A SECOND former Manchester United player is ready to join Misfits Boxing.

Phil Bardsley famously showed his boxing skills when he knocked out Wayne Rooney in the kitchen.

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And he hopes to take inspiration from Danny Simpson by stepping into the ring for a proper bout.

Simpson put his Premier League winner’s medal from the 5,000-1 Leicester City success on the line when he drew with Danny Aarons at Misfits 17 in August.

Now former Red Devils team-mate Bardsley is keen to follow in his footsteps, by lacing up the gloves and joining the KSI-founded promotion.

The ex-defender, 39, said: “I’d certainly be interested in getting into the ring like Danny Simpson. I’ve had people ask me the question and I spoke to Simo about it recently.

“I’ve spoken to Wayne Rooney about a potential fight of his own but the issue he has is that he wants to manage and coach and it would be a bit stupid to go on Misfits or something like that and fight a YouTuber when he’s coaching.

“But for me, I’m keen, Simo has spoken to someone at Misfits who spoke to some YouTubers but I don’t think there has been any takers yet which is unfortunate because I like to think I can give it a go.

“If someone offered me a few quid for a fight, I certainly wouldn’t turn it down.”

On the day the news broke in The Sun and the video of the dust-up went viral, Rooney responded by scoring against Tottenham and then did his knockout celebration.

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And though that fight had a very limited audience in the privacy of Rooney’s Cheshire home, his close pal reckons the former England captain could light up Wembley again – in the ring rather than in the box.

Bardsley – who launched his own property business after retiring – added to OLBG: “We had no idea that the boxing clip would go viral because we didn’t even know it was being filmed.

“It then got released and sold and it was just one of those things, we’d probably had one too many drinks and then got the gloves out.

“People sometimes forget that we are just normal lads from normal backgrounds and that’s just what lads do sometimes.

“We had a swing and chinned each other a few times, we both like our boxing and I got the better of him on that occasion.

“Wayne Rooney vs Jake Paul would definitely sell out Wembley, you can imagine the audience that would bring in, both in person and online as well.

“The younger generation would be mad on all the build-up and the clips on their phones, the influencer boxing scene is huge and they’re filling their pockets now.

“Would Wayne beat Jake Paul? It’s tricky because Jake Paul has done it for a long time now and Wayne hasn’t done it at that level in front of a huge audience.

“He played football in front of millions before Jake Paul was on the scene but fair play to him, now he is doing it on the big stage and getting paid fortunes.

“I’m not sure about him fighting Mike Tyson though, a 20-something lad fighting a 58-year-old, it’s bonkers.

“You can understand it financially but I couldn’t fight a 60-year-old man for whatever amount of money. But that’s just me.”

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Mercedes is set to use the final Formula 1 races of the season to gain further understanding of its weaknesses, having accepted it will finish fourth in the constructors’ standings.

The Silver Arrows displayed a turn in fortunes mid-season and after a winless 2023 picked up three race victories during the summer.

George Russell capitalised on contact between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris to win in Austria, before Lewis Hamilton took two race wins in Britain and Belgium, but the team has failed to continue that form into the end of the campaign.

Although Russell initially led early in the wet conditions at Interlagos last time out, he fell to fourth after pitting before the red flag to extend a run of races without a podium dating back to the September’s Azerbaijan GP, when Russell inherited third after Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez‘s late tangle.

With the gap to Red Bull in third now 162 points, and having seen its struggles lie in similar areas since the dawn of the ground-effect era, trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin insisted the team would now focus on how to get on top of those issues for 2025 and the final year of the current rule cycle.

“The main thing in terms of learning is that the corners that we are weak in are still the same ones. It is the interconnected, slow corners. That is normally where we trip up,” explained Shovlin.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15, George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

“Going into the weekend, we certainly had sector two in Brazil, which has a lot of those corners, on our radar as an area that we might struggle.

“The big focus in these remaining races for us is learning what we can. We are in a position in the championship where we cannot challenge in front of us. It is very unlikely we are going to see any challenge from behind.

“Our focus has very much shifted to learning what we need to this year to apply to next year in order to get on top of those issues.”

Despite its struggles in the rain during the Brazilian weekend, Shovlin pointed to the advantages of being able to run the car in the wet as part of its learning process ahead of the new campaign.

“In Brazil, it was useful having that wet running because you want to get a read on the car in the wet,” he added. “There is always a few wet quali and race sessions over the year. It was reassuring to see that the pace in those conditions was decent.

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team, on the pit wall

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

“But we are going to be looking at all the remaining tracks to assess performance and just confirm what we understand about this car and whether the changes we are hoping to make for next year are going to improve those areas.”

On the specific characteristics that can be reviewed, Shovlin said: “Vegas has a lot of straight line and low-speed corners. Qatar is a faster track and then, finishing in Abu Dhabi, which is a mix of everything, it will give us a good read on how we are performing and who is the benchmark.

“Sometimes it is Red Bull, sometimes McLaren, sometimes Ferrari, but it will allow us to establish the gap that we need to close down over those winter months.”

Ronnie O’Sullivan was knocked out in the opening round of the 2024 Champion of Champions tournament in Bolton by China’s Xiao Guodong.

O’Sullivan, 48, a four-time winner of the event, had taken a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven-frames match, only to lose 4-3 after a superb comeback from Xiao.

Breaks of 95 and 125 in frames two and three respectively had seven-time world champion O’Sullivan on course to reach Thursday’s quarter-final at the Toughsheet Community Stadium.

But Xiao produced breaks of 130, 88 and 85 before winning the final frame 64-35.

He will face the winner of the last-16 match between Mark Selby and Shaun Murphy in the quarter-finals.

It is O’Sullivan’s second consecutive defeat. Last week, he was knocked out of the 2024 International Championship by Pang Junxu, also from China, at the last-32 stage.

UFC 309 fight week is upon us and while most of the attention has been on the fights atop the bill, circumstances have required the promotion to tinker with the undercard.

Thursday, the promotion made two changes to Saturday’s card at Madison Square Garden in New York official. With Lucas Almeida out of his preliminary card bout vs. David Onama, in steps promotional newcomer Roberto Romero.

Romero (8-3-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) went 6-1-1 in Combate Global in the eight fights prior to his UFC signing. He most recently competed in July and won by first-round rear-naked choke. The win bounced him back from a loss in December.

Onama (12-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) has proven himself a must-watch fighter over the span of his six-fight UFC tenure to date. Whether it’s his brutal knockout of Gabriel Santos or his back-and-forth wars against Nate Landwehr and Mason Jones, Onama has proven himself a tough test for all opposition.

Additionally, the main card opener between Mauricio Ruffy (10-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and James Llontop (14-4 MMA, 0-2 UFC) has been changed from lightweight (155 pounds) to super lightweight (165 pounds). No reason was given for this change.

With the changes, the UFC 309 lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

• Champ Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic – for heavyweight title
• Michael Chandler vs. Charles Oliveira
• Paul Craig vs. Bo Nickal
• Viviane Araujo vs. Karine Silva
• James Llontop vs. Mauricio Ruffy

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPNews/FX/Hulu, 8 p.m. ET)

• Jonathan Martinez vs. Marcus McGhee
• Eryk Anders vs. Chris Weidman
• Damon Jackson vs. Jim Miller
• David Onama vs. Roberto Romero

PRELIMINARY CARD (Hulu/ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)

• Jhonata Diniz vs. Marcin Tybura
• Ramiz Brahimaj vs. Mickey Gall
• Bassil Hafez vs. Oban Elliott
• Veronica Hardy vs. Eduarda Moura

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.

Patrick Everson

FOX Sports Betting Analyst

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Last season, the Colorado Buffaloes were a public darling the first few weeks. But after a 3-0 start, the Buffs fell apart, winning just once more in a 4-8 campaign.

Fast-forward to the latter stages of this season, and Coach Prime & Co. have a legitimate shot at a College Football Playoff berth. Colorado is a sizable favorite vs. Utah on the college football Week 12 oddsboard. 

And the public betting masses are back.

“We’ve certainly seen an uptick in Colorado action, week after week,” Caesars Sports head of football trading Joey Feazel said.

Bookmakers and sharp bettors serve up their insights on Utah vs. Colorado odds and more, in this week’s college football betting nuggets.

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Last week, in the Big Noon Kickoff on FOX matchup, Colorado erased a 13-point first-quarter deficit at Texas Tech and rolled to a 41-27 victory as 4.5-point favorites. That put the Buffs at 7-2 straight up (SU) and against the spread (ATS).

This week, Colorado is again in the Big Noon Kickoff, hosting Utah at noon ET on Saturday. The Buffaloes have been bet up to 11.5-point favorites at Caesars, after opening at -10.

Deion Sanders’ squad is 6-1 SU and a perfect 7-0 ATS in its last seven games.

“This is a team with a lot of talent,” Feazel said, alluding to Heisman Trophy favorite Travis Hunter and QB Shedeur Sanders, among others. “The Buffaloes were kind of over-hyped last year, but they’re now proving themselves.”

On the flip side, Utah was a preseason favorite to win the Big 12, but is a disappointing 4-5 SU/3-6 ATS. The Utes got out to a 4-0 SU start, but lost their next five. Quarterback Cameron Rising missed three of the first six games and was ruled out for the rest of the year after a leg injury vs. Arizona State.

So it’s no surprise to see the point spread jump 1.5 points in favor of host Colorado.

“The action is telling the same story. We’re seeing more Colorado action here,” Feazel said.

Utah vs. Colorado: Who will win this Big 12 showdown?

Another SEC Showdown

Every week, it seems as if there’s a massive SEC game. In Week 11 college football odds, it’s Tennessee vs. Georgia. Neither team can afford a loss.

Georgia (7-2 SU/2-7 ATS) just fell at Ole Miss 28-10. A third loss would likely end any hopes of the Bulldogs making the College Football Playoff.

Tennessee is 8-1 SU/5-4 ATS, but probably can’t absorb a second loss and still make the CFP. Making things more difficult for the Vols this week: Quarterback Nico Iamaleava is in concussion protocol. So, as of late Wednesday night, Iamaleava is questionable to play in this 7:30 p.m. ET clash on Saturday.

Caesars opened Georgia as a 9-point home favorite and made stops at -9.5/-10 on the way to -10.5 by Wednesday afternoon.

“The line is suggesting that Iamaleava’s not gonna play. But I think he probably goes,” Feazel said. “This is a huge game for Georgia, probably an elimination game. Right now, it’s pretty good two-way action, leaning a little bit more toward Georgia.”

Georgia vs. Tennessee best bets, predictions & odds in CFB Week 12

On-Campus Sharp Side

College football betting expert Paul Stone isn’t interested in Utah vs. Colorado. But he is involved with another key Big 12 game: Arizona State vs. Kansas State, with both teams looking to stay alive in the conference title chase.

Both teams are 7-2 SU overall and 4-2 SU in the Big 12. ASU is much better vs. the spread, though, at 7-2 ATS, while K-State is 3-6 ATS.

Stone noted that the winner of Saturday’s 7 p.m. ET kickoff will need some help, but will remain alive for a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game.

Kansas State is coming off a bye week, after losing 24-19 at Houston as a 12.5-point favorite. Dating back to late in the 2021 season, the Wildcats have covered nine straight games off a straight-up loss.

Stone likes Kansas State to bounce back and also pointed out the Wildcats have thrived as home favorites in recent seasons. K-State is an 8-point favorite vs. ASU.

“Handicappers shouldn’t rely solely on point-spread trends. But they certainly can complement the other pieces of your handicapping process,” Stone said. “Kansas State is off both a bye and a loss — plus the Wildcats are 13-4 ATS as a home favorite since the start of the 2022 season. I view all those elements as positives from the Kansas State perspective.

“Additionally, Kansas State quarterback Avery Johnson is off a two-interception showing against Houston and will be out to make amends for that performance. I look for Kansas State to put its best foot forward and win by double-digits over Arizona State.”

Colorado vs. Utah: CFB Week 12 Super Six

I Like Big Bets And I Cannot Lie

By late Wednesday night, only a few big bets were reported on college football Week 12 odds. The most interesting one involved wagering quite a bit to win not nearly as much on the biggest game of the week.

At Caesars Sports, a customer put $20,000 on Georgia moneyline -355 vs. Tennessee. To win the bet, the customer just needs Georgia to win. The point spread doesn’t matter.

If the Bulldogs win, then the bettor profits $5,633.80, for a total payout of $25,633.80. That might not seem like much, relative to the size of the bet. But if you just look at its return on investment, 28.1% is not too bad.

Other notable early bets at Caesars:

• $55,000 Georgia State -2 vs. Arkansas State. If the Panthers win and cover, then the bettor profits $50,000 (total payout $105,000).
• $10,000 Hawaii -2.5 at Utah State. If the Rainbow Warriors win and cover, then the bettor profits $9,090.91 (total payout $19,090.91).

Patrick Everson is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and senior reporter for VegasInsider.com. He is a distinguished journalist in the national sports betting space. He’s based in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golfing in 110-degree heat. Follow him on Twitter: @PatrickE_Vegas

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HISTORIC rugby club Wasps have confirmed plans to build a new 28,000-seater stadium.

The six-time Premiership winners have bought land at a site in Swanley in Sevenoaks – two years after going into administration.

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They were relegated from the top flight in 2022 and thrown out of the league.

But they have applied for entry to the Tier 2 division – which is replacing the Championship from next year.

And now Wasps have revealed they have an option on the 10-year site which they hope will play host to their new ground.

They announced the news with a picture of a glistening state-of-the-art stadium.

Wasps previously held home games at a number of different football stadiums including those owned by QPR, Wycombe and Coventry.

Wasps owner Christopher Holland told Sky Sports: “It’s very rewarding that we have managed to achieve this milestone with the support of key stakeholders.

“It brings our aspiration of a new home in the region closer and hopefully demonstrates our determination to recover Wasps sustainably.”

Wasps confirmed during the development process they will be “exploring temporary facilities”.

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The rugby team have already agreed a deal to train and play matches at Worcester Warriors’ Sixways ground.

In 2014 they purchased Coventry City’s football stadium, where they played home matches.

But following Wasps’ bankruptcy, that ground is now owned by Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group.

It has been reported that Wasps could temporarily move back to London and share The Valley with League One side Charlton.

That would mean three teams playing at the same venue, as Charlton’s women’s team have also held home games there since the start of the season.