This weekend’s UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House will proceed as planned after a federal judge denied a legal challenge to the festivities on Friday.

Judge Amit P. Mehta of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., denied an emergency injunction application filed last weekend by the Public Integrity Project, which argued that the Trump administration had unlawfully organized a private sporting event on public property in violation of National Park Service rules.

Mehta’s ruling said the plaintiffs failed to establish that they would suffer any irreparable harm or aesthetic injury if the defendants — the Department of Interior and National Park Service — allowed the UFC fights to happen.

Mehta noted that the UFC event had been public knowledge for nearly a year, but the plaintiffs did not file “until June 7, 2026 — more than two weeks after visible preparations commenced at the White House — to seek emergency relief.” The late filing “undercuts their claims of irreparable harm,” the judge wrote.

Mehta said the large claw-shaped stadium set up on the South Lawn is a temporary structure and “the risk of any significant environmental damage is doubtful.”

The weekend’s schedule includes a press conference Friday at the Lincoln Memorial, weigh-ins on Saturday at The Ellipse, and the fight card on the South Lawn on Sunday, which is also President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday.

The card is headlined by lightweight champion Ilia Topuria taking on interim champion Justin Gaethje in a belt unification fight. An interim heavyweight title bout between Ciryl Gane and Alex Pereira is billed as the co-main event.

–Field Level Media

The United States kick off a home World Cup years in the making tonight against Paraguay in Inglewood, Calif., home of the Rams and Chargers. Co-host Canada get their turn hours before when they play Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto.

But the World Cup officially got underway Thursday when Mexico beat South Africa and South Korea took down the Czech Republic in Group A.

As the tournament gets rolling, here are four takeaways from Day 1 of the World Cup:

Red card-palooza

There were four red cards in all of the 2018 World Cup and four again in 2022. In a single match, the 2026 World Cup nearly matched those totals as Mexico-South Africa finished with 10 men against nine.

South Africa lost Sphephelo Sithole in the 49th minute and Themba Wane in the 84th. Cesar Montes got sent off two minutes into second-half stoppage. Wane’s red card for “violent conduct” only came after video-assisted review, and Montes being called for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity drew some head-scratching.

What remains to be seen is whether this was the stance of referee Wilton Sampaio or if physicality will be judged more harshly across the board.

Mexico seizing the moment

Mexico needed this one. The nation has played in eight World Cup openers all-time and had not won any of the first seven. That monkey is finally off El Tri’s back.

Is a 2-0 victory over a country ranked 61st in the world that finished with nine men worth racing home to brag to your friends about? Um, no, not when you put it that way. South Africa appear destined for the bottom of Group A.

But Mexico set the tone for the group stage with promising defense and the attacking efforts of Roberto Alvarado and goalscorers Julian Quinones and Raul Jimenez. They get to play all three group stage matches in Mexico, including another one in Mexico City, where El Tri are historically dominant.

South Korea could be dangerous

South Korea are the clear threats to Mexico’s hopes of finishing atop Group A. Late Thursday night, the Koreans rallied from down a goal to defeat the Czech Republic 2-1.

It marks the third straight World Cup and the sixth of the last seven where South Korea have won at least one game. They have an experienced team led by star Son Heung-min, but they showed Thursday they didn’t need Son to score in order to win.

Hwang In-Beom drew South Korea level in the 67th minute and Oh Hyeon-Gyu broke the tie 13 minutes later. They dominated possession and goalie Kim Seung-Gyu made three saves; the only goal he let by was an incredible header off a set piece. South Korea will test Mexico on June 18 in Guadalajara.

No excuses now for USMNT

The other big takeaway Thursday came off the pitch, as Mauricio Pochettino confirmed U.S. defender Chris Richards is available for selection against Paraguay.

Richards, who missed the 2022 World Cup with a hamstring injury, tore ligaments in his ankle four weeks ago while playing for Crystal Palace. Without Richards, the USMNT would be perilously thin at center back, especially if Pochettino wants to continue trying a back line of three center backs along with wing backs.

Pochettino, entering his first World Cup in charge of the national team, also said Thursday that he doesn’t plan to make a speech before the game. “If you aren’t ready, sorry guys, it’s impossible to perform,” he said.

Translation to U.S. sports parlance: I shouldn’t have to motivate you ahead of the biggest game of your life.

The U.S. are in the comforts of home. Nobody in Group D, not Australia, not Turkey, look particularly daunting. They must win their group. No excuses.

Happy Friday! Let’s hope the weather holds out and today’s schedule goes off as planned for our MLB picks.

Season Record 35-30-1, +2.16 Units

Dodgers at White Sox

Roki Sasaki Over 5.5 Strikeouts (+126 DraftKings)

As if the Dodgers needed more help, they now have maybe another budding ace in Sasaki. After a rough and injury plagued 2025 it wasn’t even clear he would make the Dodgers rotation in 2025. But alas Blake Snell started the year on the IL and Tyler Glasnow always finds his way to the shelf and there was plenty of room at the inn for Sasaki. And he’s really started to pay off the Dodgers faith. After five starts, he had an ugly 6.35 ERA and 1.81 WHIP with just a 20.1 % K%.

But since then, he’s been on fire. In his last six starts dating back to May 2nd he’s got a 2.55 ERA with a 0.91 WHIP. His K% has jumped to 27.1% while his BB% has dropped from 12% to 5.8%. He added a splitter and it has instantly turned into a positive value pitch for him as well as turning his fastball from negative to positive. As far as this specific prop goes, length is probably the biggest question mark. His Outs prop is 15.5 tilted -130 to the over and that looks pretty fair as he’s going about 5.5 IP per start. He has at least 7 K’s in three of his last four outings, including 10 vs. the Angels in last Friday. The White Sox have the third highest K% in the league at 23.9%, so even with Munetaka Murakami out, they whiff a lot.

Rangers at Red Sox

Under 8.5 Runs (-104 Kalshi)

We have two meh offenses here and I just don’t trust either one. The Red Sox have just 23 homers and 101 runs over the last month, both in the bottom five in the league. The Rangers are closer to the middle of the pack but still not great at 29 homers and 119 runs.

For the Rangers, Jack Leiter throws 97.1 MPH heat and has an excellent 25.5% K%, but his 10% BB% is too high. Ideally he’ll keep it more in the zone tonight against a team with basically two power threats; Jaren Duran and Willson Contreras.

The Red Sox counter with Sonny Gray, who’s got a 3.20 ERA but it’s a little past his ski’s as he’s got just an 18.9% K%. It’s a kind of backwards year for him as he’s a mid 3’s ERA talent pitcher going back to 2018 who sometimes sees his bottom line go haywire. So let’s bank on him either reverting back to his usual form or at least managing to keep runs off the board like he has so far this season.