An MLB rumors update discussing Alek Manoah, the Cardinals, and Anthony Rendon's recent media behavior.

Refereeing, head collisions and player safety again made the headlines on the opening weekend of the Rugby World Cup with a number of contentious incidents. The most high-profile came on Saturday when an England player was shown a red card for the fourth time this year, as Tom Curry was sent off early in his side’s win over Argentina, following a head-on-head collision with Juan Cruz Mallia. However, apparent inconsistency among officials irked many, especially on social media, with other incidents of head contact across the weekend not being punished as severely. Later in that same match, Santiago Carreras only received a yellow card despite his leap in attempting to charge down a George Ford kick seeing his hip make contact with the England No 10’s head. During South Africa’s impressive 18-3 win over Scotland, Jesse Kriel’s tackle on Jack Dempsey in which his head clattered into that of his Scottish opponent wasn’t even reviewed by the TMO and hasn’t subsequently been cited, while Chile captain Martin Sigren was only sin-binned despite a head-on-head collision while tackling a Japanese attacker. But what are the laws around head contact and high tackles that referees are following and how do they decide on the punishment? Here’s everything you need to know: What are World Rugby’s laws on head contact? Head-on-head contact in the tackle comes under Law 9 of the Laws of Rugby Union, which covers foul play. Law 9.11 dictates “Players must not do anything that is reckless or dangerous to others, including leading with the elbow or forearm, or jumping into, or over, a tackler” and Law 9.13 goes on to say “A player must not tackle an opponent early, late or dangerously. Dangerous tackling includes, but is not limited to, tackling or attempting to tackle an opponent above the line of the shoulders even if the tackle starts below the line of the shoulders.” If a player breaks these laws and the act is deemed to be reckless or dangerous, then the referee is entitled to issue a yellow or red card. World Rugby also clarify the intent of the laws, stating in their guidelines that: “ Player welfare drives World Rugby’s decision making for zero tolerance of foul play, especially where head contact occurs. The focus must be on the actions of those involved, not the injury – the need for an HIA [a Head Injury Assessment] does not necessarily mean that there has been illegal head contact.” What are the punishments for head-on-head contact? Ok, this is where things get technical and debates start to occur. In March 2023, World Rugby issued their latest ‘head contact process law application guidelines’ to guide referees on whether foul play has occurred and how it should be punished. The referee has to go through a four-step process (detailed below) to determine the extent of the foul play and the sanction. The four steps are: Has head contact occurred? Was there any foul play? What was the degree of danger? Is there any mitigation? Step 1 (has head contact occurred?) is relatively straightforward, with head contact including the head and the face as well as the neck and throat area. If any head contact is made at all, we move on to Step 2. Step 2 (was there foul play?) is a touch more complex. The referees are told to consider whether the head contact was either intentional, reckless or avoidable – e.g. the defender is always upright. If it was, the tackler will be penalised and they move on to Step 3. However, if the head contact was deemed not to be foul play, the game continues. Step 3 (what was the degree of danger?) – judged from high to low – determines the initial punishment. A degree of high danger is judged on any of: direct contact rather than indirect, a high-force impact, a lack of control from the tackler, the incident occurring at high speed, the tackler leading with the head/shoulder/elbow/forearm or the tackle being reckless. If the referee judges there to be a high degree of danger, a red card will be shown. Meanwhile, low danger is judged as indirect contact, low force, low speed or no leading head/shoulder/forearm/swinging arm and a yellow card or even just a penalty to the opposition may be awarded. The final step, Step 4 (is there any mitigation?) determines whether the punishment can be reduced by one grade (i.e red card down to yellow card or yellow card down to just a penalty). Mitigation includes a sudden or significant drop in height or change in direction from ball carrier, a late change in dynamics due to another player in the contact area, a clear effort from the tackler to reduce their height or the tackler having no time to adjust. However, mitigation will never apply for intentional or always-illegal acts of foul play. What about the Foul Play Review Officer/Bunker review? Introduced for this World Cup was the Bunker review system. This allows the referee to issue a yellow card to a player, sending them to the sin-bin while play goes on, where a Foul Play Review Official (FPRO) will then take another look at the incident and determine if the yellow card should be upgraded to red, allowing the game to continue rather than a long stoppage to debate this. This is what happened to Curry against Argentina. The referee crosses their arms to indicate a Bunker review will take place. Once a player is in the sin-bin, the FPRO has up to eight minutes to review the decision and decide if it warrants upgrading to a red card. If not, the player will return to the field after their 10 minutes in the sin-bin has elapsed. Read More Tom Curry ban: How many games will England star miss after red card vs Argentina? ‘Ruining this World Cup’: TV presenter slams ‘grotesque’ refereeing as Wales beat Fiji George Ford plays the pragmatist as England finally come to the boil in Marseille cauldron South Africa explain use of signals during Scotland win National anthems are ruining the Rugby World Cup – they must be changed now Tom Curry banned after red card in Rugby World Cup against Argentina

Record-breaking Stuttgart striker Serhou Guirassy said England captain Harry Kane's arrival in Germany has "pushed a lot of strikers in the Bundesliga to raise their level...

Getafe FC has released a statement about the club’s recent signing of Mason Greenwood, claiming he has been "proven innocent". Only, it’s a false claim which has been criticised on social media. The 21-year-old joined the LaLiga side on loan from Manchester United, who suspended him in January 2022 over allegations relating to a young woman after images and videos were posted online. Greenwood faced charges including attempted rape and assault, but the Crown Prosecution Service announced in February that the case had been discontinued. Following backlash to the new signing, Getafe released a statement to the Athletic, saying: “We do not want to enter the investigation. This guy has been declared innocent, judged, he is innocent like you or me. The moment we see that he is innocent we have no more to say.” Only, he has not been proven innocent. Instead, the charges against Greenwood were dropped. They were not heard in court, and thus he was not cleared by court, nor of the charges against him. Football writer Grace Robertson was one of the people to comment on the matter, writing on social media: “This is just factually incorrect. Charges dropped after key witnesses withdrew their involvement does not mean he was ‘declared innocent’. “If we're being very generous, the Getafe person is speaking a foreign language here. But still, it is incorrect.” It comes shortly after Greenwood himself posted an online statement after his Manchester United release, which was hauled in for a correction by X/Twitter's team of community notes users. "I want to start by saying I understand that people will judge me because of what they have seen and heard on social media, and I know people will think the worst. I was brought up to know that violence or abuse in any relationship is wrong, I did not do the things I was accused of, and in February I was cleared of all charges," said Greenwood to start his statement. "However, I fully accept I made mistakes in my relationship, and I take my share of responsibility for the situations that led to the social media post. I am learning to understand my responsibilities to set a good example as a professional footballer, and I’m focused on the big responsibility of being a father, as well as a good partner. "Today’s decision has been part of a collaborative process between Manchester United, my family and me. The best decision for us all, is for me to continue my football career away from Old Trafford, where my presence will not be a distraction for the club. I thank the club for their support since I joined aged seven. There will always be a part of me which is United. I am enormously grateful to my family and all my loved ones for their support, and it is now for me to repay the trust those around me have shown. I intend to be a better footballer, but most importantly a good father, a better person, and to use my talents in a positive way on and off the pitch." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings

Denny Crum, who won two NCAA men’s basketball championships and built Louisville into one of the 1980s’ dominant programs during a Hall of Fame coaching career, has died

ACL injuries have already influenced the Women’s World Cup with the contenders weakened after a number of key players were ruled out in the build-up to the tournament in Australia and New Zealand. Players are asking why the injury has been so prevalent in women’s football, including glaring omissions of Netherlands forward Vivianne Miedema, England's Leah Williamson and Beth Mead, Canada's Janine Beckie and rising USA star Catarina Macario in this tournament. And now the Lionesses will be forced to sweat on the health of Keira Walsh, who suffered a knee injury to be forced off against Denmark. The Barcelona midfielder was taken off on a stretcher, replaced by Laura Coombs, and appeared distraught, covering her face with her hands. "I'm devastated for her to be honest,” said Ellen White on BBC Sport. “She's been one of the best if not the best player for England. She knew it didn't look good. She'll be a big miss. Laura has come in, I'm devastated for her." While Jonas Eidevall added that the dry pitch may have contributed to the injury: “It's a danger to player welfare to have such a dry pitch. It's not good enough. I'm a big advocate of watering the pitches, it makes the ball go faster and stops situations like this.” USWNT midfielder Andi Sullivan, who tore her ACL in college at Stanford, believes it is a “multifaceted issue” hurting the game. “I don’t know if I’m the expert in it, even though I’ve experienced it,” said Sullivan. “There’s so many different factors that could contribute to that and I think we are a little bit behind on the research as to why, so hopefully now the prevalence will kind of wake people up,” Sullivan added. “This is an issue we need to pay attention to and look more into preventing and how to handle it better.” Last year it was estimated that nearly 60 players in the world's top professional women's leagues were sidelined because of anterior cruciate ligament injuries. Among them was Spain's Alexia Putellas, who injured her ACL just before the Euros last July. Putellas, who will play for Spain at the World Cup, partnered with FIFPRO, the international players' union, to call attention to the outbreak of ACL injuries and demand a closer look at possible contributing factors including workload, medical care, field conditions and even equity. Studies have shown women are up to eight times more likely to suffer ACL injuries in sports involving sudden changes of direction, like soccer and basketball, than their male counterparts. Dr. Mark Cullen, the team physician for the University of New Hampshire who specializes in orthopedic surgery, says women have wider hips which impacts knee mechanics. “They also tend to land a little bit more stiff-legged and don’t absorb the forces as well as their male counterparts, and that puts more force on the ACL and contributes to the tears,” Cullen said. Katie Rood, who plays professionally in Scotland, was hoping to make New Zealand's roster and play in soccer's biggest tournament on home soil. But she recently announced that she had joined the “ever-growing ACL club.” “It’s been an interesting process so far and one I’m sure I’ll learn a lot from, especially as it’s a serious issue in the women’s game. What’s hit me quite hard in this situation is just how many times I’ve been asked ‘Is the club looking after you?’” she wrote. “It’s a reminder that health care and medical treatment isn’t often the norm in the women’s game and we all know of players being left to fend for themselves after getting seriously injured with their clubs.” Rood, however, praised her team for their support. Miedema won’t be ready in time to help the Netherlands when it returns to the Women's World Cup after finishing as runner-up to the United States four years ago in France. She is one of four players from Arsenal in the Women’s Super League currently sidelined by ACL injuries. The list includes Williamson, who tore her ACL in April. When Arsenal’s Laura Wienroither tore her ACL earlier this month, Miedema posted on social media: “At least we will all be in the gym together. PS. ACL group is full now. Please no more.” Five of the nominees the 2022 women's Ballon d’Or — Putellas, Miedema, Macario, Mead and France’s Marie-Antoinette Katoto — all sustained ACL injuries last year. Mead, who won the Golden Boot at the Women's Euros last year, was left off England's 23-player roster for the World Cup. “We have to take care of players and do what’s smart, and not do what’s a little bit naive,” England coach Sarina Wiegman said. Having already lost Katoto, France was dealt another ACL blow when Delphine Cascarino tore her ACL while playing for Lyon. Lyon teammate Macario, one of the most promising young U.S. attackers, tore her ACL last June. Macario rehabbed at Aspetar, a specialized sports medicine facility in Qatar, but announced in May that she wouldn't make it back in time for the World Cup. Aside from the mechanics, there's an emotional toll that such long-term injuries take on athletes. For some, it means the loss of a paycheck, for others it may be that their careers stall or are cut short. Others miss out on chances to play in the World Cup. Tierna Davidson, who plays for the Chicago Red Stars in the National Women's Soccer League, tore her ACL last March. She said the injury and the rehab helped her appreciate her career. “At the beginning, I felt like I was impatient and I was frustrated. When is this going to be over?” Davidson said. “But I think throughout the process, I really learned how to be patient and how to listen to myself and allow myself the space to enjoy the good things, which is important when you’re going through something like that.” Read More England vs Denmark LIVE: Women’s World Cup latest score after Lauren James goal and Keira Walsh injury Why are England wearing black armbands today? Who are the BBC World Cup commentators? Alex Scott, Fara Williams and full list of pundits Laura Coombs: England’s unlikely midfield general in profile Women’s World Cup groups: A comprehensive guide to each squad Women’s World Cup TV schedule: How to watch every match today

UConn now stands alone, passing Tennessee with a 566th consecutive week ranked in The Associated Press women's basketball poll

West Ham United open talks with Sevilla over a deal for long-term transfer target Youssef En-Nesyri. The Moroccan is valued at around £35m by his club and scored 18 goals in all competitions last season.

Zach McKinstry hit a tiebreaking, three-run home run in the 10th inning, lifting the Detroit Tigers past the Colorado Rockies 4-2

WWE’s sponsorship revenue for SummerSlam rose 23% from a year ago to $7 million, the most for any event outside of WrestleMania

Xavi reveals Robert Lewandowski & Pedri's chances of returning for Barcelona in El Clasico against Real Madrid.

Valencia will seek to appeal a five-game stand ban issued by the Spanish FA in relation to the racist abuse aimed at Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior.