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June 23 – RB Leipzig have appointed Martin Demichelis as their head coach, the German club said on Monday, with the Argentine signing a contract until June 2028.

Demichelis replaces Ole Werner, who was sacked last week, despite Leipzig finishing third in the Bundesliga last season and qualifying for next season’s Champions League.

The Argentine is RB Leipzig’s eighth permanent head coach since the club’s promotion to the Bundesliga in the 2016-17 season.

Demichelis began his coaching career as an assistant at Malaga and also worked with Bayern’s youth teams. He took on his first senior managerial role at boyhood club River Plate for the 2022-23 season, guiding the Buenos Aires side to the Argentine league title.

He was most recently in charge of relegation-threatened Spanish side Mallorca, taking over in February until the end of the season. Despite five wins and an eight-game unbeaten run, Demichelis was unable to keep the club in La Liga.

“RB Leipzig are an ambitious club with a clear identity, outstanding talent and a determination to keep improving at the highest level. That is exactly the kind of challenge I was looking for,” the 45-year-old said in a statement.

“I’m also really looking forward to leading RB Leipzig in the Champions League. Testing ourselves against Europe’s best is an incredible challenge and exactly where a club with RB Leipzig’s ambition and quality belongs. I can’t wait to share those special nights with the team.”

Demichelis spent the majority of his playing career with Bayern Munich, making 259 appearances for the club and winning four Bundesliga titles and four German Cups.

He also played for River Plate, Malaga, Atletico Madrid, Espanyol and Manchester City, where he won the Premier League in 2014. He has 51 senior caps for Argentina’s national team, and was a World Cup runner-up in 2014. 

Brandon Aiyuk is making it clear what his preferred destination is whenever the San Francisco 49ers decide to part ways with him.

In his latest Instagram video, posted by the wide receiver to his Instagram Story on Sunday night, Aiyuk yells out: “Go Commanders! Go Commanders! Go Commanders! Raise Hail! Take Command!”

He also posted a photo of former quarterback Mark Rypien hoisting the Lombardi Trophy after Washington won Super Bowl XXVI.

49ers general manager John Lynch said in January that it was “safe to say that [Aiyuk] has played his last snap with the Niners.” However, the team has held on to him in the hope they could find a trade partner.

While he is stuck in limbo, Aiyuk has been voicing his frustration toward the 49ers via social media. In early June, Aiyuk began to speak out publicly for the first time. In a pair of videos posted to Instagram, he called the 49ers “dumb” and “stupid” for paying him and suggested that the team was scared to release him because of how he might play for another team.

Sunday’s video isn’t the first time that Aiyuk has hinted at his desire to play for the Commanders and reunite with quarterback Jayden Daniels, his close friend and former teammate at Arizona State. He had previously posted photos of himself in a Commanders hat and Daniels and the Commanders are among the five accounts he is following on Instagram.

The 49ers signed Aiyuk to a four-year, $120 million contract extension in August 2024. However, San Francisco and Aiyuk have been at odds for almost a year with the situation escalating last July when the 49ers voided the remaining guaranteed money in his contract because he did not participate in rehab sessions for the torn ACL, MCL and meniscus in his right knee that he suffered during the 2024 season. The Niners then put Aiyuk on the reserve/left team list in December after Aiyuk stopped showing up at the team facility.

In an interview with the “Pardon My Take” podcast, which was posted Monday, 49ers tight end George Kittle was asked by co-host PFT Commenter, who is a Commanders fan, how Aiyuk looked on the field the last time he saw him.

“I used to make it a habit of mine to go out early in the morning before meetings to watch him train because he’d always be out there early, and I watched him run over 22 miles an hour and watched him stop on a dime. He’s still got it, but that was eight months ago, so I don’t really know. You guys have fun with that, I guess … You have fun with all that comes with it.”

Then responding to the notion that Aiyuk will be happy once he’s a Commander, Kittle quipped: “You’re right. I wouldn’t be happy either after a team paid me a $130 million.”

Before his knee injury, Aiyuk had emerged as one of the league’s most productive wideouts. He had 75 catches for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns on his way to second-team All-Pro honors in 2023.

Sydney Sy Tancontian will defend her heavyweight title in the 11th Asia-Oceania Sambo Championships starting on Friday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Malate, Manila.

The 27-year-old pride of Davao City, daughter of Pilipinas Sambo Federation (PSF) president Paolo Tancontian, is the world No. 1 in the +80kg category.

“Thank God, my father’s health has greatly improved and is now addressing the details of the tournament so I can now focus on taking part in the competition,” said Sy in a news release Monday.

Sy defeated Mongolian Buyanzaya Ser-Ochir for the gold medal last year in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Teammate Aislynn Yap also ruled the women’s -80kg combat class.

“I have already seen the draw in my weight class and, with the help of the hometown crowd, we believe have a strong chance of becoming the champion once again,” said Tancontian, chairperson of the International Sambo Federation Athletes Commission.

Over 500 athletes from 31 countries are expected to join the four-day tournament presented by the Philippine Sports Commission under the aegis of the National Sports Tourism Inter-Agency Committee.

“Sydney’s participation is a big inspiration to the national team and country. If she’s there, the confidence of her teammates is different,” said the elder Tancontian.

Tickets at PHP100 each are available at the ticket booths at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

“We made the ticket price very affordable for sports fans because this event will not only be a treat in watching the best of our grapplers from Asia and Oceania in action but also a chance to root for our own grapplers as well,” said the PSF chief.

“This is our chance to support our good sambo athletes for the country’s honor,” he added.

Tancontian said that those who are unable to watch the live action of the 11th Asia-Oceania Sambo Championships can still go to the sambo.live website and Facebook Live on the official PSC and PSF pages.

MONTERREY, Mexico – South Korea arrived at the site of its final group stage match of the ongoing FIFA World Cup in northeastern Mexico on Sunday.

South Korean players and their staff checked into their hotel in Monterrey, greeted by dozens of fans at the entrance.

Fans yelled players’ names as they entered the hotel, with captain Son Heung-min drawing the loudest cheers.

The Taegeuk Warriors had been training near Guadalajara, south of Monterrey, for the past two-plus weeks, as they played their first two Group A matches there.

South Korea opened the competition with a 2-1 win over Czechia on June 11, but lost to the home team Mexico 1-0 on Thursday.

Mexico had already clinched the top spot in Group A with six points.

South Korea is in second place with three points, and can join Mexico in the round of 32 with a win or a draw against South Africa at 7 p.m. Wednesday (local time) at Estadio Monterrey, or 10 a.m. Thursday (South Korean time).

South Korea may also sneak into the knockouts as one of the eight best third-place teams, even if it loses to South Africa, but Mexico must defeat or draw against Czechia on Wednesday.

However, if both South Korea and Mexico lose on the final day, South Korea will be eliminated.

South Koreans will be training in hotter and more humid conditions in Monterrey after enjoying cooler settings in Guadalajara.

Estadio Monterrey is expected to be among the hottest open-air stadiums at the tournament, which is being co-hosted by Mexico, Canada and the United States. 

WASHINGTON – Lionel Messi became the outright leading scorer in World Cup history with his 18th tournament goal after scoring twice in reigning champion Argentina’s 2-0 victory over Austria on Monday.

Messi opened the scoring in the 38th minute after failing to convert an early penalty, with his left-footed attempt in the ninth minute drifting just wide of the right post.

The Argentina captain sealed the win deep into stoppage time, netting his second goal in the fifth minute of added time (90+5) to extend his all-time World Cup scoring record to 18 goals.

The brace also extended Messi’s scoring run to six consecutive World Cup matches, equaling an achievement previously reached by France’s Just Fontaine and Brazil’s Jairzinho.

Messi had matched Germany’s Miroslav Klose on 16 goals after netting a hat trick in Argentina’s 3-0 Group J win over Algeria last week in Kansas City.

His two goals against Austria moved him clear at the top of the tournament’s all-time scoring chart.

Monday’s match also marked Messi’s FIFA-record 28th World Cup appearance, his sixth tournament overall.

CHICAGO – There was a brief moment at the end of a 6-5 walk-off victory for the White Sox over the Guardians on Monday night at Rate Field where it wasn’t a certainty that Chicago had actually won.

Sam Antonacci delivered a two-run single with two outs off Cade Smith, arguably one of the best closers in the game, bringing home Braden Montgomery and Tristan Peters. But the play at the plate on Peters was close thanks to center fielder Daniel Schneemann’s throw – close enough for the Guardians to challenge.

When the call was upheld, most of the 23,151 in attendance went crazy. As for the White Sox players?

They began circling Antonacci near the home dugout and finished surrounding him while euphorically running into left-center field. It unofficially had to be one of the longest White Sox celebrations, distance-wise, on record.

“They covered a lot of ground,” White Sox manager Will Venable said with a smile on his face. “Great for them and those guys are obviously very happy.”

“I saw the coolers. Trying to dodge that,” Antonacci said. “Yeah, they were fun.”

Antonacci’s first-pitch connection became the sixth walk-off hit for the White Sox this season. “Walk off” over the previous three 100-plus-loss seasons usually was what the White Sox did as they piled up defeats.

Three rookies have delivered game-winners, with Antonacci joining Peters and Montgomery, who hit the walk-off homer off Raisel Iglesias in his Major League debut. The last season the White Sox had three rookies with a walk-off hit came in their division-winning run of ‘21, when Nick Madrigal, Yermín Mercedes and Gavin Sheets did the honors.

This rally began with Montgomery’s one-out walk and Peters’ check-swing double rolling perfectly along the third-base line. Of course it rolled perfectly – the White Sox are home, where they have a 25-12 record overall and a 21-4 mark over their last 25.“The game is never over until the last out is recorded,” Peters said. “That’s what we believe in, and we are going to fight every day, every inning.”

“Just jubilation,” said Montgomery of the comeback feeling. “That was really fun to be a part of, a really fun game. Obviously a roller coaster of emotions. That’s baseball.”

In all honesty, the White Sox looked in position to claim a much more comfortable victory in this initial battle of the American League Central’s top two teams. They built up a 3-0 lead behind eight strikeouts over six scoreless innings and a season-high 101 pitches from Anthony Kay, only to have Grant Taylor allow three runs in the seventh.

A broken-bat two-out single from Antonacci scored the first go-ahead run in the seventh, only to have Seranthony Domínguez blow his second straight save and fifth overall. Both hurlers walked the leadoff hitter in their respective part of the ninth inning, leading to very candid postgame comments from Domínguez.

“You can’t walk the first guy. I have to be better than that,” Domínguez said. “How can I tell you? It’s a tough moment for me right now. I couldn’t get a save yesterday. I couldn’t get a save today.

“Fortunately we won today. That’s a great comeback for the guys, and they did a great job. My goal is to get better and try to help the team win.”

Domínguez was part of the Antonacci celebration, saying it felt as if the rookie “took off something from my shoulders.” The victory moved the White Sox (40-37, .519) percentage points ahead of the Guardians (41-38, .518) in a virtual tie for the division’s top spot.

After being swept at Detroit this past weekend, the White Sox still have yet to lose more than three straight. Although their on-field gratification was delayed momentarily, they made up for lost time once the run and victory were confirmed.

“It’s going in slow motion. I wouldn’t want it to speed up,” Montgomery said. “Standing there on the field, surrounded by all those people, everyone that loves the Sox.

“From the players and staff to everyone filling up the stadium, it was special. Being able to put together an inning like that, against an arm like that in its own right was already great. Waiting for that final verdict was a really cool moment.”

Really cool for the White Sox? Yes, for sure. Special? Well, it goes without saying. But also a moment to process if and when October baseball arrives.

“We said in there, that’s kind of what a playoff game is going to feel like,” Antonacci said. “Just looking forward to keep putting good days ahead.”

“Any time you get to experience that and prepare for that, you feel that much more confident the next time it happens,” Montgomery said. “It was just a fun day at the ballpark.”

Colorado also ended the game with 8 straight hits — which no team has done in decades

DENVER – Jake McCarthy came to the plate in the bottom of the ninth, the bases loaded, with a chance to get the Colorado Rockies back in the game.

He did more than give them a chance – his bases-clearing triple delivered a 3-2 walk-off win against Aroldis Chapman, one of the best closers in baseball.

“That was surreal. It still hasn’t sunk in,” said McCarthy, soaked after a Powerade shower from his teammates. “Off a great pitcher like that, it all happened pretty fast.”

McCarthy became the sixth player in the Divisional Era (since 1969) to hit a walk-off triple when trailing by two runs, and the first since Grady Sizemore in 2006.

Walk-off triples when trailing by 2 runs, Divisional Era (1969):
6/22/26 Jake McCarthy
8/11/06 Grady Sizemore
9/26/87 Juan Beníquez
4/14/80 Dave Collins
9/3/71 Manny Mota
5/29/71 Joe Torre

The Rockies finished the game with seven straight singles before McCarthy’s triple. They’re the first team since at least 1961 — the Expansion Era — with hits in each of their final eight plate appearances of a game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

“Eight straight hits to end the ballgame against two world-class pitchers, [Garrett] Whitlock and Chapman,” manager Warren Schaeffer said. “They don’t quit. We’ve been saying it all year: we fight till the end, and tonight we got rewarded for it.”

Colorado couldn’t muster a run through eight innings but used the dramatic rally to overcome a dominant six innings by Boston rookie Jake Bennett. He struck out nine and didn’t walk a batter, controlling the Rockies through 72 pitches and outdueling Ryan Feltner.

“The starter was humming tonight. He was really good,” McCarthy said of Bennett. “He had a couple of fastballs that played at the top, he mixed in his offspeed – that guy’s really good. It was a good sign to see him get out of the game.”

Neither pitcher gave up a run through five innings but the Red Sox got to Feltner for two runs in the sixth.

The right-hander had a shaky start – he walked three of the first seven batters he faced – before settling in and retiring 13 in a row ahead of Boston’s two-out rally.

“He was outstanding,” Schaeffer said. “He settled in, started pounding the strike zone. It was great.”

It looked like Feltner would take the loss after Colorado squandered a chance in the eighth. With one out the Rockies hit four straight singles off Whitlock but were still trailing 2-0 after Edouard Julien was thrown out at home and Willi Castro was cut down at second to end the inning.

But their resiliency came through in the ninth.

TJ Rumfield, the NL Rookie of the Month in May, started the rally with a single to left on an 0-2 count. Hunter Goodman followed with another single and rookie Cole Carrigg bunted up the third-base line, beating the throw to first.

“You saw the inning before, what was it, five straight line drives off a good pitcher?” McCarthy said. “Rumfield staying on a slider when a guy’s throwing 101 mph, Goody, Carrig getting the bunt down – two of them are rookies. Those are poised at-bats. If they roll over and die I don’t even get an at-bat.”

McCarthy, who had an inside-the-park home run Saturday night against Pittsburgh, lined a 99.6 mph sinker past the diving Caleb Durbin at third base. The ball bounced off the wall and eluded Jarren Duran as Carrigg raced around the bags and easily scored to give Colorado a walk-off win.

“I was watching from the training room,” Feltner said. “It was super cool to see us string those hits together. The bunt by Carrigg was hug, and Jake finishing it off with that hit down the line, it was a pretty sweet way to end the game.”

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Kyle Bradish pitched eight shutout innings, Taylor Ward hit a leadoff home run against his former team and the Baltimore Orioles extended their winning streak to three games Monday night with a 6-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.

Coby Mayo hit a three-run homer and Bradish (5-7) struck out nine as the Orioles improved to 4-3 on a nine-game trip.

Bradish allowed six hits and one walk. He has 21 strikeouts over his last two starts.

Baltimore was already without second baseman Jackson Holliday (groin) when third baseman Blaze Alexander (knee) exited in the third — leaving outfielder Leody Taveras to play third for the first time in seven seasons. Taveras finished with two hits.

Jorge Soler homered late for the Angels in his return from the injured list, but Sam Aldegheri (2-3) gave up five runs and five hits over 4 2/3 innings. Los Angeles had scored 27 runs over its previous three games.

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Kyle Bradish pitched eight shutout innings, Taylor Ward hit a leadoff home run against his former team and the Baltimore Orioles extended their winning streak to three games Monday night with a 6-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.

Coby Mayo hit a three-run homer and Bradish (5-7) struck out nine as the Orioles improved to 4-3 on a nine-game trip.

Bradish allowed six hits and one walk. He has 21 strikeouts over his last two starts.

Baltimore was already without second baseman Jackson Holliday (groin) when third baseman Blaze Alexander (knee) exited in the third — leaving outfielder Leody Taveras to play third for the first time in seven seasons. Taveras finished with two hits.

Jorge Soler homered late for the Angels in his return from the injured list, but Sam Aldegheri (2-3) gave up five runs and five hits over 4 2/3 innings. Los Angeles had scored 27 runs over its previous three games.

The Angels then saluted Ward, a member of the major league team for eight seasons, with a tribute video in the middle of the first inning.

Baltimore made it 4-0 in the fourth on Mayo’s three-run homer and scored again in the fifth on Pete Alonso’s sacrifice fly. Gunnar Henderson added an RBI triple in the seventh that made it 6-0.

Rico Garcia gave up Soler’s homer in the ninth.

Baltimore is 21-6 against the Angels since 2022.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Manny Machado homered and Michael King pitched seven strong innings for his first win since May 18 as the San Diego Padres beat the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves 1-0 on Monday night.

The Braves lost for the eighth time in 11 games and were overtaken by the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers for the best record in the majors. The Padres, coming off a 4-5 trip through Baltimore, St. Louis and Texas, face the Braves for three games before hosting the Dodgers for three games this weekend.

Machado homered into the Padres’ bullpen beyond the center-field fence leading off the fourth against Grant Holmes (4-4). Machado came in hitting just .179 but connected for his team-leading 14th homer and 43rd RBI.

Machado also doubled leading off the eighth for San Diego’s fourth hit. Ten of his last 13 hits have been for extra bases.

King (5-6) held the Braves to six singles while striking out five and walking none. The Braves had runners on second and third with two outs in the second before King retired Jorge Mateo.

King hadn’t won since beating the Dodgers 1-0 on May 18, giving the Padres a half-game lead over Los Angeles in the division. The Dodgers regained the lead the next night.

Mason Miller pitched the ninth for his NL-leading 21st save. He put two runners on with two outs before striking out Mike Yastrzemski to end it.

Holmes allowed three hits in 4 2/3 innings, walked five and struck out four. He was lifted after issuing consecutive walks, but Didier Fuentes came on and struck out Gavin Sheets.

HOUSTON, United States: Portugal ignored the criticism that followed their 1-1 draw with Democratic Republic of Congo in their World Cup opener, and the unity within the squad is even stronger as they head into their second match against, coach Roberto Martinez said.

Portugal had plenty of the ball against the African side but produced seven shots and only one ​on target — Joao Neves’s sixth-minute header.

Martinez said on Monday his players started that match brightly but lost discipline and structure after the first 20 minutes – something they would improve on against Uzbekistan.

“We are strong and focused,” Martinez said. “And our group is even more united than before. It is a process. Tension is not part of our team.

“It’s normal to have criticism after a poor result. Sometimes it’s unfair or negative but it is not part of how we prepare.”

All Portugal’s players aside from Tomas Araujo are available for the match including Ruben Dias, who sat out the opener, he added.

Martinez also defended Cristiano Ronaldo, whose performance against Congo prompted calls for the 41-year-old to start on the bench against Uzbekistan.

“We are a team that wants the ball,” Martinez said. “We want to defend and react quickly. We want to counterattack quickly. You need a player that opens up space with movement and Cristiano is one of the best to do that.

“He is a player who has been defending and playing for his country for a long time and he wants to keep improving for the team. He is really a role model for the team.”

With Colombia beating Uzbekistan 3-1 in their opening match to top Group K, Martinez said his team know a victory is important to keep pace with the South Americans and secure a place in the knockout phase.

“The feeling of disappointment is one we all have as a team,” Martinez said. “Tomorrow I do feel like we will have a team that will be ready to perform for 90 minutes at the level we have.”