In the aftermath of the World Cup, despite the many issues that had plagued the tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada, Gianni Infantino spoke in tones that suggested he felt invincible. By delivering record revenues and the most outstanding World Cup ever, the Fifa president felt emboldened enough to embark on a victory lap, admonishing his critics from within the stronghold of his Fifa palace, while safe in the knowledge that the structures and mechanisms designed to keep him in power were secure. Barely a week later, the walls around Infantino are crumbling before our eyes. In over-playing his hand and rushing through proposals to sell stakes in the World Cup and Fifa tournaments to private investors, Infantino has crossed a line from where there may not return. Uefas extraordinary decision to boycott the World Cup should Infantino get his way has been followed by two more federations, the Asian Football Confederation and Concacaf, rejecting his proposals. Uefa now has enough support to comfortably defeat Infantino if a vote of Fifas 211 member associations goes ahead next month. The walls around Gianni Infantino are crumbling (Getty)Whether Infantinos plans, understood by The Independent to have been in the works for over a year, even survive for that long is another matter. Infantino is also under mounting pressure from within Fifa itself. The presidents long-time adviser, Carlos Cordeiro, described as a heavyweight figure within the organisation, resigned in protest on Friday. Football has been central to my life, and after more than 35 years in banking, I understand both the value of this asset and the consequences of giving part of it away, he said in a statement. That is why this proposal should be rejected. If even the Fifa suits have seen enough, it tells you that Infantino has gone too far. In their own statement in the early hours of Friday morning, Fifa provided some clarifications around their private investment proposals, insisting that their planned consultation process was disrupted by incorrect media reports. But it may not stop some of Infantinos steadfast allies from switching sides. Asia will host the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia and parts of the region have benefitted greatly from Infantinos support since the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, but the AFCs president, Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain, has been Infantinos most vocal critic outside of Europe. A withering statement on Friday accused Fifa of undermining the World Cup and called for an urgent review into its governance. The AFC said it stands in solidarity with Uefa, while Concacaf (The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football) also confirmed that it had rejected the proposals following their own emergency meeting. The Independent also understands that the vast majority of Concacafs 41 members have lost confidence in Infantinos presidency. That is to be admired, as Infantinos ploy of offering countries $40m for backing his proposals, or risk receiving only $10m for rejecting them were aimed at smaller nations who would have benefitted greatly from the windfall, an additional pot of gold to clear debts and fund overdue infrastructure projects. Infantino attempted to target those vulnerabilities but he has come up against organised, united opposition. With Uefa, the AFC and Concacaf aligned, a voting bloc of around 150 member associations would comfortably defeat Infantinos proposals, even if a few countries from those federations went against the whip. For Infantino, an embarrassing defeat appears inevitable. Further opposition from the confederations of South America and Africa, who have yet to publicly take a stance either way, would surely make his position untenable and spell the end of his presidency. Even so, it is already beyond clear that Infantino must go: a president who places his political interests and the financial incentives of private investors within Donald Trumps own family above the sport is no leader. As Uefa said: This is not merely a profound failure of leadership, but an abdication of Fifas duty as the custodian of world football.Spain are among the Uefa nations to have threatened to boycott the World Cup (Reuters)Infantino (left) has close ties with Trump (PA Wire)Even if his proposals are defeated, Infantino, though, will surely take another page from the Trump playbook in another respect: could you ever imagine Trump resigning over anything, no matter how egregious, let alone admitting to a miscalculation of such epic proportions? It says a lot that, in the midst of an apparent crisis, Infantino was accelerating his plans for an expansion to 64 teams for the next World Cup while his fiercest opponents, Uefa, were holding its emergency meeting on Thursday. Infantino is acting like a tyrant and he must be stopped. Uefa and its allies will be rewarded for the strength of its opposition in recent days but they must now strike and put forward a candidate to challenge Infantinos presidency when he stands for re-election in March next year. Uefas Alexander Ceferin, who has positioned himself as the anti-Infantino despite making anti-competitive changes to the Champions League under his leadership, would be an obvious candidate.Aleksander Ceferin (left) and Nasser Al-Khelaifi are possible challengers to Gianni Infantino (Getty)The Independent, meanwhile, has reported that Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the chairman of Qatar Sports Investment, would also carry support. He could stand to gain from a further elevation of his status within the game. Other figures such as Lise Klaveness, the president of the Football Association of Norway, have been standing up to Infantino for some time. Klaveness in particular should be recognised for putting her head above the parapet long before the tide on Infantino turned within political circles. Infantinos plans for the Fifa Forward Enterprise may appear to be on life support, but it will also take more to topple his empire. That said, football has spoken, and faces a window of opportunity that is must now seize if it wants to build a fairer game: the rejection of Infantinos proposals has to now stand for the rejection of the man himself, and the Fifa he has helped shape.

News broke earlier this week that Denver Broncos left guard Ben Powers agreed to take a pay cut, but the details of his restructured contract weren't revealed at the time. Thanks to a new report from the Denver Post's Parker Gabriel, we now know that Powers' base salary has dropped from $12.49 million with no guarantees down to $4.65 million. The restructured deal includes a $500,000 signing bonus and up to $850,000 through per-game roster bonuses. He gets $5 million guaranteed and can earn up to an additional $2 million through incentives.It's essentially a one-year, $6 million contract for Powers, bringing his revised salary cap hit down to $10.6 million. Before the restructure, Powers had the second-largest cap hit on the team at $18.155 million. Denver has now saved about $7.55 million in 2026 salary cap space, bringing their available cap to approximately $37 million.Any unused cap space the team does not use this season will roll over and increase their 2027 cap total. Some of that extra cap space could go toward upcoming contract extensions for in-house players.Social: FollowBroncos WireonFacebookandTwitter/X!Did you know:These 25 celebrities are Broncos fans.This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: Ben Powers contract details: Broncos get big salary cap relief

Amid recent reflection on the so-called summer of four captains of 1988, the witticism around English cricket has been that at least, then, they had four options from which to choose. As Rob Key worked through the process of appointing a new Test head coach, he spoke to each of the candidates about who they would want as captain were they to get the job. It would be a surprise if more than two names were realistically mentioned; a binary choice, it seems, between Harry Brook and Joe Root led to Key and Stephen Fleming agreeing that it was too soon for the formers elevation.Welcome back, then, to a skipper who has won one of his last 18 Tests in charge; an individual so worn down by the role last time that he described developing an unhealthy relationship with the captaincy. Say it aint Joe? It is to Roots credit that, when asked to wear the blazer again, there was no hesitation in accepting but it is hard to shake a sense that an offer to a 35-year-old who had already led his country in a record 65 matches would not, in an ideal world, have been forthcoming.Joe Root and Harry Brook were the only two viable candidates to succeed Ben Stokes (Robbie Stephenson/PA Wire)Key, as is custom, saw the positives. He is our best ever batter, and now has the chance to captain the side without any of the stuff he had to deal with last time, Englands managing director of mens cricket said of Root, with reference to the dark, Covid-confused days at the end of his first tenure. Im just so glad he gets that chance. A second innings as Test skipper is a rarity; England must hope Root is more Mike Brearley than David Gower.That he had to be reappointed (and it is probably fair to describe it in those terms) suggests a dereliction of duty in succession planning. Key made passing reference to the sudden but perhaps not entirely surprising retirement of Ben Stokes as he sought to explain his decision-making, suggesting that the need for a new Test skipper had perhaps come sooner than he and the rest of the ECB hierarchy had planned.Joe Root, left, has succeeded Ben Stokes as England Test captain (PA Wire)There are threads to be pulled at within that, though. The first, of course, concerns Brook, regarded widely and as opposed to common misconception as a natural leader and intuitive cricketing thinker, and clearly groomed as the Test captain of the future. And yet to hear Key suggest that it was too soon for a man installed as Stokes deputy ahead of the Ashes, and one that has led England in white-ball cricket for more than a year, rather jarred. Clearly, the busy schedule played a part it is surely impossible to straddle all three formats as skipper but at a time where a new identity must be forged, there is a sense that an opportunity to set that more directly has been missed.Alternately, one might ponder where the rest of Englands captaincy candidates are or even where they are coming from. There is a striking lack of seniority within the current set-up, as highlighted by the callow unit that took the field at the Oval when Stokes was stood down during the New Zealand series. Even accounting for Ben Duckett, a three-format cricketer who England have not appeared keen to promote into any kind of leadership capacity, there would seem no-one with both clout and comfort within the environment. Were Root and Brook, his presumed deputy, to each go down on the eve of a Test, it might have to be Jacob Bethell to step in.Rob Key (left) might have found the cupboard bare as he sought a new captain (Getty)It needs to be worked on, but it is very hard to put you on a course to become England captain, Key conceded. It is unfortunate, I think, with Ollie Pope and Zak Crawley Ollie had been vice-captain and Zak a senior player. England were desperate for one or tother to really seize their spot; that neither could, despite tremendous patience, has exacerbated matters. The shame is that their form got in the way of them being able to stay in the side. Then that void wouldnt have been there as much. We would have had two outstanding leaders. Others may look at recent County Championship-winning skippers in Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed, who have each flourished as leaders after their time with England had come and gone. Neither Ollie Pope nor Zak Crawley could seize their spot (Getty)I think [Crawley and Pope] can both come again, it was stressed. But clearly there is a gap between Harry Brook and the people younger than him like Jacob Bethell, who we are trying to bring in. All of this happened a little bit too soon, probably. Out of that summer of 1988 came the fast-tracking of three future England captains perhaps Brook, Jacob Bethell and Jamie Smith, all skippers at U19 level, may yet emerge as the Michael Atherton, Nasser Hussain and Alec Stewart of the modern-day.But England have felt caught between a generation on the wane and one yet to fully emerge. Within white-ball cricket, with the many opportunities that the franchise system provides, there is a growing group of English players in their prime developing captaincy experience, but those same chances in red-ball cricket are limited in part because of the lure of overseas leagues. Of the 18 first-class county captains, only really Ollie Robinson could currently be termed a realistic England Test inclusion and an elevation to the national captaincy will not be forthcoming for a variety of reasons.There was a sense of wistfulness over the senior heads lost, for a variety of reasons, in the last few years: Jonny Bairstow, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes, Moeen Ali, now Stokes. It was revitalising that group that proved the great success of the early McCullum era; now the challenge is altogether different. England have lost a generation of senior cricketers in quick succession (Getty)I feel like weve lost a whole generation of cricketer, and weve only got Joe Root left, Key said, without direct reference to anyone in particular. Four years ago, I felt we needed to change the mentality of English cricket. Ben and Brendon did that brilliantly. In Stephen and Joe, I think weve got the two best people to take a side with a huge amount of potential who need refinement.

DENVER, COLORADO - JULY 19: Hunter Greene #21 of the Cincinnati Reds pitches in the fourth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on July 19, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) | Getty ImagesIf you believe Jeff Passan, today is the day we will start seeing trades ahead of the MLB Trade Deadline, which arrives Monday.So lets spin around the rumors again. The latest on Tarik SkubalWednesday afternoon, Tarik Skubal exited the Detroit Tigers game against the Baltimore Orioles in the top of the seventh, having given up a two-run single. He left to a standing ovation from the Detroit faithful, who were wondering like the rest of us whether it was his last outing for the Tigers. He exited having handed the Detroit bullpen a 7-1 lead with two outs and a pair of runners aboard.What happened after that is, according to one MLB executive, the final sign that the Tigers need to move their ace at the deadline.Baltimore scored four more runs in the inning, and went on to win 10-9 in extras. Despite recording his 1,000th strikeout in the performance, Skubal received a no-decision for his efforts.If there was ever a sign that the Tigers should trade Skubal, that was it. The offers should start flowing in any minute, said one NL executive to MLB insider Mark Feinsand.Feinsand was not the only one reporting that a deal would be happening. ESPNs Jeff Passan declared Skubal will be traded in his MLB Trade Deadline preview as well.So what teams could be making a move for the ace? As we outlined yesterday the Milwaukee Brewers are among the suitors, and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic reported that the Chicago Cubs are expected to make a run at the left-hander. But according to Passan, when it comes to potential suitors they are all almost resigned to the idea that the Los Angeles Dodgers are going to get Tarik Skubal.A potential reason for that? The lingering health issues for Shohei Ohtani. With the superstar dealing with left knee and right bicep issues, it has put his time on the bump on hold. His last start came on July 3, and manager Dave Roberts indicated earlier this week that his throwing program is on hold. Trying to mitigate that, we stopped the throwing, stopped the bullpens hopefully, No. 1, take care of the knee and then not have him try to create velocity with the arm thats not 100%, Roberts said.With Ohtani on the shelf as a pitcher that could mean a big push for Skubal from the Dodgers. If youre looking for a sleeper team in the Skubal sweepstakes, keep an eye on Tampa Bay. The Rays saw left-hander Shane McClanahan leave his start on Thursday with back tightness, and while it is not considered a long-term issue, there is an opening for Tampa Bay. As one MLB source told MLB.com, [t]he Brewers, Rays and Dodgers have the most high-end prospects to move. It would be somewhat surprising if he didnt wind up with one of those three teams.Hunter Greene on the marketWhile Skubal will command the headlines, another top arm could be on the move.According to MLB.com, there is a 50-50 chance that the Cincinnati Reds move flame-thrower Hunter Greene ahead of the MLB Trade Deadline. Greene missed the first half of the season following surgery to remove bone chips from his right elbow, as he put off the surgery last season and threw through the discomfort, option for an injection rather than surgery.He ultimately went under the knife in the spring, costing him the start to 2026. Since returning he has gone 2-2 with a 7.06 ERA in four starts this season.But this is a former All-Star, who is under club control for the next few seasons. He signed a six-year extension with Cincinnati in 2023, and is controlled through 2028. Greene is owed $15 million in 2027, $16 million in 2028, and has a $21 million club option for 2029, and his contract comes with a $2 million buyout.His health is probably the biggest concern, as he has missed time beyond the recent surgery. Tommy John surgery in 2018 cost him the entire 2019 Minor League campaign, and he has lost time due to shoulder and lower-body issues. Health, said one MLB executive to MLB.com about the concern. He falls into the high quality and moderate-to-low quantity category.Still, during his 2024 All-Star campaign, he went 9-5 with a 2.75 ERA, earning Cy Young votes. Teams that miss on Skubal could be enticed to bet on that talent at that low cost for the next few years. Our friends at Battery Power are taking about Greene as well:Yankees calling on catchersAs we noted yesterday, the New York Yankees are one of several teams looking for help behind the plate at the MLB Trade Deadline. According to longtime MLB insider Jon Heyman, the Yankees have inquired with the Baltimore Orioles about Adley Rutschman, but from the outside looking in it would seem unlikely that Mike Elias would move the catcher within the division:Yankees are among many teams to check on 3-time All-Star/switch-hitting catcher Adley Rutschman. NYY is casting a wide net for catching need. Ryan Jeffers, pending free agent, seemed logical but Twins suggest theyre a buyer now. Tyler Stephenson, others are on NYY list Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 29, 2026However, Passan reported on his podcast earlier this week that the Orioles are at least open to moving players such as Rutschman. Open is one thing, but making a deal and one to the Yankees is another. Colorado Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman is another option generating buzz, given last years slash line of .278/.323/.520, but the fact that he has three arbitration years coming up before he becomes a free agent in 2030 has pushed the asking price up. Could Mason Miller be moved?With the Los Angeles Dodgers running away with things in the NL West, the San Diego Padres sit in third place, 14 games back in the division.But at one game over .500, the Padres are just two games out in the NL Wild Card chase, so moving a key player ahead of hte deadline does not seem likely.Until you remember general manager A.J. Preller is involvedAfter swinging last years biggest move, the deal with the Athletics for closer Mason Miller, could Preller really turn around and trade him at the 2026 MLB Trade Deadline? According to Passan it is at least possible, but Preller has been telling teams that no prospect can be listed as off limits in such a deal.Stay tuned. Clay Holmes suitorsWith the New York Mets mired at the bottom of the NL standings, they are expected to move some players ahead of the deadline.One of them could be right-hander Clay Holmes.Holmes has not pitched in the majors since mid-May, when he suffered a broken right fibula, but was 4-4 in his nine starts with a 2.39 ERA and WHIP of 1.101. He pitched four scoreless innings for Low-A St. Lucia earlier this week, a game that was attended by scouts from several teams including the Yankees, White Sox, Phillies, Rays, Rangers, Dodgers, according to The Athletic.He is set to hit free agency at the end of the season, but is still expected to have a strong market. One AL executive told FanSided that [i]t would be a surprise if he didnt [get traded].

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After 10,000 simulations, SportsLine's model reveals its top MLB picks today

SportsLine simulated the upcoming NFL season 10,000 times to help form your early 2026 Fantasy football draft strategy

Relief pitcher A.J. Minter logged a 2.35 ERA through 23 appearances this season for the New York Mets. File Photo by Tannen Maury/UPIJuly 31 (UPI) -- The New York Mets agreed to trade relief pitcher A.J. Minter to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for minor league prospects Bruin Agbayani and Billy Amick, a league source told UPI on Friday.Minter was 1-1 with a 2.35 ERA through 23 appearances this season for the Mets. The 10-year veteran has a 3.18 ERA through 420 career appearances.Minter, 32, was a second-round pick by the Atlanta Braves in the 2015 MLB Draft. He joined the Mets on a two-year pact last off-season. He exercised an $11 million player option in November.Agbayani, 19, was a sixth-round pick by the Twins in the 2025 MLB Draft. The 6-foot-2 infielder hit .263 with 16 walks, three doubles, six RBIs and five stolen bases through the first 15 minor league appearances of his career. He hit .268 through 10 appearances this season for the Single-A Fort Myers Mighty Mussels.Amick, 23, was a second-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. The 6-foot-1 infielder hit .251 with 34 doubles, 30 home runs, a triple, 112 RBIs and five steals through 163 career minor-league appearances. He hit .217 with 23 homers and 72 RBIs though 86 appearances this season for the Double-A Wichita Wind Surge.The Mets (47-63) sit in last place in the National League East, 17.5 games behind the division-leading Atlanta Braves (64-45).The Twins (55-55) are in third place in the American League Central, three games behind the division-leading Chicago White Sox (57-51).Minnesota has the third-worst bullpen in the American League, with a 4.92 ERA this season. With Minter, the Mets had the National League's fourth-best bullpen, with a 3.82 mark.The Mets will host the Miami Marlins (55-55) at 7:10 p.m. EDT Friday in Flushing, N.Y. The Twins will take on the Seattle Mariners (53-57) at 10:10 p.m. Friday in Seattle.