Daniil Medvedev advanced to the U.S. Open semifinals for the fourth time in five years, overcoming fellow Russian Andrey Rublev 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 in hot, humid conditions Wednesday

Seiya Suzuki hit a three-run double, Cody Bellinger homered and the Chicago Cubs beat the San Francisco Giants 8-2 for their fourth consecutive win

Naomi Osaka has returned to the U.S. Open for the first time in about a year to participate in a panel about mental health in sports, a topic she helped focus a spotlight on two years ago

Lionel Messi heads the list of nominees for the men’s Ballon d’Or after leading Argentina to World Cup glory. Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka were also included on the 30-man shortlist for the prestigious prize published by organisers France Football on Wednesday. Messi, already a record seven-time winner of the annual prize for world player of the year, is again the favourite. The 36-year-old, who now plays his club football with Inter Miami, was his country’s chief inspiration as they triumphed in Qatar last winter, scoring seven goals in the tournament. Haaland, who scored a remarkable 52 goals for treble-winning Manchester City last season, is one of seven players from the successful City side to make the list. Former captain Ilkay Gundogan, who is now at Barcelona, another World Cup-winner in Julian Alvarez, Ruben Dias, Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri and Bernardo Silva were the others. England captain Harry Kane is rewarded after scoring 40 goals for club and country before switching Tottenham for Bayern Munich. England team-mates Bellingham, who is now at Real Madrid, and Saka, of Arsenal, also enjoyed strong campaigns. Other notable Premier League inclusions are Aston Villa’s World Cup-winning goalkeeper Emi Martinez, Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah and Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard. Five-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo, who plays in Saudi Arabia for Al-Nassr, was not nominated for the first time since 2003. England’s Rachel Daly, Georgia Stanway, Millie Bright and Mary Earps are on the shortlist for the women’s award following their run to the World Cup final. Goalkeeper Earps won the Golden Glove after keeping four clean sheets in the tournament while Daly was also the top scorer in the Women’s Super League last season. Aitana Bonmati of champions Spain is widely considered the favourite for the prize but team-mate Olga Carmona, scorer of the winning goal in the final, is also nominated. Bellingham is also on the shortlist for the men’s young player of the year prize. New Manchester United signing Rasmus Hojlund, of Denmark, and Barcelona trio Gavi, Pedri and Alejandro Balde are also candidates. Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsdale is nominated for goalkeeper of the year along with Martinez. They will face competition from Ederson of Manchester City and United’s former Inter Milan stopper Andre Onana, who is also on the list for the main award. The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Paris on October 30. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Sri Lanka dismiss England for 116 in T20 series decider in Derby Aryna Sabalenka eases into US Open semi-finals with win over Zheng Qinwen Stephen Kenny refuses to bemoan luck following Evan Ferguson injury

South Africa has selected Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse on the wings for the opening game of its Rugby World Cup title defense against Scotland

Rookie Ji-Hwan Bae’s first career triple highlighted a seventh-inning rally as the Pittsburgh Pirates slipped past the Milwaukee Brewers 5-4

Defensive end Chandler Jones was not at the Las Vegas facility on Wednesday

The Atlanta Braves have placed pitcher Michael Soroka on the 15-day injured list in another potentially devasting setback for the former All-Star

The Arizona Coyotes have signed general manager Bill Armstrong to a multiyear extension as the franchise continues its rebuild

Rob Page says he wishes Wales were not playing a friendly against South Korea on Thursday. Wales are not in Euro 2024 action until Monday when they travel to Latvia for a crucial Group D qualifying clash. But UEFA regulations stipulate that nations in odd-numbered qualifying groups must fulfil blank dates in the calendar when group rivals are playing. Wales filled this date by arranging a Cardiff friendly with Jurgen Klinsmann’s South Korea, but the game has failed to capture the imagination of the Welsh public with only 11,500 tickets sold little more than 24 hours before kick-off. Page is expected to field a shadow side just four days before the Riga showdown with Latvia, and the under-fire Wales boss confirmed that skipper Aaron Ramsey would be absent while adding that Tottenham’s new £47.5million forward Brennan Johnson will be on the bench. But Page’s comments that he would rather not play the match will certainly do little to encourage fans who have paid for the privilege of watching it. “We have to take the friendly. I’d rather not play it, being completely honest with you,” Page said at his pre-match press conference. “We’ve had a couple of injuries anyway. The most important game for me is Monday and we’re having to manage players. “I’ve already got a plan in place, what players, what minutes they’ve played this season, who needs more minutes than others. “There will be plenty of substitutions. There will be some at half-time, some at the hour mark. We’ll be trying to get those players off the pitch unscathed and getting them ready for Monday.” Page has come under pressure following a run of only one win in 12 games either side of the 2022 World Cup when Wales finished bottom of their group and scored only one goal – a penalty from the now-retired Gareth Bale. Wales have picked up four points from as many Euro 2024 qualifiers and are seeking to recover from back-to-back June defeats to Armenia and Turkey. Qualifying for the tournament in Germany next summer through the play-offs now appears Wales’ best option. “Everybody in that changing room understands the difficulties involved,” Page said. We have to take the friendly. I’d rather not play it, being completely honest with you Rob Page “It’s not just about winning games of football now, it’s about the bigger picture. Everybody wants to win games of football but they understand, the senior players, that we have to start introducing younger players. “It’s nice to hear their backing (of the senior players). It means a lot, the world to me.” Joe Morrell and Kieffer Moore are suspended for the Latvia qualifier and set to start against South Korea. The pair became the latest Wales players to be sent off in June after Ethan Ampadu and Harry Wilson were red carded at Euro 2020 and Wayne Hennessey was shown his marching orders at the 2022 World Cup. Page said: “If we are going to compete at this level we need 11 players on the pitch. Both players regret the red cards. They were both disappointing. Kieffer’s red was a bit more disappointing because he rose to the bait. “They knew what they were doing and they are the masters of the dark arts at that level, and we fell for it. We are better than that and it will be addressed.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Matt Fagerson says being at World Cup with brother Zander ‘pretty special’ BBC’s director of sport Barbara Slater to retire after 40 years at broadcaster Sofyan Amrabat talks up importance of Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag on his career

Luka Doncic argued with the referees all night

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