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A long hot summer of football fever is just what the doctor ordered
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Cavaliers vs. Raptors NBA playoffs preview: Who stops Donovan Mitchell, James Harden?
The Toronto Raptors are heading back to the city that haunted them last decade.The Cleveland Cavaliers ended the Raptors’ season in three consecutive playoffs, from 2016-18. In those series, the Raptors went 0-12 in Cleveland. They will need to change that to win this series — obviously.Of course, these teams have nothing in common with those except the team names and the color schemes. LeBron James, who tormented the Raptors across those series, is in Los Angeles. Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan (...
Are we witnessing the Jean-Philippe Mateta redemption arc?
There was a buzz of expectation around Selhurst Park when the fourth official indicated that No 14 was about to enter the fray, but surely nobody realistically predicted what was to follow.It’s hard to imagine a more effective cameo than the one Jean-Philippe Mateta provided for Crystal Palace on Sunday. First, he completely transformed the atmosphere, then the entire dynamic of the football match, and finally, the result. A match and an occasion turned upside down by one man.Advertisement
Vitor Pereira has improved Nottingham Forest — now he needs a win at the City Ground
There remains a reasonable chance that this was a dress rehearsal for a Europa League semi-final in a few weeks — but for Nottingham Forest, the priority remains ensuring they face Aston Villa again in the Premier League next season.To realise either scenario, Vitor Pereira needs to continue the progress made in recent weeks by taking another significant step — securing his first victory at the City Ground.Advertisement
Newcastle United — is this the end of a team or the end of an era?
With Alexander Isak long gone, Kieran Trippier going, Fabian Schar likely to follow and uncertainty hovering over Sandro Tonali, Anthony Gordon and Tino Livramento, Newcastle United are approaching an ending.Whether this becomes the end of a team or the end of an era remains to be seen but Selhurst Park did not provide evidence of a positive kind. It felt old and tired and desperately familiar.Advertisement
What is at stake at Welsh rugby's latest EGM?
What is at stake at Welsh rugby's latest EGM?Image source, Huw Evans Picture AgencyImage caption, Wales play international rugby games at the Principality StadiumByGareth GriffithsBBC Sport WalesPublished8 minutes agoCommentsHere we go again.Welsh rugby faces another crisis meeting as the latest extraordinary general meeting (EGM) is staged at the Principality Stadium on Monday evening.The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) seems to attract these sort of events with EGM's held or called in 2014,...
Brighton's Olivier Boscagli: 'I have struggled for game time, but I'm still happy with my move'
Olivier Boscagli has waited patiently for his chance at Brighton & Hove Albion, but now the door is ajar he is aiming to walk through it.The Frenchman is set to start two Premier League games in a row for the first time next weekend at Tottenham Hotspur, in what will be the north London club’s first home game under Brighton’s former head coach Roberto De Zerbi.Advertisement
Seven questions still to be answered ahead of Manchester United's final seven games
The long wait is over. Manchester United return to Premier League action tonight.The clash with Leeds United is the return of old rivalries and the start of a sprint to conclude the 2025-26 season. With Carrick and his coaching staff securing seven wins from 10 games and refining an unbalanced football team into something more positive, United are in command of their own footballing destiny when it comes to Champions League qualification.Advertisement
Aston Villa’s draw at Forest showed the downsides of their fine-margin approach
Aston Villa live on the edge.After Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest, they remain fourth and are well placed to finish in the top five and secure a Champions League spot, sitting seven points clear of sixth-placed Chelsea. But a +5 goal difference after 32 games shows how often they scrape through tight matches.Advertisement
Where does McIlroy rank among greats after Masters defence?
Where does McIlroy rank among greats after Masters defence?To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.This video can not be playedMedia caption, McIlroy holds nerve to win second successive MastersByJonathan JurejkoBBC Sport golf reporterPublished3 hours ago45 CommentsA surefire sign of a sports star who wants to achieve true greatness is the ability to recalibrate, realign and reach their next goal.Jack Nicklaus had that quality. Tiger Woods also had it.Rory McIlroy is hig...
The Briefing: Will playing at Etihad help Arsenal? Are Tottenham done? Is Ngumoha the real thing?
Welcome to The Briefing, where every Monday during this season The Athletic will discuss three of the biggest questions to arise from the weekend’s football.This was the weekend when Manchester City blew Chelsea away, Liverpool picked up a crucial win as those around them dropped points, West Ham put four past Wolves and Crystal Palace came from behind to beat Newcastle.Advertisement
If Spurs are relegated, the success of Sunderland will be partly to blame
If Tottenham Hotspur are relegated next month, to the list of internal reasons the club will provide for their demise should be added an unexpected external factor: Sunderland.One year ago the Wearsiders were beaten at home by Swansea City in the Championship on the way to finishing fourth and entering the play-offs against Coventry City, then Sheffield United. Sunderland won those dramatically, but by the skin of their teeth. No one in the Premier League watching was thinking Sunderland would b...
Rayan Cherki plays with freedom and flamboyance – exactly the qualities Arsenal are lacking
Rayan Cherki had ticked the box. Done the boring job. Met his efficiency quota. Two assists in six second-half minutes to unlock the game. Now, with the admin out of the way, the Frenchman could really have some fun.As the ball came to him on the right flank, he trapped it with the sole of his boot and lured Marc Cucurella out from his position. From a standing start, he scooped the ball up to his waist and volleyed it over the Spaniard’s head to set Antoine Semenyo free.Advertisement
Despite huge ambitions, the Birmingham-Wrexham rivalry will continue in the Championship
Wrexham’s rise through the leagues has featured a number of rivalries that burnt brightly for a time before fizzling out.Notts County, Stockport County and even Sheffield United on the back of those two powder keg FA Cup ties in 2023 all warrant their own place in the Wrexham story under Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac.Advertisement
Chelsea handed another crushing reminder of how far they are off the elite
Marc Cucurella may have had a point.The fallout from Enzo Fernandez’s verbal indiscretions in the March international break has understandably dominated the conversation around Chelsea, but Cucurella’s candid words on the BlueCo project were the ones that came to mind watching Manchester City breeze to their latest comfortable victory at Stamford Bridge.Advertisement
Liverpool, the Grand National and the rumbling discord around Merseyside’s biggest sporting day
On a clear day, two of Liverpool’s most famous sporting venues are visible on approach to the city.You need to be driving on the M58 towards Netherton and Litherland to see Anfield, the home of Liverpool FC, shimmering in the middle distance. But much closer is the spectre of Aintree Racecourse, with its vast grandstands. Advertisement
Leeds have not won a league game at Old Trafford for 45 years. Why? And how can they fix it?
If there is one away stadium in the country that Leeds United supporters could choose to win at, it would almost certainly be Old Trafford. For a fanbase that feels so perpetually hard done by, it’s rather fitting they have never visited any club in the league and been so consistently disappointed.Advertisement
How Arsenal’s technical shortcomings prevented them and David Raya from playing out
Execution is the vital part of any plan in football.Tactics and ideas don’t play out on their own. They are tailored to the profiles of the players available and require a high level of execution to pay off in the Premier League.In Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat against Bournemouth on Saturday, their disastrous technical execution prevented them from playing through the opponent’s press, even if they had the right ideas at times.Advertisement
NBA Draft Lottery odds: Wizards, Pacers, Nets have best chance at No. 1 pick
The 2025-26 season gave us one of the great tanking campaigns in NBA history. It was so bad that commissioner Adam Silver vowed to fix tanking and is seeking a solution to curb it.Now, after six months, 82 regular-season games and fines for a handful of teams, the work is done. The standings are set, and franchises have nothing to do but make their sacrifices to the ping-pong-ball and lottery gods ahead of what is heralded as a loaded draft class.Advertisement
Masters Round 4: What to know about Rory McIlroy's second win at Augusta National
Augusta National prides itself on history. For the second consecutive April, a man from Northern Ireland authored new chapters in that voluminous book.Here are the top numbers and notes to know from the final round of the 90th Masters Tournament.1. A year after becoming just the sixth man in golf’s modern era to complete the career grand slam, Rory McIlroy somehow joined an even shorter list by becoming the fourth to go back-to-back at the Masters. McIlroy joined Jack Nicklaus (1965-66), Nick Fa...