Manny Piña being released by the Oakland Athletics means the Atlanta Braves won the Sean Murphy trade yet again.The Atlanta Braves may have lost their last three games, but they continue to win the Sean Murphy trade with the Oakland Athletics pretty much every single day.As if the bes...

England Under-21s’ match-winner Anthony Gordon was frustrated not to have taken more chances to make their 1-0 European Championship quarter-final victory over Portugal more comfortable. However, he praised the resilience of the side after a fourth successive clean sheet at the tournament. England’s youngsters came under late pressure from their opponents, who came closest to equalising when Henrique Araujo’s header rebounded off the crossbar. “You’re going to get chances and it’s up to me to finish them,” Newcastle winger Gordon, playing as a central striker, said in his post-match press conference after sweeping home in the 34th minute. You're going to get chances and it's up to me to finish them Anthony Gordon “I probably should have had one or two more, which I’m a bit gutted about. “I’m extremely tired but happy for the win, happy for the character we showed as a team, the way we dug in. “We’ve had a lot of top performances so far in this tournament and today was a completely different challenge, a completely different game where they had a lot of the ball and we came through it and dug in as a team. “We haven’t had that test (previously). We haven’t had that opportunity to show we’ve got that side to our game and tonight we got to – and we definitely proved ourselves in that.” England are into the semi-finals of the competition for the first time since 2017 and they will meet Israel, whom they beat 2-0 in the group stage, on Wednesday. “We found the game against Israel difficult. They are such a compact, well-organised team and we will have to be at our best to beat them,” said England manager Lee Carsley, who was also impressed with his side’s defensive display against Portugal. He added: “I definitely consider Portugal one of the best teams we have played. “We had to show different parts of our game tonight; not only were we good in possession, what was most pleasing was the team spirit and the way they stuck together in the second half.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

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Lewis Hamilton will start today’s sprint race at the Austrian Grand Prix from a lowly 18th as Max Verstappen took pole position. Defending champion Verstappen raced to top spot for the second day in succession following his qualifying triumph for Sunday’s 71-lap Grand Prix. Sergio Perez joins team-mate Verstappen on the front row for today’s 23-lap dash round the Red Bull Ring, with McLaren’s Lando Norris an impressive third. Norris, who finished nearly six tenths back from Verstappen, lines up one place ahead of Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg. The winner of today’s race will be awarded eight points, but the result has no bearing on Sunday’s main event. Hamilton was eliminated in the opening phase after he had three laps deleted for exceeding track limits. “That was really bad time usage,” said Hamilton over the radio. “Am I out?” “Yes we are,” replied his race engineer Pete Bonnington. It is for a sprint race so it does not really matter Lewis Hamilton Hamilton had been leading the way in Q1 before he had a hat-trick of laps chalked off by race director Niels Wittich for running all four wheels of his Mercedes over the white line at the final bend. Hamilton tumbled down the order and was knocked out at the first hurdle of qualifying for only the second time in the last six years. In Friday’s qualifying session, which determined the grid for Sunday’s main event, Verstappen said Wittich made the drivers look like “amateurs” with his over-zealous refereeing. But Wittich did not hold back in the second qualifying running of the weekend, with Hamilton not the only driver penalised. Verstappen also had multiple laps scrubbed off. Following his early exit, Hamilton said: “It is for a sprint race so it does not really matter. “I wish I was still out there. But there is nothing really to say. We focus on what we can do and we could easily have been much further up. Today I will have some fun from the back.” Hamilton was soon followed out of qualifying by team-mate George Russell after he suffered a hydraulic failure. Russell’s Mercedes mechanics were forced to change his steering rack meaning that he was unable to post a lap in Q2. He starts 15th. Today’s sprint race takes place at 4:30pm local time (3:30 BST). Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Lewis Hamilton to start sprint race from 18th at Austrian Grand Prix Made us look like amateurs – Max Verstappen hits out over raft of deleted laps Lewis Hamilton calls for change, claiming new rule would ensure a ‘real race’

There is a former Aston Villa captain who has been at the front and centre of celebrations of late. Not Tyrone Mings, admittedly, even though he helped his club qualify for Europe for the first time in 13 years as a season that began with him stripped of the armband and his place in the team ended with him a pivotal part of Unai Emery’s remarkable revival. Villa clinched seventh place with a last-day win over Tottenham. “After the final game I was in bed by about 11 o’clock with a Ribena,” said Mings wryly. “Other juices obviously are available.” Jack Grealish has tasted a few of them. The £100 million man has looked the party animal, enjoying Manchester City’s treble with the relish he brings to much else. “He’s had a great time, hasn’t he?” said Mings. A night out with his old Villa teammate Grealish, he can testify, is not for the faint-hearted. “It is extremely wild,” he added. “The only thing he needs to do is do it at the right times and he’s just won the treble so I don’t think anybody can begrudge him going out and letting his hair down - those luscious locks of his now he has taken the hairband out. He’s certainly had a good few days.” Part of Grealish’s appeal is that he can seem the likeable Jack the lad: unpolished, at times undiplomatic, but natural. “It’s important to be yourself, whatever that looks like,” Mings said. “It adds to the game and dressing room. It adds to the culture and authenticity is a tough trait to come across. Football is sometimes just a reflection of society, isn’t it? Or like a reflection of everybody’s life.” Grealish’s seems more eventful than most. “Surely he’s all partied out,” said the defender. They have been photographed on breaks abroad before but Mings was quick to draw a distinction. “I’ve bumped into him on holiday,” he said. “I’ve never put myself in the position of where I’ve actually flown out with him! But I’ve seen him abroad - and many, many times in this country. It’s impressive - if that’s what you’re into...” His own plans are more restrained. “The thing I love doing the most is running a normal life schedule,” he said. “Like going out for coffee in the morning, or training when you want to. Popping to the dry cleaners, stuff like that. Real mundane things, like pottering around the village.” Which he can do after a successful season. The summer of 2022 was bookended by disappointments for Mings: first a staple of Gareth Southgate’s squads was dropped by England and then Steven Gerrard replaced him as Villa skipper with John McGinn and preferred new signing Diego Carlos for the opening-day defeat to Bournemouth. “I guess it started being left out of the England squad but that was a whole summer of strange times,” he added. “Then sitting on the bench at Bournemouth and thinking, ‘I don’t know how all of this has happened in such a short space of time’; from the captaincy to not starting first game of the season.” And yet the happy end to the campaign left him reflecting: “I certainly wouldn’t change the last 14 months since the last game of last season to where we are now. Sometimes need a kick up the backside, don’t you?” He had the honesty to accept Southgate was right to omit him. “Did I need it? Probably,” he said. “There always comes a stage in people’s careers where there is a plateau and you are coasting.” A change of fortune came in part with a change of manager. He was back in the Villa side before Gerrard was sacked, but was revitalised by Emery. While another England centre-back, John Stones, has shown a new dimension to his game by playing in midfield, Mings has benefited from being ordered not to desert his post in the middle of the defence by Emery. “He has made my job a lot simpler and a lot clearer,” he said. “I always go back to the first conversation that we had and he said every time he watched me, I ended up in centre midfield, left-wing, right-back or covering the other centre-back and all of that can happen within 60 seconds. He wanted me to play in my position, simplify what I have done and learn his methods.” If Mings has proved a star pupil, Southgate has taken note. But his role for England has not just been confined to defensive duties. Mings has found the net in his last two caps, against San Marino and Ivory Coast. “What is the longest scoring streak for a defender for England?” he wondered. “Two, probably.” Score for a third consecutive game and he may find his friend Grealish celebrating. Again. Read More Jack Grealish says he hasn’t slept for 24 hours as he revels in Man City victory parade Manchester City quintet set to arrive for England duty on Tuesday evening Jack Grealish revels as Manchester City parade treble

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Barnsley chief executive Khaled El-Ahmad hopes the club can make dreams come true after launching their first professional women’s team. The Sky Bet League One club will take Barnsley Ladies, recently promoted from the sixth tier of women’s football, in-house at Oakwell from next season and rebrand them as Barnsley FC. El-Ahmad said the move was part of his vision for the Yorkshire club after he became the first Swedish chief executive in British football in July 2021. He told the PA news agency: “It’s not necessarily the timing of it, it’s just the right thing to do as a club with a 136-year history. “We’re sure there’s the talent pool in and around Barnsley and we can play a big role in helping young girls and women achieve their dream.” Barnsley aim to be “a leading club in the promotion of women’s football” and plan for Barnsley FC to play some of their games at Oakwell. It's not necessarily the timing of it, it's just the right thing to do as a club with a 136-year history Barnsley CEO Khaled El-Ahmad The club said in a statement: “The professionalisation of the women’s team will see Barnsley FC invest in a number of areas, including but not limited to increased matchday support, access to sport science, training and physio teams, increased marketing and promotion and much more.” El-Ahmad, who oversaw a restructuring of Barnsley’s board of directors just over a year ago, said: “We asked was why does Barnsley Football Club not have a women’s team? “So we started our due diligence, speaking to the Council, Barnsley Ladies, I had a meeting with another Barnsley women’s team, a meeting with a Premier League club and the FA. “We decided to make the decision and took Barnsley Ladies first team into our organisation as the best step forward for us as a club and hopefully for the borough. We’re proud and very excited.” Barnsley hope to celebrate Thursday’s announcement by taking another big step towards promotion back to the Sky Bet Championship at the first attempt. Michael Duff’s side play the second leg of their play-off semi-final against Bolton at Oakwell on Friday after drawing 1-1 in last Saturday’s first leg. The Reds finished fourth in League One in Duff’s first campaign in charge, winning 26 of their fixtures during the regular season. “Hopefully, with a bit of luck and skill and support we can win another game,” El-Ahmad added. “Then we can speak again.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Manchester United’s Charlie Savage wants to make his own name in the game It’s in our hands – Steve Cooper urges Forest to take advantage of good position England seamer Kate Cross laid low by ongoing battle against tropical disease

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Trey Galloway scored 16 points, Kel’el Ware had 13 points and 12 rebounds in his Indiana debut, and the Hoosiers beat Florida Gulf Coast 69-63 in a season opener for both teams