39 m. ago ‘Gold standard’: training centre could be gamechanger for football in US

On a 200-acre site in Fayette County, Georgia, US Soccer hopes to build the best facility of its like in the worldThirty minutes away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Atlanta, the land becomes greener, the trees are taller and builders are working in the intense Georgia sun to ensure US Soccer’s new National Training Center is ready for action in time for the men’s World Cup next year.It is an enormous site, spanning more than 200 acres in Trilith, Fayette County, and the hope is it will be the best training facility in the world when it opens. Funding has partly come from Arthur M Blank, who owns three sports teams in Atlanta, and executives are confident everything is on schedule for the doors to open in April. Continue reading...

Sport

1 hour ago ‘People like happy endings. Sorry!’ Squid Game’s brutal finale hits new heights of barbarity

As the shockingly violent anticapitalist hit returns, its star and creator talk about spinoffs, the dangers of desensitisation, David Fincher’s mooted remake – and why they couldn’t say no to tie-ins with McDonald’s and UberWhen season two of Squid Game dropped, fans were split in their response to Netflix’s hit Korean drama. While some viewers loved the dialled-up-to-11 intensity of everything – more characters, more drama, more staggering brutality – others found the tone relentlessly bleak. And this was a show whose original concept – a cabal of rich benefactors recruit poor people to compete in bloodsports for cash – was already plenty dark. Anyone hoping the show’s third and final season, arriving this week, will provide a reprieve should probably just rewatch Emily in Paris instead.“The tone is going to be more dark and bleak,” says series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk, through an interpreter. “The world, as I observe it, has less hope. I wanted to explore questions like, ‘What is t...

Sport

3 h. ago We can't put down one of 2025's best games and now it's half price at Amazon

This deal might be monstrous in the best way, with Monster Hunter Wilds one of 2025's best games so far and reduced by up to 55% at Amazon right now — here's all you need to know

Politics

3 h. ago Studio behind 'worst game of 2025' to 'lay off more than 100 people' after nightmare launch

Former Rockstar Games dev Leslie Benzies' new game, MindsEye, landed with a thud, and now it appears the studio will begin a layoff process in a new report from IGN — here's all we know

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5 h. ago PS Plus Essential July 2025 games reveal time, and when you can download the PS5 and PS4 titles

Sony has confirmed the PS Plus July 2025 reveal time, which is when we'll be finding out the incoming PS Plus Essential games for the month ahead. Here's everything you need to know.

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13 h. ago Thunder beat Pacers in Game 7 to win franchise’s first NBA title in Oklahoma City

As it happened: Pacers 91–103 ThunderFranchise claim first title since move from SeattlePacers lose star Tyrese Haliburton to injury in first-halfShai Gilgeous-Alexander named finals MVPThe Thunder became NBA champions on Sunday evening, topping the Indiana Pacers 103-91 to capture Oklahoma City’s first major pro sports title.Oklahoma City’s Game 7 answer, as during their dominant regular season, was youth. NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points and dished 12 assists to lead his team, supported by strong efforts from forward Jalen Williams (20 points) and Chet Holmgren (18 points, eight rebounds). The game was won amid decibel counts above 100, with thousands of Thunder fans stamping in unison as the team’s trio of young stars pushed the club toward the franchise’s first title since moving from Seattle in 2008. Continue reading...

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13 h. ago NBA finals 2025 Game 7: Thunder beat Pacers to claim title – live updates

Thunder best Pacers in winner-take-all deciderTyrese Haliburton goes down with apparent achilles injurySend David an email at david.lengel@theguardian.comPacers 5-2 Thunder, 10:15 1st quarterGame 7 of the NBA Finals is underway! A 14 foot jumper by Nembhard and a block of Williams by Nesmith gets the pensive OKC crowd just a bit stiffer. Great start by Indy! Continue reading...

Sport

17 h. ago Indiana Pacers v Oklahoma City Thunder: NBA finals Game 7 – live updates

Thunder host Pacers in winner-take-all Game 7Send David an email at david.lengel@theguardian.comThey said this series would suck. They said this series would be short. But I am here to say now, hello and welcome to our live coverage of Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Seven games, that’s as long as it can go. You don’t get bad seven game series, it doesn’t happen. The Thunder and Pacers match-up is no exception.For those of you new to basketball and wanted to see what all the fuss was about, the season ends tonight, and we’re guaranteed to have a new champion. So yeah, it’s kind of a big deal, which is why you’re here. Continue reading...

Sport

28 h. ago Players and umpire fall ill during MLB games as heatwave grips US

Elly De La Cruz vomits then hits two-run homerSeattle pitcher Trent Thornton forced out of gameCincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz and Seattle Mariners reliever Trent Thornton fell ill on Saturday while playing in the extreme heat covering much of the United States.De La Cruz vomited on the field with two outs in the fourth inning of Cincinnati’s extra-inning loss at the St Louis Cardinals. Continue reading...

Sport

58 h. ago Squid Game: the show’s worst characters are back and they’re as unbelievably wooden as ever

The South Korean smash hit drama that gripped global audiences returns for a final instalment. It’s brutal, cruel and, sadly, brings back the animal-mask wearing VIPs whose season one appearance caused global mockeryLook alive – Squid Game returns this week! There’s still no sign of any squid, which is the kind of false advertising that ruined The Pink Panther. But that’s good, because squid are terrifying. Once, showing off on holiday, I offered to cook for a group of friends. I didn’t speak the language where we were, and ended up leaving the fishmonger with a big bag of tentacles. As I attempted to remove the head, guts, beak and skin of the creatures, their internal sacs burst, coating me in viscous black ink. I suffered an allergic reaction, don’t eat squid any more, and don’t see those friends.Squid Game the TV show (Netflix, Friday 26 June) has proved even more traumatising. Set on a hidden island, the competition pits hundreds of desperate, indebted people aga...

Politics

3 d. ago PS Plus Essential July 2025 predictions and announcement date, as Neon White may come to the service

PS Plus subscribers are excited to see what new games will be added to the service for free in July 2025 – and we won't have long to wait before we find out

Events

3 d. ago Ruthless Pacers throttle Thunder to push NBA finals to decisive Game 7

Indiana rout OKC 108-91 in Game 6 of NBA finalsThunder to host winner-take-all Game 7 on SundayFueled by defense, depth and defiance, the Indiana Pacers stormed to a 108-91 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night, leveling the NBA finals at three games apiece and setting up a decisive Game 7 in Oklahoma City.Obi Toppin came off the bench to score 20 points, Andrew Nembhard added 17 points with four assists and Pascal Siakam had 16 points and 13 rebounds as Indiana bounced back from consecutive losses. Tyrese Haliburton, cleared to play only hours before tipoff due to a strained right calf, delivered 14 points, five assists and two steals in 22 high-impact minutes. Continue reading...

Sport

3 d. ago Manchester United opening Premier League fixtures spark Ruben Amorim fears

United face a challenging set of games to open the 2025/'26 season

Politics

4 d. ago Women’s Euro 2025: Predict the results of every game from the group stages to the final

Predict every match, build your bracket, and follow your score with the live leaderboard

Sport

4 d. ago ‘We’re all connected – but it’s not the connection I imagined’: Hideo Kojima on Death Stranding 2

The legendary video game designer discusses directing actors in Mexico from Japan, how Mad Max inspired his career and the unique reason why he wants to go to spaceHideo Kojima – the acclaimed video game director who helmed the stealth-action Metal Gear series for decades before founding his own company to make Death Stranding, a supernatural post-apocalyptic delivery game this publication described as “2019’s most interesting blockbuster” – is still starstruck, or perhaps awestruck. “George [Miller] is my sensei, my God,” he proclaims gleefully.Kojima is visiting Australia for a sold-out chat with Miller, the creator of the Mad Max film franchise, at the Sydney film festival. The two struck up an unlikely but fierce friendship nearly a decade ago, and Kojima says that, as a teenager, the first two Mad Max films inspired him to become a movie director and thus, eventually, a video game maker. At the panel later, Miller is equally effusive, calling Kojima “almost my brother”; the Aus...

Events

5 d. ago Teenagers who report addictive use of screens at greater risk of suicidal behaviour, study shows

Experts find link between compulsive use of social media, phones and video games and mental health problemsTeenagers who show signs of being addicted to social media, mobile phones or video games are at greater risk of suicidal behaviour and emotional problems, according to research.A study, which tracked more than 4,000 adolescents for four years, found that nearly one in three reported increasingly addictive use of social media or mobile phones. Those whose use followed an increasingly addictive trajectory had roughly double the risk of suicidal behaviour at the end of the study. Continue reading...

Events

5 d. ago Queensland stay alive after holding off stirring NSW comeback in State of Origin classic

Maroons win 26-24 after Blues rallied from 26-6 down at half-timeResult at Optus Stadium in Perth sends series to decider in SydneyThey had been all but written off, rudderless and adrift with a rattled coach at the helm, but a spirited Queensland kept the State of Origin shield alive after a wet, wild and often bizarre Game 2 victory over New South Wales in Perth.The memorable 26-24 triumph wasn’t certain until the final moments after a titanic Blues comeback – highlighted by a Brian To’o hat-trick – brought them back to within two points with eight minutes to go. Continue reading...

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5 d. ago Huge 2025 game from legendary developer gets staggering delay as fans call for it to be cancelled

Bungie's next big project, Marathon, has been delayed indefinitely, and it sounds as though the studio is going back to the drawing board - but same fans just want the team to cancel it

Sport

5 d. ago Manchester United's first six 2025/26 Premier League fixtures compared with top six rivals

Man United will face a challenging start to the 2025/26 Premier League campaign - but how do their opening games compare with those of their traditional rivals?

Politics

5 d. ago Beyond Mario Kart World: what else is worth playing on Nintendo Switch 2?

Nintendo has slept on new games for its new handheld but clockwork-puzzle murder missions, an RPG reborn and a beefed-up Yakuza 0 are the highlights from other developersThe Nintendo Switch 2 certainly makes a strong first impression, but once that gadget limerence begins to fade, it’s down to the games to stave off any creeping buyer’s remorse. We all know that Mario Kart World is undoubtedly a multiplayer masterpiece, and original Switch games from Pokémon Scarlet/Violet to Zelda have been updated to look amazing on the new console, but there’s otherwise a severe lack of Nintendo-made launch games for the Switch (beyond the £8 tech demo, Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour).Thankfully, other developers have stepped in to fill the gap, releasing a bunch of updated versions of games that have been out on other consoles for a while. What should you pick up when you’re tired of Mario Kart World? Continue reading...

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