Author: Shekari Philemon

The US Open field is taking shape, and the names at the top carry the full weight of the sport’s current moment. The U.S. Tennis Association released the direct entry lists on Tuesday for the final Grand Slam of the season, based on rankings as of July 20. The women’s field cut off at No. 102 on the WTA Tour while the men’s list closed at No. 101 on the ATP Tour. The main draw begins on Sunday, Aug. 30. Aryna Sabalenka tops the women’s field as the top-ranked player in the world and the two-time defending champion at Flushing…

The Miami Heat may have tipped their hand, accidentally. The team’s YouTube channel briefly displayed a scheduled live stream titled LeBron James Introductory Press Conference, dated July 27, before the link was deleted. A team spokesperson confirmed the post was real, explaining that the social media department had been preparing for the possibility of James signing with Miami and mistakenly made the scheduled stream visible to the public before it was removed. The blunder managed to do something that weeks of reporting, speculation and deliberate suspense-building from LeBron’s camp had not. It put the Heat’s intentions in writing, in public,…

Stephen Curry has not yet retired, and the Basketball Hall of Fame is not waiting for him to. The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced this week that it will open a dedicated exhibit honoring Curry on Friday, making him the first active player in the institution’s nearly 75-year history to receive his own exhibit within its walls. The exhibit, titled Beyond the Arc, will be open to the public in Springfield, Massachusetts, and will feature championship and Olympic artifacts, game-worn gear and archival footage tracing Curry’s rise from an overlooked prospect to one of the most decorated players in…

Gavi had every reason to want justice. He was shoved to the ground by Leandro Paredes in the chaotic scenes that followed Spain’s World Cup final victory on Sunday. But when the Spain midfielder was asked this week whether he believed the Argentina players involved in the post-match fracas should face sanctions, his answer was surprisingly forgiving. The Barcelona midfielder said he did not think suspensions were the appropriate response, even after video showed multiple Argentina players and at least one member of the coaching staff making physical contact with Spanish players in the moments after the final whistle at…

The final whistle had barely sounded when the two men embraced at midfield. One was holding the World Cup winner’s medal, the other the runner-up’s. What passed between them in those quiet seconds has become one of the most talked-about moments of the tournament. Lamine Yamal, 19, sought out Lionel Messi on the pitch at MetLife Stadium immediately after the final whistle. The two had a brief but meaningful exchange that the young Spanish winger later described with reverence. The veteran told the teenager to keep going his own way, and that the future of the game belongs to their…

The Women’s Tennis Association has updated its eligibility rules to require biological sex screening for all players, a policy change effective this week that aligns the organization with requirements tied to participation at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Under the new policy, players will undergo a one-time test for the SRY gene, a segment of DNA typically located on the Y chromosome that initiates male sex development before birth and indicates the presence of testes. The WTA stated that the policy defines biological male as any individual who carries the SRY gene and therefore has or previously had testes, and…

The Packers and Wyatt, their starting defensive tackle, agreed to a three-year, $57 million contract extension on Monday, locking up one of the team’s most disruptive interior defenders through the 2029 season. The deal includes a $20 million signing bonus and replaces the fifth-year rookie option that had Devonte Wyatt scheduled to earn $12.94 million in 2026. It is the latest in a series of extensions the Packers have executed this offseason as the organization works to retain the core of a young roster they believe is built to compete for years. Green Bay had already extended receivers Jayden Reed…

A 19-year-old vintage reseller paid $3.07 for a jacket at a Portland, Oregon Goodwill in January. Six months later, that same jacket sold at Sotheby’s for $89,600. Quinn Brown had been combing thrift stores and reselling vintage clothing online for three years when he spotted what looked like a Los Angeles Lakers warmup jacket in a bargain bin. Something about the colors caught his eye. He pulled it out, saw the name on the back and took it home. The name said Chamberlain. What Brown had stumbled onto was a genuine piece of Wilt Chamberlain memorabilia, one that would be…

Rich Paul has a message for the teams waiting on LeBron James, the reporters publishing timelines and the commissioner of the NBA himself. Slow down. The longtime agent and chief executive of Klutch Sports addressed the frenzy surrounding his client’s free agency decision on his podcast Monday, making clear that no external pressure, no matter the source, is going to accelerate his client’s process. Three weeks have now passed since Paul informed the Los Angeles Lakers that James would not return for the 2026-27 season, and still no announcement has come. Paul pushed back firmly against recent reports suggesting a…

FIFA has opened a formal disciplinary investigation into the chaotic scenes that unfolded at the final whistle of Sunday’s World Cup final, after footage emerged of several Argentina players and at least one member of the coaching staff physically confronting Spanish players on the MetLife Stadium pitch. Spain had just claimed a 1-0 victory in extra time, with Ferran Torres’s goal in the 106th minute securing the title. But the final moments of the match and the immediate aftermath were overshadowed by a series of incidents that are now drawing scrutiny from football’s governing body. Footage circulating after the match…