The NFL is expanding its international footprint to Australia.

The league announced that it will be playing a game in 2026 in Melbourne at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, a venue that holds about 100,000 spectators. The Los Angeles Rams will be the home team for that game, part of a multi-year commitment to play in Melbourne.

As of the 2025 season, the NFL can schedule up to eight league-operated regular-season games internationally.

London will host three games next season — two at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and one at Wembley Stadium. The Browns and the New York Jets are the home teams at Tottenham; and the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley.

The Colts are the home team for a game in Berlin at Olympic Stadium, and the Miami Dolphins will be the hosts at Real Madrid‘s venue.

Conrad Dobler’s family announced he had CTE >> Conrad Dobler embraced the violent nature of the NFL so completely that in the 1970s he was dubbed “Pro Football’s Dirtiest Player.”

All that violence may have damaged him worst of all.

The family of the late St. Louis Cardinals offensive lineman said that he had an advanced form of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease that has been linked to concussions and repeated hits to the head common in football and other contact sports.

A three-time Pro Bowl selection who also spent time with the Saints and Bills, Dobler unabashedly milked his reputation as a dirty player, including a Lite Beer commercial that identified him as a “Famous Troublemaker” and a 1977 Sports Illustrated cover story in which he said, “I’ll do anything I can get away with.”

NBA

Bucks trade Middleton to Wizards for Kuzma >> The Milwaukee Bucks are trading NBA champion and Olympic gold medalist Khris Middleton to the Washington Wizards and getting Kyle Kuzma back in the deal.

Also in the trade: A.J. Johnson goes from the Bucks to the Wizards and Patrick Baldwin goes from the Wizards to the Bucks, along with a future pick swap and some second-round draft capital.

The 33-year-old Middleton, who has struggled with injuries, leaves the Bucks after spending all but one of his 13 NBA seasons in Milwaukee.

Pelicans trade Theis to Thunder >> The New Orleans Pelicans traded center Daniel Theis and a 2031 second-round draft pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder for cash.

The 6-foot-8 Theis has appeared in 38 games with nine starts for New Orleans this season, averaging 4.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 16.3 minutes per game.

Theis is an eight-year NBA veteran from Germany with career averages of 7.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 411 games.

Timberwolves’ Randle expected to miss at least 2 weeks >> Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle will be sidelined at least through the All-Star break with a strained right groin he suffered last week.

The Timberwolves announced before their game against Chicago that Randle will be re-evaluated in two weeks. He had an MRI that revealed a strain of his right adductor muscle, which is part of the groin, and the diagnosis was confirmed by a second opinion from a specialist.

Randle was hurt during Minnesota’s game at Utah last Thursday.

Government

Trump signs executive order to ban Transgender athletes in women’s sports >> President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday intended to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports.

The order, titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” gives federal agencies, including the Justice and Education departments, wide latitude to ensure entities that receive federal funding abide by Title IX in alignment with the Trump administration’s view, which interprets “sex” as the gender someone was assigned at birth.

“With this executive order, the war on women’s sports is over,” Trump said at a signing ceremony.

Tennis

Oliveira suspended for Doping >> Gonçalo Oliveira, a Portuguese-born player who represents Venezuela, was provisionally suspended for doping.

The International Tennis Integrity Agency said the 29-year-old Oliveira was tested on Nov. 25 while competing at an ATP Challenger event in Manzanillo, Mexico and the A sample was positive for the banned substance methamphetamine.

The mandatory suspension took effect on Jan. 17, the agency said.

Soccer

Abuse settlement creates $5 million for NWSL >> The National Women’s Soccer League will establish a $5 million fund for players as part of a settlement that stemmed from allegations of emotional and sexual misconduct that rocked the league in 2021. Attorneys general from Washington, D.C., Illinois and New York announced the settlement with the league.

The funds will go to players who experienced abuse. The settlement also requires the league to maintain safeguards put into place following a pair of investigations released in late 2022 that found widespread misconduct that impacted multiple teams, coaches and players.

Baseball

Rangers add Andrus to team’s hall of fame >> Two-time World Series shortstop Elvis Andrus, who has started more games at one position than any player in Texas Rangers franchise history, will be inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame this summer.

The Rangers said that Andrus will be the 27th member of the Hall of Fame that was established in 2003. Andrus will go in during a ceremony June 28 before a game against Seattle.

Andrus started 1,605 games at shortstop for Texas over 12 seasons, from his big league debut at age 20 in 2009 until he was traded to Oakland at the start of spring training in 2021.