Hurricanes face decisions in net with Andersen, Raanta healthy for East final
The Carolina Hurricanes were comfortable with using a rotation of two reliable veterans in net through the regular season
2023-05-15 01:20
Ja Morant video: NBA Twitter savages Grizzlies guard for poor choices
Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant was caught with a gun in another Instagram live video. Social media had fun at his expense.There's nothing funny about gun use in America. It's an epidemic, and firearms are far too easy to buy in this country.As for Ja Morant -- the Grizzlies guar...
2023-05-15 00:59
Kurt Busch hopes to return to NASCAR Cup Series, improving after concussion
Kurt Busch hasn't given up hope of competing in the NASCAR Cup Series again
2023-05-15 00:56
Gerard Pique's response to potential Barcelona title celebration
Gerard Pique's response to potential Barcelona title celebration.
2023-05-15 00:55
West Ham boss David Moyes questions ‘strange’ VAR decision to rule out goal
David Moyes believes West Ham have been on the wrong end of too many strange VAR decisions. Having been denied penalties for handballs against Liverpool and Manchester United in recent weeks, the Hammers had a goal contentiously ruled out in their 2-0 defeat at Brentford. When Said Benrahma’s cross came back off a post it hit Divin Mubama, who had put his hand up to prevent himself from crashing into the woodwork. Manuel Lanzini swept the ball back into the box to leave Dany Ings with a tap-in to halve the deficit with 25 minutes remaining. But referee Michael Oliver went to the pitchside monitor and ruled that young striker Mubama had handled the ball. “Very strange,” said Hammers boss Moyes. “The Premier League have come out and called it deliberate handball. I think we need a bit of explanation on that. “The first thing I would say about it is it is inconclusive. If anything I think it hits his shoulder, right on his collarbone. “If it’s a handball that leads to a goal we all know that rule, but I certainly don’t see deliberate. If anything he might be protecting himself from going into the post. I’m amazed it was chalked off. “But, let’s be fair, if this was the first one we were talking about in recent games I would say it can happen, but we’re now talking about three of these. “It’s getting regular. It really is. I don’t want to get in trouble but we’ve had three real ones that could have altered things, and if you said we’ve had our fair share, I’m saying I don’t think we have.” In truth Brentford, leading through first-half goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, could have been four or five up by the time Ings’ goal was disallowed. Moyes’ priorities clearly lie elsewhere despite not being mathematically safe from relegation, with the Hammers boss making nine changes to his side ahead of Thursday night’s Europa Conference League semi-final second leg against AZ Alkmaar. However, if Moyes was hoping to be given some selection dilemmas for the trip to the Netherlands, he was left sorely disappointed. Mbeumo pounced after a mistake by Nayef Aguerd and Wissa headed the second after West Ham failed to deal with Mathias Jensen’s long throw. “I didn’t enjoy the performance. I thought we were soft, easy to play against. It was so poor,” added Moyes. “We did some work on defending long throws, but you wouldn’t have thought it watching that today. I’m so disappointed the players didn’t deal with it.” The Bees are now assured of a top-10 finish, proving there is no such thing as second-season syndrome in this corner of west London. “I was asked before the season about that,” said boss Thomas Frank, “and without sounding too smart we tried to analyse things, looked at the players, the other teams, our performances, our culture, and we thought why shouldn’t we be able to do well in our second season? “Now we are 100 per cent in the top 10, which is a brilliant achievement.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Sale reach first Premiership final in 17 years after edging out Leicester Everton’s Jordan Pickford is not a top goalkeeper – Roy Keane Emotional Kevin Sinfield carries Rob Burrow over finish line at Leeds Marathon
2023-05-15 00:51
It’s not necessary what he does – Pep Guardiola hits out at Everton’s Yerry Mina
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was unhappy with Everton defender Yerry Mina for what he implied were underhand and unsporting tactics during their 3-0 win at Goodison Park. The Colombia international was involved in one visible incident with Aymeric Laporte at a corner in the first half in which the City centre-back slapped his opponent in the stomach following an altercation and Mina fell to the floor. But at the final whistle Guardiola confronted the Everton defender and remonstrated with him as he followed him off the pitch. All City’s players also refused to shake Mina’s hand. While Guardiola refused to say what Mina had actually done, his unhappiness appeared to centre on the Colombian’s handling of opponents. “Mina? It’s not necessary what he does. Away from the football, it is not necessary to do what he does every single game,” said Guardiola. “And I told him, ‘You are a good enough player to avoid these kind of things’.” Asked to elaborate on his complaints, the City boss added: “He knows. Ask him. This is not physical, this is not mental. “There are things that are not necessary to do that he does. This time with Aymeric, Jack (Grealish), everybody. Ask him. Invite him to the press conference.” The row detracted from the ease with which City dealt with Everton, with Ilkay Gundogan scoring twice for the second game running either side of the obligatory goal – his 52nd of the season – from Erling Haaland. Gundogan is out of contract in the summer and has been linked with a move to Barcelona, but Guardiola is more than happy for him to captain the side, as he did at Goodison where he led from the front with two superbly-taken goals. “He can show again and again and again the quality and importance and his commitment, to all of us, to the club, not just scoring goals, now he has his momentum,” said Guardiola, who wants the Germany international to extend his stay. “He doesn’t talk much, but when he talks everyone listens and this is the power of the leader. He show his leadership in every training session – arriving on time, living 24 hours your job and play like he is playing. “He is a player that when he gets close to the box he has an incredible sense of goal. He can play as a holding midfielder no problem, he proved it years ago when Fernandinho was injured, he played in games like Burnley, long balls, you think you need a physical player, but he is so clever and he is a guy who handles the pressure well.” Everton manager Sean Dyche said he was unaware of any allegations against Mina and the player had not mentioned anything to him. “If he did it all the time, I wouldn’t know where he had seen it because he (Mina) hasn’t been on the pitch for weeks,” he said. City’s 11th successive league victory leaves them requiring a maximum of six points for a fifth title in six seasons. They inflicted a record 10th home league defeat of the season on Everton, who remain 17th and a point above Leeds, but of equal concern was the withdrawal of striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin at half-time. While the England international has scored only one goal in five games since returning from two-and-half months out with a hamstring injury, he has provided a much-needed focal point and performances have improved as a result. Dyche, who realistically has to find one win from their two remaining matches against Wolves and Bournemouth, said he took the injury-prone striker off as a precaution. “I had to make a call because he felt his groin and tight groins can lead to damaged groins,” he said. “It would have been harder at 0-0 than 2-0. He wanted to carry on, but I said, ‘Dom, you are coming off’.” On his side’s display, in which they did not trouble City, he added: “A lot of the performance was right against a top side, but you get punished if you make the slightest mistake. “We arguably had the best chance with Mason Holgate (who missed a difficult close-range opportunity at 0-0). “There were some outstanding performances, Dwight (McNeil) was outstanding, Doucs (Abdoulaye Doucoure), Conor (Coady) came on and affected it in a change of shape (to a 5-4-1).” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live West Ham boss David Moyes questions ‘strange’ VAR decision to rule out goal Sale reach first Premiership final in 17 years after edging out Leicester Everton’s Jordan Pickford is not a top goalkeeper – Roy Keane
2023-05-15 00:49
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts receives master's degree from Oklahoma
It has been an eventful offseason for Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.
2023-05-15 00:48
Phillies vs. Rockies prediction and odds for Sunday, May 14 (Value on Colorado)
The Colorado Rockies are in last place in the NL West, and they’re taking on a red-hot Philadelphia Phillies team on Sunday in their series finale.The Phils have won five straight, jumping to second place in the NL East in the process.Aaron Nola (3-2, 4.44 ERA) is on the mound for the ...
2023-05-15 00:48
Ja Morant suspended from team activities after second video circulates showing him flash a gun
Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant has been suspended from team activities after an Instagram Live video appearing to show him flashing a gun while in a vehicle with others circulated on social media Sunday, just two months after the athlete was suspended over a similar video.
2023-05-15 00:45
Man City being driven to title by man of the moment – and it’s not Erling Haaland
Ilkay Gundogan isn’t leaving it quite as late this year. Twelve months ago, his goals won Manchester City the title: a comeback-clinching 81st-minute decider against Aston Villa on the final day of the season sealed the trophy. Now City’s May has consisted of more Gundogan goals to set up another coronation. After the captain’s brace against Leeds came a still better double at Everton, a volley of improvisational brilliance and a free kick he made look enviably easy, sandwiched by an assist. His 300th City appearance ranks as one of his finest. Having not struck twice in a game since last May, he has done so in successive league matches. When the business end of the season arrives, Gundogan becomes more purposeful. It is inspirational leadership but with a velvet touch. His excellence could render Arsenal’s results irrelevant. He is keeping the Gunners at bay while the newly anointed Footballer of the Year, Erling Haaland, is instead waging war on Everton’s past. His 52nd goal of the campaign means he now needs 11 to equal Dixie Dean’s record for a top-flight English club, set almost a century ago. Although, as he only has one goal in his last three games, the equation is weighted in favour of Everton’s greatest goalscorer. In one respect, Haaland produced a performance of extreme efficiency: when, in the 39th minute, he met Gundogan’s deft cross with a towering leap and an emphatic header, it was only his third touch of the afternoon. But he had scored from 33 per cent of them. He ended up with 13 touches and one goal. In a sense, City reflected Haaland: nothing much happened for quite some time and then they were deadly. Half an hour of nothingness at the start suited Everton, with the league leaders not even registering a shot on target until the 35th minute, but The Toffees conceded three goals within a quarter of an hour either side of the break. They were preceded by a glaring miss, with Mason Holgate hoofing the ball over the bar from four yards, and Everton’s chances of a shock came and went with one wild swing of his right foot. If City had lacked a little incision at the start, it was unsurprising. Pep Guardiola had rested much of his preferred midfield with Real Madrid in mind, taking out Kevin de Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Jack Grealish and the quasi-regista John Stones. But his captain was constant and a catalyst. City’s 11th straight league win stemmed from a couple of touches of class: first with Gundogan’s knee, to control Riyad Mahrez’s cross, and then with his right boot, as he hooked in a volley in a way few others could envisage, let alone execute. The paradox of City is that they have a robotic air, as though putting training ground routines into practice on the pitch, but can sometimes rely on individual virtuosity: five days after De Bruyne’s spectacular strike in the Bernabeu came a different kind of wonder goal. And, a couple of minutes later, a far more familiar one. Haaland’s giant leap has added another dimension to the City attack and he headed in Gundogan’s cross. When the German’s free-kick flew past Jordan Pickford, the goalkeeper perhaps ought to have done better. It was, though, a throwback to past title-clinching exploits. Gundogan had only scored from one previous free-kick in the Premier League: at Brighton, in May 2019, as City finished one point ahead of Liverpool. For Everton, the quest is to end up ahead of two out of Leeds, Leicester and Nottingham Forest, and earn a 70th successive season in the top flight. Last week’s five-goal demolition of Brighton felt like a mirage even if elite opponents called for a very different approach. They began with nine outfield players in a narrow box just outside their own area and were camped behind the ball. The eventual scoreline represented one kind of improvement. At Burnley, Sean Dyche had a habit of losing 5-0 to City, usually playing 4-4-2. Here the gameplan was different: a scorer of two goals against Brighton and involved in four, Dwight McNeil was an auxiliary defender, dropping in at left-back to make five at the back. Dyche ended with a 5-4-1 shape, too, rather than risking any further damage. Which, as his record now stands at 15 defeats in 16 games against Guardiola, with no wins, five goals scored and 54 conceded, is perhaps understandable. There might have been a sixth goal when Ederson tipped Amadou Onana’s header on to the bar. Everton could question if Aymeric Laporte deserved to escape unpunished when he seemed to lash out at Yerry Mina. But they have two games now, against Wolves and Bournemouth, to ensure they evade the drop. For Gundogan, and City, the season may yet bring three trophies. Read More Arsenal won’t stop digging for Premier League title, Mikel Arteta vows Jurgen Klopp backs Liverpool to revive title rivalry with Man City next season Guardiola hails ‘incredible’ Kevin De Bruyne as his stunning goal keeps Champions League tie in balance
2023-05-15 00:28
Relegated Elche surprise Atletico with rare win
Atletico Madrid fell to a surprise 1-0 defeat at relegated Elche on Sunday, confirming that Diego Simeone's side are no longer mathematically in...
2023-05-15 00:24
Newcastle United head coach has eyes on MLS for next star signing
Eddie Howe admits to watching Major League Soccer in search of potential signings for Newcastle.
2023-05-15 00:24
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