List of All Articles with Tag 'ba'

Pepe Reina saved three penalties and his own reputation as Liverpool won a thrilling FA Cup final against West Ham on this day in 2006. Reina almost threw the cup away in normal time at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium with mistakes which gifted the Hammers two goals. But he was the hero of the shoot-out, saving from Bobby Zamora, Paul Konchesky and Anton Ferdinand to break the gallant Hammers’ hearts. Liverpool’s seventh FA Cup win mirrored the result which saw them crowned champions of Europe in Istanbul 12 months earlier, and – just like against AC Milan – Reina only had his shot at glory thanks to another superhuman effort from Steven Gerrard. Liverpool skipper Gerrard equalised twice – the second a 30-yard thunderbolt in injury-time – and then scored his penalty despite suffering cramp in the closing minutes of the game. The 125th FA Cup final was the best in years, and certainly the most exciting since Manchester United’s 3-3 draw with Crystal Palace in 1990. For a long time, the magic of the cup looked like giving West Ham another FA Cup triumph in the year former managers Ron Greenwood and John Lyall died. They were two goals ahead inside half an hour and were leading as the stadium announcer called for four minutes to be added on at the end of normal time. Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez praised Liverpool heroes Gerrard and Reina, but insisted his FA Cup triumph was a team effort. “You must give the credit to all my players. A lot of them had cramps after 62 games this season, but they kept going to the end,” he said. Maybe we like to do it the difficult way, but it's not good for the heart Rafael Benitez “We know about the quality of Steve. He will get lots of credit, but I prefer to talk about my team and our supporters, who were like an extra player. “Maybe we like to do it the difficult way, but it’s not good for the heart. It would be better if we could start by winning and then stay calm. “It was a fantastic final with two teams fighting really hard. The character of the team can be a key factor for the future because we can be sure we can win these kinds of games.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Players really want to come – Erik ten Hag optimistic for transfer window Dean Smith cancels Leicester day off to sort ‘lingering’ issues at troubled club Julen Lopetegui only wants committed players at Wolves

The Golden State Warriors championship defense came up short. Steph Curry and company will be back to try again next year but some big changes could be coming.Repeating as NBA champions is one of the hardest challenges in sports. But the Warriors had done it before and they were supposed to have...

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts had quite the year, and he added to it by earning his Master's degree from Oklahoma University.No one has had a better year than Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. He had a record-breaking performance in Super Bowl 57. He nearly helped t...

Warriors fans had enough of Jordan Poole after a miserable first half performance in Game 6 with elimination looming against the Lakers.Every fan hopes to see players bring their best stuff in an elimination game. Warriors fans may have wished for that, but they definitely didn't get it fro...

The 2023 NFL season schedule was released on Thursday, and it has caused the Orange Bowl to change its kickoff time for New Year's weekend.On Thursday, the NFL released its official schedule for the 2023 season. So, teams have a better idea of how long their home stands or road trips will b...

Stephen A. Smith went delusional by predicting that the New York Knicks would make the NBA Finals. They didn’t even make the conference finals.So much for the begging at the video board, huh, Stephen A. Smith? So much for the New York Knicks going to the finals, huh?NOT!! The pep talk ...

The New York Knicks lost Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals to the Miami Heat despite an amazing performance from Jalen Brunson.The Knicks dropped Game 6, 96-92, to the Heat to end their season in an unfortunate manner.New York's supporting cast had plenty of options to make up...

The New York Knicks accomplished a ton this season but there is still work to do. That means tweaking the edges of their roster and dropping these players.Even with a playoff exit that came earlier than they were hoping, this season was a resounding success for the New York Knicks. They bounced ...

Drew Rasmussen is the latest Rays pitcher to suffer a significant injury.

Alabama football needed to replace Brian Branch and others at safety and they've done it by landing the top safety in the transfer portal, Jaylen Key from UAB.Alabama has a habit of taking their pick of high school talent in recruiting and they can do the same in the transfer portal, especi...

Let’s be real: LeBron James is the GOAT and we could be witnessing history once again.If the Lakers are going to win the NBA Finals, it’s going to be because LeBron put the team on his back. And what better way to back LeBron to win Finals MVP than with the new-user promotion at Caes...

Big Ten football fans only have a few months left before another splendid season is under way.While the Midwest is finally enjoying some good weather, Big Ten football will be back before you even know it.Despite having not won a College Football Playoff since 2014, the league is quickly sep...