The Open 2018: third round – live!

Tour de France 2018: stage 14 – live!

Russia’s World Cup was great – now get behind the women at France 2019 | Marta

Hot on the heels of the successful men’s tournament comes the showpiece event for the women’s game – ample opportunity to demonstrate how much it has grown

Usain Bolt’s football dream keeps on running but reality fails to keep pace

The Jamaican sprint star was linked to a trial with A-League side Central Coast Mariners but once again the hype machine overtook both sporting and financial considerations

Gosford is a small town with big ambitions. Nestled on Australia’s central coast about 50 miles from Sydney, it has a population of fewer than 4,000 but is the commercial and administrative centre of the region. It has an art gallery and a historic harbour, a classic car museum and the “entertainment hub” of Mann Street. There is a A$650m plan to regenerate the centre and Gosford is twinned with both a ward in Tokyo and a city in western Slovakia. This week it was also the centre of the sporting universe. Well, almost.

Naby Keïta: ‘As a child, I played in the streets wearing a Liverpool shirt’

The midfielder idolised Steven Gerrard while growing up in Guinea – now he has taken on his No8 shirt and has made an immediate impact

Ewood Park on Thursday night and it is not only updates on Alisson’s world-record move to Anfield that is enthralling thousands of Liverpool fans in the Darwen End stand. The second-half performance of Naby Keïta against Blackburn Rovers suggests that for Liverpool and Jürgen Klopp here is another high-profile transfer worth the wait.

Yes, it was a pre-season friendly against Championship opposition and judgment should be reserved. But early impressions count. Within minutes of his introduction the captain of Guinea freed Daniel Sturridge behind the Blackburn defence with a slide-rule, diagonal pass. His composure on the ball, distribution and movement impressed throughout.

Trump says NFL players who kneel for anthem shouldn't play – or be paid

• President ‘can’t believe’ NFL anthem debate remains in play
• Trump proposes two-step punishment for players who kneel

President Donald Trump is once again inserting himself into the culture war over protests by NFL athletes during the national anthem.

'You want to make sure you get it right': Baseball's big plans for London

MLB is already at work to ensure next year’s London series between the Yankees and Red Sox is as authentic as possible

Jermaine McGillvary hat-trick leads Huddersfield comeback at Castleford

• Castleford 18-32 Huddersfield
• Giants continue fine run of form under Simon Woolford

When the final curtain comes down on this Super League season in October, it remains unlikely that Huddersfield will be anywhere near the closing acts: but that does not make this story of the Giants’ mid-season revival any less remarkable.

Simon Woolford arrived in the country only in late May but from what has been seen since his appointment as Huddersfield coach it is not unrealistic to expect his name to be among the end-of-season honours list when it comes to coach of the year, even if the play-offs is beyond this side.

Greg Rutherford set for emotional farewell to London Stadium

• Long jumper hindered by ankle pain before Anniversary Games
• ‘I haven’t trained since Monday,’ 2012 Olympic champion says

Tiger Woods toils in the rain but can still aim for the sky at the Open

The former world No 1 did not cut a happy figure but a second even-par 71 means he cannot be ruled out at Carnoustie

It was a foul day in Carnoustie, the kind that makes the locals crack jokes about the Scottish summer. This was the weather you remember from family holidays, the sort you stay out in only if you can fool yourself into thinking it is not all that bad. Tiger Woods suffered the worst of it, and it looked like he was trying to persuade himself he was enjoying it, too.

Woods never seems like he is having all that much fun on the course. He might smile when he has made a birdie but otherwise he makes golf look a grim and serious business. On Friday he was scowling like a man who has run for the bus then found out he has not got the fare.

Riyad Mahrez makes first Manchester City appearance in defeat by Dortmund

• Manchester City 0-1 Borussia Dortmund (Götze 28)
  
• Guardiola: ‘The players did very well and I am so satisfied’
  

The Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, was happy with his side’s display against Borussia Dortmund despite the 1-0 defeat in Chicago. Mario Götze scored the only goal of the pre-season match from the penalty spot after Oleks Zinchenko had brought down Christian Pulisic.

The majority of Guardiola’s squad are on holiday after their World Cup exploits but new signing Riyad Mahrez made his first appearance for the club against the Germans in a youthful lineup.

Sandy Lyle signs off with a lump in his throat and plans for Royal Portrush

• Scot made 42 consecutive appearances at the Open
• ‘If I win Seniors Open next week, then I’ll be back again’

Sandy Lyle signed off with a birdie at the 18th after holing a swinging 20ft putt that in effect drew a line under his Open career after 42 consecutive appearances in the world’s oldest major.

The Scot, Open champion at Royal St George’s in 1985, when he won by a shot from the late Payne Stewart, was emotional at the end of his round and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket to wave to the crowd before pretending to dab away a tear. “I was on cloud nine walking down the 18th,” he said. “It’s quite a spectacular view to come down there. I managed to stay away from crying but there was definitely a lump in my throat.”

Manchester City investigate if newly jailed sexual abuser had links to club

• William Toner jailed on Friday for indecent assault
• Toner claimed he scouted for City’s junior system

Talking Horses: Calett Mad the best bet for Summer Plate at Market Rasen

Nigel Twiston-Davies’ six-year-old looks good value at 9-1 while Magic Wand should benefit from a fast surface in the Irish Oaks

This is one of those Saturdays when the Flat racing in Britain lacks an outstanding feature race, so the betting interest may instead gravitate to Market Rasen, which stages a typically compelling Summer Plate. The very versatile Calett Mad (3.15) looks one to stick with on a sound surface at odds of 9-1.

Nigel Twiston-Davies had him in handicap chases at the age of four and he fared well that winter, going down by just a head at Ayr’s Scottish National meeting. He had a productive time over hurdles last season but should now, aged six, be able to improve on his old chasing form and take a hand here.

Chess: Russia opt for unconventional methods in hunt for top grandmasters

Moscow to concentrate on older players, rather than the prodigies favoured by other nations, in their attempts to restore their Soviet-era dominance

It is now more than a decade since Russia’s almost unbroken 59-year monopoly of the world chess crown was ended, so Moscow is trying hard to develop new talents who can challenge Norway’s Magnus Carlsen. But its method is controversial, relying on older teenagers and players in their 20s rather than the prodigies who have emerged from other leading chess nations.

After Mikhail Botvinnik won the world championship in 1948, he held the title with short breaks for 15 years and was succeeded by other Soviet and then Russian players – Tigran Petrosian, Boris Spassky, Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov and Vlad Kramnik. Only the brilliant surge of Bobby Fischer in 1970-72, which climaxed in Fischer’s victory over Spassky at Reykjavik 1972 in the most famous of all chess matches, disturbed the pattern. Fischer did not play a single competitive game during his three-year reign before defaulting his title to Karpov.

Pragmatic Rory McIlroy plays Open conditions to stay in contention

• World No 8 shoots second consecutive 69 at Carnoustie
• ‘I was trying to be aggressive, I just couldn’t do it’

Rory McIlroy virtually had the putting green to himself as he finished off the preparations for his second round, striding purposefully after a couple of long ones and then a medium-length attempt before he joined his caddie and they headed off for the 1st tee. He looked as if he meant business.

It was just after 7.45am, light rain had started a couple of hours earlier and there was room to spare in the stands surrounding the tee-box as he hammered his drive down the right-hand side of the fairway, a good 100 yards beyond those of his playing partners, Marc Leishman and Thorbjørn Olesen, who both opted for irons.

Boston Celtics assistant said to have taken bribes while head coach at Penn

• Jerome Allen ensnared in bribery case, Bloomberg reports
• Celtics assistant alleged to have taken bribes while at Penn
• Allen, 45, was head coach at Penn from 2009 through 2015

Maurizio Sarri aims to lighten the mood at Chelsea after Conte era | Jacob Steinberg

Maurizio Sarri spoke in Italian in his first press conference but got his message across – and he could make a refreshing change at Chelsea if given time

When Claudio Ranieri first arrived in the Premier League, he caused a minor stir because of his inability to speak to the media in English. “Ranieri finds trouble in translation” was the headline in the Guardian after Chelsea lost to Everton in November 2000, which goes to show how tough it was for the affable Italian during his early days as an outsider in a strange and suspicious country.

Dustin Johnson fights his own game until Carnoustie lands knockout blow | Kevin Mitchell

The world No 1 cut his power but struggled for precision and a double bogey at the last left him sure to miss the cut

It is usually all or nothing for Dustin Johnson. After an opening day when Carnoustie intimidated a few, seduced others and encouraged the usual suspects, the nervous dance towards the cut on a Friday that brought rain, wind and more frustration to the 147th Open proved too much for the No 1 player in the world.

It is odd to see such a magnificent athlete with all the required weapons swing violently between triumph and failure but his game is so finely tuned that, if it is marginally off, it can knock like an old banger. On day one, Johnson was a Rolls Royce with a spark plug missing. On day two, he charged and crashed. Four bogeys and a double cancelled out five birdies in a second-round 72 that will not save him from the axe.

Hockenheim hiccup for Hamilton would puncture Mercedes optimism

Lewis Hamilton’s new contract gave Mercedes a timely boost but Ferrari are functioning with a sharpness that has exposed and exploited their rivals’ weaknesses

India’s Rani Rampal: ‘My parents refused to let me play hockey because I was a girl’

It has been quite a journey to the pinnacle of the game for Rani Rampal, who will captain India against England in the opening game of the World Cup in London on Saturday

Standing on the banks of the Thames, Rani Rampal has tears in her eyes. With the Hockey World Cup starting on Saturday, we are at a photoshoot with all 16 captains, but in a quiet corner away from her rivals the Indian captain is reflecting on the journey that has led her to London.

We’re talking about her first coach, Baldev Singh, and these are good tears, the ones that creep up on you when laughter and goosebumps aren’t enough as she remembers the barriers that inadvertently helped her to become a genuine superstar of the game: at the age of 23 she is already a veteran with 134 goals in 212 international appearances.

Sophia Dunkley: ready to use Women’s Super League to claim England spot

The Surrey Stars all-rounder has been training with the national team and is hoping the new season will secure her a call-up

When the third edition of the Kia Super League gets under way at Guildford on Sunday, there is one player for whom there will be more than just the trophy at stake.

For 20-year-old Sophia Dunkley, who represents Surrey Stars, it is the opportunity she has been waiting for finally to stake her claim on an England place. “It’s about making a name for myself and getting a bit more noticed,” she says. “If I’m able to put in a few good performances, it would help massively.”

Newcastle transfer impasse goes on as Benítez and Ashley play waiting game | Louise Taylor

The manager wants to sign players, the owner is holding back the cash – it’s a familiar tale at St James’ Park yet the stubbornness of both could see them last another season

It is never too early for a crisis at Newcastle United. Sure enough, tensions are already rising alarmingly as Rafael Benítez enters the final year of his contract against a backdrop of acute transfer market parsimony on the part of the owner, Mike Ashley. Meanwhile the club’s internecine politics are capable of making the Brexit machinations seem an innocent playground squabble. Given that Newcastle are in profit on summer transfer dealings, Benítez is predicting a looming relegation battle. He had envisaged having around £45m to spend but has now been told he must sell to buy.

Ander Herrera defends David de Gea after goalkeeper’s World Cup struggles

• Goalkeeper criticised during Spain’s World Cup campaign
• ‘He is the best keeper in the world; he will show it again’

Ander Herrera has defended David de Gea by saying the Manchester United goalkeeper was criticised during Spain’s World Cup campaign because of his world-class status.

Transfer window 2018 – every summer deal from Europe's top five leagues

All the moves in the top leagues of England, Spain, Italy, France and Germany as well as club-by-club guides for all the ins and outs this summer

How pipping Messi to the Puskas Award saved Wendell Lira’s life | Thiago Rabelo

Brazilian footballer was struggling to feed his wife and daughter and contemplating killing himself when a call changed his life

Maybe Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and James Rodríguez do not have any idea where exactly their Puskas Award given by Fifa is these days. For them the trophy is just one more to go in the cabinet which already has the Champions League medals and many other more important prizes. But this is not the case for Wendell Lira, who won the Fifa prize for the best goal of the year in 2015, his twisting bicycle kick for Goianesia in their match against Atletico-GO beating a Lionel Messi goal for Barcelona into second place. Lira says the Puskas Award saved his life.

Before being nominated Lira was living a dilemma. He was unemployed and did not know how to find money to feed his wife and daughter. As a lower league player he was part of the terrible statistic in Brazil, where 82% of footballers earn less than $250 a month.

Aston Villa receive 'significant investment' from billionaires

• Nassef Sawiris is estimated to be worth £5.2bn
• Wes Edens is the co-owner of Milwaukee Bucks basketball team

Aston Villa will receive “significant investment” from NSWE, a company controlled by billionaires Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, the Championship club have announced.

The club’s owner, Dr Tony Xia, engaged in talks with the Egyptian group, eventually agreeing to a co-ownership model. Xia will remain on the board at Villa Park and become co-chairman.

Gary Neville and Salford City accused of trying to 'steal' Football League place

• Accrington Stanley owner Andy Holt criticised Salford
• The fifth tier side reportedly doubled Adam Rooney’s wages

Salford co-owner Gary Neville has been accused by Accrington owner Andy Holt of attempting to “steal” a place in the EFL after the Vanarama National League newcomers signed Adam Rooney from Aberdeen.

Striker Rooney left last season’s Ladbrokes Premiership runners-up on Thursday to join Salford for an undisclosed fee, with it reported that he will be earning £4,000 a week. And later in the day there was a tetchy exchange between Holt, whose side won Sky Bet League Two last term, and Neville on Twitter.

Juan Mata rescues Manchester United from opening pre-season defeat

• Club América 1-1 Manchester United
  
• Mata spares José Mourinho’s blushes in 78th minute
  

Opening pre-season games are often soporific affairs and Manchester United’s 2018-19 edition was no different.

Before a sparse crowd of 37,660 that was markedly below the University of Phoenix Stadium’s 63,400 capacity, José Mourinho’s men ended with a draw courtesy of Juan Mata’s late strike.

Alisson completes Liverpool move in world-record £65m deal from Roma

• Brazil international is world’s most expensive goalkeeper
• Player passes medical and signs six-year contract

How Alex Ferguson snatched Roy Keane out of Blackburn’s hands | Rob Smyth

The midfielder became one of Manchester United’s greats but he had almost signed for Kenny Dalglish’s team instead

Historic moments usually have an epic quality. But sometimes all it takes to change the world is for a few office staff to get that Friday feeling. Exactly 25 years ago – in the summer of 1993 – the world of football changed for ever because the admin team at Ewood Park clocked off on time. If somebody had stayed late in the office, Roy Keane would have become a Blackburn Rovers player. Instead, Alex Ferguson was given the chance to oversee one of his most important injury-time winners.

The 100 best footballers in the world 2017

Our panel of 169 experts from 63 nations compile a list of the greatest male players in 2017. Click on an individual to read more about their year.

Denis Ten in action: figure skater who won Olympic bronze – video

France parade World Cup in Paris as fans welcome heroes home – video

Thousands of fans welcomed their heroes home as France paraded the World Cup trophy following their triumph in Russia

Macron dabbing and crowds roaring: France crowned World Cup champions – video

France are World Cup champions 2018 after an exhilarating 4-2 victory over Croatia. Didier Deschamps's side proved too much to handle for Croatia as they produced a stunning display. Fans took to the streets to celebrate outside the Eiffel Tower and Champs-Élysées, whilst French president Emmanuel Macron celebrated with the team inside the dressing room. 

French players invade Didier Deschamps's press conference - video

After France's victory over Croatia in the World Cup final, many of the players invaded their manager's press conference, chanting his name and showering him with drinks

Pussy Riot claim responsibility for World Cup final pitch invasion - video

The Russian protest performance group 'Pussy Riot' has claimed responsibility for invading the pitch during the World Cup Final in order to bring attention to Russia's lack of political competition and police impunity

Police and football fans clash in Paris after France's World Cup victory – video

Minor clashes between French police and football fans have taken place in Paris after France beat Croatia 4-2 in the World Cup final. Thousands of fans partied on Paris' Champs-Élysées to celebrate the victory but some fans could be seen throwing projectiles towards police, resulting in teargas being used

Determining whether FH Hafnarfjardar play 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 | The Fiver

Sports quiz of the week: Cristiano Ronaldo, Anthony Joshua and the Open

Who swapped shirts? Who returned? And who waved goodbye?

Football transfer rumours: Gonzalo Higuaín to join Chelsea?

Today’s prattle moves with a purpose and it is so magnificent

We start with the big breaking gossip that Stoke will have to pay £10m if they want to take Tom Ince from Huddersfiel-

Ach, let’s try that one again.

Spectacular cricket catches, Ronaldo at Real Madrid and Le Tour hits Pau | Classic YouTube

This week’s roundup also has Larry Bird, skateboarding, Franco Baresi and Paul Pogba, motivator and celebrator supreme

Who has won the World Cup and European Cup in the same year? | The Knowledge

David Squires on … France's World Cup win and a final look at Russia 2018

Our cartoonist on Les Bleus’ triumph in Moscow and the controversy, drama and farce that surrounded it

Women’s Super League kicks off … before all six teams are kicked out | Tanya Aldred

With eight new teams set to step in, grounds such as Bristol may soon be stripped of top-class women’s T20 action

The Fiver | Yep, this is the comedown

Laura Muir: ‘I would have a lot easier life if I didn’t say stuff’

The Scottish runner has caused a stir in athletics by repeatedly calling for tougher drug testing but is not tempted to stay quiet

“Twenty-six seconds! 27, 28, 29!” On this Monday afternoon in St Moritz, 6,000 feet up in the Swiss Alps, it is not only the Instagram-perfect views or the altitude that rips the breath away. Watching Laura Muir grind out multiple sets of 200 metres in under 30 seconds, with only half a minute to recover and refill her lungs, has a similar hypoxic effect. Finally after the 10th repetition her coach, Andy Young – part speaking clock, part drill sergeant during the session – calls time. Muir barely notices. Her head is slumped somewhere between her knees, trying to suck up the thin mountain air.

The Hundred’s mania to be different makes it grimmer by the minute | Vic Marks

Five-ball overs and 10 balls from the same end make the ECB’s new competition ever less wanted as cricket thrives in the sun

More leaks have dribbled out about The Hundred, the proposed one-day tournament that will take over the prime weeks of the cricket season in 2020. The advent of five-ball overs, which reduces the length of the game – as does the notion of bowling two overs consecutively from the same end, which could be delivered by the same bowler – may excite broadcasters concerned about the game disrupting their schedules but not many others.

Sam Warburton was a coach’s dream and will be an enormous loss to Wales | Paul Rees

The youngest player to captain a side at a World Cup has called it a day at 29

Trump’s Turnberry trip shows golf to be most presidential thing about him | Andy Bull

The US president’s love of the game keeps up the rich relationship between the Oval Office and 18 holes of escapism