Sports
Ryder Cup 2025: Reliving Team Europe’s away wins as Donald aims for fantastic fifth
Ryder Cup success is so often shaped by what happens at home — the roaring crowds, familiar fairways, and the psychological edge of hosting. But it’s the victories achieved across the Atlantic, deep in hostile territory, that tend to leave the deepest mark.
This year, Luke Donald returns as captain with what many believe is one of Europe’s strongest-ever squads, aiming for a momentous victory on U.S. soil. History suggests an uphill task at Bethpage Black; Team Europe, amid all its recent success at home, has managed just four victories overseas against Team USA.
Each came with its own drama, its own heroes, and its own lasting impact.
1987 — Muirfield Village, Ohio
Heading into the 1987 Ryder Cup at Jack Nicklaus’ Muirfield Village, few outside the European camp truly believed a road win was possible. The U.S. had an unbeaten home record of 13-0 spanning six decades and despite Europe’s breakthrough victory at The Belfry in 1985, many still saw the hosts as the dominant force. Muirfield — Nicklaus’ pride and joy — was supposed to underline that superiority.
But Tony Jacklin‘s side had other ideas. Led by the fire and flair of Seve Ballesteros and the icy precision of Nick Faldo, Europe opened up a 6-2 lead on day one — winning all four afternoon fourball matches — and then built that lead to 10½-5½ after Saturday. They were on the brink of history.
The Sunday singles brought inevitable pressure and a spirited U.S. comeback, but the Europeans held firm. Eamonn Darcy‘s win over Ben Crenshaw — whose snapped putter became a symbol of U.S. frustration (he putted with his 1 iron after the sixth hole) — was one of several gritty victories that sealed the 15-13 win. Fittingly, Ballesteros, who top-scored with four points, was the man with the clinching putt in a 2&1 victory over Curtis Strange.
Europe had proved they could travel, compete, and conquer.
1995 — Oak Hill Country Club, New York
By 1995, the Ryder Cup was no longer a one-sided American affair — but wins in the U.S. were still rare and revered.
Europe arrived in Rochester under the experienced eye of Bernard Gallacher, captaining the team for a third and final time after narrow defeats at Kiawah Island and The Belfry. The opposition was inexperienced, but hungry. Up-and-coming rookies like Tom Lehmann and Phil Mickelson supplemented major winners Corey Pavin, Ben Crenshaw, Curtis Strange and Fred Couples, while Europe had three of the current top-six golfers in the world — Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer and Colin Montgomerie — at their disposal.
But when the U.S. led 9-7 heading into the Sunday singles — which they had won in the last four Ryder Cups — few imagined they could be caught.
What followed was one of the Ryder Cup’s more clinical Sundays. The visitors claimed 7½ of the 12 singles points on offer to edge the contest 14½-13½. For all Europe’s starpower, it was unassuming Irish rookie Philip Walton who held his nerve to win 1-up against Jay Haas and secure the vital point.
The Europeans delivered when it mattered most.
2004 — Oakland Hills Country Club, Michigan
If there was ever a Ryder Cup where the final result never felt in doubt, it was Oakland Hills in 2004. From the opening session, Langer’s Europe looked sharper than their American counterparts. The 18½-9½ scoreline — a record at the time for a European team (they would repeat the result two years later) — barely told the full story of just how comprehensive this win was.
Europe dominated all but one session. The score was 6½-1½ by the end of Friday — when the much-heralded Mickelson-Tiger Woods partnership was beaten — and 11-5 after two days.
Faced with a mountain to climb, the U.S. only won four singles matches on Sunday. It was a pummelling.
Every single European player contributed to the scoreboard — a rare and powerful symbol of unity. Stars like Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood were outstanding, but it was the collective effort that overwhelmed the U.S. “The best team I’ve ever been part of,” Montgomerie would later say.
Oakland Hills didn’t just feel like a win — it felt like a statement.
2012 — Medinah Country Club, Illinois
Few sporting comebacks rival what Europe pulled off at Medinah. Trailing 10-6 going into the final day — and facing a red-hot U.S. team playing in front of a roaring Chicago crowd — José María Olazábal‘s side looked beaten. Cue a seismic shift.
The spark had come late Saturday, when Ian Poulter — a man possessed — birdied the final five holes in his fourball match with Rory McIlroy to give Europe a lifeline. Then on Sunday, European players — one by one — began flipping matches.
Donald set the tone. McIlroy arrived late but delivered. Justin Rose‘s birdie-birdie finish — featuring a 40-footer on the 17th — to edge Mickelson was breathtaking. And Martin Kaymer, facing enormous pressure, sank a nerveless putt on 18 to retain the cup. When Woods missed a four-footer to halve the last match with Francesco Molinari, it was all over.
They won 8½ of the 12 singles points, stunning the U.S. and sealing a 14½-13½ win. Olazábal, captaining with Ballesteros’ silhouette embroidered on his chest, dedicated the win to his late friend, who had passed away a year prior. Emotion poured from every European player.
The Miracle of Medinah — the Ryder Cup’s greatest comebacks — was complete.
Sports
Catrick Mahomes to Cee Dee Little Lamb: Trending sports-related pet names of 2025
It has been quite a year for Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. He won his first MVP award in February and got married to actress and musician Hailee Steinfeld in May. Now, it’s time to add inspiration for trending sports-related cat names to his 2025 résumé.
“Josh Allen” was up 232% for sports-inspired cat names this year, according to a recent report by pet-sitting website Rover.
Allen is tied with “Jalen,” seemingly after Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, and “Manning,” presumably inspired by Texas quarterback Arch Manning — and Peyton and Eli perhaps — for the top spot.
“Luka,” after Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic, (up 51%) and “Marchy,” inspired by Florida Panthers star Brad Marchand, (up 32%) followed on the list.
Sports-related dog names followed a similar trend, with “Arch” (up 181%) leading the way followed by “Josh Allen” (also up 181%). Other athletes in the top five to inspire dog names are Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley at third (up 81%), Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg (up 31%) slotted in at four and golfer Scottie Scheffler (up 22%).
New dog names include Barkley Saquon, Cee Dee Little Lamb (Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb) and Nacua (Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua). For cats, new names featured are Catrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes), Travis Kelce, Ja’Marr (Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase) and Scottie Scheffler.
This year, Rover also highlighted city-by-city trends for sports-inspired pet names.
Even though the Mavericks traded Doncic in a blockbuster in February, he still remains popular for Dallas cat owners — “Luka” increased 139%.
Chicago showed love to Sky forward Angel Reese, with “Angel” leading the way in the Windy City for cat (up 243%) and dog (up 84%) names.
San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama saw massive gains as an inspiration for pet names last season. But the focus this year shifted toward the Spurs’ legendary big three of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.
“Tony” (up 629%) and “Manu” (up 229%) led the way for dog names, while Duncan (up 239%) dominated for cats.
Sports
USA Gymnastics looks to soccer executive as its next leader
Kyle Albrecht, MLS Next general manager, takes over the organization with the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics on the horizon.
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Sports
NCAA settles with unpaid coaches for $303M
The NCAA has agreed to pay $303 million to settle a class action antitrust lawsuit representing about 7,700 volunteer college coaches who alleged the organization engaged in illegal wage fixing under a rule that prohibited schools from paying them.
On average, a coach from Monday’s proposed settlement would receive about $39,200 before expenses and fees, based on the school, sport and years worked, according to the proposed settlement, which is awaiting approval by Judge William B. Shubb in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.
From 1992 to July 2023, the NCAA and its schools agreed to cap the number of paid coaches for Division I sports. Certain sports teams were allowed one “volunteer coach” who would not be paid and who was restricted from receiving other benefits. The NCAA punished schools that violated that rule.
The lawsuit claimed those actions were examples of wage-fixing and “unlawful agreements in restraint of the trade and commerce,” referring to the NCAA in the complaint as a “cartel.”
“This combination and conspiracy by the NCAA and its members schools (which possess a dominant position in the relevant market) has resulted in, and will until restrained continue to result in, anti-competitive effects,” including fixing compensation “at the artificially low level of zero” and eliminating or suppressing competition for skilled labor in the market, the lawsuit states.
The proposed settlement agreement noted that “many class members will receive a six-figure amount.” The class includes volunteer coaches who, at any point from March 17, 2019, to June 20, 2023, worked for an NCAA Division I athletic program other than baseball.
Baseball coaches filed a similar lawsuit in November 2022 and reached a settlement with the NCAA for $49.25 million, with $33 million going specifically to about 1,000 coaches. Judge Shubb, who is also overseeing the current lawsuit, signed off in September. In response to that case, the NCAA dropped the rule limiting the number of paid coaches across all sports in July 2023, and coaches who had previously been designated “volunteer” could now be paid.
The second lawsuit, filed in March 2023, initially represented five former volunteer coaches as named plaintiffs, who worked in sports such as swimming, track and field, volleyball, and softball. (Volunteer coaches were not allowed in football or basketball.) One of those was Katherine Sebbane, who coached softball at the University of Pittsburgh from 2019 until 2021.
Sebbane was paid about $25,000 to run the university’s youth camps, clinics and recruiting events. But she also worked about 40 hours a week as an assistant coach, for which she was not paid. As a volunteer coach, she was also not allowed to receive other benefits, including meals and even medical care from athletic trainers.
“There was an instance where the team was catered Chick-fil-A and [a] compliance [official] was down the hall… I was verbatim told, ‘Hey, don’t go out there to grab a sandwich. Compliance is down there.’ Like, you’re not supposed to be eating with the team,” she told ESPN. “And I’m like, I’m the one who can’t afford groceries.”
While Sebbane said she willingly took the job knowing she wouldn’t be paid, she said there was an understanding in coaching circles that doing so was almost a requirement to get to the next stage and climb the ladder to a paid position. The lawsuit stated that many other volunteer coaches felt similarly.
Sebbane said she finally had to give up the job and left coaching. “There’s a lot of people that have suffered financially, and, you know, two years of financial distress, that takes, like, 10 years to catch up. I believe all of us should be compensated for our time that we put in,” she said.
In July 2023, Judge Shubb denied the NCAA’s motion to dismiss, noting that “plaintiffs have alleged facts sufficient to show a violation” of the Sherman Antitrust Act. He wrote, “it is not implausible that plaintiffs would have been paid a salary above $0 but for the NCAA’s adoption of the bylaw.”
After the settlement agreement, plaintiffs’ attorneys Dennis Stewart, Michael Lieberman and Bob Gralewski said in an emailed statement, “We are incredibly proud of this settlement which, if approved, will provide significant and meaningful compensation to thousands of hard-working coaches…We look forward to the approval process and are committed to ensuring that these funds are distributed to coaches in a fair and efficient manner.”
This was the latest in a series of lawsuits alleging antitrust behavior by the NCAA, including the recent $2.8 billion settlement agreement to compensate athletes for lost opportunities to benefit from their name, image and likeness, and to allow schools to share revenue with athletes.
NCAA president Charlie Baker addressed the volunteer coaches settlement in a memo sent to members Monday, noting the dispute with the volunteer coaches “is one of the largest remaining lawsuits we face and resolving it provides certainty and clarity for the association and our members.”
He noted that the settlement will be funded by the Division I membership and the national office, and payments likely wouldn’t start until after next summer.
“While this settlement represents a substantial financial commitment, it closes the door on claims related to volunteer coach bylaws, which were effective until June 30, 2023. It also ensures that Division I conferences and member schools are released from any claims for unpaid wages, benefits, or related damages during the Class Period,” Baker wrote.
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