List of All Articles with Tag 'ports'

The Glazer family are set to miss the funeral of Manchester United legend Bobby Charlton with the club’s owners understood to be wary of becoming a distraction. World Cup winner Charlton passed away last month, with a funeral procession set to be held through the streets of Manchester today. The funeral cortège will pass Old Trafford, the ground Charlton called home between 1956 and 1973, before reaching Manchester Cathedral, where up to 1,000 people will gather to bid farewell. The Glazer brothers, Avram and Joel, will not be among them, though. The American family have owned Manchester United for almost two decades after patriarch Malcolm took a majority stake in the club in 2005, but their premiership has proved increasingly unpopular, with protests commonplace at Old Trafford since an era of sustained and significant success came to an end. British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe is set to soon complete a £1.3b deal that will see the Ineos owner take 25% ownership of the club, which remains one of sport’s biggest brands. According to the Daily Star, the Glazer family held talks with club officials about attending Charlton’s funeral service but decided that the risk of receiving abuse might overshadow and detract from the event. The family dealt regularly with the former midfielder in his role as a director of the club. Charlton was a regular in the Old Trafford stands until being diagnosed with dementia in November 2020. He died three years on from the diagnosis after an accidental fall at the nursing home at which he was receiving care. Read More Rasmus Hojlund says ‘a matter of time’ until Erik ten Hag improves Man United Sir Bobby Charlton died after fall at care home, inquest hears Sir Bobby Charlton funeral announced for November 13

Olympic sports bodies want urgent talks with the IOC about the risk of cuts in their revenue shares and medal events at the 2028 Los Angeles Games because cricket and other newcomers have been added to the program

When you’ve knocked out the “scariest man in the UFC”, what is there left to fear? Some may offer ‘nothing’ as a valid answer. Some may say ‘Jon Jones’, arguably the greatest UFC fighter of all time. Either way, Tom Aspinall, who was so honest about being scared ahead of UFC 295, believes his fear is his “superpower”. So, maybe fear will inspire Aspinall to a career-defining victory over Jones, or maybe the Briton will realise he doesn’t need to fear the icon at all. Days before UFC 295 – days before his date with destiny at combat sports’ Mecca, Madison Square Garden – Aspinall had this to say of his clash with Sergei Pavlovich: “I’m pretty scared. He’s a scary, intimidating guy.” But? “I do my best work scared. Fear is something I have a really good relationship with. It gives me a superpower – the more scared I am, the better I do in the fight.” And with the interim heavyweight title on the line, and just two weeks’ preparation behind him, Aspinall could not have done better than he did on Saturday. Even when the Wigan fighter was caught clean with a left hook in the opening moments of the co-main event, he stayed calm. Perhaps surviving that shot meant Aspinall’s fear dissipated, or perhaps being tagged like that only augmented his fear. The beauty is that, for Aspinall, either outcome keeps him dangerous, and Pavlovich would find out just how dangerous in the seconds that followed. Aspinall was out of range, surely. But in the blink of an eye, he wasn’t. Closing distance with a spitfire one-two – as only he can – Aspinall had Pavlovich shaking and wobbling, before a short left hook and right hand felled the Russian for good. The hammer fists, all three of them, were to make sure of something that was already certain: Aspinall had ascended, as Britain’s third UFC champion. Then he descended, joining Pavlovich on the canvas, burying his head to hide the tears. “I can’t even tell you, it’s been a crazy two-and-a-half weeks,” he said in the cage, moments later. “Oh, my God. I just want to say to everyone at home: Listen, if you ever get the chance to do something, and you’re scared to do it, you should f***ing definitely do it, because there’s a chance it’s gonna pay off. He’s a big, scary guy. I’ve never been as scared in my life as fighting this guy, but I’ve got a lot of power, too. And I believe in myself, I really believe in myself. I’ve worked so hard over the years.” Aspinall’s hard work has yielded results as terrifying as Pavlovich and the Russian’s own statistics. The Briton is now 7-1 in the UFC, with his only loss coming as the result of an injury 15 seconds into a fight, and his victories all coming in the first and second rounds. Meanwhile, Pavlovich entered his bout with Aspinall with a 6-1 UFC record and all wins via first-round finish; in other words, Aspinall was right to harbour a little fear. Now, however, Aspinall may just be the most fearsome fighter in the division, especially with Jones absent. Aspinall’s clash with Pavlovich came together on two weeks’ notice when the heavyweight champion suffered an injury that derailed his planned title defence against Stipe Miocic – and which is set to keep the former light-heavyweight king out of the ring for up to a year. Still, the UFC’s plan seems to be to reorganise the bout, despite the facts that: Jones may be 37 by the time he returns, Miocic could be 42 by then, and the latter has not fought since he was brutally knocked out by Francis Ngannou in March 2021. Furthermore, Jones’s heavyweight title win over Ciryl Gane in March marked his first fight in three years. Age and activity are working against the Americans, as is apathy; in the aftermath of UFC 295, fans have expressed disinterest in that ‘legacy’ fight, preferring the prospect of a unification bout between Jones and Aspinall. Naturally. Miocic may be the greatest heavyweight of all time, but few were giving him a chance against Jones. While both men have been inactive and ageing, Miocic is the older and less active of the two, and Jones at least impressed with his rapid submission of Gane this year. But to debate how Jones vs Miocic would play out feels very ‘March 2023’. The greater question is how Jones vs Aspinall would play out, and for all of Jones’s feats and accomplishments over the years, the reality is that he would be facing the quickest heavyweight in the sport, who also hits harder than any of the American’s previous opponents, and who is only approaching his prime at 30 years old. Furthermore, Aspinall has the kind of well-rounded skillset that might just enable him to neutralise Jones – or even get the better of him – in any grappling exchanges. Of course, the situation is further complicated by the fact that Aspinall may not want to sit out until Jones returns, while the UFC will also be keen to keep the Briton active. It may mean that Aspinall has to defend the interim title, a rarity in the UFC. That could make for intriguing an match-up between the 30-year-old and Ciryl Gane, Jailton Almeida or even Curtis Blaydes, who picked up a technical win over Aspinall when the latter sustained his knee injury at UFC London in July 2022. At this point, the hope is that all roads lead to Jones vs Aspinall – one of the biggest fights in the history of British MMA. Aspinall has nothing to fear, but then again: A little fear goes a long way for the interim heavyweight champion. Read More Tom Aspinall ‘wants to fight Jon Jones’ next after claiming UFC interim title Tom Aspinall becomes Britain’s third UFC champion with first-round KO of Pavlovich Tom Aspinall admits he’s ‘scared’ ahead of UFC title fight Tom Aspinall makes UFC 295 vow ahead of Sergei Pavlovich fight UFC 295 LIVE results: Aspinall knocks out Pavlovich before Pereira stops Prochazka When will Conor McGregor return to the UFC?

The league table is taking on an eerily familiar look for Liverpool. The identity of the one team above them is typical, the gap a bittersweet reminder of brushes with greatness, of the unique achievement of taking first 97 and then 92 points in Premier League seasons without becoming champions in either. Manchester City are first, Liverpool second. There is one point between them, just as there was in the 2018-19 season and again in the 2021-22 campaign. Liverpool 2.0, Jurgen Klopp’s new-look side, find themselves in the precise position their predecessors twice finished. Perhaps they are fated to forever be on City’s shoulder, the Jan Ullrich to Pep Guardiola’s Lance Armstrong, the closest challengers to the serial champions. But victory at home to Brentford means they have fashioned another top-of-the-table showdown; the Etihad Stadium will host the top two on 25 November. It feels an early-season achievement for a revamped side. Their initial aim was to return to the top four, not title contention; beat City, though, and they will be top. Liverpool may be ahead of schedule. “It’s possible,” Klopp accepted. “I didn’t think about it but it feels good. It is only November. But it’s really important we have the same points as other teams.” In itself, it marks a difference from a year ago. After a dozen games then, Liverpool were 13 points behind City. As they have procured 11 points from losing positions already, there could be a similar gulf now. Klopp has found much to enjoy from a team in transition, the unknown quantity who may assume the recognisable role of City’s major rivals, their powers of recovery offering a metaphor for a broader project. “We have to keep going with all the other teams until maybe March or April and if you are still there, we can start talking,” Klopp reflected. It may be too easy to talk of a title decider, then, but he has proved that his teams can sustain form from winter into spring. “Until then, fight your way through the most difficult league in the world and be ready on Thursday and on Sunday and Thursday.” That readiness has been tested. “We didn’t play perfect football yet, not even close. But we fight our way through in moments and it is all fine,” Klopp said. Liverpool have conceded first in five league games and lost none of them. They have had four red cards, three of which Klopp believes were wrong. They lost their defensive midfield in the summer and had to rebuild an entire department of the team. But their only defeat came from an own goal in the 96th minute for their nine remaining men at Tottenham. Perhaps it was a sign of standards Klopp’s best teams have set that his verdict on Liverpool’s opening 12 games concentrated on the setbacks. “Football is strange,” he said. “If you would have asked me three days [ago, after losing against Toulouse] just about the feeling, not about what I know, I am not sure I would talk about the start. A point at Luton didn’t feel great, Tottenham, in the circumstances, obviously didn’t feel great and I don’t know [about] the other games.” Perhaps they can be divided into two fairly obvious categories: home and away. Liverpool have an extraordinary record at Anfield under Klopp, with one loss in their last 48 home league games and just one in front of a crowd in six-and-a-half years. Now they have six wins from six, albeit with the caveat that only one of this season’s victims are in the top eight. Get as close to the maximum of 57 points at home – and they mustered 53 in 18/19 and 55 in their title-winning campaign of 19/20 – and it would underpin a title tilt. Their fixture list has been tougher on the road – and will get harder again at the Etihad – and dropping nine points indicates such games could prove their undoing. But the fight Klopp referenced and cherishes has been evident away from home. It may be where Liverpool’s most glaring shortcoming has threatened to be exposed: the absence of a specialist nullifier at the base of the midfield. They have the joint best defensive record, but it owes much to Alisson; only eight teams have benefited from more saves. This team is less solid than Klopp’s greatest side. But, as Brentford were dismissed 3-0, Virgil van Dijk again offered signs he is back to his commanding best. In Trent Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool have – at least as long as Kevin De Bruyne is sidelined – the outstanding passer in the Premier League. Their attack is sufficiently menacing that no one has had more shots. It is partly a product of Darwin Nunez’s inimitable threat, but also of Mohamed Salah’s continued brilliance. He has 10 goals and four assists already and a generous tribute from an impartial observer, the beaten Brentford manager, suggested the Egyptian could be decisive. “Off the top of my head, he is the best player in the league,” Thomas Frank said. “What a level. He must be one of the best offensive players in the world. Not top 10, top three.” All of which gives Liverpool a chance. So does their record against City: famously, no manager has beaten Guardiola more than Klopp and it seems impossible to dethrone the champions without defeating them at least once. And if the players change in these summit clashes, there will be the same sights on the touchlines. Guardiola and Klopp, separated by a few yards and a solitary point once more. A German thinker of a rather earlier era than Klopp, Karl Marx, argued that history repeated itself first as tragedy and then as farce. For Klopp and Guardiola, however, it may be repeating itself for a third time in an epic duel. Read More From Aguero winner to Keegan dismay, Chelsea-City joins Premier League classics Jurgen Klopp reignites early kick-off row ahead of Man City vs Liverpool clash Liverpool vs Brentford LIVE: Latest Premier League updates Jurgen Klopp admits Trent Alexander-Arnold may be the middle man Liverpool need Jurgen Klopp reacts to release of Luis Diaz’s kidnapped father: ‘Really happy’ Jurgen Klopp reveals his ‘main issue’ after VAR denies Liverpool in Toulouse

They’ve quickly become some of the most recognizable fans in tennis

Walkoff field goals

The funeral of Manchester United and England great Bobby Charlton will be held in Manchester on Monday

There are more perfect 10s at the top of the AP college football poll than there have been 14 years

LSU's Jayden Daniels turned in the top statistical performance of the season against Florida

Chelsea midfielder Cole Palmer has been rewarded with an England call-up after scoring a 95th-minute penalty against Manchester City

“We are in quite a good position,” said Erik ten Hag. In itself, the statement may have been an indication of how standards have slipped at Manchester United. Given United are sixth, it scarcely meets Sir Alex Ferguson’s definition of quite good. And yet there was a logic to Ten Hag’s comments. United have not been expelled from top-four contention. They can look down on Newcastle and Chelsea in the table, though the Tynesiders are entitled to feel their performance level has been considerably higher than United’s; the Londoners may think that, too. Tottenham have been hailed as early-season revelations but are now only five points ahead of United’s underachievers. Ten Hag argued the context made United’s decidedly mixed start better than it has often appeared. He noted that they have won four of their last five league games. “If you see all the trouble we had, we are in a very good position,” he insisted. “That is a reason to be optimistic.” But do the grounds for optimism extend beyond that? Ten Hag is entitled to imagine a rosier future with his strongest team. Luke Shaw may be back soon, giving him a high-class left-back. Yet Casemiro and Lisandro Martinez may not feature again in 2023 – and without the Argentinian, it seems as though Raphael Varane is not in his preferred line-up either – and now United are waiting to see if Christian Eriksen and Rasmus Hojlund will join them on the treatment table. The £72m striker has no Premier League goals but, with Anthony Martial his understudy, appears irreplaceable nonetheless. The counter-argument is that United’s league position flatters them. It is in part a product of an inability to draw, rewarding them in games of all or nothing, but their five defeats may be more telling than the seven wins. Thus far, the fixture list has been friendly: seven of their 12 games have been at home. None of their victories have come against the current top eight. They have played all three promoted teams and most of the stragglers. The seven matches to take them to the half-way point are against in-form Everton, then Newcastle, Chelsea, Bournemouth, Liverpool, West Ham and Aston Villa. United, yet to prove they can beat top teams, looking fallible against the mid-table outfits, risk slipping down the standings. Indeed, those seven victories have all come by a lone goal; fine margins may have benefited them and their expected points total, of 16.32, is far lower than their actual haul of 21, putting them below Brentford and Everton in that particular chart. United have a sole truly dominant performance to their name this season, against Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup. And issues abound across the team. A third of the way into the campaign, United have 13 league goals, three fewer than Wolves, under half Villa’s total. Ridiculously, United have just one from a forward. Perhaps it means individual droughts will soon become floods. “Rasmus Hojlund scored five goals in the Champions League,” Ten Hag noted. “[Marcus] Rashford scored 30 goals last season.” Now he has one. If Rashford was United’s player of the year last season, and there were several other compelling candidates, now there are too few. Halt the campaign now and the frontrunners for the Sir Matt Busby award might be Harry Maguire and Scott McTominay: men who have revived their United careers, but two who the club were willing to sell at the right price. Arguably no one else has played well enough to merit a mention. United’s season scarcely shows a strategy that is about to pay off with spectacular improvement. Ten Hag’s bench for Saturday’s win over Luton contained two of his flagship signings year summer, in Sofyan Amrabat and Mason Mount, each now behind McTominay in the queue for places in a midfield without the injured Casemiro, plus his biggest buy, in the eternally disappointing Antony. Rashford played on the right wing, his third best position; none of this seemed part of Ten Hag’s summer blueprint, just as his summer spending spree is yet to reap a dividend. Ten Hag’s makeshift line-ups stem from injuries – it is quicker to name the United players who have not missed games than those who have – but also from shifts in thinking, from desperate searches for a winning formula. His defence has been decimated and Ten Hag would say that affects the attack, both in terms of the continuity and understanding that bring routines, and with Shaw and Martinez’s ability to pass out from the back. Defensively, though, there are other difficulties. Unconvincing as Andre Onana has been, his worst errors have been confined to the Champions League. It can feel odd to see that, while sometimes conceding in damning fashion, he has one of the highest save percentages in the Premier League. Go by expected goals and United should have conceded more. Again, the numbers suggest they are poorer than the table indicated. In short, it could have been worse. And it could get worse. This should have been the easy part. In their last 12 matches in all competitions, United have had a Manchester derby but each of the other 11 would have been winnable for the team of last season. This year, they lost five of 12. Now, as the fixture list gets ominous, Ten Hag thinks United could get better. He may be right but, apart from the prospect of players returning to fitness, the last three months offer too few other reasons for optimism. “Quite a good position” could get become what is definitively a bad one. Read More Harry Maguire reveals how he reclaimed Man Utd place: ‘I had to be patient’ Man United can ‘make life easy by scoring goals’, says Erik ten Hag after Luton win Ten Hag to serve one-match ban after third booking for Manchester United Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag urges team to become more clinical Man United produce the bare minimum to avoid embarrassment against Luton Man United v Luton LIVE: Result and reaction from crucial Premier League clash

At the end of this week, it is likely that a dozen or more heavyweights will officially be announced as heading back to Saudi Arabia for a show on 23 December. The date had been booked and held for the full unification fight between Oleksandr Usyk, who holds three belts, and Tyson Fury, who has one, but Francis Ngannou ruined the plan two weeks ago when he came close to beating Fury. In the heavyweight business, all problems can be solved with a bit of cash, some willingness and a lot of late-night ducking and diving; this week there are planned announcements for a lot of fights. Fury vs Usyk has been salvaged and moved to 2024, with a new date agreed, and further agreements reached. It’s on, don’t panic. The real fun is the December date, a night that the new Saudi boxing backers had set in stone as part of their festival of art, culture and sport. The fight was the crowning glory of Riyadh Season (an annual winter festival); it was also a clear sign that Saudi money could deliver a fight that traditional boxing money and deal-brokering had so miserably failed to do. Fury, his face bruised and his vast ego dented, had been told, in the immediate aftermath of the brawl with Ngannou, that he had a commitment to return and fight Usyk in December; a day before the 10-round win over Ngannou, in the middle of the circus revelry, Fury had threatened legal action if Usyk refused to fight on the 23rd. The morning after the Ngannou fight, it was Usyk’s turn to warn Fury of his contractual obligation. Luckily, a sensible solution was found, the date shifted to February and a heavyweight bonanza was planned to replace the unification fight. In the past few days, a dozen or more fights have been rumoured for the late December date; a man called Martin Bakole, who fought on the undercard of the Fury-Ngannou fight, has been linked with four or five of the world’s top heavyweights. Bakole is acknowledged as the heavyweight nobody wants to fight; Bakole, obviously, would fight anybody. Even Anthony Joshua is now in the mix, bound it seems for Saudi on 23 December, and he has been linked with Otto Wallin. That would be a very good fight. Perhaps the most outlandish name to circulate in the past few days is former world heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder. The American lost twice to Fury in world title fights, has not fought since October 2022, and recently announced that he was switching codes to MMA, but now it seems he is part of the attraction for December. A fight with Bakole was mentioned and a fight against a former world champion, Joseph Parker. Meanwhile, Wilder and Joshua have been close to agreeing a deal to fight for a long, long time. London’s Daniel Dubois, who was stopped by Usyk in a world title fight in the summer, is also one of the names doing the rounds. Dubois has been linked with Parker and one-time drug cheat Jarrell Baby Miller. There are so many Dubois rumours that it would be odd if his name was left off the starting line-up for the December show. Dubois and Parker would be a fine fight; Parker lost his world heavyweight title to Joshua in 2018, has been in big fights since then and was a good winner last month in Saudi Arabia. A fight between Parker and Wilder would certainly be interesting. Parker is one of heavyweight boxing’s treasures, a decent man with a proven history of leaving everything in the ring; Wilder has dropped, stopped or knocked out 42 of the 43 men he has beaten. Wilder on the Saudi Christmas bill would inevitably be entertaining. There is even bold talk that Ngannou, the man who caused all the uncertainty, guesswork and rumours, might fight on the mystery night. The former UFC heavyweight champion wants a rematch with Fury but is prepared to let the unification fight take place first. There is a suggestion that Derek Del Boy Chisora, who lost a world title fight to Fury last December, is preparing to restore boxing’s pride and fight Ngannou. The close loss to Fury was Ngannou’s first fight in a boxing ring. Ngannou is not fighting on the 23 December bill – it is too soon. We only have this crazy situation because Ngannou, a total novice, sent Fury tumbling, boxed his ears off at times, pushed him all over the ring and caused all the riotous, ring rumours to start. It is a grand circus of confusion and laughter; heavyweights are understandably desperate to get their name on the bill. It is boxing’s greatest Christmas gift. There is also a cameo planned by light-heavyweight world champion Dmitry Bivol. The boxing clock is ticking, camps need to be arranged, sparring partners hired and travel plans sorted. There will be a heavyweight show this December in Riyadh, and hopefully all the large pieces will fall into place later this week. The confirmation of a new date for the Usyk vs Fury fight is just part of the carnival. This might just be a big week for heavyweight boxing. Read More Eddie Hearn makes surprising revelation about Anthony Joshua coach Tyson Fury promoter Frank Warren promises ‘historical’ fight card on 23 December Oleksandr Usyk offers new date for Tyson Fury fight Anthony Joshua teases Tyson Fury fight during interview with Louis Theroux Dana White reacts to Francis Ngannou’s stunning performance vs Tyson Fury Boxer ‘swallowed wasp’ during knockout win on Fury vs Ngannou undercard