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British number one Kyle Edmund lost 6-3 6-2 to Chile's Cristian Garin in the Chengdu Open first round in China.

World number 32 Edmund, seeded seventh, fell to defeat in 72 minutes against Garin, who is unseeded, but only one place lower in the rankings.

Edmund has now lost four successive matches and has suffered three consecutive first-round exits.

Fellow Briton Cameron Norrie is through to the second round at the Zhuhai Championships in China.

The world number 68 defeated Germany's Peter Gojowczyk 6-1 6-4.

Norrie will meet French third seed Gael Monfils in the second round.

Andy Murray continues his comeback from hip surgery in the same event, playing American Tennys Sandgren on Tuesday.

In view of the intense event schedule between September and December 2019 (Asian Championships, ITTF World Tour and World Cups) combined with the Chinese national team’s ongoing preparations for the Olympic Games and comprehensive factors related to preventing athletes’ injuries, after discussion with the national coaching team, the China Table Tennis Association (CTTA) has decided to adjust the player participation lists for the following events:

ITTF World Tour Swedish Open:

Men’s singles: Xu Xin, Fan Zhendong, Lin Gaoyuan, Liang Jingkun, Wang Chuqin, Fang Bo, Yan An, Sun Wen, Yu Ziyang, Zhou Qihao, Liu Dingshuo, Zhao Zihao, Zhang Yudong, Xu Haidong

Women’s singles: Ding Ning, Liu Shiwen, Chen Meng, Wang Manyu, Zhu Yuling, Sun Yingsha, Wang Yidi, Chen Xingtong, Gu Yuting, Zhang Rui, Liu Fei, Qian Tianyi, Liu Weishan

Men’s doubles: Xu Xin/ Fan Zhendong, Lin Gaoyuan / Liang Jingkun

Women’s doubles: Ding Ning / Chen Meng, Wang Manyu / Sun Yingsha

Mixed doubles: Xu Xin / Liu Shiwen, Lin Gaoyuan / Wang Manyu

ITTF World Tour German Open:

Men’s singles: Xu Xin, Fan Zhendong, Lin Gaoyuan, Liang Jingkun, Wang Chuqin, Fang Bo, Yan An, Sun Wen, Yu Ziyang, Zhou Qihao, Liu Dingshuo, Zhao Zihao, Zhang Yudong, Xu Haidong

Women’s singles: Chen Meng, Wang Manyu, Sun Yingsha, Wang Yidi, Chen Xingtong, Gu Yuting, Zhang Rui, Liu Fei, Qian Tianyi, Liu Weishan

Men’s doubles: Fan Zhendong / Lin Gaoyuan, Xu Xin / Liang Jingkun

Women’s doubles: Chen Meng / Gu Yuting, Wang Manyu / Sun Yingsha

Mixed doubles: Xu Xin/ Sun Yingsha, Wang Chuqin / Wang Manyu

Women’s World Cup:

Liu Shiwen, Zhu Yuling

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'England can't afford another display like Tonga'

Published in Rugby
Sunday, 22 September 2019 22:17

England's victory over Tonga was the sort of performance you would expect to see in the first game of the warm-ups, rather than the first game of the tournament itself.

Over the past couple of years Tonga have lost by 85 points to New Zealand, by 50 points to Wales, by 34 points to Japan. They are ranked 15th in the world and their players rarely get the time together that England are afforded.

I wasn't expecting to see England win by 100, but I thought they would create more clear-cut opportunities.

Tonga are big and imposing physically but I expected England to systematically pick them apart - to maul, pick and go through the middle, gradually tire them out, before going wide and ripping them apart with the pace of Anthony Watson, Jonny May and Elliot Daly.

Instead it took them nearly 60 minutes to get out of sight and they were often reliant on moments of individual magic from the likes of Watson and Jonathan Joseph to expose their weaknesses.

England, playing their own game and what is in front of them, should be good enough to beat Tonga all day, every day.

Instead they changed the way they play to accommodate Tonga. Early on especially they kicked away good balls and over-complicated their play with set moves. It was summed up by how England attempted to receive kick-off after their first try.

I think Maro Itoje's team-mates were trying to extend the maul back into the England 22m to make the clearing kick easier for George Ford or Owen Farrell. Instead they got offside and gave away a penalty and a route straight back on to the scoreboard for Tonga.

In his post-match interview Farrell talked of how England attempted to deny Tonga targets for their trademark one-on-one hits.

It was completely unnecessary. When England focus on their own game they are scintillating and very difficult to beat. They are good enough to focus on what they are going to bring to the match rather than the opposition.

It is not news that England have struggled to change their strategy mid-game in the past. Why start doing so before the first whistle?

If they play their own way and have a couple of strategies up their sleeve to adapt to what the opposition are doing if they need to, they will maximise their chances.

They can't afford to have another performance like that, because you then start to mend things in training, rather than moving forward positively towards the next iteration of how you want your team to play.

Super Maro

For all the rustiness collectively and tactically, I think there were plenty of good individual performances.

Second row Itoje gave away a couple of penalties but I thought he showed his ability as a true enforcer.

He won four turnovers - more than any other England player - and disrupted the Tonga line-out. When he wants to alter how a game is going, he can do so in so many ways.

Centre Manu Tuilagi will take the headlines with his two tries. His bludgeoning power was in full evidence for his first score as he powered over from close range, but he also showed his canny game intelligence with the supporting line for his second.

Watson's feet were electric and I thought Daly looked sharper than he has, with more threat with ball in hand.

The Tom Curry-Sam Underhill axis in the back row had an effect at the breakdown, slowing up Tonga's ball and threatening turnovers. Lewis Ludlam, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Jonathan Joseph all did well off the bench.

Superpowers set the standard

England certainly were not at the level that either New Zealand or South Africa reached in the All Blacks win on Saturday. Or as strong as Ireland were in their win over Scotland. Or even as good as Australia were in their win over Fiji, where the Wallabies had to think on their feet to nullify some very useful opposition.

Ireland have been the most surprising of the home nations so far. I did not expect them to dispatch Scotland so convincingly, but they made Gregor Townsend's side look very, very average.

That is a very good sign for them going forward.

United States of whoever

England have a four-day turnaround before they play a fresh United States side, 1,000km away from Sunday's game, in Kobe.

That makes it tough for head coach Eddie Jones. We have all been second-guessing him since he got the job, but I would like to see more of a second team against on Thursday with firepower to come off the bench.

Although the line-up against Tonga looked close to it, I don't think his first-choice XV is cut and dried just yet.

I imagine Joe Cokanasiga may get a chance to show what he can do on the wing. Mark Wilson's inclusion may change the back row balance. George Kruis may get a chance to show what he can do as a second-row starter.

It will be a great chance for those on the fringes to put their hands up and say they are not here for the ride, they want to be playing against Argentina.

Matt Dawson was speaking to BBC Sport's Mike Henson

Hamish Watson: Scotland flanker out of rest of Rugby World Cup

Published in Rugby
Sunday, 22 September 2019 22:41

Scotland flanker Hamish Watson has been ruled out of the rest of the Rugby World Cup because of a knee injury suffered in Sunday's defeat by Ireland.

The 27-year-old back-row will be replaced in the squad by Edinburgh club-mate Magnus Bradbury.

Watson fell awkwardly after being cleared from a ruck and left the field on a stretcher just before half-time.

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend said: "We feel for Hamish, who had worked so hard for this opportunity."

A scan after the game confirmed the damage to the knee was significant enough to mean Watson will play no further part in the tournament.

"While there is a high probability of picking up injuries during a World Cup, it's always disappointing to see someone having to head home," Townsend added.

Bradbury is already in Japan, having travelled as precautionary injury cover for Jamie Ritchie, who missed the opening game with a facial injury suffered in the final warm-up match against Georgia.

Ritchie is expected to be fit to face Samoa in Scotland's second group game next Monday (11:15 BST).

Analysis

BBC Scotland chief sports writer Tom English

Having missed the entire Six Nations this year with a broken hand, Watson is now out of the World Cup after less than 40 minutes of action. To call it a devastation is to put it mildly.

Watson's appearance on the international scene came a fraction too late for inclusion in Vern Cotter's squad four years ago. Now he's gone early in Japan.

The brutal nature of rugby means there's no guarantee that Watson will still be in his pomp in four years' time in France. He'll be 31 going on 32 then with a lot more miles on the clock.

It's a cruel injustice on a terrific player, the kind of uncompromising character that Townsend desperately needs in the wake of such an awful night against Ireland in Yokohama.

The flanker brings aggression with ball in hand and scavenging qualities at the breakdown. Scotland are crying out for more of him, not less of him. He's one of the best open-side flankers around and was going to be critical in the difficult weeks ahead.

Finn Russell is the most irreplaceable player in this Scotland squad, but Watson is probably second on that list. Townsend doesn't have anyone else like him. For player and coach, this is a calamity.

Man City will score 10 in a match soon - Foster

Published in Soccer
Sunday, 22 September 2019 23:31

Watford goalkeeper Ben Foster says Manchester City are in such rampaging form that it will not be long before Pep Guardiola's side pump in 10 goals against a team in the same match.

Foster was on the receiving end of City's record top-flight scoreline at the Etihad Stadium, as the hosts racked up an 8-0 victory over Watford in the Premier League on Saturday.

Beaten five times after just 18 minutes, Foster feared the worst was yet to come as City looked to rebound from a shock defeat by Norwich City in their previous league match.

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"To get in at 5-0 at half-time I was over the moon," Foster told British media. "As a goalie, coming here in the first place it's almost an achievement to keep it at one or two goals. At times, if they're on it, they are incredible.

"They will do it to somebody, there will be a nine or 10 out there soon.

"They were scary at times. It was just relentless. You could see them opening us up and the chances developing in front of your eyes. It was absolutely no fun. In all honesty, it could have been double digits."

Guardiola's City have now scored 24 goals in six league matches this season, seven more than leaders Liverpool and 20 more than basement side Watford.

Rooney's D.C. blank Sounders, rise in East ranks

Published in Soccer
Sunday, 22 September 2019 20:52

Lucas Rodriguez and Frederic Brillant scored goals as D.C. United improved their playoff standing in the Eastern Conference of the MLS with a 2-0 victory against the visiting Seattle Sounders on Sunday night.

United goalkeeper Bill Hamid made four saves in posting his career-high 11th shutout of the season.

D.C. (13-10-9, 48 points), which clinched a playoff berth Saturday when Chicago, Montreal and Orlando all dropped points on the road, moved from sixth place into fourth in the East with the victory.

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Seattle (14-10-8, 50 points) remained in second place in the tightly packed Western Conference but has yet to clinch a playoff berth with two games remaining in the regular season. The Sounders, in their 11th year of existence, have never failed to make the postseason.

Rodriguez opened the scoring with an unassisted goal in the 14th minute. A cross from the right wing was deflected by a Seattle defender and came to Rodriguez just inside the top of the 18-yard box. He chested the ball to his feet, deked one defender and rolled the ball just inside the left post past diving Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei.

Brillant made it 2-0 in the 54th minute off a free kick from Wayne Rooney. The low free kick from just outside the 18-yard box on the left wing made it through a maze of legs to Brillant, who redirected the ball into the net from about two yards out.

Rooney, the longtime English star who has announced he's returning to his homeland at the end of this season, nearly scored twice in the first half, but put the ball off the crossbar both times.

The Sounders played without their captain, playmaking midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro, who didn't make the trip to D.C. because of a lower-back injury suffered in Wednesday's 0-0 draw at home against FC Dallas.

In addition, defender Xavier Arreaga was suspended for Sunday's match after receiving two yellow cards against Dallas.

So how are people feeling about VAR? Also, Liverpool keep winning, Tottenham look exhausted, and Man City showed less than zero mercy in their first league game since defeat at Norwich. Buckle up: It's Nick Miller's Weekend Review.

JUMP TO: Latest VAR mayhem | Are Spurs regressing? | Another wasted year for Man United? | Arsenal won but are a mess | Leicester's unsung heroes | Liverpool find new ways to win | Bright spots for Chelsea | De Bruyne: Player of weekend | Watford's disgrace | Sheffield United's quirky win

This weekend's argument against VAR is ...

We've already reached the point in the 2019-20 season when VAR is not enforcing the rules but effectively changing them -- or at least distorting their intent. The purpose of offside, for example, is to ensure that the attacker does not gain a disproportionate advantage, but what advantage did Son Heung-min gain by his armpit being an inch beyond the last defender for Tottenham's disallowed goal in Saturday's defeat at Leicester?

That's a slightly broader philosophical point, perhaps: You could argue that offside is binary, and you're either offside or not, whether it's by 10 yards or one inch. But you then have to be pretty certain that you can judge that inch accurately, and the reality is you can't. Without wishing to get bogged down in the minutiae, the frame rates of the cameras mean you can't absolutely determine where the key points of the incident -- when the pass is struck, precisely where the "offside" player is -- occur, so these marginal decisions can't be judged accurately.

In effect, it means the absolutes don't exist.

VAR can and does work well, for the most part. In the same game, Ayoze Perez was clearly offside for a disallowed Leicester goal, and it was efficiently ruled out. But games are being decided on the barest of margins when the technology isn't reliable enough to definitively judge how bare those margins are.

That's just this week's argument against VAR and its implementation. Next week, there will be another and another after that. VAR was brought in to reduce the uncertainty in officiating, but as things stand, it's increasing it.

Are Tottenham drifting out of relevance?

Mauricio Pochettino didn't blame VAR for Tottenham's defeat against Leicester. It's partly because he knows that managers have been calling for it to be introduced for years, which means they'd look pretty silly complaining now that it's here, but it might also have been because he knows it would just look like a distraction from his team's problems.

This was the third time in the past four games that Spurs surrendered a lead, and it was another away game without a victory. They haven't won a Premier League match on the road since beating Fulham in January.

This seems like a Spurs team drifting. There was a hint of further discontent on Friday, with the manager's curious declaration that he wasn't sure whether the squad was better this season than last, despite new additions. There's a concerning softness to them, and only the problems faced by the other top-four contenders might prevent you from writing them off as potential Champions League candidates this season.

Is this another wasted year for Manchester United?

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1:59

Are Solskjaer's days numbered at Man United?

After a 2-0 defeat against West Ham, the ESPN FC crew wonder how long Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will remain at Old Trafford.

Marcus Rashford's penalty against Paris Saint-Germain in March might turn out to be the most glorious moment that United fans wish never happened. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's permanent appointment was confirmed a few weeks later, with league results already on the turn, but would the United hierarchy have been so quick to give him the job had they been out of Europe? They should have waited until the summer to make the decision anyway, but without the Champions League and the afterglow of that night in Paris, would they have been more likely to hold fire?

You felt sorry for Solskjaer watching his postmatch media appearances on Sunday, as he tried to explain the 2-0 loss at West Ham. He looks like a beaten man, scrambling to find answers to questions that he knows he can't and struggling to maintain his usually relentless positivity.

Ultimately, the West Ham defeat was down to the deficiencies in the squad, but at least if there was someone with more managerial nous than Solskjaer, someone you could be confident will still be there in two years, you might think this was the dark before the dawn. Instead, this feels like yet more wasted time for a club that have been drifting for six years.

They won, but are Arsenal progressing under Emery?

Sunday saw a victory for Arsenal but one that potentially raises more questions. Such as how they can have so little control of a game against a newly promoted team, and how they can defend so abysmally as to concede the two goals they did against Aston Villa?

These are still early days in the season, and they will be delighted if they are still fourth in May, but there's still the nagging sense that this team just isn't progressing under Unai Emery.

Success at both ends for Leicester

James Maddison got the headlines for Leicester's win over Spurs, and rightly so, but a word for a couple of other players, old and new(ish). Jamie Vardy is 33 in January but still plays like a 23-year-old, and Brendan Rodgers wasn't being entirely disingenuous when he said he wouldn't swap his striker for Harry Kane.

At the back, Caglar Soyuncu was terrific again, showing that Leicester really aren't missing Harry Maguire much. It's a victory for planning ahead in transfer strategies after they bought him last summer in anticipation that they would need a replacement centre-back at some stage, a move that is now bearing fruit.

Liverpool find another way to win

The idea that a team winning while playing badly is "champion material" is an old cliche, which in any case might be harsh to apply to Liverpool after this weekend. But what could be encouraging is their winning games in various ways: The success at Chelsea was not one of great style but one achieved through substance, as they grinded out a 2-1 victory to stay five points clear at the top of the table.

They've won 15 league games in a row stretching to March, and it's just as well, really. Despite City's recent slips, Liverpool know they'll have to be more or less perfect to topple their rivals this season.

Signs of progress in defeat for Chelsea

Chelsea might have lost to Liverpool, but they aren't the first and won't be the last. In any case, there are plenty of positives Frank Lampard can take for his youthful, patchwork side. One was the performance of Fikayo Tomori, who was terrific in defence and showed that, like Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham have already, he's another Chelsea youth product who belongs in the first team.

Chelsea still haven't won at home this season, and conceding another two goals is clearly a concern, but their second-half performance in particular, in which they pinned Liverpool back for long spells, indicated that there is hope ahead.

Luckiest moment of the weekend

There were a few concerning moments for Liverpool's defence, but the starkest was in the closing stages, when substitute Michy Batshuayi was allowed as much space as he wanted to head in an equaliser for Chelsea ... but he didn't, and Liverpool got away with it. They might not be so lucky another weekend.

Player of the weekend

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1:32

'It could've been 15-0' for Man City

Alejandro Moreno says Manchester City could have scored far more in their 8-0 win vs. Watford, and he wanted to see them do it.

The current record holder for assists in a Premier League season is Thierry Henry, who got 20 in 2002-03. Kevin de Bruyne is currently on seven in six games, and his first against Watford on Saturday was so good that it should probably have been worth two or three.

It's still September, but we're almost certainly witnessing one of the greatest individual seasons of all time from the Belgian.

It's better to be proactive than passive against City

Manchester City are so good that Watford could easily write that defeat off before the match, but they were pathetic at the Etihad, and it started from the moment the teams were named.

Managers might think that trying to attack City is suicide, but there is a middle ground: Quique Sanchez Flores named a side without a striker, and Tom Cleverley was their second-most attacking player. Their entire approach to the game was embarrassingly passive, and when you concede after 52 seconds to a team that good, it's impossible to alter that mindset.

Hopefully the contrast in approach by City's last two opponents -- Norwich's proactive win and Watford's humiliation -- will persuade opposition managers not to start games against them in such spineless fashion. Because if you set out to contain and get battered 8-0 anyway, you might as well play the game like there are two teams out there, rather than one and a set of training cones.

One in the eye for statistics

Sheffield United's 2-0 win over Everton at the weekend was further evidence that statistics should be used very carefully indeed. Chris Wilder called it their worst performance of the season, but they won 2-0, despite having 30% of possession and two shots, of which only one was on target. Weird old game, sometimes.

Former India opener Madhav Apte dies at 86

Published in Cricket
Sunday, 22 September 2019 23:45

Madhav Apte, the former India Test opener, died in Mumbai's Breach Candy Hospital on Monday, aged 86. When alive, he was the fourth-oldest living Indian Test cricketer.

In his seven Tests for India in 1952-53, Apte averaged 49.27, the highlight being a match-saving, unbeaten 163 against West Indies in Port of Spain. Five of his seven Tests were played on that tour of the Caribbean, where it seemed he was the next big thing in Indian cricket, averaging over 50 and finishing second on the runs charts for India.

But he never played for India again.

Shishir Hattangadi, the prolific Mumbai run-getter from the 1980s and early 1990s, confirmed the news of Apte's death and paid tribute to his senior.

"I hadn't met him for a couple of months, he hadn't been keeping well," Hattangadi told ESPNcricinfo. "There were age-related complications. I was told that he suffered a cardiac arrest this morning. The memories are of a lovely human being, he embraced sports romantics, a lovely man to spend time with.

"He would tell you stories of people and events you have only heard of. But he rarely spoke about his own career. Very dignified, he didn't want to talk about it. He was a senior that you respected, someone you could spend a lot of time with. A very simple man. A great loss, but he lived his life well."

In all, Apte's first-class career ran 17 years, from 1951-52 to 1967-68. He scored a first-class ton on debut for Mumbai in 1952, and promptly went on to make his Test debut as a 20-year-old during Pakistan's tour of India later that year. Next up was the tour of the Caribbean.

ALSO READ: In conversation with Madhav Apte

Against a West Indies attack that included Sonny Ramadhin, Alf Valentine and Frank King, Apte struck 64 and 52 in the first Test, 64 again in the second, and followed that up with that unbeaten second-innings 163 in the third Test to secure a draw for India and average 51.11 for the series.

Following the tour of the West Indies, India had no Tests scheduled in 1954. He was part of the Silver Jubilee Commonwealth XI match in 1954, playing for India against West Indies to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the BCCI. But he wasn't at his best by the time India's next Test assignment came about, and was overlooked.

Apte, whose younger brother Arvind also played a Test in 1959, had begun his career as a legbreak bowler before intervention from the great Vinoo Mankad - his coach at college - turned him into an opening batsman. Apte later confessed that he learnt the art of batting by observing Vijay Merchant bat in the nets every morning in Mumbai. It was Merchant's subsequent injury in 1952 that handed Apte a first-class debut for Mumbai.

After his first-class retirement, Apte moved to Malaysia on work but continued to turn out in the Kanga League in Mumbai, representing the club side Jolly Cricketers. He played over 50 seasons of the Kanga League, last featuring in a game at the age of 70. Between 1948 and 2002, Apte made more than 5000 runs in the Kanga League.

In 1989, Apte became the president of Cricket Club of India in Mumbai, one of the oldest clubs for the sport in the country. He was also instrumental in bringing a 14-year-old Sachin Tendulkar into the CCI side. Recalling what he thought of Tendulkar's talent back then, Apte once said: "One sees a hell of a lot of talent at the age of 14, 16, and so on. Not all of that talent really matures because the future, no one can predict. [But] at that time, my comment in the dressing room was, 'If this boy keeps his head on his shoulders, he will play for India sooner than later.' But even the lord almighty could not have seen that he would go on to get hundred hundreds and so on."

Pete's bad day: Carroll injures nose, Hawks lose

Published in Breaking News
Sunday, 22 September 2019 21:09

SEATTLE -- A regretful Pete Carroll admitted he had a bad day at the office on Sunday, a reference to some coaching miscues he made in the Seattle Seahawks' 33-27 loss to the New Orleans Saints.

Also part of Carroll's bad day: The nose injury he suffered after taking an errant football to the face before the game.

As miffed as he was about all the mistakes that caused the Seahawks (2-1) to drop a home game against the Drew Brees-less Saints, Carroll maintained a sense of humor about his injury. Blood was still visible under the clear bandages on the bridge of his nose as he joked about it postgame.

"It would have been a really good story that I had head-butted Bobby [Wagner] in the pregame, getting fired up in the locker room, but I heard that they captured it on film," Carroll said. "I got smacked in the nose with the football. The last play of warm-ups. I didn't see it coming."

Replays showed Carroll unknowingly running right into the path of a ball that rookie linebacker Cody Barton had tossed from a short distance to an assistant coach as the Seahawks made their way back to the locker room.

Asked if his nose was broken, Carroll replied: "It's been broken many times."

The Seahawks entered Sunday with a 15-0 record in September home games since Carroll took over in 2010. That streak ended amid a flurry of Seattle mistakes, starting with a short punt by Michael Dickson in the first quarter that Deonte Harris returned 53 yards for a touchdown.

The Saints scored their next touchdown when Vonn Bell returned Chris Carson's third fumble in as many games for a touchdown. Seattle committed seven penalties for 53 yards, including an illegal formation on a missed Saints field goal to extend a drive that resulted in a 1-yard Michael Thomas touchdown catch from Teddy Bridgewater.

"This was an unusual game," Carroll said. "So many things happened in this game that just hurt ourselves. Even the coach got hurt in this one. We made mistakes, errors, the big plays, the returns, the mistake in the kicking game that gives them a chance for another touchdown -- it's like a turnover. We just had a really hard time getting out of our own way.

"Sometimes the game goes like that and you just can't get out of our own way, you make the mistakes that caused the problems, and you try to recover. We just didn't get it done. I had a particularly bad day. There were too many chances I had to make some things happen, and I tried too hard at times."

Carroll regretted his decision to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the Saints' 41 with 2:37 left in the first half. The Saints stuffed a Carson run and scored seven plays later on a 29-yard touchdown catch by Alvin Kamara, who broke several tackles on his way to the end zone.

"I thought right at the end of the first half, I didn't do that well, and I wished we would have kicked the ball and made them go the long way and not give them a chance to score, which they did," Carroll said. "So they took advantage of the opportunities in a really winning way. [Sean Payton's] guys played really good to get that done."

The Seahawks were 1-of-4 on fourth down.

"I could have changed the situation on fourth down some," Carroll said. "I could have kicked the ball and done a couple more conservative things that I like to do often, but I felt pretty good about how we were playing D. I tried too hard. It was one of those deals."

The Seahawks had a chance to score right before halftime when Russell Wilson connected with DK Metcalf for a 54-yard gain to the Saints' 16. But they couldn't call one of their two timeouts before time expired. Carroll wanted a do-over on letting the clock run after the completion that preceded Metcalf's catch.

"If we knew that was going to happen, I would have called timeout earlier," he said. "But it didn't work. That was just kind of how things went. It was one of those days."

Another decision that Carroll wanted back: Kicking an extra point after Wilson's touchdown run with 2:55 left. That cut New Orleans' lead to 33-21, whereas a successful two-point try would have put the Seahawks in position to tie the game with another touchdown, another two-point conversion and a field goal.

"We didn't do that right, either," Carroll said. "We didn't do that right."

Wilson finished 32-of-50 for 406 yards, two passing touchdowns, two rushing scores and no interceptions. Tyler Lockett, who caught Wilson's first touchdown, set a new career high with 11 catches for 154 yards.

The Seahawks will play at the Arizona Cardinals (0-2-1) next Sunday.

"There were just so many ways in this game for it to be different," Carroll said. "It's just unfortunate. It's very frustrating. But this is one game. Maybe this is the one game that we learn from and we grow from and we can put this one behind us, and we can turn things in the right direction and not let this happen. It's particularly hard to do this in front of our own fans at home."

Browns coach admits late draw play a 'bad call'

Published in Breaking News
Sunday, 22 September 2019 23:26

CLEVELAND -- Cleveland Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens admitted that it was a "bad call" to try a draw play on fourth-and-9 during Sunday night's 20-13 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

The Browns had the ball at the Rams' 40-yard line in the fourth quarter, with a chance to take the lead. But instead of trying to get the first down with a Baker Mayfield pass, Kitchens called a draw to Nick Chubb, who was stuffed for a 2-yard gain.

According to ESPN Stats & Information, no NFL team had attempted a draw on fourth-and-9 or more since at least 2007, when ESPN began tracking such calls.

"It just didn't work. It was a bad call," said Kitchens, who is Cleveland's offensive playcaller. "We're trying to win the game and we're on their side of the field. Bad call."

With solid field position, the Rams drove down to kick a field goal and extend their lead.

Mayfield was also asked about the playcall, as well, but blamed execution for coming up short.

"I know what you guys are gonna try and do is talk about the playcalling," Mayfield said. "But you know what, that's why I said execution's the most important thing. Whatever we have called, we have to do our job."

The Browns still had a chance to send the game to overtime late, with Mayfield driving the offense to the Rams 4-yard line with 43 seconds remaining. But after three incompletions, Mayfield's desperation heave was picked off in the end zone, sealing the victory for Los Angeles.

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Mayfield throws INT with game on the line

Baker Mayfield is flushed out of the pocket and picked off by John Johnson III as the Browns fall to the Rams.

Considering the Browns still had all three timeouts, Kitchens was asked why he didn't try to run the ball with Chubb then.

"I should've run it one time," Kitchens confessed. "I should've -- that's why I'm kicking myself in the ass for it right now."

Kitchens, who took over as Cleveland's interim offensive coordinator midway through last season as the Browns surged down the stretch, went on to take responsibility for Sunday's loss, which dropped the Browns to 1-2 on the season.

"I gotta do a better job during the course of the week, putting these guys in better situations and then on game day," he said. "So, if you're looking to blame somebody, blame me. Don't blame any of our players; don't blame any of our other coaches -- just blame me, because I can take it.

"Go write your article and say I messed the game up. Go write your article and say it's my fault things [are] not looking like it did last year. Because it is."

Soccer

Pride open season with 6-0 rout; Rodman returns

Pride open season with 6-0 rout; Rodman returns

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsThe reigning champion Orlando Pride opened the National Women's Soc...

Liverpool capt Van Dijk eyes place among greats

Liverpool capt Van Dijk eyes place among greats

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsLiverpool's Virgil van Dijk has said winning a second Carabao Cup t...

Neymar ruled out of Brazil return, Endrick in

Neymar ruled out of Brazil return, Endrick in

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsNeymar's return to action for Brazil will be delayed yet longer aft...

2026 FIFA


2028 LOS ANGELES OLYMPIC

UEFA

2024 PARIS OLYMPIC


Basketball

Bulls banners 'Disturbed' during show; need fixes

Bulls banners 'Disturbed' during show; need fixes

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsAll six of the Chicago Bulls' championship banners were pulled from...

Doncic (calf) sits out Lakers' loss to Nuggets

Doncic (calf) sits out Lakers' loss to Nuggets

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsDENVER -- Luka Doncic did not play in the conclusion of the Los Ang...

Baseball

MLB award winners' gold logos to become cards

MLB award winners' gold logos to become cards

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsExpanding on the success of the MLB Debut Patch, Topps, MLB and Nik...

Dodgers' Betts to miss Japan games with illness

Dodgers' Betts to miss Japan games with illness

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsTOKYO -- Shortstop Mookie Betts will miss the Los Angeles Dodgers'...

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