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Djokovic sets up gold-medal match with Alcaraz

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Djokovic sets up gold-medal match with Alcaraz

PARIS — There they go again. 

For the second time in three weeks, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz will do battle for one of the biggest prizes in tennis.

When they meet in the Paris 2024 Olympics gold medal match at Roland Garros, on Sunday around 1 p.m. UK / 8 a.m. ET, they will open the latest chapter in their inter-generational duel.

The man atop the all-time tennis heap; the young buck ruling the current one.

Logic holds that there isn’t much time left for these sorts of battles, especially not at the Olympics. Djokovic is 37. As ageless as he can seem, it’s hard to see a gold-medal duel with Alcaraz happening in Los Angeles in four years’ time, though don’t put it past him. 

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Alcaraz, 21, seemingly has a decade or more of supremacy ahead of him, ready to be built on top of his domination of men’s tennis this spring and summer.


Alcaraz and Djokovic’s last meeting was the 2024 Wimbledon final (Julian Finney/Getty Images)

 On Sunday they will do something that is becoming increasingly rare, even in the short time they have been facing each other at the top of the sport. They will play for a prize that neither of them has — and it isn’t a title at some random tour stop where both of them happen to be.  

For Djokovic, the gold medal is the rare tennis bauble that he somehow doesn’t have. It’s all that’s missing from a mantle crowded with 24 Grand Slam titles, and a lonely bronze in singles from 2008 is all he has to show for his four previous appearances in the Olympic tournament. 

He’s played professional tennis for 20 years. He’s played in 49 Grand Slam semifinals and won 37 of them. Until Friday evening against Lorenzo Musetti of Italy, he’d never won one at the Olympics. When he did, with a last, blasted forehand down the line, he collapsed on his back in the red clay. 

He clutched his fists and fought to hold back his tears but lost that one, as the Serbian flags waved and the crowd chanted: “NOVAK, NOVAK!”

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There is no way to overstate how much this tournament means to him, especially given that it looked like a pipe dream two months ago when he tore his meniscus on this same court and had to undergo an operation and a high-speed rehabilitation that both risked and saved his summer.   

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For Alcaraz, it’s the next piece of hardware accumulation that will allow him to, as he put it last month at Wimbledon, “sit at that table” with Djokovic and the rest of the all-time greats. He has a chance to become one of three players to win the French Open, Wimbledon and the Olympic tournament in the same year. Rafael Nadal and Steffi Graf are the others.

Two legends from sport,” Alcaraz said.  “I will try not to think of every stat, the things I could achieve.”    

On Friday he played as though he already has a place setting at that table — or maybe even owned it — blowing through Felix Auger Aliassime 6-1, 6-1 with a frightening ferocity that he has recently acquired, especially in the latter stages of tournaments.

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In bright sunshine and swelteringly humid air at Roland Garros on Friday, both sets followed a pattern to a tee, as if Alcaraz had scripted them. Lose a game while returning; win a game on serve. In the second set, the other way round. Then, spend five games pulling Auger-Aliassime all about the court, discombobulating his game plan until he’s throwing in new ideas like he has to do, but not having any of them work, getting more and more confused until he looks across the net and it’s 1-5 and it’s over.


Alcaraz has pushed his level higher and higher throughout the tournament (Daniel Kopatsch/Getty Images)

He basically did this same thing to Auger-Aliassime, a deceptively excellent clay court player, on this same court back in the fourth round of the French Open in June. Auger-Aliassime is just 23, only a few years removed from being considered destined for big titles.

Now he is looking at years of afternoons like Friday coming at him. No fun. 

I knew I had to start the match well, really focusing on every point, trying to play with a lot of intensity,” Alcaraz said. “I didn’t think it was going to be like that.”

Djokovic played a different kind of all-time great tennis. He survived an increasingly dangerous opponent, one night after a few bad steps had him wondering if he’d done his knee again during his quarterfinal win over Stefanos Tsitsipas. “Very worried,” he had said, after suffering sharp pain that only subsided with the help of painkillers during that match. 

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He had the knee examined Friday but appeared to moving without hindrance for most of the night. On Thursday, he said he was going to “ pray to God for everything to be OK.” Those prayers were seemingly answered. 

Djokovic and Musetti, who played in the semifinals at Wimbledon last month, played full-gas, big-boy tennis for most of two hours. Djokovic’s chest heaved after points, just as it did last time they met on this court, when they contested the latest finish in French Open history.

He had to take extra time to catch his breath and got a warning and a first-serve penalty for it, and then a code violation warning after an exchange with the chair umpire, Jaume Campistol.


Djokovic and Campistol during their showdown (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

 This was what stressed out Djokovic looks like — the Djokovic who wants something desperately, something rare and unfamiliar, and wants it badly enough that his nerves begin to sap his energy. He yelled at his Serbian coaches and teammates repeatedly, imploring them to make more noise and give him the boost he needed. 

Musetti matched him shot for shot until the final points of the first set, he hit an easy putaway right back and Djokovic, who paddled it back and somehow won the point. A sloppy drop shot from Musetti gave Djokovic the lead he so rarely relinquishes, and he didn’t start to do so Friday, winning 6-2 despite losing his serve twice in the second set. His head-to-head against Musetti, who always seems to test Djokovic, is now at 7-1.

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That ascent to the top of the all-time tennis heap has accumulated a lot of scar tissue, creating a generation of players who, where Djokovic perceives a chain of victories, they see one single catastrophe, which keeps piling wreckage and hurls it in front of their feet. No more was this in evidence than against Tsitsipas, who led an ailing Djokovic 4-0 and then 5-3, 40-0 in their second set, before withdrawing into himself and withering.  

Djokovic knows that what is coming next is his own recent catastrophe, a test against the player who served him a chastening reminder of reality at the All England Club just weeks ago. Still, the Serbian is able to refer to Alcaraz as part of “the next, next, next, generation”, his half-sneering shorthand for how many have come before only to have him swat them away. He knows Alcaraz (as well Italian Jannik Sinner, who skipped the Olympics with tonsilitis) are different, playing at a level he has not been able to reach all year.

He knows he’s going to need to get there, somehow, and he knows that he needs to convince himself that it’s possible, just as he once convinced himself he could overtake Nadal and Roger Federer.

It’s the only way to get just about the only thing he does not have.

Additional reporting by James Hansen

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(Daniela Porcelli/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)

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Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa open to fresh start elsewhere after disappointing season: ‘That would be dope’

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Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa open to fresh start elsewhere after disappointing season: ‘That would be dope’

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Tua Tagovailoa appears to be ready to move on from the Miami Dolphins – a feeling that seems mutual between the two sides. 

Tagovailoa was benched for the final three games of the season due to poor performance. A day after the Dolphins’ season ended with a 38-10 loss to division rival New England, the sixth-year signal-caller appeared open to the idea of a “fresh start.” 

Mike McDaniel speaks with Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) in the fourth quarter of a game against the Buffalo Bills at Hard Rock Stadium on Sept. 25, 2022, in Miami Gardens, Florida.  (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

“That would be dope. I would be good with it,” Tagovailoa said Monday, according to The Palm Beach Post, when asked specifically if he was “hoping for a fresh start.” 

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When asked by another reporter if he understood “fresh start” as playing “elsewhere,” Tagovailoa reportedly confirmed it.

The remarks came the same day that head coach Mike McDaniel confirmed that the team would be approaching the 2025-2026 season with a competitive mindset for the position. 

“In 2026, I think there will be competition for our starting quarterback. What that is and how that looks, there’s a lot that remains to be seen. It’s the most important position on the football field, and you have to make sure you do everything possible to get the best person out there on the field.”

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa runs off the field during the first half of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Jan. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

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“Who that is – whether they’re in-house or somewhere else, that’s something that we’ll be extremely diligent on,” he continued. “But I know there will be competition for those reins. That much I do know.”

Tagovailoa threw for 2,660 yards with 20 touchdowns this season, but he struggled with accuracy and mobility, throwing a career-high of 15 interceptions. His poor performance comes just one season after signing a four-year, $212.4 million contract extension in July 2024.

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa speaks during a press conference after an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Florida. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

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The Dolphins face a serious decision regarding Tagovailoa, as releasing him next year would result in a $99 million dead cap charge. If the move is designated as a post-June 1 release, those charges would be split over two years, with $67.4 million allocated to the 2026 cap and $31.8 million in 2027.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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Snoop Dogg hilariously keeps pace with furious Steve Kerr’s ejection-producing rant

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Snoop Dogg hilariously keeps pace with furious Steve Kerr’s ejection-producing rant

In a warm-up for his role in the upcoming Winter Olympics, Snoop Dogg was given a microphone during the second half of the NBA game between the Golden State Warriors and the Clippers on Monday night at the Intuit Dome.

Can’t wait for those Olympics! Snoop hilariously sizzled when Warriors coach Steve Kerr stormed the court in the fourth quarter of the Clippers’ 103-102 victory.

“The Arizona Wildcat done came out of him. Look at him!” Snoop said, alluding to Kerr’s college team. “Aw, Rawwwr, rawwwr, rawwwr!”

Kerr was hit with two technical fouls in less than a minute. He nearly got one with 8:44 to play when Warriors guard Stephen Curry made a shot that appeared to be a continuation after a foul, but the officials nullified the basket.

Less than a minute later, Kerr found a new level of vehemence after the Clippers’ John Collins wasn’t called for goaltending on a shot by Gary Payton II. The four-time NBA championship coach flew into a rage, aggressively gesturing at officials and screaming.

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Kerr picked up the two technicals — his first in nearly four seasons — and was held back by Payton and assistant coaches before exiting to the locker room.

Snoop Dogg, who had joined regular Peacock/NBC announcers Reggie Miller and Terry Gannon for the second half, rose to the occasion, his commentary keeping pace with Kerr’s antics.

“Oh, Steve gonna get thrown out! Get him out of there. Get him out of there! Back him up!” Snoop barked.

All Miller and Gannon could do was laugh as Snoop continued, referencing the location of the Intuit Dome and Kerr’s Southern California ties: “Steve back in Inglewood right now. Inglewooood!!! Get him, Steve! You in Inglewood, Steve!”

Snoop will join NBC Olympics host Mike Tirico in Italy in February, riffing on stories that unfold at the Winter Games the way he did at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. The NBA game was an indication he’ll again be up to the task.

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“We are excited to have Snoop bring his unique energy and passion to our NBA coverage,” NBC Sports executive producer Sam Flood said in a statement. “It will be a once in a lifetime opportunity to watch Snoop, Reggie and Terry talk hoops with a side order of fun.”

Snoop said in the release that his debut as an NBA game broadcaster “is a dream come true for me. I can’t wait to bring a fresh vibe to the analysis.”

For the record, official Brian Forte acknowledged after the game that goaltending should have been called against Collins. Curry told reporters that he appreciated his coach’s passion.

“Two crazy calls in a row that you feel like can dictate the momentum of the game, it doesn’t mean a win or a loss, it just dictates the momentum,” Curry said. “I love that fired up Steve, for sure. Somebody had to do it.”

Visiting Los Angeles has been emotional for Kerr since the Pacific Palisades wildfire a year ago destroyed his childhood home, which his family bought in 1969. His mother, 90-year-old Ann Kerr, still lived in the house, located near Rivas Canyon, and was evacuated safely.

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Russell Wilson not thinking about retirement, plans to play in 2026: ‘I know what I’m capable of’

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Russell Wilson not thinking about retirement, plans to play in 2026: ‘I know what I’m capable of’

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Russell Wilson went from starting quarterback of the New York Giants to third string just a few weeks into the 2025 season, leaving many to question if the 10-time Pro Bowler decides to play next season.

Wilson, 37, doesn’t sound like he’s mulling over his decision. He wants to play in 2026.

“I’m not blinking,” Wilson said, per SNY. “I know [what] I’m capable of. I think I showed that in Dallas, and I want to be able to do that again, you know, and just be ready to rock and roll, and be as healthy as possible and be ready to play ball.”

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New York Giants’ Russell Wilson attempts to escape a sack by Dallas Cowboys defensive end James Houston (53) in the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.  (Julio Cortez/AP Photo)

Wilson signed a one-year, veteran minimum deal with the Giants this past offseason worth $10.5 million, which had tons of incentives if he were to play the entire season.

That same offseason, the Giants traded back into the first round to select Jaxson Dart out of Ole Miss, and he proved during training camp to have NFL-ready chops under center.

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Still, then-head coach Brian Daboll was steadfast in his decision to start Wilson despite Dart’s success. But, after just three games, where the Giants went 0-3, a change was made.

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Daboll went with Dart in Week 4 against the Los Angeles Chargers at home, and the rookie defeated Justin Herbert and company to not only get his first career win, but cement himself as the team’s starter moving forward.

Even then, Wilson remained positive, saying in interviews after practice that he understands the direction of the team and wanted to help Dart develop and grow in his new role.

New York Giants’ Russell Wilson, left, and Jaxson Dart, right, talk on the bench in the first half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.  (Julio Cortez/AP Photo)

In his three starts for the Giants, Wilson threw for 831 yards with three touchdowns to three interceptions, though all of those touchdowns came in a Week 2 overtime heartbreaker for New York. Over half of Wilson’s passing yards also came in that game, throwing for 450 in the 40-37 loss.

Wilson also said that he tore his hamstring during that game against the Cowboys.

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“I played that game, you know, I tore my hamstring on Friday in practice – the last play of practice. And I had a Grade 2 (tear). I couldn’t tell anybody. I had to go and play on it just because I knew the circumstance, I had to play on it, no matter what,” Wilson explained.

“I actually ended up going to the Dallas Mavericks’ facility, training. And you know, just kept it quiet, just trying to get treatment on it and just knowing that I probably couldn’t run from the goal line to the 10-yard line if I wanted to, but I feel like… I got to play this game.”

New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson (3) scans the field at the line against the New York Jets during the first half at MetLife Stadium. (Rich Barnes/Imagn Images)

It will be interesting to see if Wilson will land anywhere, and better yet, if a team is willing to try him out as a starter again.

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