Sports
Vinicius Junior helps Brazil rally for opening draw vs. Morocco
June 13, 2026; East Rutherford, New Jersey, U.S.; Brazil’s Vinicius Junior in action with Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi. Mandatory Credit: Caean Couto-Imagn Images EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Vinicius Junior scored his first goal of this World Cup and helped Brazil salvage a 1-1 draw against Morocco following a rocky start to their Group C opener on Saturday evening.
The 25-year-old’s thunderously struck leveler in the 32nd minute countered Ismael Saibari’s slickly taken opener 11 minutes earlier for a Morocco side seeking another historic result to follow their 2022 semifinal run.
The North Africans bossed the five-time World Cup champs for the opening half-hour. But the South Americans shaded the second 45 minutes after manager Carlo Ancelotti swapped out Casemiro and Roger Ibanez for Fabinho and Danilo at the interval.
In the end, both teams were probably satisfied with the point before a star-studded crowd that included former NFL star Tom Brady, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and 2002 Brazilian World Cup winners Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos.
Each will be favored in remaining group matches against Scotland and Haiti, who play later Saturday in Foxborough, Mass., to open their Group C campaigns.
Having called this tournament “the most important time in my life and in my career” on Friday, Vinicius Jr. played like it, at the center of nearly everything the Brazilians did well going forward.
That included a precious equalizer that came against the run of play.
From the left side of the penalty area, the Real Madrid star played a quick 1-2 with Bruno Guimaraes, cut in on his right foot against the defending Neil El Aynaoui, and then from just beyond the corner of the 6-yard box, unleashed a powerful right-footed strike that left lunging goalkeeper Yassine Bounou little chance.
Morocco started brightly, then went in front just as it appeared Brazil might have weathered the early onslaught.
With his back to goal, Brahim Diaz took a pass at midfield, turned and immediately fed it forward to Saibari as he surged on a run at the space between Brazil’s center and right backs.
The PSV Eindhoven attacker reached it and chipped the charging Alisson with his first touch for a superb first career World Cup goal.
Bounou made four saves, including one on a Danilo Santos shot right at him in the third minute of second-half stoppage time. Alisson finished with two saves, including a point-blank stop in the ninth minute of stoppage time to keep the game level.
–Ian Nicholas Quillen, Field Level Media
Sports
Giancarlo Stanton (calf) suffers setback in recovery
Apr 21, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; New York Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton (27) rounds the bases after hitting a home run against the Boston Red Sox in the second inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images New York Yankees outfielder/designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton suffered a setback while recovering from a left calf strain sustained on April 24.
Stanton was running the bases last week, when the injury flared up.
The Yankees had hoped Stanton would return from the injured list for the team’s next homestand, but that is likely delayed.
“He felt a little something in there a day or two ago, so that’s kind of slowed him down,” manager Aaron Boone said. “I expected him back early in this homestand. That’s in jeopardy now.”
In 24 games this season, Stanton, 36, was batting .256 with three home runs, six doubles and 14 RBIs.
The Yankees are dealing with several key injuries to outfielders.
Reigning American League MVP Aaron Judge is on the IL with a right rib stress fracture and is expected to be out until July or August.
Outfielder Trent Grisham was also placed on the 10-day injured list on Saturday. The team recalled Jasson Dominguez from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
“No getting around it, we’ve lost some key people,” Boone said. “It’s part of it. The (162 game schedule) is coming for you. I feel like we’re way more equipped to deal with it than we have been in some years. It’s a great opportunity for some of our young players.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Reports: Luigi Suigo withdraws from NBA Draft, commits to Villanova
Jan 20, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; General view of the Big East logo on the court at Wells Fargo Center before a game between the Villanova Wildcats and the Connecticut Huskies. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Italian center Luigi Suigo has withdrawn from the 2026 NBA Draft and committed to Villanova, according to multiple media reports.
Suigo, 19, averaged 8.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks across 18.1 minutes per game last season for Mega Superbet in the AdmiralBet ABA League. He is listed at 7’3″ with a 7’5.5″ wingspan.
The prospect, from Tradate, Varese, Italy, was viewed as a potential late first-round pick by media outlets. ESPN ranked him 32nd overall on their big board.
Suigo had offers from Villanova, Illinois, Purdue and Indiana. He will now join a Wildcats’ squad that is fresh off a NCAA Tournament appearance. They went 24-9 in Kevin Willard’s first season as head coach.
–Field Level Media
Sports
WTA Roundup: Emma Raducanu wins twice in one day to reach London finals
Emma Raducanu gets set to serve to Amanda Anisimova during their third-round match at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., Sunday, March 8, 2026. Former U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu thrilled the home crowd in London by winning a pair of matches over several hours at the HSBC Championships on Saturday to advance to the tournament finals.
The oft-injured 2021 champion knocked off Uzbekistan’s Kamilla Rakhimova, 6-3, 7-5, then came back a few hours later to oust No. 6 Iva Jovic, 6-2, 6-2.
In between those matches, Croatian Donna Vekic, a lucky loser into the main draw, defeated the United Kingdom’s Katie Boulter, 6-1, 6-3.
Vekic and Raducanu will meet for the first time on Sunday. The 29-year old Vekic has four WTA titles under her belt, while the London native is seeking her second.
Raducanu broke Jovic five times in their match and took advantage of the 18-year old American’s 58 percent first serve efficiency.
Vekic won 23-of-25 points on her first serve against Boulter and never faced a break point.
Libema Open
Robin Montgomery, ranked No. 484 in the world, knocked off Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic, 6-4, 6-2, to reach her first-ever finals in the ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands event on Saturday.
Montgomery, will take on eighth-seeded Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic in Sunday’s finals. Krejcikova, the lone seeded player to reach the quarterfinals of the grass court event, edged Poland’s Magda Linette, 6-3, 7-6 (4).
Linette served at 5-4 in the second set, staved off four break points, but could not convert on a fifth. She took a 3-0 lead in the tie-breaker, but Krejcikova stormed back to win seven-of-eight to earn the win.
Montgomery smacked 11 aces and won 28-of-33 points on her first serve against Tomljanovic.
The two players have never competed against one another in a tour-level match.
–Field Level Media
Giancarlo Stanton (calf) suffers setback in recovery
Reports: Luigi Suigo withdraws from NBA Draft, commits to Villanova
