Sports

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli clinched the 2026 Formula 1 drivers' title at the Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday, Nov. 1, finishing third behind race winner Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari). He needed only ninth place.

Latin Times reports he is champion at 20 years and 68 days old, taking the record from Sebastian Vettel, who was 23 years and 133 days old when he won in 2010. He is the first Italian champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953, and he won eight races this season.

According to RacingNews365, the race had a first-lap clash between the two Ferraris that earned Charles Leclerc a five-second penalty, a 10-second penalty for George Russell for spinning Isack Hadjar, and a 40-minute red flag after Valtteri Bottas crashed heavily when his Cadillac's front-left suspension failed. The BBC's profile traces Antonelli from karting to the title, including the day his father let a 10-year-old Kimi steer a Lamborghini around the Adria circuit.

Cristiano Ronaldo, 41, announced on Thursday, Nov. 5, in a video message that he will no longer play for Portugal. "The day has come for me to hand back the No. 7 shirt," he said, per AP. He leaves with the men's international scoring record: 146 goals in 234 appearances, a European title and six World Cups.

AP reports that his last game was a 1-0 Nations League win over Wales on Sept. 24. Coach Jorge Jesus then kept him on the bench and said he didn't plan to start him in the next match, so Ronaldo left the training camp; Jesus later said he would be welcome back. The BBC says he was sanctioned for leaving without permission (30 days, already served, and a 255-euro fine).

The Portuguese federation thanked him and plans a tribute for fans. Ronaldo keeps playing for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, 15 goals short of 1,000 in his career, AP says. Lionel Messi ended his Argentina career with a farewell match last month.

LIV Golf will shut down, its lawyer told a U.S. bankruptcy court in New Jersey on Thursday, Nov. 5. "The debtors are not currently proceeding with the LIV 2.0 plan," attorney Matthew Williams said, per AP; the league is moving to a "value-maximizing wind-down."

AP reports that LIV launched in June 2022 with nine-figure signing bonuses to lure players from the PGA Tour, spent more than $5 billion, lost its Saudi Public Investment Fund backing in April, and filed for Chapter 11 on Sept. 8. BC Partners Credit had pledged $300 million for a slimmed-down LIV 2.0, but the BBC says the firm pulled out on Wednesday, mainly because it was not satisfied with the mix of players who had signed up; Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia had already walked away.

AP notes LIV paid $15.6 million to keep seven executives in the months before the bankruptcy, and that whether those payments can be voided is now an open question. LIV said it remains open to alternatives during the wind-down.

Hanshin Tigers third baseman Teruaki Sato, 27, who won the Central League Triple Crown this year (.306, 39 homers, 106 RBIs), entered Major League Baseball's posting system along with pitchers Kaima Taira of the Seibu Lions and Hiromi Itoh of the Nippon-Ham Fighters, AP reported on Nov. 2. They can sign with any MLB team from Monday, Nov. 2, until Dec. 16.

AP says Taira led the Japanese majors with a 1.36 ERA this year after moving back into the rotation, and Itoh won the 2025 Sawamura Award, Japan's version of the Cy Young. South Korean infielder Si-Hwan Roh of the Hanwha Eagles was also posted, with a 30-day window.

The timing matters: AP reports MLB is likely to lock out the players' union when the labor deal expires Dec. 1, and during the 2021-22 lockout posted players' signing windows were frozen until a deal was reached. The Japanese club gets a fee of 20% of the first $25 million of a contract.

Andreas Almgren of Sweden, a half-marathon specialist running his first 26.2 miles, won the New York City Marathon on Sunday, Nov. 1, in 2:06:01, pulling away from Italy's Yemaneberhan Crippa in the final mile. AP reports it was the third-fastest time in the course's history and the first debut win since 2010. Lesotho's Kamohelo Mofolo edged defending champion Benson Kipruto for third; American Zouhair Talbi ran the fastest time ever by a U.S. runner in the race.

Kenya's Sheila Chepkirui won the women's race for the second time (2:24:36). American Jess McClain passed two-time winner Hellen Obiri in the last strides for second, the first U.S. woman in the top three since 2018.

Switzerland's Marcel Hug won the men's wheelchair race for the eighth time, by just over a second, and Catherine Debrunner won the women's in the second-fastest time in race history. About 60,000 runners started, nearly half of them women; in 1976, the first five-borough year, 88 women ran.

San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama had career highs of 52 points and 24 rebounds, plus eight blocks, in a 112-111 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday, Nov. 4, AP reports, while fighting a virus and after rolling his ankle in the fourth quarter.

His first half (29 points, 15 rebounds, five blocks) made him the first player since play-by-play records began in 1996-97 with at least 25 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in a half. AP says he is the first player with 50 points and 20 rebounds in a one-point win since Wilt Chamberlain in 1964. He shot 16 for 28, including seven dunks, but 1 for 8 from three.

"I can still do more," Wembanyama said. The Spurs have won six straight; he had been named the West's player of the week three days earlier.

Sovereignty, the 2025 Kentucky Derby winner, won the $7 million Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky, on Saturday, Oct. 31, under jockey Junior Alvarado for trainer Bill Mott. Reuters (via The Star) reports he had been scratched from last year's Classic with a fever; AFP says he lost his first two races of 2026 and a hoof abscess threatened his start. The Puma was second and stablemate Knightsbridge third, while defending champion Forever Young of Japan faded to fifth.

Irish trainer Aidan O'Brien won three races at the meeting, the last with Benvenuto Cellini in the Turf, for a record 24 Breeders' Cup wins, two more than Bob Baffert, according to AFP. Other moments: Further Ado won the Dirt Mile by a nostril after a long photo study, and Japan's T O Elvis, unraced since May, ran down the favorite in the Sprint.

Jesús de Miguel, a 30-year-old forward for Tenerife in Spain's second division, died on Tuesday, Nov. 3, a day after colliding in mid-air with Andorra goalkeeper Jesús Owono while contesting a high ball. AP reports he suffered a cardiac arrest; the BBC says Owono was sent off and the match was abandoned.

Spain's National Police opened an investigation into possible involuntary manslaughter, which AP describes as standard for a non-natural death. AP also reports questions about his treatment: medical staff reached him within 20 seconds, but it is unclear what care he got during the five minutes he lay on the pitch, reports conflict on whether CPR began on the field or in the ambulance, and it has not been established whether a defibrillator was used. Spain's emergency nurses' association said it is seeking more information.

His funeral was held Thursday in Navahermosa, with Spain coach Luis de la Fuente among the mourners, the BBC reports. Owono called these "the most difficult days of my life."

The Milwaukee Brewers' championship parade and rally on Friday, Oct. 30, drew more than 750,000 people, according to the Milwaukee Police Department, FOX6 reports. That is nearly one and a half times the city's population of about 560,000 and almost 13% of Wisconsin's. Police said preliminary research suggests it may be the largest single-day event in state history; the NFL Draft in Green Bay drew about 600,000 over three days, and the Dodgers' title celebration last year drew about 250,000.

Spectrum News talked to fans along the route who remembered the 1982 Brewers, the last Milwaukee team to reach the World Series, 44 years ago. One said her seats for a game that year cost $18.

A federal fraud trial of Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz began in Brooklyn this week. In opening statements on Wednesday, Nov. 4, prosecutor Rebecca Urquiola called them "cheaters" who "sold their pitches," AP reports.

Prosecutors say Clase, a three-time All-Star closer, started telling a gambler friend from the Dominican Republic in 2023 what pitches he would throw, letting bettors win at least $460,000 on bets on whether a pitch would be a ball or a strike, then asked for kickbacks and recruited Ortiz in 2025. They say texts using code words and testimony from gamblers will prove it.

Both men have pleaded not guilty to conspiracy charges and are on unpaid leave from the club. Defense lawyers told jurors a gambler who befriended Clase falsely claimed to have inside information on his pitches and tried to sell it to others.

The Seattle Mariners introduced Jason Kanzler as their manager on Wednesday, Nov. 4, AP reports. He went unrecruited out of high school and considered medical school, then became a two-time Gold Glove outfielder as a walk-on at the University at Buffalo. The Minnesota Twins drafted him in the 20th round in 2013, and after three minor league seasons he taught physics and chemistry at a high school in Katy, Texas.

Kanzler joined the Houston Astros as a minor league hitting coach in 2019, was on their major league staff for the 2022 title, and most recently ran player development for the Chicago Cubs. General manager Justin Hollander said Kanzler "dominated the process." Kanzler said teaching "has greatly informed how I do things." He is the 19th full-time manager in Mariners history.

Kai Havertz's 16th-minute goal gave Arsenal a 1-0 win at Liverpool on Sunday, Nov. 1. 101 Great Goals reports Arsenal had lost their previous 13 games at Anfield and had not won there since 2012, when manager Mikel Arteta was still playing for them. The defending champions moved to the top of the table, nine points ahead of Liverpool, after Manchester City lost to Brighton on Saturday.

Declan Rice set up the goal with a low cross after Arsenal won the ball high up the pitch. Liverpool's match report says Florian Wirtz hit the crossbar with a free kick and the Reds had a string of unsuccessful penalty appeals; 101 Great Goals says Liverpool finished without a shot on target. It was Liverpool's second defeat under head coach Andoni Iraola.

The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the New Orleans Saints 16-10 on Sunday, Oct. 25, at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, the NFL's first regular-season game in France, AP reports. Attendance was 78,488.

Aaron Rodgers, 42, threw a touchdown pass to tight end Darnell Washington, the 540th of his career, moving him past Peyton Manning into third in NFL history, and Chris Boswell kicked three field goals. Linebacker Payton Wilson intercepted Tyler Shough in the red zone after, he said, practicing that play more than 20 times; he had picked off Rodgers on a similar play in practice that week.

Rodgers called the French anthem "gorgeous" but said it was sometimes hard to find the play clock among all the numbers on the scoreboard. The week was tense: AP notes rioting and looting during protests over school funding and living costs a week earlier, and players stayed close to the hotel during more protests on Saturday.

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli, 20, won the United States Grand Prix in Austin on Sunday, Oct. 25, from pole position, his ninth win of the season, Reuters reports via Al Jazeera. He finished 13.078 seconds ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, with Red Bull's Max Verstappen third.

Mercedes kept Antonelli on a one-stop strategy while others stopped twice. With five races left, his lead over teammate George Russell grew to 123 points: Russell must win the next race in Mexico City to stay in contention, otherwise the championship goes to Antonelli, in only his second F1 season. Verstappen, champion from 2021 to 2024, is mathematically out of the title race.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff called it "the race of a champion who isn't the champion yet."

The Milwaukee Brewers won the World Series on Wednesday night, Oct. 28, beating the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5 at Tropicana Field to take the series four games to one. Neither franchise had won a title before.

According to CBS Sports, presumptive NL Cy Young winner Jacob Misiorowski made his best start of the postseason and three relievers held Tampa Bay to one run the rest of the way. Rookie Cooper Pratt drove in two runs and, with hits in six straight at-bats going back to Game 4, set a World Series record for a rookie. CBS says the Brewers went 11-2 in the postseason after beating the two-time defending champion Dodgers in the NLCS.

The Rays had avoided a sweep the night before. NPR (via AP) reports that Pratt's 12th-inning home run put Milwaukee ahead in Game 4, but Tampa Bay rallied in the bottom half, with pinch-hitter Ben Williamson's chopper over first base winning it 4-3. The Rays were the fourth team in World Series history to avoid elimination with an extra-inning comeback.

Harry Kane won the men's Ballon d'Or on Monday, Oct. 26, at the London Palladium, the first Englishman to win it since Michael Owen in 2001, AP reports. Kane, 33, scored 73 goals for club and country last season, led Bayern Munich to the Bundesliga and German Cup double, and scored six times at the World Cup, where England finished third. Kylian Mbappe, Lamine Yamal, Rodri and Lionel Messi followed in the voting.

"My journey wasn't straightforward," Kane said in a message to young players. "I had to fight my way to be the very best."

Spain's Alexia Putellas won the women's award for a record-equaling third time, after winning in 2021 and 2022 and then tearing her ACL. She now plays for London City Lionesses. The ceremony was held in London for the first time to mark 70 years since the first winner, England's Stanley Matthews, in 1956.

Thousands of Milwaukee Brewers fans traveled to St. Petersburg, Florida, for the World Series games at Tropicana Field, the Associated Press reports. Before Game 4 on Tuesday, Oct. 27, a large group gathered in a parking lot more than four hours before first pitch, and by an hour before the game there appeared to be more Brewers fans than Rays fans in the stands.

According to ticket marketplace TickPick, cited by AP, 41.3% of all Game 4 purchases came from Wisconsin, against 30.5% from Florida; the cheapest ticket was $900. Back home, American Family Field in Milwaukee sold out a watch party for 31,000 fans.

Brewers outfielder Garrett Mitchell said the "Let's go Brewers" chants started during batting practice. The fans had to wait one more night: the Rays won Game 4 in 12 innings before Milwaukee clinched in Game 5.

UCF beat No. 2 BYU 39-31 in two overtimes in Orlando on Saturday, Oct. 24, the Knights' first win over a top-5 team in school history, AP reports. Backup quarterback Keyone Jenkins, in his fifth start since Alonza Barnett III was hurt, threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Grayson Brousseau in the second overtime and finished with 293 yards and three touchdown passes. BYU's last fourth-down pass from the UCF 4-yard line fell incomplete.

The end of regulation was chaotic: a sack was overturned on replay to an incomplete pass, BYU was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, Jenkins was stopped on a fourth-and-goal sneak at the 1, and UCF couldn't convert a game-winning kick. "That's the weirdest end of a game I have ever seen," coach Scott Frost said.

A week earlier BYU had beaten then-No. 2 Notre Dame to reach its highest AP ranking since its 1984 national title season. The Cougars fell to 6-1.