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It’s not long ago that arguably the most widely despised football tactic was the short corner. In situations where supporters called for the ball to be launched into the box, teams regularly played it short, the move came to nothing, and the supporters groaned at another ‘wasted’ corner.But this season, of course, has seen the traditional crossed corner dominate like never before. Some Premier League matches feel like little more than a competition to win corners, and then a game decided by set pieces. So, in that context, Manchester City’s tendency to play short corners against Chelsea in their 3-0 victory felt oddly refreshing. It eventually led to their second goal, too.Here’s Manchester City’s first corner, after 15 minutes. Cherki and Doku work it short, play the ball back to Bernardo...

The postseason field is set. In the Eastern Conference, the Toronto Raptors snagged the final guaranteed playoff berth on Sunday, joining the Detroit Pistons, Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Atlanta Hawks. The Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic, Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat will compete in the play-in tournament for the last two spots in the East playoffs.Out West, the Denver Nuggets secured the No. 3 seed over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday. Previously, the Thunder and Spurs captured the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds, respectively, and the Rockets and Wolves also respectively locked in the Nos. 5 and 6 seeds. The Suns, Blazers, Clippers and Warriors will form the West’s play-in tournament field.AdvertisementJump to: Eastern Conference • Western ConferencePLAYOFF BRACKET...

There was a ‘back to the future’ feel to Spanish football over the weekend, with players wearing vintage-style kits, referees dressed like it was the mid-1990s and pixelated TV graphics recalling early computer games.La Liga’s first ‘retro matchday’ featured players from most top-flight and second-division teams wearing jerseys inspired by past designs and historic club crests. Spanish referees also wore shirts similar to the black gradient checkerboard pattern seen at the 1994 World Cup in the United States, along with old-style FIFA and Spanish FA logos on the pockets.Teamsheet graphics broadcast before kick-off recalled 1990s visual styles, as did the on-screen match clock and scoreboard, while a pixelated letter R flashed in the bottom left corner of the screen during replays.Many of t...

For as long as the NBA has honored me by asking me to be one of the postseason award voters, each year there are a couple of awards that keep me up at night, trying to split hairs between players who all deserve recognition for monster years. For example, Third-Team All-NBA is always brutal. Some years it’s the big ones, such as MVP. This year I struggled more with Most Improved Player than other award on the board.What follows is my official ballot for the NBA’s end-of-season awards. [Note, this ballot assumes that the league grants Luka Doncic’s challenge and makes him eligible despite having played in 64 games, one short of the league threshold. It would be some frighteningly bad PR for the league to say Doncic is out because he chose to fly to Slovenia for the birth of his child and mi...

Nuggets' Nikola Jokic makes unprecedented NBA history never done before originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.Nikola Jokic resides, yet again, in a realm never occupied before in the history of the NBA.AdvertisementThe Denver Nuggets' all-time great center made that official on Sunday as the regular season concluded and he had his final tallies for the campaign.Jokic averaged a triple-double, but that's not even the history as he finished with 27.7 points per game, 12.9 rebounds per game and 10.7 assists per game.Nope, the history is this: Jokic becomes the first player to ever lead the league in rebound average and assist average in the same season.MORE: LeBron James' dunking stats are insane this seasonIt's an astounding, u...

The repercussions started almost as soon as the ball hit the back of the Everton net.Captain James Tarkowski turned in the direction of 20-year-old Tyrique George and shrugged his shoulders, before pointing at Brentford full-back Michael Kayode.Even from the vantage point of the Gtech Community Stadium press box, on the other side of the pitch, the message needed little deciphering. It could probably have been boiled down to a simple: ‘Your man’.There may have been an element of fortune about Igor Thiago’s second strike of Saturday afternoon — the Brazilian inadvertently diverted Kayode’s shot past a wrong-footed Jordan Pickford to put Brentford 2-1 up against their rivals for a European spot — but the Italian should have been stopped by Chelsea loanee George and others long before he reac...

Former Wisconsin basketball star John Tonje played the best game of his young NBA career on Sunday night.In the Boston Celtics' 113-108 win over the Orlando Magic, Tonje played a career-high 30 minutes and tallied 13 points, four rebounds, one assist and one steal. He shot 4-of-12 from the field, 3-of-8 from 3 and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line.AdvertisementThe contest represented Tonje's first significant playing time of the season. His previous career-high in minutes was five, which came during his second game in a Celtics uniform. The former Badger benefited greatly from Boston resting much of its regular rotation in advance of next week's playoff action. While still outside of that regular rotation, Tonje made a strong case to remain on the roster moving forward.Tonje has now appeared...

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Getty LeBron James chats with Rui Hachimura during a break against Oklahoma Thunder at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. The Los Angeles Lakers ranked a mediocre 23rd in the league in three-pointers made (11.8) and 16th in 3P% (35.9) during the 2025-26 regular season. However, Rui Hachimura emerged as one of the league’s most efficient shooters, averaging 1.7 made threes per game at an excellent 44.3% clip.Hachimura was so efficient that he ranked fourth in the NBA among all players who attempted at least 3.5 threes per game. Only Bobby Portis (45.6%), Cam Spencer (44.9%) and Jaylon Tyson (44.6%) shot the ball better than the Lakers forward.In the process, Hachimura set a new Lakers franchise r...

There remains a reasonable chance that this was a dress rehearsal for a Europa League semi-final in a few weeks — but for Nottingham Forest, the priority remains ensuring they face Aston Villa again in the Premier League next season.To realise either scenario, Vitor Pereira needs to continue the progress made in recent weeks by taking another significant step — securing his first victory at the City Ground.The Portuguese head coach has made an encouraging impact since his appointment in February. The players have appreciated the clarity he has brought to the training ground, buying into his methods and message.Improvements have been gradual, but this has been the perfect time for Forest to build a five-match unbeaten run. Sunday’s 1-1 draw against Aston Villa, who have Champions League asp...