Mbappé on verge of Madrid debut

Kylian Mbappé appears ready to make his debut for Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup against Italian club Atalanta on Wednesday. Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said the France striker arrived in good shape following the European Championship and was adapting well to the team after a week of practice. Mbappé “could play tomorrow,” Ancelotti said Tuesday at a news conference at the National Stadium in Warsaw where the match will be played. The 25-year-old Mbappe is the biggest draw in the Polish capital after finally joining Madrid following a drawn-out saga with his former club, Paris Saint-Germain. He was introduced to the club’s fans at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium last month but wasn’t part of the squad on its U.S. tour while he rested after Euro 2024. He joins a slew of world-class forwards at Madrid, including Vinícius Júnior, another new signing in Brazil striker Endrick, Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo and Arda Guler. The 65-year-old Ancelotti joked he had a “huge problem” and that thinking about who might play up front “has ruined my holidays.”

Harbaugh won’t be honorary captain

Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore said on Tuesday that former head coach Jim Harbaugh, who was given a four-year show cause and one-year suspension by the NCAA in a decision released last week regarding another investigation, has decided not to come to Ann Arbor as honorary captain of the season opener on Aug. 31. Harbaugh is now coach of the NFL’s Chargers. Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel announced on a podcast that posted last Wednesday — the same day as the NCAA’s final report on Harbaugh misleading investigators looking into impermissible recruiting visits during the COVID-19 dead period — that the former coach and Wolverines quarterback had agreed to be honorary captain after leading the program to the 2023 national championship. Moore said Harbaugh called him on Monday to say he wouldn’t be at the season opener on Aug. 31 against Fresno State as honorary captain. Michigan is expecting former players from the 2023 team and Harbaugh’s parents, Jack and Jackie, will fill in as honorary captains.

Sparks All-Star Hamby sues WNBA

Sparks All-Star Dearica Hamby sued the WNBA and her former team in federal court Monday regarding her treatment from the Aces while pregnant. Hamby’s lawsuit alleged the Aces discriminated and retaliated against her, leading to her January 2023 trade to the Sparks. The Aces and coach Becky Hammon have previously refuted the allegations. Hammon said in May 2023 that Hamby was traded for strategic reasons, namely putting the club in position to sign likely future Hall of Famer Candace Parker. Hamby twice previously made public claims against the Aces. The WNBA investigated the matter and in May 2023 suspended Hammon for two games without pay. The club also was docked their first-round 2025 draft pick for providing impermissible player benefits involving Hamby. Hamby, however, insisted the league didn’t go far enough. She filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in September saying she was discriminated against. According to the lawsuit, the EEOC ruled in May she had a “right to sue.” —News services