in the area, and new blue badge parking bays on Regent Road.
The changes will be in place from 4 August, in time for the final “test match” of the scheme on 9 August, and will run for an initial 18-month period.
The council said an event day would typically be any sporting or non-sporting event at the new stadium with 10,000 or more attendees.
Event day rules would also be applied for events around the city where there is a need to manage parking.
Liverpool City Councillor Dan Barrington said the changes “reflect the invaluable input we’ve received from residents and businesses”.
He said the local authority would “continue to listen” and make further changes if needed.
Coup’s Notebook Vol. 95: A Summer Of HEAT Moves, Davion Mitchell And Norm Powell, Summer League For Kasparas Jakucionis, Kel’el Ware And Pelle Larsson NBA
Kevin Love reacts to stunning three-team NBA trade, says ‘never thought I’d be a …’ The Economic Times
NBA Trade Rumors: Los Angeles Lakers Could Reunite LeBron James with $8 Million Former Cleveland Cavalier Times of India
Heat are quietly set up to be major sellers at the 2026 trade deadline All U Can Heat
Hour 1 – Wheeling and Dealing | FOX Sports Radio | The Ben Maller Show FOX Sports Radio
LAUSANNE, Switzerland – The UConn men’s basketball incoming freshman duo of Jacob Furphy and Eric Reibe concluded their runs at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup Switzerland 2025 last week in Lausanne. Reibe helped lead Germany to a silver medal and a 6-1 record, while Furphy led the competition in minutes for an Australia side that went 4-3 and finished in sixth place.
Both Huskies were among the top-20 scorers in the World Cup and played integral roles for their national teams. Reibe averaged 15.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game for Germany in 23.7 minutes per game and finished fourth in the tournament with a 58.7 field goal percentage. He scored in double-figures in all but one game and had a pair of 20-point performances.
After a 2-0 start to group play with wins over Slovenia and China, Reibe had a huge game against Canada to clinch a perfect Group B run. He scored 20 points with seven rebounds, two steals a block in 24 minutes to earn a top seed in the Round of 16. In the first game of the knockout stage, Reibe had his best performance of the event with 25 points on 10-12 shooting, adding eight rebounds and two blocks in 31 minutes in a win over Serbia.
Germany and Australia matched up in the quarterfinals, a win for Germany in which Reibe scored 12 points and went 6-of-8 from the floor along with two blocks in 22 minutes. In a semifinal win over Slovenia the 7’0 big man posted 13 points and snared five rebounds with three assists and two steals. In the gold medal game against the heavily favored United States, Reibe scored 17 points in 24 minutes.
Furphy finished his latest run with the Australia national team by ranking 12th in the World Cup with 16.7 points per game and leading all players in Lausanne by logging 34.4 minutes per game. He scored in double-figures in six of seven outings and added 4.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.1 steals per game.
The ‘Emus’ opened Group D play against Team USA and Furphy made an early impression with 24 points on 9-18 shooting, four rebounds and two steals. He followed that with a huge outing in a double-overtime thriller against Cameroon, helping Australia come back from multiple late deficits and scoring 18 points with three rebounds, four assists and two steals in 46 minutes – the most logged by any player in any contest at the World Cup.
In a battle for the second-place finish in Group D, Furphy scored 19 points and dished out five assists as Australia topped France. The 6-4 guard was 5-of-9 from 3-point range in the group play finale. He opened the knockout stage with 24 points on 9-15 shooting to lead the Emus past the Dominican Republic, hitting 5-of-7 from the downtown. In the setback against Reibe and Germany in the quarterfinals, Furphy scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
In consolation bracket games against Israel and Canada, Furphy averaged 9.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals and Australia earned a sixth-place finish. He was Australia’s second-leading scorer at the World Cup and led the squad in steals and 3-pointers made in Switzerland.
Both Furphy and Reibe will return to Storrs for the Summer II session ahead of their freshman campaigns at UConn.
