The Spurs can match the Knicks’ energy in the NBA finals but not their desperation | Chuck D

As a lifelong Knicks fan, the Public Enemy frontman knows how much New York craves an end to its 53-year NBA title drought

I didn’t see the Knicks win their second championship in 1973 because I had to go to bed.

That night, the Knicks beat the LA Lakers, but clinching game was on the west coast and it was a school night. I couldn’t watch it. I was 13 and in seventh grade. Back then things were different. Today, 13-year-olds stay up to 5am. But I had to go to bed.

Chuck D was talking to Jacob Uitti.

Published: June 10, 2026, 2:00 am

Hayes describes ‘experience I will never forget’ as Brazil given eight red cards in loss to USWNT

• Wilson sparks winner as US beat Brazil 1-0

• Players and staff for Brazil handed eight reds

• Riot police surround match officials

United States manager Emma Hayes said she had “an experience I will never forget” after her side’s bad-tempered 1-0 win over Brazil in Fortaleza saw the home team handed eight red cards.

Brazil head coach Arthur Elias and three members of his staff were dismissed towards the end of the second half before police in riot gear surrounded the match officials on the pitch at full-time after further flashpoints.

Published: June 10, 2026, 4:53 am

Staal’s belly-flop winner lifts Hurricanes past Vegas to level Stanley Cup final

• Staal scores twice as Carolina level Cup final

• Hurricanes beat Vegas 5-3 in Game 4 thriller

• Series shifts to Carolina tied at two games apiece

Jordan Staal scored his second goal of the game while stretched out on his stomach at 6:32 of the third period to put the Carolina Hurricanes ahead for good in their 5-3 victory on Tuesday night over the Vegas Golden Knights and even the Stanley Cup final after four games.

Game 5 is Thursday night at Carolina, which will potentially have two games on home ice to win their first Cup in two decades. The Golden Knights are searching for their second in four years.

Published: June 9, 2026, 8:05 pm

Nick Kyrgios ‘thrilled to be back’ after first singles win in 15 months

• Australian downs Corentin Moutet 6-3, 6-4 in Stuttgart

• Unranked Kyrgios winds back clock in straight-sets win

Nick Kyrgios has kickstarted his latest comeback with a straight-sets win over world No 36 Corentin Moutet in the first round of the ATP event in Stuttgart.

The Australian, once ranked No 13 in the world, had not played a singles match since appearing at the Brisbane International in January, when he lost in 66 minutes to world No 58 Aleksandar Kovacevic.

Published: June 9, 2026, 8:03 pm

Serena Williams makes winning return to tennis with victory in Queen’s doubles

• 44-year-old victorious alongside partner Victoria Mboko

• Pair win 7-6 (2), 6-2 over Melichar-Martinez and Routliffe

At the most tense moment of Serena Williams’s comeback to professional tennis, the score uncertainly balanced at 5-5, 30-30, an audience member could no longer hold her tongue. Her voice booming across all corners of Andy Murray Arena, she shouted: “Come on Serena, come on Victoria. You got it!” From the stands, a sneering spectator responded by stating that he did not understand a single word of those cheers.

Williams, however, understood perfectly. She nodded warmly towards the fan, then she stepped up to the baseline and fired down a 120mph service winner en route to a decisive hold.

Published: June 9, 2026, 11:52 am

At the NBA finals, the Very Important President showed his favorite sport is status

Donald Trump arrived at the Knicks’ biggest night in 27 years hoping to cement his status and power in his hometown. But the fans had other ideas

On Monday night, the most powerful man in the world crashed a citywide celebration 27 years in the making and almost shut it down, with barricades around midtown Manhattan, security lines outside Madison Square Garden and agents wanding Victor Wembanyama as if the San Antonio Spurs phenom were a threat off the court as well as on it. And when Donald Trump finally arrived for his grand entrance, it was in a half-mile-long motorcade. Anyone taking in the scene couldn’t help but ask the quintessential New York question: who does this guy think he is, some kind of big shot?

At this point in Trump’s presidency, it’s fair to wonder if he got into politics for the free tickets. On a night when he could’ve been dealing with far more pressing issues – soaring living costs, war with Iran, a global economy under strain – Trump flew to New York expressly to watch the Knicks play host to their first NBA finals game since he started making noises about running for office someday; he evidently couldn’t turn down the game after being invited by “numerous people.”

Published: June 9, 2026, 6:47 am

Meet Cooper Lutkenhaus, 17, the phenom who became 800m world champion while at school

Track and field’s youngest world champion on ‘wanting to change the sport’ and his admiration for Napoleon

We are in living in the era of teenage super talents. On Saturday, Mirra Andreeva won the French Open at 19. Spain’s Lamine Yamal, at 18, is one of the favourites for the World Cup’s golden ball. Then there is Cooper Lutkenhaus, the 17-year-old American already making the world’s best athletes gasp for air and reach for superlatives, who may yet prove the best of the bunch.

True, it is early days. But Lutkenhaus is already track and field’s youngest world champion, having won 800m indoor gold in March. On Sunday, he added to his CV with victory against a top-class field in his first Diamond League race. But it was what his rivals said afterwards in Stockholm that left the deepest mark.

Published: June 9, 2026, 12:00 am

Miles Russell, 17, qualifies for US Open with Tiger Woods’s son Charlie as caddie

• Pair are friends and will play golf together at college

• Tournament will start at Shinnecock Hills next week

Miles Russell was among two 17-year-olds who earned a spot in the US Open on Monday. Still to be determined was whether Russell brings his caddie from the 36-hole qualifier – the son of three-time champion Tiger Woods – to Shinnecock Hills next week.

Russell, the No 10 amateur in the world, survived a bogey on the first playoff hole and grabbed the fourth and final spot from the Florida qualifier. Charlie Woods is one of his close friends who has the same commercial agent and is following Russell to Florida State to play college golf.

Published: June 9, 2026, 6:39 am

Meet the philosopher-in-training who will be at the VAR monitor this World Cup

Joe Dickerson is one of North America’s best referees, but he’ll be off the field in a high-pressure position when the World Cup begins

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Joe Dickerson never set out to be a referee. As a player, he was told that reffing would be to make money on the side, learn responsibility, and – more pertinent to his team – learn the sport and begin to understand it on a granular level.

Those early assignments in the San Jose area have blossomed into a career that saw Dickerson honored as US Soccer’s male referee of the year in 2025. All of it has been driven by his ability to drill into details – something he’ll be doing a lot of as a VAR official in the replay booth for this summer’s World Cup.

Published: June 9, 2026, 9:30 am

World Cup 2026 news: latest from the camps; protesters block road to Azteca; Messi’s scoring return – live

• News and buildup as World Cup countdown continues

• Player guide | Bracketology | Wallchart | Mail us here

The US isn’t the only World Cup host where politics and football are colliding messily, albeit that they’re being handled more sensitively. There have been protests in Mexico, where a demonstration blocked an avenue leading to Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium for hours on Tuesday, AFP reports.

Teacher protests in the capital have been ongoing and thousands took part in Tuesday’s protest, which was led by a breakaway group of the CNTE union following a week of demonstrations that President Claudia Sheinbaum has called a “provocation.” “As if to say, ’Look at how bad the situation is in Mexico,’” she told a press conference.

Published: June 10, 2026, 6:32 am

World Cup 2026: Guardian writers’ predictions for the tournament

From marvelling at teenage wonderkids to tracking the world’s largest coffee pot, our team of writers outline their expectations for the jamboree in North America

Spain and Portugal in the final, with Spain winning. I’ve played our Bracketology game 20 times and gotten 20 different paths but Spain always end up winning. Alexander Abnos

Published: June 10, 2026, 6:17 am

Exciting transfer window will only exacerbate women’s football’s wealth gap

Alexis Putellas leads a host of stars expected to arrive in the WSL but smaller clubs will still struggle to keep pace

The whistle has blown on the 2025-26 season for the vast majority of women’s teams around the world, and attention now turns to the hullabaloo of the transfer window and another summer of rising wages, transfer fees and agents fees.

This summer’s activity is likely to see the gap between the haves and the have-nots widen further. Last summer there was an 83.6% increase in global spending on transfer fees in women’s football year-on-year, according to Fifa. This included headline-grabbing moves such as London City Lionesses’ £1.43m purchase of Grace Geyoro from Paris Saint-Germain, , albeit London City have denied the figure is that high, and Arsenal’s landmark first £1m deal – the signing of Olivia Smith from Liverpool.

Published: June 10, 2026, 6:06 am

Omar Artan given hero’s welcome in Somalia after referee’s US entry blocked

• Artan deemed a threat to national security by US officials

• ‘I promise you that I will attend the next one’

The World Cup referee from Somalia who was denied entry to the US arrived on Wednesday in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, where he was received by a crowd of supporters and officials.

Omar Artan was due to be the first referee from Somalia to officiate at a World Cup after making Fifa’s final list for the tournament. He is one of Africa’s top referees and was named the continent’s best male referee in 2025.

Published: June 10, 2026, 1:11 am

David Sullivan’s contact with West Ham women’s and youth teams restricted since 2023

‘Temporary agreement’ in place since Football Association safeguarding investigation began three years ago

David Sullivan has faced restrictions on his contact with West Ham’s women’s and youth teams since 2023 because of a safeguarding investigation.

The Football Association began an inquiry three years ago after receiving a complaint, which the Guardian understands involves an allegation of sexual misconduct unrelated to football.

Published: June 10, 2026, 2:40 am

DR Congo World Cup 2026 team guide

Sébastian Desabre’s group has a clear collective identity but star forward Yoane Wissa will shoulder huge expectations

This article is part of the Guardian’s 2026 World Cup Experts’ Network, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 48 countries who qualified. theguardian.com is running previews from three countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 11 June.

Published: June 10, 2026, 12:00 am

Folarin Balogun is the USMNT’s focal point, whether he’s getting touches or not

The Monaco striker’s impact on the US attack will vary depending on how the team builds up, and where that buildup happens

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Some strikers are gregarious personalities who ensure attention even when they struggle. Folarin Balogun prefers to speak softly and maintain a healthy goalscoring record. The 24-year-old has still been making himself known to his country of birth – he was born in New York but raised in London – after committing to the US over England and Nigeria. This past season, he finished fourth in Ligue 1 scoring with 13 goals, priming him for an emergent World Cup on home soil.

Balogun’s recruitment was closely monitored by US fans, desperate for a dependable goalscorer.

Published: June 10, 2026, 3:00 am

Mexico and a history of playing in repeat World Cup opening fixtures | The Knowledge

Plus: a national first for Madrid and have Everton supplied the most former managers to World Cup 2026?

• Mail us with your all of your questions and answers

“The opening match of the year’s World Cup is Mexico v South Africa,” notes Matt Reilly. “This was also the first game of South Africa’s World Cup in 2010. Is this the first time that an opening match of a World Cup has featured the same two teams as a previous tournament? If not, what is the most common opening fixture of a World Cup?”

The hosts South Africa drew 1-1 with Mexico in the opening game of the 2010 edition. Siphiwe Tshabalala put them ahead with a spectacular goal before Rafael Márquez scored a 79th-minute equaliser. The two sides will meet again at the Azteca on Thursday.

1950 Brazil 4-0 Mexico
Ademir 2, Jair, Baltazar

1954 Brazil 5-0 Mexico
Baltazar, Didi, Pinga 2, Julinho

1962 Brazil 2-0 Mexico
Zagallo, Pelé

Published: June 10, 2026, 12:00 am

Surrey v Hampshire, day four: county cricket news and updates – live

Updates from the final day’s play at the Oval
Day three report | Mail Tanya or comment BTL

With dancing feet, Lawrence pushes into the offside to reach another fifty – off just 35 balls. He’s averaging an incredible 80.88 at the moment, with four hundreds. And every time he has reached fifty this season, he’s gone on to three figures. Hampshire might just have to grin and bear it.

Sibley and Lawrence are very eager between the wickets now – the 50 partnership comes up in a rapid 53 balls and, with another quick single, there’s another fifty for Sibley – his second of the season, to go with his two centuries.

Published: June 10, 2026, 6:41 am

Will the BBC score an own goal by broadcasting the World Cup from Salford?

Football’s staying home for the belt-tightening Beeb, while ITV and Gary Lineker’s popular podcast present from glitzy studios in New York

It is the biggest World Cup in history, and perhaps the most unpredictable. How will England and Scotland fare in the heat? Who drew Curaçao in the office sweepstake?

And, crucially, will anyone notice that the BBC is broadcasting this giant sporting spectacle from 4,000 miles away in Salford?

Published: June 10, 2026, 12:00 am

‘We will play on for you, Dad’: Neale Daniher’s family pay tribute to AFL great at state funeral

Prime minister and governor general join family and football greats to remember the life and achievements of the Australian football legend and MND crusader

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Neale Daniher was best known as an AFL legend and motor neurone disease crusader but his family have used his state funeral to remember him for his laugh, sweet tooth and love of music.

The 2025 Australian of the Year died on 25 May aged 65 after a 13-year-long public battle with MND, which he dubbed “the Beast”. On Wednesday, more than 5,000 mourners clad in blue beanies gathered at the Melbourne Cricket Ground for his state funeral.

Published: June 9, 2026, 11:33 pm

England 3-0 Ukraine: Women’s World Cup qualifier – as it happened

England will need to go through the playoffs after finishing second in the group despite easing their way past Ukraine

ITV are not particularly interested in this game, they have spoken about Friday night for about 15 mins. Look forward, folks.

Sarina Wiegman: “Every game you don’t win, it hurts. Friday was a hard one because we didn’t create any momentum.

Published: June 9, 2026, 2:02 pm

Bukayo Saka is playing through pain barrier, says Tuchel, as World Cup looms

• Arsenal forward still struggling with achilles injury

• ‘Bukayo is just not there yet. Some things are missing’

Bukayo Saka continues to play through the pain of an achilles injury, according to the England manager, Thomas Tuchel, and must be managed carefully as the start of the World Cup looms large.

The Arsenal winger joined up with the England squad in West Palm Beach on Saturday after being given an extra week off after his involvement in the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain. Tuchel gave a similar break to his other Arsenal players Declan Rice, Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke.

Published: June 9, 2026, 2:00 pm

Wembanyama condemns apparent attacks on Spurs fans in New York during NBA finals

• Videos show Spurs fans having jerseys ripped off

• Players from both teams say incidents are unacceptable

Players from both teams in the NBA finals have condemned apparent attacks on San Antonio Spurs fans by supporters of the New York Knicks.

Videos circulating on social media showed Spurs fans having their jerseys ripped off on the streets of New York in the aftermath of the Knicks’ loss in Game 3 of the finals at Madison Square Garden.

Published: June 9, 2026, 12:46 pm

World Cup 94 chief Alan Rothenberg: ‘We wanted Whitney Houston on the pitch but Fifa said no’

The man in charge the last time the US hosted the World Cup marvels at the transformation of football in America over the last 32 years

The Super Bowl-style half-time show curated by Chris Martin for the World Cup final will not be to everybody’s tastes, but one octogenarian American will have a wry smile on his face when Madonna and Shakira walk out on to the pitch at MetLife Stadium next month.

In his role as chair and chief executive of the 1994 World Cup, Alan Rothenberg wanted Whitney Houston to perform on the pitch at the final at Pasadena’s Rose Bowl, only to be overruled by Fifa, who insisted that the singer stay on the sidelines.

Published: June 9, 2026, 12:00 pm

Knicks fans: share your reaction to the NBA finals

We would like to hear from fans in New York and around the world about their reactions to the Knicks’ performance in the NBA finals

The New York Knicks are leading the NBA finals 2-1 against the San Antonio Spurs, much to the excitement of fans across the world. It’s their first appearance in the playoff finals since 1999, when they lost the best-of-seven series to the very same Texas team.

We would like to hear from New Yorkers and Knicks fans, both in the state and around the globe, about how they’re feeling in this current moment. With the Knicks doing so well after so long, how are you celebrating? Are you still optimistic despite the Spurs’ close win in Madison Square Garden on Monday? How are you feeling about the future?

Published: June 9, 2026, 8:24 am

Knicks coach Mike Brown angry over foul calls after Game 3 loss: ‘Never thought I’d see that’

• Spurs had 24-8 free-throw advantage in second half

• Towns: Officiating didn’t cost us the game

• New York have 2-1 lead in NBA finals

Knicks coach Mike Brown had harsh words for the officials about what he characterized as inconsistent foul calls in New York’s 115-111 loss to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 3 of the NBA finals.

The Spurs took 24 free throws to the Knicks’ eight in the second half Monday night at Madison Square Garden. Fourteen of San Antonio’s attempts came in the third quarter, when New York took just three. In the final period, frustrations boiled over: the Knicks were whistled three times in the opening 64 seconds, and within three minutes they were in the bonus.

Published: June 9, 2026, 7:54 am