A volleyball shoe startup is bringing attention to colleges' multi-million-dollar contracts with athletic apparel companies and terms that prevent athletes from wearing other brands

In the latest NBA Draft rumors, three contenders are trying to get back into the first round, the Mavs want out and Ausar Thompson cancels on the Pacers.NBA Draft rumors: 3. Dallas Mavericks want to trade first-round pickAccording to Sam Vecenie of The Athletic, the Dallas Mavs want to trade the...

The St. Louis Cardinals were big sellers at the trade deadline, but could they be big buyers this offseason for a particular pitcher?The St. Louis Cardinals, sensing that the postseason was out of the question this year, decided to sell some of their players to build toward the future. They did ...

Things to know about New England Revolution goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic as he closes in on a transfer to Chelsea.

Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed that Christopher Nkunku will not be fit to be involved in Chelsea’s visit to Newcastle on Saturday. There had been hopes that the £52million summer signing from RB Leipzig would have sufficiently recovered from the knee injury he sustained on the pre-season tout of the United States to play a part at St James’ Park. But, despite being fit enough to have taken part in training with the first team, the 26-year-old has not worked tactically with the squad and will not travel. Chelsea struggled without the France international in Pochettino’s first Premier League games in charge, with the goalscoring problems that he had been acquired to help solve carrying over from a tumultuous campaign last season during which the team scored fewer league goals than they had in almost a century. Those issues have become less urgent in recent weeks, with four goals scored on three separate occasions against Burnley, Tottenham and Manchester City. By contrast, the team had not previously scored four times in a game since April 2022. “(Nkunku) was doing things with the group last week,” said Pochettino. “But he’s not fully recovered to be part of the squad. “He’s a fantastic player, top scorer in the Bundesliga last season. He can play different positions, his quality is amazing. It’s really bad luck to lose him from the beginning of the season. “We’re going to find the best way for him to fit in the team. He’s going to find massive competition. His team-mates are ahead of him, they’ve had four months of competition. He needs to build his form and be at his best level. “We need to understand he’s coming back from injury, he will need time. We will be patient with him. “It’s not a competition (the Premier League) that he’s normally used to. He came from Europe, he needs to recover from injury but also to know the league. It’ll take time to perform at his best.” Pochettino confirmed that Romeo Lavia, signed in the last week of the transfer window from Southampton for £53m, is also nearing fitness but is slightly behind the progress made by Nkunku. Wesley Fofana has trained on grass at Cobham as he continues his rehabilitation from an ACL injury, though is unlikely to be available before the new year. Chelsea had come into form prior to the international break with five wins from eight in all competitions, a run which saw them score 19 times having previously netted only seven in their first seven under Pochettino. The manager is hopeful that the pause will not have disrupted his side’s rhythm ahead of their visit to face Eddie Howe’s side. “The break came at a bad time,” he said. “It came in a moment we were building a way to play, results were on our side. But I believe we can keep momentum even after two weeks with no competition.” I believe we can keep momentum even after two weeks with no competition Mauricio Pochettino Pochettino added that the squad has held group discussions about why performances and results have been better this season against the stronger teams – draws with Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City and victory over Spurs – while there have been home losses to Brentford, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa. “It’s part of the process,” he said. “We’re a young team, we started to work four months ago. We need to be more mature, more patient. We cannot get frustrated so soon when things don’t work. “Expectation creates nervousness when you play a team with less quality than you. You take rushed decisions, get frustrated. You want to do the job of your team-mate.”

Pakistan’s pace bowlers Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi shared six wickets between them while Dhananjaya de Silva posted his 10th hundred before Sri Lanka was bowled out for 312 by lunch on Day 2 of the first cricket test

Kansas is the preseason No. 1 in the AP men's college basketball poll

The New York Giants are heading into the bye week feeling good for the first time this season

The St. Louis Cardinals are fighting back into contention, but that won't keep these players on the roster through the trade deadline for various reasons.Don't look now, but the St. Louis Cardinals are starting to look like the baseball team we thought they'd be coming into the 20...

Former Springboks hooker Akker van der Merwe has joined famed South African outfit the Bulls after quitting English Premiership club Sale...

Keep an eye on Lois Openda

Sandro Tonali paid off the first instalment of his £52million transfer fee as he marked a fine debut with his first goal and inspired Newcastle to a 5-1 drubbing of Aston Villa. The 23-year-old Italy international opened the scoring just six minutes into his first competitive appearance for the Magpies and had a hand in two more of their goals as Alexander Isak helped himself to a double and substitutes Callum Wilson and Harvey Barnes struck late on after Moussa Diaby, also making his bow in England’s top flight, had levelled. However, a hugely entertaining game win was overshadowed by a potentially serious injury to Villa’s England defender Tyrone Mings, who was carried from the pitch on a stretcher to warm applause from a crowd of 52,207 at St James’ Park after going down following a clash with Isak. Neither Tonali nor Diaby wasted any time in making a significant impact for their new employers. Less than six minutes had elapsed when the Italian timed his arrival into the six-yard box perfectly to volley home Anthony Gordon’s cross after Emiliano Martinez had parried Bruno Guimaraes strike, and he might have doubled his tally two minutes later but for the goalkeeper’s block. However, Newcastle’s advantage lasted only fleetingly when Diaby, who had seen an earlier attempt from a tight angle saved by Nick Pope, was similarly well placed to equalise after Ollie Watkins had flicked on Lucas Digne’s left-wing cross. But the impressive Tonali was not finished and it was his deep 16th-minute cross which was turned acrobatically across goal by the stretching Sven Botman for Alexander Isak to open his account for the season from close range. Pope was relieved to see Watkins’ scuffed first-time effort from livewire Diaby’s pull-back after another menacing run slide just wide as an end-to-end encounter unfolded at frantic pace. Villa’s fortunes took a further turn for the worse when Mings, just days after midfielder Emiliano Buendia suffered a serious knee injury, was carried from the field following a tangle of legs with Isak. The visitors nevertheless refused to take a backwards step in a breathless contest and Watkins might have done better after meeting Digne’s corner unopposed, while Diaby fired into the side-netting from Luiz’s intelligent pass three minutes before the break. Martinez picked up a stoppage-time booking for hauling back Miguel Almiron outside his penalty area with the home crowd calling for a red card and making their feelings towards referee Andy Madley abundantly clear when he did not produce one. Another Villa new boy, Youri Tielemans, entered the fray as a half-time replacement for Leon Bailey, but Gordon saw a 51st-minute attempt deflected wide after Almiron had led a pacy counter-attack. Tielemans helped to drive the visitors forward once again, but that allowed the Magpies to exploit the space they left behind, and they went further ahead with 58 minutes gone when Isak pounced on a slip by Ezri Konsa before chipping the ball over the advancing Martinez. The Villa keeper had to race from his line once again to deny Joelinton, but recovered in time to field Almiron’s follow-up, although it was Pope who was called upon to repel Watkins’ 64th-minute drive before Matty Cash blazed over from the rebound. Martinez was beaten once again 13 minutes from time when Barnes collected Tonali’s pass and crossed for Wilson to score, and although the Argentina international denied Wilson a second with an instinctive save, he was beaten again by Barnes in added time. Read More Rob Edwards admits Luton must make a rapid improvement after Brighton defeat Roy Hodgson brushes off Max Lowe spat as Crystal Palace beat Sheffield United West Ham boss David Moyes considering using Jarrod Bowen as striker Neal Maupay exposes Everton’s damning void as season starts in defeat Joao Pedro and Simon Adingra hit debut goals as Brighton stroll past Luton Mikel Arteta says Eddie Nketiah forced his way into Arsenal team in training