List of All Articles with Tag 'sport'

Jonathan Owens is showing he can tackle major life changes as adroitly as he brings down opposing ball carriers

Kevin McCullar Jr. said Wednesday that he will return to Kansas for his final year of eligibility, likely rounding out a roster that could make the Jayhawks the preseason No. 1 next season

Raheem Sterling was the headline absentee as Gareth Southgate handed Eberechi Eze his first England call-up and ended Lewis Dunk’s time in the international wilderness. Having kicked off Euro 2024 qualification with wins over Italy and Ukraine, attention turns to June’s straightforward-looking doubleheader against Malta and North Macedonia. Sterling is the most eye-catching absentee for those games as a difficult first season since swapping Manchester City for Chelsea comes to a frustrating conclusion. The 28-year-old has not played for England since the World Cup quarter-final exit to France – when a burglary at home disrupted his preparations – as injury ruled him out of the March camp. “I spoke with him a week or so ago – a general catch-up,” England boss Southgate said. “He’s not happy physically with his condition, having been carrying a hamstring problem. He really wasn’t in consideration. “So, we didn’t get to the point of whether he should be in or out. He doesn’t think he is operating at the level he needs.” A representative for Sterling called it a “mutual decision” that allows the player to focus on “recuperating his body in preparation for the upcoming season”. The 28-year-old is determined to play a key role for England next term and Southgate says he can get back into the fold ahead of next year’s finals, as can omitted Tottenham defender Eric Dier. “As we’ve shown with Tyrone (Mings) coming back (this time) and other players like Trent (Alexander-Arnold) coming back in, the door is always open when players are playing well,” Southgate told BBC Radio 5 Live. “Eric and Raheem both have physical issues really at the moment that they’re dealing with, so there’s part of that is behind that decision as well. “But there’s another year to go before the Euros and it’s possible for everybody to get in that squad.” Mings, Alexander-Arnold, Callum Wilson and Sam Johnstone returned to the England squad as Southgate has largely stuck with the tried and tested for the Group C games, with Crystal Palace attacking midfielder Eze the only uncapped player named in the group. The 24-year-old finally get his shot with England after an Achilles injury cost him a place in the provisional Euro 2020 squad. “We have liked him for a long time,” Southgate said. “He was very unfortunate just before the Euros. We were going to call him into a prep camp to have a look at him and he got a bad injury. “I remember talking to Roy Hodgson about him then and Roy telling me he’d picked up an injury in training that day. “I think he has finished the season really strongly, he can play in a couple of positions across that attacking line. “He’s a goal threat, he’s got nice ability and bursts of speed to go past people and to take people out of the game with dribbling skills. “We’re looking forward to seeing him a bit closer and everybody I speak to talks brilliantly about him as a person as well.” Dunk has played for England but the Brighton captain has not been selected since winning his first cap against the United States in November 2018. “Brighton’s football this year has been exceptional and Lewis Dunk and Levi Cowell have been a big part of that,” Southgate said. “He’s shown great composure with the ball, he’s asked to defend very often one against one situations and he thoroughly deserves his call.” The squad also includes Marcus Rashford, who missed March’s fixtures and last featured for England in a qualifier in the run to the last Euros. “He’s a super player who’s had a really good season, so he’s an important player for us,” Southgate told talkSPORT. “We’ve not been blessed with having him to be able to put in the team too often but we’re hoping that’s different. And we’re looking forward to seeing him again.” There is no place for Ben White, who has not featured for England since leaving Qatar after the World Cup group stage due to personal reasons. “I spoke with Ben before the camp in March,” Southgate added. “But at the moment, we’ve got (Kieran) Trippier and (Kyle) Walker in that area of the pitch. “He’s had a very good season, as have the whole Arsenal team, but he’s not ahead of those guys at the moment.” Read More Eberechi Eze and Callum Wilson called up as England name squad for Euro 2024 qualifiers Gareth Southgate critical of Ivan Toney ban: ‘We’ve got to look after people’ Gareth Southgate hopes racist abuse suffered by Vinicius Jr forces change Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

A.J. Foyt Racing is one of the underdogs of Gasoline Alley

Chelsea must move beyond football’s tendency to be reactionary if the club hope to create a long-term vision for their future, according to Frank Lampard. Co-owner Todd Boehly has sacked two managers this season in what has been the team’s poorest campaign of the Premier League era, with a record low number of points won and a first bottom-half finish since 1996 now certain. They are one of 11 top-flight clubs to have changed manager at least once this season, with themselves, Leeds and relegated Southampton having dispensed with two, as the average tenure for a Premier League coach has shrunk to just over 18 months. Chelsea’s previously indifferent form has plummeted since Graham Potter was removed on April 2, with one win in 10 games in all competitions. The team has failed to score in six of those matches following Potter’s sacking. Lampard takes his team to face Manchester United at Old Trafford on Thursday looking for only his second win in his 10th game since taking charge, having lost seven of the previous nine. With Mauricio Pochettino expected to be confirmed imminently as the manager for next season, the outgoing interim coach suggested a resistance to modern trends must prevail if Chelsea are to challenge once more. “That stat (11 clubs having sacked their manager) says it, I presume it’s a record,” said Lampard. “There are understandable factors, the Premier League brand and what it means to teams to stay in there. “The first person that receives the blame is the coach, if you understand that going into the job that’s probably a good thing. “Or course there’s lots of other factors. You wonder how successful always it is to changes those things. It’s clear it’s become that kind of a job and a situation and there are many teams that are fighting with expectations that might not be exactly stable. “We’re in a very reactionary world anyway. In years gone by the reaction to one, two, three defeats might have been different. Now we have this explosion very quickly and you just have to understand it when you’re doing this job.” The job of finding Potter’s permanent replacement has been carried out by co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, who themselves arrived at the club only during the last year. Previously Boehly held the role of temporary sporting director and was hands-on in player recruitment and in the doomed appointment of former Brighton boss Potter. Lampard said he had enjoyed working with Winstanley and Stewart and that the pair have created a working environment around the club to help his successor succeed. The new manager’s first job will be trimming a bloated first-team squad before setting about making up a gap to the top four that could hit 30 points this campaign. We’re in a very reactionary world anyway. In years gone by the reaction to one, two, three defeats might have been different. Now we have this explosion very quickly Frank Lampard “The dialogue has been really good from the moment this opportunity came up for me,” Lampard said. “I’ve been able to get on well with them on a personal and professional level and it’s nice to have that close communication. “Working in this job you understand when you don’t have communication on the footballing side, you miss it. With both of them, Paul and Lawrence, I’ve had that in their own ways and that’s been a good thing and I appreciate that. “Their big job is to bring Chelsea back to where we want to get it to. The responsibility isn’t all theirs but they play an important role in it. I’ve been impressed by how our interactions have been and I wish them well going forward. “There’s a real alignment of thinking through (successful clubs). Where we are at the minute, that would be the work process of trying to see where are we aligned and where do we want to get to and what does it look like? There’s a lot of work in that and in Paul and Laurence we have good people to do that. “It’s hard in the modern world because everything’s very reactionary. If you want to go in a certain direction and you don’t get any joy for a while, people react to that. For Chelsea it has to be a longer picture than that to get us a bit more of a process. People have to stick with that along the way.”

Alex Bowman has been cleared to return to racing this weekend for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway after missing four events with a fractured vertebra

A.J. Foyt has defied death more times than anyone count

There’s a reason a statue of Rafael Nadal stands outside Court Philippe Chatrier on the southwest outskirts of Paris

Gareth Southgate criticised the wide-reaching nature of Ivan Toney’s eight-month betting ban and told the suspended England striker he can still make next summer’s Euros. The 27-year-old made his international debut as a substitute against Ukraine in March’s Euro 2024 qualifier but the Brentford star will not be able play for club or country again this year. Toney was charged with 262 betting offences at the end of 2022 and was last week hit with an eight-month Football Association ban after admitting 232 breaches. The striker starts the suspension by watching the end of the campaign and England’s June qualifiers from afar, with Southgate raising concerns about the sweeping impact of the ban. “I have spoken with him,” the England boss said. “I don’t know if that’s allowed, by the way, but f it isn’t then they can ban me and not add to his. “Look, the ban is the ban. It is what it is. I think he recognised and accepted the punishment. “What bothers me is we’ve got to look after people. He’s injured at the moment, what does he do about getting fit? What does he do? I don’t like the idea that we just leave somebody, so that they are not allowed to be a part of the football community. Gareth Southgate “How do we give him some structure over the next few months that he can develop himself or be a better person at the end of it? Or have experiences that he might not experience? “I don’t like the idea that we just leave somebody, so that they are not allowed to be a part of the football community. “I don’t think that’s how we should work, I don’t think that’s how the best rehabilitation programmes would work. “But he knows that we picked him because we felt until there was a charge, he should be allowed to play. “When he comes back, if he plays well then we’ll pick him. “It won’t have any bearing but I think he’ll have additional motivation through what he is experiencing. I think he is a resilient guy with great character and we are here to support him.” Toney is prohibited from training until September 17 and cannot play football again until January 17, 2024. There is only four-and-a-half months between the striker’s return and the Euros kicking off in Germany, but Southgate says the door remains open for him. Asked if Toney can still make the tournament in Germany, the England boss said: “Yeah, without a doubt. “It is not ideal because he is going to miss a large chunk of the season and you don’t know after that sort of period out how physically he’s going to adapt and how he’s going to play. “But it’s possible for him. There would still be time. “He’s really impressed us with the way he’s played. “I like personality, I like his belief and the way he goes about his job, so everything is still possible for him I think.”

Tyler Perry is one of Black Entertainment Television’s most prolific creators — and just one name in a

Auto racing's biggest weekend looms with the 107th Indianapolis 500, Coca-Cola 600 in NASCAR and Formula One's Monaco Grand Prix

A return to the Champions League was widely regarded as the minimum requirement in Erik ten Hag’s first year in charge of Manchester United