List of All Articles with Tag 'sport'

The Cincinnati Reds erupted for four first inning runs against Kodai Senga, Spencer Steer added an insurance solo shot and four relievers made them stand up while cruising to a 5-0 win over the New York Mets, handing them a fifth straight series loss

Novak Djokovic is right where he wants to be after a slow start to his clay-court season

Retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre is ending his lawsuit against sportscaster Pat McAfee after McAfee publicly apologized for his previous on-air statements that Favre had been “stealing from poor people in Mississippi” in a welfare misspending case

Kentucky Derby winner Mage remains on track to run in the Preakness next week to continue a pursuit of horse racing’s first Triple Crown

Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday is the NBA’s teammate of the year for the second straight year and third time in the last four seasons

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It's the type of duff you hope cameras aren't present for.

Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal became the leading wicket-taker in Indian Premier League history as Rajasthan Royals crushed Kolkata Knight Riders by nine wickets

Jarren Duran with a sailor's vocabulary.

Captain Jordan Henderson believes Liverpool have to use the variety of goalscoring options they have available to their advantage next season. The return to fitness of Luis Diaz in recent weeks means manager Jurgen Klopp can now choose between five of his six first-choice forwards (the departing Roberto Firmino is injured). That has contributed to an upturn in form which has brought six successive victories and pushed them into unlikely contention for the top-four, sitting just a point behind Manchester United having played one match more. If that quintet – Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota, Cody Gakpo and Diaz – can remain fit Henderson expects Liverpool to be vastly improved next season. “Things evolve all the time and we’ve had new players come into that forward line and they are very exciting players,” the midfielder told Sky Sports. “There are a lot of different things we can use and different personnel that can do different things really. “We have a lot of quality players that can go up front and all of them can score goals, so we need to use that to our advantage next season. “It’s been a bit of a roller coaster for us this season to be honest. We’ve probably struggled to find consistency for the majority of it. “The good thing is we look a lot more like ourselves and I think there is still a long way to go in terms of improvement for us but the signs are good. “Hopefully we can finish these three games off strongly and take that into next season.” Read More Jurgen Klopp: Darwin Nunez was ‘like a racehorse’ in win over Fulham Slow-starting Spurs – the statistics behind Tottenham’s early travails in games Diaz highlights every area Liverpool’s top-four bid is falling short

Minnesota Twins pitcher Tyler Mahle will undergo elbow reconstruction surgery after an MRI showed issues with the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow

After a night when Internazionale could excitedly imagine a stage that recently seemed unattainable, it is worth considering an alternative future. This could easily have been a Super League game, since both Milan clubs signed up to the ill-fated project. If it was, would it have been anything like the stirring sensory overload that this was? That is something that is simply impossible to imagine. The fans would have of course tried to enliven a relatively sterile round-robin match with the same choreography, but it just couldn’t have had the same emotion, the same force. That is because this precious occasion was so much more than a Milan derby, even as that was what made it unique. It was a consequence of seven decades of history and mystique, much of that when these two clubs have been regular European champions, all of that feeling more acute since neither looked like rising to that level for such a long time. There was almost a contradiction, since it was their very scarcity that made this such a spectacle. It is also cause for consideration. The story of the last 15 years of European football, but one that really stretches back further, is that of Western capitalism and wider political interests looking at occasions like this and deciding they wanted it for their own ends. That story has led to the profound distortion of the game, in a manner that is without precedent in that long history. The two Milan clubs have been victims of this and examples of it. They have not been able to keep financial pace with grander projects elsewhere, which directly resulted in their old industrialist moguls selling up. This has then seen them picked up and picked off by newer models. There remain so many questions about Inter Milan’s ownership. AC Milan’s have meanwhile been extreme modern examples of that very Western capitalism. All of this was supposed to put them outside the game’s new and increasingly calcified elite. And yet the two clubs and their wider communities came together to offer an occasion that so many of these interests are desperate to recreate and capitalise from, but that actually can’t be bought. It is something that will always be separate from such interests, because it can only come organically, and from a shared history and identity. On a more basic level, it’s one reason the Super League plan is flawed. The idea was to recreate these fixtures every week but they can only rise to such levels as a season builds to something, with the inherent peril of elimination infusing it all with something greater. That also raises another point. For all that more and more money is flowing into the game, which the Champions League has done the primary job of generating, the sport doesn’t need these external interests. It is capable of producing this all on its own, as the self-contained cultural pursuit that it should be. Even more pointedly, would football be any lesser if it was 10 percent financially smaller? The players may not be paid the same level but that alone would mean financial gaps are shorter, and allow more clubs to compete. A Milan derby in a Champions League semi-final would be just as precious but for the opposite reason, which should bring more optimism. It wouldn’t be because the same handful of clubs always reach the semi-final. It would be because, like most of European history, a far wider field of clubs would be able to get this far. That is far better for football. If all of this seems complex discussion from such a compelling occasion, it is only because that occasion itself had a purity that is increasingly rare. It was to be savoured. It was also a throwback in another sense. In a modern game of tactical models where system trumps all - of which Milan are another clear example - Inter are like a side from 20 years ago. They are a canny group of individuals, fashioned to whatever force is required for any specific game. That was the winning of this first leg. Inter’s individuals rose to it in an approach cut for the game. It should be stressed this is one reason they have become a cup team and Simone Inzaghi has become known as a cup manager, where they have not really been able to recreate their 2020-21 title victory. This is why clubs like Milan go for that system model, after all. It is more productive over the longer term, representing something of an “algorithmisation” of football. The model was validated last year as the Rossoneri succeeded their bitter rivals to claim the Scudetto under Stefano Piolo. It was just that Inter’s approach played into what a stirring occasion this was. So many of their team - from Lauturo Martinez to Edin Dzeko to the brilliant Federico Dimarco - played to the occasion in the best way possible. If they do complete the job, and get to the final, there is probably more of a danger for Real Madrid and Manchester City than most anticipate. That is for more than just being able to rise to such an occasion, which Inzaghi has been so good at firing. It is also that they have a serious team, that of course came together under Antonio Conte in that title win two seasons ago. There is probably more higher quality than Milan, from Milan Skriniar and Alessandro Bastoni at the back through Dimarco and Nicola Barella in midfield, with Dzeko and Romelu Lukaku up front. The Belgian, on loan from Chelsea, was actually back to looking a level above when he came on. Many will fairly point to the presence of such Premier League veterans as one key reason why they are a level below the elite, especially when the rest of the team is made up of more makeshift options like former Manchester United defender Matteo Darmian. But the point is the inherent quality that can come together on any given occasion, and particularly an occasion like a Champions League final. That’s if they get there, of course. It remains possible that Milan’s process will produce over the longer-term course of two games. They probably should have at least had a goal in a dominant second half. They just lacked that greater quality up front. They lacked the brilliance of Rafael Leao. His return could yet bring a roaring comeback. We could well have an occasion that matches this. That is something all too easy to imagine, and gloriously exciting. Read More Milan derby creates thrilling sensory overload that shows how football should be False 9? Edin Dzeko shows the value of an old-fashioned centre-forward The Milan derby crowns Serie A’s return - here is why it means so much more Emery warns Tottenham that top four spot harder to achieve than ever Learning how much Wolves have to spend in summer is ‘key’ for Julen Lopetegui Milan derby creates thrilling sensory overload that shows how football should be