Two of the world’s best men’s tennis players will compete against one another in the men’s semifinals at the Australian Open. No. 4 seed Novak Djokovic, proving he’s still competitive after more than two decades in the game, will face off against No. 2 Jannik Sinner, winner of the last two Australian Open men’s titles. (Djokovic has won the tournament a whopping ten times. No big deal.) The winner of tonight’s semifinal will face either Carlos Alcaraz or Alexander Zverev.
The men’s match begins at 3:30 a.m. ET, airing live on ESPN and streaming on ESPN Unlimited. Here’s what you need to know about the Sinner vs. Djokovic match at the 2026 Australian Open.
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How to watch Jannik Sinner vs. Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open:
Date: Friday, Jan. 30
Time (estimated): 3:30 a.m. ET
Location: Rod Laver Arena
TV channel: ESPN, ESPN Deportes
Streaming: ESPN Unlimited, DirecTV, Fubo and more
When is the Jannik Sinner vs. Novak Djokovic match at the 2026 Australian Open?
The semifinal match between Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open will be on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026.
Jannik Sinner vs. Novak Djokovic match start time:
The match between Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic will start at 3:30 a.m. ET. The match will be available live on ESPN Unlimited and ESPN.
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Australian Open channel:
In the U.S., tonight’s semifinal will air on ESPN and will stream on ESPN Unlimited.
How to watch the 2026 Australian Open:
If you want to catch every match of the Australian Open and don’t currently subscribe to ESPN+, cable or a live TV streaming service, in Australia a majority of the action will be streaming free with ads on 9Now.
Don’t live in the land down under? Don’t worry, you can still stream like you do with the help of a VPN. A VPN (virtual private network) helps protect your data, can mask your IP address and is perhaps most popular for being especially useful in the age of streaming. Whether you’re looking to watch Friends on Netflix (which left the U.S. version of the streamer back in 2019) or tune in to tennis coverage without a cable package, a VPN can help you out. Looking to try a VPN for the first time? This guide breaks down the best VPN options for every kind of user.
ExpressVPN also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, in case you’re nervous about trying a VPN.
Australian Open 2026 schedule:
All times Eastern
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Tuesday, January 27
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(Day 10) Men’s and Women’s Quarterfinals: 3:00 a.m.
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(Day 11) Men’s and Women’s Quarterfinals: 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, January 28
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(Day 11) Men’s and Women’s Quarterfinals: 3:00 a.m.
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(Day 12) Women’s Semifinals: 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, January 29
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(Day 13) Men’s Semifinal: 10:30 p.m.
Friday, January 30
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(Day 13) Men’s Semifinal: 3:30 a.m.
Saturday, January 31
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(Day 14) Women’s Final: 3:30 a.m.
Sunday, February 1
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(Day 15) Men’s Final: 3:30 a.m.
Who is playing in the 2026 Australian Open?
The top 10 seeded players for the singles draws are listed below.
Men’s singles seeds for the Australian Open 2026
1. Carlos Alcaraz
2. Jannik Sinner
3. Alexander Zverev
4. Novak Djokovic
5. Felix Auger-Aliassime
Women’s singles seeds for the Australian Open 2026
1. Aryna Sabalenka
2. Iga Swiatek
3. Amanda Anisimova
4. Coco Gauff
5. Elena Rybakina
Australian Open prize money:
For 2026, the men’s and women’s singles winners of the Australian Open each get $4,150,000, with the runner-up receiving $2,150,000 and Semi-finalists $1,250,000.
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More ways to watch the 2026 Australian Open:
Australian Open: Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz to meet in final after marathon semifinal victories
Novak Djokovic will go for an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam title in the Australian Open final against Carlos Alcaraz after dispatching Jannik Sinner in five sets 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 during Friday’s semifinal.
The No. 2 and 4 ranked players exchanged set wins until the fifth when Djokovic, a 10-time Australian Open winner, finished off the match.
Djokovic’s semifinal win snapped a run of four straight Grand Slam semifinal defeats. He last reached a Grand Slam final at Wimbledon in 2024 and last won a Grand Slam event at the 2023 U.S. Open.
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“It feels surreal, to be honest,” Djokovic said afterward. “The level of intensity and the quality of tennis was extremely high and I knew that was the only way for me to have a chance to win tonight against him.”
Sunday’s men’s singles final will be the 10th meeting all-time between Djokovic and Alcaraz. They have faced one another five times in Grand Slams and twice in Grand Slam finals (both at Wimbledon).
Djokovic holds a 5-4 lifetime advantage over Alcaraz.
“I know I have to come back in a couple of days and fight the No. 1 in the world,” Djokovic said. “I just hope that I’ll have enough gas to stay toe-to-toe with [Alcaraz]. That’s my desire.”
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Carlos Alcaraz is one win away from tennis immortality
Carlos Alcaraz will go for another Grand Slam title after a grueling five-and-a-half-hour match against Alexander Zverev.
With a 6-4, 7-6, 6-7, 6-7, 7-5 win over Zverev on Friday, the world No. 1 advanced to his first career Australian Open final. If he wins on Sunday, he will complete the career Grand Slam at only 22 years and 272 days old, the youngest player to ever accomplish the feat.
His countryman Rafael Nadal is the current youngest to complete the career slam at 24 years and 101 days.
At one point, the match looked lost, with Alcaraz physically struggling with apparent cramps, having blown a two-set lead and down a break in the fifth set. He still found the gear he needed, at the expense of another Grand Slam disappointment for Zverev.
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He called “it one of the most demanding matches I have played in my short career.”
The first semifinal match didn’t even see Alcaraz at his sharpest, as the oppressive heat in Melbourne was wearing down both players early. It didn’t get any better as the match stretched into its fourth hour, then its fifth. Then its sixth
The first set saw Zverev hand Alcaraz an easy break with a pair of double faults and an unforced error. The German had hope in the second set when a break put him up 5-2, but Alcaraz roared back with his own break then won the tiebreaker to take full control of the match. It was in that tiebreaker when Alcaraz’s more daring side came out, such as when he won back-to-back points with his trademark drop shot.
The young Spaniard was 59-0 in Grand Slams after taking a two-set lead, and Zverev didn’t have the form to make history. The drama arrived in the third set, when Alcaraz appeared to tweak something. Zverev clearly believed it was just cramping and profanely objected when Alcaraz received time to get his thigh treated (supporting evidence: Alcaraz could be seen motioning for something to drink at the end of the second set).
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Whatever it was, Zverev went on to win the third set via tiebreak. The fourth set also went to a tiebreak, with a clearly limited Alcaraz committing regular unforced errors and Zverev becoming far more consistent with his serve.
The fifth set seemed like it would be far more when one-sided after Zverev immediately broke Alcaraz. However, Alcaraz stayed in the match, playing through the discomfort and avoiding a double break, then breaking Zverev back when all the German needed to win the match was to hold serve. One more hold of serve followed, then another break, and Alcaraz had one of the most incredible wins of his career.
Alcaraz already has two French Open titles, two Wimbledon titles and two US Open titles at an age where even the elite professionals feel fortunate if they’ve a single Grand Slam. In the case of the Australian Open, he had never advanced past the quarterfinal before 2026 due to some top opponents (Zverev in 2024, Djokovic in 2025), but he’s looked different this year.
And now he’s three sets away from something that would put him ahead of all the sport’s immortals.
Australian Open: Novak Djokovic on cusp of maybe his greatest achievement ever
When it was finally over after 4 hours and 9 minutes of tennis that didn’t make a lot of sense at times, Novak Djokovic raised his arms to the sky, smiled and made the same victorious walk to the net he’s made 37 times previously after a Grand Slam semifinal.
Pushing 40, playing part-time on the ATP Tour and faced with the reality that Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are younger, fitter and have been flat-out better tennis players over the last 16 months, it’s a walk Djokovic had no right to think he’d make again.
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But even after all the titles, all the money and the unofficial title of greatest to ever play, he still hungered to feel that walk just one more time. And when he did, having defeated Sinner 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in one of the most improbable Australian Open semifinals you’ll ever see, he had a message for his much younger rival who had beaten him convincingly in their last five meetings spanning over more than two years.
“Thanks for allowing me at least one.”
At this stage of the game, though, Djokovic should give himself more credit. Nothing was allowed. He just took it. And now he’s one more win from upping the historic ante to an absurd level. If he can get the job done on Sunday, the player who supposedly completed every possible goal when he won the Olympic gold medal in 2024 will have one more record in his possession. He has a chance to supplant Ken Rosewall as the oldest man in the Open Era to win a major title.
And to do it? He’ll have to beat Alcaraz, who has a chance to become the youngest man at just short of 23 years old to complete the career Grand Slam.
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After a pretty humdrum Australian Open, how’s that for drama?
If you were wondering why the 38-year-old Djokovic is still pushing his aging body to do this after 24 majors, 101 overall titles and 428 weeks at No. 1, well, there’s your answer.
It’s because he figured that if he could just extend his career out a couple more years, even if it didn’t look like there would be a payoff at times, there might be a chance somewhere for the stars to align.
And goodness, have they here.
Would Djokovic have been able to physically survive a five-setter with Sinner if not for getting a walkover against 20-year-old rising star Jakub Mensik in the round of 16? Would he have even had the chance to get this far if not for Lorenzo Musetti suffering a significant enough injury that he had to retire after going up two sets on Djokovic in their quarterfinal?
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We’ll never know, but there’s no asterisk. That’s tennis. And it set Djokovic up with a pretty full tank to go out against Sinner and play a really smart tactical match where he used down-the-line shots to get his opponent out of rhythm and then tried to unload on forehands whenever he saw one with the potential to end a point.
Sure, he got some help. Sinner, who actually won more overall points in the match (152-140), was unusually erratic. He had a ton of looks at break points in the fourth and fifth sets that he just couldn’t pay off, missing several routine forehands that he will regret as he replays the match in his mind. But again, that’s the sport. Sinner had a bad day, but Djokovic played a significant role in making it bad.
Novak Djokovic (R) embraces Italy’s Jannik Sinner after their men’s singles semifinal. (Martin KEEP / AFP via Getty Images)
(MARTIN KEEP via Getty Images)
And after they embraced at the net, Djokovic went to his chair and buried his head in his hands — often a look of despair for him over his career. But this time, when he revealed his face, there were smiles instead of tears. He really couldn’t believe what he’d just done.
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None of us, including him, should take that for granted.
Because even if Alcaraz beats him Sunday — and let’s be real here, that’s what should happen — there was no guarantee Djokovic would ever make another Grand Slam final.
Age is real. Physicality does not improve for a tennis player coming up on his 39th birthday, especially when it requires surviving more than four hours on court. Yes, Djokovic made the semifinals of all four Grand Slams last year, but after he lost in straight sets to Alcaraz at the U.S. Open, he almost conceded that he couldn’t do it anymore at the Alcaraz/Sinner level in a best-of-five match.
“I think I have a better chance in best-of-three, but best-of-five, it’s tough,” he said. “I’m not giving up on Grand Slams in that regard, having said that. I’m going to continue fighting and trying to get to the finals and fight for another trophy at least. But, you know, it’s going to be a very difficult task.”
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When reminded of that quote by Jim Courier in his on-court interview Friday, Djokovic emphasized that he never said it would be impossible.
But we can go ahead and get in front of this: If Djokovic does win his 11th Australian Open and 25th major, it will seem like defying the impossible.
Men’s tennis has never been more physical and taxing than it is right now. Sinner and Alcaraz have existed in a world of their own for the last year-plus. If anything, they came into the semifinals projecting an image that they’d separated even further from the rest of the field at the start of 2026. And then in his quarterfinal, Djokovic did not look at any point like he still had the level of tennis in him to beat a Musetti-level player much less Sinner or Alcaraz. If Musetti doesn’t get hurt, Djokovic is almost assuredly back at his home in Greece right now.
But funny things can happen with the all-time greats: Jack Nicklaus winning the 1986 Masters, Tom Brady winning a Super Bowl at 43, Nolan Ryan throwing no-hitters into his 40s.
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And this might really be Djokovic’s last, best chance to put No. 25 on the mantle. Recovery from a five-setter against Sinner won’t be easy, but beating the two of them back-to-back to win the Australian Open would be the greatest achievement of his career. This will be the most interesting physical and psychological moment for Djokovic he’s probably ever had.
It’s also going to be fascinating to see how Alcaraz responds after a great five-set escape in his semifinal against Alexander Zverev, a match impacted by cramps and some type of quad discomfort.
When they played in the 2024 Olympic final — a similar situation with a physically compromised Djokovic looking at his last gold medal shot — he played free and aggressive while Alcaraz was stressed out from start to finish and did not play his best. Experience and nerves won Djokovic that gold medal.
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Now, time has passed. Alcaraz has reascended to No. 1, gotten better physically, matured emotionally and is putting together a career that could eventually match Djokovic’s. But this is his first time to play for the career Slam. There will be a different kind of pressure on him than he’s probably ever felt before.
If Djokovic is ever going to do it, now’s the time.
After watching what he conjured to beat Sinner, probably best not to count him out.
Fantasy Football Video: Does George Kittle actually have a shot at returning for Week 1 in 2026?
San Francisco 49ers TE George Kittle suffered an Achilles tear in the team’s win over the Philadelphia Eagles in the wild-card round. He missed the 49ers’ loss to the Seahawks in the next round and his status for the start of the 2026 regular season is up in the air.
But perhaps there’s reason for optimism. Matt Harmon and Justin Boone broke down the possibility of Kittle being ready for Week 1 on a recent episode of the Yahoo Fantasy Forecast.
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Now, to begin, Boone points out that by no means is he a doctor. But there was some potential positive news on Kittle’s Achilles tear. Because the injury was higher up on the Achilles, it is believed that Kittle could have an easier time recovering from the tear. Had he sustained a worse Achilles tear that is further down toward the heel, Kittle would likely be out until around November, which would mean he’d miss most of the 2026 regular season.
Kittle talked about his injury and says that he could come back before November. We know the 32-year-old Pro Bowler is going to do everything in his power to return as quickly as possible. That said, Boone thinks it would be wise for the 49ers to not rush this process for a player who will turn 33 during the 2026 season.
While it seems like a long shot still for Kittle to be ready for Week 1, this does seem like the tight end will be able to return and make a fantasy football impact at some point next season.
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Boone doesn’t have Kittle in his early 2026 tight end rankings but is thinking he’ll have to put the San Francisco star in there somewhere, possibly as a fringe-TE1. You can check out Boone’s TE rankings for 2026 here. For now, Boone does have 49ers backup TE Jake Tonges on the list as TE30, though that should change after the offseason.
Kittle finished the 2025 season as the TE11 in fantasy scoring and TE2 in fantasy points per game (12.8), though he only appeared in 11 games. In those games, Kittle had 57 catches on 69 targets for 628 yards and seven touchdowns.
Fantasy Baseball Offseason Review: 1-stop guide to the moves and value boosts (and hits) in MLB ahead of 2026 season
As usual, the MLB offseason has moved at a glacial pace. While the key free agents in football, hockey and basketball are scooped up in the initial few days of their availability, we are two months into baseball free agency and still have outstanding players such as Framber Valdez and Eugenio Suárez waiting to find a team.
Still, even though they came in a trickle, there have been major signings and trades that have shifted the needle for important players in the fantasy baseball landscape. And managers can be forgiven if they missed some of the headlines while trying to keep up with the NFL, NBA and NHL seasons.
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Here is a one-stop guide to the biggest changes in player values over the past two months.
Value Up
Kyle Tucker (OF, Los Angeles Dodgers): Signing with the Dodgers should maximize the value of Tucker’s considerable skill set, thanks to their homer-happy venue and high-scoring offense. This situation is so favorable that Tucker will maintain his status as a Round 1 option, even after a down year.
Willson Contreras (1B, Boston Red Sox): Contreras could have his best season now that he is the expected cleanup hitter for a team with a good lineup and a hitter-friendly home park. Managers can expect him to eclipse his career-best marks in homers, RBI and runs scored.
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Kazuma Okamoto (1B/3B, Toronto Blue Jays): The top arrival from Japan this offseason, Okamoto will get regular playing time (primarily at third base) in a strong lineup. He had outstanding on-base skills and six 30-homer seasons during his career in Japan. Managers can expect 20 long balls, 75 RBI and a respectable batting mark.
Luis Robert Jr. (OF, New York Mets): Finally freed from the White Sox’s grueling rebuild, Robert must now show he hasn’t lost the skills that led to 38 homers in 2023. Joining a talented Mets squad is a good situation for the 28-year-old to get his career back on track.
Adolis García (OF, Philadelphia Phillies): Like Robert, García is looking to bounce back from a pair of underwhelming seasons. The 32-year-old will be easy to acquire in the late rounds of drafts and still has 25-homer, 15-steal potential.
Cedric Mullins (OF, Tampa Bay Rays): Mullins avoided becoming a part-time player by signing with a Rays organization that plans to make him their center fielder. The 31-year-old has a fantasy-friendly skill set and should produce 15 homers and 25 steals.
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Harrison Bader (OF, San Francisco Giants): Bader is in a similar situation to Mullins, as signing with the Giants has ensured him a full-time role. He has a long injury history but has stayed healthy the past two years and could hit the 15 mark in both homers and steals.
Owen Caissie (OF, Miami Marlins): Formerly the Cubs’ best prospect, Caissie could earn a regular role with the Marlins. This prospect has power, and his contact skills will determine his rookie-year success.
Nolan Arenado (3B, Arizona Diamondbacks): If Arenado has anything left for his age-35 season, the D-backs are his best chance to unlock it. After all, Arizona has outscored every other team over the past two seasons.
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Luisangel Acuña (2B, Chicago White Sox): Although Acuna will start the season on waivers in most leagues, he’s someone for roto managers to monitor now that he has a path to a full-time role. The 23-year-old has 35-steal upside.
Konnor Griffin (SS/OF, Pittsburgh Pirates), JJ Wetherholt (2B/3B/SS St. Louis Cardinals), Kevin McGonigle (SS, Detroit Tigers): The Pirates improved their roster but kept the shortstop spot open for Griffin. The Cardinals cleared room in their infield by trading away Contreras and Arenado. And the Tigers elected not to add a veteran shortstop over the winter.
All three of these elite prospects have a clear path to debut on Opening Day, or by May at the latest. They are all draftable in standard formats.
MacKenzie Gore (SP, Texas Rangers): Gore has shown flashes in recent seasons and could finally put together a breakout campaign now that he is on a competitive team with a pitcher-friendly home park. The lefty could tally 200 strikeouts but needs to lower his WHIP before becoming a significant fantasy option.
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Tatsuya Imai (SP, Houston Astros): Imai is the top pitching arrival from overseas, having posted a 1.92 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP last season. He joins a Houston franchise that typically has success with its starters, and he can be valued as an SP5 with upside in 12-team leagues.
Mike Burrows (SP, Houston Astros): Burrows showed potential with the Pirates (3.90 ERA, 1.25 WHIP) and is locked into the rotation on a solid team with a strong track record of developing pitchers. He’s an exciting late-round option.
Value Down
Ranger Suárez (SP, Boston Red Sox): Although Suárez should continue to be useful, it’s worth noting that his new home park is tough on left-handed pitchers. And with mediocre contributions in the strikeouts and WHIP categories, he needs a low ERA in order to make an impact.
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Alex Bregman (3B, Chicago Cubs): Bregman’s situation is similar to that of Suárez — he should continue to be productive but by switching home parks, he has created a more challenging situation for himself.
Munetaka Murakami (3B, Chicago White Sox): Murakami could hit his share of homers during his debut season, but he would have helped his fantasy value by signing with a high-scoring team. The rebuilding White Sox aren’t there yet.
Brandon Lowe (2B, Pittsburgh Pirates): Lowe’s fantasy value is typically more dependent on his ability to stay off the IL than any other factor. Still, his upside was capped when he was traded to baseball’s lowest-scoring team.
Matt Shaw (3B, Chicago Cubs): The addition of Bregman pushed Shaw to a utility role, which will limit his opportunities on a deep Cubs roster. Previously a sleeper who logged an .839 OPS in the second half of his rookie year, he’s now undraftable in mixed leagues.
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Triston Casas (1B, Boston Red Sox): Any chance of Casas returning from a ruptured patellar tendon to serve as Boston’s starting first baseman flew out the window when the team acquired Contreras. Unless he is dealt, Casas can stay off draft lists.
Jordan Lawlar (2B/3B/SS, Arizona Diamondbacks): A clear path to playing time was blocked when Arenado was acquired to play third base. Lawlar will now enter Spring Training without a position, unless the team opts to use him heavily in the outfield.
Jonah Tong (SP, New York Mets): By adding Freddy Peralta, the Mets have at least six starters ahead of Tong on the depth chart. He should spend plenty of time in Triple-A and on the waiver wire in fantasy leagues.
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Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, Ronny Maurico (New York Mets): The additions of Bo Bichette and Marcus Semien will leave these three youngsters to fight for DH and backup responsibilities, which makes them all waiver wire fodder in standard formats.
Coby Mayo, Ryan Mountcastle, Tyler O’Neill (Baltimore Orioles): Similar to the situation in New York, the acquisitions of Pete Alonso and Taylor Ward will leave these three players with limited opportunities, which negates most of their fantasy appeal.
Closer Chaos
Edwin Díaz (Los Angeles Dodgers): Díaz was already being treated as the No. 1 fantasy closer by some analysts and is now even more appealing as the ninth-inning man on baseball’s best team.
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Ryan Helsley (Baltimore Orioles): After succeeding as the Cardinals closer, Helsley faltered down the stretch as a setup man with the Mets. He is back in a ninth-inning role and should be valued as a second-tier option.
Devin Williams (New York Mets): The Mets believe that Williams still has the skills that made him a dominant closer with the Brewers. However, his struggles with the Yankees are enough reason to keep the righty out of the top tier at the position. Like Helsley, Williams becomes an option once 5-6 relievers are off the board.
Raisel Iglesias, Robert Suárez (Atlanta Braves): After getting his season back on track in the second half of 2025, Iglesias re-signed with the Braves. He is expected to pitch in the ninth inning while former Padres closer Suárez works the eighth frame.
Emilio Pagán (Cincinnati Reds): Pagán returned to the Reds on a two-year deal, which was the best possible news for his fantasy value. The veteran has the trust of manager Terry Francona and will get every opportunity to remain in the closer’s role.
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Pete Fairbanks (Miami Marlins): Fairbanks switched teams within the state of Florida. The relocation shouldn’t impact his first-half value, but it’s easy to see how the Marlins could trade away a closer who is on a one-year deal if they fall out of the race by July.
Kenley Jansen, Kyle Finnegan (Detroit Tigers): Jansen converted 29 of 30 save chances with the Angels last year, which should be enough to get him the first opportunity in Detroit. Although manager A.J. Hinch will likely give a few chances to Finnegan and Will Vest, Jansen is expected to lead the committee and therefore is the only Detroit reliever worth drafting.
Kirby Yates (Los Angeles Angels): It’s hard to believe that just two years ago, Yates produced dominant ratios (1.17 ERA, 0.83 WHIP) and 33 saves. The veteran struggled with injuries and ineffectiveness last year, but if healthy, he could lead the Angels in saves.
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Seranthony Domínguez (Chicago White Sox): Domínguez jumped back onto the fantasy radar when the White Sox signed him to a two-year deal. The right-hander is now the saves favorite on one of baseball’s worst teams, which is good enough to make him a late-round pick in deep roto leagues.
Todd Monken meets Shedeur Sanders, reminds him, ‘We tried to draft your ass’
The 2025 NFL Draft could have ended with Todd Monken getting to work with Shedeur Sanders on a daily basis. A little over nine months later and that scenario — though with a different franchise — is now a reality after the Cleveland Browns selected Sanders in the fifth round in April and hired the former Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator as head coach this week.
It was reported in September the Ravens, who employed Monken for the past three seasons, were interested in picking Sanders with the third pick of the fifth round. But before Baltimore could turn in the card announcing Sanders, the Colorado quarterback informed the team he did not want to have to sit behind Lamar Jackson and not have an opportunity to play.
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The Ravens ended up drafting offensive tackle Carson Vinson. Three picks later, the Browns took Sanders with the 144th overall selection.
On Friday, Sanders and Monken met up for the first time with the new head coach reminding his quarterback that things could have been different.
“Hey, we tried to draft your ass last year, for God’s sake,” Monken said as he greeted Sanders. “It’s all worked out. You remember that, right? Someday we’ll get a chance to talk about that.”
Sanders was asked about the report following Cleveland’s 41-17 loss to the Ravens in Week 2, but he wasn’t eager to talk about the past. “I’m more focused on now and I’m more focused on this game we just had and figuring out how to move forward from that,” he said.
Sanders started seven games for the Browns last season. He threw for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns, and 10 interceptions with a 68.1 quarterback rating. The Browns finished 5-12 and out of the playoffs for the second straight season. Head coach Kevin Stefanski was fired and Monken, who had signed an extension last January with Baltimore, was brought in after the Ravens dismissed head coach John Harbaugh.
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It remains to be seen who will be Monken’s quarterback for 2026. Ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft, where the Browns hold the No. 6 overall pick, the depth chart features Sanders, Dillon Gabriel and Deshaun Watson.
Why the Bulls should be bold and enter the Giannis Antetokounmpo (and Austin Reaves) sweepstakes
The arrival of Thursday’s NBA trade deadline has hastened in recent days, and it’s time to lock eyes on a franchise that has far more working for itself than anyone seems to notice — potentially itself included.
Despite the well-earned reputation as one of the most incompetent, and perhaps disinterested, franchises in the association, the Chicago Bulls enter the deadline with an enormous amount of assets that would make any front office with just a slight inclination of creativity drool.
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Unfortunately, the Bulls’ front office — and ownership group — has shown the collective imagination of a dead rodent. As such, if the Bulls won’t come to the carriage of trades, the carriage of trades must come to them.
Expiring contracts, draft picks and intriguing prospects
While the Bulls are rarely involved in major dealings, or even rumored to be — making the following highly unlikely to ever materialize — they have advantages in the form of their asset trove.
If the Bulls were to let every single one of their expiring contracts do just that, while letting fourth-year forward Dalen Terry walk, they would have upwards of $90.1 million in expiring money that could come off the books this very summer.
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Surprisingly, for a team that rarely values draft equity, the Bulls are also in full control of their own future in that department. They have no outgoing first-round pick, and are even owed a pick from the Trail Blazers, which is lottery protected through 2028 but has increasing odds of conveying as the Blazers strengthen their roster.
Finally, the organization sports second-year forward Matas Buzelis (14.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.4 blocks), all-around playmaker Josh Giddey (18.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, 8.8 assists), and the unknown quantity of Noa Essengue, who is just 43 days removed from his 19th birthday.
That is considerable wealth for a franchise that has grown enormously stagnant and irrelevant over the years.
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So let’s assume the role of lead executive, and do what the organization lacks the gall to do: roll the dice on an upside play so ridiculously lofty it will leave the fan base in a state of utter confusion.
The Bulls must enter the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes
As is custom with these Bulls, they are rarely mentioned as potential suitors for the league’s elite players, of which Antetokounmpo qualifies. (Executing some panic trade for Domantas Sabonis will do absolutely nothing for them, which means that’s surely what they will do.)
But remember the current administration is no longer in charge. We are.
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And as our first order of business, we place a call to the Bucks and offer the farm for the Greek superstar. Buzelis, Giddey, Kevin Huerter and Chicago’s unprotected first-rounders in 2026, 2028, 2030 and 2032 represent more than an adequate bid for Antetokounmpo. Should the Bucks require additional pick swaps, or want the deal to include Essengue, that too should be fine.
[Devine: The 5 most interesting teams to watch at the NBA trade deadline]
The Bucks would acquire four unprotected first-round selections, a tremendous sophomore forward with All-Star-level potential and a 6-foot-8 playmaker who is on a reasonable $25 million-per-year contract and would even shave off an immediate $8 million. (In order to keep track of the books, assume Essengue stays in Chicago for now.)
However one wishes to slice it, that is not a poor offering, and Chicago should thus be able to compete with multiple other suitors.
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This is where you might wonder what the point is of sending Antetokounmpo to a situation in which he’ll be left with few weapons around him to succeed.
Well, this is the part where the true gamble slumbers in its might.
Antetokounmpo’s presence should lure Austin Reaves in free agency
The aforementioned expiring contracts in Chicago are plentiful, and given that the Bucks accept Giddey in the proposed trade, this removes $25 million from the Bulls’ books next season, meaning Antetokounmpo’s 2026-27 salary of $58.4 million won’t be as aggressive a hit as one might think.
The Bulls should then relinquish any rights to Amir Coffey, Nikola Vučević, Zach Collins and Jevon Carter, removing $72.5 million in cap holds. This brings Chicago’s actual salary commitment, which includes cap holds, but not roster charges, to $150.2 million, with the 2026 salary cap estimated to come in at $166 million.
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That is, obviously, not even remotely enough to make a real play for Reaves, meaning the Bulls could work this from several angles.
One, they could discuss a framework in which they conduct a double sign-and-trade deal, consisting of Reaves and Coby White, assuming of course Reaves is interested in leaving Los Angeles to play with Antetokounmpo. (The Bulls could even sweeten the pot in offering Essengue to the Lakers, should the organization initially be disinterested in conducting a sign-and-trade.)
Or, the Bulls could simply relinquish their rights to White and immediately open up $24.5 million, as that is the cap hold he carries.
That brings Chicago close to the 25% max ($41.5 million) that Reaves could earn as a starting salary. By potentially trading off Isaac Okoro ($11.8 million) through breaking his contract into smaller pieces and taking back less money, the Bulls could secure even more funds, fully avoiding a situation in which they can’t offer Reaves his max.
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Now, why all these cap gymnastics?
It’s simple. The Bulls wish to hang on to Ayo Dosunmu, who has a cap hold of $14.3 million. After Reaves has been signed, the Bulls can go over the cap to re-sign Dosunmu, setting their backcourt.
The risk is enormous
There’s no question this all comes with immense risk, but that is part of life in the NBA. Playing it safe and hoping to magically get out of the play-in tournament every year is not a plan. It is nothing short of mental defeat. And this endeavor, however risky it is, at the very least turns over a leaf for an organization that has lost interest from the basketball world. What used to be a brand of excellence has become a forgotten symbol of the past.
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A core of Antetokounmpo, Reaves, Dosunmu, Jalen Smith, Patrick Williams, Tre Jones and what will likely be a plethora of minimum signings and ring chasers isn’t going to shatter the NBA at large, but it could be just enough in the Eastern Conference to make a deep playoff push.
The Bulls will have to nail those minimum deals, and should they be able to persuade Vučević or Collins to return for the minimum — which, given the market for centers these days, might not be out of the realm of possibility — all the better.
But it all starts with the trade deadline and the decision to do something utterly bold to break the shackles of mediocrity, which have haunted the Bulls for years.
Twins, team president Derek Falvey mutually part ways months after Minnesota traded 10 players before deadline
The Minnesota Twins and team president Derek Falvey “mutually agreed to part ways,” the team announced Friday, less than two weeks before pitchers and catchers report to spring training.
“Over the past several weeks, Derek and I had thoughtful and candid conversations about leadership, structure and the future of the club,” said executive chair Tom Pohlad, who replaced his younger brother as the lead owner last month and now oversees the club’s business operations while he directs a search for Falvey’s replacement.
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“We reached a shared understanding that the needs of the organization are evolving and that a leadership transition is the best way to move forward.”
General manager Jeremy Zoll will keep leading the Twins’ baseball department, the team said in its release.
The change arrives on the doorstep of spring training and months after the Twins’ massive trade-deadline sell-off that saw the franchise deal a whopping 10 players, including three-time All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa and closer Jhoan Durán, less than two years removed from an ALDS appearance.
At the time, Yahoo’s Jake Mintz gave that tear-down an “F” when grading every team’s deadline deals.
“Any time you trade 10 players off the big-league roster during a season in which you planned to contend, you get a big, fat F, regardless of the prospects,” Mintz wrote on July 31.
“Dealing away Correa, whom Minnesota had hailed as a franchise cornerstone, was as deflating as it was shocking. What even is this team now? There are dark days ahead up north; a years-long winter of woe awaits.”
[Get more Twins news: Minnesota team feed]
Back then, the Twins, as a whole, were up for sale. But the Pohlad family ultimately decided against selling the franchise. Instead, on Aug. 13, it brought on “two significant limited partnership groups.” The Pohlad family has remained the principal owner of the club.
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The Twins finished last season 70-92 and fourth in the AL Central. Afterward, they fired manager Rocco Baldelli, who led Minnesota to a trio of division titles during his seven-year run. Former Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton is the Twins’ new skipper.
As for Falvey, the 42-year-old executive had been with the franchise since 2016, when he was hired as executive vice president and chief baseball officer, coming off a stay as a scout and executive in Cleveland that culminated in a World Series appearance. In 2019, he was elevated to president of baseball operations in Minnesota. Ahead of last season, he was promoted and tasked with overseeing the business side, too.
During his nine seasons with the Twins, they collected three AL Central titles and made the playoffs four times. Minnesota famously ended an 18-game playoff losing streak with a sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2023 AL wild-card series.
“Following a series of thoughtful conversations with Tom that began after the ownership transition and progressed over the past few weeks, we both agreed this was the right time for us to part ways,” Falvey said in his statement Friday.
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He also noted: “On a personal level, I’m looking forward to taking some time to be with my family, reflect and consider what comes next. I don’t have specific plans yet, but I’m grateful for the experiences I’ve had here and excited about the next chapter when the time is right.”
Winter Olympics 2026: After two years off — and a trip to Mt. Everest — Alysa Liu is ready to conquer skating again
You wouldn’t expect to find an Olympic figure skater hiking the trails around Mt. Everest, but then there’s a lot about Alysa Liu that’s unexpected. A year after making her Olympic debut, she walked away from the fame and acclaim that attends every Team USA figure skater, leaving that world behind with a simple Instagram post, and a few months later, she found herself trekking through Nepal toward Everest Base Camp.
“It’s a beautiful experience there,” Liu recalled recently. “No phone. You’re in the mountains.”
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For several weeks, Liu and her best friend hiked together across some of the most challenging terrain on the planet, bonding in ways that even best friends rarely do. And her giddiness in retelling the tale is evident.
“We would be, like, [relieving ourselves] behind rocks together,” she laughed. “Like, y’all, we were close. We were connected after that trip. Our friendship survived.”
That kind of bonding — well, maybe minus the bodily-functions-in-the-cold part — was exactly what Liu needed after a lifetime enmeshed in the world of figure skating. On that journey, she learned about herself, her limitations, her ambitions … and also her answers to ridiculous questions.
“We were fighting over the silliest things,” she said, smiling. “Like, would you rather be a cow or a chicken? We were arguing over stuff like that. But trust, it was deep and meaningful.”
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And then, a few months later, she just up and decided to come back to skating … and won the world championship and now she’s in the Olympics. Life’s never that easy, but Alysa Liu sure makes it seem that way.
At just 13, Alysa Liu won the 2019 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. (Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Child prodigy turned Olympic star
Alysa Liu is just 20 years old, which is remarkable. Not because of her demeanor — she admits she’s “still pretty immature” — but because she’s somehow crammed about seven lives’ worth of living into those 20 years. The soon-to-be two-time Olympian is frenetic, exuberant, always in motion, her head and her heart perpetually sprinting against each other.
Spend any time around Liu, and it’s impossible not to be swept up in her constant joy. For instance, check out her free-skate response to a recent question about self-discovery:
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“Oh, like, y’all, I’ve been through so many, like, midlife crises. I’m like 20. I’ve been through a lot of them. But I’m a thinker. I think a lot. I found I really like human connection. Like, a lot. I’m a very extroverted person. And I also love, like … I make a lot of art, and, like, different types of art, of course. And I love sharing those with people. And like, I love when other people make art too. I don’t know. I’m just very much into the arts. What was your question?”
Smoothly gliding from routine to impossible routine, grace and power combined and choreographed … yes, Alysa Liu was made for Olympic figure skating.
Olympic media deploy clichés like “burst onto the scene” for figure skaters the way that Fourth of July celebrations deploy fireworks, but in Liu’s case, the cliché fits. As a precocious 13-year-old, she threw down two triple axels at the 2019 U.S. Figure Skating Championships — no woman had ever cleanly landed more than one at the event — and claimed her first national title.
Her ascent continued — a spot on the 2022 Olympic team, a bronze medal at the 2022 world championships, modeling gigs, an appearance on “The Tonight Show” — but so did the burdens of skating, the endless practice sessions and training sessions and razor’s-edge pressure. It was just prior to the 2022 Games in Beijing when, at 16, she sat at a restaurant with an FBI agent who told her she and her family were being spied on by the Chinese government. Her father had been involved in the Tiananmen Square protests back in 1989.
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“Like, imagine finding that out at such a young age,” she explained in October at an Olympic media summit. “I mean, like, yeah, in a weird way I was like, am I like in some prank show? Like is this world real? Like I must be some movie character. But, yeah, I mean, it was like it made sense to me, you know, from like everything my dad did back in his activist days.”
After the worlds, she shocked the skating community with the announcement that she was stepping away from the rink.
“I’m going to be moving on with my life,” she wrote on Instagram, and then she went and did just that. Home-schooled as a child, she started studying psychology at UCLA. Stage-managed throughout her career with pre-selected routines and costumes, she spent unstructured time with her family. And she took that now-legendary trip to Everest base camp.
“I really felt trapped and stuck,” Liu said recently. “The only way, in my brain, to reach out (beyond the world of skating) was to leave the sport.”
Alysa Liu celebrates after her world championship win in March March. (Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
(Tim Clayton via Getty Images)
How skating drew Liu back
It all went very well, this new skating-free life … right up until she took a ski trip to Lake Tahoe in January 2024. The adrenaline rush of speed, the smooth power that comes from gliding over the slopes … she realized just how much she missed the intrinsic, internal gratification of skating. She began by skating once a week at a local rink, and a few months later, announced her return to competitive skating.
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Talent like Liu’s finds a way, and in January 2025 she came within a hairsbreadth of winning the U.S. championships again. Two months later, she completed her comeback with a gold-medal-winning performance at the world championships, the first American woman to claim that honor since Kimmie Meisner in 2006. She dethroned Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto, the three-time defending champion, and firmly established herself as a medal favorite heading into the Olympics.
U.S. skating fans are hoping Liu, Amber Glenn and Isabeau Levito — the so-called “Big Three” — can end a two-decade medal drought for American female skaters. If Liu is able to claim any Olympic medal, she’d be the first American woman to do so since Sasha Cohen’s silver in 2006. Sarah Hughes won gold and Michelle Kwan took bronze in 2002.
“If you look back in history and the track record of winning the world championships before an Olympic Games,” says Olympic gold medalist and NBC commentator Tara Lipinski, “it really sets her on the right path to not only be the favorite to win this Olympic gold medal but to bring it home.” (Lipinski knows what she’s talking about; she won the 1997 world championships, and captured gold at the 1998 Nagano Olympics 11 months later.)
Liu also stands as a testament to the calm power of accepting one’s choices and living in the moment. “Quitting was definitely still, to this day, one of my best decisions ever. Coming back was also a really good decision. I don’t make bad decisions. Every decision is just a decision, you know?” she said. “They’ve just led to this point. And I like where I’m at.”
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Even so, the zen mindset only carries so far. She admits she’s still impatient, still expecting perfection out of herself at every turn. “I’m competitive in my head with myself, and I love to be good at stuff the first try,” she says. “If things aren’t going my way the day of, I’m like, no, I have to do it today.”
Her coach, Phillip DiGuglielmo, employs a classic Nick Saban mantra — Trust the Process — to keep Liu focused on journeys, not destinations. “He’ll be like, Dude, you’re training, the results will show. You just have to be patient. I’m not patient! I have no concept of time!”, she jokes. “But I listened to his advice. It really works. If you put in the work, trust you’ll see [positive results].”
“She’s so relatable and so authentic in the way that she performs and competes,” Lipinski said recently. “She is skating in her own little bubble without pressure, because she really feels that she’s doing this for herself, and she’s taking full ownership over her skating. And she doesn’t feel the expectations that you would think she would, and that gives her the edge to be able to compete under pressure.”
The Milan Olympics: Liu’s time to shine?
Pressure seems to be about the only sensation Liu isn’t feeling these days. “I wish all of y’all were my little sibling for a day, because I literally have so much fun every day,” she told a group of media in October. “You have no idea. I just can’t live without fun. I think I would just die if things were boring for 10 hours.” There’s no such thing as a typical day for her — she might oversleep her training, she might decide on a whim to go swim in Lake Tahoe, she might go hit a video game cafe and then bust out some karaoke. (Her go-to: KATSEYE’s “Gnarly,” maybe some “old” Selena Gomez or Taylor Swift.)
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With the Olympics, though, come a measure of discipline for her schedule. In Milan, she’ll skate a contemplative, resonant short program to the music of Laufey’s “Promise,” and, potentially, a free skate choreographed to “MacArthur Park.”
Her team events begin Feb. 6, the day of the Opening Ceremony, and her single skates will be on Feb. 17 and 19. All that’s left is for Alysa Liu to do what’s she’s been working (almost) her whole life to do.
Oh, and as for that Everest base camp cow-versus-chicken debate?
“I would rather be a cow,” she says. “One, cows get to eat grass. And, like, the cows that I see, they’re just free-roaming the hills. All the chickens that I’ve seen are hidden behind cages. Yeah, no thank you.”
President Trump issues executive order to begin preparations for IndyCar race in Washington
Could an IndyCar Series race in Washington actually happen?
President Donald Trump issued an executive order Friday to go forward with preparations for an Aug. 23 race. The “Freedom 250 Grand Prix” would take place near the National Mall. IndyCar Series owner Roger Penske was in attendance at the signing ceremony.
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The order directs the Interior Department and Transportation Department to “designate a suitable race route that showcases the majesty of Washington D.C. and its iconic national monuments.” It also directs the departments “to issue all necessary permits, approvals and authorizations as expeditiously as possible to plan, prepare for, and conduct the race.” The race has been rumored for some time after Trump posted an AI video of an IndyCar race in the city to his social-media channels.
“President Trump has bestowed an incredible distinction upon our sport and we’re grateful for his trust and support as INDYCAR prepares to honor our country with a tremendous racing spectacle,” IndyCar owner Roger Penske said in a statement obtained by NBC. “This will be a truly memorable event that celebrates our country’s independence and the legacy of patriotism, innovation and excellence that powers motorsports across America.”
The 2026 IndyCar Series schedule has already been announced, but the weekend of Aug. 21-23 is currently open. If the race happens, it would mean the series would race five times in five weekends to end the season and add an 18th race to the calendar.
Street races require months and sometimes even years of logistical planning. If the Washington race happens, it’ll be done within seven months in one of the busiest and most complex cities in the United States. There are a lot of hurdles to jump through; can the federal government and the District of Columbia jump through them all in such a short period of time?
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If the race happens, it’ll be the second new race on the IndyCar Series schedule. The series is set to race in Arlington, Texas, around AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Field.
It would also come just over two months after a UFC event at the White House. The MMA event will be held on the South Lawn while weigh-ins are set for the Lincoln Memorial.