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CINCINNATI -- Eugenio Suarez, Jesse Winker and Derek Dietrich hit home runs on three consecutive pitches from Jeff Samardzija on Sunday.
Suarez followed Joey Votto's leadoff bloop single to center with a drive that just cleared the fence down the right-field line. Winker and Dietrich followed with first-pitch drives to right-center, with Dietrich turning his entire body to stare into the Cincinnati Reds' dugout as he danced up the first-base line after his fourth home run in three games. The homers made it 4-0.
Nick Senzel lined out in the next at-bat.
The home runs were each player's ninth of the season and gave the Reds 11 in the first three games of the four-game series against the San Francisco Giants.
The Reds hit back-to-back-to-back home runs for the second time this season. Matt Kemp, Suarez and Scott Schebler all went deep against Wei-Yin Chen on April 9 against Miami.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last time a team hit back-to-back-to-back home runs on three consecutive pitches was June 12, 2007, when the Los Angeles Dodgers trio of Wilson Betemit, Kemp and Hung-Chih Kuo did so in the second inning against the New York Mets.
Samardzija became the first Giants pitcher to allow three consecutive home runs since Brett Tomko on April 18, 2004, against the Dodgers.
Samardzija regrouped and retired his last 13 batters. He allowed five hits and four runs with four strikeouts in five innings as the Giants came back to win Sunday's game 6-5.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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Oliver Bromby and Shannon Malone crowned Britain’s fastest university students
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Athletics
Sunday, 05 May 2019 13:46
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Philippa Davenall and Jac Palmer win hammer titles on day two of BUCS Outdoors Championships
Victories for Oliver Bromby and Shannon Malone were among the highlights on the first day of finals at the BUCS Outdoors Championships in Bedford.
Bromby, sprinting for London Metropolitan University, was able to come back from a tough season of injuries to finally win the BUCS 100m final. Bromby ran 10.39 (+1.3m/s) ahead of Loughborough’s Adam Thomas (10.45) and Brunel’s Luke Dorrell (10.45).
Having pulled his abductor muscle in the first race at BUCS indoors last year before repeating the injury a week before the outdoor Championships, Bromby was delighted to win.
“European U23s is the goal this year,” he said. “Last year was quite a tough year. I’ve already opened up quicker than I ran all last season so it’s nice to be back running fast.”
Meanwhile, in the women’s 100m final Loughborough’s Malone ran a personal best of 11.62 (+2.0m/s) to beat a high-quality field including Winter Olympian Mica Moore, who was running in her 15th BUCS final.
“I’m absolutely over the moon and to set a personal best this early on in the season gives me a lot of confidence to try and run the time for European Under-23s or to go for a spot in the relay team,” said Malone.
In the pole vault George Turner upgraded his silver medal at the BUCS Indoor Championships to an outdoor gold.
The Brighton University athlete will now look to improve on his fourth position in the British Indoor Championships at the outdoor equivalent.
Jac Palmer won the hammer in his fifth BUCS outdoor championships with a throw of 60.95m, nearly three metres ahead of silver medallist Jacob Lange with 58.07m. Peter Cassidy threw 56.26m to take the bronze.
“I think I have every single colour of medal,” said Palmer. “I’m happy to complete the set and to add this gold to the under-23 British title.
“Hopefully I’ll be doing a PhD next year so I’ll be back for another three championships. The goal is the world uni games – it would be good to get to a championship like that.”
Philippa Davenall proved equally dominant in the women’s hammer, beating her rivals by nearly four metres despite injury.
Davenall stated: “It’s surreal. I wasn’t expecting to win. I’ve been out for seven months but I’m getting away with it. The only aim for me is hoping to get to the Manchester International.”
Elsewhere, Patrick Swan won the shot put in a closely-fought battle. Swan was the only athlete able to throw over 16 metres.
Daniel-James Thomas was closest to match that mark, throwing 15.87m, while Daniel Cork threw 15.62m to complete the podium.
Harrison Walsh (F44) of Cardiff Metropolitan won the ambulatory shot put with 15.23m from Joshua Bain (F37) with 11.83m and also won the discus title with 49.11m.
Loughborough athletes looked dominant throughout the day and there was no exception in the women’s javelin. Rebekah Walton threw 53.93m followed by Emma Hamplett with 52.52m. Bethan Rees spoilt a Loughborough clean sweep, throwing 46.22m to push Ellen Barber into fourth with 45.83m. Leah Hillman, also of Loughborough, finished fifth.
Josie Oliarnyk of Newman College won the long jump with a leap of 6.17m as world under-20 heptathlon champion Niamh Emerson finished fourth with 5.97m.
Polly Maton (T46) won the ambulatory competition, jumping 4.90m, while she also finished second in the 100m in 13.50 behind Sophie Kamlish (T64) with 13.48.
In the ambulant men’s 100m, Jordan Andrew (T13) ran 11.94 to win overall from George Fox (T37) with 12.69 and Conrad Will (T13) with 12.23.
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Lonah Chemtai Salpeter runs Prague Marathon record – road round-up
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Athletics
Sunday, 05 May 2019 14:48
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Highlights from a busy weekend of road race action, both in the UK and overseas
Volkswagen Prague Marathon, Czech Republic, May 5
European 10,000m champion Lonah Chemtai Salpeter of Israel broke the course record with 2:19:46 to move to third on the European marathon all-time list.
Only world record-holder Paula Radcliffe with 2:15:25 and Germany’s Irina Mikitenko with 2:19:19 have gone faster and it is the quickest time by a European athlete in more than 10 years.
Bahrain’s Shitaye Eshete was second in 2:22:39 and Ethiopia’s Genet Yalew third in 2:24:34.
A group of five including Salpeter, Eshete, Yalew, Lucy Cheruiyot of Kenya and Kellyn Taylor from the USA followed a pacemaker through 5km in 16:42. By 20km Salpeter had gapped the other women and passed half way in 70:12 with a lead of a few seconds.
By 30km she had moved over one minute clear and was heading under the former event record of 2:21:57.
Although the wind increased in the latter stages of the race Salpeter continued to increase her pace in the second half for a negative split of 69:33.
Morocco’s Almahjoub Dazza won the men’s race in 2:05:58 for the event’s second-fastest ever time. Ethiopia’s Dawit Wolde ran a PB of 2:06:18 for the runner-up spot, while his compatriot Bantiye Aychew was third in 2:06:23.
The first European finisher was Spain’s Hamid ben Daoud in sixth with 2:08:14, while another Israeli national record fell to Amare Girmaw, who finished eighth in 2:09:54.
With the event being an IAAF Gold Label race, the top five men and women finishers are now qualified for the Tokyo Olympics subject to selection by their national federations.
Simplyhealth Great Bristol 10k, May 5
Chris Thompson and Kate Reed both continued to put their past injury struggles behind them to claim 10km victories in Bristol.
AFD’s Thompson, the 2010 European 10,000m silver medallist, broke the course record with his time of 29:35, ahead of Exmouth’s Tom Merson who crossed the line in 29:52.
They were followed by Jonathan Cornish from Hercules Wimbledon in third with a time of 30:34.
Local athlete Reed, who runs for Bristol & West AC, took first place in the women’s field in 33:11 and was followed by Annabel Gummow from Winchester & District AC in 34:16 and Laura Gent from AFD in 35:18.
Participants were set off by five-time Olympian and world, European and Commonwealth medallist Jo Pavey.
Pavey set the thousands of runners on their way before taking part in the Simplyhealth Great Bristol Family Run.
She attended the event as title sponsor Simplyhealth’s new active ambassador, to encourage other families to enjoy being active together.
Deep RiverRock Belfast City Marathon, Northern Ireland, May 5
New route, new day but the same story as Kenyan athletes claimed the top prizes at the Belfast City Marathon, with Joel Kositany leading home a Kenyan 1-2-3 in the men’s race, Malcolm McCausland reports.
Kositany, a 2:09:50 man at his best, proved the strongest over the closing miles to claim a record fourth victory. He ran 2:18:41 to see off the challenge of 2018 winner Eric Koech by 1o seconds, with Bernard Rotich third in 2:18:55.
Caroline Jepchirchir made it back-to-back wins in the women’s race with a new record of 2:36:39. Ethiopia’s Shewaye Wolde Meskel occupied the runner-up spot in 2:37:35 after running shoulder-to-shoulder with Jepchirchir for most of the race. Ukraine’s Vira Ovcharuk took third in 2:38:59.
It was the first time the race had been held on a Sunday, as it had previously been a May bank holiday Monday fixture, increasing the entry by 60%. Feedback was also positive regarding the route which the vast majority of runners felt was a huge improvement on its predecessor.
What no-one liked was the extra distance added to the course when the field were misdirected after just two miles, missing out a left turn in east Belfast and adding 0.4 miles to the trip. It also meant that all the subsequent mile markers were out by that amount, adding to consternation as many like to pace themselves by the clock.
ABP Newport Wales Marathon, May 5
Chris Bird flew to victory in Newport, smashing the course record with his time of 2:31:34, James Candy reports.
The Chichester runner triumphed by two clear minutes ahead of Otley AC’s Scott Harrington.
“I was three seconds outside my PB in the Brighton Marathon three weeks ago and I wish I had waited for the Newport race to try to break it,” said Bird.
“When I ran in Brighton I went off at 2:26.00 pace, but I had a bit of a cold and I suffered as a result. I was hoping to go even faster here, but I felt a little bit tired.
“Adam Holland went off hard, but I finished hard. I hit the front at around 21 miles and, even though I was tying up a bit in the end, I was able to stay clear of the rest.”
ABP Newport Wales Marathon Podium
? Chris Bird 02:31:34
? Scott Harrington 02:33:34
? Gwylym Gibson 02:36:28? Carla Swithenbank 02:45:48
? Alaw Beynon-Thomas 02:58:07
? Francesca Rawlings 03:05:18 pic.twitter.com/rwAcLHvzti— ABP Newport Wales Marathon (@NewportWales262) May 5, 2019
Carla Swithenbank won on her own doorstep as she moved up from third last year to triumph in the women’s race with a time of 2:45:48.
The 28-year-old former Police woman led from gun to tape as she knocked 24 seconds off her previous best time and made it a double for the Mickey Morris Racing Club as she followed in the footsteps of the inaugural champion, Natasha Cockram.
“I’m bouncing after that,” admitted Swithenbank. “I’m so proud to have won my local marathon.
“I’m from Newport, I live in Newport and I wanted to win this more than anything. It’s great to have gone from third last year to winning it this time.
“Last year’s race was my marathon debut and I nearly didn’t bother entering. But then I thought, this is in my home town, so I had to give it a go.”
Swithenbank has gone from strength-to-strength since her marathon debut a year ago. She won the European Police women’s title in Dublin in 2018 in 2:46:13 and is getting faster and faster.
A former Wales international footballer, she quit Cardiff City Ladies when she was 21 and has since been concentrating on running.
Swansea Harrier Alaw Beynon-Thomas came home second in 2:58:07 on her marathon debut.
ABP Newport Wales 10km, May 5
Matt Clowes claimed victory as he returned to racing after injury
The English international had been struggling with a hamstring injury since pulling out of the Brecon Carreg Cardiff Bay Run at the end of March and headed to Newport to assess his fitness.
He clocked 29:43 to equal the course record.
“The first 5km was slower than the second, but I’m happy with the result. I’m a racer and that’s what I do best, so winning was nice,” said Clowes.
“I knew I wasn’t going to be able to run a personal best time. My hamstring went at 9km in the Cardiff Bay race and this was my first chance to test it out after my rehab.
“I could feel it a little bit coming back, but it was okay in the end. I’m going to have a little run around in the Whitchurch 5K tonight and then I’ll be running in some more local races this summer as I build up to the Berlin Marathon.
“I made my marathon debut in London last year and it was a bit of a car crash. I finished in 2:43:16, but the goal is to run around 2:14 if I can get to Berlin in good shape.”
Bideford’s Shaun Antell also cracked the 30-minute barrier with 29:46 in second.
Our 2019 10K Champions / Ein Ennillwyr 10K 2019
? Matt Clowes 29:43
? Shaun Antell 29:46
? Daniel Rothwell 30:38? Charlotte Taylor-Green 34:44 (Course Record Y Cwrs)
? Rachel Felton 35:02
? Lucy Marland 36:34 pic.twitter.com/Jf8YMGIkC6— ABP Newport Wales Marathon (@NewportWales262) May 5, 2019
The women’s race had a new champion as Bristol & West AC’s Charlotte Taylor-Green proved her switch from track to road looks to be a good one. A week after acting as a pacemaker in the London Marathon she held off the 2018 winner, Rachel Fenton, to win in a course record 34:44.
“That was only two seconds outside my personal best, which isn’t bad after running to half-way in London last week,” said Taylor-Green.
“Because I’d run in London last week I wasn’t sure how my legs were going to feel so I just wanted to come out and enjoy myself today. I felt pretty good and, having run my 10km PB in Brighton three weeks ago, I’m starting to become consistent on the roads.
“My coach, James Thie, suggested the switch from 800m and 1500m to the roads this year and it is all very new at the moment.”
Run and Become Sri Chinmoy 5k, incorporating the Scottish 5km Championships, Silverknowes, May 3
Wales’ Kris Jones won for the second time in three years, leading a Dundee Hawkhill Harriers 1-2 ahead of James Donald, 14:26 to 14:31.
Central’s Morag Millar broke the course record with a PB of 15:49 ahead of Mhairi Maclennan with 15:55.
#CHAMPION @Thekrisjones takes the win @runandbecome1 @scotathletics 5km champs 14.26 followed by @JamesDonald_1 @Dhh_Official
Lachlan Oates @ShettlestonHarr Hamish Armitt @gnaac1 & @cstrachan91 @MetroAberdeenRC @AthleticsWeekly @FastRunning pic.twitter.com/f3d5Z5Tcd9— Run and Become (@runandbecome1) May 4, 2019
Cardiff 5K 2019 Race For Victory, incorporating the Welsh 5km Championships, Whitchurch, May 5
Adam Hickey won the men’s race in 14:14 from Ieuan Thomas, who claimed the Welsh title after his time of 14:18.
Clara Evans won the women’s race and Welsh title in 16:04 from Jade Williams in 16:22.
ABP Southampton Marathon, Half and 10K, Hampshire, May 5
Local athlete Richard Waldron ran 2:39:43 to win the men’s title ahead of Frome RC’s Joseph Donworth in 2:43:04.
Denmead Striders’ Kirsty Aked won the women’s title with 3:08:15 ahead of RAF’s Sam Rose with 3:10:15.
Richard Lovejoy (75:35) and Cassie Thorp (85:17) won the half-marathon, while 10km titles were claimed by Isaac Farnworth (33:32) and Alice Burch (41:43).
Wings for Life World Run, worldwide, May 5
The fifth annual Wings for Life World Run saw 120,000 participants take part in 76 countries across the globe. The race raises awareness and much-needed funds for spinal cord research.
The UK hosted an organised app run in Chiswick Park, which was won by Owen Edwards with the virtual ‘catcher car’ finally catching him after he ran 33km. The women’s race was won by Sophie McKeeman who covered 32.1km.
In the global race, Ivan Motorin of Russia achieved 64.37km in Izmir, Turkey, to clinch the men’s title, while Nina Zarina of Russia took the global women’s title in Zug, Switzerland, covering a distance of 53.72km.
?2019 Global Champion is Ivan Motorin, RUS in #Turkey with an incredible distance of 64.3 km! ?
#WingsForLife #WorldRun #WingsForLifeWorldRun pic.twitter.com/25wMNKCQfi— WFL World Run (@WFLWorldRun) May 5, 2019
You can watch back live stream footage of the event here.
USATF Half Marathon Championships, Pittsburgh, May 5
Leonard Korir won the men’s title in 61:53 ahead of Stanley Kebenei (61:57).
Stephanie Bruce claimed the women’s win in 70:43 from Sara Hall (71:04).
Kenya’s Boniface Kongin (2:10:34) and Ethiopia’s Bizuwork Getahun (2:35:42) won the full marathon.
BMO Vancouver Marathon, Canada, May 5
Yuki Kawauchi won the men’s title in 2:15:01, while the women’s title was claimed by his partner Yuko Mizuguchi in 2:41:28.
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Madrid Open: Johanna Konta opens with win over Alison Riske
Published in
Tennis
Sunday, 05 May 2019 12:50
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British number one Johanna Konta began her Madrid Open campaign with a 6-4 6-1 win over American Alison Riske.
Only a day after losing the Morocco Open final to Maria Sakkari in three sets in Rabat, the world number 47 faced Riske, ranked two places lower.
From 4-1, she was pulled back to 4-4 but took the next five games and sealed the match in an hour and 14 minutes.
In round two, the 27-year-old faces world number three Simona Halep, who beat Margarita Gasparyan 6-0 6-4.
Konta, seeking her fourth WTA title, had won her only previous meeting with 28-year-old Riske and a superb angled forehand return gave her set point, which she duly secured with a backhand of precision into the corner.
A Riske double-fault gave Konta a 2-0 lead at the start of the second set and the Briton sealed victory with an ace at just after 9pm local time.
Unseeded Pauline Parmentier of France eliminated sixth seed Elina Svitolina, who had been struggling with a knee injury, 6-4, 7-6 (8-6), while 13th seed Madison Keys lost 3-6 6-4 6-1 to Sorana Cirstea of Romania.
Former world number one and fourth seed Karolina Pliskova saved five match points to deny Ukrainian teenager Dayana Yastremska 5-7 7-6 (7-5) 6-3.
The 11th seed Caroline Wozniacki was trailing 3-0 when she retired with a lower back injury from her first-round match against world number 54 Alize Cornet of France.
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LEXINGTON, Ohio – It was a dominating effort for a pair of first-time IMSA race winners in Sunday’s IMSA Prototype Challenge race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Dakota Dickerson and Dylan Murry, both relatively new to the series’ LMP3 platform, teamed up for the first time this season and immediately gave the No. 54 MLT Motorsports Ligier JS P3 team its first win in its second start.
There was no magic pit strategy or luck involved as the two youngsters led the majority of the one-hour, 45-minute race. Dickerson, 22, needed just 10 minutes to move from fourth to first at the start of the race and held that position until he pitted with 50 minutes remaining. From there he handed the car to Murry, 18, who held off a hard-charging Neil Alberico in the No. 4 ANSA Motorsports Ligier JS P3 during the closing laps to secure the victory.
The win caps off a career weekend for Murry, who one day ago finished a career-best second in the IMSA MICHELIN Pilot Challenge race in a Mercedes-AMG GT4 for Riley Motorsports. He debuted in the MLT Motorsports LMP3 one race ago at Sebring Int’l Raceway alongside his father David Murry.
“We just started the team, this is incredible,” said Murry. “Dakota was in the lead, came in and we put new Michelin tires on and I went out and just kept it in that position. The car was fantastic. This means a lot to me. I saw the 4 car kind of catch me. Every now and then he’d make a little mistake, fall back and then catch me again. It feels awesome.”
For Dickerson, it was his first career IMSA win after starting his career in open-wheel cars. The 2018 F4 US champion was introduced to the LMP3 platform at the Michelin IMSA SportsCar Encore at Sebring in November when he drove in that event for ANSA Motorsports.
“I can’t wipe the smile off my face,” added Dickerson. “The Ligier LMP3 car is fantastic to drive. Driving their F3 car and their LMP3 car, you can tell they know what they’re doing building cars. I’d love to come back to IMSA. It’s so much fun. The different mindset and doing endurance racing versus sprint racing is fantastic. Hopefully I’ll be here for the rest of this season, if not next season.”
Alberico made a few late runs at Murry in the closing laps, but ultimately finished 1.046 seconds back in second with co-driver Leo Lamelas. It was a good points day for the duo after entering the race second in points behind the No. 47 Forty7 Motorsports duo of Austin McCusker and Rodrigo Pflucker, who finished fourth.
“It started off as a rough weekend with all of the difficult conditions, but Leo did a great job moving from ninth and getting us to the front,” said Alberico, who set the fastest lap of the race on the 65th and final lap. “I know we’re racing for the championship and we didn’t need to risk the car with a DNF. At the end of the day a podium is a great result and we’re chipping away.”
It was also an impressive performance for the No. 60 Wulver Racing team of Bruce Hamilton and Tonis Kasemets. The duo started in the 20th position and executed a flawless race, ultimately moving to the third position for their second podium of the season.
Finishing 13th but winning the Bronze Cup for the highest-running Bronze-only driver lineup was Joe Robillard. It was the second consecutive winning weekend for Robillard. The Robillard Racing team owner watched as Stevan McAleer won overall at Sebring Int’l Raceway one race ago before winning the Bronze Cup at Mid-Ohio.
“As a new group, putting this together has been really rewarding,” said Robillard. “To have Stevan win at Sebring and me win Bronze here, it’s really exciting. The guys did such a great job this weekend. It was tough out there. There was a lot of traffic, there were a lot of spins and it was a very treacherous, but it sure was a lot of fun.”
The top-five positions were made up of five different teams, with Forty7 Motorsports fourth and the No. 9 JDC MotorSports Norma M30 of Gerry Kraut and Scott Andrews rounding out the top-five.
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DOVER, Del. – Mother Nature simply wasn’t going to cooperate Sunday afternoon at Dover Int’l Speedway.
Despite the best efforts of track and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series officials, the Gander RV 400 at Dover Int’l Speedway was postponed to Monday because of rain.
NASCAR officials worked hard to get the track in suitable condition to race Sunday and at one point it appeared the race would start shortly after 4 p.m. The field filed onto the track and began pace laps, but just as quickly as the rain stopped it began again.
The track was soon saturated again and with no lights at Dover Int’l Speedway for night racing, NASCAR and track officials were forced to postpone the race until Monday.
The green flag is scheduled to wave around Noon EST Monday afternoon, with television coverage on FS1. Chase Elliott and William Byron will lead the field to the green flag.
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HUDDERSFIELD, England -- The most worrying thing for Manchester United right now, as their last hope of qualifying for the Champions League slipped away at Huddersfield with Sunday's 1-1 draw, is that there is no guarantee things will get better any time soon.
Players will come and go over the summer as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's gets his first real chance to shape his squad, but we have been here before. David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho have all been given money to spend -- more than £600 million between them -- since Sir Alex Ferguson retired but for the fourth time in six years since the Scot departed, United will finish the season outside of the Premier League's top four.
-- Man United's top-4 hopes vanish with draw
-- Ratings: Juan Mata the lone bright spot
-- Sanchez has been a disaster
-- Man United Keep/Dump: Assessing Solskjaer's squad
It was just what they deserved, too. A bright opening 15 minutes saw them take the lead through Scott McTominay's second goal of the season but by the time Lee Mason blew the final whistle, United were genuinely hanging on. Isaac Mbenza scored the equaliser in the second half after a long punt from goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The ball was in David De Gea's net just 13 seconds after a United corner thanks, in part, to Luke Shaw's mis-kick at the loose ball as it travelled more than 60 yards beyond him. The goal stung even more as Mbenza coolly finished between De Gea's legs.
Huddersfield had lost 22 of the last 24 games in all competitions but ended the afternoon feeling disappointed they had been unable to find a winner. Solskjaer said afterwards that his team "had not been good enough." He was right, but it was an assessment that could easily be applied to most of the games played since Ferguson signed off.
The summer promises a fresh start but just a week away from the end of the season, there are far more questions than answers. De Gea is on the verge of entering the final year of his contract. There are doubts about Paul Pogba's future. There is still no technical director in place, leaving Solskjaer to orchestrate the recruitment drive alongside executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward.
There are deficiencies in every area of the squad. The defence has conceded a goal in each of their past 14 games: United's worst run since 1970. At the other end, they've managed to score two goals in a game just once in the last two months, contributing to a dismal run of just two wins from their last 11 games in all competitions.
Watching it unravel again at Huddersfield, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville was scathing. "This is not a team," said the former United defender, "and the more I watch this, it's not a team.
"Do you know what it reminds me of? It reminds me of the Tottenham team that Mauricio Pochettino picked up. A group of players that looked like individuals, nothing there, no real spirit and he dismantled it piece by piece and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer needs to dismantle this piece by piece." Whether you agree with Neville or not, it at least reflects the challenge facing the Norwegian as he aims to revive a club that still consider themselves to be one of the biggest in the world.
Solskjaer, at least, is trying to be realistic. He branded the Europa League "the right place" for United and has already questioned whether they can get anywhere near Manchester City and Liverpool next season. They've averaged around 70 points a season since 2013 and this year Liverpool could rack up 97 and still finish second.
Debate about when they will be ready to challenge for the Premier League or the Champions League again is, for now, pointless. Solskjaer's first job is to get United back into the top four and judging by the performance at Huddersfield on Sunday, that is easier said than done. It is a club without direction, seemingly lurching from one crisis to another.
It's tempting to think that a chance to throw money at the problems during the transfer window will fix everything but there is nothing from the recent past to suggest that is the case. Brazilian midfielder Fred was signed for £48 million a year ago but was an unused substitute at the John Smith's Stadium. Alexis Sanchez, who arrived six months earlier on wages that have crippled the wage structure, limped off after 55 minutes to restart the conversation about whether he is the worst signing in the club's history.
It's difficult to think of the last signing who has been an out-and-out success. Zlatan Ibrahimovic? Robin van Persie in 2012? It is an uncomfortable truth for Woodward and the scouts, analysts and deal-makers who have been tasked with spending the money.
For Solskjaer, there is one more game left to suffer through this season when Cardiff visit Old Trafford next Sunday and after that, there will be talk of optimism and fresh starts. Unfortunately for United, it won't be the first time. History suggests it will not be the last, either.
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Clemson has landed yet another top-50 recruit in its 2020 class, this time with quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei. The No. 50 ranked prospect is the top pocket passer in the class and chose the Tigers over Oregon and Mt. San Antonio College.
Mt. SAC made his top list as an homage to his uncles who coached and played at the college; it was his way of acknowledging the school's significance for his family.
The choice came down to Clemson or Oregon. Now that he is committed to the Tigers, he is the eighth recruit ranked in the top-50 to commit in what is turning out to be a potential top-ranked class.
"My faith is important to me, and the first time I went out there was in June (2018) and that's what sold me, knowing they're all big Christians," Uiagalelei said. "I didn't commit when I was out there, but that's when I told myself that's where I wanted to be."
Uiagalelei is a 6-foot-5, 243-pound quarterback from St. John Bosco high school in Bellflower, California, and could have had his choice of college. Nearly every major program was after him, but Clemson was the school he felt fit him best and gave him the best chance at developing into the player and person he wants to be.
The fact that Trevor Lawrence is on the roster, and will be entering his third year on campus when Uiagalelei is a freshman, didn't scare the talented California recruit. He welcomed the idea of sitting behind Lawrence and learning, rather than suggesting he wants to come in and play right away.
"Learning is not a bad thing for me," Uiagalelei said. "I want to be out there and compete, but if that means I have to sit behind a leader, I'm fine with that."
He has been in that situation before, so he has some experience in waiting his turn, developing and competing. When he and his family chose St. John Bosco over other schools, Uiagalelei had quarterback Re'Al Mitchell ahead of him on the roster.
Uiagalelei was only a freshman and Mitchell had won a state championship for Bosco, but Uiagaleli waited his turn and eventually beat out Mitchell for his job. Uiagalelei's father, Dave, said that experience helped the family figure out which school would be best for his son and also prepared him for his future.
"Why did we go to Bosco, because we knew they had a coach there that got Josh Rosen ready and it was all about development," Dave said. "People don't know that D.J. didn't play a whole lot of years in youth football -- he only played in third, fifth and seventh grade -- so coming into high school the main goal was to try to get D.J. developed. That's the same goal we're going to use when he goes to college, and we know Clemson can get D.J. ready for the next level."
When Uiagalelei wasn't playing football in his youth, he was playing baseball and has also become a top pitching prospect along the way. He has a 95 mph fastball and can hit, so he plans on playing both sports at Clemson.
St. John Bosco linebackers coach and recruiting assistant Terry Bullock is a close friend of the family and has helped Uiagalelei in his recruitment. Bullock says Uiagalelei looks NFL ready right now, and could have had a chance to enter the MLB draft this year, but decided to go to college instead.
After meeting with people associated with MLB and being counseled on where Uiagalelei could potentially fall in the baseball draft, the family thought it was best for him to wait and continue to develop in football.
Dabo Swinney and his staff are thankful for that decision as they are now jockeying for the top-ranked class in the country, currently sitting at No. 2 behind Alabama. With Uiagalelei in the class, Clemson now has 14 total commitments, 13 of which are ranked in the ESPN 300.
The class is led by five-stars Bryan Bresee and Mitchell Mayes and all 13 of the ESPN 300 prospects are ranked in the top-150. That is an incredible stat, but the staff isn't done yet.
In landing some of these top prospects, including Uiagalelei, the coaches have now gained a few extra recruiters as well.
"Right now, the guys I'm going to try to recruit are receivers, like Julian Fleming and E.J. Williams," Uiagalelei said. "My guy Johnny Wilson from California, there's a bunch of guys I'm after. We're going to have the best class, it's already starting to shape up that way."
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The Los Angeles Dodgers signed catcher Travis d'Arnaud to a one-year contract Sunday.
The New York Mets had designated d'Arnaud for assignment on April 28 and released him on Friday.
D'Arnaud missed most of last season because of an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery. He had gotten off to a slow start this season, with only two hits in his first 23 at-bats.
D'Arnaud, 30, had signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal this past offseason to stay with the Mets and serve as a backup catcher to Wilson Ramos. He had played his entire seven-year career with the Mets, batting .242 with 47 home runs in 407 games.
He becomes the third catcher on the Dodgers' roster, joining Austin Barnes and Russell Martin.
The Dodgers optioned infielder Matt Beaty to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday in a corresponding move.
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