Sports
Japan coach takes responsibility for Wataru Endo going home
Japan’s Wataru Endo, left, works with his team during practice at Geodis Park in Nashville, Tenn., on June 8, 2026. Two days after Japanese captain Wataru Endo withdrew from the World Cup due to an ankle injury, his coach Hajime Moriyasu told reporters that he took responsibility for the decision.
Following his withdrawal, Endo announced his retirement from international competition altogether.
Moriyasu spoke with the media through an interpreter on Saturday, saying it was ultimately his responsibility.
“As the head coach, I was the one who made the final decision,” Moriyasu said.
The 33-year-old Liverpool midfielder had been dealing with an ankle injury that required surgery in February. Endo was hoping to be fit for the competition in North America, but experienced discomfort and played only the first half in a May 31 tune-up friendly against Iceland.
“I’d been receiving reports from the medical staff. During the game with Iceland, he was not able to perform on the pitch for a long time,” Moriyasu added. “We had him try as best as he could and also had the medical staff looking after him. We discussed that throughout the World Cup, it may be difficult for him to perform for the entire period of the games, therefore I made the final decision looking at his condition.
“It felt really bad for me to give him such a message. Of course, it’s impossible to know exactly how he felt or know what his thoughts were, but he was very understanding and respectful and we could maintain our good conversation in a cool manner.”
Japan open Group F play against Netherlands on Sunday in Arlington, Texas.
Endo has scored four goals in 73 caps for Japan since his 2015 debut with the national team. He helped the team reach the Round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
“As announced, I will be stepping away from the World Cup squad,” Endo wrote on social media earlier in the week. “With this campaign, I will be retiring from the national team. So from here on, I’ll be cheering for the Japan national team as one of the fans.
“The moment when the Japan national team wins the World Cup will surely come some day. Let’s believe in that and cheer them on together.”
Shuto Machino, a striker for Bundesliga club Borussia Monchengladbach, replaced Endo on the 26-man World Cup roster.
Japan will also face Tunisia on June 20 in Guadalupe, Mexico, and Sweden on June 25 in Arlington, Texas.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Denny Hamlin grabs NASCAR Cup pole at Pocono Raceway
Jun 13, 2026; Long Pond, Pennsylvania, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin (11) during practice and qualifying for The Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images It’s been a recurring theme in the NASCAR Cup Series in recent weeks. Denny Hamlin is out front.
The veteran driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota claimed his fourth Busch Light Pole position of the season Saturday afternoon at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway and will lead the field to green in Sunday’s Great American Getaway 400 presented by VISITPA (1 p.m. ET on Prime Video, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Of note, with poor weather expected later Sunday afternoon, the green flag start time (1 p.m.) has been moved up two hours earlier than its originally scheduled time.
This marks the 64th pole position of Hamlin’s career and comes as the popular veteran is attempting to win three consecutive races for the first time in his celebrated career after victories the last two weeks in Nashville and Michigan.
He was the last driver to take to the track in Saturday’s qualifying session and just nudged Hendrick Motorsports’ driver Kyle Larson from the top position in the final minutes – Hamlin’s lap of 173.250 mph around the 2.5-mile triangular-shaped Pocono track was .057-second quicker than Larson’s best.
“Certainly had the grip, this whole team just did a great job with adjustments, making it a little better from practice, I didn’t execute a very good lap there in Turn 2, but overall I thought I hit [turns] three and one pretty decent – just good enough,” Hamlin said.
He acknowledged he and the team are certainly on a hot streak at the moment with wins in the non-points paying All-Star Race four weeks ago plus the two victories in the last two weeks. The effort has helped Hamlin cut 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick’s 100-plus point advantage over him atop the standings to only 51 points heading into Pocono, a place Hamlin has won a record seven times.
“It’s certainly going well and confidence is up with these guys [on the team] that every time I enter a corner at about 200, I know they’ve built me a car that’s going to stick,” Hamlin said, acknowledging his three-in-a-row opportunity.
“This is the best shot for sure, we’ve got a little work to do on the car overnight to get it to be a race winner, but I feel like we’re in that box where we need to be and we’ll fine tune it from here.”
Starting behind Hamlin and Larson are Daniel Suarez in the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet and Hamlin’s JGR teammates Ty Gibbs (No. 54 Toyota) and defending race winner Chase Briscoe (No. 19 Toyota).
Chris Buescher, who won his first career NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono in 2016, qualified sixth – his No. 17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford the first Ford on the grid. Legacy Motor Club teammates Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek will start their Toyotas seventh and eighth. Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron (No. 24 Chevrolet) and Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney (No. 12 Ford) – who also earned his first career series win at Pocono in 2017 – round out the top-10 on the grid.
Of note, 23XI Racing’s Reddick will roll of 15th and his teammate, Bubba Wallace, will start from the rear of the field after a qualifying session accident. RFK owner-driver Brad Keselowski had engine trouble in the session and will start alongside Wallace on the last row.
NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying – Great American Getaway 400 presented by VISITPA
Pocono Raceway
Long Pond, Pennsylvania
Saturday, June 13, 2026
1. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 173.250 mph.
2. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 173.067 mph.
3. (7) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 172.881 mph.
4. (54) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 172.771 mph.
5. (19) Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 172.639 mph.
6. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford, 172.493 mph.
7. (43) Erik Jones, Toyota, 172.450 mph.
8. (42) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 172.160 mph.
9. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet, 171.982 mph.
10. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 171.867 mph.
11. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 171.536 mph.
12. (48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 171.481 mph.
13. (71) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 171.468 mph.
14. (33) Austin Hill(i), Chevrolet, 171.308 mph.
15. (41) Cole Custer, Chevrolet, 171.210 mph.
16. (45) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 171.207 mph.
17. (2) Austin Cindric, Ford, 171.178 mph.
18. (38) Zane Smith, Ford, 171.132 mph.
19. (16) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 171.090 mph.
20. (21) Josh Berry, Ford, 171.015 mph.
21. (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 170.921 mph.
22. (20) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 170.700 mph.
23. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 170.687 mph.
24. (1) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 170.681 mph.
25. (35) Riley Herbst, Toyota, 170.396 mph.
26. (77) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 170.332 mph.
27. (10) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 170.264 mph.
28. (88) Connor Zilisch #, Chevrolet, 169.975 mph.
29. (34) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 169.645 mph.
30. (4) Noah Gragson, Ford, 169.565 mph.
31. (97) Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet, 169.202 mph.
32. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 169.128 mph.
33. (51) Cody Ware, Chevrolet, 168.262 mph.
34. (78) Daniel Dye(i), Chevrolet, 167.779 mph.
35. (60) Ryan Preece, Ford, 167.532 mph.
36. (62) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 166.015 mph.
37. (6) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 126.518 mph.
38. (23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 0.000 mph.
–NASCAR Wire Service
Sports
Giancarlo Stanton (calf) suffers setback in recovery
Apr 21, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; New York Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton (27) rounds the bases after hitting a home run against the Boston Red Sox in the second inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images New York Yankees outfielder/designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton suffered a setback while recovering from a left calf strain sustained on April 24.
Stanton was running the bases last week, when the injury flared up.
The Yankees had hoped Stanton would return from the injured list for the team’s next homestand, but that is likely delayed.
“He felt a little something in there a day or two ago, so that’s kind of slowed him down,” manager Aaron Boone said. “I expected him back early in this homestand. That’s in jeopardy now.”
In 24 games this season, Stanton, 36, was batting .256 with three home runs, six doubles and 14 RBIs.
The Yankees are dealing with several key injuries to outfielders.
Reigning American League MVP Aaron Judge is on the IL with a right rib stress fracture and is expected to be out until July or August.
Outfielder Trent Grisham was also placed on the 10-day injured list on Saturday. The team recalled Jasson Dominguez from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
“No getting around it, we’ve lost some key people,” Boone said. “It’s part of it. The (162 game schedule) is coming for you. I feel like we’re way more equipped to deal with it than we have been in some years. It’s a great opportunity for some of our young players.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Reports: Luigi Suigo withdraws from NBA Draft, commits to Villanova
Jan 20, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; General view of the Big East logo on the court at Wells Fargo Center before a game between the Villanova Wildcats and the Connecticut Huskies. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Italian center Luigi Suigo has withdrawn from the 2026 NBA Draft and committed to Villanova, according to multiple media reports.
Suigo, 19, averaged 8.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks across 18.1 minutes per game last season for Mega Superbet in the AdmiralBet ABA League. He is listed at 7’3″ with a 7’5.5″ wingspan.
The prospect, from Tradate, Varese, Italy, was viewed as a potential late first-round pick by media outlets. ESPN ranked him 32nd overall on their big board.
Suigo had offers from Villanova, Illinois, Purdue and Indiana. He will now join a Wildcats’ squad that is fresh off a NCAA Tournament appearance. They went 24-9 in Kevin Willard’s first season as head coach.
–Field Level Media
Denny Hamlin grabs NASCAR Cup pole at Pocono Raceway
Giancarlo Stanton (calf) suffers setback in recovery
