List of All Articles with Tag 'f'

The Los Angeles Angels and Arizona Diamondbacks have both lost two straight games as they begin their weekend series on Friday night.Arizona has been one of the bigger surprises in Major League Baseball, sitting atop the NL West through the halfway point of the season. Los Angeles, on the other ...

Friday night’s MLB action has some interesting pitchers on the mound, and I’m fading a few of them – one with an earned runs prop and two with a Yes Run First Inning pick.Plus, a familiar face returns to the MLB props column for yet another strikeout prop.Let’s dive i...

Manchester City assistant manager Rodolfo Borrell has left the treble winners to become sporting director at Major League Soccer side Austin FC. The Spaniard joined City from Liverpool in 2014 as global technical director, before being appointed head of coaching for the academy and then joining Pep Guardiola’s backroom team. Borrell was named assistant manager ahead of last season, which saw City win the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup, but becomes the second of Guardiola’s lieutenants to leave this summer following Enzo Maresca’s appointment as Leicester boss earlier this month Director of football Txiki Begiristain said: “He has played a significant role in the club’s achievements over the past nine years. “The manager has often spoken about how important his coaching staff have been in helping him and the team achieve what we have. “Rodolfo has, of course, been a major part of that during his time at Manchester City. “I have every confidence that he will be a huge asset to both Austin FC and United States soccer.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Mason Mount will take his Man United medical on Monday

A new summer, a new tournament, the same goal: England’s World Cup campaign begins in earnest against Portugal on Saturday, with a final send-off match before the Lionesses head to Australia. A year ago, England were starting to pick up momentum on home soil before the Euros, continuing the winning run under Sarina Wiegman that would carry them all the way to Wembley - and from there, history. The same again? “I think the best thing we can do is just not compare,” said the midfielder and Euros winner Georgia Stanway. The Lionesses will once again be driven on by the chance to inspire the nation, but the challenge that awaits at the World Cup is completely different to the opportunity they seized so spectacularly last July. For one, this warm-up friendly against Portugal in Milton Keynes was not officially confirmed until just three weeks ago, following a dispute over release dates that threatened to compromise England’s preparations. It mirrored the hold-up over the TV rights deal for the tournament - another issue that was not resolved until mid-June. On both counts, there will have been too much uncertainty there for England’s liking. But finally, five weeks on from the end of the domestic season, attention returns to the pitch and England’s quest for glory. There is plenty to watch out for: Wiegman, memorably, named the same starting eleven across all six matches as the Lionesses won the Euros. Now, the England manager has a different squad to choose from, and a number of selection issues to decide upon if she plans to be as consistent in Australia. Wiegman is still in the process of figuring that out. The Lionesses, of course, are without last year’s captain Leah Williamson, the player of the Euros and golden boot winner Beth Mead, and the creative force of their midfield in Fran Kirby. Jill Scott, the leader in the camp at last year’s Euros, has retired and even though the Lionesses have played and won plenty of games since then, the dynamics in the squad ahead of a major tournament will be different as well. “There’s different experiences, there’s different competition now,” Wiegman said. “And there’s also in some positions really high competition.” The battle is already underway in camp and has been since England arrived at St George’s Park two weeks ago. Understandably, a lot of the focus on England ahead of the World Cup has been on the players who won’t be there, but Wiegman also faces a number of selection headaches that would be the envy of most if not all other managers at this summer’s tournament. Among them, Wiegman will have to decide who out of Alessia Russo, Rachel Daly or Beth England will be her starting striker at the Euros. Russo, who is set to join Arsenal after confirming her departure from Manchester United, had appeared to be the favourite but Daly arrives having struck 22 goals in the Women’s Super League for Aston Villa last season, and England scoring 12 in as many games with Tottenham. “The competition has been so high,” Russo said this week. “Rachel and Beth, we’re all competing”. On the wings, Lauren James, Chloe Kelly and Lauren Hemp are vying for two places - although that also offers Wiegman the chance to change games from the bench, which proved so key at the Euros last year. “The standard and depth is incredible,” said Jess Carter, who is favourite to get the nod at left back. “Everyone knows that in order to be successful at the World Cup we’ve all got to raise our level to a higher level. That’s what we’re all trying to do.” While Wiegman has options in the attacking positions, she faces headaches of a different sort in defence. Millie Bright, who will captain the Lionesses in Australia, has not played since March and will miss the Portugal match as she continues to recover from knee surgery. Alex Greenwood is fit to start despite an injury scare in training earlier this week, but it still means that England will start with a centre-back combination that is unlikely to play in the opening match against Haiti on July 22. Portugal will be making their World Cup debut this summer and while the tournament features an extensive list of contenders - the Selecao are not among them. It’s a match the Lionesses will be expected to win, and win well, following their defeat to Australia in their last outing back in April. “It’s always good to have those games before the tournament to see where we are, to see what things we need to work on,” said Ella Toone, another player who is looking to nail down a starting spot. “It’s a great game, a different test to what we are going to face as well. It’s always nice to play in a proper game before we go out to the World Cup.” Wiegman added that while England will prepare for Portugal to be “technical” and “play a possession game” - the visitors are “not afraid to play long ball” and have “speed up front”. The Lionesses will need to ensure that they deal with that more direct approach better than they managed when facing Australia and Sam Kerr, when Wiegman’s unbeaten run was brought to an end two months ago. But the focus now is on new starts: forget the Euros, forget what’s come before - England’s path to the World Cup start here. Read More Fifa reveal eight options for Women’s World Cup captains after ‘OneLove’ armband fallout in Qatar Women’s World Cup TV schedule: How to watch every match in UK When is the Women’s World Cup and what are the fixtures? Two warm-up games is ‘best preparation we can have’ – Sarina Wiegman ‘Very high’ expectations on England’s Lionesses at World Cup, Georgia Stanway says Alessia Russo fully focused on England after ‘tough’ summer of transfer talk

Georgia football commit Jordan Hall quickly endeared himself to the UGA fanbase with a ruthless takedown of the Florida Gators.The hatred that bonds Georgia and Florida is a special breed of hatred. The two teams won't even play on their home fields. Every year, the two powerhouse SEC progr...

Auburn football fans are going to pack Jordan-Hare Stadium to the brim this college season.While I do expect for Hugh Freeze to turn the Auburn football program around in due time, the fanbase may have unrealistic expectations for him in year one down on The Plains.Auburn does have the poten...

The Lakers are reportedly interested in bringing LeBron James' former teammate Kevin Love to Los Angeles as a supporting big man to Anthony Davis.According to Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times, the Lakers could be interested in signing Kevin Love this offseason. What would this mean for th...

Samuel Umtiti has agreed to terminate his Barcelona contract with immediate effect.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek has signed for AC Milan from Chelsea on a four-year contract, bringing to an end a 19-year association with the Blues.

The Sacramento Kings missed out on Kyle Kuzma already, but a trade with the Pacers is a smart pivot by a Western Conference contender on the rise.The Sacramento Kings were in on Kyle Kuzma but missed out, then re-signing free agent Harrison Barnes to a three-year deal. But they weren't done...

Trent Alexander-Arnold FIFA 23 Shapeshifters SBC is now live transforming him into a striker. Here's how to complete the SBC and if it's worth it.