Archive January 28, 2026

San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama said he is “horrified” after two fatal shootings by immigration agents in Minnesota.

Intensive care nurse Alex Pretti, 37, and fellow Minnesota resident Renee Good, 37, have both been killed by federal agents in the city this month, sparking protests both locally and in other parts of the US.

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation in the city ordered by US president Donald Trump’s administration has been going on for more than six weeks. ICE agents have the power to stop, detain and arrest people they suspect of being in the US illegally.

Frenchman Wembanyama said he was reluctant to speak out as he is not a citizen of the US and that the Spurs’ public relations team had advised against it.

“Yeah, PR has tried, but I’m not going to sit here and give some politically correct [answer],” Wembanyama said.

On Monday, the New York Knicks’ Guerschon Yabusele, who also hails from France, made a strong statement on X calling for the US government to “stop operating this way”.

Wembanyama, 22, praised his countryman for speaking out but said Yabusele’s words “might have some price right now”, adding that “each and every one of us has to decide the price we’re willing to pay”.

When asked whether he feared repercussions for speaking on the topic, Wembanyama said “for sure”.

“I read the news and sometimes I’m asking very deep questions about my own life,” he said.

“But I’m conscious also that saying everything that’s on my mind would have a cost that’s too great for me right now. So, I’d rather not get into too many details.

Newcastle United players certainly looked the part as the team bus pulled up outside Molineux earlier this month.

The squad emerged from the coach wearing re-released replica away shirts from the ‘Entertainers’ era, when the Magpies strutted into stadiums up and down the country.

But the visitors did not play with quite the same swagger of Kevin Keegan’s free-scoring 1995-96 side.

In fact, Newcastle did not muster a first shot on target until the 85th minute in a goalless Premier League draw against bottom club Wolves.

It was a familiar story.

Travel-sick Newcastle have won only three away games in all competitions this season.

That dire record has to change – and fast – as Eddie Howe’s men travel to the Parc des Princes, Anfield and Etihad Stadium in the space of just 10 days.

Yet could one of the toughest runs in the club’s recent history bring the best out in them?

“Sometimes, the bigger the game and the harder the challenge, the more you have to rise to it,” said Newcastle head coach Howe before Wednesday night’s Champions League match at Paris St-Germain.

Newcastle certainly need to start delivering on their travels.

Such a patchy run of results on the road has only increased their reliance on home comforts.

Teams always tend to be stronger in their own stadium, but there are those inside the Newcastle dressing room who believe St James’ gives them an extra 10% when it’s at its febrile best.

However, it might even be a higher percentage than that – Newcastle have a 62% win rate on Tyneside compared to just 21% in away games this season in all competitions.

Newcastle may have lost against Aston Villa on Sunday, but only four sides have picked up more points (23) at home than Howe’s men in the Premier League this season.

Just three teams have scored more goals (22) than them on their own turf in the top flight.

Three of Newcastle’s four wins in this term’s Champions League have come at St James’, while the holders reached the Carabao Cup semi-finals following three straight home victories.

Remarkably, even when they were 3-2 down against Leeds United in the 90th minute a few weeks ago, the hosts still managed to win the game following an incredible stoppage-time turnaround on Tyneside with two goals.

Defender Sven Botman admitted it was “hard to tell” why Newcastle have been unable to deliver more of those victories away.

“You ask yourself and your team-mates,” he said. “The results haven’t been great away from home this season and we definitely want to change that.

“It’s hard to put a finger on what the reason is.

It is clear where the issue lies.

As relatively solid as Botman and Newcastle have tended to be at the back, only Wolves and Sunderland have scored fewer Premier League goals (10) away from home than Howe’s men.

They have averaged just 1.2 goals per game away compared to exactly two per match at St James’ in all competitions.

They have also had two fewer shots and around eight fewer touches in the opposition box per 90 minutes on their travels.

No wonder, then, Nick Woltemade, Harvey Barnes and Anthony Gordon have each scored just three goals away this season, while Yoane Wissa and captain Bruno Guimaraes have only bagged one apiece.

Many months have passed since Alexander Isak’s painful departure to Liverpool, but Newcastle still appear to be adapting to life after the striker, whose movement in behind was crucial to how the side played, particularly on the road, when they hurt teams on the counter.

Nearly half of Isak’s 27 goals for Newcastle last season came away from St James’, including a decisive strike in the Carabao Cup final as the club lifted major silverware for the first time in 70 years.

Yet that is easier said than done.

There is a belief internally that there have been times on the road this season where Newcastle have been dragged into the games the opposition wanted rather than imposing their own style on them as planned.

As much as it has been influenced by the need to pick their moments to aggressively press during a relentless schedule, they have, on average, had more of the ball and more 10-plus open play passing sequences per game this season.

But Newcastle have not always made the most of all that possession, and they failed to find a breakthrough in the goalless stalemate against Wolves earlier this month despite having 67% possession of the ball.

Toothless Newcastle’s pass completion rate of 94% in the first half at Molineux was the highest any Premier League team has registered in a half without hitting a shot on target.

Howe’s side have often lacked the guile to find a way through a low block, which then feeds into their main issue on the road – a lack of goals.

As season-ticket holder Adam Stoker observed, it is rather telling that on the rare occasions Newcastle scored inside two minutes, the visitors went on to beat both Everton and Burnley – even if the latter success was far from straightforward.

“When we play against teams at home who do sit in a bit more, the crowd can get the players over the line,” he said.

“Whereas, against Wolves away, when they were the ones sitting, and their crowd got behind them, that helped them.

“It feels like we’re able to play slightly differently at home than we are away. We just look a bit of a different beast.”

It has got to the stage where Howe has tried to move the focus away from where a game is taking place with his players.

Rather than overthinking the venue, he has instead called on his side to simply attack each fixture – regardless of where it is played.

Starting with Wednesday’s trip to the holders in Paris.

“There’s rightly been a lot of questions asked about our away form and our ability to handle pressure, to be resilient in times where we’re not the dominant team,” added Howe.

“We probably haven’t done that well enough this year and then, of course, when you get the moments, you need to show your quality the other way,

Novak Djokovic’s bid to make more tennis history is still alive as he scraped into the Australian Open semi-finals after Lorenzo Musetti retired injured when leading by two sets.

Djokovic, aiming for a standalone record 25th Grand Slam singles title, was wayward, error-strewn and irritable against the inspired Italian in front of a stunned crowd.

Musetti was 6-4 6-3 up and looked set for the semi-finals when he pulled up early in the third set.

The fifth seed took a medical timeout for treatment on his thigh but, unable to serve or move properly, he walked to the net and shook hands at 3-1 down in the third.

A heartbroken Musetti had to be helped down the corridor by a member of his team as he left the court.

“He was a far better player – I was on my way home tonight,” the 38-year-old Serb great said.

“I don’t know what to say except that I feel really sorry for him.

Djokovic received treatment for blisters on his feet at the end of the second set and could also have been tested physically had the match continued.

It is another stroke of luck for Djokovic after fourth-round opponent Jakub Mensik withdrew before their match with injury.

Djokovic has not won a set since his third-round victory over Botic van de Zandschulp on 24 January.

For Djokovic to move ahead of Margaret Court’s record of 24 major singles titles, he will need to limit his time on court, keep the points short and hope some good fortune goes his way.

Djokovic started sharply against Musetti, going an immediate break up, but then spectacularly lost his way.

A dreadful miss on an overhead handed the break back to Musetti and Djokovic never recovered, sending down just one ace and committing 18 unforced errors to nine winners on his way to losing the first set.

Djokovic frequently turned to his box in disbelief and annoyance – but he only had himself to blame at the start of the second set.

After breaking Musetti and getting out to a 30-0 lead on serve, Djokovic hit five unforced errors in six points to hand the initiative back.

Anchored by a one-handed backhand that kept Djokovic guessing and an improved serve, Musetti held off his opponent to move within touching distance of a first Australian Open semi-final.

Musetti’s level just made the injury all the more surprising. After being broken in the third set, he immediately called for the trainer and, after a valiant attempt at his next service game, called it quits.

Djokovic had warm words for his opponent at the net and afterwards – and, having struggled with physical issues early in his career, would know how devastated the 23-year-old was.

Despite the good fortune, Djokovic will know he will need to improve if he is to win an 11th Australian Open title, with two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner potentially waiting in the last four.