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The 40-year-old star athlete whose longevity secrets start with beer

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Alex Ovechkin’s 1,500th game in the NHL? As with the first 1,499, he’ll drink to that.



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VAR review: Should Man United have had a penalty vs. Brighton?

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October 26, 2025

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VAR review: Should Man United have had a penalty vs. Brighton?


Oct 26, 2025, 07:11 AM ET

Video Assistant Referee causes controversy every week in the Premier League, but how are decisions made and are they correct?

This season, we take a look at the major incidents, to examine and explain the process both in terms of VAR protocol and the Laws of the Game.

Andy Davies is a former Select Group referee, with over 12 seasons on the elite list, working across the Premier League and Championship. With extensive experience at the elite level, he has operated within the VAR space on Premier League and offers a unique insight into the processes, rationale and protocols that are delivered on a Premier League matchday. @andydaviesref

Referee: Anthony Taylor
VAR: Michael Oliver
Incident: Penalty appeal for Manchester United
Time: 15th minute

What happened: Amad Diallo ran into the Brighton area, drawing Maxim De Cuyper into making a challenge. As Diallo cut back inside the defender, De Cuyper flicked out his right leg to seemingly trip the Manchester United attacker. Referee Taylor was unmoved by the appeals and allowed play to continue.

VAR Decision: Having viewed the incident, the VAR checked and completed the non-penalty award. Oliver cited that De Cuyper had touched the ball while challenging and agreed with the on-field decision of no penalty.

VAR Review: “Clear and obvious” errors are the benchmark for a VAR intervention and Oliver, having viewed the various angles, would have felt this event did not meet the criteria required. Oliver communicated in his review process that he was happy that De Cuyper made a touch on the ball while putting in the challenge and was therefore comfortable with the original on-field decision.

Verdict: An interesting situation and another penalty decision where a “touch on the ball” seems to have been a key factor as to whether an adjudged foul has been committed or not. Manchester United vs. Chelsea (Robert Sánchez), Newcastle vs. Arsenal (Nick Pope), and Fulham vs. Arsenal (Kevin) are three other incidents like this that have occurred in recent weeks.

A touch on the ball should not always negate that a foul challenge has been committed and, though I agree with all three of these previous decisions given their circumstances and individual context, I believe Taylor was incorrect on this occasion and should have awarded a penalty.

This was not a challenge for the ball by De Cuyper, it was a lazy attempt to trip his opponent; any touch on the ball was minimal and consequential of his careless action, as opposed to a measured challenge.

However, once Taylor chose not to award the penalty, the decision should not have instigated an on-field review by VAR as it was not a “clear and obvious” error. The decision was subjective and live communication from Taylor would have matched the pictures in the VAR hub.

play

1:53

Moreno: Man United have developed an aura of confidence

Alejandro Moreno reacts to Manchester United’s 4-2 win vs. Brighton in the Premier League.

Incident: Possible foul by Luke Shaw on Georginio Rutter.
Time: 61st minute

What happened: Bryan Mbeumo scored United’s third goal after Brighton lost possession in the center of the pitch. But Brighton felt aggrieved that there had been a holding offence committed on Rutter by Shaw in the buildup to the goal. Referee Taylor had a good view of the incident and didn’t feel it met his threshold for a holding offence against the criteria set by him or the Premier League match officials.

VAR Decision: As with all goals, VAR checks all phases of play leading to a goal being scored, checking for any infringements clearly missed by the match officials in real time. The contact by Shaw on Rutter was certainly reviewed and it was felt that the on-field decision to allow play to continue was the correct outcome given the hold was minimal, not sustained and did not directly impact Rutter’s ability to continue to play.

VAR Review: Communication from the referee in real time would have created the framework for this VAR check for a possible foul. Taylor had a great view and his communication would have explained that he had seen a hold by Shaw, however it was not sustained enough or impactful on Rutter’s ability to play and he was comfortable no offence had been committed.

For VAR to intervene in this type of event, they would need to have seen clear evidence that Taylor’s reading of the incident was not factual against the pictures presented.

Verdict: Despite Brighton’s frustrations, this was a good decision in real time by Taylor and an equally a positive non-intervention by Oliver.

To penalize a player for a holding offence in this key area of the field of play, the refereeing team are looking for the action to meet one of the following criteria for it to be deemed a foul: is the hold sustained, impactful or extreme?

In this event there was a minimal, fleeting hold by Shaw that had very little impact on Rutter’s ability to continue with play. It was, in fact, Rutter’s decision to stop, as he was expecting a free kick to be awarded.

It is so important to watch these types of situations in “real time.” A still picture will show the holding to a point where you would question how can this not be a holding offence? However, in real time, you can clearly see the level of holding by Shaw was minimal and, in my opinion, just “normal football contact.” Indeed, this would have been the wording used by both Taylor and Oliver to conclude the incident.





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A rarely seen performance helped the Dodgers even the World Series

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October 26, 2025

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Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched the first World Series complete game since 2015, and Los Angeles answered Toronto with a 5-1 win in Game 2.



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‘Sooner? Try Later’: Ole Miss’ Oklahoma joke headlines college football Week 9 trolls

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October 26, 2025

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‘Sooner? Try Later’: Ole Miss’ Oklahoma joke headlines college football Week 9 trolls


When you boost your College Football Playoff hopes with a big-time conference win on the road, a postgame troll is warranted.

Ole Miss achieved such a feat Saturday with its 34-26 win over Oklahoma, and poured some salt in the Sooners’ wound afterward.

A balanced Rebel offense racked up 431 yards against Oklahoma’s impressive defense in the win, with quarterback Trinidad Chambliss throwing for 314 yards and running back Kewan Lacy punching in two touchdowns. Ole Miss outscored Oklahoma 9-0 in the fourth, erasing a one-point deficit heading into the final quarter.

After the game, the Rebels’ social media admin had a clever caption at the ready, centered on the Sooners’ nickname.

That wasn’t the only postgame troll posted on social media in Week 9. Here are all the top jabs from around college football:

In a battle of two teams with similar mascots, it was the Bearcats who earned bragging rights over the Bears — and with those bragging rights came a right to a postgame troll. Brendan Sorsby threw for two touchdowns and rushed for one more as Cincinnati moved to 7-1 on the season with a home win against Baylor.

Cincinnati’s social media team opted to reference Baylor’s mascot (and its triumph) with a nod to a viral clip.

It was a dominant rivalry performance by Iowa in the battle for the Floyd of Rosedale trophy, intercepting three Minnesota passes and holding the Golden Gophers to just 133 yards of total offense. The Hawkeyes’ offense, defense and special teams all recorded at least one touchdown in the victory.

Iowa did some digital altering to Minnesota’s logo after the game, posting a video showing Minnesota’s “M” being replaced by an L and the usually smiling gopher crying.

Memphis won one of the biggest Group of Five games of the season thanks to a late surge. After trailing 31-17 heading into the fourth quarter, the Tigers scored the game’s next 17 points and took the lead with just over a minute left to play. South Florida crafted a last-gasp drive to set up a potential tying field goal attempt, but Nico Gramatica’s 52-yard effort sailed wide.

With the win secured, Memphis took to social media to post a final-score graphic, displaying a tiger looming over a bull, with the caption “bullseye hit.”

Kent State also used a late push to win its Week 9 game. After falling behind their MAC foe Bowling Green 21-3 midway through the third quarter, the Golden Flashes controlled the remainder of the contest in a 24-21 win. A trick play put Kent State ahead for good. Da’Realyst Clark took a pop pass on a reverse before throwing to fellow wide receiver Wayne Harris in the end zone for the eventual winning score.

Kent State’s postgame troll of its conference rivals referenced the Falcons’ famous unofficial mascot, a 3-year-old exotic shorthair Persian cat named Pudge, with a clever caption.

Earlier in the week, Sacramento State president Luke Wood referred to Montana as the “pandas” (Montana’s actual mascot is the Grizzlies).

Montana’s social media admin remembered the comment. After the Grizzlies dispatched the Hornets on Friday night, Montana posted a photo on X of a headband-wearing panda sitting in front of the entrance to Sacramento State’s campus — with the L in “California State University Sacramento” emphasized.

Missouri State improved to 4-3 on Tuesday night thanks to a 7-yard touchdown pass from Jacob Clark to Ronnel Johnson in overtime, lifting the Bears over New Mexico State in a battle of .500 squads. The TD capped a productive day for Clark, who totaled 283 passing yards and a trio of passing touchdowns.

After the game, Missouri took a couple of shots at its opponent’s cowboy-themed Aggie mascot — first posting the final score with the caption “walk in your saloon and take over your saloon” and then adding a graphic showing “bears win” written on a pair of boots.

This rivalry matchup wasn’t nearly as close as the scored indicated, as the Spartans‘ final touchdown came with only seven seconds left. The Wolverines ran all over the place on Saturday night, with 276 yards and four touchdowns combined on the ground.

After the game, Michigan laid claim to the state it shares with its rival with a post on social media.

Down 18-14 at halftime, the Aggies turned things on in dramatic fashion in the second half, scoring 35 points and leaving the Tigers in the dust. Marcel Reed threw for 202 yards, rushed for 108, threw two touchdowns and rushed for two more in the win.

After the game, the Aggies made fun of LSU’s much-anticipated — and cancelled — halftime drone show with a brutal troll.





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