NFL sends 49ers back to Mexico City in Week 11 after Melbourne opener on 9-game international slate
The San Francisco 49ers will bookend the NFL’s largest ever international slate by playing the 2026 season opener in Melbourne against the NFC West rival Los Angeles Rams and facing the Minnesota Vikings in Week 11 in Mexico City. The 49ers will be the road team for the Thursday night game on Sept. 10 against the Rams. That will actually take place on Friday morning in Melbourne. The 49ers will be the home team in Mexico City for a Sunday night game on Nov. 22 to face the Vikings. The NFL has a record nine games scheduled outside the U.S.
PWHL adding expansion teams in Las Vegas and Hamilton, Ontario, with 1 more coming to reach 12
The PWHL delivered a double-shot of expansion news by announcing it is bringing women’s pro hockey to the distinctly different markets of Las Vegas and Hamilton, Ontario. In growing to 11 teams, there’s one more addition still to come to make it an even dozen for a league preparing to double in size since launching in 2024. The Las Vegas team will be formally introduced at a news conference on Wednesday, with Hamilton to follow on Thursday. Las Vegas forges new ground by introducing the PWHL to the U.S. southwest, a year after the league expanded into the Pacific Northwest by adding Seattle and Vancouver.
Legge aims to become first woman to complete racing's 'Double' at Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Katherine Legge will attempt to add running “The Double” to her racing resume. The 45-year-old Legge is going to try to become the first woman to complete the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. According to BRANDed Management, Legge added the May 24 NASCAR race in Charlotte to her schedule and will compete in the No. 78 for Live Fast Motorsports. She will race the Indy 500 with A.J. Foyt Motorsports’ No. 11 car.
Maple Leafs fire coach Craig Berube after two seasons, last-place finish in Atlantic Division
TORONTO (AP) — The Toronto Maple Leafs have fired coach Craig Berube after he guided the team to a last-place finish in the Atlantic Division this season. The move ended Berube’s two-year run with the Maple Leafs. He helped the club to a 108-point campaign in his first season as coach, but Toronto struggled mightily in 2025-26. New general manager John Chayka called Wednesday's move “an opportunity for a fresh start” rather than an evaluation of Berube. Berube went 84-62-18 with Toronto, but the Maple Leafs were just 32-36-14 this season. The drop in points from 108 to 78 was the team’s largest year-over-year points decline.
A Philadelphia golf course seeks to reclaim its status as a force for opportunity and inclusion
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia region is rich in golf history, yet the area's greatest contribution to the game may have come from public course in West Philadelphia. While golf greats were playing for trophies and titles on the Main Line, Cobbs Creek Golf Club offered golfers not permitted on those courses due to their color or gender opportunity and inclusion. Charlie Sifford, the first Black member of the PGA Tour, called Cobbs Creek home, and his relationship with Tiger Woods helped jumpstart a grand plan to rebuild the “Olde Course” while supplementing education and supporting the community.
45-year-old Venus Williams to play in French Open women's doubles with Hailey Baptiste
PARIS (AP) — Venus Williams will play in the women’s doubles at the French Open this month together with Hailey Baptiste, who is 21 years her junior. The American pair were among the entrants confirmed on Wednesday by organizers for the clay-court tournament at Roland-Garros, which begins on May 24 in western Paris. The 45-year-old Williams will not play in the women’s singles. Williams was a wild-card entry at the Australian Open, where she lost in the first round and became the oldest woman to compete in an Australian Open singles main draw. A seven-time major winner in singles, Williams previously held the No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles.
Cristiano Ronaldo enters sixth World Cup looking to show he can still thrive despite Saudi move
MADRID (AP) — Cristiano Ronaldo’s sixth and likely final World Cup will be the first for the Portgual great since he left Europe to play in Saudi Arabia. The surprise move in late 2022 shocked many in the soccer world and prompted widespread doubts about whether his form would be affected by facing lower-level competition. But the 41-year-old Ronaldo has dismissed any notion of a drop in performance going into next month’s showcase event. And to help make his case, the goals have kept coming, both for Al Nassr and with Portugal.
Swiatek steamrolls Pegula to reach Italian Open semifinals
ROME (AP) — Iga Swiatek crushes Jessica Pegula in straight sets to advance to the Italian Open semifinals. Swiatek, ranked fourth, took just 67 minutes to win 6-1, 6-2 on Wednesday. Her impressive form bodes well for the upcoming French Open, which she has won four times. She will next face either Elena Rybakina or Elina Svitolina, both former Rome champions. In the men’s quarterfinals, 19-year-old Rafael Jodar of Spain is playing Luciano Darderi of Italy. The winner will face either Casper Ruud or Karen Khachanov in the final four.
Laurel Park waited 114 years for the Preakness. It may be a farewell as much as a debut
LAUREL, Md. (AP) — Maryland’s Laurel Park will host the Preakness Stakes for the first — and likely only — time this weekend as the historic racetrack enters its final chapter. Racing is expected to end next year before the property is converted into a training facility. Once home to packed grandstands and stars like Secretariat, Laurel now draws only a few hundred regulars on many race days. Supporters say the track represents more than gambling as horse racing contracts nationwide. The Preakness could also deliver a storybook ending: Hometown horse Taj Mahal will run with trainer Brittany Russell and jockey Sheldon Russell representing their longtime home track.
Jason Collins, NBA's first openly gay player, dies at 47 of brain cancer
Jason Collins, the NBA’s first openly gay player who went on to become a pioneer for inclusion and an ambassador for the league, has died after an eight-month battle with an aggressive form of a brain cancer, his family announced Tuesday. Collins spent 13 years as a player in the league for six different franchises. He revealed in 2013 that he was gay, an announcement that came toward the end of his playing career. Collins had been diagnosed with Stage 4 glioblastoma, which has an extremely low survival rate. He was 47.
