Sports
Whitecaps-Fire match postponed due to air quality conditions
Jul 16, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Soldier Field and the Chicago skyline are obscured by wildfire smoke. A planned soccer match between the Chicago Fire and Vancouver Whitecaps FC was rescheduled due to poor air quality conditions in the Chicago area. Mandatory Credit: Talia Sprague-Imagn Images Thursday’s match between the Vancouver Whitecaps and host Chicago Fire was postponed until Oct. 6. The local air quality was deemed to be too dangerous for players and fans to attend the outdoor event at Soldier Field, as Chicago and much of the Great Lakes area has been impacted by wildfire smoke.
The match is the only scheduled meeting between the Whitecaps and Fire this season. The rescheduled Oct. 6 date sits between a bye week for the two clubs, as Vancouver and Chicago each weren’t slated to play between Sept. 26 and Oct. 10.
“We share our fans’ disappointment, especially given the excitement surrounding our first match back following the FIFA World Cup break and the anticipation of welcoming more than 40,000 fans to Soldier Field,” said Chicago president of business operations Dave Baldwin.
“While we know this decision is disappointing, health and safety must come first,” Baldwin added. “We appreciate our fans’ understanding and look forward to welcoming them back soon.”
The delay means that MLS hiatus for the World Cup will extend a bit longer for the two clubs. The Whitecaps and Fire each had their last regular-season match on May 23. Vancouver will now return to action on July 22 in a road match with FC Cincinnati, while the Fire visit Inter Miami on the same day.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Todd Clements retains 2-stroke lead at Corales Puntacana Championship
PGA Tour logo sign is shown at the PGA Tour Grill Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024 at Jacksonville International Airport in Jacksonville, Fla. Englishman Todd Clements maintained his two-stroke lead Saturday with a 5-under-par 67 in the third round of the Corales Puntacana Championship in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
Clements reached 18-under 198 at Puntacana Resort and Club, matching the third-round score of Ben James to keep the same advantage he carried into the day. He opened with three consecutive rounds in the 60s after beginning the tournament with a 65 and following with a 66.
The 29-year-old is seeking his first victory on the PGA Tour at the alternate event being played opposite the Open Championship.
“Look, you don’t turn up to any tournament not trying to win,” Clements said after the round. “Did I think it would be this week 1/2 Not sure, but here we are.”
His 54-hole total set a tournament record, bettering the 199 posted by Adam Long in 2021, Wesley Bryan in 2024, and Joel Dahmen last year. None of those three turned the record-setting pace into a victory.
James remains Clements’ closest challenger at 16-under 200. The 23-year-old also shot 67 for his third straight round in the 60s and will join Clements in the final pairing Sunday.
“I’m playing some good golf and I’m really excited for tomorrow,” James said. “We’ll try to keep it going. Very excited for hopefully a good day.”
Max McGreevy made the largest move near the top of the leaderboard, matching the low round of the day with a 7-under 65. He is tied for third at 14 under with Italian Stefano Mazzoli (66) and Gordon Sargent (69). McGreevy was 3 under through his first nine holes, but it was his eagle on the 12th hole that spurred his round.
“Nothing amazing at the start, just a couple solid birdies. I think I just kind of settled in and kept giving myself a bunch of chances,” McGreevy said. “Got pretty lucky, made a nice chip on 12 to make eagle there. I think that kind of booted me into trying to finish as well as I could and see if I could chase these guys. They just kept making birdies, so I was just hoping to just keep climbing up the leaderboard.”
Aaron Wise and South African Dylan Frittelli also posted 66s. Wise climbed into a five-player tie for sixth at 13 under alongside Blades Brown, German Marcel Schneider, Denmark’s Jacob Skov Olesen and Joe Highsmith.
Johannes Veerman began the round tied for second but fell eight shots off the lead after a 73 left him at 10 under.
Clements normally competes on the DP World Tour, where his lone title came at the 2023 Czech Masters after he closed with a 63 to beat fellow Englishman Matt Wallace by one stroke.
A victory Sunday would also give Clements PGA Tour status through the 2027 season, along with 300 FedEx Cup points and the $720,000 winner’s share.
“There’s a lot of golf left to go. I had my fair share of luck a little bit out there this week and that needs to continue for that to happen,” Clements said. “But I think we just kind of lean on my past experiences and see where it takes me.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Toronto coach Sandy Brondello suspended 1 game for Angel Reese comment
Jul 17, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Tempo head coach Sandy Brondello reacts to a play against the Atlanta Dream during the second half at Coca-Cola Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images The WNBA on Saturday suspended Toronto Tempo coach Sandy Brondello one game without pay for comments she made about Atlanta Dream star Angel Reese that the league deemed inappropriate.
During Friday’s 111-92 home loss to the Dream, the Tempo’s Nyara Sabally was injured after making contact with Reese. Sabally was called for a foul on the play.
According to reports, the broadcast of the game captured Brondello referring to Reese as a “protected species” while pleading her case to officials.
Following the game, Reese posted to her X account “ARE WE SURPRISED?!” with a clown face emoji. She tagged Brondello’s account in the post, as well.
On Saturday, Brondello replied with a series of posts to her X account, including:
“Angel, I’m sorry. Last night, in the emotion of the moment after Nyara’s injury, I used a phrase that I shouldn’t have used, and I take full responsibility for that. My frustration was with the officiating, but my words unfairly put the focus on you.”
Brondello, who will serve her suspension Monday when the Tempo host the Las Vegas Aces, is from Australia. According to reports, the term “protected species” in commonly used in Australian sporting events and environments to refer to players receiving preferential treatment from officials.
In its statement announcing the suspension, the league said, “The WNBA expects all coaches and team personnel to uphold the highest standards of professionalism and respect that are fundamental to our league.”
According to ESPN, a previously scheduled meeting between players and commissioner Cathy Engelbert next week will now include a discussion of the incident.
–Field Level Media
Sports
BetBoom Team, Vici Gaming earn spots in Dota semis at Esports World Cup
Dota 2 competition at the Esports World Cup BetBoom Team and Vici Gaming became the final two teams to advance to the semifinals of the Esports World Cup Dota 2 tournament thanks to their wins Friday in Paris.
Vici opened the day with a 2-0 victory over Team Falcons, and BetBoom added a 2-0 win over Nigma Galaxy in the quarterfinal stage.
BetBoom and Vici will square off in one semifinal match Saturday with Team Yandex and PARIVISION going head to head in the other after both advanced on Thursday. The winners move on to the grand final on Sunday and the losers will compete in the third-place match.
The Dota 2 event at the Esports World Cup is the final championship of the ESL Pro Tour, now in its fourth season. The tournament has a $2 million prize pool, with $750,000 and 1,000 EWC club points going to the first-place team.
The format consists of three phases: a group stage of 24 teams that competed in a round robin, a survival phase (Tuesday-Wednesday) formatted into a single-elimination bracket that saw four teams advance, then a final playoff stage (Thursday-Sunday), which is single elimination.
The four group winners advanced directly to the playoffs. Teams finishing second through fourth in their groups went to the survival stage, a two-round bracket that decided the other four teams to make the playoff field of eight.
All matches in Phase 1 were two games, while the matches in Phases 2 and 3 are best-of-three until the best-of-five grand final.
On Friday, Vici prevailed in 57 on red and 32 minutes on green over Falcons. Guo “Xm” Hongcheng of China led the way for Vici with a kill-death-assist ratio of 29-5-21 across the two maps.
BetBoom took down Nigma in 35 minutes on red and 49 minutes on green. Ilya “Kiritych” Ulyanov of Russia put up a dominant 17-3-28 K-D-A for BetBoom.
The Esports World Cup features competition in 25 titles and a $75 million prize pool. Other upcoming events include League of Legends, PUBG, EA Sports FC, Call of Duty: Warzone, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, Rocket League, Counter-Strike 2 and Fortnite.
The tournament continues Saturday with the semifinal matches:
— BetBoom Team vs. Vici Gaming
–Team Yandex vs. PARIVISION
Dota 2 Esports World Cup payouts (prize money, club points)
1. $750,000, 1,000 — TBD
2. $340,000, 750 — TBD
3. $200,000, 500 — TBD
4. $120,000, 300 — TBD
5-8. $70,000, 200 — Team Spirit, Rune Eaters, Nigma Galaxy, Team Falcons
9-12. $40,000, 0 — LGD Gaming, 1w, Team Liquid, Aurora Gaming
13-16. $20,000, 0 — MOUZ, Xtreme Gaming, Virtus.pro, PlayTime
17-20. $10,000, 0 — GamerLegion, Level UP, REKONIX, OG
21-24. $7,500, 0 — Poor Rangers, L1 Team, Team Nemesis, Inner Circle x Insanity
–Field Level Media
