[Getty Images]Arsenal's 3-0 win over Manchester City is the biggest margin of victory in a Community Shield game since 2014, when the Gunners beat the same opponent by the same scoreline.Enzo Maresca suffered the joint-heaviest defeat by a Manchester City manager in their first game, with Harry Newbould in 1906 the only previous one to lose by 3+ goals (1-4 v Arsenal).City's 0-3 loss is Maresca's joint-heaviest defeat as a manager in English football, having only once previously lost by a 3+ goal margin (Chelsea 0-3 Brighton in February 2025).Riccardo Calafiori's goal for Arsenal after 23 seconds is the first scored in the opening minute of the Community Shield since Bobby Owen for Manchester City against West Bromwich Albion in 1968.Calafiori's opener is the quickest of the 668 goals Arsenal have scored under Mikel Arteta across all competitions.Kai Havertz has been directly involved in more goals against Manchester City against any other side in his club career (7 - 4 goals, 3 assists).On what was his full Arsenal debut, Christos Tzolis became the first player to assist 2+ goals in a Community Shield game since David Beckham in 1996 (for Manchester United against Newcastle United).

Photo by Daniela Porcelli/Getty Images | Getty ImagesBarcelona continued their preseason preparations with a friendly against FC Basel at St. Jakob-Park in Switzerland on Sunday afternoon, and the Catalans were in full control and won 5-2 thanks to goals from Karim Adeyemi, Hamza Abdelkarim, Lamine Yamal and a brace by Jesse Bisiwu. The game was fully dominated by Hansi Flicks side, who played some really good offense and showcased a more dynamic and positionally fluid attack that overwhelmed the Basel defense.Reactions & ObservationsHansi Flicks starting XI had a few changes from the expected shape: Eric Garcia played at right-back instead of midfield, Xavi Espart played in midfield instead of right-back, and Anthony Gordon played on the left wing with Raphinha as the striker.It was a true 4-3-3 shape instead of Flicks usual 4-2-3-1, with Marc Bernal as a single pivot and Espart and Fermn playing as number 8s in front of him. Is Flick preparing his team for Rodris arrival?Bara had all of the ball in the first 25 minutes, and Anthony Gordon really stood out. He was direct and dangerous on the wing and his movements were really sharp, and Baras best moves early on all came when he was involved.Teenager Xavi Espart is a natural midfielder, and you could tell by how comfortable he was with the ball in the middle and just how good he looked at reading and attacking spaces in central areas. He provided a solid outlet option for Bernal in the buildup phase, and always seemed to be in the right place at the right time.Basel finally started to offer some threat around the half-hour mark with two or three counter-attacks in behind Baras high line, but Joan Garcia was never asked to make a true save.Bara eventually translated their dominance into a lead thanks to a great assist by Raphinha and a really good goal from Karim Adeyemi, who opened his Bara account in impressive fashion with a powerful finish inside the box.The Catalans had a solid defensive half but had a poor breakdown that led to a goal from Doucour as the hosts equalized.Bara had more chances to retake the lead but couldnt find the net a second time before the break, but Flick still had plenty to be excited about at halftime: Bara were quick, sharp, creative and really fluid in attack, Gordon and Adeyemi both played very well, and Raphinha looked really good as a false nine.Flick made four changes at the break and one of them was Hamza Abdelkarim, who scored with his first touch with an instinctive strikers finish after a cross from Adeyemi to restore Baras lead just four minutes into the final period.The Blaugrana remained the dominant side and continued to have plenty of joy down the left wing, and Raphinha had a few more good chances but just couldnt find the net on the afternoon.Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo, Jules Kounde and Pau Cubars all made their first preseason appearances in the final half-hour, and youngsters Brian Farias, Ebrima Tunkara and Jesse Bisiwu also had their chances towards the end.Yamal was quiet and mostly interested in breaking a good sweat, but he still had the chance to find the net as Jules Kounde was taken out in the box and Lamine scored a really good penalty to make it 3-1 Bara with 10 minutes to go.Basel were given a penalty themselves shortly after Yamals goal when a clear dive in the box somehow fooled the referee, and Olaigbe made it 3-2 from the spot, but we were not even close to done yet.The dying minutes became the Jesse Bisiwu show as the young Belgian scored twice: the first was a fantastic finish with a curler into the top corner, and the second came thanks to Lamine Yamal who won the ball inside the Basel box and gave Bisiwu a tap-in.The final whistle came to end a very fun and impressive win by the Catalans, who played a really good attacking game and could have easily scored more than just the five they got on the afternoon.The attack was fluid and tactically different than weve seen from Hansi Flicks first two seasons, and the need for a number nine might not be quite as urgent as we thought.

Arsenal's players and staff celebrate on the pitch after their victory in the English FA Community Shield football match between Arsenal and Manchester City at The Principality Stadium, in Cardiff, south Wales on August 16, 2026. Arsenal won the game 3-0. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty ImagesArsenal dominated Manchester City en route to a comprehensive 3-0 victory in the Community Shield. The quintuple is on, folks. Its the 18th time the Gunners have won the Community Shield, second-most of any club. The emphatic win is exactly the springboard you want into the Premier League season, which gets underway this Friday when newly-promoted Coventry City visit the Emirates.The Gunners took the lead 25-seconds into the match (the earliest recorded goal in Community Shield history) and didnt look back. Myles Lewis-Skelly brilliantly held off pressure in the middle, turned, and slipped a disguised pass up the seam to Riccardo Calafiori, who slid it past a helpless Gianliugi Donnarumma, who went down far too early, Id add.Kai Havertz extended the Arsenal lead in the 28th minute. The Germans slightly fluffed header eluded Donnarumma, who once again, didnt cover himself in glory on the save attempt. The goal was set up by Christos Tzolis heading a Martin degaard cross back across the face of goal.Arsenal put the match out of reach three minutes into the second half. degaard zipped through the middle to get on the end of a fizzed Tzolis cross, sat Donnarumma down rather impudently, and slid it into the open net. With the scoreline at 3-0, both teams and managers shut up shop and started rotating players.Martin degaard, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Christos Tzolis, and David Raya were all excellent. Raya made several magnificent saves with the match still in the balance and added at least one more late to preserve his clean sheet. The Arsenal skipper ran the show in the middle of the park, enabled by the technical quality of Bruno Guimaraes and Myles Lewis-Skelly around him. Ill say it right here, right now: if Martin degaard is healthier and plays like he did today, Arsenal will repeat as Champions.Myles Lewis-Skelly, once again, rose to the occasion. His composure on the ball, enabled by his confidence in his strength / body-positioning when under pressure, is remarkable for a player his age. There is no world in which Arsenal should be selling him. Christos Tzolis continued his excellent preseason. Hes not super flashy but he consistently does good and correct things with the ball, stitching the play together, and making attacks more dangerous.There is likely still transfer business to be done Gabriel Martinelli not being in the squad today raises eyebrows and Id bet Ethan Nwaneri, also not in the squad, is heading out on loan but if Arsenal can keep their attackers healthier, theyre likely to be even better than last year. A healthy Martin degaard, who looks like he may have a bit of a chip on his shoulder and a point to prove this season, Kai Havertz, and even Bukayo Saka will all be Like New Signings. And you can expand that out to attacking threats, really. Riccardo Calafiori, as he showed today, is a transformative player in the Arsenal attack. His ability to unbalance defenses and create chaos with his movement through the inside left channel adds dynamism and unpredictability to the attack.On the other side of things, Manchester City. Woof. The usual caveats about the match not really counting, it being preseason, them having plenty of talent and more money than God etc. apply, but they looked dreadful. 116M man Elliot Anderson was invisible. Donnarumma was poor on all three Arsenal goals. The defense ahead of him lacked structure and application. There really wasnt anything positive to take away from the performance, which is tremendously positive for anybody who isnt a Manchester City supporter. Enzo Maresca is on fraud watch. Long may it continue for 115 Charges FC.Now its time for the real stuff. Arsenals defense of their Premier League title starts with the season-opener at home to Coventry City this week. Bring it on.

Mark Selby is the first player to win the China Open on four occasions having previously won it in 2015, 2017 & 2018 [Getty Images]Mark Selby claimed his fourth China Open title with a 10-6 victory over Noppon Saengkham in Taiyuan.Four-time world champion Selby, 43, has now won 26 ranking events and this success lifts him from ninth to fifth in the world rankings."I'm happy to be standing here as champion, I played some good stuff all week, somewhere near close to my best," said Selby.The Englishman, who was appearing in his first ranking final in China for eight years, had trailed 4-2 early in the contest despite compiling a wonderful 138 break in the third frame.However, he took the final two frames of the first session to draw level at 4-4 and when play resumed he knocked in breaks of 58, 90, 69 and 53 to reel off the next four and establish a healthy advantage.Thailand's Saengkham, who had already dispatched Judd Trump, Ronnie O'Sullivan and Shaun Murphy en route to only his second ranking final, responded with a 71.Selby, who has come into the season with a new cue for the first time in 20 years, laid two excellent snookers as he recovered to take the 14th frame.And while his opponent rallied again to win the next, Selby sealed his win with another half-century to take the top prize of 250,000, with Saengkham having to settle for the 100,000 on offer to the runner-up.Saengkham's performance at the tournament helps him climb 18 places in the world rankings to 27th."Mark was strong and controlled the game well, his safety game was so good," said Saengkham."When I was 4-2 up he was under pressure, but in the evening the game changed and it looked like Mark was controlling everything. I will keep trying hard and hopefully one day I will be the champion."

Cowboys' QB2 competition may have a new leader following strong performance vs. Seahawks originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.Dak Prescott remains the Dallas Cowboys undisputed starting quarterback, while Sam Howell and Joe Milton continue battling for the backup role behind him. Both quarterbacks delivered solid performances in Saturday's preseason game without committing any costly mistakes, which was arguably the biggest takeaway from their outings.Together, Howell and Milton completed 20 of their 27 pass attempts for 201 yards and two touchdowns. However, veteran analyst Skip Bayless believes Howell has the inside track to secure the QB2 spot.I'll take Sam Howell slightly over Joe Milton as Cowboys backup QB. Milton is bigger, faster w/ a stronger arm. But Howell has played far more NFL football - 18 starts - so I'd trust him a little more if he had to play 3-4 games. Howell looked pretty good in tonight's 1st half, Bayless wrote.Howell completed 8 of his 12 passes for 94 yards, including a touchdown connection with wide receiver Camden Brown.Former North Carolina head coach Mack Brown also praised Howell after his performance.So proud of Sam Howell as he leads the Cowboys to a TD @ Seattle. Great UNC QB but much better person. Love you Sam! Brown wrote.Howell was selected by the Washington Commanders in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft and became the teams starter during his second season, making 17 starts. The Commanders finished with a disappointing 4-13 record, but Howell showed flashes of promise throughout the campaign.Since leaving the Commanders, Howell has bounced around the league, spending time with the Seattle Seahawks before joining the Minnesota Vikings and Philadelphia Eagles. Now with Dallas, Howell seems to fit well within the Cowboys offensive system.Howell owns a career completion rate of 62.6%, along with 4,139 passing yards and 22 touchdown passes.More NFL news:Jerry Jones issues firm response to critics of Cowboys' shocking Micah Parsons tradeCryptic Dak Prescott post from Von Miller puts Jerry Jones Cowboys back in the conversationDak Prescott definitely heard injured Myles Garrett from the sidelines at joint practiceQuinnen Williams didn't celebrate his $153.15M dealhis bold Jerry Jones comment explains whyJ.J. Watt finally breaks silence after moving into Tony Romos spot on CBSs top team

Padres' Jackson Merrill earns $5 million raise for very simple reason originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.The San Diego Padres have stormed back into postseason contention recently following the MLB trade deadline, and there are plenty of reasons why they've turned things around.One of the big reasons why is Jackson Merrill, who has been great in August, hitting .321 with a 1.004 OPS in 58 plate appearances in 14 games. But Merrill isn't just playing well; he also reached a goal for a nice pay raise.As USA Today's Bob Nightengale notes, Merril, by reaching 500 plate appearances this season, earned a $5 million raise on his $135 million deal.Jackson Merrill earns $5M raise from Padres for simple reason"San Diego Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill made himself a cool $5 million by reaching his 500th plate appearance on Friday, which adds $1 million to the next five years of his contract," Nightengale reports.Merrill's nine-year contract extension with the Padres is now for $140 million instead of $135 million after this milestone was reached.In Merrill's contract, he'd earn a pay raise for reaching this threshold, and since he did so this season, he's earned an extra $1 million per year across the next five seasons, according to Nightengale.MORE:Dodgers prospect Kendall George to undergo knee surgery months after viral bat dog incidentThe 23-year-old outfielder is worth it, even though his .710 OPS this season is the worst of his career so far. Considering his production lately, Merrill is clearly better than those season-long numbers suggest.He's under club control through the 2035 season, and now adds a bit more money to his already fairly large contract.While $5 million isn't a lot compared to the $ 140M-plus deal he signed, it's still a nice reward for Merrill's health this season as he tries to help the Padres make the postseason in his third year in the big leagues.More MLB news:Phillies receive slightly worrying 65% playoff odds projection from ESPNRed Sox get 8.2% chance to win World Series, which is more than Yankees oddsDave Dombrowski reveals why Phillies didn't trade for a righty-hitting outfielderBrewers toyed with idea of trading for Padres closer Mason MillerYankees dabbled in trade talks for Tarik Skubal despite not willing to deal George Lombard Jr.

Ronaldo led Portugal to a first major tournament win at Euro 2016 [Getty Images]Cristiano Ronaldo says this season is likely to be his last as a player after a glittering career.The 41-year-old married his partner, Georgina Rodriguez, on Tuesday and is contemplating a future orientated around his family.A five-time Ballon d'Or and five-time Champions League winner, Ronaldo has won league titles in England, Spain, Italy and Saudi Arabia and is the all-time top goalscorer in men's international football.The Portugal captain has spent almost four years at Saudi Pro League champions Al-Nassr, where he has one year remaining on his contract."This is probably my last year of football, and I want to leave a spectacular legacy," Ronaldo told Vogue in an interview about his wedding."I have my future all mapped out. I have so many things to keep me busy that to tell you just one thing is hard. Because football could leave a big hole, you have to fill your time in various ways, not just one."Have more fun, travel more, watch and play padel, which I really like, and continue to enjoy what I've earned - what we've earned."Because after all it's been 25 years with a lot of sacrifice."Ronaldo is 24 goals away from scoring 1,000 senior career goals.His long-time rival Lionel Messi, who has won the Ballon d'Or accolade a record eight times, recently also said he was unsure how much longer he would continue playing football.The players' respective World Cup campaigns could hardly have looked more different as Messi scored eight goals and led Argentina all the way to the final, while Ronaldo's Portugal bowed out in the round of 16.Asked in July whether his sixth World Cup would be his last, Ronaldo said he would decide "with a calm head" in a conversation with his family.Al-Nassr opened their Saudi Pro League title defence against Al Fateh on Saturday and Ronaldo did not play, but he watched the champions win from the stands with his family.Are fans now more invested in star names than clubs?

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has dubbed the Dallas unit the "Greatest Offense There Is." Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb has an even shorter description of what he and teammate George Pickens can be in 2026."The best ever."Via Jon Machota of The Athletic, thats the quote Lamb gave during last night's game to Nicole Hutchinson of DallasCowboys.com.It's a high bar. To be the best ever, they'd need to be better than Randy Moss and Cris Carter. Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin. Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt. Mark Duper and Mark Clayton. John Stallworth and Lynn Swann. Fred Biletnikoff and Cliff Branch. Jerry Rice and whoever else was on the field with him.Lamb and Pickens could be the best one-two punch currently in the NFL. But even that isn't a given, given that the league currently features the likes of Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, Puka Nacua and Davante Adams, Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison.But, yes, Lamb and Pickens could be great in their second season together. And the Cowboys, if they get a little better on defense, could thrust themselves into the postseason conversation.Really, that's all that matters. Of all of the labels that could be applied to the Cowboys, the most important is one that hasn't been relevant for 30 years and counting.NFC Finalist.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are giving Paul Skenes a short break amid a difficult stretch during his third MLB season. Skenes was originally scheduled to start on Sunday versus the Boston Red Sox. But Pirates manager Don Kelly announced after Saturdays 4-0 loss to Boston that the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner will get his turn pushed to Wednesday against the Detroit Tigers. Kelly emphasized that the decision wasnt injury-related, but done to give Skenes more recovery time between starts. Ultimately, it was Donny's decision, but we had talked about it, Skenes said, via MLB.coms Aiden Stepansky. And like I said after the last start, I'll have his back on whatever that is. I don't necessarily disagree with the decision either.The Pirates have delayed Paul Skenes' scheduled start today to Wednesday in order to give him additional rest amid his recent struggles with performance and velocity, manager Don Kelly announced.Since June, the Pirates are 3-10 in games Skenes has started. pic.twitter.com/Icwkci1aHD Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) August 16, 2026In his last start, Skenes left after throwing 65 pitches in a 2-0 loss to the Miami Marlins. He pitched 5 innings, allowing 1 run with 5 hits and 4 strikeouts. Of particular concern was a decrease in Skenes velocity, something hes been demonstrating throughout this season. Against the Marlins, he averaged 95.7 mph on his fastball and didnt throw anything over 97 mph. His average fastball velocity is 96.8 mph, down from the 98.1 mph he averaged last season and the 98.8 mph during 2024. That has raised concerns over a possible injury. But Skenes said its more about wearing down during the grind of the long MLB season. Everybody deals with stuff. I think going through a full Major League season and not dealing with stuff, I don't know if there's ever been somebody who's done that, Skenes told MLB.com. So everybody's tired. Everybody's grinding, and we just got to keep going.Not a pitching coach, but easy to spot some differences between 2026 Skenes and 2024 Skenes.Arm path has gotten longer and he's way more rotational than he used to be. More like a carousel, less like a ferris wheel. pic.twitter.com/X4dDzK6wqV Jake Mintz (@Jake_Mintz) August 13, 2026Whether intentional or unintentional, the issues may also be attributed to a change in Skenes pitching mechanics, as Yahoo Sports Jake Mintz points out. Skenes is also significantly more rotational now than he used to be, moving more like a swivel chair and less like a windmill, Mintz writes. That's likely the cause behind his longer arm path; issues with the lower half are often the root cause of issues with the upper half. Because he's sinking deeper into his back leg, he's forcing himself to be more rotational to escape that position, which is in turn leading to the arm path.In his past nine starts, Skenes has a 5,79 ERA with 50 hits allowed and 59 strikeouts in 46 2/3 innings.As a result, Skenes season ERA is up to 3.88, a big increase from the 1.97 ERA he posted last season on his way to the NL Cy Young Award. His record is 9-11, but hes still striking out batters, ranking fourth in the NL (and eighth in MLB) with 166 Ks. "It certainly can't hurt in terms of recovery, and you add recovery in for anybody and that's going to help," Skenes said about getting pushed back, via ESPN. "So I kind of wish it weren't the case, that I was starting tomorrow, because that's something I pride myself on. But in the long run, it's definitely best to just get some recovery time."Wednesdays start versus the Tigers may show whether the extra recovery time was what Skenes needs to get back on track.

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard celebrates after scoring in the Community Shield (Adrian Dennis)Martin Odegaard warned Arsenal's rivals that the Premier League champions want to "win everything" after starting their season by sweeping aside Manchester City in the Community Shield.Arsenal captain Odegaard delivered a man of the match performance capped by the final goal in his team's dominant 3-0 victory in Cardiff on Sunday.Riccardo Calafiori netted Arsenal's opener after just 24 seconds and Kai Havertz was also on the scoresheet before half-time in the annual curtain raiser to the English top-flight season.Just four months ago, Odegaard lifted Arsenal's first Premier League crown since 2004 after they finished seven points ahead of second-placed City.The Norway midfielder believes the dynamic display against City, now managed by Enzo Maresca instead of Pep Guardiola, showed the north Londoners have not lost their hunger for silverware."We played some brilliant football. Great performance and a great way to start the season," Maresca said."We showed our level today. We're showed we're ready. We're serious and we want to do it again. We want to attack it. We want to do it again."When you get a taste of how nice it is you want to do it again. We want to win everything."Installed as the bookmakers' favourites for a second successive title, Arsenal begin their Premier League charge at home to promoted Coventry on August 21.- 'Things to work on' -City open their bid for a first title since 2024 with a visit from Bournemouth on August 24 and Maresca admitted they have a lot to improve before then."We have many things to work on. The season's just started so there are many things we need to do better," he said."The goal we conceded after 24 seconds unfortunately affected the game. Disappointed with that because in this kind of game the level is so similar that when you concede a goal, it then becomes difficult."Maresca endured the joint-heaviest defeat by a City manager in their first game in charge, tying a 4-1 loss for Harry Newbould's side against Arsenal in 1906.It was also Maresca's joint-worst loss as a manager in England after a 3-0 defeat against Brighton during his time with Chelsea in 2025.Since the start of the 2023-24 season, City have only won two of their nine matches against Arsenal, showing the widening gap between them that Maresca must find a way to close."After the goal, the reaction was quite good. We had three or four chances to score and draw the game. Unfortunately we conceded the second one and it became more complicated," he said."From next Sunday we start the Premier League and the focus has to be about that."smg/ea