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The NFL offseason has been brewing with news, and at this point, a blockbuster trade would be enough to create headlines and news.The Johnathan Taylor saga, the 49ers QB dilemma, and the Kansas City Chiefs looking to repeat are some of the many headlines of the 2023 NFL offseason.However, no...

NFL Rumors: Jordan Love struggles in Packers-Patriots joint practiceThere has been a lot of positive buzz around Jordan Love in the aftermath of his strong preseason opener in Cincinnati. As the Packers embrace a future without Aaron Rodgers, there's every reason to believe Love can become a ...

Sports media fight!

Carl Froch has delivered a brutal assessment of Anthony Joshua’s performance against Robert Helenius, accusing the British heavyweight of fighting like a ‘beginner’. Joshua knocked out Helenius, a late-notice replacement for Dillian Whyte, in Round 7 on Saturday (12 August) after fighting tentatively in the first six rounds. Despite “AJ” securing the emphatic knockout that he needed en route to a potential clash with Deontay Wilder, the former two-time world heavyweight champion did not do enough to impress Froch. Froch, a former unified super-middleweight champion, said on YouTube on Friday (18 August): “For me, it was a 5/10 performance. Okay, he got the job done, he knocked out Helenius in Round 7 with a decent [shot]. Helenius was exhausted by that point, which is why I thought the knockout came. “AJ timed him nicely with a jab to the body then brought the right hand over the top [...] I don’t think [Helenius] was knocked out cold, but he was exhausted. Once he got hit with that shot and went over, he probably thought to himself: ‘You know what? I’ve earnt my money, I’m not gonna win the fight, I’m not getting paid for overtime. Let’s stay down and go home.’ Why wouldn’t he? He boxed a week earlier. “It was poor, it was a weak opponent for this stage of AJ’s career, when he’s now looking at fighting someone like Deontay Wilder. If he’s looking at fighting Deontay Wilder on the back of that performance... that performance was awful, it was terrible, it was such a bad performance in so many ways. It was tentative, it was gun shy.” Helenius replaced Whyte after the Briton failed a drug test in the lead-up to his planned rematch with Joshua, who is in talks to box Wilder in early 2024. “He looked like he didn’t want to be in there at times,” Froch said of Joshua, 33. “He was getting outboxed with a weak, poor jab; [Helenius] wasn’t setting it up, he was smashing it, ram-rodding it in AJ’s face [...] Anthony Joshua was sitting back, waiting, looking confused, looking like he was scared to throw. “He’s not ready for the Deontay Wilder fight, I really don’t think he is. That performance does not set him up for a big showdown with Wilder [...] Style-wise, AJ is like a beginner, like a novice pro. Helenius had absolutely busted up AJ behind the jab. “[There was] swelling under his eyes, his nose was p***ing with blood, his mouth was bleeding – as we saw when he jumped out of the ring, which was a bit strange, and had a slurp on that nasty Irish stout that Conor McGregor shoved in his face. He had all blood and sweat and snot inside that point.” Froch, 46, also branded his fellow Briton “unprofessional” and “disrespectful” for the interaction with UFC star McGregor, which took place at ringside while Helenius received medical attention. Joshua vs Wilder is in the works for an early 2024 date in Saudi Arabia. American Wilder, 37, has not fought since knocking out Helenius in Round 1 in October. Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More Anthony Joshua has the blueprint to beat Deontay Wilder – is he brave enough to use it? Deontay Wilder’s manager offers rare comment on Anthony Joshua fight Anthony Joshua takes swig of Conor McGregor’s Irish stout after Helenius knockout

With so much still unsaid around this Spain team, three statements over the last 48 hours stood out all the more, that illustrate much of the story of their Women’s World Cup run. One was Tere Abelleira immediately after the semi-final victory over Sweden in Auckland. “Now we can talk about a ferocious team spirit,” she said. It was as the midfielder was saying this in the Eden Park mixed zone that Jenni Hermoso was striding behind and shouting: “Come on! We’re in the final of the f***ing World Cup!” That is now the most important fact of all. It was amid this mood of jubilation, however, that the abrasive Spanish federation boss Luis Rubiales came out with something that was much more open to dispute. “What we have endured is a lot,” said Rubiales. “That questions have been asked of Jorge Vilda, who is a hard-working man, a world-class coach, who has turned down other federations that have offered more money and stayed with Spain. We have stuck with those who have always wanted to be here, that have valued the great work that he has done to grow, and we have forgotten the people with resentments. He has continued working with his people and not paid attention to those who wanted to destroy him.” It was the first time at this World Cup that anyone in the camp has publicly raised the squad mutiny that has shaped Spain’s entire run, since most of it has been set aside in an uneasy truce. The description of “people with resentments” sounds like the most cavalier way to blow all this up, especially as the biggest game of all remains. While that “ferocious team spirit” should be more than enough to keep Spain together through the build-up, there is still the possibility for a huge fall-out if this team is defeated by England on Sunday. Rubiales’ words only add another edge to a situation that is already hugely complicated, both in terms of how it came to this and how everyone is dealing with it. It is not just about Vilda, although he is the most public face, visibly ignored by some players in victory but embraced by others. The 15 players who last year sent the email resigning from the national team – with the tacit support of Alexia Putellas, Jenni and Irene Paredes – had several complaints. Most focused on how oppressively disciplinarian Vilda’s managerial regime was but they were also unhappy about how outdated the entire international set-up seemed. Some of the arrangements, like travelling long distances on bus or not having staff in certain key roles, fell well below their club standards. They did not feel any of this gave them the best possible chance of fulfilling a generation of talent. Unsaid but undeniably perceived by so many around the situation is that some of the players do not think Vilda is a good enough manager. There is at least a fair argument to this, even as Rubiales protested he is “a world-class coach”. Many would certainly dispute that. That Vilda has such a strong relationship with Rubiales is just another complication. With the federation risking the chance of a generation, and some players realising the same, overtures were made. Hermoso and Paredes returned, opening a way back. The federation’s director of women’s soccer, Ana Alvarez, met with every single player individually over May and June. All complaints were heard. Only some players were accepted back, and that involved having to send an email declaring their willingness to be called up again. They were Ona Batlle, Mariona Caldentey and – above all – Aitana Bonmati, perhaps the best player in the world right now. Vilda decided to stick with the players involved in preparation for this World Cup, just as Rubiales decided to stick with him. It has resulted in a squad that is partly made up of rebels and replacements. Some have set aside grievances for the greater good. Others are grateful to Vilda for persisting with them. All have overlooked this for the time being, which was why Rubiales so abrasively addressing it before the final is such a risk. It has only complicated already conflicted feelings around this Spain team. A growing view at this World Cup and back home in Spain has been that most support the players but do not want the national team to win because that is a vindication for the federation and Vilda. It doesn’t help Rubiales that he is not a popular figure, commonly seen as one of the most divisive in Spanish sport. There is also some inevitable backlash against the players, since there is the constant threat of the issue getting subsumed into the usual culture wars, but this is where the general public parking of the mutiny has at least offered something like a positive. One figure with insight into the situation spoke of how there can be internal conflict for some players, too. They want to do the best for themselves, but know that every success makes the federation and the manager look good. For the moment, at least, it has been a more unusual example of the classic dynamic of adversity creating success. There has also been compromises and common ground. Vilda’s staff have softened some approaches. The federation has listened and acted on other concerns, such as the willingness to move camp when the players were bored out of their minds in Palmerstown North. Some of Vilda’s calls have worked, such as bringing teenage sensation Salma Paralluelo on as a substitute to break games. Others would say that’s just an obvious move. There is also a more obvious fact here. In a historic football shift that long preceded Rubiales, and greatly influenced the English Football Association, Spain were one of the first wealthy western European football cultures to implement the kind of coaching revolutions that has characterised the modern game. The country industrialised talent production, while going further than most similar federations in underpinning it with a defined football identity. While that has almost come back on itself in the men’s game, creating this self-repeating and now almost self-defeating cycle of the ball endlessly getting circulated, the more developmental stage of women’s football means it can be much more effective. Spain are one of the few teams at this World Cup with such an ingrained style, made in Barcelona, that goes much deeper than any coaching decision. The wider national coaching structure has meanwhile honed the natural talent of stars like Putellas and Bonmati, producing elite athletes that also have that resilience that has been so apparent at this World Cup. The likelihood is that this supersedes any of Vilda's decisions. The squad’s mentality has helped, which is why they didn’t buckle after the collapse against Japan during the group stage. In a strange way, that 4-0 defeat might even have served them, helping to solve further tactical issues. Bonmati even said at the time “this is going to unite us more than ever”. It could mean Spain become the only world champions in either men’s or women’s football to have also lost by more than three goals in the same competition, other than West Germany 1954. Japan 2011 are the only previous Women’s World Cup winners to have even lost a game, adding one other little twist. There is then one final layer. It was the frustration at a defeat to England in the Euro 2022 quarter-finals that brought all this to a head. It is now an even bigger game against England that might fully illustrate how they have adapted. A lot may remain unsaid after Sunday but, to use an old Spanish football saying, some of the truth will be on the pitch. Read More Gustaf Lagerbielke set for Celtic bow after Stephen Welsh sustains knock Theo Walcott shares career highlights as he announces retirement from football Ange Postecoglou insists Tottenham have to be ‘united on and off the field’ Gustaf Lagerbielke set for Celtic bow after Stephen Welsh sustains knock Theo Walcott shares career highlights as he announces retirement from football Ange Postecoglou insists Tottenham have to be ‘united on and off the field’

Chelsea Women manager Emma Hayes responds to question about taking the newly vacant United States job.

Fernando Alonso has revealed that not winning a Formula 1 title with Ferrari is one of his biggest regrets from his 20-year career. The Spaniard, racing in his 20th season in F1 this year with Aston Martin, burst onto the world stage after winning two titles in a row with Renault in 2005 and 2006, ending the championship win-streak of Michael Schumacher. After a famously fractured solo season with McLaren alongside then-rookie Lewis Hamilton in 2007, Alonso returned to Renault before moving to Ferrari in 2010. While at the Scuderia for five years, he finished runner-up in the championship three times and missed out in the final race of the 2010 and 2012 season to Sebastian Vettel – two moments he wishes he could have back. “Winning a championship with Ferrari – that would probably be the first thing I’d choose,” Alonso told the High Performance Podcast. “If I can go back in time to 2010, 2012, we were within a few laps to winning a championship and that could have changed a little bit the outcome of many things and the history behind a few things.” The 42-year-old added that he would enjoy the moment of his championship triumphs more, too, if he had his time again. “What I regret for sure and we touched [on this] before, was not enjoying more my time and my career,” he said. “You know that I’m at the end of it. There is a new life, you know in a few years’ time for me without driving and when I look back to my career, I will see a lot of good things and friendships and incredible experiences but, yeah, I should have enjoyed more. “I won the championship in Brazil, 2005 and 2006, and I hardly remember anything from those afternoons and nights, which is sad.” After a dire spell back with McLaren, Alonso took a two-year hiatus from F1 in 2019 before returning with Alpine in 2021. He shocked the paddock when he joined Aston Martin for 2023 but the move has paid off. With 10 races left, he is the best of the rest behind the Red Bull pairing of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, lying third in the standings and is one point ahead of rival Lewis Hamilton. Read More Felipe Massa starts legal action over 2008 F1 title loss to Lewis Hamilton F1 2023 mid-season awards: Best driver, worst race and biggest surprise Ferrari boss labels Red Bull’s cost cap penalty a ‘big joke’ Why have Massa’s lawyers started legal action to strip Hamilton of 2008 F1 title? Felipe Massa starts legal action over 2008 F1 title loss to Lewis Hamilton ‘Big joke’: Ferrari boss slams Red Bull’s cost cap penalty

Ange Postecoglou has pleaded with frustrated Tottenham fans to back their team as they plan a protest before Saturday's...

Dean Henderson may have to settle for a number of months as Man Utd's second choice goalkeeper with a move to Nottingham Forest looking unlikely.

Jurgen Klopp reacts to Moises Caicedo & Romeo Lavia choosing to join Chelsea over Liverpool.

Erik ten Hag confirms Man Utd are in talks over extending Jonny Evans' contract at Old Trafford.

Newcastle have agreed a deal to sign Chelsea's Lewis Hall on loan with an obligation to buy next summer.