List of All Articles with Tag 'all'

Dirk Nowitzki was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday, Aug. 12. He gave a stirring speech about his career, but made sure to roast Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban in the process.Dirk Nowitzki was the NBA's original Unicorn. The 7-footer from Wurzburg, Germany played 21 y...

Mauricio Pochettino insisted Chelsea have put the disappointment of last season behind them after watching his new-look team open their Premier League campaign with a 1-1 draw against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge. The hosts endured a difficult start against Jurgen Klopp’s side and deservedly fell behind to a breakaway goal by Luis Diaz after 18 minutes, guided into the bottom corner from Mohamed Salah’s fine pass. They were saved from going further behind when VAR intervened to rule out Salah’s strike for offside as Liverpool dominated for much of the first half. But Chelsea slowly eased their way back and were level when defender Axel Disasi, making his first start, stole in to touch home from Ben Chilwell’s header eight minutes before the break. VAR was called upon again to disallow Chilwell’s goal two minutes later, but thereafter Pochettino’s side settled and were a ready threat to Liverpool’s back line, with debutant striker Nicolas Jackson spurning the best chance when he fired over the bar from six yards. The manager reflected on a performance in which he felt his team showed the traumas of last season, when the club failed to challenge for silverware and finished a dismal 12th, had been exorcised. “I agree from the beginning it was tough, it was difficult,” he said. “Liverpool were better after 15-20 minutes but we started to find our ways to play and our position and what we were working on. And after that, the performance was really good. “We scored and after we showed a great performance. I think we deserved to win, we conceded only one shot on target against a team like Liverpool. “(I am) so pleased. It is only the start, the beginning. I can say thank you to the players. “When we arrived here the first day, we don’t talk about the past, it is a long time ago. You need to move on, even if you are thinking about what happened a few seconds before, it moves on. “The most important action in football is the next one and that is what we want to settle. We want to talk about the present and the future. We showed the belief and the team keep fighting.” With the teams still locked in a battle to sign Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo, the need for more steel and control was evident in both midfields as attack got the better of defence and the middle of the pitch appeared porous for much of the game. Chelsea remain in pole position to win the race for his signature, with the Ecuador international believed to favour a move to west London over Klopp’s side. Pochettino would not be drawn on the progress of any deal but confirmed that the club were still looking to reinforce in midfield before the end of the transfer window. He was also keen to point to his team’s success in limiting the visitors to a single shot on target during the game. “Today we concede only one shot on target and we concede a goal, against Liverpool,” he said. “We need good players and to improve the squad, yes, but that is not new and we are working very hard. “It is about (trying) to find the right profile, the right player, but the team was solid. We concede only one shot on target against Liverpool but for sure we need to create more chances, to have the capacity to score more goals. I think it is the first step.” The manager hinted that the decision to leave goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga out of the squad, with Robert Sanchez selected for his Chelsea debut, was down to reported interest from Real Madrid. “The reason he has to explore different situations, different possibilities,” he said. “Yesterday we were talking and the decision is to have all the players who are committed to being in Chelsea for the season.” Klopp said that he had no issue with the reaction of Salah when he was brought off during the second half. The forward, who has scored in his first game of the season in each year of his Anfield career and struck the crossbar at Stamford Bridge, was visibly unhappy to be taken off as his side sought a winning goal, but the manager said he felt it was a natural response. “I can understand because if Mo scored it would have been a new record for goals scored in the opening game but I didn’t think about that,” he said. “We needed stability and we needed fresh legs. It was super intense for everybody. That’s all I can say about it. His reaction was absolutely OK.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Key talking points as the new Premier League season gets under way Lilia Vu wins second major as Charley Hull comes up short despite stunning eagle Ange Postecoglou praises Tottenham’s resilience following Harry Kane’s departure

Dodgers MVP candidate Freddie Freeman recently brushed off injury concerns after getting a hard knock on his knee.Los Angeles Dodgers star Freddie Freeman took a nasty 91-mph pitch to his knee from Matt Koch in Saturday's win against the Colorado Rockies.Shortly after, Freeman exited th...

Cardinals Rumors: Newly acquired prospect Drew Rom enjoys a spectacular debutIt's only been two weeks, but the Cardinals' return for Jack Flaherty is looking up. At the MLB trade deadline, St. Louis received Baltimore Orioles prospect Drew Rom and two other players in exchange for Flaher...

The Los Angeles Clippers enter the next season with the same championship hope they've had for the last four seasons. Let us take a look at who Tyronn Lue has to get them there.The Los Angeles Clippers have spent the majority of their offseason sitting around and doing nothing. The only thi...

The Dallas Mavericks are looking to rebound from last season's dreadful finish. With Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving as headliners, it's not hard to imagine the Mavs winning a bunch of games. The question is, how will the rotation be built around them?The Dallas Mavericks finished last se...

Cubs rumors: Marcus Stroman makes progress towards a returnFor most of the season, Marcus Stroman anchored the Chicago Cubs rotation and was one of the best pitchers in the entire National League.But recently, Stroman ended up on the injured list with hip inflammation, obviously causing concer...

Look at Georgia athletics partnering up with Thor's favorite brewery in Creature Comforts.Creature Comforts is now the official beer of Georgia athletics, and Thor could not be happier!The Athens-based brewery offers a wide variety of beers to those of the legal age. Their most popular ...

So this is what happens when you don’t have a midfield plan fully in place. In either team. End-to-end, sometimes intermittently and sometimes non-stop, but in either case when one side attacked, they invariably reached the final third to present some potential of danger. Perhaps Mauricio Pochettino and Jurgen Klopp will be content enough to not have lost the opener of the season, perhaps both will feel they can win the upcoming off-pitch battle even though they couldn’t get over the line on it. On the balance of what we saw at Stamford Bridge, longer term that’s the more important confrontation to win and the one which can add the most points across the course of the season: landing the right holding player to add much-needed stability to these technical, speedy sides. Chelsea and Liverpool seem to both want the same two players, though at this point who wants which the most is anybody’s guess - even without considering the back-and-forth over which destination the players themselves want. What is certain: put Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia into the lineups here and it’s a very different chance of victory for whoever scores first, a very different task for one team trying to break down the other. Read this without having seen the game and it might seem to suggest Conor Gallagher and Alexis Mac Allister gave terrible performances – they absolutely didn’t. Both were aggressive, combative, tracked runners, made big tackles in key areas and passed out from deep with aplomb. But neither are true defensive midfielders, neither have the innate, automatic and natural instincts to be where they need to be at every moment: call it positional sense, spatial awareness or just an understanding of the team tactics; either way, neither have it right now and both are better-served playing elsewhere. Brighton’s hierarchy, we can be sure, watched on with a smile inching ever-wider each time either side scythed through on the counter-attack. The price tag for Caicedo surely won’t be coming down after this opening 90 minutes of the Premier League season, and Southampton too will feel utterly justified in sticking to their valuation for Lavia. For the Blues, Gallagher’s opportunity to start at the base of midfield came with notable knock-on considerations: he has been the subject of transfer interest this month to the tune of £40m or so - not enough for Pochettino to consider selling - while he also freed up Enzo Fernandez to play higher upfield. The Argentine was largely impressive, pushing forward to good effect in both link play and chance creation, amassing more touches of the ball than any individual other than centre-back recycler Thiago Silva. Gallagher scurried about relentlessly, not in his usual box-to-box manner but laterally, frustrating Mohamed Salah in the channel or nicking the ball away from Diogo Jota. Now 23, there’s still a question over whether Gallagher is good enough, consistent enough, impactful enough to command a regular starting role at Chelsea. This game showed the endeavour and intent to do so, if also the certainty that all that sprinting back to make recovery tackles was as a direct consequence of simply not being in the right position initially. Against that Mac Allister started life as the Reds’ newest No10 in a role most recently occupied by the former No 3. Such is the imbalance and upside-down nature of Klopp’s midfield after a total summer reset, the man who was signed to bring control and creativity from the middle has to initially be deployed as the principle defensive support – and this Liverpool side is one which really, really needs its holding players to do a lot of support work. Attacking-wise, they are excellent at times. In transitions and against direct passes or runners from deep, they remain a mess. As Fabinho showed toward the back end of last term, an in-form anchor can make a lot of difference; as he also showed, Liverpool now need one with far more athleticism and recovery speed than the Brazilian possesses. Mac Allister, like Gallagher, performed the job well in terms of both distribution and dirty work. The Argentine also has the added caveat to his game that he is merely weeks into learning a new team and system; the Englishman, for his part, is learning a new management approach. In spells, these two sides looked like what they are: tremendously talented, attack-minded big teams who will expect to win many matches and be among the top four in 10 months’ time – but also ones with gaping holes in the plan, particularly right through the heart of midfield where so many through-balls, so many dribbles, so many runners were able to penetrate. A draw on the road isn’t bad for Liverpool; a draw from behind isn’t terrible for Chelsea. But the manner of the game and its inherent uncertainty until the very final minute was nothing less than pitch-perfect for Brighton. Read More Chelsea and Liverpool trial football without defensive midfielders Chelsea vs Liverpool player ratings: Salah and Sterling sparkle in draw Chelsea vs Liverpool LIVE: Premier League result and reaction Moises Caicedo transfer takes twist as Chelsea look to hijack Liverpool offer Liverpool offered hope in battle with Chelsea over Moises Caicedo transfer Jurgen Klopp urges caution over Liverpool’s move for Moises Caicedo

As expected, Shohei Ohtani survived the MLB trade deadline with the Los Angeles Angels. Now, all eyes turn toward the offseason when Ohtani, the best player in baseball, becomes a free agent.Another few months of guaranteed Ohtani-based revenue was too much for the Los Angeles Angels to pass up ...

Mauricio Pochettino’s first match as Chelsea manager ended in a breathless, hard-fought home draw with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool. Both sides attempted to kick off the new season with a bang after disappointing campaigns, with the Blues particularly bruised having finished 12th at the end of a humiliating season. Former Tottenham favourite Pochettino has been tasked with turning Chelsea around and oversaw a promising performance in their Premier League opener, with debutant Axel Disasi cancelling out Luis Diaz’s effort in a 1-1 draw. The sides also saw one goal apiece ruled out for offside in a helter-skelter encounter that showed how much both would benefit from a midfielder like Moises Caicedo or Romeo Lavia. Chelsea and Liverpool will renew their transfer battle for a number six after Sunday’s action-packed clash in the Stamford Bridge sunshine. Mohamed Salah saw an early effort rattle the crossbar before expertly slipping in Diaz to score a goal that the Egypt star then coolly added to, only for it to be ruled out on VAR review. Chelsea made the most of that let-off. Disasi levelled from a looping header by Ben Chilwell, who soon rounded Alisson to score only for the VAR to rule him offside as well. The teams played out an entertaining second half without a winner and Salah looked irked to have been taken off as Liverpool hunted a second. Chelsea ended strongly but made an uneasy start to Sunday’s game. Carney Chukwuemeka was booked in the fourth minute for a high foot and Diogo Jota mishit poorly after good work by debutant Dominik Szoboszlai. Liverpool played with more edge than the new-look hosts, with Salah recovering a poor Cody Gakpo pass, turning and continuing to curl a 20-yard right-footed effort off the crossbar. The former Chelsea player started the afternoon with the bit between his teeth and produced a moment of magic in the 18th minute. Salah collected the ball on the right, ran at homegrown debutant Levi Colwill and fizzed an exquisite left-footed pass through for Diaz to slide home. Liverpool’s travelling hordes – who had been subject of unsavoury chants from some Chelsea fans – celebrated wildly. The west Londoners pushed for a leveller, but their defence continued to look susceptible. Thiago Silva produced a key block to deny Salah and soon afterwards Trent Alexander-Arnold’s brilliant pass put the forward through to coolly dink over new Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez. It looked like a potentially decisive goal, only for the VAR’s intervention to give Chelsea renewed hope. Salah had strayed marginally offside and Pochettino’s Blues quickly capitalised. Alexander-Arnold sent a threatening Raheem Sterling cross aimed for Nicolas Jackson behind his own goal and Liverpool failed to deal with the resulting corner. Chilwell kept his cool as Chelsea kept the pressure on, looping a header over for Disasi to stretch and turn past Alisson, sparking 37th-minute celebrations. Within two minutes the volume went up several more notches. Enzo Fernandez‘s nudged pass put Chilwell through to round Alisson and turn home what Chelsea thought was their second, only for the VAR to step in for offside once again. Salah and Jackson had further shots as a frantic first half ended 1-1, with play continuing in similar fashion when play resumed. There was an audible gasp when new Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk whistled just wide from the edge of the box, before Diaz’s weak headed attempt hit Jackson’s hand and went behind. He survived a VAR check for a penalty. Chelsea had chances at the other end. Chilwell forced Sanchez into a save, skipper Reece James sent a speculative free-kick over and Jackson raced through to get a shot on Alisson’s goal. Jurgen Klopp rang the changes in search of a winner and Salah looked unhappy to be withdrawn, ripping the strapping off his wrist as he angrily walked off the pitch. Debutant Sanchez nearly gifted Liverpool a late winner, with his poor pass cut out by Alexis Mac Allister, but Darwin Nunez was unable to capitalise. The substitute striker saw a curling effort from distance defect narrowly wide in stoppage time, with Chelsea then going close on the counter. Mykhailo Mudryk went around Alisson following Jackson’s lung-busting run, but Ian Maatsen got crowded out from the cutback. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Alex Mitchell set for England call if Jack van Poortvliet ruled out of World Cup Ange Postecoglou praises Tottenham’s resilience following Harry Kane’s departure Arsenal defender William Saliba ‘really happy’ to be back after injury

College football rankings of all 10 FBS conferences for the 2023 season.We are just under two weeks away from the start of college football.The 2023 college football season figures to be one of the most exciting in recent memory. Hanging over all of it, though, is the specter of conference r...