He said: “Why Jose?’ Because do I try and build, have we tried to build a siege mentality, us against the world like he did? Absolutely.
“It would be mad not to tap into him. So Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, there was posts on the Instagram page. Powerful lyrics, powerful words that would resonate and have a meaning to tie in for tonight.
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Watch moment Jose Mourinho wiped out in training exercise and collapses to floor as stars help him off pitch
“Then, in the team meeting, there was a private message from Jose speaking about what it takes to win a title as a team, as an individual.
“It blew the guys away. A video that was shown in the Everglades two hours before the game.”
Prior to the start of the WTA Finals on Saturday, 25-year-old Rybakina had not played on tour for two months because of a combination of illness and injury, and her opening match against Paolini ended in a straight-set defeat.
The former Wimbledon champion had looked fatigued during that match but started stronger against Zheng, putting pressure on the serve early on with the Chinese seventh seed forced to save two break points early in the opening set.
Momentum then swung Zheng’s way as she sealed a first break of serve on the way to a 4-1 lead, but as her unforced error count started to creep upwards, Rybakina was able to fight back into the set by winning three successive games.
Yet in the deciding tie-break, Rybakina nudged a return long to wrap up the opener for Zheng on her second set point.
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Little could separate the pair at the start of the second set, but Rybakina found a much-needed higher gear after going 3-2 and a break down.
After getting the immediate break back, she saved two further break points from 15-40 down, reeling off three aces in the game before landing a backhand on the Zheng baseline.
That was in the second of four successive game wins to seal the second set, but Rybakina came unstuck again in the decider.
As she grew weary, opponent Zheng was able to capitalise with a break for 3-1 from which she never looked back, wrapping up her maiden WTA Finals win on her first match point.
Ankalaev is eager to get his title shot against light heavyweight champion Pereira, to the point that he’s even willing to do it without a full camp. When welterweight champion Belal Muhammad was forced out of his title defense against Shavkat Rakhmonov, UFC 310 on Dec. 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas lost it’s main event.
Both Ankalaev (19-1-1 MMA, 10-1-1 UFC) and Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) hinted that they’d be ready to replace that fight, but Ankalaev says only he was.
“Fake news, I’m the only one who was ready for December but he deserve rest.”
Pereira has competed in three title fights in the span of six months, knocking out Jamahal Hill, Jiri Prochazka, and most recently Khalil Rountree at UFC 307 in October.
He revealed in an interview with Brazilian podcast Podpah (h/t MMA Fighting) that his hand is still hurting him from his fight against Rountree.
“That fourth round, I was throwing jabs and hurting my hand,” Pereira said. “I swear. I was thinking, ‘My hand must be broken.’ It still hurts. Not all the time, no, but if I squeeze here, it hurts.”
Until last year, the winner of the championship race was one of the four drivers eligible for the NASCAR Cup Series title.
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Last year, Ross Chastain won the season finale while not one of the Championship 4 as Ryan Blaney finished second on his way to the championship on the 1-mile Phoenix oval.
Blaney is back to defend his title this year after a walk-off moment Sunday at Martinsville Speedway vaulted him into the Championship 4. The four drivers who race at Phoenix (among the rest of the non-championship eligible drivers) with the best of those four being crowned the champion.
All four of the drivers this year — Blaney, Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick and William Byron — have three wins apiece. None have led more than 600 laps this year.
The three drivers who combined to lead 3,632 laps (nearly 40 percent) — Kyle Larson (six wins), Christopher Bell (three wins) and Denny Hamlin (three wins) — were all eliminated at Martinsville, leaving this championship even more wide open.
“I never look at favorites when it gets to the Champ 4 because everyone is there for a reason, and all teams are really fast,” Blaney said. “They can be fast no matter what, any given weekend, any given track.”
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Here’s a breakdown of the four drivers with analysis of why each can win the title — and why each won’t. They are listed in order of car number:
Ryan Blaney, Team Penske No. 12 Ford
2024 season: 3 wins (Iowa, Pocono, Martinsville-2), 11 top-5s, 1 pole, 555 laps led
Next Gen Phoenix finishes: Mar2024-5th; Nov2023-2nd; Mar2023-2nd; Nov2022-2nd; Mar2022-4th
Why Blaney Will Win: He did it before and he can do it again. Last year, Blaney used a Martinsville victory to propel him into the championship and he has completed one-half of that equation this year. Even bigger is that his Martinsville victory came a week after Reddick passed him on the final lap at Homestead. And look at those finishes at Phoenix. He has led more laps in the Next Gen car than any other driver at Phoenix, and he already has two wins this year at tracks 1-mile or shorter.
Why Blaney Won’t Win: No driver has gone back-to-back in the playoff elimination area (which started in 2014); the last driver to defend his title was Jimmie Johnson, who won five consecutive championships from 2006-2010. And which Blaney will be racing at the finish? The driver who saw that win slip away at Homestead or the driver who triumphed at Martinsville?
Joey Logano, Team Penske No. 22 Ford
2024 season: 3 wins (Nashville, Atlanta-2, Veags-2), 6 top-5s, 3 poles, 307 laps led
Next Gen Phoenix finishes: Mar2024-34th; Nov2023-18th; Mar2023-11th; Nov2022-1st; Mar2022-8th
Why Logano Will Win: Logano has been on cruise control the past two weeks as he won at Las Vegas and didn’t have to worry about his Homestead and Martinsville finishes. He’s had no pressure. He’ll be fresh. And then there’s that even-year thing — this is his sixth championship appearance, with them all coming in even years. But, seriously, the dude seems to perform best when it matters most. And he hates to lose.
Why Logano Won’t Win: If Logano didn’t already have two Cup titles, he would be totally counted out already. He finished 15th in the regular-season points. He won a five-overtime race at Nashville just to get into the playoffs. He won a drafting race at Atlanta and then used a fuel-mileage strategy to win at Las Vegas. Of any of the drivers in the Champ 4, he’d be the hardest sell as having a “championship” year. You know what? He doesn’t care.
William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet
2024 season: 3 wins (Daytona-1, Austin, Martinsville-1), 12 top-5s, 1 pole, 338 laps led
Next Gen Phoenix finishes: Mar2024-18th; Nov2023-4th; Mar2023-1st; Nov2022-6th; Mar2022-18th
Why Byron Will Win: Byron has run the most laps in the Next Gen car at Phoenix in the top-5 than any other driver. And it’s not even close as he has run in the top-5 for 1,058 laps — the next best among these four is Blaney (749). Byron won there in March 2023 and he seems comfortable there. He is the only Hendrick driver to make it to the championship round, so he’ll have a full effort from that organization.
Why Byron Won’t Win: While he has run in the top 5 for 1,058 laps in the Next Gen car at Phoenix, only 171 of those laps were actually in the lead. He hasn’t won since April as he carries a 27-race winless streak into the championship race. He knows he’ll be very good. The problem is he doesn’t know if he’ll be great.
Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing No. 45 Toyota
2024 season: 3 wins (Talladega-1, Michigan, Homestead), 12 top-5s, 3 poles, 597 laps led
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Next Gen Phoenix finishes: Mar2024-10th; Nov2023-22nd; Mar2023-3rd; Nov2022-23rd; Mar2022-3rd
Championship 4 history: 1st appearance
Why Reddick Will Win: Reddick has led more laps this year than any other driver in the Champ 4. He was the regular-season champion and has shown the ability to gut out good runs when he needs them the most. Plus, he will probably have co-owner Michael Jordan there rooting him on. No pressure.
Why Reddick Won’t Win: This will be Reddick’s first trip to the Champ 4 as well as the first trip for his crew chief, Billy Scott. Reddick did win two Xfinity titles in this format, but Cup is a different level. Phoenix is not one of his better tracks and all of his wins this year have come at tracks 1.5 miles in length or greater.
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Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
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The loved-up pair have reportedly married in secretCredit: Instagram / @odegaard.98
Meet the Arsenal Wags from Strictly star to a flight attendant
Tolami Benson – partner of Bukayo Saka
Benson and Saka have kept information on their relationship largely quiet.
They do not appear on each others Instagram pages but she was seen speaking to Saka at the 2022 World Cup.
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Helene Spilling – partner of Martin Odegaard
A professional dancer from Norway who rose to fame in the country’s version of Strictly Come Dancing, the pair were first spotted together at the Football Awards in March 2023.
Sophie Weber – partner of Kai Havertz
Weber works as a model and social media influencer and is the most high profile member of the group on online with almost 400,000 followers on Instagram.
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They are childhood sweethearts having grown up in the same neighbourhood.
Milly White – partner of Ben White
The couple got engaged in 2022 before tying the knot officially in May last year. They have matching “I love you tattoos” on their wrists. Milly White works as a model.
Laura Trossard Hilven – partner of Leandro Trossard
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The pair met in 2014 before getting married in 2019.
They have two sons together, Thiago and Amadeo.
Lauren Fryer – partner of Declan Rice
Lauren Fryer and Declan Rice have been together since 2015. She tends to keep a lower profile compared to some of Arsenal’s other Wags but is no less stunning.
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She sadly deleted all pictures on her Instagram after suffering horrific abuse by vile trolls.
Georgina Ramsdale – partner of Aaron Ramsdale
Georgina Ramsdale works as a flight attendant.
The couple got married last June after the Arsenal star proposed in 2022. They originally met in 2019.
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He has recently returned to training and could be in contention to face Inter Milan on Wednesday.
Odegaard recently said: “I’ve been out for a few weeks now, and have been working hard to get back as soon as possible.
“I feel like it’s close now, but although I haven’t been involved in the games lately, I feel I’ve still been able to use that time pretty well too.
“Hopefully I can come out of this period fresher and stronger and ready for the rest of the season.
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“That’s the aim now, look at the positives and use this time in a good way. When I’m back I’m going to be feeling pretty good, I’m sure.”
Nuno returned to the Premier League after a spell in Saudi Arabia and there were a few doubters when he replaced Steve Cooper in December last year.
He had won the Saudi Pro League and the Super Cup with Al-Ittihad but after a short and difficult time at Tottenham, Forest fans would have been forgiven for being underwhelmed at his appointment.
His four-year spell at Wolves ended as things went stale at Molineux and the squad was unable to maintain their spectacular rise from the Championship to the Europa League quarter-finals.
But before the decline, he built a squad – with the help of agent Jorge Mendes – which included young talent like Ruben Neves combined with the experience of Joao Moutinho.
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He is slowly doing the same at the City Ground with the arrival of six senior players, including defender Milenkovic who has helped Forest tighten up at the back and concede just seven goals so far. Only Liverpool – six – have shipped less.
Those who have covered Nuno at either Wolves, Spurs or now Forest know he is not the most expressive in news conferences.
He is a meticulous planner of what happens on the pitch which, over the course of a year, has steadily improved prospects at the City Ground, although he has still benefited from the foundations predecessor Cooper laid.
Cooper’s influence and relationship was crucial to signing Gibbs-White – who he won the Under-17 World Cup with while England manager – while the now-Leicester boss brought Wood to the club and kept them in the Premier League.
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Nuno has built on that success, although he has let his emotions get the better of him on the touchline – despite promising to rein in the criticism of officials – and in August he was fined £40,000 and given a one-game suspended ban after his comments following the 2-0 defeat at Everton last season.
That suspension was activated when he was dismissed for contesting Gibbs-White’s red card in the draw at Brighton in September, meaning he has watched Forest’s last three games from the stands.
The UFC is looking to get on the road more often in 2025.
For the past several years, a major talking point among MMA fans has been the rise of the UFC APEX. Built in 2019, the APEX became one of the UFC’s primary event venues during the COVID-19 pandemic as promotion continued to put on shows during the lockdown. However even after the lockdowns ended, the APEX remains a fixture of the UFC rotation to the dislike of some fans. But that may be changing soon.
This past Saturday, UFC Edmonton took place and per the promotion it broke the record for highest-grossing UFC Fight Night event in North American history. This comes on the heels of similar performances when the promotion visited other locations like Denver and Louisville earlier this year, and speaking with reporters after the event, UFC Vice President David Shaw told reporters that this continued success will lead to some changes for how often the UFC goes on the road in 2025.
“Yeah, there will be [more events on the road],” Shaw said. “There will be an increased number of events outside of the APEX relative to this year as we get into the 2025 schedule.”
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This weekend marks the UFC’s 100th event in the APEX and will be the promotion’s 17th trip there this year. The promotion also used the APEX 17 times in 2023, down from the 21 times they held events there in 2022.
But while Shaw envisions a world where the UFC relies less heavily on the APEX, he also made it clear that things will not return to the pre-COVID era where every show was somewhere different.
“It’s tough for us to anticipate what two or three years down the road looks like, but it makes a lot of sense for a lot of reasons,” Shaw explained. “There’s a lot of fighters in Vegas, it’s easy for us operationally, it’s simple from a budgetary perspective. The rigor and the pressure and how laborious it can be to be on the road… It’s tough.
“So I think having home games and being in the APEX where we can just turn off the lights and lock the door, it makes a lot of sense for us. So will we ever get back to pre-COVID or no APEX? I don’t think so. But I think we’re going to find the right balance for us.”
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And according to Shaw, more road shows does not just mean more opportunity for American fans to attend events. With the UFC’s media rights deal ending next year, Shaw says that more international trips is part of the promotion’s longterm planning as well.
“Are there more plans? Yes. We’re going to be back in the U.K. next year,” Shaw said “… Then as we get through next year which is sort of the last year of our current media deal in the U.S. and we start to plan out what we want to do in 2026 and beyond in terms of the number of international events we can have, the intention is to be able to go back to Europe more often.”
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