Sports
Ex-ICC match referee exposes India’s role in manipulating cricket rulings
Former ICC match referee Chris Broad has revealed that he was once instructed to favour India by showing leniency on a slow-over rate penalty.
Broad, who oversaw 622 men’s international matches across formats, disclosed in an interview with The Telegraph, describing it as a startling example of India’s influence in cricket.
The former England cricketer did not specifically mention the match, in which India were around four overs behind schedule and were on the verge of being penalised, but he received a phone call and was instructed to show leniency with the team.
“India were three, four overs down at the end of a game, so it constituted a fine. I got a phone call saying, ‘Be lenient, find some time because it’s India’. And it’s like, right, OK. So we had to find some time, bring it down below the threshold,” Broad stated.
“The very next game, the same thing happened. He [Sourav Ganguly] didn’t listen to any of the hurry-ups and so I phoned and said, ‘What do you want me to do now?’ and I was told ‘just do him’,” he added.
Broad, who served as the ICC match referee until February 2024, further shared that he was ‘very happy to carry on’, but his contract was not renewed by the apex body.
“I was very happy to carry on,” Broad remarked. “But for 20 years, I dodged a lot of bullets, both politically and physically. I look back and I think, ‘you know, 20 years is quite a long time to be doing that job’,” Broad continued.
The former referee then went on to claim that the management became ‘a lot weaker’ against India’s financial influence after the departure of former South Africa cricketer Vince van der Bijl as the ICC umpires manager.
“I think we were supported by Vince van der Bijl (ICC umpires manager) while he was in position because he came from a cricketing background, but once he left, the management became a lot weaker. India got all the money and has now taken over the ICC, so in many ways,” he claimed.
“I’m pleased I’m not around because it’s a much more political position now than it ever has been,” Broad concluded.
Sports
Vikings’ Wentz to have season-ending surgery
EAGAN, Minn. — Carson Wentz‘s painful run as the Minnesota Vikings‘ quarterback has ended.
Wentz will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a left shoulder injury he originally suffered Oct. 5 while playing in place of injured starter J.J. McCarthy. Wentz has been playing through a dislocated shoulder that included a torn labrum and fractured socket, a source told ESPN on Monday, confirming multiple reports.
McCarthy is expected to return to the starting lineup for the Vikings’ game Sunday at the Detroit Lions. With Wentz headed to injured reserve, undrafted rookie Max Brosmer is the only other quarterback on the roster at the moment.
Free agent Desmond Ridder spent three weeks on the roster earlier this season. Brett Rypien, who spent last season as the Vikings’ No. 3 quarterback and was waived after training camp, is on the Indianapolis Colts‘ practice squad.
Wentz, 32, made NFL history this season by starting at least one game for his sixth different team in the past six seasons. The Vikings signed him Aug. 24 to serve as McCarthy’s backup, after they traded away Sam Howell, and Wentz entered the lineup in Week 3 as McCarthy recovered from a high right ankle sprain.
In five starts, Wentz led the Vikings to a 2-3 record. But he took three hard hits in the first half of their Week 5 game against the Cleveland Browns in London, the last of which — from linebacker Carson Schwesinger — caused the injury. Wentz missed one snap and then played the second half with a harness protecting the shoulder, completing all nine passes during a go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter of a 21-17 victory.
Wentz rested the shoulder during the ensuing bye and then started the Vikings’ 28-22 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 7. But the short week leading up to last Thursday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers limited his recovery time, and he was in obvious pain throughout a 37-10 loss.
Afterward, Wentz said it “quite possibly” was the most pain he has been in during a football game. The Vikings’ medical staff fitted him with several other protective wraps, in addition to the harness, which Wentz said he had never worn “anything remotely close to” in order to play. He finished 15-of-27 for 144 yards with a touchdown and an interception, while being sacked five times.
After being hit on a fourth-down incompletion in the fourth quarter, Wentz threw his helmet at the bench — for which he later apologized to the team’s equipment staff — and covered his face with a towel.
“The pain is pain,” Wentz said. “I felt like I could still help this team and find a way to go down and score and all that stuff. So, we knew that coming into the game, that it was going to be part of it. And again, that’s the tough part of Thursday night games. [You] just don’t quite get the chance to recover, but that’s no excuse by any means.”
Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said after the game that he was in constant conversation with Wentz and the team’s medical staff but never thought he needed to replace him until the game was out of reach. With McCarthy designated the emergency quarterback, the first option by rule would have been Brosmer.
Brosmer didn’t enter the game until 1 minute, 56 seconds remained.
“Carson’s a veteran player,” O’Connell said, “and he understands some of our circumstances [Thursday night]. I think it’s very difficult to ask a rookie to go in there for his first performance and have to be weathering it a little bit for the group.”
The Vikings used Wentz’s roster spot to sign tight end Ben Sims, who spent time in their 2023 training camp and was recently waived by the Green Bay Packers. Veteran backup Josh Oliver injured his foot Thursday night and was not seen at the Vikings’ practice Monday.
Sports
’19 WS MVP Strasburg returns to SDSU, joins staff
SAN DIEGO — Stephen Strasburg is going back to school.
The former Washington Nationals ace and 2019 World Series MVP has been hired by San Diego State as a special assistant to head coach Kevin Vance.
The program announced the move on Monday, saying Strasburg “will lend his support to all aspects of the Aztec baseball program, including fundraising and special events, along with alumni and donor relations. In addition, he will serve as a team mentor to improve the student-athlete experience, while offering assistance in pitching development.”
Strasburg, a San Diego native, pitched for the Aztecs from 2007-09 before becoming the top pick in the Major League Baseball amateur draft. He played at SDSU for the late coach Tony Gwynn, a Hall of Fame outfielder with the San Diego Padres.
The 37-year-old Strasburg was a three-time All-Star in 13 seasons with the Nationals before his career was cut short by injury. He went 113-62 with a 3.24 ERA and 1,723 strikeouts in 247 big league starts from 2010-22.
In college, Strasburg won the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award as the best amateur player in the country and the Dick Howser Trophy given to the nation’s most outstanding collegiate player. He was chosen as part of the 2025 College Baseball Hall of Fame induction class.
“Stephen Strasburg is arguably the best pitcher in college baseball history, but what makes this announcement so special is how much he cares about this program, this city, and giving back to the game,” Vance said in a statement. “He’s a proud Aztec and San Diegan, and he’s never forgotten his roots.
“Stephen didn’t arrive on The Mesa as the individual we know today; he earned it through hard work, competing in a great culture and program built by Tony Gwynn. He wants to help give our players the same opportunity and environment to grow. We couldn’t be more excited to welcome him back home to SDSU baseball.”
Sports
Aroldis Chapman says he’d ‘retire on the spot’ if ever traded back to Yankees
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Aroldis Chapman was a major piece of the New York Yankees’ resurgence in the late-2010s as he was the man the team called out of the bullpen to close out games.
But Chapman’s failure to close out the Houston Astros in the 2019 American League Championship Series will forever be seared into the minds of Yankees fans. It would be unlikely that they would want him back in the bullpen regardless of his comments on Monday.
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New York Yankees relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman (54) throws against the Houston Astros during the ninth inning in game four of the 2017 ALCS playoff baseball series at Yankee Stadium on Oct. 17, 2017. (Robert Deutsch/USA TODAY Sports)
The two-time World Series champion told the “Swing Completo” podcast in Spanish that he would “retire on the spot” if he was traded back to the Yankees.
“No way. Not even dead,” he said, via the New York Post. “If I were told that I was being traded to New York, I’d pack my things and go home. I’ll retire right on the spot if that happens. I’m not crazy. Never again.”
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Boston Red Sox pitcher Aroldis Chapman (44) relief pitcher throws a pitch during the eighth inning against the New York Yankees during game one of the Wildcard round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Yankee Stadium on Sept. 30, 2025. (Brad Penner/Imagn Images)
Chapman explained he felt “a lot of disrespect” while playing in the Bronx. He said he got along with the players and manager Aaron Boone but had an issue with how the “bosses” conducted business.
“I got along well with all the players, never had a problem with anybody, even the manager. We’re friends and we talk and everything,” he said. “The bosses are the ones who make those decisions.”
He pitched for the Yankees from 2017 to 2022.

Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman (44) pitches against the New York Yankees during the ninth inning at Fenway Park on Sept 14, 2025. (Brian Fluharty/Imagn Images)
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Chapman won a World Series with the Texas Rangers in 2023. He pitched for the Boston Red Sox in 2025. He had a 1.17 ERA with 85 strikeouts.
He will turn 38 before the 2026 season begins.
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