
White Sox great Konerko gets gift from Pope Leo XIV in honor of 2005 title
Cardinal Blase Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, presented Konerko a jersey with the new pontiff's signature on the back during a ceremony prior to the game against the Cleveland Guardians. It had the six-time All-Star's last name and 'Pope Leo' above the No 14.
Robert Prevost became the first pope from the US in the history of the Catholic Church when he was elected on 8 May. The Chicago-born missionary, who took the name Leo XIV, is a White Sox fan.
Prevost attended the 2005 World Series opener against Houston in Chicago. He watched from Section 140, Row 19, Seat 2 as the White Sox beat the Astros 5-3 on the way to a four-game sweep and their first title since 1917.
In May, the team unveiled a graphic installation near the seat paying tribute to Pope Leo and that moment. The pillar artwork features a waving Pope Leo XIV, along with a picture from the TV broadcast of the future pope sitting with good friend Ed Schmit and his grandson, Eddie.
Members of the 2005 team are in Chicago this weekend to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the championship run. The White Sox debuted uniform patches honoring late closer Bobby Jenks, who died last week in Portugal, where he was being treated for stomach cancer. On Friday, the team unveiled a statue of former ace Mark Buehrle.
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Reuters
20 minutes ago
- Reuters
Chelsea's ice man Palmer puts the chill on PSG in Club World Cup final
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., July 13 (Reuters) - "Ice-Cole" Palmer lived up to his nickname in a scorching Club World Cup final on Sunday, scoring twice in Chelsea's 3-0 win over Paris St Germain on another broiling day at MetLife Stadium. Temperatures soared above 85 degrees Fahrenheit (29.4°C) in East Rutherford, New Jersey, but the Chelsea talisman had ice in his veins as he bagged two goals in eight minutes in the first half. He earned the Golden Ball as the best player of the tournament. The man of the match in their 4-1 Conference League final win over Real Betis in May, Palmer showed again that he does his best work under the biggest spotlight, as he also recorded an assist for Joao Pedro in the 43rd minute. "I like finals. It's happened again," he told DAZN. "It's a great feeling," he added. "Even better because everyone doubted us before the game, we knew that. To put a fight on like we did, it's good." A product of the Manchester City academy, Palmer made his senior debut with the team in September 2020 but never received the minutes on the pitch he believed he deserved, going to Chelsea three years later with the promise of more playing time. He wasted no time becoming Chelsea's new hero, firing in goals in his first season with the club, and Sunday's final marked another chapter in his success story, with Man City long ago eliminated from the tournament in the round of 16. He destroyed PSG's defence in a sensational first half on Sunday, running up and down the right channel before slotting in a tidy left-footed goal in 22nd minute. He doubled the score eight minutes later, again targeting the bottom-left corner of the goal as the legions of blue-clad Chelsea fans erupted in elation. European and French champions PSG were coming off an extraordinary season but appeared overwhelmed yet again as Palmer set up Pedro with a neat flick with two minutes left in the first half. "Today we found a position for him where there was more space to attack," said Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca. "Obviously Cole played really well but the effort from all the players was fantastic."


The Guardian
26 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Chelsea stun PSG to win Club World Cup after Cole Palmer's cool double
The boy from Wythenshawe who had sat on top of the Rockefeller on Friday took Chelsea to the top of the world on Sunday. It was 90F down on the pitch in New Jersey but, oh, this was cold all right. Two wonderful almost identical strikes, executed with an effortless ease, and a lovely soft-shoed assist from Cole Palmer made Chelsea the first winners of the 32-team Club World Cup, history made here. Paris Saint-Germain had seemed peerless, a side that shifted the paradigm, but they could not find a way past Robert Sánchez at one end and were picked off, victims of a perfect plan, defeated inside half an hour. It had started so well, so unexpectedly, and it ended even better, history made. 'We know that they start the games very fast, very strong,' Marc Cucurella had said but while Ousmane Dembélé, forever on the prowl for prey, almost caught Sánchez 95 seconds in, it was Chelsea who did so. The first chance was theirs inside 10 minutes and it was so close that some of this stadium celebrated, the ball bending just past Gigi Donnarumma's right post and hitting the pole holding the net up. João Pedro had teed it up, Palmer was the man whose shot with the inside of his left foot fooled them. Not for long. That, it turned out was just a sighter; next time, the MetLife could let go for real. Chelsea's plan was clear: quick into the challenge, quicker to send the ball into the space behind PSG. Luis Enrique's team took a degree of control and most of the possession, soon up at 66%, but that, it appeared, had been anticipated. This was no parked bus but space behind was denied and the ball was released rapidly, starting with Sánchez directly from his own area. And while PSG could have led, Désiré Doué's cut-back to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia being cut out by Cucurella when he might have taken the shot himself before his effort from the edge of the area was stopped by a superb low save from Sánchez, it was Chelsea who did. Sánchez's diagonal went right where Nuno Mendes leapt with Malo Gusto; the PSG defender got there first but, buffeted, didn't judge the leap well. Suddenly, he was down and Gusto was away, wide space opening on the wing before him. Reaching the area, he cut back, ready to shoot. Lucas Beraldo blocked the first effort but Gusto got it back and laid into the path of Palmer who opened up his body and curled it into the bottom of the net. Off he went, holding himself and shivering in trademark celebration. If that was similar to his first shot, his next was almost identical to this one. Coming in from the right, Palmer saw Gusto fly up outside him. So, and this was the key, did the PSG defence. A slight pause, a little shuffle of the hips was enough to clear Beraldo and Marquinhos from his path, momentarily drawn to the run, and Palmer didn't just put the ball in the same corner of the net; he put it in the exact same square. They had been playing half an hour and he had taken almost the same shot three times. Two had gone in, the other looked like it had. And nor was he finished. Just before half-time, with PSG turned again, that press broken, Palmer carried the ball from near halfway, tracing a straight line in the inside-right position and given the room to do so. When he got to the edge of the area, he slipped the ball through. The pass was smooth, João Pedro running on to it, so was the Brazilian's finish, dinked over Donnarumma as if he was playing on the beach, which 10 days ago he was. This was barely believable. They had only completed 126 passes, but that was at least partly by clinical design: three shots on target, all of them clearly constructed and calmly executed, had given them a lead that wasn't for overturning. Which isn't to say PSG didn't try after a 24-minute half-time. They were out first, waiting for Chelsea, and went for them. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion Sánchez almost immediately had to get to the feet of Fabián Ruiz and then scramble away a Kvaratskhelia shot. He then made a superb close-range stop from Dembélé, which really should have been taken. Chelsea got deeper, of course they did, not always in a hurry to get the ball back. When they did, they tried to keep it, each pass greeted with olés. The supporters were enjoying this. Sánchez dived to save Vitinha's dipping effort from the edge of the area, but in truth the momentum was not what PSG would have wanted, and only rarely did Chelsea feel under the kind of pressure that might prise their fingers from the trophy. João Neves was then given a straight red card after 86 minutes for pulling Cucurella's hair.


Daily Mail
31 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Shocking moment NFL star George Kittle drop kicks rival during star-studded golf tournament
San Francisco 49ers star tight end George Kittle is a big fan of wrestling, having been seen ringside at many WWE events in the past. However, at the celebrity-studded American Century Championship in Lake Tahoe, Kittle was able to break out some of those wrestling moves he's seen - only this time, on a golf course. Kittle was partnered with WWE superstar The Miz for the unofficial tournament which has generated large crowds at the Edgewood Tahoe resort for years. On the tee at one of the holes, Kittle and Miz appeared to drum up a 'work' when the wrestler feigned annoyance with the NFL star and shoved him. Kittle backed up as the wrestler turned around to pump up the crowd, leading the Niner to crouch down. As Miz turned around, Kittle wound up and 'kicked' him in the face - emulating wrestling icon Shawn Michaels' signature finisher, the 'Sweet Chin Music'. George Kittle hits the SWEET CHIN MUSIC on the Miz! — NBC Sports (@NBCSports) July 13, 2025 San Francisco 49ers star George Kittle busted out some wrestling moves on the golf course The gallery laughed as Kittle patted Miz on the torso before doing a celebratory dance. Kittle has let his love of the sport be well known, especially after cameras caught him at Wrestlemania many times in the past. He even got in the ring at Wrestlemania 39 in Los Angeles. The Niners superstar has hinted that he'd consider a career in sports entertainment after he's done with football. 'I would love to do WWE,' Kittle said on the Bussin' With the Boys podcast. 'I think there's definitely opportunity within that world, and I would love nothing more than to be a part of it.' 'My only question mark with that is I so much love being a fan of WWE. I would only do WWE if I bought a ring and practiced my ass off for a while so I wouldn't look like an idiot out there,' Kittle said. 'I've been in a WWE ring like three times. I don't know what I'm doing out there. I have an understanding of how it works, but I haven't moonsaulted off the top rope at WrestleMania like Pat McAfee did. Like what Logan Paul does.'