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5-star cornerback and Georgia commit Ellis Robinson IV is set to visit Alabama this weekend, but given everything we know, a switch of commitment seems unlikely.Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide haven't given up hopes of swaying 5-star cornerback Ellis Robinson IV away from the Georgi...

Victor Wembanyama, the top prospect in the 2023 NBA Draft, showed how minuscule a baseball looks in his hand when throwing out the first pitch for the New York Yankees.Last week, the 2022-23 NBA season officially reached its end with the Denver Nuggets winning the Larry O'Brien Trophy. This...

The best restaurant in the world is Central, in Lima. The dynamic tasting menu restaurant from chef Virgilio

Victor Wembanyama will become the first pitch in the 2023 NBA Draft later this week, but on Tuesday he was on the mound at Yankee Stadium. The 19-year-old pheno

Scotland took another step towards next summer’s European Championship with a 2-0 win over Georgia in their rain-interrupted qualifier at Hampden Park. A heavy rainstorm in the lead-up to the Group A fixture had rendered the match farcical in the opening stages, before midfielder Callum McGregor scored in the sixth minute with a drive through the puddles. Hungarian referee Istvan Vad immediately halted the game, with an announcement confirming an initial 20-minute delay for the pitch to be cleared of water before an inspection. Supporters kicked their heels in the stands until the pitch was declared playable, with the players warming up again before restarting at the 10th minute mark – over 90 minutes after it had been halted. On resumption, midfielder Scott McTominay added a second goal two minutes after the restart – his fifth in four qualifiers – before Georgia star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia missed a VAR-awarded penalty in added time. Scotland cemented top spot in the group having now taken 12 points from their opening four fixtures ahead of September’s trip to Cyprus. Steve Clarke’s side are eight points clear of Georgia, unbeaten in eight competitive games and are on course for an appearance in the finals in Germany, although on this occasion the weather almost beat them on their own patch. A long and rather bizarre night had begun amid a mood of Scottish optimism. After a late 2-1 comeback win against Norway in Oslo on Saturday night – which followed victories over Cyprus and top seeds Spain – the Tartan Army’s spirits could hardly have been higher. However, Hampden Park was sodden by the time Scotland kicked off and the state of the pitch drew gasps from supporters as passes stopped in puddles, with players leaving the ball behind as they tried to drive forward. Scotland’s opening goal came when John McGinn’s corner from the right was partially cleared to McGregor and the Celtic captain’s drive from 12 yards was parried into the net by Georgia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili. Referee Vad did not restart the game, instead stepping off the pitch to speak to an official before returning to inform the players that the game was to be stopped while groundsmen – and then some of the ball boys – brushed water from the pitch. Fans had booed the initial announcement of a 20-minute delay and that of a pitch inspection 10 minutes later and there was relief when the game eventually got under way again just after 9.30pm following a few more delays. The pitch was still far from perfect but the Scots adapted slightly better, albeit the delay appeared to have dampened the enthusiasm of the home support. Five minutes from the break McGinn came close with a header from a Kieran Tierney cross before completely missing the ball eight yards from goal. Then McTominay’s angled-drive was tipped around a post by Mamardashvili but the visitors held out. The second half had barely begun when McTominay pounced on a loose ball on the edge of the box and fired a low drive past Mamardashvili to re-energise the flailing Tartan Army. Georgia’s Otar Kiteishvili thundered a shot from distance just over the crossbar on the hour but there was no real sign of a comeback. Scotland defender Ryan Porteous headed a Gilmour cross over from close range in the 72nd minute, before Georges Mikautadze hit the side-netting with an effort at the other end. In the second minute of four added on, referee Vad consulted the pitchside monitor before declaring the ball had hit the arm of Aaron Hickey, but Napoli’s Kvaratskhelia hammered the spot-kick over the bar. Ultimately, Scotland will be glad that a match that looked more than in doubt at one point was completed as qualification for a second successive Euros draws ever closer.

James McClean is banking on the Republic of Ireland’s big-game mentality to force them back into Euro 2024 contention. Ireland belatedly registered their first win of the qualifying campaign at the third time of asking when they beat Gibraltar 3-0 in Dublin on Monday evening. Coming after a hard-fought 1-0 home defeat by France and a less-impressive display in a 2-1 reverse at the hands of Greece in Athens on Friday night, victory was the very least they needed ahead of September’s trip to Paris and the Netherlands’ visit to the Aviva Stadium three days later. Asked about the Dutch in particular, McClean, who won his 100th senior cap against Gibraltar, said: “I don’t want to create headlines and be disrespectful, but they seem to have a lot of very good individual players, but maybe as a team they are not where they want to be and hopefully we can exploit that. “I actually think we perform better in the big games, as you have seen here against France.” Realistically, Ireland will need to get the better of the Netherlands over the two fixtures if they are to stand any chance of escaping from Group B, and the odds remain heavily stacked against them despite Monday’s win. Nobody likes being criticised, that's the way it is. No one likes it, but we're not stupid. This is the game we are in James McClean They went into that game having been roundly criticised for their performance in Athens and with manager Stephen Kenny feeling the full force of a concerted backlash. McClean, who provided assists for both Evan Ferguson and Adam Idah, said: “Nobody likes being criticised, that’s the way it is. No one likes it, but we’re not stupid. This is the game we are in. “If you don’t perform and do well, criticism comes along with that, as does praise when you are doing well, so you have to take the bad with the good. “We bounced back. It’s a massive win to take us into September and hopefully we can pull off one of those famous wins.” Ireland boast famous wins over then world champions Germany and at Euro 2016, fellow aristocrats Italy in the recent past, but under Kenny have fallen heart-breakingly short, if only just, against Portugal and France. However, McClean, 34, is confident the belief and spirit which contributed so much to those landmark victories has been retained by a new-look squad. He said: “I don’t think that’s something that can ever be questioned, the togetherness in the Irish team. “There is a lot of ability in those young lads. If you can get them playing with confidence, you are on to a winner. Hopefully they can create special memories for themselves.” McClean added his own special memory on Monday when he completed his century and was presented with his 100th cap by President Michael D Higgins before kick-off. He said: “Having my family on the pitch, the president of the association and of the country handing me an honour, the reception of the crowd, having the whole family there, the way the lads treated me this week leading up to it and how they treated me after the game… Look, it couldn’t have gone any better.”

The Giants and Saquon Barkley are racing against the clock to get a long-term deal done this offseason. If not, there are very rocky waters ahead.The story of the New York Giants offseason centered on their two top-performing players of 2022: Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley. New York settled up ...

Bob Huggins has resigned from West Virginia after his DUI arrest, so who could replace him as the next head coach of Mountaineers basketball?Bob Huggins was already on notice at West Virginia after using a homophobic slur during a radio appearance earlier this offseason. Now he's out in Mor...

Jack Grealish has made no apologies for his high-profile celebrations at the end of a mammoth season as he claimed any “party boy” image is misplaced. The England international helped Manchester City to an historic treble, culminating in a Champions League final win over Inter Milan. After the match, Grealish was the centre of attention for City’s celebrations as he drank and partied with his team-mates. Much was made of his approach but he still reported for England duty and came off the bench in Monday’s 7-0 win over North Macedonia. “I don’t think it is a party boy thing,” he said when asked about the response to his revelry. “I would never sit here and lie to you and say ‘Yeah, I don’t drink and I don’t party’ because I do but then there’s so many people that will come here and say to you ‘I don’t do this, I don’t do that’ when they do. “I’m just truthful because when you see me doing anything, you’d be like: ‘Oh, hold on. He said a few weeks ago in an interview that he didn’t do that’. “But listen, I just enjoy myself, I’m living my dream of playing for the best club in the world in my opinion, we’ve just won the treble so I’m going to obviously have a break now with my family and my friends and then I’ll be raring to go again in four weeks. “I knew (what) I was doing, that’s just the way I am, I’m like that when I party usually. Actually, I’m not like that usually but we’ve won the treble and it’s something that (may) never happen again. “So I went and enjoyed myself and I wasn’t the only one – I think a lot of the time you’ll see everyone recording me, I could show you all this stuff of other people where they were the same. “Listen, we all enjoyed ourselves, other people enjoy themselves where the cameras weren’t but that was just me enjoying myself, I’d had the most successful season of my life. “It is now June 19, I came into training last year on July 13. Years ago, you’d have a season for nine months, I’ve just laid out a 12-month season. I’ve been into a World Cup, I’ve won three trophies and then I’m going to be back training now in four weeks or so, why not enjoy myself?” Grealish said he had not been spoken to by England manager Gareth Southgate as he met up with the squad and felt he contributed as normal. England won both games to take a massive step to Euro 2024 qualification and Grealish reported for duty as expected. “I don’t know what you guys read and think sometimes. I have a great relationship with him (Southgate), honestly. A brilliant relationship,” he added. “I kind of knew in the back of my head that I wouldn’t play on the Friday (against Malta). But even so I came into camp on Tuesday night, I was a bit hungover but I wasn’t drunk or anything. “I came into camp with the other guys, we slept then woke up and trained on Wednesday. We trained on Thursday and, like I said, in the back of my mind, I knew I wasn’t going to play on the Friday. “Then on the Saturday, I trained and trained well. Then on the Sunday. I thought it was going to be a toss up with who plays. “I came on (against Macedonia) and I’m just happy. I’ve had a brilliant season, the most successful season of my life and I think there is a time now I can just sit and relax. “My emotions have been so high. When I was sitting in the camp on Thursday, it was the biggest high I’d been on in my whole life at the weekend. “You come into the camp, you sit on your own in your room and think ‘Will I ever feel that high again?’.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Isaac Price targets improvements after Northern Ireland suffer Kazakhstan defeat Tommy Doyle inspired by Man City treble ahead of England Under-21s’ Euros bid Cristiano Ronaldo snatches last-gasp winner for Portugal on landmark appearance

Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated becoming the first male player to reach 200 international appearances with a last-minute winner for Portugal against Iceland. The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star was honoured ahead of his country’s European Championship Group J qualifier in Reykjavik with a Guinness World Records certificate. And Ronaldo, 38, who broke Kuwait forward Bader Al-Mutawa’s 196-cap record in March, scored the only goal of the game in the closing stages with his 123rd for Portugal. Iceland were reduced to 10 men after 80 minutes when Willum Willumsson was sent off. After four matches played, Portugal sit two points clear of Slovakia, who won 1-0 at Liechtenstein thanks to Denis Vavro’s first-half strike. In the group’s other fixture, Luxembourg secured a 2-0 win at Bosnia. Manchester City’s Erling Haaland continued his incredible scoring run with a double in Norway’s 3-1 victory against Cyprus. After Ola Solbakken netted Norway’s opener in the Group A clash, Haaland scored two goals – one from the penalty spot – in four second-half minutes to end the season with a remarkable 56 strikes for club and country, and contribute to Norway’s first win of their qualifying campaign. Romelu Lukaku put his Champions League final disappointment behind him with a brace in Belgium’s 3-0 win at Estonia. Lukaku, who made a second-half appearance for Inter Milan in their defeat against City earlier this month, scored twice in the first half to put the visitors in control. Johan Bakayoko completed a comfortable Group F win for the Red Devils with a third in the closing minutes. Belgium remain three points adrift of Austria, who stay top of the group following a late victory against Sweden. The fixture looked to be heading for a goalless draw before Christoph Baumgartner netted a brace for the home side. Austria have played one game more than Belgium. In Group G, Hungary took top spot after winning 2-0 against Lithuania, while Serbia secured a 1-1 draw in Bulgaria following Darko Lazovic’s stoppage-time equaliser. Meanwhile, in Group E, Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski scored for Poland but could not stop his side from slipping to a 3-2 defeat in Moldova as Albania claimed a 3-1 win in the Faroe Islands. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Isaac Price targets improvements after Northern Ireland suffer Kazakhstan defeat Tommy Doyle inspired by Man City treble ahead of England Under-21s’ Euros bid Pat Cummins elated to lead Australia over the line in Ashes thriller

England Under-21s’ Tommy Doyle admits Manchester City’s treble winners have given him inspiration for Euro glory. The midfielder watched as his parent club won the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League while on loan at Sheffield United. Doyle also won promotion with the Blades after finishing second in the Championship. He is in Georgia ahead of England’s Group C opener with the Czech Republic in Batumi on Thursday and feels Pep Guardiola’s superstars have provided added motivation for him. “It’s massive to see and gives you inspiration as well to go on to win and get yourself in that team as well to enjoy success,” said the 21-year-old. “It was special. Of course you want to be there as well and be involved but you have to respect where you’re at at this moment. “I was 110 per cent focused on Sheffield United and what I needed to do there but, as well as a player of City, I’m a fan as well so I was always watching. I had my fan hat on more because I was at a different club. “It’s massive for the club. They deserved it, they were brilliant and when it got to the business end they stepped up another level.” The Young Lions go into the tournament as one of the favourites in Georgia. Cole Palmer won the treble with Manchester City this season, Ben Johnson helped West Ham win the Europa Conference League, Max Aarons has won the Championship twice and Morgan Gibbs-White, Angel Gomes and Emile Smith Rowe lifted the Under-17s World Cup in 2017. Gareth Southgate believes the senior side have serial winners and Doyle feels the Young Lions, who also face Israel and Germany in the group stage, are the same. We have lads who love to win, want to win and who have won before. That obviously does help Tommy Doyle He said: “Yeah, of course. It’s on a little bit of a different scale. A lot of the lads in the seniors, the ones I know from City, have just come off the back of winning a treble and that is obviously massive for anyone as a player. “But lads here have won a lot, whether that be at academy level or stepping up and winning promotions or whatever that is. “We have lads who love to win, want to win and who have won before. That obviously does help.”

A frustrated Isaac Price said Kazakhstan had been “there for the taking” in Northern Ireland’s 1-0 Euro 2024 qualifying defeat at Windsor Park on Monday night. Northern Ireland could not convert any of the 13 efforts they had at goal – with only one on target – and were punished at the death as Abat Aimbetov broke away to snatch an 88th minute winner. It was a third consecutive 1-0 defeat for Michael O’Neill’s side, but where Friday’s loss away to Denmark had brought optimism, given a battling display against the group’s top seeds, a home defeat to a side ranked 50 places below Northern Ireland left a flat feeling. “It’s very tough to take, frustrating really,” said Price. “We know we weren’t good enough. We knew they were there for the taking and we didn’t take our chances. We have to look back on it and improve for the next fixtures in September.” O’Neill knows he must be patient with the many youngsters pressed into service ahead of schedule given an injury list which stretches into double figures. Price, 19, is on that list but the midfielder was not cutting himself any slack after the match. “Personally I wasn’t good enough, technically on the ball and I didn’t create enough chances,” he said. “It was the same for the whole team really. We have to improve in the final third. “We’re not too bad at the back, but we conceded a silly goal at the end so instead of taking a point, we lost everything. There are so many areas where we can improve. We have two tough away games coming up in September, we have to go and try and get three points in both Isaac Price “There was optimism coming in from the game on Friday night. We thought we deserved more against Denmark. We have to look back at the game and see where we can improve. There are so many areas where we can improve. “We have two tough away games coming up in September, we have to go and try and get three points in both.” Price, earning only his fourth cap, was starting a second-consecutive match, having also been asked to play in an advanced role behind the lone striker in Copenhagen. “I’m delighted to play, the experience is something which you can’t get anywhere else,” he said. “International football is very different to the football you play at your club.” Price is now set to start a new adventure, having this month signed a four-year contract to join Standard Liege after rejecting a new deal at Everton. The move promises the opportunity to get more playing time and learn in a very different environment. “I can’t wait to go over now,” he said. “Hopefully I can improve a lot more over there and in a different side of the game. It’s a lot more technical. “I just can’t wait to get over and get started now.”