Steve Bruce blames club’s coronavirus outbreak for Newcastle’s poor form

Steve Bruce has blamed a coronavirus outbreak at Newcastle United’s training ground in December for derailing the team and increasingly putting them in danger of relegation.

Since the virus swept through the club, sidelining key players including Allan Saint-Maximin and Jamaal Lascelles for several weeks, Newcastle have struggled. They prepare for Friday night’s game against Aston Villa at St James’ Park having won only two of their last 18 games in all competitions.

That run has seen Newcastle drop to 16th, a point ahead of Brighton – whom they visit next Saturday – and a resurgent Fulham. Their problems have also been exacerbated by the groin, hamstring and knee injuries which will sideline Saint-Maximin…

FA’s plan for women’s futsal national team will be a ‘game changer’

The Football Association is to create a women’s futsal national team for the first time as it tries to grow female participation and capitalise on the football team’s historic Euro 2022 success, the Guardian has learned.

An under-19s team will be set up, with the prospect of a full senior team coming later, and the men’s equivalent-age team will be relaunched to compete in the under-19s futsal European Championship qualifiers in January.

The move, described as a “game changer” for the women’s game in England, comes two and a half years after the FA axed nearly all funding for the Fifa-sanctioned five-a-side sport and was fined by Uefa for pulling the senior men’s team out of the Euro 22 qualifiers.

Inter Miami’s record-breaking attack has eased pressure on Tata Martino

Riding a six-game unbeaten streak in MLS, leading the race for the Supporters’ Shield and with their star players featuring at the top of the goals and assists charts, all is well in the world of Inter Miami.

Yet little over a month ago, head coach Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino was on the hot seat. A humiliating 4-0 defeat to New York Red Bulls in late March was followed by elimination from the Concacaf Champions Cup at the hands of Mexican side Monterrey in early April.

Former USMNT defender Taylor Twellman posted a damning statistic on X, comparing the Argentinian manager’s record in Miami to that of the man he replaced at Chase Stadium, Phil Neville.

MLS power rankings: Columbus Crew continue to make historyR…

Top MLB Betting Picks & Predictions for Friday September 6, 2024

It's a packed MLB slate on Friday,  September 6, so let's hop right into our best betting picks.Chicago White Sox at Boston Red SoxBoston has essentially crushed its American League wild-card hopes with a five-game losing streak in which it has scored a total of eight runs. But that’s nothing a meeting with the White Sox can’t fix.Yes, Chicago won its most recent game, but only after it dropped 12 in a row. After all, these are the White Sox we’re talking about here. You know, the ones with 109 losses and counting?The pick: Red Sox spread -1.5, -135 (DraftKings) Stake SportsBook Bonus$100,000 Daily RaceSign up now to claimFor help with a gambling problem, call or text the NCPG – (1-800-522-4700) Play nowBet365 SportsBook BonusFirst Bet Safety Net $1000 or Bet $5 & Ge…

William Houston Still Shaking His Fist

Angry Billy Houston has a lengthy to-and-fro with Pension Plan Puppets. "Truth is, you're a pathetic piece of shit who can't function as a real journalist so you operate that awful blog," writes the former journalist who now operates a blog. [ PPP] …

Here Is Your 2018 Name Of The Year Championship Match 

For one of the two men who have made it to this year’s Name of the Year final, destiny awaits. By this time next week, Canadian hockey player Jimbob Ghostkeeper or California family practitioner Dr. Narwhals Mating will be etched in NOTY lore. By navigating another wildly competitive field, the 2018 winner will join an exclusive club—one that brings deserved glory, but also reflects the weight of owning a spectacular name. First let’s recap the paths our finalists took through the bracket. Ghostkeeper, who played a few games for the Fort Saskatchewan Rangers midget AA hockey team in Alberta, tore through the Bulltron Regional like a winger on a breakaway. The No. 2 seed skated past, in order, Travis-Couture Lovelady, Dr. Dimple Royalty, Mosthigh Thankgod, No. 1 Salami Blessing, a…

In 2015, We Have A Grady Sizemore Highlight

Look, I’m as shocked as you are. It’s August 7, 2015, and we are presenting video of a Grady Sizemore highlight. That hasn’t happened in these pages in more than nine years! [Sun Sports] To contact the author of this post, write to [email protected] ( PGP key) or find him on Twitter @bubbaprog. …

WPS Owners Vote To Cancel 2012 Season

Due to an ongoing legal war against rebellious owner Dan Borislow, and the fact that it's hemorrhaging money, Women's Professional Soccer has informed players that the 2012 season has been canceled. A sad day for WPS fans everywhere. [ National Soccer Wire] …

Taking Down The Field Goal Posts: Irish Schadenfreude

• (11) Michigan 47, (2) Notre Dame 21. I don't think there's anything that the college football watching public enjoys more than seeing Notre Dame get beaten – nay, romped – in a big game. I didn't get to publish even a small fraction of the overjoyed comments that came as a result of Michigan's 47-21 victory yesterday in South Bend. • (17) Miami (FL) 7, (12) Louisville 31. This was an ass-beating. It's not that rare anymore to see Miami lose, but it is rare to see them get completely beaten down. It wasn't an all together great day for Louisville fans, though, unless you take a lot of pride in having the most talented group of injured players in the nation. Brian Brohm will be joining Michael Bush on the sidelines for about 4-to-6 weeks. • (15) …

Turnovers Will Determine the Course of the Bills' Season

data-mm-id=”_pg08bavq9″>We may only be about three weeks through this NFL season, but there have already been a few emerging storylines that would have shocked your standard NFL fan before the year began. The Baltimore Ravens actually pass the ball more than they run, and have been astoundingly effective in doing so. The Denver Broncos have zero sacks through three games. Cam Newton, Ben Roethlisberger, Drew Brees, and Sam Darnold are all sidelined for different lengths of time with various maladies. But one of the biggest surprises of all has been the Buffalo Bills. They're undefeated after their first three games, have averaged 390 yards of offense per contest, and Josh Allen looks a lot better than he did at this time one year ago. The defense was a top-five unit last year and …