List of All Articles with Tag 'sport'

Texas Tech quarterback Tyler Shough hopes to finally play in every game for the Red Raiders

Pep Guardiola insists he has no doubts over the quality of Cole Palmer as he looks for ways to cover for the absence of Kevin De Bruyne, who could be out for up to five months with a hamstring injury. De Bruyne is due to go under the knife in his native Belgium after pulling up early in City’s Premier League opener at Burnley last Friday, and City had to do without their talisman in Wednesday’s UEFA Super Cup final against Sevilla, prevailing in a penalty shootout. Palmer started on the right wing in Athens and scored City’s equaliser just after the hour mark, following up his fine strike against Arsenal in the Community Shield, but that has not stopped speculation linking the 21-year-old academy product with a move away. As Guardiola revealed fears that De Bruyne may not return to full fitness until February, he said Palmer and others will need to provide the answers. “It’s not necessary to ask how good he is,” Guardiola said of Palmer. “You don’t need two goals in two finals to define how good he is. “Cole in the previous season arrived in an extraordinary moment, he defined the game in the FA Cup and then had injuries. He couldn’t be there. “Playing at City is not easy with Riyad (Mahrez, now departed), Bernardo (Silva) and a lot of players. “Last season our players in midfield were KDB, who will be four or five months out, (Ilkay Gundogan) who isn’t here, we have to adjust a few things. We’re not at our best, or our top, it’s normal and we adjust a few things but the spirit is there.” John Stones has been added to the injury list for Saturday’s match at home to Newcastle after sustaining a muscular injury in training, while Bernardo remains out through illness, but Guardiola expressed optimism that Ruben Dias could return after missing the Super Cup final. Following a late night in Athens on Wednesday and the journey home, Guardiola said his players would not train on Friday but instead focus on recovery with massage and sessions in the pool. “Of course we are ready,” Guardiola said. “We need these types of challenges. Everyone wants to beat us and we have difficulties for many reasons, many important injuries, the calendar. “It’s a challenge again, to see if we can make a step forward. If you want to win you need that. In football there are always problems, it’s how you overcome that defines if you’re a good team or not Pep Guardiola “In football there are always problems, it’s how you overcome that defines if you’re a good team or not… “We went to bed at 4am, arrived here late, today we cannot train – everyone in the pool, massage – we don’t have time. “We’d love one more day. We accept that this is the challenge. It’s why we won: we overcome these kind of positions. We always had less time to recover.” Guardiola has his eyes on winning the Club World Cup in December to “take all the titles” after last season’s treble and the Super Cup win, and said recent successes can inspire his players as they deal with the challenges in front of them. “The spirit is there,” he said. “I know how happy they are. Every day we arrive and see the four trophies in front of us. Wow, how nice is that? How difficult is that? We love it.” On Friday evening, De Bruyne posted a short message on social media following his surgery with a picture of him on crutches. “The news after the Burnley game was a really big blow for me physically and mentally,” the Belgian said. “Now the surgery is done I’m ready to heal my body and get back to work soon. Thank you all for the support.”

Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola says the team will be getting "a really good player” in United States captain Tyler Adams if the midfielder completes his move to the Premier League club

Baylor coach Dave Aranda is now embracing the transfer portal

Manchester United are one of the most successful clubs in world football, but its history hasn’t always been without controversy. The club is currently facing criticism over the pending decision on Mason Greenwood’s future. It was recently reported that the club are on the verge of announcing their decision over the 21-year-old forward. Greenwood was arrested in January 2022 and was later charged with attempted rape, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and controlling and coercive behaviour. The charges were dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service in February when new evidence emerged and key witnesses withdrew from the process. United opened their own internal investigation, which is now coming to a conclusion, with the club expected to confirm that Greenwood will be reintegrated into the team, having not played since his arrest. The situation ranks among the biggest controversial moments in the club’s history, which includes player incidents and manager bust-ups. Email with a 'swastika-style' logo Back in 2013, the club apologised after sending a newsletter out to fans which featured a 'swastika-style' logo with the title “New Order”. Manchester United said any offence caused was "entirely unintended" after similarities between the logo which spelled out the letters “MUFC” and the Nazi symbol. The statement emailed to fans said: "In this week's United Uncovered email newsletter, a graphic spelling the letters MUFC ran alongside a feature about Manchester United's younger squad members entitled New Order. "While the headline was intended to reference the band of the same name, it has been pointed out that the graphic had design similarities to a swastika which, combined with other connotations of the phrase 'new order', has caused offence which was entirely unintended. "For this, United Uncovered unreservedly apologises." The club's then head of media David Sternberg tweeted at the time: "The creative is completely inappropriate; we apologise unreservedly and are taking appropriate internal action." Eric Cantona kicking a fan It’s one of the most famous moments in 90s football, and arguably the most contentious moment in Manchester United history on the pitch. Eric Cantona had been sent off against Crystal Palace in 1995 when he lashed out at a rival fan and unleashed a kung-fu style kick with both feet aimed at the man’s chest. He was dragged away by stewards, and he was later handed a two-week prison sentence which was reduced to 120 hours of community service. He claimed he had heard racial abuse being shouted from the fan. Cantona was also fined £20,000, banned from football for nine months and stripped of the France captaincy, and it marked one of the most violent moments in Premier League history. David Beckham’s boot to the head There was a pretty obvious moment where David Beckham and Alex Ferguson’s relationship broke down – when the legendary manager unintentionally kicked a boot right at the midfielder’s head. The incident took place in 2003 during Beckham’s last season at Old Trafford before moving to Real Madrid, after United lost 2-0 to Arsenal in the FA Cup. Beckham ended up with stitches just above his left eye, but what actually took place is a point of contention. Beckham himself describes the moment as a “freak accident”, saying: "That was blown up out of all proportion. I’d made a couple of mistakes during the game and he came into the dressing room and a few harsh words were exchanged. "He started to walk over to me and he kicked out at a pile of clothes on the floor. Out came this boot and then I quickly realised how accurate his kick had been as it struck me on the head, but there weren’t any hard feelings.” However, Ferguson had a very different take on things. Writing in his autobiography, he said: "In his final season with us, we were aware that David's work rate was dropping and we had heard rumours of a flirtation between Real Madrid and David's camp. "The main issue was that his application level had dropped from its traditionally stratospheric level. "He was around 12 feet from me. Between us on the floor lay a row of boots. David swore. I moved towards him, and as I approached I kicked a boot. It hit him right above the eye. "Of course he rose to have a go at me and the players stopped him. 'Sit down,' I said. 'You've let your team down. You can argue as much as you like'. "The next day the story was in the press. In public an Alice band highlighted the damage inflicted by the boot. It was in those days that I told the board David had to go. "My message would have been familiar to board members who knew me. The minute a Manchester United player thought he was bigger than the manager, he had to go." Roy Keane’s horror tackle on Haaland Roy Keane Ends Håland's Career In Manchester Derby www.youtube.com Another violent moment on the pitch came in 2001, when Roy Keane lunged into a horror tackle against Alfie Haaland in the Manchester derby. There had been contention between the pair ever since an incident in 1997, when Keane went down injured during a game against Leeds, who Haaland was playing for at the time. Haaland, who is the father of Erling Haaland, stood over Keane and accused him of feigning injury. In fact, Keane had ruptured his cruciate ligament and was out for the remainder of the season. Four years later, with Haaland now playing for City, Keane raked his studs down Haaland’s leg. The horror tackle resulted in an injury to Haaland’s knee. The Norwegian was later forced to retire at the age of just 30 after playing only 48 minutes of football as a result ofthe incident. At the time, Keane received a three-match ban and a fine of £5,000. However, he was given another five-game ban and a £150,000 fine after he published inflammatory comments in his autobiography about the contentious moment. He wrote: "I'd waited long enough. "I f***ing hit him hard. The ball was there (I think). Take that you c***." Sign up for 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.

Expectations for Iowa State already were low before the eligibility of quarterback Hunter Dekkers and four other starters was put into question with state criminal charges filed against them for their alleged involvement in sports wagering

The Detroit Lions’ search for help at wide receiver continues

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson returns to Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday for his home debut

The 2023/24 Premier League season is under way and you can follow every game and every goal right here with The Independent. This year sees Manchester City try to defend their crown and claim a historic fourth title in succession. Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering City, who also won the Champions League and FA Cup last season, will have to see off Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and the rest to claim an unprecedented sixth league title in seven years. Meanwhile Luton Town are making their first appearance in the Premier League, having risen from non-league in an incredible decade of progress. They followed Championship winners Burnley and second-placed Sheffield United in earning promotion to the top flight. Follow the latest action from the Premier League below.

Union Berlin is looking to a fresh-faced kid from Medford, New Jersey, for experience as it embarks on its first-ever Champions League season

A top global chess official is calling for more research into whether factors like hormone levels and physical endurance might have an impact on players’ abilities at the game, which remains overwhelmingly a preserve of men

Farewell, then, Neymar. He is only 31, but his choice to leave Paris Saint-Germain and join Saudi “giants” (his word) Al-Hilal – eight months after what was likely his last shot at winning the World Cup – feels like the beginning of the end for Neymar at the top of the game. It has, for the most part, been a joy. “He makes football a pleasure,” once said Pep Guardiola. Neymar would choose to dribble into a maze of defenders rather than play a simple pass, but invariably he would come out with the ball at his feet. His highlights reel is full of jinking runs and cheeky nutmegs, most of which lead to little, and often his skills seem pointless, like controlling a high ball wth a Cruyff-turn. But then what is pleasure if not acting without necessity, just for the fun of it? He has won almost everything – multiple league and cup titles, the Champions League, the Club World Cup and the Olympic Games – and yet looks set to end his career without the World Cup his nation expected or the Ballon d’Or his talent merited (he twice finished third). It would be easy to conclude that Neymar lacked application, particularly at PSG. His appearance record – never playing more than 22 games in a single season for the club – hints at a deeper malaise beyond the recurring injuries that dogged his time in Paris. PSG fans grew weary of Neymar, while his support for Brazilian far-right president Jair Bolsonaro made him even easier to dislike. But no one can ever say he didn’t care about football. Neymar wept in the dressing room before his final game for Santos. He wept when PSG lost the 2020 Champions League final to Bayern Munich in Lisbon. He wept on Lionel Messi’s shoulder after losing the 2021 Copa America final to Argentina. He wept when Croatia came back to win on penalties in Qatar. Expectation was the constant background noise to Neymar’s career, and the pain of defeat was visceral. His decade in Europe was played mostly in his friend Messi’s shadow. The only player on the planet better than Neymar in every facet of the game was on the pitch for most of his 359 matches for Barcelona and PSG. It must have been frustrating at times that his greatest accomplice was also a source of shade, even if they formed one of the greatest teams of all time – Barcelona’s treble-winning 2014-15 side – with that fantasy front three with Luis Suarez. They played with joy, and Neymar was the epitome of that. Like his club career, Neymar’s international legacy is framed by Messi. The 2021 Copa America final between Argentina and Brazil was billed as a fight between the countries’ two talismen, each with a chance to finally unload the burden they had carried for so long. Neither played particularly well that night in the Maracana, but it was Messi who celebrated and Neymar who needed consoling. Qatar 2022 was Neymar’s best chance to win the World Cup. He had sat in the stands injured watching Brazil lose 7-1 to Germany in the Maracana in 2014; he was powerless to stop a brilliant Belgium win in the quarter-finals at Russia in 2018. But Brazil arrived in Qatar as the pre-tournament favourites, ready to finally deliver on his destiny. So when he scored that mesmerising goal against Croatia in extra time of the quarter-final, weaving through an entire defence from a standing start to finally break the deadlock, if felt like that would be the goal to define his career, the one shown on repeat when future generations looked back at Brazil’s 2022 World Cup triumph. Instead Croatia came back and it was Messi’s goal a few days later that provided the tournament’s iconic moment, and Messi’s destiny which was fulfilled. That felt like Neymar’s last shot at the Ballon d’Or, which usually requires a Champions League or World Cup to convince its audience. And perhaps his move to Saudi is a tacit submission of sorts, a white flag in his long battle to transcend the Messi effect. The Independent has reported how Neymar tried to force a move to a Champions League club this summer, but couldn’t find a suitor. The footballing world stopped believing he could transform the most important games and the offers dried up. Instead he has accepted eye-watering paycheque along with his personal demands for three supercars, a 25-bedroom mansion, a very specifically sized swimming pool and a fridge permanently full of acai juice – the man loves his acai. And there is something ironic in Neymar leaving behind the giant profiles of Messi and Kylian Mbappe only to join Al-Hilal, a team with Cristiano Ronaldo. Perhaps he will be back in Europe before long. Perhaps the 2026 World Cup is still a realistic target – one last shot at winning the trophy he most craves, because really what can anyone possibly say once you’ve won that? But more realistic is that his move to Saudi Arabia erodes his already blunt edges, that other players overtake him in Brazil’s pecking order, that the European game moves on. His most famous goal remains one he scored aged 19 for Santos, which came after a dribble of unfathomable balance and control that requires rewinding like a magic trick. And perhaps, looking back, he could never have met the expectations he unknowingly set in that moment. Perhaps he did everything he possibly could have in the era of Messi. Read More Watch as PSG manager Luis Enrique holds press conference after Neymar departure Neymar departs PSG to become latest star signing for Saudi Pro League side Shots fired from Australia batter David Warner – Tuesday’s sporting social Neymar agrees Saudi move after only one European club showed interest Football rumours: Manchester United weighing up approach for Amadou Onana Kylian Mbappe set to return to PSG squad after ‘positive discussions’ – reports