List of All Articles with Tag 'b'

On recent ‘Today’ broadcast, special guest Jon Batiste surprised Al Roker as he served up a birthday cake and snacks to the hosts on live TV

Jake Paul said, 'You know, now that the company is making billions of dollars a year, and the fighters are only getting 15 percent of it'

England are counting down the hours until they play in their first Women’s World Cup final as Sarina Wiegman and her players prepare to face Spain for the title in Sydney on Sunday. It’s the first time the England men’s or women’s team have reached a football World Cup final since 1966, with the nation set to come to a halt as the Lionesses look to bring the game’s biggest prize back home. And manager Wiegman is well aware of the 57 years of hurt that the nation has endured and is backing her side to end that on Sunday morning. Wiegman will give a press conference this morning ahead of the final, after she confirmed she is happy as England manager and wants to see out the remainder of her contract, despite speculation linking the Lionesses boss to the United States, Meanwhile, Australia will look to finish their home World Cup on a high as they face Sweden in the third-place play-off in Brisbane. The Matildas were beaten by England in the semi-finals but will hope to sign off with a win after capturing the hearts of the nation during their record-breaking run. Follow all the build-up to England’s clash against Spain in the final, get all the latest Women’s World Cup odds here and find latest tips for the game itself here. Read More Sarina Wiegman: ‘Stop talking about the result — we know what we want’ Ella Toone or Lauren James? Sarina Wiegman has already made the biggest decision of England’s World Cup Sarina Wiegman commits future to England after USA speculation

Instead of the third most expensive footballer in history, Liverpool have unveiled the third most expensive midfielder they have signed this summer and the third they targeted in swift succession. A dizzying week that began with a British record bid for Moises Caicedo ended with Romeo Lavia joining the Ecuadorian at Stamford Bridge and the arrival of Wataru Endo at Anfield, almost £100m cheaper than one of the men who preferred Chelsea to Liverpool and seemingly out of the blue. This, Jurgen Klopp accepted, was not how many supporters hoped their search for a No 6 would go. “It is a transfer that is not in the public eye,” he said. “It’s not ‘Oh my God!’ and probably nobody at this moment is texting a new song for him.” That said, though, Klopp did get a text from an influential figure in German football, congratulating him on the signing of the former VfB Stuttgart captain. If Caicedo can be billed as the new N’Golo Kante, and not merely because of the Ecuadorian’s choice of club, Klopp looked into Liverpool’s recent past for a comparison for his latest buy. He settled on perhaps the most unglamorous figure of their recent glory years, James Milner. He urged fans to look beyond the bare facts about Endo – a 30-year-old relegation firefighter in the Bundesliga – and embrace an unlikely addition. “I know how football fans are, they would prefer to bring in a player who is £110m,” he said. Normally when a manager pleads that a player should not be judged on his price tag, it is because he is costly, not cheap. “But wait: he has something that Liverpool supporters will love, definitely,” added Klopp. “He is already used to red a little bit [from Stuttgart], so that’s good, and when he puts that shirt on he will throw everything on the pitch and the people will love that, I know that. We had this with James Milner a little bit. Obviously a slightly different profile but could you respect James Milner more for playing 15 minutes at the end and just closing a game down?” Milner, Klopp added, was “one of the biggest Liverpool legends of my time and arrived here he was 29”. The German came to Anfield a few months later and since then he had only signed one outfield player in their thirties: defender Ragnar Klavan in 2016, also from a bottom-half Bundesliga club. But if Klopp has to convince the Anfield public Endo is not too near the end, he also had to persuade his employers. “The way our owners see it he was already too old when he joined Stuttgart,” he said. “The owners really want 200 games at 20 years old. That is pretty difficult. I didn’t need any kind of convincing. I know that the best time for a football player is from 27 to 33 in a normal career.” If Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai conform to the usual model for Liverpool signings in the Fenway Sports Group era, Endo is an anomaly. His new manager’s view is that the Japan captain is a young 30. “When you see him, you think ‘is he allowed to drive a car?’” Klopp asked. Certainly, a four-year contract reflects Liverpool’s belief that, like Milner before him, Endo will retain his running power deep into his thirties. His age, he feels, is a reason his new recruit was overlooked; why he is the exception to FSG’s rule. “He is a late bloomer and he improved every year since he was on the proper football screen,” he said. Klopp has always savoured an underdog tale; for him, there is much to enjoy in the way Endo took a long and winding road to Liverpool, via Shonan Bellmare, Urawa Red Diamonds, Sint-Truiden and then Stuttgart. “I am really happy these kind of stories are still possible in this crazy world of football,” he said. “It feels just right.” And Liverpool definitely feels right for Endo. “A dream come true,” said a player for whom such a move would long have seemed utterly unrealistic. After Caicedo and Lavia showed rather less enthusiasm to sign, Klopp grinned as he stressed Liverpool finally reached an agreement with “the club and the player”. There can be no pretence Endo was Liverpool’s first choice but he sought to address the perception that desperation ruled. “He was on my list from the beginning,” he said. He had watched Endo since he joined Stuttgart in 2019. He moved for him after Liverpool had just 35 per cent possession against Chelsea – “crazy,” Klopp said – when, in the absence of a specialist defensive midfielder, Mac Allister had to impersonate one. But it was such a shock that even Endo pronounced himself surprised. He is the £15m man, not the £115m midfielder. “But in the end the pitch is the same size,” Klopp said. “The player will not grow with the money he costs, it’s rather the other way around.” But even Endo has grown into a Liverpool player late in his career, Klopp is hoping he has a Milner-esque impact for a price a fraction of Caicedo’s. Read More Wataru Endo: Liverpool strengthen midfield by signing Bundesliga ‘machine’ Moises Caicedo completes Chelsea’s dream midfield — but £115m deal could haunt them Chelsea and Liverpool serve up entertaining glimpse of football without defensive midfielders

Fernando Tatis Jr. with the bat flip of the year.

Parents may want to check their children's rooms for a recalled bed with hazards that could potentially kill, according to a product safety commission.

Chris Wood climbed off the bench to score an 89th-minute winner as Nottingham Forest got their Premier League season up and running with a 2-1 victory over Sheffield United. Forest looked like being held by the Blades after Taiwo Awoniyi’s third-minute opener was cancelled out by Gus Hamer’s delightful strike shortly after half-time. But after Steve Cooper’s men had laboured in the second half, Wood, whose loan move from Newcastle was made permanent in the summer, came up with the goods near the end when he headed home. It ensured Forest won their first points of the season after defeat at Arsenal last week while the Blades have lost their opening two games on their return to the top flight after two seasons away. The Blades may feel hard done by as, after overcoming a chastening first 30 minutes, they competed well and had chances to have gone in front when the score was 1-1. The City Ground was vital in earning Forest most of the points that led them to safety last season and their home form is going to be important again considering their first four away games are against the Gunners, Manchester United, Chelsea, and Manchester City. And they made a flying start by taking the lead inside the opening three minutes. Brennan Johnson teed up Serge Aurier on the right and the defender sent in a perfect cross for Awoniyi to power home a header from six yards. Forest were completely dominant and looked a constant threat in the opening half-hour. Awoniyi almost had another but Anel Ahmedhodzic intercepted at the far post, with the pace and power of the Nigeria striker causing the visiting defence problems. He thought he should have had a penalty when he burst through and went down after tangling with Ahmedhodzic, but referee Peter Bankes waved away protests. The Blades began to enjoy some encouraging moments towards the end of the first half as Vinicius Souza’s curling effort from 20 yards was saved by Matt Turner while other promising opportunities were ended by a poor last ball. They started the second half on the front foot and were level in the 48th minute as debutant Hamer introduced himself in style following his arrival last week. Forest could not clear a corner properly and it fell to the former Coventry man 20 yards out and he sent a delicious curling effort into the top corner to send the visiting fans wild. The Blades were rampant and almost took the lead when Souza hit a first-time effort just wide. Forest had to weather the storm but they still carried a threat on the break, with the pace of Awoniyi causing problems. He looked to have regained the lead in the 55th minute when he raced clear and dinked home, but the flag went up as he was well offside. That did at least turn the tide and it was the hosts that were looking more dangerous. But some schoolboy defending from Joe Worrall and Scott McKenna, who collided with each other, handed the Blades a great chance to go in front. Benie Traore raced through but Turner got down brilliantly to keep out a low effort. Forest got their reward late on when Wood, who had come on for Awoniyi, headed home another pinpoint Aurier cross from the right.

Social media company X, formerly known as Twitter, will remove a protective feature that lets users block other

Australia's basketball World Cup hopes suffered a setback Saturday with the Houston Rockets' Jock Landale ruled out with...

It is the kind of unlikely love story that would make the scriptwriters of Asia's biggest movie business proud. Despite thousands of miles between them, a romance has blossomed between Australia and Bollywood's movers and shakers.

Joe Rogan said, 'China has so much influence on America, it's crazy how different the playing field is between what we're allowed to do'

Nick Saban officially added the son of a former player on his first national championship team as Alabama's head coach.The Alabama Crimson Tide and head coach Nick Saban are preparing for the start of the 2023 season, which officially begins on Sept. 2 when they face Middle Tennessee. But t...