Hernán López, the Earthquakes’ former club-record signee, is out of coach Bruce Arena’s plans and heading back to his native Argentina.

The Quakes announced a loan on to Argentinos Juniors, the childhood club of his great-uncle, the legendary Diego Maradona.

It will be an 18-month loan with an option for Juniors to buy López’s contract.

The 24-year-old attacking midfielder missed most of March and all of April after undergoing shoulder surgery, and has not played since May 31 under Arena’s new system, which features an attacking trio of Cristian Espinoza and offseason additions Josef Martinez and Chicho Arango.

The Quakes have made a significant turnaround in the first half of the 2025 season, sitting sixth in the Western Conference with 28 points in their first year under the former MLS Cup-winning coach.

López tied for the team lead in goals scored last season despite not joining the club until May. The Quakes acquired the Argentinian as a designated player a month into the season for a club-record fee of nearly $6 million. It was more than double the previous club record of almost $3 million that was paid for Carlos Gruezo before the 2023 season.

López scored six goals with two assists in 26 MLS appearances last season. He scored nine goals while dishing three assists across all competitions with the Quakes. He appeared in five games this season, four starts, and didn’t score a goal.

Before joining the Quakes, López spent five years in Argentina’s top tier, collecting 12 goals and seven assists over 84 league appearances for River Plate (2019-20), Central Córdoba (2021-22), and Godoy Cruz (2023-24).

— Michael Nowels

Spanish police believe Liverpool player Diogo Jota was driving over the speed limit when he and his brother died in a car crash last week.

Spain’s Civil Guard said that while their investigation into the cause of the crash last Thursday continues, they believe Jota was driving too fast when the Lamborghini veered off course after a tire burst.

Previously, the police had not said if Jota or his brother André Silva were driving. On Tuesday they said that it appeared Jota was.

The siblings died in the car when it burst into flames on an isolated section of highway early in the morning. Portuguese media reported Jota was heading to the northern Spanish city of Santander to take a ferry to England where he would rejoin Liverpool after being advised not to fly following a recent lung procedure.

Their funeral was held in Portugal on Saturday.

João Pedro scored twice against his boyhood team in his first start for Chelsea, leading the Blues over Fluminense 2-0 in East Rutherford, N.J. to assure an all-European Club World Cup final.

Seeking its second world championship, Chelsea advanced to Sunday’s title match against the winner of today’s game between European champion Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid.

COLLEGE SPORTS

Grand Canyon University announced its move to the Mountain West Conference will begin immediately.

The school in Phoenix was initially scheduled to transition from the Western Athletic Conference to its new league on July 1, 2026. The Mountain West, which includes San Jose State, offered an earlier transition, however, allowing the school to compete for conference championships this fall.

“The addition of Grand Canyon for the 2025-26 academic year is a significant win for the student-athletes at GCU and in the Mountain West,” commissioner Gloria Nevarez said.

Grand Canyon will be one of 14 schools competing in the conference next season. The accelerated transition comes after five Mountain West schools announced they intend to depart the conference and join the Pac-12 in 2026. Those schools are Utah State, Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Colorado State.

Seventeen varsity teams will compete in the Mountain West, including men’s and women’s basketball which have been in the national spotlight in recent years during the NCAA Tournament. Grand Canyon’s historically successful men’s volleyball team was cut in April.

NHL

The NHL and NHL Players’ Association have ratified their extension of the collective bargaining agreement, securing labor peace in the sport through 2030.

The league and union announced in a joint news release that the deal had been approved. It took a vote of the Board of Governors and the full NHLPA membership.

“The partnership between the Players’ Association and the league is stronger than it ever has been, and working together under this agreement presents a fantastic opportunity to continue to grow the game,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “We are grateful to the Board of Governors for its support of this agreement that strengthens our game and ensures we are collectively delivering a great fan experience in the years to come.”

The sides came to a tentative agreement on the four-year extension late last month. Among other things, it includes an 84-game regular season with less exhibition play, shorter maximum contract lengths, a playoff salary cap, no mandatory dress code for players and the creation of a full-time traveling goaltender position to eliminate the practice of emergency backup goalies, or “EBUGs,” from entering games.

That and the other changes do not go into effect until the 2026-27 season.

The cap that started at $39 million is now $95.5 million for next season, with bigger jumps ahead to reach $113.5 million in 2027-28.

NFL

Kirk Cousins said on the Netflix series “Quarterback” that he played through an injury to his right, throwing arm last season in part to keep from losing his starting job with the Falcons to rookie backup Michael Penix Jr.

At minicamp last month, Cousins said he realized after last season he wasn’t as healthy as he thought he was at the time, citing an ankle injury that affected his mobility.

In the seventh and final episode of the second season of the Netflix show, which was released Tuesday, he said he made the best decision he could at the time after taking a big hit to his right shoulder and ribcage from New Orleans’ Payton Turner on Nov. 10.

After appearing on just the Week 11 injury report and none beyond that with “right shoulder, right elbow” limiting his participation in one practice, Cousins threw eight interceptions and just one touchdown pass over the next four games, and Atlanta went 1-3 before turning to Penix.

Also on “Quarterback,” Cousins also said he felt “a little bit misled” by Atlanta signing him in free agency last year, then selecting Penix with the eighth pick in the draft. He said he might have re-signed with the Minnesota Vikings had he known the Falcons would draft a QB in the top 10.

Cousins, who turns 37 in August, remains on Atlanta’s roster.