Konnor Griffin debuted in style. The 19-year-old Pirates shortstop delivered an RBI double in his first big league at-bat as Pittsburgh held off the Baltimore Orioles 5-4 on Friday. Griffin, called up on Thursday and the consensus top prospect in baseball, looked every bit the part during an electric afternoon at PNC Park. He laced … Read more
Lauren Betts had 16 points and made a huge block late, and UCLA withstood a late charge by Texas on Friday night for a 51-44 win to reach the women’s NCAA Tournament national championship game for the first time. Manhandled by eventual national champion UConn in their first Final Four a year ago, the Bruins … Read more
One of soccer’s historic powers has reached a once-unfathomable low. Four-time champion Italy failed to qualify for a third-straight World Cup after getting beat in a penalty shootout with 10 men at 66th-ranked Bosnia and Herzegovina in the European playoffs on Tuesday. Their matchup with Bosnia and Herzegovina was a chance at redemption, but alas, … Read more
Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso said it is not the time to talk about his future despite the Azzurri failing to qualify for a third straight World Cup. Even if Gattuso hasn’t made up his mind whether to stay or not, the Italian soccer federation gave a clear sign it would like him to remain on … Read more
Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta) — Two games against elite competition. Two losses that left fans of the United States men’s national team short of any confidence that the country’s squad has any hope of making a deep run when it co-hosts the World Cup in just more than two months from now. Three days after a … Read more
In what was likely his final home appearance for Argentina’s national squad, Lionel Messi scored a goal and provided an assist in a 5-0 rout of Zambia on Tuesday night in a farewell friendly ahead of the World Cup. The 38-year-old Messi set up Julian Alvarez in the fourth minute and then scored in the … Read more
The 2026 World Cup hasn’t officially kicked off yet, but Tuesday’s final qualifying matches brought us plenty of excitement and drama that made the day feel like a World Cup day. All four UEFA playoff matches were either decided by a goal or in penalty kicks. Four-time World Cup champion Italy was among the eight … Read more
Lauren Betts had 23 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks to help UCLA rally from a rare halftime deficit and beat Duke 70-58 on Sunday, advancing to the women’s Final Four for the second straight season. The top-seeded Bruins will play either Texas or Michigan in Phoenix on Friday in the national semifinals. UCLA is … Read more
It was an uphill battle for UConn on Sunday. The second-seeded Huskies started the game going 1-for-18 from 3-point range and trailed top-seeded seed Duke by double digits with 6:37 remaining in the second half. That’s when things took a turn for the better. UConn pulled off a stunning comeback, thanks to its gritty culture, … Read more
Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta) — Christian Pulisic wants this responsibility. The one that requires him to carry the pressure weighing on the U.S. men’s national team as it embarks on what is expected to be a historic World Cup on home soil this summer. Pulisic, 27, has been in the senior national team for 10 years. … Read more