Sports
Goalie error leads Mexico past South Korea, seals first place in Group A
June 18, 2026; Guadalajara, Mexico; Mexico’s Luis Romo celebrates scoring their first goal with Erik Lira as South Korea’s Son Heung-min reacts. Mandatory Credit: Paul Childs-Reuters via Imagn Images Luis Romo punished a critical 50th-minute error by goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu, and co-host Mexico’s historical dominance of South Korea at the World Cup continued with a 1-0 victory in Zapopan, Mexico, on Thursday to win Group A.
Raul Rangel made a spectacular late double-save to keep Mexico’s second clean sheet and secure the top group spot, one that guarantees Mexico will play a round-of-32 match and a potential round-of-16 fixture in Mexico City.
Both heroes for Mexico (2-0-0, 6 points) were starring in the venue where they play their club football for CD Guadalajara. Their actions sealed El Tri’s third World Cup victory in as many appearances against South Korea.
South Korea (1-1-0, 3 points) still would finish second in the group with a win in their finale against South Africa (0-1-1, 1 point), regardless of how Mexico performs against Czech Republic (0-1-1, 1 point).
South Korea all-time caps leader Son Heung-min didn’t go the whole 90 minutes for a second consecutive match, with the attacker departing before the hour mark.
Romo’s finish — only his fourth international goal — could not have been simpler after Seung-gyu crashed into a teammate while trying to make a catch and spilled the ball near the penalty spot.
Romo connected on the first bounce, stabbing it with his right foot into an open goal to send a crowd into delight after the fans had been critical of their side not long before.
Seung-gyu made some measure of amends, denying Raul Jimenez with a strong stop in the 75th minute at the near post and making a sprawling denial of Obed Vargas in the 85th.
Shortly after, the rarely tested Rangel was forced into an exceptional sequence, first denying Cho Gue-sung’s header at the back post and then maintaining his position just long enough to deny Yang Hyun-jun’s second effort.
It was a late outburst during a match that took time to get going.
Mexico’s Julian Quinones had the only effort on target before the half, with Seung-gyu denying his glancing header in the 20th minute.
By halftime, the home crowd had tired of Mexico’s passiveness and booed the co-hosts off the pitch.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Big 12 keeps Brendan Sorsby lawsuit active amid draft questions
Texas Tech’s Brendan Sorsby goes through warmups before the spring football game, Friday, April 17, 2026, at Jones AT&T Stadium. The Big 12 is not ready to close the book on the Brendan Sorsby case, even after the Texas Tech quarterback moved to leave college football behind.
The conference’s presidents and chancellors have not withdrawn the federal lawsuit filed earlier this week, with lingering questions about Sorsby’s NFL future and whether Texas Tech could still face consequences from the legal fight, a Big 12 source told ESPN. The league’s board of directors is expected to meet early next week to discuss its options.
“We don’t know the answer to those questions,” the source said. “We haven’t done anything different at this point. We’re going to reconvene next week to run through all the options. Right now that case is still active.”
The Big 12 filed suit Monday in the Northern District of Texas, looking for a declaratory judgment and injunctive relief that would allow the conference to use its bylaws to potentially discipline Sorsby. Hours later, Sorsby moved toward the NFL supplemental draft and dropped his lawsuit against the NCAA, a step needed for him to be declared ineligible in college by Monday’s deadline.
Sorsby admitted to violating NCAA rules by placing thousands of bets, including 40 on Indiana football while he was on the Hoosiers’ roster. The NFL still has to approve his application for the supplemental draft, which has not produced a selected player since 2019.
The Big 12 could also revisit whether Texas Tech should be responsible for the costs associated with the dispute. One Big 12 athletic director said the issue is less about punishment and more about whether the entire league should absorb legal fees from a case that other schools did not start..
–Field Level Media
Sports
Brazil's Raphinha (leg) departs match vs. Haiti
June 19, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.; Brazil’s Raphinha in action with Haiti’s Martin Experience. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-Imagn Images PHILADELPHIA — Brazil attacker Raphinha departed in the 40th minute of Friday night’s World Cup Group C clash against Haiti in Philadelphia with an apparent leg injury.
The 29-year-old FC Barcelona winger was making his second start of the tournament for manager Carlo Ancelotti after going the full 90 in a 1-1 draw against Morocco last Saturday.
He was a critical part of Brazil’s most recent qualifying effort, scoring five of the Selecao’s 24 goals while appearing in 13 of their 18 matches.
It was unclear what caused him to drop to his haunches shortly before halftime and eventually exit in favor of Rayan. He departed with his side leading 2-0 through Matheus Cunha’s brace, before Vinicius Junior added a third in first-half stoppage time.
–Ian Nicholas Quillen, Field Level Media
Sports
UFC Freedom 250 Falls Short of Super Bowl Hype but Delivers Massive Win
UFC Freedom 250 was an unquestionable hit, but the biggest event in combat sports didn’t quite touch Super Bowl number.
Paramount+ said viewership for UFC Freedom 250 reached 17 million across the U.S. and Latin America, citing Nielsen in a press release on Thursday. The previous record was five million viewers for the first UFC card on Paramount+ in January.
How did UFC Freedom 250 compare to Super Bowl?
UFC boss Dana White was “expecting Super Bowl-type numbers” for the fight on the White House lawn. The 2026 Super Bowl was watched by an estimated 125 million viewers, according to Nielsen.
The UFC and Donald Trump promoted this event diligently. Even though they didn’t even come close to touching Super Bowl viewership numbers, this event was a massive success for the UFC.
Politics aside – the production quality of UFC Freedom 250 was awesome. Fighters walking out of the White House from all angles, surrounded by military heroes. The live band was great. The backdrops of Washington, D.C. completely trumped the visuals at the Sphere in Las Vegas.
But more importantly, the fights exceeded expectations. All seven bouts ended before decisions. Judges weren’t needed.
For the health of the sport, that’s a good thing. Casual fans love knockouts and finishes. For an event that hauled in well over 10 million more viewers than the average UFC fight, that feels like a massive win. The UFC has a few upcoming weekends of Fight Nights before UFC 329, where Conor McGregor is expected to make his long-awaited return against Max Holloway.
It’s probable that fight will pull in big ratings also, which should appease Paramount+ – as long as the streaming giant had more realistic expectations than Dana White’s Super Bowl prediction.
Over the last few years, many fans have griped that the UFC was running low on superstars. But Diego Lopes got a huge ovation from the American crowd after the first fight of the night. Bo Nickal got a much-needed victory to maintain relevance in the UFC.
More notably, Josh Hokit’s viral Michelle Obama comment got the heavyweight exactly what he wanted – attention. Even though the UFC publicly shamed these remarks, there’s no doubt that they understand his personality is polarizing and could cause fans to tune in. Similarly, Sean O’Malley earning big knockout finishes always feels good for those fans that tune in.
Sure, the point still stands that there aren’t a ton of intriguing names on the rise. But Hokit’s fights will be watched. Fans will always keep up with O’Malley. And there will be natural intrigue on what Justin Gaethje decides to do next after this win. Similarly, what will Ilia Topuria do following that first devastating defeat?
The White House card might’ve fallen hilariously short of Super Bowl expectations. Dana White loves to remind fight fans that he’s not competing with up and coming leagues like the PFL or Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions. Instead, he insists that he’s competing with the NFL, NBA and MLB.
Report: Big 12 keeps Brendan Sorsby lawsuit active amid draft questions
Brazil's Raphinha (leg) departs match vs. Haiti
