Sports
Folarin Balogun: Red-card reversal 'controversy' distracted USMNT
July 1, 2026; Santa Clara, California, U.S.; Folarin Balogun of the U.S. celebrates scoring their first goal. Mandatory Credit: Phil Noble-Reuters via Imagn Images United States men’s national team striker Folarin Balogun said Tuesday that his overturned suspension in the World Cup went from elation among his teammates to a sense of uneasiness that impacted the side’s final match of the tournament.
In a visit to “CBS Mornings,” Balogun described the whirlwind of emotions that started with his red card in a round of 32 match against Bosnia-Herzegovina to FIFA rescinding his mandatory one-game ban for a round of 16 match against Belgium.
Resentment for the USMNT grew after President Donald Trump admitted that he reached out to FIFA for a review of the decision. The animosity picked up even more momentum when Belgium coach Rudi Garcia said his side was prepared to defend the credibility of the sport after Balogun was ruled eligible.
Belgium dominated the second half of a 4-1 victory on July 6 at Seattle that eliminated the United States from the tournament.
The USMNT’s ineffective play against Belgium was criticized, as was star player Christian Pulisic, who struggled to spark the offense before departing with a leg injury.
“It was a difficult game against Belgium and that can kind of overshadow whether we were focused or not,” Balogun said during his studio visit. “From me, being inside the camp and inside the setup, I know we had full concentration going into the game.”
And yet the team carried the weight of what became a heavy dose of world politics.
“My initial reaction was I was happy to be back in the team, but when I kind of started to reflect, I knew it was going to cause a lot of controversy,” Balogun said. “And I could almost see within my teammates a bit of nerves. Because it is something that is so unique.
“The closer we got to the game, I tried to just focus as best as I could, but it was difficult (with) a lot of outside noise. That’s hard to avoid.”
While the United States won Group D with victories in its opening two matches and won again in the knockout round, it failed to equal its best run in the tournament. The USMNT advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup at Japan and South Korea.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Nick Faldo criticizes Bryson DeChambeau's links game
Sir Nick Faldo talks about the first time he played golf with Jack Nicklaus during his Memorial Honoree Ceremony at the driving range at Muirfield Village Golf Club before the 2015 Memorial Tournament on June 3, 2015. (Dispatch photo by Kyle Robertson) World Golf Hall of Fame member Nick Faldo teed off on Bryson DeChambeau, accusing the two-time major winner of having “zero clue of strategy” for links golf ahead of this week’s The Open Championship.
Faldo, 68, who counts three Claret Jugs among his six major titles, said DeChambeau’s power-hitting, attack-oriented approach won’t work at links courses like Royal Birkdale Golf Club.
“I’d say it to his face — DeChambeau has zero clue of strategy,” Faldo told Sky Sports.
“He said last year: ‘I’m going to go out and attack the links.’ Well, I’ve never attacked a links. You thread it, don’t you? You feed it down the fairway.
“You look at humps and bumps. If I send it over and feed it, it nudges back into play. You don’t think: ‘Oh, I’ll just blast it down there. Can’t see where I’m going.’ The fairway is 20 yards wide.
“You’ve got to think: ‘How do I get it on the short grass?’ It is so important.”
DeChambeau, 32, brings a dubious streak into the 154th Open in Southport, England. The LIV Golf member missed the cut at each of this season’s first three Grand Slam events.
Both of DeChambeau’s major wins came at the U.S. Open, in 2020 and 2024. His best finish at The Open is a tie for eighth in 2022 at St Andrews in Scotland, and he tied for 10th last year at Royal Portrush in Ireland.
DeChambeau does have two LIV Golf wins this season and sounded confident upon his arrival at Royal Birkdale.
“This is a tough golf course; I like it,” DeChambeau said. “It really tests every facet of your game.
“I’ve got new irons in the bag. They were 3D-printed. They take about an hour to print. From machining and printing and all the different processes we make.
“If I feel good, I know I can give myself a chance. I know I haven’t had the best results this year, but I’ve won twice, and top-three’d three times. Just a couple of weird things happening at the majors.”
DeChambeau is playing the first two rounds Thursday and Friday in a threesome with World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and England’s Tyrrell Hatton, also from LIV Golf.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Storm and Sky looking to clean up late-game messes
Jul 12, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Chicago Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot (22) reacts during the second half against the Dallas Wings at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Poor execution late in games has plagued the Chicago Sky and Seattle Storm during the first two months of the WNBA season.
Host Chicago and Seattle will try to regroup when the teams meet in a Wednesday matinee.
The Sky (7-16) return to Wintrust Arena on the heels of a 1-3 road trip whose record might have been flipped.
After a 12-0 fourth-quarter run helped force overtime at Las Vegas on July 3, the Sky managed just four points in the extra session and lost by eight. On Sunday, Chicago led by eight points in the fourth quarter at Dallas before falling 96-91.
Sydney Taylor paced Chicago with 20 points against the Wings while Azura Stevens (18 points, 13 rebounds) and Kamilla Cardoso (12 points, 13 rebounds) notched double-doubles.
“It’s just not making the plays when we need to,” said Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot. “That’s what great teams do. You saw it in Vegas. You saw it in Dallas. Great players, great teams, make great plays in that moment, and we just haven’t done it yet.
“It’s nobody’s fault. At some point, all of us have made a mistake that we wish we could have taken back. It’s little things like that that seem to slip away.”
The Storm (6-19) can attest. Coach Sonia Raman sounded remarkably like Vandersloot when sizing up Seattle’s 84-79 loss on Sunday at Washington.
“I thought we were right there and just couldn’t get over the hump,” Raman said.
Seattle, which led by six early in the fourth quarter, committed eight of its 19 turnovers in the final period and scored just 11 fourth-quarter points on 4-of-14 shooting.
Still, there were things to be encouraged about, including a career-best 31 points from eight-year veteran Natisha Hiedeman. She has contributed at least 15 points in four straight games.
Dominique Malonga added 10 points and 15 rebounds for her first double-double since June 27 and fifth this season. Malonga chastised herself for fouling out, however, and pledged to improve her discipline going forward.
“I need to be able to stay on the floor,” she said. “I need to be able to just be clean with my game overall, especially when it comes down to crunch time.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
No longer 'so bad at golf,' Rory McIlroy eagerly awaits The Open
Jul 14, 2026; Southport, England; Rory McIlroy (R) and Shane Lowry (L) walk up hole 7 during a practice round for The Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Birkdale. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Two short days ago, Rory McIlroy was admonishing himself in the short rough at The Renaissance Club in Scotland.
After hooking a 6-iron into thick rough at the Scottish Open when his target was the 16th green directly in front of him, the Northern Ireland native blurted out: “Oh, my god. I’m so bad at golf!”
Fortunately for fans counting on McIlroy, the six-time major winner, to make a run at his second Open Championship this week at Royal Birkdale Golf Club, he did not feel quite the same way about his game as of Tuesday afternoon.
“It’s funny,” McIlroy told reporters in Southport, England. “I felt really good the first two days in Scotland and then felt like my game just sort of deteriorated as the week went on. Even though I shot a good score on Sunday, it didn’t feel very good.”
Because McIlroy needed to play nearly two full rounds Sunday to complete his T7 finish — the result of a weather delay on Saturday — he didn’t expend energy touring Royal Birkdale on Monday.
That might have been the best thing for him.
“Yeah, I’ve done a good bit of work the past couple days,” he said. “Again, getting the TrackMan out, seeing what my numbers are, and just trying to match up the feels of my swing with what I’m seeing.
“Also, like I played 30 holes on Sunday. I felt a little bit tired yesterday, so I didn’t make it on the course, but that allowed me a bit more time to hit some balls and dig into the swing a little bit. Felt good on the range. Felt good out on the course today. Definitely trending in the right direction.”
McIlroy tends to be heading in the right direction when the Open comes around. This is the 17th Open for the 37-year-old, who won at Royal Liverpool in 2014 and owns six top-five and eight top-10 finishes, including a T4 in 2017 at Royal Birkdale.
Royal Birkdale has changed extensively since then — there are three new holes and changes to the other 15 holes thanks to a massive renovation — and McIlroy likes the adjustments.
But the World No. 2 is also curious to see how golfers attack a course that has changed dramatically over the last few weeks due to the heat wave engulfing much of Europe.
“When I was here a couple weeks ago, the rough was a lot more penal than it’s going to be this week,” McIlroy said. “It’s definitely burnt out a lot.
“There may be certain instances where — you know, the big thing, especially off the tee here, is the fairway bunkers and avoiding those. You might see some guys being more aggressive off the tee, taking driver, trying to take the fairway bunkers out of play. OK, it might be in the rough, but it’s not that penal, so you get a wedge in your hand and you can figure it out from there.”
Isn’t figuring it out half the fun of links golf? McIlroy says yes … and no.
“I think what we all know, even going back to (the U.S. Open at) Shinnecock a few weeks ago: When you give professional golfers options and you can create a little bit of doubt in their minds in terms of should I play this shot or that shot, that’s when things start to get fun, especially for the viewer,” McIlroy said. “Not so much for us but …
“That, to me, is the sign of a good championship test.”
–Field Level Media
Wordle today: Answer, hints for July 15, 2026
Nick Faldo criticizes Bryson DeChambeau's links game
