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Sixers star Tyrese Maxey out for at least 2 games with sprained finger sustained in loss to Hawks

Philadelphia 76ers All-Star Tyrese Maxey has a sprained right pinkie and will miss at least two games.

The76ers announced Maxey's diagnosis on Sunday,a day after he sustained the injury in a loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

The injury will require further testing, and the 76ers didn't rule out an extended absence for their star guard.

"Tyrese Maxey suffered a sprain of the right fifth finger," the 76ers' statement reads. "He will undergo additional testing and consultation in the coming days to determine a treatment plan. He is out for the next two games and further updates will be provided after the back-to-back."

The 76ers are scheduled to play the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday and the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday. From there, they'll face the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons Thursday night.

The 76ers were already playing without Joel Embiid, VJ Edgecombe and Paul George on Saturday night in Atlanta. Then, with less than a minute left in a125-116 lossto the Hawks, Maxey suffered the injury that head coach Nick Nursereportedlysaid called for X-rays.

With less than 30 seconds to go, Maxey went for a steal and collided in the paint with teammate Adem Bona, a 6-foot-10, 235-pound big man.

Immediately, Maxey grabbed his right hand in pain.

The two-time All-Star guard walked off the floor with 16.2 ticks remaining, tucking his hand under his jersey as he headed toward the locker room.

The Athletic's Tony Jonesreported Saturday night that Maxey will receive additional testing on Sunday.

"Nothing conclusive tonight,"Jones wrote on X.

Maxey came into the game leading the team and ranking fourth in the NBA with a career-high 28.9 points per game.

He scored 31 points on 12-of-22 shooting in Atlanta for a short-handed Sixers squad. With the loss, Philadelphia dropped to 34-29. The Sixers are now eighth in the Eastern Conference and just 1.5 games ahead of the ninth-place Hawks, who improved to 33-31 with Saturday's pivotal victory.

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Atlanta got 35 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists from All-Star forward Jalen Johnson. Nickeil Alexander-Walker chipped in 24 points and went 4 of 9 from deep.

Embiid missed his 30th game this season, including his fourth straight. His latest issueis an oblique strain. The Sixers are 21-12 in the games Embiid has played in this season. They are 13-17 without him.

They were also missing Edgecombe, as the rookie guard was sidelined by a lumbar contusion he sustained when he fell hard on his lower backafter being fouled from behind on a 3-point attempt in a lopsided defeat to the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday.

George still has nine games remainingon the 25-game suspension he received from the league on Jan. 31 for violating the league's anti-drug program.

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March 08, 2026

Sixers star Tyrese Maxey out for at least 2 games with sprained finger sustained in loss to Hawks

Philadelphia 76ers All-Star Tyrese Maxey has a sprained right pinkie and will miss at least two games. ...

Port Vale, Southampton stun Premier League opponents in the FA Cup to book places in quarterfinals

Third-tier Port Vale pulled off a massive FA Cup upset by beating Premier League Sunderland to advance to the quarterfinals of the historic competition.

Port Vale's Ben Waine celebrates after scoring his side's first goal of the game during the FA Cup fifth round soccer match between Sunderland and Port Vale, in Stoke on Trent, England, Sunday March 8, 2026. (Nick Potts/PA via AP)

Port Vale's Ben Waine celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's first goal of the game, during the FA Cup fifth round soccer match between Sunderland and Port Vale, in Stoke on Trent, England, Sunday March 8, 2026. (Nick Potts/PA via AP)

Port Vale's Ben Waine scores his side's first goal of the game, during the FA Cup fifth round soccer match between Sunderland and Port Vale, in Stoke on Trent, England, Sunday March 8, 2026. (Nick Potts/PA via AP)

Southampton's Ross Stewart, left, celebrates scoring during the English FA Cup fifth round soccer match between Fulham and Southampton in London, Sunday March 8, 2026. (John Walton/PA via AP)

Fulham's Rodrigo Muniz attempts an overhead kick during the English FA Cup fifth round soccer match between Fulham and Southampton in London, Sunday March 8, 2026. (John Walton/PA via AP)

Britain FA Cup Soccer

Ben Waine's first-half header sealed a 1-0 win at Vale Park on Sunday to book his team's place alongside Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal in the last eight.

Port Vale is bottom of League One and 57 places below Sunderland. But it frustrated its top-flight opponent, which had no response to Waine's looping header from inside the box in the 28th minute.

Earlier, Southampton produced another upset to knock out Fulham.

Ross Stewart's 91st-minute penalty sealed a 1-0 win for the Championship side at Craven Cottage and booked its place in the quarterfinals.

The game was heading to extra time when Joachim Andersen brought down Finn Azaz in the box late on. Stewart stepped up and blasted past Fulham goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte.

Fulham coach Marco Silva paid the price for making nine changes to his starting lineup and leaving out star players like Raul Jimenez, Antonee Robinson and Alex Iwobi.

Victory continues Southampton's impressive surge under coach Tonda Eckert, who has transformed the club's fortunes since taking charge in November.

The team, which was relegated from the Premier League last season, was battling for survival in the Championship when former coach Will Still was fired. Under Eckert it has risen up the standings and is competing for a place in the playoffs.

"Overall, in the 90 minutes it's deserved that we go to the next round," he told the BBC. "(We) just need to use this game as fuel for the games coming up."

James Robson is athttps://x.com/jamesalanrobson

AP soccer:https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

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March 08, 2026

Port Vale, Southampton stun Premier League opponents in the FA Cup to book places in quarterfinals

Third-tier Port Vale pulled off a massive FA Cup upset by beating Premier League Sunderland to advance to the quarterfina...

Damon Stoudamire fired as Georgia Tech basketball coach after 3 years

Georgia Techhas decided to fireDamon Stoudamireas its coach following a three-year stint, the school announced Sunday, March 8.

The Yellow Jackets made the move one day after their 79-76 loss to Clemson in the last game of the regular season. With a 2-16 mark in Atlantic Coast Conference play, Georgia Tech finished 18th out of 18th in the league and did not qualify for theACC tournament.

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With Saturday's loss, the Yellow Jackets ended the season on a 12-game losing streak. The last win for Georgia Tech was a 78-74 road win over North Carolina State on Jan. 17. The Yellow Jackets won just two out of 17 games since the calendar flipped to 2026. They ended 2025 at 9-5.

Stoudamire, who played in the NBA for 13 years, went 42-55 in three seasons with Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets failed to make the NCAA Tournament under Stoudamire, who replaced Josh Pastner following a seven-year stint.

Georgia Tech owes Stoudamire $2.6 million during the next two years for the remainder of his contract, unless he takes another job.

Georgia Tech has not made an NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2020-21 season and has just four appearances since finishing as the runner-up in the 2004 tournament to Connecticut.

Prior to taking the job with the Yellow Jackets, Stoudamire was an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics. He also coached Pacific from 2016 to 2021, posting a 71-77 record in five seasons with the program.

Stoudamire played college basketball at Arizona from 1991-95 before becoming a first-round pick in the 1995 NBA Draft by the Toronto Raptors. He was rookie of the year for the Raptors in 1995 and also played for the Trail Blazers, Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs.

Damon Stoudamire coaching record

Pacific (2016-17): 11-22, 4-14 WCC
Pacific (2017-18): 14-18, 9-9 WCC
Pacific (2018-19): 14-18, 4-12 WCC
Pacific (2019-20): 23-10, 11-5 WCC
Pacific (2020-21): 9-9, 6-7 WCC
Georgia Tech (2023-24): 14-18, 7-13 ACC
Georgia Tech (2024-25): 17-17, 10-10 ACC
Georgia Tech (2025-26): 11-20, 2-16 ACC

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Ga Tech fires Damon Stoudamire as men's basketball coach

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March 08, 2026

Damon Stoudamire fired as Georgia Tech basketball coach after 3 years

Georgia Techhas decided to fireDamon Stoudamireas its coach following a three-year stint, the school announced Sunday,...

Analysis-Iran defies Trump, elevates Khamenei's son Mojtaba as successor

By Samia Nakhoul and Parisa Hafezi

FILE PHOTO: Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, visits Hezbollah's office in Tehran, Iran, October 1, 2024. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY./File Photo

FILE PHOTO: Mojtaba Khamenei visits Hezbollah's office in Tehran

DUBAI, March 9 (Reuters) - Iran's clerical leadership chose confrontation over compromise in appointing Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father, Ali Khamenei, a move regional officials say is a direct rebuke to U.S. President Donald Trump, who had declared the son "unacceptable".

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a U.S.-Israeli strike at the start of ‌the conflict, now in its second week.

The appointment of Mojtaba as his successor by the Assembly of Experts locks hardliners firmly in control in Tehran - a gamble that could reshape Iran's ‌war with the U.S. and Israel and reverberate far beyond the Middle East.

"Having Mojtaba take over is the same playbook," said Alex Vatanka, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute.

"It's a big humiliation for the United States to carry out an operation of this scale, risk so much, and end up killing an 86-year-old man, only to have him replaced by his hardline son."

Under Iran's complex, theocratic system, the supreme leader is the ultimate authority, including over foreign policy and Iran's nuclear programme, as well as guiding the elected president and parliament.

CHOICE PUTS IRAN ON PATH OF FURTHER CONFRONTATION

Analysts say the choice of Mojtaba, a deeply hardline cleric whose wife, mother and other family members were also killed in U.S.–Israeli strikes - sends an unequivocal message: Iran's leadership has rejected any prospect of compromise to preserve the system and sees no path forward except confrontation, revenge and endurance.

According to insiders, Mojtaba will face immense internal and ‌external strain from a disaffected population and an escalating conflict, but is ⁠expected to move swiftly to consolidate power.

That will likely mean expanded authority for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, harsher domestic controls and sweeping repression to crush dissent.

"The world will miss the era of his father," a regional official close to Tehran told Reuters. "Mojtaba will have no choice but to show an iron fist... even if ⁠the war ends, there will be severe internal repression."

That stance comes after months of deepening domestic unrest - the bloodiest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution - that had already weakened the Islamic Republic before the war began.

Iran was grappling with a battered economy, soaring inflation, currency collapse and widening poverty, alongside tightening repression that had fuelled public anger and protests - pressures now likely to intensify under wartime rule.

BLEAK DAYS AHEAD

Difficult days lie ahead under Mojtaba, with far tighter internal controls, intensified pressure at home and an even more aggressive, hostile posture abroad, said another Iranian insider familiar with the situation on the ground.

Paul Salem, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, said Mojtaba was ‌not a figure positioned to strike a deal with the United States or pivot diplomatically.

"Nobody emerging now is going to be able to compromise," Salem said. "This is a hardline choice, made in a hardline moment."

In the eyes of Iran's clerics, many of whom famously label America the "Great Satan", the assassination of Khamenei, the Islamic Republic's highest religious authority, has elevated him to "martyrdom".

Clerics have cast the slain leader as a heroic figure, likening him to Imam Hussein - the Shi'ite symbol of sacrifice and resistance against oppression.

"Mojtaba is even worse and more hardline than his father," said Alan Eyre, former U.S. diplomat and Iran specialist, adding that he was the preferred candidate of the Guards. "He's going to have a lot of revenge to exact."

That calculus carries risks. Israel has warned that any successor to Khamenei would also be a target, while Trump has said the ‌war may only end once Iran's military leadership and ruling elite are eliminated.

NEW LEADER HAS LONG OPPOSED REFORMISTS

A powerful mid‑ranking cleric, Mojtaba, 56, has long opposed reformist groups advocating engagement with the West. His close ties to senior clerics and the IRGC - which dominates Iran's security forces and its economy - give him leverage across the state's political and coercive security institutions.

He amassed influence under his father as a key figure within the security apparatus and the vast business empire it controls, operating for years ‌as Ali Khamenei's gatekeeper and, in practice, a "mini-supreme leader", analysts say.

His elevation comes as the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran intensifies, with joint strikes hitting fuel depots and other targets inside Iran, while Iranian missiles and drones have struck Gulf states, widening the conflict.

Mojtaba studied under conservative clerics in the seminaries of Qom, the heart of Shi'ite theological learning, and holds the clerical rank of Hojjatoleslam.

The U.S. Treasury sanctioned Mojtaba in 2019, saying he represented the supreme leader in an official capacity despite never holding elected or formal government office.

A Gulf source familiar with regional government thinking said of Mojtaba's appointment: "This ‌tells Trump and Washington that Iran will not back down, they will fight on until the finish."

Salem, of the Middle East Institute, likened Iran's trajectory to Iraq under Saddam Hussein after 1991 or Syria under Bashar al‑Assad after 2012 — governments that survived years of war and isolation but steadily lost control.

"They're doubling down on the hard line," Salem said. "Internally, it's terrible — and deeply destabilising."

(Additional reporting by Parisa Hafezi; Writing by Samia Nakhoul Nakhoul; Editing by Alex Richardson)

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March 08, 2026

Analysis-Iran defies Trump, elevates Khamenei's son Mojtaba as successor

By Samia Nakhoul and Parisa Hafezi FILE PHOTO: Mojtaba Khamenei visits Hezbollah's office in Tehran DUB...

Foreign minister rejects ceasefire calls, saying Iran is fighting for 'the sake of our people'

Iran'sForeign Minister Abbas Araghchihas rejected calls for aceasefire in the Middle East, telling NBC News' "Meet the Press" that his country needs "to continue fighting for the sake of our people."

The U.S. and Israel "are killing our people, they are killing girl students, you know, they are attacking hospitals," he told moderator Kristen Welker.

He said Israel and the U.S. had already shattered the ceasefire reached to end last year's 12-day war, adding, "And now you want to ask for a ceasefire again? This doesn't work like this."

"There needs to bea permanent end to the war," Araghchi said. "Unless we get to that, I think we need to continue fighting for the sake of our people and our security."

OnFriday, four sources told NBC Newsthat Russia was providing intelligence to Iran on the location of U.S. forces in the Middle East, including intelligence that could help Iran locate American warships.

Pressed on whether Iran is receiving Russian support, Araghchi said that "cooperation between Iran and Russia is not something new, it's not a secret." He did not say whether Russian intelligence was helping Iran locate U.S. military assets.

"They are helping us in many different directions. I don't have any detailed information," he said.

In a separate interview on "Meet the Press," United Nations Ambassador Mike Waltz discussed reports of Russia sharing intelligence with Iran, saying he had "no doubt President Trump will deal with it accordingly."

Asked whether he considered Russia to have entered the conflict, Waltz said "we know that both Russia and Iran have had this symbiotic relationship."

"If they are providing anything, it certainly hasn't been very effective, because the U.S. military is decimating Iran's air force, air defenses, navy, ground forces, command and control," Waltz said. "So whatever they're providing, if they're providing anything, hasn't shown to help them very much."

On Saturday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran would no longer attack neighboring Gulf nations unless they facilitate U.S. or Israeli attacks, and he apologized to the region after Iranian strikes killed people in Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

But Araghchi said Iran had not been "attacking our neighbors" intentionally.

"We are attacking American bases, American installations, American assets, which are unfortunately located in the soils of our neighbors," he said.

Araghchi added that Pezeshkian had apologized to the people of the region for "the inconveniences they have faced because of this aggression by the United States and retaliation by us."

The Iranian minister also said that if the U.S. deploysground troops to Iran, "we have very brave soldiers who are waiting for any enemy who enters into our soil, to fight with them and to kill them and destroy them."

President Donald Trump said last week that one of the reasons for launching the war was that Iran would soon have missiles capable of reaching the U.S., but Araghchi said this was untrue.

"This is in fact misinformation," he said. "You know, we have capability to produce missiles, but we have intentionally limited ourselves to below 2,000 kilometers of range because we don't want to be felt as a threat by anybody else in the world."

Iran's Assembly of Experts has chosen a new supreme leader after strikes killedAyatollah Ali Khamenei, according to Iranian state media, but Araghchi did not offer any insight on who was set to replace him.

"Nobody knows," he said. "There are lots of rumors around. But you know, we have to wait for the Assembly of Experts to convene."

Pressed on comments by Trump that he wanted to be involved in choosing Iran's next leader, Araghchi said Iran will "allow nobody to interfere in our domestic affairs."

"This is up to the Iranian people to elect their new leader," he said. "They have already elected the Assembly of Experts, and the Assembly of Experts will do the job."

Trump said ina postFriday on Truth Social that the U.S. would not make a deal with Iran "except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER."

Asked on "Meet the Press" what the president meant, Waltz said he would "leave that to the president as commander in chief to determine what that ultimately looks like."

"We're ahead of schedule, and what he ultimately wants is pretty much common sense," Waltz said. "As he said, we have to have an Iranian government that no longer threatens the American people, threatens our allies and threatens the world, and holds the world's energy supplies hostage through both its missiles and its navy."

byAdministrator

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March 08, 2026

Foreign minister rejects ceasefire calls, saying Iran is fighting for 'the sake of our people'

Iran'sForeign Minister Abbas Araghchihas rejected calls for aceasefire in the Middle East, telling NBC News' ...

Cuba 'at the end of the line,' Trump warns at Shield of the Americas Summit

As PresidentDonald Trumplaunched a new coalition against drug cartels alongside Latin American leaders in Florida on March 7, he also warned of potential action in Cuba, the latest mention in a growing list of comments the president has made toward the future of the island nation 90 miles from the U.S.

Trump's comments, which mentioned "great change" coming to Cuba, came as he spoke at theShield of the Americas Summiton March 7. The daylong event aimed at discussing strategies to bolster U.S. leadership and coalition in the Western Hemisphere also hosted leaders from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago, among others.

The summit also saw the announcement of the Shield of the Americas, a coalition of like-minded Latin American nations that the Trump administration says it created to combat narcotrafficking and solidify U.S. primacy in the Western Hemisphere. Trump officially launched the coalition at the all-day, invite-only summit at his Doral golf club near Miami.

Trump linked Cuba torecent U.S. action in Venezuelain the wake of the January raid by U.S. special forces that captured the country's then-leader Nicolás Maduro, hinting that the island could soon see change. Attention has been on the island for much of 2026, with Trumpsaying in late Februarythere could be a "friendly takeover of Cuba" as fuel shortages squeeze Havana's authoritarian government.

"As we achieve a historic transformation in Venezuela, we're also looking forward to the great change that will soon be coming to Cuba,"Trump said on March 7. "Cuba's at the end of the line, they're very much at the end of the line. They have no money. They have no oil. They have a bad philosophy; they have a bad regime that's been bad for a long time."

President Donald Trump signs the "Commitment to countering cartel criminal activity" document during the "Shield of the Americas" Summit in Miami, Florida, March 7, 2026. Trump hosted the Summit to discuss strategies to bolster U.S. leadership and coalition in the Western Hemisphere alongside the Latin American leaders of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago.