-7 Stark (Swe), -6 J Lopez (Spa), -5 M Saigo (Jpn), H Shibuno (Jpn), R Takeda (Jpn), -4 N Korda (US), -3 S Schmelzel (US), L Grant (Swe), M Lee (Aus)
Selected others: -2 Y Noh (US), R Yin (Chi), G Lopez (Mex), Evens C Hull (Eng), A Yin (US), + 1 L Ko (NZ), + 2 A Nordqvist (Swe), L Woad (Eng)
Maja Stark of Sweden carded an impressive two-under-par 70 in the third round at Erin Hills, giving her a one-shot lead over the Swedish Open.
On her final round, Stark birdied three holes before posting a seven-under par score.
After winning the 2022 ISPS Handa World Invitational, the 25-year-old is chasing her second LPGA Tour victory.
Julia Lopez Ramirez of Spain, who recorded a round-of-the-day 68, moves up the leaderboard.
At 19:10 BST on Sunday, the pair will be the last to leave before their final round.
On five under, third place is currently held by Japanese trio Rio Takeda, Hinako Shibuno, and Mao Saigo.
After making three birdies in her final five holes, world number one Nelly Korda trails Stark by three and is on pace for a second consecutive major title after disappointing overnight leader Saigo’s three-over-75.
Saigo, who won this year’s Chevron Championship, stated, “I would like to rest well and then come back refreshed.”
In Game Six of the Eastern Conference finals, the Indiana Pacers defeated the New York Knicks 125-108 to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000.
Pascal Siakam recorded 31 points and three blocked shots in Indianapolis on Saturday, continuing his impressive form to earn the title of MVP of the series.
The Pacers won the series 4-2, and Siakam scored more than 30 points in three of those victories.
The NBA Finals, which begin on Thursday, will pit the Pacers against Oklahoma City Thunder, who recently won the Western Conference.
After a bad game five, Siakam, a nine-year veteran who won the title with the Toronto Raptors, “we wanted to bounce back,” and I have faith in my teammates to the fullest. We always find a way to get where we’re going when we’re down, which we did tonight.
Siakam said, “That year was my third year, I was this young kid,” recalling his time as an NBA champion. I anticipated returning it would be simple.
Because I am aware of how difficult it is to get here, I now appreciate it even more.
Coach Rick Carlisle of Indiana said, “So deserving. The guy has been a consistent force all year.
Obi Toppin added 18 points off the bench while Tyrese Haliburton added 21 points, 13 assists, and three steals for the hosts.
It’s a special feeling to work with this group, Hamilton said. Last year, we were on the same page, but we were not. We fought our tails to return to this place.
As the Knicks struggled after conceding 18 turnovers, OG Anunoby led the team with 24 points, while Karl-Anthony Towns added 22.
The Pacers led 25-24 in the first quarter before increasing their lead to four points by the second half.
In a crucial presidential election, Poles will cast their ballots, which could significantly affect their future positions in the European Union.
Conservative historian Karol Nawrocki and pro-EU Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski from the ruling Civic Coalition square off against one-time Pipsips from the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party at 7am local time (05:00 GMT).
(Al Jazeera)
Following a contentious first round on May 18, where Nawrocki defeated 11 other candidates, Trzaskowski won just over 31%, and Nawrocki won nearly 30%.
The incumbent nationalist conservative president Andrzej Duda, who was also supported by PiS and accused of blocking justice reforms by using his veto against centrist Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government, will take office.
The outcome of the campaign is expected to determine whether Poland continues on a nationalist path or shifts more decisively to liberal democratic norms. It has highlighted stark ideological divisions.
Trzaskowski, the 53-year-old son of a well-known jazz musician, has pledged to restore judicial independence, ease restrictions on abortion, and foster positive relations with European partners.
Former boxer Nawrocki, 42, is viewed favorably by US President Donald Trump as a proponent of traditional Polish values and skeptical of the EU.
Both candidates support aid to Kyiv in light of growing security concerns over Russia’s war with Ukraine, though Nawrocki and Trzaskowski both oppose NATO membership for Ukraine.
The two candidates’ immigration policies are based on anti-Ukrainian rhetoric, reviving growing animosities among Poles who see themselves competing for social services from the 1.5 billion Ukrainian refugees and migrants who have fled the country.
Nawrocki went further, saying he would oppose Ukraine joining NATO or even the EU, despite Trzaskowski’s suggestion that only working Ukrainians should be able to access the nation’s child benefit.
One season may have just finished but the football does not stop, with the Club World Cup beginning on 14 June and a new mini transfer window now open.
Before the competition officially begins in the United States, all clubs have been given a 10-day window to sign players, not just those competing in the revamped tournament.
The market then closes again and reopens from 16 June.
Before the Club World Cup, Real Madrid already made the most of the opening window by acquiring Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The Reds ‘ own attention will be on a new Premier League campaign that is just 75 days away.
Which clubs will be able to spend the money on squad building this summer, and who is walking a tight profit-sustainability path?
PSR limits clubs to losses of £105m over three years, with that amount reduced by £22m for each season a club are outside the top tier of English football during the cycle.
Some costs, such as those associated with the women’s soccer team, the academy, the community, and others, are not included in the calculations.
Villa and Arsenal’s war chest are under pressure.
Images courtesy of Getty
While Arsenal have not lifted a major trophy since winning the FA Cup in 2020, last term marked the third consecutive season in which they have finished runners-up.
The Gunners also advanced to the semi-finals of the Champions League and Carabao Cup, and the pressure is mounting.
With a £51m move for Real Sociedad and Spain midfielder Martin Zubimendi in the pipeline, manager Mikel Arteta seems intent on addressing his side’s shortcomings early.
A source of contention among supporters should also be that he has plenty of money available to him to finally bring in a prolific center-forward to help Arsenal win in competitions.
Record revenues of £616m in 2023-24 are likely to be exceeded thanks to the expanded Champions League format and extra broadcast revenue, while the sales of homegrown duo Emile Smith Rowe and Eddie Nketiah in the past 12 months brings about £50m of pure profit.
Arsenal, the most profitable club in Premier League history, could easily spend more than $ 200 million in the window without having any PSR concerns, Maguire claimed.
Aston Villa’s situation appears less hopeful now that they haven’t qualified for the Champions League.
The club made a loss of £206m in the two years to 30 June 2024 and, with the £100m departure of Jack Grealish in 2021 dropping away from their PSR figures, backing Unai Emery will be far from straightforward.
The success of last term’s passage to the quarter-finals of Europe’s elite club competition, along with Douglas Luiz, Jhon Duran, and Moussa Diaby’s sales, undoubtedly contributed.
But the Midlands club has spent more than £900m since returning to the Premier League in 2019, exceeding Uefa’s 70% revenue to wages ratio every season.
Without any outgoings, Villa appears to be in the low end of the £50-100 million spending range, according to Maguire.
Meanwhile, Newcastle look well equipped after reaching the Champions League at Villa’s expense.
Liverpool in pole position &, Man Utd reliant on player sales
Liverpool should be even stronger this time around thanks to Arne Slot’s leadership of the Premier League title last term.
With Federico Chiesa the only incoming transfer for a modest £10m last term, they have already signalled their intent this summer by signing Netherlands international Jeremie Frimpong, with Germany midfielder Florian Wirtz a £109m target from Bayer Leverkusen.
Since 2019, Liverpool haven’t been among the top ten parties to spend money on player signings, but their business model is a classic example of being smarter than bigger, Maguire said.
“Contract extensions for Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk are arguably worth far more to the club than a huge investment in untried new players – they certainly have the capacity to spend £200m but whether that fits with their model is another matter”.
The depiction of a financial crisis at Manchester United appears to have been overstated by part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe about 40 miles across the M62.
United had the highest EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) profit of any Premier League club, as well as the second highest revenues in 2023-24.
Despite their poor pitch performance, the club’s day-to-day operations only add to its appeal at the turnstiles to sponsors and broadcasters.
Despite missing out on Champions League football and the additional riches it provides, by losing to Tottenham in the Europa League final, Wolves forward Matheus Cunha is seemingly set for a £62.5m move to Old Trafford.
Although United wanted to purchase 30 million Ipswich forward Liam Delap, they chose Chelsea, and their next move may depend on how many players they want to sell out.
Could Chelsea and Man City’s ability to sign players be hampered by Premier League decisions?
Chelsea’s ability to maintain their lavish outlay on players comes with an asterisk attached.
Delap will join midfielders Kendry Paez and Dario Essugo, winger Estevao Willian, goalkeeper Mike Penders, and defender Mamadou Sarr when the Blues start pre-season with a value of around £1.4 billion.
Sporting winger Geovany Quenda, 18, is already signed on for the following year.
However, the Premier League’s decision to sell their women’s team to parent company BlueCo for £198.7 million, a move that ultimately resulted in the wider business making money, may determine how they will bolster their ranks.
“If this is accepted by the Premier League, then Chelsea would have significant spending flexibility and another £200m is a possibility”, added Maguire.
“They may have to sell before buying,” he said, “because it is excluded, things will be much more difficult.”
The cloud hanging over Manchester City is in the shape of 115 charges of alleged Premier League financial rule breaches.
The club is confident that they will be fully exonerated despite the fact that the outcome could result in a fine, a transfer embargo, a wage cap, or a points deduction.
“City could spend a further £200m this summer unless there is a negative result to the charges”, added Maguire.
Considerable funds available for Bournemouth, Brentford &, Brighton
With an 11, 379-capacity capacity at the Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth have the lowest matchday revenue in the Premier League.
Yet they have recruited shrewdly and the big-money sales of Dominic Solanke and Dean Huijsen during 2024-25 means they could easily part with £100m to bring in new signings.
According to Maguire, Brentford are among the best-run companies in the league, and their strategy of “spotting players that other clubs have not taken into account, such as Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, is likely to pay more dividends because they are attracting attention from clubs with big budgets,” adds Maguire.
“The Bees have no PSR concerns and could spend up to £200m, but are unlikely to break the bank for the sake of it as this is not the way that owner Matthew Benham conducts affairs at the club”.
In addition, another club on the south coast, Brighton, is in poor health as of the start of the transfer window.
The Seagulls have earned £200m in profit over the previous two seasons and could repeat last summer’s heavy spend of more than £200m if necessary.
However, CEO Paul Barber has already stated that they will likely stick to their tried-and-true strategy of bringing in players from unfamiliar markets.
What kind of funding are available to promoted clubs?
Images courtesy of Getty
Having been in the Championship for two years out of the past three, Burnley may need to be conservative with their PSR loss limited to £61m.
The Clarets are the only Premier League team to have made a single player purchase before exceeding the £20 million mark, aside from Sunderland.
The Black Cats ‘ return to the top flight via the play-offs comes with the knowledge they will be able to reinforce significantly for the step up in class that awaits.
With Sunderland in good financial shape, Enzo le Fee’s loan move from Roma in January featured an obligation-to-buy clause, which could help the French midfielder kick-start a recruitment drive.
“Since being relegated from the Premier League in 2017, Sunderland have not spent more than £10m in a single year on player signings, despite receiving parachute payments, and they have only made losses of £18m in the last two seasons”, added Maguire.
Leeds, who came out on top of the second tier, are in a less fortunate position.
“They will have to box clever in terms of recruitment”, continued Maguire.
Everton still paying for past as Forest ready for Europe
Everton left Goodison Park to begin a new era, but they still manage to make up for Farhad Moshiri’s enormous contracts and big-money mistakes.
“One marquee signing is certainly possible, especially with some players out of contract, but the chances of a series of big names is less likely”, added Maguire.
“Unless there are exits, a spend of £50-£100m is the ballpark.”
Fulham will likely find themselves with a little more in their budget, although the fact that their wages to revenue ratio is at 85% is a cause for concern.
A £100-150 million additional player investment is possible, according to Maguire, who has owned Shahid Khan extensively in the past and who has worked under manager Marco Silva to woo new players.
Elsewhere, Nottingham Forest’s qualification for Europe next season is great for fans, even if the Conference League may not necessarily swell their accounts.
Teams in that competition only receive 9% of the prize money, compared to a champions league team’s 74%, in comparison.
The club have a top-10 wage budget, after establishing themselves back in the Premier League, and funds to meet the extra demands of a first European adventure for 30 years.
Tottenham will be able to grow, but they will still be owed more than £330 million in unpaid transfer fees, the majority of which will be due in the summer of 2025.
This may prove the biggest constraint to spending for their Champions League campaign next season.
After finishing 14th overall, West Ham boss Graham Potter is unsure of what needs to be done this summer.
The Englishman has already said he wants to trim and lower the age of his squad and should have room to manoeuvre if the owners elect to back him.
Over the past two seasons, Wolves have suffered significant losses, but successful player sales have helped to offset these losses.
After 15 years of wowing the judges on the well-known ITV talent show, Aiden Grimshaw, who first appeared on The X Factor in 2010, looks completely unrecognizable.
OK, Peter Hart Weekend Editor and Freelance Reporter Tiffany Wallis
Aiden Grimshaw is barely recognisable 15 years since appearing on The X Factor alongside One Direction. The fresh-faced hopeful captivated the celebrity judges on Simon Cowell’s TV talent show back in 2010, when he boldly covered Kanye West’s smash hit Gold Digger in his audition, without a backing track. Louis Walsh branded the then-18 year old “absolutely brilliant”, Nicole Scherzinger said “I love your voice” and Simon Cowell added, “You’re one of the best we’ve found, certainly in Manchester and possibly – in your category – throughout the competition.”
Progressing week by week not only with 1D but also Rebecca Ferguson, Katie Waissel, Cher Lloyd, and eventual victor Matt Cardle, gap-year student Aiden secured a respectable ninth position.
READ MORE: X Factor band formed by Simon Cowell ‘to reunite but without one member’
Aiden Grimshaw appeared on The X Factor back in 2010(Image: Ken McKay/Rex Features)
Following his X Factor stint, Aiden signed a deal with record label RCA, releasing his debut single Is This Love, which peaked at number 35 on the UK Singles Chart. He then dropped his album Misty Eye, hitting number 19.
Aiden revealed in 2018 that he had been releasing music under the pseudonym “Butterjack,” but it later went back to his original name. He announced his new agreement with a Dutch record label in 2023.
Louis Walsh branded Aiden ‘absolutely brilliant’(Image: Getty Images)
Aiden now looks so different from his clean-shaven, quiff-haired X Factor days, often sporting a beard on his Instagram page and most recently appearing with a moustache and tousled hair.
He mentioned writing more songs a week ago, along with a photo of himself playing the guitar. The singer proclaimed “20 days of sunshine” to his 19k followers. Coughs for 13 days. Nearly two bank holidays have been written for 6 songs. 1 defeat in the Europa Cup final. A brand-new month, fresh music, and exciting new experiences. It might have been a ride.
Aiden’s appearance has changed significantly since his X Factor days.
Aiden has also expressed regret over not fully utilizing the opportunity that The X Factor had given him in the past.
He shared his thoughts with the Metro, saying, “My only regrets about the show is that maybe I didn’t shoot as hard as I could have in some of the parts of the later part because I tried to be cool. I would simply aim for everything, because why wouldn’t you do that? That is so foolish. But I thought it was enjoyable.
He continued, “There was a lot of pressure on me to find what to do, and my not wanting to be uncool prevented me from exploring all paths and being out there,” and continued, “There was a lot of pressure on me.”
Continue reading the article.
Aiden was romantically linked to Cher Lloyd during his time on The X Factor, and talked about his bromance with Matt Cardle. The pair were said to spend all their time in the house chatting and making each other cups of tea. Aiden said: “Matt and me are really good mates, he’s a great bloke. We’ve got a really great bromance going on.”
READ MORE: ‘I made one change to my meals and lost weight, felt fuller and cut down my caffeine’
Sarah Greene, a former radio DJ, passed away in 2014, leaving her husband, Mike Smith, as a widow. She later fell in love with one of his oldest friends.
The Finish Line star Sarah Greene once opened up about her love life since the passing of her husband, Mike Smith. Former Blue Peter and Saturday Superstore presenter Sarah, 67, returned to our screens back in 2023 alongside Roman Kemp for the BBC One quiz show. She shared a deeply personal connection between her late husband, the iconic Radio 1 Breakfast Show and Top Of The Pops host who tragically died in 2014 following complications from heart surgery, and her current partner, ex-racing driver Robb Gravett.
READ MORE: Roman Kemp says ‘I’m not ready for that’ as he shares heartbreaking realisation
Sarah was married to former Radio 1 DJ and Top Of The Pops presenter Mike Smith(Image: REX/Shutterstock)
According to the TV star, Gravett, a close friend of the couple, was brought into her life as a result of what she perceives to be Mike’s celestial intervention.
In a heartfelt confession from a 2022 episode of My Time Capsule podcast, Greene recalled loving memories of Smith, implying that his influence extends beyond his own life: “I kind of know Mike is pulling so many strings in my life.”
She continued, “He undoubtedly contributed to my meeting with my beloved, who was one of his oldest friends, who waited a while while leaving messages on the answering machine.” I believed he was being kind.
Robb Gravett (left) was friends with Mike Smith (right) – seen together in 1990(Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES/ LAT Photographic)
She continued, explaining when the truth struck her, saying, “For God’s sake, Greeno, Robb is trying to make contact with you because he actually wants to take you out, not because he’s kind. So will you simply get up and answer the phone the next time it rings?
“And boy did the conversation start. Because it’s a very strange circumstance, Robb is also very certain, and I’m also very certain.
Sarah appears on The Finish Line, alongside Roman Kemp(Image: BBC/Potato, Part of Itv Studios)
She explains how she was concerned about the beginning of the relationship, saying, “I remember being terribly concerned and saying to the dear man I’d known for all these years, Isn’t it strange to come into the house and see all these pictures of Mike?” “
He responded, “No, no, it’s not strange. Without them, it would be odd. And keep in mind that I also adore him. “
She starred on Dancing On Ice in 2008(Image: PA)
Continue reading the article.
Sarah acknowledged Roman’s better ability to conceal his emotions when he said, “Roman has a much better poker face than I do. My face is far away, in your eyes. However, I must remind myself that I’m making up Richard Osman for Pointless. That’s where acting comes in.
Back in 2017, Sarah presented This Morning alongside Phillip Schofield, covering for Holly Willoughby, in a throwback to their children’s TV days together. She returned the same year to present alongside Rylan Clark.
READ MORE: ‘I made one change to my meals and lost weight, felt fuller and cut down my caffeine’
