• Team elects to voluntarily recognize union

• Squad members have advocated for better wages

The Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders have unionized, in a watershed labor victory that comes after years of fighting for fair pay.

The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Association (DCCA) was voluntarily recognized by the Cowboys as the collective bargaining representative for the cheerleading squad, according to a Friday news release. The recognition came after “meaningful discussion” between the Cowboys organization and the DCCA, and the parties are set to begin collective bargaining.

• American, 21, wins world all-around title in Rotterdam

• Blakely ruptured achilles before 2024 Olympic trials

• First US champion since Simone Biles three years ago

Skye Blakely completed a sensational comeback from a ruptured achilles tendon to win the women’s all-around title at the world gymnastics championships in Rotterdam on Friday, claiming the biggest individual prize in the sport outside the Olympics.

The 21-year-old American scored 55.733 points across four apparatus to finish ahead of Russia’s Liudmila Roshchina (55.199), with China’s Ke Qinqin taking bronze (55.032).

• Steelers, Saints still on for NFL’s Paris debut on Sunday

• Violent protests prompt US security warning for fans

• PSG cancel Sunday match amid escalating Paris unrest

The NFL would have cancelled its first regular-season game in Paris, scheduled for Sunday, if the situation were unsafe, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said on Friday, referring to the recent protests in the French capital.

France experienced some of its worst urban unrest in years last weekend, prompting President Emmanuel Macron to tighten restrictions on protests on Thursday amid fears that demonstrations planned for Saturday could turn violent.

• Any player will be eligible for High Impact Player status

• Requirements had included top 100, marketability lists

• Sides also resolve grievance on Rodman contract refusal

The NWSL and the NWSL Players Association have reached a settlement to drop the restrictive criteria around the controversial High Impact Player (HIP) rule, allowing any player to earn the league’s highest salaries.

The NWSL introduced the rule late last year, allowing teams to spend an additional $1m above the salary cap to sign star players. Players with the designation had to meet one of eight criteria, ranging from US national team minutes and Ballon d’Or recognition to NWSL Best XI honors to media lists, including the Guardian’s Top 100 and a ranking that ordered athletes by marketability.

• Three-time Vezina winner leaves Winnipeg after 11 years

• Devils send four players and two draft picks to Jets

• Olympic gold medalist joins US teammate Jack Hughes

Connor Hellebuyck finally has a new home after the Winnipeg Jets granted the three-time Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender’s trade request in a deal that sent him to the New Jersey Devils on Friday.

The Devils sent center Dawson Mercer, goalie Nico Daws, prospect Alexander Command, forward Nick Bjugstad, a 2029 second-round pick and a 2027 seventh-rounder to Winnipeg for Hellebuyck.

• Mercedes youngster could become youngest title winner

• Max Verstappen says bumpy track makes drivers ‘suffer’

The Formula One world championship is within reach for Kimi Antonelli at the US Grand Prix in Austin this weekend. But while the young Italian approaches the race ­intending simply to have fun, there is disquiet among other ­drivers about the potential long-term health ­dangers posed by the state of the Texas circuit.

The 20-year-old Antonelli will become Formula One’s youngest world champion if he claims the title at the Circuit of the Americas on Sunday, eclipsing Sebastian Vettel’s record from 2010, when the German driver was 23 and Antonelli was four. It is an outside chance, as the Italian has acknowledged. He must win while needing his rivals to endure a poor day. His Mercedes teammate George Russell would have to finish outside the top eight and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton outside the top four.

It’s Milwaukee and Tampa Bay in the 122nd Fall Classic. Our writers predict how it will be decided, who will shine brightest and who will break their World Series maiden

Yes - and in fact, evidence that money actively undermines baseball happiness. For the big-market teams, anything less than a World Series is disappointing. Whereas for the Rays (who in April were given a 1.1% chance of winning the World Series by FanGraphs) or Brewers (2.1%), the season is already a success, and winning it all would give their fans more pleasure than a Yankees or Dodgers fan could ever experience. Alan Evans

• Trump calls James a ‘TOTAL DISGRACE’ over anthem

• US president demands apology for pregame warm-up

• James helps Sixers erase 29-point deficit against Cavs

Donald Trump lashed out at NBA superstar LeBron James on Thursday for what he called disrespectful behavior during the playing of the national anthem.

Trump posted a video of the basketball legend making apparent warm-up movements while lined up with his Philadelphia 76ers teammates before their season opener against the New York Knicks on Tuesday.

• New England Patriots 24–30 Chicago Bears

• Bears QB throws for 308 yards and two TDs

Caleb Williams threw for 308 yards and two touchdowns, and the Chicago Bears cooled off Drake Maye and the New England Patriots with a 30-24 win on Thursday night.

Williams was 22 of 33 passing in his second game back after being sidelined by a hamstring injury. He became the first Bears quarterback to throw for more than 300 yards in consecutive games since Mitch Trubisky had a three-game run in 2018.

• Retro design features red, white and black stripes

• Social media users draw Nazi Germany comparisons

• Falcons’ X post attracts roughly 26m views

Social media erupted in jokes and memes on Thursday after the Atlanta Falcons unveiled a logo that instantly drew comparisons with the imagery of Nazi Germany.

The logo – posted by the Falcons on the NFL team’s social media channels – shows the team’s old falcon symbol from the 1960s and 1970s, emblazoned on a background of red, white and black stripes.

• Funds for 2027 will match men’s World Cup in 2026

• Players given better flights and individual hotel rooms

Teams in the 2027’s Women’s World Cup in Brazil will receive the same preparation money from Fifa as those that played at the 2026 men’s tournament, the world’s governing body has announced.

The preparation money for the 32 teams has been more than doubled to $2.5m (£1.86m) each. In 2023, the total preparation money for the tournament was $31m; it will now be $80m.

• Concacaf approves exceptional hosting arrangement

• Haiti to face US at Nu Stadium on 14 November

• Miami’s Haitian community offers home advantage

Concacaf on Thursday announced it has approved Haiti’s request to relocate their Nations League quarter-final first leg against the United States on 14 November from Kingston, Jamaica, to Miami in an “exceptional hosting arrangement”. Haiti have been unable to play nominal “home” games within their borders since July 2021, with the United Nations estimating that 90% of the capital of Port-au-Prince – including the national stadium – is controlled by violent gangs.

Haiti’s match, the first leg of a home-and-away series against the US, had been booked for Kingston. The Grenadiers played their 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Curaçao, Aruba and Barbados. However, the Nations League format slated Curaçao and Jamaica to host their matches on the same night as Haiti’s, shunting Haiti to Sabina Park, the home of the Jamaica national team until their current venue opened in 1962. Now a cricket ground, Sabina Park hosted two of Haiti’s Nations League qualifiers.

• Lendeborg takes issue with appeals for foul calls

• Forward says he had limited exposure to league

Golden State Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg had an extraordinary NBA debut as he jawed with Luka Dončić and admitted he had largely been exposed to the league through highlights before turning professional.

Lendeborg was given the task of guarding the Los Angeles Lakers star for large parts of Wednesday’s game, which Dončić’s team won 127-105.

The reigning champions must deal with the absence of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia for some time, while fans at Anfield were thrilled by Rio Ngumoha

Paris Saint-Germain beat Barcelona 4-2 on Tuesday, but the reigning champions lost the best player in last season’s tournament, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. This autumn has seen much lobbying for the Ballon d’Or, with the Georgian a popular choice, despite his absence from the World Cup. He is expected to be out for six months, although Rodri’s comeback from serious injury – he was rested by Barcelona on Tuesday until coming off the bench in the 60th minute – shows it can take far longer than that for players to rediscover their highest level.

The early standouts have emerged. But even the best teams have flaws that can be exposed by their opponents

Who would have thought the 49ers would be here after a rough old offseason? Head coach Kyle Shanahan’s participation in training camp was limited due to a serious car crash, team owner Jed York’s visit to an Ohio trailer park did not end well, and one player after another endured serious injuries. Despite all this, San Francisco are full of positive vibes. They are top of a tough division and their immense defense, led by the intensity of players such as safety Malik Mustapha and Fred Warner, is complemented by an equally impressive offense.

• Title is club’s first-ever since 2023 founding

• St Louis clubs have won 11 Open Cups all-time

• Daniel Edelman nets winner in 5-4 win on penalties

For much of the 20th century, winning the US Open Cup required a team to beat someone from St Louis. The Gateway City was home to many of the nation’s best teams during some ramshackle eras of soccer in the United States, with six different clubs combining for 10 trophy lifts. The most recent came in 1988, when St Louis Busch Seniors beat San Francisco-based Greek-American AC in the last throes of a tournament history dominated by amateur and semi-pro teams. MLS has won every Open Cup but one since starting play in 1996, and St Louis didn’t have an MLS club until 2023.

From the beginning, club figures spoke of their aim to restore the city to soccer prominence. Well, mission accomplished. St Louis City are US Open Cup champions, outlasting the Columbus Crew 5-4 on penalties to end the city’s 38-year wait for a major US soccer title and earn a place in the field for the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup.

• Edwards hits nine threes in 45-point explosion

• Antetokounmpo scores 35 in first game with Heat

• Minnesota rout Miami 131-106 in season opener

Anthony Edwards scored 45 points as he and the Minnesota Timberwolves spoiled Giannis Antetokounmpo’s debut with the Miami Heat in an emphatic 131-106 season-opening win on Wednesday night.

Edwards became just the third player in NBA history to record multiple 40-point games in season openers, joining Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan.

• Defensive end played for Chiefs for eight seasons

• Andy Reid says player’s death ‘makes you sick’

Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid have spoken of their sadness after former Kansas City Chief Allen Bailey died at the age of 37.

The defensive end was found dead at his home in Florida on Tuesday by his wife. He is believed to have died from natural causes.

• Tournament coming to the US for the first time

• Rose says tournament is a huge opportunity

World Rugby has appointed Megan Rose, an American tennis pro turned United States Tennis Association (USTA) executive, as managing director of the 2031 men’s Rugby World Cup, a key appointment as the governing body prepares to host what is by some measures the third-biggest global sporting event on American soil for the first time.

Rose said: “Rugby World Cup is one of the iconic events in global sport, defined by unforgettable moments on the pitch and the passion of fans around the world. To be entrusted with bringing Men’s Rugby World Cup to the United States for the first time is an extraordinary honour, and I’m thrilled to join this team.”

With You Can See Everything, Holmes joins other such high-profile subjects as Lance Armstrong, Imelda Marcos and Anthony Weiner to allow film-makers to document their lives. But do they ever come out well?

In You Can See Everything, convicted fraudster Elizabeth Holmes invites film-makers Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim into her home in a supposed act of “radical transparency”. Holmes is filmed, along with her partner, Billy Evans, and their two young children, in the weeks before starting a prison sentence for defrauding Theranos investors. “The best way for people to see who she is,” Evans says, “is to give as much access as possible into our daily lives”. It may also be the best way to market “Theranos 2.0”, which the couple are working on during filming. But the documentary questions whether Holmes is presenting her authentic self or a manufactured persona. Fielder speaks for the audience when he asks Holmes in a tense exchange whether she’s “being real” with him. “I’m always being real,” she says.

That question of authenticity is at the heart of documentary film-making. You Can See Everything is as much about the ambiguous relationship between film-maker and subject as it is about Holmes herself. There is often a power struggle over narrative control in documentaries, with both sides of the dynamic wanting different outcomes from the final film. Watching You Can See Everything inevitably prompts the question: why would Holmes, days before she heads to jail, invite the scrutiny of a film crew?

• Player fetched firearm after altercation with JC Latham

• Tennessee released defensive tackle on Tuesday

• Robert Saleh calls situation ‘lapse in judgement’

Tennessee Titans coach Robert Saleh confirmed on Wednesday that defensive tackle Jordan Elliott was released after pulling a gun in the parking lot of the team facility but said it was a “terrible lapse in judgment that I recognize as a call for help more than a criminal act”.

The Titans had announced Tuesday that Elliott was released, but said only that it came after his involvement in an unspecified incident at the team’s facility five days earlier.

As women’s sprinting enters a golden era in the run-up to LA 2028, controversy surrounding a top coach threatens to overshadow the sport’s biggest stars

When Olympic 200m champion Gabby Thomas came second at the recent track and field World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest, she tried her best to be diplomatic: “I am an equal-opportunity doping hater,” she said. “If you are actively doping in sport, I do take issue with that. I’m not saying any names, no names are mentioned. But if you look at yourself and you think that’s what you’re doing, then so be it.”

Thomas then went out of her way to congratulate her compatriot Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, who finished ahead of her that day, aware of the territory into which she was straying.

The duo have carved out lucrative and successful careers as TV audiences elsewhere are falling. It seems they won’t be together for much longer

Troy Aikman knew when it was time to go. His aching body made the decision for him when he ended his NFL career in 2001. A quarter of a century later, with one of the top quarterbacks of the 1990s established as half of the pre-eminent broadcasting duo in American sports, his potential exit from the booth is not so clearcut.

Aikman clearly feels his voice remains in fine working order, but his bosses at ESPN may not agree. The color commentator’s Monday Night Football play-by-play partner, Joe Buck, is reported to have agreed a new deal with the network worth $108m over six seasons (his previous deal was for five years at $15m a season), yet Aikman has claimed ESPN does not want to renew his contract.

• James makes winning Sixers debut as Knicks fall

• Gilgeous-Alexander scores 32 as Thunder beat Spurs

• Pistons erase 22-point deficit to stun Celtics

The Philadelphia 76ers sent an opening-night message that they intend to challenge the New York Knicks for the NBA title after adding LeBron James and Jaylen Brown, rallying for a 106-100 victory.

Tyrese Maxey scored 28 points and Brown had 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists in his first game since being acquired from Boston. James began his NBA-record 24th season with 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

• League consulted with Eagles doctors over treatment

• Hurts played in London after initial clot diagnosis

• Quarterback expected to miss rest of NFL season

The Philadelphia Eagles will not face disciplinary action over their handling of quarterback Jalen Hurts’ blood clots, according to a person familiar with the situation.

The person spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday because conversations between the league and the team were to remain private.