Despite being eligible to play in The Open Championship, Phil Mickelson will not compete in the final major of 2026 that is set to take place next month at Royal Birkdale Golf Club at Southport, England.

Mickelson, 56, has been moved from the list of this year’s competitors to the tournament’s list of non-playing exempt players. The tournament will take place July 16-19.

The designation means that Mickelson will not play in any of the four major tournaments this year, marking the first time he has missed all of them in a single year since 1990, which was two years before he turned professional.

A six-time major winner, Mickelson won The Open Championship in 2013, earning him an exemption to play in the event until he turns 60.

Mickelson has played in just one LIV Golf tournament this year before taking a break to tend to an unspecified family health matter. He did not play in the Masters or the PGA Championship for the same reason and was not extended a special invitation to play in this month’s U.S. Open.

Since he has been out of action, multiple reports have detailed incidents of Mickelson making unwanted advances toward women, including the former wife of player Pat Perez, when the couple was still married.

The reports also indicated that Mickelson has parted ways with three separate golf clubs in the San Diego area.

–Field Level Media

Sam Kerr is returning to the NWSL and to her former club.

League champions Gotham FC announced Monday that they signed the forward through the 2030 season. Kerr, 32, was a free agent after her contract with English stalwart Chelsea expired.

Kerr played 119 career regular-season games (113 starts) across her seven seasons with three teams in the NWSL, including three years with Sky Blue FC (now Gotham FC) from 2015-17.

After playing the 2018 season with the Chicago Red Stars, Kerr played a season for the Perth Glory in her native Australia (2018-19) before returning to Chicago in 2019. She joined Chelsea in the Women’s Super League in late 2019.

Despite her 6 1/2-year absence, her 77 regular-season goals are still an NWSL record. In 2017, she won the Golden Boot and MVP awards with Sky Blue FC following a season in which she scored 17 goals in 22 games.

“Sam is one of the defining players of her generation and a game-changing talent who has consistently delivered at the highest levels of world football,” Gotham FC general manager Yael Averbuch West said in a statement.

“Her winning mentality, relentless competitiveness and ability to decide matches in an instant make her one of the most impactful players in the game. Bringing Sam back to Gotham is a landmark moment for our club, and we couldn’t be more excited.”

Kerr played for Chelsea for six years, scoring 116 career goals. She was a two-time winner of the Women’s Super League Golden Boot, and the team won five league titles and six domestic cups.

Kerr will debut for Gotham after the NWSL’s transfer window opens on July 14. Gotham host the Washington Spirit on July 15 in the Queens Classic in New York.

“I’m incredibly excited to return to Gotham FC and to this city,” Kerr said in a statement. “This club was an important part of my journey, and to come back at this moment, with everything Gotham has built, is really special. The ambition here is clear, and I’m looking forward to helping this team compete for trophies and create more history.”

Kerr is ineligible for the NWSL’s new High Impact Player rule, which goes into place on Wednesday. The rule allows teams to pay star players up to $1 million above the salary cap. Kerr misses the criteria for the rule, mostly due to missing 20 months of play after tearing her ACL in January 2024.

Kerr’s return to the States follows her marriage to midfielder Kristie Mewis. The couple recently had a child together.

–Field Level Media

June 29 (Reuters) – Robert Lewandowski has swapped the Camp Nou for Soldier Field after Major League Soccer side Chicago Fire announced the signing of the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich striker on Monday in a deal that will run through the 2027-28 MLS season.

The Polish goal machine, who netted 120 times during his four-year stint at Barcelona, will occupy a Designated Player slot and international roster spot pending receipt of his P-1 visa and International Transfer Certificate, the Fire said.

Chicago Fire head coach Gregg Berhalter did not hold back his enthusiasm for landing one of Europe’s most prolific marksmen.

“From the day (club owner) Joe Mansueto and I met for the first time, we set out to build a world-class Club that inspires greatness, unites Chicago and wins championships,” Berhalter said in a statement.

“Robert embodies those values and represents the standards this city deserves: a champion and a competitor. His arrival reinforces our ambition to compete for trophies and raises the standards for the club to heights worthy of this city.

“We cannot wait to get to work with him and have Chicago see first-hand why he is among the most revered sporting icons in the world.”

The 37-year-old’s signing represents a coup for Chicago Fire, who have landed a striker with an eye-watering 567 goals across all competitions for Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund combined.

His trophy cabinet contains 30 trophies from the three clubs while his international pedigree is equally impressive, with the striker captaining Poland, making 167 appearances and finding the net 89 times for his country.

Chicago sit third in the Eastern Conference standings with 26 points after 14 games, seven points behind leaders Nashville.

(Reporting by Rohith Nair in MiamiEditing by Toby Davis)

By Rory Carroll

IRVINE, California, June 29 (Reuters) – A confident United States team eyeing a deep World Cup run face a Bosnia and Herzegovina side looking to spoil the co-hosts’ party in a last-32 clash in Santa Clara on Wednesday.

The U.S. won their opening two group-stage matches to secure early qualification for the knockout rounds and will look to rebound from a last-gasp defeat by Turkey in a dead rubber in Los Angeles last week when they head north to the Bay Area.

The Americans are heavy favourites, but captain Tim Ream said they would not take Bosnia lightly after the Balkan nation beat Italy in qualifying to deny the four-times champions a place at the tournament and finished third in a group behind Switzerland and Canada.

“They’re a difficult team to play against, and they’re in the tournament for a reason,” Ream told reporters on Monday.

“They went through a little bit of a conflict to get there and they’re just a really tough team. At the end of the day, the game is going to be about us and what we’re prepared to do and what need to do to advance.”

‘EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED’

Bosnia, nicknamed the Dragons, have built their campaign on defensive organisation, but Ream said the U.S. were preparing for all scenarios.

“I don’t know that we really expect Bosnia to just be defensive. We have to expect the unexpected,” he said.

The U.S. will be seeking to score first for a fourth consecutive World Cup match, hoping to ignite a home crowd behind an attack led by Christian Pulisic and Folarin Balogun.

Bosnia are captained by 40-year-old striker Edin Dzeko, widely regarded as the greatest player in the nation’s history, and carry threats through physical forward Ermedin Demirovic and teenage winger Kerim Alajbegovic.

Goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj has been another key figure for Bosnia, playing an important role in qualifying and in penalty shootouts, and Ream said the U.S. had placed particular emphasis on spot-kicks and set-pieces. 

“We’ve been doing a lot of work on penalties. I won’t go into that,” he said with a laugh. 

“That’s something that we’ve been working on throughout the week together, even before the tournament started, so that’s taken care of really. 

“We know that, especially in the knockouts, one mistake on a set play can send you home. So we’re fully focused on all aspects and all phases of the game.”

(Reporting by Rory Carroll, editing by Ed Osmond)

The New York Yankees placed right-handed closer David Bednar on the paternity list and recalled right-hander Jake Bird from Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre to fill his roster spot ahead of Monday’s home series opener against the Detroit Tigers.

Bednar, 31, is 2-3 with 16 saves and a 3.09 ERA in 33 relief appearances this season. In eight major league seasons, he is 20-26 with 127 saves and a 3.14 ERA in 348 relief appearances for the San Diego Padres (2019-20), Pittsburgh Pirates (2021-25) and Yankees (2025-26).

Bird, 30, opened the season 1-1 with a 4.88 ERA in 29 relief appearances before he was optioned to Triple-A earlier this month. He had three consecutive scoreless outings at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre following his demotion.

In five major league seasons, Bird is 12-12 with a 4.78 ERA in 220 appearances (three starts) for the Colorado Rockies (2022-25) and Yankees (2025-26).

–Field Level Media

By Shrivathsa Sridhar

LONDON, June 29 (Reuters) – Defending Wimbledon champion Jannik Sinner said he was relieved to have avoided a serious injury after slipping at the baseline and falling to the turf during his first-round win over Miomir Kecmanovic on Monday.

The fall occurred in the third set of Sinner’s 4-6 6-3 6-7(6) 6-2 6-3 win, with the 24-year-old briefly clutching at his left hip afterwards, but he soldiered on to seal the win for a meeting with Nuno Borges in the second round.

Sinner, who injured his elbow during the fourth round of his triumphant Wimbledon run last year, was thankful that his latest tumble did not cause any lasting damage and highlighted the need to continue moving positively.

“One fall is a tough one because you can get injured,” Sinner told reporters.

“It’s the most normal thing. Grass courts are like this. Especially the first couple of matches when the grass is very new, you slip a bit more.

“I got lucky there because things can go wrong very quickly. I try to still trust in my movement. Also the third, fourth and fifth sets were very important to keep moving in a natural way, which I did. I’m very glad nothing happened.”

The Italian said being a talented skier in his youth did not necessarily mean that he had better technique to avoid injuries during falls.

“There are some movements you can’t really control. It’s just normal instinct,” Sinner said.

“Skiing can help you in certain moments, but not when you fall, when you have zero control. We did a lot of prevention before this tournament because we knew things like this could happen potentially.

“Today it happened. So the most important thing is to take this part away and keep moving like before because if not, when you’re very scared, everything goes too slow. On this surface you can’t do that.”

(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar; Editing by Alison Williams)

By Clare Lovell

LONDON, June 29 (Reuters) – French Open champion Mirra Andreeva was given a good grasscourt workout on Monday before beating 59th-ranked Pole Magda Linette 7-5 6-4 in the first round at Wimbledon.

The 19-year-old Russian fifth seed was relieved to come through her first Grand Slam test after her triumph at Roland Garros on clay three weeks ago.

“It’s just always super special to get past the first round at a Grand Slam because you always have that extra pressure,” she told reporters.

“For me, I was also thinking that it would be very important for myself to just kind of prove myself that even if I did well at a last Grand Slam, that I can still continue to try and do well.”

Andreeva used her big serve to great effect with eight aces but she also produced seven double faults as she tried to outgun the experienced Linette, 15 years her senior.

The Polish player is no slouch on grass having reached the third round at Wimbledon three times before.

Linette was not afraid to come to the net and produced delicate dropshots and sharp volleys to test Andreeva as the players traded service breaks in both sets, but the Russian hit two unreturnable serves to take the first set and wore down her opponent in the second, serving out for the win.

Andreeva is bidding to become the first player to win back-to-back French Open and Wimbledon titles since Serena Williams in 2015.

She faces a tough second-round battle with 2024 Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova and said she would be discussing her game plan with coach, another former Wimbledon champion, Conchita Martinez.

“She (Krejcikova) is a two-time Grand Slam champion. She’s very experienced. She’s playing well on grass. So for sure it’s not going to be an easy match for me,” Andreeva said.

(Reporting by Clare Lovell; Editing by Alison Williams and Ed Osmond)

NBA free agency in 2010: Everyone waited for LeBron James to make a decision.

NBA free agency in 2026: Everyone is waiting again for James to make a decision.

James was the biggest domino to fall in the NBA’s offseason player movement period 16 years ago when he decided to join Miami, and he may be the biggest domino to fall — at least in free agency — this summer as well. Free agency opens in the NBA on Tuesday evening, with James’ future atop the list of most intriguing storylines that will be solved over the coming days and weeks.

It seems like retirement isn’t happening yet, which would mean the NBA’s all-time leader in points scored, minutes played and games played coming back for a record-extending 24th season and potentially — when including playoff contests — appearing in the 2,000th game of his career.

His options would figure to include staying with the Los Angeles Lakers, returning to Miami or Cleveland (both would have interest for obvious reasons) or even thinking about moving elsewhere like Golden State and teaming up with longtime friends Stephen Curry and Draymond Green to chase one more title.

Green — who is not expected to leave Golden State — on Monday declined his $27.6 million option for next season, doing so to give the Warriors more maneuverability to add players in the coming days, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because that detail was not revealed publicly by the team, and it raises the possibility that the Warriors might now have more of a selling point to pitch to James.

“When the time comes, you guys will know what I decide to do,” James said when the Lakers were eliminated this spring by Oklahoma City in a 4-0 sweep.

The time is coming.

The window when teams can begin officially talking with free agents — other than the ones on their own team, those talks could begin when the NBA Finals ended — opens at 6 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday, and deals could be flying not long afterward.

In most cases, any new deals cannot be executed until at least the end of the NBA’s offseason moratorium on July 6.

“This period we’re in right now, kind of from mid-May to mid-July, it’s a two-month sprint through the draft, combine, free agency, Summer League, all that,” Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. said earlier this month. “We’re super busy right now. But it’s a fun time of year. This is where we get to make decisions, shape the roster, do all that stuff.”

The NBA finalists — champion New York and runner-up San Antonio — both will have moves to make in the coming days, though they are expected to keep their cores largely intact.

Plenty of decisions and roster-shaping already has happened around the league, either by trades (such as the Giannis Antetokounmpo blockbuster) or teams re-signing or extending their own players (such as Trae Young’s $212 million deal with Washington and Austin Reaves’ $185 million deal with the Lakers).

Miami will land Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis in a trade that sends Tyler Herro, other players and draft capital to Milwaukee, but that won’t be finalized until that moratorium date passes. But in the interim, the Heat will be looking to add shooters — Tim Hardaway Jr., whose father’s number is retired in Miami, and longtime Antetokounmpo favorite Khris Middleton make a lot of sense.

The Heat will be keeping Andrew Wiggins, who on Monday exercised his $30 million option for this coming season and, according to a person familiar with the talks between the sides, has agreed in principle on a $34 million deal for the following two seasons — with 2028-29 at his option.

More trades could be coming, with a person familiar with the negotiations confirming to the AP that Toronto has spoken with the Los Angeles Clippers on the possibility of Kawhi Leonard — who led the Raptors to the 2019 NBA title — returning to Ontario next season. And Boston is still believed to be holding talks about the possibility of trading 2024 NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown, who was the centerpiece of the Celtics’ ultimately futile offer to land Antetokounmpo in trade discussions with Milwaukee.

“Nobody has won more combined regular-season and playoff games since I entered the league 10 years ago,” Brown posted on social media over the weekend. He’s right: The Celtics have won 523 games with Brown in the lineup, including playoff contests, which is six more than Denver has won with Nikola Jokic over that span.

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba

A Florida judge set a $1 million bond Monday for Detroit Lions player Terrion Arnold, who is accused of orchestrating the abduction and beating of three men who prosecutors believe he wrongly suspected of having stolen luxury goods and $100,000 in cash from him.

Prosecutors say the three victims, including a man who worked as a driver for Arnold, were robbed while being held at gunpoint in a Tampa apartment in February.

Prosecutors had wanted the cornerback held without bond on the eight felony charges he faces. But Chief Circuit Court Judge Christopher Sabella granted bond to Arnold, who won’t be required to wear an ankle monitor because it would prevent him from taking the field for games and training. The judge said Arnold already has a “paparazzi monitor,” referring to the photographers who have been watching his movements.

“If he shows up on a beach in Tahiti, he’ll be on social media,” Sabella said at the end of the bond hearing in Tampa.

Sabella said that although the charges are serious — each could bring a life sentence if Arnold is convicted — prosecutors are “not there yet” in having a strong case for Arnold’s guilt.

The judge did order Arnold to remain at his home in Tallahassee except for when he’s playing, training and traveling with the Lions. He also said Arnold cannot have any contact with other people tied to the case and must surrender his passport within 48 hours.

Arnold, 23, was a first-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft after playing at the University of Alabama. He had 31 tackles and an interception last season as part of the Lions’ defense.

According to prosecutors, the victims were abducted three days after cash and luxury items, including Rolex watches and Louis Vuitton bags, were reported stolen from Arnold at an Airbnb rental in the Tampa area. Prosecutors allege that six of Arnold’s associates actually carried out the crimes, holding, beating and pistol-whipping the victims, and that Arnold wasn’t there at the time.

None of Arnold’s co-defendants had bond set for them. Two female co-defendants have pleaded guilty and are cooperating with authorities. Their statements tie Arnold, who was not at the apartment, to the crimes, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors argue that Arnold is as responsible for the crimes as his co-defendants because he told his associates that he thought he knew who had stolen from him and said he wanted to confront them, setting events in motion.

“Our office remains committed to seeking justice for the three victims in the case who were beaten, robbed, and held against their will,” said Erin Maloney, a spokesperson for the state attorney’s office.

But Harvey Steinberg, an attorney for Arnold, argued in court Monday that prosecutors are “not even close” to showing that Arnold that he knew or directed what his associates would do.

Denise White, the CEO of EAG Sports Management, which represents Arnold, said the judge’s ruling “confirms that there is very little evidence to even suggest any criminal involvement by Mr. Arnold.”

___

This story was updated to correct that among the charges Arnold faces are four robbery-related counts, not four assault counts.

The Buffalo Sabres re-signed forward Beck Malenstyn to a six-year, $17.5 million deal on Monday, two days before he was set to become a free agent.

Malenstyn, 28, was acquired from the Washington Capitals ahead of the 2024-25 season. He has 24 regular-season points (11 goals, 13 assists) across his first two seasons in Buffalo, including a career-high seven goals in 2025-26.

Malenstyn largely made his presence felt in other areas. He set a franchise record this past season with 282 hits (fifth-most in the league) and finished second on the Sabres with 75 blocked shots.

He also recorded the fastest skating speed recorded in the NHL Edge era (since 2021-22) when he reached a speed of 24.94 mph in a March game against the Capitals.

“Being somebody that tries to play that heavy, hard, fast, physical game all the time, I think there are moments where you maybe create a little bit more space for yourself and don’t take advantage of them,” Malenstyn said. “… I think I was able to take a step in that direction this year, create a little bit more offense when I was on the ice.”

His new average salary of just over $2.9 million annually more than doubles his previous salary with Buffalo ($1.35 million).

Malenstyn helped the Sabres snap an NHL-record 14-year playoff drought this past season, with the run coming to an end in the second round against the Montreal Canadiens.

–Field Level Media