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Pope Leo XIV receives invite to throw out first pitch at White Sox new stadium

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Pope Leo XIV receives invite to throw out first pitch at White Sox new stadium


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The minute sports fans found out there was a new American pope and he’d been born in Chicago, every American sports fan had one thought: was he a Cubs or White Sox fan?

Soon, news emerged that he was a White Sox fan — not without a false report, however, that he was a Cubs fan — and shortly thereafter footage emerged that not only was the newly christened Pope Leo XIV a fan, he’d been in the stands for the 2005 World Series, which the White Sox won in a series sweep.

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Justin Ishbia, Ambassador Brian Burch and Clay Travis with an autographed World Series 2005 jersey signed by all the players seen on the left, as Pope Leo XIV is seen on the right. (OutKick; Reuters)

Pope Leo, born Robert Prevost, was elected as pope in May of 2025 and then one month later it was announced that my Vanderbilt law school friend and classmate Justin Ishbia was buying the Chicago White Sox.

The two of us were chatting about fun ways Justin could introduce himself to Chicago sports fans and I tossed out an idea — we should travel to the Vatican and invite Pope Leo to throw out the first pitch at a planned new White Sox stadium.

After all, Pope Leo was a big enough White Sox fan that he’d attended the World Series 20 years ago as a fan in the crowd. Sure, he’s the pope now, but deep down he, like all of us, is a diehard sports fan.

We were both convinced the idea was a good one, but it presented a challenge: how do you get a meeting with the pope to invite him to throw out the first pitch?

Pope Leo XIV waves to the crowd in St. Peter’s Square as he arrives for his inauguration Mass in Vatican City.

Pope Leo XIV waves to the faithful ahead of his inauguration Mass in St. Peter’s Square, Vatican City, on May 18, 2025. (David Ramos/Getty Images)

POPE LEO XIV CALLS OUT CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION AMID LATEST MASSACRE OF CIVILIANS IN AFRICAN NATION

An Invitation to the Pope 

It’s not like you can just call the Vatican and ask to speak to the pope’s people.

Ultimately we hit on our answer: Vatican ambassador Brian Burch, who lived in Chicago with his family prior to his confirmation as ambassador.

Luckily, Ambassador Burch loved the idea and, this morning in Vatican City, Justin and his wife Kristen met the pope, delivered a team autographed 2005 White Sox World Series replica jersey, and conveyed the first pitch invitation to Pope Leo, who said yes so long as his schedule permits. (It turns out the pope is kind of busy).

So, the result, as many of you have likely seen on social media already, is an awesome one — the first ever American-born pope will hopefully be throwing out the first pitch in a new Chicago White Sox stadium, which will potentially mark the first time the pope has visited Chicago since 1979.

Pope Leo first meeting with media

Pope Leo XIV prays over members of the international media in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican on May 12, 2025.  (Domenico Stinellis)

Let’s hope it’s a strike.

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And that Pope Leo can help return the magic of the 2005 season for White Sox fans.



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Transfer rumors, news: Dembélé to turn down PSG extension

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Transfer rumors, news: Dembélé to turn down PSG extension


Ousmane Dembélé is going to reject a new contract offer from Paris Saint-Germain, and Arsenal have their eye on Newcastle defender Tino Livramento. Join us for the latest transfer news and rumors from around the globe.

Transfers home page | Men’s winter grades | Women’s grades

TOP STORIES

San Diego working on exit of Mexico star Lozano
Man City confirm Semenyo signing in $84m deal
Sources: Saka to sign new five-year deal at Arsenal

TRENDING RUMORS

– Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé is set to reject Paris Saint-Germain‘s contract extension offer, as per Footmercato. Despite being offered a new deal which would see him earn €30m per year, the forward is holding out for double that amount. Dembélé, 28, is entering the final two years of his current PSG contract this summer, which may draw the attention of clubs around Europe.

Arsenal are plotting to sign Newcastle United full-back Tino Livramento next summer, according to The Sun. Manchester City are also reported to be monitoring the 23-year-old, although it remains to be seen how concrete their interest is. Livramento is entering the final two years of his deal at Newcastle, with the club set to prioritize extending that in the coming months. A £60m valuation has previously been mooted for the England international, who is likely to feature at this summer’s World Cup.

England midfielder Georgia Stanway will leave Bayern Munich at the end of the season, she has announced. Stanway, who has 87 England caps, joined Bayern from Manchester City in 2022 and has won three league titles in Germany, as well as two European Championships with the Lionesses. “The decision to leave was incredibly difficult. I definitely didn’t make it lightly. I’ve made friends and memories here that will last a lifetime, and I’ve been able to develop enormously as both a player and a person.”

Aston Villa are exploring the idea of signing Atletico Madrid midfielder Conor Gallagher this month, TalkSPORT has revealed. The former Chelsea star would welcome a return to the Premier League, having started just four La Liga games this season. Villa are open to the idea of signing him on loan with a future permanent transfer clause, a deal that would satisfy any short-term PSR concerns. Gallagher has been in Madrid since the summer of 2024 and has almost four years remaining on his current deal.

Marcus Rashford has already informed Barcelona of his desire to stay at the club beyond this season, according to Fabrizio Romano. While no formal agreement between the two parties is in place just yet, Barca are said to be “very happy” with the England international’s contributions. The Catalan giants have the option to sign Rashford permanently from Manchester United for around €30m this summer.

OTHER RUMORS

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Guardiola: Semenyo chose Manchester City after interest from ‘many clubs’

Pep Guardiola talks about Antoine Semenyo’s decision to join Manchester City from Bournemouth.

– Hungary midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai, 25, has reached an agreement in principle to extend his contract at Liverpool, rejecting interest from Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. (CaughtOffside)

– Atalanta forward Daniel Maldini is a January option for Juventus. The Italy international is viewed as a potential back-up for Kenan Yıldız. (Matteo Moretto)

– Rangers have enquired about the possibility of signing Sunderland duo Dan Neil and Romaine Mundle. Sunderland are open to letting the latter leave on loan this month, with Espanyol and Club Brugge also keen. (Sky Sports)

– Everton are tracking Genoa’s Brook Norton-Cuffy and Bologna’s Emil Holm as they target a new right-back signing. A new winter arrival would likely see Nathan Patterson leave the club on loan. (Sky Sports)

– Al Hilal are closing in on a deal to sign former Arsenal defender Pablo Marí in a €2m deal. (Fabrizio Romano)

– Manchester City have agreed a deal to sign Scottish wonderkid Keir McMeekin from Hearts. (Fabrizio Romano)

– Stuttgart striker Jovan Milošević is on the verge of joining Werder Bremen on loan until the end of the season, with a medical set to take place this weekend. (Sky Germany)

– Atlanta United are advancing on a deal to acquire left-back Elías Báez from San Lorenzo for a fee in the region of $3 million. (Tom Bogert)

Thomas Tuchel, Carlo Ancelotti and Mauricio Pochettino are all on Manchester United’s managerial shortlist to replace Ruben Amorim. (Daily Mirror)



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US figure skating power couple makes history with record breaking seventh national championship

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US figure skating power couple makes history with record breaking seventh national championship


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U.S. figure skating stars Madison Chock and Evan Bates made history on Saturday with their record-setting seventh U.S. Figure Skating title in their final competition before the Milan Cortina Olympics.

The three-time reigning world champions, performing a flamenco-style dance to a version of the Rolling Stones hit “Paint It Black” from the dystopian sci-fi Western show “Westworld,” produced a season-best free skate and finished with 228.87 points.

“The feeling that we got from the audience today was unlike anything I’ve ever felt before,” Chock said.

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Madison Chock and Evan Bates of United States perform during ISU World Figure Skating Championships – Boston, at TD Garden,  on March 28, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts.  (Jurij Kodrun – International Skating Union/International Skating Union via Getty Images)

They’ll be the heavy favorites to win gold next month in Italy.

“I felt so much love and joy,” Chock continued, “and I’m so grateful for this moment.”

U.S. Figure Skating will announce its selections on Sunday.

Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik were second with 213.65 points and Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko were third with 206.95, making those two pairs the likely choices to join Chock and Bates on the American squad for the upcoming Winter Games.

The men’s medals also were to be decided on Saturday, though two-time world champion Ilia Malinin had built such a lead after his short program that the self-styled “Quad God” would have to stumble mightily to miss out on a fourth consecutive title.

The U.S. also has qualified the maximum of three men’s spots for the Winter Games, and competition is tight between second-place Tomoko Hiwatashi, fan favorite Jason Brown, Andrew Torgashev and Maxim Naumov to round out the nationals podium.

The last time Chock and Bates competed in the Olympics in 2022 in Beijing, they watched their gold initially go to an opponent who was later disqualified for doping violations.

Chock and Bates initially had to settle for team silver with their American teammates on the podium at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Team Russia and Kamila Valieva, who was 15 at the time, stood above them with their gold medals. 

It wasn’t until the end of January 2024, when the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) found Valieva guilty of an anti-doping rule violation, when Chock, Bates and the U.S. were declared the rightful 2022 gold medalists. 

UN URGES COUNTRIES TO HONOR TRUCE DURING WINTER OLYMPICS, NOT DENY VISAS TO ANY NATION’S ATHLETES

Chock and Bates

Madison Chock and Evan Bates compete in championship ice dance at the U.S. figure skating championships Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio.  (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Valieva tested positive for trimetazidine, a banned substance, during an anti-doping test at the Russian Figure Skating Championships in December 2021. She was suspended for four years and stripped of all competitive results since that date.

Chock and Bates spoke about what their message to Valieva would be today during an interview at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee media summit in October. 

“It’s hard to, I think, imagine what a 15-year-old has gone through and under that kind of situation,” Bates said. “And I know how stressful it is, being an elite athlete as an adult, as a 36-year-old. And I think that grace should be given to humans across the board. And we can never really know the full situation, at least from our point of view. … I genuinely don’t know what I would say to her.”

Chock added, “I would just wish her well like as I would. I think life is short. And, at the end of the day, we’re all human just going through our own human experience together. And regardless of what someone has or hasn’t done and how it has affected you, I think it’s important to remember we’re humans as a collective, and we’re all here for this, our one moment on earth, at the same time. And I just wish people to have healthy, happy lives, full of people that love them.”

Chock and Bates had to wait more than two years after the initial Olympics to get their rightful gold medals, and they were finally presented with them during a ceremony at the Paris Olympics last summer.

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Madison Chock and Evan Bates

Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the USA perform in the Gala Exhibition during the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final Nagoya at IG Arena on December 07, 2025 in Nagoya, Japan.  (Atsushi Tomura – International Skating Union/International Skating Union via Getty Images)

Chock, Bates and teammates Karen Chen, Nathan Chen, Zachary Donohue, Brandon Frazier, Madison Hubbell, Alexa Knierim and Vincent Zhou were given a specialized gold medal ceremony to receive the medals in front of more than 13,000 fans. 

Chock and Bates became the first ice dancers to win three consecutive world championships in nearly three decades in March when they defeated Canadian rivals Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
 





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Clock is ticking for Frank at Spurs, with dwindling evidence he deserves extra time

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Clock is ticking for Frank at Spurs, with dwindling evidence he deserves extra time


LONDON — The previous Tottenham Hotspur head coach survived last season by having a trophy to play for. So where does Thomas Frank turn to now for inspiration?

Spurs’ 2-1 home defeat to Aston Villa ended their FA Cup campaign at the earliest possible opportunity. They are already out of the Carabao Cup and languish 14th in the Premier League. They still harbor hopes of reaching the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds, but not even the most optimistic Tottenham fan would give them a chance of winning Europe’s toughest club competition.

Frank will consequently feel very exposed right now. Ange Postecoglou had the shield of a Europa League campaign to bat away some of the mounting criticism of his tenure. It ultimately ended in glory, too, as Spurs won their first trophy in 17 years by lifting the Europa League in May. But his team’s underlying underperformance over such a long period of time still led to a change in the dugout.

There are deep-rooted problems that Frank has inherited: an imbalanced squad short on quality, an impatient fan base and a porous defense. The problem is, it is getting harder to see any signs of progress in resolving them.


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Tottenham’s early-season defensive resilience and set-piece prowess has dissipated. Villa eased into a 2-0 halftime lead here through goals from Emi Buendia and Donyell Malen, both well-worked but given undue space and time to play.

Their attack continues to look disjointed, even if Spurs rallied after the break. Wilson Odobert halved the deficit with a low drive on 54 minutes and although they found some spirit and intensity, Spurs ended with an expected goals figure of 0.55. This was not as bad as some of the toothless performances Frank has presided over, but nevertheless, they couldn’t consistently threaten Villa’s goal.

The modicum of second-half improvement can be interpreted two ways: It was either the dying embers of a failed regime or a flash of hope that Frank can elicit a longer-lasting uptick.

The Tottenham hierarchy now faces a test of nerve. Premier League games against West Ham United and Burnley come next. Both teams are currently in the bottom three. Failure to win either of those games would leave Frank’s future hanging by a thread.

There was a nod to the past here with Spurs’ matchday squad and program commemorating the 125-year anniversary of their first FA Cup win in 1901. Frank often talks about the future being brighter, when long-term absentees such as striker Dominic Solanke — who returned for the final seven minutes here after ankle surgery — attacker Dejan Kulusevski and midfielder James Maddison return to a side more steeped in his ideas.

Looking at the past and future is one thing, but the present is becoming a major problem. Spurs fans would be forgiven for thinking their season is petering out halfway through.

“Of course it is disappointing,” said Frank. “We are all hurt. There’s nothing we want to do more than to get through to the next round, no matter who we face. We played at home, we had a good opportunity.

“Unfortunately, we couldn’t go through. We went with full strength in terms of how we could do it. We all look back at the game and think we could do better in the first half, second half.”

The full-time fracas involving Villa striker Ollie Watkins, Spurs midfielder João Palhinha and a raft of other players was the sort of dust-up that often occurs at the end of a game, but cynics would put it alongside the loss of composure and discipline that is threatening to become a concerning trait under Frank. Perhaps that was why Frank took the unusual step of blaming Watkins, who went to acknowledge the Villa fans while very close to Palhinha.

“Of course, it is all about keeping a cool head,” he said. “The players gave everything out there, losing a tight game, the season is not going perfect and I think Ollie is very provoking in the way he’s going down to celebrate in front of the Villa fans.

“He is just walking into João and he could just easily walk around. Everyone who has a been of a competitive nature, it is difficult, that can trigger things.”

It can, but Spurs have been triggered by a lot lately, whether it is clashing with fans at Bournemouth in midweek or Djed Spence and Micky van de Ven appearing to snub Frank at full time of their defeat to Chelsea in November. Cristian Romero was suspended here after a red card against Liverpool, having received an extra game ban for “acting improperly by failing to leave the field of play promptly” following last month’s red card against Liverpool.

It all adds to a concerning wider picture. When Spurs sacked Postecoglou, a line from their accompanying club statement read: “It is crucial that we are able to compete on multiple fronts and believe a change of approach will give us the strongest chance for the coming season and beyond.”

That belief is being tested to the limit now.



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