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Anaya Bangar (extreme right) with parents on Diwali. Anaya Bangar on Tuesday shared a photo with her father Sanjay Bangar and her family after a long time on Diwali.Anaya shared the photo on Instagram and also penned a heartfelt note: “Light feels different this year — softer, steadier, closer to home.” The photo has gone viral and has already hit 3 lakh likes.Earlier this year, Anaya had revealed that her father had made it clear that she would not be allowed to play cricket in the future.

Indian cricket stars spread Diwali cheer: Kohli, Gill & Bumrahâ€s festive wishes

Click here to check the photo“He was just stating the fact that there’s no place for me in cricket. I had to take a stand for myself. I did get suicidal thoughts as it felt like the entire world was against me, and the decision I took (hormone therapy to become a woman) has now left me with no space in this system,” Anaya had told Lallantop.”Even basic opportunities and rights are no longer there for me. I still had space for myself from the family point of view. But it wasn’t there in society, cricket, or the external world.”Anaya had also revealed how she shared a “complex†relationship with her father.”My relationship with my father is complex, like many families navigating change. I hope that one day he will find a way to stand beside me,” she was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.Earlier this year, Anaya had also posted on Instagram, where the 24-year-old shared a detailed scientific report to support her case to play cricket.”It began as me wanting to play again, but the more I spoke up, the more I realised that my journey is tied to so many who feel invisible in Indian sport,” Anaya wrote on Instagram.

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What do you think about Anaya Bangar’s decision to come out and advocate for her rights in cricket?

“My personal dream and public advocacy have become the same thing now,” she added. “Walking back onto the field, this time as Anaya, wonâ€t just be about playing but reclaiming the right to belong, compete, and dream with dignity.””Well-known cricketers from both the menâ€s and womenâ€s sides have messaged me. Some just sent a heart. Some said, ‘We see you.†It made me emotional. Because in a sport where silence is common, even a whisper of support can feel like thunder,” added Anaya.

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Earlier this year, Keith Mitchell stunned golf fans when he nearly holed a gutsy greenside bunker shot during the 2025 Texas Children’s Houston Open. The risky shot in question? A Thai spinner — a shot made famous by Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who’s from Thailand.

For many golfers, it was the first time they had seen this shot executed from the sand. But, according to Parker McLachlin, a GOLF Teacher to Watch, it might be the key to improving your greenside bunker game.

In a recent Instagram post, McLachlin—also known as Short Game Chef—revealed that hitting Mitchell’s unique shot from the bunker is a great way to train a shallow arc depth and low point control—one of the most important keys in the sand.

Why the Thai spinner can boost your bunker game

The reason it works is because it teaches you to enter the sand at the right time. If you watch Mitchell in the clip above, you’ll see that his club enters the sand directly under the ball, not behind it — a common mistake amateurs make from the bunker.

“Watch how little sand he takes,” McLachlin says. “It’s basically a pitch shot out of the bunker.”

As nerve-wracking as it may be to hit a pitch shot from this lie, practicing it can also help you understand if you’re utilizing the bounce of your club correctly and help you avoid digging the leading edge.

To copy what Mitchell is doing above, set up to the shot with a slightly narrow stance. Play the ball in the middle of your stance. Notice how his wrists are relatively straight as he lets his body and arms turn back and through to power the motion.

“It’s like a putting stroke,” Mitchell says.

If you’re doing it right, the ball should come out low yet controlled with a lot of roll. With enough practice you can hit greenside bunker shots with more confidence, knowing you have your low point dialed in.

ShortGameChef.com, created by PGA Tour winner Parker McLachlin, provides golfers with a comprehensive resource to improve their short game. Through personalized tips, drills, and expert insights, Parker helps players of all levels gain more confidence and a deeper understanding of their short game to lower their scores. You canbrowse membership options here.

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With the dust finally settled regarding their run, and exit, and WWE, Karrion Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux are beginning to go into more detail about their final few months with the promotion. And that includes the now famous post-WrestleMania viral promo Kross cut, which had fans questioning whether he was working or shooting, and arguably the promo that helped stir groundswell for support Kross received over the next few months.

Speaking about the promo on “Insight with Chris Van Vliet,” Kross talked about the promo, from the mindset he had going into it, to some interesting interactions he had with WWE personnel regarding the promo just one day later.

“Well, as I said, [it was a] work, but obviously based off of real things,” Kross said. “That’s like the fine line of pro wrestling that makes those connections, right? What resonates with people…So we do that, everybody loved it, we leave. The next day was weird at ‘Raw.’Â

“So…I get a phone call from somebody in talent relations. And he says ‘Creative is…not happy. There’s heat. They’re pissed.’ I was like ‘Well, I’ll apologize about that. Let me go take care of that right now. I have a great relationship with them. They’re right across the hall.’ And he’s like ‘Uhh…’ And I said ‘No, dude, this is my fault. Let me take care of it. No problem.’

Kross Reveals He And Triple H Cleared The Air Over Promo

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It turned out there was a problem though, as when Kross went over to discuss the promo with creative, none of them expressed issues with him, and some even admitted they hadn’t even seen the promo. After taking a walk around the arena and interacting with other WWE personnel, Kross found that no one seemed to have any particular problem with his promo, leading to him calling back the person from talent relations to straighten things out.

“I call him back, no answer,” Kross said. “The next day, no answer. I think it was like the third day he finally picks up. He’s like ‘Yeah, I shouldn’t have said it that way. I apologize. It was actually Hunter.’ And I was like ‘Man. So since we’ve spoke, have you talked to Hunter and explained everything to him that I explained to you?’ And he’s like ‘No.’Â

“And I was like ‘So you’re letting our boss just sit there and fume for how many days now? You could’ve just told me this on Monday. He was down the hall. I could go talk to him and just explain all of this. This is like a misunderstanding.’ So I eventually did speak with Hunter and cleared the air with him…He was super cool about it once we spoke to him. He understood where I was coming from, what I was trying to do.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Insight with Chris Van Vliet” and provide an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription

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I need you to watch this video, but I also need one other thing from you that’s even more important.

I need you to know that it’s fake. Sofake. So, so, so, sofake. So fake that I’m willing to help this AI-generated sham rack up more views knowing that, as we grapple with the ever-changing digital world around us, you, for you own edification, might be better off having seen it.

Take a look here.

OK, did you watch? Looks and sounds real, right? The message is at least semi-believable: Rory McIlroy, fed up and disillusioned in the wake of him and his wife Erica sufferering verbal abuse at the Ryder Cup, declaring that he’s done competing in the United States.

The clip is so realistic — with public emotions still so charged about how the Ryder Cup played out — that it went viral. As of this writing — two full weeks after the event — it has been viewed 17 million times, been “liked” 596,000 times, received more than 31,000 comments, was reposted more than 8,000 times and, perhaps worst of all, was shared more than 214,000 times.

I was on the receiving end of a few of those shares.

There is no brag in this, but I’m confident that I’m in the small minority who knew the video was a fraud from the instant I hit play. I’ve been watching Rory McIlroy press conferences for more than a decade now. (I’ve written tens of thousands of words about … hiswords.) I’ve seen every outfit Nike has scripted him for the majors. (He hasn’t worn that shade of blue in years.) I know that the tournament branding behind him is not from the Bethpage Ryder Cup but from the Winged Foot U.S. Open — five years ago. As the video plays out and your eyes are distracted by the real clips of McIlroy and his family celebrating his April Masters victory, the tenor of his fake voice changes. It starts sounding a lot more scripted, which, of course, it is: a human script delivered by a bot.

They said ‘F–k you Rory’ — and it created a Ryder Cup monster

By:

Sean Zak

Here’s my worry: The video is damn good and mostly accurate, which makes it an affront to anyone interested in golf, the Ryder Cup or sports at large who also wants to live in a world of whole truths.

The voice manipulation is so dialed that Fake McIlroy’s Irish accent is nearly indistinguishable from real McIlroy’s; even the way he pronounces the word calm, like comm, is spot on. But McIlroy has never said anything about refusing to compete in America, and he never, ever would. Not only did he start Ryder Cup week saying he believes America is the best country in the world, but the U.S. is also home to a lot of his business. It’s where he plies most of his trade, has millions of adoring fans and lived for many years. It’s his wife’s homeland; it’s where many of his friends live; it’s where he has numerous club memberships and where his father enjoys frequent visits and golf trips.

But maybe you don’t know all that, nor should you be required to, even as AI increasingly manipulates the world in which we live. It’s not about being informed enough on the minutiae of niche topics to suss out fakes. It’s more about having a sharper, more discerning eye (or ears) than ever before. It’s about being more trusting than ever, but with an important catch — being wise about where we place that trust. The otherwise juvenile nature of the account that posted the video makes the episode doubly infuriating.

The username? @papagamblz.

The bio:owner of @papapickz, with a link to a Discord channel — you’re forgiven if you don’t know what Discord is! — that offers daily gambling advice for $35 a month.

So, yes, the perpetrator here is a new-age scam artist peddling doctored real-life moments, representing them as 90% factual but enflaming their most polarizing elements to create disinformation that spreads rapidly across social media. Exhale. All to scrounge a profit off sports gamblers, who — forgive us if we’re taking a leap here — might just be motivated to (1) Scream obscenities at Rory McIlroy’s wife, and (2) Dive into their bank accounts to wager on the nearest, juiciest moneyline. Even more troubling is another recent video from the same account that declares McIlroy is now ‘pressing charges’ against a fan at the Ryder Cup and won’t play in the U.S. until the PGA of America does something about it.

Again, not true and not close to anything McIlroy has done or would do. But it’s another video on its way to seven-figure views, and was posted five days after the original. Why? Because the Ryder Cup plays into our strongest nationalistic feelings, which is ripe to catch our eyes as we scroll. Because McIlroy is outspoken, and maybe — just maybe — he’d do that, right? And because the post’s creator knows there isn’t enough fact-checking or source-clarifying done on the fringes of anything today. I can certainly tell you if a golf video has been manipulated by AI, but could the guy sitting across from me here in the corner of the coffee shop? Probably not. Just as I — a simple Americano-with-a-dash-of-milk consumer — could be susceptible to AI videos about coffee!

So, what are we to do?

Put your faith in established media brands. GOLF.com could be one of them; Golf Digest another. Golfweek and Golf Channel, too. ESPN and The Athletic and the Associated Press. Put your faith in people rather than posts. Even better: people putting themselves in posts! Those who put their face and byline ahead of the information they’ve got to share, increasing the stakes for their involvement. Pursue context before perusing comments, the former of which takes undeniably more effort but promises the reward of fact; the latter of which, in the case of this specific AI deep fake, has turned into an unnecessary and unsurprising culture war, only lengthening the distance said video will travel. You have to scroll for a few seconds before finding anyone pointing out that the video is fake.

Which brings this back to me, I suppose, fully aware this video will travel even further now that I’ve gassed it up with 1,200 words of reflection, but I’m also hopeful that as a result of those words, there’s some smarter internet consumption on the other side.

The author welcomes your comments on AI, Rory McIlroy or even AI Rory to sean.zak@golf.com.

Sometimes a coaching change can energize a team and fanbase in the process.

At least one member of the Tennessee Titans ticketing department is seemingly hoping that’s the case.

After the Titans announced Monday they fired head coach Brian Callahan, Paul Kuharsky shared a screenshot in which a ticket rep apparently reached out to a potential customer and said “You told me ‘I’m in if Brian Callahan is fired.'”

This isn’t the first time Kuharsky has relayed purported communication from the Titan’s ticketing department.Â

Earlier this month, he shared a screenshot in which a rep said the Titans’ “fan base is very happy.”

That came when Tennessee was 0-4 to start the 2025 campaign and drew a response from team vice president of communications and corporate affairs Kate Guerra that said, “we missed the mark in a big way. These comments have been addressed and we will do better.”Â

The Titans have since gotten their first win thanks to a victory over the Arizona Cardinals, but Sunday’s loss to the Las Vegas Raiders dropped their record to 1-5. The final score was 20-10, but the game wasn’t even that close since the Titans’ lone touchdown came with fewer than four minutes remaining when the game was already in hand.

Las Vegas is just 2-4 and was missing star tight end Brock Bowers, and the result was a clear indication of just how far away Tennessee is from being a contender in the AFC despite having Cam Ward under center as the potential franchise quarterback of the future.

Callahan was just 4-19 as the head coach, and the team decided it saw enough to make a change and ideally maximize Ward’s future with the right hire.

And maybe the Titans will sell some more tickets as well.

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The New York Jets looked lost on offense for much of Sunday’s 13-11 defeat to the Denver Broncos, and one of the most notable moments came when star receiver Garrett Wilson appeared to have something of a heated exchange with head coach Aaron Glenn when the team wasn’t aggressive at the end of the first half.

He explained his mindset in the aftermath.

“I just didn’t know exactly what the plan was. Once I figured it out, I was disappointed. I’ll just say that,” Wilson told reporters.

“I didn’t know exactly what the plan was. Once we converted the fourth down, I just thought we were going for the, trying to make the play. Obviously, we get to another fourth down and it’s a tough spot to be in. In hindsight, I get why they did that, but in the moment, I was just like, ‘man…’. I don’t know. Yeah.”

New York started its possession with three minutes and 22 seconds remaining until halftime and used 10 plays to move 31 yards. It even ran a fake punt during that sequence and was near midfield in the final seconds.

Rather than attempt a Hail Mary with little to lose with intermission looming, the Jets decided to let the clock run out as they stood around on the field.

Wilson’s frustration was understandable, as the strategy made little sense. Even if Justin Fields threw an interception in the end zone, it would mean the end of the half and the same score assuming New York didn’t allow a 100-yard return.

It was part of an ugly day for the Jets.

Fields was sacked nine times, and the offense as a whole managed 82 total yards. New York still had an opportunity to win when it took the lead with a safety in the third quarter, but it didn’t score another point and fell behind for good with a Will Lutz field goal in the fourth quarter.

Denver wasn’t much better on offense itself in a game many fans would likely want to forget, but the Jets have far bigger problems with an 0-6 start to the campaign.

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KL Rahul and Shubman Gill (AFP Photo) NEW DELHI: The India vs West Indies second Test at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi wasnâ€t just about intense cricketing action—it also had its share of lighthearted moments on the field. From Ravindra Jadeja cracking jokes and Yashasvi Jaiswal chatting with Shubman Gill to Kuldeep Yadav celebrating wickets, the atmosphere was lively throughout.One particularly funny incident occurred during West Indies†first innings. KL Rahul, standing at slip, pulled out a lip balm from his pocket and applied it on his lips. A few yards away, Gill walked over and exchanged a few words, resulting in a hilarious banter that had teammates and fans in splits.

Shubman Gill on ODI captaincy: Leading India with lessons from Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli

India had begun the series on a dominant note, winning the first Test in Ahmedabad by an innings and 140 runs, setting a high benchmark for the visitors.Gill, in only his second match as Indiaâ€s Test captain, continued to shine. On the second day in Delhi, the 26-year-old scored a blistering hundred, marking his fifth Test century as skipper. Since taking over from Rohit Sharma, runs have flowed effortlessly from Gillâ€s bat, and he has continued to ride a scorching purple patch against the Caribbean side.Watch the video hereGillâ€s tally of five centuries in his first year as captain is the most by any player in their debut year in charge. He also equalled Virat Kohliâ€s record for the most Test hundreds as a captain in a calendar year—Kohli had reached the milestone in 2017 and 2018.Remarkably, Gill achieved his fifth red-ball century in just his 12th innings as captain, behind only Alastair Cook (nine innings) and Sunil Gavaskar (10 innings). In terms of matches, he reached the feat in seven Tests, equalling Don Bradman, while Cook (five matches) and Gavaskar (six matches) got there faster.During this consistent purple patch, Gill boasts a staggering batting average of 84.81, second only to Bradmanâ€s 101.51 among those who have captained their teams at least seven times in Test cricket.

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One of Nikola Jokić’s brothers was sentenced to a year of probation in connection with a viral fight at a Denver Nuggets-Los Angeles Lakers game in April 2024, according to the Denver District Attorney’s Office, The Denver Post reported Friday.

Strahinja Jokić, 43, pleaded guilty to trespassing and disorderly conduct after punching a Lakers fan in the face courtside at the Nuggets’ Ball Arena. The trespassing charge is a misdemeanor, whereas the disorderly conduct charge is a petty offense.

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Strahinja Jokić was initially charged with third-degree assault after video of the punch made the rounds on social media. The Lakers fan, identified as Nicholas Meyer, claimed in a lawsuit that he suffered a concussion as well as cuts and bruises on his face, plus a deviated septum, per The Denver Post.

“The assault shattered my sense of safety and control,” Meyer said in court Friday, via 9News.

“I became fearful of leaving my home, especially with my family. I worry constantly about retaliation, not just from the Jokić family, but from fans who might recognize me and act out violently.”

Strahinja Jokić was charged in July 2024. At the time, he told investigators that he felt he wasn’t in the wrong because he was defending an elderly man, whom Strahinja Jokić said he’s known for a long time, per CBS News.

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In 2019, Strahinja Jokić was charged with assault and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstructing phone service and a felony count of trespassing as part of a deferred sentence, per The Denver Post, which reported that he was accused of choking and pushing a woman and then precluding her from calling 911.

Strahinja Jokić’s trespassing charge was dismissed in 2022 after he successfully followed court rules for unsupervised probation and didn’t commit another crime during the two-year term, according to The Denver Post, which cited court records. The plea agreement in that 2019 case also dropped false imprisonment and assault against Strahinja Jokić, The Denver Post reported.

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Seattle Mariners star Cal Raleigh met up with a fan who went viral after catching his 61st home run on Tuesday.

Following the Mariners’ win over the Detroit Tigers, the catcher met the fan who wore a shirt that said “Dump 61 Here.” The fan offered to give the ball back to Raleigh, but he told him to keep it. Raleigh also gave him a signed ball and bat.

Raleigh’s 61st home run this year came on the road in Detroit, so the fact that it ended up in the hands of a Mariners fan—let alone one wearing a “Dump 61 Here” shirt—seems like something out of a movie.

After catching the home run, the fan switched to a shirt that read, “Dump 62 Here,” but he wasn’t quite lucky enough to catch another home run from Raleigh.

Raleigh is coming off a historic regular season, hitting the most home runs (60) and the third-most RBI (125) while leading the Mariners to the postseason. He broke the single-season home run records for primary catchers and switch hitters and set a new Mariners franchise record, surpassing Ken Griffey’s 57.

Seattle is hoping to ride the MVP play of Raleigh into a deep postseason run. The Mariners already won their first AL West title since 2001, and they’re now just a win away from advancing to the American League Championship Series for the first time since 2001, when they came up short against the New York Yankees.

They’ll look to close the series out on the road on Wednesday, and they might want to have the fan from Tuesday night’s game there for good luck.

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New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs says he wasn’t really side-eyeing Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen in the photo that went viral.

“That’s my dawg. Obviously, things happened, and business happened, but spent a lot of time here. I got a lot of love and respect for that young man. Tremendous player. He’s one of the boys,” Diggs said Sunday night after the Patriots’ Week 5 upset of the Bills. (h/t WROC-TV’s Thad Brown).

Diggs continued, “They had that picture, right, of me side-eying him, but they just kind of caught it at the wrong time. I just wanted to speak on that photo because I was staring at him in the moment because it was like, ‘Damn, that was my brother.'”

The Patriots shared an edited version of the photo, in which Diggs was initially wearing a Houston Texans uniform, after Sunday night’s 23-20 win.

Diggs spent four seasons with Allen and the Bills from 2020 to 2023 before he was traded to the Texans ahead of the 2024 campaign.

This article will be updated soon to provide more information and analysis.

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