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The Ringer is ready to dive deep into the NFL draft 2025 with big boards, mock drafts and scouting reports that break down player stats and team needs.

The first 18 teams to be eliminated in the Wild Card round draft next, followed by the conference runners up (who pick before the Super Bowl champions). The teams that lost in the Divisional and Conference Championship rounds then choose based on their record.

Cam Ward is a clear top pick because of his talent and situation, but there’s no consensus on the next few players to take. Daniel Jeremiah says Ward’s rushing ability makes him a potentially generational back, while Mike Clay suggests the more elusive Mason Graham is a good fit for an NFL offense with the speed to evade blocks and strength to outlast offensive linemen.

Wide receiver has evolved into a top-heavy position, and this class is no different. Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb and Puka Nacua are all slated for high target shares, and each offers intriguing rushing upside.

The Cleveland TE situation is also as loaded as any in the league. David Njoku finished as the TE6 last season and could be a top-10 option again this year. And then there’s Jordan Reed, who remains a great bet to score touchdowns in the red zone. Identifying trustworthy TD scorers for wideouts is crucial in fantasy, and this article delves into how to find them by studying target distribution, efficiency and more.

Whether they’re yelling at a referee or still mourning Brangelina, every sincere fan carries a little bit of sports celebrity gossip inside them. Fortunately, we’re here to help you sort through the latest from soccer — ahem football — star Cristiano Ronaldo, who’s partied with Paris Hilton and fended off autograph hounds, or surfer Billy Kemper, whose gruesome injury is now a video you can actually watch (and cringe). Also in our daily roundup of sports celebrity gossip: WNBA star Suni Lee and NBA player OG Anunoby make their relationship official, a former world champion wrestler reveals what it’s really like to lose a leg, and Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn talks about her career and groin injury.

But sports celebrity gossip isn’t just about the good and the bad, it’s a way to get people interested in a sport or team that they may not otherwise be. For example, when singer and actress Taylor Swift started showing up to Chiefs games to cheer on tight end Travis Kelce, the team saw a spike in viewership and ticket sales as well as merchandise sales.

Likewise, when rapper Cardi B showed up to WWE’s SummerSlam 2025 as the event’s host, she instantly became a crowd favorite and a source of entertainment for fans. But there’s a fine line between consuming sports celebrity gossip for fun and engaging with it in a responsible manner that supports personal values and promotes healthy societal discourse.

International qualifiers are the tournaments teams participate in to gain the right to compete at a FIFA World Cup. These competitions are held in the years leading up to a World Cup, and are broken down into separate rounds, each with their own rules and structure. The format of qualifiers varies from confederation to confederation. The top teams from each group earn a place in the final tournament, while the second-placed teams enter an inter-confederation playoff to secure the last two spots.

The 2026 World Cup will have a record 48 teams competing, and the qualification process for many of these nations is already well underway. Qualification in Europe began this month, and most UEFA sides who are not involved in a UEFA Nations League campaign will play double-headers until November 2025. Unlike previous qualifying tournaments, the final round of the World Cup will see all groups of four or five teams play traditional home-and-away matches, with “all play all” principles retained. The three group winners will qualify automatically, while the best two second-place finishers will progress to a two-legged play-off in March 2026.

The race to the World Cup is also hotting up in Africa, where a number of sides are in contention for one of nine direct places and a spot in the intercontinental playoffs. DR Congo, Morocco and Algeria lead their respective groups, while Mohamed Salah’s Egypt and Ghana are in strong positions to qualify.

Formula 1 isn’t just a sport – it’s a global business with hundreds of millions of dollars in prize money at stake, and the winning teams and drivers enjoy the best opportunities for lucrative sponsorships and endorsement deals. As such, the results of each season’s races are extremely important – and the battle for supremacy across the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships draws in thousands of fans from all corners of the world.

Across the 23 Grand Prix races and the handful of shorter, preliminary sprint races that form part of the season, twenty drivers, two each from ten teams, primarily score championship points by finishing in the top 10 positions of each race (excluding a few situations where conditional fastest lap times can award bonus points). In addition to these results, a number of other factors can impact a team’s total tally – including key strategies, technical issues and tactical choices.

Drivers earn a maximum of 25 points per race, with the winner awarded ten and second place receiving eight points. The driver who sets the fastest lap in each qualifying session receives an additional five points, and a further five are awarded to the driver finishing in the fastest lap position in the final race of the season.

The team with the most combined points – from both drivers – across the season is declared the constructors’ champion. Since the championship system was introduced in 1958, 12 different teams have won – with Ferrari leading the way with 16 titles, followed by Williams and McLaren with nine each and Mercedes who have won an incredible eight-in-a-row between 2014-2024.

Back in 2021, Tokyo was gearing up for the Olympics, social distancing was a tool used to separate rival fans at soccer grounds and zoom was a sound you might hear from Formula 1 cars. Now, immersive VR and AR fan experiences, new 3D tracking technologies and AI data analytics are driving the future of sports technology.

Athlete safety is another area undergoing major disruptions. Smart helmets such as Guardian Caps and soft-shell helmet covers are helping reduce concussions, while the consolidation of wearable devices with sports tech platforms like Firstbeat Sports is streamlining data analysis. Similarly, scouting and recruiting is getting a boost from predictive analytics tools that help hone in on top talent and identify potential problems with a player.

Enhanced fan experience and event management are other areas benefiting from technological advances. An example is the use of IoT sensors to automate stadium operations. At Germany’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, for instance, automated parking systems rely on license plate recognition to direct drivers and allow touchless entry for pre-registered fans through biometric scanning. At entrance points, facial recognition is being piloted by companies such as Idemia to facilitate security and ticketing checks with the wave of a hand.

Adopting sports technology trends isn’t about investing in every new gadget. Instead, focus on the tools that match your space and budget. For instance, a personalised sports fan engagement app can serve tailored content to attract and retain customers, while an NFT sports collectibles platform unlocks novel micro-transactions and governance perks for fans. Lastly, an omnichannel sports tech platform can enable geofencing and other security solutions to maximize venue operation.

Whether they helped bring down Jose Mourinho, led a march against their club’s owner at Chelsea or pushed back against plans to commercialize the game, fans prove that fan activism is far from a fad. And they’re a force to be reckoned with in the fight for football’s future.

Hundreds of fans gathered outside the Lowry Hotel to block busses that would take Manchester United players on their way to the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan for their LaLiga match against Sevilla. They wanted to show their disgust at the Glazer family, which had taken over their team in January and has already made a number of unpopular decisions.

Change for Tottenham, the group that organized this protest, sold flags and scarves that said things like “Enic Out” and “Built a stadium, killed a club.” Many lifelong Spurs supporters feel alienated by their team’s owners and direction under Enic, which has brought financial growth but also sporting decline.

The protests’ success may have come from the fact that it was a small-scale model of Activism of Care, which encourages fans to express their devotion and protectiveness to fandom figures they love (see the ‘Crazy Fangirls’ section). It also tapped into a sense of community that is often found in football — where fans are seen as one big family. It’s a feeling that can be seen in the love fans have for their teams, and their players.

The Asian Games are an intercontinental multi-sport event for athletes from Asia. They are a very large event that fosters friendship between nations through sports and contributes to world peace, just like the Olympics. The first Games were held in 1951 soon after World War II, and the number of participants has continued to grow to 45 member nations.

The Aichi-Nagoya Organising Committee has launched a new website dedicated to the 2026 Asian Games. The site contains information regarding the Aichi-Nagoya Games, including competition venues and schedules, competition rules and regulations, and ticketing info. It also includes a detailed map of Nagoya city and Aichi prefecture, highlighting the competition venues in both areas.

Aichi-Nagoya Organizing Committee to formulate comprehensive transport plan

The Organising Committee of the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi Prefecture and Nagoya City has published a press release announcing the commencement of a thorough study on transportation routes for the Games. The aim of the study is to provide a convenient, efficient and safe transport system that enables spectators to reach all competition venues easily, even during the peak periods of the Games.

AINAGOC and the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) have confirmed the list of 41 sports to be contested at the 2026 Asian Games. Five squash events, including men’s and women’s individual and mixed doubles, have been added to the roster following a successful debut at Hangzhou 2023. Cricket will make its return to the Asian Games after a century-long absence, while MMA has been classed as a medal sport and will feature six events.

Combat Sports offer a unique blend of physical challenge, mental discipline and strategic depth. They have been a part of human culture for centuries and continue to fascinate. From Muhammad Ali’s ‘Thrilla in Manila’ to Conor McGregor’s knockout victories or Ronda Rousey’s ground-breaking dominance, these iconic moments transcend sport and become cultural touchstones inspiring and capturing generations of fans.

The practice of combat sports teaches athletes to anticipate and effectively counter opponents’ movements, control their bodyweight and use strength efficiently. This enables them to effectively protect themselves and their loved ones against potential threats. Successful athletes of combat sports have an enduring appeal and inspire others to pursue their dreams, building self-confidence and a belief in personal capabilities that can be used to navigate life’s challenges.

While boxing holds the reigns as the most popular combat sport, other disciplines such as Muay Thai and wrestling are gaining in popularity. Muay Thai is a striking-based art that uses punches, kicks and elbow and knee strikes. It also incorporates footwork and defensive techniques. Wrestling is a traditional Olympic-recognised sport that utilizes grappling techniques to control and pin opponents. It is taught on a tatami (padded surface) and has a formal grading system.

The emergence of MMA in the 1990s has encouraged a cross-training of styles that has increased fighter effectiveness. As a result, those with striking-based martial arts backgrounds have become more competitive as they add techniques from grappling-based arts such as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and catch wrestling.

The World Series was born in 1905 and has become one of the most famous events in sports. The most memorable moments from this storied competition are the ones that make the biggest impact and leave lasting impressions on fans. These highlights include a series-ending grand slam, an unfathomable play and a startling call.

After losing Game 1 to the Dodgers, the Yankees needed a huge win in order to keep their hopes alive for a repeat. In a must-win situation, the Yankees took advantage of some great defensive plays and came away with a 4-2 victory.

This was a highly anticipated match-up between the two best teams in baseball, and the game lived up to the hype. The game was back and forth throughout the entire affair, but the deciding factor was Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the 10th. The slam marked the first time a team won a Game 7 with a walk-off grand slam and only the second such grand slam in World Series history.

This moment encapsulated the entire World Series and stands out as one of the most significant in MLB history. It’s also one of the greatest individual performances in sports, and it was arguably the biggest home run ever with the season on the line. The play started with Eckersley getting the first two outs. He then walked Mike Davis, who was playing with an injured foot from his injury in the NLCS. But, instead of sitting out the rest of the game, Gibson pinch-hit and promptly blasted a home run into the right-field upper deck, inspiring iconic pronouncements by the era’s most recognizable broadcasters, Vin Scully and Jack Buck.

Whether you’re cheering on the top seeds in Arthur Ashe Stadium or hoping to witness an upset, the US Open is known for thrilling matches that can last late into the night. The tournament also draws a diverse crowd that loves to watch the sport’s greatest players in action. The 2025 US Open has an expanded 15-day schedule that allows fans to enjoy more match time and gives players a longer rest between rounds.

During the day, fans can see marquee matchups on center court and at the outer courts. This year, the US Open is adding a second women’s doubles session in the evening to give spectators more opportunities to watch the sport’s biggest stars.

In addition to watching the action, the US Open will have a number of activities that will be fun for families. Kids can have fun at the US Open Block Party, watch tennis legends team up in doubles matches, or take part in free Arthur Ashe Kid’s Day.

The US Open is the fourth and final Grand Slam event of the year, and it’s usually the most difficult of the four to win. Winning the US Open gives players several privileges that can help them secure their place among the sport’s elite.

The US Open takes place at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, New York. This facility has 22 outdoor courts that include four “show courts” (Arthur Ashe Stadium, Louis Armstrong Stadium, and the Grandstand) and 13 field courts. All of the main courts are lit, which enables match play to continue after dark.