Today's the day! (Maybe not. Probably not. […But maybe?]) I've spent all week looking forward to the announcement of punishment for Alex Rodriguez—and, I suppose, all the other Biogenesis clients too—and the possibility that A-Rod will not accept a deal, instead fighting MLB tooth and nail and dragging out this horror show of a scandal to its ugliest and most litigious conclusion. First reports said it would be "Monday or Tuesday." Then Friday. Well, it's Friday. Let's get to the shitstorm already. Sadly, multiple reports have backed off the hard Friday deadline, making it seem more and more unlikely that we'll all get to lose our minds on the internet today. ESPN says "within the next few days." USA Today: "In the next 72 hours." The Daily News says the various plea deals "might not be completed until Sunday." The Associated Press? "Monday appears to be the deadline." The weekend deadline makes sense for all the non-Rodriguez schmoes to accept or decline a deal, because if players like Jhonny Peralta and Nelson Cruz take what's reported to be 50-game suspensions, they'll become eligible to play again just in time for the postseason. Rodriguez? Latest reports have MLB's offer to A-Rod as a suspension for the rest of the year and all of 2014. Take it, or go away for a long, long time. Over the past few days, whispers have emerged that Rodriguez is at least considering making a deal with MLB. But ESPN says the sides are very far apart, and the Post claims Rodriguez, who recently bulked up his legal team, still intends to fight. I want Rodriguez to fight this. I want him to sue everyone. I say this not as a baseball fan or as a writer, but as an unabashed fan of drama. I want to see baseball's greatest villain take on the secretive, autocratic machine, and see everyone forced to pick sides. I want columnists to rave. I want comment sections to explode. I want to see MLB's evidence, and see if will hold up in arbitration or a court of law. I want to see just what lengths Rodriguez will go to to salvage his millions. I want blood. And I really, really don't want to wait until Monday.
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The Super Eagles have recorded unspectacular 1-0 wins over Burundi and Guinea to date and need only a draw in Alexandria on Sunday to stay first.
Madagascar, though, are reconfiguring their expectations following their first ever victory at the tournament, a 1-0 defeat of Burundi last time out.
The newcomers are not mathematically assured of a place in the knockout rounds but, with four points in the bank and something of a free hit at distinguished opposition ahead, Rohr is on alert.
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Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has apologised to Kalvin Phillips for saying publicly that he had returned from the Qatar World Cup overweight.
Guardiola made the comment in a press conference in December 2022 having left the City and England midfielder out of a Carabao Cup tie against Liverpool.
Phillips, who joined West Ham on loan in January, earlier this month told the Observer that “after the World Cup was probably the toughest, when Pep came out and said I was overweight”, adding: “I did not disagree with him but obviously I took a big knock on my confidence and how I felt at City.”
Guardiola was asked at a press conference on Monday if he regretted going public about Phillips’ weight, and he said: “Yeah, I’m sorry.
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Tottenham against Ajax is not a Champions League semi-final many will have predicted at the start of the season, but it is a welcome tie for those with allegiances to both teams.
There are four members of the Spurs squad who once donned the red and white of the Netherlands most famous outfit, while another four represented each in some fascinating careers.
It is fair to say the majority have been successes in London and Amsterdam – provided you accept that Mauricio Pochettino not winning a trophy does not automatically make him and his team a failure – but that cannot be said for all of them.
Below, we look at eight players to cross this particular divide, and how well they did it.
Our ex- contingent.
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Liverpool will be looking to return to winning ways in the Premier League this weekend after producing a below-par display in their 1-1 draw with Manchester United.
The Reds 17-match winning run may have been ended at Old Trafford, but they have won 11 in a row at Anfield ahead of Sunday s visit of Tottenham.
Manchester City are now six points adrift of top spot and next face a home fixture with Aston Villa, who they have defeated in each of their last nine home top-flight meetings.
Ahead of another bumper weekend of Premier League action, test your knowledge with our Opta-powered Friday Premier League quiz!
Answers are at the bottom of the page.
1. Tottenham are without a win in their last 10 Premier League away games their longest …
Best Odds: 21/20
Bookmaker:
Desperate to claim a welcomed Serie A boost on Sunday lunchtime, Juventus will welcome Frosinone to Turin this weekend.
Juventus
Starting with the hosts, while Juventus might have come flying out of the traps when opening up the 2023/24 campaign, the Italian icons are enduring a recent wobble. Missing out on what they had billed as a potential opportunity last weekend as they eventually had to settle for a 2-2 stalemate away at Verona, the Old Lady are without a win from any of their previous four Serie A appearances on the spin. Collecting just a pair of points on that four-match wobble, Massimiliano Allegri’s side will know the importance of claiming a crucial response here. Nevertheless, while Juventus might open this weekend’…
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20:00 Liverpool vs Sparta Prague
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Frank Lampard will be the latest man to return to a club where he starred as a player if he agrees to replace Maurizio Sarri at Chelsea.
Derby County on Tuesday gave the Blues permission to speak to their former midfielder about the vacancy created by Sarri s departure for Juventus and the 41-year-old is expected to make an emotional return to Stamford Bridge, where he spent 13 years as a player.
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Michael Owen, who left Liverpool in 2004 and consequently missed the glorious chapter of their history the following season, reveals how close he was to returning to Anfeld after only a year with Real Madrid.
He ended up joining Newcastle, before signing for Manchester United in 2009 something that the majority of Liverpool supporters still haven t been able to forgive.
https://twitter.com/LivEchoLFC/status/1172208251816951808
…
Mauricio Pochettino is hoping to have Reece James available for Chelsea s trip to Nottingham Forest following the club captain s return to training.
Chelsea confirmed on their official website on Friday that the England international is back in full team training after five months out.
James latest absence came as a result of undergoing surgery on a recurring hamstring injury, which forced him off in the 2-0 loss to Everton in December.
The 24-year-old has played just 452 minutes for Chelsea in all competitions this season down on the 1,936 he managed in 2022-23.
Back in full team training.
Our captain .
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC)
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Steven Berghuis and Luuk de Jong were responsible for the two goals, the former curling into the top-left corner before the latter headed in from Memphis Depay s corner.
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