I Dig Sports
LOS ANGELES -- Drew Doughty is day to day because of a lower-body injury that kept the defenseman out of the Los Angeles Kings' 3-2 overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday night.
Doughty missed the first 47 games after breaking his left ankle in a preseason game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Sept. 25. He made his season debut on Jan. 29, returning in time to be a late addition to join Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Doughty, 35, has one goal and three assists in eight games this season. He is averaging 25:55 of ice time and had played at least 21 minutes in every game.
While Doughty sat out of the nationally televised contest, the Canucks got star defenseman Quinn Hughes back after missing six games because of an undisclosed injury.
Hughes went through a strenuous morning skate to see if he was ready to play for the first time since Jan. 31. He was back on the ice for pregame warmups but did not take line rushes and stayed on the ice after the horn. After initially being listed on the roster report as out, Hughes was the last player to take the ice, with the Canucks dressing seven defensemen.
Hughes made an impact, too, assisting on the winning goal and having nearly 22 minutes of ice time.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Pep Guardiola has admitted fans will never see "the old Manchester City" again this season but vowed they will be back to their best after beating Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 on Wednesday.
Erling Haaland's 20th Premier League goal of the season on 12 minutes was enough to secure a win which takes City up into fourth place.
The defending champions were superb in the opening half and should have extended their advantage as Tottenham struggled to cope with Haaland, supported by Jérémy Doku and Savinho on the flanks with Omar Marmoush in behind.
Spurs rallied after the break and, after Haaland had a stoppage-time goal disallowed for handball, substitute Pape Matar Sarr missed a glorious chance to equalise in the dying seconds when heading over the crossbar from close range.
Asked whether their fine first-half performance was more like his old, all-conquering side after a difficult spell, Guardiola shook his head and said: "Never will be this season, the old City. The old City was too good. But we'll be back.
"We have a young, young team. The three up front is the future. Nico [González], when Rodri comes back, will be the future. And of course, [Abdukodir] Khusanov you are seeing it today. Josko [Gvardiol] is young so yeah, there are certain areas. But, listen, Bernardo [Silva], [Ilkay] Gündogan, Kevin [De Bruyne] the other ones -- they are really important for us -- but of course it is a question of time.
"We have seen this season, the young players and the new acquisitions maybe the club will do in summertime -- in the next transfer window -- have to lead this club for the next few years."
Haaland voiced his frustration at his second goal being ruled out with referee Jarred Gillett deciding that he had touched the ball with his arm -- a call which stood after a lengthy VAR check.
"It's because he [Gillett] made the decision on the pitch, that it was a free kick," said Haaland.
"I don't think it is, it's clearly a big mistake, but we are humans, we make mistakes. It's a great goal and I don't think it's handball but what can we do, we won, I'm happy."
Slot cites mental strength as Liverpool go 13 clear
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has praised his team's mentality after they moved 13 points clear at the top of the Premier League table with a 2-0 victory over Newcastle United on Wednesday.
Dominik Szoboszlai opened the scoring for the hosts inside 11 minutes at Anfield before Alexis Mac Allister added another to make sure of the victory in the second half.
A 0-0 draw for second-place Arsenal away to Nottingham Forest on Wednesday night means Liverpool are now edging ever closer to the Premier League title, but Slot is confident that his players are showing no signs of complacency.
"I think what impressed me most was the mental strength in both games [against Newcastle and Manchester City] because after Everton and Wolves people start to question us a bit," Slot said after the match.
"But if you get a lot of compliments eight out of 10 people get a bit complacent. Only the ones who want to achieve something don't. And that mentality of these two against 10 we saw tonight.
"They just found an extra gear to work even harder. We weren't perfect. I think we lost more simple balls than we usually do, but the mentality was great again."
Asked how close he feels his team are to winning the Premier League, Slot said: "I don't know because I don't think that way. I think about Paris Saint-Germain [in the Champions League] already.
"I watched them against City, and I am impressed by the quality they have. I think they are on a similar run as we are.
"They've hardly lost a game for a long time. They're doing really well so my focus is on PSG. I forget the Premier League table for now until we play Southampton."
Real Madrid's Copa del Rey game at Real Sociedad was briefly suspended Wednesday, following chants from the crowd aimed at Madrid defender Raúl Asencio.
The cup semifinal first leg at the Reale Arena was paused just before halftime, when referee José María Sánchez Martínez was notified by Madrid captain Vinícius Júnior that the players had heard chants of "Asencio, die."
The official activated Spain's anti-hate protocol, which states that in the first instance, a message is displayed on the stadium's big screens and read over loudspeakers.
"No to racist, xenophobic or intolerant chants. Support the team, respecting the opponent," the message said.
Earlier this month, a court in the Canary Islands ruled that an investigation into Asencio's alleged role in the distribution of a sexually explicit video involving a minor will continue.
Asencio is alleged to have shared a sexual video recorded by three other former Madrid academy players of an encounter with two girls, one of whom was a minor, in June 2023.
Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti substituted Asencio -- who was playing out of position at right-back -- at halftime and replaced him with Lucas Vázquez.
"Vinícius spoke to the referee, the referee stopped the game and applied the protocol," Ancelotti said during his postmatch news conference.
"[The referee] did the right thing. After that, I took [Asencio] off. The player had two things: He was affected by [the chants], and he had a yellow card. So I took him off.
"Nobody likes a stadium to sing 'die' at them," Ancelotti added. "[Asencio] was affected in that sense. He wasn't exactly happy. So I preferred to take him off. His emotions might have affected him."
Centre-back Asencio made his first-team debut in November 2024, as the team suffered a defensive injury crisis.
"We condemn the insults," Real Sociedad captain Mikel Oyarzabal told Movistar. "We don't like it. I think there are other ways of condemning what happened, or acts that may have been committed, but this isn't the right way to do it."
Real Sociedad coach Imanol Alguacil added: "If that happened -- because I didn't hear it -- I condemn it. We don't like that happening in our stadium or any stadium. We condemn those chants, it can't happen."
The 22-year-old Asencio has become an important member of the team, starting both legs of Madrid's Champions League playoff with Manchester City this month.
Amorim 'to talk' with Garnacho after tunnel dash
Ruben Amorim said he will speak to Alejandro Garnacho after the Manchester United forward walked straight down the tunnel following his substitution during their 3-2 win over Ipswich Town.
Garnacho was recalled to the starting XI by Amorim, but was substituted before half-time in response to Patick Dorgu's red card.
The Argentina international was replaced by Noussair Mazraoui and after briefly acknowledging Amorim, he walked straight down the touchline towards the dressing rooms.
Amorim attempted to brush off the incident, but said after the game he would seek out the 20-year-old for talks.
"I'm going to talk, obviously, with Garnacho about that," said Amorim. "So I will talk about that if you want in the next press conference."
Garnacho was dropped by Amorim for the 2-1 win over Manchester City in December along with Marcus Rashford. Garnacho has fought his way back into favour, while Rashord departed after being loaned to Aston Villa during the January transfer window.
Pressed on Garnacho's decision to walk straight down the tunnel after the substitution, Amorim said: "You are making a connection with Rashford, right?
"It was cold and wet, maybe? The thinking was we'd play more in the 5-3-1. I know that is a risk because you are taking one -- maybe the only player who has one against one pace -- but I felt the team was OK in the controlling of the game, almost half-time, then you make the substitution.
"We have to choose someone to go out, we have to think about set pieces also, so it was Garanacho."
Ankle injury and 'personal views' behind Starc's Champions Trophy absence
Starc joined Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood in being absent from the event meaning Australia are without their big three fast bowlers leaving an inexperienced pace attack but a win against Afghanistan on Friday will put them in the semi-finals.
When the squad was announced, Cricket Australia said Starc had withdrawn for personal reasons with the full support of the board and the team.
Speaking for the first time since the squad was named, Starc did not expand on what the personal views were but talked about the World Test Championship final against South Africa being a priority.
"There's a few different reasons, some personal views, and had a bit of ankle pain through the Test series [against Sri Lanka]," Starc told the Willow Talk podcast. "So just get that one right, obviously we've got the Test final coming up and a West Indies tour after that.
"There's some IPL cricket as well, but my main one top of my mind is that Test final so get my body right, play some cricket in the next couple of months and then ready to go for the Test final."
In Pakistan, where Starc toured in 2022, the Champions Trophy is being played under strict security measures which limit the movement of the players. Sides that come up against India also need to travel to Dubai with India playing all their matches at the same venue under the hybrid model agreed to ensure the tournament went ahead.
Starc has often put his body on the line for Australia. He fought through the pain of a side issue in the latter stages of the Test series against India and was then clearly limping during the second match in Galle earlier this month where he played both Tests as the lone specialist fast bowler.
If Starc plays the WTC final and all three Tests in West Indies he will earn his 100th cap in Jamaica during July. He also needs 18 more wickets to reach 400.
Should all three be available for the WTC final the selectors will face a tough decision on the make-up of the pace attack with Scott Boland having made a compelling case to be retained.
On the WTC concept itself, Starc admitted he had been underwhelmed by it during the first cycle but when Australia missed out due to a slow over-rate it quickly increased in significance although he believes the model needs amending.
"The first one being a new concept, I remember definitely, I was like, what's this all about? It doesn't mean much," he said. "We're trying to win every Test match, every Test series. And then we got close to it and we missed out and watching it on the TV, we all wanted to be a part of it. So that quickly changed.
"And then the second cycle, we made the final and obviously playing India on neutral territory, that was a big occasion for both teams, managed to get the chocolates that time. And now we find ourselves sitting [with] a chance to win it for the second time on the trot.
"I think the format needs some tinkering still. It's a very hard one to fix, I guess, when you only play six series that contribute to the point system. You get the same points for home and away wins, it's a percentage based model. So it's an imperfect system. But I think two really good teams will be facing off in the final."
Andrew McGlashan is a deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo
Kuhnemann 'never doubted' his bowling action, looks to the future
"I am very grateful for all the support I have received from my family, friends and team-mates, and to Cricket Australia who stood by me throughout the process," he said in a statement issued through Cricket Australia. "It was a disappointing way to finish what was such a successful Test series for Australia. I've never doubted my bowling action throughout my career and I'm always looking to improve the art of spin bowling in different conditions.
"I thought the process itself was quite fair and I appreciated the professional manner in which testing was explained to me and then conducted."
Kuhnemann, who had never previously had his action questioned in a career dating back to 2017, could have continued to play domestic cricket while the testing process took place but sat out the previous round of the Sheffield Shield to manage the thumb injury he bowled with through the Sri Lanka series. But he suggested he could return before the end of the season with two rounds of the Shield remaining.
"I'm looking forward to finishing the season with Tasmania once my thumb has fully healed and then getting into my off-field preparations," he said.
Kuhnemann is a likely inclusion for the three-match Test series in the West Indies in June-July where conditions at some of the venues may be conducive to two spinners, and he shapes as a key figure for Australia's next subcontinent Test series, against India in early 2027.
"We are pleased for Matt that this matter is now resolved," Ben Oliver, CA executive general manager national teams, said. "It has been a challenging period for Matt, however he has carried himself exceptionally well.
"He has had the full support of Australian cricket and he can now move forward to the next phase of his international career with great confidence."
During the series in Sri Lanka, Kuhnemann was termed Australia's best bowler by Nathan Lyon, while stand-in captain Steven Smith had voiced his surprise at Kuhnemann having been reported.
India spinner R Ashwin has previously spoken about how Kuhnemann's wrist action when he delivers can create an optical illusion about the action.
"An interesting feature of his action is his loading," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel during Kuhnemann's debut Test series against India in 2023. "For Kuhnemann, his wrist breaks during his loading. So sometimes it will look like there is an elbow extension. There is nothing like that in his action. But there is wrist involvement, for sure."
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Azmatullah Omarzai emerges as 'the perfect utility allrounder for Afghanistan'
Root was slow on the upper cut. That doesn't happen a lot. It almost seemed like he was expecting the offcutter again. He had been deceived by one earlier in the over, but still managed to hit it for a boundary. And he might have been setting up for another, with short fine and short third up, but was caught completely off guard. Being unpredictable is a vital asset for a fast bowler in the back end of an innings. Omarzai couldn't be lined up. Not even by a member of the Fab Four.
"To outfox somebody of the calibre of Joe at the position of the game, batting well across a hundred, when he had the measure of the other bowlers, that is what [sets him apart]," Mumtaz said.
Omarzai had provided Afghanistan with their first wicket as well, taking out the hard-hitting Phil Salt in just the fourth over of a chase of 326. He compensated for Rashid Khan having an off night with the wicket of Jos Buttler through the middle overs. An equation of 110 off 79 balls got that bit harder because England had only two recognised batters left - Overton and Liam Livingstone and - he knocked over one of them to drag a game with plenty of twists and turns back in Afghanistan's favour.
"He picked up Salt, he picked up Buttler, and he picked up Overton as well," Mumtaz said, "All four of those wickets crucial, obviously in the end finished with a five-for, [with Adil] Rahid['s wicket] as well. He broke the game open not once but on three different occasions. I thought Root, Buttler and Overton, given the position of the game was quite spectacular.
"Afghanistan just held the nerve and I think that is the biggest transition for this side, that they now know how to win key moments in games and they know how to win against better-ranked sides in the international circuit. The crowd, obviously the England support was outnumbered 99 to 1%. The roar was magnificent, and I think a true victory celebration. They are one for the big events now, the Afghanistan side."
"Yet they're very competitive. You think of the trajectory that Afghanistan cricket has been on, perhaps the pioneer, you might say, has been Rashid Khan. He's been a huge influence, but now you think of the other players that are making immense contributions in major competitions."
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