Sports
Tottenham out to secure Premier League spot in test at Chelsea
[Subscription Customers Only] Jul 9, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso looks dejected after a semifinal match of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Lee Smith-Reuters via Imagn Images Tottenham Hotspur could confirm their spot in next year’s Premier League — and trigger West Ham’s relegation — if they can earn an historic away win Tuesday at a Chelsea.
After a miserable winless run of 2 1/2 months, Spurs (9-16-11, 38 points) have taken eight points in five league games since the March 31 appointment of manager Roberto De Zerbi. They are unbeaten in their last four matches.
Six different players have scored during those four matches — away wins at Wolverhampton and Aston Villa, and home draws to Brighton and Leeds. Tottenham has climbed back above the West Ham (36 points) with a match in hand.
An conceded penalty kept Mathys Tel’s 50th-minute strike from being a match winner in a 1-1 draw with Leeds. De Zerbi believes his side will carry confidence into the match at Chelsea, where they were last victorious in 2018.
“In the last four we made eight points,” De Zerbi said. “And if you analyze the performance, I think we could make more points than eight, and for that we have to be confident, be positive.”
Former Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher was one of those six goal scorers, contributing the opener in a 2-1 win against Aston Villa on May 3. He’ll be making his first appearance at Chelsea since moving to Atletico Madrid for the 2024-25 season.
The Blues (13-13-10, 49 points) come in off Saturday’s 1-0 FA Cup Final defeat to Manchester City, followed by Sunday’s promising announcement that legendary former Liverpool and Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso will take over as permanent manager next season.
The loss to Manchester City, which was decided by Antoine Semenyo’s brilliant back-heel goal, prevented Chelsea from directly qualifying for a European place. But they could still pull even on points with Brentford for eighth place and a Europa Conference league berth with a victory to set up a dramatic final day.
Center back Levi Colwill’s recovery from an August ACL surgery has helped steady a back line that has only conceded twice in two matches, drawing at Liverpool 1-1 in the Blues’ last league fixture on May 9.
But interim manager Calum McFarlane admits he will think carefully about whether to give the 23-year-old England international a second appearance in four days.
“We need to be careful with Levi,” McFarlane said. “He’s obviously off the back of a very serious injury and has performed well in those two games. We’ll see how he looks today, how he reports, and we’ll make a decision on that.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Reports: Suns agree to 4-year, $48M deal with G Collin Gillespie
Apr 19, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Collin Gillespie (12) shoots as Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) defends in the first quarter during game one of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images Versatile guard Collin Gillespie is reportedly passing on free agency and has agreed to a four-year, $48 million contract to remain with the Phoenix Suns, according to reports on Saturday.
Gillespie emerged as a long-range shooting threat last season and set a franchise record with 232 3-point baskets. Quentin Richardson (226 in 2004-05) held the old mark.
Gillespie also recorded career highs of 12.7 points, 4.6 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 80 games (58 starts). He shot 40.1% from 3-point range.
Gillespie meshed well with Suns star Devin Booker in the backcourt, another factor in the push to keep him with a team that surprisingly posted a 45-37 record last season. Phoenix lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
After earning third-team All-American honors in each of his final two college seasons at Villanova, Gillespie wasn’t selected in the 2022 NBA Draft. He played 24 games for the Denver Nuggets in 2023-24 before joining Phoenix and playing in 33 games (nine starts) in 2024-25.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Spain seek reset vs. Saudi Arabia after opening draw
June 15, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.; Spain’s Marc Cucurella in action. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images Spain extended their unbeaten streak in competitive fixtures to 32 matches during their World Cup opener last week.
And yet, it was hard not to see La Roja’s scoreless draw against debutant Cape Verde — the third-least-populated country to ever qualify for the World Cup — as a disastrous start for Spain, who entered ranked second in the FIFA/Coca-Cola world rankings.
The Spaniards will look to reestablish themselves as threats when they continue Group H play against Saudi Arabia on Sunday afternoon in Atlanta.
Spain (0-0-1, 1 point) controlled their opening match, holding 65% of the possession, a 27-6 edge in shots and 7-1 in shots on net.
Defender Marc Cucurella chose to focus on the upside of starting with a performance like this.
“I think it’s good that it happened to us in the first match,” Cucurella said. “Because maybe it happens to you in another round and you go home.”
The addition of teenage star Lamine Yamal off the bench in the 71st minute, returning from a hamstring injury, transformed the attack. But even he couldn’t break through for Spain, who failed to win their World Cup opener for the fourth time in the last five trips.
It sounds like Yamal will once again be limited on Sunday as the team is playing the long game for what they hope will be a stretch of eight games this summer.
“I feel good physically, I’m ready for whatever the boss wants,” Yamal said Friday in a Spanish television interview. “It’s very early, it’s unnecessary (to play 90 minutes). I have a process of adaptation. It isn’t the moment to play a full game but I’ll play the minutes the boss wants.”
Saudi Arabia (0-0-1, 1 point) enter this match ahead of Spain via the goals scored tiebreaker. The Green Falcons did not have the same problem scoring in their opener against Uruguay, leading for nearly 40 minutes after Abdulelah Al-Amri’s late-first-half goal.
But a late equalizer from Uruguay kept Saudi Arabia from taking early command of the group with their second straight upset to begin a World Cup after the 2022 Argentina stunner.
In the end, Saudi Arabia, who trailed Uruguay 1.72-0.66 in expected goals, were likely satisfied with the draw, even though they blew a lead.
“When we’re faced with certain opponents, getting one point is a positive event and this is a booster for our psychology,” Saudi Arabia manager Georgios Donis said after the match. “Currently I’m trying to learn my team. I’m trying to learn my players and get to know them.”
Both draws leave all four Group H teams on one point entering a critical second matchday.
A win in either of the next two matches would likely be enough for Saudi Arabia to advance to the knockout stage for the first time since their World Cup debut in 1994. However, that may not be an easy task for a team that has won only two total matches in their six World Cup appearances since 1994.
–Group G, Belgium vs. Iran in Inglewood, Calif.: Belgium, looking to return to the knockout stage after missing it in 2022, opened with a somewhat surprising 1-1 draw with Egypt. Iran, who rallied twice for an opening 2-2 draw against New Zealand, are seeking their first-ever knockout stage appearance.
–Group H, Uruguay vs. Cape Verde in Miami Gardens, Fla.: Likely the top storyline from the opening set of matches, Cape Verde have another tough test as they seek their first World Cup victory. Uruguay look to do what Spain couldn’t and take care of business against an overmatched team on paper.
–Group G, New Zealand vs. Egypt in Vancouver: Neither New Zealand nor Egypt have ever won a match at the World Cup, let alone advance out of a single group stage. A win by either would move them to the brink of clinching a spot.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Brewers manager Pat Murphy to have back surgery Thursday
Jun 7, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy (49) walks to the mound for a pitching change in the seventh inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy said Saturday that he will undergo back surgery on the team’s Thursday off-day, one day before the start of a three-game series with the visiting Chicago Cubs.
Murphy also is slated to undergo hip surgery on July 13 at the start of the All-Star break. He said he doesn’t expect either procedure to cause him to miss any games.
Murphy said the back being severely acting up earlier this month when the team was playing the Athletics in Las Vegas. He underwent an MRI exam last Sunday and was diagnosed with a ruptured disc.
Murphy, 67, said the pain is intense. He recently described it as shooting pain through his leg and back when trying to stand up.
“I can’t live like that,” Murphy told reporters. “… I’m having the surgery so it works out good.”
The two-time National League Manager of the Year jokingly said, “So I’ll have that on Thursday. And I’ll be fine by Friday. Jumping jacks by Saturday.”
Murphy said the back pain is related to the hip issue. He was dealing with hip pain during the 2025 season as well.
Murphy is in his third season as Brewers manager and guided the club into the postseason in each of the two first campaigns while winning the top manager award both seasons.
Milwaukee leads the National League Central with a 45-29 record despite falling 4-3 to the host Atlanta Braves on Saturday. Ozzie Albies of the Braves hit a walk-off two-run homer.
Murphy is 235-163 with the Brewers. He also served as interim manager for the San Diego Padres in 2015 and went 42-54.
–Field Level Media
Reports: Suns agree to 4-year, $48M deal with G Collin Gillespie
Spain seek reset vs. Saudi Arabia after opening draw
