Tag Futebol

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Com a vitória na estreia da Taça Santos Dumont, o América-RJ ocupa a liderança parcial ao lado do Maricá. Com isso, os Encarnados dão um passo em busca de uma vaga na elite do futebol do Rio de Janeiro.

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REGULAMENTO

A Taça Santos Dumont conta com 12 times que se enfrentam em turno único de pontos corridos. Os quatro primeiros colocados se classificam para a semifinal em busca de uma única vaga na elite do Campeonato Carioca.

Por outro lado, os dois últimos colocados serão rebaixados para o terceiro escalão do estadual do Rio de Janeiro.

A semifinal será disputada em jogos de ida e volta, e os confrontos serão realizados entre o 1º colocado x 4º colocado e 2º colocado x 3º colocado. Em caso de igualdade no marcados, os clubes com as maiores pontuações nos pontos corridos da Taça Santos Dumont se classificam para a decisão.

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Assim como na fase anterior, a final será disputada em duas partidas, e o vencedor conquistará uma vaga na elite do Campeonato Carioca. Em caso de empate no agregado, o duelo será decidido na disputa por pênaltis.

CLUBES TRADICIONAIS

Além do América-RJ, a Taça Santos Dumont conta com clubes tradicionais no cenário do futebol do Rio de Janeiro. Americano, Audax-RJ, que foi rebaixado na última Taça Guanabara, , Cabofriense, Duque de Caxias, Olaria e Resende estão entre as equipes mais conhecidas.

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Por outro lado, Araruama, Artsul, Maricá, Petrópolis e Serrano-RJ também participam da competição que forma o segundo escalão carioca.

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Futebol NacionalRomário

Jaydn Denly, Ekansh Singh star for Kent but can’t stem the tide

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay26-Aug-2025Yorkshire 301 for 9 (Wharton 118, Imam-ul-Haq 70, Ekansh 3-42) beat Kent 225 (Jaydn Denly 77, Ekansh 71, Bess 4-43) by 76 runsYorkshire secured a home semi-final in the Metro Bank Cup after coasting to a 76-run victory over the Kent Spitfires at Canterbury.James Wharton hit a century as Yorkshire posted 301 for 9 and Dom Bess then took four for 43 as the Spitfires were dismissed for 225.Wharton hit 118 from 106 balls, while Imam-ul-Haq was the next highest scorer with 70, while Ekansh Singh took three for 42 before making 71 during the Kent reply.Jaydn Denly was the hosts’ top-scorer with 77 but they lost wickets too frequently to sustain a chase and were all out with 5.4 overs remaining.Yorkshire chose to bat and put on 71 for the opening wicket before Corey Flintoff sent Adam Lyth’s off stump flying, bowling him for 28.Mo Rizvi then bowled debutant Will Bennison for a fifth ball duck, but Wharton and Imam-ul-Haq put on 59 for the next wicket, Ekansh breaking the partnership when he had the latter lbw.Finlay Bean made a useful 39 before he was run out by Ollie Curtiss and George Hill made just seven when Klaassen had him caught by Jaydn Denly.Harry Duke hit Ekansh almost vertically and was caught by wicket-keeper Harry Finch for 3 and Ekansh struck again two overs later when he caught and bowled Bess for four.Dan Moriarty went in similar fashion to Klaassen and Wharton finally fell in the final over when Fred Klaassen had him caught behind, leaving Cliff to take the visitors past 300.The chase got off to a rough start when Ben Dawkins went for 1, chipping Ben Cliff to Lyth but Kent responded with a 97-run stand that only ended when Bess had Denly caught by Imam-ul-Haq.Chris Benjamin was then the victim of a brilliant rope-juggle catch by the sub fielder Noah Kelly, after he drove Bess and Joe Denly went for just two, miscuing Dan Moriarty straight to Fin Bean at long off. Curtiss went next ball, lbw for a golden duck on only his second appearance for the Spitfires.Ekansh also fell to Kelly when he skied Hill and Lyth got revenge on Flintoff when he bowled him for 13.Bess came back and bowled Finch for a run-a-ball for 32, then got Klaassen two balls later playing on, leaving Mattie Firbank to seal win when Rizvi pulled him to Lyth, his team mates mobbing him in celebration.

Manchester United slung themselves back into the win column with a hard-fought, turnaround win at Selhurst Park on Sunday afternoon.

When Crystal Palace took the lead through Jean-Philippe Mateta’s first-half penalty, there was a sense that Ruben Amorim’s squad would struggle to find the spirit to fight back. But, credit to the manager, his principles and the deepening tactical understanding led to goals from Joshua Zirkzee and Mason Mount after the interval.

United are eighth in the Premier League after 13 matches, yet trail second-place neighbours Manchester City by only four points.

This is an imperfect and imbalanced team, but one whose potential is starting to be realised. However, Amorim needs to add to his squad depth, for sure, if he is to shape his side into proper contenders.

Man United looking to add depth

Man United have a team filled with quality, but it’s not an expansive pool of talent, and it would be remiss to suggest there aren’t any stragglers.

In midfield, something hasn’t felt quite right from the get-go in Amorim’s system, and now Jason Wilcox and co must look to bring in some new quality.

Well, according to the Mirror’s John Cross, Man United are looking to take advantage of Federico Valverde’s contractual stalemate at Real Madrid and bring him to Old Trafford in 2026.

Los Blancos view their versatile midfielder at £100m, whereas United believe his price tag falls into the £70m ballpark.

With the 27-year-old’s future at Xabi Alonso’s outfit in doubt, this could be the perfect opportunity for INEOS to swoop in and seal a coveted signature.

What Fede Valverde would offer Man United

There’s no question that Casemiro has proved Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher wrong after his infamous rant, but the 33-year-old is surely approaching the twilight of his Premier League career.

With Kobbie Mainoo’s future at the Theatre of Dreams uncertain, United could do a lot worse than packaging their engine room with a player like Valverde who has “world-class technical ability”, as said by journalist Fentuo Tahiru Fentuo.

The Uruguay international splits his time between the centre of the pitch and a right-back berth, and he is immense in both roles. As per FBref, he actually ranks among the top 11% of positional peers for pass completion, the top 19% for progressive carries and the top 20% for successful take-ons per 90.

He is not an anchor, but in La Liga this term, he has won 58% of his duels and averaged 1.6 tackles per game (data via Sofascore), and he is unquestionably among the most physical and tenacious profiles in Spanish football.

Valverde might not be an out-and-out defensive midfielder, but his completeness and dynamism in the centre of the park suggest he could be the perfect partner for a more mobile playmaker beside him.

That’s not to say Valverde isn’t an elite distributor, though, and he might come to be an incredible asset to pair up with a tough-tackling and single-minded number six.

Casemiro has been a dutiful and underrated part of Amorim’s project this season, but he is out of contract at the end of the term and lacking his typical combativeness – this season in the Premier League, he has won just 54% of his ground battles.

Valverde has the range and breadth to be a significant upgrade for a Man United side that just need a few on-the-money additions to become real contenders once again.

Imagine him & Mbeumo: Man Utd submit bid to sign "unbelievable" £53m winger

Man United and INEOS are already preparing a winter bid to strengthen Amorim’s team.

By
Angus Sinclair

Dec 1, 2025

MatériaMais Notícias

Arboleda, destaque da zaga do São Paulo, entrou na mira do Athletico. O equatoriano foi sondado pelo clube, mas o Tricolor entende que não seria um negócio fácil de acontecer.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasSão PauloBastidores do São Paulo: conselheiros vivem movimento para reorganizar grupos políticosSão Paulo10/12/2025São PauloProtagonismo de Isac Silva garante o penta do São Paulo na Copa do Brasil Sub-20São Paulo10/12/2025

➡️ Siga o Lance! no WhatsApp e acompanhe em tempo real as principais notícias do esporte

Segundo apurou a reportagem, a busca do Furacão, que recém subiu para a Série A do Campeonato Brasileiro novamente, é de um zagueiro que seja experiente e consiga atender ao que Odair Hellmann exige para a posição. A informação foi antecipada pelo UOL Esporte e confirmada pelo Lance!.

Carlos Teran e Arthur Dias encerraram a temporada como titulares, enquanto Aguirre, Léo Pelé e Habraão aparecem como opções para o setor. Habraão deve disputar o Paranaense com o time sub-20 e pode ser negociado caso surja uma proposta, situação semelhante à de Léo Pelé, que permanece integrado apenas ao elenco principal. Já Tobias Figueiredo, sem espaço, não terá o contrato renovado – veja o balanço.

continua após a publicidadeArboleda é peça importante no São Paulo

Arboleda é uma das principais peças do setor ofensivo do Tricolor Paulista. Além de ser o atleta mais antigo do elenco, tem a confiança do clube e posto de titular absoluto.

Do lado do São Paulo, o time entende que algumas saídas devem acontecer e que muito do planejamento passa por isso. Mas no momento, Arboleda não é visto como um atleta que seria liberado com facilidade.

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O equatoriano defende a camisa do Tricolor desde 2017, com contrato até 2027. Nesta temporada, foram quatro gols e 45 jogos.

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ArboledaAthleticoAthletico ParanaenseAthletico-PRMercado da BolaSão Paulo

كشف محمد إبراهيم مدرب منتخب مصر تحت 17 عامًا، حقيقة تلقي مهاجم الأهلي والفراعنة الصغار، عرضًا من برشلونة الإسباني، خلال المشاركة ببطولة كأس العالم للناشئين.

وذكرت تقارير عديدة خلال الساعات الأخيرة، رغبة نادي برشلونة في التعاقد مع حمزة عبد الكريم خلال الفترة المقبلة.

حمزة عبد الكريم يبلغ من العمر 17 عامًا فقط ويعتبر من بين أبرز المواهب الشابة في كرة القدم المصرية خلال السنوات الأخيرة.

وتم تصعيد حمزة عبد الكريم إلى الفريق الأول لـ الأهلي خلال هذا الموسم، وشارك اللاعب مع الأحمر خلال مباراة شبيبة القبائل ببطولة دوري أبطل إفريقيا.

طالع | سبورت تنشر تفاصيل مفاوضات برشلونة مع الأهلي للتوقيع مع حمزة عبد الكريم

وقال محمد إبراهيم في تصريحات تلفزيونية عبر قناة صدى البلد: “مجموعة من اللاعبين في منتخب 2008 تستحق جميعها أن تكون في مواقعها، ونتمنى أن يحترف جميع اللاعبين، وأن توافق الأندية على احترافهم، ونرغب في أن نرى خمسة أو ستة أو عشرة أو عشرين لاعبًا في الدوريات الكبيرة خلال الفترة المقبلة بإذن الله”.

وتابع: “فيما يخصّ حمزة عبد الكريم، فقد سألني مندوب برشلونة عنه بعد مباراة سويسرا، وبرغم خسارة المنتخب المصري كنت سعيدًا جدًا، وأبلغت حمزة ووالده بذلك، لكنني لم أكن على علم بمدى جدّية هذا المندوب، وأنا أتمنى له التوفيق دائمًا”.

وواصل: “هناك لاعبون آخرون عرض عليهم خوض فترات المعايشة، منهم بلال عطية، والنجعاوي، وآخرون، وأتمنى أن تكون هناك مجموعة كبيرة من هؤلاء الشباب محترفة”.

وزاد: “هذا العمر خطير جدًا وصعب، ولكن، هؤلاء اللاعبين امتلكوا قدرًا كبيرًا من الانضباط والالتزام، ولديهم مقومات كبيرة جدًا تجعلهم في مكانة مهمة، إضافة إلى إصرار كبير، وهو أمر بالغ الأهمية في هذه المرحلة”.

وأتم: “البيت هو الأساس، والتربية في هذا السن شديدة الصعوبة، لكن هؤلاء الأولاد كانوا ملتزمين، وأحبّهم جميعًا، وكانوا على قدر كبير من المسؤولية”.

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has taken a thinly-veiled swipe at Manchester United over their handling of Alejandro Garnacho, pointing the finger of blame at the Old Trafford club over perceived below-par fitness when the Argentina international arrived at Stamford Bridge. Garnacho was exiled into the so-called 'bomb squad' under Ruben Amorim, before his £40 million ($52.6m) move to west London and has taken time to settle in at his new team.

• Turning point for Garnacho in Wolves win

  Garnacho was a star performer as the Blues beat manager-less Wolves 3-0 at Stamford Bridge to move second in the Premier League. The Argentine winger assisted the opening goal by Malo Gusto and the third by Pedro Neto in a dominant second-half display. After a sluggish, goalless first-half, Garnacho delivered a looping cross for Gusto to head home the opener in the 51st minute and then provided a precise low cross for Neto's tap-in, sealing the win. This was the first time Garnacho had recorded two assists in a league game for Chelsea.

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  Blues boss backs summer signing

  Speaking after victory over Wolves the Chelsea boss aimed a dig at United over Garnacho's previous training regime. He said: "Work hard – this has been the main message when he joined us. In terms of quality on the ball we know he is good; to play with us he has to work hard. On the ball he's doing well, but also off the ball he's working hard. He arrived from a club where he was not training 100 per cent so his physical condition was not good. Slowly now he is better. He knows that to play with us he needs to be good on the ball and off the ball otherwise he's not going to play."

• Maresca hails Brazilian starlet

  Chelsea have found promising form in recent weeks, despite the disappointing draw in the Champions League at Qarabag. One positive story from the season so far has been the performances of youngster Estevao. The Brazilian wonderkid officially joined Chelsea in summer 2025 from Palmeiras, finalising the transfer deal that was agreed on in 2024. And he was singled-out for praise by Maresca. 

  He said: "When Estevao came on the energy raised because people love that kind of player, you can see his talent. We are trying to help him to adapt and give him the right minutes. He arrived from Brazil, he needs time to adapt, but he's going to start games for us in the future."

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  Injury woes for Chelsea

  Victory at Stamford Bridge bumped the Blues up the table, but there were injury concerns for boss Maresca. Captain on the day Enzo Fernandez has reported a long-standing injury and there were concerns for Pedro Neto too.

  There’s a packed schedule facing the Blues when domestic football returns after the international break Chelsea are away against Burnley on November 22 before the massive home Champions League clash with Barcelona on November 25 and a crunch derby with title rivals Arsenal at Stamford Bridge concludes the month.

It would be fair to say that it has not been the ideal week for Danny Rohl and Rangers, with the new boss already in danger of falling into Russell Martin territory at Ibrox.

Having failed to beat ten-man Braga a week ago, the Gers have since slipped to two frustrating draws against Falkirk and Dundee United, the latter of which was only rescued following a last-gasp Nedim Bajrami spot-kick on Wednesday night.

At a time of initial chaos at Celtic following Brendan Rodgers’ resignation, alongside a recent slump for Premiership leaders Hearts, the Light Blues have failed to capitalise, now finding themselves still nine points off the pace in fourth spot.

Of course, much of the blame will lie at the feet of the departed Kevin Thelwell and co, following a simply bizarre summer of recruitment, although Rohl himself should not be free of criticism amid his continued, head-scratching selection decisions.

Rangers' worst performers against Dundee United

After the highs of scoring his first Rangers goal against Livingston not too long ago, Emmanuel Fernandez was brought crashing back down to earth following arguably his worst display for the club to date in midweek, having been particularly at fault for the hosts’ opener.

The 24-year-old simply allowed goalscorer Zachary Sapsford to breeze past him down that left flank, while his overall woes were evident as he lost eight of his 18 total duels, as per Sofascore, alongside the hapless Nasser Djiga.

All eyes are on that struggling backline, although the attacking unit must also shoulder their share of the blame, with Bojan Miovski’s early Rangers woes continuing, having scored just once in the league following his arrival from Girona.

A former hero at Aberdeen – and at one stage lauded as the “best player” in the Premiership in his position – the 26-year-old has yet to fire in his new surroundings, with his inability to provide a physical focal point laid bare after losing eight duels himself against the Tangerines.

The man behind him, Danilo, was also notably ineffective, having failed to convert any of his five shots, while Djeidi Gassama was also lacking on the flanks, having lost the ball 20 times from just 56 touches.

A moment of magic from Jayden Meghoma, alongside Bajrami’s 98th-minute penalty, helped to spare most of those blushes somewhat, although heading into a hectic festive schedule, Rohl must surely ring the changes.

On the evidence again of Wednesday night, the aforementioned Djiga must well be one of them – and not just in the short-term.

The Rangers star who must not start again under Rohl

As the old saying goes, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

As harsh as it may be, we are approaching similar territory with regard to Djiga, with the on-loan Wolverhampton Wanderers man again looking so underpar at Tannadice.

Calamity after calamity has been the theme of his Ibrox stint to date, memorably sent off on his home Premiership debut against Dundee, while going AWOL in the desperate defeat at Club Brugge in the early weeks of the season.

Too many errors to count, in truth, with the 23-year-old again somewhat culpable last night, having failed to engage with that man Sapsford, as the Dundee goalscorer surged into the area.

For the home side’s second of the night, Djiga was also again at the scene of the crime, tamely turning his back as Amar Fatah weaved his way through to score.

Quite why Rohl – albeit while limited with regard to alternatives – is persisting with the summer signing is to be debated, with the defender’s woes also seen in how he failed to register a single tackle or interception, nor provide a single key pass from his centre-back berth.

Perhaps a saving grace for Rohl might be the upcoming African Cup of Nations, with Djiga set to link up with Burkina Faso as early as 15 December, thus ruling him out of contention until the New Year.

Touches

70

Pass accuracy

92%

Key passes

0

Possession lost

7

Tackles

0

Interceptions

0

Ground duels won

2/3

Aerial duels won

1/4

Dribbled past

1

While it is yet to be made clear whether there is a break clause in the 6 foot 4 flop’s loan deal, perhaps January might then provide a perfect opportunity to send him back to Molineux, once he returns from international duty.

In an ideal world, that scenario would ensure that Wednesday’s draw represents the final time that Djiga lines up, or at least starts under the Rohl regime, with the German coach in desperate need of a different solution at centre-back.

His job might depend on it.

Worse than Miovski: Ibrox flop just played his worst game for Rangers

This Glasgow Rangers flop played his worst game for the club in the 2-1 defeat to Dundee United on Wednesday.

ByDan Emery Dec 4, 2025

Aaron Judge won his third American League MVP award on Thursday night. Judge was surrounded by his family and dogs when Don Mattingly made the announcement on MLB Network, but all eyes were on the Yankees outfielder because of his fashion choices.

With a simple dark long sleeve shirt and a visible necklace, Judge conjured thoughts of one person who saw him.

Aaron Judge was dressed like The Rock in his infamous fanny pack picture from 1994. The Rock originally posted the throwback picture on Instagram in 2014. He then recreated the image himself when he hosted a few years later.

And now many years later Judge rebooted the look and everyone on social media made the same joke.

There are plenty more examples on X and other social media sites, but you get the point.

Perhaps if Cal Raleigh had dressed like a wrestler he wouldn't have finished in second place.

It's a tale as old as time: the girl marrying the boy on the football team. But that tale is set to become a reality Tuesday after Taylor Swift unexpectedly announced her engagement to Travis Kelce after two years of dating.

Swift and Kelce's joyous news may have fallen on deaf ears to the Brads, Chads and dads out there, and somehow even one NFL coach. As the rest of the world celebrates what feels like a fairytale come true, we took a look back at the 10 biggest moments in the NFL power couple's love story.

The moments range from "Pinch me, I'm dreaming" to downright corny, yet they share the same invisible string connecting a world-class football player to a world-famous pop star for the rest of their lives (dare we say, some things bigger than sports).

MORE: One Taylor Swift Song to Describe Every NFL Team Entering the 2025 Season

Without any further ado, here we go…

10. It's Instagram official

A month before their engagement, Kelce sent Swift's fans into a frenzy after he shared an offseason photo dump of never-before-seen pictures with his then-girlfriend.

The youths call it "hard-launching," or "putting someone on the grid." Of course, Kelce and Swift had been going strong for nearly two years by then, so the relationship itself wasn't a surprise. The photos, however, were.

Kelce gave fans a rare glimpse of his personal life with Swift, from his vacations with their friends to romantic dinner dates. It marked a sizable relationship milestone for the couple and, in retrospect, served as a precursor of happy news to come.

9. Swift goes back to school at Tight End University

No one does Nashville like country-turned-pop singer Taylor Swift (and yes, we know she was born in Pennsylvania).

This year's Tight End University program saw Swift make a surprise guest appearance at her boyfriend's annual event, and she left behind an unforgettable mark on the stage. At the time, Swift hadn't performed in public since buying back her masters to her first six albums, and she chose—out of all places—a rowdy sports-centered shindig in Nashville to put on a special show.

Those in attendance were graced with a live version of one of her top hits, "Shake It Off:"

Add it to the lore.

8. Karma is the guy on the Chiefs

As much as Swift loves her easter eggs, she'll also drop the in-your-face hint from time to time. During her Eras Tour concert in Argentina in November 2023, she changed the lyrics in her song, "Karma," to pay a sweet tribute to Kelce.

Swift sang, "Karma is the guy on the Chiefs, coming straight home to me," changing the original word, "screen," to "Chiefs."

Given that this happened during the couple's early dating days, the small lyric tweak was, in fact, a really big deal.

Here's video of that cheeky moment, including Kelce's bashful reaction:

7. Finally meeting Queen Kylie and Shirtless Jason Kelce

If Kelce and Swift could be considered America's Royal Couple, Jason and Kylie are… the king and queen of Philly.

Swift first met Philly's royalty during a cold and wintry playoff game between the Chiefs and Bills in January 2024, and it honestly could not have been more iconic. There's Swift chatting it up with Ky in the suite. Swift watching a shirtless Jason leap out the window and howl at the moon. And later, Jason bringing the pop star small children for her to meet, because it was a nice thing to do.

Swift even recounted her experience at the game during her podcast debut:

"It was wild," Swift said. "All of a sudden, you're out there in the snow, you're handing me children through the window… 'Whose kid is that, Jason?'"

Which just so happens to be a good segue…

6. New neeeeews: Swift's podcast debut

As far as surprises go, Swift hopping on to announce her 12th album came out of left field.

There were too many priceless moments to count: the pet otter dream, Swift knowing and not knowing ball, the Super Bowl easter eggs, her emotional reaction to buying back her masters, the stories of Swift and Kelce's rosy domestic life. We'll be the first to admit that the Kelce brothers' bro-ey podcast can often drag on for too long, but with Swift as their very special guest, fans lapped it all up.

Both Swift and Kelce can now add breaking the internet and a new Guinness world record to their respective impressive resumes.

5. How it all started

Now we're getting into the heavy-hitters.

Kelce had a friendship bracelet and a dream, and Swift had a strict rule about not doing meet-and-greets during her Eras Tour. The Chiefs tight end publicly giving Swift a shout-out on his podcast was the equivalent of John Cusack boom-boxing it, and this romantic comedy looks like it'll get its happy ending after all.

"If you’re up on Taylor Swift concerts, there are friendship bracelets, and I received a bunch of them being there, but I wanted to give Taylor Swift one with my number on it," Kelce said. "Alright, nah."

Shoot your shot, fellas.

4. Don't drop the baby at Wembley

It's a little too early to be thinking of Kelce and Swift growing their family right now, but if they do choose to go down that path, they'll have the perfect story to tell their unborn child.

Last offseason, the Chiefs star made his one and only on-stage Eras Tour appearance at Wembley Stadium, going undercover as one of Swift's backup dancers during her set.

Fitted in a top hat and tuxedo, Kelce dazzled hundreds of thousands of Swifties in London with a brief but instantly memorable performance that had him thinking the whole time: "Do not drop the baby," as he was tasked with picking up Swift and carrying her to a couch during a transition between songs.

“I’m still cracking up/swooning over @killatrav’s Eras Tour debut. Never going to forget these shows,” Swift wrote in an Instagram post after the show.

Neither will we.

3. Swift's first Chiefs game at Arrowhead

The collective gasp when we saw Swift in the Chiefs suite during a September home game against the Bears. That's it. That's the blurb. Nothing else needs to be said.

2. Celebrating the Chiefs' 2023–24 Super Bowl win

As red confetti fluttered in the air and reporters swarmed the field, one photograph was shared 'round the world after the Chiefs' Super Bowl win in 2024: Kelce locking lips with Swift.

Kelce had just helped Kansas City clinch its second straight Lombardi Trophy in an overtime victory against the 49ers, and his night was sealed with a sweet kiss by his girlfriend, who flew to Las Vegas from Tokyo to watch him play.

That photo of Kelce and Swift is currently displayed at Arrowhead and has been named one of TIME's top 100 photos of the year. A picture is traditionally worth a thousand words, but this one just needs two: True love.

1. Put a (wedding) ring on it

Tell a friend: Kelce and Swift are engaged. After receiving a blessing from Swift's father, the Chiefs star planned a special proposal for Swift and popped the question in a picturesque garden in Missouri. The rest, as they say, is history.

Scott Boland believes he’s better prepared for what England’s batters will throw at him this summer if he gets the chance to play in the Ashes after he was attacked relentlessly in his two Tests during the 2023 series in the UK.Boland has the lowest Test bowling average of anyone with more than 50 wickets in the last century after a hat-trick in Jamaica reduced his figure to 16.53, leaving him sixth on the all-time list.While he took 18 wickets at 9.55 in his debut Ashes series against a pre-Bazball England team in 2021-22, he took just two wickets at 115.50 in the 2023 Ashes where he played just the two Tests at Edgbaston and Headingley.Related

• Webster happy to scrap for Ashes spot with Green's return to bowling on track

• Richardson 'not counting out the Ashes' but faces race to be fit for summer

• Labuschagne eyes Test return: I thrive on proving the doubters wrong

• Bailey declares Weatherald 'in the mix' for Ashes

• Lyon was 'disappointed on a number of levels' after being left out of Jamaica Test

Speaking at an event in Melbourne on Wednesday that marked 100 days to go before the first Ashes Test in Perth, Boland said he is unsure how many Tests he will play this summer given he still remains behind Australia’s big three – Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood – in the pecking order when all are fit. But he believes he’s ready to handle whatever approach England take to him if he gets the chance.”I’ve obviously thought about it a lot since it happened in 2023,” Boland said. “But I still think there were times in England where I bowled pretty well and just didn’t get a wicket. I’m a better bowler than I was back then. I’m going to be in our conditions that I know really, really well. I’m hoping to put in some good performances.”Boland expects the conditions to be vastly different to England if the pitches in Australia play as they have done over the last four summers, which he believes will help Australia’s bowlers against the Bazball brand.”They’re going to play aggressively,” Boland said. “If the wickets stay similar to what they’ve been over the last few years, I think we’re going to be in the game all the time.”There were little parts of the England tour last time, when the ball sort of moved around and favoured the bowlers, but generally over there, the wickets have been a bit flatter. And then when you come to Australia, certainly the last three or four years, they’ve been bowler friendly.”Boland, like many Australians, watched parts of the recent England-India Test series with great interest. But the difference in conditions is highlighted by the fact that England and India combined for a record 21 centuries in the five-match series.In 15 Tests in Australia since the last Ashes series down under, batters have made a combined total of 19, with the same India side scoring just three across the five Tests last summer and only one in the last four. Australia’s batters, who have been under the microscope for their recent output have scored 15 of those. England scored just one in the 2021-22 Ashes, which was made by Jonny Bairstow in Sydney, but only four batters in Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root and Ben Stokes are likely to return.Record crowds are expected for the Ashes•Getty Images

Despite the likelihood of seam bowler-friendly pitches this summer, Boland is not anticipating that he will play in a four-pronged pace attack at any stage despite being picked ahead of Nathan Lyon in extreme conditions with a pink Dukes ball at Sabina Park in Jamaica last month.”I hope so, but probably not in Australia,” Boland said. “Nathan’s one of the best spin bowlers in the world, so I think he can bowl in any conditions. He’s probably been the glue to our bowling line-up over the last few years. And then I probably see Greeny [Cameron Green] coming back and bowling a lot more, he obviously hasn’t bowled for 12 months, so that probably hurts the chances of four quicks as well.”Boland has not bowled since the Jamaica Test and instead has been working diligently in the gym to avoid carrying any of the knee soreness he battled last summer into the Ashes. Boland said a discussion with Australia coach Andrew McDonald had led to a shift in his gym regime which he believes is paying dividends.Boland is unsure how many of the first four Sheffield Shield games he will play ahead of the first Test despite not being a guaranteed started in Perth with discussions ongoing between Cricket Australia’s high performance team and Cricket Victoria about his playing schedule.”It’s changed a couple of times, but I’m sure over the next few weeks we’ll nut it all out,” Boland said. “There’s so much time between game one and game four, I’m hoping to play two or three.”Despite an incredible record, Scott Boland is never certain when he will play next•AFP/Getty Images

The second round of the Shield sees a potential match-up between Boland and incumbent Test opener Sam Konstas as Victoria host New South Wales at Junction Oval on October 15, with Konstas fighting an uphill battle to retain his Test spot for the Ashes. Boland knocked over Konstas three times out of four meetings in Shield cricket last summer.CA has been careful in managing the loads of Boland and other back-up bowlers throughout the summer to keep them fresh in case they are required. But there is a danger of them not playing enough. In 2023-24, Boland was Australia’s back-up quick for seven straight Tests but did not play a single game while last year he played three of the five Tests against India when Hazlewood got injured, just as he did in the 2021-22 Ashes.The lengthy gaps between the first, second and third Tests, and bowler-friendly pitches may create a possibility where Australia’s big three can play all three without significant workload issues. But there are only four-day breaks between Adelaide and Melbourne then Melbourne into Sydney which is when Boland will likely be required. Getting him enough cricket to that point will be a challenge if he is carried as the spare bowler in the squad and required to stay with the team in the case of concussion.There are CA XI and Australia A matches against England Lions in Perth and Brisbane that run alongside the Test matches where there may be opportunities for him to get match overs in while remaining in the same city as the Test squad. But Victoria’s last Shield match before the BBL break is at the MCG from December 4-7 while the Brisbane Test is being played. There is no Shield cricket after that as the BBL begins on December 14.”There’s such good breaks in between the first two Tests that gives whoever plays, gives gives them opportunity to really reset, freshen up,” Boland said. “But I think going from last year, we had a three-day break in between, we bowled the last session here in Melbourne to the bowling in the first session in Sydney, it’s hard work, and probably does take you a session or two to sort of get everything moving again.”