They are drenched in sweat, their hands bloodied from clapping, and their voices hoarse from shouting -- meet Japan's predominantly male and...

Tom Brady, who announced February 1 he was "retiring for good" after 23 seasons in the NFL, has been invited to the New England Patriots' home opener, team owner Robert Kraft said.

In a recent episode of his podcast, Ben Roethlisberger revealed to Kenny Pickett that he didn't want to see him succeed with the Pittsburgh Steelers.The 2004 NFL Draft class saw three teams have long-term stability at the quarterback position based on their selections. The Pittsburgh Steele...

Rookie Ryan Noda hit a tiebreaking home run in the eighth inning and the Oakland Athletics held on for a 2-1 win against the AL Central champion Minnesota Twins

Spain’s Women’s World Cup winning coach Jorge Vilda has been left off the short-list of nominees for the annual FIFA awards, a week after he was fired following an international uproar in the wake of the final

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has admitted Champions League qualification was not even in his thoughts as he embarked upon the new Premier League campaign. The Magpies secured a top-four finish and a return to the big stage for the first time since the 2002-03 season with a 0-0 draw against Leicester on Monday evening to complete a remarkable turnaround. They were in severe danger of relegation when Howe took the helm in November 2021 but will now rub shoulders with the continent’s elite next season. A delighted Howe said: “This wasn’t in our sights at that moment. We had escaped relegation impressively, from the position we were in. “We were hopeful of improving and staying away from danger and growing the team to a position where maybe we could compete for Europe in a couple of seasons, so we’ve shot ahead of schedule. “With that comes big challenges for the future, but when you’re in these moments and there’s an opportunity of something like this, you have to take it.” The club’s Saudi-backed owners have ploughed in excess of £250million in the squad since buying out Mike Ashley, but have received an earlier than anticipated return on their investment. It’s an amazing achievement, an amazing thing in terms of where we’ve come from in such a short space of time Eddie Howe Newcastle reached the Carabao Cup final in February only to lose to Manchester United at Wembley, but were not to be denied a place at Europe’s top table. Howe said: “The difficulty is there’s no trophy. It’s an amazing achievement, an amazing thing in terms of where we’ve come from in such a short space of time. “But it feels difficult to celebrate it like you’ve won a league or something like that. It’s right up there, of course it is. It’s an amazing thing at a very special club. Asked how he would celebrate, Howe added with a smile: “I don’t know how I’ll celebrate. I’ll wait and see. I hope it’s not with a tea and a biscuit.” St James’ Park was bouncing at the final whistle and Howe, his staff and players performed a lap of honour, although the mood in the Leicester camp was very different. The Foxes remain two points adrift of safety, although victory over West Ham on Saturday coupled with a draw for Everton at home to Bournemouth would keep them up on goal difference. They did not muster a shot until stoppage time, when Magpies goalkeeper Nick Pope kept out Timothy Castagne’s volley to deny them a priceless victory, but boss Dean Smith was defiant over his safety-first approach. Smith said: “I make no apologies for the way we set up today. We haven’t kept a clean sheet for too long and the reason we are where we are is because of that in my opinion. “My mind was made up when I watched Newcastle play Brighton on Thursday, one of the best footballing teams in the Premier League this year, Brighton, and in that first 20, 25 minutes, they steamrollered them. “We had to keep a clean sheet and hope, because we had to make sacrifices with our team sheet today and hope then we were still in the game. “It almost worked exactly to plan, but the goalkeeper made a really good save in the 90th minute, which was our only shot, I think. “If it’s too little, too late, who knows? But we’ve taken it to Sunday now.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Fun the priority of new coaching campaign to boost activity among young people Ilkay Gundogan urges Manchester City to keep standards high in quest for treble Real Madrid file hate crime complaint after Vinicius targeted by racist abuse

The Heat and Blazers need some help getting a Damian Lillard trade done. Thankfully, the Raptors want to be that third team, per the latest NBA Rumors.The Toronto Raptors want in on Damian Lillard trade talks.By no means do they want to acquire Lillard in a Kawhi Leonard reboot. Rather, Toro...

Man City legend and former Spain star David Silva announces retirement from football after suffering ACL injury.

Alijah Martin scored 17 points, Vladislav Goldin had 14, and No. 19 Florida Atlantic beat Virginia Tech 84-50 to win the ESPN Events Invitational championship

Luke Raley hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh inning, and Tampa Bay’s remarkable bullpen retired everyone it faced in the Rays’ 4-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday night in the opener of a huge series at Camden Yards

Shohei Ohtani won’t be dealt at the trade deadline and Max Scherzer already is on the move

What the papers say Former Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could be the first England international to move to the Saudi Pro League, with the Daily Mail reporting he is considering a lucrative offer to move overseas. The 29-year-old is a free agent after leaving the Reds this summer following seven years at Anfield. However, his ex-Liverpool team-mate Mohamed Salah is likely to turn down a move to Saudi Arabia despite reports linking the prolific 31-year-old Egypt forward to the league, the Mirror said. Tottenham are looking to send an opening offer of £40million to Leicester for their England midfielder James Maddison, but the Telegraph says the recently relegated Foxes want £60million for his services. Newcastle are continuing their recruitment drive and are now entering advanced talks to sign England Under-21 defender Tino Livramento for £15million from Southampton, according to the Telegraph. Aston Villa are also hoping to bolster their defence with manager Unai Emery looking to link back up with his former Villarreal centre-back Pau Torres, the Times reports. Social media round-up Players to watch Harry Kane: Bayern Munich could be in contention to prise the 29-year-old away from Tottenham with Sky Sport Germany reporting the England captain is interested in a move to Germany. Victor Osimhen: Liverpool have joined the likes of Manchester United and Paris St Germain in the race for the 24-year-old Napoli striker, Gazzetta dello Sport reports. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live