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England opt to bat first against Australia in Ashes opener

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England opt to bat first against Australia in Ashes opener


England captain Ben Stokes shakes hands with Australia captain Steve Smith during the coin toss before the start of play on November 21, 2025 at the Perth Stadium, Perth, Australia. — Reuters 

PERTH: England elected to bat first against Australia in the Ashes series opener on Friday after captain Ben Stokes won the toss under clear blue skies at Perth Stadium.

After naming a 12-man squad for the match, the visitors opted for all-out pace in the starting side, leaving out off-spinner Shoaib Bashir in favour of Brydon Carse.

“We’ll try and get some runs on the board and then see where we are then,” Stokes said. “We’ve got to clear all of what we want to achieve out here in Australia, it starts today.”

Australia’s Steve Smith, standing in as captain for the injured Pat Cummins, struck an optimistic tone after losing the toss.

“Hopefully it seams all over the place this morning. I think the cracks will come into play, they seem to every year,” said Smith. “I think if we get the ball in the right areas this morning, there’ll be enough there for sure.”

Australia awarded first test caps to specialist opener Jake Weatherald and fast bowler Brendan Doggett, who put his hand up for selection with 13 wickets in two matches for South Australia in a dynamic start to the domestic Sheffield Shield season.

“He sort of glides through the crease, makes it look pretty easy,” pace spearhead Mitchell Starc said of Doggett.

“So, yeah, he’s got some air speed, he’s got some great skills, some swing, some seam and he’s coming off a hot streak, so hopefully that continues this week.”

Australia: Usman Khawaja, Jake Weatherald, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland, Brendan Doggett

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Jamie Smith, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood





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Wings stifle questions about Azzi Fudd-Paige Bueckers relationship

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Wings stifle questions about Azzi Fudd-Paige Bueckers relationship


Azzi Fudd, the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft, answered numerous basketball-related questions at her Dallas Wings introductory news conference Thursday, but one unrelated to the game overshadowed all the others.

Fudd and teammate Paige Bueckers, who will team in Dallas’ backcourt this season, went public about their relationship in 2025, and it was an often-discussed subject before this week’s draft.

But when Fudd was asked Thursday about both her relationship with Bueckers — the two overlapped at UConn and won a national championship together — and whether she would seek advice from other couples in the WNBA about navigating the relationship as pro players, the subject was quickly shut down.

“Understand why you have to ask that question,” a Wings public relations staffer interrupted. “We’re going to respectfully decline from commenting on our players’ personal lives.”

Fudd averaged 17.3 points on 47% shooting in her final season at UConn, which ended with the Huskies losing to South Carolina at the Final Four — their only loss of the season.

Bueckers, who was last year’s No. 1 overall pick by the Wings, averaged 19.2 points, 5.4 assists and 3.9 rebounds while winning the league’s Rookie of the Year award.

Wings general manager Curt Miller said the team never hesitated in its choice to draft Fudd as the team looks to take steps forward after tying for the league’s worst record last season at 10-34 and winning only nine games in 2024.

“Since the moment we secured the No. 1 pick, we set out on a plan to be deliberate, thorough, with intention on evaluating where we got to ultimately in picking Azzi Fudd,” Miller said. “We traveled all over the world watching this incredible draft class, but it all came back always to Azzi.

“Words that we heard over and over again in the investigation of her was, a winner, competitor, a hard worker, obviously the skill set speaks for itself, an incredible shooter — probably one of the quickest releases in the game today, a defender with a lot of competitiveness and toughness, and, ultimately, all the intangibles that goes along with Azzi in the locker room — being unselfish, being an incredible teammate, being a high-basketball-IQ player. [It] all pointed us through a very deliberate and thorough process back to Azzi Fudd.”



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Former SMU cornerback Teddy Knox faces $2.88M judgment for crash linked to Rashee Rice’s Lamborghini race

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Former SMU cornerback Teddy Knox faces .88M judgment for crash linked to Rashee Rice’s Lamborghini race


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Kansas City Chiefs star receiver Rashee Rice isn’t the only one facing discipline for a March 2024 car crash in Dallas.

Theodore “Teddy” Knox, a former SMU cornerback and teammate of Rice’s in college, was driving a Corvette while racing Rice’s Lamborghini on a Dallas highway before it caused a multi-car crash.

Knox has been hit with a $2.88 million default judgment in a lawsuit from one of those crash victims, Kathryn Kuykendall, according to ESPN.

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Teddy Knox and Rashee Rice (Getty Images)

Knox was ruled “grossly negligent” by Judge Kim Bailey Phipps, and a default judgment comes when a lawsuit has no response or a party does not appear in court. In this case, it was reportedly the latter.

“We’ve asked the court to grant the default judgment because we’re ethically required to as a matter of diligence,” Kuykendall’s attorney, Marc Lenahan, said in a statement to ESPN when the motion was filed. 

“Personally, it pleases us that Teddy hasn’t made further mistakes that we’re aware of. If a team gives him a chance to prove that he’s walking the right path now, we’ll be rooting for him.”

PATRIOTS STAR STEFON DIGGS PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO FELONY STRANGULATION CHARGES DAYS AFTER SUPER BOWL

This marks the third default judgment issued against Knox from the March 2024 crash. He was also ordered to pay $1.99 million to Irina Gromova and $1.63 million to Edvard Petrovskiy in combined damages.

Knox and Rice pleaded guilty to charges from the crash, and Knox was sentenced to 30 days in jail and five years of probation. Knox was charged with causing a collision involving serious bodily injury and racing on a highway causing bodily injury.

Southern Methodist Mustangs wide receiver Teddy Knox running on football field during game

SMU wide receiver Teddy Knox on special teams during a game against the North Texas Mean Green  Nov. 10, 2023, at Gerald Ford Stadium in Dallas, Texas. (Chris Leduc/Icon Sportswire)

Rice had similar charges, receiving five-year deferred probation and 30 days in jail as a condition of the probation. His jail time was said to be flexible, according to the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office.

Rice was also required to pay the victims for their out-of-pocket medical expenses, which totaled around $115,000, as part of his plea agreement.   

Rice was also suspended six games for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy, which he served last season.

The 25-year-old receiver said in a statement issued by his attorney at the time of the league’s decision that he’s had “a lot of sleepless nights thinking about the damages my actions caused, and I will continue working within my means to make sure that everyone impacted will be made whole.”

SMU Mustangs wide receiver Teddy Knox catching a football at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas

SMU Mustangs wide receiver Teddy Knox (18) prepares to make a catch during a game between against the TCU Horned Frogs Sept. 24, 2022, at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas, Texas. (Matthew Visinsky/Icon Sportswire)

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Knox was suspended by SMU, and he hasn’t been in college football ever since. He began his career at Mississippi State before transferring to SMU.

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Mike Trout crushes fifth Yankee Stadium HR in four games

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Mike Trout crushes fifth Yankee Stadium HR in four games


NEW YORK — Mike Trout‘s latest homer against the New York Yankees put him in rare company, and going deep again made history at Yankee Stadium.

Trout homered for the fifth time during a four-game series Thursday, crushing a 446-foot drive in the seventh inning for the Los Angeles Angels in an 11-4 victory.

A three-time MVP, Trout joined Jimmie Foxx (1933), Darrell Evans (1985) and George Bell (1990) as the only players with five homers in a series against the Yankees, according to MLB researcher Sarah Langs.

Trout homered twice Monday before going deep again in the following two games. In the series finale Thursday, Trout drove a 2-2 slider from reliever Angel Chivilli about halfway up the left-field bleachers to give the Angels a 7-4 lead. That shot made Trout the first player to hit five homers in a series in the Bronx.

“I heard that after the game,” Trout said. “It’s pretty surreal. All the great players that came through here, so it’s pretty cool.”

“Honestly, not surprising,” Los Angeles manager Kurt Suzuki said. “When you’re with Mike every day, there’s nothing that you believe that he can’t do.”

Trout also became the first visiting player to homer in four consecutive days at the current Yankee Stadium, which opened in 2009.

Trout went 6-for-16 with five homers and nine RBIs in the series. He also has homered in his past five games at Yankee Stadium and drew an intentional walk in his next plate appearance before Jo Adell hit a grand slam.

“At this point it’s vintage Mike Trout,” Adell said. “When he’s healthy and feeling good, there’s nothing like it. It’s special. It’s one of a kind. So for all of us to experience it, it’s special.”

“He’s unbelievable,” Suzuki said. “He really is. It’s been an amazing week for him.”

Trout is hitting .246 with seven homers and 16 RBIs. He is 9-for-27 (.333) with five homers and 13 RBIs on the Angels’ road trip, which coincides with him making a mechanical tweak.

Trout’s career-high homer streak is seven games, achieved Sept. 4-12, 2022. He has homered in four straight games for the fourth time in his career.

Trout’s homer was part of a four-game series that featured four homers from Yankees’ slugger Aaron Judge. Judge homered twice Monday, again Wednesday and went deep in the first inning in the series finale.

“He’s unreal,” designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton said after the Yankees lost for the seventh time in nine games. “Cool showing from him and Judgie all series. Obviously, you don’t want that against us, but you got to acknowledge the greatness.”

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the first time opposing players who owned multiple MVPs hit at least three homers in the same series.

“It was an impressive show by those two,” Suzuki said.



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