MMA

No time to play with Bigfoot for Alex Pereira

Published

2 weeks ago

September 30, 2024

No time to play with Bigfoot for Alex Pereira

The UFC is back on Mountain Time for UFC 307, and the popular “Embedded” fight week video series is here to document what’s happening behind the scenes.

UFC 307 (pay-per-view, ESPNews, ESPN+) takes place Saturday at Delta Center in Salt Lake City.

In the headliner, light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira (11-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC) puts his title on the line against challenger Khalil Rountree (14-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC). In the co-feature, women’s bantamweight champ Raquel Pennington (16-9 MMA, 13-5 UFC) defends her title for the first time when she meets ex-champ Julianna Pena (12-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC). In addition, two-time Olympic gold medalist and former PFL champ Kayla Harrison (17-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) takes on Ketlen Vieira (14-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) as a huge favorite.

The first episode of “Embedded” follows the featured fighters while they get ready for fight week. Here is the UFC’s description of the episode from YouTube:

Champ Alex Pereira trains and goes on a hike with his team; Julianna Peña gets ready for fight week; Stephen Thompson practices his jiu jitsu; Roman Dolidze goes to the mountains; Khalil Rountree Jr. and his team have an encounter with bigfoot.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.

Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.

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Football

League Two: Tight at the top – twelve teams separated by five points

Published

27 mins ago

October 11, 2024

NewsAdmin

League Two: Tight at the top - twelve teams separated by five points

Fleetwood turned to the inexperienced Charlie Adam as manager last season but he could not prevent relegation from League One.

The Scotsman has the Cod Army in the final play-off spot, playing an attractive possession-based style but they could drop out of the top seven on Saturday with their game against Colchester postponed because of international call-ups.

After defeat by Crawley in the play-off final, Crewe have regrouped and five wins from six matches has them in eighth place before their trip to Doncaster.

The Gresty Road club lost the goals of Elliott Nevitt and Courtney Baker-Richardson in the summer when they turned down new deals, while Rio Adebisi and Luke Offord also opted for pastures new.

Manager Lee Bell did convince forward Chris Long to sign a new contract and former Stevenage striker Kane Hemmings will have to plug the gap up front.

Bradford are always tipped to be up among the frontrunners and in Graham Alexander they have a man who has promotion experience from League Two with Fleetwood.

The Bantams also have the prolific Andy Cook, and if he stays fit they will surely remain in the frame.

Newport are going down a different route after dispensing with the services of Graham Coughlan and appointing the former Swansea coach, Nelson Jardim.

The Portuguese is well known to Newport owner Huw Jenkins from their time together at Liberty Stadium, and the loan signing of striker Kyle Hudlin looks a smart piece of business.

Along with Bradford and Newport, Grimsby find themselves just one point outside the play-off spots with manager David Artell waxing lyrical about their recent win at Gillingham.

A subsequent 3-0 home defeat by Doncaster felt like a dose of reality and they will need to plug a leaky defence which is the third worst in the division.

Fresh from romping to the National League title by 12 points, Chesterfield were many pundits’ tip for promotion and, despite an inconsistent start, a four-match unbeaten run may indicate they are getting to grips with things.

With James Berry, Armando Dobra, Will Grigg and Dilan Markanday in his ranks, manager Paul Cook is well stocked with the firepower needed to sustain a promotion push.

A lunchtime win over Notts County for the Spireites would push them up from 12th to seventh.

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Football

Paul Scally: Former Gillingham chairman removed from board

Published

1 hour ago

October 11, 2024

NewsAdmin

Paul Scally: Former Gillingham chairman removed from board

Paul Scally has been voted off the board at Gillingham after 29 years at the club.

The former chairman sold his majority stake to American businessman Brad Galinson in December 2022 but continued to serve as a non-executive director.

He was officially voted out of the position by shareholders on Thursday after Galinson called a meeting at Priestfield Stadium.

“We are very frustrated with how little we can say about it,” Galinson told a fan forum event on Thursday evening.

“Mr Scally was removed as a director both at the football club and GFC Holdings, so that was concluded. It’s been a difficult process.”

It ends the 69-year-old’s association with the club with immediate effect.

Gillingham were relegated to League Two in 2022 after nine seasons in League One.

They are aiming to gain promotion this season, and sit in second place before their home game against Accrington Stanley on Saturday.

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Football

England have to be courageous at times – Carsley

Published

3 hours ago

October 11, 2024

NewsAdmin

England have to be courageous at times - Carsley

England interim manager Lee Carsley says the Three Lions “have to be courageous at times” after his attacking line-up failed to impress in a 2-1 defeat by Greece.

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Football

Nations League: 1,280 days without a home game – Northern Ireland’s nomad years

Published

4 hours ago

October 11, 2024

NewsAdmin

Nations League: 1,280 days without a home game - Northern Ireland's nomad years

In their latest Nations League fixture Northern Ireland will take on Belarus in Hungary on Saturday, the neutral venue the result of Uefa restrictions on the hosts. Fifty years ago, it was Northern Ireland playing in homes away from home with no international football staged in Belfast between October 1971 and April 1975. BBC Sport NI looks back on the side’s nomadic years.

Sammy McIlroy still vividly remembers what it was like to see George Best in the flesh for the first time.

While the two would later become Manchester United and Northern Ireland team-mates, for a 13-year-old to watch the soon-to-be Ballon d’Or winner against Scotland at Windsor Park in October 1967 was “absolutely mesmerising”.

“To this day I can still see things George did with the ball,” remembers the midfielder who went on to win 88 Northern Ireland caps before managing his country.

“I’ll never forget it. The crowd, the atmosphere, it was electric.

“I’d never seen anything like that, a player with the ball tied to his boots. It just made me want to go back home and get the ball out on the street.”

It would be a rare privilege soon denied to the people of Northern Ireland.

By the time of McIlroy’s own international debut against Spain in a Euro ’72 qualifier just five years later, Northern Ireland were the “home” team in a game staged at Hull City’s Boothferry Park, an arrangement enabled by Terry Neill being the player-manager of both sides.

The early 1970s provided the bloodiest years of the Troubles, the name given colloquially to the decades-long sectarian conflict in the country and, after a 1-1 draw against the USSR in October 1971, Northern Ireland was deemed unsafe to host international football.

“To be honest, I was devastated it wasn’t in Belfast,” says McIlroy of the 1-1 draw with Spain, the first of 18 consecutive fixtures played outside of Northern Ireland.

“I was delighted to play, to make my debut for Northern Ireland, it just took the gloss off it that it wasn’t in Belfast in front of my home fans. That was very, very sad.”

During the following years Northern Ireland would play in front of a small mix of expats and curious locals, using Goodison Park, Highfield Road, Hillsborough and Craven Cottage just to fulfil their World Cup ’74 qualifying fixtures, as well as those in the British Home Nations Championship.

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Football

Nations League: You are Scotland head coach Steve Clarke… what would you do?

Published

7 hours ago

October 11, 2024

NewsAdmin

Nations League: You are Scotland head coach Steve Clarke... what would you do?

Goalkeeper Angus Gunn is injured.

So are right-backs Aaron Hickey and Nathan Patterson. And three starting central defenders in the shape of Jack Hendry, Scott McKenna and Kieran Tierney.

Second-choice left-back Greg Taylor is hobbled too.

Lewis Ferguson, John McGinn and Stuart Armstrong will be at home instead of in the Scotland midfield.

And strikers Tommy Conway and Lawrence Shankland are absent too.

It leaves the squad looking alarmingly undermanned, but can you eke a coherent XI out of the players who are left behind?

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Football

Scotland Nations League matches only available on YouTube

Published

8 hours ago

October 11, 2024

NewsAdmin

Scotland Nations League matches only available on YouTube

Scotland will take on Croatia in Zagreb on Saturday

Getty Images Scotland player Scott McTominay. He is wearing a dark blue Scotland branded quarter zip top while mid jog. Fellow players can be seen in the background. — Scotland will take on Croatia in Zagreb on Saturday

Scotland fans will only be able watch upcoming Nations League football matches against Croatia and Portugal on YouTube.

Norwegian broadcaster Viaplay holds the rights to all of the Scotland mens team’s competitive matches until 2028 – but last year decided to scale back its UK football operation.

The Nations League qualifying matches will now only be available on the ViaPlay YouTube channel.

Steve Clarke’s side faces Croatia in Zagreb on Saturday at 17:00 before taking on Portugal at Hampden on Tuesday at 19:45.

As well as the Scotland men’s matches, Viaplay held the rights to show the Scottish League Cup and URC rugby when it announced it would end all coverage of UK sports.

The Nordic media group then sold its UK sporting division back to Premier Sports earlier this year.

The transaction included its share of the Scottish Cup and the Scottish League Cup, but did not include the rights to Uefa’s international competitions.

Scotland’s last match against Portugal was shown on ITVX

Getty Images Scottish football John McGinn tries to escape Nelson Semedo of Portugal (B) during the UEFA Nations League 2024/25 League A Group A1 match between Portugal and Scotland at on September 8, 2024 in Lisbon, Portugal. — Scotland’s last match against Portugal was shown on ITVX

Viaplay sold the rights to Scotland’s last double header against Portugal and Poland to ITVX but has decided not to sell to another broadcaster for this round of fixtures.

BBC Scotland had been close to agreeing a deal on the last round of fixtures before a deal was struck with ITVX.

Viaplay declined to confirm if future matches would be sub-contracted to other broadcasters,

A spokesperson said: “The games will be made available on YouTube. As you might understand we cannot comment any further on any potential negotiations.”

The last time a Scotland match wasn’t available on linear television was a friendly match against Poland in 2014.

Passionate time

Scotland’s housing minister Paul McLennan MSP, a member of the Tartan Army, said he was “concerned” about the matches not being shown on TV.

He said: “One of the big issues is making sure that the fans can watch Scotland on terrestrial TV as much as they possibly can.

“I get to as many home games as I can, get to some away games but actually watching Scotland is a really passionate time.”

Scotland are set to welcome Croatia to Hampden to 15 November before playing in Poland on 18 November.

BBC Scotland and ITV have been asked for comment.

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No time to play with Bigfoot for Alex Pereira

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Football

League Two: Tight at the top – twelve teams separated by five points

Football

Paul Scally: Former Gillingham chairman removed from board

Football

England have to be courageous at times – Carsley

Football

Nations League: 1,280 days without a home game – Northern Ireland’s nomad years

Football

Nations League: You are Scotland head coach Steve Clarke… what would you do?

Football

Scotland Nations League matches only available on YouTube

Passionate time

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