Posts

With 555 home runs (plus a record 29 more in the postseason), a .996 career OPS, 12 All-Star selections and two World Series titles, his resume stacks up well against the best right-handed power hitters in the game’s history. But just as Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens have found that statistics aren’t nearly enough in the reckoning of the steroid era, Ramirez figures to get a harsh welcome when he debuts on the Hall of Fame ballot next year....

We were together on the stairs in our home when the phone rang. It was our doctor calling to inform us that our daughter Josie, still in the womb, had Down syndrome. Lots of people talk about what it’d be like to get this call. There was a moment of pause—we’d never parented a child with Down syndrome before—but we hugged each other and I said, “Alright. This is gonna be fun....

Ottawa acquired Toronto’s defenseman and captain on Tuesday as part of a nine-player deal. MORE: Every team’s worst contract | Best contracts Headed to Ottawa: Phaneuf, forward Matt Frattin, forward Casey Bailey, forward Ryan Rupert and defenseman Cody Donaghey. Headed to Toronto: defenseman Jared Cowen; forwards Colin Greening, Milan Michalek and Tobias Lindberg; and Ottawa’s second-round pick in the 2017 draft. No salary is changing hands in the deal — meaning that Ottawa will pay Phaneuf, 30, $7 million against the cap through 2021....

But Minghella has done it. More precisely, he’s given us an interpretation of the novel that succeeds stunningly on its own terms. He’s seen that at the heart of Ondaatje’s novel was a love story screaming to get out–and he’s liberated that romance with wit, sophistication and passion. The English Patient is both an old-fashioned movie-movie–extravagantly romantic, replete with spies, battles, sandstorms and ravishing vistas of Egypt and Tuscany–and a new kind of elliptical epic that challenges the audience to piece its fragments together....

MORE: NHL midseason awards The Rangers announced following the second period that alternate captain Marc Staal had suffered a lower body injury and would not return. He was hooked by Jakub Voracek with just over 12 minutes to play in the period, but remained on the ice. Staal registered an assist as well as a shot on goal and was a team-best +4 prior to his departure from Tuesday’s game....

Madrid’s title defence was dealt a major blow Saturday after suffering a 3-0 loss at home to Barca in the Spanish capital. Second-half goals from Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Aleix Vidal at the Santiago Bernabeu downed Madrid, who slipped 14 points adrift of the Catalan giants. Speaking post-match, Brazilian full-back Marcelo appeared to refer to either fans or journalists as he said: “We have spoiled you and you think that we must always win....

Or, you know, 2016. MORE: Mike Krzyzewski becomes winningest coach in D-I history No team suffers for an early NCAA Tournament defeat at quite the same level. We all remember the names: Lehigh, Mercer, South Carolina. Unless Duke wins it, or at least makes the Final Four, the sting of defeat is as much inflicted upon them by fans of rival programs – and pretty much everyone views the Blue Devils as rivals – as experienced internally....

A day after five teams seeded no higher than 12 won their opening-round games, we saw three more shocking results in Sunday’s opening slate of Round 2 games. Eight-seed Loyola Chicago manhandled 1-seed Illinois, 11-seed Syracuse outlasted 3-seed West Virginia, 15-seed Oral Roberts became only the second team on its seed line to make the Sweet 16 and 12-seed Oregon State continued its Cinderella run past 4-seed Oklahoma State....

Dejan Rakitic unsure about his brother’s future Ivan Rakitic’s agent and brother Dejan Rakitic revealed that he is still unsure about his client’s future. The Barcelona midfielder has been heavily linked with Inter even before Barcelona secured the service of Frenkie de Jong. “He has had a great season, many think so at Barcelona as well. As for the Liverpool race, it was simply a bad game for everyone. But this does not take away merits of the great Barça season,” he concluded....

The Argentine’s value, a British transfer record fee of £59.7 million, exuded desperation but the urgent need for the quality and penetrative pace of the World Cup finalist, pivotal to Argentina’s path to the finals was indisputable. He was welcomed to English football in the humbling surroundings of Burnley’s Pennine way and a banner reading “One Love: Manchester United”, which the away United fans waved constantly in his direction. Their excitement at his acquisition was understandable....

Lineups Manchester United made just one change to the team which turned out against Burnley in the last game week with Ashley Young replacing Luke Shaw at left back owing to a head injury. Watford named an unchanged starting XI which started against Tottenham. A 4-2-3-1 Setup for the Red Devils with Fellaini sitting deep meant freedom for the rest of the 5 players to attack the Watford goal with more freedom....

Conte is reportedly keen on attaining the services of the Englishman as a plausible option for the wing-back role, given that Young as played there on both flanks for a while now. The 34-year-old has even represented England as a left wing-back at the World Cup. Young’s departure could leave United fairly understaffed in defence also due to Luke Shaw’s poor run of form and injuries this season to Harry Maguire and others....

The 25-year-old playmaker has been heavily linked with a January move to Manchester United and despite the strong claims from several media outlets, Red Devils are yet to make a single offer for the creative midfielder. However, Sporting Lisbon are now resigned to losing their captain this month after the super-agent Jorge Mendes has reportedly arrived in England to complete the remaining formalities in Bruno Fernandes’ impending move to Old Trafford....

Eriksen’s current contract will expire in June 2020, which would make his move out of Tottenham very possible in the immediate few transfer windows. In case you didn’t know.. Christian Eriksen has been one of the most integral parts of the Tottenham Hotspur team this season. The 26-year-old Danish midfielder is sublime on the ball and terrorizes opponents’ rearguard with relative ease. His ability to create chances at will makes him one of the most dangerous players in the Premier League, and he has also racked up four goals and provided eight assists in the league so far this season....

Meanwhile, Shaun Goater believes the Red Devils were tricked into signing Cristiano Ronaldo last summer. Elsewhere, the Premier League giants are willing to pay Ajax compensation for their manager Erik ten Hag. On that note, here’s a look at the key Manchester United transfer stories as on 5th April 2022: Manchester United tricked into signing Cristiano Ronaldo, says Shaun Goater Former Manchester City star Shaun Goater believes Manchester United were tricked into signing Cristiano Ronaldo....

Arsenal got off to a good start to the season, as they won the first two Premier League games. Since then, the Gunners have managed to collect just five points in four matches and this match will be an opportunity for Arsenal to bring their campaign back on track. Manchester United are going through a more difficult phase than their rivals. They have earned just five points in the last five matches....

The Red Devils beat Valerenga in Oslo on Sunday after completing a tour of the United States and now have a last chance to warm up before their competitive season begins with the UEFA Super Cup next week. The latest Man Utd transfer rumours Serie A side Sampdoria finished 10th in the Italian top flight in 2016-17 but have lost the likes of Luis Muriel, Bruno Fernandes and Milan Skriniar for sizeable fees this summer....

Though naturally a winger, Wales international James led the line as United settled for a stalemate in their Europa League trip to AZ on Thursday. The experiment lasted just over an hour until Ole Gunnar Solskjaer replaced him with Marcus Rashford. United have now failed to score more than once in any of their nine games since hitting four against Chelsea on the Premier League’s opening weekend. Forcing the diminutive James to play as a striker in midweek put further scrutiny on the club’s failure to replace Romelu Lukaku but the nimble 21-year-old insisted the job was not beyond him....

Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, told USA Today the fight is a classic bout of “good against evil” and Pacquiao’s dislike of Mayweather stemming from his history of domestic violence will awaken his “killer instinct,” something Roach has’t seen in Pacquiao’s most recent fights. MORE: Pacquiao’s previous motivation | No more selfies! | UFC fighter’s role “Manny is really against domestic violence,” Roach said. “It is a big issue maybe in the Philippines for him and being a congressman he can control some of that stuff....

Pacquiao suffered the injury while training for the May 2 fight, which Mayweather won by unanimous decision. After the fight, Pacquiao said he aggravated the injury during the third round but fought through soreness. MORE: Mayweather takes jab at Manny on Instagram | Injury claim sparks debate | Manny sued for not disclosing injury Pacquiao’s surgeon, Dr. Neal ElAttrache, said via the AP he could not be “more pleased with the results” and fully expects Pacquiao to make a full recovery, which could take up to 12 months....