Boss of the Bronx: the turbulent reign of George Steinbrenner, baseball’s ultimate showman

A new book looks at how an eccentric shipping magnate ushered in a long run of success for the New York Yankees

George Steinbrenner could be quite the pitchman – whether selling New York to free agents or starring in Pepto-Bismol TV ads alongside Billy Martin. And now a new book remembers the late Yankees owner and the dynasty he founded.

The Bosses of the Bronx: The Endless Drama of the Yankees Under the House of Steinbrenner flows from the pen of sports journalist and author Mike Vaccaro. As the New York Post’s lead sports columnist for more than two decades, Vaccaro has witnessed the Steinbrenner dynasty from a rarefied perspective – the journalistic equivalent of a seat along the third-base line.

Published: April 14, 2026, 9:00 am

Luis García: ‘I didn’t expect football to give me that again. But there I was, crying’

Liverpool legend talks memories of Istanbul, learning magic and his adventures in Malaysia with Johor Darul Ta’zim

Luis García was “super cool”, he says. That, at least, was the plan, but things have a habit of working out differently. When the former Atlético Madrid, Barcelona and Liverpool player retired in 2016, it was the second time: he walked out of the game in 2014 and walked back in again six months later. But this time, he wasn’t going to be affected. All that suffering and satisfaction, the pressure, the emotion: that was no more.

“I was always very competitive and once I had left football, I thought I wasn’t going to have those feelings I had before,” he says. “I still enjoy football, still play seven-a-side with my friends – every Saturday at 10am, Los Jareños Club de Futbol – but I thought I had lost that and it wasn’t coming back. In fact, I was trying to avoid it; I didn’t want it. So when it happened, it surprised me. I didn’t expect football to give me that again. But there I was, crying.”

Published: April 14, 2026, 7:01 am

Azzi Fudd taken first in WNBA draft by Dallas Wings in UConn reunion with Paige Bueckers

• Fudd goes No 1, reunites with Bueckers

• UCLA set record with five first-round picks

• Analysis: Ella Brockway goes pick by pick

• Sign up for our WNBA 30 newsletter

Azzi Fudd was selected by the Dallas Wings with the first pick of the WNBA draft on Monday night, capping a 12-month ascent from NCAA champion to the top overall choice and setting up a reunion with former University of Connecticut teammate Paige Bueckers.

The 5ft 11in guard, who led UConn to last year’s national title and was named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player, is the seventh player from the program to go No 1. Bueckers, the top selection by Dallas in the 2025 draft and the reigning WNBA rookie of the year, watched Fudd’s name called from a sold-out crowd at the Shed, the $500m cultural center at Hudson Yards on Manhattan’s west side.

Published: April 14, 2026, 2:11 am

How, not what, McIlroy does, makes him golf’s successor to Ballesteros | Ewan Murray

Northern Irishman moves the needle like no one else in his sport, even more so after his thrilling Masters defence

Levels of greatness need not always be defined by numbers. Nick Faldo’s six majors to Rory McIlroy’s five prior to events at Augusta National on Sunday gave the Englishman the edge in the eyes of many in respect of Europe’s finest ever golfer. That McIlroy had already won the career grand slam of majors, therefore passing every test his sport has to offer, meant he was more worthy of the crown. Those who want to add Harry Vardon and a bygone age to the conversation should check the Jersey man’s scoring for his septet of major wins.

It is the nature of McIlroy’s achievement that sets him apart. Retaining the Masters for major No 6 places McIlroy in lofty company – Faldo, Phil Mickelson and Lee Trevino. He is suddenly one shy of Arnold Palmer. Gary Player and the non-US record of nine is a legitimate goal. Yet watching McIlroy right until the final hole at Augusta National served as a reminder that it is the addictive, thrilling style of his output that is worthy of the highest praise. The Northern Irishman was half a hole from Masters glory, shunting galleries back 50 yards so he could visualise a recovery shot from a forest. Love or loathe McIlroy, you simply cannot take eyes off him.

Published: April 13, 2026, 4:53 pm

Former NFL cornerback Chris Payton-Jones dies at 30: ‘Everyone loved him’

• Former Arizona Cardinal dies in head-on collision

• Payton-Jones had built career in content creation

Former NFL cornerback Chris Payton-Jones died in a car accident Saturday night in Florida. He was 30.

Payton-Jones was driving a sedan eastbound in the westbound lanes of State Road 24 in Gainesville when his vehicle collided head-on with a pickup truck, according to News 4 Jacksonville. The three people in the truck sustained only minor injuries.

Published: April 13, 2026, 6:13 pm

Sponsorship revenue for Uefa’s club competitions set to break €1bn barrier

• Sponsorship income due to rise by more than 40%

• Champions League clubs to benefit from the growth

Uefa is poised to bring in more than €1bn (£870m) a year in commercial revenues from club competitions from next year, with two more global sponsorship deals close to being agreed.

UC3, the commercial joint venture owned by Uefa and the clubs, is finalising agreements with an official payments provider and technology partner, which would complete their roster of premium global partners and see sponsorship income rise by more than 40%. Six-year deals with AB InBev as Uefa’s official beer partner and Pepsi as soft drinks provider from 2027 to 2033 have already been agreed, while Nike last week entered exclusive negotiations to replace Adidas as Uefa’s match ball provider.

Published: April 14, 2026, 7:01 am

Terence Crawford fined $75 over incident that led to gunpoint traffic stop

• Crawford fined after Omaha traffic stop at gunpoint

• Boxer ordered to pay $75 plus $49 in court costs

• Police review found officers acted lawfully

Terence Crawford was found guilty of careless driving Monday and ordered to pay a $75 fine stemming from a traffic stop last year during which police ordered the world champion boxer and passengers out of his vehicle at gunpoint.

Crawford was stopped on 28 September, hours after his hometown of Omaha held a parade through downtown to celebrate his unanimous-decision victory over Canelo Álvarez in a super middleweight championship fight. The win made Crawford the first male boxer to capture three unified division titles. He announced his retirement in December with a 42-0 record and 31 knockouts.

Published: April 13, 2026, 8:00 pm

The wait is over: Eta’s arrival as head coach breaks barriers for women in football

Marie-Louise Eta has been tasked with saving Union Berlin from Bundesliga relegation in a groundbreaking appointment

For Marie-Louise Eta, it may feel like another day at the office. The wider significance will be greater, though, when she oversees Union Berlin in their crunch Bundesliga match against Wolfsburg this weekend. History will be made and another barrier broken: it will be the first time a woman appointed as head coach of a men’s team has taken charge of a fixture in one of Europe’s top five leagues.

Eta was given the reins on an interim basis after Steffen Baumgart, her predecessor, was sacked on Saturday. Union had just lost 3-1 to bottom-placed Heidenheim and, with five games left, could not be sure of a late-season dalliance with the drop zone. They are seven points clear of the relegation playoff spot but a run of two wins from 14 games has equated to freefall. Union needed the best person to arrest it, some form of continuity was key, so the 34-year-old Eta, a richly exciting prospect, was an obvious choice.

Published: April 13, 2026, 3:45 pm

Sticker shock: LA residents alarmed by price of 2028 Olympics presale tickets

LA28 set aside tickets for LA and Oklahoma City residents, but some say they faced exorbitant prices and high fees

Since tickets for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles went on sale for local residents on 2 April, excitement for the Games has given way to sticker shock among some Angelenos over what they describe as exorbitant prices and an unexpected service fee.

LA28 had made a wave of slots in the presale ticket lottery available for residents throughout southern California, where the majority of contests will take place, and in Oklahoma City, which will host the canoe slalom and softball events. Tickets ranged in price from $28 into the thousands.

Published: April 13, 2026, 11:00 am

‘A shocking decision’: Carrick fumes over Martínez’s red card for hair pulling

• ‘It is not aggressive, there is no jolt,’ says United coach

• Daniel Farke hails ‘amazing’ league win at Old Trafford

Michael Carrick branded Lisandro Martínez’s red card for pulling Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s hair as “shocking” and said Manchester United may appeal as the defender faces a three-match ban.

If the sending off in United’s 2-1 defeat by Leeds at Old Trafford on Monday night stands, Carrick could be without his two first-choice centre-backs for Saturday’s trip to Chelsea as Harry Maguire may be suspended for a second match. Martínez was sent off after 56 minutes when Paul Tierney, after reviewing the incident on the monitor, ruled it a red-card offence, with Leeds 2-0 ahead.

Published: April 13, 2026, 10:43 pm

Arne Slot backs Liverpool to produce ‘great performance’ to beat PSG

• Slot: ‘There is a belief we can do special things’

• Luis Enrique tells his players to beware ‘pitfalls’

Arne Slot has said Liverpool do not face an impossible task against Paris Saint-Germain but must produce the perfect performance to overcome the European champions in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Liverpool require another stirring Anfield comeback in Tuesday’s second leg to salvage their hopes of silverware having lost 2-0 at Parc des Princes last week. PSG were vastly superior in the first leg and should have won more comfortably, although their head coach, Luis Enrique, described such talk as “a trap” and claimed there will be “pitfalls” for his team at Anfield.

Published: April 13, 2026, 6:36 pm

‘It’s not finished’: Lamine Yamal pledges Barcelona will fight to the end

As his side look to overturn a two-goal quarter-final deficit against Atlético Madrid, the teenager is ready to give his all

No pressure, kid. Lamine Yamal took the stage here and, he hoped, not for the last time. The 18-year-old, wearing glasses, sat in the press conference room at the Metropolitano where he said he would take inspiration from the basketball legend LeBron James and from Neymar on Wednesday night. He insisted that he welcomes the weight of expectation that has been loaded upon him from the beginning as he tries to lead Barcelona back from a 2-0 first-leg defeat against Atlético Madrid and into the semi-finals of the Champions League.

When Barcelona were knocked out by Inter in last season’s semi-finals, Lamine Yamal promised that he would take them back. A year on, scorer of five goals and provider of four assists in Europe, described by Hansi Flick as “the best in the world one on one”, he is their great hope as they seek to return and try again, his appearance in front of the media a prelude to him leading on the pitch. “Ever since I was little I have had the fortune to have to take on more responsibility than I should,” the teenager said. “I am used to it. All I think about is enjoying it, not taking it as a problem but a virtue. I’m grateful for everything.”

Published: April 13, 2026, 7:48 pm

Much-changed Spain will still test England in first meeting since Euro 2025 final

Reigning champions have a new coach and some new faces when they face the Lionesses in Women’s World Cup qualifier

Eight-and-a-half months after they locked horns in the final of Euro 2025, England and Spain meet again on Tuesday night in front of more than 70,000 at Wembley. This time it is in qualifiers for the Women’s World Cup, another tournament in which they met in the final last time out.

Despite the relatively brief period since the game in Basel, Spain have a noticeably fresh look with a new head coach and a crop of emerging young players. They have already won a trophy under Sonia Bermúdez, who led them to the Nations League title after replacing Montse Tomé, and, unlike England, are unbeaten since the Euros with five wins and a draw in six matches.

Published: April 13, 2026, 3:30 pm

Cristian Romero feared to be out for remainder of season for Spurs

• Defender thought to have medial knee ligament damage

• Argentine may still recover in time for World Cup

Tottenham’s deepening relegation concerns appear to have been heightened by the loss of their captain, Cristian Romero, for the remainder of the season.

Romero was reduced to tears as he left the pitch after 70 minutes of Sunday’s 1-0 loss at Sunderland, following a coming together with the striker Brian Brobbey that led to the Argentinian clattering into his own goalkeeper, Antonin Kinsky. Romero, it is believed, has sustained medial knee ligament damage that will take around eight weeks to heal.

Published: April 13, 2026, 5:43 pm

Ex-Arsenal player Thomas Partey pleads not guilty to two new rape allegations

• Midfielder faces seven charges of rape in total

• Judge says trial may be delayed until early next year

The former Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey has pleaded not guilty to two new allegations of rape.

The 32-year-old appeared at Southwark crown court on Monday to deny raping a woman twice in London on a single day in December 2020. Partey, who left Arsenal for Villarreal last summer, was charged in July last year with five counts of rape and one allegation of sexual assault, dating back to 2021 and 2022. He previously pleaded not guilty to those charges and a trial was set for November this year.

Published: April 13, 2026, 3:42 pm

Gary Neville’s media group buys football YouTuber Mark Goldbridge’s channels

Exclusive: Neville has criticised “those bloody YouTubers” – but The Overlap has now acquired channels with 3.7m subscribers for seven-figure sum

Gary Neville’s sports media group has acquired two YouTube channels owned by one of the UK’s most popular but controversial football content creators in a deal understood to be worth a seven-figure sum.

Mark Goldbridge’s The United Stand and That’s Football YouTube channels bring a combined 3.7 million subscribers to The Overlap, Neville’s group, which is understood to be seeking to grow its specialist coverage of big clubs across Europe.

Published: April 14, 2026, 8:00 am

Adam Peaty hails father-in-law Gordon Ramsay as inspiration with focus on 2028 Olympics

• Swimmer: ‘I take a lot of guidance. I look up to him a lot’

• Peaty married Ramsay’s daughter Holly in December

Olympic champion Adam Peaty has hailed father-in-law Gordon Ramsay as his inspiration as he turned his thoughts towards the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

The 31-year-old almost quit swimming just before the 2024 Games in Paris and then again straight afterwards, but confirmed he would compete in 2028 after the 50m breaststroke was added to the schedule. Peaty, who is back in action at the British Championships this week, admitted the next two years were going to be “the hardest of my career”, but took guidance from TV chef Ramsay.

Published: April 14, 2026, 9:00 am

Ben Stokes plays down talk of McCullum disagreement but plans ‘different’ path to success

• Stokes: ‘Agreeing on every single thing, that’s impossible’

• Pair will ‘work together in a slightly different way’

Ben Stokes has moved to play down suggestions of a disagreement between himself and Brendon McCullum, insisting he and the England head coach remain aligned despite an Ashes defeat that, at times, suggested otherwise.

In a video released by the England and Wales Cricket Board on Tuesday, the England Test captain stressed that he and McCullum agreeing with each other all the time would be “unhealthy”. They continue to share the same overall vision for the team, he added, but things will look “different” this summer.

Published: April 14, 2026, 9:00 am

‘A shocking decision’: Michael Carrick fumes over Martínez’s red card for hair pulling – video

Michael Carrick branded Lisandro Martínez’s red card for pulling Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s hair as “shocking” and said Manchester United may appeal as the defender faces a three-match ban.

If the sending off in United’s 2-1 defeat by Leeds at Old Trafford on Monday night stands, Carrick could be without his two first-choice centre-backs for Saturday’s trip to Chelsea as Harry Maguire may be suspended for a second match. Martínez was sent off after 56 minutes when Paul Tierney, after reviewing the incident on the monitor, ruled it a red-card offence, with Leeds 2-0 ahead.

Carrick said: 'The arm [is] in the face of Lisandro and he is off balance and grappling. He goes to touch his shirt and gets a red card for it.

'It is not aggressive, there is no jolt, no tug. We have got to be careful where the game is going. It is a shocking decision, absolutely shocking. The red card, that is really concerning. I know he touched his hair. There is a difference to really aggressively touching it.'

• ‘A shocking decision’: Carrick fumes over Martínez’s red card for hair pulling

Published: April 14, 2026, 8:57 am

St Kilda’s Lance Collard given lengthy ban by AFL for homophobic slur

• AFL tribunal hands out seven-week ban to Saints player

• Collard denied using slur though he had admitted using it in 2024

St Kilda forward Lance Collard has been banned for seven weeks by the AFL tribunal for directing a homophobic slur towards an opponent.

The penalty, which includes a further two-week ban suspended until the end of the 2027 season, was announced at a sanctions hearing on Tuesday afternoon.

Published: April 14, 2026, 8:20 am

Iran releases assets of women’s football team captain in Australia asylum drama

• Zahra Ghanbari had been on list of ‘traitors’ whose assets were frozen

• Latest move taken ‘following her change in behaviour’

Iran’s judiciary said on Monday authorities had released the assets of the captain of Iranian women’s football team which had been seized after she made and then withdrew an asylum claim in Australia last month.

Zahra Ghanbari was among a group of six players and one backroom staff member who sought asylum in Australia in March after playing in the Women’s Asian Cup at the start of the Israeli-US war against the Islamic republic.

Published: April 14, 2026, 12:20 am

Manchester United 1-2 Leeds United: Premier League – as it happened

Leeds United’s first league win at Old Trafford since 1981 moved them six points clear of the relegation zone

⚽️ Table | Top scorers

2 min: Sloppy from Ugarte, who gives the ball away at the first opportunity. A heavy touch and the Manchester midfielder has his pocket picked. Groans.

We are underway in Manchester.

Published: April 13, 2026, 9:44 pm

‘Carelessly squandered’: Wisden scolds England’s tumultuous Ashes tour

• Series defeat in Australia ‘a chance so blithely spurned’

• Indian dominance and Starc’s sacrifice recognised

The latest edition of Wisden is ­unsparing in its criticism of England’s Test team, describing their Ashes defeat in Australia as a “wing-and-a-prayer” campaign that ended up “feckless, reckless and legless”.

Published this Thursday, the sport’s longstanding bible has a strong Indian flavour to its awards. Haseeb Hameed, captain of title-winning Nottinghamshire, is the sole Englishman among the five ­players of the year, with Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja and ­Mohammed Siraj recognised for their roles in last year’s memorable 2-2 Test series draw in England.

Published: April 13, 2026, 9:30 pm

WNBA draft: Azzi Fudd goes No 1, UCLA smash record and Flau’jae Johnson traded – as it happened

• TCU’s Miles is No 2, Spain’s Fam No 3, UCLA’s Betts No 4

• Fudd is set for reunion with fellow No 1 pick Bueckers

• Sign up for WNBA 30: a limited run women’s basketball newsletter

Last year, No 1 overall pick Paige Bueckers got a $78,831 salary as a rookie. Tonight, the top pick will get a $500,000 salary.

That bump is thanks to the salary increases in the new collective bargaining agreement. The new CBA includes specific salary tiers for each of the top eight picks – for example, the No 2 pick will earn a base salary of $466,913. Second- and third-round picks who sign contracts with teams will earn the new league minimum of $270,000. That’s up from $69.3k for second-rounders and $66k for third-rounders last year.

Published: April 14, 2026, 1:42 am

Why the World Cup should be decentralized | Leander Schaerlaeckens

Expansion and political influence have made soccer’s showpiece too big for one region to handle responsibly

• Sign up for the World Behind The Cup newsletter

In retrospect, the 2018 World Cup in Russia looks like a gentle genuflection, a dainty little bow before its strongman leader. Vladimir Putin and his Russian project of gradual conquest were most definitely centered and validated eight years ago: the tournament showcased his nation and awarded its leader prominence of place.

This summer, we will see something altogether different, as the runup to this edition of the world’s biggest and most popular sporting event has become a monument to Donald Trump.

This is an extract from Soccer with Jonathan Wilson, a weekly look from the Guardian US at the game in Europe and beyond, helmed this week by Leander in Jonathan’s absence. Subscribe for free here. Have a question for Jonathan? Email soccerwithjw@theguardian.com, and he’ll answer the best in a future edition.

Leander Schaerlaeckens is a Guardian US contributor whose book on the United States men’s national soccer team, The Long Game, is out on 12 May. You can preorder it here. He teaches at Marist University.

Published: April 13, 2026, 3:49 pm

As Bologna thrive, sister club CF Montreal have been left in the dust

The MLS weekend saw the Timbers capitalize on a rotated LAFC and Bruce Arena continue his second-season magic in San Jose

When the then-Montréal Impact rebranded as Club de Foot Montréal in 2021, their fans weren’t shy about showing their disdain.

“It is the dismantling of a dream,” one supporters’ group statement read in part. “We are becoming a bland club, just as many others have become.”

Published: April 13, 2026, 11:00 am

Justin Rose re-energised and ready for more after joint third at Masters

• Englishman led for a time in final round on back nine

• ‘These are the tournaments I focus on,’ says 45-year-old

Justin Rose refused to write off his major chances after another Masters near-miss. The 2013 US Open winner lost a playoff to Rory McIlroy at Augusta a year ago and held the lead on the back nine on Sunday before finishing in a tie for third, two shots behind the Northern Irishman who successfully defended his title.

It was Rose’s fourth top-six finish in his past eight major appearances and the 45-year-old, a winner on the PGA Tour in February, believes he can compete at the highest level. “In the last two years I’ve really re-kicked on and re-energised my career and myself and have a lot of belief there is a lot of runway ahead,” he said after shooting a final-round 70 having come undone at Amen Corner.

Published: April 13, 2026, 10:52 am