List of All Articles with Tag 'por'

(Reuters) -England test captain Ben Stokes has been handed a one-year central contract, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)

It’s a joyous circus. This Saturday in Saudi Arabia, the first trick will be the ring emerging from a 26-foot hole in the ground, and then the real magic will start. Tyson Fury, the unbeaten heavyweight champion of the world, will then appear inside a giant neon beam and, wearing a crown, he will bow to the crowd and the dignitaries. In the opposite corner, as the magic continues, will be Francis Ngannou, a man who has never once fought a boxing match, and under this giant canopy of created rivalry, one of the biggest fights in history will take place. If that is not a “Hey, presto” moment, then I don’t know what is! In front of 20,000 people, including a dozen former heavyweight world champions, and some of the wealthiest men on Earth, the best heavyweight in the boxing world will fight the best heavyweight in the MMA world to see who is the Baddest Man on the Planet. It is a genius, simple and lunatic idea. It is not the first and it will not be the last circus fight involving a legitimate heavyweight boxer. Muhammad Ali had a 15-round bore fest with a wrestler called Antonio Inoki, Rocky Balboa met Hulk Hogan, Chuck Wepner fought Andre the Giant, and Two-Ton Tony Galento knocked out an octopus. I need to point out that the octopus was actually deceased before the first bell. Fury also has a massive advantage in his fight, which will be conducted under the rules of the British Boxing Board of Control, because kicks, chokeholds, headbutts, flying elbows and knees to the head will be banned. In short, Ngannou has had all his tools withdrawn. However, Ngannou has been trained by Mike Tyson, had a crash course in boxing’s darkest arts by the dirtiest fighter in the world, and his punch has been registered as the hardest in history. The science is available to prove just how lethal Ngannou’s right hand is, but even I draw the line somewhere. Fury is a genuine boxing giant and will tower over Ngannou once the anthems, introductions and pleasantries have been conducted by Michael Buffer, the suave voice of boxing. Ngannou will, trust me, shrink once he takes up a traditional boxing pose and his stated height of 6ft 4in will be in the permanent shadow of Fury. And then the beating will start; Fury is a truly vicious man inside the ropes. There are stupid claims that Ngannou has a “puncher’s chance”, which is like saying that any car, on any street, driven by anybody, could have won the F1 in Texas last weekend. Ngannou has no chance of winning and that is fine, but this is still a real fight, it’s just not a competitive one. It is an event and, as I said, we have had hundreds of sanctioned fights like this. The lovers and believers in the MMA dream will be praying to the fighting lords for a miracle; they are both delusional and out of luck. In 2000, Mike Tyson knocked out British heavyweight Julius Francis and the promoter, Frank Warren – who is also promoting the fight on Saturday – spent two months telling people: “This is not a fight, it is an event.” Warren was right and it was a great event. Francis, incidentally, sold the advertising space on the soles of his shoes to a national paper to make a few extra quid. The paper got a bargain. Fury will hold court in a country where the ruling elite know how to hold court. He will be draped in traditional clothing, sip tea from gold urns, have giant kestrels rest on his giant fists and bow respectfully each time he is honoured. It will be a fun circus and Ngannou, with the other Tyson in his face, will prepare like Rocky did in the first movie. It will be a wonderful carnival. There is bold talk of a rematch with Ngannou under MMA rules and that will never happen. On Saturday night, as Mike Tyson tends to Ngannou’s blood-stained face, there will be a cameo in the ring by Oleksandr Usyk, the other heavyweight champion, and a new carnival will start for Fury vs Usyk. What a business. Read More Fury vs Ngannou pay-per-view price revealed ahead of controversial fight Oleksandr Usyk predicts Joshua vs Wilder and makes Tyson Fury revelation Anthony Joshua admits to watching Tyson Fury’s Netflix show: ‘I’m enjoying it’ Anthony Joshua admits to watching Tyson Fury’s Netflix show Tyson Fury’s wife shares impact of boxing on their children: ‘I worry to this day’ Oleksandr Usyk predicts Joshua vs Wilder and makes Tyson Fury revelation

Formula One fanatics will get more behind-the-scenes access to the global motorsports series through a new CNBC documentary that explores the business aspects of the highest form of racing in the world

The Manchester derby is set to take place this weekend, but there is an unusual kick-off time change. Manchester United will host their local rivals at home on Sunday (October 29), where the game will commence at 3.30 pm. However, the typical start time for a Sunday Premier League match is an hour later at 4.30 pm, leaving footy fans confused. In a statement from United, it appears the schedule change is due to an agreement between the two clubs, and other parties involved. On the club's website, it read: “The derby with Manchester City will be staged towards the end of the month, with the Old Trafford encounter being moved to 29 October, kicking off at 15:30 GMT. "The fixture, which we won 2-1 last season with Marcus Rashford netting a memorable winner, is to be shown live on Sky Sports in the UK. “The unusual start time was agreed following consultation between the clubs, the broadcaster and local authorities.” Sky Sports will be broadcasting the highly anticipated match live this Sunday. Currently, Manchester City sit in second place in the Premier League table while Manchester United are in eighth place. How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The long-awaited new global men’s competition outside of the Rugby World Cup has been approved to start in 2026

The next Rugby World Cup in 2027 in Australia will feature more teams, an extra knockout round and a week less to play

England has signed its leading men’s players to multi-year central contracts for the first time

PARIS (AP) — South Africa and New Zealand will collide in the Rugby World Cup final and the latest chapter in their ferocious century-old rivalry guarantees history.

Dejan Kulusevski has acknowledged Tottenham have an advantage over their rivals with no European football this year and feels it could make the difference come the end of the season. Spurs returned to the Premier League summit on Monday night with a 2-0 win over Fulham courtesy of goals from Son Heung-min and James Maddison. Ange Postecoglou’s resurgent side are next in action on Friday at Crystal Palace, where they could go five points clear at the top with a victory and while Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool have European fixtures to contend with this week, Tottenham can focus purely on league action. “Honestly, it helps a lot. Physically, I remember last season was very hard playing three games a week,” Kulusevski said. “You feel very tired in the warm-ups. Also, mentally not having to travel to Spain or Italy to play games helps. You are at home, with your family. You have a good rest mentally, so it is a huge thing that we have and we have to take advantage of that this year. “You can feel the difference and hopefully you will see even more at the end of the season. “It is early because we will see what happens. Everything can change every day so we don’t need to talk about (title), but we must live for the day with a smile, train hard and not forget who we are. We must try to get better every day. “It is not important what people say. The important thing is to work hard, be humble, listen to the coach and keep the smiles on faces. Then at the end of the season we will see where we are.” Tottenham’s young side produced a mature display against Fulham, creating early chances before Son broke the deadlock in the 36th minute. You are at home, with your family. You have a good rest mentally, so it is a huge thing that we have and we have to take advantage of that this year. Spurs' Dejan Kulusevski on no European football Calvin Bassey’s misplaced pass under pressure from Spurs’ press was latched onto by Micky van de Ven, touched into Richarlison where he recycled the ball for Son, who dribbled past Tim Ream and curled superbly into the top corner for his seventh goal of the campaign. Son turned provider nine minutes after half-time when Bassey again gave away the ball and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg fizzed possession into Son, who played in Maddison for his first home goal as a Tottenham player. The hosts took their foot off the gas during the final exchanges with Fulham wasteful late on, which led to Postecoglou lambasting his team for taking “liberties” post-match. Kulusevski added: “Number one, we have to keep playing football and that is why we are winning. We have to get back to playing the way we can and be ready for Friday.” Spurs were without the suspended Yves Bissouma for the visit of Fulham, but Hojbjerg slotted in to good effect on his first league start of the season. The Danish midfielder expressed his delight at starting and urged his team-mates to “live with the pressure” amid talk of a potential title challenge. “Honestly it felt amazing to play. It was really nice to play. It felt really good,” Hojbjerg said. “First half I thought we played some good football. I think we had to score more than the one and second half we lost a bit of intensity. We let Fulham back into it but especially first half I thought was strong. “It is up to the coach to analyse (second half) now and to show us a bit what we needed. Personally, I felt the quality on the ball dropped a bit, but again we always know the first game back from the internationals is always a challenge. “I think it is game by game and it is important to try to improve. Improve every single week and try to see where we can take it. I think you have to live with the pressure, assume the pressure but again it is about improving and looking at yourself week in, week out.” Read More Sandro Tonali trains with Newcastle team amid betting investigation in Italy Super League case binding ruling due to be handed down on December 21 Texas Rangers see off Houston Astros to reach first World Series since 2011 On this day in 2018 – Christian Wade quits rugby in bid to launch NFL career Mikel Arteta hopes to be talking about football after Arsenal’s trip to Sevilla Jean Kleyn: RWC final with South Africa ‘outside realm of thinking’ months ago

Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali trained with his team-mates on Tuesday morning amid speculation that an investigation into breaches of betting rules was close to reaching a conclusion. Reports from Italy have suggested the 23-year-old former AC Milan player could learn his fate before Wednesday night’s Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund at St James’ Park, with some predicting a lengthy ban. However, the Italy international was among the group which trained at the club’s Darsley Park training headquarters as they completed their preparations for the Group F fixture under grey skies and incessant rain. Tonali’s representatives reportedly spent Monday in discussions with prosecutors, who launched an investigation while he was away on international duty earlier this month. He and compatriot Nicolo Zaniolo, currently on loan at Aston Villa from Galatasaray, are subject to a probe by the Italian Prosecutor’s Office and Italian Football Federation (FIGC) in relation to illegal betting activity. Tonali’s agent Giuseppe Riso had claimed the player was living with a “gambling addiction” and if breaches were found to have taken place, he could face many months on the sidelines. The midfielder, who joined the Magpies in a £55million summer move from Milan, is accused of placing bets on the Rossoneri and former club Brescia during his time with them. He has made 11 appearances to date for Newcastle, including a start in the 4-1 Champions League victory over Paris St Germain earlier this month. Read More It helps a lot – Dejan Kulusevski says Spurs must make absence from Europe count Super League case binding ruling due to be handed down on December 21 Texas Rangers see off Houston Astros to reach first World Series since 2011

A binding ruling in the Super League case will be handed down on December 21. The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Justice will rule that morning on whether or not UEFA and FIFA acted lawfully in blocking the creation of the Super League in April 2021, and in seeking to sanction the clubs involved. The ruling is a binding interpretation of European Union law, and once handed down the case will then be referred back to the Madrid commercial court that will apply it to the facts of the Super League case. Bernd Reichart, the chief executive of A22 which is promoting the concept of a new European league, said: “Club football is on the eve of major change. We hope the European Court of Justice will end the monopoly of UEFA and enforce the fundamental freedoms of the European Union in the world of football. “Fans, clubs, players and the sport of football would be the winners in a market that is open for a competition of ideas and in which clubs could govern and organise a European football competition without fear of threats.” Read More England players sign multi-year deals but Ben Stokes takes one-year extension Texas Rangers see off Houston Astros to reach first World Series since 2011 On this day in 2018 – Christian Wade quits rugby in bid to launch NFL career

Wisconsin’s magic touch in close games started to wear off late last season and led to a rare absence from the NCAA Tournament