Cowboys willing to consider the worst possible special teams option
Former Dallas Cowboys kicker Brett Maher remains available, and his return is on the table.Brett Maher infamously got the yips during a postseason, missing four-of-five extra point during the Cowboys Wild Card game win, and then missing another in their Divisional Round defeat, though he did mak...
2023-05-16 22:21
Braves sign Hall-of-Famer's son amid more Kyle Wright injury news
The Atlanta Braves need to keep their options open. With Max Fried and Kyle Wright out long-term, could a recent signee be the answer?The Braves transferred Kyle Wright to the 60-day injured list, and with it added a new pitcher to the starting rotation mix. However, rather than calling up Mike ...
2023-05-16 22:00
Forest fined over pitch invasion after 2022 play-off semi against Sheff Utd
Nottingham Forest have been fined over the pitch invasion at the end of their Championship play-off semi-final against Sheffield United almost a year ago. A Forest fan was jailed after headbutting Blades striker Billy Sharp during the incident at the end of the second leg at the City Ground on May 17 last year, while Sheffield United’s Oli McBurnie was cleared last December of stamping on another pitch-invading Forest fan. The Football Association had charged Forest with failing to ensure their supporters conducted themselves in an orderly fashion and refrained from using threatening or violent behaviour while encroaching onto the pitch following the final whistle. The charge was partially admitted by Forest, and a £50,000 fine was imposed by an independent regulatory commission. The FA said half of the fine had been suspended by the panel until the end of next season, provided there were no further breaches of FA rule E20. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live
2023-05-16 21:57
Man City players ‘owe’ Champions League title to Sheikh Mansour, says Kyle Walker
Kyle Walker believes Manchester City’s players owe it to Sheikh Mansour to win the Champions League. City host Real Madrid in the second leg of the semi-final after drawing 1-1 in the Bernabeu last week, still looking for a first European trophy since their 2008 takeover. Owner Sheikh Mansour has invested around £1.5 billion in the club in the last 15 years and Walker, one of a host of expensive signings, feels City can still be overshadowed by their neighbours Manchester United until they emulate them by becoming champions of Europe. The right-back said: “You have to just look over the road at Manchester United and what they have accomplished and when we get compared to that team they won countless titles. “We have done five [Premier League titles] in six years if we can cross the line on this one, which still isn’t over, but the club is missing that one [the Champions League] and the owners and the amount of money they have pumped in and the investment they have done we owe that to them.” United have won the European Cup three times, including in 1999 when they did the treble of the Champions League, the Premier League and the FA Cup that City hope to accomplish now. City are in their fourth Champions League semi-final and have reached one final, losing 1-0 to Chelsea in Porto in 2021. And Walker added: “To get to the Champions League final against Chelsea and not perform as well as we can, we owe that to ourselves and get some revenge because we know that was below par on that day.” Read More Inter vs AC Milan line-ups: Team news ahead of Champions League semi-final as Rafael Leao to return The no-impact substitute: Kalvin Phillips’ ongoing humiliation gives Man City a problem What do Manchester City need to win the Premier League title?
2023-05-16 21:54
Ranking the top 25 players in the WNBA for the 2023 season
The 2023 WNBA season is finally here and we're ranking the top 25 players in the league before all the action gets started.The WNBA’s 2023 season tips off later this week. Super teams, a new batch of rookies, and multiple coaching changes have already set the tone for what is to come....
2023-05-16 21:16
West Ham won’t consider any Declan Rice bids until season is over
West Ham will not entertain any bids for Declan Rice until the season is over, the PA news agency understands. Reports emerged on Monday that Arsenal want to open talks with the Hammers over a £90million move for the England midfielder. West Ham are understood to be resigned to losing their captain this summer and are braced for a bidding war, with Chelsea and Manchester United also in the mix. But the club, and Rice, are focused solely on ending the season on a positive note, both domestically and in Europe. The Hammers are all but safe from relegation and face AZ Alkmaar in the second leg of their Europa Conference League semi-final in the Netherlands on Thursday, leading 2-1 from the first leg. Rice, 24, knows his final act in a West Ham shirt could be lifting a European trophy in Prague on June 7, sealing his place in club folklore. He would become only the third West Ham captain to collect a trophy, along with Bobby Moore and Billy Bonds, who lifted their last piece of silverware, the FA Cup, in 1980. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live
2023-05-16 20:53
Curtis Jones relishing Liverpool run after keeping the faith during ‘tough time’
Curtis Jones insisted he never lost faith he would earn a Liverpool revival after coming through a “tough time” to establish himself as a first-team regular. The 22-year-old midfielder’s quickfire double helped the in-form Reds to a comfortable 3-0 win at relegation-threatened Leicester on Monday. Jones has now started the Reds’ last nine Premier League games having previously only made two starts all season, with a shin injury sidelining him until mid-October. He has also scored three goals in his last four appearances – ending an 18-month drought – to help Liverpool in their late Champions League charge with Jurgen Klopp’s side fifth and a point behind the top four. The England Under-21 international told the club’s official site: “In terms of confidence, I’ve always been the same lad. I’ve always had the belief in myself but it’s been a tough time, I’ve had the injuries and stuff so I’ve not really had a full run of games in the past. “But I came in against Chelsea and I kept my shirt and I’ve still got the shirt now. I’m enjoying it, I’m being humble and keeping my feet on the ground and I know what it takes, so that’s what I’m doing. “Being a kid in the academy days I’ve always scored goals and I wouldn’t say I’ve been the star kid but I’ve always been the kid who has jumped up the age groups. I’m enjoying it, I’m being humble and keeping my feet on the ground and I know what it takes, so that’s what I’m doing. Curtis Jones “Then I came around the first team and it was kind of a shock where the whole of the game changes, so I’ve had to make a change to the whole of my game. But I’m adapting well and I think it’s the best run I’ve had for a while.” Jones struck twice in three first-half minutes against Leicester before Trent Alexander-Arnold’s 25-yard effort added the gloss. It left Leicester two points from safety with two games left and Jamie Vardy admitted they need to win at Newcastle on Monday and in the final-day visit of West Ham to stand a chance of surviving. “We’ve got to put it straight to the back of our minds now,” the striker told the club’s official site. “We’ve got to focus on the next two games and we’ve got to pick two wins up. It’ll be tough but we know we’ve got the talent in that dressing room. It needs to click. “We’ve got two games left and the minimum we can have is two wins just to give ourselves a chance. “So, we’ll get back on that training pitch, spend all week looking at Newcastle, how we can exploit the weaknesses and how we stop, obviously, their strengths. “We’ve got to make sure that we put the 90-minute effort in next week to pick up a win.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Jofra Archer ‘distraught’ after being ruled out of Ashes summer Coventry’s Mark Robins feels pressure is on Middlesbrough in play-off second leg A closer look at the battle to beat the drop in the Premier League
2023-05-16 20:18
Chiefs game-by-game, record predictions in 2023 worst-case scenario
The Chiefs are riding high on a Super Bowl win. What can they expect from the 2023 season? What does a worst-case scenario season prediction look like?The Kansas City Chiefs are coming off a Super Bowl victory, their second in four seasons. Everyone and their mother knows what a best-case scenar...
2023-05-16 19:24
Coventry’s Mark Robins feels pressure is on Middlesbrough in play-off second leg
Coventry boss Mark Robins moved to pile the pressure on Middlesbrough ahead of their crunch play-off semi-final second leg. The Sky Blues go to the Riverside on Wednesday locked at 0-0 from Sunday’s first leg. Boro finished fourth in the Championship, five points and a place ahead of Coventry, and at the Riverside Robins feels Michael Carrick’s side hold the advantage. He said: “They’re the favourites to go through so the pressure is on them. There’s no doubt about it. We’ll go out there and really give a good account of ourselves. “For us, it’s about our preparation and what we can do. The betting companies have made them favourites to win promotion. So, by definition, that makes us least favourites so it is what it is. We just go and deal with what we’ve got in front of us.” Coventry were not expected to make the play-offs this season, especially after playing seven of their first nine games away from home following the Rugby Sevens at the Commonwealth Games destroying the CBS Arena pitch. Robins recognises their progress this term but still wants the glory at the end. “It’s not really a great time to reflect because that time will be whenever this season comes to an end and we can sit back and have a look,” said the manager, who could be without Gustavo Hamer after he suffered a knee injury in the first leg. “I say sit back, we’re not because we’ve got a busy period of recruitment coming up. “Regardless of anything, I was asked at the start this season what success would look like and for us, really, you talk about finishing in the Championship, whatever happens. “If you’re in the Championship it always gives you a chance of doing what we’ve done so far this season. “Our season was blighted at the start with well-known factors and one of our players (Dominic Hyam to Blackburn) was sold early on which made things very difficult for us. “Regardless of what happened, the players have responded unbelievably well to get us to this point so they’ve earned the right to go head-to-head against Middlesbrough. “Whatever happens, yes, it’s been a brilliant progression for us but ultimately you want to try and come out successfully at the other end.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live A closer look at the battle to beat the drop in the Premier League Football rumours: Arsenal preparing £90million swoop for West Ham’s Declan Rice On this day in 2010: Dominant England beat Australia to win World Twenty20 final
2023-05-16 19:18
A closer look at the battle to beat the drop in the Premier League
Southampton have already been relegated from the Premier League, but the race to avoid joining them looks set to go down to the wire. Two of West Ham, Nottingham Forest, Everton, Leeds and Leicester will play alongside the Saints in the Championship next season. Here, the PA news agency takes a look at the relegation battle with two games to go. West Ham (Leeds H, Leicester A) Given their own plight and their opposition in the final two rounds of fixtures, West Ham will play a deciding role in who goes down. It will take an extraordinary set of results for them to be relegated as they are six points clear of Leeds with a significantly better goal difference, so would need to lose both games heavily and see a number of other results go against them. Their only concern will be how their European exertions affect them, with their match against Leeds coming days after a Europa Conference League semi-final second leg against AZ Alkmaar. Nottingham Forest (Arsenal H, Crystal Palace A) Seven points from the last four games has hauled Forest out of the bottom three and they now could stay up even if they lose their remaining fixtures. Safety will be assured if they draw with Arsenal at the City Ground and then Leeds lose at West Ham and Leicester fail to beat Newcastle. However, two defeats, including on the final day at Crystal Palace, and results going against them elsewhere would see them drop back into the Championship. Everton (Wolves A, Bournemouth H) Everton, on paper, have the kindest fixtures of those in the fight and they will fancy their chances of staying up, with their Bank Holiday win at Brighton last week looking pivotal. They will confirm their survival if they win at Wolves and then Leeds lose at West Ham and Leicester fail to beat Newcastle. Two defeats could be enough for Leeds to overtake them by drawing just one of their two games, although that will be dependent on a minor goal difference swing. Leeds (West Ham A, Tottenham H) Leeds are relying on other teams to lose, but they also have to do their own business under Sam Allardyce, with so many permutations still possible. The most worrying one is they will be sent back to the Championship if they lose at West Ham, Everton win at Wolves and Forest pick up a positive result against Arsenal. But, as mentioned, they could stay up by drawing just one game, if Everton and Leicester lose both of their matches. They will be hoping to take advantage of West Ham’s European distraction as Allardyce visits his old club on Sunday before a vital home game against Tottenham. Leicester (Newcastle A, West Ham H) Leicester, Premier League champions seven years ago, could be relegated if they fail to beat Newcastle on Monday night, Forest pick up a point against Arsenal and Everton beat Wolves. Defeat at St James’ Park would also mean Everton would only need two points from their final two games. To stay up, Leicester realistically need to win at least one of their remaining games at Newcastle or at home to West Ham, although it is possible two draws could be enough. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Jofra Archer to miss Ashes summer with fresh stress fracture in his elbow Football rumours: Arsenal preparing £90million swoop for West Ham’s Declan Rice On this day in 2010: Dominant England beat Australia to win World Twenty20 final
2023-05-16 18:19
Dallas Stars advance to Western Conference Final with pulsating Game 7 victory over Seattle Kraken
The Dallas Stars advanced to the NHL Western Conference Final with an exciting Game 7 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Monday.
2023-05-16 18:16
Oakland Athletics agree to building ballpark on Las Vegas strip
The Oakland Athletics have agreed to a new ballpark on the Las Vegas strip at the Tropicana casino site.
2023-05-16 17:21