Latest in Sports
BBC News
24 minutes ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Wimbledon attracts record digital audience of 69.3 million to BBC
Wimbledon attracted a record-breaking 69.3 million digital video views for BBC Sport over the two-week viewed the matches through BBC iPlayer, the BBC Sport website and the BBC Sport is a considerable increase from the 50.1 million online requests in 2024, which had previously dropped from 54.3 million in men's singles final between rivals Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner had a peak TV and online audience of 8.8 million, with nearly all - 8.3 million - watching on BBC the women's final, 4.1 million tuned into BBC One to watch Iga Swiatek win her first Wimbledon title with a commanding victory over Amanda Kay-Jelski, director of BBC Sport, said: "This year's record-breaking digital figures for Wimbledon are testament to the huge appeal of the sport among audiences and the power of digital innovation to bring both new and existing fans closer to the action than ever before."The way people are following Wimbledon is changing but that is exciting for us as we look to tell the best stories in different ways."
USA Today
24 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
The 5 greatest Home Run Derby moments ever, definitively ranked
We'll always cherish the MLB Home Run Derby as an event, simply because seeing sluggers send baseballs into orbit is just the coolest. It's also a tough event for these guys putting on a show, proof that hitting ball after ball over a wall isn't as easy as they make it look. MORE HOME RUN DERBY: The 2025 participants, ranked But what are the truly greatest moments in Home Run Derby history? I challenged myself to find the five GOAT moments that belong in their own Hall of Fame, a quintet of jaw-dropping performances or feats that might not be able to be topped ever. I'm ranking them simply by amazingness, and maybe there's some nostalgia mixed in. Here we go with the five greatest Home Run Derby moments: 5. Vlad and Joc go to 3 OTs (2019) Rule: anything that goes to triple overtime -- exhibition or otherwise -- deserves a place on a list like this. 4. Julio Rodriguez has a first round for the ages (2023) So what if he didn't win? Dude hit 41 DINGERS in the first round. Just wild. 3. Josh Hamilton goes off in Yankee Stadium (2008) Another star who didn't win the title, but it didn't matter. His performance -- perhaps because it was combined with his comeback story at the time -- was scintillating and one we'll never forget. 2. Sammy Sosa hits BOMBS (2002) Just sit back and watch another guy who didn't win the ultimate prize, because he just hit a bunch of 500-foot dingers. It's jaw-dropping. 1. Ken Griffey Jr. hits Baltimore's B&O Warehouse (1993) Remember that nostalgia thing I mentioned? Sorry not sorry. This is iconic. This is a moment that deserves its own statue in Baltimore. Who else has hit the warehouse on a fly? No one!
Fox Sports
24 minutes ago
- Sport
- Fox Sports
British Open: How to watch, what's at stake, betting odds
Associated Press PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland (AP) — Golf's oldest championship returns to one of the newer links courses. New is relative in this case, because Royal Portrush was founded 137 years ago. But this is only its third time hosting the British Open, and the Northern Ireland links is certain to be high on the rotation. The R&A is expecting 278,000 spectators for the week at the British Open, which would be the second-largest crowd in the 165-year history of the championship. Irish eyes will be on Rory McIlroy, the Masters champion and latest to win the career Grand Slam. He is embracing the expectation, unlike in 2019 when McIlroy was so emotional at the reception that he hit his first shot out of bounds and shot 79. This is the final major of the year, and the most unusual of the four majors because of links golf, where funny bounces and pot bunkers and fickle weather can determine the winner. Here's what you need to know going into the British Open. When is the British Open? The first round begins Thursday at about 6:30 a.m. and players in groups of three all start on the first hole. Daylight is not an issue at the British Open because it doesn't get dark until about 10:30 p.m. The last group won't even tee off until a little after 4 p.m. How can I watch the British Open? There is wall-to-wall coverage, along with a five-hour time difference between Northern Ireland and the East Coast of the U.S. It will start at 1:30 a.m. EDT on the Peacock streaming service, and then USA Network picks up coverage from 4 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. If you're living on the West Coast, the British Open will come on just before bedtime. For golf fans in Hawaii, it will start right after sunset on Waikiki. The Open concludes at 3 p.m. on Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday, both on NBC. Who are the betting favorites? Scottie Scheffler has been the favorite at every major this year, and the British Open is no exception. BetMGM Sportsbook lists Scheffler at +550, slightly ahead of home favorite Rory McIlroy at +700. They are Nos. 1 and 2 in the world. Jon Rahm is next at +1100, followed by defending champion Xander Schauffele (+2000) and Tommy Fleetwood of England (+2200). Bryson DeChambeau is listed at +2500. The British Open is the only major where Scheffler has not had a serious chance at winning on the back nine on Sunday. But he hasn't finished out of the top 10 since late March. What are the tee times? Starting times aren't posted until Tuesday, and they are more important than at any other major because the British Open features 15 hours of golf in the opening rounds, and there's never any telling what the weather will do. Players look at their starting times. And then they check the weather. There have been times when someone gets the worst of the weather on Thursday and Friday. Shane Lowry got the best of the weather when he won at Royal Portrush in 2019. What's the forecast? Mixed. That's the term often used in these parts to indicate a little bit of everything, and sometimes that can be in one day. Practice on Monday temporarily was suspended because of thunderstorms. Rain was in the forecast for parts of Tuesday and Wednesday, and there's a chance of showers pretty much every day the rest of the week. There will be sunshine. There will be wind. This is normal. What's at stake? The winner gets a silver claret jug, the oldest trophy in golf. As part of a new tradition, Xander Schauffele had to return the jug to the R&A on Monday in a short ceremony. Then he has four days to win it back. The winner also gets introduced as the 'champion golfer of the year,' another tradition. He also will get a five-year exemption to the other three majors, an exemption into the British Open until age 55 (past winners could play until 60) and a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour. Who are the players to watch? Scottie Scheffler is No. 1 in the world and usually in contention no matter how he is playing. But this is the British Open, and this is Northern Ireland, so this week starts with Rory McIlroy. There is pressure to perform, but he also is relieved of the burden from having not won a major in 11 years. He took care of that by winning the Masters and bringing home that green jacket. If Scheffler were to win, he would go to the U.S. Open next year for a chance at the Grand Slam. Schauffele is trying to become the first repeat winner since Padraig Harrington in 2007 and 2008. But the Californian was slowed by a rib injury early in the year and still hasn't won yet. British hopes lies with the likes of Tommy Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton, while Jon Rahm of Spain can also get within one leg of the Grand Slam with a British Open title. Why is it the British Open when it's being played on the island of Ireland? Royal Portrush is in Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. The official title is The Open Championship or simply The Open. The Associated Press, along with several U.S. newspapers, have referred it to as the British Open for more than 100 years to distinguish it from other national opens like the U.S. Open and Australian Open. The R&A once referred to it as the 'British Open' in official films in the 1950s. ___ AP golf:
USA Today
25 minutes ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Drake Maye skeptic sees 'a lot of hope' with Josh McDaniels returning
Not everyone is a believer in Drake Maye's talent. Count former head coach and New England Patriots former defensive coach Eric Mangini as one of those skeptics. That isn't to say he sees no paths for success in Maye's NFL journey. He is simply skeptical of the talent translating to great effect in the NFL. However, he did recently admit that the Patriots bringing back Josh McDaniels as an offensive coordinator could be a game-changer for the 2024 first-round draft pick. "I am very skeptical about Drake Maye, but I do believe he has his best chance to be successful and have a breakout season with Josh McDaniels," Mangini said on First Things First. "And I do think that Mac Jones owes a lot of his success to Josh McDaniels. If Drake Maye is bright, which is sounds like he is—if he's hard working, which it sounds like he is—he has an opportunity to grow in a substantial way in this offense, which is well put together, well thought out and should lean into a lot of his skill sets. So there's a lot of hope." Mac Jones' best NFL season came in his rookie year with McDaniels as his offensive coordinator. He racked up 3,801 passing yards, 22 touchdowns, 13 interceptions and earned a Pro Bowl nod as a rookie quarterback. The Patriots had the seventh-ranked scoring offense in the league with Jones under center that year. Of course, that all changed the moment McDaniels accepted the head coaching job with the Las Vegas Raiders. This will be an opportunity for him to capture some of that same magic again with Maye at quarterback. Maye is a more dynamic playmaker with the ability to impact the game in significantly more ways than Jones ever could. So there is great interest in seeing what that talent looks like married up with McDaniels' offensive concepts. It could change things in a major way for the struggling Patriots offense in 2025. Follow Patriots Wire on Twitter and Facebook.
The Independent
25 minutes ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Why Jordan Henderson can make his Premier League return successful – and prove his doubters wrong
The last time Jordan Henderson played in the Premier League, he set up a goal. Not a Liverpool goal, admittedly. His stray pass went to Adam Armstrong in a frenetic 4-4 draw between an already-relegated Southampton side and a Liverpool team who had failed to finish in the top four. Liverpool knew then it was a farewell: to Roberto Firmino, who scored on his final appearance; to James Milner, the long-serving vice-captain who was out of contract. Just not to Henderson, whose departure has come to look like Liverpool opportunistically offloading him. The consensus since then is that a misplaced pass was far from the worst option Henderson took in the summer of 2023, that he lost his way in a rather more damning effect than simply picking out a Southampton player. But if his career has taken unexpected turns in the last two years, Henderson has shown he has a capacity to make comebacks. The player Brendan Rodgers wanted to offload to Fulham in part-exchange for Clint Dempsey instead ended up as the only Liverpool captain to lift both the Premier League and Champions League trophies. The veteran who seemed consigned to England's past was instead installed back in the squad by Thomas Tuchel. The midfielder who seemed to be seeing out his playing days in lesser leagues is instead back in the Premier League as Brentford's new signing. Liverpool, Al-Ettifaq, Ajax, Brentford: it has become a unique career arc. Along the way, Henderson may have gone from one of the most admired figures in the game to one of the most criticised. The Saudi Arabian switch saw to that; that Henderson decamped to Amsterdam six months later, at some considerable cost, and never received the fortune anticipated, was not enough to restore a reputation. He was left looking naïve, at best, when he tried to defend his decision to join Al-Ettifaq; and yet a reason why he has outstripped most expectations is his essential decency, coupled with his willingness to graft. That grit explains why he has proved many of his doubters wrong. Which, without doubt, he has to again. Certainly as far as his international place is concerned: Tuchel's decision to bring back Henderson was greeted with incredulity in many quarters. The rising stars of Adam Wharton and Elliot Anderson would seem to be making more compelling cases for selection. Yet those on the outside are in a lesser position to assess the influence Tuchel clearly believes Henderson has behind the scenes. For much of the last two years, he has been discussed more than seen. Few in England watched the Saudi or Dutch leagues. Even a club of Brentford's relatively low profile will bring far more scrutiny in his homeland. Henderson, who had the option of another year at Ajax, has not taken the easy decision in his bid to earn a place in the World Cup. Because Henderson has spent the last 14 years at – apart from spells of mediocrity early in his time at Liverpool – among the best teams in their respective leagues. Brentford came 10th last season but Henderson could be in a bottom-half side; maybe even in a relegation battle. His ageing legs are likely to be tested if Brentford have a minority share of possession. He is 35 now and the only men to play in the centre of midfield at such an age in last season's Premier League were his friends and former colleagues Milner and Adam Lallana, plus Idrissa Gueye. Henderson's game has always entailed some athleticism; at times, his running power was his strongest suit. As he has got older, his positioning leadership has assumed more importance; the familiar jibe is that he spends his time on the pitch pointing. But the fact he is replacing Christian Norgaard has a pertinence. Brentford have lost their captain, their goalkeeper, in Mark Flekken, and a senior presence, in Ben Mee, with the potential their two top scorers, Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, could follow. They have lost the best manager in their history, in Thomas Frank; his rookie of a successor, Keith Andrews, may prize Henderson's experience and knowhow. After becoming Ajax captain within weeks of his arrival, it will be instructive if he soon gets the Brentford armband. But there is the leader and the player; he can still talk, but can he still play? One reason to think so lies in the club who have signed him. Brentford show plenty of acumen – indeed Liverpool have admired them for their use of statistics – and they don't get many wrong. Henderson, a 35-year-old, big-name England international, is far from their usual profile of recruit but they, presumably, do not see a risk. Liverpool saw a player in decline. Henderson had two years left on a four-year deal that, seemingly, some at the club were reluctant to grant him, when Al-Ettifaq may have done them a favour. Their captain had been terrific in 2021-22, rather less so the following year. Jurgen Klopp scarcely offered the reassurances Henderson required about his place in his plans. Liverpool 2.0 instead had a younger, more energetic midfield. Henderson's road instead took him via oil money in Saudi Arabia to a bus stop in Hounslow. Another undignified error by him or further evidence of Brentford's astuteness? The answer may dictate if Brentford recover from their summer exodus, if Henderson goes to the World Cup, if he can show he isn't done yet.
