List of All Articles with Tag 'sp'

Novak Djokovic has made clear he did not love some of the negative reaction he heard from spectators during his third-round victory at the French Open

Churchill Downs will suspend racing on Wednesday and move the remainder of its spring meet to Ellis Park to conduct a “top-to-bottom” review of safety and surface protocols in the wake of 12 horse fatalities the past month at the home of the Kentucky Derby

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora says left-hander Chris Sale will miss his next start and may have to go onto the injured list with a sore shoulder

Rafael Nadal is having arthroscopic surgery for the injured left hip flexor that forced him to sit out the French Open

Running up and down a basketball court in the thin air of Denver takes some getting used to

The Soccer Tournament has made headlines around the world after Wrexham beat US Women 12-0 in the competition. In case you missed it, the Soccer Tournament is a new seven-a-side event that features a host of famous former players and sees 32 teams compete for a $1 million prize. It also features both male and female players, and the most eye-catching result so far saw the US Women team suffer a heavy defeat at the hands of Welsh side Wrexham. However, people have been posting the score without any context, and it’s led some social media users to infer that the US Women’s first team were the ones who got resoundingly beaten. This isn’t the case. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter In reality, it was a representative side made up of mostly retired internationals who took on a team including former Wrexham and Swansea player Lee Trundle, who led the Welsh side and bagged four goals. The US Women representative side are now out of the competition and can’t make it into the knockout stage. The result has attracted attention online, with clips from the game being shared on social media and people – either willingly, or not – misrepresenting the full context of the result. Speaking after the game, the US women’s side captain and World Cup winner Heather O'Reilly explained how happy she was to have been involved in the competition. “We're super proud, so happy to be here at this event,” O’Reilly said at half time. “Hopefully we've proven to anybody, just go for it, just live. “What's the worst thing that could happen? We could lose 16-0 to Wrexham? We don't care. We're living, we're being bold, we're being brave.” 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.

World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka did not participate in a customary post-match press conference after her third-round win at the French Open on Friday, saying she didn't feel safe when participating in a press conference held earlier this week.

Warnings about the potential dangers of gambling could soon join education about drugs and alcohol in the nation's classrooms

Manchester United were pointless and headed for humiliation. As Brentford scored four goals in a half – and the first half at that – and Erik ten Hag’s reign began amid farce, a footballer who had starred in four Champions League final victories reached for his phone. United’s most high-profile transfer target texted his agent. But not to back out of a deal. The message, instead, was to tell United he would “fix” it. It was a sign of Casemiro’s confidence. If that self-assurance is a product of a career of rare success – the Carabao Cup took his trophy count to 21 – many another would have been deterred by the impression United were in crisis. They might have stayed at Real Madrid. Not him. “No second thoughts at all,” he recalled. “But to be honest I did say that. I was speaking to my agent, and with John [Murtough, United’s director of football] too about this afterwards. I’d said this after it had happened because I was also very excited and I was aware that my period at Real Madrid had come to an end and I was really upbeat about coming here and taking on this new project, this new challenge. It was clear in my mind.” Eight months later, it is tempting to contemplate an alternative reality where, after missing out on Frenkie de Jong last summer, Casemiro was put off by the shambolic display at Brentford, where instead of being a £63 million method of transforming a team, there was still a void at the heart of the midfield. “I knew that it wouldn’t be an easy challenge because it was a tough defeat to take but I think the excitement of coming here and making a change,” he reflected. Which he did: Casemiro provided a boost to United’s self-esteem even before he played, his unveiling at half-time of the win over Liverpool a sign of the club’s status. United only lost three of the first 32 games he started. He scored and was player of the match in the Carabao Cup final. United took 75 points from the 36 league matches after he joined and finished third. “We knew that it was a project in which you wouldn’t start winning things overnight,” he said, but they could complete a cup double at Wembley on Saturday. It appears as though he has fixed it. “It’s impossible for a single player to change performances but as a squad you can,” he demurred. Yet a turning point was October’s 6-3 defeat to Manchester City. Casemiro watched two-thirds of it from the bench: Ten Hag was still picking Scott McTominay ahead of him and if the Dutchman has made relatively few missteps, that seems one. The Brazilian marked his first Premier League start with an assist for Cristiano Ronaldo’s winner at Everton the following week. His first goal came a couple of weeks later, an injury-time equaliser at Chelsea. Each was a sign he tended to make telling contributions. Tallies of seven goals and six assists may be more than most expected; so, in a different way, are his two red cards. But they underline his centrality. He has been a fulcrum for United, the man at the heart of everything. Which is how he thinks it ought to be. City’s galaxy of gifted midfielders mean Casemiro’s skills as a nullifier will be required if Kevin de Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva are to be kept quiet at Wembley. “When people talk about central defensive midfielders, they forget that you need to help your teammates, you need to defend, to slot in between the centre-backs, cover any gaps that the full-backs or midfielders leave,” said a man who forged a reputation as the world’s best holding midfielder in Madrid, before offering an explanation for his greater productivity. “These are the basic principles for a central defensive midfielder. Of course, beyond that, people want you to score goals, to pass the ball, to get the team playing because football’s changed. In the past it would be the No. 10 that would be required to do that.” He can be both destructive and constructive presence, which he sees as a sign of the evolution in tactics. “I saw an interview with [Juan Roman] Riquelme once talking about central defensive midfielders and specifically [Sergio] Busquets,” Casemiro explained. “He said that often the team didn’t play well because the central holding midfielder hadn’t played [well] and people forget that throughout the history of football, it was the No. 10 who was the playmaker. The central defensive midfielder was always someone that helped the centre-backs, helped in the midfield, helped the full-backs, filled in and stopped counter attacks. The way that central defensive midfielders have had to adapt has changed a lot.” But he will hope some things stay the same. He has an outstanding record in finals; with Real, United and Brazil, he has only lost one, in the 2018 European Super Cup. “Without doubt it’s a significant stat,” he said. He also has experience of getting the better of City; Real trailed for 178 minutes of the Champions League semi-finals last season and yet still overcame Pep Guardiola’s team. “They play very good football and have a great manager and great players but every game is a different story, a different film,” he said. But if the movie of United’s season started in ignominy and ended in glory, the Casemiro biopic might have a certain monotony, if only because he has won so much, so often. Read More Manchester United are obsessed with stopping Man City – their history depends on it The unlikely Manchester United answer to derail Man City’s treble hopes How Raphael Varane transformed Manchester United: ‘You need the character to fight’ Andre Marriner retires from refereeing Bruno Fernandes nets Man Utd winner in comeback against Fulham to clinch third Manchester United owe Champions League return to one man

Udonis Haslem has been through almost everything in his 20 seasons with the Miami Heat

Referee Szymon Marciniak will officiate next weekend's UEFA Champions League final after apologizing for his appearance at an event organized by a hardline right-wing Polish politician, the European football governing body confirmed in a statement on Friday.

Bruno Fernandes believes Manchester United are building something special under Erik ten Hag, who the skipper feels a debt of gratitude to having stood by him amid intense criticism following the Liverpool debacle. The Red Devils face rivals Manchester City in the FA Cup final on Saturday - aiming to win their second competition of the season after the League Cup - and to also end City’s hopes of a famous treble. “We are now building something we can see be special in the future,” Fernandes said ahead of the final.