List of All Articles with Tag 'sports'

Ohio State coach Ryan Day has chosen quarterback Kyle McCord as the starter for Saturday's season opener at Indiana

Pitt quarterback Phil Jurkovec is hoping to make the best of his homecoming

Raheem Sterling has been omitted from the England squad while Eddie Nketiah was handed a first senior call-up by Gareth Southgate for the games against Ukraine and Scotland. Sterling, who missed the summer internationals when he said he did not feel in the right condition to play, was a candidate for a recall after starting the season in fine form for Chelsea but Southgate preferred Eberechi Eze of Crystal Palace. Southgate said it was a tough phone call and Sterling was left annoyed to be omitted, revealing: “It was a difficult call and Raheem is not particularly happy about it.” The England manager, who also chose Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and James Maddison ahead of Sterling, explained that he wanted to stick with the players he used for the June wins over Malta and North Macedonia. “To bring Raheem back in we have to leave someone else out and on the basis of three games [of the league season] I don’t think anyone deserves to be left out,” he added. “It is really good to see Raheem start the season so well and he looks fit and hungry but in those attacking positions behind the No 9 we have a lot of competition.” Arsenal striker Nketiah, who has scored 16 goals for England’s Under-21 team, was selected ahead of Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins as the third specialist striker behind Harry Kane and Callum Wilson. “We want to have a look at him,” Southgate said. “He is a young player with a lot of pedigree, a really good finisher and the record goalscorer in the Under-21s.” The manager also kept faith with Harry Maguire and Kalvin Phillips, who have played no first-team football for Manchester United and Manchester City respectively, with defensive injuries a reason why he picked the former. Southgate said: “With Harry Maguire we have lost a lot of experience in terms of caps at centre halves, we are giving some less experienced players a chance to come into the squad but Tyrone [Mings] is out for most of the season, John Stones is out of this camp, Eric Dier is not in Tottenham’s squad, Conor Coady is in the Championship now so there is a space there. With Harry and Kalvin Phillips, it is not ideal they are not playing football. Declan Rice is the only English player to start this weekend as a single pivot and Kalvin is the next best option.” Jordan Henderson, who has moved to Al-Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia, retained his place in the squad with Southgate saying his international future could depend on the standard of the Pro-League. “The key as we move forward is the physical intensity of the league,” said Southgate. “Because of the heat as well, whether that will allow him to perform at the level we need; that is a huge consideration.” In a defence without the injured Stones, Mings and Luke Shaw, there were call-ups for Fikayo Tomori, Marc Guehi, Lewis Dunk and the uncapped Levi Colwill. “He is doing really well,” Southgate said of Colwill. “He is progressing. We really liked him at the end of last season with Brighton. He had a really good tournament with the Under-21s so he showed under pressure he could cope. He has started well with Chelsea in a slightly different position.” Full squad Goalkeepers: Sam Johnstone (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal) Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Ben Chilwell (Chelsea), Levi Colwill (Chelsea), Lewis Dunk (Brighton), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Fikayo Tomori (AC Milan), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle United), Kyle Walker (Manchester City) Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Jordan Henderson (Al-Ettifaq), Kalvin Phillips (Manchester City), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace) Forwards: Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), James Maddison (Tottenham Hotspur), Eddie Nketiah (Arsenal), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Callum Wilson (Newcastle United) Read More Manchester United left with Luke Shaw injury dilemma Why are England wearing their blue kit against Spain? What time is the Champions League group stage draw today? What time is the Champions League group stage draw today? Champions League group stage draw LIVE: Man City, Man Utd and more discover fate Is the Champions League draw on TV? Channel, start time and how to watch

Kirby Smart shrugs off any talk about making history

Dan Orlovsky talks Pat McAfee.

Moving to Saudi Arabia hasn’t stopped Jordan Henderson getting called up by England

No. 1 Georgia begins its quest for a third straight national title against an overmatched opponent

The transfer deadline is fast approaching - clubs have to wrap up all their deals by 11pm BST on Friday 1 September, meaning today and tomorrow will be chaotic and potentially exciting with a host of switches still pending. Among the biggest clubs, Man City could be set to sell Cole Palmer to Chelsea, while the latter could offload Callum Hudson-Odoi after his return from loan. Manchester United, meanwhile, are still looking for at least two more additions, with rivals Liverpool hoping to land another midfielder in Ryan Gravenberch, currently at Bayern Munich. Brighton look set to sign Ansu Fati on loan from Barcelona, while several other Premier League teams could also conclude deals late on before the window shuts. Follow all the latest news and transfer rumour updates below; get all the latest football betting sites offers here.

No. 5 LSU has the chance to make a major statement when it opens against No. 8 Florida State on Sunday night

Borussia Dortmund’s early season difficulties have prompted the club to go for Germany forward Niclas Füllkrug to get the team on track again

Real Madrid was confident it had locked up the heir to Luka Modric when it signed Jude Bellingham in the offseason

“I wouldn’t say I’m a masochist, no.” It’s a reassuring start from Chris Eubank Jr, as he reflects on his defeat by Liam Smith – the first stoppage loss of his career, and an experience he says he enjoyed. “Imagine being in a sport your entire life, thinking you’ve experienced every single thing there is, then something new happens at 33 years old,” the Briton explains to The Independent, as his rematch with Smith looms. “I’ve been fighting since I was 14, and I’ve never been buzzed like that, or had to get up, recuperate, march forward, then go back down again, get back up. I never would’ve imagined that I’d be in a position where a referee could stop a fight for me. “So, it was new, it was crazy. Looking back on it, it was exciting. It was a huge adrenalin rush, probably the same amount of adrenalin as I would get from knocking a guy out.” Twice Eubank Jr hauled himself off the canvas in the fourth round at Manchester’s AO Arena, his body moving almost gelatinously as his brain tried to recentre him, before Victor Loughlin waved off the bout. Eubank Jr will hope he does not have to feel that same canvas against his knees and elbows on Saturday when he returns to the AO Arena for a middleweight rematch with Smith. “It has to change how I think, feel, and how I approach fights,” he says. “You have to learn. I have a new mindset on going into fights and protecting myself at all times, making sure I don’t get hit flush. We have to do everything in our power to make sure we’re never in that position again.” That said, “I feel like I dealt with it well,” Eubank Jr adds. “A lot of fighters... when they get hurt, you see the real side of them. A lot back down, a lot look for ways out. Everyone saw that night, I was ready to go out on my shield. I was ready to die in there. ‘Let’s keep going,’ that’s what I said when the going got tough. I think the fans appreciated seeing that side of me.” Never before had Eubank Jr touched the canvas, let alone been stopped, and once the “excitement” subsided, he was left to deal with a different emotion. “I wasn’t upset, disappointed; I was pissed off,” he recalls. “It wasn’t like I got my ass kicked for three rounds and then got knocked out; I was dominating the fight, then I made a mistake and got caught. I was pissed off at myself, pissed off at the referee for not giving me the chance to continue. Whether he was right or wrong, as a grizzled veteran I don’t feel the need to be saved by a referee. “[But] when I watched the replay back in the changing room, I said to everybody: ‘I’ll take that.’ As in, if I was ever gonna get stopped, that’s the way I’d want it: on my feet, demanding they let me continue. I can accept that, I can sleep at night. I couldn’t sleep at night if I’m getting the 10 count and I can’t get up, or if I’m telling the referee, ‘No, [I can’t continue]’.” As well as mentioning referee Loughlin, Eubank Jr has cited an alleged elbow by Smith as proving decisive in the fight’s final sequence. Still, he maintains that these are not excuses, while Smith, 35, has revelled in his victory. “I enjoyed every bit of it,” Smith told The Independent in July. “It was a great week, I wish I could have that week back, it was a great week.” The Liverpudlian also said the prickly build-up to their first fight existed because the boxers just “wouldn’t get on” in normal life. But Eubank Jr, for his part, says: “Just because I fought him, doesn’t mean I know who he is as a man. He might be a great guy. I don’t know and I don’t need to know, that’s not part of my job; my job is to know who he is as a fighter and exploit that or deal with that. I think he is exploitable, he does get riled up, I can get into his head. I’m not here to be buddies or pals with people, I’m here to take guys out. I’m here to create a legacy, and he’s put a serious bump in that road for me; I need to smoothen it out.” That legacy has always been a complicated one, given the memories that Eubank Jr’s father gave to British boxing fans. Still, its ending is unwritten, and it is still in Eubank Jr’s control – for now. “There’s so many huge fights left for me to have,” he says. “There’s so much left for me to achieve. We have to see if I can do the things I say I can do. First and foremost, I have to beat Liam Smith; it’s not a great legacy if I finish my career with two losses to Liam on my record. That would for sure damage any type of ‘great’ legacy. Knowing that, it’s hugely important that I avenge this loss. I can explain a freak accident – it happens; I can get away with one loss to Liam, I can’t get away with two.” However Eubank Jr’s in-ring endeavours are ultimately judged, one thing seems certain: his personality and words outside the ring will see him remembered as one of the most divisive boxers of his generation. “It’s part of selling a fight, it’s part of beating your opponent,” Eubank Jr says. “You’ve got to win every fight – verbal, mental, physical. I’ve become very good at that over the years. I understand it’s part of the sport if you want to be ‘box office’. The guys that don’t talk, don’t have an opinion or aren’t able to express themselves to the fans and to their opponents, they don’t get airtime or headlines. You need those things to make money, I’ve learnt that from the very beginning, watching my old man. “As I got older, my old man took more and more steps back, and I was able to come forward and be my own personality. Now we’re at a stage where I’m comfortable in every situation. I can read the room very well, I can read my opponents well.” Eubank Jr will hope he has a good read of Smith on Saturday. Watch Smith vs Eubank Jr 2 on Sky Sports Box Office on Saturday 2 September, live from the AO Arena in Manchester Read More Eubank vs Smith 2 live stream: How to watch fight online and on TV this weekend Liam Smith: ‘Chris Eubank Jr is a nightmare – not for me, for other people’ Oleksandr Usyk remains heavyweight champion but where does he go from here? Adam Azim seeks Aram Fanyan ‘demolition’ in grandfather’s memory Who is fighting on Eubank vs Smith 2 undercard this weekend? What time does Eubank vs Smith 2 start this weekend?