For as long as baseball’s All-Star Game has been played—almost every year since 1933, including twice a year from 1959 to 1962—it’s been the ultimate in wish fulfillment for fans. Want to see a team of future Hall of Famers playing together? It’s got that. Want to see your favorite local players honored on a … Read more
There is optimism to be found in almost every corner of the footballing landscape at this time of the year, but you would do well to find anyone without a smile on their face on this sunny Saturday lunchtime in one of Britain’s most picturesque cities. Football may not necessarily be the first thing that … Read more
Chelsea striker Joao Pedro has signed a new contract running until 2034. The Brazil international, 24, joined from Brighton last summer in a deal worth an initial £55m, plus £5m in add-ons. He scored 20 goals in all competitions in his first season at the club, having played a key role in their Club World … Read more
It’s one thing to take your rivals’ players. It’s another thing to weaken midtable. Sir Alex Ferguson was a master of it, specifically in attack: in 13 Premier League-winning seasons, Manchester United only dropped below 70 goals four times, as Ferguson crafted a formula to rejuvenate his forward line. This was pre-xG, and simple enough … Read more
Looking back, it’s funny to think we might have picked berries from the same bush. Back in 1959, those blackberries proliferated to the rear of The Bend, the most unlovely corner of an unfashionable ground – Vicarage Road, home of the equally forgotten Watford FC. Then, I was 18 and one of the ‘Boys on … Read more
Former Coventry City manager Gordon Strachan is delighted to see pride restored to the city after 25 years in the football wilderness. Few sets of fans have suffered as much as Coventry fans in the 21st century. The club’s 34-year stay in the top flight came to end when Strachan was in charge in 2001, … Read more
“You fear for them, you really do”. A well-worn cliché that pundits will use to express their worries for at least one club at the beginning of every Premier League season, often before a ball has even been kicked in earnest. This year, it looks like my beloved Newcastle United are chief among the sides … Read more
Charlton’s US owners have put the club up for sale just three years after taking over at the Valley. The ownership group is understood to have engaged Oakwell Sports Advisory to find what would be the club’s fifth owner in the past six years. In a sales deck sent to potential investors, which has been … Read more
Infantino came to wider public attention, and attracted further criticism, during this summer’s World Cup, which was staged in the USA, Mexico and Canada. The tournament made headlines before a ball was kicked, with visas to the United States delayed – and even denied – for supporters, coaching staff and officials. In May, Iran’s base … Read more
The father of murdered influencer Sarah Gilson’s children begged her to leave her second husband for years before he shot her dead in a horrific murder-suicide weeks after he called him a pedophile online. Gilson’s first husband, Lyle Landers, told People magazine that he was always concerned about his ex-wife’s relationship with Jeremiah “Shawn” Duffy, … Read more