Sports, in brief

The NBA is in talks to become the majority owner of a new European basketball league, its commissioner Adam Silver said on Tuesday. [1]

The plan is a 16-team league starting in October 2027, with 12 permanent places and four won each season by clubs from domestic leagues and FIBA's Basketball Champions League. [1][3]

The clubs the NBA wants are already inside EuroLeague, which has been Europe's top club competition since 2000 and holds clubs founded a century ago. [1]

Silver said the NBA would be stronger for joining forces with EuroLeague, and then said it does not have to happen. [1]

The NBA has told EuroLeague it will go ahead with or without its support, and Silver wants to start competing in Europe next summer. [1]

More than 20 groups filed final bids in late June, covering all 12 target cities, and several were above $1bn. [3]

Many of the bidders are existing basketball and football clubs, and many of those are EuroLeague clubs. [3]

EuroLeague's owners meet near Milan on 5 October to decide whether to be absorbed or stay out. [3]

If they stay out, EuroLeague's own plan is to close its doors as well: 24 teams, with 21 permanent places from the 2027-28 season. [3]

Its chief executive Chus Bueno says his league is ready to compete alone, and that the NBA needs what the clubs have built locally over 100 years. [3]

An Italian newspaper reported last week that the NBA was exploring an offer to buy control of EuroLeague; The Athletic reported no offer had been made before Monday. [1]

The NBA's deputy commissioner Mark Tatum briefed the club owners on the European plan during their two-day meeting in New York. [2][4]

Why it matters. Watch the vote near Milan on 5 October. If EuroLeague's owners approve 21 permanent places of their own, the NBA will be bidding for clubs that have just been given a reason to stay.

The NBA's next round of bids for a Las Vegas team is due on Thursday and is expected to pass $10bn, the reporter Shams Charania said on Tuesday. [2] Bidders who came in around $8bn were told the number would have to be higher. [5] Silver said T-Mobile Arena, which opened in 2016 and is home to an ice-hockey club, would need significant work, while Seattle could be ready in five weeks. [1] He wants decisions on both cities by the end of the year. [1]

Why it matters. Each of the 30 existing clubs expects a share of the entry money, projected at $500m to $600m a team. [5] That is what the current owners are voting on when they decide who joins.

Adam Silver spoke for the first time on Tuesday about the penalties the NBA gave the Los Angeles Clippers, whose owner Steve Ballmer is banned for a year. [6][7] The club lost five future first-round draft picks and was fined $30m after an investigation found it helped arrange four off-the-books sponsorship deals for the player Kawhi Leonard. [6] Silver said he used the Minnesota Timberwolves, docked five picks for the same offence in 2000, as the precedent. [8] He called the punishment final and said he has no inkling other clubs are doing it. [7]

Why it matters. The NBA later gave Minnesota two of its five picks back, so final has not always meant final. [6] The Clippers had nobody at this week's meeting, because both the people who would normally attend are suspended. [6]

Silver said the NBA found no red flags when it vetted Mark Walter before approving him as the Los Angeles Lakers' controlling owner last year. [9] Two of Walter's companies, Delaware Life Insurance and Clear Spring Life and Annuity, received grand jury subpoenas in February from federal prosecutors in New York, and the US markets regulator is running a parallel inquiry. [9] Walter agreed in August to sell the Lakers to a group led by Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger at a $12.5bn valuation, 14 months after buying them at $10bn. [9]

Why it matters. Silver said the sale was independent of the investigations. [9] The league vets a buyer by asking government agencies and other leagues, which is the process that cleared Walter.

Silver said it would be a failure if the Trail Blazers left Portland, where the club has played since 1970. [10] He also said the Moda Center, their home since 1995, is among the worst arenas in the league by any objective measure and has never had a full renovation. [10] The owner Tom Dundon, who bought the club in March, wants public money for a $600m rebuild. [10] Portland's city council approved $120m towards it last month. [10] The Portland Fire, a women's team, play in the same building. [10]

Why it matters. Portland is being asked for public money by a club that could go somewhere else. [10] Silver said out loud that he does not want it to go.

UEFA, which runs European club football, gave the 2029 Champions League final to Barcelona's Camp Nou and the 2028 final to Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena. [11] It will be the first men's final in Barcelona for 30 years and the third the ground has held. [11] The stadium is still being rebuilt and is due to reach 105,000 seats, up from 99,354. [11] Barcelona's president Joan Laporta pulled the club out of the breakaway Super League in February, and it was readmitted to the European Clubs Association. [11]

Why it matters. Barcelona walked away from the project that threatened UEFA and has now been given UEFA's biggest match. [11] Real Madrid are left alone in pursuing the Super League. [11]

The Premier League released the recording of its video referee deciding Erling Haaland's winning goal in the Manchester derby. [12] Technology put him onside by three centimetres, and the goal was given without asking the on-field referee. [12] Pro Ref, which runs English refereeing, said its officials missed the effect of City's Enzo Fernandez, who ran back from an offside position and distracted a defender. [12] Its head Howard Webb said the video referee got tunnel vision, and two officials were stood down. [12] City's Phil Foden was sent off in the same incident, and Bruno Fernandes was not punished. [13]

Why it matters. Manchester City won the match with ten men. [12] Webb has played the audio back to Manchester United and says the process will be reviewed. [12]

Minnesota became the first American state to pass a law banning prediction markets, the exchanges where people buy contracts that pay out if an event happens. [14] A federal regulator and the companies, Kalshi and Polymarket, sued at once, and a federal judge has paused the law while the case runs. [14] The bill was written after teachers told a state representative that under-age pupils were downloading the apps. [14] Minnesota has never legalised sports betting, and the case is expected to settle whether a state can ban these markets at all. [14]

Why it matters. The same contract works like a bet and is written like a financial product, and which of those two names it is given decides who polices it. [15]

Breach Inlet Capital Management, one of the 20 largest shareholders in the Atlanta Braves, called on Monday for the baseball club to seek bids or be taken private. [16] The Braves and the Toronto Blue Jays are the league's only publicly traded clubs. [16] Its founder Chris Colvin pointed to record prices: the San Diego Padres sold at $3.9bn, the Los Angeles Angels at $4bn this month. [16] He also cited a tax change that could cost the Braves more than $20m from next year in lost deductions on player wages. [16] Breach's shares carry no vote. [16]

Why it matters. Baseball's owners are expected to lock the players out in December, and a long stoppage would cut what a buyer would pay. [16][17]

The 2028 Los Angeles Games could add between $20.5bn and $40.6bn to the region and support up to 224,000 jobs, according to a study released on Tuesday. [18] It was written by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation and commissioned by LA28, the committee organising the Games. [18] It covers five counties and counts about $8.35bn of transport, airport and venue work brought forward because of the event. [18] It expects about 2 million visitors. [18] Los Angeles is not building new permanent venues and is using the ones it has. [18]

Why it matters. The body that needs public support for the Games commissioned the estimate of what the Games are worth. [18] The range runs from one number to nearly double it. [18]

Edgar Grospiron resigned as president of the committee organising the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps, 18 months after taking the job. [19] Vincent Roberti, the committee's director general, was appointed interim president on Monday, after an extraordinary general assembly changed the rules to let him hold both jobs. [19] The head of the International Olympic Committee's commission for these Games said there had been tensions between the people involved. [19] Ice events moved from Nice to Lyon in May after the city's new mayor refused the use of a football stadium as a temporary rink. [19]

Why it matters. The Games are less than four years away and one person now holds the committee's two most senior jobs. [19] The previous director general Cyril Linette left earlier this year citing insurmountable disagreements. [19]

The Asian Games open on Saturday in Aichi and Nagoya in Japan, and organisers are housing about 2,000 athletes and officials in shipping-container huts, with a cruise ship, the Costa Serena, brought in as well. [20] South Korean basketball players complained about the size of the beds. [20] The accommodation manager said improvements were under way and a 24-hour centre would take complaints. [20] Organisers planned for 15,000 people, the number grew as sports were added, and it is now capped at 17,000. [20]

Why it matters. It is the first time a ship has been used to house people at a major event in Japan. [20] Basketball and football are already being played, a week before the opening ceremony. [20]

Max Dowman, 16, scored twice as Arsenal won in the third round of the League Cup, England's second knockout competition. [21] Arsenal have now won all six of their games this season. [21] Their manager Mikel Arteta said the teenager can create moments at 16. [21] Liverpool beat Tottenham 3-1 at Anfield with ten changes from the side that drew with Fulham, Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo scoring before Dominik Szoboszlai's late strike. [21][22] Fulham won 3-2 at West Ham, Brentford won at Reading, and third-tier Peterborough went through on penalties. [21]

Why it matters. This is the competition where big clubs rest their best players, which is how a 16-year-old and a third-tier club end up being the story. [21]

Preston North End, a club in England's second tier, sacked Paul Heckingbottom after losing six of their first seven league games. [23] He leaves with 30 wins, 38 draws and 41 defeats from 109 games, a win rate a little over 27%. [23] His side had been fourth in the division after 26 games last season before falling away. [23] The club's takeover is still unresolved, and a fan writing for the BBC said the uncertainty had made everything worse. [23] Supporters made their feelings heard at Saturday's home defeat. [23]

Why it matters. The manager is the fastest thing a club can change, and Preston changed him while the question of who owns the club is still open. [23]

Only one of the 20 Premier League managers has been at his current club for four years, and only nine have been in the job for a year or more. [24] Half of them have held it for fewer than 200 days. [24] Michael Carrick, appointed by Manchester United in late May, is already longer in post than half the league. [24] Ten managers were sacked during last season and six more left after it. [24] Clubs have moved decisions about signings and squads to executives instead. [24]

Why it matters. Clubs have handed signings and squad decisions to executives, and ten managers were sacked during last season alone. [24]

Drake Batherson signed an eight-year extension with the Ottawa Senators worth $86m, running to the 2034-35 season. [25] It pays an average of $10.75m a year and is the largest contract in the club's history, beating Tim Stutzle's eight-year, $66.8m deal from 2022. [25] Batherson, 28, was drafted and developed by Ottawa. [25] He scored 33 goals with 38 assists in 79 games last season, and had four points in four play-off games. [25] He is the second player in league history to raise his points total in seven straight seasons. [25]

Why it matters. Ottawa's general manager Steve Staios said Batherson was drafted and developed there and wanted to stay long term. [25]

JJ Gabriel has asked to leave Manchester United, and Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich are among the clubs interested. [26] He joined United at nine and became the youngest player to appear and score for them in the FA Youth Cup. [26] He has 31 goals and six assists in 34 youth games, often against older boys, and scored a hat-trick in the youth Champions League last week. [26] United signed 18-year-old Tynan Thompson from Tottenham this summer and are finalising a move for 16-year-old Isaac Konde from Liverpool, both left-wingers in his position. [26]

Why it matters. United bought two teenagers to play where their own teenager plays. [26] He can ask to go because three of Europe's biggest clubs want him. [26]

The USL, the league below Major League Soccer in the United States, voted to share its national income with its men's clubs for the first time. [27] Until now the league collected money from national deals and clubs lived mainly on ticket sales. [27] The agreement runs five years and the share was not disclosed. [27] Money from franchise sales is among the streams to be split. [27] Major League Soccer already pools national income, because its clubs are owned by the league itself. [27]

Why it matters. USL clubs are separately owned, so the league had to be voted into sharing what it used to keep. [27]

Belfast Wolves, a Twenty20 franchise in a new European competition, is building a following while playing every match in Dublin or the Netherlands. [28] Several teams in the competition have no home games. [28] Its owners hope Belfast will host matches next year. [28] Belfast's Stormont ground staged a test match against New Zealand and one-day games against India this summer. [28] A fan-engagement adviser said hype is possible without a home city, but lasting support is much harder without shared experiences in the place. [28]

Why it matters. A franchise can be sold, named and staffed before it has anywhere to play. [28] The supporters are the part that cannot be set up in advance.

Track and field is leaning on athletes and online creators to promote itself, because few athletes have guaranteed salaries and the sponsorship money sits at the top. [29] At the US Open tennis this month, a chair umpire told spectators off for staging a photo shoot while Naomi Osaka was serving. [29] The Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles, who has 1.5 million followers on Instagram, said he winced. [29] Lyles said creators are needed but there has to be a time and a place. [29] World Athletics set aside a day in Budapest for content, away from race day. [29]

Why it matters. The sport is asking people it does not pay to sell it, and then working out where they are allowed to stand. [29]

Wrexham play at West Ham on Friday, their first league meeting in a little over 45 years, and the crowd is expected to pass the club's record attendance. [30] That record is 54,096, set at Liverpool's Anfield in an FA Cup tie in 1970. [30] Since Rob Mac and Ryan Reynolds bought the club in February 2021, opposing clubs have regularly posted their biggest crowd of the season when Wrexham visit. [30] Charlton Athletic drew 24,692 for one such visit in October 2024, about 10,000 above their average. [30] West Ham have 50,000 season-ticket holders. [30]

Why it matters. The documentary about Wrexham is now worth money to the clubs Wrexham play, not only to Wrexham. [30]

Lionel Messi has an agreement in principle to buy Eldense, a club in Spain's second division based in Elda, near Valencia. [31] He bought the fifth-tier club UE Cornella, outside Barcelona, in April. [31] Cristiano Ronaldo bought a quarter of Almeria, in the same second division, in February. [31] People with knowledge of the talks say Messi would take an active part in running Eldense. [31] The club sacked its head coach on Sunday after a winless start to the season. [31]

Why it matters. Messi and Ronaldo now own clubs in the same division, and their teams are scheduled to meet again in May. [31]

Jason Robins, chief executive of the betting company DraftKings, called a magazine article describing his firm as struggling a hit piece, at an event in New York on Tuesday. [32] The article reported a $30m marketing contract awarded to a co-founder who had recently stepped down. [32] DraftKings shares trade below $25 and are down more than half since early 2025. [32] Robins said the business is doing great and that the share price is not something the company directly controls. [32] He said he checks it every day. [32]

Why it matters. The company is pushing into prediction markets while its shares fall, and Robins said the answer is results over time rather than a better story. [32]