Browsing: Celebration

NEW DELHI: The Asia Cup 2025 trophy saga has taken a dramatic new turn after Indiaâ€s young batting star Tilak Varma revealed what truly happened on the night of September 28, when Suryakumar Yadavâ€s India refused to accept the title from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chair and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) head Mohsin Naqvi.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Itâ€s been nearly a month since India defeated Pakistan by five wickets in the Asia Cup final at the Dubai International Stadium, yet the champions are still without the trophy — which, according to recent reports, has now been moved from the ACC headquarters in Dubai to an undisclosed location in Abu Dhabi.Tilak, who was adjudged Player of the Match for his brilliant 69 off 53 balls in the final, opened up about the bizarre events in a recent episode of Breakfast with Champions. “We were actually waiting at the ground for one hour. If you look at the TV visuals, youâ€ll see that I was lying on the ground. Arshdeep Singh was busy making reels. We were just waiting, thinking, ‘The trophy will come anytime now.†But the trophy was nowhere to be found,†he revealed.

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Should India have accepted the trophy from the ACC chair despite the controversy?

He added that the team decided to create their own celebration to keep the spirit alive. “Arshdeep said, letâ€s create an atmosphere — weâ€ll celebrate like we did after the T20 World Cup in 2024, just without the trophy. Abhishek Sharma and five or six others agreed, and we went ahead with it,†Tilak said with a laugh.Behind the scenes, however, tensions ran high. The post-match presentation was delayed by nearly 90 minutes after Naqvi reportedly refused to allow anyone else to hand over the trophy. A BCCI official later discovered that the silverware was removed from the dais and taken into Naqviâ€s custody.The BCCI has since written to the ACC, requesting that the trophy be formally handed over. But Naqvi remains firm — insisting that an Indian official must personally collect it in Dubai.Reflecting on Indiaâ€s campaign, Tilak added, “We were confident, but cricket is a funny game. If you have one bad day, itâ€s over. The way I played against Pakistan in the final, I canâ€t play like that every day.â€For now, Indiaâ€s Asia Cup triumph remains symbolically incomplete — their trophy still held hostage to cricketâ€s latest cross-border controversy.

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SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)…

SHOW SUMMARY:PWTorch’s Brian Zilem and Darrin Lilly fill in for Wade Keller, discussing Dynamite and the fallout from WrestleDream. The Opps (Katsuyori Shibata & Powerhouse Hobbs & Samoa Joe) defended their titles against The Hurt Syndicate (Bobby Lashley & MVP & Shelton Benjamin) in an AEW World Trios Title match. Jamie Hayter & Queen Aminata faced Top Gods (Megan Bayne & Penelope Ford), Harley Cameron & Willow Nightingale, and Sisters of Sin (Julia Hart & Skye Blue) in a four-way tag match. Kyle Oâ€Reilly battled Jon Moxley in a hard-hitting encounter that ended in controversy. The Conglomeration (Mark Briscoe & Orange Cassidy) teamed with Roderick Strong to take on the Death Riders (Claudio Castagnoli & Daniel Garcia & Wheeler Yuta). Kazuchika Okada defended his championships against Bandido in a high-stakes main event. Plus, a Mercedes Mone title celebration and AEW Women’s Tag Team brackets were revealed.

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AEW Dynamite on October 22, 2025, was already loaded with title matches and major announcements—but the 12 Belts Celebration for Mercedes Moné didnâ€t go the way anyone expected.

What was supposed to be a tribute to Mercedes†historic achievement—winning her 12th career championship by claiming the Winnipeg Pro Wrestling Womenâ€s Title—turned into total chaos in front of the live crowd at the Boeing Center in San Antonio, Texas.

The ring was decked out for the occasion with balloons, streamers, and a giant cake. Renee Paquette was in the ring to host the celebration, but before Mercedes even arrived, fans got an eerie surprise. A puppet styled after Mercedes Mone suddenly popped up from under the table where the cake was sitting, immediately drawing attention. It was a bizarre moment—clearly orchestrated by Harley Cameron.

Moments later, the real Mercedes Moné stormed down to the ring, visibly furious. She told Harley she was pathetic and pointed out that just weeks ago, Harley had been begging to be her tag partner. She labeled her as desperate and said the night was supposed to be about her, not petty antics. She declared her 12-title milestone as one of the greatest accomplishments in professional wrestling and said she was sick of being disrespected. Mercedes then picked up the puppet and shoved it face-first into the cake.

But just when fans thought the segment was wrapping up, chaos struck again. Kris Statlander emerged from under the same table and blindsided Mercedes, grabbing her and slamming her straight through it. The attack sent a clear message: Statlander isnâ€t here to play games—and sheâ€s ready to challenge Monéâ€s dominance ahead of their match at AEW Full Gear on November 22 in Newark, New Jersey.

This explosive segment didnâ€t just kill the celebration—it poured gasoline on an already heated rivalry.

What did you think of Statlanderâ€s ambush? Should AEW have let Mercedes enjoy her moment, or did the attack add fuel to the fire? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

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SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)…

AEW DYNAMITE REPORT
OCTOBER 22, 2025
SAN ANTONIO, TEX. AT BOEING CENTER AT TECH PORT
AIRED ON TBS & HBO MAX
REPORT BY JOSHUA WHITE, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Bryan Danielson

Ring Announcer: Justin Roberts

Attendance: WrestleTix reported that 1,830 tickets had been distributed; arena is set up for 1,830. The arena has a capacity of about 7,000 spectators for other events.

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PWTorchâ€s Brian Zilem guest hosts for Wade Keller with PWTorch’s Darrin Lilly to review AEW Dynamite tonight right after Dynamite. Join us and let us know your thoughts on Dynamite during the show.

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[HOUR ONE]

Announced Matches & Other Notes

• Kazuchika Okada vs. Bandido – AEW Unified Championship match
• The Opps (Samoa Joe & Powerhouse Hobbs & Katsuyori Shibata) vs. The Hurt Syndicate (Bobby Lashey & Shelton Benjamin & MVP) – AEW World Trios Championship match
• AEW Womenâ€s World Tag Team Championship Tournament Bracket to be revealed
• 12 Belts Mercedes Moné celebration

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Hardik Pandya and Mahieka Sharma (Image credit: Agencies) NEW DELHI: Indian cricketer Hardik Pandya and model Mahieka Sharma have made their relationship Instagram official, two years after his separation from Natasa Stankovic. The coupleâ€s appearance at a Diwali celebration in coordinated red traditional outfits has set social media abuzz.The duo attended a star-studded Diwali party on Monday, where Mahieka stunned in a red bandhani salwar suit paired with black leggings and white sandals. Hardik complemented her look with a red kurta, black trousers, loafers, dark sunglasses, and gold accessories.Their public outing immediately drew the attention of fans and paparazzi, with social media users calling them the “new power couple†of cricket and Bollywood. Photos and videos from the Diwali bash quickly went viral across platforms.Recently, the pair also celebrated Hardikâ€s birthday with a beach getaway, glimpses of which Mahieka shared on her Instagram Stories. Watch the video hereTheir relationship first made headlines earlier this month when videos of them together at the Mumbai airport surfaced on October 10. Shortly after, Hardik posted an Instagram Story showing the two enjoying a quiet moment by the sea.Mahieka, who is seven years younger than Hardik, is a successful model known for her work with top brands like Tanishq, Vivo, and Uniqlo. She has graced the covers of ELLE and Grazia and was named Model of the Year at the Indian Fashion Awards.With their growing number of public appearances and affectionate posts, Hardik and Mahieka have put months of speculation to rest, solidifying their status as one of the most talked-about couples in the spotlight.

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Max Muncy stood in the middle of what is normally an underground batting cage. But on Friday, moments after the Dodgers completed a four-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series, it had been transformed into the most exclusive drinking spot in the city, the place where the players came to toast their return to the World Series.

Cheap champagne and even cheaper beer flowed freely — mostly over peopleâ€s heads — before forming deep puddles on some plastic sheeting that had hastily been laid along the floor.

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“You never get tired of this. You can’t ever take this for granted,†Muncy, the Dodger third baseman said, as he clutched a lit cigar in one hand and two red Budweiser bottles in the other. “This is the whole reason that you play baseball. You want to be in this moment.

“You want to play postseason baseball. And to be able to do it for as many times as I’ve done it, it’s just truly a blessing.â€

The moment Muncy referred to is the alcohol-infused postseason series victory celebration, a tradition that dates to the 1960 World Series when members of the Pittsburgh Pirates chose not to drink the champagne that had been wheeled into their victorious clubhouse, but began spraying it on one another instead.

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As baseballâ€s postseason format expanded, so did the number of champagne celebrations; Fridayâ€s was the Dodgers†fifth in 29 days and 10th in less than two years. And it may not be the last since theyâ€ll open the World Series next weekend with a chance to become the first repeat champion this century.

“Itâ€s a grown man acting like a little kid. You look forward it,†reliever Blake Treinen, who has played for seven playoff teams in his career, said as he leaned on a giant red cooler stuffed with mostly empty bottles of champagne.

When the Dodgers qualified for the playoffs last month, they toasted that achievement at home, then toasted themselves again six days later in Arizona when they clinched the division title. This month theyâ€ve beaten the Cincinnati Reds in the wild-card series, the Philadelphia Phillies in the Division Series and now the Brewers in the LCS.

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And with each victory, the celebrations have grown in fervor and joy.

“It gets better and better each round,†pitcher Tyler Glasnow agreed.

As soon as Caleb Durbinâ€s fly ball settled in Andy Pages†glove near the right-field bullpen gate Friday night, extending the Dodgers†season while ending the Brewersâ€, fireworks filled the air and Randy Newmanâ€s “I Love L.A.†blared from the stadiumâ€s sound system. As a small army of workers rushed to set up a temporary wooden stage behind second base, the players pulled on gray t-shirts with words National League Champions and the script Dodgers set against a baseball diamond outlined in yellow.

On their heads they wore black caps that read World Series 2025. But the public ceremony on the stage, in which chairman Mark Walter was presented with the league championship trophy and Shohei Ohtani was handed the series MVP trophy, was short and tame compared to raucous fiesta that started in the batting cage a few minutes later.

Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani celebrates in the clubhouse after the team’s NLCS-clinching win over the Brewers at Dodger Stadium on Friday night. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

“These kinds of celebrations, you can never have too many,†infielder Miguel Rojas shouted in Spanish over a loud soundtrack of percussive music that played in a loop. “A moment like this is really important, really beautiful.

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“Five times this year. Weâ€ve got one to go.â€

A few feet away outfielder Teoscar Hernández surrounded himself with a handful of journalists in an unsuccessful attempt to hide from the champagne sprays directed at him by teammates.

“I don’t think there’s anybody that gets tired of this. I’m not tired,†he said. “I want to get one more, and then five more next year.

“This is the only time that you can get to celebrate something, to be free, not thinking about your job, not thinking about what you got to do tomorrow.â€

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As the party began to wane and players left the batting cage to join their families in a quieter gathering on the field, Muncy looked down at the thick victory cigar between his fingers and turned reflective. The celebration wasnâ€t about champagne or beer or victory cigars. It wasnâ€t even about winning.

It was more about surviving the crucible of the longest schedule in pro sports and celebrating that with the people who were with you every step of the way.

“It’s amazing, is what it is,†he said. “This is one of the best parts about being in the postseason. You grind with your teammates and your brothers for seven, eight months, all the way back to spring training.

“This is just like a culmination of all your collective efforts.â€

Who wouldnâ€t want drink to that?

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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A day after making perhaps one of the greatest comebacks in franchise history, the Calgary Flames were humbled 5-1 by the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena in Vancouver on Thursday night.

Here are my three takeaways for the game:

After outshooting the home team 3-2 for the first 5:41 of the first period, not only did the Canucks restrict the Flames to just two shots on goal, but they put six on them for the rest of the period including a goal off a giveaway.

But Calgary, being a great comeback team it is, rebounded in the second period.

By the second break, the Flames had outshot the Canucks 39-26 in total shots in the game. Even though the stat sheet showed 16-13 shots on goals as favoring Canucks, the scoring opportunities were 17-9 in Calgary’s favor., including seven high-danger scoring opportunities for Flames versus a flat out zero for the hometown Canucks. Yet, Vancouver was still up 1-0 by the second intermission.

Unfortunately, it was the third period, where the Flames crapped the bed. More on that below.

This was probably the most disappointing. A team that has four opportunities at the man-advantage and comes up with zero goals is not going to go very far in the regular season.

During Calgary’s first power play, they were 0-for-3 in faceoffs, which was a big reason why the man-advantage didn’t materialize into anything. So they need to clean up their faceoff act as well.

Yeah, I’m not a pro hockey player, but even I know you don’t stop playing until the ref blows the whistle.

I get how the Calgary players were concerned about their comrade Kevin Bahl getting hit in the head and falling on the ice, but that doesn’t mean you freeze up and leave the goal unguarded.

As a result, Vancouver’s Filip Chytil scored a goal and put the Canucks up 2-0.

How costly was that?

It drained all the life out of the Calgary bench, and until the next Chytil goal 5:59 minutes later, the Canucks outshot the Flames 10-3 in total shots.

After that, Vancouver put on two more goals.

Except for a Morgan Frost goal, the Flames never recovered and frankly never had a chance.

As to things that I did like, going 4-for-4 on the penalty kill is amazing. The Flames did get out of their zone more easily than they did against Edmonton and they did have a lot more scoring opportunities than against the Oilers, but ultimately it was that second goal that just killed any life on the Calgary bench.

The Flames will now host the St. Louis Blues for their home opener on Saturday.

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Shaquille Leonard’s NFL career officially came to an end on Sunday.

The three-time All-Pro linebacker was formally honored by the Indianapolis Colts at halftime of their game against the Las Vegas Raiders after he signed a one-day contract with the club.

It was announced on Wednesday that Leonard was going to retire with the club that originally drafted him in 2018.

Before the halftime ceremony, Leonard gave a press conference with his family in attendance to address his career and decision to walk away from the NFL.

During his ceremony at halftime, Leonard spoke to the crowd at Lucas Oil Stadium and thanked them for their support throughout his career.

Colts running back Jonathan Taylor honored his former teammate by doing his celebratory dance after scoring a touchdown in the third quarter against the Raiders.

Leonard, 30, emerged as one of the NFL’s best linebackers in his first four seasons after being a second-round pick by the Colts in 2018, registering four straight seasons with 120 or more tackles.

During that span he was a three-time first-team All-Pro, a three-time Pro Bowler and the 2018 Defensive Rookie of the Year.

But injuries completely altered the trajectory of his career. He underwent back surgery following the 2022 season to fix a recurring issue, but further injuries to his back—along with a concussion and broken nose—limited him to just three games in the 2022 season.

And when he returned in 2023, it appeared he had lost a step, to the point that the Colts lessened his playing time and eventually released him in November.

He went on to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles but didn’t make much more of an impact in his new home, putting up 23 tackles (two for loss) and a sack in five games (three starts).

Even though Leonard’s career ended much sooner than anyone would have predicted, he made his impact felt in the time that he had in the NFL. His first four seasons stack up with any inside linebacker of this generation, including Fred Warner and Roquan Smith.

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KL Rahul celebration (Screengrab) For KL Rahul, Friday at the Narendra Modi Stadium turned into an afternoon of redemption, relief and raw emotion. The elegant right-hander brought up his 11th Test century — but more significantly, his first at home in almost nine years — with a flick off Roston Chase that raced to mid-wicket. The single not only lifted him to three figures but also lifted the weight of a long-standing drought that had stretched back to 2016, when he last scored a ton in India during the famous Karun Nair triple-century Test in Chennai.Rahulâ€s reaction, however, made the moment unforgettable. As he raised his bat with his right hand and removed his helmet to kiss the Indian badge, he also surprised everyone with a never-seen-before gesture — putting his middle and ring finger into his mouth. Click here to watch KL Rahul’s celebration after hitting the tonThe unique celebration was Rahulâ€s way of dedicating the milestone to his baby daughter, born earlier this year in March with wife and actor Athiya Shetty. The couple had tied the knot in January 2023 after years of dating, and the new chapter in his personal life has clearly inspired Rahul on the field too.Statistically, Rahul has now joined a rare list of Indians with the most innings between two Test hundreds at home — 26, a mark he now shares with legends like Kapil Dev, Polly Umrigar, Ajinkya Rahane and Vijay Manjrekar. The wait was long, but the ton was worth it, coming when India needed solidity after a commanding opening day against the West Indies.At lunch, India were 97 runs richer in 29 overs for the loss of just one wicket, with Rahul looking assured. His partnership with Shubman Gill, who scored a fluent fifty before falling to a reverse sweep, has pushed India into a strong position with a lead of 56 and seven wickets in hand. For Rahul, though, the day will forever be remembered for breaking his home-century jinx — and for the little gesture that connected the cricketing world with his fatherhood journey.

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Not everything went the Yankees’ way in Thursday’s 4-0 win over the Red Sox in Game 3 of the Wild Card series, and Giancarlo Stanton can tell you that first-hand.

Leading off the second inning and with the game scoreless, the Yankees slugger launched a curveball from Connelly Early deep to left center field. Stanton and the 48 thousand-plus in attendance thought the ball was destined for the bullpen and give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. Before the ball landed, Stanton turned to his dugout and started hyping his teammates up while walking to first base.

The ball was hit 114.5 mph off the bat and went 393 feet, but the launch angle wasn’t high enough, as it hit off the middle of the wall and fell to the warning track. When Stanton turned from his teammates, he noticed the ball did not go out and he hustled to make it to second base.

YES Network’s Meredith Marakovits spoke to Stanton after the team’s win and asked if there was any doubt the team would find a way to get the win. And the Yankees slugger had the perfect answer.

“The only doubt was if that was a homer or not whenever I hit it. Thank goodness for that bonehead play that the team was resilient enough and Cam [Schlittler] was resilient enough. And it didn’t mess up the chemistry or the moment,” he said. “So that’s good. Kids at home, don’t do that. Future opponents, please do that. Bonehead play. Just glad it worked in our favor and it won’t happen again.”

Although the Yankees were not able to drive him home, it was a good sign that Stanton reached base at all. He entered Game 3 0-for-8 with two strikeouts and looked lost at the plate. And although the double was his only hit of the game, Stanton looked much more comfortable.

The Yankees will need their slugger’s power when they go up against the Blue Jays in the ALDS starting Saturday.

Giancarlo misses a homer by a couple feet. He gets a double pic.twitter.com/lLdXIcHi2Y

— Talkin’ Yanks (@TalkinYanks) October 3, 2025

Giancarlo thought he hit a home run pic.twitter.com/QWAXRRq8AT

— Talkin’ Yanks (@TalkinYanks) October 3, 2025

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