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Ukraine announced on Monday that it had launched the Kherson counteroffensive to retake the region that fell under Russian control in the early days of the war. The U.K. Defense Ministry released a map on Friday with its assessment of what Ukrainian territory is currently Russian-held. When compared with a ministry map from August 26, several days before the Kherson effort was announced, a stretch of “contested area” on the Kherson front has increased in size....

But enough about all that. We’re here to discuss the logos of the Final Four, and how they not only reflect the venues in which they have taken place, but also technology, graphic design trends, and the growth of the event itself. From modest beginnings, the tournament now generates untold gobs of dollars — the current broadcast agreement runs through 2024 and is valued at nearly $11 billion. The official logo will be seen by billions of eyeballs over the course of the tournament, and will be extensively leveraged in the form of an incredible array of licensed merchandise....

It was time to watch film on their opponent, fourth-seeded Florida. Gifts from the NCAA awaited the players as they filed into the room — hats, T-shirts and socks with the words “March Madness” plastered over every inch of fabric — and dinner, from Chili’s, was scheduled to arrive after the work was finished. MORE: SN’s printable, interactive bracket This was the third of four film sessions on the Gators, and it was led by assistant coach Jason Shay....

Duke, a No. 2 seed in the 2017 NCAA Tournament bracket, has just as good of odds to win the national championship as No. 1 seed North Carolina, and has better odds than other No. 1 seeds Villanova, Kansas and Gonzaga. We knew that Duke would be a polarizing seed, having struggled mightily during most of the regular season. The Blue Devils improved their fortunes and resume knocking off high seeds Louisville, North Carolina and Notre Dame to win the ACC Tournament....

For example, it’s simple enough to identify undervalued teams using win odds and pick popularity data. However, it’s a whole lot harder to figure out how many of those value picks you should make or exactly where in your bracket you should make them. Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from TeamRankings.com, a site that has provided data-driven bracket tools and analysis since 2004. They also offer premium bracket picks....

The Friars started that tournament by beating Creighton in overtime in the quarterfinals. They followed that up with another overtime win, this time over No. 1 seed Xavier, which went on to be one of the four No. 1 seeds in the Big Dance. And although they lost to Villanova (another NCAA No. 1 seed) they, too, took the Wildcats to overtime. MARCH MADNESS: Roy Williams isn’t sleeping on Lipscomb...

Florida, down 65-62 in the final seconds, had the ball in the game’s last possession. As Florida’s Andrew Nembhard advanced the ball up the court for a potential game-tying 3, he was fouled by a trio of Tigers both on the ground and while in the act of shooting. At the very least, he should have been allowed to go to the foul line to potentially tie the game....

Manchester United prepare to replace De Gea with Oblak David de Gea’s future at Manchester United seems to be under doubt, following a series of underwhelming displays from the Spaniard. The 28-year-old was named in the PFA Team of the Year for 4 consecutive seasons before being replaced by Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson Moraes in the most recent edition of the award. De Gea has struggled to emulate his impressive display from previous seasons since his poor display against Portugal at the 2018 World Cup....

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made wholesale changes to the team that played against Manchester City in midweek. Only Dean Henderson and Scott McTominay were retained, with Brandon Williams, Eric Bailly, Axel Tuazembe and Alex Telles all coming into the starting line-up. Donny van de Beek and Jesse Lingard also started in midfield while Daniel James, Juan Mata and Mason Greenwood led in the attack. Manchester United opened the scoring after just five minutes, thanks to a thumping header from their skipper on the day McTominay....

Clearly David Moyes’ side has to avoid defeat and win if they can. Their cause won’t be helped by the absence of Robin van Persie. Moyes has said that his striker’s injury “isn’t long-term” and he could end up featuring in Germany. The other problem for Moyes is the continuing struggle of his central midfielders. This isn’t necessarily a new problem, the last few years of Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign contained well documented issues with that position....

United’s problems this season with injuries and indifferent performances, have led to manager Louis van Gaal handing debuts to teenage defenders Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Joe Riley, Regan Poole and Donald Love. The relatively young backline, led by the ever-present Chris Smalling, has conceded just 30 goals in the club’s 33 Premier League games so far, only title-chasing Tottenham Hotspur have given up fewer. “I think it’s more difficult for defenders, especially when you have three or four of them playing together in the same match… in defence, I think you need someone who can lead these young boys,” Vidic told the club’s website....

However, in today’s market, that appears to be exceptional value for a player who has excelled in both defensive midfield and central defence. As such, Tottenham would do well to revise their valuation, as Dier is one of the most grossly underappreciated players in the Premier League right now. Ronaldo doing what he does best Neil Custis, a journalist for The Sun newspaper, claimed on Radio Five Live recently that Dier had been “led to believe he is better than he is”....

Manchester United’s 2012/2013 pre-season tour has now been boosted with a glamour tie against Spanish giants Barcelona which will take place in Gothenburg on 8th August. The two clubs have got to know each well after meeting in two Champions League finals and one semi-final in recent years. Sir Alex Ferguson and Pep Guardiola also locked horns in Washington during last season’s summer tour of America, which United won 2-1....

In case you didn’t know…. Lukaku joined United on a whopping £75 million fee from Everton in 2017. He started his United career on a high scoring 27 goals in all competition. Since then, the Belgian striker has looked out of sorts after returning from the World Cup. He has faced constant criticism over his fitness by the fans and pundits alike. Despite putting in a decent performance against Chelsea recently, he has failed to cement his position under the new manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer....

The Red Devils have made Jadon Sancho their number one priority and want to sign him from Borussia Dortmund in the summer. In case you didn’t know… Jadon Sancho is a youth product of Manchester City and Watford who moved to the German league in 2017 after signing his first professional contract with Dortmund. The 19-year-old was bought for a meager £8 million by Borussia Dortmund and has been flourishing ever since....

Ahead of their cup semi-final on Wednesday, here, we take a look at some of the latest Manchester United news. Borussia Dortmund CEO discusses Jadon Sancho saga Manchester United were keen on sealing the services of English superstar Jadon Sancho last summer, but were ultimately priced out of a move for him by the Bundesliga club. The Germans’ CEO, Hans-Joachim Watzke, revealed that while the Premier League giants wanted to sign Sancho, they were looking to pay his fees in instalments, which Dortmund did not want to accept....

Michael Keane, England (1/0)*Tyler Blackett, EnglandScott Wootton, EnglandLuke McCullough, EnglandTom Thorpe, EnglandReece James, EnglandMarnick Vermijl, BelgiumMichele Fornasier, ItalyFrédéric Veseli, Switzerland Ryan Tunnicliffe, EnglandLuke Hendrie, EnglandLarnell Cole, England (1/0)*Jesse Lingard, EnglandRobert Brady, IrelandCharni Ekangamene, BelgiumDavide Petrucci, Italy William Keane, England (1/0)Tom Lawrence, WalesJoshua King, Norway (1/0) Gladstony, BrazilAgnaldo, Brazil Sean McGinty, Oxford United (England)Reece Brown, Coventry City (England)John Cofie, Sheffield United (England)Luke Giverin, Royal Antwerp (Belgium)Gyliano van Velzen, Royal Antwerp (Belgium)...

Jose Mourinho’s side secured their place in Europe’s premier club competition by winning the Europa League and they kick things off with a home tie against a Swiss side they have shared a group with twice before. The Red Devils have only managed to beat Basel once in four attempts and even lost to them in 2011, a defeat which saw them tumble out of the competition at the group stage, so Mourinho’s men will have to pay their opponents plenty of respect....

The 54-year-old has never failed to win the domestic title in his second season in charge of a club throughout his career, having enjoyed such triumphs at Porto, Inter, Real Madrid and twice with Chelsea. Man Utd and Everton 8/1 to draw United have started the campaign in strong form, winning three out of their four Premier League games, and sit top of the table ahead of Sunday’s meeting with Everton at Old Trafford....