Category: 6. Sports

CNN
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Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton will miss the entire 2025-26 NBA season to rehabilitate his torn Achilles tendon, the team confirmed on Monday.

Haliburton suffered the injury in the first quarter of Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, a game Indiana would go on to lose to the Oklahoma City Thunder and miss out on winning the franchise’s first ever NBA title.

Haliburton posted on social media the day after that he had undergone successful surgery on the torn Achilles tendon in his right leg, vowing that he “will do everything in my power to get back right.”

On Monday, Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard ruled out any participation by Haliburton in the upcoming season, adding that he has full confidence that the two-time All-Star would return even stronger.

“I have no doubt that he will be back better than ever. The surgery went well,” Pritchard told the media. “It was a little higher and he gets more blood to that (as he recovers). He will not play next year though. We would not jeopardize that now, so don’t get any hopes up that he will play.”

Haliburton had arguably been the star of the NBA playoffs up until that point, providing magical moments as the Pacers made their way to the Finals.

He produced one of the signature moments of the playoffs in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals as he led the Pacers on a massive comeback in the final minutes against the New York Knicks, eventually hitting a tying shot as the buzzer sounded to send the game to overtime – and mimicked Reggie Miller’s famous “choke” celebration on the Madison Square Garden floor. Indiana eventually won that game in overtime.

In the Finals, he recreated those heroics by helping to engineer a comeback win over the Thunder on the road in Game 1. He hit a mid-range jumper with 0.3 seconds to go in the game to give Indiana its only lead, stealing the series opener on the road.

After being named the most overrated player in the league by his peers earlier in the season, Haliburton seemed to be on a mission to prove all the doubters wrong in the playoffs. He also hit game-winning shots to beat the Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers in the earlier rounds.

However, the 25-year-old suffered a strained right calf midway through the Finals which clearly hampered his success on the court. He continued to play through the injury until his eventual Achilles tear forced him off the court early in Game 7.

Haliburton himself expressed no regrets about playing through the injury, but Pritchard had a different opinion.

“If you’re asking me, would I have him do it over and over? I would not. I would not,” Pritchard said. “If I knew that he was going to get hurt, I would sacrifice that game because I care for the kid so much and want him to have an incredible career.”

In 73 regular season games last campaign, Haliburton averaged 18.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 9.2 assists per game.

With Haliburton absent, next season looks to be a transition year for the Pacers.

The team has already lost one of its stalwarts in Myles Turner who, having spent the first 10 years of his NBA career in Indiana, signed with the Milwaukee Bucks in the first few days of free agency.

The 29-year-old center departs the Pacers as the franchise’s all-time leader in blocks and leaves a sizable gap in the team’s rotation.

Pritchard told reporters that it was a surprise to lose Turner in free agency, calling him “one of the best players that’s ever played here.”

“I know this, that (owner) Herb Simon and (part-owner) Steven Rales and the Simon family were fully prepared to go deep into the tax to keep him,” Pritchard said. “We really wanted to do that, and we were negotiating in good faith.

“But what happens in this league is sometimes you’re negotiating, but because a guy is unrestricted, he has the right to say: ‘That’s the offer I want. I’m going to take it and that’s best for my family.’”

Australia’s preparations to face the British and Irish Lions have suffered a major setback after first-choice fly-half Noah Lolesio was ruled out of the series.

The 25-year-old was carried off the pitch in the Wallabies’ 21-18 win over Fiji on Sunday with an apparent whiplash injury.

He was initially discharged from hospital later that day, raising hopes he would be fit to face the tourists. However, after further check-ups, he had surgery on Tuesday afternoon.

Rugby Australia said Lolesio “will spend a period of time away from the game during his rehabilitation”. That absence will span the entirety of the series against the Lions.

Lolesio was left out of Australia’s Rugby World Cup squad in 2023 but has since become the Wallabies’ go-to fly-half under head coach Joe Schmidt.

He started five of the Wallabies’ six Rugby Championship games last year and all four of their autumn internationals in the northern hemisphere.

Ben Donaldson seems most likely to take on the 10 role, with Tom Lynagh – the England-raised 22-year-old son of Wallabies great Michael Lynagh – also in the squad named for the Fiji fixture.

Schmidt could call on the experience of Bernard Foley and James O’Connor to bolster his options.

The first Test against the Lions takes place in Brisbane on 19 July, with the second and third Tests being staged on the following weekends in Melbourne and Sydney.

The Fiji fixture was Australia’s only warm-up match for the series.

When Wiegman named Agyemang in the squad, she said the Arsenal forward could “bring something different” and she hoped she could show it in Switzerland.

She impressed on loan at Brighton this season and Agyemang has been on Wiegman’s radar for a few years, having progressed through England’s youth teams.

Agyemang appears calm in front of the cameras and mature beyond her years – but on the pitch she causes chaos.

“I remember the first time she played because she flattened me in training. I was too slow on [the ball],” England captain Leah Williamson said last month.

“I gave her a bit of stick about it, but in my head I thought: ‘You need to move the ball quicker, because she’s got something about her.’

“My first impression was that she let me know she was there, which I love.”

Agyemang wants to be a “unique player” and is striving for consistency, wanting to make an impact “from minute one to the end”.

She takes inspiration from club-mate Alessia Russo and Chelsea forward Lauren James, who is “one of the most technically gifted players” she has seen.

But there is one trait Agyemang is already becoming known for – her strength.

“She just runs into people and bodies them because she’s so strong,” said Chelsea defender Lucy Bronze.

“She’s so sweet and unassuming as a person, but then on the pitch she’s probably one of my favourites to play against because I can run into her dead hard!

“She likes to give it back. She’s been told [by Wiegman] that she needs to go a little bit easier but I said: ‘No, just keep it up Micha, I prefer it, it makes it harder for us.’”

Accelerating its efforts to create ever-better motorsports-bred cars and realise a carbon-neutral society, TOYOTA has been competing with a hydrogen-engine Corolla since 2021 in the Super Taikyu series in Japan. Jari-Matti Latvala, Team Principal of TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team, has been among the drivers who have raced with the innovative powertrain and provided their feedback in its development.

In 2022, the technology was demonstrated on the rally stages of Europe for the first time when the experimental GR Yaris H2 made its debut at the FIA World Rally Championship round in Belgium, driven by Akio Toyoda and Juha Kankkunen.

Since then, development has continued to create the Rally2 H2 Concept, which will be demonstrated at Rally Finland to allow rally fans to experience the potential of hydrogen as one of the options for the future of motorsport in a carbon neutral society.

The car is based upon the successful GR Yaris Rally2 chassis and fitted with an internal combustion engine fuelled by compressed hydrogen, delivering near-zero emissions while retaining the sounds and sensations so enjoyed by rally fans.

The GR Yaris Rally2 H2 Concept has been developed at TGR-WRT headquarters in Jyväskylä, Finland, and tested on local roads, including runs on gravel forest roads like those used in Rally Finland. For its public debut, the car will be demonstrated on the mixed-surface Harju stage in the centre of Jyväskylä, which runs as the opening stage of the rally on Thursday evening and again as SS10 on Friday. Four-time world champion Kankkunen, Deputy Team Principal of TGR-WRT, will be at the wheel.

The car will also be exhibited in the service park during the event alongside other hydrogen vehicles like the Toyota Mirai and Tundra, as part of a wider showcase of hydrogen technology across the city of Jyväskylä.

England vs Netherlands: Make or break for the Lionesses

As if Wednesday’s clash didn’t already have plenty riding on it, for the Lionesses it could be the difference between retaining their title and an early flight home.

Defeat to the Netherlands would seal their fate, pending a France victory against tournament debutants Wales.

While Sarina Wiegman’s side boast the better record in the history of this fixture, they need to be wary of Miedema, fresh off the back of becoming a Dutch centurion.

Her brilliant strike against Wales was her 100^th for her national team and will no doubt give her even more confidence as the tournament progresses.

In a candid response to it, Mead says it will be the first and last goal of Miedema’s that she will be celebrating while at EURO 2025.

“I was sat watching so I cheered for her, but that’s the only time I’ll be cheering for her in the tournament,” she said.

“We won’t be speaking too much about football this week.”

Emotions will be mixed, tensions high, but for each of these players their focus will be on one thing only: helping their nation secure all three points.

In a Championships beset by upsets, the eventual quarterfinal line-up on the women’s side is stacked with quality.

Multiple Grand Slam champions Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek are there, as is fellow top-eight seed Mirra Andreeva.

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Pundits’ semifinal prediction Amanda Anisimova has also made it to the last eight and so too Liudmila Samsonova, a two-time WTA tournament champion on grass. There’s also 2021 Roland Garros finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, and Bencic, a former world No.4.

Bencic returned to professional tennis as an unranked mother last October following 13 months away, yet has already trimmed her ranking to 35th.

A Wimbledon junior champion in 2013 who felt an immediate affinity for grass when she first set foot on it, she looms as one of the more formidable players remaining.

She owns 50 tour-level match wins on grass – the most of any women’s quarterfinalist this year – and a winning rate on the surface approaching 70 per cent.

The former Eastbourne champion enters her quarterfinal match-up against Andreeva with the confidence of having won six of her seven career grasscourt quarterfinals.  

She was also one point away from an eight grasscourt quarterfinal at Wimbledon in 2023, before Swiatek staged a dramatic Centre Court comeback to deny her.

“I’m happy I finally got through today from the fourth round; I always got stuck in the fourth round,” she laughed in a Tennis Channel interview. “I’m really happy with how I played better from round to round and I’m improving on the court, so I hope to continue like that.”

London: It’s not about how you start that’s important, but how well you finish. Novak Djokovic played out the aphorism to perfection on Wimbledon’s Centre Court.After losing the first set in 30 minutes, winning just 14 points, the 38-year-old, who was seen clutching his stomach during changeovers, turned the fourth-round clash against the 11th seeded Aussie Alex de Minaur around. And just how. The Serb came up with a staggering counter in the fourth set, winning five straight games to score a 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win in three hours and 18 minutes to make his 16th quarterfinals at Church Road.Monday got off to a wet, windy start at SW19, making for challenging conditions. The sun was moody, and a cold wind swept across the grounds, spectators pulled on their winter cardigans. Centre Court was packed and the roof was open. The ever-stylish eight-time champion Roger Federer was in the house.De Minaur was forced to withdraw before the Wimbledon quarterfinal last year with a hip injury, allowing Djokovic a walkover into the semifinals. This time, the 11th seed put his best foot forward, much to the delight of the crowd, but when Djokovic increased the pace on his forehand, putting the ball out of De Minaur’s strike range, the Aussie was rocked on to the backfoot. The 26-year-old looked like he was out of options.
The first three games of the second set went with breaks. The second game, which De Minaur won, saw nine deuces and six break-points, but the Serb restored order to the play by holding at love in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead. De Minaur, who was cheered on by his fiance Katie Boulter, slipped up in the ninth game of the third set and Djokovic went on to take a two sets-one lead.When De Minaur powered ahead to a 4-1 lead in the fourth set, making Djokovic run corner to corner, the buzz around the grounds was that the 24-time Major winner’s fourth-round clash was going the distance. The geeks were counting already. Since 2010 Djokovic has only lost a match once after leading by two-sets-to-love, that was to Denis Istomin in 2017 at Melbourne Park. Djokovic, however, had different plans, he clearly wasn’t looking at a fifth set. He broke in the seventh game and levelled at 4-4 before shutting the door on the contest. The world No. 6 was quick to dismiss stomach issues, saying he only needed a breather after 30plus shot rallies. “Sometimes I wish I had a serve and volley and nice touch (like) the gentleman that’s standing there. That would help,” Djokovic said in his on court interview, acknowledging Federer. “It’s probably the first time he has watched me and I’ve won the match. The last couple I lost, it’s good to break the curse.”In the other fourth round match, the 22nd seed Italian Flavio Cobolli beat the 2017 Wimbledon finalist Croatia’s Marin Cilic 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3) to make the quarterfinal at the grass court Slam for the first time. In the last -eight clash the 23-year-old Italian faces his idol Djokovic for the second time in his career, having lost their lone meeting in Shanghai.Swiss Belinda Bencic, one of nine mothers in the draw, made her first quarterfinal here with a 7-6 (4), 6-4 win over the 18th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.