Sports
Torres treble helps Barca extend Liga lead | The Express Tribune
Barcelona’s Spanish forward Ferran Torres celebrates after scoring a hat-trick against Real Betis in La Liga. Photo: AFP
BARCELONA:
Ferran Torres netted a first-half hat-trick to help Barcelona thrash Real Betis 5-3 and move four points clear at the top of La Liga on Saturday.
Lamine Yamal and Roony Bardghji scored the other goals as the champions racked up what was mostly a comfortable victory in Seville, until they conceded two late goals.
Real Madrid, second, host Celta Vigo on Sunday aiming to reel Hansi Flick’s side back in.
Fourth-place Atletico Madrid fell to a second defeat this week with a 1-0 loss at Athletic Bilbao.
Villarreal, third, kept the pressure on La Liga’s top two with a 2-0 win over 10-man Getafe.
After some shaky performances Barca beat Diego Simeone’s Atletico in midweek and then built on it with another triumph at Betis.
“We are fighting and (my players) were exhausted, so at the end not everyone was 100 percent, and this is normal,” Flick told reporters.
“Today is positive. Really positive and compliments for my players.”
Flick opted to make some rotations, with a key Champions League clash against Eintracht Frankfurt on Tuesday in mind.
The German coach started Bardghji on the right wing and Torres up front in place of Robert Lewandowski, as well as moving teenage star Yamal into a central attacking midfield role, where he impressed.
Former Manchester United forward Antony opened the scoring for Betis, fifth, at their temporary La Cartuja home, blasting home after Jules Kounde played him onside.
The French defender made amends to help Barca get back level five minutes later, with Torres polishing off his cross at the end of a sharp team move.
Torres struck again in the 13th minute in similar fashion from Bardghji’s cross to put Barca in front, and they never looked back.
Bardghji scored the third himself after good work by Pedri to bring the ball forward, the Swedish winger finishing with aplomb.
Torres completed his hat-trick before half-time with a stroke of luck, as his shot deflected home past Alvaro Valles.
It was his 11th league goal, making him the second top scorer in La Liga behind Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe.
“I already knew I could do this,” Torres told Movistar.
“That’s what you have to do at Barca, and I’m aiming for many more (goals).”
Yamal netted Barca’s fifth from the penalty spot before the hour mark, after former Blaugrana defender Marc Bartra was harshly penalised for handball.
Marcus Rashford’s shot was blocked by Bartra but the ball flew up and struck his hand.
Yamal and Rashford missed big chances before Betis nabbed two late goals, with Diego Llorente turning home at the back post from a corner that Barca defended badly.
Kounde clumsily felled another former Barca player in Ez Abde and Cucho Hernandez rolled home from the spot.
Atletico slip
Alex Berenguer’s superb late strike from outside the area earned Athletic their late win over Atletico, who are now nine points behind Barcelona.
Atletico had been on a run of 13 matches unbeaten before Barca defeated them in midweek, with the Basques following it up at their buzzing San Mames stadium.
Ernesto Valverde’s Athletic, seventh, were also beaten by Real Madrid on Wednesday but produced a far better showing to defeat the visitors.
Athletic have had a poor start to the season, both domestically and in the Champions League. However they shaded Atletico in a hard-fought match before Berenguer finished lethally from outside the area in the 85th minute to claim his team three points.
“Home teams tend to be braver, it happens to everyone except the exceptional (teams),” said Simeone.
“We had clear chances to score, I don’t know if more or less (than Athletic), but in the end the win went to them.”
Earlier Villarreal made light work of Getafe to continue their title tilt.
Tajon Buchanan sent the hosts ahead shortly before half-time, with Getafe’s Luis Milla dismissed soon after the break after an angry confrontation with the Canadian midfielder.
Georges Mikautadze netted the second after 64 minutes to bring Villarreal one point behind second place Real Madrid.
Marcelino Garcia Toral’s Villarreal have won six consecutive league games and are unbeaten since early October.
“It’s impossible to maintain this pace,” said the Villarreal coach. “But (the points) you win, you can’t lose them.”
Sports
Wanted Olympian-turned-fugitive Ryan Wedding in custody, sources say
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Former Canadian Olympic snowboarder and FBI Ten Most Wanted fugitive Ryan Wedding has been captured, sources confirmed to Fox News on Friday.
Wedding, 44, was placed on the FBI Ten Most Wanted list in March 2025 and is accused of running a transnational drug trafficking network that “routinely shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia, through Mexico and Southern California, to Canada and other locations in the United States,” according to the FBI.
Ryan Wedding, wanted by the FBI, was seen taking a practice run for the men’s parallel giant slalom of the Salt Lake 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Park City, Feb. 13, 2002. (FBI | REUTERS/Jeff J Mitchell)
He is also accused of orchestrating multiple murders and attempted murder as a part of his drug trafficking operation.
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Wedding and 14 other alleged associates were specifically accused of orchestrating the January 2025 murder of a witness who was shot and killed at a restaurant in Colombia. He allegedly placed a bounty on the victim’s head, thinking the victim’s death would lead to the dismissal of charges against him and the drug-trafficking ring he allegedly heads, according to an indictment unsealed in November.
READ THE RYAN WEDDING INDICTMENT – APP USERS, CLICK HERE:
The FBI has described Wedding as an “extremely violent criminal believed to be responsible for the murder of numerous people abroad.”
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Canada’s Ryan Wedding in the 2002 Olympics. (Tony Marshall/EMPICS via Getty Images)
Just last month, FBI officials confirmed that Mexican authorities seized $40 million in motorcycles believed to be owned by Wedding. That news came more than a month after Wedding was hit with additional charges and raised the reward for his capture to $15 million.
He participated in the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City after missing out on the 1998 Games. It was the only Olympics he competed in.
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
Fox News’ Matt Finn contributed to this report.
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Sports
Storylines shaping the 2025-26 men’s college basketball season
There are 50 days until the NCAA tournament bracket is set on Selection Sunday.
We’ve learned a lot in the 80-plus days since the 2025-26 college basketball season tipped off, especially as conference play has hit high gear. Freshmen are dominating. Scoring is at a historically high pace. Nebraska and Miami (Ohio) are among the final three unbeatens. And that’s just scratching the surface.
Whether you’re just tuning in or enjoy the bird’s-eye view, ESPN’s Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf quickly break down the eight biggest storylines shaping the season so far below.

The biggest surprises so far
Indiana, the losingest program in college football history entering the 2025 season, just won the national championship. A miraculous run could be brewing in college basketball, too.
Undefeated Nebraska has orchestrated one of the top turnarounds in recent history. Miami (Ohio) hasn’t lost, either. Clemson is off to a surprising start in ACC play (6-0). And in his first season, Kevin Willard has made Villanova a top-tier offensive and defensive team in the Big East.
Vanderbilt is in this conversation, too. Before the Commodores’ current three-game losing streak, they had won 16 games in a row. Tyler Tanner (17.1 PPG, 39% from 3) is a projected first-round NBA draft pick in ESPN’s latest mock. And like Vanderbilt, which was picked 11th in the preseason SEC poll, neither Georgia (14th) nor Virginia (fifth) was picked to finish in the top tier of its respective preseason conference poll — yet both have emerged as early contenders for league titles as a result of surprising starts. — Myron Medcalf
0:29
Miami (OH) stays perfect after Luke Skaljac forces OT with acrobatic layup
Luke Skaljac hits an off-balance layup in the closing seconds as Miami (OH) forces overtime and ultimately beats Kent State.
The biggest disappointments so far
A number of teams and players have unexpectedly disappointed.
Donovan Dent was one of the top available transfers in the portal after winning Mountain West Player of the Year last season. Yet he has struggled at UCLA, shooting just 17% from 3 for the bubble team.
Kentucky is on a winning streak right now, but the Wildcats don’t look like the national contenders they were supposed to be after reportedly spending $20 million on their current roster. The same goes for Oregon, which already had a disappointing roster before recent injuries continued to derail its season.
In the Big 12, Baylor boasts two projected lottery picks, and yet the Bears still managed to kick off league play with a 1-5 record. Tennessee can’t seem to find its footing, either, despite having five-star freshman and projected lottery pick Nate Ament in the fold. A top-three defensive team in SEC play for the past five years, the Vols are currently ranked eighth.
A chunk of the Big East — see: Marquette, Providence and Georgetown, especially — is struggling to meet preseason expectations, too.
All of that said, Memphis might be at the top of this list: The Tigers are just 9-9 on the season, following the best season of Penny Hardaway’s tenure in 2024-25 (29-6). — Medcalf
Scoring is on the rise
A confluence of factors — NBA prospects returning to school, a historically strong freshman class, top Europeans coming to college — has led to an enormous amount of talent in the sport and some of the most explosive offense in decades. Entering last weekend, Division I teams were averaging 77.2 points per game this season; that would be the highest number for a single season since 1971-72, when teams put up 77.7 points per game.
On a similar note, teams entered last weekend shooting 45.4% from the field. That would be the highest collective field goal percentage since teams shot 45.7% in 1991-92.
Only one team finished last season averaging better than 90 points per game (Alabama at 90.7 PPG). There are 15 teams right now hitting that threshold.
From an efficiency standpoint, there’s been an upward swing, too. There are 11 teams currently with an adjusted offensive rating of 125.0 or better at KenPom, compared with just five last season. — Jeff Borzello
2:24
Highlight: No. 20 Arkansas’ offense shines at home in win over No. 15 Vandy
Six Razorbacks reach double-digits as they shoot 57.8% and 40.9% from three to knock off the Commodores, 93-68.
Star players managing injuries
When he’s on the floor, Kansas star freshman Darryn Peterson is among the elite players in college basketball. The potential No. 1 NBA draft pick would rank in the top 10 in the country in scoring, averaging 22.2 points per game — if he had played enough games to qualify, that is. Peterson entered the week with just nine games under his belt, having missed seven with a hamstring injury in November and December, and another two right before Christmas after apparently reaggravating the injury. He has played all six games in January, although not with a full allotment of minutes. And now he is contending with a sprained ankle, putting his status for the immediate future in doubt.
Peterson isn’t the only projected lottery pick to have missed time with injuries and also have a vague timeline for return. Louisville‘s Mikel Brown Jr. hasn’t played since the Cardinals’ Dec. 13 game against Memphis, missing the past nine matchups with a lower back injury. Head coach Pat Kelsey admitted last week that, although he expects Brown to return at some point this season, he doesn’t know when that will be.
Meanwhile, Kentucky’s Jayden Quaintance missed the first 11 games of the season while recovering from a torn ACL he suffered last February. He returned on Dec. 20 and was outstanding against St. John’s before scoring just 10 points over his next three contests and then being ruled out for Kentucky’s past three games. — Borzello
More former pros in college ranks
Has anyone checked on Tom Izzo? He and other power brokers in the game sounded the alarm in October after two G League players (Thierry Darlan and London Johnson) were cleared to play college basketball, a first-of-its-kind move by the NCAA. Then, James Nnaji — the 31st pick in the 2023 NBA draft who played only in summer league and EuroLeague games but never an official NBA contest — was cleared to compete for Baylor in late December. He had never played college basketball, so his case rivaled that of the former international pros who have been allowed to play Division I basketball with the exception of his draft status.
On Wednesday, an Alabama judge gave former Crimson Tide standout Charles Bediako — who had signed a two-way contract with the San Antonio Spurs after going undrafted in 2023 — a temporary restraining order allowing him to return to play college basketball for the following 10 days. Prior to Bediako’s case, no player who had actually played in the college and professional ranks had been given an opportunity to return to college. His Tuesday hearing for a preliminary injunction to play the rest of the season, if successful, could open the floodgates for other young two-way and NBA players to make their case for NCAA eligibility. — Medcalf
The strongest freshman class in recent memory
The recruiting class of 2025 had been circled by college coaches and NBA scouts for multiple years — and these freshmen have collectively exceeded all expectations.
Kansas’ Darryn Peterson, BYU’s AJ Dybantsa and Duke’s Cameron Boozer entered the 2025-26 season as the three big names in the class; they’ve become three of the best players in college basketball, with Boozer and Dybantsa running 1 and 2 in most National Player of the Year discussions. But it’s about more than just those three.
2:25
Cam Boozer leads Duke to a comeback win vs. Louisville
Cam Boozer drops 27 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals in Duke’s comeback win over Louisville.
Nine freshmen were named to the Wooden Award midseason top 25 watchlist, with Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr., Tennessee’s Nate Ament, Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr., Houston’s Kingston Flemings, Arizona’s Koa Peat and North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson all finding their way onto the list.
That doesn’t even include UConn’s Braylon Mullins or Arizona’s Brayden Burries, who are starting for the top two teams in the country. Or breakout stars Keaton Wagler of Illinois and Ebuka Okorie of Stanford. Nor does it include the former European pros who are classified as freshmen, such as Virginia’s Thijs De Ridder and Washington’s Hannes Steinbach. — Borzello
Strength of high-major conferences
The 2025-26 season is anchored by a deep field of contenders in the nation’s top leagues. The Big Ten has 10 teams ranked in the top 40 on KenPom, including top-15 Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, Nebraska and Illinois.
The Big 12’s claim to fame this year is its star power: AJ Dybantsa (BYU), Joshua Jefferson (Iowa State), Darryn Peterson (Kansas), Kingston Flemings (Houston), JT Toppin and Christian Anderson (Texas Tech), and Koa Peat (Arizona) are all capable of leading their respective teams to the Final Four — and earning national accolades, too.
The ACC has also demanded respect in a bounce-back season. Duke is Duke, of course. And North Carolina, Clemson and Virginia have added to the depth of the league with strong overall starts.
Having said that, the SEC remains KenPom’s top-ranked conference a year after its record 14 NCAA tournament bids. It might not match that number again, but reigning national champion Florida is shaping up to defend its title. Alabama’s defense is still phenomenal. Kentucky is improving. John Calipari might have the best point guard in the country at Arkansas. And Vanderbilt already has six top-50 KenPom wins. — Medcalf
Big lineups are dominating
It wasn’t long ago that three-guard lineups were the preferred setup for high-level teams — think Villanova’s perimeter-oriented championship teams in 2015 and 2017, or Baylor’s 2021 title team that started four players 6-foot-5 or shorter. According to KenPom’s average height metric, only four NCAA tournament teams were in the top 20 in height in 2021.
This season, the top three teams in average height are ranked in the AP poll. Six other top-25 teams aren’t far behind.
Just look at the top four teams in this week’s AP poll. Arizona’s eight-man rotation features six players 6-6 or taller. UConn doesn’t start anyone shorter than 6-4. Michigan starts three players 6-9 or taller. Duke is No. 2 in average height and doesn’t have a single player in its nine-man rotation shorter than 6-4.
The NBA has valued positional size more and more, and unsurprisingly, college basketball is following suit. — Borzello
Sports
Liverpool’s Andy Robertson in talks over Tottenham transfer – sources
Tottenham Hotspur have entered talks with Liverpool over a potential deal for defender Andy Robertson, sources told ESPN.
The left-back, who joined Liverpool from Hull City in 2017, is out of contract at the end of the season.
Earlier this month, Robertson admitted he was unsure where his long-term future lies and sources told ESPN that Tottenham have now made an approach to sign the 31-year-old, though no agreement has yet been reached.
Robertson has slipped down the pecking order for Liverpool this season following the £40 million ($54.1m) signing of Milos Kerkez in the summer, though sources told ESPN any move this month would have to be right for both the player and club.
Spurs’ interest in Robertson comes amid the club’s drive to add more experience and leadership to Thomas Frank’s misfiring team who sit 14th in the Premier League table.
“I’m a player who wants to play,” Robertson said earlier this month. “I’ve got five months left and we need to see what the option is to stay or if there’s options to go and things like that.
“I need to sit down with my family and decide. After a stressful summer, I’m just trying to enjoy being a part of it and being a Liverpool player.
“I wanted to qualify for the World Cup and thankfully, we’ve managed to do that. I need to see what myself and my family wants going forward.”
– Incoming Liverpool transfers unlikely in January – Arne Slot
– If Liverpool want to be successful, all roads lead through Szoboszlai
– Tottenham boss Thomas Frank quells Micky van de Ven exit talk
Frank’s difficult start to life at Spurs as been hindered by a lengthy injury list that includes key first-team players such as Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison, while the broken ankle suffered by Ben Davies has added to the Dane’s issues.
Destiny Udogie has been the team’s first-choice left-back since his arrival in 2023 but repeated muscular injuries have often made him unavailable for selection and Djed Spence has often deputised in the Italian’s place.
Should Robertson’s move to Spurs be completed, he would become the second left-back through the door at Hotspur Way during the January transfer window after Souza’s arrival from Santos in a €15 million deal on Thursday.
Robertson has made 363 appearances for Liverpool, winning a number of major honours including two Premier League titles and the Champions League in 2019.
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