Todays Sporting News – 18 September 2025

• An Independent Foul Play Review Committee (FPRC) convened to consider the red cards issued to Samoa’s Tuna Tuitama (Law 9.20(a)) and Fiji’s Mesake Doge (Fiji) (Law 9.13) during their respective Asahi Super Dry Pacific Nations Cup matches on Sunday, 14 September, 2025.
• Manchester United, the Premier League’s fallen giant, is struggling to keep tabs with its larger rivals after revenues flat-lined and losses continued to mount. The club announced revenues of £666.5 million for the year ending June 2025, and losses of £33.0 million, barely ahead of last year’s £661.7 million. Shares fell as much as 8% in early trading in New York. The results highlight how the club has been adversely affected by its continued slump in performance on the field, and increases fears that the famous brand is struggling to make up the shortfall.
• Chelsea Football Club has been charged with dozens of breaches of Football Association regulations relating to agents, intermediaries and third-party payments between 2011 and 2016 when billionaire Roman Abramovich owned the London club. The payments were uncovered by The Guardian and The Bureau of Investigative Journalism as part of Cyprus Confidential.
• Springbok fullback Willie le Roux, who has earned 101 Test caps, has been quietly released from the squad for the remainder of the Rugby Championship.
• Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk headed home a last-gasp goal in stoppage time to secure a thrilling 3-2 victory over Atlético Madrid in the opening game of their Champions League campaign.
• Olympic 100m silver and bronze medallist Fred Kerley will compete in the inaugural Enhanced Games, where doping is allowed. The news comes soon after the American was provisionally suspended for whereabouts failures.
• Champions League – Liverpool led 2-0 early on but Marcos Llorente scored twice to peg them back – only for Virgil van Dijk’s header to secure victory amid more late drama. Harry Kane scored twice for Bayern Mucnich after an own goal from Trevoh Chalobah as Chelsea lost 3-2 in a sobering start to their campaign. Roundup
• Athletics – Isaac Nader edged Britain’s Jake Wightman for 1500m gold after Josh Kerr’s injury, while Katie Moon claimed her third pole vault title at the World Athletics Championships.
• Football – Former Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey has pleaded not guilty to five counts of rape and one of sexual assault. The Villarreal and Ghana player is due to stand trial in November 2026.
• In the absence of Australian Olympic champion Nina Kennedy, Katie Moon cleared 4.90m to beat fellow American Sandi Morris for the gold medal. The 34-year-old is the first woman to win three straight pole vault world championship titles. Kennedy, who shared gold with Moon at the 2023 world champs, withdrew from the event last week because of a leg injury.
• Ange Postecoglou has started his coaching campaign at Nottingham Forest with two straight losses after his side went down 3-2 to Swansea City overnight.
• Collingwood has ruled 2023 Norm Smith medallist Bobby Hill out of the team to take on the Brisbane Lions in a preliminary final on Saturday.
• South Sydney Rabbitohs star Brandon Smith has faced court today in Queensland, accused of drug supply and betting charges. The 29-year-old was issued a summons notice last month, with police alleging that Smith supplied drugs to former Roosters teammate Victor Radley and also disclosed inside knowledge for betting purposes.
• Australia was beaten by 102 runs in New Chandigarh last night. The margin surpasses Australia’s previous record loss in an ODI from 1973, when they lost to England by 92 runs.
• American Olympic medal-winning sprinter Fred Kerley has announced his decision to join the Enhanced Games. A week ago, Olympic silver-medallist swimmer Ben Proud announced his decision to join the controversial event.
• Two-time Olympic medalist Fred Kerley becomes first track athlete to commit to Enhanced Games, a competition allowing use of performance-enhancing drugs.
• Seattle Mariners’ Cal Raleigh hits 56th home run to break Mickey Mantle’s record for most single-season homers by a switch-hitter.
• The Vodacom United Rugby Championship announced that OUTsurance has expanded its valued sponsorship of match officials into the Northern Hemisphere, strengthening a partnership that has been in place for nearly a decade in South Africa.
• Brandon Woodruff pitched five solid innings, Sal Frelick hit a three-run homer and Blake Perkins tied a career high with five RBIs to lead the Milwaukee Brewers to a 9-2 win over the Angels on Wednesday night.
• Since DeShaun Foster was fired earlier this week, D’Anton Lynn has been near the top of most prospective lists of head coaching candidates for UCLA.
• The fallout from UCLA coach DeShaun Foster’s dismissal deepened Wednesday when interim coach Tim Skipper disclosed that defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe had agreed to “mutually part ways” with the team, depriving the Bruins of one of their most respected assistant coaches.
• After Paris sold a record 12 million tickets for the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, the group organizing the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles is getting a head start on ticket sales.
• Son Heung-min secured his first MLS hat trick on a sliding finish in the 82nd minute and LAFC beat Real Salt Lake 4-1 on Wednesday night.
• In a significant boost for women’s rugby development, SA Rugby has confirmed a brand-new club competition for women, with Betway as the title sponsor, while the U20 Women’s Tournament will see more participating teams than ever before converge on Johannesburg next month.
• Ellie Kildunne returns from a concussion sustained in England’s final pool-stage game against Australia a fortnight ago to take her place as starting full-back in their Rugby World Cup semi-final against France on Saturday.
• The Lions will have a new skipper for Saturday’s Currie Cup final against Griquas at Ellis Park. Coach Mziwakhe Nkosi confirmed that hooker PJ Botha, who has led the team in their last three matches, has been ruled out after suffering a serious knee injury in the semi-final win over Boland.
• Versatile new Bristol back Tom Jordan says fly-half is the position he enjoys playing most as he prepares for the new season.
• Exeter’s England centre Henry Slade says he and his team-mates are ready to put last year’s “terrible” campaign behind them.
• Griquas coach Pieter Bergh has made just one injury-enforced change for Saturday’s Currie Cup final against the Lions at Ellis Park. Concussion will keep lock Malembe Mpofu out of the clash, so Derik Pretorius will wear the No 4 jersey.
• After a promising start to the 2024-25 campaign, the Lions’ season fizzled out into another disappointment. The Joburg-based outfit opened strongly with four straight wins – including statement victories over the Stormers (30-23) and Sharks (38-14) at Ellis Park – suggesting they had shaken off their ‘whipping boys’ tag.
• Eddie Jones says the All Blacks are unsure how they want to play on attack and singled out Beauden Barrett as part of the problem. The Japan coach dissected the All Blacks’ record 43-10 loss to the Springboks in Wellington on the Rugby Unity podcast.
• James O’Connor will have to wait a little bit longer to make his English Premiership debut for the Leicester Tigers. The flyhalf has been retained for national duty for the final two Rugby Championship Tests against the All Blacks.
• Jake Gordon has returned to the Wallabies squad for the final two Rugby Championship Tests against the All Blacks, including the Bledisloe Cup opener in Auckland on 27 September.
• With one of the highest work rates in South African rugby, it was widely expected that Warren Whiteley would go on to enjoy longevity at the highest level of the game. But sadly, injury curtailed his international career.
• SA Rugby CEO Riaan Oberholzer has confirmed that South Africa will launch its first professional women’s domestic competition in 2026.
• Star flanker Jorja Miller will miss defending champions New Zealand’s Rugby World Cup semi-final against Canada on Friday night in Bristol.
• England have not come close to realising their potential at the Rugby World Cup, despite four resounding wins, says attack coach Lou Meadows.
• The Vodacom United Rugby Championship has extended its partnership with FloSports, ensuring American rugby fans can stream all 151 games each season until 2027 on the FloRugby platform.
• Edinburgh Rugby is delighted to announce Scotland international back-row Magnus Bradbury has been appointed captain for the 2025/26 season. Bradbury, 30, has been an impressive performer and a natural leader since rejoining the club from Bristol Bears last season. He previously spent eight years in the Scottish capital, developing from an academy graduate to the club’s 36th centurion.
• Former Test hooker Rhys Thomas is happy to be back in Prem Rugby with Gloucester after a taste of international coaching with Wales.
• Defending champions New Zealand be without superstar sevens convert Jorja Miller in their Women’s Rugby World Cup semi-final clash with Canada. An unspecified injury has seen Miller left out of the team for Saturday morning’s clash.
• Feleu will miss the remainder of the Womens Rugby World Cup tournament along with teammate Axelle Berthoumieu, who has had her suspension for biting reduced to nine weeks.
• South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus has kept faith with the squad that routed New Zealand 43-10 in their last Rugby Championship match for upcoming Tests against Argentina in Durban and London. The defeat was New Zealand’s .
• In a Newport Beach Planning Commission held meeting earlier this month it was noted the surf park would see 1,400 visitors daily with 388 people at any given time.
• With a beaming smile, Mohamed Salah assumed his place on the Anfield advertising hoardings and soaked up the applause from his adoring public. The 33-year-old had just put Liverpool 2-0 up in their UEFA Champions League opener.
• Sprint sensation Gout Gout has lived up to the hype by qualifying for the 200m semi-finals at the world championships. Gout Gout running in a green jersey.
• Sean Langman, Managing Director of Noakes Group, believes his yacht has what it takes to help him secure his first ever win in a Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.
• New Zealand’s Megan Thomson and her 2.0 Racing Team made a flawless start to the 2025 World Sailing Women’s Match Racing World Championship on Lake Michigan on Wednesday, scoring four wins from four races in challenging light conditions.
• The British team continue to dominate the 2025 OK Dinghy Worlds at Circolo Vela Arco, on Lake Garda. Andrew Mills won both his races on Wednesday, Day 3 of the event, to take the overall lead from Nick Craig, with Charlie Cumbley still in third.
• With nearly 250 pages of America’s Cup regulations released, it’s clear both the Challenger and Defender have ben forced to take a pragmatic stance on the Naples Cup. Some shafts of light have been shed on the positions of the Challengers and Defender.
• A sailing yacht has sunk off the coast of Portugal after an encounter with a pod of orca. The incident occurred last Saturday (13 September 2025).
• Paignton Sailing Club were excellent hosts of the 2025 Cherub Nationals, Nick and his race team expertly running races over the full 4 days of the event in mainly challenging skiff sailing conditions with one day of lighter winds thrown into the mix.
• Two mixed-gender US teams – Jesse Fielding & Leah Sweet and Joseph Kurta & Adrianna Lee – will take to the waters off Cowes in the UK to compete against some of the best shorthanded offshore sailors in the world for the Offshore Double Handed Worlds.
• On 13 September 2025, 20 GP14s launched from Blessington Sailing Club despite the blustery conditions and made their way out to the race area and across the start line to start the GP14 Autumn Open.
• UK Open Challenger Championship: Fifteen sailors gathered at Rutland Sailing Club. The weather forecasts in the week leading up to the event had suggested that there may be, at worst, no racing or one or more days lost due to strong winds. However, the wind gods smiled.
• The first Unofficial Test match between India A and Australia A in Lucknow has turned into a high-scoring contest, but one player who failed to capitalize was the Indian captain Shreyas Iyer.
• India consigned Australia to their heaviest ODI defeat, winning by 102 runs.
• Smriti Mandhana continued her sensational form in the second Women’s One-Day International against Australia in Mullanpur, scoring a breathtaking century. This was her second consecutive 50-plus score in the series and her third WODI hundred against the formidable Australian side. With this remarkable knock, Mandhana shattered numerous records.
• Pakistan booked their place in the Super 4 stage of the Asia Cup 2025 with a convincing 41-run victory over the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Dubai on Wednesday, September 17. The win not only secured Pakistan’s progression but also set up another clash with arch-rivals India.
• A do-or-die Group B showdown awaits in Asia Cup 2025 when Sri Lanka and Afghanistan meet at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, September 18.
• Bangladesh have home series lined up against Ireland, West Indies, Pakistan and New Zealand in the 2025-26 season calendar
• New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has unveiled a Casual Playing Agreement, a groundbreaking contract model designed to help the Black Caps retain their biggest stars while accommodating the booming demand of franchise cricket worldwide. The arrangement allows players to feature regularly in global leagues but ensures their commitment to New Zealand.
• Ashmini Munisar’s 3 for 21 including a maiden went in vain after she brought back Amazon Warriors into the contest
• Left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie ran through Kings’ middle order to reduce them to 48 for 7 before Khary Pierre’s maiden fifty reduced the margin of defeat
• West Indies all-rounder Rovman Powell has selected his all-time T20 XI, and it features a formidable core of four Indian players. The team, which Powell revealed in a video on the Barbados Royals’ Instagram page, is a mix of power-hitters, strategic geniuses, and world-class bowlers from around the globe.
• There is an unprecedented number of young, promising Jewish cricketers now playing English county cricket.
• The Ravens will break out their popular all-black uniforms for their “Monday Night Football” matchup against the Detroit Lions in Week 3.
• Ursuline Catholic High School in Ohio has benched its powerhouse football team for the rest of the season.
• A Pennsylvania school district has confirmed that a synthetic drug was given to some of its football players without parental consent.
• The University of Delaware football team will travel to Miami for their first-ever Conference USA matchup against the FIU Panthers.
• UCLA and Virginia Tech fired their coaches Sunday after Week 3 of the college football season.
• The PGA Tour announced The Sentry will not be played at The Plantation Course at Kapalua in January due to ongoing drought conditions.
• The Augusta University women’s golf team is ready for their third tournament of the fall as they head to Greenville, South Carolina.
• Stacy Lewis, the captain of the United States’ 2024 Solheim Cup-winning team, says she will retire from golf at the end of the LPGA season.
• Donald Trump’s Aberdeenshire golf course has breached sewage contamination limits 14 times since 2019, documents reveal.
• Tributes are being paid to the former Manchester Storm ice hockey star Wade MacLeod, who has died aged 38.
• Get ready for another thrilling season of international hockey as the FIH Hockey Pro League returns for its seventh edition in 2025/26.
• “Play the game, not the name” is a motto the Boston University field hockey team swears by—most of the time.
• A coalition of advocacy organisations and fan groups called on European soccer federations to boycott Israel .
• Björn Borg starts his new memoir, “Heartbeats,” with a story about being rushed to a Dutch hospital in the 1990s after overdosing.
• American tennis player Taylor Townsend is apologizing for making negative comments about food served in China.
• Roger Federer, together with the USTA Foundation and Mercedes-Benz, helped unveil six new tennis courts at John McLaren Park.
• Mike Napoli returns as an Assistant Coach for the Colby College Men’s Tennis team to begin the 2025-26 academic year.
• ePaul men’s tennis head coach Matt Brothers officially announced the addition of four newcomers to the 2025-26 Blue Demons roster.
• Olympic gold medallists will face off in the men’s javelin final at the World Athletics Championship 2025 in Tokyo.

TODAY IN SPORTS HISTORY:

1899 — The Cincinnati Open begins. It is the oldest tennis tournament in the United States still played in its original city and is now known as the Cincinnati Masters & Women’s Open.

1938 — The Chicago Bears beat the Green Bay Packers 2-0. Left end Dick Plasman tackles Arnie Herber in the end zone in the fourth quarter for the win.

1946 — Joe Louis knocks out Tami Mauriello in the first round at Yankee Stadium in New York to retain the world heavyweight title.

1960 — Goose Gonsoulin intercepts four passes to lead the Denver Broncos to a 27-21 win over the Buffalo Bills.

1965 — In his first collegiate game, quarterback Billy Stevens of Texas-El Paso gains 483 total yards in a 61-15 rout of North Texas State. Receiver Chuck Hughes has 349 of those yards.

1966 — Baltimore quarterback Johnny Unitas throws 4 touchdown passes in 38-23 win at Minnesota to surpass Y.A. Tittle as NFL’s career leader with 212; finishes career with 290 TD passes.

1967 — U.S. yacht Intrepid beats the Australian yacht Dame Pattie in four straight races to defend the America’s Cup.

1977 — U.S. yacht Courageous beats the challenger Australia in four straight races to defend the America’s Cup.

1982 — In a rare father-son matchup, coach Jack Elway leads San Jose State to its second consecutive upset of quarterback John Elway and Stanford 35-31 in Palo Alto, Calif. John Elway completes 24-of-36 passes for 382 yards and three touchdowns. Spartans quarterback Steve Clarkson, throws for 285 yards, three touchdowns and scores on a three-yard keeper for the win after a Cardinal fumble. Stanford reaches the Spartans’ 26-yard line, but Elway gets sacked on four consecutive plays to end the game.

2005 — Green Bay’s Brett Favre joins Dan Marino and John Elway with 50,000 yards passing and also breaks Elway’s single-stadium NFL touchdown record of 180 with a 4-yard toss to Tony Fisher with 4 seconds left of a 26-24 loss to Cleveland at Lambeau Field.

2011 — At 16, Lexi Thompson becomes the youngest player to win an LPGA Tour event. The 16-year-old Floridian closes with a 2-under 70 to win by five strokes over Tiffany Joh at the Navistar LPGA Classic in Prattville, Ala. Thompson shatters the age record for winning a multiple-round tournament held by Paula Creamer, who won in 2005 at 18.

2011 — Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton sets an NFL rookie record by throwing for 432 yards against the Green Bay Packers. Newton, who tied the record by throwing for 422 yards in last week’s loss at Arizona, completes 28 of 46 passes with one touchdown in the 30-23 loss to the Packers. Newton’s 854 yards passing is also the most yards for a player in his first two games.

2013 — American Jordan Burroughs earns another wrestling world title. Burroughs, a gold medalist at the 2012 Olympics, extends his undefeated streak to 65 matches with a 4-0 victory over Iran’s Ezzatollah Akbarizarinkolaei in the 163-pound category at the Laszlo Papp Sports Arena in Budapest, Hungary.

2016 — Detroit’s Anquan Boldin has a touchdown catch in the Lions’ 16-15 loss to Tennessee, to join Terrell Owens as the only players in NFL history to have at least 1,000 career receptions and a touchdown catch with four teams.

TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY:

1903 — Philadelphia’s Chick Fraser pitched a 10-0 no-hitter against the Chicago Cubs in the second game of a doubleheader. The Cubs won the opener 6-5. Fraser struck out five and walked four. Peaches Graham, normally a catcher, was the loser in his only major league decision.

1908 — Bob Rhoads of the Indians pitched a no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox for a 2-1 victory in Cleveland.

1930 — New York pitcher Red Ruffing hit two home runs as the Yankees edged the St. Louis Browns 7-6 in 10 innings.

1954 — The Cleveland Indians clinched the American League pennant with a 3-2 triumph over the Detroit Tigers.

1963 — The New York Mets lost their last game at the Polo Grounds — 5-1 to the Philadelphia Phillies before a crowd of 1,752.

1968 — Ray Washburn threw a 2-0 no-hitter against the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park, one day after the Giants’ Gaylord Perry tossed a no-hitter against Washburn’s St. Louis Cardinals.

1980 — Minnesota’s Gary Ward hit for the cycle in a 9-8 loss at Milwaukee. It was Ward’s 14th career game and the home run was his first in the major leagues. The Brewers won the game in the bottom of the ninth on Gorman Thomas’ two-out two-run homer.

1984 — The Detroit Tigers clinched the American League East Division with a 3-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers, making the Tigers the fourth team in major league history to lead from start to finish. The other three teams were the 1923 New York Giants, 1927 New York Yankees and the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers.

1984 — Montreal’s Tim Raines became the first player in major league history with four consecutive seasons of 70 or more stolen bases by swiping four in the Expos’ 7-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.

1985 — Boston catcher Rich Gedman hit for the cycle and drove in seven runs as the Red Sox rout the Toronto Blue Jays, 13-1.

1987 — Detroit’s Darrell Evans became the first 40-year-old player in major league history to hit 30 home runs in a season as the Tigers beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-6.

1996 — Roger Clemens equaled his own major league record, fanning 20 batters and pitching a four-hitter to lead Boston over the Detroit Tigers 4-0.

2003 — Atlanta clinched its 12th straight division title when second-place Florida was mathematically eliminated from the NL East race after a 5-4 loss to Philadelphia. The record title streak started in 1991, when the Braves won the NL West. They moved to the East Division in 1994 and trailed Montreal by six games when the strike stopped the season in August.

2006 — The Dodgers hit four consecutive homers in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game and Nomar Garciaparra’s two-run homer in the 10th lifted Los Angeles to an 11-10 victory over the San Diego Padres.

2011 — Erick Aybar went 4 for 4, with four extra-base hits and tied a franchise record by scoring five runs, leading the Angels to an 11-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.

2012 — Dusty Baker managed his 3,000th game, guiding the Cincinnati Reds against one of his former teams, the Chicago Cubs.

2020 — Garrett Crochet becomes the first player in over a decade to go straight to the majors when the #11 pick from the 2020 amateur draft makes his maiden appearance pitching in relief for the White Sox against the Reds. After working out at the Sox’s alternate training site in Schaumburg, IL since being signed, he impresses by striking two of three batter he faces and regularly hitting 100 mph on the radar gun with his fastball.