Sports

With Nikola Jokić recently signing a record $264 million USD supermax contract extension and the future for Kevin Durant still uncertain, the NBA offseason trade drama continues. The latest major announcement comes from the Phoenix Suns, as they officially sign 25-year-old guard Devin Booker to a four-year contract extension. Booker averaged a career-high 26.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.1 steals last season, leading his team to win a franchise record of 64 games in the regular season. “Devin, with his work ethic and commitment to excellence, has established himself as one of the league’s best players, elevating himself and our organization,” said General Manager James Jones in a statement. “We are beyond excited to extend the mutual commitment between Book, the Suns and the P...

Since Jake Paul‘s fight with Tommy Fury was canceled on August 6 due to Fury’s inability to arrive in the United States, Paul has shown his been eager to get another big name fight out to remind people he still means business. Initially, Paul was the one who ultimately terminated his fighting contract with Fury. Since then, fans have been eager to know who he will be fighting next. Now, it appears that Paul has made his official announcement that he will be going up against a professional boxer for the very first time. Replacing Fury for his August 6 Madison Square Garden timeslot, Paul is taking on Hasim Rahman Jr., son of boxer Hasim Rahman. Rahman Jr. comes into the fight with a 12-1 record, giving Paul a great challenge. Paul hopes that if he wins this fight, people will be taking him ...

22-time major champion winning tennis legend Rafael Nadal has officially withdrew from Wimbledon. He withdraws just a day before he is supposed to face off against Nick Kyrgios in the semifinals, making it the first time since 1931 a male athlete has pulled out of the oldest Grand Slam tournament before a semifinal or final match. In a recent news conference Nadal justified his decision saying, “I made my decision because I believe that I can’t win two matches under these circumstances. I can’t serve. It’s not only that I can’t serve at the right speed, it’s that I can’t do the normal movement to serve.” Despite his injury worsening, Nadal did try to continue to compete. The only other time Nadal pulled out of a Grand Slam tournament was at the 2016 French Open where he also withdrew due t...

22-time major champion winning tennis legend Rafael Nadal has officially withdrew from Wimbledon. He withdraws just a day before he is supposed to face off against Nick Kyrgios in the semifinals, making it the first time since 1931 a male athlete has pulled out of the oldest Grand Slam tournament before a semifinal or final match. In a recent news conference Nadal justified his decision saying, “I made my decision because I believe that I can’t win two matches under these circumstances. I can’t serve. It’s not only that I can’t serve at the right speed, it’s that I can’t do the normal movement to serve.” Despite his injury worsening, Nadal did try to continue to compete. The only other time Nadal pulled out of a Grand Slam tournament was at the 2016 French Open where he also withdrew due t...

There may be some slight changes to fans attending the 2022 World Cup to get used to. Qatar World Cup stadiums are set to be alcohol-free, after months of appeals. According to Reuters, if fans wish to consume alcohol, they would have to purchase them at specific areas outside the arenas and are only allowed to before and after some matches. The upcoming World Cup will be the first time the tournament will be held in a Muslim country, posing interesting challenges for organizers of the event, which is usually sponsored by global brewing brands and associated with beer-drinking fans. “At stadiums, the plans are still being finalized, but the current discussion is to allow fans to have beer upon arrival and when leaving the stadium, but beer won’t be served during the match or inside the sta...

Nick Kyrgios violated the competition’s apparel rule and was seen wearing the Air Jordan 1 Low in “Cardinal” Red/Gold to Wimbledon, During his post-match interview, Kyrgios found himself in hot water when being asked why he opted to wear all-white attire. “Because I do what I want. I just like wearing my Jordans.” he said. “No, I’m not above the rules, I just like wearing my Jordans. I’ll wear some Triple Whites tomorrow.” Wimbledon rules state, “Competitors must be dressed in suitable tennis attire that is almost entirely white, and this applies from the point at which the player enters the court surround. White does not include off-white or cream.” Kyrgios’ attitude towards the violation has sparked rage from tennis purists online, with some calling for the athlete to be fined. ? “A...

Shortly after opting out of his $47.4 million USD player option, James Harden will now reportedly take a $15 million USD pay cut during the upcoming NBA season after he inked a new two-year deal with the Philadelphia 76ers. According to The Athletic, the SG’s new contract — which includes a player option in the second year — will give the Sixers “financial flexibility to bolster the roster” as they attempt to win the 2023 NBA Championship. Harden’s relationship with the Sixers execs, such as Michael Rubin and Daryl Morey, supposedly “played a major role in trust between the two sides.” Sources: James Harden is taking a $15 million paycut for next season that allowed Philadelphia to elevate roster — with sole focus on a championship run in 2023. Harden opted out of his $47M player option an...

Baseball fans could be seeing robot umpires calling the shots sometime soon. Commissioner Rob Manfred revealed to ESPN that he wants to introduce robo-umpires to the MLB by 2024. Manfred offered two possibilities for how robo-umpires would function during baseball games. The first is that the robo-umpires would serve as an automated system, calling each pitch and communicating balls and strikes to human umpires via an earpiece. A second option would be for robo-umpires to work as a review and replay system of balls and strikes that lets managers challenge calls. The move arrives amid calls by some MLB fans who were unhappy with umpires over the past season. Manfred, however, “ insists the adaptation of robo-umpires should not be seen as an indictment of [umpires’] abilities,” according to ...

Cristiano Ronaldo has reportedly told Manchester United that he wants to leave the club after spending one season since his arrival from Juventus. Having missed out on the Champions League and the lack of signing from the club, the striker is seemingly frustrated at the club’s lack of competitiveness. The striker feels the urge to win more in the twilight of his career. Thirteen players have left the club, but not one has arrived despite the players they have been linked to. The 37-year-old Portuguese returned to Old Trafford last season, scoring a total of 24 goals in 38 appearances. Ronaldo recently expressed to the club that he is keen to leave if there is a suitable offer for the club. However, United is keen on keeping the striker, stating that he is part of the project for the u...

After achieving his first pole position in Formula 1 on Saturday, Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz managed to convert it into his maiden Grand Prix win on Sunday after an intense last stint at Silverstone. With a big collision at the very first lap of the race that sent Alfa Romeo driver Zhou Guanyu into the fencing and took out Mercedes‘ challenger George Russell, the remainder of the race after the red flag was relatively smooth sailing until Alpine‘s Esteban Ocon retired with roughly 15 laps to go, causing a safety car to group up everyone on the grid. Unfortunately for the frontrunner Charles Leclerc, Ferrari failed to bring him in for a pit stop to change to newer tires, leaving him out while teammate Sainz managed to earn a cheap pitstop to fight off a closing Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Pe...

FIFA announced a subtle but big change to its upcoming World Cup in Qatar this November. As an evolution to the highly debated VAR (video assistant referee) technology first introduced at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, the world governing body will implement a semi-automated offside system dubbed SAOT. The new technology utilizes 12 cameras mounted underneath the roof of the stadium that are used to track 29 data points on each player at a rate of 50 times per second – resulting in a near exact position in relation to the pitch. FIFA worked with a variety of partners, including adidas, whose “Al Rihla” matchball will be equipped with an inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor that will send back data back to the operation room 500 times per second. According to a statement by FIFA, “the...

Returning to Las Vegas for its 10th annual International Fight Week, the UFC put together a stacked fight card for UFC 276 at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada. Headlining the event were the championship bouts between Middleweights Israel Adesanya and Jared Cannonier, and Featherweights Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway. Amidst growing animosity between champion Adesanya and challenger Cannonier, the two faced off in a five-round bout that ended up going the distance. Cannonier came on strong and determined throughout the fight, but could not get past the champion’s striking and takedown defense. Ultimately, Adesanya held off the challenger to pull off a Unanimous Decision victory (49–46, 49–46, 50–45) to retain his title after five rounds. Earlier in the night Alexander Volkanov...