Browsing: Inspired

TORONTO — Steven Lorentz shocked his new wife pretty good when he leapt out of bed in the seventh inning with a clap and a holler to celebrate George Springerâ€s ALCS-winning home run.

“As soon as it left his bat, I knew it was gone,†the Toronto Blue Jays fan disguised as a Maple Leafs player said excitedly Tuesday morning. “She was kind of rolled over trying to sleep, and I think I woke her up.

“Iâ€ve definitely got a little bit more excitement for this Jays group this year than I have in previous years.â€

Lorentz is all of us in this hockey Mecca turned baseball town.

“I think a lot of people in Canada probably had a similar night last night, watching our Jays move on to the World Series. First time in, what, thirty-something years?†the Ontario native continues. So that’s great to see. “Weâ€re happy for them. But like Vladdy said, the jobâ€s not done for them. So, they still got some work to do.â€

For too many Octobers, the work of the Maple Leafs has dominated Page 1 of the Toronto newspapers†sports section.

The magic of the Jays†post-season run has flipped priorities like Bautista twig — in a way that benefits all involved.

The middling Leafs have five regular-season games scheduled to go head-to-head with the best-of-seven between the Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

You get one guess as to which will be the cheaper ticket.

“Itâ€s an easy team to cheer for,†Morgan Rielly marvels. “Weâ€ve been talking about them all morning.â€

The longest serving Maple Leaf grew up in Vancouver as the son of a Yankees fan; a young Rielly and his father would drive south to Seattle and root against the Mariners when the pinstripes were in town. But Rielly has been wearing Blue Jays caps for years.

Heâ€s all in, even if the sweetness of a Toronto championship series comes with a sting.

“Thereâ€s a small part of you that youâ€re envious of them. Youâ€re a bit jealous at what theyâ€re doing, just because of Toronto. You watch it firsthand. Youâ€re obviously happy for them. Itâ€s a great moment for the city. But we want to be able to do that and have a run like that. We felt that when the Raptors did it, too,†Rielly explains.

“So, you look at the passion that theyâ€re playing with, and thatâ€s contagious. And you want to be able to also bring that when your time comes.â€

To a man, the Leafs spoke glowingly about the baseball clubâ€s formula of simultaneously getting valuable contributions from their depth players as well as showtime moments from their high-paid superstars.

None more impressive than ALCS MVP Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who strode into Rogers Centre on the eve of Game 7 decked out in a No. 34 Leafs replica sweater.

“I think Vladdy broke the curse by wearing Auston Matthews†jersey here today,†Jays manager John Schneider said, following the 4-3 home win.

“Yeah, that’s pretty cool. Iâ€m sure Tone was pretty fired up about that,†enthuses Toronto native Chris Tanev, who played competitive ball through Grade 12.

“Itâ€s really impressive to see the city rallying behind them, and just an amazing comeback from down 2-0 to start the series, and down 3-2, and down in the game as well. So, itâ€s just a lot of relentless efforts.â€

Tanev is a master of smart positioning. He makes subtle, nifty outlet passes and is willing to take abuse to make the right play. So, it should be no surprise that he showers the Jays†role players with credit for contributing small details that lead to the big moment.

“The (Andrés) Giménez bunt probably no one talks about because Springer hit a home run. But no one bunts, really, anymore, and he laid a great bunt. Or (Addison) Barger walking to get on. Little things like that. Not trying to hit a home run and being happy to get on base, to let his teammates help him get home and make the game closer,†Tanev says.

“Itâ€s just like little things like that go into a hockey game, so you sort of watch and learn from that.â€

Craig Berube grew up a baseball-loving kid in Calahoo, Alta. Itâ€s the sport that most closely rivals hockey as his passion. The Leafs coach visited the clubhouse and met with Schneider in September. Heâ€s been studying the post-season at home, quietly rooting for the Jays.Â

“I watch their guy, Vladdy, closely. I watch how he interacts with all the guys and how much energy he brings all the time and happiness for his teammates when they do something well,†Berube says.

“Heâ€s always got a lot of energy and a lot of positive vibe around him, you know? Which a lot of them do. But heâ€s their main guy, and he brings that — and I think the whole team feeds off it.â€

Torontonian Max Domi says itâ€s not only Guerrero Jr.â€s performance at the plate that impresses; itâ€s also his presence in the post-game conversations.Â

“You see his interviews and how emotional he got — what this city means to him. It’s great to see him, and Iâ€m so happy for him and his entire team,†Domi explains.

“It’s inspiring, man. I think if youâ€re not a baseball fan, it doesn’t matter. Youâ€re watching that game, youâ€re watching that interview — everyoneâ€s got chills. If you don’t, then you’re missing a heartbeat, for sure.

“Taking that and seeing how the city responds to it, and listening to each guyâ€s interview is really cool for me as an athlete on a team, to really see how much they love each other, and thatâ€s what got them to where they are. Of course, theyâ€ve got the skill, they got the talent, theyâ€ve got everything. But they all seem to think that the most important thing is how tight they are.â€

The parallels here are blatantly obvious to the Toronto fan.

And the Maple Leafs, who play just a couple Barger relay throws east of the Dome, feel like the sports cityâ€s positive energy could be contagious.

“Itâ€s almost like a little bit of outside motivation, you can look at it, right?†Lorentz says. “Like, you see when that teamâ€s doing well, when our teamâ€s doing well, when it comes to playoff time, thereâ€s extra bodies in the seats. Thereâ€s extra bodies outside. Iâ€m sure the bars are all filled up with people who are rooting and cheering.

“I had some buddies out, and you could see the Instagrams and the Snapchats of people going nuts when Springer hit that home run. So, the Jays get that. We get that when weâ€re doing well, too.Â

“Itâ€s nice that we can kind of feed off that energy that the Jays are bringing, that buzz to the city.â€

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Oct 16, 2025, 12:42 PM ET

Novak Djokovic says he has been inspired by LeBron James, Cristiano Ronaldo and Tom Brady as he targets continuing his professional career into his 40s.

“Longevity is one of my biggest motivations. I really want to see how far I can go,” Djokovic said Thursday at the Joy Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, ahead of appearing at the Six Kings Slam. “If you see across all the global sports, LeBron James, he is still going strong, he is 40. Cristiano Ronaldo, Tom Brady played until he was 40-something years old. It is unbelievable.

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“They are inspiring me as well, so I want to keep going, that is one of the motivations I have.”

The 38-year-old Djokovic has gone two years without winning a Grand Slam title, having been overtaken by Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, but says he is not yet thinking about hanging up his racket as he tries to win a 25th major to break the record for most Slam singles titles by a man or woman.

Djokovic’s comments Thursday had a different tone from what he said after being eliminated from Grand Slams this year. After losing to Sinner in the French Open semifinals, he hinted it could have been “the last match I ever played” at Roland Garros. Following a straight-sets loss to Alcaraz in the US Open semifinals, Djokovic lamented that he may not be able to beat Alcaraz and Sinner in the best-of-five-sets format of majors.

But he also had said he planned to play all four Grand Slams in 2026, and playing past 40 would extend his career at least into 2027.

Brady played quarterback in the NFL until he was 45, while James and Ronaldo are both 40 as they continue to play.

Djokovic, who co-founded the Professional Tennis Players Association in 2020, is also hoping to use his influence to improve the sport.

Leading players are pushing the Grand Slams for a greater share of revenue, while the PTPA launched lawsuits against tennis’ governing bodies earlier this year in an effort to force through changes.

“I want to also live to see — live meaning keep on playing professionally — what is coming for our sport, and I am super excited about it,” Djokovic said. “These are things I can’t be openly speaking about at the moment, but in the next couple of years, I feel like tennis is a sport that can be greatly transformed, and I want to be part of that change.”

Information from ESPN’s D’Arcy Maine and PA was used in this report.

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Stuart Pearce was famously something of late starter when it came to his football career.

While he would go on to win 78 caps for England and be a key player in the World Cup 90 and Euro 96 sides that reached the last-four in both tournaments, he began his career training and then working as an electrician during a five-year stint at non-league side Wealdstone.

Pearce’s big break would come in 1983, when Coventry City boss Bobby Gould spotted something in the non-league left-back and snapped him up in a £30,000 deal.

Pearce’s determination and combative nature – two traits that served him well during his career – had impressed Gould, but it could all have been different if Pearce had followed his initial dream and followed in the footsteps of his early hero Gordon Banks.

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

One of the most sacred and traditional practices in Mexican culture is Lucha Libre. Itâ€s a style of wrestling best known for its performers wearing a variety of masks.

Out of respect, a performer isnâ€t known by their public name unless it is said by them. That rule also applies to the mask. Unless they get the mask taken away from them in a stipulation match or they decide to wrestle without it, removing someoneâ€s mask is a huge no-no in the world of Lucha Libre.

These masks come in a variety of  colors and sizes. Some have decorations on them like feathers or horns that incorporate their character into the mask.

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, the WWE YouTube channel uploaded a video featuring WWE and AAA wrestlers. They were shown many masks and were asked to do a blind ranking of them. This video is a great way to honor masks from the legends that made Lucha Libre what it is today.

This showed how much respect current WWE and AAA wrestlers have for their predecessors that donned the sacred masks of Lucha Libre. With the exception of Dominik Mysterio, which was obvious going in, the wrestlers had a lot of good things to say about everyone.

ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…

Check out the latest episode of “The Nicky’s Club” with Nick Barbati, part of the PWTorch Dailycast line-up: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “pwtorch†on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)

Mr. Iguana and Penta gave their flowers to legends of the sport. Hearing Penta talk about how much Psicosis means to him was good to hear, and I could definitely see why he uses the black and white pattern in his mask.

It was interesting to see El Grande Americano on the list because he has made enemies of so many luchadors in the last couple of months. Unsurprisingly, the majority of wrestlers that ranked him did so near the bottom of the list. Maybe if he played nice with them, the ranking would change. But for now, his overall ranking by them is in the lower half.

Overall, this was a great video showing how much masks mean to Lucha Libre culture and wrestling as a whole. Itâ€s a tradition dating back generations, with Mexican wrestlers taking it very seriously. A luchador is almost always anonymous, with the mask protecting their identity and their personal life from the public.

Doing so is smart, as it separates the character from the person playing the character. It was nice to see the variety of masks worn by these wrestlers. The range colors, shapes, and sizes all play into their character and how they want to be portrayed for the fans.

Getting both WWE and AAA wrestlers involved in this video was a great idea. WWE wants to strengthen the bond with AAA to make their partnership as fruitful as possible. A way to do that is to incorporate them into WWE programming and videos. This was an informative showcase of Lucha Libre culture and how masks fit into Lucha Libre overall.

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Germanyâ€s home kit for the 2026 World Cup has leaked online – and it pays tribute to one of the nationâ€s most beloved designs.

In images shared by Footy Headlines, adidas have gone retro with a shirt that closely mirrors the strip worn when West Germany lifted the trophy in 1990.

As tradition dictates, the jersey is predominantly white, with black adidas shoulder stripes and red-and-black cuff trims. But the standout feature is the flag-inspired motif: black, red, and yellow stripes sweep diagonally from each shoulder, meeting in the middle to form a striking V-shaped diamond pattern across the chest.

📸🇩🇪 This is how Germany’s home kit for the 2026 World Cup will look like [@opaleak] pic.twitter.com/xNr0vp4QNd

— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) July 28, 2025

Itâ€s an unmistakable nod to the 1990 World Cup-winning shirt, which carried a similar design – though that version placed the stripes off-centre.

Other details include the four stars above the DFB crest, each printed with the years of Germanyâ€s triumphs – 1954, 1974, 1990, and 2014 – plus black shorts and white socks to complete the set.

A nostalgic throwback to one of footballâ€s most iconic shirts, the design is expected to go down well with fans – who will be hoping Die Mannschaftcan channel the spirit of 1990 in North America next summer.

Germany fans will be hoping history can repeat itself in their new kit. / DANIEL GARCIA/GettyImages

READ THE LATEST FASHION, CULTURE AND LIFESTYLE CONTENT FROM 90MIN

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If youâ€ve been watching superstars like Truls Moregardh, Felix Lebrun, Fan Zhendong, Chen Meng, Sun Yingsha, and Hina Hayata, itâ€s quite likely youâ€ve been inspired to play table tennis.

Maybe youâ€ve picked up a paddle with friends / colleagues before, or you used to play as a kid. Maybe youâ€ve never hit a shot in your life. Everyoneâ€s welcome to start playing TODAY.

Table tennis is one of the most accessible and welcoming sports in the world, with regular players of all skill levels. If youâ€re over the age of 10 (which is quite likely), youâ€re probably not going to make the Olympic squad, but that wonâ€t stop you having loads of fun.

Let me explain 6 ways you can get involved with table tennis.

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Find Somewhere To Play With Friends

If youâ€re totally new to the sport, a good place to start is reading our beginner’s guide to table tennis. Thatâ€ll get you up to speed with the rules.

Then, you need to grab a friend (or friends) and find yourself a table. Most towns and cities around the world have access to a table either in a local park, sports center, or social club.

Most national table tennis organizations provide a list of places to play, such as the UKâ€s table finder or Australiaâ€s club finder. If youâ€re in the US, we have a guide to finding places to play table tennis across the USA.

Alternatively, just hit up Google for any places that will rent you a table by the hour.

Even better, check if there are any ping pong bars in your nearest city! Famous ones include Bounce in London, and SPIN in New York.

Bounce in London is a fantastic table tennis bar.

If youâ€re not sure about playing consistently, I highly recommend renting paddles and balls. Keep in mind that a vast majority of rented equipment is of terrible quality though, so this is temporary until you buy your own paddle.

Speaking of buying your own paddle, here are my favorite pre-made paddles for beginners. I mostly recommend the Killerspin JET400 as a great balance between price and performance. Iâ€d recommend investing in your own paddle as soon as youâ€re sure you want to play more than once.

Get Some Basic Coaching

Thereâ€s a huge gap between a total beginner and an amateur local club player. An equally big gap exists between those club players and the local premier division players. Oh, and another huge gap between them and professionals.

So the best thing you can do to kickstart your table tennis career is to invest in some group or individual coaching.

Whilst you can pick up some instructions from sites like ours, and from YouTube, itâ€s never going to be the same as real life coaching sessions. Even if you just have a few sessions to get your grip, serve, and 4 basic strokes right, youâ€ll see a massive skill improvement very quickly.

Here are some of our best resources that will be helpful for you:

Example diagram we’ve created to help learn the 4 basic shots

Join A Local Club

Now youâ€re 100% ready to join a local club.

Some clubs are very beginner-friendly, and will run introductory courses themselves. Others might be more elite training clubs with limited table capacity for beginners. Do a small amount of research and maybe reach out to the club before you head down for the first time.

As a general rule, most clubs are incredibly friendly and welcoming. Table tennis players love to see new people playing the sport. Clubs are often very social, with everyone chatting in between training / matches.

As is human nature though, not all clubs are run the same. Donâ€t get disheartened if you donâ€t find your sporting home at the first club you visit. Try a few different clubs and join the one you feel most comfortable at.

Need to find a club? Try google, or even sites like Meetup or EventBrite.

Volunteer Your Time

You donâ€t have to play the sport to get involved. Local groups and clubs are always on the lookout for volunteers who can help out.

Whether thatâ€s acting as a hitting partner for juniors, organizing club nights, fundraising, finances, managing the website/social pages, umpiring, or coaching, everyone is welcome to our sport.

The next generation of players like Ma Long, Timo Boll, or Truls Moregardh probably havenâ€t started playing yet. They need grassroots volunteers to help get them into the sport and support their development into superstars of the future.

Nobody can become a professional without a large support network of players and non-players who volunteered their time building the structures that developed them as a player.

Get Yourself A Table Tennis Table

You could easily spend $5,000+ on an amazing home table tennis setup if you have the space at home.

Not everyone has that kind of money though, so itâ€s great that there are plenty of high-quality budget options as well. Our home setup guide also covers a full setup for less than $1,000.

Budget tables start at around $200 but are terrible quality. Make sure the surface thickness is above 15mm and itâ€s not too difficult to move around, which is normally found in tables at $450 and above. If thatâ€s too steep, check out your local facebook marketplace or gumtree.

If you havenâ€t got anyone to play against at home, itâ€s not a bad idea to purchase a cheap(ish) robot for $250. This will give you plenty of time to practice your strokes and improve super quickly. Robots are great, but they arenâ€t a complete replacement for real people.

For example, you canâ€t buy a robot that will replicate Truls Moregardhâ€s outrageous Snake shot in the Olympic Final.

Watch More Table Tennis

There are a few places you can watch table tennis broadcasts, with online streaming the main format as matches arenâ€t often available on TV channels.

Instead, the main recommended place to watch events, streams and match highlights is at which is managed by the global table tennis governing body.

World Table Tennis is a great YouTube channel to keep up with table tennis news

Alternatively, there are some great table tennis YouTube channels that are worth subscribing to including Olympic commentator Adam Bobrow.

Weâ€d also love to welcome you to the online table tennis community at forums like r/tabletennis, Table Tennis Daily and OOAK.

David’s been playing Table Tennis since he was 12, earning his first coaching license in 2012. He’s played in national team & individual competitions, although he prefers the more relaxed nature of a local league match! After earning his umpiring qualification in England, David moved to Australia and started Racket Insight to share information about the sport he loves.

Blade: Stiga WRB Offensive Classic | Forehand: Calibra LT | Backhand: Xiom Musa
Playstyle: The All-Rounder

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There was inspiration aplenty to be found in the venue for today’s Wanda Diamond League press conference, the splendidly decorated main salon of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, with its soaring painted ceiling and marble statues.

But when it came down to athletics, the assembled world champions and world record-breakers confessed that it was their competitors who gave them the most motivation to create their own masterpieces.

World 10,000m champion Sifan Hassan could have been deflated by the news overnight that her two-day-old world record of 29:06.82 had been vanquished by her Ethiopian rival, the world silver medallist Letesenbet Gidey, who soared to 29:01.03 at the Ethiopian Olympic trial held in Hengelo last night.

But Hassan said she relished the challenge, insisting that the developing rivalry between the two women was good for the event, good for the sport, and good for her.

She revealed that her manager had told her after her triumph in Hengelo on Sunday that Gidey would “go for the world record” at the same venue two days later.

“It makes me happy,” she said of Gidey’s performance.

“I want the 10,000m to be an event that people want to watch. I want it to be an event that’s exciting.

“Letesenbet is a very good athlete, she’s a very nice athlete and I really like her. She’s really sweet. People think I am not happy (about losing the world record) but I am really happy about it because I want distance to be more exciting.”

“I’m not surprised, and I’m actually happy about it!”@SifanHassan on losing her 10,000m world record just two days after getting it. #FlorenceDL #DiamondLeague pic.twitter.com/GwBppBKWGP

— Wanda Diamond League (@Diamond_League) June 9, 2021

Hassan said she hoped their respective performances would make the Olympic women’s 10,000m final one of the showpiece events of the Games.

“I am happy she ran faster than me because it will make me work harder for the Olympics and I will enter the event more excited. Congratulations to her.”

For similar reasons, Hassan is stepping down to the 1500m in Florence tomorrow, racing what she describes as her “favourite” event, even though she intends to do the 5000m-10,000m double in Tokyo.

She has not raced the 1500m since her triumph at the World Championships in Doha in 2019, and she is excited by the challenge of taking on the Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon and the European champion Laura Muir over the metric mile.

“I am really in good shape for my endurance but my speed is not yet quite good,” she said.

“I haven’t really raced the 1500 for two years but I am really happy to be here and take the opportunity, no matter what happens.”

World 5000m record-holder Joshua Cheptegei is similarly delighted by the impressive field assembled for his event, with seven sub-13 minute men assembled, alongside the young European champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen and the Gateshead Diamond League winner Mohammed Katir of Spain.

Cheptegei is having his first hit-out over the distance since he set the world record of 12:35.36 at the Monaco Diamond League meeting last September, and said he felt his form had improved since his season debut over 3000m at the Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava last month.

“I come here with new energy and new momentum,” he said.

“I am pretty sure the body is much better than in Ostrava and I can target a time of 12:40, or better.”

World 200m champion Dina Asher-Smith was asked for her reaction to dual Olympic 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce’s sizzling 10.63 clocking in Jamaica last week, the fastest women’s 100m time in more than 30 years, and said she was inspired by such a performance.

“Shelly-Ann is absolutely amazing and I sent her a message saying it was amazing. The run itself was phenomenal. My coach sent me a video and said, ‘Look at her leg speed. That’ is what I’m talking about. You need to move your legs like that’. Obviously I am a competitive and I am always going to back myself but you can’t ignore the fact that Shelly-Ann is an amazing athlete.”

Asher-Smith said she was “still getting back into the swing of things” after taking a year out of top-flight competition during the pandemic last year but was confident that she would arrive at the Tokyo Olympics ready to race at her peak.

High jumpers Mutaz Essar Barshim and Gianmarco Tamberi already have a well-established mutual admiration club and hope their friendly rivalry will take them to greater heights tomorrow.

Asked what advice they would give each other, Tamberi, the Italian favourite, addressed his friend and said: “I don’t have anything to teach to this guy because he’s the best high jumper ever, but it doesn’t mean you are unbeatable, remember.”

World champion Barshim is still searching for his best form this year, with a best of 2.30m so far this season, but hopes his meeting with Tamberi and this year’s world leader Ilya Ivanyuk (2.37m) will help him find it.

“With a strong field you are going to perform much better,” Barshim said.

“There’s pressure, but I love that pressure – it only makes me better.”

World long jump champion Malaika Mihambo is also determined to step up a level in Florence after a subdued start to the season by her standards.

She takes on a high-quality field including fellow seven-metre jumpers Chantel Malone and Nastassia Mironchyk-Ivanova, two-time world triple jump champion Caterine Ibarguen, world indoor champion Ivana Spanovic and world silver medallist Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk.

“It’s the challenge that gives you the power to give your 100 percent,” she said.

Nicole Jeffery for World Athletics

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