Hoddler-in-chief’s note: Today’s track of the day, like every Track of the Day this week since Tuesday (Wildflowers, Danger Zone, Fool in the Rain), is dedicated to my friend Richard, who passed away this week at age 31. He was a really sweet, funny and sincere person. I loved him very much, and I miss him deeply.

Let us savour every second of football this weekend in his memory.

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can you believe that? the premier league is finally here!

tottenham are entering the season with a new manager, some new players and a new captain. the rest of the gang will have plenty of football stories for you to comment on in the next 36 or so hours before kickoff, but let’s start the hype-building right now.

tottenham hotspur begin their campaign on saturday at 5.30pm local time / 12.30pm et/ 9.30am pst. so get your beverages (adult or soft or caffeinated), your foods (wings or chips or sausage or pancakes) and your shirts ready for the season.

fitzie will be running it back again with his kyle walker #2 shirt from the 2016-17 season. there’s no topping that for me, even if i have a few others in my closet the spurple this year might be a contender, but i’ve said that before and I still wear the walker kit. i can’t believe it’s getting close to retro now.

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football is a brilliant sport, and remarkable in its ability to bring us together. whether it’s watching games on the weekday or weekends, or sitting on the couch playing fifa (a video game your hoddler-in-chief is inept at playing).

maybe He lines up as liverpool’s 14-15 squad, and i choose spurs 14-15 (of course i do). and of course He always beats me because i keep two-footing His players. and then we’d laugh a lot after i’d go down to 9 men and still force my players to sprint the entire pitch. most times He’d win, sometimes we’d draw. i might’ve won once.

it’s these memories that we hold closest to us, These People who mean dearest to us, the people we love. it doesn’t really matter they hold the same scarf as us or wear rival colours or if He pronounces leicester as “lie-chester” (don’t hold it against Him).

sometimes the beauty of the game is the spirit of the game itself, and the people we get to experience it with. maybe it feels trite at the time, only to develop into a core memory we remember years later in our lives. and we talk about it on the phone one night and laugh, remembering the sweet moments of our lives, which i’ll carry with me wherever i go.

And We keep These People In Our Hearts, we Carry Them Wherever We Go (i carry it in my heart).

And That’s Beautiful.

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we’re excited for this season. it’s been a whole five days since i last watched a football match (cardiff vs wrexham), and even longer since i saw the tottenham boys lace up their boots.

get hyped, come on you spurs,

And Enjoy Every Sandwich.

Fitzie’s track of the day (dedicated in loving memory to Richard):Ripple, by the Grateful Dead

And now for your links:

The Athletic ($$): “Spurs rising star Luca Williams-Barnett: A 17-year-old No 10 with an eye for a wonder goal”

BBC: “The Premier League’s new plan to end corner chaos”

The Independent: “The big question facing Serie A after decline and upheaval”

It was first and 10 from the Houston 24-yard line, with eight minutes and 24 seconds left in the first quarter. The Las Vegas Raiders, helmed by their No. 1 overall pick, quarterback Fernando Mendoza, were putting together a strong opening drive, responding to the Texans offense marching down the field and punching the ball into the end zone.

Mendoza took the snap under center, completed a play-fake to rookie RB Mike Washington Jr., and by the time he got his head back around he was already feeling the pressure. The Texans dented Las Vegas’ offensive line, muddying the pocket and forcing Mendoza to step to his left.

With his first two reads covered, Mendoza felt the heat coming off his right side and tried to dump it down to Washington, who had checked up around the 20-yard line. But Texans rookie LB Wade Woodaz read it all the way, jumping the passing lane and out-muscling Washington for the ball before racing 80 yards down the sideline for a touchdown.

GettyHOUSTON, TEXAS – AUGUST 18: Fernando Mendoza #15 of the Las Vegas Raiders makes a pass during the joint practice with the Houston Texans at Houston Methodist Training Center on August 18, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images)

After the game, Raiders HC Klint Kubiak spoke to reporters and defended his quarterback.

“The response, that’s who he is,” Kubiak said on Mendoza’s performance after the pick-six. “I think defensively they covered the play pretty well, and [Woodaz] did a good job stepping in front of our check-down. I gotta go watch it, but the response is what we’ve come to expect from him.”

One of those reasons? Mendoza’s toughness and effort. After Woodaz intercepted the ball, Mendoza gave chase, running full-speed down the sideline in an attempt to catch up and make the play. Mendoza made a diving attempt on the tackle, but was unable to bring Woodaz down. Still, that kind of dedication on a play seemingly out of reach is one of the reasons why his coaches and teammates on the Raiders love him.

Mendoza finished eight of 15 for 86 yards and the one interception in one half of action. He was also sacked once for an 11-yard loss.

GettyHOUSTON, TEXAS – AUGUST 18: Fernando Mendoza #15 of the Las Vegas Raiders in action during the joint practice with the Houston Texans at Houston Methodist Training Center on August 18, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images)

This is why Mendoza is playing so much in the preseason. The Raiders signed QB Kirk Cousins in free agency to compete with Mendoza and give him time to learn from a veteran on the bench. Las Vegas hopes this will allow him to grow more comfortable without being thrown to the wolves on an undermanned team.

But it’s difficult to get better in the NFL if you don’t play. Even though Cousins is Las Vegas’ presumed Week 1 starter, Mendoza has gotten reps with the first-team offense in camp, including in joint practices. Giving him full halves to work in the preseason will only help him long-term.

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Anthony Edwards is being forced to pay $14K in child support among other things for a child he shares with his ex, Alexandria Descroches.

Anthony Edwards is no stranger to legal battles when it comes to his kids. The Minnesota Timberwolves superstar has four children with four different women, and already pays quite a bit in child support.

Edwards has recently been in court dealing with his ex, Alexandria Desroches’s demands for child support for their son, Amir.

The 25-year-old has been handed an order by the court that will see him pay a significant amount, and the court has also asked him to pay his ex’s legal fees, among other things.

Edwards is currently on a five-year, $244 million contract with the Timberwolves. This deal is until 2029, and the 4-time All-Star is almost guaranteed to get another massive contract after.

With the way NBA salaries are going up, Edwards is set to make much more than $500 million in salary alone during his career. And as per TMZ’s latest findings, some of that money will now go to his ex and child.

“NBA star Anthony Edwards is now on the hook for $14K a month in child support to his ex, Alexandria Descroches,” TMZ reported.

“According to court docs, the amount was determined based on the Minnesota Timberwolves guard’s monthly income of nearly $4.8 million.

“In addition to child support, the judge ordered Anthony to take out a life insurance policy worth around $2.6 million with Alexandria named as the primary beneficiary, and pay Alexandria’s legal fees totaling more than $21K.”

While it seems like a negligible amount compared to his vast earnings, Edwards is also already paying for his other children. However, what makes it even more interesting is that the star admitted he has never met his child.

“Alexandria and Anthony share a son named Amir, born in 2023. The docs note Anthony admitted under oath that he never met his son in person and is not seeking to have any parenting time with the kid.”

The situation seems messy, but nothing that is outside of what celebrities have to deal with from time to time. What he takes away from it is entirely dependent upon Edwards himself.

Read more:

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Elena Rybakina's latest attempt to replace Aryna Sabalenka as world number one came to an abrupt end as she retired injured from her Cincinnati Open quarter-final against Iga Swiatek.

The Kazakh second seed needed to reach the final to knock Sabalenka off the top of the rankings after the Belarusian suffered a surprise defeat by Sara Bejlek in the fourth round on Wednesday.

However, Rybakina managed just five games in her last-eight match against Poland's Swiatek before retiring with a left ankle injury.

Trailing 4-1, the Australian Open champion called for a medical timeout after pulling up at 40-40.

Following a consultation with the trainer, Rybakina played only one more point before quitting.

"Of course I feel not the greatest, I couldn't even push from the serve," Rybakina said.

"It's painful to walk. We'll know more tomorrow when we have the MRI. It's been bothering me for a long period of time, but felt like I had it under control.

"It was feeling OK before the match but unfortunately one wrong movement, one landing, and something happened."

Swiatek, who beat Rybakina in the Canadian Open final last week, will face American world number three Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals.

The second seed is bidding to become just the second woman since 2004 to successfully defend a Cincinnati title, after Serena Williams in 2014 and 2015.

"I hope Elena will be fine. The next tournament is the priority. I know this one is important as well. But US Open is US Open," Swiatek said.

The US Open, where Sabalenka is the two-time defending women's singles champion, begins on Sunday, 30 August.

"I hope she's going be ready for that. She's super close to being number one in the world," Swiatek added.

"It's a shame. I thought we were playing a good match, but health is a priority. I hope she's going to be OK."

In the men's event, chocolate proved to be the winning ingredient for Flavio Cobolli as he battled past home favourite Tommy Paul in a 2-6 6-3 6-4 comeback win.

The Italian appeared to be running low on energy in the second set, despite leading 5-2, when he asked for a tub of M&M's during a changeover.

It seemed to be the sugar rush Cobolli needed as he wrapped up the set and broke at 5-4 in the decider to reach his first Masters 1000 semi-final.

"I felt a little bit tired, and I needed some energy, some sugar, and I love M&M's," Cobolli said.

"Chocolate with colours makes me happy in the match."

The French Open runner-up will face Arthur Fils in the semis after the Frenchman needed just 64 minutes to beat Argentina's Thiago Agustin Tirante.

Fils, who returned from an eight-month injury lay-off in February, did not face a single break point as he became the first French player to reach three Masters 1000 semi-finals in a season since Guy Forget in 1991.

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