Two people were killed and multiple injured in a shooting in Auckland, New Zealand, just hours ahead of the opening match of the Fifa Women’s World Cup match. A gunman, 24, stormed into a high-rise construction site at 1 Queen Street in downtown Auckland on Thursday morning, around 7.20am local time. The man, who is believed to be a construction worker at the site, entered the building armed with a pump-action shotgun and moved through the building, firing bullets. After reaching the upper levels, he contained himself within an elevator shaft, where he fired more shots before being found dead a short time later. An officer was injured in the shooting, as well as four members of the public. Security was boosted before the opening Women’s World Cup game after the shooting which took place near the hotel of the Norwegian team, who were scheduled to play in the opening match later on the same day. Auckland has welcomed thousands of international players and tourists for the ninth Women’s World Cup which is being co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand. On Thursday, New Zealand was taking on Norway in the opening. Officials from Eden Park, where the game is being played after an opening ceremony for the tournament, encouraged fans to arrive at the stadium early. “There will be an increased security presence within the precinct and across the venue. Additional traffic management measures are in place,” Eden Park said. Several players took to social media to report they were safe. “All seems calm, and we are preparing as normal for the match tonight,” Norway captain Maren Mjelde told Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang during the police operation. Italy and the US team’s training was delayed as players could not get out of their hotel. A US Soccer spokesperson said the American players were just getting up for breakfast inside the hotel when the incident occurred. “Our security sort of immediately liaised with the local authorities and Department of State. We determined immediately that everybody was safe and accounted for and from then on we just had to wait it out,” Aaron Heifetz told reporters. Douglas Emhoff, the husband of US vice president Kamala Harris who is leading the presidential delegation to New Zealand for the opening ceremony of the World Cup, is safe, the US embassy said. Prime minister Chris Hipkins said the soccer tournament would proceed as planned, adding the shooting appeared to be the actions of an individual and that police were not seeking anyone else in relation to the incident. “There was no identified political or ideological motivation for the shooting and therefore no national security risk,” Mr Hipkins said during a televised media briefing. There would be no change to New Zealand’s security threat level although there would be an increased police presence in the city, he said. “Obviously we would prefer it not to have started in this way,” Mr Hipkins told journalists later in the day. “It will be acknowledged what happened today at the opening ceremony. And I will be going, it is safe to go and we continue to encourage the whole community to get behind this,” he said. Additional reporting by agencies. Read More Women’s World Cup 2023 LIVE: New Zealand stun Norway as Sam Kerr ruled out of Australia opener New Zealand shooting: Armed police guard construction site where gunman killed two Women’s World Cup opener ‘proceeds as planned’ despite fatal Auckland shooting Women's World Cup team from Philippines has American flavor Women’s World Cup to ‘proceed as planned’ after shooting in Auckland Cases of anti-Muslim hate ‘have more than doubled’ in a decade

Skip Bayless posted a 26-second video featuring his face and silence.

And so a season that began with Chelsea as the reigning world champions nears its sorry end with a very different addition to their songbook. “You’re nothing special,” their fans sang. “We lose every week.” Although some weeks they lose twice. It was the night a club clinched Champions League football: not Chelsea, though Todd Boehly thought as recently as early February that a top-four finish was possible. Instead, they are 27 points behind Newcastle, 29 adrift of Manchester United, closer in points to the relegation zone than the top nine, the club who conquered Europe in 2021 now stand sixth in London alone; they are guaranteed to finish third in west London. Chelsea were sixth in the division when they sacked Thomas Tuchel, a decision that seemed rash then and looks positively stupid now. It has been a season of four managers, 16 signings and £600m of spending. After the false dawn of wins in Graham Potter’s first three league games, they had 19 points from nine. Since then, Chelsea have 24 from 28 matches. It is relegation form: indeed, Leicester, who could be relegated, have more in the same time. In all competitions, they have scored 22 goals in their last 31 games. They have sustained terrible form over a long period of time. “Results for Chelsea this season: not good enough,” said Frank Lampard succinctly. “It has been a bad year.” No one escapes untainted from this. Possibly their greatest-ever player and definitely their record goalscorer has a 10 per cent win rate from his second spell in charge; the idea that a caretaker could plot a path past Real Madrid and to Champions League glory felt fanciful. Boehly’s infamous prediction that they would beat Real 3-0 in the Bernabeu was, in its own way, wonderfully delusional. Since then, Chelsea have scored eight goals and conceded 20. In the Premier League, they are certain to finish with a negative goal difference. It is partly a consequence of terrible finishing, partly just another marker of how virtually everything that could go wrong has. In all competitions, Chelsea remain outscored by Erling Haaland this season. They at least created chances in a 4-1 defeat at Old Trafford. They defended terribly, however. But the outcome was familiar. Chelsea used to be the best; now they are a team who need to play the worst (although maybe not Southampton, who have beaten them twice). They have faced the eventual top 10 in 19 matches this season – 21 if their two cup defeats to Manchester City are included – and won one: even that was against Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa, not Unai Emery’s Villa. Individual ability has sometimes compensated against lesser sides. Their record against the top 10, however, illustrates how Chelsea have not been the sum of their parts. Lampard described their training and preparation as “collectively the thing that’s been glaringly short”. He lamented a lack of “standards” but, two years ago under Tuchel, the standards were high. Now the price is. Their parts have never been costlier in a season of record outlay. But their player of the year is a 38-year-old they got on a free transfer, in Thiago Silva. The 18-year-old Lewis Hall has been the greatest positive of back-to-back trips to Manchester, but looks a more compelling understudy to Ben Chilwell at left-back than the £62m signing Marc Cucurella. Meanwhile, Wesley Fofana, the £70m centre-back, has gifted both Manchester clubs goals within five days with poor passes. Mykhailo Mudryk is the £88m forward with no goals. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was signed to play for Thomas Tuchel, who was sacked when the striker was one game into his Chelsea career. Joao Felix, an utterly unsuccessful loan signing, cost £16m in fee and wages and only found his clinical touch when 4-0 down at Old Trafford. He is an example of how Chelsea have burned through money. There isn’t a hit among those 16 signings yet; many – Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly, Enzo Fernandez, Fofana, Aubameyang, Cucurella – would command far less if sold now. Instead, they may have to lose Mason Mount, the kind of player Mauricio Pochettino would probably appreciate. They have amassed too many players to manage, or even to accommodate in a dressing room. “People talk about squad size, things that are very valid,” said Lampard. “There isn’t a huge stability in the team and squad.” He played in a time when instability almost seemed an asset to Chelsea. Now, the needless scale and pace of change has accelerated a decline. Chelsea have plunged themselves into a downward spiral, with talent but not cohesion, clarity of thought, consistency of selection, a style of play, a system or goals. Pochettino will inherit a mess having presumably ensured he does not take charge before the end of this season so he cannot be blamed for it. “It needs a rebuild,” Lampard said. “The club will move on in the summer in terms of the squad.” And so, at the end of a season that has been a masterpiece of stupidity, the fourth man to coach a squad that has had over half a billion spent on 16 players concluded they still need a rebuild. Read More Manchester United owe Champions League return to one man Jose Mourinho takes snide dig at Tottenham and Daniel Levy How Chelsea match is pivotal to Man Utd’s hopes of signing Mason Mount

England boss Sarina Wiegman declared she is willing to “make changes” as the Lionesses look to secure a second successive World Cup victory against Denmark on Friday. Wiegman stuck with the same starting XI for every match of England’s triumphant Euro 2022 campaign, but the retirements of striker Ellen White and midfielder Jill Scott alongside injuries to European champions Beth Mead, Leah Williamson and Fran Kirby have left her current 23-woman squad looking significantly different. The 53-year-old called for more “ruthlessness” from her side following the nervy 1-0 tournament-opening win over Haiti, decided by Georgia Stanway’s retaken penalty despite several missed chances in open play. Asked if that demand might also apply to her own team selection, Wiegman replied: “That I’m more likely to make changes doesn’t have to do with that. “I want to make changes. What we do is approach every game, and then when we get ready for that game we see who is fit and available, and then we make decisions to what we need to start with. “And then we decide whether we are going to start with the same XI or maybe make some changes.” England’s performance against underdogs Haiti fuelled concerns that the Lionesses looked rusty, particularly in an attack led by Alessia Russo in favour of Women’s Super League Golden Boot winner Rachel Daly. There was also a World Cup debut for Chelsea forward Lauren James, who some pundits wanted to start but instead replaced Manchester City’s Lauren Hemp on the left wing after 61 minutes. Like many of her players this week, Wiegman, who has a fully-fit squad to choose from, was eager to point out that this team and tournament are very different from last summer’s home European Championships. She said: “We shouldn’t compare it all the time. We’re in a new situation now, and we have some changes in team dynamics. “We have our style of playing, we want to develop our style of play every time and we want to score goals. That’s one of the parts, of course. “And that’s what we’re working on all the time, every day. What do we have (to do) to create chances and score goals? That’s what we talk about all the time too. At the end, we hope that the ball gets into the back of the net.” The Lionesses could book their place in the knockout stage on Friday if they see off Denmark and China do not beat Haiti in the late kick-off. Scoring will certainly remain a concern, as will be shutting down Denmark number nine and captain Pernille Harder, the ex-Chelsea threat whom England defender Lucy Bronze called “one of the best players in the world”. Bronze added: “Not just for Chelsea, but also when she played for Wolfsburg and also for Denmark. She’s a tough player, but equally we’ve got many of those in our England side as well.” Harder, who will go up against several former Blues team-mates, including England defensive duo Millie Bright and Jess Carter, said: “We need to enjoy it, we need to enjoy that, use the energy, even if they might not all support us, take the whole event and use it as a positive. “Put in the extra effort in the field, really enjoy the moment, that’s what we must do. It’s great to be in a World Cup, that’s for sure, and it’s really cool to play all these matches. So, you shouldn’t think about the pressure but really just think about how cool it is.” Denmark boss Lars Sondergaard added: “I started saying we were underdogs, sometimes when you enter a match you are underdogs and you need to perform well against a superpower such as England. “That’s easier said than done but, as Pernille said, there’s a World Cup every four years, you’re not getting many of these opportunities in your career, right? So it would be a mortal sin not to enjoy it.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Day one of fifth Ashes Test: England aiming to deny Australia series win Billionaire whose family trust owns Spurs denies insider trading – reports Kylian Mbappe reportedly turns down chance to discuss move to Al Hilal

Wayne Rooney hopes “incredible talent” Marcus Rashford can help bring titles back to Manchester United and put himself at the same level as the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland. Manchester City – basking in the afterglow of their treble triumph – are some hurdle to overcome, with up-and-coming manager Rooney also full of praise for Pep Guardiola. The club legend was speaking ahead of managing the Major League Soccer All-Stars against Arsenal. Rooney and Mikel Arteta shared a warm embrace between the press conferences in Washington DC, where Gunners’ new boy Declan Rice could make his first appearance since joining from West Ham.

If you asked the average person to name their favourite day of the week, they would not name Tuesday. Monday, while generally considered to be loathed, is actually enjoyed by many for the buzz it brings; Wednesday is ‘hump day’; Thursday is the new Friday; and Friday ushers in the weekend. But Tuesday? What does it actually offer? Fifty times out of 52, not very much – I’ll grant you that. But twice a year, Tuesdays are transformed. And they are transformed by Naoya Inoue. Sometimes, the best boxer in the world fights in Tokyo, as he did this week and in December. Sometimes, he fights in Saitama, as he did last June. He has also fought in Yokohama, and even Las Vegas and Glasgow. But nowadays, the constant is that Naoya Inoue fights on Tuesdays. It is not a day on which we are accustomed to seeing the pageantry and ceremony of world title fights, but if you haven’t joined the club already, you will need to start navigating that foreign feeling and turning on your TV, opening that fresh tab on your laptop, or turning your phone horizontally. You need to tune in. You need to tune in because, twice a year on Tuesdays, Inoue produces the closest thing to boxing mastery that you will see. You might have had that same thought while watching Tyson Fury in recent years (on a Saturday), Oleksandr Usyk (also on a Saturday), or Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (always on Saturdays), but the reality is that those modern greats are being eclipsed in the ring. Across the Pacific Ocean, for our US friends, and around the Arctic for those in the UK, Inoue is consistently delivering masterclasses. Inoue is a former light-flyweight, unified super-flyweight, and undisputed bantamweight champion. The Japanese is a magpie, however, and the glint of each piece of gold has quickly given away to an obsession with a new trophy. On this particular Tuesday, the 30-year-old – aptly nicknamed the “Monster” – fixed his gaze on the WBC and WBO super-bantamweight titles. It was a flight into new territory, to a higher branch on the tree than Inoue had yet landed. Yet, despite fighting at such a high weight class for the first time in his career, Inoue took Stephen Fulton to pieces. In the process, he took everything from the American – his world titles and his unbeaten record. Against a man accustomed to this weight, Inoue bullied Fulton, beating him to nearly every punch, matching the 29-year-old’s power while exceeding his speed and becoming a four-weight world champion. Fulton, a talented, accomplished, unbeaten boxer fighting a smaller man, frankly looked scared. The risk of entering Inoue’s range, of inviting the challenger to unload his offence, seemed too great, even to a man who has beaten every boxer to have stood across from him. The thing is, Fulton was right to be scared. Despite Inoue’s natural weight disadvantage, the home fighter absorbed Fulton’s best shots – on the rare occasions that they landed – and fired back with faster, more spiteful strikes. In Tokyo on Tuesday, there was a strong argument that Fulton did not win a single round. And after seven of them, it became a moot point anyway. Inoue jabbed the champion in the gut, then speared him with a right cross to the face – seemingly before his left fist had even been retracted. Fulton, fighting outside his native US for the first time, might as well have been back home; it did not matter, because he did not know where he was. As he stumbled back in a disorientating daze, Inoue showed no mercy. The very moment that Inoue realised he had Fulton hurt, he pulverised the champion with a left hook. To call it clinical would be fair, if such a word did not ignore the ugliness of the blow. Fulton, to his credit, went some way to regaining his senses, climbing from the canvas, beating the referee’s count, and answering his call. Perhaps he should not have. Within seconds, he was cornered, overwhelmed by a swarm of hooks, his legs giving out beneath him. As Fulton slumped towards the canvas, the referee saved him. Inoue had already climbed the corner after the first knockdown, celebrating the inevitable. And Inoue is inevitable. Even as he made his walk in the Ariake Arena, he exuded the air of a boxer who may just retire unbeaten – just moments before facing what should have been his toughest test yet. The Japanese has been No 1 on Indy Sport’s pound-for-pound list for some time now, with the best knockout percentage (22 from 25 unanswered wins) of any fighter in those rankings, and he does not look like he will be displaced. If he is not at the top of your list, or near that summit, or even in your rankings at all, then chances are you haven’t tuned in to Tuesdays With Naoya Inoue. This is as good as boxing gets, and that is written with the knowledge that one of the fights of this generation – Errol Spence Jr vs Terence Crawford – awaits this weekend. In future, don’t wait for Saturdays. The best boxer in the world fights on Tuesdays. Read More Spence vs Crawford time: When does fight start in UK and US this weekend? Another boxing robbery: Maxi Hughes deserves justice for heist that shames the sport George Kambosos reacts to ‘robbery’ claims after controversial win over Maxi Hughes

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