A PREMIER LEAGUE chairman has admitted that he hopes to raise his club’s stadium capacity to 40,000.

Their current ground houses 29,673 supporters.

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Ahead of this season, the former FA Cup winners made some promising improvements.

They upgraded media facilities upon their return to the top flight.

While they introduced new VIP executive lounges.

Among their next goals is to significantly increase the stadium’s capacity.

Ipswich Town have been planning to redevelop the Cobbold Stand, which was built in the 1970s and houses away fans, as well as home supporters.

During an appearance on BBC Radio Suffolk, chairman Mark Ashton was asked about the Cobbold Stand by Town fans.

He said of the stand, which houses 750 season ticket holders as well as the away end: “It’s on the to-do list – it’s not the top of the to-do list, I must be honest with you.

“Why? Because I’m certainly not going to take a stand down in the midst of a Premier League season, that’s just not the right thing to do.”

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Ashton has instead thought of a solution that would prevent those 750 season ticket holders being left stranded during a redevelopment.

He added: “There’s a train of thought that says ‘no’, the next development there is the West Stand.

“Which sees an increase in capacity in the West Stand, of surprise, surprise, circa 4,000 people.

“So when you take down the Cobbold Stand people don’t lose their season tickets and they could move across.”

While the expansion of Portman Road is on the radar, Ipswich are instead prioritising making improvements to their Playford Road training facility.

They are set to submit a planning application for the training ground upgrades in the next fortnight.

On the pitch, Kieran McKenna‘s men are yet to win in 10 Premier League matches this season.

They have been competitive, however, collecting five draws thus far.

This weekend they will seek their first Prem win in more than 22 years when they take on McKenna’s former side Tottenham.

The contest will take place in North London on Sunday afternoon, with Spurs first travelling to Istanbul for a Europa League clash with Galatasaray.

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A bantamweight showdown between Ketlen Vieira and Macy Chiasson is back on for a yet-to-be-announced UFC card on Feb. 22, multiple people with knowledge of the situation told MMA Fighting. Ag. Fight first reported the matchup.

The UFC has yet to confirm the location for the show and its headlining attraction.

Vieira vs. Chiasson was originally booked UFC Vegas 84 on Jan. 13 of this year, but Vieira was forced off the card due to a knee injury.

In the MMA Fighting Global Rankings, Chiasson currently holds the No. 4 position at 135 pounds, with Vieira one spot behind at No. 5.

Vieira (14-4) attempts to rebound from losing a decision to Kayla Harrison at October’s UFC 307 event in Salt Lake City. The Brazilian holds octagon wins over former UFC champions Holly Holm and Miesha Tate, plus one-time title challengers Cat Zingano and Sara McMann.

In two 2024 appearances, Chiasson (10-3) stopped Pannie Kianzad and Mayra Bueno Silva to improve to 7-3 since winning the 28th season of The Ultimate Fighter in 2018. Chiasson knocked out future PFL star Larissa Pacheco on the reality show, and has also beaten surging contender Norma Dumont at featherweight.

Damon Martin contributed to this report.

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Hendrick Motorsports will have a driver in the final four, but it won’t be either of their champions as both Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott were eliminated Sunday. Denny Hamlin’s title hopes also came to end, leaving the seasoned veteran Cup-less in his 19-year quest for the biggest prize in NASCAR.

All three faced unique challenges at Martinsville, and each one came agonizingly close to the ‘golden ticket’ that would have secured their place in the Championship 4 — a win at Martinsville. No one can say they didn’t have a shot, but the defining moments came during caution period with around 100 laps to go.

Larson chose to stay out on 30-lap old tires while Elliott pitted from the lead, taking four fresh tires and dropping to seventh place for the restart. Hamlin pitted as well, but he only took two fresh right-sides, which allowed him to restart ahead of Elliott in sixth. In truth, Hamlin’s shot was already over as this call ultimately put him in a sort of purgatory where he was able to challenge some of those who stayed out, but didn’t really gain any ground as the fast cars with four fresh tires overtook him as well. 

Three champions fighting for one transfer spot

Elliott, to his credit, marched all the way to the front and was set to challenge his Hendrick Motorsports teammate head-on in the battle for the win. Over the course of the final 87-lap run, Larson faded and Elliott was able to pass him for the lead with just 25 laps to go.

He may have thought this race was his to lose, but another driver with fresh tires was closing fast from several seconds back. Defending NASCAR Cup champ Ryan Blaney had both the best long-run car and better tires in a combination that made him extremely formidable. It was now three champions fighting for one transfer spot. Blaney wasted no time, shoving his way past Larson, and although they were on the same strategy, Elliott could do little to withstand him after burning off his rears in his earlier pursuit of Larson. Blaney snatched the lead away with 14 laps to go and never looked back.

Elliott finished second, Larson third, and Hamlin fifth — all were eliminated.

Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports, NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro

Photo by: Peter Casey – NKP – Motorsport Images

“I was pushing really hard trying to get to the No. 5 [Larson],” said Elliott after the race.”I just felt like Ryan [Blaney] had been really good. I was scared to give him an opportunity to get to the No. 5 first. I just really wanted to try to get the lead. And then you never know, maybe a caution comes out or something. It just didn’t work out for us”

When asked in a later interview what he needed in the closing laps, Elliott quipped:”A new set of rear tires would have done me a lot of good.”

The title favorite falls

While Elliott has been one the most consistent drivers all, it was Larson who asserted himself as the title favorite. But much like 2020 with Kevin Harvick, the driver with the objectively strongest year did not even get a shot at the crown. 

When the final caution flag flew, perhaps Larson should have chosen to pit with Elliott. He was strong enough to hold the lead for as long as he did and perhaps fresh rubber could have salvaged his title hopes.

Larson has more wins than any other driver this year, but we could certainly look back at all of the race wins he almost had as the moments that changed the trajectory of his season. Just two more wins would have granted him enough bonus points to advance into the final four. There’s also the five points left on the table from the regular season title battle, which he only missed out on due to not making it to Charlotte in time after contesting the Indianapolis 500. It’s a lot of little things that added up for the No. 5, and unfortunately for him, the math just didn’t work out.

“This whole Round of 8 has been a fight,” said Larson following the race. “From the first stage at Las Vegas on, it’s been a fight. I feel like we made the right pit call to give ourselves the best opportunity. I’m proud of my team; the car, the pit crew, everyone at Hendrick Motorsports. We just didn’t have enough.”

No matter what happens next weekend, he will end the 2024 season with the most wins and laps led, but he can place no higher than fifth in the standings. 

Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports, HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro

Photo by: Peter Casey – NKP – Motorsport Images

A valiant fight but no reward for Hamlin 

While Larson’s exit is shocking, the end of Hamlin’s title run felt expected. It’s been a bumpy playoffs for the driver of the No. 11 Toyota from pit road errors to conservative strategies that backfired and just a curious lack of race-winning speed. He also had to overcome more than any other playoff driver on Sunday. When a stuck throttle destroyed the rear of his car in Cup practice, the team spent hours making repairs before race day. He charged from the rear of the field in an admirable effort.

“Just a fourth or fifth place car today and that’s kind of where we hung out,” said Hamlin, who will still have a shot at the Bill France Cup on the owner’s side of things. “Even when we were at our best, it was just good enough to keep up.”

Watch: Denny Hamlin: ‘Overall, I just want to win’ after coming up short of Championship 4

Hamlin, the winningest driver in NASCAR Cup history without a title, hasn’t won a race since April. He feels lack of speed is what cost them more than anything, noting: “That’s something you gotta have at the end of the season.” This is the third consecutive year his playoff run has ended one-race shy of the championship race and at 43 years old, one has to wonder how many more chances he’ll have.

It’s strange to look at the split standings after Martinsville as one might mistakingly believe that those who are eliminated are the real Championship 4 based on the names. They very well could have been, but a surprise fuel-mileage win by Joey Logano in Vegas and a stunning last-lap pass by Reddick at Homestead created a narrow path none of them were able to navigate. Bell certainly tried, but we know how that worked out.

England have named an unchanged starting XV to face Australia in the Autumn Nations Series at Allianz Stadium on Saturday.

Marcus Smith retains his place at fly-half after impressing in the narrow defeat by New Zealand, while Jamie George continues to lead the side at hooker.

There is a positional swap in the centre partnership, with Henry Slade moving to inside centre and Ollie Lawrence wearing the 13 shirt.

The bench is also reshuffled as hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie replaces Theo Dan, while head coach Steve Borthwick has opted for another back as wing Ollie Sleightholme comes in for flanker Ben Curry.

Cowan-Dickie will make his first England appearance since November 2022 if he is introduced off the bench.

England will be looking to end a run of three defeats when they face the Wallabies after surrendering an eight-point lead late on against the All Blacks.

Speaking about the positional swap in midfield, Borthwick told BBC Radio 5 Live: “Ollie [Lawrence] and [Henry] Sladey have been interchangeable in the way they play from an attack and defence point of view.

“The number of Test matches they have played together in a row as a centre partnership is also very high in terms of frequency.

“They have a good understanding of how we wish to play so I’m looking forward to seeing them go in their slightly tweaked roles this weekend.”

UFC star Conor McGregor was in High Court in Dublin on Tuesday as he faces a civil lawsuit pertaining to an alleged 2018 sexual assault.

McGregor, as well as alleged victim Nikita Ni Lamhain (Hand), both were present in the courtroom as the trial got underway, according to various news outlets, including The Irish Times. Hand filed a civil lawsuit in 2021 after she claimed the UFC star and another man, James Lawrence, had sex with her against her will in December 2018 while she was intoxicated in a hotel room.

McGregor and Lawrence have denied the accusations.

Judge Alexander Owens notified the 12 jurors (four men and eight women) that the trial is expected to last two weeks.

Emergency room doctor shares observations

On Tuesday, an emergency room gynecologist, Dr. Daniel Kane, who worked at Rotunda Hospital and treated Hand shortly after the alleged incident, said what he observed was “consistent with the outline of events as described by Nikita (Hand),” according to the Irish Mirror.

Kane said bruising was present in various locations across Hand’s body and said he witnessed Hand shaking and crying. The jury was shown images of the bruising.

According to Kane, Hand said, “He had me by the neck. He stopped me from breathing a few times. I thought he was going to kill me.”

Kane also said he performed a sexual assault examination kit to collect DNA samples in front of authorities. He also retrieved a tampon that was “wedged at the very, very top.”

Hand further details allegations during testimony

Hand said that, hours prior to the alleged incident, she attended a costume party at a club, drank alcohol and took cocaine. She said McGregor, whose cousin she was friends with, commented on an Instagram post of hers, asking where she was.

The comment came weeks after Hand told McGregor to give her a bottle of Proper Twelve, the UFC star’s Irish whiskey brand, to which McGregor responded, “You can get whatever you want, Nikita.”

As the night progressed, Hand said she contacted McGregor, they spoke on the phone, and McGregor said he’d come pick up her and her friend. At around 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., McGregor and a security guard arrived by car.

The car stopped to pick up Lawrence. McGregor exited the vehicle and came back with what he said was cocaine. Hand said she and her friend did some cocaine and were taken to a hotel, where they thought there would be another party.

The group went up to two connecting rooms. At one point, Hand said security closed the doors between the rooms, leaving her with McGregor. Hand said McGregor made verbal then physical advances on her as she tried to push McGregor away and brought up his engagement to longtime fiancee Dee Devlin.

According to Hand, McGregor said “that’s how I felt in the octagon, I had to tap myself out three times, that’s how I felt” as he forcibly had sex with her.

Hand alleges she doesn’t have much recollection beyond that, other than being taken home in a taxi later that day. After telling her mother what happened, she went to the emergency room. One month later, she notified police.

In the statement of claim reported by The New York Times in 2021, Hand cited having psychological and emotional problems caused by the alleged rape, has been unable to work since May 2019 and is seeking damages of $1.79-$2.13 million for lost wages (past and future), a change of homes, and medical expenses.

The civil trial is expected to resume Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. local time (5:30 a.m. ET).