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The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup Curitiba 2025 is well underway. The event began on Friday with boulder qualifications—many athletes came in hot, unwilling to settle for anything less than a podium appearance. While this is just the beginning of the Curitiba experience, things are only going to get more intense on the wall. The competitors look prepared and ready to climb.
Taking first place for the men was a familiar face in the climbing community — Sorato Anraku of Japan who landed a final score of 124.5. Watching the 18-year-old machine dominate in the competition did not come as a surprise. Back in April at the World Cup in Keqiao, Anraku clinched the finals and secured a stunning gold medal. With such a recent taste of victory, he unquestionably has a craving for yet another win.
Alongside Anraku in first is France's Oriane Bertone, 20, who is competing in the women's event. Landing a score of 124.8 during qualifications, Bertone is looking strong and steady. In fact, France is looking quite powerful as a whole considering French women swept the podium.
Anraku and Bertone Shine in Qualifications at IFSC World Cup Curitiba
Bertone proudly took gold, followed by her teammate Zélia Avezou in second (124.7) and Agathe Calliet in third (109.8). In Keqiao, Bertone secured gold in both qualifications and semifinals but dropped the momentum and was defeated by American Annie Sanders in the final round.
Bertone wrote a heartfelt message on Instagram following her Keqiao performance.
"Keqiao was my first international competition in almost a year. I'm coming home with a great 2nd place, which is not exactly what I was hoping for, to be completely honest, but more than the result, it's the feeling of being truly in my place that means the most to me. Calm, grounded, present."
1. Will Anraku be able to defend his current title?
2. Will Bertone be able to make the comeback that she hopes for?
Coming out on top will be a great challenge, but these athletes have triumphed, and this appears to be their time to come out again. Stay tuned as the athletes advance to the later rounds.
More must-reads:
- Mets to promote top pitching prospect for MLB debut
- Bills agree to multiyear extension with Pro Bowl RB
- The 'American League WAR leaders' quiz
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Nation's No. 1 EDGE Makes Critical Recruiting Decision
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Jon Gruden 'looking forward to having the truth come out' amid lawsuit against NFL
Jon Gruden sent another warning shot toward the NFL after scoring a major win in court. On Tuesday, Gruden welcomed a ruling that will force the NFL to litigate the circumstances of his firing in court rather than closed-door arbitration. The former Las Vegas Raiders coach made it clear that he intends to continue his legal challenge to the NFL, ensuring that they are held accountable. “I’m looking forward to having the truth come out, and I want to make sure what happened to me doesn’t happen to anyone else,” Gruden said in a statement provided to ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr. “The league’s actions disrupted the whole season. We were leading the division at the time and they completely blindsided me and the team.” The Raiders were 3-1 in 2021 when Gruden was forced to resign after offensive emails he had sent between 2011 and 2018 were leaked. Gruden has alleged that the NFL leaked the emails to force him out of a job after obtaining them during an investigation into the Washington Commanders. The NFL is set to appeal Monday’s ruling, but if that appeal fails, the league may be forced into public discovery. One alternative would be to offer Gruden a settlement, but he has not said whether or not he would be interested in such a resolution. Gruden has not held an NFL coaching job since the Raiders forced him out. He has recently spoken about possibly making a return to coaching at the college level.
Ranking the top 5 Toronto Maple Leafs enforcers in franchise history
It was announced on Friday that Toronto Marlies and former Toronto Maple Leafs forward and enforcer, Kyle Clifford, would be retiring from the sport of hockey. It was later confirmed that he would be stepping into a player development role with the Leafs. While Clifford only played a total of 41 games with Toronto’s NHL club, he took part in nine fights during that brief span, making him an iconic enforcer for the team despite his limited games. With Clifford’s retirement and the trade that sent existing Leafs enforcer Ryan Reaves to the San Jose Sharks, it seems like the lineage of Toronto enforcers may be at its end. But while we wait to see if GM Brad Treliving brings in someone new to slot into the enforcer role, let’s take a look back at the top five greatest enforcers that the Leafs have had in their franchise history. We will be looking at the total number of fights, the total penalty minutes, as well as the player’s overall notoriety within the Leafs franchise, in order to fairly rank this list. Let’s get to it. 5. Colton Orr (56 fights, 637 PIM) As will be the case with most of the players on this list, Orr by no means lit up the stat sheet during his career, but what he did do was step up to fight whenever his team needed him to. But during the dark ages of Leafs hockey before the team drafted Auston Matthews in 2016, Orr was the most iconic Leafs enforcer. Orr initially went undrafted before getting picked up by the Boston Bruins in 2003–04, but it was not until the 2009–10 season that Orr joined the Maple Leafs after signing with them in July of 2009. Orr immediately made the Leafs one of the more physical teams in the league when he came on board, and he even had a league-high 23 fights in his first season with the team. While there was only one team playoff appearance during Orr’s time with the Leafs–an appearance that resulted in a first-round exit–his physical play at least made the tough times more interesting. 4. Wade Belak (67 fights, 763 PIM) Belak had a long 15-year NHL career, and around six of those were spent as a Maple Leaf. And during that time with Toronto, Belak was an impeccable enforcer whenever he was called upon. During his Leafs tenure, Belak had an astonishing 67 fights, and in each of his seasons with the team, he never fought fewer than nine times per season. Unfortunately, Belak died in August of 2011, a victim of suicide. While he is no longer with us, his legacy definitely lives on through the grit and skill he brought to the Leafs and the rest of the NHL during the early 2000s. 3. Dave “Tiger” Williams (114 fights, 1,670 PIM) Williams was a second-round pick by the Leafs in 1974, and he immediately became a key piece of a Leafs team that made the playoffs every year he was on the team. Unlike the previous two players on this list, Williams was a fairly solid scorer with his best season with the Leafs coming in 1977–78 when he put up 31 assists and 50 points in 78 games. It was during the 1977–78 season that Williams took part in 36 fights, his most as a Leaf, and coincidentally, the Leafs also reached the conference final that season, a postseason that saw Williams fight five times. And adding even more to that season, Williams registered 351 penalty minutes, a career high during his years with the Leafs, and the 25th highest total in NHL history. 2. Wendel Clark (108 fights, 1,535 PIM) It was a toss-up between Clark and Williams for the No. 2 spot, but we are giving the edge to Clark for his overall notoriety among not just Leafs fans, but Toronto sports fans as a whole. Clark was one of the most iconic Leafs players of all time, and he put up solid point totals during his 12 seasons with Toronto, most notably during the 1993–94 season when he put up an impressive 46 goals and 76 points in just 64 games. Pure skill aside, Clarke was never afraid to drop the gloves with opponents. He had 108 career fights, and 30 of those took place during the 1986–87 regular season, a season in which he also scored 60 points. And Clark is the only player on this list who also served as the Leafs’ captain. 1. Tie Domi (188 fights, 2,265 PIM) Domi isn’t just the greatest Leafs enforcer of all time, but he is arguably one of the greatest enforcers in NHL history. Domi played nearly 11 seasons with the Leafs, and it is no coincidence that his time with the team also saw the team reach the conference final three times. Although his scoring was nothing to write home about, Domi’s physical presence made him an instant fan favourite in Toronto, and he was always willing to throw down with the opposition’s top enforcers. Excluding his final season in Toronto, Domi never took part in fewer than 13 fights during each of his seasons with the Leafs. There’s a reason why Domi is seen as one of the most iconic players in the Leafs’ franchise history.
Perhaps Superman Paul Skenes has found his kryptonite
Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes may continue to be one of the top contenders for the National League Cy Young Award, but there is one place where he has appeared mortal this season. On Tuesday night, the Milwaukee Brewers did to Skenes what they have done to plenty of MLB pitchers in 2025 ... put up big offensive numbers. For the second time this season (Skenes also pitched in Milwaukee on June 25), the Brewers forced him from the game after just 4.0 innings on Tuesday night, logging six hits and four runs during his time on the mound. Both of those performances came at Milwaukee's home stadium (American Family Field) and both are now Skenes' shortest outings of the season. While another NL Central team has put up more runs against Skenes this season (the St. Louis Cardinals nicked him for five runs in 6.0 innings on April 8), no other team has had the same kind of success over multiple starts by Skenes in 2025 as have the Brewers inside their home stadium. In all this season, Skenes has given up 10 hits and eight runs in 8.0 innings in Milwaukee. It was his third career outing on the road against the Brewers, with his lone 2024 start representing arguably the best outing of his rookie season. On July 11, 2024, Skenes struck out 11 and didn't allow a hit over 7.0 innings as the Pirates would eventually post a 1-0 victory. Tuesday's short outing was highlighted by a pair of Milwaukee home runs, including a leadoff solo shot by Sal Frelick that quickly set the tone for the Brewers. While Milwaukee's hit parade helped raise Skenes' ERA on the season to 2.13, it's hardly any reason for concern in a season where the 23-year-old right-hander is still a heavy favorite (-600) to win the NL Cy Young Award, per BetMGM. Skenes struggling in Milwaukee is likely more yet another stamp of approval on the Brewers' potential to be a threat once the postseason arrives. With an 18-4 record since the All-Star break entering Tuesday, Milwaukee has taken over the NL Central race from the Chicago Cubs. So what's the good news for Skenes? This is Pittsburgh's last trip to Milwaukee this season and the next-to-last series for the Pirates against the red-hot Brewers. Milwaukee will visit PNC Park for a three-game series on Sept. 5-7, and if Skenes gets a chance for revenge against Milwaukee, there couldn't be a better place for him to take the mound. This season, in 11 starts covering 68.2 innings, Skenes has a 1.70 ERA in the Steel City.
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