Kyle Tucker homered, José Altuve made his season debut and the Houston Astros beat the Oakland Athletics 5-1 on Friday night for their fifth straight victory

Sweden are already into the knockout phase of the Women's World Cup but are eager to maintain their winning momentum in Wednesday's final group game...

Mike Hoffman scored two goals, and the San Jose Sharks beat the St. Louis Blues 5-1

Manchester United want to extend the contract of manager Erik ten Hag despite difficult recent results and off-field controversies. Ten Hag is contracted until 2025 with an option for a further year.

Two of the WNBA best players square off on Friday evening with Elena Della Donne and the Washington Mystics hosting Arike Ogunbowale and the Dallas Wings.Della Donne is off to a great start, averaging 21.0 points per game while shooting 58.3 percent from 3 in four games, but the Mystics have str...

Notts County FC has been forced to release a statement to clarify that Taylor Swift is not, in fact, planning to buy the football club. In a bizarre turn of events, the club released an official statement on Friday clarifying the situation following a report in satirical newspaper the Weekend Sport. The newspaper, which is known for publishing sensationalised, fictitious and satirical contact, reported that Swift was lining up a bid for England’s oldest football club. It reported that she was planning to follow in the footsteps of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney who have sparked a revival at Welsh club Wrexham since taking over. However, Notts County owners Chris and Alex Reedtz put out a joint statement rebuffing the story. It said: “As sorry as we are to disappoint the Swifties in our fanbase, we’re going to have to shake this story off. “There’s certainly no bad blood between ourselves and Taylor but, at such an exciting time for us and the club, she surely couldn’t have believed in her wildest dreams that we would relinquish our control. “We’ll leave a blank space in tomorrow’s pre-match playlist for a track from her newly re-released 1989 album as a gesture of gratitude for her interest.” How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

“I wouldn’t say I’m a masochist, no.” It’s a reassuring start from Chris Eubank Jr, as he reflects on his defeat by Liam Smith – the first stoppage loss of his career, and an experience he says he enjoyed. “Imagine being in a sport your entire life, thinking you’ve experienced every single thing there is, then something new happens at 33 years old,” the Briton explains to The Independent, as his rematch with Smith looms. “I’ve been fighting since I was 14, and I’ve never been buzzed like that, or had to get up, recuperate, march forward, then go back down again, get back up. I never would’ve imagined that I’d be in a position where a referee could stop a fight for me. “So, it was new, it was crazy. Looking back on it, it was exciting. It was a huge adrenalin rush, probably the same amount of adrenalin as I would get from knocking a guy out.” Twice Eubank Jr hauled himself off the canvas in the fourth round at Manchester’s AO Arena, his body moving almost gelatinously as his brain tried to recentre him, before Victor Loughlin waved off the bout. Eubank Jr will hope he does not have to feel that same canvas against his knees and elbows on Saturday when he returns to the AO Arena for a middleweight rematch with Smith. “It has to change how I think, feel, and how I approach fights,” he says. “You have to learn. I have a new mindset on going into fights and protecting myself at all times, making sure I don’t get hit flush. We have to do everything in our power to make sure we’re never in that position again.” That said, “I feel like I dealt with it well,” Eubank Jr adds. “A lot of fighters... when they get hurt, you see the real side of them. A lot back down, a lot look for ways out. Everyone saw that night, I was ready to go out on my shield. I was ready to die in there. ‘Let’s keep going,’ that’s what I said when the going got tough. I think the fans appreciated seeing that side of me.” Never before had Eubank Jr touched the canvas, let alone been stopped, and once the “excitement” subsided, he was left to deal with a different emotion. “I wasn’t upset, disappointed; I was pissed off,” he recalls. “It wasn’t like I got my ass kicked for three rounds and then got knocked out; I was dominating the fight, then I made a mistake and got caught. I was pissed off at myself, pissed off at the referee for not giving me the chance to continue. Whether he was right or wrong, as a grizzled veteran I don’t feel the need to be saved by a referee. “[But] when I watched the replay back in the changing room, I said to everybody: ‘I’ll take that.’ As in, if I was ever gonna get stopped, that’s the way I’d want it: on my feet, demanding they let me continue. I can accept that, I can sleep at night. I couldn’t sleep at night if I’m getting the 10 count and I can’t get up, or if I’m telling the referee, ‘No, [I can’t continue]’.” As well as mentioning referee Loughlin, Eubank Jr has cited an alleged elbow by Smith as proving decisive in the fight’s final sequence. Still, he maintains that these are not excuses, while Smith, 35, has revelled in his victory. “I enjoyed every bit of it,” Smith told The Independent in July. “It was a great week, I wish I could have that week back, it was a great week.” The Liverpudlian also said the prickly build-up to their first fight existed because the boxers just “wouldn’t get on” in normal life. But Eubank Jr, for his part, says: “Just because I fought him, doesn’t mean I know who he is as a man. He might be a great guy. I don’t know and I don’t need to know, that’s not part of my job; my job is to know who he is as a fighter and exploit that or deal with that. I think he is exploitable, he does get riled up, I can get into his head. I’m not here to be buddies or pals with people, I’m here to take guys out. I’m here to create a legacy, and he’s put a serious bump in that road for me; I need to smoothen it out.” That legacy has always been a complicated one, given the memories that Eubank Jr’s father gave to British boxing fans. Still, its ending is unwritten, and it is still in Eubank Jr’s control – for now. “There’s so many huge fights left for me to have,” he says. “There’s so much left for me to achieve. We have to see if I can do the things I say I can do. First and foremost, I have to beat Liam Smith; it’s not a great legacy if I finish my career with two losses to Liam on my record. That would for sure damage any type of ‘great’ legacy. Knowing that, it’s hugely important that I avenge this loss. I can explain a freak accident – it happens; I can get away with one loss to Liam, I can’t get away with two.” However Eubank Jr’s in-ring endeavours are ultimately judged, one thing seems certain: his personality and words outside the ring will see him remembered as one of the most divisive boxers of his generation. “It’s part of selling a fight, it’s part of beating your opponent,” Eubank Jr says. “You’ve got to win every fight – verbal, mental, physical. I’ve become very good at that over the years. I understand it’s part of the sport if you want to be ‘box office’. The guys that don’t talk, don’t have an opinion or aren’t able to express themselves to the fans and to their opponents, they don’t get airtime or headlines. You need those things to make money, I’ve learnt that from the very beginning, watching my old man. “As I got older, my old man took more and more steps back, and I was able to come forward and be my own personality. Now we’re at a stage where I’m comfortable in every situation. I can read the room very well, I can read my opponents well.” Eubank Jr will hope he has a good read of Smith on Saturday. Watch Smith vs Eubank Jr 2 on Sky Sports Box Office on Saturday 2 September, live from the AO Arena in Manchester Read More Eubank vs Smith 2 live stream: How to watch fight online and on TV this weekend Liam Smith: ‘Chris Eubank Jr is a nightmare – not for me, for other people’ Oleksandr Usyk remains heavyweight champion but where does he go from here? Adam Azim seeks Aram Fanyan ‘demolition’ in grandfather’s memory Who is fighting on Eubank vs Smith 2 undercard this weekend? What time does Eubank vs Smith 2 start this weekend?

England stand on the brink of greatness. The European Champions are one victory away from being the best team in the world. But this has not been an easy tournament for Sarina Wiegman and her players. While the Euros saw emphatic victories – the best being 8-0 vs Norway and 4-0 vs Sweden in the semi-finals – and exultant home support, England have got into gear in a slower, more controlled way in this tournament (they did beat Sunday’s opponents Spain 2-1 a.e.t. in their toughest match in 2022 excluding the final, in case anyone had forgotten, but that was a rather different Spain team). Sarina is characterised for her consistency, bordering on stubbornness to her critics, but in this tournament she has had to change things up: the shift to a 3-5-2 against China was an inspired throw of the dice after some pretty drab stuff against Haiti and Denmark. The England head coach has also had to do without the enormously gifted Lauren James after her red card against Nigeria, having brought her in to start against the Danes. James was the best player in the group stages for England, scoring three and assisting three. But in her absence, two things have occurred. Firstly, the back three has got better, with Alex Greenwood staking a major claim to being the best player at the tournament, and one of the best ball-playing centre-backs in the world. No one has made more than Greenwood’s 563 passes at the World Cup, according to WhoScored.com, even more impressively, she’s made them at 90% accuracy. Her clipped pass to set up Georgia Stanway’s shot nine minutes in was world class and shows how important she’s been to England’s ability to generate chances. But crucially, the front two has also started to click. The final goal against Australia was sublime: Russo’s pressure caused an Australian error, which was seized on by Lauren Hemp. Hemp drove towards the heart of the Australian defence, while Russo’s cleverly drifting run took her away from a retreating Steph Catley. Hemp’s angle-changing pass was simply brilliant, and Russo’s cool, driven finish was a fitting end to an incisive attack. Hemp was the best player on the pitch against Australia, and the front two’s combination of movement, work rate, and technical ability shone against an excellently stubborn and well-organised Australia side. At times Russo has looked isolated playing for England and being asked to drop deep doesn't suite her game. She's an excellent passer but her real threat is in and around the box. In too many games she's had limited options to link up with. Alongside Hemp, though, who roams left and right as well as dropping deep, Russo always has at least one rapid option central and, often, one or both of the wing-backs and a midfielder bursting beyond. She also has support when playing higher. One of the reasons England scored that third goal was because Hemp could carry it further and release it later, leaving less for Russo to do in terms of beating players and allowing her to focus on the finish. And when she’s left to focus on her work in and around the area, Russo is lethal. She’s one of the purest ball strikers in the camp and her finishing under pressure is as good as anyone at the tournament. England’s front two can both score goals and both want to find pockets of space wide or deep, and both can create differently: Russo’s touch in tight areas, her hold-up play, and her through balls are superb, while Hemp can still show why at club level she’s one of the world’s most effective wingers with her tricky ball carrying and ability to execute technical passes while moving at speed. It’s also worth noting that now only Ellen White and Fara Williams have scored more for the Lionesses at major tournaments than Russo (10 and 8 versus 7). And they’ve been at their best in front of a midfield including Ella Toone. Toone might be less creative and more about linking play than James, but England tick over nicely with her as the more advanced midfielder of the three. Sarina won’t keep Toone in because she scored a worldy, but because she kept the ball well, found good pockets of space, and worked hard in defence. And then, once the game becomes more open and transitional, as finals tend to, James could come on and drive at a stretched defence, take the ball deep, and, although I hope England won’t need it, change the game. So while the focus might be on whether Toone or James starts, Sarina has already made the most important decision of the tournament: shifting to a back three has platformed Greenwood’s passing excellence and unleashed the front two of Hemp and Russo. If they can combine again, England have everyting they need to bring it home. Read More Women’s World Cup LIVE: England prepare for final against Spain and latest reaction to win over Australia Gianni Infantino tells women in football to ‘pick the right fights’ to utilise their ‘power to change’ What time is the World Cup final on Sunday and who will England play? World Cup final referee: Who will take charge of England vs Spain? Lauren James ‘will be ready’ for World Cup final, says Chelsea manager Emma Hayes Sarina Wiegman would be ‘perfectly capable’ of becoming England men’s manager, says FA chief

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