List of All Articles with Tag 'sports'

The Minnesota Lynx lost their first six games but have rebounded nicely to reach

Conor McGregor has taken aim at Justin Gaethje for the second time in a week, after the American played down McGregor’s callout in the wake of UFC 291. Gaethje knocked out Dustin Poirier in the second round on Saturday, avenging a 2018 loss to his compatriot and winning the ‘Baddest Motherf*****’ title. McGregor was apparently unimpressed, however, tweeting after the lightweight fight: “Justin, I’ll slap you around. I KO him one shot. Guarantee it.” Gaethje, 34, dismissed the former dual-weight champion’s callout, referencing the fact that McGregor is currently absent from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (Usada) testing pool. Athletes must be in the pool for six months and return two negative results – and zero positives – in order to fight in the UFC. Although McGregor, 35, has never failed a drug test, Gaethje said: “I’m not going to fight someone on steroids [...] I don’t want to fight someone that’s cheating [...] I think he’s turned me down six times. And usually you have to lose to fight him, so don’t know what’s going on.” McGregor has now hit back, tweeting on Tuesday (1 August): “This guy is about as smart as two planks. “He is a one shotter for me. I snipe him dead in one single shot. And easily.” McGregor has not fought in two years, since suffering a broken leg in his second straight loss to Poirier. The Irishman is set to face Michael Chandler next, but no date, location or weight class has been announced for that bout, with McGregor’s absence from the Usada pool proving problematic. Meanwhile, Gaethje has won two fights in a row since suffering a submission loss to Charles Oliveira in May 2022. The American outpointed Rafael Fiziev in March before knocking out Poirier at UFC 291. Gaethje may yet challenge for the UFC lightweight title – for the third time – in his next fight. Champion Islam Makhachev is scheduled to defend the belt against ex-champion Oliveira in October. Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More Justin Gaethje reacts to Conor McGregor callout after knocking out Dustin Poirier Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier share wholesome backstage moment after UFC 291 KO Jake Paul vs Nate Diaz live stream: How to watch fight online and on TV this weekend

Organizers of a Wisconsin aircraft convention say the daughter of two-time Super Bowl winner Bruce Collie was killed in a crash this weekend

The PGA Tour's regular season comes to a close this week at the Wyndham Championship

Police say a swimmer who got swept out to sea by a powerful current was rescued off New York’s Long Island after treading water for five hours

Shohei Ohtani won’t be dealt at the trade deadline and Max Scherzer already is on the move

Tiger Woods has joined the PGA Tour policy board for the first time in his 27 years on tour

The United States is clearly not the dominant team that won the 2019 Women’s World Cup

Errol Spence Jr has doubled down on his intention to move up in weight, following his stoppage loss to Terence Crawford on Saturday. Crawford outclassed Spence en route to a ninth-round win in Las Vegas, becoming undisputed welterweight champion by adding Spence’s unified titles to his WBO belt. At the post-fight press conference at the T-Mobile Arena, Spence expressed his desire to activate a rematch clause. The 33-year-old also suggested that he would prefer the rematch to take place at super-welterweight. And Spence has now updated his Instagram bio to read “154[lbs]”, in reference to his intended new division. “Hell yeah, we got to do it again,” the American said on Saturday (29 July), after suffering the first loss of his professional career. “I’m going to be a lot better, [the rematch] is going to be a lot closer. It’s probably going to be in December, because it’s set before the end of the year.” Crawford, 35, added: “It definitely doesn’t have to be at 147lbs [welterweight]. I’m in the hurt business. One hundred and forty-seven was kind of hard for me, too. “I was already talking about moving up in weight and challenging [Jermell] Charlo, so 154 wouldn’t be out of reach.” American Crawford remained unbeaten with his victory over Spence, in a fight that was five years in the making. What many saw as a 50-50 bout, prior to Saturday, was a one-sided beating by Crawford. Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More Terence Crawford’s masterclass puts him in conversation to be an all-time great Errol Spence reveals date of Terence Crawford rematch – ‘We got to do it again’ Inside the phone calls that made Spence vs Crawford – a generational fight

Rachel Daly paid tribute to her late father after scoring her first World Cup goal in England’s win against China. The Lionesses won 6-1 to emphatically secure the top spot in Group D and book their place in the knockout rounds, with Daly rounding off the scoring in the 84th minute. After netting her first-ever World Cup goal, the 31-year-old was seen kissing her wristband with the word ‘Dad’ on it. Daly lost her father, Martyn, in September 2021. “He was the reason I played football, going back to birth really,” the England star has previously said. “I don’t think I’d have got that passion for the game if it wasn’t for him.” Read More England fans celebrate at Boxpark as Lionesses score against Denmark in World Cup Gaelic football commentator expertly carries on after spilling water on equipment Watch: Moment Trent Alexander-Arnold told he will be Liverpool’s vice-captain

Lauren James has scored twice as England advanced to knockout stage of the Women’s World Cup with a 6-1 rout of China

Much like Lauren James’ divine second goal, this might be dropping beautifully for England. Certainly, Sarina Wiegman suddenly has clarity in a World Cup characterised by uncertainty and unpredictability. James’ very role illustrates that. The young winger’s influence from that wide role was a driving force in this crushing 6-1 win over China, that confirmed an expected first place. It is a first place, however, that suddenly looks very different. The sight of the semi-finals, at least, is something else that’s so much clearer. It now won’t feature Australia or Canada, and may not have any of France, Brazil or Germany. A thrilling Colombia and dangerous last-16 opponents Nigeria are huge threats, but there is the prospect that such developing teams have had their main highs. Just as importantly, the World Cup’s stand-out performers so far, in Japan, are on the other side of the draw. On that, and the elusive momentum that defines tournaments, England now have none of the sudden doubts that are afflicting other previous favourites in Spain and - above all - USA. This is what was even more encouraging about this display than the scoreline, even if that was a badly-needed big win, amid the context of a very disappointing China. The only potential slip here came for Chloe Kelly’s gift of a fifth goal, although even that was from James’ genius. Part of that, though, was through the commanding competence of Wiegman. She may have found another solution. It shouldn’t be overlooked that the England manager went into this campaign with more issues to solve than all of those sides. They were here missing Keira Walsh, to go with Leah Williamson and Beth Mead. And yet it might have led to a formation that just fits. Having worked on a few different systems in the last few days, Wiegman opted for the 3-5-2 that really stood out for the players. It seemed to address most of their flaws, while adding to their strengths. With a reshaped midfield led by the increasingly important Georgia Stanway - conspicuously taken off at half-time due to her previous yellow card - England were much more difficult to open up. There were none of the sudden breaks that made the previous two 1-0 wins so fraught. It also offered security for England’s attackers to cut loose. Three of the players who needed goals, got goals, in Alessia Russo, Lauren Hemp and - eventually, with a driving late strike, Rachel Daly. The Hemp goal may not have had the bombast of either of James’, or even Daly’s, but it was perhaps the most significant so far in that it was not a piece of genius out of nothing. It is a fluid team movement, Millie Bright bursting through, James flicking it on and Hemp taking it on in such a smooth manner to slide it past Zhu Yu in one moment. Wondrous. It was still James that took the stage, though, in a display that represented such an exciting escalation from her match-winning performance against Denmark. It was actually quite satisfying in how you can so clearly see a player getting better with more comfort, now flying on the sort of trajectory that is a tradition for triumphant young players coming into their own in a tournament. She may yet make this World Cup her own. Her three strikes were themselves an escalation in quality, the only pity being the second of those was ruled out. She certainly isn’t afraid to let fly from distance, though, which is another dangerous weapon for England. It offers an out in any situation. But the third goal emphasised she can offer genius from any situation. As inviting as that dropping ball from Jess Carter was for James’ second goal, it still takes a lot to get right. It wasn’t just right, it was perfect. It would have added up to a perfect close to the group for England, especially after how difficult it had been, but for one blemish. Mary Earps has now conceded a goal, albeit from a somewhat debatable penalty decision maximised by Wang Shuang. The irony was of course this was the most secure England have looked. A much sterner threat is to come. England need only look at the fates of Australia and Canada to stave off complacency at the fact they are facing neither. Nigeria beat the former to make the hosts’ group stage much more nervy than it might have been, and ultimately eliminated Canada. They will now more than fancy their chances of eliminating England. It just isn’t the same England as even Monday. That is the rhythm of a tournament. Teams will now start to find their feet, especially after two weeks of competitive football, and the dawning reality of the knock-outs. The mood of the final week could be very different to now. The mood around England is certainly different to a week ago. Read More When do England play next? Women’s World Cup fixtures and route to the final Why was Lauren James goal against China controversially disallowed? Lauren James: England’s mercurial forward who has found goalscoring touch at World Cup Sarina Wiegman’s brave England switch solves key Women’s World Cup problem Millie Bright: England’s captain leading Lionesses into last-16 of Women’s World Cup When do USA women play next? World Cup fixtures and route to the final