Football / Sports

Salah inspires Pharaohs to AFCON 2022 semi-finals with goal and assist

MO SALAH’s Egypt side are through to the AFCON 2022 semi-finals thanks to a 2-1 win over Morocco in the last eight.

Salah scored and assisted a late goal in extra-time to put his team one win away from this year’s finale in Yaounde.

The Pharaoh’s bid to reclaim AFCON silverware continues as they scrape past Morocco in a tight last-8 affair.

Egyptian supporters feared the worst when Moroccan forward Sofiane Boufal converted a penalty within the first minutes courtesy of Aymen Ashraf’s reckless challenge in the box.

But Egyptian captain Mo Salah put the nation on his shoulders, scored the equalizer with 53 minutes gone on the clock and provided an assist for super sub Trezeguet five minutes into extra time.

What could be fascinating is that Egypt could meet Senegal in the final which would mean Liverpool teammates Mo Salah and Sadio Mane going at it for a trophy.

It wasn’t even up for a debate due to how influential this man was during large periods of the match.

Mighty Mo Salah single handedly picked his team up when they were in the gutter, put them back on level terms and set up Trezeguet to grab the winner.

This is why Egyptian head coach Carlos Queiroz named him captain of the squad and if Jordan Henderson at Liverpool isn’t careful, the Egyptian wizard could take that armband off him too.

Phenomenal performance from Salah this evening and he is now two games away from finally clinching AFCON silverware.

Other than Nigeria with 14, no nation has made it to the semi-final stage more times than Egypt (13) since data was recorded.

And on 7 of those occasions, the Pharaohs have gone on to win the entire tournament.

If they can overcome Cameroon in the last four, Carlos Queiroz’ men will certainly fancy their chances to make it number 8.

So with the Egyptians getting the better of Morocco, they will face hosts and 5x AFCON winners, Cameroon in the semi-final.

Providing there are no last minute altercations, the …

NFL / Sports

Everything to know from Los Angeles’s come-from-behind win

For the second straight year, the Super Bowl will be hosted by one of its participants.

The Los Angeles Rams outlasted the San Francisco 49ers 20-17 on Sunday, giving the team the NFC crown and setting up a title showdown with the Cincinnati Bengals. The Rams scored 13 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to take a lead they would never surrender. Aaron Donald’s pressure of Jimmy Garoppolo and the quarterback’s subsequent interception sealed the result for Los Angeles, which snapped a six-game losing streak to Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers.

The result puts Sean McVay’s crew back in the Super Bowl for the first time in 4 years. Los Angeles embodied an all-in mentality, acquiring quarterback Matthew Stafford last offseason while adding outside linebacker Von Miller and wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. during the season. Stafford won his first playoff game two weeks ago in the wild-card round, and now he and his teammates will be staying home for the Super Bowl.

Here’s a look back at how it all unfolded.

49ers-Rams final score: Los Angeles wins 20-17 to head to Super Bowl

Aaron Donald’s pressure made all the difference.

The perennial All-Pro didn’t notch a sack, but he reached Jimmy Garoppolo and forced the quarterback into a game-sealing interception by linebacker Travin Howard.

The Rams will get to stay home and face the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl 56 after all.…

NFL / Sports

Rams win epic game vs. Buccaneers, 30-27: Everything we know from Sunday’s wild shootout

For the first 40 minutes of the game, it looked like the Los Angeles Rams were going to cruise to an easy win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They led 27-3 in the third quarter, completely dominating on both sides of the ball.

Then the mistakes piled up. Cooper Kupp fumbled the ball, a snap sailed past Matthew Stafford and was recovered by the Buccaneers, and Matt Gay left a 47-yard field goal short with a chance to give the Rams a 17-point lead.

But that’s not all. Jalen Ramsey gave up a 55-yard touchdown to Mike Evans to make it a one-score game, then on the next drive, Cam Akers fumbled it for the second time and the ball was recovered by Tampa Bay. All of those miscues kept the Buccaneers in the game after it seemed like they had no chance whatsoever to come back.

The Buccaneers tied it with 42 seconds left but Stafford and Kupp saved the day with a clutch 44-yard completion deep down the field to set up Gay’s 30-yard game-winning field goal.

Here’s a recap of the wild ride that was Rams-Bucs on Sunday.

Final score: Rams 30, Buccaneers 27…

Football / Sports

Nigeria’s deficiencies exposed by Tunisia in stunning AFCON upset

Outfoxed, out-thought, outcoached.

It is hard not to use those words after watching a depleted Tunisia produce a stunning 1-0 upset to knock Nigeria out of the Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday night in Garoua.

The defeat means Nigeria — who have made more AFCON semifinal appearances than any other country — have failed to make the final four for the first time since 2008, when they were eliminated in the quarterfinal of a 16-team tournament by hosts Ghana.

Shorn of a third of their team, and without their coach, the Carthage Eagles still contrived to put up a fighting performance to peg back the rampaging Nigerians, going toe to toe with the Super Eagles until Youssef Msakni struck in the second half, beating Maduka Okoye from range for the only goal of the game.

Stunned, the Nigerians tried to respond, and coach Augustine Eguavoen threw on the first of four subs, among them Everton’s Alex Iwobi. But the midfielder lasted just five minutes before he was sent off for a dangerous tackle, compromising Nigeria’s chances of advancement and handing Tunisia the win.

It all came down to preparation and tactics.

Despite their excellent form in the group stages where they won three of three, the Super Eagles always looked vulnerable in the middle, where Joseph Aribo’s license to roam meant that Wilfred Ndidi was usually the lone body shielding the back four.

The set up meant that Eguavoen’s men were vulnerable in transitions, despite their speed and trickery out in the wide areas where Moses Simon and Samuel Chukwueze provided danger. It was a loophole that Tunisia exploited to the max.

Nigeria’s wide players were blunted by a double team, especially on Simon, and Ellyes Skhiri dropping into the defense, nullified Nigeria’s press as the Tunisians tried to overload the middle.

It was clear the north Africans had done their homework.

“We know Nigeria are very strong and very fast in the wings,” assistant coach Jalel Kadri said at the post-match press conference. “Today we came up with …

Football / Sports

Diogo Jota brace fires Liverpool past Arsenal and into Carabao Cup final to face Chelsea

A match that finally took place, but there was no actual contest. Arsenal, it could be argued, still didn’t really play.

Liverpool reached a fifth cup final of Jurgen Klopp’s time, and the first in this competition in six years, by comfortably beating Mikel Arteta’s side 2-0 in the League Cup semi-final second leg. This one wasn’t about false positives but false advertising. It just wasn’t the game that was billed, and certainly didn’t live up the enjoyable chaos that the competition’s semi-finals often offer.

Arteta’s side clearly have so much promise but also some way to go, as they lost another big game. Liverpool, and especially Diogo Jota, were just too good for them. There was almost an inevitability about that given all the ructions of the last week and how the north London derby was postponed. Arsenal could point to a stretched squad and how Thomas Partey came on just hours after arriving back from the African Cup of Nations, only to be sent off in the aimless final minutes.

That ended up being indicative in another way, as it summed up how Arsenal were always stretching to try and bridge the gap to Liverpool, but Klopp’s side were too good.

A side without Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane just showed Arsenal how it’s done, giving a semi-final occasionally clouded by an acrimonious atmosphere a muted finish.

Perhaps the only question from the entire game was whether Jota intended the finish that effectively settled the contest, or mishit it. It is someway irrelevant to the game, given the end result was a goal either way, but it was a rare moment when Aaron Ramsdale looked culpable.

It’s possible he was unsighted, as Jota weaved his way towards the Arsenal box until he had a mass of bodies diving in from all angles.

Jota went for the finish, hitting a shot low to the right that almost trickled in. Ramsdale had been completely wrong-footed.

Such a slow shot similarly took some of the pace out of the game. Arsenal’s …

Football / Sports

Nigeria Top Group after win against Guinea Bissau

After making eight changes to the side that beat Sudan to seal their last-16 place, Nigeria took time to warm up.

Umar Sadiq opened the scoring shortly after the break following a cross from striker partner Kelechi Iheanacho.

Captain William Troost-Ekong sealed the win after tapping into an empty net after fine work by Moses Simon.

Three-time champions Nigeria had already topped Group D and knew their round of 16 clash on Sunday would be in Garoua, where they have played all their games so far.

They will have to wait until Thursday night to find out which of the best third-placed sides they face from either Group B, E or F.

Guinea-Bissau, meanwhile, have now gone over seven Nations Cup games without a goal, last scoring in their second match of the 2017 finals when they made their tournament bow.

Super Eagles soar in Garoua

Nigeria coach Augustine Eguavoen – who has made light of replacing Germany’s Gernot Rohr a month before the tournament – had the luxury of being able to rest players after his side’s fine start to the tournament, retaining only Iheanacho, Troost-Ekong and Wilfred Ndidi.

Defender Semi Ajayi was among those coming into the side and he almost opened the scoring when heading a free-kick over from close range, with Eguavoen holding his head in his hands at the wasted chance.

After Guinea-Bissau’s Maurice Gomis almost spilled an off-target Iheanacho shot into his own net, the Super Eagles finally took the lead when the Leicester City forward laid it on a plate for Almeria forward Sadiq to tap in at the far post.

Guinea-Bissau rallied shortly after when an on-target free-kick from Fali Cande was deflected behind by Troost-Ekong’s arm, with the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) overlooking the incident.

But the VAR referee was heavily involved just moments later when Troost-Ekong side-footed into an empty net after Simon’s blistering strike, after a jinking run past three players, crashed back off the underside of the bar to the Watford man.

Kenyan referee Peter Waweru pointed for …

Football / Sports

Ghana can’t overcome red card, sent out of AFCON by Comoros

One moment of madness ended an African power’s chances at the 2021 AFCON.

Andre Ayew’s sliding boot to the face of Comoros keeper Salim Ben Boina went from a yellow card offense to a straight red after Video Assistant Referee review, giving Ghana a huge mountain to climb after just 25 minutes of their group stage finale.

The Black Stars were already down 1-0 when Ayew went charging after Ben Boina’s fumbled rebound only to see Ben Boina collect the ball and his wild kick connect with the keeper’s face.

Comoros, the 132nd ranked team in FIFA’s men’s rankings, still had a fight on its hands against the 10-man Black Stars (No. 52).

Ghana needed a point to reach the knockout rounds and Comoros had lost to Gabon and Morocco. The match reached halftime 1-0 before Comoros’ El Fardou Ben added an assist to his early goal.

That wasn’t it for valiant Ghana, as Richmond Boakye and Alexander Djiku scored, the latter assisted by Arsenal’s Thomas Partey, to level it at 2-2 for the 10-men Black Stars. But Ahmed Mogni, the author of Comoros’ second goal, struck in the 85th minute to send Ghana crashing out of the competition and several teams into the knockout rounds with four points as Comoros’ three is currently the fourth-best third-place point total.…

Basket Ball / Sports

Warriors’ Steph Curry, Klay Thompson find rhythm against Pistons

Sometimes a date with the 10-win Detroit Pistons is exactly what a team needs. That seemed to be the perfect remedy for a handful of Warriors on Tuesday night at Chase Center in their 102-86 blowout win.

Playing the Pistons also clearly was the perfect potion for Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.

Curry came out of the gates as the Warriors’ director of the offense with Draymond Green out. He didn’t attempt his first shot from the field — a missed layup — until there was just under six minutes remaining in the first quarter, but he quickly nailed his first 3-point attempt the next time the Warriors were on offense. From there on, the night was filled with flashes of vintage Splash Brothers between Curry and Thompson against a team full of young players and not many wins.

“That was probably the best stretch that Steph and Klay have played together and it was a really nice kind of groove in front of our home fans, which was really great to see,” Steve Kerr said after the win.

Tuesday night didn’t need to be a performance where Curry put up ungodly scoring numbers. This one was all about efficiency.

Despite sitting the final 13-plus minutes of the game, Curry scored 18 points in 29 minutes. He also dished eight assists, swiped three steals and committed only one turnover. Curry went 6-for-11 from the field and 4-for-8 from long distance.

He finished with a game-high plus-21 in plus-minus.

“Steph is someone who controls the offense,” Andrew Wiggins, who scored 19 points, said. “A lot of the attention is towards Steph, because we know what he can do already, but with all of them out there it makes the game easy.

“Steph makes the game easy for everybody.”

Thompson’s second career game in San Francisco and fifth game overall this season was his best since his return. He finished with a season-high 21 points, and his four assists also were a season high. His buzzer-beating 3-pointer gave him 17 points at …

NFL / Sports

49ers beat Cowboys as time expires on Dallas’ comeback attempt

Down 6 with 14 seconds remaining, the Cowboys couldn’t stop the clock after a Prescott run to the middle of the field. An official bumped Prescott trying to get the ball set, which threw Prescott off as he rushed to spike it. Time ran out and the Cowboys’ season was over.

Video Transcript

– You need someone, San Francisco, to get to the quarterback here.

– Prescott takes off, running the football. Whoa, I don’t think this is going to work out!

– It will. They’ll be able to clock this. They were planned for it. It’s [? downtown. ?] Oh my gosh.

– The official gets in the way. The game’s over! The game is over.

– Oh, he did!

– Oh, they’re going to look at this.

– It’s, it’s going to be over because the umpire has to touch the ball. Of course, that’s ridiculous for a game to end like that, Jim. Wow. I am livid, if I’m a Cowboy fan. And if I’m a Niner fan.

– That’s the end of the game.

– The game is over! The game is over. And San Francisco survives and advances.

– You called it. It was risky. They had time. Dak’s supposed to go. But you’re not supposed to go past 10 or 12 yards.

– Remember we saw this, on the play after the fake punt? The same scenario, where the umpire got in the way?

– He has to touch it, though.

– Yep.

– Dak doesn’t realize this. These guys don’t realize, he has to touch the ball.

– Gene Steratore, your take.

– You guys were all over it, Jim. You and Tony are all over it. The umpire, an official, has to touch the football after it’s set down to start the next play.

…

Basket Ball / Sports

Morant scores 29, Grizzlies beat Warriors for 10th straight

Ja Morant scored 29 points, including five in the final minute, and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Golden State Warriors 116-108 Tuesday night for their 10th straight win.

“I just like having that pressure,” Morant said of his scoring down the stretch. “I feel like that’s when I shine the most. I like to be the one taking that shot, hit or miss.”

Ziaire Williams and Tyus Jones had 17 points each, Williams recording a season-high in points. Jones keyed a fourth-quarter rally that put the Grizzlies ahead for good. He finished 6 for 8 from the field, including connecting on all five of his 3-point attempts.

Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his second triple-double of the season. Klay Thompson finished with 14 points. Andrew Wiggins and Gary Payton II scored 13 each.

The teams had a closely played game in the second half until consecutive 3-pointers by Jones gave Memphis a 109-100 lead with 3:33 left to play. That was enough of a buffer for the Grizzlies to keep their franchise-record win streak going, Memphis holding Golden State to 18 points in the fourth quarter.

“I thought Tyus Jones shooting 3s broke the game open. That was the key,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.

The Grizzlies were the ones connecting from 3-point range in the first half hitting 8 of their first 13 from outside the arc. That allowed Memphis to build an 18-point lead in the second quarter, putting the Warriors in catch up mode from that point on.

“It was just turnovers early in the game, and that gave them a lot of confidence,” said Curry, who was 8 of 21 shooting, including 2 of 9 from 3-point range.

Grizzlies interim coach Darko Rajakovic noted it wasn’t just Williams’ offensive output, but the rookie from Stanford also had the job of guarding Curry from the opening tip. Rajakovic noted that Curry averages 14 3-pointers a game, but only took nine in the game.

“He did a really good …

Football / Sports

Egypt vs. Nigeria result: Super Eagles win 1-0 Against Egypt

The second true heavyweight match of the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations saw Nigeria take firm control of Group D with a 1-0 victory over Mohamed Salah and Egypt.

After Monday’s game between Morocco and Ghana saw the Atlas Lions come away with a 1-0 victory, we were treated to another matchup of expected title contenders, and the result showed one side is far more prepared to push for the crown than the other.

Liverpool superstar Salah was entirely locked down, with little to show for his 90-minute effort as Nigeria smothered the Egyptian playmaker. Kelechi Iheanacho’s early goal proved the difference as Nigeria fended off a late Pharoahs push to claim all three points. Both teams are expected to progress from Group D despite today’s result, but Nigeria’s victory sets the Super Eagles up nicely for a better Round of 16 matchup and a deep run deep in the tournament, while Egypt will feel added pressure in its other group stage matches against Guinea-Bissau and Sudan.

See Highlights of the Game Below ;

…

Football / Sports

Sofiane Boufal scores late winner as Ghana lose opening clash in AFCON

Morocco’s Sofiane Boufal seized on a loose ball to score seven minutes from time and secure a 1-0 win over Ghana in their opening Group C match at the Africa Cup of Nations on Monday.

Boufal hammered home from close range after a mazy run into the penalty area from Zakaria Aboukhlal that saw him tease the Ghana defence, only to be checked by Thomas Partey, with the ball then running perfectly for Boufal to score.

The goal came from a rare chance in a game where both sides showed defensive prowess but did little to impress in attack.  Both countries are looking to end a long wait for success in the continental championship but showed little early sign of making an impact at the tournament in Cameroon, admittedly after disrupted preparations.

Boufal’s goal did open up a cagey affair and Morocco had two more decent chances as captain Romain Saiss headed wide after an 87th minute free kick and then in stoppage time Ghana’s keeper Joe Wollacott stopped a blistering shot.

Until then, there had only been two opportunities for Ghana.

Joseph Paintsil hit a goal-bound shot towards the top corner in the 70th minute only for Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou to turn the effort around the post.

Ghana also had a good set-piece opportunity in the 31st minute but Partey fired his free kick over the bar.

The victory extended to 10 matches Morocco’s winning streak, including all six World Cup qualifiers played between September and November.…

Football / Sports

McTominay goal ousts Villans

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be grinning sardonically after Manchester United’s Fred and Scott McTominay teamed up for the only goal of a 1-0 win over Aston Villa in an FA Cup tie at Old Trafford on Monday.

The much-maligned defensive midfield pair connected for a precision goal early in the match when Fred cut onto his left foot and pinged an arrow into the heart of the box.

Steven Gerrard’s Villans equalized twice but saw both goals taken off the board by VAR.

McTominay doesn’t mind going to the gritty areas to find the ball and earned another big goal in his young career.

The Red Devils put 9 of their 13 shots on target but only found the McTominay goal, and Villa had 57 percent possession in registering 10 shots of their own.

United completes the fourth-round field and will host Middlesbrough between Feb. 4-7.

…

Football / News / Sports

500 supporters storm Garoua to cheer Super Eagles to victory

No fewer than 500 members of the Nigeria Football Supporters Club (NFSC) have stormed Garoua, Cameroon to cheer the Super Eagles to victory at the ongoing 2021 AFCON in Cameroon.

The National chairman of NFSC, Samuel Ikpea, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Monday in Garoua, Cameroon ahead of Eagles crunch opener against Egypt Tuesday.

A correspondent of NAN in Garoua who witnessed the flamboyant arrival of some of the members reports that their arrival has brought more zest to the already bubbly Eagles camp.

Ikpea confirmed that despite some of the logistic hitches, the NFSC members were now fully on ground to paint the city green and cheer the Eagles to victory at the competition. He explained that over 250 members had arrived in batches from Nigeria while members on ground in Cameroon have also shifted base to Garoua.

According to him, other chapters of the association from Mali, Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire and South Africa were also in town to give maximum support to the Eagles.

” I can tell you that the NFSC is fully on ground in Garoua now, we have about 250 members from Nigeria while others from our chapters in Cameroon, Mali, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and South Africa are also here.

“So all together we have about 500 supporters here ready to propel the Super Eagles to victory on Tuesday against Egypt and all through the tournament,” he said.

Ikpea added that the association which was founded 66 years ago will continue to give the Eagles the desired support wherever they play across the world.

He asserted that the structure of the association was unmatched and arguably the best in the world, noting that FIFA had recognized the NFSC as the best behaved in the world.

“Our structure is unmatched and the best in the world and the NFSC have been recognized by FIFA as the best behaved supporters club in the world”, he added.

He called on Nigerians to continue to support the Super Eagles as they begin their conquest for a fourth …

Football / Sports

Cameroon fight back to win opener after Andre Onana’s blunder

AJAX goalkeeper Andre Onana was left red-faced after conceding the first goal of of the Africa Cup of Nations.

The Cameroon shot-stopper was directly at fault for Burkina Faso’s opener on 24 minutes after a moment of madness between the sticks.

In the end two Vincent Aboubakar penalties late in the first half saw the hosts come from behind to win 2-1, with the Cameroon skipper also having another strike ruled out by VAR for offside.

This year’s tournament marks the first time VAR will be in use for every game of the competition, having only been in force from the quarter-finals onwards in 2019.

And the technology had to work overtime for today’s incident packed clash.

Bertrand Traore conceded the first penalty for a clumsy challenge on Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, which was only given after a lengthy VAR review.

Aboubaka coolly sent Herve Koffi the wrong way on 40 minutes, as he did again in the third minute of first half stoppage time after Issoufou Dayo carelessly slid in on Nouhou Tolo.

It means the five-time Afcon winners and tournament hosts go top of Group A thanks to three points from their opening game of the competition.

Cameroon goalkeeper Onana, 25, was playing in just his third game back after serving a NINE month ban from football for a doping violation.

He actually finished the suspension in November, but has been out of favour at Ajax, playing just twice since.

The keeper is still No1 between the sticks for Cameroon, but might not be for much longer after his absolute howler in the Afcon opener.

After being rescued by a goal-line clearance following a header by Aston Villa man Traore, Onana then made a right mess of a resulting cross.

His blushes were spared momentarily as the ball rebounded off the crossbar, but it was quickly whipped back into the box.

And as he tried to punch clear, Onana missed the ball completely, leaving Gustavo Sangare free to volley home at the back post and give Burkina Faso a …

Basket Ball / Sports

The Spurs always had an answer in wire-to-wire victory over the Nuggets

With the San Antonio Spurs in the middle of a FIGASENI, this was one of the few times this week that they would not be at a rest disadvantage, as they took on a Denver Nuggets team that is not only missing two starters in Michael Porter, Jr. and Jamal Murray (among others), but they are also on the sixth game of a seven-game road trip AND coming off an overtime victory in New Orleans from the night before.

As a result, the Spurs had a chance to take advantage and start a new winning streak, and they did just that. While it wasn’t easy — Denver still has reigning MVP Nikola Jokic, and Aaron Gordon had himself a game — the Spurs led wire-to-wire and had a response every time the Nuggets threatened to take the lead.

It all started with the Spurs continuing their trend of starting strong by hitting 8 of their first 12 shots to get out to a 22-12 lead that they would never relinquish. The Nuggets were able to take advantage in the fast break with some long outlet passes to keep things close, but the Spurs kept attacking. They got nine extra points off seven offensive rebounds in the first quarter alone and led 37-29 to start the second.

The Spurs kept piling it with a 17-5 run that spanned across the first and second quarters. Devin Vassell returned from injury and exploded onto the scene on both ends of the court (literally), and the Spurs soon found themselves up 60-42 midway through the quarter. However, the Nuggets finally started getting some threes to fall while the Spurs had one of their cold spells, cutting the lead to four on a 16-4 run. Mike Malone then broke out the Hack-a-Poeltl on Jakob Poeltl, and he missed both free throws before quickly being pulled due picking up his 3rd foul. Jokic able to take advantage of his absence for a few easy points, but again, the Spurs responded at the end of the half …

Basket Ball / Sports

Mitchell, Gobert lead Jazz over 76ers for 6th straight win

Donovan Mitchell scored 22 points, Rudy Gobert had 17 points and 21 rebounds and the Utah Jazz extended their winning streak to six games with a 118-96 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night. Hassan Whiteside added 14 points and 10 rebounds for Utah.

Joel Embiid had 19 points and nine rebounds for the 76ers. Seth Curry scored 18 points and Tobias Harris 17 for Philadelphia, which had won four of five.

Both teams were playing the second night of a back-to-back, and it was the 76ers who looked tired after halftime.

“I think you go through the ebb and flow of the season, sometimes you just decide not to be tired,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “When you’re playing the right way, it makes it easier.”

The Jazz were coming off a 136-104 win over Minnesota on Wednesday night in which they made 25 3-pointers, two shy of their season high. “They’re playing free,” Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers said. “They get a lot of 3’s up, they stretch the floor. They’re a tough basketball team, especially offensively.”

But against the Sixers, the Jazz, who finished with 15 3-pointers, used their inside game to take control in the third quarter. Whiteside’s three-point play pushed their advantage to double-digits, and Rudy Gay’s finish from close range and a foul shot for another three-point play gave Utah its biggest lead to that point, 71-58 with 2:27 left in the third.

The Jazz kept it up in the fourth, taking firm command on Jordan Clarkson’s 3-pointer that put them up 99-81 with 7:21 left. Utah’s lead reached as many as 23 points in a dominating fourth quarter.

“I didn’t feel like we had a lot tonight,” Rivers said.Embiid was back on the court for the seventh straight contest after missing nine in a row due to COVID-19 protocols. He has looked more like himself of late, scoring 32 points and being active in Philadelphia’s 110-106 win at Charlotte on Wednesday, when the 76ers completed a two-game sweep of the host Hornets over …

Football / Sports

Toothless Barca crash out of Champions League with 3-0 loss at Bayern

Barcelona crash out of the Champions League following defeat at Bayern Munich, failing to make it past the group stage for the first time since the 2000-01 season.

For the first time in 20 years, FC Barcelona have failed to make it out of the Champions League group stage, being bounced from the competition by mighty Bayern Munich on Wednesday in a 3-0 defeat on Wednesday in Matchday 6. With Benfica beating Dynamo Kiev, Barcelona needed to go to Munich at get a win against a team that has thoroughly demolished them over the last few seasons, and they didn’t even come close to competing. Bayern led 2-0 at the break, and the 3-0 score was generous all things considered as Bayern dominated both the ball and the chances.

Thomas Muller scored the winning strike in the 34th minute on a goal-line-technology-confirmed goal before Leroy Sane produced a wonder strike from 30 yards out just prior to the break. Jamal Musiala made it 3-0 after the hour mark, slamming the door shut on any unlikely comeback the Spanish team had in mind.

The victory meant nothing to Bayern as they had already locked up first place in Group E, while Benfica qualified for the knockout stage as the runners-up. Barca will continue their European journey in the Europa League, a competition they haven’t participated in since 2004 when it was called the UEFA Cup.

1. This is a Barca in transition and Xavi isn’t to blame

This was Xavi’s second UCL game in charge as the boss of Barca, and he isn’t to blame. The months of atrocious planning and play with Ronald Koeman at the helm has led to this. While Barca have the name, they obviously don’t have the game. This is a club in full rebuild mode looking to reach some level of competence since Lionel Messi’s departure. This was not the desired result, obviously, but it does present them another route to quality for the UCL. That, of course, would require them to win the Europa …

Football / Sports

Demarai Gray’s late strike ends Rafael Benitez’s side’s winless run

It looked like another night to forget for Everton’ when Richarlison was twice denied goals after being ruled offside by VAR, the first coming moments before Martin Odegaard gave the visitors the lead in stoppage time at the end of the first half. However, the Brazilian wasn’t to be denied a third time as he headed home the rebound to bring the scores level after Gray’s strike had hit the crossbar. Arsenal, who will feel aggrieved Ben Godfrey didn’t see red after his studs caught Takehiro Tomiyasu in the face in the first half, had a glorious chance of their own to retake the lead in the final 10 minutes when Eddie Nketiah headed against the post from inside the six-yard box, but it the points were Everton’s as Gray’s powerful effort hit the inside of the post and went in to start the home celebrations.

The victory sees Everton, who saw a small section of their supporters walk out in protest at the running of the club in the 27th minute, move up to 12th, relieving the pressure that was building on Benitez after an eight-game winless run. Meanwhile, Arsenal, who stay seventh, lose ground in the race for fourth after wins for West Ham, Tottenham and Manchester United at the weekend.

Everton have won three consecutive league matches against Arsenal for the first time since April 1986.

Everton have won 10 points from losing positions in the Premier League this season, more than any other side in 2021-22.

Arsenal have lost consecutive Premier League matches when scoring the first goal in each match, the first time they’ve done that since December 2016, with one of those defeats also a 2-1 loss against Everton at Goodison Park (the other was a 2-1 defeat to Man City).

Demarai Gray’s winner for Everton was scored after 91 minutes and 21 seconds, their latest winning goal in a Premier League match since December 2015 v Newcastle (92:46), and latest at Goodison Park in the competition since March 2014 v Cardiff (92:33).

Gray …

Basket Ball / Sports

Phoenix Suns set franchise record with 18th straight win

Even with history looming as it approached a franchise record win streak, Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams said he tried not to bring it up to his team.

But after a 114-103 victory Thursday night over the visiting Detroit Pistons set a franchise mark with 18 consecutive wins, Williams allowed himself time to reflect.

“But it is really cool to be a part of something like that,” Williams said. “To win like this, the way we’ve won, guys out of the rotation, losing [Devin Booker to injury], the relentless attitude of our team, the way we stick together, it makes it really cool.

“Obviously it’s hard to win in this league. But we’re not satisfied. We talk about stretching it out but it takes the right things to do that. So we’ve taken it one game at a time.”

The 18th win topped the previous franchise mark of 17 set by the 2006-07 Suns, who went on to finish 61-21. The streak also ties the 2019 Bucks for the longest of any NBA team in the last five seasons. The longest streak in NBA history belongs to the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers, who won 33 straight games.

Suns players tried to downplay how much they thought about the streak on a day-to-day basis.

“It feels good but at the same time, I don’t know, I guess it feels good but we got another tomorrow,” Cameron Payne said. “We have to keep going. It’s 1-0 today. That’s how I feel.”

Suns point guard Chris Paul, who finished with 12 points and 12 assists, said it was a nice piece of history for the team, but the focus remains on the bigger picture.

“But for us I think it’s always about the feeling of making sure we’re playing the game the right way,” Paul said. “We always talk about we have a standard. We say this every night and a win is a win but we feel like we could have played better.”

Phoenix was without their leading scorer in Booker, who …