
Mideast crisis will test whether Biden can make experience an asset
The escalating confrontation between Israel and Hamas is offering President Joe Biden a crucial opportunity to begin flipping the script on one of his most glaring vulnerabilities in the 2024 presidential race.
2023-10-21 22:26

Voters in Lewiston are overcoming fear and sadness to do their civic duty after mass shooting
Shootings in which 18 people were killed are on the minds of voters heading to the polls in Lewiston, Maine, where the gunman opened fire less than two weeks ago
2023-11-08 04:28

Worst unrest in decades hits Dublin, police say
A night of torched vehicles and shop looting sparked in Dublin after a knife attack outside a school was of an "extraordinary" level unseen in...
2023-11-24 17:51

Renewed interest in sumo proves big pull for tourists
Their interest piqued during Covid lockdowns and by a new Netflix drama, a fresh rush of foreign tourists are flocking to Japan for a look...
2023-08-13 10:18

Steelers legend is big mad about Trevor Lawrence disrespecting Pittsburgh fan tradition
Bill Cowher cannot believe that Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence didn't see the importance in the Pittsburgh Steelers' Terrible Towel. Here is what they had to say about all that.
2023-10-27 22:48

Israel-Hamas war risks further deglobalization and inflation
The global economy is facing tremendous uncertainty from the war between Hamas and Israel in the Middle East, on top of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. Those conflicts don't just threaten the regions where they're unfolding; they may also fray the weakening interconnectedness that remains among the world's largest economies.
2023-10-15 20:17

Declan Rice shows what Arsenal have and what Chelsea don’t after creating £100m midfielder
A few years ago, Declan Rice said he would have passed. Now, however, the £105m man assumed responsibility, shot and, via a deflection off Jonny Evans, gave Arsenal a 96th-minute lead against Manchester United. As Gabriel Jesus scored an even later goal, it was not technically the winner. But Rice was the scorer of the de facto decider in the sort of match that can define seasons and establish reputations. Perhaps particularly for central midfielders, given that it is a fixture that evokes memories of Patrick Vieira against Roy Keane. Vieira scored the winning penalty in an FA Cup final shootout against United; Keane scored a disproportionate number of his United goals – five, almost 10 percent – against Arsenal. Rice’s first in Arsenal colours came at United’s expense. The most expensive Englishman ever can appear something of a throwback player: called a defensive midfielder, but often an all-rounder, in the way the Frenchman and the Irishman were. His post-match interview was conducted next to Keane who, like Graeme Souness, a similarly dominant and brilliant midfielder and another whose punditry could focus more on personalities than tactics, subscribes to the great man theory of history: as a footballing great himself, he tends to argue that matches are determined by the determination of individuals, by a willingness to seize the moment, by winning a personal battle. It suits him to argue games are won by warriors, not formations involving inverted full-backs or box midfielders. Football has grown more complex, the tactical intricacies of managers such as Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola reducing the significance of going mano a mano with the opposition’s alpha male. And yet, in the age of the £100m midfielder, perhaps Rice has a responsibility to be more than just another cog in the wheel, to be the match-winner at least sometimes. If it is simplistic to demand a tangible impact that always equates with his price tag for a player whose contribution stretches far beyond goals and assists, he is nevertheless charged with improving Arsenal. Turning one point into three and winning a game against rivals is a way of doing that. And if philosophies and systems seemed to have reduced the reliance on the individual, there is evidence in the midfields of Arteta and Guardiola that football can still come down to big players producing big deeds at big moments. Ilkay Gundogan spent the first half of his Manchester City career as a neat passer. In the second half, he was transformed into the man for the big occasion, the scorer supreme who could use his footballing intelligence to find space and his technique to finish. It was, in part, why he became captain; by the time of his FA Cup final brace, he felt more Roy of the Rovers than Sergio Busquets. As the defensive midfielder, Rodri’s primary responsibilities were to engineer perpetual possession and to cut off counter-attacks. Yet as the Spaniard grew in stature, he has tended to deliver crucial contributions: most obviously the Champions League final winner and most recently the superb late decider at Sheffield United but a pre-Rice Arsenal can probably still remember and regret his injury-time winner at the Emirates Stadium on New Year’s Day in 2022: if the sense is that managers like Guardiola and Arteta want their midfielders to be elegantly robotic, executing a strategy with practised excellence, the importance of individual interventions is still apparent. Rice need only gaze across the Arsenal midfield to see. Martin Odegaard joined with certain similarities to Gundogan: obviously an assured passer, he has turned himself into an accomplished scorer as well as a regular skipper. The Norwegian’s two goals this season, a nerveless penalty at Crystal Palace and a swift equaliser against United, were signs of his substance, of a capacity to deliver when it matters. That Rice did likewise feels auspicious. He has cost the sort of sum that used to be reserved for attackers. Chelsea created the £100m midfielder and now have two of them, a £222m double act. That can seem the product of a shift in thinking, recognising the significance of dictating a game. But there is still the need to decide it. Enzo Fernandez has shown his incisive passing as he has become increasingly creative: that he only has two assists in their colours is in part a reflection of others’ poor finishing. But the Argentinian has a lone goal himself, and that was against AFC Wimbledon of League Two, while he missed a penalty at West Ham. Moises Caicedo’s Chelsea career has only spanned 205 minutes on the pitch and, while Fernandez has been used as a No 10 of late, the Ecuadorian’s deeper role means he is likely to score fewer goals than the World Cup winner or Rice. Nevertheless, at such a colossal cost, each was bought to make a difference. And when, deep into added time, it seemed Arsenal would drop two points, Rice did. Read More Arrest after Roy Keane allegedly headbutted at Emirates Stadium Arsenal forward Gabriel Jesus hopes he has seen the last of knee niggles Declan Rice rises to the moment as Arsenal avoid disastrous slip-up
2023-09-05 20:50

Kerry Carpenter's 3-run homer off rookie Tanner Bibee helps Tigers tame Guardians 4-3
Kerry Carpenter hit a three-run homer and Javier Báez had a solo shot as Detroit handed Cleveland rookie Tanner Bibee his first loss in more than two months as the Tigers edged the Guardians 4-3
2023-08-20 10:22

England 'heartbroken' by World Cup final defeat, says captain Bright
England captain Millie Bright said the Lionesses were left heartbroken by a 1-0 defeat to Spain in the Women's World Cup final on Sunday despite not...
2023-08-20 20:47

Ruby Franke – live: TikTokers crash virtual court hearing before YouTube influencer held in jail without bond
YouTube parenting influncer Ruby Franke and her business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt, were supposed to appear in court in St George, Utah on Friday afternoon over child abuse charges, but the proceeding was delayed as tech issues plagued the virtual hearing. Both women were ordered to be held without bail; their bond hearings are slated for 21 September. Ms Franke has reportedly been relocated to the medical unit of the jail, but the reasons for her move are unclear. Over 1,000 people tuned into the hearing and after a cacophony of bizarre noises and pleas to be quiet, the court shut down public access. It transpired later the Zoom link had been shared on TikTok. The pair were arrested on 30 August after Ms Franke’s 12-year-old son climbed out of a window and pleaded for neighbors to give him food and water, court documents showed. After a neighbor noticed that duct tape covering the boy’s ankles and wrists, prompting the neighbor to notify law enforcement. In a chilling 911 call, the neighbor can be heard describing the boy: “He is emaciated. He’s got tape around his legs. He’s hungry and he’s thirsty.” Read More Ruby Franke virtual court hearing on child abuse charges is derailed by tech issues as over 1,000 people join Chilling 911 call that led to Ruby Franke’s arrest revealed Who is Ruby Franke? Everything we know about the family vlogger’s rise to fame before child abuse charges Influencer Ruby Franke is formally charged with felony child abuse
2023-09-09 20:50

Panama's ex-President Martinelli sentenced to more than 10 years in prison
By Elida Moreno PANAMA CITY A Panamanian court sentenced former President Ricardo Martinelli to more than 10 years
2023-07-19 00:23

NBA Draft rumors: Damian Lillard trade package, Scoot Henderson falling, a surprise promise
NBA Draft rumors: Potential Damian Lillard trade to MagicThe Portland Trail Blazers are widely expected to build around Damian Lillard this summer, but life can change in an instant in the NBA. Lillard is 32 years old; Portland's other core pieces, Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe, are 23 a...
2023-06-04 02:47
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