Taylor Swift gives to $100,000 bonus to Eras Tour truckers, the ACC targets SMU, ESPN is set to launch ESPN BET and more in the Roundup.

New Zealand's prime minister said a shooting that killed two people in central Auckland hours before the women's football World Cup opener Thursday was not linked to a national security threat and...

NFL gambling rules say players are not allowed to bet on any league events. However, a golf match featuring Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce has caused confusion.The NFL has cracked down on players who have violated their gambling policy since 2022. This offseason alone, there have been six play...

England walked out and for a moment it might have felt like they had been there before. A crowd of over 75,000, millions elsewhere turning in. An expectant nation inspired by the power and momentum of a team who represent something greater than themselves. But this wasn’t the Euros final. This wasn’t Wembley. This time England were the enemy, deep in the land of Matildas fever. This time they faced the crowd, the noise, the jeers and boos, the helicopters hovering over their training session and splashing photos of their plans across the morning newspapers. They faced Australia’s biggest night in a generation. They faced the spirit of Cathy Freeman, and a moment that would unify the country. They faced Sam Kerr, and they heard the eruption that greeted the star of the World Cup finally having her moment. The Lionesses faced all that but did not shake. Instead, they turned it into a first World Cup final, in a tournament that has been defined by the problems and challenges that have blocked their every turn. For England, this was the anti-Euros final, as the Lionesses got one game away from their World Cup dream while denying the hosts a shot at theirs. As England tamed the atmosphere in Sydney, and Sweet Caroline rang around the quickly emptying Stadium Australia, they did so with the coldest and most clinical performance of Sarina Wiegman’s reign. The Lionesses fouled, the Lionesses wasted time, the Lionesses picked up cheap yellow cards and took away Australia’s momentum. But they also played, they controlled, and they were the better team for large spells. And when Kerr burst forward and struck an unstoppable shot past Mary Earps, England managed to overturn the story of the World Cup and produce something from nothing all over again. It helps, then, that they could turn to a player who at this World Cup has lifted England by doing that. Lauren Hemp has turned into England’s match-winner, a devastating central forward transformed from a player who was as true a winger as you could possibly find. The Euros last summer were supposed to be her tournament and the 23-year-old was tipped to be its breakout star. In response, opponents double-marked her and in turn, it created space for Beth Mead to be England’s player of the tournament on the opposite flank. In another world, Hemp’s World Cup could have been over when England switched formation and landed on a system that wouldn’t use wingers at all. Kept in the team but as a second forward, Hemp has been released by it, becoming the pinball in England’s attack. Against Australia she was everywhere once again, bouncing off the challenges, pinging around the frontline and doing the work of two positions. Hemp is so involved because she chases everything, winning a throw-in, taking the ball and driving, not towards goal but just to get England up the pitch. In England’s gruelling progress through the knockout stages, she has grafted endlessly, turning hopeful punts into clever, targeted balls downfield. And then she got her reward, not once but twice: the first to put England towards the final, the second to seal it. Chasing down Ellie Carpenter, Hemp burst in behind, took a ball that was not hers to win, and finished past Mackenzie Arnold. Then, moments after Kerr blazed a golden chance over the bar, Hemp created Alessia Russo’s goal from a position that was not even a fraction as threatening. Hemp latched onto a loose ball in midfield, she turned, accelerated, delayed the pass and created the angle for her strike partner. The finish was ruthless too. At the end of it all, England somehow managed to get away with it while also being utterly deserving of their place in Sunday’s final. This was a night where England needed to be perfect and there were large spells where they simply weren’t. The Lionesses rode their luck until it looked like they had run out of it. Australia waited for a moment, a loose England pass, or a break downfield, and the Lionesses gave them both; Russo was dispossessed and Kerr raced away. As England should have known, with Kerr, a moment like that was all Australia required. But on the whole, England were just cooler than Australia. In the first half, the pressure England were facing came from themselves, but it almost seemed that as soon as Wiegman’s side realised that, they immediately relaxed and the picture they were facing became clearer. Slowly, gradually, England figured it out. For the first time, Keira Walsh was able to turn on the ball and England were able to put a move together, playing through midfield, finding the space out. They looked a level above, but this was an occasion where their dark arts were needed as well. There were a trio of fouls on Kerr within the opening 25 minutes of the Australia captain’s first start of the World Cup. As the Lionesses closed it out, Earps took her time from every goal-kick, Jess Carter with every throw-in down England’s right. Lucy Bronze stayed down, then so did Georgia Stanway. Hemp kept the ball in the corner, Chloe Kelly refused to throw it back. But England had been here before; this was the experience of European champions, and now there is an even bigger prize to win. Read More Sensational England capitalise on Sam Kerr’s missed moment to make World Cup history When do England play the Women’s World Cup final? Will Lauren James play in the Women’s World Cup final? Lionesses react after beating Australia in Women’s World Cup semis Sensational England capitalise on Sam Kerr’s missed moment to make World Cup history Will Lauren James play in the Women’s World Cup final?

Vinicius Junior said La Liga "belongs to racists" after suffering vile abuse on Sunday during Real Madrid's...

Devin Haney and Vasiliy Lomachenko will meet in a huge main event in Las Vegas this evening, as the American defends the undisputed lightweight titles against the Ukrainian. FOLLOW LIVE: Haney vs Lomachenko - latest fight updates The unbeaten Haney, 24, unified the belts against George Kambosos Jr last June, outpointing the Australian in his own backyard before doing so again in October to retain the titles. Prior to those bouts, Kambosos Jr was unbeaten and had taken three of the belts from Teofimo Lopez in 2021. In turn, Lopez had stunned Lomachenko with a decision win in 2020 to become unified champion. At 35, Lomachenko, who has held world titles in multiple weight classes, could be running out of time to recapture gold. As impressive as the two-time Olympic gold medalist’s career has been, he faces a stiff test in Haney. Here’s all you need to know as two pound-for-pound stars go head to head. When is it? The fight will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday 20 May. The main card is due to begin at 1am BST on Sunday 21 May (5pm PT, 7pm CT, 8pm ET), with ring walks for the main event expected at approximately 4am BST (8pm PT, 10pm CT, 11pm ET). How can I watch it? In the UK, the event will air live on Sky Sports as well as the broadcaster’s website and Sky Go app. In the US, ESPN+ will stream the fights live on pay-per-view. Odds Haney – 2/5 Lomachenko – 21/10 Draw – 12/1 Full odds via Betway. Full card (subject to change) Devin Haney (C) vs Vasiliy Lomachenko (IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO lightweight titles) Juno Nakatani vs Andrew Maloney (vacant WBO super-flyweight title) Raymond Muratalla vs Jeremia Nakathila (lightweight) Oscar Valdez vs Adam Lopez (super-featherweight) Floyd Diaz vs Luis Saavedra (super-bantamweight) Nico Ali Walsh vs Danny Rosenberger (middleweight) Abdullah Mason vs Desmond Lyons (lightweight) Amari Jones vs Pachino Hill (middleweight) Emiliano Vargas vs Rafael Jasso (lightweight) Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More The Devin Haney trap that Vasiliy Lomachenko must avoid to extend glittering career Katie Taylor and Chantelle Cameron are shaming their male counterparts Katie Taylor vs Chantelle Cameron live stream: How to watch fight online and on TV How to watch Haney vs Lomachenko online and on TV tonight Haney vs Lomachenko LIVE: Latest boxing fight updates and results The Haney trap that Lomachenko must avoid to extend glittering career

Australia Test bowler Nathan Lyon has joined Lancashire for the 2024 season, the English county...

Managerless Rangers’ season went from bad to worse with a 2-1 Europa League defeat by Aris Limassol in Cyprus. Former Gers midfielder Steven Davis was asked to take over as boss on an interim basis after Michael Beale was dismissed at the weekend following the dismal 3-1 defeat by Aberdeen at Ibrox which left them seven points behind cinch Premiership leaders Celtic. However, whatever plan Davis put in place for Europe did not work in a dreadful first-half performance which saw defender Alex Moucketou-Moussounda head the home side in front after just nine minutes. Striker Shavy Babicka added a simple second goal in the 59th minute before Light Blues attacker Abdallah Sima pulled a goal back for the Ibrox men 10 minutes later but despite heavy pressure in the final stages the visitors could not complete the comeback. Rangers beat Real Betis in their Group C opener but once again the players came up short. The Light Blues travel to St Mirren on Sunday before the international break but this was a real setback in Europe with a double-header against Sparta Prague looming. There had been some encouraging team news for the visitors in the build-up to the game with striker Kemar Roofe and midfielder Nico Raskin declared fit. However, only the latter, who had missed four games with a knock, started with left-back Borna Barisic and attacker Scott Wright, sent off against Aberdeen, also coming into the first Gers team picked by Davis. The Cypriot side, who claimed their first league title last season, were playing their first home game in the Europa League in an 11,000-capacity stadium which looked less than half-full with a pitch far from perfect. Rangers, playing in a new mainly-red kit, looked disjointed and ill at ease from the start and there was no real surprise when they fell behind. Jack Butland blocked a shot from Mihlali Mayambela for a corner which was taken short and when Leo Bengtsson crossed into the box from the right, Moucketou-Moussounda got away from Ibrox defender Connor Goldson to flick a header past the Gers keeper. Moments later, after Barisic sloppily conceded possession, a quick Aris counter ended with Bengtsson clearing the Rangers bar from close range when he at least should have hit the target. The rattled visitors battled back and Aris’s Brazilian keeper Vana comfortably saved an angled-drive from Sam Lammers and then Gers striker Cyriel Dessers had the ball in the net only to be ruled offside by the linesman, confirmed by a lengthy VAR check. Vana saved a Sima header from a Barisic corner then the keeper collided with Dessers inside the box and required some treatment before continuing. The home side claimed for a penalty just on the stroke of half-time when the ball appeared to hit Sima’s hand inside the box but a VAR check ruled in favour of the lacklustre Light Blues. Mayembela started the second half by driving over from the edge of the box with the Gers defence again looking fragile. When Sima’s shot was parried into the air by Vana in the 54th minute Dessers could not finish it off although he was offside. The Cypriot side always looked dangerous on the break and Rangers fell further behind when Bengtsson left midfielder John Lundstram in his slip-stream down the left and crossed for Babicka to escape the attention of Ibrox defender Ben Davies and beat Butland with a confident finish. In the 67th minute Davis brought on Roofe and Jose Cifuentes for Lammers and Raskin and there was a quick return when Sima headed in a Lundstram cross, which brought another VAR check but this time the goal stood. Rangers had hope. Moments later, however, a mistake by Davies inside his own box almost proved costly but Butland saved the drive from Aris substitute Aleksandr Kokorin at the expense of a corner which came to nothing. Rangers pushed hard in the final stages for the equaliser but it was mostly in desperation and not even six minutes of added time could help salvage a point. Read More West Ham maintain Europa League momentum with win in Germany Coco Gauff reaches last eight of China Open and takes winning run to 15 matches Gregor Townsend confident Scotland can get what they need from Ireland game Jos Buttler: New Zealand completely outplayed England in World Cup opener The Haggard Badger’s value to Ireland highlighted ahead of milestone match Jonas Eidevall: Alessia Russo won’t put herself under pressure on Man Utd return

FIFA is set to examine reports on two separate instances of alleged racism in international matches played on Monday. The Republic of Ireland Under-21s’ match against Kuwait Under-22s in Austria was called off after an allegation that a Kuwaiti player racially abused one of Ireland’s substitutes. The senior international between New Zealand and Qatar, also in Austria, was cut short after the New Zealand Football Association said one of its players, Michael Boxall, had a racist remark directed at him in the first half by a Qatari opponent. Even though the Ireland match was a tier two friendly and not requiring formal FIFA approval to be played, the fact that the Football Association of Ireland said in a tweet on Monday evening it would be reporting the matter to FIFA would oblige the game’s global governing body to investigate. The New Zealand match was played under FIFA jurisdiction, meaning the referee’s report will be sent to the global governing body as a matter of course. FIFA would be expected to take a tough stance if one or both of the allegations are found proven. FIFA president Gianni Infantino said last week: “It’s very important not just to talk about racism and discrimination, but to take action in a decisive and convincing manner – zero tolerance. “There is no football if there is racism – so let’s stop the games. “The referees have this opportunity in FIFA competitions as we have this process for stopping the game, and actions have to be taken at every level, at national level as well.” Infantino made the remarks after meeting with the Brazil squad in Barcelona, including Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior who has been on the receiving end of repeated racial abuse in Spain this year. The Football Association of Ireland posted a tweet on Monday which read: “The FAI regrets to announce that today’s U21 international against Kuwait has been abandoned after a racist remark was made by a Kuwaiti player towards one of our substitutes. “The FAI does not tolerate any racism towards any of our players or staff and will be reporting this serious matter to FIFA and UEFA.” The Kuwaiti federation published a tweet in which Olympic football team director Jarrah Al Ateeqi claimed the match had been abandoned “due to roughness and excessive tension between the players”. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live It’s been an awful few days – ‘Emotional’ Fred Wright eyes first British title Rob Page urges Wales to improve discipline against opponents ‘good at dark arts’ French police searching headquarters of Paris 2024 organising committee

Jessica Pegula advanced to her 12th quarterfinal match of the season by beating Ashlyn Krueger 6-3, 6-1 at the Korea Open

Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi said Thursday that he had "wanted and expected more" at the World Cup as dreams of a...

Manchester City make an official bid for Declan Rice of £80m in guaranteed money plus £10m in add-ons. The Hammers rejected a bid from Arsenal worth the same overall amount last week.