Sports

At the blackjack table of Scottish football, having already lost a £40m Champions League qualifying gamble, the Celtic board are now faced with a dilemma: stick or twist?As they ramp up the search for Brendan Rodgers' successor, they're sitting with a pretty decent hand already.Interim boss Martin O'Neill has done what was asked of him: steady the ship, stem the flow of losses, lift the squad out of their torpor.It has worked, on the domestic front at least. Two league wins and the gold-dust of a cup semi-final defeat of Rangers.Coming up short against the best side in the Europa League, on current standings - and on their own patch - wouldn't set off too many alarm bells, regardless of how poor Celtic were in the first half in Denmark last week.So what to do? Keep O'Neill until at least t...

There have been plenty of desultory losses for the New Orleans Pelicans through the first three weeks of the season. Once again dealing with a frustrating number of injuries, the Pelicans have been non-competitive in far too many games. Yet, perhaps none of these losses was as disappointing as Monday night's loss to the Suns. The Pelicans fell behind by double digits early in the second quarter and never showed enough fight to come back. The team failed to get good looks against a mediocre Suns defense all night and ended up throwing in the towel at halftime. Currently sitting at the bottom of the Western Conference with only two wins in ten games, the Pelicans are facing a brutal schedule over the next ten days. They don't play a team with a losing record in the next five games, and will ...

For so long a legend in Bergamo, could Gian Piero Gasperini become the oldest coach to win Serie A with the Giallorossi? Giancarlo Rinaldi looks at his long journey to get to this point.The dust had hardly settled on Inter’s historic defeat by Novara – the first in more than half a century in Italy’s top division – than the cruel and soulless press statement was released. After barely 10 weeks – and one draw and four defeats in five matches – Gian Piero Gasperini’s time with the Nerazzurri was over. The sage sports scribes had seen their misgivings confirmed – a good coach, perhaps, but not one worthy of one of the nation’s biggest names. A man to battle for honours in the provinces, maybe, but not for a league title.AdvertisementThat fateful day, almost exactly 14 years ago, could have be...

Getty Monday night in the NBA was absolute madness. There were several games that ended in game-winning buzzer-beaters. Andrew Wiggins against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Desmond Bane versus the Portland Trail Blazers. But what happened with the Detroit Pistons was the most legendary.Enter Daniss Jenkins, a second-year guard who played for four different universities (JUCO included) in four seasons. On a two-way contract and seeing very few minutes, Jenkins happened to be on the floor in crunch time in this one,What happened at the end of the game can best be described by Oregon legend and NY Liberty All Star, Sabrina Ionescu. If you can shoot, you can shoot.Daniss Jenkins Delivers in the Clutch for the PistonsThe Pistons were trailing th...

Three Premiership wins in a row shows Danny Rohl is slowly but surely improving things.It's not perfect, but he's winning in the league and that is all that matters. The 3-0 victory at Dundee was really pleasing, especially how we managed to kill the game within 15 minutes.Mikey Moore is becoming a good player to watch, and it was nice to see him grab a goal too.The 18-year-old Spurs loanee has really improved since the early days of Russell Martin, but I suppose everyone has and the general mood of the fanbase has too.The three subs at half-time killed the momentum yet we could have scored another couple. But when the players get the job done early you can let them off with the drop in performance as long as they keep the back door shut.Rangers' Dens Park performance was the ideal tonic f...

Three weeks into the NBA season, the picture is starting to take shape. Contenders are settling in, young stars are rising fast, and a few teams that entered the year with big expectations are already feeling the pressure. With early momentum shifting across the league, here are the Top 10 teams making noise heading into Week 3 of the power rankings.10. TimberwolvesThe Timberwolves are sitting at 5-4, but they have some of the most potential in the NBA. Their defensive ceiling is one of the highest in the NBA. Anthony Edwards is one of the best players in the NBA and can turn up at any time to win any game. The Timberwolves are number 10 in the rankings. 9. 76ersNov 2, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard VJ Edgecombe (77) reacts after a dunk against the Brooklyn Nets du...

It may be news to some, but there is a new competition kicking off in Europe this week. With qualifying complete, the business end of the Women’s Europa Cup gets under way on Wednesday. It will mark another milestone in women’s football, a side of the sport that is constantly evolving and developing.Starting with the round of 16, teams will embark on a journey of two-legged knockout ties that lead to the inaugural final. The winner will also be decided across two legs, due to take place in May and June next year.The Europa Cup is the younger sibling of the Women’s Champions League, a tournament that has enjoyed marked success and growth in recent years. However, while the brand of Uefa’s flagship domestic competition is strong, and its popularity and prestige ever-increasing, the number of...

Getty Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) and forward LeBron James (23) interact during the first half of an NBA basketball game at Crypto.com Arena on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025 in Los Angeles, CA. Superstar guard Luka Doncic was smiling from ear to ear after the Los Angeles Lakers improved to 8-3 on Monday night with a 121-110 win over the Charlotte Hornets. He was equally thrilled when asked about the impending return of LeBron James, who is expected to make his season debut within the next week.“We can’t wait,” Doncic said in a powerful three-word reaction.“All of us can’t wait. It’s Bron, so it’s always good to have him back. Hopefully soon,” Doncic said of James’ return to the court, via LakersNation. Luka Doncic...

It was another great afternoon at Gtech Community Stadium on Sunday.So-called "relegation favourites" Brentford have now deservedly beaten Champions League sides Liverpool and Newcastle, Europa League team Aston Villa and arguably the biggest club in the country Manchester United at home.We've also drawn with world champions Chelsea there.After a sluggish first half, which was not much better than the previous week's display at Crystal Palace, in the second period the intensity was back as we took the game to the Magpies.We showed we are about more than just long throws as we caused them plenty of problems, forcing Dan Burn into rash tackles which earned him a red card.Igor Thiago once again grabbed the headlines with his double. He did brilliantly to ignore the fuss during a seven-minute ...

The year 2000 cracked open like a glow stick, flooding Dallas with new money – and a new Mavericks owner, who had made his money selling his streaming site just before the dot-com crash. Like the 1990s Mavs, Mark Cuban wasn’t polished – and he sure as hell wasn’t subtle. He was brash and argumentative, clashed with refs, and clapped too hard whenever Dirk Nowitzki buried a three. The internet age, in the form of Cuban, crashed courtside when he bought the team for $285m. Gone was the era of distant owners watching occasional games from the executive boxes: the fan was in control of the team now. Cuban had hacked reality.Cuban’s thesis was simple: never play by their rules. The Mavs were his start-up. He improved nutrition, upgraded hotels for road games, bought a team plane, filled lockers...