Manchester United lose 4-1 at Como, their captain questions the manager's tactics, and Michael Carrick's job is in doubt

The rest of the day

36 more stories on this beat.

Each with its own sources. None of these is a link to the story above.

1. 02

   China end US women's world title run

   China won the women's team final at the world gymnastics championships in Rotterdam on Wednesday, with 165.764 points to the United States' 165.531. [22] It ended a run of seven US world team titles in a row that began in 2011. [22] China went ahead on the balance beam, where Zhang Qingying scored 15.066, the highest mark by anyone on any apparatus. [22] It is China's first world team title since 2006. [23] Japan took bronze, their first world team medal since 1966. [23]

   China165.76

   United States165.53

   Japan164.06

   Why it matters — The top three teams also won places for full teams at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. [24] The US men finished sixth in their own team final on Tuesday, their worst result since 2006. [25]

2. 03

   Arsenal draw at Bayern but lose Saka

   Arsenal drew 2-2 at Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday, and Declan Rice scored their equaliser in the 82nd minute. [26] Bukayo Saka, Arsenal's winger, went off in the 10th minute with an injury to the big muscle at the front of his thigh. [16] Mikel Arteta, Arsenal's manager, said it did not 'look good at all'. [26] Saka missed seven Arsenal games last season with an Achilles injury. [16] Harry Kane set up one Bayern goal and scored the other from a penalty. [27]

   Why it matters — Arteta said a game played man-to-man for 96 minutes leaves players no time to breathe, and pointed to the injuries in Paris the night before. [26] Saka played 49 games as Arsenal won the Premier League last season. [16]

3. 04

   Kvaratskhelia's knee ends his season

   Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Paris Saint-Germain's Georgian winger, ruptured a cruciate ligament, one of the bands that hold the knee together, in Tuesday's 4-2 win over Barcelona. [17] He will need surgery, and ESPN reports he is out for the rest of the season. [17][28] Ousmane Dembele and Marquinhos, two more PSG regulars, also went off injured in the same game. [28] Kvaratskhelia helped PSG win the last two Champions League titles. [17]

   Why it matters — PSG are trying to win a third Champions League in a row and lost three starters in one night. [28] Kvaratskhelia was also one of the contenders for the Ballon d'Or, which is awarded on Monday. [17]

4. 05

   Kane waits for Monday's Ballon d'Or

   Harry Kane, Bayern Munich's English striker, is the bookmakers' favourite for the Ballon d'Or, the yearly award for the world's best footballer. [29] The winner is named at the London Palladium on Monday night. [29] Kane scored 61 goals for Bayern last season and 12 for England. [29] Against Arsenal he even took one of Bayern's goal-kicks himself and sent an 80-yard pass that nearly made a goal. [30]

   Why it matters — Kane said the wait is 'very stressful' for his family, but understands that the organisers keep the result secret so that all the big names attend. [29] Lamine Yamal of Barcelona and Kylian Mbappe of Real Madrid are next in the betting. [29]

5. 06

   Five clubs win all three games

   Real Madrid beat RB Leipzig 4-1 on Wednesday for their third Champions League win in three games. [31] Kylian Mbappe scored again and has 12 goals in 12 games this season. [31] Aston Villa beat Viking of Norway 3-1. [32] Lask, the Austrian champions, came from behind to win at Sporting in Lisbon, their first win of this season's competition. [31] The week's 18 games produced 74 goals, 4.1 a game. [28]

   Why it matters — Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Real Betis and Villa have all won three out of three. [28] Mbappe said every point matters in the race for a place in the top eight. [31]

6. 07

   Yankees sell a slice, keep control

   Hal Steinbrenner, who controls the New York Yankees, said on Wednesday that a $2.6bn deal with Apollo, a private equity firm, is not a step towards selling the club. [14] A league source told The Athletic that Apollo gets 8% now and 16% within four years. [14] Steinbrenner said Apollo has 'zero' say in running the team. [14] Baseball's rules were changed this year to let such firms own up to 20% of a club. [14] Brian Cashman also agreed a new contract as general manager, a job he has held since 1998. [13]

   Why it matters — Steinbrenner said the money gives the family stability into its third generation. [14] He blamed the players for losing in the playoffs to the Tampa Bay Rays, a club with a lower payroll than the Yankees' $341.9m. [13]

7. 08

   Wimbledon's fans vote on an £87m deal

   AFC Wimbledon is owned by its fans through the Dons Trust, which has 6,265 members, and they will vote over four weeks on an £87m investment. [15] Sloane Street Capital, a new firm funded by a technology adviser called Omar Mir, would pay £16m now for about 34% of the shares. [33][15] It would add £71m over five seasons and end up with 90% of the club's economic value, meaning its share of the money. [15] The trust would always keep at least 50.01% of the votes. [15] Ryan Bertrand, a former England defender, would advise on football. [33]

   Investor's share of the money90%

   Fans' share of the votes50.01%

   Why it matters — Fans founded the club in 2002 after the old Wimbledon FC moved 60 miles north and became MK Dons. [15] The deal would keep the fans' veto over the club and its stadium while someone else pays for its growth. [15]

8. 09

   Maryland fire coach, owe him $10m

   Maryland fired Mike Locksley, its American football coach, on Wednesday after a 2-5 start and five defeats in a row. [12] It is the first firing of a head coach in college football's top division this season. [12] Maryland owes him nearly $10m, with $4.9m due within 60 days. [12] His contract has no 'offset', so he keeps the money even if he takes another job. [12] He won 39 games and lost 54 in eight seasons. [34]

   2026$6.40m

   2027$6.70m

   2028$7m

   Why it matters — The university will pay Locksley while it pays whoever replaces him. [12] Last year eight coaches in the top division were fired before 21 October, at a total cost of more than $60m. [12]

9. 10

   Baseball sets its offer price at $23.15m

   Major League Baseball set this winter's 'qualifying offer' at $23.15m, up 5.1% on last year. [35] A club makes the offer to its own player when he is about to become a free agent. [36] The figure is the average of the 125 biggest contracts in the league. [35] If the player turns it down and signs elsewhere, his old club gets an extra draft pick. [36] Only 18 of 157 offers have ever been accepted. [35]

   Why it matters — Offers are due five days after the World Series, while the agreement between owners and players runs out in December. [36] Owners are expected to lock the players out then, and want a salary cap the players' union refuses. [36]

10. 11

    St. Louis win their first trophy

    St. Louis City won the US Open Cup on Wednesday, the first trophy in the club's history. [18] They beat the Columbus Crew on penalties after a 0-0 draw. [18] Their backup goalkeeper, Ben Lundt, saved Columbus's first penalty, after the captain, Roman Burki, was stretchered off with a head injury. [18] The Open Cup, first played in 1913-14, is the oldest competition in American soccer. [37] St. Louis joined Major League Soccer only in 2023. [37]

    Why it matters — The win puts St. Louis into next year's Concacaf Champions Cup against the best clubs of North and Central America. [38] Clubs from the city won the cup ten times, the last in 1988, and the city had waited 38 years for another. [37]

11. 12

    Dream lead Finals in a sold-out arena

    The Atlanta Dream beat the Golden State Valkyries 97-71 on Wednesday to lead the WNBA Finals 2-1. [39] Angel Reese had 21 points and 12 rebounds. [39] The game was moved to State Farm Arena, home of the NBA's Atlanta Hawks, and the Dream sold out its roughly 17,000 seats. [20][40] Their usual home holds 3,500, the smallest in the league. [20] Game 1 drew 2.1 million viewers on NBC and Peacock, the most ever for a first game of the Finals. [19]

    Why it matters — The move gave the Dream about five times as many seats to sell for a home Finals game. [20] Game 4 is in Atlanta on Saturday. [39]

12. 13

    Kanter Freedom leaves over his seat

    Enes Kanter Freedom, a former NBA player, left Game 3 of the WNBA Finals after refusing to watch from a private suite. [41] The Dream and the arena said he had told the authorities and the league that he feared for his safety. [41] So they moved him from the seats he bought to a guarded suite. [41] Freedom said he was banned from his own seats. [42] In August the Chicago Sky banned him from its home games after a row with one of its players. [41]

    Why it matters — The WNBA has no league-wide ban on him, so each arena decides where he can sit. [41] The league's commissioner has told a member of the US Congress that he cannot play in the WNBA because he is a man, after he entered its draft. [41]

13. 14

    Antetokounmpo's Miami debut ends in defeat

    Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 35 points on his first game for the Miami Heat, who lost 131-106 at home to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday. [43] He joined Miami in a summer trade with the Milwaukee Bucks. [43] Anthony Edwards scored 45 for Minnesota. [43] Only Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan had also scored 40 points in more than one season opener. [43] Kawhi Leonard, back with the Toronto Raptors, won his first game 135-92 against the Chicago Bulls. [44][45]

    Why it matters — Twenty-two of the NBA's 30 teams opened their season on Wednesday, many with stars who moved clubs in the summer. [46][45] Pat Riley, who runs the Heat, has hinted they still want another big player. [45]

14. 15

    A teenage record and a long-awaited return

    Cooper Flagg, 19, scored 32 points for the Dallas Mavericks, the most by a teenager in a season opener in NBA history. [47] Dallas still lost 128-110 to the Houston Rockets. [47] Tyrese Haliburton played his first competitive game for the Indiana Pacers in 486 days. [48] He had 23 points and 12 assists in a 123-120 win at New Orleans. [48]

    Why it matters — Haliburton fought back tears and said it 'means a lot to be back out here'. [48] Dallas trailed by as many as 37 points, so Flagg's record came in a heavy defeat. [47]

15. 16

    Warriors look to trade an ill Porzingis

    The Golden State Warriors are exploring trades for one of their players, Kristaps Porzingis, ESPN reported. [49] He has POTS, a condition that makes the heart race on standing up, and is reportedly thinking about his future in basketball. [49] The Warriors said he will not be around the team for now and would not comment on trade talk. [49]

    Why it matters — CBS Sports says Golden State want room in their budget to chase a star in 2027. [49] So a club that takes his contract may ask for something extra in return. [49]

16. 17

    Oosthuizen leaves LIV Golf

    Louis Oosthuizen, the 2010 Open champion, has left LIV Golf and plans to return to the DP World Tour, Europe's main men's tour, in 2027. [50] In September LIV filed for Chapter 11 in the US, a kind of bankruptcy that lets a company keep running while it sorts out its debts. [50] It filed after Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund withdrew its backing. [50] Oosthuizen, 44, was captain of LIV's Southern Guards team. [50]

    Why it matters — He said the schedule of the rebuilt league, 'LIV 2.0', would be hard to manage, and called leaving probably the hardest decision of his career. [50] The BBC called him the latest high-profile player to quit. [50]

17. 18

    F1 races regain full length in 2028

    Formula 1 races will go back to a maximum of 305km in 2028, after being cut to 290km for 2027. [51] The cut came because changes to the engines will make cars use more fuel. [51] Some teams want to keep this year's chassis, the car's main frame, to save money, and the fuel tank inside it cannot be made bigger. [51] The FIA, motor sport's governing body, published the rules this week. [51]

    Why it matters — The engines' power, now split nearly 50-50 between fuel and electricity, moves to 60-40 by 2028, after complaints that the cars reduced the role of driver skill. [51] Only a few races, where fuel use is heaviest, are affected. [51]

18. 19

    Lancashire let Anderson go at 44

    Lancashire will not offer James Anderson, England's all-time leading wicket-taker, a new contract. [52] Anderson is 44 and first played for the county in 2001. [52] He took 50 wickets in the County Championship this year, at 17 runs each, while Lancashire finished second from bottom of the second division. [53] England ended his international career in 2024. [52]

    Why it matters — A new chief executive, Richard Kenyon, and director of cricket, Paul Farbrace, are rebuilding the club. [53] Unless another county or an overseas team signs him, his 26-year professional career may be over. [52]

19. 20

    Australia follow on, then lose by an innings

    South Africa bowled Australia out for 99 in the second Test in Gqeberha and made them follow on. [54] That means batting again straight away, because they were too far behind. [54] It had not happened to Australia in an away Test since 2005. [54] Rain delayed the final day on Thursday. [55] South Africa then won by an innings and 31 runs, though Travis Head made 121 and Scott Boland batted 166 balls. [76]

    Why it matters — The win levels the series at 1-1 before the third Test in Cape Town. [76] A former Australia opener, Simon Katich, said several players are batting for their careers. [54]

20. 21

    Itoje stays at Saracens, and with England

    Maro Itoje, who has played 102 times for England's rugby team, has agreed a new deal with Saracens, reportedly until 2029. [56] French clubs, including Perpignan and Bordeaux, had been linked with him. [56] His previous deal was due to end after next year's World Cup. [56] Staying in England lets him keep playing for his country. [56]

    Why it matters — Brendan Venter, who runs Saracens, said Itoje had agreed terms with the club's owner. [56] Saracens are rebuilding with Venter back in charge for a second time. [56]

21. 22

    Rugby player's death was natural, autopsy finds

    An autopsy has found that Hyron Andrews, a 31-year-old South African rugby player, died of natural causes. [57] He was found dead at his team's hotel in France before a Champions Cup match last weekend. [57] He had a tear in the aorta, the artery that carries blood from the heart to the body. [57] Andrews, a former Sale player, joined the Lions of Johannesburg this summer. [57]

    Why it matters — A tear like this can come from high blood pressure nobody had found, or a defect from birth. [57] His body has not yet been flown home to South Africa. [57]

22. 23

    Allen reveals a 10-week clinic stay

    Mark Allen, 40, a former snooker world number one from Northern Ireland, said he spent 10 weeks in a mental health clinic before Tuesday's match at the Northern Ireland Open. [58] He left the clinic so he could play, and lost 4-2 to his friend Jordan Brown. [58] It was his first match since April's World Championship semi-final. [58] He plans to continue his treatment. [59]

    Why it matters — Allen said World Snooker's chief executive, Simon Brownell, visited him in the clinic. [58] The tour and the sport's governing body said they are supporting him. [59]

23. 24

    The Times withdraws its Infantino pay story

    The Times, a London newspaper, withdrew its report that FIFA had paid its president, Gianni Infantino, a 'second salary' it had not disclosed. [60] The report was about $1.76m paid by FWC2026, the company FIFA set up to run this summer's World Cup in the US. [60] The paper accepted that Swiss rules do not count expenses as pay in FIFA's annual report. [60] FIFA says it paid Infantino 4.8m Swiss francs, about $5.76m, for 2025. [60]

    Why it matters — Infantino faces an election for president next spring. [60] FIFA said there was a 'concerted and ongoing effort' to undermine him. [60]

24. 25

    Huggins' family reveals memory illness

    The family of Bob Huggins, 73, a Hall of Fame college basketball coach, said he has a 'progressive cognitive condition' that is affecting his memory. [61] Huggins won 399 games at Cincinnati and coached West Virginia for 16 seasons. [61] He left West Virginia in 2023 after an arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol. [61] The family spoke as he prepares to join Cincinnati's athletics Hall of Fame this week. [61]

    Why it matters — Huggins won 934 games in four decades as a coach. [61] The family had kept the illness private for several months. [61]

25. 26

    NCAA asks judge to end Elliott's case

    The NCAA, which runs US college sport, has asked a federal judge in Ohio to throw out Ezekiel Elliott's lawsuit over money he could not earn as a student. [62] Elliott, a former Ohio State running back, says the NCAA and the Big Ten conference fixed the price of his name and image at zero. [62] Until 2021, college athletes lost the right to play if they were paid for their name, image and likeness. [62] The NCAA says he waited ten years, beyond a four-year time limit. [62]

    Why it matters — No former player has yet won a case like this. [62] A win would open the way for thousands of former athletes, and colleges could owe large damages. [62]

26. 27

    Emails reveal the college sports bill's backers

    Emails obtained by Front Office Sports show who lobbied for the Protect College Sports Act, a US bill to set national rules on paying college athletes. [63] The campaign ran through Saving College Sports, a group set up by Cody Campbell, a gas billionaire and Texas Tech donor. [63] Its messages reached David McIntosh, head of the Club for Growth, a conservative political group, and an executive at DraftKings, a betting company. [63] The group does not publish who funds it. [63]

    Why it matters — The bill would also protect the NCAA, conferences and schools from antitrust lawsuits. [63] Critics say it limits what athletes can earn and their right to sue, without giving players a seat in setting the rules. [63]

27. 28

    New college powers draw big TV crowds

    Ohio State's 19-15 win over Indiana averaged 10.38 million viewers on Fox on Saturday. [64] It was the season's fourth game above 10 million, and the only one of them without a team from the Southeastern Conference. [64] BYU's win over Notre Dame drew 9.2 million on ABC, the most for a Big 12 game since 2022. [64][65] Indiana's games now average about 6 million viewers. [64]

    Why it matters — Indiana now draws in an average week about what its record regular-season game drew last November. [64] The Southeastern Conference usually tops these lists, and this season newer winners such as Indiana and BYU are drawing the biggest crowds. [65][64]

28. 29

    Softball players ask for a union

    Players in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League, a US professional league in its second season, have formed a union and asked the league to recognise it. [21] A 'supermajority' of its more than 100 players signed union cards. [21] The league owns all six of its teams and pays players in five bands, from $27,000 to $80,000 next season. [21] If it refuses, the players must win a vote run by the National Labor Relations Board, the US agency for workplace disputes. [21]

    Why it matters — Money is arriving: baseball's MLB has invested in the league, and the first game of its championship series drew 732,000 viewers on ABC. [21] One college star earned more than $1m a year at Texas Tech, then took a large pay cut to turn professional. [21]

29. 30

    Team values trail shares since 2022

    Sportico, a sports business site, found that the average team in North America's five biggest men's leagues rose 103% in value since October 2022. [66] The S&P 500, an index of big US company shares, rose 118% in the same four years. [66] Ice hockey's NHL teams gained most, 140%, while baseball's rose 37% and MLS's 32%. [66] The average WNBA team rose 346% in two years, to $428m. [66]

    WNBA (2 years)346%

    NHL140%

    S&P 500118%

    Baseball37%

    Why it matters — Over decades teams have beaten shares because their values almost never fall: an NFL team has grown 14.2% a year since 1996, against 8.4% for the S&P 500. [66] Baseball's slow gain comes as a lockout looms and its local TV channels collapse. [66]

30. 31

    College basketball season opens in Rome

    Notre Dame and Villanova will open the US college basketball season against each other in Rome on 1 November, with men's and women's games. [67] The idea came an hour after Robert Prevost, a Villanova graduate, was elected Pope Leo XIV in May 2025. [67] The Pope turned down Vatican City as a venue but backed the trip. [67] The games are at the Palazzo dello Sport, used at the 1960 Olympics. [67]

    Why it matters — The idea came from John Anthony, an executive at On Location, a ticketing company owned by TKO Group, and Villanova's athletic director. [67] Villanova's president, who has known the Pope for decades, said the Pope was enthusiastic about the teams coming to Italy. [67]

31. 32

    Royal County Down plans eight new holes

    Royal County Down in Northern Ireland, ranked the best golf course in the world by Golf Digest, has asked for planning permission to remodel eight holes of its championship course. [68] The plan includes new tees and a new 5th green. [68] The club says it wants to keep attracting big events, after it hosted the Irish Open in 2024. [68] Work could start in 2027 if the local council agrees. [68]

    Why it matters — The club's planning statement describes the course as a tourism asset, so the changes are about visitors and events as much as golf. [68]

32. 33

    NFL clears Tisch's Giants role

    Roger Goodell, the NFL's commissioner, said on Wednesday the league is 'comfortable' with Steve Tisch taking part in league business for the New York Giants. [69] In February the NFL said it would look at Tisch's links to Jeffrey Epstein, after US Justice Department papers showed regular contact. [69] Tisch and his siblings have moved their shares in the club into trusts for their children, and he stays the Giants' chairman. [69]

    Why it matters — Goodell said the league would look again if new information appears. [69] He also said he is going to Paris for Sunday's game despite the unrest in France. [69]

33. 34

    Mexico's Olympic money fight hits young athletes

    Mexico's Olympic committee and Conade, the Mexican government's sports agency, are fighting over 11.1m pesos for the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, which start on 31 October. [70] The committee says the money did not come before payments fell due on 7 October. [70] Conade says the money was always there. [70] Sponsors now pay 70% of the trip and the committee 30%, and doctors and analysts were cut from the team. [70]

    Why it matters — By law only the committee can enter Mexico's team at the Olympics, but Mexico's federal sports money sits with Conade. [70] Conade now offers to pay the 62 athletes directly, as grants after the Games. [70]

34. 35

    Former Australian sprint champion charged

    Jake Doran, who won Australia's men's 100m title in 2022, has been charged by Queensland police with one count of indecent treatment of a child under 16. [71] He was arrested in Townsville on 13 October and bailed to appear in court on 5 November. [71] Doran, 26, had been training athletes in the city. [71] Australian Athletics, the sport's national body, has banned him from its events and from training while the case goes on. [71]

    Why it matters — The national body acted before any trial, saying the safety of everyone in the sport comes first. [71] It said he has no paid or unpaid role with it. [71]

35. 36

    FIFA bans Egypt's coach over referee criticism

    FIFA, which runs world football, has suspended Egypt's head coach, Hossam Hassan, for three matches for criticising a referee at this summer's World Cup. [72] His brother Ibrahim, who directs the national team, was also banned for three matches. [72] Forward Mostafa Zico was banned for five matches for insulting the referee in a television interview. [72] The Egyptian Football Association asked FIFA to explain the decision before deciding whether to appeal. [72]

    Why it matters — If the bans stand, the Hassan brothers will miss November's Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Malawi. [72] Zico will be out until June. [72]

36. 37

    LSU asks court to end SEC lawsuit

    Louisiana State University asked a court on Tuesday to throw out a lawsuit brought by the SEC, its own conference. [73] Its basketball coach, Will Wade, has decided not to put RJ Luis Jr., a former professional player, on the team. [73] The SEC, the Southeastern Conference, passed a rule against former professional players after LSU offered places to two in August. [73] It sued LSU when the school looked ready to play them anyway. [73] Louisiana's attorney general, Liz Murrill, wrote 'Enough is enough' in Tuesday's filing. [73]

    Why it matters — The SEC had asked the court whether a conference can legally enforce its rules on its own members. [73] LSU's filing asks the judge to dismiss the case but leaves the SEC free to bring a new one. [73]