There will be no smoke engulfing the doorway of the hotel Lebreros and no crowd of supporters, squashed in and shouting, waiting for the players to walk through them like gladiators into the ring. No fireworks as the bus edges its way through the flares to the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, one of the noisiest stadiums in Spain on its noisiest night. There will be no bus at all unless one of the managers decides to park one. There will not be thousands of fans at training or any at the match but at least there will be a match, football returning behind closed doors after 93 days in limbo.
“Playing without fans is as sad as dancing with your sister,” the Spain manager, Luis Enrique, said. Everyone knows that by now but there may be no fixture …
Swedish Olympic champion Sarah Sjostrom is thrilled to be challenging Zlatan Ibrahimovic as the nation s sporting hero after her success at Rio 2016.
Sjostrom, 22, became the first female swimmer from the country to win gold at the Games with her victory in the 100 metre butterfly on Sunday.
Sweden s eyes are generally fixed on Manchester United recruit Ibrahimovic, their all-time leading goalscorer in football.
Sjostrom was happy to be compared to the striker, saying: He is one of a kind.
It is usually always male athletes who get this stuff, the biggest name in sport so it is nice a woman can come up and challenge him.
Sjostrom may yet add to her gold, with the 50m, 100m and 200m freestyle events to come.
Fellow swimmer Simon Sjodin sa…
Dignity and restraint, even in the wake of a scintillating victory or a disastrous loss, are essential during Euro 2008, says Austria s etiquette guru Thomas Schaefer-Elmayer.
The director of the prestigious Elmayer dance school, which prepares dozens of debutantes annually for the traditional Viennese Opera Ball, has laid down ten rules on how to behave during the Euro.
And dress is of course a primary concern, he says, noting that it is no longer necessary for men to wear a tie to the stadium, as was the custom up until the 1960s.
Today, casual attire is enough, he told the daily Die Presse.
But of course, one must come clothed to the stadium, even on hot days. Arriving only in swimming trunks or bare-chested is not appropriate, he said.
M…
Luka Modric has been crowned the Ballon d Or winner for 2018, beating Cristiano Ronaldo and Antoine Griezmann to claim the prize on Monday.
The Croatia midfielder was the star of the show in his country s run to a first ever World Cup final this year, while he played a major role in Real Madrid winning a third consecutive Champions League crown.
Modric s win ends a decade of dominance for Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who had won the Ballon d Or five times each over the past 10 years.
Omnisport takes a look at the Opta numbers for 2018 to see how each of Griezmann, Ronaldo and Modric made it into the top three for the Ballon d Or.
Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)
Atletico Madrid s Europa League hero Griezmann was the first player to sc…
Cedric Soares hopes his big-match experience from the Euro 2016 final will serve him well when Southampton face Manchester United with the EFL Cup trophy on the line.
The two teams meet at Wembley on Sunday as English football s first major honour of the season is decided.
Defender Cedric played as Portugal caused a major shock against France in the final of last year s international tournament and now hopes to experience similar emotions against United.
Playing in the Euro 2016 final was very important for me and my career, he told Southampton s website.
It is a game that I will always remember. These kind of games make you stronger as a player, make you more prepared for matches where the pressure is so high.
It is amazing. To be playing t…
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire believes if Manchester City are found guilty of breaching the Premier League s financial rules, that it should be reflected in their punishment.
The independent hearing, which started last month, is anticipated to last approximately two months, although the verdict is not expected to be made public until early next year.
If found guilty, the sternest punishment is relegation, while points deductions and fines are also potential penalties.
City have been charged with breaking financial fair play (FFP) rules, with the breaches allegedly going back over a decade.
The Citizens were charged with 54 counts of failing to provide accurate financial information from 2009-10 until 2017-18, while also failing to provide accurat…
Galaxy clinch playoffs berth for first time since 2019, Philadelphia thrashed by Charlotte after Rio
LA Galaxy clinched their first playoff berth since 2019 after Javier Hernandez earned them a late penalty to secure a 1-1 draw away to Real Salt Lake on Saturday.
Douglas Costa converted the 68th-minute penalty won by Hernandez, after Riqui Puig had his 17th-minute spotkick saved by RSL goalkeeper Zac MacMath.
RSL had gone ahead in the 25th minute from Sergio Cordova s header, but were left to lament Justen Glad failing to convert two late golden opportunities from headers, denting their playoff hopes and extending their winless run to five games.
Ex-Manchester United forward Hernandez earned Galaxy s reprieve after review when bundled over by Marcelo Silva inside the box, with Costa sending MacMath the wrong way.
The draw was enough for the Galaxy, who a…
There really shouldn’t be only one win separating these two teams. The Texans got a shock win over Jacksonville in Week 1, the same week as the Bills lost a tight game to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Since then, things have reverted to what we expected before the season, the Bills have put in some great performances while the Texans have gone from bad to worse.
You can’t get involved on the action this weekend unless you’ve studied our NFL picks and predictions for the Houston Texans vs Buffalo Bills on Sunday, October 3.
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We’ve had a week in between Championship games to prepare for Super Bowl 56 which features the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams. The Cinderella Bengals are fresh off a 27-24 OT victory on the road against the Kansas City Chiefs, their resiliency and second-half comeback securing them a spot in the Big Game.
As for the Rams, they knocked off the San Francisco 49ers by a score of 20-17, where they too sported a 10-point fourth-quarter comeback to play in the Super Bowl on their home field. The way both teams have gotten to this point makes combining our favorite wagers into a single-game parlay bet even more fun.
Here’s a look at our favorite Bengals vs. Rams SGP picks based on current Super Bowl odds. One parlay is a more conservative play, while t…
A Super Bowl berth is on the line at Lincoln Financial Field this weekend as the Philadelphia Eagles are set to host the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday.
There are many stars on each side of the ball for these teams, but I’ll put the spotlight on Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown to have a big day. Here are my three favorite A.J. Brown props for this matchup, and be sure to also check out Jason Logan’s full 49ers vs. Eagles betting preview and our NFC Championship player props before kickoff!
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