Wrexham co-owner Rob McElhenney jokingly asked Shoehi Ohtani to learn Welsh as the baseball star's free agency continues to dominate American sports.
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Shahid Afridi’s four wickets gave Hampshire promise of victory but they dried up with the bat as Kent kept their last-eight hopes alive
ECB Reporters Network01-Aug-2017Shahid Afridi’s four wickets were to no avail•Getty Images
Mitchell Claydon defended 16 in the final over to back up Daniel Bell-Drummond’s ninth career T20 fifty as Kent edged a last over thriller to beat Hampshire by five runs in the Natwest T20 Blast.England Lions star Bell-Drummond carefully hit 62 to help the visitors reach 159 for six on a slow track.Hampshire faltered in the second half of the innings to fall short. They needed 37 from 28 balls when Australian George Bailey was the third wicket to fall. Liam Dawson managed 5 from 9 balls and No. 3 Tom Alsop was left high and dry with 43 from 41 balls with only two boundaries.Hampshire’s captain James Vince expressed his disappointment at a victory that eluded his side: “For three quarters of the game we did better than them but we struggled to find the boundary in the second half of our innings,” he said. “We needed 72 from 10 overs with eight wickets in hand – it was a bit of a mess up but we have to move on for Friday.”He defended the decision not to push Shahid Afridi up the order to No 6, saying: “Afridi hasn’t really hit it miles yet this season and McManus has been in really good touch. We didn’t lose a wicket for a while so no one went in and we left too much to do in the back end. In hindsight we would have liked to win that with an over to spare.”Vince and Rilee Rossouw had got Hampshire off to a quick start in their quest to reach 160. Skipper Vince in particular took a fancy to Mitchell Clayton, who he dispatched for the match’s first six over cover in the fourth over.But the fast bowler hit back three balls later as Rossouw picked out Alex Blake at mid-on to break the 43-run opening partnership. Vince departed to the final ball of the powerplay as he was yorked by former teammate Matt Coles – as Hampshire sped to 60 in the opening six overs.Spin pair Imran Qayyum and James Tredwell put the brakes on Hampshire’s charge with tight middle overs. And from then on the hosts struggled, Bailey and Alsop neatly added 40 to take their side to 28 runs from victory before the Australian chipped a paddle sweep to short fine leg for a season best 41.Liam Dawson then picked out Blake on the long on boundary to leave his side needing 16 from the final over. But Claydon brilliantly defended the last six balls, as he only went for 10, to lift Kent’s hopes of reaching the quarter-finals.Earlier, Kent captain Sam Northeast won the toss and decided to bat on a grubby track under thin grey clouds.Joe Denly and Bell-Drummond set off at an understated rate, which set the tone for the innings. Denly cracked back-to-back fours off Chris Wood in the second over, two of just 12 boundaries in the Kent total, as they reached 47 by the end of the Powerplay. Mason Crane broke the 65-run opening stand when he bowled Denly with a googly.Skipper Northeast was bowled for a quick 10 and Sam Billings picked out Crane on the long on boundary as Afridi showed his class by going on to take four wickets.England Lions star Bell-Drummond continued to tick the score along effortlessly and reached a 33-ball fifty. Afridi was keeping things tight at the other end but waited until his final over to blow the visitors away by snatching two wickets in two balls.James Neesham top edged a sweep to short third man and Bell-Drummond was brilliant caught by a sliding Dawson on the cover boundary – leaving Afridi with his third best Hampshire T20 figures of 4 for 26.Alex Blake and Darren Stevens struck a quick 39 to lift Kent to 159 although the latter was caught at mid-off at the final ball as Kyle Abbott deceived him with a slower ball – but the score was enough.
Marcelo Bielsa got the best out of several players during his successful spell at Leeds United, where he became somewhat of a hero in Yorkshire after securing the club's promotion back into the Premier League. But it's Kalvin Phillips who really stood out at times under the Argentine.
The midfielder impressed so much, in fact, he earned a move to Manchester City, with Leeds receiving a reported £45m fee last summer.
The England international hasn't quite replicated his Leeds form at The Etihad, however, struggling for game-time and form throughout his debut season under Pep Guardiola. Of course, injuries didn't help as he missed 16 games with a shoulder injury at the start of the campaign. From there, it was always going to be difficult to break into the City side.
Despite his struggles, though, Phillips came away from his first season in Manchester with a treble after City won the Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup.
Amid his difficulties, Phillips turned to the man who have him such a high platform to succeed in the first place, as Bielsa showed his class once more.
What did Marcelo Bielsa say to Kalvin Phillips?
Speaking to BBC 5 Live, Phillips said: "Marcelo Bielsa is a very special person to me. He’s a great manager and he’s a manager who found the best in me as a football player, with where he wanted me to play and how he wanted me to play. I’ll always be grateful for that.
"I actually spoke to him. I came on against Leicester, and I didn’t do too well, and I was feeling a little bit down."
The midfielder went on to say: "He was just asking me how I was, and how I was feeling and what I was thinking, and we had a really good conversation, so the relationship is obviously still there with Bielsa."
In that game – a 3-1 victory – Phillips failed to impress as he "got in a tangle with Ederson" for the only Leicester goal.
With a boost from his former manager, however, perhaps next season will be the one in which the midfielder makes his mark.
What is the market value of Kalvin Phillips?
Since Manchester City paid that reported £45m for him last summer, Phillips' market value has gone down significantly, which is perhaps an indication as to how disappointingly things have gone for the midfielder.
As per Transfermarkt, the former Leeds man is currently worth €32m (£27.29m), meaning that if City did want to get rid of Phillips, they'd potentially be making a loss of almost £20m.
Currently, 27, Phillips should be playing at the peak of his powers. Instead, though, he is resigned to sitting on the bench under Guardiola at City. Alarm bells may have been ringing earlier this summer, too, when the Premier League champions were reportedly making a move for the now Arsenal-bound Declan Rice.
Rice plays in Phillips' position, who already finds himself behind Rodri in the pecking order, so a move for Rice could have been pretty disastrous for his ambitions at the club.
As of right now, however, last summer's signing looks set to get another crack at impressing Guardiola in the coming campaign. And with so many trophies coming his way last term, Phillips may just settle for a place on the bench in exchange for a number of medals.
Only time will tell, but, either way, Bielsa has his back.
Shiv Thakor, the Derbyshire allrounder, has been suspended by the county after it became apparent that he faced allegations of “indecent exposure”
George Dobell06-Jul-2017Shiv Thakor, the Derbyshire all-rounder, has been suspended by the club after allegations he indecently exposed himself to two women.Thakor, a former England U19 player, has not been arrested but voluntarily attended a police station in Derby where he wasquestioned. Derbyshire subsequently suspended the 23-year-old on full pay pending a further investigation.He has not been charged.ESPNcricinfo understands the incident occurred when Thakor was being shown round a new house by a pair of female estate agents. It isalleged he catastrophically misread the signals and was found in a bedroom in a state of undress. It is understood that CCTV footage ofsome of the event exists.”Shiv has been suspended on full pay pending an investigation,” a statement released by Derbyshire confirmed. “He has not beencharged by police and there is no further comment to make at this stage.””A 23-year-old man voluntarily attended St Mary’s Wharf police station and was interviewed in connection with the alleged offences,” aDerbyshire Police spokeswoman told .
Dusan Vlahovic isn't a target for Tottenham Hotspur this summer due to Harry Kane's continued presence according to Dean Jones.
Which club is interested in Dusan Vlahovic?
Vlahovic is reportedly a target for a number of top European sides this summer.
The striker joined Italian giants Juventus in January 2022 from Fiorentina for a fee reportedly in the region of £67m. The forward opted for the move to the 'Old Lady' instead of a move to Premier League side Arsenal.
Since his arrival in Turin, the forward has played 63 games, scoring 23 and assisting six. However, last season was one of the most difficult in the forward's career, with him only managing 14 goals in 42 appearances.
His former sides president Rocco Commisso has been one of the loudest critics of the Serbian, stating earlier this season:
"We paid €15 million combined for Arthur Cabral and Luka Jovic and they have already scored 20 goals in the three competitions we play in. Vlahovic, on the other hand, has scored 10 goals in Turin, two of which were penalties. He has exactly half [the number of goals] of our two forwards. And amidst all of this, we earned €70m. The Cabral-Jovic deal was excellent for us, unlike the Juventus deal for Vlahovic."
Despite a disappointing campaign last time out, a number of top European sides remain interested in acquiring the "monster" striker, with reports stating that Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain are all looking at potentially bringing the forward to their clubs ahead of next season.
There have also been reports that London side Tottenham Hotspur are ready to join the race for the highly-rated forward should Harry Kane leave this summer. However, journalist Jones stated on The Football Terrace's Done Deal show that he isn't "convinced" by the north London club's reported interest, with the club intent on keeping star player Kane this summer.
"The Tottenham interest, I’m not convinced by. I mean Vlahovic has been talked about for a while now in terms of Tottenham and it goes back to last season, the guy who’s doing their transfers has the Juventus links and such. Look, Harry Kane is still at Tottenham, Tottenham aren’t actually looking at Harry Kane replacements at the moment because he is still there and they don’t intend to lose him.”
Where will Vlahovic go this summer?
There seems to be three clear options for the Serbian this summer.
The first one is to stay at Juventus. The club spent big on the forward 18 months ago and despite not hitting the lofty heights he reached at Fiorentina, Vlahovic still has the support of a number of big names associated with the side. Current manager Massimiliano Allegri has argued that the striker just needs time, saying to DAZN:
"Vlahovic just needs to stay calm, Every now and then, he uses up too much energy, so he has to just take it easy. Once he is able to learn that game management, he will be less hasty when the ball arrives and more clinical in finishing. Let's not forget he’s only been at Juventus for a year, he is doing well and has everything it takes to improve."
It would have to be a big sacrifice from the Serbian however, with the Old Lady currently suffering sanctions for financial breaches, which most recently resulted in the club being banned from this season's Conference League tournament.
Should Vlahovic seek a new beginning, a potential move to Chelsea is reportedly on the cards. According to the Evening Standard, the Blues have made contact with the representatives of the player to sound out the details about a potential move.
The club have already added two forwards this window in Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku, and as such the club are only willing to pay €60m (£51.5m) to acquire the forward who could potentially give the Chelsea forward line a new dynamic as they look to refresh their attack.
French side PSG are also interested in the forward, with reports suggesting that the Ligue 1 champions are the player's preferred destination. The forward is just waiting for the first formal offer from the Parisians, with a potential loan deal that includes a buy clause already being ruled out by the Turin club. It could be a big move for PSG who are trying to keep star Kylian Mbappe at the club, with one of the forwards demands being the arrival of a striker to move Mbappe out of the lone striker role.
According to Fabrizio Romano, PSG know the conditions of the deal and it is in their hands to make the deal happen.
Watch more of The Football Terrace HERE!
Alastair Cook conceded that the performance of the day had come from his sidekick and successor as captain, Joe Root
Andrew Miller at Edgbaston17-Aug-20171:40
‘Frustrating’ to watch Root bat – Cook
Alastair Cook marked the first day of day-night Test cricket in England with an unbeaten innings of 153 from 276 balls, but conceded that the performance of the day had come from his sidekick and successor as captain, Joe Root, as West Indies were put to the sword in the first Investec Test at Edgbaston.After conceding two early wickets, Cook and Root added 248 for England’s third wicket in a stand that spanned the entirety of the afternoon session, before Root missed a drive in the twilight and was bowled for 136, his second century of the summer and an innings that means he has now reached at least fifty in 11 consecutive Tests, an England record.Cook, who had been 22 not out when Root joined him at the crease, could only watch in admiration – and a tinge of professional jealousy – as his team-mate cruised to his 13th Test century from 139 balls. Cook had 22 when Root came to the crease and was on 80 when he raised three figures.”It’s fairly frustrating when you have a 30-run start on him and he beats you to a hundred by 30,” Cook said. “He makes it look quite easy, frustratingly easy in fact.”It’s incredible how he managed to score like he does. If he’s not the best English player I’ve played with, he’s right up there. His game is phenomenal, he’s churning out runs, his 11th consecutive Test with a fifty, that’s phenomenal consistency against world-class bowlers, and around the world as well.”Is he a genius? I don’t know, but he’s an unbelievable player to watch from the other end, how he moves, his rhythm … it’s a lesson to us all, isn’t it?”Cook, however, handed out a fair few lessons of his own in the course of his 31st Test century, and first since his return to the ranks against South Africa in July. With his 150 on the board already and four days remaining in the match, he recognises he has the chance to press on to a huge personal score on the ground where he made his career-best 294 against India in 2011.”I can’t be looking too far ahead,” he said. “But I’ve got an opportunity to get a big score, there’s a lot of time left in the game, but you can always nick the first ball tomorrow. It’s up to me to take the opportunity.”One man who couldn’t take his opportunity was Cook’s latest opening partner, Mark Stoneman – the 12th to step up alongside him since the retirement of Andrew Strauss. Stoneman started impressively, with two early boundaries, before falling to the ball of the day from Kemar Roach for 8.”That is what opening the batting in international cricket is about,” said Cook. “There will be good balls flowing around. Either you want it to just miss the stumps, or stand at the other end like I did and say ‘poor Rocky’. As Mike Atherton said, you’re paid to score runs, he’s paid to get you out, so one day you’re going to win, and sometimes they’ll win. I saw him score 190 against us at Guildford, so I know he’s a good player.”That range of score, and more, is now very much in Cook’s sights. “I think if you get 150 and not out at end of the day, of course you’ll enjoy it,” he said. “The jury will always be out on the pink ball until we know more about it, two or three years down the line, how it reacts in all kinds of situations. But, if you were using a red ball, under a clear blue sky and on a good wicket like Edgbaston, it would have been the same.”
Rangana Herath, however, is still being monitored after a finger injury in Galle, according to manager Asanka Gurusinha
Sa'adi Thawfeeq30-Jul-2017Dinesh Chandimal is expected to return to lead the Sri Lanka team in the second Test against India at the SSC next week, after recovering from a bout of pneumonia that kept him out of the first Test in Galle. Rangana Herath, who suffered an injury to his finger in the first Test, is being closely monitored, ahead of the match which starts from August 3.”Dinesh should be fit, he actually played this (Sunday) morning and he has batted the last couple of days,” Asanka Gurusinha, Sri Lanka’s cricket manager and selector, said.”We have to see how he is going to come up in the next couple of days because his finger is pretty sore,” Gurusinha said of Herath’s condition. “We will give him till the last minute to make sure that he is fit.”The day before the Test we will see whether he can drift the ball, it will come down to that. If he can without pain he will play, otherwise we will have to look at different options. The finger is not swollen but it’s sore and painful.”Danushka Gunathilaka, who made his Test debut in Galle, is likely to be left out once Chandimal returns, while Kusal Mendis is expected to return to the No. 3 slot. Mendis had batted at No. 4 in Galle, dropping one spot as the team played Gunathilaka.”It’s for just one game, we pushed Kusal to four. Danushka was in form and you can’t bat him in the middle order,” Gurusinha said. “We couldn’t get him to open either because the openers were already there, that’s why we got Kusal to four for this Test. When Chandimal comes back, he will go back to No. 3 straight away. He is our No. 3 and we are grooming him for that position definitely.”Sri Lanka also have another slot to fill after the injury to Asela Gunaratne, who has been ruled out of the series with a broken thumb.”We have Dhananjaya (de Silva) in the squad and we have Danushka as well,” Gurusinha said. “We haven’t looked at whether this is the squad we are going to have for the second Test. We will have a chat later today and see whether we will need someone from outside or what combination we are going to play. It comes down to whether we are going to play six or seven batsmen, we will have to decide on that after looking at the wicket.”Sri Lanka will look to recover some ground after losing the first Test by 304 runs. Gurusinha pinned that defeat on the batsmen, who did not execute their plans well. The hosts managed scores of 291 in the first innings, in response to India’s 600, and 245 in the second innings while chasing an improbable 550.”Getting 600 runs it always affects which is a difficult thing, but our batsmen on that track I don’t think they handled it well because it wasn’t a track to get 291 in the first innings. That was a 400-run track,” Gurusinha said.”Even on the fourth day, it wasn’t doing much, it wasn’t difficult when you see the way everyone batted. When you are playing the No. 1 side, they are very patient they’ll bowl a good line and length and wait. They tested our patience and they won. They were good in that and we took more risks. Batting overall, when you look at it, we didn’t handle it well.”Gurusinha said the pace at which cricket is played today made it difficult to draw Test matches. “These days in Test cricket, the game has changed a lot because of T20. They are playing it at a very fast rate getting 300-350 in a day is nothing new in Test cricket. Sometimes if you try to bat long, you can go into a negative frame of mind. You need to play positively but positively is not hitting every ball, it is playing according to your plans. Our execution of plans was the main problem.”Nobody scored a hundred from our side in the last two Tests, even against Zimbabwe. That’s what we need. We need one of the top four batsmen to get 150 or 160 and a couple of others to get 70s and 80s. As soon as that happens it will give us a 400-plus total.”
The Australia batsman has injured his left shoulder three times in the last two years, and feels it is functioning at only 50% currently
ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jul-2017Australia batsman Chris Lynn will have surgery on his troublesome left shoulder on Monday, according to a report in the . As a consequence, he is likely to be out of action till the end of the year, the paper reported, missing the T20 leagues in the West Indies and Bangladesh, and Australia’s proposed ODI tour of India in September-October.”I have been battling through each tournament and umming and arr-ing at training but the time has come to get it done,” Lynn told the paper. “I was getting sorer and sorer after training. I am pretty confident I will be back for the Big Bash.”I was supposed to play in the Caribbean Premier League on Wednesday so I have had to give them the bad news. I will cost myself a bit [having to sacrifice the T20 contracts], but physically and mentally it will mean a lot to get it done.”Lynn injured the same shoulder for the third time in less than two years during this year’s IPL, and missed a month of that tournament and later Australia’s Champions Trophy campaign as a result. He said he was not sure if surgery could fix all the issues he has had with the shoulder, but would be grateful to have any significant improvement.”They are pretty confident they can get it right but there is obviously no certainty,” he said. “If you hurt something once you are never going to be 100% but I would like to be somewhere near 100%. Right now it is about 50% and declining. If I can get it up to around 90% I would be real happy with that.”It is so frustrating. You get a roll on but it ends up being two steps forward and three steps back. It is a big decision but the right decision.”
Former United States international Clinton Dempsey went on an insane freestyle rap reminiscent of Eminem at CBS Sports’ Destination Miami set.
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Dempsey wows studio with freestyle rapBlows away Richards, Carragher, and HenryPokes fun at CBS Sports host AbdoGettyWHAT HAPPENED?
On CBS Sports’ Destination Miami set, former Fulham and Tottenham player Dempsey went on an Eminem-like rap in front of the likes of Jamie Carragher, Thierry Henry, Micah Richards, and host Kate Abdo.
Right at the end of his improvisation, he poked fun at Abdo before walking off set, much to the amusement of the watching crowd and the rest of the panel.
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Outside of a distinguished career in football, where he also played 141 times for the US, Dempsey has a passion for hip hop music. In 2006, the Houston-born player, who had the nickname of Deuce, teamed up with Nike and along with fellow Texan rappers Big Hawk and XO, they released the song 'Don't Tread'. It was used as part of the company's advertising campaign for the 2006 World Cup.
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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR DEMPSEY?
Dempsey is likely to be back in action for CBS Sports when the Champions League returns on December 12.
Lionel Messi has made a stunning impact in America, with MLS commissioner Don Garber admitting that “every game is almost like the Super Bowl”.
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