List of All Articles with Tag 'al'

The Dallas Cowboys may have just found their Ezekiel Elliott replacement in the backfield.Ezekiel Elliott is one of several high-profile free agents left on the board at the running back position. He could theoretically still return to Dallas, but the Cowboys appear content to survey the market ...

Dalvin Cook free agency destinations.

A strong performance at the NBA Draft Combine cemented Santa Clara's Brandin Podziemski as a potential first-round pick and a strong sleeper candidate.After barely playing as a freshman at Illinois, Brandin Podziemski transferred to Santa Clara and immediately emerged as the best player in ...

Stephen A. Smith heroically fact-checked by J.J. Redick.

A list of the former Barcelona players who have made a splash in MLS over the years.

For a footballer who has been voted the best player in the Bundesliga in one season and the Premier League in two more, Kevin De Bruyne could be forgiven for feeling a bit undervalued and underappreciated. Not by his peers, however, but by his family. It transpires he is not even the most popular player in the De Bruyne household. His seven-year-old son, Mason, had a kickabout on the Etihad Stadium pitch with his favourite footballer as Manchester City celebrated their Premier League title win. It wasn’t his father. He prefers the man with 52 goals, Erling Haaland, to the one with 28 assists, his dad. "It is not a problem,” said De Bruyne. “All three children have long hair. Erling is a superstar. I see that with the kids at [their] school too. They all have hair like that. It's funny. My children have all become interested in football this year. They attend more games. They are also starting to play football themselves. My eldest in particular is starting to realise a little more what is going on. He wants to come to games more. He came to see Bayern. He begins to experience and enjoy it more. As long as they like it, it's okay." All of which was a characteristically unflustered response. De Bruyne’s first Champions League final ended abruptly when he was clattered by Antonio Rudiger, leaving him with a broken nose and fractured eye socket. Another might have talked of revenge or lucklessness. Not De Bruyne. “I don't look at what happened two years ago with bad feelings. You go on, you move on,” he said. It is why he has been City’s down-to-earth superstar. Asked what is different from 2021, he gave a grounded response. “I have a daughter now. So that’s a change,” he said. He marked their FA Cup win last weekend by going home, looking after his children for a couple of days and playing football and games with them. “My wife had to do some stuff somewhere else,” he shrugged. Winning the Champions League, he smiled, would be a relief because he would no longer have to face questions if his career was complete without it. He can be eminently reasonable about it. “I always want to give the best Kevin on the field,” he rationalised. “I know that sometimes things go less and sometimes better. But as I say: we want to win everything, but it is also not possible to win everything.” And yet, irritating and repetitive as some of the questions may be, there is a point. For an astonishingly successful player, arguably the finest in both City and Belgium’s greatest teams, De Bruyne has been denied the very biggest prizes. Belgium’s golden generation almost certainly won’t win anything now, their disastrous World Cup seeming to bring an era to an end. Meanwhile De Bruyne may now be the best footballer of his generation who has not won the Champions League. Of the top 10 finishers in last year’s Ballon d’Or voting, seven have done it. There is plenty of time for Kylian Mbappe and Haaland, still both in their early twenties. De Bruyne turns 32 this month. He is the exception. He often is: the 2021 top 10 consisted of seven Champions League winners, Mbappe, Gianluigi Donnarumma, named player of the tournament in Euro 2020, and De Bruyne. The Belgian can be animated when arguing with Pep Guardiola during games – “moments between competitive persons… I don’t see a problem with that” – but his overall outlook is rather calmer. “I’m happy with the way that I am,” he said. “Obviously I know it will help whatever people say about me and the team. It doesn’t put me in bad or good places. I’ve been here eight years and it’s been incredible. Could I come here and think about all the amount of games and trophies we would win in eight years? Probably not.” That sense of perspective might be an asset. De Bruyne has won the Premier League five times in six seasons. He is not about to say it is too many, but there is a routine feel to it. He recognises it is a strange kind of normal. “I think that we are getting a bit used to the success that we are experiencing now,” he said. “Maybe that's a bit of a pity. But I think, eventually when my career is over, there will be times when I look back on things that have been accomplished.” Which is a lengthy list. But the immediate focus is on what could be accomplished. De Bruyne is the sole survivor of City’s first Champions League semi-final, under Manuel Pellegrini in 2016. Seven years on, he is the constant, Haaland the exciting newcomer who has captured his children’s imagination. But perhaps a Haaland winner in the Champions League final would suit both Mason and Kevin de Bruyne. Read More How to cure ‘City-itis’? Pep Guardiola has new template to end Champions League woe First golf, now football? Saudi Arabia’s grand plan and the 72 hours that changed everything Kyle Walker recalls ‘tough’ memory and reveals three teams Man City want to emulate

Jude Bellingham has completed his medical ahead of joining Real Madrid.

West Ham striker Michail Antonio believes their Europa Conference League triumph is just the start of bigger things to come. Jarrod Bowen’s last-minute goal against Fiorentina ended the Hammers’ 43-year wait for a trophy. Their 2-1 victory also means West Ham will be back in the Europa League next season, the first time they have qualified for Europe three years running. “It’s massive, it’s massive,” said Antonio. “Moving forward this is not where we are going to stop, we will see if we can keep carrying it on and keep pushing ourselves and keep doing better. “Last year we got to the semi-finals of the Europa League. This year, we won the Conference League. You can see we have a good pack of boys here, we have got good confidence and hopefully we can build on that.” Said Benrahma put West Ham ahead from the penalty spot before Giacomo Bonaventura equalised for the Italian side. But Lucas Paqueta’s ball over the top sent Bowen through on goal to fire the Hammers to European glory. Full-back Emerson Palmieri revealed manager David Moyes gave a victory speech and, as promised, joined his players in some dancing. “The gaffer said, ‘thank you for everything, thank you for the title’. Of course he is happy, we are happy. So everyone is happy,” he said. “If you take the images, when you receive the medal, you need to walk on the podium, he did the dance. It was good – for a Scotsman!” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Kevin De Bruyne insisted there would be no complacency as Manchester City prepare for Saturday’s Champions League final against Inter Milan. City are the overwhelming favourites as they look to win the competition for the first time – and complete the treble – in Istanbul. Inter finished 18 points behind champions Napoli in Serie A this season but De Bruyne is wary of the threat of Simone Inzaghi’s side. They do what they do really, really well and I don’t feel that anybody is going to think that it’s going to be an easy game Kevin De Bruyne The Belgium playmaker said: “You don’t get to the final of the Champions League without being top. “I think they won the (cup) double in Italy. They’ve been winning basically every game at the end of the season. “They have their system, they have their style, they do what they do really, really well and I don’t feel that anybody is going to think that it’s going to be an easy game against Inter. It’s a final so it starts 50-50.” City have long coveted Champions League glory but endured a number of near misses in recent seasons, the closest being their runners-up finish to Chelsea in 2021. Their frustrations contrast with their domestic success after, most notably, five Premier League title wins in the past six seasons. Manager Pep Guardiola has acknowledged that City will need to transfer their home successes onto the European stage to be truly regarded among the great teams. De Bruyne said: “I’ve been here eight years and it’s been incredible. Could I have come here and thought about the amount of games and trophies we would win in eight years? Probably not. “In the end we have had a pretty impressive career at City, but it is something we have not won yet and it is something that we want to win. Hopefully it will be Saturday. “We know how big the moment is but I feel the more relaxed you are as a team, and the team is doing pretty well with that at the moment, you get a better chance.” De Bruyne has painful memories, literally, of that final loss to Chelsea two years ago after suffering a serious facial injury following a collision in the second half. He said: “I don’t look at what happened two years ago with bad feelings. You go on, you move on. Ultimately, that’s football. “Saturday is a great opportunity. It’s been an incredible year already. We can make it even better, but no matter what, it’s been great.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Shoulder injury rules Jack Draper out of Wimbledon India lose openers cheaply as Australia build on Steve Smith ton in WTC final Coaches confident new tackle trial will make rugby league safer

Manchester City defender John Stones could cap a remarkable turnaround from a virtual outcast to being at the cutting edge of Pep Guardiola’s masterplan with a Champions League victory. Three years ago the 29-year-old’s future was uncertain. He had made just 24 appearances in the 2019-20 season and the club had spent over £100million on centre-backs Nathan Ake and Ruben Dias. That summer Guardiola admitted there was a distinct possibility a player lacking confidence could leave and he did not play a minute in seven of the eight opening league games of the next season. But over the course of three seasons he has turned things around so much he is now seen as an integral part of his manager’s latest tactical tweak, with the current fashion for a defender to play as a midfielder when the side is in possession. “It was probably one of the hardest times in my career,” said Stones of that period in 2020. “I literally went back to firstly looking at myself, being super-critical of myself and what I could do better on the football pitch, and then looking into every fine detail, down to what food, what training, what extras. “That’s come down to doing stuff here and then going home and doing work, even late at night, or straight after the training, finding these small margins, putting them all together to kind of break where I was at after coming back to playing. “Yeah, (it was a) big learning curve for me and maybe who I am today.” In that time period a number of players have left, with Guardiola’s propensity for dispensing with full-backs a little too close for comfort at times for Stones. But the former Everton defender never considered seeking opportunities elsewhere. “I never thought about that. I think as soon as you accept that or have that mindset then you have killed yourself,” he added. “I always wanted to stay, I have stayed and I absolutely love it. I wanted to prove to myself. I didn’t say to anyone ‘It was because I want to prove to you’. “I think, if anything, you have to prove to yourself first and foremost that you deserve to be here, you are good enough to be here, and what you bring to the team.” The goals of Erling Haaland have helped propel City to a second Champions League final in three years where they start as strong favourites against Inter Milan in Istanbul. But Stones’ role and that, to a lesser extent, of Rico Lewis in stepping forward has added another dimension to an already multi-layered team. “People have always said from a young age that they can see me playing in there. I still do love playing as a centre-half and I’ve absolutely loved this role as well,” said the Barnsley-born defender. “I think I have showed myself that I’m able to do it, maybe showing some attributes that I didn’t know that I had. “But the manager has seen (something) in me and ultimately I think I’m just trying to show what I can do in there and be able to help the team ultimately win with my attributes.” City may be the favourites but Stones insists they will not be under-estimating Inter, a team who finished in third 18 points behind Serie A champions Napoli. “They’re in the Champions League final for a reason,” he added. “No matter who we’re playing, no matter what league they’re in, we give the team the respect that they deserve because even the FA Cup, let’s make an example of that, there’s giant-killers, smaller teams in League One and League Two that beat Premier League winners. “That’s where the respect (comes from) that every team deserves. “They’ve got incredible players. How they played in a big occasion, in a derby game in the Champions League semi-final (against AC Milan) is never easy. “We know what we’re up against, they are an incredible team.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live ‘This is not where we are going to stop’ – Michail Antonio on West Ham’s ECL win No complacency as Man City prepare for Champions League final – Kevin De Bruyne Shoulder injury rules Jack Draper out of Wimbledon

The Nuggets secured a series lead in Game 3 behind a dominant efforts from Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic.The two stars were majestic on the road, Jokic dropped the first ever 30-20-10 in NBA Finals history while Jamal Murray posted a triple double. After winning 109-94 on Thursday night, can the...

The Minnesota Vikings have finally made a long-anticipated decision on Dalvin Cook's future with the team.After several weeks of waiting for this news, the Minnesota Vikings have finally made it official, parting ways with running back Dalvin Cook.When this move is looked back on, out o...