Topic: Sport
+Anonymous A — 5 months ago #67,984
IRISH GO FOR BOLD TO WIN BULG BATTLE
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND boss Heimir Hallgrimsson has urged his players to be more assertive if they want to complete a Nations League play-off victory over Bulgaria.
First-half headers from Finn Azaz and Matt Doherty secured a deserved 2-1 comeback success in the first leg of the promotion-relegation decider in Plovdiv.
Ireland responded well to the shock of Marin Petkov's sixth-minute opener, but offered little attacking threat in a stop- start second period.
Hallgrimsson's men hope to finish the job and remain in League B when Bulgaria visit the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
"I don't think we have to change many things, but we obviously need to be a little bit less passive like we were in the second half," he said.
"We gave them a little bit of initiative in the second half, which we should not have done. We need to fix that and improve for the next game. "Maybe because we were winning and we haven't done much of that lately, you automatically tend to get a little bit more passive than we should and we need to correct that."
Victory in front of 1,000 travelling fans at a sparsely-populated Hristo Botev Stadium was a third in seven games since Hallgrimsson was appointed last summer.
The Icelander masterminded wins home and away against Finland during the group phase, but his team failed to score in their other four fixtures. including a 5-0 thrashing against England at Wembley.
"There's not been many wins and not many comebacks." Hallgrimsson said. "I'm pleased with the character and discipline we showed.
" I knew if we would do what we talked about in planning and training that we would have a good game.
"First half we did that: second half we didn't do it as well."
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND boss Heimir Hallgrimsson has urged his players to be more assertive if they want to complete a Nations League play-off victory over Bulgaria.
First-half headers from Finn Azaz and Matt Doherty secured a deserved 2-1 comeback success in the first leg of the promotion-relegation decider in Plovdiv.
Ireland responded well to the shock of Marin Petkov's sixth-minute opener, but offered little attacking threat in a stop- start second period.
Hallgrimsson's men hope to finish the job and remain in League B when Bulgaria visit the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
"I don't think we have to change many things, but we obviously need to be a little bit less passive like we were in the second half," he said.
"We gave them a little bit of initiative in the second half, which we should not have done. We need to fix that and improve for the next game. "Maybe because we were winning and we haven't done much of that lately, you automatically tend to get a little bit more passive than we should and we need to correct that."
Victory in front of 1,000 travelling fans at a sparsely-populated Hristo Botev Stadium was a third in seven games since Hallgrimsson was appointed last summer.
The Icelander masterminded wins home and away against Finland during the group phase, but his team failed to score in their other four fixtures. including a 5-0 thrashing against England at Wembley.
"There's not been many wins and not many comebacks." Hallgrimsson said. "I'm pleased with the character and discipline we showed.
" I knew if we would do what we talked about in planning and training that we would have a good game.
"First half we did that: second half we didn't do it as well."
+Anonymous B — 5 months ago, 2 days later[T] [B] #673,742
MLB NOTEBOOK
Injured Devers pushes back spring debut
Red Sox slugger Rafael Devers, expected to make his spring training debut Tuesday against the Pirates, pushed his first appearance back during batting practice, telling Boston manager Alex Cora that he did not feel ready.
Cora did not say when the three-time all-star will play but suggested it might not be until this weekend.
Devers hit .272 with 28 homers and 83 RBIs last season, despite complaining of soreness in both of his shoulders.
Exactly where Devers will play once he returns is in question. The Red Sox signed Alex Bregman to a three-year, $120-million (U.S.) contract this winter, giving them a Gold Glove winner at third base, where Devers has poor fielding metrics.
Brewers adding Quintana
Veteran left-handed pitcher Jose Quintana is joining the Milwaukee Brewers on a one-year, $4.25-million deal with $1 million in potential bonuses, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. Quintana, 36, went 10-10 in 2024 with a 3.75 ERA in 31 starts for the New York Mets... Texas outfielder Adolis García was scratched from the game against the Athletics and will undergo an MRI on his left oblique, the same one he injured during the years ago... St. Louis outfielder Jordan Walker left the team's split-squad game against the Nationals with left knee pain on Tuesday and will undergo further evaluation
Injured Devers pushes back spring debut
Red Sox slugger Rafael Devers, expected to make his spring training debut Tuesday against the Pirates, pushed his first appearance back during batting practice, telling Boston manager Alex Cora that he did not feel ready.
Cora did not say when the three-time all-star will play but suggested it might not be until this weekend.
Devers hit .272 with 28 homers and 83 RBIs last season, despite complaining of soreness in both of his shoulders.
Exactly where Devers will play once he returns is in question. The Red Sox signed Alex Bregman to a three-year, $120-million (U.S.) contract this winter, giving them a Gold Glove winner at third base, where Devers has poor fielding metrics.
Brewers adding Quintana
Veteran left-handed pitcher Jose Quintana is joining the Milwaukee Brewers on a one-year, $4.25-million deal with $1 million in potential bonuses, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. Quintana, 36, went 10-10 in 2024 with a 3.75 ERA in 31 starts for the New York Mets... Texas outfielder Adolis García was scratched from the game against the Athletics and will undergo an MRI on his left oblique, the same one he injured during the years ago... St. Louis outfielder Jordan Walker left the team's split-squad game against the Nationals with left knee pain on Tuesday and will undergo further evaluation
+Anonymous C — 5 months ago, 10 hours later, 3 days after the original post[T] [B] #673,771
Are you copying and pasting articles?
+Anonymous D — 4 months ago, 4 days later, 1 week after the original post[T] [B] #673,955
Where's sporty spice?
+Anonymous E — 4 months ago, 2 weeks later, 3 weeks after the original post[T] [B] #674,350
No pressure on Alexander- Arnold to stay, says Van Dijk
Ben Fisher
Virgil van Dijk said he had not put pressure on Trent Alexander-Arnold to stay at Liverpool and that his teammate deserved his moment of glory in the 1-0 win at Leicester on Sunday. Alexander-Arnold's winner - the first left-footed goal of 23 in his career - put Liverpool on the cusp of a 20th league title.
Van Dijk pushed the 26-year-old, who is expected to leave for Real Madrid this summer, towards the Liverpool supporters after the final whistle and Alexander-Arnold clenched his fists in celebration.
Liverpool will seal the Premier League tomorrow if Arsenal lose at home to Crystal Palace, and can otherwise secure it at home against Tottenham on Sunday. The Liverpool captain said it was "past my wildest dreams" to be 13 points clear at this stage. "I think we forget that we are dealing with a human being." Van Dijk said of Alexander-Arnold, who returned from an ankle injury.
"There's a lot of noise around him and obviously everyone can argue if it's his own fault, [but] it's part of life nowadays. So when he scores a big goal like that, he deserves applause for stepping up in that moment and to soak it all in because, whether he stays or leaves, these are moments which you shouldn't take for granted. So I think he deserved that moment and now it's back to work."
Asked whether he had spoken to Alexander-Arnold about his future, Van Dijk said: "I think he was under a lot of pressure already so there's no point for me to put him on the spot."
Liverpool's players will report for training tomorrow after two days off. Van Dijk said the squad may convene tomorrow as they did in June 2020 when they celebrated winning the title after Manchester City lost at Chelsea. "I expect Arsenal to win at home but, if it doesn't happen, then I think it would be nice to be together!"
Ben Fisher
Virgil van Dijk said he had not put pressure on Trent Alexander-Arnold to stay at Liverpool and that his teammate deserved his moment of glory in the 1-0 win at Leicester on Sunday. Alexander-Arnold's winner - the first left-footed goal of 23 in his career - put Liverpool on the cusp of a 20th league title.
Van Dijk pushed the 26-year-old, who is expected to leave for Real Madrid this summer, towards the Liverpool supporters after the final whistle and Alexander-Arnold clenched his fists in celebration.
Liverpool will seal the Premier League tomorrow if Arsenal lose at home to Crystal Palace, and can otherwise secure it at home against Tottenham on Sunday. The Liverpool captain said it was "past my wildest dreams" to be 13 points clear at this stage. "I think we forget that we are dealing with a human being." Van Dijk said of Alexander-Arnold, who returned from an ankle injury.
"There's a lot of noise around him and obviously everyone can argue if it's his own fault, [but] it's part of life nowadays. So when he scores a big goal like that, he deserves applause for stepping up in that moment and to soak it all in because, whether he stays or leaves, these are moments which you shouldn't take for granted. So I think he deserved that moment and now it's back to work."
Asked whether he had spoken to Alexander-Arnold about his future, Van Dijk said: "I think he was under a lot of pressure already so there's no point for me to put him on the spot."
Liverpool's players will report for training tomorrow after two days off. Van Dijk said the squad may convene tomorrow as they did in June 2020 when they celebrated winning the title after Manchester City lost at Chelsea. "I expect Arsenal to win at home but, if it doesn't happen, then I think it would be nice to be together!"
+Anonymous F — 3 months ago, 3 weeks later, 1 month after the original post[T] [B] #674,809
Boxing·Anonymous F — 3 months ago, 1 minute later, 1 month after the original post[T] [B] #674,810
Karate·Anonymous F — 3 months ago, 1 week later, 1 month after the original post[T] [B] #674,958
Fishing+Anonymous G — 5 days ago, 3 months later, 5 months after the original post[T] [B] #676,341
Holliday finally gives O's first walk-off win
ORIOLES 4, MARINERS 3
BY JACOB CALVIN MEYER
BALTIMORE - That the Baltimore Orioles went their first 119 games without a walk-off win embodied how disappointing this season has been.
It might be all but over, but at least the season's 120th game featured the most enthralling kind of win a team can achieve.
After the bullpen squandered another save, Jackson Holliday sent the small crowd at Camden Yards - and a dugout filled with players who have yearned for a moment like this - into pandemonium with a walk-off double to propel Baltimore to a 4-3 win over the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night.
With two outs in the ninth, Holliday smacked a line drive down the right field line off Mariners reliever Matt Brash. Seattle right fielder Dylan Moore was shaded toward center field, allowing Dylan Carlson who had reached on a two-out single, to score easily. Players in the dugout rushed onto the field to celebrate with Holliday at second base.
After a rain delay that lasted 1 hour 40 minutes, the Orioles' Trevor Rogers was his usual self, cruising through the first six innings without the Mariners even threatening to score. The lone run he allowed was partially caused by his defense. Greg Allen misplayed a ball off the center field wall to turn Julio Rodriguez's double into a triple. With one out, Rogers induced a hard grounder from Josh Naylor, but Holliday couldn't make the tough play at second base as the ball rolled into the outfield to put Seattle up 1-0.
Rogers entered with sparkling numbers - a 1.44 ERA and a .168 batting average against - and managed to lower both figures.
Baltimore Sun
ORIOLES 4, MARINERS 3
BY JACOB CALVIN MEYER
BALTIMORE - That the Baltimore Orioles went their first 119 games without a walk-off win embodied how disappointing this season has been.
It might be all but over, but at least the season's 120th game featured the most enthralling kind of win a team can achieve.
After the bullpen squandered another save, Jackson Holliday sent the small crowd at Camden Yards - and a dugout filled with players who have yearned for a moment like this - into pandemonium with a walk-off double to propel Baltimore to a 4-3 win over the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night.
With two outs in the ninth, Holliday smacked a line drive down the right field line off Mariners reliever Matt Brash. Seattle right fielder Dylan Moore was shaded toward center field, allowing Dylan Carlson who had reached on a two-out single, to score easily. Players in the dugout rushed onto the field to celebrate with Holliday at second base.
After a rain delay that lasted 1 hour 40 minutes, the Orioles' Trevor Rogers was his usual self, cruising through the first six innings without the Mariners even threatening to score. The lone run he allowed was partially caused by his defense. Greg Allen misplayed a ball off the center field wall to turn Julio Rodriguez's double into a triple. With one out, Rogers induced a hard grounder from Josh Naylor, but Holliday couldn't make the tough play at second base as the ball rolled into the outfield to put Seattle up 1-0.
Rogers entered with sparkling numbers - a 1.44 ERA and a .168 batting average against - and managed to lower both figures.
Baltimore Sun