From captain to coach: Rod Brind’Amour’s two Stanley Cups with the Hurricanes, 20 years apart

When the Hurricanes arrived in North Carolina, many saw them as a relocation folly destined to fail. One man has helped change that narrative

Rod Brind’Amour is made for the playoffs. The Carolina Hurricanes coach made his NHL debut in the postseason in 1989, filling in for the St Louis Blues in a game against the Minnesota North Stars. He scored on his first shot. Still, it took him 17 seasons in the NHL before he hoisted the Stanley Cup in 2006 as captain of the Carolina Hurricanes, the team he has now led to another Cup win as head coach. “The fear of losing motivates you a lot of times,” he told reporters after that 2006 Cup win.

Wherever the motivation came from this year, the result is the same. The Hurricanes beat the Vegas Golden Knights 3-0 in Game 6 on Sunday to win the Stanley Cup for the second time in franchise history, exactly 20 years since they did it last.

Published: June 14, 2026, 8:56 pm

Trump’s White House UFC fights marred by ugly Michelle Obama smear

• Trump brings UFC to White House for 80th birthday

• Gaethje stuns unbeaten Topuria for lightweight title

• Josh Hokit targets former First Lady after TKO win

For most of its 250-year history, the White House South Lawn has been reserved for state dinners, diplomatic ceremonies, Easter egg rolls, turkey pardons and carefully choreographed displays of presidential power.

On Sunday night it hosted cage fights.

Published: June 14, 2026, 11:36 pm

Knicks in five and the NBA is alive: New York’s era-defining title is a win for the believers

For a half century, New York was the center of the universe but the joke of the NBA. In these glamour-filled finals, the franchise finally got its moment

The New York Knicks had been here before. As Jalen Brunson and his band of not-so-merry men stood at the top of this year’s NBA finals, they confronted not just the San Antonio Spurs, their foe on the court, but the very idea of what the Knicks themselves – as a team, as a franchise, as a symbol of New York City – could be. The team’s run to last year’s Eastern Conference finals was thrilling but had the aspect of an underdog romp, and ultimately ended in defeat. Was this the limit of what New York’s fans, Rabelaisian in their rages and saintly in their endless capacity for patience, could expect from their team? Brunson was dogged and clever but perhaps not quite elite, a Stakhanovite toiler in a league built for transcendent talents. Karl-Anthony Towns was elite but perhaps too soft, too sensitive, too “zesty” to carry a team to the NBA’s pinnacle. The questions hanging over the leading pair extended to a team forged in their image. The lineup was good; was it great?

Coach Mike Brown, in his first year with the franchise, had promise but no small amount of baggage, having landed at the Knicks after being dismissed by the Sacramento Kings following a horror start to the 2024/25 season. And then, of course, there was the weight of history: no title since 1973 and a litany of near-misses and false dawns in the intervening decades. New York had watched through the 1980s and 1990s as first Los Angeles, then Chicago (under the guidance of its own son, Phil Jackson, who won the 1973 championship as a Knick) propelled the NBA to global prominence, a narrative in which the Knicks filled the role of a dutiful punching bag. Hakeem Olajuwon’s block on John Starks to kill their hopes in 1994, the tragic heroism of Patrick Ewing, death by Tim Duncan in ’99, and all the fizzled promise of Carmelo and Stoudemire and Linsanity: the memories had faded but the scars lingered. The franchise was destined, it seemed, to remain forever on the fringes, a mournful witness to others’ joy. Could they do it? Surely they couldn’t: the curse of the Knicks had driven the fans, the team, the city itself to despair. Neurosis, not success, was hardwired into New York’s psychology. The center of the universe and the joke of the NBA: the city was Larry Fink off the court, and Larry David on it.

Published: June 14, 2026, 7:56 am

Amad Diallo scores 90th-minute winner as Côte d’Ivoire leave it late to sink Ecuador

The substitute Amad Diallo struck in the 90th minute to give Côte d’Ivoire a 1-0 win over Ecuador in their ⁠Group E opener.

Diallo’s first-time strike of Wilfried Singo’s cross gave the Ivorians their first World Cup victory over South American opposition and ⁠halted Ecuador’s unbeaten run ​at 19 matches.

Published: June 14, 2026, 6:21 pm

Iran’s footballers arrive in US amid peace deal but admit tension ‘undermines joy’

• Ghalenoi hopes disruption does not impact his team

• World Cup newsletter | Daily podcast | Download the app

The Iran striker Mehdi Taremi has said the controversy and disruption surrounding their involvement at the World Cup undermines Fifa’s message of peace and conceded he felt the tension before arriving in Los Angeles on the eve of their opener, hours before a peace deal was announced. For the first time since the competition’s inception, a host nation has received a country with which it is at war.

On Sunday Iran flew to LA from Tijuana, Mexico, where they were relocated amid an ongoing row over visas, but are expected to face opposition from Iranians, many of whom believe the national team do not represent the country. Iran has been beset by problems in the buildup to the tournament, with several officials denied entry to the US.

Published: June 14, 2026, 6:40 pm

Where have all the Wags gone? England enjoy the calm of Kansas City World Cup camp

In a stark contrast to previous tournaments, and Baden-Baden in 2006 in particular, the players’ partners are set to keep a low profile while some may not travel at all

The BBC is not the only World Cup institution to have stayed at home.

As England make final preparations for their opening game of the tournament against Croatia on Wednesday, only around half of Thomas Tuchel’s squad can look forward to being reunited with their families in Dallas, with many having opted to skip the group stage.

Published: June 14, 2026, 9:00 pm

Fortune favours Kamada as Japan rescue World Cup draw with Netherlands

The World Cup continues to produce the unexpected. On a throbbingly hot afternoon in the low flat plains outside Dallas the Netherlands and Japan played out a high-grade, ultimately thrilling Group F game, Daichi Kamada scoring an 89th-minute equaliser to make it 2-2 just as the Dutch looked like taking an early hold on one of the tougher groups.

Sport does love to spring surprises. As the entire bib-clad Japanese bench emptied on to the pitch to celebrate Kamada’s deflected goal, as the Japan fans writhed and roared and fell over themselves in the stands, it was tempting to wonder if perhaps the unthinkable is happening.

Published: June 14, 2026, 3:22 pm

Iraq head coach Graham Arnold: ‘We’re capable of doing something that will shock the world’

Australian has had to contend with war, 50C heat and playoffs to steer country to a first World Cup in 40 years

Twenty-eight months, 21 games, four rounds, a 117th-minute penalty and a playoff. A coach stuck in Dubai where he watches war start over the water, bombs shaking everything. A team trapped in Baghdad first and Jordan next, missiles flying around them. A scrambled 9,000-mile trip to Mexico where it all rests on one night, the very last country to make it. And, when they do finally land, the hero whose goal took them there is held up by the FBI and the man whose photographs are due to document history is turned back. There may never have been a journey to a World Cup quite like Iraq’s.

“It’s been an experience,” Graham Arnold says. And the 62-year-old Australian coach who led them through it all – the “football nut” who is their other “dad” and gets mobbed everywhere he goes – is adamant that it’s not over yet. “Now it’s time to show the world what we’ve got.” Listening to him, you can’t help but believe it. Not least because he did when no one else would.

Published: June 14, 2026, 9:00 pm

Fifa will not punish Fox for breaking advertising rules during World Cup opener

• US broadcaster overran ads during hydration break

• Broadcasts must return 30 seconds before play resumes

Fox will not face any punishment from Fifa for breaking the governing body’s advertising rules during the opening game of the World Cup between Mexico and South Africa last week.

The US broadcaster broke Fifa’s strict guidelines for showing commercials during hydration breaks on the first occasion they were in operation by returning to the live action 10 seconds after play had resumed during the second half at Mexico City Stadium.

Published: June 14, 2026, 9:43 am

England’s loss is USA’s gain as Pochettino finds a spearhead in Folarin Balogun

Against Paraguay, the Monaco striker provided the ruthless finishing the USMNT have often missed in recent years

• World Cup newsletter | Daily podcast | Download the app

Even after they conceded an early goal on Friday, Paraguay kept affording the United States ample room up the channel. As the ball reached Malik Tillman and Weston McKennie in midfield, their disoriented opponents never quite seemed to know how to station themselves to stem the tide. The US’s off-ball movement further complicated those efforts, dizzying Paraguay’s defense before it could establish an ideal structure.

“I just tried to run in behind,” McKennie said after the US had completed their 4-1 victory. “I think I realized early on that they were struggling to follow my deep runs. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. I keep trying to do it until they figure something out. I was able to find more space than usual, and it was fun. I really enjoyed to get on the ball as much as I did.”

Published: June 14, 2026, 3:00 am

‘You always have it’: Hamilton breaks F1 Ferrari drought but admits he doubted himself

• 41-year-old claims his 106th grand prix victory

• ‘I’ve rebuilt my mind to get back to where I was’

Lewis Hamilton said he feared he had lost the ability to win in Formula One after ending a long wait for success with Ferrari in Spain on Sunday.

The 41-year-old Briton, a seven-time world champion, charged to his 106th grand prix victory at the ­Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona with a flawless drive that capitalised on Ferrari’s pivotal three pit-stop strategy.

Published: June 14, 2026, 1:21 pm

Toyota reclaim crown to reignite Le Mans 24 Hours love affair with race in rude health

Conway, Kobayashi and De Vries added to team’s success, in front of more than 350,000 fans, to go alongside five victories between 2018 and 2022

As the fans walked away understandably a little wearily from the 94th edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours, they had surely earned a sit down in a shady spot and a cold drink or two. Tired but happy, then, after a vingt-quatre that demonstrated the event and the series of which it is part are in rude health.

After the twice-round-the-clock challenge in baking sunshine and through the night with nary a spot of rain, it was the No 7 Toyota TR010 of Britain’s Mike Conway, Japan’s Kamui Kobayashi and the Dutch driver Nyck de Vries who took the flag after 381 laps, just 11 seconds up the road from the chasing BMW. It was a first victory for De Vries and a second for Conway and Kobayashi. There were tears from the Japanese driver in the cockpit as he brought the Toyota home. “I need a beer,” he told the team. He had earned it.

Published: June 14, 2026, 9:00 pm

Real Madrid announce signing of Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella in £52m deal

• Spain left-back completes move on six-year contract

• Cucurella had spoken out against Chelsea hierarchy

Real Madrid have announced the signing of Marc Cucurella from Chelsea in a package worth up to €60m (£52m).

News of the deal emerged on Sunday, with this Spanish club now revealing a six-year deal has been negotiated. “Real Madrid CF and Chelsea FC have reached an agreement for the transfer of the player Marc Cucurella, who will be linked to our club for the next six seasons, until June 30, 2032,” a club statement released on Monday morning read.

Published: June 15, 2026, 2:18 am

Ben Shelton bests fellow American Taylor Fritz in Stuttgart for first title on grass

• Shelton fights back to win third title of season

• Grass specialist Fritz was defending champion

American top seed Ben Shelton beat countryman and defending champion Taylor Fritz 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 to win the Stuttgart Open ATP title on Sunday.

Grass court specialist Fritz had never previously lost a final on the surface. Shelton broke the second seed once in the opening set and once in the third to claim victory in 1 hour 48 minutes.

Published: June 14, 2026, 9:14 am

World Cup 2026: Fifa urged to remove official over hand gesture; teams hit back at Ceferin; Iran arrive in US – live

• ⚽️ Iran’s Taremi says tension ‘undermines joy’

• ⚽️ Player guide | Bracketology | Wallchart | Mail Sarah
  

Sometimes a team needs a player to have some standout performances to jump start a tournament and Jordan Henderson believes that player for England will be Jude Bellingham. Henderson said:

I’m sure he will have a big impact for us in this tournament. I can remember five years ago I gave him his first cap, it was away at Middlesbrough. How much he’s grown, as a player and as a person since then, is incredible really. I had a good idea when I first saw him playing and training, and the way he was.

I think everybody forgets how young he is. We do rondos and it’s the youngest in, and there’s people that I think should be going in before him, but he’s always one of the first in the middle to go in. It just reminds us how young he is. I honestly couldn’t speak highly enough of him.

Published: June 15, 2026, 3:12 am

Henderson’s Euro 2024 snub was England’s fatal flaw – now his leadership could prove crucial

Gareth Southgate was looking to the future when he dropped midfielder but, as Jude Bellingham says, the veteran’s influence is indispensable

The cat is well truly out of the bag. Nobody expected the conversation to be quite so revealing when Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers sat on the Lions’ Den sofa last week. Content controlled by the Football Association was an unlikely place for Bellingham to drop a few truth bombs, but the England midfielder was not minded to hold back when it was time to discuss his experience at Euro 2024.

“It didn’t feel like there was any kind of hierarchy,” the 22-year-old said. “I think at the Euros we got some things a little bit wrong off the pitch. I don’t feel like the group connected as well as it could have – for a number of reasons.”

Published: June 15, 2026, 2:00 am

Two-goal Yasin Ayari combines with Sweden stars to sweep aside error-prone Tunisia

When they picture a messiah, few perhaps imagine a mild-mannered 51-year-old with a greying beard who used to play at left-back for York City. Certainly Chelsea and West Ham fans don’t. But the degree to which Graham Potter is loved in Sweden has to be seen to be believed. He was a down-on-his-luck manager seeking a new start; they were a country who didn’t win a single game in World Cup qualifying. And somehow they were perfect for each other. By the standards of what Potter has achieved over the past nine months, a comfortable win over a self-destructive Tunisia barely registers, but it is the continuation of a remarkable process of renewal.

Sweden were awful in qualifying. They had a lot of injuries, it’s true, but two defeats to both Switzerland and Kosovo and two draws against Slovenia are not usually a route to the World Cup. Jon Dahl Tomasson was sacked as coach and Potter brought in. Sweden’s Nations League performances offered a repechage chance in the play-offs, and they took full advantage, beating Ukraine and Poland to secure their place at the finals. Potter described the latter victory, secured with an 89th-minute Viktor Gyökeres goal, as his best night in football. Sunday night was part of his reward.

Published: June 14, 2026, 9:15 pm

France’s Adrien Rabiot: ‘We all have a role. You have to be humble with that’

The midfielder on providing the balance to allow attacking stars to shine and wanting a fitting World Cup sign-off for Deschamps

France will look a little different this summer. “Naturally, it seems a bit more attacking than usual,” Adrien Rabiot says. “I think it is good because we have the players for it.” Lucas Hernández adds that France have “the best attack in the world” and Rayan Cherki talks about “crushing” opponents at the World Cup.

Rabiot says: “I think that we have one of the most well-equipped teams in an attacking sense. We have real threats from the start but also from the bench and that is very important in a World Cup … it is great to have all of this quality.” If France seem more attacking, it is because they are.

Published: June 14, 2026, 9:01 pm

Nottinghamshire v Somerset, Leicestershire v Essex, and more: county cricket day four – live

Updates from around the grounds
Kent’s revival continues | Mail Tanya or comment BTL

Mostly positive, with sunny spells, though there are some showers moving north and east. At Wantage Road, they’re starting to mop up.

A huge wicket! Joe Clarke is bowled by Jake Ball, who was substituted in half way through the game because of Gregory’s hamstring. Delight for Somerset, despair for Clarke who was done for pace. Notts 51-4,

Published: June 15, 2026, 3:18 am

Socceroos’ Nestory Irankunda reflects on Australia’s stunning win over Turkey – video

Nestory Irankunda said he had to tell Mohamed Touré to relax so he could finish his post-goal celebration after sending the Socceroos to a 2-0 upset victory over Turkey in their Group D World Cup match in Vancouver. Irankunda finished a brilliant end-to-end attack with a goal in the 27th minute, then ran to shadowbox the corner flag like former Socceroos champion Tim Cahill used to do. ‘It was a good goal in my opinion,’ Irankunda said. ‘I had to dedicate the celebration to Tim Cahill’

• Socceroos stun Turkey as Australia’s youngsters shine in opening World Cup win

Published: June 14, 2026, 8:52 pm

Uruguay delayed by plane paperwork as World Cup travel challenges continue

• Bielsa unruffled but Giménez says situation was ‘difficult’

• Initial flight from Mexico cancelled and second delayed

Uruguay’s preparations for their opening World Cup game against Saudi Arabia were severely disrupted after their flight from Mexico was hit by multiple delays.

Marcelo Bielsa’s squad had been due to fly from Cancún to Fort Lauderdale early on Sunday afternoon, but paperwork issues relating to the plane led to their initial flight being cancelled.

Published: June 14, 2026, 8:08 pm

‘We all love him’: Henderson says Bellingham can be England’s X-factor

• Midfielder expects Madrid man to have major impact

• Henderson: ‘He’s a huge player for us in this tournament’

Jordan Henderson says Jude Bellingham is loved by his teammates and will be England’s X-factor at the World Cup.

Bellingham, who is vying with Morgan Rogers to start at No 10 against Croatia on Wednesday, has been the subject of plenty of debate at international level during the past two years. There has been speculation about the Real Madrid star’s relationship with Thomas Tuchel, but Henderson is close with the midfielder and insists there is no issue with his attitude.

Published: June 14, 2026, 7:22 pm

No sleep until 5am: Socceroos’ focus turns to recovery after tiring World Cup travel

• Goalscorer Connor Metcalfe ‘pretty knackered’ after late-night flight

• Socceroos back in Oakland to continue preparations for US game

Socceroos goalscorer Connor Metcalfe admitted he hadn’t had the greatest sleep since Australia’s opening World Cup victory over Turkey.

“It’s crazy to score, to get the win. I mean, you couldn’t ask for a better start, could you?” he said, speaking back at the team’s training base in Oakland barely 22 hours after the historic scenes in Vancouver.

Published: June 14, 2026, 7:01 pm

Côte d’Ivoire 1-0 Ecuador: World Cup 2026 – as it happened

Amad Diallo breaks Ecuador hearts with last-ditch strike as Elephants make winning start in Group E

2 min It’s 90 degrees Fahrenheit. If you prefer Celsius … good for you.

Caicedo sends an ambitious effort well wide, almost as if to send a warning rather than to put something directly on frame.

Published: June 14, 2026, 6:18 pm

Netherlands 2-2 Japan: World Cup 2026 – as it happened

Daichi Kamada scored a late equaliser as two fancied teams flexed their muscles in an entertainiing second half

The New York Knicks’ NBA glory has absolutely nothing to do with the World Cup – but only if you take these things literally. In Manhattan right now, it’s an essential part of the 2026 World Cup story.

On Haiti v Scotland

William MacGregor, 41, from Dumbarton, described the post-goal atmosphere as “bouncing … Drinks were flying everywhere when the goal went in. Not mine, I kept mine.”

Published: June 14, 2026, 3:25 pm

Golden Boot: World Cup 2026 top goalscorers

Who is winning the battle to be top scorer at the World Cup? Live and updated throughout the tournament

The Golden Boot is awarded to the World Cup’s top goalscorer, with assists used as a tie-breaker if two or more players finish level. The 2026 tournament has three former Golden Boot winners taking part: Kylian Mbappé of France (eight goals in 2022), England’s Harry Kane (six goals in 2018) and James Rodríguez of Colombia (six goals in 2014).

Mbappé and Kane are among the pre-tournament favourites to finish top scorer in North America, alongside Norway’s Erling Haaland – making his World Cup debut – and Argentina’s Lionel Messi.

Published: June 15, 2026, 12:33 am

UFC Freedom 250: White House hosts MMA card for Trump’s 80th birthday amid dismal Canada and Obama jibes – as it happened

• Gaethje stuns unbeaten Topuria for lightweight title

• The stratospheric rise of the UFC’s Dana White

• UFC to pay fighters in crypto from Trump company

Donald Trump and UFC president Dana White have now made their entrance, emerging from the White House to a Color Guard from the “military district of Washington” in a scene that feels equal parts campaign rally, state ceremony and fight night. As the Zac Brown Band reaches the closing bars of the Star-Spangled Banner, a rare Super Delta formation flyover by the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds roars overhead, providing a display of American military might to match the scale of the occasion.

The four-man studio desk for the broadcast consists of former UFC champions Dominick Cruz, Chris Weidman and Michael Bisping alongside veteran play-by-play broadcaster Brendan Fitzgerald. Judging by the opening segment, they are also serving as tonight’s department of patriotism, a role embraced enthusiastically by all involved, including Bisping despite the minor complication of being English.

Published: June 14, 2026, 11:22 pm

Sweden 5-1 Tunisia: World Cup 2026 – as it happened

Yasin Ayari shines bright as Graham Potter’s Sweden put on a five-star showing to crush Tunisia

This evening’s match is taking place at the impressive Estadio BBVA, known for the duration of the World Cup as Monterrey Stadium. The 53,000 capacity arena is nicknamed the Steel Giant, and was opened in 2015.

It is famed for its view of Cerro de la Silla, a nearby mountain with a highest peak of almost 6,000 feet. The steep stands and proximity of seating to the pitch will help the atmosphere.

Published: June 14, 2026, 9:25 pm

‘Reeks of corruption’: protesters rally as Trump hosts UFC event on his birthday

Demonstrations took off in Washington and across US as Trump throws first private, for-profit sporting event ever held on White House grounds

Dozens of people stood across the entrance gates to the Ellipse, the park south of the White House, on Sunday afternoon, holding protest signs and chanting as the president prepared to host seven mixed martial arts fights on the lawn.

Thousands of fight fans streamed past the protesters into the sprawling public viewing area that the Trump administration and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), which is hosting the fights, erected steps from the White House. The cage fights, marketed as a celebration of the country’s “fighting spirit” ahead of its 250th anniversary, are being held on Donald Trump’s 80th birthday.

Published: June 14, 2026, 2:54 pm