NCAA Tournament 2026 men’s final predictions: will UConn or Michigan cut down the nets in Indy?

From the key matchups to the bold predictions, our writers assess how Connecticut’s system stacks up against Michigan’s size in Monday night’s championship game

The Huskies must lean on discipline and patience to avoid getting dragged into a high-possession shootout. They have to execute their off-ball actions cleanly, force Michigan to defend across the full shot clock and get efficient production from star center Tarris Reed Jr inside. If they can limit the Wolverines’ second-chance points and drill timely threes, the upset is there for the taking. BAG

Published: April 6, 2026, 9:00 am

The FA Cup still has an important place. This weekend was proof

From exposed anxieties to unexpected heroes, this weekend’s cup contests papered over a weird three-week Premier League break

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The soccer calendar has been particularly quirky this year. There’s always an international break in March, but because this year’s edition involved World Cup qualifying playoffs, most games were scheduled for the Thursday and the Tuesday, which meant there was very little soccer played over the weekend; barely even a smattering of friendlies.

For a Saturday in early spring, it all felt very weird; it was a day for pacing the floors, wondering how on earth people who don’t like soccer fill the time. And with the Carabao Cup final falling the previous Sunday, and the FA Cup sixth round this weekend, that has meant a three-week hiatus in the title race. Which has been disorienting and, perhaps, not entirely to Arsenal’s benefit.

Published: April 6, 2026, 3:45 pm

Pogacar among riders under investigation after running red light during Tour of Flanders

• Slovenian cyclist said signal to stop came too late

• Riders could face fine and suspension if found guilty

Tadej Pogacar is among the riders being investigated for running a red light at a railway crossing during the Tour de Flanders on Sunday. Pogacar, who won the race for a record-equalling third time, was in a group of riders who went through the crossing without stopping. Most of the peloton behind them had to stop before the railway.

Belgian officials confirmed on Monday there was an investigation into the riders who allegedly ran the red light. They said no further details were immediately available. Local media said the riders could face a fine and driving suspension if found guilty.

Published: April 6, 2026, 2:06 pm

Chicago Sky trade Angel Reese to Atlanta Dream in first major move of WNBA offseason

• Two-time All-Star had strained relationship with Sky

• Free agency opens with more than 100 players on market

The Chicago Sky have traded star forward Angel Reese to the Atlanta Dream, the teams announced Monday.

The trade is the first blockbuster move of the WNBA offseason, which is operating on a condensed timeline after months of negotiations between the league and its players over a new collective bargaining agreement finished last month.

Published: April 6, 2026, 4:37 pm

Retirement gnome? Masters miniatures rumoured to have short future at Augusta

• Gnomes have become collectors’ items since 2016 debut

• 2026 edition retailing at $49.50 inside Augusta National

Everyone says goodbye to the Masters eventually. Sandy Lyle, Ben Crenshaw, Ian Woosnam and Bernhard Langer used recent years to wave goodbye. Will 2026 be the end for a renowned Augusta National element of more recent times … the Masters gnome?

Speculation is rising that this Masters will be the final time gnomes will be on sale inside Augusta’s merchandise outlets. On face value, this hardly feels dramatic. The quirk, though, is that the household essential for any golf lover has become a victim of its own success. Augusta National has offered no comment when approached on the gnome’s future but the race feels on to collect the final batches of stock before the 14-inch ceramic doll is consigned to Masters history.

Published: April 6, 2026, 1:28 pm

MLS weekend wrap: Revel in the joy and agony of absurd long-range goals

In the era of VAR where most goals get picked apart, strikes from distance offered a much-needed immediate emotional hit

In an era where the sport’s biggest moments are scrutinized in slow-motion to find an inch of infraction, the long-range goal has become a necessary thrill. VAR only comes into play if a loitering teammate is caught between the shooter and goalkeeper. They also hatch a comfortingly familiar point of debate: was there anything that could’ve been done to save it?

We can safely count Zavier Gozo’s wonder goal this weekend among the unsaveable. The Real Salt Lake homegrown has been one of the best players in Major League Soccer’s early weeks, a 19-year-old danger down the right flank who can slot in as a winger or wing back with similar impact. He’s quickly become one of the most proven progressive dribblers in the entire US player pool, and has shot up the scouting priority queues of several major European clubs.

Published: April 6, 2026, 11:00 am

‘Mum, I have to go to Moscow as I am fighting a bear’: Makhmudov on Russia’s grizzlies, God and Tyson Fury

The heavyweight from Dagestan now lives in Canada and describes Saturday’s opponent as the ‘professor’ of boxing

“This guy is the professor,” Arslanbek Makhmudov says of Tyson Fury as he looks forward politely to their fight on Saturday night at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. There is none of the usual bluster and malice of heavyweight boxing as the huge Russian from Dagestan shows considerable respect for the former world champion who is making yet another comeback to the ring.

“Tyson Fury is the professor of mind and boxing,” Makhmudov continues in his functional but effective English. “A lot of boxing is mental and he is a master. But boxing is also spiritual. I am going to be strong, spiritual and smart. You can say this is a war between mental and spiritual and we’ll see who is more successful. Inshallah it is spiritual.”

Published: April 6, 2026, 11:30 am

US sprint star Sha’Carri Richardson wins 2026 Stawell Gift off scratch in thrilling finish

• American crosses in 13.15s ahead of Australia’s Charlotte Nielsen

• Olufemi Komolafe wins men’s final without US’s Christian Coleman

American sprint queen Sha’Carri Richardson has lived up to her star status as she chased down the field off scratch to win the 2026 Stawell Gift in a thrilling finish.

The Olympic 100m silver medallist and sixth-fastest woman in the world joined hundreds of local spectators and athletes in the small rural town 200km north-west of Melbourne on Monday to take part in the handicap race for the first time.

Published: April 6, 2026, 5:31 am

Hockey fans pack Madison Square Garden as PWHL breaks US women’s attendance record – in pictures

A sold-out crowd of 18,006 electrified Madison Square Garden on Saturday night when the New York Sirens hosted the Seattle Torrent, setting a new US attendance record for women’s hockey

Published: April 6, 2026, 8:00 am

Swansea v Middlesbrough, Birmingham v Manchester City in Women’s FA Cup: football – live

• Lincoln go up to Championship

• Live scores | Tables | Talking points

Thanks John, afternoon everyone. I’ll start with a very modern story from Spain.

La Liga on Monday condemned threats and intimidation by Sevilla fans aimed at their own players and directors after they fell to a third straight league defeat.

Sevilla, 17th in the Spanish top flight, lost 1-0 away at bottom side Real Oviedo on Sunday and some supporters met the team at the airport on their return to insult them, while others wearing masks were at the club training ground.

Published: April 6, 2026, 4:54 pm

Buurman strikes late against Spurs to send Chelsea into Women’s FA Cup semi-finals

Sonia Bompastor believes national team managers will need to be “smart” with her Chelsea players after a gruelling block of games concluded positively, with a 2-1 defeat of Tottenham, earning a place in the FA Cup semi-finals.

Chelsea’s hopes of retaining two of their three titles remain alive after Veerle Buurman’s wonderful drive and strike earned the Blues a win in an end-to-end battle with Tottenham.

Published: April 6, 2026, 3:01 pm

Kasey McAteer seals controversial win over Birmingham to lift Ipswich up to second

Against Birmingham on Easter Monday, Kasey McAteer gave Ipswich supporters something to talk about other than Nigel Farage – namely the growing prospect of a return to the Premier League at the first attempt. In their first game since the Reform UK leader had been allowed to parade with a “Farage 10” Ipswich shirt at the stadium and linked himself with Kieran McKenna’s job, the hosts moved into the automatic promotion places.

Farage’s visit on 23 March has divided the fans, even driven some of them away. The chair, Mark Ashton, has apologised “for any hurt, pain or distress that’s been caused”, while the club said they “remain apolitical and do not support any individual party”. A handful of club officials are understood to have known about Farage’s visit beforehand but Ipswich deny that he was invited. In a video posted on Reform’s X account, Farage appears to address a message “To Mark” when signing an Ipswich shirt. Supporters have been left to make up their own minds and there is a feeling among some that they are being lied to.

Published: April 6, 2026, 4:12 pm

Bayer Leverkusen and Wolfsburg manufacture ‘the wildest plastico of all time’ | Andy Brassell

Two ‘factory’ teams of German football proved that there is plenty at stake in the Bundesliga after a 6-3 win for Leverkusen

They said nobody cared enough for the stakes to be this high. If discussion over the destination of the title (and second place for that matter) has been and gone, there is plenty more in the Bundesliga tank and for Bayer Leverkusen and Wolfsburg, two clubs who will never hold universal approval despite producing teams to thrill us and break the Bayern monopoly in the last two decades, that is truer than for most.

Before RB Leipzig were around to corral all the disapproval of German supporters at large, there was El Plastico. As the two ‘factory’ teams of German football, grown from Bayer and Volkswagen respectively rather than from a fanbase, Leverkusen and Wolfsburg have endured a lifetime of rival fans looking down their noses at them, judging them as not organic or real enough.

Conversely this fixture, if derided by some, has produced a string of memorable games; the 5-4 win for Wolfsburg at the Bay Arena in 2015 during current coach Dieter Hecking’s successful first spell, sealed by Bas Dost’s four goals, or the typically later-than-late Leverkusen 4-3 in September 2024 dusted by Victor Boniface’s stoppage-time winner. So when Bild’s headline called this “the wildest plastico of all time,” they really did mean it was something special.

Tension and huge potential consequences can often make for a stilted, cautious spectacle. Not here. For Wolfsburg, there was an element of predictability in that it was a 20th successive game without a clean sheet – and they didn’t look like keeping one for an instant. Still, the record – the worst defensive run in the club’s history since a previous Hecking side did the same in 2014 – wouldn’t have mattered at all had Die Wölfe held the 3-1 lead with which they approached half-time, having seemingly found some nerve to help their desperate situation at the bottom of the table.

In that first half, Hecking would have been delighted. If there had been a thick volume of hard luck stories over recent weeks, Wolfsburg had no time to listen to them here. After Jonas Wind’s opener, they were unhappy with the penalty awarded to Leverkusen when Joakim Mæhle feathered a slight touch on Ibrahim Maza in the penalty area – converted for the hosts by Alejandro Grimaldo – but literally seconds later Mæhle himself stepped up to blast Wolfsburg back in front with a rocket from long range. When Christian Eriksen converted a Wolfsburg penalty shortly after it was 3-1 and finally the strugglers were showing real fortitude. There was light, at last, at the end of the tunnel.

Instead, the inevitable Grimaldo brought Leverkusen back into the match by finishing a smart move just before half-time, enabling his coach, Kasper Hjulmand, to make the changes at the break to turn the match, and perhaps to change his own fate at the helm. For if we look at Wolfsburg’s moment of crisis, the home side were facing one at 3-1 down. “A change of coach is not a scenario we are considering,” Leverkusen’s sporting director, Simon Rolfes, had said before the game but losing at home to a team in the bottom two – to severely compromise Die Werkself’s chances of a return to the Champions League – would have sorely tested that stance. It wouldn’t have been the first time Rolfes has been forced into an abrupt pivot this season.

That, incidentally, is what Hjulmand used to really change the momentum; taking off Equi Fernández, bringing on Patrik Schick to join Christian Kofane up front and really attacking in a season where Leverkusen have often looked too tentative. Schick equalised from another spot-kick before Edmund Tapsoba put the hosts in front. The excellent Maza added another and substitute Malik Tillman made it six after a brilliant slalom along the byline by Ernest Poku.

Published: April 6, 2026, 12:59 pm

Mallorca’s Pirate puts Kosovo playoff pain aside to stun Real Madrid | Sid Lowe

Kosovo’s Vedat Muriqi broke down in tears after a late winner that took his side out of the relegation zone

For one magical moment in the sunshine and the spotlight, the roughest man in Spanish football was the smoothest, the toughest, its most vulnerable. With his ponytail and the stubble covering a face that’s been lived in, they call Vedat Muriqi the Pirate and he’s supposed to have the turning circle of a galleon. But here there was grace, all 6ft 4in and 14st 8lb of him moving as if he were wearing slippers, not a pair of size 15s. The first touch, with the left, couldn’t have been softer; the second, with the right, couldn’t have been harder, all that emotion unleashed with the violence. The ball crashed into the net and the Kosovan crashed on to the turf, where he wept.

Muriqi had just scored the goal that may have brought the league title race to an early close, Mallorca defeating Real Madrid 2-1 with his 91st-minute goal a couple of hours before Barcelona went to Atlético Madrid and won in the 89th. But that wasn’t why he lay there, everyone going wild around him. It wasn’t why his face was hidden but his feelings couldn’t be, huge frame heaving. Muriqi was sobbing so hard it was a wonder Son Moix didn’t shake with him; some of the 23,015 inside it certainly did. Teammates came to him, embracing him briefly from behind then leaving him to let it out: first Omar Mascarell, then Sergi Darder, then Johan Mojica.

Published: April 6, 2026, 1:06 pm

Reece James on track to deliver England World Cup boost with Chelsea return

• Right-back is recovering from hamstring injury

• He could be back at the end of April or start of May

Reece James could boost England’s World Cup hopes by returning from a hamstring injury at the start of next month.

The Chelsea defender has been out since picking up a problem during last month’s defeat by Newcastle, raising doubts over whether he will be fit to represent his country this summer. There were initial fears that James, who had not sustained a hamstring injury since November 2024, was facing up to two months on the sidelines and was in danger of not playing again this season.

Published: April 6, 2026, 10:26 am

Saints stun Arsenal and what now for Slot after Liverpool’s painful exit? | Football Weekly

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Dan Bardell and John Brewin to discuss the weekend’s FA Cup Quarter-final games

Published: April 6, 2026, 2:32 pm

Bastoni turns Inter jeers to joy after World Cup heartbreak and ‘ugly’ wobble | Nicky Bandini

Targeted after Italy’s failure and for his dive in the Derby d’Italia, Alessandro Bastoni returned to form against Roma

Italy were too afraid to play a World Cup qualifying playoff at San Siro, hosting their semi-final against Northern Ireland in Bergamo instead. Gennaro Gattuso explained it as a choice to protect his players, noting that the nation’s biggest football stadium was home to two rival clubs – Milan and Internazionale – and suggesting this dynamic might lead fans there to turn more quickly on players who struggled.

Instead, on Sunday, it was San Siro that offered comfort to one who has become the scapegoat for yet another collective failure. Italy made it past Northern Ireland only to lose to Bosnia on penalties in Zenica. Alessandro Bastoni’s first-half red card, at a time when his country were winning 1-0, was a pivotal moment in the game and perhaps his entire career.

Published: April 6, 2026, 11:20 am

EFL roundup: Lincoln promoted to Championship with win at Reading

• Lincoln up with five games to spare after 2-1 win

• Bolton draw with Stockport leaves Imps’ result moot

Lincoln celebrated promotion to the Championship with a hard-earned 2-1 victory at the playoff chasers Reading as they returned to the second tier after 65 years.

Lincoln, needing only a point, made a bright start and went ahead in the fifth minute through Ryan Oné and seemed destined for a 1-0 win, only for Reading to level in the second minute of stoppage time from a Lewis Wing free-kick. However, Jack Moylan snatched the winner four minutes later, seconds after promotion had been secured by Bolton v Stockport finishing in a 2-2 draw, meaning neither could catch the Imps.

More to follow

Published: April 6, 2026, 4:46 pm

County cricket day four: Sussex beat Leicestershire, Glamorgan v Yorkshire, and more – live

Cricket updates from 11am BST across the grounds
Team-by-team guide | Email Tanya or comment BTL

Hampshire’s Ben Brown was a disappointed man last night.

“It is a really poor start. The boys are really flat. You come into the season really looking forward to it so to put in that performance at home is hugely disappointing.

Published: April 6, 2026, 4:20 pm

Courtney Lawes to return to Prem from Brive and would be again eligible for England

• Veteran announces return to Prem and would be eligible

• Forward will ‘never forget’ time at French second-tier club

The former England captain Courtney Lawes is returning to the Prem at the end of the season after two years at French club Brive.

The 37-year-old retired from international rugby after the 2023 Rugby World Cup and made the move to France after winning the 2023-24 Premiership title with Northampton Saints.

Published: April 6, 2026, 2:54 pm

Championship roundup: Norwich deal blow to Millwall’s promotion push

• Oscar Schwartau seals 2-1 comeback win for Norwich

• Bottle thrown after Portsmouth red card in draw with Oxford

Oscar Schwartau climbed off the bench to fire Norwich to a 2-1 win against Millwall – and do their fierce rivals Ipswich a big favour.

The Lions, who started Easter Monday in second, had taken the lead through substitute Mihailo Ivanovic shortly after half-time. But a long-range rocket from Pelle Mattsson and Schwartau’s winner condemned them to defeat to give the chasing pack – including Norwich’s East Anglian foes Ipswich – a major boost in the race for automatic promotion.

Published: April 6, 2026, 2:28 pm

Watch Sha’Carri Richardson's thrilling finish in the Stawell Gift women’s final – video

USA sprint star Sha’Carri Richardson storms home from scratch to win the 2026 Stawell Gift, chasing down rivals despite giving them up to a nine-metre head start. One of the world’s fastest women, Richardson joins thousands of spectators and athletes in the small rural town 200km north-west of Melbourne to compete in the 120-metre handicap grass race for the first time

• Aerial view of American sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson winning her Stawell Gift heat - video

Published: April 6, 2026, 6:36 am

Aerial view of American sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson winning her Stawell Gift heat - video

USA sprint star Sha’Carri Richardson has cruised into the Stawell Gift semi-final, comfortably winning her heat on Saturday afternoon. The Paris Olympic 100m silver medallist started from scratch but powered past the field, easing up before the line once victory was assured

Published: April 6, 2026, 12:41 am

USMNT striker Patrick Agyemang leaves Derby County game on stretcher

• Agyemang went down with a non-contact injury

• US striker scored in friendly v Belgium

Patrick Agyemang left Derby County’s match on a stretcher after an apparent non-contact injury. The US international striker rose to settle a ball in the 37th minute and collapsed to ground, with photographs from Pride Park showing the Derby medical staff tending to his left ankle.

On-site accounts freported that the 25-year-old leapt to control the ball with his chest before landing awkwardly and falling to ground. Play was stopped for five minutes before Agyemang was stretchered off. His replacement, Jaydon Banel, scored the opening goal to boost the Rams’ chances of promotion.

Published: April 6, 2026, 4:42 pm

Can the USMNT and USWNT become ‘America’s favorite sports teams’? Their CEO thinks so

JT Batson is hopeful the influx of funds and interest around the home World Cup will have a transformative effect on American soccer

US Soccer chief executive JT Batson has set the men’s and women’s national teams the ambitious target of becoming America’s favorite entities in sports.

In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, Batson added mass popularity for Mauricio Pochettino’s and Emma Hayes’s teams to US Soccer’s goals ahead of this summer’s men’s World Cup, a list that already included making soccer the biggest participation sport in every community in the country.

Published: April 6, 2026, 9:00 am

UCLA capture first NCAA women’s basketball title, 79-51 over South Carolina

• Gabriela Jaquez scores 21 points in rout

• Victory margin is third-largest in NCAA history

Gabriela Jaquez scored 21 points, Lauren Betts added 16 and UCLA routed South Carolina 79-51 Sunday to win their first NCAA championship in women’s basketball.

The near-record lopsided victory completed the Bruins’ journey through this year’s March Madness that started after a loss to UConn in last season’s Final Four. The Bruins ran through their opponents this season with their only loss coming in November, to Texas in a Thanksgiving tournament.

Published: April 5, 2026, 10:38 pm

NCAA women’s national championship: South Carolina 51-79 UCLA – as it happened!

• UCLA win first NCAA title by stunning South Carolina

• Gabriela Jaquez leads the Bruins with 21 points

• Dawn Staley denied a third title in five seasons

South Carolina 4-9 UCLA, 5:14 1st quarter

After Ta’Niya Latson hits a pair of free throws, Jaquez follows a miss with a rebound and a floater that falls, and she’s fouled!

Published: April 5, 2026, 9:57 pm