Sports
Australia crush England by eight wickets for 2-0 Ashes lead
BRISBANE: Australia cruised to an emphatic eight-wicket win over England in the day-night second Ashes Test in Brisbane on Sunday for an ominous 2-0 lead in the series.
The hosts chased down the paltry target of 65 in just 10 overs, captain Steve Smith pulling Gus Atkinson for a huge six over square leg for the winning runs.
Although not as humiliating as the two-day loss in the first Test at Perth, England were comprehensively outplayed in every department.
“Great day. First two days were pretty even, game turned when we were able to extend to get the new ball under lights, that was crucial for us,” said Smith, who clashed verbally with England bowler Jofra Archer as he helped Australia race to victory.
“It can be tricky with the pink ball, it changes really quickly and you have to adapt.”
For England it was more misery.
Their batting, apart from Joe Root and Zak Crawley in the first innings and captain Ben Stokes and Will Jacks in the second, was just as rash as in Perth.
They gave their wickets away with poor strokes on the bouncy Gabba surface.
They also bowled poorly, pitching too short and wasting the new pink ball, in stark contrast to an Australian attack missing spearheads Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.
To make matters worse England dropped five catches in the first innings, whereas Australia’s fielders caught everything that came their way.
Josh Inglis’s brilliant run-out of Stokes in the first innings changed the course of the match.
Australia are now overwhelming favourite to retain the Ashes with matches in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney to follow.
“Obviously, very disappointing,” said Stokes.
“I think a lot of it comes down to not being able to stand up to the pressure of this game, this format, when the game is on the line.”
England were behind the game once they let Australia’s tail help the home side post 511 on Saturday, an overall lead of 177.
They then lost six second-innings wickets under lights to end the third day 134-6, still 43 runs behind the Australian total.
While many expected England to surrender meekly on Sunday, Stokes and all-rounder Jacks led a fighting rearguard action to ensure Australia had to bat a second time.
Stokes and Jacks defied the Australian pace attack on a fiercely hot day to edge their way past the initial deficit target and begin to set Australia something to chase.
Flicker of resistance
England batting coach Marcus Trescothick said Saturday his batsmen would not change their aggressive approach, despite a clatter of wickets from poor shots.

But Stokes and Jacks were patient during the first session Sunday.
They left balls they didn’t need to play and seemed happy to take their runs in singles rather than expansive boundary shots.
They scored just 28 runs in the first hour and passed the 43-run deficit 96 minutes into the session, scoring only 59 runs in the two hours.
The Australian bowlers, who ran rampant under lights on Saturday with the pink ball, were far more ineffective on Sunday, despite the wicket beginning to play some tricks.
The English offered only one chance when Scott Boland squared up Stokes, who got a thick edge over the slips cordon.
They continued to frustrate the Australians in the second session until just before the drinks break, Jacks got an edge to Michael Neser and Smith snared a breath-taking catch at slip, diving full length to his left and catching it low to the ground.
Neser struck again in the next over when Stokes nibbled at a ball outside the off-stump and got a fine edge to keeper Alex Carey to leave England 227-8, a lead of exactly 50.
Atkinson, Brydon Carse and Archer offered no real resistance as Neser recorded career-best figures of 5-42 and Smith equalled Rahul Dravid on 210 outfield catches, three behind current record-holder Root.
Sixty-five was never going to be enough and although Australia lost Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne in the chase, Smith and Jake Weatherald guided the home side to an easy win in style.
“They obviously had a really good partnership today, Jacks and Stokes, and you never know what can happen with Stokes still at the crease,” said Smith.
Sports
Wanted Olympian-turned-fugitive Ryan Wedding in custody, sources say
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Former Canadian Olympic snowboarder and FBI Ten Most Wanted fugitive Ryan Wedding has been captured, sources confirmed to Fox News on Friday.
Wedding, 44, was placed on the FBI Ten Most Wanted list in March 2025 and is accused of running a transnational drug trafficking network that “routinely shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia, through Mexico and Southern California, to Canada and other locations in the United States,” according to the FBI.
Ryan Wedding, wanted by the FBI, was seen taking a practice run for the men’s parallel giant slalom of the Salt Lake 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Park City, Feb. 13, 2002. (FBI | REUTERS/Jeff J Mitchell)
He is also accused of orchestrating multiple murders and attempted murder as a part of his drug trafficking operation.
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Wedding and 14 other alleged associates were specifically accused of orchestrating the January 2025 murder of a witness who was shot and killed at a restaurant in Colombia. He allegedly placed a bounty on the victim’s head, thinking the victim’s death would lead to the dismissal of charges against him and the drug-trafficking ring he allegedly heads, according to an indictment unsealed in November.
READ THE RYAN WEDDING INDICTMENT – APP USERS, CLICK HERE:
The FBI has described Wedding as an “extremely violent criminal believed to be responsible for the murder of numerous people abroad.”
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Canada’s Ryan Wedding in the 2002 Olympics. (Tony Marshall/EMPICS via Getty Images)
Just last month, FBI officials confirmed that Mexican authorities seized $40 million in motorcycles believed to be owned by Wedding. That news came more than a month after Wedding was hit with additional charges and raised the reward for his capture to $15 million.
He participated in the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City after missing out on the 1998 Games. It was the only Olympics he competed in.
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
Fox News’ Matt Finn contributed to this report.
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Sports
Storylines shaping the 2025-26 men’s college basketball season
There are 50 days until the NCAA tournament bracket is set on Selection Sunday.
We’ve learned a lot in the 80-plus days since the 2025-26 college basketball season tipped off, especially as conference play has hit high gear. Freshmen are dominating. Scoring is at a historically high pace. Nebraska and Miami (Ohio) are among the final three unbeatens. And that’s just scratching the surface.
Whether you’re just tuning in or enjoy the bird’s-eye view, ESPN’s Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf quickly break down the eight biggest storylines shaping the season so far below.

The biggest surprises so far
Indiana, the losingest program in college football history entering the 2025 season, just won the national championship. A miraculous run could be brewing in college basketball, too.
Undefeated Nebraska has orchestrated one of the top turnarounds in recent history. Miami (Ohio) hasn’t lost, either. Clemson is off to a surprising start in ACC play (6-0). And in his first season, Kevin Willard has made Villanova a top-tier offensive and defensive team in the Big East.
Vanderbilt is in this conversation, too. Before the Commodores’ current three-game losing streak, they had won 16 games in a row. Tyler Tanner (17.1 PPG, 39% from 3) is a projected first-round NBA draft pick in ESPN’s latest mock. And like Vanderbilt, which was picked 11th in the preseason SEC poll, neither Georgia (14th) nor Virginia (fifth) was picked to finish in the top tier of its respective preseason conference poll — yet both have emerged as early contenders for league titles as a result of surprising starts. — Myron Medcalf
0:29
Miami (OH) stays perfect after Luke Skaljac forces OT with acrobatic layup
Luke Skaljac hits an off-balance layup in the closing seconds as Miami (OH) forces overtime and ultimately beats Kent State.
The biggest disappointments so far
A number of teams and players have unexpectedly disappointed.
Donovan Dent was one of the top available transfers in the portal after winning Mountain West Player of the Year last season. Yet he has struggled at UCLA, shooting just 17% from 3 for the bubble team.
Kentucky is on a winning streak right now, but the Wildcats don’t look like the national contenders they were supposed to be after reportedly spending $20 million on their current roster. The same goes for Oregon, which already had a disappointing roster before recent injuries continued to derail its season.
In the Big 12, Baylor boasts two projected lottery picks, and yet the Bears still managed to kick off league play with a 1-5 record. Tennessee can’t seem to find its footing, either, despite having five-star freshman and projected lottery pick Nate Ament in the fold. A top-three defensive team in SEC play for the past five years, the Vols are currently ranked eighth.
A chunk of the Big East — see: Marquette, Providence and Georgetown, especially — is struggling to meet preseason expectations, too.
All of that said, Memphis might be at the top of this list: The Tigers are just 9-9 on the season, following the best season of Penny Hardaway’s tenure in 2024-25 (29-6). — Medcalf
Scoring is on the rise
A confluence of factors — NBA prospects returning to school, a historically strong freshman class, top Europeans coming to college — has led to an enormous amount of talent in the sport and some of the most explosive offense in decades. Entering last weekend, Division I teams were averaging 77.2 points per game this season; that would be the highest number for a single season since 1971-72, when teams put up 77.7 points per game.
On a similar note, teams entered last weekend shooting 45.4% from the field. That would be the highest collective field goal percentage since teams shot 45.7% in 1991-92.
Only one team finished last season averaging better than 90 points per game (Alabama at 90.7 PPG). There are 15 teams right now hitting that threshold.
From an efficiency standpoint, there’s been an upward swing, too. There are 11 teams currently with an adjusted offensive rating of 125.0 or better at KenPom, compared with just five last season. — Jeff Borzello
2:24
Highlight: No. 20 Arkansas’ offense shines at home in win over No. 15 Vandy
Six Razorbacks reach double-digits as they shoot 57.8% and 40.9% from three to knock off the Commodores, 93-68.
Star players managing injuries
When he’s on the floor, Kansas star freshman Darryn Peterson is among the elite players in college basketball. The potential No. 1 NBA draft pick would rank in the top 10 in the country in scoring, averaging 22.2 points per game — if he had played enough games to qualify, that is. Peterson entered the week with just nine games under his belt, having missed seven with a hamstring injury in November and December, and another two right before Christmas after apparently reaggravating the injury. He has played all six games in January, although not with a full allotment of minutes. And now he is contending with a sprained ankle, putting his status for the immediate future in doubt.
Peterson isn’t the only projected lottery pick to have missed time with injuries and also have a vague timeline for return. Louisville‘s Mikel Brown Jr. hasn’t played since the Cardinals’ Dec. 13 game against Memphis, missing the past nine matchups with a lower back injury. Head coach Pat Kelsey admitted last week that, although he expects Brown to return at some point this season, he doesn’t know when that will be.
Meanwhile, Kentucky’s Jayden Quaintance missed the first 11 games of the season while recovering from a torn ACL he suffered last February. He returned on Dec. 20 and was outstanding against St. John’s before scoring just 10 points over his next three contests and then being ruled out for Kentucky’s past three games. — Borzello
More former pros in college ranks
Has anyone checked on Tom Izzo? He and other power brokers in the game sounded the alarm in October after two G League players (Thierry Darlan and London Johnson) were cleared to play college basketball, a first-of-its-kind move by the NCAA. Then, James Nnaji — the 31st pick in the 2023 NBA draft who played only in summer league and EuroLeague games but never an official NBA contest — was cleared to compete for Baylor in late December. He had never played college basketball, so his case rivaled that of the former international pros who have been allowed to play Division I basketball with the exception of his draft status.
On Wednesday, an Alabama judge gave former Crimson Tide standout Charles Bediako — who had signed a two-way contract with the San Antonio Spurs after going undrafted in 2023 — a temporary restraining order allowing him to return to play college basketball for the following 10 days. Prior to Bediako’s case, no player who had actually played in the college and professional ranks had been given an opportunity to return to college. His Tuesday hearing for a preliminary injunction to play the rest of the season, if successful, could open the floodgates for other young two-way and NBA players to make their case for NCAA eligibility. — Medcalf
The strongest freshman class in recent memory
The recruiting class of 2025 had been circled by college coaches and NBA scouts for multiple years — and these freshmen have collectively exceeded all expectations.
Kansas’ Darryn Peterson, BYU’s AJ Dybantsa and Duke’s Cameron Boozer entered the 2025-26 season as the three big names in the class; they’ve become three of the best players in college basketball, with Boozer and Dybantsa running 1 and 2 in most National Player of the Year discussions. But it’s about more than just those three.
2:25
Cam Boozer leads Duke to a comeback win vs. Louisville
Cam Boozer drops 27 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals in Duke’s comeback win over Louisville.
Nine freshmen were named to the Wooden Award midseason top 25 watchlist, with Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr., Tennessee’s Nate Ament, Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr., Houston’s Kingston Flemings, Arizona’s Koa Peat and North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson all finding their way onto the list.
That doesn’t even include UConn’s Braylon Mullins or Arizona’s Brayden Burries, who are starting for the top two teams in the country. Or breakout stars Keaton Wagler of Illinois and Ebuka Okorie of Stanford. Nor does it include the former European pros who are classified as freshmen, such as Virginia’s Thijs De Ridder and Washington’s Hannes Steinbach. — Borzello
Strength of high-major conferences
The 2025-26 season is anchored by a deep field of contenders in the nation’s top leagues. The Big Ten has 10 teams ranked in the top 40 on KenPom, including top-15 Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, Nebraska and Illinois.
The Big 12’s claim to fame this year is its star power: AJ Dybantsa (BYU), Joshua Jefferson (Iowa State), Darryn Peterson (Kansas), Kingston Flemings (Houston), JT Toppin and Christian Anderson (Texas Tech), and Koa Peat (Arizona) are all capable of leading their respective teams to the Final Four — and earning national accolades, too.
The ACC has also demanded respect in a bounce-back season. Duke is Duke, of course. And North Carolina, Clemson and Virginia have added to the depth of the league with strong overall starts.
Having said that, the SEC remains KenPom’s top-ranked conference a year after its record 14 NCAA tournament bids. It might not match that number again, but reigning national champion Florida is shaping up to defend its title. Alabama’s defense is still phenomenal. Kentucky is improving. John Calipari might have the best point guard in the country at Arkansas. And Vanderbilt already has six top-50 KenPom wins. — Medcalf
Big lineups are dominating
It wasn’t long ago that three-guard lineups were the preferred setup for high-level teams — think Villanova’s perimeter-oriented championship teams in 2015 and 2017, or Baylor’s 2021 title team that started four players 6-foot-5 or shorter. According to KenPom’s average height metric, only four NCAA tournament teams were in the top 20 in height in 2021.
This season, the top three teams in average height are ranked in the AP poll. Six other top-25 teams aren’t far behind.
Just look at the top four teams in this week’s AP poll. Arizona’s eight-man rotation features six players 6-6 or taller. UConn doesn’t start anyone shorter than 6-4. Michigan starts three players 6-9 or taller. Duke is No. 2 in average height and doesn’t have a single player in its nine-man rotation shorter than 6-4.
The NBA has valued positional size more and more, and unsurprisingly, college basketball is following suit. — Borzello
Sports
Liverpool’s Andy Robertson in talks over Tottenham transfer – sources
Tottenham Hotspur have entered talks with Liverpool over a potential deal for defender Andy Robertson, sources told ESPN.
The left-back, who joined Liverpool from Hull City in 2017, is out of contract at the end of the season.
Earlier this month, Robertson admitted he was unsure where his long-term future lies and sources told ESPN that Tottenham have now made an approach to sign the 31-year-old, though no agreement has yet been reached.
Robertson has slipped down the pecking order for Liverpool this season following the £40 million ($54.1m) signing of Milos Kerkez in the summer, though sources told ESPN any move this month would have to be right for both the player and club.
Spurs’ interest in Robertson comes amid the club’s drive to add more experience and leadership to Thomas Frank’s misfiring team who sit 14th in the Premier League table.
“I’m a player who wants to play,” Robertson said earlier this month. “I’ve got five months left and we need to see what the option is to stay or if there’s options to go and things like that.
“I need to sit down with my family and decide. After a stressful summer, I’m just trying to enjoy being a part of it and being a Liverpool player.
“I wanted to qualify for the World Cup and thankfully, we’ve managed to do that. I need to see what myself and my family wants going forward.”
– Incoming Liverpool transfers unlikely in January – Arne Slot
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– Tottenham boss Thomas Frank quells Micky van de Ven exit talk
Frank’s difficult start to life at Spurs as been hindered by a lengthy injury list that includes key first-team players such as Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison, while the broken ankle suffered by Ben Davies has added to the Dane’s issues.
Destiny Udogie has been the team’s first-choice left-back since his arrival in 2023 but repeated muscular injuries have often made him unavailable for selection and Djed Spence has often deputised in the Italian’s place.
Should Robertson’s move to Spurs be completed, he would become the second left-back through the door at Hotspur Way during the January transfer window after Souza’s arrival from Santos in a €15 million deal on Thursday.
Robertson has made 363 appearances for Liverpool, winning a number of major honours including two Premier League titles and the Champions League in 2019.
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