Northwestern footballstaffers appeared to honor disgraced former head coach Pat Fitzgerald at practice on Wednesday.The Northwestern football program has undergone a period of tremendous turmoil after a hazing scandal resulted in the firing of longtime head coach Pat Fitzgerald. The 48-year-old ...

Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott admitted his team's catching has hit rock bottom after they dropped five chances in their 149-run defeat by New Zealand in...

The NBA’s 2024 Las Vegas Summer League kicks off at 4:30 p.m. EST with the New Orleans Pelicans taking on the Minnesota Timberwolves.A few teams have already played games this summer, but both of these teams are making their Summer League debuts.New Orleans has some fun young talent on...

Ange Postecoglou is excited to see Tottenham midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur close to his best again amid a growing injury crisis at the club. Spurs host Aston Villa on Sunday with at least nine first-team players ruled out and Pape Sarr a doubt after he returned with a knock from international duty with Senegal. A much-needed positive for the Australian is the return to fitness of Bentancur, who made his first competitive start in nine months in Uruguay’s 3-0 win over Bolivia on Tuesday after a serious knee injury. With first-choice midfielders James Maddison (ankle) and Yves Bissouma (suspended) definitely absent for the visit of Villa, Bentancur could be thrust into action. “The back four is probably the major issue for us at the moment. We’re really low on depth there, but midfield as well. That’s just the period we’re going through,” Postecoglou reflected. “The fact Rodrigo got an opportunity to start (for Uruguay) is good for us. It gives him that confidence that he’s able to get through a game. “The beauty of him is he can play a couple of different areas. I think he can play as a six, he can play further forward as an eight and he’s even creative. I think he can score goals as well. “We were kind of hoping with him, Madders, Pape, Biss and people like Pierre(-Emile Hojbjerg) we were well stocked in that midfield area for different kinds of combinations, but obviously that has been disrupted a bit. “The key for Rodrigo is to get him back to that level physically and mentally where he feels really comfortable about playing at this level. “I don’t think he is far off it from what I’ve seen and again certainly over the next few weeks he will get that opportunity.” Bentancur was one of Tottenham’s best players last season and impressed in a box-to-box role before he sustained anterior cruciate ligament damage in February. Uruguay boss Marcelo Bielsa used him at the base of a midfield three on Tuesday, which is where Bissouma has played for Spurs so far this season. With Bissouma suspended for the Villa match after he picked up his fifth yellow card of the campaign at Wolves, Postecoglou hinted Bentancur could fill that void. He said: “Yeah, potentially. Watching the (Bolivia) game and how he played, he did it really well so you know he can play there. “I don’t think he is that far off from a physical perspective of being able to play his normal game, whether that is box-to-box, and part of it is getting belief in himself and his own body that he is capable of doing it.” Spurs’ hopes of returning to winning ways have been hit by their lengthy injury list, but Postecoglou insisted: “Aston Villa will be a great test for us, but we’re at home. “Apart from the Chelsea game, our home form has been really strong and we need to make sure we get back to that.” Read More LTA urges British tennis fans to show ‘respect’ after Novak Djokovic row at Davis Cup Erik ten Hag prepared for Everton to be ‘mad’ and urges Man Utd to match them Alexis Mac Allister’s performance could be key against Man City – Jan Molby PA selective guide to sport on TV for w/c November 27 Nathan Heaney eyeing middleweight world title fight against Janibek Alimkhanuly Eddie Howe sees no benefit to Newcastle over loans between associated clubs

The turbulent and brilliant basketball coach Bob Knight has died

Rob Page accepts that Wales’ Euro 2024 destiny might lie in the play-offs following their damaging draw with Armenia. Wales needed a Nair Tiknizyan own goal on the stroke of half-time to give them a 1-1 draw in Yerevan, when Armenia were the most dangerous side for large parts of a low-quality contest. Croatia are now favourites to take the second automatic qualifying spot behind Turkey, who travel to Cardiff for Wales’ last group fixture on Tuesday safe in the knowledge they will be playing in the finals in Germany next summer. Having dropped points to remove automatic qualification from their own hands, manager Page said: “There’s a disappointed group in there, but we’ve got to pick ourselves up and finish on a high on Tuesday. “Unfortunately it’s now out of our control. With a win, we’d all have been buzzing and looking forward to the game on Tuesday, and a win would have seen us qualify. “It’s not materialised as we’d like, but that’s life and we have to get on with it. “It’s about building momentum and, if it’s a play-off in March, it’s a play-off in March. “If results go for us, we’ve still got an opportunity to qualify (automatically). “We can only control what we can do, get the players in the right frame of mind, mentally and physically ready for Tuesday.” Wales were beaten 4-2 by Armenia – ranked 95 in the world and 67 places below them – at the Cardiff City Stadium in June, and Page’s side were shaken again within five minutes of the Yerevan return. Lucas Zelarayan, who scored twice in Cardiff, worked space on the edge of the area after Wales failed to clear a corner and slotted the ball into the corner of Danny Ward’s net. Page said: “We got off to the worst possible start, we knew they were going to come out the traps fast. I’m disappointed with that. “I thought we grew in the first half and scored at the perfect time. “But the break came at a bad time for us because I thought we were growing in momentum. “We got into some OK positions. Whether it was the final pass or the final ball, that final detail wasn’t quite right for whatever reason. “We threw everything at it and both teams were going for the win. “You could see by the changes we made. We took a wing back-off and put a winger on to try and get as many forward players on the pitch as we could.” Wales had beaten World Cup semi-finalists Croatia last month to put them in control of the race for a top-two place. But on a poor pitch that neither team were able to master, Wales did not remotely come close hitting the heights of that performance. Reflecting on the contrasting two displays, Page said: “It’s not to say there were a lot of players who had off-days, but you do have that in transitions, you have inconsistencies. “I’m not going to fault the players for their effort. Their effort, to a man, was commendable. They gave everything, like they always do. “The pitch was heavy, like nothing we’ve seen back home, but it was the same for both sides. “We’ll get them recovered, have a recovery session on Sunday and go through with the medical team who we’ve got available for Tuesday. “We need to finish the campaign on a high. It’s important to have some momentum if there is a play-off in March.” Read More James McAtee scores twice as England Under-21s win comfortably in Serbia A look at the data behind Virat Kohli’s record 50 ODI centuries Steve Clarke wants return to winning ways – Scotland v Norway talking points Steve Clarke not concerned over which pot Scotland are in for Euro 2024 draw Liam Broady replaces injured Andy Murray in Great Britain’s Davis Cup team Matt Wallace produces stunning back nine display to shoot 60 and lead in Dubai

Giorgos Masouras left the Republic of Ireland’s Euro 2024 qualification hopes hanging by a thread as they slumped to a 2-1 defeat in Greece. Olympiakos midfielder Masouras scored the decisive goal in a victory for Gus Poyet’s side which leaves them with maximum points from their opening two Group B fixtures and Ireland with none heading into Monday’s home clash with Gibraltar. Defender Nathan Collins had earlier cancelled out Tasos Bakasetas’ 15th-minute penalty to give the visitors hope, but in truth Stephen Kenny’s men, who had defender Matt Doherty dismissed in the dying seconds, were out-played for long periods at the OPAP Arena in Athens. Trabzonspor’s Bakasetas, Masouras and Petros Mantalos tormented Ireland throughout and never allowed Josh Cullen, Jason Knight and Will Smallbone the control they needed to feed the men ahead of them. Kenny had stopped short of dubbing the game a must-win affair in advance, but a difficult group, which also includes France and the Netherlands, has become an all but impossible one barely before it has begun in earnest. With injuries limiting his options, Kenny had little choice to make changes to the XI which started the opening qualifier against the French in March and pitched Callum O’Dowda, Darragh Lenihan, Adam Idah and Smallbone, making a competitive debut, into battle. Goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu had to claw a fifth-minute effort from defender Konstantinos Mavropanos out of his top corner and then, having seen Bakasetas’ piledriver deflected marginally wide, palmed another Mavropanos shot over the bar. The visitors, who were repeatedly targeted with laser pens from the stands, were marooned deep inside their own half as Greece forced a series of early corners, and Bazunu had to rush from his line to deny Masouras with a challenge which sparked fevered calls for a penalty from the locals among a sparse crowd. Their pleas may have gone unanswered on that occasion, but they did not with 15 minutes gone when Austrian referee Harald Lechner was advised to take a second look at O’Dowda’s block after Sheffield United defender George Baldock had crossed from the right. Bakasetas took charge from 12 yards and drilled the resulting spot-kick past the helpless Bazunu to give the Greeks a lead they deserved. Pantelis Hatzidiakos very nearly handed the Republic a route back into the game when he stabbed Doherty’s cross inches wide of his own goal, but the reprieve proved temporary when Evan Ferguson flicked Smallbone’s 27th-minute corner across goal and Collins timed his arrival to perfection to level, albeit after another VAR check. Bazunu had to get down well to claim a skidding attempt from Bakasetas and saw another fiercely-struck attempt from the midfielder deflected just past his right post, and Ferguson chanced his arm from halfway as a frenetic first half careered towards its conclusion. Ireland had simply not got to grips with Greece’s 4-3-3 formation before the break, and they were undone once again within four minutes of the restart when Bakasetas slid the ball into Masouras’ run into the penalty area and watched him curl a shot around Bazunu to restore his side’s lead. Kenny, who had replaced Idah with Mikey Johnston at the break, sent on James McClean – winning his 99th cap – and Jason Knight in the aftermath of the goal with Greece smelling blood. To their credit, Ireland belatedly started to take the game to their hosts and Collins was denied a spectacular second by Odysseas Vlachodimos’ flying save with 18 minutes remaining. Former Celtic frontman Giorgos Giakoumakis could have wrapped up the win 11 minutes from time after working his way into a good shooting position, but lifting his effort harmlessly over the bar. Doherty might have levelled with a stoppage-time snapshot which was saved by Vlachodimos, and his misery was compounded at the death when he was sent off as tempers flared.

Bethany England says she stayed longer than she should have at Chelsea feeling “wasted” as the striker looks to take her fine form for Tottenham into the World Cup. After an impressive 2019-20 campaign with the Blues which saw her named PFA player of the year, the 29-year-old subsequently found herself in and out of their starting line-up, and was part of it only twice in the first half of the 2022-23 Women’s Super League season. She subsequently made a January move to Tottenham, went on to score 12 goals in as many league starts and earned an England recall – her first involvement since last September – when boss Sarina Wiegman named her squad in May for this summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. England said: “They (Chelsea) brought Sam Kerr in halfway through the (2019-20) season and I built up a great relationship playing with Sam, and then obviously it didn’t transpire to the next season where we didn’t play with a front two. “Emma (Hayes, the Chelsea manager) opted for singular number nine, which made my chances much more difficult based off Sam being who she is – and she is a prolific goalscorer. “So it was hard to kind of fight my way back in from that point and I think I probably overstayed maybe a year, a year-and-a-half too long, where I felt like I was just wasted there, and I wasn’t being used enough. “It was a very difficult time, but I think I built up a lot of resilience from that and was able to take that into other scenarios in football.” I think I probably overstayed maybe a year, a year-and-a-half too long, where I felt like I was just wasted there, and I wasn’t being used enough. Bethany England on Chelsea England, who joined Chelsea in 2016 and scored a total of 74 goals for them, added: “I think there was ultimately lots of reasons why I left, the World Cup being one of them. “I think the move has paid off for me and, as you would say, (it has been) vindicated. Ultimately, I think if I had stayed where I was, sat on the bench, I would never be here today.” England’s wait for an international recall initially went on after the January transfer despite her hitting goals for Spurs from the off, and she said: “I didn’t get selected for the (February) Arnold Clark Cup, and then I went and scored against Manchester United (running with the ball) from the halfway line. “I think that was my ‘have some of that’ type thing. It was more like: ‘Look, I know I am good enough’. “But equally, I had to balance not focusing too much on what was going on (with England), because ultimately if I didn’t do the job at club level, I wouldn’t have been here.” Having continued to flourish with Tottenham, England, who was a member of Wiegman’s Euro 2022-winning squad as an unused substitute, is now among three main number nine options in the World Cup 23, along with Alessia Russo and Rachel Daly. “I want to help the team and put the ball in the net, however they may go in,” said England, who has scored 11 goals in 21 international appearances. “The biggest thing I would say is leading into the World Cup Sarina has been able to see me more, playing regularly, scoring goals. “I am hoping, as a collective, everyone can see what qualities I can bring. They know I can bring that to this team and hopefully I am put in a position where I can help showcase that. “I think me and Alessia are very different players. I would say I am more similar with Rachel. I think we are all great in our own way and whatever tactics suit the game at that time is going to showcase that. “It’s a tough decision because we have all got different qualities, but whoever Sarina chooses to go for is her preference.” England open their campaign by playing Haiti in Brisbane on Saturday. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live ICEC: Recommendations ‘too important to be put on back burner for lack of money’ FIFA criticised for lack of pro LGBTQ+ stance in new ‘Unite’ armbands England blind footballer targeting Paris 2024 alongside educational ambitions

The Lionesses have landed back in the UK after their World Cup final defeat as fans gathered at the airport in the hopes of welcoming them home. Around 40 people brought England flags and handmade banners to Heathrow Airport on Tuesday morning, with one group having arrived on Monday night, but the team are understood to have left via a private exit after touching down just after 6.30am. Others brought flowers for head coach Sarina Wiegman, while placards featured messages saying, ‘You all made us proud,’ and ‘Can we have two T-shirts please?’ Hopes were raised when former England player and presenter Alex Scott was spotted walking through arrivals, with fans saying she hinted the team would follow, and the crowd burst out into chants of “Sweet Caroline”. The team’s bags with the squad logo were also carried through. Hope turned to disappointment when it was later confirmed by airport staff that the Lionesses had left the airport and the crowd soon dispersed. A small number of fans watched at arrivals for a little longer just to be sure they had not missed out on any action. Joanne Bruce, 51, travelled from Wisbech in Cambridgeshire to the airport at 10.30pm on Monday with her niece and sister in the hope of thanking the team for their tournament performance. She told the PA news agency: “We haven’t slept, we have just laughed and joked. It was just the three of us to start with. My sister was like, ‘I really want to go early’.” When asked if there any other fans were at the airport then she replied: “No, no, no. They didn’t come until about four o’clock this morning. We have now got a car parking ticket of £70-80, maybe more. “I was very, very disappointed [about the final result]. Seeing Millie [Bright, captain] with tears in her eyes, it just brought tears to my eyes. I really felt for them as well. “They have definitely done us proud, to get as far as they have.” Read More Pubs call for rule change after Lionesses fans made to wait until half-time for beer England’s impact will last far longer than pain of World Cup final defeat The bitter aftertaste of that unwanted World Cup kiss on the lips

Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski reveals plans to overtake Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham in La Liga's scoring charts.

Pep Guardiola insists he has no doubts over the quality of Cole Palmer as he looks for ways to cover for the absence of Kevin De Bruyne, who could be out for up to five months with a hamstring injury. De Bruyne is due to go under the knife in his native Belgium after pulling up early in City’s Premier League opener at Burnley last Friday, and City had to do without their talisman in Wednesday’s UEFA Super Cup final against Sevilla, prevailing in a penalty shootout. Palmer started on the right wing in Athens and scored City’s equaliser just after the hour mark, following up his fine strike against Arsenal in the Community Shield, but that has not stopped speculation linking the 21-year-old academy product with a move away. As Guardiola revealed fears that De Bruyne may not return to full fitness until February, he said Palmer and others will need to provide the answers. “It’s not necessary to ask how good he is,” Guardiola said of Palmer. “You don’t need two goals in two finals to define how good he is. “Cole in the previous season arrived in an extraordinary moment, he defined the game in the FA Cup and then had injuries. He couldn’t be there. “Playing at City is not easy with Riyad (Mahrez, now departed), Bernardo (Silva) and a lot of players. “Last season our players in midfield were KDB, who will be four or five months out, (Ilkay Gundogan) who isn’t here, we have to adjust a few things. We’re not at our best, or our top, it’s normal and we adjust a few things but the spirit is there.” John Stones has been added to the injury list for Saturday’s match at home to Newcastle after sustaining a muscular injury in training, while Bernardo remains out through illness, but Guardiola expressed optimism that Ruben Dias could return after missing the Super Cup final. Following a late night in Athens on Wednesday and the journey home, Guardiola said his players would not train on Friday but instead focus on recovery with massage and sessions in the pool. “Of course we are ready,” Guardiola said. “We need these types of challenges. Everyone wants to beat us and we have difficulties for many reasons, many important injuries, the calendar. “It’s a challenge again, to see if we can make a step forward. If you want to win you need that. In football there are always problems, it’s how you overcome that defines if you’re a good team or not Pep Guardiola “In football there are always problems, it’s how you overcome that defines if you’re a good team or not… “We went to bed at 4am, arrived here late, today we cannot train – everyone in the pool, massage – we don’t have time. “We’d love one more day. We accept that this is the challenge. It’s why we won: we overcome these kind of positions. We always had less time to recover.” Guardiola has his eyes on winning the Club World Cup in December to “take all the titles” after last season’s treble and the Super Cup win, and said recent successes can inspire his players as they deal with the challenges in front of them. “The spirit is there,” he said. “I know how happy they are. Every day we arrive and see the four trophies in front of us. Wow, how nice is that? How difficult is that? We love it.” On Friday evening, De Bruyne posted a short message on social media following his surgery with a picture of him on crutches. “The news after the Burnley game was a really big blow for me physically and mentally,” the Belgian said. “Now the surgery is done I’m ready to heal my body and get back to work soon. Thank you all for the support.”

Ben Olsen saw an aggressive Houston Dynamo in their win over Portland Timbers.