Sports, in brief

The NBA told its betting partners on Friday to stop offering several kinds of bets this season, in a memo seen by ESPN, The Athletic and CNBC. [1][2][5]

Gone are bets on who scores the first basket or makes the first rebound, assist, steal or block, and on which team wins the opening tip. [3][2]

Firms also may not offer bets on a player missing a given shot. [1][3]

Also banned: 'under' bets on players expected to play less than 12 minutes, and parlays that stack several unders on one player. [1][2] An under is a bet that a player's numbers fall short of a set line, and a parlay joins several bets that must all win. [4][1]

The memo calls the stacked unders 'low likelihood, high payout' bets. [1] CNBC notes that a single player can sway bets like these. [5]

In 2024, a bettor put $80,000 on six unders for Jontay Porter, then a Toronto Raptors player, in one game. [1] It would have paid about $1.1m. [1] Porter left after three minutes. [1]

Porter has pleaded guilty and is banned for life. [3] Prosecutors say Terry Rozier left a 2023 game after about nine minutes in a similar scheme; he denies it. [1][2]

The league can order this because its deals with betting firms let it limit what they sell. [1] It says its partners take more than 99% of US betting. [1][4]

DraftKings and FanDuel, its two official partners, back the change. [3] DraftKings says it already followed many of the limits. [2]

An NBA executive, Scott Kaufman-Ross, said the league stopped short of more bans so bettors would not move to illegal bookmakers. [1]

The rules do not cover prediction markets such as Kalshi, apps that sell bets as financial contracts. [3][6] The NBA has no deal with them, so it cannot easily enforce its limits there. [1]

The league also built an AI system that reads injury reports, social media and betting data to flag strange bets. [5] All players and coaches must attend training led by Charles Tillman, a retired FBI agent. [2][3]

Why it matters. Watch whether the NBA signs deals with Kalshi or Polymarket that let it ban the same bets on their apps. [3] Until then, its rules stop at the firms it has signed. [1]

The NCAA, which runs US college sport, sued Ohio's governor, Mike DeWine, in a federal court on Friday. [11][12] On Tuesday DeWine had ordered that Ohio colleges may let athletes from the high school class of 2022 play a fifth season. [12][14] The NCAA's new rule gives players five years to play five seasons, but it chose to leave that class out. [14] Hundreds of players have sued it since. [14] The NCAA says the order breaks the US Constitution. [13]

Why it matters. The NCAA argues one state cannot hand its own colleges an edge over everyone else's. [11] Ohio's top court is also looking at the order, and wants both sides' arguments by Monday. [12]

Thomas Castellanos, a quarterback at Texas Tech, can play again after a judge granted him an injunction, a court order, against the NCAA. [15] He had first won a temporary order letting him play a fifth season. [15] A judge in Kentucky then cancelled that order, and he missed a game. [15] He is free to play Arizona State on Saturday. [15]

Why it matters. Judges, not the sport, have now decided three times whether he may play this season. [15] The Ohio fight above turns on the same five-season rule.

Hyron Andrews, a 31-year-old forward for the Lions of Johannesburg, died at his team's hotel in France on Friday. [16][17] South Africa's rugby union said he died after a fall. [16][17] The Lions were due to play La Rochelle in the Champions Cup, Europe's top club competition, on Saturday. [17] Andrews played 45 games for Sale Sharks in England before joining the Lions this season. [18] He leaves a wife and two young sons. [17][18]

Why it matters. The Lions said they will still play the match, in his honour. [17] Gloucester's game held a silence for him, and more tributes are planned. [47]

Real Madrid demanded on Friday that Javier Tebas resign as president of La Liga, Spain's top football league, and as vice-president of Spain's football federation. [19][20] Tebas had written that the club's TV channel and management use propaganda methods like those of Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda minister. [19][21] Tebas said he meant the methods, not the ideology. [19] The club called the comparison 'morally repugnant'. [20][21] In September Real had already called for a new league president. [19]

Why it matters. The row began over Real's complaints about referees, which Tebas called a smokescreen. [19] Real say his conduct shows a lack of neutrality that should rule him out of both jobs. [20]

At a meeting in Zurich on Thursday, members of FIFA's council told its president, Gianni Infantino, to scrap his peace prize or keep politicians out of it, the Guardian reports. [22] FIFA, which runs world football, gave the first prize to US President Donald Trump last December. [22][23] The council handed the prize to a FIFA committee to decide its future. [23] The committee reports before the next meeting, in Doha on 16 December. [22]

Why it matters. FIFA's own rules ban political interference in football, one of several reasons members objected to honouring Trump. [22] Infantino is seeking a fourth term as president in March. [23]

Canada beat England 24-21 in women's rugby union in Toronto on Friday, with a late try by Shoshanah Seumanutafa. [25] England had gone 41 matches unbeaten. [25][24] They had not lost since the 2022 World Cup final, against New Zealand. [25] Canada had already drawn 26-26 with England in Exeter in September. [25] The 18,621 fans were a record for a women's match on its own in North America. [25]

Why it matters. Canada were beaten by England at last year's World Cup and spent 2026 preparing for this, their scrum-half Olivia Apps said. [24] The teams meet again in Ottawa on 23 October. [25]

Samoa beat France 78-4 at the men's Rugby League World Cup in Parramatta, Australia, on Friday, scoring 14 tries. [26] Four years ago they won 62-4. [26] All but one of Samoa's squad play in the NRL, Australia's top league, while most of France's play in Super League, the English and French one. [26] France's coach, Laurent Frayssinous, blamed that gap. [26] On Thursday Super League missed the NRL's deadline to agree a partnership. [27]

Why it matters. NRL players who choose to play for Samoa or Tonga have made the World Cup more open. [27] Without a deal with the NRL, Super League's clubs fall further behind. [27][26]

Australia, the women's rugby league world champions, beat Samoa 40-0 in their first World Cup match, in Sydney. [28] Jocelyn Kelleher kicked six of seven goals on her debut at stand-off. [28] It was Samoa's first women's World Cup match since 2008. [28][26] The game came after the men's match, and a number of fans did not stay for it. [26] Australia's coach, Jess Skinner, asked crowds to stay for the women. [26]

Why it matters. Australia are chasing a fourth title in a row, and play England in Perth next. [26]

NBA commissioner Adam Silver told owners last month that a Seattle team is no longer certain, ESPN reports. [32] He also raised Mexico City, where one group has offered to build a team and an arena district. [32] The NBA wants to add teams in Las Vegas and Seattle. [33] Las Vegas bids run to $12bn-13bn with an arena, Forbes reports. [33] Seattle's two bidders, including Samantha Holloway, who owns its ice hockey team, offer much less. [32][33]

Why it matters. New teams' fees are paid out to the 30 existing owners, and ESPN says raising the price is Silver's job. [34][32] Seattle has had no team since the SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City in 2008. [32]

Forbes estimates the average NBA team is now worth $6.1bn, up 14% in a year and 147% since 2021. [34] The Golden State Warriors are top for a fifth year, at $13.5bn, and the New York Knicks second at $12.6bn. [34] Every team is worth at least $4bn. [34] The average team now sells for 13.1 times its yearly revenue, up from 8.6 four years ago. [34] Two clubs, the Lakers and the Timberwolves, agreed new sales in August. [34]

Why it matters. So team prices are rising faster than the money teams take in. [34] The Lakers' two sales have also pushed up what the NBA asks for new teams. [33]

EuroLeague, Europe's top club basketball league, set out a ten-year plan on Friday to grow its value to 7.98bn euros, about $9bn. [35] Its 13 owner clubs all approved it, less than two weeks after rejecting an NBA offer. [35] It plans up to 24 teams, adding them in 2027 and 2031, and says it holds 15 binding offers to join. [35] Only 40% of its clubs now pay their way, it says. [35]

Why it matters. The NBA and FIBA, world basketball's governing body, still plan a rival league in Europe. [35] Fees from new clubs, 1.2bn euros, are a big part of what EuroLeague says it will share out. [35]

Nneka Ogwumike, an 11-time WNBA All-Star, said prediction markets are 'not a safe place for athletes', at a Fortune conference on Tuesday. [6] Prediction markets are apps such as Kalshi and Polymarket that sell bets as financial contracts, which lets them avoid many gambling rules. [6] Their combined trading hit a record $22.2bn last week. [6] In a 2025 NCAA study, more than half of top-level men's college basketball players reported abuse online over how they played. [6] 46% said bettors sent the most threatening messages. [6]

Why it matters. The NBA's new rules add a hotline and a message filter for players, but cannot reach these apps. [1][3] Ogwumike says the abuse can affect how players perform. [6]

Kalshi has signed deals with five Native American tribes in a month to run betting apps under their names, for a share of fees. [8] One is the Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town in Oklahoma, which has fewer than 500 members. [8] Samuel Marshall Jr, who says he leads it, told Front Office Sports he never approved the deal. [8] Kalshi says it holds a signed agreement approved by the tribe's lawyer. [8] The consultant who arranged the deal says a rival, Wilson Yargee, is the rightful leader. [8]

Why it matters. Tribes are split: 145 of them asked the US Supreme Court to take up the fight over sports contracts, and some have sued Kalshi. [8] Kalshi's chief executive says tribal self-rule means different tribes will make different choices. [8]

A network of political groups paid by DraftKings, FanDuel, Fanatics and Bet365 has begun buying ads again before the US elections on 3 November, Sportico reports. [9] One of them, American Future PAC, has spent at least $30,000 on online ads in Alabama, Illinois, Georgia and Maryland since 6 October. [9] Its ads do not mention gambling. [9] The network has received almost $100m from betting firms in a year. [9]

Why it matters. US states set the rules and taxes for online betting, which makes state elections a magnet for the firms, Sportico says. [9] The same firms fund groups on both sides, Democrat and Republican. [9]

Kalshi has asked the US Supreme Court for a month's extension in its fight with states over sports bets, Semafor reports. [7] The question is whether states may treat Kalshi's sports contracts as gambling. [7] Federal appeals courts disagree: one sided with Kalshi, two with the states. [7] The court has until January to pick its cases for this term. [7] The gambling industry's trade group says sport is about 85% of Kalshi's trading. [7]

Why it matters. Until the court decides, states do not know whether their gambling laws cover Kalshi's sports contracts. [7] Kalshi's lawyer called the request routine. [7]

NBA commissioner Adam Silver wants players to wear tracking devices during games, he told CNBC. [10] He said players already wear them 22 hours a day, except when they play. [10] The players' current contract with the league bans them in games. [10] The players' union, the group that bargains for them, worries teams could use the data in pay talks, and says players should own it. [10] Referees tested wrist devices this summer. [10]

Why it matters. Silver said he understands players' worry that data showing them slowing down could be used against them in pay talks. [10] So who controls the data must be agreed before any device goes on court. [10]

Congo's foreign minister, Therese Kayikwamba Wagner, said on Thursday that a Formula One race in Rwanda would 'polish the image of an authoritarian leader'. [36] Rwanda announced this week that it will host a Grand Prix at a new track near Kigali in the early 2030s. [36] Congo, the US and UN experts accuse Rwanda of backing the M23 rebels in eastern Congo, while Rwanda says its forces are there to protect it from armed groups. [36] Congo backs South Africa's bid instead. [36]

Why it matters. Human Rights Watch says Formula One never answered its questions about Rwanda. [37] South Africa's sports minister says his country will still get a race before 2030. [37]

Mark Stewart, 31, won the points race and Anna Morris, 31, the omnium at the track cycling world championships in Shanghai on Friday. [29] Both are British. [29] The omnium is four races, ending with a points race; Morris won it a day after winning the team pursuit. [29] Emma Finucane took silver in the sprint, behind China's Yuan Liying, 21. [29] It was Stewart's first world title. [29]

Why it matters. The medals came days after British Cycling sent home one of its sprinters, Matt Richardson, from the same championships. [30]

A former British Cycling manager, Jack Lindsay, says it has a 'toxic culture' in its leadership. [30] He says his bullying complaint was partly upheld, but nobody apologised or told him of any action. [30] A survey reported by the Times found 31% of riders and staff had seen or met unacceptable behaviour. [30] British Cycling says it takes every complaint seriously. [30] UK Sport, which funds it, has given it 30m pounds for the 2028 Olympics. [30]

Why it matters. Public money pays for the team, so the question is whether UK Sport checks how it is run. [30] UK Sport says its checks are much stronger than in 2017, when a review criticised the sport. [30]

Sonay Kartal, a British tennis player, beat world No 6 Elina Svitolina 6-2 2-6 6-4 at the Wuhan Open in China on Friday. [31] It puts her in the semi-finals of a WTA 1000 event, the level just below the four Grand Slams, for the first time. [31] Kartal missed six months with a stress fracture in her back. [31] She has won six of eight matches since returning three weeks ago. [31]

Why it matters. She used a protected ranking, kept for injured players, to enter top events straight away. [31] Only one British player before her, Johanna Konta, had reached this stage since the format began in 2009. [31]

Spain's football federation rejected Real Madrid's appeal against a four-match ban for their forward Vinicius Jr, The Athletic reports. [38] He was sent off for pulling an opponent's hair, which carries two matches. [38] He got two more for confronting the referee. [38] He will miss the match against Barcelona on 25 October. [38] Real are expected to try Spain's sports tribunal next. [38]

Why it matters. The ban lands in the same week Real accused La Liga's president of working against them. [19][38]

Chicago has asked to host games at the 2031 Women's World Cup, after refusing FIFA's terms for this year's men's tournament, The Athletic reports. [39] The US, Mexico, Jamaica and Costa Rica are the only bidders. [39] It will be the first women's World Cup with 48 teams. [39] Portland has also applied. [39] The bid says the tournament could bring in $4bn, about eight times the 2023 event. [39]

Why it matters. FIFA hopes cities will compete, which lets it ask for better terms. [39] Chicago says it will seek terms that are fair and good value for the city. [39]

Nick Saban, a retired college football coach who now works on TV, said on Friday that a 24-team College Football Playoff is too big. [40] He would back 16 teams. [40] 'The bottom line is money,' he said, because colleges now spend more on players. [40] He wants conference title games kept, as a way into a smaller playoff. [40]

Why it matters. The 24-team plan would end conference title games. [40] The title game of the SEC, a group of mostly southern colleges, alone is worth about $100m, money a bigger playoff must replace. [40]

The NFL took Green Bay's Josh Jacobs and Denver's Jonathon Cooper off paid leave after six games each. [41] Both can play on 25 October. [41] Jacobs pleaded no contest to battery and property damage charges after a domestic abuse arrest in May. [41] Cooper faces five charges after an arrest in June, with a trial in March. [42] The NFL says its own reviews go on. [41][42]

Why it matters. Six games is the NFL's usual first ban for domestic violence, so the leave works like a ban served early. [41] If the NFL suspends them for longer, they may have to pay back wages. [41][42]

Boxer Shakur Stevenson says his 28 November fight with Devin Haney is off. [43] He says Haney agreed to fight at 144 and then 145 pounds, but then insisted on 147. [43] Haney holds the world title of the WBO, one of boxing's main title bodies, at 147 pounds. [43] Each now faces a fight against his title's official challenger instead. [43]

Why it matters. Stevenson says he accepted the fight and has been reasonable on money. [43] He gave his account on X, the social media site. [43]

Two of Jeanie Buss's siblings filed papers in a Los Angeles court on Friday to stop her removing them as trustees of the family trust. [44] Five of the six siblings voted to sell the family's last 17.82% of the Lakers basketball team. [44] Jeanie Buss, the club's governor, voted no. [44] The NBA says a team's governor must own at least 15%. [44] A hearing is set for 8 December. [44]

Why it matters. If the sale goes ahead, she can no longer be the club's governor, a job she has held since her father, Jerry Buss, died in 2013. [44] The buyers, Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger, already agreed to buy most of the club. [44]

Cristiano Ronaldo will earn about $300m this season, Forbes estimates, $250m of it from Al Nassr, his club in Saudi Arabia. [45] Lionel Messi is second, at $145m, and Kylian Mbappe third, at $100m. [45] The ten best-paid players will earn $942m, slightly less than last year. [45] For the first time since the list began in 2005, the Premier League has only one player in the ten, Erling Haaland. [45]

Why it matters. More than half of Messi's money, $75m, comes from business off the pitch. [45] The figures are Forbes estimates, and sponsors are believed to help pay both stars' wages. [45]

Gloucester drew 36-36 with Bordeaux-Begles, the champions, in the first game of the new Champions Cup season on Friday. [46][47] Bordeaux are chasing a third title in a row. [47] Their winger Louis Bielle-Biarrey scored twice. [47] Four Bordeaux players were held at the UK border for four hours because they did not have a valid electronic travel permit. [46] The game began with a silence for Hyron Andrews. [47]

Why it matters. Gloucester lead the English league, and nearly gave Bordeaux their first loss in the competition since April 2024. [47]

Game 4 of baseball's American League championship series between the Cleveland Guardians and the Tampa Bay Rays was rained off on Friday. [48][49] The Guardians lead 2-1. [49] Game 4 moves to Saturday and Game 5 to Sunday, and there will be no travel day if a sixth game is needed. [48] The winner meets the Milwaukee Brewers in the World Series from 23 October. [49]

Why it matters. Losing a rest day forces both teams to rethink which pitchers start which games. [48]