Rays and Brewers reach a World Series without a prior title

The Tampa Bay Rays and the Milwaukee Brewers have advanced to the 2026 World Series. It is the first time in 46 years that the World Series pairs two teams that have never won a championship. The Rays are one finalist. The Brewers are the other.

In NASCAR, Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports won the YellaWood 500. The race was at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. It was his first NASCAR Cup Series win at that circuit. The series is the Cup Series.

In golf, Yuri Yoshida of Japan won her first LPGA Tour title. The event was the BMW Ladies Championship in South Jeolla Province, South Korea. She finished ahead of Minjee Lee of Australia. She also finished ahead of Kim Sei-young of South Korea.

Lionel Messi received the Princess of Asturias Award for Sports. The award is the 2026 prize. It recognizes his career at FC Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain. Messi is identified as an Argentine football player.

Organizers of the Dakar Rally moved the 2027 event out of Saudi Arabia. The reason given is security concerns about the conflict with the Houthis. The 2027 edition is the one being moved. The previous planned host country named is Saudi Arabia.

The week of results therefore includes a World Series pairing, a Talladega win, a first LPGA title, a career sports award, and a rally relocation. The 46-year note applies to the championship drought of the two baseball clubs. Larson, Yoshida, and Messi are the individual athletes named. The Dakar change is a hosting decision tied to the Houthi conflict.