Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson was disappointed last year when she wasn't named the most valuable player in the WNBA. At the ESPY Awards Thursday in Los Angeles, however, she won another big prize, announced as Best Athlete, Women's Sports. Wilson bested Caitlin Clark, nominated for her achievements at Iowa, golfer Nelly Korda and U.S. Open winner Coco Gauff. Wilson wasn't in attendance but sent a video message. "I could not miss an opportunity just to say thank you to all my fans out there," Wilson said. "I wouldn't be the player I am today without you guys' support. It does not go unnoticed. It's great to think that a young girl that didn't even want to play basketball … won an ESPY, which is truly, truly special to my heart." The start of the annual awards, hosted by tennis great Serena Williams, was delayed about 30 minutes. Instead, ABC chose to stick with coverage of President Joe Biden's news conference following the NATO summit, held amid calls for him to end his candidacy for reelection following a gaffe-filled debate last month. Once the ESPY Awards commenced, the focus was squarely on sports, including on the rise of women's athletics over the past year, highlighted in the opening number by Ciara. Fittingly, the first award of the evening went to JuJu Watkins, who won Best Breakthrough Athlete for her freshman basketball season at Southern California. She was named an All-American and averaged 27.1 points and 7.3 rebounds. Jaylen Brown won Best Championship Performance for leading the Boston Celtics to the NBA title last month. Amid some controversy, Prince Harry received the Pat Tillman Award for Service, which is connected to impact on the military community. Tillman, an NFL player turned soldier, died on duty in Afghanistan 20 years ago at age 27. Prince Harry was honored for his founding a decade ago of the Invictus Games, which provide athletic competition for military members and veterans who suffered illness or injuries in the line of duty. Despite that, Tillman's mother, Mary "Dannie" Tillman, criticized the selection of Prince Harry — who served in the British military, including in Afghanistan — calling him "controversial and divisive." In receiving the award, the now California-based royal received a standing ovation and sent a personal message to Tillman's mother, Mary, from the stage. "Her advocacy for Pat's legacy is deeply personal and one that I respect," he said, as his wife, Meghan Markle, watched from the crowd. "The bond between a mother and son is eternal and transcends even the greatest losses." He continued: "The truth is I stand here not as Prince Harry, Pat Tillman Award recipient, but rather a voice on behalf of the Invictus Games Foundation and the thousands of veterans and service personnel from over 20 nations who have made the Invictus Games a reality. This award belongs to them, not to me. "That said, it is of great importance to me to highlight these allies, athletes and their amazing families for their achievements, their spirit and their courage at every opportunity, especially on nights like this in front of people like you." –Field Level Media
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OGC Nice will be aiming to build on their positive start to the Ligue 1 season as they travel to take on Strasbourg on Saturday evening.
Patrick Vieira s troops kicked their season off in the best possible way last time out and will be looking to continue that against a Strasbourg side who didn t quite enjoy the same fortune.
Strasbourg
The hosts may have considered themselves slightly unfortunate following to the curtailment of Ligue 1 due to the coronavirus pandemic. At the time of the cancellation, Thierry Laurey s men sat tenth but just three points behind fifth-placed Nice. It remains to be seen whether they would be able to challenge for Europe but extra matches would not have gone amiss. As…
An investigation into Manchester City for potential breaches of Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations has been launched by the UEFA Club Financial Control Body (CFCB), the governing body has announced.
The move follows allegations made against the club and their owners by German publication Der Spiegel, which drew upon documents purportedly obtained by whistleblowers Football Leaks.
The articles include claims of City circumventing FFP laws, making an illegal payment to the agent of their former youth player Jadon Sancho and the City Football Group engaging in third-party ownership practices.
City have offered an unwavering response to the allegations, issuing the following statement on several occasions.
We will not be providing any comment on out-of-co…
With Samuel Umtiti potentially undergoing a knee surgery procedure which would mean a long time away from the pitch, Barcelona are considering going in for Zenit s Branislav Ivanović, according to Mundo Deportivo.
Ivanović played for two clubs in Serbia (FK Srem and OFK Beograd) before moving to Russia with Lokomotiv Moscow, where he stayed for two years. He arrived at Chelsea in 2007 and spent a decade at Stamford Bridge, winning three Premier League titles, the Champions League and the Europa League, and a host of domestic cups. In total, he made 377 appearances for Chelsea and scored an impressive 34 goals as a defender, including the 93rd-minute winner in his Man of the Match performance in the 2013 Europa League final.
Seeing his game-time reduced under Antonio C…
Lazio have signed talented attacking midfielder Luis Alberto to a new five-year contract.
The 28-year-old joined from Liverpool in 2016 after struggling in England but has since developed into one of Serie A s most effective attacking players.
Only Atalanta s Alejandro Gomez (16) claimed more assists than Luis Alberto s 15 in the league last season, while the Spain international also enjoyed an outstanding 2017-18, registering 25 goal involvements (11 scored, 14 assisted) in the top flight.
Such attacking output had led to links with other clubs, most notably Everton and Sevilla, whose academy Luis Alberto is a product of.
But, having qualified for Champions League football this term, Lazio have secured the future of the talented creator, tying him to the…
When Cardiff City and Nantes debated over whether Emiliano Sala would be allowed to play one last match for the French club last week, nobody could have anticipated the desperate turn of events that would make such a matter feel so incredibly trivial.
During negotiations between the two clubs, Nantes had reportedly been keen for Sala to feature against Angers on Sunday, but it was Cardiff who eventually got their way and the Argentine striker s club-record £18million move to the Welsh capital was confirmed late on Saturday.
It was a story typical of the January transfer window – a buying club tenaciously chasing mid-season reinforcements but facing stubbornness from a selling club determined not to be left in the lurch by the loss of one of their key players.
…
Arsenal were beaten 1-0 by Newcastle at St James Park on Saturday, courtesy of a goal by Anthony Gordon in the 64th minute.
The goal was highly controversial, with no less than three potential reasons to have it ruled out by the VAR. The ball looked to have gone out of play in the buildup, there was a case for calling a foul by Joelinton on Gabriel Magalhaes, and there was also the possibility of Gordon being offside.
However, VAR Andy Madley and his assistant Stuart Burt ruled no rules were broken, and the goal was allowed to stand. Obviously, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was left fuming by the decision, and the Premier League continues to embarrass itself in the eyes of the rest of the football world with moments like this.
It s embarrassing!!!
Mikel Ar…
Andriy Shevchenko has hailed former team-mate Gennaro Gattuso as the AC Milan coach closes in on Champions League qualification.
Shevchenko and Gattuso played in Milan s Champions League triumph in 2003, the Ukraine striker scoring the winning penalty after a 0-0 draw in an all-Italian final against Juventus.
Although Milan won another Champions League title in 2007 by beating Liverpool 2-1, they have been in the relative European wilderness in recent years.
Under Gattuso, however, Milan s future looks bright once more and Shevchenko sang the praises of his former colleague.
Rino was always energetic, he told DAZN. He was always there for us, he electrified the dressing room like no other.
On the pitch, but also off the pitch, …
AC Milan made it three wins in a row in Serie A for the first time since March last year as they claimed a 2-1 victory over Lazio on Sunday.
Goals from Patrick Cutrone and Giacomo Bonaventura, either side of an Adam Marusic strike, sealed all three points for Gennaro Gattuso s side and prolonged their impressive unbeaten league run against Lazio at San Siro, which stretches back to 1989.
Simone Inzaghi s side travelled to Milan on the back of a six-game streak without a top-flight defeat, but they looked unsettled from the off as the Rossoneri produced one of their best performances of another difficult campaign.
Cutrone s third league goal of the season, which replays showed came off his arm, was cancelled out by Marusic s fine finish, but Bonaventura s emph…
West Brom needed penalties to beat League One side Peterborough United following a 1-1 draw in the fourth-round replay at London Road on Wednesday.
Ben Foster saved spot kicks from Martin Samuelsen and Lee Angol as Tony Pulis side edged the shootout 4-3, Darren Fletcher having missed for West Brom.
Jon Taylor scored one of Peterborough s two late equalisers in the first game at The Hawthorns and he put his side ahead after 54 minutes, shooting low across Foster.
Fletcher levelled the scores after 71 minutes, smashing home after sustained West Brom pressure as the visitors sought to avoid an embarrassing exit to lower-league opposition.
Foster s efforts in denying teenage midfielder Samuelsen and 21-year-old striker Angol earned West Brom a trip to Champio…
Kasper Dolberg was one of the top strikers in Europe only a few years ago. A top prospect coming from Ajax academy, the Danish international came out of nowhere to lead the Eredivisie giants’ attacking line during the 2015-16 season. Many experts expected big things out of him.
Fast forward to the start of the 2019-20 season, and Dolberg was an afterthought in Ajax. He lost the starting role and barely played in the 2018-19 season, as Erik Ten Hag opted to deploy a front-three line healined by David Neres, Dusan Tadic and Hakim Ziyech. Dolberg was the third-best alternative for the striker role, as veteran Klaas-Jan Huntelaar was also ahead of him in the pecking order.
As a result, Dolberg decided to leave and joined Nice on a permanent basis. The Ligue 1 outfit paid …