PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan has been relieved of day-to-day duties while he recuperates from a medical situation, the organization announced Tuesday.

“Jay Monahan informed the PGA TOUR Policy Board that he is recuperating from a medical situation,” a joint statement from the PGA Tour and Monahan read.

“The Board fully supports Jay and appreciates everyone respecting his privacy. During Jay’s absence, Ron Price, Chief Operating Officer, and Tyler Dennis, Executive Vice President & President, PGA TOUR, will lead the day-to-day operations of the PGA TOUR with the assistance of the great team Jay has built, ensuring seamless continuity.”

No further information was shared but the Tour said it would provide further updates “as appropriate.”

Last week, Monahan, 53, and the PGA Tour sent shockwaves through the golfing world after announcing a partnership with the European-based DP World Tour and LIV Golf, unifying the trio under a new, yet-to-be-named, commercial entity and consequently ending a feud that has dogged the men’s professional game for the past year.

The announcement led to the US Senate opening an investigation into the proposed merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf’s owners – Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) – on Monday.

Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal issued both organizations with letters in his role as chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.

The letters detail the causes for concern and subsequently request documentation relating to the new agreement and how it came to be formed, as well as records “referring” to the dispute between the organizations prior to the proposed partnership.

Lionel Messi’s move to Inter Miami is yet to be finalized, but already his impact on Major League Soccer is being felt.

US soccer is no stranger to welcoming some of the sport’s biggest stars; David Beckham, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Wayne Rooney and even Pelé have played in the States.

However, it’s possible that Messi will have a greater influence on the sport in the US than any of the names that went before him.

As Philadelphia Union head coach Jim Curtin said: “It’s the biggest day in probably MLS history.”

Inter Miami has already benefited from a huge boost in social media followers, while ticket prices all around the league are soaring as fans eagerly await Messi’s first visit to play against their teams with his new club.

But are the prices and level of interest sustainable in the long term? Kieran Maguire, author of The Price of Football and a football finance lecturer at the University of Liverpool Management School, expects them to eventually flatten out again.

“For those people who want to be able to say: ‘I was there at Lionel Messi’s first MLS game,’ demand will exceed supply.

“He’s not playing at every ground in every week so I don’t see a huge ripple effect and also I think there will be a sharp spike and then things will return to some form of normality, especially if he doesn’t transform things for them.”

In the minutes after it was reported that Messi would be moving to the US, ticket prices for Inter Miami matches soared by more than 1,000%.

According to resale website TickPick, the cheapest ticket for Inter Miami’s Leagues Cup match against Cruz Azul on July 21 – potentially Messi’s first game with his new team – was just $29.

In the 24 hours after news of Messi’s pending move emerged, the cheapest ticket was $329, TickPick said – a surge of 1,034%.

The biggest increase, however, was for Miami’s game against the New York Red Bulls, with ticket prices soaring by 1,236% for Messi’s first trip to the Big Apple in August.

There has been a similar impact on StubHub, which has seen sales for Inter Miami’s games from July until the end of the season increase 28 fold since Messi’s deal was announced.

Other MLS teams have also enjoyed a boost in ticket sales; Miami’s game away to Los Angeles FC has gone from the 15th highest-selling event in LAFC’s season, StubHub said, to the second highest-selling event – and is on track to be No. 1.

Breaking America

Messi’s pending arrival at Inter Miami, which currently sits bottom of the MLS’ Eastern Conference, has already given a huge boost to the club’s global reach.

Before the announcement, the club had around one million followers on Instagram; as of June 13, it now has 7.8 million – more than every NFL, MLB, NHL and MLS team account.

“Converting followers or monetizing followers is always a challenge,” Maguire adds. “It helps in terms of commercial deals because if you want to pitch to a commercial partner, you can now say: ‘Well, your product is now going to be seen by six million people instead of one million.

“So it will help from that perspective, A) in terms of the prices that Inter Miami can charge and B) with the number of commercial partners, who all of a sudden they want their product next to Lionel Messi.”

Of course, a large part of Messi’s remit in Miami will be to help boost interest in MLS and soccer in general in the United States, as has been the case for every major star since Pelé moved to the New York Cosmos in 1975 in what was then the North American Soccer League.

While the Argentine won’t have to ‘crack America’ in the same way Beckham was asked to, with the sport growing exponentially in both popularity and value since Beckham moved to Los Angeles Galaxy in 2007, soccer could certainly still do with an uplift in the US.

According to a Statista report from 2022, MLS still lagged behind the US’ four other major sports leagues – the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB – in terms of popularity among fans.

Maguire says part of Messi’s “objective” while in the US will just be to “keep the trajectory growing” but believes soccer is “never going to break into” the US sports scene.

“The NFL and NBA are part of the US culture and those cultural norms are so established that there is no chance of soccer, football ever, ever competing with them,” he explains.

“I think he will help the game to grow, we’ve got the 2026 World Cup taking place in the USA, Canada and Mexico, but in my view there is a natural ceiling for the MLS and he’s going to help the sport get to that ceiling that much quicker, rather than being a disruptor or a challenger for the traditional big sports in the States.”

While Inter Miami is unable to contend with the salaries on offer from Saudi Arabia’s clubs, the reported structure of the deal means Messi’s earning opportunities are much higher than his basic MLS salary.

According to multiple reports, Messi’s new deal with Miami includes an option for part-ownership of the club and a cut of revenue from new subscribers to Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass streaming service.

Last year, MLS announced a 10-year deal with Apple to stream every US top-flight men’s game worldwide.

This season, viewers can watch every MLS, Leagues Cup, MLS NEXT Pro and MLS NEXT match through the men’s professional soccer league’s streaming platform, which is available through Apple TV.

Apple recently dropped the price of a soccer subscription to $49 from $99 for the remainder of the season. The company doesn’t disclose viewership figures, but Apple SVP of services Eddy Cue recently said it’s doing “much better than forecasted” for number of subscriptions and viewership numbers.

Despite that agreement, Maguire says he believes the offers from Saudi Arabia would have still been “far more lucrative.”

“He’s been offered a nine-figure salary in the Middle East,” he says. “There’s no way he’s going to be getting hundreds of millions [in Miami].”

Regardless of the details of the contract, Messi will have to perform on the pitch for his stay in the MLS to remain relevant.

The Argentine has his work cut out, too, with Miami languishing bottom of the Eastern Conference with the third-worst points total in the entire league.

But if there is one player who can turn around the fortunes of the club and the MLS, it’s Messi.

Rafael Nadal has dropped out of the world’s top 100 for the first time in 20 years as he continues to recover from the hip injury he suffered in January’s Australian Open.

The 22-time grand slam champion missed this year’s French Open, a tournament he has won a record 14 times, meaning he dropped the 2,000 ranking points he earned last season for winning at Roland-Garros.

Nadal, who turned 37 during the French Open, has now fallen from world No. 15 to 136 in the rankings.

The Spaniard underwent surgery on his hip muscle earlier in June after his initial recovery from the injury didn’t progress as anticipated, ruling him out for five months and all but ending his season.

When announcing his decision to undergo surgery, Nadal said that next season will be his last on the ATP Tour. The former world No. 1 has been plagued by injuries throughout his career, making his accomplishments all the more incredible.

Nadal’s doctor, Angel Ruiz-Cotorro, told Reuters at the French Open that he expects “Rafa will recover perfectly in the time necessary or maybe even less.”

Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic has reclaimed the world No. 1 spot from Carlos Alcaraz after winning his 23rd grand slam at Roland-Garros.

Djokovic ousted Alcaraz in the semifinal of the French Open, helping him rise two places from third to begin his 388th week at world No. 1.

Russia’s Daniil Medvedev dropped from second to third after his shock first-round exit in Paris, while beaten finalist Casper Ruud remains in fourth place.

Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas, who was beaten by Alcaraz in straight sets in the quarterfinals, rounds out the world’s top five.

Bali’s governor has announced a ban on tourist activities on its mountains with “immediate effect,” in a bid to preserve its sacred peaks following a rise in violations by misbehaving tourists.

“These mountains are sacred and revered. If their sanctity is damaged, it is the same as degrading the sacredness of Bali,” Wayan Koster told reporters at a news conference on May 31, emphasizing that popular activities like mountain climbing and hiking were no longer allowed for both foreign and domestic tourists as well as locals.

“This ban is in effect forever and is not only for foreign tourists but also domestic tourists and local residents… (with the exception of) religious ceremonies or the handling of natural disasters,” he said.

The governor had initially floated the idea back in February.

He did not elaborate or discuss potential punishments for those who violated the new rules but groups of foreigners have been deported and banned from returning to Indonesia for six months by authorities.

Dubbed the “island of the Gods,” Bali is one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations, regularly ranking high on global travel polls.

But this popularity has come at a price. Foreigners have been regularly found misbehaving and testing the patience of locals.

In March, Wayan Koster announced a crackdown on “digital nomads” found to be working illegally on the island as guides and hairdressers and said tourists would no longer be allowed to rent motorbikes, following several accidents and influencers performing reckless stunts.

The new rules will apply to Bali’s 22 mountains, which have now been closed indefinitely for climbers.

In 2021, local police confirmed that a pornographic video was filmed on Mount Batur, an active volcano popular among climbers and considered one of Bali’s most sacred spots.

This year on Mount Agung, Bali’s highest peak, which is also considered a sacred religious site – a Russian tourist courted controversy for a semi-nude photo he took on top of the mountain and then shared on social media.

Despite making a public apology and participating in an “offering ceremony to the Gods,” he was deported from Bali on April 12 and barred from entering Indonesia for at least six months.

Mountains and volcanoes are popular among many visitors who flock to Bali to enjoy its beaches, jungles and rice paddy fields. Hiking and sunrise jeep tours around volcanic slopes are also particularly popular among tourists and have provided a source of income for locals working as drivers and guides.

Despite being praised for stamping out disrespectful behavior, the latest ban drew anger from local Balinese communities – those who worked on site as guides and drivers and ran inns and other businesses near famous mountains catering to travelers.

“We understand that authorities are going after those who misbehave badly and we support that. But Wayan Koster has to also look out for us Balinese who worked in tourism and a strict ban will only scare tourists away – which is terrible,” said a guide named Che, who is based in Seminyak and offers trekking tours to various volcanoes and waterfalls.

“Bali is only starting to bounce back from the pandemic, now is not a good time to be choosing which tourists we want. Police patrols and fines could be implemented instead,” he said.

“Many people come to Bali to see our mountains,” a staff employee said. “The government should not ban tourists.”

In order for the proposed ban to take effect, it would need approval from local parliament to be enacted as an official law.

The ban was still premature and is still “in discussion” according to Indonesian government officials in Jakarta. “The issue of banning people from climbing mountains is still being discussed with several regional unit heads in the Bali regional government,” tourism minister Sandiaga Uno told a news conference on Monday. “When it’s finalized, it will be (announced) by the governor of Bali.”

Speaking at the same conference, Bali tourism chief Tjokorda Bagus Pemayun defended the ban and said that local mountain guides would be made “contract workers” if the ban became official. “We will convert to contract workers,” he said. “We will not stop their ventures and are providing solutions.”

Exactly 1,000 years ago this month, construction started on a magnificent island building off the coast of France that, as it rose improbably from the choppy waters of the Atlantic Ocean, would become a lasting symbol of national fortitude.

The medieval abbey atop Mont Saint-Michel, a cascade of walls and buttresses descending from a lofty central spire, was a spectacular creation which has played crucial roles in French history over the centuries.

Today, as it marks a millennium since work began, it’s one of the country’s most popular tourist attractions outside of Paris – at times overwhelmed by its own popularity to such a degree that its custodians have urged people to stay away.

The abbey, which lies off the coast of France’s Normandy region, west of Paris, has pulled in legions of pilgrims over the centuries. Today, it attracts 1.3 million tourists each year.

“In the span of 1,000 years, its silhouette has become an emblem of French universalism,” French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on Twitter on June 5 following an official visit to the site. “Its abbey, the symbol of what we are: a people of builders.”

To celebrate the abbey’s birthday, the Mont is hosting concerts, conferences and a visual show called the “Millennium Solstice” on June 23 that will feature an unprecedented light show. Visitors can also enjoy an exhibition about its history and architecture until November 2023.

A witness to history

Rising out of a bay flanked by the regions of Normandy and Brittany, surrounded by quicksand, the gothic Mont Saint-Michel abbey towers over its village and thick fortress walls.

When the tide rolls in, the Mont emerges out of the water like a French Atlantis, an architectural wonder set in a beautiful natural landscape. It became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979.

A “marriage of human genius and nature,” President Macron commented in a speech celebrating the abbey’s millennium.

Nicknamed the “wonder of the Western world”, the Mont’s history goes back to the year 709 when a sanctuary in honor of Saint Michael the Archangel was erected on the rock. It became a sacred site which continued to evolve from the 11th to the 16th century.

The abbey has witnessed key moments of French history, notably becoming a fortress during the Hundred Years’ War of the 14th and 15th century and surviving a 30-year siege by the British.

It became a prison during the French Revolution of the 18th century. By 1863, 14,000 prisoners had spent time in the “Bastille of the Seas,” where tides and quicksand made escape impossible. Prisoners’ families replaced the pilgrims who had once strolled the village lanes.

It was during the Belle Époque prior to World War I that the monument gradually became the worldwide tourist attraction we know today. One of its popular landmarks is the famous Mère Poulard inn, named after its founder, the brilliant cook Annette Poulard, which has been hosting visitors since 1888.

In 1944, author Ernest Hemingway, at the time a war correspondent, reputedly sat at La Mère Poulard’s table to describe the exploits of the D-day landings, including one of the decisive battles for the liberation of France and Europe, which took place a few kilometers from Mont Saint-Michel, near the completely destroyed town of Avranches.

Overtourism concerns

Nowadays, around 3 million people visit the site every year, with some weekends busier than usual. Ascension weekend in May saw the site overwhelmed by visitors between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. – a number which alarmed officials usually only expect in peak summer.

In total, there were around 33,000 people on site, not a record in itself, but still a lot for the Mont, which usually expects this amount of tourists in August, the time of the high season.

With millennium celebrations, initial figures for 2023 suggest that Mont-Saint-Michel will remain a very popular tourist attraction, which poses some problems for its dozen inhabitants, shops and natural landscape.

“I don’t think it’s a good thing for the shopkeepers, hoteliers and restaurants because they simply can’t keep up with the customer demand. Mont Saint-Michel is a square kilometer in circumference, and one shopping street. When you put more than 5,000 people at a specific time on the street, I don’t think it’s very pleasant,” Velter said.

In efforts to increase sustainability,  buses connecting the site now run on biofuels rather than diesel. Meanwhile, visitors are urged to explore the wider bay area during the peak 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. hours, and to capitalize on free parking after 6.30 p.m.

“Take advantage of the nature and boat tours we’ve set up, for example. There are seals, eels and Atlantic salmon here,” Velter said. “What we often forget is that there is the largest colony of dolphins in Europe so it’s also a chance to discover Mont Saint-Michel differently.”

When Boris Johnson became British prime minister in the summer of 2019, he entered Downing Street as the highest-profile individual to do so since his hero, wartime leader Sir Winston Churchill, began his second stint as PM in 1951.

Johnson was nothing short of a colossus. A popular columnist, a television star, a celebrated author. For decades, his carefully honed media persona – part pseudo-intellectual; part loveable-but-out-of-touch-poshboy – won Johnson fans beyond the traditional Conservative base. For years, he was the most electorally successful Conservative in the country, serving as Mayor of London – a liberal city where the Conservatives typically struggle.

As mayor, he gained a global reputation, appearing at the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics; going on US talk shows as a guest; taking center stage at the London Olympics in 2012; being the human embodiment of Brexit – an earthquake in global politics and economics.

However, he leaves frontline politics a diminished figure who, for now, seems to have lost all the big arguments and is no longer in control of his legacy.

His previous fame and electoral success could not protect him from crashing down to earth as the final months of his premiership became dogged in scandals so severe that his position eventually became untenable.

Those scandals have been covered extensively in the international media. From Partygate, in which Johnson became the first sitting prime minister to be issued with a police fine, to his deputy chief whip resigning after allegedly groping someone, Johnson’s spent his last few weeks in office clinging desperately to power.

What might be less well-known outside of the UK is what happened next. For all that Johnson’s supporters agitated for his return when his successor Liz Truss was forced to resign, when push came to shove, his own party thought he was damaged goods and blocked any return to the throne.

Since then, it’s only been his most loyal footsoldiers that have continued banging the Johnson drum.

When Johnson gave evidence to a parliamentary committee – with a Conservative majority – investigating whether or not he deliberately misled parliament over Partygate, you could count his supporters in the room on one hand. They muttered and tutted at others in the room as Johnson was grilled for hours, but they represented a minority view of the people that once supported Johnson whole-heartedly.

That same day, Johnson’s dwindling influence was further underscored as he led a futile rebellion against Sunak’s new Brexit deal, something Johnson has publicly criticized. Orthodox thinking in the Conservative party now is that Sunak has saved Brexit from being a total disaster and that Johnson looks slightly ridiculous protesting Sunak’s strategy.

It is in this context that Johnson’s resignation statement should be read.

He discredits the inquiry into Partygate, saying “they are determined to use the proceedings against me to drive me out of Parliament. They have still not produced a shred of evidence that I knowingly or recklessly misled the Commons.”

He attacks Sunak’s approach to Brexit: “Our party needs urgently to recapture its sense of momentum and its belief in what this country can do. We need to show how we are making the most of Brexit … We must not be afraid to be a properly Conservative government.”

And he reminds everyone reading of the monumental battles he won at the ballot box: “We need to deliver on the 2019 manifesto, which was endorsed by 14 million people. We should remember that more than 17 million voted for Brexit.”

Johnson is a man with a keen sense of history and desperately wants his name to go down as one of the most important in Britain’s.

A little over a year ago, there was no reason why it wouldn’t. He had not only delivered Brexit in 2016, but saved it in 2019 when he took over as PM, negotiated a new deal with the EU – at the time considered impossible – and called an election at which he won an 80-seat parliamentary majority.

He nearly died during the Covid-19 pandemic, but recovered and led one of the fastest vaccine rollouts in the world. His steadfast defense of Ukraine has won him such adoration in that country that streets in the capital Kyiv have been renamed in his honor.

But all of those things may have been overshadowed.

Brexit, his personal victory, is now tarnished. Not only do the majority of Brits now consider it to have been a mistake, it was his nemesis Sunak who received praise from none other than US President Joe Biden for fixing the problems Johnson’s deal created with Northern Ireland.

His legacy when it comes to Covid won’t be the vaccine rollout, but Partygate. And the longer the war in Ukraine rolls on, the more apparent it becomes that the first land war in Europe in decades simply isn’t primarily about Boris Johnson.

The final indignity for a man who prides himself on his popularity would have been defeat at an election. Johnson and his allies can now forever write an alternative reality, where he either remained in power or came back and won the next general election.

By resigning, he has spared himself that fate. And living in denial might be the kindest thing that Johnson could possibly have done for himself and his legacy.

A new mural on display in India’s new $110 million Parliament has become an unlikely target of ire among its South Asian neighbors, with Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh seeking an explanation from New Delhi.

The mural depicts a map of an ancient Indian civilization encompassing what is today Pakistan in the north and Bangladesh and Nepal in the east.

Speaking to reporters earlier this month, the spokesperson of India’s Ministry of External Affairs, Arindam Bagchi, said it portrays the ancient Ashoka Empire and symbolizes “the idea of responsible and people-oriented governance that (King Ashoka) adopted and propagated.”

But to some politicians from India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), it appears to represent a vision of the future – of “Akhand Bharat,” an “Undivided India” that would merge the modern-day country with Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar.

“The resolve is clear. Akhand Bharat,” tweeted Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi alongside a photograph of the map. “Akhand Bharat in (the) New Parliament. It represents our powerful and self reliant India,” tweeted BJP lawmaker Manoj Kotak.

To India’s neighbors, “Akhand Bharat” is an incendiary, neo-imperialist concept – one that has long been associated with the right-wing Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), an ideological organization that heavily influences the BJP, and which believes in “Hindutva,” the idea that India should become the “Home of the Hindus.”

Earlier this month, Pakistan said it was “appalled by the statements” made about the mural.

“The gratuitous assertion of ‘Akhand Bharat’ is a manifestation of a revisionist and expansionist mindset that seeks to subjugate the identity and culture of not only India’s neighboring countries but also its own religious minorities,” said foreign office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch.

Nepali politicians also chimed in.

“If a country like India – that sees itself as an ancient and strong country, and as a model of democracy – puts Nepali territories in its map and hangs the map in parliament, it cannot be called fair,” opposition leader KP Sharma Oli said, according to The Kathmandu Post.

Nepal’s former prime minister, Baburam Bhattarai, warned the map may stoke an “unnecessary and harmful diplomatic row.”

And last week, Bangladesh asked New Delhi to clarify the situation. “Anger is being expressed from various quarters over the map,” said Shahriar Alam, its junior minister for foreign affairs.

Answering a question about the backlash last week, India’s foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said the issue had already been clarified by India, and it was “not political.”

While India has dismissed their concerns, analysts say calls by BJP politicians to embrace “Akhand Bharat” are dangerous.

They say such appeals embolden extremist groups and are bad news for a constitutionally secular democracy, where about 80% of the 1.4 billion population is Hindu and 14% Muslim.

“Many BJP leaders are increasingly making statements to placate the most hardcore elements of their party, without realizing how that might play out overseas,” said Salil Tripathi, a writer based in New York.

“These politicians and leaders act as if the world isn’t listening. It keeps the cauldron hot, but it is a dangerous game.”

Controversial ceremony

The mural was not the only thing turning heads when Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the parliament on May 28.

Similarly controversial was the ceremony itself, steeped in Hindu religious symbolism, which critics felt jarred with the supposedly secular nature of Indian government affairs. It also took place on the birthday of the late Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, the man widely considered to have developed the Hindutva ideology and one of the first proponents of Akhand Bharat.

A leader of the right-wing Hindu Mahasabha group, Savarkar is revered by Modi and the BJP, who credit him with leading India to its freedom from British colonial rule.

But critics say it is wrong to honor his birthday, given his stance toward Muslims.

The Hindu Mahasabha’s website says if it takes power, it will not hesitate to “force” the migration of India’s Muslims to Pakistan.

While the group’s ideas are decades old, it appears more bold about them now.

In December 2021, some extremists from the group called for a genocide against Muslims to “protect” India.

Sushant Singh, a senior fellow with the Centre for Policy Research think tank, said groups felt emboldened to make such brazen calls for violence because they “believe that they have the backing of the state.”

“That is because the state clearly believes in their ideology and articulates that ideology,” he added.

Nervous neighbors

While the BJP does not openly describe itself as Hindu nationalist, critics say such leanings are given away by legislation that favors Hindus and the rhetoric of some of its leading figures.

One of the BJP’s most controversial moves came in 2019 when it revoked the semi-autonomous status of the Muslim-majority region of Indian-administered Kashmir, bringing it under the direct control of New Delhi.

India said the move was aimed at ending separatism and terrorism it alleged was aided by Pakistan. Critics said the move was aimed at encouraging Hindus to settle there.

Skepticism over New Delhi’s motives was fueled by India’s Home Minister Amit Shah when he said the revocation had partially achieved the dream of Akhand Bharat – a sentiment echoed by other right-wing politicians.

“We have to see the dream of Akhand Bharat in this lifetime and it has started with (this),” said deputy chief minister of the state of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis.

Experts say such rhetoric has made India’s neighbors nervous.

“The tragedy is that with this kind of narrative coming from India, it only enforces the Pakistan army’s view that there is a threat,” said Pakistani historian Ayesha Jalal.

Fahd Humayun, an assistant professor of political science at Tufts University, warned statements like these can “impact the national security calculus” of neighboring states.

He added: “In practical terms, the worry is (these comments) build on a brand of Hindu nationalism which has clear expansionist tendencies.”

The US Senate opened an investigation into the proposed merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf’s owners, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), on Monday.

Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal issued both organizations with letters in his role as chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.

Last week, the PGA Tour made the shock announcement that it and the European-based DP World Tour would partner with LIV Golf, unifying the trio under a new, yet-to-be-named, commercial entity and consequently ending a feud that has dogged the men’s professional game for the past year.

The letter to the PGA Tour is addressed to its commissioner, Jay Monahan, while chief executive Greg Norman received the letter to LIV Golf. The letters detail the causes for concern and subsequently request documentation relating to the new agreement and how it came to be formed, as well as records “referring” to the dispute between the organizations prior to the proposed partnership.

In a statement, the PGA Tour said, “We are confident that once Congress learns more about how the PGA TOUR will control this new venture, they will understand the opportunities this will create for our players, our communities and our sport, all while protecting an American golf institution.”

Both of Blumenthal’s letters note “PIF’s role as an arm of the Saudi government” combined with the PGA Tour’s “sudden and drastic reversal of position concerning LIV Golf” elicit “serious questions regarding the reasons for and terms behind the announced agreement.”

The letters speak of Saudi investment in the sport as being described as “sportswashing,” a term referring to governments using high-profile sporting events to project a favorable image of their country around the world, often to draw attention away from alleged wrongdoing.

The correspondence also refers to the Gulf state’s “deeply disturbing human rights record at home and abroad.”

The Senate has requested LIV Golf hand over documents detailing the organization’s corporate structure, while the PGA Tour records relating to its tax-exempt status under Section 510(c)(6) and how that will be affected by the partnership were called for.

Both the PGA Tour and LIV Golf have until June 26 to hand over the requested documentation, per the letters.

The investigation doesn’t come as a surprise, with Blumenthal and other Senate Democrats expressing their concern over the partnership soon after the initial announcement.

Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden said last Wednesday: “I’m certainly going to be digging into this. This looks to me like a cash grab, plain and simple, and it raises very troubling questions, and we’ll be digging into it.”

Blumenthal called for the Justice Department intervention and suggested Monahan should resign. “There’s an ongoing Department of Justice investigation, I would intensify it and focus not only on the anti-trust issues, but also on the potential foreign registration questions,” he said on Wednesday.

“I think the commissioner has been so discredited that he can hardly present a credible voice for [the PGA Tour]. I think he has really failed not only the fans and the consumers involved, but also the players involved in [the PGA Tour] who made major financial sacrifices.”

Sen. Chris Murphy said: “I think it’s a really serious thing to have a foreign dictatorship in charge of a major US sports league. This is a watershed moment and I think we need to treat it as such.”

As Bruce Brown Jr.’s free throw bounced off the rim and through the hoop, the Denver Nuggets took a five-point lead in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

The Nuggets were just 14.3 seconds from lifting a first NBA Championship and sporting legacies were being created in that very moment – none more so than Nikola Jokić’s.

The Serbian has taken the franchise by storm in recent seasons, breaking records, making history, and winning over viewers of the league while doing so.

After picking up an NBA title, as well as the Finals MVP, Jokić has put himself amongst the very best to have ever stepped on the hardwood floor – not bad for someone drafted during a Taco Bell commercial.

‘It’s a really good moment to be a Serbian’

After being picked 41st in the 2014 NBA Draft, the 6-foot-11-inch center opted to stay in his home country, Serbia for another year.

After completing a season in the Adriatic League for Mega Basket, Jokić then ventured to Denver ahead of the 2015 NBA season.

Despite the change of scenery, the center has always maintained his love for Serbia, a country that has not only produced the hottest property in the NBA but also tennis’ best male player in Novak Djokovic, who won the French Open, a record-breaking 23rd grand slam, on Sunday. It is a great time for Serbian sport.

Jokić told reporters that participation in sport was always encouraged in Serbia when he was growing up, and went on to describe his compatriot Djokovic as “probably the best ever” tennis player.

“For us he’s the best ever of course, and now we have our NBA championship,” he said. “I think it’s a really good moment to be a Serbian.”

Djokovic shared his support for Jokić during his run to French Open glory, describing him as an “amazing guy” and the “pride of Serbia,” while Jokić also spoke in admiration of his fellow countryman during the NBA postseason.

“He is a guy who represents Serbia in a much bigger scene,” Jokić said in a postgame conference. “He’s a Serbian ambassador, and he’s really [an] idol to the kids in Serbia and not just on the court, with the things that his foundation is doing. He is the guy who you can look up [to].

“I want to be like him. He’s doing something great for kids, for Serbia, for everything. We cannot be compared.”

‘It’s a great journey’

As the quesarito advert played and Jokić was selected by the Nuggets, nobody could have expected the future that would be in store for the Denver big.

The Nuggets superstar has improved year on year in the NBA, eventually becoming the MVP of the league in 2021 and 2022 and if it wasn’t for Embiid’s impressive 2023 MVP campaign, Jokić would have recorded an incredible threepeat of MVP seasons.

Now with a ring and a Finals MVP, it is undisputed that Jokić will retire as an all-time great.

“I think it’s a great journey. Like you said, 41st pick, but that doesn’t matter. When you’re here, you’re a player,” the second-round draft pick humbly said postgame, in typical fashion not speaking for longer than necessary on his own accomplishments.

The five-time NBA All-Star now joins an elite list of just 11 players with two regular season MVPs and one Finals MVP.

“It’s been amazing, because you can look at it one of two ways. You can look at it from the basketball perspective, two MVPs, Finals MVP, world championship and everything he’s done on the court, and then more important for me you can look at off the court,” said Denver head coach Michael Malone on Jokić’s journey.

“The relationship, the love that I have for Nikola, his mother and father back in Sombor, Serbia, his brothers Nemanja and Strahinja, his wife Natalija and their daughter Ognjena.

“He’s never changed with all the success, and he never will. It’s just not in his nature. I love Nikola … it’s great to be a part of such a historically great player who’s an even better person, and I mean that sincerely. This is not coach-talk. Nikola is just a great, great man.”

The lack of self-aggrandizement when Jokić speaks about himself compared to the way friends and colleagues speak in awe about the center demonstrates one of the reasons as to why he has become such a likeable figure across the NBA.

However, Jokić may not be able to feel the love from Denver during Thursday’s championship parade if his wish to get home sooner rather than later comes true. “No. I need to go home,” he joked when told the parade would be on Thursday.

The 1-2 punch

Throughout all but one year of Jokić’s time in Denver, there has been one man alongside him and it’s hard to imagine the three-time All-NBA first teamer without Jamal Murray.

Murray has been through several trials and tribulations in recent years and missed the entirety of the 2021-22 season with an ACL injury but, after a long journey to fitness, it is clear the guard is back to his best.

While Jokić seems to have the same temperament, whether winning the NBA or losing a regular season game, the emotion took over Murray after picking up the chip.

“I couldn’t even hold it in. I don’t know. I couldn’t really hold it in. It was just a surreal moment,” Murray said after being brought to tears by his achievement. “Everything was hitting. Everything was hitting at once, from the journey, to the celebration with the guys, to enjoying the moment, to looking back on the rehab, to looking back at myself as a kid.

“I just wanted to be another guy, to be an inspiration for those little kids that even at those young ages have gone through some adversity, knowing that when you put your mind to it, that will take care of itself. It’s just the mindset you have to have.”

After winning the first ring, the Nuggets now have an opportunity to build a dynasty and with Jokić and Murray as one of, if not the best, two-man game in the NBA, Denver will be tough to shift.

“There’s more to come from me. I know if I can do this fresh off an ACL, still having sore days and everything like that, we can do this again,” a defiant Murray added.

American track and field champion Tori Bowie died from complications of childbirth, according to an autopsy report released by the Orange County, Florida, medical examiner’s office.

The three-time Olympic medalist was found deceased in bed on May 2, according to the report. The 32-year-old was estimated to be eight months pregnant, and there was evidence she had been in labor.

Bowie’s manner of death was ruled natural, and the report stated that there had been “possible complications,” including “respiratory distress and eclampsia.”

Preeclampsia happens when a woman who previously had normal blood pressure suddenly develops “high blood pressure and protein in her urine or other problems after 20 weeks of pregnancy,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some women with preeclampsia can develop seizures or coma – a condition called eclampsia – which is a medical emergency, the CDC says.

Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy appear to be on the rise in the US. Older women as well as Black, American Indian and Alaska Native women were at higher risk of hypertensive disorders, according to data published last year by the CDC.

Bowie won three medals at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio: gold in the 4x100m relay, silver in the 100 meters and bronze in the 200 meters. At the 2017 world championships, she won gold in both the 100 meters and the 4x100m.

A native of Sandhill, Mississippi, Bowie was a three-time All-American at the University of Southern Mississippi.

Bowie’s last official competition was in June 2022. Her last appearance on the world stage was in 2019 at the world championships in Doha, when she finished fourth in the long jump.