List of All Articles with Tag 'a'

What the papers say Romelu Lukaku has reportedly agreed to personal terms in a move to Juventus this summer as Chelsea look to offload the striker and pick up a striker in a swap deal, the Star reports. Chelsea are eyeing Serbian Dusan Vlahovic. Juventus want more than just Lukaku as part of the deal, though, asking for an additional £35million for the 23-year-old. Manchester City and Chelsea are reportedly in the race to sign Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise, but the Daily Mail says there is confusion with his release clause. Widespread changes could be on the cards under Tottenham’s new manager Ange Postecoglou, with the Evening Standard reporting Hugo Lloris, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Tanguy Ndombele and Bryan Gil are up for sale. The club are also interested in signing 19-year-old forward Alejo Veliz from Rosario Central, who is worth around £12million. West Ham’s pursuit of Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse may be coming to an end, according to the Guardian, with the club’s technical director against the move, despite manager David Moyes’ interest. Social media round-up Players to watch Harry Maguire: Everton now look like the favourites to sign the Manchester United defender, with Tottenham and West Ham also interested in the 30-year-old, Football Insider says. Tyler Adams: The Daily Mail says Aston Villa are open to activating the 24-year-old Leeds midfielder’s £25million release clause, with Chelsea also interested in his signature. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

'GMA' Michael Strahan's new producing gig 'BS High' on HBO follows a man who coaches high school football for a school that doesn't exist

Diana Taurasi, the Phoenix Mercury star who stands atop the WNBA's all-time leading scorer list, reached another milestone in her highly decorated career by becoming the first player to score 10,000 points in league history.

The Cleveland Browns fanbase has a new favorite quarterback after watching the 2023 NFL Hall of Fame Game.For the first time since the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 57, an NFL game was played. On Thursday night, the NFL held its first preseason game at Tom Ben...

College football overtime rules make for a thrilling end to any game that extends beyond regulation. Here's all you need to know to follow along.Here's the thing, college football overtime rules are the best in sports. They're better than penalty kicks. They're better than NB...

Double World Cup-winning coach Jill Ellis confesses even she is blown away by the utter unpredictability of the 2023 tournament, which has already seen six top-20 sides bow out at the group stage. The most shocking of those upsets came on Thursday night, when world number two Germany were dumped from Group H after never failing to reach the quarter-finals in eight previous tournaments. Counter to the disappointed faces of the two-time champions were those of group rivals and debutants Morocco who, in a viral clip, huddled around a phone on the pitch before erupting in elation after learning their world number 72 side had made it to the knockouts. “It’s been a doozy so far,” said Ellis, who guided the USA to back-to-back titles in 2015 and 2019 and now heads the tournament’s technical study group. “I think we all feel this. Gone are the days of total predictability. Progress sits very clearly at the core, and certainly the competitiveness can be felt [with] giants in the game getting knocked out, we see debutants advance to the next round, which I think lends itself to this being just one of the most unpredictable and arguably exciting World Cups we’ve seen to date. “If I’m candid, I really am surprised. I think when you suddenly see a Germany or a Brazil get knocked out of a World Cup in group stage. “I don’t think any of us could have predicted that. I’m excited by the development, of course, for sure. But I think I was thinking that one more iteration of the World Cup before we started to see even more parity that we’re starting to see right now.” Olympic champions Canada (seventh) and Brazil (eighth) were the other two top-10 sides to be sent packing after the group stage, joining China (14th), Italy (16th) and South Korea (17th) amongst some of the world’s top-ranked teams eliminated. For the first time, three African nations – Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa – all advanced to the knockouts, while Jamaica made history by reaching the last-16 for the first time, despite an ongoing dispute with their federation over pay, resources and conditions that resulted in players airing their grievances in an open letter on social media before the World Cup. Nigeria and South Africa are among other qualifying nations who were involved in pre-tournament disputes with their respective federations – a group that also includes England, who have vowed to fully focus on winning a first World Cup before resuming discussions with the Football Association over bonus payments and commercial structures. Each nation competing at this World Cup also received US $960,000 (£753,830) to exclusively cover preparation costs. While some sides seem to be defying the odds, Ellis and her expert panel have pointed overall to a clear correlation between investment and resourcing and performance. The Royal Moroccan Football Federation, for example, has significantly invested in girls’ and women’s football since a system overhaul in 2009, and six years ago created a women’s football academy where players have access to the same facilities as the men’s national team. Ellis said: “I was blown away by the facility. It’s one of the nicest I’ve ever seen, and it just kind of made me realise that yes, there are federations that are taking this very seriously.” FIFA’s data after the group stage also reflect an increasingly competitive pool. The proportion of goals scored in the first half of matches has increased by nine per cent since the 2019 tournament, while the proportion scored in the first half by teams who did not advance increased by 18 per cent, from 5 per cent in 2019 to 23 per cent in 2023. We can arguably say that there aren't gaps Jill Ellis At the same time, Ellis’ team also observed a rise in the quality of goalkeeping, which saw the average save percentage increase from 70 per cent four years ago in France to 77 per cent in 2023, while the percentage of matches ending in a draw has increased from eight per cent to 21 per cent. Add in more players signing with clubs in increasingly well-resourced leagues and national teams developing clearer tactical identities shaped to their individual strengths and weaknesses, and this becomes perhaps the most open Women’s World Cup yet. Ellis added: “We hear this constant comment about gaps and where are the gaps. We can arguably say that there aren’t gaps. That on any given day, a team can come out here and be competitive against another team. “And so it’s going to be incredibly exciting to see how this plays out.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Anthony Joshua admires Tyson Fury self-will but critical of fight with MMA star James Maddison wants ‘world’s best number nine’ Harry Kane to stay at Spurs Gold for Will Tidball and silver for British women’s sprint team in Glasgow

College football realignment rumors have now given us an idea of how much the Big Ten is willing to offer Oregon and Washington as the Pac-12 crumbles.On Thursday night, Arizona triggered a wave of college football realignment rumors as the Wildcats reportedly moved closer to leaving the Pac-12 ...

Retired defensive end J.J. Watt wouldn't elaborate as to why he was unable to end his NFL career with the Green Bay Packers.JJ Watt announced his retirement from the NFL this past season, and he will undoubtedly become a Hall of Famer very soon. Of course, he began his career with the Houst...

The Chicago Bears were statistically the worst pass rush in the NFL last year. Ahead of their first preseason game, they finally found their pass rusher.The Chicago Bears were the worst team in the NFL last season if you go by win-loss record. While quarterback Justin Fields showed promise, Chic...

The San Francisco 49ers have a huge quarterback battle in training camp. Head coach Kyle Shanahan all but confirmed who will be the QB1 heading into the 2023 season.Last year, the San Francisco 49ers had to use four different quarterbacks throughout the season due to injuries. Trey Lance broke h...

Reds manager David Bell lost his mind and got ejected arguing balls and strikes against the Cubs. His own broadcast called him out.It's easy to understand why a manager would be frustrated after watching his pitcher throw back-to-back bases-loaded walks. But even the Reds broadcast couldn&#...

Which Steelers starters could take a seat on the bench after training camp this year?With Steelers training camp underway, all eyes are upon the most highly anticipated position battles in 2023.After a prosperous draft, several Steelers rookies may be running an inside track to supplant vete...