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The Philadelphia 76ers shocked the NBA world when the team won the LeBron James sweepstakes this offseason. In the aftermath of that decision, the 76ers saw their championship odds rise, as NBA fans started dreaming on what could be a dominant starting lineup.But one important voice doesnt view the team as the favorite to win it all. That would be James own agent Rich Paul, who believes there are other teams out there better equipped to win a title this season. Rich Paul: The Sixers arent favorites to win it all. I dont think they are the best team in the league.(via Game Over) pic.twitter.com/SHrVyeuAny Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) July 29, 2026Paul is not wrong. Even after the James addition, three other teams still had better odds to win the championship. The New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs are all bigger favorites than the 76ers. While Paul nailed it, its still surprising to hear him downplay his biggest clients decision. Thats not what happens in baseball, where Scott Boras is often his clients biggest fan before and after the free-agent process. How did LeBron James decide on the 76ers?That wasnt the only tidbit to come out about James free agency Wednesday. In a wide-ranging piece at ESPN, it was revealed that James eventually settled on five finalists for his services. Those five teams were the 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves. Two other teams who pursued James were the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers, the latter of which reportedly offered James over $20 million to stay in Los Angeles.Ultimately, the 76ers won out, with Paul sending out a group message to the teams most important personalities that read: Congrats. Sixers it is, per ESPN.What really sold James on the 76ers was the teams pursuit of a title, which is something thats been consistently reported since James made his decision. It helps that 76ers center Joel Embiid told both James and the team that hes healthy this offseason. Embiid has missed significant patches of time during his career due to injuries. If hes fully healthy and back to form, the 76ers will be tough to stop.But they wont necessarily be the favorites to win it all, at least coming into the season. Despite James choosing the franchise due to its proximity to another title, work needs to be done if the 76ers are truly out to prove they should be the favorite.As of late July, even James agent isnt convinced thats the case yet.

White Sox linked to trades with Reds or Mets to solve major need originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.The Chicago White Sox have a real chance to make noise in the American League.It's been quite the glow up from their team in the basement in recent seasons, and it makes the upcoming MLB trade deadline a particularly compelling one in Chicago.For the first time in a while, they'll be buyers.ESPN's Buster Olney wrote about this in a new article on Wednesday, and he points out that the White Sox could use both catching and pitching help."Can you imagine a team going from 121 losses two seasons ago to the World Series? It's not outside the realm of possibility, given the growing strength of the White Sox and the relative weakness of the AL," Olney writes. "But the loss of talented catcherKyle Teelto a significant ankle injury is devastating, and the White Sox could really use another catcher."MORE:Squirrel steals the show during MLB gameThe White Sox still have a healthy Edgar Quero, so they don't necessarily need to take a giant swing, but there are options out there behind the plate.Olney names both catchers from the Cincinnati Reds as possibilities: Tyler Stephenson and Jose Trevino.He also writes that the New York Mets will "listen to overtures" about catchers Francisco Alvarez (pictured above) and Luis Torrens.Olney doesn't name any specific pitching targets for the White Sox but notes that they need to improve their No. 5 starter spot in the rotation.There are seemingly a good chunk of pitchers available for trade right now, too, and so the White Sox can probably be busy if they want to be.It's certainly a much preferred place for them to be this time of year than they have been the past few seasons.More MLB news:How Aaron Judge is the real focus of the Yankees' trade deadline plansHave you ever seen a bounce throw to turn a double play?The Braves let their pitcher hit, and it worked out surprisingly wellHow Rays turned Tim Beckham bust draft pick into Junior CamineroYankees' Jose Caballero is pushing the limit of the rules

Celtic-Linked Calvin Stengs ends transfer speculationAZ Alkmaar have confirmed the return of Celtic-linked Calvin Stengs after completing the wingers signing on a free transferThe 26-year-old became available after Feyenoord agreed to terminate his contract last week, prompting fresh speculation among Celtic supporters over whether the Scottish champions could revisit their previous interest.Celtic explored a move for Stengs during the last transfer window before eventually turning their attention elsewhere, with Sebastian Tounekti arriving instead after the Dutchman opted for a switch to Italy.His unexpected availability sparked renewed discussion over a potential move to Glasgow, but Stengs has instead chosen to return to familiar surroundings by rejoining the club where his professional career first took off.The Eredivisie side unveiled the deal on Tuesday, confirming the attacker has signed a one-year contract with the option of extending it by a further 12 months.Announcing the transfer, AZ wrote: Every journey finds its way home.The move marks an emotional reunion for Stengs, who emerged as one of Dutch footballs brightest young talents during his first spell in Alkmaar and played a key role in the side that came agonisingly close to lifting the Eredivisie title under Arne Slot in 2020.HAVE YOUR SAY Join the Celtic conversation in our comments section belowMatthew Marrs debut book Celtic And the Bould Bhoys, Glory to Their Name. Order now on Celticstarbooks.com. Click to order for just 10 plus P&PQuick Tip Add Celticshorts.com as your Preferred Source on Google News for quick access to the Celtic content you value the most. It takes just a few seconds and youll notice the difference straight away! Click HERE.Hail Hail!Click to join Celtic Pools

ESPN insider reveals Yankees priority at MLB trade deadline originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.The New York Yankees are heading towards the 2026 MLB trade deadline with a clear need at a few different spots. Another righty-hitting outfielder, a new catcher, and some bullpen help all would be useful for the Yankees.But, which of those needs do the Yankees require the most? It's an interesting question, and one that the Yankees need to answer themselves to figure out where they should allocate the most resources.ESPN's Buster Olney revealed the Yankees' trade deadline priority this summer, indicating that the team's bullpen is the top need for Brian Cashman and the Yankees.Yankees trade deadline priority is bullpen help"But bullpen help is the priority, and if the Yankees can get a Miller or a Morejon, they might have the sort of pitching staff that could win in October," Olney writes.The Yankees could use a huge upgrade at the catcher position, with Ryan Jeffers of the Minnesota Twins or Hunter Goodman of the Colorado Rockies are great trade targets.But, Olney is reporting that the Yankees' top trade deadline priority this summer is in the bullpen. It's a fair assessment, as this bullpen really needs some help to be truly World Series caliber.Mason Miller of the San Diego Padres would be the dream pickup, and there's been enough smoke about such a deal that Yankees fans can at least hold out hope for Milelr until the deadline passes or Miller is dealt elsewhere.MORE:Yankees are leading candidate to trade for Twins Ryan JeffersMore realistically, the Yankees will wind up targeting Adrian Morejon, also from the Padres, as a late-inning relief option to bolster the bullpen.Luke Weaver, A.J. Minter, and Brooks Raley of the New York Mets wouldn't be terrible options either. There are plenty of others who'd be a big help for the Yankees this summer.While they could end up adding catcher and outfield help this summer, the Yankees' top priority at the 2026 MLB trade deadline, according to Olney, is the bullpen.More MLB news:Red Sox would love to trade for Angels Zach Neto or Astros Jeremy PenaGiants willing to trade Heliot Ramos in big news for many MLB clubsPadres likely not to trade Mason Miller amid latest updateTigers expected to trade Tarik Skubal but still try to contend without himMets desperate to trade Luis Robert Jr. after trade failure

Udoka Godwin-Malife (aka Dokes) prepares for a first-half throw-in next to the away endReading built on Saturdays 2-0 win at Woking with another, this time even more commanding, victory on Tuesday night. Jacob Brown, Josh Stokes and Jerae Jones (x2) found the net as the Royals ran out 4-0 winners away to Newport County.Interestingly, despite strongly suggesting that hed play Saturdays second XI for the first hour of this game (after theyd got the final 30 minutes on Saturday), Leam Richardson actually mixed things up and put out almost his strongest-possible side. Heres how the team looked at Newport:Readings XI for the first half:Pereira; Godwin-Malife, OConnor, Ward, Dorsett; Wing, Rinomhota; Lisbie, Stokes, Osho; BrownHalf-time change: Ahmed for Godwin-Malife an enforced swap due to injury (more on this later)Readings XI for the final 30 minutes: Stevens; Ahmed, Beacroft, Duah, Lane; Fraser, Savage; Williams, Sackey, Kyerewaa; Jones85th-minute change:Howard for Sackey, a straight swap in the number 10 roleA few players were absent entirely on Tuesday. Jack Marriott, Haydon Roberts and Kelvin Abrefa are still out, but Richardsons comments after the match suggested that none will be on the sidelines for too long. Sean Patton wasnt involved and is rumoured to have been sidelined for six to eight weeks, while theres no news on Abraham Kanu and John Ryan. Youd have thought both of them would have been involved in pre-season, but both have been missing not confirmed to be due to injury but that feels like a safe assumption.How the game wentIt was a real physical battle, for sure. Thats not necessarily a bad thing Richardson spoke after the game about the value of this kind of pre-season test, and Newport certainly put the Royals through their paces throughout the contest.The first half started off slowly for Reading, with just the one major development in the opening quarter of the game (before a mercifully brief hydration break on a warm evening). I can tell you Jacob Brown made it 0-1, flicking the ball past the keeper, but nothing else as that just happened to be the moment I was texting someone (pre-season practice is there for people live-tweeting as much as it is for the players).The Royals grew into the contest later in the half and particularly got joy through Kyreece Lisbie, who found space in the final third down the right wing a few times. One of those occasions led to a nice cross to the back post, finding left-winger Emmanuel Osho, whose header hit the side netting.There were a few other half opportunities for Reading, including a harmlessly off-target Brown finish from a Jeriel Dorsett cross, but not a lot in the way of final-third-quality. Despite that, the Royals were again showing confidence and positivity in possession, looking well balanced as an attacking side and progressing the ball out of the back intelligently.Down the other end, Joel Pereira didnt have a huge amount to do. Newport put pressure on a few times but lacked the cutting edge to work Readings keeper.The big story of the first half was an injury blow, unfortunately. Godwin-Malife (aka Dokes) had already gone down a couple of times when, shortly before the break, he took a robust challenge from a Newport player. After a few minutes of treatment he hobbled off the pitch, before being replaced at the interval by Ashqar Ahmed.Reading doubled their lead a few minutes after the restart. Lisbie built on his bright first-half showing by crossing low for Stokes, who finished from close range for 0-2.The Royals mass changes on the hour mark swapped out everyone not named Ahmed, given hed only been introduced 15 minutes earlier. With no back-up striker available, Richardson opted to play under-21s winger Jones up top, but the rest of the outfielders took up the same roles theyd had against Woking (some of them in the original first XI, some of them in the second XI).And it only took Jones a few minutes to add to the scoring. A Reading corner from the left wasnt dealt with, and the ball eventually dropped for Jones to slam in, essentially killing the contest off. 0-3.Newport put pressure on at that point, looking for a way back into the game, but Reading withstood all the pressure thrown at them. Again, the Royals goalie (this time Jack Stevens) wasnt forced into any major heroics.Luke Howard was introduced with five minutes to go, for Sackey, but Jones had the final say of the evening. Ahmed did excellently down the right wing and crossed in for the makeshift centre-forward, who finished coolly for 0-4.Another step in the right directionWe dont have to be perfect now or play excellent sides off the pitch, just move in the right direction tactically. And were doing that. Thats what I wrote about Readings showing at Woking on Saturday and, reassuringly, I got the same impression from the Newport game.Sure, its not a high standard of opposition and its only pre-season, but Reading are trying to play positive football (were no longer just hoofing it), have a clear style (getting the full-backs up the pitch and focusing on using the wingers) and are getting some joy (goals two and four of the evening were particularly easy-on-the-eye open-play goals).Im not just seeing a team overly relying on individuals, but rather a side that knows how it wants to play collectively and has a few variations on how to do that. Its pretty much the inverse of much of my (and other peoples) criticisms of Richardson in his first season, so its only right to give credit now that hes making substantial and welcome tactical progress.While theres a lot to like about Readings central players (defenders, midfielders and striker), its the full-backs and wingers that are really standing out for me at the moment. An unfortunate double-edged sword here is the performance of Dokes, who was again a real offensive asset from right-back which was a notable help for Lisbie ahead of him only for Dokes to go off with a nasty-looking injury.Pleasingly though, Ahmed picked up in the second half where Dokes left off, pushing forwards really well and getting the assist of the evening late on, setting up Jones after some tenacious work in the final third on the right wing. Its great to see Ahmed getting a chance to impress in pre-season and taking it. Though he faded from first-team contention last season and was eventually sent out on loan to Forest Green Rovers, he remains a hugely promising attacking full-back, and this more positive brand of football suits him down to the ground. Any absence for Dokes would be a huge blow, but Reading have a talented understudy waiting in the wings.Lets not overhype Jones too soonI love it when an academy player gets the headlines, you love it when an academy player gets the headlines, but lets not get carried away. Jerae Jones, a 19-year-old winger whos been in the under-21s and only just started to get involvement with the first team this summer, absolutely has potential but the last thing he needs is too much pressure being put on him right away. A nicely taken second-half brace is welcome indeed, but doesnt change the bigger picture for his development.I hope he gets more game time in pre-season and he very probably will, given Reading have back-to-back friendlies this weekend: Crawley Town away on Friday night, Charlton Athletic at home on Saturday afternoon. He could well also be involved with the first team in the League Cup or Papa McPizza Vase Shield.That should happen gradually though. Despite a mini crisis up top for the first team due to injury and the impending departure of Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan, Reading shouldnt be rushing young players in to fill the gaps lets prioritise sensible development, as is happening with young centre-forward Reece Evans getting lower-league loan experience.

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