Sports, in brief

Brisbane Lions play Fremantle on Saturday in the Grand Final of the AFL, Australia's top league for Australian rules football, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. [3]

About 100,000 people are expected, and Brisbane are trying to win the title for a third year in a row. [3]

Fremantle, from Western Australia, joined the league in 1995 and have never won it. Their only other Grand Final, in 2013, was lost to Hawthorn. [3][4]

Lachie Neale, Brisbane's star midfielder, was given a one-match ban for punching Hawthorn's Jack Ginnivan in the stomach during last Saturday's preliminary final, one of the two matches that decide who reaches the Grand Final. [1][2]

Greg Swann, who runs football at the AFL, said there had been ten punches like it this season, and every one ended in a one-week ban. [1]

A new rule this year lets a player with a clean record argue for a fine instead. It had been used once, for Collingwood's Scott Pendlebury in March. [1][2]

Neale had never been banned in 15 years. On Tuesday night the tribunal still refused to use the rule for him, after a hearing of four and a half hours. [1]

The tribunal's chair, Jeff Gleeson, said Neale's evidence did not match the video. He also said Pendlebury's charge was careless rough conduct, while Neale's was a deliberate strike. [1]

Brisbane's last chance is the AFL appeals board on Thursday afternoon. The club must show an error of law, or a punishment that is plainly too harsh. [1]

One ESPN writer said the ban must stand whatever match it lands on. Another said the same punch would have been a fine last year. [5]

Neale is widely expected to leave Brisbane after the season and join Collingwood on a three-year deal. [2]

Why it matters. Watch the appeals board on Thursday. If the ban stands, Brisbane chase a third title in a row without Neale. If it is cut, the clean-record rule will have saved a player for the second time this season. [1]

Manchester United, one of England's biggest football clubs, reported record income of 677.6m pounds for the year to June on Wednesday. [9][11] It still lost 43m pounds, up from 33m pounds a year earlier and its seventh loss in a row. [11][12] The main reason was 69.6m pounds of finance costs, which the club blamed mostly on losses from exchange rates. [9][10] Its wage bill fell to 302m pounds, the lowest in six years. [9] It expects 740m to 760m pounds this season, now that it is back in the Champions League. [11]

Why it matters. Most of the debt dates from the Glazer family's takeover in 2005, which was paid for with borrowed money. [9] The club also spent 63.5m pounds of new borrowing on land for a new stadium, while fans complain the squad got too little. [10]

Barcelona, the Spanish champions, said on Wednesday that their income last season reached a club record of 1.06bn euros. [14] That is 66m euros more than the year before. [14] Only Real Madrid, their biggest rival, had passed one billion euros before, according to the consulting firm Deloitte, which ranks clubs by income. [14] Barcelona still made a loss of 18m euros, and expect a very small profit this season. [14]

Why it matters. Manchester United expect to join them this season. [8] Sportico, a sports business site, counts only Real Madrid, Barcelona, the Dallas Cowboys and the Los Angeles Dodgers as teams that had passed a billion dollars in a year. [8]

Democrats on the US House Judiciary Committee told The Athletic this week that FIFA has not handed over the records they asked for. [35] In July, Jamie Raskin, the committee's senior Democrat, asked Gianni Infantino, FIFA's president, for all of FIFA's contacts with President Trump, his government and his family's company, the Trump Organization. [35] A committee spokeswoman said FIFA's cooperation was woefully inadequate. [35] Democrats are the minority in the House, so they cannot force Infantino to appear. [35]

Why it matters. FIFA, which runs world football, made about 15bn dollars from this summer's World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada, Raskin's letter said. [35] Infantino is so far the only candidate in FIFA's election in March, and challengers have until 18 November to come forward. [35]

Formula One, the FIA, which governs motor racing, and the teams agreed to cut grand prix races from 305km to a maximum of 290km from 2027. [15] That removes two or three laps, about five minutes of racing. [15] This year's engines take about half their power from a battery, so drivers sometimes slow down on purpose to recharge it. [15] Next year the split moves towards fuel, and the cars would need more fuel to finish a full-length race. [15]

Why it matters. Shorter races mean teams do not have to redesign their cars for bigger fuel tanks, which would cost millions one year into the rules. [15] Fernando Alonso said this week the new engines ruined several tracks, and he is still discussing the rules, and his future, with F1's bosses. [16]

Nick Daicos, a 23-year-old Collingwood midfielder, won the Brownlow Medal, the AFL's award for the season's best and fairest player, on Monday night. [6] He polled a record 47 votes, beating the 45 that Patrick Cripps set in 2024. [6][7] The umpires cast the votes, and this year they were allowed to look at match statistics for the first time. [6] Daicos had been the favourite four years running. [6]

Why it matters. Bailey Smith of Geelong was second with 36 votes and Marcus Bontempelli of the Western Bulldogs third with 34. [7] Daicos also said he hoped Brisbane's Lachie Neale, expected to join him at Collingwood, would win his appeal and play on Saturday. [2]

The Minnesota Lynx trailed the Indiana Fever by 29 points on Tuesday, and their coach Cheryl Reeve rested her starters for the whole second half. [18] They lost, but still took the WNBA's top seed later that night, when the Golden State Valkyries lost in overtime to the Portland Fire. [18][19] The top seed means home court through all of the playoffs. [22] The playoffs begin on Sunday 27 September. [23]

Why it matters. Olivia Miles, the Lynx rookie who leads the team in points and assists, missed the game with a calf injury, and her coach said she is a game-time decision on Thursday. [18] The Lynx will open against the eighth seed, either the New York Liberty or the Dallas Wings. [22]

The Atlanta Dream beat the New York Liberty 95-84 in New York on Monday. [20] Jordin Canada scored 19 points, and Angel Reese had 18 points and 10 rebounds. [20] The result ended the Liberty's chance of a top-four seed, so they will start the playoffs away from home. [20][21] The top four host the first and, if needed, third games of each best-of-three first-round series. [23]

Why it matters. The Liberty brought back their three biggest stars and added Satou Sabally this season, and now have to win the title the hard way. [21] Atlanta take fourth place, and home court, by beating New York again or if Indiana loses. [22]

The Chicago White Sox lost at least 100 games in each of the last three baseball seasons. [24] On Tuesday they beat the Kansas City Royals 14-11 to reach 81 wins and 76 losses. [24] A win on Wednesday plus a Texas Rangers loss would clinch at least a wild-card place, one of the spots for good teams that did not win their division. [24] They are one game behind Cleveland in their own division. [24]

Why it matters. Four White Sox players hit home runs on Tuesday, including Munetaka Murakami, and the team has won all nine games this season in which it hit four or more. [24] Texas are three games behind them for the last American League place. [24]

The Philadelphia Phillies planned a playoff celebration on Wednesday and lost 4-1 to the Milwaukee Brewers instead. [26] It was Milwaukee's 99th win, the best record in the National League. [26][28] The Phillies and the Chicago Cubs are level at 87-71 in the wild-card race, one game behind San Diego. [26] The Cubs had lost 8-2 in 12 innings to Miami on Tuesday, with one hit in 18 chances with runners in scoring position. [25]

Why it matters. The Arizona Diamondbacks kept their own slim chance alive by winning again on Wednesday. [26] Four days earlier Pavin Smith, who Arizona dropped from its roster in July and sent down to its minor-league team, won a game against the New York Yankees with a home run in the ninth. [29]

Zack Wheeler of the Philadelphia Phillies struck out the first seven Milwaukee batters on Tuesday, and 11 in all, in a 6-4 win. [27] It took him past 2,000 strikeouts in his career, the 96th pitcher in Major League history to get there. [27] No Phillies pitcher since 1900 had struck out the first seven batters of a game. [27] The record is nine, held by Pablo Lopez. [27]

Why it matters. Wheeler thanked the catchers and coaches who had helped him get there. [27] The win took Philadelphia to the edge of a playoff place, which they then failed to clinch a night later. [26]

The Los Angeles Dodgers were due to bring Shohei Ohtani back from the injured list on Wednesday, their manager Dave Roberts said. [28] Ohtani had knee, arm and neck problems in the second half of the season. [28] In mid-September he went on the list for the first time as a Dodger. [28] Roberts said that if Ohtani had been a five out of ten, he was now an eight or a nine. [28]

Why it matters. The Dodgers had already won their division and were chasing a first-round bye. [28] A bye would give Ohtani and several other injured players almost a week of rest before their first playoff series. [28]

Aaron Donald, three times the NFL's defensive player of the year, played his first game in more than two years on Monday night. [30] The Los Angeles Rams beat the New York Giants 28-6, and Donald made three tackles, one of them behind the line. [30] He said afterwards that the game was not as fast as he had expected. [30] He had come out of retirement to rejoin the Rams. [30][31]

Why it matters. The Rams had lost their opening game badly, and their other stars returned to form around him. [31] Next they play the Denver Broncos. [30]

The Philadelphia Eagles signed Zach Ertz, 36, to their practice squad, the group of spare players a club keeps on hand, on Monday. [32] Their tight end Dallas Goedert sprained a knee ligament on Sunday and is expected to miss several weeks. [32] Ertz was drafted by the Eagles and last played for them in 2021. [32] He tore a knee ligament late last season and spent the summer unsigned. [32]

Why it matters. He is expected to play against the Chicago Bears in the Eagles' next game. [32] In 2024 he caught 66 passes for the Washington Commanders, who reached the NFC Championship game, one step from the Super Bowl, for the first time since 1991. [32]

The NFL's 20 highest-paid players will earn 1.07bn dollars this season, 7% more than last year, according to Sportico. [33] The top 15 are all quarterbacks, and 17 of the 20 are. [33] Patrick Mahomes of Kansas City leads for a second year, with 88.8m dollars including 32m from sponsors and businesses. [33] Baker Mayfield of Tampa Bay jumped from 20th to fourth. [33]

Why it matters. Only three players who are not quarterbacks made the list: Micah Parsons, Travis Kelce and Charles Cross. [33] Money from outside football makes up only 16% of the total. [33]

Christian Eriksen, the Danish midfielder, left the German club Wolfsburg by agreement on Wednesday, with a year left on his contract. [34] In June his heart starter, an implanted device that corrects dangerous heart rhythms, shocked him during a Denmark friendly against Ukraine, and he collapsed. [34] He walked to the ambulance and has not played since. [34] The device was fitted after he suffered a cardiac arrest at the European Championship in 2021. [34]

Why it matters. Eriksen, 34, said it is important for him to be close to his family in Denmark. [34] Wolfsburg are trying to win their way back into the Bundesliga, Germany's top division. [34]

JJ Gabriel, a 15-year-old forward, has asked Manchester United in a formal letter to release him, a club he has been with since he was nine. [36] Real Madrid have been working on signing him for months, and Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich are also interested. [36] FIFA has strict rules on transfers of players under 18. [36] Madrid want him to start in their reserve team. [36]

Why it matters. Some in the game think United may be losing a future 100m-pound player. [36] The split began when he was picked for the under-19s rather than for the first team's Champions League game the same day. [36]

Esteban Ocon, who drives for the Formula One team Haas, said on Wednesday that he is a free agent for 2027. [17] He has scored three points this season to his teammate Oliver Bearman's 18. [17] Rafael Camara, 21, a Brazilian in Formula 2, the series below F1, is seen as the favourite for the seat. [17] Red Bull confirmed that Isack Hadjar will stay alongside Max Verstappen next year. [17]

Why it matters. Most teams are keeping their drivers, so Ocon may be the first big move of a quiet year. [17] A seat at Cadillac may be the only one left open to him. [17]

Germany and Britain reached the Davis Cup Final 8, the last stage of tennis's men's team competition between countries, on Sunday. [37] Alexander Zverev, the world number two, beat Croatia's Dino Prizmic 6-2, 6-4 to seal a 3-1 German win in Halle. [37] Britain beat Ecuador 3-0 when Henry Patten and Neal Skupski won the doubles. [37] The final eight meet in Bologna, Italy, in November. [37]

Why it matters. Zverev won both the US Open and the French Open this year, and still played for his country in September. [37] Prizmic was ranked more than 100 places below him. [37]