Sports Express | October 27, 2026: Kane Ends 25-Year Wait for Ballon d'Or

1. Kane wins Ballon d'Or, first Englishman in 25 years

Source: NPR

Harry Kane was named the winner of the Ballon d'Or at a ceremony at the London Palladium on Monday night, becoming the first Englishman to take the award since Michael Owen in 2001. The 33-year-old scored 73 goals for club and country last season, finishing as Europe's top scorer and breaking scoring records in Germany for Bayern Munich.

Kane won the Bundesliga and German Cup double with Bayern, scoring a hat trick against Stuttgart in the cup final, and the club also reached the Champions League semifinals. At the World Cup he scored six times to pass Gary Lineker as England's all-time leading World Cup scorer; England lost to Argentina in the semifinals but beat Kylian Mbappé's France for third place, their best finish in 60 years.

Kane was followed in the voting by Mbappé, Lamine Yamal — voted best young talent for a third straight year — 2024 winner Rodri and record eight-time winner Lionel Messi. "Anything is possible with hard work, when no one else is watching," Kane said in a message to young players. Spain star Alexia Putellas won her third women's Ballon d'Or.

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2. Mbappé loses Chinese sponsors over "Chinese dictator" remark

Source: Al Jazeera

Chinese drinks giant Dongpeng said on Tuesday that it was terminating all cooperation with Kylian Mbappé with immediate effect, stating that it "firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any behaviour that offends national sentiments." Mengniu, China's largest dairy producer, also cut ties with the France captain, saying it opposes any words or actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people.

The announcements followed a video that circulated online in which the 27-year-old, asked about the funniest internet meme he had seen, said it was his face digitally altered onto that of "some guy — I think he's a Chinese dictator." "Dongpeng Beverage ends cooperation with Mbappe" became the top-trending topic on Weibo, with users urging the company to remove his image from its bottles.

Chinese football outlet Dongqiudi said in a statement on Monday evening that the remarks were "offensive to China and the Chinese people." In September, Mbappé had addressed an earlier meme depicting him as a military dictator in an interview with L'Equipe. The furore came a day after he lost out to Kane for the Ballon d'Or.

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3. Brewers rout Rays 10-1, one win from first World Series title

Source: Sportsnet

The Milwaukee Brewers scored eight runs in the fifth inning and beat the Tampa Bay Rays 10-1 on Monday night at Tropicana Field, taking a 3-0 lead in the World Series and moving within one win of the franchise's first title.

Christian Yelich and William Contreras opened the scoring with RBI singles in the third before the Brewers broke the game open with two out in the fifth: a two-run single by Brice Turang, an RBI single by Garrett Mitchell and a two-run double by Cooper Pratt. Jackson Chourio had four hits, scored twice and drove in a run.

"We kind of came into this game saying it's win or go home," said Sal Frelick, who doubled home a run, scored in the fifth and made a leaping catch in right field in the eighth. Griffin Jax starts Game 4 for the Rays on Tuesday. Of the 25 teams to take a 3-0 lead in the Fall Classic, 21 completed the sweep.

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4. Cowboys pile on Eagles' misery with 38-21 blowout

Source: Sportsnet

Dak Prescott threw for 212 yards and three touchdowns, two of them to CeeDee Lamb, and the Dallas Cowboys handed the Philadelphia Eagles their fifth straight loss, 38-21, on Monday night. The Eagles fell to 2-5 with their longest skid since 2016.

Javonte Williams ran for a career-high 155 yards and a touchdown as Dallas finished with 204 yards on the ground — the first 150-yard rushing game by a Cowboys player since Ezekiel Elliott in 2018. DeMarvion Overshown sealed the win by intercepting backup quarterback Tanner McKee in the fourth quarter of his first game back from a hamstring injury.

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is expected to miss the rest of the season because of blood clots in his lungs; Philadelphia is 3-6 without Hurts since he became the starter in 2021. The Giants lead the NFC East at 4-2-1, with the Cowboys at 3-4 but the only team in the division with two division victories.

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5. Thunder hit twice: Jalen Williams has dislocated ankle, broken fibula

Source: Sportsnet

Oklahoma City guard Jalen Williams needs surgery to repair a broken left fibula and a dislocated left ankle, and forward Cason Wallace needs surgery for a left labral tear, general manager Sam Presti said Monday. Both were injured in Sunday's 108-101 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Williams went down on a drive with 1:14 remaining. His ankle was draped with towels, players on both teams reacted with dismay and a stretcher was brought out as the game was stopped for about five minutes. Presti said no timetable will be set until after surgery, though the history of such injuries suggests Williams could miss the rest of the season.

"Tough night last night," Presti said. "There's no way to paint that differently." Williams has averaged 17.9 points in 251 games over his first five seasons, was an All-Defensive selection in 2024-25 and was a key part of the Thunder's 2025 championship team.

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6. Gridin scores twice as Flames beat Maple Leafs for fourth straight win

Source: TSN

Matvei Gridin scored twice and the Calgary Flames made it four straight wins with a 5-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday, completing a perfect homestand. Mikael Backlund also scored, while Joel Farabee and Martin Pospisil added empty-net goals.

Gridin opened the scoring at 10:05 of the first period from a sharp angle off the left wing, then scored on the power play 25 seconds into the second — his fourth goal in four games, leading the club. Devin Cooley made 26 saves in his fourth straight start and has stopped 126 of 132 shots (.955) over that stretch.

Easton Cowan and William Nylander replied for Toronto, whose four-game win streak ended, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves. Kirill Marchenko left early in the second period with a lower-body injury. It was Calgary's first win over Toronto since Feb. 10, 2022, after eight straight losses to the Leafs.

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7. Matthews reaches 800 points in 703 games, fastest in Leafs history

Source: Sportsnet

Auston Matthews became the fastest player in Toronto Maple Leafs history to reach 800 career points, doing so with an assist on William Nylander's third-period goal on Monday — in just 703 games.

He surpassed previous record-holder Darryl Sittler, who reached 800 in 742 games in 1980. The 2022 league MVP is off to another hot start with nine goals and 11 assists in 14 games.

Matthews has produced at a point-per-game clip in all but two seasons of his 10-year career. His most productive season came in 2023-24, when he scored 69 goals and registered 107 points en route to his third Rocket Richard Trophy. Despite Monday's loss, Toronto sits third in the Atlantic Division at 7-5-2.

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8. WNBA Finals Game 6 moved to 12:30 p.m. ET Thursday

Source: TSN

After a weekend of frantic discussions, Game 6 of the WNBA Finals will be played Thursday at 12:30 p.m. ET at the 17,000-seat State Farm Arena, home of the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks' game against the Cleveland Cavaliers that night moves back an hour to 8 p.m. to accommodate the doubleheader, allowing a potential Game 7 to remain scheduled for Saturday at Chase Center in San Francisco.

Moving the game up avoids a scenario in which a potential championship game would have been played at the Dream's 3,500-seat Gateway Center. The Valkyries won Game 5 in San Francisco 64-55 to take a 3-2 series lead.

"I hope everyone gets to see it somehow and I know for some people it's not realistic," Dream coach Karl Smesko said. Both the Hawks and Cavaliers play Wednesday, so their game could not be moved to the early slot Thursday. Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said the early tipoff will not hurt her team, with the main concerns being "rest and recovery."

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9. Quinn Hughes met by boos in first game back in Vancouver

Source: CBC

Chants of "Hughes, you suck" rained down as former Vancouver Canuck Quinn Hughes hit the ice at Rogers Arena on Sunday for the first time since a blockbuster trade sent him to Minnesota. Whenever he carried the puck, boos and heckles roared through the arena, and whenever he fell to the ice, cheers broke out in the stands.

Hughes, an American-born defenceman drafted seventh overall by Vancouver in 2018, was traded by former general manager Patrik Allvin on Dec. 12, 2025, after the club reportedly learned he did not intend to sign an extension beyond 2027. The Canucks received centre Marco Rossi, forward Liam Öhgren, defenceman Zeev Buium and the Wild's 2026 first-round pick, used to select Adam Novotny 24th overall.

The club played a video tribute in the first period that drew a mix of applause and boos before becoming a standing ovation. The Canucks entered the game at 2-9-1, while the Wild were 7-3-2. Hughes played 459 regular-season games for Vancouver and posted 432 points, the most by a defenceman in club history.

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10. Chad Kelly agrees to contract extension with Argonauts

Source: 3DownNation

Franchise quarterback Chad Kelly has agreed to a long-term contract extension with the Toronto Argonauts, according to a report from Arash Madani indicating a three-year deal through 2029, while a conflicting report from TSN's Dave Naylor said it is a five-year extension through 2031. The Argonauts have called a press conference for Tuesday billed as a "major announcement."

The 32-year-old was slated to become a CFL free agent this offseason and announced in mid-September that he had halted contract talks until the end of the 2026 season. He has completed 70.9 per cent of his passes for 5,067 yards, 33 touchdowns and 24 interceptions over 16 starts, finishing third in the league in passing yardage and touchdowns while throwing the most interceptions.

Kelly is scheduled to earn $625,000 this season, second in the league behind B.C.'s Nathan Rourke. He is recovering from a knee injury suffered in Week 20 that may put his playoff status in jeopardy. The Argonauts (9-9) host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (9-9) in the East Semi-Final on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 1 p.m. ET at BMO Field.

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