Xabi Alonso 'immediately rejects' offer from top European club because they are 'too chaotic' - as sacked former Real Madrid boss keeps his options open amid Liverpool links
The Spaniard, 44, is looking for his next managerial role after being sacked by Real Madrid in early January, dramatically leaving the Bernabeu following just seven months in charge.
Olympics skiing halfpipe, aerials final postponed by heavy snow
Feb. 19 (UPI) -- The mens aerials qualifiers and final and freestyle skiing halfpipe were postponed Thursday due to heavy snow in Livigno, Italy, officials announced.
"Snow is an occupational hazard of winter sports," IOC spokesperson Mark Adams told reporters. "They're well used to dealing with delays and changes and bad weather."
Men's aerials qualifications and the first qualifying run of the freeski halfpipe are now scheduled for 4:30 a.m. EST Friday in Livigno. The men's aerials finals are scheduled for 7:30 a.m., with the freeski halfpipe final set for 1:30 p.m. at Livigno Snow Park.
"Very often, there are problems with snow," Adams said. "It can be dealt with. We are used to it. The federation is used to it. It's something we have to work with, unfortunately."
Snow also postponed snowboarding and skiing activities Tuesday in Livigno.
Women's freeski halfpipe qualifiers are scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Thursday in Livigno. Bobsleigh competitions are being held Thursday in Cortina d'Ampezzo, more than 200 miles east of Livigno. Additional winter Olympics competitions will be held Thursday in Lago, Bormio and Milan, Italy.
The closing ceremony for the 2026 Winter Olympics will be held at 2:30 p.m. EST Sunday in Verona.
Is NFL star Puka Nacua, 24, dating wrestler Charlotte Flair, 39, after shooting his shot with Sydney Sweeney?
Is NFL star Puka Nacua, 24, dating wrestler Charlotte Flair, 39, after shooting his shot with Sydney Sweeney? originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
NFL star Puka Nacua is single and ready to mingle.
The LA Rams stud, 24, famously (and hilariously) tried to flirt with Sydney Sweeney by commenting “love skydiving” on a post on X (formerly Twitter) where she shared that she liked her guys “athletic.”
Then he was seen with influencer Hannah Stocking.
So when he hit the infamous Daytona 500 party scene with his big brother Samson, the chatter began the second fans spotted flirty pics (published in a Wednesday, February 18 story in the Daily Mail) of the guys with none other than superstar wrestler Charlotte Flair, 39, daughter of Ric Flair.
The three-time divorcee is 15 years older than the long-haired wide receiver.
After the two followed each other on Instagram, Flair posted a Wednesday, February 18 photo of her enviably chiseled core in a tiny, ab-baring workout ‘fit.
“Vibes!!” Nacua commented.
“Always!” Flair replied.
Fans didn’t let the moment go unnoticed.
“Are you two together?” asked one.
“Seriously? 👑🔥” said another.
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“She was having a blast at the Daytona 500 with both Puka and his brother Samson and literally everyone else,” the Daily Mail quotes a source in the same article. “It was a big party and everyone was just having the time of their lives.”
In fact, the same source told the outlet that fans might have it all wrong — and Flair might have her eye on the older brother.
'If she was flirting with anyone specifically, she was flirting with Samson and he was giving it right back,” Daily Mail quotes the witness.
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Thibaut Courtois joins Novak Djokovic as co-owner of French football club
Thibaut Courtois is one of the best football players in the world, known for making big moves on the pitch.
The Belgian star, a winner of two Champions League titles and multiple La Liga titles with Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid, has also been ‘making moves’ away from the football pitch.
On Thursday, news of Thibaut Courtois’ latest major investment was confirmed, and he is the new part-owner of Le Mans FC.
The 33-year-old, who currently plays for Real Madrid, is joining several high-profile individuals in the Le Mans investment group.
Thibaut Courtois joins Novak Djokovic as a Le Mans FC investor
Courtois has invested in Le Mans FC [as per 433], and he is far from the first elite athlete to invest in the Ligue 2 football club.
Novak Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam tennis champion, is also an investor in Le Mans FC, as is Formula One driver Kevin Magnussen.
Felipe Massa, the 2008 Formula One World Championship runner-up, is also an investor.
Djokovic, Magnussen and Massa became part-owners of the club in August last year after acquiring stakes in the club.
As per Reuters%20%2D%20Tennis,promoted%20club%20announced%20on%20Friday.), the investment was led by Brazilian group OutField, an international consortium co-founded by Pedro Olivera, and includes Georgios Frangulis, CEO of global health-food brand OakBerry.
Le Mans FC, based in western France, was first founded in 1902, with the club playing their matches at the Stade Léon-Bollée. In 2011, the club moved to the MMArena, which has a capacity of 25,000.
How are Le Mans FC performing this season?
After 23 league games, Le Mans are in fifth place in the Ligue 2 standings.
It has been an impressive season for the French club, who were promoted to Ligue 2 after finishing second in Ligue 3 in the 2024/25 season.
However, they have hit a patch of bad form, failing to win any of their past three games. In their last match, they lost 4-2 to Montpellier, who were relegated from the French top flight last season.
Le Mans are also out of the French Cup after losing to Reims 3-0 in the round of 16.
Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs make huge decision on contract
The Kansas City Chiefs didn’t just create cap room. They performed cap sorcery in broad daylight – and the rest of the NFL just sighed in unison. Per reporting, the Chiefs reworked Patrick Mahomes’ 2026 contract to free up about $43.6 million in Chiefs salary cap space, slashing his 2026 cap number from roughly $78.2M down to about $34.65M.
The mechanism is the classic move – convert a giant chunk of 2026 money into bonus-style accounting so the hit spreads out later. Translation: the Chiefs just pushed today’s headache into tomorrow’s spreadsheet.
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Mahomes cap hits:
And yes, tomorrow is going to hurt. Mahomes’ future cap hits balloon – including a reported 2027 cap hit around $85M – because the bill always comes due. But here’s the kicker – the cap is rising anyway. The league has projected the 2026 salary cap in the $301.2M-$305.7M range, which makes kicking the can less terrifying when the can is getting bigger every year.
This move matters because Kansas City’s budget wasn’t just tight – they were staring down an offseason with big decisions. An offseason where they were forced to cut useful players, watch starters walk, and sell the concept of rebuild. Now the Chiefs can actually operate like a contender. They’re able to re-sign priority players, shop in free agency without hitting the bargain bin, and extend players to smooth out 2026-2027 while the cap climbs.
What it could mean for Kelce
The list of decisions isn’t small. Kansas City has real names in the pay or pray zone – including Travis Kelce headlining the conversation, plus starters/rotation pieces across the roster who suddenly become more keepable when you’re not drowning.
Here’s the truth. This doesn’t mean the Chiefs are fixed by any stretch. It means they’re potentially dangerous. The Mahomes restructure is basically Kansas City doing Kansas City things – they plan to reload aggressively instead of politely stepping aside. The rest of us want parity. The Chiefs just chose violence.
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