List of All Articles with Tag 'all'

Soon to be the 14th club in the NWSL, the San Francisco Bay Area announced themselves as the Bay Football Club along with dropping their team colors and logo.Before the 2023 NWSL started, league commissioner Jessica Berman announced they would be expanding to add two more teams for the 2024 seas...

The New York Knicks made a surprising run to the Eastern Conference semifinals. How will they look to build on their success in the offseason?Expectations were low for the New York Knicks entering the 2022-23 campaign. After a disastrous flop a year prior, many viewed the Knicks' run to the...

The Eagles reportedly were all-in on bringing Russell Wilson to Philadelphia but the now-Broncos quarterback rejected the move.In an alternate universe, Russell Wilson is the quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles.Apparently, that reality very nearly happened as the Eagles were close to land...

Baylor's Keyonte George has NBA Draft lottery potential with his compelling blend of shot creation and defensive toughness on the perimeter.Keyonte George was fairly prolific in his freshman season at Baylor, making the All-Pac 12 team and winning conference rookie of the year. He averaged ...

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey is not going to hear any criticism you may have of his league sticking with eight conference games in 2024.While this could be amended over time, the SEC is going to go with an eight-game schedule in 2024 once Oklahoma and Texas join the league.Commissioner Greg ...

The Baltimore Ravens are looking to return to the playoffs for the fifth time in six years, but there are some familiar faces not currently with the team.An offseason that started out with a major question has started to come together nicely for general manager Eric DeCosta and head coach John H...

The Phoenix Suns went in an unexpected direction with Frank Vogel emerging as the head coach hire to replace Monty Williams.The Suns took the leap and fired Monty Williams this year after another embarrassing playoff exit. The hope was to find a head coach who would take them to the next level a...

The Blue Jays are likely feeling queasy about the Daulton Varsho trade given Varsho's recent performances this season.Leave it to the New York Yankees to make fun of an AL East rival's poorly-aging trade.The Toronto Blue Jays acquired outfielder Daulton Varsho in December of 2022 h...

Barcelona boss Jonatan Giraldez believes experience will be key in the Women’s Champions League final against Wolfsburg. The teams face off in Eindhoven on Saturday with Barca going for a second title and Wolfsburg a third. Barca have won one – in 2021 – and lost two – in 2019 and last year – of the finals they have played. Wolfsburg have been beaten finalists three times, most recently in 2020, and won the competition in 2013 and 2014. Giraldez said: “Experience is one of the most important things and that goes for all areas of life. The more experience you have the better you will do. “That doesn’t just go for Barcelona but also national teams. The more finals you have played in the better you know how to approach the week leading up to it, the match itself, mentally. “All of that is important in football and sometimes you need time to gain that experience.” Barca travelled to Eindhoven on Friday with a fully-fit squad after Lucy Bronze and Fridolina Rolfo were passed fit. Giraldez added: “We need to minimise their strengths. We will be wary of their quick attacks and set-pieces. We want to dominate the game and not let them show their strengths.” Experience is one of the most important things and that goes for all areas of life. The more experience you have the better you will do Jonatan Giraldez Wolfsburg finished second to Bayern Munich in the Frauen-Bundesliga this season and boss Tommy Stroot believes they can capture the title in Holland. He said: “It is a realistic objective, I have made so many positive experiences. This final is very special for me and it’s always been an objective. “It’s always the same thing for us, to decode the structure, to see what kind of frequencies they use. That is our daily work and my players know that as well. “It’s a final but it’s no different to the semi-final against Arsenal. We try to watch even more games and decode even more things just to be prepared for every scenario possible. “Our players are ready. It’s something special, not many teams have that privilege in a final. We have all the options to react on anything.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live England declare with victory in sight after Ollie Pope and Ben Duckett heroics Government appoints independent advisers to aid rugby union rescue effort Ben Duckett breaks Lord’s record as Ollie Pope piles on runs for bullish England

Manchester United were pointless and headed for humiliation. As Brentford scored four goals in a half – and the first half at that – and Erik ten Hag’s reign began amid farce, a footballer who had starred in four Champions League final victories reached for his phone. United’s most high-profile transfer target texted his agent. But not to back out of a deal. The message, instead, was to tell United he would “fix” it. It was a sign of Casemiro’s confidence. If that self-assurance is a product of a career of rare success – the Carabao Cup took his trophy count to 21 – many another would have been deterred by the impression United were in crisis. They might have stayed at Real Madrid. Not him. “No second thoughts at all,” he recalled. “But to be honest I did say that. I was speaking to my agent, and with John [Murtough, United’s director of football] too about this afterwards. I’d said this after it had happened because I was also very excited and I was aware that my period at Real Madrid had come to an end and I was really upbeat about coming here and taking on this new project, this new challenge. It was clear in my mind.” Eight months later, it is tempting to contemplate an alternative reality where, after missing out on Frenkie de Jong last summer, Casemiro was put off by the shambolic display at Brentford, where instead of being a £63 million method of transforming a team, there was still a void at the heart of the midfield. “I knew that it wouldn’t be an easy challenge because it was a tough defeat to take but I think the excitement of coming here and making a change,” he reflected. Which he did: Casemiro provided a boost to United’s self-esteem even before he played, his unveiling at half-time of the win over Liverpool a sign of the club’s status. United only lost three of the first 32 games he started. He scored and was player of the match in the Carabao Cup final. United took 75 points from the 36 league matches after he joined and finished third. “We knew that it was a project in which you wouldn’t start winning things overnight,” he said, but they could complete a cup double at Wembley on Saturday. It appears as though he has fixed it. “It’s impossible for a single player to change performances but as a squad you can,” he demurred. Yet a turning point was October’s 6-3 defeat to Manchester City. Casemiro watched two-thirds of it from the bench: Ten Hag was still picking Scott McTominay ahead of him and if the Dutchman has made relatively few missteps, that seems one. The Brazilian marked his first Premier League start with an assist for Cristiano Ronaldo’s winner at Everton the following week. His first goal came a couple of weeks later, an injury-time equaliser at Chelsea. Each was a sign he tended to make telling contributions. Tallies of seven goals and six assists may be more than most expected; so, in a different way, are his two red cards. But they underline his centrality. He has been a fulcrum for United, the man at the heart of everything. Which is how he thinks it ought to be. City’s galaxy of gifted midfielders mean Casemiro’s skills as a nullifier will be required if Kevin de Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva are to be kept quiet at Wembley. “When people talk about central defensive midfielders, they forget that you need to help your teammates, you need to defend, to slot in between the centre-backs, cover any gaps that the full-backs or midfielders leave,” said a man who forged a reputation as the world’s best holding midfielder in Madrid, before offering an explanation for his greater productivity. “These are the basic principles for a central defensive midfielder. Of course, beyond that, people want you to score goals, to pass the ball, to get the team playing because football’s changed. In the past it would be the No. 10 that would be required to do that.” He can be both destructive and constructive presence, which he sees as a sign of the evolution in tactics. “I saw an interview with [Juan Roman] Riquelme once talking about central defensive midfielders and specifically [Sergio] Busquets,” Casemiro explained. “He said that often the team didn’t play well because the central holding midfielder hadn’t played [well] and people forget that throughout the history of football, it was the No. 10 who was the playmaker. The central defensive midfielder was always someone that helped the centre-backs, helped in the midfield, helped the full-backs, filled in and stopped counter attacks. The way that central defensive midfielders have had to adapt has changed a lot.” But he will hope some things stay the same. He has an outstanding record in finals; with Real, United and Brazil, he has only lost one, in the 2018 European Super Cup. “Without doubt it’s a significant stat,” he said. He also has experience of getting the better of City; Real trailed for 178 minutes of the Champions League semi-finals last season and yet still overcame Pep Guardiola’s team. “They play very good football and have a great manager and great players but every game is a different story, a different film,” he said. But if the movie of United’s season started in ignominy and ended in glory, the Casemiro biopic might have a certain monotony, if only because he has won so much, so often. Read More Manchester United are obsessed with stopping Man City – their history depends on it The unlikely Manchester United answer to derail Man City’s treble hopes How Raphael Varane transformed Manchester United: ‘You need the character to fight’ Andre Marriner retires from refereeing Bruno Fernandes nets Man Utd winner in comeback against Fulham to clinch third Manchester United owe Champions League return to one man

Nick Saban questions the lack of parity in college football, particularly when it comes to NIL.Leave it up to Alabama head coach Nick Saban to question the lack of parity across major college football.The Crimson Tide have been nothing short of dynastic since Saban took over in Tuscaloosa in...

In anticipation of Grizzlies' Ja Morant's potential suspension, what are some of the worst punishments the league has handed out in the past?Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant should receive a decision on his future soon. NBA commissioner Adam Silver told the media that the NBA's in...