分类： sports

In a clash that will go down in NBA Finals folklore, the New York Knicks pulled off the largest comeback in championship series history on Wednesday, erasing a mammoth 29-point deficit to edge the San Antonio Spurs 107-106 at Madison Square Garden. The stunning result gives New York a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven title race, with Game 5 set to tip off this Saturday in San Antonio.

OG Anunoby, who finished the night with 33 points, delivered the game-winning tip-in with just 1.2 seconds left on the clock, converting the putback after Jalen Brunson’s three-point attempt bounced off the rim. The last-second bucket sent the sold-out, star-studded Garden crowd into a wild celebration, capping off an unprecedented second-half surge from the Knicks. Brunson led all scorers with 36 points in a performance that showcased his clutch leadership when his team needed it most.

San Antonio got off to a historic start that looked set to lock in a series-tying win. Led by young star Victor Wembanyama, who posted a 24-point, 13-rebound double-double, the Spurs hit 14 first-half three-pointers – a new NBA Finals record – and carried a 76-49 lead into the halftime break. Their 27-point halftime advantage was also the largest ever for a road team in the Finals, built on red-hot shooting that left the Knicks reeling early.

Additional contributions from Dylan Harper (21 points), De’Aaron Fox (18 points) and Devin Vassell (18 points) powered San Antonio’s opening half dominance, but the team’s offense vanished after the break. The Spurs managed just 30 total second-half points, and their late-game collapse allowed the Knicks to claw their way back into contention.

Early game foul trouble plagued the Knicks from the start: center Karl-Anthony Towns picked up two quick fouls in the first quarter, while reserve Mitchell Robinson was called for a flagrant foul after a frustrated forearm to Wembanyama’s throat. Brunson, constantly hounded by San Antonio’s defense, did not hit his first basket until the second quarter. By the midpoint of the game, it looked like the Spurs would force a 2-2 split heading back to Texas.

The turning point came early in the third quarter, when Wembanyama was called for a flagrant foul after an elbow to Towns’ face, leaving the Spurs star one foul away from an automatic suspension. The call seemed to introduce hesitation into San Antonio’s play, and the Knicks capitalized immediately with a 13-0 scoring run. The Spurs cooled off dramatically, connecting on just 4 of 20 third-quarter shots and turning the ball over five times after only two turnovers in the entire first half.

Trailing 90-75 going into the final quarter, the Knicks chipped away at the lead steadily, withstanding San Antonio’s attempts to stem the tide and leaning on their collective resilience to stay in the fight. Brunson put the Knicks ahead for the first time all game with a 105-104 floater just 82 seconds away from the final buzzer. San Antonio’s Stephon Castle hit two free throws to reclaim the lead, setting up Anunoby’s last-second heroics.

After the game, Wembanyama took responsibility for the collapse, acknowledging his team’s lack of hunger in the final two quarters. “I don’t know. I think it’s just execution, greediness of some sort. We clearly weren’t the most hungry in the second half,” the Spurs star said.

Towns paid tribute to the Garden faithful who never gave up on the team despite the lopsided halftime deficit. “It was an ugly, ugly game. We didn’t bring it in the first half. But they stuck with us,” Towns said.

Knicks head coach Mike Brown praised his team’s collective resilience in the face of severe early adversity, highlighting the squad’s chemistry as the key to the historic win. “You talk about a total team effort when we hit adversity. Our guys showed their resiliency and showed they’re connected enough to handle a moment like that,” Brown said.

Prior to Wednesday’s game, the largest comeback in NBA Finals history was a 24-point rally by the Boston Celtics against the Los Angeles Lakers back in 2008. The Knicks’ 29-point comeback has now set a new benchmark for late-series resilience in championship play, putting New York 48 minutes away from their first NBA title in decades.

Even as geopolitical conflict rages between Iran and the United States, two lifelong Iranian American football superfans are refusing to let political tensions dim their excitement for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is being co-hosted across North America. For 70-year-old Mostafa Pourmand and 64-year-old Reza Mansoor, who have built a 50-year life in San Diego, California, supporting Iran’s national men’s football team Team Melli is more than a hobby — it is a decades-long commitment that has already seen them attend 11 World Cup tournaments combined. This year, even open military conflict between their home nation and their adopted home’s country has not shaken their dedication: the pair say they are eager for nothing more than a historic on-pitch showdown between Iran and the US in the knockout rounds.

To make that long-awaited clash a reality, Iran will need to hit a milestone it has never reached in its World Cup history: advancing beyond the group stage. For Mansoor, the 2026 draw gives Team Melli its best ever shot at breaking that curse, with the team drawn into a group against New Zealand, Egypt and Belgium. “There is a really high chance that we’re going to advance, best chance we’ve ever had,” he told AFP in an interview. Buoyed by that optimism, the pair have already purchased advance tickets for knockout stage matches, to ensure they will be in the stands if Iran advances to a match-up against the US.

Amid renewed deadly clashes in the Strait of Hormuz — a critical global trade waterway where hostilities flared again after a brief lull — Mansoor holds onto the hope that a football match could act as an unexpected bridge between two nations locked in conflict. “I think everyone will love it, and I think that match would actually bring out peace. It could change a lot of things,” he said.

Mansoor’s commitment to Team Melli runs so deep that he has already crossed the Mexican border to Tijuana, where he is staying at the same hotel as the Iranian squad, after the team relocated its pre-tournament training camp from Tucson, Arizona to Mexico. The 2026 tournament will mark Mansoor’s sixth World Cup attendance; he has traveled to every edition Iran qualified for, with the exception of the 1978 tournament.

For both fans, one of their most cherished memories dates back to the 1998 World Cup in France, where Iran claimed its first ever World Cup victory with a dramatic 2-1 win over the US. At the time, FIFA framed the match as one of “fraternity”, a rare moment of connection between two nations that had been estranged since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Before kickoff, players from both sides exchanged flowers and posed for a joint group photo — a moment Mansoor calls one of the most iconic in World Cup history. That encounter opened the door for a 2000 friendly match between the two nations in Los Angeles, a city nicknamed “Tehrangeles” for its large and vibrant Iranian American community. That match ended in a 1-1 draw, and Pourmand recalls the whole stadium cheering for both sides. “Those were the good old days,” he smiled.

This year’s tournament carries far more tension, however. Since late February, Tehran and Washington have been engaged in open military conflict following joint strikes by Israel and the United States. Iran retaliated by targeting US allies in the Gulf and restricting traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the global oil artery whose disruption has sent shockwaves through the global economy. This geopolitical turmoil cast significant uncertainty over Iran’s participation in the World Cup, which sees all three of the team’s group stage matches hosted on US soil.

While the Iranian players have received US visas to compete, several support staff and team administrators have been denied entry, prompting the squad to move their training camp across the border to Mexico. Mansoor calls this the most difficult World Cup Iran has experienced out of its seven total tournament appearances.

Beyond geopolitical tensions, the pair also face division within the global Iranian diaspora, where many see the national team as a propaganda tool for the Islamic Republic. During the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, just months after the death of Mahsa Amini in morality police custody sparked nationwide protests that were violently crushed, the team faced loud boos from dissident Iranian fans. Even Iran’s 1-0 loss to the US in that tournament was celebrated by protesters on the streets of Iran. That rift remains fresh: in Los Angeles, the Iranian diaspora held large-scale protests in January to condemn the brutal crackdown on a new popular uprising that left thousands of Iranians dead. Pourmand expects widespread opposition to the national team during matches in LA.

Still, he remains convinced that once the first whistle blows, much of that political animosity will fade for true football fans. “People like me, people like my friend, and the true fans, they are tuning out and want to just focus on the game,” he said. “We’ll deal with the politics after.”

As the NRL’s round of State of Origin-enforced squad reshuffles kicks off, the Sydney Roosters are preparing to face the Dolphins at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium on Friday night with a drastically altered lineup—seven of their top first-grade stars are sidelined for the clash, but head coach Trent Robinson says the mass absences have created a golden opportunity for rising talent to prove their worth at the top level.

Both sides are navigating significant Origin-related disruptions. The Dolphins will also be without five of their Queensland Maroons representatives for the match, but they have received a timely boost: playmaker Isaiya Katoa has been released from New South Wales Origin camp to suit up for the club on Friday. For the Roosters, the absentees read like a who’s who of regular matchwinners: captain and fullback James Tedesco, Lindsay Collins, Mark Nawaqanitawase, Reece Robson, Robert Toia, Sam Walker and Victor Radley will all watch from the sidelines, with Nawaqanitawase in line to make his senior State of Origin debut for the Blues.

One of the most anticipated inclusions in the Roosters’ extended squad is 19-year-old prospect Rex Bassingthwaighte, a Dubbo native recently named to the NSW Under-19s side who has long been tagged as the club’s future long-term fullback. Speaking to reporters ahead of the game, Robinson said the young talent has earned his first call-up to a top-grade bench spot after turning heads in junior and reserve competitions. “Rex has come down from Dubbo and been on our radar for a while,” Robinson said. “He’s got a free spirit about him, but he’s also really gone after moments through the junior grades. We saw that in the SG Ball, we’ve seen that in reserve grade, so it was good to put him on that the bench, and I’m looking forward to see if he gets that opportunity. You can see when someone’s going to be a first-grader, and it’s time to give some of those guys an opportunity.”

While the roster is far from the Roosters’ full-strength starting side, the club still retains elite experience with key playmaker Daly Cherry-Evans, forward Angus Crichton, backrower Naufahu Whyte and other established first-graders suiting up. This match also marks the Roosters’ sixth consecutive clash against non-NSW-based opposition, a stretch that has forced the club to dig deep into its 38-player full-time squad. For Robinson, the forced rotation is a positive outcome for the club’s long-term depth. “The guys that you’ll see play, they’ve been in our squad, they train every day,” Robinson said. “We train with about 38 players, and we’re a really close crew. And some of those players that don’t get to play as often get to play tomorrow, and that’s a great thing for a club. We love these weeks. The possibility is really high, and you want to see someone take that opportunity that they’re going to get. But then it’s also for the other guys that play each week to shoulder the load and say, ‘OK, follow me’. It creates a really good environment for footy this weekend, and it’s some of the most enjoyable weeks of the year.”

Two players in particular are gearing up for highly anticipated returns to their preferred positions, starting with halfback Hugo Savala. With regular starting half Sam Walker sidelined for Origin, Savala will step into the halves to partner Cherry-Evans, the man he is widely expected to replace long-term. Savala has turned in strong performances at left centre throughout the 2024 season, but the playmaker made his name as a five-eighth in his breakout rookie campaign, and Robinson said the shift back to his natural position has injected extra energy into the young gun. “I think it’s hard to see energy grow from somebody whose energy is so high already. But it’s a great opportunity for him,” Robinson said. “He’s excited about getting back into the halves and playing his role, and so are we.”

For Cody Ramsey, the opportunity to start at fullback is even more meaningful, coming nearly two years after he last started in the role at NRL level and 12 months after he returned from a career-threatening battle with ulcerative colitis. Ramsey, who joined the Roosters after leaving the St George Illawarra Dragons, has played four NRL games since his comeback, filling in on the wing admirably while Nawaqanitawase and Daniel Tupou recovered from injury. Now he will step into the fullback role to cover Tedesco’s Origin absence, a position he calls his own. “I think it was really beneficial to have him play on the wing,” Robinson explained. “It’s not great having Mark and ‘Toops’ out, but to be able to have Cody come in and play (was great) knowing that if Ted did get in Origin that he was going to play that fullback role. So having him on the wing, getting him comfortable on the field again in NRL, and then coming back into fullback, he’s been driven this week.”

For the Dolphins, a win on Friday would see them jump over the injury-hit Roosters into the top eight of the NRL premiership, putting them in strong position to secure a first finals berth since entering the competition. For the Roosters, the opportunity to pull off an upset with a young, inexperienced side has the club embracing the challenge ahead of kickoff.

Just days ahead of their opening 2023 Women’s World Cup Group C clash against Scotland, Haiti has been required to alter its official team kit after global governing body FIFA ruled out a design feature honoring a pivotal moment in the nation’s fight for independence. The original kit, produced by Colombian apparel manufacturer Saeta, included a subtle illustration of the 1803 Battle of Vertieres — the conflict that ultimately secured Haiti’s sovereignty from colonial rule — paired with the country’s national flag. Haitian players wore the original design in two warm-up friendly matches held in Florida earlier this month, triggering a review by FIFA’s equipment compliance team.

In an official statement shared to Instagram Wednesday, Saeta clarified the original creative intent behind the controversial design, emphasizing it was never meant to carry a political message. “The final design we presented was crafted as a tribute to all the Haitian men and women who work every day to build a better future for their country,” the statement read. “Throughout the standard regulatory review process, FIFA concluded that specific visual elements in the design could be interpreted in a way that violates their equipment guidelines, and formally requested adjustments to the kit. While FIFA’s interpretation does not align with our original, non-political intent, Saeta respects the governing body’s processes and has fully implemented the required modifications to meet their final specifications.”

The kit revision comes as Haiti prepares to make its long-awaited return to the World Cup stage, kicking off its campaign against Scotland in Boston on Saturday. This is only the second time in the nation’s history that it has qualified for the tournament, ending a 52-year drought since its last World Cup appearance. Ranked 83rd in the global FIFA rankings, the underdog Caribbean side faces a daunting group stage challenge: after facing Scotland, it will go up against five-time tournament champion Brazil and current African title holder Morocco.

Haiti’s historic qualification has already been hailed as one of the most uplifting underdog stories of this year’s tournament. The team overcame extraordinary off-pitch obstacles to secure their spot, amid widespread gang violence and political instability that has plunged the impoverished Caribbean nation into chaos. The ongoing unrest made it impossible for the team to host any of its qualifying matches on home soil, forcing the side to play all home fixtures in neutral territories. Despite these crippling challenges, the squad pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the qualifying process to book their place in the 32-team tournament.

For Haitian midfielder and team star Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, the World Cup berth offers a chance to reshape global perceptions of his crisis-stricken homeland. “We know many people around the world have a negative image of our country, that they only see all the problems we face,” Bellegarde told AFP in an interview. “But just being here, competing on this stage, will bring so much good for our country, our people, and our families.”