The Protect College Sports Act couldnt beat the clock.And now uncertainty lingers around the bills future.The U.S. Senate adjourned for its annual five-week August recess early in the morning on Saturday without voting on legislation that intends to regulate college athletics, stiff-arming the bill for more crucial matters and kicking any possible vote to September a move that troubles supporters.While the legislation may take top priority once the Senate returns on Sept. 14, such a long break places the act in an uncomfortable position, making it susceptible to an increased onslaught of criticism from lawmakers, special interest groups and other entities.For instance, as the bill inched toward a vote on the Senate floor this week, a wave of detractors emerged to disrupt the path. The Congressional Black Caucus released a statement slamming the bill on Thursday; more than a dozen Republican senators filed objections or amendments to the legislation; several labor unions sent a joint letter in opposition; and the Whips vote count wasnt as high as originally expected.Coupled with the public criticism was a logjam of agenda items before the Senate this week that took precedence over college sports. Bills to fund the government, implement sanctions against Russia and balance the budget, as well as administrative nominations, shoved the act aside.The result was a drama-filled Friday on Capitol Hill ending with no vote on the bill.Sens. Ted Cruz and Eric Schmitt, co-authors of the legislation with Sen. Maria Cantwell, released a statement to Yahoo Sports saying that theyve locked in a guaranteed vote in September.The Protect College Sports Act continues to show great momentum, the statement said. Sens. Cruz and Schmitt have worked tirelessly with the support of nearly every conference in the country, HBCUs and the Olympic sports committee. Its clear that this bill is the only way to save college sports and womens sports. With the strong support of President Trump, we look forward to him signing the bill on (ESPN) College GameDay in the fall.Cantwell said in a statement, Time may have run out to protect college sports in August but there is plenty of time in September. I'm glad Sen. Thune set a date certain in September to bring it up because the challenges facing student athletes and universities aren't going away.But some supporters of the bill fear that a five-week long break could impact the bills chances.A 60-vote margin is necessary to override the filibuster and pass the Senate, but Sen. Majority Leader John Thune and supportive lawmakers prefer to reach at least a two-thirds figure (66) a goal that seemed attainable after the Big Ten and SEC lent their support last week. In fact, Cruz predicted as many as 80 supportive votes.However, keeping with a Congressional tradition, the closer legislation creeps to a vote the more denigrators quibble with language in its text.For instance, three senators, including Tommy Tuberville, filed an amendment to ensure the bill does not overturn any state laws banning men from womens sports - a move that triggered a letter from the White House counsel clarifying that the legislation does not supersede such laws.In another proposed change, Sen. Ashley Moody (R-Fla.) filed an amendment to create an exception in the bills anti-expansion provision to permit power conference schools to move to another power league without the five-year probationary period - a filing likely encouraged by in-state schools Florida State and Miami.According to the amendment, if a power league school wants to move to another power conference, the school can avoid the five probationary period of operating as an independent if it withdraws from its league within 180 days of the bills enactment. The expansion provision in the bill is one of the most hotly debated and divisive concepts. Multiple ACC schools are against the concept and have lobbied their lawmakers for changes to it.The amendments and objections, especially from Cruz colleagues in the Republican party, sent the bill tumbling. And a global package to quickly approve the college sports bill as well as several unrelated items - the funding legislation, budget bill, nominations, etc. - failed to gain unanimous consent. In a midway Friday interview with reporters on Capitol Hill, Thune described the PCSA as one of the reasons that the global agreement failed and sought better clarity on the vote situation with the bill.The whip vote count on the legislation was dangerously close to falling below the 60-vote threshold for passage, several of those with knowledge of the count told Yahoo Sports. That was made more clear after 11 Republican lawmakers filed objections on a request to waive Senate time restrictions to accelerate the vote - a sign of disgruntled lawmakers.What comes next is a fascinating situation.NCAA and conference leaders were leaning on federal legislation as a solution - Plan A, most described it - to the rudderless landscape of unlimited player movement, an uncontrollable, soaring athlete compensation spending and extended eligibility.Do they wait for potential passage or move on?According to comments made by Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti last week at his media days, Plan B involves changing the athlete revenue-share system within the NCAAs landmark House settlement - a federal injunction in which the compensation system operates. To make changes to the settlement language, all parties to the lawsuit - the four power leagues, Pac-12 and NCAA - must agree.As a positive development, those same entities did agree to changes to the revenue-share cap in the Senate bill, which increased the cap from $21.3 million to $48.8 million by adding a $22.5 million retention pool for schools to retain current athletes and a $5 million pool only to be used for non-revenue sports.But if a compromise isn't reached among the leagues and NCAA, a self-governance model (Plan C) is necessary. Some of the major conferences, most notably the SEC, are exploring a governance breakaway from the NCAA, where leagues independently create their own rules and enforce them. In theory, conferences governing a smaller group of members can avoid legal challenges as opposed to the antitrust losses that the NCAA has endured while managing more than 350 Division I schools alone.But the threat of a competitive breakaway - where the SEC, for instance, only plays itself - exists if the league-only rules and enforcement arent aligned across the conferences.SEC officials have seriously discussed for months now a self-governing model as a way to enforce rules, set their own revenue-share cap and limit conference movement and eligibility. But some attorneys believe that the leagues still hold market power and may not escape all legal challenges.Meanwhile, the PCSA may arise again in September, but its road is a long one. Even if it passes the Senate, it must then move to the House of Representatives, where House leaders like Steve Scalise have publicly criticized the legislation. Any House amendments to the bill - there may be plenty - must then be ratified in the Senate. This is a long, arduous process that comes amid Novembers mid-term election. Lawmakers break for another five-week stretch over most of October to return to their local districts for campaigning.Cruz and many others believe that the Protect College Sports Act stands as the final bi-partisan effort from lawmakers for, perhaps, years. But the bills prescriptive nature - it is a 171-page tome of specificities - is part of its undoing. The legislation regulates conference expansion and even attempts to control football coaching movement.

The Seattle Seahawks held their eighth public training camp practices early Friday morning, a special practice for season ticket holders and their guests. It was another warm day at team headquarters in Renton, albeit less smoky and hazy than earlier in the week. Much like Wednesdays practice, the Seahawks were not in pads, and indeed they mixed things up with the 11 vs. 11 sessions. There was first-team offense vs. second-team defense, third-team offense vs. first-team defense, the usual 1s vs. 1s and 2s vs. 2s, plus a lot of situational football like red zone and 3rd-and-long work that often decides actual games.For the second time this week, Field Gulls was on-site at VMAC observing what was just about a three-hour long practice. Myself and fellow Field Gulls staff writer and host of The Hawks Eye podcast, Bryce Coutts, as well as Seahawks Forever podcast host, Dan Viens, filmed an instant reaction video after practice ended with our quick-fire takeaways. We discuss the absence of Jadarian Price (which we now know is due to lower body soreness per Gregg Bell), the impressive performances of Emanuel Wilson and Ricky White III, a name to watch at the edge, and a promised wrinkle in Brian Fleurys offense that we saw heavily worked on in todays practice.Oh yeah, and theres a new fullback here whos already getting into the swing of things. Heres new fullback Brock Lampe with RBs coach Thomas Hammock.Lampe and Coach Hammock talking thru movement and angles! pic.twitter.com/gGo6SjX4Yi Bryce Coutts (The Hawks Eye Podcast) (@TheHawksEyePod) August 7, 2026This is only a 7-minute video, which should make it digestible for everyone whos able to have a listen! But tonights big event for us is the Seahawks Syndicate Town Hall Q&A, which goes live at 7:30 pm PT on YouTube and will also be available to watch on Field Gulls! Well be talking camp, Seahawks football in general, doing some trivia, and a bunch of other fun stuff for our in-person studio audience at Fast Fashion Brewing in SoDo. That article is coming up on FG later on Friday evening.VideoIf you attended camp with us, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section!Join the conversation!Sign up for a user account and get:Fewer adsCreate community postsComment on articles, community postsRec comments, community postsNew, improved notifications system!

In the summer before Match of the Dames launched, founder Anne Morris walked around the stands at non-league Altrincham FC with one goal in mind - to count the number of women.And the result - just a tiny fraction of the total crowd - gave her all the motivation she needed.Morris told the BBC: "We think the stands have been a boy's club long enough."I walked around and the ground, the ticket gate was 1,200 and I counted about 88 women."A new project was born, and is now positively thriving.What is Match of the Dames? In 2025, Match of the Dames first launched in partnership with Altrincham FC.Its aim was to introduce more women to live football by inviting first-time female supporters to matches throughout the season. At Altrincham, 20 women attended 20 fixtures 10 at home and 10 away with places at away games offered to women and girls from the host club's local community. Following that success, the scheme is now expanding to five clubs around the country for the 2026-27 season.Alongside Altrincham, Brackley Town, Hartlepool United, Solihull Moors and Southend United will all take part.The project also aims to strengthen connections between clubs and their communities while encouraging more women to become regular football supporters.Each club will host eight dedicated Match of the Dames fixtures, including one women's team match. The addition reflects the strong interest in the women's game shown by participants during the pilot season.A total of 25 women and girls will be invited to each event, with the scheme aiming to welcome 1,000 first-time female supporters to non-league football across the season.The longer-term ambition is to develop a model that can be adopted by clubs of any size, in any league, to help attract and engage more female fans.The campaign group says football has been a "boy's club" for too long [Reuters]How does it work on match day? Morris explained she had set up a WhatsApp group for participants to chat the weekend before each event, to explain all the logistics and give the group the opportunity to ask questions and get to know each other before match day. "There's a detailed match day outline on our website, broken down into pre-match warm-up, the big day and the post-match cool down," she said. "I would choose a different venue each time for our meet-ups, and we would gather around two hours before the game at a local, independent cafe, or restaurant and have a bite to eat. "So you'd have an hour there, meet and greet, chat, get to know each other. "And just as we're about to leave the cafe, I hand the the scarves out. Once everyone has their scarves, we take a group photo and set off to the ground which is 15-20 minutes walk away."So it's not just about the football, it's the journey into the football stadium too."The ultimate aim, though, is to give women the bug for the beautiful game, and get them feeling the addrenalin rush of the ball hitting the back of the net."I started it in order to bring women in, but I also wanted them to feel the energy of when you're in a big crowd," Morris said. "When the ball's coming forward and if it goes in the goal, the way the stand goes up."If I could bottle it, that would be the experience I'd want people to have and go away with."[BBC]New episodes of Women's Football Weekly podcast drop every Tuesday on BBC Sounds, plus find interviews and extra content from the Women's Super League and beyond on the Women's Football Weekly feedGet the latest WSL news on our dedicated page

Rush won five league titles, two European Cups, three FA Cups and five League Cups with Liverpool [Getty Images]Liverpool and Wales legend Ian Rush has said he rooted through "bin bags in the loft" to find the memorabilia from his glittering career that forms the basis of a new exhibition at his beloved Anfield.All You Need Is Rush, which opens at the stadium's museum on 14 August, takes in the trophies, hat-trick balls and Golden Boots won by Rush at Liverpool, as well as other items, such as Juventus shirts from his time in Italy and international caps he earned with Wales.The 64-year-old remains the Reds' all-time leading goalscorer, with 346 goals in 660 appearances during two spells between 1980 and 1996.Rush said putting the exhibition had been a chance to reminisce, adding: "When you stop playing, you forget about what you've achieved."The exhibition takes its name from the terrace anthem the Anfield crowd sang about Rush and includes a hologram of the Welshman which talks visitors through its highlights as they enter.Rush remains Liverpool's all-time leading goalscorer [Getty Images]The exhibition includes shirts from across Rush's Liverpool career [BBC]Born in St Asaph in Denbighshire, Wales, in 1961, Rush began his career across the border with Chester City in 1978. He moved to Liverpool in 1980, shortly after winning the first of his 73 caps for Wales, and soon became a firm fan favourite, helping the side to four league titles, two European Cups, four league cups and a famous FA Cup final victory over fierce rivals Everton in 1986.Rush said scoring the winner in an FA Cup final was "my dream come true" [BBC]His scoring prowess even saw him become the first British player to win the European Golden Boot in 1984, topping the list of goalscorers across the continent with a mammoth 47 goals.His abilities were admired across Europe and shortly after the win over Everton, he signed for Juventus, though he was loaned back to the Reds in his first season and only ended up playing for a year in Italy before a permanent move back to Anfield.He spent another eight years with Liverpool, winning another league title, league cup and two FA Cups, followed by brief spells at Leeds United, Newcastle United, Sheffield United and Wrexham, before a swan song in Australia with Sydney Olympic.Rush was a key part of the hugely successful Liverpool side in the 1980s [Getty Images]The exhibition includes Rush's Chester City shirt and some of his international caps [BBC]Such were Rush's achievements with the club that a recent poll of supporters to choose the Reds' greatest ever player placed him third behind Sir Kenny Dalglish and Steve Gerrard.Rush said it felt "tremendous" to see his career laid out across the exhibition and walking round it had left him "quite emotional"."It was bringing back memories back from a kid to playing from Wales, moving to Liverpool, Juventus and finishing at Liverpool and all that," he said."When you stop playing, you forget about what you've achieved."I've been in bin bags in the loft... to get them all out, cleaned up and shared with Liverpool."Rush signed for Juventus in 1986, but was loaned back to Liverpool and did not play in Italy until 1987 [Getty Images]Despite only playing a single season in Italy, Rush has fond memories of his time at Juventus [BBC]The items on show include two Golden Boots - an English First Division one for 1984 to match the European award he was given in the same year - and the match balls from the 16 games in which he scored three or more for the Reds.There are also the shirts he wore in the club's FA Cup final victories in 1986, 1989 and 1992.Rush said it was that first victory, a 3-1 win over city rivals Everton, that remained a cherished memory."My dream as a kid was to score a goal in the FA Cup Final," he said."I used to watch at 9:00 in the morning until 5:00 at night and go out to my backyard, pretending I was the one that scored the winning goal in every cup final."To get the chance to do it in 1986, against Everton as well... that made my dream come true."Rush played 73 times for Wales, scoring 28 goals [Getty Images]The striker said his favourite international goal was the winner he scored against Germany in 1991 [Getty Images]He said the exhibition had also brought back some of his proudest memories of playing for Wales and, in particular, his debut against Scotland."I'll never forget making the game... because when I was a kid, I thought I'd never played for my country at whatever level," he said."To play at the senior level against Scotland, that was something really special [and] I was only 18 years old."And while that game ended in defeat, he said his favourite international goal came in a famous Welsh victory."The only other one for me is when we beat Germany one-nil at Cardiff Arms Park," he said."They were the world champions, they had just won the World Cup... and we beat them, so that'd be my standout goal."The exhibition takes its name from the terrace chant about Rush [BBC]A firm fan favourite, Rush was voted third in a poll about Liverpool's greatest ever player [Getty Images]He said he hoped all supporters would enjoy the exhibition and was sure it would bring back great memories for those who saw him play and give a taste of what it was like for those who had not.He added that he was grateful to have played for a club that treasures its heroes long after they finish playing."This is a club where if you do well for this club, they'll remember you for the rest of their lives," he said."That's why Liverpool Football Club to me is the best club in the world, because everyone, we're all in it together."All You Need Is Rush opens at Anfield on 14 August.Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.Rush urges Liverpool to give Iraola time to succeed

Why Colts owner is Adam Vinatieri's Hall of Fame presenter instead of Patriots originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.On Saturday night, Adam Vinatieri will be one of five NFL personalities to receive Hall of Fame honors. While his career began with the New England Patriots in 1996, it will be Carlie Irsay-Gordon and the Indianapolis Colts who will give Vinatieri his honors.Irsay-Gordon is the daughter of Jim Irsay, who, in his career, served as the team's principal owner, chairman, CEO and general manager. After Irsay peacefully passed away in his sleep in May 2025, Irsay-Gordon took the reins as the franchise's co-owner and CEO.Here's why Carlie Irsay-Gordon will present Vinatieri's Hall of Fame honors ahead of tonight's game.MORE:LIVE updates from the 2026 NFL Hall of Fame gameWhy Colts owner is Adam Vinatieri's Hall of Fame presenter?In late July, Vinatieri met with Irsay-Gordon. The longtime Colts kicker was a member of the franchise while Irsay-Gordon's father, Jim Irsay, ran the team. During the meeting, Vinatieri asked the current CEO of the Colts to present him with the award.Here's the video of Vinatieri and Irsay-Gordon's conversation."I just wanted to come in and say thank you so much for everything that you and your family have done for me. It's been such a wonderful ride," Vinatieri said. "I can't even express to you how much you guys all have meant to me, andI'd be super, super honored if you would present me."Irsay-Gordon, of course, accepted Vinatieri's offer and will present him with Hall of Fame honors to immortalize the kicker among the NFL's legends."Adam Vinatieri is one of the most accomplished athletes football or any other sport has ever seen, and he is unequivocally the greatest kicker in NFL history," Irsay-Gordon said in February, per the Colts.Vinatieri spent 14 years in Indianapolis, compared to his 10-year career in New England, which could also explain why the kicker opted to be inducted as a Colt.MORE:What channel is the NFL Hall of Fame game on tonight?Adam Vinatieri relationship with Carlie Irsay-GordonVinatieri and the Colts' current owner and CEO have some ties that preclude Irsay-Gordon from introducing the kicker into the NFL Hall of Fame.Irsay-Gordon's father, Jim, was the owner and CEO of the Colts from January 1997 until his passing on May 21, 2025. Following his death, Irsay-Gordon emerged as the owner, CEO and principal owner of the team. As Irsay's successor, who Vinatieri played under for over 14 seasons, the kciker chose the daughter to honor both his longstanding connection to the organization and her new franchise leadership position.Irsay-Gordon previously praised Vinatieri as "unequivocally the greatest kicker in NFL history," who she watched play for her father's franchise for more than a decade.Adam Vinatieri Colts careerAfter his 10-season career in Foxborough, Vinatieri joined New England's division rival in Indianapolis as a free agent. In his debut season, his leg connected on 14 of 15 playoff field goal attempts to lift Peyton Manning and the Colts to a Super Bowl 41 championship.For a total of 14 seasons, "Automatic Adam" established himself as the NFL's all-time leading scorer, set a league record with 44 consecutive converted field goals, and even earned First-Team All-Pro honors in 2014. He also became the only player in NFL history to score over 1,000 points with two different franchises.In 2019, two years before he announced his retirement,Vinatieri's accuracy inevitably declined due to age and injury. After spending 2020 on the sidelines recovering from a chronic left knee injury the season prior, Vinatieri officially announced his retirement in May 2021 on former teammate Pat McAfee's podcast, concluding a 14-year run in Indianapolis.MORE:Who are the highest-paid running backs in the NFL?Adam Vinatieri career statsSeasonsGamesFGMFGAFG%LNGXP%2436559971583.8%5797.3%