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Angels OF Mike Trout unable to get insurance to play in 2026 WBC

MLB: Houston Astros at Los Angeles AngelsSep 28, 2025; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Mike Trout (27) runs after hitting a home run during the first inning against the Houston Astros at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout is the latest player who won’t be participating in the World Baseball Classic because of an inability to get his major league contract covered by insurance.

Trout, 34, told reporters that he wouldn’t be able to once again represent the U.S. in the 2026 WBC as he would be putting his $35 million salary this season on the line if he elected to play without coverage.

The three-time American League MVP likely wouldn’t have played a huge role on this year’s WBC squad, which is expected to start Aaron Judge, Byron Buxton and Pete Crow-Armstrong in the outfield, but it would have given him a chance to build on his strong performance in the 2023 WBC.

He had one home run and seven RBIs with a .962 OPS in seven games in that WBC, helping lead the Americans to the championship game which they lost to Japan.

Trout has battled injuries the last five seasons, playing more than 82 games just twice over that span and never playing more than 130 games.

Houston Astros standouts Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve were each also denied insurance coverage to play in the WBC for Puerto Rico and Venezuela, respectively.

Over 15 seasons and 1,648 games for Los Angeles, Trout is a career .294 hitter with 404 homers, 325 doubles and 1,018 RBIs.

The 2026 World Baseball Classic runs from March 5-17 and features 20 teams. Team USA won the event in 2017.

–Field Level Media

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Sabastian Sawe shatters 2-hour barrier to win London Marathon

Running: London MarathonApr 23, 2023; London, UK; Participants of the London Marathon seen in the finish area after completing the race. Mandatory Credit: Peter van den Berg-Imagn Images

Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe became the first runner to complete an official marathon in less than two hours as he broke the world record at the London Marathon on Sunday.

On a calm, sunny morning, the 31-year-old finished the marathon in one hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds. That crushed the previous record — set by Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum in the 2023 Chicago Marathon — by 65 seconds.

“I am feeling good,” Sawe told BBC Sport. “I am happy. It is a day to remember for me.”

Not only did Sawe blast through a psychological and physiological barrier akin to the four-minute mile, he set the pace for Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha to go under two hours as well. Kejelcha finished in 1:59.41.

“We started the race well and approaching the end of the race, I was feeling strong and I remember (Kejelcha) was so competitive,” Sawe said. “I think he helped me a lot. Finally, reaching the finish line, I saw the time. I was so excited.”

Pushed by Kejelcha, Sawe ran a reverse split to defend his London Marathon title. After reaching the halfway point in 1:00.29, he needed just 59:01 to complete his second 13.1 miles.

Sawe wasn’t the only racer to set a world record in London on Sunday. Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa needed just 2:15.41 to break the tape, which placed her in the record books — again — for a marathon run only by women. Last year in London, she ran the marathon in a record 2:15:50.

–Field Level Media

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BetBoom Team captures PGL Wallachia Season 8 over Aurora Gaming

BetBoom Team swept Aurora Gaming 3-0 on Sunday to win the grand final and the $300,000 top prize of the PGL Wallachia Season 8 event at Bucharest, Romania.

It was a rematch of Saturday’s upper-bracket final that BetBoom Team won 2-1.

To reach the grand final, Aurora needed to beat Team Falcons earlier Sunday in the lower-bracket final. Aurora pulled off the 2-0 win to advance to the best-of-five grand final.

Sixteen teams began the $1 million Dota 2 tournament with the top eight advancing from the Swiss-system group stage. The double-elimination playoffs continued with all matches best-of-three until the best-of-five grand final on Sunday.

BetBoom Team opened the grand final with a challenging 62-minute victory on green, then followed with a 42-minute triumph on red. They wrapped up the championship by winning again on green, this time in 49 minutes.

Russian Danil “gpk~” Skutin guided BetBoom with a 32-2-48 kill-death-assist ratio over three games. Russia’s Ilya “Kiritych” Ulyanov aided BetBoom with a 32-9-33 K-D-A ratio.

Egor “Nightfall” Grigorenko of Russia posted a 9-15-21 K-D-A ratio to pace Aurora Gaming. Indonesia’s Rafli “Mikoto” Fathur Rahman finished at 14-17-15.

PGL Wallachia Season 8 prize pool:

1. $300,000 — BetBoom Team

2. $175,000 — Aurora Gaming

3. $120,000 — Team Falcons

4. $80,000 — Team Liquid

5-6. $60,000 — South America Rejects, PARIVISION

7-8. $40,000 — HEROIC, Team Spirit

9-11. $20,000 — GamerLegion, Xtreme Gaming, MOUZ

12-14. $15,000 — Vici Gaming, Virtus.pro, Natus Vincere

15-16. $10,000 — Team Yandex, Tundra Esports

–Field Level Media

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Oilers not saying if Tristan Jarry or Connor Ingram will man net in Game 4

NHL: Edmonton Oilers at Utah MammothApr 7, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Edmonton Oilers goaltender Tristan Jarry (35) blocks a shot by the Utah Mammoth during the third period at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Connor Ingram served as the Edmonton Oilers’ goaltender for the first three games of their Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the Anaheim Ducks.

But with the higher-seeded Oilers trailing 2-1 in this best-of-seven set heading into Game 4 in Anaheim, Calif., on Sunday night, might head coach Kris Knoblauch change goalies? Backup Tristan Jarry spent practice on Saturday in the net typically used by the next game’s starter, but Knoblauch said Saturday that wasn’t necessarily a tell.

“We haven’t decided,” Knoblauch said. “I think going in (to this series), we were pretty sure (about our No. 1). And it was the same thing last year, and maybe the year before. Today in the NHL, very rarely do you have one goalie play all the games in the playoffs.”

He continued: “Twenty years ago and before that, it was unheard-of to be swapping goalies. But we’ve got two good goalies. We feel confident they can both play. And going into the playoffs, we felt there was going to be a time where we’re going to have to make a switch at some time. Whether that’s for Game 4 or Game 5 or whatever it is, we have confidence in both of them.”

Ingram, 29, who posted a 16-10-3 record with a 2.60 goals-against average and .899 save percentage in 32 regular-season games, has been less effective during the postseason. In the wake of Friday’s 7-4 win by the Ducks, Ingram has surrendered a league-high 14 goals and enters Game 4 with a 4.70 GAA and .849 save percentage.

Jarry, who turns 31 this week, was acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 12. He fashioned a 9-6-2 record with a 3.86 GAA and .858 save percentage in 19 appearances for the Oilers. He has not started a game since April 7 — a 6-5 overtime loss at Utah — and has not played since handling the final 20 minutes on April 8 in a 5-2 win against San Jose.

If Jarry gets the Game 4 nod, it will mark his first Stanley Cup playoff appearance since a 4-3 overtime loss by the Pittsburgh Penguins against the New York Rangers on May 15, 2022.

Jarry started eight postseason games for the Penguins from 2020-22 and produced a 2-6 record with a 3.00 GAA and .891 save percentage.

–Field Level Media

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