#every other player in the top 5 had 19+ games and under 7 assists

[melodiousoblivionao3]

Croix assist leader for the entire year by a 3 point margin despite not playing from end of August onward…idk who else would be ROTY she’s blown everyone else out of the water and it’s not even a little bit close

[vero-magic]

Top 10 Moments from this Women's World Cup?

Okay so I kinda just did TOP TEN HIGHLIGHTS of the 2019 WWC... because I didn’t just want it to be goals//matches//dribbles. I wanted it to be bigger than that.

Where do I even begin? Seesh! Okay you asked to go down this rabbit hole. I apologize to no one for how long this is.

[10.] Lucy Bronze v Norway (Defender, England)

Okay... So we shouldn’t be surprised that I put Lucy Bronze on this list. But her goal vs Norway was my personal goal of the tournament. The strike, the technicality, the pace, ugh. Beautiful stuff from a beautiful human being. I mean it was a rocket. This was such a statement win, not to mention the fantastic tournament that Lucy had as well as the rest of the Lionesses. She anchored the english backline despite being a RB up in the attack. I think Lucy is the engine of the team. (Tbh, I don’t like Houghton as a captain because she doesn’t command enough of a presence for me on the field) You know who does have a presence on the field? Lucy Tough Bronze. This goal proved that statement to be true.

[9.] Amel Majri (Defender, France)

Switching flanks to the LB position, let’s talk Amel. Majri had one of the strongest if not the strongest performances throughout the entire WWC. (If she gets left off of the Best XI, I will literally riot.) She was strong, creative, pushed forward and added to the attack, while still providing top-class defense. She was able to keep world class forwards and mids quiet for 90+ minutes game after game. She had insane stats for this WWC, listen to this and tell me it’s not crazy. She led the entire tournament (think about the strong teams of Germany, USA, Netherlands, etc.) leading into the Round of 16 // Q/F games in assists, chances created, crosses//successful crosses. She’s a left back. I’m sorry but I just have to point out how important she is to the French side. Her dynamic running and influence was//is crucial to their attacking play. (She did more than Gauvin and Thiney combined tbh.) But anyhoo, Amel Majri had a hell of a tournament and she is a hell of a player. That’s just the facts. 

[8.] LGBTQ+ Visibility

I think this entire point can be summed up in one tweet. 

The LGBTQ+ Community THRIVED this World Cup. And I was here for it.

[7.] France - La Marseillaise // Chile - Canción Nacional

I love nothing more than pride for our heritage and country. I promise that not all of these moments are about France either. (sorry! Mais allez les bleues am I right?) But after living in France for 19 months learning the culture, understanding the people, loving the language and the pride. I couldn’t help but put this on the list. France (the host nation) walked out onto the Parc des Prince field June 7th, it was all the pride of the host nation on display. It was incredible to experience and as you watched the players take in a sold out Parc des Prince and have 45,261 people scream-sing your nations anthem, chills. One of my personal favorite moments I got to experience throughout the games I went to. Similarity, I got chills when the Chile WNT sang their national anthem. For whatever stupid reason that FIFA was being shitty, it all got somewhat remedied when we heard La Rojas belt out Cación Nacional each and every game. Passion. Soul. Chills.  

( Couldn’t find a video of these... :/ )

[6.] Oranje Legioe

Undoubtedly, the best fans throughout the entire WWC go to the Dutch. They went to Le Havre, Valenciennes, Reims, Rennes, and finally Lyon and they didn’t just go... No, they showed up with thousands upon thousands of supporters strong. You’ve got them all, old, young, kiddos, men, women, children, gay, straight, and even Lisa Evans in a dodgey Orange hat to support her gf. Even still you might be asking, “Sage, why do I love the Dutch Oranje so much?” Well dear tumblr user, because it wasn’t just about the fanbase that they brought to the France, rather it was the support they gave from home. Game after game, the Netherlands smashed viewing records by millions as the NEDWNT continued on to the final. Incredible support makes incredible football. #GrowTheGameTOGETHER

[5.] Erin Cuthbert’s Photo Tribute (Forward, Scotland) 

I made a post about this earlier in the WWC. But this moment was incredible. Erin and Co are playing Argentina in their final WWC Group Stage game. It’s simple, win and they’re in. (Ultimately they would fall short after a powerful rally from La Albiceleste that stunned the world.) Anyhoo, Erin scores her first-ever WWC goal and pulls out a small photo and kisses it. Probably the most tender goal celly of the entire tourney tbh. The image was unclear but it was soon confirmed that it was a photo of a young Erin Cuthbert. Erin later said this:

[4.] Marta’s Speech (Forward, Brazil) 

What a moment not only for the Brazilian fans but for fans across the globe. Marta after Brazil’s elimination to hosts France in the Round of 16, delivered a powerful speech. In it she stated, “There's not going to be a Formiga forever, there's not going to be a Marta forever, there's not going to be a Cristiane.” before inviting the youth of Brazil to give more and do more. This speech quickly, became a worldwide topic of interest. But you know who didn’t need to hear it? (Hint: Read #5 again.)

[3.] Italy Women’s National Team

They first turned heads on first WWC game since 1991 against Australia. Upsetting the favorites 2-1 in an intense, exciting game. No one expected the Italians to do well versus the likes of Sam Kerr (c), De Vanna, Kellond-Knight, Foord, and Williams but, the Italians came back with a unique set of talent in Sara Gama (c), Bonansea, Giacinti, Girelli, and Galli that led their team not only to a shock upset against Aussies but to the Q/F. They played with heart, soul, and passion. They played an exciting game and displayed to the worst why they were there. (and ruined thousands of brackets in the process. RIP.) By far, one of my personal favorite teams to watch this entire tournament. Fantastic football. Let’s just put some up a beautful goal yeah?

[2.] Badass Goalkeeping

This WWC had no shortage of badass women, and it didn’t have a shortage of badass goalkeepers. I’m talking about Christiane Endler, Alyssa Naeher, Shimeng Peng,  Hedvig Lindahl, Karen Bardsley, Vanina Correa, and Sari van Veenendaal among others. Each of these players came up with HUGE and critical saves and moments for their respective countries. Between the 4 Goddess (oops) Player of the Match awards went to keepers showcasing the power and punctuality of the art of goalkeeping. Sari van Veenendaal took home the coveted Golden Glove. 1/12th of awards from the tournament went to keepers and if you don’t think that is impressive just check out Tiane Endler’s  performance against the United States in the Group Stage OR just check out this GK WWC Youtube Vid I found....

[1.] USWNT

The USWNT proved to from the start that they came to play. With a whopping FIFA record setting 13-0 win versus Thailand the USA started the road to the final. But the road was not easy, they had to play Sweden, France, England and take down the Netherlands in the final. This year was filled with record breaking moments for the USWNT including adding a brand new 4th star to those jerseys. What I love about this team is not only the play (but in my opinion they did not play the most attractive football in the tournament (@Netherlands) nor did they play the most strategic (@Sweden) but they grinded out win, after win, after win all while being their dorky selves. Despite pressure to succeed from the ‘15 WWC, the nation, and backlash from the current US President... the United States proved to be made of diamonds and thrived under it all. We saw cellys, sipped some tea, and marveled at Megan. The USWNT won on every front.   

End Tangent: This WWC was so successful and laid a great foundation for the 2023 WWC. This WWC broke records, united nations, and created a platform to advocate for equality. The level of play was tremendous and we saw that every nation is growing the game. It was exciting to see and it makes me very, very excited for what’s to come.

[rockinjoeco]

Chelsea Turbulence

In my first blog post, I will be talking about my beloved Chelsea football club and reviewing our season so far, including the bad run of form (including the Southampton defeat yesterday) that’s seen us lose 5 out of our last 7 league games, four of which were worryingly against teams in the bottom half of the premier League.

This inconsistency of ours is very reminiscent to Chelsea before Abramovich. There were times when we would get an amazing result, and then a disastrous result the next. For example, in December 2001, we won at Manchester United 3-0, a wonderful result considering the comprehensive nature of the win and that Man United were champions back then and the favourites for the title back then. However, a few days later, that 3-0 win at Old Trafford was followed up by a 1-0 home defeat to Charlton Athletic. For me this season, it’s easy for me to be in despair as a Chelsea fan as losing 5 out of 7 league games is relegation form, but what is important to remember is that we were on a transfer ban, therefore meaning we couldn’t buy anyone, including a replacement for our star player Eden Hazard, who departed for Real Madrid last summer, so at the start of the season, I would’ve just been happy to avoid relegation! Christian Pulisic finally being available to play for us has helped us though, even if he doesn’t fully compensate the departure of Hazard. Hiring Frank Lampard as our new manager, replacing Juventus-bound Maurizio Sarri, gave me some joy as seeing a Chelsea legend returning as our manager was always going to be good to see, but also seeing our former academy coach returning as assistant manager of the whole team rather than just managing academy players meant that our youth players will finally get a chance in the first team. I know we are a big club and therefore us Chelsea fans will be very demanding, but Lampard himself know how competitive we should be and while there’s no doubt that many of our young players have talent, it will take them time for them to become players of the highest standard.

Before the Man City game last month, we were in the top 4 by 9 points, and now after our bad run of form, we’re only 4th by 3 points. As disappointing as this collapse of ours has been, Chelsea have already exceeded expectations this season, playing great football and our youth players like fikayo tomori, Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham have performed well this season, with the latter getting 11 goals in the league. For years, us Chelsea fans have been crying out for our manager to start giving our youth players chances in the first team, and it shouldn’t have to take a transfer ban for that to happen. It still pains me to see how we let the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Mohamed Salah go and then become excellent players elsewhere. Previous managers have been too hasty with our youngsters and that’s why we haven’t seen an academy graduate become a first team regular with us since John Terry. Yes, Maurizio Sarri have Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Callum Hudson-Odoi a run of games in the first team last season, particularly in the Europa league, but he was under pressure to do so. Prior to the start of last season, Ruben Loftus-Cheek said he didn’t want to be loaned out again, which Sarri had planned to do. Loftus-cheek said he wanted to be part of the Chelsea team or be sold to another club where he will play regular first team football. Therefore, Sarri has to keep him and make him part of the squad. In January 2019, Hudson-Odoi had been interesting Bayern Munich, and as he wasn’t getting into our first team and having seen how well Jadon Sancho had been doing in the bundesliga, Hudson-Odoi wanted to leave Chelsea and join Bayern. Knowing Hudson-Odoi’s potential, Sarri didn’t want to lose him and therefore had to give him a run of games in the first team. Both Loftus-Cheek and Hudson-Odoi impressed when they played in the first team and gave a positive indication of what they can bring to our team. The impressive form of tomori, Mount and Abraham has finally vindicated our loan system which had been criticised for a long time. Would the trio of youngsters have made the impact that they have made if they came straight from the academy without being loaned out? Possibly not. Roman Abramovich has invested a lot of money into our academy and the loan system was invented to give our younger players the chance to regular first team football at a competitive level. Previous manager have abused that system and used it to profit from our younger players by eventually selling them rather than actually developing them so they can eventually play for Chelsea one day.

Even when we were on a great run and won 6 league games in a row, defence was an issue for us. Defence was an issue for us last season too. Kurt Zouma and Andreas Christensen don’t seem to have developed as much as we had hoped for a few years ago. It was a bad injury back in 2016 that has stifled Zouma’s development when his style of play was reminiscent to Marcel Desailly and it looked like he could be our main centre back for the next decade. It’s never nice seeing bad injuries on footballers, particularly promising young players. As well as Tomori has done this season, he still has a lot to learn and unfortunately has a tendency to make silly mistakes that unnecessarily gift chances to the opposition. There are times when we have won games that we should’ve won more comfortably but then unnecessarily gift the other time a chance to get back into the game and make things more difficult for ourselves. I actually believe the biggest loss this season has been Gary Cahill. Even though he’s not as good as he was a few years ago, his experience could’ve helped tomori’s development while also covering for the absence of Antonio Rüdiger, who we have really missed when he’s been out injured.

Thankfully we can finally be allowed to buy new players in January, and the first half of this season has helped us have a better idea of where to improve. I think we do need a world class winger who can always make something out of nowhere just like Hazard did. I think if we look at those home defeats against West Ham, Bournemouth and Southampton, we didn’t have someone who is world class to create chances that could’ve got us back in the game. Not only could we not have gotten a goal in those game, we didn’t create enough clear chances to do so. Callum Hudson-Odoi struggled against Southampton yesterday, and it looked like it will take him time to become a world class winger. Willian has done well this season, but I don’t think he’s as world class as Hazard was and for me, he’s more of a squad player who can do a job when someone’s out injured or can make something happen from the bench. Christian Pulisic has also done well for us, although it’s taken him time to make his mark on the team, but I don’t think he’s consistent yet, bearing in mind he’s still a young player. Jadon Sancho would be my first choice. He’s done excellently with Dortmund and England, knows Hudson-Odoi and Tammy Abraham through the England under 21s and knows Pulisic from their time with Dortmund. We’ve also been linked with Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha, who is an excellent player and can make something happen out of nowhere like Hazard did, but I think the £80m asking price is probably too much money for him as he’s 27 years old, whereas approximately £120m for 19-year-old Jadon sancho would arguably present better value for money.

Left back is another key position we have to improve on. Azpilicueta’s ability has unfortunately declined this season, having been a wonderful servant for us and can play anywhere in our back four, Émerson just doesn’t look like he’s good enough to be a starter for us and Marcos Alonso is more of a wing back than a left back, so when he’s been playing as a full back, he looks like he’s being played out of position. Ben Chilwell would be my first choice as left-back, who’s done so well with Leicester this season, and I hope a deal can be done with Leicester next month. If we have to wait till the summer to get him, I’d be happy with that, as I can’t think of any alternative targets for the left back position. The jury is still out on the centre back position, because I’m yet to see if Rüdiger and Tomori can pair up together in that position. It would be nice to see Nathan Aké back, who we shouldn’t had sold in the first place. Ake can also play as a left back too, which would be useful if we can’t get Chilwell in January. AC Milan’s Alessio Romagnoli would be good for us too, with many regarding him as the next Alessandro Nesta. There’s also been talk about Frank Lampard wanting you replace our goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga. I personally have no problem with Kepa, I know he is still only 25 which is a young age for a goalkeeper. The thing I don’t get, however, is that when we signed him in August 2018, the club came out and said we’ve been tracking this goalkeeper for the last few years, but his contract was about to expire six months prior to us signing him for over £70m, so if we knew that Kepa was the man we wanted to replace Thibaut Courtois, who had been vocal about wanting to return to madrid to be with his family, why didn’t we make a move for Kepa then? It seemed unnecessary to buy him for a record fee in the summer after he had just signing a new contract with Athletic Bilbao six months earlier.

We should sell Olivier Giroud in January as he doesn’t seem to fit in with Lampard’s style of play, and I think a new back-up striker is needed, and it’s so difficult to buy squad players as every great player wants to play regular first team football, and even warming the bench for a big club like Chelsea may not seem an attractive prospect for them. We’ve been linked with Moussa Dembélé and Timo Werner, who could be good players for us, but would they want to just be deputies to Tammy Abraham? Possibly not, but I think Abraham himself needs some serious competition as he’s only got 1 goal in his last 6 league games and that competition could help him up his game.

We need to be patient with our young players as this season is a transitional season for us and it’s a big learning curb for them. We also have to remember that Frank Lampard, while he’s a club legend, is a young manager and has shown great potential as a manager when he was at Derby last season. I know many will argue that maybe we should’ve gone for a more experienced manager, but there weren’t many managers who we could’ve attracted with a transfer ban, and the transfer ban actually was a blessing in disguise for Lampard as it buys him time. What I found interesting was upon being appointed, Lampard said he didn’t want any special treatment from the board. We know how ruthless Chelsea’s board is, as you’d expect from any big club, and Lampard knows that whatever decisions the boardroom will make as it will always be whatever decision is best for the club. We have exceeded expectations this season, but being a big club that we are, we must always seek to improve so we can start winning titles again in the future.

[i-breathe-therefore-i-read]

Beautiful Bastard Series by Christina Lauren

An ambitious intern. A perfectionist executive. And a whole lot of name calling. Whip-smart, hardworking, and on her way to an MBA, Chloe Mills has only one problem: her boss, Bennett Ryan. He's exacting, blunt, inconsiderate—and completely irresistible. A Beautiful Bastard. Bennett has returned to Chicago from France to take a vital role in his family's massive media business. He never expected that the assistant who'd been helping him from abroad was the gorgeous, innocently provocative—completely infuriating—creature he now has to see every day. Despite the rumors, he's never been one for a workplace hookup. But Chloe's so tempting he's willing to bend the rules—or outright smash them—if it means he can have her. All over the office. As their appetites for one another increase to a breaking point, Bennett and Chloe must decide exactly what they're willing to lose in order to win each other.

*What I thought: 4 out of 5 stars

read: 6/19

It’s so trashy and a bad representation of how a relationship works but I couldn’t stop reading it. I was addicted to it. lol

There was definitely some things Bennett did, I was not okay with. He’s the type  of man I want to stay far away from. Chloe doesn’t put up with his BS so I guess that’s why they work. It’a such a weird relationship. I mean there was cute moments between them but mostly it was just mainly panty ripping sex. What’s up with that fetish anyway? Cute underwear is expensive and I would be pissed if someone kept doing that!

I liked how it ended. Their relationship was a lot better than how it started. 

Just when Chloe’s career starts to take off, Bennett wishes it would all slow down long enough to spend a wild night alone with his girlfriend. But after he refuses to take no for an answer, Chloe and Bennett find themselves with two plane tickets, one French Villa, and a surprising conversation that, predictably, leaves them wrestling under the covers. 

*What I thought: 3 out of 5 stars

read: 7/19

I thought this was just okay. Honestly I wished I didn't buy it or read it because I don't think it added more to the characters. I did like it showed a glimpse of Max.

Escaping a cheating ex, finance whiz Sara Dillon’s moved to New York City and is looking for excitement and passion without a lot of strings attached. So meeting the irresistible, sexy Brit at a dance club should have meant nothing more than a night’s fun. But the manner—and speed—with which he melts her inhibitions turns him from a one-time hookup and into her Beautiful Stranger. The whole city knows that Max Stella loves women, not that he’s ever found one he particularly wants to keep around. Despite pulling in plenty with his Wall Street bad boy charm, it’s not until Sara—and the wild photos she lets him take of her—that he starts wondering if there’s someone for him outside of the bedroom. Hooking up in places where anybody could catch them, the only thing scarier for Sara than getting caught in public is having Max get too close in private.

*What I thought: 4 out of 5 stars

read: 7/19

I didn’t think anybody could top an underwear fetish but boy was I wrong! Max and Sara were some exhibitionists! I liked Sara’s whole mentality of just having fun because her ex-fiancee was a douche canoe. I loved the moment when Sara realized that he wasn’t a stranger that’ll she’ll never see again. lol

I really liked Max. He was a perfect match for her kinkiness. lol I like that it was Max that was pursuing for more unlike most stories it’s the girl. 

Overall I like the growth of both the characters and their relationship. The only thing that I didn't like was how come password protection was not put on devices?!? Private things wouldn’t have gotten out!! Gah the embarrassment! lol

When Max, Henry, and Will steal Bennett away for a weekend of shenanigans and strippers in Vegas, the first stop of the night doesn’t go at all as planned. With their scheme for a Guys Weekend completely derailed anyway, Max and Bennett begin to play a wild game of stealth and secrecy in order to have their bombshells all over Sin City.

*What I thought: 4.5 out of 5 stars

read: 7/19

I really liked reading their shenanigans in Vegas. Bennett and Max were hilarious with trying to sneak out to find their ladies to have some fun. ;)

A bombshell bookworm. A chronic Casanova. And a lesson in chemistry too scandalous for school. When Hanna Bergstrom receives a lecture from her overprotective brother about neglecting her social life and burying herself in grad school, she’s determined to tackle his implied assignment: get out, make friends, start dating. And who better to turn her into the sultry siren every man wants than her brother’s gorgeous best friend, Will Sumner, venture capitalist and unapologetic playboy? Will takes risks for a living, but he’s skeptical about this challenge of Hanna’s…until the wild night his innocently seductive pupil tempts him into bed- and teaches him a thing or two about being with a woman he can’t forget. Now that Hanna’s discovered the power of her own sex appeal, it’s up to Will to prove he’s the only man she’ll ever need.

*What I thought: 5 out of 5 stars

read: 7/19

So far this is my favorite one! I absolutely loved Hanna and Will. I loved Hanna’s blunt, no filter personality. There was so many things she just spouted out that had my eyes bugging out. I laughed so much at what came out of her mouth lol. I loved how much she tried to do things she normally wouldn’t have.

I couldn’t wait to read about Will because in the past books, he wasn’t really in it. Just little bits. So I was super excited to see how he works. I liked that he wasn’t a complete man whore like his buddies were. He’s a schedule man which I never heard of.

I really loved reading how their relationship blossomed from his best buddy’s kid sister until them getting all hot and heavy. I laughed when Hanna’s family became suspicious of their relationship by calling her by her name and not her nickname. lol

Overall, two thumbs up.

An exasperated bride who just wants to elope. A determined groom whose only focus is getting to the wedding night. And—of course—a whole lot of name calling.

*What I thought: 4 out of 5 stars

read: 7/19

I liked it though Bennett and Chloe are my least favorite of the couples so far. They’re just too intense and angry for my romantic heart lol. I like the shenanigans with Chloe’s aunts lol. I’m so glad I don’t have any ladies like that in my family lol. I laughed so much with what Bennett told them to do. Now after reading this....I really need a story with just George. He’s probably my favorite minor character in any book. He’s so hilarious and I want him to have something too! Whenever he’s in the scene, I wished there was more of him. Give my George!

When Ruby Miller’s boss announces he’s sending her on an extended business trip to New York City, she’s shocked. As one of the best and brightest young engineers in London, she knows she’s professionally up to the task. The part that’s throwing her is where she’ll be spending a month up close and personal working alongside—and staying in a hotel with—Niall Stella, her firm’s top urban planning executive and The Hottest Man Alive. Despite her ongoing crush, Ruby is certain Niall barely knows she’s alive…until their flirty overnight flight makes him sit up and take notice. Not one for letting loose and breaking rules, recently divorced Niall would describe himself as hopeless when it comes to women. But even he knows outgoing California-girl Ruby is a breath of fresh air. Once she makes it her mission to help the sexy Brit loosen his tie, there’s no turning back. Thousands of miles from London, it’s easy for the lovers to play pretend. But when the trip is over, will the relationship they’ve built up fall down?

*What I thought: 3.5 out of 5 stars

read: 7/19

I really liked that Niall was the least experienced out of all the boys in the series. Kinda refreshing when the main guy in the story isn’t a playboy. Every time I read stories of men getting around, all I think of is that they're walking std’s. lol

While I liked Ruby, I also got weirded out on how obsessive she was towards Niall. It got awkward at times. I like how she’s understanding with how Niall is because his ex-wife messed with his head but then at times, she’s pushing for more than he is ready for. Like girl we know you’ve married him in your mind since meeting him and writing his name in your notebook but give the man some time to come to terms with a failed relationship he had for half of his life! 

Completely off topic but why do most romance stories the couples never wear condoms? Like most of these couples in this series seem like they never heard of them or they mention I’ve never done this before with others but want to with their partner. I guess that’s how we know ‘it’s true luv 4ever’ 🙄

One Player tamed. One nerd girl satisfied. And one more major life decision to make. When Will fell for Hanna, her quirky sense of humor and fierce dedication to her career were part of the attraction. (Not to mention her coy newbie attitude toward sex and her willingness to let him teach her everything.) But when the job offers start rolling in for her—and oh, they do—Hanna has trouble deciding what she wants, where they should live, and how much she should burden Will with the decision. Magic between the sheets is only one part of a relationship...getting on the same page is quite another altogether.

*What I thought: 2 out of 5 stars

read: 7/19

I was a little disappointed with this because I love Will and Hanna. I really liked the beginning with them getting married but quickly got bored with reading about Hanna being indecisive with where she wants to work at. I ended up skimming the book.

Oh wait, there was a one scene where the group all drinks together and there was this one part with George getting a kiss he’ll remember forever, that was the best. lol

[beersfromthebleachers]

The Rivalry invades London

This is a very exciting time for baseball this weekend, as America’s best rivalry will be invading London, England: the Boston Red Sox will be taking on the New York Yankees. The contest will be a two-game series held at London Stadium, which is home to one of West Ham United of the English Premier League. This is a very important time for Major League Baseball as The Rivalry graces the presence of the United Kingdom and the European audience and displays the talents of America’s past time: baseball. The critical element is to not only gain a new audience in the sport, but to implant and encourage the idea that this sport is growing on an international level. Europe and England together are keys to the growing concept of baseball, and the reciprocation of The Rivalry being in London needs to receive a standing ovation by the end of the weekend.

Baseball is not well received in England, as it is its other national sports such as association football (soccer) or cricket. Cricket would be more of a familiar game to the interested fans that would attract to baseball, for some of the rules inspired the origins of the game before it grew in popularity in the United States. England has never had a strong presence in baseball, but it has had an active national team recognizing the sport since 1987 by the British Baseball Federation. Overseen by the Confederation of European Baseball, the British have been active participants on an international level of play only, such as the World Baseball Classic. Baseball continues to develop by introducing youth programs for adolescents and children to develop playing at a younger age. In the competitive nature that is in European sport, England has catch up to pace with other nations developing baseball on an international level. The country is ranked twelfth in Europe and thirty-second in the world since the last international rankings before the last World Baseball Classic. There is plenty of time to develop new talent for the British national team, but it will be a while before they become a dominant force as the teams are in the American and Asian nations.

The Great Britain national team baseball cap used in international competition, most recently worn in the World Baseball Classic. 

An important factor that builds this gap is the international presence of the Boston Red Sox. The Fenway Sports Group is a huge contributing factor of being ambassadors to major sports both being represented by the United States and England. With representation of baseball, there still is a sign of tremendous respect to the nation’s dominating sport of football (or soccer) when the team is playing in the stadium where West Ham United calls home. A part of great contribution on the FSG end, you would think that the game should be played in Anfield where the Liverpool F.C. plays. With both teams between the Red Sox and Liverpool being represented by the same company, you would think this series would take place in Liverpool. Both teams did come up on top winning a World Series (Red Sox) and the Champions League (Liverpool), so the opportunity for their fan’s presence should be celebrated by FSG. However, due to the importance of this series, it shows more of a grand gesture playing in the nation’s capital rather than a favored side. Even though the Red Sox are considered the “home team” in this series, it would be unbiased for the Yankees to go against the fans of both teams in Liverpool.

Both the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool F.C. won major titles of competition for the Fenway Sports Group.

Some background knowledge on both teams right before the halfway point of the season. The Boston Red Sox started their 2019 campaign as reigning champions after winning their ninth title in franchise history, however started on more of a rocky start than a dominant one. Sitting currently in third place in the American League East with a record at 44-38, nine games back from first place. The leader happens to be the team they happen to be playing this weekend:the New York Yankees. The Bronx Bombers have been battled and bruised, exploiting a great deal of their younger talent instead of their stars who have gradually returned from being injured the majority of the season. They have fought to first place and remained dominate with a league best record at 52-28. The series is favored more towards the Yankees with their chances to increase their lead in leading the division above every team, including the Red Sox.

The first game will feature Red Sox pitcher Rick Porcello (5-5, 4.52 ERA) taking on the Yankees’ dominant ace Masahiro Tanaka (5-5, 3.21 ERA) with first pitch going out at 1:10 Eastern Time (6:10 Greenwich Mean Time) where it will be featured as the first evening game. Tanaka being a man that is an international ambassador of baseball has the biggest spotlight on him in this game. Originally, from the Nippon Professional League in Japan, Tanaka has been a champion from his homeland’s league with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles and a prestige player when representing his national team. Having the most experience on an international level, Tanaka has an international ERA at 2.57 with his last performance at the World Baseball Classic in 2013. His career numbers against the Red Sox are 8-4, 79 strikeouts, and a 4.35 ERA pitching for the Yankees since 2014. Porcello is no stranger to the Yankees in his 10-year career in the American League facing them 23 times and his numbers against them are 10-9, 114 strikeouts, and 3.32 ERA. Porcello does not have as much as pressure leaning against him in this matchup; however, he will need more assistance from his teammates to keep him ahead in the opposition with Tanaka.

The second game will be held earlier in the day for Americans to tune into at 10:00 in the morning Eastern Time (3:00 PM Greenwich Mean Time) and will feature the Red Sox’ Eduardo Rodriguez (8-4, 4.87 ERA) against the Yankees’ probable starter J.A. Happ (7-4, 5.23 ERA). Both pitchers are pretty generous with giving up runs, so this match up may be more in favor in the batting line ups on both ends than it is for the pitchers. DJ LeMahieu is the Yankees best hitter, sitting at a .336 batting average, which is the best average in the American League. Rafael Devers is only behind LeMahieu with a batting average of .322 and is currently having his breakout season for the Red Sox. Another player who is having a breakout year for the Yankees is Gary Sanchez, hitting a whopping 23 home runs and continue at every chance he gets. Xander Bogaerts is leading his team in RBIs with 55 and has 15 home runs, trailing his teammate J. D. Martinez by only two who is leading the team with 19 homers. We could see a game of more thrilling offense from both teams in this game and has the opportunity to be entertain for the fans in the stands at London Stadium.

The exciting series is less than a few hours away and will be wonderful to see The Rivalry on an international level. With the success of this series already gaining momentum, other franchises will have the opportunity to play in London in the coming seasons. The St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs are already set to play in the same stadium for next summer in the 2020 regular season. Hopefully, the success of this series will spark great interest in the sport of baseball for the United Kingdom.

Hopefully we can see a league flourish under the British Baseball Federation and grow into the popularity and success as the English Premier League.

[bomberlandia]

26 Reasons to love the Bombers right now

The 11-point loss to the Demons was another gallant performance against a more experienced team. It has sparked discussion around how the Bombers “aren’t quite ready” to mix it with the contenders. And that’s true. Remember: the Bombers were predicted to finish 12th or lower this year. They have surpassed expectations and it looks like their development and connection has been fast-tracked with a collective buy in to the Rutten ethos. 

Even though the Bombers are slightly off competing at the pointy end of the year, there’s been so much to like about their season. Here’s 26 things I love about the Bombers right now.  

1. Cale Hooker: Before this year, Cale Hooker worked his way back from injury and was a permanent defender. At 31, he looked tired toward the end of last season. Fast forward 12 months and he’s kicked 30 goals - the most out of any Bombers player - and sits 8th in the Coleman Medal race. I love his work in the forward ruck contests where he hacks the ball forward at any cost. It’s produced some great results. He’s true fighter. 

2. Consistent Form On The Road: Bombers have gone 2-5 from 7 outings on the road. Apart from the Power loss (54) and Lions (57), the other losses have been tight affairs: Swans by 3, Giants by 2 and Tigers by 39 after the Bombers had led in the early stages of the final quarter. It’s not a perfect record but since round five Essendon have been consistently better. They’ve travelled for half of the season so far with the fifth youngest team and can show they can compete. 

3. Dyson Heppell is Back: After only playing 3 games in 2020, many said the Bombers captain was too slow for the midfield and there were question marks over what his role might look like and if he could ever recover back to full health. Heppell answered those questions by playing some inspired football. If you look at the AFL rankings, he’s 45th for disposals, 10th for marks, 17th for intercepts with 90 in total; Steven May has 85. He’s bringing other players like Hind and Laverede into contests and his calm influence is having a big impact. This is the year Bombers fans hoped would happen for Heppell. He’s back. 

4. Sam Draper’s Aggression: He has only played 12 games and yet plays the game with such an energy and ferociousness it’s hard not to get excited about what he could look like three years from now. I’m enjoying the little things about Draper’s game: the intelligent knock-ons, the scrappy kicks from congestion, the high-flying contested intercept marks on the wing. Once he figures out his true potential and can start hurting teams at both ends his value will go through the roof. 

5. Brownlow Medal Fancies: Darcy Parish and Zach Merrett are having years to remember. The predictor has Parish at 18 votes at 9-1 and Merrett at 13 votes for 26-1. Parish has a real chance of winning Charlie. 

6. Darcy Parish’s Year of Growth: Speaking of Parish, he’s the no.1 player in the AFL for centre clearances with 56. His breakout year has resulted in large improvements across the board but his best work has been generating touches at the bounce which has kept Essendon in games much longer. He’s also the best Bomber in the AFL for: goal assists (2nd), contested ball (9th), score involvements (6th) and metres gained (20th). 

7. Jayden Laverde: He’s played every game this year (14) which is the most he’s played in a single year - his previous best was 10 in 2019. The transition to the backline has made him a vital cog in defence now. He’s ranked 54th in the AFL for marks; the second best Bombers player. And he’s ranked 30th for interceptions (81) behind Heppell, Hind, Ridley.  Since making the shift to defence he’s doubled his production: 114 disposals in 2019 to 201 touches in 2021; his marking numbers have gone from 43 in 2016 to 84 this year; and he’s had 41 rebounds this year ( 7 was his previous best in 2015).  It’s taken the 60-gamer almost seven years to find a perfectly fitting role and now he looks at home. 

8. Great Depth: The injuries haven’t been good but when you think of who has to come back into the team you start to imagine what a full Essendon lineup might look like. Missing: McGrath, Shiel, Caldwell, Snelling, Hurley, Francis. And then think of some of the players that got games last year but are working away in the VFL right now, like Cutler, Gleeson, BZT, Phillips, Cahill, Zaharakis. And then development players are there too: Reid, Bryan, Durham, Hird, Brand, McBride. 

9. Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti: He’s arguably the safest set shot in the AFL. In the last three years he’s kicked 80.32; this year 29.12. His goal accuracy of 67.8 percent and his 2.1 goal-average puts him in the elite category. 

10. Ranked second in the AFL for goals scored: The Bombers have an average winning margin of 34.5 (5th best in the AFL). They are also ranked third for points scored behind the Bulldogs, Lions and are better than the Demons (4th), Eagles (5th), Power (6th). 

11. Closing the Gap: The Bombers average losing margin is 22.9. That has dropped. In 2019 it was at 35.6 and in 2020 it was 30.7. This means we’re seeing the Bombers be more competitive. This year the Demons have an average losing margin of 9 points. Geelong has been the benchmark in recent years with 18, 15 and 12 point average losing margins since 2018. 

12. Jordan Ridley: The 22-year-old has only played 39 games and already owns a best and fairest award. His play-making, intercepts (ranked 27th in the AFL), and efficiency has made him Essendon’s no.1 defender now. This year he’s ranked 7th in the AFL for rebounds (90), the best of the Bombers. He just does a lot of things right - from body positioning, reading the play, and decision-making - which has been so good to watch. 

13. Nick Hind is Better than Saad:  This has been a talking point all year. It’s time to lay it all out. Out of 11 categories, Hind is more dominant in eight of them. Here they are: 

Tackles +5 

Inside 50s +5

Goal assists +4

Contested Ball +17 

Uncontested +57 

Efficiency +1 %

Score Involvements +6 

Saad is +1 for rebounds, +23 for bounces, and +18 for metres gained (on average). But Hind looks to be a much more complete player with room to grow. Both players are the same age - 26 - but Hind has only played 35 games; Saad has 123 games behind him.  It’s been an impressive year by Hind at his new club and I think what he’s done is even more remarkable considering it’s only his third year in the AFL system. 

14. The Bombers’ Form Looks Real: Watching them play they have more purpose, more system in their game. They’re no longer the indecisive team that gets strangled under pressure. It’s all about executing and when they do it, it works. They still have gaps. They still turn the ball over. But they’re finally playing a brand of football that is more even and fluid than 12 months ago. Had a few more results fallen their way they could have been a top six team this year. 

15. Highest score this year is 143: That score was against St.Kilda in April and is ranked second highest in the AFL behind the more advanced Bulldogs’ 167. It’s better than the Cats’ 136 and Tigers’ 134. They also scored 141 against the rebuilding Roos. 

16. Last Quarters Won: The ability to finish off games has been one of the Bombers’ strengths. They’ve won 9 last quarters out of 14 which is the best in the AFL. They share that with the Bulldogs, Lions, Crows. The Bombers have also won 8-of-14 first quarters (ranked sixth best), but need to improve on second and third quarters: they’ve won 9 out of 28 collectively (five and four respectively). 

17. Ben Rutten: I think the best trait Rutten has is his communication. Whatever is happening behind closed doors is working because the players have responded on the field. They have responded by signing contracts. They have responded by saying the culture is tight. There’s been player improvement from last year’s fringe guys - Redman, Laverde, Stewart, Snelling, Ham. The Hooker move worked. The game plan is something to finally get behind. He’s surprised a lot of people but also confirmed he’s the man for the job: to take Essendon to their next flag. 

18. Rising Stars: Nik Cox and Harrison Jones both got nominations. It was Cox who started the year consistently with great endurance and skills on both sides of the feet. Now we’re seeing Jones’ contested marking come to the surface and his work rate: running 14-15 kilometres per game. Jones has 18 goals and 52 marks. Cox has 8 goals, 59 marks. There’s no ceiling for either player. Their evolution will be exciting to watch.

19. Merrett’s 2021 is the Best Merrett Yet: He’s had a very consistent career but if he keeps going at the pace he’s at now, he’ll return his best year of production. He needs 219 disposals in nine games to eclipse 659 in a year which is his previous best. He’s ranked 4th in the AFL for disposals per game (31.50), 20th for tackles (69), and he’s had 95 score involvements (second behind Parish at Essendon). Six more years of the Merrett way. 

20. Tackle Count: Bombers are ranked 4th for tackles in the AFL with 61.4 per game. To compare: In 2020 the Bombers were ranked 11th averaging 49.5 per game. This has been a big part of the elevation in intensity and pressure. When it’s all humming, man, it looks good. 

21. Jake Stringer’s Trajectory:  Stringer’s range has no ceiling. Whether he’s a midfield bull, clearance king, goal-scorer, game-changer, x-factor, and more recently “Dusty-like”. He’s surging. Forget the fat-shaming of 2020, he’s taking his game to new levels. With a bit of luck he stays healthy and stays consistent. 

22. Debutants: The trio of Reid, Waterman and Perkins have shown flashes of their potential. Reid has only played the one game but his 202-cm frame will make him one of Essendon’s key defenders of the future. Perkins has had 57 score involvements and 110 uncontested touches. His poise with the ball is ahead of his time. And Waterman has kicked nine goals in seven games and looks like a good fit in the forward line. He brings tenacity and a raking, deadly, left-foot. His AFL journey still gives me goosebumps. 

23. That Eagles 16-point Win: It was dubbed a “coming of age” win for the fact the Bombers beat the Eagles - a finals team - in Perth with a young team. They were down by 29 and kicked 7.8 to 2.5 in the second half. Once they start beating contending teams, they’ll look back at this game and say that’s when it all started to sink in that their best was better than the best. 

24. The Critics Have Turned: Remember this headline? “Essendon star Zach Merrett a casualty of leadership mess”. The Bombers’ 2020 season was called a “death spiral” and “Tipungwuti is a marvellous player in hopeless surrounds”. What about this one:  “Saad decisions spells disaster for Essendon.” Those doomsday headlines have now been replaced with “fiesty” Bombers, “Rising” and “Brave”. 

25. Will Snelling: He’s recovering from a thumb injury but has taken a leap this year with his pressure role. He’s kicked 10 goals, has 18 tackles inside 50 (second best at Essendon), 9 goal assists and 52 tackles. He’s played 33 games since 2016 when his career looked uncertain and now he’s an important cog for Essendon. 

26. Peter Wright: He’s had to pinch-hit in the ruck while Draper was injured and collected 139 hitouts - the most at Essendon. He’s been a solid contested mark option with 18 and has 15 marks inside 50. His 11 goals puts him behind Hooker, Walla, Stringer and Jones and makes him a very versatile tall that will continue to develop. 

[smallcollegebasketball]

Webcasts and an Apology

I watch a lot of small college basketball through webcasts.  A LOT of NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA, and sometime NCCAA and USCAA basketball.  Knowing that I have a wife and son and a full time job, I actually watch an inordinate amount of college basketball through the web.

I do this for a number of reasons.  Primarily, I suppose, I am a basketball junkie.  I just really enjoy it.  Importantly, as you probably know by now, I am the Founder of Small College Basketball.  Under the umbrella of SCB, we have launched four national awards, the Hall of Fame, the SCB Hall of Fame Classic, the Alumni Association, and more.  I’m very active on social media, pushing out positive and insightful information about college basketball at the small college levels - about the players, coaches, teams, history, etc.  I just looked and realize that I have now sent out over 22,800 tweets.  Additionally, I’ve posted hundreds of times on this blog and hundreds of times on our Facebook account.  As such, I watch so much college basketball because I really enjoy it as a basketball junkie, yet I also watch because I want to be very informed.  I want to be educated when it comes to our awards, our Hall of Fame, the selection of teams in our Hall of Fame Classic.  At the end of the season, I also give the State of Small College Basketball Address.  Again, I want to be very educated and informed, so I watch a crazy amount of basketball at the small college levels.  (Additionally, more will be forthcoming under the umbrella of Small College Basketball, so again, I watch a lot to be informed and educated).

Fortunately, we’re living in a time where technology allows me to watch so much from my home, through the web.  I have two computers, and I can have multiple tabs open on each computer, and go back-and-forth to multiple games....or I can choose to focus on one or two games at a time.  Importantly, schools and conferences produce these games and broadcast them through the web for free.  They want to promote their programs and their schools, and they want parents, fans, etc. to be able to see their teams play.  This presents a wonderful opportunity for each school.  It also allows people like myself....along with the raters for the national polls, members of the media, professional scouts, agents, those that handle national awards and the All American teams, and more, to watch their teams in action.  The ability to watch games - for free - through the web is wonderful for all involved, including the student-athletes, basketball programs and the schools themselves.

Now, there are a few (very small percentage - I’m guessing that it’s probably 5% - 10% of schools/conferences throughout all of small college basketball) that charge a fee to watch their games.  From a school/conference standpoint, I understand why they charge: In short, it creates an additional revenue source.  On the whole, smaller schools are in the midst of some challenging times from a financial standpoint.  Some schools are certainly in good shape, financially, yet there are many that are struggling.  Additionally, it costs money for every home game, as host schools pay for game officials, table crew, security, ticket takers, concession workers, etc.  They also pay their staff.....and there are basic production costs for each webcast.  On top of this, the COVID-19 situation makes this situation even more difficult, as many schools are not allowing any fans, and others have reduced capacity considerably.  As such, there is very little ticket revenue.  Typically - depending upon the number of paid tickets and the price of those tickets - the ticket sales would be able to offset the various game costs.  In many cases, with programs that draw 1,000+ people per home game, the schools can drive a bit of profit from the games.  During this time, however, things have changed, and schools are operating at a deficit to conduct their home games.  As such, some schools and conferences have begun to charge to watch their games on the web.  Again, this is a very small percentage of schools that actually charge.

This creates a dilemma for myself and a small number of others.  I don’t consider Small College Basketball to be “media”, for multiple reasons.  With this said, I realize that I use Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and this blog on a regular basis.  We’ve worked to develop quite a following, and it’s continuing to grow.  

.............so, without making this a “much-more-lengthy” post, here’s where I’m going with this:

Last night, I was anxiously looking forward to watching the Arizona Christian game vs. Indiana Wesleyan.  IWU came into the game with a 14-0 record, winning by almost 30 points per game, and ranked #1 in the country.  Arizona Christian came into the game with a 7-0 record, ranked #5 in the country and was playing at home.  I jumped onto my computer to watch the game..... and I saw that they were charging to watch the game.  To be blunt, I was frustrated.  I really wanted to watch this game, yet typically, if a school or conference decides to charge for the game, they often provide the login code to me so that I can watch the games.  They want me to watch their games so that we write about their teams, players, etc. on social media.....and so that I see their players (for consideration for awards.....and I’d imagine that they know that agents, professional teams, etc. will often contact me for thoughts on players).... and overall, I think that the coaches and administrators understand that our platform was built FOR THEM.  (Again, we expect that there is more to come under the umbrella of Small College Basketball).  Collectively, the full platform of Small College Basketball is really a vehicle FOR the college basketball players, coaches, programs, contributors, etc.  

So, a couple of things here:

First, and importantly, I did something that I shouldn’t have done, and I fired off a Tweet.  I saw others that were posting on social media that they were disappointed that they were charging to watch this game.  I joined in, and reposted a Tweet, and I posted the following:

“Very frustrating..... From a school/conference standpoint, I understand the thought process, yet it's incredibly frustrating.  We'll move on and focus on teams/players/coaches that don't charge or provide us with the login.  @ACUFirestorm”

I was frustrated, and I shouldn’t have posted this Tweet.  I am disappointed in myself that I didn’t show the restraint that I should have had during this time.  I sincerely apologize.

There is a little more to to this story, yet I should have had more restraint.  I’ve been an assistant coach, Head Coach, Athletic Director, Commissioner, as well as being the Founder of the Collegiate Basketball Invitational and the Director of the NAIA’s National Tournament.  I’ve been a member of the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Committee.  I should know better than to share my frustrations in a public manner.  To the coaches and players at Arizona Christian - who had nothing to do with the decision to charge for webcasts - I apologize.  

My second point is this:  For any school or conference that does, indeed, charge for their webcasts, please forward the login information to smallcollegebasketball@gmail.com.  Again, please send this information directly to me so that I can watch your team, your players, etc.  We have a national platform that is built for YOU.  I have - quite literally - spent thousands and thousands of hours over the course of many years to build this platform for YOU.  Please send your login information to me so that I may use our national platform to serve YOU.

Thank you.

John McCarthy                                                                                          Founder                                                                                                           Small College Basketball                                                                  www.smallcollegebasketball.com

[techcrunchappcom]

New Post has been published on https://techcrunchapp.com/college-football-picks-schedule-predictions-against-the-spread-odds-for-key-top-25-games-in-week-5/

College football picks, schedule: Predictions against the spread, odds for key top 25 games in Week 5

The 2020 college football season has been anything but normal so far, and that includes in the SEC, which was the defending national champions upset last week as it began play. Now entering Week 5 of the overall season, the SEC truly takes centerstage with the two biggest games of the day.

No. 2 Alabama hosts No. 13 Texas A&M in the SEC on CBS Game of the Week as Jimbo Fisher — in Year 3 with the Aggies — looks to become the first Nick Saban assistant ever to topple his boss. The Crimson Tide are heavily favored in the contest, but in this wild season it seems like anything can happen in a given game. There is also the first top-10 showdown of the season in the evening as No. 4 Georgia hosts No. 7 Auburn in one of the SEC’s biggest rivalry games. Will the Bulldogs have their quarterback situation worked out, or will the Tigers pull off the upset as a near-touchdown underdog?

Elsewhere on the schedule, No. 1 Clemson, No. 3 Florida and No. 9 Texas all face conference foes in key early-season matchups ahead of bigger games on their slate. The Gators and Longhorns are in action early in the day, while the Tigers will serve as Saturday’s nightcap.

Let’s take a look at the biggest games on the schedule Saturday along with our picks and predictions for what will transpire in those contests. Our CBS Sports college football experts have picked every game both straight up and against the spread, giving you ample opportunity to decide how to make your picks ahead of kickoff.

Odds via William Hill Sportsbook | All times Eastern

South Carolina at No. 3 Florida (-17.5) — Noon on ESPN: The Gamecocks are just 1-3 against the Gators in Will Muschamp’s tenure, but their average margin of defeat in those three losses is just 9.3 points. South Carolina scored 27 against Florida last season and 31 in 2018. Given how vulnerable Florida’s defense looked against Ole Miss, it’s a safe bet that South Carolina will reach at least 20 points. And with some veterans in the secondary, South Carolina should be able to keep Florida from turning this into a complete blowout. Pick: South Carolina +17.5 — David Cobb

TCU at No. 9 Texas (-13) — Noon on FOX: Given Texas’ struggles against the pass, TCU could hold its own in this game. The Horned Frogs had nice ball distribution against Iowa State with nine guys catching at least two passes. However, I’m worried about their pass protection. Additionally, Sam Ehlinger has to be a playmaker and he showed he can lead a comeback if he’s called upon. I think he makes enough plays for Texas to get the home W, but I’m not loving the defense to make the necessary stops to win by two full touchdowns. Pick: TCU +13 — Ben Kercheval

No. 13 Texas A&M at No. 2 Alabama (-17) — 3:30 p.m. on CBS: I’ve always had a pretty solid rule of thumb when picking Alabama games in the SEC. Generally, when Alabama is at home, you want to bet against it. It does a much better job of covering the spread when on the road. But when we look closer at the results, the Crimson Tide performs better at home with larger spreads. In 26 SEC games under Nick Saban when they’ve been favored by 17 points or more — like they are here — they’ve gone 16-10 ATS. When I see that trend and combine it with how soundly Alabama has beaten the Aggies recently, it’s hard to go any other way here. Pick: Alabama (-17) — Tom Fornelli

Which college football picks can you make with confidence in Week 5, and which SEC team will pull off a shocking upset? Visit SportsLine to see which teams will win and cover the spread — all from a proven computer model that has returned over $4,000 in profit over the past four-plus seasons — and find out.

No. 18 Oklahoma (-7) at Iowa State — 7:30 p.m. on ABC: Home-field advantage isn’t a thing like it used to be, in part because of COVID-19’s effects on stadium capacity. Still, the Cyclones shouldn’t have any problem bringing their own juice for this one. This is a rare opportunity to not only reinsert yourself back into the Big 12 Championship Game conversation but give the Sooners rare back-to-back losses while fully exposing them as a vulnerable team. Iowa State can punch plays up, and the offense sprinkles in some big plays, so give me the Cyclones to keep it at least within a touchdown. But we’ll find out if Iowa State’s passing game has enough to pull the outright upset. Pick: Iowa State +7.5 — Ben Kercheval

No. 7 Auburn at No. 4 Georgia (-6.5) — 7:30 p.m. on ESPN: Georgia’s quarterback situation is an absolute mess. JT Daniels got medically cleared this week, but just how healthy is he? Is he capable of playing at the level he was at before injuring his knee in the season-opener last season? These are valid questions — especially considering it took so long for him to get cleared by doctors. Whether it’s Daniels or Stetson Bennett, Auburn’s defense will bring the heat early and often, forcing multiple mistakes from the Georgia offense. Yes, Georgia’s defense is great. Maybe the best in the country. But all Auburn has to do is find a way to get to 20 points in this one to not only cover but get the win outright. Pick: Auburn +6.5 — Barrett Sallee

Virginia at No. 1 Clemson (-28) — 8 p.m. on ACC Network: To me, this pick — not the game, but the pick — comes down to Virginia’s offensive line. That group has come a long way since it was a glaring weakness at times for the Wahoos offense, where Bryce Perkins’ athleticism and escapability was not only a feature but a necessity for success. They are an experienced group in 2020, and the success they had against Duke suggests it’s improved in a way that makes running the offense a little bit easier for new starter Brennan Armstrong. But Duke’s defensive line is not Clemson’s defensive line, and if Myles Murphy, Bryan Bresee and the rest of that group dominate like they did against Wake Forest, it will be difficult to get any kind of rhythm going on offense or extend drives to keep the ball out of Trevor Lawrence’s hands. It might not be another 42-point win, but I feel pretty good about Clemson winning that position battle, Lawrence having 3-4 total touchdowns, and the Tigers winning by at least 30. Pick: Clemson (-28)

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[auburnfamilynews]

Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images

The Pirate is in the SEC

Over the next couple of weeks, we will be taking a quick look at every Auburn opponent on the 2020 schedule.

2019 Record: 6-7 (3-5)

2020 Signing Class: 28th (10th SEC)

Head Coach: Mike Leach (1st Season)

Key Departures:

QB Tommy Stevens - 97/161 (60.2%) 1,155 yds 11 TD 5 INT 83 carries 381 yds 4.6 avg 4 TD

WR Deddrick Thomas - 30 rec 401 yds 13.4 avg 2 TD

WR Stephen Guidry - 30 rec 387 yds 12.9 avg 5 TD

OL Stewart Reese - 37 game starter (Transferred to Florida

DE Chauncey Rivers - 43 tackles 8.0 TFL 5.0 sacks 2 PBU FF

DT Fabien Lovett - 19 tackles 2.5 TFL sack (Transferred to FSU)

LB Leo Lewis - 65 tackles 5.5 TFL sack 3 PBU 2 FR FF

CB Cam Dantzler - 40 tackles 2.0 TFL 0.5 sacks 2 INT 8 PBU FR FR

CB Jarian Jones - 12 tackles 2 PBU FR (Transferred to FSU)

S Jaquarius Landrews - 77 tackles 0.5 TFL INT 8 PBU

S Brian Cole - 67 tackles 7.5 TFL 2.0 sacks INT 2 PBU 2 FR FF

Key Returners:

QB K.J. Costello (GS) - 269/413 (65.1%) 3,540 yds 29 TD 11 INT

QB Garrett Shrader (So) - 88/153 (57.5%) 1,170 yds 8 TD 5 INT 113 carries 587 yds 5.2 avg 6 TD

RB Kylin Hill (Sr) - 242 carries 1,350 yds 5.6 avg 10 TD 18 rec 180 yds 10.0 avg TD

WR Osirus Mitchell (Sr) - 29 rec 430 yds 14.8 avg 6 TD

DE Kobe Jones (Sr) - 30 tackles 7.0 TFL 4.0 sacks

DL Nathan Pickering (So) - 30 tackles 7.0 TFL 4.0 sacks

LB Erroll Thompson (Sr) - 84 tackles 3.5 TFL 0.5 sacks 2 PBU FR FF

Preview

Your school has not technically started a coaching search until Mike Leach is linked to it. Over the past few years, it seemed every single major head coaching opportunity that came available included the Pirate amongst its top candidates. There was even major smoke that Tennessee had closed the deal but the AD at the time was fired before it could be completed and Phillip Fulmer chose Jeremy Pruitt instead. But this offseason it finally happened. Mike Leach is now in the SEC.

pic.twitter.com/MR0NqYTWa9

— John Cohen (@JohnCohenAD) January 9, 2020

Unsurprisingly, it did not take long for Leach to make waves. In attempt at making a joke about his wife being stuck at home with him for an extended period of time due to COVID-19, Leach tweeted out an image of a woman making a noose. Turns out that type of imagery isn’t a great look for someone as the new head coach at a school in the state of Mississippi. That tweet was used as the impetus for starting defensive tackle Fabian Lovett to transfer away. Later, Jones joined him in the portal and both landed in Tallahassee.

Interestingly, they wanted to transfer to Ole Miss with Jones even tweeting his commitment to the Rebels at one point. However, the move was nixed reportedly due to concerns over tampering. It should be noted that two former State coaches are now on the Ole Miss staff and both happen to be the players former position coaches.

No rivalry does a better job of just flat out hating each other like those two Mississippi schools.

However, arguably the most important transfer for State this offseason is not who left Starkville but who decided to transfer in. Leach’s Air Raid system is predicated on having quick trigger man at QB who operates best throwing the ball 40+ times a game. That man is not Garrett Shrader who was forced into starting action last season where he showed the ability to hurt defenses with his legs but threw some absolute ducks from the pocket. That’s why Leach’s signing of K.J. Costello is so important.

Costello started for Stanford in 2017, 2018 and the start of 2019 before a leg injury sidelined him for the year. He was incredibly productive in 2018 throwing for over 3,500 yards while posting a QB rating of 155. He will have the opportunity to put up video game numbers under Leach while allowing Shrader to redshirt and develop more as a passer. This State team was in danger of winning maybe 1 conference game in 2020 before landing Costello in my pretend expert opinion. Probably the most important offseason pickup in the conference.

The other major win for Mississippi State this offseason was the return of Kylin Hill. A thousand yard rusher in 2019, Hill elected to return to Starville for one more season instead of taking his talents to the NFL. Under Leach, he will have a chance to demonstrate his ability as a pass protector and receiver both of which are highly valued skills for RBs in the NFL these days.

Even with Costello and Hill in Mississippi State’s backfield, I am very skeptical Mississippi State’s offense will be any good this fall. Three of the Bulldogs top four receivers are gone. Osirus Mitchell is the lone returner and while he has a nice skillset he’s far from a proven commodity in the SEC. Two other offseason additions in Alabama transfer Tyrell Shavers and JUCO signee Malik Heath should give the Bulldogs a boost at wideout but this is a major question mark for Leach’s offense hading into 2020.

Just two years ago, Mississippi State had the #1 defense in the country per SP+. But pretty much every major contributor to that unit over the past two seasons is gone. Plus Mississippi State is breaking in a new defensive scheme. Long time San Diego State assistant Zach Arnett is set to bring Rocky Long’s 3-3-5 scheme to Starkville. That’s not going to be an easy transition considering the lack of spring ball. Even more so considering the amount of talent that has departed.

The good news is Mississippi State has recruited well at defensive line in recent cycles. Starter Kobe Jones returns a long with a host of talented youngsters. Nathan Pickering, a former top 100 prospect in the 2019 class, looks set to have a breakout sophomore campaign. He was 3rd on the team in sacks despite only seeing a limited number of snaps last fall.

At the 2nd level of Arnett’s defense, Mississippi State returns their leading tackler from 2019 in Erroll Thompson. The Alabama native will have a chance to shine in this new 3-3-5 system though there are questions about who will play beside him. In the secondary, a bunch of new faces are expected to step up with the departures of Cam Dantzler, Jarian Jones, Jaquarius Landrews and Brian Cole.

I don’t think Mississippi State will be very good in 2020. They could surprise me especially if Costello lives up to the hype and some of these new WR additions prove to be impact players. But State is undergoing some major scheme restructures on both sides of the ball and doing so without the benefit of spring practice. Throw in the amount of proven production that is no longer on the roster, it’s just hard to image the Bulldogs being all that scary this fall. However, I got a feeling this trip to Starkville is going to be MUCH more concerning in 2022 when Leach has had time to restructure this roster to his liking. No matter what though Mississippi State will at least be interesting to watch this fall with the Pirate walking the sidelines.

War Eagle!

from College and Magnolia - All Posts https://www.collegeandmagnolia.com/2020/7/7/21316060/sneak-peek-the-mississippi-state-bulldogs-mike-leach-kylin-hill-kj-costello-erroll-thompson

[junker-town]

The NBA’s 19 best rookies this season, ranked

These were the NBA’s best rookies for the 2019-20 season.

While it’s too early to make any sweeping, long-term judgments on the NBA’s 2019-20 rookie class, it feels like an appropriate time to evaluate their play as the league pauses for an indefinite hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.

This list was determined based on how the rookies played this season, not how they’ll project down the road. Several rookies with bright futures — Detroit’s Sekou Doumbouya, Indiana’s Goga Bitadze, and Boston’s Grant Williams among them — didn’t make the list because they had limited roles in their first pro seasons. Two players who weren’t in the 2019 NBA Draft class but still qualified as rookies were selected.

Scoring efficiency, defensive contributions, and impact on winning were weighted in determining the order. The rankings would look very different if we were projecting which rookies have the brightest future long-term.

For now, these were the NBA’s best rookies for the 2019-20 season.

19. Jarrett Culver, G, Minnesota Timberwolves

Culver badly struggled offensively as a rookie, shooting just 40.4 percent from the field, 29.9 percent from three-point range, and 46.2 percent from the free-throw line. There were some silver linings, though: Culver finished well at the rim (58.3 percent) and held his own defensively, posting a 1.8 steal rate and 2.1 block rate. He remains a key piece for the Wolves’ future next to D’Angelo Russell and Karl-Anthony Towns, and should have plenty of shooters to kick out to if he can grow into a lead ball handler. Expect him to take a massive leap in value if he can improve his scoring efficiency. It can’t get much worse.

18. Darius Garland, G, Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavs’ decision to select Garland at No. 5 overall one year after picking another point guard in the top 10 in Collin Sexton always felt like a high-risk, high-reward gamble. Garland had played only five games at Vanderbilt before tearing his meniscus, and would be one of the league’s smallest players at 6’1 and under 200 pounds. What Cleveland saw in Garland was the vision of a lead guard who could pull-up to shoot from anywhere while masterfully orchestrating an offense. He showed both his upside and his downside during a rookie season in which he started 59 games.

Garland took 42.3 percent of his shots from deep and made them at a 35.5 percent clip. His playmaking was a bit underwhelming, finishing with an 18.5 percent assist rate while averaging 4.5 assists per-36 minutes. For Garland to improve his scoring efficiency from his 49.8 true shooting percentage, he’ll have to find a way to become a better finisher at the rim (46.8 percent) or blossom into one of the league’s elite shooters.

17. RJ Barrett, G, New York Knicks

Barrett might have had the toughest task of any rookie in the league last season: to act as a high-usage offensive creator for one of the worst teams in the NBA at 19 years old. It isn’t fair to expect a rookie thrive in such a role, and Barrett had his share of struggles as expected. He failed to score efficiently, posting only 47.9 percent true shooting and hitting just 61 percent of his free throws. He had nearly as many turnovers (124) as assists (143). Still, there were some moments of promise, like a 27-point effort vs. Atlanta in his final game. Barrett would be wise to focus on becoming the best defensive player he can be while his offense adjusts to the NBA level. Barrett still has a bright future ahead of him, but his rookie season shows how the steep the climb from college to the pros is even for top picks.

16. De’Andre Hunter, F, Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks took Hunter at No. 4 overall after a national championship run at Virginia to give Trae Young some help defensively and a shooter who could stretch the floor. He earned mixed reviews in that role as a rookie. Despite being considered one of the top defensive prospects in the draft by mainstream evaluators and already 22 years old, Hunter ranked only No. 13 in defensive RAPTOR among rookies. He was a solid three-point shooter at 35.5 percent on nearly five attempts per game, but his lack of an in-between game meant he still finished with below-average efficiency (52.1 true shooting) as a scorer. Hunter doesn’t have as much upside as some other rookies in this class, but he can still perform well in his role if he can cause more havoc as a team defender and start to diversify his offensive skill set.

15. Kevin Porter Jr., G, Cleveland Cavaliers

Porter was a worthy gamble for Cleveland with the last pick in the first round. Always brimming with talent as a 6’5 wing with rare shot-making ability and a developed handle, Porter flashed the skills that make him so intriguing when he dropped 30 points on the Heat in a February win. His scoring efficiency (53.5 percent true shooting) was better than many players drafted in front of him, and he also showed impressive ability to finish at the rim (71.8 percent) when he got there. The next steps are becoming a more consistent three-point shooter, developing into a willing passer, and using his physical tools to make a bigger impact on defense.

14. Eric Paschall, F, Golden State Warriors

Pascall took advantage of a wide-open opportunity with the Warriors this season while the team’s roster was decimated by injuries. The 6’6 forward was drafted at No. 41 overall after a strong three-year career at Villanova, and proved that the scoring chops he showed in college could translate to the next level. Pascall was fifth among all rookies by averaging 14 points per game and he did it on impressive 57 percent true shooting. How he ultimately fits Golden State as a long-term piece returns up for debate — Does he have a position defensively? Can he improve as a three-point shooter? — but the production he provided as a rookie should help keep him around the league for a long time.

13. Rui Hachimura, F, Washington Wizards

Hachimura pretty much played to his college scouting report during his rookie season with the Wizards: he showed off impressive scoring touch but remains a work in progress defensively and as a passer. Hachimura has great touch both at the rim (71 percent inside of three-feet) and on his mid-range jumpers. He hasn’t yet stretched out his jumper to three-point range, but his offensive game will take another leap when that happens. His defensive impact was underwhelming given his physical tools and he still struggles to read the floor as a passer. If Hachimura can improve his “feel for the game,” he’ll have the chance to take a big leap as he gets older.

12. Cam Reddish, G/F, Atlanta Hawks

Reddish was a highly-touted high school player who couldn’t quite live up to expectations during his one-and-done season at Duke. The Hawks took him with the No. 10 pick knowing he’d need time to develop but had all the physical attributes teams covet in a wing. His rookie season was predictably a roller coaster ride, but there were some real highs. Before coronavirus put the season on indefinite pause, Reddish had averaged 16.4 points and shot 38.9 percent from three-point range over his last 10 games. He also had some impressive defensive moments putting his 7’1 wingspan to use — his 1.9 steal rate was the highest of any player drafted in the lottery.

Reddish is still a volatile bet for long-term success, but there’s no denying his potential. Atlanta might have been the best possible landing spot, too, with Trae Young hopefully spoon-feeding him open looks for many years.

11. Jaxson Hayes, C, New Orleans Pelicans

Hayes was a late-blooming high school prospect who skyrocketed up draft boards during his only season at Texas. The Pelicans drafted him at No. 8 overall and put him in a limited role (17 minutes per game), where he showed off what makes him such a promising piece long-term. A 6’11 center with a 7’3 wingspan, Hayes runs the floor like a guard and has a rare combination of coordination and touch. His ultra-efficient finishing translated immediately: after posting a 73.9 true shooting percentage in college, Hayes finished at 67.5 true shooting as an NBA rookie that ranked No. 8 in the whole league. Rim-running centers aren’t exactly the most valuable archetype in today’s NBA, but Hayes’ unique physical gifts make a great option long-term next to Zion Williamson in New Orleans.

10. Matisse Thybulle, F, Philadelphia 76ers

Thybulle was the best defensive rookie in the NBA this season and it wasn’t particularly close. Taken at No. 20 overall after four years at Washington, Thybulle’s monstrous block and steal rates with the Huskies transferred up a level seamlessly. He finished as one of only nine players ever to post a block and steal rate greater than three percent — two of the others are prime seasons from David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon. At his best, Thybulle’s defensive playmaking felt like must-see TV, with every momentum-swinging turnover causing an eruption of joy from Sixers fans. He remains a work in progress offensively, but his jumper looked passable on low volume (35.2 percent from three) and he was effective in transition.

9. P.J. Washington, F, Charlotte Hornets

Washington made serious strides as an outside shooter during his sophomore season at Kentucky, and that progress carried over to the NBA after the Hornets selected him with the No. 12 overall pick. A long and strong 6’8 forward, Washington took nearly 40 percent of his shots from three-point range and hit them at a 37.4 percent clip. He also offers value as a rebounder and defender, giving Charlotte the lineup flexibility to move him all over the court. There’s nothing particularly flashy about his game, but having a steady two-way forward with length (7’2 wingspan) and the ability to stretch the floor is bound to make Washington a valuable piece for a long time. There’s a reason he started all but one game for the Hornets this year.

8. Coby White, G, Chicago Bulls

The No. 7 pick out of North Carolina had several fleeting moments of brilliance — like seven fourth-quarter three-pointers in a November victory over the Knicks — in an otherwise ineffective first half of the season that saw the 6’5 combo guard take lots of shots without making many of them. Everything seemed to click after the NBA All-Star Game, though: In his last nine games, White averaged averaged 24.1 points and 5.1 assists per game on 46/39/90 percent shooting splits.

White only finished the year with 50 percent true shooting even after his late season hot stretch, but it became easier to see the type of role he can eventually grow into. This is a speedy combo guard with deep shooting range and immense confidence in his own scoring ability. Even at age 20, he had no problem creating his own shot against NBA defenses, and showed the ability to almost single-handedly win the Bulls games when he got hot. Whether White ultimately ends up as Chicago’s point guard of the future or settles into a sixth-man role, he looks like he has both a high floor and high ceiling as a microwave scorer.

7. Tyler Herro, SG, Miami Heat

The Heat drafted Herro at No. 13 overall to be a prolific off-ball shooter, and that’s much pretty much what he became as a rookie. Herro took 47 percent of his shots from three-point range and made them at a 39 percent clip. Herro was already an elite shooter off spot-ups, finishing in the 95th percentile on such play types, per Synergy Sports. Herro is a natural fit playing next a dominant ball handler like Jimmy Butler, darting around screens in the half-court and leaking out in transition for open looks early in the shot clock. While his defensive impact and offensive creation ability remain a question, the Heat can feel good about Herro’s ability to excel in his role going forward.

6. Terence Davis, G, Toronto Raptors

Davis bet on himself when he decided to decline the chance to be a second-round pick on a two-way deal to instead work towards a guaranteed contract at summer league as an undrafted free agent. The Toronto Raptors would eventually give him the deal he was looking for, and Davis rewarded their faith by emerging as a key bench piece for one of the best teams in the East. A strong and athletic 6’4 guard, Davis was an advanced stats all-star all year, leading the rookie class in 538’s RAPTOR and finishing third in PIPM. He hit nearly 40 percent of his three-pointers and played solid defense while finishing with per-100 possession averages of 21.7 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game.

5. Michael Porter Jr., F, Denver Nuggets

As a high school senior playing for Brandon Roy in Washington state, Porter was considered by some to be the best long-term NBA prospect in the American pipeline. His progress was undercut by a scary back injury from the moment he arrived at Missouri, which pushed him down to the No. 14 pick in the draft. The Denver Nuggets essentially redshirted him in his first year before unleashing him this season, when Porter confirmed what many scouts already firmly believed: as long as he stays healthy, he’s going to be a lethal scorer.

A long and bouncy 6’9 forward, Porter showed soft shooting touch all over the floor by hitting 42 percent of his threes and finishing with 59 percent true shooting. A walking mismatch nightmare on the offensive end, Porter adds size, shooting, and athleticism to any lineup. While there are still some holes in his game — Can he make his teammates better as a passer? Can he hold up defensively? — his pure scoring ability makes him well worth the weight for a Nuggets team on the brink of contention.

4. Kendrick Nunn, G, Miami Heat

Nunn went undrafted out of Oakland in 2018 after originally getting booted from Illinois following a domestic battery charge. The Heat picked him up late last season and gave him a chance to show off his scoring touch as Jimmy Butler nursed an injury to open the new year preseason. Nunn didn’t relinquish his starting spot all season, giving Miami an athletic 6’2 guard who could stretch the floor (36.2 percent from three) and fit into a variety of lineups.

There’s no doubt Nunn can put the ball in the basket — he was the Heat’s fourth leading scorer at 15.2 points per game on just a tick under league-average scoring efficiency (54.5 percent true shooting). The question is if Nunn can be more than a volume scorer. He didn’t get to the free-throw line consistently and often failed to make his teammates better as a passer. He turns 25 years old before next season.

3. Brandon Clarke, F, Memphis Grizzlies

Clarke had short arms, a thin frame, and a notable lack of shooting ability as he entered the draft as one of the oldest prospects in the class. Despite all that, Clarke was widely identified as a top sleeper after a historically dominant two-way season at Gonzaga. The Grizzlies traded up to select him at No. 21, and he already looks like arguably the biggest steal of the draft.

Clarke excelled in the NBA in all the same ways in did with the ‘Zags on his way to averaging 12 points and nearly six rebounds per game. He is the living embodiment of an elite athlete, blessed with quick-twitch muscles, supernatural ability to get off the floor, and the coordination to finish plays above the rim on both ends. He’s also a hyper-aware player whose excels as a help defender and graded out in the 95th percentile as a roll man on offense. While Clarke was considered to be a defense-first prospect in the draft, it’s his incredibly efficient scoring that has translated immediately: his 67 percent true shooting ranked No. 9 in the entire NBA.

2. Ja Morant, PG, Memphis Grizzlies

Morant is a lock to win Rookie of the Year, and he absolutely deserves it. The No. 2 overall pick powered the Grizzlies’ surprising run to the No. 8 seed in the West by leading the team in scoring (17.6 points per game) and assists (6.9) at age 20. The strengths he showed out of Murray State translated seamlessly to the pros. This is already one of the league’s fastest and most explosive point guards, leveraging his athletic gifts to consistently put pressure on the rim. Morant is a threat to put his defender on a poster with every drive, with his ambitious missed dunks becoming just as memorable as the ones he converted. In addition to being a skilled driver, Morant is also blessed with excellent vision and the ability to throw almost any pass. He plays with a rare creativity to his game, often creating scoring chances for Memphis out of thin air using nothing but improvisation. His shooting — 36.7 percent from three on 2.4 attempts per game — even appeared ahead of schedule.

Morant made the transition from mid-major college phenom to the leader of an NBA team in one short year. He has already proven he can score efficiently in a high-usage role and have a pronounced impact on team success. Memphis has itself a new star to build around.

1. Zion Williamson, F, New Orleans Pelicans

Consider that Williamson missed the first half of the NBA season with knee surgery, only to return putting up all-star-caliber numbers as a 19-year-old. Williamson’s impact was that dramatic on his way to averaging 23.5 points per game on hyper-efficient 62.4 percent true shooting. The scariest thing is he was still playing himself into shape and figuring out how to best leverage his talents as he was doing it.

All-in-one metrics like PIPM already had Williamson grading out as about a top-40 player in the league in his first 19 games. This happened despite Williamson rarely initiating the Pelicans’ offense and clearly looking a step slow on defense. New Orleans mostly treated Williamson like a big man as a rookie, where he used his awesome combination of strength and touch to finish inside at will. From the very start of his career, Williamson was able to bully NBA players like they were college kids. We can’t wait to see where he goes from here.

[awanna-be]

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England's Euro 2020 mixed bag: Goals galore but which defensive duo?

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England's Euro 2020 mixed bag: Goals galore but which defensive duo?

Harry Kane (r) has scored in every Euro 2020 qualifying game

England completed the formalities of their successful Euro 2020 qualifying campaign with a victory in Kosovo that was not as comfortable as the scoreline suggests – and which confirmed Gareth Southgate’s side remain a mixed bag.

As Thursday’s 7-0 win over Montenegro secured their place in next summer’s tournament, this victory achieved the next objective, to ensure England will be a top seed when the draw takes place.

It was a satisfactory conclusion and few can quibble about the comprehensive manner of England’s qualification – but what will Southgate take away from what was, in many ways even beyond the game itself, a celebratory occasion?

England at Euro 2020: What do we know?

England further ahead compared to World Cup – Southgate

How you rated players in Kosovo v England

Football Daily podcast: England – real deal or brittle at the back?

Sterling always an influence

It has been a troubled week for Raheem Sterling, having been dropped for the victory against Montenegro as a disciplinary measure following the disturbance involving Joe Gomez when England’s players reported for duty at St George’s Park on Monday.

The Manchester City forward reiterated on social media that he was the guilty party after Liverpool defender Gomez was disgracefully jeered by some fans at Wembley.

Southgate had no hesitation in restoring him to the side once his punishment was served, and while this was never a night when Sterling was at his best, he demonstrated once again that he is at the fulcrum of all of England’s plans.

Sterling, like others, struggled with the surface initially and could not get going but he worked tirelessly throughout, performing his defensive duties as well as further forward, and as Kosovo tired he made his impact.

He had a snapshot saved by Kosovo keeper Arijanet Muric in the first half but was then the creator as Kane ended the contest with England’s second before playing in Marcus Rashford for a superb finish.

Even when he is not at peak form, Sterling is always a threat and irreplaceable in England’s blueprint for Euro 2020 success.

England’s defensive trouble still lingers

It is a recurring England theme – but it will remain so until Southgate can somehow remove the lingering suspicion that his side has a soft centre in defence and will fall prey to superior opposition.

We saw it against the Netherlands in the Nations League in June. We saw it in the defeat by the Czech Republic in Prague in October. We have now seen it twice against Kosovo.

The Kosovans seriously troubled England in the 5-3 win at Southampton in September and for a spell after the interval here England were rocked as the pressure was applied and the tempo was dictated to them.

Kosovo could have equalised when Valon Berisha was inches away and captain Amir Rrahmani gave England a real let-off when he headed a great chance wide.

It was symptomatic of how sloppy England had been up to that stage. Southgate had made five changes, and of course in certain respects this was a dead rubber, but there were moments of real concern.

Former England World Cup winger Chris Waddle, in Kosovo analysing on BBC Radio 5 Live, said during that rocky period in the second half before the comfortable conclusion: “When teams have a go at England, they really struggle and that is a concern. This is not Germany and France.”

It would take a brave man to guess Southgate’s central defensive partnership for their first Euro 2020 game, a serious worry in itself at the very heart of England’s team.

Manchester United’s Harry Maguire is a fixture but who plays alongside him? It was Tyrone Mings here with Fikayo Tomori getting a debut, while John Stones is still rebuilding form and confidence.

Southgate would love to be sure about that crucial combination – and of course he may yet revert to three at the back as he did when England reached the World Cup semi-final in 2018 – but at this stage real doubts remain about personnel and the fear that whoever gets the nod would crack under serious pressure.

The Winks-Rice experiment not a success

Southgate, robbed of Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson through illness, decided to utilise West Ham United’s Declan Rice and Tottenham’s Harry Winks in midfield but it did not look like a natural fit.

Rice was in the centre and Winks to the left but too often they were occupying the same spaces. If England do not play a conventional ‘number 10’, then it has to be one or the other – and currently that is Winks.

West Ham’s 20-year-old Rice is going through an understandable dip for one so young after setting sky-high standards early in his career and he made a crucial second-half block on Milot Rashica as he bore down on goal after keeper Nick Pope slipped on a treacherous surface.

Winks, however, is a growing force with England and he must now be a serious contender for Southgate as he weighs up those Euro 2020 options.

And England’s good news

For all the questions at the back, England are a magnificent attacking force. This 4-0 win made it 37 goals in eight qualifiers and it may yet come down to whether they can outscore high-quality opponents who look to take advantage of that suspect rearguard. They have that capability.

It will be a source of huge comfort to Southgate that he has this weaponry at this disposal, headed by world-class duo Kane and Sterling with able assistance from a revitalised Rashford and Borussia Dortmund 19-year-old Jadon Sancho.

Kane, in particular, is putting together remarkable figures. He is sixth in England’s all-time rankings after scoring his 32nd goal and no matter what the standard of opposition it is a magnificent feat to score in all eight qualifiers.

Kosovo coach Bernard Challandes, a great character not prone to understatement, was laying it on thick to describe England as “the best team in the world” but, make no mistake, they will be a serious threat to any opponents at Euro 2020.

Heart-warming Kosovo make it a night to remember

Kosovo fans held up the St George’s flag during God Save the Queen

This was a historic occasion for Kosovo, the game everyone in this emerging country had ringed in their diary from the moment the Euro 2020 qualifying draw was made – and it lived up to its extraordinary billing.

England were welcomed as heroes, not simply because so many of their players are Premier League icons but because there remains great thanks and gratitude for the United Kingdom’s part in Kosovo’s liberation in 1999.

This has been a few days of genuine warmth and friendliness for everyone out here in Pristina – a refreshing experience.

The PA announcer made a passionate, emotional speech before kick-off, thousands of flag of St George cards were held up during England’s national anthem and the names of the players were cheered and chanted as they were read out.

It was a heart-warming occasion, the antidote to the sour taste Southgate and his players felt as they departed from Montenegro and Bulgaria after their players were racially abused.

Everyone in Kosovo, and of course more specifically Pristina, wanted to make this a special, memorable night. Even in defeat on the pitch, they succeeded.

Read More

[sportzprime]

List of Batsman to Reach 9000 Runs in ODI Cricket

Fastest 9000 Runs: The sport of cricket has seen a few players who had and are captivating the whole gang with their run-scoring abuses. Regardless of what the conditions are, what the settings are, their consistency made them stick out. Through this piece, we will investigate the players who crossed the 9,000 keeps running in ODIs quicker than others.

Presently while the game has seen a few players who scored vigorously, this rundown highlights players who graced the game in the relatively recent past. The explanation for the equivalent is the late rise of the restricted overs cricket in the game. As anyone might expect, any semblance of Sir Don Bradman, Sir Viv Richards, Sunil Gavaskar and a few other amazing cricketers are absent from this rundown.

So right away, we investigate the players who are Fastest 9000 Runs In ODI.

1. Virat Kohli:

In the rundown of Most Fastest 9000 Runs In ODI, Virat Kohli is at the highest priority on the rundown. The present India captain arrived at the achievement in 202 matches and 194 innings.

One of the cutting edge greats, Kohli additionally holds the world record for the quickest batsman to 10,000 keeps running in 205 innings. Kohli has the second most noteworthy number of hundreds of years and the most elevated number of hundreds of years in run-pursues in ODIs. The right-gave batsman additionally holds a few batting records including the quickest ODI century, the fastest batsman to 5,000 ODI runs and the quickest to 10 ODI hundreds of years. At present, he is the second-driving centurion in ODIs, going past any semblance of Ricky Ponting, Sanath Jayasuriya and other amazing cricketers. Just Sachin Tendulkar is in front of him in hundreds of years.

2. AB de Villiers:

In the rundown of Fastest 9000 Runs In Cricket, previous South Africa captain AB de Villiers is at the subsequent spot. Probably the best performer the game has ever seen, de Villiers seldom disillusioned. On the off chance that his conventional stroke-play made the conventionalists slobber, at that point his hardly conceivable wide cluster of unconventional shots left this age heaving for breath.

He scored a stunning 20,014 universal runs (8765 in Tests, 9577 in ODIs and 1672 in T20Is). The right-hander additionally completed his vocation with a batting normal more than 50 in the two Tests, and ODIs. He additionally holds the record for the quickest 50, quickest 100 and quickest 150 in ODIs, all coming against the Windies. The batting stalwart crushed a 31-ball 100 in Johannesburg in 2015 and hit a 66-ball 162 in the 2015 World Cup experience in Sydney. He resigned from worldwide cricket recently.

De Villiers took 214 matches and 205 innings to rupture the 9,000-run mark in the 50-over organization.

3. Sourav Ganguly:

In the rundown of Fastest To 9000 Runs In ODIs, previous India captain Sourav Ganguly is on the third position. It took him 236 matches and 228 innings to break the 9,000-run mark in ODIs.

During his playing profession, Ganguly settled himself as one of the world’s driving batsmen and furthermore perhaps the best chief of the national cricket crew. While batting, he was particularly productive through the off side, acquiring himself the moniker God of the Off Side for his shots through the off side. His profession was set for a poor beginning as he played only one ODI in 1992 preceding being dropped. His vocation at long last took off when he scored a staggering ton on his Test debut in 1996 at the famous Lord’s.

Ganguly scored 16 centuries in Test matches and 22 in ODIs. His 22-century in ODIs was the second best at the hour of his retirement. One of only a handful couple of players to cross the 10,000-run mark in ODIs, he finished his profession with 7213 keeps running in 113 Tests and 11,363 keeps running in ODIs from 311 matches.

4. Sachin Tendulkar:

In the rundown of Fastest 9000 Runs In ODI, Sachin Tendulkar is at the fourth position. The unbelievable batsman resigned from the game as the most embellished batsman throughout the entire existence of cricket. The right-hander spoke to India more than two decades.

The batting maestro completed his Test vocation with a record 15,921 keeps running in 200 Tests with the assistance of 51 centuries and 68 fifties. He had resigned from the One-Day Internationals one year before draping his boots in the Test group. His last appearance in the 50-overs cricket came against Pakistan in 2012 Asia Cup. The best ODI player ever, he completed his famous vocation in the 50-over organization with 463 ODIs, scoring 18,426 runs and made 49 centuries, every one of them a world record.

In 2001, Sachin Tendulkar turned into the main batsman to finish 10,000 ODI keeps running in his 259 innings.[13] In 2002, part of the way through his vocation, Wisden Cricketers’ Almanac positioned him the second most prominent Test batsman ever, behind Don Bradman, and the second most prominent ODI batsman ever, behind Viv Richards.

Going to the record, he crossed the 9,000-run mark in ODIs in 242 games and 235 innings.

5. Brian Lara:

In the rundown of Fastest To 9000 Runs In ODIs, previous West Indies captain Brian Lara is at fifth position. He accomplished the achievement in 246 games and 239 innings. He completed his ODI profession with 10,405 keeps running in 299 games including 19 tons and 63 fifties.

While Lara is certainly perhaps the best player in ODIs, his accomplishments in Test cricket is considerably additionally intriguing. He beat the Test batting rankings on a few events and holds a few cricketing records, including the record for the most noteworthy individual score in top notch cricket, with 501 not out. The southpaw likewise holds the record for the most astounding individual score in a Test innings for his 400 not out thump against England.

He is the main batsman to have scored a century, a twofold century, a triple century, a fourfold century and a quintuple century in top of the line games through the span of a senior profession.

6. Ricky Ponting:

In the rundown of Fastest 9000 Runs In ODI Cricket, Ricky Ponting is at the 6th position. He crossed the 9,000-run mark in 248 games and 242 innings.

Ponting is one of the main couple of people to taste huge accomplishment as both skipper and player. He drove Australia to triumph at the 2003 and 2007 Cricket World Cups and was likewise an individual from the 1999 World Cup winning group under Steve Waugh. He resigned from the game as Australia’s driving run-scorer in ODIs just as Tests. Ponting is one of just four players (alongside Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis) in history to have scored 13,000 Test runs.

In ODIs, he amassed 13,704 keeps running in 375 games at a normal of more than 42 with the assistance of 30 centuries and 82 fifties.

7. Jacques Kallis:

In the rundown of Fastest To 9000 Runs In Cricket, previous South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis is at the seventh position. He crossed the 9,000-run mark in 256 matches and 242 innings.

Kallis resigned from the game as one of the most finished players throughout the entire existence of the game. The unbelievable allrounder scored vigorously and took a lot of wickets in ODIs just as Tests. Kallis scored more than 11,000 runs and took almost 300 in both the configurations. In Tests, he scored 13,289 runs and got 292 wickets. In ODIs, he scored 11,579 runs and grabbed 273 wickets.

8. MS Dhoni:

In the rundown of Fastest 9000 Runs, previous India captain is at the 6th position. He crossed the 9,000-run mark in 281 matches and 244 innings.

MS Dhoni’s ODI profession was headed toward a forgettable beginning as he was run-out for a duck on his introduction. Be that as it may, the kid wonder from Ranchi proceeded to keep in touch with one of the most excellent contents in the game both as a batsman and chief.

In simply his fifth ODI, he scored a rankling 148 against Pakistan and didn’t think back from that point forward. He built up himself as one of India’s head batsman in ODIs. The most paramount snapshot of Dhoni’s initial piece of the vocation landed in 2007 when he drove a lot of adolescents to the World T20 title in South Africa.

He was before long given the captaincy in all the configuration, and the rest is all history. Till date, he is the main captain to have won all the ICC occasions in the wake of driving India to World Cup brilliance in 2011 pursued by the Champions Trophy title in 2013.

With the bat, Dhoni is one of the best wicketkeeper-batsmen throughout the entire existence of the game. He is one of the bunches of players to cross the 10,000-run mark in ODIs.

9. Mohammad Yousuf:

In the rundown of Fastest To 9000 Runs In ODIs, previous Pakistan batsman Mohammad Yousuf is at the ninth spot. The right-gave batsman arrived at the achievement in 258 matches and 245 innings.

Yousuf is viewed as one of the best batsmen to have played the game for Pakistan. He finished his ODI profession with 9,720 keeps running with the assistance of 15 centuries and 64 fifties.

10. Rahul Dravid:

In the rundown of Fastest 9000 Runs In ODI, previous India batsman Rahul Dravid is at the tenth spot. The right-gave batsman arrived at the achievement in 280 matches and 259 innings. While Dravid is more associated with his endeavors in the longest organization of the game, his accomplishments in the 50-over arrangement is similarly noteworthy.

In spite of not being the most forceful of batsmen, Dravid is one of the only bunches of batsmen to cross the 10,000-run boundary in ODIs. He finished his vocation with 10,889 keeps running with the assistance of 12 centuries and 83 fifties.

[thegolfinggirlsguide]

THE 2017 PRESIDENTS CUP

““To this day, it is the greatest sporting event with which I have ever been involved.”

-Jack Nicklaus on his 2003 captaincy of the President’s Cup team.  The event took place in South Africa where, on Sunday, Tiger Woods and Ernie Els battled it out into darkness, with the matches finally ending in a tie (golf.com)

The top 10 ten point getters are set, the captains picks are in, which can only mean one thing, we are GAME ON for the 2017 President’s Cup hosted at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, NJ, September 28th-October 1st.

The Presidents Cup, established in 1994, is a set of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world minus Europe.  “[It] is a unique golf event in that there is no purse or prize money; instead, each player, captain and captain’s assistant allocates an equal portion of the funds generated to charities of his choice. Since the inception of the Presidents Cup in 1994, more than $38.4 million has been raised for charity from event proceeds. Over the past 21 years, the Presidents Cup has impacted more than 450 charities in 15 countries worldwide and 35 states in the U.S.” (newsroom.amfam.com) Since 1994, the United States has won the Cup 10 times while the International Team has only managed to one tie in 2003.

While the Presidents Cup still may not get the recognition of the Ryder Cup (biennial men’s golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States which began in 1927), it still does truly bring out the best in each and every player as they play not for an individual title, but for that of their country; it has been stated that there is no greater honor in the game of golf than getting to of raise either the Presidents Cup or the Ryder Cup.

2017 Presidents Cup Teams:

Top 10 Automatic Qualifiers

                    International Captain, Nick Price, selected Emiliano Grillo of Argentina, who also just missed making the team and India’s Anirban Lahiri, who played for Price at the 2015 Cup in Korea, finished #16 in the overall International team standings.

Moving onto the Untied States, as a captain, Steve Stricker is—“the GM, and he has a number of hungry, proven free agents to choose from…he’s looking for malleability. He’s looking for human claymation figures that can be molded to meld with DJ, Fowler, Kooch, or any other player wearing red, white and blue on the first tee.” (golf.com)  

Saying all that, Stricker’s 2 picks were finally made Wednesday evening; he announced he would be selecting, Phil Mickelson and Charley Hoffman.  Hoffman missed making the top 10 by just .173 points, while Mickelson finished the year at #15 in the overall President’s Cup standings (he was in 30th position when he was selected for the 2015 team).

While most were not surprised with the Hoffman selection, the debate has been on for weeks now whether Mickelson was even deserving of a spot on this years team.

His performance up until now has been less than stellar—making 19 of 21 cuts with only 5 top 10 finishes as well as only making it to the weekend for one major, The Master’s (he did skip the U.S. Open for his daughters high school graduation).  Phil has also not had a win on your since the British Open in 2013—did he deserve and was he even mentally to play on his 23rd consecutive President’s/Ryder Cup Team?

MICKELSON 2017 STATS:

Up until this past weekend, no one was quite sure.  However, after his play this past weekend at the Dell Technologies Championship at TPC Boston, where he finished tied for 6th at 3-under-par, it was hard to ignore his deep desire and passion to be a part of this year’s team.  Having walked the course this past Saturday watching Phil, you could tell there was something different about him that old fire grit and determination seemed to be back, shining through.  He still played ‘his game’, always being aggressive and never shying away from a crazy shot, but his walk, his confidence in club choice and his overall demeanor was unlike anything I have seen out of him in a while.

After making his selection, Stricker stated, “Phil beings a wealth of experience to the team…he struggles a little bit at the end of the year but he showed his desire and effort to make the team and he had a great showing in the Dell Technologies Championship.  From reports from the players, that was the Phil of old.” (usatoday.com)

Additionally, history tells us “the mellower vibe of the Presidents Cup brings out Mickelson’s best golf. He has gone undefeated three times over the last seven Cups, and his combined record in that stretch is an eye-popping 17-4-7. Yes, this has not been Mickelson’s best season but the camaraderie of the team setting and match play format that rewards hyper aggressive play have always allowed him to access his genius.”  And we have no reason to believe otherwise. Additionally, Phil is a member at Liberty, so his knowledge of the course will no doubt prove to be quite valuable. (golf.com)

Jordan Spieth on Mickelson:

“It would definitely be a different feeling if he weren't involved somehow.  Phil brings a lot to the team room. On the course, he's very good at kind of figuring out, if players are up in the air about who they should play with, he's very good about feeling that out. As long as he knows the guys well, which he knows pretty much everybody, he's pretty good at feeling out the styles of games, which will complement each other. He's just seen a lot over the years…In the team room, he's as good as anybody … just keeping it light, understanding kind of the mentality of what to say, when to say it, to get everybody ready to go.” (usatoday.com)

So, should Mickelson have been selected as one of the Captain’s picks?  I say, most definitely yes.  Mickelson has been and certainly will be the MVP as well as heart and soul of the American team—he lives, breathes and loves “ these team events. They are my favorite weeks of the year….I love playing with these guys. I love the emotions that we share and the intensity and the pressure that we deal with each match throughout the week." (sport.yahoo.com)

Wishing both teams the best of luck!!!

Go Team USA!!!

 Event Schedule

Friday AM & PM:  5 Foursome Matches (2 player alternate shot)

Saturday AM & PM:  5 Four-Ball Matches—5 total matches (each player plays own ball; a team’s number of strokes for a given hole is that of the lower scoring team member—also known as best ball or more properly better ball.

Sunday:  Singles Matches—12 individual matches (straight up 1-on-1 match play)

30 total points available—a team needs 15.5 Points to Win the President’s Cup