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Parvez Rasool (TOI Photo) MUMBAI: Parvez Rasool, the first player from Jammu & Kashmir to represent India in international cricket and also the first from the region to feature in the IPL, on Saturday retired from all formats of the game.In an epic 17-year career, during which he played first-class cricket for 15 seasons (he was out of the J&K team for the last two seasons), Rasool, an off-spinning all-rounder, claimed 352 wickets at 27.21 in 95 matches and amassed 5,648 runs at 38.95, with 16 hundreds and 22 fifties. The 36-year-old, who hails from Bijbehara in Kashmir, was one of the most consistent performers at the domestic level, though his international career did not last beyond two games for India — a solitary T20I (vs England in Kanpur in January 2017) and one ODI (against Bangladesh in June 2014).

Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, R Ashwin, Cheteshwar Pujara retire… who next?

“Yes, I’ve retired from cricket. Obviously, playing for India was the proudest moment of my life. Coming from J&K, which wasn’t known much for cricket, I went on to win the Lala Amarnath Trophy for the best all-rounder in the Ranji Trophy on two occasions (in 2013-14 and 2017-18), and became the first from my region to play for India and in the IPL. I feel nice to have contributed to the game,” Rasool told TOI.He is now serious about pursuing a career in cricket coaching. “Moving forward, I’ve cleared my Level-II (coaching certificate from the BCCI Centre of Excellence). I want to do full-time coaching, contribute to Indian cricket and pass on what Iâ€ve learnt from my experience to young cricketers. I want the youngsters to get a chance. You have to retire at some point,” he said.Talking about how he made a difference in inspiring J&K cricketers — their team beat Mumbai last season in the Ranji Trophy and recently lost to the domestic giants by just 35 runs — Rasool said, “When I started playing cricket, no one knew about J&K cricket. Thanks to the Almighty, we qualified twice for the quarterfinals of the Ranji Trophy under my captaincy. In fact, I captained J&K for six consecutive years. I’m so happy to see that today, our boys look to compete in domestic cricket, while earlier they would just come to participate,” Rasool said.He doesnâ€t regret the fact that he couldnâ€t play for J&K in the last two seasons. “All these things happen. Going forward, I’m looking to contribute by coaching and playing a bit of cricket (in overseas T20 leagues).â€During his T20I debut, Rasool was at the centre of a controversy when a video grab showed him chewing gum while the national anthem was being played before the match. Clarifying the incident, Rasool said: “I was part of the India squad for eight matches before that — five games in Zimbabwe and three against Bangladesh. I didn’t do that deliberately. Someone who comes from a relatively smaller cricketing region knows how much hard work it takes to play for India one day. Why would anyone do that kind of thing intentionally to destroy his career? That would be madness.â€Back in 2012-13, Rasool was the standout performer for J&K as he ended the season with 594 runs and 33 wickets, which earned him a place in the Indian team and a contract with the now-defunct IPL franchise Pune Warriors, led by former India captain Sourav Ganguly.Rasool regrets that he couldnâ€t play more for India. “Definitely, that regret is there. I played two white-ball matches for India, but I wanted to play Test cricket, especially after I took seven for 45 for Board Presidentâ€s XI against Australia (in Chennai, February 2013). However, this is destiny. You try hard to do well. Thanks to the Almighty, I have a tremendous record for J&K with bat and ball. I’ve scored 10,470 runs and taken more than 623 wickets across all formats in my career. As I said, I’m now looking forward to my new role in coaching,” Rasool concluded.Will he want to coach J&K? “If I get a chance, definitely,†he said.

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WWE

WWE announced dates for its 2025 holiday tour, including seven dates for “WWE Raw” and “WWE SmackDown,” as well as 10 live events, but the company will not be holding one of its yearly traditional shows. WWE announced the holiday tour dates on its website, but a December 26 show at Madison Square Garden in New York City was not listed.

It was reported back in September that WWE was likely breaking the post-Christmas MSG event tradition. Dave Meltzer reported in the “Wrestling Observer Newsletter” at the time that the traditional house show would not take place due to WWE holding “Raw” at the venue on November 17, which will also be John Cena’s final appearance in the city on his retirement tour. The post-Christmas house show will take place at the CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore, Maryland this year.

The holiday tour kicks off with a live episode of “SmackDown” from the Moody Center in Austin, Texas on December 5, and will conclude with an episode of “Raw” from the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York on January 5. In addition to Baltimore, live events will also take place in Tampa, Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, Rochester, Ft. Myers, Detroit, Syracuse, Bridgeport and Worcester, Massachusetts.

Tickets for each live event of the holiday tour will go on sale next Friday, October 24, at 10 am local time on Ticketmaster. Fans can purchase tickets via presale on the website starting on Wednesday, October 22 at 10am using the code “WWETIX” through Thursday, October 23 at midnight.

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By Ella Jay

Oct. 16, 2025 6:32 pm EST

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

In November 2024, WWE announced the first group of WWE ID prospects, with former Wrestling Open Champion Bryce Donovan being one of them. Nearly a year later, Donovan’s time in the program and WWE has officially come to an end.

Donovan confirmed the news on X, writing, “Finale. I will no longer be with WWE ID or Evolve. Thanks for the good time everyone. Learned a lot especially from @TheRealXPac who’s the best coach anyone could ask for. I’ll let you know what’s happening next when I decide or maybe I won’t idk yet.”

Finale.

I will no longer be with WWE ID or Evolve

Thanks for the good time everyone

Learned a lot especially from @TheRealXPac who’s the best coach anyone could ask for

I’ll let you know what’s happening next when I decide or maybe I won’t idk yet âœŒï¸ pic.twitter.com/0gwcoN49w0

— Bryce Donovan (@BryceDShook) October 16, 2025

As he continued his work across the independent wrestling circuit as a WWE ID prospect, Donovan also competed on “WWE EVOLVE,” which airs on Wednesday nights on Tubi. Donovan’s most recent “EVOLVE” appearance took place on October 15, when he unsuccessfully challenged Jackson Drake for the WWE EVOLVE Championship. In the same episode, Kendal Grey dethroned Kali Armstrong to become the brand new EVOLVE Women’s Champion. Donovan previously wrestled in the WWE ID Men’s Championship tournament, but fell short to the eventual winner Cappuccino Jones in the quarter finals.

Donovan’s departure from WWE marks the latest in a string of others dating back to last week when the likes of Kylie Rae and Zara Zakher also left the WWE ID program. Several other talents from “EVOLVE” and “WWE NXT” were also impacted by a wave of releases. Notable names in that batch include former NXT North American Champion Wes Lee and “EVOLVE” General Manager Stevie Turner. Like Donovan, it remains to be seen where their next destination in pro wrestling will be.

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Another WWE ID prospect has announced their departure from the program.

Bryce Donovan revealed on social media today that he is no longer part of WWE ID or the WWE Evolve roster. He competed in a title match on Wednesday’s Evolve Succession special, losing to Evolve Champion Jackson Drake.

In his announcement today, Donovan thanked everyone in WWE ID and gave a special shoutout to Sean “X-Pac” Waltman — who has been helping coach the ID recruits.

“Finale. I will no longer be with WWE ID or Evolve,” Donovan announced. “Thanks for the good time everyone. Learned a lot especially from @TheRealXPac whoâ€s the best coach anyone could ask for. Iâ€ll let you know whatâ€s happening next when I decide or maybe I wonâ€t idk yet.”

The ID program launched one year ago as a way to provide indie talent with financial and other developmental support while giving WWE the option to sign them to NXT full-time down the line. Zayda Steel, Kylie Rae, Zara Zakher, Aaron Roberts, Ice Williams, and Jordan Oasis are among those who have departed WWE ID recently either by choice or not having their contracts renewed.

These departures do not mean that WWE ID is ending. The company is hyping that new ID prospects will be unveiled soon.

Donovan was one of the first ID signees announced last year. Trained at the Create-A-Pro Academy, he has experience on the Northeast indies and competed on AEW Dark in the past.

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  Dan HajduckyOct 15, 2025, 10:00 AM ET

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  Dan Hajducky is a staff writer for ESPN. He has an MFA in creative writing from Fairfield University and played on the men’s soccer teams at Fordham and Southern Connecticut State universities.

Fanatics/Topps will bring its debut patch and gold logo patch programs to the NBA this season, it was announced Wednesday.

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Every rookie will now wear an NBA debut patch on his uniform that will be removed after play and put onto an on-card-autographed, one-of-one numbered rookie card. The 2024-25 season’s Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year will have a Gold NBA Logoman Patch placed on their uniforms, which will also be removed and inserted into rare trading cards.

The 2024-25 MVP, Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year were, respectively, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, San Antonio’s Stephon Castle and Cleveland’s Evan Mobley.

“Imagine having LeBron [James]’s, [Michael] Jordan’s, [Steph] Curry’s debut patch and what that would mean?” Fanatics Collectibles CEO Michael Mahan said in an interview with ESPN. “Well, the next generational superstar will have a debut patch — the ultimate rookie card […] And trading cards haven’t been associated with achievement, success and accolades: We’re going to bring that into trading cards.”

Fanatics previously implemented the debut patch program into Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer.

“Seeing the success Topps had with the MLB [debut] patch is definitely something we wanted to replicate on the basketball side,” said Josh Goodstadt, chief commercial officer of THINK450, the NBPA’s licensing, partnership and innovation arm. “The debut patch and gold logo cards [elevate] the storytelling and drive fan engagement with the sport and our players.”

Mahan said Fanatics has a partnership with grader/authenticator Certified Guaranty Company (CGC) to authenticate the patches.

Fanatics also signed James to a deal in early 2024; like Jordan, James previously had partnered with Upper Deck for his entire career.

“It’s going to be really awesome for collectors to have LeBron autographs on officially licensed cards,” Mahan said.

Mahan told ESPN that the company has plans for James memorabilia, as well as releases that honor achievements of NBA stars of the “past, present and figuring out how to celebrate real success.”

Mahan pointed to Topps’ celebration when Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw reached 3,000 career strikeouts this season.

“We did one-of-one autographs for him and every other member of that club,” Mahan said. “So, you think about important milestones coming up in basketball, the opportunity to do that as guys move up the scoring leaderboard — we want to honor the history of the game: There’s having a piece of the moment from the first and last times people step on the court.”

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Jess Fishlock, widely regarded as the Wales Womenâ€s national teamâ€s greatest player, has announced she will retire from international football after this monthâ€s home friendly against Australia.

The 38-year-old is Wales†record goalscorer, despite predominantly playing as a midfielder, and their most-capped player, with 165 international appearances and 48 goals.

Perhaps even more significantly, she has played a talismanic role in the team for nearly two decades, frequently being the standout star, stepping up in their biggest matches and scoring memorable match winners. She was awarded an MBE for services to womenâ€s football and the LGBT community in 2018. She became Wales†first footballer to reach a century of caps in 2017.

Fishlock cemented her place in the Cymru history books when she scored Wales†first goal at a major womenâ€s international tournament in July, finding the net against France in St Gallen, Switzerland, during a group-stage defeat at Euro 2025.

“The Euros was the pinnacle of my football career; seeing the dragon on the world stage for the first time will be a memory that will stay with me for a lifetime,†Fishlock posted on social media. “To all the players and staff, past and present, diolch [thank you]. It has been an incredible journey.â€

After starting with Cardiff City, she has spent most of her career overseas, predominantly with the NWSL club Seattle Reign, whom she joined in 2013. She has helped Reign win three NWSL shields and was named as the NWSLâ€s MVP in 2021, making the NWSLâ€s “best XI†five times.

Fishlock won the Champions League with Lyon in 2019 during a loan spell, and has also had successful loans with clubs including Melbourne City and Reading. Her club career continues, with the NWSL end-of-season playoffs approaching.

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After Wales†exit from Julyâ€s Euros in Switzerland, Fishlock said she needed a “little time to think†about her Wales future and her decision comes before the squad announcement for Wales†home friendlies against Australia, on 25 October, and Poland, on 28 October.

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Lionel Messi has announced the first edition of the Messi Cup, an international youth soccer tournament to be held in South Florida that will include Inter Miami and Barcelona.

Messi, with his production company 525 Rosario, will host the Under-16 tournament between Dec. 9-14.

The competition will have 18 matches and be played by eight clubs: Inter Miami, Barcelona, ​​Manchester City, River Plate, Inter Milan, Newell’s Old Boys, Atlético Madrid, and Chelsea.

“Thrilled to finally share this with you. This December, Miami will host a very special youth football tournament featuring some of the top clubs from around the world,” Messi said in a post on Instagram.

Lionel Messi will host a youth tournament in December. Megan Briggs/Getty Images

“The future of the game will be on full display, and it’s more than just matches — we’ve got an incredible few days planned with lots of other exciting activities. This is about the next generation. Hope you like it! This is the Messi Cup.”

525 Rosario said the purpose of the tournament is to shape the future of the sport.

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“More than a tournament, it is a series of live events and a digitally-driven platform that fuses sport, culture, and innovation,” a statement from the company said.

“Its mission is to generate long-term value for athletes developing their careers, for the communities that unite around a passion for sport, and for brands seeking authentic and lasting connections in the new era of football.

The eight teams are set to be divided into two groups of four, which will then face each other in a round-robin style phase over the first three days of the competition. A playoff match will be hosted to determine final positions before the third-place match and final are subsequently played at Chase Stadium.

“The Messi Cup is the meeting point between the football of today and the players of tomorrow,” CEO of 525 Rosario Tim Pastore said.

“It’s an opportunity to celebrate talent, culture, and community, creating legacies and bonds that will endure beyond the field of play.”

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Chris Jericho has begun the promotional push for his next Rock ‘n’ Wrestling Rager at Sea cruise — and the first names announced are sure to raise questions about his wrestling future.

The cruise is set to take place from November 7-11, 2026, sailing from Miami, Florida to the Bahamas. Jericho has made the cruise a nearly annual tradition dating back to 2018. And since 2020, Jericho and AEW have partnered together to have some of the promotion’s wrestlers appear on the cruise. But there are no AEW names (other than Jericho) listed among the first batch of talent for the 2026 edition.

Here are the wrestlers, legends, and media members advertised to be part of the 2026 cruise:

• Chris Jericho
• Jeff Hardy
• Saraya
• The Great Muta
• Dave LaGreca, Nic Nemeth, and Bully Ray of SiriusXM’s Pro Wrestling Nation
• Elayna Black (the former Cora Jade)
• Ted DiBiase
• Carlito
• Shotzi Blackheart
• Fred Ottman (Tugboat)
• Vampiro
• Marcus Bagwell
• The Blue Meanie
• AJ Francis
• Natalia Markova
• Victoria Crawford (the former Alicia Fox)
• Mo Jabari
• Indi Hartwell
• Lacey Lane
• Kacy Catanzaro
• Ricky Knight Jr.
• Sonny Onoo
• Chris Van Vliet
• Gabby LaSpisa

By the time the cruise takes place, we’ll know how things sorted out with Jericho’s contract situation. He’s slated to become a free agent at the start of 2026 when his AEW deal expires. There are rumors that he could be headed back to WWE, but Jericho has not confirmed what his next move will be. He’s publicly left the door open to either staying with AEW or returning to WWE.

Jericho joined AEW when it launched in 2019 and was the promotion’s first-ever World Champion. In 2020, AEW presented an episode of Dynamite from the Jericho cruise.

Since April of this year, Jericho has been off AEW TV since deciding to take a break amid negative crowd reactions he was receiving.

A pre-sale for the 2026 cruise is now underway. It’s the seventh cruise that Jericho and event company Sixthman have partnered together for.

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Chris Jericho is bringing back his Rock ‘N†Wrestling Rager at Sea for its seventh voyage, and this time itâ€s being called “The Seventh Cruise of a Seventh Cruise.

The wrestling-themed getaway will sail November 7–11, 2026, aboard the Norwegian Jewel, departing from Miami and heading straight to Bimahi, Bahamas. The five-day trip will mix live pro wrestling action with a full-on vacation experience. Fans can look forward to wrestling matches, live music performances from Jerichoâ€s band FOZZY and other acts, comedy shows, podcasts, and meet-and-greets with wrestling legends.

“This isnâ€t just a getaway, itâ€s a non-stop, high-octane, body-slam of an experience where paradise meets piledrivers,†the official announcement read.

Presale bookings come with serious exclusives. Every cabin booked during presale will get a photo op with Jericho, while the first 600 cabins secure exclusive Chris Jericho trading cards. The first 800 cabins will also snag a custom slap bracelet designed by Pro Wrestling Tees.

“Once the bell rings and these spots are gone… theyâ€re GONE! No rematches, no do-overs,†organizers warned, driving home just how limited the perks are.

Fans can register now for presale access or reach out to guest services for booking help. With wrestling, music, comedy, and a Bahamas backdrop, Jerichoâ€s latest cruise is already shaping up to be one of the most unique wrestling events of 2026.

Would you jump onboard Chris Jerichoâ€s Rock ‘N†Wrestling Rager at Sea for the seventh voyage, or is this type of wrestling vacation not your style? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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Ridge Holland will not be renewed for his WWE contract after residual injury complications he sustained at a TNA taping. Holland kept fans abreast of this news on his personal social media and relayed to his fanbase that he would not be continuing on with WWE, at least at this juncture. His current contractual agreement with the promotion is said to elapse on November 14th and the TKO helmed property has decided to not seek to extend that deal per the wrestler himself.

Holland’s WWE journey began in 2018 with some more momentum being gathered for him during his 2020 run with NXT. Holland’s 2021 main roster moves under the Smackdown banner saw his involvement with Sheamus and Pete Dunne in the the Brawling Brutes faction. Ridge Holland is also infamously tied to an accident with Big E that has kept the former WWE champion on the sidelines with neck injury issues since 2022 after an errant belly to belly suplex was delivered outside of the ring.

2023 onward saw Holland return to NXT for a stint with the tag titles as well as appearances with both Evolve and TNA before the news of this departure came to light.

Ridge Holland’s full statement regarding his release from WWE

Ridge Holland’s full statement on social media, with an h/t to 411 Mania, reads as follows,

“Iâ€ve been informed that WWE will not be renewing my contract when it ends on November 14th. WWE are still going to cover my rehab from injury.”

“but my guaranteed pay will end, quite frustrating to say the least as I cannot work for another 6 months due to the aforementioned injury, with a family of 5 to support.”

“My career with WWE has been blighted by misfortune but Iâ€m still thankful and grateful for the opportunity and experience. The shining light that has always kept me going is the HUGE support from a handful of special human beings. Thank you.”

“Iâ€m unsure what lies ahead of me in terms of wrestling but going forward I will be working hard to heal up and in that time I will be launching my own online coaching business…..so stay tuned. Cheersâ€

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