List of All Articles with Tag 'eppersons'

Israel's Foreign Ministry says the Israeli and Libyan foreign ministers met secretly in Italy last week

Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman took his record-breaking show to Ireland

Assistant boss Juanma Lillo admitted he did not enjoy standing in for Pep Guardiola after Manchester City’s hard-fought 2-1 win at Sheffield United. Guardiola watched his side extend their 100 per cent start to go top of the Premier League from Barcelona, where he is recovering from back surgery. City turned in a dominant display at a sold-out Bramall Lane, but went close to letting two points slip when Blades substitute Jayden Bogle fired an 85th-minute equaliser. Bogle cancelled out Erling Haaland’s second-half header – the Norway striker had missed a penalty before the break – only for Rodri to rescue City by smashing home an 88th-minute winner. When asked if he enjoyed taking charge in Guardiola’s absence, Lillo said: “Not at all. I much prefer being with Pep. Especially when it’s a question of health, I don’t enjoy this at all. We miss his presence now more than ever. “I haven’t spoken to him after the match. During the match I spoke to him at some moments, but generally he was speaking to the other members of the technical staff. But he’s been totally present today.” City dominated possession throughout and were rarely troubled by the Blades, who produced a resolute and disciplined defensive display. Haaland steered his 37th-minute penalty on to a post after Blades skipper John Egan had handled, but made amends by heading his side in front in the 63rd minute. “Generally I thought we played really well today,” said Lillo, who confirmed Phil Foden had started on the bench due to an upset stomach. “It was a lot closer to what we wanted. “From the second half I thought we really found our rhythm and we were able to win the ball back a lot quicker. “We were able to find the new spaces created from winning the ball back quicker and we could have scored more before the first goal went in.” Blades boss Paul Heckingbottom feels his side, back in the top flight after a two-year absence, are also improving despite losing their first three matches. Heckingbottom said: “I’m pleased with the performance. You need a perfect performance to beat them because that wasn’t a below-par City. “We got punished for two things we should do better. The sickener for me is the nature of how Rodri has lashed it in. “It just comes after Phil (Foden) has mis-controlled the ball and just drops into his path. “It’s a kick in the teeth after all the good play they had had and they way we had dealt with it. We’ve lost a point, but we’ll focus on the performance I think. “Game on game we’ve got better and we certainly believe we’re going to have enough.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Novak Djokovic says Carlos Alcaraz pushes him ‘to the limit’ ahead of US Open Unai Emery praises ‘versatile’ Matty Cash after brace in Villa win at Burnley England confirm Jonny May as Anthony Watson’s replacement in World Cup squad

Looking to bolster their backfield depth behind star Nick Chubb, the Cleveland Browns acquired running back Pierre Strong Jr. in a trade with New England

Eight months after Stephen "tWitch" Boss, beloved DJ for the "Ellen DeGeneres Show" and TV personality who rose to fame on "So You Think You Can Dance," tragically died, his wife and fellow dance cohort Allison Holker has returned to the dance floor.

With Dak Prescott calling the offense for the final preseason game, Will Grier lit it up for the Dallas Cowboys, making Mike McCarthy more expendable than ever.

Unai Emery praised the versatility of Matty Cash after the Poland international’s first Aston Villa goals in over a year helped them to a 3-1 win at Burnley. There was speculation Cash could be on his way out of Villa Park this summer, but the 26-year-old showed what an asset he can be with two goals in the opening 20 minutes of his 100th Villa appearance, twice threatening to make it a hat-trick. Cash replaced Leon Bailey on the right wing in the only unenforced change to the Villa side that beat Hibernian 5-0 in the Europa Conference League play-off in midweek – Robin Olsen replaced the injured Emi Martinez in goal – and caught the eye with an energetic display. “He’s versatile, he played before as a winger, he’s playing with us in a back four sometimes, sometimes lower, but we used him in pre-season playing higher, as a winger,” Emery said. “He helped us a lot today defensively and offensively and then he used the moment to remember when he played more at Nottingham Forest as a winger. His two goals were a good example for us but we know he can be versatile.” That versatility can be key for Villa at a time when injuries are limiting Emery’s options. The Spaniard named only eight players, two of them goalkeepers, on the bench, and admitted Villa could be active again before the transfer window closes. “There are still four days to finish the transfer window and we have to be ready,” Emery said. “We have to be ready in case someone is leaving, in case we have a good opportunity to add another player with us. “Always in my teams I was working and I am ready at the end if someone can come with us or someone can leave.” Villa’s biggest move in the market so far has been the signing of Moussa Diaby from Bayer Leverkusen for a reported £51million. The France forward combined with Cash to create Villa’s second of the afternoon before his 61st-minute strike, his second Villa goal, settled it after Lyle Foster got Burnley back into the match. Learning comes at a price in the Premier League Vincent Kompany “His adaptation is going fast but he needs this adaptation each match for him to know better his team mates and then where in our structure is his best position,” Emery said. “He is a player who is versatile as well. “It’s very important for him and for the team, his capacity to assist, to score goals.” Defeat leaves Burnley without a point after their opening two Premier League matches, both home defeats after the 3-0 loss to Manchester City a fortnight ago. “Learning comes at a price in the Premier League,” manager Vincent Kompany said. “I didn’t think we started the game badly, we had moments, we just didn’t manage to get a real grip on the game and there was always the threat of Aston Villa counters. “In the second half we built momentum, the goal helped us for that definitely, and just at the peak of that momentum we conceded the goal and that was a little bit the story of the game.” Kompany handed a debut to Hannes Delcroix, meaning six of the starting XI were new signings this summer. The manager admitted there will be a bedding-in period. “It’s a conscious choice,” he said. “You look at the bottom of the league and you find every flavour – teams that are settled and have not changed and teams that have changed. “For us, we want to move forward. I’ve seen enough in our team to know that we make a game out of games. Every game there is something for us, and if that continues I believe we’ll have enough results.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live England confirm Jonny May as Anthony Watson’s replacement in World Cup squad Danni Wyatt stars as Southern Brave beat Northern Superchargers in Hundred final Cian Healy left out of Ireland’s 33-man Rugby World Cup squad due to injury

Veteran prop Cian Healy has been left out of Ireland’s 33-man squad for the Rugby World Cup in France because of injury

After the Packers preseason finale, these three players locked up a spot on the 53-man roster, but one player stayed on the wrong side of the cut line.

Runaway Formula One leader Max Verstappen has won a rain-marred Dutch Grand Prix to equal Sebastian Vettel’s F1 record with a ninth straight win

Max Verstappen navigated his way through a chaotic and dramatic rain-hit Dutch Grand Prix to equal Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine victories in a row. Pole-sitter Verstappen found himself down in 13th place after seven drivers – including Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez – took advantage of a sudden first-lap downpour to move on to wet tyres. The Dutchman regained the lead on lap 13 of 72 only for the race to be red-flagged with just eight laps to run after Zhou Guanyu crashed out following a second heavy shower. A 43-minute suspension followed as the tyre barrier at the opening corner was repaired. But Verstappen beat Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in a six-lap dash to the chequered flag to match Vettel’s streak, set in 2013. Perez finished third but was demoted a place after he was hit with a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane, allowing Pierre Gasly to take the final spot on the podium. Carlos Sainz finished fifth, holding off Lewis Hamilton, with Lando Norris seventh. George Russell was forced to retire his Mercedes following a late duel with Norris. Verstappen, whose Red Bull team remain unbeaten this season, extended his championship lead from 125 points to 138 ahead of next weekend’s Italian Grand Prix in Monza. Dark clouds gathered in the minutes ahead of Sunday’s round in Zandvoort, 30 miles outside of Amsterdam, and just a handful of corners into the start, the heavens opened. While Verstappen and the leading pack tiptoed their way round the 2.65-mile circuit, Perez – who started in seventh – was called in by his quick-thinking Red Bull team for the intermediate tyres. With the rain still falling, Verstappen sensibly stopped the next time round but McLaren’s Lando Norris and the Mercedes of Russell stayed out on the slick rubber despite the worsening conditions. Hamilton, who started 13th, was also sent round for another lap despite the seven-time world champion’s obvious concerns. “We should have come in, man,” he said over the radio. “It is very wet.” “Copy, Lewis,” said his race engineer Peter Bonnington. “We’re going to stay out. We’re going to have to brave this.” But at the end of the third lap, Hamilton was in for wet tyres. He rejoined the track in last place. Russell was still sliding around on slicks before he was changed on to the wet rubber at the end of lap four. When the dust settled, Hamilton and Russell occupied 16th and 18th places. “I was forecast a podium,” said Russell on the radio. “F***, how did we mess this up?” By now the rain had relented and dry line was already starting to emerge, and, despite his early handicap, the all-conquering Verstappen was, predictably, on the march. On lap six he raced past Gasly for third before moving up to second a lap later as he blasted ahead of Zhou. Perez was seven seconds up the road. Verstappen was taking chunks out of Perez – on one lap as many as four seconds – before he reverted to slicks on lap 11. Perez stopped the next time round but emerged three seconds behind the flying Dutchman, who was now back in the lead, and back in control. On lap 15, Logan Sargeant was back in the wall a day after crashing out in qualifying. The American was unharmed but the safety car was deployed to retrieve his machine. Mercedes called Russell in for his third stop of the afternoon, putting him on the hardest, durable tyre in the hope it would see him through to the end of the race. With Sargeant’s wounded Williams out of the way, the race resumed on lap 21. Verstappen controlled the restart to leave team-mate Perez trailing. Verstappen raced off into the distance with Hamilton and Russell beginning their fightback through the pack. The Mercedes men were back in the top 10 but with only a dozen laps remaining, the rain returned with vengeance. The drivers were back in the pits for intermediate tyres before Perez spun his Red Bull at the opening corner and lost second to Alonso. As the downpour intensified, Alfa Romeo’s Zhou aquaplaned at the first corner and thudded into the tyre wall. Hamilton also ran off at the opening bend but managed to keep his Mercedes out of the barriers and rejoined the track. Race director Niels Wittich red-flagged the race. After a lengthy suspension the event was back under way at 5.14pm local time with two laps behind the safety car and a rolling start. Alonso sensed his first win in a decade but despite the tricky conditions, Verstappen kept Alonso behind, crossing the line 3.7 seconds clear of the Spaniard. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Max Verstappen reveals Sebastian Vettel prediction as he closes on GP record run Max Verstappen is one of the best drivers in F1 history – Lando Norris Daniel Ricciardo ruled out of Dutch Grand Prix after breaking wrist in practice

Max Verstappen equalled Formula One’s all-time record of nine consecutive race wins in his home Dutch Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver matched Sebastian Vettel’s achievement and here, the PA news agency looks at how he compares. Cloud nine Verstappen has won 11 of this season’s 13 races – with team-mate Sergio Perez taking the other two as the duo surpassed the great McLaren pairing of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost’s run of 11 straight wins in 1988. Since Perez’s win in Azerbaijan on April 30, Verstappen has won the Miami, Monaco, Spanish, Canadian, Austrian, British, Hungarian, Belgian and now Dutch Grands Prix. He won from ninth on the grid in Florida, passing Perez with nine laps to go, and his team judged the rain correctly to hold off Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in Monaco. Dominant wins in Spain and Canada brought him level with Senna’s career tally of 41 race wins, which he quickly overhauled in Austria. Victory at Silverstone took him 99 points clear in the drivers’ standings and he shot past pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton on the run to the first corner in Hungary before clinching Red Bull the record for consecutive team wins. His attention could then turn to the individual landmark and after surging through from sixth on the grid at Spa, he returned from the summer break to beat Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in a six-lap dash to the chequered flag to match Vettel’s streak, set in 2013. History repeats for Red Bull Vettel set the record – also driving for Red Bull, for whom Adrian Newey has been in post as chief technical officer on both occasions – when he won the final nine races of 2013 to surge clear of Alonso and win the title. His run began in Belgium, where he overtook Hamilton early on and was untroubled thereafter, before dominant wins in Italy, Singapore and Korea and a strategic success in Japan. The German clinched the title in India and added further wins in Abu Dhabi and the United States before a season-ending success in Brazil made it nine in a row and 13 for the season. Alberto Ascari has a claim to a share of the record, having won the last six races of the 1952 season and his first three starts of 1953. The run was interrupted by Ascari not entering the Indianapolis 500, which at the time was part of the drivers’ championship and was won by American Bill Vukovich. Michael Schumacher won seven in a row in 2004, as did Nico Rosberg at the end of 2015 and the start of his 2016 title-winning season. Schumacher also had a run of six across the 2000 and 2001 seasons while Hamilton’s longest run is five wins, as was Verstappen’s before his current streak. Verstappen is on track to be the first driver ever to win over 80 per cent of races in a season – beating Ascari’s 75 per cent in 1952, when there were only eight races in total – while he has won almost 94 per cent of the maximum points available with 339 of a possible 362 so far. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Max Verstappen reveals Sebastian Vettel prediction as he closes on GP record run Max Verstappen is one of the best drivers in F1 history – Lando Norris Daniel Ricciardo ruled out of Dutch Grand Prix after breaking wrist in practice